Quickfire Questions and Answers Thread (Tactic and Training Questions Only)

Thanks. Well I'm atleast half a season away, but I'm not overly bothered about them. It's the ones that will be promoted at the end if next season that are the real prospects.

I would love to get some clarification on this too, so now just waiting for his answer before I start to plan transfers and the like.

Okies. I can confirm that if you loan a youngster out to another Spanish team, although they will be "homegrown in country", they will not be "developed by club", as obviously they'll have played for another team. To have them developed by club, they need to stay with your club.

Neil is asking the coders for a definitive answer with respect to Spanish B clubs, so I'll get back to you with his answer for that. I suspect you'll be fine with player movements from first team to B team and vice-versa, at clubs such as Barcelona and Real Madrid, or with clubs who's B side is in a playable league, but I'm not 100% sure for clubs who's B sides aren't playable. Again, although I suspect they'll be fine given the data I see in the researcher editor tools we have, it'll be nice to have "official" confirmation.

Thanks. I thought it might be like that. Is it like this in real life? (teams like arsenal seen to be loaning out youngsters every year.

Would be good to hear about b teams as well.

Also why has it been changed so that newgen players who come through your own youth academy aren't automatically homegrown, but real players who don't spend 3 years at a club at youth level are homegrown in game eg fabregas if bought by barca.

Quick stupid one: If a player retrains some position to be his natural and if I remove that position from training in his training tab will it drop to accomplished with time or will it stay natural? Note: I won't be playing him in position where he become natural.

This please, anyone?

This please, anyone?

I did a quick search on the forum and it seems that he'll stay natural for a while, but will eventually revert to accomplished if you don't play him there.

community.sigames.com/showthread.php/209767-Accomplished-to-Natural?highlight=train+player+natural+stay+natural

community.sigames.com/showthread.php/134308-Training-a-player-to-quot-Natural-quot?highlight=train+player+natural+stay+natural

community.sigames.com/showthread.php/219858-Retraining-question?highlight=train+player+natural+stay+natural

Hello,

I've started a game with a small team of the third french division, without Youth Academy. I'm now playing the first role in the french first division, but I still don't have Youth Academy. So, I cannot form decent young player, and have to buy them from other team.

My question is so: how do we do to have a Youth Academy? Do we have to improve young facilities to the maximum? Do we have to ask something special to the board? Does it comes randomly if the financial situation of the team is good?

I search answer all around the web, and don't find anything. I hope someone here know anything about it

PS: I'm playing with FM2010, which is important. Indeed, if i understand well, it is now possible do develop a Youth Academy in FM2011.

Thanks a lot

Thanks. I thought it might be like that. Is it like this in real life? (teams like arsenal seen to be loaning out youngsters every year.

Would be good to hear about b teams as well.

Also why has it been changed so that newgen players who come through your own youth academy aren't automatically homegrown, but real players who don't spend 3 years at a club at youth level are homegrown in game eg fabregas if bought by barca.

No idea with regards to the newgen players, unfortunately.

The B teams class as part of the whole club, so moving players from first team to B team and vice-versa, won't affect their "homegrown" or "developed by club" status. However, when it comes to "developed by club" (between 15-21 years of age) and loaning players out, a year on loan at another club doesn't count towards the "developed by club"status. So for example, you have a young player from age 16. He's in your youth team for two years and you loan him out for a year when he's 18. So long as he stays with the club for another year afterwards before he's 21, he'll get the "developed by club" status. So in effect, the three years do accumulate towards the status, even if there's a gap for a loan period in between.

Hello,

I've started a game with a small team of the third french division, without Youth Academy. I'm now playing the first role in the french first division, but I still don't have Youth Academy. So, I cannot form decent young player, and have to buy them from other team.

My question is so: how do we do to have a Youth Academy? Do we have to improve young facilities to the maximum? Do we have to ask something special to the board? Does it comes randomly if the financial situation of the team is good?

I search answer all around the web, and don't find anything. I hope someone here know anything about it

PS: I'm playing with FM2010, which is important. Indeed, if i understand well, it is now possible do develop a Youth Academy in FM2011.

