When to Buy?
Since I keep my guys long term I don't worry about when in the Season, but most people would say best to get 'em first week so you have more time with them to start. But I don't find much difference between 18 and 19 y.o. training speeds, so I buy when I see someone I like...

What to look for, is he a gem or a dud, how can you tell?
Well, most aren't "duds" except the freebies people sell, and you can tell if it's from a normal Team name.. It depends on his attributes. I have an idea of what I want a position to be strong in and look for players that have that attribute fairly different from their others. And is most expensive, of course.

What is your idea of power training?
Buy a ton of green packs and train on hard cardio, practice match and friendlies until you reach desired skills/quality. Be prepared to buy red packs. Also there is "maintenance" training: after all matches I look at who is near gaining a cone and give a green to get there.

What's your best Nordgen?
Well, most of my Team is either youth products or gems.. hard to say who is best. Michael Zorc, maybe:

Click image for larger version.  Name: M_Z.jpg  Views: 233  Size: 48.2 KB  ID: 27342