How Players Develop
Just like in real life, training your players is an art, not an exact science. As a manager, you can choose training regimes to guide the improvement of your players, but many hidden variables will affect how each player improves through training.
Training Basics
Training is measured in Training Intensity, better known as TI, and one point of TI equals 0.1 skill point. Each of your players has a Training Intensity graph on his player profile which shows you his training progress. You cannot see the TI graphs of players not on your team.
Talent Based Training
Each player's Training Intensity is determined by two variables: His hidden talent skill and his age. Talent determines the base training of a player. Base training is how well a player trains from age 16 to 26 (see fig. 1 bubble 1). During this period of time the player's TI gradually drops towards the minimum limit of TI 1. When players turn 27 their TI drops to 1 (fig.1 bubble 2). From age 28 and onwards player skills begin to deteriorate, with increasing speed for every year that passes. A 34 year old player will lose skill points more quickly than a 28 year old player.
Players don't improve in a straight path: sometimes they get better by leaps and bounds. This is simulated in TM through a so-called training Bloom. When a player blooms, he will experience a three-season boost to his training. This may account for up to 90% of his total potential. Generally, players begin to bloom between ages 20-23, but can bloom anytime between age 16 and 27. The Bloom TI is not in any way affected by age, and thus a late bloomer (around age 27) may, on rare occasions, suddenly rise from TI 1 to TI 25.
Late bloomers will generally have a higher base TI than early bloomers. Early bloomers will generally have a higher bloom TI than late bloomers. This narrows the difference between the two, so late bloomers should be playable at age 24, even though they are just starting to bloom.
Allocation of TI
The TI of your players is converted into skill points using a hill-shaped allocation method, as shown in the table below.
This means that improving the weak spots of your players is far easier than achieving excellence in a few skills. As most skills are used by most players in TM, we recommend that you improve the entire range of skills suiting their FP.
Unique Player Profiles
Naturally, some players are better suited to certain playing styles than others. In TM, every player has his own unique development profile. Through training regimes, you control only some of a players' training, while the remaining TI is assigned in accordance with the player's unique profile. Each unique profile is suited to the FP of the player.
The Specialist Skill
No matter what his coaches may have decided, Ronald Koeman was always going to kick ass with his ranged drives. To simulate this in TM, each player is assigned a random specialist skill, in which he naturally excels. A lucky forward with the "FC" favourite position might get "finishing" as his specialty, an unlucky one might get "marking". That is to say a player's specialist skill may not suit his FP, but all players use all skills in every match. Even a forward with good marking, tackling and work rate has his use, as his good organizational skills will enhance the pressure your team is able to pile on your opponents. As a rule of thumb all players use all skills to some extend.
Skill Peaks
Just as in real life, each player's skills peak at a certain plateau. This is simulated in TM by assigning each player 3 built-in skill peaks, one each for tactical, technical and physical skills. These (hidden) peaks determine how much talent is assigned to certain player skills. The Physical peak governs strength, stamina, pace and heading. The tactical peak governs marking, tackling, work rate and positioning. The technical peak governs passing, crossing, technique, finishing, long shots and set pieces.
A player is said to have "reached his peak" when he stops improving in all of the skills governed by a specific peak. When this happens, he will not improve these skills any further. If you are still training peaked skills, the training points assigned to these skills will be randomly reassigned to other skills, so training is not wasted. Players may, by random chance, improve skills in which they have peaked, but this is highly unlikely.
Teen Training
There are also special circumstances connected to the training of teen players, meaning players aged 16-18, with both 16 and 18 fully included. During these years, your youngsters develop from boys to men and from youths to pro footballers gaining the physical robustness and skill needed to succeed in pro football.
From age 16 to 18 youth players get their base (not bloom) TI doubled. This means that youth players receive at least a third of their total career skill points in this period, and that TI may range from 15 to 55 (!), if the player blooms in his teens. All players aged 16-18 receive double training no matter how they were generated. It is simply so that players receive a larger part of their career skill points at an early age.
