Bodell

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Being a pundit was becoming to get a little boring, especially for an ex pro. I had took my coaching badges and was ready for a job, just not in England. Flicking threw the news each day was and seeing the sackings of Roberto Martinez, Roy Hodgson, etc, was making me wonder whether the managerial world was welcoming.



America was looking to take their football/soccer to the next level, stamping down their authority with the signings off David Beckham, Henry etc. It'd been looked upon as a league for the players that are 'past it'.

I had family out in America and they all said that soccer was a growing trend out there, and that I should seriously consider moving down there to have a bigger look. So, I did.



My parents live in a place called 'Seattle', they had a football team called 'Seattle Sounders' managed by a man which the local know as 'Sigi' Sigi Schmid, they didn't have many top flight players, but the most popular would be Freddy Montero, the young Columbian who was attracting interest from around the world. Recent news has it that Sigi was considering leaving Seattle and retiring from managing, due to some personal reasons.



The board has wanted an answer from Sigi as soon as possible, with the American season fast approaching, and appointment would have to be swift.

Over the next few days It'd came out on the news that boss Sigi had retired, and would step down from his managerial role as Seattle manager. He released this statement on the local news channel.

I am obviously gutted to be leaving such a great club behind, but I feel that it's time for me, and the club to move on. I would like to thank the fans, and players for making my time here a great experience.


Maybe this was my chance to step up.

***

Ok guys, that was my first update, I kinda miss making FM stories so I thought I'd venture abroad and test things out over in the US of A ;)

Please comment and let me know what you think, I'll be coming with an update in the next few hours (as soon as it gets accepted)
 
Finally an american story! Will be following, doon't know anything about their system of playing, drafting etc... Great idea!
 
Finally an american story! Will be following, doon't know anything about their system of playing, drafting etc... Great idea!

I have no idea, that's why I created a story because it's a new experience, thanks for the comment mate, a update will be coming soon.
 
Nice mate! As an american it is nice to see something different in the story section. Check out my MLS guide if you need any help along the way. I'll gladly answer any question as well. Good Luck!
 

I didn't need much convincing from family and friends, I decided to get in touch with the club, I spoke with the chairman Adrian Hanauer, we had a productive chat, he said that he would need to see me in person, and hear what my ambitions are as a manager, etc.

I had a little look around the club website to gain some info on the players, and staff. It looked to be all set up nicely, but the one thing that did catch my eye was the stadium. The Qwest Field was a theatre of dreams, it holds 67,000 fans and was certianly an eye catcher.


I travelled down to the ground to have a meeting with the chairman, he said he'd heard of me before, baring in mind I had once played for my country, against the USA. He said that he was very interested in making me the new boss, but wanted to hear a few things first.

He asked me about my ambitions as a manager.

I feel I have a lot to offer as a manager, I have the experience of playing the game, and most importantly I have an ambition. I have contacts around the world, who will all help me to progress as a manager, and take this club with me.

He then went on to say that the club doesn't have any debts, but my transfer budget would only be around 170k, which I wasn't to bothered about.

Nearing the end of the interview we had agreed terms, and I would be moving in with my family until I found a permanent home. I was start work straight tomorrow and will be gearing up for a friendly against Derby County, a team I know all about after playing their as a youngster.

***


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Former England international Luke Bodell has ventured abroad to manage American MLS side Seattle Saunders.



View attachment 133101
Bodell, at a party, celebrating his new job in America.

It looks like Bodell will take over an experienced head, and look to promote American soccer, and take it to a new level. There's already rumours of him taking some backroom staff over there, and former Paris Saint Germain team mate Fabrice Pancrate.


When asked about his shock appointment, Bodell said:

It's said to leave England, but football over here is a whole new up and coming begenning, and something I can't wait to be part off, this league certianly isn't what the people back in England make it out to be, there's some players with top quality attributes, and that includes some of the top talent I have at Seattle.

***

First team review
I have no doubt in my mind that the team I have here is enough to challenge high in the MLS, obviously the main man, and media starlet will be Montero, who has been linked with plenty of clubs, but believe me, he's not going anywhere.
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The team isn't just a one man wonder, they also have experienced, and former Spurs goalkeeper Kasey Keller, aged 40. He has made over 100 appearances for his country, and will no doub be a vital part of my team.

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**

I quickly got on the case of Fabrice Pancrate, who I had played with at PSG, he was happy with the prospect of coming down and playing under me, I offered him a 4 week trial, to see how he got on with the style of play amongst other things.

I had chalked together my starting line-up for the game against Derby, I knew it was going to be quite emotional travelling down to the place where I grew up playing as a youngster, and even though it was a friendly, I wanted to show the UK what my team was all about.



It was time to get on the plain down the Derby, and hopefully record a win for my first game in charge.
 
I like this, good start pal. Love Seattle's kits, and I went them on FIFA 10, so I know a bit about them. Good luck mate. :)
 
I like this, good start pal. Love Seattle's kits, and I went them on FIFA 10, so I know a bit about them. Good luck mate. :)

Thanks a lot mate. And, the kits were the main reason I decided to be them, I seen them on Fifa haha.
 
mate im going to follow! are you using your championship tactic ? usa is a interesting country stick with it though !
 
ha yeah I dont know what it is about their kit but it's proper nice. good luck with this..
 
