Players

Overview and Status Flags

It’s a simple fact that to be successful, you need the right players. That’s not to say you need the best players, but identifying the necessary players to suit your plans is of paramount importance.

Whenever a person – player or non-player – appears in a list, they will have a small silhouette next to their name. This is the ‘Information’ pop-up.

Selecting it (or hovering over it, depending on your Preferences selection) will display a small box with their most useful biographical information and their attributes. You can also right-click/long press on the player’s name to access the ‘Actions’ menu, allowing you to interact with the individual rather than be exposed to their full player profile.

A player may also have one or many status flags attached to them on the Squad screen. Hold the cursor over (or long-press on Tablet) to enable them to cascade into full view. Bring up the tooltip for more information on what each of them mean; further detail is available from the Overview screen for each player as well.

Playing Time

Playing time is at the heart of a player’s happiness. Give it to them and they’re satisfied; take it away from them and problems will almost certainly arise. For Football Manager™ 2020, Playing Time replaces Squad Status to provide a clearer and more descriptive understanding of how a player fits into a squad. It will allow for better rotation of players between matches, keeping players happier for longer, while drawing closer parallels to expected behaviour on a contract-to-contract basis as players move through their careers.

The tiers of Playing Time are as follows:

Star Player: The main player at the club. There can be more than one Star Player but, as a rule, this is the top dog and they will expect the playing time and salary that comes with it.

Important Player: One of the first names on the team sheet and, in teams where a Star Player isn’t found, the most important members of the squad.

Regular Starter: Someone you can expect to feature in the majority of matches in the starting eleven but who doesn’t quite command the star power of the more illustrious players.

Squad Player: A genuine rotation option who can be brought into the team throughout the season and keep pace with the more important players.

Fringe Player: Someone who gets the occasional opportunity to play in the first team, and earn more minutes if they impress enough, but largely accepts their place at the bottom end of the squad.

B Team Regular: Exclusively for use at clubs with a B Team, this is a player aged 24 or older who is a B Team stalwart with no aspirations to play for the top club.

Hot Prospect: A highly-talented young with a first-team future.

Youngster: A good young player with varying degrees of chance of eventually playing for the first team.

Surplus to Requirements: A player who is no longer needed at the club.

There are also some goalkeeper-specific options:

First Choice Goalkeeper: Almost self-explanatory, this goalkeeper is the clear first choice in his position. A goalkeeper can be a Star Player where suitable but the majority will fall into this category.

Backup: The regular deputy goalkeeper in all competitions.

Cup Goalkeeper: The nominated goalkeeper for all cup competitions; someone different from the First Choice goalkeeper.

How you handle distribute these Playing Time options around your squad, and act upon them over the course of the season, will go a long way to determining your overall success.

Positions

A complete breakdown of a player’s positional ability is found on the Positional Abilities panel of a player’s Information screen.

The graphical pitch displayed in this panel indicates the positions the individual can fulfil and each are colour-coded to represent a level of ability playing there.

Five strengths of position are considered in addition to the player’s ‘Natural’ position:

Accomplished – The player isn’t naturally at his best in this position but will perform in an accomplished and successful manner more often than not.

Competent – The player has enough experience and ability to put in convincing performances here on a regular basis.

Unconvincing – The player is playing out of position but will be able to do a decent job for a short period.

Awkward – The player isn’t likely to be particularly successful playing in this position. He may fill in for emergencies but will be struggling.

Ineffectual – The player cannot play this position. You are free to play him there, but he will not perform well.

The panel also displays the competence of a player with both feet at the bottom of the pitch display. It also displays the number of games he has played in various positions throughout the current season. For example, a versatile player who is predominantly a Defensive Midfielder but can play at Right-Back may have 30 appearances at his primary position but 15 at Right-Back. This allows you to see potential reasons for a player’s good or bad performances and indeed, his ability to play in various roles.

A player’s main position is printed in full in the title bar (presuming you have the Preferences set accordingly). Any other positions and/or sides he can play are appended with abbreviations.

Any particular traits the player favours are listed on this screen and can be altered or added to through the player’s Individual training screen.

Does it matter if I use a player out of position?

Yes and no. In an ideal world, with all things equal, you’d have a player Accomplished or better in each position. They’ll be more comfortable, they’ll perform to a higher and a more consistent standard and will be less likely to be targeted as a weakness by the opposition.

