Written for an older version of FM but its still current:
OUTFIELD
Crossing (relative-technical)
How good he is at crossing the ball.
- Crossing is pretty self explanatory, though its important to note that this has nothing to do with frequency of crossing, just how good he is at doing it.
Very important for Wingers and pretty important for wingbacks.
Dribbling (relative technical)
How good he is at dribbling with the ball.
- Again this is to do with how well he can dribble and NOT how often he will do, it’s useful for most players around the pitch, but due to other similar stats this is mainly for attacking players.
Finishing (relative-technical)
How good he is at scoring when given an opportunity.
- So this is the classic attribute of the clinical finisher, its only really important for people who are going to get into this situation, this is the one thing you should be looking for in a striker in the lower divisions, someone who can put the ball away from 5yds out 9 times out of 10.
E.g. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Heading (relative-technical)
How good he is at heading the ball, technical ability not jumping ability.
- Very useful for strikers so they can score more! But also for defenders so they head the ball away to better positions for the team. Not at all needed for wingers usually.
Long Shots (relative-technical)
How good he is at striking long-range shots.
- Again not the frequency of shots, but how good he is at hitting them. Useful for all midfielders and strikers alike, a prime example of a player with high long shots is Steven Gerrard.
Marking (relative-technical)
How good he is at marking opponents.
- Useful for all defenders, can he stay with his man? Will he be able to quickly see someone running into the box and not lose track of them? Midfielders will also benefit from this.
Movement (relative-mental)
How good he is at moving into good attacking positions (Off The Ball).
- This tests how well your attackers can move into useful positions, not just well timed runs onto through balls, but how well your wingers may get into good positions on the wing. Or will your centre midfielder keep in a useful position near the penalty area?
Passing (relative-technical)
How accurately he can pass the ball.
- I don’t need to explain how important this is to your team, if you want to be successful, everyone should be able to pass the ball. Simple as.
Penalties (absolute-technical)
How good he is at taking penalties.
- Its important to note that this isn’t how well the player holds his nerve, this is simply to do with how well he can consistently hit a penalty in training.
Tackling (relative-technical)
How good he is at making tackles.
- Don’t think I really need to explain this; someone with a low tackling ability will still go for the same amount of tackles. But he'll probably get a hell of a lot more cautions. If your team is made up of people with tackling fewer than 10, make sure you have 'tackling - easy' selected!
Vision (relative-mental)
How good he is at recognising players in good positions to pass to (Creativity).
- Ok, this is mainly useful for your players who you want to make things happen, often the AMC or wingers. This isn’t to be mixed up with flair, someone like Xabi Alonso is likely to have high creativity (to spot the ball to the wing that no-one else does) but is unlikely to do a 360 turn on the ball, lol.
Creativity (relative-mental)
How good he is at pulling off the un-expected, pulling something out the bag.
- Players like Cristaino Ronaldo come to mind when you think of creativity. These are the sorts of players who may try tricks to get past other players, or do the un-expected to open up an opportunity!
GOALKEEPER ONLY
Aerial Ability (relative-GK)
How well he judges high balls.
- Not to be confused with jumping or balance, this is simply how well he sees it during the air, can he anticipate where it is going. E.g. someone with good aerial ability is unlikely to come out for a ball only to realise it is too high and then run back to his goal.
Command Of Area (relative-GK)
(Tendency)
Tendency to come for crosses. (1=always stays on his line, 20=always comes for crosses).
Communication (relative-GK)
How well he communicates to and organises his defence. The better his communication the better the
Defence will act as a unit.
- A stat that should surely be included in outfield player’s stats too but isn’t. All goalkeepers should have good communication so they can organise the wall etc.
Handling (relative-GK)
How well he holds onto the ball after making a save or taking a high ball.
- Not as important to goalies who want to punch the ball more, lol
Kicking (relative-GK)
How far he can kick the ball (Passing and Technique will define accuracy).
- I really don’t need to explain this, SI have done the job for me.
Throwing (relative-GK)
How good and accurate he is at distributing the ball when throwing out.
- Again this is not how frequently he will throw the ball out.
BOTH
Anticipation (relative-mental)
How well he anticipates what is about to happen on the field.
- Often what separates the excellent players from the good players, it is useful for all players across the field, but particularly for defenders/strikers who have to read situations VERY fast.
Decisions (relative-mental)
How good he is at making the right decision as to what to do with or without the ball.
