Creating a Player

[Coentrao]

The above screenshot means his hidden attributes have changed and he is now been shaped into the player I want him to be.

Now when I check his description it says 'Fairly Professional' which means he has good professionalism and a fairly good temperament (both hidden attributes)

Theres no point to this post really other than to illustrate how you can tutor players and try and alter them into what you want them to be. So put a little bit of thought into who you allow to tutor your players.

Do you get that message from your assistant often? I use tutoring a lot and never seen it before.

[Cleon]

Do you get that message from your assistant often? I use tutoring a lot and never seen it before.

Quite a lot yes

[R0ca]

Must be a new feature for fm12 to message does that exist in fm11.

Or maybe our cleon is special, wait we already know she is!

[Cleon]

Must be a new feature for fm12 to message does that exist in fm11.

Or maybe our cleon is special, wait we already know she is!

Aye it was part of the improvement for FM12.

[David Beckham_7]

2nd but IIRC they both do the same anyway it's just how the player been tutored responds to which he gets asked.

Ohhhh, that is enlightening boss. I always thought the 1st option is to pass on PPMs primarily, and mental attributes secondary, and vice versa for the off the field 2nd option.

[Braumiller]

Update #1 on my two young strikers I had posted previously and how they are progressing.

Pure background to give context to what they are doing and where.

Currently 2016 in my Leicester City career game.

Season 1 = won the Championship

Season 2 = 8th in Prem

Season 3 = 7th in Prem, won League Cup

Season 4 = 9th in Prem, 2nd round of Europa League

Season 5 = 8th in Prem, FA Cup Semi Finals

Not yet setting the football world alight, but a solid, steady team.

Corentin David (original screenshot from post #14) has been simply unbelievable.

He was due to play in a rotation role this season, but he simply became undroppable at the tender age of 16 (turned 17 midway through the year).

Playing in a Target Man (Attack) role (which is the role that has its main attributes highlighted in the screenshot below) next to either a Poacher (my 3rd undocumented FC) or a Complete Forward (Support) (Matt Bryant).

He finished his first Premier League season as the 2nd highest scorer and finished 2nd in the PWA Player of the Year award.

Current screenshot

Attribute progression was; (his training schedule can be found in post #35 - halfway through the season I switched the levels around for Strength & Aerobic).

Crossing +2

Dribbling +2

Finishing +3 (was individual training focus for a large part of the season)

First Touch +2

Long Shots +1

Marking -1

Passing +1

Tacking -2

Technique +2

Anticipation +2

Composure +3

Concentration +2

Creativity +1

Decisions +1

Determination -3 (kicking myself on this, was due to tutoring - live and learn, as Det is a key for Target Men....)

Off The Ball +1

Positioning -1

Teamwork +1

Work Rate +1

Acceleration +1

Agility +2

Balance +1

Pace +2

Stamina +1

Strength +1

Fantastic progression, with just the Determination issue as a downside. He did learn a couple of PPMs from the tutor ('Plays One-Twos' and 'Plays Short Simple Passes') which I like. I was going to tutor him again with my MC who has the Born Leader personality, but by the time I was able to Corentin had surpassed him in reputation and the option was gone.....

I have yet to edit his training schedule for the upcoming season, but at first glance I believe I am going to look to raise his physicals, especially Jumping and Strength. He has proven he can score, so I think I will look to beef him up to compete better with those thug DCs around

[Braumiller]

Matt Bryant (original screenshot in post #51) has also made great strides, but given Corentin's achievements he has taken the more familiar 1st team / reserve team role.

Due to injuries near the end of the season Matt received more play time and began to shine. After trying out several roles, he found his form in a Complete Forward (Support) role which seemed to compliment Corentin's role nicely.

Current screenshot

Training schedule can be found at the bottom of post #74

Attribute progression was very even for Matt, which given his role I do not see as a bad thing.

