Do you buy success or build for it?

Ok with all the stupid threads going through I thought I would try 1 at least(in my view)alittle interesting.

How do you build your team?

I never have and never will pay over 15mil for a player,I see alot of posters saying they have payed 60+mil for a player and maybe just because I am Scottish find this insane.

I try to run my club as if I really was the manager,the board give me 25 mil to spend on players I will maybe buy 2 players with a total of 15mil and keep the rest in the bank,either for the January window incase I have long injuries or just bank it.

I normaly buy players under 27,for the most part normally under 23 and try to bring them through,I do sell a few guys if I want to buy 1 player 1st and enjoy watching the 17 year olds either build into a 1st team player or at the very least a good sellable assist.

After reading alot of these huge buys I was wondering if I am in the minority when it comes to still dealing in lower fee's even when you are in the Premiership?

Same as. I never nuy established stars such as Kaka, Messi, Ronaldo etc. However i alwayd try and spend my transfer budget as i dont like the shareholders getting nice fat payouts due to me being prudent..... only if ita a PLC club of course!

Sorry about earlier posts...

I tend to buy players under 25 so i can hold them for a good few years while they will be in their peak, also i try to never pay over 20 mill for a player thus tryuing to make a return on the palyer by playing him frequently and reciving high match ratings, but there will be the odd occation where i might pay a little extra for a big name signing as it boosts squad morale and boost shirt sales.

i enjoy the challenge of building up finances, which is why i like man city games because it's easy to become successful, but i'm trying to be successful and financially sound. i'm getting there...

but when buying a player i don't set myself really strict rules, for instance if aguero has a (relatively) low release clause you will make the money back through shirt sales, he's young and he's quality.

in general i do the under 27 thing but there are cases when a break that rule. liverpool were bankrupt, so I bought 32 yr old gerrard and 28 yr old mascherano for 20k and 2M respectively, because they are quality players for cheap money.

i couldn't bring myself to drive a club into debt, it's unrealistic

Sorry about earlier posts...

I tend to buy players under 25 so i can hold them for a good few years while they will be in their peak, also i try to never pay over 20 mill for a player thus tryuing to make a return on the palyer by playing him frequently and reciving high match ratings, but there will be the odd occation where i might pay a little extra for a big name signing as it boosts squad morale and boost shirt sales.

Thats better, what was your problem earlier?

i dont think i have ever paid over 12M for a player

my signings are constantly highly rated youngsters that i enjoy promoting to my first team

my transfer budget however is not enough every time

saying that i end up with a huge squad of potential star constantly.

You can buy players? I think i bought last one in CM 01/02

just split up from gf neva posted before and was generally in bad mood..... but back on2 topic b4 i get banned lol... i do find this forum usefull and people on it very interesting, sorry all...

Oh someone please just ban this Tool! Go annoy your f****** goldfish or someone who actually cares about a worthless plank like you!

whats a tool? why you spoilin threads?

just split up from gf neva posted before and was generally in bad mood..... but back on2 topic b4 i get banned lol... i do find this forum usefull and people on it very interesting, sorry all...

Ney bother son! Women aint worth it lol!

On topic, it has been posted elsewhere but i have found a gem of youth to sign! You can get him for 50k and sell within 4 years 20mill, love it!

Oh someone please just ban this Tool! Go annoy your f****** goldfish or someone who actually cares about a worthless plank like you!

Leave the moderating to us.

Oh someone please just ban this Tool! Go annoy your f****** goldfish or someone who actually cares about a worthless plank like you!

The phrase "enough rope" springs to mind!

You can buy players? I think i bought last one in CM 01/02

Hehe,yep tbh I normally buy 1 1st team player a season maybe 2 and then a couple of promising youngster's,I tried to buy a striker who has been said to be great in the good player's forum but they quoted me 22mil for the guy,yes in the forum they said he was really great and I could have maybe bought him and in 2 years doubled my cash....but I always think on the negative side were he gets injured for 6 months so I nver go down that route.Instead I bought a guy for 8mil(highest yet on this edtion)and he is playing out off his skin and I cant honestly see how the other guy would have been better.

just split up from gf neva posted before and was generally in bad mood..... but back on2 topic b4 i get banned lol... i do find this forum usefull and people on it very interesting, sorry all...

he's finally posting worthwhile posts, all i can say is ... try to watch your text language. "house rule"

Guys can you please stay on topic this wasnt meant to be another troll/whine thread.

