Just Killing My Enjoyment

Background first. FM09 is the first new version I've played in three years and when I first started 6 weeks ago, I was enjoying the game tremendously, managing Wigan. About halfway through my first season, I noticed that many of my players were the subject of other teams' intererst, with the result that a number became unsettled, asked for transfers and eventually had to be sold. At the end of the seaon, fully half my players still had "wanted" notices next to their names.

During the off season I brought in a few replacements, but more and more players became the interst of other teams, with the result that a number of players I had counted on demanded to leave. What made this more frustrating was that most of the teams involved finished either near or below me in the standings. Yet the players thought this would improve their careers. During the first year and the off season, I seemed to be spending an inordinate amount of time issuing hands-off warnings, usually to no effect. The insanity of all this was realized when one of my star players demanded to leave and went to a team only a few places above me. When I checked he had signed for a salary 15,000 less than I was paying and he was in the Reserve team.

Now I find myself in a vicious circle where too many players are unsettled, too many new players have to be brought in as replacements and I am losing interst because no matter what I do I don't believe this is ever going to change--unless I resign and try managing a team in a much lower league (although I bet the same thing happens there, too).

I would be interested in how others have addressed this situation and if there is a remedy. I really like the game but the fun is disappating quickly.

Sometimes an approach which can work is to negotiate with the clubs involved and just set the value at some ludicrous level which they wont pay.

Usually if you do this they lose interest it also stop the player getting annoyed as easily. It doesnt however always work.

Personally I never sell my best players even if they become 'unsettled' 9 times out of 10 if you play it safe and hang on to them they eventually become settled again.

I've found that offering new contracts is fairly helpful. It makes the player happy, and if you do have to sell, you can probably get more money for the player.

I had this exact same thing with Wigan which ultimately caused the downfall that got me relegated. But nevertheless there is alot of money in the Wigan squad to be made and after an immediate promotion, you just have to rebuild the squad and approach the transfer market with a wheel and deal strategy as Wigan have to in reality.

I had this exact same thing with Wigan which ultimately caused the downfall that got me relegated. But nevertheless there is alot of money in the Wigan squad to be made and after an immediate promotion, you just have to rebuild the squad and approach the transfer market with a wheel and deal strategy as Wigan have to in reality.

Dr.ogba: Thanks for your input although I hope not to be relegated.

Another recent example of this silliness. Offered Cattermole a new contract and he asked for 4 years at 17,250. After going with his wishes, he says that's not enough and signs with Fulham -- who finished below me last year -- at the same salary!

Dr.ogba: Thanks for your input although I hope not to be relegated.

Another recent example of this silliness. Offered Cattermole a new contract and he asked for 4 years at 17,250. After going with his wishes, he says that's not enough and signs with Fulham -- who finished below me last year -- at the same salary!

Did they offer him a more prominant role in the squad, like 'key player' ?

its because its all realism

Wigan are a small club and players would rather be at say Tottenham even if Wigan came above them

its club reputation not league standing

its because its all realism

Wigan are a small club and players would rather be at say Tottenham even if Wigan came above them

its club reputation not league standing

Im playing with Brondby, in six season ive won 4 leagues and 3 national cups, every new season players complain they want to move to a bigger club, for example bought Tore Reginiussen and a couple of seasons later sold him to....aalborg, so i dont think is realism, since my team is dominating danish football and he moves to another team in the league, is that realism?.

Its to do with reputation. The reputation of your club will rise slowly.

The reputation thing too is a bit confusing. Chelsea's reputation before winning the premier league titles was below Arsenal's. But it was increased suddenly after they won the titles even though overall record sees Arsenal winning more than Chelsea. That's a good thing because reputation should be linked to form. But in the game, reputation increases very slowly even though players are consistently winning/overachieving. Hopefully something will be done regarding this in the next version

This problem has been really annoying me at Boro. I started a new game recently with them in the Championship and won promotion easily after selling most of the star players. A season of rebuilding followed, with a good league finish getting me European football next season.

