Every iteration of FM, when I get 5 years into the game, I realise how messed up the regens are. And my enjoyment, and playing, of FM ends soon after.

This year is exactly the same. Using Genie scout I've been able to see how bad they are in black _for the first time_.

Doing a comparison of 20-year-olds in 2008 (all non-regens) v 20-year-olds in 2013 (all regens).
(The regen database actually having the benefit of 10% more players too)

JUMPING 17+ - 106 V 12
PACE 17+ - 83 V 25
CA 153+ - 14 V 0
CA 120+ - 225 V 62
VALUE 5.5k+ - 20 V 1
SALE VALUE 8K+ - 56 V 6

It amazes me how I've been posting about this as far back as 3/4 years ago, and it's the same as it ever was.

Two mistakes I can't edit here.

It's not 5.5K and 8K, it's MILLIONS of course.

Looking at a few more things the disparity apparent even in more unexpected places.

Free Kicks 17+ - 98 v 6
Off The Ball 16+ - 43 v 5

It seems the newgen system is something SI will just never get right as is. I think it's about time they used a process between the old regens and the 'better' regens. It should at least include some method of checking that newly generated players are similar to the original players, and balancing them if they are not.

And I've never understood why SI seem to take such a laissez-faire attitude to regens when they are the cornerstone of a career game. I'm certain I, and a number of other posters on this board, could make a dramatic improvement on this in just one year.

i don't pay much attention to regens really, i know you can keep tabs on retiring players ot see who they come back as
but that seems like cheating to me

Thats not how it works, they're totally random, retired players are gone, they're not re-introduced in any form.

No-one comes back as anyone.

Totally agree with this post, there needs to be some sort of regen structure implicated in order to keep a consistent flow of regens.

You will get alot of people saying they have plenty of good young regens, but the most important point you made is compairing players under 20 in 2008 to 5 years later, nowhere near the same amount and thats a fact that can't be defended

Its been well documented that regens aren't as good as they should be on the whole but all the other teams are in the same situation so it means that you just have to pick the best of a bad bunch really.

I do hope that they are improved for FM09 even if they make them slightly too good but not too good.

isn't that how it used to work?
i remember you used to be able on the older games?
i was able to see who arjen robben came back as

Medo, that's a point people make all the time (the "everyone's in the same boat" defense) and I just don't think it is correct at all.

When there's a mix of regens and existing players the regens are getting dominated. Try an original Taget man striker (Toni, Caracciolo, etc) against the top CB regens a few years into the game. The strikers 20 jumping against a regen who will have jumping in somewhere around 12-15. He is going to get absolutely OWNED.
It gets so most of the "top prospects" you just have to write off because their lack of jumping/pace/OTB/whatever will mean they're useless against original Serie A/Prem players. Their 180 PA will not save them.

Even when all the originals are gone it's not good enough. I don't want be playing "Hobbit FM" thank you very much. If they all had stats like League 2, or women footballers, would that be fine because we're all in the same boat? Would it hell.

It's just not good enough.

If you can spot the very very few good ones, which is normal for a semi-experienced cm/fm player, that is actually the real problem as it makes the game much too easy since the human player starts to own the only good-goodish players in the world. Why some people are so keen to defend and/or ignore anomalies with the game's coding, I simply cannot understand.