Getting rid of deadwood is nearly impossible...

Has anyone else noticed that when you're managing in the Prem, it's almost impossible to get rid of players you don't want? I have a number of young players on low wages that would rip the Championship to shreds but no-one even shows any interest. Players worth over £2m I've reduced the asking price to less than £250k when theyre on about 25k a month and there's nothing.

It also gets to me when players are transfer listed by request and they turn down every offer whether it's on loan or permanent.

Has anyone else noticed that when you're managing in the Prem, it's almost impossible to get rid of players you don't want? I have a number of young players on low wages that would rip the Championship to shreds but no-one even shows any interest. Players worth over £2m I've reduced the asking price to less than £250k when theyre on about 25k a month and there's nothing.

It also gets to me when players are transfer listed by request and they turn down every offer whether it's on loan or permanent.

Have you found this to be a problem whilst managing at multiple clubs in the PL, or are you basing your query on a single club?

I ask because my experience of the transfer market has varied depending on which club i'm at. I recently played with Bolton in the PL and had no problem offloading players.

currently with plymouth. I have a habit of signing a load of young players in one go on free transfers, some that dont quite make it i try and let go, but even ones who have played quite a few times for the first team i can't seem to get rid of.

My brief experience with Man United this version has had the same results yes... For example I tried to get rid of Darren Gibson and put his value even down to £0 yet nobody was interested. This is a player who, in real life, has just signed for the very respectable Everton. It may have had something to do with his wages though, who knows?

i have 4 saves going 3 of which i have now stopped playing and exactly the same with me. not even willing to go on loan

the teams in question are man utd (i play as them as my dad was born in salford), bristol city (my hometown and true club), luton town (i hit pick a club for me as i was going to a journeyman career but got bored) and my save im concentrating now and really enjoying basingstoke town (got the wife to randomly pick a club in the BSS)

i cannot offload players, they want to leave but never actually do. also will not mutually go either.

i am really sick of it and am concentrating only on producing the best talent i can afford now because its costing me thousands on wages for players who wont go.

i cannot offload players, they want to leave but never actually do. also will not mutually go either.

i am really sick of it and am concentrating only on producing the best talent i can afford now because its costing me thousands on wages for players who wont go.

exactly my problem. players moan about wanting to leave, and when a good loan offer comes, 90% of the time they turn it down. and i cant even get teams to make a transfer bid as most of the time 'they feel he doesnt have enough interest to sign' or 'they won't pay the asking price'.

even though i'm in the prem, it may not affect me as much as if i was managing lower down the leagues. but still, it's very frustrating.

Its almost impossible to sell on FM these days. Even when offering players out for £0 nobody bids, just a bit pointless trying at times. Its cheaper in the long run to release or annoy them so much they agree to a mutual termination rather than pay their wages for the duration of their contract while you try in vain to sell them.

offer them to clubs, it usualy says why.

i offered players out, it was either wages, or too much even though i was selling under value.

or they just refuse, adam johnson was being sold by city via offers, for 5.5, i offered contracts as did west ham, both were acceptable by agent, the player declined both, and we were premier league, got seedorf on a free instead.

I have the same problem with Birmingham city in the prem,something that needs looking at I think as irl unsettled players who dont play do leave for lower wages but never seems to happen with my players.

Joe Cole refuses to leave my club!

I'm managing Bolton and managed to get rid of Gardner & Davis easily in the 1st season. But now in my 2nd season, Holden & Pratley are listed for £0 but no-one will make a bid. Keep saying this & that are too much. Surely someone would be interested. Even offered to loan them out for no fee and no wage and still get nothing.

Start by offering them for 4 times their worth and working your way down.

i dont have any problems but i have only played as Liverpool.

got rid of Coates for 9mill at the begining of the third season and skrtl for 10mill at the begining of the second season.

i am finding it difficult to get rid of Joe Cole though. sent him on a season long loan in the 2nd season with west ham. he did really well, west ham offered the 2.5mill clause to buy him and then the gready git he is, asked me to pay 44.5k a week for the next 12 months or he wouldn't leave! yes he's on 90k but its the principle! so i refused and he's still sitting in the reserves.

This is one of the weaknesses of the reputation system.

Players don't want to move to a club which is beneath their status. The clubs which would have been a great fit for him knows this (they think) and deem him unavailable or very unlikely so they don't even try. The clubs which he believes would fit his reputation will have no use for him since his skill and reputation is too low, so they are not interested either.

So if you are a low-reputation club having good players, AI clubs which should want your star players will have too low reputation. At the same time lower league clubs won't go for your poorer players because the players wouldn't want to move down a step or two on the ladder.

