Ideas for a more realistic approach of signing players? (in FM11)

I have always been one who spends a lot of time on the player search engine, sorting players by certain key attributes, which always ends in signing a lot of players... I have about 150 players in my squads at the moment! So I was thinking of approaching player transfers in a different way. I first thought about not checking any player attributes before signing them, judging them only by average rating and scored goals and so on... but then again I would have a hard time finding keepers and defenders e.g. and other problems might occur. Is there maybe a mod which hides player attributes.. As a first step I now use the graphic bars rather than numbers for player attributes in their profiles.

So here is my question:

Do you have any suggestions on how to approach player transfers in a more realistic way or can you maybe tell me how you handle this?

First step would be not to use the player search.

Then use your scouts, personally I shortlist any player that is rated at 2.5* PA or more. When I'm looking for a player I consult my shortlist which can have around 2k-3k of players on it after a few seasons. I then base my decisions on the scout report, attributes & ratings.

I use the player search to identify players to scout, then make my decisions based on the reports that come back. I usually only glance at the attributes before signing a player.

it's hard not to look at attributes, and why should we not? The scouting system is not reliable enough to get a full picture of a player like you would having watched him in the flesh yourself. That said, i do extensively scout now, even going to games to watch players myself when time and schedules allow. Then i sometimes sign a player on the basis of, for instance, his pass rate %, tackles % and all that stuff, and base it on the league and opposition he's playing agaisnt to see if he's good enough.