John Warrington - A Footballing Journey

[MrTini23]

We don't let this slip [Liverpool 13/14 Retro DB]

So for Football Manager 24 I have created a 2013/14 retro database, so I have decided to do a career as Liverpool to test out the mod and to enjoy the fruits of 6 months of labour. The database is available for free at FM Scout with a 'Retro Regens' mod available on my Patreon page which brings real players into the game over a 10 year span.

A look into the past

Lets remind of ourselves of what happened to Liverpool in the 2013/14 season.

The 2013/14 season saw Liverpool finish 2nd in the league just two points behind Man City and going out early in both domestic cup competitions, albeit to Arsenal and Manchester United. The season is remembered by most football fans for one specific moment.

The Steven Gerrard slip that cost them the league title.

My aim is to see if I can do one better and bring Liverpool their first Premier League title, 6 years earlier that their title win in 2019/20.

The Journey begins



Here we go! Can I do better than Brendan Rodgers?



The board only want us to qualify for Europa League which should be easy enough. I'd like to think we can challenge for the title.



The supporters want pretty much the same but they also want to beat Everton. That's a given for any Liverpool manager.



This is the squad I have to work with. Definitely needs some additions if you ask me but with a transfer budget of 15m, there's not a lot of wriggle room. The question will be if we can get the SAS firing up top. I remember Suarez being an absolute monster in 2013/14.



The media are predicting a 6th place finish with Man Utd to win the league in their first season under David Moyes. Interesting that FM24 only predicts actual real life champions Man City finishing 3rd.

​

 

[MrTini23]

We don't let this slip - Liverpool 13/14 Retro DB

August

Barclays Premier League
Matchday 1



Line-Up (4-1-2-1-2): Reina, Johnson (Toure 83), Skrtel, Agger, Enrique (Balanta 83), Lucas, Henderson, Gerrard (Allen 83), Coutinho (Aspas 68), Bojan (Moses 83), Sturridge.
Subs Not Used: Mignolet, Casemiro, Sakho, Assaidi.

A slow start to the game with Daniel Sturridge having the only real chance as he blasted a shot wide from the edge of the box meant we went into HT at 0-0. I feel like we really missed Luis Suarez who misses the first few games of the season with a ban. It got much better in the second half with the introduction of Aspas seeing us create a lot more and forcing Szczesny into numerous saves. It wasn't until stoppage time that we finally made the breakthrough with Daniel Sturridge firing one into the bottom corner to give us all three points.

Stats

Awards

N/A

League Table

Manager Performance​

 

[MrTini23]

John Warrington - A Footballing Journey

April + May 2019

Fixtures

SkyBet League Two
Newport vs Tranmere

A very pleasing result, I couldn't have asked for much more from the lads really. Paul Mullin was particularly impressive, scoring twice.

SkyBet League Two
Tranmere vs MK Dons

A very disappointing result at home against MK Dons. We just didn't perform, there is no other way to put it.

SkyBet League Two
Tranmere vs Forest Green

A second poor result in a row really. I think the low attendance had an effect on the lads as Prenton Park wasn't as boisterous as it usually is. A fair result after an even game.

SkyBet League Two
Lincoln vs Tranmere

I thought we were in for another poor result when Lincoln took the lead but we battled back well and deserved to win, regardless of the red card. Ollie Banks ran the show in the midfield and showed why he's being tipped to win the Player of the Year award.

SkyBet League Two
Tranmere vs Bury

A fantastic 5-1 win over Bury in the final home game of the season. Watching James Norwood lift the League Two title was a proud moment for me and hopefully, we can win many more trophies in the future.

SkyBet League Two
Crawley vs Tranmere

A superb comeback on the final day of the season with 10 men. The lads were excellent as they have been so often this season.

Stats



League Table



Awards

John Warrington Manager of the Month x5 (Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan)
Kieron Morris Player of the Month x2 (Aug, Nov)
Charlie Lakin Player of the Month x1 (Sep)
George Cooper Player of the Month x1 (Oct)
James Norwood Player of the Month x1 (Mar)
George Cooper Young Player of the Month x1 (Sep)

 

[MrTini23]

John Warrington - A Footballing Journey

End of Season Awards

League Stats



League Awards

Manager of the Year



Really happy to win Manager of the Year in my first season of management. Hopefully the first of many.

