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TinakoFM
Trip to: United States (w/ Cincinnati):
Team: Cincinnati (Major League Soccer) | My Team Record: W:0 D:0 L:0 | Honours: 0
This Season's (2019) Expectation(s): Be Competitive/Reach Cup R5
Club Vision: click here
Update 001: Introduction!
To start life on Football Manager 2020, I've decided to visit the United States and take control of Major League Soccer's Cincinnati for the beta. It should prove to be a difficult challenge, as the Ohio-based outfit finished ten points adrift at the bottom of the real life twenty-four team MLS table in 2019. Added to the fact I am not a great FM manager, so don't expect MLS Cup to come to Nippert Stadium anytime soon!
Cincinnati, which I'm capable of spelling unlike some MLS footballers (looking at you Zlatan...), were originally founded in 2015, though would initially feature in the United Soccer League (unconnected tier two/three) before moving into Major League Soccer for the 2019 campaign. I'll be replacing Dutch boss Ron Jans in charge of the Orange and Blue. Cincinnati have rivalries with state rival Columbus Crew and Louisville City, though the latter doesn't play in MLS.
MLS is known for its unusual and complicated rules/regulations. I've heard of most of them, though have no clue how they all work so that will simply add to the experience. I do casually follow Major League Soccer week-by-week, so know a decent amount of the players - but not all, for example I'm aware of around half of Cincinnati's squad. You can see my initial tactic below.
Save Set-Up:
Here's how I've set my save up. All 'advanced options' remain unticked, except 'Do not Add Key Staff' and 'Prevent use of the In-Game Editor'. I've, of course, loaded the United States, along with Mexico, the top five European leagues (tiers 1&2) and all of South America's top divisions.
Here's my manager's profile. I've decided to create a persona, so meet Jerry David. A 35-year-old American, born in Mansfield, Ohio. Known for his colourful suits (but without, under any circumstances, a tie!) and well maintained ginger hair, the man comes off a professional playing career at national level and a Continental A Licence.
Welcome to Cincinnati:
Big fan of the new welcoming screen which greets you when joining a new team. A kinda small but positive addition. Below, you can also see a bit about the club's short history.
Club Vision:
One of the big new features on Football Manager 2020 seems to be this. This is where you'll be told what is expected from you as the manager, which I think is a quality new feature - as long as it works correctly and fairly.
As you can see, the Cincinnati board only want us to be competitive this season in MLS whilst reaching round five of the U.S. Open Cup. - I believe we enter at round four. They would like us to reach MLS Cup by the end of the 2022 season. Doable, If I stick with this save that long.
Upcoming Fixtures:
Here's the initial fixture list that awaits me. Our pre-season consists of MLS meets in January, prior to taking on some lower division clubs in February. We're set to open the 2019 campaign at home to Sporting Kansas City on 2 March.
Squad/Staff/Finances:
Here's a bunch of other information, including the first-team squad which I haven't dissected just yet.
Tactics:
And lastly, here is my initial tactic. It isn't based on anything, it's pretty much just the players I've heard of. It'll very likely change before our season opener in March.
Thank you for reading!
Next? Update 002: Pre-Season Round-Up!
bigmattb28
TinakoFM
I hope so! MLS has always interested me.
KEZ_7
TinakoFM
That is true. I get why some are turned away from it, it is a rather unique league. Very much worth giving it a try though.
Dan
TinakoFM
Thanks! You aren't a fan, then?
TinakoFM
Trip to: United States (w/ Cincinnati):
Team: Cincinnati (Major League Soccer) | My Team Record: W:0 D:0 L:0 | Honours: 0
This Season's (2019) Expectation(s): Be Competitive/Reach Cup R5
Club Vision: click here
Update 002: Pre-Season!
I'm now two months into my new role as Cincinnati manager and have overseen pre-season as we've prepared for our Major League Soccer opener against Sporting Kansas City. Seven exhibitions have taken place, less than initially planned as I wanted to avoid midweek encounters. It has been a busy few months away from the games, as I've made my first signings on Football Manager 2020 as well as having to deal with the stringent MLS registration rules which, as far as I can tell, have managed to comply with well so far.
Let's take a look at how pre-season has gone. You may notice a few fresh faces that featured.
Match Round-Up:
Result One:
Competition: Friendly | Round: - | Opponent: U.S. Soccer Development Academy (USA/-) | Their Position: - | Their Streak: -
Our Highest Rated Player: Fanendo Adi (NGA) - 9.4 | Our Position: - | Our Points Tally: - | Our Streak: -
"A quick friendly I scheduled, just to test my early tactics before the matches with LA Galaxy and Seattle Sounders. Dominant 8-0 win, as you'd expect. Four goals from Fanendo Adi."
Result Two:
Competition: Friendly | Round: - | Opponent: LA Galaxy (USA/I) | Their Position: - | Their Streak: -
Our Highest Rated Player: Fanendo Adi (NGA) - 8.3 | Our Position: - | Our Points Tally: - | Our Streak: -
"Not a victory, but a positive draw against an LA Galaxy team that fielded Zlatan Ibrahimović, Romain Alessandrini & Co. - they should be a much better team than us. I was happy with this."
Result Three:
Competition: Friendly | Round: - | Opponent: Seattle Sounders (USA/I) | Their Position: - | Their Streak: -
Our Highest Rated Player: Marvin Emnes (NED) and Keisuke Honda (JPN) - 7.3 | Our Position: - | Our Points Tally: - | Our Streak: -
"Good victory over Seattle, another opponent who should have a good season in MLS. Fanendo Adi struck for the third match in a row to give us a win."
Result Four:
Competition: Friendly | Round: - | Opponent: Loudoun United (USA/II) | Their Position: - | Their Streak: -
Our Highest Rated Player: Allan Cruz (CRC) - 8.8 | Our Position: - | Our Points Tally: - | Our Streak: -
"A change in opponent difficultly, as we fought USL Championship team Loudoun United. A 3-1 win occurred, as we netted three superb goals - two of which came from Costa Rican midfielder Allan Cruz."
