Philip Rolfe

Advanced Game Setup If you want to have greater control about the setup of your new career, and include several more leagues than the Quick Start setup allows, then you should use the Advanced Setup option. Rather than selecting a team and getting into your career as quickly as possible, you can tweak and tailor things to your exact requirements here. The Active Leagues in the main screen area are available for selection; add as many as you wish after ticking the ‘Remove nation and league restrictions’ checkbox. Doing so disables all Cross-Sync compatibility with console or mobile devices and means the saved game can only be played on PC. From here, you can then use the checkboxes in the top right for each selected country to determine how many leagues from that nation are loaded in. The more leagues you include, the more players are in your saved game, and the slower the Estimated Game Speed – indicated in the panel to the right of the screen – theoretically becomes. In a similar manner to the loading of numerous leagues and nations into a save, the size of the database loaded into a save determines to some extent the level of realism managers experience in their saved game. You can choose this, and the start date, from the ‘Advanced Setup’ button on the bottom of the screen. Naturally, a larger database includes more players and teams from the football world, whereas a smaller one includes what are considered the core and most important items. More capable PCs are able to handle larger databases, but less capable ones may want to consider using a smaller option. Depending on the size of database you’ve chosen to load, you will see a different number of players loaded into the saved game. For example, a small database might load 8000 players worldwide into the saved game, but a large database adds closer to 15000. Custom Screen Flow The Screen Flow section can be found by searching for Screen Flow on the Preferences screen. This allows you to configure a series of screens to display at determined intervals during the course of your game. For example, you can ask the game to show you the ‘English Sky Bet Championship’ ‘Overview|Stages’ ‘Every Week’ ‘During Competition’ and have it stop the game from processing during the ‘Morning’, by adding an entry with each of those settings. The end product is that, at weekly intervals (the start day is determined by the day you set up the Screen Flow item), you are taken to the ‘Stages’ screen of that competition, giving you the opportunity to review whatever content you want to from that competition. Repeat the process as much as you like for as many competitions as you need to. It is designed to aid immersion in your own personal game world and keep you abreast of what’s going on outside of your immediate league. Please note Screen Flow only appears when a saved game is loaded and the options are configurable on a per-saved game basis. Online Play and Streaming (PC only) It couldn’t be easier to stream Football Manager™ Console 2024 and share your experience with a wider audience. Beginner Broadcasting https://help.twitch.tv/s/topic/0TO1U000000CjngWAC/beginner-broadcasting Broadcasting Setup and Software https://help.twitch.tv/s/topic/0TO1U000000CjniWAC/broadcast-setup-software Once you’ve installed and familiarised yourself with your choice of streaming software and how to integrate it with your desired platform, all you need to do is set Football Manager™ Console 2024 as your source material for your window/monitor/game capture (or equivalent), and away you go!

So, with everything covered up to this point, it’s probably time to play a match. Team Selection If you haven’t settled on your team selection by match day, this is your final chance to put your plans into action. Selection Advice In the build-up to a match, running through the items below as something of a checklist will serve you well ahead of kick-off: - Are your players appropriate for the Positions, Roles and Duties defined in your tactics? - Are those players fit and match sharp enough for the demands of the fixture? - Who’s in form? Who isn’t? Does your team represent the best it can be right now? - Do you have sufficient flexibility to change your tactic if it’s not working? - Do you have the ability to change the game with your substitutes? - What is the morale of the team? Are there players with higher morale not involved? Could they be a better fit for the next match? - What does your fixture list look like? Do you need to rotate your squad? - Are there any unhappy players who you have promised more first-team football to? - What threats do the opposition carry? Have you successfully identified them, through opposition scout reports, and made plans to counter them? - How important is the match? Can you play a weakened team or give some younger players much-needed playing time? Board Confidence tells you how important the Board deems the competition to be when appraising your performance. Answer all these questions before confirming your match day team selection. Being able to provide a comprehensive answer to each question gives you a much better chance of achieving the desired result. Team Sheets The Team Sheet is in and there’s bound to be a reaction, so your Press Officer gathers the very latest from social media. The Match Screen Pitch The Pitch View takes you to a match screen designed specifically for the 3D match view. The primary and majority focus on the screen is, as you’d expect, on the pitch and what’s going on. The scoreboard and settings are at the top of the screen, while the commentary and your managerial actions are at the bottom. Tactics The bottom left of the screen is dedicated to tactical adjustments, allowing you to make quick changes to shape, style, mentality or instructions, as well as delivering touchline shouts to your players. ‘Full Tactics’ takes you to the Tactics screen for complete control. Players Running along the bottom of the screen is a list of your players currently on the pitch. You can select any of them to change their position, role or instructions, shout directly to them, or make a substitution. The Dugout The Dugout is where you can ask members of your backroom team for specific information. It’s split into ‘Show Me’ and ‘Ask For’ sections; ‘Show Me’ requests information from your Assistant Manager about either team, as well as the latest scores and information from other matches being played at the same time, while ‘Ask For’ is an on-demand Assistant Manager advice option. Settings Along with the match speed sliders, the manager can also toggle whether replays are on or not and the saturation of highlights shown. If you’re ambitious and have some time on your hands, you can view the ‘entire’ match (note, this is not actually 90 minutes), extended highlights, just the key events, or none at all and watch the game with just commentary text. The ‘Camera’ options offer a list of different views from which the match can be watched, both live and in replays. How can I see more of what’s going on? These can be enabled or disabled from the ‘Touchline Tablet’ icon. In Between Highlights If you’re watching a match on a condensed highlights mode, there will be spells where there is no action to show. When this happens, you have access to key information highlighting how the match is going, and advice arrives from your coaching staff for you to take on Board and action as you see fit. Managing During the Match Tactical Changes Making tactical changes during the match starts and ends with watching the match. Whatever your preferred camera view and highlight mode might be, make sure it gives you a sufficiently complete view of the action, and allows you to be aware of every development as play unfolds. The shortcut buttons allow you to make substitutions, tactical changes, mentality adjustments, touchline shouts and set opposition instructions. At every turn, you must decide whether or not: a) your tactical instructions are being carried out as designed, b) the opposition are nullifying your tactical instructions, c) the opposition have left something you can exploit. Let’s use an example. If you’ve adopted a 4-2-3-1 formation with your AML and AMR both set to ‘Inside Forward’ Roles and instructions to ‘Cut Inside With Ball’, you should be able to clearly see each of them leaving the touchline and moving into central areas in possession. However, if the opposition have seen this, and have decided to play two DMs with the express intent of blocking the very space your AML and AMR are seeking to exploit, you have a decision to make: a) You could change their roles to ‘Winger’, for example, and attack the opponent on the outside, potentially rendering those two DMs useless. b) You could adjust the team’s overall playing style; if the opponent has adopted a ‘low block’ with the two DMs ahead of a deep defensive line, it might call for a more patient passing game to probe for space and lapses of concentration, or a more direct approach where long balls are pumped into the penalty area, going over the heads of the DMs. c) You could do nothing and hope that your players are simply better than theirs, and that quality will ultimately always shine through. The same applies in reverse; if you’re stopping them from doing something, or have left an area of weakness for them to exploit, they might tweak their tactics and try to get on top that way. It’s a perpetual chess match, where each manager is seeking the upper hand, and the possibilities are nearly endless. You must know the versatility of your tactics and your players, be able to identify what’s working and what isn’t, and know when and when not to make a change. Full-Time At Full-Time, your Press Officer returns to deliver a round-up of events elsewhere, as well as a summary of the media and social reaction. Then it’s time to fulfil your post-match media requirements if you’ve retained those responsibilities.

The League/Competition screen holds all the important information and links that you need to check regularly if you are to be successful. Keeping up to date on the very latest information from your opponents is a massive factor, and Football Manager™ Console 2024 allows you to do this in many ways. The sections described below are all found from the tabs menu on any league or competition screen. They are also accessible from the competitions screen, which can be found on the Side Bar (containing details of all competitions you are taking part in). Basic Competition Information Overview A comprehensive overview of the competition, with several dedicated sections with a trove of content. Profile Each competition page has a ‘Profile’ screen which offers all the relevant competition information at a glance. More detailed information can be found throughout the tab and sub-tab menus, as explained in this section. Season Preview The Season Preview section projects the upcoming season, including a proposed league table with title odds and last season’s award winners, the key transfer activity that has taken place ahead of the big kick-off and the players to watch in the months ahead. Stages/League Table The League Table displays completely up-to-date standings from the competition(s) you are in at the time. Each table header is sortable in both A-Z and Z-A styles – simply select once on the header icon to sort it and again to sort it in reverse order. The overall menu to the top left allows you to view the table in several different manners. Past Positions The ‘Past Positions’ screen displays the progress of one or more teams over the course of a single season. The graph plots their round-by-round league standing and presents it in a line graph. Rules The ‘Rules’ screen informs the manager of all the specific rules for the competition. Check this screen as early as you can to familiarise yourself with the competition(s) you are participating in and ensure that your squad meets any criteria it needs to well in advance of the start date. Some competitions feature extensive and often complicated rules and regulations and, as such, it pays to read them thoroughly to ensure you’re well on top of any and all situations that might arise. News The News section delivers the latest news, split into three sub-sections covering Daily News, Match Previews and Reports as well as Transfer Rumours. Matches Competition Review This provides a quick overview of the very latest goings-on in the competition. The latest results or forthcoming fixtures are paired with the league table so you’re up to the minute with everything you need to know. Fixtures and Results The ‘Fixtures and Results’ screen displays the round-by-round calendar for the current season. From the date dropdown at the top, and the back/forward arrows next to it, you can freely move around each round and view the results or upcoming fixtures for the entire competition. On a match day, the ‘Latest Scores’, ‘Goal Updates’ and ‘Live League Table’ tabs become active. Schedule This section displays the forthcoming match schedule. Stats Team and Player Stats This Statistics section incorporates both the Team and Player Stats sections. Statistics are kept for a vast number of areas, the most important of which are displayed on the Overview pages, while the ‘Detailed’ versions cover affairs in greater depth. Transfers Transfers This screen simply lists all transfers that have taken place involving teams in this competition. Draft If you’re managing in Major League Soccer, details of the upcoming draft can be found here once the order of picks has been finalised. Awards Awards honour the best of the best. Each competition in Football Manager™ Console 2024 has its own seasonal (and other) awards, the details and history of which are found on this screen. History In a similar way to the previous ‘History’ screen descriptions, the ‘Competition History’ screen details historical information about the competition. Once again, these records are there to be broken, so check back here regularly to see where you stand in history. Juggling The Fixture List There will inevitably be moments throughout your career – throughout most seasons of your career in truth – when fixtures come thicker and faster than you can really handle. This is where smart forward planning can pay off. Using the various schedule and fixture screens at your disposal allows you to foresee any fixture congestion – including provisional dates for matches yet to be scheduled, such as future rounds of cup competitions – and pick your teams accordingly. Selecting a squad of players three or four matches in advance might seem unusual and at times unnecessary, but it can pay off handsomely if your best players are available for the bigger matches during a spell of congestion.

Good financial management is imperative. Your Board expects and demands it. You can be successful on the pitch but if your finances are in a perilous state, you’ll be heading down a troublesome road that many teams struggle to come back from. Furthermore, with ‘fair play’ rules and restrictions coming into effect in more and more competitions, it is imperative to have a firm grasp on the club’s fiscal responsibilities. Basic Finances These options largely deal with the day-to-day financial status of your club. The Summary screen gives you a quick and informative overview of how the club is doing, with particular attention on any rules and regulations you are obliged to adhere to. The Income and Expenditure screens display a detailed breakdown of the money coming in and going out on a monthly and seasonal basis. The Debt and Loans tab contains information on all outstanding payments the club is required to make; the Sponsors and Other tab shows where and what is coming in from sponsorship streams. You can also adjust the budget from the Summary screen by selecting the ‘Make Budget Adjustment’ button. This is contingent on the Board being happy for you to do so as well as there being sufficient funds to manipulate to your requirements. It is very much worth taking some time throughout the season to check this section thoroughly to make sure you’re fiscally responsible. Some football league authorities punish teams who enter administration with a points deduction, and if things get seriously bad, creditors may take control of your team and accept any bids made on your players to alleviate the financial problems you are in. Successfully managing your finances You also have the option of managing your wage and transfer budgets so that you may, for example, move some funds from one area to another to maximize the benefits you are able to make from your balance. To do this, navigate to the Club Vision screen and the ‘Budget Adjustment’ panel. Your Board indicate their thoughts on the matter, as well as any changes they are willing to allow you to make. Depending on the financial situation at the club, these changes may be restricted somewhat. Otherwise, sensible financial management relies on you taking an active role in checking your Finances screen often, and making sure you know where money is being spent. One common area some managers struggle with is how much money leaves the club in transfer deals; just because the fee is being spread over a certain number of months doesn’t mean that the money doesn’t have to be budgeted for immediately, and then there’s the loyalty bonus or the agent fee to factor in too. A few quick transfer deals in a short space of time – or a host of contract renewals all done together – can have a major impact on your finances. If you’re on a tight budget and struggling to keep things balanced, pay attention to player wages, money being spent on scouting, and additional payments either due to players (bonuses, clauses) or other clubs (additional transfer payments). You can often negotiate a fee with the other club to buy out that clause and stop that money from going out, and you can attempt to renegotiate more favourable terms with your own players or, if needs be, sell them.

Profile The Club Profile screen gives you a simple and quick look at the club’s key information. Club Details, League History, Staff, recent Results, Kits, Stadium information and Club information are all present and displayed for your perusal. These also all apply to international teams. Information The ‘Information’ sub-tab displays all the information about the club’s stadium and training ground, and any other facilities they may have, such as a youth academy. Training Facilities and Youth Facilities operate on a scale of ten as follows, from best to worst (if the facilities are rented, this is displayed in parentheses): State of the Art, Excellent, Superb, Great, Good, Average, Adequate, Below Average, Basic, Poor The Stadium Condition and Pitch Condition fields exist on a scale of seven: Perfect, Very Good, Good, OK, Poor, Very Poor, Terrible What benefit does increasing the quality of various facilities have for my team? Facilities directly affect player development. An increase in quality of training facilities allows player attributes to further develop, allows them to become more likely to realise their full potential, improves the rate at which they progress, and also improves the coaching staff working there, which in turn benefits the players again. The same applies to youth facilities; the players and coaches working in this part of the club reap many of the same benefits at a markedly more important time in their careers. Increasing the standard of Youth Recruitment, for example, boosts the quality of potential ability among players coming through into your annual youth team intake. Each time the Board decides to improve an aspect of the club’s infrastructure, it upgrades to the next level up the scale. If technology elsewhere improves at a pace you can’t keep up with, you’ll be notified that your facilities have been downgraded in their grading; they haven’t physically changed, but the standard at which they exist has been re-evaluated. The cost of each stage of improvement depends on the standard of existing facilities, starting out smaller for minor improvements, and then into several millions for high-end adjustments. Training facilities cost slightly more as additional investment is required for the scale of the work being done and additional staff requirements that may come with it, and they are adjusted depending on the financial state of the country where the work is taking place. Affiliate Clubs Teams are increasingly seeking arrangements with others in order to create mutually beneficial situations both on and off the pitch. From local relationships to international partnerships and corporate groups, the footballing world is connected like never before, and affiliations are a major part of that. Any clubs affiliated with yours are displayed on this screen and you can also begin the process of finding a new affiliation from here, as well as from the Board Requests screen by selecting ‘Networking -> Affiliate Club’. Depending on the size of your team, you may also request that the Board ‘Look for Senior Affiliate’ to which you act as an affiliate and benefit accordingly; primarily from the ability to receive players on loan from them, but also potentially through shared scouting, finances and facilities. Any proposed affiliations appear under the ‘Proposed Affiliates’ option. There are several types of affiliation, each offering different benefits. - A local partnership in which players are loaned. Players are made available for loan from the senior affiliate at no cost to the lower affiliate. - A local partnership in which facilities are shared. The teams share training facilities, typically to benefit the lower affiliate. - A national partnership in which players are loaned. Players are made available for loan from the senior affiliate at no cost to the lower affiliate. - Financial benefits for both teams. A commercial link-up which boosts club finances, usually with an overseas team in a ‘new market’. - Benefits for the youth setup for both teams. A link-up with a foreign academy whereby players from the affiliate may appear in youth intakes. - The senior affiliate has first option on the affiliate club’s players. The senior affiliate has the right to match any transfer offer accepted for a player at the lower affiliate. - An international partnership in which players are loaned. Players are made available for loan from the senior affiliate at no cost to the lower affiliate. - To avoid work permit regulations. Players are loaned from the senior affiliate until they’re able to acquire a nationality that doesn’t require them to qualify for a work permit. These deals are usually struck with teams in countries where the naturalisation period is shorter than average. - The senior affiliate sends youth players to the affiliate club to gain experience. Youth players at the lower affiliate spend time training with the senior affiliate. - The senior affiliate sends reserve players to the affiliate club to put them in the shop window. The senior affiliate sends unwanted players to the lower affiliate to try to make them more attractive for a transfer offer. - The affiliate club receives players from the senior affiliate to aid them in their bid for promotion. The lower affiliate is sent players to aid in their promotion challenge. - The affiliate club receives players from the senior affiliate to aid them in their bid to avoid relegation. The lower affiliate is sent players to aid in their survival bid. - A shared youth team where players can be sent. Some teams share an affiliate and they combine to provide the lower affiliate with players to develop and hone. - A mutually beneficial relationship. All other affiliate links where no specific reason for the relationship exists. If you have managed a club for a successful period, your Board may allow you to request a specific type of affiliation to benefit your own needs, and over an even longer period of time the Board will be willing to allow you to specify a club to approach for a link-up. These options will become available to you as part of your conversations with the Board. Affiliations may be cancelled for a few reasons; the most common among them is if the lower affiliate is promoted to play in the same division as the senior affiliate. Underuse of the affiliation – particularly with regards to loans – is another common outcome, while a change in reputation between the two clubs can either cancel the deal outright or see the senior party in the arrangement change. Board Confidence If you’re going to be successful in your job, it’s imperative that you satisfy the demands of the Board and the Fans – and they can be quite demanding. The Overview screen is mostly concerned with progress towards the Club Vision, which in turn directly affects the Manager Performance assessment. You are assessed on a grading scale, with A+ being the best grade, and everything below that increasingly poor. Updated for Football Manager™ Console 2024 is the ability to track any pending requests, as well as see how your previous requests have fared. You can also now view the request information in order to strategise a good reason for the request. Also new is the ability to set a priority for the request you make – normal or high. Be mindful however that a high priority request is restricted to just once per season. The ‘Confidence’ screen breaks all of this down into more detail. The Board and the fans deliver a summary of their satisfaction with your work in a number of key areas – Club Vision, Matches, Transfers, Tactics, and Squad management, and each of these sections have their own dedicated screen available from the ‘Confidence tab, covering the reasons for their (dis)satisfaction in greater detail. It almost goes without saying that by ensuring you’re trending positively in as many areas as possible, you will enjoy a long and prosperous reign at your club. How do I ensure the Board are happy and that I keep my job? The most important thing is to ensure you’re constantly aware of Board confidence, both on an Overall level and in each contributing area. A brief shortlist of things to always keep at the forefront of your attention also goes a long way to ensuring long-term success: - Keep your players happy. - Perform well on the pitch, in terms of both result and performances, while working towards short and long-term objectives connected to the club’s vision. - Manage your finances properly. - Don’t make excessive or unlikely Board requests and demands. - Understand your status within the club; wait until you’re established before asking for more. Keep tight control over these areas, follow the advice laid out throughout this manual, and you should be in a good position to move forward in your career. What are the different levels of Board confidence and what do they mean? Untouchable In terms of the 1-20 attribute range as seen on player profiles, imagine this to register at around the 16 or above mark. This is the strongest level of confidence you can have and it means your job is as safe as can be. Very Secure We lose a couple of marks dropping to Very Secure but you’re still highly impressive and have the Board’s full backing. Secure Another couple of marks drop off as we’re ‘only’ Secure now; you’re doing a good job, and the Board have no concerns with your management. Stable Consider this to be just above 50%; you’re trending slightly upwards, but things are finely-poised and the next few results could swing things up or down. Insecure We’re now dropping below the mid-point threshold and your job could be in peril if you don’t start to pick up points. It’s at this point that the Board might start to consider calling a meeting for you to explain yourself. Very Insecure One step down is Very Insecure; your job is now in great peril, and a win in your next fixture is of paramount importance. Precarious Anything at 6/20 or below on the comparative attribute scale means you’re almost certainly on the verge of being sacked; the Board may take action at any time, and another defeat before then will almost certainly result in the termination of your contract. Under Review This is used immediately following a Board takeover while the new Chairperson evaluates the managerial situation at the club.

