Once I get to about 2015 or so, there is just absolutely no point buying real players any more - regens are much better, with far more potential for growth as well.
This problem seems to be getting worse with every successive release of football manager or new database, with only a few players under the age of 23 at the start of the game with a PA of 170 or higher. For example, I went back and looked through the latest database for Football Manager 2010 (10.3). Here, there are 8 players with a variable potential of -10, compared to 0 on any database from Football Manager 2013. Looking at players aged 23 and under, there are 42 with a potential ability of at least 175 on 10.3, compared to just 21 on 13.3.
What this means is that once regens start making their way into first teams, there just aren't enough real players of close to the same ability.
I can't imagine that I'm the only person who would like to see more real players at the top of the game just a few years in!
This problem seems to be getting worse with every successive release of football manager or new database, with only a few players under the age of 23 at the start of the game with a PA of 170 or higher. For example, I went back and looked through the latest database for Football Manager 2010 (10.3). Here, there are 8 players with a variable potential of -10, compared to 0 on any database from Football Manager 2013. Looking at players aged 23 and under, there are 42 with a potential ability of at least 175 on 10.3, compared to just 21 on 13.3.
What this means is that once regens start making their way into first teams, there just aren't enough real players of close to the same ability.
I can't imagine that I'm the only person who would like to see more real players at the top of the game just a few years in!