Paint The City Purple

[TheFMHub]

Enjoying so far, I love MLS saves. I hope Donnelly does well for you as I'm a Swansea fan and personally always thought he was never given a be enough chance, if Diaby stays fit for you I can see him doing well.


What tactics will you be using?

 

[SeanKeaney]

Enjoying so far, I love MLS saves. I hope Donnelly does well for you as I'm a Swansea fan and personally always thought he was never given a be enough chance, if Diaby stays fit for you I can see him doing well.


What tactics will you be using?

Cheers man I appreciate the support yeah I've always like Donnelly myself!

I'll post my tactics before the season starts, don't have a screenshot yet but it's a 4-2-3-1 formation that still needs tweaking.

 

[SeanKeaney]

Friendlies Part 1

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With pre-season now well under way we have a lot of friendlies lined up, due to my players lack of match fitness. Our first three are all against lower ranked opposition, a chance to see what our team are like against weaker opposition.

Club Sport Huancayo v Orlando City

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We were outplayed on the day by a much weaker Huancayo side. Our rustiness definitely showed in this one, we were lucky to come away with a draw! Kaka equalised early on but they raced into a 3-1 lead going into the last 20 minutes. Thankfully goals from Brek Shea and a last minute equaliser from our 14 year old Michael Thornton rescued a draw for us. This shows that we do have character to be able to come from behind in the latter stages but we shouldn't be finding ourselves in that position in the first place.

Orlando City v Cesar Vallejo

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Another disappointing performance and my first defeat as manager, albeit in a friendly match. We should have dominated the game but that failed to materialise as Cesar Vallejo matched us. We fell behind early on and a nice finish from Kevin Molino looked to have gotten us out of jail again but they won the game in the last minute. I need improvement before the season begins, drastic improvements!

Arizona United v Orlando City

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Another poor performance from the team, although it was an improvement on our previous two. We should have won this game with ease but we failed to take our chances. It seems like Rory Donnelly can't join us soon enough! Kaka scored for us yet again and as expected is the puppet master in our side. Brian Barrett got man of the match, he comes from our youth team so I'm very impressed by his performance, it's certainly made me sit up and notice him.

That's it for this set of friendlies, we have a few more before the season begins against a lot better opposition... gulp...

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[SeanKeaney]

Friendlies Part 2

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These are our last friendlies before we kick off our inaugural MLS season so I'm placing a lot of importance on these matches as I want us to be ready for the season ahead. We start with a couple of 'should win' games then followed by a tour of Eastern Europe for a couple of tougher matches.

Celtic F.C. v Orlando City

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Celtic F.C. from Antigua and Barbuda rather than the Glasgow side - and they proved to be no match for us on the day. Young Bobby Roberts proved to be the difference on the day with a goal and 3 assists in his first friendly of pre-season. He ran the show from right-wing and was taken off on 75 minutes to a standing ovation. Carlos Rivas continues to impress with another goal whilst there were also goals for Angolan Defensive Midfielder Estrela and Honduras Striker Bryan Rochez.

Fort Lauderdale Strikers v Orlando City

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Fort Lauderdale proved to be much sterner opposition as we lost by a goal to nil. Ronaldo (THE Ronaldo) scored the winner to roll back the years (even if it was a tap in). This is quite possibly the worst match I've ever been involved in on Football Manager, there wasn't a single highlight in the second half!

Charlotte Independence v Orlando City

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Another friendly against a lower ranked American side that we should be beating and this was a much improved performance than our one against Fort Lauderdale Strikers. Bryan Rochez and Brek Shea scored a goal apiece but all of the praise goes to our player of pre-season Carlos Rivas! He hit a hat-trick to take his tally up to 7 in pre-season and all of this is from Right Wing. He can also play up front but his performances from the right have made him our first pick in that position.

Dnipro v Orlando City

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We faced our toughest test of pre-season against Europa League finalists Dnipro from Ukraine. It's a long journey but it's a great experience for this players and a fantastic bonding opportunity. We far from disgraced ourselves against much better opposition and if it wasn't for our poor start we may have even had a chance to win the game. They went 3-0 up in the first 13 minutes and I feared the worst at that point, Bryan Rochez scored his 3rd in 4 games to get one back but we were 4-1 down by half time. This was a first appearance for our new signings Christian Pander, Teemu Tainio, Abou Diaby and Rory Donnelly and it was Donnelly who got us back into it at 4-2 at the start of the second half. Jaba Kankava restored their 3 goal advantage but Brek Shea scored with 10 minutes left in a pulsating football match. This shows we can mix it in terms of going forward but our defensive side needs a lot of work.

