Football Manager 2022 New Features the FM community wants

With the summer around the corner and the pandemic lockdown lifted in most countries, the urge to play FM21 is slowly fading.

At this point some of us start thinking about the next major version in the FM series, which is of course Football Manager 2022. New features we’d like to see, as well as improvements and fixes to various aspects of FM 2021 that may have occasionally let us down.

6+ months on from FM21's release and we've played long enough and asked the community what they want incorporated into FM22. This FM22 wishlist highlights the best feature requests from the FM community.

What do you feel needs to be adjusted or added? Does one or two of the comments below highlight an area which you feel needs improvement?

We'll keep this article updated with fresh ideas as they come up, so make sure to post your suggestions in the appropriate forums or on our facebook page dedicated to FM2022.

Let’s get started!

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BACKROOM STAFF

Definitely work on employees and coaches. Chemistry, development. As with the players and their harmony, the coaches could get closer so that it is not just about choosing the ones with the best attributes.
– Pavel Kubicek

I’d like the same as I’d have liked for a few years... more staff roles available that are now key and important in the modern game: Sports Psychologist,
Doctor, Nutritionist.
– Anon

FINANCES & BOARD INTERACTION

Speed up debt repayment. Every year.
– Thom Ap Siôn

Better sponsorship deals that maybe you can negotiate.
– Thomas Mahon

Club value back again.
– Thomas Williams

I'd like to see clubs going bust and new clubs getting formed.
– Kevin Somerville

Make the board a bit less stubborn with club philosophies if you're doing well with them. So annoying when my board are moaning about not playing direct/defensively solid football when my style of play is working wonders. Don't let me change it neither.
– Elliot Elwood Miller

GAME MODES & EXTRAS W/ EDITORS

Stadium edit.
– Patryk Klimkowicz

Stadium builder
– Frank Richarz

Owner / manager mode
– Paul Lennard

INTERACTION WITH PLAYERS

When signing a player who expects me to strengthen the squad in the position he plays in I want to be able to say "that's why I'm signing you". When a player complains about the lack of squad depth in his position I want to be able to remind of that after I've strengthened and he complains he's not getting enough games. When I praise a player for good performance and he disagrees I want to be able to challenge him to prove it with maybe a promise such as more game time if he does.
– Andrew Frazier

Sort out the player promises I signed a player near deadline day in midfield and had to promise him I'd strengthen midfield!!!that's what I signed him for then when I signed no one else he bitched and wanted to leave without even kicking a ball.
– Thomas Mahon

I would like to see more proactive player interactions, now it's just reacting to dissatisfied players or praising them.
– Johannes Langlo

I want to be able to talk privately to the players I loan that I want to sign them permanently. Some kind of sweet talk, get them interested.
– Mads Emil Eg

The promises with players. I took Danny Rose from Tottenham reserves to winning the champions League with Brighton. Yet, he requested a meeting say he wanted to leave because I didn't improve the attackers (had the two top strikers in the league).
– Sam Taylor

Team talk is very unrealistic in my opinion. Great talkers can stress specific words in sentences to emphasize different things. For example. When A coach says you were bad today he can also explain why And that wouldn’t necessarily be a bash on the team. There are different ways to explain something without hurting your players’ feelings.
– Merthan Gencer

Players refusing to play due to blocked transfers!
– Riyaz Rajan

LICENSING

I would like regional leagues to be included without having to wait 3 months or so…
– Howard Duckworth

WSL
– Derek S. Borino

I'd like women's football added. It won't happen due to the huge amount of work it would take to scout all the players and league, but it would be a fun addition.
– Colin Clark

J league and German nation team added.
– Less Ballard

Croatian league on mobile version.
– Davor Farkas

Another African league as playable.
– Gianluca Belfiore

Vietnamese league with official data of real players please.
– Nguyễn Tường Minh

Retro databases.
– Erlend Tvetene

MATCH DAY & MATCH ENGINE

Better reactions to touchline shouts.
– Thomas Mahon

I think there should be a coin toss at the start of a match & if our team wins, we could select either to attack our home end in the first or second half in home & away matches.
– Peter Charnley

We should be able to converse with our players more during the 90 minutes. Atm, it's only about 5 or 6 times in each half.
– Peter Charnley

Order subs to the warm-up.
– Kristof Calleeuw

Attack the opponents’ manager.
– Clarence Cheung

Like to see VAR allows some goals instead of always disallowing them. Mix it up a bit!!
– Andy Norton

