Transfer Policy

What is your transfer policy in the game?

I see a lot of people take over a side and completely dismantle the first team squad, selling established players, even club legends, and re-build with the best young talents from across the globe, often in 1-2 transfer windows, in the same season. Me personally, thats not my style, and i'd prefer the transfer window to have realistic activity, with a squad built over time, not 20 signings before Feb 1st!

My personal transfer policy is to sign players that fit into the system I have decided to play for that side, with each player signed having to have the right attributes for the role/s he has been bought for. For example, with Del Piero ageing, I needed a playmaker forward with brilliant technical attributes, so I signed Cassano for a hefty fee, when he was 27yrs old and despite all the other great young strikers on the game, just because he fit exactly what I needed.

I make sure to have a good balance of experience and youth, with at least 2-3 wonderkids in the squad complemented by experienced internationals.

But one of the major things I try and keep is a strong domestic core of home grown players, or players that keep with a clubs history and identity. (e.g brazilians at sporting, argentinians at napoli/lazio)

I also try to never sign players I have signed in previous games, but I see people on the forums, signing and recommending the same names for all the top clubs, so the same players keep popping up in every team thread.

So how do you guys operate in the transfer market? I'd be interested to hear it? Do you assemble a team of global superstars, or galcticos? Do you build an awesome team of wonderkids with an average age less than 22 ?

I am playing as Accrington, I played my pre season friendlies and looked at players attributes and then decided who I thought didn't cut it and then went into looking for better players. I didn't really pay attention to the age balance of my squad as I was happy signing foreign veterans on the cheap to improve my squad. My current starting 11 contains 7 of the original players. And my usual subs bench has 4 originals and 1 loan signing.

I'm sitting in 6th place after 19 games and i'm confident this team can keep me in the top 10 but if I want to push for the title in the next season I am going to have to replace a lot of the original players.

I think i'm going about it right, what do you think?

I tend to roll with what the individual club needs, I'm not too fussed about getting in the best talent (although I do buy a few young prospects with the hope they'll become good) I buy what I can attract that suits the team first and foremost. I mean, I could have invested in a young talented striker for 1m or so, or bought an experienced striker for 300k for my stoke team in the first season. I went for the latter. Then, knowing I had to replace these veteran strikers I had Fuller 30, Kitson 29 and Darcheville 33 I bought 2 younger strikers with money I made last season.

So far at my stoke team I've made more from sales than I've spent, I have over 3 years replaced all the first team but thats because the original stoke team in place is more suited to counter attacks and direct play, and I didn't want to be making a formation for that, I wanted a good tempo of playing the ball around so it was needed.

I keep most of the original squad, buying youngsters in positions I need backup

First and foremost I try to buy players whose nationality is the same as the club I'm managing.

I agree that heaps of people on here seemingly create the same team wherever they go, and they often totally dismantle a team, selling all of the established stars.

The most important thing I guess is to simply buy what you need though. No good bringing in a Balotelli or Arshavin if your strikers and Attacking mids are the best in the world...

I am also very cheap, so I rarely spend over 20mil (FM08 currency). As such, I dont usually have the Agueros and Messis.

I kind of see where you are coming from.

Going into my third season all but 5 players of the original Leverkusen squad are gone, with another leaving in January and one seeing out his career on the bench getting the odd apperance as a sub or against weak opponents.

But it feels kind of weird if you see an amazing bargain and not acting on it.

Perhaps if you wouldn't get those ridicously high transfer fees for players, but which manager wouldn't act on an oppurtunity to sell a player for a hefty amount and then bring in a more talented replacement for 50% of the transfer fee?

It depends on the team I am playing.

For example I am playing as Arsenal right now. I have a tendency to buy a young GK and CBs for every team that I play for. As for other transfers I just strengthen the areas needed to strengthen after some players leave. I also have a very bad habit of picking players on a free, playing them a lot for a year and then selling them on for a huge profit. This year though I have picked up a new fad. I have send scouts all over the world to find any good youth and buy them up if they are cheaper than 3-4M. If you want to see my transfers you can go and have a look in the Arsenal Team thread. However I have my principles. I will never sell Fabregas, Toure, Van Persie and Adebayor unless they want to leave, become too old to play or want to change clubs themselves.

Now I have started a Napoli game too and devoted an enormous time to scout for loans and bargain buys. Why? Because:

1. The wage budget is a bit less than the current wage so I need to first dispose some players off. If I leave the transfer budget unchanged I can shift a bit of that to the wage budget.

