"Don't trust the stats"?

My friend has advised me to ignore the stats and attributes bizarrely.

As I haven't played in 4 years I don't know whether to believe him or not, I can't help but trust stats at the moment.

So it is true that you should ignore the attributes and stats if you know how good a player is in real life or what?

stats arent everything.

there are other factors which will influence a player's performance such as his motivation, personality, confidence, etc.

All that the players are in the game is a collection of attributes (including those that are hidden, personality attributes, positional ability, etc...), so to ignore them would seem like a rather confused decision. Rather, ignore IRL and look at the in-game players' attributes and in-game performances to make your decisions.

Stats are very important. Some players with poorer CA/PA will outshine higher rated players due to posotion specific ratings. Stats will help you determine who is better suited to certain positions IMO.

ignore your friend and play how you think best. maybe play a head to head and see who is best

Probably him, he's a year to year player. I'm only just starting playing FM again

You shouldn't ignore stats completely, but they can be misleading if taken in the wrong context. Just looking at somebody's average rating isn't a good sign of how good a player is, as he may have made alot of sub appearances or been played in an unfavoured position. Also a striker who scores a goal a game isn't necessarily going to do the same at your club, depends at what level he is currently playing.

Attributes are a more useful guide to judging a player's ability, along with scout reports.

As Man City proves, a team is a TEAM and not a side full of individual star players

Go with the stats but build a team where players complement each other

I favour ignoring scout reports because they are biased by the scout and aren't entirely correct in my opinion

I favour ignoring scout reports because they are biased by the scout and aren't entirely correct in my opinion

A scout report is an opinion but you are the manager so its yours that counts

I favour ignoring scout reports because they are biased by the scout and aren't entirely correct in my opinion

not entirely correct could be... but why would they be biased?

I favour ignoring scout reports because they are biased by the scout and aren't entirely correct in my opinion

not entirely correct could be... but why would they be biased?

perhaps not biased but based on the scouts attributes

Sorry Dual Post

not entirely correct could be... but why would they be biased?

Well I'm not sure it's just for example Steve Rowley 20 JPA 20 JPP

And then there is Francis Cagigao 20 JPA 20 JPP. I swear if i scout the same player with both scouts their views will be different just like the coaches views on your team players. Rice rates certain players lower or higher than others may. For example some youngsters are often viewed differently such as someone like Ramsey or Wilshere. The views seem different.

Maybe I'm getting bias confused with opinion, i think i am.

I don't trust stats, but I do trust attributes. Stats can be misleading (do a good poacher's goals say more about him or about his service, for instance?), but the attributes tend to not be. If a player looks like a good player and doesn't have any personality/hidden problems that my scout finds out about, than I'll probably at least consider bringing him on.

That said, I'm picky about attributes, because if I'm discounting past performance I want to see good potential. So, for example, if I want a good creative midfielder, I'm going to base whether I sign him on his creativity, passing, and mental attributes, NOT on how many assists he had the season before.

I'm sorry i've just realised by stats I also meant attributes. Accidently didn't mention it got confused once again ..