Some questions about Training

[Jebedaias]

Apologies if this is already covered somewhere else, but I've got some quick questions which will hopefully clarify a few Training aspects for me:

- Regarding the Team Training, I've seen opinions that you need to run a specific focus (i.e. Tactics, Fitness) for about 3-4 months continuously for it to be effective, but is it really the case ? On the Overview panel the percentages for each focus are added and updated over time, so is it really different if you train a focus for 3 months continuously or if you get those 3 months in a longer frame (alternating between other focuses, i.e. 2 weeks Tactics, 2 weeks Fitness etc.) as long as you still end-up with, say, 75% Fitness and 25% Tactics over 12 months ?

- I know @Cleon and others have written extensively about Player Development and such, but what do you guys generally recommend in terms of Workload for a player ? Specifically if they're younger, under 23 (but playing regularly in the First Team). Would you say a total (Team + Individual) Medium workload is more suitable than a Heavy one (provided that even on Heavy they don't get injured) ? I suppose Heavy would eventually make them tired during the later stages of a season ?

- How important Match Training really is ? For example, if I choose to focus on Defensive Positioning for an upcoming match, does it make a real difference if I max-out the Match Training (2 days) or I leave it to the minimum (half day, or the first notch that doesn't completely skip it) ?

- I noticed sometimes even young players with good potential fail to learn a PPM. Does this have to do with the quality of coaches or Training facilities or it's simply a hit and miss ? Also, does it matter which of the coaches I ask to teach these PPMs ? I would assume that if you've got a Defensive style coach he'd be more suited to ask for Defensive PPMs or does it not matter that much ?

Any answers and links to other topics which offer more insight on these aspects of Training are much appreciated, thanks !

[herne79]

4 hours ago, Jebedaias said:

- Regarding the Team Training, I've seen opinions that you need to run a specific focus (i.e. Tactics, Fitness) for about 3-4 months continuously for it to be effective, but is it really the case ? On the Overview panel the percentages for each focus are added and updated over time, so is it really different if you train a focus for 3 months continuously or if you get those 3 months in a longer frame (alternating between other focuses, i.e. 2 weeks Tactics, 2 weeks Fitness etc.) as long as you still end-up with, say, 75% Fitness and 25% Tactics over 12 months ?

Any amount of training is effective, you just won't notice any changes for a lengthy period of time.  Attributes are actually set on a 1-200 scale, not 1-20, so if you have a Striker train Finishing for a week he may move from 141 to 142 which you'll never notice.  He's still improved, you just won't see it.  But leave him training Finishing for 3 months (doesn't have to be consecutively) and he might go from 141 to 149 - or from 14 to 15 as it would appear in game - and so would get noticed.

4 hours ago, Jebedaias said:

- I know @Cleon and others have written extensively about Player Development and such, but what do you guys generally recommend in terms of Workload for a player ? Specifically if they're younger, under 23 (but playing regularly in the First Team). Would you say a total (Team + Individual) Medium workload is more suitable than a Heavy one (provided that even on Heavy they don't get injured) ? I suppose Heavy would eventually make them tired during the later stages of a season ?

It's very hard to answer that as there is no one size fit all.  Each player is different and players with different personalities and attribute profiles will develop differently.  Also bear in mind that training workload/intensity can have an impact on injuries.  As a very general rule of thumb, improve player personalities; set their individual training plans; give them a decent amount of match time and adjust their workloads as complaints/injuries/development dictates.

4 hours ago, Jebedaias said:

- How important Match Training really is ? For example, if I choose to focus on Defensive Positioning for an upcoming match, does it make a real difference if I max-out the Match Training (2 days) or I leave it to the minimum (half day, or the first notch that doesn't completely skip it) ?

More Match Preparation means less time players spend training.  It's possible to have no Match Prep set at all so 100% of player time is spent training, however no Match Prep can also negatively impact your tactical familiarity.  Personally I have about a day before the match spent on Match Prep, the day after is a rest day and the rest of the time is for Training.  One thing to bear in mind for your under 18 players - Training is the most important factor in attribute development for this age group so having large amounts of Match Prep here can have nasty consequences for their development.

4 hours ago, Jebedaias said:

- I noticed sometimes even young players with good potential fail to learn a PPM. Does this have to do with the quality of coaches or Training facilities or it's simply a hit and miss ? Also, does it matter which of the coaches I ask to teach these PPMs ? I would assume that if you've got a Defensive style coach he'd be more suited to ask for Defensive PPMs or does it not matter that much ?

Lots of factors influence PPM training.  There is no guaranteed way to have a player learn a PPM - even under perfect conditions they can still fail - but by applying some simple logic you can improve your chances.  So for example: don't ask a defensive coach to teach an attacking PPM; don't ask a striker to learn a defensive PPM; you can't teach old dogs new tricks so teach PPMs early; pick players with suitable attributes for the PPM (eg., good on the ball skills may help a player learn "Runs with Ball Often"); better coaches can give better results; feel free to ignore coach advice but advice will be better with better quality coaches who know your players.

[Tom8983]

19 hours ago, herne79 said:

Any amount of training is effective, you just won't notice any changes for a lengthy period of time.  Attributes are actually set on a 1-200 scale, not 1-20, so if you have a Striker train Finishing for a week he may move from 141 to 142 which you'll never notice.  He's still improved, you just won't see it.  But leave him training Finishing for 3 months (doesn't have to be consecutively) and he might go from 141 to 149 - or from 14 to 15 as it would appear in game - and so would get noticed.

Just to point out you can see this difference if you click on the players 'attribute changes' in the development drop down menu, highlight the specific attribute and hover over the line. That tells you their score including the decimal.