What makes a good youth newgen??

[jcp1417]

When looking at a youth newgen (15-16), what do you look at? The root of my questions is what attributes grow the most once the player is created?

Edit: It's well established that personality, determination, and natural fitness are very good indicators of a good prospect. I think what I'm really getting at is what groups of attributes have the greatest chance to grow? Which ones grow the most when a player is young? When do physicals grow? When do technicals and mentals grow? What's the max and average amount I could realistically hope a single rating can grow?

Edited December 4, 2021 by jcp1417

[b28937]

I’d say determination and natural fitness first, because if he’s very low in one or both he’ll probably end up going nowhere.  That’s not to say high numbers make it a sure thing, it’s more like a filter to exclude the riff raff (ie sub 10 or 12 depending on league/level).

[ScotsmanFM]

I start by looking at determination, natural fitness and personality. From there it depends in what role they're playing but most should already have pretty solid physicals and decent mentals.

[jcp1417]

14 minutes ago, b28937 said:

I’d say determination and natural fitness first, because if he’s very low in one or both he’ll probably end up going nowhere.  That’s not to say high numbers make it a sure thing, it’s more like a filter to exclude the riff raff (ie sub 10 or 12 depending on league/level).

Ok we have a newgen with good determination, natural fitness, and work rate. He has a decent personality. What else are we looking at? What attribute or group (mental, technical, physical) will make us say, "wow, this kid's got a real chance"?

[jcp1417]

Just now, ScotsmanFM said:

I start by looking at determination, natural fitness and personality. From there it depends in what role they're playing but most should already have pretty solid physicals and decent mentals.

Are you saying that mentals and physicals develop less than technicals? 

[Prepper_Jack]

2 hours ago, jcp1417 said:

When looking at a youth newgen (15-16), what do you look at?

I look at everything, really, and priorities depend on the position they will be playing. The only real disqualifying criteria is a short center, but those can at least be repurposed elsewhere.

Personality is quite important, and can take a while to change. However, it's difficult to tell precisely what the full scope of their personality is at first glance. Even that unambitious player might have high professionalism and determination, making him a fast growing and extremely loyal player. I do a hard pass on certain personalities, however. One absolutely critical personality trait that most people overlook is consistency. A player with high consistency but low ability can often outperform higher ability players. Be sure to check under the coach report if they are good or bad in this, because consistency seems to take the longest of anything to grow.

In a youth intake, I will take a 3 star potential marked as "consistent performer" any day of the week over what it labels a possible 5 star potential inconsistent one. The star ratings are almost meaningless at that stage (really.. some of those 2 star potentials you have discarded have had the potential to be amazing, without a doubt), but I will always take a solidly consistent backup player, if that is indeed what he turns out to be. I also keep an eye out for players who enjoy big matches. Consistent big match guys go to the cup team for sure.

In terms of stats, as a base, I do think it's better to start with a strong set of physicals over mental or technical. It's harder to train physicals during the season without everyone getting upset. Of these, I'd say natural fitness is the most important, followed by stamina. The rest can be whatever they need to be depending upon role.

People say determination and work rate.. but I don't know. These are very important stats, but also not so hard to develop. Unless you're blowing away everyone in the league and everyone's getting 7 and 8 ratings a match, people are going to have bad games. If they go to 6.3 rating or lower, I'll fine them for poor performance, which can increase determination and/or work rate by 1 point a time. Throughout a season, you can probably do this a couple times on a given player. One physical session I do risk during the season is endurance. Not only will this improve stamina, which is needed for high tempo play, but it also improves work rate. Determination can also be bestowed through mentoring.. and quite rapidly. I've had players with 1 determination grow 4-5 in that skill in a single year due to mentoring alone.

 

[DarJ]

FOr me its really simple I look at his current attrbute and detarmine where I would play him in my team then I ask myself, If i add 3 to his key attributes, what kind of player is he going to be? If after I've added 3 to key attributes and hes still below my squad players then I don't sign. I dont even look at star ratings because at thet are they are very unreliable 

[SMV90]

Nationality. If he's Colombian, sign him up. 

Legitimately, though, I always find myself looking at his attributes relevant to the position/role he's going to be playing. If they appease me, I'll delve deeper, if not, I'll add them to my shortlist incase I want to revisit them in the future.

I'd be remiss if I forgot to say that I always look at my own (and probably others) "holy trinity" of Mental attributes: Determination, Work Rate and Teamwork. If they're highly rated in those three aspects, then it increases my chances greatly of signing them.

[zindrinho]

On 04/12/2021 at 01:03, SMV90 said:

Legitimately, though, I always find myself looking at his attributes relevant to the position/role he's going to be playing. If they appease me, I'll delve deeper, if not, I'll add them to my shortlist incase I want to revisit them in the future.

This! 

[Grifty]

On 04/12/2021 at 00:03, SMV90 said:

Nationality. If he's Colombian, sign him up. 

Legitimately, though, I always find myself looking at his attributes relevant to the position/role he's going to be playing. If they appease me, I'll delve deeper, if not, I'll add them to my shortlist incase I want to revisit them in the future.

I'd be remiss if I forgot to say that I always look at my own (and probably others) "holy trinity" of Mental attributes: Determination, Work Rate and Teamwork. If they're highly rated in those three aspects, then it increases my chances greatly of signing them.

Yeah I do this. So if a defender - tackling, marking, heading, jumping reach, pace

Midfielder - passing, vision, talking,

Striker - Dribbling, finishing, composure, pace. 

[Emiliuz]

Is natural fitness really that important?

[Bababui]

3 hours ago, Emiliuz said:

Is natural fitness really that important?

As long as he only has to play in one match a week and doesnt get injured, no.

