Official Blog Feedback - transfers and contracts

[Miles Jacobson]

This is thread to discuss today's blog on transfers and contracts, which you can find at http://community.sigames.com/showthr...28#post7077828

[Foxo]

Sounds really promising with the contract locks. I have one question about them I hope you can answer. Currently on FM11, some agents with 19 or 20 as their "Fee" Attribute, when dealing with a large club (I'm Lyon in 2049) won't budge their fee requests. I've got one requesting an agent fee of £22m, and can only afford £6.75m. So say I was to lock it immediately on the first offer at £6.75m, would he immediately reject as it is nowhere near his demands with his 19 Fee attribute? Or has the agent fee negotiation been made a little more flexible?

[Kanukki]

There was a discussion about 'loyalty bonuses' in another thread, in light of the Cesc and Meireles transfers. I'm interested if loyalty bonuses in the game continue to be paid out even after a player is transferred, unless the player has submitted a transfer request?

[Miles Jacobson]

Sounds really promising with the contract locks. I have one question about them I hope you can answer. Currently on FM11, some agents with 19 or 20 as their "Fee" Attribute, when dealing with a large club (I'm Lyon in 2049) won't budge their fee requests. I've got one requesting an agent fee of £22m, and can only afford £6.75m. So say I was to lock it immediately on the first offer at £6.75m, would he immediately reject as it is nowhere near his demands with his 19 Fee attribute? Or has the agent fee negotiation been made a little more flexible?

He might walk away, he might ask for other things instead, but at least he'll know where he stands.

There was a discussion about 'loyalty bonuses' in another thread, in light of the Cesc and Meireles transfers. I'm interested if loyalty bonuses in the game continue to be paid out even after a player is transferred, unless the player has submitted a transfer request?

You have to pay up the rest of the loyalty bonus when the transfer goes through.

[The Welsh Lad]

Cool really looking forawrd to the contract locks, specially when you go for a player who is on £5K for the club he is with but asks for £50K from you.

[Wiltshire_Bee]

really like the non-contract offer, as sometimes this is a way to get a longer look at a player rather than via a trial and hopefully get more commitment from the player.

not seen a new feature I don't like yet.

looking forward to seeing further new features.

[erik86]

A lot of good improvements so far mentioned. Can't wait to see what else is in store.

[Foxo]

Does loyalty bonus mean it has to be paid every season or am I understanding it wrong? So if I offer £5m, I then have to pay the player 5m a season to stay!? And if he then leaves two years before contract end, I have to pay 10m to him?!

[pigfacemonkeyman]

You have to pay up the rest of the loyalty bonus when the transfer goes through.

Then it has a strange name.

Is that regardless of the reason for the transfer?

[The Welsh Lad]

Does loyalty bonus mean it has to be paid every season or am I understanding it wrong? So if I offer £5m, I then have to pay the player 5m a season to stay!? And if he then leaves two years before contract end, I have to pay 10m to him?!

I think its spread over the length of the contract. so, if you offer £5M on a 5 year contract you pay £1M per year if he leaves in year 3 you will have to give him the remainding £2M has he leaves

[Foxo]

I think its spread over the length of the contract. so, if you offer £5M on a 5 year contract you pay £1M per year if he leaves in year 3 you will have to give him the remainding £2M has he leaves

Oh. Well that seems a little more reasonable I suppose. I'm just thinking of trying to sign anyone decent, or if you start at a decent club, you're going to be spending fortunes on loyalty fees

[BenSwansea]

Then it has a strange name.

Is that regardless of the reason for the transfer?

I would imagine if they request a transfer, it doesnt get paid! Although if you are at a smaller club and a play comes and says "I want to leave" will there be a option to say "Ok, but if you want to do that you will need to put in a transfer request and forfit the loyalty bonus" like Liverpool did with the Meirles transfer!

[Themer]

you're going to be spending fortunes on loyalty fees

You'll spend the same amount as you would through signing on fees only now the cost is over the duration of the contract rather than up front.

What I'd like to know is if a player requests a transfer is the remaining fee waived on sale?

[BenSwansea]

Oh. Well that seems a little more reasonable I suppose. I'm just thinking of trying to sign anyone decent, or if you start at a decent club, you're going to be spending fortunes on loyalty fees

Would imagine you only pay it if they are sold "against their wishes" but if they ask to go or a team bids for them without you offering them out you dont have to pay ?

