If you’re in the market for the ultimate hands-on approach when it comes to building your club, then Football Manager has likely been your go-to approach for some time. But as we know, not all clubs are created equal. For every Manchester City or Chelsea, there’s a Schalke or Luton Town. That’s why scouting is crucial. If you’re working with fewer resources, you have to try to make up for it in other ways. So, how about we walk you through some scouting tips for Football Manager 24?
How to Scout in Football Manager 24
Scouting in Football Manager is as simple – yet as detailed – as it has ever been this year. However, the basics remain:
- Find players to scout
- Assign scouts
- Scour the world
When it comes to Football Manager scouting, everything you’ll need can be found in the ‘Scouting’ hub located on the left side of your screen. From there, though, you will have to navigate many different variables in order to get the most out of your assignments.
Set Up Your Scouting & Recruitment Team
No matter where your coaching career begins, you’ll have to work with the staff you’re given. They are broken up into three teams: Coaching, Recruitment, and Medical. For the purposes of this exercise, we’re sticking with Recruitment.
Perhaps you’re working with a General Manager setup. If not, maybe you have a Technical and Loan Director to help shoulder the scouting burden. But depending on the club, you may only have a small handful of scouts as well as a recruitment analyst or two to work with. Again, it’s all about balancing resources. So, what are you looking for?
In a Scout, there are three factors to keep an eye on:
- Adaptability
- Judging Player Ability
- Judging Player Potential
For what it’s worth, we sometimes like to take a hit on the Adaptability trait as long as the Judging traits are high. You can always even things out with more adaptable scouts, but finding what you’re looking for based on ability and potential is of the utmost importance.
As for Recruitment Analysts, they have two key attributes to keep tabs on:
- Analyzing Data
- Judging Player Ability
Some Recruitment Analysts can make great Scouts and vice versa, but if a particular person is bent on their preferred role, that may throw a wrench into your recruitment plans. Be sure to check their preference before tossing out contracts.
Identify a Recruitment Focus
Now, this will vary from club to club, not to mention region to region. Every league has its own set of registration rules, and you’ll want to keep that in mind while finding players. After all, what’s the point of bringing in a handful of promising players if you’re unable to meet the registration standards? Plus, you can set as many of these as you want! Some examples:
- Position-based
- Age Range
- League or Competition
If you’re into making endless amounts of lists, Football Manager has always been for you.
In the above example, we’re using Schalke, who currently plays in German football’s second tier (Bundesliga 2). And instead of setting up scouting posts all over the globe, we’re sticking with a Central Europe scouting range with a focus on homegrown players. Not every player a club registers needs to be homegrown, of course. But until we get Schalke back on their feet (if possible), it’s best to focus your initial efforts on younger, cheaper, homegrown players.
Another thing is that Schalke simply does not have a lot of money. This affects many aspects of your club, such as stadium and facility degradation, what scouting packages you can afford, and most importantly, which players you can afford.
When resources are already limited, it’s best not to waste them on players that you cannot afford.
Find the Right Players for Your System
This should go without saying, but there is arguably nothing more important in Football Manager than your side’s tactic. You may not stick to just one throughout the season (and you shouldn’t), but if you’re not bringing players in that fit the tactic, you’re going to suffer regardless.
That’s where a Recruitment Focus comes into play. Just because a particular player may boast excellent potential, what if you’re unable to get the best out of them due to their role in your system? Do you sell high and try to cash in early? Maybe. If your resources are minimal, then you may be forced to.
But instead of making a rash decision, how about you set up a Recruitment Focus first in order to identify the right players for your system? There are numerous variables to consider, but these are the ones we like to focus on:
- Age (Clubs typically have Youth Academy objectives as part of the Club Vision)
- Position
- But more importantly than that, the player’s Role
- Potential Ability
- Contract Status
When setting a focus, you don’t want to start your scouting out by looking for those with just 1-1.5 stars of Current Ability. Instead, we recommend setting your sights on those already displaying two-star ability. But more importantly than that, make sure you’re dialing up the potential to four-plus stars.
If you have to adjust your focus the longer the scouting goes on, so be it. The whole point of this, though, is that you’re finding promising players quickly.
Decide on Scouting Assignments
At many clubs, you’ll be able to hire a Chief Scout – and if you so choose, you can delegate duties to them that will allow them to handle Scouting and Recruitment meetings, Scout Assignments, and the like. But again, if you want the final say over which players will ultimately sign for your squad, you may want to assign these scouts on your own. Two things to keep in mind:
- Scout’s Knowledge of a particular Region.
- Scout’s Knowledge of a particular League.
It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to waste money on a scouting mission when your staff don’t know much about where they’re going.
For example, the scout pictured near the top of the page – Nikolaos Nakas – has extensive knowledge of Germany, Austria, and Greece, just to name a few. If you want your scouts to do their best work, send them where they’re comfortable. Additionally, try to hire scouts from all over the world. It’s good to build up a network of homegrown or league-based scouts, but it’s essential to have a diverse network to tap into.
Maximize Free Agents & Youth Players
No matter which club you choose to lead, Free Agents and Youth Players can be the key to long-term success. Not all free agents are created equal, of course, and it’s not as though you’re going to be able to afford all of them, but keeping tabs on expiring contracts has always been a crucial part of this series.
For example, take Schalke again. They’re not doing well financially, and even selling players for decent value barely makes a dent due to their debt. But free is free, baby, as long as their wages are at a reasonable level. Here’s how to make it easier on yourself:
- Set Age Range (Optional, but again, we’re focusing on younger players.
- Add Condition > Contract
- Contract Status > Expiring
- Filter between those expiring in 1, 3, and 6 months or select 1 Year to see who may be available to approach when their contract has hit six months.
- Shortlist players with reputable Potential Ability.
On an anecdotal note: When starting a “Your World” save in FM24, Lionel Messi was a free agent. Schalke could never, even at their highest, afford Messi. But more than that, instead of opting for MLS like he did in real life, he joined the Saudi Pro League with a wage of €112 million. So, sorry, Schalke, Messi was never going to come.
But that doesn’t mean you should give up on free agents forever.
These are some of our scouting tips for Football Manager 24. When you’re a bigger club with nearly unlimited resources, scouting won’t matter as much because you can just throw money at a solution. But if you’re looking to make up for financial deficiencies, then the right combination of Scouts, Analysts, Assignments, and even Contracts can make all the difference.