High-reputation clubs with good players should have few problems getting rid of deadwood because that deadwood are high-rep, good players. The low-rep players at these clubs will be quite unwanted, though.

Mid-reputation clubs with decent players will struggle moving any player.

Bad players are hard to move at any level.

I used to have this issue but now I can normally get most of my players sold for Spurs, it's just getting the amount you want and the clauses, don't like it when teams change clauses from % of next sale to % of profit and make it non-negotiable

Right this is really ******* me off now: a player has come to me requesting a transfer because I didnt let him go after i'd been offering him to other clubs...I ACCEPTED AT LEAST 7 BIDS FOR HIM AND HE REJECTED ALL OF THEM!

For Christ's sake SI, please preserve my sanity and sort it out now!

Right this is really ******* me off now: a player has come to me requesting a transfer because I didnt let him go after i'd been offering him to other clubs...I ACCEPTED AT LEAST 7 BIDS FOR HIM AND HE REJECTED ALL OF THEM!

For Christ's sake SI, please preserve my sanity and sort it out now!

Hah, this is waaaay too common, and irritating.

Hah, this is waaaay too common, and irritating.

He's a french player and turned down bids from PSG, Marseille as well as other premiership clubs!

I give up.

I had Heskey and Beye reject other clubs due to their high wage demands....they came to me asking to pay them 15k a week until their contracts were up. What do people do in this scenario?

I had Heskey and Beye reject other clubs due to their high wage demands....they came to me asking to pay them 15k a week until their contracts were up. What do people do in this scenario?

i usually pay up, it works out better if you have most of their wages if the budget, especially if you're receving a fee too.

Got this problem currently with Birmingham, there is 3 or 4 players the previous manager brought in on big wages, who I didn't use last season in the Championship, let alone this season in the Premiership, I can't give them away.

I can understand them not going because of the big wages I am having to pay them, but surely Championship sides would at least have a crack of agreeing terms with them if I am offering them out for nothing?

Got this problem currently with Birmingham, there is 3 or 4 players the previous manager brought in on big wages, who I didn't use last season in the Championship, let alone this season in the Premiership, I can't give them away.

I can understand them not going because of the big wages I am having to pay them, but surely Championship sides would at least have a crack of agreeing terms with them if I am offering them out for nothing?

If their ability does not match their wage then no championship will take them, even for free. I can normally loan any unwanted players until their contracts expire although sometimes i'll offer them on loan with as low as 30% wage contribution. Clubs in RL also get stuck with the previous regimes flops.

Yeah, it's easy to sell players if you signed them and put them on sensible wages. It is very difficult to sell other people's mistakes.

"I want first team football and may have to leave"

"I'll let you go at the end of the season"

"I can't wait that long"

"Okay, well we'll terminate your deal then, you can find a club to get first team football and we'll get your £50 per week off the wage bill"

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU WOULD EVEN ASK ME TO DO THAT"

---

"I want first team football and may have to leave"

"I'll find a new club for you as soon as I can"

"Thanks boss, I hope you keep your promise"

*Offers to clubs for free, no one is interested*

"YOU DIDN'T KEEP YOUR PROMISE SO NOW I'VE GONE TO ALL MY TEAMMATES AND THE PRESS"

Unfortunately it's a well-known issue...

Last year it was possible to make good money with all sorts of mediocre bakups as the AI clubs were willing to offer even for the worst and least promising youngster.

So in typical SI fashion the issue wasn't really "looked into" but rather overmedicated, to the point it now quite difficult selling decent players who should naturally attract the interest of plenty of clubs... let alone getting rid of the deadwood.

Don't worry, next year we'll be back selling our hopeless reserves for 5M to mid-table clubs

terminate contracts - take the hit but free up salary

Unfortunately it's a well-known issue...

Last year it was possible to make good money with all sorts of mediocre bakups as the AI clubs were willing to offer even for the worst and least promising youngster.

So in typical SI fashion the issue wasn't really "looked into" but rather overmedicated, to the point it now quite difficult selling decent players who should naturally attract the interest of plenty of clubs... let alone getting rid of the deadwood.

Don't worry, next year we'll be back selling our hopeless reserves for 5M to mid-table clubs

It was very difficult to sell deadwood in FM11 too. I don't recognize this situation you speak of. Granted, it was easy to sell "deadwood" when my Las Palmas game reached the tenth season, but at that time those players would strengthen almost any side in the world so I don't think that's the situation people experienced.

The inability to offload (good) players to other clubs to free up wageroll is an old chestnut here.

It has "bug" written all over it, but no one from SI will ever admit it.

Every game I start, I pretty much know that selling (any) players is going to be a nightmare.

It's the same no matter what level you start at.

