Nathan Limior Takes on Everton and the Premier League

It's official! Everton has announced that Portland Timbers manager Nathan Limior will manage the Toffees. Unlike the MLS, Europe is in mid-season, so Limior doesn't have much time to get to know his squad, or get used to European rules once again. Limior has been given a 775,000 pound wage budget per week, and an 8,500,000 pound transfer budget (a small chunk had to be taken out to compensate Portland). Everton are dead last in the Premier League, so Limior will have to work his magic.

Good luck man !

Wow, never thought Everton would be last. Good luck with them though, I'm sure you'll turn their fortunes around!

Everton 1 - 1 Reading

Naturally, the relegation campaign starts with a six-pointer. Reading's 4-5-1 was hard to get around, and when we did get close to goal, my players wanted to pop off idiotic long shots instead of working the ball into the box. Reading wasn't moving the ball around, either. Joe Mason scored Everton's goal late with a header off a second chance cross after a corner. Tim Howard was absolutely idiotic in stoppage time, not clearing the ball and making a risky short pass, which Reading capitalized on.
Player of the Match: David Wheater (Reading)

West Ham 4 - 1 Everton

West Ham seemed to be able to get the ball in off the cross at will, which is why even though the stats are similar, they dominated us. This was also a wake-up call that I need to use the 4-1-4-1 until I can reshape the roster, so I will.
Player of the Match: Kevin Nolan (West Ham)

Everton 2 - 0 Derby

Finally, my first win in the Premier League! Just before halftime, Stewart Downing volleyed a corner kick into the net for the lead. In the second half, Javad Nekounam took a pass and ran from just shy of midfield into the box to make a great scoring effort.
Player of the Match: Javad Nekounam (Everton)
Injury Update: Javad Nekounam suffered a twisted knee and will be out 2-3 weeks.

Injury Update: Phil Jagielka suffered from achilles tendonitis and will be out 3-4 weeks.

Everton 0 - 2 Swansea

Both teams had the same amount of chances, but Swansea were more profitable with them.
Player of the Match: Ashley Williams (Swansea)

We're old, we're crap, we get injured a lot, and we're not in last place anymore! We're still in the relegation zone though, so we have a ways to go.

That last paragraph pretty much sums it up I suppose!
One problem, you have Downing...................YOU'RE DOOMED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FA Cup Third Round
Swansea 1 - 1 Everton

Both teams found it hard to get chances and move the ball, but Nikica Jelavic put Everton off to a flyer when he took a pass between two defenders and ran in for the short range goal. He had two other short range chances but missed, and Swansea made Everton pay when Omer Damari equalized on a screamer. Everton had one last chance but couldn't do anything with the ball, and now both teams will replay at Everton's ground.
Player of the Match: Michu (Swansea)

Everton - Manchester City

Despite rumored to be not long for Everton, Kevin Mirallas was the hero for Everton as his well-placed shot into a might-as-well be empty net was the deciding factor for Everton. Although Man City had more of the ball, they surprisingly couldn't do that much with it.
Player of the Match: Pablo Zavaleta (Manchester City)

Norwich 1 - 1 Everton

Stewart Downing got Everton off to a flyer with a nice finish, and Everton seemed to be able to protect their lead well, but Hyland got sent off for going in late and that let substitute Oussama Darragi get the equalizer.
Player of the Match: John Stones (Everton)

Chelsea 1 - 0 Everton

On a snowy day at Stamford Bridge, Everton played Chelsea very close, and only Oscar's header saved Chelsea from an embarrassing draw. Unfortunately, the Premier League doesn't award points for moral victories, so we are still behind in the relegation chase.
Player of the Match: Leighton Baines (Chelsea)

FA Cup Third Round Replay
Everton 1 - 1 (2 - 3 on penalties) Swansea

It was a bizarre own goal by Everton's goalkeeper that ended up costing them the surprise victory, as a speculative shot by Swansea bounced off the post, off of Dusan Kuciak's back, and into the goalpost for the Swansea lead. Everton equalized with Phil Jagielka's header off a corner kick. Extra time was an empty affair, and Everton was just too tired and succumbed to penalties.
Player of the Match: Shane Duffy (Everton)

Everton 2 - 3 Tottenham

Tottenham had more success with the ball, getting it into Everton's goal area more reliably. Adebayor took over the game, scoring twice, once on a penalty.
Player of the Match: Emmanuel Adeboyer (Tottenham)

