Sports Interactive..... Change the Agents for the sake of the game

This has posibly already been put on here but here goes AGAIN...

How can an offer of 7 million be accepted by a club then an Agent want the following

Client Fee ... £6.8 Million

Agent Fee....£10.7 Million

for god sake agents are destroying this game, i know there expensive in real live but i know there not that bad.

Anthony Point to make..... you start contract negotiations and again the agent is being a dick and he ends the contract talks you try again but he says his client is not interested.

So you think i better cash in on this player only a year to go on the contract so you put them on the transfer list and low and behold the player is unhappy because he wants to stay at the club he loves.

so you think i know i will talk to the player and tel him his agent is a dick but there is no option to say " your agent is the reason over his demands "

I believe this is a big floor in the game and not enough thought has gone in to the agents, you cant talk to the agents or the players about the agents so it is very hard to buy the top players as with the fees the total you spend on one player is all of your budget, yet you never seem to get silly offers for your own player so you can progress

Sort this out please

Best way to get this seen to would be to provide examples (and save games) in the bugs forum.

This has posibly already been put on here but here goes AGAIN...

How can an offer of 7 million be accepted by a club then an Agent want the following

Client Fee ... £6.8 Million

Agent Fee....£10.7 Million

for god sake agents are destroying this game, i know there expensive in real live but i know there not that bad.

Anthony Point to make..... you start contract negotiations and again the agent is being a dick and he ends the contract talks you try again but he says his client is not interested.

So you think i better cash in on this player only a year to go on the contract so you put them on the transfer list and low and behold the player is unhappy because he wants to stay at the club he loves.

so you think i know i will talk to the player and tel him his agent is a dick but there is no option to say " your agent is the reason over his demands "

I believe this is a big floor in the game and not enough thought has gone in to the agents, you cant talk to the agents or the players about the agents so it is very hard to buy the top players as with the fees the total you spend on one player is all of your budget, yet you never seem to get silly offers for your own player so you can progress

Sort this out please

Is Anthony Point one of your agents?

Have you measured that big floor in the game?

After watching Sugar's documentary on the BBC a few weeks ago the depressing thing is fees like that might well be realistic.

thats supposed to say another point not anthony point lol

I have no problem with the high agent fees as I know that in reality they are extortionate.

The only problem I have with agents is that if one of them doesn't like me then there is no way you can negotiate a contract with any of his players.

I just had a player ask for a new contract because his ran out in 6 months time, I spoke to him and said I would give him a new contract, so I went to offer him one and his agent won't let me negotiate with him, saying that he isn't interested in signing a new contract, despite the fact that less than 2 hours before the player asked for a new contract.

After watching Sugar's documentary on the BBC a few weeks ago the depressing thing is fees like that might well be realistic.

i hope not if it is you can understand why the game in real life is also going down hill, but the player should be able to step in ans say i want to join the club so i will be happy with " ?????? " if you know what i mean in real live you don't just sit there with an agent the player is normally there as well

I have no problem with the high agent fees as I know that in reality they are extortionate.

The only problem I have with agents is that if one of them doesn't like me then there is no way you can negotiate a contract with any of his players.

I just had a player ask for a new contract because his ran out in 6 months time, I spoke to him and said I would give him a new contract, so I went to offer him one and his agent won't let me negotiate with him, saying that he isn't interested in signing a new contract, despite the fact that less than 2 hours before the player asked for a new contract.

it just goes to show that this may be a bug then, good point spotted.

There are contracts though. A player can't just decide to ditch his agent in the middle of negotations.

The only problem I have with agents is that if one of them doesn't like me then there is no way you can negotiate a contract with any of his players.

Thats the one issue i have with the agents, its far too easy to fall out with them, even one bad negotiation can ruin any chances with that agent or his players in the future.

They're fine, get over it. It happens in real life.

I have no problem with the high agent fees as I know that in reality they are extortionate.

The only problem I have with agents is that if one of them doesn't like me then there is no way you can negotiate a contract with any of his players.

I just had a player ask for a new contract because his ran out in 6 months time, I spoke to him and said I would give him a new contract, so I went to offer him one and his agent won't let me negotiate with him, saying that he isn't interested in signing a new contract, despite the fact that less than 2 hours before the player asked for a new contract.