Better match engine. Their recent update destroyed it for me.
– Lewis Hobbs

The new match set up replaced, I could not get on with it.
– Graig Workman

In game interaction with the other manager, getting red cards and see the level of fans support during the game.
– Ema Dem

The only feature and the most important one is a better match engine.
– Alexandros PXyn

sound files, to play during the match maybe 5 or 6 for each team, e.g. for Liverpool YNWA obviously, and, fields of Anfield road etc., man city blue moon, there’s plenty of sound files on the net or FM players personal phone recordings that could be uploaded, also still like to see stadium modelling also.
– Richard Otterburn

MEDIA, PRESS & FANS

More recognition of achievements in press. I had a player who scored 50+ goals in a season and there was hardly anything said about it. In real life the press would be all over it.
– John Ob

…Also, realistic team talks and job interviews and more media questions rather than the same 10 questions that keep cropping up.
– Howard Duckworth

Better questions and responses in press conferences.
– Andrew Frazier

Events? Like a change of manager or board will make a player to want to leave, fans protest, or clubs wanting to breakaway.
– Cheng Tianfu

For protesting fans to get a match postponed twice because the owners treat the club as a cash cow, funneling club funds into their pockets, leaving the stadium and training facilities to rot.
– Nick L. Owe

I'd like them to revamp the media too.
– Graig Workman

reduce press conferences, for a match, need to go through pre-match, tunnel interview, post tunnel, post interviews...all the same endless questions. And add back the comment on others manager to start some press war... lol
– SoonWei Chook

Fans protest, not letting you do the training , directly talk with a player avoiding the agent to persuade him.
– Anestis Keremis

SCOUTING

Outsource scout/agent agency - small team didn’t need to send scout overseas just to scout import players, just communicate with outsource for recommended players. Pro: all teams get 100% access worldwide players, save budget on scouting, can get players on preferred budget. Cons: possible to get flop player.
– Nizal FredFive

Removal of potential star ratings.
– Stewart Parsons

STAFF

Wage budgets for staff members instead of max numbers.
– Jamie Anderson

Stop the nonsense repeated press conference that also annoyingly get quizzed on if you want change clubs. The chairman always stating your awful with press "yeah because it's same shitty questions!" Would love more reactions from talks.
– Lee Graham

TACTICS & SET-PIECES

Have a blank role for players position so you can get him to do exactly what you want, rather than be restrained because of a role.
– Brett Flowers

We should be able to put 3 or more of our players in the set piece positions, where we can only do 1 atm. Ask our players to wind up a particular opposition player/player's, to try & affect his focus or to get him sent off.
– Peter Charnley

Be able to work more with set pieces... they could envelop that.
– Nelson Guerreiro

More flexibility with formations. Attacking, transition phase and defending phase.
– Michael Chai

The chance of being able to create your own set pieces and corner routines.
– Ema Dem

Tactical philosophy.
– Simon I. Ashe

Target man at amc.
– Thomas Muijs

More options with players on set-picecs.
– Anders Kampf Larsen

THE MANAGER

Would love more reactions from talks. More capabilities with own manager. Why can't I use my salary for something....maybe down the lines of invest back into the club or invest in creating own club later in your save.
– Lee Graham

Take over an existing staff member (manager or assistant) or a retired player instead of making someone fresh.
– Илија Стајић

To do something with the manager salary........so many millions for what.... let's have options for our money...to buy a team maybe, to invest in something.
– Al Lazarus P

Better recognition of achievements I your history if your with smaller clubs i.e. manager leads club from smaller national leagues like Ireland into the champions league group stages
– Thomas Mahon

Would really love to have more dimension to the manager. A personal life, a residence. At least something to do with that salary.
– Zaher Safadi

Be able to manage a clubs u23’s or u18s
– Ben Slater

Starting as a youth manager and working your way up to first team manager.
– Peter Burn

Be able to add more information to your character, such as: previous clubs, position played, type of player etc. Would add to the game IMO and quite a small addition.
– Chris Dark

Get rid of "go on holiday". It's ridiculous, what manager decides to bugger off to the Maldives mid-season?!?! Use a better reason, like "Go on scouting mission" or "visit the academy".
– Jez Hall

When a new club makes an inquiry about you, you should be able to bring along your own backroom staff.
– Kenneth Fredagsvik

You as manager finishing season, while already signed at other club in stead of transferring immediately. Also with personnel, trainers, physio, scouts.
– Nino Emanuels

I've been saying this for years now, but we should have agents and when you're not happy in a club just tell the agent to look for a new club for you.
– Luis C. Pescadinha

