Have you just installed Football Manager and found yourself facing dozens of menus, hundreds of numbers and a whole club waiting for decisions? That's normal. FM is a huge game, but you don't need to master everything on day one. In this guide we explain, step by step, the essentials to get your first career off to a good start without getting lost along the way.
1. Choosing your first career
Choosing a club is the most important decision at the start. To learn, the ideal is a mid-sized club in a league you know well, with reasonable expectations and some budget.
- Avoid the giants: managing Benfica, Porto or Sporting looks easy, but the board demands trophies in your very first season and the pressure is huge.
- Avoid the poorest clubs too: with no money and little quality in the squad, every beginner's mistake costs you dearly.
- A good middle ground: a mid-table club in the Liga Portugal or a promotion contender in Liga 2. If you want to go deeper into Portuguese football, our Portugal with 6 playable divisions database and the FMPT Distritais let you start right at the bottom.
When creating the game, only load the leagues you need. More leagues mean more realistic transfers, but also a slower game between matches. For a first career, Portugal plus two or three major leagues is plenty.
2. Your first days at the club
Before touching tactics or signings, get to know the club:
- Read the board's expectations: the season objective and the style of play they want. Meeting these targets is what keeps you in the job.
- Review your backroom staff: assistants, coaches, scouts, physios and analysts make a huge difference. If there are vacancies, fill them, even with modest professionals.
- Delegate what you haven't mastered yet: you can hand friendlies, press conferences and even training to your assistant. As you learn, you can take those tasks back.
- Talk to the squad: the pre-season meeting sets the mood in the dressing room. Realistic targets go down better than over-the-top promises.
3. Tactics: start simple
The most common beginner mistake is building a complicated tactic straight away. The game includes preset systems that work well, such as the 4-2-3-1 or the 4-3-3. Pick one that suits the players you have, not the other way round.
- Familiarity: players need time to learn a tactic. Changing system all the time means they never master it.
- Roles and duties: each position has a role (for example, winger or inside forward) and a duty (defend, support or attack). A good balance stops your team from being split in two.
- Mentality: start with a balanced mentality and adjust it depending on the opponent and the score.
If you'd rather start from something already tested, see the best FM26 tactics and the most downloaded FM26 tactics. Even with a ready-made tactic, it's worth understanding why it works.
4. Training
Training develops your players and prepares the team for your tactic. At first, leaving your assistant in charge of training is perfectly fine. When you want more control, use training schedules already tested by the community, such as Mike's training schedules for FM26.
Don't forget set pieces: a big share of goals come from corners and free kicks. The best FM26 set-piece routines are a quick way to earn points without changing anything else.
5. The transfer market
- Use your scouts: set out what you're looking for (position, age, budget) and let them work. Their reports show current ability, potential and risks.
- Look at the total, not just the fee: wages, signing-on fees and contract length matter as much as the transfer fee.
- Loans and free agents: are the cheapest way to strengthen the squad, especially at clubs with little money.
- Back young players: signing cheap talents and watching them grow is one of the most fun parts of the game. Our list of FM26 wonderkids is a good place to start.
6. During matches
Watching matches on extended highlights helps you understand what's going wrong. Pay attention to three things:
- The opponent: against stronger teams, a more cautious approach usually pays off.
- Fatigue: exhausted players perform worse and get injured more. Make substitutions from the hour mark.
- Your assistant's advice: the in-match suggestions are a good way to learn what to adjust.
7. Managing the squad
A happy squad performs better. Keep an eye on player morale, keep the promises you make (playing time, signings, contracts) and renew the key players' deals in time. Young players who aren't getting minutes should go out on loan: playing regularly at another club does far more for their development than sitting on the bench.
8. Common beginner mistakes
- Changing tactics after every defeat.
- Spending the whole budget in the first transfer window.
- Promising playing time to everyone.
- Ignoring your staff and the scouting reports.
- Loading too many leagues and making the game painfully slow.
- Giving up after a bad first season: FM is a long-term game.
9. Next steps
Once you've mastered the basics, it's time to customise the game. The FM26 logopacks give clubs their real badges, and in our downloads section you'll find kits, faces, skins and databases for every edition.
And if you have questions, the community is here to help: join our Discord and chat with other Portuguese managers. Good luck with your first career!
