Some of our most read articles on this blog have been those ‘resource’ guides, the links and an encyclopaedia of vital FM info that we all need and want to enhance our gameplay further so we thought we should do another one targeting the new Football Manager 2014 release.

A lot of you will already own the game, if you don’t own it you can pre-order it now and get instant access to the BETA version, just use the big image on the right to buy from SI’s trusted partners, Amazon.

How to choose a team to manage

One thing that really troubles some people is who to manage on FM, lots of people just go straight in for the team they support but many others like to play the field. I for one have changed the way I manage this game, rather than opting for my beloved Arsenal, I went for Southampton and have opted for a game targeting solely youth, bringing in the best young English players I can and chucking them straight in the first eleven.

If you’re struggling to find a team there is a great team choice thread over at FM Scout – If you are struggling to decide which team you should manage just ask the FM community! Link: http://www.fmscout.com/q-10088-Team-Request-Thread.html

What, Why & Who should you play where?

In any new release of Football Manager and particularly in the 2014 game there are always new features, new names for positional regions on the pitch and new attributes each player needs to fulfil that role.

The enganche and the false 9  for example are new to FM 2014, but how do they work? Who should you play there? Do you need one?

Find out loads more at FMS, their page about this very subject is second to none. FM 2014 Key Attributes for Each Player Role and Duty – A huge post covering all the key attributes for every player role and duty and description of each player role.

Link: http://www.footballmanagerstory.com/fm-2014-key-attributes-for-each-player-role-and-duty/

Wonderkid, where for art thou wonderkid

FM wouldn’t be FM without the obligatory wonderkid ‘engine’ and the joy a manager has in discovering a new one that wants to play for your club so it was only a matter of time before a detailed list of possible wonderkids popped up online, check out FM Scouts page about: Football Manager 2014 Possible Wonderkids – Players who may be invaluable in FM 2014

Link: http://www.fmscout.com/a-football-manager-2014-possible-wonderkids.html

Some love ‘em, some don’t

In my experience some people either spend loads of time refining their back room staff, knowing exactly the qualities each person needs to fulfil that role or they couldn’t care less. The latter typically have a yearly clear out but spend little time looking at anything other than the star ratings for each training category.

The problem has been in the past that there seems to be no real correlation between players training happiness and performances and the staff you hire.

But will FM 14 be any different? Only time will tell, until then there is some great info over at My Passion For Football Manager.

Football Manager 2014 Staff Recommendation – A collection of staff search filters for all available back-room staff in Football Manager 2014

Link: http://www.mypassion4footballmanager.com/2013/10/football-manager-2014-staff-recommendation.html

See that bug?

Last up is the most important of them all, one that means you could have an impact on the way we all play the game we all love.

SI have opened their doors to you and I as ‘field testers’ of the BETA, so if you spot any bugs, glitches, errors or just don’t like something to the extent you want to tell someone, go and rant about it over here:

FM 2014 Pre-Release Beta: Official feedback thread – Key issues we are currently working on. Report any annoying bugs here.

Link: http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/363568-FM-2014-Pre-Release-Beta-Official-feedback-thread.?s=7be210ddd82b92925f20f615db1ebe7f

If you didn’t already know, a ‘wonderkid’ is essentially a totally awesome young player who has the potential to set Europe alight with his talents. It is important to note though that not all wonderkids are equal and even though one lad has the potential to be 4.5 > 5 stars, it does not mean they will make it to the promised land.

A combination of training, stewardship and most importantly game time are needed for a child-prodigy to make it to the worlds stage in Football Manager 2014.

What is immediately noticeable in FM 14 is the seed-change from those wonderkids of 2013, I only found a couple of players who were the go-to kids of the previous version who were good enough to sign for either of my two saves so far, but have they been replaced or simply ‘graded’ differently? Only time will tell.

Anyway, I did tell you that I have changed the way I play to ultimately benefit the growth of the wonderkids in Football Manager 2014, what I mean by that is instead of playing as Arsenal, which I have done on every single FM ever, I have started as Southampton, for two reasons.

Firstly, the Saints have a decent selection of young prodigies already, James Ward Prowse and Luke Shaw are the standout names but they sit on top of high quality training and youth facilities.

Secondly, hundreds of wonderkids never make the grade and it is so disappointing to see a player who once had the potential to be Lionel Messi, turn out to be the next Emile Heskey. So I wanted to manage a club who could attract youngsters but also be able to throw them straight in to the first eleven.

So, on with the wonderkids.

For me the frustration with lists of wonderkids online is the fact you never know what ‘level’ of youngster you are looking at, for example if you’re the West Ham you need to find a different level of wonderkid to if you were managing Real Madrid.

For that reason each of the 7 wonderkids I mention below is a) available to buy at the start, b) willing to sign for most PL clubs, c) capable of being one of Europes elite and d) won’t cost you tens of millions to buy.

First up is James Ward Prowse – the Southampton youngster has awesome stats for a midfielder from the off and is a ready made Frank Lampard of the future.

Second up is Andreas Chirstensen, a young defender from Chelsea who is a newbie to FM and to be honest a newbie to me in the real world scene but is available on the cheap and has the potential to be incredible.

Angel Correa, an incredible Argentinian attacking midfielder available for a few million who has the potential to be the next messiah of world football.

Oliver, young, Spanish, Central Midfielder – Need I say more.

Adnan Januzaj has started to show some incredible real world skills for Man Utd and this has been replicated in FM 2014, this kid looks the nuts and scores from the off from the heart of my Saints squad. Available from the start, but he does take some ‘persuading’ to join mid-table PL teams.

Gabriel Barbosa is an incredible poacher, with stats in all the right positions and available for a few mil, though beware of the work permit implications in the contract.

Gedion Zalaeam has been within the Arsenal youth set up for a few years now and is now in their full PL squad in the real-world, the FM editors haven’t missed this kid and who can blame them, potential to be 4.5 stars (it was 5 at one point) and a midfield maestro in the making. He will join bottom half teams on loan or slightly better teams for the odd million or two.

There you have it, 7 awesome Football Manager 2014 wonderkids that any PL manager can go out and buy today. If I could only choose one, it would be Ward-Prowse or Adnan, depending on whether I was managing the Saints or not.

Have fun, let us know any awesome wonderkids you spot in the game using the comments below.