This isn’t to say that you can’t play someone out of position though, either on a regular basis or in times of need. For the latter, you can often plug someone in to ‘do a job’ and they’ll typically perform well enough to get by, particularly if the rest of the team is strong and the tactical structure helps to support them. Playing someone out of position longer-term, on the other hand, can work if the player’s attributes lend themselves well to the position and role assigned to them, and they’ll gradually learn and improve in that position the more they play there.

This ties into the overall concept of footballing ‘universality’; the idea that any player can play in any position as long as he’s well-trained and has a certain number of fundamental attributes in place. This is much harder to commit to and make work in practice than it is in theory, but the concept of a player being used in an unfamiliar or entirely different position isn’t a new one, and it isn’t something you should necessarily shy away from if you feel it can work within the framework of your tactics.

What is the tangible difference between each level of positional ability and how does that manifest itself in the match engine?

Essentially, the position rating system works the same as most attributes; it operates on a 1-20 scale where, the higher the number, the more competent the player in in his execution of his duties.

Natural: 19-20

Accomplished: 13-17

Competent: 10-12

Unconvincing: 6-8

Awkward: 1-5

The player’s comfort in a position acts as a direct modifier to his ability in that position. A player with 20 for any position will be able to play there without any adverse impact. The lower the rating for a position, the more the player will struggle – particularly with his Positioning and Decisions – but his versatility can help him adapt if he has a high rating for that attribute.

An Introduction to Attributes

It is vital to understand the importance of player attributes in Football Manager™ Touch and how they affect various parts of the game and, in particular, the match engine. Attributes are divided into three main areas - Physical, Mental, and Technical - with Goalkeepers having their own Technical ratings. The attributes, how they react in certain situations, in combination with others as well as on a stand-alone basis, are detailed below, but it’s important first of all to outline how attributes work.

Each player is rated on a scale of 1-20, 1 being absolutely terrible, and 20 being elite. Some attributes are defined as ‘Absolute’, and some as ‘Relative’. Absolute attributes are those that are locked to an individual and can’t be trained quite as easily, such as Determination and Work Rate. These are generally innate attributes specific to individuals and will typically only develop as the player matures off the field. Relative attributes are those that can be compared to other players in the football world and can be improved on through training and player development. Physical and Technical skill sets are the main areas you’ll find relative attributes.

For players that aren’t at your club and who haven’t been comprehensively scouted, attributes will appear as a range to indicate a rough idea of their ability in that area. Continued scouting will reduce the range until the attribute is clearly identified.

How are attributes and player ability linked?

The distribution of attributes across a player’s profile effectively determine his Current Ability. A player with 20 in all positive areas would be as close to the maximum ability score as possible; it wouldn’t be 100% certain as the number of positions he can play, as well as his competence with either foot, can affect the final number.

Some attributes have a higher ‘weighting’ towards a player’s overall ability as they are fundamentally important to succeeding in any position. The majority of Physical attributes, as well as Anticipation, Decisions and Positioning are the most heavily rated for any position, while each position carries appropriate weightings for attributes crucial to performing to a high standard in that area of the pitch. The ‘Highlight Key Attributes’ button on a player’s profile offers an insight into what each of these attributes are per position.

How does a one-number difference in an attribute make a difference in the match engine?

The easiest way to answer this question is to reflect that it produces a more consistent and high-quality outcome with every increase up the attribute scale. A pass will be more likely to find its target, a shot will more likely be on target, a tackle will more often win the ball, etc. The combination and distribution of attributes, combined with the player’s position, also directly correlate with their ability as described above. Players with higher attributes will, typically, also have a higher ability.

It applies to attributes several numbers apart as well as a single digit in difference, 11 to 12 for example. The differences are more easily noticeable when the difference is increased, but there are subtler tells when it’s reduced. Consider two identical players, but with their Decisions attributes a single digit apart. The player with the higher rating is more likely to make a better choice with every decision he makes.

It’s a very basic example that doesn’t include the nuance of how game situation and other attributes affect it, but that isolated marginal gain is important over the course of ninety minutes. It could be the difference between a pass that successfully unlocks a defence that another player might not have chosen to make. The small margins, the slight advantages, add up to a much bigger advantage when applied across the entire team, and that’s how the attribute model works.

How do attributes combine with each other and with external factors on a game-by-game basis?

Every player has almost 40 visible playing attributes. They often work in conjunction with each other, either with another singular attribute, or in combination with many, and the total number of combinations of attributes working in a synchronised fashion is stupendous. It would be impossible to list every single possible combination, but it’s more important to understand the environment the players operate in, and how the decision-making process is made.

