You never forget your first draft [2022]

It was pretty exciting. I do like the build up to it all. The news items, the scouting, the pleas to be picked by certain clubs, the nail biting as you hope the team ahead of you in the draft hasn't noticed the same player as you, and the frustration when they do.

So far I've been involved in two drafts; the re-draft and the super draft.


Re-draft

Seems to be for current players that have been waived or are on the way out. Ones that haven't quite made the grade. I think I did pretty well with it. I got three players and they all add to key areas, none take up any international slots.

Fuentes and Lisi bolster the defence and I think will address some of the weakness down the left as well. They're not stellar signings but for MLS level I think they should do the job pretty well.

Perez adds some support on the left and up front if need be. Again he doesn't look fantastic but considering how poor Roulfe looks and how well he did on the left I think Perez should be fine.

Hamilton was a bit of a gamble as he was out injured when I drafted him (and still has some months to go). He looks great. He and Amrani on the right, in rotation with one as an impact sub, should keep other teams under a fair amount of pressure.

Superdraft

This was painful. Really painful. I had 5th pick and I had my eye on this guy:

As you can see in the pick I didn't get him. Rivals Dallas did.With the pick just before mine. GRRRRRRRR! The other players picked before him were good as well (though not quite as much) which left me scrambling to get the best of the rest. The frustration here and the player I missed out on (who wanted to come to me!) reinforced how important draft picks are in trades. I have some extra but they were all further down the line.

So I got these players:

Quiroz was the best of the rest. And to be fair he does look pretty good. I think he'll slot fairly well into the match day squad. There's room for him to develop as well.

Hudson I actually had my eye on before the draft and I think he'll be good backup. With some luck he'll turn out okay too.

Jordan was a bit of a risk as I don't think I need him and I don't think he's going to develop much. But he should certainly act as decent cover.

The media rated out performance as C+ in the draft. Erm. Thanks?

Supplemental Draft

Hahahaha no. I didn't take part in this. A lot of dregs here. I was surprised by how many got picked by other teams. I'm assuming to make up the numbers.

What now?

The squad has been bolstered but I still need bit more cover in the centre of midfield. I lost another player before the draft so I only have 5 players that can play. I have 3 midfield positions to fill so it doesn't seem too bad but one of those is the DM position. I think I need at least one more DM/MC player to keep us going through injuries.

I bought another designated player spot, but one of my international spots expired leaving me with 7. I'm at my limit with 7 internationals already I think. Meaning there's not much I can do transfer wise unless I stay domestic. Or I can find a US player abroad willing to move back.

I'll keep looking for the elusive DMC.

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.