Philip Rolfe

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 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 and analysts 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 Ranges 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. Fully Scouting Player: Add the player to your scouting assignments to generate a full Report Card. Make Offer: Immediately begin negotiations to sign the player or you can offer trial to the player You can also choose to ‘Add to Shortlist’ to continue to monitor the player. The List view looks like 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, click 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 quest 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 and analyst 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 few queued assignments at once. Scouting Coverage The Scouting Coverage section gives you a global look at where you have eyes and ears in the football world. The Scouting Assignment screen places all of your scouts on a map, while the Match and Team Analysis screen allows you to ask your analysts for a bespoke report on a team of your choice as well as the Next Opposition or, perhaps information on a Specific Match. World Knowledge Every non-player in Football Manager™ 2023 is considered to have a certain level of knowledge about a country. Depending on their experience and where they’ve spent their career both as a player and a member of staff, they may increase their knowledge of certain areas and indeed hold knowledge about different countries and regions. The knowledge bar doesn’t necessarily equate to automatically identifying the best talent in those countries – the scout’s attributes and overall ability play a massive part in that. What it does do is allow you to see where they do their most comprehensive work and therefore guide you to assign them to countries they know well. If you do choose to assign a scout to a country that they are unfamiliar with, over time they will gain knowledge from that country. They will also progressively accumulate more knowledge the longer they reside there. The Knowledge section offers an overall indication of the club’s entire knowledge base; beginning with a world map indicating the overall knowledge at the club, then a regional breakdown on the lower left sub-panel, before breaking it down into specific nations (and who holds that knowledge) on the right. A club’s scouting knowledge is largely made up of the knowledge of their non-playing personnel, the region in which they play, and any affiliates they can lean on for further information. A staff member’s knowledge comes from their career history and the places they’ve been tasked with scouting. The improvement in their knowledge is loosely attached to their non-playing Current Ability as well as the time they’ve spent in each country (which in turn opens up knowledge to neighbouring or nearby countries). The better they are at their job and the more time they spend in a certain location, the quicker they accumulate knowledge. Agents The role agents play has been expanded in Football Manager™ 2023 to feel more contemporary and mirror the real-life interaction between the ‘intermediaries’ and footballing recruitment departments. They’ll be more involved in your role as a manager and if you can build up good relationships with the ones who have clients on their books at your club in particular, you can engage them in conversations to resolve player unhappiness about their playing time, as well as the usual contract and transfer negotiations. 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 in any case. 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, right-click and select ‘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 or an Analyst 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 clicking and selecting 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 Clicking on any player and selecting ‘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. You can keep fully appraised of how far along the recruitment team is in assessing a player by using the tracker at the top of the screen indicating the knowledge level (%) and gaps in knowledge still to be filled in. What is the difference between each scouting range? Scouting is increasingly done within the club as part of a wide-reaching operation to refine a massive pool of players into a powerful list of potential signings, and it’s all made possible by Scouting ranges. Put simply, the wider the Scouting Range you have, the more players you have access to. Applicable to both senior and youth teams with separate range, they come in different shapes and sizes, with the cost increasing the higher you go. World: The most comprehensive range available. It covers almost every player in the world without restriction. Continental: Covers almost every player within the chosen continent, an example being Europe. Regional: Covers almost every player within the chosen region, an example being Central Europe. National: Covers almost every player within the chosen country, an example being England. Surrounding Division: Covers almost every player within the chosen division PLUS the divisions either side of it in the national hierarchy, an example being EFL League One plus the EFL Championship and EFL League Two. Divisional: Covers almost every player within the chosen division, an example being the EFL Championship. Clubs with no scouting range are restricted to only those players known by members of staff, which puts the onus on having/acquiring the widest and/or deepest range of knowledge bases possible with the budget at your disposal. You are free to choose any range if it remains within your scouting budget, while also downgrading to add funds back to your budget. The scouting budget itself is used for cost of the selected range as well as undertaking Assignments outside of your immediate scouting range on a per-case basis and requires monthly management to always keep your club in with a chance of keeping up with the competition. 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 and cost become factors. 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 right-click 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 transfer 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 clicking on the circular icon with a ‘-‘ through the centre or removed permanently and excluded from negotiations by selecting that option from the menu produced by clicking 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 click on ‘Make Offer’ and await a response, which typically arrives 24-48 hours later, or you can click ‘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. Note that you can offer a Playing Monthly Fee and Wage alongside a Non-Playing Monthly Fee and Wage. In essence this means that you can try to sweeten the deal by offering to pay a greater sum and/or contribution should the player not play a certain number of minutes for your first team perhaps while not paying so much for the privilege of actually playing them. It could theoretically encourage a team to enter into a loan agreement with you if they are being compensated for their player not playing, but – as with all transfer negotiations and everything else under the sun – it’s a fine balancing act. 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 to Clubs’. 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 clicking ‘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. Transfer Deadline Day One of the most intriguing and dramatic days on the football calendar, Transfer Deadline Day often brings about some of the most unpredictable and high-profile transfer activity during the window. Football Manager™ 2023 brings that to attention with tons of content, media interaction, and all of the latest happenings as the clock ticks down and teams aim to get that last-minute deal over the line. When Transfer Deadline Day begins, you will be given the option of taking part in the excitement. If you choose to, a special themed colour scheme will be enabled and you will notice a new icon on the sidebar appears called Deadline Day. Here, your Director of Football will detail players being touted by their agents through the day, while the Transfer News tab will keep you abreast of all the done deals, latest rumours and social media reactions to the deadline day drama.

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 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 and analysts 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 Ranges 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. Fully Scouting Player: Add the player to your scouting assignments to generate a full Report Card. Make Offer: Immediately begin negotiations to sign the player or you can offer trial to the player You can also choose to ‘Add to Shortlist’ to continue to monitor the player. The List view looks like 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, click 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 quest 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 and analyst 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 few queued assignments at once. Scouting Coverage The Scouting Coverage section gives you a global look at where you have eyes and ears in the football world. The Scouting Assignment screen places all of your scouts on a map, while the Match and Team Analysis screen allows you to ask your analysts for a bespoke report on a team of your choice as well as the Next Opposition or, perhaps information on a Specific Match. World Knowledge Every non-player in Football Manager™ 2023 is considered to have a certain level of knowledge about a country. Depending on their experience and where they’ve spent their career both as a player and a member of staff, they may increase their knowledge of certain areas and indeed hold knowledge about different countries and regions. The knowledge bar doesn’t necessarily equate to automatically identifying the best talent in those countries – the scout’s attributes and overall ability play a massive part in that. What it does do is allow you to see where they do their most comprehensive work and therefore guide you to assign them to countries they know well. If you do choose to assign a scout to a country that they are unfamiliar with, over time they will gain knowledge from that country. They will also progressively accumulate more knowledge the longer they reside there. The Knowledge section offers an overall indication of the club’s entire knowledge base; beginning with a world map indicating the overall knowledge at the club, then a regional breakdown on the lower left sub-panel, before breaking it down into specific nations (and who holds that knowledge) on the right. A club’s scouting knowledge is largely made up of the knowledge of their non-playing personnel, the region in which they play, and any affiliates they can lean on for further information. A staff member’s knowledge comes from their career history and the places they’ve been tasked with scouting. The improvement in their knowledge is loosely attached to their non-playing Current Ability as well as the time they’ve spent in each country (which in turn opens up knowledge to neighbouring or nearby countries). The better they are at their job and the more time they spend in a certain location, the quicker they accumulate knowledge. Agents The role agents play has been expanded in Football Manager™ 2023 to feel more contemporary and mirror the real-life interaction between the ‘intermediaries’ and footballing recruitment departments. They’ll be more involved in your role as a manager and if you can build up good relationships with the ones who have clients on their books at your club in particular, you can engage them in conversations to resolve player unhappiness about their playing time, as well as the usual contract and transfer negotiations. 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 in any case. 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, right-click and select ‘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 or an Analyst 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 clicking and selecting 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 Clicking on any player and selecting ‘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. You can keep fully appraised of how far along the recruitment team is in assessing a player by using the tracker at the top of the screen indicating the knowledge level (%) and gaps in knowledge still to be filled in. What is the difference between each scouting range? Scouting is increasingly done within the club as part of a wide-reaching operation to refine a massive pool of players into a powerful list of potential signings, and it’s all made possible by Scouting ranges. Put simply, the wider the Scouting Range you have, the more players you have access to. Applicable to both senior and youth teams with separate range, they come in different shapes and sizes, with the cost increasing the higher you go. World: The most comprehensive range available. It covers almost every player in the world without restriction. Continental: Covers almost every player within the chosen continent, an example being Europe. Regional: Covers almost every player within the chosen region, an example being Central Europe. National: Covers almost every player within the chosen country, an example being England. Surrounding Division: Covers almost every player within the chosen division PLUS the divisions either side of it in the national hierarchy, an example being EFL League One plus the EFL Championship and EFL League Two. Divisional: Covers almost every player within the chosen division, an example being the EFL Championship. Clubs with no scouting range are restricted to only those players known by members of staff, which puts the onus on having/acquiring the widest and/or deepest range of knowledge bases possible with the budget at your disposal. You are free to choose any range if it remains within your scouting budget, while also downgrading to add funds back to your budget. The scouting budget itself is used for cost of the selected range as well as undertaking Assignments outside of your immediate scouting range on a per-case basis and requires monthly management to always keep your club in with a chance of keeping up with the competition. 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 and cost become factors. 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 right-click 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 transfer 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 clicking on the circular icon with a ‘-‘ through the centre or removed permanently and excluded from negotiations by selecting that option from the menu produced by clicking 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 click on ‘Make Offer’ and await a response, which typically arrives 24-48 hours later, or you can click ‘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. Note that you can offer a Playing Monthly Fee and Wage alongside a Non-Playing Monthly Fee and Wage. In essence this means that you can try to sweeten the deal by offering to pay a greater sum and/or contribution should the player not play a certain number of minutes for your first team perhaps while not paying so much for the privilege of actually playing them. It could theoretically encourage a team to enter into a loan agreement with you if they are being compensated for their player not playing, but – as with all transfer negotiations and everything else under the sun – it’s a fine balancing act. 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 to Clubs’. 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 clicking ‘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. Transfer Deadline Day One of the most intriguing and dramatic days on the football calendar, Transfer Deadline Day often brings about some of the most unpredictable and high-profile transfer activity during the window. Football Manager™ 2023 brings that to attention with tons of content, media interaction, and all of the latest happenings as the clock ticks down and teams aim to get that last-minute deal over the line. When Transfer Deadline Day begins, you will be given the option of taking part in the excitement. If you choose to, a special themed colour scheme will be enabled and you will notice a new icon on the sidebar appears called Deadline Day. Here, your Director of Football will detail players being touted by their agents through the day, while the Transfer News tab will keep you abreast of all the done deals, latest rumours and social media reactions to the deadline day drama.

