Tetradeca-gone (in sixty years) - The Ballad of Steven Smith

A Look at the Squad










Our 2022 vintage squad is actually looking fairly healthy, even if we are a little overstocked up front. I went into America thinking it would be the easiest leg to manage, but there seem to have been a lot of changes under the hood from FM12 that make the MLS a lot harder to manage in. The most difficult thing is around the salary cap in place - it's very easy to sign players, but they all want the maximum wage possible with little budging, which makes it difficult to build a large squad while still staying within the cap. But anyway, we've built a squad, and it should be enough to get by. There's quite a bit of youth in there that should improve too.

The key players in that squad are as follows...

Yoshiaki Takagi

Our Japanese Designated Player, although only because I struggled to get rid of him. He's on a large wage, and one I don't think he entirely deserves, but I'm happy enough for him to stay. He started off with some pretty average performances, but he's come into his own recently. A big player for us.

Juan Manuel Miche

This guy just isn't remarkable stats-wise. He certainly wouldn't be a key player in any top-level division in any of the major countries, but this guy is highly sought after in America. Of course, with the terrible coding of the American leagues, all the bids are for the same pathetic amount every single time (95k if you're interested). He's a rock at the back for us though, and I'm happy to have an American in there.

Theo Walcott

Now this is a name you'll all recognise. As you can see, he's 33, so reaching the twilight of a career which never really hit the heights it should have. He was an ever-present for Arsenal until the 2013/14 season. After this, Chelsea swooped with a 25.5 million pound offer to take him across town to Stamford Bridge. In the next six seasons however, he only played 17 games. I had a look through his injury history, and although he's had many, none of them were ever for too long, not enough to keep him out of that many games. A shame really. Well, not really, as I picked him up after his days at Chelsea. He had a fantastic early season before breaking his leg early on in the season. It seemed it may end him, but he's come back this season and picked up where he left off. He's our Becks.


Season Expectations

MLS
Board: Reach Play-off Semis
Me: Reach At least play-off final

US Open Cup
Board: Not Important
Me: Go as far as possible



Needless to say, I didn't add to it last season, so this is what we need to beat. It's been over a decade now since the clubs only Champions League win - it's my aim to double that, and hopefully we won't need to wait another decade.

All in all, we've settled down nicely into our second season. Three losses and two draws in our ten games so far puts us in a great position. The one thing that's always struck me about the MLS is that usually one or two teams absolutely romp away with the league, and are untouchable, with the rest fighting tooth and nail for the rest of the play-off spots. If we can keep up this kind of pace, we should be good for the play-off spots, and maybe even an outside shot at the title. In the end though, the title does not matter, as it's a pretty empty trophy. The play-offs do matter though, as they are the ones that allow entry into the Champions League. We must keep up the pace.

We have some tricky ties approaching - Portland visit Los Angeles in June, and we also face a double against San Jose Earthquakes - the team that broke our heart in the play-offs last season. Time to stand up and be counted.





And our league positions. We're sitting pretty in the Western Conference, level at the top with Portland. Although there is a combined table, this only counts towards the Supporters Shield (the empty trophy), so if we finish in the top 3 of our conference bracket, then we're in the play-offs. That's our aim.

A pretty lousy couple of months to be honest. We had our first game in the cup against feeder team Atlanta Silverbacks, and they played us off the park. That's one Champions League chance out of the window. We didn't do that much better in the league either, playing seven, losing three and drawing two. Altogether a very disappointing month, none more so than the 3-3 draw with Portland. We were 3-1 up and absolutely cruising when the team's legendary ability to bring my wrath set in - they let in two late goals - one of them in stoppage time - and we had to settle for a draw.





All that puts us in 4th in the Western Conference and 7th overall. The overall table pretty much ends any hope we had of winning the Supporter's Shield. However, we're still in the hunt for the play-offs, in what is an uncharacteristically tight table.

Job Offers

Both Liverpool and Wigan offered me a job in the past couple of months. Of course I turned them both down, as I have no interest in moving to Europe right now, especially to a Premier League team. Steven Gerrard ended up making a remarkable return to Anfield to manage, so all worked out well.

So here it is, the run-in. We had a bad two months mid-season, so I didn't really expect anything from these final two months. At the very most, I wanted a shot at the play-offs, but time will tell whether we manage it.



And that will help quite a bit! A fantastic two months, with only one small blemish in the defeat in Ohio to Columbus Crew. In all the other games, we fought like hell and won seven of the ten games, drawing two more.

What really struck me though was the fortitude our team showed - it always seemed like we threw away a record number of points from winning positions, but in this run-in we never quit, clinching three of the games in the last ten minutes and two in stoppage time. We fought back from 1-0 down to 2-1 up against Chivas and also got a late, late winner against Seattle in the season-ending game. We'll get back to that one...

Player-wise, they have really, really impressed me in the latter part of the season. Our strikers are giving me a nice dilemma by playing well whoever I put up front. I play a one striker formation, so it's hard to fit my six strikers in. But I've rotated when I could, and each time I do they've made it worth my while. Andrew Igwe is the one I'm proudest of - I took a chance on him pretty much on the strength of his physical stats, and he's repaid me with 12 goals in 19 appearances. Wonderful.

But how has all of this left the table? Did we make the play-offs?





