What is your Youth Policy?

Hi there, I'd really like to hear your ideas on nurturing youngsters through the ranks. I'm finding it a little confusing tracking the progress of the dozens of players contained in U-19 squads(also I am skint). I'd particularly like advice on the following:-

1:- Do you snatch youngsters through the transfer market or do you try to develop your own academy players?

2:- Do you switch them around between the reserves and the U-19's and if so, why?

3:- At what point do you send your trainees out on loan, if at all?

4:- What do you look out for in a young player?

Ta.

Hi there, I'd really like to hear your ideas on nurturing youngsters through the ranks. I'm finding it a little confusing tracking the progress of the dozens of players contained in U-19 squads(also I am skint). I'd particularly like advice on the following:-

1:- Do you snatch youngsters through the transfer market or do you try to develop your own academy players?

2:- Do you switch them around between the reserves and the U-19's and if so, why?

3:- At what point do you send your trainees out on loan, if at all?

4:- What do you look out for in a young player?

Ta.

1 - i grab youngsters from everywhere - platini would hate me lol.

2 - they stay in the U19 until they get promoted out of it.

3 - trainess go out on loan after they are into my reserves, but only if i think they have a future.

4 - good physical attributes (as these tend to develop more slowly than mental or technical attributes).

I would also like to know about point 3 because I was wondering if you have first class training facilities then would it benefit your youth players more to stay in your reserves and get the odd first team game and train with quality facilities

or

go on loan to a championship/league 1 club and although they get 1st team experience the training facilities could be much worse

I try to develop my own but add from all over, as I like a really big U19 team. Then I loan loan loan, everywhere and anywhere but somewhere they will get games. Then if I win the league with a few games to go I bring them back and play them in the remaining games to see if they cut the mustard.

1:- Do you snatch youngsters through the transfer market or do you try to develop your own academy players?

Depends. I do tend to buy as many promising youngsters but like to nurture my own also.

2:- Do you switch them around between the reserves and the U-19's and if so, why?

As soon as they turn 17 and professional, they are moved to Reserves to get some games at a higher level and also benefit from Full Time training.

3:- At what point do you send your trainees out on loan, if at all?

If they're not getting any games due to a large Reserve squad, I'll send some out.

4:- What do you look out for in a young player?

Depends on position. After the end of each season (when it gives you the overview for titles winners, underachievers etc), I'll do a search for players at Max age 17 and go through as many with several higher stats than others. E.g. central defenders, I'll look for kids with 10+ for Tackling, Marking, Positionin, Composure, Jumping and Heading. If there's loads, I'll change that to 11 for each until I've whittled down to a few worth looking at.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by frogface:

I would also like to know about point 3 because I was wondering if you have first class training facilities then would it benefit your youth players more to stay in your reserves and get the odd first team game and train with quality facilities

or

go on loan to a championship/league 1 club and although they get 1st team experience the training facilities could be much worse </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I suppose :

Sending him out on loan (assuming he gets regular games) would help his CA progress, but his stats maybe not so much.

Keeping him at your club (assuming your training facilities are good) would help his actual stats improve, but his CA not so much.

My current game is rather an anomalous one (for me) because I created a new Faroese club and added them to the Scottish league - they had no players, but maximum training and youth facilities so my aim is to bring through talent from our own academy and see how far it can take us.

Generally I always like to give players from my own academy a chance, but if I am a biggish club I scout around and sign young players from anywhere I scout (my scouts are always set to look for players under 23).

Players I have signed from elsewhere I very rarely put in the U19s, almost always in the reserves if they aren't yet ready for first team football, but that is more from habit than any logic really. U19s I often shift to the reserves at the end of the season to leave an empty U19 squad to be filled by the new crop of academy players.

I am pretty much totally random with sending players out on loan. Sometimes I have a burst of sending players out on loan, but at other times I just don't bother and just accept loan offers from clubs as and when they come in. I can't be bothered with micro-managing every player in my U19s/Reserves - most will turn out to be no good whatever I do with them, those who have potential will begin to show it anyway, just maybe more slowly if I don't loan them out or whatever.

Pace is one of the key things I look for in a young player simply because it will improve very little as they develop.

Excellent stuff so far, keep 'em coming.

There was one more question I meant to ask, what influence does your reserve/U19 manager have over his players?

i usually look through my youth team,find the best prospects,send them out on loan for a season then give them a few games in the 1st team the next season.

I tend to poach the best talent my scouts can find from around the globe, but mainly from the UK and EU.

I look out for Physical stats first, then technical stats and finally mental stats. In particular I like high pace and acceleration.

