Be the Franchise: Be the GM Series

A quick rundown of the moves over the last two weeks is pretty simple.  Carlo Costly and Luiz Carmago signed.  Yea, that's about it.  Sad, I know.  We all were hoping for something a bit more, but alas we have a FO that is reminiscent of early Houston Texans era -- lots of huff and puff, but nothing to actually blow the house down.  Nevertheless, it is time to inject some more thought into the world of football.

Last week you donned the throne of United States Soccer, and proved you have the mettle to not only run the ship better than it's ever been run, but also the clairvoyance to think beyond the here and now.  This brings us to our next installment of the series, and the one I personally consider to be the hardest.  It will require a full week for most to sort through the intricacies of what will be challenged unto you.  Are you up for the challenge?  If so, follow the jump, and feast upon the world.

Perhaps you are wondering how I could possibly throw out something that could raise the bar of what you've already accomplished?  Well, I aims to please, and I can only hope this week is as much a success as previous weeks.  After all, I am a fan of intellectual, strategic development and discussion.  Heck, through this series so far we have entered into an almost game-like affair, with me the writer offering up a challenge you must attempt to meet.  And so it begins anew again.  (yes, I love anticipatory build-up)

This week you are charged with a new position, one not yet even created.  You have been given the keys to a new franchise, a new MLS club.  This club is yours to do entirely with what you will.  You have been tasked with creating a competitive club, and a realistic one.  Now for the tough part.

In the course of the building of this new franchise, you must acquire no less than 4 Internationals, and they must all come from different continents (South America, Africa, Europe, Asia or Australia -- yes this is limiting).  You must draft 2 to 3 new American talents, 1 of which must start.  You are also being given a chance to instruct 3 professional soccer scouts, one must be focused upon a single European second division league.  You may choose up to 3 current MLS players from the current MLS clubs, 1 from each conference and 1 extra of your choice.  You must also select 2 current MLS Academy players from any MLS Academy, while also selecting a new Academy coach and Assistant coach (who will also coach your Reserves squad).

And now for the truly scintillating part, you have been offered by the owner of your new club the opportunity to sign a Designated Player to no more than $1.5 million US.  How you go about all of this is up to you, but the last and final piece is you must select your coach and you must select the formational style your coach will adopt (I will assume nobody will demand a strict 4-4-2 or anything of the sort, so in a brief summary of what you'd do).

If you opt to work through all of this, and come up with a solid plan, I am offering a prize of Houston Dynamo merchandise of my choosing (it will be at the least a cap or t-shirt) and furthermore, there will be a blog-wide vote next week Friday to determine the winning team.  Feel free to name it, too.

Now, get to work.  Hahaha!