FM23 Feature Reveal – Squad Planner
Sports Interactive have revealed their headline features now for Football Manager 2023. Revealing there are 5 big additions to the next installment of the game. In this article we will focus on the Squad Planner and try to break down what we know so far.
Squad Planner
This is a whole new section and UI to manage your current playing squad. Future prospects and potential transfer coming into your team over the next 3 seasons will also show on screen. Essentially, they are bringing the squad depth screen to a more prominent location, and amalgamating several smaller screens into this planner area. For me, this will definitely help gain more of a long term vision for the club. I can keep transfer targets in focus and keep an eye on developing prospects from the youth teams.
I can see myself using this section a lot. Especially at the beginning of a save or beginning of the season. As I play through a season, or set up a new tactic, I will tweak this screen. I will also probably revisit closer to the transfer windows opening, or if I’m looking to inject some youth into the first team in the short term. It’ll be swapping in and out players mostly. Maybe some players are under-performing or have had a falling out with me, then I will adjust their rankings accordingly.
Experience Matrix
This screen seems to me to add something new to how you visualize your squad vision over the long term. The 4 columns presented here are Development, Emerging, Peak and Experienced. This gives a clearer picture as to weak points and strength of the overall playing squad. You can see right away if you are lacking in players in your team. If your squad is inexperienced or vice versa heavy with players at the end of their career, you can clearly see where you need re-enforcements. They are also colour-coded to indicate Important players, Squad Depth and Youth Candidates.
Conclusion
I think this is a great addition to the game and gives me a more long-term overview of the squad and where we’re going in the next 5 years. I’ve always struggled to plan ahead completely when managing a club in the game, and this will create a better big picture for me. I think I’ll be less reactionary in the off-seasons and plan more during the seasons to move towards a clearer goal for the squad in the future.
What do you guys think of the new squad planner? Are there any other things you’d like to see here in the future editions of the game? Let me know in the comments below.
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