IMPROVE your YOUTH INTAKE in FM26!

Storyline / Purpose of the Video

The video’s “story” is essentially a progression from why youth intake matters in Football Manager 26, to how to increase the frequency/quality of good wonder kids. It focuses on the earliest and most controllable step off the pitch: improving the club and staffing factors that influence your annual youth intake.

What “Youth Intake Day” Is and Why It Matters

Youth intake day is described as the FM equivalent of Christmas Day—your newly generated youth prospects are revealed near the end of the season.

Better youth intakes help you:

• Develop more strong homegrown players for the first team
• Potentially earn more money from future player sales

Off-the-Pitch Factors to Improve Youth Intake Quality (Key Steps)

1) Upgrade What You Can at the Club (Board Requests)

While youth intake has a luck component, the odds can be improved by upgrading club resources, such as:

• Youth facilities
• Junior coaching
• Youth recruitment

The video also notes (indirectly) that training quality tends to improve once better facilities are in place.

Board/request workflow (high-level)

1. Use the Club Site screen to review your current facility status
2. Use the Board screen to request improvements, such as:
   • Increase junior coaching budget
   • Improve facilities
   • Improve your youth recruitment network

Tool/screens referenced

• Club Site (shows facilities and related history)
• Board request screen (for stadium/facilities/financial/network requests)

2) Hire the Right Person: Head of Youth Development

A core strategy is appointing (or replacing) a strong Head of Youth Development (or an equivalent role at smaller clubs).

Key qualities to target

Attributes (3 highlighted priorities):

• Ability to work with youngsters (coaching)
• Ability to judge player ability/potential (knowledge)
• Ability to recruit/spot talent (recruitment overlap)

Personality (very important):

• A strong personality helps shape the character of the youth you bring in.
• The video warns that weak personality often correlates with youths lacking professionalism, determination, or ambition—making them harder to develop and less likely to reach potential.
• Recommended personality types include: Model Professional / Pro / Model Citizen / Determined, or anything “better than balanced” (avoid poor personalities).

Optional/bonus consideration

• Preferred formations and tendencies can help you find players aligned with your style, but the video treats this as a bonus, not essential—because youth players rarely reach the first team under the exact same tactics/manager situation.

3) Don’t Forget the “Responsibility” Setting (Critical Mistake)

Even with the perfect staff member, the video emphasizes that one setting can ruin your intake if overlooked.

• Go to Club → Responsibilities
• Open the Advice/Reports style options (top-right button)
• In the Player report section, ensure the correct staff member is set for:
  • “Provide youth development information” (to feed through the next generation)

The video’s cautionary tale

• The creator replaced the Head of Youth Development after getting an upgrade.
• The new coach was not assigned to the youth responsibility.
• Result: the wrong person handled youth intake, producing a poor youth intake with bad personalities.

Lesson: after changing staff, verify the dropdown and press confirm/save.

Additional Gameplay Tip / Fun Fact

A new FM26 interface detail lets you see exactly when your next youth intake arrives at any point in the save:

• Located on the Club Site page under a youth setup area
• Includes a calendar icon, the exact date, and a countdown
  • Example shown: “251 days to go”

Key Sources / Gamers Featured

• Steve Harper (used as the example Head of Youth Development profile; described as a “Newcastle legend” in the video)
• No other specific gamers/creators are named in the subtitles.