Football Manager 2026

[sharpylcfc]

29 minutes ago, Gamble92 said:

The worst thing that can happen to anything is no competition. Can you imagine what they'd be forced to do if LMA was still around with all of those features we used to have? 

 

We obviously got a hell of a lot more depth in stats and the rest of it with FM but we lost our massively in the more fun aspects of what manager games were. They're only just starting to realise they need to look visually a lot better in this era. 

I'd love LMA to come back in all fairness. LMA coming back would make games for LMA and FM so much better. 

Edited 31 August 2025 by sharpylcfc

[Guest]

 

As a primarily 2D user I can't say I care that much about what the graphics look like but here they are. Lighting and stadium/environment are quite nice, animations and models less so. I think it'll probably look pretty decent from the more zoomed out camera angles. 

 

Minimum and recommended specs up on Steam for anyone wondering.

[Dan]

I do want the match engine to be decent but graphics aren't a dealbreaker here.

 

New leagues on it apparently are Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, UAE, Saudi Arabia and...... Lithuania.

[Miquel The Work Geordie]

On 04/09/2025 at 19:05, Dan said:

I do want the match engine to be decent but graphics aren't a dealbreaker here.

 

New leagues on it apparently are Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, UAE, Saudi Arabia and...... Lithuania.

 

Pretty decent additions them, they've needed more African leagues for bloody ages.

[RoboFox]

Look nicer but some of the animations are 100% recycled. FM24 HD remaster with better lighting. 

 

For something that was supposed to have been built again from scratch this all looks very familiar. 

 

Then again, I suppose it's what they've done with the backend that counts... Not that I really trust SI with making wholesale changes. It's felt for about 10 years that they've absolutely hit a ceiling with this. 

 

Edited 8 September 2025 by RoboFox

[Finnegan]

I really, really hope their "this is a complete revolution for football manager, we've rebuilt the game, it's a complete fresh start" doesn't just mean "we've updated the match engine." 

 

I'd like to see some significant change to how the game plays outside of match day. 

 

[Beliall]

i have already seen it reported the match engine is the same as we have now. so its a reskinned FM24 that took 2 years to build. and has less content. and ill still buy it and play the crap out of it

[Dan]

On 08/09/2025 at 10:27, Miquel The Work Geordie said:

Pretty decent additions them, they've needed more African leagues for bloody ages.

I did the pentagon a while ago and it's a shame you were limited to just South Africa.

 

Was sad enough recently to check which the strongest ranked leagues that weren't within the game and I think Morocco, Egypt and Algeria might've been the best three, the former two definitely.

 

Best one in missing in UEFA is Cyprus.

[Dan]

What do people actually want updating? My main things are:

 

- Improved AI with transfers. It's too easy for me to outthink the game. I'm in Holland currently and PSV are selling off their team of wonderkids and this summer just signed Kasey McAteer  (who in fairness isn't terrible on this). As a general rule though the recruitment of 'better' teams is terrible.

 

- 'Greyed out' teams not being a cakewalk in Europe. It's a bit of a joke when I can play someone such as Malmo, with a team who are on paper probably worse than them but absolutely destroy them because they're 'greyed out'. They shouldn't be this bad.

There are definitely more but these spring to mind.

[Miquel The Work Geordie]

50 minutes ago, Dan said:

I did the pentagon a while ago and it's a shame you were limited to just South Africa.

 

Was sad enough recently to check which the strongest ranked leagues that weren't within the game and I think Morocco, Egypt and Algeria might've been the best three, the former two definitely.

 

Best one in missing in UEFA is Cyprus.

 

Would have maybe preferred Tunisia to Algeria? And a West African league would've been tidy, but a definite step in the right direction — I've only ever done Morocco and Egypt through suspect steam workshops before

 

Would love the Central Asian countries' leagues to appear but can't see it happening soon

[Dan]

1 minute ago, Miquel The Work Geordie said:

 

Would have maybe preferred Tunisia to Algeria? And a West African league would've been tidy, but a definite step in the right direction — I've only ever done Morocco and Egypt through suspect steam workshops before

 

Would love the Central Asian countries' leagues to appear but can't see it happening soon

Just doublechecked it, Tunisia is actually ranked 2nd in Africa behind Egypt which is really impressive for their size.

 

I wouldn't mind Iran on it either.

 

If Lithuania can get on there virtually anyone in Europe should be fair game. I know Gibraltar are on it but I think Lincoln Red Imps would probably beat anyone in Lithuania. Give me Kazakhstan.

[Miquel The Work Geordie]

3 minutes ago, Dan said:

Just doublechecked it, Tunisia is actually ranked 2nd in Africa behind Egypt which is really impressive for their size.

 

I wouldn't mind Iran on it either.