Take one small example; a winger who has high attribute values for crossing will, on average, deliver consistently dangerous crosses into attacking positions in perfect circumstances; with the ball fully under control, and without significant pressure around him, but what happens if you then start to add in other factors? Introduce a defender closing him down, introduce a defender in the penalty area waiting to clear it, introduce a poor playing surface of unfavourable weather. Everything changes.

If that player has high attributes in other areas, like pace and acceleration, dribbling and technique, for example, he’ll have more ways to succeed. Players make thousands of mental calculations in every match based around the best option available to them at any given moment, and those are based off their attributes and their all-round competency. They won’t always be right in their decision (the Decisions attribute itself plays a big role here), nor will the right decision always be the successful one.

Try to think of attribute combinations ‘creating’ templates of players; athletic players, intelligent players, creative players, leaders etc. Much of this can be deciphered by using the role selector on the player’s profile; it will highlight the appropriate attributes for that role. This is not necessarily an exhaustive list – the hint is in the word ‘Key’ – but at the same time, it should be simple to understand which attributes do not work well together, or at all, by a combination of common sense and a process of elimination. Strength, for example, has nothing to do with Crossing. Positioning, as a purely defensive attribute, does not work with Finishing. Vision and Tackling are not associated as Vision refers to the opportunities a player can see open up in possession.

All of these attributes are explained in more detail in this section; using the descriptions to build a foundation of knowledge of how they work will leave you better informed as to how they might interact with each other.

Technical Attributes

Corners

This attribute reflects how well the player takes a corner kick.

Crossing

This indicates a player’s proficiency at crossing the ball, predominantly but not exclusively from wide areas, into dangerous goalscoring positions.

Dribbling

This refers to the player’s ability to run with the ball and manipulate it under close control. This is purely his proficiency at moving with the ball at his feet; his Pace, Acceleration, Agility, and Balance will all aid his dribbling in different circumstance. A player with higher ratings here will also be able to move in more directions more fluidly with the ball than someone with a lower rating.

Finishing

The player’s ability to put the ball in the back of the net when presented with a chance. A high Finishing attribute will put the shot on target a majority of the time as a bare minimum but, compared to a player with poorer Finishing, will find the places where the goalkeeper can’t save it. This is purely the ability of the player to perform an accurate shot – Composure and Decisions will also impart on the ability of a player to score consistently.

First Touch

How good a player’s first touch is when receiving the ball. A higher rating will ensure that the player can control the ball quicker and put it in a useful position to then act upon. Players with lower ratings here will struggle to control the ball as adeptly and may be prone to losing the ball if closed down quickly.

Free Kick Taking              

This reflects how good at taking free kicks the player is. It solely applies to direct shot at goal; indirect free kicks are governed by other technical attributes like Crossing.

Heading

This is a player’s competence in aerial situations. Heading applies to all situations with the ball in the air and is only about the player’s ability to use his head well. Jumping Reach, Height, and to a lesser extent Strength all play a part in combination with heading to utilise the attribute to greater effect.

Long Shots

This is the player’s prowess at shooting from distance – from outside the penalty area. It is largely a stand-alone attribute but pay attention to any PPMs the player may have which complement their Long Shots rating.

Long Throws

The ability of the player to perform a long throw, which can be taken advantage of in attacking situations, or to help move the ball forward from defensive areas.

Marking

How well players, mainly defensive types, defend an opponent. Marking alone will see them do a good job of identifying, tracking, reacting to and denying opponents if the attribute is high, but remember that other attributes – Strength, Positioning, Anticipation – will play a part in the effectiveness of the marking, as well as the comparable physical statures of the two players.

Passing

Passing refers strictly to how good the player is at passing the ball to a team-mate. Vision dictates whether or not he sees different types of passing opportunity. Technique affects the quality of his execution (for example, whether the pass lands perfectly for a player to collect in stride). Passing itself, in isolation, determines how successful the player is at producing consistent success over different types of passing opportunities.

Penalty Taking

The ability of the player from the penalty spot. Composure is also factored into whether a player is successful with his penalty, but as part of a broader spectrum of mental attributes overall; the Penalty Taking attribute itself governs the majority of success or failure.

Tackling

How successful the player is at winning tackles and not conceding fouls from such situations. Players with a high Tackling rating will consistently win the ball cleanly and be a more capable defensive player.

