Bad Player but Top Scorer

Okay, here's the deal.

Managing AFC Wimbledon at the moment.

My Assistant is John Morling who's judging stats are 12 and 12, so pretty good for a Blue Square side.

Mark Nwojeki is rated at 1.5 stars.

Yet he is my top performer in my team and Top league goalscorer with 8 goals in 10 games so far.

Anyone else had a supposedly bad player turn out good?

He's alos out of contract at the end of the season and i'm uber unsure as to whether to renew his contract or not!

stats are only part of the story, if he is scoring goals you would be crazy to get rid of him!

now it's 9 goals in 11...

but could it not just be luck? could he not be absoloutely sh*te in two weeks time?

Does he have high determination and alot of pace? If he has pace do not get rid as pace at lower league level is great thing to have. If he has determination that's great too. milnerpoint is correct though. Also the star rating is only relative to the squad you have, I think.

It's now 10 goals in 11 games.

Determination is 10.

For the Blue Square, he's lighting with 14 accel and pace. and he's got good natural fitness. i think ill have to renew, im obviously getting the best out of him

10 goals in 11 games.

Determination - 10

Accelration - 14

Pace - 14

Natural Fitness- 12

Flair - 14

Finishing - 8

Compure - 6

Decisions - 6

Off The Ball - 8

Technique - 6

good pace for that level so def keep him, decent enough determination as well!

Like i say if he keeps scoring then your obviously doing something right with him, just dont change it!!

Just completed a hat-trick. 11 goals in 11 games. Im signing him up before someone else starts tapping him up!

give him 1 year deals as long as he performs.. and when he cant deliver anymore, just let him go..

I often have the same situations.. for instance in my current game a 17 year old DL is my starting regular even though he sucks! - my other DL is 20-something and ALOT better, but that little kid keeps performing better so I've chosen to let him be my 1st choice this season.

When I say he sucks, I really really really mean he sucks (attribute-wise) - he has like 3 attributes over 9 while the other DL has most of his defensive attributes over 10 and WAY WAY better physical..

yet their performances are just the opposite of what you'd expect

I got him to sign a new deal till the end of next season with an extra season if he plays 30 games. To be fair, he's now scored 13 goals in 13 games. but according tomy assistant, he's getting lazy yet still putting a goal in almost every game, any advice on the lazines? i cant tell him for performing badly cos hes not.

Word of warning- if he still scores loads in the early part of next season be quick to get him on another new contract. If it gets to January he won't have played 30 league games and someone will offer him a precontract which will supersede your contract extension clause in his current contract.

Nwokeji was my top scorer for AFCW as well. Was awesome.

Also remember that the stars are not how goos he really is, but how good your AssMan thinks he is compared to your best player. So lets say you have a Goalie who is regarded as someone with high current ability (for a BSP side) then anyone not having near his potential will have a much lower rating, even though they might be great for BSP too.

That is also why you would see someone have like 3 stars, then you bring in a really good player and see him drop to 2 or 1 stars, even though he didn't really become any less of a player.

I never really look too much at the stars rating, other than as a pointer as to whom SHOULD be the better players or have the most potential. But if my 0,5 star midfielder consistently out-performs my 4 star midfielder, then I'll just use the former. Maybe his mental stats are much better, and thus makes him more consistent, or maybe I just don't play to the strengths of the 4 star player. Whatever the reason, I would never release my curretn top-goalscorer, just because my AssMan tells me he is a nobody.

Well, i doubt he;; be scoring like this in League Two next season, im undefeated so far and its now November. If he scores loads next season then great but i doubt he will. Its possible as hes in his prime, 28 going on 29. so we'll have to see next season ive still got the likes of Ravel Morrison and Kedwell to score me goals and roch hard defence thats only let in 5 goals this season so far. so at least im not reliant on him.

I have made him my target man with running onto balls, still on poacher duty. Does this tend to work or does it work best with natural target men?

I have experienced that my poor-ability top goalscorer in BSP showed to the world that he really did have poor ability once I got promoted to L2. With 14 in pace and acceleration being his only advantage over anyone else in his current league, I think that is what is going to happen if you get promoted to a league where 14 isn't really that high and where his other poor attributes get to count.

If you are promoted, don't renew his contract.

I already have extended it to then end of next season, but he'll good back-up at the very least, And im his favoured personel so id feel bad releasing him. When i get promoted to league one (which i will), then itll probably bye bye Nwojeki, on loan at the very least.

Mark Nwojeki now hasn't scored in 7 games... fml

I like that this happens to be honest mate.

It's how it is in lower leagues IRL - we see players perform above their expectation, despite the fact they shouldn't be 'doing so well'.

The only thing that disappointments is when the likes of your striker, having scored 11 in 11 and let's say he goes on to score 25 for the season, doesn't receive even a sniff of interest from clubs above. Looking back the likes of Eastwood and Scotland are examples of players doing well above expectation, being poached and then flopping. I know a L2 club might think 9 times out of 10 that he isn't worth a punt, but as football has shown us, that 1 out of 10 probably would.

There isn't enough poaching that way on FM for me.

But back to the topic - I think you've done the right thing keeping him on short-term. While he is scoring it is all good but you don't want to be left with a dead weight if you do go up

This seems to happen to me a lot in lower league management. I always seem to get one or two players who at first I think "How will I get rid?" but then turn into the spine of the team performing way above their station for a long time. The great thing is that they do often slip under the radar of bigger clubs and are less likely to be sniped. Even looking at some of these past stars with Genie Scout I've never seen them have any stat that would indicate their great performances.

Even at the highest level, performance trumps everything else, but at the lowest level it can be imperative to identify and protect these gems.

there's a player of half star on mexican called jesus olalda in second division. well managed he could became top scorer even when his really old. but when you get promoted he basically became dead weight.

Speaking from having seen him in real life, Nwokeji was okay - but suffered a serious knee ligament injury whilst playing for Dagenham and Redbridge.

Right well, 1st season over and he ended as league top scorer with 31 goals and 12 assists. Runner-up BSQ Premier player of the season.

Won promotion after an unbeaten season and ive kept him on, he's now rated as 1 star, and "decent for a blue square premier side".

Have signed a young replacement but will have him started for the first 15 games to see how he does.

How did you come to the conclusion he was bad?! he seems like a pretty good BS player

I have experienced that my poor-ability top goalscorer in BSP showed to the world that he really did have poor ability once I got promoted to L2. With 14 in pace and acceleration being his only advantage over anyone else in his current league, I think that is what is going to happen if you get promoted to a league where 14 isn't really that high and where his other poor attributes get to count.

If you are promoted, don't renew his contract.

This. It happens to the CPU on a regular basis too; when I was in the BSS, Farnborough had a forward who had absolutely awful stats (including finishing, off the ball & composure) but high pace and acceleration and he finished as the runaway top scorer with 31 league goals. I kept tabs on him the next season and he only scored six in all competitions.

Definitely think it sounds like a one off, you're gonna need true proven quality in League Two mate.

On my save Crewe got a striker through their academy with 18 pace and acceleration, other standout attributes were finishing 3, off the ball 2, strength 3, first touch 3, dribbling 5, technique 1....you name it, it was low. Naturally i bought him (for 2k) and put him straight into my team, he missed his share of howlers but 18 goals in 22 games isnt too bad!

Next season in league 2 hes got 3 in his first 11 games, i think hes been found out

id find it so hard to sign a striker with a finishing of 3. I mean i know that it isnt the be all and end all but still...