My own "house" rules . . .

[stockwellpete]

There are a couple of things that I am doing to make the game a bit more difficult/realistic at the moment . . .

1) always pick a goalie among my substitutes. I have never had a goalie get injured during a game, although someone on Steam said it had happened to him once. It seems to be very rare, but clubs would always have a keeper on the bench.

2) I only use the individual "Rest" option if it means the player can sit out a training session. This is important as I am playing as a semi-professional club that only trains twice a week. So if I have a game on Saturday and then another one on Tuesday, with no training session scheduled in-between, I do not use the "Rest" option as it would seem to be an exploit to make my players recover more quickly.

Are there any other things that players are doing like this?

 

Edit: added the following house rules since starting this thread . . .

3) do not use "ghost" players if they appear in my matchday squad.

4) make tactical changes only when there is a break in play.

Edited July 23, 2023 by stockwellpete

[qazwsx]

One house rule I use during matches (I watch them in full) is that I am not allowed to change tactics unless there is a natural  stop in the game... goal, player substitution ( for any team), injury (with physio entering the pitch) or a red card. That can be a bit painful when you start a match and immediately see something you would like to change but have to wait for one of those natural stops.

[stockwellpete]

1 hour ago, qazwsx said:

One house rule I use during matches (I watch them in full) is that I am not allowed to change tactics unless there is a natural  stop in the game... goal, player substitution ( for any team), injury (with physio entering the pitch) or a red card. That can be a bit painful when you start a match and immediately see something you would like to change but have to wait for one of those natural stops.

That sounds a good one. I think I shall add that to my repertoire in future. I have never watched a whole game. I must try it soon - maybe the frequency of my players running offside like brain-dead zombies will reduce. lol

[qazwsx]

Prepare to go through the same hell that real life managers go through every match. There are so many emotions and ups and downs when you follow the whole match and not just watching highlights.  I normally watch the match with the speed a couple of notches above the midpoint.