Of course it is too early to tell what all the tweaks and features are and how they have impacted on the game and our in-game experience but aesthetically, how has it changed.

We challenged our editor Danny Chapman about his thoughts so far.

How long have you been playing FM?

Hey Lucas, I’ve been playing FM for well over a decade now, it’s gone massively fast but I still remember the days of FM release day, with several of us round a friends house pounding that space bar until we literally fell asleep in front of our laptops, only to awaken a couple of hours later to do the same thing, happy days!

What were the things that needed fixing in your opinion?

For me Football Manager 2013 was a disappointment, in all honesty I played it the least out of any FM release yet. It just lacked something, an x factor if you like that it just seemed to miss.

There were too many in-game errors, glitches and mistakes made by your team on the field. Not to mention the discrepancies in team form being massively frustrating.

I remember one game I had just beat my club record wins in a row, 23 I think it was, I was top of the league, flying you could say. I had just played my ‘youths’ in a CL game because I had already qualified so was forced in to playing my star-line-up first team against Barnsley in the cup.

Anyway, I was 3-0 up at half time and lost the game 7-3. What?, how can that be plausible.

Don’t get me wrong though, in terms of graphical enhancement, UI and new features FM 13 was the best one yet. For me though the inconsistencies and frustration they caused outweighed the otherwise pristine makeup of the game.

Were you looking forward to FM 2014?

Yes I was massively looking forward to new game but I do wait with bated breath as for me the game needs to improve, but not the look and feel, for me its time to get in to the nitty gritty of the games functions to make it as real as possible.

Whats your first aesthetic impression of the Beta release?

I was both delighted to see some slight changes to the UI and excited to see that no too much had changed, there is a few bugs that need sorting in my opinion, for example the ‘black’ outline that seems to show up on all logos, imagery and comments etc makes it look unfinished.

I realise it is unfinished but that seems a simple thing and something that shouldn’t be seen in the Beta. I hope this is changed and I hope SI are not hoping that everyone downloads an image pack add-on to sort this issue.

The in-game graphics are awesome and you can really pick out the technical differences between players but its too early to tell exactly what has changed in game as i only managed to squeeze in a couple of games after my mass-transfer activity as is a given with a new game.

Your final thoughts on the game so far?

I am impressed but I wouldn’t want to pass judgement until i have been through at least a full season, the one niggling thing that is obvious to me at the moment is that there doesn’t seem to be a massive seed-change since 2013, which in my opinion was needed.

I was half hoping they completely scrapped the 1-20 stats, for me thats the biggest difference between the game and real life, but as 99% of the people I have suggested to would be happy to hear, they haven’t listened!

We would love to hear your thoughts on the BETA so far, just put them in the comments below!

But it seems to me that many FM fans across the community felt the same as me about the last release, a recent poll we did also backs that up,  and although I can’t speak for them, the newly announced features list hasn’t exactly set my world on fire.

We can all hope that the one feature that we really think would improve the game and our game-experience will be listened to this year so we have scoured through the forums, listened to our readers and put together this little list of features that we, as FM veterans, think SI have neglected to include in FM 2014.

That said, we can’t be 100% sure what the new game will hold until we get our pale mitts on it in the next few weeks. But, if I were SI and these were the type of things my customers wanted, I would make sure they knew I had listened to them.

So here goes, here are the 25 things that the FM community want changing for the new game, but looks like SI have neglected to listen to (we think):

1. During the off-season, we should be allowed to schedule team-building activities, or take the team out (like the Manchester United squad recently went to the horse races). Such activities could make the players happier as well as increase team cohesion.

2. Would like to be able to be able to offer a certain club a player of mine in exchange of a player of theirs plus money. For example if I have a goalkeeper ‘A’, I could be able to offer it to a club for a player ‘B’ and a sum of 3m. The other club could haggle around with the fee if they are interested in ‘A’ or reject the deal completely.

3. Be able to have a conversation with a transfer target who has no intention of signing for your club to try and sell the club to the player.

4. When your team wins a trophy, there should be a celebration or a cut-scene showing your team lifting the trophy.

5. More atmosphere in stadiums, I just want to here the fans singing, that’ll make the match experience more realistic.

6. It would be great if we can assign fix tactic’s player instruction individually on the player itself that would replace team or position’s player instruction. For example, I wouldn’t want this specific (A) player to play long shot for his whole life so I set the Long shot bar to Rarely for this guy and whenever I sub him into the game I don’t have to worry about changing it again in team tactic.

7. I would like to apply for a job and have the club offer me an interview if they consider me for the job.

8. I would add a value graph just like the attributes graph but it will show the player’s value progress through the years just like the one that is in transfer market.

9. Want to be able to host friendly in different countries at neutral venues. For example: Celtic vs Real Madrid in the USA. Both clubs could split the profits and have a boost in their fan base and merchandise sales.

10. Foreground text linked to shirt number colour. That means reduced chances of unreadable colour combinations.

11. Online Hall of Fame leader board

12. Team building days when morale is low.

13. I would like us to get weekly training reports to see who has been putting in the effort and is looking sharp before a match. A lot more detailed than ‘Wellington Nem has improved significantly over the last month as a footballer’ would be nice.

14. Fan reaction. I’m an Arsenal fan and of course twitter went mental with the ozil signing for example. Thats one thing missing from the game, the fans. Give interviews on the teams website and get fan responses or gauge fan reaction to new signings – get to keep an eye on the shirt sales of specific players on the site to see how well your signings are being received

15. For free-kicks, I would like to be able to designate one player for crossing situations, according to his free-kick taking and crossing attributes, and another player to take them in shooting situations, based on his free-kicks rating and long range shooting ability. For example, James Ward-Prowse is now Southampton’s designated crosser for free-kicks and corners – Rickie Lambert’s aerial ability obviously makes him a target for Ward-Prowse’s deliveries. But Lambert takes the free-kicks when there is a shot-on-goal to be had.

16. Just to add some flavor to the game especially for those of us that play long saves, Dynamic rivalries. If you brought a small club up through the ranks and now are beating the big boys, some spice to some of the games would be nice. How about Derby’s being created and possibly even Cups. The manager would not have any actual control of these things. Maybe coming up with a name if you wanted. For example, I have been playing Dag & Red in my save. What if a fierce rival developed with West Ham? Make these matchups a bigger game then they are now.

