How to prolong this club legend's career

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He doesn't like hard training, so he has used the Forwards default schedule all his career.

How can I avoid his physical stats dropping like a led anchor?

With 11 Natural Fitness is going to be hard, the best you can hope for in my opinion is that as his physical inevitably drop his mental attributes go up a lot, but even achieving that will be hard if he isnt happy with an intense training schedule.

So in my opinion i think you are attempting the almost impossible, sorry.

Could be worth asking in the tactics and training forum. I am sure SFraser's FM10 schedules had ones for veteran players, could be worth a look to see how they are set up.

If I were you (and if I had the funds), I'd buy a younger replacement and sell your current player before his value goes down. That's just me though, as I like to make money from players before it's too late to do so.

If I were you (and if I had the funds), I'd buy a younger replacement and sell your current player before his value goes down. That's just me though, as I like to make money from players before it's too late to do so.

Money is not an issue. I run with a profit of 4-5 millions per month and have £70m in the bank.

Since he is a club legend and has been with me all the way from Adelante in the first season, and continue to perform well (both in form of goals and his creativity and passing), selling him is not an option. That is why I ask this. Anyone else I sell before they turn 29/30, just like you.

You can't.

Workrate and natural fitness are way too low even if he has decent professionalism. I don't think determination plays a role in staving off the decline but if it does, this guy isn't particularly determined either. His physicals aren't high enough to cope with much decline either.

His mentals are, by-and-large, pretty good and they'll increase anyway so I'd stick him on as intensive strength & aerobic as he'll allow and hope that he has massive professionalism and keeps playing as well as he is. You need to keep playing him, preferably for 60-70mins every game. You should make it to the end of the season fine but I doubt he'll make another.

The good news is I've been pleasantly surprised by the golden oldie on more than one occasion so I hope I'm wrong. The old natural fitness is worrying low though.

His mentals are, by-and-large, pretty good and they'll increase anyway so I'd stick him on as intensive strength & aerobic as he'll allow and hope that he has massive professionalism and keeps playing as well as he is. You need to keep playing him, preferably for 60-70mins every game. You should make it to the end of the season fine but I doubt he'll make another.

The good news is I've been pleasantly surprised by the golden oldie on more than one occasion so I hope I'm wrong. The old natural fitness is worrying low though.

He isn't that bad, or that old! He'll turn 32 at the start of next season. Sitting back in an attacking midfield role he'll be just fine even if he loses 1 point every 6 months.

I've found that unless you are competing for the very top honours (which a player like that wouldn't even in his current state), midfield players can cope with their pace/acceleration dropping down to 9 or 10 before they start becoming a liability. It's only once they are down in the single digits that they start struggling to get to balls.

And that's playing in England, so in a more physical league. He looks like he'll last another 2 years to me in an attacking midfield role, for a lower mid table club.

Could be worth asking in the tactics and training forum. I am sure SFraser's FM10 schedules had ones for veteran players, could be worth a look to see how they are set up.

Is that an old thread? Couldn't find it. Would be interesting to know if having them keep training lots of aerobic/strength reduces the physical deterioration more than letting them rest more. After all, SAF matches Giggs and Scholes sparingly for good effect.

http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/185812-SFraser-s-Training-Schedules-for-FM10

Not sure if FM10 ones work with FM11. I am pretty sure this set had schedules for older players but I cannot check because I haven't got FM10 on my PC well worth a look though.

He isn't that bad, or that old! He'll turn 32 at the start of next season. Sitting back in an attacking midfield role he'll be just fine even if he loses 1 point every 6 months.

I've found that unless you are competing for the very top honours (which a player like that wouldn't even in his current state), midfield players can cope with their pace/acceleration dropping down to 9 or 10 before they start becoming a liability. It's only once they are down in the single digits that they start struggling to get to balls.

And that's playing in England, so in a more physical league. He looks like he'll last another 2 years to me in an attacking midfield role, for a lower mid table club.

Actually, he is still rated as a Leading star for most BBVA clubs even though he is 2.5 stars for me. Being the best club in the world that makes him sub-par compared to my other strikers, but he is still an important player for the club in terms of his status and experience.

I'd assume that the key would be to not overplay him and make sure he doesn't get injured (part of not overplaying him). I've got my first 30+ player on this version now (I signed him at 19) and he's still going strong at 32 rapidly approaching 33, we'll see how he does over the next year or so though.

Actually, he is still rated as a Leading star for most BBVA clubs even though he is 2.5 stars for me. Being the best club in the world that makes him sub-par compared to my other strikers, but he is still an important player for the club in terms of his status and experience.