[Foxo]

yeah, but what if you join a club which has lots of players on huge loyalty fees? And if you sell them you have to pay them off. It's going to destroy journeyman games a bit isn't it?

[Themer]

yeah, but what if you join a club which has lots of players on huge loyalty fees? And if you sell them you have to pay them off. It's going to destroy journeyman games a bit isn't it?

Yes you'd have to pay them off, however the club won't have already paid all of the said fee when they signed him so it doesn't make a difference in terms of the financial side of things. In reality you'll come to the club with it having a bit more money than it would in comparison to FM 11.

[Eugene Tyson]

Is there an option to pay off the loyalty bonus?

Or perhaps you could get them to sign a new contract without a loyalty bonus? That would get rid of the added expenses.

[Huney Munster]

Are loyalty fees paid weekly, monthly or yearly and is payment period negotiable?

[Eugene Tyson]

Is there an option to pay off the loyalty bonus?

Or perhaps you could get them to sign a new contract without a loyalty bonus? That would get rid of the added expenses.

I had this basically when I took over a club, some players were set to "Match Highest Earner" and I signed a guy on 150k a week and guys that were on 20k a week suddenly earning 150k. GAH

So I renegotiated their contracts to something a bit more reasonable without match highest earner. They still got a nice pay rise out of it though.

[Foxo]

Yes you'd have to pay them off, however the club won't have already paid all of the said fee when they signed him so it doesn't make a difference.

:/ It would make a difference on mine because the AI transfer dealings are poor, so I join somewhere and all the players are 33+ and on massive wages, so I can't sell for anything other than free, so Ii'd just be losing money hand over fist if I then tried to sell them on. If they improve AI transfer intelligence then that would partly counteract the impact this could have.

[pigfacemonkeyman]

There was a discussion about 'loyalty bonuses' in another thread, in light of the Cesc and Meireles transfers. I'm interested if loyalty bonuses in the game continue to be paid out even after a player is transferred, unless the player has submitted a transfer request?

Then it has a strange name.

Is that regardless of the reason for the transfer?

I would imagine if they request a transfer, it doesnt get paid! Although if you are at a smaller club and a play comes and says "I want to leave" will there be a option to say "Ok, but if you want to do that you will need to put in a transfer request and forfit the loyalty bonus" like Liverpool did with the Meirles transfer!

You'll spend the same amount as you would through signing on fees only now the cost is over the duration of the contract rather than up front.

What I'd like to know is if a player requests a transfer is the remaining fee waived on sale?

Would imagine you only pay it if they are sold "against their wishes" but if they ask to go or a team bids for them without you offering them out you dont have to pay ?

Any clarification on this?

You have to pay up the rest of the loyalty bonus when the transfer goes through.

This didn't really answer the question from Kanukki.

SI?

[The Welsh Lad]

This didn't really answer the question from Kanukki.

He Miles has said has answered his question. When a player is transfered out the remaining 'loyalty bonus' that is owed is paid up. So it will not be paid after the player leaves.

[pauly1616]

Any improvement on AI intelligence/Transfers? In my current game Fergie has signed Kalou and he's survived 4 managers to line up in left midfield every time we play them. Needless to say they are no longer a challenge.

[Moonshine]

You have to pay up the rest of the loyalty bonus when the transfer goes through.

Will there be the option to demand a transfer request then? Similar to the Mereiles deal? Otherwise very good update.

Further, if there is that option, will there be a way of telling the player that you'll only get rid if someone gives a very good deal? There's no way of doing this at the moment, its very black and white regarding players wanting out: either yes, I'll get rid ASAP, or no, I want to keep you (with subtle variations). With the implementation of loyalty bonusses will there be 'Yes, but only if you submit a transfer request, or yes, but only if you submit a transfer request and there is a massive offer for you (e.g. Fabregas, or Sneijder in the negative)

[Kanukki]

He Miles has said has answered his question. When a player is transfered out the remaining 'loyalty bonus' that is owed is paid up. So it will not be paid after the player leaves.

