Well when I bought a promising young defender named Minopoli from AC Milan (who was generated when Maldini retired), for the first game he had Maldini's face and Motson in fact called him Maldini. I thought it was going to be annoying but it only lasted the first game. Now he's got a generic face and no commentary, which may or may not be an improvement. EA should have Motson record names for the generic new players, asn put a little more work into making them look different. But frankly I think the idea of generating players in the same mould as those who retired is a stupid idea. It sort of takes the challenge out of it, because just like in 2004, you're only scanning the Premiership, La Liga, Serie A, and maybe the Bundesliga to find your players. There's not much chance you'll find the next C. Ronaldo in the Portugese league or the next Freddie Adu in MLS or the next Peter Schmeichel in the Superligaen.
I think there needs to be a new system in 2006. Players retire and are replaced. But the quality of their replacement depends on two things: first the scounting ability and financial health of your team and other teams. And secondly, the country of origin. Let's face it, Brazil is more likely to produce the next big star than Switzerland. So it's worth your while to check out the Brazilian league, but there's always a freak chance some brilliant star will come out of Austria. It's better than the certainty that scanning the Swedish or Norwegian leagues is a waste of time.
