
In particular you should look at a player’s attribute ratings and traits. Therefore, it is necessary to assess your players in more detail. Furthermore, they do not tell you how a player could be used effectively as part of a tactic. Assessing Each Player in DetailĬurrent ability star ratings, even those adjusted for positional abilities and even when given by high quality coaches, are only an indication of how well a player will perform and they do not take into account all of the factors that affect player performance. However, it is advisable to try to select players in playing positions where they are either natural or accomplished, unless your team selection is severely restricted or you have a good tactical reason for using players out of position.

In general, you will want your players to be at least competent in any playing position that they regularly play in. In addition, a player’s performance in a central playing position may be affected by his preferred side, which can be seen by hovering over the playing position on his Information screen. The better a player’s positional ability in a position, the better his decision making will be when he is selected in that playing position. Ineffectual – red (not shown on a player’s Information screen).

This is why players can have different ability star ratings in different playing positions, as shown on the Squad Depth tab and on each player’s Coach Report – they are the ability star ratings adjusted according to positional ability. It is not determined by his attributes, but is instead a separate quality that affects how well he performs when selected in the playing position. A player’s positional ability in a particular playing position indicates how comfortable he is in that playing position. You will also want to establish which playing positions your players can play in, since many players can perform well in more than just their one best playing position that is shown on the Reports view on the Players screen.Įach player has a positional ability for each available playing position on the pitch. If a different member of your coaching staff has a higher Judging Player Ability attribute then you can look at his star ratings for your players by selecting the coach when on the Squad Depth tab or when on each individual player’s Coach Report on the player’s Reports tab.Ĭurrent ability and ability star ratings are explained in more detail in the Player Ability guide. You may want to sign an assistant who can judge ability better, but he will need time to build up his knowledge of your players. However, the accuracy of these ratings is dependent on your coach’s Judging Player Ability staff attribute and his Knowledge of Club Players backroom advice bar, which can be viewed on the Profile and Information sections of his Overview tab (you will need to go to the Staff screen where you can select his name). (Player roles will be discussed later in the Roles & Duties guide).

At this stage you are only concerned with the star ratings for current ability in a given playing position, rather than potential ability or current ability in a role. You will see ability star ratings for each of your players as determined by one of your coaches (your assistant manager if you are on the Players screen and have an assistant employed). The former view enables a quicker assessment as it allows you to order your players by ability as well as showing you each player’s best playing position.

To easily gain an idea of which players these are, you can go to the Players tab on the Squad screen and select the Reports view, or alternatively you can go to the Squad Depth tab. You should assess all of the players in your senior squad, but your main focus can be on a select few players who are likely to be the most important to your team your key players. Next, you can begin to look in more detail at the individual players in your squad.