Overview Each week of the in-game calendar is devoted to focusing on a particular tactic and is scheduled around the number of fixtures to be played in that seven-day period. In a typical week with one match on a Saturday, each day typically has two Sessions, with scope for an Extra Session, depending on the overall Intensity, designed to take into account the workload each player is undertaking. Training can be handled in as much or as little depth as you want: - It can be handled entirely by your Backroom Staff, using a selection of pre-set schedules and sessions. - You can pick from those same pre-set schedules and devise your own training calendar. - Finally, you can be fully hands-on, tailoring each Unit, Session, and Schedule to your full requirements. You can move seamlessly between these at any time; newer managers might feel more comfortable with leaving the Backroom Staff in charge in the immediate short-term while learning more about each aspect of training, and then slowly but surely, assuming more control. The more experienced manager, on the other hand, might favour getting stuck into full control and managing every detail. A maximum of three Tactics can be worked on at any one time. The Primary Trained Tactic benefits from 60% of the contribution towards the team’s Tactical Familiarity, with the other two each gaining 20%. Familiarity rises and falls depending on the team and player instructions set in a tactic and is remembered across all tactics. For example, if a player is tasked with Short Passing in all three tactics, the Familiarity will be higher in that regard, which contributes towards the overall score when extrapolated across all players and instructions. 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 neglect to work on certain attributes, it could lead to individuals becoming disillusioned with your practices and asking you to do something about it. Basics ● Training is run via weekly schedules. ● Each schedule is made up of Sessions. ● There are three Sessions per day: Session 1, Session 2, and Extra. ● Each session is available for training in a wide variety of exercises. Sessions Selecting any Session on the weekly Calendar view brings up the full range of Sessions to select from. Sessions are divided into nine categories: General, Match Preparation, Attacking, Defending, Technical, Tactical, Goalkeeping, Set Pieces, Physical, and Extra-Curricular. Within each category, you have the freedom to adjust how your team prepares on a direct tactical basis; an Attacking Session might focus on Attacking Patient, Attacking Direct, Attacking Overlap, or Defending from the Front. Each Session has an explanation of how it benefits the entire first-team squad; for many Sessions, there is an Offensive Unit, a Defensive Unit, and a Goalkeeping Unit. Depending on the Session, one of these takes the Primary Focus, with the others adopting a Secondary Focus as a result. This in turn also affects the balance of attribute development over the course of a Session; an Attacking Unit being given Primary Focus typically benefits from 60% of the overall focus for that time on the training ground. For example, if the Offensive Unit is given an Attacking Session, they are the Primary Focus as they work on chance creation and finishing. The Defensive Unit’s Secondary Focus is to work on their defensive strategy against this, while the Goalkeeping Unit works to prevent goals from being scored. Other more situational Sessions have Set Piece takers against the rest of the squad, and so on and so forth. There are some Sessions undertaken as a Team as opposed to being divided into Units. In these scenarios, the entire squad works together, swapping roles throughout, except for the Goalkeeping Unit, who remain in their role of trying to prevent goals from being scored in all practical sessions. Analysis sessions, in the classroom, are a whole-team affair. Schedules Schedules are devised on a weekly basis to then be actioned throughout the season. Pay close attention to the Intensity indicators when adding and removing sessions to make sure you’re not overloading the team with too much work and making them more susceptible to injury and fatigue. There are also indicators for how beneficial each day is to the Goalkeeping, Defensive and Offensive Units. Extra Sessions quickly result in fatigue and tiredness among your players; however, it is less of an issue for youth teams, who are more likely to benefit from the additional time spent learning and developing. There is as always, a fine balance to be struck, and the risk of over-training a young player could result in burnout. Aside from that, how you set up a Schedule is down to the players at your disposal and your managerial philosophy. The ‘Select Schedule’ button is a good way to get started as it allows you to select a pre-populated Schedule for a different period of the season. Pre-Season work might be more demanding physically, while Mid-Season and Late-Season work is lighter in that regard but potentially more focused on recovery, analysis and tactical work. It is, however, entirely up to you. Professional clubs have the full week available; Semi-Professional and Amateur clubs have three days, including a match day to work with. Units While Units are separated into the Attacking, Defensive, and Goalkeeping splits, you get to decide who takes part in each Unit and what role they attempt to perform during training sessions. This is universal across each session - you can’t place players into different Units for different Sessions – but otherwise you control whether a player is in the Offensive or Defensive setup. Goalkeepers must be in the Goalkeeping Unit. Drag and drop players between each Unit as desired. Players from the Reserve or Youth Teams may be invited to take part in a Unit at any time and benefit from exposure to a higher standard of training, in turn improving their overall prospects of developing towards their potential. Mentoring Mentoring, previously 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. 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. Individual Players can be assigned new Positions and Roles to train in; they do this automatically within appropriate Units during 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 Kick Taking, 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, Distribution (Long and Short) The intensity of the additional work can also be governed on a Normal, Half or Double Intensity basis, which adjusts the overall Individual Training Workload accordingly. Rest You can, should you also want to, give the player(s) time away from pitch and gym work for anywhere from one day to two weeks. This can be an effective morale-booster, especially after a big game and/or as a ‘reward’ for an excellent performance, though should still be used carefully and sparingly in that kind of capacity. Coaches The ‘Coaches’ tab controls how your coaching staff handles training. Each coach is able to work in every aspect of training unless they are of a specific type (i.e. goalkeeping or fitness) – such coaches are restricted to that area only. If they are solely a Reserve/Youth age group coach, they may only work with those players. Each member of your backroom staff is likely to be a specialist in a specific aspect of training. If this is the case, it is worthwhile to assign them to this/these area(s) only. Proficiency in an aspect of training is graded on a star rating, ranging from one star being poor and five stars being excellent. A higher number of stars increases the effectiveness of the training schedules on your players. A coach with high attributes in key areas who is only assigned to coach categories they are strong in will result in a much better training schedule. You can also assign yourself to areas of training in line with the managerial attributes you chose when creating your profile, and the same principle applies in terms of assigning yourself. What’s the best practice to adopt for training for a beginner? It is advisable to run a proper pre-season programme, first and foremost, in order to work towards peak physical condition for as many players as possible when the season begins in earnest. You can do this either by using one of the tailored templates made available in-game, or by devising your own approach, but a strong start will support the rest of the campaign. During pre-season, players are at their minimum level of fatigue (unless they’ve spent the off-season on international duty). When fatigue is low, players tasked with hard, physical work (which increases fatigue) improve their long-term fitness, staving off the potential for jadedness to occur and carry these positive effects further into the season proper. However, once they begin to feel fatigue, these same sessions only serve to bring about more negative impacts far more quickly. Under-working the players during pre-season or over-working them once it’s underway merely leads to increased levels of fatigue. Striking the proper balance once matches are underway is crucial; ensure there is a Match Preview session before every fixture if you want the Pre-Match Briefing and the additional benefits that come with film study and analysis of the upcoming opponent, while a recovery session the day after a match is advisable for players to rest and recover. Try to only use the Extra slot when you have a long stretch (a week or more) without a match. Rest is as important as everything else you do.

Overview Each week of the in-game calendar is devoted to focusing on a particular tactic and is scheduled around the number of fixtures to be played in that seven-day period. In a typical week with one match on a Saturday, each day typically has two Sessions, with scope for an Extra Session, depending on the overall Intensity, designed to take into account the workload each player is undertaking. Training can be handled in as much or as little depth as you want: - It can be handled entirely by your Backroom Staff, using a selection of pre-set schedules and sessions. - You can pick from those same pre-set schedules and devise your own training calendar. - Finally, you can be fully hands-on, tailoring each Unit, Session, and Schedule to your full requirements. You can move seamlessly between these at any time; newer managers might feel more comfortable with leaving the Backroom Staff in charge in the immediate short-term while learning more about each aspect of training, and then slowly but surely, assuming more control. The more experienced manager, on the other hand, might favour getting stuck into full control and managing every detail. A maximum of three Tactics can be worked on at any one time. The Primary Trained Tactic benefits from 60% of the contribution towards the team’s Tactical Familiarity, with the other two each gaining 20%. Familiarity rises and falls depending on the team and player instructions set in a tactic and is remembered across all tactics. For example, if a player is tasked with Short Passing in all three tactics, the Familiarity will be higher in that regard, which contributes towards the overall score when extrapolated across all players and instructions. 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 neglect to work on certain attributes, it could lead to individuals becoming disillusioned with your practices and asking you to do something about it. Basics ● Training is run via weekly schedules. ● Each schedule is made up of Sessions. ● There are three Sessions per day: Session 1, Session 2, and Extra. ● Each session is available for training in a wide variety of exercises. Sessions Selecting any Session on the weekly Calendar view brings up the full range of Sessions to select from. Sessions are divided into nine categories: General, Match Preparation, Attacking, Defending, Technical, Tactical, Goalkeeping, Set Pieces, Physical, and Extra-Curricular. Within each category, you have the freedom to adjust how your team prepares on a direct tactical basis; an Attacking Session might focus on Attacking Patient, Attacking Direct, Attacking Overlap, or Defending from the Front. Each Session has an explanation of how it benefits the entire first-team squad; for many Sessions, there is an Offensive Unit, a Defensive Unit, and a Goalkeeping Unit. Depending on the Session, one of these takes the Primary Focus, with the others adopting a Secondary Focus as a result. This in turn also affects the balance of attribute development over the course of a Session; an Attacking Unit being given Primary Focus typically benefits from 60% of the overall focus for that time on the training ground. For example, if the Offensive Unit is given an Attacking Session, they are the Primary Focus as they work on chance creation and finishing. The Defensive Unit’s Secondary Focus is to work on their defensive strategy against this, while the Goalkeeping Unit works to prevent goals from being scored. Other more situational Sessions have Set Piece takers against the rest of the squad, and so on and so forth. There are some Sessions undertaken as a Team as opposed to being divided into Units. In these scenarios, the entire squad works together, swapping roles throughout, except for the Goalkeeping Unit, who remain in their role of trying to prevent goals from being scored in all practical sessions. Analysis sessions, in the classroom, are a whole-team affair. Schedules Schedules are devised on a weekly basis to then be actioned throughout the season. Pay close attention to the Intensity indicators when adding and removing sessions to make sure you’re not overloading the team with too much work and making them more susceptible to injury and fatigue. There are also indicators for how beneficial each day is to the Goalkeeping, Defensive and Offensive Units. Extra Sessions quickly result in fatigue and tiredness among your players; however, it is less of an issue for youth teams, who are more likely to benefit from the additional time spent learning and developing. There is as always, a fine balance to be struck, and the risk of over-training a young player could result in burnout. Aside from that, how you set up a Schedule is down to the players at your disposal and your managerial philosophy. The ‘Select Schedule’ button is a good way to get started as it allows you to select a pre-populated Schedule for a different period of the season. Pre-Season work might be more demanding physically, while Mid-Season and Late-Season work is lighter in that regard but potentially more focused on recovery, analysis and tactical work. It is, however, entirely up to you. Professional clubs have the full week available; Semi-Professional and Amateur clubs have three days, including a match day to work with. Units While Units are separated into the Attacking, Defensive, and Goalkeeping splits, you get to decide who takes part in each Unit and what role they attempt to perform during training sessions. This is universal across each session - you can’t place players into different Units for different Sessions – but otherwise you control whether a player is in the Offensive or Defensive setup. Goalkeepers must be in the Goalkeeping Unit. Drag and drop players between each Unit as desired. Players from the Reserve or Youth Teams may be invited to take part in a Unit at any time and benefit from exposure to a higher standard of training, in turn improving their overall prospects of developing towards their potential. Mentoring Mentoring, previously 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. 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. Individual Players can be assigned new Positions and Roles to train in; they do this automatically within appropriate Units during 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 Kick Taking, 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, Distribution (Long and Short) The intensity of the additional work can also be governed on a Normal, Half or Double Intensity basis, which adjusts the overall Individual Training Workload accordingly. Rest You can, should you also want to, give the player(s) time away from pitch and gym work for anywhere from one day to two weeks. This can be an effective morale-booster, especially after a big game and/or as a ‘reward’ for an excellent performance, though should still be used carefully and sparingly in that kind of capacity. Coaches The ‘Coaches’ tab controls how your coaching staff handles training. Each coach is able to work in every aspect of training unless they are of a specific type (i.e. goalkeeping or fitness) – such coaches are restricted to that area only. If they are solely a Reserve/Youth age group coach, they may only work with those players. Each member of your backroom staff is likely to be a specialist in a specific aspect of training. If this is the case, it is worthwhile to assign them to this/these area(s) only. Proficiency in an aspect of training is graded on a star rating, ranging from one star being poor and five stars being excellent. A higher number of stars increases the effectiveness of the training schedules on your players. A coach with high attributes in key areas who is only assigned to coach categories they are strong in will result in a much better training schedule. You can also assign yourself to areas of training in line with the managerial attributes you chose when creating your profile, and the same principle applies in terms of assigning yourself. What’s the best practice to adopt for training for a beginner? It is advisable to run a proper pre-season programme, first and foremost, in order to work towards peak physical condition for as many players as possible when the season begins in earnest. You can do this either by using one of the tailored templates made available in-game, or by devising your own approach, but a strong start will support the rest of the campaign. During pre-season, players are at their minimum level of fatigue (unless they’ve spent the off-season on international duty). When fatigue is low, players tasked with hard, physical work (which increases fatigue) improve their long-term fitness, staving off the potential for jadedness to occur and carry these positive effects further into the season proper. However, once they begin to feel fatigue, these same sessions only serve to bring about more negative impacts far more quickly. Under-working the players during pre-season or over-working them once it’s underway merely leads to increased levels of fatigue. Striking the proper balance once matches are underway is crucial; ensure there is a Match Preview session before every fixture if you want the Pre-Match Briefing and the additional benefits that come with film study and analysis of the upcoming opponent, while a recovery session the day after a match is advisable for players to rest and recover. Try to only use the Extra slot when you have a long stretch (a week or more) without a match. Rest is as important as everything else you do.

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. Each set piece type guides you through a visual presentation of your set piece instructions and takers. Each position is visible on the pitch with a series of available icons either when clicked on or dragged away from the current position. You can drag an icon to another area of the pitch (only areas with an indicated ‘landing spot’ are accepted). 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 long 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. Left-click 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 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: 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. 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, left-click 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 or them to exceed their ability on occasion. A poor captain results in those same players not playing to their full capacity. Your choice matters.

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. Each set piece type guides you through a visual presentation of your set piece instructions and takers. Each position is visible on the pitch with a series of available icons either when clicked on or dragged away from the current position. You can drag an icon to another area of the pitch (only areas with an indicated ‘landing spot’ are accepted). 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 long 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. Left-click 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 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: 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. 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, left-click 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 or them to exceed their ability on occasion. A poor captain results in those same players not playing to their full capacity. Your choice matters.

