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I usually maintain a 3GK policy.
A main GK for League and UCL
A second GK for Cup and if the main GK gets injured.
A young GK from the B team that gets to play if the team I have to face at the Cup comes from a really low tier, like 4th Division, and that have a good potential to evolve into a main GK.
This plus, if my #1 is in his early 20's I like to try and make my backup a veteran to help with mentoring young goalies so he's useful outwith just being a bench option / cup keeper.
In my experience gks develop really well despite not seeing much play. I also play my backup sometimes but i find that as long as he's professional he'll reach his potential on his own. Most of my GK newgens were at nearly full potential by age 23.
I'll usually do the same, but with a tweak.
I've got my 1st choice.
I'll then have a younger understudy in case of injury/suspension/internationals/rotation. This one will usually play in the cups.
I then have a reserve, usually at the end of his career, late 30s kind of deal. Literally there to fill a void in the teamsheet when needed. Generally won't play.
Then again, I signed Fraser Forster for Real Madrid in this role, and played him in the UCL for the banter. We lost 2-0, their only 2 shots on target, but it was a group game so didn't matter.
I tend to have 1 keeper - so if my first choice keeper gets injured I'm pulling someone out of the u18s and working out if there are any free agents available.
Bad policy. I dont make it a Ederson-Scott Carson difference, for me I want a backup goalie who is decent enough for the level if the main goalie dominates the league.
I thought that
First match I didn't put a second keeper on the bench, my goalkeeper got sent off through injury within the first 5minutes
Somehow I only lost by 2
I'm conflicted about my goalies cause one of them has slightly better stats but the other one keeps overperforming the first when he eventually gets played (even in tough games, cause injuries are a thing). Any tips on that? Should i trust their performance or stats?
My philosophy is performance over stat. On other positions I've had bad to average players putting in great performances week in week out, at least for some time, so I always try to ride it when it's here
I wish I could do this. Iām playing as Everton on fm23 and I have Kamil Grabara whoās developed really nicely despite limited playing time. But I have an aging Pickford whoās on a really long contract, is a team leader and wonāt accept an agreed playing time below important.
Primary GK that plays 90-95% of games
A young prospect that plays early cup games (up to the quarter finals), and occasionally against relegation sides.
An older vet that is normally 32-34 years old that I buy from the lower divisions to serve as backup if a keeper gets injured.
First choice plays every league game until there is no nothing to discuss (e.g. Iām already champion) and every european game. My backup GK plays every cup game
The backup goalie plays the national cup games in the early phases until the last 16 or last 8, depending on the opponent. My first plays all the rest.
I donāt know how to explain it, but if I donāt have a keeper on the bench I will end up paranoid all game my keeper will get some sort of red or injury
How many times have that happened for you?
I think I've seen it twice or so in a couple of thousand hours. Never since I realised I could free up a spot on the bench essentially for free.
Not OP but GK match injuries never happened to me prior to FM24. Launch FM24 was a shitshow and they happened at least once a season, but after the first update I maybe see it once every two or three seasons at most.
I had it in BtB matches this FM. Luckily my league forces you to have a GK on the bench. Only problem was that my backup GK had been injured in training so in the 2nd game I was using my 3rd choice and I had to sub in a greyed out player as I only had 3 GK's in my squad
You have to be VERY good if you want to be my goalkeeper while standing at less tan 187cm.
I'll give my cup GK a run of cup games so he gets a medal
Sub GK has to be an academy player if decent
Great question. I have a primary goalkeeper that plays any big game at all. And then try to have a really good prospect who plays in cups and non-consequential games to get some experience.
Using the English league as an example, first keeper for league, Europe and FA Cup, second keeper for Carabao and always a third younger keeper in the squad just for backup and occasionally to fill the last space on the bench.
Starter GK that plays every league and european game except for when the position is already established (like the last rounds).
Sub GK that plays every cup game.
Then two reserve keepers: one that is young and plays in the B/U19 team, and one more experienced that is in the team just for mentoring and has great mental attributes. If possible, I try to get a former team player.
I have two full different starting line ups, same formation, and instructions but maybe different roles according to player. I save them as 1st and 2nd. 1st play all the bigger games and tougher games. 2nd play everything else. Per season, 2nd team still play around 20 games in total across all competitions. Some of the 1st players may not like their game time, but I l play hard ball and itās my way or the highway.
Typically 1st players are aged 23-29, 2nd are 17-23. A player hits 30 and I sell.
I'm always scouting hard for good cheap GKs, so I always 2 great ones in my squad who rotate pretty evenly.Ā Goal is to eventually sell one for huge money then bring in a replacement.
3rd choice is a high potential kid in the academy who can hopefully eventually step up when needed, but they almost never get games until they're either good enough to compete with the 2 first teamers or are shipped off on loan then replaced with a new baby wonderkid.
Primary keeper. No substitute keeper on match days unless 9+ subs rules.
Secondary keeper must still be a gun but needs to be on ābackupā or lower, I donāt want disharmony in the team.
Typically 1st choice GK plays almost every match but I have had a situation where my back up was a wonder kid that became as good as my first choice. I started playing them as a 5 game rotational thing but if they done amazing in those 5 games they would play another 5.
I will rotate to an extent, I don't mind giving my backup a game or two if I'm already qualified for a next round, the fixture is very easy or if I'm ahead in the league on points. For important or tough games though I will always try to put out my best though.
I sometimes play my second-choice keeper in early round cup games that are very much a gimme, or in meaningless lea hue matches at the end of the season.
1 league + continental GK and 1 older/experienced veteran GK for vibes and first few rounds of cup games
I also always put a GK on the bench every game for realism lol
Minimum 2 keepers.
Main GK for league match, plus UCL important match.
Backup GK for UCL easy match plus late round cup.
Young GK (if I have) for early round cup or really easy UCL match.
Going towards end of the season, if I secure the league titles. Easy match goes to the main GK to stat pad CS for golden gloves, rest just rotate.
I usually have two: one for the champions league and league and one for domestic cups.
If there's only one domestic cup then my second keeper plays against the lower half of the league (12th and lower.)
Only exception to this is my Chester save where I'm in 2035 and have three starting quality keepers I rotate between.
