While most people loaded up the beta version of Football Manager 26 (FM26) on Thursday with the intention of having some lighthearted fun, I instead had a few burning questions in my mind. What does FM26 think of Everton? What do the players look like statistically? And most importantly, if you simulate one year into the future, where do the Toffees finish in the Premier League table?
Well, to start things off, when I went to pick the Toffees as my starting team, it showed that FM26 predicted Everton to finish 16th in the table, which seems low considering the investment that the club has made into its roster.
When it came to tactics, the game suggested Everton to play through the wings in a 4-2-3-1 shape in possession and a 4-4-1-1 defensive shape without the ball. That seemed close enough to reality, so I went ahead and picked it.
Once the formation was set up, I went on vacation and simulated until the 25th of May 2026. I didn’t enter a single match or set a starting lineup with the objective of having the least amount of influence as possible on the team. With all that said, here’s the five most important (and surprising) things that happened during the simulation.
Exceeded expectations
In this save, Everton finished 10th with 52 points. They finished above Wolves, Burnley, Sunderland, Crystal Palace, Manchester United, Nottingham Forest, Fulham, West Ham, Bournemouth, and Brentford. I was surprised to see that result considering what the game had predicted from the offset, but it matches my personal opinion on the state of the team.
Three surprising players led the team in offensive output
Thierno Barry was the teams highest scorer with 12 goals, and Tyler Dibling led the team with 14 assists. Jack Grealish surprisingly finished with less than 10 goal contributions. Also, shoutout to Carlos “Charly” Alcaraz for grabbing 20 goal contributions.
Everton won the first ever Merseyside Derby at Hill Dickinson Stadium
In Everton’s inaugural derby match at the new stadium, they pulled out a dramatic 3-2 win thanks to some unlikely contributors. Alcaraz opened the scoring in the second minute, and James Garner doubled the advantage in the 16th minute. However, Liverpool struck with two goals in the last five minutes of the first half.
Surprisingly, it was Dwight McNeil who broke the deadlock in the 64th minute and delivered an unprecedented win. Hopefully, this result replicates itself in real life.
A January and February to remember
Everton’s best stretch of games came after winter break, as the team only lost three matches in the span of two months.
The biggest game of that stretch was a 5-3 victory over Manchester United, but as you’ll see in a bit, there was one result that drew a significant smudge in what was otherwise an amazing run.
Football Manager is going to Football Manager
Of course, no Football Manager save is complete without an utterly outrageous result, which unfortunately came at Everton’s expense, as they were knocked out of the FA Cup by EFL League Two side Cambridge United Football Club, which came in between two wins against Bournemouth and Manchester United in the Premier League
If you’re curious at looking at some of the screenshots regarding this quick simulation, I compiled them into a little Twitter/X thread. Feel free to ask me for more if you’re looking for any specific statistics or results.
Overall, this was a pretty interesting save and typical of the football manager experience, and thankfully, there was no points deduction to manage this time around.