really struggling with scouting in FM17 compared to earlier games

[madeirabhoy]

im not an FM ninja but I've played a lot of earlier games and always done alright.

 

but in FM17 I'm really drowning when it comes to scouting. i play as celtic, I'm 3 seasons in, i have money to spend and i haven't a clue who to spend it on or how to improve this.

i let the scouts do heir own thing, i know that won't be as good as micro managing everything but it should be better than i have.

i have 10 scouts, and i sacked the ones early on who had low ratings for judging aptitude or potential, so they all have at least 15/16 and most higher.

they are constantly around the world scouting everywhere, but when i look in the scouted players theres no one who jumps out.

 

the black stars really confuse me. i click on sort by potential, and it counts the black star as counting when surely it shouldn't and the top players are often players that i click on and get 'some doubts maybe monitor the player' or 'it might be worth keeping an eye on his development'.

 

its feb 2018 and i really don't have one single player i know signing would improve my team. I've had 7 million to spend in january and eventually after failing to buy some big name non celtic level players i eventually bought a 31 year old decent player for 4 million, but in previous Fms id have a shortlist of a dozen possibles 

 

 

 

 

 

[CarltonBanks]

Black stars are uncertain potential. The player might be able to grow to be that good, maybe not. The scout isn't positive yet. I've seen plenty end up being the the yellow stars only, and i've seen plenty end up filling the black stars.

 

The players your scouts find are all down to the assignments they're given. If you chose to have this handled automatically, this is going to limit you seriously. A good thing to do is assign your scouts to specific countries or regions (matched with their knowledge, if possible) for at least 3 months, with instructions to scout any player, auto budget, either 3 or 3.5 star potential ability. Maybe set some filters for a few stats if you want. Rotate target locations every once in a while to make sure you're continually expanding that world knowledge %.

[turnip]

While the UK is still in the EU, I'd suggest sending your scouts to Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovenia and Slovakia.

Prices are generally not too bad and you should be able to find some good prospects at the very least.

[andu1]

1 hour ago, turnip said:

While the UK is still in the EU, I'd suggest sending your scouts to Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovenia and Slovakia.

Prices are generally not too bad and you should be able to find some good prospects at the very least.

Also Czech Republic.

[Cougar2010]

I'll add Scandanavian countries as well as Northern/Rep of Ireland.

Basically any country where the league rep is less than the SPL.

You also want to be scouting Scotland heavily and trying to pick up any younger players who show potential.