deltablue Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Great job. Pity to end your time at Sheffield on a defeat but that seems like nothing compared to all that came before. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted July 9, 2014 Author Share Posted July 9, 2014 Great job. Pity to end your time at Sheffield on a defeat but that seems like nothing compared to all that came before. Thanks, it was a shame, but to be honest I was already looking to the future by then and I expect the players were distracted as well - both by the forthcoming World Cup but also wondering about who the new manager would be Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted July 9, 2014 Author Share Posted July 9, 2014 After being sacked by Newcastle in mid season following a troubled few months, Pep Guardiola moved to Liverpool - his 3rd Premier league club having previously been at Manchester United. Within months of taking over at Anfield his team lifted the Champions League trophy to leapfrog Jose Mourinho and Sir Alex Ferguson and secure his place as the most successful football manager of all time. Take that Newcastle United!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted July 9, 2014 Author Share Posted July 9, 2014 Our World Cup warm up wasn't exactly ideal, although it did get better the closer we got to the competition kick off - so maybe I can hope that we're building a bit of momentum. We played a Wales team ranked an incredible 110th in the world in March and despite dominating the entire game we couldn't find a breakthrough. This was an embarassing result but it could have been worse if my own player Marc Parry hadn't put his chance wide with seconds remaining on the clock. In preparation for our game against Mali in the group stages we'd prepared a final game at home before we departed to Spain against Cameroon but in a game we really should have won we were pegged back twice as a result of defensive errors. Things improved significantly once we arrived at our pre-World Cup training camp as we held the hosts Spain to a 2-2 draw before a comfortable victory to boost confidence against the minnows of Northern Ireland. I'm really not confident heading into the competition - I think we can match the FA's expectations of reaching the 2nd round but anymore beyond that will be a real challenge..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted July 9, 2014 Author Share Posted July 9, 2014 Getting a result in the first match of the World Cup is always key to build confidence and to avoid the nerves that would immediately set in if we went into the second round of games on the back foot. Turkey were 28th in the world and only had a couple of top class players in their ranks so we were firm favourites but they gave us a really tough game. Phil Kakabouras gave us the lead in the 33rd minute which was a relief because I needed him on form and he had struggled in the warm up games, but just after half time Turkey equalised and started to look more dangerous. Luckily in the 71st minute central defender Daniel Williams rose highest and headed home from a corner - Williams was an absolute star for us 4 years ago, he can't do it again can he? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted July 9, 2014 Author Share Posted July 9, 2014 Our next opponents Portugal had beaten Mali in their first round game and therefore we were both sitting at the top of the group on 3 points. The winner would therefore have a fantastic chance to top the group overall. Portugal were also a team sitting in the mid 20's in the world rankings and with the exception of Chelsea goalkeeper Wilson Carvalho between the sticks they didn't have many players to worry us. If Carvalho was their star player he wasn't living up to his potential as he conceeded an own goal in the 8th minute. To be fair there wasn't a huge amount he could do about it. Neville Padilla had lined up a free kick from outside the area and after it thumped the cross bar it cannoned back down and off Carvalho's back and into the net. However despite being second best throughout the match Portugal hit us twice either side of half time and Carvalho then recovered from his early slip up to keep out us for the remainder of the game despite creating chance after chance. With Turkey and Mali drawing in the other game, we need to ensure we get a result against Mali to secure our progression into the second round. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted July 9, 2014 Author Share Posted July 9, 2014 I was conscious that getting off to a good start in this game would be key, the longer the game went on the more the nerves might set in as the possibility of going out in the group stages became more real. Luckily Neville Padilla and Anthony Gavin didn't keep me waiting long as they revelled in the space that Mali allowed them on the right and left wings. Padilla got the first, firing in as early as the 5th minute. Padilla then crossed for Anthony Gavin to tuck away our second on the 18th minute and when Gavin scored his second on the 36th minute I could relax knowing that the game was secure. With the other group game going on at the same time I was being kept up to date that Turkey were winning against Portugal and with the prospect of still being able to top the group on goal difference I told the team to push forward - that approach backfired when Mali got one back in the 52nd minute and it wouldn't have made a difference anyway as Portugal managed to find an equaliser. I am worried about my goalkeeper - in 3 games the opposition have managed 7 shots on target and have scored 4 goals - that's just not good enough at this level. The problem is that I don't have a realistic alternative to playing Jordan Lopez in goal. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted July 9, 2014 Author Share Posted July 9, 2014 France and Netherlands are the shock departures from the competition in the Group Stage. France only managed 1 point against Uruguay, Japan and Bosnia & Herzegovna - you can't imagine that manager Mathieu Debuchy will be able to survive that inquisition when he gets back home. We've really paid the price for failing to top the group and will line up against Brazil in the second round instead of Denmark. In fact in general the 2nd round has thrown up some really challenging fixtures - Italy v Argentina, England v Germany...... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted July 9, 2014 Author Share Posted July 9, 2014 So we faced a massive task up against Brazil in the second round, but we made an absolutely stunning start. From an early corner the ball broke to anchor man Tyrone Moore on the corner of the Brazil penalty area - Moore swivelled on the spot and with barely any backlift fired the ball past Denis in the Brazilian goal. We held Brazil off fantastically for the remainder of the first half, they barely mustered an attempt on goal and despite not creating any more chances ourselves we were looking comfortable. Brazil started better in the second half and were creating more chances - we were still holding them at bay though until in the 83rd minute Elton at last managed to break our defence down to find an equaliser. That made things level and as we headed into extra time it gave me a problem, despite having looked comfortably defensively we hadn't really created a chance since taking the lead in the 8th minute. We needed to push forward more but in doing so that gave Brazil more space at the back and buoyed by his first goal Elton found a second with only minutes to go in the 114th minute. With only 6 minutes left to play we pushed everybody forward but it was too late we were out.... Once again I have to look at my goalkeeper and question his performance - against Brazil we were really expecting plenty of shots on target - in the end our defence had managed to restrict them to 4 shots in 120 minutes of play but they'd scored from 2 of them. I have to take responsibility for not making the change after the group stages, but I'm now really going to have to look at this for the future. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 Pity to go out to Brazil like that Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodesire Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 Harsh, very very harsh but you did rather well, considering the circumstances and lack of a decent goalie. Wasn't Tim Howard available? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 What a career with Sheffield. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted July 11, 2014 Author Share Posted July 11, 2014 Pity to go out to Brazil like that Gutted Harsh, very very harsh but you did rather well, considering the circumstances and lack of a decent goalie. Wasn't Tim Howard available? To be fair Jordan Lopez has been a really good keeper for us - in previous years he's been the equivalent of Tim Howard and he is the regular first team keeper for Bayern Munich so he is getting plenty of top flight football. However after these recent performances especially given he's 33 now and will be 37 by the time of the next World Cup he is going to be dropped to give some others a chance. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted July 11, 2014 Author Share Posted July 11, 2014 What a career with Sheffield. No time for reminiscing - I've got a new challenge to focus on!!!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted July 11, 2014 Author Share Posted July 11, 2014 Having knocked us out in the second round, Brazil progressed all the way to the final relying on penalties to knock out Algeria before beating Spain 2-0 in the semi-final. There they faced an England side who had impressively beaten Germany, Portugal and then on penalties Italy to make it to the final. A very tight game ended up going to penalties where England remarkably won a second penalty shoot out in a row to lift the World Cup for the second time in 3 attempts. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 Presumably you're continuing with the US for a while, will you have any interest in a new club anytime soon? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted July 11, 2014 Author Share Posted July 11, 2014 Presumably you're continuing with the US for a while, will you have any interest in a new club anytime soon? I was in two minds about whether to continue with the US or not - the quality of the youngsters coming through isn't great and we've lost some good players over recent years - we also don't have much else to win having previously lifted the World Cup and the Gold Cup. The only competitions I haven't won with the US are the Olympics and the Confederations Cup. I think I'll stay on for now, there's a good reason for me to remain with the US which you'll see shortly - but the situation will remain under review. News on a new club to follow shortly - I've actually already taken over (before the World Cup started) but it made sense to summarise that before telling you where I've ended up..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted July 11, 2014 Author Share Posted July 11, 2014 What went on Elsewhere? English Premier League 2020/21 - 1st Chelsea 2nd Newcastle United 3rd Liverpool 4th Man Utd - Relegated Huddersfield Town, Millwall, Wigan Athletic 2021/22 - 1st Man Utd 2nd Newcastle United 3rd Man City 4th Tottenham - Relegated Blackburn Rovers, Burnley, Ipswich Town 2022/23 - 1st Newcastle United 2nd Man City 3rd Arsenal 4th Man Utd - Relegated Huddersfield Town, Millwall, Fulham 2023/24 - 1st Man Utd 2nd Man City 3rd Arsenal 4th Newcastle United - Relegated Ipswich Town, Bolton Wanderers, Burnley 2024/25 - 1st Newcastle United 2nd Man United 3rd Sheffield FC 4th Arsenal - Relegated Blackburn Rivers, Stoke City, Wigan Athletic 2025/26 - 1st Chelsea 2nd Man United 3rd Arsenal 4th Sheffield FC - Relegated WBA, Millwall, Bolton Wanderers 2026/27 - 1st Sheffield FC 2nd Liverpool 3rd Newcastle United 4th Arsenal - Relegated Southampton, Wigan Athletic, Bristol City 2027/28 - 1st Sheffield FC 2nd Arsenal 3rd Chelsea 4th Man City - Relegated Ipswich Town, Blackburn Rovers, Sunderland 2028/29 - 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FC Nurnberg 4th Bayer Leverkusen - Relegated 1.FC Kaiserslautern, 1.FC Koln, Dynamo Dresden DFB Pokal 2020/21 - Winners Wolfsburg Runners-Up Hamburg 2021/22 - Winners Bayer Leverkusen Runners-Up Fortuna Dusseldorf 2022/23 - Winners Fortuna Dusseldorf Runners-Up 1.FSV Mainz 05 2023/24 - Winners Bayern Munich Runners-Up 1.FC Koln 2024/25 - Winners Bayer Leverkusen Runners-Up SC Freiburg 2025/26 - Winners FC SChalke 04 Runners-Up MSV Duisburg 2026/27 - Winners TSG 1899 Hoffenheim Runners-Up Wolfsburg 2027/28 - Winners Bayern Munich Runners-Up Wolfsburg 2028/29 - Winners 1.FSV Mainz 05 Runners-Up Borussia Mochengladbach 2029/30 - Winners VfL Wolfsburg Runners-Up Hamburg SV ---------------------------------------------------------------------- French Ligue 1 2020/21 - 1st Saint-Etienne 2nd Toulouse 3rd Lille 4th Marseille - Relegated Evian TG, Clermont Foot 63, Metz 2021/22 - 1st Lille 2nd PSG 3rd Saint Etienne 4th Lens - Relegated Troyes, Stade Reims, Nancy 2022/23 - 1st Olympique Marseille 2nd PSG 3rd Saint Etienne 4th Lille - 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Relegated Dundee United 2022/23 - 1st Celtic 2nd Rangers 3rd Hibernian 4th Motherwell - Relegated East Stirlingshire 2023/24 - 1st Celtic 2nd Hearts 3rd St. Mirren 4th Rangers - Relegated Dundee United 2024/25 - 1st St. Mirren 2nd Rangers 3rd Celtic 4th Motherwell - Relegated Ross County 2025/26 - 1st Celtic 2nd Rangers 3rd Motherwell 4th Hibernian - Relegated St Johnstone 2026/27 - 1st Celtic 2nd Rangers 3rd Motherwell 4th St. Mirren - Relegated Kilmarnock 2027/28 - 1st Celtic 2nd Motherwell 3rd St Mirren 4th Rangers - Relegated Airdrie United 2028/29 - 1st Rangers 2nd Celtic 3rd Motherwell 4th St. Mirren - Relegated Dundee 2029/30 - 1st Celtic 2nd Rangers 3rd St. Mirren 4th Motherwell - Relegated St Johnstone Scottish FA Cup 2020/21 - Winners Hibernian Runners-Up St. Mirren 2021/22 - Winners Motherwell Runners-Up Hearts 2022/23 - Winners Hearts Runners-Up East Stirlingshire 2023/24 - Winners Celtic Runners-Up Dundee 2024/25 - Winners Rangers Runners-Up Hearts 2025/26 - Winners Celtic Runners-Up Rangers 2026/27 - 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FC Nurnberg Runners-Up Real Madrid 2026/27 - Winners Valencia Runners-Up Newcastle United 2027/28 - Winners Manchester United Runners-Up Lille 2027/28 - Winners Man City Runners-Up Norwich City 2029/30 - Winners Man City Runners-Up Sporting Lisbon ---------------------------------------------------------------------- World Cup 2014 - Winners Spain Runners-Up France 2018 - Winners Spain Runners-Up Belgium 2022 - Winners England Runners-Up Brazil 2026 - Winners USA Runners-Up Croatia 2030 - Winners England Runners-Up Brazil European Championship 2016 - Winners Netherlands Runners-Up England 2020 - Winners Italy Runners-Up Spain 2024 - Winners Spain Runners-Up Netherlands 2028 - Winners Germany Runners-Up Croatia Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidBeckham Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 And England won the World Cup! Unbelievable Jeff! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 Broken game. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted July 15, 2014 Author Share Posted July 15, 2014 And England won the World Cup! Unbelievable Jeff! Broken game. Especially when you consider they won it with 2 penalty shoot out wins in a row! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted July 15, 2014 Author Share Posted July 15, 2014 In the days running up to the start of the World Cup a job became available that I couldn't not apply for......... A couple of factors that were involved in my thinking I've never managed in the US before in any version of FM I want to manage on another continent in my next role so I'm not competing against Sheffield FC I'd really like to have a go managing with the madness of the MLS transfer system I'm already considered a god in the US having lifted the World Cup with them 4 years ago I'd have the opportunity to develop some good young US talents to make it through to the US national squad That just left some negotiations to be completed between myself and the chairman Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted July 15, 2014 Author Share Posted July 15, 2014 Within days of taking over in my new post and without any requests from me I got this message - clearly the chairmen had hit it off whilst negotiating the compensation for my departure..... Surely this is fate! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodesire Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 Wow, an interesting move and that merchandise deal is going to be really helpful.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 Only £300,000 for you? Bargain. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted July 18, 2014 Author Share Posted July 18, 2014 Wow, an interesting move and that merchandise deal is going to be really helpful.. I couldn't believe it - that's a massive income from a parent club deal Only £300,000 for you? Bargain. Best deal they'll ever make Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted July 18, 2014 Author Share Posted July 18, 2014 D.C. United is an American professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having competed in the league since its inception, in 1996. The team's home field is the 45,596-seat Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, owned by the District of Columbia and located on the Anacostia River. The team is owned by the consortium D.C. United Holdings. In the league's early years, D.C. was the most successful of all the teams. In their first year, coach Bruce Arena led the team to the first "double" in modern U.S. soccer history by beating the Los Angeles Galaxy in the first MLS Cup and the Rochester Raging Rhinos of the USL First Division in the 1996 U.S. Open Cup. D.C. repeated its MLS Cup victory in 1997 against the Colorado Rapids, in front of a home crowd at RFK Stadium. However in recent times D.C. have fallen away and have struggled to form a regular challenge on the MLS title, the exception to this being a brief resurgence in 2026 and 2028. Manager Ben Olsen was in charge at DC United for over 15 years but in the midst of a very poor season following DC United's last title the board decided to dispense with his services. Simon Figueroa took over but his spell in charge was less than 6 months as he failed to improve the side's fortune. As I take over the club are languishing in 9th place in the Eastern conference with only 10 points on the board from 12 games played. The board are expecting me to secure a place in the play-offs by the end of the season which should be achievable, but we'll need to start turning results around soon. The club's finances are healthy, although not as strong as they have been in recent years - the new deal with Sheffield FC will definitely help to maintain this position. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted July 18, 2014 Author Share Posted July 18, 2014 At the point of my taking over the squad has some real problems - in places it's ok with some real quality. Andrew Gomez in attacking midfield is probably the stand out player, I know him well as a regular squad player in my USA team. Central defence looks ok with Chris Banks a solid central defender and my only designated player Abubakar Chukwuma a capped Nigerian international. The clear problem that I'll need to resolve quickly is that we have nobody who can effectively play as a striker to score our goals. 