Mental stats in lower leagues?

[gobhniu]

Whenever I take a lower league club I noticed that I always focus on physical attributs. Speed for attack, strength in defense etc... and I usually build a team of what you could call “just bodies” who have absolutely no intelligence on the field and just run fast and hit hard...

 

I know technical players are like unicorns in the lower leagues but what about mental attributs?

 

Would trying to build a team of experienced, relatively smart players work in those leagues?

Or is it useless since they won’t have the technique or physique to do what they want?

 

If you had to create such a team what mental attributs would you focus on?

[Marabak]

I don't know how this would work in FM, but in real life I used to play for a Sunday league side that was all "physical attributes", I am pretty strong and play CB, we had a bunch of super pacey 18 year olds on the wings and up front. We once played a semi-pro team that had a few "retired" pros in there, including a 50 year old CM who once played in what is now the Championship. They blew us away, they intercepted every past, they pinged the ball around like it was FIFA, no matter how strong or fast we were, we couldn't get close. I'd imagine the same should apply in FM.

[HUNT3R]

I like having mentally strong players lower down the leagues. I like them more in general, in fact. It's all relative, so they don't have to have 20s across the board. Just better than average for the level.

[gobhniu]

14 minutes ago, Marabak said:

I don't know how this would work in FM, but in real life I used to play for a Sunday league side that was all "physical attributes", I am pretty strong and play CB, we had a bunch of super pacey 18 year olds on the wings and up front. We once played a semi-pro team that had a few "retired" pros in there, including a 50 year old CM who once played in what is now the Championship. They blew us away, they intercepted every past, they pinged the ball around like it was FIFA, no matter how strong or fast we were, we couldn't get close. I'd imagine the same should apply in FM.

What you seem to describe is players with strong mental attributs but also the technique to back it off.

I am not sure if (in fm) a player with low technical stats like pass and dribbling would be able to pull that off...I feel like they would “know” what the next best move is but would just botch it because they are garbage at passing or dribbling...

 

but I don’t know, I could be wrong

Edited October 24, 2020 by gobhniu

[DementedHammer]

I always play super low league management. I'm currently managing in the Essex Senior League. 

If I had to pick one attribute to build my team around at that level, I'd pick decisions. When most players in the division are poor at most things, having a team that consistently makes the most of what skills and opportunities they do have makes a massive difference. 

[isignedupfornorealreason]

Composure and Decisions together are fairly important (I do want the descriptions to be more distinct though...) I rate composure highly across the entire squad actually, because there is no point being a good decision maker, if you panic at the first sign of trouble, or if you wilt under pressure. I don't mind less composed players being out on the wings, but the spine of the team, playmakers, defenders, strikers absolutely need to handle pressure. 

 

Concentration is 100% a must for keepers and defenders. It doesn't matter how good your defender is, if he isn't switched on, bye bye goal. To a lesser extent, bravery is useful - we don't want defenders backing away from a block etc. Anticipation is also useful to read the game, but I can handle it being a little lower if everything else makes up for it.

 

Oh and in general; Positioning or Off the ball is fairly important depending on the role. Defenders and keepers should rate Positioning very highly IMO.

And finally, determination is always handy but not essential. I am keen to get a player if he has high determination and a good personality, especially if they're young as they'll be halfway to fulfilling their potential. Otherwise, for more established players I like to try and have an average level of determination, you don't want it so low their heads drop, but I don't mark it out as a priority - I just glance at it.

[gobhniu]

That’s interesting, I always thought determination was super important