Scouting Centre This is the hub of your activity and the singular reference point to return to for all your scouting and player identification business. Everything begins with the choices you make from the bar at the top of the main screen area. Scouting Responsibility: This allows you to either take charge of things yourself or delegate them to a chosen member of your backroom staff. If delegated, scouting assignments are handled automatically, otherwise you get to decide. You can still handle the recommendations yourself if these assignments are delegated. Recruitment Focus: Determine the type of players you want your scouts to go out and find. Set the tactic you want the focus to be on, and then instruct your scouts on specific details you want them to find in prospective new signings. The Recruitment Team section details your current scouts and links to the Assignments Panel. The Scouting Budget section displays the monthly remaining budget, which can be used for upgrading Scouting Packages and/or undertaking assignments outside of your scouting range. The final section outlines the current Transfer and Wage Budget, from where you can adjust the money allocated to each aspect. The Recommendations panel is the most important aspect of the Scouting Centre as it’s where you go through the brief reports filed by your recruitment team, agents, affiliates or players directly approaching you. It is split into two views – Cards and List – and you can cycle through each player report card before actioning it. The most common actions are as follows: Not Interested: Dismiss the report and forget about the player. Acknowledge: Retain the player within your Scouting Centre to keep track of their progress. Scout Player: Add the player to your scouting assignments to generate a full Report Card. Make Offer: Immediately begin negotiations to sign the player. You can also choose to Add to Shortlist to continue to monitor the player, or you can Offer a Trial where appropriate. The List view looks similar to the Player Search screen, described immediately below. Player Search This is where the heavy lifting is done in terms of identifying new talent and sifting the wheat from the chaff. To begin with, select the ‘New Search’ button (or ‘Edit Search’ when a search has been made) to bring up the search dialog. This enables you to start filtering down to the exact specifications of your player search. Flick between the ‘Quick’ and ‘Advanced’ modes to find the right settings for your requirements and then select ‘OK’ to refine your results; these actions can be undertaken from both the ‘Player Search’ and ‘Scouted’ screens, the latter only filtering through players you’ve actively scouted (and can subsequently be filtered by assignment from the foot of the main screen area). There is also a ‘Quick Search’ drop-down menu that acts as a shortcut to refine the search results for a particular type of player based on a single criterion. A host of information on each player is presented to you from the Overview view but perhaps the most important is the Scout Recommendation score. This takes the scout’s report on a player and distils all the information provided into a grade from A to E (where + and – within each grade indicate an additional positive or negative to the overall grade, so A+ is the strongest possible recommendation) and, in essence, makes for a much easier comparison when attempting to weigh up the pros and cons of multiple potential targets. There will naturally be times when even this isn’t enough to separate them, meaning you must dig even deeper to determine the best of the bunch, but it’s yet another tool at your disposal in the hunt for greatness. Recruitment Focus A Recruitment Focus allows you to set a series of specific parameters for your recruitment team to use as the framework for identifying prospective new talent. Choose from a range of options to refine exactly what type of player is recommended to you and to make sure that your recruitment team are using their time to find you suitable options for the way you play. Assignments This screen lists all ongoing scout activity, featuring details of each individual’s previous, current, and future scouting assignments, and links to their reports. The ‘Scout Priorities’ Assignment screen holds details of tasks to watch an individual player in action as opposed to an assignment covering a broader region, country, or competition. Priorities If you make several requests and find your scouting teams unable to handle the workload, some of those requests are queued up until an available member of staff can be found. These screens list those such requests. It also allows you to easily clear a number of queued assignments at once. Shortlist It is quite likely that for one reason or another, you’ll have a target you can’t currently sign, but you would like to keep track of their progress and be informed of any action involving them. This is where your Shortlist comes into play. The shortlist allows you to add players to it for a desired period and for that duration, you receive news to your feed whenever a key event involving that player occurs. To add a player to your shortlist, select and choose ‘Add to Shortlist’ or select the same option from the ‘Transfer’ section of their profile. A box pops out asking you to choose how long they should remain on the shortlist. Select your choice to finish adding them. The Shortlist screen itself looks much the same as the Player Search screen but instead features players you’ve added to it. A powerful set of filters can be applied from the ‘New Search’ button towards the right of the main screen area, while the ‘Positions’ sub-tab allows you to break it down position by position (and subsequently role by role) with direct comparisons to players within your current squad. Select a player and then use the ‘Scouting’ button at the bottom of the screen to get a Scout Report should you wish to get further information. To remove a player from your shortlist at any time, load up their profile and from the ‘Transfer’ section on the tab bar, select ‘Remove from Shortlist’. This act can be performed on multiple selections by selecting all the players you wish to remove from your shortlist, then right select and choosing the same remove option. To remove everyone at once, from the ‘Shortlists’ menu below your shortlist of players, select ‘Clear Shortlist’ and then confirm your decision. The same menu is used for saving and loading different shortlists should you wish to keep different ones for multiple purposes. Reports and Feedback Choose any player and select ‘Scout Reports’ from their Tab Bar allows you to access the scout’s detailed reports on the player. This is the real work your scout does when on assignment. They file a report on the player’s strengths and weaknesses (referred to as Pros and Cons in-game) and the potential fit into your team. Each time the player is watched, the information fed back is a little more detailed, accurate, and informative. The Player’s overall playing style is also featured for comparison with any scouting assignment focuses you might wish to undertake. What is the benefit of undertaking additional scouting reports? Each time you request a scout report on a player, you unlock a little more of their profile, and get more information. The more information you have, the better understanding you’ll be able to put together about the player, and you can therefore make a more informed decision about whether to sign them or not. It typically takes three to four full matches of watching a player before your scout can put together a 100% complete report, so time becomes a factor, as well as the cost of that scout’s assignment. You might need to balance the need for comprehensive knowledge against the urgency of completing a deal or moving in early before a market develops for the player. Making a Transfer Offer The Transfer Offer screen allows you to compose your offer in as much detail as you like. Begin by deciding whether you want to make a Transfer offer or a Loan offer. You can also offer a trial or make an enquiry from the player’s Context Menu or the Tab Bar, but for the purposes of this section we’ll deal with the two main types of offer to make. Sticking with the Transfer type, you then need to decide upon a fee for the player. The information panel to the top of the main screen area indicates the player’s current estimated value and any fee the club are likely to demand (if known). Unless the player has been transfer listed, you usually need to bid their value at an absolute minimum to hold the interest of the owners, and most likely you’ll have to offer above that to get anywhere. The ‘Transfer Date’ allows you to set when the deal will go through. A lot of the time you’ll leave this as ‘Immediate’ so it goes through at the first opportunity but, should you not have the required funds at the time, or if you want to leave the player to develop for a longer period, you can set the deal to complete at the end of the current season. Once you’ve set the core components of your deal, you can begin tweaking it with Additional Fees and Clauses to entice the other team into accepting. For example, you can break down the payment into instalments, or offer add-ons based on performance or international recognition. These are of interest to any prospective selling club as the potential income in months and years to come can help long term financial security and prosperity. Many aspects of a deal can be insisted upon by ‘locking’ them into place using the padlock icon (once for non-negotiable (red), twice for semi-negotiable (orange); semi-negotiable means the other party is aware that you want to insist upon it, but you might be prepared to budge if another part of the deal is sweetened), and they can be either removed by selecting the circular icon with a ‘-‘ through the centre, or removed permanently and excluded from negotiations by selecting that option from the menu produced by selecting it. There is also the facility to offer a player in a part-exchange deal. This is usually only of benefit if the selling club has an interest in one or more of your players. Your Assistant Manager informs you of any positions they are in need of in the comments panel at the left of the screen. Use the ‘Add’ button to include players in the deal. Once you’re happy with the package, you can either select ‘Make Offer’ and await a response, which typically arrives 24-48 hours later, or you can select ‘Suggest Terms’ to negotiate ‘live’ in a bid to get your business done swiftly. In this situation, the other party in the deal tells you what they like and dislike about the offer, with colour-coded references around the screen leading you to identify which areas need further work if you’re to strike an agreement. Making a Loan Offer Loaning players typically benefits all parties. The player gets first team football, the owners benefit from the player either developing or leaving the club temporarily, which reduces the club’s wage bill depending on the deal, and the loaning team get a player they presumably want, having offered to loan them. When composing a loan offer, you can set the duration of their spell at your club, as well as your wage contribution and any fee you may offer as an incentive for their club to accept. A series of clauses and loan options may then be configured; for example, if there is any intention to keep the player long-term, you can set a ‘Future Fee’ that you can meet at any time and offer the player a permanent contract. You are also able to inform the player’s parent club of your intentions by declaring their role in the squad and the position you’re likely to play them in. Free Agents If your club is short of money and short on numbers/talent, you’ll have to look elsewhere for your additions. The free agent market comes into play here. It’s not just for the lesser teams; clubs of all sizes can find a vast array of talent, particularly in the lower leagues, where long-term contracts are rare, and annual player turnover high. Selling and Loaning Players Out Selling players is just as fundamental a part of management as buying. Whether you’re doing it to get rid of ‘dead wood’ and/or to ensure financial stability, it’s going to happen at some point. If you receive an offer for a player from another club, you can negotiate the deal in the same way as you may have put together a bid as described in the previous section. However, if you wish to initiate the sale of a player, you have the power to set the ball rolling. From the ‘Transfer’ tab on a player you wish to sell, select ‘Offer via TransferRoom’. The screen is like the Transfer Offer screen in appearance. Initially set the fee you’re aiming to receive for the player. Try to consider the target club(s) and what they may be able to afford. If necessary, ask for less up front and more money over a longer period and/or insert incentive-based payments, available from the ‘Additional Fees’ section. At the same time though, don’t forget you’re the selling club – try to get back as much value as you can. One such way is to include an additional clause. If you’re selling a young player with potential, try to include a clause where you get a certain percentage of any fee the club may sell for in the future. If you suspect the player may not get a lot of first team football at the new club, or might reach their full potential, maybe include a ‘Buy Back’ price, where you can attempt to bring the player back to your club for a fee lower than their potential long-term value. Your Assistant Manager sends the details of any proposed deal to all clubs deemed suitable. If you don’t want a player going to a rival club, tick the appropriate check box on the Targets tab before selecting ‘Confirm’. Any interested parties will indicate as much in the days immediately following by making an offer of some kind. From here, it’s up to you to negotiate the best deal possible. Alternatively, you can add the player to the ‘Unwanted List’ and have the responsible person, e.g. your Director of Football, manage their departure. If you are loaning a player out, you may want to consider whether the player is able to play in matches against your club or play in cup competitions (therefore becoming cup-tied should they return to you), and whether you may want the option to terminate the loan early. Additionally, ensuring that the player is going to play regularly and in a position you wish to see them used in is an advisable approach, and there is plenty of flexibility to ensure you’re suitably compensated financially for allowing someone else to borrow one of your assets.

New in Football Manager™ Console 2024 is Dynamics, which helps you to better understand how both the players as individuals and as a squad are responding to your management and to each other. This is further split into three sections: Player Buy-In, Mindsets, and Hierarchy. Player Buy-In This measures the extent to which individual players are acknowledging and responding to your methods with your Principles being the main driving force behind them, as well as the players’ personalities, experience levels, match performance, and playing time. The more a player buys into your methods, the more they will benefit. Principles can be changed at any time, but choosing to change them may impact the level of buy-in of the players. Mindsets There are four different Mindsets: Hard Workers, Thinkers, Relaxed, and Leaders. The doughnut chart on the left side of the screen shows the proportions of each, whilst the text within the chart shows the dominant Mindset and the balance between them. Each squad mindset has a positive and negative trait attached to them, which you will need to make note of as your squad changes over the course of the seasons. Hierarchy This represents a player’s influence in comparison to others within the same squad. As a rule of thumb, it’s more important to keep those at the top (designated Team Leaders) happy in order to maintain squad harmony. Not doing so is likely to have big effects both on and off the pitch.

Training has been changed in Football Manager™ Console 2024, with Units replacing the Team section from the previous version. Units Units are part of team training structure and are divided into three sections: Attacking, Defending, and Goalkeeping. Players can only be moved between Attacking and Defending, and once moved or selected for that unit, they will then take part in that unit’s training schedule.It's necessary to remember that players can become unhappy if training isn’t meeting their needs. If you give them too much to do or unsuitable individual training, focus too heavily on one positional unit at the expense of another, or negate to work on certain attributes, it could lead to individuals becoming disillusioned with your practices and asking you to do something about it. Individual Players can be assigned new Positions and Roles to train in; they do this automatically during training sessions. They can also be tasked with working on a ‘weaker’ area of their game, using training sessions to specifically focus on a small number of attributes that either need improving, or are heavily stressed for their position and role and therefore need further dedication. Individual training can be undertaken in the following areas: Injury Rehabilitation: Quickness, Agility and Balance, Strength, Endurance and General Rehab (this is only applicable when a player is recovering from an injury) Set Pieces: Free Kicks, Corners, Penalty Taking, Long Throws Attributes: Quickness, Agility and Balance, Strength, Endurance, Defensive Positioning, Attacking Movement, Final Third, Shooting, Passing, Crossing, Ball Control, Aerial Goalkeeping: Reactions, Tactical, Technique, Sweeping, Long and Short Distribution Mentoring Mentoring, previously a concept known as Tutoring, allows younger players to learn from more senior teammates by working directly with them during training. A group must feature a minimum of three players before they can begin working together. You can do this manually or ask your assistant to assign some for you. The closer they are in profile, the more likely the senior player will be able to translate some influence onto the younger player, while success is also based on several factors like the senior player’s age and importance within the squad, and how well the players in the group get along. The influence is ongoing; the longer they spend working together in the same group, the more likely it is to succeed, but it isn’t perpetual; there will be a point where the return has been maximised and can no longer be of any use to the younger player.

