Exposing secret Football Manager features you probably DON’T know about

Football Manager is such a deep, sprawling game that even if you’ve been playing it for years, there are still loads of features you probably have no idea exist. Hidden tricks that can smooth out your experience, speed things up, or make unearthing hidden wonderkids a whole lot easier. I should know – I’ve sunk thousands of hours into this beautiful game over the years, and I’m still regularly blindsided by a feature I didn’t even know was in there.

Luckily, there are plenty of other people who’ve also lost huge chunks of their lives to FM. And if we combine the wisdom of that collective obsession, we might just uncover some of the game’s most useful (and criminally overlooked) features.

So, I trawled the internet and rounded up some of the best tricks that even long-time players might not know. Some are brilliant time-savers. Some are tucked away in obscure menus. And some are just downright clever little hacks that’ll have you wondering how you ever played without them.

If this article teaches you just one thing you didn’t already know, and makes your next save that little bit smoother, then I’ve done my job.

1. Automate Staff Responsibilities

You know the drill. You start a new save, go through the same 24-step onboarding routine, and then spend a mini ice age manually setting up who handles press conferences, training, and U18 contract renewals.

Well, turns out there’s a shortcut – and it’s been right under our noses this whole time.

If you untick the “Teach me about key management concepts” box when adding a new manager, a hidden dropdown appears. This lets you select your experience level, and choosing “Experienced” unlocks the option to skip the staff tutorial and automatically apply your preferences for staff responsibilities. You’ll still have to set them the first time, but FM will remember them in future saves. Credit to @Johnny Ace for this nugget of gold, shared on the Sports Interactive forum.

2. Auto-Rest Players

Injuries are the silent killer of a good FM save. One minute your squad’s flying, the next minute your star winger’s groin is gone forever. Thankfully, there’s an automated way to manage training intensity based on fitness – and it works.

Head to the Training > Schedules > Rest tab. There’s a toggle that says: Automatically set training intensity and rest based on player condition. If you enable it, FM will handle rest dynamically. A commonly used setup (from the FM community) goes like this:

• Very Poor / Poor: No pitch or gym work
• Fair / Good: Normal intensity
• Excellent: Double intensity

3. Use Screen Flow To Instantly Track Any Competition In The World

Want to track the latest results from the Copa Libertadores, the U19 Euros, or the Malaysian Cup without having to click your way through 14 dropdowns every time?

Enter: Screen Flow: FM’s most powerful underused tool.

Here’s how to do it:

• Load your save, click the FM icon > Preferences, and search for “Screen Flow.”
• Click Custom Screen Flow, then choose Add Screen.
• Under Competition, pick what you want to follow.
• Under Screen, choose the info you want (e.g. Matches | Fixtures & Results, or Stats | Player Overview).
• Choose a frequency (e.g. every day, every week, matchdays only) and when you want the game to stop for it (Morning, Evening, or never).

There’s also a sneaky little checkbox for “Visit News Screen Automatically” – untick it, and FM will stop taking you to the social feed every time it processes. You’ll go straight to your Inbox instead. Which, let’s be honest, is where the actual football happens.

Thanks to Fuller FM for the excellent, in-depth breakdown – read their full guide here.

4. Use Big Clubs To Scout Regens For You

Scouting networks cost money. But Real Madrid’s is free – if you know where to look.

Head to League Screen > News > Transfer Rumours and scroll through the list of targets for the world’s biggest clubs. These are often populated with wonderkids your scouts haven’t even heard of yet – especially regens.

You’ll frequently discover 16- or 17-year-olds you can swoop in for before they’re famous (and before their agents demand £90k a week). Hat tip to the excellent Football Manager Blog for this one.

5. Use The Budget Slider To Lowball Your Own Players

Here’s a brilliant little boardroom hack that feels borderline unethical: before entering contract negotiations with a player, go to Finances > Budget Adjustment and drag the transfer/wage budget slider all the way toward transfers. This gives you minimal wage flexibility – but that’s the point.

Now, go into the negotiation. The player will (often dramatically) lower their wage demands, because FM assumes the club is skint. Once you get their offer down, back out, re-adjust the slider to restore your wage budget, and re-enter negotiations with a much more reasonable wage to offer.

One Reddit user claims this took a player from asking £160k/week to just £100k/week.

6. Let Your Assistant Suggest Player Roles

Can’t decide what role to give your player in your formation. We all know about the quick-pick option, but did you know there’s a button where you can get them to choose your players roles and roles and duties as well. Just click ‘Pick Roles and Duties’ and your assistant manager will choose all the roles for you. This subtle-but-useful feature is explained in more detail in Zealand’s always-fantastic YouTube explainer.

7. Track Players Mid-Match By Clicking On Them

Want to know if your box-to-box midfielder is actually making those late runs? Click his name during a match – and his name will stay visible, letting you follow his every move.

Even better, hold CTRL and click two players to track their relationship. For example, monitor how your DM and CB shift during transitions, or whether your winger is staying connected to your attacking full-back.

This feature isn’t just for micromanagers; it’s genuinely useful for making tactical tweaks on the fly. Thanks to Football Manager Blog again for surfacing this one.

8. Use Smarter Search Filters To Uncover Hidden Gems

Sure, you’ve probably used the player search tool. But have you really used it? @FM_Grasshopper broke down some fantastic niche filters in his “Wednesday Wisdom” piece, and they’re pure gold.

Here they are:

• Contract Expiry: Filter for players whose contracts expire in 6–12 months, especially non-first teamers. You’ll find bargains everywhere.
• Minimum Fee Release Clauses: Search by clause and sort by value to uncover undervalued players with bargain buyouts.
• Professionalism: Filter for youth players with high professionalism to identify future training monsters.
• Attributes: Try universal filters like Natural Fitness, First Touch, and Work Rate. Not sexy, but reliable.
• Favourite Club: Filter for players who support or used to play for your club. Adds storylines and improves negotiation odds.

Spend 20 minutes playing around with custom filters, and you’ll find your scouting game levels up fast.

Final Thoughts

So there you have it. A few things that some people will have had no idea are in Football Manager. And if you knew about all of them? Well done. You’re an absolute bonafide Football Manager expert, and I should be learning from you. Are there any hidden feature, cool tips/tricks, or miscellaneous interesting stuff that I’ve missed? Let me know in the comment section!