How to develop top talent

Firstly I'm not going to say this is a bug or anything, just my own failings. I've been at a few different clubs, varying sizes and I just cannot get my up and coming talent to meet their potential. Ive had players who are rated as having great potential but I can never get them there. I've tried so many different ways, letting them play in the reserves and giving them the odd first team game. Having them as a sub constantly and giving them 20 or so minutes nearly every game. Sending them on loan etc. it just seems over time their potential slowly decreases and they end up being an ok player.

Are there any tips people have?

tutoring / game time / the coaches you have at the club

i also think that the style of play your team has makes a difference as well , so playing to their strengths as they develope more

Are you sure that the players actually had great potential (using scouting tools) or was that the scouts or ass man. assesment?

The rating that staff gives to youth players doesnt give the whole picture, because the rating is also relative to your excisting first team players. I had a mediocre youth player that had a 5 star potential at AMC position because i didnt have any AMC at my club.

So you can never be 100% sure that the staff reports are actual. Also some players have lower growth rates and never reach their full potential.

I think I heard the better your squad becomes, the lower the PA becomes. For example, a 5 star rating in sky bet championship team would be a 3-4 star PA after getting an improved roster in the premiere league. If you are giving them minutes, then you are probably fine as long as you got good coaches and facilities.

I don't know why everyone talks about stars, the OP's question isn't about stars at all.

A player need the right mental attributes to reach there potential. If you have some ambitious player, it doesn't matter that he has 5 star PA, since with that mentality he can never train enough to get to it.

The list of good player mentalities is quite long, so I can't list them all from memory, but I know there is post/web sites out there with them.

What you need to do is mentor the young players to change them to better mental stats, so they develop.

Firstly I'm not going to say this is a bug or anything, just my own failings. I've been at a few different clubs, varying sizes and I just cannot get my up and coming talent to meet their potential. Ive had players who are rated as having great potential but I can never get them there. I've tried so many different ways, letting them play in the reserves and giving them the odd first team game. Having them as a sub constantly and giving them 20 or so minutes nearly every game. Sending them on loan etc. it just seems over time their potential slowly decreases and they end up being an ok player.

Are there any tips people have?

Not every player is likely to hit their potential. There are a lot of factors involved - personality, facilities, coaches, playing time, performance, and injuries. But it also takes time. Your overall approach seems sound, although you didn't mention tutoring. Ensuring their have a professional and amibitous personality is key.

The starting point matters. An 18 year old player with a solid personality who has a starting CA of 125 and a PA of 180 is obviously going to be more likely to develop closer to their maximum than the same 18 year old player who has a CA of 75. That can sometimes be an issue - you might have young players with pretty good potential but their starting point is low, so they have to develop a lot.

Its also relative to the situation. If I find an impressive 17 year old and work to develop them, molding them into an above-average Prem player by the age of 20, that's impressive. Because they should still continue to develop for the next 3-5 years, getting better and hitting world class by their peak. The true phenoms who are absolutely world class by the time they are 19 or 20 years old are and should be extremelly rare.

I don't know why everyone talks about stars, the OP's question isn't about stars at all.

It is relevant since those star rating may make OP perceive seeing his 5 star rating dwindle down as poor player development.