Ooooh yes we did. We didn't just make the play-offs, we also won the Supporters Shield. I may have said it was an empty trophy, but it does give qualification to the Champions League. Continental club football is coming back to Los Angeles.

Going back to that final game I mentioned earlier. We only won the league by one point, meaning that 91st minute goal pretty much won us the league. There was much celebration, as five minutes earlier we struck the post with a penalty, and it looked like the Shield was out of our grasp. Then Igwe stepped up and fired us into the lead. Nothing to worry about...

We go into the play-offs full of confidence, and also with the knowledge that we don't need to win them. Champions League is secured - let's go have fun.

A tough game, and one we almost threw away. It all happened in the final ten minutes. Portland took the lead in the 82nd minute, but were pegged back three minutes later. With the scores at 1-1, I was fairly happy. There are no away goals in the play-off, so 1-1 really is all square. But then Portland scored, and I started to fear the worst. Luckily, we scored yet another stoppage time goal as Andrew Igwe scored a great equaliser. It finished all square, and we would go back to Los Angeles to dance all over again.



I'll be honest, this was the worst game I have watched on FM in a long time. After an initial flurry, we were treated to 80 minutes of football with absolutely no highlights whatsoever. Seriously, I play games on key highlights, and there was nothing shown. For a match that both teams were desperate to win, and one where one of them HAD to score, it wasn't exactly an advert for the competition. Luckily, in the 106th minute (after another fifteen minutes of nothing, I might add), we finally broke the deadlock. In true fashion, nothing else happened afterwards, and we marched onto the final where we would once again face Seattle Sounders.

It was Los Angeles Galaxy against Seattle Sounders to see who would go on to face the Eastern Champions in the MLS Cup. We still remember the 2-1 last-gasp win we managed over them on the final day of the season, but they'll still remember beating us 3-0. It'll be a tight game, for sure.



Ooooor, not so. A terrible, terrible game. We went 1-0 up through an own goal, and at that point it was looking good. In the 44th minute, when minds began to wander to the interval, Machin turned into his own net to equalise. I can forgive that, but to then let in another in injury time was unforgivable. We went in at half-time 2-1 down, and then the arse fell out of the team. Within a minute of the second half, Seattle scored a third, and from then on we were out of it. They added another three later in the half to leave us 6-1 down, and probably without a prayer in the 2nd leg.

We would have to go absolutely all out and score at least six, and that's only if we can keep out the free-scoring grunge stars of Seattle.



Well, we didn't do enough. It was looking good though. We went all out from the start in an unfamiliar and stupid formation, and within 20 seconds we had struck the post. Within twenty minutes, we were 2-0 up, and I started to dream. After the goal though, Deji Ramirez went off injured, and our rhythm was pretty much gone. We went in at half time needing three to level the scores. Within ten minutes of the second half, we were 3-2 down, and it was all over. We fought back to 4-3 at the end, but it wasn't enough. We did ourselves proud getting the win, but Seattle were too good for us.

Hope this isn't too much of a pleading post, but just wondering if anyone is still interested in this story. I was posting it in three different places in the beginning (the official SI forum, a famous Scottish football forum and here) but have lapsed to just posting over on SI.

From the looks of it, I've gone so far beyond where I last posted, so if anyone is still interested in reading, I'll post it up and continue. Would be good to - I always enjoyed the community on this site back on the FM12 careers forum.

Wrap Up

Well altogether a very good season. In terms of the board expectations, we met and exceeded them. They don't count the Supporters Shield as a competition, but to clinch that not just on the final day, but also in the final minute. We went one round further than they expected in the play-offs, but went out in the cup way earlier than we should. Very disappointing in that sense, but a good season nonetheless.

Finances - Looking very good. We are a very rich team in a country where it's not that easy to spend that money. I've cut out my really high earning designated players, leaving only one player on more than 4.2k a week. We're projected to make a 4 million profit per season, so not a bad place to be in.

Key Players from Last Season Preview

Yoshiaki Takagi - I said he had come into his own after last season, and here he continued. Average rating wise, he wasn't too impressive, in fact he was average (6.86). He did chip in with 5 goals and 5 assists though.
Juan Manuel Michel - A rock at the back with an average rating of 7.28 from 38 games. He was pretty much an ever-present, and contributed to our good defensive disaplys when we needed them.
Theo Walcott - 24 games, 7 goals and 7 assists with an average rating of 7.08. Very good performance from the ageing Theo. He played most of his games on the right wing, which wasn't his favourite position in 2012 and certainly isn't now. But he put in some great performances, and was a key part of the team.

2023 Season Preview

Competitions

MLS
Board: Reach play-off semis
Me: Win it

Supporters Shield
Board: N/A
Me: We win it by getting the best record, so obviously I'll aim to win it. Play-offs are important though

US Open Cup
Board: Not Important
Me: Win it. No excuses

Drafts

Re-entry Draft

Gershon Mohammed - The American joins us as our only Re-entry draft signing after being released from Toronto in the off-season. The DM position was a priority to get sorted, as we only really had one player for there, and he was more creative than defensive. This will give us another option.

Superdraft
Mike Brindley - Mike joins us as our first pick on the superdraft. RB is another position we're light in, and he'll be a decent understudy for Reginaldo
Simone Hamon Pellegrino - Exotically named, but that probably won't be enough to grab him a starting place. Might look to get him out on loan for some experience, as I don't think he'll get the game-time here.
James Watts - James Watts is in a similar position to Pellegrino, but probably has more chance of getting a game with his stats. He'll be a fringe player initially though.

