Liverpool - Back To The Bootroom

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JosefJoseph

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*This will my first attempt at playing FM13 - all the highs and lows of my rookie tenure will be spread out to everyone reading*

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L.F.C. = Liverpool. Fan?! Club.

Rumours circling today have hinted that a life-long Liverpool fan with no previous managing experience will be thrust into the position by the clubs board. Already Twitter and Facebook are alight with more questions than answers, with many saying that this is nothing but a publicity stunt while the Reds iron out the contract for bookies favourite Rodgers.

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FREDERIK JOSEF REVEALED

In what was seen as a comical twist in keeping with stereotypical views of Liverpudlians everywhere, a life-long Liverpool fan was indeed unveiled as the new 'gaffer' at Anfield.
However, unlike the unknown fanatic the public worried was to be unveiled, it was a former England international who walked through the doors of the press conference this morning.

Frederik Josef, will be known to most people for his 33 caps and 8 goals for England, the most important of which being a beautifully struck free-kick past an outstretched Hugo Lloris at World Cup '98.

A playing career which saw Josef being one of the few English internationals to play regularly abroad including Auxerre, Shanghai Shenhua and most recently Swieqi, Malta - was cut short through injury after a crunching challenge from Mario Ballotelli in what was meant to be a friendly game.
Frederik Josef moved to China, and then on to Malta earning his coaching badges while helping out clubs on the pitch and on the training ground before as he put it, his "Dream Came True".

A further press conference has been scheduled for a few days time to allow the new manager the time to evaluate his staff, players and new surroundings before the big questions are asked.

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Any specific questions you think should be thrust at the new manager?
 
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Squad Review

Order of Business
1. Squad
2. Tactics
3. Training
4. Staff & Scouting

1. Squad

After going through the Under 18s, Reserves and finally the First Team a few things certainly jump out. The famous Liverpool Academy in Kirkby is not doing a good enough job - there are young players coming through but they either aren't good enough (Jordan Lussey) or were bought from other clubs (Raheem Sterling). This is a problem that I will carefully have to bring up at the next board meeting.

Each successful team has two players for each position, which is what I'll be aiming for, as well as youngsters ready to breach the gap if injuries/suspensions go against me.

GK - Reina is easily the best 'keeper at the club. As for Doni and Jones well, they are both average at best and the formers wage (50k) is insane. Any kind of bid for Doni & Jones will have to be carefully considered. At least one will have to leave the club.

DR - Glen Johnson looks like he'll be first choice with Martin Kelly as his back-up, Flanagan will hopefully be loaned out (with the ability to recall) so he can get some first team football

DL - Jose Enrique will start, Jack Robinson is young but talented and will act as back-up, Marc Pelosi is not good enough to act as an emergency left back; so I'll be looking at Glen Johnson to move across or Danny Wilson to pick up the slack if problems hit

DC - Agger & Wilson look to be left sided centre backs able to pass the ball - while Skrtel and Coates are more traditional centrebacks (although Coates isn't too bad at passing either) - Kelly can fill both roles in an emergency, and not forgetting Jamie Carragher who will be kept around for experience and for Cup matches. Andre Wisdom will be made available for loan.

Defense Summary - I'm actually quite happy with the players and the promise I have in defense. Robinson, Wilson, Kelly and Flanaghan could be the backline of the future. It looks like I'll be setting my goalkeeper to pass the ball out to my left sided centreback to help control possession.

DM - Lucas is 'The Man' when it comes to this position, but with him starting the season injured injury it will take him a while get back to match fitness.Luckily Joe Allen should be able to fill the gap and Nuri Sahin (on loan from Real Madrid) will be in the running once he is more accustomed to the English game. Conor Coady has promise, but will be made available for loan. Jay Spearing is away on loan, he will be staying there.

AMC - Gerrard obviously! Jordan Henderson was outstanding on FM12 so I will be, perhaps foolishly, trusting him more this season. I'm also a big fan of JonJo Shelvey who will be allowed to learn alongside Gerrard in hope that he will eventually replace him. Suso will also be staying and pushing for inclusion in Cup matches.

AMR/L - This does not make good reading. Stewart Dowing, Joe Cole, Oussama Assaidi, Raheem Sterling.
As a Liverpool fan I am not willing to be burnt by Downing and Cole, not just on the pitch but also on their insanely high wages!! Assaidi looks nothing more than a squad player at present but will be given a chance to impress. Sterling I will have to keep my eye on, he'll be playing a lot by the looks of it and I do not want him to be burnt out by Christmas. Dani Pacheco, Luis Saurez, Suso may need to be played as wingers for much of the season.

Midfield Summary - With the players I have (plenty of central midfielders, and a lack of quality out wide) it looks like a five man midfield it will be. I'm not pleased with the overall quality in midfield, this will have to improve either on the training ground or in the transfer market.

