Football Manager 2020 - Feature Announcement Blogs

[Neil Brock]

As managers around the globe suit up in preparation for the release of Football Manager 2020, we’re proud to show off a series of blogs highlighting some of the biggest features to expect from the latest edition of the award-winning football management series. 

Club Vision

Develop a culture, work with the board to achieve ongoing objectives and plot a course for your club to progress in seasons to come.

Development Centre

An all-encompassing hub that allows you to nurture your young stars through the youth ranks until they’re ready for first-team action.

Playing Time Pathway

Build in current and future playing time across a player’s contract, defining a clear pathway from Fringe Player to Star Player and everything in between.

Backroom Staff

New roles, advice and interaction makes your staff more important than ever and brings the game closer to the structure of a real-life backroom team.

Graphic Improvements

Redesigned player and manager models, improved lighting and overhauled pitch visuals combine to create the best-looking match experience to date.

 

With numerous more features to be announced over the coming weeks, keep an eye on these forums and our Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube for more updates. 

The game can be pre-ordered now with pre-release beta and a 10% early bird discount when doing so from SEGA approved digital retailers.
 

[craiigman]

Are there no video features this year?

[gunner86]

I've only read the headlines but...

... goodbye the next year of my life, and goodbye £35

 

Edited September 19, 2019 by gunner86

[Neil Brock]

2 minutes ago, craiigman said:

Are there no video features this year?

We'll be revealing and announcing more over the coming weeks, so as stated above, keep an eye on the various social channels and these forums for more updates. 

[XaW]

4 minutes ago, craiigman said:

Are there no video features this year?

There are videos on their twitter.

 

[XaW]

Oh, and I LOVE some of these new features! Club vision, youth development, playing time! All things I've been asking for! So

[Dagenham_Dave]

The Development centre is an excellent idea. Unsure about this 'Playing time pathway' thing though, sounds like something lazy players will 'game' to avoid player complaints instead of just managing the squad properly. Hopefully I'm wrong. 

[Amarante]

2 minutes ago, Dagenham_Dave said:

The Development centre is an excellent idea. Unsure about this 'Playing time pathway' thing though, sounds like something lazy players will 'game' to avoid player complaints instead of just managing the squad properly. Hopefully I'm wrong. 

potentially yes but if the player isn't played as much as the pathway suggest then you will still have issues. so setting player as star player to avoid him complaining means nothing if he doesn't get the star player playing time. 

[BigV]

15 minutes ago, craiigman said:

Are there no video features this year?

Look on facebook or twitter, Just seen one posted 14 mins ago. Quick flashes but easily seen. 

[Misterjokerboy]

Looks to be some really positive changes here overall, looking forward to seeing what else is announced

[sedge11]

Like the new features, the club vision could be interesting especially when playing as a Lower league club.

Just in general the features look to be some really nice touches to add that extra depth.

Already on the fm20 hype train, roll on the beta.

[WilltheWolf92]

I'll hope in the future (with Stadia) there will be a new Engine, kinda hoped it was this year, hope to see it at FM21.

[AIK]

For the first time in... like ever, I am actually very hyped after reading the announcements. I think this is the most promising initial announcement SI have ever made.

And from the looks of it, the Regen/Newgen faces will be greatly improved!

[Amarante]

Just now, AIK said:

For the first time in... like ever, I am actually very hyped after reading the announcements. I think this is the most promising initial announcement SI have ever made.

And from the looks of it, the Regen/Newgen faces will be greatly improved!

 You spotted that too. here i am hoping that is how new gen models would look because if that's the case best one in years.

[(sic)]

Actually more than what I expected.

 

All of that will be useless unless there are major improvements made to the match engine though.

Edited September 19, 2019 by (sic)

[StevehFC]

Just now, (sic) said:

Actually more than what I expected.

 

All of that will be useless unless there are major improvements made to the match engine though.

Hoping there is. Which is why i'm holding off until that's confirmed. 

[MBarbaric]

sounds fine, what I don't feel is particularly logic, is the Club vision part. That is surely connected with the manager but seems more like a tool for a Football director than a manager. Especially if you consider that 5 year plan is kind of out of place since average time of a manager at the club is like two times less

[zigaliro]

I like the new features, but was hoping for match engine animation improvements. But hey at least we got graphic improvements.

