The training portion of the Football Manager series is, much like in real-life, often forgotten and overlooked by some people, despite being one of the most important keys to success. Football Manager 22 continues the series' tradition of letting players construct in-depth training schedules, to help players adapt to their style of play and ensure that they're at peak performance.
With Football Manager 22 set to launch on Game Pass this year, there will be plenty of new players needing a helping hand with the complex training mechanics in the game. For such players, here is a guide to training.
Overview
Overview, as the name suggests, provides a general look at key aspects of the team's training. The week's training schedule, each player's injury risk, and notable good and bad training performances all appear on this screen, so it's worth checking it frequently.
In relation to those who are performing particularly well or particularly poorly in training, it's often a good idea to have a private conversation with them, to either complement them or scold them.
Calendar
The Calendar tab shows the upcoming training schedules, rests and matches for each month. It's ideal for planning the team's upcoming sessions and ensuring that there's a good balance of different drills.
Schedules
The Schedules tab provides a range of pre-set weekly training schedules. The schedules are particularly handy for those who are new to the game and aren't sure what drills to select or those who need tailor-made schedules for certain scenarios or changes in style.
Pre-sets in the Schedules tab include scenarios like Fixture Congestion and Big Match Preparation, along with specific training styles and sessions to fit tactical styles. Basing training on tactical styles is a great way to implement a style of play, as it will strengthen the team in key areas to fit the new tactic. For example, when trying to implement a new gegenpressing style, the tactical style schedule will aim to improve the players' pressing.
Units
The Units tab separates the players into Goalkeeping, Defensive, and Attacking units. The manager can add or remove players from the under 23 and under 18 teams to the first team units, which is ideal for integrating young players into the team and preparing them for their debut.
The Unit tab is also helpful for trying to train players in new positions, either by changing their unit or by changing their Position/Role/Duty.
Mentoring
Mentoring does exactly what it says on the tin, letting managers construct mentoring groups for their players. The manager should ideally select an experienced player listed as a Team Leader in Dynamics to take charge of the group, which should consist of younger players who will hopefully learn from the experienced player.
In the example pictured above, Ronaldo has been chosen to lead a group consisting of three young forwards, as he is a Team Leader, has a Perfectionist personality, and is the team's best forward player.
Individual
The Individual tab lets the manager set specific instructions for their players. Managers can adapt their position, train them on a certain skill, and even increase or decrease their training intensity, which is ideal for players carrying an injury.
The Individual tab also gives the manager the opportunity to praise or criticize the players' training performances.
Rest
The Rest tab lets the manager adjust the training intensity for the entire team, rather than just individual players like the previous tab. It also lets the manager automatically set training intensity schedules based on pre-determined conditions - it's worth doing this when first taking over a team.
Coaches
The Coaches tab provides a breakdown of the staff members currently working on the team's training and what their current role is. The tab also details whether the board has any concerns about the staff and lets the manager adjust each staff member's role.
Football Manager 22's beta is out now for PC. The full game releases on November 9th for PC, Xbox, and Mobile. A Nintendo Switch version is also in the works.