retired_marcias

I'm all for the old adage that if they're good enough they're old enough. I have been known to play 14 year olds in my team, though admittedly not as a regular starter, usually just in the odd game if I'm stretched or something.

retired_sandra

I go by the addage "if you're good enough, you're old enough."

Evident by one game where I had a 19 year old who had played over 100 games for my club. :thup:

retired_mie85

Aye, you can't win anything with kids.

Hmmmm, where have I heard that before?

Neverthelsess, all I care is for the welfare of the club. I could be using and entire team of 10-year-olds, as long as they 're playing good. The use and abuse theory really comes into play here.

retired_holden

I tend to throw kids into first team football about 19-20, which is probably a bit young but, if they're good enough they're old enough for lower league football. I'd be more cautious at a bigger club, and probably wouldn't have to play them cos I'd have a larger squad.

Speaking of which has anyone who got a youth academy after the game started actually got any players out of it? (03/04, 4.1.4)

bodymassindicator

*editing out infopoop's jolly hickups*

bodymassindicator

Yes, plenty of times. Usually rubbish players of course.

retired_priyaa_00

What about Keepers?

I've just been lucky enough to pick up a really good 19 year old french keeper for nothwich vics in my current save.

All the coaches rate him as my best, and he had a 1 in 3 clean sheet record, but I can't help thinking that he is to young to play every game.

creative36

Well, in my Brazilian save - which has just been abandoned - I managed to pick up a couple of decent-looking GKs for free. In fact, in that game I was playing anyone who looked likely to be useful: be they 19, 18, 17, 16, 15 or 14.

retired_jmeshew

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by old fat bald guy:
Hello, fellow Yank who is named after a character in the greatest sports movie ever made.

Another thing teams do IRL is use inconsequential matches for trial and error. Manchester United, just to pick one example, will often use the League Cup to look at younguns, because Man U doesn't really care about the League Cup and it offers a chance to see how this kid or that kid stacks up against a Second Division side that is playing a match that matters very much to them.

This might have LLM applications, depending on where you're playing. In England an LLM team can be in as many as four cups, and you have to prioritize them according to your goals for the season, so you can try the kids in the one you care least about.

Don't be afraid of trial-and-error. The kids aren't _that_ fragile.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Who says you can't put a bounty on man's head?

I am playing in Scottish league right now (well I always play there), and although the opinion of many on this forum is that cups are ****e, I look at them as cash flow generators. Therefore I go all out to try and get a good run. Even though they don't make me too much, every penny counts.

What I like to do is keep the reserves scheduled up with pleny of friendlies because depending on squad size (and I keep my reserve fairly small if possible) the U19s get used in these as well. Keeps them match fit, but I am having trouble finding matches that I can afford to lose just to play some kids .

retired_jmeshew

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by jraldous:

Speaking of which has anyone who got a youth academy after the game started actually got any players out of it? (03/04, 4.1.4)<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

In my current Stranraer game, I have gotten three promising youths over the past three seasons, something that in previous games never happened. Luck of the draw I guess. One was an unsporting type who I sold for £50k to a English 3rd division team, one is new- 15 yrs old- with better stats than 75% of my first team, and one is out on loan in North Ireland at age 18. I guess I better enjoy it because I might not see a good youth from Stranraer for another decade .

One thing I noticed about promising youths and wages, and one which bears on how I like to use them- it seems to me that the more first team you give them, the more money they want at contract time.