Tactical Templates To assist you in setting up a tactic, a number of templates are provided for you to use as a foundation for the way you want to play. Each tactical template sets a series of team and player instructions geared towards a particular style of play; once you’ve picked the one that best suits your plans (the textual descriptions on screen will help guide your choice), have a look at the various instructions set as a result to better understand what’s going on. Mentalities What are the differences between mentalities and what do they change behind the scenes? Like many other mechanics in the game, mentalities can be thought of as being scored between 1-20. A Very Attacking mentality moves the score closer to 20 and represents the fact that the team is being asked to operate in a more attacking manner. Conversely, a Very Defensive mentality moves the scale much closer to the other end. Each base Mentality adjusts several tactical settings ‘under the hood’, combined with your tactical instructions, including intensity of press, line of engagement, tempo, attacking width, directness and time-wasting. In turn, mentalities also affect the actions of players set to an Automatic duty; a more attacking team mentality asks those players to be more attacking, and they are more defensive if you adopt a more defensive approach. Team Fluidity The number of attack, defend and support duties you set within a Formation while using a certain Mentality is reflected in your Team Fluidity. For example, a Balanced Mentality and a Balanced Fluidity has three players with Defend duties, four players with Support Duties, and three players with Attack duties. Your distribution of duties determines whether you move up or down the scale to more attacking or defensive football, and whether you apply more fluid or more rigid approaches. If you set seven players to have Attack Duties and three players with Defend duties, you’ll be playing with a Very Attacking mentality but a Very Rigid fluidity, as you haven’t provided sufficient balance within your overly attacking setup. Balancing this with more Support duties will achieve a more fluid result, and the same rule applies across the board, so feel free to play around with your options and see what happens – there is no single correct ‘solution’. Your overall Fluidity is always indicated to you on the Tactics Overview screen. Formations What are they? A formation is the distribution of players across the pitch both in and out of possession. Football has developed to a point where teams play either three, four or five defenders, and then split the remainder of their outfield players between midfield duties (playing in the middle of the pitch) and the attack; players who are primarily there to score goals. A host of pre-set formations are ready for selection via the dropdown menu with the tactic name on; the ‘Set to Formation’ option then lists a handful of the most prominent formations while also including sections covering all 3, 4, and 5 Defender formations. A 4 Defender formation has two central defenders and two full-backs; 3 and 5 Defender formations are often quite similar with the most significant difference being that the full-backs in 5 Defender formations become more advanced in 3 Defender formations and can often be found as part of the midfield instead. Most teams line up symmetrically to provide balance and options to move in either direction without becoming unpredictable, but again, this is not a hard and fast rule. Should I pick the players to fit the formation or formations to fit the player? There are two prevalent schools of thought on formations: pick a shape that best suits the players at your disposal, or force your best players into a preferred formation and tell them to make it work. The latter doesn’t provide much flexibility and is likely to result in a certain level of compromise on how much you’re able to get out of each player, but the argument in favour of it is that if the tactic itself is structurally sound and the players do what’s asked of them, you’ll be hard to beat. The former is a more idealistic approach and allows players to fully express themselves in their best positions and roles, but it requires a fine balancing act between individual talents and the needs of the team. What am I looking at? What does the tactics screen actually represent? It bears noting that the formation you see on screen represents the team’s defensive shape when not in possession. The instructions you then apply to the team and to each individual impact what they do and where they go when they do have the ball. This is particularly important to consider when placing players in terms of defensive positioning, and areas of potential weakness and exposure. Roles and Duties Each role carries a text description alongside it that explains the fundamentals of what they’re being asked to do. You can see this by bringing up the position and role selection dialog. An additional sentence is appended to reference what happens when the player’s duty changes. A player can have an Attack, a Defend, or a Support duty, ostensibly adjusting how attacking they’re allowed to be within the team’s overall mentality. They directly modify the player instructions to allow for a greater level of risk within the tactic, and those instructions in turn require slightly different attributes. ‘Highlight Key Attributes for Role’ on the Player Profile screen identifies the different attributes needed to be effective in the role. How much does it matter if I play a player in an unfamiliar role? As outlined in the similar question about playing a player out of position, there are several degrees of severity as to how much it might matter. As a rule, it isn’t quite as disadvantageous to play a player in an unfamiliar role as it would be for a different position, as the player is likely to at least still be in the same position on the pitch. The difference between a Box-to-Box Midfielder and an Attacking Playmaker isn’t as marked as the difference between a Central Defender and a Central Midfielder, for example. To use a metaphor, they’re speaking different dialects of the same language, rather than a different language altogether. That said, you end up with diminishing returns if you ask a player to adopt a role to which their attributes are not suited. Asking a Ball Winning Midfielder to operate as a Trequartista is unlikely to yield positive results as they won’t have the right attribute profile to perform the instructions set for that role. By using the ‘Highlight Key Attributes for Role’ option on the player profile screen, you can see how much scope you have for asking a player to play an unfamiliar role, and that in turn gives you some insight into how they might perform on the pitch. Will playing in an unfamiliar role help learn that role faster? In short, yes. The more they play there, the more the attributes adjust to the requirements of the role, and as they should be training in the same role too, they become exposed to it on a daily basis. To be perfectly clear however, there is no set timeline for how long it can take for a player to learn. Instead, it depends on familiarity with the position, the quality of the coaching staff, the similarity of the positions and roles to those they can already play (a centre-back could learn to play full-back roles quicker than a striker role, for example), and what position and role they’re set to play in training. The more of those criteria that are matched successfully, the better chance they stand of learning it in a quicker period. Team Instructions Team Instructions effectively adjust the way your team plays. They operate on a sliding scale between attempting something much more frequently to much less often. IN POSSESSION Attacking Width This controls how wide you move the ball when in possession. A wider approach stretches the field horizontally; a narrower one funnels play through the middle of the pitch. Approach Play This instructs your players where to focus their passing. Pass Into Space asks players to lead their teammates into open spaces with their passing, rather than delivering it to their feet, in an effort to stretch the play and increase the overall tempo. They can Play Out Of Defence as well as focus their play down either flank or through the middle, and you should set this based on the strengths of your players and the weaknesses of the opposition. Passing Directness The Passing instructions above set the intention of the pass, the Directness instruction sets how it gets there. A more direct approach sees the ball played forward in a more vertical manner, with increased urgency, moving it from back to front as quickly as possible. Conversely, a shorter approach sees the ball moved patiently from side to side, probing for a way to unlock the defence. Tempo A higher tempo asks players to make more decisions in a quicker fashion, designed to capitalise on situations as they present themselves, and to force lapses in concentration. Time Wasting The higher the setting here, the more your players look to do nothing with the ball and take more time over set pieces and dead balls. Final Third When you have the ball in the attacking third of the pitch, there are a host of options for you to ask your players to focus their play on. The focus is on how the ball makes its way into shooting positions. Mixed Crosses is set by default (except for Tiki-Tika, which uses Low Crosses) but you can change this to focus on high, low, or near post deliveries if it suits your players and/or the circumstances. Play For Set Pieces encourages every player to attempt to win corners, free kicks and throw-ins so as to allow the team to bring players forward for dead ball situations, attempting to command control of the match in that way. Dribbling Dribble Less makes the players more likely to pass the ball, while Run At Defence increases each player’s likelihood of dribbling with it. Creative Freedom Creative Freedom is closely tied to your overall Team Fluidity. Be More Expressive increases the overall fluidity score, while Be More Disciplined reduces it. IN TRANSITION When possession has been lost This instructs your players how to react after losing the ball. Counter-Press asks the players to immediately apply pressure with the aim of recovering the ball as quickly as possible; Regroup is a defensive instruction asking them to fall into position and focus on defending. When possession has been won Once you’ve recovered possession, you must decide what to do with it. Counter asks the players to immediately go on the front foot and seek to take advantage of any opportunities left by the dispossessed opponents. Hold Shape asks the players to adopt a patient approach, keeping the ball and retaining their formation, before building an attack. Goalkeeper in possession Distribute Quickly asks the goalkeeper to operate at a quicker tempo when in possession, perhaps to increase urgency or instigate counter attacks. Slow Pace Down asks the goalkeeper to reduce tempo when in possession, perhaps to control the game or to waste time. Distribution Type Distribute to Area/Player asks goalkeepers to distribute the ball to a specific group of players on the pitch: Full Backs, Centre Backs, Playmaker, Flanks, Target Forward or over the top of the opposition defence. Roll It Out asks goalkeepers to roll the ball out to a teammate from hand, rather than kicking it. Throw It Long asks goalkeepers to throw the ball to a teammate over a slightly longer distance. Take Short Kicks asks goalkeepers to take shorter goal kicks to a teammate positioned close by. Take Long Kicks asks goalkeepers to take more traditional goal kicks over longer distances. Distribute to Specific Position asks goalkeepers to seek a pass to a designated position as their primary means of distribution. OUT OF POSSESSION Defensive Shape Line of Engagement The Line of Engagement is where the forwards in your team begin to press the opposition to try to win the ball back. In combination with the Defensive Line, it allows you to control the team’s vertical compactness out of possession. The distance between the Defensive Line and the Line of Engagement is the amount of space you’re willing to allow the opposition to potentially play in if they’re able to beat your press and move the ball into attack. Choose between a High Press and a Low Block accordingly. Defensive Line This instructs the defenders as to how high they should position themselves when the opposition have the ball in their own half and when the team has possession themselves. You can also set whether to Use Offside Trap, although this should generally be used in tandem with a higher line, or else opponents will be able to make their move from positions closer to the goal and with a reduced risk of being caught offside. Defensive Width This instructs the team how much of the width of the pitch they should attempt to defend within the structure of their formation. A wider approach covers more of the pitch but leaves larger spaces between each man; a narrower one allows the opposition to keep the ball on the periphery of the penalty area but then floods central areas in an attempt to protect the goal. Prevent Short GK Distribution takes this a stage further and assigns forwards to specifically mark defenders who might receive the ball from a goalkeeper looking to pass the ball short, rather than kick it long. Marking and Tackling Stay On Feet asks the players to remain upright when challenging for the ball; Get Stuck In increases the chance of them going to ground to try to win it, potentially risking conceding more fouls and yellow/red cards. Pressing Trap The success of how you implement a pressing trigger determines how successful your Defensive Transition and your Line of Engagement are, but it also needs to fit snugly with those instructions to be possible in the first place. You can try to Trap Inside or Outside depending on where the strengths and weaknesses of your team and of the opposition like respectively; Trap Inside will try to force play into central areas where winning possession back could lead to high-quality chances, while Trap Outside is often more successful as opponents have fewer options when under pressure, but it doesn’t often yield quite as many successful transition opportunities. Cross Engagement You can ask your team to Stop Crosses, denying the forwards the penalty area supply they crave, or you can Invite Crosses to force a team to play in such a way that they’re uncomfortable with, perhaps because they don’t have forwards suited to getting on the end of crosses or, indeed, delivering them in the first place. Player Instructions In addition to your overall team instructions, you can designate instructions to any individual to tailor their playing style specifically. The ‘Player’ sub-tab presents a screen that allows you to configure instructions on a player-by-player basis, as well as configuring rules for anybody who happens to feature in that position in the team. For example, if you click on the Defensive Midfielder slot on the formation graphic in the left sub-panel (‘Tactic’), you can customise Role, Duty and Instruction commands for the positions regardless of who plays there. You can also add members of your squad to the ‘Instructions For’ sub-panel towards the bottom left of the screen and set up further instructions on a case-by-case basis. Selecting any of the players in the ‘Instructions For’ section allows you to quickly toggle between using the instructions set for the position or for the player. The Position/Personalised toggle switch in the panel directly underneath the player’s name achieves this. The rest of the screen is devoted to attributes and feedback on the performances of the player currently selected in that position for the team. The instructions available for assignment vary by position and are split into several areas but, for the convenience of finding and utilising them from the lists in this section, they have been grouped into areas of greatest similarity. Each instruction acts as a modifier to an instruction already set for the player by the role and duty assigned. When Opposition has the Ball Trigger Press determines the frequency with which the player goes about trying to regain possession. A more urgent approach encourages the player to make the effort to harass any opposing player who has possession in hope of forcing a mistake and regaining the ball. Less urgent pressing instead asks the player to stick to their position when defending and make it hard for the opponent to break them down, rather than risk being caught out of position. Mark Tighter asks players to stick particularly closely to their assigned opponent in defensive situations so as to limit the space they have in which to attack the ball. Tackle Harder encourages players to be forceful and combative when challenging for possession. Ease Off Tackles asks players to consider the ramifications of an aggressive mistimed tackle and instead encourages them to pick their moments in a more timely fashion. Mark Specific Player focuses on a specific opponent to mark. Mark Specific Position focuses on a specific position to mark, regardless of the player occupying it. When Team has the Ball Get Further Forward increases each player’s chances of making forward runs. Hold Position reduces the freedom for a player to move from an assigned position. The team’s overall Fluidity still governs how often they do this. Stay Wider encourages players, primarily those in wider areas of the pitch, to stay as close to the touchline as possible in a bid to stretch the game over the full width of the playing surface. Sit Narrower asks the player to stay in the central areas of the pitch, either to exploit a weakness in the opposition or to consolidate defensively in a bid to keep the opposing threats on the periphery. Move Into Channels instructs central players to find space between their assigned positions and the wider areas. It also allows players in some wider roles, like Raumdeuter, to move inside to exploit the same spaces. Hold Position asks players to stay with their assignment instead of moving into space as they see fit. Roam From Position gives players the freedom to leave their designated position within a team's basic formation and instead find pockets of space in which they can be more effective. When Player has the Ball Hold Up Ball asks players to turn their back towards goal and retain possession before bringing teammates into play. Run Wide With Ball encourages players to move into wider areas of the pitch when in possession in a bid to stretch the opposition and disrupt their shape. Cut Inside With Ball asks wide players to look to come into central areas when running with the ball, driving inside their opponent and heading towards the goal. Shooting Shoot More Often encourages players to attempt a greater number of shots when posed with potential chances, rather than looking for a pass. Shoot Less Often asks players to retain possession and remain patient in search of a more opportune moment at which to finally shoot. Dribbling Dribble More encourages the player to run with the ball more often. Dribble Less asks players to primarily pass the ball around and not attempt to beat opponents individually by way of taking them on. Passing Directness Shorter Passing asks players to adopt a shorter passing game and primarily retain the ball with a patient approach. Standard Passing asks players to adopt a sensible style of passing correlating to the game situation. More Direct Passing asks players to adopt a direct passing game and primarily get the ball into advanced areas of the pitch as quickly as possible. Cross From Cross From Deep asks players – most typically full-backs, although not exclusively – to set up crossing opportunities from deeper areas on the pitch rather than waiting until the ball is in the attacking third. Cross From Byline asks players to get the ball as high up the pitch as possible in wider areas before attempting to cross into the goalmouth and penalty area. Crossing Frequency Cross More Often encourages regular delivery into the penalty area from wide positions. Cross Less Often asks players to retain possession longer rather than attempt to cross. Aim Crosses At Aim Crosses at Near Post asks players to deliver their crosses into the near post area. Aim Crosses at Centre asks players to deliver crosses into the middle of the penalty area. Aim Crosses at Far Post asks players to deliver their crosses towards the far post. Aim Crosses at Target Forward asks players to deliver their crosses in the general direction of a designated target forward. Passing Risks Take More Risks encourages players to increase the number of low-percentage through balls in the hope that one or two of them will unlock the opposition defence in a potentially decisive manner. It does not ask the player to try riskier passes than they would normally consider, though as a natural by-product of attempting more low-percentage passes, this might occur. Take Fewer Risks asks players to play fewer through balls and only attempt them when the opening is much clearer. Opposition Instructions This screen allows you to configure default opposition instructions to apply to any position on the pitch. These are applied ahead of every match, but you can tweak them before kick-off depending on the team selection and shape of each specific opponent. Alternatively, they can be delegated to the Assistant Manager. Tight Marking, Trigger Press and Tackling all act the same way as described above but while focusing on one specific player outside of the Team Instructions as a whole; Show onto Foot asks the team to ensure that an opponent isn’t allowed to use a particular foot and is instead forced into situations where they perhaps have to use a less favoured option. The success of these instructions is determined by the relative ability of the player tasked with the instruction compared to a direct opponent, the tactical balance of incorporating it into the instructions given to the player and the team, and the overall head-to-head tactical battle between the two teams. Set Pieces Selecting the ‘Set Pieces’ sub-tab allows you to set up your dead ball instructions, and in Football Manager™ Console 2024, it is greatly expanded in terms of options and fidelity. You can now create your own routines with much greater granularity in order to really make them your own, as well as exerting greater control on the defensive line for the defensive set piece routines alongside the ability to see all the relevant set piece profiles for each player in one place. Good set pieces can often be the difference between winning or losing. Taking advantage of the numerous dead-ball situations that occur in matches can work massively to your benefit. Primarily you need to identify your best corner, throw-in, and free kick takers. Each of these have their own attributes, so initially look for as high an attribute as you can in each of these specific areas. If your squad isn’t blessed with any particularly capable players, consider bringing one in. Once you’ve identified potential takers, you can start narrowing the selections down. A good free kick taker also needs good Crossing if the attempts are not direct at goal, since the free kick most likely needs to be put into a dangerous offensive area. Throw-in takers should have a good Long Throws rating to make full use of the situation, but they also need to have decent ratings in Strength and Balance to get a good throw away. When selecting Penalty takers, much of the above applies. Your regular penalty taker should have a high Penalty Taking attribute in addition to good Finishing and Composure, although these carry less weight in the overall decision-making process. Penalty Taking as a standalone attribute is what you need to really concern yourself with. It may be that you’re forced to use players who aren’t natural penalty takers when it comes to shootouts, so look at the next most important characteristics; mentally strong, capable players who strike a ball well and make a good decision. Multiple players may be selected for set piece duties in the same way as described in the Captaincy section below. Select on the desired player’s table row; drag then drop into the appropriate set piece menu. The ranking is hierarchical and follows the order if the top player is not on the pitch at the time. Saving and Exporting Routines You can now save, export and re-use set piece routines for free kicks, corners and throw-ins. From the ‘Routine’ view menu to the top right of the pitch display area on the Set Pieces tab, you can ‘Create New Routine’ and, once you’re happy with your configuration, revisit the same menu to ‘Save Routine’. The ‘Load Routine’ option then gives you the facility to import previously saved routines, while there are also options to save and load in bulk, remove routines, or reset a particular routine to the default options. You can have a maximum of three routines for each side (left and right) and each scenario (defend and attack), leaving you with a potential total of twelve routines for each set piece type. If you have more than one routine, your players rotate between them throughout the match, as circumstances dictate. Match Plans and Instant Result Where applicable and where set, your Match Plans are carried out by your Assistant Manager depending on any given match scenario. These plans can be tailored to your own personal tastes and triggered whenever you see fit (including a host of scenario-based possibilities), allowing you a dynamic range of criteria to implement when a particular circumstance occurs. The ‘Create New’ button takes you step-by-step through creating your Match Plans. Let’s run through one example to familiarise you with the concept: Step 1: Introduction Step 2: Choose a Template – choose when this Match Plan should come into effect. A range of scenarios are available for you to pick from. Step 3: Choose a Defensive Approach – decide how defensive you want the team to be when this Plan is in effect. Step 4: Choose an Attacking Approach – decide how attacking you want the team to be when this Plan is in effect. Step 5: Save Match Plan Step 6: Choose Starting Tactics – choose your starting tactic for when this Match Plan is in use. This tactic will be the foundation upon which other changes are made. Step 7: Choose a Mentality – similarly, your starting mentality will then be adjusted based on your Match Plan. Step 8: Auto-Select Team – decide whether or not your Assistant Manager picks the team for any match where this Match Plan is in force. Step 9: Substitutions – decide when, if at all, you want performance-based substitutions to be made. Once you’ve set this up, you can further tweak things based on specific scenarios. For example: Select ‘Add Scenario’. Select a Match Strategy; for this example, we’ll use ‘Winning by 1+ goal’. Select the time period you want the plan to apply to. Let’s choose ‘in 75-85 mins’. We’re now in a position to ask the Match Plan to be activated when leading by at least one goal in the last twenty minutes of a match. At this stage, you now get to choose what Tactic and Mentality is deployed in these circumstances, as you seek to preserve the advantage late in a match, or perhaps kill the game by adding to the lead. Touchline Instructions may be added to complement the above. They issue new Team Instructions, as if you were making the changes in the full Tactics screen. The powerful scope at your disposal theoretically allows you to set up several plans to be automatically used throughout a match, as you can cover almost every conceivable situation. Plans can be overridden by your changes from the touchline, and the combination of the two should leave you well-positioned for anything and everything that can possibly happen over the course of ninety minutes. Should you wish to skip over the match and instead generate a result, you can use the Instant Result button. When doing so, you are presented with a set of Match Plans for your Assistant Manager to bring into play depending on any given match scenario. Captains At the start of every season, you will receive an item in your Inbox asking you to confirm a captain and a vice-captain for the coming season. Once selected, they appear at the top of the ‘Captains’ panel in different colours to the rest of your squad. Note that should you change your captain during the season, the previously deposed captain, friends and the media will want to know why, so make sure you’ve got a good reason for doing so. If you do wish to change your captain, select the newly desired player from the drop-down list. If you wish to add players in a hierarchical order of which they should take the captain’s armband, select their table row and drag and drop them into the list. The same method applies for re-ranking them, but you can do this from within the right-hand side panel. When considering your captain, one of the primary things to look for is a high Leadership attribute. Anyone with 17 or above here should immediately be considered as a candidate, but there’s more to look at than just that. Your captain should be mentally strong enough to be a capable leader of their teammates. On a player’s ‘Personal Information’ screen each player has a Personality trait. A ‘Born Leader’ is an ideal candidate for the captaincy. ‘Determined’ and ‘Model Professional’ are also desirable. Also consider the player’s age and experience –he’ll ideally have been at the team for a few years and been in football long enough to understand what it is to captain a team – and their place within the Team Hierarchy. A Team Leader or Leading Player is likely to serve as a better captain as they have already ascended into a leadership role within the changing room and, by and large, carry the respect of many of their teammates. A good captain improves the ability of every player in the team, with the potential for them to exceed their ability on occasion. A poor captain results in those same players not playing to their full capacity. Your choice matters.

