Players not improving at all

[Turean]

As the topic says, I've noticed that my younger players simply don't grow their CA over time.  Not even a little bit.  I started a save with a Conference North team and spent 4 seasons managing it.  At first I thought that maybe it's the poor facilities and coaches, and the fact that they only train part time.  But even after being promoted to League 2 and upgrading facilities a couple of times and going professional, my players still just don't get better.  If anything, their stats tend to go down over time because they fall a little during injuries and never ever go back up.

I did not play FM19 and understand that this is something that has changed a lot since FM18 and previous versions.  I am not posting this to vent or complain that "game is broken" or something.  I honestly just want to hear some suggestions.  What is the trick to it now?  I mostly just let AssMan schedule training as well as auto-assign coaches.  Is this a mistake?  My thinking was that at worst this may effect which player stats change over time, not prevent them from improving at all.  I understand that player progression is supposed to be slower than in the past but it's not normal that they don't improve by 1 point in even a single stat over the course of 4 years, is it?  Is it just a side effect of managing in lower leagues and so I shouldn't expect players to improve at this level?  Does progression get noticeably faster when you manage in better and more prestigious leagues?

As a somewhat separate but related question, I noticed that often players show a sudden drop in Determination and it never goes back up.  It's always this same stat, and always a sudden sharp decrease.  Is there something that is know to cause it?

Any comments or suggestions are appreciated.  Are most of you finding that your players develop significantly over the course of several seasons?  If so, what suggestions would you give to someone used to doing things "the FM18 way"?

[tat501]

Are you playing your youth team players in higher quality matches?  Either through loans or giving them game time in your first team?  I usually find if I just leave them they stagnate or improve very slowly, but if you give them starts in the first team their training performances just explode.

[Turean]

2 minutes ago, tat501 said:

Are you playing your youth team players in higher quality matches?  Either through loans or giving them game time in your first team?  I usually find if I just leave them they stagnate or improve very slowly, but if you give them starts in the first team their training performances just explode.

Oh absolutely. My first team is mostly 18-21 year olds. They are playing in most league matches as well as FA Vase and FA Cup. Some of them end the season having played in in 50 matches or so.

[JEinchy]

4 hours ago, Turean said:

I mostly just let AssMan schedule training as well as auto-assign coaches.  Is this a mistake?  My thinking was that at worst this may effect which player stats change over time, not prevent them from improving at all.  I understand that player progression is supposed to be slower than in the past but it's not normal that they don't improve by 1 point in even a single stat over the course of 4 years, is it?  Is it just a side effect of managing in lower leagues and so I shouldn't expect players to improve at this level?  Does progression get noticeably faster when you manage in better and more prestigious leagues?

It's certainly possible that progression is slower at the lower levels, because it hasn't been a problem for me managing at the top. Besides that, I would check if your players are doing the right individual training and how have a high enough workload. The ass man can put together a decent enough team schedule but won't make the best choices when it comes to individuals. It's possible your players haven't been working hard enough.

4 hours ago, Turean said:

As a somewhat separate but related question, I noticed that often players show a sudden drop in Determination and it never goes back up.  It's always this same stat, and always a sudden sharp decrease.  Is there something that is know to cause it?

From my own observations, Determination is very dependent on the overall level of Determination in the squad. I've had players with 16 determination drop to 14/15, which is about average for the rest of my squad. On the flip side of that, I've seen youngsters with low Determination get better just by being in the first team squad. I believe praising and criticising their training performance can have an effect as well (I know it certainly does for Work Rate).

4 hours ago, Turean said:

Any comments or suggestions are appreciated.  Are most of you finding that your players develop significantly over the course of several seasons?  If so, what suggestions would you give to someone used to doing things "the FM18 way"?

The trick with team training is to pay attention to which sessions benefit which units. You'll notice there's a 60/20/20 split in focus for each sessions, and that each training session will prioritise one unit over the other two. If you do a lot attacking and technical training, you'll see the associated attributes go up faster than you will see defensive attributes increase, because the defensive unit only receives 20% of the focus in those sessions. Balancing this is key. Leaving it to the ass man should be okay, as he generally creates a balanced schedule, but it might be worth having a look, just to be sure.

Individual training is the same as always. Pick a role, any specific skills you want the player to work on and how high their workload is. Normal intensity is fine for players playing a lot, while double is recommended for those not playing.

Tutoring is the big one because it's completely different. You can only tutor - or mentor, as it's called now - players who are in the first team squad, so any u18/23 players you want to mentor have to be promoted. A good mentor not only has high Determination and a good personality, but should also be high up in the team hierarchy, too. The quirk of this system is that its unit based, meaning players in the defensive unit can only mentor other players within that unit (likewise for goalkeeping and attacking). This means you could put a centre back into the attacking unit and have him mentor your young attackers, if you wanted to (though of course, you have to consider the PPMs he would pass on, and the impact on his own training). You can then drop three or four players into the same group, so they all receive the same benefits at the same time. 

Other than that, it's the same as you would normally do it. Playing time is still essential and having good facilities promotes better growth.