Corners +1

Crossing +1

Dribbling +1

Finishing +1

First Touch +2

Long Shots +1

Long Throws +1

Marking -1

Passing +1

Tacking -1

Technique +2

Anticipation +2

Composure +2

Concentration +2

Creativity +2

Decisions +2

Flair +1

Influence +1

Off The Ball +2

Work Rate +1

Acceleration +1

Agility +1

Balance +1

Jumping +1

Pace +1

Stamina +1

Strength +1

The coming year I hope to emulate this and continue an even progression across the board, and develop a fearsome 6' 8" complete forward

[Agi_]

A few questions:

1)How do you manage those under 20 that are borderline for first team; not good enough to play regular but good enough to make an half an hour every often. If you keep them in main team they will get very little playtime and quickly lose game fitness, if instead you keep them in under 20 team they will reamain fit but train with the CRAP youngster routines and your ass man 100% sure will use them in a game the day before you need them.

Switching them from under 20 to 1st you will have to set their training every time and this is a pain in the a.. and there is no way to have them available for under 20, just for the useless reserve team that plays no games unless you organize friendlies

I wonder why they changed the training of youngster in such an annoying way; FM11, with all 18+ old doing the same routines, was perfect

2) I have a couple of youngsters that already have very nice mental attributes: one is resolute and the other model professional; having no tutor with such nice attributes i'm afraid that tutoring them i will ruin them, but tutoring has other good side effects that not tutoring them i will miss.

3) Sending youngsters on loan in the right team will sure help development but there is a big problem; time spent on loan will not count for being classified home grown and nation grown and if you buy, for example, a brasilian 18 old you must have him stay all time at the team if you want him home grown that's a big bonus for european cups list.

[shirajzl]

3) Sending youngsters on loan in the right team will sure help development but there is a big problem; time spent on loan will not count for being classified home grown and nation grown and if you buy, for example, a brasilian 18 old you must have him stay all time at the team if you want him home grown that's a big bonus for european cups list.

The solution is to keep them for 3 years so they become club HG and then either loan him out or play him. By that time they'll be old enough and you can determine whether they are good enough for your team. If not, send them on loan and sell them for a profit afterwards.

Braumiller, how good are your training facilities and coaches (how many stars in each category)?

[Braumiller]

Braumiller, how good are your training facilities and coaches (how many stars in each category)?

This has actually been a primary goal of mine, even before this thread opened my eyes to the individual training side of things.

Up until this summer, I had got my training facilities up to 'State of Art' quality. Then this summer I got a (first time for me, new to FM12?) news message saying that due to technological advancements my training facilities are no longer perceived as being as good as they used to be. They are now listed as 'Good' again, but after an initial rejection the board agreed to finance a 1.7m improvement to them, which will be finished in around 3 months time.

Similar for the youth facilities, although they are being planned this year and built next year

Coach wise the star ratings for me are currently; (Senior / Youth)

Strength - 4.5 / 4.0

Aerobic - 5.0 / 4.5

GK Shot Stopping - 4.5 / 3.0

GK Handling - 4.0 / 3.0

Tactics - 4.5 / 4.0

Ball Control - 3.5 / 3.5

Defending - 4.0 / 4.0

Attacking - 4.0 / 4.0

Shooting - 4.0 / 4.0

Thank you for nudging me to recheck, as I didn't think my Ball Control coaching was so low and this will soon be rectified

[shirajzl]

This has actually been a primary goal of mine, even before this thread opened my eyes to the individual training side of things.

Up until this summer, I had got my training facilities up to 'State of Art' quality. Then this summer I got a (first time for me, new to FM12?) news message saying that due to technological advancements my training facilities are no longer perceived as being as good as they used to be. They are now listed as 'Good' again, but after an initial rejection the board agreed to finance a 1.7m improvement to them, which will be finished in around 3 months time.

Similar for the youth facilities, although they are being planned this year and built next year

Coach wise the star ratings for me are currently; (Senior / Youth)

Strength - 4.5 / 4.0

Aerobic - 5.0 / 4.5

GK Shot Stopping - 4.5 / 3.0

GK Handling - 4.0 / 3.0

Tactics - 4.5 / 4.0

Ball Control - 3.5 / 3.5

Defending - 4.0 / 4.0

Attacking - 4.0 / 4.0

Shooting - 4.0 / 4.0

Thank you for nudging me to recheck, as I didn't think my Ball Control coaching was so low and this will soon be rectified

Nice. How important are youth facilities in the light of the fact it's easier to sign a full-time contract with very young players, enabling them to participate in full-time training? I mean, don't youth facilities only affect the training of players on youth contracts?