Teen Physique
During their teens, your younger lads will develop an adult physique. This means that a larger part of their doubled TI goes to improving their physical skills. You cannot control this development. All you can do is make your contribution to players' development by choosing appropriate training regimes, physical or not, as you prefer. Your players won't benefit more from physical training regimes in their teens either. The extra physical development simply reflects the player growing from teen to man independent of your training effort.
Trust in Your Scouts
When you draft new talent from your youth development onto your first team squad, have faith in your young players. The assessment given by your scouts when the player is drafted sums up all the skill the player is likely to acquire in his entire career. Look to the assessment and the player's starting skills to make up your mind about a player. If his skill profile stands out compared to the others and his assessment is ok, or good or even super, be sure to move him on up to the first team. He may not bloat with TI from day one, but if your gut feeling and scout assessment is good, you need to cut the player several seasons of slack: Remember that early bloomers get less base training, so if his training is appalling he may suddenly receive an extreme bloom. He may also be a late bloomer, in which case he may be useless at 21, but world class at 26. Players are generally full-grown when they reach 22, except for the odd few late bloomers. If a player has good start skills and assessment you shouldn't kick him until you've seen him at age 22. Firing is silver, patience is gold in TM youth development work.
Just like in real life, training your players is an art, not an exact science. As a manager, you can choose training regimes to guide the improvement of your players, but many hidden variables will affect how each player improves through training.
Training Basics
Training is measured in Training Intensity, better known as TI, and one point of TI equals 0.1 skill point. Each of your players has a Training Intensity graph on his player profile which shows you his training progress. You cannot see the TI graphs of players not on your team.
Talent Based Training
Each player's Training Intensity is determined by two variables: His hidden talent skill and his age. Talent determines the base training of a player. Base training is how well a player trains from age 16 to 26 (see fig. 1 bubble 1). During this period of time the player's TI gradually drops towards the minimum limit of TI 1. When players turn 27 their TI drops to 1 (fig.1 bubble 2). From age 28 and onwards player skills begin to deteriorate, with increasing speed for every year that passes. A 34 year old player will lose skill points more quickly than a 28 year old player.
The Life of a Player
The graph above (fig. 1) shows the lifespan TI of a TM player. The x-axis shows player age, while the y-axis shows his average weekly TI that year. The middle blue area marked "1" is the base TI of the player. The base TI is dealt out from age 16 to 26. After age 26 all players have a base training of TI 1 (the dark blue area marked "2". The graph has two "blooming" scenarios in it: The two brown blobs of 3a and 3b. A player can only have either bloom 3a OR bloom 3b - not both. If a player blooms early (3a) his skill development will look like this:
Notice that he has almost developed to his full potential by age 19. On the contrary a late bloomer (3b) has lots of skill development in store for his mid-twenties:
The graph also illustrates that the bloom has a huge bearing on when a player is fully developed. At least 30% of a player's training potential is saved for his bloom, and more is assigned the earlier he blooms. Late bloomers have more base TI and less bloom TI, to make them usable earlier. Early bloomers have more bloom TI and less base TI for the same reason.
BloomingThe graph above (fig. 1) shows the lifespan TI of a TM player. The x-axis shows player age, while the y-axis shows his average weekly TI that year. The middle blue area marked "1" is the base TI of the player. The base TI is dealt out from age 16 to 26. After age 26 all players have a base training of TI 1 (the dark blue area marked "2". The graph has two "blooming" scenarios in it: The two brown blobs of 3a and 3b. A player can only have either bloom 3a OR bloom 3b - not both. If a player blooms early (3a) his skill development will look like this:
Notice that he has almost developed to his full potential by age 19. On the contrary a late bloomer (3b) has lots of skill development in store for his mid-twenties:
The graph also illustrates that the bloom has a huge bearing on when a player is fully developed. At least 30% of a player's training potential is saved for his bloom, and more is assigned the earlier he blooms. Late bloomers have more base TI and less bloom TI, to make them usable earlier. Early bloomers have more bloom TI and less base TI for the same reason.
Players don't improve in a straight path: sometimes they get better by leaps and bounds. This is simulated in TM through a so-called training Bloom. When a player blooms, he will experience a three-season boost to his training. This may account for up to 90% of his total potential. Generally, players begin to bloom between ages 20-23, but can bloom anytime between age 16 and 27. The Bloom TI is not in any way affected by age, and thus a late bloomer (around age 27) may, on rare occasions, suddenly rise from TI 1 to TI 25.
