Scout or Search - How Do You Sign Your Players?

[Suzie MUFC]

Up until I started playing CM/FM, I used to play games likes Sensible World of Soccer, Player Manager 2 and Ultimate Soccer Manager. When it came to getting new players in, it was usually a case of buying players I'd seen do well on Match of the Day, Eurogoals or Football Italia. I was always watching matches to see if there was someone I could sign, and I'd get a notepad and make a note of them, then look them up in the game.

In previous years, I've taken an LLM-style route of only using scouts to find players, and not using any knowledge outside of my save to influence things. Been doing that for a few years now, but now I'm getting bored with it, it's realistic but it's hard work and usually I get overtaken by. After seeing brief glimpses of Adam Johnson today on Sky Sports, I'm about to break my 7-year tradition and go back to my "as seen on TV & notepad" method (although I still give them the once-over with a scout). It's actually more fun, and less of a slog finding talent, and has also reignited my interest in watching matches I wouldn't normally watch - just like the old days.

So, how do you find players? Do you stick to scouts only, do you use the search list to filter down players, or do you see someone on TV, scribble their name on the back of a fag packet and buy them immediately?

[dafuge]

I tend to play long term games that become regens only, so I need to use my scouts to find my players. I tend to use the player search to identify groups of players then send my scouts out to have a look at them.

Occaisionally when in the lower leagues I'll sign a player that I know of from real life football, but it isn't often.

[MillwallLion08]

Bit of both. I'll always get a scout report on a player first, no matter what, but I usually only sign players I know from real life.

[Cougar2010]

The realistic way - Scouting.

Send scouts out to areas, add any they find onto my shortlist and work from there.

My shortlist tends to be large but I filter it as needed and can send scouts back to have another look at players.

[Mike7077]

I have my scouts constantly searching the globe, looking for talent. They rarely turn up much in the way of players who look impressive enough to buy, so I tend to find myself relying on the search function in the end.

[baker.simon]

I use my scouts for finding players around the globe. Closer to home I tend to use the search function. I still always scout them even if I have searched them.

[ANDEHLSON]

Depends on the save... In minor/lower leagues I use scouts but when Im managing a club like Porto I buy my favourite players. Wouldnt it be unrealistic if a manager didnt know who Dzeko is ?

[drmanley]

I now solely use scouts because I fund the search function provides an unrealistically high number of players if you play in the lower leagues. This ends up giving you a massive advantage over the AI when it comes to transfer dealings. Which, to be fair, you don't really need anyway.

I think the search filter is fine for larger clubs with more developed scouting networks but for teams with one part time scout to have knowledge of thousands of players (depending on game set up) seems a bit OTT.

I also use other in game methods to supplement my scouts; players I've played against, news stories, transfer rumours etc.

As the OP says it can be a bit of a slog and frustrating when your scouts keep coming back with rubbish and you know you could find better with the search function but then that's Football!

[crouchaldinho]

Drmanley sums it up for me.

[xdaemon]

I used to do both. But recently I stick to scouting only. Otherwise finding the players you need is just way too easy.

[dafuge]

The realistic way - Scouting.

How realistic is this though?

We all know that some managers like to go for players they know well, such as Harry Redknapp raiding his old club Pompey. I'd imagine that the most realistic method would be a mixture.

I'm interested to hear about how scouts work in real life, are they really just sent to a country and asked to report back on any players they find? This article gives a pretty good insight, but I'd like to hear more about scouts working in the lower leagues. I'm sure I've read that most lower league clubs don't even employ their own scouts.

[Suzie MUFC]

Now that I remember, Preston North End loaned David Beckham in 1995 purely because the manager saw him play on TV, I don't think he even scouted for him.

[dafuge]

I now solely use scouts because I fund the search function provides an unrealistically high number of players if you play in the lower leagues. This ends up giving you a massive advantage over the AI when it comes to transfer dealings. Which, to be fair, you don't really need anyway.

I'm not sure this is the case. I've always played by the rule 'if you can't scout/trial them, you can't sign them' but I've noticed similar clubs signing players who would be outside of my reach because of my policy.

I think the player search has been massively improved since it was linked to the club's scouting knowledge. In the old days of it just being a list of players in the game it was highly unrealistic for lower league clubs, I think it is a lot better now.

[AndyRich]

Both, usually just stick bids in for player i think i will get, and then scout the better players to see if they would like to come to my club

[dafuge]

Now that I remember, Preston North End loaned David Beckham in 1995 purely because the manager saw him play on TV, I don't think he even scouted for him.