[Agi_]

The schedule, and i think the facilities too even if i'm not 100% sure, a player trains with dont depend from the contract but from where the player is listed.

If a 17 old is in first team list he will use 1st team schedules, and is automatically put on general schedule when you move him into first team; if u put a 30 old in the youth team, to have him regain match fitness, he's forced to train with youngsters schedules doesnt matter how absurd it can sound.

[Romanista1994]

A few questions:

1)How do you manage those under 20 that are borderline for first team; not good enough to play regular but good enough to make an half an hour every often. If you keep them in main team they will get very little playtime and quickly lose game fitness, if instead you keep them in under 20 team they will reamain fit but train with the CRAP youngster routines and your ass man 100% sure will use them in a game the day before you need them.

Switching them from under 20 to 1st you will have to set their training every time and this is a pain in the a.. and there is no way to have them available for under 20, just for the useless reserve team that plays no games unless you organize friendlies

I wonder why they changed the training of youngster in such an annoying way; FM11, with all 18+ old doing the same routines, was perfect

I find this quite annoying as well. I guess if they're at a stage where they don't benefit from youth games and have a good personality I'd loan them out to a club where they'll get games. If they don't have a good personality you have to consider whether they will be good enough for the first team and either keep them there and tutor them or otherwise sell them.

2) I have a couple of youngsters that already have very nice mental attributes: one is resolute and the other model professional; having no tutor with such nice attributes i'm afraid that tutoring them i will ruin them, but tutoring has other good side effects that not tutoring them i will miss.

If you don't have money problems you can look for veteran tutors with brilliant personalities, but they will improve even without tutoring, especially the Model Professional one.

3) Sending youngsters on loan in the right team will sure help development but there is a big problem; time spent on loan will not count for being classified home grown and nation grown and if you buy, for example, a brasilian 18 old you must have him stay all time at the team if you want him home grown that's a big bonus for european cups list.

For the players that join at 16/17 this is not much of a problem as you can keep them in the youth team and loan them out later as shirajzl said because they will still become homegrown. Those that only join at 18 are more of a problem and it's for this very reason that I only buy these players when they can fit straight into the first team squad.

[Romanista1994]

Corentin David

That season is just incredible for a 17 year old! He's made some fantastic improvements as well and looks well on track to become a superstar.

Matt Bryant

Also had a great season, especially since he isn't even eligible for a pro contract yet. His improvements are very nicely rounded with a slight bias towards the mental side of the game. If he continues on that path he will be an utter beast.

Your future partnership up front looks set for years to come.

[DctSccr]

In creating individual training schedules, if you are happy with the attributes in a particular training category, what would you recommend as a minimum training level in that category to simply avoid any deterioration in its attributes?

[Braumiller]

Your future partnership up front looks set for years to come.

Agreed And delighted

[Braumiller]

In creating individual training schedules, if you are happy with the attributes in a particular training category, what would you recommend as a minimum training level in that category to simply avoid any deterioration in its attributes?

My answer is not one of knowledge (Romanista1994, Cleon and others are better equipped), just relaying what I do.

I put them on the first click of medium (the first click out of Light, so that it shows medium) and haven't noticed anything bad happening.

[Romanista1994]

In creating individual training schedules, if you are happy with the attributes in a particular training category, what would you recommend as a minimum training level in that category to simply avoid any deterioration in its attributes?

I've found that with most players you can drop categories to halfway in light (4/5 clicks) and they won't drop. For older players I'd go with medium, because they will be declining anyway and that way you slow the decline.

[shirajzl]

For the players that join at 16/17 this is not much of a problem as you can keep them in the youth team and loan them out later as shirajzl said because they will still become homegrown. Those that only join at 18 are more of a problem and it's for this very reason that I only buy these players when they can fit straight into the first team squad.

Does that mean, in your opinion, a player should develop well on his own until he's 18? I mean, by the time he turns 18, he's either good enough to be gradually introduced to first team matches or not good enough and thus sent on loan so that he can be sold later on (or maybe surprise you and develop really well while on loan)?

I've found that with most players you can drop categories to halfway in light (4/5 clicks) and they won't drop. For older players I'd go with medium, because they will be declining anyway and that way you slow the decline.

A very useful piece of information.

Has anyone tried leaving a really good prospect on general, default training schedule? Would he develop well, depending on his personality?