Thanks.

as i mentioned earlier i am a serious poster, i have found some excellent players especially after the 1st season, i will always try ansd unsettle the smaller players by interaction, or just making a small transfer bid, to see if they become upset with managr, done this a few times, dont know if its cheating?

as i mentioned earlier i am a serious poster, i have found some excellent players especially after the 1st season, i will always try ansd unsettle the smaller players by interaction, or just making a small transfer bid, to see if they become upset with managr, done this a few times, dont know if its cheating?

Its not cheating, happens all the time IRL. Its just part of the game! Cheating is exploiting a bug where wonderkids get released on free transfers at the end of the first season, players that would never ever get released IRL.

On topic now thenn:

On 09, i haven't had a budget more than about, £2k, mainly because im a LLM, i seem to prefer this becuase its more of an achievement if you do well. When i see these big name signings, i do feel abit becuase theres me with my BSS players, struggling to win at home against a mid table side, and then i see a player, who irl is fairly ****, getting a top money deal. But i think, one thing for me is low transfer fees. I also love to bring in at least 2 regens a season, into my first team squad.

we've all mentioned buying players on this thread, what about selling?

in general, I sell all my players at about 30, when the price is still decent. that or make a staff member out of them. sometimes i'll keep a player so he can break an appearance / goal record, but that's it.

i never really like selling my younger players unless i sell them so i can afford a better player in the same position. hows about you guys?

thanx@baker........ I couldnt play your style saulty, fair enough its more of a challenge but unless your following the lower leagues IRL then id find it difficult as i like to be in the know of the league im managing, have you a good knolede of the lower leagues IRL?

keeping good finances with top tier teams has been v easy. it aint my money so i spend spend SPEND!

spend big for stars, poach/bring up youth...keeps me happy.

we've all mentioned buying players on this thread, what about selling?

in general, I sell all my players at about 30, when the price is still decent. that or make a staff member out of them. sometimes i'll keep a player so he can break an appearance / goal record, but that's it.

i never really like selling my younger players unless i sell them so i can afford a better player in the same position. hows about you guys?

If i have no use i always sell regardless but it depends on the players quality as to who i sell too. I generally try to sell outside my league/country unless its a special player IMO, like someone who i signed who has played for me for years or a striker who scored important goals. I try to keep them for staff.

we've all mentioned buying players on this thread, what about selling?

in general, I sell all my players at about 30, when the price is still decent. that or make a staff member out of them. sometimes i'll keep a player so he can break an appearance / goal record, but that's it.

i never really like selling my younger players unless i sell them so i can afford a better player in the same position. hows about you guys?

Again, becuase of LLM, i seem to keep hold of players until they are absolutely worthless, Bruno N'Gotty played for me till he was 39, and became a staff member. I don't think i've sold/released a play that isn't old and pathetic or young and pointless.

Well, apart from one player i sold for, 4k at age of 24, i was well chuffed

i like to sell my players when coach reports telling me that hes past it unless the player still performing. older players get tired alot quicker but sometimes its definately worth keepin them if their favoured espicially if theyl take up a coaching/scout role.

Well tbh I have seen me sell players at say 24 as I get a stupid amount of cash for them or indeed sell them(earlier edtions)before they hit 28.

As well as my buy player's you mentality I aslo sell them youngish(word),I tend to sell my strikers at around 28/29 and my defenders around 29/30,the only player I ever keep after 32 is my goalkeeper,as for the rest I always cash in just after what I feel is there prime season.

thanx@baker........ I couldnt play your style saulty, fair enough its more of a challenge but unless your following the lower leagues IRL then id find it difficult as i like to be in the know of the league im managing, have you a good knolede of the lower leagues IRL?

I agree, i think any lower than championship in England, and top few teams around Europe, then my knowledge of players is limited. Doesnt stop me trying it though. It just means you have to setup your scouting network to the top of its abilities so it can do the work for you.

I have quite often in past versions been reluctant to invest in youth and try to bring in established players, having the same squad for roughly 3 or 4 years before wholesale changes are needed. However, on my stoke save I have spent very carefully, and despite having a combined transfer budget of about 250m in the past 3 seasons, I've only spent about 10m in all 3 combined. Mainly on bringing in a couple of good youngsters to replace the older players who are passing through.

I don't tend to sell players on, they just become back-up until they retire. Thomas Sorensen is my backup keeper at stoke and hes nearing 38 (still puts in good performances though) I have reached a point in my save though, where I'm selling my first batch of quite decent young players for large sums and replacing them with my next lot this is to help maintain my top 4 status on a 500k a week wage budget.

thanx@baker........ I couldnt play your style saulty, fair enough its more of a challenge but unless your following the lower leagues IRL then id find it difficult as i like to be in the know of the league im managing, have you a good knolede of the lower leagues IRL?