All of my reserve team players are available for loan, but they only go where they are going to be part of the first team. If they are going to be cover they might as well stay here. I figure it is better for them to get more competitive matches at a place with poorer training, than less matches at a place with better training.

I request yearly reports off all my management team on each youth and reserve players, if they don't seem to be making the grade, then I offer them out on transfer. I let the young ones go for a £0 fee, but on 50% of next transfer. Several years down the line you get a nice bit of money that way.

I am in the 2012/2013 season and a few of my youth players are now breaking into the first team for regular places. In particular my right back looks like a future star.

i snatch some but develop[ my own

dont switch them around they stay as is till u18s get promoted ressies are sold on that i dont want/need

try and loan every member of my ressie side due to my thinking that competitive football is better than reserve footy.

i look for decent physical stats (in keepers they must not have high eccentricity)

it varies

i usually see how their stats develop in u18's. if their stats increase or get decent coach reports whack them into reserves

best thing to do is send them on loan for 6mths, or 3mth loans. so they get 1st team football. but also will have the advantage of using the excellent training facilities as well.

2 birds, 1 stone

Mine is pretty mersonairy as I always start off at Wednesday and need to make money.

At the start of every season I spend hours setting the filters on the scouting looking for specific players.

High pace and acceleration are a must for all players. If I am looking for a striker I look for finishing, then adjust the filters from there to narrow it down. For defenders it is tackling and heading etc.

I never look for players older than 17 and ignore stats not specific for their position.

If I do manage to sign any, I stick them in the reserves (available for loan) until they get a full time contract or have played 1 season in the reserves. I do this to make sure they aren't a complete duffer.

Once they have completed a season I stick them in the first team with a transfer fee set (usually around the £5m mark).

I play them in just about every game trying to make my formation work for these newbie players.

At the same time I am looking already for their replacements in the same way as before.

More often than not, if my team is doing well, the big teams will come in with big money offers for these newbies. Money in the bank thank you very much.

Granted I've lost out on a few gems over the years but most turn out to be nothing more than squad players; the AI managers don't play the formations to suit them. Fine by me.

Ok, this isn't very realistic, but it doesn't half turn around my finance issues quickly.

Chris, sounds like a great way for LLm's to make some cash too

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Sad Git:

Hi there, I'd really like to hear your ideas on nurturing youngsters through the ranks. I'm finding it a little confusing tracking the progress of the dozens of players contained in U-19 squads(also I am skint). I'd particularly like advice on the following:-

1:- Do you snatch youngsters through the transfer market or do you try to develop your own academy players?

2:- Do you switch them around between the reserves and the U-19's and if so, why?

3:- At what point do you send your trainees out on loan, if at all?

4:- What do you look out for in a young player?

Ta. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

1.) I steal them from premier league players when they are promoted to the U18. They dont have a contract yet so i can sign them. I also give a contract to all of my youngsters that are atleast championship level quality. You never know how good they are since lately FMs scouts blow and suck at the same time.

2.) as soon as they are 17 i put them in reserves. Due to a very stupid bug ((feature) you are unable to train them full time while in U18.

3.) I would loan them but the transfer market isn working in Fm so this happens extremely rarely.

4.) If he has good stats for his age or if the scouts rate him highly. Its very important that his pace is atleast 10. I managed to get a maltese youngster for free that my scouts were sure would be conference level rubbish. He is currently my first DR choice in premier league.

1) I try to develop my own youngsters, but I will buy if the ones I have really aren't good enough, or if my scouts find an immensely promising kids.

2) I only move them out of the youth squad when they are too old, ot if a player is of exceptional talent and won't gain anything from playing at the level.

3) Either if their development is stagnating because reserve level isn't good enough, or if they aren't getting any games.

4) Good scores in the key attributes for position and a decent level of physical attributes. I try to avoid negative personality types such as tempermental.

Chris Waddle was an awesome player

Same trick but worked almost every time!!

I have a video of his on vhs - The Waddle way, its about his career at Marseille and it also states that he was rejected at youth level and worked in a sausage factory

I control both the 1st team and the youth team on my games. I like the satisfaction of actually watching a promising kid playing and thinking "He could be one for the 1st team"...

Then the joy of bringing him on late in the game when you're winning a premier league match by a few goals, to see him "mixing it with the big boys".

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by glamdring:

My current game is rather an anomalous one (for me) because I created a new Faroese club and added them to the Scottish league - they had no players, but maximum training and youth facilities so my aim is to bring through talent from our own academy and see how far it can take us.

