What a player's overall rating means
The overall (also called rating or OVR) is a number that sums up a player's general quality in his position. It lets you compare players at a glance, although it never tells the whole story.
Every manager game describes players with many attributes: pace, passing, marking, finishing and so on. Checking them all for every decision is slow, so games compress them into one number, the overall. A high overall means a better player, but always relative to his position: the number is weighted, so a centre-back is judged on marking and heading while a striker is judged on finishing and pace. Play a man out of position and he performs well below his rating.
In ELDT the overall runs from 1 to 20 and is calculated from the 22 attributes weighted by the main position. The bands are: 17 to 20 world class, 14 to 16 excellent, 12 and 13 very good, 10 and 11 good, 8 and 9 average and 1 to 7 poor.
Treat it as a quick reference, not the truth. On matchday the engine also looks at form, whether the player is in his natural position, the mentality and the formation. A player with a good overall but his form on the floor can do less than a lower-rated one in a purple patch.
See it in the game: the manager's guide.
Related terms
More on Players
See also: online football manager · guides on the blog