I want to purchase SL.

[3 Eyed Raven]

I have voted " other".

I'd be very happy to see new management but the phrase  "new features"  worries me much like Davef said above.

I think the game needs maintaining in its current form without too much change.  Things that aren't working should be fixed and there are things that could be done to make playing the game more convenient but I wouldn't like to see they type of add ons that were brought in for SL2.

The main thing I'd like to see change is the number of people playing the game. I'd like to see all the leagues filled at all levels so that it becomes a real challenge to get towards the top of the pyramid. So, the key skills for the new management in my opinion should be marketing rather than software development. In the old days when there were thousands of managers playing there were links to Sunday League on the front pages of the main websites of lots  of major football clubs. I myself joined the game in 2003 after clicking a link on manunited.com.  I realise that premier league football clubs these days have moved on and now earn vast sums from advertising on their websites so that a link on a premier league website may be unfeasible but there will be smaller clubs and other ways to attract people to the game.  To my mind,  invest in marketing , do it well and efficiently making best use of the funds available and then use the cash that comes in from the new people playing the game to employ staff to maintain the game properly. 

[Wizard]

Same as above. I don't want want anything too different to how it currently is. The grass isn't always greener, and the current version satisfies my competitive urge quite thoroughly. There needs to be a few extra players on the transfer market, the match engine can be a bit temperamental at times, and it would be lovely if there could be some kind of improvement to leagues (i.e., having group stages before knock-out stages) and improvements to prizes. Little things. But too many features will create confusion and annoyance (see SL2).

But I've said it before and I'll say it again, there needs to be a clear INSTRUCTION MANUAL for new players who join and don't know what they're doing. How can we expect people to stick around if they don't know which boots are best for certain conditions, which tactics are advantantateous, how to set up a team (and that they have to BUY CREDITS WITH ACTUAL MONEY to set up this team), as well as everything else about SL that we know and love. This is what SL has always lacked... an instruction manual that is flash bang in front of them as soon as they sign up, and an incentive to get them to stay upon joining. And the rest comes down to solid marketing... social media, paid adverts, screenshots of the game put about - the full works.

I'm happy to throw about some more ideas. I work for a technological firm and have been involved in the research/insight and marketing side of things for almost 4 years. (And have been a SL player since 2000... on and off). More than happy to help.

[Gull]

Being a Football Manager fan, my biggest request would be an improvement to the tactical side of the game. I think it's just too easy to stick with a 4-5-1 beats all formation for forever more. Perhaps a squad depth of 22 players would allow enough cover for different formations. I hate the idea of 4-4-2 being so ineffective in this game, it should be the complete opposite.

Tend to agree with all the above posters. The difference in SL1 & SL2 is night & day, with the latter a disaster in my opinion.

[deca]

The reason we all love SL1, and those that leave SL1 keep returning is because of it's simple game play and ease of use.

It needs bringing up to date, and new features added, but keeping the format more or less the same, and avoiding the disaster that became SL2

The game can be globally expanded to Europe and the continent, so that we have true European & World competitions.

All this will take time, but fixing things, bringing up to date, releasing frequent updates and introducing new features gradually ( not all at once ) will improve the game no end

Just takes a bit of vision, patience, and buy in from us all

Cheers

Deca

[captain_kush]

Thanks for this guys and I completely understand where everyone is coming from.

If given the chance to take over, I would take all values into account. I don't want to add SL2 features at all to SL1. I would want to keep the game similar to how it is now but would like to fix the tactical side of the game which includes formations, players and the match engine.  Moreover, the whole game will have to be re coded and built with the latest technology. The main aspect will be improvement (maintenance as 3 eyed raven said) on the game that is currently available. New features may include a bigger team as Gull suggested, a different way of entering the transfer market with more variety. Adding more official competitions etc and eventually creating a mobile app. If the time comes, I would ask help from everybody playing the game and all suggestions would be very welcome.

the absolute first thing would be maintenance and once that is cleared up, advertising. I just want all you to remember that I'm just like you guys. I know how this game is and I have been playing on and off for a very long time. All this game needs is to be more powerful which can be done with a few tweaks and then getting this game out in the market to attract as many players as possible. I am not going to do anything to jeopardise what we have already. I am here to make this game fun and valuable again and most importantly make it try to gain attention. I have already thought of the marketing sides and have some plans already set. As an example; I personally know a few people on Instagram who have 6 digit followers. I have spoken to them before regarding advertisement (before and not on SL) and they are willing to give me a lending hand. That alone could bring a lot of new players in.

The whole reason of this poll created was just to see a rough idea on the opinions of players currently still playing.
I will create a list of what I think needs improvement in this game and what new features could be added.

