Are scouts important even if you do that stuff manually?

I tend to scour the database manually for players rather than rely on reports. Am I as well off having 0 scouts at the club or does having a good scouting network have any other benefits e.g. enhanced reputation etc

Also what's the difference between scout and chief scout, are there any important attributes for the latter or do you simply choose your best scout to be chief scout?

If you have player attribute masking turned on, they can unveil player attributes which would otherwise be hidden. Of course you can get round this by using some form of editor. They can also scout your next opposition and provide a (limited) report on the likely formation etc, and also keep an eye on your players out on loan and update you on them.

Scouting also affects youth intake, but it's a real headache managing scout's in a way to get good coverage of the world.

Edit: Oh and a big warning complicated job assignments can lead to insane costs. If you ask a scout to say work Central Europa and then also Spains U19, you're going to run up a bill in millions from him traveling.

Scouting also affects youth intake, but it's a real headache managing scout's in a way to get good coverage of the world.

Edit: Oh and a big warning complicated job assignments can lead to insane costs. If you ask a scout to say work Central Europa and then also Spains U19, you're going to run up a bill in millions from him traveling.

Do you know if scouts affect the quality of the players in your youth intake? I know they can certainly influence the nationality.

Scouts (well their country knowledge levels) also affect the players that appear on the player search screen - the more knowledge you have of a country the more likely players from that country will appear on your player search screen.

I tend to scour the database as well, but I like having scouts (particularly one or two really good scouts) who can automate some of that for me. It's nice to be able to have a base group of players to search through.

I think having more than 1 scout is a waste unless you're playing the game only buying scouted players, then you'll obviously require more.

The knowledge bar quickly decreases and is a major pain to keep topped up.

I don't really use scouts for finding me players (however, on the rare occasion they find a gem, you can't complain!). The main reason I have them is to increase my knowledge around the world (hence more players to search) and to gauge the transfer likely-hood and general asking price for my potential targets (using scout reports).

I send scouts to youth leagues around the world in an attempt to unearth unknown gems. I always hire the maximum allowed and always have them on assignments.

A question about scouts...

Playing as Dortmund when I get a scout report of a player and it gives me

'Would be a star player in this division'....if I'm trying to build a team good enough for the Champions League how does that differ...

I have noticed when playing as Liverpool before the scout report of same player showing less stars or quality...

A question about scouts...

Playing as Dortmund when I get a scout report of a player and it gives me

'Would be a star player in this division'....if I'm trying to build a team good enough for the Champions League how does that differ...

I have noticed when playing as Liverpool before the scout report of same player showing less stars or quality...

It's much better to consider somebody's attributes as the star ratings are only a rough guide. They also change relative to the rest of your squad, which is why for different clubs, players have different star ratings. This is also why your once 5* striker can rapidly become a 2* striker if you are getting lots of promotions, he's not actually got worse, it's just the standard of the players around him that has improved.

Without scouts there is no way to know how much room for growth a player has left. Sure you can estimate it based on his current attributes and age, but that's basically just a guess. The scouts ppa is much more accurate (too accurate many would say).

It also seems the number of scouts you have also affects your youth category rating in England. I've just had mine increased to 2 and been told we need at least 3 scouts (and a head of youth) to keep it at level 2.

Without scouts there is no way to know how much room for growth a player has left. Sure you can estimate it based on his current attributes and age, but that's basically just a guess. The scouts ppa is much more accurate (too accurate many would say).

I have to disagree a little, while I think the scouts report accurately the hidden PA (I don't use editors so I haven't checked that). The scouts don't to take into account the players age and previous developments. So e.g. a 15 year-old wunderkid with max PA (is that a 160) fails to develop and is lets say he is only showing a current ability of 2* as a 23 year-old, then he will still be shown as a 5* potential ability despite that he will never reach his goals.

At least that is my experience. In reality the PA should be dropping as the player gets older if doesn't develop to his potential.

Ah yes, you're right of course. With "room for growth" I meant the difference between his current ability and his potential ability, ignoring age. I would never trust the scout's judgement alone, but I wouldn't trust my own judgement alone either

I tend to scour the database manually for players rather than rely on reports. Am I as well off having 0 scouts at the club or does having a good scouting network have any other benefits e.g. enhanced reputation etc

Also what's the difference between scout and chief scout, are there any important attributes for the latter or do you simply choose your best scout to be chief scout?

Using the player search, you'll only see players from countries you have scouting knowledge. This can come from yourself, your coaching staff, affiliate clubs, etc., but also from scouts. So if you have zero scouts, you're limiting the number of players you can search through manually. Scouts can also change their degree and range of scouting knowledge simply by doing their job, which I don't think your other staff members can do.

Talking about youth and certain staff, how do you actually find U19 staff? I can't see an option for it nor do many have it in their preferred job title. They seem easy enough to find in the first season, but after that I simply struggle to find U19 coaches etc.

Talking about youth and certain staff, how do you actually find U19 staff? I can't see an option for it nor do many have it in their preferred job title. They seem easy enough to find in the first season, but after that I simply struggle to find U19 coaches etc.

There is no U19 staff indicator in search, a coach can work at U19 or main team, but their is less pay and prestige in the U19 job, so you're not going to get a world class coach on your U19 staff of your Skrill Prem club.

One trick is searching for young inexperienced, but exceptional staff for your U19 team and after they get experienced sign them as main team staff.

You can use the Job Center system to put up a search for U19 staff, where every X day it will give you a list of people wanting a job. It's a lot harder to get good staff that way, instead of headhunting them through staff search.

You can use the Job Center system to put up a search for U19 staff, where every X day it will give you a list of people wanting a job. It's a lot harder to get good staff that way, instead of headhunting them through staff search.

I ofen use the Job Centre, but leave the advert running for quite a while. It always seems to offer me someone suitable at around the third time it comes in as a news item...

I had to get rid of my scout, his wages and scouting bill where taking up a massive chunk of my overall budget. Maybe because I'm in the Northern Premier League, it doesn't seem to have effected too much just yet.