The Staff Responsibilities menu allows you to specify which members of your backroom staff are designated to carry out specific roles to do with the day-to-day running of your club. They can help take significant weight off your shoulders and allow you to get on with enjoying the things you love most about being a football manager. The ‘Responsibilities’ screen displays everything you’re currently responsible for. Here, each responsibility is described alongside the person delegated with that particular task, and each area of the club has its own section. You can select your desired member of staff from the appropriate dropdown list, but bear in mind that certain responsibilities may only be carried out by qualified individuals among the backroom team and therefore some names are unavailable. What is the impact of delegating tasks to my staff versus keeping control myself? It ultimately comes down to how you want to experience Football Manager™ 2023. If you want to have complete control of everything, micro-manage every detail, and know exactly what’s happening at any given time, then keeping control of everything will work for you. There is no direct impairment on the standard of quality of management by a member of staff you’ve delegated a task to; it all comes down to their attributes themselves. If you delegate something to the theoretical best Assistant Manager in the world, one flawless in every regard, then the benefits will be plentiful and perhaps better than if you had retained control yourself. If the task is placed in less capable hands, however, it won’t be. That might mean that a player doesn’t develop as well as they might otherwise, that a team talk isn’t issued as productively as it could have been, or that a player that you might have otherwise wished to keep is sold by the Director of Football. Make the decisions that work for you; understand the strengths and weaknesses of the support team at your disposal, and react accordingly. Staff Attributes The following details describe how the ratings model for non-players works in Football Manager™ 2023. 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. 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. Data Analysis Attributes Analysing Data The ability of an Analyst to understand data concerning an individual player or team and interpret it in a manner useful to the manager. 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. Non-Player Tendencies Players have traits; non-players have tendencies. All tendencies are scored on a 1-20 range like attributes, but rather than impact how well they do something, they determine how likely something is. They can be divided into three main categories: Managers, Coaches etc. Operate without an Assistant Manager Fit players into preferred tactic Have a large senior squad Make early tactical changes Rely on set pieces Select domestic players for National Team Use counter-attacks Use Target Man Use young players in low priority cups Use zonal marking for set pieces Select a substitute Goalkeeper Have a willingness to work in the lower leagues Use non-first team goalkeeper for domestic cup games Use non-first team goalkeeper for continental cup games Doesn't use Data Analysts Person responsible for transfer activity Sign domestic-based players Sign lower league players Sign many youth players Spend on youth signings Use budget on one player Use loan market Offer high Promotion wage percentage increases Offer high Relegation wage percentage decreases Pay fees upfront Target high-profile signings Sign many young players to make a profit Sign U22 players for the first team Sign U24 players for the first team Staff Roles Each member of the backroom team can be assigned to train at least one squad at the club, with some roles allowing more freedom, and greater flexibility. As Manager, you can assign yourself to any of the teams at the club, while the same level of delegation can be applied to First Team Fitness Coaches and Goalkeeping Coaches. First Team Assistant Managers and Coaches, however, may only work with the senior squad itself, and the same is true for all Reserve, Under-21, Under-19 or Under-18 staff: they may only work with their assigned age groups – with one exception. If two or more squads share facilities – for example a First Team and a Reserve Team train at the same site – then the assignments are available for anyone from any squad to move around freely. Fitness Coaches may only work with the Strength and Quickness categories while Goalkeeping Coaches may only work with the Handling and Shot Stopping categories.

The Staff Responsibilities menu allows you to specify which members of your backroom staff are designated to carry out specific roles to do with the day-to-day running of your club. They can help take significant weight off your shoulders and allow you to get on with enjoying the things you love most about being a football manager. The ‘Responsibilities’ screen displays everything you’re currently responsible for. Here, each responsibility is described alongside the person delegated with that particular task, and each area of the club has its own section. You can select your desired member of staff from the appropriate dropdown list, but bear in mind that certain responsibilities may only be carried out by qualified individuals among the backroom team and therefore some names are unavailable. What is the impact of delegating tasks to my staff versus keeping control myself? It ultimately comes down to how you want to experience Football Manager™ 2023. If you want to have complete control of everything, micro-manage every detail, and know exactly what’s happening at any given time, then keeping control of everything will work for you. There is no direct impairment on the standard of quality of management by a member of staff you’ve delegated a task to; it all comes down to their attributes themselves. If you delegate something to the theoretical best Assistant Manager in the world, one flawless in every regard, then the benefits will be plentiful and perhaps better than if you had retained control yourself. If the task is placed in less capable hands, however, it won’t be. That might mean that a player doesn’t develop as well as they might otherwise, that a team talk isn’t issued as productively as it could have been, or that a player that you might have otherwise wished to keep is sold by the Director of Football. Make the decisions that work for you; understand the strengths and weaknesses of the support team at your disposal, and react accordingly. Staff Attributes The following details describe how the ratings model for non-players works in Football Manager™ 2023. 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. 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. Data Analysis Attributes Analysing Data The ability of an Analyst to understand data concerning an individual player or team and interpret it in a manner useful to the manager. 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. Non-Player Tendencies Players have traits; non-players have tendencies. All tendencies are scored on a 1-20 range like attributes, but rather than impact how well they do something, they determine how likely something is. They can be divided into three main categories: Managers, Coaches etc. Operate without an Assistant Manager Fit players into preferred tactic Have a large senior squad Make early tactical changes Rely on set pieces Select domestic players for National Team Use counter-attacks Use Target Man Use young players in low priority cups Use zonal marking for set pieces Select a substitute Goalkeeper Have a willingness to work in the lower leagues Use non-first team goalkeeper for domestic cup games Use non-first team goalkeeper for continental cup games Doesn't use Data Analysts Person responsible for transfer activity Sign domestic-based players Sign lower league players Sign many youth players Spend on youth signings Use budget on one player Use loan market Offer high Promotion wage percentage increases Offer high Relegation wage percentage decreases Pay fees upfront Target high-profile signings Sign many young players to make a profit Sign U22 players for the first team Sign U24 players for the first team Staff Roles Each member of the backroom team can be assigned to train at least one squad at the club, with some roles allowing more freedom, and greater flexibility. As Manager, you can assign yourself to any of the teams at the club, while the same level of delegation can be applied to First Team Fitness Coaches and Goalkeeping Coaches. First Team Assistant Managers and Coaches, however, may only work with the senior squad itself, and the same is true for all Reserve, Under-21, Under-19 or Under-18 staff: they may only work with their assigned age groups – with one exception. If two or more squads share facilities – for example a First Team and a Reserve Team train at the same site – then the assignments are available for anyone from any squad to move around freely. Fitness Coaches may only work with the Strength and Quickness categories while Goalkeeping Coaches may only work with the Handling and Shot Stopping categories.

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. Clicking 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 right-click on 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™ 2023, 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. Impact Sub: A game-changing option from the substitutes’ bench; someone who might not start very often, but nevertheless is ready to make a positive contribution more often than not. 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 real aspirations to play for the top club. Breakthrough Prospect: A highly talented young player who is close to a permanent breakthrough into the first team and would likely expect new terms to be discussed once that happens. Hot Prospect: A highly talented young player who is still some way from the first team. 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. Emergency Backup: A depth option who understands that the only time they’ll play for the first team is if injury and suspension force it to happen. Cup Goalkeeper: The nominated goalkeeper for all cup competitions; someone different from the First-Choice goalkeeper. Domestic Cup Goalkeeper: The nominated goalkeeper for all domestic cup competitions; someone different from the First-Choice goalkeeper. Continental Cup Goalkeeper: The nominated goalkeeper for all continental 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 this screen. It is accessed from the ‘Development’ -> ‘Tactics’ tab. 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 their ability to play in various roles. A player’s main position is printed in full in the title bar (presuming you have the Preferences set accordingly). Any other positions and/or sides they can play are appended with abbreviations. 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 have 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: 15-17 Competent: 12-14 Unconvincing: 9-11 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 themdown, 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 solely applies to direct shots at goal; indirect free kicks are governed by other technical attributes like Crossing. 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 PPMs 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 is dedicated to all things concerning the physical wellbeing of your players from injury prevention to rehabilitation and everything in between. Overview The Overview mainly provides a breakdown of players in the squad who are at risk of injury. The Head of Sports Science (where employed, otherwise an alternative member of staff provides this information) details the workload and injury proneness of each at-risk individual and summarises how likely they might be 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. Risk Assessment The Risk Assessment sub-panel has its own dedicated screen where you can action all of the above. It features much of the same content but instead covers your entire squad while informing you of the upcoming fixtures and the team’s overall training workload for additional context. Current Injuries and Injury History These screens detail every injury suffered by a player in your squad during the current season. The bar traversing the top of the Injury History screen area provides additional information to place these injuries into context; the section comparing them to the rest of the league is perhaps the most important, while the comparison to your own injury record last season also offers insight into whether things are getting better or worse. Season Summary The Season Summary section lists every player in the squad alongside the number of injuries and time spent on the sidelines as an overall summary. Player Overview Each player also has an injury overview page accessible via their player profile from the ‘Reports’ menu, under ‘Medical Report’. 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 players’ 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. Transfer - Offer to Clubs If you no longer want the services of a player or your hand is forced into selling them , 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 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. Development - Move Players Between Squads This option allows you to assign players to various squads, most typically a Senior, Reserve, Under-23, Under-21, or Youth team. 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 not ready or performing at a higher level. You can also assign a player to a team for a period while recovering from injury to allow them to regain fitness at a lower level where performances and development can be considered more important than the result. Development – Available For (other squads) You can also make a player available for the other teams at the club, where age rules allow, 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. To keep fitness up, happiness in order, and development continuing, you should allow them to play for the reserves or an equivalent team. Development - 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. This can be set for any member of the squad, but for those you wish to sell, you can set your instructions for handling transfer offers, including desired fees and whether the player is ‘officially’ on the Transfer List. Once you’re happy with your changes, hit ‘Confirm’ to apply them. Contracts - Offer New Contract Offering a new contract is different than ever before in Football Manager™ 2023 with more options at your disposal for getting a deal one. Primarily, you might want to Discuss New Contract With Agent to have an opening conversation with the player’s representative to get a feel for what might be expected during negotiations; the benefits here being that you’re able to not only avoid a breakdown in talks later on, but also build relationships with agents that can carry over into agreeing more favourable terms. You can of course simply Enter Contract Negotiations as before and get right down to business but, as suggested, you might not be able to benefit from some of the advantages that come with opening lines of communication with agents before sitting down at the table to thrash out a deal. You can also hand negotiations over to your Director of Football (DoF) and trigger any clauses that automatically extend a contract should they be a part of the player’s existing deal. Contracts – Release on a Free/Mutual Termination If you no longer want the services of a player at the club and can’t shift them on to another team, you may want to release the player from their contract and make them a free agent. If you decide to do this, you will have to pay off the remainder of the contract, unless you agree a mutual termination with the player. Should they also want out of the club, offering the chance to leave the club in a mutual agreement for a lower payoff or completely free of charge may be successful, but it will not be in all cases, and you may end up merely making the player (more) stubborn; in turn, this will make things harder for you as they take offence at being asked to leave. Interaction As a manager, you’ll find yourself interacting with players on a frequent basis, depending on your Level of Discipline attribute and overall desire to do so. Not just interaction through the direct interaction module detailed in this section, but in more minor ways, such as promoting a player from the reserve team into your senior squad. The majority of these are carried out from options found within a player’s Actions menu, which can be accessed from their Player Interaction tab or by right-clicking on a player’s name. You should make sure you pay close attention to the Dynamics section, both in-game and in this manual, when interacting with players, as their reaction can and often does influence other players in the squad. You can choose to speak to or about the player from this section with a range of subjects to discuss. You might wish to praise recent form or conduct, or you could have more stern words about their work rate in training, recent form or conduct; all of which might land them on the transfer list. You can also discipline your players from this section. Exactly how much discipline you mete out depends on your tendencies and how much trust you want to place in your players, but if any of them step out of line, you can discipline them to the tune of an official warning or a fine of one/two (maximum) week’s wages. Players can only be disciplined if they’ve committed a misdemeanour. If they act unprofessionally, are violent, are dismissed during a match, or simply haven’t put in the performance you expect them to, hit them where it hurts – their wallet. Any attempt to discipline them without cause is bound to end badly for everyone concerned. A word of warning, though. Excessive punishment can lead to you garnering a negative reputation; your players won’t like this and, eventually, your Board won’t either. Fine too many players at once for a debatable reason and you’ll be hearing from your superiors. Manage it well, and you’ll have a squad that keeps in line. Comparison – Player Comparison Football Manager™ allows you to take two players and compare every facet of their game to get a visual and immediate understanding of where their strengths and weaknesses lie in relation to each other. 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, click 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. Using the comparison feature allows you to make well-informed judgment calls between players in your squad or when deciding on potential new signings. Comparison - 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. History - Keep History After Retirement If you wish to retain a player’s career history once retired, ensure that this option is enabled. The playing history and biography will be permanently accessible if retained; if not, they will disappear from the saved game altogether if they do not move into a non-playing position. How important is player interaction to my chances of success? Like most aspects of Football Manager 2023™, player interaction is a piece of the puzzle that is overall success. Making the right decisions with your players directly affects their morale, which in turn directly affects their performances on the pitch. To repeat what has been written in the Dynamics section: keep your players happy and you’ll be rewarded. They will give you every opportunity to do right by them before things become truly unmanageable, and they want to be successful every bit as much as you do. The interaction module is an important part of ensuring their morale remains high. There are no right or wrong answers in direct interactions with your players and, as is often the case, a common-sense approach is usually a good starting point. Understand your players, know their personalities, and respond to their concerns. Some players require a firmer hand, others might need an arm around the shoulder and a softer approach. There is no single solution to each conversation, but the right outcome can be discovered through experience, understanding and strong management.

