Features we'd love to see in Football Manager that will never get added

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games here

Contents hide

Match-fixing and steroids

Chairman or Director of Football mode

Build your own stadium

Sandbox mode

We’ve all daydreamed about things we’d love to see in Football Manager, but, deep down, we know they’re just not on the cards. Football Manager is a game with endless room for improvement, yet we need to be realistic: some features are never going to make it into the game, whether due to financial constraints, ethical concerns, or practical limitations. But hey, that doesn’t stop us from imagining. Here are a few fantasy features that would have me buzzing if they ever came to life.

Match-fixing and steroids

Wouldn’t it be wild if there was an option to go full-on rogue and win by dubious, illegal means in Football Manager? Picture this: you’re about to play in the Coppa Italia final, and you’re given the chance to discreetly ‘encourage’ the referee with a generous bribe. Or maybe a mysterious character offers you a wonder drug that’s likely illegal but would give your players an extra boost to keep them flying in the 87th minute of a cup final. I’d love to have my players pumped with a level of steroids that would make even Russian sports doctors cringe.

Sure, this wouldn’t be realistic in top leagues with strict oversight, but you could imagine it happening in obscure leagues with less scrutiny. Naturally, these decisions would come with huge risks, potentially leading to your dismissal or even a lifetime ban. It would add an entirely new, GTA-style flavor to the game. Realistically, this will never happen—for obvious reasons—but the idea of Football Manager taking a darker, 18+ direction is fun to think about.

Features we'd love to see in Football Manager that will never get added — Image credit Underground Creative

Chairman or Director of Football mode

Here’s a feature that fans have requested for years: a mode that lets you step into the shoes of the chairman or director of football. Watching some of Todd Boehly’s questionable moves, it’s hard not to think we could do a better job ourselves. Imagine having control over financial decisions, choosing the club’s next manager, and slowly building a legacy in your image. There’s already an app on the market, Football Chairman Pro, that tries to deliver this experience, but it’s nowhere near as intricate as even Football Manager Mobile.

It’s puzzling why this hasn’t been implemented. Given the demand and if it were feasible, it probably would have been added by now. Currently, the closest you can get is to hire an assistant manager to handle everything, then focus only on transfers while letting the simulation take its course. While this isn’t quite the real thing, it offers a taste for those craving a chairman experience.

Build your own stadium

All Football Manager stadiums feel strikingly similar. People often joke that modern stadiums are cookie-cutter clones, but in Football Manager, that’s literally true. Imagine if you could design a unique stadium from scratch, combining elements from Football Manager, The Sims, and Builder Simulator. It would bring a whole new level of immersion and give you a tangible impact on your club’s identity.

Of course, there are practical reasons why this likely won’t be added. It would require massive development resources; look at how difficult it’s been to just have realistic AI-generated regen faces. Plus, it isn’t particularly realistic. No managers are actually involved in stadium design. Still, the possibility of customizing a stadium would be a fun addition that many players would love.

Sandbox mode

Sometimes you just want to watch outlandish simulations unfold because it’s plain fun. A sandbox mode could let us do just that, offering the freedom to tweak the game’s physics and create absurd scenarios. Imagine a match between a team of seven-foot players and a team of two-foot players, or a game where every player has a 100-speed rating (out of 20). Maybe even matches with zero gravity, ten balls instead of one, or three teams facing off on a Y-shaped pitch.

The potential for hilarious content is endless—think of pitting a team of Adama Traorés against a squad of Lionel Messis. While some of this is technically possible using the game editor, it’s a tedious process. A sandbox mode would streamline these options, allowing players to create crazy match-ups with just a few clicks.

After dreaming up these ideas, it’s probably a good thing I don’t have control over Football Manager’s development. But admit it—it would be wildly entertaining if even one of these features were added. What do you think? What outlandish feature would you love to see in Football Manager? Dream big; the sky’s the limit for ideas that will almost certainly never come to pass.

About the Author

William is the admin of Out of Context Football Manager, an X account that focuses on FM news. He's worked for LADbible Group and is VG's resident FM expert.