Transfers



One more player joined us - Jordanian Bashar Al-Rayahneh. He'll be very important to us, and will give us a lot of depth in the very important DM position.

In terms of players leaving, most of them were fringe players used as makeweights to get more international slots and free up wages. Theo Walcott and George Santos unfortunately left the club - I would have liked Walcott to stay, but with the wealth of strikers we had, he was falling down the pecking order. Santos was unhappy at not playing, so had no problem getting rid of him.

Our team report now looks like this. I'm fairly happy with it - this feels more like a squad I have built, probably because I had to after ending up with no players when I arrived...

Key Players for this Season


Bashar Al-Rayahneh - I've mentioned him already, but I can't state how important he could be to us. With a decent defensive player shielding our defenders, it'll allow the 5 players in front of him forward. At least that's the idea.
Andrew Igwe - The Super Eagle is on the fringe of a call-up for Nigeria, but the media seem to think he doesn't have a chance. I'm happy for it to stay that way, because as long as he remains cap-less, he will stay available for us. His goals will hopefully fire us to Champions League glory.
Deji Ramirez - Forever a target for other clubs, but he's not going anywhere. An ever-present in our creative midfield.

Got a bit carried away with playing, so a bumper update of fixtures.



When we drew our first two games, I feared the worst, but from the 92nd minute of our game against New England when Andrew Igwe got his first goal of the season with a late penalty, we went on a great run of eight games unbeaten with only two draws. We stuttered against San Jose with a 3-0 beating, and I thought we might start to fall apart a little. But it proved not to be as we won the next three without conceding a single goal. That included two good cup wins - they may have been against smaller teams, but you can only beat what's put in front of you, and we've struggled before.





The west is well and truly running away with this years Supporter's Shield Battle, and it looks at this stage to be between us and Colorado for the title. It could all change though - San Jose are not too far away after all, along with other teams.

Another good month, although unfortunately our US Open Cup campaign fell apart during an extremely good match against our old nemesis Chivas USA. We probably should have done better, but I have no complaints with going out to an MLS team who were just simply better than us on the day. It's several stages closer than I have ever gone before.

In the league we continued our fantastic form, only dropping points towards the end of the month against Chivas (again) and Dallas. Up front we've been lethal - 20 goals in 8 games. Our defence hasn't been too bad either, and it's starting to look like we have a better than even chance of retaining our MLS Supporter's Shield title.



Once again, the West are running away with it. We're now 7 points ahead of San Jose with 11 games to go, making it a Californian party up there.

We also had our Champions League groups drawn, in what is a different format to what I'm used to.



Only three teams in each group, meaning only four games away from the knock-outs. Saprissa I'm familiar with, and to me they'll be our main rivals. We face our first match next month.

Another unbeaten month puts us within touching distance of the play-offs, and surely only an absolutely unprecedented collapse would deny us now.

We started things off with my debut in the NACL, and made it look easy with a 4-0 defeat of main rivals Saprissa. Ken Martinez continued his battle with Andrew Igwe for the only strikers spot by netting two. That put us into an early commanding position in the group. We kept up our good form in the league with three wins and a draw to put us clear at the top, with Ken Martinez taking his chances wonderfully in the match against Seattle, ending with four goals. Our final match of the month was a strange one - I pegged Tauro as the whipping boys, but we could only manage a 2-2 draw, and we were lucky with that. The group didn't look as good as it could have after that, but another win against Saprissa should see us through before we welcome Tauro back to Los Angeles.




San Jose kept the gap at ten points, but they retain a game in hand in the Western Conference, but both us retained the distance to the rest of the teams in the division. Seven games to go and ten points ahead. The next month will be a big one for us.

National Job



After applying to pretty much every international job going, and then in turn being turned down for every international job going, it was a great surprise to finally be offered another job after the Uruguay debacle. Lucky for me, it was another very good team, with Chile having recently come third in the Copa America. They sit 4th in the World Rankings, and have some potential. The board simply want us to qualify easily for the World Cup, which could be difficult in the marathon that is South American Qualifying.

We very quickly had our first two friendlies in charge, but things didn't go particularly well.

Chile vs Serbia - 1-1 - FT
Chile vs Mexico - 1-4 - FT

These were not encouraging at all. Strangely, after these two, we moved up one place in the rankings. Not sure how that works, but it'll do. I wasn't too worried about the Serbia game, but to be beaten 4-1 by Mexico was worrying - if we're to win the Copa America, we have to face teams like Mexico, and they're not even the best we'll face. We need to improve, and quickly.

We started off with a disappointing 2-1 defeat against Vancouver, but showed our spirit by clinching our play-off status by thumping Colorado 3-1.



Five games to spare...fantastic. We then celebrated the fact by rattling six past Toronto. From then, with the exception of the annoying defeat by Colorado, we scored an average of four goals a game, and scored six on three occasions. We most definitely won in style, and with form like that it was no wonder we retained the Supporter's Shield.

In the Champions League we well and truly destroyed Saprissa away, and then got our revenge on Tauro by strolling to a 3-0 win at the Home Depot Center.



Easy.




And confirmation of our league win. Not that it really means much, but Philadelphia overhauled the deficit to take 2nd place in the overall table. On the whole though, the Western Conference qualifiers performed far better.

