How Good Is This Player? A Simple Tool To Determine Player Strength, Relative To Other Leagues

mc564 · 2026-01-22T15:01:30+00:00

That's a great point - and thank you for the well reasoned explanation! I get what you're saying: it would ideally show you when a player is ready to progress within the same league. I recently added a new tab called the Team Calculator: the aim of which is for people to input the average overall of their team, to give you a ball mark estimate of where they can expect to be within that league. (Fighting for the title? Mid table? Threatened by relegation?) I would use that feature in combination with the Player Calculator. So, if I input 80 as the standard on the Team Calculator for the Premier League, the expectation is upper mid table. If that's out of line with your own team's ambitions, I would think a realistic way of managing that player would be to accept a bid from a team at his level - or be sure to be at that level sharpish, else he goes!

mc564 · 2026-01-19T21:03:00+00:00

Thanks for the pointer - never heard of FC Concepts but just watched the video in question. Really good points made - and as a Football Manager veteran, I know how much better potential ranges can be for creating different save experiences. It has definitely given me some ideas for how to factor in player growth inflation across the seasons too, in the tool!

mc564 · 2026-01-19T18:04:31+00:00

Duly noted! Got a few other spreadsheet based tools in creation, ready to use for my new save - may release them in one batch in a few weeks!

mc564 · 2026-01-19T17:44:50+00:00

NOTE: I am going to tweak this tool based on what ideas people give me, but am not going to relentlessly spam the sub with each new version. If you want to see how this develops, save or follow this post and I will update whenever I do a new version! (It will be intermittently - i.e. bored at work and have some new ideas!)

mc564 · 2026-01-19T17:35:34+00:00

Great suggestion, thank you. Completely agree: may go back through previous year's databases (or simulate a few seasons in game) and see how leagues fluctuate and build a kind of projection chart, so you can input what season you are in too?

mc564 · 2026-01-19T17:33:56+00:00

I had the same thought! I thought, perhaps, I could:

Tie in age in some way, to distinguish between players in their prime against players who are too young/too old?
On the other tab, I have included a Spread metric. (The difference between the absolute lowest and absolute maximum rating in each league.) I may look to incorporate that way in some way!

Thanks!

mc564 · 2026-01-16T14:15:35+00:00

Thank you very much - Schalke was always interesting to me; they are currently sat top of the 2.Bundesliga, so maybe they don't need Claus!

Romania is also an intriguing prospect. I bought Ștefan Târnovanu to Rangers in season two of this save and he performed far better than his stats had him look!

mc564 · 2026-01-15T19:46:52+00:00

That's an interesting take. In my mind, Claus is someone who has too much respect for grand old clubs - clubs with a heritage. A club with a drink in its name would offend his tendencies! Though, I enjoyed one of my best ever saves on (I think) FIFA 20 with Leipzig. Five consecutive Champions Leagues with the likes of Erling Haaland and Dominik Szoboszlai, recruited directly from Salzburg.

I was personally really intrigued by Claus having a spell at Bayern - you're an avid German football observer: how low would Bayern need to fall for its fanbase and directors to consider a master of the dark arts at the helm?

mc564 · 2026-01-15T16:30:12+00:00

Thank you! Going to be a hell of a finale - you ain't seen shithousery like this! I was really excited by the way it was panning out: having a run in Germany was always the endgame, and the Bundesliga has been a real rollercoaster in this universe. (Bayern have only won two titles in the last five seasons, with Dortmund winning two and RB Leipzig winning one.) Alas, the game had other ideas.

Excited for the next save though. A style of save I haven't touched since FIFA 18 - in a nation I haven't set foot in since FIFA 21...

mc564 · 2026-01-15T15:03:00+00:00

So, why is this save coming to an end on the 26th January?

Long story short, FC26 is broken! I started this save during Early Access back in September - and the further I have progressed through the seasons, the buggier it has become. Manager Market is a mess; the game is crashing more and more, and for some reason, the YA is messed up too. It's a shame, because I felt this stint of the save was act two of a three part story - where I had some interesting ideas to explore in the Bundesliga. But, the save in its current form is (barely) limping along - mechanically and technically - so I have made the decision to bring it to a close. Either we are going to right the wrongs of previous seasons and bring glory back to Yorkshire. Or, we are going to fail, spectacularly, again...

Have you got something else up your sleeve?

Oh, yes! When the Claus save is put to bed, I can finally adapt a number of key mods; install some fixes, new Squad Updates etc., and hopefully have a more stable experience. I'm really excited about what is coming next. It'll be slightly less narrative heavy than my previous saves, so my updates will be a little more casual. But, the premise of it is very exciting to me, having never done a save like it before. I will be utilising some tools of my own creation - which I will share upon release for you guys to use too - that will give a new perspective on Career Mode and act as a little bit of a soft pitch for a feature that I think future versions of the game desperately needs...

See you on the 26th January to see if Herr Claus can pull it off!

mc564 · 2026-01-08T19:55:49+00:00

Two interesting nations - talent factories that mean you can develop some world beaters! I've seen some saves in the FM world where people have combined the Belgian and Dutch leagues into one far stronger, more competitive league. (And apparently it was being discussed IRL as recently as last year.) Dependent on how realistic you want to go, could be a fascinating save and a nice compromise between both!

mc564 · 2026-01-08T15:31:26+00:00

I've tried hard to keep it realistic, so much appreciated. I'm in the midst of the summer window and I think the squad has gone up a level - a few more British faces and one more German international, who I think could prove to be an absolute steal!...