Thanks a lot

With respect to FM10 I can't remember exactly, but assume it's pretty much the same as FM11.

When you request training and youth facility improvements, you need to have the funds to do the improvements. The more improvements you're able to get your board to agree to, the better they will become, which with youth facilities, should eventually allow for a youth academy.

Hello,

I've started a game with a small team of the third french division, without Youth Academy. I'm now playing the first role in the french first division, but I still don't have Youth Academy. So, I cannot form decent young player, and have to buy them from other team.

My question is so: how do we do to have a Youth Academy? Do we have to improve young facilities to the maximum? Do we have to ask something special to the board? Does it comes randomly if the financial situation of the team is good?

I search answer all around the web, and don't find anything. I hope someone here know anything about it

PS: I'm playing with FM2010, which is important. Indeed, if i understand well, it is now possible do develop a Youth Academy in FM2011.

Thanks a lot

Go to "Board Room" > "Make Board Request" > "Improve...whatever you want.

Most requests I made at end of sucessful seasons were granted. Reasons for those that weren't: "facilities are already best in league" (if promoted try again as soon as season starts) & "don't got no funds"

Oops! Just reread your post, I've not had a club that started out without an academy. Appollogia.

He won't learn blast ball anyway so lol

Try "Curls Ball"

Say I buy a youngster aged 17. So by the time he is 20 he will be homegrown, since it takes three years. If I loan the player out say when he is 18 will he still be homegrown at my club by 20, or just homegrown in country by 20 (if loaned to a team in same country).

Also what about sending them to the B squad (managing in Spain).

I ask this because soon it will be time for some youngsters at my Barca team to be promoted. I am wondering whether to add them to my first team squad and sell the few fringe players; send them on loan or send them to B squad if they get promoted.

(heathxxx..ooh close, but no cigar)

He will be Homegrown at your club within three years regardless.

Unless...it's different in Spain!

(heathxxx..ooh close, but no cigar)

He will be Homegrown at your club within three years regardless.

Unless...it's different in Spain!

Our survey says... ugh-uhhh

"Homegrown" in country, yes (if loaned to another club in the same country).

"Developed by club", only if a player remains at your club for consecutive years between the ages of 15 and 21. If a player spends two years at your club, then spends a year on loan, at that point he'll only have racked up two years. Only when he returns (and stays) with your club for another year, will he gain his "Developed by club" status, so long as he completes that three years before he's 21.

Our survey says... ugh-uhhh

"Homegrown" in country, yes (if loaned to another club in the same country).

"Developed by club", only if a player remains at your club for consecutive years between the ages of 15 and 21. If a player spends two years at your club, then spends a year on loan, at that point he'll only have racked up two years. Only when he returns (and stays) with your club for another year, will he gain his "Developed by club" status, so long as he completes that three years before he's 21.

Sani Emmanuel signed for my Southampton team from "My People" Nigeria on 29 Aug 2010 and spent the following 3 years on loan at Wisla Plock in Poland. He returned "Homegrown At Club", as did Nikao-Brazil and Torric-Ghana.

Anyway I've noticed on my travels thru' this site that you are a pretty knowledgable chap, maybe you could help me - how does one hide spoilers when posting?

How do I stop players wasting time on the ball all the time? I've had players just standing there for ages before being easily dispossessed.

Any help would be awesome

Sani Emmanuel signed for my Southampton team from "My People" Nigeria on 29 Aug 2010 and spent the following 3 years on loan at Wisla Plock in Poland. He returned "Homegrown At Club", as did Nikao-Brazil and Torric-Ghana.

Anyway I've noticed on my travels thru' this site that you are a pretty knowledgable chap, maybe you could help me - how does one hide spoilers when posting?

Must be a bug then, or "not as intended". The response I got regarding "homegrown at club" was from the guys at SI. Might be something that's affected differently in various countries, but when it comes to registration of players in European competition and certain leagues, the three years for "homegrown at club" should only develop through three actual years spent at the club, not on loan. No real biggie and clearly it worked in your favour, but it might be worth mentioning in the bugs and data issues forum, along with an upload of your save.

As for how to do spoilers, I'm not that knowledgeable...

