Rotation Policy

[Skw91]

I was just wondering how often you guys rotate your team and how many players you change when you do? Do you have a first eleven you stick by when possible or do you change to have fresher players? Do you completely change the team for cup games to allow squad members game time?

[RobertPage]

First of all i want the strongest 11 possible suiting my favoured formation. (using 4-4-2 as an example formation). I would then make sure i have players who will be competitive for the first team in half of the team (1GK, 1FB, 1CB, 1CM, 1WM, 1 ST). The rest of the positions i will look to have young players. In the Premier League i will always play my strongest team possible (unless end of season or big champions league game in the coming week). League cup will be filled with my stronger rotation players and young players. FA cup will be the same unless i'm playing strong teams when i will look to play a mix of rotation and first 11. Champions League games i will then half the mix for the group stages (maybe few youngsters if against a very weak team) until the knockout stages where i will play my strongest team

That's my policy I currently have a squad of 27 players so as you can imagine rotation is massively important for me as i want to keep all players happy. (got so many players because i got a bit carried away with hot prospects )

[looknohands]

I generally stick with the same 11 for every game possible; if scheduling congestion becomes an issue I'll replace ALL of the first-teamers (except for the keeper for league matches) to focus on what I believe is the most important game for them to be fresh for. Cup games are generally when I use worst players--so long as I'm confident they'll get a result. The better the opponent, the more starters I'll use.

[soccer.joel]

I rotate to death. I try to keep my best players fit. I rarely keep the same line up from game to game and that allows my youth players to develop. The most an outfield player played for me last season was 40 out of 60 games

[Skw91]

I was just curious to see how often others rotate cos I seem to change the outfield players almost every game now due to the lack of fitness in my squad, definetly something I need to look at improving in the next Pre season. Think rotation and "the squad" plays a far more important role in football today than it used to.

[podunkboy]

I have to rotate or I get a whiny player popping up on a daily basis demanding first team play or a loan/transfer. And since my roster (after sending players out on loan) is still 30+ players, no one's ever happy.

[BiggusD]

I keep the first team squad at around 25 players and I always replace the weakest players with new ones who are strengthening the first eleven, so now with Portsmouth first season in the Prem there is little difference between the first and second XI. Decent/Good PL all around. This means that I rotate based on condition, match fitness and form/morale, and I therefore end up with a first choice XI and a second choice XI that alternate every other game - unless I need to field my strongest team in order to have a chance. At home vs other mid-table or lower teams I i have no issues fielding my second XI and it usually goes well.

Thus I maintain 100% match fitness and relatively good form across all 25 players in the squad.

[Soccer]

I rotate a player out of my team when:

1). He has not been playing well for the past couple of games (i.e. achieving ratings of 6.5 and below);

2). He is tired (condition less than 95%);

3). His morale is not as high as the other player(s) playing in his position.

[Falahk]

I pretty much never play the same XI two games in a row, unless the low quality of my squad, injuries or suspensions forces me to do so

[DarthCraigus]

I rotate fairly regularly because my players cant seem to play 3 games in a week without dropping to below 90% condition. It's possibly (probably) down to my training, but that's one aspect of every FM game I've always for some reason struggled to grasp. I do have a backbone of between 3~5 players that I will always try to keep fit for big games. I have a strong squad as I'm currently playing as Chelsea so it's not a major problem if I have to rotate/change it up a little from time to time.

[Rakia_Time]

I rotate whenever the fixtures allow it, i try to give my backup players atleast 30 games per season (including coming in as a sub) and since i prefer having a small squad (23 players) i have no problems doing that. Another thing that helps me is playing in Spain, i only have 6 serious league games per season so the lineup i pick for the other 32 doesnt really matter

[nickdc]

13 seasons in I got to the stage where I could rotate my two different XIs. With Championship, FA Cup, League Cup and Europa Cup it was needed, and worked really well.

[MasterOfSuspense]

My first team squad is made up of 11 players at the start of the season and my subs are all reserve players - I promote players to the first team if a) they come to me to demand a first team slot (I find they are usually right about being good enough) or b) if a coach says they are ready for first team football and I rotate those players with the original 11

[Wilbo2k9]

I have 11 players which are my first team guys plus a second 11 which are all 16-18 year old's with high potential which I swap in every game so everyone stays happy. In the past 3 seasons I've brought through 4 or 5 guys which have gone from 16 year old youngsters to world class players which premier league teams are bidding for by doing this and it keeps everyone happy because they are all getting game time. Obviously certain positions such as GK and ST I change less frequently but the rest are a good mix of youth and senior guys. Seems to work well.