Thanks to Miles for the reply. I think the outstanding question, as others have mentioned also, is whether this payout at the time of transfer still is paid in cases where the player himself requests the transfer. My understanding of 'loyalty bonus' (also implicit from the name) is that the player foregoes any potential future loyalty bonuses if he submits a written transfer request.

[The Welsh Lad]

Hopefully they have written it into the game because I agree that them requesting to leave is not loyalty. I don't think they have though, But I could be wrong hopefully somone from SI will answer

[Wanson]

The changes to the player contracts and negotiations look good. I was hoping that the method by which you offer players contracts might be looked at. As it is in the game now, at the end of the season you get a news report telling you which players only have a year left on their contracts. If you have a big squad this can be a big list! And even though you have selected to get your assistant handle contract negotiations there are still a lot of big players on contracts with only a year left.

It would be great if on this screen you could select the players you want to keep around and instruct your assistant to hammer out a new deal with them. If there are players on the list that are unhappy and don't want to sign, your assistant would inform you. I think that this would save so much time and would be better than going through every player and negotiating with them. Obviously, if you want to do the negotiations yourself that would always be an option.

Another point about contracts I was hoping would be improved is staff contracts. I spend a lot of time looking for staff that have a 4 star or higher rating for every aspect of training. Every season I lose at least one of these to another club. The problem is how quickly it happens. The other club offer him a contract and the next day he is gone. If you miss the news item, its tough luck, your coach is gone. At the very least the coach should come to you and tell you that he has been approached by another club and give me a chance to match the offer. If he still wants to go then fine - but I want at least a month's notice to get a replacement!! When you quit a job IRL you have to give your employer notice - should be the same here.

[pigfacemonkeyman]

He Miles has said has answered his question. When a player is transfered out the remaining 'loyalty bonus' that is owed is paid up. So it will not be paid after the player leaves.

Yes, he did answer the question posed, apologies to Mr Miles.

If you would be so kind Miles, any chance of a response to post #9, and similar questions in several other posts?

[username1]

I'm really impressed with all the things revealed so far

[dirtyscarab]

I absolutely adore the contract lock system. Many, many, many a time I've tried to sign a player who wants just 1k a week more than I'm allowed to offer. This in itself is worth buying the new game for! Can't wait to see what else is in store.

[7Bestie7]

I love the locking system and the getting rid of the agent's fee. Right now I make sure I don't pay an agent more than the player gets in a signing on fee (and both are negotiated down as much as possible) so these two additions are well appreciated. If you tried to make a player's contract more incentive based with the old system, they would love the boost in bonus payments and still want more wages. Greedy buggers.

[2Pacalypse]

What about loan offers? Can we finally negociate percentages instead of having to give what they ask for or give up on the player?

[markyosullivan]

Something I'd love to see.

Every now and then, when managing a Lower League team, sometimes teams would put in an offer for one of my up and coming young players, I'd love to see the option as a transfer bonus that my young player could be loaned back to me for the rest of the season or maybe even the next season as well, when he signs for the other team.

[cerud]

Quick question...in North America, agents are not paid by the team; they receive a percentage of their client's wages...usually 10-15% depending whether its Canada or the US and if the agent is also acting as a manager as well. I'm not sure how other nations require agents to act, but taking direct payments from teams is considered disturbing practice, almost akin to bribes. Question is...will I still, as a team manager, be required to pay agents during contract negotiations in the MLS? Or will tghe agent just fight for the best possible deal for their client, knowing that they will be receiving a percentage of it?

[TJJESSE]

Sounds good but I'm still vastly disspointed in the fact that coaches in the international teams just coach for free and have no contract from the national squad whatsoever. This really dissapoints me

[munich 1860]

I don't know if you can already do it in the game, but one option I've always wanted is to buy multiple players from a team in the same negotiation, so I could for example offer 2 of my players to buy 2 from another team

[Tez01979]

miles said

"As mentioned in the blog that included the news merge, I wrote about the revamp of the transfer centre"

Which blog was this? i don't see anything about news merge or the transfer centre.

[pauly1616]

All bells and whistles. What about the important stuff? Will AI managers be smarter? Will transfers be more realistic?

