Football Manager 2018 Features & Improvements

Complete List of New Football Manager 2018 Features & Improvements

For the 5th year in the row we are ready to hand you all the details you need about the coming Football Manager 2018 edition. Here you will be provided with all the new Football Manager 2018 features and improvements, plus additional news about general changes to FM18.
As always, this article will also feature screenshots and other work in progress videos of the improvements to the match engine and other animations that are overhauled, that are official released by Sports Interactive or its liaisons. Our goal is to deliver you with all important information and everything you need to know about the upcoming release of FM18.

With only two days left of September, Sports Interactive revealed some of the new Football Manager 2018 features and improvements. The feature teaser video that went viral 29th of September shows you some of the major and most important features in Football Manager 2018. Here we’ve broken down the video bits by bits to show you some of the key changes to Football Manager 2018.

Discover what’s new in Football Manager 2018!

Note! This article will be updated continuously up to the release of the Football Manager 2018 beta, with the big reveal of ‘all’ the most important features of Football Manager 2018 set to arrive in late September according to Miles Jacobson, the director of Sports Interactive.

Top 5 Football Manager 2018 Features

#1 Dynamics & Social Groups

The feature video for FM18 put major focus on dynamics as this will be one of the major and most significant changes to FM18. The Football Manager 2018 dynamics feature looks to connect your style of man management and squad handling with the different player personalities, backgrounds and social setting with the on-pitch performances and the general interactions of the players on the pitch according to their level of happiness and morale.

In FM18 you will see a graphical representation of the team leaders, most influential player(s) and other significant players lined up into an hierarchic representation according to the players with highest influence of the team alongside feedback from the backroom staff about the players and how it affects squad dynamics in general. To reflect the squad dynamics, it’s only natural to include social groups for the first time in Football Manager. Here are players grouped according to a few criterias according to their relationship to each other and how it may affect the dressing room atmosphere according to their influence on the team.

You can learn more about the squad dynamics and social groups by reading our guide to the new Football Manager 2018 dynamics feature.

#2 More Realistic Scouting System

The second biggest feature reveal for Football Manager 2018 were the revamp and overhaul to the scouting area. These changes to scouting looks to reflect how real clubs track down players and how scouting works in reality. A major focus has been set to make scouting even better, more relevant and more realistic!

This year, the data analysts will be of highly importance when scouting for new players, as the analyst can hand you reports about the players in additional to the scouts and those within the recruitment team.

You can discover everything about what’s new or improved for the brand new Football Manager 2018 scouting center by reading this in-depth look to new scouting features. Here will you also see some screenshots of the new scouting center plus watch the latest feature video looking specifically to scouting, player search and the changes to the data analyst role.

#3 Tactics Improvements

More tactical options, four new player roles, changes to player instructions and more dynamics to the tactical area is some of things that will be improved for FM18.

For once, the tactics overview will represent analysis from your most recent matches along with some new tactical options. You will see where you lost and gained possession with a better graphical overview.

The screenshots from FM18, also revealed that one of my most wanted tactical options, the ability to pre-set match plans are finally being added into the career mode. While match plans has been an option in Football Manager Touch, which gave you an ability to customize different scenarios according to how the match develops, this might be completely different in FM18 Career mode.

No matter how it turns out, I believe the introduction of match plans will make a major impact on how you assess the coming match – meaning the importance of analyzing your next opponent will be even higher!

For example, the introduction of intensity will come. What it affects and what it does will be revealed in a future video talking about the tactical changes to FM18. For now, we can only speculate, but I would believe it has something to do with the player’s state of mind and being able to act like a force. It may be linked to the previous mentioned dynamics, the player personalities and how blended the team are. It may also represent how aggressive and committed the team are, something that was earlier visible in the team report card.

As it seems the intensity bar will increase and decrease over time and according to the players in your possession within your managerial tenure.

Learn more about the new Football Manager 2018 tactics improvements and changes to tactics options coming in FM18.

