What do you do with untalented youth players?

I mean players rated totally useless by the Assistant Manager. Do you let them hang about until their youth contract runs out or terminate them by paying out the rest of their contract? At what point do you do it - immediately?

If money isn't a problem in the club that i'm managing i just release all of the useless ones as soon as they arrive.. if money is tight i won't release all of them right away since it's still 10k each..

I mean players rated totally useless by the Assistant Manager. Do you let them hang about until their youth contract runs out or terminate them by paying out the rest of their contract? At what point do you do it - immediately?

Depends on your youth setup. If you have a decent setup and you are able to muster a squad without these players I would let them go. I haven't been able to build a satisfactory youth squad yet, and therefore I am dependent on the untalented players. I would rather play with these than 'greys'.

I let them hang around - just so long as they're not stifling the development of more promising talents.

I basically go through my youth team every year, and if there are, let's say, 7 STs, I'll cut 3 or 4 of them, starting from the worst prospect (but with slight prejudice against the elder among them, who have had longer to develop). That way your AssMan won't start some tortuous policy of squad rotation that sees your better players not getting a game every week.

With mediocre prospects, who'll never be good enough for my team but could be decent, I sometimes put in the effort of loan deals and mentoring and the whole development shebang, but usually I can't be bothered, and just sell them for £0 with a 50% of next transfer profit fee, and let a smaller club develop them.

I don't really listen to the Ass Man and base a decision on that. I look at their stats, take all other factors on board, and make my own judgement. Usually, though, I'll keep the 16 year olds for a year and take another look. If there's been some improvement, I'll tie them to low-paying deals until the summer that they hit 20 (or the first June after their 20th b'day for those players born in winter). I'll loan them out so they get a season's worth of games under their belts and continue to check their progress season-on-season. Those whose stats reach my minimum requirements in key areas get considered for first team action, whether they're 16 or 19. If the stats are below this level, I only use them if I have to but generally keep them around.

On their 20th b'days, I have a final look at their stats, the number of games they've played (at my club and on loan), and their average ratings/performance levels. I then transfer-list the ones who clearly won't be good enough for my squad (they've had every chance by this point) and offer them to other clubs, with the result that they are released in the summer unless sold first.

From each 'crop', I consider myself lucky if 2/3 are worth keeping. There's usually one who's made the grade, but sometimes a group hits the 20 mark and all get binned. All I can say is, it seems to work for me. None of the players I release amount to much/join bigger clubs within 5 years, while some of the lads I opt to keep despite the Ass Man telling me to get rid when they were 16 go on to bigger, better things - which is excellent news on the financial front if you're in the lower leagues/are a 'lesser' Prem club.

if money is tight i won't release all of them right away since it's still 10k each..

If I understand correctly, there's a youth grant for those players, so their wages aren't paid by the club. On the other hand, release fees cost club money and they must be paid upfront.

With mediocre prospects, who'll never be good enough for my team but could be decent, I sometimes put in the effort of loan deals and mentoring and the whole development shebang, but usually I can't be bothered, and just sell them for £0 with a 50% of next transfer profit fee, and let a smaller club develop them.

That's smart. I'll definitely try that.

On their 20th b'days, I have a final look at their stats, the number of games they've played (at my club and on loan), and their average ratings/performance levels. I then transfer-list the ones who clearly won't be good enough for my squad (they've had every chance by this point) and offer them to other clubs, with the result that they are released in the summer unless sold first.

From each 'crop', I consider myself lucky if 2/3 are worth keeping. There's usually one who's made the grade, but sometimes a group hits the 20 mark and all get binned. All I can say is, it seems to work for me. None of the players I release amount to much/join bigger clubs within 5 years, while some of the lads I opt to keep despite the Ass Man telling me to get rid when they were 16 go on to bigger, better things - which is excellent news on the financial front if you're in the lower leagues/are a 'lesser' Prem club.

I've been wondering about that. I understand there's some kind of a Potential Ability ceiling that no player can develop past and the A.M. tries to estimate that. I'm sure they can be wrong. But how badly can they misjudge players? Could an average A.M. with "Judging player potential" of around 9-11 predict 1* or .5* and the player actually end up being a 4*?

