Nathan Limior Takes on Everton and the Premier League

Seattle Sounders 4 - 0 Portland Timbers

I cannot seem to win in Seattle. They are doing decently well in MLS so far this season, and they have a massive home field advantage whenever we play. We were just shellshocked by Eddie Johnson here, as the pacey striker kept getting in behind the defensive line.

Chicago Fire 0 - 1 Portland Timbers

This was kind of a dull game, we dominated the ball, didn't do much with it, but got the goal we needed from Teal Bunbury. I decided to go with the 3-4-1-2 to have numbers in the back, and go on the counterattack when the opportunity arose. Unfortunately, Will Johnson suffered a twisted ankle and will be out 5-6 weeks.

Colorado Rapids 1 - 3 Portland Timbers

This was an unexpected result! Santiago Castano was a big sack of fail once again by missing an interception that led to an easy Colorado goal, but Portland had a much better time at net. First, Rodney Wallace muscled in a goal after a couple of missed Portland shots. Then, Brian Ching took a nice through ball into the box and scored an easy goal. Finally, a Carlos Rodriguez interception of the Colorado goalkeeper's clearance was lobbed forward to Jose Valencia, who had plenty of space and got the goal.

Portland Timbers 1 - 1 New England Revolution

This was an unlucky result for us. Saer Sene beat two defenders for a header and New England's goal, and Jose Valencia tied the game, continuing his hot streak.

US Open Cup Third Round
Charlotte Eagles 0 - 3 Portland Timbers

The scoring started with a Ryan Cronin goal from outside the penalty box, but it was Brian Ching who dominated the game, putting in two more goals.

N/A

April 7: Sebastian Rincon suffered a sprained ankle and will be out between 7 weeks and 2 months. He has been placed on the 6-match disabled list.
April 13: Sebastian Kehl suffered a broken toe and will be out 2-3 months. He has been placed on the 6-match disabled list.

We're still 2nd in the Western Conference, but we're tied on points. We need to open up that goal differential a little more, though.

Brad Friedel's last MLS appearance was in 1997. However, the ageless wonder, and quite possibly the only major soccer player to have ever done an AMA on Reddit, is returning to MLS as a Goalkeeper/Reserves Coach for Portland. Friedel will be on a 1 year contract, and be paid $130,000 for 1 year. Portland waived goalkeeper Jake Gleeson to make room for the 42-year old goalkeeper.

In order to help improve midfield depth, the Portland Timbers have signed Leanderson Collonia Fraga to a 1 year, $155,000 contract. Leanderson was formerly of the New York Red Bulls, and he passed through waivers, so Portland was free to sign him to a new contract. Manager Nathan Limior has been looking at a few Brazilians recently, and he is delighted to have found another one to bring to Soccer City USA. Leanderson joins center back Edson as the Brazilian contingent on the squad, and has stated that he was delighted to join Edson in Portland. The Portland squad is very cosmopolitan, and its heavy foreign influences are four Colombian players, three Canadian players, and two Brazilian players. The other internationals on the squad are from Costa Rica, Germany, and Panama.

You have an interesting transfer policy. I wonder if you could trade your draft picks for "designated player spots" and sign other players. Willian was quite the coup, but I feel you are going the wrong way around trying to defeat Seattle. (Secretly happy, as I live in Seattle )

Have you thought about changing the tactics. Perhaps playing with attacking wingers as opposed to the more subdued ones you have here. Or, dropping one of the central midfielders back to deal with Eddie Johnson's attacking runs. Sebastian Kehl would probably be the ideal ball-winning midfielder.

Could you sign Gattuso as a non-designated player, similarly to how Montreal has Nesta? His salary doesn't seem to be very high.