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. Clicking 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 right-click on 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™ 2023, 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. Impact Sub: A game-changing option from the substitutes’ bench; someone who might not start very often, but nevertheless is ready to make a positive contribution more often than not. 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 real aspirations to play for the top club. Breakthrough Prospect: A highly talented young player who is close to a permanent breakthrough into the first team and would likely expect new terms to be discussed once that happens. Hot Prospect: A highly talented young player who is still some way from the first team. 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. Emergency Backup: A depth option who understands that the only time they’ll play for the first team is if injury and suspension force it to happen. Cup Goalkeeper: The nominated goalkeeper for all cup competitions; someone different from the First-Choice goalkeeper. Domestic Cup Goalkeeper: The nominated goalkeeper for all domestic cup competitions; someone different from the First-Choice goalkeeper. Continental Cup Goalkeeper: The nominated goalkeeper for all continental 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 this screen. It is accessed from the ‘Development’ -> ‘Tactics’ tab. 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 their ability to play in various roles. A player’s main position is printed in full in the title bar (presuming you have the Preferences set accordingly). Any other positions and/or sides they can play are appended with abbreviations. 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 have 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: 15-17 Competent: 12-14 Unconvincing: 9-11 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 themdown, 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 solely applies to direct shots at goal; indirect free kicks are governed by other technical attributes like Crossing. 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 PPMs 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 is dedicated to all things concerning the physical wellbeing of your players from injury prevention to rehabilitation and everything in between. Overview The Overview mainly provides a breakdown of players in the squad who are at risk of injury. The Head of Sports Science (where employed, otherwise an alternative member of staff provides this information) details the workload and injury proneness of each at-risk individual and summarises how likely they might be 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. Risk Assessment The Risk Assessment sub-panel has its own dedicated screen where you can action all of the above. It features much of the same content but instead covers your entire squad while informing you of the upcoming fixtures and the team’s overall training workload for additional context. Current Injuries and Injury History These screens detail every injury suffered by a player in your squad during the current season. The bar traversing the top of the Injury History screen area provides additional information to place these injuries into context; the section comparing them to the rest of the league is perhaps the most important, while the comparison to your own injury record last season also offers insight into whether things are getting better or worse. Season Summary The Season Summary section lists every player in the squad alongside the number of injuries and time spent on the sidelines as an overall summary. Player Overview Each player also has an injury overview page accessible via their player profile from the ‘Reports’ menu, under ‘Medical Report’. 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 players’ 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. Transfer - Offer to Clubs If you no longer want the services of a player or your hand is forced into selling them , 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 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. Development - Move Players Between Squads This option allows you to assign players to various squads, most typically a Senior, Reserve, Under-23, Under-21, or Youth team. 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 not ready or performing at a higher level. You can also assign a player to a team for a period while recovering from injury to allow them to regain fitness at a lower level where performances and development can be considered more important than the result. Development – Available For (other squads) You can also make a player available for the other teams at the club, where age rules allow, 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. To keep fitness up, happiness in order, and development continuing, you should allow them to play for the reserves or an equivalent team. Development - 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. This can be set for any member of the squad, but for those you wish to sell, you can set your instructions for handling transfer offers, including desired fees and whether the player is ‘officially’ on the Transfer List. Once you’re happy with your changes, hit ‘Confirm’ to apply them. Contracts - Offer New Contract Offering a new contract is different than ever before in Football Manager™ 2023 with more options at your disposal for getting a deal one. Primarily, you might want to Discuss New Contract With Agent to have an opening conversation with the player’s representative to get a feel for what might be expected during negotiations; the benefits here being that you’re able to not only avoid a breakdown in talks later on, but also build relationships with agents that can carry over into agreeing more favourable terms. You can of course simply Enter Contract Negotiations as before and get right down to business but, as suggested, you might not be able to benefit from some of the advantages that come with opening lines of communication with agents before sitting down at the table to thrash out a deal. You can also hand negotiations over to your Director of Football (DoF) and trigger any clauses that automatically extend a contract should they be a part of the player’s existing deal. Contracts – Release on a Free/Mutual Termination If you no longer want the services of a player at the club and can’t shift them on to another team, you may want to release the player from their contract and make them a free agent. If you decide to do this, you will have to pay off the remainder of the contract, unless you agree a mutual termination with the player. Should they also want out of the club, offering the chance to leave the club in a mutual agreement for a lower payoff or completely free of charge may be successful, but it will not be in all cases, and you may end up merely making the player (more) stubborn; in turn, this will make things harder for you as they take offence at being asked to leave. Interaction As a manager, you’ll find yourself interacting with players on a frequent basis, depending on your Level of Discipline attribute and overall desire to do so. Not just interaction through the direct interaction module detailed in this section, but in more minor ways, such as promoting a player from the reserve team into your senior squad. The majority of these are carried out from options found within a player’s Actions menu, which can be accessed from their Player Interaction tab or by right-clicking on a player’s name. You should make sure you pay close attention to the Dynamics section, both in-game and in this manual, when interacting with players, as their reaction can and often does influence other players in the squad. You can choose to speak to or about the player from this section with a range of subjects to discuss. You might wish to praise recent form or conduct, or you could have more stern words about their work rate in training, recent form or conduct; all of which might land them on the transfer list. You can also discipline your players from this section. Exactly how much discipline you mete out depends on your tendencies and how much trust you want to place in your players, but if any of them step out of line, you can discipline them to the tune of an official warning or a fine of one/two (maximum) week’s wages. Players can only be disciplined if they’ve committed a misdemeanour. If they act unprofessionally, are violent, are dismissed during a match, or simply haven’t put in the performance you expect them to, hit them where it hurts – their wallet. Any attempt to discipline them without cause is bound to end badly for everyone concerned. A word of warning, though. Excessive punishment can lead to you garnering a negative reputation; your players won’t like this and, eventually, your Board won’t either. Fine too many players at once for a debatable reason and you’ll be hearing from your superiors. Manage it well, and you’ll have a squad that keeps in line. Comparison – Player Comparison Football Manager™ allows you to take two players and compare every facet of their game to get a visual and immediate understanding of where their strengths and weaknesses lie in relation to each other. 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, click 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. Using the comparison feature allows you to make well-informed judgment calls between players in your squad or when deciding on potential new signings. Comparison - 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. History - Keep History After Retirement If you wish to retain a player’s career history once retired, ensure that this option is enabled. The playing history and biography will be permanently accessible if retained; if not, they will disappear from the saved game altogether if they do not move into a non-playing position. How important is player interaction to my chances of success? Like most aspects of Football Manager 2023™, player interaction is a piece of the puzzle that is overall success. Making the right decisions with your players directly affects their morale, which in turn directly affects their performances on the pitch. To repeat what has been written in the Dynamics section: keep your players happy and you’ll be rewarded. They will give you every opportunity to do right by them before things become truly unmanageable, and they want to be successful every bit as much as you do. The interaction module is an important part of ensuring their morale remains high. There are no right or wrong answers in direct interactions with your players and, as is often the case, a common-sense approach is usually a good starting point. Understand your players, know their personalities, and respond to their concerns. Some players require a firmer hand, others might need an arm around the shoulder and a softer approach. There is no single solution to each conversation, but the right outcome can be discovered through experience, understanding and strong management.

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. The first team squad is shown with key information about each player’s position, condition, morale and performances. There is the option to filter which players are shown to include all players in the squad, exclude players depending on the positions they play and also hide players who may be unavailable or not currently at the club. Squad Planner New in Football Manager™ 2023 is the ability to progressively plan your squad from its current point into next season and the one afterwards. This tab can be found to the right of the Overview screen. Within it, you can see immediately in the ‘Next season’ and ‘Season after’ buttons not only which players will still be at the club (according to their contract expiry dates), but also their likely ability in their assigned role in the tactic(s) the squad are currently training under. Moreover, the most game-changing aspect of it is the opportunity to see how players not at your club would fit into the system, regardless of whether they’re realistic targets to sign. They can be added by position/role to the formation(s) on the screen and can subsequently be used as a Recruitment Focus. You can save and load these as you can with tactics to quickly edit and improve to the context of your game via the Main Details and Further Details tabs within the Recruitment Focus pop-up screen. Report The Report tab is compiled by the backroom staff) at your club and offers a range of tools for getting to know, and getting the best out of, your squad. Stats This section presents a breakdown of team statistics across a wide range of areas and highlights the best and worst performers accordingly. Comparison This section takes 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 Strengths and Weaknesses from the squad as a whole and presents a breakdown of statistical leaders in your team – such as the youngest and oldest players to name one example – and compares them to the leaders within your league. Experience Matrix New for Football Manager™ 2023 is the ability under the Report drop-down menu to see which members of your squad are where in their playing career journeys. Your roster is divided into four categories: Development, Emerging, Peak, and Experienced. There is also a further colour-coded division in each category, outlining their significance to the team: Important, Squad Depth, and Youth. The matrix can be viewed in either the more broad-brush Squad View or by Position View, which puts a new spin on what you might need for each position and role; this can help greatly in terms of future planning for your team. Best XI This screen presents a prospective best starting eleven as rated by each member of your backroom team. You can switch formation depending on the tactics you currently have being trained, and each position has an identifiable Best Player and Best Prospect to aid with future planning. Data Hub 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 an analyst 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’, ‘Analyst Report’, ‘Stat Pack’ 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. Dynamics and Player Happiness 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. The Dynamics section provides a full and comprehensive insight into the network of relationships that exist within the squad that you have put together. Overview The Overview screen gives you a top-level look at what’s going on. The Match Cohesion section shows how the relationships among the players are affecting the team’s performance on the pitch, the Dressing Room Atmosphere section indicates how the group are feeling while the Managerial Support sub-panel keeps you abreast of current levels of support for your management among the players. The majority of the screen is centred around detailing any issues players might currently have while the club’s most influential players and social groups are also included, with links to dedicated sections providing further detail. Hierarchy This screen presents the overall squad hierarchy to you in a rough pyramid system, although the exact nature of each squad might differ greatly in terms of the number of players residing within each section. The manager oversees everything above the hierarchy; clicking on them displays their overall Managerial Support in a side panel as well as a visual indicator of each player’s support. Team Leaders sit at the top of the pyramid and are the most influential players at the club. They typically have leadership and experience in abundance and other players naturally gravitate towards them. As the most significant players in the squad, they are the ones you want to keep happiest, as any grievances will not only affect them but also permeate through the rest of the squad. Highly Influential Players are next on the totem pole, and exhibit many of the same hallmarks as the Team Leaders do. They provide stability and bring the core of the squad together, as there are typically more leading players than team leaders, who are generally the few who emerge from this group and take the overall lead. Influential Players have a voice that deserves to be heard and are powerful figures within the squad, but haven’t quite scaled the same heights as their more experienced, illustrious and longer-serving teammates. Other Players make up the remainder of the group and haven’t generated enough leadership experience during their time at the club or don’t have the ‘right’ personality to lead, and tend to gravitate towards others at the current time. Each player’s box can be selected to provide further information about them from a pop-up panel towards the right of the main screen area. It also highlights the primary social group they are a part of, as well as everyone else within that group. You can also select the different social groups from the section at the top of the screen. Social Groups Those social groups also have their own dedicated screen for further analysis. Each group has its own sub-panel arranging the players within it into a rough hierarchy based on the overall squad hierarchy. The panel to the side of the screen indicates whether the groups within the squad live harmoniously together or whether dissenting factions are beginning to form, and is an element that should be monitored periodically, especially when making moves in the transfer market. Selecting a player brings up a personalised pop-up panel with their information. Happiness The squad happiness screen lists each player by hierarchy group and offers a visual indication of their happiness in several areas, allowing for quick and easy reference as to who may have concerns, and who is developing issues. In turn, you’re able to identify and action these in order to resolve them before they become an issue for the social groups or the squad as a whole. Promises represents the player’s satisfaction with any promises made towards them. Morale represents the overall player morale. Training represents the overall level of satisfaction with training. Treatment represents your actions towards the player with regards to praise, criticism, fines and discipline. Club represents the player’s feelings concerning the overall direction the club is heading in. Management represents their feelings regarding your overall management, tactical decisions, team talks, and transfer market activity. Playing Time represents their satisfaction with how much first-team football they’re receiving. Overall Happiness is a summary that takes all of the above into account and distils it into a succinct reference of the player’s overall happiness right now. The happiness ranges are as follows (from most to least happy): Delighted Very Happy Happy Slightly Happy Content Slightly Unhappy Unhappy Very Unhappy Devastated Code of Conduct Before every season, you will have the opportunity to outline a Code of Conduct to your players, which determines the punishments for transgressions like missing training, being sent off or getting suspended. Details of these punishments, ranging from a verbal warning to a fine of two weeks’ wages, are found here. You can override them on a case by case basis whenever incidents occur, potentially risking the wrath of a player who feels that they have been dealt with particularly harshly, but you cannot change the agreed collective Code once it’s been set for that season. How do I keep my players happy? The easy answer to this question is to give them what they want, but that’s not always that simple, so it mostly comes down to the degree of flexibility you’re willing to offer. If a player can see that you’re making a genuine attempt to at least meet them in the middle, rather than outright rejecting their request, they’re more likely to accept your decision or, at worst, only become concerned. Players will also give you every opportunity to correct your ‘mistakes’ before escalating their unhappiness to a more severe state. You will be prompted to take action through Inbox messages, Backroom Advice, and direct interactions with players when a player is unhappy, and you can often resolve a situation before it gets out of hand. You do need to be proactive in doing this, though; simply leaving things to run their course will rarely work out in your favour. Treating Team Leaders and Highly Influential players with the respect their status deserves also goes a long way to maintaining a happy dressing room, and the same goes for ensuring players in a sizeable and powerful social group are kept happy. If these players become unhappy, it can quickly spread throughout the squad, far more so than if a fringe first-team player has a concern. You don’t always have to bend over backwards to give them what they want, but a common-sense approach is always advisable: acting fairly and honestly is of tremendous help. 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 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. A well-timed Team Meeting is a superb opportunity for you to gather the players and give them something of a morale boost. If you do this before a potentially winnable match – perhaps against another team struggling for results and morale – you can lift your team’s spirits enough to get a positive result, which in turn lifts morale even further. Changing your starting eleven to include players who aren’t quite as unhappy as others in the squad can also 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 root cause of squad unhappiness can always be found on the Dynamics screens; make use of the information there to identify it, then make the best decision for the team. Development 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. If you are also in charge of one of your club’s youth teams, that squad appears on the Side Bar in its own section, but if not, you only see the Development Centre. 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. Youth Squads The youth squad tabs – which both change in number and have different naming conventions depending on the club you’re managing – provide tactical insight, training information, fixture lists and match analysis. 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 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 earn contracts with the club, they turn up on this screen, along 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.

