Players: playing more (& training less) or training harder (& playing less)?

[Simply... Awesome!]

I might have as well have called this "Reducing training workload or Rotating players frequently to avoid injuries"?

We all know that playing the same 11 players week in week out would improve squad gelling and understanding, which in turn would improve the results on the pitch. We also know that the same starting 11 would have significantly better morale, etc etc etc

However, players get tired, and get even more susceptible to injuries, those that dont play start F'ing, others would struggle to settle, etc etc etc.

Presuming I had excellent staff and trainig facilities, which option would be better for:

1) the best player growth

2) the odds of reducing injuries

3) overall good squad management and happiness

Thanks in advance for your highly thought out, practical, and well educated response ofcourse

[phnompenhandy]

I've thought it out and here is my practical and well educated response:

Ask yourself, "What would a real manager do?"

Seriously, FM10 is pretty realistic in this regard - don't underestimate the degree of realism.

[SFraser]

I would say that the practicalities of your squad matter more than maximum levels of training, so base your training decisions on how you see and use your squad.

It tends to be more important to keep the same back four together throughout the season, certainly the same two Centrebacks. At the same time however the Centrebacks tend to do the least running of outfield players in general, while fullbacks are some of the more active players on the pitch. So you want your Centrebacks playing more (training less) but they will lose less condition than your fullbacks even if playing more games so you can afford to crank up their training a bit more. Alternatively you could keep it at the same level as your fullbacks, and rotate your fullbacks.

If you have say a Striker, Winger or hardworking Central Midfielder that is crucial to your team you will want to give them reduced training to improve their condition recovery, but even then because they are so vital and because they are so active and mobile you will still want to rotate them whenever possible to avoid them becoming jaded.

Rotation is always a good policy if you can accurately judge players, opponents, and potential. Rotation is very important to developing young players. Ontop of that comes the fact that increased levels of training produce slightly increased levels of player improvement and development. Not as much as actually playing, but enough to be useful.

So overall the more active players should be on lighter workloads, the key players you want to play often should be on lighter workloads. Attacking players should be on lighter workloads than defensive players. Players that don't play regularly should be on high or even intensive workloads. All players should be rotated as often as is possible for your club/team to keep jadedness down, and squad players that are not in danger of becoming jaded and play maybe only once a week or every 10 days can benefit from the improvements gained by large workloads.

There is one other key factor to deal with though, older players. Older players are a particularly tricky management challenge because older players are at risk of losing Physical Attributes, which means a loss of Stamina, which means faster condition loss, which means shorter playing time and longer recovery time, which means more declining attributes. Older players need every scrap of ability they can get from either playing or training while at the same time needing every percentage point of condition you can give them and every effort must be made to squeeze maximum Strength training into their schedules to halt the decline of Stamina without increasing the risk of injury.

These players need very clever management across the board to maximise their careers and usefulness to your club. Get something vital wrong and a brilliant deep playmaker or wiley old "fox-in-the-box" can quickly become a dud.

There are several strategies you can consider with older players, and as they continue to age you will likely employ ever increasing numbers of these strategies. The first few strategies are good rotation policies and regular games. Perhaps a start on Saturday and a sub appearance on Wednesday with your youngster starting Wednesday and sub on Saturday. You also want to increase their Strength Training to reduce the decline of Stamina, and specifically look for areas of Training you are willing to make concessions. Look for attribute you are willing to see drop in return for a longer career and superior mental ability. If they are relatively young or physically strong or a key quality player and playing regularly then reduce their workload. If they are becoming more of a rotation player, a tactical player, an impact sub then increase their Training to squeeze every maximum ounce of ability out of training. Finally, aim to shape them into a relatively low mobility, high mental + technical player, aim to find a niche for that kind of player in your tactics/squad, and take aims to make sure they are given low physical demands during a match. This means low closing down, reduce Runs From Deep, reduced Run With Ball.

If you employ these strategies at the right time, and with the right attention to the shape of your season, then you can "save up condition" for your veterans and get a good 60 minutes or 90 minutes of hard graft out of your mental monstrosities in a top level game, followed by an adequate period of rest and the chance for a youngster to show what he can do.

There is no simple answer to your question. Almost everything you can think of ingame can have an impact, and developing the right strategies for your particular team is all part of the management challenge.

[lam]

One thing to bear in mind when not rotating players often is that the reserve player you bring in at times when its unavoidable, will never really be part of a team. When you want to start competing for honours at a higher level, you will absolutely need squad rotation to ensure all your players able able to play as a team.

If you are performing well, I don't beleive you will ever really have a problem with a team not gelling because you are rotating them to much.

I love the fact that this version is far more sensative to condition. I now play far more youngsters than I ever did before and its great to see when you get a good game out of them.

Historically, I bought many promising youngsters only to ever sell them on with clauses, because no matter how good they might become they were never as good as the 25 year old I just bought. Now I get to enjoy and see them develop and get 1 in 4 games!

LAM

[SFraser]

One thing to bear in mind when not rotating players often is that the reserve player you bring in at times when its unavoidable, will never really be part of a team. When you want to start competing for honours at a higher level, you will absolutely need squad rotation to ensure all your players able able to play as a team.

If you are performing well, I don't beleive you will ever really have a problem with a team not gelling because you are rotating them to much.

I love the fact that this version is far more sensative to condition. I now play far more youngsters than I ever did before and its great to see when you get a good game out of them.

Historically, I bought many promising youngsters only to ever sell them on with clauses, because no matter how good they might become they were never as good as the 25 year old I just bought. Now I get to enjoy and see them develop and get 1 in 4 games!

LAM

Excellent points.

My reserve team in top quality squads is always used only for longterm injuries or players on loan. The reason for this is to keep all the players I want to consider for my team at any time in one space. I like to think that I run a "lean, mean, fighting machine" in my club because I never put a fit player in my Reserve Squad unless they are going to be sold or for severe disciplinary reasons (i.e. apologise or be sacked).

I am quite sure there is very little game mechanic benefit from this approach, but the benefit to me is that I am constantly and completely aware of the situation of all my players, and I am quickly able to judge a huge number of issues, ranging from playing time to cover to potential, and also that I am never lured into the tendency to buy excess players for my entire club gameplan.

Any game mechanics benefits are merely a bonus, but I find that micro-managing a 25 man squad brings far better results than micro-managing 15 players and ignoring the other 20. It certainly helps with the financial situation and next seasons transfer budget. Not to mention more playing time for all players whether first team or reserve matches.

Another benefit of gutting your reserves is that your youth team players get selected for reserve games. My reserve matches might consist of 6-7 players from my first team squad. The rest are not made up of duds, but of youth team players with high potential. This helps to keep the whole "conveyor belt" process of management going strong with healthy and productive competition.

What an excellent football game this is.

[Simply... Awesome!]

I just wanted to say much appreciated for the response.

phnompenhandy:

What would a real manager do?

Yes, I keep getting surprised by the degree of realism

SFraser:

...the practicalities of your squad matter more than maximum levels of training, so base your training decisions on how you see and use your squad...

I will remmember this quote.

I am quite sure there is very little game mechanic benefit from this approach...

fingers crossed a feature of FM 2011 perhaps....

What an excellent football game this is.

I totally agree!!!