A potential idea for FM11/12

I know this may be to late for FM10 so I've decided on it being an idea for FM11 or FM12.

Basically what I would love to see is when offering a contract to a player you get the chance to tell them your ambitions for the club and depending on how realistic it is or how much they like it depends on if they would prefer to sign for you or another club.

For example: I'm Southampton manager and I approach Elliot Ward from Coventry, upon offering his contract there are a few options (laid out like in any of your own players transfer status) to say that ideally you want to be in the Prem within x amount of years. The amount of years could be in a drop down menu or something.

If I was to say 2 years thus meaning I would need back to back promotions from League 1 and offer 10k p/w more than he asked for he may feel this is slightly unrealistic therefore he could either sign for me with a comment that my goals are slightly unrealistic or reject me 'cos my goals are that unrealistic.

OR

If I was to say I am looking at getting back in the Prem within 5 years he could sign for me stating my ambition for the club is the main reason for signing therefore I could've saved some money on the wages if I had offered him less than what he had asked for but using my ambition for the club as the selling point of the contract.

Just an idea but wondered what you guys thought of it.

I think thats a great idea actualy !!

The main reason I thought of it (and tbf I'm surprised other people haven't) is the amount of transfers in lower leagues that go through and the players main reason for making the transfer is because of the manager's ambition for the club, Dan Harding said the same thing when he signed for us (Southampton) about Pardew and Liebherr. As I also stated it could save money and could possibly help "balance the books" if you have signed someone for that extra couple of k p/w than you would've liked to just by saying where you want the club to be in 4 years time

That's a great idea!

I'm all for it.

Yeah sounds like a great idea and also has the potential to be expanded on with such things as telling the player you are looking to build the team around him etc. There could also be the possibility of as you progress through the seasons telling a potential signing last season we just missed the play offs but you could be the player that makes the difference.

Good idea!

I'm with the others, good idea, hope it wouldn't be too significant in deciding where a player goes, e.g another club say they'll be in the prem a year earlier and he goes to them instead of you when you could be at a club with a bigger reputation and offered him a much better contract

Yeh I agree this is a great idea!

I also think that if you end up not achieving what you told the player you would, the player in question should become unsettled or unhappy that the 'club isnt progressing in the way he had hoped' and may ask for a transfer.

I think this would be neccessary as if there was no downside to it you'd end up telling every player you signed that 'we'll be in the prem in 3 years!'

Yeh I agree this is a great idea!

I also think that if you end up not achieving what you told the player you would, the player in question should become unsettled or unhappy that the 'club isnt progressing in the way he had hoped' and may ask for a transfer.

I think this would be neccessary as if there was no downside to it you'd end up telling every player you signed that 'we'll be in the prem in 3 years!'

Every feature needs to have downsides

I also think players should consider how realistic you're being. If a League 2 club says they'll be in the Premier League in 5 years, they should be laughed off. Maybe if they have a tycoon, or a noticeably stronger squad, then that would have an impact. The player should mention such things- "I joined because the chairman's money will get us promoted" etc.

I think this sounds like a good idea. I feel bringing in factors such as ambition and potential into a player's decision to sign for a club would make the transfer market more realistic.

I'm all for this as it adds to the idea that not every player would side for every club via their present reputation. Sol Campbell is the perfect example, yes he's older now but he easily could of got a starting gig with a team in the championship or maybe even the newly promoted teams.

Aye, one of the most common ideas in the history of FM, but it's still a good one.

I'm all for this as it adds to the idea that not every player would side for every club via their present reputation. Sol Campbell is the perfect example, yes he's older now but he easily could of got a starting gig with a team in the championship or maybe even the newly promoted teams.

Campbell wouldn't have got those wages in the Championship though. Ultimately, he moved for the money.

Yeah, sometimes when a player says the club have ambition, they really mean deep pockets.

I am all for an extension to the transfer system, a little more negotiation. Nice idea.

Aye, one of the most common ideas in the history of FM, but it's still a good one.

I don't remember seeing anyone else suggesting this so I won't say this was my idea no more lol

Thanks to everyone for your input

I also think a new idea that kind of links in with the first idea mentioned...

basically if a player turns down a contract then you should be able to speak to the player... maybye try to convince him

For example...

I'm Man utd and want to buy messi, offer gets accepted but he turns my contract down...

I could say to him, look at this club, the history, the future, the players around you etc.

and maybye convince him to play for my club as i have encoutered that i need to pay the player more money for him to join my club... sometimes after you talk to the player he may still want more money... i would not mind that as i have tried to speak to the player

Any ideas how to expand that or have i hit it on the head ?

Great Idea

Great idea but I'd see it being full of bugs so I'd like to see the transfer system bugs being repaired first to be honest

Spud man 3000: I like that idea, maybe have your idea and incorporate mine into it, if I'm offering Ben Foster a contract with Saints and he rejects I could then say I want to get the team to the Prem in x amount of years

Great idea, especially Sol Campbell ONLY going to Notts county because of its ambition for the future.