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. The first team squad is shown with key information about each player’s position, condition, morale and performances. There is the option to filter which players are shown to include all players in the squad, exclude players depending on the positions they play and also hide players who may be unavailable or not currently at the club. Squad Planner New in Football Manager™ 2023 is the ability to progressively plan your squad from its current point into next season and the one afterwards. This tab can be found to the right of the Overview screen. Within it, you can see immediately in the ‘Next season’ and ‘Season after’ buttons not only which players will still be at the club (according to their contract expiry dates), but also their likely ability in their assigned role in the tactic(s) the squad are currently training under. Moreover, the most game-changing aspect of it is the opportunity to see how players not at your club would fit into the system, regardless of whether they’re realistic targets to sign. They can be added by position/role to the formation(s) on the screen and can subsequently be used as a Recruitment Focus. You can save and load these as you can with tactics to quickly edit and improve to the context of your game via the Main Details and Further Details tabs within the Recruitment Focus pop-up screen. Report The Report tab is compiled by the backroom staff) at your club and offers a range of tools for getting to know, and getting the best out of, your squad. Stats This section presents a breakdown of team statistics across a wide range of areas and highlights the best and worst performers accordingly. Comparison This section takes 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 Strengths and Weaknesses from the squad as a whole and presents a breakdown of statistical leaders in your team – such as the youngest and oldest players to name one example – and compares them to the leaders within your league. Experience Matrix New for Football Manager™ 2023 is the ability under the Report drop-down menu to see which members of your squad are where in their playing career journeys. Your roster is divided into four categories: Development, Emerging, Peak, and Experienced. There is also a further colour-coded division in each category, outlining their significance to the team: Important, Squad Depth, and Youth. The matrix can be viewed in either the more broad-brush Squad View or by Position View, which puts a new spin on what you might need for each position and role; this can help greatly in terms of future planning for your team. Best XI This screen presents a prospective best starting eleven as rated by each member of your backroom team. You can switch formation depending on the tactics you currently have being trained, and each position has an identifiable Best Player and Best Prospect to aid with future planning. Data Hub 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 an analyst 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’, ‘Analyst Report’, ‘Stat Pack’ 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. Dynamics and Player Happiness 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. The Dynamics section provides a full and comprehensive insight into the network of relationships that exist within the squad that you have put together. Overview The Overview screen gives you a top-level look at what’s going on. The Match Cohesion section shows how the relationships among the players are affecting the team’s performance on the pitch, the Dressing Room Atmosphere section indicates how the group are feeling while the Managerial Support sub-panel keeps you abreast of current levels of support for your management among the players. The majority of the screen is centred around detailing any issues players might currently have while the club’s most influential players and social groups are also included, with links to dedicated sections providing further detail. Hierarchy This screen presents the overall squad hierarchy to you in a rough pyramid system, although the exact nature of each squad might differ greatly in terms of the number of players residing within each section. The manager oversees everything above the hierarchy; clicking on them displays their overall Managerial Support in a side panel as well as a visual indicator of each player’s support. Team Leaders sit at the top of the pyramid and are the most influential players at the club. They typically have leadership and experience in abundance and other players naturally gravitate towards them. As the most significant players in the squad, they are the ones you want to keep happiest, as any grievances will not only affect them but also permeate through the rest of the squad. Highly Influential Players are next on the totem pole, and exhibit many of the same hallmarks as the Team Leaders do. They provide stability and bring the core of the squad together, as there are typically more leading players than team leaders, who are generally the few who emerge from this group and take the overall lead. Influential Players have a voice that deserves to be heard and are powerful figures within the squad, but haven’t quite scaled the same heights as their more experienced, illustrious and longer-serving teammates. Other Players make up the remainder of the group and haven’t generated enough leadership experience during their time at the club or don’t have the ‘right’ personality to lead, and tend to gravitate towards others at the current time. Each player’s box can be selected to provide further information about them from a pop-up panel towards the right of the main screen area. It also highlights the primary social group they are a part of, as well as everyone else within that group. You can also select the different social groups from the section at the top of the screen. Social Groups Those social groups also have their own dedicated screen for further analysis. Each group has its own sub-panel arranging the players within it into a rough hierarchy based on the overall squad hierarchy. The panel to the side of the screen indicates whether the groups within the squad live harmoniously together or whether dissenting factions are beginning to form, and is an element that should be monitored periodically, especially when making moves in the transfer market. Selecting a player brings up a personalised pop-up panel with their information. Happiness The squad happiness screen lists each player by hierarchy group and offers a visual indication of their happiness in several areas, allowing for quick and easy reference as to who may have concerns, and who is developing issues. In turn, you’re able to identify and action these in order to resolve them before they become an issue for the social groups or the squad as a whole. Promises represents the player’s satisfaction with any promises made towards them. Morale represents the overall player morale. Training represents the overall level of satisfaction with training. Treatment represents your actions towards the player with regards to praise, criticism, fines and discipline. Club represents the player’s feelings concerning the overall direction the club is heading in. Management represents their feelings regarding your overall management, tactical decisions, team talks, and transfer market activity. Playing Time represents their satisfaction with how much first-team football they’re receiving. Overall Happiness is a summary that takes all of the above into account and distils it into a succinct reference of the player’s overall happiness right now. The happiness ranges are as follows (from most to least happy): Delighted Very Happy Happy Slightly Happy Content Slightly Unhappy Unhappy Very Unhappy Devastated Code of Conduct Before every season, you will have the opportunity to outline a Code of Conduct to your players, which determines the punishments for transgressions like missing training, being sent off or getting suspended. Details of these punishments, ranging from a verbal warning to a fine of two weeks’ wages, are found here. You can override them on a case by case basis whenever incidents occur, potentially risking the wrath of a player who feels that they have been dealt with particularly harshly, but you cannot change the agreed collective Code once it’s been set for that season. How do I keep my players happy? The easy answer to this question is to give them what they want, but that’s not always that simple, so it mostly comes down to the degree of flexibility you’re willing to offer. If a player can see that you’re making a genuine attempt to at least meet them in the middle, rather than outright rejecting their request, they’re more likely to accept your decision or, at worst, only become concerned. Players will also give you every opportunity to correct your ‘mistakes’ before escalating their unhappiness to a more severe state. You will be prompted to take action through Inbox messages, Backroom Advice, and direct interactions with players when a player is unhappy, and you can often resolve a situation before it gets out of hand. You do need to be proactive in doing this, though; simply leaving things to run their course will rarely work out in your favour. Treating Team Leaders and Highly Influential players with the respect their status deserves also goes a long way to maintaining a happy dressing room, and the same goes for ensuring players in a sizeable and powerful social group are kept happy. If these players become unhappy, it can quickly spread throughout the squad, far more so than if a fringe first-team player has a concern. You don’t always have to bend over backwards to give them what they want, but a common-sense approach is always advisable: acting fairly and honestly is of tremendous help. 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 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. A well-timed Team Meeting is a superb opportunity for you to gather the players and give them something of a morale boost. If you do this before a potentially winnable match – perhaps against another team struggling for results and morale – you can lift your team’s spirits enough to get a positive result, which in turn lifts morale even further. Changing your starting eleven to include players who aren’t quite as unhappy as others in the squad can also 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 root cause of squad unhappiness can always be found on the Dynamics screens; make use of the information there to identify it, then make the best decision for the team. Development 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. If you are also in charge of one of your club’s youth teams, that squad appears on the Side Bar in its own section, but if not, you only see the Development Centre. 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. Youth Squads The youth squad tabs – which both change in number and have different naming conventions depending on the club you’re managing – provide tactical insight, training information, fixture lists and match analysis. 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 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 earn contracts with the club, they turn up on this screen, along 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.

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. Click on 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. You can, however, change what you follow at any time. Along the right-hand side of the Social Feed screen is a list of suggested accounts to follow; click on ‘Manage’ at the bottom of this list to refine how you receive content. From here, a pop-up dialog appears with the ‘Followed Accounts’ View Menu located towards the top left, which filters objects by type. 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 clicked on, indicates why you’re receiving it, and gives you the option to revise your settings should you wish to do so.

