Football Optimizer Wiki

Your comprehensive guide to understanding and using the Football Optimizer to create the best possible lineups.

How to Use the Optimizer

The Football Optimizer helps you build the best possible team within your budget constraints. Here's a step-by-step guide to get you started:

Step 1: Add Your Players

Begin by adding your current squad players to the table. For each player, you'll need to specify:

  • Position - The player's position (GK, CB, LB, CM, etc.)
  • Name - The player's name
  • Quality - A rating between 1-100 representing the player's ability
  • Price - The player's market value

For each player, select one of the following options:

  • Keep - This player must remain in your squad
  • Sellable - This player can be sold if it improves the overall quality
  • Buyable - This player is not currently in your squad but could be purchased

Step 2: Set Your Budget

Enter your available transfer budget. This represents how much you can spend on new players. The optimizer will consider both this budget and any money generated from selling players.

Step 3: Choose a Formation

Select your preferred formation from the dropdown menu. The optimizer will try to find the best lineup that matches this formation.

Step 4: Generate Your Lineup

Click the "Generate" button to start the optimization process. The algorithm will calculate the best combination of players for your chosen formation and budget.

Step 5: Review Results

Once complete, you'll see:

  • Your optimal lineup displayed on the field
  • Recommended transfers (players to buy and sell)
  • Remaining budget after transfers
  • Bench players recommendation
  • Total quality score of your lineup

Importing and Exporting Data

To save time, you can import player data from a CSV file or export your current player list:

  • Import CSV - Upload a spreadsheet containing your player data.
  • Export CSV - Download your current player list as a CSV file.

The CSV format should include headers: position, name, quality, price, sellable, buyable.

Customizing Your View

You can customize your team's appearance:

  • Click the colored circle next to the formation selector to change your team's shirt color.
  • Choose from a variety of popular colors to match your team's identity.

For the best results, ensure you have enough players for different positions in your dataset. Include a variety of options that can fit into your desired formation.

Understanding Formations

Football formations determine how your players are positioned on the field. Each formation has unique tactical advantages and requires different types of players.

The Football Optimizer supports the following formations:

4-4-2

Players: 4 defenders, 4 midfielders, 2 forwards

A balanced, traditional formation that provides good defensive coverage and attacking options.

4-3-3

Players: 4 defenders, 3 midfielders, 3 forwards

An attacking formation with wide forwards that can stretch the defense.

4-2-3-1

Players: 4 defenders, 2 defensive midfielders, 3 attacking midfielders, 1 striker

Modern formation with a solid defensive base and creative attacking midfield.

3-5-2

Players: 3 central defenders, 5 midfielders, 2 strikers

Formation with wingbacks providing width and three center backs for defensive solidity.

3-4-3

Players: 3 defenders, 4 midfielders, 3 forwards

Attack-minded formation that requires strong central defenders and hardworking midfielders.

5-3-2

Players: 5 defenders (including wing-backs), 3 midfielders, 2 strikers

Defensive-minded approach that can transition to attack through wing-backs.

4-1-4-1

Players: 4 defenders, 1 defensive midfielder, 4 midfielders, 1 striker

Formation with a dedicated defensive midfielder acting as a shield before the defense.

4-4-1-1

Players: 4 defenders, 4 midfielders, 1 attacking midfielder/second striker, 1 striker

Similar to 4-4-2 but with one forward dropping deeper into midfield.

4-2-3-1 Wide

Players: 4 defenders, 2 defensive midfielders, 2 wingers, 1 attacking midfielder, 1 striker

Variant of 4-2-3-1 with more focus on wide attacking players.

4-3-3 Defensive

Players: 4 defenders, 1 defensive midfielder, 2 central midfielders, 2 wingers, 1 striker

A more cautious version of 4-3-3 with an anchor midfielder.

5-2-2-1

Players: 5 defenders (3 CBs, 2 wing-backs), 2 central midfielders, 2 attacking wingers, 1 striker

Defensive formation with wingbacks that can join attacks and wide forwards supporting a lone striker.

