Under the Hood: How the Logic Works

Formations

Your formation is set on the Roster tab, from the shapes offered for your team size. The default for 7v7 is 3-1-2: a goalkeeper, 3 defenders, 1 midfielder and 2 strikers. For 9v9 the shapes include 3-3-2 and 3-2-3, and so on. Auto-Assign, the chalkboard and the shift checks all read the formation you picked.

If your roster is bigger than your team size, players rotate through the bench every shift. Auto-Assign handles that for you.

How Auto-Assign builds a lineup

Auto-Assign works one shift at a time, in order, and skips any shift you've locked. For each shift:

• Pins first. Anyone pinned to a position for that shift goes there.
• Goalkeeper. Among players with GK ticked, the one with the fewest turns in goal so far goes in.
• Outfield spots. Each player is steered to the position they've played least, among the ones they've ticked. Someone with 2 DEF and 0 MID so far goes to MID next. Ties go to the player who has played that position less, then to fewer shifts so far, then to the higher power rating.
• Leftover spots. Any spot still open goes to whoever has played the fewest shifts, in any position.
• Bench fairness. If someone on the bench has played 2 or more shifts fewer than someone on the field, they swap. Goalkeepers and pinned players aren't swapped out.
• Fair balance. With Fair balance on in Team settings (the default), nobody sits two shifts in a row.

Locked shifts and pins still count toward fairness, so a keeper pinned for two shifts gets fewer turns in goal later.

Note: Auto-Assign gives you a good starting point, not a perfect answer. You know your kids better than any algorithm does. Change anything you like afterwards.

Filling open spots

Auto-fill open spots on the chalkboard, and the fill that happens when you kick off, use the same rules as Auto-Assign. The difference is they keep every player you've already placed and only fill the gaps.

The player picker you see when you tap a + spot puts players whose first-choice position matches that spot on top. Within each group, the fewest planned shifts come first, then the lower shirt number.

Fatigue detection

The fatigue warning looks at each player's run of shifts for two attacking roles in a row (Striker or Midfield). It flags the second shift of the pair:

• STR → STR: flagged
• MID → MID: flagged
• STR → MID or MID → STR: flagged
• STR → DEF → STR: not flagged (DEF breaks the run)
• STR → Bench → STR: not flagged (Bench breaks the run)

Three attacking shifts in a row produce two warnings, on the second and third.

Shift strength

The dot on each shift card adds up the power ratings of the players on the field and compares that with the total for your strongest players:

• 80% or more: green, Strong
• 60% to 80%: yellow, OK
• Under 60%: red, Weak

The ring on the live screen uses the same math and reads Balanced, Stretched or Weak.

After a red card, the player who was sent off drops out of "your strongest players" for every shift from then on. If your team plays one short, those shifts are also compared against one fewer player. Shifts before the red card keep the full team.

Shift checks

A shift is checked once at least one player is placed in it. SquadRotate compares the positions against your formation and gives a specific message for each problem, such as no goalkeeper, two goalkeepers, or too many strikers. A shift that matches gets a green outline.