Dinamo Moscow v Orlando City

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Our final pre-season match was a satisfying draw in Russia. It was a fairly even contest and we could have snatched it but after our last match it's so pleasing to see our defence keep out Dinamo. Aurelien Collin was the pick of the bunch with his man of the match award, keeping Kevin Kuranyi in his back pocket.

We're now geared up and ready for our first MLS season, c'mon Orlando!

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[SeanKeaney]

Season Preperation

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We are now just days away from our opening MLS fixtures in the clubs history. For our first season I'm just hoping to consolidate, luckily there is no relegation! Anything we achieve will be a huge bonus but I'm so excited to create history and win this clubs first ever trophy (whenever that may be).

Here's a look at our opening month of fixtures;

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We start at home in the Citrus Bowl against FC Dallas. Our first away trip of the season is against Sporting Kansas City, whilst we also play one of the leagues stronger sides in Seattle Sounders in the first month as well. I'm not an expert on the MLS so I'm unsure as to how difficult a start that is for us.

We will start with a 4-2-3-1 formation to begin with as this is what I believe to be the best formation available and we need to get the best out of Kaka, which is definitely in that number 10 CAM role.

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[SeanKeaney]

More Transfers

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With the season just a few weeks away we concluded our signings for the summer, to be completely honest I had made a right hash of the trade system and had to lose a lot of players I had previously traded in etc and I've been left with this squad of players, my overall ins and outs for the summer is massive! When I had to register players I came across a lot of obstacles and lost players I didn't necessarily want to lose but decisions had to be made.

Evan Bush

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Evan Bush has been bought in to compete with Donovan Ricketts for the Goalkeeper spot and probably looks a slightly better option. I wasn't considering replacing Ricketts until I saw Bush come up on the draft and thought it was a no-brainer.

Steve Neumann

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We lost a couple of midfield options in the draft system so Steve Neumann was bought in as he can play all across the midfield and is American, which we don't have too many of. He's still at a young age as well, he isn't going to be a major player for us but will be a very useful member of the squad as a rotation option.

Dominic Oduro

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Dominic was signed for his blistering pace. We needed a winger and I actually recognised his name from real life and it's not often I come across someone I know on the draft list. I snapped him up straight away and he can also rotate as a striker for us if needs be.

Saliu Popoola

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We signed Saliu Popoola simply as a last resort option. I needed a cheap option in the centre of midfield as we were low on numbers and we could get Saliu in on loan with low wages so it didn't cost us much. Don't expect him to feature too much in the first team, unless he surprises me of course.

Outs

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There was a lot of outs and too many to talk about really but I have to mention a couple of players who I thought would be big players for us but I couldn't register them for one reason or another (wages mainly). Brek Shea and Aurelien Collin have gone to a couple of our MLS rivals and will strengthen them whilst weakening us - it's far from an ideal situation and maybe one I could've avoided if I knew what I was doing in the first place!

Next up is the opening to our debut MLS season, let's paint the city purple!

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[SeanKeaney]

March Overview

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We're finally here, the start of our first ever MLS campaign! Orlando is buzzing and so am I, it's not a hard job motivating the players for our first match, let's see how we got on in our first month.

Orlando City v FC Dallas

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We won our first ever match in the MLS! It was a huge day for the football club, the biggest in it's history you could say! Carlos Rivas is an instant hero in the Orlando fan's hearts after his brace sealed the 3 points. This was a fairly tight game and I'm very proud of the players for coming through it with the win. We went with probably our strongest line up available to us although players like Tyler Turner, Conor Donovan and Saliu Popoola probably wouldn't be first choices, you'll notice Abou Diaby and Kaka were two of our top performers on the day showing their superior class in this match.

Sporting Kansas City v Orlando City

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We made three changes as Amobi Okugo, Draymond Washington and Teemu Tainio coming in for their competitive Orlando debuts. A draw was probably a fair result in a game they probably shaded. Rory Donnelly scored his first Orlando goal a minute after we fell behind due to an unfortunate own goal. Draymond Washington was the stand out player today, he is seen as backup to Christian Pander but his performance today proved to me he's more than capable - he was flying up the left wing, swinging balls into the box and being a constant threat. Still unbeaten after 2 games.

Orlando City v Seattle Sounders

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We gave Abou Diaby a rest from the starting line up today as we all know he can't play too many games in a row. Cyle Larin got his first start up front but that was cut short due to injury so he was unable to make any impact. Seattle Sounders are considered one of the strongest MLS sides and we outplayed them today, thanks mainly to Kaka. He ran the show and scored a couple of goals, with the pacey Dominic Oduro bagging the third meaning we have started this season much better than I could have expected.