I'll have to go and have a look, as I thought there might have been a tab within the "advanced" posting options. :o

Edit: There's no tab anywhere, so you need to use manually written tags

How do I stop players wasting time on the ball all the time? I've had players just standing there for ages before being easily dispossessed.

Any help would be awesome

if they've got "dwells on the ball" as a PPM, you have hold up ball ticked on their individual player settings, or are playing the sort of system that entails retaining possession a lot, then there's always the likelihood they'll waste time on the ball. Another explanation could be poor mental attributes, so check to see if coach reports suggest they have "poor intelligence".

I've recently got rid of a winger who dawdled on the ball a lot, squandering possession and giving the ball away. In the end, it was simply down to his mental attributes and poor decision making. His mental attributes were never going to improve enough to stop that and even with specific instructions, he was always going to be a pain in the backside. He can be a pain in the backside for an AI manager now I've sold him.

Funnily enough, I sold the guy to Bayern Munich. We later faced them in the EURO Cup. Our two goals in the first leg came from him losing the ball against my players. Now that's what I call a result.

How do I stop players wasting time on the ball all the time? I've had players just standing there for ages before being easily dispossessed.

Any help would be awesome

Maddening isn't it.

Obvious ones first: PPM "dwells on ball"?. Are you using slow tempo - too slow a tempo against a team with high Closing Down(especially a pacy team)=man caught in possession.

Does he have low Decisions attribute, is he isolated(no-one within range of his passing capabilities), is Creative Freedom set too high for his intelligence(you may be asking him to do something he can't), Mentality setting may be telling him to favour a pass in the opposite direction to where your players are. Low First Touch, Technique, Composure, Teamwork or Agility(by the time he contains the ball, gets it out from under his feet and decides what to do with it - it will be too late. There's a few (of the many individual and combined) things to look at for now but without knowing your players or tactics it's only possible to generalise.

One thing's for certain you will never eradicate it, my team started in a low league where it was quite prevelent and now at the top level I have a megatastic AMC/MC who still gets stomped on. (Also be aware your creative players will be targeted by the opposition.)

Thanks

How slow is my typing!!

I must have a freak save because I also had Jonjo Shelvey tutoring at age 19!

Edit: Nelson Oliveira tutoring at age 20. Liam O'Brien tutoring at age 20. AND Two pairs of players who could tutor each other!!

Try "Curls Ball"

You can't teach player to curl balls. He can only gain it through tutoring.

if they've got "dwells on the ball" as a PPM, you have hold up ball ticked on their individual player settings, or are playing the sort of system that entails retaining possession a lot, then there's always the likelihood they'll waste time on the ball. Another explanation could be poor mental attributes, so check to see if coach reports suggest they have "poor intelligence".

I've recently got rid of a winger who dawdled on the ball a lot, squandering possession and giving the ball away. In the end, it was simply down to his mental attributes and poor decision making. His mental attributes were never going to improve enough to stop that and even with specific instructions, he was always going to be a pain in the backside. He can be a pain in the backside for an AI manager now I've sold him.

Funnily enough, I sold the guy to Bayern Munich. We later faced them in the EURO Cup. Our two goals in the first leg came from him losing the ball against my players. Now that's what I call a result.

Maddening isn't it.

Obvious ones first: PPM "dwells on ball"?. Are you using slow tempo - too slow a tempo against a team with high Closing Down(especially a pacy team)=man caught in possession.

Does he have low Decisions attribute, is he isolated(no-one within range of his passing capabilities), is Creative Freedom set too high for his intelligence(you may be asking him to do something he can't), Mentality setting may be telling him to favour a pass in the opposite direction to where your players are. Low First Touch, Technique, Composure, Teamwork or Agility(by the time he contains the ball, gets it out from under his feet and decides what to do with it - it will be too late. There's a few (of the many individual and combined) things to look at for now but without knowing your players or tactics it's only possible to generalise.

One thing's for certain you will never eradicate it, my team started in a low league where it was quite prevelent and now at the top level I have a megatastic AMC/MC who still gets stomped on. (Also be aware your creative players will be targeted by the opposition.)

