Lower League Squad Management - A little help if you may

Started a new game with Accrington Stanley (I usually start higher up the leagues). I just want a few brief pointers in regards to handling contracts... when is best to offer them etc.

Reason is I started about £1500 below my weekly wage budget. The majority of my squads contracts end June 2011.

Most, if not all players are asking for pay rises in their new contracts which would cost me well over the £1500 margin i have.

I also have my eye on a couple of free transfers, which would eat into my £1500 anyway.

Will the players generally hang on till the end of the season before I offer a new contract, without agreeing to transfers past January (when they can sign pre-contracts with other clubs)?

Do i just accept I will loose half my squad?

Any advice appreciated, cheers

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Also while im here, generally speaking, can you get away with playing pretty football in League 2?

First game at home to Shrewsbury last night, played a typical 4-3-3 short passing, attacking game. Got beat 2 - 0 but was impressed with the preformance, we had more possession, more chances, decent pass completion and some really good pattersn of play. I got praised after the game by Shrewsbury manager for the style of play.

Felt a bit like Ian Holloway, I am expected to just avoid relegation, if I play like this i might loose some games, but I'll certainly enjoy the games and win a few along the way as well. I just can't bring myself to build a 'direct style' tactic. Am I doomed?

cheers

No you will be fine sticking to your principles. thats what i do and as a stockport fan im always county. i find it easier to bin off or sell most of my squad and bring in loads of freebies prior to start of season. france i find is a great hunting ground. i just finished my first season as stockport and got promoted playing 4-4-2 short passing but check carefully the stats of the players you bring in/keep to ensure they are capable

Doubt it will work for you but common practice with me is see what the contract situation is at the club currently (according to you that is alot ending in 2011). I continue this trend, especially as I play in the lower leagues of Spain where success is not going to be for sure - with playoffs etc. When it comes to contract renewals I look at three things.

1. Their age, although at such lower levels as added leagues not really important if they are old.

2.

a) Have they been a regular.

b) Have they been a regular squad player.

c) Or hardly used.

3. How well I have done in the league, money available (not budget but actual money).

If a player has been: a) I will offer him a new one year contract around April time or if another team has come in for them, then there and then. b) I will offer them a new contract in June if I have not signed an agreement with someone who I think will play more c) I will release.

Due to the nature of lower leagues and finances I do not plan ahead for more than one season at a time with the squad, this also allows you to risk signing one or two big contracts for a year to help in certain positions, while not tying you down unless you decide to keep said player (for example if you win promotion).

Note though, if a contract is offered after January, weight up the possibility of signing a better player on a) less wages or b) the money you get from compensation if there is any. But like I said if a regular for me I jump right on a new contract.

Only give extensions to players that you definitely want in your squad next season, it's better than having deadwood on big wages...

use existing terms and negotiate it, reduce the basic and increase the appearance fees, etc... try and make it so that your BEST player is also the highest paid and then keep others within it. I don't worry too much about players leaving at the end of their deals, means it frees up wages for others who are better than those that leave.. there is an abundance of decent players for lower leagues on free transfers every season, you can cherry pick and get them on low wages. win win!

they cant agree moves untill the end of the season if they are brittish anyway, unless to foreign clubs, with with all due respect stanley will unlikely have players being coveted across europe, so hold on untill u know were ull be for the following season

also just to add getting free transfers bargains in lower league is easy at the end of seasons and i feel with any club in eaither league 1 or 2 can get a squad for peanuts capable of promotion within 2 seasons

i rarely spend untill 2 season in championship, unless a bargain comes along i cant afford to pass up on, i put my budget into wages

I agree more or less with Lazaru.

Don't worry too much about signing new contracts halfway through the season unless your player is hot property. They're unlikely to leave and if no one is interested at the end of the season with their contracts running down, they seem more keen on signing contracts below what they want.

The only guys you need to worry about are the key players that could actually perform in a higher division. Get their contracts sorted out earlier, before someone comes in with a bid or clubs get interested due to their contract being close to finishing.

In fact, you probably want a lot of your players contracts to expire at the end of the season so that you can get rid of them without paying compensation, free up the wage budget, and sign a better player on a free for similar wages.

check regulary (each 3 months), contract of each player you have and propose new one (just look at the new contract screen and see what player ask you to have a new contract)... you will be surprise that some of them are asking less wages than their first contract......it can be useful to save some money

do NOT develop an addiction to the approach to sign button... this is the reason that I have about 50 players in my 1st team squad.

do NOT develop an addiction to the approach to sign button... this is the reason that I have about 50 players in my 1st team squad.

Haha. Know the feeling

do NOT develop an addiction to the approach to sign button... this is the reason that I have about 50 players in my 1st team squad.

I totally agree with this, it's so easy to get carried away because a player may have acouple of 15's in his stats