A little rough around the edges [2021]

There was a definite reason why Houston were sat at the foot of the table when I joined. It become swiftly apparent how weak and lopsided the team were. Also the average age was much higher than any team I'd previously managed I think.

The previous manager had left me with a slow squad with little in the way of attacking options. I didn't have a great deal in the allocation fund (£1m) and they seemed to have squandered a lot of the draft allocations. They had even managed to waste a lot of the discovery signing allowances (only 6 a year!) on pretty poor players.

I didn't help matters initially. I strode in and decided we would play 4312. Three in midfield (DLP, BWM & BTB) with an AP just ahead and two strikers. Just like I had been with Aberdeen. It took me about 5 matches (and many lost points) to realise we just didn't have the players. We didn't have the amount of strikers needed, or AMC's to actually play that.

The issue was compounded by several injuries. There must have been a perpetual queue for the physio.

So I reverted to to the 41221 that I had used with my other teams. If you only have a couple of strikers then it make sense to play a formation with few strikers. Also most of my team was quite flexible in midfield when it came to wing positions so it came be more room to play with when the injuries kept coming in.

It took a while but the change in tactic started to have an effect. It was also helped by some signings. Well a lot of signings I guess. I was very busy and the fans got very unhappy with me. They seemed to have formed some pretty unhealthy attachments with very crappy players. I hadn't so I sent them away. In doing so I did make one big mistake - I sold a back up player for £2.2m. I could just imagine how I was going to use it to bring in a host of cheap Messi's...but then the MLS took most of it and left me with £400k. The deal seemed less appealing.

It didn't stop me from bringing a few players in though. More on that at the end.


So how did we do in the end? Alright I guess.

Better than last. Worst than pretty much everything else. Our form gradually picked up. A highlight being the two wins on the trot against Chicago. But by this point it didn't really matter. By the last 3 games (all against Montreal!) getting even a wildcard spot was impossible.

The positives though are the fact that we have qualified from our NACL group, and the board don't seem to hate me yet. The North American Champions League might not be quite the draw the European one is, for players at least, but it's not too shabby. Having a chance at that gives us something to hold onto.

The Team

Here's what I had left at the end of the season.

Not all, or even many, will survive the great cull.

But before that happens lets look at some of my signings and key players.

Signings

Cifuentes was a bit of a risk. On a free and not great stats wise but he has bossed the right wing back role. Kelly has been more of a risk. Big wages as my designated player and was almost immediately injured. He came back, played 3 games, out for the rest of the season on the disabled list. I am starting to regret the move. He was free yet costly.

In midfield Perry was a £500K purchase. He's been solid, the fans love him and importantly for the squad limits he's American. He's also young. I plan on keeping hold of him for some time. I think he'll develop pretty well.

My favourite signing was Amrani though. Fairly cheap at £250k considering his age and stats. In the AMR position he's been fantastic (though not prolific). I think I could tweak the tactic so he players IF and he'd bag a few more. I'm happy enough at the moment though because of the way he links up with the attacking players.


Key Players

Roulfe looks a bit pants really but he's played very well. I put him on out of desperation when the injury crisis was at it's height. He played so well I kept him on.

Sepulveda and Lopez are the best attackers we have. They are getting on though. Sep has got a few more years in him I think, based on how he's done, but Lopez is a bit ropey and I think I might try and shift him for a draft pick if I can.

The Plan

There's going to be a huge overhaul of the squad. Hopefully the draft (which I'm worryingly excited for seeing as I have my 1st and 2nd pick, and I managed to trade for the 2nd pick from three other teams - superdraft that is) will help me fill out the team to a point.

In terms of the defense I think I need a good left back, and some general cover.

In midfield I just think I need one or two covering players for the DM and MC roles. An AML to rotate with Roulfe would be nice. Likewise an AMR to do the same with Amrani would be good.

And upfront I think a promising youth striker would be a good call.

Obviously none of this is going to happen. I'm going to go nuts with transfers. It should be fun though!


