How do you organise your shortlists?

[ollie_davis]

Hope this is the right place for this thread!

Whilst I play FM Touch on iPad now, I’m looking for inspiration and intrigued how people manage their shortlists on the full version of the game too.

Admittedly, I’ve not really managed my shortlists well in the past. Sometimes I import a Wonderkids shortlist and then just have one massive shortlist for everyone else.

I want to do things differently this time round though and actually use shortlists properly,

Do you have separate shortlists by position or price? Or just use the filters in one shortlist? 

I know already I’m going to have a shortlist for Youth Intake but looking for tips on how you manage this and any other shortlists, and benefits in doing so.

Thanks!

[DarJ]

I don't like having multiple shortlist because the game does a good job at letting you filter everything so I don't see the point of having for example a shortlist for every position since you can just use a filter. Because of that I keep just the one where I add any player I might be interested in and the during transfer windows I have a shortlist I call "buy now" where I put players that I'm actively trying to sign for 3 months (these players will still be in the standard shortlist). At the end of every season I go to the shortlist and look at the players and decide if I'm still interested in them or not so for example there might be players I was looking to sign at the end of their contracts who have signed a new 3 years deal with their club so I will remove them, or maybe a player has transferred to a bigger team or maybe they are no longer as good as I thought they were and these will all be removed. If you are managing a big team you might not have that many players to remove each season but if you are taking a team from the bottom leagues then it's even more important that you do that because as you go up the leagues most of the players you initially found won't be as good anymore 

 

[Mars_Blackmon]

I use my shortlist to indirectly influence scouting. I don’t manual scout as I try to give as much control to the AI as possible to negate any advantage since the game doesn’t offer any challenge (sad) 

I don’t trigger any scouting assignments for any interested player. I add them to the shortlist and have keep reports updated selected. I name this shortlist “Potential transfers”. I also have a shortlist called “Watchlist” where I don’t keep reports updated. These players don’t meet specific requirements like not being interested in a transfer to my team, doesn't fill a positional need, etc but grade high on the scout recommendation.

Also, once players don’t meet a required grade, i remove them from the shortlist to stop it from getting bloated 

Nothing really fancy.

benefit of using shortlist is that you get to track their form on a game by game basis.

Edited November 12, 2023 by Mars_Blackmon

[ElJuanvito]

I don't.

[Brian]

I have 3 shortlist atm, managing in the Swedish second division.

1. Default. All the out of contract players that went on Trial and have a chance of joining the first time at some point are on there. 

2. Loans. Potential loan players that are good enough are in this list.

3. Good. Players that are really good and most of the time too good to sign right now are on this list. 

[phd_angel]

One shortlist.  It's a short... list...  50 players tops.  

I only keep exceptionally good players that I'm or will be interested in contracting. (I may occasionally move in a bunch of players I'm researching from the general search page but soon delete them, specially if it turns out they have less than 3 stars...).

[Kickballz]

Very short lists here.

At the moment one has GKs , because I am looking to replace my ageing no 1, and I also need a quality backup.

2nd list is always high potential youngsters I am constantly assessing.

[Dadecane]

Sorry to sound dumb but what effect does putting a player on the shortlist actually have? As opposed to not having anyone shortlisted and just browsing thru your scouted player search when u wanna sign someone

[Kickballz]

21 minutes ago, Dadecane said:

Sorry to sound dumb but what effect does putting a player on the shortlist actually have? As opposed to not having anyone shortlisted and just browsing thru your scouted player search when u wanna sign someone

It does nothing. It is just an option to organise players you want to find quickly. Maybe it shows as you being interested in them? but I don't think that makes any difference either.

[Dadecane]

15 minutes ago, Kickballz said:

It does nothing. It is just an option to organise players you want to find quickly. Maybe it shows as you being interested in them? but I don't think that makes any difference either.

