Training is one of the least discussed aspects of FM on these forums and one of the most vital aspects of manager involvement ingame. Having drawn many blanks through experimentation and through reading these forums I trawled through the internet looking for FM sites offering an explanation of training.
It didn't take me long to find FMBritain and many indepth studies of training in FM. Two posters in particular lead me to a much deeper understanding of training, but lets just say the language barrier is not condusive to easy reading.
With my desire to understand the mechanics of training and develop my own training schedules in mind, here is my interpretation of the discussion and mechanical revelation I discovered on this site.
Training in Football Manager.
The single most important factor in training in Football Manager is the schedule workload.
The schedule workload determines how much a player develops and improves his attributes, the higher the workload the greater the increase in attributes, and the greater the effect on the players morale due to training. It is in effect a trade-off between the scale of attribute development and the scale of morale penalty. In an ideal FM world the manager wants all players training at the maximum possible workload.
Workload is determined by the quantity of training in each general area under the training schedule; strength, aerobic, tactics, ball control etc. However each area does not contribute an equal increase or decrease or workload.
This is where it gets complicated so please bare with me.
If the overall workload determines the maximum rate at which attributes can improve then the individual workloads for each area determine the rate at which attributes do improve. The relationship between individual areas and the maximum workload is relative and proportional.
Allow me to explain.
Physical training, strength and aerobic, contribute more to the overall workload than all other areas of training, while set peices contribute less to the overall workload.
Imagine you could reach maximum workload with strength training and maximum workload with set peice training alone. If strength training increases the workload by 6x more than setpeice training per click, then you can increase the set peice attributes 6x quicker, or 6x greater than you can increase strength training for the same overall workload.
In other words areas of training that contribute more to the overall training workload improve slower and less dramatically than those areas that contribute less to the overall training workload. This is the proportional part of training. You get more per click, more bang for your buck.
Speaking simply, you can improve attributes quicker by choosing areas of training that contribute less to the overall workload. The more clicks you can get in the training workload before it reaches maximum, the faster attributes will increase.
However.
This obviously means that areas such as strength or aerobic can be improved only at the expense of training in other areas. The proportional system means that not all areas can be improved by the same degree, and that concessions must be made in certain areas. It means also that hardcore training in certain areas may result in dramatic increases, but only in those areas.
Ultimately.
Ultimately the schedule workload is the limit by which your players can increase, and the levels of the areas of training within define how quickly and by how much your players will improve relative to the overall schedule. The greater the level of training in those areas, the greater the increases in those areas.
Proportion.
I am trying to keep this guide as simple as possible, but it is easier to understand the system than it is to explain. If the workload is maxed then the higher the proportions of training in each area, the higher they will increase. The higher you can get the sliders in each area of training the higher those areas will increase. The higher you can get the sliders in relation to overall workload then the higher the attributes will increase overall. By choosing areas that have a lower impact on overall workload you can increase those sliders much higher than sliders that have a large impact, and therefore increase those areas by a greater amount overall. The exact slider mechanics I will discuss next.
Slider Mechanics.
According to my research of the research done by a poster on FMBritain, who by the way requires the thanks of everyone that has downloaded a training schedule on these forums, the slider mechanics are as follows.
There are 25 clicks on the sliders, therefore 26 positions.
Click number 7 or position number 8 is the level at which attributes will be maintained. This is not entireally true but I will explain later. From click number 7 or position number 8 each increase of 3 clicks shows up ingame as an increase in the bar height for the training level of that area.
Click number 13 or position 14 is the level at which attributes will begin to increase, and click number 19 or position 20 is where attributes will no longer increase in size but only increase in speed.
I would suggest personally that position 13 onwards determines the rate and size relative to all combined areas falling under overall workload.
The poster whom I am translating and copying recommands a number of slider clicks equal to 120 for outfield players and 140 for goalkeepers for maximum development but I am not sure about these values.
Youth versus Pro or the PA/CA Question.
If a player has reached their PA then all training does is redistribute their attributes. This means that concessions have to be made for improvements to occur. One could purposely reduce the Strength training of a goalkeeper to a level where it actually diminishes in order to improve the tactical ability of that goalkeeper.
For players that have not reached their PA the issue is different. You can redistribute their attributes in the future, but the issue is to ensure they reach their PA.
What this means is that maximum load training schedules are less important for developed players than the proportional distribution of training. You don't want max level training if it means you cannot redistribute attributes among key areas. For players yet to reach their PA you want to maximise their attribute increases so they reach PA, then redistribute. This means max workload training schedules.
Before I Finish.
I hope that someone with a greater knowledge of training than me comes along and helps turn this guide from near-fact into fact. I do not claim to provide perfect information, merely reinterperate what I have read.
I also wish to make it clear that physical training carries with it the risk of injuries, that high workloads carry with them the risk of low morale.
This game is highly complex and all the better for it, but it does lack a vast quantity of truly informational material regarding how it operates. If this guide helps then I am glad for those that find use for it, but even more glad for that fact that I myself am on the right track.
