The Official Football Manager 2010 Guide

This guide is exclusive to FMFb and is the intellectual property of Sports Interactive and SEGA.

Please respect the work and do not clone or dissect without permission.

Due to restrictions on the post size this is not the full guide. The text is actually 193565 characters long. Also this guide contains live videos and such which don't work correctly on here.

Anway, enjoy and the full thing is available in four parts on the above link or on the Fb forums in it's own thread (which is also a help thread too). You can download the PDF here.

Introduction

Football Manager™ 2010 is the latest installment of Sports Interactive’s football management series. We’ve once again strived to continue making the ultimate football simulation and we’re glad you’re a part of that.

If you’ve played any of our previous titles, then you may already class yourself as something of an expert – but there’s information in this manual for all levels of user. If you’re new to the series, this manual, in addition to the in-game tutorial and advisor systems, aims to fully acquaint you with every aspect of Football Manager™ 2010.

The guide is founded on readily available information from Sports Interactive and all data is 100% accurate. Should you have a question which isn’t covered somehow by these methods, or indeed if you have something you wish to share with the team, you can find us over at www.sigames.com or here at Football Manager Fanboys.

Media and Mind-Games

Being in your envious position as manager of a football club, the media will want their say. 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.

Then you have to consider other managers. Some will see you as a figure they can bond with and develop a good relationship, others will see you as a potential threat and take a negative attitude towards you – and you can respond to this. You can comment on a previous or upcoming opposition’s manager with contextual comments. Similarly, if a manager speaks to you via the press, you have the freedom to respond to him. Take your squad into consideration when making comments though; they may take your actions in a negative manner, although if you get it right they’re just as likely to rally behind you.

There is no ‘right’ way to deal with the media and opposition managers; it’s simply up to you to discover what works best personally and for your squad. If things go wrong, you’ll just have to learn from your mistakes.

Players and Staff

The Player (and Staff) Search screen is the most powerful tool in the game for finding the exact player you want. By default upon first visiting the Player Search screen, your Assistant Manager will have filtered out players he doesn’t believe are likely to be attainable, leaving you with a list of those considered well-known and more likely to join your club. From here, you can begin tweaking the numerous settings to display exactly what you’re looking for.

The ‘Filters’ menu allows the user to configure a filter to find a specific type of player. From the dropdown menu, select ‘Edit Filter’, and then begin to specify conditions by first adding one, and then more if necessary by use of the ‘Add’ button at the end of each table row.

These filters are so powerful because you can choose to exclude, match, or select from any of the options. For example, if you wanted to find a left-back aged between 20 and 25 of Eastern European or South American nationality with an attribute rating of at least 15 for pace but no more than 5 for long shots.

Alternatively, you can set a player filter based on another player, and try to find players based on that individual’s skill set. From the player list, select the player’s table row, and then from the ‘Filter’ menu, select ‘Create Filter from <player>’. This will return all players who match a set of criteria, which you may view and then edit accordingly from the ‘Edit option from the same menu. You may also do this from the ‘Scouting’ section of any individual’s profile at any time from their Actions. Once you get to grips with the filters you can have the Player Search find any type of player you like. Of course, there are times when your filter will find no matches, or no realistic matches, in which case some further tweaking will be necessary to find the one you’re after.

The ‘Views’ menu allows the user to view the filtered information in a number of manners, which combined present the user with everything necessary to make an informed decision about a potential signing well before they click on a player’s profile.

This information all applies to the Staff Search, which can be accessed from this screen on the tabs menu. If you are in the market to enhance your backroom staff, configure your filters according to the areas you wish to improve in and follow the guidance from this section.

The Team Menu

Let’s be honest, this is the real business. Your team. The group of players you have been charged with moulding into a successful unit.

In addition to these options, you have a number of key items found in the tabs menu. These are explained in detail in this section.

Players

Your success will live and die based on the players you employ to carry out the task at hand. Section 9.0 details players in Football Manager in more detail. However, each player may at times have an icon next to their name with a three-letter abbreviation indicating an action or event relating directly to them. The following table explains these ‘status icons’.

45 - A club manager has requested that an international manager only uses this player for 45 minutes in an upcoming friendly international.

Abs - The player has recently been absent from the club without permission.

Bid - The player is subject to a transfer bid from another club.

Ctr - The player is out of contract at his current club.