Thanks lads

You can't teach player to curl balls. He can only gain it through tutoring.

Yes that. Try "Curls Ball"

My question

I have Exeter City as my parent club, with one of the benefits being that they're able to send to me some players if they want to. I want to know if there is a way of me asking them to send some players my way, because they haven't offered me anything as of yet

Yes, on your squad menu, ask your assistant manager to check if there is some interesting player to look for a loan....And for each player, you can ask yourself a loan when proposing an offer to your parent club.

My assistant has compiled a loan report for Exeter, but failed to find any players

My assistant has compiled a loan report for Exeter, but failed to find any players

Go to Exeter team page, probably reserves, and check each player yourself to see if he is available for loan and just make an offer to loan them. You never know your luck some of them might agree and you won't have to pay a penny. You can also offer to loan players not listed for loan, even first team fringe players. Choose the length of the loan offer carefully as the better/older players are less likely to agree longer term loans. Happy hunting.

Does filtering the scout when you send him on a mission make it more likely he'll scout people who match that description?

ie, if I tell the guy to only look for people 19 or younger, will he scout just as many 19 or younger players as he would have scouted all players if I'd done no fitering?

My club has excellent youth facilities and top training facilities (both upgraded twice since the beginning of the game), but the youth recruitment network is still only above average, and since the beginning this topic has been greyed out in the board conversation menu - how do I improve this? I manage a Slovene club which has regularly won 1st division and has also competed very well in Europe, my financial balance is extremely high, I have some reputable international players, but my youth intake is absolute garbage every year so I don't know what else to do regarding this problem. Any suggestions?

It appears that upgrade is heavily restricted by reputation.

If you hover the mouse over it'll likely say "the club has the best recruiting network for a club our size" or something like that.

Does filtering the scout when you send him on a mission make it more likely he'll scout people who match that description?

ie, if I tell the guy to only look for people 19 or younger, will he scout just as many 19 or younger players as he would have scouted all players if I'd done no fitering?

I would guess that as his workload is massively reduced, he could scout more of what you have specified in the filter. Or at the least, the same amount, but take a much shorter time doing it.

My club has excellent youth facilities and top training facilities (both upgraded twice since the beginning of the game), but the youth recruitment network is still only above average, and since the beginning this topic has been greyed out in the board conversation menu - how do I improve this? I manage a Slovene club which has regularly won 1st division and has also competed very well in Europe, my financial balance is extremely high, I have some reputable international players, but my youth intake is absolute garbage every year so I don't know what else to do regarding this problem. Any suggestions?

Do you have a Youth Academy?

I've been told by my Board that our youth Facilities are comparable with the rest of the league and no upgrade was forthcoming. But by the end of the season after winning a couple trophies, but still in the same league, they agreed to an upgrade. So maybe it is reputation.

Also, if you haven't already done so, getting as many quality Youth coaches as you can afford (or are allowed), seems to improve the quality of the youth intake.(at least from an academy)

As you have tons of cash I also presume you seek out the best newgens each year to stock your excellent facilities.

EDIT; check out SFraser's threads on youth development.(sorry, I don't know how to link you there)

Here's a link to SFrasers thread:

http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/262465-A-Guide-to-Developing-Youngsters

Southampton have excellent everything for youth and I stick get crap each year. I've only had 1 with any talent in 5 years and he'll never be anything other than a fringe premiership player even if he massively improves

Here's a link to SFrasers thread:

http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/262465-A-Guide-to-Developing-Youngsters

Southampton have excellent everything for youth and I stick get crap each year. I've only had 1 with any talent in 5 years and he'll never be anything other than a fringe premiership player even if he massively improves

My summer intake 2013 at Southampton included an MR CA129 PA184 and DR 97/140, all youths had at least good physicals, generally better personalities and only two had determination less than 11. I have read that chance determines where in the world the better newgens appear so I probably struck lucky with the MR, but the overall quality of my youths increases each year as the team's reputation grows, and I improve my setup. I don't mean the facilities & academy, they're still the same level as yours, I'm referring to improving the quality & quantity of the coaches. I have a quality youth coach on each training catagory(except Strength/Aerobic, that's the next step, along with stateoftheartness), a mega, all round youth coach(who manages the team) and a young, not so great, all round youth coach with top motivation(michael owen). I avoid signing coaches as "1st Team" unless absolutely necessary (I have two) and make sure most of my normal coaches(at least one in each discipline) has high "Youth Development" and use them all to train my youths who end up with more coaches than the 1st Team.