Otherwise, a good read

You can't trade players for designated player spots, but at the beginning of each season you can purchase a DP slot for that year for $250,000 in allocation money. I don't really use designated players that much, but Valeri was great last season, and Kehl will be good when he's not injured. You can trade players for international slots, though (That's why I have 10 international slots, the regular 8 + 2 of Montreal's that I have for five years.) I try to trade players when I don't feel like they'll be useful anymore, and other teams are usually willing to trade. Also, in FM, you can't make non-player trades. All trades have to involve a player.

The 4-4-1-1 has been kind of a bust for me, so I will consider doing a formation with more attacking wingers. Like this?


Also, do you mean Gennaro Gattuso? His salary isn't that high, but I likely won't have the allocation to purchase him, and I'm already bumping up at the salary cap. Also, left back isn't really a position of need for me, right now. (His club rejected an enquiry, too.)

This is the most insightful comment I've ever seen. I wish I could give comments as good as this one. Please feel free to comment on my story again if you have more sage advice to dispense!

2013-07-12 05:48#119480 ebEliminator : You can't trade players for designated player spots, but at the beginning of each season you can purchase a DP slot for that year for $250,000 in allocation money. I don't really use designated players that much, but Valeri was great last season, and Kehl will be good when he's not injured. You can trade players for international slots, though (That's why I have 10 international slots, the regular 8 + 2 of Montreal's that I have for five years.) I try to trade players when I don't feel like they'll be useful anymore, and other teams are usually willing to trade. Also, in FM, you can't make non-player trades. All trades have to involve a player.

The 4-4-1-1 has been kind of a bust for me, so I will consider doing a formation with more attacking wingers. Like this?

I prefer this formation to the standard 4-4-2. I use a 4-2-2 where the wingers are pushed up (so technically a 4-2-2-2) where my attackers are DLF and Poacher... Although, inexplicably, my young forwards are magnificent...

Also, do you mean Gennaro Gattuso? His salary isn't that high, but I likely won't have the allocation to purchase him, and I'm already bumping up at the salary cap. Also, left back isn't really a position of need for me, right now. (His club rejected an enquiry, too.)

Yes, Gennaro Gattuso, but he should be a DM, rather than a DL. I thought he might be the perfect backup to Kehl, although I don't really know how transfers work in MLS. It's all hyroglyphics to me...

This is the most insightful comment I've ever seen. I wish I could give comments as good as this one. Please feel free to comment on my story again if you have more sage advice to dispense!

It's why I don't comment often... Makes them worth more

Oh, I have no idea why I thought he was a left back. But yeah, I have plenty of DMs. Out of MLS players transferring into MLS is much easier to understand than intra-MLS transfers. Your transfer budget is your allocation money. It's that simple! You don't get much allocation though, so you can only make free and cheap transfers.

Vancouver Whitecaps 2 - 2 Portland Timbers

I think I will have to go back to the four man defensive line, I'm still having trouble with forwards getting in behind for easy goals, but thankfully Brian Ching was able to take over the game with a goal and an assist in the last few minutes to salvage a point and anger the Vancouver players and fans who were expecting a victory!

US Open Cup Fourth Round
Portland Timbers 2 - 0 Sporting Kansas City (after extra time)

I knew we would have the formation disadvantage, but I thought our better players would balance it out. We controlled the midfield, shockingly, but couldn't do much with the possession. Portland seemed to get a second wind though, with Andrew Jean-Baptiste scoring his first ever goal off a corner in the second half of extra time. Jose Valencia followed it up with a nice run and shot to put it out of reach. I am worried about the condition of some of my players who had to play all 120 minutes, though.

Portland Timbers 2 - 1 Los Angeles Galaxy

Nagbe has been cold so far this season, but he got us the late winner here. We controlled the midfield, but our shooting was poor. We honestly should have won by 2 or 3 here, but that's soccer.

