It’s no secret that I love a good Football Manager spreadsheet, so when I needed a way to track the progress of my Cadbury Athletic FC save it was a no-brainer to make one.
Cadbury Athletic | Progress Tracker
Season One: → Promoted to Midland Premier → Turned Semi-Professional → Veruca Salt earned National C coaching qualification#FM21pic.twitter.com/yXm5qslsWO
What I didn’t expect, however, was that other people would be interested in having one of their own!
It’s nothing fancy with loads of behind the scenes formulas, it’s a simple sheet that you can update as you progress along the seasons. You’ll have your own way of tracking, but I suggest just changing the cell colour of the achievement as shown in my tweet above.
I’ve left the spreadsheet unlocked so you can change the achievements you’re tracking if you desire, though I do hope I’ve covered most bases and, with the space to track 12 leagues and 12 cups, it should last the length of any long-term save. Be sure to tag me on Twitter in your creations!
Cadbury Athletic are an amateur club based in Birmingham, they currently play in Division 1 of the Midland League. Affiliated with Cadbury’s, they are known as The Chocolate Men.
They are also the team I’ll be playing as during FM21.
Over recent editions of FM, I’ve been guilty of flitting from one save to another – in FM20 I went through several saves and never stuck to one for more than 3 seasons.
I’ve been playing Football Manager since it was Championship Manager, so many many years, and the saves I remember most fondly are those where I spent multiple seasons at one club – my absolute favourite being FM08 where I spent 30 at Brentford!
For FM21 this was something I wanted to recreate but it needed to be the right team – I started off managing Chivas in Mexico but didn’t gel with them. I also wanted something the FM community would engage with which, from experience, is usually British based. That’s when I remembered about the amazing level 10 database from TheFMEditor.
I wish I could say there was some involved process with choosing Cadbury Athletic, or that I had a local affinity with them, but I don’t. I chose them because I like chocolate and because they play in a purple that matches my FFM logo.
It also gave me the opportunity to use the best manager name there is for a chocolate-loving Female Football Manager. So, put your hands together, and please welcome the new manager of Cadbury Athletic… Veruca Salt.
She asked Daddy to buy her a chocolate factory, but he couldn’t afford it, so he got her an amateur football club in Birmingham instead
I won’t be using the blog to document every aspect of the save but I will be posting an end of season round-up and some milestone progress along the way. In the meantime, head over to my Twitter for more regular updates on how the save is going!
Every DoF I found in the database has randomly generated stats. I’ve uploaded the shortlist but there’s a strong possibility none will be up to standard.
7 Staff Members
Nat
Name
Personality
Age
Club
Coaching Qualifications
BRA
Lígia Franzon Zat
Balanced
32
Guarani VA
-
POL
Martyna Góral
Balanced
30
Lechia
-
HKG
Kwok Ching Yin
Balanced
28
I-Sky Yuen Long
-
ITA
Angela Palombo
Balanced
46
Real Carsoli
-
AUS
Kat Smith
Balanced
36
Continental A Licence
ITA
Alessia Tarani
Balanced
44
Monterosi
Continental B Licence
ITA
Lorenza Visentini
Light-Hearted
38
Delta Porto Tolle
-
Recruitment / Performance Analyst
Hannah Herbert | England | Fairly Determined
27 Staff Members
Nat
Name
Personality
Age
Club
Coaching Qualifications
ENG
Laura Bowen
Fairly Determined
29
Southampton
-
SWE
Linda Breding
Balanced
40
IFK Göteborg
-
ENG
Hannah Burgon
Balanced
24
Swansea
-
HKG
Chan Yuen Ting
Balanced
31
Continental Pro Licence
AUS
Kate Cohen
Balanced
34
Macarthur FC
-
ENG
Sara Cullis
Balanced
26
Derby
-
ENG
Chloe Edwards
Balanced
45
Blackburn
-
GRE
Katerina Falida
Balanced
37
Continental Pro Licence
IRL
Lisa Fallon
Professional
43
Continental Pro Licence
ENG
Hannah Herbert
Fairly Determined
33
-
ENG
Rachel Hindle
Balanced
27
Blackburn
-
ITA
Angelica Ivone
Balanced
39
Taranto
Continental B Licence
NED
Nathasja Keur
Balanced
38
Telstar
Continental C Licence
ENG
Zoe Matthews
Fairly Determined
25
Tottenham
-
ITA
Selena Mazzantini
Balanced
46
Monterosi
Continental A Licence
GRE
Mariela Nisotaki
Fairly Ambitious
27
Norwich
-
POR
Sofia Oliveira
Fairly Professional
26
-
ENG
Natasha Patel
Fairly Determined
31
NY Red Bulls
-
ENG
Megan Reesby
Balanced
25
Solihull Moors
-
USA
Amber Rowell
Balanced
29
-
ENG
Lucy Rushton
Balanced
31
Atlanta United