Vancouver Whitecaps v Orlando City

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Another win against a decent side! We have started this season very well with Rory Donnelly today's hero with his brace, Kaka also on the scoresheet. We picked up a few injuries in this match, mainly to Kaka which is a blow. He isn't out for long though so it's not too much of an issue. I'm so impressed with our attacking talent in our squad and I'm surprised how quickly they've all gelled together.

Orlando City v Houston Dynamo

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We gave Evan Bush his debut with the hope than he can consolidate as our first choice keeper. We kept a clean sheet and bagged another win to cap an almost perfect first month of MLS football. Carlos Rivas scored the winner fairly late on to seal the points but it was our defensive display that really pleased me today. Sean St Ledger bagged the man of the match award but it could have gone to any of our defenders who were all brilliant.

Eastern Conference

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Supports Shield

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We sit top of both leagues after our first month in the MLS which is remarkable! It's only early days so I'm not going to get carried away but I feel like I can really create some history at this club and bring them silverware.

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Next month we start with 3 away games followed by the match against the fellow new franchise New York City. It's a busy month but I'm hoping we can keep our form going strong.

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[SeanKeaney]

April Overview

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After an almost perfect first month of MLS football we go into a busy April hoping to keep our form up. We have 6 matches this month with only 2 of them at home at the Citrus Bowl.

We did make a couple of new recruits midway through this month to fill up our squad.

Ryan Miller

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A versatile full back that can play either side and is on low wages. He will probably be our starting right back assuming he plays well as Tyler Turner has flattered to deceive so far.

Edson Buddle

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Edson Buddle has been bought in as a back up option to Rory Donnelly. He has experience of playing in the MLS and will be used sparingly, hoping he can make an impact when called upon.

Miles Richards

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Miles Richards is a regen that I saw got waivered on the last draft after scoring 5 goals in his first 5 MLS games! I couldn't believe so I signed him up straight away as a hot prospect who I'm hoping can be the man to lead our line for years to come and become a future American international.

Lubomir Fejsa

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Lubomir actually got offered to us on loan from Benfica and it was a deal I coudln't turn down. In order to make this transfer happen I had to cancel the loan deal for Popoola as he would only be back up and Fejsa will be a regular in the side and improve us.

Now onto our matches this month;

Colorado Rapids v Orlando City

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We were at near full strength for this game apart from a few international call ups to the likes of Rory Donnelly. We fell behind in the first minute but Kaka scored from the spot just 10 minutes later to end the scoring. It was another decent defensive display from us to maintain our unbeaten start.

Toronto v Orlando City

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Toronto boast an exciting team with the likes of Jozy Altidore, Sebastian Giovinco and Michael Bradley. That being said I am still not happy with the draw as we were 2-0 up with just a minute to go. Young Matthew Cunningham scored his first senior goal in this match but we really collapsed at the end. As soon as Altidore made it 2-1 you knew a second goal was coming. We need to pick ourselves up from this.

Chicago Fire v Orlando City

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It's our 4th draw in a row! We need to get back to winning ways but I guess I have to be happy with the clean sheet today after our late collapse in the last match. There were a couple of debuts for Ryan Miller and Miles Richards.

Orlando City v New York City

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We finally got back to winnings ways against our fellow new franchise. Dominic Oduro and Kaka scored the goals to give us the win, David Villa pulled one back late on. Kaka ran the show as you might expect, he's a cut above the rest of our squad.

Philadelphia Union v Orlando City

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Our first defeat of the season comes at the hands of Philadelphia Union! Abou Diaby had his best game for the club and scored his first goal in the process but we were outdone by Conor Casey, the veteran American international striker. Let's see how we bounce back from this.

Orlando City v Columbus Crew

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This was a really hard fought win against Columbus, Edson Buddle scored on his Orlando debut to seal the win for us with a brilliant header from a fantastic Dominic Oduro cross. This is only our second win of the month but puts us in good stead going into May.

Eastern Conference

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Supporters Shield

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After two months we still somehow sit top of both leagues. Toronto are our nearest challengers and just think we could be clearer had we held on against them earlier in the month.

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Another busy month in May including big matches against LA Galaxy twice and Toronto, plus the start of our Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.​

 

[SeanKeaney]

Bad News

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Unfortunately I have come across a game error and it won't let me load the save file so I'm afraid the story of Orlando City must end here.

I had done a few more games and was just starting to get really into it, apologies for anyone who may have been following but I will be starting a brand new story very shortly!
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