Over achieving player

[feralannihilator]

Hi All,

Looking for some advice on why a player is doing so well. It's seems like an odd question, but he shouldn't be doing as well as he is, and i know i must be missing something.

Im currently managing Notts County. We gained promotion at the first time of asking, and are now starting our campaign in League 1.  

Last season my main striker was John Stead. He finished the season as my top goalscorer and 5th in the league if i remember correctly, with 22 goals. None of my other strikers came close to his output, and i didn't have the capital to buy myself a decent signing as a backup.

So in the January window, I decided to shop for a prospect instead. nothing too fancy, just a young player with the potential to be a leading player in League 1 or the Championship. Turns out they we're also out of my price range. To cut a long story short (probably too long already), i stumbled upon Franck Betra in Sheffield Wednesday's youth team.

He had the potential to play in League 1, with a current ability of a Conference player.

I started him off playing in the u23s, where he was underwhelming at best. Then the worst happened, Stead went out injured for 2 months.

Betra wasn't ready for the first team by any stretch, but with limited options i added him to my bench. Over those two months, and the remainder of the season, he managed 7 goals and 2 assists in 13 games (9 of which were sub appearances). Needless to say, he was a BIG part in me achieving promotion.

As i stated oh so long ago, i'm now starting in League 1. i'm 3 games into my current campaign and Betra has scored from the bench in all three. This is in spite of my coaches stating that he has actually suffered a setback in both his current and potential ability.

So why is he doing so well? on paper (where the game is not played) he's my worst striker, with two of my wingers apparently better options.

My first guess was that i had stumbled on a formation that is tuned for his game, but taking this guess into the transfer market has not helped at all. With my now supposed star striker Matt Smith, having appalling games despite bettering Betra in every area ability and height wise. 

It's nice having a player doing better than he should, but i now second guess myself before every game. Should i start a player thats playing two leagues higher than he should be, or a player thats in the right league. I generally go for form over ability, but this guy is meant to be quite a bit out of his depth.

any helpful suggestions, would be appreciated

thanks

[Fosse]

Without seeing his attributes and your system it's hard to tell why he does well in comparison

[eye-switcher]

Cool, it happens once in a while sometimes, Everything clicks, Tactics, morale, confidence, but for me it usually doesnt stay that way for too long. would be nice to see a pic of him