Football Manager 2011 Shortlist: Best Bargains (players under 100 K)

It’s finally here! I’ve been working on this post for a while and I’m happy to say that after some extensive research I have compiled a shortlist of the best bargains in Football Manager 2011! There are 144 players in the list, all of them available to buy for less than 100,000 pounds at the start of the game. The method that I have used is almost identical to the one I have employed for the best wonderkids shortlist: I used Arsenal’s excellent scouting network to find players from all over the world. There are two important things to mention though: I have only selected players that are considered at least decent for the Premier League and the sale value is NOT the estimated value in the player profile, it’s the price that the scout thinks would be accepted by the selling club. So, let’s see the players and then you’ll be able to download the shortlist and add it to your game.

Goalkeepers

There are quite a few good cheap goalkeepers available but the best deal seems to be 21-year old Togolese international Omorou Nassirou. He should be available for 45K and his wage demands are not too big either.

All the other keepers are at least decent choices too, I’m sure you’ll find one for your club here.

Right Backs

There aren’t too many right backs available, I’ve found only four. The best one seems to be 33-year old Colombian international Gerardo Vallejo, a man of great experience and skills. He should be available for 50K, a very good price for such a player.

Left Backs

The left back that I would sign right away is 20-year old Brazilian Juninho, a good prospect that could find a place in most Premier League sides. The other players are pretty good too.

Centre Backs

There’s a wide choice of centre backs available for low fees but the best pick seems to be 29-year old Ukrainian international Vyacheslav Checher, a strong and quick defender and a natural born leader. He should be available for as low as 26 K and his wage doesn’t seem to be too high either.

Defensive Midfielders

There are quite a few defensive midfielders available as well, great choices for very low prices. The one that I liked the most is 33-year old Peruvian international Carlos Zegarra, seems to be a reliable and fit player despite his age.

Right Midfielders

I’ve always liked Brazilian players and I guess that’s why I chose to highlight Paulo Baier, a 35-year old right midfielder. He has lost some of his pace but his skills are still there and he should be able to cope for at least a few months at a good level.

Left Midfielders

Not too many choices for the left wing but all of them are pretty good ones. The player that impressed me is 39-year old Russian international Andrey Tikhonov, a great set piece taker and a player with brilliant mental attributes.

Central Midfielders

I was unable to find more than three central midfielders to fit the bill, that was rather strange. However, all of them are pretty good players, especially 34-year old Brazilian Tcheco, a skillful and still fairly fit player.

Attacking Midfielders

There are quite a few options for the attacking midfielder role and I have hesitated quite some time before choosing the player to highlight. Eventually I have decided to present a younger one, 23-year old Ukrainian Kostyantyn Yaroshenko. He’s hard working and talented and he also seems to have some margin for progress.

Strikers

You’ll have quite a few strikers to choose from but I picked a fellow countryman, 29-year old Romanian striker Ciprian Tanasa. I know him pretty well since he played for my favorite club for a while, a talented player that never really got the glory that he would have deserved in his career.

Now you can download the shortlist by clicking on the picture below. After downloading you can import the shortlist in your game and see which of this players would serve your team best.

However, some of these players might not be available in your game, depending on the database size and leagues that you have selected when you started the game. I hope you’ll find this piece of work helpful and I’d be happy if you could share any of your findings here, I’m sure that some good bargains might have slipped below the radar.