Also, how important the state of training facilities really is? In other words, has anyone managed to develop a player with basic facilities?

[Cleon]

Does that mean, in your opinion, a player should develop well on his own until he's 18? I mean, by the time he turns 18, he's either good enough to be gradually introduced to first team matches or not good enough and thus sent on loan so that he can be sold later on (or maybe surprise you and develop really well while on loan)?

I play the opposite. Players who aren't developing well need first team games more than those who are already training well. So I'd rather loan out the player who is good but not good enough for your side yet to start every game. And I'd keep the undeveloped player and give him sub apperances etc. I'd not get rid of any prospect until 20/21 though as some of them can be late starters.

[shirajzl]

I play the opposite. Players who aren't developing well need first team games more than those who are already training well. So I'd rather loan out the player who is good but not good enough for your side yet to start every game. And I'd keep the undeveloped player and give him sub apperances etc. I'd not get rid of any prospect until 20/21 though as some of them can be late starters.

Interesting. How would you define the moment you definitely give up on a player? Apart from the 20/21 of age you already mentioned.

[Cleon]

Interesting. How would you define the moment you definitely give up on a player? Apart from the 20/21 of age you already mentioned.

Well you'd know if he just isn't improving due to his attributes not changing at all. Once they hit 20/21 if they don't look like they have good stat then 99% of the time it's too late for them.

[Romanista1994]

Does that mean, in your opinion, a player should develop well on his own until he's 18? I mean, by the time he turns 18, he's either good enough to be gradually introduced to first team matches or not good enough and thus sent on loan so that he can be sold later on (or maybe surprise you and develop really well while on loan)?

When I said keep them in the youth team I really should have said keep them at your club and track their development closely. If they continue to develop in the youth team they can stay there (coaches say the player is progressing well in training), if they outgrow the youth team they go on loan (if they're not yet ready for the first team, if they are they go there) as they won't benefit from the level of matches they get in the youth team anymore and are better off playing at a more competitive level.

[hamzarie]

If anyone wants the spreadsheet, let me know and I can post it somewhere.

Really interesting this article....

Braumiller, can u share the spreadsheet. Thanks in advance.

[Gee_Simpson]

I was just wondering if you guys create an indivdual schedule for every single player at your club (Veteran's, 1st teamers and Youth) or just for the Youth and then position schedules for everyone else? Do you feel a benefit of creating individual schedlues for everyone?

Thanks.

[Romanista1994]

I was just wondering if you guys create an indivdual schedule for every single player at your club (Veteran's, 1st teamers and Youth) or just for the Youth and then position schedules for everyone else? Do you feel a benefit of creating individual schedlues for everyone?

Thanks.

On FM10 I used to create individual schedules for each and every player at the club who was eligible for them. I've become too lazy to do that and I now only create schedules for younger players who are at the club at the start or join the club at a later date.

There can be a benefit for first teamers and especially veterans as they can become more specialised and you can slow their decline, but the default position schedules are good and since these players usually have few weaknesses that need to be improved upon you can safely leave them on these schedules. The decline of older players can also be slowed with heavy individual focus on their stamina, which allows them to play for longer and at a higher level than they would without it.

[däkkä]

My first proper player to come through the academy. Lacks anticipation, composure and creativity. Currently focusing on shooting and attacking categories with individual training on strength. How would you develop this guy?

[Romanista1994]

My first proper player to come through the academy. Lacks anticipation, composure and creativity. How would you develop this guy?

With his speed, off the ball and lack of creativity I'd have him as a runner from deep. He needs to get better at dribbling to do that though, so that's one area where I'd set his focus on initially. Later you can use the individual focus to improve his composure, first touch, passing, finishing and perhaps his stamina. Because of his low finishing and good technique it might be good idea to have him place his shots, so that he is more likely to take the chances he gets.

The training would be lower end of medium for both physical categories (can also do light for strength and improve his stamina through individual focus, freeing up workload for other categories), intensive for tactics, ball control and attacking, medium again for shooting and none for defending.

When his creativity has improved along with his passing, first touch and composure you can also have him as a playmaker. This kid will definitely become brilliant though, as long as you give him games and he performs decently.

[Carl0s]

I've just started with Dortmund and had 3 Players already in the academy when I arrived. I've copied 1 of them above. Any advice regarding training/individual focus?