Cup - The player is cup-tied having played for another club in the same competition in a previous round.

Dev - The player is on an MLS developmental contract.

Dft - The player has been selected in the MLS Draft.

DP - The player is an MLS Designated Player.

Enq - The player is subject to a transfer enquiry from another club.

Fgn - The player counts as a foreign player in the competition.

Frt - The player has decided to leave his club on a free transfer.

Fut - The player has concerns about his future at the club.

HG - The player counts towards the Home Grown player quota necessary for a competition.

Hol - The player is currently on holiday.

IT - he player is an MLS International Slot player (non domestic).

Ine - The player is ineligible for the next match.

Inj - The player is suffering from an injury.

Int - The player is on international duty.

Lmp - The player is short on match practice and may need a reserve outing to get to full fitness.

Loa - The player has been made available for loan.

Lrn - The player is learning from a team-mate who is tutoring him.

Lst - The player has been transfer listed.

MQ - The player is a Marquee Player in the Australian league.

PR - The player has reacted to a comment you have made in the media.

Req - The player has requested to leave his current club.

Ret - The player has announced his intention to retire at the end of the current season.

Rst - The player is in need of a rest.

Sct - The player is being scouted by your scouts.

Slt - The player has some slight concerns about his role at the club.

Sus - The player is suspended for the next match.

Trn - The player has agreed a transfer with another club and will leave when the transfer window next opens.

Trv - The player is travelling to join up with his international squad, or he is travelling back from international duty.

Tut - The player is tutoring a team-mate.

Unh - The player is unhappy with his role or an event/action.

Unr - The player is not registered for the competition.

Wdn - The player has been withdrawn from international duty by his club manager.

Wnt - The player is wanted by another club.

Wp - The player has no work permit and is therefore unable to play.

Yel - The player is one yellow card away from a suspension.

Yth - The player is on a youth contract and is not yet on professional terms.

Formations

The very first thing you should take into consideration is the formation you are going to play. Or indeed, formations, because the best managers will be able to adapt their shape based on the opposition and match situation. There are two basic schools of thought on formations – pick a shape that best suits the players at your disposal, or shoe-horn your best players into an XI and then pick the formation based on your players. The former certainly allows for more balance, although perhaps at the expense of leaving out a talented player because he doesn’t ‘fit’. Naturally, if your best players fit into a formation that suits them all, then you should be looking to take advantage of this as much as you can.

When a player is assigned a position, a coloured graphical indicator alongside his shirt will show you the suitability for that position. The colours match the Position indicators so if a player is being played in a Natural role, the indicator will be bright green. If he is being played totally out of position, the indicator will be red.

From the ‘Tactics’ menu you may select one of a number of standard formations to use as either your main tactic or merely the framework for further and more detailed work. The graphical pitch display will change depending on your choice. You can also manually change the formation on this display by left-clicking and holding on a shirt and dragging it away from the position it currently resides in. Available positions to move this to will be indicated by a slightly faded position icon. Release the left mouse button to place it in a new position.

Right-clicking and holding on a position indicator allows you to ‘draw’ in either a forward or backward direction from the player. Navigate towards one of the slightly faded positions indicating where the line can finish, and then release the right mouse button to set the line.

There are two types of instructional arrows in use – forward arrows and backward arrows, which no longer set a secondary position for the player depending on which team has possession, but simply rather having an effect on the player’s Forward Runs slider. A forward arrow will set the Forward Runs instructions to ‘Often’, whilst a backwards one will set it to ‘Rarely’. No arrow will leave the slider in the middle at ‘Mixed’. These instructions also work the other way around – if you set the Forward Run instructions from the player’s Personal Instructions, the arrow will take effect on the tactics screen.

Team Instructions

The Team Instructions panel is where you set up how your team is going to play. Each tactical option is slider controlled, and further instructions are either in check box form or a dropdown list. The available options and configurations are described in this section.

Mentality

Mentality directly affects a player’s position on the field. His set position on the tactical pitch display is where he will line up as a base default, but depending on the mentality set he may be more restrained or cavalier in his approach. The slider ranges from Ultra Defensive to All Out Attacking. The further right the slider is set for the team instruction, the more aggressive your players will play positionally and more ambitious they may be when passing the ball (a more aggressive mentality will result in more forward passes).

