Nathan Limior Takes on Everton and the Premier League

Former United States international player and coach Nathan Limior has decided he wanted to take a crack at managing a club, as he has agreed to a contract with the Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer. "I've learned a lot coaching the fine players of the United States national team, but I want to help develop a new crop of American soccer players at the club level in MLS, and I want to kickstart my own managerial career, and I'm excited to do it for a club whose ownership and fanbase is incredibly supportive [of them]."

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(OOC - Who am I?: Of course, Nathan Limior is a fictional character. I will be exploring many different timelines with him, this is just one of many. In most timelines, this will be his club history:
1992-1993: Barnsley
1994-1995: Numancia
1996-1999: New England Revolution
2000: D.C. United

He also played for the US National team, most notably in the 1994 and 1998 World Cups. He scored 24 goals in 59 appearances.

In the first timeline, Limior became manager of the United States national soccer team after Klinsmann got sacked. In this one, instead he takes a club job in MLS.

Good luck the MLS is a great and upcoming league. I am looking forward to this

Tampa Bay Rowdies 0 - 1 Portland Timbers

Atlanta Silverbacks 0 - 5 Portland Timbers

Richmond Kickers 1 - 2 Portland Timbers

Charleston Battery 1 - 1 Portland Timbers

Harrisburg City Islanders 2 - 3 Portland Timbers

FC Edmonton 1 - 2 Portland Timbers

Carolina RailHawks 2 - 1 Portland Timbers

(Danny Mwanga cut, I would have loved to have kept him but he had a humongous $350,000/yr contract.)

Portland made no picks in the Waiver Draft since we had no salary cap room.

Portland Timbers 1 - 0 Philadelphia Union

FC Dallas 1 - 0 Portland Timbers

New England Revolution 3 - 4 Portland Timbers

Portland Timbers 0 - 4 Real Salt Lake

March 23: Kyle Bekker has signed a $52,000/year contract. In order to make room for him on the roster, Alberoni and his fat-ass contract were tossed overboard. We have a better left mid and some salary cap room, huzzah!
March 25: Portland won goalkeeper Santiago Castano on waivers from New York. Portland waived goalkeeper David Meves to create a roster spot for Castano. Castano looks like he has immense potential for MLS and will be the successor to Ricketts, almost certainly.
March 29: Portland won defender Doneil Henry on waivers from FC Dallas.

March 24: Jose Adolfo Valencia suffered a twisted knee against New England and will be out 4 weeks.

We're right in the thick of things, and there's still plenty of soccer left to go. Chivas being 2nd in the standings shows how realistic FM is.

Good luck, some decent results so far

Portland Timbers 3 - 0 Chivas USA

Los Angeles Galaxy 0 - 0 Portland Timbers

Portland Timbers 1 - 1 Sporting Kansas City

Montreal Impact 0 - 1 Portland Timbers

N/A

April 21: Will Johnson suffered a damaged kneecap against Kansas City and will be out 4-5 weeks.

Given how uneven the games played are, there really isn't much constructive to take from this. We're doing well though, but I'm still mad at Jewsbury for costing us the Kansas City game with his boneheaded ballplaying skills.

Good result vs Chivas USA, they seemed to be playing quite a defensive formation

Portland Timbers 2 - 0 Columbus Crew

Houston Dynamo 0 - 3 Portland Timbers

Portland Timbers 3 - 2 Chicago Fire

May 22: Darlington Nagbe wins MLS Player of the Week
Goal of the Week:

Portland Timbers 1 - 1 Vancouver Whitecaps

US Open Cup Third Round
Westchester Flames 0 - 1 Portland Timbers

N/A

May 2: Dylan Tucker-Gangnes is suffering from a hernia and will be out 6-7 weeks. He has been placed on injured reserve and will be unavailable for the rest of the season.
May 4: Ryan Johnson suffered a chest injury while lifting weights and will be out 4 weeks.
May 7: Rodney Wallace suffered a back strain while lifting weights and will be out 5-6 weeks. He has been placed on the disabled list and will be ineligible for the next 6 matches.
May 15: Alonso Herrera suffered a facial injury against Houston and will be out about 2 weeks.
May 15: Jose Adolfo Valencia suffered a strained neck against Houston and will be out 2-3 weeks.
May 24: Michael Harrington suffered a virus. He has been sent home and will be out 2-3 weeks.

