Sealed my mouth...???

So I'm in the following scenario: I've just taken Southampton through a double-league bounce and after two seasons they find themselves sensationally sitting in the Premier League, a lot due to my efforts. Elsewhere, in Italy, Genoa gets a new chairman and he fires their current coach for underperforming, ambitious as he is. His prime target for replacement is none other than me.

Previously I've turned down offers from clubs only slightly bigger than The Saints, due to the fact that taking over them would be boring. However, we're talking Genoa here, a charming, well-supported underdog club with fresh money injections and lots of talent. But here's the main idea:

They offer me a contract worth £24k p/week.

I'm currently getting £3k p/week at Southampton.

I told the Genoa dude to wait a week for me to consider, and I figured I'd march into the board room in the meantime to use this offer as leverage for an improved contract. Since Southampton still has bundles of cash, and since I'm a big fan-favourite, it'd be only reasonable for an improved contract. I decided that if Southampton offered me half of what Genoa did p/week, I'd stay.

But no, I can't even ask them about it. Infact, they refuse to let me ask, they've practically duct-taped my mouth on the subject. So disgruntled as I am by the lack of appreciation shown from my executives, I pack my bags and leave for Genoa.

This is kind of silly, really. Sure, wage doesn't really matter within the game, but it's a simulator afterall. It should be realistic. At this point it's like my character has taken a vow not to speak of the subject so when my board refuse to give me a proper PL manager's wage, the fans think I'm the asshole when I hop on the plane to Italy.

SI, you should get this fixed for future versions.

does southampton have bundles of money, isnt the main reason they are in league 1 cause their parent company went under? Whats your clubs worth and how far into your contract are you?

does southampton have bundles of money, isnt the main reason they are in league 1 cause their parent company went under? Whats your clubs worth and how far into your contract are you?

I signed a three year contract worth around £3k p/wk halfway through my second season. (It was about twice the improvement from my last contract.) So that'd give me one and a half year left when Genoa entered the scene. Southampton finances are labeled as "OK" and the value is set to £49M. This is partially due to the new owner they got just before the start of the 2009-season, (Liebherr, look it up.) and due to the fact that they got £21M in TV revs for the PL, all of which went into transfer and wage budgets since they had no outstanding bills. When I left, they had 16,5M left in transfers budget.

It's not that they refuse me to talk about a new contract due to money issues, but rather the fact that there's over a year remaining.

lol ill take your word for it rather than looking it up....

i guess it would make sense to talk to you, but on the other hand the club would not be likely to be 'held to ransom' with what essentially would be an ulitimatum as you stated youd only stay for money when you have only been there 3 seasons. I think the club would look at the budget that have and the leaguwe their in and be confident of finding a replacement to carry on the success, i dont see it as needing fixing

must agree with this post. if a bid for a player gets accepted by the board then u can offer that player a new contract so he will stay with the club.

so surely if a club comes in for you, then the board should offer u a new contract to encourage you to stay???

again thats if they 1. think you are vital for the clubs success and 2. if they dont think that you can be replaced, its alot easier to replace a manager than a player and players cost alot more generally so there isnt much of a comaparrison to players and managers

Hm. I disagree.

In League One, I were tipped for 6th place. I won the league easily, and didn't spend much to do so either.

In The Championship, I were tipped for 9th place. I won the league. Most key signings were freebies. (Diamoutene, Amr Zaki, to mention some)

I saw myself being tipped in 20th place after the jump to PL. I'm still certain that I'd achieve a comfortable position due to signings such as Marcelinho, Steven Taylor and Asmir Begovic. If the players my staff are suggesting are any indication of what the new manager will bring in, I'm positive that they'll go right down again.

When the fans describe a manager as an "Icon" in the Info screen, and the board label you as "Untouchable" due to your delighting work, you should atleast be able to ask when your wage is five times pettier than any other Premier League manager. Oh, and then there's the massive fall in morale with my former players when I left. I can not possibly see how me leaving would do the club any good, and I can't see why the board would go "hurr, any manager will do" either. It's just asking for realism, really.

and at what point did i say "hurr, any manager will do"...wait i didnt...

you have no idea who the club were targeting. All im saying is that if you went to your employer after 3 years and said i can get a job somewhere else, give me more money (in this case he wantd 4 times his current rate) or im walking they would open the door for you. Im sorry if my opinion isnt the same as yours, i thought i was still entitled to it..

and at what point did i say "hurr, any manager will do"...wait i didnt...

you have no idea who the club were targeting, or who they hired.

They targeted (and hired) Adrian Boothroyd, a manager who's had a sensational career as a Youth Coach in Bournemoth, as well as winning approximately nothing with Colchester. Oh, and between those two he were also in Watford and had a massive impact by managing to not get his team relegated. A real gem of a manager, in other words. Anyways;

All im saying is that if you went to your employer after 3 years and said i can get a job somewhere else, give me more money (in this case he wantd 4 times his current rate) or im walking they would open the door for you. Im sorry if my opinion isnt the same as yours, i thought i was still entitled to it..

Well, open for both opinions then, because I fully understand yours. Of course some clubs wouldn't realistically hand their manager more money just because he's putting pressure on them, but some would do, especially those who:

- Has an underpaid manager

- Has a manager with an outstanding performance record

- Has more than enough funds to pay him more

And this happens every. single. time. It doesn't matter who you are, or how well you have been doing. On FM 08 I had won 10 seasons in a row with Juventus, and were considered the best manager in the world. (The only one with World Class reputation.) I were on top of the favourite list for the club and the board adored me. The club was the richest in the world, twice as rich as Real Madrid who were on second place. Then RM offered me a contract worth about double of what I was already paid. That was the first time I noticed this, because it's the first time I've actually tried getting more wage at the club I was already residiing.