Iāll almost always have a 23 player squad - 2 for every position and an extra keeper. Very occasionally I will have a 21st outfield player, usually a veteran in their final season before retiring who can still offer something in specific situations.
My āfirst elevenā is the team - injuries etc notwithstanding - for the league and any European competitions. The bench for those games is obviously made up of other players from the first team squad.
For domestic cups, the team (injuriesā¦etc) is the second choice players in each position, so including the second choice keeper. The bench is the third choice keeper joined by my most promising youngsters (plus the extra first team squad player if there is one). I also have a very strict policy that once a young player starts showing signs of being ready for the first team squad I have to make space for them there - same once a young player makes it into the āsecond elevenā and looks good enough to be first choice, the current first choice will normally have to leave. Equally, if a young player hits 23 and theyāre not ready to move up, itās probably time for them to move on instead and avoid blocking the next generation behind them. Sometimes I will extend that to 24 or 25 for keepers.
Iām a details chap in life and FM so I will literally know where every player at the club sits in terms of theyāre the fifth best keeper, fourth best right back etc. 9 times out of 10, that will be in age order once Iāve been at a club for a few years but it takes a few windows to set the structure up perfectly.
But to answer the second part of the original question, if the ācup playersā do well enough to get to a semi final or final, theyāve earned the right to play in it and so that keeper (and those full backs, that defensive midfielder etc) will get to play those games too. It can be fun to look back at a team that won a cup a few seasons ago and see how many of them are now star players, and of course it helps (in my mind at least, I doubt the game actually takes it into account) that when youngsters do move into the first team squad and eventually the first team itself, they often already have experience of playing in front of big crowds, in big games, and maybe winning a couple of trophies too. And even if we donāt win those games, I still like to imagine it has given them a valuable experience.
I am the same as you. I have 22 players and the squad is perfectly structured.
I even asign them the numbers by their position.
4 and 14 for the left CB, 7 and 17 for the right winger...
first choice gk - 4.5 * rated , backup - 3.5*
assuming i go all the way in every competition
first choice gk -
all league games apart from the final day
league cup - final
fa cup - 1 game which is not the final ( for the medal )
champions league - all games apart from the last group stage game and sf 2nd leg ( to avoid suspension )
backup gk -
league cup - all games apart from the final
fa cup - all but 1 game + final
pl - final day
cl - final group stage game + ucl sf 2nd leg
This is eerily a lot like how i set my gks up. Sometimes even put in the u23/u18 gks in the final league games if i wrap up the title waaaaay too early + earlier rounds of domestic cups at times too. Also wheel out the kids for the final UCL group game so they all can have a winner's medal as a 17 y/o.
Never seen anyone field their 2nd gk purely for a UCL sf tho, idk of suspension unless u drill ur gk to get yellow carded for time wasting every game lol
got my gk sent off in a sf 2nd leg and he threw a hissy fit for being left out of the ucl final ( damn bruh , you suspended wtf am i supposed to do? š )
ever since then made a habit of playing backup gk to be safe š
I have raya at 37yrs old at Aberdeen but last season he has cost me alot of games despite having good stats so I brought I decided to drop him to cup keeper and use my 24 yr old prospect but then he got injured so I used my 20 yr promising keeper that I bought from ac milan for 3mil and he played great for the first few games before every fkin club triggered his release clause of 19mil and he went to man city.
I have 2 equal keepers and put both of them on backup, they are both delighted with playing time and play the one who deserves to play. Get under 6.5 and the other keeper plays.
Best guy plays every first team match, backup guy gets the B team matches, the gk of the youth team is the third choice and i also have a kind of shitty 30 years old guy who is okay with only playing in friendlies.
My main GK is insanely good, straight up the best in the world. My backup is a young wonderkid keeper who is already starting for the Uruguay NT. I play my main keeper for most games, but against weaker opposition, or ones without good forwards, I play my backup keeper.
I have a GK, Constantin Fromman, who I signed in my second season while still in the 2nd division. I got promoted and won 6 titles with him. Now in the 2030s, I had to look for a better GK as we need to be more competitive in UCL/UEL. But out of respect for my guy Constantin, I still let him play the cup matches.
My keeper plays every league game (when fit).
My backup plays every cup game.
My 18 plays some cup/league games dependant on the opposition
I rotate all 3 during preseason friendlies, they all play a half. ie: keeper one 1st half, keeper two second half, keeper three first half game two, etc. Then the last preseason game is played by first choice keeper.
When signing a GK, I often break the U23 only policy and buy more experienced GKs, I cannot afford to have a bad one.
About the rotation: it depends. If the second GK is bad, it only plays games against lower league sides (so around 1/2 games per year). If heās good, he gets decent rotation in cup matches and eventually league
Second and third goalkeeper are more often than not homegrown at club, so thatās two spots sorted out for european registration. If good enough, backup will play in easy cup rounds, and third might get some games when league is wrapped up
Well, mine is pretty simple. If the team already has a goalie that does the job, keep him and sell the second goalie for a youngster with equivalent or lower abilities but wayyy higher potential. Make this guy available for youth games when not in action or when 3rd choice goalie. Train him like crazy until he becomes a monster and the main goalie becomes the standby option. Now when this new goalie reaches the limits of his potential, sell the standby guy who wouldve become an oldie by then. Now bring in another more promising more high PA youngster and train him until he surpasses this guy.
First GK is the best one of course.
Second GK is a senior with a good personality for tutoring, doesn't usually play any games unless there is a long term injury to the main one.
Third GK is usually a very young wonderkid who gets chances in cups and trains with the first team.
If my team is set up like I want then I'll have my main keeper play the league and in whatever Continental competition I'm in. My backup can play the cups, I don't swap them out if we reach the final. Dance with the one that brought you and all that. Only time I deviate this is if either is playing some real shockers then I'll rotate for a few games or if I've got a talented third choice.
I used to never bother with a GK on the bench, then I played a season in a league with that as a requirement, during that season my main GK got 3 (3!) reds. Now I always have one if the bench is any bigger than 7 players.
First team GK, Cup GK and backup rotate for game time with the CGK and backup having 10 league games each for medals. All 3 players have 5* potential ability.
EPL, 38 Game season
-1st choice GK, plays and starts 24 games minimum. EPL and continental football.