Generally I always like to give players from my own academy a chance, but if I am a biggish club I scout around and sign young players from anywhere I scout (my scouts are always set to look for players under 23).

Players I have signed from elsewhere I very rarely put in the U19s, almost always in the reserves if they aren't yet ready for first team football, but that is more from habit than any logic really. U19s I often shift to the reserves at the end of the season to leave an empty U19 squad to be filled by the new crop of academy players.

I am pretty much totally random with sending players out on loan. Sometimes I have a burst of sending players out on loan, but at other times I just don't bother and just accept loan offers from clubs as and when they come in. I can't be bothered with micro-managing every player in my U19s/Reserves - most will turn out to be no good whatever I do with them, those who have potential will begin to show it anyway, just maybe more slowly if I don't loan them out or whatever.

Pace is one of the key things I look for in a young player simply because it will improve very little as they develop. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

glamdring - your idea to bring in a Faroese team is really intriguing me. i think it is an excellent idea. would you be able to do me a favour and explain (or link to an explanation) of exactly what i need to do in the editor to set this up. everytime i have tried changing a club's nation it has resulted in an unmitigated disaster (i.e game crashes)

are there suitable Faroese teams already in the game. i thin kits a great idea, as it allows you to basically groom a generation of faroese players and try and get the Faroe isles into the WC or euro champs finals and also provides an interesting challenge for scottish football. theoretically it isnt that absurd a switch either. Im guessing that if, one day the faroe isles had a club with the imagination and backing to persue a berth in a major league, then Scotland or Noraway would be prime candidates.

anyway, i digress. any help or updates etc would be much appreciated.

cheers,

Rich

please excuse my inexcusable spelling above...

damn lack of edit button. what's all that about SI?

1) Yup. I try and have really good scouting knowledge, depending on what team i have. That means i will get a good mix of nationalities in my youth sqaud. Sometimes i will try and get some Europeans from some good youth setups to come to my club. Its hard when you're QPR though.

2) I don't usually switch them between squads unless they are some awesome wonderkids. So they stay in the U19s until they get too old.

3)I try and get most of my trainees out on loan when they are 20 years old if they are promising youngsters, if i get a wonderkid they stay with me in the first team.

4) It depends on their position, good striker good finishing and composure. A winger, good crossing, dribbling and needs to be quick. Defenders strong, good markers and tacklers

1: I always look for youngsters(15-16) in the transfer market and usually try to buy a few. I try to bring the lads at my club through the ranks discarding the ones that are not good enough.

2: I usually keep players in the U-19's until they turn 18/19 and then either promote them to the reserves/first team or sell them/release them.

3: I try to keep some of the more promising ones at the club so that i can give them a game when i can, also to help the reserves/ U-19's win their leagues! The others i try to give some experience out on loan but not too many!

4: Usually just good attributes for their given postions. Eg. good finishing stats for a striker etc.

1:- Do you snatch youngsters through the transfer market or do you try to develop your own academy players?

I tend to develop academy players. Sometimes I will sign a few youth players from more "obscure" nations for the novelty of it.

2:- Do you switch them around between the reserves and the U-19's and if so, why?

I tend to keep them in the under 18s. If they are showing a lot of promise, I'll play them in reserve games to see how they do. Mainly because I just like to keep these areas separate.

3:- At what point do you send your trainees out on loan, if at all?

All of my young players go out on loan, from 1 (exceptional talents) to 3 (good prospects) seasons before I'll put them into the first team.

4:- What do you look out for in a young player?

The position they play in and their average rating.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by valencia:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by glamdring:

My current game is rather an anomalous one (for me) because I created a new Faroese club and added them to the Scottish league - they had no players, but maximum training and youth facilities so my aim is to bring through talent from our own academy and see how far it can take us.

Generally I always like to give players from my own academy a chance, but if I am a biggish club I scout around and sign young players from anywhere I scout (my scouts are always set to look for players under 23).

Players I have signed from elsewhere I very rarely put in the U19s, almost always in the reserves if they aren't yet ready for first team football, but that is more from habit than any logic really. U19s I often shift to the reserves at the end of the season to leave an empty U19 squad to be filled by the new crop of academy players.

I am pretty much totally random with sending players out on loan. Sometimes I have a burst of sending players out on loan, but at other times I just don't bother and just accept loan offers from clubs as and when they come in. I can't be bothered with micro-managing every player in my U19s/Reserves - most will turn out to be no good whatever I do with them, those who have potential will begin to show it anyway, just maybe more slowly if I don't loan them out or whatever.

