Nurturing Youngsters

Hi there, I'd really like to hear your ideas on nurturing youngsters through the ranks. I'm finding it a little confusing tracking the progress of the dozens of players contained in U-19 squads(also I am skint). I'd particularly like advice on the following:-

1:- Do you snatch youngsters through the transfer market or do you try to develop your own academy players?

2:- Do you switch them around between the reserves and the U-19's and if so, why?

3:- At what age do you send your trainees out on loan, if at all?

4:- What do you look out for in a young player?

Ta.

1. I tend to do a bit of both. However, I rarely find that my academy players turn out to be good enough. But I have a wonderkid who I signed at the age of 17 from Barcelona (he's real). He's now 20 and looking good.

2. I never do that.

3. The youngest I send them out is 17. Being Man. United, a lot of them end up at Antwerp.

4. Well, I take it as positive if my coach has something good to say about a youngster. I obviously check to see if he has any attributes that are higher than you'd expect from a young player. And if he's not in my academy, scout reports are important.

1:- I have the same problem as Mike - I rarely get big talents from academy, so I try to search for wonderkids somewhere else.

2:- No, I usually play them in U-19's for 1-2 seasons and then loan them out

3:- 17-20

4:- Attributes that are vital for his position (a.e. i would never sign a defender with heading 5 or smth even if he'd be magical everywhere else. i am learning from my mistakes. i once had a defender that was afraid to fly higher that 5cm above the ground and opponents found that out soon)

1. In an ideal world I'd do as much as I could through my own youth setup, but sign as many young players as possible.

2. I keep them in the U18's until they're 18 then move them out on loan.

3. I wait until they're 18 till I send them out on loan.

4. Just higher than average really.

1) Both. It's tedious to find youngsters manually but it works best.

2) No, I put them in the appropriate age-bracket. Youngsters will play in the Reserves if needed. Also see my strategy for this: http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php?t=16436

3) Again, see http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php?t=16436 - it depends on their ability. With Manchester United, I set them as listed for loan at 18 and offer them to clubs on loan and my better young youngsters find decent clubs to go to - I always send them out to places where they will play as first-team members. A feeder team in a tier below you would help massively here. In my Manchester United team, I've loaned out players for 2-3 years consecutively to different clubs if necessary, although at that point it suggests they're not good enough.

I've loaned out 17-year-olds before, though. One 16-year-old wonderkid, who was the France Under-19s captain, a fantastically gifted player whom all my scouts harped on about. In my Triestina game, I sent him off to Córdoba (feeder club) when he was 17 for half-a-season and he's back there for the whole season, where he's their first-choice centre-back and first-choice defensive midfielder if necessary.

In other words, it depends on how developed they are.

Loaning them out to grey teams seems to be a bad idea unless you're simulating their leagues, as they develop slowly.

4) If he has good attributes at 16 or 17, it's likely they'll be worth something decent at 19-20 so at worst, they can be sold for a profit. I tend not to use scouts all the time - it takes ages.

1) Most of my most promising youth players have been signed from other clubs, though I do try and get as many through from my own academy as possible, and currently have a striker from my own youth set up that I have high hopes for.

2) No, they only make the reserves when they are 18, unless I consider them to be a special talent and capable of making the jump to the reserve team.

3) Generally 18, although if I consider them ready for first team football at 17, I might consider loaning them out if I can guarantee they will get regular matches, preferrably to a feeder club.

4) Good attributes for their age and position. I tend not to rely on my scouts too much in this area as I find they can be unreliable when judging newgens.

1:- A bit of both. I always develop my facilities to increase the quality of youngsters coming through. But a good scouting setup, (usually monitoring the Under-18/19 leagues available) is essential for finding gems at other clubs.

2:- No. All young players are kept in the Under-18s. However, the reserve team can call up Under-18 players if they are short. So it sort of happens naturally.

3:- I only send them out after they have graduated from the Under-18 side (after being tutored by my star players). I try and have feeder clubs on various levels to match different players abilities, making sure that they'll get first team football, but at a level decent enough to provide a good challenge and some big matches. I've found that the SPL is pretty handy for this.

4:- Solid stats in all the right areas, and good references from a trusted scout!

Can i ask a question? When choosing what club to loan your future star too, does it matter if the club he goes to isnt in a playable league? For example, i have a talented 18 yr old midfielder who is wanted on loan by PSV in the dutch league, however i only have the italian, English and Spanish leagues loaded. Will he gain anything from going to the dutch league? OR should i try and get him a loan to one of my loaded leagues?

I'd try to get him to a playable league, just so you can see how they're doing in the league and stuff - just my personal preference however and I'm unsure whether it matters.

Most of it has already been mentioned, but alas:

1:- Since I don't have an academy (nor expect to get one), I simply try to develop my own facilities as much as possible. I like my own youths. If there are nice youths out there, I grab them too.

2:- No. All young players are kept in the Under-18s. However, the reserve team can call up Under-18 players if they are short. So it sort of happens naturally. ©Gypsum.

3:- I hardly have any decent feeder clubs, so I don't loan them. I do put them on a loan state, so clubs can drop by and ask to get him on a loan though. But generally I think that nurturing them by yourself and giving them some time in the first team every now and then works wonders.

4:- Solid stats in all the right areas, and good references from a trusted scout! Again, ©Gypsum.

Can i ask a question? When choosing what club to loan your future star too, does it matter if the club he goes to isnt in a playable league? For example, i have a talented 18 yr old midfielder who is wanted on loan by PSV in the dutch league, however i only have the italian, English and Spanish leagues loaded. Will he gain anything from going to the dutch league? OR should i try and get him a loan to one of my loaded leagues?

Try and get him into a simulated league. I've sent out youngsters to Rapid Wien who went fairly far in the UEFA Cup but in terms of CA, came back with a whopping increase of 1. Sent my wonderkid to Córdoba, and even with their comparatively poor training facilities, gained 12.

Anyone else got any theories in developing youngsters?

I'll start sending out youngsters on loan starting at 18-19. Lately I've gotten into the practice of rotating in high-potential players regularly into games. Once a player starts dominating at the reserve level or on loan, then I'll bring them in to the first team.

Anyone else got any theories in developing youngsters?

For me tutoring is a must. A perfect match would be an U18 star in the making being tutored by a first team player with the same personality and natural position. If you use an U18 player choose the "Ideal Role Model" option. This strategy seems to work almost every time and can sometimes increase a players CA dramatically. I then send players out on loan when they are 18 and soon old enough to become a first team regular