Struggling with player signings

[MeMyself2k13]

My problem is that it all goes downhill during the transfer windows. When I first take the team over, I can make a decent tactic, work my way through the trainings and games, possibly win a promotion, etc., but I seem to lose myself when I'm in a position where I need to replace certain players or just get new ones in for the future. My scouts usually find a lot of players, but none of them are completely scouted really, so it's a bit hard to sign players based on seeing just a couple of stats. Do I really need to scout for months in advance, in order to have something decent to pick from? What do I do if I need to make new signings in just a few days, without having enough scouting knowledge yet?

For example, I took over that lower league team just before the end of the transfer window and it barely has enough players to fill up the squad. I obviously need to bring in more, for the sake of having backups in case of injuries, players that I can rotate, etc., but I've no idea where to find them. U-21's and U-18's aren't good enough and there's not enough of them.

When I usually watch FM Youtube series, it seems like people are bringing in players with such ease, usually tons of them, but I have issues signing even one decent player. If I take over a team that needs a lot of squad changes, I'm usually lost. Any advice or links on how to find players, etc.?

Thanks!

 

[ekul785]

I do a few things when starting out a save:

When taking over a team I first sit and look through the squad and make sure they've got about 2 players per position that i'd be happy to give game time to. I sometimes write this down so I can see where any parts of my squad are lacking. Using the Squad Depth function is a way of quickly seeing how good your team is in each position/role.

If I see for example I only have 1 good Left Full-Back, i'll go into Scouting and set the attributes to Full-Back specifications. This also works if you need several positions filling. I think it definitely pays off to take some time to sit at the start and work out roughly what your team has/needs.

Once the first bit has been done and you've got the squad sorted I spend the gap between that first Transfer Window and the next one looking for players that are either an improvement on a current one, or perhaps a youngster who looks like he could develop well. That way, when it comes to the Window being open, i'm ready and prepared to start enquiring and bidding for the players i'd found and scouted previously.

Remember to keep an eye on the scouted players contract lengths, happiness and release-clauses, that way you might be able to secure a better deal for a player.

Hope this helps you somewhat, i'm by no means an expert

 

[Impz]

My personal advice is to let your best scout watch the player for 2 weeks. Usually with an average scout, you should be able to get a 80% - 100% level to have a decent idea on whether the player is worth it. One scout can do that for a few players at the same time.

 

[Dezy]

Use the time in between windows to scout competitions and players and notice your teams weaknesses.

 

[MeMyself2k13]

My personal advice is to let your best scout watch the player for 2 weeks. Usually with an average scout, you should be able to get a 80% - 100% level to have a decent idea on whether the player is worth it. One scout can do that for a few players at the same time.

Does a scout need to be very good for 2 weeks to be enough though? I usually manage lower league teams, so I can't have more than 2-3 scouts hired most of the time. I put the one with the best tactical knowledge on the next opponent, then one on hot prospects and one on first team players at the end of contracts for example.

It sounds like I need to scout and plan much in advance, but I'm not very good at that yet. I usually decide who I want to replace at the end of the season, but then it's usually too late, because I've nothing to pick from. All the players are at 30-40% knowledge at max.

Appreciate all the advice though!