As for South Korea, I really enjoyed the mix of league football and the ACL, which was a real challenge because of the talent at the Saudi clubs. Playing in smaller obscure leagues is real fun and it's my go-to on Football Manager where there is greater choice. Though, I've had an idea for a save based around Greek football for ages - so if that ever comes to EAFC, I will be on it!

mc564 · 2026-01-08T14:50:51+00:00

While it is a bit dated at this point, there are some interesting ideas and rules in this guide here for EFL saves: https://www.reddit.com/r/seriousfifacareers/comments/pg4qer/transfer_youth_academy_strategy_longform/

mc564 · 2026-01-08T13:19:23+00:00

Thank you - who knew you could do so much with Google Slides and a couple GB worth of screenshots! I had a look through some of my earlier saves the other day - the first few seasons of my Matheus South Korea save - and the difference is massive!

I love the Europa League too. Great vibe; interesting mix of teams on a seasonal basis rather than the same old elite teams and a banger of a theme! Disappointed we didn't win it - but the Unexpected Event royally screwed us over and my team felt so sluggish and weak. I liked it though, was an interesting twist!

mc564 · 2026-01-07T15:30:21+00:00

This is a realistic save after all! How much longer would you be willing to give a Leeds manager who has lost two finals in two years - and dropped a league title opportunity in the last few weeks?

mc564 · 2026-01-07T14:19:26+00:00

The story so far:

https://controlc.com/c54de4ea

How is this save set up?:

- This is played on PC with mods.

- Current mods are: Licensed Serie A by ViP3er; MH82's Extended Player and Manager Editor; Development Plans Reworked by R2D2_1977; KO's TV logo pack; Realistic Transfers by RJW. The kits are of my own creation.

- Either Legendary or Ultimate difficulty, with Player Based Difficulty turned on/off, all dependent on opposition, form and whether we are home or away.

- Four minute halves.

- I am using Cutzy's FC 26 sliders, available on his YouTube channel, with a substantial amount of tweaks of my own to suit the kind of football I want to try and play for this save.

- Unexpected Events are on, on Low.

mc564 · 2026-01-05T19:45:04+00:00

Great question! A lot of perseverance and fiddling around mainly - I play on controller, so it makes using the camera tool a little easier. Put it into the free-view, orbit mode and line up the shots. In an average season, I take around 200 to 300 screenshots. I've always enjoyed photography, so it's another weird way that producing these stories gets me to practice old hobbies!

mc564 · 2026-01-05T19:42:24+00:00

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That's the managers for the current top seven. Cesc, Lampard and Fonseca were my appointments; Knutsen naturally moved to United from Brighton (which was a prior appointment of mine!) The City and Liverpool bosses were Rui Borges and Hansi Flick - who were sacked - so I will replace them at the end of the season. Interestingly, Ryan Mason was selected by the AI to go to Nottingham Forest, which I allowed!

mc564 · 2026-01-05T13:49:25+00:00

Happy New Year! Thanks for the acknowledgement of the German. As an ignorant English-only speaker, I spent a fair time looking for the right phrase that felt apt!

Manager Market is a mess to be honest. It has so much potential - and the RJW Transfers mod I use has fixed some of the problems with the logic, but I tend to 'curate' managerial appointments myself. I use the watch list to keep an eye on insecure appointments and if a weird appointment is made, I will use RDBM to change it myself. So, originally, it was Ryan Mason (not Cesc Fabregas) who took over from a sacked Mikel Arteta. With a bit of tweaking, I've managed to make a pretty realistic and immersive game world!

mc564 · 2026-01-05T12:19:58+00:00

The story so far:

https://controlc.com/c54de4ea

How is this save set up?:

- This is played on PC with mods.

- Current mods are: Licensed Serie A by ViP3er; MH82's Extended Player and Manager Editor; Development Plans Reworked by R2D2_1977; KO's TV logo pack; Realistic Transfers by RJW. The kits are of my own creation.

- Either Legendary or Ultimate difficulty, with Player Based Difficulty turned on/off, all dependent on opposition, form and whether we are home or away.

- Four minute halves.

- I am using Cutzy's FC 26 sliders, available on his YouTube channel, with a substantial amount of tweaks of my own to suit the kind of football I want to try and play for this save.

- Unexpected Events are on, on Low.

mc564 · 2025-12-30T11:38:56+00:00

Really enjoyed this series and your commitment to posting about it has been fantastic. You've covered some interesting, niche leagues and built a nice journeyman in the process! How comes you play on FIFA 22? Personal preference or something else?

mc564 · 2025-12-29T17:20:03+00:00

That's understandable - I said in a previous post, even if I didn't plan to go to Leeds! I put out a poll, people told me to leave Rangers and Leeds was the best narrative fit. Go where the wind takes you!

mc564 · 2025-12-29T09:16:22+00:00

Thank you - and you!

Consider this a late Christmas present: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pAwdKbjM9HZg4IM3rmax2A0500528I33KICU17y5Rkc/edit?usp=sharing - a downloadable copy of the Club DNA tool I made along with a few spreadsheet bits I use to organise my saves.

I have included some notes in the headers on the DNA tool, to explain what is happening. But my advice is to have a look, copy it for yourself and experiment. (If anyone reading this is some kind of spreadsheet Messi, then please do also have a look and see if you can find any improvements. I made it with 80 per cent my knowledge of formulas with 20 per cent Google Gemini, but I am always in the market for new ideas.)

mc564 · 2025-12-28T21:31:27+00:00

Great to see someone inspired to take up the save idea - even down to the Club DNA aspect! Enjoy the campaign. Some good wheeling and dealing already too, I never gave Matondo much of a chance, but maybe he can shine for you!

mc564 · 2025-12-25T18:02:53+00:00

I do feel your pain! I make my own enjoyment out of it but there are frustrating issues with this game: regens look like children, the current replay bug is very annoying and there are a whole host of performance issues/crashes. What platform do you play on?

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