We now have a very important off-season coming up - afterwards we have to face our quarter final opponents, and now we're just 6 matches away from the trophy.

Wrap Up

What can I really say about that season? There wasn't really a foot put wrong, with only the semi-final defeat in the Cup as any kind of negative. We scored for fun and defended like a team, which are two things we've never really managed to marry together. We've also strolled into the knockout rounds of the Champions League and it's there that the hard work really begins, as we've been drawn against fellow MLS side Philadelphia. Tough game, but could've been tougher.

Finances - Looking very good in terms of profit. We now have no designated players at the club, which is an obvious positive if you can get away with it. I'll certainly be leaving this club in a much better state than I found it.

Key Players from Last Season Preview

This was the year my key players actually turned out to be key players, and not just hopefuls.

Andrew Igwe - The Nigerian ended up my top scorer, and that was while fighting a running battle with Ken Martinez over who should take the lone striker position. If I'm being honest, both players should be up on this list, but Igwe edges it as he did score more goals, and he'll probably be dining out on his Supporter's Shield winning goal in 2022 for some time...still, look at his stats - apart from his physicals, he's poor. All the more reason to love him. His record this year speaks for itself - 30 games, 23 goals, and a rating of 7.35. Lethal.
Deji Ramirez - Deji has pretty much become the center of the team, and not just because he plays there. When he's not there, we miss him terribly. His season summary may not look the best (although it is very good) but it doesn't tell the whole story. There's barely a day goes by that someone doesn't put in a pathetic offer for him, but this guy won't be going anywhere. If the next manager wants to get rid of them, that's their stupid decision, but he is a key part of my team.
Bashar Al-Rayahneh - I couldn't quite manage three in a row, unfortunately. Bashar started the season off brilliantly, and was one of the reasons for our good opening run. But then tragedy struck and he broke his leg, putting him out for pretty much the entirety of the rest of the season. I put him on the season-ending injury list, meaning he would play no further part. Unfortunately, he returned a few games before the end, and we could've done with him, but in the end we got by without him. Big shame for the guy to only manage 10 games, but after starring in our final Champions League group game, I'm looking forward to getting him back in the MLS team this time around.

2024 Season Preview

Competitions

MLS
Board: Reach play-off semis
Me: Win it. Again.

Supporters Shield
Board: N/A
Me: We win it by getting the best record, so obviously I'll aim to win it. Play-offs are important though

US Open Cup
Board: Not Important
Me: Win it. I don't care if we face Chivas, I want that trophy.

North American Champions League
Board: Reach quarter-finals
Me: Quarter finals? **** off. We're going to win it.

Drafts

Re-entry Draft



Superdraft

Michael Rodriguez - It was slim pickings at the Superdraft this year, or, more accurately, I hadn't had the foresight to deal my way to having a decent draft pick. As MLS winners, we were last to go in the first round, and it certainly showed. I picked up Michael as the best of the rest, but fairly happy with how he looks. He'll do.

Even with such an anti-climactic draft, I still ended up with the 3rd best "grade" of the draft. How it works I have no idea. Witchcraft probably.

Transfers



Matthew Siasia - All my hard work in not spending any allocation funds I couldn't recoup was thrown out of the window with this signing, joining our club for my entire allocation fund (and then some) of 325k. I do believe he's worth it though, and hopefully he gives Andrew Igwe someone to talk to. I'm nice like that.
Rory Abravanel - Not exactly a transfer, but this guy was picked up from our academy. When the usual youth allocation was released, my coaches picked out this guy as particularly exciting. I agreed, and decided to let him bypass the whole pesky academy process and simply go straight into our first team. As a 16 year old with no previous experience, I just need to hope it doesn't back-fire.

In terms of the outbox, you get confirmation of the last designated player leaving the club. The board were not happy at all, but I just reminded them how many trophies I'd brought to the club and they soon shut up. You may also notice that the superdraft player I never really wanted has also left the club. I had a bit of a crisis in terms of the wage structure after offering players so many £4,200 contracts, so some players had to go to meet the shortfall. He was one of them. Shame for him, but I'm sure his heart was never really in it.

Key Players for this Season

Andres Ibarra - This is a boy who's been at the club for a couple of years but hadn't made an appearance. He was still a bit rough around the edges for my liking, and we had more experienced center backs available. Towards the end of last season, he complained about wanting first team football, which I suppose was understandable. This season then, will be his. Hopefully he isn't full of hot air, and he can actually perform on this stage.
Andrew Igwe - Of course it is. I wouldn't have this section without mentioning the Nigerian. More of the same please.
Deji Ramirez - And if I can't mention key players without Igwe, it would be blasphemy not to add Deji in. He'll once again be a key player for us.

MLS



We picked up where we left off last season by rattling off an average of almost four goals a game in the first five. We did slip up in Colorado though, and then had a disappointing 1-1 draw back at home against FC Dallas. Going 5-1-1 at the start of the season is still pretty good though, so not too bothered. After all, there was a far more important competition coming up...



Table isn't really relevant at the moment. As long as I'm up there in the play-off spots, I'm happy.

North American Champions League

So did we make that final we craved?



Yes. Yes we did. Not in too much style though. The first leg against Philadelphia was very nervy, but as you can imagine I was very happy to leave on level terms and with an away goal. We then proceeded to play out an absolutely awful match in the 2nd leg, but one that guaranteed me a semi-final place. Not the way I wanted to do it, but I'm not going to complain.