Wigan 2 - 1 Everton

Everton was unlucky to lose here, as the stats will show, but Wigan was given a charity penalty and Lukas Podolski converted it for the winning goal.
Player of the Match: Roman Golobart (Wigan)

In

- Winger/striker Jonathan Viera from Valencia for 6,500,000. He has a cheap contract, is very good, and has more of his prime remaining at 25.
- Defender Dejan Skolnik on a Bosman from Nacional da Madeira, he will come in at the end of the season at 22,500 a week.
- Midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak on a Bosman from Stade de Reims, he will come in at the end of the season at 19,500 a week.
- Midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong on a season-long loan from Arsenal.
- Defender/midfielder Benjamin Mendy from Havre AC for 400,000
- Defender Johan Martial on a Bosman from Stade Brestois, he will come in at the end of the season at 21,000 a week

Out

- Winger Kevin Mirallas to Napoli for 6,250,000. He's 27 years old, so he's going to be fading soon, and he's not that good. I can get by without him.

Sometimes I hate this game. It's the bed I made for myself, but the officials don't have to help out with stupid penalties.

good luck with everton it will be tough what do the expect from you?
and what if you relegate anyway?

I'll likely be going on happy trails, then. Because MLS and (pretty much) the rest of the world run seasons differently from each other, I had to join in midseason, and I felt trying to save a team from relegation was a good challenge. If we get relegated, I'll go somewhere else.

Kind of belated, but I wanted to show you what I'm working with here. We do have some youth, but many of our best players are at their peak or slightly past it.

West Brom 0 - 1 Everton

Everton came away lucky here, as they scored the only goal of the game on a George Green penalty after Claudio Yacob fouled in the box. Manager Nathan Limior had a scare when Danny Graham's goal off of a free kick was disallowed due to being offside. West Brom were tearing away Everton's barricades like zombies, but Everton held for the victory.
Player of the Match: Liam Ridgewell (West Brom)

Management can get quite crazy sometimes, with the pressure of looming relegation causing so much stress. I took an airplane to New York soon after the game, and took a cross-country flight to Portland, Oregon to watch my former team play against Cruz Azul in the CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinals. Portland is managed by respected veteran MLS coach Frank Yallop. I've set the table for him quite well, let's see what he's doing with them.

CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinal
First Leg: Portland Timbers 0 - 2 Cruz Azul

Although Portland defended well, but their attack looked incredibly disorganized. Midfielders would make long passes to strikers who weren't making runs. When Portland did get into Cruz Azul's third of the field, they were more interested in making speculative passes, and Corona was simply a better goalkeeper than Makaridze, who let in 2 goals on 2 shots on goal. It was slightly tipped in Cruz Azul's favor in the first half, then Teofilo Gutierrez fired an absolute laser blast of a ball into the net for Cruz Azul's first goal. Late in the second half, Javier Orozco doubled up with a nice shot from an angle. Portland also suffered from injuries, Jose Valencia and Edson were inhibited with injuries, and Darlington Nagbe was forced off the pitch late, leaving Portland to fend for itself with 10 men.
Player of the Match: Javier Orozco (Cruz Azul)

I felt myself wanting to yell at the Timbers for their poor performance, but that wasn't my job anymore. It was soon time to fly back to England so that I could resume my managing duties.

Everton 5 - 1 Queen's Park Rangers

I had a good feeling about this match, but this result was surprising! Shane Duffy dominated in corner kicks for two goals, Nikica Jelavic remembered he had 17 finishing and also scored 2 goals, and Jarad Nekounam scored a goal on a penalty. Loic Remy pulled in a consolation goal for QPR, but this was no contest.
Player of the Match: Shane Duffy (Everton)

Surprise Injury

Everton's Javad Nevakoum suffered a slipped disc during training and will be out 3 months. It'll be a huge blow for Everton since he is one of their best players.

Stoke City 0 - 1 Everton

Another nailbiter for Everton fans where the team built up a slim lead and watched as the other team try to erase it. Stewart Downing got in close range to put away the winning goal for Everton. Yoo Hoon was a bane for Stoke as he kept going offside at inopportune moments.
Player of the Match: Christophe Berra (Stoke)
Relegation Race Update: Newcastle 2-1 Reading, thankfully in FM there are no sponsor controversies and so Papiss Cisse scored the winning goal for Newcastle; Reading are tied with Everton on points but Reading is currently the last one safe due to their -13 goal differential, compared to Everton's -15.

