alien55

i know you guys hate the kind of posts that say "can i..." or "is it in the book to..."

but i have a point that really makes me think. i wanted to start the swedish second league but i chose two leagues and i chose the starting date of the other league. this means inspite of starting the game one month before the season, i started like 5 months before so i had enough time to first scout and than transfer a few guys. IMO, it is unfair because the AI starts transfers right away and it takes too long for the scouts to discover some ppl and than buying them. so to give a head start i did something like this. never sounds wrong to me but would you do it if it came to your mind?

alien55

by the way, does "head start" mean an equal start or the opposite? i used it to mean an equal starting point.

retired_drumcook

Head start means getting an advantage, not an equal start.

As to the ethics, can't really see the point or why it really matters myself...

retired_emc580

Its not something ive ever thought about really. I just select the date of my preffered league and play, irregardless of whether its a short time to scout and sign players.

KingsbayYHPE

I'm kinda like the Turkish bloke, here. If I load the Home Nations I pick Ireland as the starting date (this is in CM4, btw) to start me a couple of months before the Poofland or Scotland starting dates.

Not sure how it can be thought of as unethical as the AI Managers have the same advantages/disadvantages as myself.

retired_priyaa_00

If you want to take time to know your suqad and like to do things properly then it good to start as early as possible.

I guess there are some who just want to get in and start playing, and some times i'm like that when i start a game. other times when i'm looking to stay with a club a long time then it 's good to get the foundations sorted and starting early gives you that time.

The AI will be doing just the same as you so you don't gain anything over it, just more time to sort yourself out.

alien55

my point was, first to sign a few (at least one) scouts(this is the hardest part), and then sending them and waiting them to return with some names takes too long time and before i finish my transfers, the season starts and i miss like 4-5 games without decent players. when i start a few months early i have time to play lots of friendlies and send my scout to a few different searches (first youth, then the country i am in, then the region i am in) and assess what he says and play more friendlies after the transfers so get used to my team and players, by the way playing with the training regime...

those take long time and i like preparing my team to the season more than the season itself. i write short stories about a turkish manager arriving to a swedish/english/mexican...... town and start managing and the transfers he made and the imaginary things that he had lived and etc... so i like a long time before my season starts and now i am sure that this is neither cheating nor unethical behaving.

KingsbayYHPE

What he said in his first paragraph...nearly.

I like to have a bit of time to tinker with tactics and fiddle about with positions and generally "get to know" my squad before the first League game.

Actually getting to sign a few youngsters before the League starts helps as well.

bodymassindicator

Not unethical but I can't get arsed to start early. The off-season bores me and (unless there's a very early transfer deadline) I like to start as close to the beginning of the season as possible.

I somewhat enjoy the frantic search for players because your team is obviously not up to the league standard as the five losses in a row at season start suggest.

retired_Emess

I admit I start late. I'm a dinosaur still on 01/02, and with the last patch nearly all players have two year contracts. Although I usually start off in N Ireland or Wales, I usually use the start date of one of the Scandinavian leagues which start in Feb or March 2002 meaning I can jump most of the meaningless first season - I still have a year to judge my players before having to think about contract renewals.

I've never questioned whether it was ethical or not.