The Alternate World Cup - Chepiga Returns #FM23

Life had been good for Chepiga since he returned to Eastern Europe. Now widely regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time having spent many trophy laden seasons in Russia, Ukraine, USA and Bulgaria. He now also boasted a personal fortune of many millions having robbed Hugo Ojeda back in Florida. Spending time in the middle east was new to him but was not unwelcome. During his latest trip he visited the USMNT at their World Cup training base in Doha, it was stifling hot despite the time of year, yet a familiar odour hung in the air, it made him gag, it was the smell of rebellion. The presence of the MLS all star winning coach seemed to awaken something in the players, they had grown tired of Gregg Berhalter’s pragmatic approach to Soccer. They wanted more, they wanted Samba, they wanted Chepiga…

THE ROSTER

Chepiga took charge on the eve of the squad announcements and would be, of course, using his successful Portland Timbers 5-2-1-2 formation which I previously wrote about in FM22. Rather than post endless screenshots of the players selected for the World Cup Roster, I have made a little graphic below. Throughout this section of the article anytime I mention a player I will provide a link that will take you to the player profile if you want more info on him.

Goaltenders

Not too much to consider here, these three are easily the top three US ‘keepers. Some thought was given to Toronto’s Alex Bono but Sean Johnson of New York City held onto the coveted third choice ‘keeper jersey. Zack Steffan and Matt Turner would battle it out for the starting spot.

Defense

Ten defenders have been selected although Reggie Cannon and Timothy Chandler can fulfil multiple roles within the side, if needed, which is an important factor in tournament football. We also have a nice mix of physical (Zimmerman, Long, Richards) and technical (Brooks, Dest, Robinson) defenders in there and I expect to rotate my side depending on the oppositions strengths and weaknesses. Injury meant DeAndre Yedlin was unavailable but given we have Tyler Adams and Christian Pulisic in the squad I was happy we had enough cover for Dest at RWB. Young Joe Scally who can also provide cover on the right, got the nod as main back up on the left to Fulham’s Antonee Robinson.

Midfield

The USMNT has a pretty strong midfield if you ask me. Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie, Gio Reyna and Christian Pulisic are all automatics and I think their performances will go a long way to deciding if Chepiga is sucessful or not. Tyler Adams is a perfect holding CM and Weston McKennie can play as a BBM or further forward as a No.10 if needed. I think I will start with Reyna as a 10 and possibly use Pulisic up front as a deep lying forward, but this could be changed as we progress through the competition. Once again injury has robbed us of Yunus Musah so Keaton Parks and Alfredo Morales will provide back up at CM, and Malik Tillman can fulfil a role as a No. 10 or upfront if required.

Offense

Chepiga’s 5-2-1-2 is fairly narrow with the WBs providing all the width. This is bad news for a couple of the USMNT’s wide attacking players such as Timothy Weah and Jordan Morris as they didn’t make Chepiga’s final 26 man roster. The 5-2-1-2 also requires two very different forwards to work. One must come deep to hold up the ball and bring others into play (Siebatcheu, Ferreira, Pulisic? or Tillman?) while the more advanced forward is consistently challenging the opposition defensive line with runs in behind (Sargent, Wood, Balogun).

* I downloaded a World Cup 2022 database by footygamer over on the Sortitoutsi forum. You can access the thread here. The groups are correct, however, the order of the fixtures can’t be amended so first up for us was the mighty England, It’s coming home and all that bollocks. Right before the tournament I got a news item that Christian Pulisic had been injured but it was unlikely to keep him out of the competition. I breathed a sigh of relief as I went into the squad screen only to find out he had a three week injury, thanks FM, can’t wait to use him in the final!

The Group Stage

Game 1 - United States v England

It’s not coming home.

This exactly the sort of game I like to have someone with a physical presence up front. England were probably going to press us high up the pitch and leave some space in behind. To fully exploit this I like to have the old favourite combination of a ‘big man’ and ‘small man’ upfront. By giving the defense an option to hit a long pass to the “big man” Siebatcheu and go over the English press, we could exploit the space they leave in behind and release our nippy ‘small man’ Josh Sargent. Player of the match, Siebatcheu dominated English Centre Back Declan Rice in the air throughout the game, winning 10 of his aerial dules compared to Rice’s 3.

England took the lead through Jordan Henderson but the US came back really well after a fine individual goal from McKennie and a header from a corner by the aforementioned Siebatcheu. But It was the final goal that I enjoyed the most, it is a lovely example of what going over the press to your big man looks like. After Siebatcheu wins the initial header and disrupts the English defense by dropping deep, it is an easy pass for Reyna to release the MLS Save favourite, Bobby Wood. Once he was clean through there was no doubt in my mind whether Bobby would score or not…
In the other game in Group B, Iran and Wales drew 0-0 leaving the USMNT top after the first round of matches.

Game 2 - United States v Iran

A knock to wing back Robinson meant Joe Scally was the only change for the USMNT for the game against Iran. Before the tournament I expected to change my Deep lying forward for this game and potentially go with a more creative option such as Pulisic (who was injured) or Jesus Ferreira. But after his player of the match performance against England Siebatcheu kept his place.

Iran came out of the blocks very quickly against us. We could not control possession of the ball and the two Iranian AMCs were running riot pulling our three Centre Backs all over the place. Reyna and Siebatcheu’s influence was also well marshalled by the Iranian DM Ezatolahi. It came as no surprise when Ghoddos made the most of the space offered between the lines and scored for Iran after 11 minutes.

I felt we had to change something to get back into the game so I altered our formation, something I rarely do in FM. I decided to remove Ball playing defender John Brooks and bring on an extra midfielder, Keaton Parks. We switched to a back four and moved Tyler Adams to DM, McKennie became a box to box midfielder and Parks a CMs. Up front we moved Reyna to an Inside Forward on the left and Siebatcheu to a Wide Target Forward on the right, and Sargent remained an advanced forward. I also increased our attacking width and directness, players were also instructed to focus our play down the right. The idea here was to try and control the Centre of the pitch a little better and exploit Iran’s narrow formation by playing more direct passes to Siebatcheu who was up now up against Iranian wing back Mohammadi with 9 jumping reach. It worked pretty well as we stopped Iran getting into the final third so readily, although we didn’t create that much ourselves. We did grab an equalizer from a set piece through Siebatcheu, who would later be awarded the player of the match for the second game running, but other than that chances were few and far between. In the end I was happy to get out of the game with a draw. You can see from the XG match story below that after half time we did a good job restricting Iran and did make a few chances for ourselves.

England defeated Wales 2-1 through a late Kalvin Phillips goal, which left us top of Group B knowing that only a defeat by two or more goals in our final game against Wales would see us eliminated.

Game 3 - Wales v United States

Some good early news for us was Gareth Bale was unavailable due to injury for this crunch match. Robinson returned for us and replaced Joe Scally. Suspensions meant we were without Gio Reyna and Tyler Adams, so I decided to use McKennie in a more advanced role to replace Reyna and bring in two new central midfielders. Keaton Parks did well against Iran when he came on and with his trait of gets into opposition area I was content to play him as my more attacking central midfielder. Alfredo Morales made his first start at the World Cup his high work rate, stamina, bravery and aggression all mean he is perfect for my Diego Chará holding central midfield role.

Somehow we found ourselves 2-0 down at half time and the live league table showed us going OUT of the World Cup. Both goals came from poor defensive errors in a game I felt we dominated. In contrast to the Iranian game I did not feel like a change in our system would significantly alter the outcome, this was an instance to “trust the process”. My only changes at half time were to move McKennie back to his usual central midfield role and replace Parks with Malik Tillman who would now play as our no. 10. In defense Brooks had been caught in possession a few times, one of which led to a goal and he had been booked. I decided to replace him with the pacey Aaron Long in the hope he could better defend against the equally pacey Brennan Johnson.