-
ARG
Virginia Salera
Balanced
31
Newell's
-
ISR
Aya Sorek
Balanced
38
-
ENG
Katie Sorensen
Balanced
23
Man City
-
POR
Cristiana Teixeira
Balanced
22
Felgueiras B
Continental B Licence
ENG
Samantha Tormo
Balanced
30
Tenerife
Continental A Licence
WAL
Esther Wills
Balanced
43
-
Technical Director
7 Staff Members
Nat
Name
Personality
Age
Club
Coaching Qualifications
CZE
Svetlana Berna
Balanced
35
Viktoria Žižkov
-
NED
Jouke Derix
Balanced
42
-
RUS
Natalja Galkina
Balanced
56
Novosibirsk
National C Licence
BRA
Gleide Costa
Balanced
34
Botafogo (PB)
National A Licence
GER
Marie Jenhardt
Balanced
30
Dresden
-
HUN
Anikó Lévai
Balanced
49
Szolnok
-
EST
Ljubov Loboseva
Balanced
41
-
Download All Shortlists
To download the shortlist please find the link below. Your download will contain up to 580 staff members.
I’m a self-confessed spreadsheet geek and Football Manager addict, so when I stumbled on an opportunity to combine them both, of course I couldn’t resist!
What started as a simple spreadsheet for my own use in July 2019, it quickly became a project I have continuously worked on and developed for the last 8 months, turning into what I can now proudly release for public download.
But first…
Before I introduce you to the features of v2, I would like to say that the formula’s used in the spreadsheet and the results it gives are based on I have found works during my own saves in Football Manager. I can’t guarantee that they’ll work for every team so please don’t always take what it says as golden as I cannot promise the results are perfect.
How does this differ to v1.5?
New Club DNA Analysis feature
New Player Analysis sheet
New Squad Notes sheet
Top 3 Overview is now Top 5
Behind the scenes formula update to lower file size and increase speed
New colour scheme and layout
Feature Guide
After setting up the spreadsheet by following the installation guide in the zip file, you’ll be given several pages of data.
POSITIONS (GK, DEF, DM, MID, AM, ST) Each positional area has its own sheet, which is broken down further into the relevant roles.
→ Every squad player is given a rating based on how suitable they are for that role.
→ If the player is a natural in the position the role matches – e.g. ST as a Target Man, D (R) as a Wing-Back – they will receive a bonus rating
OVERALL Another way you can view role suitability is on the ‘Overall’ sheet. This shows every player and every role on one sheet.
→ The yellow cell can be edited to any percentage based on your required levels and, in turn, any matching ratings will be highlighted in light purple.
As an example, I find 70% is a good level for high-quality teams playing in Europe
→ The row to the right of the yellow cell shows how many of your squad have above your chosen percentage so you can see where you have the best depth for that role.
→ The column directly below the yellow cell shows how versatile a particular player is and how many roles, based on your percentage, they could comfortably play or even be retrained in if young enough.
Top 5 An ‘at a glance’ view of the top 5 players for each role, separated into sections based on the positional areas.
NEW – DNA Analysis Club DNA is an often overlooked part of Football Manager which I touched upon on in the first part of my DNAjax blog. In short, DNA is all about building a squad that shares the same qualities. There are plenty of blogs around that go into a lot of detail so I’d recommend a quick Google search if you are interested in learning more.
This sheet will populate after you’ve imported your data into the ‘DNA Base’ sheet. The 5 core attributes (Bra, Cmp, Det, Tea, Wor) are my own personal choices so you may want to switch them out for 5 that suit your style of play better. Changing the attribute names on the ‘DNA Base’ sheet will update them on the ‘DNA Analysis’ sheet too.
Along with the 5 attributes, the DNA rating is also made up of the following:
→ Country Where Club is Based: Players who play in the country of their Nationality receive a 5pt bonus on their DNA score.
→ Core Squad Personalities: Up to 5 of the strongest personalities you’d like in your squad – a 20pt bonus goes to those who possess one of them.
→ Secondary Squad Personalities: Not every player will be perfect so choose up to another 3 personalities you’d find acceptable – a 15pt bonus will be applied.
→ Personalities to Develop (u23): Young players still have room to develop their personality with mentoring or experience. There will be a 10pt bonus given to anyone under 23 years old who has one of the personalities you enter here.
