wwsm2006:Columbus Crew

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Wanted to do a MLS dynasty and choose the Crew because i am actual fan of them in real life (became one when they drafted Brian McBride).

First thing i am hit with is Frankie Hejduk requests to move to a bigger club. I don't want to lose him but i don't want morale in the toliet. I say i will move him at first chance and the next day Benifica come along and he is gone off to greener pastures.

Our coaching staff looks a little meager with 3 guys none are very good, course the guys i can bring in don't look to good either. I bring on 2 guys who are nothing to write home about but are the best of a bad bunch.

I send my three scouts to work. 1st guy goes to next opposition, then i scout the mls, then i scout North America. I am not sure what these guys will turn up but i want to see if i can put the Hedjuk money to somebody who can create problems on the flanks or a goal scorer.

I have 668k to spend i put in an offer of 650k on Brian McBride i doubt highly that it will be accepted as the 32 year old striker is worth 1.6 million.(not that we can afford his wages anyway)

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Our first preseason warmup is vs Rochester and we outshoot them 13-5 for a 2-0 win. They actually had a possesion advantage 54-46 which is a little worrisome.

Our 2nd warmup is against Charleston who we outshoot 13-2 but get a 1-1 draw.

I look at the roster and see i have 4 keepers. With the limited roster space and salary cap of the MLS I have to make a decsion. Jon Busch 28 years old making 1300 a week. Our best keeper has an 11 month injury. I see Johnie Walker 30 years old is only making 400 a week while 29 year old Matt Jordan is making 1400 a week. I also have 23 year old Bill Gaudette who only makes 170 a week. Gaudette is in and Walker is in the third spot is between Busch and Jordan and i deciede to go with Jordan. The difference between Walker, Busch and Jordan is not much. If pay a guy to sit out the year and his ability falls due to lack of training well he isn't going to do us any good. Also there is no reason i couldn't try to resign him next off season.

I make long term offers to Walker and Gaudette i like those 2 guys in reserve. They are only going to get small raises to 450 and 180 and be locked up till 2010.

I look at the defenders and midfield and Forwards and i see a bunch of nothing really exciting. There are no untouchables in this team except maybe Eddson Buddle but that is only due to the lack of quality up front.

Will do a roster rundown before the season i have no idea who will be in or out. I really would like to add a couple solid wingers for each side.

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We have to make a couple cuts to get down to 28 players. Duncan Oughton is injured for 9 months and with Busch injured for 10 months it makes the decsion easy for me and i let them go.

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The preseason odds come out and Kansas City, Chicago and Columbus are all at 3-1 Dallas is worst at 10-1. (makes no sense to me i would trade my roster for Dallas right now)

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The transfer deadline comes and i am unable to locate a left winger that we lack in quality and quanity.

Goalkeepers
Matt Jordan and Jonny Walker are going to be battling it out for the #1 jersey. I thought i would go with Jordan but Walker outplayed him in the preseason. Gaudette should only see the field if they both get hurt.

Defenders:
Ritchie Kotschau 29 year old left sided defender would like him to be a bit more pacey but has great marking and tackling skills should perform solid in the back if lacking a bit going forward.

Chad Marshall 20 year old central defender already has 2 caps a bit slow in the feet but is a great marker and tackler and is a stalwart in the air. As long as he stays at home he will be a superb defender.

Marcos Gonzales 24 year old Chile defender with 5 caps, looks just like Marshall although a little better. I think these two guys may be a little slower than i would like they should be a good pairing for a long time.

Stephen Herdsman 29 year old described as an explosive center back, i am playing him wide right though. Good marker and tackler and is a speed demon.

my #1 backup is 20 year old Tim Ward can play any of the defensive postions and is adept with either foot. Could push Kotschau out of a job if he struggles.

Joel Kitamirike is 6th on the depth chart 20 year old englishman, looks like he could fill in for a short time without killing us but right now doesn't look like a starter.

Ged Zayner 20 year old center defender if he is playing than we are hurting but he isn't that bad may get a few games in some midweek games.

Midfielders:
Luis Gallardo 18 year old from Panama great crosser and dribbler but not much else is right footed but will play on the left side out of nessity(he is rated for it).