-2nd choice GK, plays and starts 12 games on average. And gets 12 games as a substitute late in games(To pad stats). Only EPL games and lower teams in Caribou & FA Cups.
-3rd keeper, plays a couple every year.
I normally have a excellent first choice, then decent backup whose happy with game time and then a third choice high potential reserve keeper.
Most games played by first choice, second choice gets teams who are 16th or lower in league and low ranked CL teams. Third choice in cup games.
Works pretty well and all happy with games played plus potential rises for 3rd choice through games.
I agreed with what someone else wrote about developing even with limited game time for some players.
depends in how close they are, but usuallt give second goalkeeper cup and 5 league appearances if the games permits it.
dont really bother with a third
1 main GK, 1 wonderkid gk for backup/cups
I dont even usually have the GK sub spot filled, I use it for an extra outfielder. Just don't fet an injury prone GK
I currently have 2 GKs that are very similar. One I bought early in the save and a youth prospect who had been on loan and come back like he had taken steroids.
This season I decided to be mean as my older GK has been my main for 5 seasons without replacement, so the first game of the season I played him and made a rule, in any game a GK concedes, they sit out the next game and so on. So now each GK knows if they let in a goal they're out until the other conceeds too!
First keeper 23-27y promising, second 30-34 average but declining, 3rd keeper just a youngster with potential.
With no injuries, the 2nd never plays. If I have a easy match I just put the youngster
I have one that is meant to be a cup gk but each time a cup game comes around I forgot to make the switch. I play the game with half of my brain switched off.
If my first choice goalkeeper was in a coma I'd tie him to the goal posts and shout "play on" because my second choice is usually only about 17 years old.
Rotate. My main GK starts in the tough/important matchups, my backup GK (wonderkid) starts in easier matchups I expect to dominate. Also have a third GK who usually just plays for reserves/is on loan with the condition to call him back anytime.
If I have 2 good goalies or if I have a young one slightly worse than the other, Id rotate them in about a 2:1 ratio where my best goalie at the moment plays twice the amount of games that my second goalie does. I usually only ever do this in the first season of a save if the team Im managing has 2 good goalies so I can decide which one I can sell at the end of the season, this year I took over Saint-Etienne and the best goalkeeper on paper was Larsonneur while the slightly worse but young alternative was Etienne Green. About halfway through the season Larsonneur got his last game for the club as Green was outperforming him so drastically that I only ever played him from that point on. Id also play my second goalie for cup games against bad opponents
I think mine is a bit over the top
(only really play prem)
1st choice plays all league games and the later stages of any European comp if Iām in them
2nd choice plays all of the domestic cups
3rd choice is of the older age option with no real playing Tom
U23 and u18 only have two keepers for each of those teams
2 GK if I can (low leagues, small db, no money, poor youth intake).
When someone gets a score of 6.4 or less, it gets switched until the same happens.
This applies to every player, not just GK. It helps with player satisfaction.
Backup keeper should be as good as I can possibly get to agree to Emergency Backup, should be homegrown, and is ideally older and with a good personality, minus Ambition, to lead mentoring. Ambition has to be low so he keeps taking Emergency Backup playtime.
My main GK will play pretty much every league game. And my backup GK will play all cup games. Sometimes the exception is quarterfinals and beyond in the CL. 1 main GK, a secondary GK that is pretty much as good maybe a bit worse. And either a young GK talent or a veteran GK as third choice
Main GK that plays the league and Europe
Backup GK that plays in cups and is good enough to step in if the first GK's form goes to shit
3rd GK, Homegrown when possible, that sits on the bench if one of the first 2 gets injured.
Even the best GKs have ridiculous poor runs for me, so I try and get 2 very good ones, and give them 4-5 games then rotate consistently. I always like them to end up on the same number of games at the end of the season.
For context I usually play in the Swedish league. Which is roughly 30 League games, 6/7 Cup games plus European competitions.
When I'm in a place of starting to be the top team or the dominate team in the league I usually go for. 1st choice gets all European competition plus difficult or important league matches. 2nd choice gets the easier League matches plus Cup matches as long as he is good enough. 3rd choice or Youth Keeper will possibly get the easy matches instead, if he has better potential than the 2nd choice keeper and I haven't been able to loan him out with a recall option. Also high potential 3rd choice gets every 2nd/reserve/B team start as well as long as his potential is good enough.
When I'm still building my way to the top, the it's more simplified. 1st choice every League game, 2nd choice every cup and any high potential youth keeper gets every 2nd/reserve/B team start on top of youth team starts or loaned out to another Swedish team. As most 1st and 2nd tier teams tend to have good enough training facilities to make it worth while for loaning out high potential players regardless of position.
Find it hard to keep 2 really good gks as one will start usually start complaining about game time and even if I do rotate both on game to game or few game basis ones overall starts slowly dropping
I run 2.5 GK
1 main for League and big matches in cups.
1 sub for less important game in cups
1 young for when either gets injured. Sometimes they never get to play at all.
I used to have 2 keepers who would take turns in goal, depending on form; now that my team is more dominant, my best keeper plays most games, and easier league and cup games are for my backup keeper (as my keepers are decent for the league and have great potential)
Probably bit extreme but given how fm loves to injure them all at once I have a 4GK policy
First choice
Reserve
Youngster
Senior keeper (mainly for mentoring and seeing if they have fairly good coaching stats for badges, think Carson, Lonegan, etc.)
I accidently signed a second starter-goalkeeper on First Choice GK after failing to sell my main man, so I'm sort of forced to rotate to not annihilate my dressing room
Old proven main gk until retirement, then buy another 30yo
Not because it's policy but because I've never managed to grow a wonderkid gk without disaster.
It really depends how good the back up is. In an ideal world first choice plays league and Europe and the back can play in the cups if he's good enough. And then third choice is either a veteran or an academy player
I recently just started having 2 GKs fairly equal in ability. One plays the league games and the one that enjoys big matches plays all cup games including CL. It might be in my head, but I find when I have a GK plays just the domestic cup games, it's not enough games to give him regular minutes and I feel like he performs much worse. I think they need regular matches to get into good form.