Creative Freedom

Creative Freedom affects the tendency of your players to attempt the more difficult and ambitious. The slider ranges from Little to Much, and in short, the more creative freedom you allow your team, the more unpredictable they may be. A higher setting may see your players occasionally ignore your tactical instructions and attempt to do their own thing, but the degree of success depends on the technical prowess of your players. Given they’ll be attempting the more difficult stuff; they need to be of a sufficient caliber to make it count. Therefore, it may be advisable to limit this on a team basis and allow it for the more talented player(s) in your team.

Passing Style

Passing style is fairly simple – this dictates the range of passing your team will adopt. The slider ranges from Short to Long and the notches in between will gradually ask your team to play a more expansive passing game. When deciding upon the style of passing you want your team to use, you’ll need to consider how everything else will affect it, both in terms of tactics and personnel. Have your players got the required attributes to keep the ball comfortably over short distances? Does your passing style suit the tempo and mentality of your team? If you’re looking to play a direct game with an attacking mentality, your players may be launching longer passes from positions further up the pitch, which may prove wasteful.

Tempo

Tempo dictates the speed and urgency your team plays with. The slider ranges from Slow to Quick, and the further right you move the bar, your team will play a more up-tempo game and look to make things happen quickly and sharply. The tempo employed by your team can affect the success of your passing – it is entirely possible to play a quick, short passing game but when you increase the speed of something, mistakes can become more likely.

Width

The width your team lines up with largely comes into effect when they are in possession. The slider is set from Narrow to Wide. Setting the slider further to the right will indicate that you want your players to move towards the touchlines when they have the ball and in particular, get the ball to those in wider positions in order to stretch the opposition. A more narrow setting will attempt to bring the play inside and force matters through the centre of the pitch.

Without possession, your players are less inclined to follow your width instructions, but they will try to employ them as best they can against what the opposition is doing.

Closing Down

Closing Down represents how often, or how committed your players are, to closing down the opposition when they have the ball over the entire pitch. The slider is set from Rarely to Often. Increasing how often your players close the opponent down will put them under pressure when they receive the ball, but it can leave your team exposed for position and fitness, especially if your players don’t have the necessary physical attributes to be chasing opponents around for the whole game. Closing an opponent down will increase the chances of taking the ball from them and launching a counter attack, and is probably best employed in an attacking system – if you’re operating defensively with the intention to soak up pressure, your defensive shape doesn’t need to be compromised by players chasing the ball.

Time Wasting

Employing time-wasting is a defensive tactic designed to neutralise the attacking threat and frustrate the opposition. If used throughout the game, it is safe to assume the team using it are inferior to their opponents and are doing all they can to avoid defeat. Many other teams of all strengths may use it late in the game to hold onto a slender advantage. The slider is set from Rarely to Often and unless your team is one of the aforementioned inferior ones, this may be an option you use most in the closing minutes of games, or set depending on opposition/match context.

Defensive Line

The Defensive Line slider positions your deepest line of defence on the pitch. It affects the position the players take up both with and without possession. The slider is set from Deep to Push Up, and the further right the bar is set, the closer to the halfway line the defensive unit will advance when in possession. If your team is using a defensive mentality, a defensive setting on the slider will ensure they stay deep when the rest of your team attacks. If your team uses an attacking philosophy, the effect of the slider is lessened and players will advance – although a deeper line will see them err on the side of caution a little more.

When your team is not in possession the same applies, but in terms of nullifying the opposition. As soon as your team loses the ball, the defensive line will adopt the approach you have told them to and either drop deeper or push up. You may want to take the qualities of the opposition’s attackers into consideration before each match before deciding on your defensive line approach, as quicker players can get in behind an advanced line, and deeper lines can be exposed by direct play and a big target man up front.

Tackling

The Tackling slider determines the level of commitment and aggression your players will attempt to show when tackling for the ball. The slider is different from the others as it only has three options – Easy, Normal, and Hard. Hard tackling is most likely to exert authority on the opponent but is also most likely to inflict injury and disciplinary action against your players. Easy tackling negates this risk somewhat but also gives the opposition an easier time on the ball. Normal is a balance of the settings and is the best choice by default, but you should check your opposition’s disciplinary record and their record from set piece situations ahead of each game, as well as the type of player they have, before settling on your tackling approach for the match.

