Veterans...what's the point???

Having waited almost 4 months to finally have my chosen league actually be playable (mostly) I've just about finished my first season...and once again, players over 30 seem to take a nosedive. My MC/ST started the game (Jan. 2010) at 31 years old, with 12 pace and 11 stamina. By October they were 10 and 9. This, despite a. good training facilities b. 3 1/2 star ratings for strength/aerobics training, and c. a custom training schedule that lowered every category to "light" with the rest going to strength/aerobics (overall level is the same as default schedules.) Now the player is lucky to go a full 90! It really irks me when you see database players over the age of 30 that still have 15+ for pace and/or stamina while my players lose their usefullness within the span of one season.

PING: LaDanian Tomlinson.

I disagree.

I had Owen Hargeaves playing Premier League football well until he was 37. Only then did his physical attributes drop below what I would deem suitable for Premier League football.

The only long term game i've had going on fm 11 i've been using mainly youngsters but on fm 10 i had gerrard playing in my starting team until he was 34 and he was still a part of my squad until he was 39 when he retired. Up until then he was still chipping in with good performances for my team, if it hadn't of been for the great young turkish amc i'd found and developed he probably would have been part of my starting team for longer.

Do you lot who have players like the above poster said, Gerrard, 39 years old playing regular, make any special training regimes for them or keep to the general ones?

I make my own training schedules, but I don't give veteran players anything special. There's a thread somewhere explaining what you should do (cut down on physical training) to help prolong their career. I wouldn't play them every game though, more every other game, or substitute them off when they're not needed.

Do you lot who have players like the above poster said, Gerrard, 39 years old playing regular, make any special training regimes for them or keep to the general ones?

by the time he was that old though it wasn't so regular, he'd usually not last 90 minutes so it was usually used as a substitue because his mental and techinical stats were still great.

In every previous version of FM i have dumped older players at 32-33 at the oldest, because their physical stats always start to drop but this time around in my dons game i have kept Diamond and he is still starting and captain at 35 going on 36 and he still out plays anyone in the SPL and plays very well in europe, but i have adjusted his settings and my team settings to accommodate his lack of pace. I have two young centre backs both better than him but my defence does not play well without him. I also have a 37 year old craig gordon as my keeper, but keepers always play older.

by the time he was that old though it wasn't so regular, he'd usually not last 90 minutes so it was usually used as a substitue because his mental and techinical stats were still great.

i always keep my good players even though they are old. so that they can tutor the new ones who come through my system.

experienced heads bring a calm to the team...

if you field a team of 20 year old wonderkids they'll be inconsistent. Field a team of wonderkids and veterans and they'll be solid, composed, controlled and successful (in the main).

i always keep my good players even though they are old. so that they can tutor the new ones who come through my system.

yeah exactly, even if gerrards physicals all dropped to 1's he'd still be such a great tutor.

PING: LaDanian Tomlinson.

Perfect example, over the age of 30 and still lightning fast.

The one problem with your example is that you can't spell his name!

It's LaDainian Tomlinson.