Football Manager mechanics that make no difference whatsoever

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We like to think that everything in Football Manager is important. When we put time and effort into crafting something, we want to believe our efforts aren’t in vain—that we’re making a real, tangible impact on our virtual world. But the truth is, some features in this game have an influence that’s wildly exaggerated.

After countless hours of playing, you just know when a feature is more for show than actual benefit. And while realizing this might slightly ruin the immersion, it’ll also save you a lot of time. No more stressing over whether you’re doing something right—because, frankly, it doesn’t really matter. Until the game is balanced and these things are ‘fixed,’ you can focus on what actually makes a difference.

(If you enjoy this article, check out some of the other stuff I’ve written, like attributes that don’t matter or features that Football Manager 2026 needs.

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Competition bonuses

You may as well set competition bonuses to low, because I promise you right now—they do not make a blind bit of difference. I’ve won the league multiple times with the lowest bonuses, and it’s FAR less important than actual key factors like your tactics or squad strength. Sure, it might put a tiny dent in a couple of players’ morale, but give it three games, and they’ll have completely forgotten about it.

Besides, your players will get upset over the most trivial things anyway—like you congratulating them on an international goal—so you may as well annoy them and save some money while you’re at it. Put it this way: the players you’ll be able to buy with the cash you save will have a far bigger impact than any perceived morale hit.


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Code of conduct

When setting your code of conduct, just max out every punishment. Trust me. The players do not care if you impose the harshest rules possible.

I’ve set two-week fines for everything—even for getting banned due to multiple bookings, which is clearly over the top. And yet, I’ve never had a single complaint. Not one. So, not only can you save a ton of money on fines, but you also get away with it completely scot-free. No morale drops. Nothing. A nice little exploit, though it probably should be fixed before the next game releases (in 2052).

Training

This one might be controversial, but putting effort into training feels like a complete waste of time.

In my last save, I meticulously planned every session, pouring my heart and soul into a regime designed to turn any player into Cristiano Ronaldo. In my current save, I’ve barely looked at training—because, honestly, I just can’t be bothered. And guess what? My team’s performing at exactly the same level.

The impact of training just seems negligible, with the only real difference being that your players are more likely to get injured. And if you don’t trust my intuition, trust Zealand—who outright proved that ‘training is broken’ in this game.

In game shouts

To be fair to Sports Interactive, they’re removing these soon. And while they’re fun to spam—because, obviously, actual managers do it—shouts have never really had any meaningful effect.

There’s always one shout that works, while the rest just make your players moody. So all you end up doing is repeatedly pressing that one shout. And even then, I genuinely don’t think it does much. It’s incredibly rare to be playing badly, use a shout, and suddenly start dominating. The same goes the other way around.

Feeder and parent clubs

Is it just me, or are feeder and parent clubs completely useless now?

Parent clubs don’t even loan you players for free anymore—so what’s the point of them?! And feeder clubs? They never produce a single good youth player for you to snap up.

Maybe this is realistic and mirrors the actual struggles of real-life clubs, but I miss the days when you could get promoted with a squad half-full of Liverpool academy products. If you’re using a feeder club to grow your reputation in another country, then fine, they still have some use. But 90% of the time, a feeder or parent club does absolutely nothing to help you.

Conclusion

Thinking about all of this, it’s a bit concerning how many features in Football Manager have such little impact.

I came across a YouTube comment that perfectly summed up my worries:

“The more I learn about Football Manager, the more I realize that it’s a game pretending to be a complex simulation, where multiple elements come together like a jigsaw puzzle—when in reality, only a handful of things matter, and everything else is just fluff to give the illusion of depth.”

And honestly? That stings. I’ll still have fun playing the game, obviously. But once you see behind the curtain, it does take away some of the immersion.

For more Football Manager coverage, read our interview with IRL striker Adam Le Fondre, or check out this piece about recreating Moneyball within the simulator.

About the Author

William Reid

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.

Football Manager 2024

  • Platform(s): PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series S/X, Xbox Series X
  • Genre(s): Management, Soccer, Sports
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