path of youth development?

[atearthatearth]

So I was thinking about the youth development of a player. What is best for them in FM2013?

Play First team football every match from the day of signing them be it your own team or loan out.

Or play in the under 18 and under 21 teams til over age then first team

Or play in the under 18 and under 21 teams for one year each then first team

[lam]

First team football in your own team all day long...... assuming they can handle it.

If they are not good enough for that then loan spells out at inferior teams (first team) are good.

Keeping them at home however is more about 1. Their ability to play in your own team and 2. Tutoring.

If you can not tutor them or they do not need it but they are not good enough to play in your team, then you're better off sending them on loan. If they can play in your team or need tutoring, keep them at home.

I know people like sending them out early to loan, but I work on the basis that I would rather them go on loan when they are mentality stronger (personality) and have beneficial PPM's as they will naturally player better and if they play better and get batter ratings, then improve better. So it is best to send out a player on loan AFTER you have tutored them and they are more proffessional about their careers.

[furiousuk]

I'm with lam, players get most from loan spells when they have good personalities (going to the right manager is still very important too, but usually harder to accomplish).

For me this usually means a year or 2 (or 3 if they are very young) getting tutored and playing in the youths, then a year or 2 on loan, then, hopefully first team. It's got to be flexible and based on the needs of the player though (and the needs of your 1st team).

[Cleon]

I set about youth development slightly different from the above and don't loan players out unless I am forced to. For me youth development is about the following;

• First team football - will aid development of a player more than anything.
  
• PPM's - You can teach a player them and mould him into how you think he should be
  
• Tutoring - Getting a player with the right personality is a must for me and by not loaning him out it means I can tutor him several times if needs be
  
• Home Grown Status - This is one point I think a lot of people miss. If you loan a youth out then he will become trained in nation rather than homegrown.
  

The only time I would loan a player out is if all the above was fulfilled and I still couldn't find a regular spot for him in the team or guarantee I'd play him enough. So I'd allow him to leave onloan for a season but only to a club a division down from me and he must be a key player for them and I must have a recall clause just incase he doesn't get the games he is promised.

You can find out more about my approach in this thread;

Ajax Youth Development – When The Real World Meets Football Manager