Lack of Box-to-Box midfielders

Well theres the likes of Sissoko and Essien etc, but when the regens come I can't seem to find any the scouts recommend as box to box as their best position. Even when their stats look decent for a B2B mid the scouts say they play best as a DLP or something.

At the moment I have an aging Rodwell playing that position and a young regen who's stats are OK for the role but not great

Just because someone would perform "best" (in the AM's opinion) in one role doesn't mean they can't be excellent in another.

A Box-to-box midfielder essentially requires no outstanding attributes: they need to be able to do everything quite well. Therefore if a player is a very good passer, the AssMan will probably point out their potential as a playmaker rather than their potential future as an all-rounder who happens to pass the ball very well. If they are a ferocious tackler, the AssMan may well point out their ball-winning capabilities rather than their ability to perform as an all-rounder who happens to tackle very well.

I'm always amazed by people's willingness to ignore their own judgement in favour of the AI's, even though we all know we're far smarter than it. If you're not sure on how to use a player, take a glance at the AssMan's recommendation and see how it fits with your plans. Otherwise, just look at a player's attributes and play him wherever you find those attributes useful.

I got one from being a regen. He is VERY good.

But, ive not seen many more...

There is a lack of b2b midfielders in real life. Players are becoming more and more designated specifically to certain roles. Plus with pace becoming more and more prominent in every facet of the field it's SOOO tough to track back to your own box and then push to the opponents.

As the other posters have said, there's very few box-to-box midfielders around; at any level they're rarer than hen's teeth and hence so prized. They need to be good at both attacking and defending and most midfielders are definitely inclined towards one of those facets but not both. At the very highest levels, I can only think of Yaya Toure and Schweinsteiger and perhaps Marchisio as being capable of fulfilling this role, and neither of them are utilised in this manner by their respective club sides.

The box-to-box midfielder is a very 4-4-2 (and hence British) construct imo. And as hardly anybody at professional level plays a flat 4-4-2 these days, it's a role which is rapidly becoming obsolete.

The issue with the assman recommendation is that some roles which have less key attributes to look at are consequently favoured in being recommended by the assman. Like limited defender for DCs or poacher for SCs.

Roles which require more all-round skill, like a B2B midfielder or a complete forward are naturally less inclined to appear on the recommended position list.

Just think of a player with good attributes in most of the 10 key ones for a for simple role and compare that to the same player having good attributes for a role with 16 key attributes. All players are more likely to fulfil the lower requirement of being good at 10 than being equally good at 16.

If you see a CM who is capable of filling that role, or has the potential to become so, feel free to assign that role to him.

Exactly jayahr. Box to Box for mids are like complete forward for strikers in terms of stats requirements. They need to be strong with both attacking and defending skills , exceptional mental attributes, tireless, agile. So you can't find a 16 year old BtBM

Exactly jayahr. Box to Box for mids are like complete forward for strikers in terms of stats requirements. They need to be strong with both attacking and defending skills , exceptional mental attributes, tireless, agile. So you can't find a 16 year old BtBM

Not sure if you understand what I'm getting at though or vice versa.

Of course, it'll be touch to find a 16 year old player who is well-rounded enough to perform in that role. But my main point is that if you find one, the assman will probably still recommend another role due to the high probability that the attributes will receive an even higher evaluation score when testing them against a scheme which requires less attibutes to be great.

Also, I have to agree that there are indeed quite few top notch b2b midfielders irl.

de rossi and bertolacci, both great b2b midfielders

for me, any midfielder with good marking/passing/stamina and decent finishing (12+) automatically becomes a b2b in my team

de rossi's my league top scorer