18 year old Alex Evans has some potential for the future but he's clearly struggling to deal with the pressure of leading the line as his sole goal in the league and an average rating of 6.1 proves. Alex Evans - Alex is an exciting talent and a player I expect who could develop into an international player with my support, but he desperately needs some quality experience to help relieve pressure on him up front. Andrew Gomez - The best quality within the squad, at 25 years old I'll be desperate to hold onto Andrew and build a squad around him Khaled Arfaoui - A young Tunisian goalkeeper who has been internationally capped, he has real potential for the future. He was bought in by my predecessor for £700k about 6 months ago and has performed well. I'm not convinced that he is the best use of one of my 8 international players and I might look to sell him on for a profit in a year or two and bring in a US player in goal? Chris Banks - a solid, if unremarkable, central defender who will help to keep us tight at the back. Seth Burns - another defender who has been in and around my US squad. At 31 years old he's not going to improve any further but he'll also be a strong experienced player who will help us build a squad for the next couple of years. Walter - an exciting Brazilian flair player who I'll be looking to create goals for me from the right wing. He just needs a player in the box who can stick them away Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 Good luck navigating your way though the MLS. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 I don't believe it - you moved on! Good luck with D.C., although I will miss the Sheffield adventure! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted July 21, 2014 Author Share Posted July 21, 2014 My career in Washington started with a couple of games spread across 2 months as both the fixture list and the squad faced severe disruption from the World Cup. We headed into our first games with several first team players including Andrew Gomez and our star central defender on international duty. As a result 17 year old youngster Brett Whitfield was left deputising in central defence when he normally plays at right or left back. Given the disruption to the squad and the low morale when I took over these results were perhaps to be expected but they show the scale of the challenge that I have on my hands - I'll need to strengthen this squad quickly to be able to compete. The table now looks distinctly worse than it did when I took over, although mainly as a factor of other clubs playing more games than me - a 14 point gap to the play-off positions is a concern. Despite all of our woes in the league we put a couple of decent results together in the Lamar Hunt Open Cup - first up we comprehensively beat non-MLS side (but last year's beaten finalists) Tampa Bay Rowdies before pulling off an impressive victory away to the New York Red Bulls to give our fans something to cheer about. Maybe we can use a cup run to reinvigorate our league form Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted July 21, 2014 Author Share Posted July 21, 2014 Good luck navigating your way though the MLS. Thanks, I think I might need it. If anyone knows of a decent guide to playing in the MLS please let me know. I think somebody wrote one for the forums a couple of years ago but I can't find it now. I don't believe it - you moved on! Good luck with D.C., although I will miss the Sheffield adventure! All good things have to come to an end and it was just getting too easy! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted July 21, 2014 Author Share Posted July 21, 2014 As we headed into July it was abundantly clear that we needed to strengthen the squad, but an opportunity was presented to pick up players released by European squads at the end of their contracts and I made sure that I did exactly that, with my main focus on the lack of a main striker. Stefan van der Heijden - Stefan is a world class striker with over 50 caps for Holland and experience of playing at leading clubs across Europe including Newcastle United and Borussia Dortmund where he lifted the Bundesliga title twice. He joins and takes up my second designated player slot and I hope will score plenty of goals for us Rigoberto Montoya - At 19 years of age this young Honduran midfielder will slot straight into the middle of the park next to Andrew Gomez and should give us some real strength there as he develops over the next few years. Haris Dautovic - Haris was released by Hearts in the Scottish Premier League after 5 years there. He's been capped by Bosnia & Herzegovna on 17 occasions and will really help to strengthen the squad. Mike Saucedo - At £300k I think I overpaid for Mike from Sporting Kansas City, but first of all I still don't really understand the MLS transfer system and secondly I was just desperate to get bodies in. Only time will tell how Mike will perform for us, I'm not sure he's a long term solution for our problems. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 Hope you get a lot of goals out pf van der Heijden while you can. He hasn't got much career left it seems. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodesire Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 The new signings look good, might have a good run in the cup if all goes well.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted July 22, 2014 Author Share Posted July 22, 2014 Hope you get a lot of goals out pf van der Heijden while you can. He hasn't got much career left it seems. Unsurprisingly at his age pace will be the main issue - he should continue to be able to perform well as a target man for a couple of years however - he's signed onto a contract for 18 months so we'll see how he performs over this time. The new signings look good, might have a good run in the cup if all goes well.. A cup run will be nice, but an improved performance in the league is the priority - of course the vagaries of the MLS transfer system (that I'm still trying to understand) mean that the better I perform in the league, the worse my choices will be in the MLS draft - I think???? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted July 22, 2014 Author Share Posted July 22, 2014 After a 2 month period with only 2 league games played we were immediately hit by a crazy July period in which we played 7 league and 2 cup games in a 31 day period. Clearly playing a game every 3 days for a month was going to hit us with serious challenges in terms of keeping players fit and as a result I've really happy with the outcome. The first game of the month was incredibly frustrating as new signing Stefan van Heijden scored twice on debut, but we still ended up on the end of a 3-2 defeat against the team at the top of the MLS Eastern conference. The following week we earned the first league win under my management as we roared into a 3-0 lead within the first half an hour against New England Revolution to secure a 3-1 result after they scored late in the second half. A defeat to rivals New York Red Bulls set us back next, but we ended the month with 2 wins and 2 draws to mark a distinct turn around in form. We're up off the base of the Eastern conference, but on goal difference only. The play-off's still look a long way off, albeit we still have games in hand. Stefan van Heijden has performed well, but after his initial 3 goals in 2 games he hasn't scored quite as many as I hoped he would - but maybe my expectations are too high? Two goals from towering centre back Chris Banks from two set pieces were enough to take us to extra time and then penalties against Los Angeles Galaxy, which we won after tucking away all 5 pens. In the semi-final Stefan van Heijden fired us into an immediate lead in the 3rd minute, but after Houston Dynamo pegged us back and it looked as though we were heading for second consecutive cup tie that would go to extra time, substitute attacking midfielder snuck in to fire in an 84th minute - we're heading to my first cup final in America! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted July 22, 2014 Author Share Posted July 22, 2014 I think I once read somewhere about the MLS that 2 designated players in a team was a sign of a successful club, 3 was madness - or something to that effect. Well, how could I turn down England legend and twice World Cup winner Karl Alves after he was released by Barcelona....... I may well get sacked for driving the club to financial ruin by the morning, I'm now running at £145k over my wage budget (although I'm still within the wage cap as far as the MLS are concerned.) My one protection is that I've only signed Alves for 6 months, so whilst it will cost us financially, the liability is limited. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted July 22, 2014 Author Share Posted July 22, 2014 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Final - Wednesday 14th August 2030 D.C. United vs. Seattle Sounders RFK Memorial Stadium, Washington DC, USA Route to the Final Seattle Sounders A comprehensive run to the final for the Sounders with only one goal conceded in the semi-final. They were helped with 3 home ties in the earlier round before having to travel to Philadelphia Union how they beat 3-1 in the semi-final. They will be the favourites going into the tie having more points in the Eastern conference than we do, but the gap is not significant and we'll have the advantage of playing the final at our home ground. D.C. United Two good early victories away from home for us really helped to build confidence, including a win over rivals New York Red Bulls. We then managed to mastermind a win on penalties over LA Galaxy in the quarter final before beating Houston Dynamo in a narrow game in the semi finals. The Line Up's Both teams have been heavily impacted by call up's to national squads - clearly the US football association need to sort out their priorities! We have lost 4 first team players both to international call ups and to injury. However we do have new signing Karl Alves in the game and with Karl on the left wing and Stefan van Heijden up front we now have a front line to leave defences quaking in their boots. I've been toying between a 4-4-2 formation and the 4-2-3-1 formation that I've used to great success with the US national squad in my time with DC United. Whilst I'm tempted to use Alves and van Heijden as two strikers in a 4-4-2 formation in the long term this wasn't an option for this game given the international call up's and as a result Alves plays on the left wing. The Match - Full screenshot to follow Wow! How easy was that, Seattle Sounders really didn't show up today and my new strike force looked in incredible form as we tore the Sounders backline apart. 