NEW FM18 Player Roles!
According to the latest feature video about tactics, the new player roles are:

Segundo Volante
Inverted Winger
Mezzala
Carriero

Get more information about all the new player roles of Football Manager 2018 in this guide.

#4 The Football Manager 2018 Medical Centre | Sport Science Overhauled in FM18

The Football Manager 2018 medical centre is a brand new edition to the game. It looks to link training workload and your use of training methods to match workload for your entire squad to the number of injuries that may happen. At the very heart features the sport scientist and his knowledge about the latest sport science in addition to the physios and doctors at the club. FM18 features a major overhaul to sport science, which we’ll look closer at below.

Injuries and injury prevention is a major part of football, and all sports that matter. Last year, the staff role sports scientist were introduced and together with the physios they decrease the amount of injuries and the length of it. This year, you will get an all-in-one medical centre to assess injuries, providing more feedback about the club’s current injury status as well as providing advices about how to avoid injuries occurring at trainings. Key to this is the improvements and further inclusion of sports science in Football Manager 2018. The medical centre will be the main area for everything related to the fitness of your squad – keeping the players in top condition to perform at their best. By using the feedback and advices from the sport science team you will be able to keep your key players fit and

From assessing players risks of getting future injuries and what type of injuries they are likely to receive, to past history of injuries and an overall feedback about the increased or decreased ratio of injuries under your training regime, and what to look for in order to prevent mass injuries, is some of the new information and feedback you’ll receive within the new medical centre of Football Manager 2018. Of course will the medical centre also show you the current injuries and how long the players affected are out for.

As you can see, it’s the very heart of injury prevention and treatments.

The medical centre is split up in 5 departments;

1. The overview panel shows you whom of the players that are currently injured, that have most recently come back from injury or are simply most likely to get injured perhaps because of fatigue or have a high risk of picking up a new injury. The sport science team will also provide an assessment of the current workload related to increased or decreased injury ratio, how your club’s record in regard to the amount of injuries compared to the overall league in additional to a general feedback about changes to training methods that you may follow in order to avoid players picking up further injuries for upcoming fixtures will be displayed here.
2. The Risk assessment panel lets you discover how you can reduce the likelihood of injuries occurring at the training ground. Here you will get a list of the upcoming fixtures and current team training workload letting you assess the overall training intensity according to the matches and opponents ahead. The sport scientists will from here give you an indication on whom there will be best to lighten the training intensity for or when more hours on the training ground should be selected to further improve their skills and team cohesion. Information about every player within your squad will be available from here, such as displaying current match and training load, injury susceptibility, physical condition and match sharpness as well as each players physical status and overall risk of picking up injuries. By following the risk assessments from the sport science team, you will hopefully keep your squad injury free for longer periods of time.
3. The currently injuries panel provides information about the current players that are out with an injury featuring a short description of injury type, type of treatment and expected return.
4. The Injury history panel displays a list of every injury that your squad has picked up throughout the season in additional to the last campaign. It reveals the severity of every injury that has happened, the treatment option that were used, how long the player was out for and finally where the injury were received. The injury history panel also provides a snapshot of the three players that have missed the most action within the last 12 month.
5. The Season Summary panel provides an even more detailed overview of all the players that have sustained injury within the last month. It’s a follow up on the previous talked about snapshot. Here you’ll receive a breakdown on how many injuries each squad member has suffered this season compared to the previous campaign, as well as the time and percentage of action missed so far this season.

Viewable from the injury history panel, we find another neat improvement for Football Manager 2018; a graphical representation of the current injury situation at the club compared to the league average as well as a graph highlighting a year by year comparison of the amount of injuries sustained within your squad.

The previous mentioned panels can display players from your senior squad, youth teams and/or B-clubs, or all three if you should desire. In order to do this, simply use the show filters option to the right of each panel.

