[Suggestion] Impacts of Life Away from Football

[santy001]

I write this partly as a researcher for the FM games, and of course as a player. 

First of all, the disclaimer, this is in no way related to the gimmicky buying cars etc. It's hopefully going to be an attempt to pitch an idea on something that could without being offensive, or distasteful, reflect a reality of life. That everything isn't always fine and great.

I feel FM needs a status that tag negatively effects/impacts upon mental attributes. It could be something that has a low chance of occurring (perhaps more so for those whom are less professional/have moved club with low adaptability).

As the Stoke researcher in recent years I've had to contend with a young prospect who lost his mother and has had a substantial setback in his life as a result by name of Oliver Shenton. Bojan has sat down and told his story of how anxiety has blighted his career, and Saido Berahino has spoken of depression affecting him. Michael Owen has also said how his own issues with injuries would lead to him offering to cancel his contract at Stoke such was the hang-up there. Matthew Etherington was struggling with gambling issues. The only one who hasn't made these public during his time at the club was Michael Owen. 

While the intricacies of their lives are never going to be known to us, and they each face their own struggles, trials and tribulations the one thing is that this aspect of life away from football does indeed have a huge impact on football. 

By avoiding specifics it reduces the risk of being inconsiderate to players/peoples circumstances and covers a very wide scope. Hopefully it would also not fall foul of any legal issues, but I believe this could be something that complements the improvements in the development models we've seen over time. 

Even if this isn't the right approach for it, I feel like there needs to be some kind of recognition that factors away from the game are acting as a current limiting factor on the players engagement with the sport. This isn't something we can reflect accurately through attributes. Yet the consistency and important matches attributes already act as similar systems for different purposes. Unlike those it wouldn't always be active, merely when a researcher has selected for a player to have it relevant and through a small chance in the ebbs and flows of a save for players or regens.

[Neil Brock]

Reviewed so locked.