The Alan Smith puzzle

11.3. Started as Ipswich Town. After a week or so, released public positive comment on Alan Smith which he accepted. He was on the transfer list since start of game. Newcaslte offered him for £1.8M. I offered Zero. They stuck on £1.8M. I offered it over 4 years. Maybe they would use it settle his contract? They accepted. Smith's was "very interested". My maximum wage for a key player was £20,000 or so. He was earning over double that at Newcastle. The negotiations began.

I had expected that Smith's agent would be aware that a significant wage cut would be inevitable. After all, he was "very intersted" and dropping down divisions. Surely his agent would have some idea on my club's wage structure? Nope. He asked for £20,000 more than what he was on already.

Two real life examples. First, Jimmy Bullard is currently with Ipswich on loan, is aware that if he wishes to join in the summer his wage will decrease significantly. If Hull ask for a transfer fee, that transfer fee will almost certainly go to Bullard to pay off his existing contract. If Bullard joins Ipswich, he will know before any negotiations begin, that he is facing a significant wage cut. Second, Kieron Dyer spent a month or so on loan at Ipswich and has said that he would like to rejoin permanently in the Summer, and that money isn't everything - in other words, he's only too well aware of the huge drop in wages at the outset. I can't imagine his agent beginning negotiations on the basis that he wants a higher salary at Ipswich Town than that which he presently earns at West Ham.

Also, loan move was out - Newcastle wanted all of his wages paid - end of story. Offering my max wage was not enough. It would be better if some flexibility could be factored into loan deals when it is obvious that the intending club can't afford to pay all the player's wages.

Agree with all of this. Players, agents and AI clubs let good deals slip through their fingers all the time because of their inability to properly evaluate the situation and/or behave in a realistic way when it comes to loans and transfers.

e.g. you want to loan a player from a club a division above. The player would be a first team player for you and wouldn't even get on the bench at his club. AI want 100% of his wages paid but you can only pay 90%. The AI will just let the matter drop for the sake of a few quid and let the player waste away in the reserves or youth team when he (and therefore, they) would benefit hugely from letting him go out on loan.

Very frustrating.

When you sell a player to a club that cannot afford his wage demands, the player asks if you can pay him a certain amount untill the end of his contact with your club. Therefore, this allows him to accept the lower offer in wages from the club trying to buy him. However, this only works one way (when selling).

There should be a way of negotiating this kind of deal when you try to sign a player with wage demands you cannot afford. This would have worked really well in the Alan Smith case, where the player was interested in ipswich and was transfer listed. He was probably only transfer listed because they could sign three players when getting his wage off the books.

When you sell a player to a club that cannot afford his wage demands, the player asks if you can pay him a certain amount untill the end of his contact with your club. Therefore, this allows him to accept the lower offer in wages from the club trying to buy him. However, this only works one way (when selling).

There should be a way of negotiating this kind of deal when you try to sign a player with wage demands you cannot afford. This would have worked really well in the Alan Smith case, where the player was interested in ipswich and was transfer listed. He was probably only transfer listed because they could sign three players when getting his wage off the books.

Not entirely true it virtually never happens the other way. I signed Vela from Arsenal with Sunderland and they paid part of his contract for the transfer to happen. This is however the only time I have ever seen it happen in my favour.

Situations like this need to be sorted out, older players or players in the reserves should be willing to take a pay cut to leave their current team. If they accept a pay cut or not should be down to their hidden stats.

I signed Vela from Arsenal with Sunderland and they paid part of his contract for the transfer to happen.

how on earth did you do that?

until reading that, i never even thought about another club paying part of my players wages...yet my players demand money to move all the time!

what happened when you got this?

how on earth did you do that?

until reading that, i never even thought about another club paying part of my players wages...yet my players demand money to move all the time!

what happened when you got this?

It was on FM10 not FM11 but I do not think it would have changed. It was Vela to Crewe not Sunderland, I offered the contract and when he signed I got this news item.

It was on FM10 not FM11 but I do not think it would have changed. It was Vela to Crewe not Sunderland, I offered the contract and when he signed I got this news item.

ahhhh that could be it then...i never really read the news item so i could just be missing it!