What I've gone for is putting his individual training on Strength and put it on heavy. I've also put Strength also on intensive & defensive on high. I was comparing his stats to Subotic and they are quite similiar. I think with the right training he could be better than him.

Cheers

[Romanista1994]

I've just started with Dortmund and had 3 Players already in the academy when I arrived. I've copied 1 of them above. Any advice regarding training/individual focus?

Cheers

The attributes that really stand out as weaknesses are his accelleration and concentration. The former can be improved with individual focus (as can his other physical attributes and positioning). I'd go for a heavy mental bias in his training, coupled with high defending and ball control, medium for the physical categories and attacking (if you want him to become a ball-playing kind of defender). Individual focus would probably go into his jumping to improve his ability to defend high balls and attack set pieces, quickness to improve his bad accelleration and depending on how they develop his positioning, stamina, agility and marking.

[Romanista1994]

What I've gone for is putting his individual training on Strength and put it on heavy. I've also put Strength also on intensive & defensive on high. I was comparing his stats to Subotic and they are quite similiar. I think with the right training he could be better than him.

That way he'd end up having 20 in strength at the expense of other vital attributes. With a schedule that is less biased towards his strength he'd still end up with at least 15/16 for strength, but his other attributes would be considerably better.

[Carl0s]

Thanks for your help! I'll try and give him 4/5 sub appearances in the season as well to help push his development.

What do you think of this 16 year old? I've got him on intensive Stamina and strength training as his physicals arent too good.

Apparantly he is going to be "Quality" according to my scouts.

[Romanista1994]

Thanks for your help! I'll try and give him 4/5 sub appearances in the season as well to help push his development.

What do you think of this 16 year old? I've got him on intensive Stamina and strength training as his physicals arent too good.

Apparantly he is going to be "Quality" according to my scouts.

You should have him tutored and keep him in the youth team so that they get goals, but I don't think he'll ever make the grade. Quickness training might be a good idea so that he outspeeds slow defenders at youth level and his value rises if he scores consistently. You're probably best off selling him at 18 when his value peaks though, because he has too far to go to reach his 3.5 star potential.

If you do keep faith in him and he does develop, come back and show a screenshot.

[Jambo98]

On my current Bolton save i have been lucky enough to grab 4 world class looking regen youngsters. The first 2 look like my centre back partnership of the future:

Nicolas Hurtado

His schedule

My team plays a high D line with lots of pressing so high energy types are required in central defence, who are resonably quick and also have good decision making and anticipation. At the moment Hurtado has specific focus on his Strength, as its a bit lacking for a Centre Back

John Wilson

His schedule

At the moment his specific focus is quickness, as i would like to pair him with Hurtado and have him the "fast" one alongside Hurtados general all round presence.

These are just my first goes at schedules for these two, like many others this is a part of the game i am out of practice at, but want to develop my youths to their full potential. I also have 2 strikers who are similarly high rated and will post them up with schedules later. Meantime any advice/constructive critisism on these two is welcome!

[Romanista1994]

The thing I've noticed is that you have both of them on attacking and shooting training. I'd drop shooting for both (as it only trains finishing and longshots), and attacking for Hurtado. He has a good passing attribute, but his terrible creativity means he will never be good on the ball and the attribute points are better off being distributed to other areas.

[shirajzl]

@Jambo98: Do you plan to play them both in the first team (occasionally) straight away or let them play for reserves for a year (or more)?

What would be the best move there, generally speaking? I've always wondered whether it's advisable to buy 18yo players who are not already good enough to play as a first team backup.

[Jambo98]

Fair point Romanista, i think it goes back to the last days when i used to look at custom training i was always trying to make players into allrounders and get every single attribute above 10.....not realistic or the way to do it. I think i will remove the finishing for both and for Hurtado go more intense on strength and Aerobic as he needs to develope in those aspects to become a world class CB. Wilson i will spread the extra across evenly as he is already well rounded.

Shirazjl - I will play them both occasionally, aim to get 5 starts and at least 5 sub appearances in the first team each in this their first seasons. I would say they are already more than ready to be play the occasional low pressure game. The rest of the time they will play in the reserves. I try to give my real world class prospects game time, as not a fan of sending them out on loan in season one as want to tutor and control their training more. In season two i may give them 3 months on loan assuming my squad is strong enough to cope.