[Richey2008]

I constantly rotate to give my kids optimum time in the first XI. I've won the league 4 out of 5 years and no player has played more than 30 games in a La Liga, Champs League, Spanish Cup etc season. My top scorer has never got more than 20 league goals but it means that a) most of my youth develop pretty nicely and b) the load is shared.

[Althaz]

It depends on the quality of my squad, but generally there's about 5-6 players that will play minimum once a week and any big match they are fit (95%+) for. Other than that it's whoever is fit (99%+) and I try to share the load as much as possible and get games into my youngsters.

[martinji]

I have a large squad and try to pack it with quality such that I really have trouble saying what's my first XI and second XI. In fact I only have two outfield players who I would say are clearly my best in that position, but that's only because they are the best in the world in their position, the second choice is still extremely good. So I rotate a lot and it is pretty common for me to play an entirely different outfield ten in successive games. The drawback of this is it makes it difficult giving young players game time, since my first team squad is so good and deep.

[elland road boo boys]

Having looked through these Forums regarding Condition/Match Fitness how is the optimum of 95% calculated?

[BiggusD]

Having looked through these Forums regarding Condition/Match Fitness how is the optimum of 95% calculated?

What do you mean 95%. The optimum is 100% :confused:

[elland road boo boys]

What do you mean 95%. The optimum is 100% :confused:

Sorry I didn't mean to put the optimum in

When playing I meant to say how do you know that 95% or better is the best percentage to play a player.

[BiggusD]

Sorry I didn't mean to put the optimum in

When playing I meant to say how do you know that 95% or better is the best percentage to play a player.

They start making more and bigger mistakes when at 75% or lower. The difference before that isn't so noticeable. So in other words, you have to sub players starting at 94% or lower earlier because normally a well-trained player starting at 100% ends up at around 70% if the match is important and close (or wet, or hot, or snowy, or muddy). Once you get a really strong team which keeps the ball a lot and finishes matches early, you'll see that your athletes finish matches around 80% condition.

95% is the condition players who are seriously lacking match fitness ends up on after for instance recovering from an injury. I have this feeling that if I start them before that, the chance of a recurring injury is higher - but no evidence there. Not even observation; so just a superstitious precaution really. I guess that's why many people put their lower limit there.

[siambluebird]

They start making more and bigger mistakes when at 75% or lower. The difference before that isn't so noticeable. So in other words, you have to sub players starting at 94% or lower earlier because normally a well-trained player starting at 100% ends up at around 70% if the match is important and close (or wet, or hot, or snowy, or muddy). Once you get a really strong team which keeps the ball a lot and finishes matches early, you'll see that your athletes finish matches around 80% condition.

Thanks Biggus. Where did you get the 75% stat from? It is something I have been looking at closely lately, and I have not noticed fatigue making much of an impact on players.

[BiggusD]

Thanks Biggus. Where did you get the 65% stat from? It is something I have been looking at closely lately, and I have not noticed fatigue making much of an impact on players.

From my observation:

* They are more prone to clear the ball away (Composure)

* They are less inclined to run with the ball (Determination?)

* They wait longer before closing down or making defensive runs (Work Rate & Aggression)

* They are less precise with their passing (Passing & Concentration)

* They shoot earlier (Composure)

* They are more prone to become anxious, nervous or complacent (Morale)

* They are more prone to make mistakes (Concentration)

So the consequences of having 75% condition or less in a match are individual and situation-based. They're not necessarily noticeable in a single match, but over time I have observed the above. For instance, a player who get a non-cross knock and got his condition reduced by 20% early on in the match but then recovers is usually rather invisible in the match. He sort of disappears from the match. I usually just sub them because of this, since they are also likely to receive more knocks later. A tired player is in my opinion equally invisible compared to what I expect of him.

Subbing a tired central midfielder for a motivated, fresh one often see me taking control of the match. Definitely noticeable.

[elland road boo boys]

Thanks for the reply Biggus. Just one further question on the 95% rule of thumb. Does this apply even if the squad hasn't blended together- surely the more "new" Players you buy in pre-season or during Transfer Windows would affect the above!

[BiggusD]

Thanks for the reply Biggus. Just one further question on the 95% rule of thumb. Does this apply even if the squad hasn't blended together- surely the more "new" Players you buy in pre-season or during Transfer Windows would affect the above!

That has a negative effect on team gelling and team performance, not condition. There are of course many other things that influence performances than condition.

