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Welcome to the guide to LLM (Lower League Management)! In this guide, I will share with you some basic tips to improve your management at 'small clubs' - i.e. those playing in the lower tiers of Europe. I have had a few LLM saves throughout my time playing FMH (Football Manager Handheld), so I will draw on my experiences in those saves. Here are some tips I would like to share (the order is irrelevant): 1. Make use of loan signings - loan signings, or more specifically loans of youngsters from bigger clubs, is an easy way to sign players for your club who cost nothing. When making the offer, I would first check whether or not the player is listed for loan (if he is listed for loan, it is more likely his club will accept your offer) - if he is, then make a loan offer with 0% of his wages and no recall clause. The duration of the loan is up to you, but bear in mind leagues often have loan restrictions (e.g. they may limit your club to four long-term loans a season) - so you may want to check the 'Rules' tab of your league before making your loans. Essentially, only loan players for as long as you need them. 2. Sign some 'shadow players' from your reserves - these are the players who appear greyed-out in your reserves, or sometimes even your first team. They can be signed for free, on wages of £70, and if you look hard enough, you will be able to find some who are promising youngsters, and are worth signing on and promoting to your first team. After signing him, if you want to hold onto him for the long-term, then you need to offer him a contract extension, as most of the time (or maybe all of the time, I am not sure), shadow players sign for your club on a short-term, often one-year, contract. 3. Try to sign players for free, or for very cheap - you will often be able to sign players for free who are willing and good enough to join your club, so refrain from signing many players for fees. Obviously, you can look for unattached players who will join on a free, but I have also found that many transfer-listed players (you can search for them on 'Player Search'), can be signed on a free too - just make an enquiry with their club to check first. If you are playing in a league very low down the footballing pyramid, then you may also be able to sign players for free from rival clubs (clubs in your league), due to them not good enough to warrant a value. 4. Use simple tactics - when it comes to the tactical side of LLM, simple is best. Try to use the most simple of tactics (often a 4-4-2), with as little fancy instructions as possible. What often works best is a 4-4-2 with an AMR and an AML, with instructions such as 'Balanced', 'Mixed' and 'Pressing'. In the lower league, a partnership of Poacher-Target Man is often the best bet for your attack, since it is very simple - but remember, do not buy players to suit a tactic; create a tactic to suit the players! 5. Sell players on high wages - you will probably not need most of these players once you have signed loanees, shadow players or players on frees, since the attributes of your incoming players will most likely be far superior to those at the club when you started. You may want to retain a few players on high wages, if you deem it necessary, but it is best to cut down on the high-earners, because you can often get better or equal players on cheaper wages in LLM. 6. Load a large database - if possible, select 'Large Database' from preferences and load one league. The large database will mean that there will be more players available for you to sign, and loading only the league you are managing in will mean that more players will be at the club when you start. 7. Do not use a training schedule which is too demanding - players in the lower leagues often cannot handle Intensive Training, or anything with a high workload, so try to prevent setting training schedules which are too demanding. You may want a separate (heavier) training schedule for players who are not good enough for your first team, so they can improve (if you do not mind them being injured), but it is generally not a good idea to have a heavy training schedule in LLM. Please note that this guide is written for iOS and Android, although some elements of it may also be applicable to PSP.