Thank you for your time, and enjoy FM2009.I actually worked with the same theory (also taken from fm-britain) and tried to make some very advanced schedules for fm08. I never got the time to test them out for long enough to see if it worked or not, but i will try to explain why i think these schedules would be better than the regular way of training. Afterwords i have some questions, and some things to point out. My schedules relies on the fact that these studies are true, if not, the schedules looses some of its power.
My schedule (and the "theory" behind):
Before i can explain the whole schedule, and the theory behind, i will have to present some observations:
1) Many players between the age of 17-20 should not train as hard as the older players (not the last notch of medium training). But it is not a good solution to let them train with the u-18 team because that will mean to low workload. Therefore it is vital to have a schedule for when the players are between youth and senior. Some players can train with the other seniors when they are 17, for others it will become too hard. This schedule is meant for those who cant handle that large workload. The point of this schedule is to prepare them for a larger workload later, and to keep their morale up.
I will call this schedule YTH (for youth, even though it is not a regual youth schedule, since it is for young seniors, and not youth players)
2) When young players are ready to train at a full workload, it is important to try to max out their physical potential as soon as possible. It is harder to improve the physice after they reach the age of 24, therefore it is important to have schedules with lots of phyiscal training and always keep them match fit until they reach the age of 24-26 (until their physics stops improving fast)
I will call this schedule UNG (means young in norwegian)
3) When players reach 24-26, their rapid physical improvements stops. Atleast in the aerobic cathegory, but not in their strenght cathegory. Therefore, i reduse the aerobic training to a maintain level, but still keeps the strenght training up high. This gives room for more mental and technical training.
I will call this schedule PAC (because your players will not gain much pace after you start using this schedule)
4) When players reach the age of 28-31 their physical stats will start to decline. By training them very hard physically you will just make them tired, and therefore you should reduce both strenght and aerobic to a maintain level. To still keep their CA up, you should therefore increase technical and mental training. The goal is not to loose physical stats, but to try to maintain them as good as possible while they are matchfit and keeps their CA up high.
I will call this schedule ALD (the start of the word "aldrende" in norwegian, which basically means that you are getting older)
5) In between schedule number 2 and 3 (UNG and PAC) you can use a schedule where you reduce the aerobic and strenght training a bit, but still keeps the aerobic at a higher than maintain level. This can be smart for positions where it is important to have fast players (like wingers or a fast striker)
This gives me a lot of schedules, since each positions will have five schedules. But if the theories that SFraser presented is true, i believe these schedules will be one of the best way to train your players.
There are other factors than stats that determines how good a players is. How many positions they can play, and how good they are with each foot. It is important to remember that too. So a player that is too footed will play well, but his stats might not be so goodReally interesting read that.
So just to be sure, would i have a seperate training schedule for 17-20 year olds with less emphasis on the technical development and more physical training? So basically high strength and aerobic and low / medium tactics / attacking / defending etc?
And for those over 20 less emphasis on their physical stats and more on their technical stats?
Just as an example i have lots of players in my squad like Gerardo Bruna who will apparently become a good player but both his physical and technical stats look rubbish at the moment. He is only 17. Under your schedules he would develop his physical side, but would that not mean that when he is 20 and i want him in the first team his tecnical stats would still not be very good as they have only been "maintained"?
Or am i missing the point?
The important point to remember is that the overall training workload is a limiting factor on the strength of training in each training area. The higher you can get each training area before you reach your maximum workload, the greater the level of training per session and the faster and greater attributes will rise. The relative levels of each training area within the schedule determine the proportions of the training session that the schedule shares out, while the combined overall levels determine the amount trained overall per session. Physical training increases the workload faster per click, setpeice training increases the workload slower per click.
Therefore there are two ways to increase attributes faster. One is to design a training schedule with the highest levels of training possible within the schedule at maximum workload, the other is to distribute training proportionaly so that specific areas train more heavily within the schedule, although this might reduce the overall quantity of training available when max workload is reached.
Specific training schedules for specific players require a lot of problem solving and customisation. Youth players in particular seem very susceptible to training for there is evidence to suggest that intensive or incorrectly balanced training early on has a detrimental effect to a player, however the evidence also suggests that young players go through what I call a "growth spurt" between the ages of 18 to 21 where relatively intense physical training has a dramatic effect across the board with these players.
Youth players also experience a secondary effect relative to training. Their Current Ability in terms of overall attributes is nowhere near their Potential Ability in terms of overall attributes. This means that vast increases in attributes are easilly possible, that it is possible to "overfill" certain attributes relative to their position and potential, but also that a manager can encourage "explosive growth" and then spend the rest of that players career fine tuning the attribute distribution of that player, much like handling the maturation of real world "wonderkids". I personally like to encourage "explosive growth" of a young player, although I try to avoid radically unbalancing a training schedule for anyone unless it appears to be a vital necessity for my team.
