Quote:
Originally posted by Columnarius:
Thanks as always for this. I've had some questions since 2007 when I first used your schedules but never really asked so here goes. Hopefully this is similar to what others are wondering and it will be helpful for everyone to get your thoughts.
1. Recovery Schedule
Is this really needed? What happens if you just leave the player on his normal schedule while he's injured?
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Yeah, I see your point about the recovery schedule. It can be used after serious, long-term injuries where players may have broken a leg or damaged cruciate ligaments for example, and need some very light training before moving onto something a bit more intensive.
However, in past FM07 games, I've tended to move players from
None straight to one of the schedules, basically skipping at the recovery stage, and this does not appear to do any long-term damage. Some players have picked up recurring injuries after doing this, put this may be more to do with their injury prone rate - this can be attained from physio reports (
more info here). As mentioned, it all depends on the extent of the injury and your own judgement tbh.
Quote:
Originally posted by Columnarius:
2. Fitness schedule
I assume you apply this to all players when they return from holiday? How do you know this is working vs. just letting the players start using their normal schedules? When else would you use these - for example, what about if someone comes back from a long injury and is unfit?
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I've tended to use the fitness schedules in order to improve those players that are not as physically competent in the squad for short periods of time. It can be used to bias a player's training on the physical side, and is useful when implemeted with one of the standard schedules, basically rotating between the two at set intervals, try rotating each month or two for example. Be warned, however, that too much extensive fitness training may cause unecessary injuries due to the reasonably high strength and aerobic biases.
I've never used fitness schedules after holidays and before pre-season, preferring to put the players onto pre-season more or less straight away when they return. Good idea though, try it and see how you get on :thup:
Quote:
Originally posted by Columnarius:
3. Pre-Season schedule
When do you switch from fitness to pre-season? When do you switch from pre-season to regular (right before the first real match?) How do these help and how do they link to the pre-season and normal schedules?
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What you need to think about in pre-season is to give as many of your first team squad and reserves as possible sufficient match fitness in time for the new season. I tend to play at least 5 pre-season matches, but no more than 7; this is personal preference. I won't pick the same starting XI for each match, switching things around a bit so that everyone gets some part in the match. I also tend to make mass substituions at halftime in pre-season friendlies, sometimes changing the entire starting XI after 45 mins; the more matchtime the better for each player.
Depending upon when players return from holidays, my pre-season duration can be anything between 3-4 weeks; anything greater than may increase the possibility of injuries tbh. You don't have to throw your players straight onto pre-season as soon as they're back from holidays, but obviously the sooner you start pre-season, the sooner you can wind it down.
Most of the time I'll switch my players from pre-season to normal schedules at least 2 weeks before the start of the season in order for players to find their feet, and to avoid unecessary injuries or tiredness at the start of a campaign. Even if you have pre-season friendlies remaining, ensure your players are given normal schedules with plenty of adjustment time.
Think of pre-season as something of a shock schedule; its intents are to bring players upto full match fitness in the shortest possible time in order to minimise injury possibilites.
Quote:
Originally posted by Columnarius:
B]4. #2 and #3 alternate schedules[/B]
By including these, are you suggesting that when a player has the physical statistics already maxed out, that you use these instead of focus more time on technical skills? Does the diminished physical training result in lower physical stats over time?
Cheers!
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I haven't extensively tested the alternative schedules (#2 and #3), so can't discuss potential declining physical attributes. However, the physical biases haven't (in many cases) fallen significantly in #2 and #3; they intend to focus on the remaining training categories. These spin-offs were designed as alternatives for individual players within a squad; choose the schedule which is most appropriate to the calibre of the player.
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