What are the mechanics behind inconsistent performers?

[rdbayly]

I have 2 regens with the 'inconsistent performer' negative in their coaching report. This is certainly the case with their on pitch displays; they fluctuate between 9.0 and 6.5 every other match. Does anyone know how this is calculated? Is there some kind of coin toss that goes on under the hood before each game that influences performance? I feel like I'm playing roulette when picking my midfield for each game.

[Cougar2010]

I don't know for sure and can only give you an educated guess based on playing the game and reading the forums for a long time.

As I understand it:

Every player has a rating between 1 & 20 for consistency (Hidden attribute) which reflects how often they play to the best of their ability (Attributes).  Even a player with 20 consistency won't play at his best every match though.

The main two questions are which matches trigger an inconsistent performance & what are the mechanics behind the scenes.  I don't know but in terms of which matches it would make sense to either be RNG before every match with higher consistency=less chance of triggering the event or a simple fixed plan done in advance with low consistency meaning more matches planned to trigger in advance.

In terms of what happens when the event triggers I suspect several attributes will be reduced by x number of points.  Probably not all attributes and I would guess not physical so more mental/technical ones.

[rdbayly]

I think I'll go back and look at the scenarios when they play poorly. Maybe it's big / away games. Your RNG and attribute drop theory makes sense to me. Their biggest drop off seems to be: decision making, passing accuracy, work rate and tackling.

Another factor is age I think, as the negative trait for one of them has actually disappeared (he is 22 now). I assume some hidden attributes increase alongside visible ones?

[inacion]

If he's morale is low, most likely the inconsistent will trigger.

If you are playing a big match, he feels pressure, inconsistent can also trigger, unless he's good on big matches

[HUNT3R]

I wouldn't think any matches trigger it. There's a pressure attribute for pressure situations and a big match attribute for big matches, so they already influence a players' performance in those games. An inconsistent player is just... inconsistent. He won't have his full CA in every game, in FM terms. I can't think that there'd be a trigger, because then there should also be cases in which it won't be triggered, so then he's not really inconsistent, is he?

[MrPompey]

There are hidden attributes including consistency, pressure, big matches etc 

I would say matches can trigger poor performances e.g. derbies, important matches such as finals, perhaps being singled out by opposing manager through comments to press prior to game, being given a hard time say by heavy tackling by player in opposition team

The level of consistency will also be affected by morale, current team form / success etc

[Guest]

On 9/17/2017 at 23:24, rdbayly said:

I have 2 regens with the 'inconsistent performer' negative in their coaching report. This is certainly the case with their on pitch displays; they fluctuate between 9.0 and 6.5 every other match. Does anyone know how this is calculated? Is there some kind of coin toss that goes on under the hood before each game that influences performance? I feel like I'm playing roulette when picking my midfield for each game.

 

Are they, by any chance, strikers or wingers whose heading attributes are not particularly good?

 

I have seen over several seasons that whereas most players get reasonably consistent ratings, strikers and wingers fluctuate wildly, particularly if they are not good with headers. It's really quite simple: if a striker gets no goals or assists, his rating will be somewhere between 6.2 and 6.5 (because he will have lost approximately 80% of his headers - anything else that he's done doesn't seem to matter). One assist brings his rating to about 6.8. If he scores, it goes over 7.3, and anything better than that will quickly bring it up to 8.5 and over. For wingers, it is essentially the same, but the fluctuation is not quite as drastic, because wingers are more likely to make key passes even if they get no assists, and they are likely to be involved in fewer headers.

[rdbayly]

On 19/09/2017 at 12:28, xzar_monty said:

Are they, by any chance, strikers or wingers whose heading attributes are not particularly good?

The most inconsistent was a central midfielder with an attacking mentality, more risky passes PI. I think his age and low bravery also had something to do with it.

 

[westy8chimp]

As Hunter says... it would be contradictory if there was a trigger (by type of match) that influenced inconsistency.

I assume it is just one of many variables that goes into a very long calculation before every game, every kick of the ball etc.

[Cougar2010]

On 19/09/2017 at 12:28, xzar_monty said:

Are they, by any chance, strikers or wingers whose heading attributes are not particularly good?

