Football Manager 26 Review – Back To The Drawing Board

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It’s unusual for a yearly sports game to be skipped, but Sports Interactive did just that with Football Manager 25. They decided to cancel it because of major changes – including switching to a new game engine, Unity – and several delays meant the game wasn’t ready. This unexpected break, combined with promises of a completely rebuilt game with a better match engine and redesigned interface, made Football Manager 26 the most eagerly awaited installment in the series. However, the final product is a mixed bag. The new match engine is excellent, but the user interface has a lot of problems. Add to that missing features and numerous bugs, and FM 26 feels disappointing, even considering the high expectations.

Despite some issues, there’s a lot to like about the game, particularly its revamped tactics. One half of the game features truly excellent football, thanks to a major change in how you manage your team during matches. This update is long overdue; even when I reviewed Football Manager 2017 back in 2016, I noted the series’ tactics felt too inflexible. I suggested giving players more control over how their team plays, especially allowing formations to change smoothly depending on whether they have possession. It took nine years, but Football Manager 26 now does exactly that with its tactical overhaul.

The game now clearly shows when your team has the ball and when it doesn’t. You can choose attacking and defending formations and switch between them smoothly, giving you more control over how your team plays. As the manager of Arsenal Women – which is new to the game with 14 women’s leagues added – I typically used a 4-2-3-1 formation when attacking and switched to a 4-4-2 when defending. This allowed my two forwards to pressure the opposing team while the rest of my players formed two solid defensive lines. It also set us up for quick counterattacks when we regained possession. With three midfielders, I had better control of the center of the pitch, and players like Olivia Smith and Frida Maanum could play in their preferred positions supporting the striker.

We’ve updated player roles to give you more control over your team’s style of play and make each role’s purpose clearer. For example, both wide and inside forwards are focused on scoring goals, but they do so in different ways. Wide forwards generally stay near the sidelines to stretch the field, then move towards the center when the play gets closer to the opponent’s goal. Inside forwards, on the other hand, cut inside towards the center much sooner, creating space for fullbacks to run down the wing.

Football Manager 26 introduces several new player roles, like channel midfielder and playmaking wingback, and makes it much easier to understand how each one functions. Each role now includes a short explanation, key features listed as bullet points, and a visual animation showing typical positioning and passing plays. By simplifying things like attack, support, and defend duties, the new tactical interface is more user-friendly and allows you to see your tactical ideas come to life on the field.

As a long-time fan, I’m really impressed with the new match engine in FM26! The improved lighting and visuals make the games look so much more realistic, and the player animations are fantastic – they actually move like the footballers they’re based on. It’s not quite on the same level as something like EA Sports FC, technically speaking, but it’s the most realistic football I’ve ever seen in a Football Manager game. I’ve played for dozens of hours and honestly, the only things I’ve noticed are a few slightly strange shooting animations and that wingers can sometimes be a bit too good at getting past defenders. But those are really minor issues overall.

Honestly, I just love watching matches! It’s amazing seeing a player shake off a defender for a bit of space, or when a striker scores a fantastic header from a perfect cross – those moments are incredible. And it’s not just about individual skill, either. You really notice how well a team works together, keeping their formation, and how much of a difference a fresh player can make when others are tiring out. It just makes the whole experience so much better.

The game brilliantly shows how your choices affect play. After Arsenal Women sold Lia Wälti, they lacked a clear defensive midfielder – someone I’d prefer over Kim Little and Mariona Caldentey. So, I came up with a solution. I instructed my inside wing-back to either hold their position or move into a defensive midfield role when we had the ball. With Little and Caldentey focused on attacking in midfield, I assigned left back Kate McCabe this role. Her excellent passing and technical skills made her ideal for building play from the back and creating passing options in midfield without requiring our other midfielders to defend deeper. It was really satisfying to see this strategy work in the game, bringing my ideas to life in a way that felt real and impactful.

While Football Manager 2024’s in-game tactics screen is good, the overall user interface isn’t as successful. Long-time fans will definitely need time to adjust, as familiar features have moved and old habits need to be broken. After extensive use, it becomes clear that many of the changes are overly complicated and not user-friendly. Although the UI looks nice initially, especially with officially licensed leagues, problems quickly emerge. A lot of information has been hidden within multiple pop-up windows, making things like league standings and player statistics much harder to find. Information that used to be readily available now takes several clicks to access, and it’s often unclear how to even open those windows.

Setting penalty takers is frustrating because the game doesn’t show player stats upfront. You have to click each player individually to see their abilities, which was much easier in older versions of the game where you could sort by key stats like finishing and composure. Coaches also give vague training advice without specifying what training to assign. Overall, training feels clunkier now, as you can’t simply drag and drop sessions – you have to open each one separately. It’s surprising how many convenient features have been removed.

The game is also missing several features players enjoyed in previous versions. You can no longer compare staff members, save favorite lineups, conduct cup draws, or track former players—essentially losing a piece of the game’s history. The removal of touchline shouts means you can’t directly impact player morale during games, making matches feel less engaging unless you’re constantly adjusting tactics. Team meetings to boost morale are also gone. Customization options have been reduced, as you can’t choose which stats appear during a game—the limited stats only show up during pauses. After matches, detailed stats like pass and heat maps are no longer available. It was always fun to see a visual representation of a creative midfielder’s performance, and those tools were helpful for making smart decisions.

During games, you can’t view your players’ stats, making it hard to decide who to substitute if you don’t know them all well. For example, I might want to bring on a strong midfielder to protect a lead, but I’m unsure who would be the best choice. This information was also available when selecting your starting lineup, but that’s no longer the case.

The game still has some frustrating problems carried over from earlier versions. For example, players often react negatively when you compliment their performance. When trying to sign new players, they sometimes ask for unrealistic salaries, then end up joining weaker teams for less money. Player happiness is also easily upset. I experienced this when my left back received a huge offer from a Saudi Arabian team. When I tried to persuade him to stay, he insisted on leaving because the money was too good to refuse. Surprisingly, after he accepted the offer, seven other players complained to me about letting him go. I had to choose from fourteen responses, but none of them allowed me to simply explain that the player wanted to leave. I was forced to either take the blame or promise to find a suitable replacement, which felt unfair – I wish I could have just been honest about the situation.

FM 26 is currently plagued by a significant number of bugs. While Sports Interactive has been quick to release updates, fixing one issue often seems to create another. These range from small annoyances like text overlapping or missing scroll bars, to more serious problems like frequent crashes and corrupted or unreadable saved games.

Football Manager 2026’s new interface feels unnecessary and actually makes the game harder to use. Important features are gone, and frustrating bugs make things even worse. After waiting two years for this update, it’s a really disappointing result, suggesting more development time was needed. The new tactical tools and match engine show promise, and if they were combined with the older, more user-friendly interface, this could have been one of the best games in the series. Unfortunately, the problems with the redesigned interface are too significant to overlook. While it’s admirable that the developers attempted such a large overhaul for an annual sports game, the many mistakes ultimately lead to a frustrating experience.

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2025-11-06 00:41