Experience

I wonder if the experience of a player is important. This would make the game much more realistic, since a player who already played several season and that is above 25-26 years old should have better mental attributes (concentration, composure etc) than a youngster...

What do you think about it?

An older player generally will have better mental stats than a younger player already. This has been part of the game for an extremely long time.

An older player generally will have better mental stats than a younger player already. This has been part of the game for an extremely long time.

I knew that players improved their mental stats as they got older, but I'm not sure if this is related to match time. I get the impression its age thats made the increase happen, not experience.

Rooney would be a good example, he's played a lot of games and is still young. Does that mean his mental stats are better now than if he'd not played so many games? Have his mental attributes improved as much as a player aged late 20s??

It also raises the question, which attributes rise and why?

You'd think professionalism, consistency, composure, handling pressure, aggression, etc would increase due to age, but Anticipation, decisions, positioning, off the ball, creativity etc would increase due to experience?

A lot of the hidden mental stats rise with experience, consistency etc.

I've not done any statistical analysis but I've had players in the past who have played poorly week in week out for a variety of clubs for many seasons are still just as useless.

I knew that players improved their mental stats as they got older, but I'm not sure if this is related to match time. I get the impression its age thats made the increase happen, not experience.

Rooney would be a good example, he's played a lot of games and is still young. Does that mean his mental stats are better now than if he'd not played so many games? Have his mental attributes improved as much as a player aged late 20s??

It also raises the question, which attributes rise and why?

You'd think professionalism, consistency, composure, handling pressure, aggression, etc would increase due to age, but Anticipation, decisions, positioning, off the ball, creativity etc would increase due to experience?

I imagine it depends on the player development curves. In any case, a player who doesn't play generally doesn't improve much in terms of attributes overall compared to one who does, so this should provide at least part of the effect.

lol rooney hasnt got good mental qualities irl

I find "Experience" to be extremely important.

Up through CM03/04, you could pretty much just buy young players based on visible attributes, and trust that they would tear up the league (and incidentally, improve themselves as they played). Win-win!

From FM'05 onward, however, SI have been increasingly emphasizing experience. For example, I thought that FM'05 had "a bug" because "Morale was having far too much impact". Well, it was. On my team. Because I'd applied my tried-and-true CM01/02 strategy of buying hot young talent. The engine had been adjusted such that young players were much more susceptible to Morale impacts - both positive and negative - than experienced professionals. Therefore, my team was exceptionally streaky.

When I made some adjustments - essentially, a "backbone" of experienced players (GK, DC, DC, DM/MC(d)), I immediately began seeing a much more consistent run of play. A single loss did not immediately drop every player to poor morale; we were less likely to run off ten straight victories, but we were much less likely to go an extended period without a win, and I found it easier to get results away from home than I had.

(Other key attributes there include Determination, Work Rate, and Personality, which will all impact how much effort a player puts forth when things don't look good.)

Experience is also vital for your captain, penalty takers, and "big matches". A captain too young will not command the respect of the rest of the players. Youngsters are much more likely to bottle a penalty "under pressure", e.g., in a close game, especially away from home. Likewise "big matches"; a youngster is less likely to enjoy the pressure of a big match.

If you go too young with players at too high of a level, you will see them start suffering the Slight personal concern "Struggling with the pressure of public expectation" or something like that; essentially, that means that the pressure of starting is getting to him. (You can see this very quickly by starting a 17-year-old GK for Man U. or a similar club, day in and day out.) If the concern is not addressed, the player ceases to learn from the experience, and may even suffer personality changes, depression!, and lack of self-belief.

Final thought - experience is a key factor in "what team-talk should I give" and "what media interaction should I use." Young players tend to react best to media praise, downplaying your chances of victory in a match, "No pressure" and "Pleased" team talks. Veterans, especially determined, professional, and Iron Willed players, tend to react very well to criticism, hyping your chances pre-match, and "I expect a win", "I want to see more from you", or "Disappointed" team-talks.

Those are just a few of the areas where it matters a lot .. I'll leave the others for you to find. Just start playing the game as though experience matters, and you'll start seeing results.