Overview The Staff Overview screen displays the senior staff in charge of running each department of your backroom team, and provides quick-access links to customise the remit of their day-to-day activities. Staff Attributes The following details describe how the ratings model for non-players works in Football Manager™ Console 2024. All attributes work on the 1-20 scale, where 20 is the very best while 1 is the lowest possible value, in the same way as Player Attributes do. Coaching Attributes Attacking This reflects their competency and interest in coaching attacking football. This is used to determine how likely a coach is to adopt a suitable attacking approach from game to game, how likely certain Player Traits are to be successful under their coaching, and a general attacking bias towards training, backroom advice and player evaluations. Defending This reflects their competency and interest in coaching defensive football. Higher ratings indicate an interest and a proficiency in working well on the defensive side of the game. If the non-player in question has a higher Defending rating than Attacking, their bias when undertaking match preparation will be skewed towards the defensive side of the game, for example. Fitness This reflects a coach’s ability to work on the fitness side of the game, and to recognise potential issues before they arise during matches. Goalkeeper Distribution This reflects an ability to competently coach a goalkeeper in the quality and effectiveness of their distribution. A goalkeeper’s technical attributes – Kicking and Throwing in particular – govern the success of their delivery. This attribute primarily deals with identifying the right player to distribute to, and developing the method of delivery. Goalkeeper Handling This reflects their ability to coach a goalkeeper’s Handling attribute as well as impacting upon their Aerial Reach, Command of Area and Communication. Goalkeeper Shot Stopping This reflects their ability to coach a goalkeeper’s ability to stop all types of shots. A better coach will see improvements in a goalkeeper’s Reflexes and One on Ones in particular. Mental The ability of the individual to provide the right help (particularly in backroom advice) when working closely with players. It also determines their skill at coaching mental attributes. Set Pieces The ability of the individual to coach effective set piece situations in all phases of play. Tactical This reflects how tactically astute they are. More tactically astute coaches are not only able to coach the tactical side of the game more effectively but any advice they offer is likely to be more accurate and informative. Technical This reflects the ability of the coach to teach the technical side of the game, i.e. their work with the ball. It plays a part in the recommendations given concerning the individual attribute focus for player training, as well as the intensity of the training sessions they run. Working with Youngsters This reflects how successful a coach is at working with younger players – those aged 19 and under in particular. A non-player with a high rating here will improve the players they work with if given a youth team training assignment, while the quality of an annual youth intake is affected by the rating of the person responsible for bringing them through. It is also used to determine an individual’s interest in young footballers overall, such as the Chairperson when asking the Board for improved youth facilities. Mental Attributes Adaptability Adaptability refers to how well the non-player adapts to living in a country that is not their own. It affects their interest in moving to another country and their ability to learn a new language. Determination The mental desire of the coach to succeed. This isn’t a coaching attribute in terms of coaching a player’s mental approach – this is the coach as an individual and their own innate drive to better themselves and the players they work with. Level of Discipline This reflects the level of discipline the coach is likely to take in their approach. A higher attribute means that the coach takes a harder line in their approach and keeps things strict (which in turn discourages players from raising complaints in private chats and other similar aspects of managing players). A lower attribute means the coach is a little more relaxed but also easier for players to exert a little more power and influence over. People Management How well the member of staff can deal with those around them, and particularly below them. This is a mental aspect; a high attribute indicates a coach who can organise and keeping people happy, with special regard to interaction, morale, coach reports and backroom advice, as well as scheduling appropriate rest periods during training. Motivating The mental ability of a coach to motivate their players. This has an impact in player interactions, team meetings, team talks and training. Medical Attributes Physiotherapy This attribute is predominantly for use with Physiotherapists. In general, a high attribute here indicates a more accomplished Physiotherapist, but the rating is also used for fitness tests, player transfer medicals, and assessing injury proneness. Sports Science This attribute is also predominantly used by members of the medical team and governs the competency of the individual to accurately manage every player’s fitness level and injury risk in such a way that they are able to keep them in condition to play regular football. Knowledge Attributes Judging Player Ability and Potential When employing a scout, these two attributes are the first things you should look at, but it remains valuable for all non-players, particularly coaches too. High attribute ratings in these two areas will most likely result in more accurate scouting reports and player evaluations. Judging Ability is important if you have assigned a scout to watch players you intend to bring in, are scouting upcoming opponents, or ask a coach to provide reports or advice on players in your squad. Judging Potential does much the same, but concerning the player’s long-term outlook, rather than the current situation. Negotiating This attribute simply comments on how successfully they negotiate transfer and contract deals. A higher rating represents strong dealings; a lower one less so. How does each attribute impact a player’s performance or development? A high attribute typically delivers success more often, and more consistently, than a lower one. That means a scout with 20 for Judging Player Ability and Judging Player Potential submits top quality reports on players that can be relied upon wholly; it means a coach with 20 for Tactical Knowledge provides the best tactical advice, and it means a Physiotherapist with 20 for Physiotherapy is proactive and responsive in their treatment of injuries. That much should be relatively clear from the outset, but what about staff who score, say, 10 in these areas? How does that affect the players? In short, they become less reliable, but with that comes a few caveats. For example, if you have a Physiotherapist with 10 for Physiotherapy but the league average for staff employed in that role is 7, you have a significant advantage. The advice and treatment dispensed might not be the best it can be, but it could be the best it can be for your club, for your level and at this current time. Numbers are relative to the standard you’re playing at. A top-quality coach working with players below the coach’s ability is worth their weight in gold. The effect they can have on your squad is more tangible and obvious than someone working at the level suitable for their ability. You’ll be able to see it in the development of your own players as well as in the insight you’ll have into other teams and players if it’s a quality scout. Conversely, if you have a sub-par member of staff working at a level they’re not qualified for, and is below the average for your club, for your level and at this current time, then you’ll be somewhat handicapped by their work until you’re able to upgrade that job.