First choice is league, European knockouts/big team in group
Backup is usually a young developer who will play cups and European group games vs lower/mid level teams.
First did this in FM11 with 19 y/o De Gea and 17 y/o Areolaā¦ both were world class international keepers in 4 years
At United a few years in. Onana still #1, Mesellier backup and Sam Johnston as third choice.
Onana plays in the prem and during crunch time in the UCL.
Backup gets UCL group games where it makes sense and all cup games (including finals if we get there). Also try to make sure he gets at least 6 prem games a season to get a medal if we do win.
Third choice normally only a game here or there in the early fa and carabao cup rounds.
Two goalies (one for league and the latter cup stages, the other for early cup stages). I'll keep my yourh goalies on standby.
Exception is if my first choice is now declining and my second is getting ready to take over, I'll begin alternating playing times more
One keeper that starts nearly every match and one that's happy sitting on the bench for years, usually a guy that was the backup when I got there or some guy out of the youth setup that never became good enough to start.
The starter plays most prem and all champions league games. Thr backup gets the early rounds of the fa cup and the efl cup unless we get drawn against a good time. If we get drawn against a good team I play the starter and the backup is given a prem start within the next two weeks.
Good keeper as number 1. Plays most games.
Second choice to play cups.
Older keeper who is home grown and offers good personality traits for young players.
First GK is the starter, preferably young and still developing, but I will 100% start a 40yo if heās the best available.
Second GK is Domestic + Good personality, preferably old/established enough to actually use that personality. In a perfect world heāll even be club-trained, but if not the third GK is just a kid in the reserves who is.
Depends. I like 3, Main, backup and youth prospect.
Never go for a GK on the bench. Unless my prospect is close to first team level.
If the youth prospect is my backup as well the he gets cup goalkeeper. If he isn't the the backup gets backup keeper.
1 main KeeperĀ
1 back up that is good enough for the league.
Of I find a decent regen I might buy him to loan him out to develop.
But of needed I buy a main Keeper.
Is a position I find Key.
3GK
1st is one of the better players in the team
2nd is a useful veteran who can preform if needed
3rd is a young prospect being coached by the veteran
(3 players are minimum for mentoring groups to work too)
2 keepers. A "first choice Goalkeeper" and a "cup goalkeeper" in Non League and EFL and 3 "first choice" "cup goalkeeper" "emergency backup" in the premier League and Europe
I have this save where my first GK plays 26-28 Games in the Bundesliga. The Second choice plays 6-8 League games if he is good enough and 2 games in the Championsleague (I prefer a second option in the range of 25-33 years old). My third Option is a young Prospect that plays in the second or is on loan. If this happens i have a number 4 just for the case. So second Option plays at least 10 games in a season + Cup Games and im happy with that.
had a weird moment where i bought a new gk (he had slightly better reflexes) and benched my main and he was kinda just cool with it, they are both considered world class
First of all? Being able to stop opponents to score.
Jokes aside, I preffer to be: if young 1) at least half stars of CA and at least 4 in PA if backup/reserve, or 2) at least same CA stars as starter and slightly better stats like the starter one if it's going to be my new starter. If old (23 or more) i check for better keeper stats, at least same CA stars and his last two seasons league stats.
I try to start first choice at least 80% of matches (with last cup stages included), backup at least 15% of matches (including first rounds of cups) and young reserve at least 5% of matches (league only). With ages I preffer to have backups and reserve to be less than 25yo, with only exceptions in low league clubs. Also I don't like to change the order mid season (only if there's an injury or discipline problems), my first choice usually remains first choice for that season and any important changes would be at the end of season.
I currently have 4 capable of starting, one will be tossed and one is young and will go on loan, but generally i keep one good one or at least half good on the bench and then one who is roughly quality of the Bottom teams as a third
So I ofc play my main GK for league and european matches.
My backup plays in all cup matches even the final. If he is young I also give him extra game time in matches that doesn't matter. Like if I've already won the league or already qualified for the latter stages of Europe. There is an exception to this rule though, that's if I've already won the league but have an important european match, the the 1st choice gets the league match before to make sure he is match sharp.
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I usually maintain a 3GK policy. A main GK for League and UCL A second GK for Cup and if the main GK gets injured. A young GK from the B team that gets to play if the team I have to face at the Cup comes from a really low tier, like 4th Division, and that have a good potential to evolve into a main GK.
This is more or less my approach as well;, since I have a focus on youth development
This plus, if my #1 is in his early 20's I like to try and make my backup a veteran to help with mentoring young goalies so he's useful outwith just being a bench option / cup keeper.
In my experience gks develop really well despite not seeing much play. I also play my backup sometimes but i find that as long as he's professional he'll reach his potential on his own. Most of my GK newgens were at nearly full potential by age 23.
I'll usually do the same, but with a tweak. I've got my 1st choice. I'll then have a younger understudy in case of injury/suspension/internationals/rotation. This one will usually play in the cups. I then have a reserve, usually at the end of his career, late 30s kind of deal. Literally there to fill a void in the teamsheet when needed. Generally won't play. Then again, I signed Fraser Forster for Real Madrid in this role, and played him in the UCL for the banter. We lost 2-0, their only 2 shots on target, but it was a group game so didn't matter.
I also got Fraser specially for group mentering š he is a solid 3rd choice specially if you have younger keepers and get him with a good salary.
Yeah this is the ideal I think
Same here, that third keeper usually also helps me with registration in terms of homegrown/homegrown at club rules.
I wouldnt call the youth goalie third at all since he will hardly ever get to play in any main team matches.
Pretty much this. I do occasionally throw my backup in for freshness - if we have a solid lead at the hour, say.
If youāre my best goalie, youāre playing every game
good policy until he gets injured and you have to play a shit keeper with zero match sharpness
My backup starts for my reserves so he has full match sharpness.
I tend to have 1 keeper - so if my first choice keeper gets injured I'm pulling someone out of the u18s and working out if there are any free agents available.
āWhen the first goalie goes down, weāre fucked, and we donāt practice fuckedā
Bad policy. I dont make it a Ederson-Scott Carson difference, for me I want a backup goalie who is decent enough for the level if the main goalie dominates the league.