Technique

Technique is the aesthetic quality of a player’s technical game – how refined they appear to be with the ball. A player with high Technique will be more likely to pull off a tricky pass or a cross-field ball with greater ease than someone less technically able, or to use their preferred foot in situations where their weaker one would appear to be easier. This in turn affects technical attributes – poorer Technique will let a player down.

Mental Attributes

Aggression

This reflects a player’s attitude in terms of playing mentality but is not necessarily a dirtiness indicator. A more aggressive player will look to involve himself in every incident, press more often, tackle harder, foul more often, and engage in the ‘darker arts’ of football such as dissent towards officials and foul play.

Anticipation

How well a player can predict and react to an event. If a player has a high attribute here he can read the game well and react to situations quicker than others. It also has a significant effect on a player’s awareness and whether they identify space for themselves to play in as well as reacting to signs of danger created by the opponent.

Bravery

This attribute determines how committed and indeed, brave, a player is. Braver players will risk injury more in situations a more cautious player may shy away from. They will compete more often in the air, contest more 50/50 or low-percentage challenges, both on the ground and in the air, and look to put their body on the line with blocks and last-ditch challenges.

Composure

Composure reflects he player’s steadiness of mind and ability, particularly with the ball.  When faced with a big goalscoring chance, or heavy pressure defensively, a player with high Composure will be able to keep his head and more often than not make an intelligent decision which is beneficial to the team. In general play, they will appear to have more time on the ball, make smarter and more successful decisions with it, and generally be more aware of their surroundings in all phases of play.

Concentration

This reflects a player’s mental focus and attention to detail on an event-by-event basis. A high rating here will mean the player will be more consistent on a move-by-move basis during a match. They will also react better under pressure, position themselves correctly in all phases of play, and make better judgment calls in tight situations, while players with lower concentration will be seen to struggle more in these areas.

Decisions

The ability of a player to make a correct choice the majority of the time. This attribute is important in every position, and additionally works out how likely a player is to feel under pressure at any given moment, and to make the best choice accordingly.

Determination

A commitment to succeed both on and off the pitch. A determined player will give everything in order to win. This ties in with Bravery – players with a high attribute in one of these attributes may also be high in the other as the traits necessary are similar.

Flair

A natural talent for the creative and occasional unpredictability. Flair governs whether or not a player is likely to choose to dribble, to take on long-range shooting opportunities or spectacular overhead kick efforts, or generally to take risks with the ball.

Leadership

Leadership is the player’s ability to affect events or other players. Players with high Leadership will be influential on the pitch and team-mates will perform better when playing with them.

Off the Ball

A player’s movement without the ball. Similar to Anticipation, this is how well players, particularly attacking ones, can assess a situation and then move off the ball, making themselves available to perform another action after making a pass themselves, or to move in position to receive the ball from a team-mate.

Positioning

This attribute reflects the ability of a player to read a situation and manoeuvre themselves into the best possible location to deal with the unfolding events in defensive situations. It is not used in attacking situations; rather, it is used to determine how well a player identifies who to mark, when and how and where to mark them, and whether or not they’re in the best position within their current tactical setup.

Teamwork

How well the player follows tactical instructions and works for and alongside his team-mates. A team full of players with a high rating here will work better as a unit. Players with lower ratings will slack off and not ‘buy in’ to the team ethos, becoming more individual, and not providing adequate support for their team-mates. It is also used to help decide whether or not a player opts to use one of his Player Traits ahead of a tactical instruction.

Vision

This refers to a player’s ability to see a potential opportunity, not necessarily exploit it. A player might be able to see something to take advantage of but also requires the technical proficiency to pull it off; this attribute governs how likely they are to visualise something developing or, in the case of a higher rating here, spot something that another player might not.

Work Rate

This reflects the player’s mental drive to work to his full capacities. A high rating will ensure a player wants to work his socks off from start to finish, but he will need the necessary physical attributes to actually be able to pull it off. It does not merely represent a willingness to run – something that would be inappropriate in many positions – but rather the urgency with which a player gets to where they’re supposed to be in all situations.

Physical Attributes

Acceleration

Acceleration is how quickly a player can reach top speed (pace) from a standing start. It therefore ties in very closely with the Pace attribute.

Agility

Agility reflects how well a player can start, stop, and move in different directions at varying levels of speed (pace). It ties in with the Pace, Acceleration and Balance attributes as they work together in the match engine, especially when a player is running with the ball.

Balance

Balance reflects simply how well a player can keep his balance in situations both with and without the ball. With the ball, it refers to how balanced he is running with it and evading opponents, without it, it refers to his balance when facing a player running at him, or his stability when turning/jumping.

