Seems like some good deals for me

That's how I understand it, yes. The signing directive list is more to make sure that if your bid on one rider is nowhere near what other people are willing to pay, that you can use that money elsewhere instead of having to wait until the next day.

I think I've partially stuffed up my transfers already but it's good to see that Baku will have the national RR champion to represent us.

From now on please ignore the MIN value in the FA Overview. I apparently forgot to update that value with signed riders. Thanks @Ulrich for noticing.

Even tho I really like new system, nothing has worked for me. Probably the lowest budget for WT team in history of ICL with around 1k lower than 2nd lowest and 1,5k-2k to most of teams. Absolute crap of debut season and instead of somehow trying to strengthen the team (believe me, I did try it), I only manage to weakened it.

So now I not only have smallest budget but also secured last spot in WT ranking even before season started. Heck, most of CT teams will finish higher in prestige ranking because they will score points in CT races. Can I already get relegated for next season so I don't need whole season to look at my crappy results? Was there a weaker WT team in history of ICL?

And before someone mention I have TVG (he will not have better season than he already had. I cannot believed he finished Giro 4th and Vuelta 3rd. There is no way he can improve that), decent Ulissi (have you seen his results? Oh God...) and Komisarek (he looks he can only sprint in CT races... and only in some of them), those three can only score decent amount of points if you would be the one controlling them in PCM, not AI, lol

So I guess I'll forget this season even exist, fill my team with remaining spots with weak ass minimum wage riders (of course after current lead wages will be overbid today), keep whatever is left for training and start next season from scratch with new name, in CT, releasing every single rider except maybe one that I'll invest training in.

Don't be so pessimistic
You still have some money left and there are still some decent FAs and even if you fail to sign them a lot is possible with training. Also there are some other teams that don't look much stronger.

Edit: Also if you consider other teams having development teams, your budget is not that far off some others anymore

@dominox man I really feel for you! I had the same feeling last year. But what I overlooked last year (and you maybe did this year as well, I don't know about that) is that the teams with developement teams (so almost all teams now) get like 1000 more in budget (but also have to sign 8 more riders). Your budget would be the lowest regardless I think, but maybe that helps a bit.
I guess you wanted to go for Kwiatkowski?

While I have a little bit more budget this year compared to last season, things aren't really going that smoothly for me either. So far I didn't manage to sign my preferred leader and almost all other leaders are gone at this point. So yeah, another season at the bottom is guaranteed I think.

Is it actually possible to have a lower budget next season than new teams? Just trying to plan ahead a bit

Of course it is! Choosing the right focus races is important.

That was an original plan. That's why I tried and managed to sold few riders. I was trying to get some more money. But after day 0 offer for Kwiatkowski was basically all the money I had, and still few riders to sign, so I had to skip him. Second option was another big gun. Whoever signed Quintana for 2005, you should blame me, 2k was my max

Well, I don't have any luck either, but it's my fault I re-signed my ageing riders

Haha I guess we can almost found a self-help group at this point.

I did the same as you, but it's just so hard to get rid of riders that have been there from the start.

These are all familiar issues for me too

It's always possible to get good results with poor riders, it's how I've got this far in the ICL. I don't really put much emphasis on being one of the best teams or overpaying for individual riders, just try to get the most out of my squad each year. Maybe that's why I've avoided relegation so far.

One more bit of advice - when you do get an unexpected win, it's a really good reward for all the races where your team do nothing. So just keep going and enjoy what happens

That was me, my max was way higher, so if it makes you feel better you would have had to bid a lot more to win. I did have a brief window of thinking I might get him for his day 1 demand so will definitely hold that disappointment against you.

Sorry if it's a stupid question, but I'd like to make sure I get that team thread thingy right... If I understand correctly, I can do a post now just to reserve some space for what will be the HQ, which should be updated throughout the season? And then just post updates in the thread as they come in?
Sorry if I'm asking stupid questions, but it seems as if this one is quite different from ManGame in some domains

In ICL you can reserve a post in the Teams thread for your Team HQ which you can update whenever you want. And then, you can make announcements/updates by creating a new post and linking it in the Team HQ post if you want to

Thanks, so then I had understood it correctly

I like that you are creative with the list bids, but it can lead to some complications. So from now on please make sure to send me all of your active lists in case you made any changes in them, even if it's only a small change.
Most did that already, but just making sure!

Also if you have a rider that you placed a normal bid on and included in your list, the higher offer is counting!

It's me again...
Is there any expiration date for auctions? Or do they remain valid until the end of transfers, i.e. if one manager put a rider up for auction on day one I could still place an offer on the very last day? I guess it's like that, as I can't find any terms of expiration...
And can the minimum acceptable amount of an auction be changed as long as nobody has offered on the rider?

Honestly haven't thought about it. I think there is no expiration date for an auction except if the rider is traded away (even if that's not via the auction).

I suppose tha the auction lasts until the originator confirms it?