Keeping a squad happy.

[ademac]

Doesn't matter what I seem to do, at some point every season players start coming to me asking to go out on loan or complaining about some issue or another. I find myself playing players because to keep them happy I have to say "I'm prepared to give you a chance etc". And they always start doing this about a week AFTER the window for transfers/loans has closed. I know footballers are pretty dumb, but surely they know when the transfer window is open or closed ?

I just seem to be constantly fending off unhappy players. I rotate as much as I can, but sometimes fixtures just dont allow you to do that. Its almost as if I give in and tell one of them that a loan would be good then it opens the flood gates, and every player who knows full well they are backup young players constantly starting crying.

Its like Adnan Januzaj being dropped for 3 games then going crying to Moyes that he hasn't had enough 1st team football and wants to go on loan. More often than not if I dont agree they through a massive hissy fit. Its got to the point that I feel it necessary to save the game before giving them an answer because it just feels so utterly random how players react.

I've been at the club for 3 seasons so it's not like I'm new.

Be interested in how others manage to keep their players happy. I feel like over half my game time is spent f**king about trying to keep players happy or match fit. The reserve side doesn't make much sense either. I've had the same 3 players who need match fitness manually set as available for 60 mins and in the last 2 months they have never been played. I've checked and double checked their availabilty, that there are no other players also assigned to be allowed to play, but the reserve manager keeps playing U-18 players ahead of the 1st team members in need of match fitness. I've also tried changing them as being available until match fit.

So I'm constantly trying to get players match fit and fending off unhappy players. The whole thing is very frustrating especially when it takes so much time to do what needs to be done and then it either never happens, or the players throw massive fits.

Like I say, I estimate 50% of my game time is spent managing players who know they are only backups, are young developing players, trying to keep players match fit and looking at all the relavent screens trying to work out why the hell my players aren't being played when for the reserves when they are set to do so. The whole thing feels "Cluggy, slow and completely pointless".

[Petros7]

I usually manage top teams in their leagues and my solution to this is to have small squads.

What I do is this:

- in the under 18s I release anybody who I feel has no potential and the rest go into my reserves (I usually only have grey players there)

- in the reserves I sell anybody who I feel has no future with my club and the rest go into my first team

- in my first team I sent out on loan anybody who I feel will not be playing in the current year at all and I feel will gain more from match experience on loan than staying at the club to train (I make sure I deal with the loan agreements and not the Director of Football as I want to be able to recall them if I need them or if they are not getting enough match experience)

- I'm usually left with around 22 to 25 players which I use on rotation or if they are youngsters sparingly as substitutes and I put the youngsters to play for the reserve team until match fit (this includes youngsters that I don't want to send out on loan because I feel they would benefit with training at my club).

I like to use my developing youngsters with my first team and I have always managed to keep everybody happy and match fit with the above policy.

Sometimes I may not achieve all of the above in one season, but I persevere for a season or two until I achieve it and then I don't have any of the problems that you seem to be encountering.

I hope my ideas are of some worth to you.