Q about Potential Ability (fluctuating star ratings)

[TakedaLegout]

I did a search and saw discussion on some of my questions but no answers. I have 3 questions regarding potential ability stars:
1. If potential ability star ratings go down, can they ever go back up while on your team? I've picked up some young kids with 4 star potential and over a season or two I have watched their star rating fall to 3 or 2.5. Is that permanent?
2. If I get a player with like 2 stars and play them all the time while they are around 20 years old, will the 2 ever go higher? In other words, is there any incentive to playing someone with low potential star ratings or are they just a waste of time when you could be playing people with higher potential?
3. The last question is related to the others. If an injury lowers the potential for a player, is that permanent?

I have a fairly big roster and have noticed that not playing some players a lot really lowers their potential and I eventually just trade or release them but I would love to know that I could get their potential back up just by playing them a lot some day.

 

[Jake]

The star ratings are your coaches/assistants opinions on a player compared to your current squad. So a 5 star player at Plymouth will probably only be 2-3 stars at Man Utd.

The ratings are a current opinion too. If a player has been injured/out of form/training badly then their star rating is likely to go down, similarly if they are playing well, it is likely to increase. If your squads overall quality improves (ie big name signings, existing players reaching their potential and/or hitting top form) then the star ratings of some players may fall.

To put it simply, if you were to give your squad a rating of 7/10 when you acquired these 4 star youngsters, but now your squad is a 9 or 10/10 then these youngsters won't be rated as highly.

It is usually unlikely to see a large increase in a players star rating unless you acquired them while they were injured/badly out of form. So a 2 star player probably won't turn into a world beater just because you keep playing him in matches. Their star rating may increase if the overall talent of your squad declines though.

A long term injury can stunt a players growth, if the player has high mental attributes, particularly determination, it is still possible for him to reach his full potential even if he suffers a bad injury.

Young players need the correct mix of high quality training facilities and coaches, tutoring and first team game time. If you leave a player in the reserves too long without giving him competitive action, he is likely to never reach his potential.

 

[TakedaLegout]

Jake - thanks. wow. that was an extremely valuable answer and explains so much of what I have experienced. My board recently greatly upped my payroll budget so I went and got a few studs and now understand why some of my other players who used to rank so high now are a full star or so down. Thanks again, I was not expecting such an all-encompassing answer!

 

[Jake]

That's why us staff members are here mate, i know so much about FM that it's probably not healthy!

Glad i could help.