Result Five:
Competition: Friendly | Round: - | Opponent: Austin Bold (USA/II) | Their Position: - | Their Streak: -
Our Highest Rated Player: Alvas Powell (JAM) and Keisuke Honda (JPN) - 7.1 | Our Position: - | Our Points Tally: - | Our Streak: -
"A 1-1 draw with Austin Bold, a pretty disappointing result but in reality we should've won it as we absolutely dominated them. Despite having 40 shots, 17 on target, we only converted one of them. We also missed a penalty in the fifth minute of stoppage time."
Result Six:
Competition: Friendly | Round: - | Opponent: Chattanooga Red Wolves (USA/III) | Their Position: - | Their Streak: -
Our Highest Rated Player: Fanendo Adi (NGA) - 7.3 | Our Position: - | Our Points Tally: - | Our Streak: -
"Now that was a bad result. A very poor performance saw us held by USL League One team Chattanooga Red Wolves. Fanendo Adi netted again, but that wasn't a good showing from us."
Result Seven:
Competition: Friendly | Round: - | Opponent: OKC Energy (USA/II) | Their Position: - | Their Streak: -
Our Highest Rated Player: Nick Hagglund (USA) - 8.3 | Our Position: - | Our Points Tally: - | Our Streak: -
"Pre-season, on the field, ended with a victory over second tier OKC Energy. Fanendo Adi scored for the eighth off-season time, though it was other goalscorer and defender Nick Hagglund who stole the show with a fine performance. An undefeated pre-season, not bad."
Fixture List:
Competitions:
Transfer Round-Up:
Transfers in MLS are all new to me. As previously mentioned, I know of the rules but I just don't fully understand how they work, so I basically just took the window on the fly. I think it has worked out well, though the proof will be in the pudding.
Firstly, I searched the free agents market and offered some players four-week trials to test them across pre-season. Those were:
·- Gareth Barry (mid)
·- Birkir Bjarnason (mid)
·- Marvin Emnes (wing)
·- Keisuke Honda (att mid)
All four are familiar names. Barry and Bjarnason featured little and I decided both weren't going to be given contracts, Barry's trial was terminated early while Bjarnason departed to Paris FC right before I was going to terminate his stay. Emnes and Honda impressed me during pre-season, Emnes with his all round play while Honda was our (joint) highest rated player on two occasions. I signed both of them to permanent deals, Emnes was rather cheap but I did have to pay a fair bit for Honda - though managed to avoid giving him a Designated Player contract.
Three more players later arrived, though one's time with Cincinnati would be very short. I signed Polish goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak following a successful trial on 5 February 2019, he will serve as back-up behind his fellow countryman Przemysław Tytoń; who missed most of pre-season due to injury, though is fit for the Sporting Kansas City opener.
The other two incomings were via the waiver draft. We were short on defensive cover, so I managed to get my two chosen picks in Eric Miller and Eriq Zavaleta. However, we were already running extremely tight on the maximum salaries in the squad registration - Miller and Zavaleta weren't able to be registered unless I could wiggle around with the allocation money, which I did. I successfully paid a few contracts down from the salary cap, so got Miller (who was my first choice as he is versatile) into the squad list. Sadly, Zavaleta narrowly missed out and was waived. That was my first error with MLS' complex rules, though I think I saved face a little - as long as the paying off of contracts doesn't come back to bite me next season.
All of my outs were down to the squad registration rules. Leonardo Bertone, Mathieu Deplagne, Joe Gyau, Spencer Richey and Justin Hoyte were waived as I had to unregister them to fit the other players in. No massive losses in my opinion, though would've liked to keep Bertone, Deplagne and Hoyte for depth in a perfect world.
My Current Tactics:
Squad Dynamics:
Coming Soon:
That's that! Much longer post than usual, given the matches, transfers and such. Next post will be shorter I expect. Talking of which, here's the March fixture list:
Thank you for reading!
Next? Update 003: March Round-Up!
bigmattb28
TinakoFM
Thanks again, mate! I think the squad has been improved, not necessarily for an MLS Cup charge or anything right away but certainly a step in a good direction - I hope, anyway.
TinakoFM
Trip to: United States (w/ Cincinnati):
Team: Cincinnati (Major League Soccer) | My Team Record: W:0 D:0 L:0 | Honours: 0
This Season's (2019) Expectation(s): Be Competitive/Reach Cup R5
Club Vision: click here
Update 003: March Round-Up!
The 2019 Major League Soccer season has started. After an unbeaten pre-season and, what I felt, securing some good new signings, I was looking forward to starting my competitive tenure as Cincinnati manager. It was all set to be an action-packed first month of the campaign, with matches scheduled for every weekend and midweek possible - just the eight games in thirty-one days!
Match Round-Up:
Result One:
Competition: Major League Soccer | Round: 1/34 | Opponent: Sporting Kansas City (USA/I) | Their Position: 8/12 (west) | Their Streak: -
Our Highest Rated Player: Alvas Powell (JAM) - 8.2 | Our Position: 7/12 (east) | Our Points Tally: 3pts | Our Streak: W
"A win on opening day! Fanendo Adi struck the eventual match-winner in the first half. Even match, despite Sporting KC having more shots."
Result Two:
Competition: Major League Soccer | Round: 2/34 | Opponent: New York Red Bulls (USA/I) | Their Position: 3/12 (east) | Their Streak: W
Our Highest Rated Player: Przemysław Tytoń (POL) - 6.9 | Our Position: 8/12 (east) | Our Points Tally: 3pts | Our Streak: WL
"NY Red Bulls got the better of us on matchday two. We were in the game until 82mins, when Alejandro Romero Gamarra converted a spot-kick."
