Without doubt this is the most important screen in Football Manager. Here you can review the players at your disposal, probe the backroom setup at your club, make use of your staff and even initiate mind games with rival bosses.
There are plenty of options to help you explore Football Manager on this screen, but your three main reasons for being here are: to assess your squad, to seek backroom help and to improve and expand your squad.

Assess Your Squad
Use the Show Filters button to the right of your squad list to show a panel that enables you to narrow down the players displayed.
This will enable you to focus on a section of the team. This option is handy, for instance, if you are looking to assess the balance of your team. Before you jump into making tactical decisions you should take as much time as possible to familiarise yourself with the playing assets at your disposal. Using this tool will simplify that process and enable you to identify positional weaknesses more easily.
Using the View drop-down menu will enable you to look more closely at the contractual status, experience and ability of your players so you can compare a group more easily. This screenshot shows how the two can be used in tandem to help you assess your squad.

Seek Backroom Help
In the bottom left of this screen you'll see a number of options that enable you to enlist the help of your coaches, as well as the Release Comment option which enables you to pass public comment on your previous or next opponents - a move that is sure to prompt a response from the manager of that club.
Use comments about your next or previous opponents to unsettle other managers and to seek a psychological edge over them. Your players are likely to respond well to a manager who can use the media to his advantage.
You can also use this option menu to wipe the slate clean and start the selection process from scratch by clicking Clear Selection.

Get Team Report
An at-a-glance overview of the strengths and weaknesses of your squad courtesy of your assistant manager.

Ask To Pick
This is a 'quick select' option ideal for friendlies when team make-up isn't sensitive. Press this and you can choose to ask any of your coaching staff to select a team from the players available.

Team Selections
Here you get a chance to Save or Edit Selections. This is a really quick way of setting up certain formations without having to rebuild them each time you elect to play a certain way. It's ideal if you feel, for instance, you can afford a more attacking formation at home, but you want to play it safe away. Save a home and away selection here and you can easily alternate between the two tactics without having to manually alter positions.
Increasingly managers are building formations to accommodate the specific abilities of a certain player. If you want to adopt this tactic then using the save selection will also safeguard you against a lengthy re-jigging process in the event your key man is unavailable.
You can also use the team selections option to prepare for other opponents. Once, for instance, you assign your scouts to spy on your next opponent (see Search: Scouting) you can use the info gleaned from them to draw on a tried and tested formula from a group of preset selections. These are designed to counter your rivals' style.

Improve And Expand Your Squad
This group of options is concerned primarily with getting the most out of your existing players and acquiring new ones. A successful Football Manager must learn to maximise the effectiveness of their playing assets because the option to buy new players isn't always open - for example, when funds are low (see Finances) or the transfer window is shut.
These options are located in the panel on the top left of your screen or in the drop down menu under 'Manager' on the top bar

Tactics
The beating heart of your managerial operation, where you choose your side, fine-tune your approach and give out specific instructions to your team.

Fixtures
Click here to review your fixtures and results and arrange friendly encounters.

Staff
Gives you a breakdown of the club's non-playing staff. Staff can be sorted according to their abilities and personal details.
It's almost as important to get your backroom staff right as it is to get the playing staff right if you're to enjoy success. Click on a member of staff's name to see their personal details. If you are unhappy with them you can terminate their contract. You can post a job advert in the Job Centre if you wish to seek new staff members.
It's certainly worth assessing your coaching staff whenever you take over a club. Poor coaches will do little to improve your players and can be quickly and easily replaced, provided you have the finances to do so.
If you have a coach you are particularly keen to hold on to it may pay to offer him a new deal as bigger clubs will think little of buying out a coaches relatively modest contract to poach him for their own use.

Training
This menu enables you to examine and re-evaluate the training your players are undertaking (See Training: Players) and also to assess the activities of your coaches (Training: Coaches).

Transfers
Keep track of the latest toings and froings at your club by clicking here. You can also monitor pending transfers on this screen.

Information
This screen gives you some basic information about your club, such as stadium, year founded etc.

Finances
You can use these finance screens to asses the commercial success of your stewardship.

Search
To seek out new players and members of staff you'll need some advanced tools. You'll find them on the shortlist, players, staff and scouting screens. Even when you are in a comfortable position and happy with your set-up at the club it pays to keep one eye on who is available and at what price. You never know when a big offer will come in for one of your players from another club. If you already have a potential replacement lined-up, you'll be in a prime position to take advantage of such a scenario.

History
This set of screens is a way of enabling you to add to the legend of the club you are managing. As you play they'll update with the latest stats from the game you're playing. So, while the honours list at the start of the 2005/06 season will be historically accurate, whatever is achieved in the game after that will be added as you go.

Other options
There are other standard options that enable you to navigate Football Manager and Save/Quit a game...
The World drop-down at the top of the screen gives you an overview of the clubs, teams and competitions in the Football Manager universe.
You can use the Recent drop-down to quickly skip back to people and teams you've recently examined, a great shortcut if you need to refer to a crucial transfer target or your next opponent.
Using the Link drop-down on the screen will bring up handy shortcuts to the league you're competing in, rivals' squads and the nation your side competes in. Use the league link to assess your side's performance in domestic competition to date and to peek at rivals' squads to eye potential transfer targets and start formulating tactics to beat them.
The Options menu enables you to manage your game settings and save/exit your current game. You can also add a new manager by selecting New User if you would like to play in Hot Seat mode.