Focus Passing

This option is where you can tell your players where to generally work their play from. You have the option to direct all play down both flanks, either the left or the right only, through the middle, or a mix of all of them. The best use of this is in combination with other tactical settings, the strengths of your team and the weaknesses of others. For example, setting your Width to ‘Wide’ but directing play through the middle may work through stretching the opponent but you effectively ignore your wide players all game. If you have a left or right sided player of some ability, directing all play towards them can bring them into the game often and maximize the chances of their ability being used to great effect. Similarly, if the opposition has a weak link somewhere in the team, you can tell your players to focus their efforts on making his game a torrid one and yours beneficial.

Marking

The Marking option sets your team to play either a zonal or a man marking style. Man marking is the easiest and simplest to employ, as each player on your team is responsible for an opponent at all times. Zonal marking puts players in charge of an area of the pitch which they are then responsible for addressing should an opponent make their way into that ‘zone’. It is harder to employ as your defensive players will need top ratings in Anticipation, Concentration, and Decision as well as key defensive attributes, but if you have the players to implement it, some managers believe it to be a more effective defensive tactic as players are less likely to be drawn out of position, ensuring a solid structural foundation to your team.

Target Man Supply

If you choose to employ a target man, this option tells your players how to supply the ball to him. In simple terms, you should choose the option which best suits your target man’s attributes. You can have your players feed him the ball To Head, To Feet, to Run onto the Ball, or a mixture of them all. A tall, strong target man will benefit from aerial supply, whilst a skilful, quicker target man may prefer the ball to be kept on the floor.

Options

The remainder of the options on the Team Instructions screen are a series of check boxes to enable or disable a particular option.

Tight Marking: Tell your players whether you wish for them to mark their opponents up close or to allow themselves a little ‘give’ should they be beaten to the ball.

Use Target Man: Set whether your team plays to a target man. Such a player is a focal point in the attack which the team will look to involve in all attacking plays and feed off. Typically this player is big and strong, and capable of holding off opponents, but it can work with other types of players in the right system.

Use Playmaker: The playmaker is an almost cult role in world football – a fantasista - the player wearing the number 10 shirt. Those are the most common and typical types of playmaker but in short he will be the one player in your team capable of providing the difference-making play that very few others can’t. It can be a player anywhere on the pitch that you set as a playmaker (which you can assign from the ‘Playmakers’ panel option from the ‘Instructions’ menu), but ideally the selected player will be one who can make a difference offensively.

Play Offside: Decide whether your defensive unit should play the offside trap or not. To pull it off successfully you’ll need players who are mentally capable of focusing on the plan as well as a unit who know each other very well, and a sufficient mentality so as to not conflict with the option.

Counter Attack: The counter attack option is best used by an underdog facing a superior opponent or a team with players capable of launching attacks at high speed with a directness about their play. They will tend to sit back in their own half and allow the opposition to have the ball in ‘harmless’ positions before imposing pressure, taking the ball, and countering.

Player Instructions

In addition to your overall team instructions, you can designate instructions to any individual to tailor their playing style specifically. To select a player’s instructions, click on their table row from the left panel and their instructions will appear in the right panel. Some of the options are identical to those listed in section 6.1.3 but enabling them for an individual and setting them differently to the team will override the team instruction and tell the player to play differently. Leaving the option un-checked and ‘greyed out’ will assume you wish the player to follow the team instructions.

Mentality

When set for a player, it applies in the same manner as it does for the team as detailed in section 8.1.2.

Creative Freedom

When set for a player, it applies in the same manner as it does for the team as detailed in section 8.1.2.The player will act on his own authority at times and attempt to play with flair and trickery.

Passing Style

When set for a player, it applies in the same manner as it does for the team as detailed in section 8.1.2.

Closing Down

When set for a player, it applies in the same manner as it does for the team as detailed in section 8.1.2. Instead of setting an entire team to close down often, it might be advisable to allow your fittest player(s) to do a bulk of the work.

Tackling

When set for a player, it applies in the same manner as it does for the team as detailed in section 8.1.2.

The following sliders are different to the above and a majority of the Team Instruction sliders as they only have 3 notches to them – Rarely, Mixed, and Often.

Forward Runs

This slider controls how often your players make forward runs without the ball. ‘Often’ will see the player push into attacking positions and attempt to get by their marker – for wide players and full-backs this will increase the likelihood of overlapping runs. ‘Rarely’ will order the players to stand their ground and attempt to play their way through or around an opponent rather than going past them.

