What exactly is the point in giving players a squad status?

I used to believe that the 'squad status' function was a massively important tool of giving your players an indication as to where they stood in your team. An indespensible player may feel more inclined to stay with the club as he feels worshipped, and a backup player would know he was just that. But what saddens me on this FM is that almost every season, if I try to have a relatively large squad (we're talking something like 2 keepers, 5 defenders, 4 wing backs, 5 centre mids and 4/5 strikers - nothing daft but a bit of backup) it just ends up in misery.

You see, when I'm getting my squad together at the start of the season, I sometimes find I'm a bit short of backup strikers, for eg, in the event that I suffer injury problems in the season. As a result, I find a reasonably effective, but cheap, striker, usually on a free transfer, and offer him cheap wages as a backup player. Without anyone else wanting him, he usually signs. Then, 15 games into the season, my two main strikers are on fire and haven't been injured so laddo hasn't got a game, other than vs Hereford in the League Cup, where he came on and had a solid 5.5. But why does he start getting mardy that he isn't getting games? Why does he start handing transfer requests in? He's a backup, I told him that, he should know he isn't going to be a first team regular. And yet he expects to be.

Laddo isn't the only problem. My 'backup' keeper has also given me a 'play me or lose me' ultimatum. My 'rotation' midfielder isn't happy with playing over half of my games - he feels that's not rotation at all. I look down my list of players and it's a sea of unhappy morons with average ratings of 6.21. Help. And then, of course, my board are unsatisfied with the lack of squad harmony. Said poor harmony then contributes to poor performances and, even worse, an extra question for my journalist to ask as I plead for the option to end my press conference. Ratings wise, my team is gifted, but because my sea of ungrateful backup players are annoyed with me, they decide not to bother performing on the occasions when they get a chance.

Is there anything I can do? Am I being arrogant in thinking I should be allowed these utility players? Should I simply have a squad of 17 and then play a 16 year old if need be? I know in real life nobody, not even a 'backup' player, would be delighted with never getting a run out but I don't think he'd hand in a transfer request in October either. It seems to me that the only use of the squad status is to make some foolish club from the Championship more inclined to bid a few hundred grand for these average idiots' services.

I used to have a big squad but this usually means it will bring the squad harmony right down, but now i have quite a small squad and the harmony is back up again this seems to fix it, also offering them contracts keeps them happy for a while. Personally i find these things should be improved for FM10

I know how you feel. If I were you I'd offload them soon as possible.

Keep a small squad with back ups in the positions you deem important. For me it's CM and CB. I tend to have 2 for each position unless there's a youngster I'm looking to develop then I only buy one back up and allow my youngster to be the second.

Every other position is filled between 3-4 versatile players.

Mainly down to player personality.

Loyalty, ambition, determination & professionalism all play a role.

I have a relatively stable squad of 22 or 23, I'm wondering if you've just been a bit unlucky to get a bunch of moany players.

I do sympathise though. The worst bit of player mardiness, that should definitely be addressed for FM10, is the player coming back from a serious injury who becomes unhappy that he is not a first team regular as soon as he hits 80% fitness. The last one who did that to me did it during the winter break, when nobody was a first team regular because we didn't have any games.

i think this is called man managment? have a high stat here and you should be able to keep them happy?

With fringe players who say play me or lose me, I normally say "okay" to them and put them on the list. Sometimes they regret their actions. If it is someone you are building up for the future, tell them they will get their chance or to do well in training. If they don't react well to these suggestions, flog em (by that I mean sell, not corporal punishment!).

Sometimes, just above Player Interaction on the player's tree menu, there is a Resolve Differences button which can work.

Mainly down to player personality.

Loyalty, ambition, determination & professionalism all play a role.

Ding ding ding!

We have a winner, folks!

This is it, pretty much precisely. Players have a hidden "Controversy" stat, which combined with their personality, professionalism, loyalty, and ambition - as well as their relationship with you and their feelings for the club - will inform the decision "do I complain or not?"

The "Backup" goalkeeper is an oft-discussed problem, but I've had one who demanded a transfer by December, and another who was content playing about 5 games a season for three years. It really is all down to the player .. but that second one wouldn't have remained content if I'd told him he was a "First Team"er.

I tend to collect professional, determined players, and run a squad of 22: two for every position .. and, once I've molded the team to my preferred types, I rarely have trouble.

Loans-out can helpalot - as an E.P.L. club, you might be best suited to send your backup GK out on a full-season loan to the Championship, with a "Recall Clause". Keep an 18-year-old on the bench and for League Cup matches ... but if your starter gets hurt, recall your true backup. Added bonus: he's probably match fit due to playing competitive matches at the loaning club.

"Hot Prospect" deserves its own category: I actually rate it slightly higher than "Backup" in terms of playing time expected .. once I began reserving it for players whom I do expect to layer in with the first team (substitute appearances, League Cup / FA Cup appearances, etc) I had much less incidence of youngsters demanding first-team time. It turns out most of the young players who ask for "Hot Prospect" status still sign for me as "Youth Player"; then I bump them up to "Hot Prospect" later when they've developed enough to start to see some first-team action.