Look at Rooney earlier this season. Fergie thought Rooney had promised him allegiance and then suddenly his agent starts a campaign for an improved contract threatening that Rooney would leave.

I know it's inconvenient as hell, and annoying when it happens, but I actually think this is realistic too.

I've had quite a few players sack their agents and become quite amenable to subsequent offers, haven't explored this but is it possible to nudge them in that direction by making repeated offers that their agent turns down?

I have no problem with the high agent fees as I know that in reality they are extortionate.

The only problem I have with agents is that if one of them doesn't like me then there is no way you can negotiate a contract with any of his players.

I just had a player ask for a new contract because his ran out in 6 months time, I spoke to him and said I would give him a new contract, so I went to offer him one and his agent won't let me negotiate with him, saying that he isn't interested in signing a new contract, despite the fact that less than 2 hours before the player asked for a new contract.

If you have recently negotiated a contract with the player and was not successful, it might take you a few weeks, or even up to a few months, before you can actually renegotiate with him again. This may be the reason?

If you have recently negotiated a contract with the player and was not successful, it might take you a few weeks, or even up to a few months, before you can actually renegotiate with him again. This may be the reason?

The player had been on a 3 year contract which was unchanged since he signed it. No new contracts, no negotiations, nothing.

Maybe you should have thought of giving him a new one before he had the option of a Bosman in 6 months time?

Maybe you should have thought of giving him a new one before he had the option of a Bosman in 6 months time?

Yes, maybe I should, but that doesn't change the fact that it is an obvious, and very annoying, bug.

If a player asks you to give him a new contract it generally means they want a new contract, so why is the agent telling me they don't?

If you don't think that is a bug then there is something wrong with you.

mackem, please post that in the bugs forum if you haven't already.

Instead of moaning about agents maybe look at the situation differently with a different scope in how to counter act that fee, Kriss made a very good comment in with regards to direction, i suggest you try it.

Agents can be annoying but they can also be used to save money. I was trying to sign Gyan on a free transfer for my Crewe side he wanted 60k a week I tried to negotiate but he would not budge so I offered his agent £1 million more and he signed for 30k week saving me a lot of cash on a 4 year contract.

Yeah, putting the agent fee up has gotten me out of putting the 'match highest earner' clause which is incredibly annoying might I add

Can you tell a player to sack his agent?

Maybe that option should be included...

Can you tell a player to sack his agent?

Maybe that option should be included...

Players need to be more aware of when their agents are holding them back - should depend on the player personality.

Also wish players gave reasons for firing agents.

Whats holding a player back tho? I do understand what folk say about Agents screwing clubs out of money, but at the end of it all the money is the most important thing to the vast majority of footballers, regardless of what the press releases we read say. Any agent who is not demanding as much money for his client as possible is not doing his job, not unless the player is very specific that the wages are not that important. Is it worse to play every game on £5,000 a week or never play a game on £10,000 a week? Keeping in mind most footballers only have a career thats 15-20 years overall, and a chunk of that will be spent on lower wages because of age.

Some of the agents in the game will pick deals that suit them, rather than their player.

For example, human managers offering a massive agent fee at the expense of the player's deal. Players should get wind of this and walk out of the deal, firing their agent - or firing their agent and restarting negotiations.

(again, depending on player attributes, of course)

Do we know exactly how the process works in reality? Do agents go to their players with everything in writing, or do they relay the offers? Are players involved in every contract negotiating stage?

I would go as far as suggesting 99% of agents will go for a deal that suits them as much as their client, if they player makes more money, the agent makes more money, so it makes sense for them to push this as hard as possible.

The agent fee's in game could definately come down a bit tho, at times they are a bit over the top.

Some do, some don't.

Have a read of Fowler's biography and he talks about it quite a lot.

He basically found someone he trusted and let him handle everything - Fowler would only look at a contract to see where he should sign it.

When signing for Leeds he insisted that Leeds's third agent person was not involved in the deal at all, even though that would have pocketed them a lot more money. Turned out Leeds lied and that agent got money anyway. There was some sort of legal battle about it afterwards, but its been so long since Ive read the book that I cant remember the details.