The strength of the MLS is shown by the fact that we faced another American team in the semis. DC United didn't ratchet up the excitement any more than Philadelphia had, but we managed to go one better in the first leg away from home by grabbing a 1-0 win. Another away goal, meaning we had some kind of leeway in the 2nd leg. My team managed to make it hard for themselves though by playing out another dour 0-0 draw. But it was enough, and we went into the final.

So here we are, the most important match of my reign so far. I had it fairly easy with the Mariners and Kaizer Chiefs, but it has taken hard work to get LA Galaxy to this position. I don't intend to leave without a fight.

But of course, a fight is what we're going to get - we're up against Chivas. The real Chivas. Of Mexico.

C.D. Guadalajara have swept pretty much everyone aside they've faced so far, and they start as overwhelming favourites. They still have the talismanic Carlos Fierro, who has been in scintillating form so far, and honestly I don't fancy our chances very much. We'll go out there and give it our best shot though.





This was not the first leg I wanted.

They absolutely battered us. I'd like to say that the match stats didn't tell the whole story, but they did. They really should have beaten us by more, and we didn't turn up. Bitterly disappointing, and it leaves us with an almost insurmountable mountain to climb in the second leg. We do have home advantage though. We need three goals, and I'll be going all out to get them. Can we stop them from scoring? I'm not so sure about that. One away goal will pretty much end things.

I'll spoiler tag the second leg to keep things tense...

"Following LA Galaxy's amazing comeback win in the North American Champions League, a press conference has been called at the Home Depot Center. There has been speculation that manager Stephen Smith will announce his resignation as manager following the triumph, as he has done in the past with both Central Coast Mariners and Kaizer Chiefs. Unhappy fans have flocked tot he Home Depot Center hoping that they can persaude the Scotsman to stay on in charge..."

LA Galaxy Chairman Tim Leiweke - "It is with great pleasure I sit here with the head coach of LA Galaxy, Stephen Smith, and this fine example of a trophy that he has brought to us just last week. I understand there has been some speculation as to the purpose of this press conference, but I will leave that to Stephen to fill you in on."

LA Galaxy Head Coach Stephen Smith - "Thanks Tim. I understand that there are a lot of fans worried about the future of this club and whether I plan to resign from my position. I can reassure them now that nothing is further from my mind at this point than leaving this club. I have worked tirelessly over the past few years to bring the Champions League to this great club once again, and have enjoyed building and managing this team immensely. However, I am announcing my intention to leave the club at the end of the next MLS season, after taking this side to the World Club Championship. I will most definitely leave this club with a heavy heart, as I've come to love the lifestyle and the fans, and I want to thank them for their support throughout my tenure. I hope that I can bring you more trophies this season, and leave the squad for someone else to defend the Champions League. I will leave the fans with one simple promise. If the chance ever arises, and the club will have me, I will return to this fantastic stadium to manage once again, as there is now a special place in my heart for the Galaxy. Thank you."

"So that was manager Stephen Smith revealing that he will quit as manager at the end of the season after leading LA Galaxy to the World Club Championships. There will no doubt be some disappointed LA fans out there tonight, but they will be happy that their all-conquering manager is staying on, if only for a short time."

Dreadful.

I go and virtually announce my resignation at the end of the season, and this is how the team repays me. Following our Champions League glory at the top of the month, it looked as though the confidence and swagger was back in our game. Then we went to Seattle and from then on things started going awry. We only have one shining light - the win at home to San Jose - in this month, and it makes me wonder whether my choice to stay on was a good one.




But then it seems that anything we can do, our rivals can do just as badly. We still sit in 2nd in the overall standings, despite our poor form. I'm under no illusions though - we need to pick our ideas up, otherwise the Champions League will be my final trophy at this club. There is no way this is MLS winning form...

One nice note was around the MLS All-Stars team, which sees the best players in the league facing off against a completely random team (I'm sure there's a decision process, but I don't know it).



7 of my team make the squad, which is a touch under a third of the entire squad. Very nice of them.

Finally this month, it was a case of what might have been. Italy, the team I turned down just after I left the Scotland post, won the European Championships. It could've been me...

So as I moved into my last few months of service to LA Galaxy, there was the small matter of the conclusion of the MLS season, as well as our maiden voyage into the World Club Championship.

First up, the MLS...



Well I'm sure you're all overwhelmed by the sea of green in the later part, but have a look at my results from July. If you don't count our opening win in the Champions League, we were without a win through the whole month. I continued to think that I had made a mistake in remaining at the club, as we drew game after game, seemingly unable to keep teams out, even if we weren't having trouble scoring. Perhaps that win in the Champions League rose our spirits, because from that moment we remained unbeaten until the penultimate game of the season against San Jose. By that time, it was already too late for everyone else. We were once again Supporter's Shield winners.




One more trophy for the collection, and gives me the chance to go for one more. Could we add the MLS Cup title to the list?





No. We couldn't. It wasn't through want of trying, but unfortunately my final game in the continental United States ended in a bitterly disappointing defeat. Montreal absolutely ragged us in the end, and I can't really argue with them taking home the trophy. When a team is that much better than you, it's hard to grudge them it. We will pick ourselves up and go into the World Club Championship for one last hail-mary attempt at a trophy.