What bothers me is I can't use my scout on my own players. I can't afford an A.M. with good PA/CA judging abilities so my scout is much better.

if they are absolutely shocking then i generally just get rid of them, but if they will get half decent (not good enough for first team but good enough for a team the next division down) then i'll generally aim to get them near their potential and try to sell

I usually release the very crap straight away, but keep the ones who look alright but don't seem to have potential. Sometimes they can prove the assman wrong, and at others they can end up as handy players for the B team or develop sufficiently to be sold on or join a reasonable team.

It depends how many good players I have, and have brought in to, my youth team.

I've been wondering about that. I understand there's some kind of a Potential Ability ceiling that no player can develop past and the A.M. tries to estimate that. I'm sure they can be wrong. But how badly can they misjudge players? Could an average A.M. with "Judging player potential" of around 9-11 predict 1* or .5* and the player actually end up being a 4*?

What bothers me is I can't use my scout on my own players. I can't afford an A.M. with good PA/CA judging abilities so my scout is much better.

I guess you *could* have a look at them in via the editor. I don't, but it seems like the only way to be absolutely sure.

As for any Ass Man, coach or scout (or yourself!)...the lower the stats for judging players, the more likely they are to get things wrong (there's also a hint in the Club/Player knowledge bar).

I guess (no proof of this, mind) that even if your Ass Man knows the club and players inside out and backwards and has outstanding judgement (both are important; he needs to know how good or bad the kid is now as well as make a judgement on ability to improve), he will inevitably get the odd one wrong because he's 'human'. It'll also come down to favoured tactics and styles, I think (again, no proof) - a guy who likes a defensive 4-1-2-1-2 isn't likely to rate wingers or, possibly, even attacking full-backs: he sees no need for them.

Treat the Ass Man as you would IRL: a valued source of advice...but an advisor all the same. You're the boss: ultimately, it's up to you to look at the evidence and make the call. No way would you listen to one opinion and do what he said - that'd make him the manager!

Anything up to one star potential is released immediately.

Anything up to one star potential is released immediately.

That's so harsh!

Reminds me of Sheva's thread - "If they don't have at least 3 star potential, don't bother."

I let their youth contracts run the course then release them at the end.

I stick them straight into the first team and watch them blossom into wonderful players, i then call in the Assistant manager slap him and say "HOW DARE YOU" before terminating his contract.........

Pat them on the back and say "Never mind son... there's always work at MacDonalds!"

Seriously though...

I don't tend to worry about potential at first glance. Even staff with high Judging Player Ability and Judging Player Potential aren't always right. I prefer to look at the distribution of their attributes first, to see if they have sufficient initial ability to play in the positions they already have, or could be retrained to play in. If there's a difference between staff reported current ability and potential ability, then they still have scope to develop further. I will also look at their personality too, because any poor character traits like "unambitious" or "temperamental", I'd rather not have at the club.

Anyone who doesn't meet those criteria, has poor attributes that don't suit their positions, plus no indications of potential to develop much, only then will I release them. With what's left, I'll start trying to develop them. One of two things will happen after that. They'll either make it with my club, or if not good enough after two or three years, I'll try to sell them.

Currently with my lower league club, the players coming through my youth system are very poor. Although I've managed to get the board to agree to two youth facility upgrades and they have a youth academy, there's been nobody that I would want to keep unfortunately. That hasn't stopped me scouting around myself though, signing youngsters that fit what I tend to look for. I'll do the same thing I usually do. Develop them as far as I can, either to keep or sell on.

Releasing players offhand by setting the bar too high, is a waste I always feel. At the very least, they can be looked at as source of potential income. Think in recent years, of the money Manchester United have made selling young players who aren't going to make it at Old Trafford, but will still have a good professional career ahead of them elsewhere.

let them hang around until youth contract expires, and if they've developed enough I let them stay and loan them out. when I get a bid I never change the prize but tick 50% transfer fee back and hope the AI buys him at a high prize at the other club, which they usually do because their transfer policy isn't that sofisticated

A few ones goes to A team because of champ league registration and such, but will only play if 20 players gets injuried wich can happen in this game

I just leave the useless one's to leave on free's.

Give the promising one's a contract and see if they develop.. I then in a few years time always check out how my former youth are doing, makes me proud when I see them developed :')

I try and sell them off. If nobody buys them then that's that. I'm happy to let them rot until their contract runs out.

