Who would you start/buy at different scenarios?

I will provide a few dilemmas to help me understanding the game better.

In a hypothetical scenario, where everything else is equal, who would you start or who would you buy?

DILEMMA 1

PLAYER 1: 176 current ability and 8600 reputation

PLAYER 2: 172 current ability and 8850 reputation

DILEMMA 2

PLAYER 1: 176 current ability and 81/100 key attribute rating

PLAYER 2: 172 current ability and 84/100 key attribute rating

DILEMMA 3

PLAYER 1: 8850 reputation and 81/100 key attribute rating

PLAYER 2: 8600 reputation and 84/100 key attribute rating

By key attribute rating I mean summing up the key attributes for that position. For example if key attributes for a striker are finishing, acceleration, pace, agility, composure, having 17 on each attribute would create a score of 85/100.

The reason I've included reputation to the dilemmas is because, someone would think that a player that performs well will rise up in reputation. And we've all experienced gems that have average attributes but do wonders when playing.

Well for a start I wouldn't know CA or rep numbers.

Aside from that there is nothing to choose between those examples so decisions would be based on other factors.

Lastly there are several factors which I would consider that you haven't listed such as - Price, wages, whether the other team would sell, hidden attributes, personality, balance of attributes & experience.

Regarding the other factors, I did mention that everything else is equal.

given those numbers, it doesn't really matter which you go for

the CA/rep/attribute difference is negligible

CA - might have a better spread (work rate 20 vs work rate 10?) you might value one more than the other

Rep - likewise not much difference - the higher rep has won more things, which could be useful for finals

Attributes - I would tend to lean toward the higher attribute player, BUT it depends how well rounded he is (he could have 20 finishing, but if he's slow as crap, then he won't get many opportunities)

That flips for youth players though, I like 15+s in key attributes, and then round them out at a later stage

Regarding the other factors, I did mention that everything else is equal.

But the chances of that happening are next to impossible.

I will provide a few dilemmas to help me understanding the game better.

In a hypothetical scenario, where everything else is equal, who would you start or who would you buy?

DILEMMA 1

PLAYER 1: 176 current ability and 8600 reputation

PLAYER 2: 172 current ability and 8850 reputation

DILEMMA 2

PLAYER 1: 176 current ability and 81/100 key attribute rating

PLAYER 2: 172 current ability and 84/100 key attribute rating

DILEMMA 3

PLAYER 1: 8850 reputation and 81/100 key attribute rating

PLAYER 2: 8600 reputation and 84/100 key attribute rating

By key attribute rating I mean summing up the key attributes for that position. For example if key attributes for a striker are finishing, acceleration, pace, agility, composure, having 17 on each attribute would create a score of 85/100.

The reason I've included reputation to the dilemmas is because, someone would think that a player that performs well will rise up in reputation. And we've all experienced gems that have average attributes but do wonders when playing.

That makes no sense to me. If a player is doing well with poor attributes it is probably down to his general consistency and a skewing of his attributes in a specific area; for example Physicals.

If you want to "understand" the game better, disregard reputation and current ability scores and focus purely on the attributes that are necessary for the role you wish the player to fulfill. - Notes that this doesn't mean you should blindly follow the in-game suggestions, you can fudge some attributes and some are more important than others. Learning which ones is part of the learning experience.

Dilemma 1 - Player 1 because Player 2 might ask for slightly more money.

Dilemma 2 - Player 2 because I value key attributes for my tactical roles more than overall CA.

Dilemma 3 - Player 2 for a combination of the above reasons.