So we travelled to China, and the magnificent Birds Nest Stadium in Beijing, hoping to somehow leave with the World Club Championship trophy. I don't care what anyone says about this competition in Europe - it matters. This is going to be quite a task - bear in mind that on the past 23 occasions, so since 2000, the title has never gone anywhere other than to the European or South American Champions. It's gone to Europe on 18 of those tournaments. No-one has ever won it from outside these two continents. If we're lucky, we can hope that Europe and South America knock each other out, but that's just wishful thinking I imagine.

Anyway, we entered at the Quarter Final stage, receiving one bye after Auckland and Gaungzhou fought it out for the joy of either getting the wooden spoon or being put out in the next round (probably). Auckland lost that particular battle.



Well, well, well. Ismaili put up quite a fight, I have to say. It took extra-time to finally dispatch them, and equal the position I would have been happy with. We then went up against South Americans Corinthians, and knew that this would probably be our lot. Fortunately, we were very wrong. We took the lead through a Franco Ribas penalty, and I saw it as a chance for the fans to get some undeserved celebration out of the way. When Corinthians equalised, it seemed like it would only go one way. But then in the 82nd minute, Dario Rolon slid in to make it 2-1. It ended up being the winner, and somehow we had made the final of the World Club Championship.

Back in 2013, Los Angeles Galaxy made the final of this competition, where they played European Champions Man City. They were beaten that day. Can anyone guess who won the UEFA Champions League this season?

Yup, Man City. But strangely, Suwon of Asia had other ideas, and they sent Man City home with a fantastic performance. I was initially thrilled, but then realised that if a team is good enough to do that to the European Champions, they would make us their bitches.

It was now time to stand up, be counted, and try and win one final trophy in my final match in charge.

So I leave Los Angeles Galaxy having burdened their trophy cabinet with five major trophies and five minor ones. Easily my most successful reign in the save so far.





Somehow I'm still only Favoured Personnel, along with my signing Andrew Igwe. Deji Ramirez has made it onto the Icons list, and I like to think I helped him get there.



Finance-wise, it's not as if I can say I turned things around. They were rich when I arrived, and they're still rich. What they are now though, is more rich. I got rid of all the high earners in terms of designated players, and turned the team into one that was easily sustainable, making a decent profit every season. No small feat for a manager who usually runs clubs into the ground. There was also this nice little leaving present to the board to push that bit more money into the coffers.

But now the time has come to say goodbye. I've loved being at this club, but I have an appointment in South America to keep...

I didn't spend a long time out of club football, and found myself catapulted into small-town Brazil. Well, I say small-town, but the stadium doesn't exactly look like it.



They offered me a decent enough contract, but it was too long for my liking, as I didn't really see myself bringing this club to the top. I would have liked a shorter term one, but in the end I had to settle for this. A bit more money, but a longer contract than I wanted. Oh well.

My first order of business as Criciuma manager, on seeing the poor quality of the squad, I tried to get myself a parent club so we could grab as many decent players on loan as possible.



All in all, a very good trawl of teams. Three top division clubs, and three very big names.



I ended up siding with Sao Paulo with their increased reputation, so here's hoping they do us some good.





Finances are looking pretty good considering - we have some decent financial muscle for transfers, and some wiggle room for wages. However, if I go big this season, it's just as likely that that healthy balance could disappear.

As is Brazil's way of doing things, we now face a marathon season - first up is the State Championships, which is two stages of 9 games each, then we have the second division campaign, which is the usual 38 games. We can add whatever cup games we manage into that. Brazil really is a long hard slog.

Results

Santa Catarina State Championships - Stage 1





We competed, but that was about it. Let me put it in perspective - these State Championships are like there being a regional competition in Britain where Man Utd and Man City end up facing other teams from the region like Stockport or FC United. Maybe even teams weaker than that. As a 2nd division team, we were in the second tier of the Championship, so would expect to be up there. In this phase though, we weren't really. We had some disappointing results in amongst the expected ones, but we really should have done better. We managed sixth, which wasn't enough to get the play-off for this phase. Something to build on though.

Santa Catarina State Championships - Stage 2







Now this was much better. We didn't quite keep pace with Avai at the top, but we did stay ahead of everyone else to qualify for the play-offs. A good achievement for the side. However, despite getting through the semi-final, Avai still had the last say and destroyed us in the final. I'm fairly happy though, we did alright.

Division 2



We had some good runs in the division, and with only a few exceptions we didn't really go through any rough patches. Very proud of my makeshift team.



It just wasn't good enough. We were predicted sixth at the start of the season, and that's what we managed. I wanted a shot at promotion though, and I'm frustrated that we didn't manage that. Our money situation hasn't improved, and in fact has rapidly un-improved. Another stay in the second division does not appeal at all.

You know what time it is? Resignation time.

After resigning from Criciuma, I decided to holiday and apply for absolutely anything. After going a bit stir crazy in Brazil, I wanted to see if any European projects caught my eye instead.