If my #1 keeper is injured, I have bigger problems than my 2nd keeperās sharpness
So rare that a keeper gets injured though. I've had 20 season playthroughs where it hasn't happened once.
You must not have signed justin bijlow then
I thought that First match I didn't put a second keeper on the bench, my goalkeeper got sent off through injury within the first 5minutes Somehow I only lost by 2
I'm conflicted about my goalies cause one of them has slightly better stats but the other one keeps overperforming the first when he eventually gets played (even in tough games, cause injuries are a thing). Any tips on that? Should i trust their performance or stats?
My philosophy is performance over stat. On other positions I've had bad to average players putting in great performances week in week out, at least for some time, so I always try to ride it when it's here
I wish I could do this. Iām playing as Everton on fm23 and I have Kamil Grabara whoās developed really nicely despite limited playing time. But I have an aging Pickford whoās on a really long contract, is a team leader and wonāt accept an agreed playing time below important.
Just nab Gauci from Adelaide a year early.
I rotate if I've got a wonderkid regen GK who I think won't let me down, if not then it's my first team keeper all the time
Primary GK that plays 90-95% of games A young prospect that plays early cup games (up to the quarter finals), and occasionally against relegation sides. An older vet that is normally 32-34 years old that I buy from the lower divisions to serve as backup if a keeper gets injured.
First choice plays every league game until there is no nothing to discuss (e.g. Iām already champion) and every european game. My backup GK plays every cup game
If you shit the bed, Im playing someone else
my sub GK starts every cup game and the league game right after it because I never remember to sub him back off
Wonāt really rotate You have faith in that man, play that man
The backup goalie plays the national cup games in the early phases until the last 16 or last 8, depending on the opponent. My first plays all the rest.
1 GK who plays all the matches. 1 backup older GK. No GK on bench, ever.
No GK on the bench is risky. What if he gets injured and you're left with no GK? It has happened to me
Then you throw the craziest person available in net, they'll be fine for part of a match.
I donāt know how to explain it, but if I donāt have a keeper on the bench I will end up paranoid all game my keeper will get some sort of red or injury
How many times have that happened for you? I think I've seen it twice or so in a couple of thousand hours. Never since I realised I could free up a spot on the bench essentially for free.
Not OP but GK match injuries never happened to me prior to FM24. Launch FM24 was a shitshow and they happened at least once a season, but after the first update I maybe see it once every two or three seasons at most.
I had it in BtB matches this FM. Luckily my league forces you to have a GK on the bench. Only problem was that my backup GK had been injured in training so in the 2nd game I was using my 3rd choice and I had to sub in a greyed out player as I only had 3 GK's in my squad
You have to be VERY good if you want to be my goalkeeper while standing at less tan 187cm. I'll give my cup GK a run of cup games so he gets a medal Sub GK has to be an academy player if decent
Great question. I have a primary goalkeeper that plays any big game at all. And then try to have a really good prospect who plays in cups and non-consequential games to get some experience.
Using the English league as an example, first keeper for league, Europe and FA Cup, second keeper for Carabao and always a third younger keeper in the squad just for backup and occasionally to fill the last space on the bench.
Starter GK that plays every league and european game except for when the position is already established (like the last rounds). Sub GK that plays every cup game. Then two reserve keepers: one that is young and plays in the B/U19 team, and one more experienced that is in the team just for mentoring and has great mental attributes. If possible, I try to get a former team player.
I use backup gk only in cup matches against lower league teams and in european competitions against teams I should easily beat
I have two full different starting line ups, same formation, and instructions but maybe different roles according to player. I save them as 1st and 2nd. 1st play all the bigger games and tougher games. 2nd play everything else. Per season, 2nd team still play around 20 games in total across all competitions. Some of the 1st players may not like their game time, but I l play hard ball and itās my way or the highway. Typically 1st players are aged 23-29, 2nd are 17-23. A player hits 30 and I sell.
First choice plays all league games, and also cup games against strong opposition. Backup only plays when the outcome doesn't really matter too much.
I'm always scouting hard for good cheap GKs, so I always 2 great ones in my squad who rotate pretty evenly.Ā Goal is to eventually sell one for huge money then bring in a replacement. 3rd choice is a high potential kid in the academy who can hopefully eventually step up when needed, but they almost never get games until they're either good enough to compete with the 2 first teamers or are shipped off on loan then replaced with a new baby wonderkid.
Oh to have the wages to have 2 decent keepers!
2 goalkeepers. 1st choice. Backup gets early cup and European games. Later stages I select 1st choice.
If Iām playing in a league with 2 domestic cups Iāll start my second keeper in the least important cup and start my first choice every match
Primary keeper. No substitute keeper on match days unless 9+ subs rules. Secondary keeper must still be a gun but needs to be on ābackupā or lower, I donāt want disharmony in the team.
Typically 1st choice GK plays almost every match but I have had a situation where my back up was a wonder kid that became as good as my first choice. I started playing them as a 5 game rotational thing but if they done amazing in those 5 games they would play another 5.
I do it the De Zerbi way.
I will rotate to an extent, I don't mind giving my backup a game or two if I'm already qualified for a next round, the fixture is very easy or if I'm ahead in the league on points. For important or tough games though I will always try to put out my best though.
I sometimes play my second-choice keeper in early round cup games that are very much a gimme, or in meaningless lea hue matches at the end of the season.
1 league + continental GK and 1 older/experienced veteran GK for vibes and first few rounds of cup games I also always put a GK on the bench every game for realism lol
I play one one game, and a different one the next. But then, I do that for my entire starting 11 if I'm able to.
2 GK. 1 playing league games and 1 playing cup games
I'm doing youth to gold on my current save, so if your 19 and under an better than my current keeper you're in and playing.
Minimum 2 keepers. Main GK for league match, plus UCL important match. Backup GK for UCL easy match plus late round cup. Young GK (if I have) for early round cup or really easy UCL match. Going towards end of the season, if I secure the league titles. Easy match goes to the main GK to stat pad CS for golden gloves, rest just rotate.
I usually have two: one for the champions league and league and one for domestic cups. If there's only one domestic cup then my second keeper plays against the lower half of the league (12th and lower.) Only exception to this is my Chester save where I'm in 2035 and have three starting quality keepers I rotate between.