[Stevicus]

1 minute ago, zigaliro said:

I like the new features, but was hoping for match engine animation improvements. But hey at least we got graphic improvements.

Theres usually animation improvements every year. And seeing as theres been player model improvements I'd assume theres been a lot of work done on the animation side too to bring it all together 

[saihtam]

6 minutes ago, MBarbaric said:

sounds fine, what I don't feel is particularly logic, is the Club vision part. That is surely connected with the manager but seems more like a tool for a Football director than a manager. Especially if you consider that 5 year plan is kind of out of place since average time of a manager at the club is like two times less

I really hope to see huge varierity in this with playing small clubs +10-15years and big/medium club +10-15years.

Just dont want it to be gimmick feature with no value. I more afraid that the new playing time is just renamed player role in team.

[themadsheep2001]

There will be match engines changes as per pretty much every year 

[DP]

Can I just say REGEN FACES !

Finally they look like they are at an outstanding level. This alone will make me buy the game.

[(sic)]

3 minutes ago, themadsheep2001 said:

There will be match engines changes as per pretty much every year 

Yeah, which is cool. But every year there are things that are working better and others that are working worse than previous years version.

They wont create a perfect match engine, but currently there are a lot of issues. Some which have been in the game for years.

[gunner86]

6 minutes ago, saihtam said:

I more afraid that the new playing time is just renamed player role in team.

The blog post would very much suggest it's a LOT more than that

[Armistice]

Might be in minority but I'm not impressed. Will wait for the demo this year before making a decision.

[RTHerringbone]

Always the same Match Engine fly in the ointment for so many posters.

It isn't perfect and never will be, but do not underestimate the amount of work that goes into tuning, updating and refining it every year. 

[themadsheep2001]

3 minutes ago, (sic) said:

Yeah, which is cool. But every year there are things that are working better and others that are working worse than previous years version.

They wont create a perfect match engine, but currently there are a lot of issues. Some which have been in the game for years.

Quite. But you won't know how you feel about a match engine until you play a demo tbh. My point was merely to say there will be as ever, plenty of changes, simply because they are often undocumented pre release 

[(sic)]

Just now, themadsheep2001 said:

Quite. But you won't know how you feel about a match engine until you play a demo tbh. My point was merely to say there will be as ever, plenty of changes, simply because they are often undocumented. 

Yeah, true. Honestly game improves so much from demo to .3 update so we'll just have to wait and see, though demo gives you an idea of how it will be.

[themadsheep2001]

3 minutes ago, (sic) said:

Yeah, true. Honestly game improves so much from demo to .3 update so we'll just have to wait and see, though demo gives you an idea of how it will be.

Also true. You'd want the initial version to be as good as it can be within the time they have, but you'd always expect .3 to better because its more time on it, and also you'd almost always tend to see each update as an improvement. 

[toffee71]

Initial thoughts, mmmm there goes £35. Favourite thing I noticed the ABC ratings in the Manager Performance Update. Also really glad pitch condition is back.

Hope the videos will be posted here like last year, as this is as close as I get to social media.

Edited September 19, 2019 by toffee71

[ben carter]

First time in a while I feel a tad underwhelmed. Granted SI don't usually show all their cards at once but this all feels like quite minor QOL improvements overall. I love the new development centre idea and some of the regen faces look much better but I play on 2D so I'll probably not see much of the graphic enhancements.

And granted they could still do something focused on ME changes but if they'd made big strides in how games play out I would have thought they'd lead with that as a headline feature.

[rafaelbenitez]

Looks good, at worst they're pretty great quality of life improvements!

Any word on whether any of these features are going to be on Touch as well?

Edited September 19, 2019 by rafaelbenitez

[Deisler26]

I’m reading and it’s got me like 

Edited September 19, 2019 by Deisler26

[s0ni42]

What is advantage of seeing snapshot of youth intake in advance? Not sure how much planning can/would take place based on that knowledge. 

Always exciting to see some cool new stuff. Love the new staff roles even though I won’t rely on their advice. Adds some realism

[Mr U Rosler]

Looking good. 

Evolution not revolution. 

Just need to decide the platform, Steam and my crappy Laptop or Stadia's shiny big computers and the perils of being an early adopter. 

