Hello friends and welcome to my latest update as the MLS regular season kicks off. Before all that many thanks to all who contributed comments to the initial post which probably left most of us still confused with rosters, waivers and those dreaded international players which seemed to attract the most attention and responses. All good banter though.
We left off last time with the pre-season games over and done with and from there I set up training schedules based on individual player positions. Many thanks to someone who created a schedule called N89, which I found on FM Scout. I’m too lazy to figure out my own.
A question was asked about the quality of the teams and I’m open to correction but I think LA Galaxy are an up and coming and New England should be a team to watch out for based on previous history.
Back to the dreaded Roster Finalization or in other words squad registration. Having figured out who was an international, American and Canadian (being sarcastic) I still had one American too many so had to release on waivers Dan Gargan who actually looks pretty decent and as you can see was picked up by Kansas City.
With some wiggle room in the squad I went for three Canadians two of which I registered and the other I totally forgot about and was automatically waived as the “game date” moved on. Here are the two I did sign up. Both will be considered back up players.
My squad is listed as 24 players so I’m going to see if I can pick up a couple of Americans who haven’t played at international level so perhaps they will be considered as domestic players?
After the opening game of the season in Columbus I did sign one American who was uncapped so I wanted to see if he would be considered as an “international” and sure enough Josh Lopuski was. Too bad really as he was a decent looking player so I guess he will end up being waived.
The opening month went horrendously as we were unable to win a single game. We were totally outplayed in New England and Colorado and we managed to snatch a draw in our home opener with Philadelphia. A fluky goal in the dying seconds of the game with Seattle capped of a well and truly miserable month.
It was bad enough that my defensive unit seemed uncoordinated but the front men performed like they have never played before with most of their shots suited to American Football rather than soccer. If there were points awarded for over the bar in this game we would be league leaders. Just see for yourself by these ratings. Nasty eh?
Recent arrival O’Brian White has the only goal out of all of them. His profile seen below says he’s Jamaican but is not considered an international as like myself he’s Canadian as well.
League Standings
No surprise then we are at the bottom of our Conference but apparently are not the worst team in the MLS…just yet.
We open up next month away to current champions Salt Lake City and take on Vancouver (who in real life are now in the MLS) in the Canadian Championship that also incudes Montreal in a round robin tournament. What you get for winning that I have no idea other that bragging rights I guess.
Finally, a look at the teams morale which is in the toilet right now but that’s not totally unexpected as we’ve yet to record a win this season. I definitely hope that things have improved bythe time Vancouver visits us.
Thanks for reading and hope you are having a fantastic day!!
Johnny Karp
17 марта, 2011 at 09:51
Hmm, things are looking very bad at the moment, the players are lacking confidence and you will have a lot of work to do to get them on track. This season will be more about getting used to the league and building for the future anyway but my question is: can you get relegated from this league?
Kevin
17 марта, 2011 at 11:46
Hi Johnny
The confidence level is awful but in fact sort of mirrors real life as this a typical Toronto start to the season. As for your question you cannot get relegated as there are no other leagues feeding into the MLS. The bottom team ends up getting the # 1 draft pick from an available pool of players before the start of the next season.
Excessive
17 марта, 2011 at 09:59
Ouch, unfortunate month there Kev. Getting to grips with these rules seem really detrimental to your impact on the game. Don’t worry though, just hang on in there and keep battling. That win will come sooner or later I’m sure :).
Even I’m still trying to get to grips with it. So the MLS is split into two ‘conferences’? How do the leagues work, relegation and promotion wise and do you ever get to play teams from a different conference?
Haha, I think I’d do worse than you.
Good luck anyway ;)
Kevin
17 марта, 2011 at 12:28
Hi Jake
Yes, there is some inter conference play during the season and the top two teams in each conference play in the conference final. The winner of each conference meets in the MLS Final…I think :)
Darren Smith
17 марта, 2011 at 11:46
Ouch buddy, that doesn’t make for a happy start does it. I’ll be honest, I don’t think I’d succeed in the MLS as I have no knowledge of it what so ever…but maybe you will as you learn the ropes. Will fill you with pride if you do I’m sure. Look forward to the next post and hopefully a victory :) Interesting story Kevin
Kevin
17 марта, 2011 at 12:39
Thanks Darren
I’m really hoping for improvement as I’m keen to see if my Wrexham tactic which works well in the English leagues can perform on the other side of the Atlantic.
Lye
17 марта, 2011 at 12:16
Hi Kevin,
Your team morale is very bad and they badly need some wins to raise the morale. MLS seems difficult to manage but i believe you will find a way through. Good luck.
Kevin
17 марта, 2011 at 12:42
Hi Lye
It is an unusual set up and I need a win quickly in order to turn things around.
workoutdude
17 марта, 2011 at 13:01
Hi Kevin,
Awesome post…..maybe your tactic needs a bit of tweaking. I myself find that if the players are too young and have poor mental stats, it is best to restrict the style of playing to rigid, or even very rigid and stick to position (no roaming).
It really helps, at least I find it. Whenever I play in a cup and use young players I change the current tactic to rigid and usually the results are good as the biggest problem with the mentally ‘challenged’ players is they get caught out of position and make bad choices, which in fluid system would mean there is nobody else to cover for their position.
Don’t know if it helps, but I do have to say, Toronto FC has a stadium that would make any team proud to call it a home.
Stick to it. I’m sure you will soon figure it out.
Looking forward to the next post and thank you for your story, I really enjoyed reading it.
hils
17 марта, 2011 at 15:30
Hi Kevin,bad month there!!!!!!!!!!! Players confidence is a massive worry!!!!!!!!!!!! Good luck!!!!!!
Laxeyman
17 марта, 2011 at 16:00
Unlucky Kevin, the transfer rules are very confusing, and seem to be holding you back somewhat. Hopefully your league form can improve, it certainly needs to, good luck!
Ana Garcia
17 марта, 2011 at 16:06
Hmmm, that could have gone better!
But like others have said you are stepping into the unknown and I know how you feel its very difficult learning league rules, squad regulations and struggling to find ‘good’ players.
But with time you will understand it, myself I am now an expert in the rules of both South Africa and South Korea!
Best of luck with this its really interesting and I have both my fingers crossed that you can turn it around!!
:)
Kevin
17 марта, 2011 at 17:02
**Consolidated relpy from work**
Hi workoutdude
Greetings from Toronto and thansk for your comment. My tactic is balanced/standings with everything else of default though I might give Rigid a try in my next game as you suggested. BMO Field is pretty nice and thanks for your support.
@hils
Players morale is a worry!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@ Laxeyman
I think your comment pretty much sums things up nicely :)
@ Ana
You’ce done a great job on your world tour so hopefully I can improve myself over the coming weeks.
Josh Allen
18 марта, 2011 at 01:47
Things aren’t looking too good, but with some strengthening, you should be able to climb away from this position. I hope that you can strengthen, but I don’t know the rules!!!
Josh
everythingthatisfm.blogspot.com
Sears
18 марта, 2011 at 12:15
Hey Kevin,
considering the circumstances that was a fantastic start. You’ll settle in soon pal, obviously it’s going to take time for everything to work out. It’s defiantly going to be a superb story though and I’m already looking forward to your next post :-)
Sayam Khan
18 марта, 2011 at 17:56
Yikes! That wasn’t a great start! The morale of each player made me scared lol. However don’t worry I’m sure you will get better. Good luck!