Expected Goals

As well as having more data and analysis at your fingertips before a match, there are now a number of new stats that you can track during a game too. We’ll cover most of these in the coming weeks but there’s one we want to focus on here – xG or ‘expected goals’, to give it its full name.

xG has become more widely used in recent years but, for a long time, we felt that none of the current systems would work effectively with the FM match engine. This is why, this year, we’ve created our own xG system, with the help of our friends at football data intelligence specialists, SciSports, who work with real clubs across the sport.

Our xG system is tailor-made to work with the FM match engine which allows us to go beyond what current expected goals models are capable of in real life. Among other factors, our model considers the shooting player’s distance from goal and the angle and speed of their shot to determine xG, we’ve also accounted for the position of the other players on the pitch relative to the shooting player too.

You can view in detail xG in both the half-time review and full-time summary where you’ll be able to see the xG match story and how each team’s xG has fluctuated over the course of the game. You can also view xG shot maps for both teams that show each shot’s xG rating. Post-match, xG will be included in the analysis you receive from your data team.

As well as adding xG, the full-time summary has been expanded to include more of the stories that matter in relation to the match. Your Press Officer will include the best media clippings from the immediate aftermath of the final whistle and you’ll see reactions from fans on social media too as well as the updated league tables and final scores coming in from around the grounds.

In FM21, matchdays have been enhanced and improved to provide a more realistic, immersive experience with modernised presentation, enhanced simulation and renewed focus on your involvement through the build-up in the days leading up to the match, the match itself and all the fallout after the full-time whistle.

YOU’LL BE BETTER EQUIPPED THAN EVER TO PICK UP THREE POINTS THANKS TO A REFINED FLOW THAT HELPS YOU UNDERSTAND, PREPARE FOR, EXPERIENCE, MANAGE AND DEBRIEF FROM THOSE ALL IMPORTANT 90 MINUTES.

For a start, your backroom team will provide you with more, better-presented information and insight on your upcoming opponents both during the run-up to kick-off and throughout the match. You’ll have more data and analysis at your fingertips than ever before (including xG - more on that later...) in a more realistic simulation of a manager’s time on the touchline and, thanks to the integration of FM21’s new interaction systems, you’ll be able to better understand and motivate your players during team-talks.

There are plenty of visual improvements to the match action as well. We’ve redesigned the match UI and introduced a modern broadcast feel to the pre- and post-match cutscenes and transitions. The animation engine has been significantly enhanced ensuring that players move more smoothly and the overall look of the match has been given a lift with improved lighting, new pitchside elements and more stadium pieces just some of the improvements in this area.

PRE-MATCH BUILD-UP

The flow and focus of pre-match events in-game has been influenced by our in-depth conversations with managers, staff and players on their weekly pre-match routines and matchdays.

Your first port of call will be a pre-match tactical meeting with the matchday squad and your backroom team. Here, you can scrutinise key opposition analysis and weigh up pre-match advice that you can easily put into action to increase your chances of exploiting the opposition’s weaknesses. You can also view your opponent’s expected line-up and plan your tactical setup to counter their attacking threats. Within this meeting you’ll also confirm your final team selection and make any last-minute tactical tweaks with the option to set these just for the upcoming match or for every match going forwards. Before you leave the pre-match meeting you’ll be given a summary of how the squad have reacted to your team selection, tactics and any opposition instructions that you’ve put in place.

When you arrive at the ground and head into the dressing room, you’ll be presented with the confirmed team sheets for the game. You won’t be able to make any changes to your starting line-up to react to your opponent’s starting eleven but your backroom staff will point out any variation to their expected line-up and make tactical suggestions in response to team news. Your Press Officer will also provide highlights of the positive (and not so positive) reactions from social media to confirmed line-ups and major talking points to give you more of a sense of being part of the drama of matchday.

TEAM-TALKS

As part of our detailed look at the interaction changes this year we mentioned that many of the new systems will be used in a number of different settings across the game. Team Talks in FM21 have been upgraded in line with the changes to interaction elsewhere to better simulate those tense moments before, during and after a match.

The Gesture system, as seen in press conferences and interactions with players, is also present in your team-talks. Here, there are a range of expressive and motivational gestures to choose from to help to inspire your players or allow you to demonstrate your frustration to them after a particularly shocking display. For instance, you might point your finger emphatically at the squad during a pre-match team-talk but hurl a water bottle across the room in anger when you’ve seen your XI heavily beaten.

