Youth Development - Really Struggling

[NeilUK]

I have always had a hard time bringing youth into the first team and/or developing to sell , so just to test something out I deliberately edited pre game to make sure I had about 5 youngsters in my under 18's who were "5 star" in potential. Also I have bought a few , helped by a tycoon takeover. I am managing Leeds and my youth set up was already good but with Tycoon money I now have state of the art. My coaching rating for each category in Under 18 training is 4 stars, with technique 5 stars. My problem is that all my highly promising youngsters haven't improved at all. They are still 5 star potential but 3 years into the game they are still exactly where they were in current rating.

The slightly older ones who have played regularly in the first team for at least 2 years, in Sam Byram's case the full 3 seasons, and they are still 3 stars in the current ability and haven't improved at all, one did decline but I think that was down to a serious injury which is fair enough that can happen.

I have sent them on loans as well as having them train as recommended by the coaches but still they don't seem to improve. In Sam Byram's case he is now 22 and is still rated 3 as he was when he was 19 when my game started.

Not sure what else I can do

[tomtuck01]

This is a great thread on youth development.

[jujigatame]

I have had some success with the following strategy for youth players:

1) Do NOT loan them out

2) Train them at high intensity with the best coaching you can find

3) Tutor them if you have any quality veterans in their position

4) Start giving them a handful of first team appearances in their late teens

I'm in my 3rd season with Juventus and using this method I have built one newgen into a 3.5-star RB by age 20, and another into a 2.5-star GK by age 18. It also worked pretty well for Paul Pogba who isn't even good enough to make a 12-man bench in Serie A when the game starts, and is now a regular substitute.

[NeilUK]

Thanks guys, I'll give it a go and have a good read through that thread

[Kawee]

I don't even bother with them anymore, since I can't get it to work either. I just send them out on loan for 3-4 seasons at a time. Next thing you know, they're world beaters and I reap the benefits

[CurlyKev]

Hey there si a very good article about youth development ona site I have just subscribed too that helped me with tactics, click here. You should find it usefull as I have.

[White Rose]

I have had some success with the following strategy for youth players:

1) Do NOT loan them out

2) Train them at high intensity with the best coaching you can find

3) Tutor them if you have any quality veterans in their position

4) Start giving them a handful of first team appearances in their late teens

I'm in my 3rd season with Juventus and using this method I have built one newgen into a 3.5-star RB by age 20, and another into a 2.5-star GK by age 18. It also worked pretty well for Paul Pogba who isn't even good enough to make a 12-man bench in Serie A when the game starts, and is now a regular substitute.

I have to say i have gone down a very similar route myself however i try and get them as many games as i can from early on as i think with tutoring, high intensity training and games you can develop any youngster with determination and good potential.

[tomtuck01]

I have to say i have gone down a very similar route myself however i try and get them as many games as i can from early on as i think with tutoring, high intensity training and games you can develop any youngster with determination and good potential.

Determination is not important for training/development.

[bertolux]

Determination is not important for training/development.

as tomtuck01 wrote, determination is a nice to have attribute, but for the development it is more important to have high professionalism, which you can read through personality or media style. The thread from Cleon which is linked a few posts ago is really perfect to learn most of youth development.

[ifinnem]

I think what might be part of the confusion is that star rating is relative so if your team is improving then your youth's star rating could end up the same as it started even tho he improved. Look at attribute changes for a better indication of progress

Also coaches are poor at recommending training - following their advice is not a winning strategy

[MichaelBrown]

I don't even bother with them anymore, since I can't get it to work either. I just send them out on loan for 3-4 seasons at a time. Next thing you know, they're world beaters and I reap the benefits

I really don't think this is the approach to take. You can easily get them to learn with a heavy training and some match practice. That's all I do and it works.

[Kawee]

I really don't think this is the approach to take. You can easily get them to learn with a heavy training and some match practice. That's all I do and it works.

Well, each to his own.

