The perfect Wonderkid is an elusive idea. You need to have the knowledge of what makes a perfect Wonderkid in order to diagnose their potential. Once you have identified such a player, you need to nurture them to the top before they can become the next big sensation. We start with perhaps the most important part of this equation: What is more important, playing matches or training? And at what age is each more crucial? Understanding this is something we have tested before, but with the evolution of Football Manager, we wanted to test it again. Our crack team of training gurus put together teams that were identical, filled with identical players in every single facet, and subjected them to a couple of different scenarios. The first scenario involved basic in-game training and playing 20 to 30 matches a season. The second scenario involved players being suspended for the whole year, focusing solely on training. The third scenario involved playing matches but not training, while the fourt