Remember to interpret the demand as "I want to go somewhere where I can play more often", not "I expect you to play me more often" which is more how it is worded ... that helps it feel more realistic when they demand playing time.

Wow, excellent post!

On the subject of a back up goalkeeper:

My second choice goalkeeper in one save was noticeably higher in some attributes- command of area, aerial ability, jumping, strength, that set. So my first choice player most games, but if we were against a physical, long ball or tall side, he'd come in. It helped that he was also quite young. He probably played 10 league games plus all my cup matches, more than enough to keep him happy.

On the topic of squad statuses:

I find they are most useful when convincing a player to stay or to sign. Aside from that, you have to be careful not to drop them too far, too often or too soon after signing a contract.

I sign mostly 'good' personality players (same reason I aim for teams with 15 as the lowest determination).The moment I get a wiff of this sort of nonsense the player gets transfer listed/contract cancelled.

Ding ding ding!

Loans-out can helpalot - as an E.P.L. club, you might be best suited to send your backup GK out on a full-season loan to the Championship, with a "Recall Clause".

How do you do that? I mean, I can recall the keeper but he's never eligible because he hasn't got a shirt number. I gave one to him before he was loaned out but he seems to have lost it and now that the transfer window is closed i can't give him a new one. Any help appreciated

How do you do that? I mean, I can recall the keeper but he's never eligible because he hasn't got a shirt number. I gave one to him before he was loaned out but he seems to have lost it and now that the transfer window is closed i can't give him a new one. Any help appreciated

It doesn't work in countries where you have to register players inside the transfer windows (e.g. Spain or Russia).

I use squad status' to determine contracts (e.g. Backup Player = certain wage)

One way to avoid this is to keep 'smaller' sized squads. I have 1st team squads of 20 players, with normally, 2 GK's, 7 DF's, 7 MF's, 4 ST's (if playing a standard 4-4-2). If I have injuries, then I can promote from the the youth/U20 team. This way all of your 1st team gets a good amount of matches, and injuries allow you to provide a boost to the development of your promising youngsters from the youth team.

I have 22 in the first team, 2 for each positions, all at either squad rotation or higher.

Anyone in reserves is young enough to not be fussed about being a backup player (or less) and doesn't complain.

Well..the point is simple. You offer them a key role so they sign for you and when they complain you just change it to rotation and they are happy.

I second Amaroq's big post. Also, the club and manager reputations will play a big part. When I first started managing, if a player complained for action and I said no they'd request a transfer. Now, they often apologize if I remind them that they're a backup. And being a squad player or backup in a Champions League squad is more appealing for some than being a regular on a relegation-battling side.

When the squad wins, people want to stay even if they are backups, and winning helps harmony.

As far as a point in giving squad statuses, I feel it does slightly affect their satisfaction. A key player will be expected to be treated as such - played very frequently, maybe paid more than most, I don't know. Some players won't sign if you don't label them as key players. Also, setting a squad status when determining wages in the contract sets the upper limits of what the board will let you pay. The maximum for a backup is a fraction of the max for a key player.

And jakobx, for me changing squad status rapidly has always backfired. When I used to try that, the player would become unhappy and "question their decision to join" or "feel like the manager doesn't appreciate their contribution" etc. I always wait and gradually over time upgrade or downgrade squad status to avoid this.

I started getting around this by always signing as many players on loan as I could (even though I could afford to buy backup players). If you are a top club and are willing to pay a hefty fee, you can bring in very good players on loan. Just ask your assistant to find them at the position you need and he'll save you the grief of figuring out the price.

Players on loan NEVER complain even if you don't play them once. For a club with money, it was worth it not to have to deal with their complaining.

I assume that the OP is playing in the lower leagues of England. Building a happy squad is much harder the lower down you go. You arguably need more players than a top team because you play more league games, your players are likely to be less fit (due to poor training facilities, or physical shortcomings) and the standard of your youth players are likely to be worse (less finances to invest in promising youngsters).

In reality, these teams get by because of utility players and loans. Look for players that can play in multiple positions competently - Centrebacks that can cover at full-back or central midfield; fullbacks that can play on the wing; wingers that can play up front or in the middle; attacking midfielders that can play as strikers. This, with a couple of loan players (who as mentioned above, don't complain) as back-up can help build a strong and happy squad.

When I play with any team in the 2nd tier of their countries league system (or 3rd Tier in England), I never have a first team squad larger than 18. By this, I don't have more than 18 players who could realistically expect to feature in first team action during the season. It is unlikely that I will be ravaged by 7 major injuries at the same time, and if that happens, I can always bring in short-term loans. Youth players can come in and make up the numbers on the bench, and very rarely they will get a crack, unless they are the ONLY option in that position.

I started getting around this by always signing as many players on loan as I could (even though I could afford to buy backup players). If you are a top club and are willing to pay a hefty fee, you can bring in very good players on loan. Just ask your assistant to find them at the position you need and he'll save you the grief of figuring out the price.

Players on loan NEVER complain even if you don't play them once. For a club with money, it was worth it not to have to deal with their complaining.

Ditto. I'm quite sure it is a bug, as loan player get unhappy as well IRL, but in FM they never get annoyed. Most of my backup players are loan players that are fine getting a game here or there due to injuries or coming off the bench for the whole season.