The problem I'm having is two-fold:

1. I constantly get the "Team X is interested in player Y" news item during transfer windows, and I always issue hands-off warnings for my star players. The clubs never bid but my players still get unsettled.

2. When clubs do bid my players often react unrealistically. I had a few bids for Foti from big clubs at the end of my second season. He was a wonderkid and valued at just under £10m. AC Milan and Real both offered about £9m, paid over 18 months with some extra clauses and I negotiated for a much higher, up-front, deal. Even before the clubs respond to my negotation Foti is unhappy at the bid being rejected. Surely I should be able to tell him that I understand his concerns but the offer simply wasn't good enough. Even the most ambitious players should realise no club will sell them for less than half what they could get for them.

And then there's the problems the OP's having where clubs who performed worse than you last season still seem more attractive to my players. I know it's all based on reputation but I think the game should take more notice of recent form. I'm in my fourth season now and in the Champions League yet Feghouli is apparently tempted by a move to Villa who didn't even make Europe last season and is now "considering his options". All this despite being a first-team player.

The reputation thing too is a bit confusing. Chelsea's reputation before winning the premier league titles was below Arsenal's. But it was increased suddenly after they won the titles even though overall record sees Arsenal winning more than Chelsea. That's a good thing because reputation should be linked to form. But in the game, reputation increases very slowly even though players are consistently winning/overachieving. Hopefully something will be done regarding this in the next version

I think Chelsea are a bad example. They were relatively big (granted they didn't win anything) to start with because of the likes of Zola and Vialli but their appeal sky rocketed when they became Chelvski. They had something that's never happened in England football before. They were owned by someone who was willing to spend crazy money on fees and wages looking to challenge United and Arsenal. Also the players they brought in at first weren't worldwide superstars, few people knew much about Drogba, Essien and lampard, cole weren't that big. The superstars that did come played under Mourinho previously (Deco, Carvalho), were at the twilight of their career (Crespo, Veron) or swayed by a comrade (Shecvchenko).

I think they've got it pretty much spot on in the game. Clubs don't suddenly become a worldwide phenomenon a year after winning the PL they slowly establish a larger fan base by being in or around top spot for a while.

Now about players wanting to leave for a bigger club. I suggest offering your top players a contract every year. They tend not to demand a move if they've just recently signed a contract. Also you can offer a contract and then stall on an offer (if you've forgotten to give someone a contract) and hope that the other team doesn't push for an answer before your player has signed one. I kept a bunch of really good players in Villa doing that.

What you should do is anticipate a bid and nip it in the bud.

Just go to set transfer status and set asking price at the highest you can. No clubs will bother making bids.

this annoys me too but also hate the fact that so many times clubs state interest but then never bid so its very hard to plan.

Now about players wanting to leave for a bigger club. I suggest offering your top players a contract every year. They tend not to demand a move if they've just recently signed a contract. Also you can offer a contract and then stall on an offer (if you've forgotten to give someone a contract) and hope that the other team doesn't push for an answer before your player has signed one. I kept a bunch of really good players in Villa doing that.

This works for me for a while but eventually the player will just leave, sucks but it happens in real life a lot, Berbatov going to Man u for an example. Wilson Palacious to Spurs. Ronaldo to Madrid (If he does actually sign).

Razorblade: Will try your suggestion about raising asking price.

MikeJ: That's what annoys me too; when you try to negotiate for a better upfront fee and the other side breaks off negotiations, your player still gets annoyed with you and you have no way of explaining that you would sell if offered a fair price.

