retired_blondielovespink

I scout competitions due to the scouting issues in 03/04. But any players turned up by that aren't shortlisted until I have a scout give (at least one) specific recommendation.

So I'll use the competition list rating to get players to have the scouts do a "personal evaluation" of. My shortlist is still considerably less than anything I have in 01/02 (maybe 75 players, when I used to keep a 10-13 page list in 01/02).

retired_bethx

I am going with LFCfan on this one.

The divisional searches are open ended, the longer you keep the scout assigned, the more accurate the information returned.

This method is probably more powerful (provides information on more players) than national searches, but still does not give any guarantee of success.

Most managers and scouts would be aware of who the best players in a division are, that does not necessarily mean that a club can afford them, or they are compatible with the existing team style of play etc.

All players that attract a manager's interest would require further scouting to validate their potential.

The option is in the game, prior knowledge of players, and searches focusing on key attributes are boundaries that have not been crossed.

retired_mrsjb

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Humph3:
It was a good point that Kfool made a few posts back, when he wondered whether when you get a different assesment of a player when you specifically scout him to the one you get in the competitions.

I've never used the option, but I would guess that you will get the same report (especially if you use the same scout). In which case, the whole thing is too easy, and shouldn't be used IMO.

However, if say the competition report gave you an assesment of the who's generally thought to be hot in the division and who's not (not unrealistic, I think), but which is then modified when the scouts actually watch each player, that would be ok, I think.
.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I use individual scouting quite a bit. If my scouts bring back two young players that both look like they might do well and I can't afford both, I'll scout them individually to decide which to take. I always get a different report from the original recommendation. In the case of GKs it's always utter drivel, so I stopped doing that for GKs. Has anyone ever got a good report on a GK they scouted indivdually?

I still abstain from divisional searching because the number and speed of recommendations seem unrealistic to me. I suppose if I left the scout all season and only looked at the list at the end it might work though, as the scout might reasonably have a fair idea of that many players over a whole season.

retired_bethx

The individual scout report, as you would expect, provides more insight into the player, and provides feedback as to the suitability with regard to your team.

The individual scout report often is less flattering than the divisional scout, hence the requirement to double check. The divisional scout just provides a guide to who (in the scouts opinion) is playing well in a particular division. The divisional scout report is often updated, with player ratings changing frequently, so in effect you would be ill advised to go by this report until it has been in progress for two months or so to allow the ratings to settle.

The divisional scout makes no recommendations, he just grades players using the star system as employed by assistants/coaches etc.

I do agree that this method provides a lot of information, but its just that, information, open to interpretation, not a shopping list.

I guess this remains a grey area for the time being.