Preseason: How many friendlies, when to plan them and which players to use

For me, preseason is a time of some confusion.

I know you need to use preseason to get your players back in shape for the regular season and that friendlies play a large part in it. But how do you do this?

When do you start your preseason friendlies, how many do you use and when do you plan them. What type of friendlies do you use, and what side benefits do you want to accomplish?

I tend to start my friendlies about a week after my players return from their break, and then plan about one match every 5 days. My last match is about 10 days before my first competitive match (usually, a european cup qualifier).

In these matches, I prioritise those with low match fitness so I can my senior squad to 100% match fitness before the season starts in earnest.

Is this how you people do this as well? And what about training? I can't be bothered to set and reset training for the preseason. Is this harmful to the squad?

I leave the arranging to my AM and I normally end up with approx six friendlies against a variety of teams.

Those lacking match fitness play aiming to get the full squad match fit for the first competitive match.

I don't change training, I have created schedules for each position and players stay on them permanently.

Yep - I leave the Ass Man to that. And look after the matches. Couldn't be bothered with friendlies.

I set my Ass Mas to book and take control of the friendlies. What I do is just check if we have around 10 friendlies to play and the tactics development.

In terms of who to play it makes sense to have an easy game last so you can knock a few goals past them to raise morale

Anybody have an idea which of the friendly types are better for what purposes?

- Home vs Away

- Simple friendly

- Tour

- Cup

- League

Is this mostly about what opposition strength you want vs amount of income or exposure you want? HOw about foreign tours? Any specific ways to leverage foreign exposure?

I like pre season a lot. I wait two weeks after they come back - I play the first 2-3 at home. I alternate between the team, so i have 22-23 players. I give them all 45 mins etc the next 3 will be on a tour and then i'll play my reserve team for the final game.

I set up friendlies for my reserves and youth team too.

i do something similar,one week after the holls,use same training as in-season,start Sat-Tues-Sat-Tues(and so on),i have a squad of 22-25 players,45mins 1st 11 then play 2nd 11,2nd half,,,one week before 1st Lge game(Sat) the 1st team gets full 90mins,then on the following Tues the 2nd's get 90mins,anyone who gets below 75/80% are sub'd,always start with 3 games of very low opisition "away",,,try and get as many games in as possible!

I'd never leave it to AssMan,they'll have some games 2days apart,only good for injuries!

I usually just let my AM arrange them as well. Only time I arrange friendlies is when I'm managing a lower leagues can used with some extra income by arranging games against higher rep teams. I always make sure that my last two preseason games I arrange them against weak teams so I can hammer them, so my players morale at the start of the season is high.

I enjoy pre-season because I like to see which players blend well together. I will start with 4 or 5 home friendlies against really low opposition and play what I think is my strongest team in games 1 and 3 and my second team in games 2 and 4. (Usually arranged Sat-Weds-Sat-Weds). Then I will play against teams of a similar level away from home and mix the teams together to see how the players play with eachother. All the while, all of the squad are getting game time and match fitness ready for the season beginning.

This is important for me because during the season, I will use my stronger 11 (team 1) at times where fixtures come thick and fast and then throw team 2 (second 11) in for a game that they should be able to win (eg team 1 plays important CL game midweek and team 2 plays home game v lower premier league team on Saturday).

For gate receipts Home friendlies are better because you get to keep all the money minus the amount paid to the team.

Of course it helps if you expect a good crowd, have a large stadium, and the opposition doesnt demand much money.

Away games may be better if you are a team with a large rep but a small ground.

As far as tours, cups and leagues go they are based on the same home-away format.

But of course you may want to arrange friendlies or tours against weak teams to get players into good form, morale, etc.

A balance of all this is necessary.

Of course you would also want to test the strenght of your club against similar rep teams.

Anybody have an idea which of the friendly types are better for what purposes?

- Home vs Away

- Simple friendly

- Tour

- Cup

- League

Is this mostly about what opposition strength you want vs amount of income or exposure you want? HOw about foreign tours? Any specific ways to leverage foreign exposure?

For gate receipts Home friendlies are better because you get to keep all the money minus the amount paid to the team.

Of course it helps if you expect a good crowd, have a large stadium, and the opposition doesnt demand much money.

Away games may be better if you are a team with a large rep but a small ground.

As far as tours, cups and leagues go they are based on the same home-away format.

But of course you may want to arrange friendlies or tours against weak teams to get players into good form, morale, etc.

A balance of all this is necessary.

Of course you would also want to test the strenght of your club against similar rep teams.

EDIT: Accidentally reposted, sorry dont know how to use quotes feature properly

I let assistant control but it set em up.

Usually if im a top flight club i start with a tour of a major merchindise nation (Japan/China/UAE/USA) then finnish off at home for another 5/6 games mayube accpet one or two away.

If im a European club i try to balance these out as Saturday Tuesday Sunday Wednessday. Preparing my team for whats going to come.

I also try to keep it against teams who are similar level rep but lower in ability aqllowing max confidence gain. I might have one away friendly against a major european side before the tour to allow me to compare how my squad is in-comparrassion for the champions league.

I let my ass man arrange them. I treat them as auditions for the upcoming season, and I make sure players know that.

When I'm confused I usually head over to the SFraser Memorial Thread. He wrote some very detailed guides, these two may be of some help.

How To Meet The Next Season

A Quick Guide To Pre-Season Training

It might not all be exactly what you're looking for but I find all of the guides he wrote to be very helpful. They're worth a read if you've got time.

AM arranges. AM controls them. Never had a problem.

Only exception is if I start with a club that needs funds, I like to arrange the friendlies; ones that give a decent bit of cash.

How about at the very beginning of preseason? I get lots of players in the 60-80% condition and low match fitness rates. Should I start preseason friendlies a bit later, or should I play them anyway to help them build up match fitness? Do I risk more injuries this way?

I wait two weeks before the first game. ^ I rarely get injuries in pre season.

I usually let my AM arrange them, then add in a little friendly cup every season and invite 3 teams from different countries of similar rep.

I predominantly play first-teamers to get their match fitness up and promising youngsters as much as possible for the experience.

I increase everybody's training workloads to a high medium level as soon as pre-season begins, lowering it as soon as the season starts.