2. The transfer budget itself is not too good.

Of course I could sell off Hamsik but I prefer not to do that myself unless it is of a crazy offer like 55-60M.

I always play with Juve first...

What I usually do is... In my first save I try to sign known youngsters who will become class and see how they develop... I try to do it over 3-6 seasons... I do this so whenever I start another save I will know what players are good for what positions if needed... besides I like developing youngsters in world class players.

Then on my second save I play with the team without changing much and strengthen only where needed...

That's usually the approach I use...

I have only played as Sunderland properly so far as I support them. I am in the 5th season and theres only Craig Gordon left in the starting 11 from the original team. I have broke even in th etransfer market and so far have spent £17 million on a regen who can play both fulback positions and he is the most expensive signing so far. In the 2nd season I had to rebuild the entire squad as the 1st season went poorly. I just buy players that fit the tactic and try to vary who I buy from game to game.

During the second season I also hired 4 decent scouts and then sent them out to look for players that were under 18 years old. I then signed 5 players by doing this as they had the highest stars of potential. One has established himself as a first team regular and £17 million regen fullback just won young player of the year and the others are out on loan and improving nicely. Also it helps with european competition as you can get home grown players.

I also look like everyone does for the odd bargain on the transfer list. Bosingwa for £1.3 million, Bendtner for £5 million, Nasri for £6.25 million but he wont sign for my team.

I don't sign too many players. Obviously when I was promoted to the Premier League I signed quite a few. But the season after I haven't signed anyone for a fee yet.

I don't like having too big a squad because it hampers youth development and just generally annoys me.

Unlike in past versions I tend not to spend all my transfer budget straight away. Instead waiting for the right player to become available rather than spend all my budget before the season starts.

I play as Man U and use a systematic policy of buying anyone 20 or younger who my scouts say will be a 5* player (sometimes I buy 4* if I think their stats look really good and my scouts are wrong). Then I just sell older players when I get good bids or they get too old and bring in the wonderkids.

The first team doesn't change too quickly but you build up a huge reservoir of excellent players in your reserve / under 18 teams and it isn't too expensive. By the 4th season it is working brilliantly. I'm in season 4 now and I think I've bought in one person over the age of 21 and that was Thierry Henry on a free.....

As celtic i tried only to buy british and irish players which worked well at first but into my third season teams started buying a lot of my british talent and i couldnt find any good replacements so iv had to sign a few foreigners.

idk. if im a team like liverpool, due to stupid man city + spurs, im always temped to sell anyone who is only decent (kuyt 20M/pennant 15M/aurellio 13M/benayoun 12M/agger 18M/keane 5M+15Mafter loan etc.) then buy in pandev/balotelli etc. does get boring though.

What is your transfer policy in the game?

I see a lot of people take over a side and completely dismantle the first team squad, selling established players, even club legends, and re-build with the best young talents from across the globe, often in 1-2 transfer windows, in the same season. Me personally, thats not my style, and i'd prefer the transfer window to have realistic activity, with a squad built over time, not 20 signings before Feb 1st!

My personal transfer policy is to sign players that fit into the system I have decided to play for that side, with each player signed having to have the right attributes for the role/s he has been bought for. For example, with Del Piero ageing, I needed a playmaker forward with brilliant technical attributes, so I signed Cassano for a hefty fee, when he was 27yrs old and despite all the other great young strikers on the game, just because he fit exactly what I needed.

I make sure to have a good balance of experience and youth, with at least 2-3 wonderkids in the squad complemented by experienced internationals.

But one of the major things I try and keep is a strong domestic core of home grown players, or players that keep with a clubs history and identity. (e.g brazilians at sporting, argentinians at napoli/lazio)

I also try to never sign players I have signed in previous games, but I see people on the forums, signing and recommending the same names for all the top clubs, so the same players keep popping up in every team thread.

So how do you guys operate in the transfer market? I'd be interested to hear it? Do you assemble a team of global superstars, or galcticos? Do you build an awesome team of wonderkids with an average age less than 22 ?

I'm just the same as you

Well for me my transfer policy is simple and long term. I build my team around my young stars (Benzema for example) and bring in either established players who will fit into my style of play or young talents who will eventually develop and fit into my style. I think it’s important to have a core squad who are use to the league and culture you play in. I don’t bring in many experienced old veterans as I don’t see the point. I like to mould and shape my team. I often bring in 3/4/5 players during the early years of my reign but once I have my framework settled and a team established I often only bring in youngsters for the long term after that.