Danny Szetela 17 year old American who is our team captin(probally shouldn't but the computer suggested him and he looks ratings wise to be the best we have) Tireless midfielder who is also described as resiliant. This kid is one of my favorites he looks to have some technical skill as well as physcial. May be my best player right now.

Kyle Martino-He will join Szetela in the middle of the midfield, i like some of the things he brings but like most every other player on the team is lacking in a couple spots as well. Will face stiff competion to keep his place.

Mario Rodriquez 23 year old right midfielder from Guatemala has 16 caps and posses great pace and is a pretty solid all around player. I am hoping he plays well.

Dominic Meditate can provide cover on the left side he is fast but brings nothing else to the table at 22 i am not sure how much better he is going to get but he looks like a 16 year old who can run fast and do not much else.

Marcus Storey can provide cover on the right side he is fast and could challenge for 1st team postion i like physical skills on this kid he is described as an explosive forward.

Dayton O'Brien is an attacking minded central midfielder 21 years old. Will be challenging Kyle Martino for 1st team selection

Brandon Moss is 20 year old defensive midfielder who will give Szetela a rest if he really needs it otherwise he won't be seeing the field.

Eric Vasquez and David Testo look ok but are caught in a numbers game being the 9th and 10th guys in 4 man midfield, Jamal Sutton is a midfielder/forward but he isn't going to be seeing the field unless there are a rash of injuries and will be gone after the next draft.

Sebastian Rosenthal 28 years old striker from Chile. He has 21 caps and earned his place in the preseason playing in 4 games winning man of the match twice. Has great mental and technical skills but lacks a little in the physcial skills.

Edson Buddle 23 year old striker who will partner with Sebastian. I like he all around skills and can adjust to what the situation calls for. Hopefully this can be the breakout season people have been excepting from him.

John Wolyniec 28 year old striker who was displaced by Rosenthal. Good target man and a hard worker. Will be ready if called upon.

Jason Garey 20 year old with lots a speed and good finishing needs to polish up some of his other skills but is a good late game sub.

Knox Cameron is a 21 year old in the target man mold. he is 5th on the depth chart so he probally won't see much action.

Duke Hashimoto and Kei Kamara will hopefully spend the entire season in the reserves these kids don't look ready to play. Although they both have decent physcial skills if there mental and technically abilites come along they may challenge for a spot in a season or two.

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Our first real game is again Real Salt Lake. They look like an expansion team. Thier best player is 32 year keeper old Scott Garlick. After him you have Chris Klien not a bad player, Jason Kries and Jeff Cunningham. This team may score some but with their backline as poor as it is and their lack of wingers its going to be a long season for these guys.

We outshoot them 19-7 in a 4-0 win. They had possession 51-49 which is something i am trying to work on. Sebastian had 2 goals and was awarded man of the match, Buddle and Szetela also chipped in a goal apiece. Everyone on the team got at least an 8 rating. It is a great start but i am not sure how much it means.

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argh my game write ups got eaten. We beat dc united 2-1 in a deserving win, we also dominated Chivas USA outshooting them 17-4 in a 1-1 draw that had me feeling cheated. With sub Wolyniec getting our goal.

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our next game is against the Metrostars and we have to go without Rozental due to minor injury We outshot them 10-3 and hold a 56-44 possesion advantage to earn a 3-0 win. Marcos Gonzales was man of the match and i am very glad to see that, he is one of the keys for us to have a good year. Eddson Buddle scored 2 and Wolyniec got the other.

Some good results 3 wins and a draw have us tied with New England for 1st place after 4 games. Hopefully we can continue the good run and avoid injuries.

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Our next game is against Chicago. I like the players Chicago has. Zack Thorton is a quality keeper. With CJ Brown and Jim Curtin as their center backs they have a quality combo. Thier Midfield is most impressive with Jesse Marsch and Chris Armas in the middle and Ivan Guerrero and Justin Mapp i am quite jealous of the quality there. The one weakness they seem to have is a lack of strikers Nata Jaqua is ok but they are playing Chris Rolfe with him who isn't impressing anyone. They also have Chad Barrett and Chris Heron but they all look not so good.

