Squad rotation

[ryandormer]

How does everybody approach squad rotation in their saves? I find it hard to justify picking my subs or reserves ahead of the first eleven if everybody is fully fit, but I feel like I should be utilising squad depth a bit more.

[Tsuru]

It depends on my squad and on some other factors.

For example, a few seasons ago I spotted a very good young goalkeeper but my main goalkeeper was playing very well. What I did? I hired the good young one and started rotating them two, each one plays a different game. And this can be done with every position, if you really have two good players for it.

Another nice thing to do is to look for versatile players and retrain them to become even more versatile. For example: Sean Roughan is a good CB which can also play as a left fullback, and I retrained him to also learn how to be a IWB on the right. Now I have a player that can play on every defence position and he does very well so if a player is really tired to play a match, Roughan can do his role.

Some time ago I read an article in which @Cleonsaid he liked to have different kinds of players for the same position - let´s say two strikers, a very speedy and technical one and a more physical one. He used to substitute one for the another but without changing the role - why? Because different kinds of players play the game very different, so a tall and physical AF will be very different from a speedy one. He used this "rotation" to try a different strategy during a match without even touching roles, duties, TIs or PIs, which can be a very interesting aspect of squad rotation. Some people take this even further and for example, use the tall striker if the opponent CBs are small or have bad impulsion, or the speedy AF if opponent CBs are too slow.

I think you got the point, for me squad rotation can be used in many ways.

[Sheyner21]

I usually like to have between 23 to 25 players, 2 for each position and 2-3 players that are young and/or are versatile. Then, i try to rotate against lesser teams and when we have a congested fixture. Even when everybody is fully fit, i pay attention to risk of injury and how many matches they've been playing in the last 3/4 weeks. That way i don't overotate in a way that my players can't form relationships, but in a way almost everybody can play.

I try not to change too much of my first eleven when i rotate, 3/4 players are enough unless we are in a run of really important matches (Imagine February/March when playing against the big teams of your league, while champions knockouts and cup games) where in the middle you have a match agains a middle/low table club, in that game i would change 7/9 players of the starting 11.

Which ones i rotate comes down to low Natural Fitness and Stamina and of course how intense is my tactic.

[Draakon]

I play with 22-25 players, too, but because I play youth only save and rely heavily on my youth players to develop, roughly half of my team are U-21 players that qualifies them to play for my reserves I ultimately try to keep all of the first team players match fit and give them at least 10 first team starts in the season, so I often rotate against smaller teams in the league, cup games etc. Sometimes injuries force my hand, so game time spreads out anyway.

The most difficult task is to get my backup goalkeeper his 10 games - a couple of cup games come handy, but I need to pick league games when he gets to start. Sometimes the last few match days after our title is secure, are the ones I rotate most.