Sporting Kansas City 0 - 5 Portland Timbers

For this match I tweaked my tactic, instead of pairing a ball-winning mid with a deep lying playmaker, I changed the DLP to a box-to-box midfielder. Leanderson was amazing on his debut, helping to control the midfield and even getting up and scoring a goal. Valencia was great, getting free behind the defense for two goals. Ching's high determination makes him useful despite his advancing age, and he had 1 goal, and almost 2 if he had a better touch. Jewsbury came off the bench to score off of a free kick to seal it. Everything that could have gone right for us did today.

Portland Timbers 2 - 3 Colorado Rapids

Fouls cost us this one, we conceded a penalty and got one of our men sent off, which hurt our comeback efforts. FM doesn't feel the penalty was correct so I feel like I have enough capital to curse out Yader Hayes in the presser. To add injury to insult, Alonso Herrera suffered a broken collarbone and will be out 2 months, and Brian Ching twisted his ankle and will be out 5-6 weeks.

Philadelphia Union 3 - 4 Portland Timbers

What a day for Teal Bunbury! His first hat trick! He dominated today, getting in behind the Philadelphia line, and scoring one of the goals off of a crazy interception where he had tons of space. The formation may be suspect defensively, though, as a weak Philadelphia side was able to score 3, putting the result of this game in question until Bunbury completed his hat trick. Unfortunately, Ryan Cronin suffered a torn hamstring and will be out 3 to 4 months.

US Open Cup Quarterfinal
FC Dallas 1 - 1 (3 - 4 penalties) Portland Timbers

As you can see, Dallas put a lot of men in the back, so I used the same formation to push more men forward. Dallas was stout, though, and Maicon Santos scored when Andrew Jean-Baptiste mismarked him. Dallas's keeper was a beast, saving two Portland penalties. Valencia scored, saving us, but it was still precarious. Extra time was uneventful, everyone was so tired.
Penalty Shootout:
Frame 1: Jewsbury misses, Garbini misses (0-0)
Frame 2: Nagbe scores, Loyd scores (1-1)
Frame 3: Thorrington scores, Sturgis scores (2-2)
Frame 4: Mosquera scores, Kuntz scores (3-3)
Frame 5: Zemanski scores, John misses (4-3)

Los Angeles Galaxy 1 - 2 Portland Timbers

This game was going to be a goalkeepers' duel between Cudcini and Friedel, but Cudcini's rare mistake in allowing a golazo from Valencia gave Los Angeles the win. Bunbury also had a good game, picking up a goal.

June 9: Brazilian goalkeeper Fabio chooses Serbian side Red Star over Portland, going there for $200,000.
June 21: Will Johnson, Rodney Wallace, and Carlos Rodriguez have been called up to their respective national sides for the Gold Cup.
June 30: An upgrade to Portland's training facilities has completed!

June 6: Kyle Bekker suffered from a hernia and will be out 6-7 weeks. He has been placed on the 6-match disabled list.

Top of the table in MLS, and of course the Western Conference! Tinkering with the tactics has really worked for me, despite the squad battling injuries and Gold Cup call-ups.

Group A

Alajuelense (Costa Rica)
San Juan Jabloteh (Trinidad and Tobago)
Xolos Tijuana (Mexico)

Group B

Comunicaciones (Guatemala)
Portland Timbers (United States)
Saprissa (Costa Rica)

Group C

San Francisco (Panama)
Sporting Kansas City (United States)
Vancouver Whitecaps (Canada)

Group D

Allanza (El Salvador)
Tauro (Panama)
Tigres (Mexico)

Group E

Aguila (El Salvador)
Chivas USA (United States...duh)
FICA (Haiti)

Group F

Diriangen (Nicaragua)
Municipal (Guatemala)
San Jose Earthquakes (United States)

Group G

Marathon (Honduras)
Racing Club de Riviere Pilote (Martinique)
Santos Laguna (Mexico)

Group H

America (Mexico)
Luis Angel Firpo (El Salvador)
Real Espana (Honduras)

Champions League play will kickoff on July 31.