We continued to attack the Welsh goal and a number of chances came and went but I held my nerve and trusted we would get back into the game. We finally did in the 67th minute through a fantastic long range effort from Josh Sargent. With England winning against Iran we were holding onto second place by a solitary goal, a Welsh onslaught never really came and we continued to search for an equalizer which unfortunately we couldn’t find. In the end, we were happy to settle for second place and a second round tie with surprise Group A winners, Senegal.

Last 16 - United States v Senegal

Going into our second round tie with Senegal we welcomed back Gio Reyna and Tyler Adams to our first choice midfield. The only selection dilemma I had was for the final Centre back place. I opted to give Aaron Long a start as he was the fastest defender we had, and I was concerned about the pace Senegal would have on the flanks from Mané and Sarr. Our first, and ultimately our winning goal, was reminiscent of the goal The Netherlands scored against West Germany in the 1974 World Cup Final. Nobody in the Senegalese team touched the ball from the kick off until Idrissa Gueye pulled back Sargent in the box and VAR awarded a penalty. Josh Sargent dispatched the kick with ease and we were 1-0 up within two minutes. We continued to dominate the game for long periods and amassed an XG of 3.66 versus Senegal’s paltry 0.40. The only issue we encountered was the serious injury to Sergino Dest who will miss the rest of the tournament with a broken ankle. Rather fortuitously for us, Christian Pulisic will return to full fitness for the Quarter Final, where we would face perennial dark horses, Denmark.

Quarter Final - United States v Denmark

With Christian Pulisic back fit and the rest of the midfield working well I decided to use the Chelsea star as my attacking wing back in this game. He performed excellently making 4 key passes, one clear cut chance, and one assist for a 7.70 match rating. My other selection choice was Walker Zimmermann, I expected Denmark to offer a bigger aerial threat than we had faced so far in the tournament. The Danes usually have Braithwaite or Poulsen up front along with a few giant CBs for set pieces. With Zimmermann’s 17 Jumping Reach and 18 Heading I hoped he could help negate this for us.

This game highlighted the new changes in FM23 to AI management really well. After racing ahead 2-0, thanks to two more goals from player of the match Josh Sargent. We completely dominated the first 60 minutes of the game until Danish manager, Kasper Hjulmand, increased his side’s mentality and directness. By the end of the game our box was under constant aerial bombardment, I was slow to address this, my only change being to withdraw Gio Reyna and move Pulisic to the number 10 role, and bring on the more defensively minded Reggie Cannon at RWB. In the end, my passivity cost us and we couldn’t hold out, conceding a late Yussuf Poulsen equalizer.

Denmark continued to be the better side throughout Extra Time and I was relived in the end to make it to penalties, especially after having to withdraw most of my midfield who were absolutely dead on their feet. Both sides missed one of their first five penalties so we went into sudden death and when Zack Steffan made a great save from Rasmus Kristensen it was left to substitute Reggie Cannon to send the USMNT through to the semi-finals, 6-5, where we would face two time champions Uruguay.

Semi Final - United States v Uruguay

I named an unchanged team for the first time this World Cup and went into the game fairly confident we could get the better of Uruguay. I hadn’t counted on ‘El Matador’ - Edison Cavani, two sharp finishes were enough to put us to the sword. This game felt like a boxing contest, we were trying hard, throwing lots of punches but our opponent was just bigger, stronger and faster. No matter what we did Uruguay never seemed to need to get out of third gear to keep us at bay, and they could choose their moments to pick us off on the counter attack. Conscious that I may have been too passive against Denmark I decided to try and change the flow of the game by using my 4-3-3 with a Wide Target Man tactic that last made an appearance against Iran. We were still unable to get any real control on the game and my final ‘Hail Mary’ was to throw on Bobby Wood whilst defending a corner, we all know what that means…BOLLOCKS!

Switzerland defeated France 2-0 in the other semi final leaving us to play the mighty French for third place. I rotated the squad, for some unknown reason, and we lost the game 2-1 with our goal coming from Gio Reyna, who had an excellent tournament, and the French goals coming from Mr Mbappé. So a Switzerland / Uruguay final took place in front of 86,250 fans at the Lusail Iconic Stadium. A Haris Seferovic equalizer for Switzerland took the game to Extra-Time (2-2) and ultimately penalties. After 16 successful spot kicks it was Tottenham’s Rodrigo Bentacur who missed first for Uruguay, Switzerland were World Champions!

As ever thanks for making it this far. My next post will catch up on the first half of season one of my journeyperson save from Field to Favoured Personnel. You can check out Episode one here.

Over and out!

@FMEadster

Guns Go Bang - Portland Timbers #FM22

It had been at least 20 years since Chepiga used his precious ring, he stroked it fondly as it glinted in the bright Miami Sun. It was Soviet technology, it was perfect. Soon the thousands watching in the stands will feel the power of mother Russia once more, and the shockwaves will reach as far as Barranquilla and reverberate through Ojeda’s very soul. The call came from Bastardo, a single spoken word would affect the plan; “Execute”.

Within a fraction of a second, Bastardo’s boats, laden heavy with their bounty, exploded into smithereens. The smoke blocked the glaring Sun for just a moment before red hot pieces of Carbon Fibre began raining down on the fleeing spectators. Through the mayhem one of Bastardo’s boats serenely carried on its path away from the main race and out to Sea.

Chepiga knew this wouldn’t be the end. Ojeda’s Bats were everywhere, listening, reporting, and planning. Bastardo had Fibre but all too often he lacked vision to fully grasp the ramifications of his actions. Chepiga knew better; and in preparation he had stationed “The Gunslinger” , Hristo Stoichkov, in the stands along with Diego & Yimmi Chará. The brothers from Cali had been invaluable to Chepiga for the last two years, they were as keen as Cheipga and Bastardo to see the demise of Don Ojeda.

A skirmish broke out in the base of the stand and Chepiga saw the flowing mane of El Pibe leading Bastardo away. He could not be sure if Bastardo was in jeopardy or not, but there was no time to waste, he had to look out for himself and Natasha.

Chepiga’s men quickly subdued the remaining henchmen loyal to Hugo Ojeda. Their superior fire power, and close combat skills, ensured the encounter with the enemy was brief. None would live to speak of the day the “Boats went Bang”.

Grabbing Natasha’s arm, wide eyed, “Hurry Natasha, my dear, we don’t have much time.” Chepiga’s tone was calm, but curt. The small, three man, submersible surfaced at exactly the moment Chepiga had programmed it to do, some months prior, during a scouting visit to watch Bastardo’s Inter Miami.

The Chará brothers helped heave open the large, rusted, metal hatch, that had been sealed for many months. Stoichkov and Natasha climbed inside. “Goodbye Comrade Chepiga.” Yimmi Chará was visibly upset at the prospect of never seeing Ruslan again. Chepiga kissed each brother on their left cheek, “It was all my pleasure my brothers, Rose City Till I Die.”

The rusted hatch slammed shut, “Quick to the rendez-vous Hristo!” The submersible was slow, and it seemed to take an age to travel the two miles to the meeting point. “We are here.” Chepiga’s demeanour had changed, there was a darkness in him.

Boat 89 was waiting for them, bobbing in the gentle Miami waters, the paintwork glistening in the blazing Sun. The driver opened his safety pod and removed his helmet.

“I got away, I’ve got the money Natasha baby!”

Herb Simon’s excitement was nauseating to Chepiga. Herb Simon was the retired General Manager of Inter Miami, a corrupt real estate tycoon who helped launder Ojeda’s money all across Florida. He was so easy to turn, a cut of a few hundred million dollars, and a pretty Brunette was all it took. Chepiga knew rats like Herb could not be trusted in Eastern Europe. “Calm down comrade, we aren’t free yet.” Chepiga snapped, and in a flash wiped a damp cloth across Herb’s face, the toxin worked remarkably fast, the old man slumped back, he was conscious but incapacitated.