This instruction also ties in heavily with player arrows, as detailed in section 8.1.1.

Run With Ball

This increases the chances of a player deciding to advance forward with the ball rather than giving it to someone else, if set to ‘Often’. ‘Rarely’ will restrict their dribbling and instead pass the ball onto a team-mate.

Long Shots

This controls the speculative shooting from distances further than 20 yards out from goal. It makes sense to limit these to players who have a high Long Shots rating else you’ll be wasting chances and turning the ball over to your opponents a lot.

Through Balls

This controls how often the player will attempt a through ball. Through balls are defined in the match engine as a pass that can ‘unleash’ a player behind an opponent, so not necessarily a pass through the last line of defence to a striker. When considering the use of through balls, take into account the passing ability of the player and the likely recipient of the pass, and what they’ll be able to do when they receive it. For example, a right-back playing a through ball to a right winger would likely do so along the touchline – will the winger then be able to make full use of the situation?

Cross Ball

This controls the volume of crosses put into the area by the player. Consider the player’s position before setting this – if he plays centrally but has ‘Often’ set for crosses, is he going to be crossing in at angles or moving wide and out of position to cross?

The next few options are drop-down lists from which you may select one option.

Cross From: This defines where players should be looking to cross from. They can cross from deeper positions or they can make their way to the byline then send a cross back at a different angle. Alternatively, choosing ‘Mixed’ will allow the player to make his own mind up.

Cross Aim: When crossing, you can instruct your players to attempt to put the ball into a certain part of the penalty area. The ball can be played to the Near or Far Posts or the Centre, or if you have a target man set, the ball can be directed towards him. This is only the intention; the technical ability of the player determines whether the ball will be put in the right places regularly.

Swap Position: If your team uses wingers, you can use this function to tell one winger to swap positions with the other (and vice-versa) during a match, to freshen things up on that side of the pitch, keep defenders on their toes, and bring a different attacking approach if something isn’t working. Any player can be swapped with any other if your plans are ambitious and your players are versatile but take caution when doing it and consider how it may disrupt your formation if swapping a centre-back with a midfielder.

The remaining options deal with check boxes and dropdowns.

Options

The remaining personal instructions allow you to set individual marking plans for players which may differ from the team. For example, for each upcoming match you can specify an opponent to be man-marked by a player from the ‘Marking’ option – select Man, then when the opposition line-up is available, wait for it to pop out and select the player.

‘Free Role’ allows the player almost complete freedom to move around the pitch and attempt to pull all of the strings to get the team working. Essentially this is a role that should only be given to a player of high caliber with the creative expression and attributes to make a difference.

‘Hold Up Ball’ is an option which will tell the player to put his foot on the ball and take a look around to see what’s on before moving it on and making the appropriate decision. It works best in a slower tempo game as the player will have more time on the ball to find his team-mates, who should be in closer proximity. A high tempo closing-down game from the opposition can force a player holding the ball up to make a quicker decision and not necessarily always choose the right one. It can also be used in tandem with a target man, who will physically hold the ball up and try and bring others into the game from his position.

Set Pieces: Each player can be employed in a different situation for set pieces, both attacking and defensive. Take some time to plan out how you want your set pieces to go, position your players, and then set them accordingly from the dropdown menus on the player instructions panel.

Team Settings

Team Settings refers to items such as your Captain and your Set-Piece takers.

Captaincy

At the start of every season you will receive an item to your Inbox asking you to confirm a captain and a vice-captain for the coming season. Once selected, they will 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, his 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 and hold on their actions button to the left of their name, 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 Influence 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 his team-mates. On a player’s ‘Personal’ 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 – ideally he’ll have been at the team for a few years and been in football long enough to understand what it is to captain a team.

These criteria can change depending on the composition of your squad – a young team needs a capable captain perhaps more than a team of veterans who’ve been there and done it – but largely following this advice should put you in good stead when handing out the armband.

Set-Piece Takers

Good set-pieces can be the difference between no points and one, or one point and three. Taking advantage of the numerous dead-ball situations which 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 15 and above in these areas. If your squad isn’t blessed with anyone particularly capable, consider bringing one in. Once you’ve identified potential takers, you can start narrowing the selections down.

A good corner taker will also have good Crossing, naturally because they’ll be using these crossing skills to put the ball into dangerous areas. Also consider the footedness of a player – do you want your corners to be in-swinging or out-swinging?