About to post up my 2 attacking talents and think about how to train them

[TRC]

How do I increase a players team work?

[Cleon]

How do I increase a players team work?

Tactics catergory. If you go to a players profile, training tab, attribute development, then click the training catergory drop down you'll see what each catergory trains.

[Romanista1994]

Strength catergory. If you go to a players profile, training tab, attribute development, then click the training catergory drop down you'll see what each catergory trains.

I just tried this and teamwork appears under tactics, you're probably confusing it with work rate which does fall under strength training.

[Cleon]

Opps sorry I didn't pay full attention, I'll edit my post.

[Romanista1994]

Opps sorry I didn't pay full attention, I'll edit my post.

No worries, how is your Santos player coming along?

[Cleon]

No worries, how is your Santos player coming along?

Quite good, not played much though. But I think I'm just about a year on from the screenshot I posted, so I'll look to update it tomorrow

[däkkä]

With his speed, off the ball and lack of creativity I'd have him as a runner from deep. He needs to get better at dribbling to do that though, so that's one area where I'd set his focus on initially. Later you can use the individual focus to improve his composure, first touch, passing, finishing and perhaps his stamina. Because of his low finishing and good technique it might be good idea to have him place his shots, so that he is more likely to take the chances he gets.

The training would be lower end of medium for both physical categories (can also do light for strength and improve his stamina through individual focus, freeing up workload for other categories), intensive for tactics, ball control and attacking, medium again for shooting and none for defending.

When his creativity has improved along with his passing, first touch and composure you can also have him as a playmaker. This kid will definitely become brilliant though, as long as you give him games and he performs decently.

That would've been brilliant but unfortunately he has picked up 'Comes deep to get the ball' and 'Tries killer balls' through tutoring so that kind of dictated the way I went with him (more emphasis on attacking category). Scouts rate him highly and tell me he can reach the stature of Pastore/Fàbregas. I have played ~6 months further from the screenshot and he has improved in leaps and bounds, most key attributes by one, anticipation and composure by 2. Has performed nicely for the first team. He's too good for the U19 side and I'd lose control of his development if I played him in the B team so I have featured him in the first team in UCL group phase, Copa del Rey and sure-fire favourites home games.

Below another youngster.

Despite his height, I have been retraining him and played him as a centre-back. I opted against retraining him to MC and playing him as a ball-winner, because the midfield is stacked with talent and the central defence isn't. He has done quite well in the central defence. I urge my defenders to play aggressively and he is quite the beast in the U19 level with his bravery, aggression, work rate and tackling. Very Mascherano-esque. He's been one of the best performers in the back line.

I guess I have two questions. 1. How much could I improve his off-the-ball if I focused on that? 2. Can a shorty like him perform in senior level as a centre-back or should I turn him into a ball-winner instead?

[Cleon]

That would've been brilliant but unfortunately he has picked up 'Comes deep to get the ball' and 'Tries killer balls' through tutoring so that kind of dictated the way I went with him (more emphasis on attacking category). Scouts rate him highly and tell me he can reach the stature of Pastore/Fàbregas. I have played ~6 months further from the screenshot and he has improved in leaps and bounds, most key attributes by one, anticipation and composure by 2. Has performed nicely for the first team. He's too good for the U19 side and I'd lose control of his development if I played him in the B team so I have featured him in the first team in UCL group phase, Copa del Rey and sure-fire favourites home games.

Below another youngster.

Despite his height, I have been retraining him and played him as a centre-back. I opted against retraining him to MC and playing him as a ball-winner, because the midfield is stacked with talent and the central defence isn't. He has done quite well in the central defence. I urge my defenders to play aggressively and he is quite the beast in the U19 level with his bravery, aggression, work rate and tackling. Very Mascherano-esque. He's been one of the best performers in the back line.

I guess I have two questions. 1. How much could I improve his off-the-ball if I focused on that? 2. Can a shorty like him perform in senior level as a centre-back or should I turn him into a ball-winner instead?

he doesn't need off the ball if you want him to be a defender. Off the ball is mainly used for attacking players. For a defender you want positioning and if I was you I'd be individual focusing on that now until it raises by quite a bit. If not he'll always be that yard behind no matter how good his other attributes will be.