The layout of team-talks has changed noticeably too, putting you, the manager, in the centre of the room with the starting goalkeeper to your left, the subs to your right and the other outfield players in-between in squad number order - much like a modern day dressing room. From here you can address the whole room, positional groups and/or individuals. Of course, if you’re the shy type, there’s still the option to hand everything over to your assistant.

We’ve also made some changes to team-talks in extra-time. You’ll now give these team-talks on the pitch, away from the dressing room just like in real life. You’ll also have an additional team-talk ahead of any penalty shootout, giving you the chance to settle any last-minute nerves. In fact, before the shootout gets underway, you’ll even be able to see your players’ body language to help pick your penalty takers. That means you’ll be able to spot the players who don’t fancy the pressure of a spot-kick and drop them right down the order to improve your chances.

BROADCAST INTERVIEWS

For matches that are broadcast on TV, you’ll attend the pre-match broadcast interview that now makes up part of managers’ real life matchday routine whenever their side play in front of the cameras.

This will be a one-on-one interview with broadcast media that takes place in front of those familiar step and repeat media boards. The interview will be solely about the upcoming match with a focus on tactical insights or comments on your opponents. After the final whistle, you may have another broadcast interview to complete, to give your reaction and thoughts on what you’ve just seen, before getting back to the dressing room.

The Gesture system is present in these interviews as well, giving you the chance to emphasise what you’re saying to the media.

IN-MATCH PRESENTATION

When the players step out onto the pitch you’ll immediately see a significant step up in FM21’s pre-match presentation elements.

The team line-up graphics have been refreshed, taking influence from modern broadcast media. Of course, you’ll still see the starting XI laid out in formation but we’ve made it easier to see players on the subs bench as well as adding in the team’s form and the manager’s name. In a league game, you’ll also see the league table with both teams’ positions highlighted to add extra context.

When the match gets underway, you’ll notice more major redesigns to the match UI. For FM21, we wanted to better replicate the feeling of managing from the dugout and we’ve focused on key information and elements of the beautiful game as a result.

During highlights, you’ll see there’s more of a focus on the match action and tactical options available to you in the Dugout section of the new UI. In the bottom left corner of the screen, you have the ability to make quick changes to your team’s tactical style, formation, mentality and instructions with easy access to the full tactics screen if you need to make more in-depth tweaks.

Running along the lower central part of the screen, you’ll see your starting XI laid out in formation order with their condition, body language and match rating visible. Clicking on the ‘Subs’ button will give you the same information for the players on the bench so you can make an informed decision on who to bring on if you’re contemplating a substitution. Then switch back to the players on the pitch by clicking the ‘Pitch’ button.

It’s now also much easier to manage each of your players individually on the pitch. Clicking on any of the player icons will bring up a sub-menu allowing you to change their role, give individual player instructions, direct a touchline shout or sub them off.

The final element of the Dugout section is the ‘Show Me’ menu which replicates the information that a manager can request to view during a match. From this menu you can bring up match stats, player stats for both teams, the opposition’s formation and, once your analyst (if you have one) is able to work out the information, the roles the opposition are using, as well as latest scores from games elsewhere and a live league table.

Your assistant, coaches & data analysts are all on hand to help and will give you advice during pertinent parts of the match.

If you want a less data-heavy view of the match action just minimise the Dugout view using the arrow in the bottom right corner.

The captions that appear for in-game events such as goals, yellow and red cards and substitutions have been updated in line with the modern broadcast style. In competitions where VAR is used, you’ll now not only see the VAR call displayed on the stadium screen – just like in real-life – but the in-match caption now also reflects how it’s displayed in the real world. That caption also contains information on what’s being checked specifically and, once a decision has been made, it will be more visible too.

ANIMATION AND GRAPHIC IMPROVEMENTS
The match UI isn’t the only area of match visuals that have been enhanced in FM21, there have been noticeable improvements to both the graphics and animations too.

The lighting system in FM21 better represents shadowing in all weather conditions and times of day. To do this, we’ve introduced shadow casting across the three different light types in the game – directional (e.g sunlight), spot and point. Night shadows have been reworked to make use of the implementation of shadow casting as well. This means that shadows in the stadium including stands, pitchside equipment and players will look more lifelike.

These lighting improvements have also been brought across into the 3D environments which results in scenes that are much more realistically lit and better reflect each individual location in the game. They have also been used to great effect on the manager model and newgen faces, both of which we’ll have more info on in the coming weeks.

Animations in FM21 look noticeably better as well, particularly when it comes to players’ movement. This is because of the way we’ve overhauled the blending of animations which, in layman’s terms, is what happens when a player transitions from one animation to the next. This period might only last for a split second but it needs to be as smooth as possible in order to look natural.

Previously, there were moments where players would be “sliding” between animations but with the improvements to blending in FM21 that will no longer be the case as character models now behave accurately and shape up to move into the next animation in a realistic manner.

Stadium environments look better now too. For starters, we’ve added more in the way of pitchside furniture, so you’ll see new camera types including jib cranes, seated cameras and steadie cams on the sideline that reflect that big match environment. There’s more variation in the type of dugouts in the game as well and, in larger stadiums where the corners have not been filled, there are now new buildings that you will see in those corner sections.

Our graphics have been optimised for lower-end configs as well.

Football Manager 2021 sees a significant overhaul to the interaction system that puts you right in the middle of your football club with all the tools you need to make a difference.

You’ll feel more in control of the interactions you’re involved in with more tools at your disposal to get your point across, understand where others are coming from and communicate more effectively whether you’re in a one-on-one discussion, a team meeting or a press conference.

As per usual we’ve worked closely with football professionals to make the game as realistic as possible. Throughout the development of the new-look interaction system we’ve been in regular contact with managers, coaches and players on both the content of conversations and the different approaches used in the real world. This has all helped to shape an ambitious overhaul that brings together new forms of communication and significant changes to the existing interaction systems.

With this revamp, there are some new interactions and improvements to the existing interactions. So, whilst some of the interactions you see will be familiar, there are others which you won’t have seen before, and some that have been tailored specifically to the new systems. And there are also significant improvements to the AI and the way the characters in game react to the interactions – not just you as a manager and the journalists you'll interact with, but the board too, who offer feedback via your press officer – all of which sets things up nicely for future versions of the game and expansions in the future.

Here are the major additions and improvements that we’re going to be covering:

Gestures

• Quick Chats
• Press Conferences
• Face to Face Conversations

GESTURES

We’ve waved goodbye to the previous systems and in their place welcome Gestures with open arms. Gestures are a brand new way to expand on what you’re saying and help create more detailed interactions with players and the media.

With the new Gesture system, you’re able to emphasise how you’re communicating through non-verbal signals.

You have different Gestures to choose from depending on the situation you’re in, whether you’re heading into a positive or negative interaction. So, if you’re giving a team-talk you’ll have a host of more expressive and emotive Gestures available to you that are designed to motivate and prompt a reaction from your players. Don’t worry, you can still lose your temper when you’re trailing at half-time, only now you’ll be throwing a water bottle across the room to show how annoyed you are.

Likewise, in more public situations, you’ll probably want to be more restrained – so the gestures available in press conferences and interviews will (mostly) reflect appropriate managerial behaviour.

Gestures give you much more control over the relationships you want to build in-game. So, if you're a manager who likes to utilise the media... listen up. Media darlings can use gestures that show you're both animated and interested in a journalist’s questions. Likewise, if you’d rather keep the press at arm’s length then simply choose from the more abrasive gestures to make it clear you’d rather be anywhere than in the press room...

The Gestures you choose not only prompt a reaction from the people gathered in the room that’s much more noticeable than ever before but also influence how what you’ve said is received by those in attendance. Just like in real life your behaviour is as important as the things you say.

QUICK CHATS

The world is more connected than ever and that’s just as true in football. We know from those involved in the game that more conversations are taking place away from face-to-face, in-person settings. So, in FM21, we’ve revamped our previous individual chat system with what we call the Quick Chat system, that you can use to talk to players, journalists and opposition managers.

Quick Chats replicate the sort of short, informal interactions that don’t need a full meeting or press conference. These might happen in person or remotely, in a modern, familiar chat popup, and can trigger in relation to a wide variety of topics.

For example, you might have a Remote Quick Chat with a journalist who is trying to get the inside story on a transfer rumour surrounding your club, or you’ll have an In-Person Quick Chat with a player to praise them for how they’ve been performing in training or if you want to ask them to actively look for a new club.

During in-person Quick Chats, you’ll be able to select a Gesture to greet the player you’re talking to and they will react to that gesture in turn. Gestures enhance the FM interaction experience, allowing you to try to define the type of atmosphere you want a conversation to take place in.

In previous games, all interactions took place in a separate space, away from the screen you were looking at, but Quick Chats take place in a window that overlays the current game screen you’re on.

Quick Chats can take place with players who are out on loan too. You can check in with your young stars to see how happy they are with their loan spell or, if you’re disappointed with the amount of minutes your player’s getting, you could have a remote quick chat with the team’s manager to sort it out.

You’ll be prompted to start a Quick Chat in relevant news items, but you can also initiate one with any of your players at any time through the ‘Discuss’ menu on the player profile.

PRESS CONFERENCES

You won’t be wanting to send your assistant to do your weekly press conference in FM21. This year, we’ve radically redesigned them from top to bottom. Everything is laid out in a much cleaner way and the interaction between you and the assembled journalists looks and feels more meaningful and realistic.

Before you head in to face the waiting media, you will be given a briefing by your Press Officer as part of the pre-Press Conference news item. This briefing will list any notable journalists in attendance, the expected topics of discussion and, most important of all, any topics that your Press Officer either wants you to expand upon or avoid.

When you step into the press room, you’ll see the journalists displayed on screen in the form of icons with details of the publications and sources they represent. Questions will appear as speech bubbles alongside their icons so it’s easy to quickly see who you’re talking to and where they come from.

Your Press Officer will join you in the press conference, chairing the session and deciding which journalists get to ask questions. You’ll occasionally be joined by your captain or a team leader, usually around big matches. You can view the body language of those sat alongside you too for an indication of how well everything’s going.

Gestures have been incorporated into press conferences too, giving you the ability to either physically demonstrate how you feel about certain questions or play it cool and give nothing away. If you’re the sort of manager who tends to respond with a ‘no comment’ then you can now show your frustration when journalists repeatedly ask you for an answer.

The journalists' body language and their reactions to your comments and gestures have been brought to the fore in FM21 too. Not only will you be able to see each individual journalist’s body language but the addition of Press Atmosphere helps you gauge the mood of the room and see the effect your answers are having. You’ll need to give insightful and interesting responses to their questions to keep them engaged and interested.

We’ve also improved many of the existing elements within press conferences. You’ll now be given more contextual information on the topics you’re asked about. For example, if questioned about your upcoming opponent you’ll be able to see their recent form as well as their league position. We’ve also added more new questions and responses to add variety and, to help quickly scan possible answers, we’ve categorised responses under headers to show the general message you’d be sending with any chosen response.

At the end of each press conference you’ll now receive a summary from your Press Officer. This will include any notable highlights, changes to your relationships with individual journalists based on how they responded to your answers, and feedback from the board on how they feel you handled any discussion topics you were advised to avoid.

FACE TO FACE CONVERSATIONS

Though informal and remote interactions have become more commonplace in the last few years, there are still plenty of occasions when you’ll need to have a face-to-face conversation with people involved at your club - for example, if you're asking a player to reduce their wage demands. In FM21, these types of interactions have seen some of the most extensive improvements.

For a start, these conversations can now include more than one other person, with multiple attendees now present in many interactions. Let’s say you’re meeting to discuss playing time with a first-team player who feels like they’re not getting enough minutes on the pitch. In FM21, they may look to bring their agent into the meeting with you, while you might have your Assistant or Director of Football sitting beside you. Just what you need when you’re under pressure…

You can also now observe how each person in the meeting reacts to the conversation through their personal body language, displayed in the same way as for journalists in press conferences. Your possible answers will be categorised here too, just like in press conferences, to help you find the response you’re looking for quickly.

At the end of these face-to-face conversations, you’ll receive a meeting summary from a relevant staff member to recap how the meeting went, any actions that have been taken as a result and any promises you made over the course of the chat.

You’ll also notice we’ve expanded the number of 3D background locations in FM21 to bring a sense of location and realism to all your interactions around the club. You'll have conversations with players and backroom staff in your very own Manager's Office, motivate and instruct your Team and plan with Staff in Team Meeting Spaces and sit down with potential new employers in the Boardroom at clubs wherever your career takes you.

THE FINAL WORD

The new methods of communication and improvements to existing interaction systems in FM21 will truly enhance the immersive experience of the game. From match days to transfer windows, press conferences to team talks, Interaction immerses you in your FM world and binds you to the people within it. Will you lose the room or play it cool? You decide.

It would be great if the new site had buttons to advance directly to a specific page, and not just advance one by one

Any idea on what I can do to purchase in GBP?

No...

What about the ups and downs of the 1st, 2nd and Portugal Championship?

@Footygamer
Thank you very much Rob,problem fixed

I can't download last 4 uploaded packs,I get this standard message when upload is ultra fresh

If i pay as a guest on paypal will I still be charged yearly, or will it just be for one year?

Purchased premium on Nov 21, 2019, not showing that I ever did and asking me to subscribe again.

Thanks for any help.