I think people have to remember that FM11 was the first year Agents were in the game...

Some do, some don't.

Have a read of Fowler's biography and he talks about it quite a lot.

He basically found someone he trusted and let him handle everything - Fowler would only look at a contract to see where he should sign it.

When signing for Leeds he insisted that Leeds's third agent person was not involved in the deal at all, even though that would have pocketed them a lot more money. Turned out Leeds lied and that agent got money anyway. There was some sort of legal battle about it afterwards, but its been so long since Ive read the book that I cant remember the details.

So in his case, he would have been unaware if his agent had tried to screw a team out of extra money, thats my point really. I would imagine the vast majority of cases will be similar, they find someone they can work with and leave them too it, only really taking an interest when the signature has to go somewhere. I highly doubt a player would sack his agent because he is asking for too much money.

As Mos182 says its the first edition of agents, im sure SI will add more options and features along side the agents as the module develops.

Im sure SI have been thinking about adding agents for a long time though. Its not like they added them at the last minute. This is the biggest thing that annoys me about SI and FM each year in general. More half finished 'features' get added each year. Why not concentrate on finishing the features they have added then work on adding new ones one by one. Only adding it when its more or less finished.

Surely they must have been testing agents a lot last year. Are you telling me not one of the testing team found that you cant offer a player a new contract (that he has requested) because his agent wont even let you offer one?

Im all for adding new features, but at least get them 90% right with a bit of tweaking needed after public testing rather than including them only 50% finished as it seems at the moment with most new features added.

I can live with greedy agents of top-notch players asking for ridiculously high fees...

upon the original signing!

Fine, if I'm willing to fork out 50M for Rooney and offer him a 150k p/w wage, I can accept the agent requesting the 10% on the transfer fee for him and an advance on the salary for the player...

But when I'm coming back to renegotiate/extend the contract of an already (over)paid player, the agent and his requests should be much more reasonable...

After watching Sugar's documentary on the BBC a few weeks ago the depressing thing is fees like that might well be realistic.

When is it time to stop being so realistic for the sake of having fun? Also, the agent fees aren't in there because SI wanted to make it realistic, they're just broken.

When is it time to stop being so realistic for the sake of having fun? Also, the agent fees aren't in there because SI wanted to make it realistic, they're just broken.

FM has always been a simulation. Agents have a big effect on football, and because of that it should be in the game. Stop complaining (not necessarily to you, but whose who keep saying agents shouldn't be in the game) just because it just got a little harder. I didn't recall any threads saying how broken the game in FM09 when we could get away with signing any player without giving a signing bonus?

It's the first year in the game for agents. Give it time. Board confidence was terrible when that was first introduced and it's getting better. Agents will get better in FM12.

The problem isnt agents being added. Its the fact that they have been added in the state they are in. No where near finished and not enough thought gone into it. Just like most other features that get added. Expect it to be working relatively reasonably around FM14. But by then we will have another 10 half finished 'features' that need sorting

FM has always been a simulation. Agents have a big effect on football, and because of that it should be in the game. Stop complaining (not necessarily to you, but whose who keep saying agents shouldn't be in the game) just because it just got a little harder. I didn't recall any threads saying how broken the game in FM09 when we could get away with signing any player without giving a signing bonus?

It's the first year in the game for agents. Give it time. Board confidence was terrible when that was first introduced and it's getting better. Agents will get better in FM12.

By all means, put agents in the game, but if they're going to be such an important feature then make sure they work properly. Right now, they don't (I think Steve in the post above summed it up quite well).

As for simulation - If the game was a real simulation of football, it would be rubbish and they wouldn't sell many copies.

I believe this is a big floor in the game

You can't reasonably expect that small testing team at SI to fix everything in a new feature. We were always going to be 'testing' the game after we bought it. It's how it is with yearly game releases these days, especially sports video games in general. At least SI have the decency to patch it a few times.

I don't like agents are really that broken. Board Confidence was a lot worse imo because you could get sacked finishing 2nd when the board wanted you to win the league. And no I wasn't managing at Chelsea.

Yeah, they dropped the ball a little bit (especially since they ruined my career save because of all the xml files I put in which were fine before the 3rd patch, more than anything), but hopefully FM12 will be better.

