Getting a Grasp on the Basic Concepts

If you have never played a sports management sim before, you may have a hard time wrapping your mind around the most basic aspect of Sokker -- you are not training players for your own team. You are training players to sell to other managers, and then using the proceeds to improve the non-training areas of your team.

For instance, I train strikers. I bought Kalju Lusikas as a 17 year old on 12/23/06, (paid $319,000) and he looked like this:

weak stamina	tragic keeper
excellent pace	weak defender
excellent technique	weak playmaker
weak passing	poor striker

I sold him 01/17/09 for $5,710,000, and he looked like this:

formidable stamina	tragic keeper
brilliant pace	adequate defender
magical technique	good playmaker
good passing	incredible striker

I have a specified training plan. Each season, I train half a season of striker, and either half a season of pace or half a season of technique, in alternating seasons. Generally, I sell one trainee per season.

So in getting a grasp of the point of the game (besides winning and promoting to higher leagues, of course), it's important to realize that the cornerstone of your economy (and the way in which you will buy better players) is buying young, trainable players, training them for a period of time, selling them, and then repeating the process.

Let me reiterate: it is almost impossible to succeed long term in Sokker without a training plan, and teams with better training programs will generally outperform teams with poorer training programs.

The very first step in Sokker is determining what you will be training (will you be training strikers, defenders, midfielders, keepers?).