 

I have seen over several seasons that whereas most players get reasonably consistent ratings, strikers and wingers fluctuate wildly, particularly if they are not good with headers. It's really quite simple: if a striker gets no goals or assists, his rating will be somewhere between 6.2 and 6.5 (because he will have lost approximately 80% of his headers - anything else that he's done doesn't seem to matter). One assist brings his rating to about 6.8. If he scores, it goes over 7.3, and anything better than that will quickly bring it up to 8.5 and over. For wingers, it is essentially the same, but the fluctuation is not quite as drastic, because wingers are more likely to make key passes even if they get no assists, and they are likely to be involved in fewer headers.

Thats not inconsistency though.

Thats simply a poor match rating due to losing headers or missing the target with shots.  Potentially that could be as a result of inconsistency triggering but its not inconsistency in itself.

[Carninho]

as a rule i never sign a player who shows up as inconsistent, no matter how good they look. My current save is a youth only one so I have been forced to play inconsistent players (exact same goes for 'does not enjoy big matches'). 

I have replayed a few matches several times to test the reasons/triggers as this topic does interest me, especially having seen that the trait can be removed as the player ages?

From what I have seen its a completely isolated stat. big matches, current form, no of first team games played etc have nothing to do with it. Like in the OP in my opinion its just a coin toss on that match day once you have submitted your team selection. 

I have 2 young strikers which i rotate between and both are inconstant, and a 3rd who is a world class SS. If you are lucky you can spot it 30mins into a game and sub them off, but for that to happen you need to be winning and have the rest of the team with higher ratings. I'd say 6.2 - 6.4 tends to be the crap rating I see more often than not. Replay the same game and they will be right up there with the rest of the players scores. 

This attribute is evil and 100% avoid any player who has it show up 

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Cougar2010 said:

Thats not inconsistency though.

Thats simply a poor match rating due to losing headers or missing the target with shots.  Potentially that could be as a result of inconsistency triggering but its not inconsistency in itself.

 

I know. What I said implied that the game mechanics might be interpreting something wrong.

[HUNT3R]

1 minute ago, xzar_monty said:

 

I know. What I said implied that the game mechanics might be interpreting something wrong.

You're making a link between ratings and inconsistency though, when there are a million factors involved. Inconsistency in a player just means he won't be playing to his CA every match. That doesn't mean he can't get consistent match ratings. The opposite is true too - a consistent player can have fluctuating match ratings too. One of the reasons could be what you mentioned, losing aerial duels (not due to inconsistency) and getting penalised in the ratings.

[Seb Wassell]

Consistency is a hidden attribute rated 1 to 20. It modifies how likely a player is to play "up to" his attributes (/CA) in any particular match.

Not exact figures: Consistency of 20 would mean that he is going to play to his best in perhaps 4/5 matches, Consistency of 1 might reduce this to 5% of matches, and so on.

Important Matches, etc. also play a part here. A player with a high Important Matches rating is more likely to withstand the pressure of playing in a "big" game.

Consistency can improve over time with regular and competitive football.

[Carninho]

3 minutes ago, Seb Wassell said:

Consistency can improve over time with regular and competitive football.

Can we change the can for a will improve over time?? or am i just being hopeful?

and would the cut off for the potential improvement be 24 years old?

My youngsters have had between 3 and 4 years of first team Premier League football and they still have it as a red negative attribute on the report screen (and are around 20 years old).

as i mentioned above this is the first time i have ever stuck with players with that negative attribute.

[Seb Wassell]

Just now, Carninho said:

Can we change the can for a will improve over time?? or am i just being hopeful?

and would the cut off for the potential improvement be 24 years old?

My youngsters have had between 3 and 4 years of first team Premier League football and they still have it as a red negative attribute on the report screen (and are around 20 years old).

as i mentioned above this is the first time i have ever stuck with players with that negative attribute.

"Can" and 24 years old is not the cut-off.

[itay.bing]

so does having high big matches gives a bonus to consistency before a big match? if he has a 4\5 chance of playing at full CA before a regular match, will he have a 9\10 chance before the CL final?

also, does higher consistency means that even if he does not play at his full CA the CA penalty is likely to be lower than a player with worse consistency?   

[Carninho]

they arent directly connected to each other, but independently they will have a negative effect on the players performance.

its still a random event for both negative factors to apply to the same player in the same game.

so in a big game yes there might be a drop, but it doesnt mean that that same player cant have a consistent game.

this is what i tested to death myself