Verona - Serie B - Not exactly what I'm looking for at this stage. Financials already look ominous
Barnsley - League 1 - Again, not what I had in mind. There aren't many English sides that would tempt me out of South America at this stage.
Melfi - Serie C2/A - I...I'm not even sure who they are. Still, not interested.
Carlisle - League 1 - No thanks.
Catania - Serie A - How much longer will they be in Serie A with finances like that? Again, not interested. I fancy finishing things in Italy at certain clubs, but Catania aren't one of them.
Swindon Town - League 1 - Another from England, and another no.
Everton - Premier League - No more Moyes for Everton, and with those finances, someone will struggle to bring big success to Goodison again.
Cheltenham Town - Conference Premier - Snooore.
Stockport County - Conference Premier - Now this one gave me a dilemma. Stockport County are down as my favourite team as manager, and I always intended to use them as my final team and make them European Champions, as I did in my two previous saves. I was torn though. I didn't want to do Europe as anything other than the last leg, but Stockport really tempted me. In the end though, I reluctantly rejected, but only because there was another plan in mind for my stay in Europe.
Nautico - Brazilian First Division - Now this is more like it. The first team in Brazil to offer me anything since I resigned, and it's quite a good offer. An established top tier team with a decent amount of financial clout. Have I found the club I want to be at?

Another journey began in the extreme East of Brazil in Pernambuco. If Criciuma didn't work out, then I hoped that Nautico and their merry men would yield something better.




No sooner had I taken the hotseat, I was informed that this was the 125th anniversary of this fine club. All the more incentive to bring some joy and success to the natives.

First up, as is always the case in Brazil's absolutely marathon league system, is the State Championship, this time, of course, the Pernambuco State Championship. 12 teams join the race for the title in a hectic schedule, with play-offs for the top four.



Got to say, I was pleased with the team for the most part, but it's not as good as it looks. The State Championship is full of absolutely awful teams, as I've said in previous updates. Really, we could have got the same effect by playing the top 4 only. This was shown by us dropping points against Santa Cruz, Salguero and Sport Recife. Funnily enough, they made up the top four along with us. What I really enjoyed however was the fact that we only conceded four goals in the entire run. A fantastic achievement, even if the opponents weren't the strongest.



We went into the play-offs hoping for a little glory before we headed off to start our march for Division 1.



Not good enough really. I was happy to make the final, but Sport Recife were too good for us. The 1-0 defeat in the first leg outdid us, and Recife were happy to sit back and do absolutely nothing but frustrate us in the return. Disappointing, but we go into the Division 1 race with hope in our hearts.

With our nearly-men of the Pernambuco State, I was fairly confident that we could achieve a safe mid-table position in the league, and perhaps push for continental places. Brazil is similar to England in the way that there are a lot of places up for grabs. Top four get a group place in the Libertadores, and the 5th place team get a place in the preliminary round. Another handful get places in the Sudamericana, the equivalent of the Europa League. I don't think that's beyond us.



Well, it wouldn't be beyond us if we hadn't started like this. We started off well with a good 3-0 win against Athletico Paranaeanse but then struggled to put any kind of form together. We beat Avai and Fortaleza, but were beaten by Santos, Gremio and Sao Paulo. Suddenly all confidence was gone - I didn't really think this team had what it took to mount a serious challenge, not without considerable investment, which was unlikely to materialise the way I hoped it would.



12th, and already ten points off the top spot.

Then something I had been waiting for happened. Before the Nautico offer came in, I had waited (im)patiently for a couple of jobs to open up. The managers jobs had been at "Very Insecure" for a long time, and I regularly tried to undermine them in an attempt to steal their jobs. Nautico then came up, and I forgot all about them.

But then, Flamengo boss Claudio decided to leave his post...Flamengo are a BIG deal in Brazil and they boast quite a trophy cabinet. They also boast a considerable bank balance, which is something I do love to have. But take a look at that table above. Who lies several places below Nautico? Flamengo.

Big decision time.

Before I reveal the decision, it's time to udpate on what's happening in the land of Chile and my quest to conquer the International side of South America.

We faced the marathon (is everything a marathon in South America?) qualifying competition where we would face off against the other eight South American sides (Argentina already qualified as holders). Sixteen games spread over two years, and it'll shape our attack of the biggest International Tournament in the World.

When I arrived in the job, we faced a handful of friendlies before being thrown in right at the deep end with a match against Brazil in the qualifiers. Let's just say things didn't go well...



To be honest, I feel lucky to still be in a job. Uruguay sacked me for far less. The Serbia draw was puzzling, but nothing compared to being battered 4-1 by Mexico. That was not the preparation I wanted before I faced Brazil, and it showed as we were completely outclassed. Bear in mind that Chile at this stage were 5th in the World Rankings. Seems that I've once again picked a side that really, really hates me. And success. They really hate success. We didn't fare altogether better against Ecaudor, scrapping to a 3-3 draw which left us with only one point. We salvaged things slightly by beating my old side Uruguay 3-1 to round off the year. It was something to build on, but I had quite a fight on to save my job.

In 2024, things needed to get better. That was for sure. We only had two friendlies scheduled, along with six massive qualification games. Crucially, we started off with two home games against Venezuela and Bolivia. Six points was really the minimum. Luckily - for me in particular - we managed those six points, scoring seven in the process and conceding none. Very happy with the performances. We then had a bit of a yardstick in a friendly - facing European giants Holland. We managed a 2-2 draw, and one I was pretty happy with. This isn't the same Holland side that we terrorised as Scotland - they were far better than that. To get a 2-2 draw was a great result.

We then had three absolutely crucial matches - away to Peru and Colombia and then back home against Paraguay. Straight after that last one, we would head to Brazil to try and avenge that early 4-0 mauling. If we could get nine points from these four, we would end 2024 in a good position, and give us a lot of momentum heading into the final straight.