I don't know by what mechanism improved coaching and facilities produces better graduates from an "Academy" that exists only as two words on the facilities page, but it appears there is one - or I'm wasting a lot of my club's finances and my actual time and effort.

This is from TT&F 2009 regarding defensive line:

As a rough guide, the non‐floating Support players’ mentality instructions determine the most desirable setting for the defensive line.

Can anybody explain this sentence for me? I'm a bit lost in translation, particularly with "non-floating" part.

looking for a bit of help. What happens if you have two people from the playmaker list on the field at the same time? Are you now playing with two playmakers, or is it a pecking order with the first being given the job?

Thanks

looking for a bit of help. What happens if you have two people from the playmaker list on the field at the same time? Are you now playing with two playmakers, or is it a pecking order with the first being given the job?

Thanks

There is a difference between a player having a playmaker role and a player being assigned as playmaker in the team instructions. The role indicates how the player will play and with a playmaker role they are usually given more freedom. When a player is ticked as playmaker in the team instructions the other players in the team will look to play the ball to the playmaker so he can start a move. I have played with 5 players with a playmaker role and none selected as designated playmaker. You can also not play any players with a playmaker role and still have a player selected.

In general you select someone as a playmaker if you have a player who stands out (generally in creativity and technique) and you wan't all the play to go through him.

yes, but with classic tactics selected, and the drop down list.. are they all playmakers if playing at the same time, or just number '1'

This is from TT&F 2009 regarding defensive line:

As a rough guide, the non‐floating Support players’ mentality instructions determine the most desirable setting for the defensive line.

Can anybody explain this sentence for me? I'm a bit lost in translation, particularly with "non-floating" part.

It means the most desirable setting for the defensive line should be set as the same value as the mentality of fixed support players (ie not players on automatic)

yes, but with classic tactics selected, and the drop down list.. are they all playmakers if playing at the same time, or just number '1'

I don't play classic tactics so I'm unsure. I still think you should select a player if he stands out above the rest of the team in terms of playmaking skills and leave it alone when the whole team can contribute and you don't wan't everything to go through one player.

It means the most desirable setting for the defensive line should be set as the same value as the mentality of fixed support players (ie not players on automatic)

Thank you.

Anyone knows if shouts override opposition instructions?

As an example if i have set to hard tackle some opponents but later on the game i use the shout stay on feet instead of turning off the hard tackling on the OI's from laziness..

Which one prevails?

While playing in England, can you send players you bought from other countries on loan? To say Belgium (to get EU-nationality &work permit)?

Keep in mind, they are U18 as well and join my club on their 18th birthday/next transfer window. I find it really annoying receiving a kid when he's 18, cannot get a work permit, send them on loan to my feeder in Belgium (which sucks btw) for 3 years to finally get them into my club, and those 3 years are more or less wasted and they still have a low CA but huge PA.

Cuz when I buy youth, I like to buy 14, 15 and 16 year olds (17 or 18 very rarely, and only because they regened at age 17 or I just totally missed them while scouting). If I could send them to Belgium (or wherever) to gain nationality THAT young would be IDEAL. Then I can get them into my system as young as possible.

I'll tell you something - nothing is more freaking frustrating then finding a wonderkid, only having to wait until he is 18 before he joins me. THEN, instead of learning my system and having me and my club become apart of his favorite personnel, he learns some backwards system, learns to love a club and manager, and it always bites my ass 5 years later when that club is declaring interest in him, or his old boss gets a better job and has buying power. It rattles my players and disrupts my form, so just avoiding it completely is the best.

so anyways tl;dr, can I loan players that I have bought but aren't in my team yet? Also is there a work around sending players with a youth contract out on loan? Or do I have to wait until their 17th birthday before they sign a professional contract?