I just don't think Reserve games and half a dozen first team matches (usually cup games) a season is sufficient.

So what I do is just clear out the Reserves each season. Anyone I deem not good enough, I get rid off. The rest, I send out on loan (this gets easier as through the years you get more affiliated clubs to send them out on loan to.) I've found that 30+ games in the Championship or Belgian League do more than a season of Reserve games.

I don't know how helpful it is, but by doing this, it also maximize the playing time of my U18s, by having them play both U18 and REserve games.

[White Rose]

Well, each to his own.

I just don't think Reserve games and half a dozen first team matches (usually cup games) a season is sufficient.

So what I do is just clear out the Reserves each season. Anyone I deem not good enough, I get rid off. The rest, I send out on loan (this gets easier as through the years you get more affiliated clubs to send them out on loan to.) I've found that 30+ games in the Championship or Belgian League do more than a season of Reserve games.

I don't know how helpful it is, but by doing this, it also maximize the playing time of my U18s, by having them play both U18 and REserve games.

I have to agree with Michael Brown, loaning them out this year really doesn't seem to work. Heavy training, tutoring and then looking at cup games is all you need for me.

[Puni]

It depends. Loaning them out to a team with solid training facilities and solid trainers that plays in a league of a decent standard is ace. Unfortunately, most feeder clubs lack at least one or two of those requirements.

[MichaelBrown]

Well, each to his own.

I just don't think Reserve games and half a dozen first team matches (usually cup games) a season is sufficient.

So what I do is just clear out the Reserves each season. Anyone I deem not good enough, I get rid off. The rest, I send out on loan (this gets easier as through the years you get more affiliated clubs to send them out on loan to.) I've found that 30+ games in the Championship or Belgian League do more than a season of Reserve games.

I don't know how helpful it is, but by doing this, it also maximize the playing time of my U18s, by having them play both U18 and REserve games.

It depends on the training facilities as well. Okay, I'm just Ajax as my example but I used youth on the bench frequently and by the time they was 18 they were brilliant players. Training, tutoring and matches. I have had some success with loans, but I find that it's just as easy to ruin a player.

[White Rose]

It depends. Loaning them out to a team with solid training facilities and solid trainers that plays in a league of a decent standard is ace. Unfortunately, most feeder clubs lack at least one or two of those requirements.

I agree with that, but thats adds more depth to the process of choosing a feeder club and makes it less about who can i loan most players to.

[Gramm0]

I think what might be part of the confusion is that star rating is relative so if your team is improving then your youth's star rating could end up the same as it started even tho he improved. Look at attribute changes for a better indication of progress

Also coaches are poor at recommending training - following their advice is not a winning strategy

This! Have they not improved attributes at all, or just not improved star rating?

With my own products I usually keep them in my U19 team (Denmark), and that seems to work. Then when they are too old for the U19 team, I play them or send them out on loan (my approach might be due to the fact that I started my save before the first patch, where the Danish reserve league isn't included). This seems sufficient. If there is a talent that is good enough to play on the first team I might bring him up earlier if I'm not already covered in his position.

[NeilUK]

Hi guys, well I'm four years down the line now and none of them have improved at all, my example is Sam Byram, he's about 18/19 when the game starts and at the start my assistant manager and coaches all had him at 3 stars current and 5 stars potential. He is now 24 and he has just less than 3 stars and still 5 stars potential. Surely over time his current rating should start to improve and close in on his potential, especially at 24. He has been my starting right back since the start and apart from squad rotation he has been my starter. In the first 2 seasons he probably played 25 to 30 games as I didn't want to over use him, he has now played over 150 games and is not improving or declining. I realise the star system is just an assistant manager's or coaches opinion but every coach rates him very similarly.

The other players I have been sending out on loan have come back no better and in some cases have gone from 5 potential to just 2 and have had to be moved on. I know this can happen, not every potential superstar ever makes it but I haven't had one yet! The ones who are still rated highly are like Sam Byram, they are just not improving