We dominate the game outshooting them 17-6 and get a 2-1 win. We are in 1st place with a 3 point lead on New England. Chicago is in last place. It been a good start after 5 games for the Crew hopefully good things can continue. I am waiting for injuries and bad form to come.

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Our next test is against FC Dallas. They are in first place in the divison. They lost Eddie Johnson to Benafica and didn't add to their squad. Not that it is bad or anything it just to lose a player for 2.3 million and not add anything could bring concerns. We outshot them 11-6 and won 3-1. It was a tight game early and we both scored our first goals in the 45th minute. We got the lead in the 66th minute. I made my subs in the 70th minute and Wolyniec put it beyond doubt in the 78th minute.

that is their 2nd loss of the season and if they were in our division they would be in 4th place but are still currently first. New England lost and are now 6 points behind us but DC United is only 4 points behind us in 2nd place.

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The next game is against the Landon Donovon lead Los Angles Galaxy we dominate outshooting them 15-7 and get a 2-0 win. Buddle and Rozental each getting one. They both are doing well and are the key to our fast start after seven games Rozental has 6 goals and Buddle 5. Tim Ward our first defender off the bench who plays everywhere will be out for about a month. It isn't a big loss as long as our starting defenders stay healthy.

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Our next game is against San Jose they have some players who worry me Dwayne De Rosario is a quality forward, add Ronald Cerritos and Brad Davis who isn't a star player but is deadly from set pieces which can have just as much impact on the game. We outshot them 12-8 and get a 3-1 victory. 2 goals from Buddle and 1 from Rozental gives them both 7 goals in 8 games.

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just to give a little insight, i have a pretty decent grasp of my current squad and tactics from playing prior games with them.

I am not going to have a talent level i may be used to in other gaems. The guys i draft rarely get any attention from overseas clubs they are not that good. What i look for in my current squad and in the draft is speed. I don't care if the guy can't do much else i want speed. I also play a pretty direct 4-4-2 tactic so crossing is helpfull as well but most of our goals come from the counter attack where we just having numbers getting forward mostly our wingers and strikers and it does take a toll on them. I like to have 6 wingers and 6 fowards so i can rotate a couple starters and have guy come off the bench every game. Right Now i have 2 speedy left wingers and 2 speedy right wingers, i also have a few extra right wingers but don't fall in the speedy mode so are not in my future plans. I have 1 speedy reserve forward so i could use another in the upcoming draft although when i get my report from my assistant manager he has had good things to say about cameron knox and his accerlation has improved to double digits and his pace is already fine as is. He is already a good target and could force me to rethink my postion of him as just holding a place on the roster till we can upgrade.

Dominic Meditate and Marcus Storey are perfect coming off the bench both have 18+ speed and accerlation and with John Wolyniec getting on the end of things. The team overall has had an early jump in their ratings not sure if it is my training or just playing competive games(i think its they are just getting into game shape). I have alot of decent players but i lack true stars on the team. The only player that i would really worry about getting hurt is Danny Szetela everyone else has a guy who could step in and we really wouldn't be worse for it. Although if 2 guys at any 1 postion get hurt then i would have to play guys out of postion.

I am also going to try to draft and build the team using mostly American players, I know this may not lead to the most talented roster i want to sink or swim with the players i have drafted or get guys other teams have groomed that i like.

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I also want to say i must have 3 of the worst scouts in the world. They have told me to sign alot of poor looking players. I have shortlisted a few guys specially DC United Bryan Namoff i really think his speed i could move Herdsman to the middle and use Joel Kitamirike wide right against teams that have pacey strikers. I honestly think my slow backline worries me more than it should because i noticed most teams have slow backlines which is why my tactic works.

[Sublime 2]

I'm definitely reading along. I had a long career with Columbus the last time I played WSM and did pretty well with them. I didn't stick exclusively with American players like you want to do but I do remember Knox turned into a beast for me!!

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Originally Posted by Sublime 2

I'm definitely reading along. I had a long career with Columbus the last time I played WSM and did pretty well with them. I didn't stick exclusively with American players like you want to do but I do remember Knox turned into a beast for me!!

Thanks for reading!

