You know what I’m tired of hearing? If you want a more in-depth career mode experience go play Football Manager. Guess what? I shouldn’t have to. Many of the improvements that could be made to FIFA17 wouldn’t have to be all that intensive and would make career mode way more immersive for many aspiring managers. Here is a list of improvements I would like to see EA sports implement.

Player Sleeves

As a big fan of ‘Road to Glory’ nothing irks me more than to see the ‘League 2’ badge on my team when I’ve finally managed to get Portsmouth to the Premier League. I mean, is it really that hard to add a new badge when you enter a new league? Actually, the answer is probably yes. They render whole kit designs which probably doesn’t allow for much customization. However, they are able to change kit name and numbers so why not the badge on our sleeves? While this might seem like a small and insignificant change, it would do wonders for self-immersion, and my slight OCD.

National Team Invites

I didn’t realize that, as a mid table manager in Bundesliga 2, I am the most sought after national team coach ever. Each week comes a new offer and it is impossible to turn off. For the love that is all things Lionel Messi, please let me switch this off! I promise if I want to coach a national team, you’ll be the first to know. In fact, why not make it so you have to apply?

Kit Design

We’re about to get a little crazy, hold on. You don’t need to have 10 unique kits designed for each team. However, why not make 10 conventional kits where, regardless of who you play as, you can switch to one of those designs. The only limitations could be you’d need to stick with the color scheme, advertisement, and brand (Adidas, Nike, etc) for licensing purposes.

Career Statistics

How is this not yet a thing? I mean, if I want to see a summary of how I did each season as a manager over the years, what’s stopping me? EA, of course! If you accidentally simulate and trigger the end of the year, all rewards and accolades are out the window and you’ll never know how you performed. One could argue they tried to do something similar with manager objectives but I should be able to go back and see what my objectives were 10 years ago compared to now. This would go towards all facets of the game; statistics, league finishes, cup winners, and more.

A more involved Youth Academy

I would take the academy one step further and have an Under-21 squad. You can choose to manage that squad or delegate that responsibility to your staff. In lieu of a once a month email that details the growth of your squad – you would have a brand new youth portal that would allow you to interact with your youth squad. Loan, train, play; you would have full control over their development. How neat would it be to hear the crowd sing “He’s one of our own…”

Stadiums

I’m 100% positive we used to be able to upgrade our stadiums in FIFA 10. What happened to that? There used to be ten levels of upgrades that you could apply to your stadium as your club grew in size and money. If you get promoted you should, at the very least, be able to pick a larger stadium from the generic pool. I cringe every time I load into the final leg of a Champions Cup knockout round at Ivy Lane. (Yes, we all love Ivy Lane)

Press Conferences

Can we just get rid of these? Does anyone really use them anymore or have they not yet come to the realization that it has zero bearing on the match? There should be managerial modifiers that effect what the players, owners, and fans think of you. Very much like what we’ve seen in ‘The Journey’, except translated into Career Mode. If I want to be the Jose Mourinho of managers I should be able to take shots at opposition skippers. For now, it seems, we’ll have to be content with praising our whole squads.

Realistic Transfers

I recall EA’s announcement to changes in career mode over a year ago and one of the bullet points was realistic transfers and less scripting. Yet it seems nothing has really changed. Regardless of my save - 9/10 times David Alaba will go to Juventus and Harry Kane will go to Manchester United. EA’s idea of realistic is where the top 50 players in FIFA will keep shuffling around every transfer window. I understand they want players to see some action in their career modes but there’s no reason to just completely destroy any semblance of realism.

Crowds

Does a round one FA Cup match against a League Two side have to have the same atmosphere as a Champions Cup final? Come on, EA.

Awards

Can a man get a pat on the back for a job well done? This new manager’s rating is as bogus and buggy as anything ever implemented in a Career Mode. I can load into a game and have a rating of 60. I’ll back out, reload, and come into a rating of 80. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to bad ratings. Make golden boot or league MVP mean something. If I win manager of the year, I want to feel like I won it. Not get an anonymous email letting me know that my e-time is appreciated.