NEW! Physical Status Report Card
A minor new feature, available from both the medical centre overview panel and the risk assessment panel is the ability to check up on injured players or every player within your squad’s physical status. Here you will see a graphical representation of a player’s medical report card. The physical status lets you take a closer look at the player’s injury history and status, such as being able to see what part of the body that is affected by an injury, type of treatment he is receiving and when he is expected to return from the type of injury he got.

You will also receive emails through your inbox from your physios and sport scientists that helps you see how your club compares to other clubs within your division in terms of injuries.

Use the medical centre regularly to get valuable feedback about player fitness and condition to monitor the risk of injuries happening. Avoiding injuries and using the information within it to your benefit may be the difference between a successful campaign where you reach your goals or battling against relegation.

What you can expect, is that general sports science and the sport scientist staff role will be even more important in Football Manager 2018, than ever before.

Learn more about the Football Manager staff role sport scientist in our guide here.

NEW FM18 Graphics Engine

# The New Graphics Engine improves match presentation and stadium designs. Check out everything about the more authentic match day experience in Football Manager 2018 here, or discover the latest video teaser about the new graphics engine in FM18.

AI Improvements

FM18 will feature AI Improvements (both on and off the pitch) with a major overhaul.

The AI managers have also been improved regarding how they act and react on the transfer market and when offering contract extensions new contracts. They will now behave more intelligent regarding transfers in Football Manager 2018, as they will put an even higher emphasis on a player’s recent form when looking through potential signings.

This means that players that may have had an unexpectedly good season, performing above expectations, will more likely be targeted by the bigger clubs.

The AI surrounding squad building have also been improved, as AI managers will both look at short and long term needs for their squad. On the other hand, the bigger clubs may only look for potential superstars and potential youth talents as long as they have enough home grown talents within their squad. They will now look to recruit more players that can slot straight into the first team and move some of the current first teamers down to a rotation role if necessary.

The result will be an even more competitive transfer market as it ensures that the AI can compete against you for the biggest deals, but at every level of transfer.

# Introduction of league performance tracking. It will be used by the AI managers, the boards, the media and the fans via social medias. This major innovation means that your performances are judged throughout your career, instead of just referring back to your clubs expected league position at the start of the season. The new league performance tracking will take into account information depending on a set of circumstances in order to create a more three-dimensional picture of the season. It will judge you on results and performances in key matches, competition and tournament results, specific moments where you achieved above expectations or where you simply made a bummer.

Performing above expectations will have it’s effect on the managerial support, which we discussed in the article about Football Manager 2018 dynamics, as the dressing room happiness will increase. You will even have better cards on your hands when making requests to the board.

Your performances as manager, good or bad, will now be talked about in the press or across social medias as journalists will reference it in news items which makes fans more opinionated towards you.

Changes to Transfers & Contracts

Reflected in Football Manager 2018 are the inflated transfer fees we’ve encountered for the last couple of transfer windows. Not only that, but Football Manager 2018 brings new transfer, contract and loan clauses added to reflect the current transfer market. Here you will discover some of the improvements made to FM18 contracts, transfers and how the modern transfer market itself influences on clubs all over the world.

• Instalment payments have been altered to make it as realistic as possible. Payments are now been able to be made every 6 month rather than annually with maximum 3 instalments allowed. These are just one of the clauses real clubs use to comply to the Financial Fair Play restrictions.
• The loan market have been updated to include additional clauses that clubs use when structuring short-term deals.
  • New option added to loan a player until the next transfer window opens.
  • New option to include a bonus for competition achievement, for example if your club achieves promotion.
  • New option to let the loanee play for the reserves of the parent club
• New additions regarding minimum fee release clauses
  • Ability to set an expiry date on a minimum fee release clause
  • Option to include separate minimum fee release clauses for domestic and foreign clubs as part of the same contract offer
• New option to add multiple types of the same clauses in a contract. For example an additional bonus for a player recording 10, 20 or even 30 goals per season, or an increase in his salary after making 10, 30 or 50 appearances for the club are available at contract discussions. You can even have multiple clauses in transfer offers.

