Football Manager 2017: Complete Guide

A guide to getting the most out of Sports Interactive's FM17 today: setting up a save, building tactics, training, transfers, finances and squad harmony, plus fixes and tips for playing a 2016 release in 2026.

Researched September 2026 — current as of update 17.3.2 (July 2017), the final patch; the database is the 17.3.0 January Transfer Update. Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Availability note (September 2026): Football Manager 2017 is no longer sold on Steam. Its store page states that, at the publisher's request, it is unlisted and will not appear in search. If you already own it, it stays in your Steam library and can still be installed and played; new players should buy a current Football Manager release instead.

Quick Start

1. FM17 is finished software, and delisted. It can no longer be bought on Steam; owners can still play it. The last patch, 17.3.2 (July 2017), only fixed the in-game Twitter. The last database update was 17.3.0 (March 2017), so squads reflect the January 2017 window.
2. Pick a club whose expectations you can meet. Board and fan expectations drive whether you get sacked. A mid-table club with a patient board is the best learning save.
3. Build one tactic that suits your squad, not your favorite team on TV. Match your formation and roles to the players you already have.
4. Use your staff. Assistant manager reports, scout recommendations and coach star ratings are free information. Read them.
5. Balance wages before chasing signings. Wage budget problems cause more sackings than bad results.
6. Keep the dressing room happy. Player promises, playing time and squad hierarchy matter; an unhappy key player can wreck morale.
7. Scout before you bid. Unscouted players show masked attributes. A full scout report shows whether the player fits your system.
8. Save often, and keep a backup. Long saves are the whole point of FM; a crash or bad decision should not cost you seasons.

Setting Up a Save

• Leagues: load only the nations you care about plus a few big ones. More leagues means slower processing but a richer world. The database covers 2,500+ playable clubs and 500,000+ real players and staff.
• Database size: "Large" gives more realistic youth and player pools at the cost of speed.
• Manager profile: your chosen coaching badges and past playing experience affect how players and boards view you at the start. Higher badges carry more authority in the dressing room.
• Unemployed start: choosing to start without a club and apply for jobs is a classic challenge.
• Brexit: FM17 was the first FM to simulate possible outcomes of the UK leaving the EU. The outcome can change work permit rules for British clubs once it triggers in your save (details in the Brexit section below).
• Manager avatar: FM17 lets you build a 3D avatar of yourself for the touchline, from a webcam capture or an uploaded photo. Purely cosmetic.

Picking your first club

For a first save, the mid-table option teaches the most systems with the least punishment.

Tactics

The building blocks

1. Formation – where players stand (4-4-2, 4-2-3-1, 4-3-3, 3-5-2, and so on).
2. Team mentality and shape – how cautious or aggressive the team is overall, and how freely players leave their positions.
3. Team instructions – passing directness, tempo, width, defensive line, pressing and more.
4. Player roles and duties – each position gets a role (for example, Ball-Playing Defender, Deep-Lying Playmaker, Advanced Forward) and a duty (Defend, Support, Attack).
5. Player instructions – individual tweaks such as shooting more often or crossing less.

Rules of thumb

• Balance duties. Too many Attack duties leave you exposed; too many Defend duties and you cannot score. Aim for a spread down each flank and through the middle.
• Pair roles. A full-back on Attack pairs well with a winger on Support (or an inside forward who vacates the wing).
• Give the team a playmaker. One clear playmaker role helps the side know where to route the ball.
• Use the role-suitability stars. A player's profile shows how suited he is to a role; key attributes for the role are highlighted.
• Keep three tactic slots. A standard tactic, a more attacking version for chasing games, and a defensive version for protecting leads.

In-match management

• Watch at least Extended or Comprehensive highlights early on; you need to see what is going wrong.
• Touchline shouts give quick nudges to the whole team (more urgency, more calm, more aggression) without rebuilding the tactic.
• Check the assistant manager's feedback at half-time and the match stats (shots, possession, chances) before overhauling anything.
• Team talks can lift or crush morale. Praise a strong half, calmly encourage a poor one; aggressive talks backfire with players who are already stressed.

Training

• General team training sets the overall focus for the squad (for example a balanced schedule, or one weighted toward attacking, defending, tactics or fitness).
• Match training is where you work on the upcoming game: tactical familiarity, teamwork and set pieces. Early in a season or after big squad changes, lean on tactical familiarity.
• Individual focus: give young players a role to train toward and an attribute focus. Pairing youngsters with experienced, professional senior players helps shape their personality, which drives how well they develop.
• Coach quality matters. Coaches with high star ratings in the categories you train improve results.
• Workload: too much intensity raises injury risk, especially in congested fixture periods.

Transfers and Scouting

• Set the scouting focus. Assign scouts to regions or competitions, and set target criteria (age, position, budget).
• Scout, then negotiate. A full report reveals attributes, personality and suitability for your roles.
• Watch wages more than fees. A cheap fee with huge wages can strangle your budget for years.
• Use clauses. Sell-on clauses, appearance fees and installments help stretch a small budget.
• Loans are underrated. Loaning in quality players covers gaps; loaning out prospects develops them with first-team minutes.
• Promises are binding. Promising playing time or future signings to land a player creates obligations. Broken promises damage morale and your reputation in the squad.