Gotcha. I saw that someone said by shortlisting them u can keep up with their form game to game, but u can see that anyway long as the player is scouted right? Thought I was missing something by not shortlisting players. 
 

to answer the op then; I barely if ever use them. Only during a window at the exact moment and time that im ready to make an offer/signing, I put the 3-4 players I want on the shortlist to do a thorough comparison of all of them and rank them based on priority 1 being the guy I most want and will make an offer to now, 2 being the next guy I’ll offer if 1 doesnt come through. 🤷🏽‍♂️ 

[Kickballz]

4 minutes ago, Dadecane said:

Gotcha. I saw that someone said by shortlisting them u can keep up with their form game to game, but u can see that anyway long as the player is scouted right? Thought I was missing something by not shortlisting players. 
 

to answer the op then; I barely if ever use them. Only during a window at the exact moment and time that im ready to make an offer/signing, I put the 3-4 players I want on the shortlist to do a thorough comparison of all of them and rank them based on priority 1 being the guy I most want and will make an offer to now, 2 being the next guy I’ll offer if 1 doesnt come through. 🤷🏽‍♂️ 

Maybe that is an option? To be honest I just use shortlists for organisation, so don't take my word as authority

Edited November 16, 2023 by Kickballz

[bigmattb28]

2 hours ago, phd_angel said:

One shortlist.  It's a short... list...  50 players tops.  

 

[kingjericho]

i rarely have more than 20 player in my default shortlist. I just use the player search and when the transfer window opens i shortlist the main targets

[Jonthedon26]

Just one shortlist, I filter by position when I want to look at at that way. I review the shortlist twice per season and remove anyone I no longer want/need on there.

[Mars_Blackmon]

5 hours ago, Dadecane said:

Gotcha. I saw that someone said by shortlisting them u can keep up with their form game to game, but u can see that anyway long as the player is scouted right? Thought I was missing something by not shortlisting players. 
 

to answer the op then; I barely if ever use them. Only during a window at the exact moment and time that im ready to make an offer/signing, I put the 3-4 players I want on the shortlist to do a thorough comparison of all of them and rank them based on priority 1 being the guy I most want and will make an offer to now, 2 being the next guy I’ll offer if 1 doesnt come through. 🤷🏽‍♂️ 

Yes, you're able to see form from games, it generates interest in players (not sure how much), and it keeps scouting reports updated (if you have that option selected), meaning your scout will go back and scout them again without you assigning scouts it if the reports get old.

[LC15]

I use 4 shortlists, based on the ability of the players i'm looking at - key, for those who should walk into the 1st 11 immediately, depth for those who will provide competition for places across the season, youth for those who likely won't play much of a role immediately but in future seasons should push into the 1st 11, and loans, solely for players who i am considering loaning in the next window. 

I never shortlist players indefinitely, and instead shortlist usually for 6 months or a year, then when i get the notice they're being removed I reassess them to see if i want to readd them if they are still a potential target and then decide if they go into the same shortlist as before or if they move to one of the others.

That way when it comes to managing the transfer budget i can assess if it's worth spending it all on 1 key player or if getting 3 depth ones instead is the wiser investment. It also means that I almost always have a target lined up i can move for if another team buys one of my own players.

[Kickballz]

19 minutes ago, Mars_Blackmon said:

Yes, you're able to see form from games, it generates interest in players (not sure how much), and it keeps scouting reports updated (if you have that option selected), meaning your scout will go back and scout them again without you assigning scouts it if the reports get old.

Does anyone know for sure what interest this generates? In my experience it seems to be a player only thing. - I have never seen a player being on a shortlist affect anything. It really shouldn't do so anyway because the shortlist should be private- if it does have any affect I would consider that a bug.

[LC15]

21 minutes ago, Kickballz said:

Does anyone know for sure what interest this generates? In my experience it seems to be a player only thing. - I have never seen a player being on a shortlist affect anything. It really shouldn't do so anyway because the shortlist should be private- if it does have any affect I would consider that a bug.

if you shortlist a player, then on the transfer screen of that player, your team will be listed under rumoured interest. So in effect - shortlisting someone does publicly register interest in the player, but not necessarily as serious interest. Whether the AI is coded to recognise those rumoured interests and develop an interest of their own as a result I don't know, but it wouldn't surprise me if they are. In the same way I believe that when you see AI teams listed on that page as having an interest in a player it's basically the same thing - their 'shortlist' is being shown to you. - But that also doesn't mean they will necessarily move from interest to bid.

Edited November 16, 2023 by LC15

[greenz81]

I set mine like so

1st Team

Youth Team

International (I've found from international squads)

U-21 (Same as above)

Abroad (or outside of my scouting zone)

End of contract

Free

 

[Kickballz]

14 minutes ago, LC15 said:

if you shortlist a player, then on the transfer screen of that player, your team will be listed under rumoured interest. So in effect - shortlisting someone does publicly register interest in the player, but not necessarily as serious interest. Whether the AI is coded to recognise those rumoured interests and develop an interest of their own as a result I don't know. In the same way I believe that when you see AI teams listed on that page as having an interest in a player it's basically the same thing - their 'shortlist' is being shown to you. - But that also doesn't mean they will necessarily move from interest to bid.