Overview and Status Flags It’s a simple fact that to be successful, you need the right players. That’s not to say you need the best players, but identifying the necessary players to suit your plans is of paramount importance. Whenever a person – player or non-player – appears in a list, they have a small circle with a silhouette or a profile photo. This is the ‘Information’ pop-up. Selecting it (or hovering over it, depending on your Preferences selection) displays a small box with their most useful biographical information and their attributes. You can also select the player’s name to access the ‘Actions’ menu, allowing you to interact with the individual without having to access their full player profile. A player may also have one or many status flags attached to them on the Squad screen. Hold the cursor over (or long-press on Tablet) to enable them to cascade into full view. Bring up the tooltip for more information on what each of them means; further detail is available from the Overview screen for each player as well. Playing Time Playing time is at the heart of a player’s happiness. Give it to them and they’re satisfied; take it away from them and problems will almost certainly arise. For Football Manager™ Console 2024, Playing Time replaces Squad Status to provide a clearer and more descriptive understanding of how a player fits into a squad. It allows for better rotation of players between matches, keeping players happier for longer, while drawing closer parallels to expected behaviour on a contract-to-contract basis as players move through their careers. The tiers of Playing Time are as follows: Star Player: The main player at the club. There can be more than one Star Player but, as a rule of thumb, this is the top dog and they expect the playing time and salary that comes with it. Important Player: The first names on the team sheet and, in teams where a Star Player isn’t found, the most important members of the squad. Regular Starter: Someone you can expect to feature in most matches in the starting eleven but who doesn’t quite command the star power of the more illustrious players. Squad Player: A genuine rotation option who can be brought into the team throughout the season and keep pace with the more important players. Fringe Player: Someone who gets the occasional opportunity to play in the first team, and earn more minutes if they impress enough, but largely accepts their place at the bottom end of the squad. B Team Regular: Exclusively for use at clubs with a B Team, this is a player aged 24 or older who is a B Team stalwart with no aspirations to play for the top club. Hot Prospect: A highly talented young with a first-team future. Youngster: A good young player with varying degrees of chance of eventually playing for the first team. Surplus to Requirements: A player who is no longer needed at the club. There are also some goalkeeper-specific options: First Choice Goalkeeper: Almost self-explanatory, this goalkeeper is the clear first choice in their position. A goalkeeper can be a Star Player where suitable but most of the time they fall into this category. Backup: The regular deputy goalkeeper in all competitions. Cup Goalkeeper: The nominated goalkeeper for all cup competitions; someone different from the First-Choice goalkeeper. How you distribute these Playing Time options around your squad, and act upon them over the course of the season, goes a long way towards determining your overall success. Positions A complete breakdown of a player’s positional ability is found on the Positional Abilities panel of a player’s Information screen. The graphical pitch displayed in this panel indicates the positions the individual can play and each is colour-coded to represent a level competence in that position. Six levels of competence in a position are considered in addition to the player’s ‘Natural’ position: Accomplished – The player isn’t naturally at their best in this position but will perform in an accomplished and successful manner more often than not. Competent – The player has enough experience and ability to put in convincing performances here on a regular basis. Unconvincing – The player is playing out of position but will be able to do a decent job for a short period. Awkward – The player isn’t likely to be particularly successful playing in this position. They may fill in for emergencies but will be struggling. Ineffectual – The player cannot play in this position. You are free to play them there, but they will not perform well. Makeshift – The player is not remotely suitable for this position and will likely be a liability there. Naturally, there might be occasions where you simply have to put someone there, but it should only be as a last resort. The panel also displays the competence of a player with both feet at the bottom of the pitch display. It also displays the number of games they have played in various positions throughout the current season. For example, a versatile player who is predominantly a Defensive Midfielder but can play at Defender (Right) may have 30 appearances in their primary position but 15 as a Defender (Right). This allows you to see potential reasons for a player’s good or bad performances and indeed their ability to play in various roles. A player’s main position and their best role are printed in full in the title bar (presuming you have the Preferences set accordingly). Any particular traits the player favours are listed on this screen and can be altered or added to through the player’s Individual training screen. Does it matter if I use a player out of position? Yes and no. In an ideal world, you’d have a player Accomplished or better in each position. They’ll be more comfortable, they’ll perform to a higher and a more consistent standard, and will be less likely to be targeted as a weakness by the opposition. This isn’t to say that you can’t play someone out of position though, either on a regular basis or in times of need. For the latter, you can often plug someone in to ‘do a job’ and they’ll typically perform well enough to get by, particularly if the rest of the team is strong and the tactical structure helps to support them. Playing someone out of position longer-term, on the other hand, can work if the player’s attributes lend themselves well to the position and role assigned to them, and they’ll gradually learn and improve in that position the more they play there. This ties into the overall concept of footballing ‘universality’: the idea that any player can play in any position as long as they’re well-trained and has a certain number of fundamental attributes in place. This is much harder to commit to and make work in practice than it is in theory, but the concept of a player being used in an unfamiliar or entirely different position isn’t a new one, and it isn’t something you should necessarily shy away from if you feel it can work within the framework of your tactics. What is the tangible difference between each level of positional ability and how does that manifest itself in the match engine? Essentially, the position rating system works the same as most attributes. It operates on a 1-20 scale: the higher the number, the more competent the player in their execution of their duties. Natural: 18-20 Accomplished: 13-17 Competent: 10-12 Unconvincing: 6-9 Awkward: 5-8 Makeshift: 1-4 The player’s comfort in a position acts as a direct modifier to their ability in that position. A player with 20 for any position is able to play there without any adverse impact. The lower the rating for a position, the more the player will struggle – particularly with their Positioning and Decisions – but their versatility can help them adapt if they have a high rating for that attribute. An Introduction to Attributes It is vital to understand the importance of player attributes in Football Manager™ Touch and how they affect various parts of the game and the match engine. Attributes are divided into three main areas – Physical, Mental, and Technical – with Goalkeepers having their own Technical ratings. The attributes, how they react in certain situations, in combination with others as well as on a stand-alone basis, are detailed below, but it’s important first of all to outline how attributes work. Each player is rated on a scale of 1-20, 1 being absolutely terrible, and 20 being elite. Some attributes are defined as ‘Absolute’, and some as ‘Relative’. Absolute attributes are those that are locked to an individual and can’t be trained quite as easily, such as Determination and Work Rate. These are generally innate attributes specific to individuals and typically only develop as the player matures off the field. Relative attributes are those that can be compared to other players in the football world and can be improved through training and player development. Physical and Technical skill sets are the main areas in which you’ll find relative attributes. For players that aren’t at your club and who haven’t been comprehensively scouted, attributes appear as a range to indicate a rough idea of their ability in that area. Continued scouting reduces the range until the attribute is clearly identified. How are attributes and player ability linked? The distribution of attributes across a player’s profile effectively determines their Current Ability. A player with 20 in all positive areas would be as close to the maximum ability score as possible; it wouldn’t be 100% certain because the number of positions they can play, as well as their competence with either foot, can affect the final number. Some attributes have a higher ‘weighting’ towards a player’s overall ability as they are fundamentally important to succeeding in any position. Most Physical attributes, as well as Anticipation, Decisions, and Positioning are the most heavily rated for any position, while each position carries appropriate weightings for attributes crucial to performing to a high standard in that area of the pitch. The ‘Highlight Key Attributes’ button on a player’s profile offers an insight into what each of these attributes are per position. How does a one-number difference in an attribute make a difference in the match engine? The easiest way to answer this question is to state that it produces a more consistent and high-quality outcome with every increase up the attribute scale. A pass is more likely to find its target, a shot is more likely to be on target, a tackle more often wins the ball, etc. The combination and distribution of attributes, combined with the player’s position, also directly correlate with their ability as described above. Players with higher attributes, typically, also have a higher ability. It applies to attributes several numbers apart as well as a single digit in difference, 11 to 12 for example. The differences are more easily noticeable when the difference is increased, but there are subtler tells when it’s reduced. Consider two identical players, but with their Decisions attributes a single digit apart. The player with the higher rating is more likely to make a better choice with every decision they make. It’s a very basic example that doesn’t include the nuance of how game situations and other attributes affect it, but that isolated marginal gain is important over the course of ninety minutes. It could be the difference between a pass that successfully unlocks a defence that another player might not have chosen. The small margins, the slight advantages, add up to a much bigger advantage when applied across the entire team, and that’s how the attribute model works. How do attributes combine with each other and with external factors on a game-by-game basis? Every player has almost 40 visible playing attributes. They often work in conjunction with each other, either with another single attribute, or in combination with many. It would be impossible to list every single possible combination, but it’s more important to understand the environment the players operate in, and how the decision-making process works. Take one small example. A winger who has a high attribute value for crossing, on average, delivers consistently dangerous crosses into attacking positions in perfect circumstances, i.e. with the ball fully under control and without significant pressure around them. But what happens if you then start to add in other factors? Introduce a defender closing them down, introduce a defender in the penalty area waiting to clear it, introduce a poor playing surface due to unfavourable weather. Everything changes. If that player has high attributes in other areas, like pace and acceleration, dribbling and technique, for example, they have more ways to succeed. Players make thousands of mental calculations in every match based around the best option available to them at any given moment, and those are based off their attributes and their all-round competency. They aren’t always right in their decision (the specific Decisions attribute itself plays a big role here), nor is the right decision always the successful one. It’s easiest to think of attribute combinations ‘creating’ templates of players: athletic players, intelligent players, creative players, leaders etc. Much of this can be deciphered by using the role selector on the player’s profile, which highlight the appropriate attributes for that role. This is not necessarily an exhaustive list, but at the same time, it should be simple to understand which attributes do not work well together, or at all, by a combination of common sense and a process of elimination. Strength, for example, has nothing to do with Crossing. Positioning, as a purely defensive attribute, does not work with Finishing. Vision and Tackling are not associated as Vision refers to the opportunities a player can see opening up when in possession. All of these attributes are explained in more detail in the following section: Technical Attributes Corners How well the player takes a corner kick. Crossing How well the player can cross the ball, predominantly but not exclusively from wide areas, into goalscoring positions. Dribbling How well the player can run with the ball and manipulate it under close control. This is purely their proficiency at moving with the ball at their feet: Pace, Acceleration, Agility, and Balance all aid dribbling in different circumstances. A player with higher ratings here is also able to move in more directions more fluidly with the ball than someone with a lower rating. Finishing How well the player can put the ball in the back of the net when presented with a chance. A high Finishing attribute puts the shot on target a majority of the time as a bare minimum and, compared to a player with poorer Finishing, finds the places where the goalkeeper can’t save it. This is purely the ability of the player to perform an accurate shot – Composure and Decisions also influence a player’s ability to score consistently. First Touch How good a player’s first touch is when receiving the ball. A higher rating ensures that the player can control the ball quicker and put it in a useful position to then act upon. Players with lower ratings here struggle to control the ball as adeptly and may be prone to losing the ball if closed down quickly. Free Kick Taking How good at taking free kicks the player is. It applies to both direct shots at goal (alongside Long Shots) and indirect free kicks (passes to teammates). The latter are governed by additional technical attributes like Crossing; for deep free kicks, it’s Passing. Heading How competent a player is in aerial situations. Heading applies to all situations with the ball in the air and is only about the player’s ability to use their head well. Jumping Reach, Height, and to a lesser extent Strength all play a part in combination with heading to utilise the attribute to greater effect. Long Shots How good the player is at shooting from distance, i.e. from outside the penalty area. It is largely a stand-alone attribute but pay attention to any traits the player may have that complement their Long Shots rating. Long Throws How well the player to perform a long throw, which can be taken advantage of in attacking situations, or to help move the ball forward from defensive areas. Marking How well players, mainly but not exclusively defensive types, defend an opponent. Marking alone sees them do a good job of identifying, tracking, reacting to and denying opponents if the attribute is high, but remember that other attributes – Strength, Positioning, Anticipation – plays a part in the effectiveness of the marking, as well as the comparable physical statures of the two players. Passing How good the player is at passing the ball to a teammate. Vision dictates whether or not they see different types of passing opportunity. Technique affects the quality of their execution (for example, whether the pass lands perfectly for a player to collect in stride). Passing itself, in isolation, determines how successful the player is at producing consistent success over different types of passing opportunities. Penalty Taking How well the player does from the penalty spot. Composure is also factored into whether a player is successful with the penalty, but the Penalty Taking attribute itself governs whether or not a penalty is likely to be scored or missed. Tackling How successful the player is at winning tackles and not conceding fouls from such situations. Players with a high Tackling rating consistently win the ball cleanly and are more capable defensive players. Technique A player with high Technique is more likely to pull off a tricky pass or a cross-field ball with greater ease than someone less technically able, or to use their preferred foot in situations where their weaker one would appear to be easier. This in turn affects technical attributes – poorer Technique will let a player down. Mental Attributes Aggression A player’s attitude in terms of playing mentality but is not necessarily a ‘dirtiness’ indicator. A more aggressive player looks to involve himself in every incident, press more often, tackle harder, foul more often, and engage in the ‘darker arts’ of football such as dissent towards officials and foul play. Anticipation How well a player can predict and react to an event. If a player has a high attribute here, they can read the game well and react to situations more quickly than others. It also has a significant effect on a player’s awareness and whether they identify space for themselves to play in, as well as whether they react to signs of danger created by the opponent. Bravery How brave a player is. Braver players risk injury more in situations a more cautious player may shy away from. They compete more often in the air, contest more 50/50 or low-percentage challenges, both on the ground and in the air, and look to put their body on the line with blocks and last-ditch challenges. Composure The player’s steadiness of mind and ability, particularly with the ball. When faced with a big goalscoring chance, or heavy pressure defensively, a player with high Composure is able to keep their head and more often than not get the opportunity to make a good decision that is beneficial to the team. In general play, they appear to have more time on the ball, make smarter and more successful decisions with it, and are generally more aware of their surroundings in all phases of play. Concentration How well the player can focus mentally and pay attention to detail on an event-by-event basis. A high rating here means that the player is more consistent on a move-by-move basis during a match. They also react better under pressure, position themselves correctly in all phases of play, and make better judgment calls in tight situations, while players with lower concentration struggle more in these areas. Decisions How often the player makes a correct choice the majority of the time. This attribute is important in every position and works with Composure to decide how likely a player is to feel under pressure at any given moment, and to make the best choice accordingly. Determination A commitment to succeed both on and off the pitch. A determined player gives everything in order to win. This ties in with Bravery – players with a high number in one of these attributes may also be high in the other as the traits necessary are similar. Flair A natural talent for the creative and occasional unpredictability. Flair governs whether a player is likely to choose to dribble, to take on long-range shooting opportunities or spectacular overhead kick efforts, or generally to take risks with the ball. Leadership The player’s ability to affect other players. Players with high Leadership are influential on the pitch and teammates perform better when playing with them. Off the Ball A player’s movement without the ball. Similar to Anticipation, this is how well players, particularly attacking ones, can assess a situation and then move off the ball, making themselves available to perform another action after making a pass themselves, or to move into a position to receive the ball from a teammate. Positioning How well the player reads a situation and manoeuvres themselves into the best possible location to deal with the unfolding events in defensive situations. It is not used in attacking situations; rather, it is used to determine how well a player identifies who to mark, when and how and where to mark them, and whether or not they’re in the best position within their current tactical setup. Teamwork How well the player follows tactical instructions and works for and alongside their teammates. A team full of players with a high rating here works better as a unit. Players with lower ratings slack off and do not ‘buy in’ to the team ethos, becoming more individual, and not providing adequate support for their teammates. It is also used to help decide whether or not a player opts to use one of their Player Traits ahead of a tactical instruction. Vision The player’s ability to see a potential opportunity, but not necessarily their ability to exploit it. A player might be able to see something to take advantage of, but they also require the technical proficiency to pull it off; this attribute governs how likely they are to visualise something developing or, in the case of a higher rating here, spot something that another player might not. Work Rate The player’s mental drive to work to their full capacities. A high rating ensures a player wants to work their socks off from start to finish, but needs the necessary physical attributes to actually be able to pull it off. It does not merely represent a willingness to run – something that would be inappropriate in many positions – but rather the urgency with which a player gets to where they’re supposed to be in all situations. Physical Attributes Acceleration How quickly a player can reach top speed (pace) from a standing start. It therefore ties in very closely with the Pace attribute. Agility How well a player can start, stop, and move in different directions at varying levels of speed (pace). It ties in with the Pace, Acceleration and Balance attributes as they work together in the match engine, especially when a player is Dribbling. Balance How well a player can keep their balance in situations both with and without the ball. With the ball, it refers to how balanced they are when running and evading opponents; without it, it refers to balance when facing a player running at them, or stability when turning/jumping. Jumping Reach How good a player is at reaching the ball in the air. It indicates the highest point an outfield player can reach with their head. It is not necessarily reflective of how tall a player is, but when considering jumping ability, it makes sense to consider the player’s height. For example, a player of 200+cm still possesses a high reach even if a poor jumper, and a player who measures in at 170cm struggles to compete at the same height due to the 30cm difference in height between the two. Natural Fitness How fit a player will stay fit when injured or not training. This helps to determine how quickly players recover from injury, how well they retain their physical attributes as they go past their peak, and how fast they recover between matches. Pace The player’s top speed. Whereas Acceleration reflects how quickly a player can attain their top speed, Pace is that top speed and, together with Stamina and Natural Fitness, controls how long they are able to maintain it, both in short bursts and over the course of a match. A player is naturally a shade quicker without the ball than with it. Stamina The player’s ability to endure high-level physical activity for a long period of time. With the demands placed on a player over a full season, players with high attribute ratings for Stamina are able to perform at their top levels for longer. A player with less Stamina not only tires more quickly, but the quality of execution in all phases of play decreases the more tired they become. It also ties in directly with Natural Fitness. Strength The player’s ability to exert their physical force on an opponent to gain an advantage. Goalkeeping Attributes Aerial Reach The goalkeeper’s physical ability in aerial situations. Taller goalkeepers typically have a higher rating here as they are naturally pre-disposed to being able to reach areas shorter goalkeepers cannot, but there are exceptions. This attribute works in connection with several other goalkeeping attributes in order to determine proficiency in dealing with the numerous aerial situations they encounter during a match. Command of Area How well the goalkeeper takes charge of the penalty area and works with their defensive line. A goalkeeper who commands the entire box (i.e. has a high rating) is instinctive and looks to take charge of situations, especially coming for crosses (therefore working in tandem with Aerial Reach) or coming out for interceptions. Do note, however, that a high rating only determines whether or not they try, not that they succeed. Communication How well a goalkeeper communicates with the defensive line and organises the defensive side of the team. A higher rating is reflected in a defender’s comfort in possession near their own goal and whether or not they correctly leave the ball for the goalkeeper rather than trying to play it themselves. Eccentricity The likelihood of the goalkeeper doing the unexpected and typically acting completely unlike a goalkeeper – things like dribbling out of their area, coming for the ball outside of the area, and generally being more involved in outfield play when losing will be commonplace if the Eccentricity attribute is high. Handling How securely the goalkeeper holds onto the ball when making a save or coming for a loose ball. Better Handling is beneficial in unfavourable weather conditions, but in general a goalkeeper who doesn’t give up rebounds is useful. Kicking The capability of a goalkeeper to kick the ball – this defines the distance and accuracy with which they can kick from hand or from dead-ball restarts. Passing governs the goalkeeper’s ability to move the ball in open play. One on Ones The ability of the goalkeeper to do well when faced with an opponent in a one-on-one situation. Higher attributes see goalkeepers make better judgments of the opponent’s speed and likely decision and result in them being more likely to make a successful decision. Reflexes How good the goalkeeper is at reacting to unpredictable events. If they have a high Reflexes rating, they have a quicker reaction time to make more difficult saves. Rushing Out (Tendency) How frequently the goalkeeper comes off the line to react to through balls and to narrow the angle for various shooting opportunities. Goalkeepers also benefit from having high Pace and Acceleration attributes in combination with Rushing Out. Punching (Tendency) This determines whether a goalkeeper catches the ball when possible, or whether they prefer to punch it clear. A higher rating reflects a tendency to punch most things clear, even when it may be possible to hold onto the ball. Throwing How likely a goalkeeper is to start moves, often counter-attacks, with quick throws from the ball in their hands. Some technical attributes, like First Touch and Passing, are also applicable to goalkeepers. Attribute Changes The player overview screen shows you when an attribute has either increased or decreased. The Attribute Changes screen then takes this to another level, allowing you to comprehensively track the short and long-term development of every single attribute. Select the desired attribute(s) and the timespan you want to review, and those changes are displayed in both a line graph at the top of the screen, and with exact numerical differences placed next to the attribute name below. A summary of the overall Technical, Mental and Physical trends completes the screen at the bottom. Player Traits Every attribute plays a part in whether a Player Trait can be learned and, once it is learned, whether it is successfully used. The full list of traits and a very brief explanation of what they do are below: Runs With Ball Down Left Increases the frequency with which a player decides to run with the ball down the left. Runs With Ball Down Right Increases the frequency with which a player decides to run with the ball down the right. Runs With Ball Through Centre Increases the frequency with which a player decides to run with the ball in central areas. Gets Into Opposition Area Mostly governs how often a player makes forward runs but can be overridden by Player Instructions. Moves Into Channels Increases the frequency with which central players move into the space between their position and a wide attacking position; also allows wide players in certain roles to move inside into that space. Gets Forward Whenever Possible Increases the frequency with which a player makes forward runs, adjusting for team mentality. Plays Short Simple Passes Reduces the directness of a player’s passing. Tries Killer Balls Often Increases the frequency with which a player attempts through balls. Shoots From Distance Increases the likelihood of a player attempting long-range shots, particularly where the Flair attribute is greater than the Decisions attribute. Shoots With Power Increases the chances of a player opting to shoot with power over placement. Places Shots Increases the chances of a player opting to place shots with accuracy rather than power them. Curls Ball Improves the player’s ability to curl the ball above and beyond their ability as already determined by their attributes. Likes To Round Keeper Increases the likelihood of a player looking to go around the goalkeeper in one-on-one situations. Makes Runs In Behind Increases the frequency with which a player looks to make runs in behind. The success is determined by their overall attribute profile. Marks Opponent Tightly Ensures that a player is set to tight marking by AI teams; improves the chances of them being successful at it if set in any team, but the overall success is still controlled by their attributes. Argues With Officials Increases the chances of a player showing dissent to match officials. Plays With Back To Goal The player looks to hold up the ball in attacking areas. Comes Deep To Get Ball Increases the frequency of a forward player dropping into midfield to get possession against a team playing with a deep defensive line. Plays One-Twos Increases the frequency with which a player makes a pass and immediately wants to receive the ball again, having moved into an advantageous position. Likes To Lob Keeper Increases the likelihood of a player looking to loft the ball over the goalkeeper when presented with a chance at goal. Dictates Tempo Increases the chances of the player taking charge of midfield situations and using their attributes to influence the team’s performance. Attempts Overhead Kicks Increases the chances of a player attempting a spectacular overhead kick rather than a header at goal or a pass to a teammate when in an attacking situation. Looks For Pass Rather Than Attempting To Score Increases the chances of a player opting to give a scoring chance to a teammate rather than take it on themself. The success of the decision is based on the player’s attributes. Plays No Through Balls Decreases the frequency of a player looking to play through balls, adjusted for team mentality. Stops Play Increases the chances of a player simply coming to a stop in possession, primarily to assess their options. Knocks Ball Past Opponent Increases the chances of a player looking to beat the immediate opponent for sheer pace and athleticism and get into a more advantageous position. Dwells On Ball The player takes longer to make a decision when in possession. Arrives Late In Opponents’ Area Increases the frequency with which a player makes forward runs, adjusting for team mentality. Tries To Play Way Out Of Trouble Increases the chances of a player looking to pass or dribble when under pressure in a defensive position, rather than opting for the safety-first approach of clearing the ball. Stays Back At All Times The player does not make forward runs, adjusted for team mentality. Avoids Using Weaker Foot The player always looks to use their preferred foot where possible, even if the situation would benefit from them using their weaker foot. Tries Long Range Free Kicks Increases the chances of a player taking a direct shot from a free kick 35 metres or more from goal. Dives Into Tackles Increases the frequency with which a player engages in a tackle. It does not simply mean the player ‘goes to ground’ when challenging for the ball. Does Not Dive Into Tackles Decreases the frequency with which a player engages in a tackle. It does not simply mean the player stays on their feet when challenging for the ball. Cuts Inside From Both Wings Increases the frequency with which a player looks to attack central areas from a nominal wider starting position. Hugs Line Ensures the player remains in wide areas of the pitch whenever possible. Hits Free Kicks With Power Increases the chances of a free kick being struck with a lower, harder trajectory. Likes To Switch Ball To Other Flank Increases the frequency of a player looking to move the ball from one half of the pitch to the other. Possesses Long Flat Throw Allows the player to deliver a long throw with a low and flat trajectory, akin to a cross, in attacking areas only. Runs With Ball Often Increases the chances of a player choosing to run with the ball rather than pass it. Runs With Ball Rarely Decreases the chances of a player choosing to run with the ball, instead looking to make a pass at every turn. Uses Long Throw To Start Counter Attacks Goalkeepers only; increases the chances of them looking to make a quick throw to launch a counter attack. Refrains From Taking Long Shots The player does not attempt shots at goal from outside the penalty area. Does not Move Into Channels The player does not move from central areas into space between them and the wide positions; wide players similarly do not look to come inside to operate in that same space. Cuts Inside From Left Wing Increases the chances of a player looking to move inside from the left wing and attack in central areas. Cuts Inside From Right Wing Increases the chances of a player looking to move inside from the right wing and attack in central areas. Crosses Early Increases the chances of a player crossing from a deeper position rather than seeking to find a better opportunity higher up the pitch. Brings Ball Out of Defence Increases the likelihood of a defender running with the ball into midfield positions. Moves Ball To Right Foot Before Dribble Attempt This increases the likelihood of a player adjusting their body shape to play on their right foot when looking to dribble. Moves Ball To Left Foot Before Dribble Attempt This increases the likelihood of a player adjusting their body shape to play on their left foot when looking to dribble. Likes Ball Played Into Feet This increases the likelihood of a player showing and asking for passes to feet rather than into space or a different part of the body. Tries Tricks This increases the chances of a player displaying more flair during matches and can result in a greater array of skills being used. Winds Up Opponents This increases the likelihood of a player trying to improve the morale of the team by attempting to impair that of an opponent in attempting to distract them from giving full focus. Likes To Beat Man Repeatedly This increases the likelihood of a player opting to dribble with the ball regardless of how many opponents are trying to dispossess them. Develops Weaker Foot This indicates the player is attempting to improve the quality of their weaker foot. Gets Crowd Going This increases the likelihood of a player seeking a positive reaction from the crowd in appropriate moments when the ball is not in play. If successful, the team’s morale is improved slightly and they may display a more positive body language. Tries First Time Shots This increases the likelihood of a player taking a shot before considering a touch to settle down, unless one on one, at which point they take the best course of action for that situation. Tries Long Range Passes This increases the chances of a player attempting to pass the ball over longer distances. Plays Ball With Feet This is goalkeeper-specific and increases the chances of a goalkeeper playing an active part in the build-up phase in possession. Medical Centre This section, which can be found from the tabs within your squad section, is dedicated to all things concerning the physical well-being of your players, from injury prevention to rehabilitation, and everything in between. It mainly provides a breakdown of players in the squad who are at risk of injury. The Head Physio details the workload and injury susceptibility of each at-risk individual and summarises how likely they are to pick up an injury in the immediate future. The risks are colour-coded, with players in the ‘red zone’ highly likely to encounter problems unless immediate preventative action is taken. Player Overview Each player also has an injury overview page accessible via their player profile from the ‘Reports’ menu, under ‘Medical Centre’. This report provides a visual overview of their current injury status, risk assessment and injury history. Development This section primarily allows you to check up on and configure individual training details for the player. These details range from their schedule through to attribute changes to new positions and player traits or affiliate loans. You can also perform various interactions such as moving players between squads and requesting player advice, as well as viewing the player’s overall tactical familiarity from the ‘Tactics’ section. This displays positional versatility as indications of how integrated they have become into your tactical approach. Familiarity grows with each player’s experience at playing with various facets of the team’s instructions, as displayed on the Tactical Familiarity Levels overlay. The more often they play under these instructions – at your club or elsewhere – the more familiar they become, and the higher the overall levels become for both the individual and the team. If the tactics or team and player instructions change dramatically on a regular basis, those familiarity levels take a hit (for example, short passing to shorter passing doesn’t impact things, but short passing to more direct passing does). The full range of familiarity, on the same theoretical 1-20 scale as player attributes (although in reality the scale between each level is considerably bigger) is as follows: Awkward: 1-5 Competent: 6-11 Accomplished: 12-18 Fluid: 19-20 How can I improve my player’s attributes and ability? A player’s development is an inexact science but there are plenty of ways you can improve your chances of helping their progress: - Improved coaching staff The better the coach, the more impactful their attributes are on improving a player. In general, the better the coaching attribute, the more effective it is on the player’s attribute development. - Improved training facilities - The standard of training facilities has an impact on determining the chances of a player’s attributes developing, how close to their potential they can get, and how likely they are to continue developing overall. Better facilities encourage a greater chance of a player realising their true potential.. It can also have the knock-on effect of helping the coaching staff develop, too. - Playing time A player with greater exposure to meaningful playing time will develop better than someone who isn’t playing quite as often. Playing first-team minutes is more valuable than playing reserve or youth team football, and a young player who stagnates from their teenage years into their 20s without starting to play regular football stands a higher chance of not being able to reach their potential. - Training A player develops most through day-to-day training; their overall development is affected by the quality of the facilities and coaches, the teammates they are training with, the appropriateness of the schedules given, whether they train with the first team or any of the club’s sub-teams, and whether they are tasked with additional individual work outside of the team’s sessions. The more of these that are met to as high a standard as possible, the quicker a player develops towards full potential. - Mentoring Young players can develop by working closely, during training, with a more experienced teammate or teammates within their squad. Their mental attributes and Player Traits are the only areas affected, and the entire concept is detailed more in the Training section of the manual. Misc – Player Comparison Take two players, similar positions; maybe they differ in age, height and weight. They’re comparable. Football Manager™ Touch allows you to take two players and compare every facet of their game. The default behaviour for the Comparison section is to offer a comparison to a player you have recently viewed, so if you are intending to compare two players, go to the first player’s profile screen, then the second, then choose ‘Compare With’. The comparison has different views available but by default the ‘Overview’ view is set. Here, their biographical information is compared, then their attributes matched off against each other in the form of attribute polygons. The comparison feature allows you to make well-informed judgment calls between players for places in your squad or when deciding on potential new signings. Misc - Find Similar Players This scans the database in your saved game for players with a similar attribute profile to the selected player. It returns players who play in the same position and role, giving you a range of options that might include retraining a potential new signing to play in a new position. You can also Set a Nickname for a player and Follow them for news about them to appear in the Social Feed. Contracts The contracts section allows you to ask for the Director of Football, if one is employed, to negotiate a contract renewal on your behalf, or you can opt to Release on a Free or strike a Mutual Termination if you no longer want a player’s services. The ‘Purchase Lifetime Contract’ unlockable does what it says; it contracts the player to your team until the end of their playing career. Transfer - Offer via TransferRoom If you no longer want the services of a player or your hand is forced into selling, you can offer the player out to teams your Assistant feels are most suited to the player’s ability and reputation. You can configure the terms of any potential sale in as much or little detail as you like and can exclude any rival clubs should you not want to strengthen a hated opponent. If any team decides to take you up on your offer, you will receive a formal bid from them in your Inbox. Transfer – Add to Unwanted/Development List If you no longer have a use for a player, you can add them to an Unwanted List from this section. You can determine whether you want to move them on for any price, for their value, or just to get rid of them in this initial stage. Then, from the ‘Unwanted List’ panel in the ‘Director of Football’ menu within the ‘Transfers’ screen, you can configure the particulars of any deal you’re looking for. This makes it easier to manage, maintain and keep track of the player you’re trying to get rid of. The Development List equivalent instructs the responsible person to find a loan move for the player to continue their development. Squad - Move to Senior/Reserve Squad This option allows you to assign players to your Reserve squad. As manager, you have the ultimate say in the development of a player and it’s up to you to decide when a player needs to be tested further, when they’re not ready or performing at a higher level. You can also assign a player to a team for a period while they recover from injury in order to allow them to regain fitness at a lower level where performances and development can be considered more important than the result. If a player is in the Reserve Squad, the reverse applies: they can be promoted to the Senior squad. You can also make a player Available for the Reserve team if part of your senior squad. Often you may want a youngster to be part of the first team and to be training with them even if you don’t have room in your match day team right now. To keep their fitness up, happiness in order, and development continuing, you should allow them to play for the reserves. Squad - Move to Affiliate If your team has an affiliation and the terms allow players to be loaned between clubs, you can designate a loan to such a team from this option. It acts as a suggestion to the player, who has the final call on whether or not to move. The decision will arrive in your Inbox usually inside 24 hours of asking about a move. You can also apply a series of Training options here, which are described in more detail in the Training section of this guide.

The Development Centre is your one-stop shop for making sure you’re fully informed about the playing future of your club. It is a hub of activity that lets you know exactly how the youngsters at your club are developing and leaves you wanting for nothing in your efforts to develop the next star player for the first team. Overview The Overview screen brings together all the most important information and distils it into one easily accessible package. The headline section is given over to covering any players out on loan, as well as the overall health of the development squads at your club, while the main screen area is dominated by the most suitable first-team candidates. These players are the ones to keep a very close eye on in the here and now; if they’re not quite ready to play a role in your squad yet, they’re normally not very far away. The remainder of the Overview screen is handed over to players who either Need Attention or who are Ones to Watch. These players typically require further development and the advice offered by your coaching staff should be closely considered if you are to maximise the chances of reaching their potential. Loans Loaning players out to further their development is an increasingly important part of life at many football clubs. To keep track of them, the Loans tab collates everyone currently loaned out and feeds back on their statistics and general satisfaction with their current spell away from the club. Members of staff also chime in with suggestions as to who else might benefit from a loan among players who are not currently elsewhere. Reserves The Reserves tab provides tactical insight, training information, fixture lists and match analysis. It is essentially the very same as the link that formerly lived on the Side Bar, and it continues to do so only if you have taken charge of the team. If not, the member of staff charged with managing the team also presents a preliminary squad ahead of each fixture and gives you the opportunity to get involved in team selection. From the inclusion of senior players where eligible, to wanting to use a certain player in a particular position or role, to dictating their style of play, these teams live to serve the club and you as the first-team manager. The Overview page for each team lists the full squad, details any progress towards their potential ability, and provides development advice where appropriate. Youth Candidates When your annual youth candidate class prepares to take on your Youth Team to earn contracts with the club, they turn up on this screen, with a comprehensive breakdown of who they are, what they do best, and – before they arrive – a preview of what to expect from the group. This provides you with more information than before and should hopefully lead to you making more informed decisions on the next generation of young talent at your club.