Finances and the Board

• Board confidence tracks results, finances, match performance and how you handle the club's vision (for example, playing youth or attractive football).
• Adjust the budget split. You can move money between transfer and wage budgets; a small transfer budget with wage headroom often works better than the reverse.
• Board requests: you can ask for better facilities, youth recruitment, affiliate clubs and more. Requests have a better chance when confidence is high.
• Do not ignore negative balances. Persistent losses restrict budgets and can put your job at risk.

Squad Dynamics and Media

• Hierarchy: team leaders and highly influential players shape the squad's mood. Keep them onside.
• Settling in: new signings who share a language or nationality with existing players tend to settle faster; a lone foreign signing can take longer to adapt.
• Playing time: squad status labels such as "Star Player" and "Regular Starter" set how many minutes a player expects. Change a status only when you mean it, because a downgrade can upset him.
• Media: press conferences and interactions affect morale and relationships with players and rival managers. When in doubt, choose calm, neutral answers.
• Social feed: FM17 added an in-game social media feed that reacts to your decisions.

Brexit in FM17

FM17 shipped a few months after the 2016 referendum, and Sports Interactive built the uncertainty into the game. Per Wikipedia, a save can land on one of three outcomes:

What it means in practice:

• You can't pick the outcome; it plays out inside your save. Keep an eye on the news inbox.
• If you manage a British club, buying EU players before any change lands is a hedge. Players already at your club are much easier to keep than new ones are to sign under the stricter scenarios.
• Homegrown players become more valuable under the harder outcomes, so a good youth setup pays off twice.
• Outside Britain it barely affects you, beyond British clubs becoming weaker buyers in some scenarios.

Patch History (all official, from Steam news)

Every update was save-game compatible, so an old save picks up the latest build without restarting. Only new games use the 17.3.0 database, though. To play with the January 2017 squads, start a fresh career.

System Requirements and Platforms

FM17 runs on almost anything made in the last decade. Minimums from the Steam page:

All three need a GPU with 256 MB of VRAM. The practical bottleneck is the CPU during match processing, not the graphics, which is why trimming loaded leagues speeds things up far more than lowering graphics settings. The Steam page lists 17 supported languages, including simplified and traditional Chinese.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Copying an internet "super tactic" into a squad that cannot play it. Match roles to the players you have.
• Signing too many players in one window. Cohesion drops sharply.
• Overloading wages. Wage budget overruns quickly anger the board.
• Changing everything after one bad result. Look for patterns across several matches.
• Ignoring youth. Youth intakes and promotions are cheap long-term value, and some boards expect it.
• Neglecting player happiness. Unhappy players underperform and can unsettle others.
• Never reviewing staff. Weak scouts, coaches and physios hold back the whole club.

Advanced Tips

• Use the opposition instructions. Tighter marking or showing an opponent onto his weaker foot can neutralize a star.
• Set pieces are free goals. Put your best headers in the right zones and your best crosser on delivery.
• Rotate fitness in congested schedules. Starting players whose condition is well below full raises injury risk; your medical staff will flag the worst cases.
• Plan three seasons ahead. Identify who will leave, who will decline and which prospects will replace them.
• Rethink the league list for performance on an old PC: fewer active leagues means faster processing.
• Pre-game editor and mods. Community-made data updates, face packs and logo packs extend FM17's life. Always back up saves before adding mods.

Playing FM17 in 2026

• It is unlisted on the Steam store (at the publisher's request), so it can't be bought there any more. Owners can still install and run it through their Steam library on Windows, Mac and Linux.
• Because updates ended in 2017, rosters are historic, which suits nostalgia and "rebuild the 2016/17 season" challenges.
• For a current database, use a newer Football Manager release or community database updates for FM17.
• If an update fails to download, restart Steam; Sports Interactive's advice for every patch was to exit and restart Steam to trigger it.

FAQ

Is FM17 still worth playing? If you already own it, yes, for a finished, stable FM with a 2016/17 world. For current squads, play a newer edition.

Can I still buy FM17? Not on Steam: the store page says it is unlisted at the publisher's request. Existing owners keep access through their library.

What was the last FM17 update? 17.3.2 in July 2017, which updated the in-game Twitter integration. 17.3.0 in March 2017 was the final database update.

Can I play FM17 in simplified Chinese? Yes. A simplified Chinese version was added in April 2017, set via Steam's language option and then the in-game preferences.

How do I stop getting sacked? Pick a club whose board expectations match your squad, keep finances healthy, and meet the board's stated vision.

What is the best formation? There is no universal best. Choose one that fits your squad's strengths and balance duties across the pitch.

Will my old save use the January 2017 transfers? No. The 17.3.0 database only loads when you start a new game. Existing saves keep running on the updated code but with their original world.

Will FM17 run on a low-end laptop? Very likely. The Steam minimum is 2 GB of RAM and a 256 MB graphics card. Load fewer leagues and a smaller database if processing is slow.

Is FM Touch 2017 the same game? No. Touch is a streamlined version with fewer systems, released alongside FM17 on PC, Mac, Linux and tablets (iPad and high-end Android tablets).

Sources

• Steam store page (app 482730)
• FM17 Steam news: updates 17.1.2, 17.2.0, 17.3.0, 17.3.1, 17.3.2
• Football Manager 2017 – Wikipedia
• Sports Interactive / Football Manager official site