Real badges.
– Richard Glue

TRAINING

Be able to have a whole training ground experience.
– Jamie Sharp

TRANSFERS

Also sort the transfer system out! Tired of struggling to sell players with ai bidding pennies but for the same calibre of player the ai wants triple value!
– Lee Graham

It would be nice to sign new players without them demanding 100 000 € weekly, when they play in second league of Guatemala and are 16 years old. Or that the same player accept an offer from someone else for 8000 € weekly instead.
– Flisa Marius Adamantium Gangmark

More realistic transfer fees in and out.
– Thomas Mahon

Realistic trade situations in MLS. I've tried to offer other clubs a star player, draft picks, general allocation money and an international slot before for one really good younger player and get turned down. And every trade offered to me is they want an international slot in exchange for their 3rd round draft pick in two years. Any negotiations I try to do get turned down instantly.
– Jeff Ciesiolka

Players to stop asking for a transfer the day after the window closes.
– Dermot Rafferty

Do something with the situation when you have billions of Euro and your chairman accepts some 500k for some players because the offer is “too good to refuse”.
– Ovidiu Neacsu

Maybe the AI transfers, you can check WTS on youtube, when he left his god tier team and simulated into the future, AI buys players for 150-250mil and play them in less than 10 games.
– Uroš Petrušović

UI & GRAPHICS

I would really love to see some sort of "retro mode", where you can put football manager back in the style of the game from 97/98.
– Joeke van der Velde

Old 2D interface.
– Danang Setio Lelono

A simple interface? One where I don't need a doctorate to play the game?
– Stephen Skelton

Customisable interface to your own needs without changing skins from steam lol.
– James Martin

Get rid of the colour system for how natural a player can play a position and get rid of the stars for ability/potential.
– Chris Boyd

YOUTH TEAMS & YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

Influence youth development more. Set agendas with HOYD as to what you want to see implemented ie more technical gifted youth players or physical etc etc
– Steven Browne

Open up academies in different countries. I'm not after 20 wonderkids every season. But maybe once in a few years, I'll get the next Drogba in my Cote D'Ivoire academy.
– Ryan Balchin

Maybe more youth teams like under 15s up through the ranks where you can watch new gens progression through the ranks. And more coaches and managers for these sides.
– Thomas Mahon

Potential Ability needs a total overhaul.. and possibly be removed. Your facilities, staff, and the kids playing time should have more weight.. and not just be a result of high PA and Determination. Also the pricing of high PA kids is ridiculous.. 50m for an unproven 16 year old? Come on..
– Espen Johnsen

With more youth competitions, you can track the progression of your wondekids. More scouting of young players.
– Dmitrijs Vjacins

More local youth recruitment options.
– Youth Recruitment

OTHERS

Also something where you can do stuff for the local community.
– Brett Flowers

Games played for all competitions for the players in their career stats. That can then be filtered for specific comps. Plus all time appearances, goals, assists and clean sheets for each competition.
– John Grimsdell

how about random global events like Covid-19?
– Michael Chai

Automatic saving when exiting the game.
– Christian Strichausen

More statistics about records. A top 5 or 10 for all time records. For both clubs and leagues in games, goals, assists etc.
– Peter Sandby

An in depth tutorial to help those that don't understand the game both the sport and the game?
– Matthew Boggess

All time lists at clubs and Leagues for goals, assist, clean sheets, own goal, all stats basically.
– Steffen Brandt

Allow add/remove leagues at any time. If I send a player on loan to a country I haven't added, you don't get the benefit of seeing them playing competitive matches.
– Kirkers SJ

Want champion history from beginning league like old football manager...
– Ahmad Faiz Mohamad

Top 10s. Top 10 all time premier League goal scorer / assists etc. Top 10 all time cl winners / premier League winners etc. Top 10 all time club goal scorers.
– Samuel Hislop

New leagues can be opened anytime without having to wait for the new season.
– Aliff Nazwan

Fan protesting. The reality in Manchester and Sporting, or Marseille shows that is way more common than we first think about.
– Rafael Tavares

Something simple from me. Bit more of a fuss when you win something! Seems so sad to work hard and have a simple email stating ‘you won the premier league’.
– Jason Sands

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That sums up all interesting suggestions people posted on our facebook pages. Please keep in the mind the order is random and not optimal.

A big “thank you” to everyone who contributed to this list!

Is there something that you feel was missed above that you want in FM22 or further editions? Let us know in the comments below!