Spending a bigger budget

[Cal585]

Another one of those "taking the next step" questions, I'm curious to know how people adjust when smaller teams finally get some money in the bank and the board entrusts you with a comparatively large budget. Do you stick to your previous transfer philosophy and just increase incomings, or start looking to sign more established players for immediate success? It's always something I've struggled with as my club gets bigger, knowing whether to stick to the system that has brought me success or throw that out in favour of bigger names and radically revamp wage structure and team dynamics/hierarchy.

 

An example in my current (FM20) Thun save, for the first couple of seasons I only had 1 or 2 mill to spend so looked to bring in cheap youngsters with good potential (PL youth rejects, prospects from weaker leagues). Now that they're coming good and my team is challenging for the title I've been able to flip a few for profits of 5 mill to reinvest and with European runs bolstering finances I have now been gifted 20 million to spend. With a record transfer spend of 4.5 million (2nd highest 3 mill) I feel that I should spend the money but don't want to just ditch the players who are doing well for me and still developing (average age 22). Spending 4 times that on a right winger on 2/3x the salary of my current highest paid player feels a little jarring but so does bringing in another 10 players at 2m each.

[Grifty]

I normally keep with what my philosophy was which is signing youngish same nationality as the league im in players, developing them and selling later. I know I'll get too get excited and end up spending it all on a regen though!

[Speedyol]

I try and have the club make a profit each year. And the wage/tranfer budgets that are given does not always allow this. Meaning if I where to spend the entire budget the overall balance would go negative very soon. And this would result in smaller budgets in the future and you suddenly have to sell players ect.
 I try and sign mostly 18 year old players that is good enough to play in the first team. Since they become home-grown.

You can see here I only made 330K last season, If I had spent the entire wage budget I would have lost many millions and had a lower budget this year anyways. the 1.7M this season will go down close to 0, its europe cup money.

But I am spending a lot more than the wage budget was when I joined the club:

[Nacaw]

You absolutely should spend the money. There's no reason to hoard cash in FM, and the best way to make ensure your club keeps growing is to invest your money in new young players. Hoover up the best homegrown talents on intake day and then keep doing what you are doing with talents from smaller leagues. Maybe get some South American talents as well. 1-2 mill per player should mean a step up in quality compared to your previous generation, and as these new players mature they will naturally replace your first generation of youth prospects. You can repeat this process with 5 mill per prospect, then 10 mill per prospect, by this time you should be dominating your league and getting into CL group stage/EL knock-out stage every year. That's the way I approach a save game in a smaller nation normally anyway.

 

On the other hand, bringing in a "star", breaking your transfer record and wage budget could certainly work also. It really depends how long you plan on playing the save. The advice everyone gets on these boards is to buy young players, but if you are only planning on staying with the club/save for a couple more seasons, then why not splurge on a 10 mill striker that can win you the league? There are different ways of playing and enjoying FM, and everything doesn't have to be about doing things the most efficient way

[Mike J]

I've found your wage budget will often restrict who you can buy anyway. In my Boro save I got a decent transfer budget after surviving my first season in the EPL but while I could afford to buy bigger players quite often my rep and wage structure meant they wouldn't come to me. I think you're best off sticking to your previous philosophy but using the money to maybe get a slightly higher calibre of youngster. The only exception is if a veteran with good personality is available. I'll often pick them up if I can to mentor the youngsters and they quite often will be willing to come to sign one last big contract before retiring.