- Often a skill that gets better with age, if a AMC is running through the centre will he pick out the free man on the right or put it through the middle where your SC has 4 men on him? lol. This isn’t really to do with flair however, e.g. not to do with ball-greediness: p
First Touch (relative-technical)
How good he is with his first touch.
- Connected to technique, but this is simply to do with that all important first touch NOT his overall control of the football, e.g. can he bring down a 50mph pass in a split second.
e.g. Paul Scholes
One On Ones (relative-GK)
How good he is at saving in one-on-one situations.
- Personally I feel this also affects outfield players, but SI says it doesn’t: p
Positioning (relative-mental)
How good he is at keeping a good defensive position. For goalkeeper this is how well they get into the
Correct position.
- Rather self-explanatory, very important for defensive players but is also useful for everyone as set pieces are also measured by this. If you put your Right-winger on the post at a corner, you want him to keep that position until the attack is over. A player with low positioning is likely to get into poor situations gifting the opposition with opportunities.
Reflexes (absolute-GK)
How good he is at making reflex saves.
- Again i'm surprised this is goalkeeper only...
Technique (relative-technical)
How good his technique and ball control is (how comfortable he is on the ball).
- This to me doesn’t seem as important as it used to be, players with low technique often make up for it with other stats such as first touch. However, high technique is a must for midfielders playing at the highest level. Otherwise the slightest mistake on the ball could lead to a loss in possession.
Person Attributes (Playing – Non-technical) OUTFIELD
Corners (absolute-technical)
How good he is at taking corners (set pieces).
- Not sure why this isn’t in the same section as penalties, but oh well.
Flair (absolute-mental)
How likely he is to try the unexpected.
- Its important to note this is TOTALLY mental, this isn’t how well he can do it, but how often he will do. E.g. a player with flair 20 technique 20 and dribbling 20 is likely to cause the opposition no end of trouble, but one with flair 20 technique 1 and dribbling 1 is likely to cause more problems than you would like.
Long Throws (absolute-technical)
How good he is at long throws.
- Again, not how often he will try them.
Teamwork (absolute-mental)
How good he is at playing for the team rather than for himself.
- They say half of football is in the mind, and they're bloody right, teamwork is a very interesting stat because it is double sided, true its very useful to have players with good teamwork but its also useful to have a few without, if everyone in a team has teamwork 20 they may lack the conviction to go for goal when the opportunity arises. A mix of both is the best bet.
Work Rate (absolute-mental)
How hard he works in a match.
- NOT to be confused with determination, Work Rate shows how much a player is likely to continue working throughout the match; Steven Gerrard is a DEFINATE 20 in this case.
GOALKEEPER ONLY
Eccentricity (absolute-GK)
How likely he is to do non-goalkeeping things and the unexpected from a goalkeeper.
- One name: Barthez. However, its best not to have a keeper with high eccentricity, though it can be funny and they do sometimes come out with extremely good things, e.g. dribble around 2 players then clear the ball....
Rushing Out (absolute-GK)
How good he is at rushing out to clear through balls.
- Not to do with frequency, this is how good his conviction is at rushing out.
Tendency To Punch Ball (absolute-GK)
How likely he is to punch rather than catch the ball (1=attempts to catch all the time, 20=attempts to
Punch all the time).
- As I said before, if you have a 'keeper with low 'tendency to punch' then he NEEDS good handling.
BOTH
Acceleration (absolute-physical)
How quickly he can reach full speed from a stand still.
- NOT how fast can the player run, a player with acceleration 20 Pace 1 will be very slow.
Aggression (absolute-mental)
How aggressive he is. This is an on-pitch attribute and refers to the player’s attitude in a match. High
Aggression will cause the player to make more tackles for example and get involved in play.
- One of THE classic attributes associated with CM/FM. Its fair to say that you don’t want everyone on your team to be over-aggressive, but it helps to have a few fighters in there at the same time too.
Agility (absolute-physical)
How agile he is. For outfield players this indicates how quickly a player can turn (speed of his turning
Circle).
- Someone like Owen will have high agility as they will want to spin the opponent, it is often paired with good acceleration as it shows how quick footed the person is.
Balance (absolute-physical)
How well he keeps his balance when challenged.
- Very similar to strength, but someone with high balance doesn’t have to be strong; it just shows that he can stay on his feet diverting the power of the opposing player.