To answer you question directly; if you wish a dramatic increase in physical attributes you have to factor in the fact that higher physical training decreases the overall possible attribute increases through filling the overall workload much quicker. If you do not mind spending the rest of that players career fine tuning a massive early attribute increase into a finished product, then you want to couple a relatively intensive physical training schedule with high quantities of training areas that fill up the overall workload much slower in order to obtain the maximum possible attribute increase overall combined to an intensive focus on physical attributes.
The ideal schedule in general terms is much like my own personal Pre-Season schedule. You bias a normal training schedule in favour of physical training, reduce other areas of training slightly, and then make up the difference with setpeice training. This gives you a schedule with a larger quantity of training at the max workload limit therefore giving a high number of attribute increases per session, that is biased in favour of physical and setpeice training. You then spend the rest of the season redistributing those attributes as you see fit.
very interesting read, thanks for sharing!
a couple of questions. what happens between click number 7 and 13? do attributes increase or maintain? for example i changed my training regimes from pre-season to normal and i can see the arrows are changing - strenght and aerobic went down and other went up? do you recomend using 'general' training regime for all (probably older) players that we don't want their attributes to change. what would happen if we set those players to 'general' training regime where all sliders would be set to click number 7? or what would happen with players who still haben't reached their PA, if we set their training regime in between clicks number 10 and 13...i just don't get the 'Click number 13 or position 14 is the level at which attributes will begin to increase' part.
My understanding of the game is that the arrows seen in the squad training screen represent the effort the player is putting into those areas of training, not the attribute increases, although there will eventually be a correlation. I view the arrows in the squad training screen and the monthly Assistant Manager Training Report to be one and the same. The schedule in question can still improve attributes that fall under the category the player seems to be training poorly in, but it is likely you will get bigger benefits by customising a schedule according to his personality or his personal commitment to certain training areas.
An older aged player is the contra to a younger aged player. If a young player benefits more from a max workload schedule, can endure large quantities of physical training, can avoid knocks in training and recover faster from injuries then an older player is the opposite. An older player benefits more from a lower workload schedule that is perfectly balanced in favour of his key attributes, or the attributes you determine to be key. They are more likely to get knocks in training and take longer to recover from injury, which means that their attributes are likely to dramatically decline if out for a few months. Essentially what is occuring is that instead of the manager managing the growth spurt of a young player or the maturation of a mid 20s player, the manager is now managing the decline of an older player.
The game tells us that physical attributes will decline as they reach the end of their careers, sometimes dramatically so a physical bias is near essential. The real question is where do the attributes come from to minimize physical decline, and how much physical training is required to offset that decline while minimizing injury? From what I have seen it is nigh on essential to avoid injury. If an older player is out for a few months then his career at your club is pretty much over. The decline is rapid and there is little chance to recover what is lost. You need to highlight what makes him useful to you and allow the rest to drop. You have to pay attention and treat him with care.
Your first question is ultimately "the" question with regards to training. Training is not a "one solution fits all" scenario. My opinion, and it is just an opinion, is that the actual levels of "maintain" and "improve" and "dramatically improve" and all the areas inbetween are determined by the overall workload, the players personality, the ability of coaches and possibly even the time between games, his fitness levels and a few other factors.
Your best guide to the answer to this question is the monthly training data that shows up on the personal training screens for each player. In my opinion the most important factors are static, i.e. the training proportion and level, coach ability, player personality etc. Whereas monthly modifiers of a smaller degree of importance come through fitness levels and time between games. This is not fact only conjecture, but alteast some of these modifiers are fairly obvious, after a "red" injury for example, and the increase in overall training levels on a monthly basis for the same schedule during Pre-Season.
Basiclly the fundamentals are overall workload versus the proportional level of each area under that workload, then modified by other variables relative to that player, the club and to his activity within your club. If you become accustomed to checking training on a regular basis and spot the variations in training on a monthly basis you can alter the proportions and focus of that training on a regular basis to best suit what you desire and the conditions under which the player is active.
I personally use a 3 notch guide from the basic standards I discussed in my first post. I have found that 3 notches in general represent a different bar height for each training area, and so I guide my training by the bar heights during a season. A rough guide I use for the intensity of attribute increase compared to the bar height in the training levels is that at under the first dotted line is decrease dramatically, first dotted to second dotted is decrease slightly, second to third is maintain, third to fourth is increase and above fourth is increase dramatically. My opinion is that variations within each dotted line section can control the rate, so one can decrease slightly by alot less by staying near but under the third dotted line rather than close to the second. The actual time for the manifestation of these changes is unknown to me.
SFraser: Excellent post, brilliantly explained and plenty of food for thought. It's refreshing to see some proper discussions in here again. I'll chip in with my two pennies worth as soon as I have tested your thought provoking ideas.
Cheers for some inspiring stuff on an area which I for one have close to neglected because I have found it less than intuitive and a bit boring.
Time to scrap the (not so) good old schedules and returnm to the drawing board for the first time in years me thinks...
Thanks for your post and you are welcome. Any results on your experiments along these ideas would be most welcome.[/color]
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With thanks to SFraser and Iseliljah from the SIG forums