The three remaining members of the syndicate loaded the money from the speedboat to the submersible, Natasha estimated the haul to between eighty and ninety million dollars, more than enough to invest in a club somewhere close to the Black Sea. Every inch of the sub was laden with used bills. “Wait! stop, we are too heavy. We must leave now, leave the rest.” Natasha was right, Chepiga and Stoichkov left a few stacks of cash on the speedboat and jumped down to take control of the submersible. Natasha contorted her small frame into a tiny gap at the rear, completely surrounded by vast columns of money. It was uncomfortable but they could make it.

Chepiga entered the co-ordinates for Aswijan, there he could be sure of a friendly welcome before setting sail for his final destination in Eastern Europe. The sub dived easily given the weight of it’s cargo, old Herb watched, through glazed eyes, as it descended into the clear waters below before finally fading from his view. He tried to call out to Natasha, there was something she needed to know about the men she was with, but no sound would come, his mind fell to darkness…

Finally - Thanks for reading this little Creative piece. I enjoy trying to write them as in my daily work I write and read a lot of scientific reports that are very monotone, it’s nice to try and be creative.

Chepiga is now on his long journey across the Atlantic, through the straits of Gibraltar, across the Mediterranean Sea and finally into the Black Sea. Hristo Stoichov has ideas where their money could best be put to use, but as ever Ruslan will suit himself.

This post should be read in conjunction with @FMGrasshoppers piece “Boats Go Bang”

Over and out

FMEadster!

North meets South - Portland Timbers bring Samba to MLS #FM22

Last time out the Portland Timbers evolved their way to a historical MLS / Continental treble. Could Chepiga add a bit of flair to his functional Russian machine in Season two?

Winter nights with Timber Joey :heart:

Intro

When we first started this save, back in November, the nights were drawing in, the kids hadn’t long been out trick or treating, and Mrs Eadster was starting to talk about Christmas shopping. It is hard to believe that we have now reached the end of our two seasons in MLS. The nights are getting longer, the Easter holidays are in full swing, and Mrs Eadster is making plans for summer holidays. In some ways it feels like a long time, but in others it feels so very short. The passing of time in life really is a strange experience, especially as I enter my 40s.

I have thoroughly enjoyed the save alongside FMGrasshopper, and the “masses” who watched on Twitch. No stream ever felt like a “grind”, the conversation never felt forced, or the laughs fake. I had a tough time during parts of 2021 and being able to get lost in this save universe three nights a week has been a very welcome distraction, and I thank FMGrasshopper for being such a great comrade through the otherwise long winter evenings.

Onto the post, in Season one we exceeded our expectations taking out three trophies. This season the aim was to do it again but add a little panache, a little Samba, if you will.

Season Two: 2022

If Season one was famous for “Eadie-Ball”, (i.e. lots going on but penetration was painfully rare) then season two needed something extra. I decided to move from the functional 4231 to a more expansive 3412, 32212, 5212 however you wish to describe it (I will be writing about the tactic itself in a future post). One of the biggest challenges in MLS is building a roster year after year and still maintain compliance with the salary cap, and other squad registration rules. I decided to turn this into a positive and overhaul the squad in the off season.

Recruitment

Center Backs - One of the first things that required my attention when moving to a back three was upgrading our Center Backs. I felt Dario Zuparic had always carried his partner, whether this be Bill Tuiloma, or Larry Mabalia, during season one. I wanted to move into season two with at least four, maybe even five, decent Center Back options. With Mabalia no longer offering value for money in terms of salary impact, he was traded to Philadelphia Union for an International Slot, meaning we probably needed to add at least another three quality Center Backs to our roster. I wanted more physicality, and guile, at the back to implement the “brand” of football Portland wanted.

Nikosi Tafari (waiver draft) - Tafari had been on my radar for sometime having been previously listed by FC Dallas. When he became available in the waiver draft I jumped at the chance to bring him in. He is American, on low wages, and is comfortable with either foot. He was never going to be a first choice, but his more than adequate physicals meant I was never too concerned when I brought him in as a Center Back on cover. Minutes played: 1,264 Average Rating: 7.06

Rivaldo Coetzee ($750k Mamelodi Sundowns) - Coetzee wasn’t completely unknown to me, he used to be a popular signing in FM saves a few editions ago, so when my scouts recommended him I was immediately interested. I felt he could add a bit of guile to our build up play, especially when we were now playing out from the back. Good vision, and world class passing, mixed with the traits of, ‘brings ball out of defense’, and ‘tries long range passes’ make him a perfect Ball Playing Defender for MLS. One major drawback is his injury proneness, my scouts advised me that he could “have real problems with injuries” and so it proved. Coetzee missed 72 days with six different injuries, he never really got a good run in the side and I don’t think I ever saw the best of him. This is reflected in his minutes played and average rating. Minutes played: 1,880 Average Rating: 6.97

Saad Abdul-Salaam (re-entry draft) - Abdul-Salaam was a strange signing. I needed some cover at wing back and having missed out on my first choice, O’Neill Fisher, to Bastardo’s Inter Miami I moved on to FM Stag’s second recommendation which was Abdul-Salaam. It was only after a few weeks of the season that I noticed he could potentially do a job for us in the Wide Center Back role that I was using. Being a natural full back, but possessing the physicals of a center back, meant he could fulfill this new hybrid role and it ended up working very well. With Coetzee missing a lot of the season Abdul-Salaam became an ever more important player for us. Minutes played: 2,620 Average Rating: 7.40

Ike Opara (free agent) - Opara was signed purely as a back up. Whenever we needed someone to make tackles, blocks and clearances he was the man for the job. Without the emergence of Abdul-Salaam he probably would have played more minutes. He is also American which is always a bonus. Minutes played: 431 Average Rating: 7.02

Bring out the Samba - One of the main criticisms of season one was the manner of our victories. Very often we scored early and dominated possession in our own half without really stretching the opposition or generating any exciting periods of play. Don’t get me wrong, I was very pleased with season one but I wanted season two to be a bit more of a spectacle. With this in mind I set about recruiting players at the top end of the pitch who could provide those magical moments that the Timbers Army would remember forever. It just so happened three of them were Brazilian, and the other was an old familiar face.

Paulinho (free agent) - The weakest area of our side in season one was center midfield. An aging Diego Chará couldn’t be expected to play every game this season across four competitions. Eryk Williamson is a good squad player, thus leaving Cristian Paredes as our only real MLS standard midfielder. We needed an all rounder in there, someone who was equally adept in both boxes. Enter free agent Paulinho formerly of Tottenham and Barcelona, now 33, he still possesses all the attributes required of a box to box midfielder, along with the traits ‘gets forward whenever possible’ and ‘arrives late in opposition box’ #perfect. Minutes played: 2,703 Goals: 8 Assists: 10 Average Rating: 7.36

Nathan ($1.4m Atlético Mineiro) - Despite playing with a number 10 throughout season one I never felt I got the best out of Diego Valeri or Sebastien Blanco (both now retired). I needed someone different here, someone to orchestrate our attacks as well as provide a reliable goal threat. I spent a long time looking for the right player but as often is the case in MLS it was difficult to attract the level of player I wanted, especially from Europe. In the end I “settled” for Nathan who, on the face of it, I felt was no more than a good option, when really I wanted a great one. I couldn’t have been more wrong! He came into the side and immediately lifted us to another level. In his first 11 games he scored 10 goals and while his form dipped slightly towards the end of the season I couldn’t be happier with his contribution over the whole season. Minutes played: 2,999 Goals: 16 Assists: 15 (Portland record) Average Rating: 7.53

Johnathan Goiano (Free - Chengdu Rongcheng) - Look at this beast. “GOLANO” was plucked from the Chinese second division, I am amazed I haven’t heard of him before. A mental and physical specimen with technicals not too far behind. I had to use a chunk of Targeted Allocation Money to buy down his contract as I had no Designated Player slots left by the time I signed him. His trait of ‘comes deep to get the ball’ did, however, cause me to rethink his positioning within the team, in the early part of the season. In the end I opted to play him as a deep lying forward and relied on Nathan and Paulinho to make late runs into the box. The link up play between Nathan, Goiano and advanced forward Yimmi Chará was a thing of beauty at times during the season. Despite playing as a DLF he still managed 16 goals and when chances were laid on for him I was confident he would take them. I’d be interested to hear if anyone else has come across him in their saves. Minutes played: 3,087 Goals: 16 Assists: 12 Average Rating: 7.60 (Fan’s player of the season)

