CM - Question about young players

[McD]

I am just getting back into CM again after a break and have been able to mostly pick up where I was before. But I do have one question that I haven't been able to find the answer to in any of my notes. I remember that as a manager you have to be careful not to overplay your young players. As I recall you had to limit games for players 23 and younger. Can anyone remind me what the general guidelines for avoiding overplaying young players.

[RonnieDobbs]

I don't know for sure, but back in CM01-02 I would play really young guys one out of two games.

You might be more lucky finding the answer here (http://www.thedugout.net)

[Marc Vaughan]

Overplaying players is very dependant upon the player in question really, some players (notably Steven Gerrard, Gareth Barry irl) can take the rigours of football fairly well at a young age and play numerous (ie. 20+) first team games with little wear and tear ... some (notably Michael Owen irl) can't and tend to break down with injuries.

A rough guide to such things is down to the player himself, a young player who is a big strapping young defender will tend to be more endurable than a small agile attacker for instance.

Things to look for which might indicate durability:

* Position, generally defenders do the 'kicking' of other players, attackers recieve it - the more likely the player is to be fouled the more likely he will pick up an injury.
injuries are slightly more common with players who are growing/developing ... when they recieve such abuse.
* Players stamina and strength, these can indicate a player who is likely to stay strong.
* Players condition during matches, some players are naturally fitter than others if your youngsters condition drops like a stone he probably isn't ready to last a full game.
* Condition notes on profile - if you find a players profile indicates he's exhausted or a similar comment then he should be rested, especially if he's a young player.

Hope this helps,

Marc

[illinifan999]

Well, I signed Freddy Adu at the ripe age of 13. I have started him 5 times this season. After each of those matches I give him about 3 matches off. After every match he starts in I get the message that he is in need of rest, and he slightly concernec about feeling jaded. Then after his break he is fine again.

[bamcgee]

I'm worried about the same issue as well, as I'm playing Ajax and practically all of its stars are 21 and under - Van der Vaart, Mido, Ibrahimovic, etc. Haven't had many problems so far, but I've been pretty careful about rotating them 2 out of 3. They're still gonna end up playing a fair number of matches, so I'll see how it all works out.