A good free-kick taker will also have good Crossing if the attempts are not direct at goal, since the free-kick will likely be put into a dangerous offensive area. If the shot is direct on goal, Long Shots may come into consideration depending on the distance, and a good Technique may be required. High Composure and Concentration are often seen in the best dead-ball specialists, so try and piece these attributes together as best you can to find the ideal free-kick takers.

Throw-in takers should have a good Long Throws rating to make full use of the situation, but to pull it off well they’ll need to have good ratings in Strength and Balance, to get a really good throw away. Ideally a long throw will be towards a target in the penalty area, but this is discussed more in sections 8.1.2. and 8.1.3.

When selecting Penalty takers, much of the above applies. Your regular penalty taker should have a high Penalty Taking attribute, may have good Finishing, and above most other attributes, needs high Composure, Concentration, and Decisions. Consider these attributes in greater scope when selecting takers for a penalty shootout. It may be that you’re forced to use players who aren’t natural penalty takers, so look at the next most important attributes – 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. Left-click on the desired player’s Actions button to the left of his name; then drag and drop and release into the appropriate set-piece menu. The ranking is hierarchical and will follow in order should the top player not be on the pitch at the time.

Backroom Staff

Your backroom staff will be vitally important to your success. The manager and players will get the adulation but the people working with the players day in and out play just as big a role. Surrounding yourself with competent Assistants, Coaches, Physiotherapists, and Scouts will make your job considerably easier in the long run.

All attributes work on the 1-20 scale where 20 is the very best whilst 1 is the lowest and poorest possible.

Non Player Attributes

Coaching

Attacking - Their competency at coaching attacking football. A higher attribute doesn’t necessarily indicate a preference for attacking football, merely that they’re quite good at it.

Coaching Goalkeepers - Their ability to coach goalkeeping fundamentals and beyond. A higher attribute means the coach is better at coaching goalkeepers to the higher levels.

Defending - The ability of the staff to coach a defensive game. Higher ratings indicate a proficiency in working well on the defensive side of the game.

Fitness - This reflects a coach’s ability to work on the fitness side of the game, and as such should be one of the key attributes to look at when hiring a Fitness Coach, and less importantly, a Physio.

Man Management - How well the member of staff is able to deal with those around him and particularly below him. This is a mental approach; a high attribute indicates a coach who is capable of organizing and keeping people happy.

Mental - Their mental approach to players. A good mental coach will be able to observe and act upon each individual’s state of mind and react accordingly.

Tactical - How tactically astute he is. More tactically astute coaches will not only be able to coach the tactical side of the game more effectively but any advice they may offer is likely to be more accurate and informative.

Technical - The ability of the coach to teach the technical side of the game – work with the ball. This can be one of the hardest areas to coach and it may be that a former player is particularly useful here.

Working with Youngsters - How successful a coach is at working with younger players – those aged 18 and under in particular. Having a coach who is very good at nurturing young talent can be priceless, even if just one or two of them develop into useful players.

Mental

Adaptability - A high Adaptability attribute will enable the staff member to settle quickly predominantly in a new country but also will help a little in settling in at new clubs and new roles. The faster (i.e. higher rating) a member of staff can adapt to their new working environment, the quicker and better they can do their job.

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 himself and their own innate drive to better himself.

Judging Player Ability - When employing a scout, these two attributes are the first things you should look at. High attribute ratings in these two areas will most likely result in more accurate scouting reports. Judging Ability is important if you have assigned a scout to watch players you intend to bring in or are scouting upcoming opponents.

Judging Player Potential - Judging Potential is more important for the scouts you intend to assign to identifying the next generation of footballing talent. At the very top levels, a rating of 15 in these attributes would be considered the minimum requirement, but as you go down the ladder, a good scout can be a highly valuable commodity.

Level of Discipline - This reflects the level of discipline the coach is likely to take in his approach. A higher attribute means that the coach will take up a harder line in his approach and keep things strict. A lower one means the coach is a little more relaxed.

Motivating - The mental ability of a coach to motivate his players. High motivation will allow the coach to suitably pump his players up not only for a big match, but also in an every day sense – keeping a squad motivated towards their goals is imperative.

Physiotherapy - This attribute is exclusively for use with Physiotherapists. Having a Physio with a high rating in this attribute is something you should always look to have. If possible, have at least three Physios with high ratings for this attribute to ensure your players receive high-quality treatment to both prevent and rehabilitate injuries.

