Manager Mode
The Manager Mode for FIFA 10 has been revamped and has had a multitude of issues and criticisms addressed according to EA Sports; 50 key improvements in total. Among these improvements are:
The transfer system will be more authentic, as money is not the monopolizing factor in acquiring a player. The acceptance of the offer will be based on factors such as the number of players in your squad in the same position, and the promise of European competition outside the domestic league. Furthermore, obtaining a player's services will be more realistically prolonged as the manager must deal with competition for the player by other clubs. Also, now one can submit bids in for several different players, (although it is not possible to purchase Ronaldo for two years, if you are not Real Madrid) and if the club accepts, then you as the manager has the choice of approving the transfer. So for instance if bids for three different strikers were submitted, and you only needed one, if the clubs of those three players accept the offers, you have the choice of choosing which of the players you actually want to have.
The financial matters in the game will be based less on a team sponsor and primarily on the board of directors, who will provide two overall budgets: Wage budget (the amount of money provided every year for paying players) and Club budget (the money associated with buying and selling players as well as team improvements).
There will be a Board Difficulty setting, in which players can decide how "generous" the board is financially.
The Player Experience and Growth System has also dramatically changed. The manual XP growth from FIFA 08 and FIFA 09 have been abolished; player growth will now be determined by in-game performance, demands placed on the player, and achievements based on the player's particular position. There will also be three categories for gaining experience: Mental XP, Physical XP, and Skill XP. Younger players with higher potential will gain XP much faster (especially in Physical XP) and each player will have an individual growth point, which in turn promises more authentic gameplay.
Results for simulated non-user matches will be more heavily based on team strength and not appear as "random" as has been the case in the past. This will result in more realism and eliminate instances from the previous title where stronger clubs were fighting relegation and clubs with weaker players were winning the league.
Pre-season friendlies will be introduced to the next-gen versions of the game, which will be organized by the club's assistant manager for a chance to flatten out any wrinkles in a club's lineup before the domestic season begins.
A Live Season feature has been implemented within Manager Mode. As players' forms rise and fall based on performance (within Manager Mode itself, not real-world events), players will receive a temporarily higher or lower rating along with temporarily higher or lower stats to implicate the authenticity of player form.
Kit numbers can once again be edited.
The fatigue of players will be more authentic and realistic, eliminating the problem in which lower-level teams suffer from incredibly low energy levels throughout a series of matches.
The AI of other teams across the Manager Mode world has been improved significantly. Opposing clubs will rotate players more often based on factors such as fatigue, player form, and even the relative importance of a match (i.e the lineup for a top team in the early rounds of a domestic cup will consist of lower-level and younger players as opposed to a full-strength squad).
Total Football Experience will be a new feature in which football news around the Manager Mode world will be visible, including player transfers, fixtures and results in foreign leagues.
A new mode which has been revealed is the "Set-Piece Creator". Using this, runs can be assigned to specific players for different directions. It is not known yet wheather this will be available on online play, as revealed by producer David Rutter.
A new feature, the Assistant Manager, has been implemented. When he is activated, he will take care of the line-up and rotate the team's squad based on importance of the upcoming match. For example, if the next match is against a low rated team, he will make sure that players that normally are on the bench will play. [4]
