Young players not reaching their potential

I'm still playing FM10 but I'm sure this question might well be relevant to FM11 too.

How can I ensure that my highly rated youngsters reach their potential?

I've got quite a few young players who seem to be stalled along the way to reaching their potential. I've even had a couple over the last few seasons that I have ended up having to sell because they just don't seem to be improving. I've also had one or two players who are rated very highly by my coaches but then never reach that level and their potential rating drops accordingly. Is this something I am doing wrong or is it just a case of bad luck?

I'm very careful with my youngsters. I try to make sure that their personalities are as good as possible to give them the best chance of progressing. I often tutor my young players in order to improve their attitudes. In addition to this, my young players all get loan time where they will be a valuable first-team player, or playing time in my first-team when good enough. I try to make sure that they get playing minutes and I have a successful team so they are getting plenty of good experience.

My coaches are all really good and I have 4-5 stars for each category. The only thing I can see that might be holding me back is that my training facilities are still pretty low for my level. I'm playing a 'small club to big club' type of save and the facilities are still lagging behind where I currently am in football terms. Could that be making a big difference?

Any thoughts appreciated.

I tend to buy a lot of young players and attempt to develop them, and I would say that 1 out of 3 makes it into my first team squad, with maybe 1 in 8 or 9 becoming a top class player.

The major thing I find that helps is first team football. Whether that's at your club or on loan, it is still better than keeping them in your reserves. Depends on what club you are at of course, I am at Liverpool and use League Cup/FA Cup games for my youngsters, as well as giving them league and champions league matches from time to time. Training facilities and coaches are also major factors, and I also like to make use of tutoring from senior players.

I tend to buy a lot of young players and attempt to develop them, and I would say that 1 out of 3 makes it into my first team squad, with maybe 1 in 8 or 9 becoming a top class player.

I see. So maybe it is just bad luck for me that quite a few of my youngsters are not doing as well as I hoped.

It seems like quite a high proportion are rated with potential to become 'leading players' when I first bring them in and then they struggle to meet their potential and end up as 'good players' or, rarely, sometimes lower than that.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not expecting them all to make it as 'leading players', but it just seemed to me that the proportion who do make it is quite low for my club right now.

The major thing I find that helps is first team football. Whether that's at your club or on loan, it is still better than keeping them in your reserves. Depends on what club you are at of course, I am at Liverpool and use League Cup/FA Cup games for my youngsters, as well as giving them league and champions league matches from time to time.

I'm a top club in the Premier League now. I use League Cup and the early rounds of the FA Cup for my youngsters. I also loan a whole bunch out to other sides. I try to make sure that nobody just sits in my reserves.

Training facilities and coaches are also major factors, and I also like to make use of tutoring from senior players.

I desperately need to improve the training facilities as they are lagging behind. I actually wondered if they were the main factor holding me back from producing a few more gems.

I guess the fear was that I was doing something wrong but it sounds as if I have most of the main bases covered.

The other question I have for those who are experts at building their own youth players is: when do you give up on a player and call him a 'lost cause'?

Obviously, I know that most players stop dramatically developing and improving at 24. Do any of you give up on players earlier?

I have a couple of youngsters around the age of 21, 22 and 23 who just aren't really going anywhere and I'm wondering if I should cash in or hold on and see if they are just late developers.

The other question I have for those who are experts at building their own youth players is: when do you give up on a player and call him a 'lost cause'?

Obviously, I know that most players stop dramatically developing and improving at 24. Do any of you give up on players earlier?

I have a couple of youngsters around the age of 21, 22 and 23 who just aren't really going anywhere and I'm wondering if I should cash in or hold on and see if they are just late developers.

you should really take alook at the stats that are relevant to their Position and decide how far away they are from a level that you would expect them to be at. Then decide whether its reasonable to expect the player to be able to reach that level in the next year or two.

Cheers Postal Postie. Looks like I need to go back and re-evaluate.

In my experience they need to have a reasonable CA to begin with, as well as the good PA which you're looking at.

