The extra hints page is filled with topics for the player who wants some
new ideas or who needs a little edge.  This is by no means a finalized
list, but these are my favorite methods to success.
The contents are listed below.
U.S.I.S.L.
The College Draft
Free Agents-Normal
Free Agents-International
Free Agents-Unsigned
Player Tendencies
Trading Tips
Game Settings


U.S.I.S.L
  Most of the time these players have the worst statistics you've ever
seen.  They may not start, but many times, you can find a player in the
U.S.I.S.L that is at least better than your worst guy on the team.  The
best time to look is actually the first season.  Many times there will
be a player (mostly defense) that will be the third or fourth best 
defender on the team.  Getting a good U.S.I.S.L. player has many 
positive attribtues.  First, you obviously get a player who is 24 years
old or younger, meaning a lengthy career.  Two, these guys are very
cheap; I think the highest salary is 175K.  This clears up cap space for
some quality international players.  Third, U.S.I.S.L players are more
likely to sign a 5 year contract than any other players in the game; 
this means that their salary won't skyrocket.  Fourth, you can trade off
an expendable player for someone younger or a developmental player.  This
will keep your team young, a vital operation in MLSM.  
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The College Draft
  The college draft is the chance to make your team better by adding 
some young blood to your roster.  The difficulty with the draft is if
you were the best team in the league the previous year, you will 
consequentially get the last pick in the draft.  On rare occassions, 
there might be a quality player, but more often than not, you will be
deluged with 60-60 midfielders.  An important tip to remember in the 
draft is to make your team better any way possible.  Even if you replace
the worst player, it still helps.  What you should always do before the 
draft is promote the worst U.S.I.S.L. player.  That way, if you find a
player who is worthy of drafting, you don't lose anyone on your team.
If all else fails, you can just cut the awful player and leave him in
the unsigned free agent pool.  Hopefully, some team will pick up this
pathetic excuse for a MLS player.  This will make that team worse, and
your competition easier.  If you ever get far behind the rest of the 
league talent wise, you can promote and cut a bunch of U.S.I.S.L. guys.
The more that get picked up, the more diluded the rest of the league
becomes. 
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Free Agents-Normal
  My #1 tip for normal free agents is don't get them!  For the most part
they are overpaid and don't deliver the goods.  Especially stay away
from internationals such as Ruben Hernandez or Juan Suarez; not that
these players are bad, but for an international, they are not what you
want to allot a space to (for proof in the MLS, see San Jose Clash.)
The only exceptions in the normal free agent pool are the following:
David Wagner- Overpaid at 575K, but American, young, and good.  Buy him
only if you have money to waste.
Michael Mason- Great stats with 90-90/25 years old.  Like Wagner,
though, is overpaid at 575K.  
Dario Brose- see Wagner, but cheaper (425K).  80-70 at 24 years is 
the making of a dynasty player.
Greg Berhalter- like Brose but less balanced; go with him if you need
more defensive help.
Jurgen Sommer- the man played in the Premier League, I'm sure he's good
in the MLS.
Jim St. Andre- a better option to Sommer for the cash-straped team.
David Kramer- at 24 and only 250K, an ideal backup keeper.
  The only time you should buy anybody but these players in the normal
free agency is if you cannot field a full team.  Remember, you can 
always cut these guys the next game.  If you make the playoffs, it may
be better to get a slightly better, older player than a rookie playing.
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Free Agents- International
  First off all, you should have already viewed my best buy list.  These
are not the only players you can buy that will help, but they seem to
be the best.  If you don't agree, there are always best buy lists on 
other pages that might help you find more players.  
  The first free agent you should always try to pick is Ronaldo.  The
man will bring championships to your team.  He may be expensive 
(especially for the East Coast teams), but he will be top 10 in the league
in scoring for the rest of his career.  After Ronaldo, I recommend trying
to fill a need with the best possible player for the next pick.  For
example, the MetroStars have a quality midfield and a fairly strong 
front line, so go for a defender first.  After that, go for the World
Class players (unless you're frugal and prefer to be surrounded by 
American talent.)  Every one to three years, you should try to sign a
big name free agent.  Remember, the other teams don't have a salary cap,
so it's tough competition.  
  When the first round of internationals are almost done, buy out the 
last couple of guys.  This will bring in the new free agents quicker,
plus the old guys will most likely retire, bringing younger players in
their place.  If the old guys won't retire, you can always trade away.
With the second tier of free agents, sign the player with the most
potential.  You'll notice that there are many less internationals in the
second tier, so buy young and solid.  By the time you reach the third
tier, just buy every guy you can.  This will give your team an edge
to make up for your pathetic draft picks.
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Free Agents-Unsigned
  The unsigned free agents are an entirely different breed.  I would 
not recommend buying them in the first fifteen years or so unless there
is a dynasty player up for grabs.  Money is just too valuable in the 
early years.  With unsigned free agents, you will almost always overpay
for the talent.  Plus, the player you desire may not even want to play
for your team.  If you must obtain an unsigned free agent early in the
game, do this:  look at the potential player(s) you want, then sign any
other free agents first.  Believe me, you would be filled with rage if
you learned that the extra 50K you spent on an over-aged midfielder
prevented you from signing Ronaldo.  Sign your unsigned free agent and
then go to the college draft.  The reason for this is you can go over 
the salary cap to sign your draftee, but not for a free agent.