[DazRTaylor]

The Club Vision feature and the screens shown looks very interesting and I love the potential of this.  The rest are good too, but the Club Vision especially.

[Dagenham_Dave]

Miles said on Twitter earlier the majority of the remaining features are things that have been requested on here. 

STADIUM EDITOR PLEASE!!!! 

 

[BuryBlade]

Love the sound of the changes, especially youth intake and player development.

As someone who plays exclusively on FMT on iPad, can anyone confirm what from these new features will be in that version and not just full fat FM?

[DazRTaylor]

11 minutes ago, Dagenham_Dave said:

Miles said on Twitter earlier the majority of the remaining features are things that have been requested on here. 

STADIUM EDITOR PLEASE!!!! 

 

Would be good but can't see it.  I would have that as the MAJOR feature of any new version.  The headline one, so to speak.

I am really pumped for Club Vision.  This should prove to be fantastic for those long term saves I love.

[theballstopshere]

Personally not too excited by the announcements but they certainly bring the game closer to real-life. 

What's most important is the match engine and the tactics (to be more in line with modern day football - pressing triggers...) Would like to see the players moving about defending, attacking (as close to real life) and defending as what I set in the tactics. 

Edited September 19, 2019 by theballstopshere

[masno]

1 hora atrás, MBarbaric disse:

sounds fine, what I don't feel is particularly logic, is the Club vision part. That is surely connected with the manager but seems more like a tool for a Football director than a manager. Especially if you consider that 5 year plan is kind of out of place since average time of a manager at the club is like two times less

Considering that this is FM,and players stay like, 10 or more years in save, this is probably a excelent feature to be in the game. Quite excited after this announcements.

[trekman]

I really like the idea of this club vision module and more interaction with the board. It will be interesting to see how Ed Woodward reacts when you ask him for more transfer funds since the Manchester United board are notoriously well known among the fans for being tight when it comes to spending money on the team.

[BamBamBam]

I wish they could get licenses for the leagues and clubs. And all the stadiums. One day maybe....

[cdiak]

FM20 GRAPHIC IMPROVEMENTS :

"The kit textures have been overhauled. You'll notice more realistic clothing that drape more naturally over the model and features creases and folds and to ensure that they move more naturally with the player. This extends to the manager avatar which also has more detailed attire."

How possible could be that the kit file structure will be changed from scratch?

[akm.91]

Another year gone and still nothing regarding a stadium creator/editor smh. Another year of stale, boring, robotic matches in dull, repetitive stadiums. All we want is a bit of realism 🤦🏻‍♂️

 

First time I’ve ever seriously considered not buying a game in this franchise, hardly anything has changed. Pitch textures, managers suits and a 5 year plan are the headline features...

[autohoratio]

Question about Playing Time Pathway;

Why are some squad status options not available for the next year/year after in contract negotiations? In the below pic, "Impact Sub" is available for 2020/21 but not 2022/23, yet "Youngster" and "Future prospect" are for 22/23

[Stevicus]

Club vision will be great. Will be nice to see clubs have ambitions be it on the pitch, in the bank or club reputation. Adds a little extra to every save and changes things up from job to job. 

 

Makes it a little more dynamic, rather than just taking over a club and slowly/quickly  building success. Will be a challenge to develop players for profit knowing I too often get attached to them 

[akm.91]

Just now, coolestrock said:

Careful , you arent allowed those opinions round here

Someone had to say it!! I thought by now we’d have much better graphical improvements that make the game much more immersive. 

 

Not being funny, but it feels the exact same playing vs Burnley on a Saturday 3pm to playing in a Champions league final...there is just no difference. Back in FM 2015 or 16 the crowd segregation etc was better than it is in the latest version, how does that even happen!! 

[kandersson]

I like the idea of new staff roles and wouldn't mind having even more and more specific. Also like new tab of youth candidates progress, plus I really hope that graphic improvements will involve quality and variety of regens faces and hair which have been extremely disappointing for last three editions of the game. Rest of features seem to be more about interface and presentation of stuff already in the game, which is ok but not really groundbreaking. As usual, ME is going to be the key.

[bolid74]

3 hours ago, Neil Brock said:

Graphic Improvements

Redesigned player and manager models

Does this mean texture layout will be different? Can you reveal the image similar to this so we kit makers can start working in advance?

Spoiler