Not as if the Reserve or U18 has any affect on the first team. I don't even look at them unless I need a player to cover.

I wait until I get the news item telling me they are eligible for a pro deal. Then I have a look at them and release them on a free, because they are never good enough.

The ones with decent potential and decent attribute spread get given Pro deals the day they come into the academy

I let their youth contracts run the course then release them at the end.

This

I try and develop the odd one that has potential, but most of them are released or sold if anyone wants them.

I let them make up the rest of the youth squad - there's no point just having a team full of wonderkids but no centre-backs (because they were "rubbish") for example. I release the truly awful ones or the worst ones in areas where I have too many players competing for games. Sometimes I even retrain the worst ones so they can fill gaps in the youth squad - centre-backs at full-back are an example, where they are rubbish at full-back but they will shut out the game for you at that level, even if they are awful anyway.

Sometimes my youth squad gets a little too large, in which case I release some of them. I try to keep the squad to fit on one page and a bit (the size of the "bit" depends on how many promising youngsters I have) as a rule of thumb.

I also release fourth-choice (and beyond) youth goalkeepers nearly immediately - there is no point in having so many goalkeepers. Sometimes I release the third-choice one too if I have a backup in my first-team, except sometimes where the best young goalkeeper is capable of starting Cup games in the first-team.

I feel it's a good thing to develop even rubbish youngsters, even if you lose them on frees, because in the long-term developing them well will lead to a trickle-down effect. I noticed this in my FM08 game - even without dynamic league reputation, my youngsters were all causing shock promotions for teams and there was a lot of movement in terms of transfers between tiers - because the number of good players had increased. And sure enough, Italy defied all odds in my most recent season to win the World Cup, with several former players of mine who would still not have made my own Triestina team.

As I play a relatively rich premier league club I tend to keep them all. Even a one star player for my team might make me £100k when sold.

I tend to keep all players until they can sign pro deals. Anyone who is very highly rated by my assistant manager gets whatever they want (within reason) then I resign all the low stared players, but anyone who my assistant or myself doesn't rate highly will be allowed to leave at the end of their youth contract if they want stupid pro contracts (eg more than £300 a week). No point in paying them all that money if the potential sell on fee is less than I've paid in wages!

As soon as they are listed as 'trained at club' then I will loan them out, normally getting my wages paid for, but only to clubs who list them as valuable players. This means I generally have no reserve squad and this I can have a large under 18s as they also play the reserve games.

I assure everyone has a contract to 21/22 and at 20 I assess everyone. Most will be deemed not good enough and will be sold, others will be given backup contracts, and the occationsl 17/18 year old will have already impressed me enough to upgrade them.

I tend to manage to sell 50% of them for 500, some go for 0 and 50% sell on fees and a couple end up leaving on frees. The best ones have given me an income from loaning them and then I get to sell them as well!. I probably make £6-10 million a year on sales, from the age of 19 they are almost always out on paid loans do the only cost I have are youth wages.

Release them mostly.

I try to make the most of everyone coming through my club, keeping hold of them for as long as I can. Once I have to give up on them I sell them on.

I just hang onto them in my youth team and, when they are too old, I put them into my feeder clubs (Baskonia/Bilbao Athletic). From there, I let my assistant handle the contracts and they usually just get released at the end. If they're not terrible but not good enough for my squad, I try to let their values go up a little bit before selling them off.

I tend to keep them around, even the lousiest ones, until they can sign a professional contract, then I propose them a 1 year contract (running out at the end of the current season, so it's not even 1 full year...) at minimum wage.

They usually accept, and I'll have them go for free in just a few months.

That way I end up paying more or less the same money I'd pay to keep them around until the end of their original contract [why do youth players get long contracts by default? can't it be a renegotiable year-by-year deal?!] but I can get rid of the deadwood in a quicker and more effective way.

In other situations I just release the 1/2* ones as soon as I can, especially if the size of the youth team (and the budget) allows me for a bit of housecleaning.

I don't really mind much about AssMan being wrong, as I generally manage in leagues where bad players are so bad you can't possibly "get it wrong", so if a youngster looks really awful, there's a 99.9% chance he is indeed material for underage retirement...

