I really don't think that it's simply a case of stating that a L5/6/7 is a "waste of money", nor asserting that someone is foolish for buying one. Because regardless of diminishing returns, it still remains a fact that a Level 5 trainer is better than a Level 4, and so on... stating the obvious I guess, but some people seem to be putting out a blanket statement that "more than a level 4 is not worth it". Not a fact.
There is enough data on the affects of higher level trainers that one can objectively state with a high degree of certainty whether or not a higher level trainer is worth it in a given situation. If analysis says it's close there is some wiggle room but in most cases the analysis does not say it is close.
The key here is: is it financially viable for your team?
For me, absolutely. I have a L6 trainer - have had for quite a while. For me, that's a reasonable cost. There are others in the JBBL who swear by L7. And if I could afford it, then I'd probably get one too.
For my trainees (my two key guys I am training for *my* team, not to sell), I want to get them to the point I envisage. For me: a L4 or even L5 trainer may well "not be worth it".
Firstly, I think you will agree that teams in top leagues have a very different set of circumstances than most teams looking for help on these boards, circumstances which are extremely important when picking out a trainer.
Secondly, how do you know that a level 6 trainer is worth it for you? One needs to perform analysis examining marginal cost and marginal benefit to be able to speak with any certainty on the matter. Analysis using dollar values still apply to trainees that are being kept because of opportunity cost, although some small adjustments may need to be made (merch bonus for home brews, transfer fees, etc). The exception is when a user has a strong subjective preference to just train their own player to be as good as possible regardless of cost, which many people seem to have. But such subjective preferences can be used to justify absolutely anything and thus fall outside the bounds of a strategy discussion.
Going from a level 5 to level 6 trainer costs maybe 30k/week? (rough estimate). So that's about 400k per season. The benefit is around 4%, which means one extra pop for every 25 you are getting. If you get 25 pops in a season, that means you are paying 400k per extra pop. Even if you were getting 50 pops in a season the average extra pop would have to be worth 200k to you for this to be a good deal.
This would only be true if you were adding 10 million in value each season via training. 200k * 50 = 400k *25 = 10 million.
Last edited by w_alloy at 1/17/2013 4:36:12 PM