Fitness in BSP

Okay i'm playing in the BSP as Histon FC. I'm currently 2nd in my first season (now cursed myself!!) but i have advanced to the semi-finals of the FA Trophy. I have game pretty much every Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday. My players are knackered and it's irritating as i don't have that big a squad and if i wish to progress through to League Two then i need my best players. Gareth Gwilmin sp? has 11/12 for Fitness yet finishes every game with around 70%. This can't be right. Also, when resting players for 2 days after a game, they only gain around 10%. Surely, if your rested then you should gain full fitness?

Fitness is absolute. Gareth is getting low fitness ratings because he's not as fit as Essien. Just because he has high fitness for the league doesn't mean he won't get tired.

Resting is a good start, but after a really tough work out, just rest will not get you back to your best.

I think you should player your best players in the league and rest them for the cup.

You could player your best players in the cup and still lose.

As for the your players fitness levels at the end of games....it depends on how much ground they are covering during the match. Also when you say fitness do you mean stamina or natural fitness?

I think that stamina is how much gas players have to burn in a match and natural fitness is how quickly they recover in the days after a match (amongst other things).

If you are referring to stamina, then I think that even though your player has stamina of 11 or 12 he may have a really low natural fitness and thus it takes him a while to get back to 100%.

I remember when I was managing chelsea at the end of matches essien would be down 80-82% after matches even though he has a high stamina rating but I think that his high natural fitness rating is what gets him back to 100% in 2 days or so.

Oh and match fitness is also a factor (but Im sure its not a factor for you seeing how you are nearing the end of the season).

Good Luck

You could also try and lower the intensity of your training, as this will mean that they will be doing less, and should recover quicker.

I have noticed this as well and i am managing in the BSN and after matches my players fitness is at about 85%

Are your players on part time contracts?

If they are then they are likely to be less match fit. Try giving them full time contracts

Are your players on part time contracts?

If they are then they are likely to be less match fit. Try giving them full time contracts

My players are yes.

Okay i'm playing in the BSP as Histon FC. I'm currently 2nd in my first season (now cursed myself!!) but i have advanced to the semi-finals of the FA Trophy. I have game pretty much every Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday. My players are knackered and it's irritating as i don't have that big a squad and if i wish to progress through to League Two then i need my best players. Gareth Gwilmin sp? has 11/12 for Fitness yet finishes every game with around 70%. This can't be right. Also, when resting players for 2 days after a game, they only gain around 10%. Surely, if your rested then you should gain full fitness?

From my own BSP experience (with Cambridge Utd - promoted in season 2) 70% is pretty good for that level.

I just did the usual things: rested players, rotated as much as possible, stamina-retaining tactics. My players rarely got to 100% all season but in the end, it didn't matter.

I wish my players would end at 70% at the end of a game

I manage Bath City in the BSP (promoted first season) ... and using a tactic that is simply sucking out the condition of my players. Several are around 70% at half-time, and I usually need all my three substitutions to rotate people when they hit around 65% at 60 minutes. Some even end the game at 50% if I keep using the stamina-sucking tactic.

Only the ones with really high Stamina can make it through the game with reasonable condition left.

I guess if you want your players to be (almost) fully fit for two games a week, you need a less taxing tactic and to train up their stamina (or get some new players who already has it). Or you need a larger squad to rotate your players around a bit.

I mean even with a small (full-time) club and what I assume is a relatively small wage budget (7k/week), I have some 35 players in and around my first team squad. And I am still £1000 below budget.