Tactical Knowledge - The tactical knowledge possessed by a coach. Their experiences in the game, where they’ve been and who they’ve worked with will affect the level of knowledge they have, and when using this knowledge they may have ideas lesser coaches haven’t become familiar with, which is an advantage.

These attributes are displayed on every non-player’s profile page. In addition to this, the staff member will also have a biography panel and his tactical preferences and contractual information displayed to you.

The ‘Personal’ screen displays similar biographical and personality-based information as found on the same screen for playing staff. A non-player’s tabs menu may also contain links to Scouting Assignments, Coach and Scout Reports, Team Reports and Feedback, and their Playing (if applicable) and Non-Playing career Histories.

Coach Reports

You are able to get a report on any one of your own players from any coach employed on your staff at any time. From their Profile screen, select the ‘Reports’ option from their tabs menu. By default, you will be presented with a report compiled by your Assistant Manager on that player, from the dropdown to the top right of the main screen area (which holds the current staff member’s name) you can select any member of your backroom staff to make this report.

Directly next to the option to choose which member of staff provides the report is an option to change the position of which the coach is analyzing the player. Some players are capable of playing in a number of positions, and so it can be worth getting a number of opinions on a player in each role to determine where he’ll truly be at his best.

The report is in a similar style to scouting reports, which are detailed in section 10.0. Players are rated in a number of areas – their ability, strengths, and weaknesses – and will receive a star rating from the coach submitting the report. A player can receive up to five stars depending on the standard expected of their team. A player who meets this standard will receive three to three and a half stars – from there it can increase to five or fall as far as one if the player exceeds standards or fails to meet them.

Some younger players may receive a silver star rating on the same scale. This will be the case where the player is not deemed comparable to more senior players and instead more fairly compares them to similarly aged players amongst a youth standard.

You can get information on these star ratings by holding the mouse pointer over a star wherever it appears in coaching or scouting reports.

Backroom Advice

The staff you surround yourself with are amongst the most vital people at the club. They are, to an extent, your eyes and ears on an everyday basis. Whilst you might not be privy to everything going on, they'll be able to fill in the gaps. On the Backroom Advice screen, they share this information with you, allowing you to action it accordingly.

The screen is laid out in an Inbox fashion. The type of advice and the member of staff offering it are followed by a subject and whom, or what, it concerns. For example, your assistant manager might be advising you about a potential player tutoring opportunity. Similarly, you may find a scout keen to inform you of a recent find he wants you to action.

By clicking on a piece of advice (using the black icon to the left of the row), more detail will appear in the panel at the bottom, allowing you to either Action or Dismiss the offering.

By listening to what your staff have to say, you'll have a more comprehensive view of what's going on at your club. What you decide to do with the advice is very much up to you - but this way, you're very much in the loop.

Assistant Manager

Your Assistant Manager has a vitally important role to play in your managerial career. Essentially he is your link to your squad at all times, and is a source of vital information throughout your career. A good Assistant Manager is a valuable asset and a number of managers will endeavour to work alongside the same Assistant wherever they go in their career.

Amongst the tasks your Assistant carries out are the Team Report and Team-Talk Feedback sections available from the ‘Assistant Advice’ option, found in the Actions on your squad screen. Your Assistant Manager will offer his insight into your squad from the Team Report screen, informing you of who he believes are the strongest and weakest players, and those with the greatest potential, as well as the best players for your current formation.

He will also keep track of how your players react to your team talks – pre-match, half time, and full time (all viewable from the ‘View Team Talk’ menu). The information is held from the most recent match played, as your assistant logs what you said to your players and how they reacted. This can be a useful tool for you to gauge how your player react to what you say and perhaps why their performance dropped off so much after half time. Your Assistant also reports on morale and level of understanding amongst the squad – when this is high your team will perform far better than when it is at a lower level, but at the same time they lend themselves to each other – good form will result in a higher level of morale.

Should you wish to, you can ask your Assistant to compile a list of players who may be available for loan for a particular position in your team. Select the option from the ‘Assistant Advice’ section of the action menu, and a report will be compiled in two to three days, presenting you with potential short-term options.

