Stephen is back with his second help guide of the week, this time looking at five players you must be looking to sign.

Depending upon where you start your save there will be challenges in getting top players that you want for your squad, so you may need to bide your time and work up the leagues before you get the chance to negotiate.

Over my years of playing I’ve identified 5 players to get on your shortlist ASAP to keep track of their performance. You’re allowed 30 players on your shortlist (i think) and you can check their availability by checking the ‘Including/Excluding Unavailable’’ button. If they’re showing after pressing it, their club are willing to listen to offers.

Here are my 5 recommendations:

Ronaldo (the Brazilian one)

Who wouldn’t want Ronaldo on their team? Either one – Brazilian or Portuguese. They are both world beaters. So when you begin your save get Ronaldo on your shortlist. He’ll probably be at Inter Milan at this stage in his career but he’ll be the golden ticket you’ll aspire to sign throughout the game.

Bear in mind when CM9798 was being produced Ronaldo was the closest thing to Pele in the footballing world so that’s how good could be for your team. But someone that good will take A LOT of effort to get, so be patient. I’ve spent nearly 10 seasons trying to sign him before he retires and never succeeded in some saves. He’s only going to be interested in a developed and winning club so you need to perform on the pitch as you can’t just throw money at him.

He rarely gets in trouble so you’ll never have issues with injuries or suspensions either.

Robert Page

Nope not the musician, but the low key Watford defender is the next name to get on your list. He again, like Ronaldo, won’t be swayed by money so you’ll need to be a team with mid-90’s pedigree. As a player he is consistent and a good pairing in a CB partnership.

He starts off the game at Watford quite young but gets better with age, unlike Michael Owen irl.

Ariel Arnaldo Ortega

Probably the second most valuable overseas player in the CM9798 universe, though his love for transferring to England isn’t apparent so you may need to start a continental save to be able to sign him – though it is possible if your running Man United etc.

Ortega is an FRC and not an outright SC so be careful where you play him, though his adaptability is high (15) I’ve personally never seen him excel as a lone striker, better as number 9 on the right side (behind a SC). Look out for him at Valencia.

Uwe Rosler

Remember this scruffy German ripping up the prem in the early 90’s? He looked like Sunday League, but played like Champions League and his stats reflected that. He’ll be hanging around Man City when you begin your save but always chips in a high goal return every season with a fairly decent amount of assists for a SC.

He can rack up a few yellows during a season so watch out for upcoming suspensions but 1 or 2 games on the sidelines isn’t bad for a 25+ goal per season striker.

Robbie Fowler

Unless you’re playing as Liverpool to pry Robbie Fowler away from Anfield will be a big ask in any save so be patient and bide your time. Fowler is a machine in the final third, possibly returning more than 30 goals per season in the right setup, which is reflected in his £10M+ price tag.

Fowler is great in a front 2 but isn’t great in the air so he’ll need direct service from running AM or a nearby FC. He’ll inevitability be called up for all England duty so make sure you give him time on the bench when you can afford it.

Hope you’ve enjoyed this guide. Find me on Twitter @sjwalt2006 for more CM9798 chat. Use #CM9798 & follow @CM9798

Happy 2020 everyone. We’re starting the blogging year with our newest guest writer Stephen, who will be bringing you some helpful guides this week.

Hi everyone, this is my first time blogging for CM9798 so bear with me. Despite playing the game since it was released I’ve never considered passing on my game knowledge or tactics until I discovered our CM9798 family on twitter.

I’ve got a series of different mini-guides to help new starters or players just rediscovering this wonderful game. One of my favourite things to do is to start off in the lower english leagues and make my way to glory at the top of the premiership. I normally set myself a 5 season target to reach a major trophy/title and all it takes is one bad season or a run of bad form to scupper it.

Either way there are some reliable figures in the game that I’d recommend to watch out for when starting your save. Bear in mind, these players are affected others in the team so it’s not a given they will save your ass every time but they should be a wise investment.

Bear with my screenshots, I’ve taken them from a save (with Chester) I’m a few seasons in to so players have shifted around. I’ll use their career history to demonstrate my points. Either way, here are the 5 best signings for low league starters.

Sean Devine

It’s a name you’ll hear crop up a lot and rightly so. Sean Devine is just that, a divine investment for your strike force. He’ll start his career at Barnet, barring any early transfers. If you can shell out around £1M for him he’ll have a banging first season, maybe two if you’re lucky. He can play as part of a front two or a lone SC, in front of a FC. He does have a tendency to fade away as the seasons roll on but if you want a goal machine straight away, call on Sean Devine.

Rory Delap

Pair Rory up with Sean Devine and I’ve seen amazing results in previous saves, but again, like Devine, he will trail blaze the front line to league glory and then fade into the shadows. Check out Carlisle United when you first start your save, but you may need to stick him on your shortlist as they are generally unwilling to sell straight away. The more interest you show the quicker they might sell up. Because of his ability and Irish heritage he can get called up to international duty alot which, when playing in the lower leagues, cause conflict, so make sure you’ve got some strong non-international SCs as backup.

Marc Emmers

You can tell how much I love Marc Emmers, I signed him straight away, can’t remember where from, but that’s why the search function is so useful. Either way he’s cheap and very consistent. He’s not a young spring chicken when the game starts out but rarely falls below a 7.20 for season average, which isn’t bad at all. Though he doesn’t contribute much to goals/assists, he always gets a solid performance which is rare to find in the lower leagues.

Fan Zihyi

Chinese defenders aren’t always the top of everyone’s agenda when starting a save but check out Fan Zihyi. He is dirt cheap, but again like Marc Emmers, so consistent and dependable. He doesn’t get grumpy when being left out but he’s a solid partner for a CB pairing. I’ve had him paired with Rio Ferdinand before and he wiped the floor with Rio’s stats. You should get a few good seasons out of him before decline.

Andrily Sevchenko

Debate goes on whether this is actual Shevchenko, but we do know this version is a lot cheaper. Again, hard to sign in season 1 might take some time to tease him over but £1-2M should do it and he really returns on those numbers fast. Always a lifesaver off the bench for me, he’s not that adaptable so make sure you always play him as SC or he’s useless. I’ve found him at Dynamo Kiev and Leeds Utd before hand, get him on your shortlist straight away if he’s not available.

Hope you’ve enjoyed this guide. Find me on Twitter @sjwalt2006 for more CM9798 chat. Use #CM9798 & follow @CM9798