Well, i know alot about most of the English Leagues..Prem, Champ, League 1/2

i think, a knowledge of these also help with LLM, as you can pick up youngster from the top two, and experienced players, not wanted by there club, usually willing to drop down a league. As for lower leagues, BSP/BSN/BSS, i couldn't say im an expert, but then again, i did learn alot from LLM in previous editons of the game.

I'll spend 60M on a player if it makes my team that much better. I can't understand being frugal if you have the dough. If it makes sense to spend a 75M transfer budget on a 60M player if you already have 22 solid then so be it. Those players you mention are the best in the game. They're edge is much greater than you think . . .

If you're challenging for the EPL title, why would you bring in 10-20 youngsters when the majority of those won't be playing for 5-10 years? You can buy those players later. The reason is that you'll be blowing your dough on players each year which means when it comes time to invest in youth, you'll still have dedicated balance worth useful. I realize youth is worth investing in but I can't stand reading posts about being Real Madrid and buying 20 youth players when they won't see first team football for 5-10 years. All you have to do is buy 1 or 2 each year (less than 500K) and in 5 years time, you'll have 11 worth noting . . .

I swear, people think Wenger never spent a dime yet if you look at his transfer history, it'll tell another story.

much aagreed if you can adapt to your surroundings within the 1st season of LLM that i can see it being a good game, but i just mean like knowing the other teams calibres in your league, i wouldnt know where to start in the LL. Fair play to you

Santy I think you are on the same wave length as me but you are a bit further in the game.

I play as QPR and in my 3rd season I only(?)have a wage budget of 180k,I have alot of young guys play for me and I am doing really well in the Premiership,there at least 7 guys in my team that other teams are interested in but I refuse there offers atm as I want to continue to build the next lot of young players to take over.

I do have 2 wonderkids now and I may have a hard time holding on to them,I have raised there asking price to stupid levels but still alot of clubs are interested,should be fun come the January window

To be honest, i just buy the best players i possibly can for that club irrespective of price.

If its within my budget, i'll buy them, i obviously look to get players as cheaply as possible, but if i think they're good enough to significantly improve the first team then i'll generally pay whatever it takes.

Having a healthy bank balance, whilst important, won't get you results on the pitch if your players aren't up to it.

To be honest, i just buy the best players i possibly can for that club irrespective of price.

If its within my budget, i'll buy them, i obviously look to get players as cheaply as possible, but if i think they're good enough to significantly improve the first team then i'll generally pay whatever it takes.

Having a healthy bank balance, whilst important, won't get you results on the pitch if your players aren't up to it.

Yes that is true but you can also as a club comming up you can expand the stadium and other such things,you can also make sure you dont put the club in trouble...mah maybe it is just me but I try to run the club as if I was indeed the manager

To be honest, i just buy the best players i possibly can for that club irrespective of price.

If its within my budget, i'll buy them, i obviously look to get players as cheaply as possible, but if i think they're good enough to significantly improve the first team then i'll generally pay whatever it takes.

Having a healthy bank balance, whilst important, won't get you results on the pitch if your players aren't up to it.

What team are you at? Im guessing your squad is of a good standard but has quite a few players that are just, lieing dormant "so to speak"

My squad which achieved second is for the most part, a 300k a week squad, Keirrison, Ronaldinho and my left winger Albin are on a combined 200k a week. Being at stoke, after 5 seasons with no notable success, I still can't attract the biggest & best players out there. Ronaldinho was a steal at 1m though, even at 32. My side is very much a blend of youth and experience, I mean for 3 seasons now I've had Keirrison & Elmander upfront, in the first gelling season they got about 50 goals between them, now its at about 160 goals a season (for proof see the records thread) and the pair cost a collective 13m, which was covered by the sale of Lewandowski the summer I bought them both for 24m (after buying him for 1.2m)

i have always bought. i know that i should really raise my youngsters into first teamers but if im honest i never have. i have gone top teams like liverpool real madrid, barca and have always bought players and when i have gone LLM i have always bought what i got or got in loans. i have had some fantastic youngsters in the past as i do like having a young team but they have all been bought and put into the first team. i have really in the last 8 years or so had a handfull of players come through the ranks and made it big. thats my fault because i havnt had a youth training programme although i have used them for cup games but that was it. this year i have got tugs youth training schedule though and have gone liverpool my team i suport so with the knowldage i have of the reserves and under 18's i hope i can change this pattern.

I do it both.Depends on my club,and their finances,but I'd rather take over a team with money,than take over a team with not may resources.I'm a bit lik Harry Redknapp

Depends...