Part of successful team-building is ensuring that your squad comes together in the right way, developing inter-personal relationships and having the right characters to pick the team up when they’re doing badly and to keep things ticking over nicely when doing well. How important is it to maintain a happy squad? It cannot be stated strongly enough that the morale and happiness of your players is one of the biggest factors in whether you succeed as a manager. You can have the most talented players at your disposal, playing in a rock-solid tactic, but if they’re unhappy and/or have lost trust in you, they simply will not perform to their full abilities. There are few things more important to work on than the morale of your players in the game. How do I fix an unhappy squad? This, on the other hand, is far from simple. If you suffer through a few negative results in succession, players may begin to question your judgment, and the morale of the team is likely to sink deeper and deeper with every disappointment. Before you know it, you’re left with an unhappy squad and seemingly no way out of the hole you collectively find yourselves in. It isn’t easy to turn things around, but there are a few ways for you to get started. Changing your starting eleven to include players who aren’t quite as unhappy as others in the squad can have a tangible effect. That isn’t to say that a happy youth team player is a better choice than an unhappy first-team key player, but a finer balance of players who have better morale can help move the needle in your favour, and it’s often the case that small changes are the catalyst for long-term improvement. If one player in particular is the cause for team-wide unhappiness, especially if it’s on more than one occasion, selling them is often the best course of action, as the team is mostly stronger than any one individual.

The Data Hub is where you can find a dedicated and comprehensive suite of analytic tools designed to help you find that winning edge. It is entirely customisable, available on-demand once a small handful of matches have been played, and comes with a wide range of information, stats, data visualisations and more that will really leave you with no excuse not to be prepared ahead of every match. Overview The customisable Overview screen is broken into three main sections: Team Report, Team Performance (Attacking and Defending) and Key Findings, which summarises the latest data into a brief report. The ‘Ask For’ button in the ‘Reports and Visuals’ panel to the side then allows you to ask your Analytics team for a dataviz (data visualisation) based on keyword input. Team The Team section focuses on all things to do with team stats in your main league competition. The ‘Team Performance’ screen is entirely on demand; you can use the same ‘Ask For’ functionality to generate reports and then tick the ‘Display in Team Analytics’ section to pin it to that page. Toggling the Edit Mode on/off then allows you to rearrange and pin these dataviz objects in exactly the way you want. The ‘Report’ tab presents a report on scoring, conceding and general formation trends, and the ‘Shots’ tab shows a breakdown of shot accuracy and where each shot landed in and around the goal frame itself. Player Similarly, the Player section works like the Team section, with a focus on individual players within your league. For example, you can use the ‘Ask For’ section to show a dataviz for goalscoring among midfielders in your league, pin it using the ‘Display in Player Analytics’ option, and build your own dashboard. Matches The Matches section has two tabs: ‘Last Match’ and ‘Recent Matches Analysis’. The former shows you a Summary and Key Findings from your last outing, the latter takes in your previous five matches and breaks down Positives and Negatives around a visual representation of events, plotted on a pitch. Next Opponent The last section contains everything to do with your next opponent. The ‘Overview’ provides a high-level summary of what to expect, while ‘Next Opposition Performance’, and ‘Past Meetings’ all build on functionality already outlined within the Data Hub to leave you thoroughly prepared for whatever they might throw at you.

Squad and Team Report You’ll spend much of your time poring over the Squad screen as you look to develop and mould a group of individual players into a finely tuned machine capable of success. Overview The Overview screen presents an immediate and detailed look at the team. Report The Report tab is the best way to take both an at-a-glance look and a detailed study of the players available to you. Stats This section presents a breakdown of team statistics across a wide range of areas and also highlights the best and worst performers accordingly. Comparison This section takes a number of statistics from your squad and compares them across the rest of the league to see how your players stack up. The ‘General’ tab takes miscellaneous information such as height and weight, whereas the positional breakdowns take an average of relevant attributes to show strengths and weaknesses in your squad. Assistant Report The Assistant report presents key players, positional depth and quality from the squad as a whole and suggests a Best XI based on the chosen tactic. Squad Depth Your squad is broken down into formation and position, with each position box then displaying every player who can feature there with, plus their competency in that position represented in the form of a star rating. Scroll up and down the page to view the full length of the pitch and the depth available in every position. Select on the numbered person icon to the top right of each positional box to bring up a dialog presenting the information in more detail. Each position has a hierarchy of capability and suitability as well as any information regarding players you are currently scouting to play there, for ease of comparison. Should you not already be scouting, a handily placed button exists at the top right of this pop-up dialog to enable you to do just that. The ‘Filters’ button allows you to streamline or increase the number of players who appear in these lists (for example, you can include youth and reserve team players). The ‘Customisations’ toggle allows you to manually remove players from a position (if you would rather not consider a player in a certain area of the team, for example) while the ‘Roles’ menu has four different options for the information being presented to you. To change the member of staff who compiles this part of the report, navigate to the ‘Opinion of’ drop-down menu and select accordingly from the list of available staff. How can I make best use of the information available to me? With such a deluge of information at your disposal, it might be easy to feel overwhelmed, and to not know how best to identify the real strengths and weaknesses of your squad. - The Overview screen is by far the best place to start, as it distils everything into a succinct Strength or Weakness. The words used in each item are also instructive of what, if any, action you should take next; the scale below is used to display just how good a player is: Star, Excellent, Superb, Very Good, Good, Fairly Good, Decent, Useful, Low, Unsuitable - Tailor the Squad Depth view to your own circumstances. Ensure it’s based off your primary tactic and defined roles, and that the filters are set to include or exclude players in your youth teams and/or out on loan. It then displays the most pertinent ratings to you (be it Current Ability, Best XI, etc.). If you configure this part of the report to your own specific needs, you’ll find it serves you a lot better. - Use all of the screens frequently. Players develop and teams change over time, and whenever something new happens, the data you’ve previously reviewed runs the risk of becoming outdated. Make a check of the Team Report a regular part of your managerial planning to reap long-term rewards.

Inbox Your Inbox is the main ‘hub’ of your game world. All important information relating directly to you, or any part of your club arrives here in the form of a news item. How do I know what’s important and what isn’t? It is open to a degree of interpretation. You might consider anything that comes to your Inbox should be classed as being important, as it’s always going to concern you or your job as manager in some form or another. However, there are some items that are classed as being more important, and these are indicated to you with a red accent colour and a ‘Must Respond’ label replacing the ‘Continue’ button. This means that the game cannot be advanced until you have responded to that news item; there is always an action for you to perform on items such as these, which could be confirming a transfer, submitting a squad for a competition, or attending a meeting with the Board. News and Social Media The Social Feed enables you to keep fully abreast of everything going on in the footballing world. Any game object (player, competition, team etc.) you choose to ‘Follow’ results in you receiving content about them in the form of a short message in the feed. Content is delivered by a range of sources: teams, competitions, media sources, journalists, and supporters. A range of supporter reactions to events is delivered to you by way of the club’s supporter spokesperson and adds a distinct layer of colour to the feed, ensuring you know exactly how the fans feel about the news of the day. The News tab displays a broader range of stories from around the world of football. Choose a story from the left side of the screen to view it in full in a pop-out panel. How can I make sure I only see news and social media that’s relevant to me and my interests? Following an object allows you to see what you want when you want, and perhaps more importantly, ignore what you don't want. At the start of every season, your Personal Assistant will ask you to review the topics you’re currently following and sometimes suggest new ones to add and old ones to discard. Each object has a ‘Social Content’ and a ‘News’ tick-box; tick/check the former to receive social content and the latter to have appropriate news stories delivered as a part of this feed. Select both to have the best of both worlds, with social being generated alongside each story. The adjacent drop-down menu allows you to further configure the frequency with which this is delivered; choose from Minimal, Normal and Extensive. Lastly, the ‘pen’ icon allows you to dig deeper into the specific types of news you want to receive. It is divided into sections by subject and within each is a comprehensive list of the sort of news items you can expect to receive. This extra level of management enables managers to really control their content. Each social message contains a ‘settings’ icon which, when selected, indicates why you’re receiving it, and gives you the option to revise your settings should you wish to do so.

Profile As a manager, you have a profile in the same way as all players and staff have a profile. Your managerial attributes are displayed on the ‘Manager Profile’ section from the Home screen. The ‘Manager Profile’ section also details your personal biographical information. Your profile is directly impacted by the decisions you make as manager. It also features seven characteristics, in addition to the coaching attributes found on every non-player. Those characteristics are as follows: Reputation The higher the rating, the more you’re known in the footballing world. A higher reputation has a huge effect on your career. It attracts interest in your services from bigger teams, it attracts better players to your club, players already at the club are more inclined to work harder and more professionally for a manager of greater repute, and many, many more situations you’ll encounter as you progress. Tactical Consistency If you’re the sort of manager who plays with one tactic no matter what, you’ll have a high Tactical Consistency rating. If you change between tactics on a regular basis, that bar will drop. Changes are mostly determined by whether the team’s formation is different from one tactic to the next, rather than subtler changes within a formation that remains the same over several matches. Unlike other attributes, there isn’t a number or medium to aim for, as it’s purely about finding the approach(es) that work for you and your team. Hands On Approach This number is mostly reflective of three key areas of the club and whether you retain control over them yourself or delegate them out to your backroom staff: team talks, scouting and training. If you take control of these and maintain an active role – particularly with regards to the number of scouting reports requested and the frequency of changes made to the training schedule – your Hands On Approach rating will increase considerably. Again, it’s about finding the right balance for you and how in-depth you want your control over the club to be. Managing Finances This is mostly reflective of the club’s financial state and the relative health of the wage budget under your stewardship of the club. If both of those are trending upwards, so will the attribute and vice-versa. Handling Team Discipline This number is indicative of the number of unhappy players at the club at any given time. A cohort of unhappy players results in a lower number, while keeping a squad full of players with no cause for complaints sees the number increase. The attribute remains static for the first ninety days of your tenure at any club to ensure that any situations you inherit are not judged against you. The way you handle fines and individual player discipline will also impact this. Before each season, a formal code of conduct can be implemented, outlining punishments for different transgressions. You can either implement this and have it automatically trigger when players fall foul of the code, or you can deal with each incident on its own merit. Loyalty to Players This number is governed primarily by the average length of time each of your players has spent at the club under your management. If the average tenure of all players exceeds four seasons, the number increases, but if you tend to move players on within two seasons, the number decreases. Domestic Player Bias This number reflects the balance of domestic players in your squad against the total number of foreign players. The number is considerably higher if the squad is mainly comprised of domestic players. Your profile also details your tactical preferences, career statistics and milestones. My Contract You can find details of your current contract here. Promises Throughout the course of your career, you will find yourself making promises to both your players and to the Board regarding your intentions on handling things. The Promises screen provides an ongoing look at how things are progressing on each one, including those added as part of contract negotiations, which helps to take out some of the guesswork on what you need to do and when you need to do it by to ensure the promises are kept. My History The ‘My History’ section keeps a record of your key information and achievements throughout your career while also covering your managerial movements and activity in both conversations and in press conferences, as outlined below: Questions from the Media From time to time, you will find yourself fielding an individual question straight into your Inbox, as the media seek your thoughts on a range of matters. Your response often elicits a reaction, be it from your own players, the opposition, another manager, or the journalist themselves. Interaction Due to your enviable position as manager of a football club, the media will want their say on your performance. Managing the biggest clubs will see your actions come under constant scrutiny as the pressure on you builds from day one. Even managing smaller clubs is only just a little less forgiving – in short, you’re going to face the good and the bad sides of the media. Visions and Objectives At the very heart of every job you’ll have over the course of your career are the visions and objectives outlined by your employers. Most teams have a long-term vision they want to realise; it could be as simple as winning a particular competition, or it could be as grandiose as wanting to achieve several promotions to reach the top flight by a particular date. Clubs can operate with five-year plans as the longest period of time to meet objectives, with the overall vision underpinned by several seasonal objectives. It is your job as manager to ensure the club remains on course to make the vision a reality by ensuring steady progression towards those objectives as a bare minimum requirement. You will be judged on all facets of the blueprint; if the Board think you’re not making sufficient progress, for example, they might change the short-term objectives to be more challenging in order to make up for lost time, or in extreme cases, they might well decide to cut ties with you altogether in favour of someone new who they feel can take them to where they want to be. You will get to have a say on the vision and the individual objectives during contract negotiations. The longer you stay at a club and the better you do, the more likely you are to have your voice heard, but there is scope early on in your time at a club for a bit of give and take. Some clubs appreciate a more optimistic outlook – certainly, during the interview stage, it might be worth your while setting the bar high if you want to see off your competition for the job – while others will adopt a more patient approach and find the best fit rather than the boldest candidate. The road ahead is clearly mapped out for you in any case. You will, like never before in Football Manager™ Console 2024, have the tools at your disposal to not just know where you’re going, but how you’re going to get there, and the opportunity to leave your own mark on proceedings too.

