Best Principles in Football Manager 2024

Nathan Warby
Football Manager 2024 players celebrating

Football Manager 2024 places you in control of every aspect of your club, but you’ll also need to pick your own core Principles to build a successful relationship with the squad. Here are the best Principles to pick in Football Manager 2024.

When starting a new Football Manager 2024 save, there are plenty of different factors to consider. It’s important to pick the right club to begin your journey with, as well as the ideal formation and tactics to match your style of play.

But in this year’s game, players are also asked to look inward and choose what type of manager they want to be. This is done by selecting Principles, which can have just as drastic an effect on your team as the players you sign or staff you hire.

So, here are the best Principles in Football Manager 2024.

Football Manager 2024 Principles explained

FM24 squad Buy-In menu
Choosing the right Principles will improve your support from players.

Football Manager 2024‘s Principles are the core values that you believe in as a manager which you want to pass on to the rest of the squad. For example, Expressionism is the idea that players should be able to make their own choices, giving them plenty of freedom both in games and away from the pitch.

The Principles you pick will have major long-term effects on how each individual player sees you as a manager. As your career unfolds, each member of the squad has a Buy-In stat, showing how much they believe in the philosophy and are committed to the cause.

There are eight Principles to choose from in total, but only three can be selected at any given time. You’ll get the option to pick your Principles at the start of a new save or when you move to a club for the first time.

But which core values are likely to bring success? Here are the best Principles in FM24.

FM24: Best Principles

Dedication

To begin with, Dedication is one of the best Principles in Football Manager 2024. This encourages your squad to give you “maximum effort” every single day, whether it’s a cup final or just a basic training session.

What makes this Principle effective is that it appeals to nearly every player no matter what their mindset is, especially the leaders and hard workers in the group. By picking this value, the more influential members of your squad will buy into your philosophy and boost everyone around them.

Resilience

At some point in your FM24 save, things will inevitably go wrong, and that’s where the Resilience Principle comes into play. Every club has bad days and you’ll need a squad capable of bouncing back if you want to reach the elite competitions.

Coming from behind to secure a big win or grinding out three points after a hefty loss can work wonders for team morale, so you’ll want to put together a group of players with a strong mentality to carry you through the tough times.

Principles menu in FM24
There are eight different Principles in FM24.

Consistency

Anybody can climb to the top in Football Manager 2024, but Consistency is the only way to stay there, making it one of the best Principles in the game. According to the in-game description, this encourages the team to “do the little things right every time,” building a culture of staying focused even if the results are coming in.

While the Consistency Principle might not appeal to the more Relaxed players in the squad, if the big personalities buy into what you’re doing then they’ll drag everyone forward with them.

Expressionism

While it’s important to demand the best from your team every day, Expressionism gives the more creative players a little freedom to be themselves. Not every superstar footballer responds to being drilled hard every day, so a bit of leeway is perfect for keeping them onside.

The most naturally gifted players tend to have a Relaxed mindset in this year’s game, so using Expressionism to keep their spirits up is essential for long-term success, which is why it’s easily one of the best Principles in Football Manager 2024.

There you have it! Those were the best Principles in Football Manager 2024 that will help you lead your team to glory.

For more on FM24, be sure to check out our other guides:

Football Manager 2024: Team talks & shouts explained | Football Manager 2024: Best clubs to rebuild | Football Manager 2024 Fantasy Draft mode | Football Manager 2024 skins: How to install & change | Does Football Manager 2024 have a demo? | How to Scout players in Football Manager 2024 | Football Manager 2024: Best Youth Academies

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About The Author

Nathan is a Senior Writer at CharlieIntel. He’s an expert in EA Sports FC, Call of Duty, and Overwatch, as well as superhero games, including Marvel’s Spider-Man. With a master's degree in Magazine Journalism from Nottingham Trent University, he worked as a Trainee Reporter for Derbyshire Live before moving into games media, with bylines at Dexerto, Cultured Vultures, and more. You can contact Nathan by email at [email protected].