Pace is one of the key things I look for in a young player simply because it will improve very little as they develop. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

glamdring - your idea to bring in a Faroese team is really intriguing me. i think it is an excellent idea. would you be able to do me a favour and explain (or link to an explanation) of exactly what i need to do in the editor to set this up. everytime i have tried changing a club's nation it has resulted in an unmitigated disaster (i.e game crashes)

are there suitable Faroese teams already in the game. i thin kits a great idea, as it allows you to basically groom a generation of faroese players and try and get the Faroe isles into the WC or euro champs finals and also provides an interesting challenge for scottish football. theoretically it isnt that absurd a switch either. Im guessing that if, one day the faroe isles had a club with the imagination and backing to persue a berth in a major league, then Scotland or Noraway would be prime candidates.

anyway, i digress. any help or updates etc would be much appreciated.

cheers,

Rich </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I've tried it once or twice in previous versions with unpleasant results, but in FM08 it seems to work fine. If you are interested, the game is part of a story I am writing over in the FMS forum.

There is a bit of an explanation in there about how I created the club, but if you want more information feel free to ask (you don't need to read the whole story obviously - the information is in my 2nd or 3rd post I think).

In a nutshell I created a totally new club in the editor and put them in the Faroese league, then used an .edt file to swap them with Albion Rovers into the Scottish league. I have managed the Faroese national team a few times and wanted to be able to influence their players at club level so this is my chance now

1:- Do you snatch youngsters through the transfer market or do you try to develop your own academy players?

Transfer market. Ideally my team would be made up of my own youth academy but that isn't really possible.

2:- Do you switch them around between the reserves and the U-19's and if so, why?

If I have a promosing youngster I swap him between senior and reserves.

3:- At what point do you send your trainees out on loan, if at all?

As soon as possible unless he is in my first team plans.

4:- What do you look out for in a young player?

Good physical stats.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Sad Git:

Hi there, I'd really like to hear your ideas on nurturing youngsters through the ranks. I'm finding it a little confusing tracking the progress of the dozens of players contained in U-19 squads(also I am skint). I'd particularly like advice on the following:-

1:- Do you snatch youngsters through the transfer market or do you try to develop your own academy players?

2:- Do you switch them around between the reserves and the U-19's and if so, why?

3:- At what point do you send your trainees out on loan, if at all?

4:- What do you look out for in a young player?

Ta. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

1. If I have lots and lots of money I'd buy as many good young players as I can. Even if they have a small sparkling of talent (just a tiny bit will do) I'd snap them up. Platini would hate me too.

2. Nope. I actually leave it to the assistant, but those under 19 stays in the U-19s. Once they reach 19 I promote them to the reserves.

3. When they are eligible. I always believe going out on loan to play real first team football, albeit at a lower level, is better than reserve or youth team football.

4. The typical stats that their position is supposed to have. Though like I said, they only need to be slightly good for me to grab them.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by valencia:

please excuse my inexcusable spelling above...

damn lack of edit button. what's all that about SI? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

It was abused in the past, so it has been taken away. (AKA, curse someone out, then edit before mods caught you and other such things.) You'll get used to the sense of defeat coming with realizing you were not finished writing when you hit post now

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by glamdring:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by valencia:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by glamdring:

My current game is rather an anomalous one (for me) because I created a new Faroese club and added them to the Scottish league - they had no players, but maximum training and youth facilities so my aim is to bring through talent from our own academy and see how far it can take us.

Generally I always like to give players from my own academy a chance, but if I am a biggish club I scout around and sign young players from anywhere I scout (my scouts are always set to look for players under 23).

Players I have signed from elsewhere I very rarely put in the U19s, almost always in the reserves if they aren't yet ready for first team football, but that is more from habit than any logic really. U19s I often shift to the reserves at the end of the season to leave an empty U19 squad to be filled by the new crop of academy players.

I am pretty much totally random with sending players out on loan. Sometimes I have a burst of sending players out on loan, but at other times I just don't bother and just accept loan offers from clubs as and when they come in. I can't be bothered with micro-managing every player in my U19s/Reserves - most will turn out to be no good whatever I do with them, those who have potential will begin to show it anyway, just maybe more slowly if I don't loan them out or whatever.

