While playing FM07 I’ve noticed that more of my players (compared to previous versions) seem to be catching colds, ‘flu and other viral infections. In the past I’ve always feared that allowing players to remain at the club, and be dealt with by the physios, would result in widespread infection throughout my squad, however allowing the player to recuperate at home can often mean being without his services for as long as two weeks. Which is the lesser of the two evils? I decided to try and find out.

The experiment required some means of differentiating between players who initially contracted the bug (Primary Infections) and those who then caught it from those players (Secondary Infections). In order to determine which was which I decided that anyone reporting a virus on the same day would be a Primary Infection, while anyone reporting up to five days later would be classed as a Secondary Infection.

With this basis for categorisation in place I awaited the first player to complain of illness. When the inevitable happened and a player complained of suffering from a cold (I’m sure professionals actually play with colds, though that’s a different argument I suppose) I was faced with the option of:

  • Sending the player home (he would be out of action for between 1 and 2 weeks);
  • Sending the player to the physio (the player would be out for 4 days to a week).

With some trepidation I sent him to the physio, dreading the follow up messages confirming that half my squad had caught the cold and that this whole idea was, in actual fact, folly.

But the messages never came. Not one member of my squad picked up a Secondary Infection. I tried not to get too excited as it was entirely possible that this was simply a fluke and that next time around my luck would be out. The lack of Secondary Infections wasn’t the only positive I gained from using the physio though; my player recovered in five days, at least two days quicker than he could have had he been sent home with a packet of Lockets, a few Lemsips and some paracetamol. Better still, on his return his condition was rated at 88%, fit enough to start a match if need be (though I opted for a place on the bench and introduced him as a substitute) and certainly a good 10% stronger than I remembered players returning to the squad after home leave.

The next time I encountered a player complaining of a cold the results were the same, no further infection and a quicker than normal return to action which prompted me to question why on earth I’d always assumed it was better to send my players home in the past.

After four seasons of sending sick-note players to see the physio rather home to their PlayStations, I can report the following results:

  • Colds.
    • 27 Primary incidents of colds sent to the physios, only two Secondary Infections caused.
  • ‘Flu.
    • Five Primary incidents of flu sent to the physios, of which only two spread to other players causing a total of four Secondary Infections.

While there’s no conclusive proof that the physio works better than allowing players to treat themselves (presumably the number of physios and their individual attributes will have some impact on the success rate, though for the record I only have two relatively poor physios) when it comes to a viral infection, I’m certainly convinced enough that I’ll be continuing to do so, certainly when it comes to treating colds (‘Flu appears to be a little more borderline and it may be worth looking at each case on its own merit – for instance the number of players already injured/suspended or whether you have important matches coming up etc).