This is one of the most important screens in Football Manager as it reflects the confidence of the people associated with the club in your stewardship. There are countless tales of managers earning good results on the pitch, only to be sacked days after a cup victory or league success, simply because there's a lack of confidence in the boss to take the club forward.
Two of three main sources of pressure on your job are represented here - the board and the supporters. The third group, the players, will be just as outspoken about your performance - the only difference with that group is that you can punish them, openly criticise them and even fire them. The board and fans are here to stay.
The two main panels on the screen give a brief outline of the two parties' views of your leadership, based on their own major concerns. The chairman, as the voice of the board of directors, offers a view of your success on the pitch, an overview of how well he thinks you are performing financially and his expectations for the coming season. Crucially, he'll pass on messages if he think a specific area of the team or your performance needs addressing, perhaps asking you to pursue a big name signing or cut the wage bill. Only a brave, and perhaps foolhardy, manager would ignore such direct advice from the chairman.

The Board
Communication with your chairman is not, however, a one way street and the successful Football Manager will use the board to his advantage. By clicking Make Board Request you can make some preset requests that will all potentially improve your chances of success, with the exception of the new contract request (see Profile).
If you feel you need more time to build the squad, or need transfer funds or a wage pool to improve the playing staff at your disposal you are within your rights to approach the chairman on these issues. However, a boss with a poor reputation or one who repeatedly makes requests in the face of negative feedback from the board will quickly become unpopular and could even be sacked.
The other two options, to expand the stadium and improve training facilities, can be just as crucial to the success of your team. If your stadium is constantly packed (see Attendances in Team Stats) you may want to request extra capacity to boost the club's coffers in the long term. Similarly, poor training facilities will result in more injuries - an improvement could make for a healthier, happier squad. If you are knocked back by your chairman you have the option to issue an ultimatum, using your reputation and success as collateral in a gamble involving your own job.

The Fans
The supporters of your club care little about financial astuteness. They have their own view of your appointment and success on the pitch, which is often more critical than the chairman who hired you in the first place.
The fans are similarly outspoken when it comes to expectations, often pitching their aims higher than the chairman, demanding success after success, almost regardless of other factors such as finance.
If you choose to manage a top team as an inexperienced manager the fans will be instantly sceptical about your credentials and quick to criticise poor performances or results. Pleasing the fans should be a major consideration as a manager, and there are certainly some quick ways to do this. Probably the most straight-forward is by signing a big name player. An ambitious move in the transfer market will certainly placate a supporter base baying for success, in the short term at least.
Other tools for keeping your fans happy are less costly, though often more risky - declaring your interest in a player, for instance, will have them salivating at the prospect of an incoming talent. However, this excitement will soon turn to anger if the signings you finger don't materialise.
One key way of communicating with your fans is through news interviews with the press. You can rest assured that, while your players will also keep tabs on what you say, the fans are the key consumers of any comments you make to the Press.