Chat How do you keep your 1KC striker fit?

[BatiGoal]

Just thinking out loud on this quiet day.. 

The 1KC is a popular thing here on Vibe. So I'd like to get a little discussion going on how we look after our main striker(s). After all, it's what makes or breaks your challenge. It may sound simple but it really isn't, or shouldn't be. There's probably more ways to go about it than you realize. The reason I came to this is that I've had to somewhat adapt my style of play since my career with amateur forwards. I can't simply assign any role and throw them onto the pitch everytime there's a game to be played. See these guys as glass human beings with low(er) stamina and a proneness to injuries (at least to me it certainly feels that way) higher than the general professional. 

Our biggest fear is to get a news message saying your striker is out for X amount of months so how do you go about looking after your player's health? Do you consider any of the following or simply hope for the best? 

 

• Do you play your striker with a low (<80%) fitness level or do rest him and play him at 100% the next game?

Since playing with much lesser talented strikers I'm very much leaning to the latter. It's tough leaving a player out of the squad when you seek goals but the difference in performance (goals) between 80 and 100% fitness level is significant in my current career. It's imo much more common to score with full energy than with lower energy, not to mention the poor state of fitness lvl if you do play him at 80% and often ends up missing games anyways. 

• Do you assign whatever player role suits him/formation best or do you avoid certain roles?

Again, leaning towards the latter since my amateur gig. Example, a Target Man plays a much more physical game compared to say a Poacher. I've noticed on multiple occasions that my TM amateurs get injured/tired more frequently than a P. So I do avoid TMs to decrease the odds of having my striker out for an extended period of time. Especially now with amateurs but I might as well with a Wonderkid.

• Do you look ahead on fixture list and pick games/opponents easy vs hard or take 'em as the come?

In general, either managing amateurs or top players, at the end of games there's a distinct difference in fitness levels when you play vs the strong or the weak. A hard-fought 1-0 win over a rival has drained my striker's energy a lot more than an easy 8-0 thrashing of a relegation battler. So with low stamina players I do tend to be more selective when it comes to picking games/opponents. 

• Do you train your striker's primary, secondary attr or stamina?

 A little unsure about this one tbh and yes it'll depend on a bunch but still interested on your views. Personally, right now, the amateur career goals I'm doing only gives me ½ season per striker so I figured there's little time for any attribute development. So I skip right past all technical and mental atrr and go for a stamina bump for extra game minutes and indirectly decreased chance of forcing an injury. Coaching staff can play a role in this as well, having extra Fitness people in the staff.

• Do you fiddle with the training intensity level to fast-forward skill bumps or avoid/decrease injuries? 

I never did, simply too lazy and I figured he'll reach his full potential eventually. But now with amateurs I feel I have to. Especially when the next game is 3 days away. Are weaker players programmed to find it harder to cope with higher intensity. I believe they are. So my amateur strikers are quite happy to ease through trainings and start games fresh. Development may stagnate but they're shit either way + there's extra minutes (and goals) at stake here. 

 

The 1KCs around here look very positive in terms of main strikers missing games thru longterm injuries. And these sort of careers are extensive so to only miss a handful of games per season in such long careers is incredible. Something is being done right for sure. Some consistency. So just a few things to ponder or let's hear your thoughts and learn from one another. How do you maintain your 1KC striker's health? 

[FuddledFox]

Last year my Mitrovic 1k nearly got killed by the extreme change to conditioning in the February update so I had to be very careful how much I played him.

Personally I start them at any fitness above 95% and then sub them off once they get to about 80% which depending on there stamina and the time of the season is around 60-80 minutes in.

[broodje kip]

It’s just so easy you must not be BatiGoal and everything will be just fine

[smoggy90]

Subbing off early is a big one for me, sometimes even at half time if they have notched a couple and have a game 3-4 days later. It is frustrating having to do it and missing the opportunity of a few more goals but i feel if you're targeting 2 gpg as you should for a 1k then if they have hit that get them off and rest them ready for the next one. If the next game is a week away then i will let them play the full 90.

 

[Kun Aguero]

I usually prioritize fitness above everything but when the striker's stamina went real low and can barely play a full 90 minutes, I changed to prioritize form. When he's scoring consecutively, I will try to start him even tho his stamina is just above 80%, and then subbed him off when his stamina reach below 70% (which normally happens before half time). Looking at the fixtures and picking the easy matches is quite important IMO, when your striker is not of the best quality.