Sad thing is, when I'm buying, I don't seem to see these superstar free transfers coming my way!

One thing i found that helps to offload deadwood is to make sure they get some game-time in friendlies. Either pre-season or if your trying to sell in the january tranfer window, try to organise some friendly matches before and just play deadwood and youth players. I managed to sell Joe Cole to birmingham for 3m this way, granted i had to pay him £12k per week until end of contract.

I'm actually happy about the fact, that unlike in earlier versions, you can't use deadwood as a money-making machine.

I remember that in FM10 I always used to sign two released English U19 players each year, only to sell them on for a nice profit in the next transfer window, which was not realistic and an exploit.

Irl it's not that easy either to get rid of player who are basically not good enough, even more if they are on high wages.

Firstly, the game distracts us by assigning ridiculously high values to young EPL players who are clearly L1 players now and may only ever make it into the Championship if they fulfil their potential. Why would they ever be worth 2m in the first place? And why would any club be happy to pay that much?

Secondly, the issue becomes worse if the player makes 40k a week. Often, you find players suitable for a first team role maybe for a rock bottom EPL team or only for an above average Championship team being on that high wages. The teams for which he may be good enough can however not afford to pay anyone that much and even less so, after paying a 7-figure transfer fee.

Irl it's really hard finding someone stupid enough to buy the player off you for money. (granted, Newcastle or West Ham would have been the clubs to call in the past)

However, I agree that still something is wrong here. While I argue that indeed we shouldn't be able to sell those guys for big money, there should be some serious interest in them when offering them away for little to no money.

One of the guys in the second category mentioned above is currentlyy Silvain Marveaux for me at Newcastle. Value 2.3m, salary 40k. No chances for first team football at my team, but certainly good enough for the bottom 6 EPL teams (and more in other countries). I accept that I should not be able to get 2m for him. But if there is no interest in him whatsoever when offering him out for free, then also I say, this is wrong

A player like that should go for 500-800k and have lots of clubs after him when being available for free.

Probably to do with reputation indeed...

currently with plymouth. I have a habit of signing a load of young players in one go on free transfers, some that dont quite make it i try and let go, but even ones who have played quite a few times for the first team i can't seem to get rid of.

tbf this is quite like the exploit and wouldn't work irl, thus nor should it in FM, even though it did in the past.

I've had no problem to offload unwanted players.

I think it's down to the fact that I keep their wages under control. I try not to give too high wages for backup players, or hot prospects, or non-star players. I give their agent a big fee, keep the wage low or moderate, add some other bonuses to compensate.

Therefore, other clubs can afford their wages if I want to sell my players.

To sum up : keep wages sensible. If the player asks for 100k p/w, that's not because you can afford it that you shall not negociate.

I can understand it being difficult to sell deadwood players on big wages (Cole and Aquilani for me), but I can't even send them out on loan with 0% wages, which I think is ridiculous. I offer to clubs and nobody is interested, but surely any Championship team would jump at the chance to have Joe Cole in their squad if they don't have to pay a penny for his enormous wage?

I can understand it being difficult to sell deadwood players on big wages (Cole and Aquilani for me), but I can't even send them out on loan with 0% wages, which I think is ridiculous. I offer to clubs and nobody is interested, but surely any Championship team would jump at the chance to have Joe Cole in their squad if they don't have to pay a penny for his enormous wage?

Yes, of course they would. However, he doesn't want to move to the Championship... he would hardly consider bottom-half PL sides! The AI knows this and don't bother his agent.

It would be nice if someone from SI could comment on this issue. Are they looking at it, do they think that this is not a bug, are they aware of the problem, are they gone do something about it...

What about when you loan out a player with the option to buy. The club ALWAYS tries to buy the player at the end of the loan and the player ALWAYS rejects the offer!

I've never managed to sell a player who is loaned out. I agree with your other points by the way. It's nearly impossible to sell certain players.

Yes, of course they would. However, he doesn't want to move to the Championship... he would hardly consider bottom-half PL sides! The AI knows this and don't bother his agent.

Good point. But then I don't get top flight clubs come in for him either, or foreign top flight clubs. IRL he went to Lille this season, but clubs at that level never seem interested either, even though he could be one of their best players.

play east stirling, you start with a great goalie on loan from the SPL... except you can't extend the loan as the player won't come, because of reputation. this is the same.

i tried to offload berbatov on my united save. i got him out on loan, but he refused to sign for anyone else.

Good point. But then I don't get top flight clubs come in for him either, or foreign top flight clubs. IRL he went to Lille this season, but clubs at that level never seem interested either, even though he could be one of their best players.

At the moment IRL, Lille will never be able to afford his wages.

