Balance of Team

[YOUNGSTEVE]

One question I would like to ask people here, is what is the make up in your 1st team regarding age & experience. I know in previous games, it has been balanced towards having senior players in your squad rather than a team of youngsters, but is this always true, & does it make any difference to your team. In real life a balanced team of senior pros, with a few youngsters in is probably better than a team of 30 year olds (though there have been successful side of this make up) and a team of teenagers. I have read of people having really young teams, but is there a detriment to doing this. I always think that the game doesn't take enough account of a players experience, which seems to be worse this year, though that could just be my opinion of my playing experience. Just interested in what others have seen.

[hluraven]

I often wonder if the "late season slump" that people moan about here is due to a team of youngsters who can't stand the pressure. I certainly notice less slumps if I have a higher balance of older players, but that may be perception bias rather than hard data.

[mrw072]

I prefer to build teams with players in their mid 20s +, mainly because I think by that time you know what you're going to get with them, so for me, it's easier to build a decent team. I don't rely on youth at all, because I like to build a team for the here and now, as I could be sacked if things go wrong too. But from what I've seen of youth, if anything, I think regens could be slightly overpowered. I tend to see a lot of good teenagers playing for rival clubs. So there may not be as big a difference in the game as there is in real life. The only real problem with younger players in FM is you don't know for sure how they will develop, and if you play too many youngsters in a team they may not yet have the skills of a more established player.

[YOUNGSTEVE]

I often wonder if the "late season slump" that people moan about here is due to a team of youngsters who can't stand the pressure. I certainly notice less slumps if I have a higher balance of older players, but that may be perception bias rather than hard data.

That has always been my perception in older games, & like you say it does seem to be that the slumps are less with a balance of older players, but not sure if that is just my perception or not, as I read about people having really young teams with no effects.

[tmason122]

I prefer to have a balance of players, mainly so you always have a decent number of older players to tutor younger ones where required. I like to have at least one experienced player per defence, midfield and attack for tutoring purposes. Aside from that I try to usually buy young players so I can get the maximum return on investment on them by either them serving the club a long time or by selling them for a profit after a season or few of development.

[kwest227]

As mentioned I try to strike a balance between youth and experience. I've joined Lyon in my current long term save and they had sold all of the their big star players. They were in good financial shape as a result so I have bought in an handful of 4 experienced players who are 28 or above - including a 31 year old Delle Alli to sure up the midfield. I have also promoted youth players into the first team. My expectations from the board are only to reach group stage of Champions' League and to qualify for Europa League through League performance. I think this will mean that I can afford to experiment a little with my line up and push the youth players during my first season at the club. They sold their star goalkeeper shortly before my arrival and didn't replace him. I have taken a chance and promoted a 16 year old into the starting 11. He's good enough PA that I regularly turn down offers from Barcelona and Man Utd for him and I think that as long as there is quality in the rest of the line up he should progress well.

Only played a handful of games with this line up and 16 year old Goalkeeper but so far doing well! Only defeat was to PSG