[Human] When to fire players?

[siggyllama]

I run a 1700TV Human team and one of my Blitzers (with Guard) has -1 AV. I kept him on the roster and he was quickly CAS'd in his next game. I'm in a bash-heavy league and I imagine this will keep happening. Should I fire him?

Pros:

• I've got 160k to replace him
• He's only got 1 skill so his replacement will not be far behind
• My schedule is mostly against Orcs and Chaos

Cons:

• My other Blitzers are not well developed (2 other Blitzers have only Guard, the 4th has Guard/Dodge/Tackle) so his Guard can really help
• Many AV7 players manage to have successful, useful careers
• In a bash-heavy league, that 160k is better spent replacing actual dead/useless players than potential ones

My inclination is not to remove my players from my roster until my opponents do it for me. For instance, I have a Lineman with Block and a Niggle who has been useful LOS fodder for me for 2 seasons. So I plan to keep this Blitzer. What would you advise?

And what are some good general guidelines for when to fire players? There are obvious cases:

• A stat decrease means they can't do their job (-1 ST Blizter/Blocker, -1 AG/MA ball handler/dodger)
• stat decrease makes them too easy a target (-1 ST takes you to ST 1; Niggle on AV 7; any double Niggles)

But what else belongs on that list?

Thanks for any advice and wonderful site, Coach!

[Sudonym]

I imagine that -1 AV shouldn't be too huge a problem, so long as you're prepared to have to protect him and have extra reserves to replace him if he goes down. Personally, I would weigh his value to the team- is he valuable enough to have to protect him, or advanced enough (in comparison the rest of your team) that he's worth the risk? Or do you have the ability to simply replace him and hope for another?

The fact that other three players have Guard tell me that you can probably live without him for the time it would take to get 6 XP on a new blitzer.

[Coach]

Firstly, welcome to the forum!

I think it would depend on the rest of your team and also if you think you can get 2 touchdowns with the new Blitzer in his first game (this can be done). If you have a link to an online roster then feel free to post it.

Reasons to retire players sounds like a good idea for an article on the main site actually, thanks for the idea.

[Archie]

I've a chap (human blitzer) with the same problem. I simply made him a mid-field defender to support others. He's doing okay. I think I'd save the money.

I also kept a thrower with a -1 MA as he never travelled that far and again I positioned him centrally and used him more for passing.