IMPORTANT NOTE: I have left in the examples used in my DNAjax save so you can see how the data is filled in – you just need to change your country to the three-letter abbreviation used in Football Manager and the personality types to suit your style of play.
Once all the above data has been filled in, the spreadsheet works its magic formula and gives a suggested squad for the player to be part of and even if you’d be better off without them.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The formula takes into account the suitability percentage you enter on the ‘Overall’ sheet so don’t forget to fill it in or the calculations won’t work!
→ Players between the ages of 17 and 21 can be recommended for a loan spell away from the club in order to develop.
→ Players between the ages of 19 and 21 can be put forward for exposure to your First Team if they show high potential to be a star. I’d suggest training them with the senior squad and using them as a substitute or in cup games.
NEW – Player Analysis Type the name, or use the drop-down menu, for one of your squad into the top box and it will pull the most important data from the other sheets into one place.
→ Club DNA % is calculated from the information inputted into the ‘DNA Analysis’ sheet. Edit the Target DNA box on the right to the lowest percentage you’d consider as an acceptable match for your DNA vision.
→ Use the Formation Suitability menu to type in, or select using the drop-down menu, the formation and roles being used in your tactic and it will work out whether they are a suitable fit (based on their top 3 roles) for your team.
IMPORTANT NOTE: When inputting your formation, please make sure you state both the role and mentality using the format in the example or the sheet will return an error.
NEW – Squad Notes This was a last-minute addition to the spreadsheet after it was something I found came in useful whilst setting up my DNAjax save.
There isn’t anything automated about it but it enables you to have a sort of notepad for when you’re moving players around squads, setting up individual role training, or simply just wanting to keep track of who you’re offering out for transfers and loans.
Purchase
The download you receive contains the following in a zip file:
Analysis Spreadsheet
Installation Guide
Attribute Analysis
Custom Squad View
Custom Player Search View
Custom Shortlist View
Squad DNA Analysis
Custom Squad View
Custom Player Search View
Custom Shortlist View
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are using different core attributes for your Club DNA than what I have, don’t forget to change them on the views before exporting to the spreadsheet.
Because this version of the spreadsheet has taken so much work, I have made the decision to offer it as a download for a minimum £1 donation
FM20
FM21
If you’d prefer not to donate, then is a free version of the spreadsheet available which doesn’t include the Club DNA feature
FM20
FM21
{This spreadsheet is in no way affiliated with Football Manager)
Versatile – able to adapt or be adapted to many different functions or activities
Q: What is better than a player who can perform to a high standard in one position? A: A player who can perform to a high standard in multiple positions.
In my last blog, I analysed my Ajax squad using my Attribute Analysis Spreadsheet – this involved assessing each player against the DNA I wanted them to possess and also the formation I’m intending to use.
As you can see, I was left with positions I didn’t have an out and out player for. I could go straight to the transfer market and scour for someone world-class as money isn’t an issue for a team like Ajax, but why do that when there are 24 first team players I can choose from.
Step Four – Role Assignment
To gain a place in the Starting XI, a player must fit 2 criteria
This immediately rules out 5 players, those who don’t fit the DNA just yet but I feel will after a season of training alongside the First Team or a loan spell, leaving me with 19 players for 11 positions.
Each player is then put through another assessment based on their formation suitability and potentially given a place in the starting XI:
Perfect Fit → DNA is above 60% → Formation suitability is above 60% → Best role within the formation is also their strongest role overall
In what could be seen as a bit of a shock, 19 year old Schuurs is the first name on the team sheet. Whilst he needs to work on his tackling, Schuurs is a natural CD according to my analysis and will hopefully thrive alongside some more experienced teammates.
DNA: 76% CD (D): 63%
Good Fit → DNA is above 60% → Formation suitability is above 60% → Best role within the formation is their second strongest role overall
Blind is the epitome of DNAjax and with his Model Citizen personality, he’s going to be pivotal on and off the pitch this season.
DNA: 82% DLP (S): 72%
Onana just makes it in as first choice goalkeeper, his DNA is exactly on the cut off but he is still young enough to see an increase in his teamwork and workrate attributes.
DNA: 60% G (D): 74%
Okay Fit → DNA is above 60% → Formation suitability is above 60%
The players whose strongest overall roles don’t fit the formation but who still rate high enough in the roles to do a good job – you could say these are the most valuable squad members as they can perform in more than one area – they are versatile.
Veltman is the second strongest CD (C) in the squad, second only to Magallan who is away on a prearranged loan for the season. My only concern would be his high aggression, he’ll need to keep that in check!