Result Three:
Competition: Major League Soccer | Round: 3/34 | Opponent: Houston Dynamo (USA/I) | Their Position: 8/12 (west) | Their Streak: LD
Our Highest Rated Player: Fanendo Adi (NGA) - 7.4 | Our Position: 10/12 (east) | Our Points Tally: 3pts | Our Streak: WLL
"Fanendo Adi had equalised for 1-1 on 41mins, but we would fall to our second straight MLS defeat after an Alberth Elis hat-trick in Texas."
Result Four:
Competition: Major League Soccer | Round: 4/34 | Opponent: Montreal Impact ([CAN]USA/I) | Their Position: 11/12 (east) | Their Streak: LDL
Our Highest Rated Player: Fanendo Adi (NGA) - 8.3 | Our Position: 11/12 (east) | Our Points Tally: 3pts | Our Streak: WLLL
"An extremely level fixture against Montreal Impact, though our first trip to Canada for 2019 ended in a loss. The Impact raced into an undeserved two-goal lead on 43/46mins, but our only response was a 90th-minute Fanendo Adi goal."
Result Five:
Competition: Major League Soccer | Round: 5/34 | Opponent: New York Red Bulls (USA/I) | Their Position: 2/12 (east) | Their Streak: WWWW
Our Highest Rated Player: Fanendo Adi (NGA) - 7.5 | Our Position: 12/12 (east) | Our Points Tally: 3pts | Our Streak: WLLLL
"A second meeting in eleven days with the New York Red Bulls ended the same way the first did - in defeat. They secured their fifth straight victory after Alex Muyl cancelled out Fanendo Adi's leveller with a winner on 86mins. We played alright in this one, shown by Adi entering Player&Team of the Week."
Result Six:
Competition: Major League Soccer | Round: 6/34 | Opponent: New England Revolution (USA/I) | Their Position: 11/12 (east) | Their Streak: WLLD
Our Highest Rated Player: Víctor Ulloa (MEX) - 7.0 | Our Position: 12/12 (east) | Our Points Tally: 3pts | Our Streak: LLLLL
"Five losses on the bounce, safe to say we didn't gain any momentum from the Sporting KC result on the opening day. VAR stood out in this one, awarding us a penalty on 78mins (conceded by one Eriq Zavaleta, who you may remember from the previous update) before awarding one to New England in the third minute of stoppage time (conceded by the waiver draft player that stayed); needless to say they, of course, scored it. Tough one to take, admittedly despite their overall domination."
Result Seven:
Competition: Major League Soccer | Round: 7/34 | Opponent: Columbus Crew (USA/I) | Their Position: 7/12 (east) | Their Streak: WWWDL
Our Highest Rated Player: Emmanuel Ledesma (ARG) - 7.2 | Our Position: 12/12 (east) | Our Points Tally: 3pts | Our Streak: LLLLL
"Welp... this isn't going to plan, is it?
Result Eight:
Competition: Major League Soccer | Round: 8/34 | Opponent: Philadelphia Union (USA/I) | Their Position: 10/12 (east) | Their Streak: WDLDD
Our Highest Rated Player: Víctor Ulloa (MEX) - 8.7 | Our Position: 12/12 (east) | Our Points Tally: 4pts | Our Streak: LLLLD
"Rot stopped - temporarily at least. Caleb Stanko, in what was his first appearance of the season, scored to secure us just our fourth point of 2019. Good performance, but it must become a building block in an improved run of form."
Fixture List:
Competitions:
Squad Statistics:
Not a good start, at all. I did expect it to be difficult coming into the season though. To be honest, I think we've been unlucky in a lot of the matches, we've only lost by more than one goal on two occasions; with the last four losses being by the scoreline of 2-1. That Philadelphia result needs to be a springboard.
My Current Tactics:
As you'd imagine, the tactics have changed dramatically across those eight fixtures. I played this 4-2-4 against Philadelphia Union, so will likely keep it for a game or two more; results dependant.
Squad Dynamics:
Board Review:
Despite the results, all seems calm behind the scenes at Cincinnati at the moment. I have 'Good' managerial support from the players, with dressing room atmosphere still appearing green. The board have no notable criticisms of me and are overall satisfied with my management thus far. Our expectation is to 'Be competitive', which I'd say we marginally are, which the board are 'Pleased' with currently.
Update 003 done, Update 004 will include all of what April has to offer. Here's the fixture list:
Thank you for reading!
Next? Update 004: April Round-Up!
bigmattb28
TinakoFM
Let's hope so! I'm still enjoying the save... for now at least!
TinakoFM
Trip to: United States (w/ Cincinnati):
Team: Cincinnati (Major League Soccer) | My Team Record: W:1 D:1 L:6 | Honours: 0
This Season's (2019) Expectation(s): Be Competitive/Reach Cup R5
Club Vision: click here
Update 004: April Round-Up!
March did not go well, as we ended it bottom of the Eastern Conference and Supporters' Shield after six defeats in eight. We did, however, pick up a point last time out versus Philadelphia Union, so were aiming to make that a springboard for future improvement in MLS.
Here's how I've managed Cincinnati across the month that would feature six fixtures.
Match Round-Up:
Result One:
Competition: Major League Soccer | Round: 9/34 | Opponent: Atlanta United (USA/I) | Their Position: 2/12 (east) | Their Streak: WWWWW
Our Highest Rated Player: Darren Mattocks (JAM) - 7.3 | Our Position: 12/12 (east) | Our Points Tally: 5pts | Our Streak: LLLDD
"Back-to-back draws is a plus as we took points off second place Atlanta United, but it was a result that felt like a defeat. Darren Mattocks gave us the lead four minutes from full-time, but Héctor Villalba would equalise for Atlanta in the fourth minute of added time. Gutting."