 

If Lithuania can get on there virtually anyone in Europe should be fair game. I know Gibraltar are on it but I think Lincoln Red Imps would probably beat anyone in Lithuania. Give me Kazakhstan.

 

Yeah it is a bit weird that Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore (as examples) are playable but countries like Iran, Kazakhstan, Cyprus, even Bosnia, Albania aren't.

 

I'd give my left bollock for a Turkmenistan or Uzbekistan save but once again SI show they're nothing but cowards 

[Dan]

Just now, Miquel The Work Geordie said:

 

Yeah it is a bit weird that Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore (as examples) are playable but countries like Iran, Kazakhstan, Cyprus, even Bosnia, Albania aren't.

 

I'd give my left bollock for a Turkmenistan or Uzbekistan save but once again SI show they're nothing but cowards 

I've got a soft spot for Malaysia due to starting there on the pentagon but you are right - it's absolutely horrendous, like literal sixth tier in England level if even that.

 

I've never actually downloaded any leagues before because I'm sure I read somewhere it makes it a slightly iffy version of the game but I might be worrying for nothing. I can't believe people just stick in England, there's a world out there on this bloody game.

[Beliall]

9 hours ago, Dan said:

I did the pentagon a while ago and it's a shame you were limited to just South Africa.

 

Was sad enough recently to check which the strongest ranked leagues that weren't within the game and I think Morocco, Egypt and Algeria might've been the best three, the former two definitely.

 

Best one in missing in UEFA is Cyprus.

i set myself the challenge of doing the pentagon before the new game releases. currently in my 3rd season at milford, we just got promoted to the absa premiership last season, and i cant save it as milford because of milf  

[RoboFox]

14 hours ago, Dan said:

What do people actually want updating? My main things are:

 

- Improved AI with transfers. It's too easy for me to outthink the game. I'm in Holland currently and PSV are selling off their team of wonderkids and this summer just signed Kasey McAteer  (who in fairness isn't terrible on this). As a general rule though the recruitment of 'better' teams is terrible.

 

- 'Greyed out' teams not being a cakewalk in Europe. It's a bit of a joke when I can play someone such as Malmo, with a team who are on paper probably worse than them but absolutely destroy them because they're 'greyed out'. They shouldn't be this bad.

There are definitely more but these spring to mind.

I don't play anymore but it's obviously still an issue... And the main thing is the absolutely archaic match engine. If you find a tactic that works (this can usually be achieved in half a season if playing legit, or a lot of people just download them) you can basically just get to a point when you're cheesing the game's algorithms. 

 

The biggest problem is that that they haven't figured out how to make the AI adaptable enough so that you need to make meaningful changes from game to game. Find a tactic and just run with it forever: constant success. 

 

Also hitting the bar like 3 times a game is just ****ing stupid and they haven't managed to fix that in like a decade. 

 

Someone on here who worked at SI confirmed a while back that they're STILL using the match engine introduced in 2009 - it just gets tweaked every year. And if @Beliall is right and they've just draped an updated graphics engine over it, it's going to STILL be the same over 15 years later. 

 

The game needs rebuilding from the ground up and they're never going to do it because it's so profitable meeting annual release dates. 

 

Edited 10 September 2025 by RoboFox

[Beliall]

22 minutes ago, RoboFox said:

I don't play anymore but it's obviously still an issue... And the main thing is the absolutely archaic match engine. If you find a tactic that works (this can usually be achieved in half a season if playing legit, or a lot of people just download them) you can basically just get to a point when you're cheesing the game's algorithms. 

 

The biggest problem is that that they haven't figured out how to make the AI adaptable enough so that you need to make meaningful changes from game to game. Find a tactic and just run with it forever: constant success. 

 

Also hitting the bar like 3 times a game is just ****ing stupid and they haven't managed to fix that in like a decade. 

 

Someone on here who worked at SI confirmed a while back that they're STILL using the match engine introduced in 2009 - it just gets tweaked every year. And if @Beliall is right and they've just draped an updated graphics engine over it, it's going to STILL be the same over 15 years later. 

 

The game needs rebuilding from the ground up and they're never going to do it because it's so profitable meeting annual release dates. 

 

agree with all of this. i use davincids realism mod which improves things a lot. i always try to create my own tactic and its a struggle, i find teams are always figuring me out by christmas time but it also feels like the game is just trying to make me sweat so the league is closer. . i was 12 points clear in the south africa div 2 by november, went on a 2 month run win no win then picked up again. won the league by a point on the final day. i actually didnt bother with 24 until a few weeks ago, i was bored with fm and took a year off to enjoy the new one more. then it was cancelled  

miles did a great job transforming champ manager into what we have today but now i cant help but feel hes holding it back from evolving into something better. i refuse to believe we have reached the ceiling of what can be done with this game

Daveincid's Increase Realism Megapack | Football Manager Mod

[Finnegan]

45 minutes ago, Beliall said:

. i always try to create my own tactic and its a struggle, i find teams are always figuring me out by christmas time but it also feels like the game is just trying to make me sweat so the league is closer

 

I think this is a little bit of a misunderstanding that's been around FM for quite a while and ends up being reinforced by confirmation bias.