[Ian]

I usually wrap him up in cotton wool. Off at around the 65th minute every game unless there is a seven day gap before the next game but even then he would often still be off. I also look at the happiness section on the players page and and try to keep him from getting slightly tired or jaded if possible.

I exclusively used the poacher role last year but I’ve been trying target man more this year but haven’t noticed any major differences yet with injuries but I’ll look out for it.

One thing I do if I’m using an older striker with horrible stamina is to try and favour the easy games at home in particular and try to get him in for those where he’s got more chance of scoring. I’ll often give him the full game in this case and leave him out for the next to let him get fresh again. Even though he’d finish the games in such horrible condition I didn’t find it increased his injuries any more than the normal off early but play every game system.

I rarely if ever change his training intensity even if he asks for it as I don’t believe it makes a massive difference in development compared to just getting the clubs facilities up to the max. I could put him on a lighter schedule once he gets older which would make sense but I honestly can’t remember ever doing that. Last year having three fitness coaches really enhanced all players physical attributes after a few seasons but I don’t think it works this year by my early experience anyway.

[Scratch]

How do I keep my 1KC striker fit? Simple: I have him come off the bench for my 2KC striker! 🤣

But here's what I normally do for my 1KC/2KC striker:

• I generally play him only when he's 100%, although I will bend that when I have games against weak opposition where he could grab a few.
• I generally sub him off once he gets below 80%.
• I keep an eye on his Personal page for the Slightly Tired message and then he is left out even if he is 100% (unless against really weak opposition, then he's rested after that). 
• I assign him the role that will get him the most goals (I'm using AF at the moment) regardless of Stamina.
• I try to line things up so he plays against weak opposition and rests (if needed) against harder opposition where goals may be harder to come by. That said, if he is at the point where he needs to play at a higher level to develop, then I will flip that around and play him in the CL. 
• I train Aerial first (in FMM19+20). His stints are shorter but he is more likely to score goals, so he will develop faster. Then I move on to other thing like Pace, Stamina, Movement. I try to mix it up because I've noticed the increments can be bigger - sometimes he hits a temporary max for an attribute and it won't increase until later, so may as well train something else in the meantime.
• My general philosophy is 1) Turn him into a goal scorer; then 2) Keep him on the pitch longer. I maximise fast development over everything else.
• If the player has that Resilient Physique message then I might leave him on Intense. I'll turn it down when he peaks or plateaus though. Otherwise, he will be on Normal most of the time, but I might switch to Intense just before they level up. This is purely based on superstition rather than any hard evidence that it helps. My reasoning is that it would be it would be much simpler for SIGames to write it so it checks the intensity level once when the upgrade happens rather than try to track what percentage of the development period was on which level of intensity. But I don't know what they actually do.
• Injuries happen and you can't avoid them. It does depend on the striker of course - I've had some who are almost immune and other who get injured a lot more (Koita got injured 4 times in the season I just finished!). I generally expect one injury a year though. I avoid any striker who has a reputation for getting injured (in game or here on Vibe) and if I can get one with Resilient Physique, then all the better. 

[Scratch]

9 minutes ago, Ian said:

Last year having three fitness coaches really enhanced all players physical attributes after a few seasons but I don’t think it works this year by my early experience anyway

Same here. Used to use 3 last year, doesn't seem quite as effective this year.

[Mr Tree]

no carbs and a strict 8pm bedtime with no screentime after 7pm (try to encourage him to read a book, helps to expand his mind but also to wind down).

[Woody]

I heard a few on here putting players on high intensive training to boost their stats. Not sure how detrimental this is long-term or is it a massive benefit. 

[billy2shots]

I cant comment on the training and coaches because I haven’t seriously played an FMM for a few years so I’m trying to get my head around them. 

Mentoring is something new for us all and that seems a hindrance and a benefit in equal measure from what I have experienced so far. 

My go to formula is the same as others have said. 

- Only play if he has a complete green circle for fitness. 

- Leave out of match day squad until red ‘tired’ messages have cleared

-keep an eye on the fixture list  

The fixtures list is a real weapon. I tend to either not play my main man or just give him the first 45 to make an impact against teams I’m not expecting to hammer so he if fresh and 100% for an upcoming fixture against a weak team. Scoring 4 or 5 against a crap team is well worth missing an away league game against tough opposition. Some seasons I always get drawn against decent cup oppo but on occasions and League depending, you may have 2 or 3 very weak teams in the early rounds.

Nothing worse than resting the dude and then he only scored 1 in a 9-0 win!