Carlos Tevez (free agent) - Tevez was another strange signing. I was doing a number of searches for a new number 10 and Tevez popped up, as a free agent, having left Boca Juniors. More out of curiosity I entered contract negotiations with him. I was surprised to see he was happy to be an impact sub and only wanted the MLS Senior Minimum Wage of $84,000 per annum. This meant his salary would not count against the MLS salary cap. Tevez also has the trait of ‘comes deep to get the ball’ and when I played him alongside Goiano both of them dropped into midfield at times. This left us short of runners in behind, so I made the decision early on that I couldn’t play Goiano and Tevez at the same time. The form, and availability, of Goiano meant that Tevez’s appearances were limited, but I was still happy to use him as an impact sub as he came off the bench 19 times during the season. He has since announced his retirement, goodbye FM legend. Minutes played: 945 Goals: 3 (Portland’s oldest goalscorer 38) Assists: 2 Average Rating: 6.92

SAMBA!!!!!

⚽💃❤️🪓⚽

SAMBA!!!!! ⚽💃❤️🪓⚽

Lamar Hunt US Open Cup

Portland Timbers are the current Lamar Hunt US Open Cup champions, and having already lifted the trophy I was happy to rotate heavily in these games during season two. We even handed out game-time to Portland 2 players not registered to play in MLS.

MLS sides enter the competition in the Fourth round and we were pitted against Tucson, Arizona (as per the Beatles song.). A comfortable 2-0 win with both goals coming from Dairon Asprilla, who operated as an experimental number 10 in this game. Next up was Orange County, California (as per the TV show “the O.C”.). The main take home of this game, wasn’t another routine 2-0 win, it was their beautiful stadium complete with Orange hot air balloon.

Can’t see Miami - odd.

It wasn’t until the Quarter Finals that we came up against an MLS side, Chicago Fire FC. I decided to keep faith with my rotation policy and I was very proud of the guys who came in, as we battled to a 1-0 win with a late goal from substitute Yimmi Chará who I had thankfully kept in reserve should he be needed!

We welcomed Colorado Rapids to Providence Park for the semi-final. With this being a semi-final I decided to use the medical center (sorry Samo) and rest only those guys who had a high match load and still play the other first team players. So it was a fairly strong Timbers side that took to the field. Goals from Nathan and Mora had us 2-1 ahead as we entered the final 15 minutes. Unfortunately two late goals from the Rapids ended our hopes of retaining the Lamar Hunt Trophy as we fell to a late 3-2 defeat. Orlando City took the title this year.

CONCACAF Champions League

Another competition that the Timbers were the reigning champions, however, unlike the US Open Cup I was determined to win this again. Our campaign started off against Santos from Costa Rica in what turned out to be two rather scrappy performances we managed to get through 3-1 on aggregate. With the CONCACAF starting in April I put this down to the new tactic taking time to bed in. I was fairly confident heading into the Quarter Final draw and I just wanted to avoid Inter Miami (aka. Inter Higuaín), I felt I had the beating of everyone in the CONCACAF but Miami would be tougher. I don’t think either of us were happy with meeting so soon in the competition but I was still confident that over two legs we would prevail, especially with away goals still counting double; we would surely score in Miami.

Well done Inter Higuaín

The game was an epic affair, a real rollercoster, we were ahead four times in the tie, and twice by two goals. When Yimmi Chará chipped record signing Esteban Andrada to put us 5-3 ahead, on aggregate, after only 11 minutes of the second leg, I must admit I felt the tie was over. I hadn’t counted on the scourge of Portland Gonzalo Higuaín though, he was simply fantastic in both games. Two hat-tricks, six goals, in a 6-5 aggregate victory tells its own story. The Timbers had been felled by Inter Higuaín once more. I really felt over the two legs we deserved to win by two or three goals, and the stats back this up, with us winning the all important xG battle 4.80 v 2.66 (Higuaín scored six goals from two xG :vomit:).

You can watch a loop of Higuaín’s goals in this post by FMGrasshopper if you like that sort of thing.

MLS All-Stars

It didn’t take long for the Commissioner of MLS, Don Garber, to recognise Chepiga’s talent. With the annual crunch match between the best of MLS and the best of Liga MX coming up he appointed Chepiga manager of the MLS All Stars. FMGrasshopper and I decided to make this an interactive experience with our ones of fans on stream and put a call out for tactics to be sent to me to use. In the end I decided to go with “Wangball” submitted by @lewrich14 for the first 60 minutes, you can see the tactic here. This proved to be a wise decision with the MLS All stars 3-0 up at the half with goals from Portland’s Johnathan Goiano, Atlanta United’s Josef Martinez, and Inter Miami’s Gonzalo Higuaín. At 60 minutes I switched to “Gavball” submitted by @GAV300879 and this slightly more defensive tactic, and I mean slightly, saw us home 4-1, a second goal from Portland’s Goiano was very pleasing, before a late consolation from Tigres’ Guido Pizarro. Another trophy was heading to Chez-Chepiga.

Major League Soccer

Everything so far as been ‘fluff’, success in these competitions would be the icing on the cake. It was success in MLS, and ultimately the playoffs, that I craved the most. How did we do?

The results during the regular season were nothing short of remarkable. One defeat (an MLS record) in 34 games which included another MLS record of 19 games undefeated, and a 5-1 thrashing of Bastardo’s Inter Miami in our Rose City fortress. We also increased our potency in front of goal scoring a staggering MLS record 93 goals and conceding a league low of 29. Comparing this to last season, we increased our points tally by 32 points, and our goals scored by 46, all without losing our defensive solidity, in fact we conceded one less goal this season than last. It was clear looking at the Supporters Shield table that we were the greatest side in MLS history, winning the Shield by 11 points. I put much of this down to our change to a back three, and the introduction of Samba football. It would, however, be remiss of me, to not mention Yimmi Chará. Yimmi moved from a wide position last season to be our main striker (Advanced Forward) this year in our 5-2-1-2, I actually only did this as last season’s top scorer Felipe Mora was injured at the start of the season. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise as Yimmi Chará ended the year as MLS top scorer with 31 goals (35 goals in all competitions), a Portland Timbers record (who needs Higuaín eh?). We qualified for the playoffs about halfway through the season and secured the Western Conference with seven games to spare, we rotated and planned ahead for the playoffs. It was the MLS Cup that we needed to complete our set in the US, one final push would see us reach immortality.

MLS Playoffs

Having won the Western Conference for a second time, we were awaiting the winners of FC Dallas and the Seattle Sounders. My only league defeat all season had come at the hands of Seattle so I was keen to avoid a Cascadian Derby if possible. Dallas duly obliged beating the Sounders 3-2 (AET), I was very confident we would defeat Dallas, as we had already done so twice in the regular season. So it was the case as the Timbers ran out 3-1 winners with two goals coming from Player of the Match, Yimmi Chará. That win got us to the Western Conference Final against Sporting Kansas City (as in the Wizard of Oz). I was brimming with confidence as we had also beaten Sporting KC twice, fairly comfortably, in the regular season. They say pride comes before a fall…

No MLS Cup final this year

We fell 1-0 to Sporting KC in what was a very disappointing display, it was only the second time all season that we had failed to score, and our fourth defeat in all competitions. Sporting were worthy winners, grabbing their goal early in the second half and defending for their lives after that. Their absolute demolition of Inter Miami in the MLS Cup Final left a real sense of what might have been.

