Age & retirement
Players are 18 to 33 and the game sees them in three age bands. The band sets what a match takes out of a player and how fast he recovers; age also drags his value down; and at 31, 32 or 33 a red R says the season is his last.
The three bands#
| Band | Energy per match and per session | Recovery per session | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 to 22 | 0.8 of base | 1.2 of base | Falls with every year of age at the same OVR |
| 23 to 27 | 1.0 of base | 1.0 of base | |
| 28 to 33 | 1.2 of base | 0.8 of base |
Base energy is 10 per full match and 5 per training session; base recovery is 8 per session before the Physio. So a veteran costs 12 a match and gets back 6.4 a session with the free physio, while a youngster costs 8 and gets back 9.6 — the two mechanics deliberately pull in opposite directions. Value uses the formula on the skills page, and salary follows value, so an old player is also cheap to keep. Every player gains a year at season end.
The red R#
A red superscript R beside a player's name means he finishes his career at the end of the current season. It appears at 31, 32 or 33 and means exactly that. The mark is set at the season boundary: a player who is 31 has a 33% chance of being marked, at 32 it is 50%, and a player who reaches 33 is marked for certain. A marked player plays the whole season normally, leaves the club when it turns over, and gets a Retired row on his Career tab. Sell him before the season ends if you want anything for him; a quicksell still pays a share of his value.
The market pool#
Players between clubs sit in the market pool and are listed from it. Nobody older than 30 is generated for the pool, and at each season end every free agent over 30 is removed from it — a Left pool on age row on his card — and retires the season after. Players generated for the pool are drawn 25% from 18 to 22, 60% from 23 to 27 and 15% from 28 to 30.
Ages you choose, and ages the game chooses#
- Crafting offers 22, 23 or 24; a younger player costs more Scout Points.
- An academy talent arrives at 18. The paid welcome-pack players are 22; the free one is 18.
- A refined player's age is the average of the three players consumed, held between 18 and 32.
- If a club is under 18 players or under 2 goalkeepers at season end, the game tops it up with OVR 100 fillers aged 18 to 27.
See also Energy and Between seasons