For example - one 17yo player could be a leading 'whatever' and so could a similar 17yo 'whatever'. But if one of the 17yo has a national reputation and the other has a local one, it's easy to see which one has the best chance of ACTUALLY becoming a leading player.

With the same reasoning, a 20yo with the potential to become a leading player but still has a local or regional reputation can be forgotten - he's not going to reach his potential. If he's got a national rep at 17 then he's got a good shout.

Just a couple of things that I find help me.

How can reputation make such a difference? :confused:

You need to play them in your own team. IF you couldn't do that, they should play high-level leagues. There is really a difference between a player that plays for west ham and basel for example. Even though their reputations are same level, west ham players have more chance to develop since they are in a bigger challenge.

I don't think it's enough to send your talented youth to your feeder clubs. They need a club willing to play them regularly, like sending them to another Premier League club, or another club in a very good league in Germany, Italy, Spain for example.

How can reputation make such a difference? :confused:

My understanding is that reputation is an indicator of CA.

You need to play them in your own team. IF you couldn't do that, they should play high-level leagues. There is really a difference between a player that plays for west ham and basel for example. Even though their reputations are same level, west ham players have more chance to develop since they are in a bigger challenge.

Remember that match ratings affect player development.

So what you say is generally true. However, as the EPL would be a stiffer test for the player, should he play for Basel he is more likely to get better performance ratings, his morale would therefore be higher, and he could develop at the same or higher rate than he would getting mediocre or poor ratings at West Ham.

personally for me young players get first team action from 19 onwards, maybe younger if they are special, after a couple of seasons with the first team i then decide who to keep and who to move on, usually by then i have a good idea who is progressing enough and who is being left behind, usually if ive not seen an attribute increase in a season i get shot of them, although i have seen myself sell players at 19 thinking they were not good enough or not as good as my other youth player only to get them back to the club in a season or so because they have progressed well at their new club. So far in all my years of FM i have managed to get quite a few players to become world class, although only twice has one of my actual regen players won world player of the year.

If you really want to develop them, you need to give them regular playing time well before they're "good enough" for the first team. Otherwise they are unlikely to progress, ergo unlikely to become "good enough" for the first team. This means bringing them on regularly as subs, playing them from the start against weaker teams in the league, using them as cover for injuries, and giving them game time in the cups.

Loans are good if they go to a team that will benefit them: at a level where they can still develop, and at a team that gives them game time. You really want to always have "can be recalled" as part of your loans in case they don't get played.

Good training facilities can definitely help, but the biggest benefits are gained from playing matches at a high enough level.

Most of my youth players don't last until past 18; the most promising get a few years to prove themselves. I'll ship out player at the latest around age 21 if they aren't gonna make it, although there are sometimes borderline cases, where I keep them on for another year - in particular if they can at least provide good back up.

i find loaning is essential, even if its just 6 months, usually to a club the level below where my team is, ie first divisions if im in the top division, this gives them a bit of first team football at a level they can play well at.

You really want to always have "can be recalled" as part of your loans in case they don't get played

This.

Happened a few times to me - want the player for the first 11 at the start of the transfer window > they then move a player or two on and come into some cash > they sign someone for the position of your player and he then sits and rots.

Most of my youth players don't last until past 18

This too.

Think it was SFraser who suggested it. You should know who you're keeping by the time they get to this age. You need to be pretty ruthless.

I pretty much do what you do crouchaldinho.

The only thing I tend to avoid is shipping my hot prospects off to lower clubs. I'm in L2 (Boreham Wood) on my save and my reserves are full of youngsters that (according to my scout) have the PA to reach Championship level.

The reason I don't use feeder clubs is that their coaching setup and facilities are at a much lower level than mine. So while they may be getting regular games, they tend not to develop as well.

As a rule I give my youngsters as much first team football as possible.

Another thing is the quality of your initial scout reports, and coach reports when you've signed them. This obviously depends on the JPA attribute of your staff.

I think some of the players hidden stats will also determine whether they make, which you have no control over, so a bit of luck is required.