5-2-3

Players: 5 defenders (3 CBs, 2 wing-backs), 2 midfielders, 3 forwards

Defensive base with an attacking front three, providing balance between defense and offense.

3-1-4-2

Players: 3 central defenders, 1 defensive midfielder, 4 midfielders (including wide players), 2 strikers

Balanced formation with defensive security from the back three and anchor midfielder, while maintaining attacking threat.

3-4-1-2

Players: 3 central defenders, 4 midfielders, 1 attacking midfielder, 2 strikers

Attacking formation with a playmaker supporting two strikers while maintaining midfield presence.

5-4-1

Players: 5 defenders, 4 midfielders, 1 striker

Ultra-defensive formation focused on stability and counter-attacking through a lone striker.

4-2-2-2

Players: 4 defenders, 2 defensive midfielders, 2 attacking midfielders, 2 strikers

Box formation in midfield that provides defensive stability with two holding midfielders and creativity through attacking midfielders.

Positional Flexibility

The optimizer understands that some positions are similar and players can often play in multiple roles:

  • Full-backs (LB/RB) can play as wing-backs (LWB/RWB) and vice versa
  • Wingers (LW/RW) can play as wide midfielders (LM/RM) and vice versa

When adding players to your squad, consider their versatility across multiple positions to give the optimizer more flexibility in finding the best team.

Cloud Features

The Football Optimizer offers cloud functionality to help you save and manage your squads.

Saving Squads

After creating a lineup you're satisfied with, you can save it to the cloud:

  1. Click the "Save to Cloud" button
  2. Enter a name for your squad
  3. The system saves your current players, formation, and budget settings

Saved squads are accessible from any device when you log in to your account.

Loading Squads

To load a previously saved squad:

  1. Click the "Load from Cloud" button
  2. Select the squad you want to load from the displayed list
  3. The optimizer will load all player data, formation settings, and budget information

Managing Saved Squads

In the cloud load interface, you can:

  • View Squad Details - See information about each saved squad including the date created and number of players
  • Delete Squads - Remove squads you no longer need by clicking the delete button

Account Features

For security, we offer several account management options:

  • Change Password - Update your account password
  • Delete Account - Permanently remove your account and all saved data

The optimizer has a cooldown period of 30 seconds between lineup generations to prevent server overload.

How the Optimization Works

The Football Optimizer uses a sophisticated algorithm to create the best possible lineup from your available players. Understanding how it works can help you get better results.

The Optimization Problem

Creating an optimal lineup involves solving a complex mathematical problem with multiple constraints:

  • Each position must be filled with a suitable player
  • Players can only be used in positions they can play
  • Total spending must stay within the available budget
  • The goal is to maximize the overall team quality

Algorithm Process

Our optimization runs in two phases:

Phase 1: Optimizing the Starting XI

The algorithm determines the best possible starting lineup by considering:

  • Which players to keep from your current squad
  • Which players to sell to raise funds
  • Which new players to buy within budget
  • How to assign players to maximize overall quality

Phase 2: Optimizing the Bench

After determining the starting XI, any remaining budget is used to:

  • Identify the best buyable players not in the starting lineup
  • Create a bench that maximizes quality within the remaining budget
  • Balance the bench to cover different positions

Quality Score Calculation

The overall quality of your lineup is the sum of the quality ratings of all players in your starting XI. This is the number the optimizer tries to maximize.

Position Matching

The optimizer applies these rules when matching players to positions:

  • Players are only assigned to positions they can play naturally
  • Some positions are considered similar and interchangeable (e.g., LB can play LWB)
  • For each position slot in the formation, the algorithm finds the best suited player

Budget Optimization

The optimizer balances buying and selling to maximize quality:

  • If selling a player and buying a replacement increases overall quality, it will be recommended
  • Sometimes keeping a slightly lower-quality player might be better than spending the budget elsewhere

Technical Details

For those interested in the technical aspects, our optimizer uses:

  • Integer Linear Programming (ILP) mathematical optimization
  • Decision variables for player assignments and transfer decisions
  • PuLP solver library to find the optimal solution

The optimizer can only work with the data you provide. For best results, include a variety of players across different positions and price ranges.

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