The importance of learning the language

I admit to sometimes being one of those managers who expects his £20m+ signings to make an instant impact. I look at my new signings and think the stats look great and that they should fit in really well at my club (personality wise definitely).

For the first couple of games they struggle (new team I can understand that) but i often find that until they learn the language they need to it turns my star striker into a bit of a flop. My signings for that reason always seem to suffer from "first season syndrome" but once they settle and learn the language its remarkable how their performances improve.

I was wondering if player language skills has had such a major impact in any other players game? I see some people talk about personality as a major attribute in the development of the team but for me its been the ability of the player to speak the native language.

it will be combination of a few attributes, including his ability to speak the language, if your player cant speak to his team mates, his ability to interact with them will be limited, when this improves so will the communication between him and your players. Also remember the new player prob wont be the only reason, it will also take your team time to adjust to the new player and the way he plays.

Micah Richards (Man City to AC Milan) within 2 an a half season in his personal page never even learnt basic italian and performed slightly above average but better then what i had at Right Back..

Neymar is 6 months in my side (again AC Milan) and is already learnt basic italian and scored bucket loads, something like 2.5 average per game..

I've been wondering about this lately, and I wonder if an option (perhaps a bit like a preferred move) to ask your player to take language lessons might be a good addition. I don't know how much of an impact it makes, but given the limited date above it might be a good idea.

Coaches that speak your foreign players language will help the player settle in quicker.

A manager that speaks the language (e.g., English with French as a second nationality) will help the player settle in better.

Players with high Adaptability will settle much more quickly than players with a low Adaptability.

Also allowing the players to go home on holiday may help also.