What’s Next

I have enjoyed the streaming element of the save more than I was expecting, but I could never do it alone or even with a camera on. I have a new found respect for people who try and do this for a living. Most of all, it was fun interacting with people in the chat on stream and while we didn’t attract large numbers we did have a core social group of guys who seemed to log in most nights. I thank you for spending your evenings with us and getting involved in the random conversations Tony and I were having.

Myself and Tony agreed from the start that a two season network save would be the perfect length, and it does feel that way now we have finished. Another off-season of trades and transfers would surely see us move even further away from the AI. Intelligent squad building is a challenge at the best of times for the AI but, add in the complexities of MLS and I think it is clear, from some of the decisions we have seen, that the AI really struggles with it.

So FMGrasshopper and I have both resigned from our positions as manager and are each taking a copy of the save file away to find new jobs. It will be interesting to watch the two save worlds evolve and diverge from one another over the next few months. Tony has kindly made the save file available at the end of his post which you can get to HERE. Why not have a go and try to rebuild Portland or Miami (they need help after our short termism!).

Despite my disappointing end to season two it is clear from the trophy cabinets of both Portland and Miami that the save was a roaring success. Eleven trophies in two seasons, which include two CONCACAF Champions Leagues, Two Supporters’ Shields, and an MLS Cup - not bad.

MLS

Completed it mate!

🏆

MLS Completed it mate! 🏆

MLS

Completed it mate!

🏆

MLS Completed it mate! 🏆

As ever thanks for making this far, I intend to write up a separate tactic post looking at my 5-2-1-2 in more depth in the next couple of weeks.

Until then,

Over and out.

FMEadster!

General Allocation Money and Targeted Allocation Money Explained in MLS

Welcome to part three of this series looking at all the rules and regulations of Major League Soccer (MLS). I intend to break all the nuances of MLS down into bitesized guides for anyone considering a save in the US. Hopefully by breaking everything down for readers it will be easier to find a solution or advice to a particular issue they have encountered without having to scroll through one big all encompassing MLS post.

Posts will be broken down as follows and once there are all published you can click the links below to be taken to that guide.

  1. MLS League Format and Competitions

  2. Squad registration rules and Salary Cap

  3. Buying and Trading players

  4. General Allocation Money (GAM) and Targeted Allocation Money (TAM)

Today we take a look at a less well known facet of MLS, General Allocation Money (GAM), and Targeted Allocation Money (TAM).

What is Allocation Money?

One of the most important screens to check when you begin your MLS journey is the finances screen. Most FM players will be familiar with this screen and may visit it a number of times every season depending on how they play the game. Within the finances screen of an MLS save is a “league specific” tab.

When you go in here you will see two figures for 1. General Allocation Money and 2. Targeted Allocation Money. This is money that has been ‘allocated’ to you from MLS.

GAM and TAM info can be found on the league specific tab of the Finances screen.

Now, this isn’t real money. You can’t use it to go sign players from all over the word. It is best to think of this money as the little counters you get when you go to the fairground. The fairground in this example is MLS. When you are in the fairground these counters (aka allocation money) actually hold a value. But, the moment you leave the fairground they are basically little pieces of plastic and you can’t spend them on anything.

MLS has two types of allocation money, General Allocation Money (GAM) and Targeted Allocation Money (TAM). Below we will explore what the difference is.

General Allocation Money (GAM)

If this allocation money doesn’t hold any real value, then what is the point of it?

Well, GAM can be used to “buy down” the salary cap impact of a player on your roster. As discussed in earlier guides MLS has a fairly strict salary cap of $4.9m* per year. In order to give clubs a little leeway on this, MLS permits clubs to reduce the impact of certain players on this salary cap total. Clubs can do this by using some, or all, of their GAM to “buy down” that player’s salary cap impact. It is important to note however that you can only buy down up to 50% of a players salary. For reference in my MLS save with FMGrasshopper I bought down every player’s salary impact, by 50%, in both seasons.

*Correct at the time of writing.

How do you get GAM?

Each MLS club gets an annual allowance of GAM from the league. In 2022 it is $1,625,000. A club may also receive GAM in the following cases;

  • Failure to qualify for the MLS playoffs ($200,000)

  • Qualification to the CONCACAF Champions League ($140,000)

  • GAM can also be traded between clubs

  • Transferring a player out of MLS (some of the fee is paid in allocation money)

  • Expansion Drafts

    • Any club losing a player in the Expansion draft is given more allocation

    • Yearly allocations are adjusted in Expansion seasons

Targeted Allocation Money (TAM)

TAM is slightly different than GAM. It can only be used to “buy down” a Designated Player’s (DP) contract to a Senior Contract. In effect allowing MLS sides to have more Designated Players than the league permitted three. A designated player must be simultaneously signed for a club to be allowed to do this. In “the MLS save” I signed Rivaldo Coetzee and he demanded a wage that was above the senior maximum of $612,000 per annum. The trouble with this was, I had already maxed out my three DP slots. Upon offering Coetzee the contract, FM informed me I would need to use TAM to buy down his, or another DPs, contract so I simply accepted this and the transfer went through and money came out of my TAM budget. Providing you have enough TAM you can continue to do this as long as your total salary impact is below the wage cap.

How do you get TAM?

Each club gets an annual allowance of TAM from the league. In 2022 this is $2,800,000 but there are plans to reduce this amount in upcoming years.

Important to note that TAM cannot be traded between MLS clubs and there is no other way to acquire more than the league yearly allowance.

Oh, one last thing. Thinking about saving up your GAM so you can spend big in future seasons? Forget it, any unused allocation is halved at the end of the season, and the remaining half is completely removed if not used within the next two transfer windows.

That brings us to the end of my bitesized MLS guides. I hope you found them somewhat useful. During my time playing MLS I have grown fond of the league and its idiosyncrasies and I may well return one day. In the meantime I am happy to offer any help and advice to anyone who is getting started in MLS and needs some guidance. Just give me a shout over on Twitter or Slack.

Over and out

FMEadster!


Three Cup Finals - A Tactical Evolution - Portland Timbers #FM22

We previously left the Timbers on the brink of two cup finals, the US Open Cup and the CONCACAF Champions League. Pleased to say we toppled our opponents in both semi finals to set up the first cup finals of this save.

 

Throughout the season my tactic has evolved and by looking at my line up and tactics for each cup final we can see how this gradual metamorphosis into something new came about. By the end of the season you would be forgiven for not realising that I started the season with a pre-set tactic, as shown below.

Our starting tactic, a preset from FM.

LAMAR HUNT - US OPEN CUP

The Lamar Hunt Cup was the first trophy to be played for in the MLS Save, we traveled to Washington DC to face DC United. Due to international call ups we were without a number of our roster for this game (this wouldn’t be the last time). It meant a reshuffle in personnel for us but our tactic remained largely as seen above, although there had been some small adjustments. Having started the season using a Deep Lying Forward on attack we changed after match-day two, following a draw with Vancouver and a loss to Houston, to an Advanced Forward. This proved very successful as we won seven of our next eight matches and progressed to the semi finals of the CONCACAF Champions League and the Lamar Hunt Cup. It was around this time that SI released a patch to the Match Engine, I immediately felt my advanced forward was less effective. In response to this I tried using a Pressing Forward as I like to have some pressure on the opposition defense. I have always struggled to get much out of the number 10 position and this was also causing me a headache around this time. Sometimes the playmaking roles in this position attract too much of the ball, in a congested space, so in order to alleviate that we changed to a simple Attacking Midfielder on support. I had yet to make any changes to the Team instructions, so really we headed into the final with DC United with largely the same tactic as we started the season with.

It was typically Breezy in Washington on the day and 20,002 spectators packed into Audi Field. With a makeshift Center-Back pairing of Zac McGraw and central midfielder Cristhian Paredes I was very proud of the team’s performance to come away with a 2-0 win, with goals from Renzo Zambrano and Dairon Asprilla, who was filling in as a striker. For once the stats showed we were under pressure for large parts of the game and Goalkeeper Steve Clark took home the MVP award. Some may say it was lucky but I prefer to look to the determination within the squad to get a result, despite many of our top players being absent.