17. Be able to announce your retirement/resignation months before you actually do so, and if your a club ledgend be able to choose who your replacement should be.

18. I’d love to see benefits for playing overseas tours. Arsenal just announced a sponsorship with Bodog based on their Asia tour success. Would love to schedule a tour or two in game and have the possibility of gaining an extra sponsor.

19. More control over financial aspects – choosing kit sponsors, stadium advertising, ticket prices including special offers etc

20. Basic character creator – decide how your little manager sprite dresses (suit, tracksuit, club kit etc.)

21. Would love to see a scenario like Gareth Bales/Luis Suarez appear within the game. Hurting team morale, eventually another figurehead or leader in the team coming to you asking him to be sold for the good of the club…

22. the chance to instill a philosophy at a club from the academy up to the first team, such as at la masia. Identify core values such as formation, possession, pressing, certain physical attributes etc and translate this over to the team in meetings with players coaches etc.

23. I would love some sort of stadium designer or being able to specifically request a certain size stadium or expansion.

24. Improve referees predictability. You can literally know when a player is about to be red or yellow carded. Maybe throw a surprise in, here and there. Also, a lot of fouls in the match engine look like perfectly good tackles or like nothing has happened at all and it ends up a foul?

25. Be able to buy 2 players from the same club for a combined fee.

If your idea made the list, thanks a bunch for your suggestion, we think its an awesome idea.

These 25 are, in our opinion, easy to include feature changes that would greatly enhance the realism and our playing experience within the game.

For me, theres 2 or 3 that really stand out and to be honest I wish I had thought for them myself, in particular the want for more information-rich and weekly training reports that gives us more information about the players form, training performances, morale and other stats that could effect our line-up for the next match.

The other 2 ideas that i really like revolve around transfers, which for me is the most exciting part of the game, number ’3′ and ’25′ are completely missing from the game at the moment and there is no real hint that they would be included in the next version but they are both real-world scenarios that happen all the time.

Combining a transfer fee for more than one player is a cracking idea and may lead to some awesome deals, you might want to purchase the best midfield two in the world, with all the chemistry and friendliness in one hit.

Also ‘tapping up’ a player before you make a contract bid would be a great way to convince a player to come and join you based on your long term aspirations for your club. For example, I found it totally frustrating that I wasn’t able to sign Cesc Fabregas for Arsenal on a recent save, he was on the transfer list but wouldn’t even speak to me. If I could tell him that I was about to win the CL, Premier League double and I wanted to build a team around him, he might have accepted my whole wage budget.

Anyway, at the moment this of course only speculation, but like I eluded to earlier, if I were in charge of SI’s marketing announcements and charged with driving additional awareness I would certainly start by addressing the concerns of those people that have been buying the game for over a decade, sadly this seems to be non-existent within their initiatives.

Sources:http://www.fmscout.com/a-football-manager-2014-new-features-suggested.html & http://www.fm-base.co.uk/forum/football-manager-2014-discussion/114200-football-manager-2014-new-features-changes-you-would-like-see-32.html

With all the hype around the new FM, not to mention the launch of the XBOX one, new Halo, Call of Duty and games like GTA V & Fifa 14 already grossing millions of sales our bank accounts are getting pounded but how do you know what to spend you hard earned cash on first? Lets investigate.

For me this period is all about 5 key releases: GTA 5, Fifa 14, Xbox One, Football Manager 2014 and COD Ghosts.

Obviously the first two on that list are already up for grabs and I’m sure many of you out there have already bought them but if you haven’t here are my thoughts.

Fifa 14 is the best version of the game I can remember, it really is, but only a certain type of player will think this.

For example, I play like the real world teams like Arsenal in the game, slow, methodical, technical play, passing, through balls and finesse opportunities with a solid back line.

My Fifa buddy is more direct, a counter attacker who isn’t the best finisher but relies on the sheer number of chances generated by lobbed-through-balls and crosses to win games.

The new Fifa is massively beneficial to my style of play and the in-game seasons reflect that, I can’t lose a game on Professional but my buddy struggles to get over mid-table even though we are the same team, if anything they would always be better than me on previous Fifa’s.

If you enjoy the technical side of football, this Fifa is the best one yet. If you don’t its just another evolution for you and you probably wouldn’t notice the difference if you solely played online.

For me this is an essential buy and apart from FM, should be the first on the list.

Our order of priority – 3rd

GTA 5 has taken a shed-load of time to develop and all the hype leading up to it speaks volumes as its a masterpiece, I can actually say it’s the first game in the series that i have not been able to put down from start to finish, the online play is also epic.

The only gripe I have is the length of the campaign, though the side-missions are a pleasing distraction, the actual game-play is only a few days work for those of us with jobs. Whether I think this because of perceived opinion of the other GTA’s (in the fact I thought they were ridiculously long because I never completed one) or its ‘as standard’ I don’t know.

The game is definitely longer than many other campaigns I have taken on in other games but I was expecting more and I was expecting to be able to spend more time roaming and causing havoc.

Our order of priority – 4th

The XBOX One isn’t far away and I for one have already pre-ordered mine.

I’ve always been an XBOX man, never once owned the dreaded Playstation so it was a natural progression for me, especially with a new Halo in the offing (which would have made this list if it had a release date).

This new version has been coming for a few years and IMO it’s a bit soon to bring it out as the technology advancements coming in the world of tech are monumental, Microsoft could have waited another 9 months and capitalised on those but hey ho, I’m sure this will be an industry leading console for years to come.

Our order of priority – 2nd

I felt slightly let down by the last COD instalment, I felt the online play wasn’t as good as the previous release, largely because of the small and claustrophobic maps so I wait with bated breath for what the new Ghosts has to offer.

Of course the campaign will be awesome, they always are, if a little short.

I’m sure this will be one of the flagship releases for the XBOX One and the graphical advancements that will come with it may see this game being slightly more astronomical than it would have been on older consoles.

Our order of priority – 5th

Last but not least, Football Manager 2014.

What could we possibly say here that would be new to you, not much, you are here because you love the game and so do we.

All I can say is I hope the likes of us, the veteran FM players are satisfied with the new updates because I for one felt let down by FM 2013.