Well, we managed that nine points, but it didn't quite tell the story. Three very good wins, but Brazil got the better of us in a bitterly disappointing 3-2 loss. We really should have levelled it. That was then followed with a defeat to World Champions Argentina. If we can't beat those kinds of teams, then I'm not looking forward to the latter stages of the World Cup.

2025 was going to be an extremely busy year for us. As well as facing our final seven qualifying matches, we also faced the Confederations Cup.

The year started well enough with three crucial wins in the qualifying. With four to go, we had caught Brazil and were now seriously looking at topping the group. That would be a big psychological boost for us, despite losing six points to Brazil.




The Confederations Cup could not bring the same joy that it had when Scotland won it as Argentina beat us 2-1 in the final. Should we have done better? Probably. But to lose to the World Champions is nothing to be ashamed of. It would also start one hell of a grudge match for the future...

After the Confederations Cup, we knew that nine points out of the remaining twelve would probably do enough to let us top the group. Qualification was all but secured.



We stumbled over the line. The match against France was quite a shock, and I think it affected the squad. Less than a month later we faced a double header we really should have got full points from, and we got nothing. Two 2-1 defeats. We had to buck up our ideas quickly, otherwise we could slip down the table. I don't think we'd miss qualification at this stage, in fact a point would secure it, but it's always a worry. Luckily, we managed six points to stumble into the World Cup.

Pop quiz - how do you take a decent qualifying campaign and absolutely destroy it?




Like this. In the first game, Turkey bettered us and we were lucky to escape with a 2-2 draw. We faced the United States needing a victory to bring everything back on track. Unfortunately, our defence had designs on a longer holiday. In fact, I think they were already on holiday when they conceded four, throwing away leads three times. Ivory Coast were up next, and if a win was crucial before, it's now absolutely imperative. I went all out for the win, but that just played into the Africans' hands. They beat us 6-2, and sent us crashing out of the tournament at the group stage. That was not what I had hoped for.



Holland ended up as Champions, beating Russia in the final after extra time. But who cares? I had another fight on for my job. I would be lucky to see the Copa America next year.



I'll just need to make sure they don't regret their decision.

In the end, it was a no brainer. Flamengo might have been below Nautico in the table, but they had far more potential. They also had a bigger bank balance, which led to a bigger budget. Booya.



The squad is strong in places, but needs improvement. I certainly won't be able to play my usual winger style formations, and we'll have to settle for something narrower.

I joined the club with us sitting in 14th, so how did we do in the remainder of the fixtures?



Not bad at all. It didn't start too well though. In only our third game, we faced an interesting clash with Nautico who had just appointed their new manager. We fell 1-0, and once again I was questioning my choices. Luckily the team decided to pick themselves up, losing only six times in the remaining twenty-seven games. Santos proved to be Flamengo's bogey team by beating us narrowly both times we played them. Somehow we managed to take six points off runaway leaders Sao Paulo. We were catching up with the teams at the top, but unfortunately we had a terrible last couple of months, losing and drawing three times each.



We just about managed to finish 5th, which meant a place in the qualifying round for the Copa Libertadores. That's what counts in the end.



In the Brazilian Cup we were going well until Sao Paulo decided to stamp their authority in brutal fashion. a 7-0 defeat after we went all out in the second leg emphatically put us out.

A good season overall - we'll be in the Libertadores next year

Quick financial news before we start the next season.




Sponsorship is down, perhaps as a result of the season before I arrived. Not really sure, but it means that if we don't net the Libertadores this season, we'll have to do it the next one with what I assume will be a decreased budget.

The Rio State Championship

Another year, another state championship for me to attempt. This one has yet another different structure - two stages and two groups in each. There's a play-off at the end of each stage, and then, not content with such hilarity, they have an overall table which determines an overall final. Got that?



We got it, wrapped it, and sent it right back. We absolutely destroyed the competition, right up until we played Botafogo in the semi-final of the Rio State Close. We didn't quite have the defensive record of my Nautico campaign, but a sea of green results can't be argued with. With that record, we strolled into the overall final, with a chance to get my first trophy in Brazil.



And we did it. 3-1 over two legs, and it was never really in doubt.

With that, we moved into the time of the Libertadores. The packed calendar means that by mid-summer, we'll know whether we've pulled off an unlikely title or not.



With that start, I wouldn't bet against us! When we drew Fortaleza, I wasn't too happy. They were a team who had always got the better of us, so to draw them in a continental competition made me expect nothing better than 2nd. We proved me wrong though by going through as group winners with a fantastic 100% record. When Penarol stood in our way in the second round, we dispatched them with relative ease in the first leg. I got a bit carried away in the second leg, and when they raced into a two goal lead, I started to worry. But we got two back to ease into the quarters, and just six away from the title.

In the quarters we would face giants of Argentina Independiente. In the first leg, we suffered our first defeat of the continental season, going down 3-1. We didn't deserve anything from the away leg, and now knew that we would have to score at least three at home and hope to keep them out. Could we do that?



We could, and then some. We scored seven without reply and sent Independiente home with their tails between their legs. A fantastic performance, and one that set up an interesting rematch against Fortaleza in an all-Brazilian tie.



And once again we triumphed, not really giving the opponents a sniff. After never really expecting anything from the tournament, we were now in the final, where we would face...Santos.




Yep. That Santos.