Subject: What do you think?

My top striker was injured in my latest match, so he's not going to get any training for the rest of the season. He's +3 in striker and +4 in pace. Should I sell him now, while he's got a +24 injury, at the turn of the season when everyone's got their end of season bonuses, or finish training him in pace at the beginning of next season to get him up to incredible?

Kurt Leffew, age: 23
value: 478 000 $, wage: 4 000 $
club: Saia`s Strikers, country: USA
divine form, incredible tactical discipline
bookings: injury: (22 days)

formidable stamina, hopeless keeper
outstanding pace, very good defender
excellent technique, adequate playmaker
unsatisfactory passing, formidable striker

I would definitely wait, unless you put in a minimum bid on him , someone will probably get a bargain as he is of no help now. He will net a lot more next year when the teams get bonuses. His effective training age (due to the injury) is pretty much over.

Wait. The transfer market slwos at the end of the season, and someone who is willing to buy an old 23 will buy a 24.

Look, I'm even going to offer my helpful advice here :)

Totally keep him. It seems to me you'd be better served getting him both the pace and striker pop for that matter.

24 is still a fine age to sell, especially if its the first half of the season. After 24 is where the dropoff seems to really kick in.
(edited)

what they said.

Lies, I have a 29 yr old defender and he popped in pace and defense this past week. He hasn't lost his touch at all.

There's a significant decrease in the rate of training as you get older. it's pretty bad at 23 and 24.

Don't be silly, people actually may read your note there and think they can train old players and be successful. :)

Edit: Btw, pace and stamina are the only skills in which i wouldn't SCREAM at a mentee if they had an older player being trained. For obvious reasons.

Anyone below a-league who has trainee slots taken by players above age 23 (22 preferably, even 20 for the most part for C-league) is SEVERELY underestimating the importance of training.
(edited)

Yes, a 29 year old can pop, but it may take 2 seasons for that to happen.

If that is what you think then sure, I'm not trying to do anything that would hamper other teams by putting out false information or anything. But what works for me since june 2005, I'm not going to change. I can tell you right now, Catlett has popped +5 in the last 2 seasons at age 28-29. But i'll just not talk.

I don't think you're purposefully giving out bad information. But i also don't have a single trainee who hasn't popped at least 6 times in ONE season.

Again, training pace you may HAVE to keep older players. Besides that, to be successful with improving your team more than marginally (and outpacing other teams who are training less) you need to be aggressive with training talented kids of whatever level you can afford.

Looking at Catlett's game ratings does not look like he has improved too much. Any other skills popped or declined?

Agreed!

I also believe you also MUST be conscious of the balance between player performance and economic value. When a trainee is slowing down his training pace, and when his age dictates decreasing improvement (or even reduction) in sale value, then you dump the player and buy a new trainee.

Of course, I'm obsessed with age. I don't have a single starter older than 23. My ONLY player older than 23 is my 28 year old keeper, and he ONLY plays during US Cup matches that I can easily win without playing my stud 21 year old goalie.

I don't train pace or stamina.
George Catlett, age 29
value: 224 000 $, wage: 2 625 $
tragic form
bookings:
poor stamina,
very good pace,
excellent technique,
unsatisfactory passing,
tragic keeper
excellent defender
good playmaker
average striker

it's quite possible to train a 29 year old slooooowly, i don't think anyone shoudl refute that. Of course any gains will be lost the next year or two even in the stat you're training. Then there's also all the other stats that start falling.

And the point is, if that training was done on someone younger and talented, you'd be MUCH better off in the long run.

I totally agree with what you said. Catlett doesn't put up the ratings like he should but he is always at the right spot and the right time. He has divine TD just like my other 27+ yr old players and they out perform my younger players on the field hands down.