Managerial Attributes Guide for Football Manager

At the beginning of our saves you are able to create your own manager and with that, selecting and distributing points for your attributes. The amount of points you are allowed allocated is determined by your coaching badge and past playing experience which you are able to select according to your liking.

Simply put, the coaching badge affects the coaching attributes while the past playing experience affects your mental attributes.

Breaking it down further, the Style Focus Slider dictates more of what type of manager you are – subdivides you being either more of a Tracksuit Manager or more of that of a Tactical Manager. As the name suggests, being a Tracksuit Manager means greater allocation of points for Coaching Attributes while a Tactical Manager has a greater allocation of points for Mental Attributes.

Management Style Focus

There are pre-determined managerial styles which are given if you so choose to select them just above the Style Focus Slider. FM21 has five different managerial styles;

• Disciplinarian – The points allocation will shift in favor of instilling a strong level of discipline, with high scores for the Man Management, Motivating, Mental and Tactical attributes.
• Motivator – The points allocation will shift towards the Motivating and Mental attributes.
• Youth Development – The points allocation will shift towards the Technical, Working with Youngsters and Youngster Knowledge attributes.
• Knowledgeable – The points allocation will shift towards the Tactical, Mental, Player Knowledge and Motivating attributes.
• Task Master – The points allocation will shift towards the Fitness, Mental and Determination attributes.

These pre-determined styles are good base to determine either a starting point or a set point allocation for you to start your save. I already like determining my points however, so what is the use in having a specific style or why should I be wary of where I allocate my points?

Why is Allocation Crucial?

Many in the community quickly breeze over the managerial allocation screen when in fact it is actual one of the most crucial if not the most important screen in Football Manager. Your points allocation should be based of what sort of manager you know you are if you have past experience and what sort of save you are going to undertake.

Think of it this way; if you are going to be a journeyman or be a manager which emphasizes home grown youth – the points allocation is different in many aspects. At a lower league club, you as the manager do not have a large setup and therefore must take more responsibility in regards to training – but at big clubs it is totally different where there is world class coaches at your disposal. As you can see, your type of save determines what Attributes you should allocate points to.

Not only do the ‘Type’ of saves determine what attributes you should focus on, but also how you like to play Football Manager can determine what type of attributes you should focus on. If you have a large scouting network and delegate responsibility to your scouting department efficiently – Player and Youngster Knowledge may not be too big of a focus. Or if you do not like to take team meetings, talks or press conferences – your Motivation attribute does not need investment.

Breakdown of Attributes

Now we understand why Attribute Allocation is important, so let’s break it down piece by piece.

Coaching Attributes

• Attacking – The ability to coach attacking aspects in training.
• Defending – The ability to coach defending aspects in training.
• Fitness – The ability to coach fitness in training.
• GK Distribution – The ability to coach goalkeeper distribution in training.
• GK Handling – The ability to coach goalkeeper handling in training.
• GK Shot Stopping – The ability to coach goalkeeper shot stopping in training.
• Tactical – The ability to coach the tactical aspect in training.
• Mental – The ability to coach the mental aspect in training.
• Technical – The ability to coach the technical aspect in training.
• Working With Youngsters – The ability to work with younger players in training.

Mental Attributes

• Adaptability – The chances of a manager finding employment in a foreign league.
• Determination – The manager’s adeptness at getting their own way with the board; a less determined manager is more likely to have requests turned down.
• Player Knowledge – The default knowledge of the attributes of individual senior players.
• Youngster Knowledge – The default knowledge of the attributes of individual youngsters.
• Man Management – The overall management of training and the nature of your interactions with players on an individual basis.
• Level of Discipline – The likelihood of players bringing their concerns to you; a strict manager will find players less likely to confront them with minor issues.
• Motivating – Your ability to motivate your players as a group in team talks and meetings.

Which Attributes Affect Training?

Now that we have laid out every managerial attribute (that is not hidden), then what attributes determine how effective you are at training your players? Essentially, they are divided into two categories again: coaching and mental attributes.

Coaching Attributes

• All of them.

Mental Attributes

• Determination.
• Level of Discipline.
• Man Management.
• Motivating.

What do each set of attributes do in terms of you training your squad? The Coaching Attributes affect your ability to train particular-training categories. This means that the higher rated that you are essentially the better understanding that you have in that area of coaching.

What about the mental attributes? The mental attributes have the general effect on your ability to train. Man Management influences the quality of training for your senior players (young players are considered to be those aged 23 and under). Keep in mind that Mental Attributes have additional effects which are explained above when listed.

Attribute Development

Like players, coaches, and everyone else in your save – your attributes can improve. There are several ways for improvement, mainly coaching courses – if you are not at the highest level with your coaching badges you have the opportunity to reach a higher level by completing a coaching course.

What if you have the highest coaching badges already? Well there is time and experience throughout the game. Your interactions, style of play, influence on coaching, tactics and your team’s performances all indicate and will fluctuate your attributes. This is important when considering medium to long-term saves. Over time, Football Manager has more data input by you to judge what your attributes are and therefore can make you either more or less affective in a certain attribute over time. (Your attributes can move both up and down). Therefore, if considering a short-term save, more thought should be given into your Manager Attributes at the beginning in order to best suit your save or your managerial style.

There are more ways to directly influence your Manager Attributes and that is with Editors. Here on FMScout we have FMSE, a powerful tool which works in-real-time with your game saves, and through this you are able to not only adjust other manager’s attributes, but yours as well. Sports Interactive provide the “In-Game Editor” where your manager attributes can be manipulated to your liking. Keep in mind however, your attributes can still fluctuate over time and just because you are a 20-rating in a certain area – you have to utilize your attributes to the best of your ability or they will not have any effect.

Conclusion

So, before jumping into your save and skimming through the introductions – no matter how experienced you are in Football Manager, take some time to consider your managerial attributes and how that will affect your saves. Want a greater challenge – choose a lesser badge and little experience. Want to try being more hands on with training – focus on key attributes to aid you along.

There are various combinations and avenues to consider and over time, take notice of your attributes in multiple saves – there you will notice how you manage and it can give you an outline of what your strengths and weaknesses are. Meaning for future saves you will know what attributes to focus on.


For now, stay safe stay healthy and enjoy your FM saves.