“It has been more than two seasons and the best candidate in my youth is Lay Sze Weng, an 18 year old winger apparently with quick feet but a short fuse who has yet to pop…
“My team won its youth league hands-down this season with a 8-0-0 record but my average age of players is 18.4 years and the best player is my centre-half, Ahmad Tua, who gives me 6 stars on average and according to my coach has inadequate playmaking. However he just turned 18.
“My forward, Fan Ni Wan, scored 8 stars last week but averages 6 stars most of the time… what gives?”
YA success can appear illusive and not unlike the previous youth pull. Granted some element of luck is unavoidable, but looking at the successful track record of some teams, perhaps there is a way to increase our odds for success. Given the inflationary economic trend, the YA offers an increasingly attractive (think Keeley Hazel!) alternative to balance the virtual profit and loss account.
Towards this end, I have come up with several dos and don’ts to try and steer local teams in the right direction – and no, this is not my attempt to kick-off campaigning for the U20 hot seat. For that my vote goes to… (irrelevant at this point)!
1. Don’t play the league only to win… winning the YA series means nothing if you are over-training your youths. The priority is unearthing talent and make sure they reach the senior squad on time!
2. Don’t bother with 17 year old candidates. It takes a whole season before the player can be promoted and by 18, he is normally too old to fetch a premium. Then again, if he is the third and last choice, I’d just take him to make the numbers.
3. Don’t keep your player longer than necessary. I used to wait for the trainer to inform me when a player could no longer learn from the academy, but I have found, to my delight, that a 17 years and 0 day passable keeper can fetch a handsome amount compared to a 17 years and 70 days solid one. Sounds obvious enough? You’d be surprised how many tend not to do just that. How will I know? Read what your trainer says…
4. Don’t ever miss a pull. Each pull represents future talent and I would rather sacrifice a 6 star 17+ year old untrained player than miss a pull.
5. If possible, don’t go for keeper trainees. Sad to say, you only get to train 1 candidate until his promotion which seems to me as a waste of resources. Having written that, if you have a strong candidate i.e. a young 15 year old 6 star keeper, this could mean that the returns from promotion would be excellent!
6. Do experiment with the new ME features. The YA has incorporated conditional substitutions into the game which are interesting to say the least. Better to learn now than later if you ask me.
7. Do maintain focus on training. If you are training defenders, then make sure the secondary focus is related i.e. passing, playmaking, wing. There is no point trying to train more than 1 key position and alternating is rarely a good thing. Your decision should be based on the best possible potentials in your team – i.e. based on ratings AND age!
8. Do manage your scouts focus. If you are already on a playmaking training regime, have your scouts look specifically for midfielders. It won’t always work, but will increase your chances of getting more trainees.
9. Do try your candidates in different positions. You need to know where they are strongest at. However, if you are focusing on one training regiment, experimenting should revolve around that discipline. You could use the friendly matches as a means to test since the training impact/loss is minimal.
10. Related to point 9 – don’t miss out on a training match.
OK, I realize that it’s still no guarantee. I mean when Angelina Jolie says she likes a man with a sense of humor, I still don’t rank myself as a potential dream guy of hers. That said, with such improved odds, one can always dream…