[turnip]

Like someone else said, look at their attributes. A Centre-Back with 7 Tackling will never be great, because there's no specific training category that works on Tackling, but a Centre-Back with 7 Jumping Reach could still be great, because that's relatively easy to increase. Still, that Centre-Back with 7 Tackling could be turned into a DM if his other attributes are okay.

Personalities are important, too - a Professional player is likely to make consistent progress, where a Casual player may have to rely on the stars aligning to see even a slight improvement in attributes. Mentoring helps, but sometimes you're just pissing into the wind.

 

If you can afford it, and it won't overload your coaches too much in Training, there's no reason not to give even the less talented players a Youth Contract and just see how they get on over the next couple of years. 

[Prepper_Jack]

12 minutes ago, turnip said:

Like someone else said, look at their attributes. A Centre-Back with 7 Tackling will never be great, because there's no specific training category that works on Tackling, but a Centre-Back with 7 Jumping Reach could still be great, because that's relatively easy to increase. Still, that Centre-Back with 7 Tackling could be turned into a DM if his other attributes are okay.

A Center, trained as a central defender, can increase in tackling skill through numerous training sessions. Sessions that focus on individual roles, such as match practice, attacking movement, and defensive shape do decently for this. Tackling is also exercised fairly well in numerous sessions marked under "Defending", for the defensive training unit, as long as you keep your defenders in the defense training unit, which is advisable. There are also holistic sessions that can train everyone in the squad in tackling, like the generic "Defense" session, or the transition press and transition restrict sessions under technical training sessions. There may be no "additional focus" training type for tackling, but that extra training is always supplemental, and not the main avenue of growth. I have seen defenders grow multiple points in tackling over a season.

As far as jumping is concerned, each player does have a cap on that, influenced by their height. You're not going to get 20 jumping reach with a 5'3"/160cm center, and height is not something you have any control over. If you're looking for centers, half-backs, or target men, you really do need to filter by height. Everything else should be trainable. I have seen what look like terrible prospects out of the youth squad be simply late bloomers with a ton of potential that grow like crazy. One I saw was a wonder kid in sheeps clothing... started with 1-5 in relevant stats for his position (far worse than a grey player), and grew 4-6 points in everything in a single season. If you have reasonable facilities, the only truly difficult stats to improve the way you like are personality.. and of those consistency is the hardest to improve, which is perhaps the most impactful overall stat.

[HighwayCathedral]

On 03/12/2021 at 03:51, Prepper_Jack said:

I look at everything, really, and priorities depend on the position they will be playing. The only real disqualifying criteria is a short center, but those can at least be repurposed elsewhere.

Even a short center can be good if used in the right system. My favourite centreback of all time was a 5'8 Paragyuyan Centreback called Jose Moran, for my Real Madrid side. He was a sweeper who was smart, fast, and clinical in the tackle. It didn't much matter that his Jumping was only 8 because he had two big fellas either side of him to make up the difference.

[obasa_G]

I began using a new method to sign newgens and players in general. Let's take a midfielder for example. If my tactic involves the Mezalla role, which involves 15 attributes. I look at the comparison screen and see the average value in the league for each attribute. For a first team player, if he has above or equal to the average for 80% (12) of the attributes, I can consider signing him; for a youth player/newgen, between 14-18, if he has above or equal to the average for 55% /60% (8/9) of the attributes, I can also consider signing him. 

[jcp1417]

18 hours ago, obasa_G said:

I began using a new method to sign newgens and players in general. Let's take a midfielder for example. If my tactic involves the Mezalla role, which involves 15 attributes. I look at the comparison screen and see the average value in the league for each attribute. For a first team player, if he has above or equal to the average for 80% (12) of the attributes, I can consider signing him; for a youth player/newgen, between 14-18, if he has above or equal to the average for 55% /60% (8/9) of the attributes, I can also consider signing him. 

Where do you find average attributes?

[Emiliuz]

On 06/12/2021 at 20:09, Prepper_Jack said:

A Center, trained as a central defender, can increase in tackling skill through numerous training sessions. Sessions that focus on individual roles, such as match practice, attacking movement, and defensive shape do decently for this. Tackling is also exercised fairly well in numerous sessions marked under "Defending", for the defensive training unit, as long as you keep your defenders in the defense training unit, which is advisable. There are also holistic sessions that can train everyone in the squad in tackling, like the generic "Defense" session, or the transition press and transition restrict sessions under technical training sessions. There may be no "additional focus" training type for tackling, but that extra training is always supplemental, and not the main avenue of growth. I have seen defenders grow multiple points in tackling over a season.

As far as jumping is concerned, each player does have a cap on that, influenced by their height. You're not going to get 20 jumping reach with a 5'3"/160cm center, and height is not something you have any control over. If you're looking for centers, half-backs, or target men, you really do need to filter by height. Everything else should be trainable. I have seen what look like terrible prospects out of the youth squad be simply late bloomers with a ton of potential that grow like crazy. One I saw was a wonder kid in sheeps clothing... started with 1-5 in relevant stats for his position (far worse than a grey player), and grew 4-6 points in everything in a single season. If you have reasonable facilities, the only truly difficult stats to improve the way you like are personality.. and of those consistency is the hardest to improve, which is perhaps the most impactful overall stat.

"As far as jumping is concerned, each player does have a cap on that, influenced by their height. You're not going to get 20 jumping reach with a 5'3"/160cm center, and height is not something you have any control over. If you're looking for centers, half-backs, or target men, you really do need to filter by height. Everything else should be trainable." That being said Jumping reach is still trainable so don't be too alarmed even if the CB is 170 cm. I got a CB who's 170 with 13 jumping reach and 18 accel + 19 speed

[obasa_G]

7 hours ago, jcp1417 said:

Where do you find average attributes?

Squad >> Analyst Report >> Comparison.