Pace is one of the key things I look for in a young player simply because it will improve very little as they develop. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

glamdring - your idea to bring in a Faroese team is really intriguing me. i think it is an excellent idea. would you be able to do me a favour and explain (or link to an explanation) of exactly what i need to do in the editor to set this up. everytime i have tried changing a club's nation it has resulted in an unmitigated disaster (i.e game crashes)

are there suitable Faroese teams already in the game. i thin kits a great idea, as it allows you to basically groom a generation of faroese players and try and get the Faroe isles into the WC or euro champs finals and also provides an interesting challenge for scottish football. theoretically it isnt that absurd a switch either. Im guessing that if, one day the faroe isles had a club with the imagination and backing to persue a berth in a major league, then Scotland or Noraway would be prime candidates.

anyway, i digress. any help or updates etc would be much appreciated.

cheers,

Rich </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I've tried it once or twice in previous versions with unpleasant results, but in FM08 it seems to work fine. If you are interested, the game is part of a story I am writing over in the FMS forum.

There is a bit of an explanation in there about how I created the club, but if you want more information feel free to ask (you don't need to read the whole story obviously - the information is in my 2nd or 3rd post I think).

In a nutshell I created a totally new club in the editor and put them in the Faroese league, then used an .edt file to swap them with Albion Rovers into the Scottish league. I have managed the Faroese national team a few times and wanted to be able to influence their players at club level so this is my chance now </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

excellent. cheers, i will take a look. not sure about this .edt file malarkey but i'll have a go nonetheless

thanks

1:- Do you snatch youngsters through the transfer market or do you try to develop your own academy players?

Wherever I can get them, as long as they're halfway decent, I'll give them a shot.

2:- Do you switch them around between the reserves and the U-19's and if so, why?

No. U19's until they're 19 or ready to try their hand at first team football. I havent managed teams that had any kind of reserves team lately, the curse of lower league management.

3:- At what point do you send your trainees out on loan, if at all?

First thing I do is set any player that isn't in the senior squad to "available for loan". Then I try to whore the ones with the highest potential out first. And I try getting satellite clubs asap, so I can send out players at my discretion Regardless of the level of my club

4:- What do you look out for in a young player?

Three stars of potential or more. Anything less will get released on the spot.

1:- Do you snatch youngsters through the transfer market or do you try to develop your own academy players?

I definitely snatch youngsters through the transfer market. I'd rather invest the time in somebody whom my scouts rated highly. However, if there's an academy player who my coaches rate, he'll get his chance, too.

2:- Do you switch them around between the reserves and the U-19's and if so, why?

Yes. I manage all of my Reserve and youth matches myself. So, its typically based on condition and upcoming fixtures. If the Reserves are full of senior players keeping match fitness, my 'best' youth will play in the youth side; if rotation has all the senior players playing (or resting for an upcoming match), then my 'best' youth get to play the Reserve match and the leftovers and grays get the youth match.

3:- At what point do you send your trainees out on loan, if at all?

I think of League-level competition as being better for their development than training and Reserve matches, so as soon as they're good enough to hold down a starting place at League 2 I want to loan them out. I'll do so until they either force their way into consideration for my rotation, or I decide that they're not going to make it. LOTS of loans out, in my world!

4:- What do you look out for in a young player?

Decent stats in the key areas for their position, of course. Beyond that, key mental attributes: Determination, Work Rate, Team Work, Concentration, and Decisions. A "professional" mentality is a huge plus at that age.

There's a fifth question you didn't ask, and that's "When do you give up on a player?"

To which I'd say I have about three inflection points: a youth academy graduate who can't get a sniff on the youth side doesn't get a professional contract when he turns 17; instead, I release him. If a lad hasn't progressed enough to warrant loaning out by the time he's 19, I release him. If a lad hasn't progressed enough to at least be Championship level by the time he's 21, I sell or release. If a guy hasn't wormed his way into my heart and rotation by about age 23 or so, he's typically unhappy at the club and seeking a move anyways!

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">To which I'd say I have about three inflection points: a youth academy graduate who can't get a sniff on the youth side doesn't get a professional contract when he turns 17; instead, I release him. If a lad hasn't progressed enough to warrant loaning out by the time he's 19, I release him. If a lad hasn't progressed enough to at least be Championship level by the time he's 21, I sell or release. If a guy hasn't wormed his way into my heart and rotation by about age 23 or so, he's typically unhappy at the club and seeking a move anyways! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thats actually a very good system there, will start using that myself. Thanks

You're welcome.

When my new youth player get promoted into the U18s, I look at each one. Some are obviously never going to be of use, but I keep them until I get the message that they are eligible for a pro contract.

As I'm now in the Premier League, I look for players who will become good Championship players or better - as my training facilities are fantastic, so I allow a small pessimistic view from my coaches.

Once promoted into the Reserves automatically, I look at them again. If they have dropped to be potentially a League One player I'll release/sell them. If they are a Championship player by 19, I'll send them to a feeder.

They need to be on the fringes on my first team by 22, or I'll sell them, hopefully with a 50% sell on clause