$$ is always the answer.  And if the money is tied, players will take the shorter deal with the intention to get back to free agency as soon as possible, where they can theoretically make more money.

Unless I am trying to lock in a very young player at below market value, I never offer more than 1 season for a player in open free agency.  Once they're under contract, you can offer whatever long term you want.  But I've lost free agents to another owner because he offered a shorter term.

Got it. thanks

recruiting ?

Have a player I have been recruiting pretty much since recruiting started. I have been the highest offer since the beginning. We are a few "cycles" after the signing period but he hasn't signed. Anyone know why? Trying to figure this all out.
Thanks

Don't take my word for it, but I think if there is competition for the player then the player will hold out hoping for more offers before deciding to take yours.

I've been playing this game for over a year now,with moderate success-highest finish in my league,4th-but I have a question. When setting your tactics,does it matter who plays in which place for each position? Meaning should I put my faster midfielders in the center of the field or on the wings,etc? Or does that not matter at all?

Posted by mike in ct on 6/3/2015 8:15:00 PM (view original):
I've been playing this game for over a year now,with moderate success-highest finish in my league,4th-but I have a question. When setting your tactics,does it matter who plays in which place for each position? Meaning should I put my faster midfielders in the center of the field or on the wings,etc? Or does that not matter at all?

I've absolutely no idea if it matters. 

I usually try to put slower guys in the middle and faster guys on the outsides.  But then I can put a slow guy on the outside if I put a fast guy next to him on the inside.  I try not to put two slow guys next to each other.  Again, no idea if it plays out as having any real effect... I think the actual quality of your players is much more important.

I have found that "central" players take more shots on offense than the outside players do.  But again, I usually have my best players on the inside.  So it's a bit of a chicken or egg question.

I always say the little points of setting tactics are not as important as finding a lineup that results in the most success for your team.  Only experimentation tells you that.

How long are the contract cycles? As in how long does it take to find out if a free agent accepts an offer? 24 hours? Or are there a couple of cycles each day??

Posted by bobellis75 on 6/30/2015 3:08:00 PM (view original):
How long are the contract cycles? As in how long does it take to find out if a free agent accepts an offer? 24 hours? Or are there a couple of cycles each day??

Contract cycles - or negotiating updates - run every three or four hours (can't remember exactly) from whenever your rollover time is.

Free agents will begin signing after the beginning of Day 4 (Week 4) of your season calendar.

After that, when they sign is dependent on the individual player.  As you get into Day 6, 7, 8, they'll be more likely to sign at the next update.

At rollover of Day 11, remaining free agent players are assigned to AI (ownerless) teams on one-season contracts.  However, the sim seems to leave any outlying highly rated free agents available for future signings by "real" teams.  For instance, a 70+ overall GK.

Any free agent players who are offered contracts from this point on will accept or decline offers immediately.

how do you actually sign the players in your signing pool?

Posted by gophils09 on 7/31/2015 1:31:00 AM (view original):
how do you actually sign the players in your signing pool?

Click on a player's name.  You'll see a Negotiation screen.  Plug in the numbers you want to, then click on Review Offer.  You'll see details of the entire contract you are offering.  Cancel or Submit Offer.

Make sure you've reviewed the offer before hitting submit, don't want to add an extra zero by accident like I've done before.

Any seasons ending soon?

Nvm, found the "world" area and the statuses.  I guess I screwed up though.....even though I'm in the US, I choose Wales as a Nationality simply because I figured there would be far more teams in England.  Ooops.

I made a transfer offer to another player in my league. Under the offer status column I see an icon with a ? Does it mean that the owner hasn't accepted or that it's not the best offer, or could it be either one?

Since you're interacting with a human player the ? icon just indicates that there is an offer there. Whether or not the human player will accept it is something the AI won't be able to tell you.

Does anyone know how much the experience bar matters? For instance, I have a 68OA mid who's has a 4 experience as a mid, but can also play D or F with a 1. Does it pay to play him at either of those positions? Will he play like a noob or will he be decent since he's a 68OA? Or will my 63OA with 5 bars of experience play better?