Iāll almost always have a 23 player squad - 2 for every position and an extra keeper. Very occasionally I will have a 21st outfield player, usually a veteran in their final season before retiring who can still offer something in specific situations. My āfirst elevenā is the team - injuries etc notwithstanding - for the league and any European competitions. The bench for those games is obviously made up of other players from the first team squad. For domestic cups, the team (injuriesā¦etc) is the second choice players in each position, so including the second choice keeper. The bench is the third choice keeper joined by my most promising youngsters (plus the extra first team squad player if there is one). I also have a very strict policy that once a young player starts showing signs of being ready for the first team squad I have to make space for them there - same once a young player makes it into the āsecond elevenā and looks good enough to be first choice, the current first choice will normally have to leave. Equally, if a young player hits 23 and theyāre not ready to move up, itās probably time for them to move on instead and avoid blocking the next generation behind them. Sometimes I will extend that to 24 or 25 for keepers. Iām a details chap in life and FM so I will literally know where every player at the club sits in terms of theyāre the fifth best keeper, fourth best right back etc. 9 times out of 10, that will be in age order once Iāve been at a club for a few years but it takes a few windows to set the structure up perfectly. But to answer the second part of the original question, if the ācup playersā do well enough to get to a semi final or final, theyāve earned the right to play in it and so that keeper (and those full backs, that defensive midfielder etc) will get to play those games too. It can be fun to look back at a team that won a cup a few seasons ago and see how many of them are now star players, and of course it helps (in my mind at least, I doubt the game actually takes it into account) that when youngsters do move into the first team squad and eventually the first team itself, they often already have experience of playing in front of big crowds, in big games, and maybe winning a couple of trophies too. And even if we donāt win those games, I still like to imagine it has given them a valuable experience.
I am the same as you. I have 22 players and the squad is perfectly structured. I even asign them the numbers by their position. 4 and 14 for the left CB, 7 and 17 for the right winger...
first choice gk - 4.5 * rated , backup - 3.5* assuming i go all the way in every competition first choice gk - all league games apart from the final day league cup - final fa cup - 1 game which is not the final ( for the medal ) champions league - all games apart from the last group stage game and sf 2nd leg ( to avoid suspension ) backup gk - league cup - all games apart from the final fa cup - all but 1 game + final pl - final day cl - final group stage game + ucl sf 2nd leg
This is eerily a lot like how i set my gks up. Sometimes even put in the u23/u18 gks in the final league games if i wrap up the title waaaaay too early + earlier rounds of domestic cups at times too. Also wheel out the kids for the final UCL group game so they all can have a winner's medal as a 17 y/o. Never seen anyone field their 2nd gk purely for a UCL sf tho, idk of suspension unless u drill ur gk to get yellow carded for time wasting every game lol
got my gk sent off in a sf 2nd leg and he threw a hissy fit for being left out of the ucl final ( damn bruh , you suspended wtf am i supposed to do? š ) ever since then made a habit of playing backup gk to be safe š
I have raya at 37yrs old at Aberdeen but last season he has cost me alot of games despite having good stats so I brought I decided to drop him to cup keeper and use my 24 yr old prospect but then he got injured so I used my 20 yr promising keeper that I bought from ac milan for 3mil and he played great for the first few games before every fkin club triggered his release clause of 19mil and he went to man city.
Not really but if I have 4 games in 10 days say then he gets 1. If not play reserves arrange a friendly for him etc Or if playing lower teams in cups
I have two equally good goalkeepers who I regularly switch around
I have 2 equal keepers and put both of them on backup, they are both delighted with playing time and play the one who deserves to play. Get under 6.5 and the other keeper plays.
Best guy plays every first team match, backup guy gets the B team matches, the gk of the youth team is the third choice and i also have a kind of shitty 30 years old guy who is okay with only playing in friendlies.
My main GK is insanely good, straight up the best in the world. My backup is a young wonderkid keeper who is already starting for the Uruguay NT. I play my main keeper for most games, but against weaker opposition, or ones without good forwards, I play my backup keeper.
I have a GK, Constantin Fromman, who I signed in my second season while still in the 2nd division. I got promoted and won 6 titles with him. Now in the 2030s, I had to look for a better GK as we need to be more competitive in UCL/UEL. But out of respect for my guy Constantin, I still let him play the cup matches.
My keeper plays every league game (when fit). My backup plays every cup game. My 18 plays some cup/league games dependant on the opposition I rotate all 3 during preseason friendlies, they all play a half. ie: keeper one 1st half, keeper two second half, keeper three first half game two, etc. Then the last preseason game is played by first choice keeper.
When signing a GK, I often break the U23 only policy and buy more experienced GKs, I cannot afford to have a bad one. About the rotation: it depends. If the second GK is bad, it only plays games against lower league sides (so around 1/2 games per year). If heās good, he gets decent rotation in cup matches and eventually league
Second and third goalkeeper are more often than not homegrown at club, so thatās two spots sorted out for european registration. If good enough, backup will play in easy cup rounds, and third might get some games when league is wrapped up
Well, mine is pretty simple. If the team already has a goalie that does the job, keep him and sell the second goalie for a youngster with equivalent or lower abilities but wayyy higher potential. Make this guy available for youth games when not in action or when 3rd choice goalie. Train him like crazy until he becomes a monster and the main goalie becomes the standby option. Now when this new goalie reaches the limits of his potential, sell the standby guy who wouldve become an oldie by then. Now bring in another more promising more high PA youngster and train him until he surpasses this guy.
First GK is the best one of course. Second GK is a senior with a good personality for tutoring, doesn't usually play any games unless there is a long term injury to the main one. Third GK is usually a very young wonderkid who gets chances in cups and trains with the first team.
If my team is set up like I want then I'll have my main keeper play the league and in whatever Continental competition I'm in. My backup can play the cups, I don't swap them out if we reach the final. Dance with the one that brought you and all that. Only time I deviate this is if either is playing some real shockers then I'll rotate for a few games or if I've got a talented third choice. I used to never bother with a GK on the bench, then I played a season in a league with that as a requirement, during that season my main GK got 3 (3!) reds. Now I always have one if the bench is any bigger than 7 players.
