Why Admitting Your Mistakes Is Sometimes the Best Way to Keep Trust
Learning from the Football Manager Gaming Community
Have you ever felt ignored by someone you care about? That’s the frustration echoing through the Football Manager community right now.
For years, fans of the iconic Football Manager series, developed by Sports Interactive (SI), have poured their hearts into crafting virtual football dynasties—meticulously managing teams, tactics, and transfers.
These players aren’t casual gamers. They’re a passionate community, some spending hundreds of hours perfecting their saves, debating strategies on forums, and celebrating the game’s immersive depth.
So, when SI announced the cancellation of Football Manager 25 (FM25), it sent shockwaves through this dedicated fanbase.
Worse, SI followed it with silence. No updates. No acknowledgment of fan concerns.
The result? Players feel dismissed and undervalued.
This misstep reveals something bigger: admitting mistakes—especially tough ones—is often the best way to preserve trust.
Whether you're running a studio, a business, or managing personal relationships, owning your errors builds credibility. It's how you stay connected to the people who matter.
Why We Tend to Hide Our Mistakes
It’s easy to avoid owning up.
We’re wired to protect ourselves—admitting fault can feel like opening ourselves to blame or embarrassment.
In ancient times, messing up in a group could mean exile. Our brains still carry that instinct: dodge the heat to stay safe.
So we hide mistakes. Or delay owning them. Or dress them up in PR spin.
But dodging accountability almost always backfires.
People are surprisingly forgiving—if they believe you're being honest. Fans of Football Manager aren’t looking for perfection. They just want transparency.
They’ve stuck with SI for years, believing in the quality the studio usually delivers.
But that belief only lasts as long as SI is willing to meet them halfway.
Look at Volkswagen during its emissions scandal in 2015. The fallout was immediate. But the company took ownership, made changes, and over time, began to rebuild trust.
Now compare that to a friend who always blames others, never apologizes, and keeps making the same mistakes. At some point, you stop making excuses for them.
Admitting a mistake doesn’t weaken you—it signals that you're serious about doing better.
That’s what keeps people loyal.
The Human Mind Needs a Sense of Progress to Stay Sane
Our brains hate uncertainty.
That limbo of not knowing? It breeds anxiety fast.
Progress—real or perceived—helps. It calms us down, gives us direction, and restores a sense of control.
That’s why communication is everything.
The silence from SI after the FM25 announcement only deepened the frustration. Without updates, fans are left to speculate—and often, assume the worst.
It’s like being stuck in an airport during a delay. If the airline keeps you posted, even if the delay drags on, you stay relatively calm. But if no one says anything? You stew. You imagine scenarios. You get angry.
Same thing in a team setting. A stalled project with no updates drags morale down. But a manager who communicates clearly—even about bad news—keeps people grounded.
SI doesn’t need to fix everything overnight. But it does need to say something.
A simple message—"We're working on it and will share more soon"—can go a long way.
Acknowledging people and keeping them informed is how you build trust under pressure.
Don’t Take Their Generosity for Granted
Admitting a mistake doesn’t erase it.
But it does give you time.
Done sincerely, it signals respect. It shows the people affected that their trust matters.
Take KFC’s chicken shortage in the UK in 2018. Instead of hiding, they issued a bold, self-aware apology ad ("FCK, we’re sorry"). It worked. People appreciated the honesty—and stuck around.
Football Manager fans would likely do the same. An honest statement from SI that shows they get the disappointment and outlines what’s next? That alone could reset the tone.
But here's the key: acknowledgment isn’t a get-out-of-jail-free card.
You can’t keep saying sorry and not follow through. That only burns trust faster.
A friend who keeps bailing and always apologizing stops getting invites. A company that admits to bad service but never improves loses customers—no matter how many apologies they post.
There’s a limit to people’s generosity.
In 2012, BlackBerry underestimated that limit. They apologized for outages, but ignored bigger product issues. Eventually, their loyal users left. Because loyalty isn’t unconditional.
SI needs to get this.
Fans aren’t asking for perfection. They’re asking for transparency, effort, and a reason to believe in what comes next.
Admitting mistakes earns you a second chance.
Delivering on your promises is what makes that second chance matter.
Whether you're building a game, leading a team, or trying to make amends in your personal life—don’t wait to get it perfect before you say something.
Own it. Show people you’re working on it.
That’s how trust is built. And how it stays.
