The Youth Team
Each team is assumed to have a youth squad, although you don’t actually get results from it nor have any control on its games and administration. The way the Youth Squad works is that it may allow you the discovery of a qualified APP if investment in it is adequate. What this means is that you can be rewarded by the appearance of a fully qualified, Level 2 APP player, without the need to play him in matches to work off his training period. This player will also stay on a free contract for the rest of the season, giving you a potentially first-class player without the problems of a first-class wage bill to go with him! (But it's going to cost money, think of half-a-million investment at least as a bench-mark).
Investment here can also provide benefits for the youngsters struggling to qualify and hold on to a first team place. By placing money in your Youth Squad, you are effectively providing better training and selection facilities for all your APP’s and SBY’s, and are more likely to discover something special amongst them.
In the actual game mechanics, this means that APP’s who qualify through normal methods might gain the advantages of becoming a specialist or Future Star [FUT]. Any money that is invested in this option is held as a cumulative amount from session to session, so even if you don’t invest for a session, and have done so in past sessions, there is still a chance that a player may be found, or APP’s qualifying may gain the benefit of becoming something special on discovery.
When placing investment into your YouthTeam, you will be required to specify a Name, Nationality and Position for any player that might appear. The position can be any one of the five standard positions (GK, SW, DF, MF or FW), and you may NOT ask for specialists or the like. Though this position is a preference, it is not always certain that you will find what you are looking for. The chances of finding exactly what you want are pretty good, with Keepers and Sweepers being somewhat more difficult to gain.
Please remember that you must give a Name, Nationality and Position on EVERY session after you have made an initial investment, as a player may appear at any time and without a Name and Nationality, any discovered player will be `lost’ - if you cannot pay attention to your youngsters, some other club will! There is a slight chance that the player you specify might turn into something rather special though, if you are very, very lucky indeed! Once a player is found from your Youth Team, the amount you have invested will be reduced by a set amount, based on the value of the player you have found. This reduction will also take place at the end of the session when the player is discovered, regardless of whether you have been lucky enough to gain anybenefit from it or not.
HINT - it is beneficial to have SOME investment in this option at all times.
See also…