I just seem to be spending more time fending off bids and trying to replace players than everything else combined. It starts to wear you done.

its because its all realism

Please show me in real life team whos seeling half of squad when he fighting about champion title,and after first round is unbeaten !!?? Show me the team who has 4 mln euro for a transfers and can't buy player for a 1/4 of this sum ?? Finaly tell me did you know the teams like Zenit, Bate Borisow or Hoffenheim few years ago ?? I can understand realism but this reputation stuff killing the game for me because I prefered always in managers games playing weak teams and lower divisions.I think this is wrong way.

its not realistic at all, I am Lyn, dominating the norwegian leagues and cup 3 years in a row AND EVEN I JUST WON THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE and still many of my players want to leave to "bigger clubs" like Mallorca and Fulham, yeh those are bigger clubs lol yeh right wheres their European cups?

On top of that, even players IN THE NORWEGIAN LEAGUE who play on farmer town teams like Tore Reginussen don't want to sign with my Champions League winning team because they feel "it would be a step in the wrong direction" and are instead looking at Bolton?:confused:

I would be interested in how others have addressed this situation and if there is a remedy. I really like the game but the fun is disappating quickly.

Dude, seriously, do what every prem manager does IRL... completely ignore all speculation and player grievances.

When another club shows interest in a player I don't want to sell... I don't issue hands off warnings... I just ignore them. If the player becomes unsettled because of this, you really shouldn't be considering ANYTHING until a solid bid is tabled. The player will still play for you you, his morale will barely be affected and if the the rival team doesn't bid, then pretty soon your want-away star will shut up and get back to playing football.

My overall point is, just because the player has a "slt" or even a "unh" beside his name doesn't mean he's finished at your club.

it happens irl ..

look at wigan this seasson , 7th in march

finished the season with there foot off the gas .

its the same kind of situation

its not realistic at all, I am Lyn, dominating the norwegian leagues and cup 3 years in a row AND EVEN I JUST WON THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE and still many of my players want to leave to "bigger clubs" like Mallorca and Fulham, yeh those are bigger clubs lol yeh right wheres their European cups?

On top of that, even players IN THE NORWEGIAN LEAGUE who play on farmer town teams like Tore Reginussen don't want to sign with my Champions League winning team because they feel "it would be a step in the wrong direction" and are instead looking at Bolton?:confused:

no offense but Norway isn't exactly known as a country of 'unparralelled footballing excellence', where England and Spain are both right up at the top of the list for 'the best stuff in foorball'.

It's like if i wanted to go on a Fjord sight-seeing trip, sure Scotland got a bit of coastal glacial sculpting in the ice-age, but Norway is THE place to go for Fjords, some guy even won an award for them!!

why do you think steve bruce left ? ;/

You have to realise, big clubs in small leagues will always be smaller than big clubs in big leagues. Look at the Ajax team of the 90's - it wasn't long before the likes of Kluivert, Kanu, Bergkamp, Seedorf and the rest moved on - even though they won the European Cup. In smaller leagues and smaller clubs part of the challange is the re-building process. If you don't want to sell a player, just don't sell. But don't expect his performances to remain the same if he's unhappy!

I understand this, the thing is players complain they want to move to a "bigger club" and then they move to a club in the same league when you are dominating that league, thats not realistic in my honest opinion, is like all those players you say from ajax went to feyernord instead of ac milan or arsenal, etc.

You have to realise, big clubs in small leagues will always be smaller than big clubs in big leagues. Look at the Ajax team of the 90's - it wasn't long before the likes of Kluivert, Kanu, Bergkamp, Seedorf and the rest moved on - even though they won the European Cup. In smaller leagues and smaller clubs part of the challange is the re-building process. If you don't want to sell a player, just don't sell. But don't expect his performances to remain the same if he's unhappy!

I can agree but what kind of clubs get them ?? Giants ! Sorry if I'm playing well and I have real chance for a group phase in CL and my best midfielder going to Worskla Poltawa or my defender wanna go to Terek Grozny ?! Sorry but in my opinion those clubs in game will be knocked out in first round of european cups So where is the point bud ? I will find out how far these clubs will be in european cups next season

Ps sorry for a bugs and gramma

Edit: I've sold my three best players but I won everything in Polish Ekstraklasa ! Hej Śląsk !