Beautiful counter corner goal to secure the first trophy of the save!

CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Results after the Lamar Hunt Cup victory were mixed, as were our performances. I felt our play had become a little stale and a lot of our possession was low risk, with not enough penetration. We also become susceptible to counter attacks and this culminated in a 2-0 home loss to Vancouver in October. A game we dominated in terms of Shots, XG, and possession, however, we were undone by two long balls over the top of our high defensive line. We also failed to create any meaningful chances with all that possession.

After this game I decided to make a few tweaks to our tactic as we entered the final phase of the season. I dropped the defensive line, and the higher line of engagement, to cut out the balls over the top and keep us compact. In an attempt to make our passing more incisive I increased our mentality to Positive, I felt fine to do this having already dropped the defensive line, although I would still keep an eye on it.

I dispensed with the Inverted Winger on the left. We weren’t really getting enough runners into the box to provide a consistent goal threat so it made sense to switch to an Inside Forward on attack. Yimmi Chará and Bobby Wood both could fulfill this role perfectly for me.

Line up vs CF América the biggest game in Timbers history!

So, by the time we played CF América in the CONCACAF Champions League final our tactic was starting to look a little different from the pre-set we started with. It was a breezy day again in Portland when CF América came to town. I was ready for a really tough match having listened to @FM_Grasshopper go on about how good Mexican sides are for the last few months. I need not have worried as we routed the Mexicans 4-0. Two goals for Inside Forward Yimmi Chará and one each for Dairon Asprilla and Felipe Mora, who had been restored to an Advnaced Forward role for this game, completed a stunning victory.

After the loss to Vancouver which brought about our changes, we won eight straight games which included the above 4-0 win in the CONCACAF Champions League final, a 4-2 victory on the last day of regular season against Austin which handed us the Western Conference Title. Important victories over Colorado Rapids (penalties) and the Seattle Sounders (4-0) in the MLS playoffs took us to the last cup final of this post, the MLS Cup final. During this time we also traveled to Japan to compete in the Club World Cup, as reigning CONCACAF champions, it seemed this trip was too much for Diego Valeri who decided to retire from Soccerball whilst in Japan; thanks SI. We won a tense Quarter final 2-1 against Al-Ahly of Egypt. So our next defeat wasn’t until we met Chelsea in the semi-final of the Club World Cup, and can you really even call it a defeat? We eventually succumbed 3-2 After Extra Time, losing out to a 118 minute corner hackz goal from Antonio Rudiger. I think the Timbers were the real winners and the streets will never forget Felipe Mora’s chip against Mendy.

Lovely run of results after the 2-0 loss to Vancouver

Western Conference Champions baby!

MLS CUP FINAL

So we come to the last final of the season and it is the big one, the MLS Cup final, against none other than Ángel Bastardo’s Inter Miami. Chepiga versus Bastardo in the showcase match, both managers proving why MLS had gone to such trouble to acquire them in the first place. Unrivaled success was theirs but there was no Libertad here though. Both men remained trapped, completely reliant upon the untrustworthy Americans to keep the Bears and the Snakes from the door. Neither man was free, both were prisoners to the MLS system. Like Maximus and Sparticus before them, these two gladiators would not fight for someone else's amusement. This showcase would be a damp squid as both men met in the tunnel and agreed a non aggression pact. The game would go ahead but it would be 11 v 11* with no input from the beasts on the sidelines. The players were the winners and losers, not Chepiga or Bastardo.

The 11 men trusted to bring home the MLS Cup

The wind was gusting in Fort Lauderdale as the two teams kicked off. Since our last cup final, only minor changes to the tactic had been made. We removed lower tempo to again try and increase our penetration and we switched from a Ball-Winning Midfielder on defend to a simple Central Midfielder on defend. I felt this switch would help us retain our shape better in defensive transitions, something which I think teams were starting to exploit. It also allowed me to release my right wing back, who would start most games on attack in the run in. Portland were on the attack from the outset, breaking the deadlock after only 3 minutes as Yimmi Chará latched onto a lovely Blanco through ball and finished empathically past Nick Marsmann.

It’s a wonder day!

The rest of the game continued in much the same vain as Miami’s 4-4-2 struggled to gain a foothold in the game against Chepiga’s superior 4-2-3-1. Indeed Miami goaltender Nick Marsmann would take home the MVP award, the Miami Ultras were really looking forward to seeing what he could offer the team next season. As the clocked ticked towards 90 minutes the boys in Pink thought they had a late equalizer as Pizarro slotted home from close range after good work from Higuaín. The jubilation would prove short lived however, as the linesman raised his flag indicating there had been a felony offside offence in the build up, and the goal was ruled out. Chepiga had completed the season with three trophies, success had been brought to the streets of Portland a year ahead of schedule. **

Tactical Evolution

So there you have it Season one is “in the books”. If you look at the tactics employed at the very start of the season and compare them to what we finished with you can see they are different, but we got there by making small adjustments along the way by reacting to issues we saw within the games. I started out with a preset tactic “Control Possession” and I sometimes feel people are afraid to use these presets, or are afraid to admit to using them, but they are a great starting point for any tactic. Once you start to tweak things it only takes a season or two for the tactic to become bespoke for your side.

Looking ahead to the second, and final, season in MLS I have decided to switch things up and try to use a back three. I felt a lot of our highlights were becoming predictable and the goals we scored we pretty similar. Having won everything in season one, Chepiga would want to turn on the style in season two.

In my next post I will discuss my recruitment strategy and how I developed an effective back three tactic…hopefully.

Notes

* Due to the MLS Cup final being rescheduled to accommodate my participation in the Club World Cup, the MLS Cup final took place AFTER the Charlotte expansion draft. Ahead of this draft FMGrasshopper and I had to ‘register’ twelve players to protect from being drafted by Charlotte. The result of this was, FM believed we only had twelve players registered for the MLS Cup final. See FMGrasshopper’s bug report HERE. Thankfully we were both affected but it was slightly frustrating that we couldn’t really test each others squads in the showpiece final.

** You can take the man out of Russia but you can’t take Russia out of the man, this is Chepiga’s double speak match report. Unfortunately Portland actually lost the MLS Cup Final 1-0 to a late Pizarro goal, well done to FMGrasshoppper.

Thanks for making it this far. Don’t forget the MLS Save is being streamed live on Twitch over at www.twitch.tv/fm_grasshopper every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 8pm. It would be great to see you there as we enter the final few months of the save.

Over and out

FMEadster!

MLS Football Manager 22 Guide - Acquiring Players

 
 

Welcome to part three of this series looking at all the rules and regulations of Major League Soccer (MLS). I intend to break all the nuances of MLS down into bitesized guides for anyone considering a save in the US. Hopefully by breaking everything down for readers it will be easier to find a solution or advice to a particular issue they have encountered without having to scroll through one big all encompassing MLS post.

Posts will be broken down as follows and once there are all published you can click the links below to be taken to that guide.

  1. MLS League Format and Competitions

  2. Squad registration rules and Salary Cap

  3. Buying and Trading players

  4. General Allocation Money (GAM) and Targeted Allocation Money (TAM)

Today we take a look at the facet of FM we all love, how you go about acquiring players in MLS.

Methods to acquire players

There are six main ways to bring players into your MLS roster. I will go through each of these methods in turn, some of which will seem completely alien to anyone who has only ever played in European leagues, and others will already be very fairly familiar to almost all FM players.

  1. Trades

  2. “Discovery” Signings

  3. Homegrown Signings

  4. Free Transfers

  5. Waivers

  6. Drafts

Trades

 
 

Trades are the only way to transfer players between two MLS clubs. At first glance it may seem this is just another word for a swap deal, that most players will be familiar with. It is so much more than that, MLS clubs are able to trade a number of different assets to get the deal done.