Everyone ahead of us has at least two games in hand, so we're in very good shape. Due to Ryan Johnson's injury, I moved from a TM/P setup to a DLF/AF setup, and that's been working so well with Nagbe at DLF, I see no reason to change it.

Didn't know you'd started a new story! Just caught up, I would say "Good luck", but you're already quite a way in! Anyway, fantastic results so far, will defo be following.

Darlington Nagbe, born July 19, 1990, and hailing from Monrovia, Liberia (an African country that has no roots in European colonization and was founded by former slaves and out of the belief that former slaves would be happier to return to Africa), came to the Portland Timbers as their first draft pick ever as a MLS franchise in 2011. Nagbe played collegiate soccer at University of Akron (in Ohio), and also played for the Cleveland Internationals. He and his family lived in France, Greece, and Switzerland, before moving to Cleveland, Ohio, at the age of 11 in 2001.

Nagbe had 2 goals and 3 assists in 28 appearances (21 starts) for the Timbers in 2011. His first ever goal was named MLS Goal of the Year in 2011. In 2012, he's had his breakout season for Portland, scoring 8 goals and 1 assist in only 12 appearances so far this season, and racking 2 Player of the Match awards. Nagbe is only 22 years old, so he will be a fixture for the Portland Timbers for a while, provided he keeps up this stellar level of play.

Nagbe can play both midfield and striker, which makes him a good fit for the Deep Lying Forward role, which links the midfield to forward play.

Wow those goals were brilliant! Nice update too

US Open Cup Fourth Round
Colorado Rapids 1 - 2 Portland Timbers

Los Angeles Galaxy 2 - 1 Portland Timbers

Portland Timbers 0 - 1 Seattle Sounders

US Open Cup Quarterfinal
New England Revolution 0 - 1 Portland Timbers

Colorado Rapids 1 - 2 Portland Timbers

June 14: Portland signed midfielder Hector Jimenez for $44,000/year.

June 5: Mikael Silvestre suffered a strained thigh and will be out 4 weeks.
June 25: Diego Valeri suffered a sprained ankle and will be out about 2 months.
June 26: Hector Jimenez suffered a twisted ankle and will be out 6-7 weeks.

Suffered a couple of losses this month, but we're still on course to get a NACL qualification through the US Open Cup, the Supporters' Shield is still in play, and obviously a Conference Semifinal playoff berth.

I love the layout of your story! Some good results too, keep it up mate!

Donovan Ricketts was born on June 7, 1977 in Montego Bay, Jamaica. His youth career was spent at Wadadah, a Jamaican side, from 1994 to 1997. He's played for Village United and Bradford City (loaned from Bolton, and permanently transferred to Bradford without making a single appearance for Bolton) before making his way to MLS in 2009 for Los Angeles Galaxy. He was traded to Montreal Impact in 2012 for allocation money, and was in turn traded to Portland in 2012 for goalkeeper Troy Perkins.

Ricketts is also an experienced international footballer, winning 68 caps for Jamaica. His goalkeeping skills make them a tough side to crack in CONCACAF, despite not having many skilled outfield players.

Ricketts is 35 years old, so as sure in goal as he is now, he isn't a long term option for Portland, but for now he is the man between the sticks, and he cuts an imposing figure at a height of 6 feet 4 inches. Ricketts has conceded 17 goals and picked up 7 clean sheets so far this season.

I love this as a Englishman who lived literally 2 hours outside Portland for a year I look forward to this story.!!!