There are several common mistakes that new managers make. This guide covers the most frequent ones, explains what impact they can have, and tells you exactly what to do instead. If you read nothing else, read this.
Consequence: Energy drops fast. Your physical therapist, especially early in the game, cannot regenerate it fast enough. Players with low energy underperform, get injured more often, and collect more yellow cards. After a few weeks of high effort, your squad is exhausted and results collapse.
Recommended approach: Use up to 100% (Normal) effort as your default for league matches. Reserve 125–150% only for genuinely must-win games like crucial relegation run-ins or cup finals. For friendlies and practice matches, always use 50–75%; player energy is the same whether you play hard or easy.
Consequence: Without a physio, player energy does not recover properly. Training drains it, matches drain it more, and soon every player is running on empty. Low energy means poor performance, frequent injuries, and wasted training days.
Recommended approach: Build the Massage Centre (required for the physio) in your first few days; the tutorial should prompt this. Hire your Physical Therapist immediately after. Then hire an Assistant Coach as your next priority once the Level 2 Training Facility is built.
Consequence: Sponsor base payments arrive every Monday regardless of results. Without one, you are leaving your most reliable weekly income on the table, every single week.
Recommended approach:: Sign a sponsor if you don’t have one. Never let your sponsor slot sit empty, even for a day. Early on, choose high base pay over high point bonuses, guaranteed income is safer than performance-dependent income when you are still finding your feet.
Consequence: Tactics have both bonuses and penalties. Below 60% training, the penalties outweigh the advantages — you are actively making your team worse by using them. Yet many new managers select a tactic because it sounds good, without checking the training level.
Recommended approach:: Go to Team → Training → Training Statistics and check the training percentage for any tactic before using it in a match. Leave tactics set to 'None' until you have at least one trained above 80%.
Consequence: The Standard preset is your automatic fallback for any match where you have not set an individual formation. If you sell a key player or sign someone new and forget to update it, that player either appears as suspended or the best available sub is randomly inserted into a position they are not suited for.
Recommended approach:: After every transfer (buy or sell) open Team → Line Up, load your Standard preset, update it, and save. Takes two minutes and prevents silent match losses.
Consequence: Having 8 or more different personalities in your starting eleven gives a 10% performance bonus to every player. That is a significant free boost that many managers never claim simply because they do not know it exists.
Recommended approach:: Check the personality counter in the formation builder (shown in the middle of the tactical guidance panel above the pitch). Aim for 8 before saving any formation. If you make half-time substitutions, check it again, the bonus only applies in the second half if you still have 8 personalities on the pitch.
Consequence: If you forget to assign special jobs, the system assigns them randomly. Random assignment often means a defender taking your corner kicks and a goalkeeper listed as captain.
Recommended approach:: Assign all four jobs — captain, free kicks, penalties, corners — intentionally for every match. Captain: charismatic player, high experience, never introverted. Free kicks and penalties: player with Free kick talent/ penalty kick talent and high offensive skill. Corners: Corner kick talent and high passing skill. Talent holders for each job are a meaningful bonus on top.
Consequence: Morale directly affects a player's in-match strength. A player at 'Abysmal' morale (1–20) suffers a 15–25% strength penalty. That can turn a strong player into a liability. Morale drops from: sitting on the bench for 3+ consecutive matches, losing streaks, yellow/red cards, and injuries.
Recommended approach:: Rotate your squad and use Halftime substiutions. Bench players who miss 3+ official matches in a row start losing morale. Winning matches naturally rebuilds it. For players stuck low, use Pep Talk or Workshop training sessions. Keep an eye on the morale column in Team → Players.
Consequence: Team spirit affects ball possession across all matches. It resets to 50 at the start of every season and drifts back toward 50 passively. Managers who do not actively manage it let it fall, while competitors who win consistently surge ahead.
Recommended approach:: Try winning matches, that is the biggest spirit driver. Beating stronger opponents gives bigger gains. Hire a Mental Coach (staff upgrade) to raise your spirit baseline above 50 and give a chance for daily spirit gains. Team Spirit training cards give a one-off +25 boost (max 2 per season).
Consequence: New managers see a player they want, bid emotionally, and end up paying twice or even more than what the player is worth. The transfer market has no fixed prices, you are bidding against other managers, and prices fluctuate.
Recommended approach:: Watch auctions for a few days before placing your first bid. Get a feel for what similar players go for. Sort by the Ø (strength) column and compare players at the same level. Older players are much cheaper and can fill gaps while you build; younger players cost more but develop further through training.
Consequence: Loans carry weekly interest costs. If the player transfer does not pay off quickly, through better results or an eventual sale, you end up paying back far more than the player was worth, while your weekly balance deteriorates.
Recommended approach:: Only buy players with money you already have. If you need to borrow, have a specific plan: which player will you sell to repay it, and when. Never take a loan based on the hope that results will improve.
Consequence: Many new managers skip friendlies or treat them as unimportant. But each friendly gives players +0.25 XP, improves endurance, and lets you test formations without any competitive pressure. Over a season, that adds up to meaningful development.
Recommended approach:: Set up a friendly every week or enable automatica assignment and a match will be scheduled automatically. Use 50–75% effort. Try a formation you are considering for league use, or give bench players some minutes. Accept challenges from your inbox, someone else is always looking for opponents.
Consequence: At low training levels, your defenders attempt the trap constantly but execute it poorly. Every failed attempt creates a clear one-on-one against your goalkeeper. Players do not know when to stop trying.
Recommended approach:: Check Team → Training → Training Statistics. Do not enable the offside trap until it shows at least 60% training. At 80%+ it becomes genuinely useful. Until then, leave it off entirely.
Consequence: Player value grows through training and playing. Every empty slot is a player not developing, and not building sales value. Missing bench slots also means no automatic substitution options if a player gets injured or sent off.
Recommended approach:: Keep all 22 squad slots filled at all times (or more as you unlock additional slots). Even cheap, older players are worth having. They train, they develop slightly, and they provide cover. Fill slots with budget purchases from the transfer market or promoted youth players.
Consequence: After every match, there is a detailed newspaper report with a sector heatmap, player ratings, and game statistics. Most managers only check the score. Missing the report means missing the feedback loop that actually makes you better.
Recommended approach:: After every loss or surprising result, open the match report (double-click the match in your overview). Check which sectors you lost badly. Look at the game statistics page: team experience, home advantage, spirit, and active bonuses are all shown. Compare first-half vs. full-match ratings to see if your players faded in the second half.
The managers who improve fastest are the ones who learn from every resultnot just the wins.