Result Two:
Competition: Major League Soccer | Round: 10/34 | Opponent: D.C. United (USA/I) | Their Position: 7/12 (east) | Their Streak: WLLDL
Our Highest Rated Player: Fanendo Adi (NGA) - 9.1 | Our Position: 12/12 (east) | Our Points Tally: 6pts | Our Streak: LLDDD
"Three draws on the bounce! It would be another disappointing match result though, as we threw away a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Wayne Rooney & D.C. United at RFK Stadium. Very frustrating, going three undefeated is an improvement but we really should've won these two matches."
Result Three:
Competition: Major League Soccer | Round: 11/34 | Opponent: Seattle Sounders (USA/I) | Their Position: 3/12 (west) | Their Streak: LDWDD
Our Highest Rated Player: Tomasz Kuszczak (POL) - 7.4 | Our Position: 12/12 (east) | Our Points Tally: 6pts | Our Streak: LDDDL
"Back to losing ways, as Seattle Sounders ease past us at CenturyLink Field. We managed to keep them to 1-0, in a match that saw the hosts pick up eight yellow cards and one red card."
Result Four:
Competition: Major League Soccer | Round: 12/34 | Opponent: Chicago Fire (USA/I) | Their Position: 6/12 (east) | Their Streak: DDLWL
Our Highest Rated Player: Emmanuel Ledesma (ARG) - 8.3 | Our Position: 12/12 (east) | Our Points Tally: 6pts | Our Streak: DDDLL
"Seven-goal thriller at Nippert Stadium with the Chicago Fire, though the scoreline makes it look closer than it actually was in truth. We did take an early lead through Emmanuel Ledesma, but would find ourselves 3-1 down at the interval. Dax McCarty made it 4-1 on 66mins and, despite a late fightback to 4-3 via Fanendo Adi and Darren Mattocks, Chicago would go on to secure the three points - even having time to miss a penalty from Bastian Schweinsteiger."
Result Five:
Competition: Major League Soccer | Round: 13/34 | Opponent: Columbus Crew (USA/I) | Their Position: 5/12 (east) | Their Streak: DWLLL
Our Highest Rated Player: Kekuta Manneh (GAM) - 8.3 | Our Position: 12/12 (east) | Our Points Tally: 6pts | Our Streak: DDLLL
"Once again, we made a defeat look better for the history books. Columbus Crew were fully deserving on this result, goals from Wil Trapp, Nick Hagglund (o.g.) and Gyasi Zardes gave them a three-goal advantage heading into the final thirty minutes. Fanendo Adi and Kekuta Manneh would strike for us in that aforementioned time period, but it wasn't enough as we fell to a third straight loss. We're showing fighting spirit, at least... shame we don't start games that way."
Result Six:
Competition: Major League Soccer | Round: 14/34 | Opponent: Toronto ([CAN]USA/I) | Their Position: 3/12 (east) | Their Streak: WLDWW
Our Highest Rated Player: Fanendo Adi (NGA) - 8.0 | Our Position: 12/12 (east) | Our Points Tally: 9pts | Our Streak: DLLLW
"Wow! We've actually won a football match, and what a way to do it! We travelled to Ontario, Canada to meet third place Toronto. We head back to the States with three points thanks to our talisman Fanendo Adi. He scored on 57mins, with Michael Bradley helping our cause by getting himself sent off on 74mins. Excellent win!"
Fixture List:
Competitions:
Squad Statistics:
For once, I'm glad Major League Soccer doesn't have relegation! Thankfully, despite the amount of losses we've had, we aren't even the worst team in the league at the moment - both Colorado Rapids and Portland Timbers, both of the Western Conference, have worse records than us. That victory over Toronto was big, but that needs to be something we build on in May; which is similar to what I said last month after the Philadelphia Union draw.
We're only (only...
My Current Tactics:
That's the current tactic, came into April with a 4-2-4 but have ended it with a 4-5-1/4-3-3.
Squad Dynamics:
Board Review:
The board are still more than happy with me, with my current rank being a 'B+'. They're delighted with my leadership abilities.
Registration Mishap:
A bit of a mishap occurred with the MLS registration rules. Goalkeeper Przemysław Tytoń was injured, therefore put on the 'Disabled List' in the squad registration. However, when it gave me the chance to remove him from it after his injury had, mostly, healed I did so. This messed up the registration as I couldn't afford all the wages due to the salary caps. This is despite Tyton previously making the reg. before his injury - the squad hasn't changed one bit, yet now he doesn't fit. Very strange, not sure if a bug or the way it goes but it has left us without a back-up 'keeper. I also had a waive Maikel van der Werff because of it too.
Shoutout to Fanendo Adi:
Just a quick word on Nigerian forward Fanendo Adi, who has literally carried us all season so far. Despite all our faults, the man has 9 goals in 14 games. That's pretty outstanding given our form, and the crazy thing is he should be on way more goals - he is actually quite wasteful, but I can't hate the guy one bit.
April done, onto May! I'm surprisingly still enjoying this save as much as I was in pre-season. It is extremely frustrating but I guess it's fairly realistic, given Cincinnati finished bottom of the real life MLS by ten points - I'm on course to better that, at least!
May's fixture list looks like this. Huge meetings with Colorado Rapids and Portland Timbers, both at home, on the way.
Thank you for reading!
Next? Update 005: May Round-Up!
bigmattb28
TinakoFM
For sure, a real lack of ambition from them to be honest but if it keeps me in the job then I'm happy.
TinakoFM
Trip to: United States (w/ Cincinnati):
Team: Cincinnati (Major League Soccer) | My Team Record: W:2 D:3 L:9 | Honours: 0
This Season's (2019) Expectation(s): Be Competitive/Reach Cup R5
Club Vision: click here
Update 005: May Round-Up!
After claiming victory over Toronto on the last matchday of April, I took Cincinnati into May looking to gain as many points as possible; especially given we would meet Colorado Rapids and Portland Timbers, both of whom are just as bad as us.
