Has scouting changed in the new update?

I mentioned about this in the update feedback thread but didn't get a clear answer whether this is a bug or the the scouting system has changed.

I've just took over as Newcastle manager on a large database with a majority of leagues and on player search I can't pick up a few players when I stick in 'Position is left back' with the 'Unrealistic transfers' box unticked.

I've searched for Pieters and Cissokho through the list of players and they don't appear, however when I search their names they are in the game. I can find a random Brazilian LB but can't find Holland's first choice left back :S I have 30% scouting knowledge in Holland but it won't pick up Pieters for example.

Is this a bug or has the scouting system changed? If it has changed I should be able to pick Pieters up.

If you only have a 30% scouting knowledge of Holland than that's the problem here. There is 70% you don't know about which may well include Pieters. If his rep is low that would explain it.

My advice would be don't get Pieters anyway, get Ricardo Rodriguez, starts at a Scandinavian team and becomes class, a regular for Spain on my Toon save.

If you only have a 30% scouting knowledge of Holland than that's the problem here. There is 70% you don't know about which may well include Pieters. If his rep is low that would explain it.

Surely Holland's first-choice left-back should appear anyway? I mean, you could find tons of videos of him on YouTube alone, and scouts watching the Dutch national team wouldn't be outlandish...

My scouting has changed under the new patch too, scouting in the BSN now seems to cost me around four times more than it was doing and I'll probably end up bankrupt.

Surely Holland's first-choice left-back should appear anyway? I mean, you could find tons of videos of him on YouTube alone, and scouts watching the Dutch national team wouldn't be outlandish...

Agreed, especially as Graham Carr signed Tiote from Holland and we're being linked with Douglas from Twente irl. He doesn't have any knowledge in France either which is rhe stupidest thing I've ever seen! We've only signed Cabaye, Abeid, Marveaux and Ben Arfa from the country! But these are a different point regarding the stats of Graham Carr.

I can understand it being changed to give the manager more control over scouting as A LOT more players showed up on the player list, but when you can't find Holland's first choice LB but you can a random Slovakian or young Brazilian in their respective countries, something is clearly wrong. Especially when NUFC would having scouting networks all over Europe & I can't sign a scout with knowledge of Holland!

Probably worth bring all that up in the Newcastle data thread (unless of course you've done so already), the Newcastle researcher is quite active on the boards.

I've brought it up in the Newcastle Data Issues Forum, but the researcher said they don't choose the tactical knowledge of scouts. Could anyone from SI clear this up and/or amend it because Graham Carr's scouting knowledge is terrible as compared to real life?!

Whatever the scouting knowledge shows, I know who Erik Pieters is and I've seen him play so for the game to imply that there are professional European scouts getting paid a wage by a Premier League team that haven't heard of him is stupid beyond belief. Something clearly isn't working right there.

Agreed. At the start of the save Newcastle only have 2 scouts which may be why? (But still) Surely NUFC employ more than 2 scouts?!