In recognition that some new Football Manager™ users are also not totally familiar with some of the terms used within the world of football, we’ve put together a glossary of some of the ones more common terms you might encounter within the game. It is not exhaustive, but it is hopefully comprehensive and will be of assistance should you find yourself wondering about some of the terminology you’ve encountered playing the game. Administration: A process where a club is unable to fulfil its financial obligations and brings in temporary legal assistance in an attempt to restructure any debt. The act of ‘entering into administration’ usually comes with a punishment in the form of a points deduction or similar, which is often accompanied by a transfer embargo and/or great difficulties in signing new players. The Advantage rule: Referees are given scope to allow play to continue despite an infringement if it benefits the team that suffered the transgression more than stopping the game would, thus allowing them an advantage. This usually happens for the team attacking/with the ball. Affiliates: Many clubs are increasingly developing networks of multiple entities designed to be mutually beneficial in all aspects of football, ranging from player development to financial rewards. Formal affiliations between two or more teams help achieve this. In the game, this can also take the form of senior affiliates and feeder clubs, which can help build up a stock of players, arrange friendlies, and help with the scouting network knowledge pool, among other things. Agents: Sometimes called intermediaries, they are people who negotiate with clubs on behalf of players (and vice-versa), particularly when it comes to making deals for new contracts. Aggregate (agg): Many competitions use two-legged ties to ensure each team gets an opportunity to play at home. These ties are settled by recording the aggregate score of both matches. If the aggregate score is tied, Away Goals, Extra Time or a Penalty Shootout are the designated tie-breakers in the majority of cases to determine the winners. Amateur: A player attached to a club under contract but who is not paid a salary and is, in essence, free to leave at any point. Assist: The last offensive act – pass, cross, header or otherwise – in creating a goal. The Away Goals rule: In some competitions, if the aggregate score is tied after two legs of play, the team that scored more goals away from home is declared the winner. The Back-pass rule: Goalkeepers are not allowed to handle any intentional pass back to them from a teammate. If they do, an indirect free kick is awarded to the opposition. Behind Closed Doors: Any match played where spectators are not present. The Bosman rule: Allows professional footballers to leave a club as a free agent at the end of their contract. Named after former Belgian footballer Jean-Marc Bosman, who became the first player to successfully claim the right to act as a free agent in the European Court of Justice in 1995. Board: The people tasked with overseeing the general running of the club at its highest level, including hiring and firing managers. This typically includes the Chairperson and/or the Owner. Booking (also booked): See yellow card. Box-to-Box: A player with the ability to contribute at both ends of the pitch and all areas in between; the term ‘box’ is an informal word referring to each penalty area. Brace: A colloquialism referring to a player scoring two goals in a match. Byline: The extreme boundaries at each end of the pitch. Cap(s): A term used to represent an appearance made for an international team. The term originates from the historical issuing of a physical cap to any player who did so. Captain: A player designated as the team’s leader on the pitch, denoted by wearing the captain’s armband. The vice-captain serves as the captain’s deputy. Caution: See yellow card. Chairperson: The most senior figure of authority at a club. Tends to hire and fire managers and is a conduit between the football and business sides of the game. Channel: The spaces between the central defenders and full-backs either side of the middle area/column of the pitch; the Player Instruction ‘Moves into Channels’ will ask an attacking player to attempt to exploit this space to their advantage. Chip: A type of pass or shot, delivered with a stabbing motion underneath the ball to give it a lofted, high trajectory over an opponent. Clean Sheet: A phrase denoting that the goalkeeper and/or the team for prevented the opposition from scoring against them in a match. Also known as a Shutout. Clauses: An increasingly common aspect of transfer negotiations, teams will agree on conditional terms that will apply, should a player or club involved in a transfer achieve a particular landmark or milestone (which can also include negative ones such as relegation). Coach: A member of the manager’s non-playing staff, they are typically specialists in a particular area of football and work with players to improve their game on the training ground. Corner Kick: Awarded to the attacking team when a player from the opposing team puts the ball out of play over the byline. A player from the attacking team will then typically deliver the ball from within the corner quadrant directly or indirectly (via a teammate) into the penalty area in an effort to create a goalscoring chance. Counter-Attack: A team will ‘launch’ a counter-attack by taking possession from an opponent and attempting to transition from defence to attack in a swift and manner. Cross: The act of delivering the ball into the penalty area, typically made from wide areas of the pitch. Cup (competition): An elimination-style competition where matches might take place over one or two legs (fixtures),a group stage format, or sometimes both. Cup (trophy): One of a number of names associated with the trophy lifted by the winning team in a conversation. Also known as silverware. Cup-tied (Cup): If a player has already represented one team in a competition, they are ineligible to represent another team for the remainder of that competition during the same season. Derby: A match between two rival teams, usually geographically close to each other but not always. Director of Football (DoF): Also known as the Sporting Director, Head/Director of Football Operations or General Manager, they take responsibility for constructing a squad (i.e. signing and selling players), leaving the manager to coach the players in a division of duties historically solely assigned to the manager. Directness: Refers to the type and style of passing adopted by a team. Direct passing involves playing the ball from back to front as quickly as possible rather than adopting a slower and more patient approach in which players move the ball across the pitch from side-to-side. Diving: A form of simulation where a player exaggerates or pretends there was physical contact from an opponent in an effort to deceive the referee into awarding them a decision. Players found to have dived will be shown a yellow card. Dribbling: The art of running with the ball under close control. Equaliser: A goal that restores parity in a contest, e.g. to make it 1-1 from a 1-0 or 0-1 scoreline. Extra Time (ET): An additional period of thirty minutes, split into two fifteen-minute halves, used to settle the outcome of a match. If unsuccessful, it normally results in a penalty shootout. Financial Fair Play (FFP): A series of rules introduced to help ensure that clubs can exist on a relatively fair and even financial footing in the interests of competitive balance. Limits are typically imposed on transfer and wage expenditure in line with club income, and punishments where teams break the rules range from fines to transfer embargoes and points deductions. Flanks: Wide areas of the pitch. Also known as wings. Formation: The organisation and structure of the eleven players selected at any given point during a match (the sequence of numbers does not include the goalkeeper and will only total ten rather than eleven). Common formations involve four defenders, four midfielders and two forwards (4-4-2) or four defenders, three midfielders and three forwards (4-3-3). The midfield is often split into defensive and attacking units when describing formations; for example, the common 4-2-3-1 formation denotes two defensive midfielders and three attacking midfielders behind a single forward. Forward: An attacking player primarily tasked with scoring or creating goals. Also referred to as Striker (a more typical goalscorer) or, less typically these days, an attacker. Free Agent: An individual without a club who can be signed by anyone in the world, excepting restrictions on nationalities, work permits, and so on. Free kick: Awarded to a team for a transgression by an opponent outside of the respective penalty areas. - Indirect: A free kick that cannot directly result in a goal; another player other than the taker/kicker must touch the ball first before a shot can be taken. - Direct: Can result in a goal by means of the taker immediately finding the back of the net without a touch being required by any other player. Friendly: A non-competitive match, sometimes also referred to as an exhibition match. Full-Back: The defenders tasked with operating in wide areas at right-back and left-back. Their primary responsibility is to help nullify wide attacking threats but increasingly in the modern game, they are expected to influence matters going in the other direction, too. Full-Time (FT): The end of a match. Goal-line Technology: An automated camera system that determines whether the ball has fully crossed the line to result in a goal. The referee is informed that the ball has fully crossed the line by way of a notification on a dedicated watch, before fans at home and in the stadium are shown a visual, computer-generated representation of the decision as it actually happened. Goal Kick: When the ball runs out of bounds at the byline, and is last touched by an opponent, it is returned into play in the form of a goal kick. The goalkeeper must place the ball inside the six-yard area and it cannot be touched by another player on the pitch before it leaves the penalty area. Glance: A deft touch usually applied to a pass or a cross with the head using the ball with both subtlety and accuracy. Goal Difference: A common tie-breaker in league standings where goals conceded are subtracted from goals scored. Group (Group Stages): Some knockout cup competitions will include a group stage where teams are separated into smaller groups and play against each other in an elimination format. The remaining teams eventually advance to a straight knockout stage. Half-Time (HT): The end of the first half. Half-volley: The act of striking a ball just after it has struck the ground. See also Volley. Hat-trick: The common term (originally derived from cricket) celebrating a player’s achievement in scoring three goals in a single match. A perfect hat-trick is when the player scores with their left foot, right foot, and their head. Head-to-Head: A term describing a contest between two players or two teams. It can reflect a single incident or an ongoing series, and is also used sometimes to compare individual or team statistics. Header: Using the head to connect with the ball rather than the foot or any other body part. Home-Grown (HG): The specifics of the rule will vary from competition to competition, but in general, the Home-Grown rule intends to ensure that clubs include a certain number of players developed within their own country in their overall first-team squad as a way of aiding the development of their domestic league and national sides. Injury Time: Time added onto the scheduled ninety minutes for injuries and other stoppages to play, most commonly displayed by a “+<number>” marker on the clock/in references to match time. Also known as Stoppage Time or Additional Time. League: A competition where teams are ranked by the accumulation of points from fixtures played against one another over the course of a season. Often used interchangeably with Division. Loan: A temporary transfer of a player between clubs, returning to the club owning their registration at the end of the deal. The loaning club can, and often do, pay for the player’s services through loan fees and wage contributions, and can negotiate the option to purchase the player outright as part of the deal, too. Lob: A type of pass or shot that is similar to a chip, with a high trajectory over an opponent, but delivered in a defter fashion and usually from a bouncing ball rather than one on the ground. Manager: The person responsible for the day-to-day stewardship of the players . Additionally, the Assistant Manager is their second-in-command and can be delegated any number of tasks to make the manager’s job easier. It has become increasingly common for the biggest sides in the world to have more than one Assistant Manager. Marking: A player (usually a defender) pays close attention to an opponent by ‘marking’ them and trying to prevent them from having an influence on the game, e.g. making dangerous passes or being free in space to shoot at goal. Player-specific marking involves assigning several team members a specific opponent for which they are responsible, while Zonal marking involves defenders being assigned areas of space for which they are responsible, whether opponents venture into it or not. The latter method of marking has become increasingly prominent in the game. Near Post (also Far Post): A geometric reference to the goalposts. Incidents occurring in or around the post nearest to the action can be referred to as happening at the near post, whereas incidents on the other side of play (for example, a player arriving to meet a cross on the opposite side of the pitch to where it was delivered) are said to involve the far post. Offside: A player is deemed to be offside if there is only one opponent (including the goalkeeper) between the attacker and the opposition’s goal when a pass is played to them. A player cannot be offside in their own half of the pitch or if they are behind the ball when it is played. They can, however, also be flagged for offside if they are deemed to be interfering with an opponent despite not playing the ball. Offside Trap: A tactic whereby the defending team looks to play in such a way that lures attacking opponents into straying offside, often through moving the defensive line higher up the pitch at the right time. One-two: A passing move between two players where the first player both gives and then immediately receives the ball back from a teammate. Overlap: When one player runs from deep around the outside of a teammate in an attacking position to advantageous effect. See also underlap. Own Goal (OG): Happens when a player accidentally scores past their own goalkeeper. Part-Time: See Semi-Professional. Penalty Area: The rectangular area drawn out in front of each goal. Goalkeepers are only permitted to handle the ball in this area, while any fouls committed by the defending team result in a penalty kick. Penalty Kick: A penalty kick is a free shot at goal, with only the goalkeeper to beat from twelve yards out, awarded when a foul or other infringement (such as a handball) punishable by a free kick happens inside the penalty area. Penalty Shootout: In many cup competitions, if a match is all-square at the end of all designated playing time (sometimes including extra time), the contest will be decided by a penalty shootout. Each team must nominate a minimum of five players to take penalty kicks in alternating order until a team misses enough that they can no longer out-score their opponents. If five rounds of penalties are not sufficient to decide a winner, players will continue to take in a sudden-death fashion until one team misses and the other scores. Physio(therapist): A member of a team’s medical staff tasked with providing both immediate and long-term physical treatment to a player. Playmaker: One individual in a team who is the conduit for the majority of the attacking play. They are responsible for taking charge of possession, creating chances for other teammates, and looking to affect the match in as many ways as possible. Some sides now occasionally employ more than one in order to make it more difficult for their avenues of attack to be closed down. Playoff(s): An additional stage to a league competition where a select number of teams in specified finishing positions ‘play off’ in a series of fixtures to determine an outcome, for example a league title or promotion/relegation. Points (Pts): Three points are typically awarded for a win, with one for a draw and none for a defeat. Some leagues may operate differently; please refer to the Rules screen in-game for full clarification for each competition. Professional: A player under contract with a club and who receives a salary. See also Semi-Professional. Promotion: When a team moves up from one group or league to the next one up the hierarchical ladder due to on-field results. Red Card: A player is shown a red card and is dismissed from the field of play for seriously or persistently breaking the rules. A player who is shown a red card is said to have been sent off and will usually face a suspension. Referee: An independent arbiter assigned to enforce the rules in a match. Assistant Referees are found on each touchline; previously known as linesmen, their duties consist of judging offside decisions, whether the ball has left the bounds of play, and advising the referee on incidents they may not have been in position to see. Released (contracts): Broadly speaking, a player is released when their club decide that they no longer require their services and they become a free agent. Relegation: When a team moves down from one group or league to the next one lower down on the ladder/pyramid due to on-field results. Reserves: A team’s secondary squad, used in several ways. Some teams will use the Reserve team as a first-team squad overspill, while others will promote their best young players and use it as a developmental ‘bridge’ between the Youth Team and the first team. Route One: The art of getting the ball forward into the opposition’s defensive areas in the quickest and most efficient manner possible, often involving playing long, high passes from back to front. Sacked: Also sometimes coined as ‘fired’, the term is used when an individual – usually but not exclusively a manager – has their contract terminated with immediate effect. Scout: A non-playing member of staff responsible for watching and reporting on players from other teams, either for upcoming opponents or for potential transfer targets. Also used as a verb to describe this act. Season: The period of time over which a league campaign takes place. Semi-Professional: A player under contract with a club and who receives a salary but only on a part-time basis. Such players typically hold down another career outside of football and have limited time to dedicate towards training and their football career overall. Set Piece: Any situation where play restarts with a dead ball (as opposed to a live ball in open play). The nature of a dead ball allows teams to set up specific routines devised to exploit the situation without immediate interference from the opposition. Silverware: Refers to trophies awarded for success. Substitute: A player who is brought onto the pitch to replace another player. Tactics: The way a team sets itself up to play a match. The formation is the foundation of a tactic, upon which team and player instructions are issued to give a team the best possible chance of winning. Team Talk: A brief talk given by the manager to their players before, after, and during half-time in each match. The talk typically involves motivational encouragement alongside tactical direction. Terrace: An area of a stadium which does not have seats and has room for standing supporters only, although it can be used informally as a way of describing where the supporters are, not whether there is seating. Testimonial: A friendly match played out in honour of a long-serving or notable player, often featuring former colleagues and an appropriate opposition. Originally held to boost the honoured players’ finances, these occasions more commonly see charity donations occur nowadays. Through-ball: A type of pass played by the attacking team that goes straight through the opposition’s defence to a teammate. Some teams will deploy an offside trap to catch the attacking team offside and prevent this kind of pass from working. Throw-in: A common method of restarting play; when the ball is cleared out over the touchline, it is returned by means of a player using both hands to throw it from above the head back into play. Transfer: The change of a player’s permanent registration between clubs. Players are often transferred for money (transfer fees) with negotiations also including clauses, bonuses and staggered payment periods. Touchline: The extreme boundaries at each edge of the pitch. Underlap: When one player runs, from deep, inside of a teammate’s position on the pitch in an attacking position to advantageous effect. See also overlap. VAR (Video Assistant Referee): The use of technology to adjudicate controversial incidents during matches. The Video Assistant Referee is allowed to review four types of incident on video replay; goals and whether there was a violation in the build-up to it, penalties (both given and not), direct red cards, and cards issued with mistaken identity. The system is also used to determine whether a goal was offside or not; the clear and obvious criteria is not used here, rather a player is offside or isn’t. Its introduction into the sport was relatively recent, but its use is not evenly spread or been without controversy. Volley: The act of striking a ball before it hits the ground. Wall: An obstacle of players set up by the defending team to make it more difficult for an opponent when taking a free kick. Whip: To curl the ball with pace, most often used from crosses, corners, and free kicks. Winger: A player tasked with operating primarily in and/or from wide areas – wings or flanks – of the pitch. Woodwork: A colloquialism referring to the goal frame structure of posts and crossbar, which are usually made from a combination of heavy gauge steel and aluminium. Work Permit: Some competitions require additional checks to be made before allowing players from certain locales to sign for one of its teams. The most common of these is a work permit, which some foreign players will require in order to take a job in a new country and join a new team. Yellow Card: A player is shown the yellow card (also referred to as a caution or booking) for breaking one of the laws of the game. A player shown two yellow cards in the same match is then shown a red card, and players shown multiple yellow cards in the same season usually face suspensions at incremental landmarks (e.g. 5, 10, 15). Youth Team: The youngest represented age group in Football Manager™, the youth team is comprised of teenagers aiming to have a career in football. The youth team typically has an upper age limit before the players are expected to move onto the next logical step in the ladder as they develop.

Your ‘Inbox’ is the central point around which your experience with the game is built. Communication crucial to the management of your chosen team is delivered to you in a prompt and timely fashion – the game brings you back from processing whenever your input is required – and the majority of your key decisions and actions are taken in response to content arriving here. Look at things that interest you When you move the mouse cursor around the screen, it highlights people, clubs, and other entities you can click on and interact with. Take some time to do this to familiarise yourself with the layout of various screens and with the scope of what you are able to do, and what the consequences – both positive and negative – are. Familiarise Yourself! The Side Bar on the left of the screen is the primary navigational tool providing you with quick access to all key areas of your team. Each screen also has a horizontal bar containing tab menus sitting below the ‘menu bar’ at the top of the screen, which features a contextual menu as well as a free text search box for swift navigation around your game world. Please refer to the User Interface section of the manual for a more detailed breakdown. After reading through the first few items in your Inbox, it’s a good idea to come up with a tactic and pick your first team. This is where the Tactics Tutorial should be of tremendous assistance: it guides you through picking a playing style, formation, and first team selection. Taking the time to explore each section of the Side Bar and the many sub-options on each screen will help you become acquainted with Football Manager™. Additionally, there is more integrated assistance in the form of delegation/automation to and from your capable backroom staff team. Help Is Close At Hand The ‘Responsibilities’ tab on the ‘Staff’ section of the Side Bar allows you to delegate any number of tasks to your responsible and reliable backroom team. It is advisable to do this in the short-term while getting to grips with the scale of your managerial task, before taking back some of the responsibilities when you feel more attuned to handling them, though it’s not mandatory to do so, and your mileage may vary. The more you explore and the more you play, the more comfortable you’ll become with some of the more complicated areas of management, and hopefully your enjoyment will continue to increase! Keep your players happy A happy team is a winning team, and a winning team is a happy team. Your chances of success hinge more than anything on ensuring that your players remain happy. Pay close attention to each individual’s (and therefore the squad’s overall) morale and personality and be aware of their short- and long-term happiness, details of which can be found on their ‘Information’ screens. They often come to you directly with their concerns, and how successfully you deal with them goes a long way to determining whether you succeed in your job. The frequency of this is partly governed by the number Level of Discipline points you assign to your managerial profile, as is described on that screen. The ‘Players’ section of this guide also walks you through everything you need to know about managing them and finding the right approach for you. Be patient! Be patiently ambitious! There is a learning curve involved here as there is in any game, but the greatest enjoyment can be teased out by following this instruction manual as a companion piece to finding your way through the game on your steam.

Football Manager™ Console 2024’s interface has been designed to ensure that playing the game is as easy as possible. The following is a glossary to help explain some of the terms referred to in this manual that appear frequently in the game. Let’s begin with a short explanation on the two main control methods. Control Methods ● The main control methods for mobile devices can be found under the ‘Touch Controls’ tab on the Preferences screen when using that version of the game. Left Click (PC Only): Left clicking is the primary method of navigating around the majority of computer applications and Football Manager™ Console 2024 is no different. In simple terms, if you see an item of interest, select it. The game contains a huge number of on-screen items which can be selected to reveal more details and information. Selectable items are identifiable in a few ways. All of them result in the mouse cursor changing into a finger pointing icon. Some graphically respond inside the game in the form of a hyperlink underlining or a different, darker shade of colour on a button. Select around, read through this section, and familiarise yourself with your surroundings. Right Click (PC Only): Right clicking brings up a Context Menu of ‘Actions’ that can be performed on a game object. It is chiefly a time-saving/power-user feature, allowing you to perform an action without first having to select the item. A list only appears where possible and should right select on an item not generate a menu, it’s safe to assume there is no available menu for that item. On tablet, the menu is accessed by long-pressing on the relevant area of the screen. Controller: On devices where a controller is or can be used, a host of improvements have been made to make the experience of navigating around the game easier than ever. You can view and configure the controller mapping via the ‘Navigation’ menu in the game Preferences. Actions You can access specific Actions for a game object from the object’s Tab Bar or by selecting the object itself to bring up the ‘Context Menu’. Calendar By selecting the current date on the Menu Bar, you can view the game Calendar. It shows the current week, indicating the current date and informing you of any pressing concerns or engagements you have in the immediate future. Column Sorting If you find that the secondary sorting on any column in the game has disappeared, you can manually reset it by holding down the Shift key and selecting the desired column(s) in the order of sorting you wish to see. Continue Button The Continue Button is central to Football Manager™ Touch. It is the conduit from which the game progresses through time. Once you have finished with all of your business for a given period of time, hitting ‘Continue’ advances the game. It can change state depending on the game’s context. If you have a message in your Inbox that requires a response, the text label on the button changes to reflect this. Similarly, if you’re in a game with more than one manager, it indicates the number of managers that need to continue before the game starts processing. Customisable Columns Any table column in the game can be customised as you see fit, in the same style as you can do in many other applications. To customise a view, select ‘Custom’ from the ‘Views’ menu and then select ‘Customise current view’. This creates a copy of the current view. Now that you’ve done this, you are free to reorder and resize the columns on that view as you desire. To resize a column, select and hold on the area between two columns and drag it in the desired direction, making it wider or narrower. Release the mouse button to set the size. To reposition a column, select and hold the header and move the mouse to where you wish to move it to, and then let go once again. Filter Many screens in Football Manager™ Console 2024 give you the ability to set filters that permit you to configure exactly what information you want displayed. Screens with this function have a ‘Filter’ button, usually located towards the top right of the main screen area or a panel. Selecting it reveals the Filters menu, with a number of options and checkboxes. To set a filter, tick and un-tick the boxes until you have what you want to display. You can then hide the Filters menu again by selecting the ‘Hide Filters’ button. Game Object A game object roughly corresponds to an item in the game database – a person or a team, for example. As a basic rule, a screen displays information about one main game object, although this screen may then hold information about many more objects – take the squad screen as an example. The main game object is the squad, but then multiple game objects – players – are found within. Navigation Bar While the Side Bar is the primary navigation tool for your own club, the Navigation Bar is used to navigate the rest of the game (i.e. browsing the game world in general). The Back and Forward buttons navigate between your screen history. If you select the Back or Forward buttons, the Navigation History opens. Its menu options are a list of screens you were previously on, with each option usually structured as “<name of screen>: <name of section> <name of panel>”. Panel A panel is the part of the game’s window that changes for each screen – i.e. the bit that doesn’t contain the menu or title bars or the navigational tools. You often find multiple sub-panels within a panel. Screen A screen displays information. Normally a screen represents a single game object – a player or a team, for example. Each screen has a title, and one or more sections. It can also have a subtitle, although the current section determines this, so it changes when the manager chooses a different section. Side Bar The Side Bar is the primary method to navigate all the different areas within your club (or international team). It provides shortcuts to every section related to your club, regardless of what screen/game world entity you're on. That is, if, say, you're on another club's screen, the Side Bar is still for your club (note: to navigate around the different sections/panels for any game world entity that isn't your club, you use its screen's Tab Bar instead). In larger resolutions, the bar includes a textual description alongside the icon, while in reduced screen modes, just the icon is used. The Interface section of the Game Preferences features an option for you to use just the icon when in larger resolutions. Notifications appear whenever there is an item of business for you to deal with: an unread news item or a transfer offer, for example. If you're managing both a club and international team, the Side Bar has a toggle enabling a fast way to switch the state of the Side Bar to the team that has your immediate focus. Tabs Tabs are used to navigate around the currently viewed screen and perform actions related to it. Every screen’s tab bar consists of a series of panels and menus that contain more panels and actions. Title Bar The title bar is at the top of the window and displays the title of the current screen, as well as other information such as the manager’s name and subtitle. Search Search allows you to initiate a search of all game objects. Tooltips Tooltips are small windows displaying text intended to explain or describe a function. They can be found in many places throughout the game, and should you be unsure as to the intent of any item’s function, simply move the cursor over it to see if it has a Tooltip to explain things to you. View Menus Sections and screens can have one or more views that present the same information in different ways. For example, the squad list selection of the team screen allows you to look at a list of players but because there are lots of attributes for each player, it would be impossible to display them all at the same time. The solution is to allow a number of different views to display a certain few of the attributes each. World ‘World’ is your shortcut to all game world entities. The world icon in the Navigation Bar opens the ‘World’ Menu Popup. The popup is divided into numerous options on a hierarchical basis, beginning with ‘World’ and scaling down through continents, nations, leagues and clubs. What keyboard shortcuts are available on PC? A host of keyboard shortcuts are available by default and they can each be customised to your preference. Visit Preferences then search for ‘Shortcuts’ for a comprehensive list. Can I play in windowed mode? Football Manager™ Console 2024 can be played in a range of resolutions and display modes on PC. On tablet, it remains in full-screen mode throughout. The options available to you based on your computer or laptop can be found in the ‘Interface’ section of the ‘Preferences’ screen, and includes any windowed modes suitable for your system.