I'm managing a lower league club, and I try to keep a lean squad. I don't want any likely deadwood hanging around. Indeed I try to get to 'know' every member of my squad like their family.

So I do similar to heathxxx above, but make my judgements rather rapidly. The day the new recruits appear, I spend a long time assessing the ones the assman doesn't rate. If I have had 4 youths turn 18 and are too old for the youth squad, I might keep on 5 or 6 new ones. I want one youth player for each position (no subs) so they get loads of youth games. I try to keep my whole squad about 34-40. At the moment I'm getting a few injuries and am using the kids in the first team quite often. this is fine in the lower leagues; might not work higher up.

Reserve team players go into recycle bin

Youth team players go straight into recycle bin

Always

I kept only one young player within 5 years of top training and top youth facilities , he was the only one pretty decent anyway not a talent indeed

BTW have you ever had a single talent trough your own team youth section ?

One example of a youngster who wasn't good enough was a striker who got my 55+ goals and 20+ assists in 60+ games in the youth and reserves (youth fixtures + friendlies + reserve friendlies every week) - he was never going to be good enough, but he was a good finisher with very good physical attributes, and he made the whole youth team look much better than they were. They went unbeaten for the whole season and it meant that all my youngsters always had excellent morale and form, meaning they could easily jump into the senior team and do well. If I had simply released him and not given him a professional contract, he wouldn't have been able to allow the rest of the team to perform well by taking the scoring burden himself.

He went on to have a solid career in the second tier - occasionally bouncing up to Serie A but quickly falling down again. He's a Chievo legend I believe.

I wish the u18 and reserve team played a bigger part in FM.

I usually just sell off the dead wood and youth players because they are muck. Else their contract runs out.

I would hope that the assistant manager reminds you regularly of who performed well in u18 and reserve games, and also remind you to give the players on good form a chance in the first team or even loan them out.

I don't tend to worry about potential at first glance. Even staff with high Judging Player Ability and Judging Player Potential aren't always right.

Definitely the case for me.

I wait until I get the news item telling me they are eligible for a pro deal. Then I have a look at them and release them on a free, because they are never good enough.

The ones with decent potential and decent attribute spread get given Pro deals the day they come into the academy

Like heathxxx said, even the best make mistakes about players. I have an 18 yr old full back playing with my first team and when he first came into my academy, I was told to release him by my assistant because according to my assistant he was at 1 star and was not going to develop. And the kid has been playing great when given the chance.

Ironically he has developed faster than the 2 CBs who came through my academy, one with 3 start potential and the other with 2.5 star potential.

I rarely release players immediately. I wait at least a season. I have a soft spot for all the kids who come through my academy so I want them to succeed at some level. For that reason, I make sure that they get develop at least somewhat before I sell them.

I really don't think that managers should be releasing players unless they cannot sell them.

I keep all of them for the duration of their youth contract.. If they're not good enough, they won't get offered a proper contract and will leave on a free, but I like to keep them before that time because at least they will make up the numbers in the youth team. I'd rather have awful players than greys.

I tied up contract to player with 2 stars an above as soon as they come out from my youth academy. I don't like leaving young future prospect in youth contract because so many clubs keep poaching my youngens..

And if some clubs are interested in signing my players, I check their potential star rating and their attributes. If I think they might be useful, I reject. If not, I negotiate with the clubs and get a 50% next sale clause, and sell them for a couple of millions.

The rest of the untalented, I just leave them in youth contract and if my assman happens to renew their contract, I leave it that way and eventually stick into my B or C squad when they turn 19.

What's the point in releasing (all of) them? You're going to have to pay up their contracts either way so might as well have them play for the youth team. It's not like the greys who replace them are any better.

And if some clubs are interested in signing my players, I check their potential star rating and their attributes. If I think they might be useful, I reject. If not, I negotiate with the clubs and get a 50% next sale clause, and sell them for a couple of millions.

That's a bit of an exploit, actually. If a higher-level club wants to sign one of your kids, it's an indication that he DOES have good PA. Do you ever get bids for players with rubbish PA? Nope.

Cheeky thing is, managing in L9, time and again I get bids for my kids that I know have high PA (thanks, FMRTE) and the bids are invariably 0 quid and maybe some bauble clause thrown in. Like they're doing me a favour taking his 50 quid a week off my wage bill. Thanks.