retired_prusha

I haven't got the new game yet, & will probably wait until it has been fully patched as I like to keep the one game once I start.

One of the disappointing features of the last few games in the series has been the lack of youth players coming throught your ranks, particularly in the lower leagues, but one of the more interesting features in the new game is the way you can sign up any of your grey players as youth players if you want too. I would be interested to hear from the people here on how well this working in the game, & are the players better, worse or similar to the youth players in ability. I was going to miss this version out, as I am a slow player & enjoy FM 2005, but if this is working well I will most likely buy it, as the lack of youth players coming through is an annoyance.

retired_tinkfaeree

Lots are crap, some can help you, at least over the short term. Like with youth players.

retired_arthur2882

I havn't signed a single one of these players yet, mainly due to the fact that every one I have looked at has been pretty much awful. Maybe they are of a better quality in big teams, but at the minute they are just as bad (if not worse) than the youth players I get through with Accrington.

Having said that, I rarely check the grey players in my Under-19's, so it's a feature I've pretty much overlooked. I'm gonna check every so often now, in the hope of unearthing a rare gem.

retired_mommy1

depends on how good the youth facilities are at the club. At lincoln, my youth team has always been quite good and i have a few youngens coming through.

but at stafford rangers, they're all useless! But it is a good feature, as on the last game some of the best players attribyte wise were the greyed out ones.

retired_mrsjb

I was a bit upset about Grey Players at the end of my first season. Both my real keepers were out, so I gave this half decent Grey Chap a go in our meaningless last game. He had a blinder. I wanted to sign him up, but he vanished into thin air as soon as I left the match screen

retired_prusha

The main reason I'm interested, is the lack of youth players coming through. Is there more in the new game, or is it similar as before? Also, if you select the grey players, are their stats what they had previously, or do they gain different ones once signed. I'm not trying to have an opportunity to sign superstars, but just to have a stream of what mostly should be low quality players, with the chance now & again of discovering a gem.

Thanks for the quick replies though. It certainly looks promising.

retired_tinkfaeree

To me it seems they were still the same. I usually don't look too much on stats though. I see youth players who get promoted as big talents (for your squad) who should get special treatment. Gray players are the average youth players. Some of them might be even better than the talents, but with much less room to improve.

retired_mommy1

the stats of mine went up big time, so i sold him

he's now in the man u reserves. So they can be good, but most are awful. You get alot of new kids being promoted form the youth academy aswell. Most of them are also appaulingly bad, but it's fun ruining their dreams by getting rid at the end of the year

retired_prusha

That sounds like how it should be, & if implemented properly throughout the game, could make it a big improvement for LLM. It always annoyed me that you had to get your scouts to search for youth players in the game, when lowly small sides would in reality sign up local players from youth teams in the surrounding area.

retired_prusha

Does it depend on the database you choose, in how many players come through. Because in FM 2005, none came through for lower league sides (certainly not in Northern Ireland), unless you were playing with the hugh database.