If you’re new to football, new to Football Manager™, or just fancy a little bit of a refresher on some core game principles and information, this section should provide some assistance on how best to go about your managerial career. It also contains information about some of the more complicated leagues available to manage in as well as a glossary of terms that you’re likely to encounter as you play. Beginner’s Guide Welcome to Football Manager™ Console 2024! We’ve created a beginner’s guide to walk newcomers through getting to grips with the various aspects of management, and to hopefully answer any questions that might come up along the way. Your first step is to create your managerial profile and begin a new Career. Follow the steps in the Quick Start guide to get stuck right in. Football Manager™ is, as the name suggests, a football management simulation in which time advances upon selecting the ‘Continue’ button found in the top right corner of the screen. Although time exists as a fundamental concept, whenever the game returns from processing time forward, the ‘clock’ effectively stops for you to go about your business in as much (or as little) depth as required to action the items of the day. ‘Continue’ moves through your calendar incrementally; days become weeks, weeks become months, months become years, and so on. Tutorials Football Manager™ Console 2024 features a host of specifically tailored in-game tutorials designed to help you better understand some of your more common day-to-day managerial duties. Your Assistant Manager (or an appropriate member of the club hierarchy if an Assistant isn’t in place) will come to you at various junctures in your first few days and weeks on the job to guide you through the mechanics of things like scouting and making transfer offers, getting to know your players, playing your first match, navigating around the game, and more. They are fully immersive and will hopefully improve your level of comfort with everything you need in order to be a success and more importantly, enjoy playing the game. Please note that these are only shown to you if you have selected ‘No’ from the ‘Knowledge Level’ section during the start of a new game. If you selected ‘Yes’, you can find them by selecting on the ‘?’ icon in the title bar. Creating a Manager Profile The next thing you’ll do upon starting Football Manager™ Console 2024 is create your managerial profile. The first section concerns your biographical details: Name, Surname, Nationality, Gender, Date of Birth. You can also edit your level of Football Manager™ and football knowledge if you wish to change them. Please note, depending on which service you use to access and play the game, there may be some filters on the names you’re able to choose. Next, we come to customising your physical appearance. The ‘Head’ section allows you to create a custom 3D face model based on an uploaded photograph by selecting the mesh-outlined image from the ‘Facial Structure’ section. Select a photo – the higher the quality, the better the result – or you can use your webcam to take a picture, which you can then adjust in PhotoFit by aligning the dots with your own facial features. Hit ‘Generate Model’ to watch it take effect on your managerial avatar. Please note that this is only available on the PC version of the game Alternatively, you can opt for the manual approach (which is the sole option on some mobile devices) and use the in-game settings to build your own facial features, or even use a completely randomised creation. You can also use the Body and Attire sections to make sure the finer details of your manager are perfected. Once you’re done, that managerial profile is available to you every time you start a new game (if you create multiple profiles, you are given the option to select the one you wish to use, and you can also Save/Load Avatar from the new manager creation section). Tactical Style Next, you’ll be able to choose a tactical style for your newly chosen club, which instructs them how to play. Your assistant will make a recommendation based on the best fit for your current squad, which you can choose to follow or go with your own selection from the options available. You can change this as often as you like during your career, including in matches themselves if things aren’t going the way you’d like. Select ‘Confirm Style’ once happy with your selection. Choose A Formation After the Tactical Style has been chosen, you’ll be asked to choose a formation. Again, your assistant will make a recommendation based on the best fit with your Tactical Style also now taken into consideration. Select ‘Confirm Formation’ once you’re done. Tactics Your assistant will select a team based on the two selections you’ve made whilst also highlighting the importance of Player Roles within your Tactical Style and Formation and will highlight one player within your team so you can see their suitability across different Player Roles. You can then tweak the selections as much as you like before selecting ‘Proceed To Match’. If you have not selected a captain, a pop-up will appear, asking whether you’re happy with the player chosen. Selecting ‘Yes’ will proceed to the match, whilst selecting ‘No’ will let you choose your own captain and make any other last-minute changes you want. Match You’ll be thrust straight into a match against your club’s reserves or youth team in an intra-squad friendly! This serves as the perfect platform with which to get to grips with the game and see how your chosen Tactics fare. The backroom staff will monitor your players’ condition and body language throughout the match so you get a sense of how they’re performing, which will be displayed via an overall match rating out of 10. You will see highlights of the match and be prompted to change certain aspects of your setup and pay attention to different areas of the screen. When the half-time whistle goes, you can start the second half by selecting the whistle icon in the very bottom right hand corner of the screen. Once the match is over, your assistant will tell you that your formal introductions to the playing squad will happen afterwards. Select ‘Continue’ in the bottom right of the screen to proceed. Team Report Next, your assistant will take you through an overview of your first team squad, giving their opinion of what the strongest starting eleven is. When you’ve taken a good look at the screen, select ‘Next’. Transfer You’ll be given three suggestions of talented youngsters the board would like you to sign for your chosen club. You can skip this altogether by selecting ‘Skip’ in the top right of the screen or make an offer for one of them. If you choose to make an offer, your assistant will take you through the negotiation process. Once your offer has been accepted, you then move on to negotiating a contract with the player and their agent. You can let your assistant handle this by choosing the option in the top right of the screen or select ‘Next’ to do it yourself. Your assistant will still help you if you choose to do it yourself, suggesting promises you may wish to give the player before negotiating terms. Select ‘Finalise Promises’ to see how the player and agent react – the agent’s reaction will be displayed in the top left pane of the screen. Select ‘Negotiate Contract’ to proceed to discussing terms, then ‘Suggest Terms’ when happy with them. The agent will react once more. Select ‘Finalise Deal’ to complete the transfer, then ‘Next’ in the top right to proceed. Appointment Reaction Your assistant will collate some reactions from the club, press, and social media to your appointment at your chosen club. Select ‘Next’ to proceed. Club Introduction & Club History Your assistant will collate some key information about the club, including predicted league finish, the Finances, Upcoming Season competitions, and Facilities. On the next screen, there will be an overview of the club’s Honours and League History from the last 20 seasons. Select ‘Next’ to proceed. Principles Principles is a major new addition in Football Manager™ Console 2024. These are a set of standards that you as a manager will ask that the players uphold on a day-to-day basis. They are ‘set’ every time you join a new club, and you have three of them at any one time from a range of 10. Your assistant can suggest the three for you to choose (in the bottom left corner of the screen) or you can choose them yourself. Once done, select ‘Select Principles’. Inbox For the last part of onboarding, the assistant will inform you that they and other members of your backroom staff will forward items for your attention to your Inbox, which acts as the central hub in Football Manager™ Console 2024 between matches, as well as showing you the different options on the left pane of the screen. Several of the areas are greyed out until they are encountered in the early part of your save and will appear in the following order: Recruitment, Training, Staff, Dynamics, and Development Centre (shortened to Dev. Centre on the left pane).

Having installed and launched Football Manager™ Console 2024, you’ll understandably want to get stuck right in to a new game. The very first thing you will need to do after the start screen is to select which mode to play; there are three Single Player modes: Career, Create-A-Club, and Challenge. Career is the full featured simulation experience and the recommended mode to start with if you are new to Football Manager™. Create-A-Club is the same as Career, but you can overwrite an existing club and change them into your image, including the name, badges, kits, stadium, squad, and backroom staff. Challenge is like Career, but with a set hurdle to overcome. There are six different challenges with varying lengths in which to clear the scenario, and the difficulty can be toggled for each of them before. This mode is more suited for players already with the mechanics in Football Manager™. More details on the challenges can be found later in the manual. New for Football Manager™ Console 2024 is the ability to import saves from Football Manager™ Touch 2023. If you have a file from the previous version of the game and you want to carry it on, you can now do so! Simply select the ‘Load FM23 Saved Games’ option under any of the game modes, and it will be imported! The speed in which the import will be completed will vary, depending on your device’s technical specifications. If it’s your first time playing, a pop-up will ask two questions: a) if you consider yourself an experienced Football Manager™ player, and b) whether you consider yourself to have a good level of football knowledge. Selecting ‘no’ to either or both of those will increase the level of in-game tutorials. This guide will begin with Career. Create Career Game First, you need to choose a club to manage in one of the nations and leagues included in the game. You can use the ‘Find A Club’ searchbar in the bottom right of the screen to find the one you want quickly. Once a selection has been made, select ‘Create Career Game’ in the top right to proceed. Once the loading screen has disappeared, select ‘Next’ to continue. What team should I manage? By default, the teams you’re presented with as options to take charge of in the Quick Start mode are from the top division in your region. Managing a bigger team gives you a theoretically greater chance of experiencing success right from the off, as they tend to have better players and more money to spend, but they also come with loftier expectations that can be hard to maintain for a newcomer to Football Manager™. If you want to start out lower down the leagues and take charge of a smaller team, you might find the Board to be a little more patient with their demands, but the depth and breadth of talent available to you might not be the same as it is at a higher level, and the resources at your disposal will almost certainly be more limited. Ultimately, there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ team to pick. As long as you pay attention to the requirements of the job and understand the tools you have to work with, you’ll be well placed to make a flying start to your managerial career.

Welcome to the Football Manager™ Console 2024 Manual. It is designed to help familiarise you with the key areas of the game, to make you feel more comfortable as you get to grips with each module, and to hopefully be informative and educational. There are questions posed throughout that are answered to hopefully directly address any issues you might encounter or any queries you might have in your quest for glory. It is intended to appeal to the entire spectrum of football managers, from first time players to those who pour thousands of hours into each new release. It is not designed to be an in-depth strategy guide, a ‘How to Win’ document, or anything that reveals the full depth of the secrets below the surface. At the same time however, it will hopefully provide plenty of food for thought, some aspects that will be completely new to you, and the tools you need to be successful! Differences Between Versions Football Manager™ Console 2024 is available as a standalone version on PC as well as console devices. There are some noticeable differences between the two versions of the game, which are documented throughout this manual. Please be aware of these, particularly with regards to the interface and navigation.

It couldn’t be easier to stream Football Manager™ 2024 and share your experience with a wider audience. Introduced halfway through the previous version of the game was a completely new feature – Versus Mode! This game mode allows you to take your favourite teams you’ve built up through your playtime and pit them against other managers online to prove your skills to a wider audience. To do this, you need to be an FMFC member, which you can sign up for online or from the Football Manager™ 2024 start screen. Beginner Broadcasting https://help.twitch.tv/s/topic/0TO1U000000CjngWAC/beginner-broadcasting Broadcasting Setup and Software https://help.twitch.tv/s/topic/0TO1U000000CjniWAC/broadcast-setup-software Once you’ve installed and familiarised yourself with your choice of streaming software and how to integrate it with your desired platform, all you need to do is set Football Manager™ 2024 as your source material for your window/monitor/game capture (or equivalent), and away you go!

Advanced Game Setup If you want to have greater control about the setup of your new career and include several more leagues than the Quick Start setup allows, then you should use the Advanced Setup option. Rather than selecting a team and getting into your career as quickly as possible, you can tweak and tailor things to your exact requirements here. The ‘Add/Remove Leagues’ button is the nominal starting point; this is where you can choose the nations represented in your career. Upon hitting ‘Confirm’, the ‘Active Leagues’ panel populates with a list of leagues from the selected nations, their playable status, and the reason for inclusion where one exists. From here, you can then use the drop-down menu for each country’s entry in the list to determine how many leagues from that nation are loaded in. The more leagues you include, the more players are in your saved game, and the slower the Estimated Game Speed – indicated in the panel to the right of the screen – theoretically becomes. Switching between Playable and View-Only mode allows you to include countries in your game for the express purpose of increasing the scope of your game world; View-Only achieves this on the proviso that you cannot manage there without converting it to Playable by using the Add or Remove Leagues option within your saved game. The hybrid Playable/View-Only Below mode allows you to set which levels of a league’s structure are playable, and which are View-Only. In a similar manner to the loading of numerous leagues and nations into a save, the size of the database loaded into a save determines to some extent the level of realism managers experience in their saved game. Naturally, a larger database includes more players and teams from the football world, whereas a smaller one includes what are considered the core and most important items. More capable PCs are able to handle larger databases, but older devices may want to consider using a smaller option. For example, a small database might load 8000 players worldwide into the saved game, but a large database adds closer to 15000. You also have the option to set up an ‘Advanced’ Database. Selecting this option presents a filter dialog from which you can then select preferences when constructing your database. For example, you may wish to load in every player from England and every player of French nationality regardless of the nation they are based in. This method allows you to be very flexible and specific when setting up your saved game. The ‘Advanced Options’ section at the foot of the screen provides eight options to further refine your experience: Use Fake Players and Staff This tick box does pretty much exactly what it suggests. Ticking it generates a whole world of ‘fake’ players and staff instead of using the usual and familiar names and faces. Do not use Real Fixtures Tick this box to prevent the use of real-life fixtures in for nations and leagues that use them by default. A fictional schedule is instead created while retaining the same competition rules. Do not Add Key Staff Tick this box if you do not want the game to add key backroom staff (such as Assistant Managers) to teams that do not have them. Add Players to Playable Teams If certain playable teams are unable to fulfil squad requirements at the start of a new saved game, ticking this box ensures that their playing squad is filled out with sufficient personnel. Disable First Transfer Window Activity Football Manager™ typically starts a new game in the pre-season preceding the current season in the real world. The database therefore reflects this in squad lists and team transfer budgets. By disallowing transfer activity in the first transfer window, the saved game reflects the real world more accurately than if the save allows teams to make moves they did not make in real life. Simply put, this is another option to add to the realism of your saved game. Disable Player Attribute Masking Attribute masking, colloquially referred to in places as ‘Fog of War’, is a concept where certain attributes (or in some cases all) are not visible to the human manager because Football Manager™ assumes a manager of your experience and age does not necessarily know everything about every player in the world. These attributes can be revealed through scouting or interaction with the player as you progress in your career. If you wish to simply display all information and attributes from the off, tick this option. Prevent control of teams with managers in place Tick this option if you want to restrict managerial options to those clubs that do not currently have a manager employed and instead only have the option to take charge where vacancies exist. Prevent use of the In-Game Editor If you wish to completely prevent the In-Game Editor from being used in a particular saved game, ensure this option is ticked when creating it. This action cannot be reversed once the saved game has been started. Add or Remove Leagues You are not restricted to playing in the leagues added upon starting a new game. From this screen you can add and/or remove leagues to the saved game at any point, but a league which has been added will only become active when the new season begins in that country. To remove a league or nation, simply click on the ‘-’ icon next to its name. The act of adding nations and leagues to your game will likely impact your overall experience; the additional player numbers and resulting performance and speed of the game will change with every addition or subtraction you make before hitting ‘Confirm’. Detail Level The Detail Level screen allows the manager to configure their saved game even further in order to optimise performance as much as possible. The screen contains all competitions loaded into the save and allows the manager to specify which matches are processed in full detail and which use the quick match engine and when. They can be set from various stages of competition – for example just the later stages can be set to generate in their entirety while the remainder of the competition is handled by the quick match engine, which is used as standard for competitions not loaded into your saved game. The option to generate the entire competition fully is available (All), as is the option to generate the entire competition with just the quick match engine (None). Custom Screen Flow The Screen Flow section can be found by searching for Screen Flow on the Preferences screen. This allows you to configure a series of screens to display at determined intervals during your game. For example, you can ask the game to show you the ‘English Sky Bet Championship’ ‘Overview|Stages’ ‘Every Week’ ‘During Competition’ and have it stop the game from processing during the ‘Morning’, by adding an entry with each of those settings. The end product is that, at weekly intervals (the start day is determined by the day you set up the Screen Flow item), you are taken to the ‘Stages’ screen of that competition, giving you the opportunity to review whatever content you want to from that competition. Repeat the process as much as you like for as many competitions as you need to. It is designed to aid immersion in your own personal game world and keep you abreast of what’s going on outside of your immediate league. Please note Screen Flow only appears when a saved game is loaded, and the options are configurable on a per-saved game basis. Pre-Game Editor The Football Manager™ Editor is a powerful application that allows the manager to modify the Football Manager™ 2024 game database. As a part of the Editor, you can edit and create competitions. For help using the editor, please visit the Community Forums at http://community.sigames.com/. The Pre-Game Editor is an advanced user tool that has something of a learning curve, but simple changes can be made with a minimum of fuss. Select ‘File’ and ‘Load Database’, then select the chosen database you want to edit. This will most likely be the most recent database released by Sports Interactive, e.g. 23.0.1. The database loads; this should take a few moments on most computers or devices. Select an area from the ‘Database’ list in the bottom left of the screen. Let’s choose ‘People’. Select ‘Add Condition’, ‘Second Name’, and then search for your desired Person to edit by Surname. Select the desired Person from the list of results and then hit ‘Edit’. The ‘Database’ section of the screen is now updated to show the various parts of a Person’s profile. Details: Their biographical information. Contract: Everything relating to their current contract. Person Data: Attributes not displayed in-game, Job Preferences, Current or Planned Retirements, Languages Spoken, Days Spent in Nation (for Home Grown rules), and Career Plans. Player Data: Basic Positional and Ability Data, Positions, Physical/Technical/Mental/Goalkeeping Attributes, Player Traits, Injuries, Suspensions, and MLS-Specific Information. Relationships: Liked and Disliked People and Clubs. History: Their year-by-year career path. Achievements: Details of significant milestones achieved as part of a team. Changes: A log of all changes you make to the Person. Make any changes you want, then ensure they’re saved and prepared for use in a new saved game. Select ‘File’ again, and now ‘Save Editor Data As’. A dialog pops up asking you to give the changes file a name. You are advised to save the file in the path presented by default, as this is where it is read from. If it is saved elsewhere you will have to manually ensure it is placed back into Documents/Sports Interactive/Football Manager™ 2024/Editor Data for it to be read into the game. Save the File. Start a new game of Football Manager™ 2024. Where Editor Data Files are found, you are prompted to select whether or not they are included in your new game by means of a tick box. Please also note that their presence results in the ‘Quick Setup’ mode being bypassed; you will have to use the Advanced Setup mode. The same process applies to simple editing of any database object, yet the power of the Pre-Game Editor extends much, much further. Please refer to the advice given on the majority of screens in the Editor as well as on the Community Forums for more help on getting to grips with some of the more advanced capabilities. Editor Data Files If you have created or edited any nations, leagues or competitions in the Pre-Game Editor, and have saved them into the Editor Data folder, they appear here for your selection and inclusion in game. Each creation has a tick box which, if selected, includes the desired choice in your game. Please note that if you include files which, for whatever reason, may conflict (if for example they have been created by different managers), you may not be able to include them in your game without first resolving the issues. The issue(s) can be identified by holding the mouse cursor over the exclamation mark indicating that there is an error. Among the most common conflicts is that the same data has been edited in multiple files, meaning you then have to decide which file to proceed with, as only one set of changes can be made to a game object. When the game has finished loading, you are prompted to complete your managerial profile and add a manager to the game. In-Game Editor The Football Manager™ In-Game Editor is purchasable through your platform’s associated store and allows you to make real-time edits to your saved games. Once activated, you will notice an ‘Edit’ option on various screens and in assorted Actions Menus. The ‘Edit’ option on the Title Bar typically allows you to edit ‘hidden’ attributes and values, such as a player’s Current and Potential Abilities. The ‘Edit’ functionality found within the ‘Actions’ menu, however (click on ‘Start Editing’), allows you to edit a person’s profile ‘live’, as you see it. For example, a player’s attributes and biographical details turn into editable fields while editing is enabled, with the values open to alteration. Once you’re happy with the amendments, click on ‘Stop Editing’ from the same ‘Actions’ menu section. You can toggle whether the In-Game Editor is active for each saved game during the setup process. You can also toggle whether it appears in the tabs bar or not in the Game Preferences. Achievements There are a vast number of achievements to tick off during your Football Manager career. You can see a full list of them by visiting the appropriate section on the platform you’re playing on (e.g. Steam), and you can compare your progress to that of managers around the world.