[briz1046]

There isn't anything fundamentally wrong with an XP system ...what is in realistic is how the XP is accrued ( still largely based on in-game performance and randomly assigned goals)
And how it gain be spent ...though to some degree this is mitigated by the more unrealistic attributes being expensive to improve
In all honesty it's not that much different from the system employed by prior Maddens except that was all * under the hood* and under CPU control

You really have a limited choice of how to implement any future progression system

Retain XP but modify it in the direction of realism
Ie training camps, increase emphasise on practice etc

This is the most likely scenario that I can see even is a possibility as I don't predict EA rebuilding franchise entirely in the foreseeable future

They could retain XP but return it to CPU control as before ...this would be a backward step in my eyes

Abandon the whole concept and have progression pre-programmed into the individual players ..
This could work well (if there was sufficient variety in the progression arcs possible)
especially if combined with a dynamic development trait however such a system is highly unlikely to be implemented imo

I'm sure people can and will come up with other ideas but as I see things our best hope of a more true-to-life system lies in pushing what we have in the direction we want rather than calling for its demise