Crazy Canuck on FM13 Tour - Finding a home in the North American Soccer Wilderness

So it's been a while since playing FM13, mainly because it's gotten a lot more challenging and other games (and coursework) were taking my time. Euro Truck Simulator 2 sure is bloody addicting for such a simple game...

I've never been a tactical genius on FM, and more of a talent finder and evaluator on the Director of Football/General Manager level. So I will suck with tactics in FM unless they changed the sport to be played on ice with 5 position players and a goalie with a rubber disk and long curvey sticks.

Now, this save will be different than 99% of the saves here, mainly because of two things:

1. I have fictional leagues loaded. Mostly everyone here do have a lower league local club to support and there's attachment there. Mine happens to be Toronto FC of MLS, who have shown me that they absolutely no idea how to run a successful soccer club in 6 years, which has kind of turned me off them for the time being. Last year (FM12), I started with the fictional Markham Marauders and really had a fun time with them for a while. Hopefully this one will a bit longer. Mind I'm starting unemployed so I'll be somewhere in Canada hopefully.

Fictional Canada + USA

Maybe I'm channeling my inner OOTP, because fictional leagues are pretty interesting...

2. Most FMCUers start in January/July 2012. I'm starting in June 2020. Mainly because of the challenge of managing newgens and I want to get to 2030 to get there. So instead of 18 years in game for that to happen, it'll only take me 10!

I thought of writing an FMS style background of the Canadian and US leagues, but I want to finish my seasons as quick as possible, so going to pass on that!

Save Setup:

• Playable: Canada, Mexico, USA (my goal is to only actually manage in Canada and the US. Mexico is loaded to balance the region somewhat and there's loads of Mexican Americans anyways)
  
• View-Only: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, China, England, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Scotland, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, Wales
  

So errr, wish me luck? First season has been completed already, and I might be on the move after season 1!

Post Reserved (for something I can't think yet).

So, 29 year old Ricky Nakano needs a job. Sitting in an office didn't cut it for him. So he decided to seek an unusual career change: being a football manager. So off he went applying for jobs across Canada and the US, and he stumbled upon someone willing to give him a shot at being a manager.

Winnipeg Fury - CSL West (3rd tier)

Chairman Chris Barrett gave young Nakano a chance to be a manager. The pay was alright, $50,000 a year which wasn't a big paycut from his day job, but he can feed his family. Now he was given a whooping $5+ million to spend on transfers, and a good wage budget of $5.4 million. He surely can't blow this up given the Fury have the 2nd highest player salary in the league right? Right???

That day, Nakano stated in the press conference: "Our goal is to at least make the playoffs. We're a good team, we expect the playoffs. Anything less would be a disappointment."

I guess the following results will speak for themselves...

Standings - It was an ugly season. The team didn't win a league game after the fireworks ringed in the 2021 year. The team just slid all the way down the table...and so did my job security.

Transfers - If there was one thing I was good at, it was spending money. Of course, only a couple really worked out...if we had one thing, it was money to spend and money to lure players to chilly Winnipeg, like persuading a veteran LB/RB to move from sunny Honolulu to Winnipeg for double the money.

---

Squad - There's no excuses, but I would have to say there were a lot of injuries. I lost count on the number of torn hamstrings my players suffered. Would be nice if I'm allowed a fitness coach.

Dave Hart - Our best player this past season. Unfortunately for him, he was injured for long periods of time (including 2 torn hamstrings) but he was good when healthy.

Leonel Romero - Probably the only other player I was quite pleased about. He didn't really wow anyone in terms of stats, but I'm optimistic about his chances of being successful next season with a full pre-season and training camp.

Gil Enriquez - The poster boy for our struggles. He came to the squad with high hopes, but all he really did was go back home to Mexico for 3 months leave of absence and get injured. He just didn't work out.

Overview | Facilities | Affiliations | Finances

Now I have no idea whether my contract will be renewed, we will see...

Career Overview

Year      Team               League             Position            Notes
2020-21   Winnipeg Fury      CSL West           13th/16th        Disaster

Look forward to reading this! Good luck.

We're There For You

Winnipeg Fury sack manager Ricky Nakano

May 26, 2021 - The Winnipeg Fury have sacked first year manager Ricky Nakano. In a statement issued by the club, Chairman Christopher Barrett stated:

"We're thankful for the hard work Ricky Nakano has put on the club in the past season. However, the results were not up to par and we felt we had to make a change for the better of the team. We would like to wish Mr. Nakano the best of luck in the future."

The Canadian manager, through a press release on the club website, stated:

"I'm thankful of the opportunity that Mr. Barrett gave me over the past season. I understand we are in a results-based business and I have no regrets other than the fact that I wished we could have made the playoffs, and ultimately that responsibility fell on my shoulders. I wish the Winnipeg Fury the best for the future."

He had been with the club for 336 days, compiling a W-D-L record of 8-8-17.

Look forward to reading this! Good luck.

Cheers AcidBurn. Not the best of starts so far...

June 13, 2021

Des Moines Warchiefs hire Canadian Ricky Nakano as their next manager

The Des Moines Warchiefs, coming off a 12th place finish in the 7th tier Patriot League Select - Central Division, narrowly missing relegation, have hired relative unknown Canadian Ricky Nakano as the 4th manager in club history. Chairman Nick Leiweke has hailed the hiring as one that can bring the Warchiefs back to their previous glory.

"We feel that Ricky is someone who is a player's coach, someone who can relate to the players and want to push them to succeed," the Chairman told the local media, "he has a year of experience managing in the Canadian leagues and we feel he has the abilities to take us to the next level. We are thrilled a manager of his talent has decided to accept our offer. Des Moines Warchiefs soccer will be back with Ricky in charge."