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We have the New England Revolution next. With Taylor Twellman, Clint Dempsy, Steve Ralston, and Pat Noonan we are going to have our hands full.
We outshoot them 10-8 and have 52-48 possession advantage but they get a 2-1 win. Sebastian Rozental and Cameron Knox both are out for about a month due to inuries. Szetela scored our only goal. It is our first loss of the year. 7-1-1 after 9 games is acceptable and we were not outplayed so i can accept that you don't always get the result.

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With Colorado next I don't see much on their roster Jovan Kiroviski is a decent striker but nothing special, and same with Cornell Glenn who partners with him, add Clint Mathis on the right wing(i would be more worried with him playing as a striker) and Eric Denton on the left wing(ummm he is alot of things buy dynamic isn't one of them) Klye Beckerman in the middle is an ok player, Josh Elbum looks like he isn't ready for prime time who is playing in the middle with Beckerman. They don't have a single defender with the pace to run with my guys so i sit Wolyneic in favor of Jason Garey. We dominate the game outshooting them 17-2 and get a 4-0 win. Garey had 2 goals Buddle had 1 and Storey came off the bench for the fourth. Great result and i tell the team they were sensational.

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Our next game is against Kansas City and my whole midfield is tired along with my strikers i throw Buddle up front just cause i don't want too many B teamers and not be able to score. Looking at their roster Kansas City is looking pretty pedestrian. The game is a little closer with my backups in there we outshoot them 9-8 but win 2-0 in a game that was closer than the score shows. We will take it and leave. Buddle who had to be subbed at halftime due to 58% condition and Brandon Moss were the goalscorers. I was hoping for something from Vasquez or Testo and neither showed much (both rated a 6) i am glad i didn't select them for 1st team from the get go.

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Our next test is against Real Salt Lake, with our starters (minus the injured Rozental) dominate outshoting them 18-4 for the 3-1 win. After 12 games we are sitting in 1st place i take a look at the stats to see if there is a player i should take note of and i am surprised that 7 of the top average rated players are on my team. Marcos Gonzales is topping the league with an average of 8.08 rating, Chad Marshall is right behind him with an 8.00. Rozenthal, Buddle, Gallardo, Martino and Szetela all have at least 7.64. I don't know if they can keep it up and it is only 12 games but i am glad this group seems to mesh very well together.
Eddson Buddle is leading the league with 10 goals and Rozental is 8th with 7.

I have to admit i am proud of these guys but a little worried because i am sure there will be some bumps in the road at some point. We currently have an 8 point lead on New England so we can afford a couple of bad games hopefully we won't need them. With the playoffs it really doesn't matter that much durning the regular season anyway.

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Edson Buddle gets the called to USA squad. Marcos Gonzales gets the call for Chile as well. We will be without two of our best players against DC United. DC United is third in our division behind US and New England. With Freddie Adu leading the way for a group of young talented players. What happens in the game is things go our way for the most part we outshot them 14-6 we have possesion advatange and shots on target were 8-1 in our favor but the final score 1-1. We don't feel that was a fair reflection of the game but at least we get a point.

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We get Buddle and Gonzales back but lose Rodriques for about a month. We get a message from our scouts about a goalie he has Eccentricity of 1 so he should be well grounded. It says has been labelled the next Brad Friedal. That can't be a bad thing. So i trade a 29 year old back up keeper for 21 year old who is promising. I wasn't expecting LA to take Jordan for Dunsheath straight up. On the down side Seville want Buddle. If he wants to leave i am in big trouble. Hejuk is one thing but my best goalscorer?

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Clubs are after both Szetela and Buddle so far i have rejected the offers and neither has indicated they want to leave yet.

Stephen Herdsman 29 year old has been our starting right sided defender, we had gotten several offers from other mls clubs for him, we are offered FC Dallas 1st round pick Because Joel Kitamirike has looked good in the reserves and shown some devolpment and Tim Ward needs someplace to play i feel he really insn't in our future plans and make the deal.

After course the day i make the deal Kitamirike breaks his arm.

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Our next game is against the Metrostars and we hammer them 6-0 although the game may have been closer if their goalie played remotely well.

