F
fm20
Guest
Well close to half term 
It's mid November, 2015, after Jurgen Klopp had one of the shortest ever managerial tenures I took over at Liverpool. Some major changes were required - most of the existing staff were sacked and I set about bringing in my own people, making the coaching staff the best in the league. Some unusual names (for me) on the list of staff, including Guiseppi Baresi as Asst. Man, Giovanni Sartori as DoF and Chuti Molina as HOYD. Somehow I've ended up with a very Italian backroom staff, I'm guessing influenced by the Asst recommendations.
After finding and making offers for the appropriate staff I turned my attention to the playing team. There's a lot of deadwood in there, especially the U21s. The DoF's job was to get rid of them - 18 in all were released on a free after failing to get offers. Jose Enrique was sold to Monaco for just £2.3m
In came more youngsters mostly - Patrick Banggaard, Kristoffer Ajer, Pedrag Rajkovic, Enzo Roco and others. After looking around for suggested names I got my scouting team on the case - no-one was signed without a report first. My only first team signing was Marcos Alonso at LB.
Pre-season was successful using my preferred tactic is 4-2-3-1 (attacking fullbacks with two inside forwards and an AP), with a secondary of 4-1-2-3 (replacing the AP with a DLP/D) and an overall more structured and defensive posture. The intention is that Coutinho would play in the attacking midfield spot and the rest of the team would be built around him... Following the advice of the coaching staff I seem to end up playing more using the 4-1-2-3 formation (maybe more of that Italian influence?).
On transfer deadline day I got a shock - Arsenal came in for Lallana. I'm not a huge fan of his and don't quite see how he fits in my team, but didn't really want to lose him so countered the bid. He went for £33m plus add ons. Seeing an opportunity I brought in Demerai Gray for £5m - his PA and pace make him a good fit and hopefully a decent mentor (Milner) will help increase his determination. The key attribute for any of my team is determination, I very rarely recruit anyone with less than 15.
By and large I've no surprises in the team selection - Mignolet is still number 1, at least until Rajkovic learns English. In the CBs, Lovren has been the disappointment with the team looking much stronger with Skrtel and Sakho. Roco got annoyed quickly that he wasn't playing and is out on loan instead. Clyne is the top performer generally doing well both defensively and attacking.
Without Sturridge my team was a bit toothless up top - Firmino is the top league scorer with 4 after 12 games (mostly playing from the right IF position). Sturridge has scored 2 in 4 since his return from injury and makes the team much more dangerous. I gave Benteke a chance, really, but a goal return of 3 in 14 appearances (1 in 8 in the league) makes it difficult to pick him - it's not just the goals but the team looks poor with him in, with a lack of pace he's caught offside too often to make use of the aerial threat. His 3 goals came in 5 games played (which were actually 5 of the last 7 club games) and I thought a corner had been turned - unfortunately he started moaning about not playing and is demanding a transfer - he's listed for £35m and can go for £30m or more. Really, what the heck was Rodgers thinking?!
The team is third in the league on 27 points after 12 games, 3 points behind Arsenal in first (who have a major injury crisis - Lallana has an average rating of 6.7 after 6 appearances for them). My good start has let me persuade the board to increase staff numbers, improve youth recruitment and both the youth and training facilities are now being improved.
A good chunk of the Lallana money is going out in January - another 9 players are joining in January, again mostly U18s, but of note is Juan Cazares and Shane Long (not a great player, but his energy across the front three will be useful).
With a bit of luck, especially around injuries, I should be confident of a top 4 finish this year and the recruitment of young players should see some stars coming through with some ready for first team action next year. Money shouldn't be an issue with the TV deal and more players to sell (Ballotelli is in good form for Milan) so the future is looking bright.
It's mid November, 2015, after Jurgen Klopp had one of the shortest ever managerial tenures I took over at Liverpool. Some major changes were required - most of the existing staff were sacked and I set about bringing in my own people, making the coaching staff the best in the league. Some unusual names (for me) on the list of staff, including Guiseppi Baresi as Asst. Man, Giovanni Sartori as DoF and Chuti Molina as HOYD. Somehow I've ended up with a very Italian backroom staff, I'm guessing influenced by the Asst recommendations.
After finding and making offers for the appropriate staff I turned my attention to the playing team. There's a lot of deadwood in there, especially the U21s. The DoF's job was to get rid of them - 18 in all were released on a free after failing to get offers. Jose Enrique was sold to Monaco for just £2.3m
In came more youngsters mostly - Patrick Banggaard, Kristoffer Ajer, Pedrag Rajkovic, Enzo Roco and others. After looking around for suggested names I got my scouting team on the case - no-one was signed without a report first. My only first team signing was Marcos Alonso at LB.
Pre-season was successful using my preferred tactic is 4-2-3-1 (attacking fullbacks with two inside forwards and an AP), with a secondary of 4-1-2-3 (replacing the AP with a DLP/D) and an overall more structured and defensive posture. The intention is that Coutinho would play in the attacking midfield spot and the rest of the team would be built around him... Following the advice of the coaching staff I seem to end up playing more using the 4-1-2-3 formation (maybe more of that Italian influence?).
On transfer deadline day I got a shock - Arsenal came in for Lallana. I'm not a huge fan of his and don't quite see how he fits in my team, but didn't really want to lose him so countered the bid. He went for £33m plus add ons. Seeing an opportunity I brought in Demerai Gray for £5m - his PA and pace make him a good fit and hopefully a decent mentor (Milner) will help increase his determination. The key attribute for any of my team is determination, I very rarely recruit anyone with less than 15.
By and large I've no surprises in the team selection - Mignolet is still number 1, at least until Rajkovic learns English. In the CBs, Lovren has been the disappointment with the team looking much stronger with Skrtel and Sakho. Roco got annoyed quickly that he wasn't playing and is out on loan instead. Clyne is the top performer generally doing well both defensively and attacking.
Without Sturridge my team was a bit toothless up top - Firmino is the top league scorer with 4 after 12 games (mostly playing from the right IF position). Sturridge has scored 2 in 4 since his return from injury and makes the team much more dangerous. I gave Benteke a chance, really, but a goal return of 3 in 14 appearances (1 in 8 in the league) makes it difficult to pick him - it's not just the goals but the team looks poor with him in, with a lack of pace he's caught offside too often to make use of the aerial threat. His 3 goals came in 5 games played (which were actually 5 of the last 7 club games) and I thought a corner had been turned - unfortunately he started moaning about not playing and is demanding a transfer - he's listed for £35m and can go for £30m or more. Really, what the heck was Rodgers thinking?!
The team is third in the league on 27 points after 12 games, 3 points behind Arsenal in first (who have a major injury crisis - Lallana has an average rating of 6.7 after 6 appearances for them). My good start has let me persuade the board to increase staff numbers, improve youth recruitment and both the youth and training facilities are now being improved.
A good chunk of the Lallana money is going out in January - another 9 players are joining in January, again mostly U18s, but of note is Juan Cazares and Shane Long (not a great player, but his energy across the front three will be useful).
With a bit of luck, especially around injuries, I should be confident of a top 4 finish this year and the recruitment of young players should see some stars coming through with some ready for first team action next year. Money shouldn't be an issue with the TV deal and more players to sell (Ballotelli is in good form for Milan) so the future is looking bright.