SC - With Luis Saurez possibly having to be played as a winger, Fabio Borini will be the starter (at least for the pre-season) with both youngsters Dani Pacheco and Samed Yesil available as cover. It' not the greatest strikeforce but hopefully I can make it work. Andy Carroll is of course on loan at West Ham, next season I'd like to give him the chance he never got in real life and help him improve his career.

Striker Summary - It may be time for Dani 'the greatest player in the world' Pacheco to show his potential, I am worried he's too lightweight to play up front and Yesil's lack of pace also worries me. Fabio Borini will be a very important player this season, I hope he is up to it.
 
Tactics Review

After looking through the squad these conclusions were made:

1. With quality attacking fullbacks and promising youngsters coming through too, a back three is impossible so it'll either be a flat back four, or a back five with wing-backs. However, with the lack of depth that starting three centrebacks would create a back four is really the only option.

2. As with the midfield a central three is a necessary. What roles the three will take up I don't yet know.

3. One Striker and 2 wingers will be used, with Borini up front i'll be looking for the wide men to play as second strikers to open up space for the Italian (especially as he will need time to adjust).

SUMMARY -

In short my primary tactic will incorporate the following:

- A back four, with a Ball Playing Centreback on the left to allow Agger/Wilson/Coates more creative freedom and to allow me to bring Liverpool back to it's 'pass and move' routes (minus the Barnes rap). The two full backs will be allowed to go forward, but will also be have responsibility at the back.

- In the centre of midfiled I have put a Ball Winning Midfielder and an Advanced Playmaker, the latter to provide more service to my lone frontman, and the former to make up for the APs lack of defensive nous. The third central midfielder is what I call a 'safety', although I will be changing his role depending on the opposition he will be the first to be sacrificed if there is a red card and losing him should not create too much of a difference; I like to have this kind of position as I can blood youngsters and get away with playing lesser players without much of a hindrance to my initial tactic.

- Wide players will be supporting rather than attacking to begin with, the most important thing is to build from the back, if my inital tactics cause problems at the back I'll have to rethink my philosophy...

- which is in keeping with the Liverpool Groove.
 
Training Review

This will be a short reply as I have no idea what to do here, I have given responsibility for Match Preparation to my assistant and will try to learn quickly what is the best thing to do overall as I go.
In previous editions I had training schedules per position, and later per player. Any tips would be appreciated.

Staffing

This will be updated through news stories as I go. I am currently in work but will be playing till the end of pre-season tonight which should involve plenty of movement throughout the club, as well as press conferences and with a little bit of luck some depth to the offensive part of my squad.
 
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Borini is a lot better on the game than he is in real life, I managed to sell Glen Johnson for £24million to Chelsea aswell which helped with signing a few players but he is your best RB
 
NEWS

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JOSEF WASTES NO TIME
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Frederik Josef has got straight to work since he was made the new Liverpool manager. First on his list seemed to be a meeting with senior players; Stewart Downing and Joe Cole were rumored to be the first called into the office of his new gaffer, the England Internationals did not look happy, say our sources, as they both find themselves transfer listed. With high wages seen as a problem by Frederik Josef senior players had best be on their toes.
The Kirkby academy was also on Frederik Josef's hitlist as a long line of young players found themselves without a club, the highest profile of which were Yusef Mesin, Tyrell Belford and Nathan Quirk; more are rumored to be following in the coming days.

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It wasn't just the playing staff that saw out goings however - assistant manager Colin Pascoe, Fitness coaches Jordan Milsom, Glen Driscoll and Andy O'Boyle as well as Head of Youth Development Frank McParland, and U18s coaches Steve Cooper, Mike Marsh and Remy Tang were all given their marching orders after Josef was said to be 'shocked and appalled' by the apparent love-in which the coaching staff seems to have.
As well as the coaching department, the scouting department also saw themselves re-organized with Dave Farrows (Chief Scout), Steven Aptroot, Ian Barrigan, Chris Davies, Alan Harper, Barry Hunter, Mike McGlynn and David Moss all leaving, at present just two scouts remain at the club with Josef looking to establish a wider approach to recent years. Also, physio Paulo Barreira has left the club through mutual consent.

This drastic action has surprised many, new more disciplined staff are said to have been approached.

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Liverpool may also be losing senior players soon if Roberto Di Matteo has anything to do with it. Di Matteo has been quoted as saying he would love to be reunited with Glen Johnson and to bring the right back to Stamford Bridge once again would be a fantastic piece of business. Chelsea are believed to be looking at tabling a 10m bid.
 
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coolmcool said:
Borini is a lot better on the game than he is in real life, I managed to sell Glen Johnson for £24million to Chelsea aswell which helped with signing a few players but he is your best RB
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Chelsea do seem interested if they do come in with a crazy bid it would be difficult not to accept. As for Borini, I'm impressed by his stats so hopefully he can be a star.
 