The game seems confused in the fact it tries to be as ‘real’ as possible without actually trying to be real. Ultimately the game is fantasy until things like the 1-20 stats are ditched for real scouting knowledge.

Its either a ‘game’ or its a management ‘sim’ – which one is it.

That said the game will be epic, it will tick a lot of boxes and I will spend hundreds of hours sitting in front of it, I just wish SI listened to the cult following that the game has built up.

Our order of priority – 1st

The big publicity ‘shout’ is that there are “More than 1,000 improvements and enhancements” but what does that really mean for the casual and veteran gamer?

Football Manager has always been played in very different ways by many different people but together we can all point to things that needed changing to make 2014 the best one yet, more accurate scouting, less in-game silly mistakes and unrealistic AI signings for example.

Only time will tell whether us FM aficionado’s will be satisfied with the next release but what we can be sure of is the next few weeks of excitement before we get our pale hits on it.

So far SI has released 10 ‘major’ changes set to come to the 2014 game, these are:

Available on Linux

Football Manager 2014 will be available on linux for the first time, though this makes no difference to me whatsoever, I’m sure this will open the game up to many and be a USP in its own right.

Cloud saves

The new cloud save technology is a stroke of genius, though you are only talking about a small percentage of users who will use this feature to play on multiple computers, it’s a nice feature to show off. Will be interesting to see how this is policed, could I access the game at my friend’s house? If so how do SI know that its me playing it, not my friend?

Steam Workshop

Theres new Integration with the Steam Workshop which makes it easy for one to create and share customised content such as photo/logo packs, custom competitions, and custom challenges with the new Challenge Editor. Again, for me this isn’t a massive improvement as I wouldn’t use it but some will. I’m getting worried now though, I have been playing FM for over a decade and the 3 ‘flagship’ improvements that SI have made will not effect me in the slightest.

Realism on the transfer market

More realistic transfers and contracts – “yay!” – The revamped transfer module now includes and features a more realistic simulation for opposing clubs and managers when dealing with transfer offers. New transfer clauses have also been added, including the ability to loan a player back to the club he was just bought from. The old turn based transfer negotiation system has been revamped to a new live system. I love the sound of the ‘live’ system’ though judgement will have to wait.

Improved UI

A massively Improved UI – A new and major re-hash and redesign of the FM 2014 interface is coming, this includes all the key areas of the game, overview, transfers and scouting pages. Also the language in the game has been updated to more closely reflect the language of real world football.

Match engine updates

Improved match engine – Improvements in the 3D match engine including enhanced AI, better lighting and player animation, more realistic player reactions to in-game events, and many more improvements. This comes every year but always seems to not be quite enough, will have to wait and see I guess.

Redesigned tactics

Redesigned tactics – I have been campaigning for a much more flexible tactics system involving ‘drag and drop’ formations. There has been no word on that but they do claim to have completely redesigned the tactics system to include much more personable and customisable facets.

Board interaction

More realistic and dynamic board interaction – Contract negotiations are more realistic with new added features like how managers and boards can now make demands a reveal their visions for the club in both the initial job interviews and contract renewal discussions. Managers may renegotiate a transfer and wage budgets to hopefully keep players loyal who have been offered another job. This is one thing we have been talking about for months and are glad to see SI have listened to the fans of the game.

Message overhaul

News system overhaul – Managers can now respond to club matters right from their inbox. Also, news will now be colour-coded and include more detail. I’m not sure this was needed, perhaps it will help with the news that we actually care about but after a season or two you train your eyes to pick out the 1 email out of 100 you get that day that actually interests you, we always skip 99% of the messages anyway, this will just make it easier to ignore the ‘spam’ and IMO the time could have been spent elsewhere.

FM Classic Evolution

Evolution of Football Manager Classic – In addition to the new ability to choose more than three playable nations in Classic mode, there is a new Fast Play mode with Transfer Deadline Day, a Match Plan wizard and new unlockables.

Though the features that have been released so far are only 1% of the actual enhancements it does worry me that the above are the ‘flagship’ changes that SI are using to promote the game and to drive sales. What you can forgive them for though is the above are certainly targeted at the more casual gamer, so we can’t fully expect to see what changes will be under the bonnet of the game when its available to play in the next 2-3 weeks.

As an avid FM fan I would have loved to have seen the ten flagship features released by SI to have been:

1. Match engine improvements

2. Massively increased scouting accuracy

3. 100% customisable formations and tactics

4. Increased youth development options – more youngsters (8-16years old) from the off would negate boredom long-term because of regenerated players taking over

5. In-game manager earning investments

6. Training transparency, increased options and player benchmarking.

7. More realistic transfers and contracts

8. Increased scout communication/opinion on scouted players traits/ability to blend in – rather than just a star rating and a few lines

9. Team talk overhaul – at the moment its just another monotonous click before you get to the action.

10. More realistic board interaction.

Maybe these are all in the game, maybe it will be the best one yet, maybe I will go back to playing FM 2012, only time will tell but until then lets hope Football Manager 2014 is the best one yet!

As FM fans there is one thing we all have in common, one thing that takes us to the internet (unless you are dodgy and have the RTE) searching for, wonderkids. The young whipper-snappers that can make the difference to our teams in the years to come.

Wonderkids are like gold dust on many of the FM games of the past, but with the invent of the real-time editors lists can be found across the web from all and sundry, but how do you know which ones are any good? That’s were we come in.

I used to spend hours finding lists and scouting every player on their to then find that i was looking at a list of ‘Wonderkids for the Championship’ or like, so now, with my headache of the past in mind I have put together the ultimate list of wonderkids.

Whether you are looking for the best young stars of England, cheapo’s, foreigners or conference players they are all on this page, you will never need to go anywhere else to find wonderkids, star players and must buys for your team ever again.

Football Manager 2013 Wonderkids: Ultimate List (link)

This is a great list of over 200 wonderkids for FM 2013 from Aid the Boss. A cracking collection containing most of the ‘obvious’ choice wonderkids and some players that would suit mid-lower premier league teams, it contains everything from name, age, club, country and value at the start of the game.

Star player form the list: Kurt Zouma

List rating: 4/5

Ideal list for: Liverpool, Everton and Newcastle

Football Manager 2013 Wonderkids and Young Talents (link)

A very comprehensive list of FM wonderkids from True Football Manager, you can find everything here from decent Championship signings all the way up to superstar Champions League winners, my favourite and most used list which also has  all the key ingredients for finding the player on the game as well as some idea of wages.