As for simulation - If the game was a real simulation of football, it would be rubbish and they wouldn't sell many copies.

Indeed... and for sure nobody would ever be able to lead Bumfluff FC from Lower Leagues to Champions League, not even in a lifetime.

There must be a point where realism must take the backseat to keep the game enjoyable... And having half-implemented agents asking for crazy fees and/or killing your (and the players') chances to successfully negotiate extremely profitable contracts for all the parts involved is just one of those "fun > realism" cases.

Especially if it's "fun > half-baked/bugged realistic feature"

Seriously, How can a transfer cost your club 5-6M in "glorified bribes"?

The biggest issue with agents is the stupid demands they make, especially for youth players and shortly before accepting so much less elsewhere. The least they should do is say "we'll think about it" and give it consideration rather than just cutting off talks.

It's easy to get around them with high fees for lower wages and removing anything else from the contract, but I'd rather spend a bit more on wages or certain bonuses or signing fees and less on other things, like appearances for a first team player. They just don't analyse things in any reasonable way.

A lot of the time offering an agent 50 - 100k more can save 10 - 15k per week in wages. I've used it often enough, Connor Wickham currently wanted a £42.5k a week contract, his agents fee was 250k. Bumped the agent fee up to £350k and Conner Wickham signed a contract on £27k a week (only getting an increase of £5k per week over his old contract) it has saved me £2.4m over the course of his new contract.

Some agents are very demanding and perhaps bordering on excessive. Personally I haven't seen it, the most I've seen has been £2m and the agent ended up settling for £1.2m if you go for players outside of your league it can be a problem. There were some outlandish demands on 11.1 but I thought they had been curbed back. I am somewhat tight in that even on champions league football no one in my side sees £60k a week so perhaps agents have just realised its not going to work

You can't reasonably expect that small testing team at SI to fix everything in a new feature. We were always going to be 'testing' the game after we bought it. It's how it is with yearly game releases these days, especially sports video games in general. At least SI have the decency to patch it a few times.

I don't like agents are really that broken. Board Confidence was a lot worse imo because you could get sacked finishing 2nd when the board wanted you to win the league. And no I wasn't managing at Chelsea.

Yeah, they dropped the ball a little bit (especially since they ruined my career save because of all the xml files I put in which were fine before the 3rd patch, more than anything), but hopefully FM12 will be better.

This attitude is staggering. This company is supposed to be a professional game development studio. Additionally I find it hard to believe SI wouldn't be able to get testing volunteers from the community under NDA's just like the majority of other computer titles. I truly hope there are NO new features in FM12 and they concentrate on getting the ones they currently have working, along with the match engine and foreign league rules. Of course this won't happen as it won't look very good in their precious Daily Mirror blogs...

Despite the millions of pounds, millions of people who have played the game and countless testers along the various versions in CoD2 there was a simple bug in the online system, you could clearly see someone, head, torso and some of their legs and then be able to shoot them 'from the hip' whilst all that was visible to them of you was the tip of your helm. If someone is behind an object and can see as far down as your legs the very least you would expect is to be able to see their face.

Six years on and this is still in the game - sometimes things just don't get fixed very fast no matter what. There is always new features yet something like this wasn't fixed. It suggests that 'no new features' certainly isn't the working model for getting games shifted. Agents will undoubtedly get tweaked, perhaps some agents will become even more aggressive in their demands but the average agent will be less demanding. Maybe there will be less agents who have 18 to 20 for their fee. It is very difficult to see the effects agents are having on all clubs throughout all levels of the game. A change to agents functionality may actually destroy or overly simplify the game at lower levels, you may be able to capitalise on lower fee demands to sign players on stupidly low contracts or for prolonged periods of time - possibly even attracting players you wouldn't do otherwise.

It would be wrong if they tweaked it but then because some part time team in Iceland etc signed a player a championship side were after because the agent fee demands scaled differently and they were offering a bigger wedge to an agent despite the other factors. The transfer system is difficult to tweak and keep on top of because there isn't just transfers in the premiership - there is transfers throughout the game from the mighty teams of the Premiership, Serie A etc to the lowly part time Indonesian leagues.