Jumping Reach 

Jumping Reach reflects how good a player is at reaching the ball in the air. It indicates the highest point an outfield player can reach with his head. It is not necessarily reflective of how tall a player is, but when considering his jumping ability, it makes sense to consider the player’s height. For example, a player of 200+cm will still possess a high reach even if he is a poor jumper, and a player who measures in at 170cm will struggle to compete at the same height due to the 30cm difference in height between the two.

Natural Fitness

How high the player’s natural fitness is influences how well he stays fit when injured or not training. This will help to determine how quickly players recover from injury, how well they retain their physical attributes as they go past their peak, and how fast they recover between matches.

Pace     

Pace is a player’s top speed. Whereas Acceleration reflects how quickly a player can attain their top speed, Pace is that top speed and, together with Stamina and Natural Fitness, controls how long they are able to maintain it in both short bursts and over the course of a match. A player will naturally be a shade quicker without the ball than with it.

Stamina

Stamina is a player’s ability to endure high-level physical activity for a long period of time. With the demands placed on a player over a full season, players with high attribute ratings for Stamina will be able to perform at their top levels for longer. A player with less Stamina will not only tire quicker, but the quality of his execution in all phases of play will decrease the more tired he becomes. It also ties in directly with Natural Fitness.

Strength

A player’s Strength is his ability to exert his physical force on an opponent to his advantage. A player with a high Strength rating will be able to use it to his advantage against weaker opponents.

Goalkeeping Attributes

Aerial Reach

This is the goalkeeper’s physical ability in aerial situations. Taller goalkeepers will typically have a higher rating here as they are naturally pre-disposed to being able to reach areas shorter goalkeepers cannot, but there will be exceptions. This attribute works in connection with several other goalkeeping attributes in order to determine proficiency in dealing with the numerous aerial situations they will encounter during a match.

Command of Area

This affects how well the goalkeeper takes charge of his penalty area and works with his defensive line. A goalkeeper who commands his entire box (i.e. has a high rating) will be instinctive and look to take charge of situations, especially coming for crosses (therefore working in tandem with Aerial Reach) or coming out for interceptions. Do note, however, that a high rating only determines whether or not they try, not that they succeed.

Communication

How well a goalkeeper communicates with his defensive line and organises the defensive side of the team. A higher rating will be reflected in a defender’s comfort in possession near his own goal and whether or not they correctly leave the ball for the goalkeeper rather than trying to play it themselves.

Eccentricity

This attribute represents the likelihood of the goalkeeper to do the unexpected and typically act completely unlike a goalkeeper. Things like dribbling out of his area, coming for the ball outside of the area, and to generally be more involved in outfield play when losing will be commonplace if the Eccentricity attribute is high.

Handling

How securely the goalkeeper holds onto the ball when making a save or coming for a loose ball. Greater Handling will be beneficial in unfavourable weather conditions, but in general a goalkeeper who doesn’t give up rebounds will be useful.

Kicking

The physical capability of a goalkeeper to kick the ball – this purely defines the distance he can reach with a kick from hand or from the ground.

One on Ones

The ability of the goalkeeper to do well when faced with an opponent in a one on one situation. Higher attributes will see goalkeepers make better judgments of the opponent’s speed and likely decision and result in them being more likely to make a successful decision.

Reflexes

This reflects how good the goalkeeper is at reacting to unpredictable events. If he has a high Reflexes rating, he will have a quicker reaction time to make more difficult saves and will anticipate a better position to make saves in general.

Tendency to Punch

This determines whether a goalkeeper will catch the ball when he can, or whether he prefers to punch it clear. A higher rating reflects a tendency to punch most things clear, even when it may be possible to hold onto the ball.

Tendency to Rush Out

How frequently the goalkeeper will come off his line to react to through balls and to narrow the angle for various shooting opportunities. Goalkeepers will also benefit from having high Pace and Acceleration attributes in combination with Rushing Out.

Throwing

Throwing governs how likely a goalkeeper is to start moves, often counter-attacks, with quick throws from the ball in his hands.

Some technical attributes, like First Touch and Passing, are also applicable to goalkeepers.

Attribute Changes

The player overview screen shows you when an attribute has either increased or decreased.

The Attribute Changes screen then takes this to another level, allowing you to comprehensively track the short and long-term development of every single attribute.

Select the desired attribute(s) and the timespan you want to review, and those changes will be displayed in both a line graph at the top if the screen, and with exact numerical differences placed next to the attribute name itself below. A summary of the overall Technical, Mental and Physical trends completes the screen at the bottom.