[themadsheep2001]

some good stuff here, interesting to see how it plays out. Looking forward to the demo to see whats really changed under the hood

[rancer890]

Quick question...in North America, agents are not paid by the team; they receive a percentage of their client's wages...usually 10-15% depending whether its Canada or the US and if the agent is also acting as a manager as well. I'm not sure how other nations require agents to act, but taking direct payments from teams is considered disturbing practice, almost akin to bribes. Question is...will I still, as a team manager, be required to pay agents during contract negotiations in the MLS? Or will tghe agent just fight for the best possible deal for their client, knowing that they will be receiving a percentage of it?

Yes this is important. Signing bonuses are fine but paying agents are certainly a no-no over here.

[Kanukki]

miles said
"As mentioned in the blog that included the news merge, I wrote about the revamp of the transfer centre"
Which blog was this? i don't see anything about news merge or the transfer centre.

Don't remember this either. As Miles wrote all the blogs in advance, he may have mixed up which blogs have already been posted.

[Barside]

Something that I would like to see added is a little more intelligence from the board regarding contract negotiations for existing players, in my current FM11 game I am in charge of a Cardiff side who could do with lowering their wage budget which we currently exceed, a number of key players are willing to take pay cuts however I cannot offer them the reduced salary because the board has decided that the most I can pay a player is £350. Being unable to get a £1500 pw reduction per player is shall we say, frustrating.

[Simply... Awesome!]

Very very nice indeed.

I do have a couple of questions though:

1. Can you assure us that clubs - especially big ones like Man City - would make more intelligent transfers, within reason of course?

2. Is there anything we can do to get players to leave agents or tell the media that "contracts broke down due to excessive demands of agent"

[Man United159]

Very very nice indeed.

I do have a couple of questions though:

1. Can you assure us that clubs - especially big ones like Man City - would make more intelligent transfers, within reason of course?

2. Is there anything we can do to get players to leave agents or tell the media that "contracts broke down due to excessive demands of agent"

Agree with this, these are needed

[Sam_BFC]

All good additions, but man it is really about time SI incorporated the option of having what are known as 'option' clauses on contracts.

This is where you might sign a player on say a one or two year deal with the agreement that the your club have the option of activating say a further year at the end of the initial contract period. Players that for example have a poor injury record or haven't proved their ability at the level of the relevant club will obviously be more inclined to agree to such deals, and will have an incentive to play well so that the club want to keep them.

There are countless examples of this in the real world of football. For instance Blackpool had such an option with Charlie Adam which enabled them to sell him rather than lose him for nothing as his contract had technically expired at the end of last season:
http://www.blackpoolfc.co.uk/page/Ne...742839,00.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/13550608.stm

[Reventon]

Will it be possible to buy a player and loan him back to the selling club directly through a transfer clause? E.g. in order to make the club more willing to sell the player or for player to get a working permit before joining your club?

[Eugene Tyson]

You know that you can set the transfer date to the end of the season? This would effectively be the same thing.

Although it would be nice to have that option as an actual clause.

[ladbroke]

What would be nice is to be able to offer contracts to players for say 5 months. A few teams, especially in the lower leagues, buy/recruit players in the summer on these types of deals until January for a few reasons such as the player might be a marquee signing and be on a fair chunk, and if the team/player are doing poorly, its easier to release in January with no financial implications, or the player has suffered serious injuries and the club wants to see the player is over it and sign him. Trials is not the answer as you can have for maximum of 4 weeks in non competitive matches, whereas short term contracts you can.

Or is this all covered in non contract terms?

[NicKC13573]

Are big players more likely to accept non-contract terms for a lower league team? also, can a player be on non-contract to more than one club?

[coopie54]

Will it be possible to buy a player and loan him back to the selling club directly through a transfer clause? E.g. in order to make the club more willing to sell the player or for player to get a working permit before joining your club?

Do we have an answer to this yet?

[looknohands]

Yes this is important. Signing bonuses are fine but paying agents are certainly a no-no over here.

We did alert SI to this fact last year, so it'll be interesting to see if a special rule is put in for MLS sides this year to address this (as if they didn't have to bend over backwards to include the league's rules as it is!)

[Puutarou]

I cant agree more about the staff contract. Good coaches were too too easy to be lured away in FM11. When it comes to FM12, it happens much quicker. Frustrating. Dont understand why the game had to be design in that way.