Press Conference

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After today's press conference Liverpool fans are on a whole pleased with their new manager. Frederik Josef indicated that the League would be his priority but that qualifying for Europe is the aim that he will be giving to his team in the coming season.

"The League is obviously what the fans want" Josef said "but we also need to be realistic; I would love to challenge for the Premiership title in my first season as manager. However, we will first aim to stay in Europe, and then from there we will fight for everything above it"

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After being asked about his thoughts on transfers by LFC:TVs Claire Rourke (hence the picture) Josef was truthful about what could be done at the club.

"I won't be buying the best players in the World, or in Europe or even in England. It's hard but the truth is that we just don't have that kind of muscle in the transfer market. I will be looking to bring in younger players who will be add depth to the squad, and push the players we already have onto another level. Yes that does mean that I would have to sell players if I was to splurge on players, but I won't be doing that and if Roberto is listening Glen is not for sale either"

It is believed that Liverpool have given Josef a transfer budget of just 3m.
 
JosefJoseph said:

Frederik Josef, will be known to most people for his 33 caps and 8 goals for England, the most important of which being a beautifully struck free-kick past an outstretched Hugo Lloris at World Cup '98.
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Hugo Lloris played for France when he was 12? Or did you mean Barthez? :p

Good start to the story though and I'll be sure to check back:)
 
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NEW SIGNING AT ANFIELD
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We've just had reports that Brazilian U-20 winger Wellington Nem is currently undergoing a medical at Liverpool's training ground on the hopes of confirming a 4 year deal at the club. The young Brazilian would join Dutch youth international midfielder Tristan Berguis at the club; the youngster was signed for just 500k from PSV and is seen as one for the future by the Liverpool heirarchy. Fans are eager to know what is happening with the club if they are forced to sign unproven youngsters to move the team forward.

Sources close to the manager however, reveal that Wellington Nem's release clause has been triggered by Liverpool and the signing of a young Brazilian international should be treated with more positives by the Anfield faithful.

It is also believed that new Chief Scout Tord Grip is just as eager as Josef to bring the Brazilain to the club after giving rave reports to his new boss. Grip is himself a new signing at Anfield along with Francisco Ayestaran (Assistant Manager) and Angel Vales (Tactics coach), who were both Liverpool with Rafa Benitez, as Josef commits to scouring the globe for young talent.
With Jon Webb (Fitness Coach), Andy Awford (Defensive Coach), Clive Allen (Attacking Coach), Billy Stewart (Shot-Stopping) and the promotion of Andy Renshaw to (Fitness) coach; this could be a completely different kind of Liverpool team we see this year.
 
Fatal548 said:
Hugo Lloris played for France when he was 12? Or did you mean Barthez? :p

Good start to the story though and I'll be sure to check back:)
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Yeah, I originally had the last Euro's listed rather than France '98, but then it made no sense if 'I' was forced to stop playing through injury and get my coaching badges - changed the competition and not the goalkeeper.
Now I just have visions of Blanc kissing his bald patch, not good thoughts.
 
nice story indeed will look to follow. any screenshots?
 
ody said:
nice story indeed will look to follow. any screenshots?
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There will be. I'm still in pre-season, but once I start the regular season there will be Match Results, Transfers, Squad, Table standings etc. in the posts. I'm still finding my way around the new layout.
It'll get more interesting once it starts getting competitive :)
 
Two Games into Pre-Season

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Pre-Season Starts Well

Games Played = 2
Won = 2 Drawn = 0 Lost = 0 Scored = 14 Conceded = 0

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Quite pleased with pre-season so far, glad not to have lost any games as morale is always important at the start of the season. Forgive me if I don't get too excited about dominating against Camel Laird and Bootle though.
Saying that though, I'm pleased with the way my wingers are involving themselves in pre-season, they didn't have the same effect in FM12. I've already had to rejig my initial tactics as my full-backs decided to wander into the centre of midfield.

The first real test is coming though as...

Reds Draw AIK
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Well that could have gone better, the players are a long way match fitness and although I expect to go through with ease I could have done with being given a team I would need an atlas to find.


In other news, players continue to leave Anfield in their droves. Andre Wisdom (Fleetwood), Amin Hodzic (Accrington), Ryan McLaughlin (MK Dons), Adam Morgan (Barnsley) and Conor Coady (Carlisle) have all left to gain some much needed experience; other players like Ryan Crump and Rob Fulton are not as lucky and will have to find another club soon if they want a career in football.
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I'm really enjoying your story, well done mate, it's one of my favourites on here so far!
 
lewisdevlin97 said:
I'm really enjoying your story, well done mate, it's one of my favourites on here so far!
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Thanks, I'll be playing till the end of pre-season (including Euro Cup Quals.) tonight, and will include a few more screenshots etc. too.
 
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