@ santy...yea i think its important to sign players that only suit a formation, but a style of play. No point signing brilliant wingers with great crossing, if you want to play with two small, pacy guys up front. And when you get the right blend of players that complement each others style, such as a CM with 'killer balls often', playing through balls to a pacy striker that 'moves into channels' and beats the offside trap, it results in some great football, thats what makes the game enjoyable for me.

@MichiD...yea it must be tempting when all those scout reports come back with players with amazing potential. but i think its really important to keep a core of the team throughout, because isn't that why you took over in the first place? I saw in the bayern thread, some people took over, and instantly sold, Demechelis, Lucio, Ze Roberto, Van Bommel, Close, Toni, etc etc...i just find that too crazy, whats the point of taking over a club and selling the whole team, you might as well take over a team which has some of the players that you want to buy!lol And also that style of play is totally unrealistic, and the game is about realism right ? To me thats as bad as taking over Ajax, flooding it with foreign stars and playing 4-4-2!

@soli...yes i have started a Napoli game too, and i think its going to be my most fun challenge yet. This is because not since CM 01/02 have i played a 3-5-2 formation with a sweeper and wingbacks. Im also looking to keep the team mostly italian/argentinian, and build the teams style of play around Hamsik, Maggio and Lavezzi. Its true i could easily sell Hamsik and have a massive transfer budget, but then, there would be no fun playing as Napoli.

@Matt...yes big squads really annoy me. I like to keep a squad of first team players to 20-22 max., with the rest as young players out on loan and in the under 20's. I don't see the point in having two established superstars in every poisiton, it would mean you have to rotate every game to satisfy all the players. I prefer re-training players to cover positions.

@hopey...yes i build my team around young stars who are at the club too, because after a few seasons they will be the club legends almost, and the longest serving players. But i like signing established players as well as youth, with age not a factor to me if they are good enough at the top level.

@brian...yea it must be tough to build a mostly british squad, especially as all the english players will get poached when their reputations go up. In 08 i built an almost completely french side at PSG, and so far in 09 iv built a very italian Juve side, but it helps that at both clubs there were quite a few home grown young stars already at the club.

I buy 2-3 players for my senior team every year maximum, while I purchase around 4 youngsters every year. I believe having a short-medium range squad in FM is MUCH better than having a large team.

i generally try to get rid of a few established players per season, for example in my juve save i got rid of trez and camoranesi in the first season and brought in a few young players who could play bit parts.

generally as i move on i like to go for the Arsene Wenger approach and sell all players past a certain age, and bring 17-18 year olds into the first team.

And what has Wenger won since going youth only? I'm a big Wenger fan, but i believe you defnitely need established players (age 26-31) in the squad, it makes a big difference, and its useful for tutoring youngsters.

Me personally, I could never have sold Trez and Camoranesi, they are both club legends, having been at the club for a long time, and have great attributes.

My policy is to only replace deadwood in the first season. I certainly like to replace them with youth who I think can do a job at that particular point in time. In later seasons I normally replace or look to replace players when they are around 30 years of age, regardless of how well they still perform or how key a member of the team they are. I don't know what it is but when they hit the big 3-0 for me it's time to ship them out! maybe OCD or something.

My policy is to only replace deadwood in the first season. I certainly like to replace them with youth who I think can do a job at that particular point in time. In later seasons I normally replace or look to replace players when they are around 30 years of age, regardless of how well they still perform or how key a member of the team they are. I don't know what it is but when they hit the big 3-0 for me it's time to ship them out! maybe OCD or something.

Yes i agree wholeheartedly with replacing deadwood in the squad, and quickly at that. But selling any players around 30? Hmm there's so many great players on the game, who are around 30 and older, and still perform really well. I managed Juventus where Del Piero got 36 goals in the first season at 34! At Napoli i signed Martin Palermo for £2m at 34yrs old, and so far he has banged in 9 goals in 11 games, 5 in 7 in the league.