I honestly don't know any of them teams in your group...is that an easy group? Nobody knows

US Open Cup Semifinal
Colorado Rapids 2 - 2 (3 - 1 on penalties) Portland Timbers

This was just a hard luck game, our defenders struggled, but they did knock in two goals on setpieces. We had more shots and possession, so it's unclear why we didn't do better.

Penalty Shootout:
Frame 1: Cocoran shoots to the right, the keeper goes to the right, Cocoran scores; Jewsbury shoots to the right, the keeper goes to the left, Jewsbury scores (1-1)
Frame 2: Harbottle shoots to the right, the keeper dives right, Friedel saves; Nagbe shoots to the left, Knighton goes to the left, Knighton saves (1-1)
Frame 3: Wynne scores; Knighton saves Mosquera's shot (2-1)
Frame 4: Cascio shoots down the middle, Friedel dives left; Cascio scores; Zemanski's shot is saved by Knighton (3-1)
Frame 5: Not played

Real Salt Lake 4 - 1 Portland Timbers

Looks like I need to get back to the drawing board here. Real Salt Lake's forwards constantly split our line and made us look silly.

Portland Timbers 1 - 0 New York Red Bulls

This was a test match for the 4-1-4-1 formation I cooked up for use against sides like Seattle, Real Salt Lake, and any Mexican sides we may encounter in CONCACAF Champions League. It worked well, cutting down the shots on target, and New York didn't help themselves by piling on the fouls.

Portland Timbers 0 - 1 Los Angeles Galaxy

Another test match for the 4-1-4-1. Unfortunately, Gyasi Zardes got free in the box and poached a goal. Otherwise, our defending was solid. The problem was that we couldn't play through Los Angeles most of the time, and when we did we let loose weak, ineffective shots.

CONCACAF Champions League Group B
Saprissa 1 - 4 Portland Timbers

What a fine start to our Knockout aspirations! Switched to the 3-1-4-2 so that I could get more men forward, wasn't really worried about defensive vulnerabilities as much as controlling the midfield and the ball. We passed around Saprissa all day, creating opportunities for Valencia and Bunbury.

July 6: Michael Harrington has been traded to the Montreal Impact for their 2015 SuperDraft 1st round pick.

July 9: Brad Evans suffered a torn hamstring against Colorado and will be out 3-4 months. He has been placed on the season-ending disabled list.

For as bad as this month was, with getting knocked out of the US Open Cup and two tough MLS losses, it could have been a lot worse. We're still in great standing!

(Rablador, hopefully the match result should help out. Saprissa have won the CONCACAF Champions League three times but that was before the rise of the MLS. Comunicaciones split one in 1978 or so. They're tiny Central American teams.)

Pretty disappointing month, but still top of the league with games in hand. And oooh, never realised you'd signed Friedel, I frickin' love him

Portland Timbers 1 - 2 Montreal Impact

We performed better statistically, but ex-Timber Ryan Johnson kept getting free in the box and raising hell for us.

Portland Timbers 3 - 0 Seattle Sounders

Eddie Johnson threatened to impact the game once again with his pacy runs, but the anchor man Kehl and the defensive line shut him down. Valencia owned the game with his attacking skill, and Jewsbury nailed a free kick to slam the door shut on Seattle.

Portland Timbers 1 - 0 Chivas USA

Chivas USA was completely shut down here, I knew how they would play, so I pushed men forward to deal with their defense. It was still tight, but Valencia broke through to score the winning goal.

Columbus Crew 2 - 1 Portland Timbers

Despite Columbus's obvious advantage in shots, I thought we were unlucky to lose this. First, Jewsbury concedes a stupid foul in the box which allows Columbus to tie, then Arrieta gets in a nice goal from way outside the box.

FC Dallas 0 - 0 Portland Timbers

FC Dallas are so tough to crack, especially on the road. Our games always finish 1-0 or 0-0. We created more chances and had more possession, but couldn't do anything, and the team faded late.