Star player form the list: Luke Shaw

List rating: 5/5

Ideal list for: Everyone from low-level Championship teams to the best teams in the world.

250+ Football Manager 2013 Wonderkids (link)

A good-looking list from FM Scout, a good selection of players but only really useful for the best teams in the World, I feel there is also some TOP quality obvious English talents that are missing from the list, i.e Will Hughes and Luke Shaw, both 5 star Premier League players after several seasons. There is some great players on the list though that some others haven’t picked up on.

Star player form the list: Raheem Stirling

List rating: 3.5/5

Ideal list for: Mainly top teams but the odd ‘bottom half’ signing about.

250+ Bargain Buys (link)

Another decent list from the guys over at FM Scout, presented as well as the others but I feel this is more useful than most as its very well researched, bargain buys for FM 13 are harder to find. Its a decent list, would be nice if it was presented in a way that ‘filtered’ out unrealistic targets for those in leagues above or below the players’ expectations.

Star player form the list: Felipe Anderson

List rating: 4/5

Ideal list for: Just about everyone.

Football Manager Wonderkids Shortlist 425+ (link)

This is a good list from My Passion for Football Manager, it does require a download to see the whole lot but you can upload that straight into your game so the shortlist is on the game, no need to copy and paste for a few hours! It’s also great for finding the perfect player match as it breaks up players into playing personalities, I.E Ball Winning Midfielders. The only problem I see with this bunch is the presentation for those who don’t want to download the FM 13 Wonderkids Shortlist, the formatting isn’t the best.

Star player form the list: Sime Vrsalijko

List rating: 4.5/5

Ideal list for: Everyone, especially if you’re looking for a gem of a particular playing personality

250+ Best Free Players on FM 2013 (link)

Another list from the guys over at FM Scout, though I rarely use this type of player I’m sure there is a few of you out there who have a bigger interest than me, looks a good list and I can see a few cracking signings who I will definitely be checking out next time I start a new game.

Star player form the list: Roysten Drenthe

List rating: 4/5

Ideal list for: Lower league teams and teams with zero budgets (Liverpool)

Football Manager 2013 best wonderkids list (link)

For me this is the best list out there, its comprehensive, it offers so much more depth that enables anyone with a little time to see what the player looks like in a few season in to the future. Kudos to Darren Smith for putting this together, it must have taken weeks to perfect it. There isn’t much more to say really, this is THE place to be for finding, researching and signing players for any team, in any league.

Star player form the list: Kevin Volland

List rating: 5/5

Ideal list for: Everyone

400+ 2013 Wonderkids (link)

A nice little list from FM-Indo.blogspot. Fairly comprehensive and contains a LOT of players that are not picked up on any other list, its a brilliant resource for mid-table clubs and those on a tight budget. Can’t fault the list though I wonder if missing out a lot of ‘big names’ is intentional or not.

Star player form the list: Moritz Leitner

List rating: 4/5

Ideal list for: Something for everyone here, from lower leagues to CL winners.

Best Of FM 2013 Wonderkids and Young Talents 500+ (link)

A really good list of players from all across the globe, though I do feel that there is a few missing from the English leagues which is normally a staple diet for me, fairly good collection with something for most but like all of the above, what is lacking is some kind of segmentation for those looking for a particular ‘level’ of player, Championship, League 1 for example. Has everything needed to find the players you want quickly.

Star player form the list: Granit Xhaka

List rating: 3.5/5

Ideal list for: Loads of players with some uniques in there too, something for all.

The Ultimate Wonderkids Shortlist For FM13 (link)

A good little list of a couple of hundred names, there is some good picks in there but some that you wont be able to find unless you have some not so popular leagues activated on your database, you do need to download the list though, there is no mention of it online at all.

Star player form the list: Nick Powell

List rating: 3/5

Ideal list for: Plenty to choose from for everyone

Best French Wonderkids

Italian Wonderkids on FM 13

English Wonderkids and Must Buys

Spanish Wonderkids

Best Brazilian Wonderkids

Top Wonderkid Strikers

 Putting an end to the post…

Well thats it, we couldn’t find any other lists online that offered any value to you guys so thats the end of it.

There will no doubt be a lot of duplicates within the lists above but just pick and choose the ones that suit your current team and transfer policies best, for me the wonderkids list by Darren Smith is the best by a long way, check it out, the work that went in to it is ridiculously complex and you will definitely find some players on there that you would have never seen or heard of before.

Get involved, if you have any lists to add to this let us know using the comments below.

My aim with this save was simple, to do things I have never done.

So first up my standard variations on the 4-2-3-1 formations were ditched, in its place stood 2 fresh 4-3-3 alternatives with one being 3 narrow strikers, the other being 3 wide. Something that I had never done.

Next up in my big change, my transfer policy.

Usually I am a creature of habit, buying a selection of players all the time and adding a sprinkling of fresh faces along the way, not this time, this time I was going for the 1 or 2 big signings, world class players that would change the game, consistently.

All I can say is wow, I never knew that a measly team like Arsenal could attract such players and win what I did within a couple of seasons.

Before I tell you who I have in my lineup, let me tell you what has happened.

I’m in 2016 and already at the top of the manager hall of fame, last season I won every trophy possible and went the whole season unbeaten, in every competition.

I won the charity shield, the league cup, club world championship, champions league, FA cup, premiership and the super cup. A clean-sweep and a first for me and only the second time in my FM history that I got the ‘invincible’ achievement.

To do that, this was my starting line-up for the season.

Just to note, all the players were bought fair and square, there was no ‘tinkering’.

Sczesny

Caravjal   Varane   Koscielny   Santon

L Bender   Fabregas

Wilshere

Sharaawy           Neymar          C Ronaldo

Bench:  Sakho, Shaw, Ramsey, Bale, Lewandowksi, Falcao

Never in my FM career have I signed the likes of Fabregas and Ronaldo.

Never would I spend £31m on a right back or £110m on Ronaldo when you can pick up others with better potential for 10% of the cost.

And never in my career had I signed Lionel Messi, who has just signed on the dotted line of a 450k a week contract to come to Arsenal at the end of my third season. I had to pay him £275 a week for 5 games then bump his wages to 450k and offer him top-wack on everything else to get him to come.

