Dynamics Related to Transfer Bids

[duesouth]

This kind of scenario tends to happen a fair amount:

Derisory bid from the AI for one of your most important players comes in.  I reject it without much thought as I'd want 2 or 3 times that amount to even consider it!

Now the squad is unhappy because I've rejected said bid.

Another bid comes in - might be a little higher - and I reluctantly decide to keep the squad happy, I'll accept the bid this time and off he goes.  Gutted to sell, but I want a happy squad.

BUT - wait - now the squad is unhappy because I've sold an important player!  You can't win!

What I would like to suggest is that squads don't become unhappy because of derisory bids.  If they are unhappy a bid was refused, they should be happy if I accept a second bid.

If I try to buy a player from the AI with the low level of bids they give me I get refused and have to pay often massively over market value - some consistency here between player and AI, please.

Further suggestion - perhaps squads could have more of a defined personality.  Compare say Southampton and Man City:

Southampton receive a bid of £100 million for James Ward-Prowse from Real Madrid.  I reject it.  Now, in that instance, I would expect many of the squad to be unhappy as they would see it could be them next refused a dream move.  Would the squad be unhappy if I accepted the bid and Ward-Prowse went to Real Madrid?  No - because they would see it's a dream move and they would understand the business of football for a club like Southampton, be happy for the lad and think it could be them if they kept playing well.

Now, Man City get a market value bid for Kevin De Bruyne from Chelsea and as with JWP, I reject it.  Now, here, would I expect the squad to be unhappy I didn't sell?  No, I would expect and believe they would see why sell one of our best players to a competitor when we are trying to win a CL?  However, if I did decide to take the money - I could understand the squad being unhappy.

So, perhaps the squad could have a general viewpoint of what they are - which we as managers could see as with the club vision.  So, the Southampton lads would be saying "we feel we can avoid relegation and perhaps even push for a top half finish - but do expect above market value bids from bigger clubs to be accepted for any of the squad".  Man City would be saying "we want to win the CL and expect the manager to keep our best players and continue to bring in top, new talent.  As such, we understand anything other than massive bids from rival clubs would be rejected".

As a manager, I am prepared to deal with the squad being happy if I know the parameters - but at the moment it feels rather random a lot of the time and doesn't make sense.  I see this as a way for the game to have something in place so it can be programmed what we get as managers in-game.

I also think the modern player is far more aware of "football is a business" and is able to separate the two - and many of the unhappy squad situations in-game feel off as well as being a little annoying for us as managers/players of the game in the scenario at the start of the (probably too long - sorry!) post.

[Abdullah Patel]

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