The effect of resting players . . .

[stockwellpete]

I have written elsewhere about the problems I have with the fixture scheduling, the worst case scenario I have encountered in FM23 is when my Leyton Orient team (League 1, UK) were asked to play 18 matches in 61 days (November and December). One of the ways I try to cope with this absurdity (other than rotating players) is to "rest" players in-between games. Usually for 2 days and their condition improves quite quickly.

But what is the longer-term consequence of this regular "resting"? Do players lose endurance/stamina over time because they are not training? Am I actually making my players less able to cope with a congested fixture list in future? Presumably I am also disrupting their development (acquiring traits etc) by "resting" them regularly?

[Centipede]

This is just my 2 cents, but I think this is a legit way to deal with fixture congestion that some people consider a borderline "cheat". It works especially well if you tend to play a high intensity press tactic.

I've never done it over a long period, but I would suspect that getting the match experience more than compensates for the loss of training. But it would make sense you lose the specialised guided development indeed, like the training of a trait, or if you focus the training session on set pieces or something like that. In any case, it would be reasonable that you only rest the 11 people you intend to start, and you still train the backups.

So all in all I don't know exactly, but it should work. If you've tried it over a long period it would be very interesting if you post your findings, do players degrade or benefit from this approach in the long term?

[stockwellpete]

Well, a month later and I am still doing it. It is hard to tell if there are any serious detrimental effects to giving players 2 days rest between a weekend match and a midweek match. I typically end up with 5 players having very poor stamina at the end of each match - and these are the outfield players who have not been subbed. Does everybody else have this happen to them, or might it be a consequence of resting players? I don't know.

What is clearer to me are the benefits of doing it. It means that I can pick stronger starting XI's and that I have a more settled team. This gives me those green and yellow lines linking players up on the tactics screen that indicate players have good understanding and play better together. It also allows me to have a slightly smaller squad, which may be a consideration if your club is cash-strapped.

I am not sure why anyone would consider it "cheating" when the "rest" option is available in the game. I appreciate that a lot of work has gone into the game, but I think they have got stamina drops badly wrong. Players generally do not reach the point of exhaustion playing a football match (maybe sometimes in very hot countries). They do get tired and performance levels will start to drop and so players adopt coping strategies to get themselves through the later stages of matches . . .

https://www.hud.ac.uk/news/2020/november/football-fixture-congestion-new-study/

[Garuda One]

Evidence based FM on YouTube actually looked into this exact thing in detail. You should check him out.

[Centipede]

I think it was because it allows you to use gegenpress with little downside, which is very powerful. Which is why I heard in FM23 they made it cost even more stamina.

For example, I don't use a lot of pressing so I rarely have this problem where they are totally depleted between matches.

[stockwellpete]

Originally posted by Garuda One:

Evidence based FM on YouTube actually looked into this exact thing in detail. You should check him out.

Thanks, I will do. Not heard of him before.

[stockwellpete]

Originally posted by Centipede:

I think it was because it allows you to use gegenpress with little downside, which is very powerful. Which is why I heard in FM23 they made it cost even more stamina.

For example, I don't use a lot of pressing so I rarely have this problem where they are totally depleted between matches.

OK. I have swapped from gegenpress to vertical tiki-taka in my latest season, so I will see if that makes any difference to my stamina levels. With a high press, it is not the pressing team's defenders who are doing all the hard work though, is it? Basically, they are watching what is happening while their team mates i.e. midfielders, wing-backs and forwards try to win the ball back high up the pitch.