What is your buying style? Spend big? or Buy cheap sell high?

I am just wondering how the gamers' buying style in the transfer market is?

Do you like to go for the big name purchase? Or Do u like to unearth an unknown talent Wenger style with a relatively low budget spending strategy?

I dont really like spending over 20m on a player.

I had a career challange where I only gather free players, that was fun for some time but eventually you can not win big with that strategy. If you want best you need to pay big.

I only buy the player that I need to fill a certain role in the team...

It doesn't really matter what the price is...

I will pass up a bargain if I know I don't need the guy.

i spend big early on to establish the team then a few yrs in i turn my attention to all the young players come in to build a second team ready to arrive on the big stage i dont like players 30 or over to be honest i try and move them on

I never buy to sell. I am prepared to spend big on a key player or two; otherwise I might spend a relatively large sum on a very promising kid. But in all cases, they are players whom I really hope will be stellar for me.

I have just offered At Madrid £45m for S.Aguero, that will smash my Record Fee by £30m

Mixed, normally buy youth and develop them but I couldnt do that at the start of my career as I needed results quickly. Over the seasons Ive spent big on one or two players that replace a player or upgrade the team. Now though I dont need too, I have youth for every position either in the u19's or out on loan, varying from 15 to 22 years old.

I go for Youth every time.

It's difficult to maintain a healthy financial state in FM with such simple finance scenarios. Your Wages swallow up a large part of the expenditure and if you're averaging less than 40,000 attendance it's difficult to steer clear of monthly losses with a big wage budget.

So i generally focus on snapping up young talent, get them on long deals and cheap wages. Sell the ones i don't want with a 50% future transfer fee clause and develop the ones i want into my first team.

I only buy the player that I need to fill a certain role in the team...

It doesn't really matter what the price is...

I will pass up a bargain if I know I don't need the guy.

:thup: I like that. I think this is probably the most sensible thing and the closest mentality to a real life manager.

I only buy the player that I need to fill a certain role in the team...

It doesn't really matter what the price is...

I will pass up a bargain if I know I don't need the guy.

Same here mate. I'll plan a year ahead, by looking at contract expiries (or the odd player I might want to move on at the end of the current season, because he's playing ok but not THAT good). That lets me buy 6/12 months in advance so that the new player is settled by the time I need him. And keeping to a squad of 22, with the odd player on loan (never more than a few), lets me keep a healthy squad, along with the youths, with the wage bill at a manageable level.

I generally concentrate in plugging holes like forkoid but I've only ever spent 20 mil on 2 players. I never pay double a players value unless they're obviously going to increase in value.

I had the most fun when I managed to get Chesterfield into the Championship on frees and loans alone. It took me 3 years to get them into the championship winning league 2, winning a promotion spot through playoffs in league one then just out of playoffs in championship but with a relatively big points margin between us.

I don't understand how people have fun winning titles spending 30+ on world class players but to each his own I guess.

I try to spend as little as possible by using my scouts to unearth talent in the far flung reaches of the world, but sometimes a deal comes up that is too good to refuse.

i tend to try to spend as little as possible, but if the scouts say someone is good, and i have transfer/wage budget left, i'll stick in a bid to see if anything happends. i virtually never buy anyone over 28/29 as although they may be at their peak then, they are almost certainly going to decline.

I'm a definate wheeler-dealer.

90% of my players will come in on free transfer. The money I don't spend on transfers generally ends up going on wages. After a couple of seasons my squad tends to be smaller than average, but of a consistant quality and very well paid.

When I splash out on a player it is usually with one eye in selling him on. I'm attracted to players with significant interest from other clubs because I know that if he doesn't fit in then at least there will still be interest afterwards.

Chances are that i'm going to get him because I can usually offer 40-150% more than my rivals because I keep my wage budget so high and my transfer budget so low!

I go for Youth every time.

It's difficult to maintain a healthy financial state in FM with such simple finance scenarios. Your Wages swallow up a large part of the expenditure and if you're averaging less than 40,000 attendance it's difficult to steer clear of monthly losses with a big wage budget.

So i generally focus on snapping up young talent, get them on long deals and cheap wages. Sell the ones i don't want with a 50% future transfer fee clause and develop the ones i want into my first team.

There's nothing wrong with monthly losses as long as your end of season income is high enough, ie. doing well in leagues and cups

dont really bother with youth players unless they are already world class. i try and buy the best i can get as long as i have the cash. even if its a day or 2 after the market closes. if i need them and theyre better than what ive got i'll get them.

I buy whoever I want, within budget.

Spend Big!!!! FTW that way you get the players you want and know are going to do well.

most ever spent was £136 million to activate Messi's release clause from Barca

and £86 million for torres once, then £77 millino for david silva

If there is a hole that needs plugging, I'm prepared to spend to bring in a big name. However, I'd rather spend on youth.

I normally buy cheap and sell high.

But on occasion I spent the big money, a few months ago (while playing a game with Juventus on FM08) I made a bet with a friend. I bet him that I could get Steven Gerrard to Juventus (I honestly didn't think I could). I won the bet, but it did cost me around £90M for him. The funny thing was he actually signed for a lower salary than he had at Liverpool.

I'm a tight git so I try to buy only bosmans. I don't add them to my shortlist either because this seems to alert both the press and my competitors. I write them down on a piece of paper. Thank god I have a paper shredder at home!

depends on the clubs finances and how many players you need, most i have ever spent on fm09 is around 20-25 mil

Try to spend small and get youngsters with potential and if necessary sell them to keep the finances up.

