Are regen attribute spreads a problem?

[bar333]

I mentioned this in the feedback thread and I feel like the more I progress in my save the more frustrating this is starting to become. I feel like there's a genuine issue with regen attribute spreads being too limited and certain roles being virtually impossible to recruit for past a certain point in the game.

I'm coming into the summer of 2026 in my save now, most 23-24 old players are regens at this point and here is basically the breakdown of attribute spreads -

Central defenders - no BPD's and barely anyone with even the potential to become one through training. All the top regen CB's have incredible physicals (quickness in particular seems to be weighted far more heavily than in past games for CB's) but very few have anything that passes for even decent technique\passing\first touch etc.

Full backs - this one I feel is the biggest issue. I can't for the life of me find any well rounded full backs, never mind attack minded ones. Dribbling & crossing seem to basically be ignored for full backs. Off the Ball tends to be extremely poor. I've searched extensively (with a top club, scouting network etc, not a second division side) and cannot find a single left back in world football at the moment who is <25 yo and has over 12 crossing. I'm struggling to find a single player for even something as simple as a wing back on support duty who's not expected to do anything crazy on the ball, just you know... don't be a complete clogger. This is even worse with crossing & dribbling being unavailable for individual training anymore so what you see is what you get especially when the player is 22, 23 and doesn't have a lot of development left in him.

Central midfielders - Playmaker types are by a huge margin the most common types of regen MC's I see. If you want a DLP you have an embarrassment of riches to choose from, but very difficult to find physical & hard working BBM types who are top class.

Wide players - lack of inside forwards. Lots and lots of lots of pacy winger types.

Now obviously I realize some roles are a bit specialized and need to be trained at a very young age but then why doesn't the AI do this, ever? Some roles I also feel aren't specialized and there should be many more of them coming through, such as more attacking fullbacks, non-playmaker MC's etc.

Anyone else having a similar experience? Am I the only one seeing this as a real issue?

[bleventozturk]

This does sound like a serious issue. I hope it gets looked at by SI asap. 

The last FM game I played long term was FM 15, and some of the issues you mentioned existed there as well. I especially remember the lack of fullbacks with decent dribbling and crossing attributes, and I remember how annoying it was. I thought they would have fixed such things by now, as I think this should be one of the relatively easier things to code in this game. Sometimes I really wonder how effectively some modules of FM are being tested in house. The imbalance in attribute distribution is something that should be picked up rather easily.

 

[LukasZ_VCF]

Yea I thought the same players are pretty strict in their development... for example now we have players like Wass who can be natural at CM, RB RM etc, Meunier with many possitions as well but the new ones get just 1 or 2 I think and for example I played with Wass as RB and he was playing there great...

[louissiscool]

Might be worth reporting it is a bug and uploading yoursave if you want someone to take a look at it.

[OTron]

I'm in 2032 in my save and my team are entirely regens. I think FM19 is generally better in terms of attribute spread of regens than the last FM I played (FM17). I will tell you what I have seen in regards to your specific complaints.

CBs - In general technique is not favoured but I have found setting them to Passing training from an early age can fix this issue. Also there are CBs with decent technique around. I have the Ivory Coast CB who is 20 years old has technique 14, first touch 13, passing 12. So it's not too bad. I train all my CBs as Ball Playing Defenders and then also Passing as individual training if needed and I don't find this an issue at all.

Full backs - Here I mostly agree with you. Generally they will have 11-12 for crossing and dribbling max. Although I find this acceptable for WBs and still have players with these stats perform well playing as WB in the DR/DL position. But more attacking/dribbling Full Backs can be had - try looking in Brazil/South America. Also you can convert WBs/Wide Mids to the full back position if needed.

Central Mids - Tough tackling BBMs are certainly harder to find than ones with great passing but they do exist. Try looking for players who play DM naturally but also can play MC and you will find what you are looking for. I have found Spanish players good for this in my save.

Wide Players - I play with wingers so can't really speak to this as I don't use IFs. Both of my right wingers are natural AMRs though and can use both feet so would be suited to IF roles too. They are from Brazil and Uruguay.

Hope this is helpful. Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[puffascruffowitz]

I've noticed the same exact thing in FM 18. Haven't gotten far enough this year to judge. 

It's such a shame because I'm constantly finding intriguing looking players, but they'll be missing a couple of crucial attributes at the position. 

Extremely defensive fullbacks with zero attacking ability (which is all fine), but then a flair of 17 and positioning of 8. 

And yes, there is a surplus of Advanced Playmaker CMs, and very few of the terrier types like Kante or Torreira. 

The most frustrating thing (and this could just by my saves), is a lack of well rounded strikers. I appreciate that a top quality striker who is good at everything is extremely rare, but all the regens seem to be poaching kind of strikers who are lacking in creativity department. 

 

[bar333]

The striker thing I also considered mentioning, you're absolutely right. The crushing majority of strikers are pacy advanced forward types with great physicals and scoring related attributes but typically poor passing, vision, teamwork, flair etc. Good luck playing a system with a false nine in 2026 guys. 

The whole thing is pretty darn frustrating. It's not just the difficulty in finding players that suit certain roles, it also makes for a pretty bland game world as so many of the world class regents are basically the same player and there's no sense of uniqueness to them.