Do you guys ever do this?

Hi guys, do any of you regular players at the start of a new season play your team against your reserves and take control of the reserves so you can see exactly how everyone plays against eachother? I only just done it and found it very useful, is there anything else you do to help remove dead wood without just relying on coach reports?

I always have an annual reserves friendly, but I don't take control of them. It's definitely a very useful way to see if there's anyone you don't play but probably should.

Trouble is though, I never know what a good result is. If I thrash the reserves on one hand that means my first team's pretty good, but on the other it means I've got no decent back-up or players for the future. Similarly if it's a very close game does that mean my first team can't cut it, or does it mean that I've got some quality players in the reserves that are ready to take the next step?

Absolutely. When I fire up a new game I arrange 2 or 3 friendlies with first team vs reserves to study my squad in depth. In subsequent seasons and during mid-season international breaks I often arrange these games to monitor the back-ups' progress.

Yep, 1 maybe 2 at the start of a season every season. Also *hint* you can turn your first team fortunes around using these games. If 1st team confidence is low you can always have a quick reserve game, providing there is a slot, the 1st team win will help boost morale.

Never did that before mate, good idea though, well done geezer:thup:

Never did that before mate, good idea though, well done geezer:thup:

I like to try and help . Also, if you do decide to give your 1st team a boost, be careful about who you select for your reserves. Any players you may want to step up in the near future will have their morale dented if they play for the reserves so its best to either leave them out or give them a start in the 1st team for that game.

Iv never done this either, will give it a spin next pre-season.

What baker says is also a great way to boost the confidence of those strikers going through treacherous goal droughts. Nothing like slotting a few home past an 18 year-old keeper to make you feel good about yourself, haha.

I follow this routine every pre-season. I just put some of my fist-teamers in the reserves and vice-versa. It makes the contest more interesting and competitive. I don't take control of the reserves though coz, both the squads are evenly balanced.

Yes I have done, and still do it occasionally.

Thanks for reminding me, as I forgot to do it this game year, Oooops.

Never done it but will do from now on!

I used to do this on the older versions, but I stopped doing it for some reason. I might have to ressurect the idea during my next pre-season! Like one of the posters above, I used to mix the teams up a bit so it's a bit more even.

troubl;e is the AI or assistant can make players do things we cant!! making some players look great ..

After all my pre-season games are completed and there is a few days to the main action kicks off I tend to arrange a friendly between my reserves and U18s, and I put any of my first team players who havent quite reached match fitness into the reserve team to help them along a bit. Also boosts the fitness of the reserve and U18 squads as they dont tend to have any games during this period.

Sometimes I do this to prevent my squad from going for a long period between games, like those random two week downtimes.

I never usually play a friendly versus the reserves in pre-season. I might give it a go though, i like the idea of mixing up the teams so its a bit more even as well.