Chat (Pace)How to manage players with obvious weaknesses

[billy2shots]

We have already taken a look at stamina and how to work around a low rating in that area.

 

This time it's time to look at Pace.

 

Players with Physical stats have always dominated the game from as far back as I can remember. Whilst not quite as crucial as they were in the 00's they are still an important thing to consider when looking to use a player. Following stamina I consider pace to be the next most important physical attribute.

The big question, should you use a guy that would lose a 100m race against a tortoise, a player so slow that he can't even catch a cold?

 For this example I am going to presume you are managing a team from a high division or you intend to take your team there one day. Who wants to stay in the lower leagues forever right!

Before we try and answer that question we first must consider a crucial point. What is too slow?

SI have done much of the hard work for us and have colour coded the stats. Fast 15 and over green, Slow, under 10  Red. Everything else Blue which is considered average.
 

Time to talk pace, well lack of it

Should you use a player with a Red pace attribute?

Yes and No. I'm not helping too much am I. The answer is quite complex and I could literally spend all day arguing either way. To save even more boring paragraphs of text from me, it's probably easier if I list my opinions.

Yes you can get away with a red

A strong target man can get away with low pace as this is not essential for his role in the team.
Your player is a creative player and has high movement and decision stats.
If he is a defender don't play offside and consider playing defensive so there is no space behind your back line.
If a defender, don't press. A slow player will not get back into position quick enough
If you have a team full os speedsters then one slow guy in the right position can still work. 

No, don't use a red

A poacher and advanced forward rely on at least average pace to get into scoring positions. Don't accept a red for these roles
Wingers and INFs also rely on their pace so I wouldn't consider a red in these positions.
If your team instructions are set to counter attack the opposition. Pretty much all players need a turn of speed to counter opponents. 
Wing backs. A tricky one this one. Again I personally wouldn't use a red as he could get caught up field and be exploited when your attacking moves break down.

 

Training

Well trained youngsters can improve their pace stat a fair bit, I have taken a 16 year old with 12 for pace up to a high of 16. A lot of this is natural growth. When a player reaches 21 then forget about him if you are after a pacy player and he is still in the red. Time to sell him and try again.

I also find that tired players and players returning from injury quickly lose points in this area so look after your boys.

 

Back to the question. Should you use a red?

Yes, if he suits the points I have made above. I wouldn't change my entire team set up to accommodate the player but if you happen to play that way then you can make it work.

Early I said physical players dominate the game. I still believe that but then the same is true in real life. Think of any top player and I'm willing to bet they are not slow. I searched through the players on a save that is 13 seasons old. There is only 1 player in the first 5 pages (highest value) with a 'slow'  pace attribute.

At the end of the day, pace reins supreme. No matter how good the player is, he would be better if he was quicker. 

I will leave you with two examples. Both have fantastic attributes for their natural position apart from pace. They both have season averages of low 7s. Add pace to them and they would be elite players scoring a much higher in-game rating.

 

 

 

 

Edited October 1, 2016 by billy2shots

[Fish18ish]

A really good well rounded answer to an important question. Looking forward to the next one, I'm finding these quite useful.

[Ashez]

Another great article mate. Going slightly left field but in theory slower players could be benifical as they'd be less likely to suffer certain injuries like hamstrings. Be hard to actually test though, I'd love more training options which would allow us to look deeper at things like that tbh. 

Pace for me is vital in attacking positions and in the defence, in the central areas i don't mind players not having it as much though.  

[billy2shots]

Thanks Fish. 

Agreed Ash, fast players are more susceptible to injury but does the game reflect this? 

I think the injury proneness attribute covers this as quicker players tend to be injured more in reality which in turn is reflected in the game. The grey area is young players. They could be speed merchants but we have no idea how injury prone they are as its too early in their career. Strength could also play apart as in my mind weak players are more susceptible to injury. 

 

[Dec]

A nice article again. I don't believe pace is a core attribute and can be ignored with the right player role. Maybe you should do this with key attributes like decisions and teamwork.

[Fish18ish]

Would be interested to know what you think about technique.