Friendly Matches
Finally, after all the hurly-burly of the important games and matches, we reach the relatively low-key, though crucial Friendly games. Clubs who have no second or third match in any session may play a friendly (one per session only). This has to be arranged by yourself (the Yahoo forums are a good place to oranise these), and will be against a team from your League.
If you are lucky there will be a player-run friendly pool in your league (see the appropriate league's startup newsletter for news of this!)
Friendlies are vital for youth development and are exactly the same in all respects as competitive matches. There is no aggression allowed in a friendly match, though the computer will apply a random aggression with the consequent results. This random aggression is generated with its base in the number of disciplinary points each side has generated during the season; when two notoriously dirty teams meet in a friendly game, you can bet that it will be anything but!
Winners of friendly games receive 10K, though no success points.
Note that you can only play friendlies against the same opponent twice per season, once at home and once away; there are NO neutral ground friendlies.
Friendlies are EXTREMELY important for bringing on young players, but tend to be treated in a somewhat cavalier fashion by many managers. If somebody contacts you to play a game, make sure you turn up and at the right venue as well! Otherwise the game won’t be played. Also, always check that a prior commitment doesn’t prevent your opponent from playing (a Cup replay perhaps). Friendly slots are too valuable to lose, but it often happens.
Also, when arranging frieldlies remember that if you play your derby opponent in a friendly then it will still be a derby game, and this is the ONLY case in which you are allowed to select aggression for the match; four points is the minimum AND maximum in this case. You must apply this minimum yourself or it will be doubled by the computer.
See also…