Flatlining in Training

I can't seem to figure out training. I've got plenty of coaches and I'm pushing my players pretty hard but all of them are pretty much flat lining attributes wise. I had one kid worth 3m at 17, "the next Michael Owen" the game called him. He's now 19 and his attributes haven't moved an inch either way.

Same's happened to pretty much everyone of my players.

I can't seem to figure out training. I've got plenty of coaches and I'm pushing my players pretty hard but all of them are pretty much flat lining attributes wise. I had one kid worth 3m at 17, "the next Michael Owen" the game called him. He's now 19 and his attributes haven't moved an inch either way.

Same's happened to pretty much everyone of my players.

How much first team football has he played??

Players don't improve without competitive football.

He played 18's last two years, after not progressing I've loaned him out but he can't seem to get a game.

Sorry I should rephrase my post.

Each player needs a certain level of football to progress presuming he hasn't already reached his potential.

If he hasn't reached his potential and is not progressing then the level of football he is playing is either too low or too high.

For me that is the hardest part of training, deciding how much football to give the youngsters.

I used to stick players straight into the lineup and I think I burnt them out.

In the prem I usually loan them out to a championship side that say he will be a key player.

i find competitive matches help a plyaer to improve their stats faster. although dalla valle for me has improved dramatically over the last year with lots of his stats going up by 3 points. which is the only reason i am now playing him.

For me that is the hardest part of training, deciding how much football to give the youngsters.

I used to stick players straight into the lineup and I think I burnt them out.

In the prem I usually loan them out to a championship side that say he will be a key player.

Precisely.

What you want to think of is this: every league has its "Standard of Play." The Under-18s, the Reserves, the Blue Square Premier, the Championship, and the E.P.L. are all of different qualities.

When you have a player in the U-18s, but he's not improving, that usually means that the Standard of Play is too low: he's learned what he can learn from that level, and needs to be challenged in order to progress.

You can also burn a kid out by throwing him in the deep end: the same 17-year-old might start "Feeling the pressure of public expectations" if you expected him to start most every game in the EPL - and also flat-line, because the Standard of Play is too high.

Optimal development means keeping him always at the level that will challenge him. I'm guessing your kid needed loans out to L2/L1 when he was 17, L1/Ch when he was 18, and Championship when he was 19 ... but now, simply loaning him to the Championship may not work because he doesn't have the ability to justify getting a start. (This is one of the benefits of having quality Feeder Clubs you can loan young players to - they aren't just for work permits!)

The alternative path would have been to keep him at your club, keep him in constant Tutoring arrangements (those help a lot when successful), move him to the Reserves (higher standard), and get him competitive matches by starting him in Cup matches with "No Pressure" team talks, and featuring him off the bench especially into games you feel you've already won. Increase the amount of play and start getting him League starts as he develops.

If he's not playing where he is, your current loan is doing no good. I'd Recall him, and hope you can get him to a club that will play him regularly; he needs competitive football.