How to hide your best players at the season turn
Elite squads draw into easy leagues by parking their best players in the Player Academy during the league draw. Here's the full mechanic and the season-turn checklist.
Why the league draw defines your season
The league draw is calculated on the average quality of your best 14 players, measured at the start of the first day of the new season, before any activity. Youth Academy players don't count: they are only promoted into the squad after the draw has already been calculated (as observed in-game; Nordeus doesn't officially document this ordering). The opponents you draw sit in a range close to that average.
A squad measured at 90% at the turn plays a league in that range, even if the club's real strength is much higher.
The mechanic: the Player Academy and coach cards
The Player Academy sits in the Training section and offers coach cards that refresh through the season: drill sessions, skill seminars and training camps, each with its own duration and requirements. Some accept any player, others require a specific position, age or quality.
The draw is calculated on the active squad at the turn. While in training in the Academy, the player leaves the squad, and so he doesn't count toward your best 14. As a consequence, he also doesn't play matches, doesn't take part in transfers and doesn't show up for opponents.
The play: your strongest players in the Academy during the turn, your AQ% measured without them, a draw against much weaker teams, and their return with attributes even higher than when they went in. A 150% team can drop into a league where the strongest opponent is at 90%.
Who to hide: prioritise the young
Young players gain attributes faster in any kind of training, and in the Academy this is even sharper. An 18-year-old who goes in at 95% can come back around 130% or more, depending on the card and its duration. Veterans gain proportionally less, so long cards on them return little.
Mind the requirements: a card can't be applied to a player with an expiring contract, injured, involved in a trade or sale, unsigned or on loan. Sort out contracts before planning the turn.
The synergy with One Team
One Team is the joint squad formed by players loaned by the members, available to Associations from the Silver 3 Division upward, and the loan has to happen before the first window of the week to secure eligibility for the rewards.
With an easier draw, your league asks less of your first-choice squad day to day. That frees your good players for the loan to One Team without compromising the title race. With weaker opponents, the pressure for intensive training during the week drops, and training resources can go to long-term projects instead of form maintenance.
Season-turn checklist
- Go into the season's closing days with your best players' contracts in order (no expiring contracts).
- Before the turn, apply the coach cards to the players you want to hide, making sure the training will be active at the moment of the draw.
- Check who's left in the squad: these 14 are the ones that set your draw. Low-quality players make up the façade.
- After the draw, build the rotation for the first days with the reduced squad. Cup and tournaments draw by their own criteria, so weigh the cost of starting those competitions without your regulars.
- When the players return from the Academy, reintegrate them and loan them to One Team according to the Association calendar.