Welcome to part 3 of my Charlton Athletic save on Football Manager 2016. So far you have been introduced to the new staff and 5 of the key players for the season ahead. Today we will be looking at 5 potential stars of tomorrow who I will be looking to develop towards the first team this season. Developing prospects can prove a challenge in Football Manager, at least for me, as I am always looking to get the best result and prospects are not necessarily up to the level of my first team players which can put me at a disadvantage. My strategy for developing prospects is threefold:
1. Good coaching, which hopefully has been covered in the "Meet The Staff" article
2. Good tutoring, if a professional first team player can take a prospect under their wing then hopefully they will be able to pass on a wealth of experience and professionalism to the younger player.
3. First team football. Either at my club or out on loan.
With this in mind let's introduce the prospects we will be looking at this season.
Morgan Fox
In real life Morgan has, allegedly, attracted the attention of clubs ranging from Ipswich to Manchester United and it is easy to see why. Not your usually nippy fullback, Morgan is more of a physical presence and offers many different benefits and mismatches you would not expect from your standard LB.
Long throws are one of the big things in Football Manager, and Fox has a decent starting attribute for this that should develop with some training and first team experience. Add on to this that he can be a physical threat in and around the box for freekicks and corners and you have the makings of a set piece legend. Finally, if he is unable to breakthrough at LB I expect that he could make a decent impact as a DM with some steady stats across the board, and less likely to see his lack of pace exposed.
Tareiq Holmes-Dennis
Next up is the first of our double-barreled surnames. Tareiq had a good season out on loan last year and can play in a number of positions. Additionally he starts the season as the first choice backup (I guess that's a thing!) to Chris Solly at RB.
His game is underpinned by his decent pace, tackling and work rate which will benefit him at the fullback position, but there is also the potential for him to move into midfield. At the start of the game his overall attributes are not necessarily that impressive for a Championship player, but the potential is there to reach greater heights and hopefully push on this season. I will probably look to get an experienced RB in to back up Chris Solly so that Tareiq can go out on loan and get a number of first team games under his belt before returning for the second half of the season where he can make an impact for our team.
At 19 there is still plenty of time for him to develop but it may be beneficial for him to spend the season focusing on a sole position and developing his skills there rather than trying to be a jack of all trades.
Regan Charles-Cook
With this in mind I don't expect Regan to become the first name on the teamsheet any time soon, but some time in and around the first team squad will do him the world of good. A few games for Charlton will be good for Regan and a loan later in the season should give him a decent run of first team football and a nice boost in attributes. Looking at the Charlton squad there are some very decent tutors for Regan in the team and I expect this will prove really beneficial for him. Hopefully, in a season or two, he will be able to make a much larger contribution to the team but I expect this to be a long term development project.
Karlan Ahearne-Grant
At the start of the game the likes of Swansea City are already interested in him and I have had to raise the price tag on him just to try and drive away the interest. A skillful, hardworking and fast striker, Karlan could probably do with working on some of the more mental aspects of the game. If we can find the right tutor for him this could be a really big season for Ahearne-Grant.
There are some more experienced strikers ahead of him when it comes to starting games, but I expect him to be starting up front during our League Cup campaign and making meaningful impacts off the bench. If he can pick up 5-10 goals in limited appearances I will be really happy. Karlan will not be on my loan list (although he starts the game on the list) as I expect him to develop a lot more in our first team than he would out on loan with someone else.
Ademola Lookman
Already there are some attributes to work with but as you would expect of any 17 year old the mental attributes need a lot of work. I envision Ademola contributing up front a lot more than on the wing, but as I use inside forwards instead of out and out wingers there is the opportunity for him to get some first team experience there (on the left wing we have a number of injuries so he is quite high up the pecking order to start the season).
If we can boost some of his attacking based attributes, finishing, composure, technique etc, then I expect he will become an appealing loan option for a lower division club and a decent run in the first team of a league one or two club will do him the world of good.
So there you have it, 5 prospects who I hope to see playing for Charlton in the future. Whether or not they make it we will find out over the next few seasons and I am sure it will be a roller-coaster ride! There may also be a few surprise packages who make an appearance along the way that I have missed off this initial list, but if they do turn up then they will get a mention.
Next up will be a review of the first half of the season. Will we be on our way to achieving our goals? Where will we be heading next? And who will we be targeting in the transfer windows? That's all coming up next on JonDoesGaming.com!
0 comments:
Post a Comment