Affiliate Clubs (Feeder Teams)

[Graz Doz Trez]

I've been trying to find other posts with current/up-to-date relevant information on Affiliate clubs. Whilst I have had a look in a couple of forums, my search has been far from exhaustive, so, please, if you know a thread that is FM17 and full of good stuff, please feel free to point me in the right direction.

The points I want to discuss/ask about are:

1. Limits on Feeder teams
2. Choosing/Finding an affiliate and what to look/aim for


1. Limits on Feeder teams: I'm currently into my 7th season as HSV (Hamburg) manager. Last season we just missed out on the Bundesliga, but won the Europa League & German Cup. The board are very happy with me, and gave me a new contract. I've asked 2/3 times over the last 12-18 months, and they've generally agreed in principal to find a new affiliate. About a week later they come back to me and say they cannot find a suitable link. In the most recent incidence of this, I have been a little bit unethical, and saved the game before asking, so I can manipulate the team I choose before progressing. This is partly experimentation and partly to make sure a link sticks. Two days after asking, they again came back and said no. This time, their reasoning was we already have six affiliates (see below) and I should just get on with them.

Current affiliates:

Hamburg II
Minnesota (USA)
Reysol (Japan)
Wacker Innsbruck (Austria)
Tenerife (Spain)
Willem II (Holland)
(Previously also had Lech Gdansk (Pol) but will discuss them later).

So, I reloaded my save, and thought about this. Tenerife haven't to my knowledge done anything beneficial to me/HSV. So I cancelled the link, and tried again with a different team. Two days later... and this time I should be happy with the current five affiliates.

So, question 1; is anyone aware of quantitative restrictions on affiliates? I previously had a save with Athletic Bilbao, and they have lots of feeder clubs, I can't remember if I was ever allowed a new affiliate there. But even so, if there is a limit, how comes I was allowed to get to six, but removing one limits me to five.



2. Choosing/Finding an affiliate and what to look/aim for:
This may be very long and I might ramble, so please, forgive me, or good luck!!

I have been aware for a few years, and I think it's true, that generally speaking, any feeder must be over lower reputation, and will be more willing to network if their finances aren't the best. But I think criteria is more complicated than that, both choosing and being accepted.

My priority with feeder clubs has always been to establish financially beneficial links; USA, China and/or Japan. I'm not sure I've ever managed to get all three, certainly not on FM17 anyway. After this, I just generally keep asking and see who the board send my way. But this Hamburg save has got me questioning this haphazard logic and really made me think. In either the 2nd or 3rd season, via the link with Lech, (which I believe the board cancelled?) Hamburg acquired at least two player from Lech in the youth intake. I think this has been occurring for a few years on FM... maybe FM14? - I digress - Basically, these two players, both GK with German nationality were top wonderkids. Sadly I was forced to sell one as his 325p/w contract was expiring and wouldn't sign on, but got 50m straight up from Man City. I was genuinely upset to see him leave, he was the first youth intake player to break into the team. Thankfully, his compatriot who had been on the fringes for many years signed a lovely new deal, and is as good, possibly even better! So we've done ok. But my point here is, instead of looking for teams that may produce top talent, of which I'd still have to haggle and agree a fee or simply match a teams offer, should I be looking for other teams that will send me their youth intakes direct? - an if so, what are the circumstances to which this happens. As far as I'm aware, Tenerife, Willem and Wacker haven't ever sent me a regen, let alone two wonderkids goalkeepers!

So, I'm now thinking, cancel the links with Wacker, Tener & Willem, and see if I can target the neighbouring German markets for 'weak' clubs that may offer direct youth intake; Poland, Croatia, Czech Rep and so on. But at the same time, I don't want to cancel three links that provide scouting knowledge and could yet produce wonderkids either for my intake or that I can poach.



I'd love to hear from people that have spent time looking into this, or perhaps have similarly saved and experimented. Or just anyone with an interest that has something worthwhile to offer.


Thanks guys!

