A squad is not a static list of players; it is a living asset that needs active management across contracts, ages, positions, morale, and transfer timing. This guide covers how to think about your roster strategically rather than reactively.
Your squad capacity can be extended up to 36 players. Keep as many slots as possible filled at all times. Every player in the squad trains daily and grows in value; empty slots are development and income opportunities being permanently wasted.
You need a minimum of 15 regular players to be allowed to sell anyone (loan players do not count toward this minimum).
A full bench of 5 substitutes means automatic coverage for injuries and red cards during matches.
Even cheap filler players earn value through training and playing time.
A healthy squad has players at different life stages, so you are never replacing multiple expiring players at once:
Age Band | Role in Squad | Management Focus |
17–21 | Future starters — your investment pipeline | Maximise training, build experience, use youth promotion |
22–27 | Current starters — peak performance and value | Long contracts, regular playing time, sell before decline |
28–31 | Senior support — reliable performance, lower potential | Shorter contracts, squad rotation, watch retirement horizon |
32–33 | Veterans — still useful, declining skills | Very short contracts, plan replacements, sell before 34 |
34+ (retirement) | Departure imminent — can retire any time before 38 | Can be sold but won’t appear on the transfer market; use sparingly, prepare replacement |
Every renewal is a financial and strategic decision. Longer contracts cost less per week but commit you to the player for longer:
Contract | Best Used For |
40 weeks (Long-Term card) | Young players with high potential you want to keep for many seasons; lock them in cheaply and prevent the 50% sale penalty for nearly the whole contract |
24 weeks | Core players you plan to keep for 1–2 seasons — good balance of low wages and flexibility |
18 weeks | Standard choice for most players; baseline pricing |
12 weeks | Players you expect to sell soon; accept higher wages for flexibility to sell without penalty |
Contracts do not renew automatically. Players with contracts approaching expiry are highlighted in blue in the squad overview. If a contract expires and is not renewed within one week, the player permanently leaves the club for free - no compensation.
Morale drops when players do not get playing time in official matches. After 3 consecutive matches without being in the lineup, morale starts falling by up to −10 points per match for extended absences.
In practice, this means: no player should ever be completely idle. Rotate bench players into cup matches and lower-importance league fixtures. It keeps morale high across the whole squad, which pays off when injuries or suspensions force you to use those players.
Playing Pattern | Morale Trend |
Regular starter (full 90 min) | +0.4 to +0.75 morale per match from play time + win bonus |
Occasional sub (under 45 min) | +0.05 to +0.35 morale per match |
On bench (no playing time) | +/- small random amount |
Missing 4–10 straight matches | −1 to −5 morale per match |
Missing 11+ straight matches | −5 to −10 morale per match |
The five core skills, Keeping, Tackling, Playmaking, Passing, Scoring, each map to a primary position. Training is most efficient for a player's main trained position:
Skill | Primary Position |
Keeping | Goalkeeper |
Tackling | Defender |
Playmaking | Central Midfielder |
Passing | Winger / Wide Midfielder |
Scoring | Striker |
Skills train efficiently only at the player's currently trained position. If you want to improve a secondary skill faster, you can temporarily reposition the player; each reposition takes 10 days to reach full training efficiency or can be done instantly with a Switch Position card.
Players aged 32 and above see their skills decline slowly. At 34, they enter the retirement phase and skills decline roughly twice as fast. This is irreversible; no training can offset it at 32+.
The practical implication: do not invest heavily in training players aged 30+. Their training yields diminish while their wages remain high. Use that squad slot and training budget on younger players instead.
At the season reset, several things happen that require active management:
Energy resets to 100 for all players → a good time to plan a high-effort start.
Yellow card counts reset (except for relegation playoff carryover).
Team spirit resets to 50 → rebuild it early with wins or Team Spirit cards.
Morale resets to Okay (48–68 random) for all players → start rebuilding from this baseline.
Review all contracts → plan which players to keep, extend, or sell in the new season.
Update your Standard formation preset → squad changes during the season may have made it stale.
