General rules for a new team

SolidSniper talking:

There are alot of things to do with a new team.

First, you need to determine who is worth keeping and who is not. There are several guidelines to follow:

1) Look at your older players (over 26 years old)

You have to ask yourself with each player: will he be able to play in my team this & next season and will he be an asset? If you're doubting, then you can go out to the transfer market and try to find similar players to buy. If you can find better or the same players for a very low price (500$)

2) Look at your young senior players (21-26 years old)

A player rises (trains) about 16 points per player year. Try to judge each player separately to see whether he will be good enough at the age of 25 to be playing in your team...will he have enough skills? If you are in doubt you can look at the transfer market to compare but if you are not sure, keep them, you can sell/kick them later on.

3) Look at your youth players (less than 21 years old)

It might be that you only sell/kick 1 player in total, or it might be that you find 5 or more that are not good enough.

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Secondly, you'll want reinforcements for the team.

1) You need to set up a team that is able to compete in your league.

Try to make a lineup (Tactics), and see which positions you don't have a good player for and also which positions that you have many options. You may sell players that are too similar to other players that you have, but don't forget about injuries or substitute situations for players with low CO. In the end, you may want squad depth.

2) Search for some ready-to-play oldies, who can fit into your team right away and who (preferably) have some experience. You should be able to get good 30+ year olds with experience for less than $1000 a piece. Don't buy players for more than $1000 the first few weeks, unless you are 100% sure that they can player for more than 1 season. Expect skill drops, and do not expect a profit from selling these type of players later on.

3) After that, it is time to start working on the future. Buy some players between 21-26 years old who have good potential skills but need training. You will save money this way.

jogm talking:

Let me warn you about some pitfalls that can hamper your long term development:

1) Continuity is key; evaluate your squad and players futures

For example, do NOT sell your talented 22 year olds at the start of next season simply because their currents haven't matured yet. That would create a 'gap' in your team continuity from your Little League drafts. Recognize what your team needs and fill those positions so that you can use your stars at their best positions.

2) The good thing about little league is that it is not necessarily an all-or-nothing type of thing. VERY nice youth have been pulled from mediocre LL sytsems. This has to do with the fact that a major part of the luck is the combination of skills, which is not effected much by LL-level. A plan to start with low LL investments so that you have money for new players is a sound one. I'd advise to start with the standard investments, and as your finances allow it, slowly build up to double the investment. Going for awesome LL is fine, but not without cost: You may end up having to sell your star players in their prime to avoid bankruptcy. However, teams without a LL system have been very successful and as you have noticed you can often find very decent youth players for bargain prices. Buying superb youth or better is extremely expensive because then you bid against top-level clubs.

3) Don't be to eager to simply (or only) buy bargains. You can find decent old players and youth players for scraps, but for a little more money (and with some patience) you can find excellent 15 year olds that will be true gold for your youth or senior squad for many years to come. I am talking about spending 8,000 on a good/excellent player instead of 80 on a weak/decent one.