The most important attribute in all Football Manager releases

If you’re already questioning the title then you should definitely read this post. Of course, there are different sets of attributes that are important for each player role and position. But there’s one attribute that’s weighing a lot when it comes to your team’s long term performance.

The Question

I can tell how good a manager is by asking him this question: What are the most important 2 things in FM?

Correct answer: Balancing morale and picking the right players. Tactics, training and everything come after these.

In fact, balancing the dressing room atmosphere is the definitive factor in Football Manager success.

Why you’re asking? Let me explain.

Think of it this way: You’ve got 2 identical teams, using the same starting players, the same match training, the same tactics, and so on. Basically like you’d duplicate a team from the editor. Now, if you would play a versus match, the team with slightly better morale will win 99 out of 100 matches, roughly.

Let’s think about another match: if one team would start with the subs, but they would have much better morale than the better starting 11 in the other team – like Superb against Very Poor morale – I’d bet you the subs will win more than 70% of times.

The Morale Multiplier

Determination is like a multiplier to all the morale-boosting methods: wins, team talks, private interactions, contract renewals, etc.

I’ll show you a few points to explain why Determination is the most important attribute.

Players with high determination:

• are ambitious and they don’t tend to feel nervous during matches
• react better to morale increasing methods
• they will naturally keep their morale high
• will often try to prove you wrong (press conferences, private chats)
• react much better to team talks and team meetings
• will work harder in training

It is safe to say this is fairly obvious for anyone who understands the answer to the previous question. Now, remember I didn’t say players with low determination can’t play well or can’t get awesome average ratings.

The Goodfellas

In real life, you can tell a determined player by his work rate, aggressivity and by how often he babbles and moans. Here are some of the most determined players in Football Manager:

Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Arturo Vidal, Carlos Tevez, Daniele de Rossi and John Terry are all rated in Football Manager 2015 as having the maxim possible determination attribute – 20.

Do you think it’s accurate?

Finally, consider downloading our Football Manager eBooks if you want to master the game after only one read.