The first asset you can use is, of course, a player. Unlike European leagues the players have no say as to whether they go to a new club or not. The players are essentially owned by the league and must play for whoever holds their registration. When players are traded the club acquiring a player takes on his current contract, so there is no new contract negotiation upon completion of the deal. You can add any number of players within a trade but remember you must not breach salary cap or squad registration rules or you will be unable to register your new player(s) on your MLS roster.

The second asset you can use is General Allocation (GAM) or Targeted Allocation Money (TAM). My next post will look at exactly what GAM and TAM are but in basic terms this is money that MLS clubs are given by the league and are allowed to use for various things throughout the season (for example buying down contracts or to trade with). Clubs will often add GAM or TAM to trades and sometimes this amount will seem low to those who only play in Western Leagues but it is important to remember that this money is controlled by the MLS (clubs can’t just use their billionaire owners money for example) and as such it is finite and holds a higher value than it may seem at first.

The third asset at your disposal is SuperDraft picks. Every year college players enter the league by way of the SuperDraft, this works in a similar fashion to other US sports such as NFL. The order of the SuperDraft is set by where teams finish in the previous season’s MLS. So the team that finishes bottom will get first pick and the team finishing first will go last. MLS sides are permitted to trade their Draft picks to other MLS sides. Some teams place a high value on their SuperDraft picks while others may not. This divergence may be something you can exploit either way in your trade deals.

The fourth asset you have are International Slots. As part of the squad registration rules MLS clubs are only allowed eight international players on their 30 man roster (note - players holding a green card are not counted as international). Clubs are permitted to trade these eight international slots as they see fit. International slots can be traded for 1-5 years or permanently. Currently in the MLS save my Portland Timbers side only have six international slots as two were traded prior to my arrival. It is my intention to trade two back somehow during the off season so I can bring in more international players.

The final asset is certainly strange to those of us not used to playing MLS. It is “player rights” - If a player leaves your club and MLS altogether, you still hold his MLS rights. So, in the future if an MLS club wishes to sign him back and use him on their MLS roster, they must first deal with you to obtain his MLS rights from you. Clearly this is a commodity, and as such it can traded. You can trade your MLS rights to a certain player to any other club as part of a trade if you so wish. This would mean if the player ever returns to MLS the club signing him would no longer deal with you to obtain his rights, they would deal with the club you traded his rights to.

It is important to note that you can trade absolutely any combination of these in ever increasing or decreasing amounts. The possibilities are endless and it is actually a lot of fun, and equalling infuriating, trying to construct a deal that is suitable for all parties involved. The key thing to remember is to never lose sight of the league registration rules, you can not break these and there would be nothing worse than giving up something for a player that can not be registered.

“Discovery” signings

A “discovery” signing is essentially the same as a normal signing all FM players are used to. You can use your own transfer budget to sign a player from outside MLS for a fee. Discovery signings also include any loan deals you may agree. There used to be limit on the amount of discovery signings a club could make but this has been removed. Remember squad registration rules still apply.

Dario Zuparic - What a discovery signing!

Homegrown signings

Almost all MLS sides have an academy side players from your youth intake go into your academy so it is always worth checking out who is in there, this youth intake is separate from the SuperDraft that is made up of college players. You can ‘sign’ any of these players and bring them into your MLS roster, this ‘signing’ is essentially the same as promoting a youth player in European Leagues, and during a small injury crises I took the opportunity to ‘sign’ Jim Barboza from the Timbers academy to provide some much needed cover at Centre Back.

Free Transfers

These work in exactly the same manner as FM players are accustomed to. All you have to remember is you can’t breach squad registration rules. You also cannot sign US youth players on a free, these players can only be signed via the SuperDraft.

Waivers

Whenever a player is released from an MLS club he will be initially placed on the Waiver list. Other MLS clubs will have two days to make a claim on this player and take on his current contract. If two or more clubs put in a claim for the same player, the club that places higher on the waiver order will be given the player by MLS. The Waiver order is similar to the SuperDraft order. The club who finished top of MLS in the previous season will be bottom of the waiver order while the club that finished last will be first.

Drafts

There are four different drafts in MLS.

  1. SuperDraft

  2. Waiver Draft

  3. Re-Entry Draft

  4. Expansion Draft

SuperDraft

The SuperDraft is made up of college players and elite level youth players. It is held every January and consists of four rounds, with each team getting one pick per round. The order of club picks is determined by reverse performance in MLS the previous season.

Waiver Draft

There are two Waiver drafts in the MLS calendar. The first one is in March after initial squad registration and the second is at the end of the season in December. Players that are not placed on their clubs MLS roster after squad registration in March are placed on the Waiver list. Other MLS clubs will then have two days to make a claim on a player and take on his current contract. If two or more players make a claim on the same player the club that places higher on the Waiver order will be given the player by MLS.

The second Waiver Draft takes place at the end of the season in December and consists of players whose MLS club have not extended their contract but the player doesn’t meet the requirements to be placed on the Re-Entry draft (see below). The process for claiming a player in this Waiver Draft is the same as above.

Re-Entry Draft

The MLS Re-entry draft is for players who contracts have expired with their current MLS club, and the club has not agreed a new deal with them. If the player wishes to remain in MLS (some players will prefer to leave MLS and won’t be available) he can put himself forward for the Re-entry draft which happens at the end of the season in December. In order to be placed in the Re-Entry draft the player must fulfil one of the following criteria. If he does not he will be made available via the Waiver Draft (see above).

  • Players who are at least 23 years old and have a minimum of three years of MLS experience whose options were not exercised by their club.

  • Players who are at least 25 years old with a minimum of four years of MLS experience who are out of contract and whose club does not offer them a contract at their previous salary.

  • Players who are at least 30 years old with a minimum of eight years of MLS experience who are out of contract and whose club does not wish to re-sign them.

The Re-entry draft takes place in two stages. In stage one players drafted by MLS clubs must have their current deal extended, clubs cannot renegotiate the salary or contract type. Players not drafted in stage one will enter stage two. Stage two is similar to stage one, but clubs can now draft players and renegotiate their contracts (note players do not have to accept terms and can chose instead to leave the league and become a free agent.) So you will need to decide whether that player you want is worth getting in Stage one on his current salary or can you risk waiting until stage two and renegotiating terms. Draft picks are again decided by reverse performance in MLS during the previous season.

Expansion Draft

 
 

The expansion draft takes place only when a new MLS side comes into the league. In FM22 Charlotte FC enter the Eastern conference in 2022 and Nashville move to the Western Conference. This means there will be an expansion draft exclusively for Charlotte FC in season two of FM22. Prior to the expansion draft each MLS club will be allowed to ‘protect’ 11 players, these 11 players will not be available to be drafted by the expansion side during the draft. There are five rounds and each team in the expansion (Charlotte FC) gets one pick per round. The aim of MLS here is to give new teams the chance to acquire up to five MLS standard players from other teams. They can, however, only select one player from any one MLS team, so you won’t lose five players!

So there you have it, there are a multitude of ways to acquire players in MLS. Hopefully after reading this you feel in a better position to tackle the league and get buying and trading some players!

If you want to watch two terrible streamers play FM in MLS then why not tune into www.twitch.tv/fm_grasshopper every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 8pm GMT, it would be great to see you there.

Over and out

FMEadster!

MLS Football Manager 22 Guide - Squad Registration

 
 

Welcome to part two of this series looking at all the rules and regulations of Major League Soccer (MLS). I intend to break all the nuances of MLS down into bitesized guides for anyone considering a save in the US. Hopefully by breaking everything down for readers it will be easier to find a solution or advice to a particular issue they have encountered without having to scroll through one big all encompassing MLS post.

Posts will be broken down as follows and once there are all published you can click the links below to be taken to that guide.

  1. MLS League Format and Competitions

  2. Squad registration rules and Salary Cap

  3. Buying and Trading players

  4. General Allocation Money (GAM) and Targeted Allocation Money (TAM)

Today we take a look at the squad registration rules which so many people find confusing in MLS.

