Size of first team

Old chestnut I suspect, but how big a first team do you play and at what level?

As Arsenal I have found I now have a big enough squad that I have to think about who to register, thanks mainly to recent purchases of Hulk and another couple of talented new players.

My first team size now appears to be around 30, including a large number (half a dozen) of AM RLCs.

Is the too big?

30 players at Portuguese 2nd division South with Praiense

Reason: I'm allowed to register 30 players :O

If you play aggressively and play against similar teams like Stoke, 30 players sounds about right.

i normally aim for 22, so two players for each position! but a few extra utility players are always handy! i play mainly in the serie a, so 30 is probably abit too much in this division with fewer cup games and a break at xmas, i always find myself adding a few reserve friendlies throughout the season to keep some players match fit!

If managing a big club like Arsenal or United i always have 23 including youngsters, sometimes stretch to 24 if i find a last minute player i like.

22's a good number to have to cover every position. Its quite useful that you dont have to register U21's in England. Talented youngsters can save you from that injury crisis that tends to crop up every now and again! For me anyway!

man utd i have a squad of 23 two players for every position plus and extra centre mid

How long is a piece o string really. I had 24 last season with my Fiorentina side.Before the start of the season montolivo broke his leg out for 8 months, D'agostino was out for 7 weeks,Jovetic was pre-injured, Gilardino out for 6 weeks, and a few other crappy injuries to be lumbered with, so 24 was nowhere near enough and with bad fitness and a game every 3/4 days I lost 6 on the bounce and could barely get a squad out. Luck o the draw I say. Could get by on 18 but sometimes you'd need 40!

But I usually prefer around 28 or so if the money is there and the opportunity and some are youngsters who I can rotate in cups and such

I normally fluctuate between 25 and 30. Generally like to have a least 2 players for every slot, plus a handful of utility minded players that can fill roles when needed.

I currently have 32, but 4 of those are 'keepers, and I'm in Portugal, so I have a 30 limit. I don't think it helps that I'd rather have players in the first team and available for reserves than just being in the reserve team.

25 + youngsters.....most to the time since thats the most common registration cap, but it also depend on if i can pay for a squad of that size

just out of interest............

i took over genoa after the first season, at the start of the 2012 season after all players had come back from loans and co-owned players had been bid on and a youth team intake, i ended up with about 140 players!!!! my staff were working overtime and i was stressing out trying to offload between 80 and 100 players!!!

I pretty much look to ensure I have around two players for each position, as well as a couple who can play in a number of places as back up players too. However, with the new game I find my strikers are more than likely to continously pick up injuries so I have to have extra back up for the forward role.

just out of interest............

i took over genoa after the first season, at the start of the 2012 season after all players had come back from loans and co-owned players had been bid on and a youth team intake, i ended up with about 140 players!!!! my staff were working overtime and i was stressing out trying to offload between 80 and 100 players!!!

Heh, not seen it that bad before but there seems to be a significant bug with some squad/player generation. Not seen it with a human controlled team, but I've seen more then a few team in 'inactive' leagues that had like 50-60 players on the first team roster and they had them all season. These are small lower league teams I've seen it so that many contracts would obviously break a club. It's something new to FM11 though, never heard/saw it in 10.

Always try to work it down to the first 11, a bench of proven players, then a talented youth player in every position in reserve. So a squad of 29, but one I usually have no problem registering as many of them don't need to be, and by the time they do, they're home grown.

Between 22-25, depending on how many youngsters are currently coming from youth team that are good enough to deserve first team chance.

To be honest, in case you closely follow the full season of any of top leagues you understand that actually managers use pretty much just some 15-18 players during the season. Some youngsters get to sit on the bench from time to time, but very rarely get any playing time, so it's hard to call them first team players. I imagine that FM managers are eager to buy as many talents as possible and then try to create some sort of good rotation mix to give everyone enough playing time, but IRL the less you change your team, the better.

Two players in each position sounds reasonable in FM, IRL human players are much more versatile and can cover different positions if necessary.

So I'd say that even 20 players are OK in FM unless you get the worst injury crisis. 25+ is clear overkill.

I definitely prefer small squad whichever level i'm at.

I have a Spurs and a Liverpool save on the go, and i have about 18 seniors(over 21 say), including 2 keepers, and 4-5 youngins in my liverpool squad. In my Spurs squad i have about 22 seniors plus a couple of youths. I really dislike big squads, as i don't seem to get enough injuries to hamper anything.

i'm strange, i dont like having so many players that you have to scroll down the list...so i try to keep mine as small as possible and keep my fingers crossed im not hit too bad by injuries...or they sit in my reserves!