Here's May's Round-up:
Match Round-Up:
Result One:
Competition: Major League Soccer | Round: 15/34 | Opponent: New York City FC (USA/I) | Their Position: 9/12 (east) | Their Streak: WWWDL
Our Highest Rated Player: four players - 6.9 | Our Position: 12/12 (east) | Our Points Tally: 9pts | Our Streak: LLLWL
"Decent showing at Yankee Stadium versus NYCFC, but it would be a fourth defeat in five games for us."
Result Two:
Competition: Major League Soccer | Round: 16/34 | Opponent: San Jose Earthquakes (USA/I) | Their Position: 7/12 (west) | Their Streak: LLWLW
Our Highest Rated Player: Kekuta Manneh (GAM) - 9.1 | Our Position: 12/12 (east) | Our Points Tally: 12pts | Our Streak: LLWLW
"Our best performance of the season! We battered San Jose Earthquakes over in California by four goals to one, having notably taken a three-goal lead after 41mins. Fanendo Adi, of course, scored but Kekuta Manneh starred with a 9.1 rating. Two victories in three now."
Result Three:
Competition: Major League Soccer | Round: 17/34 | Opponent: Portland Timbers (USA/I) | Their Position: 11/12 (west) | Their Streak: WLLWD
Our Highest Rated Player: Caleb Stanko (USA) - 8.3 | Our Position: 12/12 (east) | Our Points Tally: 15pts | Our Streak: LWLWW
"Well, would you look at us! Consecutive wins for the first time in 2019, as we beat fellow strugglers Portland Timbers 1-0 at Nippert Stadium. Man of the match Caleb Stanko scored the winner to secure a crucial three points."
Result Four:
Competition: Major League Soccer | Round: 18/34 | Opponent: Colorado Rapids (USA/I) | Their Position: 12/12 (west) | Their Streak: LLLDL
Our Highest Rated Player: Kendall Waston (CRC) - 7.2 | Our Position: 12/12 (east) | Our Points Tally: 15pts | Our Streak: WLWWL
"That should've been four wins in five matches, but sadly Colorado Rapids would win the battle between the East and West's bottom clubs. Kei Kamara struck late on to give them the win in an even encounter. An opportunity missed."
Result Five:
Competition: Major League Soccer | Round: 19/34 | Opponent: Los Angeles FC (USA/I) | Their Position: 9/12 (west) | Their Streak: WLDLL
Our Highest Rated Player: Alvas Powell (JAM) - 7.2 | Our Position: 12/12 (east) | Our Points Tally: 15pts | Our Streak: LWWLL
"An under-performing LAFC defeated us on 24 May 2019 at the Banc of California Stadium, winning 2-1 after Dejan Jakovic and Danilo Silva goals. We were very unlucky, having dominated and gone ahead through Victor Ulloa. Two narrow losses on the bounce."
Fixture List:
Competitions:
Squad Statistics:
Two green circles in one month? Blasphemy! We did lose twice in a row to end May, but both were decent performances with narrow scorelines. It all leaves Cincinnati still bottom of our Eastern Conference, but we do move up a place in Supporters' Shield after going above FC Dallas. Three teams are doing worse than us, but naturally they aren't in my conference - where we're five points adrift of the nearest position.
My Current Tactics:
The 4-5-1/4-3-3 tactic has remained largely the same, though we now have two CMs with a BWM after snapping up a player from the waivers; more on that shortly.
Squad Dynamics:
Board Review:
Board and players remain pleased with me, though my board rating has gone down a tad despite taking more points in May than we had at any time previous.
Registration Mishap (Partially) Corrected:
Turns out we have been able to register Przemysław Tytoń after all. It allowed me to do so once he was completely injury-free. Not entirely sure what went on to be honest, but at least we now have two goalkeepers to pick from. Of course we still lose Maikel van der Werff which is annoying, as we only have two 'proper' centre-backs.
Takeover Talk:
New Signing:
Argentine midfielder Eric Remedi has joined the club, soon after his waiver from Atlanta United. I've watched this guy (on tv) for Atlanta in real life and have been impressed, surprised he was waived to be honest.
Due to the salary caps et al. I've had to unregister young DP midfielder Allan Cruz. He performed good early on but hasn't really done anything across the recent months, Remedi does different roles but is arguably the better player and has impressed since debuting against NYCFC with a 7.06 average rating.
A mixed May, I think it's safe to say. Hopefully we can pick up some momentum in June, which sees four Major League League games scheduled along with the U.S. Open Cup getting underway with a tie on the road against Chicago Fire. The month will actually begin with an exhibition match with Cincinnati Dutch Lions of USL League Two.
Thank you for reading!
Next? Update 006: June Round-Up!
Dan
VP.
TinakoFM
We sure do. Honestly, my main aim is to not finish bottom of our conference and then build next season - as long as I'm not sacked of course!
TinakoFM
Better than I thought I would, only had issues with the tight registration rules. Slowly learning!
TinakoFM
Trip to: United States (w/ Cincinnati):
Team: Cincinnati (Major League Soccer) | My Team Record: W:4 D:3 L:12 | Honours: 0
This Season's (2019) Expectation(s): Be Competitive/Reach Cup R5
Club Vision: click here
Update 006: June Round-Up!
May 2019 saw two wins in five matches for my Cincinnati team, with even the defeats seeing us perform fairly well - much improved, at least. June sees U.S. Open Cup join Major League Soccer on our schedule, so let's see how we got on:
Match Round-Up:
Result One:
Competition: Friendly | Round: - | Opponent: Cincinnati Dutch Lions (USA/IV) | Their Position: - | Their Streak: -
Our Highest Rated Player: Emmanuel Ledesma (ARG) - 8.3 | Our Position: - | Our Points Tally: - | Our Streak: -
"OK win in our first friendly since pre-season, as we met fourth tier and city rivals Cincinnati Dutch Lions."
