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Not all Football Manager attributes are created the same. While we’ve spent our time diving deep into the most important attributes you need to focus on for your players—as well as uncovering the hidden attributes the game doesn’t tell you about—there’s also highlighted attributes you don’t need to focus on at all.
As explained by Football Manager expert/YouTube Zealand, there’s a sizable list of attributes that are as useless as a striker in crocs. Depending on the position of your players, some attributes that sound great actually have minimal impact, and it’s paramount to understand what attributes you need where and which you should probably avoid.
After you’re done re-learning which attributes are actually important, don’t forget that we’re far from a one-trick pony—more like a hat-trick pony. Don’t forget to check our our interview with IRL striker Adam Le Fondre, or check out which obscure nations you should be scouting for unknown wonderkids.
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Highlighted Football Manager attributes to ignore in each position
Goalkeeper – Communication
As explained in Zealand’s video, this one’s not even close. The least important highlighted attribute by a long, long way is communication. We’ve all seen the videos of incredible miscommunication in Football Manager: a defender passing straight into their own net while the goalkeeper looks the other way. But 1) this is a very rare occurrence in saves, and 2) this miscommunication is often the result of multiple factors combined—not just this one attribute.
Central defender – Heading
This one might be controversial, but the argument makes complete sense. If a defender towers above the rest, he’s going to win the header 99% of the time anyway, and it doesn’t matter where the ball goes once it’s hit his head. Just like how physical attributes dominate other areas of Football Manager, jumping reach and height are far more important for defending.
Full back – Tackling
Here’s where we notice a theme: none of the least important attributes are physical—because physical attributes are KING in Football Manager. In the video, the talented YouTuber chooses tackling as the least important for full backs, which makes sense when you consider modern football. Full backs are built for attacking, and Trent Alexander-Arnold is definitely smiling at Zealand’s suggestion. Zealand does add nuance to this argument, so make sure to check out the full video for more details.
Defensive midfielder – Concentration
In defensive midfield, it feels like all the highlighted attributes are important. However, the reasoning for picking concentration is that if the defensive midfielder has a lapse in judgment, there’s still a wall of defenders behind him to correct the mistake. On the other hand, concentration is far more critical for central defenders. Fair enough.
Box-to-box type Central Midfielders – Teamwork
This is the position where fulfilling every highlighted attribute is less important. It’s more about the player doing something in that space and being good at one thing. In the YouTube video, Zealand picks teamwork as the least important because this attribute represents how well players follow tactical instructions—but box-to-box midfielders often have the most license to roam and don’t need to rigidly stick to your tactics.
Playmaker central midfielder – Technique
On the flip side, teamwork is essential for playmakers. But it’s not Off The Ball, as many might assume. The least important attribute here is, drumroll please, technique! This one’s controversial, and many people have disagreed, but it makes sense.
While having a high rating in technique allows a playmaker to do the fancy stuff, having poor technique won’t stop him from doing the basics well. Essentially, good technique is a luxury, not the “meat and potatoes.”
Creative winger cutting inside (inverted winger etc) – Finishing
Finishing is already overrated in Football Manager. If you want your winger to cut inside and serve as a creative outlet, finishing becomes even less important. Finishing doesn’t operate in isolation; it relies on attributes like composure and technique.
Goalscoring winger cutting inside (inside forward etc) – Anticipation
For this one, it’s not that anticipation is unimportant; it’s just that every other highlighted attribute for an Inside Forward is far more critical. For example, situations an Inside Forward encounters don’t require anticipation as a necessity making prioritising the stat a useless prospect for a solid team.
Classic winger – Technique
Once again, Zealand goes for technique. Wingers are “raw” players who don’t need technical refinement to do their job. While a great technique is nice to have, it’s inessential. Just like the aforementioned instances of technique being unimportant, the basics are far more essential for this role.
Strikers that drop off (deep lying forwards etc) – Composure
This playmaker-like position features one attribute that stands out as less critical: composure. For a striker playing deeper, composure isn’t as crucial because mistakes are less catastrophic (e.g., not scoring a goal or conceding one). Zealand includes a helpful video visualizing this point, so be sure to check it out!
Strikers that are more advanced (advanced forwards etc) – Dribbling
And now, the most important position: the number 9. The player we spend hundreds of millions perfecting. The least important attribute here is dribbling. These strikers exist to finish team moves. While dribbling around defenders is a nice bonus, it’s not essential. Attributes like Off The Ball, Finishing, and Acceleration are far more critical. In short, your striker can thrive without dribbling.
Now you’re a better Football Manager
With all of this new information, you should now be an even better manager than you already were. As long as you’re continuing to tailor your team, you’ll soar even higher than before. And remember: if you want a longer-form version of what we’ve just attempted to explain, you can watch the original video just above this.
Football Manager 2024
- Platform(s): PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series S/X, Xbox Series X
- Genre(s): Management, Soccer, Sports