Owen Garvan

Name: Owen Garvan
Age: 20
Current Club: Ipswich
Language: English
Nationality: Irish
Position: MC
Cost to buy: £1,900,000
Type of team he’d come to: Championship or above.
Wages: £12,750 P/w

Strengths

Stamina (17), Natural Fitness (17), Jumping (16), Heading (17), Passing (15), Corners (15), Creativity (15)

As we can see Owen possesses a number of strengths for a player who is still young. His physical stats are the most impressive of the lot. Although he is not the strongest player he is a player with great stamina and he is quality in the air. It is always ideal for a team to have a player who is good in the air in the centre of the park as this will help you to win high balls in the centre of the park and get possession of the ball.

He is also good with the ball. He has great passing ability which will improve in the future and along with his creativity he is likely to carve open lots of opportunities for his team. Adding to his strength going forward, his stamina is very strong and this helps him to get up and down the pitch without much trouble. This is especially important for central midfielders as they have a lot of ground to cover. Garvan isn’t he best defensively and therefore I might advise you play him with another CM who is more focused on the defending side of the game.

Weaknesses

Penalty taking (.8), Free kicks (7), Finishing (8), Decisions (7)

Garvan does not possess any real weaknesses. Of course, he isn’t the best at some parts of the game however he will be able to pass on the responsibility for these things. This includes things like free kicks and penalty taking which will be given to a player who is better at set pieces. Therefore this does not really affect Garvan’s game.

One weakness which may affect his performance however is his decision making. This is relatively low and therefore he may be caught out making the wrong decision at times. This could involve defensive play or attacking play. If he is on the ball he could rush a pass or not play the easy ball giving possession away. Saying this however, his decision making will increase with experience.

Individual Instructions

I would play Owen I the central of the park, which is his only real position. He will not be as effective as an AMC and he really doesn’t have the attributes for a defensive midfielder.
I would probably play him along side a midfielder who is stronger at defending. This would allow him to focus on his attacking side of the game more which he is better at. It might be an idea to give him an attacking run to encourage him to get forward as well.

The above graphic shows the player instructions I have set up for Garvan. I have set him to a more attacking mentality as most of his strengths add to his attacking game. Due to the fact he is quite a good creative player, I have given him quite a lot of creative freedom, this should increase the amount of chances your team make. As you can see his passing style and closing down have been left as the same as the team instructions. He is perfectly cable of long or short passing or closing down a lot or not at all and therefore it is just your preference really.

Forward runs have been set to often as this will enable him to get on the ball and be a creative force in your side. Through balls have also been set to often as this will allow him to take advantage of his good passing and creativity.

The only other thing I have changed is the attacking and defending of corners. As he is great in the air I have got him marking a tall player when defending and got him attacking the ball when attacking. This will hopefully increase your success from corners.

Training

Strength – I have set this to a quite a high medium level. He is only a young player so his strength is bound to increase with age. However he is a central midfielder and therefore the physical side to his game is quite important

Aerobics - Garvans natural fitness very high and this needs to be maintained. I don’t want him working on his fitness too much as it is already very strong and he will be better working on other areas of his game.

Tactics – This isn’t set to too high a level as all he needs is an understanding of the way the team play. Focussing too much on tactics may slow down is progression and therefore limit his effectiveness.

Ball Control - Control from central midfielders is very important as they are on the ball a lot. He must work on his touch however not too much will be required as his touch is already at a good standard.

Defending – Central midfielders need to be good at both attacking and defending. I have set his defending to quite a high amount however not as much as his attacking as he is better going forwards.

Attacking – I have set this to a high level as this is a big part of his game. This area will allow him to improve many of his stats making him a more influential player all round.

Shooting – His shooting is nothing spectacular and it therefore could be improved. Playing an attacking role in the centre of the park will mean he gets opportunities to shoot in most games. This can be a lethal weapon for your side.

Set pieces – Because I have instructed Garvan to be involved with set pieces at both ends of the pitch I think it is important he works on this a fair amount in training.

Overall

Garvan is a young energetic midfielder who is currently a great player at Championship level. He would be good back up in the Premier League as well however if he is not playing week in week out his development may be hindered and therefore may not reach his full potential. After his first season he will be up to lower Prem standard.

Name: Sean St Ledger
Age: 23
Current Club: Preston North End
Language: English
Nationality: Irish
Position: DRC
Cost to buy: £600k
Type of team he’d come to: Most Championship sides upwards, including some League 1 teams.
Wages: £750P/w

Strengths

Sean St Ledger has a number of strengths suited to defenders. His best attributes are his tackling (16), passing (15), heading (15) and his positioning (15). These, along with marking are the main attributes that you look for in a defender. Although I have not included his marking as strength it does not let him down, as it is still strong at 14. He is very good in the air and good in the tackle which is key for a centre back at this level. As Sean is only a young player, there is plenty of chance for him to develop these skills and play at a higher level.

Weaknesses

Sean has a number of weaknesses however a lot of these are not relevant to his position. As a centre back he will not be need to call upon attributes such as corners (7), crossing (.8), finishing (6), long shots (3) and long throws (4) too often.

His main weakness for his position is his strength (10). His strength should build up as he gets older, but it is currently quite low compared to other centre backs. Despite this, he easily has the ability to be a top defender in the Championship.

Where to play him

Sean’s favored position is at centre back where he is capable of doing a very good job. However, he is also more than capable of covering or even playing at right back regularly. This could suit him more due to his strength, however you may be better playing him at centre back where he will be able to put in the best performances.

Getting his signature

Once you have got a bid accepted for Sean, you should not have too much problem getting him to agree terms. As he is only on £750 p/w at the moment, he is available to any club on a tight wage budget. Sean would probably as for wages in the £1,500 p/w bracket. However, agreeing a fee may be a problem. He is a key player at Preston and therefore it may take a lot for them to allow him to talk to other clubs.

Training

As a centre back, he is unlikely to need much training going forward. Because of this, I would focus the majority of his training schedule on increasing his strength and his defending abilities. This would help him to develop himself as a player and make the step up to the Premier League if required.

Overall

Sean is currently a top quality defender at Championship level. He would be best played at centre back and is capable of keeping the ball on floor and helping pass the team out of trouble. With the correct training and enough match experience he will be able to make the step up into the Premiership without much fuss.