How important are work-rate and teamwork to you?

I tend to pick my players based mostly on these stats, especially talented young players. I don't have any players with a low work-rate (except maybe keeper) and I'd never buy anyone like Ben-Arfa because of this. Of course other stats are important too but players with 20 teamwork and 20 work-rate are invaluable. What do you think? Am I being too hard on lazy players?

I do like to have players with high work rate and teamwork but I think it's okay for a technically gifted flair player to have a low work rate attribute because these are the sort of players that can win you games with one pass or trick, so I let a player off with having a low work rate if they have ridiculously good technical stats but they still need to have a high teamwork attribute as I like my players to be a unit and play as a team that would die for each other!

Teamwork is primary a defensive attribute and to the match engine, it means how likely will a player cover for another player when he leaves his position. That's if I remember correctly. It's nothing to do about passing the ball to another player who's in a better position to shoot, or not hogging the ball or anything like that. It's just how often a player covers for another player.

So I definitely look out for teamwork when searching for defenders and defensive mids. For any other positions, teamwork (in the match engine sense) doesn't matter to me.

Workrate is key for my midfielders. For any other positions, its a bonus. That's just me though.

Sky high in importance, teamwork especially in FM09. Teamwork would seem to determine a players operation and positioning relative to the team, as well as his preferences when in control of the ball. I have noticed immense ball-supporting variations and performance increases in players with high teamwork.

Seems like to me players with those two stats are a dime a dozen.

I really focus on physical abilities now. I have so many technically gifted players and most also have team work and work rate. They however all lack physical attributes and they are getting owned pretty much every match.

If a guy has good physical attributes, stamina, bravery, heading and work rate + team work, then I become interested.

Personally I like to think teamwork & workrate affect a number of small things in the match engine. Theoretically, they would determine whether your attacknig mid makes that one last gut-busting run to arrive late in the box ala Gerrard; whether your holding mid tracks a breaking opposing player down to stop a potential counter attack ala Essien; whether your striker stays in continual motion until the final whistle ala Tevez.

That said, I have noticed a legitimately dramatic difference in how my forwards behave based on teamwork and workrate. When rotating between two strikers in the same tactics, the one with significantly higher teamwork and workrate ratings will follow players much deeper into my defensive half when I lose the ball.

These two attributes are the first two I look at in every player nowadays: they are essential. It is easier to see with the new match engine how important they are. Take dirk kuyt... a good striker but when I play him AMR he dominates. He tackles fullbacks and plays a good ball to gerrard who does the rest. Players with these attributes tend to do the dirty work more I think.

I regard these attributes as very important.

I just feel if I have a player with low work rate it's asking for problems. Strikers who don't score, midfielders who don't track back etc.

The example of Kuyt is a good one. Just look at his goal against Chelsea. Bursting a lung getting into the box and closing down at every opportunity. Granted, he's not the best striker on the world but he scores and creates importnat goals. Must be a nightmare to play against