 

[Zinedine Zaiddin]

In my FM11 save, I had brought a club with very, very little reputation numbers to the top of the world (literally) - smashing the league title consecutively (we're talking 10+ season straight) + winning champions league frequently + even features as regular winner for CWC.

Initially when my club still little stature, its quite logical to have option of asking board for Parent team, yes? So I tried again after my club reputation has grown to Worldwide, yet option "parent club" is still there.

About feeder club limit, I guess it depends on other AI clubs as well. example in my save fm11, I can't get another link for financial benefit in USA, China or Japan since all teams in that country already affiliated with other clubs - and they keep their affiliation, no termination even I've already played for 20 season plus.

And your last point - yeah I do face same problem as well. I tried to experiment with feeder club too by using FMRTE. Taking one of already linked club, ticking few options such as "players may move freely to both club" and "parent may take a look on youth players" or ticking any option that I assume involve player movement between feeder and parent affiliate - yet I had received no one from my feeder club.

For. 20. over. seasons. mate.

For over 20 seasons.

Anyway had u tried asked this in official Sports Interactive FM forum?

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[Graz Doz Trez]

I missed something VERY obvious.

I just clicked on my link with Willem II, and "Negotiate existing affiliation", this gave me options to:

reduce to just friendlies
change to a financial link
First option on players

AND...

recruit foreign youngsters.


SO...


now, basically, Willem II are my *******. I can send players on loan, get first option and they should send me their best youngsters.

I need to keep my eye on next time the option to discuss is available and make sure this is the case with all of them.
(Edit, it seems the option isn't always availbale via the board room, but clicking on individual teams in the affiliate page allows negotiating... I don't know if it'll be rejected to to time/proximity to the last request.)

Edit II: It seems Tenerife & Wacker are already youth recruitment feeders, they just haven't done anything. I'm tempted to keep Wacker as they are from neighbouring Austria, but will seriously contemplate cancelling Tenerife as they don't seem to have produced anything internally, let alone externally (ie, through my youth intake).


I still dream of a Brazilian and/or Argentinian feeder club though.


I'll keep this updated, it's certainly not the end!!

 

[Zinedine Zaiddin]

keep it up mate! good observation you got there..

and another thing, I suspect that if your affiliate club comes from unplayable league, those club will generate less youth and promote players to our youth team..

 

[Graz Doz Trez]

I also think that is true. However, Spain has always been active, and Tenerife have always had the option = zero intake. Poland was never active but Lech sent me two wonderkids.

To be honest, I think it's pretty random... The two wonderkids from Lech (was Poznan, not Gdansk) never physically appeared on their youth intake, although their history says they were there 2018/19 before appearing in my March 2020 youth intake.

This leads me to two theories;

1. The more 'sign foreign youngsters' feeders you have, the better chance of getting a/some players - with perhaps a heightened chance of better potential (afterall, a larger team is unlikely to accept low potential from other clubs. I'm not saying they'll always be wonderkids, but IMO, if you get foreigners, they will more likely be towards the top of your 'draft class' so to speak).

2. You really need to be selective in choosing your SFY feeders as the clubs Youth recruitment will make an impact. for example, and I wish I'd realised this earlier, and I cannot think how/why the Lech link was broken (I really hope I didn't cancel it), but it's Dec 2022 in my game, I just looked at the Poland U21s and U19s... Lech have 4 players in each, which is two more than any other team. Their Youth Recruitment is "Extensive".


I think this is definitely changing my outlook on feeder clubs. I have always been in the mindset of get them ASAP and worry about the options if/when they come. I think I need to have a much better strategy of doing this. Early doors when you cannot choose yourself, fair enough, but I think now I have the trust of the board and can do this, I need to spend a decent amount of time searching for potential suitors (lower rep, financially not Rich/Good, Extensive youth intake, geography...).

I may also consider scrapping my affiliates in Japan and USA, as we have 225m in the bank, and money isn't an issue anymore. Plus I always tour these countries preseason.

