Filling the bargain slots

 

At the start of the season, budget is usually very tight. And in order to make it stretch so that you can accommodate some of those more expensive - premium or super-premium - players that you covet, you're inevitably going to have to go for a few super-cheap choices to balance up your spending, so-called budget-enablers.

In general, I recommend going for TWO 4.5-million-pound goalkeepers, rather than anyone more expensive. Though, if you can find find any good starters at only 4.0 million  (rare, but it can happen), it's probably worth taking at least one of them.

Since even the best defenders don't offer very high overall points, you rarely want to be starting more than THREE of them. Hence, you can save money in the initial squad by going for a very cheap 5th defender,... and perhaps even a very cheap 4th as well (though you should always make sure that both are at least guaranteed starters). Your 4th defender will be needed as emergency back-up (if one of your starting three is an unexpected omission) and for occasional rotation (if someone is out with a suspension or a short-term injury, or is just facing a really daunting fixture). But, with luck, you will never need to call on your 5th defender (you should be prepared for the worst; but it may not happen...)

A good 5th midfielder almost always produces more than all but a few of the very best (and hence unaffordably expensive!) 'forwards', so you can also afford to go light on your 3rd forward spot; but never on your 5th midfield spot!

There are always good value options to be found amongst both 'forwards' and 'midfielders', and you can certainly save some money in the last two slots in both positions - but not at the lowest possible price-point: those players will almost certainly be very weak options, if not reserve players who will rarely or never get a start. Players like that are just dead-weight - who will probably leach value out of your squad. Cheap players should still be good players.