Training Guide

Outline:

1. Stuff That Matters

• What are CA and PA
• How to increase CA
• Training Categories
  
• The purpose of the training schedule
• Managing workload and training workload
• Preferred Moves
• Tutoring
  

2. Dispelling the Myths

• 7 star coaching
• Coach mental attributes
• Playing time
• Training intensity
  

3. Optimizing Schedules


Section 1 - Stuff That Matters

1.1 - What are CA and PA

CA and PA are normally hidden attributes on a scale of 1-200 that represent Current Ability and Potential Ability. Every player has a PA attribute that is fixed and will not change throughout his lifetime without the use of an editor. A player's CA will increase as he matures toward his playing peak. This varies somewhat by position. For most outfield players, CA will stop increasing at age 30 and begin to decrease. Physical attributes are the first to decline due to aging.

It's somewhat forgivable to think of CA and PA as "how good a player is" and "how good a player can become", but it's really not that simple. Not every player will reach their potential. The ability to reach a player's potential is based on many things, most important of which is probably age. Additionally the attributes of Determination, Ambition, Professionalism and Work Rate all factor in, as does your club's training facilities, your coaches, and some amount of luck with injuries. I'll go into more details on this in the section on increasing CA.

It's also too simple to use CA as a judge of a player's worth. Many attributes are not advantageous to particular position or tactics. Having a striker with high tackling or a center back with a high crossing skill probably doesn't contribute to their match performance, yet it still counts against their CA. There are also some attributes which don't seem to be factored into CA, yet certainly have an affect on performance. I'll try to find more details on this later. Additionally your match tactics will determine how effective a player can be in your team. If you play a counter-attacking style for example, you'll find midfielders with high passing and forwards with a lot of pace far more effective than slower forwards and quicker midfielders with the same CA or even with the same positional ratings.

1.2 - How to increase CA

1.3 - Training Categories

1.4 - The purpose of the training schedule

1.5 - Managing workload and training workload

1.6 - Preferred Moves

1.7 - Tutoring


False Assumptions:

- 7 star training will make your players train faster.
- Training facilities and coaches have a lot to do with how quickly a player progresses.
- A reserve or youth game is roughly equal to a first team game, it's appearances that matter.

References:
1 - http://cmfrenzy.com/football_manager_2009/football_manager_2009_guides/insights_into_current_ability_and_potential_ability.html