Late bloomers will generally have a higher base TI than early bloomers. Early bloomers will generally have a higher bloom TI than late bloomers. This narrows the difference between the two, so late bloomers should be playable at age 24, even though they are just starting to bloom.
Allocation of TI
The TI of your players is converted into skill points using a hill-shaped allocation method, as shown in the table below.
| Skill Level | Skill per TI |
|---|---|
| 1.0-5.0 | 1.2 |
| 5.1-14.9 | 1.0 |
| 15.0-17.9 | 0.5 |
| 18.0-20.0 | 0.4 |
Unique Player Profiles
Naturally, some players are better suited to certain playing styles than others. In TM, every player has his own unique development profile. Through training regimes, you control only some of a players' training, while the remaining TI is assigned in accordance with the player's unique profile. Each unique profile is suited to the FP of the player.
The Specialist Skill
No matter what his coaches may have decided, Ronald Koeman was always going to kick ass with his ranged drives. To simulate this in TM, each player is assigned a random specialist skill, in which he naturally excels. A lucky forward with the "FC" favourite position might get "finishing" as his specialty, an unlucky one might get "marking". That is to say a player's specialist skill may not suit his FP, but all players use all skills in every match. Even a forward with good marking, tackling and work rate has his use, as his good organizational skills will enhance the pressure your team is able to pile on your opponents. As a rule of thumb all players use all skills to some extend.
Skill Peaks
Just as in real life, each player's skills peak at a certain plateau. This is simulated in TM by assigning each player 3 built-in skill peaks, one each for tactical, technical and physical skills. These (hidden) peaks determine how much talent is assigned to certain player skills. The Physical peak governs strength, stamina, pace and heading. The tactical peak governs marking, tackling, work rate and positioning. The technical peak governs passing, crossing, technique, finishing, long shots and set pieces.
A player is said to have "reached his peak" when he stops improving in all of the skills governed by a specific peak. When this happens, he will not improve these skills any further. If you are still training peaked skills, the training points assigned to these skills will be randomly reassigned to other skills, so training is not wasted. Players may, by random chance, improve skills in which they have peaked, but this is highly unlikely.
Teen Training
There are also special circumstances connected to the training of teen players, meaning players aged 16-18, with both 16 and 18 fully included. During these years, your youngsters develop from boys to men and from youths to pro footballers gaining the physical robustness and skill needed to succeed in pro football.
From age 16 to 18 youth players get their base (not bloom) TI doubled. This means that youth players receive at least a third of their total career skill points in this period, and that TI may range from 15 to 55 (!), if the player blooms in his teens. All players aged 16-18 receive double training no matter how they were generated. It is simply so that players receive a larger part of their career skill points at an early age.
Teen Physique
During their teens, your younger lads will develop an adult physique. This means that a larger part of their doubled TI goes to improving their physical skills. You cannot control this development. All you can do is make your contribution to players' development by choosing appropriate training regimes, physical or not, as you prefer. Your players won't benefit more from physical training regimes in their teens either. The extra physical development simply reflects the player growing from teen to man independent of your training effort.
Trust in Your Scouts
When you draft new talent from your youth development onto your first team squad, have faith in your young players. The assessment given by your scouts when the player is drafted sums up all the skill the player is likely to acquire in his entire career. Look to the assessment and the player's starting skills to make up your mind about a player. If his skill profile stands out compared to the others and his assessment is ok, or good or even super, be sure to move him on up to the first team. He may not bloat with TI from day one, but if your gut feeling and scout assessment is good, you need to cut the player several seasons of slack: Remember that early bloomers get less base training, so if his training is appalling he may suddenly receive an extreme bloom. He may also be a late bloomer, in which case he may be useless at 21, but world class at 26. Players are generally full-grown when they reach 22, except for the odd few late bloomers. If a player has good start skills and assessment you shouldn't kick him until you've seen him at age 22. Firing is silver, patience is gold in TM youth development work.