Good point. But then I don't get top flight clubs come in for him either, or foreign top flight clubs. IRL he went to Lille this season, but clubs at that level never seem interested either, even though he could be one of their best players.

To explain my view in clearer terms: the problem is simply that many players don't want to move to clubs which wants them because those clubs have too low reputation, and clubs aren't interested in signing players who want to sign for them because those players have too low reputation... both at the same time. So they stay. And the clubs rot.

The "band" of reputation in which AI clubs and players find each other mutually interesting is too narrow. It is this imbalance that is the biggest problem when SI programs the AI transfer policy. If that band is too wide, it becomes very easy for the human manager to make unrealistic signings (FM09&10) and the same thing happens to the AI. If the band is too narrow (FM11&12) too few players are shifting clubs so the players stay until they retire and after that the game is a piece of cake because the AI clubs have dropped significantly in quality.

This is an equation that cannot be solved, so the only thing SI can do is to ditch Reputation as a jack-of-all-trades and replace it with intelligent AI. The transfer AI should be a balance between Ambition, Loyalty and clubs+players being aware of their own ability and status. As long as a player is unaware that he is currently only good enough for League One football even though he is contracted to Manchester United, SI will never be able to balance the transfer logic of the AI.

Whilst I agree with most of what you've said there BiggusD I can honestly say I've never had a problem selling players on any recent version of FM.

I really don't understood what those that are having problems are doing wrong :confused:

At the moment IRL, Lille will never be able to afford his wages.

I was talking about offering him and asking them to pay nothing towards his wages. They would be getting a player for free.

To explain my view in clearer terms: the problem is simply that many players don't want to move to clubs which wants them because those clubs have too low reputation, and clubs aren't interested in signing players who want to sign for them because those players have too low reputation... both at the same time. So they stay. And the clubs rot.

The "band" of reputation in which AI clubs and players find each other mutually interesting is too narrow. It is this imbalance that is the biggest problem when SI programs the AI transfer policy. If that band is too wide, it becomes very easy for the human manager to make unrealistic signings (FM09&10) and the same thing happens to the AI. If the band is too narrow (FM11&12) too few players are shifting clubs so the players stay until they retire and after that the game is a piece of cake because the AI clubs have dropped significantly in quality.

This is an equation that cannot be solved, so the only thing SI can do is to ditch Reputation as a jack-of-all-trades and replace it with intelligent AI. The transfer AI should be a balance between Ambition, Loyalty and clubs+players being aware of their own ability and status. As long as a player is unaware that he is currently only good enough for League One football even though he is contracted to Manchester United, SI will never be able to balance the transfer logic of the AI.

Yes, I agree with this, but it's still annoying!

It's a big reason as to why I don't really enjoy the game until about 5 seasons in and all players are ones I've signed.

Yes, I agree with this, but it's still annoying!

It's a big reason as to why I don't really enjoy the game until about 5 seasons in and all players are ones I've signed.

In a long-term game I had with Crewe back in '94, I had great fun taking over AI clubs, changing their tactic to a custom one and surprisingly that tactic remained after resigning! Anything I made was of course better than the standard tactics (that's universal I think) so in season 30 most of the clubs in Premier League were "modded", making certain that winning the league actually was a challenge (I sometimes didn't!).

You can't tweak the default AI tactics in FM12, but you can take over and sign players, add money with FMRTE, give sugardaddies to obscure clubs etc. I am quite certain that after season 7-8 I will need to do this to have an incentive to continue playing, like I always have to.

Edit: What I am getting at is that some of those players could be the ones you fail to sell but who would be great additions for some clubs.

i'm managing Roma and i had trouble selling players so it's not just EPL

burdisso had an average rating of 7.25, played 20-odd or so games, and was called up regularly for the argentine national team, but when i transfer listed him, no one wanted him, even for free

curci, my 2nd choice keeper, 26 years old, played 10 league games, kept 9 clean sheets and got 2 MOTM, and one wanted him either, even for free. no one wanted to loan him for free either. i had to send him to my feeder club

it's ridiculous

it's not a wage issue either. i got offers for borriello/juan. i just had to pay part of their salary until their contract ends. but i won't even get a single offer for burdisso/curci

This. I really hope someone from SI is reading this. I NEVER sold a player with option to buy, after loan. Club wants to buy him, but my player always reject. Can you fix that for last patch?

This. I really hope someone from SI is reading this. I NEVER sold a player with option to buy, after loan. Club wants to buy him, but my player always reject. Can you fix that for last patch?

this too..

It's not just about getting rid of deadwood, either. Sometimes a good player just doesn't fit the system you want to play (i.e. you may only play one up front after previously playing two, so having five strikers isn't really worth it any more), so you want to move them on.