Managers have to complete periodic Q&A sessions with supporters when managing fan-owned clubs

[Jamaicaman90]

As it stands, other than in the case of some clubs having president/chairman elections, a club being fan-owned doesn't have a huge impact on the game experience for the manager.

I think it would be realistic (as is the case with many fan-owned clubs) for certain types of fan-owned clubs to have the manager meet with the supporters directly to answer their questions. From a gameplay perspective, your performance in these meetings could influence your managerial support with your chairman/president... or could even impact the support the president has to get re-elected at the next election, if the club ownership holds them.

Having been a member of a supporter's trust that had a substantial stake in their club (Swansea City), while things like AGMs did not include club staff, it was an expected part of the trust's calendar to include Q&A sessions with the manager and some players. I know that Newport County, who's supporter's trust have a controlling stake in the club, also host Q&A sessions between trust members and the manager. Elsewhere, in Spain clubs like Unionistas regularly have the manager answer questions from the socios, as a fan-owned club part of the fútbol popular movement.

The game already tracks fan reaction to your transfer activity in the 'Performance' section of Club Vision. These meetings could influence those ratings positively or negatively, and in the case of the club vision itself could impact positively or negatively how strongly you are judged by things like club culture (e.g. if you can make a convincing arguement for why you aren't making the most of set pieces, then the 'importance' could move down from 'important' to 'preferred'). Fan owned clubs could also be more susceptible to certain changes, like increasing 'play entertaining football' or 'evelop players using the club's youth system'. WIth 'develop best youth system in nation' for example, I know that this was always a huge priority from the Swansea City Supporters' Trust membership in real life, with a lot of unhappiness when our academy status was downgraded.

I don't know about other players, but I've found much of the Club Vision aspect of the game to be interesting, but usually quite inflexible. You frequently get invited to negotiate it, but rarely do I come away with any changes I may have requested. This could be a way of having some clubs become ones that are a lot more fluid in their club cultures in some ways, without the wider integrity of the game having clubs with historic visions not being removed.

Edited February 27, 2022 by Jamaicaman90

[Zachary Whyte]

Thanks for this detailed request, this is something which may end up in a future FM with further development or may yet end up rejected.