Sports games have come under heavy scrutiny in recent years, with many gamers criticizing the genre for a lack of innovation implemented between entries. Although the Football Manager series doesn't come under as much fire as franchises like FIFA and NBA 2K, it's hard to disagree that it suffers from the same issues.
Consequently, when a new feature is announced for a sports game, it is usually cherished by the series' fans. Football Manager 22 has implemented a new feature known as the Data Hub which, as the name suggests, puts all of the game's statistical breakdowns and analytical visualizations into one place. The array of facts and figures listed in the Data Hub can make it tricky to understand, so we've produced this guide to give players an idea of how it works.
Overview
The first tab in the Data Hub is Overview, which crams in a ton of useful information. The section provides general stats and figures for key aspects of the team's performance like goalscoring, passing, defending, and chance creation.
The Last Match Passes portion of Key Findings is particularly helpful. It roughly shows what the team's shape was in the last game, how frequently and infrequently certain passing lanes were used, and how heavily involved every player was. It's worth taking the time to look at Last Match Passes after each game.
Team
The Team tab is broken down into three sections:
- Team Performance - will be blank at first. In this section, the manager can make requests to their data analyst, who will provide them with a wide range of stats and figures from heading, to crossing, to the team's defensive efficiency, and much, much more.
- Report - provides a general report from the data analyst with information on three key areas: formations, scoring, and conceding.
- Shots - offers a quick, handy visualization of the team's shot accuracy.
Player
Like the Team section, the Player section is initially blank.
The section again lets the manager ask their data analyst for a huge range of reports. As the name suggests, the Player tab provides reports based on the team's individual player performances and usually compares them to other players in the league who play in the same position.
Matches
The Matches tab provides information on previous games and is broken down into two tabs:
- Last Match - gives the manager an in-depth analytical look at their most recently completed match. The thorough report includes a range of key findings, highlighting some of the most prominent statistical positives and negatives about the last game.
- Last 5 Matches - does exactly what it says on the tin, offering a statistical visualization of the last 5 matches. This section is very helpful for highlighting any persistent issues, like if the opponents are finding success in a certain area of the pitch or are trying to exploit a certain weakness.
Next Opponent
The Next Opponent tab is very in-depth and is broken down into five different sections about the team's upcoming opposition:
- Overview - Provides a breakdown of the key findings, as well as an explanation of the opponent's expected tactical style.
- Next Opponent Performance - shows a range of statistical visualizations about the upcoming opponent, including pass accuracy, cross completion, and aerial strength.
- Analyst Report - great for deciding how to set up against the next opponent. The analyst report offers a breakdown of the opponent's strengths and weaknesses, giving the manager an idea of what tactical issues they can exploit.
- Stat Pack - A quick, visual breakdown comparing the manager's team and the opposition in key aspects like goalscoring, wins when conceding first, and performances against teams in the top half of the table.
- Past Meetings - If the teams have played each other previously, this tab will serve as a reminder as to how the game(s) went and what the key findings were.
Football Manager 22's beta is out now. The full game releases on November 9th on PC, Xbox, and Mobile. A Nintendo Switch version is currently in the works.