I think i have caught the Arsene Wenger disease!

As Southampton I have needed to buy on the cheap and sell big. Trying to build for the future I spend all my money on youngsters and don't sign any players that are realistically ready for first team premierleague football. My team is finishing in the same position every season and progress isn't really being made as when my players get good they are sold. I keep on telling myself to keep them and to build a League winning squad but it isn't happening! I think i've become an obsessive compulsive youth tem manager.

Is anyone else like this? and have you achieved success?

One thing i do know is it is hard to make money in this version. Im always wealthy at the start (league1 - bristol rovers) then skint at the end of the season. Got up to the champ, and the same thing happened, didn't spend any money, and was 9k per week under my wage budget too.

Once i got to the prem I started making money each month although i'm flooded with stupidly low bids for my best players which I was obviously never going to accept. But I suppose the £30 Mil you are given at the start of each season prevents me going into debt.

I'm the same as the OP on this, I can take pretty much any club almost to the top eventually. I just never get there because once you get to a certain level you can buy pretty much any youth player out there and I do that instead of buying good players to help me win!

The funny thing is, I very rarely get many seasons in, I buy loads of young players but almost never play FM enough to see them develop! Its mad!

Haha Neb I was like you in 08 but I plan to take this game through to the bitter end! and I'll try my hardest not to get cold feet and move on to another club!

I love it, scouting for youngsters, bringing them up through the ranks, it's one of my favourite elements of the game.

I tend to double up on each position, which means you can't concentrate all your efforts on one player, but it does mean that as they get older it gives you more options, and of course, you can sell some and keep some!

I agree with Mooks, although sometimes I feel as if I have too many promising youngsters and can't possibly nurture them all to success. I mean they can't all play first team football all the time.

You should try being luton, spending your day arranging 3 month loan deals.

The problem I often find is that I buy too many young players, "ooh, he looks good!" buy him , then realise I've already got 3 lift wingers that are damn good for the age already.... generally they go to waste as the playing time to make one of them good, is spread across them all...!

You should try being luton, spending your day arranging 3 month loan deals.

I have and tbh it's not that fun! I prefer having at least some money to work with!

yea i always do this too, ironically i'm arsenal as well.

I think i have caught the Arsene Wenger disease!

That sound's uncomfortable, does recovery involve a cushion and lotion?

That sound's uncomfortable, does recovery involve a cushion and lotion?

Leave my cushion and lotion out of this!

The problem I often find is that I buy too many young players, "ooh, he looks good!" buy him , then realise I've already got 3 lift wingers that are damn good for the age already.... generally they go to waste as the playing time to make one of them good, is spread across them all...!

that's what i do / meant. spot on neb

As Southampton I have needed to buy on the cheap and sell big. Trying to build for the future I spend all my money on youngsters and don't sign any players that are realistically ready for first team premierleague football. My team is finishing in the same position every season and progress isn't really being made as when my players get good they are sold. I keep on telling myself to keep them and to build a League winning squad but it isn't happening! I think i've become an obsessive compulsive youth tem manager.

Is anyone else like this? and have you achieved success?

Hi Charlie,

I'm also playing with Southampton, and loving it! I made a profit on transfers in the first season by selling Rudi Skacel for £2 million (you have Surman for the left of midfield already, and I took Insua on loan at left back), Wright-Phillips for something like £400,000 and shifting a few oldies out on free transfers. You can pick up some great youngsters on the cheap, I can't mention them here because we're not in the Good Players Guide forum but my two were a 17-year-old Brazilian playing in Italy, who cost me £30,000, and a young Finnish winger who cost me £95,000.

Southampton have lots of youngsters already who look good, so hold onto them. I especially like the look of Lallana, Schneiderlin, James, Lancashire, Hatch and Paterson (though only the first two are first choice for me).

Where have you been coming in the league?

EDIT: I just realised this wasn't really what your question was asking... Never mind!

Haha oh well! yeah I'm at the beginning of the 4th season and am still in the prem although only by the skin of my teeth! If you haven't already, instead of investing in great players, I invested in coaches and scouts to try and maximise youth and senior player development and went from there. Obviously I'm not allowed to mention names but if you want any tips etc. for the future then just PM me/ we can carry on this discussion with naming names lol.

In my last meaningful game i did this with Palermo. I invested heavily in scouting and got some great prospects.

Sadly for me, as my team was maturing and i was doing consistenly well in Serie A my save game file corrupted. I can't describe how devistated i was. If you give it 9 - 10 season of doing this, the end results are so satisfying (as long as you can keep hold of the players).

Yeah... Unfortunately I have already been forced into selling one superb prospect who was a wonderkid! But hopefully I will be able to keep hold of more than I lose. And I will make sure I back up my save games!

Simple answer is no. I used to be like that but realised you have to be ruthless, and only have 3 players for each position, 1 in each age group. 1 for first team (22 or order), 1 for reserves (18-22) and 1 for u18s. If you buy a player who you think is better for his age group in a position you already have, you sell the others. No point destroying a players career by trying to force too many players into one position. Better to sell them on, with sell on and buy back clauses if possible.

Of course there's a little bit more to it than that as I also review the squad each transfer window, and promote/sell/buy according to how my players are appearing to develop, what offers have come in, and the age differences between the 3 players in each group. All in all, I've got a well thought out strategy for keeping the squad organised and successful while at the same time picking up young wonderkids, encouraging promotion from the youth squads and making a profit on older players, and doing it without affecting your results on the pitch, but it might take a few paragraphs to explain here

It's easier to do this with teams like Arsenal, because their squads are in better shape initially, but even the lowest of the low clubs I've managed to implement this structure successfully given a season or two to get up and running (you don't want to destroy your entire squad too quickly!)