[captain_kush]

Just a quick list:

Maintenance issues:

Manager profile: Make it look more appealing
Team history: Fixing this page so that everyone is able to see your history and accomplishments. Some team history pages for certain managers are messed up and you are not able to see the furthest column on the right side properly.
Fixing the match engine
Improvement on formations in regards to the match engine (not just 4-5-1, 5-2-3, 2-5-3 that are used to have an advantage)
Allowing you to rank numerous players in terms of captaincy, pens, free kicks, corners (fix the goalkeeper taking issue)
Fixing the subs glitch (a team shouldnt have to make their subs early in the game)
add more players to the transfer market
Fix the game in progress glitch


Examples of features:

Past League positions on history page: You are able to highlight a particular season and when clicked, able to see the final table standings and history regarding that season.
Possibility of buying players from other managers and not just from the transfer market
adding new competitions to the game: TCL and europa will become an official compeition etc. Winner of champs shield vs winner of elite cup and more
tutorial guide for new players signing up so they understand the game from the get go and resume playing.
Expanding the number of players allowed in your team from 20 to ....
New generation of squad players where one can play in more than one position DEF(RC)


I just literally created this now quickly as an example so please don't take the features seriously. I know I've missed out on other things but I just wanted to give an example of how I would go around SL. I would need views and suggestions from absolute everyone playing so a questionnaire will have to made for everyone to answer along with player meetings.

I am not here to mess this game up and change it in any different ways. To be honest I am doing this for the community of SL as you all deserve better than this. There is no way I am following the SL2 route as that was a major FLOP in my opinion. I'm only interested in fixing SL1 ... I wouldn't even know what to do with SL2.
I want to improve SL1 based on what the community wants.

[captain_kush]

Perhaps I may have confused some of you by what I mean by 'improvement'.

The first thing that needs to be done is maintenance. Fixing all current issues/bugs/glitches. This will need to be done as soon as possible so I potentially would need a list of what problems there currently is. I have an idea of some already but I've only been back now for a few weeks since quitting around 5 years ago.

After maintenance is done, the next thing would be is how to improve SL on cetain aspects such inplay, navigation, visibility, optimization, cleaning (i.e recoding), performance etc.

After this we go into the marketing and advertising side of the game and how we can get SL noticed.

The points mentioned above is what I mean by 'improvement' when all added up together

We then think of adding features based on what the community want as a whole. Also look into building a mobile app for SL as everyone has a smartphone these days.

[cha4zz]

I honestly think that the game needs small changes, like Kush has mentioned. The actual structure of the game is good, it just needs tweaks to certain glitches that have been discovered due to years of the game not being updated.

One game-changer would be a mobile app for SL1. If we're talking about the easiest way of attracting new customers to the website, then an app is the way to go. I know that's different development but if we want to drive new people to the site then an app and intelligent SEO, PPC or targeted affiliate marketing is what's going to bring people here.

[munkeespuzz]

I am not here to mess this game up and change it in any different ways. To be honest I am doing this for the community of SL as you all deserve better than this. There is no way I am following the SL2 route as that was a major FLOP in my opinion. I'm only interested in fixing SL1 ... I wouldn't even know what to do with SL2.
I want to improve SL1 based on what the community wants.

I'd be very offended if SL2 wasn't given the attention of SL1 in the future. For me SL2 was a vast improvement when it was introduced in 2011. It was vibrant and very playable if you took time to learn how to play. On introduction it was vastly populated and the forums and chat were as busy as the old version if not more so. Terry did a great job in my opinion. And I believe it's a much more polished version of Sundayleague. The only downfall has been the lack of maintenance and advertising much the same as the old game.
If customers who persevered with its growth and development are going to be ignored with a change in ownership I for one won't go back to playing this version because I feel it's a massive step backwards and would be a kick in the teeth to the effort Terry made to develop a game that for me and some others is much better.
I've played SL since its inception and chose to join the new platform because I felt this game had stagnated and become too dated. I don't blame others who didn't like the change, everyone has different tastes. But I think if there can't be two versions of this site that just need to be advertised and developed then those who want something different are being ignored as customers.

[cha4zz]

I am not here to mess this game up and change it in any different ways. To be honest I am doing this for the community of SL as you all deserve better than this. There is no way I am following the SL2 route as that was a major FLOP in my opinion. I'm only interested in fixing SL1 ... I wouldn't even know what to do with SL2.
I want to improve SL1 based on what the community wants.

I'd be very offended if SL2 wasn't given the attention of SL1 in the future. For me SL2 was a vast improvement when it was introduced in 2011. It was vibrant and very playable if you took time to learn how to play. On introduction it was vastly populated and the forums and chat were as busy as the old version if not more so. Terry did a great job in my opinion. And I believe it's a much more polished version of Sundayleague. The only downfall has been the lack of maintenance and advertising much the same as the old game.
If customers who persevered with its growth and development are going to be ignored with a change in ownership I for one won't go back to playing this version because I feel it's a massive step backwards and would be a kick in the teeth to the effort Terry made to develop a game that for me and some others is much better.
I've played SL since its inception and chose to join the new platform because I felt this game had stagnated and become too dated. I don't blame others who didn't like the change, everyone has different tastes. But I think if there can't be two versions of this site that just need to be advertised and developed then those who want something different are being ignored as customers.

