Let’s talk about Custom Views. This is part two. Part one is here.

Football Manager 2020 generally does a really good job of providing an interface that is easy to navigate, telling you most of what you need to know on the majority of screens.

Do you ever find yourself, however, flicking from screen to screen to see all of the information you wish to review before selecting your lineup for your next match?

What about when looking at a list of potential transfer targets? Sometimes there are considerations or comparisons you want to make between players, but the game makes you wish every page wasn’t so different, wishing they had normalised the layouts?

Like last time, the custom view I discuss here will be linked as downloadable at the end of the article.

Today, it’s the Shortlist screen.

The Shortlist Screen

So you’ve sent your scouts out, you’ve had agents approach you with their clients. You’ve even had analysts suggest someone who has completed the 12th highest passes in the Swedish second division. So you shortlist them all and get your scouts to have a closer look. Good recruitment is a serious business in Football Manager, and picking the right player to bring can make or break your team.

They do say “Sometimes it’s the smallest decisions that can change your life forever.”

I don’t know who they are, but it sounds right.

Running (sort of) from left to right, here are the columns/categories I use in one of my favourite custom views, and why I think each merits inclusion on arguably your second most important screen in FM20.

Name and Statistics

Firstly, it’s good to know the players you are interested in’s names, and if they have played well or not. I.E. I would suggest it’s pretty key to understand if the players you plan on throwing your virtual money at are any good at the kickball sport. Also, if it’s halfway through the season and they’ve made a tiny number of appearances, could it be indicative of something else? More on this later.

I personally include the ‘per 90 minutes’ statistics wherever possible, as like-for-like comparisons are only really useful if there’s common ground. There’s no point judging a player with 20 assists as twice as good as one with 10, if the one with 10 has played 60% less matches.

Position, Best Role and Recurring Injury

Knowing which positions our gloriously attractive transfer targets can play in is useful of course, but I also like to include the ‘Best Role’ column on my Shortlist custom views screen. It’s all fair and well having your eye on a Regista, but what if your scouts think he’s actually better suited as a Half Back? Maybe he has attributes better suited to another role than the one you had in mind when you first added him here. Food for thought.

Oh, and remember I mentioned that low appearances could potentially be indicative of something else when comparing targets? (Of course you do, it was 30 seconds ago!). Well, the recurring injury column will tell you if there’s an underlying physical issue worth thinking about prior to that crucial medical after all that tedious negotiation. Of course the ‘injury proneness’ attribute is hidden (as it should be!), but this column can go someway to giving you an idea if you are buying Mr Consistency or Mr Glass Ankles.

Knowledge Level, Star Ratings, Age and Information

Now all this information on your newly pimped Shortlist screen makes for wonderful reading. Comparing potential transfer targets should be much simpler already.

But wait.

How can you compare two players, where one has been scouted meticulously for months and the other has only just been added? In short, you can’t. Or at least you shouldn’t. Make sure you only compare targets who have been fully scouted, or you could be missing something crucial.

Ability and Potential star ratings are fairly self-explanatory, but I like to have the age column right here too. We all know there are multiple factors that can affect player development (playing time, determination, personality, fitness etc), but there’s no use on banking on that 1 star current ability player smashing that 5 star potential if he’s already 37.

The Information column will show you at a glance if your target is injured, wanted by a rival, transfer/loan listed etc.

Work Permit, Money and Contract

Last, but certainly not least is a few crucial columns for your Shortlist custom view.

Depending on the league you are playing in, whether a player needs a work permit is a crucial factor. It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve ignored a readily available domestic player because I’ve got my eye on a Brasilian wonderkid. A Brasilian wonderkid who needs a work permit, and is never getting one at 17.

Contract Expiry is a good one to keep an eye on too. Is it worth going for the player now or would it be economically beneficial to wait a few months and approach him on a free if his deal is up?

The columns in the middle are all about the money. Value is of course subjective and not always helpful in directing how much you should be bidding, but certainly something to have in mind. Minimum fee release clauses sometimes uncover an absolute steal, especially all those with mandatory clauses playing in Spain.

Maximum Asking Price will tell you the ceiling price your scouts expect you to pay to capture your target. Maybe it’s lower than you first thought and worth a cheeky bid immediately. You’re the boss. Go for it!

Wages again are a must-have. I’m sorry but that winger at Guangzhou Evergrande might look decent, but he’s not ditching £250,000 a week to join your newly promoted Chesterfield side, no matter what you promise him.

Where can I try out this custom view?

If you fancy trying out one of my favourite custom views, it is available to download for free here.

Just drop the file into your ‘Sports Interactive\Football Manager 2020\views’ folder, usually in ‘Documents’ on PC or ‘Library’ on Mac. Then load it in-game from your shortlist screen by selecting the drop-down menu beside X PLAYERS FOUND at the top left, then select ‘Import View…’

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Let us know via Twitter (@DictateTheGame) or in the comments if you found this useful, or any custom squad views you find helpful instead!

I’m also around on Twitter (@FM_Stag) and at FMStag.com.

If you liked the article you can find some more below, and our podcast on anchor and other platforms.

• One-Club Man: La Cantera
• One-Club Man: Defence-First Football & Club DNA In FM24
• One-Club Man: 1st Day on The Job, Meet The Team
• The Story of One-Club Man
• FM24 Release Date Announced!