Result Two:
Competition: Major League Soccer | Round: 20/34 | Opponent: LA Galaxy (USA/I) | Their Position: 1/12 (west) | Their Streak: DDDWW
Our Highest Rated Player: Fanendo Adi (NGA) - 9.6 | Our Position: 12/12 (east) | Our Points Tally: 18pts | Our Streak: WWLLW
"What in the world happened here? As if we put five goals (!) past Western Conference leaders LA Galaxy! Our main man Fanendo Adi with a hat-trick, which gave him a 9.6 match rating. He initially gave us the lead, before Sebastian Lletget and Zlatan Ibrahimović gave the visitors a half-time advantage. However, the boys came out for the second half flying and scored four unanswered goals to win 5-2. Unbelievable result!"
Result Three:
Competition: U.S. Open Cup | Round: Fourth | Opponent: Chicago Fire (USA/I) | Their Position: - | Their Streak: WDLWW
Our Highest Rated Player: Alvas Powell (JAM) - 8.3 | Our Position: - | Our Points Tally: - | Our Streak: WLLWW
"Another good result, this time in cup action against Chicago Fire. We eliminated them from the U.S. Open Cup after a dramatic late winner from right-back Alvas Powell. Into round five, which was the board's expectation."
Result Four:
Competition: Major League Soccer | Round: 21/34 | Opponent: FC Dallas (USA/I) | Their Position: 10/12 (west) | Their Streak: DLLWL
Our Highest Rated Player: Fanendo Adi (NGA) - 8.9 | Our Position: 12/12 (east) | Our Points Tally: 21pts | Our Streak: LLWWW
"Three. Straight. Wins! Not entirely sure where this form has come from, but ain't no way I'm complaining! Dallas were defeated at Nippert Stadium on 15 June 2019, with Keisuke Honda notably scoring his first goal of the campaign; his signing hasn't worked out tremendously, not played the most but he has won his place back recently which has coincided with a change in our fortunes."
Result Five:
Competition: U.S. Open Cup | Round: Fifth | Opponent: Chattanooga Red Wolves (USA/III) | Their Position: - | Their Streak: -
Our Highest Rated Player: Kekuta Manneh (GAM) - 8.8 | Our Position: - | Our Points Tally: - | Our Streak: LWWWW
"The winning streak continues! This one was to be expected, as we were drawn with USL League One outfit Chattanooga Red Wolves; a team, you may remember, we actually played in pre-season, though did draw with - and they beat Houston Dynamo, of MLS, in the fourth round. Therefore, it probably wasn't a surprise to see a tight encounter but it would be one we'd win thanks to in-form Kekuta Manneh. QFs, here we come!"
Result Six:
Competition: Major League Soccer | Round: 22/34 | Opponent: Atlanta United (USA/I) | Their Position: 2/12 (east) | Their Streak: LWDWL
Our Highest Rated Player: Fanendo Adi (NGA) - 7.8 | Our Position: 12/12 (east) | Our Points Tally: 21pts | Our Streak: WWWWL
"Back to reality! We did lose heavily to second place Atlanta United away from home, but that scoreline flattered them massively; three of their four goals were scored within ten minutes of each other, while we edged the number of shots. Not a terrible performance, just found the beast that is Josef Martínez in outstanding form."
Fixture List:
Competitions:
Squad Statistics:
What a great month! If you had offered me four competitive wins in five matches, I'd have bitten your hand off. Admittedly, only two of those victories came in Major League Soccer but I'm still more than happy - into the quarter-finals of the U.S. Open Cup too, if we can get lucky then you never know what can occur.
Frustratingly, we haven't moved a jot in our Eastern Conference as we are 3pts off D.C. United and 8pts from the play-off line. Supporters' Shield is a different story, as we've moved up to 20th with four clubs doing worse than my Cincinnati lot. It's kinda strange how all four of those are playing in the Western Conference, so I'd say we're unfortunate to be last in the East.
My Current Tactics:
That's the magical tactic!
Squad Dynamics:
Board Review:
All good on the board/player front, though a few more 'notable criticisms' have occurred despite us actually winning football matches nowadays. I've got an 'E' for tactics due to the "negative impact the team's tactics have had in recent matches". Damn tactics, making us win and stuff.
Transfers:
Bit of a transfer update to share, outgoing-related regarding three players.
Derrick Etienne's loan from the New York Red Bulls has been terminated. He had been signed before my arrival and only featured three times, he wanted out so I let him go. Another one to go was young DP Allan Cruz, who has been loaned back to his homeland with Saprissa; as mentioned, he's unregistered due to other arrivals so made sense to give him game time before, possibly, bringing him back into the first-team in 2020. Lastly, Polish goalkeeper Przemysław Tytoń could be heading out soon after becoming unsettled due to an offer from Lech Poznań; which I rejected, but he wishes to go for family reasons - if a fair offer comes, he'll leave.
More Takeover Talk:
Award Recognition:
June 2019 was most certainly a terrific month, hopefully we can bring that form with us to July which has five MLS matches and that U.S. Open Cup quarter-final with Sporting Kansas City.
Fixture List:
Thank you for reading!
Next? Update 007: July Round-Up!
Dan
TinakoFM
Cheers, Dan! Definitely, I wasn't expecting such a rapid change of fortunes - but it will need to continue into July + beyond to mean anything.
TinakoFM
Trip to: United States (w/ Cincinnati):
Team: Cincinnati (Major League Soccer) | My Team Record: W:8 D:3 L:13 | Honours: 0
This Season's (2019) Expectation(s): Be Competitive/Reach Cup R5
Club Vision: click here
Update 007: July Round-Up!
It has been some turnaround at Nippert Stadium, as we've gone from a dead-at-the-bottom Eastern Conference club to one showing some great fight to hopefully avoid the wooden spoon. Despite four wins in five competitive fixtures in June, we still sat bottom of the East but only by 3pts. A continuation of the form into July was very much needed.
