Bit of a mouthful for the title but I didn't think it was worth breaking things down into individual posts. Basically I got wanderlust and moved around.
Houston
The season started well and I shot up to 4th place! Even hit 1st but then I realised something whilst I had my 4th place and X amount of points I had played many, many more games than the teams around me. I had 23 points I think. The team in 5th had 23 points and had played 5 games less than me. As I looked around I realised all the teams in the division had played 4-7 games less than me thanks to the wonder of MLS scheduling.
So I wasn't 4th, I was more likely to be well out of even the wildcard places when the games were played. Disappointing. What also added it to it was my growing frustration with the youth system, or lack thereof, in the MLS.
I loved the draft but only being allowed 6 developmental contract players in the squad was making it a little hard to build a young team.
So I jumped ship.
Morocco
Seemed like a perfect move. They were without a manager but were in the 2022 World Cup. A good move I thought from MLS Houston to World Cup Morocco.
Wasn't quite to be though. We had a group with Saudi Arabia, Paraguay and France. I had my eye on just squeezing through. Saudi Arabia and Paraguay should have been doable.
We beat S.A. by an own goal, then got trounced by Paraguay 4-0 and then by France. We ended up bottom. So off I flounced.
Boavista
To newly promoted Portuguese Premiership side Boavista. Tiny budget.
Managed to build a good squad, all apart from the keeper position. Over 10 games we leaked goals like no ones business. Silly keeper errors and fantastic shots that should have been stopped ruined everything. My backup keeper? Even worse.
I was going to persevere. We had picked up a couple of points, and the teams around us at the bottom were terrible too. But then I got linked to the Blackburn job...and when I expressed my interest they were flattered but said they couldn't afford the compensation. So I left....and they gave the job to someone else.
So there we are. Whistlestop tour of my most recent folly. It's only been 4 years since leaving 'Tuna City and I have managed Leeds, Aberdeen, Houston, Morocco and Boavista. Some success and a lot of failure in that time. I've learnt some lessons though.
1) Good 'Keepers are valuable - sounds a bit obvious but I hate buying keepers. If you get it wrong you get it horribly wrong. But they can undermine everything.
2) Be flexible tactically - I thought I'd learnt this from my disaster save before this one but I keep falling into the trap. I love playing my two main tactics. A counter attacking 41221 or a controlling 4312 but there's more to the game than that, and it needs the right players for the level you're at. I've been missing the mark on that.
3) Stop moving around! - Not because I'm concerned with loyalty but because it's easier to build if you actually stay somewhere long enough to do so. If I'd stayed at 'Tuna, Leeds or Aberdeen I think I'd be progressing much better.
So with that in mind my next team needs to be a project. I have to stick with them through thick and thin. I need an enjoyable league, with potential. A transfer system that makes a bit more sense in regards to youth and building and a team I can see myself with for sometime.
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