A significant new update for Football Manager 26 heralds the comeback of a contentious feature that was removed prior to the game’s calamitous launch. The most recent in a series of patches by developers Sports Interactive incorporates a multitude of changes, including general crash and stability fixes. 

However, it also introduces some crucial gameplay alterations, including one feature that many players wish had never disappeared. The ability to sit in the virtual dugout and shout commands at your players during matchday was removed from FM26. After the developers admitted that they didn’t “work as intended” in FM24, the series’ last instalment, it now seems to be back.

Sports Interactive say an increase in time spent during matchday led to a backtrack on removing the Shouts feature. A post by a community team member on the official Sports Interactive forum reads: “All things considered, the extended match duration has likely heightened the sense of passivity for some of our longer-term players – but we now believe our decision to remove Shouts has compounded that feeling.

“Although our original reasoning for removing Shouts remains valid (them not working as ideally intended), after reviewing the data and considering your feedback, we recognise that we should have kept the feature in place until a more suitable alternative was ready. Our apologies, we got this one wrong – and so we’re bringing Shouts back, imminently.

“Having closely monitored the data since Beta, we are already well advanced in the development work necessary to reintroduce Shouts. We are therefore pleased to confirm they will return during the week commencing 8 December as part of Content Update 1 – our most significant update to date – which will also feature enhancements to loan screens, player searches, mouse wheel use in transfer offers, player training tooltips and the previously announced Match Engine upgrades, and a lot more.”

SI has confirmed that shouts will function “just as they did for FM24”, with a new replacement feature planned for the future. Although the new update is currently only accessible via the Steam Public Beta Branch, it’s merely a matter of days before fans can once again ‘demand more’ from their players, reports All Out Gaming.

On Reddit, the FM community has largely reacted positively. A misconception that they have “no effect” – stemming from studio director Miles Jacobsen’s comments that he has “never been happy with them” – hasn’t dampened most fans’ excitement at the news.

One fan wrote: “I don’t care if they’re pointless, I need the placebo effect of calling my striker rubbish.”

Another added: “When I found out they won’t be in there I didn’t care. After playing I miss it so, so much.”

A third commented: “Nonsense to remove them, they worked fine. Yes it could be frustrating that on occasion you’d shout something and it wouldn’t come into play until after the next action. But 9 times out of 10 it worked.”

Two others joked about the feature, with one saying: “I do love that we all couldn’t cope without being able to ineffectively yell at our players.”

Another referenced the long-running joke of players using one shout repeatedly: “It’s a nice addition, but I demand more.”

Football Manager 2026 update 4 patch notes

Technical:

• Extensive crash and stability fixes.

• Further improvements made to in-game translations.

• Added Customisation options for user to be able to choose Attribute and Position colouring. (shown below)

• Fixed an issue where custom files (set piece, tactics, etc.) could not be loaded if they were renamed in File Explorer.

• Various improvements to saving/selecting custom training schedules.

• Fixed an issue where the Fixture tab wouldn’t appear when viewing the Calendar via a keyboard shortcut or the Bookmark button.

• Improved the drag and drop functionality for moving players within the Squad Planner.

• Fixed an issue where database language cannot be set separately to the game language.

• Fixed a very rare issue where saves imported from FM24 were unable to advance.

• Fixed an issue preventing users from attending a Job Interview with a Custom Database ported from FM24.

• Reworded all descriptions of the Keyboard Shortcuts.

• Added a Tooltip on processing speed/estimated game speed on Quick/Advanced start.

Match Engine, Match Experience, and Animation Changes:

• Shouts reintroduced to matches. (shown below)

• Tweaks to the frequency of players shooting at the near post from tight angles.

• Improvements to defender reactions against opposition dribbling.

• Tweaks made to the line defenders hold when defending in their own box.

• Improved logic to defenders’ decision-making with headers when not under pressure.

• Improved attacking movement of players during counter-attacking transitions.

• Various other Match AI tweaks.

• Fixed an issue where the disallowed goal caption appeared earlier than the VAR animation.

• Fixed an issue where substitution made at half-time were not immediately applied if the tactics screen was still open.

• Youth coaches will now rotate players more in youth matches.

• Fixed an issue where floating floodlights appeared in night-time matches when using Tactical or Dynamic sideline cameras.

• Fixed the captain indicator not appearing in the UEFA Conference League’s Pre-match Lineup.

• Fixed an issue where a red card would incorrectly show for both teams in Men’s Champions League matches.

• Winter balls will no longer be used if the weather is only raining.

• Fixed an issue where event captions were shown all at once when switching out of Commentary Only highlights.

• Fixed various kit clashes, including Everton (home) vs Brighton (away).

• Improvements made to the Match Momentum Graph.

• 2D Classic – Managers and medical staff are now coloured correctly.

• 2D Classic – Goal Nets will now correctly move when a goal is scored.

• 2D Classic – Ball will now be sized appropriately when the ball is in the air.

User Interface:

• Extensive polish and refinement done to the User Interface.

• Improvements made to Squad Comparison screen within Scout Report.

• Wage Budget/Payroll on Tiles and Widgets will now display in the correct weekly/monthly/yearly format in line with user preferences.

• The Transfer Activity tile now states the number of days until the window opens and closes. (shown below)

• Added a ‘Recently viewed players’ option on Player Comparison screen.

• The “i” tooltip will now appear next to the players on Goal50 and NXGN news items.

• Users can now add players from their Youth Squads to their Squad Planner.

• Fixed an issue where the Commercial Summary News did not display names/shirt numbers for most sold shirts.

• User can now open Past Match report when playing in low resolution on Calendar > Fixtures.

• The “Clear all” button now functions as intended when viewing a list of player recommendations.

• The correct fixture result now appears in Club Site -> About Club -> Latest results.

• Fixed an issue where IP/OOP role tiles would sometimes show the incorrect position for players.

• Own Goal scorers are no longer duplicated in the Calendar.

• Club hyperlinks on Club reports now function as intended.

• The Recruitment Focus tile now correctly displays the active number of focuses instead of the total number of focuses.

• Fixed an issue where the FM Menu couldn’t be closed when using the “X” button upon loading a save game.

• The Medical Centre tile now displays the correct icon on ‘players at risk of injury.

• The Shortlist tile now updates in real time.

• The Transfer Window tile no longer displays as closed when the user declines to make an offer message.

• The Match Momentum legend now matches the displayed colours in the card and tile.

• Enabled sorting by player and by expected playing time in ‘Playing time expectations for new season’ Portal message.

• The Defensive Line tile no longer appears twice in All Instructions > Out of Possession tab.

• Tactics Evaluation will now display correctly when first opened.

• Fixed an issue where the Mark Specific Player list of players only appeared after reopening the instruction card.

• Fixed an issue where the mini pitches weren’t appearing in the Formation Picker -> Suggested tab.

• Fixed an issue where the season date text displayed within Transfer History card was incorrect.

• The xG bar will now be coloured correctly on the Data Hub card.