Player of the Year



I'm really delighted for Kieron. He's been magnificent this season. It's a shame that he won't be with next season because Walsall want him back.

Golden Boot



What a season for James Norwood, scoring 30 in 44 appearances in League Two.

Club Awards



Fans' Player of the Season

Based on the stats for the league, Ollie Banks was more than deserving of this award. Realistically though, it could have gone to a number of different players.

Signing of the Season

I'm inclined to agree. Jordan came in halfway through the season and made a big impact with his performances in the center of midfield.

Young Player of the Season

Had to be really, didn't it? Kieron has been sensational this season and I'll be gutted to see him go when he goes back to Walsall.

 

[MrTini23]

John Warrington - A Footballing Journey

The Stats



*10 appearances minimum

Most Appearances
1. James Norwood - 55(3)
2. Tom King - 50
3. Ollie Banks - 49(4)

Most Goals
1. James Norwood - 40
2. Ollie Banks - 25
3. Kieron Morris - 22

Most Assists
1. Charlie Lakin - 16
2. Kieron Morris - 13
=. James Norwood - 13

Highest Average Rating
1. Kieron Morris - 7.79
2. Ollie Banks - 7.76
3. Adam Buxton - 7.73

Player of the Match Awards
1. Ollie Banks - 9
2. James Norwood - 8
3. George Cooper - 6

Most Interceptions
1. Cameron Burgess - 129
2. Mark Ellis - 108
3. Sid Nelson - 107

Tackles Won per game
1. Shane Ferguson - 3.29
2. Charlie Lakin - 2.97
3. Jordan Lyden - 2.22

Pass Completion %
1. Ollie Banks - 83%
2. Ben Pringle - 82%
=. Jordan Mutch - 82%
=. Chris Dagnall - 82%
=. Robbie Keane - 82%

Shots on Target
1. James Norwood - 141
2. Kieron Morris - 79
3. Paul Mullin - 68

Distance Travelled per 90 mins
1. Harvey Gilmour - 8.1 miles
2. Jake Caprice - 7.9 miles
=. Jordan Lyden - 7.9 miles
=. George Cooper - 7.9 miles
=. Zoumana Bakayogo - 7.9 miles

 

[MrTini23]

John Warrington - A Footballing Journey

Around the Leagues

Premier League

Champions -

Man City
Rest of top 4 -

Liverpool,

Chelsea,

Arsenal
Relegated -

Watford,

Huddersfield,

Cardiff

Championship

Champions -

Aston Villa
Promoted -

Stoke,

Leeds
Relegated -

Bolton,

Rotherham,

Millwall

League One

Champions -

Charlton
Promoted -

Sunderland,

Scunthorpe
Relegated -

Accrington,

AFC Wimbledon,

Wycombe,

Rochdale

League Two

Champions -

Tranmere
Promoted -

Lincoln,

Mansfield,

Colchester
Relegated -

Morecambe,

Swindon

FA Cup

Winners -

Man City
Runners-Up -

Man United

Carabao Cup

Winners -

Liverpool
Runners-Up -

Leicester

Community Shield

Winners -

Man City
Runners-Up -

Chelsea

Checkatrade Trophy

Winners -

Scunthorpe
Runners-Up -

Portsmouth

Champions League

Winners -

Man City
Runners-Up -

Napoli

Europa League

Winners -

Arsenal
Runners-Up -

Leverkusen

Super Cup

Winners -

A. Madrid
Runners-Up -

R. Madrid

 

[MrTini23]

John Warrington - A Footballing Journey

Pre-Season

Transfers

Going into pre-season I knew that I had a huge job on my hands. We had a lot of loan players last season so I knew I would need to rebuild the squad. Here's what I had at the end of the 2018/19 campaign.



The first thing I did was extend the one loan I could, the loan of Charlie Lakin. Fortunately, we don't have to pay any of his wages so that saves on the wage bill.



The next bit of business was to figure out who to release from their contracts. In this list, there weren't many shocks. The only two to really feature for the first-team last season were Ishmael Miller and Zoumana Bakayogo, both of whom are on the wrong side of 30.

I then set to work on building the squad back up and boy was June a busy month.



Six free transfers, five loans and one fee paid!

We managed to sign last season's loanees Tom King and Shane Ferguson following their release from Millwall which was really pleasing.