My policy is each season to sell the players that are over 21 and not 6 or 7star rated with their current ability. They usually fetch me about 50mil worth of revenue to buy about 20 young guns that is under 18 with 6 or 7 star potentials. This strategy usually makes the club you are managing into the richest club in the world in about 5 seasons if you have a large enough stadium even if you are one of the poorest clubs to start with at the beginning. My average squad age has been consistently 19 or 18 each season and on average about 7 or 8 players in the squad have description of wonderkid.

My transfer policy?

I buy who I think will improve my team, simple as.

i always manage lazio and sunderland.

the both teams takes different approach

sunderland sucks and they have no good youth players at all. been so always in cm/fm. needs alot of work and signings of players that can improve the team and at same time grow as player.

with lazio i slowly improve my team. to bad they got bad economy and chairmen accepted offers on my fav players rocchi and ledesma.otherwise i had kept them.i am in year 4 now and i got still kolarov,pandev,carizzo,radu,de silvestri in my first team. lazio got low money and terrible attendances and high upkeep arena so they need to work on the economy alot more then sunderland. signing young players to sell off later,getting frenshise clubs,singing free transfers.

sunderland earns way more money a few more years in the game then lazio so they are easier to improve in the long run. lazio always have pretty unrealistic board expectations and high competitors in juve,milan,inter,roma,fiorentina wich all have loads of power.

i try to have like 22-24 players in my first team squad whereof 2 are goalkeepers and 5 strikers.rest is midfielders and defenders. i have 2 players that can play each position always.

thanks to fm2009 i got a few decent youth players in u-20 team wich i never had before in 12 years with cm/fm

It depends on the team i go. Ive just started as Darlington, so only a select few of the players are any good. Ive gone for trying to get very young players as they are cheaper, but most of the players ive bought havnt been english as they cost far too much. In time or when i have the money i will start to buy engish players. I always like managing a club and the national team at the same time and like to have most of the england team in my club squad.

I mainly just buy anybody who will genuinely improve the team. The policy I employ depends on my team. I am currently playing with Man City and promised a very good position and was given lots of money, so naturally with the team I had I bought in players capable of playing all positions. I guess in general, even with the lower teams, I want to win so if their is a player available who will improve my team then I will try and bring them on board...if the price is right of course.

I dont believe in paying first team players an appearance fee. Reserves and youth players yes. I lost a few decent players in my Arsenal save because of this (Adebayor, Van Persie, Gallas & Toure). When they left I replaced them with good youngsters. Made a few bob, maybe it's just me.

My policy is each season to sell the players that are over 21 and not 6 or 7star rated with their current ability. They usually fetch me about 50mil worth of revenue to buy about 20 young guns that is under 18 with 6 or 7 star potentials. This strategy usually makes the club you are managing into the richest club in the world in about 5 seasons if you have a large enough stadium even if you are one of the poorest clubs to start with at the beginning. My average squad age has been consistently 19 or 18 each season and on average about 7 or 8 players in the squad have description of wonderkid.

Wow, but that means you will always be playing with players who are not fully developed, and may not have the mental attributes to comepete fully at the top level. Sure you will have an outstanding team in the future, but you will have no-one to tutor them, and no experience in the squad for when you go on a winless streak. I think players, at least in their prime of 26-29 have to be in any squad regardless. A top level team, just consisting of wonderkids is crazy, not even Wenger has that lol.

But i guess buying them young means they have longer to gel together, and means a lot of them will get home grown status.

First and foremost I try to buy players whose nationality is the same as the club I'm managing.

I agree that heaps of people on here seemingly create the same team wherever they go, and they often totally dismantle a team, selling all of the established stars.

The most important thing I guess is to simply buy what you need though. No good bringing in a Balotelli or Arshavin if your strikers and Attacking mids are the best in the world...

I am also very cheap, so I rarely spend over 20mil (FM08 currency). As such, I dont usually have the Agueros and Messis.

Exactly, i think you're one of the few on here that does this. I see Baloteli, Veloso, Diarra etc in every major squad on here, and obv its their game, they can do what they want. But i just think the game would get boring very very quickly if you dont have a set transfer policy and management style for each club, with a tactical system and style you employ, and specific nationality and attributes of the players you sign.

I would say that without parameters like this any game with a top 4 club in any of the major leagues, would be a complete breeze if you just sign all the well known top stars and wonderkids. I won the league with Juventus in both of my first two seaons, but that was with making few changes to the first team squad, and keeping my signings almost completely italian. But i reckon anyone on here could achieve that same success, just sell the ageing players for hefty prices and replace them with world superstars and wonderkids.