Here's how we got on:
Match Round-Up:
Result One:
Competition: Major League Soccer | Round: 23/34 | Opponent: Philadelphia Union (USA/I) | Their Position: 7/12 (east) | Their Streak: WWWWW
Our Highest Rated Player: Víctor Ulloa (MEX) - 8.2 | Our Position: 11/12 (east) | Our Points Tally: 24pts | Our Streak: WWWLW
"Boy, haven't we turned a corner! We hit back from that Atlanta United defeat with a 2-1 victory over Philadelphia Union, who had won all of their last five fixtures. Kekuta Manneh and Sergio Santos had the scoreline at 1-1 on 13mins after both converting bangers, but it would be us who would take the three points following a stoppage time winner from Eric Remedi - who I had substituted on with 25mins left, super sub! To make things even sweeter, this result lifted us off the bottom in the Eastern Conference. Finally!"
Result Two:
Competition: Major League Soccer | Round: 24/34 | Opponent: D.C. United (USA/I) | Their Position: 12/12 (east) | Their Streak: LLDLL
Our Highest Rated Player: Fanendo Adi (NGA) - 7.4 | Our Position: 11/12 (east) | Our Points Tally: 25pts | Our Streak: WWLWD
"Disappointing to drop points at home to D.C. United, the side that replaced us at the bottom of the conference. Funnily enough, it was our first draw since the last time we faced Wayne Rooney & Co. back in April. We had 30 shots in this match, but just 6 on target."
Result Three:
Competition: U.S. Open Cup | Round: Quarter-final | Opponent: Sporting Kansas City (USA/I) | Their Position: - | Their Streak: WLDDL
Our Highest Rated Player: Fanendo Adi (NGA) - 9.6 | Our Position: - | Our Points Tally: - | Our Streak: WLWDW
"Fanendo Adi...!
Result Four:
Competition: Major League Soccer | Round: 25/34 | Opponent: Montreal Impact ([CAN]USA/I) | Their Position: 10/12 (east) | Their Streak: LLLWL
Our Highest Rated Player: Fanendo Adi (NGA) - 7.4 | Our Position: 11/12 (east) | Our Points Tally: 28pts | Our Streak: LWDWW
"Yet another win, this time producing some crucial points in Major League Soccer. Kekuta Manneh, our star man aside from Fanendo Adi, got injured early in the second half at 1-1 but his replacement, Darren Mattocks, would win us the match with a goal inside 12mins of his arrival. Very tight encounter, so great to get the victory from it."
Result Five:
Competition: Major League Soccer | Round: 26/34 | Opponent: Vancouver Whitecaps ([CAN]USA/I) | Their Position: 7/12 (west) | Their Streak: LDLWD
Our Highest Rated Player: Víctor Ulloa (MEX) - 7.1 | Our Position: 9/12 (east) | Our Points Tally: 29pts | Our Streak: WDWWD
"A second straight meeting with Canadian opposition saw us travel to British Columbia to play Vancouver Whitecaps at BC Place. It was a trip that we dropped points during, but I was honestly delighted to take a point from this; the Whitecaps are a solid team."
Result Six:
Competition: Major League Soccer | Round: 27/34 | Opponent: Orlando City (USA/I) | Their Position: 10/12 (east) | Their Streak: WWDLL
Our Highest Rated Player: Caleb Stanko (USA) - 9.1 | Our Position: 7/12 (east) | Our Points Tally: 32pts | Our Streak: DWWDW
"Wow... July concludes with an outstanding performance at Exploria Stadium against Orlando City. Goals from Emmanuel Ledesma, Caleb Stanko, Brian Rowe (o.g.) and Fanendo Adi produced a stunning four-goal away win. We absolutely silenced The Lions, limiting them to just two shots on target. This was a massive result in more ways than one, as it moves us into the Eastern Conference play-off places for the first time. Unreal."
Fixture List:
Competitions:
Squad Statistics:
Brilliant stuff, we've found fantastic form at exactly the right time. With just seven Major League Soccer regular season matches left, Cincinnati have moved into seventh place - the final play-off spot. It's going to be incredibly tough to retain it, given it's pretty much the only space remaining to fight for and teams below have games in hand; all bar Philadelphia Union in fact.
Talking of Philadelphia Union, we'll face them in the U.S. Open Cup semi-finals - with the winner playing LA Galaxy or San Jose Earthquakes, who will play out a California Clásico in the other semi-final. An intriguing end to the 2019 campaign is on the way, no matter what happens.
My Current Tactics:
The tactic hasn't changed, but the personnel has. Víctor Ulloa has suffered a fairly damaging injury, which puts him out of action for a while. Thankfully we have Eric Remedi in as a more than capable replacement, still sucks to lose Ulloa though.
Squad Dynamics:
Board Review:
As you'd imagine, everyone around the club is pleased at the moment. The Dressing Room Atmosphere is at Excellent, with the Managerial Support at Very Good.
More Transfers:
Some more transfer-related news has occurred.
Tomasz Kuszczak received three offers from Ekstraklasa clubs but, thankfully, wasn't interested in Legia Warsaw, Lech Poznań (who must be desperate for a new 'keeper, see: Przemysław Tytoń) and Lechia Gdańsk. Talking of Tyton, he has completed a u-turn and decided to remain with us in Ohio. Good news on both fronts!
Elsewhere, two departures have been confirmed. Roland Lamah and Blake Smith will be leaving at the expiration of their contracts, with the former heading to Denmark with Brøndby while the latter will go to the United Arab Emirates with Hatta. Lamah, despite being on a fairly hefty wage, hasn't featured much so won't be missed, while Smith has been out on loan in the Canadian Premier League with Pacific FC.
MLS All-Star Game:
Sporting CP travelled over from Portugal to face the MLS All-Stars. Only Eric Remedi was picked from our squad, so Fanendo Adi can feel robbed.
More Award Recognition:
Who are you and what have you done with the real Cincinnati? What a turnaround, we've just gone a whole month without a defeat to find ourselves in the play-off places and in the U.S. Open Cup semi-finals. Still a long way to go, but it could all of a sudden become a sensational season.