  Later on in the game, when the only internationals in the game are 
from college, the unsigned free agent pool is a great place to sign
players.  Since there aren't as many internationals, the team salary
drops dramatically.  You now have the freedom to offer as much money
as possible to average players.  In fact, you should try to sign any 
and all quality players in the pool.  If you have excess, trade away for
youth.  With the unsigned free agents, it is preferable to find a player
that will start for your team.  You are going to overpay them either way,
it would be nice if he got some playing time.
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Player Tendencies
  As you play, you'll notice that the players ask for a 10% increase in
salary as soon as their contract runs out.  The only other screen that
comes up is the player not wanting to resign with the team.  The only
reason the player doesn't want to resign is because he isn't getting
playing time.  The only time this matters though, is in the regular
season, and in the last year of his contract.  Here is what to do to
make role players(your first guy off the bench) grow.  During the years
before their last, play them in and out of games during the season.  Play
them in games against weak opponents, or when you've already clinched
home-field advantage through the playoffs.  This way, the player will
at least go up a point or two.  Then, in the last year of his contract,
play him in place of the worst player that start (position 5 at defense,
4 in the midfield, and 7 up front).  You have to make sure, though, that
the player you sit is not in the last year of his contract as well.  
Then sit the worse player during the playoffs, and once you finish the
season, the player will resign, thinking he finally has a future with
the club.
  If you are trying to develop a player, and he doesn't play at all in
his first year, drop him from the team.  His point total, which wasn't
good enough to start in the first place, has now declined, and at that
rate, the player will never improve.  It would be more trouble than its
worth to try to develop him into a quality player.
  Injuries will destroy a player if they are in the last year of their
contract.  Seven or more games out, and chances are they won't resign.
Here's a strategy to try:  if the player gets hurt early in the season,
don't play him at all for the remainder of the games up to game 20(the
trading deadline).  At this point, trade away for a good young player
at the same position.  Most of the time, the injured player you traded
will leave his temporary team, and go to the unsigned free agents pool.
As long as you have enough cash, you can pick up the old player and
have a young guy to work with as well.    
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Trading Tips
  Ever since version 1.5, trading is very difficult in MLSM, so I try to
stay away from it as much as possible.  If you must trade, though, there
are a few tips that you can use.  First of all, you need to analyze the
situation.  Rule one is never give up more than you can afford.  The 
object of trading is to get better.  Don't trade unless you can see the
need for it in three years or less.  More often than not, you'll get 
shafted in the trade.  Never trade an American for an international unless
you have space.  It kills me to see an international guy with a big salary
sitting on the bench due to the foreigner rule.  When you trade, make sure
you have all positions covered.  That means your starting 11 and at least
a backup at each position.  Lastly, always try to trade out of conference
first, and then look to your own conference.  This will make it easier
for you to get first place in your conference, which in turn means an
easier road to the MLS Cup.  It may mean losing some all-star games, but
I think you agree that the payoff is fair. 
  There are some ways to get ahead by trading.  One situation, which is
very rare, is if you have a surplus at one position.  Say you have a
whole bunch of awesome midfielders but a week defense(this is usually
the case for me, as I am an offensive minded player.)  Trade away the
oldest midfielder for a quality defender who is 24 or younger.  This
way, you at least get younger when you decrease a little in skill.  There
is also another good tip to try.  If a player is sidelined for 16 games
or some obscene number and is in the last year of his contract, sit him
for the rest of the season up to game 20, the trading deadline.  Then 
trade him for a good young player with a lesser salary.  When the season
is over, the player who you traded will most likely not resign with the 
new team.  This allows you to resign him.  You will have spent more, but
you have a younger, better team.   
  With every trade I make, I always try to trade the same position(like
a striker for a striker).  There are a few reasons for this.  One, when
you trade for the same position, it is easier to rank how many points
you are giving up(or gaining), and where the new player will rank in
your lineup.  Also, you know that all the positions are covered when you
trade for the same position.  Last, and probably most important, is that
when you trade out of position, you now have an excess of one position
and a shortage in another.  To fill this shortage, you will have to make
more trades, and this could prove disasterous.  If you want to trade out
of position, try to make the trade a two for two, for the sole intent of
keeping all your positions covered.  I find that it is harder to get
ahead in two for two trades, but if you really want/need a player, it
may be the only way.  Just keep in mind what is reasonable to sacrifice
to get a player.
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Game Settings
  As you know, there are many different settings for MLSM.  The best
way to play is with FIFA points, 8 teams in the playoffs, EuroCup
playoff system, and 5 foreigners.  I say this because this looks like
what the MLS is trying to build up to in their league once they have
enough money and a large fan base.  Commissioner Logan has previously
stated that the MLS will abolish the shoot-out(something I despise.  See
the Clash's record for my main reason.) as soon as it is economically
possible.
  In MLSM, these settings offer the most competition and also more fun.
With less foreigners, the teams are not as good.  Plus, the international
free agents will grow old, and by the time you sign them, they will be
in the twilight of their career.  When 8 teams make the playoffs, it is
also more exciting.  Especially if you are the fourth team in the conference,
it gives you something to play for, whereas otherwise, you just watch.
I like the FIFA points and EuroCup playoffs because it's my personal belief
that these are the best systems.  Shootouts suck, and 2 points for a win
isn't enough of a reward.  In the playoffs, the EuroCup, or aggregate
scoring, is the fairest way.  With the knockout system, the home team
almost always wins.  The MLS playoffs are fine, but I don't like the final.
All to often have I had a team that destroys the entire league, only to
lose the championship by a fluke goal or having a few key players injured.
With the EuroCup, both teams have home field advantage for a game; this
is the best way. 
  For more info on the game settings, refer to the help menu in the game.
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LONG LIVE THE KING...ERIC CANTONA #7

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