Players in different positions

Hey guys, have you ever tried to train a player in a position which he is ineffectual up to accomplished or even natural? I started Real Madrid (as I was pissed off by Mourinho and what he was doing to Spanish football LOL) yesterday and now in my second season. I had a chance to buy Javier Pastore with a very low asking price so I grabbed the opportunity. As of now my central mids are jam packed and what I need is support in the flanks. So I looked at his attributes and I saw his potential to be a very good winger. But the problem is he is ineffectual at both flanks. Nevertheless, I gave it a try in the preseason, putting him to a position training as AMR, and played him right wing in the friendlies and it was promising.

Have you ever tried and succeeded/failed with this kind of thing? Is it worth it?

Yes it's possible to train a player up to natural in a position as long as he plays regularly in that position, it will likely take 2-3 years but it's worth it to get the best out of your players. Unfortunately the player will lose his natural rating in that position if you stop the training and play him in a different position.

# Evo : Yes it's possible to train a player up to natural in a position as long as he plays regularly in that position, it will likely take 2-3 years but it's worth it to get the best out of your players. Unfortunately the player will lose his natural rating in that position if you stop the training and play him in a different position.

also can loose his accomplished rating as well. which is unrealistic, you expect many pro footballers to be versatile. obviously many aren't that versatile at all. but most footballers can play positions that they aren't used to playing, if the duties are the right duties. like an attacking CM can often start playing on the wings because his duties don't change too much. and they can adapt quite well because of the training and tactical learning.

but in the game if a player is versatile he will easily learn a new position and hold onto it.

To be honest i have never tried to train anyone in a new position and after reading above i would ask - is it really worth it?

It's well worth it if you have a player who is far better suited to a new position.

It might be possible for a player to hold that position if he's been trained to natural for a few years but so far I've had two players who were at natural for 2 years and after I played them in different positions (to see if the natural would hold) they lost it after 6 months.

Some examples of players I have successfully retrained to new positions, they are now all naturals in these positions having previously had no skill there and are also first choice for club and country in these new positions.

Rui Henriques - Retrained to DR previously D/DM/MC.
This lad deserved promotion into the first team after becoming too old for the under 19s but I wasn't happy with his passing attribute for a central midfield position, he quickly retrained to DR and became first choice in this position for Partick and Portugal.


Jan Pikl - Retrained to MR previously M/AMC.
Broke into the first team at 18 due to injuries in central midfield, his performances, ability and the progress he'd made warranted a place in the first team squad but his physical attributes were best suited to playing on the wing, 5 years later and he is first choice MR for club and country and Czech Player of the Year runner up.


Jaud Kabasele - Retrained to ML previously ST.
Moved into the first team along with a couple of other promising young strikers, we had too many but wanted to keep them all, Kabasele seemed suited to playing as a winger and although he took a while to retrain he quickly became first choice at ML for Partick and France. He is currently the World Player of the Year, Midfielder of the Year and French Player of the Year.

Wow Evo, some really fantastic regens there! And I am actually surprised how quickly quality players come through in FM 2011 - I'm second season with Maidenhead (BSP) and I have a young striker and midfielder who look the goods.

These questions may seem self explanatory, but if you could indulge me:

1. Are these all developed out of your academy?
2. What are your training facilities/youth setup like?
3. What type of coaches do you have, is it 5 star in all areas?
4. In your opinion, it is a function of the hidden attribute "versatility" which helps to retrain and develop a new position so quickly.

And well done.....I am in awe of the talent.

# Evo : Yes it's possible to train a player up to natural in a position as long as he plays regularly in that position, it will likely take 2-3 years but it's worth it to get the best out of your players. Unfortunately the player will lose his natural rating in that position if you stop the training and play him in a different position.

True story. I have tried training many players with very good results. Two most noticeable changes i think, were making Gabriel Obertan and Adelino Vieirinha natural AMC after placing them there 2-3 seasons

@ Kiwi

1. I found all these players when they were 16/17 and poached them from their home clubs.
2. My facilities are top now but I think they were average - good when I first signed these players.
3. 4.5 stars in all areas with the occasional 5, or 4 after some team poaches my coaches. (happening a lot at the moment)
4. Versatility does affect how quickly a player will retrain, playing games in the new position also speeds it up. You can set a player to learn a new position at the beginning of one season and in most cases they'll be "accomplished" by the beginning of next season.

Also would like to add that ambition and professionalism are absolute key to player development.

Thanks for the insight Evo - I've got a long way to go before I can think about it, but it all adds to the template.

First; win some games;
then: get promoted to the stage where you can attract great calibre players and staff;
And then: upgrade facilities;
And then: get some playroom staff;
And then: Find some 16/17 yo that I want to pay for. am willing to pay compensation to ummm, help me out here. want to place in my U-18 side so that they may grow and learn and become great.

There, that should keep me busy for the next twenty or so years. Ironic that my story thread is "The Next United." Can I keep the desire going to last 25-30 years in game terms.

Off topic, how long is the longest anyone has kept the motivation going in terms of a single game, can be across multiple teams, although I am not a fan of it myself - and I can't actually think why.

13 is my best so far with Partick Thistle, done the quadruple three times, domestic treble about 5 times and whats been keeping me going is knowing that the current set of hot prospects are going to be even better than my current first teamers, also the challenge of making Scotland one of the best leagues, stuck at 7th now though for 4 seasons and the other Scottish teams are terrible

24 years for me, with the same team, might have continued more but I decided to try a different approach to the game.

I think all of my games have only lasted at most five years, I took Wycombe to the verge of EPL on FM06 and managed a multitude of different clubs and leagues in Scotland, Russia and A League (which I also found to be horrid, very little scope to keep you motivated; I couldn't get an English job off the back of my success, nor could I get a national job...I learned a lesson about league loading. Is why I am excited about prospects for FM12 and the ability to load leagues as and when.

The America league confused me (and still does) and I had a lot of problems with game crashes, which tended to lessen my motivation to play.

I must say that FM11 appears far more stable than it's predecessors, and it has coped with a season end well, whereas with FM06, 2006 was a World Cup year, so the season end chewed through the CPU power.