DNA: 77% CD (C): 71%
Promes is destined to cause problems on the wing – his traits are underpinned nicely by his speed and fitness. At 27 years old, he’ll be an Ajax stalwart for many years to come.
DNA: 73% IW (A): 69%
Making up the last of the defensive line is Tagliafico. Despite plying his trade as a left-back, his attributes suggest he’ll easily make the transition to CD.
DNA: 71% CD (D): 72%
At 30 years old, Tadic is the second oldest in the First Team squad. Equally adept at playing on either side of the pitch, his physical stats are starting to dip but his flair, passing and vision are still strong enough to cause problems for the opposition defence.
DNA: 67% WP (A): 72%
Choosing to use Huntelaar in my starting XI was a difficult decision to make. On one hand, he fits the criteria and is prolific in his history. On the other hand, he’s 35 years old so it’s a worry as to whether he’ll last the full campaign.
DNA: 64% SS (A): 69%
After reassessing my squad, I can now see for certain where I need to invest in new signings
The priorities will be: → DM to play either role as Blind can perform well in both → DNAjax have nobody to play the CM positions so that is 100% a must buy → I would also like to look for a SS in their early to mid twenties so I can alternate with Huntelaar when he gets fatigued.
I’m always overspending on wages and I can never decide how much bonus I should offer for appearances and goals. Now I’ll never have to worry again as this amazing spreadsheet will work it all out for me!
Check out the FM Union YouTube channel for more details on how to use it, and be sure to give him a follow on Twitter too!
After the success of my Attribute Analysis Spreadsheet, I’ve been itching to make more. I just haven’t had the time nor brainpower to do one due to a mass pandemic and the increased demands of my work. Until now!
The most often requested spreadsheet I get is one for player development and tracking it over the course of a few months or seasons. Whilst this is available in-game, this spreadsheet will give a more streamlined and clearer view of the data.
The spreadsheet was made for FM20 but I’ve no reason to believe it wouldn’t work in earlier versions. Please try it out and let me know!
Feature Guide
The first 10 sheets in the spreadsheet are where you’ll input the data exported from the game. Depending on how many months/seasons you’re comparing you can use all 10 or just a couple.
The sheets are currently numbered 1-10 but by right-clicking on the tab, you can rename these to anything you want.
Once all the data you require is imported, head to the Development tab. This sheet is where you can compare the progress one of your players has made.
→ Select cell B2 and type in the name of the player you want to track → In the data column, type in the name of the tabs you’re comparing
The attribute will turn green if there’s been an improvement and red if it’s declined.
At the bottom of the sheet, you’ll find a chart where you can compare the progress of up to 10 attributes.
In the coloured cells, you can type in or select from the drop-down menu the attributes you’re interested in.
Purchase
The download you receive contains the following in a zip file:
People have different ways to analyse their squads, – some rely on Assistant and Coach reports and go with what they suggest – some have an innate ability to just look at attributes and know exactly who will fit where – some use a combination of reports and match practice – some make a super in-depth spreadsheet that will analyse every player for them
It will come as no surprise that I fall firmly into the latter category.
Having the best players you can at your disposal is the number one priority when it comes to squad management. Depending on the team you’re managing, it can also be one of the hardest things about FM.
With Ajax, I’m lucky to have a large squad at my fingertips. However, when looking at my assistant reports to see what he thinks their best positions are, this could also be seen as a hindrance.
I’m choosing to play a formation that doesn’t use strikers or fullbacks, so if I was to rely solely on my assistant, I’d immediately be letting 26 players leave without a second glance.
This is where my spreadsheet comes in, it gives every player another chance and reassesses their suitability for my formation. Players that could have been leaving may find their future at the club has suddenly become a lot more secure.
In the first two ( 1 | 2 ) parts of this series, I laid out the formation I wanted to play and the personality traits I wanted my team to possess. After setting up my spreadsheet to reflect this, I can now go ahead and analyse my players.
For those who haven’t seen the spreadsheet yet, I have devised a formula that rates each player based on their nationality, personality, age and formation/role suitability. Further details can be found on the spreadsheet download page
First Team
The first team originally consisted of 23 players, which increased to 24 after the squad analysis. Not a big difference numbers-wise but more than half of these players were newly promoted from the B-Team.
7 players were demoted due to being too young to cope with the demands of top-flight football or because their current skill level isn’t up to my standards.
5 players were added to the transfer list for a combined market value of £56m. There are some high profile players on the list, but that’s DNAjax for you – if you don’t fit the club culture then Ajax isn’t the club for you.
