Free transfers seem tougher in 09

Playing as AFC Wimbledon, I'm having a much more difficult time signing free-transferred players. They seem much more likely to reject me outright, regardless of how much I offer them. FM '08 seemed much easier in regard to picking up players who would supposedly have "no intention" of joining my club.

If I'm right, I believe this is a good change - it's more realistic and more challenging. Most players will simply not sign with you, even if there are no other offers on the horizon. It's tougher to stack your team.

Anyone else have the same experience? (mostly for LLM)

I have noticed that too, a little bit (I tend to ignore players who have no intention to join right away instead of trying to negotiate anyway though). I'm having the time of my life playing in lower leagues with no transfer budget. However, there are still some parts of the game in terms of transfers and negotiation I am not quite happy with:

Something not so realistic - players released by higher clubs are less likely to go to levels that suit them, even when they are obviously not good enough. To do with reputation, but still, not so realistic. Bigger fluctuation of reputation should solve this.

Also, I think players who don't have teams should be more likely to accept short term or part time contracts or trials until they find a team suitable for their stature. Daniel Sturridge is a free agent on my game right now and he refuses to go to preston who have negotiated with him many times. I would think a player of his standard should: 1. Have more clubs trying to get him and 2. He should be more likely to accept a short contract (kind of like keeping fit until they find the right club thing). Again, bigger fluctuation of player reputation should solve this.