You might be able to send players to an affiliated club before 17 but you can't put them on the loan list.

You have no control over opposition players before they move to your club. If the country allows you could try loaning the player for the years prior to 18 then put in a bid to buy them when they are 18. This means you have more control over the player's growth in the early stages.

A tip for South American youth that can't get a work permit. Send them to a Spanish club. It only takes 2 years there to get a work permit. After every year of this player on loan, offer them a new contract. If they accept then the club automatically asks for a work permit, which could be accepted and thus saves the player from 1/2 more years of being on loan.

so anyways tl;dr, can I loan players that I have bought but aren't in my team yet? Also is there a work around sending players with a youth contract out on loan?

No and no.

I'll tell you something - nothing is more freaking frustrating then finding a wonderkid, only having to wait until he is 18 before he joins me. THEN, instead of learning my system and having me and my club become apart of his favorite personnel, he learns some backwards system, learns to love a club and manager, and it always bites my ass 5 years later when that club is declaring interest in him, or his old boss gets a better job and has buying power. It rattles my players and disrupts my form, so just avoiding it completely is the best.

Yeah that's hugely annoying, but it's all part of the game. My advice is to load up those leagues that produce awesome youngsters but don't allow transfers until the player is 18. Brazil, Turkey etc. And then it's up to you to sign the best.

Thanks to my awesome skillz at FM I signed up an amazing young Brazillian fullback when he was sixteen, but he couldn't join me until he was 18. The player developed amazingly at his home club and turned into an awesome fullback within months of joining me.

He is 20 now, and is already classed as World Class.

It's just a test of your ability. It's a question of your awareness. You can sign them early, they just can't play for you, and sometimes this is actually a benefit to the player in question.

Don't hate the game, play the game and enjoy the challenge. Brazil is a cunning nation, it always produces great players yet it has strict rules for transfers. That's not a nightmare scenario, it's an interesting feature of our mutual footballing world.

While playing in England, can you send players you bought from other countries on loan? To say Belgium (to get EU-nationality &work permit)?

EU nationality =/= Homegrown. Players that have been on your books long enough, even if on loan, will become homegrown.

The only benefit to sending players on loan to these countries in realistic terms is if their level of football is sufficient to develop your youngsters, and you have the league on "full realism" or whatever is it called.

When it comes to FM quite simply feeder clubs are not well simulated. Simulated well enough so that you can force a player on loan if he agrees but not much else.

The way I do it as Man United manager is that the Championship is king for multiple gameplay reasons, it's always fully simulated anyway for a more realistic season, but plays English football etc. etc. etc.

However the Championship doesn't have epic reputation and so if my players don't like the Championship I look for the "Premier Division" of other countries that is active but likely has a low Reputation, for example France.

Keep the French top division active, find a team that is a bit rubbish but never gets relegated and there is your awesome club that players that refuse the Championship will go to.

Another option is to try and strike up close friendships with managers in your own league and then offer out players on loan in the general way. But to be honest I never find this works well. That awesome Chelsea youngster scoring for fun at Bolton just doesn't seem to happen in FM.

Keep in mind, they are U18 as well and join my club on their 18th birthday/next transfer window. I find it really annoying receiving a kid when he's 18, cannot get a work permit, send them on loan to my feeder in Belgium (which sucks btw) for 3 years to finally get them into my club, and those 3 years are more or less wasted and they still have a low CA but huge PA.

Cuz when I buy youth, I like to buy 14, 15 and 16 year olds (17 or 18 very rarely, and only because they regened at age 17 or I just totally missed them while scouting). If I could send them to Belgium (or wherever) to gain nationality THAT young would be IDEAL. Then I can get them into my system as young as possible.

That's not how Homegrown works, it's not how loaning works either.

The absolute key to Homegrown status is realising that if you are asked to name a 25 man squad and you name a 23 man squad, those two spare slots are AUTOMATICALLY home grown. If you need 8 HG players then 6 HG players + 2 spare slots is perfect.

And this totally ties into everything I have ever said about "small" robust, functional, logical squads. Never failing the HG requirement + epic youth development because of a small(er) First Team is a mutually reinforcing, and might I say profoundly useful, situation.