Flanked by the Chairman, the new manager stated he was excited to get back to work. "I'm happy to be in Des Moines," Nakano stated, "I would like to thank Mr. Leiweke for giving me this opportunity to manage this club. I'm ready to get to work with the coaching staff and players, and bring a winning tradition to the club."

Q and A Session with the new manager

Reporter: Welcome to Des Moines Mr. Nakano.

Ricky Nakano: Thank you.

Reporter: You come to Des Moines after being fired from the Winnipeg Fury in the Canadian lower leagues. What can you bring to the Des Moines Warchiefs that you couldn't with the Fury?

RN: One thing I will bring to the club is a sense of discipline in training and on the pitch and encourage attacking soccer. Our players will not be outworked. Our players will play physical but within the rules. We will play a full 90 minutes with 100% effort, because as we all know, a simple mistake can be to goals by our opponent. My experience with the Winnipeg Fury was a great ride and I learnt a lot of things about professional soccer. But now my goal is to help the Des Moines Warchiefs win soccer games.

Reporter: There were some grumblings that you were often outcoached in most of your games in Canada. Can you adjust with the Warchiefs?

RN: I think it was down to experience in my first season as manager. Soccer management can be a rude awakening, and I learned some valuable lessons in my first season. I believe I have what it takes to make adjustments here and win games.

Reporter: There were rumours out of Winnipeg that the Fury had the 2nd highest salary in the division and a big transfer budget. You will be afforded such luxuries with the Warchiefs. How will you bring players knowing that you can't outspend the other teams to get better?

RN: Good question. Now I would hope that you understand in Canada were only 3 tiers: the Canadian Soccer League, the Canadian Soccer League 2nd division, and the regional divisions. Compared to the States, Canada just doesn't have enough talent to go around. It's not about the caliber of players, it's more the amount of players. The US has 10 times the population of Canada, and soccer is the leading participation sport in the country, and so there will a much broader pool to choose from. A lot more American players get released from their club teams for whatever reason and thus we can strengthen the squad without spending a lot of money, if any.

Reporter: What are your personal expectations this season?

RN: I want us to challenge for the playoffs. We shouldn't be in this division. In our inaugural season, we were in the 6th tier and were briefly in the 5th. I think we can do a lot better and get back there.

Reporter: What do you think of the squad and staff so far. Are you planning to make drastic changes?

RN: I haven't seen the team play yet, so I would have to look at film from the previous season to determine who should stay on the team. But in this results based business, turnover is common, especially since the other teams in the league want to get better, and the only way to get better than those teams is to change for the better. I will have to evaluate with the current coaching to determine that. Our current staff will stay for the time being. They have been with the team for the past season and I will work with them to improve the team.

Reporter: I realize that you stated at the beginning that you want to play attacking soccer, but the team play in Winnipeg was anything but. How are you going to get your team to play the style that you want and get the goals?

RN: We will play attacking soccer. In my first year, I was kind of thrown into the fire with a lot of expiring contracts and little time for the time to gel. It was 7 days until free agency and we had no staff. I had to keep things simple. But here in Des Moines, I have ample time to bring the people I need and my assistant, the coaching staff, and our scout will get to work to collaborate on a plan to give fans here a winning team.

Standings

Squad

Squad Depth

Welcome back Rancer. Looking forward to this

Shame to see you sacked but good luck at Des Moines

Welcome back rancer890. That sacking will prove to be just a footnote in your career, I'm sure

Good to see our Canadians return

A sacking already! That doesn't bode well

Good luck!

So, we're at the 2+ months mark, and life at the Warchiefs is going well, although there's always room for improvement. My board has told me he wants Promotion, I tell him that's near impossible, but I can aim for the playoffs. He says he still wants promotion and reminds me I'm only on a one year deal...so yeah...no choice I guess.

So, given the board wants promotion, I need to be in a playoff spot in order to be eligible for promotion playoffs, or 5th place. Unfortunately, we're in 7th, albeit 1 point off a top 5 spot. Our form this season hasn't been too bad, although we need all the wins I can get. We have half a season to turn this around. I'm pleased with most of our transfers so far.

I really happy with our squad. Yes there are some holes (especially at the back imo), but we're doing alright. Angel Mercado is our leading goal scorer, with 10 goals, 2 assists, in 14 games. while his striker partner Derek Hancock has chipped in as the support striker, with 6 goals, and 6 assists in 14 games.

New highest paid player Alvaro Soriano has done a good job, and Ryan Ramos has been steady at the back.

Our breakout player this season has been Anthony Gutierrez, showing that at only 16, he's ready to be a contributor.

Goals for the rest of the season: Obviously, it's to do better and get in the playoff hunt because my employment prospects depend on a playoff spot and a challenge for promotion.

And cheers for the support guys. Hopefully I don't go 2 for 2 in sackings and jobs.

Nice to see a fellow Canadian returning to FM around the same time as me

Cheers cerud. Guess now that the hockey world is back to normal we're back playing FM.

Oh, and my former club, Winnipeg Fury, are 8-7-0 halfway through their season tied for first place...using mostly my players.

It's the tactical play this year. I can't wrap my head around it for some reason!

It's the tactical play this year. I can't wrap my head around it for some reason!

I'm using default 442 (no changes). Doing a lot better than the tactics I've personalized. Whatever works and gets me the wins because I know I can assemble the talent to win.

Sometimes no change is good...

Yeah, 4-4-2 seems to work well at the moment. Nothing too complicated, seems to be the way forward.