This year more than any in the previous 16 (or so) iterations of the game, have I played Football Manager, and I can honestly say that this entire lockdown situation would have been incredibly different and likely more challenging without the ability to switch off for hours at a time into my own little footballing adventure. Although some may claim it’s rather ‘sad’, it has been my equivalent to the puzzle, boxset, knitting or other project millions of us have been forced into this crazy year. So, my thanks have to go out to the entire team of creators and developers, and the community of fellow football manager fans.

As a result, I am so excited this year to recapture the love of the game and dive in fresh to a new, updated version of the game in Football Manager 2021. I’m already planning out my starting save (check out our other post for inspiration), and picking out some crazy new tactics to spice up whatever league I jump into. Because of this excitement and build up to the big release date in November, I thought I’d put together a short post which highlights some of the big feature updates and highlights that the 2021 edition will have. These have been taken from Twitter, where the Football Manager God, Miles Jacobson has been revealing some new updated features, and a recent live-stream in which they demoed some changes to the game. I will also discuss the recent FMFC that I have seen many well-known football social media folk big-up with their personalised jerseys and other good stuff (not jealous at all *cough cough*).

To wrap up this post, I will be previewing some of the thing I would like to achieve with this blog and the 2021 edition of the management simulator. Hopefully some new and exciting adventures will take place this season, and I’m really hoping to grow this blog around the game. So, if you have any thoughts and feedback on that, please get involved @NextGoalWinBlog on Twitter.

Enjoy!

New Features

New Layout: Given that most of this game has been produced in the midst of a global pandemic, the redesigned elements we have been privy to so far seem really positive and engaging. We have been shown how player happiness and fitness is now displayed with hearts and thumbs up/down, there is a changed layout for the team talks, and also during the game, as the screen shows much more than in previous editions. You are able to se stats, player performance and detailed information in one screen, rather than having to manoeuvre through pages whilst the game is running. This will probably take some adjusting to, however having this information in front of you seems a nicer way of managing your side. Additionally, while not specifically related to the games’ layout, the media questions seem to be a slightly modified and improved which again will hopefully make the game more realistic and engaging. I would thoroughly recommend you to go search out these videos from recent livestreams and trailers which highlight and demo some of the new screen layouts (once you’ve finished reading this of course).

xG (Everyone’s Favourite): Something that has taken the footballing statistics lovers by storm, is the application and acceptance of xG (Expected Goals). This is making the move to Football Manager, as throughout the game, you can see your xG stat alongside the other in-game statistics. However, even more detailed, you can deep-dive into the stats, with shot maps and many other statistical graphs and facts that nerds such as myself will devour.

FMFC: Football Manager Football Club is a relatively new concept, or is one that I certainly have never heard of, in which it provides an online base for blogs, guides, news and videos. This will be an interesting development, as there are so many great sites and platforms out there created by fans of the game, and so hopefully for those looking to become much more detailed and engaged in the game can access this information. Additionally, they seem to be planning on competitions and other incentives which will be hopefully fun for everyone.

Recruitment Meeting: a big thing for this years’ edition, is the introduction of recruitment meetings and scouting discussions. Your chief scout and director of football will compile a selected few positions in the squad which need improving, and outline why those positions are particularly weak. From this, you will take part in a meeting style scenario, in which you are shown possible targets for each position, and then in similar ways as before you can ask for more information of discard the recommendation as normal. This will allow much more strategic planning in the ways you prepare your side and yourself for the transfer windows and possible scouting targets.

Water bottle Anger: Okay, this one is probably going to end more carers than anything else in the game. As now, with just the click of a button, you can decide to ‘metaphorically’ throw a water bottle in the dressing room as you deliver your half-time / full-time team talks. Now, already I can warn people that this is going to be a complete disaster for morale, and definitely won’t be motivating anyone, unless you have some crazy players who love having random missiles directed at them because they conceded a last minute goal. Therefore, whilst it may be a good way to vent your anger, I fear that temptation might just mean you lose the dressing room, so really it might be easier and safer to actually throw a water bottle around (please don’t do that either).

NextGoalWinner Plans

A big reason for doing this preview is to discuss plans for this blog throughout the season regarding Football Manager 2021. One of my favourite topics to write about and discuss on social media, is the game, and because of that I have lined up some interesting posts relating to my favourite teams to manage, any wonderkids that pop up through my saves and I am hoping to possibly line-up some chats with creators and fans of the game to discuss their thoughts (if anyone wants to chat that is).

Additionally, I am looking to expand my tech skills over on social media and YouTube to potentially create some content over on there perhaps trying out some challenges or new tactics if it’s worth recording.

If anybody has any thoughts on this, or has any tips/experience of those kinds of things, please do send me a tweet or drop me a message @NextGoalWinBlog as I’d love to chat.

Clear Your Diary

The official release date for the full game has been detailed online as the 24th of November 2020. Meanwhile, the discussion surrounding the release of the Beta game has been proposed as being around the 9th-10th of November possibly, however as Miles has consistently reiterated, this is a fluctuating timescale and as with any game or creative project, the release date will be as soon as it is ready and that could be any moment. So, if you’re waiting for the 24th then just keep waiting on it, and anyone looking for the early Beta needs to be on their toes.

Whenever the release comes, we will be ready and like millions of players around the world, I can’t wait to get going and lead my squads to (hopeful) glory.

Good luck with wherever you start off, and let us know how you’re doing over on Twitter.