Portland Timbers 2 - 0 Real Salt Lake

Despite the final score, a very defensive game. Valencia opened up a lead after Grossman's bad pass was intercepted by him and he ran free for an easy score. Leanderson added a second goal on a marginal penalty call against Real Salt Lake, but I'll definitely take it. He'll also be my first choice penalty taker now since he can actually make one!

CONCACAF Champions League Group B
Portland Timbers 3 - 0 Comunicaciones

Just an ugly shellacking. You can easily see the disparity between the two sides in the stats. Comunicaciones started the game into a 4-4-2, but changed to a 3-3-2-1-1 at halftime. They also used all three of their subs by the start of the second half.

Vancouver Whitecaps 0 - 1 Portland Timbers

It was a very close fought game, but Portland managed to edge this out thanks to Rodney Wallace's poaching effort in the box. Despite how well we played, we were lucky to win, as late Vancouver was given a marginal penalty call, but the penalty taker cracked it off the frame. Vancouver had another free run at the goal late in the game, but Friedel smothered the ball to ensure victory.

N/A

N/A

We're still first in the Western Conference and MLS, and with quite a margin. We have a good chance of getting the Supporters' Shield!

Portland fans must feel like they have gotten a coup as Portland has come to terms with Georgian (the country, not the state) goalkeeper Giorgi Makaridze, an exciting young prospect. His contract runs for 5 years and will pay him $180,000 a year. Portland's manager, Nathan Limior, had the good fortune of the 23 year old goalkeeper being unattached after his contract with Le Mans FC expired, and did everything he could to secure his services. In the press conference announcing the signing, Limior was asked if this signing would force Friedel to the bench: "Friedel is our goalkeeper for now, he's been the hot hand and I want to ride him as long as he'll go. This is more of a signing for next season, although we'll definitely feel comfortable bringing him in in spots in order to give Friedel a rest, and acclimate him to American play."

D.C. United 0 - 3 Portland Timbers

I changed up my 3-4-1-2 a bit for now on, changing the outside center backs to stoppers, changing the deep lying forward to a support role, and changing the deep lying playmaker to a center midfielder (changed it in the 4-1-4-1, too). We had a nominal possession advantage, but DC United had a precious two opportunities at goal. Bunbury kept managing to get free into the box for two goals, while Valencia poached another one.

San Jose Earthquakes 2 - 1 Portland Timbers

A tight, defensive game, San Jose's first goal exploited one of the weaknesses of our system, Will Bruin got unmarked on the flank for an easy goal. Their second goal shouldn't have happened though, but Andrew Jean-Baptiste missed an interception he should have gotten to clear it away.

CONCACAF Champions League Group B
Portland Timbers 3 - 0 Saprissa

Saprissa provided little competition, although to their credit, they did shut us out in the second half. They tried to play 5-3-2 in order to limit goals, but Valencia, Nagbe, and Bunbery had nice attacking runs to set up goals. This match was more of an opportunity to reintroduce some youngsters to competitive soccer, and take off some more valuable players once the match was well in hand.

CONCACAF Champions League Group B
Comunicaciones 1 - 6 Portland Timbers

Comunicaciones got a charity goal off of a corner kick, but this match was all Portland. Teal Bunbury had two goals when he took a crack at his third, which bounced off the frame. He recollected it and shot true this time, earning his hat trick.

N/A

September 14: Sebastian Kehl suffered a sprained wrist against San Jose and will miss 2 weeks. Not sweating this one too much, he could use a vacation before the Champions League Knockout and MLS Cup Playoffs.

We've qualified for the Western Conference Semifinal, so we can breathe a bit. I'd still like to finish the season out strong so we can get our first Supporters' Shield, though!

Easy qualification for us, as we took all the points. Now we sit and wait, since there are some group matches about a month away. The only non-American, non-Mexican team to qualify is Vancouver over Kansas City, but Alajuelense can qualify over Xolos Tijuana with a win in their final match.