One of the most frustrating things in football, either in real life or in the app, is when your team’s form dips towards the end of the season causing them to agonisingly miss out on promotions/league titles/play offs etc.

If you play enough seasons in the game you’re bound to experience this a few times. We actually analysed the data to make sure it’s not a consistant pattern, and in fact your teams on average tend to do better in the second half of the season, scoring slightly more points and improving by 1 league position.

If you want see the full data analysis, take a look at this blog post here.

So there’s no pattern of end of season slumps, yet some users feel it happens to them more often than it should. Why could that be? Well, there are a few legitimate reasons why your team might lose form in the second half of the season, and the good news is that there are things you can do as Chairman to mitigate against them.

1, Squad Depth

As the season progresses, your players are more likely to suffer from fatigue, injuries and suspensions. If your reserve players aren’t up to scratch, your first team will inevitably suffer when your manager is forced to replace key players.

By having plenty of strength in depth, you can help to make sure that your team is less affected by injuries and suspensions, and the manager is able to rotate players if they’re in danger of getting too tired.

2, Squad Age

We realise that many users prefer having a squad full of promising young players who can be developed to sell on at a profit. But young players (and old players too) can start to tire towards the end of the season if they’ve played too many games.

So it’s important to make sure your squad has the right age balance, with plenty of players in their 20s who can cope with the physical demands of a long season.

Tip - to check on your squad depth and squad age balance, see the “Manager’s Squad Overview” box at the top of the Squad page in FC Pro 2. You can click each heading (eg “Depth”) to see the manager’s opinion.

3, Pitch and Training Facilities

If your pitch or training facilities aren’t up to scratch, this can also lead to injuries and fatigue, especially towards the end of the season. If you can afford it, try to make sure that both your pitch and training facility ratings are slightly higher than the rating of your squad.

Even with great facilities and a strong squad with a good age balance, there will always be a chance that you have an unlucky spell of results that ruins your club’s season. It could be something completely out of your control, like the fixture list throwing up a tough run of games just at a crucial stage.

But remember that it will eventually be balanced out by another season where you dramatically win the last few games and clinch promotion, or complete a ‘great escape’ from relegation!

Football’s all about highs and lows - and suffering a few frustrations along the way hopefully makes the successes feel even sweeter!