Recruitment in non-league isn't just about finding the player with the best
attributes.Where does he live? What does he want each week? Is he under contract? Is heon non-contract terms? How much do you actually know about him? Can you gethim on loan? Do you need to give his club seven days' notice before you can evenspeak to him?And while you're figuring all of that out, somebody else might be looking at oneof your players.Building a squad is a constant job.Our recruitment system brings all of that together, from your first player search toscouting, loans, transfers, staff, and eventually deciding who you want back foranother season.
The Player Search gives you access to thousands of players across the gameworld. You can search directly or narrow things down using filters, with quickoptions for Non-Contract, Local and Young players alongside more detailedcustom filters.And one column is particularly important here: distance.If you're managing a non-league club on a small weekly budget, finding a player200 miles away isn't necessarily much use to you.Players at this level have lives outside football. Many have jobs. They're notautomatically packing everything up and relocating because you've offered thema few quid on a Saturday afternoon. Sometimes the bloke two miles down theroad is a far more realistic signing than somebody who looks slightly better onpaper.That's why you can specifically search locally and see exactly how far players arefrom your club.
If you don't fancy dealing with another club at all, there's always the free-agentmarket.The Free Agents screen gives you a dedicated pool of unattached players,showing their age, position, previous club, distance from you and an indication oftheir expected wage. That last part matters.A player being available doesn't mean he's affordable, and it doesn't mean youknow everything about him either. You'll notice Knowledge appearingthroughout recruitment. Depending on what you know about a player, you won'tnecessarily have perfect information sitting in front of you from the moment youfind him.Which is where your scout earns his money.
Scouting gives you somewhere to manage the players you're interested in ratherthan blindly signing names from a list.Your shortlist keeps potential targets together, while your scout can be assignedto investigate players and report back. Completed reports build your knowledgeand give you more information before you decide whether somebody is worthpursuing.Of course, this is non-league. Your scouting department might not exactlyresemble Brentford or Brighton’s. No sprawling global recruitment network here.
Loans are another way to strengthen the squad.There's a dedicated Loan List within recruitment, allowing you to look for playerswho could come in temporarily rather than committing to a permanent signing.That can be particularly useful when you've suddenly got a hole in the squad orsimply don't have the budget to get the permanent player you want. And as yourseason develops, Transfer History keeps a record of who's come and gone.Loans can return to their parent clubs. Permanent transfers come through thedoor. Players leave. The squad you begin the season with doesn't have to be theone you finish it with.
Transfers aren't limited to free agents and non-contract players either.If a player is contracted to another club, you may need to deal with his club first.Make an offer, decide what you're prepared to pay and wait for a response. If theclubs can agree a fee, then you can move on to discussing terms with the player.
Then we get to something very familiar to anyone involved in non-leaguefootball: the 7-day approach.If you want to speak to a player registered with another club, you can'tnecessarily just contact him and offer terms there and then. You file yourapproach. His club receives the required written notice. And then you wait.After seven days, the window opens and you can speak to the player and offerterms. If his current club chooses to waive the notice period, you can do it sooner.It's one of those little bits of Non-League football that we wanted representedproperly. You've found your man. You want your man. But first, paperwork.
You're building more than the XI on the pitch.Staff Recruitment sits within the same area and gives you control over the peopleworking alongside you. Assistant managers, first-team coaches, fitness coaches,goalkeeping coaches and scouts all come at a cost, and you have a separate staffbudget to work within.Candidates have their own quality, wage demands and preferred level, while thevacancies at your club show you where you're still short.You might want the best backroom team available. Your chairman's budgetmight have other ideas. Again, you make the choices.
Recruitment doesn't stop once you've assembled your squad.Eventually, you have to decide who gets to come back. At the end of the season,registrations run out and your club has to submit its retained list. Every playerwhose registration is ending needs a decision.Keep. Or release.Players you're keeping may still need new terms negotiated. Those you'rereleasing will be allowed to move on. Make your decisions, and your secretary filesthe list with the league.Anyone you've left undecided when the deadline arrives is filed as released. Andonce you've submitted it, that's it. You can't change your mind afterwards.
That's really what recruitment comes down to.Not simply finding the highest-rated players you can. You're balancing quality,wages, geography, availability, knowledge, contracts and the needs of your squad.Sometimes you'll pay a fee.Sometimes you'll raid the free-agent market.Sometimes you'll borrow somebody for a month.Sometimes you'll put in a seven-dayer and hope he's still interested when thewindow opens. And sometimes the best signing you make will simply besomebody affordable who lives ten minutes from the ground and can reliablyturn up on a wet Tuesday night.There are thousands of players out there. You just need the right ones.