Everton 2 - 1 Blackburn

This was a match we needed to get 3 points, and we did. Everton started off the scoring on a nice counterattack, Nikica Jelavic had plenty of room, but found himself caught on the outside, he tried to cut in but lost the ball, which Phil Jagielka slid in for Everton's first goal. Joshua King equalized with a close-range finish. Jonathan Viera sent in the cross, which Jelavic volleyed into the net for the winning goal.
Player of the Match: Josh McEachran (Blackburn)

In

= Valerio Verre from Genoa signed with Everton on a Bosman, he will be on at the end of this season.
- Striker Davide Cais from Atalanta signed with Everton on a Bosman, he will be on at the end of the season.
- Attacking midfielder Marc Stendera from Frankfurt signed with Everton on a Bosman.
- Kieza from Palmeiras for 375,000. As he is under 18, he will move to Everton at the end of the season during which he turns 18, so June 2016.
- Everton have signed Juarez from Portuguesa for 625,000 pounds since he has been granted a work permit. The transfer will go through in June 2016 due to his youth.

Out

N/A

We're out of the relegation zone! With a perfect month, we picked up 12 huge points, and despite Reading having a game in hand, have put the pressure on them to match our success.

After an impressive month where Everton manager won four games out of four and managed to get them out of the fire, he was the second-choice for the Barclays Premier League Manager of the Month award. Instead, the honor went to Liverpool's Fatih Terim, who defeated Reading, West Ham, and Derby.

Despite being edged out, Limior can take the fact that he was so close after early struggles in the Premier League and show that he can succeed in the Premier League. His hiring by Everton smacked of desperation and was made fun of by European football elitists/MLS haters, but it is proving to be a shrewd move so far.

Are you out of the relegation zone yet? Four wins in a row with a struggling team is impressive, it's always nice to thrash QPR but you just gotta grind out those wins elsewhere

Yes you are making progress slowly but you will survive.

Just a few days before our match against Southampton, I took another airplane trip, this time to Mexico City, Mexico, for the second leg of Portland's match against Cruz Azul. I wasn't expecting much from Portland or their manager, but it was nice to sit back and watch some football. Like last time, I ditched my regular suit and tie for a hoodie and sunglasses. Thankfully, there weren't as many Portland fans who showed up, but I still didn't want to be insulted by any of them.

CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinal
Cruz Azul 2 - 1 Portland
Cruz Azul 4 - 1 Portland on aggregate

As hard as Portland tried, American soccer has a ways to go before challenging Mexican futbol, at least on the club stage. Cruz Azul's striker pair, Teofilo Gutierrez and Javier Orozco were class as they pulled in a pair of goals. Diego Chara got double booked for his persistence in fouling. Despite only having 10 men, Portland pulled one back, but it was far too late and far too little.
Player of the Match: Ryan Cronin (Portland)

And with that, it's time to fly back to England to focus on my own team.

Southampton 1 - 0 Everton

With two similar teams, it was Hyland's missed interception on a corner kick which lead to a Verard Forren goal on a header which gave Southampton the victory.
Player of the Match: Shane Duffy (Everton)
Relegation Update: Reading 3-0 West Ham; Everton falls back into the drop zone

Everton 3 - 2 Manchester United

I really thought I was going to see a master class from The Special One, Jose Mourinho, one of the world's top managers, and for the first half, it looked like it would be the case, as we went down 2-0 at halftime, playing like rubbish. Something changed after halftime though, Everton came out ready to play. Bryan Oviedo scored on a free kick, which I expected to be a charity goal, but later Manchester United misplayed the ball in a vulnerable area and Joe Mason scored the miracle tying goal. Ryan Bertrand scored the winner and everyone in Goodison Park went crazy, but there was still a nervousness as Everton had to hold the lead, and they did, scoring a surprise 3 points which will be vital in staying up. Ryan Bertrand credited an inspiring team talk for their comeback.
Player of the Match: Bryan Oviedo (Everton)

In

- Striker Agnaldo for 210,000 from Figueriense; he'll come in after the 2017 season. It hurts to not be able to develop these players instantly, but I need to set the table for future success.

Out

N/A

Very depressing. I'll only sign the one and tell everyone else to go screw.

It looks like it'll be a dogfight between Reading and Everton to see who stays up, but Stoke is perilously close to falling into the fight if they keep losing. There are 7 matches left in the Premier League season.

Disappointing against Southampton but what a comeback against United! You're doing what you have to do, winning at home, and I can't believe you're still in the relegation zone after it.
Nice signing as well, by the way