Player Traits

Every attribute plays a part in whether or not a Player Trait is successfully used as well as being possible to learn. The full list of traits and a very brief explanation of what they do are below:

Runs With Ball Down Left

Increases the frequency with which a player will decide to run with the ball down the left.

Runs With Ball Down Right

Increases the frequency with which a player will decide to run with the ball down the right.

Runs With Ball Through Centre

Increases the frequency with which a player will decide to run with the ball in central areas.

Gets Into Opposition Area

Mostly governs how often a player makes forward runs but can be overridden by Player Instructions.

Moves Into Channels

Increases the frequency with which central players will move into the space between their position and a wide attacking position; also allows wide players in certain roles to move inside into that space.

Gets Forward Whenever Possible

Increases the frequency with which a player makes forward runs, adjusting for team mentality.

Plays Short Simple Passes

Reduces the directness of a player’s passing.

Tries Killer Balls Often

Increases the frequency with which a player will attempt through balls.

Shoots From Distance

Increases the likelihood of a player attempting long-range shots, particularly where his Flair attribute is greater than his Decisions attribute.

Shoots With Power

Increases the chances of a player opting to shoot with power over placement.

Places Shots

Increases the chances of a player opting to place his shots with accuracy rather than power them.

Curls Ball

Improves the player’s ability to curl the ball above and beyond his ability as already determined by his attributes.

Likes To Round Keeper

Increases the likelihood of a player looking to go around the goalkeeper in one-on-one situations.

Likes To Try To Beat Offside Trap

Increases the frequency with which a player will look to make runs in behind. The success is determined by his overall attribute profile.

Marks Opponent Tightly

Will ensure a player is set to tight marking by AI teams; improves the chances of him being successful at it if set in any team, but the overall success is still controlled by his attributes.

Argues With Officials

Increases the chances of a player showing dissent to match officials.

Plays With Back To Goal

The player will look to hold up the ball in attacking areas.

Comes Deep To Get Ball

Increases the frequency of a forward player dropping into midfield to get possession against a team playing with a deep defensive line.

Plays One-Twos

Increases the frequency with which a player will make a pass and immediately want to receive the ball again, having moved into an advantageous position.

Likes To Lob Keeper

Increases the likelihood of a player looking to loft the ball over the goalkeeper when presented with a chance at goal.

Dictates Tempo

Increases the chances of the player taking charge of typically midfield situations and using their attributes to influence the team’s performance.

Attempts Overhead Kicks

Increases the chances of a player attempting a spectacular overhead kick rather than a header at goal or to a team-mate when in an attacking situation.

Looks For Pass Rather Than Attempting To Score

Increases the chances of a player opting to give a scoring chance to a team-mate rather than take it on himself. The success of the decision will be based off the player’s attributes.

Plays No Through Balls

Decreases the frequency of a player looking to play through balls, adjusted for team mentality.

Stops Play

Increases the chances of a player simply coming to a stop in possession, primarily to assess his options.

Knocks Ball Past Opponent

Increases the chances of a player looking to beat his immediate opponent for sheer pace and athleticism and get into a more advantageous position.

Dwells On Ball

The player will take longer to make a decision when in possession.

Arrives Late In Opponents Area

Increases the frequency with which a player makes forward runs, adjusting for team mentality.

Tries To Play Way Out Of Trouble

Increases the chances of a player looking to pass or dribble against pressure in a defensive position, rather than opting for the safety-first approach of clearing the ball.

Stays Back At All Times

The player will make no forward runs, adjusted for team mentality.

Avoids Using Weaker Foot

The player will always look to use their preferred foot where possible, even if the situation would benefit them using their weaker foot.

Tries Long Range Free Kicks

Increases the chances of a player taking a direct shot from a free kick 35 metres or more from goal.

Dives Into Tackles

Increases the frequency with which a player will engage into a tackle. It does not simply mean the player ‘goes to ground’ when challenging for the ball.

Does Not Dive Into Tackles

Decreases the frequency with which a player will engage into a tackle. It does not simply mean the player stays on his feet when challenging for the ball.

Cuts Inside From Both Wings

Increases the frequency with which a player will look to attack central areas from a nominal wider starting position.

Hugs Line

Ensures the player will remain in wide areas of the pitch whenever possible.

Hits Free Kick With Power

Increases the chances of a free kick being struck with a lower, harder trajectory.

