7. Ability To Tap Up Free Transfers To The Press
Sports InteractiveFree transfers are like manna from heaven to the discerning football manager. Signing someone up without having to dip into the transfer war-chest or gutting the wage budget to find funds is a giddy thrill, especially when you find someone truly special. With Keisuke Honda taking the laurels as this season's biggest prize, delving into the morass of free agents can be a tricky prospect, but a thrilling, rewarding one if it pays off. But the problem with the free agent market is that everyone else is involved too. Again, you don't have to use any of your transfer war chest to acquire an uncontracted player, and no matter what financial state your club's in, that's always awesome. So when you find a diamond in the rough (the rough here being the over-35s, failed prospects and an odd influx of Ghanaians formerly of the Bundesliga) you can bet your bottom dollar that at least ten clubs are interested, and will fall over each other to offer contracts if you dare discuss terms. It's like a Mexican standoff, but with paperwork and financial responsibility. So naturally, when faced with this dog-eat-dog situation you want all the possible advantages you can get. But short of bugging the other teams' negotiations (and no, you can't do that), there's very little that can happen. You just name your price, and hope the chips fall your way.