Football Manager Attributes

In Football Manager, player attributes are key to success. This guide will help you understand the characteristics that define your players and shape your team’s performance. These are just player and manager basics but you’ll have a big advantage in building a great squad and winning games.

Football Manager Attributes – Key Takeaways

Football Manager Player Attributes Types

Attributes (ratings) for players are split into three main groups, each playing an important role in determining a player’s overall ability and fit for specific positions in your team:

1. Technical Attributes: These are about a player’s skills with the ball, like passing, shooting, and dribbling. They’re really important for how well a player can do specific things on the field. For example, good passing is super important for playmakers, while finishing is key for strikers.
2. Mental Attributes: These cover how a player thinks and makes decisions, like determination and staying calm under pressure. Mental attributes often make the difference between good players and great ones. They affect how players handle tough situations, make choices, and play consistently throughout a game.
3. Physical Attributes: These show a player’s physical abilities, like speed, stamina, and strength. Physical attributes are vital for how well a player can perform throughout a match and in specific situations. For example, being fast is really important for wingers, while being strong matters a lot for defenders.

To learn more about how these attributes affect player ratings, check out our guide on Football Manager ratings. It explains how the game figures out player performance based on their attributes.

Understanding Player Attributes

Player attributes in FM are rated from 1 to 20, with 20 being the best. This scale helps you compare players easily. Understanding what each attribute level means is really important for managing your team well. There are two types of attributes, each playing a different role in how players develop and how you scout them:

• Visible Attributes: These are shown on a player’s profile and can get better through training and playing in matches. You can see these right away and they tell you what a player is good at. They include things like passing and tackling skills, mental traits like decision-making and work ethic, and physical abilities like stamina and speed.
• Hidden Attributes: These aren’t shown right away and you need to scout a player a lot to find them out. They can really affect how well a player does. Hidden attributes often relate to things like a player’s potential, how consistent they are, and how they handle big games. For example, ‘Professionalism’ affects how well they train, and ‘Adaptability’ influences how quickly they get used to a new team or league.

Attributes by Player Position

Different positions need different key attributes. Understanding what attributes are important for each position is crucial for building a well-balanced and effective team. Here’s a breakdown of key attributes for various positions:

Developing Player Attributes

Player attributes can get better over time in different ways. As a manager, it’s important to have a good plan to help your players improve as much as possible. Here are the main ways to make player attributes better:

• Focused training sessions: Create training plans that work on specific attributes important for each player’s role. For example, a striker might do lots of shooting practice to improve their ‘Finishing’ attribute.
• Regular match experience: Giving players, especially younger ones, plenty of game time can really help improve their attributes. Playing in matches helps develop both technical skills and mental attributes.
• Mentoring from experienced players: Set up a system where older, more experienced players can guide younger ones. This can help improve mental attributes and develop hidden attributes like ‘Professionalism’.

For tips on helping young players grow and reach their full potential, check out our guide on FM wonderkids. It’s full of useful information on finding and developing the next generation of football stars.

Using Attribute Analysis

Using attribute analysis well can really help your team perform better and be successful in the long run. Here’s how you can use attribute analysis:

• Make smarter transfer decisions: Use attribute analysis to find players who fit your team’s style and have room to improve.
• Create better tactics: Design your game plans around what your players are good at to get the best performance from your team.
• Improve how you develop players: Make training and development plans based on each player’s attributes to help them grow as much as possible.

Managing Decreasing Attributes

As players get older or get injured, some of their attributes might start to get worse. This is normal, but you need to manage it carefully to keep your team playing well and maintain player value. Here’s how to handle decreasing attributes:

• Keep an eye on player attributes regularly: Watch how your players’ attributes change, especially for those over 30 or coming back from big injuries.
• Change training for older players: Make special training programs that focus on keeping their key attributes while reducing the chance of injury.
• Think about changing player roles as their attributes change: As physical attributes get worse, consider moving players to positions that rely more on their mental and technical skills.

Most Important Head Coach Attributes

As a manager in FM, your own attributes are really important for how well your team does and how your players improve. These attributes show your management style and skills, affecting things like how effective training is and how motivated your players are. Here are some key manager attributes to focus on:

• Tactical Knowledge: This is super important for making good game plans. If you have high tactical knowledge, you can use complex strategies and make better decisions during games. It also helps your players learn new tactics faster.
• Motivation: This helps you inspire your players to do their best. It’s really important for team talks, press conferences, and talking to players one-on-one. A manager who’s good at motivating can boost team spirit and help individual players perform better.
• Man Management: This is crucial for dealing with player personalities and team dynamics. It affects how well you can solve problems within the team, manage what players expect, and keep a positive atmosphere in the locker room. Good man management can lead to better team unity and happier players.

To learn more about improving your manager skills, check out our Football Manager guide for beginners. It’s full of useful tips on how to become a better manager and improve your overall game strategy.

The more experience you get, the better you’ll understand how different attributes work together, helping you build really strong teams.

For more advanced strategies and the latest FM tips, check out our Football Manager blog. Stay up to date with the newest tactics, player discoveries, and management techniques to stay ahead of other managers.