Likes To Switch Ball To Other Flank

Increases the frequency of a player looking to move the ball from one half of the pitch to the other.

Possesses Long Flat Throw

Allows the player to deliver a long throw with a low and flat trajectory, akin to a cross, in attacking areas only.

Runs With Ball Often

Increases the chances of a player choosing to run with the ball rather than pass it.

Runs With Ball Rarely

Decreases the chances of a player choosing to run with the ball, instead looking to make a pass at every turn.

Uses Long Throw To Start Counter Attacks

Goalkeepers only; increases the chances of them looking to make a quick throw from hand to launch a counter attack.

Refrains From Taking Long Shots

The player will not attempt shots at goal from outside the penalty area.

Does not Move Into Channels

The player will not move from central areas into space between them and the wide positions; wide players will similarly not look to come inside to operate in that same space.

Cuts Inside From Left Wing

Increases the chances of a player looking to move inside from the left wing and attack in central areas.

Cuts Inside From Right Wing

Increases the chances of a player looking to move inside from the right wing and attack in central areas.

Crosses Early

Increases the chances of a player crossing from a deeper position, rather than seeking to find a better opportunity higher up the pitch.

Brings Ball Out of Defence

Increases the likelihood of a defender running with the ball into midfield positions.

Moves Ball To Right Foot Before Dribble Attempt

This increases the likelihood of a player adjusting his body shape to play on his right foot when looking to dribble.

Moves Ball To Left Foot Before Dribble Attempt

This increases the likelihood of a player adjusting his body shape to play on his left foot when looking to dribble.

Likes Ball Played Into Feet

This increases the likelihood of a player showing and asking for passes into his feet rather than into space or a different part of the body.

Tries Tricks

This increases the chances of a player displaying more flair during matches and can result in a greater array of skills being used.

Winds Up Opponents

This increases the likelihood of a player trying to improve the morale of his team by attempting to impair that of his opponent in attempting to distract them from giving full focus.

Likes To Beat Man Repeatedly

This increases the likelihood of a player opting to dribble with the ball regardless of how many opponents are positioned to try to dispossess him.

Develops Weaker Foot

This indicates the player is attempting to improve the quality of his weaker foot.

Gets Crowd Going

This increases the likelihood of a player seeking a positive reaction from the crowd in appropriate moments when the ball is not in play.

Tries First Time Shots

This increases the likelihood of a player taking a shot before considering a touch to settle himself, unless he's one on one, at which point he will take the best course of action for that situation.

Tries Long Range Passes

This increases the chances of a player attempting to pass the ball over longer distances.

Plays Ball With Feet

This is goalkeeper-specific and increases the chances of a goalkeeper playing an active part in the build-up phase in possession.

Medical Centre

This section is dedicated to all things concerning the physical well-being of your players, from injury prevention to rehabilitation, and everything in between.

It mainly provides a breakdown of players in the squad who are at risk of injury. The Head Physio details the work load and injury susceptibility of each at-risk individual and summarises how likely they might be to pick up an injury in the immediate future. The risks are colour-coded, with players in the ‘red zone’ highly likely to encounter problems unless immediate preventative action is taken.

Player Overview

Each player will also have an injury overview page accessible via their player profile from the ‘Reports’ menu, under ‘Medical Centre’. This report provides a visual overview of their current injury status, risk assessment and injury history.

Development

This section allows you to check up on and configure individual training details for the player. These details range from their schedule through to attribute changes to new positions and player traits or affiliate loans.

A player’s positional versatility indicates how integrated he has become into various facets of your tactical approach. Familiarity grows with each player’s experience at playing with various facets of the team’s instructions, as displayed on the Tactical Familiarity Levels overlay.

The more often they play under these instructions – at your club or elsewhere – the more familiar they become, and the higher the overall levels become for both the individual and the team. If the tactics or team and player instructions change dramatically (for example, short passing to shorter passing won’t impact things, but short passing to more direct passing will) on a regular basis, those familiarity levels will take a hit.

The full range of familiarity, on the same theoretical 1-20 scale as player attributes work (although in reality the scale between each level is considerably bigger) is as follows:

Awkward: 0-5

Competent: 6-11

Accomplished: 12-18

Fluid: 19-20

How can I improve my player’s attributes and ability?

A player’s development is an inexact science but there are plenty of ways you can improve your chances of helping their progress:

-          Improved coaching staff

The better the coach, the more impactful their attributes are on improving a player. This is particularly true with the Working With Youngsters attribute but, in general, each coaching attribute has a more profound effect on a player’s own attributes depending on how good it is.