"The board refuse to go into talks regarding a new contract because there's still plenty of time left on your current deal."

yer from the first post i know what your saying, im just saying i can see why they wouldnt and dont see it as needing to be fixed. I got Brighton promoted to the EPL in 09 and with 15 months left i asked for a new deal and got one, in 10 i reached the CL spots with Wolves and with 8 months left i asked for a new one and got it. There is obviously reasons for you not getting one, but i dont know what they are

yer from the first post i know what your saying, im just saying i can see why they wouldnt and dont see it as needing to be fixed. I got Brighton promoted to the EPL in 09 and with 15 months left i asked for a new deal and got one, in 10 i reached the CL spots with Wolves and with 8 months left i asked for a new one and got it. There is obviously reasons for you not getting one, but i dont know what they are

Well, in that case I think it'd be nice of SI to implement a feature that specifically states why you're not getting a new deal, rather than "blaming" it on the fact that your contract hasn't expired yet. Alternatively, give the Boards a bit smarter AI so that they'll know when to show appreciation for their managers.

Also, I still think you should be able to use external offers as leverage for better deals. This is one of the few aspects of the game where FM slightly fails at realism.

yer, i see it as being useful and makeing it more realistic, was just saying its not unrealistic that they didnt cave

Great post OP. Definitely an issue. That's one of the reasons I always do one year contracts. I always ask for a raise each year. I think it's very unrealistic that they didn't care. IRL he'd be a sensation as a manager and the club has more than enough funds...

I don't honestly think, in real life, a board will do the same for a manager as a player in this instance, so I agree with aussieant32 on this one. A player can be easily coaxed into a new bumper deal to keep his focus on his current side...but managers are treated completely seperately. In real life, a manager signs a contract and only ever signs an extension when it's truly needed.

I do think that yes, you should be able to speak to your board concerning an offer for your services from another team...but as for staying just for extra money, I think the board would be pretty disappointed anyway with that kind of attitude. When a team gets promotions like that, yes the manager will get a new contract, but chances are he'll still be on a pittance compared to the other premiership managers. Especially considering how tight finances are when a club goes up the leagues so quickly, no matter what club it is.

I generally do think though, that more interaction is needed with the board. The manager and chairman will talk a hell of a lot in real life (depending on club...but this is generally the case) and I get annoyed that I can't liaise with my board more.

Oh, and on the subject of Aidy Boothroyd...he's still considered one of the brightest young talents. You say he managed to get Watford relegated...well, he didn't have much of a squad to deal with life in the Premiership...and it was miraculous that he got them there in the first place. He may not have won anything at Colchester yet...but they're doing fantastically well in League One right now, in amongst the big boys and playing a good brand of football. If your former board was after him...they could do much worse. He's also the kind of manager that is in it for the challenge and not for the money...as shown by him going to Colchester in real life, when he could have taken a much higher role.

Personally, I just like signing one-year deals. Sure, there's a bit of a risk, but it gives you the manager a lot more flexibility.

Agree with OP. How about looking at it this way: when Genoa wants to offer you the job, don't they have to approach the club first? To have the club automatically block such offers would be stupid, but how about you being informed of the offer and if necessary offering you a better contract at the same time if they want you to stay?

Agree with OP. How about looking at it this way: when Genoa wants to offer you the job, don't they have to approach the club first? To have the club automatically block such offers would be stupid, but how about you being informed of the offer and if necessary offering you a better contract at the same time if they want you to stay?

That would be a great addition to the game imo

I don't honestly think, in real life, a board will do the same for a manager as a player in this instance, so I agree with aussieant32 on this one. A player can be easily coaxed into a new bumper deal to keep his focus on his current side...but managers are treated completely seperately. In real life, a manager signs a contract and only ever signs an extension when it's truly needed.

I do think that yes, you should be able to speak to your board concerning an offer for your services from another team...but as for staying just for extra money, I think the board would be pretty disappointed anyway with that kind of attitude. When a team gets promotions like that, yes the manager will get a new contract, but chances are he'll still be on a pittance compared to the other premiership managers. Especially considering how tight finances are when a club goes up the leagues so quickly, no matter what club it is.

I generally do think though, that more interaction is needed with the board. The manager and chairman will talk a hell of a lot in real life (depending on club...but this is generally the case) and I get annoyed that I can't liaise with my board more.

Oh, and on the subject of Aidy Boothroyd...he's still considered one of the brightest young talents. You say he managed to get Watford relegated...well, he didn't have much of a squad to deal with life in the Premiership...and it was miraculous that he got them there in the first place. He may not have won anything at Colchester yet...but they're doing fantastically well in League One right now, in amongst the big boys and playing a good brand of football. If your former board was after him...they could do much worse. He's also the kind of manager that is in it for the challenge and not for the money...as shown by him going to Colchester in real life, when he could have taken a much higher role.

Essentially, I agree with your post. When it comes to the money part, I just found it nonsensical that I was being paid 14 times less than my top earning players, and that they don't try doing anything to keep me at the club when outside interests get involved. I think it's the latter part, the lack of appreciation and dependency the board shows after performing far beyond expectations that let me down the most. Anyways, all in all, board interaction as a whole should mayhaps be the next step for SI to focus on for increased realism.

And on the subject of Addy Boothroyd, it was mostly a humorous attempt to sound bitter that some chump from League One replaced me, so don't take that part too seriously