Like what Forkoid say, ignore or just keep giving out hand off warning, even if you cant get the interest off, normally that would actually increase their interest and allow you to make off with some fund for much better player. Or do what I done, do a major change right at start, and / or try to sign new contract, that would keep the interest down enough for you to focus on other area of the game, never really had much of these problem until some player start to get annoyed due to low number of matches they appear in (even if its like...50% of the match total with other player of the same position..but well thats another story)

Im playing with Brondby, in six season ive won 4 leagues and 3 national cups, every new season players complain they want to move to a bigger club, for example bought Tore Reginiussen and a couple of seasons later sold him to....aalborg, so i dont think is realism, since my team is dominating danish football and he moves to another team in the league, is that realism?.

With respect to Brondby they are in a small league, I believe the overall leagues reputation/standing also has some influence on players.

With respect to Brondby they are in a small league, I believe the overall leagues reputation/standing also has some influence on players.

Yes thats true, but my main problem is my players are leaving to teams in my same league, is not real to say "i want to go to a bigger club" and then accepting an offer from Aalborg BK who is in the danish league too, the same league ive been winnig the last six seasons...

In my liverpool side I have unsettled players all the time but have issued only a couple of hands off warnings, no clubs come for my players now. This might be because I have won 9 league titles, 9 champions leagues & 8 fa/leageu cups each.

And I dont pay them rediculas amounts of money either

This could be solved easily by offering players a contract every year. I tend to do it every year to the players I intend to keep and I've never come across any players who requested a move the year they signed.

Never offer them a signing on fee.

Half of my Sevilla squad are currently on the wanted list of the giants like Inter,Liverpool,Barcelona and Chelsea and all i do is offer them a new contract with a 1,000 increase right after i have told them to 'keep your hans off' and it all seems to work so far.

Praising your players from time to time when performances are on the up is a good thing as when ypu make his favourite personel list i find it very hard for the player to request a move.

This could be solved easily by offering players a contract every year. I tend to do it every year to the players I intend to keep and I've never come across any players who requested a move the year they signed.

Never offer them a signing on fee.

I've had players request transfers within six months of signing for me. They don't seem to realise that I could just stick them in the reserves for four years and end their career.

I've had players request transfers within six months of signing for me. They don't seem to realise that I could just stick them in the reserves for four years and end their career.

Damn that'd be cold but definitely called for. Six months after signing for you? Bunch of ungrateful.....

When another club shows interest in a player I don't want to sell... I don't issue hands off warnings... I just ignore them. If the player becomes unsettled because of this, you really shouldn't be considering ANYTHING until a solid bid is tabled. The player will still play for you you, his morale will barely be affected and if the the rival team doesn't bid, then pretty soon your want-away star will shut up and get back to playing football.

Yeah cool... in theory perhaps. I start doing this way but the problem is when the club made the bid so in my team the player is unhappy and he has lower performance. I think for what is the option "dismiss" if I haven't choice ??

Had that before.

Thing I did was just go for better jobs by eventually winning some games with my reserves.

When another club shows interest in a player I don't want to sell... I don't issue hands off warnings... I just ignore them. If the player becomes unsettled because of this, you really shouldn't be considering ANYTHING until a solid bid is tabled. The player will still play for you you, his morale will barely be affected and if the the rival team doesn't bid, then pretty soon your want-away star will shut up and get back to playing football.

Yeah cool... in theory perhaps. I start doing this way but the problem is when the club made the bid so in my team the player is unhappy and he has lower performance. I think for what is the option "dismiss" if I haven't choice ??

Set asking prices to £50 million and you never have to deal with transfer bids that you don't want. If you leave them unspecified then you get those annoying bids from the AI that are miles off the fair price, but it angers your player if you negotiate and the bidder pulls out.

Set the asking price high and you're sorted. Just lower it if you decide you're willing to sell.