My biggest realisation with this was the fact that I could actually afford these players at Arsenal, yes my funds are going down by £11m a month, but my ‘normal’ teams still lose 75% of that so whats the difference.

The one thing that is clear though, is the game really does favour these legends of our modern game. So far in my 4th season, after dropping Jack to MC and playing Messi at AMC, I am yet to concede a goal in 10 games and have put 45 goals away. Ronaldo, Messi and Neymar are truly astonishing.

One thing that does have to be said is that Arsenal actually have a good foundation to build a team like this and although nearly every player was bought over months, the funds were not hard to raise.

With players like Podolski, Giroud, Walcott, Cazorla, Vermaelen, Mertersacker and many more being easy to sell at £20m+ and the likes of Park, Bendtner, Denilson etc on high wages in the reserves, its easy to terminate contracts to raise wage budgets and make astronomical amounts of money from sales.

In my second summer, I spent £186m on 4 players, but sold £163m worth of talent, 18 players.

Give it a try, stop bartering over a few mil here and there, stop buying bargains and players with potential, buy the big names now and have a play. It really opens your eyes to the difference between a player with 5 start potential and one playing at that level already.

How this will end I don’t know, I’ve won it all with this team and although it was enlightening to see the constant big-name signings come in to the club, the long procession of regens is likely to start a takeover soon.

I must say though, this game has been enjoyable, its opened up a new chapter in my FM book that I didn’t realise was possible and one that will be an exciting prospect come Football Manager 2014.

We won’t be looking at the consistently top players in the world, just those who have changed the most over the last year, both positively and negatively as these are the guys you may not think of.

For die-hard FM fans this part of the game is always the most thrilling, the hours of scouting, searching through the under-18s of every country in the world and filling your scouts diaries with 99.9% of crap, hoping that one of these kids will show some promise, this article will be a great place to start.

Those of you who may be new to the series, perhaps you’re looking at the next instalment to be your first, these next few months will be tough going but luckily for you the 2013 game is available for under a tenor if you’re feeling blue.

Looking back in history its safe to say that those players that are performing week in week out in the daily rigours of top-flight football will be stat-heavy come the next game, it’s also a fair shout to say that those players that have seen a downturn in their performances will be downgraded in the same way but who are these players and how much will they be affected?

Firstly lets look at those people we expect to be the new class-acts come the new game.

Best FM 2014 Players: Our 5 Would-be Superstars

Theres dozens, if not hundreds of players that will be up there with the best in the game but we have focused on those that have changed the most over the last year, those players that were run of the mill or pretty good on FM13 that are bound to be absolute hero’s when 14 is released.

No 1. Gareth Bale

Gareth was good in Football Manager 2013 but this year he will be one of the best on the game, perhaps even in a Barca or Real shirt by the time it’s released.

He has shown on a World stage that he is capable of mixing it with the best and we fully expect him to be given a massive boost. The 23-year-old Tottenham superstar has made 41 appearances this year in the Prem and in Europe with a total of 24 goals and 8 assists including some monumental solo appearances and spectacular goals from distance.

The other key change to Bale’s FM  characteristics will be his positional awareness, in 13 he was accustomed to the ML/AML position with ability to do a job anywhere on the left side and fill-in on the right-wing if needed but now, with the free-roll given to him this season he will no doubt be much more flexible and we think his ‘bright-greens’ will stretch to the AMC position too.

Lets have a more in-depth look at his stats:

This is how he starts the game on 2013, as you can see a very good all-round winger and attacking midfielder but by no means a world-beater.

Using Bale’s extraordinary form in the Premier League as a gauge we fully expect his stats to raise considerably from the above. In particular:

Dribbling from 16 > 18
Crossing from 15 > 17
Finishing from 14 > 17
Longshots from 10 > 17
First Touch from 15 > 17
Free Kick Taking from 16 > 18
Off The Ball from 14 > 16
Flair from 11 > 16
Creativity from 13 > 16
Strength from 13 > 16

 We reckon that’s a fair adjustment to his ability and one that will make him one of the best on the game, especially if he isn’t playing at Tottenham.

No 2. Marouane Fellaini

In our book Fellaini is one of the best bullying midfielders on the planet, of course he isn’t a massively creative force and isn’t in the same league as his Spanish and Brazilian counterparts, but he offers something else, a towering brute of a man who is capable of using his extreme strength and tenacity to win games all by himself.

I have never been fortunate enough to own Marouane on FM, not to say I haven’t tried (bloody man city), but he is a must-have accessory for a team that likes to play a flat 2 in the midfield. Coupled with either a BWM or a DLP he is magical to watch and scores loads from set-pieces.

In his Everton colours he finished the season with 11 goals and 5 assists in 31 appearances but that doesn’t tell the whole story. Marouane is an inspiration to his team mates and the loyal fans that adore this fuzzy-haired midfielder, he has also scroed some massively important goals in crucial games.

His stats on FM 2013 show his class as one of the best midfield enforcers on the game but we do expect his creative side to be improved as well as some of his mental attributes, heres what we think:

Passing from 15 > 16
Influence from 5 > 14
Creativity from 12 > 14
Bravery from 18 > 19
Flair from 10 > 13

Though we don’t expect a massive increase in his stats, we do expect him to perform vastly better on the game and be able to operate more efficiently further forward.

No 3. Philippe Coutinho

One that could have made the ‘Wonderkids’ section but at 21 Philippe isn’t a youngster anymore, he’s a fully fledged star ready to show what he has in his locker.

Liverpool pulled off this signing last year, it really went under the radar and this season I think the top 4 will be wondering why they were not interested in this impressive attacking midfielder.

Those who have watched Coutinho play for Liverpool know this guy is class, we have been admirers of his talent for many years and its a bit of shame that his Inter Milan career was held back by a manager preferring experience to youth, great news for ‘pool though.

Though not a standout performer last season he showed enough for the scousers to take him under their wing, a pre-season training tour with Gerard and Suarez will definitely help his growth.

He only made 12 starts for Liverpool but quickly amassed 3 goals and 5 assists including some awesome creativity that many fans will be dying to see on a more regular basis next season, he is definitely under the guise of the right manager to achieve that.

