Developing Youth Players

[B Sharples]

Hi Guys,

 

So when developing young players is it better to send them on loan to lower league teams, or keep them in your U23s / U19s and add them into senior training groups with the intent of giving them some game time in cup competitions against lower opposition.

 

For reference I am with Man Utd and have offers for my better youth prospects generally from League 1 or Championship Sides

[Sysiphus]

Depends on their age.

Under 18: Training matters most.

18+: Game time matters most. I have it as a rule of thumb that if I can't give my 18-21 year old players 10 starts and 15 subs over the season, their development is better suited on loan. However, you have to find the right loan. You have to make sure your player is playing at an appropriate level (see coach report but don't blindly trust it) and that they play a lot. You also have to factor in the destination club's facilities compared to your club's. As an extra - I prefer to loan players to clubs that are predicted by the media to finish at least top half, if they play for a team who plays well they will play better and I find that speeds their development.

But the bottom line is that there are multiple factors (f.e. personality and the underlying stats) and it can vary from player to player and depend on your club and it's stature.

[Gilbo88]

3 hours ago, B Sharples said:

Hi Guys,

 

So when developing young players is it better to send them on loan to lower league teams, or keep them in your U23s / U19s and add them into senior training groups with the intent of giving them some game time in cup competitions against lower opposition.

 

For reference I am with Man Utd and have offers for my better youth prospects generally from League 1 or Championship Sides

I’m often a bit disappointed about players’ development when I send them on loan. But if I do I’ll look for clubs with the best facilities etc.

There are 2 reasons I tend to keep players and play them in the U23s - if I’m retraining a position as you can never be sure what position they will be played in when they go on loan, and if I need to keep a player at the club for them to become home grown  at the club (a big problem for me as I’m quite a small club and my youth recruitment isn’t great)

[plcarlos]

As has been said - under 18 = training is the main factor for development. I'll put any outstanding youth in the U23's over the U18's (As U23 managers are not capable of understanding tired players)

Some then get game time if i get a lower league opposition in the cup *

The best may get bench\game time vs lower teams, or to rest big players *

* Is there on both of these to add that the players must all be at an appropiate level first - No point putting a striker who's Vanarama level on vs a league one team etc..

Over 18's are loans, if they have deloped enough. For that, I check the scout rating for level, and refuse any that are lower than what's needed. As has also been said - I look at the facilities as well, sometimes i refuse the poor level facilities

In general, over 18 is "Game time at appropriate level"

at 1.5 stars, I'll look at attributes, and move to U23 if they look good enough.

At 2 stars, I'm looking at adding to 1st team squad, and or cup\lower teams, kind of as an if needed backup

 

What I haven't tracked yet, it the training unit's where I add a player to that, but the player is still in the U23\U18 squad

[RedJonnyBoy]

As mentioned game time while training at facilities that are excellent will work wonders. However, if you are at a big club where you may have a big squad that needs rotating, you may struggle to give the kids enough game time. That's where you need to make decisions as to where to send them on loan i.e teams with good facilities and decent coaches. 

I'm at Benfica, so I really only need to pick my full strength team around a 15-20 times a season and can blood the kids against the weaker sides in the league. This is the perfect scenario as they have the best facilities and I've managed to invest in the coaching to give them the very best chance to succeed.