The truth of your entire post is that the game sets you tasks, it sets you challenges, it sets you stuff you wish was different but isn't.

You can either fight against them or you can accept them.

But if you are really good at this game you can exploit them all to your advantage. Need a certain level of HG players? Have fewer first teamers and force yourself into using youth. Signed a Brazillian but he can't join you for another two years? That's two years for Darren Gibson to prove his worth. Got yourself a First Team squad that doesn't meet the 25 player rule? Forget about Belgium, send players to France instead.

WIN

That's all you need to worry about.

Thanks for the extremely detailed answer.

Mainly I believe I was just looking for a better answer on how this game works, which you most definitely provided! I am from the states and follow world football, my knowledge on how things work however are sub-par. There are plenty of rules and whatnot that I did not know existed before FM. Making sure I'm not doing something stupid that would have had a benefit to me instead of hindering me.

Also thank you SF for your other threads on insite into FM, have learned a ton and have redone my entire scouting network (among other things) to yield better results, which they have. Already have landed some awesome talent due to your techniques and suggestions.

The absolute key to Homegrown status is realising that if you are asked to name a 25 man squad and you name a 23 man squad, those two spare slots are AUTOMATICALLY home grown. If you need 8 HG players then 6 HG players + 2 spare slots is perfect.

Is that not what some people might call "cheating"?

Thanks for the extremely detailed answer.

Mainly I believe I was just looking for a better answer on how this game works, which you most definitely provided! I am from the states and follow world football, my knowledge on how things work however are sub-par. There are plenty of rules and whatnot that I did not know existed before FM. Making sure I'm not doing something stupid that would have had a benefit to me instead of hindering me.

Also thank you SF for your other threads on insite into FM, have learned a ton and have redone my entire scouting network (among other things) to yield better results, which they have. Already have landed some awesome talent due to your techniques and suggestions.

Don't be too surprised when you find that the rules in FM don't consistantly correspond to real life!

I was stunned the first time I discovered I would have to wait 7 years to have the 14yo Brazilian I'd just bought available to play at my club.

Whilst there is no way round the "18yo" rule, that several countries use, it is possible to get round the "Work Permit" once the seemingly arbitrary 'allowance on appeal' has failed to materialise.

I couldn't tell you exactly how/why, in all cases, it has worked, but...

1. As soon as the player arrives offer him a new contract. He will accept and, if you are lucky, the nasty red "WP" will disappear, and not a dickie bird from the powers that be!

2. Offering the player a new contract while he is at the feeder club will trigger a WP/Appeal situation that may be successful. (I would suggest during the winter xfer window, and don't give up if it fails, try again next year)

Bear in mind that when you buy a player Before his 18th birthday he Will become HomeGrown On his 21st birthday. Even if, because of transfer windows, he joins you months after his actual 18th b'day.

Also, the "3 years" it takes to gain nationality doesn't mean 3 years spent at the feeder club!?

Don't send players to "WP" feeder clubs until the last possible moment before the summer transfer window ends, and use the time you have to get a short burst of tutoring into them. Trust me, any improvement - to their personality & a rise in determination (I was lucky enough to get +3 once) - made during these times aids development considerably. (and the better training won't hurt)

Unfortunately, I had never heard of feeder clubs when I started playing this game (and can think of several more apt explanations of what a "feeder club" might be even now:D), and didn't set any "3 year" countries as playable. Unwilling to wait the extra year of playable Spain or Holland I have used Poland & Bulgaria and the results have been surprisingly good, although I'm left wondering how much better they might have been:(

7 Years Though!@!*!

Is that not what some people might call "cheating"?

Nope. I do exactly the same thing.

My registered squads are often smaller than the maximum, leaving slots free. Helps me get around a certain number of required "homegrown" player requirements in domestic and continental competitions. It also encourages me to utilise u18 player or u19 players, who don't actually need to be registered depending on the competition, but are still eligible to play.

Simply put, if you know and understand the rules of squad registration for different competitions, along with how flexible they are, you can work with them to your benefit. All the squad registration and competition rules are always stated in the game, so it's easy to learn where you stand and work with them. Working around them isn't cheating, it's just being a bit more savvy managerially and you're not actually breaking any rules.