- I’ve started paying more attention to international fixtures as well. Too often I wrap my player in cotton wool only for his international manager to destroy him. This is probably the main reason for getting the ITN job and not the additional goals it can bring. Hate ITN though and only used it once in 5 or 6 1ks  

 

[Chris]

I used to sub off my 1kc man every time he got below 75% in a game. And I would only start him if he had above 95% before the match. 

I now only sub him off if he has atleast 1 goal and fitness is below 70%, or if his fitness goes to the low 60's regardless of if he has scored or not. 

I found that the latter caused a sharp increase in goals. I was surprised to see just how many late goals were getting banged in, when normally I would have subbed him off. Note that the player in question has the rarely injured trait. He's only had 2 injuries in 4 seasons so far (for 3 weeks, and 1 day only). 

[BatiGoal]

8 hours ago, Foxy said:

Personally I start them at any fitness above 95% and then sub them off once they get to about 80% which depending on there stamina and the time of the season is around 60-80 minutes in.

This is generally what I do as well. 

8 hours ago, Lord Danish said:

It’s just so easy you must not be BatiGoal and everything will be just fine

I'm screwed then 😀

8 hours ago, Kun Aguero said:

When he's scoring consecutively, I will try to start him even tho his stamina is just above 80%, and then subbed him off when his stamina reach below 70% (which normally happens before half time)

Good point. Must admit never done this with my main striker but have certainly noticed other team player getting in and out of periods of good form/performances. Definitely something to ponder over 👍 

7 hours ago, Ian said:

I also look at the happiness section on the players page and and try to keep him from getting slightly tired or jaded if possible.

This is something I feel I should pay closer attention to. On the other hand I'm considering so many factors already that I go like, screw it, you get paid loads so get on the pitch and earn your money 😂 but it does seem that this jadedness and "goals drying up" coincides more often than not. It's another good point I should take more seriously. 

7 hours ago, Scratch said:

My general philosophy is 1) Turn him into a goal scorer; then 2) Keep him on the pitch longer. I maximise fast development over everything else.

I like your take. You make a lot of good points, Scratch. And some important tips for others. 

[BatiGoal]

6 hours ago, Mr Tree said:

no carbs and a strict 8pm bedtime with no screentime after 7pm (try to encourage him to read a book, helps to expand his mind but also to wind down).

😂 Just imagine if we'd have a setting to set a player bedtime. Balance entertainment vs rest. 

6 hours ago, billy2shots said:

Nothing worse than resting the dude and then he only scored 1 in a 9-0 win!

This happens a lot with my amateurs. OK not yet hitting the 8 and 9 nill I'm seeking as my team's average age is quite low but the 5-6-7 goals I do get the above is the case. Frustrating. 

4 hours ago, itzChris92 said:

I was surprised to see just how many late goals were getting banged in, when normally I would have subbed him off.

I definitely see where you're coming from. Haven't noticed this being the case this year tho. Not sure whether it was FMM 17 or 18 where we'd get wayyy too many goals beyond 85th min. 

[Nucleus]

On the point of training intensity, I conducted an experiment last year testing all three levels of intensity and “low” came out on top on both development levels and the least amount of injuries. Not sure what it’s like this year though, I’ve been letting my assman take control of it

[SophiaFM]

Do his cooking and cleaning for him while he rests 😆

[MikeF]

I’ll play my striker always when over 90% fitness and if against weak opposition I’ll give him a half if 85% above and if he scores a couple or gets to half time I’ll sub him. Don’t like to push it though as better to sit out a game then miss several with injury. I’ll always take him off when he drops below 80% in a match. Performance really dips when they get overplayed too I’ve noticed. 
 

Training wise I get his aerial up and then focus on movement and finishing. I don’t bother with intensive. Don’t think I’ve put anyone on intensive tbh. 
 

I always choose the role they suits my formation. I love a poacher for 1k. I just want him to sit up top and wait for the ball. No tracking back or assisting please. 

[BatiGoal]

4 hours ago, Nucleus said:

On the point of training intensity, I conducted an experiment last year testing all three levels of intensity and “low” came out on top on both development levels and the least amount of injuries. Not sure what it’s like this year though, I’ve been letting my assman take control of it

That was interesting indeed. The way I see it the players still get the development we're after thru game time, plenty of those too, and starting games fresh makes a big difference performance wise. If it takes an extra year to reach their full PA so be it, I think it's worth the extra rest / fewer injuries. 

51 minutes ago, MikeF said:

Performance really dips when they get overplayed too I’ve noticed. 

I very much noticed this in my current career with both the amateurs and wonderkids I'm playing.