Recruitment in non-league isn't just about finding the player with the best

attributes.

Where does he live? What does he want each week? Is he under contract? Is he

on non-contract terms? How much do you actually know about him? Can you get

him on loan? Do you need to give his club seven days' notice before you can even

speak to him?

And while you're figuring all of that out, somebody else might be looking at one

of your players.

Building a squad is a constant job.

Our recruitment system brings all of that together, from your first player search to

scouting, loans, transfers, staff, and eventually deciding who you want back for

another season.

Start searching

The Player Search gives you access to thousands of players across the game

world. You can search directly or narrow things down using filters, with quick

options for Non-Contract, Local and Young players alongside more detailed

custom filters.

And one column is particularly important here: distance.

If you're managing a non-league club on a small weekly budget, finding a player

200 miles away isn't necessarily much use to you.

Players at this level have lives outside football. Many have jobs. They're not

automatically packing everything up and relocating because you've offered them

a few quid on a Saturday afternoon. Sometimes the bloke two miles down the

road is a far more realistic signing than somebody who looks slightly better on

paper.

That's why you can specifically search locally and see exactly how far players are

from your club.

The free-agent pool

If you don't fancy dealing with another club at all, there's always the free-agent

market.

The Free Agents screen gives you a dedicated pool of unattached players,

showing their age, position, previous club, distance from you and an indication of

their expected wage. That last part matters.

A player being available doesn't mean he's affordable, and it doesn't mean you

know everything about him either. You'll notice Knowledge appearing

throughout recruitment. Depending on what you know about a player, you won't

necessarily have perfect information sitting in front of you from the moment you

find him.

Which is where your scout earns his money.

Get someone to have a look

Scouting gives you somewhere to manage the players you're interested in rather

than blindly signing names from a list.

Your shortlist keeps potential targets together, while your scout can be assigned

to investigate players and report back. Completed reports build your knowledge

and give you more information before you decide whether somebody is worth

pursuing.

Of course, this is non-league. Your scouting department might not exactly

resemble Brentford or Brighton’s. No sprawling global recruitment network here.

You don't always have to sign them

Loans are another way to strengthen the squad.

There's a dedicated Loan List within recruitment, allowing you to look for players

who could come in temporarily rather than committing to a permanent signing.

That can be particularly useful when you've suddenly got a hole in the squad or

simply don't have the budget to get the permanent player you want. And as your

season develops, Transfer History keeps a record of who's come and gone.

Loans can return to their parent clubs. Permanent transfers come through the

door. Players leave. The squad you begin the season with doesn't have to be the

one you finish it with.

Sometimes there's a fee

Transfers aren't limited to free agents and non-contract players either.

If a player is contracted to another club, you may need to deal with his club first.

Make an offer, decide what you're prepared to pay and wait for a response. If the

clubs can agree a fee, then you can move on to discussing terms with the player.

The seven-dayer

Then we get to something very familiar to anyone involved in non-league

football: the 7-day approach.

If you want to speak to a player registered with another club, you can't

necessarily just contact him and offer terms there and then. You file your

approach. His club receives the required written notice. And then you wait.

After seven days, the window opens and you can speak to the player and offer

terms. If his current club chooses to waive the notice period, you can do it sooner.

It's one of those little bits of Non-League football that we wanted represented

properly. You've found your man. You want your man. But first, paperwork.

Recruitment isn't only about players

You're building more than the XI on the pitch.

Staff Recruitment sits within the same area and gives you control over the people

working alongside you. Assistant managers, first-team coaches, fitness coaches,

goalkeeping coaches and scouts all come at a cost, and you have a separate staff

budget to work within.

Candidates have their own quality, wage demands and preferred level, while the

vacancies at your club show you where you're still short.

You might want the best backroom team available. Your chairman's budget

might have other ideas. Again, you make the choices.

And then the season ends...

Recruitment doesn't stop once you've assembled your squad.

Eventually, you have to decide who gets to come back. At the end of the season,

registrations run out and your club has to submit its retained list. Every player

whose registration is ending needs a decision.

Keep. Or release.

Players you're keeping may still need new terms negotiated. Those you're

releasing will be allowed to move on. Make your decisions, and your secretary files

the list with the league.

Anyone you've left undecided when the deadline arrives is filed as released. And

once you've submitted it, that's it. You can't change your mind afterwards.

Build a squad that works

That's really what recruitment comes down to.

Not simply finding the highest-rated players you can. You're balancing quality,

wages, geography, availability, knowledge, contracts and the needs of your squad.

Sometimes you'll pay a fee.

Sometimes you'll raid the free-agent market.

Sometimes you'll borrow somebody for a month.

Sometimes you'll put in a seven-dayer and hope he's still interested when the

window opens. And sometimes the best signing you make will simply be

somebody affordable who lives ten minutes from the ground and can reliably

turn up on a wet Tuesday night.

There are thousands of players out there. You just need the right ones.