The League/Competition screen holds all the important information and links that will be entirely necessary for you to check regularly if you are to be successful. Keeping up to date on the very latest information from your opponents is a massive factor, and Football Manager™ 2020 allows you to do this in many ways. The sections described below are all found from the tabs menu on any league or competition screen. They are also accessible from the competitions screen, which can be found on the sidebar (containing details of all competitions you are taking part in).
Basic Competition Information
Overview
A comprehensive overview of the competition, with a number of dedicated sections with a trove of content.
Profile
Each competition page has a ‘Profile’ screen which offers all of the relevant competition information at-a-glance. More detailed information can be found throughout the tab and sub-tab menus, as explained in this section.
Season Preview
The Season Preview section projects the upcoming season, including a proposed league table with title odds and last season’s award winners, key transfer activity which has taken place ahead of the big kick-off and the players to watch in the months ahead.
Stages/League Table
The League Table displays completely up-to-date standings from the competitions(s) you may be in at the time.
Each table header is sortable in both A-Z and Z-A styles – simply click once on the header icon to sort it and again to sort it in reverse order.
The overall menu to the top left allows you to view the table in a number of different manners.
Past Positions
The ‘Past Positions’ screen displays the progress of one or more teams over the course of a single season. The graph plots their round-by-round league standing and presents it in a line graph.
Rules
The ‘Rules’ screen informs the manager of all the specific rules for the competition. Check this screen as early as you can to familiarise yourself with the competition(s) you will be participating in and ensure that your squad meets any criteria it needs to well in advance of the start date.
Some competitions feature extensive and often complicated rules and regulations and, as such, it pays to read them thoroughly to ensure you’re well on top of any and all situations that might arise.
Structure
This screen displays the basic competition structure, including the number of teams, promotion and relegation spots (and if so the competitions they feed into or come from).
Stadiums
This screen presents a list of all team stadiums within that competition ranked by capacity from highest to lowest, as well as details of the pitch dimensions and playing surface.
Sponsorship Incomes
This screen ranks the league by the amount of money being brought in via sponsorship.
Scouting and Social Options
You can assign a scout to the competition and follow/unfollow all news pertaining to it from these relevant options.
Matches
Fixtures and Results
The ‘Fixtures and Results’ screen displays the round by round calendar for the current season. From the date dropdown at the top, and the back/forward arrows next to it, you can freely move around each round and view the results or upcoming fixtures for the entire competition.
On a match day, the ‘Latest Scores’, ‘Goal Updates’ and ‘Live League Table’ tabs become active.
Schedule
The Schedule screen allows you to see at a glance the forthcoming schedule for the competition in three different calendar-style formats as well as a list as an alternative.
The three calendar-style options are selectable from the ‘Views’ menu found towards the top right of the main screen area.
Week View – This displays a standard weekly look at the schedule immediately ahead.
Month View – This displays a standard day-by-day monthly calendar with key information highlighted when it is scheduled to occur.
Year View - The year view displays a yearly calendar with no detailed events, but all dates where key information can be found are highlighted. Click on a date to view the information held.
News
Headlines
The ‘Headlines’ page lists the ‘Top News Stories’ of the week on the left side of the screen, with the full story viewable by clicking upon any one of them, appearing in a pop-up window. An ‘Upcoming Events’ panel is featured towards the right of the main screen area as well as the most recent transfer activity in the competition.
Transfer Rumours
This screen rounds up all the latest news and gossip surrounding transfers for teams and players playing in the league covered. A brief summary of the story and its source are listed in a table for quick reference.
Stats
Player and Team Stats
This Statistics section incorporates both the Team and Player Stats sections. Statistics are kept in a vast number of areas, the most important of which are displayed on the Overview pages, while the ‘Detailed’ versions cover affairs in a greater depth.
Referees, Injuries and Suspensions
The Referees Screen displays all officials who have taken charge of a fixture in the competition and details their tallies of cards and penalties awarded to home and visiting teams. Keep a check on this screen and perhaps alter your tactics depending on the referee taking charge of your next fixture.
The Injury Table lists all players currently suffering from an injury who are playing for teams in a given competition. The table ranks teams by total number of injuries and also gives information on the type of ailment suffered and predicted return time. This screen is again useful when planning your line-up for upcoming games – if one of your forthcoming opponents is suffering an injury crisis you may wish to adapt your plans accordingly.
Likewise, any players currently under suspension are listed on the Suspensions screen.
Transfers
Transfers
This screen simply lists all transfers that have taken place involving teams in this competition.
Draft
If you’re managing in Major League Soccer, details of the upcoming draft can be found here once the order of picks have been finalised.
Manager Movements
This screen keeps track of all managerial movement within the competition throughout the course of its duration.
Transfer Window
A complete summary of everything you need to know about the transfer activity from the most recent transfer window.
Awards
Awards honour the best of the best. Each competition in Football Manager™ 2020 has its own seasonal (and other) awards, the details and history of which are found on this screen.
History
In a similar way to the previous ‘History’ screen descriptions, the ‘Competition History’ screen details historical information about the competition. Once again, these records are there to be broken, so check back here regularly to see where you stand in history.
Juggling The Fixture List
There will inevitably be moments throughout your career – throughout most seasons of your career in truth – where fixtures come thicker and faster than you can really handle. This is where smart forward planning can pay off. Using the various schedule and fixture screens at your disposal will allow you to foresee any fixture congestion – including provisional dates for matches yet to be scheduled, such as future rounds of cup competitions – and pick your teams accordingly. Selecting a squad of players three or four matches in advance might seem unusual and at times unnecessary, but it can pay off handsomely if your best players are available for the bigger matches during a spell of congestion.