scouting potential ability is very unrealistic

[Feron]

example:

when scouting a "Rumplefoot" with 100 PA as a low league amateur club, your scout will tell you he has 5 star potential, of course.
Then, on the same day, the same scout watches young Messi play. What will he report? The same: 5 stars.

There is no way to identify a wonderkid, you'd have to play for like 10 seasons until your team's CA is high enough, to tell the difference.

And strangely, the scout itself doesn't matter, you could hire a 50 year old level 20 scout from a champions league club who has seen it all. and yet he would not be able to tell the difference between a PA 100 and PA 200 player anymore, once he joins your club.

 

I know, its a game and of course it's unrealistic, but this game aspires to be as realistic as possible, plus:   It is not great having to play for so many seasons before you're able to identify true wonderkids.

Edited March 19, 2023 by Feron

[Wavelberry]

Except you can tell the difference right? When the attributes start popping you can see who the Messi is and who the Rumplefoot is. Both would be absolutely must signs for your club coz they'll improve it no end and that's what the star rating tells you and the scout recommendation tells you. 

[Feron]

I don't think so.  I always try to hire higher potential for obvious reasons.  and how would you know the potential just by looking at a player's current attributes?

 

The same scout who could judge the potential of a player when he was in a bigger club (see if someone has like 80-100 points of PA left or only 15...) , suddenly can't do that anymore when he is at my club.

And this is very important information because

1. players grow much faster when they have a lot of potential left (which is already making a big difference for the success in the current season)

2. selling the player for millions and millions can make the biggest difference for an aspiring club 

But isn't that obvious? or did I misunderstand you in some way?

Edited March 19, 2023 by Feron

[Junkhead]

The stars aren't the only context, I think was the point @Wavelberry was making.  As well as current attributes, the scouts will often say what level they believe the player will reach.  So if you're in League 2 and have a choice between 2x 5 Star potential players, one report might say "Has the potential to be a decent League One Winger", whereas the other might say "Could become a leading Premier League player".  Both could play at a higher level and are better than what you have, but one is clearly higher potential than the other.  

Also, in my experience, it DOES matter which scouts you have.  The better scouts get things right more often, and give you more detail within their reports.