We beat New England 3-0, we draw with Chivas 0-0. We go on to beat FC Dallas 2-0 and Kansas City 2-0, We beat DC United 3-1 and the Metrostars 3-0. We tie Chicago and New England before losing 2-3 to Kansas City and 0-1 to DC United. We beat Los Angles 1-0 and San Jose 3-1. We tie Colorodo 1-1 and beat the Metrostars 3-0. We lose to Chicago 1-3 and then beat New England 6-0. We then tie Kansas City for an overall record of 21 wins 7 draws and 4 loses for a total of 70 points which puts us in 1st place overall for the playoffs.

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In the us cup:

Our 1st game is against Atlanta and we win 2-1 but it was a close game although i played alot of 2nd teamers we were lucky to get the result.

Our next game is against DC United i played my 1st team and dominated for a 4-1 win.

We then played San Jose and had to get thru on penalties.

We meet Chivas USA in the finals and beat them 3-0.

We have won our first trophy with me in charge Brian Mcbride and Brad Friedal have nice things to say about me to the media after the game.

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Our first round oppenent in the playoffs is Chicago. They gave us fits durning the season. They have a quality backline, keeper, and midfield, while there attack may not be as that scary bottom line is they have gotten results against us in the past. I open up with mindgames stating we should beat Chicago easily. It works as the team gets a 5-1 win in the first leg and trots to a 1-0 win in the 2nd leg.

We have to match up against New England in the next round shots were even at 11 apiece but we had the better finishing to win 3-1 even though it was really an evenly played game.

We have San Jose standing in the way between us and us possibly being champs for the first time in teams history. They outshoot us 10-9 but we have a 54% possesion advantage and turn it into a 3-1 win. Brian Mcbride tells the media how good i am. I sign a 3 year extension with the club and i am considered the 18th greatest manager in history.

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With our extra strikers i deciede to unload 2 of the older members of the team for some young blood. My first target is Justin Mapp. He is a 21 year old left winger who looks like he can step right in.We say goodbye to Sebation Rosenthal and pick up our new starting left winger. We now will have 3 guys i can roate out there and be ok. Also John Wolyniec may be a nice player he isn't Buddle and Knox and Carey seem to do just as well as him when they play so he leaves and we pick up promising striker Quavas Kirk he is only 17 years old but has the speed i like up front and will fit in this team nicely.

Buddle, Marshall and Szetela all get offers from Europe but i keep telling them no sale hopefully none of them get frustrated with me.

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With the Herdsman deal we have 2 1st round picks in the draft. The board want us to bring in a high profile player. I try once again to get Brian McBride.
The draft see us take chris obrien he is a left winger with speed and has 13 crossing if he gets a little better he could be a very valuable assett for us.

Our next pick is a left fullback we didn't get the guy we wanted but took a guy with speed has decent marking skills but horrible tackling (6). hope Mark Salazar can get much better at tackling or else he may have a limited future with the crew.

In the 2nd round we take Mike Clark a right winger who our scouts seem to like. I don't see him breaking into the starting lineup but has some speed and hopefully can get better.

In the 3rd round we draft Keith Henderson a right fullback who hopefully can get better. He like the other players i have drafted can run but his 4 marking and 7 tackling have me more than a bit concerned.

In the fourth round i am sure groans where heard around Ohio as the Crew drafted Jason Gardner a great physical speciman but devoid of any technical skill whatsoever. His 1 finishing is not a desired trait for a striker.

In review i am not happy with what we came out of the draft there were a few players i really wanted but we didn't get them. I am going to try to see if i can bring a couple of them into the fold.

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We move Luis Gallardo who becomes a backup with the aquistion of Justin Mapp and bring back promising central defender Mike Schimid who is the player i really wanted in the draft. My board still wants a high profile player but i am not sure we can get one. We have to play in a North americans Championship Cup. First up is Motagua they are a Honduras team with no players of note. We beat them 4-1 and 5-0 for a 9-1 aggrate win. I wasn't expecting anything different. Our next oppenent is Harbour View of the Jamican league and i expect simliar results.

Columbus has been made 5-2 Favorites to win the league this season. Chicago 3-1 Chivas 8-1 San Jose 12-1 New England 16-1 Los Angels 20-1