I like the idea. A simple example:

FM09: Player A may not drop down a division; his 'chance of signing for your club' is at 0% in the contract offer's current guise.

FM11: You are now able to state that you have ambitions, and with players like him, hope to win promotion within, say, 2 years. Due to you being able to massage his ego (something wheeler-dealer managers do all the time in real life, ala Harry Redknapp), his 'chance of signing for your club' is now at 40% (for example).

Something simple like that, which does certainly happen in real life.

Very good

It's something you hear players say IRL - 'I'm looking forward to the project the club has, and I share the managers vision'. Something like that.

i guess where just going to have to see how the press conferences work in fm10. if they have evolved significantly from last years version then im sure in coming years this can become reality. i would rather wait a bit then have a button that allows you to persuade but makes it really easy to convince a player to come. ie knowing which answers to give kinda thing. but hoping one day this comes out cos it would be a great addition to the game. i also like the idea of having more feedback from ass man about chances of signing a player. like if 5 clubs make an offer ass man says there is extremly little chance of you signing him etc etc

i like the idea, but what happens if you just lie? like say i want to be in preimiership in 1 year and it takes you 3 but he's now on 4 year deal, would that mean a release clause or player x hands in transfer request?

It always frustrates me that if your a small club, clubs from lower leagues won't even consider joining you. To use Notts County again, there is no way on FM09 Kasper Schmiechal would of considered joining. I've always thought that if you went to negotiate with a top player and they weren't interested. you should be able to chose the option "Tell them they will be made club captain", "Tell them they will be the first name on the team sheet", "Argue that first team football will reignite their career"/"Argue that first team football will help them get into the national squad", etc. These propositions should them increase their level of interest an appropriate level. This needs to be implemented correctly and the effect not unrealistic.

This is how transfers work in real life. South African Dean Furman rejected a new contract at Rangers and instead signed for Oldham for first team football and a chance to break into the international squad for WC2010.

I hope my contribution is of use.

This basically how Mark Hughes has signed all these spangly new players for Man City, by talking up the club and saying how they'll be in Europe within a year and breaking into the top four this year, etc.

Very good idea

edit: oh, and he's offered to triple their wages. That too.

Every feature needs to have downsides

I also think players should consider how realistic you're being. If a League 2 club says they'll be in the Premier League in 5 years, they should be laughed off. Maybe if they have a tycoon, or a noticeably stronger squad, then that would have an impact. The player should mention such things- "I joined because the chairman's money will get us promoted" etc.

League two to premiership in five years is not laughable. The mighty Tigers managed it without a tycoon! And that was still only the third fastest ascent from bottom to top!

Good idea would be a nice feature for Rangers and Celtic to offer players the chance of european football!

Or even come here and get the chance of a move to the premiership with x amount of years.

Or even come here and get the chance of a move to the premiership with x amount of years.

We already have players who openly state they see their new club as a platform to garner interest from big clubs, why not let the managers buy players on this premise too?

if you lie to your player like say you are in championship and sign a player saying you will be in the prem in 2 years and you arnt then he will get unhappy and ask for a move to another club that can match his ambitions. maybe have a system where if you dont make your goals numerous times players are less likely to believe you. so if you convince a couple of players to come and you fail the next time you try convince a player they are less likely to come due to previous results. i dunno if this is a bit to far fetched at the moment but could be a nice option

The problem is that you could just tell them you have the highest ambition possible, and then sign players who are so good that it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

It would be good to be able to say things like you will play them in their preferred position, or to promise them so many games a season, but I don't know how you could incorporate ambition into it without making the game ridiculously easy.

I'd very much prefer a different aspect of the transfer system fixed first, namely the amount we have to pay against what the AI pays for players.

Surely that is far more important to get looked at properly.

This is how transfers work in real life. South African Dean Furman rejected a new contract at Rangers and instead signed for Oldham for first team football and a chance to break into the international squad for WC2010.

I hope my contribution is of use.

This actually would be useful. Imagine player A having the option to sign for a top 4 club where he wouldn't have as much match time or signing for a middle table club having a international competition on sight, he would play at least the double of matches than the first option.

I think it would be awesome to let the player know what your ambitions are.

However, the player would be more interested if he knew the club's president would invest regularly.

I had an idea just now... we as managers should decide on whether to sign player X depending on his personality.

Example - If a player is very ambitious, the chances of signing him being a smaller club would be lower... and so on.

a good addition to what you have all said would be for example,

to be able to tell a foreign player that it would be a good idea to sign for say wigan as being able to play in the prem might in time mean a chance to move to a 'bigger' team in the division,

a bit like the situation with valencia, palacios etc

It would be great to see something like this in the game

Great idea. However... i think this was in older versions (01/02) and was removed. I won't swear to it, but his may mean it is on a black list of features.

League two to premiership in five years is not laughable. The mighty Tigers managed it without a tycoon! And that was still only the third fastest ascent from bottom to top!

Historically it was easier, now it's almost impossible. Well done to Hull, but if anybody had signed for them at the beginning of those five years and told "we'll be in the PL in five years" they probably wouldn't have believed it.