Ah. If you are now the best team in the world, he's quite frankly not good enough to be in your first team now. I'd only entertain a player with those stats if he was 19-21, so was going to improve on them through first team experience. Not if every game moved him closer to retirement.

Have you thought about making him backroom staff sooner rather than later? Or just keep him, move him back to the AMC slot, and only use him for less important games, cup matches and other times when you generally play kids. Just to have a cool, old head on the pitch with them.

That said, he's on fairly high wages, hasn't got great mental stats either (the one thing age usually brings) and is basically there out of sentiment now. Just tell him what a great coach he'll be, then offer him a job training the next generation. There's no room for sentiment at the top of the game!

Ah. If you are now the best team in the world, he's quite frankly not good enough to be in your first team now. I'd only entertain a player with those stats if he was 19-21, so was going to improve on them through first team experience. Not if every game moved him closer to retirement.

Have you thought about making him backroom staff sooner rather than later? Or just keep him, move him back to the AMC slot, and only use him for less important games, cup matches and other times when you generally play kids. Just to have a cool, old head on the pitch with them.

That said, he's on fairly high wages, hasn't got great mental stats either (the one thing age usually brings) and is basically there out of sentiment now. Just tell him what a great coach he'll be, then offer him a job training the next generation. There's no room for sentiment at the top of the game!

Yeah, I am considering that. I already only use him for unimportant matches. Since I have only registered 20 out of 22 outfield players but still have plenty of cover in all areas this season because of a number of u19s getting first team experience, registering him was a non-issue. As those youngsters will turn 19 next season, registering him will be more of a problem next year. He has two years left on his contract.

I have two world-class strikers that I play in the important matches, and away against the top half teams in the league. Then there are two young strikers who I play vs the rest of the opposition, and who will become world class strikers too. Viera is the 5th striker in line. Because of injuries on 2-3 of the others almost constantly last year, he had one of his best seasons ever, so his creativity and technique (and Places Shots, One-twos, Comes Deep PPMs) will be deeply missed.

I think it is time for him to look at a possible career change, though, as you suggest. 50k for staff is a bit steep, but I'll see what I can do!

Another way of looking at it would be to do what managers IRL do and switch him to a position where his physical stats arn't so important.

Another way of looking at it would be to do what managers IRL do and switch him to a position where his physical stats arn't so important.

I won't change the tactic!

Anyways, the striker roles in my 4-2-2-2 wide tactic are both deep-lying and opens for individual playing styles. For instance, in my Schalke game, Huntelaar is banging in goals - and at the same time so does Welbeck in a Sunderland save. Since Viera plays well - almost like a playmaker poacher - with his finesse and those three players couldn't be more different, I don't see why he would drop dead when losing physique.

I've got a 32 year old newgen whos a product of my academy and club legend, in a month he'll be 33 but he is still the best player in the world and hasn't dropped any stats yet. he can play DM, AMC,ML,AML all naturally and CM accompliched.(I've always played him as AML). His Physical stats are all excellent so i.m hoping he'll be like mr giggs and last for years at the top level yet.

He's already played 500 league games and if he keeps going he may actually get near Maldini's leagues games. (I'm A.C Milan).

If I remember i'll post a screenie of him when i get home.

I'd say since he's a in the hole attacking midfielder he could play there for a little while yet, if he just sort of does less running and sprays the ball around for example, it does depend on your set up though. I'd put him in a bit of a reduced role, try and preserve his legs as much as possible

Personally with some of my midfielders that have balanced / defensive stats I tend to re-train them as holding midfielders later in their careers as they are still solid defensive players for that sort of role. I do remember using a winger up till he was 39 in FM09 as an impact player as while he was slow, he was still crazy good with the ball at his feet and still put in a decent shift every other game off the bench. He played for 20 years with us as well so I like being loyal to the long serving players.

A player will quite often take a pay cut when they move to backroom only.

This is the legend that is Moro.

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/823/massimilianomoroprofile.png/

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/18/massimilianomorohistory.png/

This is the legend that is Moro.

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/823/massimilianomoroprofile.png/

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/18/massimilianomorohistory.png/

nice stats for a 32 years-old!

The best advice I got from T&TD was to wait until his physicals show their first sign of dropping (possibly now, since his acceleration/agility are going down), then put him on a special training schedule with zero physical work. Focus all of his work on ball work and tactics (no aerobic/strength), and set him in a formation where he isn't running about too much.

Essentially, once his decline has begun, all you can do is try to slow it by not tiring him out unnecessarily. With a bit of luck, his technical and mental attributes might head up again to compensate for a dropping physical.

nice stats for a 32 years-old!

he's nearly 33 and still 1 one of the best players in the world, i thought he would have started losing CA points by now.