Scouting networks have blind spots — lean into them

Scouting in FM is a fantasy of competence: sliders, meetings, and reports that arrive like weather. I got tired of pretending my board would fund twelve global analysts by November.

The house rule

I hide certain regions behind a self-imposed delay: no shortlist imports until a human scout has spent 90 days in-country. It slows the save and makes January feel like an actual window instead of a spreadsheet harvest.

What broke (on purpose)

• Instant wonderkid shopping from nations I've never played in
• Signing three Brazilians because their star count looked cute in a screenshot

Payoff

The stories got messier: a delayed flight, a bad recommendation, a youth trialist who peaked at 2.5 stars and still became a cult hero because he fit the tactic.

If your blog is a diary, constraints are plot.