Waiting for players to reach 18 can be a pain in the backside though. I've another year to wait for a fantastic Paraguayan striker I tied a deal up with when he was 16. Those are the rules though, so I'll have to wait. It's an aspect of the game that isn't replicated particularly realistically though, as in most cases, clubs find a way around having to wait. For example, if the youngster's parents move to another country with them and find work, they're able to move before they're 18. So, clubs help the parents move, settle and find work, even if it's work created by the club itself. There's always a way and loopholes, but it's just very difficult for FM to emulate certain things as accurately as perhaps they would like. As such, you have the blanket, fixed regulations and rules, but none of the flexibility to work around them, as clubs in real life do.

Is that not what some people might call "cheating"?

It never occured to me that it might be "cheating". I always though it was a reward for using a small first team squad and relying on under-21 players to make up the difference. After all that is the point in the HG rule.

Nope. I do exactly the same thing.

My registered squads are often smaller than the maximum, leaving slots free. Helps me get around a certain number of required "homegrown" player requirements in domestic and continental competitions. It also encourages me to utilise u18 player or u19 players, who don't actually need to be registered depending on the competition, but are still eligible to play.

Simply put, if you know and understand the rules of squad registration for different competitions, along with how flexible they are, you can work with them to your benefit. All the squad registration and competition rules are always stated in the game, so it's easy to learn where you stand and work with them. Working around them isn't cheating, it's just being a bit more savvy managerially and you're not actually breaking any rules.

Waiting for players to reach 18 can be a pain in the backside though. I've another year to wait for a fantastic Paraguayan striker I tied a deal up with when he was 16. Those are the rules though, so I'll have to wait. It's an aspect of the game that isn't replicated particularly realistically though, as in most cases, clubs find a way around having to wait. For example, if the youngster's parents move to another country with them and find work, they're able to move before they're 18. So, clubs help the parents move, settle and find work, even if it's work created by the club itself. There's always a way and loopholes, but it's just very difficult for FM to emulate certain things as accurately as perhaps they would like. As such, you have the blanket, fixed regulations and rules, but none of the flexibility to work around them, as clubs in real life do.

I don't include myself in "some people". I understand the the rules and as the average age of my squad is 21, I have 9/10 spaces to fill. I am also totally up for taking advantage of every opportunity which presents itself, and exploiting every loophole I find.

Now once again (for the sake of debate) I will play devil's advocate: The word "exploit" often walks hand in hand with/and is supplemented for, "cheat" on these forums, eg: Corner cheat/Corner exploit, cheating or exploiting? Given the ingame tip "Taking the time to set up player positions on set-pieces can be very rewarding. Taking advantage in these situations is often the difference between a draw and a win" we are encouraged by SI to try to gain an advantage thru' exploitation(ish).

And so I would ask what is the difference between;

a)leaving spaces in squad registration to make up for a shortfall of HG players, and,

b)lighting up the stats and setting your players to best advantage during attacking corners?

With my tongue placed back in the centre of my mouth, it is only a game after all, and apart from the recurring elbow injury to 4 of my strikers in one match, no one gets hurt:D

The lack of solid, basic and essential, rules and information, from SI, regarding many important aspects of the game, is not just taking the proverbial, it's frustating and can be massively confusing. Think back, take one of the exploits/advantages you use in the game, how long did it take you to realise it wasn't a bug? how much research did you undertake to ensure it existed elsewhere and if it was kosher to use? Have any stopped working for no apparent reason? And in the early months of learning this game how would you know if something was a cheat, an exploit, a bug, a fish or a bird?

What you see in the game should, naturally, be in the game. How could it be otherwise...Unless the manual tells you so. But if that manual, provided by SI for it's game, doesn't even cover the basics, how will you ever know for certain?

Cue man dismounting soapbox. Cheers.

It never occured to me that it might be "cheating". I always though it was a reward for using a small first team squad and relying on under-21 players to make up the difference. After all that is the point in the HG rule.

I really need to take typing lessons. You posted during the construction of my reply to heathxxx. #1348