Bravery (absolute-mental)
How brave he is when playing. The higher this attribute the more likely he is to go for a diving header or
To block the ball.
- Often goes hand in hand with aggression and work rate, a brave player will give his all for the team all the time.
Composure (relative-mental)
How well the player reacts to a “pressure-situation” in a match – like being through on goal in the last
Minute, or having to finish a chance while marked by 2 players for example.
- One of FM's new stats, Composure is yet another stat that separates the big game players with the 'let-downs'. E.g. it is useful to have someone with high composure taking your penalties.
Concentration (relative-mental)
How well the player concentrates on a move-by-move basis during a match (this is “consistency” during
A match on a move by move basis).
- FM's second new attribute. Rather self-explanatory really, a player with high concentration won’t lose the plot in the last 5 mins when the rest of the team think its over. He will inspire the rest of the team to keep playing and not to let the guard down straight after a goal.
Consistency (absolute-mental)
How consistently he performs from match to match.
Determination
How much determination he has to succeed on and off the field.
- Determination off the field refers to the player’s ambition to succeed; will he give everything in training?
Dirtiness (absolute-mental)
How dirty he is.
- 20 = nasty bastard (LOL)
Free Kicks (absolute-technical)
How good he is at taking free kicks in dangerous positions (set pieces).
Important Matches (absolute-mental)
How well he performs in important matches.
- Closely linked with composure, but this is more to do with the big game.
Injury Proneness (absolute-physical)
How likely he is to get injured. The lower this value, the less likely the player is to get injured.
- 20 = Darren Anderton
Jumping (absolute-physical)
How good a player is at reaching a ball in the air. This can be an indication of a player’s height.
- WHY SI haven’t included height yet is beyond my comprehension, that’s why this attribute is totally tainted, someone like Michael Owen CAN jump high in real life, yet on FM has a low stat. Take heed.
Leadership (absolute-mental)
How well he leads and inspires his team-mates (Influence).
- One for the captains, but also all of the team, the more of these players you have - the better for the morale of the whole team.
E.g. Roy Keane
Natural Fitness (absolute-physical)
How high the player’s natural fitness is. How well he stays fit when injured or not training. This will help
Players recover more quickly from injury and will help them to be able to stay fit as they go past there
Peak.
Pace (absolute-physical)
How fast he can run when at top speed.
- As with the example earlier on, someone with Pace 20 Acceleration 1 will almost NEVER reach his top speed, hence meaning he may as well have Pace 10.
Stamina (absolute-physical)
How long he is able to play before tiring.
- This is a match-only stat, after the match 'Natural Fitness' takes control of the players condition and fitness.
Strength (absolute-physical)
How physically strong he is.
- A player with high strength USUALLY has high balance (not always vice versa (as said earlier on) ). An example of someone with high strength but NOT high balance would be Emile Heskey...
Versatility (absolute-technical)
How easily he adapts to playing in unfamiliar positions.
- Very useful for stretched teams or teams that want to play total football: p
Person Attributes (Mental) (Hidden)
Adaptability
How well he adapts to living in a country, which isn’t his own.
- If you get someone who wants to go home, it is likely to SERIOUSLY affect their morale and other players too.
Ambition
How much ambition he has to play/work at the highest level he can.
- Linked with Determination, this is important for players who you want to get better and better. But be careful, they may also want to play for bigger and bigger teams
Controversy
How controversial he is off the field.
- Controversy off the field can seriously affect a players/teams performance on the field. If a player goes shouting his mouth off about the other team, it may inspire them to thrash the living daylight out of you.
Loyalty
How loyal he is in general.
- A good mix is high ambition and high loyalty, the player WILL want to succeed but will also want to stick at your club.
Pressure
How well he is able to handle pressure on and off the field.
- In my opinion this should be a 'off the field' only stat seeing as composure already deals with it, but its important that at big clubs ALL of your first teamers have good pressure.
Professionalism
How professional his conduct is on and off the field.
- This heavily affects training, someone with low professionalism will often go off at the slightest thing and will also only train when HE wants to. A classic example would be David Ginola.
Sportsmanship
How sporting his conduct is on and off the field.
Temperament
How well he keeps his temper on and off the field.
- Be careful, a team full of players with temperament 20 are likely to be easier pushovers than a good mix of players will be. After all you do want some of your players to have a bit of... spark!
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