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. Click on 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. You can, however, change what you follow at any time. Along the right-hand side of the Social Feed screen is a list of suggested accounts to follow; click on ‘Manage’ at the bottom of this list to refine how you receive content. From here, a pop-up dialog appears with the ‘Followed Accounts’ View Menu located towards the top left, which filters objects by type. 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 clicked on, 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 ‘Profile’ panel from the ‘My Profile’ tab. Your profile is directly impacted by the decisions you make as manager. It also features eight 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. Media Handling This attribute is representative of your dealings with the media: how you interact with journalists, how often you attend press conferences, and whether you keep your players happy with your responses to public questions. Attending press conferences will certainly boost the attribute while delegating them to a member of your backroom staff or storming out of them altogether will see it quickly plateau or even drop. 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 have 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 covers your interaction with the press and your players and analyses your managerial style to summarise what you are Known For. For example, you might have a strong preference for signing young players for the future and, if so, that is shown 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 of 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. What are the consequences of a broken or failed promise? Keeping a promise is relatively simple in theory: do what’s been asked of you, and everyone’s happy. Breaking or failing to keep a promise, on the other hand, can eventually have severe ramifications. It won’t happen initially; you will have the chance to make amends for your mistakes at least once, if not twice. Whether it’s an unhappy player or the Board questioning your long-term future as their manager, the damage can be repaired at several intervals before the entire process reaches its conclusion, though it may still come up in the future elsewhere, e.g. at interviews for the managerial position for another club If things do go that far down the line, however, then be warned. An unhappy player who has given you every chance to fulfil their requests will eventually distance themselves from the club and force a way out. A poor relationship with the Board can produce even worse results; fail them enough times and they’ll look for a new manager. 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 adopt a more patient approach and find the best fit rather than the boldest candidate. Manager Timeline A new feature in Football Manager™ 2023 is the Manager Timeline. Once a little bit of time has progressed in the game, you can access it under your profile or any other manager in the game to see all their highs and lows over the course of the save. As its name implies, the timeline gets populated with news items, media clippings, and stats as the seasons come and go. In the bottom right corner of the screen, you’ll be able to see how many trophies and major managerial awards you and your competitors have won since the start of your career. To the left of those is the journey the manager has been on from their playing days (if applicable) through their jobs as the boss of different clubs. In the bottom left corner, you can click ‘Go To’ to navigate the timeline to specific seasons, as well as using the arrows and play button to see the timeline scrolls sideways. Career Options: Coaching Courses, Interaction, Relationships, History Coaching courses Should you want to improve your managerial and coaching attributes, you can request that the Board sanction you to go on a coaching course by clicking the appropriate option. During the time spent on the course, your overall effectiveness as a part of the training programme is reduced. The option to take another course disappears once you have reached the maximum attainable qualification, which is the Continental Pro Licence. You will always be successful in passing each course, but any members of your backroom team are not assured of the same approval if you decide to send them on a course to further develop their skills. They will pass more often than not, and the deciding factors in whether that happens mostly involves their Ambition and Professionalism. Relationships You will also develop relationships with people in the footballing world as your career develops. Positive relationships show up in several places. For example, in your dealings with the media, they’ll be kinder when talking about you, and transfer market negotiations for players at your respective clubs will likely be somewhat smoother than normal. Naturally, negative relationships exist in the same circles; someone you don’t get on well with will be more likely to take aim at you in the press, and negotiations between the two of you in the transfer market will be more difficult. History The ‘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: Conversations, Media and Interaction with the Game World Due to your position as manager of a football club, the media will want their say on your performance in the role. 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. You are able to hold private discussions with any of your players from their Interaction sub-tab, but be aware that upsetting them could impact your squad, particularly if the disgruntled player decides to go public with those grievances. You can also discuss things with your entire squad, should you deem it necessary, by calling a ‘Team Meeting’ from the squad screen. These often take place ahead of big games, especially ones that can clinch silverware or on the flip side, avoid relegation. Interactions in Football Manager™ 2023 are fuller, richer and more comprehensive than ever, especially with the role of agents in this version greatly expanded from previous entries in the series. From a quick chat in the corridor to a full-on Board meeting, while being able to reach those outside of the club with a quick message, you’ll never be more prepared for dealing with the trials and tribulations of day-to-day management. An array of new context-specific options are well-defined and easily recognised to make it simpler than ever to find a way to say exactly what you want to say. Gestures Gestures allow you to add emphasis to your point and bring a sense of human emotion to interactions. As with the words you use, it makes sense to vary your approach from time to time to ensure that what you want to convey has more chance of getting through to your intended audience. Press Conferences As manager of a football club, you are always under the spotlight from the media. Journalists want to gather as much information as they can, and at times won’t care how they go about obtaining it. The best source for them to piece together their stories is Press Conferences. Before and after every match you play, as well as at other select times (including the signing of a key new player), you will be invited to attend a Press Conference and answer several questions that could cover a wide range of topics, including your stewardship of the club and your relationship with others in the football world, especially opposing managers. Your Press Officer introduces you to each Press Conference with a heads-up of who is attending and what the likely talking points might be. Each question is presented to you with information on the source and the journalist asking the question with several responses available to you in well-defined categories to allow you to fully and properly convey your message. There is also the option to make additional comments in your reply in the form of free text. Over the course of your career, you may build up relationships with certain journalists. Some may become more trusted, and some you might simply refuse to answer directly because of the spin placed on the resulting story. Equally, a more trusted writer might be a useful tool for you to get a point across to one of your players. You can of course leave a Press Conference after a certain number of questions have been asked before moving on with your day. A more abrupt end to proceedings can happen should you ‘Storm out’ of the press room, although this also has consequences, and will negatively affect your Media Handling attribute. If, at times, you do not wish to attend the Press Conference, you can send a member of your backroom staff. This can be done on a per-case basis, or it can be permanently assigned via Staff Responsibilities. It’s worth monitoring in the latter case how the players respond to what your stand-in says to ensure that they’re still speaking for you. Additionally, every manager in the game has a ‘Press Conference’ section in their History tab, from which you can see what was said in any press conference and any particular reactions that stemmed from it. From time to time, you will find yourself fielding an individual question straight into your Inbox, rather than in the Press Conference screen (In Football Manager™ Touch, this is the only form of question you will receive). This works in the exact same manner, simply on a smaller scale. You can still choose to ignore them, and they have a short built-in expiry date.

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 ‘Profile’ panel from the ‘My Profile’ tab. Your profile is directly impacted by the decisions you make as manager. It also features eight 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. Media Handling This attribute is representative of your dealings with the media: how you interact with journalists, how often you attend press conferences, and whether you keep your players happy with your responses to public questions. Attending press conferences will certainly boost the attribute while delegating them to a member of your backroom staff or storming out of them altogether will see it quickly plateau or even drop. 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 have 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 covers your interaction with the press and your players and analyses your managerial style to summarise what you are Known For. For example, you might have a strong preference for signing young players for the future and, if so, that is shown 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 of 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. What are the consequences of a broken or failed promise? Keeping a promise is relatively simple in theory: do what’s been asked of you, and everyone’s happy. Breaking or failing to keep a promise, on the other hand, can eventually have severe ramifications. It won’t happen initially; you will have the chance to make amends for your mistakes at least once, if not twice. Whether it’s an unhappy player or the Board questioning your long-term future as their manager, the damage can be repaired at several intervals before the entire process reaches its conclusion, though it may still come up in the future elsewhere, e.g. at interviews for the managerial position for another club If things do go that far down the line, however, then be warned. An unhappy player who has given you every chance to fulfil their requests will eventually distance themselves from the club and force a way out. A poor relationship with the Board can produce even worse results; fail them enough times and they’ll look for a new manager. 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 adopt a more patient approach and find the best fit rather than the boldest candidate. Manager Timeline A new feature in Football Manager™ 2023 is the Manager Timeline. Once a little bit of time has progressed in the game, you can access it under your profile or any other manager in the game to see all their highs and lows over the course of the save. As its name implies, the timeline gets populated with news items, media clippings, and stats as the seasons come and go. In the bottom right corner of the screen, you’ll be able to see how many trophies and major managerial awards you and your competitors have won since the start of your career. To the left of those is the journey the manager has been on from their playing days (if applicable) through their jobs as the boss of different clubs. In the bottom left corner, you can click ‘Go To’ to navigate the timeline to specific seasons, as well as using the arrows and play button to see the timeline scrolls sideways. Career Options: Coaching Courses, Interaction, Relationships, History Coaching courses Should you want to improve your managerial and coaching attributes, you can request that the Board sanction you to go on a coaching course by clicking the appropriate option. During the time spent on the course, your overall effectiveness as a part of the training programme is reduced. The option to take another course disappears once you have reached the maximum attainable qualification, which is the Continental Pro Licence. You will always be successful in passing each course, but any members of your backroom team are not assured of the same approval if you decide to send them on a course to further develop their skills. They will pass more often than not, and the deciding factors in whether that happens mostly involves their Ambition and Professionalism. Relationships You will also develop relationships with people in the footballing world as your career develops. Positive relationships show up in several places. For example, in your dealings with the media, they’ll be kinder when talking about you, and transfer market negotiations for players at your respective clubs will likely be somewhat smoother than normal. Naturally, negative relationships exist in the same circles; someone you don’t get on well with will be more likely to take aim at you in the press, and negotiations between the two of you in the transfer market will be more difficult. History The ‘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: Conversations, Media and Interaction with the Game World Due to your position as manager of a football club, the media will want their say on your performance in the role. 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. You are able to hold private discussions with any of your players from their Interaction sub-tab, but be aware that upsetting them could impact your squad, particularly if the disgruntled player decides to go public with those grievances. You can also discuss things with your entire squad, should you deem it necessary, by calling a ‘Team Meeting’ from the squad screen. These often take place ahead of big games, especially ones that can clinch silverware or on the flip side, avoid relegation. Interactions in Football Manager™ 2023 are fuller, richer and more comprehensive than ever, especially with the role of agents in this version greatly expanded from previous entries in the series. From a quick chat in the corridor to a full-on Board meeting, while being able to reach those outside of the club with a quick message, you’ll never be more prepared for dealing with the trials and tribulations of day-to-day management. An array of new context-specific options are well-defined and easily recognised to make it simpler than ever to find a way to say exactly what you want to say. Gestures Gestures allow you to add emphasis to your point and bring a sense of human emotion to interactions. As with the words you use, it makes sense to vary your approach from time to time to ensure that what you want to convey has more chance of getting through to your intended audience. Press Conferences As manager of a football club, you are always under the spotlight from the media. Journalists want to gather as much information as they can, and at times won’t care how they go about obtaining it. The best source for them to piece together their stories is Press Conferences. Before and after every match you play, as well as at other select times (including the signing of a key new player), you will be invited to attend a Press Conference and answer several questions that could cover a wide range of topics, including your stewardship of the club and your relationship with others in the football world, especially opposing managers. Your Press Officer introduces you to each Press Conference with a heads-up of who is attending and what the likely talking points might be. Each question is presented to you with information on the source and the journalist asking the question with several responses available to you in well-defined categories to allow you to fully and properly convey your message. There is also the option to make additional comments in your reply in the form of free text. Over the course of your career, you may build up relationships with certain journalists. Some may become more trusted, and some you might simply refuse to answer directly because of the spin placed on the resulting story. Equally, a more trusted writer might be a useful tool for you to get a point across to one of your players. You can of course leave a Press Conference after a certain number of questions have been asked before moving on with your day. A more abrupt end to proceedings can happen should you ‘Storm out’ of the press room, although this also has consequences, and will negatively affect your Media Handling attribute. If, at times, you do not wish to attend the Press Conference, you can send a member of your backroom staff. This can be done on a per-case basis, or it can be permanently assigned via Staff Responsibilities. It’s worth monitoring in the latter case how the players respond to what your stand-in says to ensure that they’re still speaking for you. Additionally, every manager in the game has a ‘Press Conference’ section in their History tab, from which you can see what was said in any press conference and any particular reactions that stemmed from it. From time to time, you will find yourself fielding an individual question straight into your Inbox, rather than in the Press Conference screen (In Football Manager™ Touch, this is the only form of question you will receive). This works in the exact same manner, simply on a smaller scale. You can still choose to ignore them, and they have a short built-in expiry date.

