10 Mistakes New Football Managers Make (And How to Avoid Them)
The ten most common mistakes new My Football Game managers make - from ignoring set pieces to hoarding players - and the simple fixes that win more matches.
By Paulo · 2026-07-06 · 6 min read
Everyone makes these - briefly
Every top manager on the leaderboard made most of these mistakes once. The difference is how fast they stopped. Here are the ten we see most, with the fix for each.
Mistakes 1-5: squad and market
1. Playing players out of position. A 78-rated midfielder up front performs like a 65-rated forward. Fix: natural positions, always.
2. Hoarding a huge squad. Players who never play are frozen coins. Fix: sell to your best fifteen to eighteen and reinvest.
3. Buying stars before fixing weaknesses. Your team is only as strong as its weakest starter. Fix: upgrade your worst position first.
4. Paying the first price you see. Similar players list at very different prices. Fix: compare before you buy, every time.
5. Ignoring training. Transfers are not the only way to improve. Fix: train your young and nearly-there players weekly.
Mistakes 6-10: matchday
6. Never changing mentality. Attacking into a stronger team is how you lose by three. Fix: set mentality per opponent.
7. Forgetting set-piece takers. Sold your penalty taker last week? The game did not reassign him. Fix: review takers after every transfer.
8. No plan for suspensions. One red card should not wreck your eleven. Fix: keep one reliable backup per area of the pitch.
9. Skipping the daily bonus. It is the easiest income in the game. Fix: log in daily, even for ten seconds.
10. Copying tactics instead of reading your squad. The engine rewards fit, not fashion. Fix: build the system around your players - our tactics guide shows how.
The meta-mistake: changing everything at once
When results dip, new managers overhaul formation, lineup and mentality in one go - and learn nothing. Change one variable per match and read the match events. Within a week you will know your team better than most opponents know theirs, and it will show on the scoreboard and your budget.