FM 21 Training Schedules: Player-Focused Training and Coach Tips
In FM 21, focusing training on a player's weak attributes beats leaving schedules to assistants: after 4 seasons, Mason Greenwood's heading and bravery rose sharply with an Aerial focus.
4 min read
In brief
AI summaryIn Football Manager 2021 (FM 21), the author says to avoid leaving training to assistants, who often cram fitness work mid-season, raising physical strain and injury risk.
In FM 21, Mason Greenwood started with heading 7 and bravery 10; after switching his training focus to Aerial, the author saw a big improvement over 4 seasons.
The FM 21 coaching staff advice: 3 goalkeeping coaches, 7 tactical coaches and 3 fitness coaches, chosen for determination, discipline, motivating, working with youngsters and tactical knowledge.
Contents9 sections
I know that leaving your FM 21 training schedules to your assistants and staying out of it is an easy solution, but definitely do not do this if you want the best results!
Something your assistant manager often gets wrong is cramming physical fitness work into players in the middle of the season, which I believe is wrong for many reasons. One of the first problems you may face if he does this is physical strain and an increased risk of injury.
FM 21 Player-Focused Training
I want to start with a direct example: Mason Greenwood is a special player. He has great physical attributes and is tall, but his heading is 7 and his bravery is only 10. The area the assistant coaches train him in is striker and finishing. But if I had kept training him like that, I could have missed the chance to develop his physical attributes. Then, to improve his heading and bravery, I changed his training focus to "Aerial". The result I saw after 4 seasons was truly incredible. The player now connects with balls from the air far more accurately, and his bravery has risen significantly too.
The point I want to make with this example is that you should examine your players one by one and have them work on the areas where they fall short or that you plan to use more in games.
Our goal is to have a player's year of development focus on one or two of his attributes so that he becomes and improves into a better player. The same examples are shown in the images we gave, and the results were really successful.
Because of wrong training, the game is full of players with crazy finishing but no composure, or players with great attributes who make wrong decisions. Starting your training with attributes that raise a player's overall football intelligence will automatically increase the output you get from that player.
Now imagine your team training: the team is split into 3 sections. Goalkeeping coaches, defending coaches and attacking coaches. Have you ever had 5 coaches working on attacking training? Probably not. I thought working with more coaches might be better and made such a crazy decision. The results were better than I expected. Still, I have no answer for how much of my success was down to having 12 coaches, but if you want, you can try this crazy move I made.
However, if you have to choose because of coaching limits, you should start with the fitness department first.
Which Coaches Should I Hire in FM 21?
3 Goalkeeping Coaches
- One who will coach in general (choose the best one for this coach)
- A coach who will run shot-stopping training (Shot Stopping)
- A coach who will improve the Handling attribute
7 Tactical Coaches
- One who understands everything in general (the best)
- One who will run defensive tactics
- One who will give technical knowledge in defending
- One who will give attacking tactics
- One who will give attacking techniques
- One who will give tactics for holding position
- One who will give techniques for holding and taking position
When choosing these coaches, make sure they suit your playing logic and formations!
3 Fitness Coaches
- One who understands everything in general (the best)
- One who will train strength
- One who will train acceleration
What Should I Look For When Choosing a Coach in FM 21?
Recommended attributes:
- Personality: should be Model Citizen, Model Professional, Professional, or at least Fairly Professional and Perfectionist
- Should have high determination
- Should have a high level of discipline
- High at motivating
- Able to work well with youngsters
- Should have tactical knowledge (for coaches in general)
Attributes to Look For When Hiring Your Assistant Manager:
- Strong personality
- High level of discipline
- High determination
- High motivation
- Top-level tactical knowledge
Attributes to Look For When Hiring Coaches Who Will Run Attacking Training:
- High attacking side
- Defending not too poor
- Mentally strong
- Knowledgeable on the technical side
- Knowledgeable on the tactical side
You can reach our article on the finer points of building a defensive tactic in Football Manager 2021 here .
You can reach the list we built by blending high-potential wonderkids who can make a difference from the Turkish Süper Lig with players in their most productive years who will contribute greatly to your team here .
TACTICS that will give big teams a hard time in FM 21!
Frequently asked questions
Questions answered in this article
Which Coaches Should I Hire in FM 21?
One who will coach in general (choose the best one for this coach) • A coach who will run shot-stopping training (Shot Stopping) • A coach who will improve the Handling attribute When choosing these coaches, make sure they suit your playing logic and formations! One who understands everything in general (the best) • One who will train strength • One who will train acceleration
Go to sectionWhat Should I Look For When Choosing a Coach in FM 21?
Personality: should be Model Citizen, Model Professional, Professional, or at least Fairly Professional and Perfectionist • Should have high determination • Should have a high level of discipline • High at motivating • Able to work well with youngsters • Should have tactical knowledge (for coaches in general)
Go to sectionAttributes to Look For When Hiring Your Assistant Manager:
Strong personality • High level of discipline • High determination • High motivation • Top-level tactical knowledge
Go to sectionAttributes to Look For When Hiring Coaches Who Will Run Attacking Training:
You can reach our article on the finer points of building a defensive tactic in Football Manager 2021 here . You can reach the list we built by blending high-potential wonderkids who can make a difference from the Turkish Süper Lig with players in their most productive years who will contribute greatly to your team here . TACTICS that will give big teams a hard time in FM 21!
Go to section