Football Manager™ 2023 features a number of leagues which, for many reasons, can be complicated and perhaps rather daunting for those unfamiliar with the intricacies of their individual rules and structures. Below is a beginner’s guide on how things work in some of the more complicated examples. (Please note: all specific league rules are available from the ‘Rules’ sub-tab on the competition screen. The information provided here is intended to offer a brief and clear overview of how things work. Please also note that some rules are not used in FM Touch.) Australia Competition Structure Twelve teams play each three times throughout the season – which runs from mid-October until early or mid-April in normal times – to complete a total of 33 fixtures. The top six teams advance to the Finals Series. The top two teams receive a bye (allowing them to progress automatically) while 3rd plays 6th and 4th plays 5th for the right to advance. The top-ranked team then plays the lowest remaining seed, with the two remaining teams also squaring off as the competition adopts a straightforward Semi Final to Final knockout approach. The winning team qualifies for the Asian Champions League, as does the team which finishes top of the regular season. If the same team achieves both feats, the runner up in the Grand Final takes the second berth. Wellington Phoenix are ineligible for qualification as New Zealand belongs to the Oceania Confederation, while Australia belongs to the Asian Confederation. Squad/Player Eligibility Rules Squads are limited to 26 players (and a minimum squad size of 20), of which two must be goalkeepers and no more than five can be foreign (i.e. from outside of Australia, or in the case of Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand). A minimum of three Australian (or NZ) U23 players must be registered. A salary cap is in place, enforced in the region of A$2.6m per season. There is a salary floor also in place, requiring teams to spend at least 90% of that figure. Teams are also able to utilise the Designated Player rules. Designating a player makes them exempt from salary cap regulations and allows teams to pay them a higher wage to increase their chances of attracting/retaining players of greater quality. The Designated Player tag can be applied to two players of any type while provisions are made for Mature Age Rookies: players playing in the Australian Premier League who can come in on non-contract terms for a limited spell of matches. Similarly, Guest Players may feature for up to 14 matches in the regular season. They do not need to be registered as a part of the overall squad. There is no limit on the salary a Guest Player can be paid but clubs are limited to a maximum of one per season. Loyalty Players are defined as those who have spent four or more consecutive seasons at a club and the league allows a portion of those players’ salaries to be exempt from the Salary Cap on a progressive scale depending on the length of service. Teams can name a maximum of seven substitutes on a match day, of which one must be a goalkeeper and only three can be used. There must also be at least two domestic Under-22 players on the bench, and at least three domestic Under-23s in the match day squad. The Transfer Market With the salary cap being relatively low and the Australian league’s reputation not quite at the levels of some of the more prestigious leagues, the transfer market is mostly reserved for identifying Designated Player targets. South American imports have been among the favourites of the league, but teams are just as likely to use the Designated Player tag on Australians for both the domestic and international slots. This is typically done when trying to sign a high-profile Australian international footballer who may have plied their trade overseas for much of their career. Guest Players arrive on a higher level still, with no salary restrictions and the short-term contract proving attractive to players of a more substantial worldwide profile. Otherwise, clubs are encouraged to develop their own talent and not rely on sourcing talent from elsewhere. This is evidenced in the fact that clubs cannot make offers for other players playing within the A-League; players may only move in exchange deals. There are two transfer windows, with the main off-season window beginning in late July and closing in mid- October, while there is a short mid-season window operating for most of January. Belgium Competition Structure The regular league phase of the Belgian Pro League A is straightforward. Eighteen teams play each other home and away for a 34-game schedule. However, many teams are then involved in a post-season playoff competition. The top four teams enter the Championship Group. Points attained during the first 34 games are halved, and each team then plays the other three teams home and away for an additional six fixtures. The winner of the Championship Group is declared Belgian champions. Second place qualifies for Champions Cup qualifying round, third gets into the EURO Conference qualifying rounds and 4th place plays off for EURO Conference qualification against the winner of the European Places Playoff. The same structure applies for places 5-8, the European Places Playoff, with the winning team advancing to play off against the fourth-placed team from the Championship Group. The bottom three teams are relegated, a change in convention from recent seasons where only the last-placed team was automatically relegated. Squad/Player Eligibility Rules While the league structure is complicated, player eligibility is not. Teams must include at least six players trained in Belgium (for three years before their 23rd birthday) in their match day squad, and three of the seven subs can be used. The overall squad must feature eight players classified as home-grown (as above). The Transfer Market Belgium operates in the same way as much of Europe in the transfer market, with a traditional buying and selling approach in place to complement the club’s own youth development programme. With transfer budgets generally lower than in many European Leagues, clubs are forced to look further afield for talent and many have found success in South America, Eastern Europe and Africa. The latter has proven so successful that the league issues the Ebony Shoe Award to honour the best African player in the league every season. United States Competition Structure Twenty-eight teams are split into two conferences (East and West) with a general geographical split to provide friendlier travelling schedules for away teams. Teams play 34 matches with home and away fixtures against teams from their own conference, and a single match against some, but not all, teams from the other conference either home or away. The winner of each conference qualifies automatically for the MLS Cup Semi Finals, while teams from 2nd to 7th play off for the remaining spots. The higher seed hosts the lower seed (2nd vs 7th, 3rd vs 6th, 4th vs 5th) in a single-leg knockout match, with the three winners joining the first-placed team in the conference Semi Finals. There is no re-seeding of teams at this stage; 1st plays the winner of the 4th vs 5th match at home, and the winner of the 3rd vs 6th match visits the winner of the 2nd vs 7th tie. This continues until each Conference has a champion, and they go head-to-head in the MLS Cup Final. The game is hosted by the team with the higher regular season points total (or better regular season winning record if points are equal), rather than at a pre-determined location. The two finalists qualify for the North American Champions League, alongside the winner of the MLS Supporters’ Shield (the team which finishes with the most points in the regular season) and the winner of the US Open Cup. If one team fills more than one of these berths, the qualification spot goes to the next best team in the MLS standings. Squad/Player Eligibility Rules Squads are limited to a maximum of 30 players, but within this there are a number of intricacies: - A maximum of three Designated Players. - A maximum of two non-Young Designated Players. - A maximum of eight Internationals as default; these slots can be traded as commodities between teams. - A maximum of ten Off-Budget players; only four of these can be non-reserves. - A maximum of six players in the squad can be marked as ‘Reserve’, i.e. younger players that count towards the salary cap; only four of these can be non-reserves. MLS operates under a salary cap system, set at an annual total of around USD$4.9m. The 20 highest-paid players count towards the cap (although slots 19 and 20 do not have to be filled), and the maximum any one individual can be paid is roughly USD$612,000 per season (excluding Designated Players, who only affect the salary cap up to this sum). Should a player on the maximum individual salary join midway through the season, their salary cap impact will only be roughly half of the usual maximum individual salary. Teams are allowed to have up to three Designated Players. These players are typically of higher profile and are largely exempt from salary cap restrictions (as above, their cap hit – the amount of money they earn as part of the overall salary cap – is equal to the maximum senior salary, depending on age) allowing teams to offer a more enticing wage in order to acquire or retain their services. Players on Generation Adidas contracts are also salary cap exempt. These are home-grown players sourced from areas local to each team and have come through their youth academy. Generation Adidas contracts can be given to as many eligible players as you want, but only two (non-Young Designated Players) may be in the first team squad at any time. Teams also have Target Allocation Money (TAM) to try to add or retain players that will make an immediate impact on the pitch. For the 2021 season, each MLS team receives $2.8m in TAM, and an additional $1.525m in General Allocation Money (GAM). These funds can then be used to supplement the salary of any player already earning the maximum budget charge, up to a maximum of $1m per year. These funds can also ‘buy down’ the contract of a player, which in effect means to reduce the salary cap impact by the amount of GAM or TAM you wish to commit to it. There are various limitations on how you can do this, however, and you are informed of them in-game when necessary. When starting a game in MLS, pay particular attention to the ‘MLS contract and registration information’ inbox message – in particular the Salary Cap section – for even more detail on the intricacies of the contract system in use. Please note that all values are as of the game’s start date and are prone to fluctuations throughout the course of a saved game. The Transfer Market There are as many as twelve ways in which an MLS team can acquire a player. Typically, European-style transfers rarely happen within MLS itself, although teams are increasingly likely to source talent from overseas both on Senior and Designated Player contracts, as well as using Target Allocation Money to help attract some bigger names. The most common method of intra-league movement is trading. For more information on Trading within Football Manager™, please refer to that section of this manual. Each off-season, teams congregate at the MLS SuperDraft for the annual selection of talented collegiate footballers embarking upon their professional careers. Teams pick in reverse order of the previous season’s standings, meaning the worst teams get the greater selection of players in an attempt to aid competitive parity. For more information on Drafting within Football Manager™, please refer to the section on it elsewhere in this manual by using the search functionality. Domestic transfers can be completed almost year-round, with only a two-month gap between September and December in which deals are prohibited. There are also two much shorter windows for foreign transfers in, between mid-February and mid-May and between early July and early August. Players may be sold at any time, assuming the buying team are in an active transfer window themselves. Expansion Ahead of the 2023 season, St. Louis will join MLS. As is traditional, the arrival of a new teams is preceded by an Expansion Draft. Each team protects several players, leaving the remainder to be available for selection by the new club throughout five rounds of drafting as they build their roster.

Football Manager™ 2023 features a number of leagues which, for many reasons, can be complicated and perhaps rather daunting for those unfamiliar with the intricacies of their individual rules and structures. Below is a beginner’s guide on how things work in some of the more complicated examples. (Please note: all specific league rules are available from the ‘Rules’ sub-tab on the competition screen. The information provided here is intended to offer a brief and clear overview of how things work. Please also note that some rules are not used in FM Touch.) Australia Competition Structure Twelve teams play each three times throughout the season – which runs from mid-October until early or mid-April in normal times – to complete a total of 33 fixtures. The top six teams advance to the Finals Series. The top two teams receive a bye (allowing them to progress automatically) while 3rd plays 6th and 4th plays 5th for the right to advance. The top-ranked team then plays the lowest remaining seed, with the two remaining teams also squaring off as the competition adopts a straightforward Semi Final to Final knockout approach. The winning team qualifies for the Asian Champions League, as does the team which finishes top of the regular season. If the same team achieves both feats, the runner up in the Grand Final takes the second berth. Wellington Phoenix are ineligible for qualification as New Zealand belongs to the Oceania Confederation, while Australia belongs to the Asian Confederation. Squad/Player Eligibility Rules Squads are limited to 26 players (and a minimum squad size of 20), of which two must be goalkeepers and no more than five can be foreign (i.e. from outside of Australia, or in the case of Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand). A minimum of three Australian (or NZ) U23 players must be registered. A salary cap is in place, enforced in the region of A$2.6m per season. There is a salary floor also in place, requiring teams to spend at least 90% of that figure. Teams are also able to utilise the Designated Player rules. Designating a player makes them exempt from salary cap regulations and allows teams to pay them a higher wage to increase their chances of attracting/retaining players of greater quality. The Designated Player tag can be applied to two players of any type while provisions are made for Mature Age Rookies: players playing in the Australian Premier League who can come in on non-contract terms for a limited spell of matches. Similarly, Guest Players may feature for up to 14 matches in the regular season. They do not need to be registered as a part of the overall squad. There is no limit on the salary a Guest Player can be paid but clubs are limited to a maximum of one per season. Loyalty Players are defined as those who have spent four or more consecutive seasons at a club and the league allows a portion of those players’ salaries to be exempt from the Salary Cap on a progressive scale depending on the length of service. Teams can name a maximum of seven substitutes on a match day, of which one must be a goalkeeper and only three can be used. There must also be at least two domestic Under-22 players on the bench, and at least three domestic Under-23s in the match day squad. The Transfer Market With the salary cap being relatively low and the Australian league’s reputation not quite at the levels of some of the more prestigious leagues, the transfer market is mostly reserved for identifying Designated Player targets. South American imports have been among the favourites of the league, but teams are just as likely to use the Designated Player tag on Australians for both the domestic and international slots. This is typically done when trying to sign a high-profile Australian international footballer who may have plied their trade overseas for much of their career. Guest Players arrive on a higher level still, with no salary restrictions and the short-term contract proving attractive to players of a more substantial worldwide profile. Otherwise, clubs are encouraged to develop their own talent and not rely on sourcing talent from elsewhere. This is evidenced in the fact that clubs cannot make offers for other players playing within the A-League; players may only move in exchange deals. There are two transfer windows, with the main off-season window beginning in late July and closing in mid- October, while there is a short mid-season window operating for most of January. Belgium Competition Structure The regular league phase of the Belgian Pro League A is straightforward. Eighteen teams play each other home and away for a 34-game schedule. However, many teams are then involved in a post-season playoff competition. The top four teams enter the Championship Group. Points attained during the first 34 games are halved, and each team then plays the other three teams home and away for an additional six fixtures. The winner of the Championship Group is declared Belgian champions. Second place qualifies for Champions Cup qualifying round, third gets into the EURO Conference qualifying rounds and 4th place plays off for EURO Conference qualification against the winner of the European Places Playoff. The same structure applies for places 5-8, the European Places Playoff, with the winning team advancing to play off against the fourth-placed team from the Championship Group. The bottom three teams are relegated, a change in convention from recent seasons where only the last-placed team was automatically relegated. Squad/Player Eligibility Rules While the league structure is complicated, player eligibility is not. Teams must include at least six players trained in Belgium (for three years before their 23rd birthday) in their match day squad, and three of the seven subs can be used. The overall squad must feature eight players classified as home-grown (as above). The Transfer Market Belgium operates in the same way as much of Europe in the transfer market, with a traditional buying and selling approach in place to complement the club’s own youth development programme. With transfer budgets generally lower than in many European Leagues, clubs are forced to look further afield for talent and many have found success in South America, Eastern Europe and Africa. The latter has proven so successful that the league issues the Ebony Shoe Award to honour the best African player in the league every season. United States Competition Structure Twenty-eight teams are split into two conferences (East and West) with a general geographical split to provide friendlier travelling schedules for away teams. Teams play 34 matches with home and away fixtures against teams from their own conference, and a single match against some, but not all, teams from the other conference either home or away. The winner of each conference qualifies automatically for the MLS Cup Semi Finals, while teams from 2nd to 7th play off for the remaining spots. The higher seed hosts the lower seed (2nd vs 7th, 3rd vs 6th, 4th vs 5th) in a single-leg knockout match, with the three winners joining the first-placed team in the conference Semi Finals. There is no re-seeding of teams at this stage; 1st plays the winner of the 4th vs 5th match at home, and the winner of the 3rd vs 6th match visits the winner of the 2nd vs 7th tie. This continues until each Conference has a champion, and they go head-to-head in the MLS Cup Final. The game is hosted by the team with the higher regular season points total (or better regular season winning record if points are equal), rather than at a pre-determined location. The two finalists qualify for the North American Champions League, alongside the winner of the MLS Supporters’ Shield (the team which finishes with the most points in the regular season) and the winner of the US Open Cup. If one team fills more than one of these berths, the qualification spot goes to the next best team in the MLS standings. Squad/Player Eligibility Rules Squads are limited to a maximum of 30 players, but within this there are a number of intricacies: - A maximum of three Designated Players. - A maximum of two non-Young Designated Players. - A maximum of eight Internationals as default; these slots can be traded as commodities between teams. - A maximum of ten Off-Budget players; only four of these can be non-reserves. - A maximum of six players in the squad can be marked as ‘Reserve’, i.e. younger players that count towards the salary cap; only four of these can be non-reserves. MLS operates under a salary cap system, set at an annual total of around USD$4.9m. The 20 highest-paid players count towards the cap (although slots 19 and 20 do not have to be filled), and the maximum any one individual can be paid is roughly USD$612,000 per season (excluding Designated Players, who only affect the salary cap up to this sum). Should a player on the maximum individual salary join midway through the season, their salary cap impact will only be roughly half of the usual maximum individual salary. Teams are allowed to have up to three Designated Players. These players are typically of higher profile and are largely exempt from salary cap restrictions (as above, their cap hit – the amount of money they earn as part of the overall salary cap – is equal to the maximum senior salary, depending on age) allowing teams to offer a more enticing wage in order to acquire or retain their services. Players on Generation Adidas contracts are also salary cap exempt. These are home-grown players sourced from areas local to each team and have come through their youth academy. Generation Adidas contracts can be given to as many eligible players as you want, but only two (non-Young Designated Players) may be in the first team squad at any time. Teams also have Target Allocation Money (TAM) to try to add or retain players that will make an immediate impact on the pitch. For the 2021 season, each MLS team receives $2.8m in TAM, and an additional $1.525m in General Allocation Money (GAM). These funds can then be used to supplement the salary of any player already earning the maximum budget charge, up to a maximum of $1m per year. These funds can also ‘buy down’ the contract of a player, which in effect means to reduce the salary cap impact by the amount of GAM or TAM you wish to commit to it. There are various limitations on how you can do this, however, and you are informed of them in-game when necessary. When starting a game in MLS, pay particular attention to the ‘MLS contract and registration information’ inbox message – in particular the Salary Cap section – for even more detail on the intricacies of the contract system in use. Please note that all values are as of the game’s start date and are prone to fluctuations throughout the course of a saved game. The Transfer Market There are as many as twelve ways in which an MLS team can acquire a player. Typically, European-style transfers rarely happen within MLS itself, although teams are increasingly likely to source talent from overseas both on Senior and Designated Player contracts, as well as using Target Allocation Money to help attract some bigger names. The most common method of intra-league movement is trading. For more information on Trading within Football Manager™, please refer to that section of this manual. Each off-season, teams congregate at the MLS SuperDraft for the annual selection of talented collegiate footballers embarking upon their professional careers. Teams pick in reverse order of the previous season’s standings, meaning the worst teams get the greater selection of players in an attempt to aid competitive parity. For more information on Drafting within Football Manager™, please refer to the section on it elsewhere in this manual by using the search functionality. Domestic transfers can be completed almost year-round, with only a two-month gap between September and December in which deals are prohibited. There are also two much shorter windows for foreign transfers in, between mid-February and mid-May and between early July and early August. Players may be sold at any time, assuming the buying team are in an active transfer window themselves. Expansion Ahead of the 2023 season, St. Louis will join MLS. As is traditional, the arrival of a new teams is preceded by an Expansion Draft. Each team protects several players, leaving the remainder to be available for selection by the new club throughout five rounds of drafting as they build their roster.