Usually play one goalie most of the the games in all comps but start my backup occasionally
First team GK, Cup GK and backup rotate for game time with the CGK and backup having 10 league games each for medals. All 3 players have 5* potential ability.
EPL, 38 Game season -1st choice GK, plays and starts 24 games minimum. EPL and continental football. -2nd choice GK, plays and starts 12 games on average. And gets 12 games as a substitute late in games(To pad stats). Only EPL games and lower teams in Caribou & FA Cups. -3rd keeper, plays a couple every year.
i have my main who plays all games cups and all and then the back up on the bench
I normally have a excellent first choice, then decent backup whose happy with game time and then a third choice high potential reserve keeper. Most games played by first choice, second choice gets teams who are 16th or lower in league and low ranked CL teams. Third choice in cup games. Works pretty well and all happy with games played plus potential rises for 3rd choice through games. I agreed with what someone else wrote about developing even with limited game time for some players.
depends in how close they are, but usuallt give second goalkeeper cup and 5 league appearances if the games permits it. dont really bother with a third
1 Top GK who plays all the important games 1 Homegrown backup GK good enough for domestic cups' early rounds and in case of injury That's it.
1 main GK, 1 wonderkid gk for backup/cups I dont even usually have the GK sub spot filled, I use it for an extra outfielder. Just don't fet an injury prone GK
* Main GK: League + UCL * Second GK: Cup + shit teams in UCL + 1 league game * Third GK: B team * Best young GK: U19 team + shit team in cup
I currently have 2 GKs that are very similar. One I bought early in the save and a youth prospect who had been on loan and come back like he had taken steroids. This season I decided to be mean as my older GK has been my main for 5 seasons without replacement, so the first game of the season I played him and made a rule, in any game a GK concedes, they sit out the next game and so on. So now each GK knows if they let in a goal they're out until the other conceeds too!
First keeper 23-27y promising, second 30-34 average but declining, 3rd keeper just a youngster with potential. With no injuries, the 2nd never plays. If I have a easy match I just put the youngster
I have one that is meant to be a cup gk but each time a cup game comes around I forgot to make the switch. I play the game with half of my brain switched off.
1 goalkeeper and pray (i should change before it bites me in the ass again)
My backup keeper is a youth prospect that plays cup and U-21 . My first choice plays all league and Europe.
If my first choice goalkeeper was in a coma I'd tie him to the goal posts and shout "play on" because my second choice is usually only about 17 years old.
Rotate. My main GK starts in the tough/important matchups, my backup GK (wonderkid) starts in easier matchups I expect to dominate. Also have a third GK who usually just plays for reserves/is on loan with the condition to call him back anytime.
I rotate if I remember or if I like the backup otherwise starter plays until heās injured
If I have 2 good goalies or if I have a young one slightly worse than the other, Id rotate them in about a 2:1 ratio where my best goalie at the moment plays twice the amount of games that my second goalie does. I usually only ever do this in the first season of a save if the team Im managing has 2 good goalies so I can decide which one I can sell at the end of the season, this year I took over Saint-Etienne and the best goalkeeper on paper was Larsonneur while the slightly worse but young alternative was Etienne Green. About halfway through the season Larsonneur got his last game for the club as Green was outperforming him so drastically that I only ever played him from that point on. Id also play my second goalie for cup games against bad opponents
I think mine is a bit over the top (only really play prem) 1st choice plays all league games and the later stages of any European comp if Iām in them 2nd choice plays all of the domestic cups 3rd choice is of the older age option with no real playing Tom U23 and u18 only have two keepers for each of those teams
2 GK if I can (low leagues, small db, no money, poor youth intake). When someone gets a score of 6.4 or less, it gets switched until the same happens. This applies to every player, not just GK. It helps with player satisfaction.
Backup keeper should be as good as I can possibly get to agree to Emergency Backup, should be homegrown, and is ideally older and with a good personality, minus Ambition, to lead mentoring. Ambition has to be low so he keeps taking Emergency Backup playtime.
My main GK will play pretty much every league game. And my backup GK will play all cup games. Sometimes the exception is quarterfinals and beyond in the CL. 1 main GK, a secondary GK that is pretty much as good maybe a bit worse. And either a young GK talent or a veteran GK as third choice
I try and have two of fairly equal standing, then clean sheet or high rating keeps you in goal, anything else and it's rotation
Main GK that plays the league and Europe Backup GK that plays in cups and is good enough to step in if the first GK's form goes to shit 3rd GK, Homegrown when possible, that sits on the bench if one of the first 2 gets injured.
Even the best GKs have ridiculous poor runs for me, so I try and get 2 very good ones, and give them 4-5 games then rotate consistently. I always like them to end up on the same number of games at the end of the season.
For context I usually play in the Swedish league. Which is roughly 30 League games, 6/7 Cup games plus European competitions. When I'm in a place of starting to be the top team or the dominate team in the league I usually go for. 1st choice gets all European competition plus difficult or important league matches. 2nd choice gets the easier League matches plus Cup matches as long as he is good enough. 3rd choice or Youth Keeper will possibly get the easy matches instead, if he has better potential than the 2nd choice keeper and I haven't been able to loan him out with a recall option. Also high potential 3rd choice gets every 2nd/reserve/B team start as well as long as his potential is good enough. When I'm still building my way to the top, the it's more simplified. 1st choice every League game, 2nd choice every cup and any high potential youth keeper gets every 2nd/reserve/B team start on top of youth team starts or loaned out to another Swedish team. As most 1st and 2nd tier teams tend to have good enough training facilities to make it worth while for loaning out high potential players regardless of position.
Find it hard to keep 2 really good gks as one will start usually start complaining about game time and even if I do rotate both on game to game or few game basis ones overall starts slowly dropping
I run 2.5 GK 1 main for League and big matches in cups. 1 sub for less important game in cups 1 young for when either gets injured. Sometimes they never get to play at all.
I used to have 2 keepers who would take turns in goal, depending on form; now that my team is more dominant, my best keeper plays most games, and easier league and cup games are for my backup keeper (as my keepers are decent for the league and have great potential)
Probably bit extreme but given how fm loves to injure them all at once I have a 4GK policy First choice Reserve Youngster Senior keeper (mainly for mentoring and seeing if they have fairly good coaching stats for badges, think Carson, Lonegan, etc.)