Theres loads of room to grow but we reckon Philippe will see a dramatic increase in his stats, followed by an increase in his overall potential, he could certainly be regarded in one of the best youngish AMC’s on the game.

Long Shots from 12 > 15
Finishing from 12 > 16
First Touch from 16 > 17
Dribbling from 16 > 17
Passing from 16 > 18
Positioning from 7 > 13
Creativity from 16 > 18

Everyone has their favourite players, the ones that you have to sign even though there is better or cheaper available, Coutinho is my drug.

No 4. Jesus Navas

Man City have just snapped up Jesus and to be honest I am shocked that it has taken this long for him to be involved in one of the biggest teams in the world.

An explosive winger, mainly right, that loves to cut in. He has really shown his class during his countries journeys to the final of the confederations cup.

Though he is known as not putting in any sort of defensive shift Navas more than makes up for that with his contribution further up the pitch. His problem in the past has been in front of goal, his finishing is not the best but he is often targeted as the ‘main danger-man’ in a team so playing for City he is bound to have more freedom to show what he can do.

In FM Jesus has been a fairly run of the mill player for several seasons, often getting big moves but rarely setting the world alight with his new club but with his recent performances on the World-stage and a big money move to Manchester now completed Jesus is set for a huge rebuild of his stats and performances on the game.

For a winger his stats are already fairly good, definitely better than his new rivals in Milner and Scott Sinclair thats for sure but as a new-be to the Premier League we expect him to be given a nice boost:

Crossing from 15 > 17
Dribbling from 17 > 18
Finishing from 10 > 14
Long Shots from 11 > 13
Passing from 14 > 16
Acceleration from 19 > 20
Pace from 17 > 19

These improvements would really make Navas stand out in the City team and we think that will happen both in real-life and on Football Manager 2014.

No 5. Matija Nastasic

26 games for Man City in your first season, 2 MOM awards, only one yellow card and a pass success rate of 87% as a defender puts you at the top of your game in any team on the planet but doing that at the age of 20 makes you one of the best talents in the World.

Matija is just that, a towering powerful centerback with all the quality of Nemanja Vidic but without his ‘clunky’ athleticism.

Mancini had absolute faith in Nastasic for 90% of the games that he was available for, that says a lot but what will be his fate under the new gaffer at the helm of city?

Either way he is bound to be a must buy in Football Manager 2014 and his stats are set for a major makeover.

Matija, in my opinion will be the second most sought-after young defender on the game behind Varane and is set for a massive upgrade in playing statistics, my guess is:

Marking from 14 > 17
Tackling from 15 > 17
Heading form 15 > 18
Influence from 11 > 14
Off The Ball from 11 > 15
Teamwork from 12 > 14

And an overall 2-3 point increase in most mental and physical stats.

As well as these 5 there’s a few others that are well worth a mention, we anticipate some great strides forward from people like:

• Santi Cazorla
• Leighton Baines
• Laurent Koscielny
• David Luiz

Who Won’t Be Worth Targeting?

Now for as many top-performing players in the Prem this seasons there has been just as many under-performing stars of old, people who didn’t cut the mustard and players that will be due a downgrade come FM 14.

Heres who we think we not be quite as big a force as they have been on previous games:

Wayne Rooney

Wayne has continued to fall in standard over the last season or two, whether that is because of age, lack of motivation or being in need of a new challenge Rooney has certainly lost his charm slightly and we completely anticipate a fall in his skill levels come FM 2014.

Though he still scored a decent amount of goals last season he was often used much deeper than before to open up the position for RVP to take further forward.  Looking a shadow of his former-self Wayne has been attracting interest from other clubs and though he has said he didn’t hand in a transfer request, there is every chance he could be moving on to a lesser team than United.

David Silva

A year ago David Silva was regarded as one of the magical Spanish midfield, now he has lost his flair and lost his way slightly. Partially over taken in the pecking order by Pedro, Juan Matta and Jesus Navas Silva is no longer one of the first names on the team-sheet of Vicente Del Bosque’s team.

David will no doubt still be a very good player but he has certainly dropped in stature over the past season and we fully expect that to be correlated in his stats for the next game.

Vincent Kompany

In the same way David Silva was a modern great this time last year Vincent Kompany was seen as unflappable, perhaps the top defender in the world at the time. But towards the end of the season this previously solid defender started to show cracks in his armour, started making mistakes and was often overshadowed by Nastasic.

With Matija set to be upgraded, Kompany may well have some competition in next years FM for a starting place amongst die-hard FM fans.

In recent seasons on the game Kompany has been making a ludicrous amount of mistakes, is this a sign that in the recent patches the developers have already decided his fate?

Thomas Vermaelen

Captaincy hit Thomas hard, he struggled and buckled under the pressure of being the clubs leader and this lead to some rather shocking performances on the pitch, this soon lead to him being dropped from the team and no doubt from his captaincy role come the new season.

Though he may return to his former self he barely pulled on the Arsenal shirt towards the end of the season and they looked much better for it, he is surely going to be given a penalty for this lack of game-time, composure and unreliability.

Luis Suarez

A controversial choice as he has probably just had his best season in his career, but for us and the FM developers it must be about time that he was labelled as a liability.

His on and off the field actions are not marks of a superstar player and I suspect that his levels of aggression, composure and concentration will be adjusted dramatically to encourage this type of irrational play on the game.

For us Suarez is no longer a top-player, though he will no doubt be sold to a massive club, his qualities on the pitch do not overshadow his ability to cause controversy on it.

Lucas Leiva

For a few seasons now Lucas Leiva has been less than impressive on the pitch and is constantly suffering with injuries and yet on the game he has consistently been one of the best DMC’s there is. It’s time this changed, he does not deserve to be labelled with such qualities.

Shinji Kagawa

A lot was expected from Shinji when he signed for United, a great talent and a very skilful player indeed but in his debut season he barely did anything more than Ji Sung Park ever did, only without his work rate.

Often described as another way for United to increase their revenues from Asia Kagawa has a lot to prove, but I do imagine he will get more game time this season, he matches the type of mould that Moyes’ likes, for the same reason I see Nani getting less time which will help Shinji.

He was long a good signing on FM and was regarded as a great signing by many this time last year but it hasn’t come to fruition and we think he will be no more than an average attacking midfielder when the game comes out.

