Ludicrous prices. Getting used to them yet?

[John Grant]

I am only a relative newcomer I guess , my oldest team is in its 12th season , the youngest is in season 10. In all I run 5 teams and not once have I bought a recommended player or player of the day , why ? I am not flush with tokens. My association is in Gold 2 with enough points to progress to Gold 1 next season so my budgets were between 90 and 120 tokens this season so I simply cant afford to spend that type of coin on 1 player, I have to be frugal which usually means I dont get involved even in auctions for the first few days and aim to have my squad settled by the first week of association games. I am forced due to the stupidity of the early auction bidding wars to go for players between 89 and 92%, the younger the better, and train them up. I usually end up with a 98 -99% team during the last part of the league season which is ok. Do I win the league ? not often but all my teams usually end up in the top 4 , I think the worst any of my teams has done was 7th( the season after winning the league. I concentrate on the league and associations and often send my second stringers out in the cups comps.
Now if the negotiation scene worked then I would be better off with my limited funds but it just doesnt work. About 20 times I have tried to negotiate for a player and anout 20 times the time limit has expired with no reply from the selling manager. I have just about given up on it.
As for these inflated player price offers , good luck if you want to spend the money , not me though.

[HairDryer]

I am only a relative newcomer I guess , my oldest team is in its 12th season , the youngest is in season 10. In all I run 5 teams and not once have I bought a recommended player or player of the day , why ? I am not flush with tokens. My association is in Gold 2 with enough points to progress to Gold 1 next season so my budgets were between 90 and 120 tokens this season so I simply cant afford to spend that type of coin on 1 player, I have to be frugal which usually means I dont get involved even in auctions for the first few days and aim to have my squad settled by the first week of association games. I am forced due to the stupidity of the early auction bidding wars to go for players between 89 and 92%, the younger the better, and train them up. I usually end up with a 98 -99% team during the last part of the league season which is ok. Do I win the league ? not often but all my teams usually end up in the top 4 , I think the worst any of my teams has done was 7th( the season after winning the league. I concentrate on the league and associations and often send my second stringers out in the cups comps.
Now if the negotiation scene worked then I would be better off with my limited funds but it just doesnt work. About 20 times I have tried to negotiate for a player and anout 20 times the time limit has expired with no reply from the selling manager. I have just about given up on it.
As for these inflated player price offers , good luck if you want to spend the money , not me though.

With all my respect i like how you manage your team and the way you play this game. Above all the honesty of you post.

Sent from my SM-A800F using Tapatalk

[John Grant]

With all my respect i like how you manage your team and the way you play this game. Above all the honesty of you post.

Sent from my SM-A800F using Tapatalk

Thankyou Hairdryer. Overnight I had 1 team win the league with a game to spare , another won the champions league ( my 98% team beat a 108% team) while another won the super league against an evenly matched team my association narrowly lost its semi final against superior opposition ( we average 96% against their average 107%) 14 -17 but will qualify for promotion to Gold 1.
I manage my teams on a shoestring budget but manage to make them more than competitive each season, its a bit like Martin O'Neal at Everton a few years ago with his teams always there abouts just behind the big 4. I find it far more rewarding to get the best out of players by developing them in training ( I have abandoned trying to multi position a player , my players start at 89 - 92% so I just cant afford it) , using good strategy centered around a solid , dependable but unspectacular team formation. I have read a bit in here about different formations to use and counter with but I have found my 3-1-3-1-2 ( not saying which team settings I use) to be useful enough in a tradesman like way . I will beat inferior teams 90% of the time , equal teams about 70% and superior teams about 30% which makes my teams highly competitive.
I find this way of management to be quite a lot of fun , requiring a fair amount of thought at times and far more rewarding for me than if I could simply throw some money around and just buy my way to success. I think this game would get boring very quickly if I was able to do that. I know there are those in this game that buy their way to success , good luck to them I say , but where is the satisfaction in doing that. Sure you may have a long list of titles to your name , good for you , but I can tell you here and now you dont get the feeling managers like myself do when we win something and really isnt that what a game is all about.
Anyway I better write something on topic I guess. Last night I watched an auction bidding war on pretty much the last day of the season that left me gobsmacked. 20 yo DC/DMC at 96% went for an unbelievable 31 tokens. Seriously tomorrow this player will be 76%. Couldnt believe what I was seeing unless there is some strategy that I as a relative newcomer cant see in this.

[HoofDaddy]

I'll take token poor and a treble over token rich and middling mediocrity.

[John Grant]

I'll take token poor and a treble over token rich and middling mediocrity.

Spend much I guess by the look of your record but maybe not as much as some. Its your prerogative to do so as well so good luck to you. I start every season token poor and spend almost everything I have just to make a competitive team. I refuse to pay more than I feel a player is worth to my team and so I am a slow starter every season and come home strongly. Cups football to me is just a money maker and so I care little about those comps. The League and Associations is where its at for me so really the cups usually get my second string team at least early rounds and group stages. Still my best team has a decent record in the league , 11 seasons , 4 Winners , 2 Runners Up and a third while never having finished lower than 7th Same team has managed , despite me using the second stringers , to get to 1 CL Final , finish 3rd on 3 occasions , win 1 Cup and finish 3rd once. My Association has moved up a level every season and is in Gold1 next season.
I am quite happy with my efforts so far and am still learning this game and consider those efforts a bit better than mediocrity. Still each to their own for entertainment and ego massaging which is all those who show their trophy list as a signature are doing, same thing happens in most games I have played and it isnt really my thing. Again each to their own.

[khris]

With all my respect i like how you manage your team and the way you play this game. Above all the honesty of you post.

Sent from my SM-A800F using Tapatalk

Thankyou Hairdryer. ...sic

sic.

Approved both posts** I don't know why the system unapproved some of your poists John...

[HairDryer]

I really enjoy reading your post John and true what you say.Yes the harder the struggle the sweeter the victory is.

Sent from my SM-A800F using Tapatalk