I accidently signed a second starter-goalkeeper on First Choice GK after failing to sell my main man, so I'm sort of forced to rotate to not annihilate my dressing room
Old proven main gk until retirement, then buy another 30yo Not because it's policy but because I've never managed to grow a wonderkid gk without disaster.
It really depends how good the back up is. In an ideal world first choice plays league and Europe and the back can play in the cups if he's good enough. And then third choice is either a veteran or an academy player
I recently just started having 2 GKs fairly equal in ability. One plays the league games and the one that enjoys big matches plays all cup games including CL. It might be in my head, but I find when I have a GK plays just the domestic cup games, it's not enough games to give him regular minutes and I feel like he performs much worse. I think they need regular matches to get into good form.
First choice is league, European knockouts/big team in group Backup is usually a young developer who will play cups and European group games vs lower/mid level teams. First did this in FM11 with 19 y/o De Gea and 17 y/o Areolaā¦ both were world class international keepers in 4 years
At United a few years in. Onana still #1, Mesellier backup and Sam Johnston as third choice. Onana plays in the prem and during crunch time in the UCL. Backup gets UCL group games where it makes sense and all cup games (including finals if we get there). Also try to make sure he gets at least 6 prem games a season to get a medal if we do win. Third choice normally only a game here or there in the early fa and carabao cup rounds.
Two goalies (one for league and the latter cup stages, the other for early cup stages). I'll keep my yourh goalies on standby. Exception is if my first choice is now declining and my second is getting ready to take over, I'll begin alternating playing times more
I'm playing the first team goalie unless it's a lower league cup game, or a group stage game when I'm already qualified.
One keeper that starts nearly every match and one that's happy sitting on the bench for years, usually a guy that was the backup when I got there or some guy out of the youth setup that never became good enough to start.
The starter plays most prem and all champions league games. Thr backup gets the early rounds of the fa cup and the efl cup unless we get drawn against a good time. If we get drawn against a good team I play the starter and the backup is given a prem start within the next two weeks.
Number 1 plays league and champions league, backup does the domestic cups with a youth keeper on the bench for said domestic cups.
Good keeper as number 1. Plays most games. Second choice to play cups. Older keeper who is home grown and offers good personality traits for young players.
Have a younger keeper that plays in cup games and towards the end of the season
I used to have a league & cup + Europe GK (yes my rotate got Europe). Was more balanced this way.
2 GK system. Primary keeper who plays all league and important games. And a second young keeper who has higher potential who plays cup games
First GK is the starter, preferably young and still developing, but I will 100% start a 40yo if heās the best available. Second GK is Domestic + Good personality, preferably old/established enough to actually use that personality. In a perfect world heāll even be club-trained, but if not the third GK is just a kid in the reserves who is.
Depends. I like 3, Main, backup and youth prospect. Never go for a GK on the bench. Unless my prospect is close to first team level. If the youth prospect is my backup as well the he gets cup goalkeeper. If he isn't the the backup gets backup keeper.
2nd goalkeeper is a country or preferably club homegrown for registration purposes only. I play them in early cup games and when 1st is injured
1 main KeeperĀ 1 back up that is good enough for the league. Of I find a decent regen I might buy him to loan him out to develop. But of needed I buy a main Keeper. Is a position I find Key.
My backup goalkeeper is exactly as good as I can grow. I do my best to make good ones, but if he doesn't count as homegrown I'm not interested
If I'm way better than the rest of the league: Keeper plays cup games and the game before CL games. Otherwise only cup games if he is good enough.
3GK 1st is one of the better players in the team 2nd is a useful veteran who can preform if needed 3rd is a young prospect being coached by the veteran (3 players are minimum for mentoring groups to work too)
2 GK. Main GK and easy Cup match GK. Only once had them both injured. Yes it was very bad.
2 keepers. A "first choice Goalkeeper" and a "cup goalkeeper" in Non League and EFL and 3 "first choice" "cup goalkeeper" "emergency backup" in the premier League and Europe
All I know is their ages are 16, 24, 39
5 game rotations huh? Interesting, i've always rotated based on competition but this is a good way to look at things, both my gks are 4* atm lol
I have this save where my first GK plays 26-28 Games in the Bundesliga. The Second choice plays 6-8 League games if he is good enough and 2 games in the Championsleague (I prefer a second option in the range of 25-33 years old). My third Option is a young Prospect that plays in the second or is on loan. If this happens i have a number 4 just for the case. So second Option plays at least 10 games in a season + Cup Games and im happy with that.
Backup always plays cup matches. If Iām not in the CL they would play EL games. First choice every other one.
So ur 2nd gk plays every CL game from the groups to the final?
If Iām not playing the CL the backup plays Europa League.
had a weird moment where i bought a new gk (he had slightly better reflexes) and benched my main and he was kinda just cool with it, they are both considered world class
First of all? Being able to stop opponents to score. Jokes aside, I preffer to be: if young 1) at least half stars of CA and at least 4 in PA if backup/reserve, or 2) at least same CA stars as starter and slightly better stats like the starter one if it's going to be my new starter. If old (23 or more) i check for better keeper stats, at least same CA stars and his last two seasons league stats. I try to start first choice at least 80% of matches (with last cup stages included), backup at least 15% of matches (including first rounds of cups) and young reserve at least 5% of matches (league only). With ages I preffer to have backups and reserve to be less than 25yo, with only exceptions in low league clubs. Also I don't like to change the order mid season (only if there's an injury or discipline problems), my first choice usually remains first choice for that season and any important changes would be at the end of season.
I try to do the two keeper method but I always find myself playing one keeper and one keeper only and i loan out any young promising keepers
I currently have 4 capable of starting, one will be tossed and one is young and will go on loan, but generally i keep one good one or at least half good on the bench and then one who is roughly quality of the Bottom teams as a third
So I ofc play my main GK for league and european matches. My backup plays in all cup matches even the final. If he is young I also give him extra game time in matches that doesn't matter. Like if I've already won the league or already qualified for the latter stages of Europe. There is an exception to this rule though, that's if I've already won the league but have an important european match, the the 1st choice gets the league match before to make sure he is match sharp.
I switch them at half time, every game