Developing youth

[shaunyboy89]

Hi everyone. I've had a look through threads today but struggling to find something on developing youth. I have no shame in admitting i use genie scout to pick up players with high potential at regen dates. When they join i set up their training and usually loan them out at about 17 years old. Usually to my feeder club which has good training, decent staff and good facilities. However, i notice that other clubs youth players seem to develop a lot quicker than mine. When i look at a youth player's history they seem to play in the youth team for 3 seasons before they go out on loan. Whereas my youth players go out on loan but rarely develop as quickly as others with less PA seem to... Am i sending them out on loan too soon? I thought the best thing for their development was 1st team football.

what do you do with developing youth? Do you keep them in the u18s or u21s until a certain age and send them out on loan? It would be helpful to hear what others do. Thanks!

 

[WJ]

They need football yes, but at a decent level too. No point in sending a League 1 ability player to go play in the Conference South for a season, because he's already so much better than anyone there and will learn nothing.

Keep your best prospects and play them yourself.

 

[TheGoat2017]

I dont loan out till they are 19/20 and only then if i cant at least give them cup games.

17 and under stay in the under 18s, promising under 17s go into the under 23s therefore training at that level(more in depth) and if possible get a tutor to pair with.

promising 18 and overs sit in my first team so therefore train with my first team but i set them as available to play 90 mins with the under 23's. the amount they go up in my system is ridiculous and its all in house, they only go out on loan if i see no other option i.e too many players in their way and no chance of game time.

 

[naterr]

Developing youth is the main focus for me when I play the game, I've read so many blogs and videos etc and found the best way to develop them is:



keep players in youth team until they are 18. You will probably have a great coaching team and good facilities so wouldn't want to risk them going to a team with terrible staff. Make sure they get game time in the U18's and if they have a negative personality try to change this by tutoring.


After they are 18 work out who are the star newgens that you want to keep and push forward. Move them into the first team and give them some U23 matches to keep up fitness. I usually have 2/3 max who I have in the first team.


Play them in easier premier league games, (ones you are expecting to win) this will help keep morale high and give them great match ratings which should help with development. I used to play a team of promising kids against low teams in the FA Cup but this can sometimes backfire so be careful.


DON'T play them in too many games early on, between the ages of 15-19, physical stats grow quicker, so with more game time they will develop these stats more than others and can peak too early, they could end up really strong, fast and agile but no skills. Also these are the stats that decline earlier when they get older and could mean they can't be brilliant into their 30's


Players who are over 18 but not part of the few players you added to the first team, loan them out and see how they perform but make sure they go to a good club. Get them into clubs in the championship or higher and make sure they are playing. If they are going to sit in the reserves they may as well sit in your reserves with your great coaches training them!

 

[Average Joe]

To add to naterr, try to have the league you send a player to 'unlocked' so to speak

 

[MonagHusker]

DON'T play them in too many games early on, between the ages of 15-19, physical stats grow quicker, so with more game time they will develop these stats more than others and can peak too early, they could end up really strong, fast and agile but no skills. Also these are the stats that decline earlier when they get older and could mean they can't be brilliant into their 30s

Regarding this part:. Are you referring to limiting their first team matches only?
Do you have a specific total games you are looking for? In other words, what is too many?

Good stuff!

 

[twelly2712]

I'm properly confused by the under 18 stuff. do I have to upgrade facilities etc of the youth facilities before I can get more under 18 coaches?

 

[Average Joe]

I'm properly confused by the under 18 stuff. do I have to upgrade facilities etc of the youth facilities before I can get more under 18 coaches?

Generally the rep / size of the club I think. The bigger the club the higher the aims, the higher the aims the more need for more coaches and stuff.

Facilities don't effect this as far as I know

 

[Average Joe]

Regarding this part:. Are you referring to limiting their first team matches only?
Do you have a specific total games you are looking for? In other words, what is too many?

Good stuff!

I don't aim for a number. Even if I'm in a harder(ish) match, say I'm first and opposition is 7th in the league. Start your best team and try to get a decent lead going, make sure you sub a youth player on before 75 mins so he gets match experience / a match rating.

I usually aim for between 60-70 mins

(and I always have them set to play Under23s matches unless it's the same match day etc)

 

[twelly2712]

Generally the rep / size of the club I think. The bigger the club the higher the aims, the higher the aims the more need for more coaches and stuff.

Facilities don't effect this as far as I know

strange, I'm my local team doncaster rovers in 2025. promoted every year from league 2, won one champions league last season. but I don't have any under 18 coaches at all. 5 star rep known world wide. rich club etc. just strange I can't even ask for under 18 coaches. I suppose ill just have to keep going and see what happens. thanks!!!!

 

[loveunitedhatecity]

to be honest i have always always promoted youth players give them game time young gradually increasing their influence then ousting your current 1st teamer and if you believe they are good enough take a risk sell your experienced player buy a rotation option and make your young gun 1st choice

 

[Ofrm]

Really thoughtful method to nurture young players.

I love to develop youth too, basically I start from a club in a low level league and rent some domestic U18 players with buy out options.

When I get into top league, usually the board will set a sizable transfer budget. So I can buy out the youth players at a low price.

It's really great experience watching young players trained by yourself become world class players.

 

[naterr]

Regarding this part:. Are you referring to limiting their first team matches only?
Do you have a specific total games you are looking for? In other words, what is too many?

Good stuff!

Yeah I would limit first team matches to 15 tops, or keep bringing them on as sub as Average Joe said.

 

[FMSaddler96]

I think there are a number of factors. Always make sure you have good staff at every level of the club as this is a key factor to everything in my opinion. When they first come into the club good coaching will get them off on the right foot.

Personally I always set up my top prospects (anybody with 3.5* potential or higher) with tutors who play their position. Physically they will develop quickly as they get older but using tutors when they are 16/17 helps them to develop quickly mentally and technically.

In terms of loan system I always wait till they turn 17/18. I'll put the top prospects into my under 23's so they are in with better players and pushed to improve. Once they turn 18 they've had a couple of years being tutored and tend to have developed into good lower league players. I'll then loan them out for 2/3 years and when they get to 2.5* ability bring them back to the club to be a rotation player.

This is something I have done throughout FM17 and it has worked well. I have just managed Rome for 2 seasons and in that time I brought 5/6 players through to the senior squad to play at least 10 games. There seems to be a mix between giving them quality playing time but also letting them settle.

 

[GuideSteve]

Keep them at your club!

I rarely loan out players for development purposes. There are several reasons for this:

• You cannot control their training and PPM's
• You cannot control their tutoring
• The other club will likely have worse facilities than my own.

Here is a link to an experiment Strikerless did. Basically, it says what we expect: The better youth facilities, the faster your players will develop.

As for playing time, there are ways to ensure your players get playing time anyway. For example, you can play them in the League Cup, but you can also have somewhat of a rotation system. If you are Man Utd, playing 1-2 young players with 1-2 stars is not likely to matter against the likes of Hull and I usually sprinkle my young players in to these games. I have covered my way of developing young players here.

 

[Snorks]

I dont loan out till they are 19/20 and only then if i cant at least give them cup games.

17 and under stay in the under 18s, promising under 17s go into the under 23s therefore training at that level(more in depth) and if possible get a tutor to pair with.

promising 18 and overs sit in my first team so therefore train with my first team but i set them as available to play 90 mins with the under 23's. the amount they go up in my system is ridiculous and its all in house, they only go out on loan if i see no other option i.e too many players in their way and no chance of game time.

What level are your Youth and Training facilities at?

I have Borehamwood in my save, up to L1 - low level facilities so have been loaning out as much as possible.