Yes I know that, but that is a flag to indicate he is on the shortlist. It has no affect on the player or his club.

Or at least it shouldn't - because as I said shortlists should be private. If they are not then that is really bad game design, because how are you supposed to organise your transfer targets? Does SI expect us to use pen and paper?

Edited November 16, 2023 by Kickballz

[LC15]

4 minutes ago, Kickballz said:

Yes I know that, but that is a flag to indicate he is on the shortlist. It has no affect on the player or his club.

It definitely would have an impact on the player in contract negotiations, and quite possibly transfer fees demanded. When you approach an agent when there is other registered interest, they acknowledge those other options, some of which may be more desirable, and the demands in the negotiation reflect the overall interest in the player. I'm sure that is the same for you as a player when AI teams are interested, as it is for the AI teams when you are a rumoured interest. Your shortlist is publicly recognised in the game world. The only thing that I don't know is whether or not AI teams are coded to recognise players who the human player is interested in and develop an interest of their own solely because you are interested.

[Kickballz]

Just now, LC15 said:

It definitely would have an impact on the player in contract negotiations, and quite possibly transfer fees demanded. When you approach an agent when there is other registered interest, they acknowledge those other options, some of which may be more desirable, and the demands in the negotiation reflect the overall interest in the player. I'm sure that is the same for you as a player when AI teams are interested, as it is for the AI teams when you are a rumoured interest. Your shortlist is publicly recognised in the game world. The only thing that I don't know is whether or not AI teams are coded to recognise players who the human player is interested in and develop an interest of their own solely because you are interested.

Please read and then reply to the entire post. You are taking a snippet out of context.

[LC15]

11 minutes ago, Kickballz said:

Please read and then reply to the entire post. You are taking a snippet out of context.

I've read it, but it depends i guess what you're asking when you say what interest is generated through you using a shortlist. In terms of the player you're shortlisting - they are aware of your interest. The players are designed to be aware of the interest in them whether from you or the AI. It impacts their demands in contract negotiations with their current club, demands in contract negotiations if you try to buy them. Just as your players are aware of AI interest (and might come to you with demands they want to leave, or they want a better contract etc), AI players are aware of your interest.

If that is not what you were asking by your question then that's fair enough - I misunderstood it

[Kickballz]

Thanks LC15, I appreciate your point of view.

Edited November 16, 2023 by Kickballz

[Mars_Blackmon]

1 hour ago, Kickballz said:

Does anyone know for sure what interest this generates? In my experience it seems to be a player only thing. - I have never seen a player being on a shortlist affect anything. It really shouldn't do so anyway because the shortlist should be private- if it does have any affect I would consider that a bug.

I believe it’s rumored interest. I don’t think it actually improves the player’s actual interest in signing but I could be wrong. Maybe it’s indirectly. If it’s rumored interest, you may become on his radar. Idk.

Edited November 16, 2023 by Mars_Blackmon

[Mars_Blackmon]

46 minutes ago, Kickballz said:

Yes I know that, but that is a flag to indicate he is on the shortlist. It has no affect on the player or his club.

Or at least it shouldn't - because as I said shortlists should be private. If they are not then that is really bad game design, because how are you supposed to organise your transfer targets? Does SI expect us to use pen and paper?

This year, they made interest clear. Rumored interest doesn’t make it a fact that you are actively looking to sign him. You only become listed as interest if publicly declare interest or it’s leaked that you are interested in the player.

[Kickballz]

9 minutes ago, Mars_Blackmon said:

This year, they made interest clear. Rumored interest doesn’t make it a fact that you are actively looking to sign him. You only become listed as interest if publicly declare interest or it’s leaked that you are interested in the player.

Sorry just want a definitive answer- shortlists are private. Yes?

Edited November 16, 2023 by Kickballz

[mellman]

I'll just split it by position - if I'm getting ultra specific like which side WingBack I'm after then I'll split it by L/R.

[Domoboy23]

Wow. Starting to think my shortlists with 500 plus players on seems a bit OTT now