Your Assistant Manager is also left in charge if you wish to take a leave of absence. Throughout Football Manager™ 2010, your Assistant will be available to you in a number of ways other than those detailed here, offering advice and help on your daily management of the club.

Assistant Manager Feedback

On a match day, your Assistant can be more vital than ever. You have so much to deal with that at times you may not notice things, but your Assistant, with fewer responsibilities, may be more aware of these things. Your Assistant Manager will offer you detailed feedback on how the match is going at 15 minute intervals, and advise on how to remedy any problems he or she has noticed. The feedback appears on the Match Screen, and can be found in more detail in section 14.3.

Training

Your players will train every day, with the occasional day off. This is, of course, absolutely necessary for them to attain match fitness and be absolutely prepared ahead of each game. By default it is assumed that your Assistant Manager is in charge of your Training – if you’ve made no changes or simply tweak the default settings, this is the case, but should you wish to become more hands-on in your approach, then it’s fully down to you to keep track of and control.

The Training Screen

The main Training screen is split into three panels.

The top left panel lists all schedules currently available for use and the number of players currently training under that plan. The top right panel is the workload panel – this is where you will be able to set the intensity of each area of training. More on that in a bit. The bottom panel lists all of your players, their current training schedule, and any attribute changes they’ve undergone since beginning their training schedule.

There are nine areas of training which affect the overall workload, all of which are slider-controlled.

The screenshot displays the varying levels of intensity you can apply to each area of training. As you increase the slider on these options, the overall workload becomes heavier and your players must train harder but also become more susceptible to injury. Finding a good balance is key.

Therefore, it may be useful to create schedules either for each individual player (if you’re ambitious and pay a close attention to detail) or position, in order to focus intently on the areas important to those players, whilst leaving the less important ones alone, thus balancing their overall workload. To create a new schedule, select the ‘Schedules’ dropdown, then ‘New’ -> ‘Full Time Schedule’.

You may manage these schedules from the ‘Manage Schedules’ menu. In here, all existing training schedules are held, and by clicking on one you enable the options found at the bottom of the screen. You can Import/Export training schedules, delete them, or rename them. When Importing/Exporting, you will need to give the schedules an overall name, and then select the individual schedules to load/export.

Coaches

The ‘Coaches’ screen, available from the tabs menu when on the Training screen, controls how your coaching staff handles training. Each coach is, by default, assigned to work in every aspect of training, unless they are of a specific type (i.e. goalkeeping or fitness), in which case they are restricted to that area only.

Each member of your backroom staff is likely to be particularly proficient in a particular 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, one star being poor whilst five stars is excellent. A higher number of stars will increase the effectiveness of the training schedules on your players. A coach with high attributes in key areas who is only assigned to coach categories he is strong in will result in a much better training schedule.

In order for your coaches to be as useful as possible to you in your training schedules, you should endeavour to find the correct attributes required for more stars in their area of training.

Strength: Coaches should have a high Fitness rating.

Aerobic: Coaches should have a high Fitness rating.

Goalkeeping: Coaches should have a high Coaching Goalkeepers rating.

Tactics: Coaches should have a high Tactical rating.

Defending: Coaches should have high ratings in Coaching Defending and Tactical.

Ball Control: Coaches should have high ratings in coaching Technical and Mental.

Attacking: Coaches should have high ratings in coaching Attacking and Tactical.

Shooting: Coaches should have high ratings in coaching Attacking and Technical.

Set Pieces: Coaches should have high ratings in coaching Technical, Mental, and Attacking.

This is a minute proportion of the guide. Due to size reasons, the number of images involved, media reasons and formatting issues it's not possible to post the piece in it's entirety.

You can see the whole guide at Football Manager Fanboys, if you want to read everything online. It features tips from scouting and players, to tactics and touchline shouts. It covers every aspect of the game and is the only official FM2010 guide available.

Hopefully it's something you'll find useful, please enjoy.

If you want to use this guide, please seek permission beforehand. Football Manager Fanboys are a small site who focus on quality over quanity and our content is obviously something we work hard on but we'd like to make sure we get the guide available to every FM fan out there.

It's a little tough to have unique content as it is but please respect the above and don't steal it for your own gain, don't splice or dissect it either. If you want to use it let us know and we can sort something out (including the downloadable content too!).

Thanks, Wonderkid.

nice work here well done.

I can't take full credit for it, I've just put it together from SI data. - even though that took about four hours!

Good stuff

tl:dr