EDIT: Hah, just checked. My job status is insecure. The board must have assessed the position at the end of season (a long way off the predicted 1st place) and changed their mind. If they do sack me I'll be a bit upset, but mainly because I'll miss the draft. I'm not yet fully attached to Houston.


DOUBLE EDIT: 'Tuna City were finally relegated from the Swedish 1st Division elite this year :( They held on for 3 seasons after I left. I thought it was longer. Certainly felt it with all the jobs in between.

Houston we have a problem [2021]

I couldn't resist the title.

It didn't take long. I settled down into getting Aberdeen ready for the next season. Relegating players to the reserves and the unwanted list....saying no to an agent offer for Liam Polworth for the umpteenth time... and then I saw that the Houston job was open in the MLS. I express some interest and after initially laughing it off they then offer me the job. Cunning bastards, the Aberdeen board never saw it coming.

And whats the situation with Houston....oh...they're bottom...

And what makes it worse is that they were previously champions. They won it the year before so they have had a definite fall from grace.

I think there's enough there to work with. I just need to get to grips with the rules, and the transfer system, and get my staff set up, and get an assistant and...well a lot before the next match against Chivas!

The infrastructure is fairly good though and I think it'll be an interesting challenge. The US always seems to have quite fair and competitive leagues/competitions, at least as an outsider, so I think building a dynasty here will be harder but much more rewarding.

To the Top Flight....of Scotland [2020/21]

Going to be a bit of a brief update, and a bit squashed together (all of the season) but unavoidable really.

So how did we prepare? Well I brought in a few extra players. Mainly young defenders as I was happy with most other areas...oh...and Darren Bent as player/coach :D His stats looked fine for the SPL, at least as an impact sub. I didn't want to bring too many people in as I wanted a fairly stable team.

Not a terrible start considering. Took a while to scrape the points we wanted but the team looked to be pulling together. An importantly we didn't look completely out of our depth.

End of the Regular Season

We hit some bad patches and we had to make a few changes. First of all our plucky Scottish keeper was relegated to the bench. With barely a handful of clean sheets to his name I gave the french stand in a go and he was much better. I think by the end of the season he had still shipped plenty but it felt like some damage had been avoided.

We also changed tactics. We moved to a 4312. It hadn't worked for me in a previous career save but I think that's because it needed some slight tweaking...and the right players. Things started to improve with it.

 Annnnnnnnnnnnnd...safe. The remaining games were pretty much dead rubber in terms of survival. And I was capped in terms of how far up the table I could go. They were just for pride and a few 100k in prize money.

End of Season

And that will do nicely. Not exactly the heights of the SPL that we reached but good for a newly promoted team (history aside) trying to operate on a shoe string. What I'm probably most proud of is the fact we never dropped into the relegation place. We kept out head above water all the way through the season.

Again the same names came up to help us. Byrne took to the SPL almost as well as he did the division below. His value has shot up but I don't fancy cashing in on him. I don't think I could replace him.

What next?

Ideally build for next season. Shore up the team, which means gradual improvement. I think we could stave off relegation again next season so I don't feel there is a desperate need for whole sale changes on that front.

What will cause a bit of a change though is the financial situation. The board keep injecting money to keep us afloat. At one point we were 2m in the red. The prize money and a cash injection put us back into the black once the season finished but it won't last. The wage bill is too high, attendances are too low and it's a long way till our next lot of prize money. We need to somehow cut out some fat in our wage budget whilst improving the team. It's probably going to be quite hard.

Do I want to stay? I'm a little ambivalent. I think I could make a real go of it here with Aberdeen. It might take a while but the SPL title isn't impossible. The problem is it could take a good long while. So I think I'm going to carry on but maybe put a cheeky job application in if there is something or somewhere I can't resist.

At the moment the MLS has caught my eye (something different) and Portugal would be interesting. Likewise so would a mid sized team in a 'bigger' league. Or a team that has the potential to be big but is stuck near the bottom of a league structure....alternatively I could always try to go back to 'Tuna City! They've managed to survive and hold on in the First Division Elite without me. I think every season has involved a Wigan-esque great escape but they've done it.

But we shall see.