so we are stuck with another bad year in offline modes?
The new features in Manager Mode (and to a lesser extent, Player Career) are genuinely fantastic, IMO.
It shocked me quite a bit to spend time in Manager Mode. There is a lot of love and care gone into it from a group of people who clearly play manager games (and I think the "manager camera" which allows you to watch an AI v AI game from the sidelines is proof that they're genuinely interested in occupying the management space).
You can now employ coaches, for each area of the pitch, each with different ability levels - but not just that, they have "specialisations" (e.g. counter-attacking to help with transitions)...
Plus there's the new training model (which you prepare based on opposition scouting reports, which is a fantastic addition in itself - because it makes you think about every single match, rather than just blasting through them all with the same approach).
For me, the career modes have seen huge steps up. They seem to have really concentrated on features that are important to the mode, instead of just shoe-horning in the stuff that FUT players want. I was very impressed in that regard, credit where credit's due.
Then, you get onto the pitch and find that none of it means anything, because every match is identical no matter what you've done. No matter the player or team attributes or styles. All passes 100% accurate (and the "pass error" slider having no impact), "gamified" physics, no midfield, no resistance, 1v1 defending and basketball scores.
(Hey, look, I was positive for most of this post! Give me credit for trying! If gameplay could "get serious" the way career mode has, it would be an astonishing game. IMO.)