Sandro

Like Leiva, Sandro has long been an FM favourite, he has long been an over-performing and overrated player on the game who contributed little in the real world. It’s about time he was lowered in standard.

There is no excuse for Sandro anymore, he’s been in the country for a few years and is yet to show the potential he once promised. If only he would spend as much time doing good stuff on the field as he does with his hair.

Wonderkids, Where Art Thou Wonderkids: 5 Predicted Stars

For me, one of the most exciting parts to any Football Manager instalment is trying to find and sign the latest batch of wonderkids, those super-human stars of the future that have been identified by the developers over the past 12 months so we’ve been testing our knowledge and have ear-marked a selection of  wonderkids that we think will be top-notch and available for all most Prem teams in the new game.

No 1. Lloyd Jones

Lloyd, touted by some as the next Alan Hansen, was signed by Liverpool from Plymouth for an initial £20k and has shone in the under-18′s and been a regular in the under-21 set up years before average.

Commanding in the air but graceful and comfortable in possession Lloyd was handed a squad number by Brendan Rogers for a game against Fulham last term and is widely expected to be promoted through the ranks quickly and make his debut before his 18th birthday this October.

Jones is sure to have caught the eye of the SI developers and could well be one of the game’s top youngsters.

No 2. Alen Halilovic

Dynamo Zagreb’s 16-year-old midfielder is already picking up attention from a host of top European teams with Spurs being the most recent.

Croatia’s youngest ever top-flight player Alen is fast breaking more records and is expected to be one of the top youngsters in the world in the coming years.

Grounded and talented the youngster could have his pick of clubs but has his mind firmly set on growing and doing what is best for his career.

Regularly compared to Luka Modric the youngster is confident on the ball, agile and very skilful. Though slightly light-weight he has the ability to step-aside the rough and tumble of the Premiership.

N0 3. Jordan Ibe

Another Liverpool youngster, this kid is quick and is of a similar mould to Raheem Stirling but with a more physical aspect to his game.

It has been said that Ibe may end up being positioned further forward in the future but is already plying his trade with regular appearances on the Liverpool bench and team towards the end of last season.

Jordan was not particularly recognised on FM 2013, but under the guise of the right manager he was capable of becoming a leading Prem winger and this is only going to get better come 2014.

No 4. Luke Shaw

Although already an awesome prospect and already very good on Football Manager 2013, he is sure to get a big move this summer and that will only increase his stock and profile.

I see him moving to Chelsea or Tottenham this summer with an outside chance of United, if not he will be an awesome signing for any top-flight club in FM 14.

A Premier League regular, Luke is progressing very well and is certainly an all-round left-back. Many have compared him to a young Ashley Cole but I think this boy could be better than that, take the athleticism of Cole, crossing ability of Baines and a more attacking minded Philipe Lahm and you get somewhere near the player Luke turns in to on FM 2013.

Lets hope that is portrayed in real-life too.

No 5. Wallace

After joining Fluminese at 11 years old this right back soon grew in to a cracking youngster and although he has already agreed a big move to Chelsea as part of the deal that took Deco the other way a few years ago, he could be potential loan signing for lower-league or bottom half Prem teams next term.

A fast, tricky and athletic right footed defender Wallace is very similar to Dani Alves but has already shown his ability to defend very early in his career, he has shown his class in the Under 17s for Brazil and is the first name on the team sheet with a full international call up believed to be not too far in the future.

Though a very raw player he is vastly superior in terms of strength over the Man Utd Da Silva twins and is expected to slot straight in to the Chelsea first team fold upon his arrival in England.

Though potentially not available for the first season on FM 2014, Wallace may be available for loan and those type of player is often available for purchase early on in their careers. He is well worth checking out, there isn’t many good right backs on FM 2013 or appearing on the world scene at the moment.

 Until next time

You may have guessed that we are massively excited about Football Manager 14, we love talking about it and if you do to give us your ideas to add to this post and we will get them mentioned.

For anyone who is keen to get their mits on the game through pre-order, Amazon are the official partner for SI on this so have a look here for the best price online.

Featured image thanks to https://www.facebook.com/SerbianFM

Hailed as the most action packed FM game ever we look set for a treat, although the official launch date is yet to be published, this is sure to come in the next few days but you can now pre-order it from Amazon.

You can buy Football Manager 2014 through Amazon using the button below:

Fans have been promised loads:

• An improved 3D Match Engine
• A tactical overhaul
• More realistic transfers and contracts
• More sophisticated board interaction
• More complex interaction between staff, players and rival managers
• A revamped news system
• An enhanced user interface
• Evolution for Classic mode
• Additional community features
• Extensive tech improvements

Though the details seem like a big step, to real players of the game this announcement only tells us what we expect from the game, natural progression, but do the released screenshots tell us the same story?

Not really, the screenshots seem to only include old features, things that were included in the 2013 and some 12 versions, just laid out in a different way.

For me the time was right for a big seed-change from SI, the last version was a big seller and no doubt this one will be to, but so far I have to say the news and pics look disappointing.

Lets hope that the ‘work in progress’ state is just the start of what is to come.

Today is a big step, its huge in fact for all us fans, but I am yet to pass judgement on the game based on the news and screenshots that have been shared so far.

There does seem to be a couple of small changes that look real good, the way scout reports show up a basic overview in your message area is cleaver, it really saves time and the overview screen that contains some pretty graphs and pie-charts based on a few new KPI’s in the game looks fairly sexy.

It appears that you can now get other players to talk to each other in attempt to ‘get them on board’ which is a nice touch, but nothing groundbreaking.

The biggest change though and something that little detail has been released on is the ‘match plan creator’ which through all intents and purposes looks like you can really drill down on how your team plays during the game, changing the tactics during any given situation without you needing to do it manually every time.

The other glaring feature seems to be ability to loan back to the host club, a great addition that we have spoken about a few times as being needed.

I did just spot a tiny thing on one of the images, ‘manager expectation’ has been included on the screen when negotiating a contract with a player, is that the expectation of the player’s performance at the club or your boards expectation of how you should be performing this season? Only time will tell.

I assume the later, in which case the board expectation options have obviously been widened up to include lots of different scenarios, rather than just your plans for domination.

What do you think? Did you spot anything in the pics that stands out to you? Here is a few more to wet your appetite.

SI say that we can expect to see the following: