The long-awaited, newest instalment in the Football Manager franchise was finally released earlier this month, as Football Manager 2026 hit stores.
After Football Manager 2025 was initially delayed twice and then completely cancelled, Sports Interactive claimed that the game was simply not of a high enough quality to release.
This piled the pressure on the release of Football Manager 26, with Sports Interactive desperate for the game to be a success.
Upon release, the game has been met with disastrous reviews, currently ranked as the eighth-worst game ever released on Steam.
So, what are the issues people are having with Football Manager 2026? Sporting Loft writer Joseph Ould looks into the debate…
New user interface
Long-term fans had grown to love the complex, detailed, user interface that had become synonymous with the Football Manager franchise, so fans were left frustrated to learn the interface had been heavily stripped back in favour of a simpler design.
The new interface aims to cater towards console players, as well as allow newer players to have a less daunting menu experience when learning the game.
This has been met with heavy criticism from Football Manager’s loyal player-base, with the game looking and feeling unrecognisable from its highly loved predecessors.
The new user interface has not only annoyed the hardcore Football Manager fan, but has also introduced a number of bugs and glitches, harming the player experience and making the game incredibly difficult to enjoy.
Persistent game crashes
Football Manager has a serious issue with game crashes. Far too often players find themselves in the middle of a crunch match, before the game completely freezes and needs to reload.
It goes without saying that this is a huge issue, with many describing the new game as “unplayable” and choosing to return to the tried and tested, Football Manager 2024.
An upcoming update has promised to fix the issues of game crashing but it remains to be seen how effective this is.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Five fallen giants you should manage in Football Manager 2026
Missing Features
The newest instalment of Football Manager has also removed many features that fans had become accustomed to having.
Touchline shouts have become a distant memory, with Sports Interactive choosing to remove them, after admitting the feature did not work as intended.
International management has also been removed from the game, leaving fans disappointed that they won’t be able to lead their favourite national side to World Cup glory, although its return has been promised in a pre World Cup DLC.
Other features that have been removed include: create-a-club, challenge mode, versus mode and fantasy draft.
The positives
It would be unfair not to mention the features that have been met with positivity in Football Manager 2026.
It is undeniable that, when it’s not crashing, the new match engine is an enormous aesthetic improvement from previous Football Manager games.
Match situations feel more authentic, with player animations looking more realistic and fluid.
The new “in and out of possession” tactic system also boasts a lot of potential.
The ability to change the way your team sets up whether or not you have the ball is very interesting and allows managers to create unique tactical set ups depending on how they envisage their team playing.
The new Premier League license is also a welcome addition and having more leagues playable than ever before can only ever be a positive.
With that being said, until the numerous bugs/glitches are fixed and the user interface is improved it’s hard to escape the feeling that Football Manager 2026 is a big step backwards rather than forward for Sports Interactive.
READ NEXT: Top five hardest saves to prove you’re the best on Football Manager 2026