I've spent a lot, but also gotten a lot back on the transfer market. I brought in some young players and I've signed some very good players for large fees (well, £25 mil is currently my record, which is huge enough), but it really is down to the situation. I signed a defensive midfielder for £25 mil when I discovered that my rebuild to push onto Europe had failed in my midfield (4 weeks, I should have given it more time, but I paniced). Changed the side entirely. Most of my players were out of favour or young at their clubs though.

I generally try to sign younger players, and developing from within is important, too, especially for HG reasons. If I can find a top youngster that'll come to be as soon as he goes pro, all the better. But the overriding concern for me is value. Not the game's field of Value, but, value as being the most "bang for the buck" (sorry for the americanism). My squad average age is usually pretty low, and once players get over 27, 28 or so, they'll start finding themselves looking in from the outside. I generally have only two or three players over 30 anywhere on my roster, and one of those will be a GK. The others will be Tutors...

I don't have any particular plan, though I do like to bring the youth through if possible. But if the right player isn't at the club, I'll bring him in. It might be that he's young with high potential, it might be that he's a 30-something veteran or it might be that he's the best in the world in his position - if the team needs that player that's who I go for.

Well I usually start with midtable/UEFA Cup teams who don't have much money and reputation and in most games I rehaul pretty much 50-75% of the entire 1st team in 1st transfer window, to do that I check transfer-listed players, free agents, cheap players in their thirties/late twenties who could to the job for me for a season or two and for spare money I try to find the cheapest possible quality youngsters so I would have something to build on in future seasons.

When the game starts to go on I slowly start replacing the average players with quality youngsters or quality players I could get on the cheap. After about 4-5 seasons I have good squad and healthy financial situation but 85%(and the rest 15% is dam hard to find) of the REALLY GOOD youngster are snapped by then or their value has rised beyond reasonable and I am not comfortable having my team made up by rubberfaced regens so I have to start buying established stars but I try to spend sensibly and make sure I make profit every season and keep rising in the "Richest clubs" table and it feels good buying good players I remember my Sampadoria game in 4th season I triggered Agüero's release clause of 37.5mil and got him, felt really good

A bit of both. I'll go out and spend a fortune, but only on a younger player I can build into my team.

My record signing is Walcott for about 45mil for Arsenal... A year after I sold him to Madrid for 60 mil.

I tend to buy players young for small(ish) fees and then keep them in the reserves with a view to playing them in the first team in a couple of years, a bit like Arsene Wenger does at Arsenal.

I find it strangely rewarding to battle it out with your young players for a few seasons, and then to see them flourish into a really good team.

I buy young players only, never over 25. I like my players to play for me for a long time if i am shelling out money for them, so they have to be 25 or under to be a transfer prospect for me. Other than that i nurture my youth team and play them in the 1st team nearly every week (at least 2 of them).

I started in Blue Square North and have worked my way up to the Championship, so my most expensive player was £180k in the recent off-season. Most received is a cool £700k for a striker I snapped up from the Spanish U-19's side (which, personally, is my favourite fishing hole - many cheap players who end up profitable if they don't break into the first team).

Only recently have I started to get to the point that my finances don't allow me to compete with the rest of the clubs in my league, so I've started scouting out cheap but promising youngsters from all over the place that are either very low cost or available on a free transfer. I build them up for a season or two and sell them for a few hundred thousand each, if I'm lucky. It's the only way I can get money into the club (outside of friendlies with bigger clubs), but hey, so long as it works.

I'd like to say that I get a lot of these youngsters and build them into first-team regulars, but unfortunately this has happened rarely as before the past couple of seasons I never really invested in young talent. However, I do have a left wingers who was a regen in my U-18's squad a while back that is now playing for me every other game, so it's not completely without hope!

I buy players good enough to play in my starting 11 until I start competing in the champions' league regularly. Then if I come across a wonderkid who looks good for the future at a reasonable price I will buy him.

My main youth backups come from my own academy.

TBH you wont get time to build a team unless you start with zero expectation and never over achieve.

Success is deadly - ask anyone of the dozen or so unemployed managers with a Championship title under their belt.

TBH you wont get time to build a team unless you start with zero expectation and never over achieve.

Success is deadly - ask anyone of the dozen or so unemployed managers with a Championship title under their belt.

Yeah ofc you still need to achieve what is asked of you by the board but my question was really meant to be do you stick to the lower value player's or spend the likes of 30mil on a player then 20mil on another player etc.

I am being quite successful with my team but never go over my set limit for a player,I gave an example were I could have had a top player for 22mil but I wont spend that on 1 player so I bought a player for 8mil(my top signing) and he is doing a great job.

I guess I should have re-phrased the question too "do you always buy big name players for your club and spend all your cash or do you try to be a sensible manager and buy good value youth players aswell as staying inside the boards expectation's"but that seems a bit long