Completely understand this. The issue is (I guess nobody but Junior really knows the answer) is to how profitable/sustainable both forms of SL are. I haven't ever played SL2 so can't comment but if one format of the game is busier and generates more revenue, then naturally that game will get focused on.

[Gull]

I guess the proof's in the pudding. In terms of active users SL2 looks pretty much dead. How many users have tried SL2 and gone back to SL1 or left altogether when it was first rolled out? Has to be a high amount. It looks like Munkeespuzz has admirably "persevered with it's growth" but unfortunately for SL2, at this current point, very few others have.

[davef]

I guess the proof's in the pudding. In terms of active users SL2 looks pretty much dead. How many users have tried SL2 and gone back to SL1 or left altogether when it was first rolled out? Has to be a high amount. It looks like Munkeespuzz has admirably "persevered with it's growth" but unfortunately for SL2, at this current point, very few others have.

SL2 --- Been there, did it, hated it, stopped doing it.

As for finances, I reckon, from what I remember, SL2 could probably improve player-numbers by lowering the cost to managers? Which might help in one way but be counter-productive in another.

SL1 could (probably?) manage a smallish price increase in credits and (maybe?) on the entry fees for PLs (but not, IMO, on transfer fees, at least at the lowest price).  Some decent marketing might bring in merchandise which could then be given for winning anything where there is a credits prize now (maybe give an option for taking credits instead on wins by teams not in X X-1-1s?).

And nothing to stop regular big entry fee, 8 team, big prizes PLs for big teams, big egos, big wallets and big ambitions if on a good run of form?  ;-)

I'd suggest all managers in the top 64 could sell a relatives organ and donate the income to SL --- but I suspect some cultures frown on that kind of thing so maybe it would need discussing properly?

[captain_kush]

Once I have a full discussion/meeting with Junior, I will be able to know more about SL1 and SL2 regarding finances. Everything will be evaluated then. I have a feeling this is going to take a long procedure.

I have not heard back from Junior since last Friday which is a bit worrying but he did mention he is busy with his time being very limited.

[jimbo]

Once I have a full discussion/meeting with Junior, I will be able to know more about SL1 and SL2 regarding finances. Everything will be evaluated then. I have a feeling this is going to take a long procedure.

I have not heard back from Junior since last Friday which is a bit worrying but he did mention he is busy with his time being very limited.

Thank you for all of the updates Kush. This particular forum post reminded me of a similar scenario I was once faced with when I used to play SL2. I left SL2 for various reasons, however, to cut a long story short I was liaising with Sally & Junior with the intention to meet to discuss SL2's problems and the possible solutions. I set an agenda but unfortunately the meeting never happened...

I am happy to share my agenda (please see attached) which I shared with Junior & Sally on 27/05/16.

If you do get the opportunity to meet with Junior it would be great for you to share what gets discussed as it would be brilliant to see some of the ideas mentioned in this forum thread to be embedded. Since I have moved over to SL1 I personally prefer this version and genuinely enjoy the game.

Many thanks

Jimbo 

[captain_kush]

Once I have a full discussion/meeting with Junior, I will be able to know more about SL1 and SL2 regarding finances. Everything will be evaluated then. I have a feeling this is going to take a long procedure.

I have not heard back from Junior since last Friday which is a bit worrying but he did mention he is busy with his time being very limited.

Thank you for all of the updates Kush. This particular forum post reminded me of a similar scenario I was once faced with when I used to play SL2. I left SL2 for various reasons, however, to cut a long story short I was liaising with Sally & Junior with the intention to meet to discuss SL2's problems and the possible solutions. I set an agenda but unfortunately the meeting never happened...

I am happy to share my agenda (please see attached) which I shared with Junior & Sally on 27/05/16.

If you do get the opportunity to meet with Junior it would be great for you to share what gets discussed as it would be brilliant to see some of the ideas mentioned in this forum thread to be embedded. Since I have moved over to SL1 I personally prefer this version and genuinely enjoy the game.

Many thanks

Jimbo 

Thanks for this Jimbo - Really helpful. It's a shame you was never able to meet up and discuss. For me the communities feedback as so important and it's a must if we are to bring this game forward.

Yes I remember when SL2 was released. I signed up and was not a fan at all especially with all the extra perks... It felt like you would have to buy a lot of credits just to compete. Never gave it a chance and still stuck with SL1 in which I did prefer.

Ofcourse If I was to meet up with Junior and continue talks, I would mention everything we have discussed. I will always interact with the community and share everything. I am still waiting for another reply from Junior. Will wait up until tomorrow and if nothing, will be pushy and send more messages. I don't want to be persistent as I respect Junior's time but will have no other alternative in order to chase further talks if communication is taking longer than expected.

Moreover, when a meeting has been scheduled. I am more than happy for any current players to come and attend this meeting given that it isn't everyone. My office space is limited lol. I live in London and my office is located next to Aldgate East station. If a meeting is not possible, can always have a conference call on Skype