Old chestnut I suspect, but how big a first team do you play and at what level?

11 plus as many subs as you are allowed. Those are the rules for a first team.

Usually I have 23-25 players in my squad, but I'm playing in a league where you get a one match ban for every two bookings, and after that, a one match ban for every single yellow card, so I need a deep squad of about 30-35 - the way I like my team playing isn't like a bunch of softies, put it that way.

i have only 15 lol

Depends on the competitions, in the EPL I'd have around 25-28 and any gaps I'd fill with reserves/youths to get them experience, maybe a few more squad members if your in Europe/CWC. In a 2 competition level (league and cup) I get around 22, usually 2 players for every role, possibly a versatile defender to play all 3 defensive positions to keep my sub options open to attackers.

Generally I like to aim for a 23-man squad (3 keepers + 2 for every outfield position), but ideally the squad would have even less as long as there are u18s good enough to fill in. This isn't always practical though, as often when you join a club its full of dross and later on your youth players don't always work out so the squad has to bulge 25+ to put together the team you want.

In a top team with many International players and with European competitions, I need at least 27-28 players. 2 for each position, plus 5-6 players to implement tactical changes in the team, to cover injuries and poor physical condition sometimes. I rotate them all and never, in fm2011, one of them get annoyed for not playing.

Example: I usually use 2 ST (2+2=4 total), but I like to have at least 6 in the squad because sometimes I like to use 3 ST. The same with the CM.

In a small team, usually with only the league matches, 22-23 are more them enough. Specially if some of them can play a wide range of positions in my tactic.

When I have enough money, usually 2 players for each position (22) + 2 allrounders (one DEF+MID, another MID+ATT) (=24) + couple of juniors who play reserves or first team depending on injuries (usually 3-4) = 27-28.

When starting from bottom, I may have something like 1 player for each position except 2 players for positions where players get tired (Wing backs, Striker) = 14, 4 all rounders in case of injuries = 18, 6 junior players = 24.

At top level the rule of thumb is two players per position, plus some promising youngsters.

I like to have roughly 23 players. Ideally:

Goalkeepers: An obvious number one, who is guaranteed to play every game for which he's available, a cheap backup I can rely on to not concede half a dozen goals if he has to play and, if I have one, a promising goalie I'll play in 'easy' cup games.

Defenders: I like to have at least three players for the LB and RB positions, which usually comprises of a first choice in both positions, and ideally, two players who can play LB and RB. That usually has to be achieved by training my backup LB to play RB, and vice versa. I always have at least four CBs, and I quite like the two backups to be able to play either LB or RB, just in case my squad becomes ravaged with injuries and/or suspensions.

Midfielders: As with the defenders, ideally I'll have three players for the LM and RM positions, and will train players who can only play LM or RM so they're at least capable on the other side. The central midfielders I have depends on exactly what variation of DM/CM/AM I'm playing, but in general I like to have two balanced CMs, a more defensively minded CM (or an out-and-out DM) as well as an AM, or a CM who I consider to be stronger going forward than he is going back.

Strikers: Four, sometimes five strikers. I prefer playing a target man type and a poacher, so it often dictates the kind of forwards I have. The fifth is often a younger player, as trying to keep five senior strikers happy is often a headache.

In an ideal world, my full-backs can also play wing-back, and either my wide midfielders or my strikers can also play as AML/R. Not always possible, however!

I dislike my squad to be anything below 22 players, and above 25. I remember back in the days of CM 01/02 and 03/04, I'd sign countless players on free transfers, and end up with a dozen strikers. I'm sure somewhere I've got old screenshots a mate and I would send each other while we both played 03/04, and we had pretty much entire screens worth of strikers!

I'd rather have a squad that's a bit too small than too big, because i like chucking in a couple youngsters in an injury crisis.

At the moment I have 28 in my squad now and it's at least five too many.

With Palermo, I have a squad of 24 (too big) with a sprinkling of youngsters who scarcely get in the matchday squad. One lad, Alfredo Di Matteo is the new "De Rossi" yet I can't get him involved. I would like to get it down to 20-22 in the future including a couple of these younger lads.

ive got a squad of 25 players as sunderland and any injury crisis is covered by the youngsters i have

My Tottenham side i have 20 registered and 10 under 21's

If you look at the 11.3 Real Madrid squad its perfect. The team has sufficient back up for every position and the squad size is just spot on. Players will get games ranging from 20-55 games a season.