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.

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.

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™ 2023! 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 clicking 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™ 2023 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 sent to you if you have selected ‘No’ from the ‘Experienced’ section during the Create a Manager process. If you selected ‘Yes’, you can find them by clicking on the ‘?’ icon in the title bar. Your Inbox, Your Home 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.

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™ 2023! 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 clicking 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™ 2023 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 sent to you if you have selected ‘No’ from the ‘Experienced’ section during the Create a Manager process. If you selected ‘Yes’, you can find them by clicking on the ‘?’ icon in the title bar. Your Inbox, Your Home 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™ 2023’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 Left Clicking: Left clicking is the primary method of navigating around the majority of computer applications and Football Manager™ 2023 is no different. In simple terms, if you see an item of interest, click on it. The game contains a huge number of on-screen items which can be clicked on to reveal more details and information. Clickable 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. Click around, read through this section, and familiarise yourself with your surroundings. Right Clicking: 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 click on the item. A list only appears where possible and should right clicking on an item not bring up anything, it’s safe to assume there is no available menu for that item. Actions You can access specific Actions for a game object from the object’s Tab Bar or by right-clicking on the object itself to bring up the ‘Context Menu’. Calendar By clicking on 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 clicking the desired column(s) in the order of sorting you wish to see. Continue Button The ‘Continue’ Button is central to Football Manager™. 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, clicking ‘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, left-click 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, click 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™ 2023 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. Clicking 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 clicking on 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 right-click on 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. Quick Flicks Located in the title bar, the Quick Flick icons can be used to scroll quickly through the current game object. For example, if you are viewing one of your players, you can scroll back and forth alphabetically through your entire squad using these buttons. Similarly, if you are viewing a team’s squad, using the Quick Flick buttons scroll through the squads of every team in that league. A tooltip appears over the Quick Flick button indicating the name of the game object to be displayed if clicked. 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 appears 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. You also have the freedom to rearrange the order of Side Bar icons and remove some (not all) of them if you desire. To rearrange, click or select and hold on the chosen button, then drag and drop it into your preferred new place. 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 (changes the state of the Title Bar into text-input state). If you haven’t inputted any search characters, it opens a menu with related links. For example, if you're looking at a team, the related links would include one for the league the team plays in, as well as links to all teams in that division. On the other hand, when you type in one or more characters, the menu instead populates with a list of auto-complete suggestions. Tooltips Tooltips are small windows displaying text intended to explain or describe a function available by a mouse click. 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 mouse icon 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. Clicking on the world button in the Navigation Bar opens the ‘World’ Menu Popup. The popup is divided into numerous tabs and defaults to ‘Browser’. This auto-selects the game world entity that you're on, and provides a hierarchy back up to the game's root entity (World). For example, if you’re on your own manager profile, the preceding column is the list of teams for the league in which your team plays in, preceded by the list of competitions in the country your team plays in etc. The other tabs at the top provide hyperlink access to information and competition panels on a per continent basis. The ‘Nations’ menu, on the other hand, provides hyperlink access to all the different screens associated with the playable nations in your save. In the ‘Bookmarks’ tab, you can create shortcuts to useful screens throughout the game, much as you would for websites in a web browser. What keyboard shortcuts are available? A host of keyboard shortcuts are available by default and they can each be customised to your preference. Visit the Preferences screen and search for Shortcuts to see a comprehensive list. Can I play in windowed mode? Football Manager™ 2023 can be played in a range of resolutions and display modes depending on the device you’re using. 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.

Football Manager™ 2023’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 Left Clicking: Left clicking is the primary method of navigating around the majority of computer applications and Football Manager™ 2023 is no different. In simple terms, if you see an item of interest, click on it. The game contains a huge number of on-screen items which can be clicked on to reveal more details and information. Clickable 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. Click around, read through this section, and familiarise yourself with your surroundings. Right Clicking: 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 click on the item. A list only appears where possible and should right clicking on an item not bring up anything, it’s safe to assume there is no available menu for that item. Actions You can access specific Actions for a game object from the object’s Tab Bar or by right-clicking on the object itself to bring up the ‘Context Menu’. Calendar By clicking on 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 clicking the desired column(s) in the order of sorting you wish to see. Continue Button The ‘Continue’ Button is central to Football Manager™. 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, clicking ‘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, left-click 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, click 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™ 2023 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. Clicking 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 clicking on 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 right-click on 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. Quick Flicks Located in the title bar, the Quick Flick icons can be used to scroll quickly through the current game object. For example, if you are viewing one of your players, you can scroll back and forth alphabetically through your entire squad using these buttons. Similarly, if you are viewing a team’s squad, using the Quick Flick buttons scroll through the squads of every team in that league. A tooltip appears over the Quick Flick button indicating the name of the game object to be displayed if clicked. 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 appears 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. You also have the freedom to rearrange the order of Side Bar icons and remove some (not all) of them if you desire. To rearrange, click or select and hold on the chosen button, then drag and drop it into your preferred new place. 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 (changes the state of the Title Bar into text-input state). If you haven’t inputted any search characters, it opens a menu with related links. For example, if you're looking at a team, the related links would include one for the league the team plays in, as well as links to all teams in that division. On the other hand, when you type in one or more characters, the menu instead populates with a list of auto-complete suggestions. Tooltips Tooltips are small windows displaying text intended to explain or describe a function available by a mouse click. 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 mouse icon 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. Clicking on the world button in the Navigation Bar opens the ‘World’ Menu Popup. The popup is divided into numerous tabs and defaults to ‘Browser’. This auto-selects the game world entity that you're on, and provides a hierarchy back up to the game's root entity (World). For example, if you’re on your own manager profile, the preceding column is the list of teams for the league in which your team plays in, preceded by the list of competitions in the country your team plays in etc. The other tabs at the top provide hyperlink access to information and competition panels on a per continent basis. The ‘Nations’ menu, on the other hand, provides hyperlink access to all the different screens associated with the playable nations in your save. In the ‘Bookmarks’ tab, you can create shortcuts to useful screens throughout the game, much as you would for websites in a web browser. What keyboard shortcuts are available? A host of keyboard shortcuts are available by default and they can each be customised to your preference. Visit the Preferences screen and search for Shortcuts to see a comprehensive list. Can I play in windowed mode? Football Manager™ 2023 can be played in a range of resolutions and display modes depending on the device you’re using. 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.

Having installed and launched Football Manager™ 2023, you’ll understandably want to get stuck right into a new game. The very first thing you need to do, however, is create your Manager Profile. This will then be saved, so every time you launch the game after the initial setup, you won’t need to repeat the process (unless you want to add more Manager Profiles). Creating a Manager Profile The very first thing you’ll do upon starting Football Manager™ 2023 is create your managerial profile. The first section concerns your biographical details. Tick the ‘Teach me about key management concepts’ option if you want to be inducted into some of the most important areas of your job by a member of your backroom team. Leaving this option unticked will see them not sent to you, but they will remain accessible from the ‘?’ icon in the menu bar. 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 the dots on the PhotoFit to align with your own facial features. Hit ‘Generate Model’ to watch it take effect on your managerial avatar. Alternatively, you can opt for the manual approach 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, Attire and Accessories 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). It’s time to start a new game! Starting a New Game Once your profile is set up, you can get stuck in to actually playing the game! The quickest way to do this is as follows: Select ‘Start a New Game’ from the Start Screen, followed by ‘Career’. Select your chosen team from the pop-up dialog box. Select the ‘Quick Start’ button. Your new saved game will take a few moments to set up and, before you know it, you’ll be welcomed to your new club! 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. How important is my level of experience? An important part of creating your managerial profile is choosing your level of experience from your ‘playing career’. Football managers come from all types of backgrounds; from experienced former players who graced the biggest stages to those who had minimal playing experience. Football Manager™ allows you to tailor your background story to your own requirements, but how does each level of experience affect your day-to-day life as a manager? In essence, a higher reputation attracts the attention of bigger clubs and more prestigious signings, but it’s balanced out by coming with greater demands. The Board will want to see you achieve loftier targets in a shorter period of time and will be less forgiving when things go wrong. Opting for a lower level of experience insulates you with more time and patience early in your career, but you might struggle to attract the same level of interest from prospective employers and employees. Managers with a higher level of prior playing experience are also allocated more points when choosing their Managerial Style, as are those with higher qualifications in terms of Coaching Badges. If you’re unsure what to select, the ‘Suggest badge/experience based on’ option sets an appropriate option for the club you’ve chosen to manage and the level at which they’re currently playing. What’s the difference between a tactical manager and a tracksuit manager? A finely-tailored suit or more athletic attire? An individual’s sartorial choices aren’t necessarily a reflection of their approach to management, but there have been enough examples of a suited-and-booted manager adopting a smarter, more cerebral style, while the tracksuit manager tends to live and breathe every second of play with their players, as if they were out there on the pitch with them. This is reflected in the way you get to distribute your managerial attribute points depending on your preferred style. These attributes have a direct impact on your players. For example, a Tracksuit Manager who spends their points primarily on Attacking, Tactical and Working With Youngsters will see their teams become more comfortable with an attacking brand of football, be more versatile in learning and switching between various tactics, and will see young players develop better under their stewardship. A Tactical Manager who invests in Adaptability, Determination and Motivating, on the other hand, will benefit from their approach being more easily integrated into different countries around the world, from players being more determined on a day-to-day and match-to-match basis, and they will see a tangible difference in the effectiveness of their team talks, team meetings and player conversations. How you spend your points is entirely up to you; there are a few templates available from the Management Style Focus drop-down menu to help guide you if you need some assistance, but the real charm of this is that you get to be exactly who you want to be. Can I change my manager appearance later? You can! A small icon with a pencil appears next to your managerial profile avatar on the Profile screen and it allows you to amend all aspects of your appearance. There is also an option to do this on the Main Menu.