Fixture congestion squad depth simulator

A congested run of fixtures gets planned by pulling up the depth chart slide deck and the fixture list side by side and working out, by eye, whether there are enough fit players in each position group to cover every match while respecting rest requirements. It is redone from scratch whenever a player's status changes, usually by whoever notices first. Nobody tests the block in advance. The shortfall in a position group is discovered a day or two before a fixture, when there is no time left to bring in cover or rearrange training. The slide deck shows the current squad, not what the squad will look like in eleven days.

A tool built around a fixture block rather than a single matchday. The team operations manager enters the upcoming fixtures, tags each squad member's position group, and sets availability status with an expected return date for anyone injured or suspended. The tool then shows squad depth per position group against each fixture date, flags any date where the count would drop below a set minimum, and checks rest gaps between selections against the club's minimum days between matches. Levers can be toggled: mark a player doubtful, move a return date, add a trialist to a position group, and the whole block recalculates. It does not recommend a squad. It shows where the depth runs thin and leaves selection to the coach.

There is no open-ended agent here, deliberately: the useful automation is a fast, fully mechanical recalculation, not a judgement call. Every time a player's status or return date changes, the tool reruns the whole fixture block against the position minimums and rest rule instantly, instead of someone redrawing the depth chart from scratch, which is the task described above. That turns a check that today happens once and goes stale into one that can be rerun for free every time something changes, so a shortfall surfaces the day a player's status changes rather than the day before the fixture it affects.

Team operations managers planning fixture blocks, assistant coaches checking depth before selection, and team administrators tracking availability status day to day.

A web app with manual entry for a fixture list, a squad roster tagged by position group, and per-player availability status with expected return dates. A matrix view shows projected depth per position group across the fixture block, with a shortfall highlight and a rest-gap warning when a player is set for two matches inside the minimum gap. Scenario toggles let a user mark a player out or add a trialist and see the block recalculate. Out of scope for version one: any link to the squad management tool or a medical system. Availability is entered by hand.