Top Tips - TalkSoccer

18-08-2004, 08:44 PM

Buying players
There are several ways to get cheap players. Players that have been loaned to other clubs are in most cases available for a small price.

Reserves
Another method is going through the B-teams and reserves. Amongst the B-teams at for example Real Madrid, Barcelona, Ajax, PSV or Bayern Munich, you can often find excellent players who can be picked up or loaned for a small fee.

Unhappy players
Unhappy players are another category of easy targets. Unhappy players are always present, no matter which game you play. There are always a couple of them out there. Especially when these players play for the bigger clubs, they can be usefull assets for your squad. When a player wants to leave his current club or is unhappy about the way he has been treated, they will also be cheaper for you to buy, as the club where he's now doesn't need unhappy players that could affect moral.

Loan and first option
You do not have to buy straight away of course. A smart method is to loan a player and at the same set a fee for a possible transfer. That way you have the first right/option on that player and test him for a year, often at zero wages. If the player does not meet your expectations after that year, you simply let him go. On the other hand, if he is good enough to play for your club, you will have the advantage of having set the fee at the moment you loaned him and got the first option. Securing a cheap(er) transfer.

Sign-to-sell
Another strategy is to sign-to-sell players. You buy a couple of normally expensive players on a free transfer (from their clubs) and sell them during the half of the season but only allow them to leave once the competition has ended. That way they will finish the season with you club and you will also earn some cash. That is, if you bought the right players of course. This strategy does require some into the CM transfermarket.

Future transfers
In combination with sign-to-sell, I would like to discuss Future Transfers. If you are so keen on signing a certain player, but simply do not have the money, make an offer anyway. Do make sure though that the transfer will go through at the END of the season. That way you still have the time to gather the money during the coming year and the player in question cannot move to another club. If a player his contract is about to expire you could take a chance of cancelling the transfer a couple of days before his contract expires. Sometimes the player will leave the club on a free transfer but if you are unlucky, he will sign a new contract with his current club that will automatically increase his transfer value.

Injured players
Another source of cheap players are those who have just returned from a long injury. Because of the fact that they had little playing time, their transfer value will probably have decreased dramatically. See to it that you make this to your advantage.

Bosman
That you are trying to get the most out of the Bosman ruling is logical. An extra tip for those having problems signing a player that has been released that way, increase the signing-on fee by doubling it. That might help sometimes.

Monthly installments
Monthly installments are also quite usefull for the clubs with little capital. Use this method if you cannot cough up a couple of million straightaway. The Disadvantage of using this method is that you will use money over a longer period of time.

Selling players
Selling players is also a interesting subject. If the player is an internation, always try to attach an International matches clause to the offer you receive. Clubs are usually tempted to accept such an offer. You can do the same after they have played a certain amount of competition matches. By applying the two options mentioned above you can easily raise the usual normal offer.

Selling with monthly installments
Monthly installments makes a return here, as it also applies to selling players. Raise the amount you are asking a bit and let them pay in monthly installments. For the financially less strong club, this is a way to get good players and for you a way to receive a steady income per month over a certain period of time.

Negotiate
Always negotiate and consider whether to accept the first offer straight away. Increase your demand step by step and you will see that clubs are often easily tempted to accept your terms at the end. Downside to this is that the negotiations could easily take a month and that the player becomes unhappy because of the speculations surrounding his possible transfer.