Depends on my transfer limit. I look to buy for the first team however if some ridiculously talented youngster appears from the scouts' reports then it's hard to resist them.

I tend not to go out and buy the household names in the game. I like to buy players who look good to me stats and personality wise. I never buy anyone of 30 years old either and mainly invest in youth.

I'd like to say that I don't buy too many players for one position but sometimes I get greedy and don't want a rival club getting their hands on a gem so I buy him and try my best to keep my team happy

I buy cheap young players usually. Franco Zuculini is a good example, usually costs about 200K but after a few season can go for multi millions

I buy cheap young players usually. Franco Zuculini is a good example, usually costs about 200K but after a few season can go for multi millions

I'm sure there are alot of people on here that didn't want to know that about Zuculini to be honest. It's a slight give away to his PA IMHO.

I tend to follow the advice of that great sage Tim Nice-but-Dim "buy high, sell low"

I like buying players that i know so if im an english team i like to buy mainly english players

I've never been a massive club on fm 09 so buy cheap and sell high is the style I have pretty much been force to use.

I send my scouts out to every major footballing country looking at under 24 year old players, this is the way to find gems as a big team. I find Germany especially fruitful.

edit:Of course if your two right wingers are 33 and 34 then somtimes you have to spend about 20million.

I like to buy young, so when I can approach to sign a certain AMRL,FC from Bordeaux and it only costs like 4 mill I love it

But then getting told PSG want 20 - 25 million for a certain young DLC is mental, he's unproven!!

It really depends who I am, but I feel my transfer style has matured with difficult games. I used to buy loads of players whoever I was, potentially disrupting the team and destroying the wage budget. Now, however, I only look to replace aging stars, unless a clear opportunity arises to sign a huge name. Or if I'm Man City At Man City, I've built a strong team, with potentially brilliant youth.

It's just knowing where needs improvement, and improving it No need to get loads of players who won't play.

Bit of both. Finding good youngsters and getting a conveyor belt working works really well, although there will come a time when you'll have to spend big. For me, that time is approaching because my first "wave" of youngsters is retiring. The "wave" refers to a time when a lot of my youngsters broke into the first-team and stayed there. But thanks to my conveyor belt, I only need to find full-backs and a right-winger - and I made a net profit of 30 million pounds on transfers last season which will come in handy.

Occasionally, finding an "abandoned" player - someone who is unhappy and talented although far off from a star player - is a great thing if you can get them. I've spent around 25 million pounds in total on these sorts of players - players who will do you a job for cheap wages - before moving them on for a slight profit. Although I try not to do this so much and use my youngsters as backup instead.

Never buy anybody.

Base my future on my own youth team. Sell best players and replace them with my own youth talents.

I usually don't like to spend too much on one player, but sometimes when I want a player and ive got money I find it easy to get myself into paying too much, like on the game im playing at the moment got steven gerrard to villa for 50 million (at 30 aswell dunno what I was thinking) and sergio aguero for just under 50 million. I regret it afterwards though. Never happened on fm08 but on fm09 I seem to get money a bit too easily and end up overspending to get the players I want.

I do like a bargain, which is odd cause im playing Man City this time round and to be honest I find having this much cash almost a burden at times.

I have never previously spent more than 15 mill on a player as I usually play Ajax and develop a good youth team and buy in the occasional star player.

This time though I had to buy a whole new team cause really Man Citys starting team are crud and I found it hard to spend big, I still get drawn naturally toward cheap players and undiscovered potential talents.

Its been a new experience for me.

Currently in my 3rd season and have 80mill burning a hole in my pocket with no one to buy

Every year I have a system. In the summer window, I look for players 22 or under who would immediately command first 25 role in my Barca team. If there are no young players coming through for me, they tend to get bought and one player in their position moved along, unless the price is insane.

Every January, I look for youth talent, scouring all my accumulated scout reports for at least one keepers, one defender, one midfield and one striker plus an extra player in any position. If there are any more outstanding prospects, I'll bid for them. Less than £4M, I'll but them outright, any higher, I'll try for £0+ cash after 50 games. Every summer is a loanfest.

If I've got an aging player (33+) and there is a capable youth, I will tend to bring the youth in to the first team.

I do it up big time. Just started a save with Chelsea and sold Drogba, A.Cole, Anelka, Ballack, Deco, Carvalho, Malouda, Belletti, Ferreira and bought Love, Henry, De Rossi, Gattuso, Arteta, Cordoba, Maxwell, Mexes.

Im new here, so hi everbody

Am gona start a new game with the Villans, going to go for a Wengeresque-O'Neill style of management transfer policy, buying English players and encouraging youth

My transfer policy differs from League to League to be honest.

In my Welling United game, I got them to League 2 in two seasons signing mainly young players on Free transfers, and then 3 or 4 players who where 27+ for experience. Then when I got to League Two I was given a £300k transfer bufget to avoid Relegation, but had to tinker it down to £100k to get a higher weekly wage budget. I spent over £100k, but brought in £75k.

Where as on my Man Utd game, I buy what I am short in and sell older players to make way for younger stars bought through or in a season or two earlier. I scout all the U18's teams in the Prem and buy talent early. I have two players in each position through out the sides. As well as a stack load of youngsters out on loan, I have 12 at Leceister, Sheffield United and Tranmere who are feeder clubs.

I manage Man City. I overpay for everything.