Revamp to FM18 Fantasy Draft

An major overhaul has also been made to the FM18 Fantasy Draft. You can read a more in-depth look at the improvements made to Football Manager 2018 Fantasy draft here.

# When talking about the improved Fantasy Draft. Attributes Cards has been added for FM18, something that those playing FIFA 2017 may be familiar with. The attribute cars will show you a neat representation of how good the player is in his natural position and the key attributes attached to this position and roles.

FM18 Features & Improvements You Need To Be Aware Of

# New attributes for training goalkeepers – GK distribution, GK Handling, GK Shot Stopping

# New Player Preferred Move (PPM) – crosses early

# Follow a specific position to mark them out of the game. You can now “Mark Specific Position” in your player instructions

# Ability to analyse the positives and negatives of your side’s performance from some or all of your last five matches

# FM18 includes a new Data Analyst Camera view which is multi-zoomable! It will replace the former camera view. [Source Miles Jacobson Twitter]

2d or not 2d?
For me, it's not a question.
Welcome to Data Analyst camera. Coming to #FM18. And multi-zoomable.
(Watch it full screen!) pic.twitter.com/ZWXotC6ZjA

— Miles Jacobson (@milesSI) October 9, 2017

The former 2D view will also get a slight revamp with the improved 2d top down view

# new motion captures

# Direct X 11 support added

# For the first time in the history of Football Manager, FM18 will include its own theme song. The Moment by Chase & Status And Blossoms will be featured in the game. You can hear the whole tune here.

# A new Relationship tab has been added to the home screen, which lists your current relationships with some fellow managers and certain players.

# new and better Fantasy Draft for Streamers – Read more about it here.

# Revamp to the data analyst staff role, which will be more central than ever

# Some posts on the social feed will now have embedded images

# Better modelling of finances for B-teams according to local country rules

# Change the way you use your width. You can now “Look for the underlap

# the ABBA” penalty taking is included

# new ability to stop the substitutions if you score a goal

# You can change your created manager at any point & carry them to another game via Steam cloud. Alongside tactics, shortlists & more

# Double the levels of morale & better morale descriptions.

# Get more information about each player’s performance with multiple post-match summary points

# You can instruct your Central Midfielders to “Run wide with the Ball” in order to stretch the opposition. Read more about improvements to tactics here.

# Now you can set Player Instruction Presets, for instant changes. A handy feature if you’d like to make quick changes to player instructions in the match.

# Proper in-game support for right to left text input for languages for arabic and hebrew for community translations

# One improvement to the transfer window is that there will be an overhaul to the graphical representation of the biggest spending clubs and leagues. You’ll see an example on how it may look in this tweet by ESPN. [Sept. 01 @ Source ESPN]

# Changes to conversations and the impact social media has on football will also be featured. From transfer deadline day, two changes to social media was revealed;

• More contextual social posts in FM18 mean fans will have their say when a player moves to a rival club.
• Fans will react differently on social media to loan signings compared with permanent signings

# Changes to Transfer and contract clauses

# The ability to reject or accept all offers for a player straight from your inbox will become a great addition to Football Manager 2018. [August 31 @ Football Manager official Twitter account]

# Earlier this spring the first little glimpse of the new Football Manager 2018 features was revealed on the official Football Manager Instagram account. A snapshot of two actors seemingly holding onto a trophy in a motion capture session reveals that new animations when celebrating a competition or league win may come. [March. 3rd @ Source Football Manager]
Check out the image and decide for yourself here.

Football Manager 2018 Feature Reaction Video by The Northman

With a Football Manager Community eagerly anticipating news about Football Manager 2018, we’d like to share the reactions from Youtuber and Streamer, The Northman, who is one of the prominent figures in the FM Community. Here are his thoughts on Football Manager 2018 and the new features revealed in the headline feature news video by Sports Interactive.

Use the comments below to share your feedback and what you think of the features and improvements that are currently been revealed.