Back in October, I outlined my plan to develop my team in the League of D (Huge Pythons at the time, but since renamed Grim Fandango), which involved rotating 4-5-1 and 5-4-1 and heavily developing three defenders and three midfielders at a time. I've been getting excellent returns on DV, but I've found the side currently yo-yo between the two divisions - the mentors are good enough to haul the team to the top flight, where they get thrashed. I've also only been able to train six players at a time in five slots.
I've since had a bit of an epiphany, thanks in no small part to one of my other sides - Steel City Starlets. Now, the Xpert Ladies is an odd league in that youths cost a small fortune in the closed season and the YA is a worthy investment. I'd got the defenders and midfielders I needed to take the team forwards and was using my strikers to generate revenue. However, my YA had been falling short on quality strikers to train during the season, so the ones I was promoting I was actually leaving out. Instead, my two youngest mids are all-rounders and I'm rotating them up front, thus allowing me to play my strongest midfield. That got me thinking, why not just scrap forwards altogether?
I have a dim view of forwards right now, both in terms of their utility and their profitability, but I figure I could use the forward slot as a means of training up my very weakest youths if they are all-rounders. The plan would be to use a permanent 4-5-1, with my mentors as a GK, two DF and three MF. That leaves me two defensive slots, two midfield slots and a forward slot for youths. I could rotate three youths in defence, three in midfield and then have an all-round defender and all-round midfielder rotate in the space up front. They'd earn 85% of the usual ME, which multiplied by the 63% earned for half a match means that, if they rotate at half time, the ME gained is still like playing one whole game out of two up front. With all-rounders being handy in a small squad anyway, it seems like a no brainer, especially with me developing two extra youths at a time.
I'm hoping to adapt my Orange Mooses side to use all-rounders in this closed season, then will shift to my other teams in due course. I'll let you know how it goes.
I've since had a bit of an epiphany, thanks in no small part to one of my other sides - Steel City Starlets. Now, the Xpert Ladies is an odd league in that youths cost a small fortune in the closed season and the YA is a worthy investment. I'd got the defenders and midfielders I needed to take the team forwards and was using my strikers to generate revenue. However, my YA had been falling short on quality strikers to train during the season, so the ones I was promoting I was actually leaving out. Instead, my two youngest mids are all-rounders and I'm rotating them up front, thus allowing me to play my strongest midfield. That got me thinking, why not just scrap forwards altogether?
I have a dim view of forwards right now, both in terms of their utility and their profitability, but I figure I could use the forward slot as a means of training up my very weakest youths if they are all-rounders. The plan would be to use a permanent 4-5-1, with my mentors as a GK, two DF and three MF. That leaves me two defensive slots, two midfield slots and a forward slot for youths. I could rotate three youths in defence, three in midfield and then have an all-round defender and all-round midfielder rotate in the space up front. They'd earn 85% of the usual ME, which multiplied by the 63% earned for half a match means that, if they rotate at half time, the ME gained is still like playing one whole game out of two up front. With all-rounders being handy in a small squad anyway, it seems like a no brainer, especially with me developing two extra youths at a time.
I'm hoping to adapt my Orange Mooses side to use all-rounders in this closed season, then will shift to my other teams in due course. I'll let you know how it goes.
