Football Manager guides
Honest, practical writing on scouting, player ability, roles and recruitment — the thinking behind FM Dossier, free to read. Every guide cites its sources.
Scouting
FM26 Scouting & Fog of War Explained
Why FM26 attributes show as ranges, how scouting knowledge narrows them, and how to read scout reports without fooling yourself.
Building an Effective Scouting Network
Learn how to build a scouting network in FM26: assignments, regional vs competition knowledge, scout attributes, and getting full global coverage efficiently.
Reading a Scout Report in FM26
Stars, ranges, recommendations, pros and cons — learn how to read every section of an FM26 scout report and how much weight to give each piece of advice.
Manager Attributes That Improve Scouting
Judging Player Ability, Judging Potential, Player Knowledge, Youngster Knowledge — how your manager's own attributes shape every scouting report you receive.
Player ability
CA vs PA: Current & Potential Ability Explained
Understand Football Manager's CA and PA system: the 0–200 scale, how attributes feed into CA, what PA really means, and how to use both in recruitment.
FM Star Ratings Explained: What They Really Mean
Star ratings in Football Manager are squad-relative estimates, not global scores. Learn how scout quality, knowledge percentage, and CA/PA shape every rating you see.
Why High Potential Is Not Destiny in FM
PA sets a ceiling, not a guarantee. Discover how personality, determination, professionalism, injuries, and game time decide whether a player actually gets there.
Attributes & roles
Player Attributes Explained: The 1–20 Scale
Learn how Football Manager's four attribute groups work, what each stat actually measures, and how the 1–20 scale shapes performance on the pitch.
Role Suitability: Matching Players to Roles
How Football Manager calculates role fit from key and preferable attributes — and why a player's best position is rarely their best role.
Key vs Preferable Attributes by Role
Green vs blue attributes in FM26 explained: what key and preferable mean, how they differ by role and duty, and how to use them to find better players faster.
Position, Role and Duty: the Difference
Football Manager separates where a player stands from how they behave. Here's what position, role and FM26's new IP/OOP system each mean in practice.
Squad building
Reading Squad Depth and Spotting Holes
Learn how to map quality and coverage across every position in FM26, identify thin spots before an injury crisis, and fix gaps before they cost you points.
Picking Your Best XI by Role Suitability
Stop picking your XI by reputation. Learn how to select Football Manager's best starting lineup by matching players to roles, not names to positions.
Age Curves and Timing a Squad Rebuild
Learn how player development, peak ages, and decline vary by position in FM26 — and how to read your squad's age profile to plan the perfect rebuild window.
Eligibility Pools & National Team Building
Master dual nationality, declared-for locking, and youth pools to build a dominant national side or a one-nation club in Football Manager 26.
Recruitment & value
Finding Bargains and Wonderkids on a Budget
A moneyball approach to FM26 recruitment: how to find high-PA, low-cost wonderkids in under-scouted leagues before their value spikes.
Personality & Player Development in FM26
How determination, professionalism, and ambition shape player development in FM26. Learn which personality types unlock a player's full potential.
Exporting Player Data for a Second Opinion
How to pull clean, structured snapshots of your FM26 players and squads — for spreadsheets, data tools, or AI assistants — and how to use them responsibly.