Amateur Status and a few bugs

So, I've created an amateur team and placed it in BSS. Note: I checked "extinct" for Weston-super-Mare to not cause any bugs in the league. Anyway, I requested Professional status and it was granted with the quote "Will happen at the start of the next season". It's the middle of the second season and my players are getting stolen by better sides and I can't do anything about it! Is this a bug or do I have to get to a certain milestone to get semi-professional status? Reputation? Promotion? I'm 3rd in BSS currently ( with regens! Ahoy! ) and hopefully promotion will get me the status I need to improve the club. But just in case, I tought i'd post here and maybe get closure on why my club won't become semi-professional.

I would also like to mention a few BUGS, I'll probably do a bigger thread tomorrow. I have noticed quite a few..

- Staff Meeting messages dissapear constantly, especially if you check it before reading the inbox messages titled "pre-match meeting".

- Trying to train your senior team but not your youth team will cause your senior team training to show up as 0 training assignments for your staff even though the training is clearly selected.

- You can ask for wage budget/transfer budget/increase percentage revenue even if your club is amateur status.

- Wing backs tend to get "stuck" in the ball. I can't explain this one.. They start trying to dribble themselves and then the other team tackle them.

- I don't know if this is a bug, as I don't know how referees are selected: I've had the same referee about 90% of my matches in BSS. Ian Cooper.

- Although not really a bug, there are quite a few high profile players willing to join an amateur side. I even have a Marseille player at my team! Forgot his name, will post tomorrow.. maybe. I just call him "daepicone". Also worth mentioning is that when other clubs tried to transfer him on a weekly paid contract and I offered a new amateur contract, I won his grace and he decided to continue with my club. Seriously?

...and oh so more. I'm sorry but when you build an amateur team that's going to win promotion to BSP with 0 paid wages, there's clearly something wrong! AMATEUR people! AMATEUR.

What is your club reputation, if you are able to sign Marseille players in the BSS then you may have set it too high. I couldn't get Championship/League 1 level players to come to my BSS side so you must be doing something brilliant.

That being said, players are more willing to join an amateur side because there is no contract, they get some game time in, prove to clubs that they are decent and then leave for a paid job.

I'm not sure what you mean by the staff meeting messages, could you explain it further?

Upgrading from amateur to Semi Pro status happens by having a high enough bank balance or promotion to League 2. Do you have the option to offer your players semi pro contracts?

I'm not sure if the wing backs issue is a bug, it may be just a poor representation of what is happening by the 3D display, it may be because their dribbling isn't very good.

- Staff Meeting messages dissapear constantly, especially if you check it before reading the inbox messages titled "pre-match meeting".

To elaborate on this point...

When you receive both the "Pre-Match Meeting" piece of mail and the "Backroom Advice Meeting" mail on the same day, if you do the pre-match advice meeting first and dismiss (or act upon) all advice, then when you go to backroom advice, no advice displays.

However, if you go to backroom advice first, advice displays. You can then dismiss this, then hold the Pre-Match Meeting, and this advice also displays.

Why did you make it an amateur? You probably should of made them semi-pro..I don't think you'll get semi-pro till your up in the BSP in that case

Also their is a bug with getting the same referee in BSS/BSN, once you get promoted it gets sorted out..so no biggy really

@Shaka, I created my club to have the lowest values possible. I started with reputation 1. I still don't understand why I was able to sign Kuami Agboh. Sorry not Marseille, ex-Auxerre player! Or maybe this guy: Andy Perry from Blackburn on a 0$ wage. Not that he deserved to be at Blackburn but it's such a drastic change and It's not really a bug but it's highly unrealistic that a player will come to the training grounds everyday, perform really well in games on a amateur contract. Bullcrap!

@tom, I don't dismiss most of my messages. They just dissapear. I'll maybe try to elaborate on this tonight when I'll hopefully have the BaLLz (what up username!) to post in gore-detail every bug I have so far encounted.

@rafa, I made it amateur because I wanted to start with the lowest possible of everything. Oh well, looks like I'm promoting to BSP this season, my MR and MC seem to be banging in more than my Strikers, which is ALSO weird but plausible since my MC has been pulling 7.5+ constantly since he arrived! ..and my MC is well.. Kuami Agboh, or as we call him here on BaLLz arena, daepicuan! :>

EDIT: Not really a bug but I laughed when the press reported that the previous match was Webster's show ( DC, 8.7 rating ), when my reserve striker ( now a key player ) banged 4 goals and ended up with 9.8 rating.

I still think that amateur status is the reason that higher class players are joining you because they know that they aren't tied into anything. I remember a save in FM10 where I was able to sign league 2 level players in the 10th tier, then when I went semi pro a few of the players who were keen to join my club didn't want to anymore.

I understand that they would come to a club and play untied but they rejected a "paid contract" for another amateur contract.. It's like.. why? what?