Why do his attributes drop?

[Shizzle]

I'm just starting to get into FM 2011, been playing this series for a while now and had a question about something I noticed for years.

Sometimes a players stats take a massive drop even though he's young, hasn't been overplayed,injured underplayed or anything else.

Even with great hidden stats and mental stats!

It kind of frustrates me to see young players's stats that shouldn't be on the decline take such massive hits for no apperent reason.

This usually happens when he's close to his full CA compared to his overall PA.

Does it have anything to do with CA reallocation through training and if yes, can it be prevented?

[furiousuk]

Yep and so long as he is losing from areas you don't necessarily need it's actually a good thing as it means those losses will be redistributed to the areas you do want him proficient in. Although the attributes are shown to be out of 20 they are actually out of 200 (I think) so you might see the red arrows for losses if it goes over an attribute point threshold but you might not necessarily see a green arrow if the improvement is, say, for 108 to 114 (i.e. around 11 but not high enough to hit 12).

It could theoretically be prevented by matching the training schedule exactly to the attribute distribution of the player. You'll probably find that a neutral training schedule at the right workrate would see the same effect though as training isn't that sensitive.

[Shizzle]

He lost attributes in Key areas,such as acceleration, dribbling and crossing.

You probably guessed already.....that he's a winger!

He was on the standard midfielder training schedule though.

[furiousuk]

I'm not sure what the standard midfielder schedule looks like but it maybe isn't hard enough for him and needs a bit more workload. All those stats come from different training categories.

Sometimes players just get lazy, even the most professional, and require a rocket into the backside. If he continually gets red arrows month after month after a rollocking then something else is the problem. Are the coaches or standards any good? Has he recently moved clubs? Has he had any tutoring recently? Are you sure he has decent hidden stats? Is he gaining attributes in other areas to offset the losses? It's easier to train worse attributes so maybe that has something to do with it.

edit: Just had another though which potentially has a massive effect on training, what is your match prep set at? Too much prep and not enough regular training will occur which will hamper development (or stall it or even regress it)

[Shizzle]

Match prep is very low, hidden stats have been checked with a scout programm, but the coaches are rather awful and he doesn't lose stats every month just a huge loss once.

He didn't have any tutoring (aged 24) and he hasn't moved clubs.

This happened to me on pretty much every FM since 2008 once a player is close to his full potential regardless of any of these factors you've mentioned.

[furiousuk]

Yep, sometimes players just have a lazy month. Frustrating I'll agree but pretty realistic really, even for the most determined or professional (maybe they just try too hard and its actually hampers them until they relax again!). Give them a dressing down and they should be back to normal in no time. I think coach attributes such as man management and level of discipline probably play a role in how often this occurs but I've got 2 coaches who excel in these stats coaching all players (as well as the star whores) and it still happens from time to time, even with my good personality players.

[Shizzle]

Yeah I noticed that too, most of his stats besides Acceleration are actually coming back.

I did let him train a new position though,where he was already accomplished (19 out of 20 according to the scout), but is now natural in!

Might have something to to with that, thinking about low training workload was, plus the 30% match preparation for the first few months and rather awful coaches.

I also noticed that natural fitness actually improves in this version.

Interesting, eh?

[pigfacemonkeyman]

Yeah I noticed that too, most of his stats besides Acceleration are actually coming back.

I did let him train a new position though,where he was already accomplished (19 out of 20 according to the scout), but is now natural in!

Might have something to to with that, thinking about low training workload was, plus the 30% match preparation for the first few months and rather awful coaches.

I also noticed that natural fitness actually improves in this version.

Interesting, eh?

I think you have found the reason.

[Shake Appeal]

What is his Determination, and what does it say for his personality/media handling?

Sometimes players just have awful hidden stats, e.g. players with no ambition will struggle no matter what you do. The best you can hope for is to tutor him with someone who has a more useful personality. If he's past the age of tutoring and his stats are declining steadily no matter what you say or do, sell him. Seriously.

[Shizzle]

I did already check his hidden stats with a scout to be absolutely sure and he's fairly ambitious, quite the professional and fairly detemined.

Looks like the positioning retraining did cost him a few CA Points and the game reallocated his attributes according to the new overall situation.

He regained most, if not all, of his stats by now besides 1 point in acceleration.

So, if you have a player that's close to his full PA you might not want to retrain him in a new position.

I just falsely assumed that by being 24 he still should have some space between his PA and CA left, which obviously wasn't the case as I checked the difference with the scout.

And yes, you're quite right about hidden stats, I try to avoid certain unprofessional and unambitious types of players, as they're rather useless in the long run.