When do you switch your aging players from first team player to backup player?

I'm managing Fenerbahce. Alex is 34 years old now, and his star rating has decreased to 1.5. Last season he was still 2.5 stars, and previous year he was 3 star player. Since he is down to 1.5 star now, naturally I started using him as a backup player, since I have Afellay (he is 4 star) and 2 Turkish attacking midfielders who are both 2.5 star players. Now Alex is complaining, saying that he should be still a first team regular.

So, if I look at the star ratings from my coaches, it is fair that I use him as a backup. However, I'm not sure how accurate (and important) those ratings are. When I look at Chelsea squad I see that Drogba and Lampard, both at 34 years old, are still first team players. So, if Chelsea is playing them as starters, maybe I should still keep Alex in the starting line-up.

What is the correct approach here?

Note: I don't use FMRTE, so I have no clue about the 'proffesionalism' of the players, but in 3 years game time I have yet to see one of my players not dropping rapidly in those star ratings once they turn 31-32. So, I'm guessing maybe Drogba and Lampard have high professionalism so that they didn't deteriorate as fast as Alex did. Granted 34 is kind of old, but dropping from 3 stars to 1.5 stars within 1.5-2 seasons is too fast in my opinion.

Who cares about stars? If he's playing better then the other he should be first team player. If he isn't then he should be backup.

Quite simple really.

I see your point, nevertheless the stars should indicate something, right? After all, aren't they calculated pretty much from the players' attributes?

I never look at the stars. I just base it on how they perform. It's when their physical stats really start to drop when i cease to include then in the first team.

Player performance > attributes > stars

As everyone mentioned play him sometimes older players have hidden quality in them and you might get surprised.

Play whoever actually does best on the pitch, not just who is theoretically better. That being said, with Alex's stats dropping, it's best to start rotating in the player who will eventually occupy his slot full time.

You should keep him around the first team mate as his experience will be important for the young players at the club.

You should keep him around the first team mate as his experience will be important for the young players at the club.

While playing FM, many times I also find myself applying real life logic to the game when it comes to formation and player selection, only to find out soon that things don't work that way in the game. Typically I spend the first few seasons trying to understand the dynamics in the game and the ME, and along the way I discover that not all aspects of the game is realistic unfortunately. It's like learning a new set of rules. It's like figuring that the gravitational acceleration in the ME is not 9.81m/s2 but 8 for example (I'm ust making up the numbers here just for the sake of giving an example).

So, about what you're saying above: In real life, certainly! In the game, that I'm not sure

Personally, I trust the start system...but with that said, I have Shevchenko playing for my Newcastle team (rated 1 star) who I use as a sub really. He's scored 5 goals for me, all of which have been pretty important since I normally change my strikers when my current strikers arent doing well and are struggling towards the end of a game I need a result it.

I bought him for £575k at the start of the season, he has 5 goals in 25 for me (as a sub, that's decent). To be honest, I only signed him because I'm a fan of him (and I'm a Chelsea fan!! lol) and I'd been desperate to sign him for my Nottingham Forest team the year before but didn't have the finances to meet his wage demands.

With that said though, his contract is going to run out at the end of the season and I don't intend to renew it.

The bottom line is: it's your job on the line...do what you think is best. I'm not disappointed with Shevchenko and I'll still be using him as a sub between now and the end of the season. Van Bommel is rated 2 stars for me but he gives good performances so I trust him over Alan Smith (who I want rid of) yet Smith is rated 2 and a half stars.

It's up to you...its your job on the line if it goes wrong, so do what you think is best for yourself and your team, not what one player wants.

Central players can generally survive much longer as they get older. Van Bommel mentioned above was still a good player for me at 37/38 he didn't have pace but he had excellent distribution and broke play up superbly.