In defence, we started by securing the loans of Aaron Lewis and Brendan Galloway from Swansea and Everton respectively. We were then able to pick up Deji Oshilaja, Jon Guthrie and Michael Harriman, all of whom were playing League One football last season. Oshilaja was at AFC Wimbledon, Guthrie was at Walsall and Harriman was at Wycombe. Our final defensive signing was Dion Conroy, who cost us a fee of 87k.

In midfield, we welcomed three players. Siriki Dembele came in on loan from Peterborough, Ryan Hedges came in on loan from Barnsley and we managed to sign Jordan Clark on a free following his release from Accrington.

We didn't really need to sign anyone up front with us having Paul Mullin, Robbie Keane and James Norwood but I brought in Jayden Stockley on loan from Preston as cover in case we picked up an injury or two.



This is how our squad looked on the first of July and I was still not content. I felt like Scott Davies and Jake Caprice wouldn't cut it at League One level so I decided to try and get rid of them.



Even I was amazed to get this price for Jake Caprice! Getting that price for Jake meant I was able to expand the squad further. Looking at the squad, I decided that getting another goalkeeper or two in was my priority.



The first man in was James Shea from Luton for a fee of 42.5k.



The day after we confirmed a deal with Oldham which saw Scott Davies move to Boundary Park for a fee or 4.7k, leaving us with Tom King and James Shea as our goalkeeping options.



As a result, I decided to dip into the loan market and brought in Thomas Glover from Tottenham.



Two days later, we received a bid for Paul Mullin from Shrewsbury. After discussions with Mark Palios, we decided to let Paul go and look to sign a replacement.



We replaced Paul by confirming the signing of Danny Rose from Mansfield for a fee of 83k. This was the last deal we made before the season and I'm pleased with the squad we've been able to build. I honestly think it's capable of at least pushing for the playoffs in League One. The only player missing is a back-up CM.

Friendly Results



Pre-season went very well with 4 wins and 1 draw. That one draw came against a very strong Liverpool side which didn't really bother me as we more than held our own. The goal scoring form of Jordan Mutch was the big bonus of pre-season and I'm excited to see if he'll be able to take that into the new season.

 

[MrTini23]

John Warrington - A Footballing Journey

2019/20 Squad

*Clicking name will show player screenshots

01 - Tom King
02 - Adam Buxton
03 - Shane Ferguson
04 - Deji Oshilaja
05 - Dion Conroy
06 - Manny Monthe
07 - Jordan Mutch
08 - Ryan Hedges (on loan from Barnsley)
09 - Jayden Stockley (on loan from Preston)
10 - James Norwood
11 - Danny Rose
12 - Michael Harriman
13 - James Shea
14 - Thomas Glover (on loan from Tottenham)
15 - Jordan Clark
16 - Mark Ellis
17 - Jon Guthrie
18 - Robbie Keane
19 - Siriki Dembele (on loan from Peterborough)
21 - Harvey Gilmour
22 - Brendan Galloway (on loan from Everton)
23 - Aaron Lewis (on loan from Swansea)
27 - Charlie Lakin (on loan from Birmingham)
28 - Ollie Banks

 

[MrTini23]

John Warrington - A Footballing Journey

August - December 2019

Fixtures



Stats



League Table



Awards

John Warrington Manager of the Month x3 (Aug, Oct, Nov)
Ryan Hedges Player of the Month x1 (Nov)
James Norwood Player of the Month x1 (Dec)

Manager Thoughts

What a first half of the season. Top of the league and absolutely cruising to the Championship. I can't really ask for much more than that, especially when we've only lost twice! That said, I was disappointed with the Boxing Day loss against Oxford as we lost a chance to widen the gap at the top even further.

We made it through our group in the Checkatrade Trophy with ease and we've since made it into the North 3rd round where Man United under 23's await. The Checkatrade Trophy is definitely a trophy I feel like we can win this season. We are into the 3rd round of the FA Cup, with Man City waiting in the 3rd round. We, unfortunately, went out of the EFL Cup in the 4th round against Man United but not before knocking out higher league opposition in Aston Villa and Charlton.

James Norwood has once again been the standout player, leading the way in terms of goals not only for us but in the entire league as well. The man is a goal machine. I've also been really impressed with the performances of Michael Harriman at right-back and Ryan Hedges on the wing. One disappointment recently is the injuries we've picked up with a couple of players being ruled out for a month or so. That's not ideal but I do think we have the squad to cover them.