Next month sees home matches in MLS with New England Revolution and New York City FC, placed either side of the cup semi-final with Philadelphia Union. We'll end August/start September with friendlies with New York Red Bulls II, New York Cosmos and Toronto II.
Thank you for reading!
Next? Update 008: August Round-Up!
TinakoFM
First @VP., now me. @Shedender really did jinx us all.
Indianos
TinakoFM
Trip to: United States (w/ Cincinnati):
Team: Cincinnati (Major League Soccer) | My Team Record: W:14 D:5 L:14 | Honours: 0
This Season's (2019) Expectation(s): Be Competitive/Reach Cup R5
Club Vision: click here
Update 008: August Round-Up!
The recent times of my tenure with Major League Soccer side Cincinnati has gone very well indeed, as we came into August inside the play-off line and in the U.S. Open Cup semi-finals - something we could only have dreamt of a few months back when we were rock bottom of the Eastern Conference.
As I showed previously, I had a crash dump during the U.S. Open Cup semi-final. I was losing that 1-0 midway through the first half so no way of predicting what would've happened, but I had to replay the preceding MLS fixture with New England Revolution - I managed to get the same outcome. Always annoying when crashes happen, always kills my motivation as I don't enjoy replaying matches. Thankfully it was just one match and it is the beta, so it's to be somewhat expected.
Anyway, here's the August review:
Match Round-Up:
Result One:
Competition: Major League Soccer | Round: 28/34 | Opponent: New England Revolution (USA/I) | Their Position: 5/12 (east) | Their Streak: WWLDW
Our Highest Rated Player: Kekuta Manneh (GAM) - 8.5 | Our Position: 7/12 (east) | Our Points Tally: 35pts | Our Streak: WWDWW
"I won this 2-0 before the crash, so had to replay it to get the same outcome. I can't actually remember who scored originally, but Eric Remedi and Emmanuel Ledesma netted this time around as we eased past New England Revolution."
Result Two:
Competition: U.S. Open Cup | Round: Semi-final | Opponent: Philadelphia Union (USA/I) | Their Position: - | Their Streak: WDLLL
Our Highest Rated Player: Nick Hagglund (USA) - 7.1 | Our Position: - | Our Points Tally: - | Our Streak: WDWWL
"Our Open Cup hopes were ended on 6 August 2019, as Philadelphia Union eliminated us from the competition with a 1-0 victory at Talen Energy Stadium - Mark McKenzie the matchwinner. Even encounter, unfortunate to lose it. Always gutting to lose in a cup semi-final. Philadelphia would eventually lose to LA Galaxy on penalties in the final."
Result Three:
Competition: Major League Soccer | Round: 29/34 | Opponent: New York City FC (USA/I) | Their Position: 4/12 (east) | Their Streak: WDWWW
Our Highest Rated Player: Nick Hagglund (USA) - 7.8 | Our Position: 7/12 (east) | Our Points Tally: 38pts | Our Streak: DWWLW
"What an excellent response! Emmanuel Ledesma netted to seal us a superb win at home to NYCFC, who were five undefeated and sat fourth - Anton Tinnerholm missed a vital spot-kick before half-time for them. Three straight MLS victories for Cincinnati, which certainly makes up for that Open Cup exit. This was the final competitive fixture of August 2019."
Result Four:
Competition: Friendly | Round: - | Opponent: New York Red Bulls II (USA/I) | Their Position: - | Their Streak: -
Our Highest Rated Player: Fanendo Adi (NGA) - 8.8 | Our Position: - | Our Points Tally: - | Our Streak: -
"Fanendo Adi struck twice to help us beat second tier New York Red Bulls II in New Jersey. Domination, as you'd expect."
Result Five:
Competition: Friendly | Round: - | Opponent: New York Cosmos (USAIV) | Their Position: - | Their Streak: -
Our Highest Rated Player: Kendall Waston (CRC) - 7.3 | Our Position: - | Our Points Tally: - | Our Streak: -
"A surprise defeat to fourth tier New York Cosmos on penalties. They did get lucky, considering we had 22 shots with 13 on target - compared to their 2 shots, 1 on target. We were punished for not taking our chances."
Fixture List:
Competitions:
Squad Statistics:
Frustrating to not make it further in the U.S. Open Cup, but it gives us the opportunity to fully focus on the crunch end of Major League Soccer. Two out of two wins in that regard, which keeps us seventh in the Eastern Conference. We have a 4pt lead on Columbus Crew and Orlando City, the latter being the only team with a match in hand on us now; with the others catching up on us as we've played friendlies. Just five to play now!
My Current Tactics:
No changes to the tactic itself, but again we have player issues. Eric Remedi has joined Víctor Ulloa on the sidelines with a serious injury, which is most definitely not good news. It leaves us with Keisuke Honda and Caleb Stanko as the only midfielders with proper playtime this campaign, with ring-rusty duo Tommy McCabe and Fatai Alashe left in reserve - one, if not both of them, will need to step up and fill the void. Otherwise, a change of tactic will be needed.
Squad Dynamics:
Board Review:
No update from the board or players, everything is going splendid - I even got an achievement for full player backing, which was nice.
Award Recognition:
Interesting MLS Rule:
A short but eventful month with Cincinnati. Two straight league wins is a major positive, which makes me feel less disappointed with that loss to Philadelphia Union in the U.S. Open Cup. September is going to be a decisive month, with four of the last five regular season encounters taking place. I'd be more than delighted if we made the MLS Cup Playoffs, even if we were to be knocked out at the first hurdle.
September looks like this:
Thank you for reading!
Next? Update 009: September Round-Up!
bigmattb28
TinakoFM
Cheers! They certainly do, though it will be tough. Just two of the five remaining opponents sit above us in the table, so I fancy our chances against the other three at the very least.