Using the best positions report from my Assistant, you can see 9 of the players would immediately leave. Taking advantage of my spreadsheet though, I can easily reassign everyone to their best position on the field based on my formation.
There is still a massive unbalance in the first team, but I’ll revisit this in my next blog.
Following the same process, I can also quickly form my B and Youth squads.
B-Team
Originally 32 players strong, the B-Team has been cut drastically to just 9 players. This is the biggest cull of all 3 squads but it isn’t something I’ll be concerned about as the First Team players who aren’t currently getting match time will be made available for the reserves.
10 players were added to the transfer list for a combined market value of £8.3m. A further 7 will be offered out for a loan in order to receive some match experience.
3 players would have left immediately if I relied on my Assistant Report.
After assigning everyone to the role that fits my formation, I’m more than happy with the balance on the pitch – as previously mentioned, the gaps will be covered by rotating First Team players.
Youth Team
Starting with 27 players, the squad now consists of 12. In the same way that I’ll be using First Team players for the reserves, I’ll be using the younger squad members to plug the gaps in youth games too. The small squad size also lessens the workload on the coaches and gives the chance to offer more one on one coaching for our up and coming stars.
No players were deemed good enough for promotion to a higher level but we have seen 3 demoted into the squad.
A massive 19 have been released from the club, with 2 being offered out on loan.
Only 3 would have seen their careers cut short by the Assistant Manager.
As with the First Team, there is an unbalance in the squad after assigning their roles and I’ll be looking at using players in their secondary roles.
Overview
Out of the initial 82 man squad, 36 players have either been asked to leave or will be leaving as soon as teams come bidding. This is still 16 more than my ideal squad size, but over the course of the season players will naturally drift away from my plans and I’d be open to selling them.
The balance of the squad needs some work but this is something I’ll address in Step Four – Role Assignment. The process will involve reassessing certain players and seeing if they could perform elsewhere on the pitch, for example, could the DLP’s be equally at home as a VOL?
In the first part of DNAjax, I outlined what I am aiming to do with the save – it’s something I’ve never done before so I’m going completely out of my comfort zone and there’ll be a lot of learning along the way.
Player ability will still be at the forefront of the save, but there’ll also be a big focus on mentality and personality – it may lead to some big names leaving the club early on but Janneke van Langen is a woman who knows what she wants and how to get it.
AJAX is a squad that could fall into the overwhelming category, over their 3 teams they have amassed a total of 82 players.
82 players is a large amount for most clubs: – how do you manage rotation to keep everyone happy while also developing tactical partnerships? – how do you ensure your youth players get the right development? 82 players is definitely a large amount for DNAjax.
With such a vast amount of players, there’s no doubt about what’s needed, at least half will have to leave in 2019/2020.
Looking towards the future, a squad size of around 25-30 should be sufficient but let’s not run before we can walk, we’ve got to make it through the first season without getting sacked first!
The first year is all about laying the foundations: Step 1 – Club DNA Step 2 – Formation Selection Step 3 – Player Assessment Step 4 – Role Assignment Step 5 – Transfer Targets
Step One – Club DNA
More detail is covered in my first post but here’s a reminder of the type of squad I have envisaged for DNAjax,
Step Two – Formation Selection
The majority of managers would take a look at their squad and decide what formation best suits them based on the players at their disposal. However, to make things even more difficult for myself, I allowed Twitter to choose.
With already having intensive plans for the save, the last thing I wanted to do was create a new formation so I put out an SOS for people to send me their tactics – the only conditions were it needed to include attacking and entertaining football (to satisfy the board) and a DM position (to satisfy my desire to use Daley Blind).
I had a dozen or so sent to me and eventually narrowed it down to the three I liked the look of most. Putting it to a short public vote, a 32410 formation by Ryan_FMTeacher was chosen. I’ll be tweaking it as I go but will be starting from the following base
As you’ll soon see, Ajax is lacking in the first team striker area – currently only having an ageing Klaas-Jan Huntelaar at our disposal – so going strikerless could actually work out pretty well!
Step Three – Player Analysis
Player Analysis is one of the most important areas of FM, it’s also one of the most time-consuming.
Imagine if someone made a spreadsheet that would cut down on the number of screens you need to look at.
Imagine if all you had to do was type a players name into a box and all the information you need would magically appear in front of you.
Oh, right, I did that!
There’s a lot to talk about when it comes to player analysis so there will be another blog coming soon. In the meantime, here are some more graphics showing the scale of what I’ll be dealing with – a pretty unbalanced 82 man squad.