Looks good, and you don't see many MLS stories about, so I'll follow. Good luck bud. :)
 
Right guys, I've experienced a bit of trouble here, I'm struggling to come to terms with the MLS rules, and I've registered all the players I can, and it only comes upto about 13 players, I know there's a wage cap, but teams like LA Galaxy who pay Beckham upto £80,000 p/w still have a big squad. My top earner was Fabrice Pancrate who isn't on that much, just over £4,000 I think. I played a couple of games into the season but injuries and bookings meant that I only had 2 substitutes and ended having players playing centre back who are strikers.

So until I know how to sort it out, I wont be doing any updates. Have you guys ever had this trouble?
 
Use your Transfer Budget and exchange for players with GA next to their name, mate. They're young players who don't count towards your salary cap and can be registered not counting towards Senior contracts, Trading late draft picks in the current year and in future years could help. Again take a look at my guide for some pointers [it's in my sig].
 
Use your Transfer Budget and exchange for players with GA next to their name, mate. They're young players who don't count towards your salary cap and can be registered not counting towards Senior contracts, Trading late draft picks in the current year and in future years could help. Again take a look at my guide for some pointers [it's in my sig].

Aaah nice one! And I'll have a read threw the guide now, should get this story back up and running soon then :)
 
I rather enjoyed my first few training days with the lads, they're a real nice bunch. On my first day I decided to gather up the players in the lounge, and just chat about what my ambitions are, what sort of football I wanted to play, and where we were going basically. I said that I wanted to play a fluid game, and hopefully push towards coming first in the league. The media prediction was 4th, but I don't think the lads wanted to just settle for that. I didn't work them to hard in training, due to we'd only just come back from a long lay off, but we did some 5-a-side games, before testing the players shooting and heading.

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Seattle's shot stopper Keller, warming up in training.

****

It'd be quite interesting to see how the lads got on against Derby, the footballa and talent difference is made out to be a lot, but I was confident my players could go over there and get a result. I'd sussed out what team I was going to play, 4-5-1, with Freddy playing up there by himself, I had spoke to him about this role and he'd said he wasn't totally comfortable with it, but once I look into bringing in some other big lads to chuck up there with him, he'll be on his own as a poacher.

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Fine welcoming.
I was pleased by the reception the small number of Derby fans gave me, I'm surprised they remembered me, I had told the lads it wasn't going to be an important game, but I want them to go out there and show me what they can do.

As I walked out of the tunnel, Nigel was their to shake my hand and wish me the best, on the othe hand, it's a shame Savage wasn't so welcoming, shouting across to me 'Seattle? Who are they'. I found that quite funny, after his recent link with our rivals Vancouver.

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The game to be honest was quite, up until the 20th minute where we were seeing a lot of the ball, Montero worked some trickery down the left hand side to win a corner. Montero took it and picked out a wonderful pass to Jeff Parke, who nodded home from 5 yars un-marked. 1-0 to Seattle..

Our next goal came from no where, Noonan began his run from his own half, and kept running, the Derby back for just stood off him as he picked out Zakuani's run, splitting their back four in half, before slotting the ball into the bottom right of the net. 2-0 to Seattle..

Second Half.
The game had become rather slow, due to the players lack off fitness after the long brake off, and it wasn't until the 86th minute the next goal came, Derby substitute Ben Pringle latched onto a bobbling ball in the box, and sent Seattle keeper Kelly the wrong way.

But, just as Derby were throwing everything forward, it was time for Seattle to hit them on the break, a blistering run from Montero, lead to a cross into the box for Nkufo to nod it into the top corner, and celebrate with the man who made the goal, Montero. This goal was enough for Seattle to take the points, much to the pleasure off boss, Luke Bodell.

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****

I sat the players down after the game and told them I was pleased with how they played, they made a strong Derby side look poor today, and it was even enough for Savage to come along and compliment my side.

On the way out of the ground, I managed to just catch Shefki Kuqi getting into his car, he was a free agent after being released from Swansea, he was attracting the interest from Newcastle, but I mentioned that I would like to see him come and play in the USA with Seattle, he said he would seriously consider it, and then followed by giving me his agents number, who I began negotiotions with.

****

I was very pleased with the effort my lads put in today, and it was time to travel back to America, and look to strengthen the squad further when we got home..

View attachment 136641
 
Lovin the layout! Must of been hard to beat Derby too! ;)
 
Quest field isn't even an SSS. Still is pretty loud and crazy when you get it packed. Know it means nothing on here, but Quest field also doesn't have grass its turf since it was build for their football team Seattle Seahawks. Also when you play Portland either destory them or never lose since that is their biggest rivalry (even if it is Portlands first year in the MLS).

Yeah if you don't know anything about MLS its going to be very hard to manage your club, but after a year or so after seeing what it is like you should be able to handle it with ease. I will be following as well since its an MLS team even if it isn't my beloved Crew who had Sigi before Seattle and won the league one year before bolting to Seattle when they came into the league.

Also one of the owners is Drew Carey if you want to incorporate that into the story as well.
 
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