Although for me he'd never make a centreback as he lacks positioning, jumping, heading, composure, decisions and anticipation. Id keep him as he is and use as an attacking fullback. But still you'd go for positioning and not OTB. I'm not sure he'll improve all that well in the key areas in such a short time to become a DC.

How close to 17 is he?

[däkkä]

he doesn't need off the ball if you want him to be a defender. Off the ball is mainly used for attacking players.

Where did I say off-the-ball is important for defenders? This is again very condescending by you. I am retraining him because I suspect he'll never improve his off-the-ball enough to justify playing him as an attacking full-back. If he had a better off-the-ball level, I might play him as a full-back.

Although for me he'd never make a centreback as he lacks positioning, jumping, heading, composure, decisions and anticipation. Id keep him as he is and use as an attacking fullback. But still you'd go for positioning and not OTB. I'm not sure he'll improve all that well in the key areas in such a short time to become a DC.

How close to 17 is he?

Funny how you think his positioning, anticipation and composure are low. There is only ONE 16-year-old centre-back with 13+ bravery, aggression and tackling, 10+ marking that have positioning as good as him. Or anticipation. Or composure.

Don't attacking full-backs need off-the-ball then? It's highlighted as a key attribute in TC. And positioning, composure, decisions and anticipation are important as well. Besides, he lacks attacking skills maybe even more than the defensive ones you highlighted (check his first touch, crossing and ofc off-the-ball). For a 16-year-old (6 months till his next birthday) those mental attributes aren't half bad and I have him training extensively on tactics and personal focus is on composure so his lack of aerial ability is the stand-out problem.

[cemendur88]

I thought I'd post pics of the best prospect to come through in my Athletic Bilbao save.

Here he is on the day he appeared as a youth candidate:

After a year of specialised training, and being tutored by a player with good professionalism, he now looks like this:

That is only in 1 year! Cannot wait to see how he develops further.

[Coentrao]

Impressive improvements, specially on the mental department.

Have you been giving him a lot of games on the first team?

[cemendur88]

He got 9 games last season, and will get more this season as he has already developed enough to be a rotational player.

[Cleon]

Where did I say off-the-ball is important for defenders?

But;

Despite his height, I have been retraining him and played him as a centre-back. I opted against retraining him to MC and playing him as a ball-winner, because the midfield is stacked with talent and the central defence isn't. He has done quite well in the central defence. I urge my defenders to play aggressively and he is quite the beast in the U19 level with his bravery, aggression, work rate and tackling. Very Mascherano-esque. He's been one of the best performers in the back line.

I guess I have two questions. 1. How much could I improve his off-the-ball if I focused on that?

Note the bold bits. You mention playing him as a defender then talk about off the ball. Was just pointing out isn't needed for a centreback. If you mention playing him as a centreback and then mention off the ball what am I supposed to think? Was just making sure you knew that's all.

Funny how you think his positioning, anticipation and composure are low. There is only ONE 16-year-old centre-backs with 13+ bravery, aggression and tackling, 10+ marking that have positioning as good as him. Or anticipation. Or composure.

And? Positioning, anticipation and composure are 3 vital attributes for central defenders. If they don't have them then no matter what the other attributes are like they'll always be a weak link especially in certain scenarios. You cannot mask the fact or try and hide his weakness if it is in any of those areas. Bravery, aggression and tackling you can actually get away with them been low.

Don't attacking full-backs need off-the-ball then?

Depends but I don't class it as vital. He won't be ahead of playing much will he expected to find space? He deffo needs positioning though for when you get hit on the counter and to help him get back in the right place when you do lose the ball.

And positioning, composure, decisions and anticipation are important as well.

These are the vital attributes.

Besides, he lacks attacking skills maybe even more than the defensive ones you highlighted (check his first touch, crossing and ofc off-the-ball).

His first touch will rise quite a bit when he starts to play. As for crossing again doesn't really need it he can dribble and no doubt will be able to pick out a pass rather than a cross.

For a 16-year-old (6 months till his next birthday) those mental attributes aren't half bad and I have him training extensively on tactics and personal focus is on composure so his lack of aerial ability is the stand-out problem.

Looks like we differ in what we both class as good attributes for his age for the position you want him to play . I would have focused on his positioning first and foremost though as that's harder to raise than composure.