Mid-season slump

[alexjp123]

Why is it every season at around December/January my squad is full of serious injuries and suddenly forgets how to play football.

I swear it happens every season on every save.

This time my right winger has torn his calf muscle, his backup has picked up a groin strain, my star striker has twisted his ankle and one of my best centrebacks has broken his foot.

Obviously this isn't impossible in real life, but the same thing happens every season - however every other team around me has one or two minor injuries.

So now I'm going into the business end of the season with a seriously depleted squad.

 

[Raikan007]

half my sqaud was injured for sometime last year... it happens you need to be a good enough Manager to get the best out of your players, have contingency plans for this

play a few easy friendlies, get the Morale back up, change your tactic either completely or tweak your current one...

start putting pressure on your players in Media conferences (try and put them down to an extent so that they prove you wrong) some might get upset, but it does work

offer your main players new contracts...

talk to you players and say they need to shape up or ship out if they are not performing...

drop your players that are not performing (I have done this to important 1st team players and they come back after 3 or 4 games and play like Gods to prove their worth to the team)

bring in a brand new player, depending on who it is it may prove as a catalyst and provide competition for places...

try toning down the training schedules at this time of year, if you playing in England this is the busiest time for the players (take down the physical side substantially)

get in better physio's, they can help getting the player back earlier maybe?

promote one or two of your good youth prospects to provide cover and to try and prove themselves, you may just uncover a star...

 

[undertheray]

Squad rotation, well managed reserve squad, good youth prospects, better physios, tweaked training all help to make it through the season healthy. Get rid of injury prone players and look for high Stamina, Strength, Natural Fitness, Determination, Bravery etc players to fight on in the hard times. Tweak some tactics, add new backroom staff, bring more Professional and Leader players into the dressing room.

For instant effect mastering the "Private Chat" can turn a team of "Okays" into "Superb" with a few clicks. Even after tough defeats, learn about what type of discipline/team talk/private chat the players like individually and keep in touch with them to keep their spirits up.

 

[jingo800]

this is a great thread. Keep the ideas coming.

I'm playing my Marseille save and Cheyrou - Valbuena - Remy have all had performance crises.

Cheyrou got dropped to the reserves for a few games and eventually he started performing, although he didnt't translate that form back to the first team straight away...

I told Valbuena he'd be sold - he sure got the message there.

And I told Remy he'd better shape up in training and he then started scoring again!

I do seem to have a problem solving these problems in the long-term though...my players soon slump back to old ways, is it advisable to repeat these actions, or take a different approach?

Also, when is it a good idea to tell a player he's going to be rested?

 

[TheBeardOfZeus]

this is a great thread. Keep the ideas coming.

I'm playing my Marseille save and Cheyrou - Valbuena - Remy have all had performance crises.

Cheyrou got dropped to the reserves for a few games and eventually he started performing, although he didnt't translate that form back to the first team straight away...

I told Valbuena he'd be sold - he sure got the message there.

And I told Remy he'd better shape up in training and he then started scoring again!

I do seem to have a problem solving these problems in the long-term though...my players soon slump back to old ways, is it advisable to repeat these actions, or take a different approach?

Also, when is it a good idea to tell a player he's going to be rested?

What I would suggest is when they are in a good vein of form, praise them, and if it dips for say one or two games, try and keep the faith, tell them that too, and soon enough they will pay you back.

And it's best to say you are resting them "for the important games coming up", as it makes them feel like an integral part to the squad, but only rest them if either it's needed, or if you feel you will want to save them for a bigger game in midweek.

 

[alexjp123]

I have a ridiculously good backroom staff, with at least 4 and a half star in every area, all on light workload. I have 4 excellent physios (max allowed atm).

Now all 5 of my natural wingers in the first team are out for at least a month. Are you saying i need more than that to keep the team healthy?

It's all well and good saying i can use reserves and youth prospects, but I am sitting 1st in the league with everyone catching up so I'd rather not entrust such responsibilty on those players.

I just think the amount of injuries in this game is unrealistic. If this was a one off then maybe I could accept it, but it happens every season. Last year all my centrebacks got injured in january. Year before strikers.

 

[Raikan007]

I am the same mate, last year alot of my Cb's were injured, **** Rafael is permanently injured, actually took a screenshot of his injury history as it was unbeleivalble.. however, most injuries at once is about 3-5 which is really quite normal if you think about it in comparison to real life then alot of the time you have none...

well you are going to need to do something about replacing those players... physio's (i think) dont really play that much a part in getting the player back to fitness quickly in Fm....

i think they are there just to accurately assess the injury and the duration... that is all