Squad make up

An MLS roster is made up of 30 player slots. The first 20 slots are your Senior Squad and all these slots count against the league salary cap, which in FM22 is $4.9m per annum. The last 10 slots of your MLS squad are known as your Off Budget Squad these players wages do not count against your league salary cap. However, only certain contract types can be used in the off budget squad so anyone thinking about just putting a high earner in the off budget squad can forget that hackz.

Senior Squad Contract Types (Slots 1-20 of your MLS Squad)

  1. Designated Players (DP) - Probably the most famous contract type in MLS. As MLS grew in popularity and money within the game increased some owners wanted to be able to attract higher levels of player to their squad. The salary cap at the time was very rigid making it impossible to pay the salary a player such as David Beckham would require. To get around this and allow the league to increase its world-wide appeal the MLS decided to allow teams to sign “Designated Players”. In FM22 you can sign up to three DPs who must take up a senior squad slot and you can pay them as much as you want, but the advantage of the DP rule is you will only be charged $612,000 against your salary cap.

  2. Senior Contract - This will be you most common contract type. All Senior contracts must take up a senior squad slot and their full wage will be charged against your salary cap. You can, however, use General Allocation Money (GAM) to “buy down” (i.e. reduce) the salary cap impact of these players wages.

  3. Senior Minimum Contract - The minimum salary allowable for a senior player is set by the league as $81,500. Players on the minimum contract will only be placed in your senior squad, and count against your cap, if your first twenty slots are not already completely filled by DPs and Senior contract players. If slots one through twenty are already filled then these players will be placed in your off budget squad and will not count against your salary cap.

 

David Beckham the first Designated Player in MLS history

 

Off Budget Squad Contract Types (Slots 21-30 of your MLS Squad)

  1. Senior Minimum Contract - As above those players on the minimum senior MLS contract will be placed on your off budget squad once slots 1-20 have been filled.

  2. Reserve Contract - These contracts can only be offered to players under 25 and the salary is set by the MLS at $63,500. You can have a maximum of six reserve contract players but no more than four can be non-homegrown (i.e. to have six reserve contract players, two of them must be homegrown.).

  3. Generation ADIDAS Contract - Certain players in the SuperDraft will be identified as Generation ADIDAS players. These players, if signed, will not count against the salary cap and will be placed in the Off Budget Squad. After four years they lose their Generation ADIDAS status and they are treated the same as any player above. This rule was brought in to try and keep high potential youth players in MLS.

International Players

So just as you think you have worked out the salary cap minefield and managed to register your squad you may realise you are still falling foul of another registration rule, International Players. Each MLS side is given eight International Player slots in their roster, these roster slots are tradable, in full season increments, such that some teams may have more than eight and some teams may have fewer than eight. There is no limit on the number of international roster slots on each team's roster. For example in the MLS network save my Portland Timbers side only have six International player slots in my roster.

What is an International Player? Simply put it is an non domestic player. A domestic player is defined as

  • a U.S. citizen;

  • a permanent resident (green card holder); or

  • the holder of other special status (e.g., has been granted refugee or asylum status); or

  • a player who qualifies under the Homegrown International Rule (This rule is similar to the Homegrown rule in Europe whereby if a player comes through your academy they are deemed homegrown despite their nationality).

From time to time you may get a news item that a certain player now holds a green card, this is good news as it will free up an international slot on your roster.

Moreno was one too many International players for me in the MLS network save.

Waiver List

MLS squad registration takes place on April 1st. Any players not included in your thirty man squad, such as Moreno above, will be made available on the Waiver List. The Waiver list is available for two business days after squad registration and teams can put a claim against any player on the list to bring them into their squad on the same contract they were on at their previous club. Should more than one club place a claim on a player then priority is granted in the reverse order of the previous MLS season's performance.

That’s it for this second guide, I’ve deliberately kept it concise. The next guide will look at how to buy and trade players in MLS. Don’t forget Grasshopper and I are streaming our MLS FM Adventure over on https://www.twitch.tv/fm_grasshopper every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday 8pm to 10pm, so come check that out, or not.

Over and Out!

FMEadster

MLS Football Manager 22 Guide - League Format and Competitions

 
 

Welcome to part one of this series looking at all the rules and regulations of Major League Soccer (MLS). I intend to break all the nuances of MLS down into bitesized guides for anyone considering a save in the US. Hopefully by breaking everything down for readers it will be easier to find a solution or advice to a particular issue they have encountered without having to scroll through one big all encompassing MLS post.

The posts will be broken down as follows and once there are all published you can click the links below to be taken to that guide.

  1. MLS League Format and Competitions

  2. Squad registration rules and Salary Cap

  3. Buying and Trading players

  4. General Allocation Money (GAM) and Targeted Allocation Money (TAM)

Major League Soccer

Major League Soccer (MLS) like most American sports is split into conferences. In this case there is an Eastern Conference and a Western Conference. In the 2021 season there are 14 sides in the Eastern Conference and 13 sides in the Western Conference. This will change in the 2022 season when Charlotte FC join the Eastern Conference and Nashville move over to the Western Conference giving each conference an even 14 sides.

Charlotte FC will enter MLS in 2022 to even the conferences.

The league system at this stage is fairly familiar to European on lookers. The season runs from March to October and each team plays each other twice within their own conference for a total of 26/24 games. Now things change a bit, MLS is played over 34 games. So to get to 34 games each team plays a selection of sides from the other conference once, and some sides within your own conference three times. This unbalanced schedule is alien to many traditional FM players but is again fairly common in US sports.

The sole aim of these 34 regular season games is to qualify for the playoffs. Winning your conference means nothing if you lose in the first round of the playoffs. The top seven teams from each conference qualify for their conference playoffs, the top ranked side in each conference is given a bye to the conference semi-finals while the remaining six playoff in the conference quarter finals. These games are all one off matches with the higher ranked team in the regular season given home advantage.

The teams playoff until we are left with the MLS Cup final, the winners are crowned champions of MLS and receive entry to the CONCACF Champions League the following year.

MLS Supporters Shield

 
 

The Supporters Shield is merely the ranking of all MLS sides, from both conferences, using their season’s record. Different MLS sides give this Shield more importance than others, it is worth keeping track of even if you are well ahead within your own conference as the winners of the Supporters Shield are given an entry to the CONCACF Champions League the following year, regardless of what happens in the playoffs.

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup

 
 

More commonly known as the US Open Cup it is the oldest soccer competition in the US having first been played in 1914. Rather like the FA Cup in England it is open to amateur and semi professional clubs in the US Soccer pyramid and MLS sides enter in the 4th Round. All games are one offs, with extra time and penalties if required to provide a winner. Once again the US Open Cup champions will be given entry to the CONCACAF Champions League the following year.

CONCACAF Champions League

 
 

MLS is given four qualifying places for the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football Champions League (CONCACAF Champions League). They are awarded to the MLS Cup champions, the Supporters Shield champions, the US Open Cup champions, and the winners of the conference not already awarded through the Supporters Shield.

Sixteen clubs qualify in total at the start of the 2021 season. Four from USA, Four from Mexico, One from Canada, One from the Caribbean and six from the CONCACAF League, which MLS is not involved in.

The CONCACAF Champions League harks back to days of old in Europe in that it is a straight two legged knock out competition. No money making group stages with little jeopardy here. One bad performance could see you eliminated. However there are plans for expansion to the Champions League in 2024 so enjoy it while it lasts.

In recent times the CONCACAF champions league has been dominated by Mexican sides with no MLS winner since the LA Galaxy in 2000. MLS entrants to the CONCACAF champions league in 2021 are; Columbus Crew; Philadelphia Union; Portland Timbers; and Atlanta United.

That’s it for this first guide, I’ve deliberately kept it concise. The next guide will look at the squad registration rules that so many people seem to have difficulty with when playing MLS. Don’t forget Grasshopper and I are streaming our MLS FM Adventure over on https://www.twitch.tv/fm_grasshopper every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday 8pm to 10pm, so come check that out, or not.

Over and Out!

FMEadster