Thanks for the response!
I do agree that player development in the past may have been too certain and predictable, and neither do i expect my regens to be first team ready at 18. I have also had players progress at lower levels in fm22 but, never without first team matches. my main issue has been that teenagers who arent yet getting first team matches wasn't developing at all (apart from jumping reach due to physical growth), which isnt really realistic.
Real life players at youth teams low down in the divisions do improve between 15-18 playing just youth leagues, despite poor facilities and coaching. My theory was just that the tweak compared to pre-22 progression was too harsh on the lower levels that training alone basically had no effect.
I did buy the game now to see for myself (cause who am i kidding right ), but just out of curiosity, how much did your DM play in the first team those seasons and what division were you in?