-          Improved training facilities

The standard of training facilities has an impact in determining the chances of a player’s attributes developing, how close to their potential they can get, and how likely they are to continue developing overall. Better facilities will encourage a greater chance of a player realising his true potential but, like everything, it isn’t wholly decisive in and of itself. It can also help the coaching staff develop too.

-          Playing time

A player with greater exposure to meaningful playing time will develop better than someone who isn’t playing quite as often. Playing first-team minutes is more valuable than playing reserve or youth team football, and a young player who stagnates from his teens into his 20s without starting to play regular football stands a greater chance of not being able to reach his potential.

-          Training

A player will develop most through day-to-day training; his overall development is affected by the quality of the facilities and coaches, the team-mates he’s training with, the appropriateness of the schedules he’s given, whether he’s with the first team or any of the club’s sub-teams, and whether he’s tasked with additional individual work outside of the team’s sessions. The more of these that are met to as high a standard as possible, the quicker a player develops towards his full potential.

-          Mentoring

Young players can develop by working closely, during training, with a more experienced team-mate or team-mates within their squad. Their mental attributes and Player Traits are the only areas affected, and the entire concept is detailed more in the Training section of the manual.

Interaction

As a manager, you’ll find yourself interacting with players on a daily basis. A majority of these interactions are carried out from options found within a player’s Actions menu, which can be accessed from their Actions button or by right-clicking or long pressing on a player’s name.

Misc – Player Comparison

Take two players, similar positions; maybe they differ in age, height and weight. They’re comparable. Football Manager™ Touch allows you to take two players and compare every facet of their game.

The default behaviour for the Comparison section is to offer a comparison to a player you have recently viewed, so if you are intending to compare two players, go to the first player’s profile screen, then the second, then choose ‘Compare With’.

The comparison has different views available but by default the ‘Overview’ view is set. Here, their biographical information is compared, then their attributes matched off against each other in the form of attribute polygons.

Using the comparison feature will allow you to make well-informed judgment calls on places in your squad between players or deciding on potential new signings.

Misc - Find Similar Players

This will scan the database in your saved game for players with a similar attribute profile to the selected player; it will return players who play in the same position and role, so as to give you a range of options that might include retraining a potential new signing to play in a new position.

You can also Set a Nickname for a player and Follow them for news to appear in the Social Feed.

Contracts

The contracts section allows you to ask for the Director of Football, where one is employed, to negotiate a contract renewal on your behalf, or you can opt to Release on a Free or strike a Mutual Termination if you no longer want a player’s services.

The ‘Purchase Lifetime Contract’ unlockable does what it says; it will contract the player to your team until the end of his playing career.

Transfer - Offer to Clubs

If you no longer want the services of a player or your hand is forced into selling him, you can offer the player out to teams your Assistant feels will be most suited to the player’s ability and reputation. You can configure the terms of any potential sale in as much or little detail as you like and can exclude any rival clubs should you not want to strengthen a hated opponent.

If any team decides to take you up on your offer, you will receive a formal bid from them in your Inbox.

Transfer – Add to Unwanted List

If you no longer have a use for a player, you can add him to an Unwanted List from this section. You can determine whether you want to move him on for any price, for his value, or just to get rid of him in this initial stage. Then, from the ‘Unwanted List’ panel in the ‘Director of Football’ menu within the ‘Transfers’ screen, you can configure the particulars of any deal you’re looking for. This makes it easier to manage, maintain and keep track of the player you’re trying to get rid of.

Squad - Move to Reserve Squad

This option allows you to assign players to your Reserve squad. As manager, you have the ultimate say in the development of a player and it’s up to you to decide when a player needs to be tested further, for when he’s not ready or performing at a higher level. You can also assign a player to a team for a period while he recovers from injury in order to allow him to regain his fitness at a lower level where performances and development can be considered more important than the result.

You can also make a player Available for the Reserve team if he is part of your senior squad. Often you may want a youngster to be part of the first team and to be training with them but not have room in your match day team for him. To keep his fitness up, happiness in order, and development continuing, you should allow him to play for the reserves.

Squad - Move to Affiliate

If your team has an affiliation and the terms allow players to be loaned between clubs, you can designate a loan to such a team from this option. It acts as a suggestion to the player, who has the final call on whether he moves or not. His decision will arrive in your Inbox usually inside 24 hours of asking him to move.

You can also apply a series of Training options here, which are described in more detail in the Training section of this guide.