What does the hidden attribute Consistency actually mean?

[edk77]

If a player has 20 Consistency attribute does that means he will always play to his maximum ability?

Or it is just his form that is consistent? For example, someone with 10 consistency will have match ratings like 6.5, 8, 7.5, 6 and some one with 20 consistency will have something like 7, 6.8, 7.1, 7.2

[oneronaldo]

I always thought of it as how capable the player is of playing to the best of his ability as often as possible, instead of having wildly fluctuating performances (mostly bad).

[santy001]

In its simplest form, how many games across a fixed period you can expect a player to be at his full CA.

However, even at 20/20 consistency, a player won't be at their absolute best every game. I think the online manual (if its still about) will have the definition SI make available. It's deliberately quite vague if memory serves though, to prevent people from trying to attach more to it than they ought to, and probably also to try and prevent any gaming of the match engine.

[chestermike]

I was told that players with low consistency will have their ca alter by up to 10 points a match. I'm sure it was a post on here from admin.

[THOG]

If a player has 20 Consistency attribute does that means he will always play to his maximum ability?

It means he has an 80% chance of playing at his maximum technical/mental ability (physical ability is not affected). Even with max consistency, he will still take a technical/mental ability penalty about every 5th game, but the actual amount of this penalty can vary. Low consistency doesn't necessarily mean a player will have poor form, and high consistency doesn't guarantee that a player will always turn in good performances. A player's personality, overall ability level and suitability for his tactical role will also factor into how well he can maintain good form or overcome a spell of bad form.

I think of consistency as representing a player's ability to mentally get into the zone before a match. It clearly helps a player, but low consistency is a weakness that can be overcome by a strong personality and good work ethic.