 

The AI doesn't actually work you out, it can't, it isn't really that sophisticated.

 

What it does is simply decide how much of a threat it thinks you are based on form and league position and adjusts it's tactical approach to playing you accordingly.

 

So you'll spend the first few months of the season smashing it against teams that are playing with more attacking or balanced mentalities and instructions but the better you do, the more likely they are to play more conservatively and make it harder for you to beat them.

 

There's also your player's hidden professionalism, ambition and pressure stats to consider. The better you're doing, the more expectation and the more pressure there is on you to keep up streaks and keep winning, you'll often find the performance and the body language of your players dipping in games.

 

[Beliall]

18 minutes ago, Finnegan said:

 

I think this is a little bit of a misunderstanding that's been around FM for quite a while and ends up being reinforced by confirmation bias.

 

The AI doesn't actually work you out, it can't, it isn't really that sophisticated.

 

What it does is simply decide how much of a threat it thinks you are based on form and league position and adjusts it's tactical approach to playing you accordingly.

 

So you'll spend the first few months of the season smashing it against teams that are playing with more attacking or balanced mentalities and instructions but the better you do, the more likely they are to play more conservatively and make it harder for you to beat them.

 

There's also your player's hidden professionalism, ambition and pressure stats to consider. The better you're doing, the more expectation and the more pressure there is on you to keep up streaks and keep winning, you'll often find the performance and the body language of your players dipping in games.

 

so does this mean my theory of good morale being the key to winning everything is true? like in CIV 5 whereas long as everyones happy you win the game

[Finnegan]

4 minutes ago, Beliall said:

so does this mean my theory of good morale being the key to winning everything is true? like in CIV 5 whereas long as everyones happy you win the game

 

Sort of. 

 

You can actually have high morale but have your players look nervous and play poorly once the match day starts. They're happy overall within the club they just aren't coping well with pressure. 

 

It's a mechanic that's always been in the game but somewhere around 2020 onwards I feel they started really tweaking the balance for how it works. 

 

The last few versions I played (22 and 23) I found towards the end of the season, I'd always be getting players permanently nervous and bottling it as key milestones started popping up.

 

Particularly annoys me when you're like 10 points clear at the top, 25 points clear of 5th and yet the game wants to make it a big occasion and a high pressure match because you can "secure continental competition" by mathematically qualifying for the Europa League in your next match. And it's like... February or something ffs. 

 

[lfu]

Release date 4th of November confirmed https://store.steampowered.com/app/3551340/Football_Manager_26/

 

 

[Finnegan]

Hahahahahahahaha that whole section about the header bar replacing the nav bar and how revolutionary it is. Brother, that's FM 2012 or whatever.

 

Looks hideous but, yknow, I don't think I've ever used a vanilla FM skin, they're often awful.

 

Also looks like absolutely nothing at all, in the slightest, has changed.

 

Edited 10 September 2025 by Finnegan

[moore_94]

First thing tomorrow morning, get my holiday booked in for the Friday and Monday 

[Beliall]

29 minutes ago, Finnegan said:

Hahahahahahahaha that whole section about the header bar replacing the nav bar and how revolutionary it is. Brother, that's FM 2012 or whatever.

 

Looks hideous but, yknow, I don't think I've ever used a vanilla FM skin, they're often awful.

 

Also looks like absolutely nothing at all, in the slightest, has changed.

 

i saw that too, player interactions and dialogue options are identical. i was kind of prepared for this, im just glad the price hasnt gone up. such a shame though, they missed a year and are putting out a graphic update for £45. will be happy to be proved wrong but the silence around added features is really telling

[Guest]

I quite like the way it looks but it really doesn't seem like any of those changes are the sort that are actually going to materially impact the way you play the game, or are anything that skin creators couldn't replicate. What does the Portal screen allow you to do that the Home screen didn't? Maybe they all add up and you need to feel it for yourself to appreciate it. FMpedia I suppose is a good idea for new or returning players who find it a bit overwhelming these days but I'm not sure how big the overlap is between people who are playing a football management game and people who need help understanding what a squad is.

 

Between the match footage and this, it does very much look like a fresh coat of paint over the exact same game which is underwhelming after two years.

[Brainy]

Those leagues are poor additions except for Saudi (which doesn't tempt me but I can see the pull). To add those already mentioned, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Would love a Dinamo Tbilisi save. As niche as Latvia and Lithuania are, what's the point