Was it Milton Nunez that Peter Reid signed after seeing a video clip of him? I seem to remember he wasn't quite the player he thought he was

[Suzie MUFC]

Was it Milton Nunez that Peter Reid signed after seeing a video clip of him? I seem to remember he wasn't quite the player he thought he was

Don't really know, but that's definitely half the fun of buying someone due to first impressions on TV. You never know how they're actually going to turn out, you're being your own scout, in a semi-unrealistic way, of course.

[heathxxx]

I will usually get a scout to run the rule over a player I've found manually.

Manual searches are either via searches for specific attributes, or the long trawl through different countries, looking at squads and players, then adding those I like the look of to a shortlist so I can scout them.

For example, I've always found the French lower and non-leagues to be a great source of talented amateur contract players, available on free transfers without compensation. At the start of some lower league saves, I might spend a good few hours just looking through the French CFA and non-league clubs.

Clearly not a LLM Forum approach, but horses for courses

Mostly, I like to use a combination of scout reports to get feedback on attributes or characteristics I can't see for myself, plus for "free" players, I find bringing them in for trials is a useful way to assess their suitability.

With big clubs however, I might be drawn to signing a player I already know about from real life, then check to see if they're suitable for whatever tactic I'm using at the time.

[vivu]

The realistic way - Scouting.

WHS. It's as realistic as the game allows. Also tend to raid my old club when I jump ship

[Cougar2010]

How realistic is this though?

We all know that some managers like to go for players they know well, such as Harry Redknapp raiding his old club Pompey. I'd imagine that the most realistic method would be a mixture.

You can say when you took over as manager you would have previous knowledge in RL that isn't replicated in FM but for me less is better than too much. Presuming you get a few months before a transfer window you can get a fair number of reports from the nation you are managing in and within a season I can have a scouting plan up and running covering the nations I'm allowed.

Trialist matches help as does the list of released players and I do raid former clubs to sign former players as I have "In game" knowledge of them. Occasionally I also target opposition players if they do well against me but this tends to be rare.

[ssestig]

Search then scout or get the assistant to recommend loanees.

[gunner86]

For big name players, I'll search, for backup players I'll generally see what's about on the transfer list, for youngsters I'll rely on my scouts more.

The further into the game I get the more regens will appear and the more reliant I'll be on scouts as they are not real players I won't know them.

[dafuge]

You can say when you took over as manager you would have previous knowledge in RL that isn't replicated in FM but for me less is better than too much.

That's fair enough. It is fair to say that the amount of scouting knowledge you automatically get assigned may be on the large side for the smaller clubs, but it is a vast improvement on previous versions where you would get total knowledge.

[heathxxx]

I should mention also, that I "strategically" look to sign scouts of different nationalities and "knowledge" in order to maximise search potential

[deltablue]

Extensive use of player search, going down on average a few pages (how far varies) looking through everyone and picking out players for my best scout to get a report on, which took 2-3 game weeks to get all done in 09 (I think they'e done at a quicker rate on 10). I like being thorough and making sure my scout earns his pay.

[SCIAG]

I use my scouts for finding players around the globe. Closer to home I tend to use the search function. I still always scout them even if I have searched them.

Pretty much this.

[Suzie MUFC]

Depends on the save... In minor/lower leagues I use scouts but when Im managing a club like Porto I buy my favourite players. Wouldnt it be unrealistic if a manager didnt know who Dzeko is ?

That's pretty much what I'm doing, really. Forgot to mention I'm playing a save as Liverpool on FM07. If I was someone like Eastbourne Borough, then I'd definitely be using only my scouts. It's really a case of going back to a carefree, fun method of finding players the way I used to with SWOS (SWOS has no scouts), and recently, even when managing a big club, I'd still only be using my scouts purely out of habit. Because of that, I more often than not ended up lagging behind the rest of the clubs in the Premier League when it came to be "up" on quality players.

[MorrisseyMuse]

I have mixed results with scouts, usually they give me good players but I find my personally favoured results comes from player searches.

I always start searching for 15's in the main areas for each position and then I send my best coach/scout (whoever has the highest JPA/JPP ratings) to scout the player(s) I find (if I don't find any, I reduce ratings) to give me a more detailed report on them. If I'm happy, I'll make a bid, usually around the area that the report suggests I'd be able to buy the player for.

If I like that player and remember him in a new game, I may do a quick search for him too.