3 goals from van Heijden and Alves in the first 21 minutes secured the tie before new central defensive signing Nick Anderson scored a fourth just after half time. I couldn't have dreamt of an easier way to secure my first domestic trophy in the US! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 Well done on beating Seattle so comfortably in the final. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodesire Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 Bam, told you, the cup is for taking! Signing that legend was a great move, the board won't care as long as you got the cup :> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted July 23, 2014 Author Share Posted July 23, 2014 Well done on beating Seattle so comfortably in the final. Thank you kindly sir! Bam, told you, the cup is for taking! Signing that legend was a great move, the board won't care as long as you got the cup :> They haven't sacked me for financial imprudence yet!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted July 23, 2014 Author Share Posted July 23, 2014 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted July 23, 2014 Author Share Posted July 23, 2014 A series of great performances from Alex Gomez secured 3 straight wins at the start of August to maintain our strong run of form and give us a realistic prospect of reaching the MLS play-offs. New star signing Karl Alves had picked up an injury which kept him out for most of the month, but that didn't stop us from dominating each game. We then came up against Montreal Impact, one of the strongest teams in the conference and despite a really strong performance and a 55th minute goal from van Heijden we couldn't quite keep the Impact out and they managed to score a late equaliser to deny us 3 points. Returning to winning ways was key in our next home game against Chicago Fire was crucial, but our confidence had been knocked by the late Montreal Impact goal in the previous tie and we quickly fell 2-0 down. van Heijden's goal in the 82nd minute was too late for us to build on and despite pushing everybody forward we fell to a disappointing defeat. Despite our unbeaten run extending to 8 games before we were finally defeated this month we remain 6 points off the play-off's which is hugely disappointing and shows just how competitive this league is. With only 8 games left to play we may well struggle to qualify for the play-off's despite our massively improved form. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodesire Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 Just keep winning your matches and you should be alright. 20 points from 8 matches should get you there Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted July 25, 2014 Author Share Posted July 25, 2014 Just keep winning your matches and you should be alright. 20 points from 8 matches should get you there Oh is that all - 6 wins and 2 draws from the last 8 games - easy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 I'm having fun imagining that your supporter spokesman is the James May Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 Oh cock . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted September 2, 2014 Author Share Posted September 2, 2014 Wow it's been over a month since my last update, sorry all, been distracted by work holidays and the stress of trying to move house. Should get some updates in today hopefully. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted September 2, 2014 Author Share Posted September 2, 2014 We seem to have hit a real decline in September, post our victory in the Lamar Hunt cup. We seemed to briefly have stemmed our decline with a win at home against Colombus Crew thanks to late goals from Chris Banks and Stefan van der Heijden in the first game of the month but then only one goal in 4 games ensured that we only picked up one point out of 12. This definitely ends any hopes of making it to the play-off's and to be honest, given the amount we're spending on wages I'm not sure it's good enough to keep me in a job for next season unless we turn things around. I just hope that our cup victory will keep the fans from baying for my blood. We're well of the pace now for a play off position and with my next game away to the conference leaders Montreal Impact there is a realistic chance that we could finish the season bottom of the conference Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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