Video summary

FM26 Player Development Guide & Jonas Training Schedules

Main summary

Key takeaways

Gaming

Storyline / Context

This video isn’t a narrative “story mode.” It’s a Football Manager 2026 (FM26) player development guide from within the Jonas Murz FM Youth Academy, focused on how to build effective youth/reserve growth systems when you no longer have full control of B/reserve team training—and how to compensate using staff, squad structure, loans, and the remaining control you still have (especially for first-team training).

Gameplay Goals & What the Guide Tries to Achieve

  • Improve how attributes develop (growth rates by attribute type + the role of potential)
  • Create training schedules that maintain readiness, cohesion, morale, and fitness
  • Use loans and squad planning so players get regular matches, since training alone can be insufficient
  • Manage risk from higher workload and injury/condition drift under FM26’s training systems

Key Systems & Guide Flow

1) First Steps: Staff Setup (Biggest Early Lever)

Because you have reduced hands-on control of youth/reserves, the video emphasizes that:

  • The quality and number of coaching/medical staff strongly affects progression at every level.

Priority actions

  • Fill every available coaching and medical staff slot
  • Use the right mix:
    • Coaches: provide higher-quality, focused training
    • Sports scientists: reduce injuries and manage condition
    • Physios: improve recovery and give more accurate injury updates

Monitor coach training workload

  • Keep it light/average
  • Heavy workload lowers session quality and slows development

Preseason staffing adjustment

  • When physical work increases, temporarily reassign extra staff toward fitness if your club allows it

Optimize responsibilities pages (as possible)

  • Tune the coach responsibilities page for each relevant team, especially:
    • squads/squad sizes
    • other controllable settings

2) Attribute Growth Rules (Fundamentals Haven’t Changed)

  • Physical attributes develop faster early
  • Mental attributes develop slower
  • Technical attributes develop steadily over time

New primary drivers of development (beyond base attribute rules):

  • Staff quality
  • Squad sizes/structure
  • Loan strategy

3) Loan Strategy (Most Effective Development Tool)

Since you can’t fully control youth/reserve training, loans and promotions are described as the most effective tools.

Loan selection criteria

  • Send players to clubs with good facilities
  • Their league should be higher reputation than where your player currently plays
  • Ensure regular playing time

Best practice (per the creator’s testing)

  • Include a recall clause in loan contracts

Claim from the video

  • Properly chosen loans often outperform reserve training even for top prospects.

4) Squad Sizing & Rotation Targets

First team

  • Aim around max 25 players
    • roughly 2 per position
    • plus 3 extra for mentoring
  • Example structure given:
    • 1 defender, 1 midfielder, 1 attacker (or an “attacker” slot—overall intent is mentoring/coverage balance)

Youth/Reserve teams

Depends on how much micromanagement you’re willing to do:

  • Minimal micromanagement: 15–18 players per squad
  • More micromanagement: 20–22 players, rotating so about:
    • 12 or 11 play in matches

Ages & playing time emphasis

  • FM26 design emphasis:
    • Ages 15–18: develop more from training
    • 18+: develop more from experience/game ratings
  • Playing time doesn’t need to be full matches for youth:
    • 15–30 minutes can be enough
  • Squad age targeting approach mentioned:
    • U18: keep mostly 15–17
    • Promote to U21/reserves around 18–20
    • Use loans or further promotions if not already promoted

5) Training Control: What You Still Can Influence

Even without full B-team/reserve-team control, the guide says you can shape outcomes via first-team training and team-wide settings.

Training intensity workflow (automated control)

  • Set automatic intensity based on condition:
    • Keep it at double for the first two “green” condition levels
    • Then normal
    • If condition is really bad, intensity drops accordingly
  • Let FM26 adjust automatically so you don’t manually tweak daily.

Role/duty assignment

  • Assign each player to a specific position + role + duty
  • Avoid vague “general position” assignments
  • With the game’s two-formation setup:
    • set appropriate arrangements for in possession and out of possession

Monthly motivation check

  • Praise/correct based on training ratings:
    • Praise at 7.5+
    • Criticize at 6.5 or below

Training Schedule Guidance (Preseason + Season)

Preseason schedule intent

Designed to build:

  • Physical readiness
  • Team cohesion

Friendly match plan

  • 1 friendly per week
  • Ideally on Saturday to match the included schedules

Friendly rotation plan

  • Early preseason matches:
    • use two 11s
    • one for 45 minutes, another for the second half
  • Last two preseason matches:
    • use something closer to your first team for ~60 minutes
    • then rotate

During the season

  • Rotate attacking and defensive sessions based on need/match scenarios
  • Monitor workload and morale
  • Training should support performance, not overload players

Schedule pack included in the video

The creator says there are four schedules supplied below:

  • Preseason
  • During-season schedule variations:
    • 1 match on Saturday
    • 1 match on Sunday
    • 2 matches (weekly)

They’re described as designed to complement each other and adapt to squad load.

Sunday match note (manual task)

  • If you play on Sunday, the creator prefers a match review after every match
  • FM schedules don’t automatically save match review into the schedule when weeks shift, so:
    • match review may need to be done manually.

“10 Commanders of Training” (Key Takeaways / Tips)

  • 1) Great coaches matter: fill every coaching slot (request more if possible)
  • 2) Use specific position + role + duty (and respect “position vs out of position”)
  • 3) Use preseason schedules properly
  • 4) Keep training intensity at medium or below (especially preseason)
  • 5) Let intensity change/maximum land two days after matches, then taper
  • 6) Remember attribute growth pace:
    • physical fast, mental slow
  • 7) Put the right players in the right teams (don’t promote someone if you can’t give them the playing time they need)
  • 8) Maintain two players per position (no more)
  • 9) Use the schedules consistently

Note: The subtitles’ numbering jumps around, but these are the concrete points listed.

Additional Callouts / Warnings

  • Don’t skip the earlier setup steps before using the schedules—otherwise:
    • higher injury risk
    • inconsistent results
  • The creator says they plan a deeper youth development video later using a “hijack tips method.”

Gamers / Sources Featured

  • Jonas Murz (creator / “Jonas Murz FM Youth Academy”)
  • Football Manager 2026 (FM26) (game reference; no other external sources or specific gamers named)

Original video