art imitating life, imitating art...

[Chocolatier]

im all for realism and dont like cheating on the game. but one thing has just struck me with Evertons announcement that they will be using FM09 as a scouting source. that is, couldnt we do the same?
let me explain. Everton, as a RL club dont see any problem with using FMs extensive research to scout out pontential targets. i envisage by that they will be taking full advantage of poring over FMs editor to check out players current & potential values in order to get themselves a decent player. so my point is, would it be considered 'cheating' if we did the same? or do we live in a seperate timeline as virtual managers that presumes FM, or for that matter football games dont exist?
dont get me wrong, ive every respect for LLM with their 'sadistic' ways but i think its a very brave and indeed ignorant manager these days that doesnt use one of the many internet sites recommending decent buys as well as the vastly researched games out there to pick temselves up a bargain. espescially now with the credit crunch & clubs working on a limited budget.
thoughts anyone? or am i being too deep?

[Neji]

For me, its cheating.

My reasoning, is that we can see the exact CA and PA of a player so there is no room for getting it wrong. We have a 100% guarantee of how good he is, or how good he can be. If a real life club decide to buy a wonderkid based on FM, he may turn out to be a bad purchase.

[baker.simon]

Neji, agreed! I would assume Everton are not just going to look at FM's database and go buy a player just because his PA is high! In my opinion, it will be used as a tool to point their scouts in the right direction!

[Mark Snellink]

Everton, as a RL club dont see any problem with using FMs extensive research to scout out potential targets

Obviously they won't blindly trust the FM scouting and just sign someone. They'll find players and look at them in RL.

In any case a brilliant idea as several (dozens even) players have been discovered and rated long before they became who they are now (Kim Kallstrom anyone?) by FM and CM researchers. Just thinking about the type of players I signed playing 01/02 as hot prospects, some of them (quite a few) I've run into playing for top flight teams in 07/08. So yeah, it's a vast resource of scouting available for far less than hiring a proper scout. But as said before, I don't expect anyone to just run out and buy someone because they bagged 41 in the Serie A in the 2012 season

[Chocolatier]

For me, its cheating.

My reasoning, is that we can see the exact CA and PA of a player so there is no room for getting it wrong. We have a 100% guarantee of how good he is, or how good he can be. If a real life club decide to buy a wonderkid based on FM, he may turn out to be a bad purchase.

thats all well and good, but the PA isnt always set in stone (minus values), so when a friendly virtual manager recomends a player i hardly feel its cheating. the PAs that are set in stone surely must have come by extensive research by expert researchers. which must have come from the internet.

[Neji]

thats all well and good, but the PA isnt always set in stone (minus values), so when a friendly virtual manager recomends a player i hardly feel its cheating. the PAs that are set in stone surely must have come by extensive research by expert researchers. which must have come from the internet.

Even the minus values give you a fantastic indicator of how good they will be. The PA's are done by researchers but it is very difficult to tell the potential of a player IRL.

[lawsie]

Why do some really great youngsters in the game have a minus ability on thier PA btw? They get worse as they are supposed to be progressing? they peak at 19 years of age?

[brandon]

i think the OP was just highlighting the fact that us as virtual managers shouldnt be playing 'blind' as it were. with a limited knowledge of football, you kinda know whos good and who aint. but with the internet and footie games you can advance your horizons when seeking out new talent.

[lawsie]

bump, whats with the minus in a players PA, is he going to get worse as he ages even if hes 19?

[carthy1]

everton know better than most about buying a fm god...bakyakoko anyone

[jptykes]

bump, whats with the minus in a players PA, is he going to get worse as he ages even if hes 19?

I believe it means that their PA is randomised between two set parameters as opposed to being a fixed value.