Interesting side note too, the two GK's from Lech, despite being born in Poland, were both German by their primary nationality. Perhaps this is a simple way around WP issues that FM put in place, but it's actually amazing for squad registration etc. Would also mean you probably wouldn't have to worry about having a SFYs agreement with a team in Africa, South America etc etc.

 

[Zinedine Zaiddin]

Well I guess geography factor playing role as well..since I got few feeder clubs from smaller European countries like Moldova (lol - no offense), Slovenia, Slovakia...yet none of Moldova , Slovenia or Slovakia nationalities got into my youth team , even I had played with same club for 20 seasons plus and these clubs have extensive youth recruitment and very excellent youth facilities..

 

[Graz Doz Trez]

Is that FM17? or still talking about FM11?

 

[Zinedine Zaiddin]

I'm still playing FM 2011 mate, so my observation was stuck up to FM11 only lol

But I guess the concept should be there. Less population, smaller talent pool. Bigger population, bigger talent pool.

 

[Graz Doz Trez]

Did they have "recruit foreign youngsters" as an option in FM11?

 

[Zinedine Zaiddin]

They don't, but as far as I can recall they have option "feeder club can send youth player to parent team" or "player may move freely" or what else...I couldnt remember

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[JRHaggs]

I've been confused by this system as well.

The best approach I've found is to cycle through the feeder club types. So if I get rejected for a financial link, I'll try a foreign loan club. If that gets rejected, I'll try the next kind. (Usually two months or so elapse before I can make the request again.) Eventually, the board will eventually accept one of the requests.

Once they've accepted a link, then you can customize it through the renegotiation board chat.

Doing this, I've turned all my feeders into youth links. My youth intake is like a united nations. Bulgarian, Spanish, Swedish, American, Chinese, Croatian, etc. etc.

I've seemingly hit a ceiling though. I haven't been able to request an affiliate for months and months after they rejected my proposed link to Lazio (which has a lower rep than most Serie A clubs and have a superb youth setup).

Good luck.

 

[Graz Doz Trez]

Which club are you? Lazio are probably too big to consider being a feeder club, even for say Barca/Real etc.

What you say makes a lot of sense...

My only 'worry' is, that the board's choices for clubs usually aren't the best and often are random - if you save the day before you'll get a different batch of clubs. Certainly at the start of a new career I'd be happy to do this, then as time goes on maybe remove one before asking for another, like, see the option is there, remove a feeder, click continue, ask for a feeder and see what happens.




I always try to attach the board promises of:

"First Team Youngster Signings"
"Develop Players Using Club's Youth System"

At first glance they appear to encourage each other... but are they actually contradictory...? One is specifically signing players, the other is developing. I've never had a problem with these two before, so I'm not gonna remove one or both, but my baord seem to have sudden taken to a disliking of feeder clubs. There hasn't been a board change, and they've recently given me a new contact so it's not like a lack of faith/security.

I think with my HSV side I'll remove the links I don't like/want - based largely on the club's youth recruitment level, and try to find better links manually. The problem here, is that's it's a network game, so I may have to be slightly sneaky and save and opportune moments.

 

[JRHaggs]

Yeah. I thought maybe Lazio was too big, but they were listed with a "National" reputation, so I gave it a shot. The board response was along the lines of, "You have thirteen affiliates. Make use of those." So the response doesn't suggest that Lazio wasn't up for the deal, irrespective of why it didn't actually go through. And if the board think I have enough affiliates to begin with, why didn't they just say that when I first asked?

Other than getting a local, League 1 feeder, I have not been successful nominating a club to be a feeder. But, as you've implied, the board is doing a **** poor job of finding one too.

I'm not sure, frankly, why the board even cares how many feeders are associated with the club. It only costs like $100k per year to maintain each one, and I've got backup players making more than that per week. I understand, I think, the intent, but the presentation is messed up. The logic of the decisions is abstracted in a way that doesn't really make any sense or provide any useful information.

Is there a consensus regarding the right way to nominate a feeder club to the board? For whatever reason, I reeeallllly like my feeder clubs. If I could, I'd have dozens.