I'm now into my third season as Middlesbrough manager and overall I can now make an opinion that the game is simply average.
The ME is ok. I have no major grievances with it. Some small improvements on FM23 but not a lot.
The main issues I have that are well documented are the AI squad planning.
Chelsea have one player out on loan for the 25/26 season. One! City have two.
I use the in-game editor and the amount of young players with +160 PA but continue to sit in their club's reserves is crazy.
United have a 21 year-old striker with 113 CA and 170 PA and hasn't played a competitive match in 15 months following on from a successful 6 month loan. His asking price is still £30m for some reason.
Celtic have a midfielder with similar CA and PA and he has been limited to a handful of substitute appearances and yet isn't loan listed. His CA hasn't changed since he came back from his loan move a year ago.
Brighton have a 21 year-old striker with a CA of 87 and PA of 156. Again no appearances, no loans (ever), but it'll take £28m to prise him away.
Evan Ferguson, one of the best young players in the game has made 13 starts in two seasons.
I get some young players in real life naturally don't fulfill their potential, but what I'm witnessing on FM24 is absolutely pathetic.
Oh, and press conferences remain as bad as ever. Thanks for not bothering to improve that for the fifth+ year in a row despite widespread criticism from the SI community.
Overall, this game is basically FM23 in a new fancy new box.