How do the AI work out what players to buy?

Was sitting on the toilet having a ponder, as you do, when I thought to myself... 'How does the AI work out what players are best for their team?'

It came from starting a new game with Man Utd just to see what sort of quality the players are in 9.03, after 1 month Man City have bought 5 players for over £100mil, players who they don't really need but have them anyways.

Does every staff member have a prefered tactic and game mentality that they chose their players on or is it based on getting the best player for every position? In my Rushden save Man Utd have a team of youths who don't play well other than against me it would seem lol but they've been through so many managers its unreal... Arsenal are always buying great players with awesome stats, they're still with Wenger though.

I can't help but think that, just like in real life, the more time you give a manager the more time he has to improve the team and if you keep changing managers then they dont have time to bring in players... that said, how do they pick more specifcally? Based on pace, passing and mentality? Arsenal have a lot of fast players with good passing but mentally they're fragile.. both Utd and Spurs who are now usually 3rd place team now have ok stats with ability but have good mental players on average of course. Liverpool on the other hand are taking in youth players alot and selling them on. Probably why they're mid table team now at best, like Chelsea.

I don't know the details. I know reputation seems to be more important than what positions are needed to cover.

If Liverpool only have 1 left winger and 4 strikers, and a striker with a higher rep than an available winger is affordable, they'll buy the striker. Seems that way, anyway.

I support what backpackant is saying, reputation seems to condition transfer policy far too strongly.