[QWERTYOP]

If we win, I keep the same XI where possible. If we don't win, and you score a 6.6 or below, you're out. Simple as that.

[siambluebird]

Cheers Biggus. I have to admit I am not seeing it at the moment. I am getting players with knocks actually improving in the second half, and fatigue has not made a difference. I put this down to managing in the BSN and possibly because of the low skill levels it is very hard for the game to show injuries and fatigue accurately. I would actually like to see a more noticeable affect of fatigue, especially in the physical department.

[BiggusD]

Cheers Biggus. I have to admit I am not seeing it at the moment. I am getting players with knocks actually improving in the second half, and fatigue has not made a difference. I put this down to managing in the BSN and possibly because of the low skill levels it is very hard for the game to show injuries and fatigue accurately. I would actually like to see a more noticeable affect of fatigue, especially in the physical department.

You could find out by saving right before a game, choose the same team that played 3 days before and not sub anyone unless forced to. Then reloading the game and pick 11 players that are 100% match fit and didn't play 3 days before. Even though the second team is worse when it comes to skill, the result and overall performance should be roughly the same. If uyou then reverse this (1st XI 100% condition, 2nd XI roughly 85-93% condition) in another match of similar difficulty the difference in performance should be easily noticeable.

[podunkboy]

I thought I was doing a good job of rotating my sizable roster through the cup campaigns and league play, but one 18-year-old Croatian I picked up this year was constantly complaining in the locker room, to the assman, to the press, and anyone else who would listen that he wasn't getting his wayfirst-team share, even after I started him in two consecutive games, one of which he cost us a win by back-heeling a pass to an opponent streaking in on goal. He went to the press...I put him on the "get him out of here" list. Now he's going to ride the bench through the League Cup final, the Champions League final, and the regular season finale. He is not better than the players he wants to replace, and I will take great joy in beating whatever team has the misfortune of signing him.

I realize I'm being a little irrational in my dislike of him, but I'm almost tempted to find out which scout pointed me to him and fire the scout. I mean, he's really ruined my full enjoyment of what is my greatest season ever.

[BiggusD]

I thought I was doing a good job of rotating my sizable roster through the cup campaigns and league play, but one 18-year-old Croatian I picked up this year was constantly complaining in the locker room, to the assman, to the press, and anyone else who would listen that he wasn't getting his wayfirst-team share, even after I started him in two consecutive games, one of which he cost us a win by back-heeling a pass to an opponent streaking in on goal. He went to the press...I put him on the "get him out of here" list. Now he's going to ride the bench through the League Cup final, the Champions League final, and the regular season finale. He is not better than the players he wants to replace, and I will take great joy in beating whatever team has the misfortune of signing him.

I realize I'm being a little irrational in my dislike of him, but I'm almost tempted to find out which scout pointed me to him and fire the scout. I mean, he's really ruined my full enjoyment of what is my greatest season ever.

Look at his "media handling style" along with his personality and then avoid those description combinations in the future.

[Overmars]

I rotate early in the season then stick with my best high morale/in form players for the final 10 games or so. I figure if someone loses match fitness at that point that it doesn't matter much.

[podunkboy]

Look at his "media handling style" along with his personality and then avoid those description combinations in the future.

He's "media-friendly" and "Ambitious". I probably should stay away from the Ambitious ones, they can be playing in the Champions League and still complain about wanting to move to a bigger club...where they will sit on the bench and rot behind someone getting $250,000/wk. I know this because I have let these players go, and when I check on them a year later, they have a couple starts and some mop-up work, when they could have gotten 20-30 starts a year with me.

[BiggusD]

He's "media-friendly" and "Ambitious". I probably should stay away from the Ambitious ones, they can be playing in the Champions League and still complain about wanting to move to a bigger club...where they will sit on the bench and rot behind someone getting $250,000/wk. I know this because I have let these players go, and when I check on them a year later, they have a couple starts and some mop-up work, when they could have gotten 20-30 starts a year with me.

Hmm strange. I thought he would be "media-friendly, volatile, confrontational" at the very least

Media Friendly and Ambitious clearly encompasses perfectly reasonable players as well as ego-trip psychos...

[podunkboy]

Hmm strange. I thought he would be "media-friendly, volatile, confrontational" at the very least

Media Friendly and Ambitious clearly encompasses perfectly reasonable players as well as ego-trip psychos...

I even signed a Croatian teammate so he wouldn't be lonely in Scotland. Now I have to kick his friend to the curb, too, because I am NOT learning Croatian at this stage of my career. English, Welsh, Spanish and French is enough.