Want to write for our blog? Get in touch about becoming a sortitoutsi writer.
In Football Manager, having the most accurate player reports is essential for making informed decisions about your squad. Judging Current Ability (JCA) and Judging Potential Ability (JPA) are attributes not just useful for your scouts, but also for your staff responsible for providing you with advice and player reports. However, the default setup might not always assign the most qualified staff member for this critical task. Here’s how to make sure the right coach is giving you reports in FM:
Identify Your Best Staff for Judging Current Ability (JCA) and Judging Potential Ability (JPA)

- Navigate to the Staff tab from the sidebar.
- Locate the Overview sub-tab within the Staff menu.
- Choose Coaching Team
- Change view to Mental Attributes.
- Sort by Judging Ability and Judging Potential:
- Click the column headers for “Judge A(bility)” and “Judge P(otential)” to sort your staff by their ratings in these areas.
- Take note of the highest-rated staff member for each attribute.

Make in-Game Notes for Easy Reference Using Nicknames

Quickly add JCA and JPA to staff’s nickname:
- Right click on staff and head to Misc > Set Nickname
- Example rename “Sean McCafferty” to “Sean McCafferty JA12 JP12”

Assign the Best Staff Member for Player Reports under Responsibilities
Once you’ve identified the best-qualified staff member:
- Navigate to the Staff tab from the sidebar.
- Locate the Responsibilities sub-tab within the Staff menu.
- Choose Advice and Reports
- Change staff on Provides Players Reports for the one with the highest JA and JP

How much difference does a coaches Judging Ability and Judging Potential Attribute make?
Here is an example of how much difference it can make using a coach with perfect 20 attributes and another with just 1 for every attribute. It is not massively different but enough to lead you astray.
Coach Reports with 20 for everything

Coach Reports with 1 for everything

The Star Rating System in Football Manager
FM does not directly show CA or PA values unless you use a custom skin or external tools. Instead, the game provides star ratings to give an approximate idea of a player’s ability and potential, showing up to 5 stars always in relation to your own squad.
Stars offer a visual representation of CA and PA, assessed by your backroom staff, which means that they are subjective and influenced by:
- the quality of the staff member to judge potential and ability
- the context (competition, squad level, etc.)

Some considerations to keep in mind:
- when you assign this responsibility to a better coach the stars might change and that doesn’t mean anything related to the player itself, it’s just the perception of it
- when you sign new players stars might also change because the evaluation is always related with your own squad
For a more detailed insight check out the what star ratings mean in FM24
You'll need to Login to comment