How tired do you let players get?

I am relatively new to FM, playing in the Blue Square South with a bunch of young players without the best stamina. I would like to take players out when they are about 80% condition. However, and especially when I am forced to start players under 95%, I end up leaving players in to 75% or 70%. In some tough weeks, after I've made my 3 subs, I've had to play players down into the sixties.

How tired do you let your players get?

Do you have a choice if you used up your 3 subs?

I try to manage the tempo and pressing of my team so that players don't get 'exhausted'.

If I'm ahead in a match, I switch to a possession style of football which probes on the occasional counter-attack (with Bognor Regis in the BSS ) which will save energy.

I never start a player who is 'tired'. I try never to start a player below 90% (ideally it would be 95% but quality in depth for replacements is a problem with a limited wage budget).

The prime reason is that once a player is 'exhausted' then they become significantly more likely to make mistakes. Mistakes can mean late goals being scored against me. As proof of the efficacy of this method I can honestly say that I have conceded only 7 goals in 2 seasons in the last 15 minutes of a match (3 of those goals coming in the 3rd round of the FA Cup against Premier League West Brom which just highlighted the vast gulf in fitness levels between the two teams!). I'm currently averaging just under a goal a game scored in the last 15 minutes over those 2 seasons (I think I worked it out as 0.7 per game - certainly a big proportion of my goals scored) as when necessary I can then up the tempo and attack to get a goal if needed or through simple exhaustion the opposition will make a mistake for my team to score on the counter.

I never start a player under 90%

But during the match there are to many factors to take in account. Injurys, players playing bad etc...

I never start under 90 either and always take them off at 69 during the game if possible (note; never use your third sub or you will get a player injured right away and leave yourself with 10 or even 9 men)

I never start if they are under 90, sometimes even not if they are on 92. I then sub the first players who get down to 70. Not too bad most of the time!

I try not to start below 95 and i sub most times if the fitness falls below 75, depending on the game.

i find its really difficult in lower league, especially amateur leagues because stamina drops so quickly.

lessen the temp and try playing a more long ball style i suppose.

in the prem i tend to not start players who are under 90 for stamina

I never start a player under 90%

But during the match there are to many factors to take in account. Injurys, players playing bad etc...

You don't often have a choice in lower league. It's taken me 3 years to get my AFC Wimbledon squad to cope with the huge amout of fixtures.

I never start under 90% and sub players who drop below 70%. If they drop off quick they are not fit. So you need to consider using them as subs until they are and/or they have adjusted to the demands you make with your tactics. Players who have a low natural fitness who are over-used when not fit, or not played regularly will drop off quick. Players used regularly who are maintaining 75% fitness at the end of matches will generally be less injury prone I find, as will players with high stamina ..

That gives me a good idea how to approach things.

As others have pointed out, it will depend a lot on the depth of your squad. In the BS chances are you won't have much quality beyond your match-day squad, so rotating can be a bit tricky. Still, I wouldn't be afraid of putting faith in your squad and swapping out players wherever possible in order to give players a breather.

Certainly starting a player with less than 90% condition is a huge risk. Also watch out for the general status, as 'tired' players should also never be started.

Normally once a player drops below 80% condition things are going to start to get a bit risky. If you play a high-tempo game however, you will often find that chunks of your midfield and your forwards will be dropping to 72-75% condition, which is probably still managable if they're only hitting those levels in the 80-90min mark of the match. But if they're dropping below 80% by the 65-75min mark of the game, then you should be looking to either slow down the tempo of the team (if it's a lot of players) or sub the player out (if it's just one or two).

Anything below 70% is high-risk territory. As pointed out, mistakes will increase, their ability to chase will drop, and the chances of picking up an injury goes up.

One other area to help with condition is training workload; if you have a small squad playing regular games, don't be afraid to drop the training workload - players develop more in matches than they do in training anyway, so reduce the workload in training to help get their condition back up to 95% or above.

I do play a high tempo pressing game, so I could turn that down a bit.

I do play a high tempo pressing game, so I could turn that down a bit.

It depends on if your whole squad is keeling over by the 75min-mark of the match of if it is just a handful of players.

If it is the whole squad, then maybe an adjustment to tone things down will be appropriate. If the majority of the squad is lasting to 80-85min before dropping below 75%, then it is probably ok to merely tone things down manually during the match at certain points (such as after you obtain a 2-goal lead or simply when you get to a certain time).

If it is just one or two players, tweaking their individual settings to something less onerous might help, or reducing their training schedule in particular. Also, if just one or two players, these are the ones that should be earmarked for rotation (even if they are your best players, better well rested and firing for the games they start then jaded and under-performing in all games). Sub them out after 65-70 minutes of the match, give them breaks whenever possible.

Good luck.

I try not to start below 95 and i sub most times if the fitness falls below 75, depending on the game.

yep, same here