How Fast Is Fast Enough?

How fast should your young players be?

How Fast Is Fast Enough

By now, you should know that Pace and Acceleration are the two most important attributes in all of Football Manager.

You should also know that the best way to assemble a strong team is to buy as many good young players as you can — preferably young players who have high potential and good personalities, players who are likely to develop well.

But how fast should they be?

You don’t want a bunch of players who are extremely slow. You want your players to start off with as much of an advantage as they possibly can get.

And yet you won’t find a lot of fast players who play defense. Most centerbacks and defensive midfielders are quite slow.

My recommendations are as follows:

When signing players who are 15 or 16 years old:

Attacking Players usually should have Pace and Acceleration ratings of at least 14 each. You can find players that young with ratings as high as 16, though it’s rare. Wingers especially tend to be very fast.

Midfielders will be relatively slow — especially defensive midfielders. You’ll be lucky to find any with Pace and Acceleration of over 12.

Center backs are almost as slow as the defensive midfielders. 12 or 13 are possible, though you should be willing to buy slower players if needs be.

Fullbacks can be found with Pace and Acceleration ratings of 13 or even 14 if you look. Stay away from slow fullbacks. There’s no need to have slow players at that position.

Goalkeepers are the only position where Pace and Acceleration doesn’t matter. Worry more about things like decision making, agility, and reflexes.

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