Liverpool FC - Back to the top!

[Sticx]

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I've liked a lot of the manager stories and want to try one of my own with my new Liverpool save.

A couple things I want to do with this career is to train and develop my own players and transition them to the first team, so no galactico signings if I can help it! If I do lose a player in the transfer market I will replace him with an equally skilled player, but no unrealistic transfers.

I also want to mainly focus on youth players in the market, but want to try to stay away from the popular wonderkids if I can and let my scouts find players for me.


And it begins!

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So exactly what I envisioned what I wanted my philosophy to be with the club. Play possession based football, sign young players and develop them for the first team.

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So not the easiest expectations for the league with me having to promise Champions League football in my first year! Semi-final of the FA Cup could be tough depending on the draw but group stage of the Europa League shouldn't be an issue.

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One of my first actions as the new LFC Manager was to establish a link with a foreign club to develop our brand abroad, and the States seem like a great place to do so. There are already way too many Man UTD fans over here and it's time more started following the real team from the North West!

Now that that's out of the way, on to the pre-season!​

 

[Sticx]

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A look at my top three players

Philippe Coutinho - AMC

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So with a philosophy of buying young players it's essential to start out with a young talent that will last for years. With a contract until 2020 it will let us build a team around his talent.

Roberto Firmino - AMCLR

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Another young Brazilian at only 24 years of age. I don't think he is quite this talented in RL, but he has great potential to contribute for many years. My only problem with Firmino is that he plays the exact same position as Coutinho. It would have been nice to have another top quality player in another position but we'll have to make do for now.

Jordan Henderson - MC

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England International and a solid all around Midfielder will provide leadership in the center of the pitch. The only problem with Henderson is he starts the year facing a long absence due to injury.

Top Young Talent

Emre Can - MC, DM, DCLR

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Again I'm not sure he's quite this good in RL, but he has the potential for 4.5 stars. He is an extremely versatile player, with the ability to play center midfield, defensive midfield, and center defense. We will rely on him in his natural center midfield position and need his creative ability as an advanced playmaker.

Jordon Ibe - AMRL, WBRL

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Another very versatile player with the ability to play from AMRL all the way back to WBRL. We will train him primarily as an IF and for now looks to be a back up to Adam Lallana, but I want to get him a lot of game time as he is listed as a wonderkid.

Divock Origi - ST, AMRL

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A great talent at 20 years of age. With Sturridge starting the year with a long injury spell I will either use him in rotation with Ings or send him out on loan to get consistent game time.


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[Sticx]

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Pre-season 2015

With a transfer budget of $24,000,000 it will be hard to strengthen the first team squad, so for this window I am looking at bringing in some young players to build for the future.

I know I wanted to stay away from popular wonderkids but I think some of these signings aren't the real popular ones.

Thiago Maia - DM, CM

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A young talented Brazilian with great potential who can play DM and CM. I had to loan him back to Santos until the end of the season as part of the deal. He is billed as the next Dunga. We'll see about that.

Malcom - AMLR, ST

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Keeping with the tradition of young Brazilians, we negotiated with Corinthians to bring Malcom to Anfield next year. Again had to loan him back until next season.

Konrad Laimer - MC, AMCR

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Another young Midfield talent. We brought him in and put him in the under 21 squad, but I will want to get him some cup and a few regular season matches as he is 18 years old.

Abdelhak Nouri - AMC, MC

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A young Dutch attacking midfielder who I will want to get some game time this year or possibly loan out if I can find the right team.

Elie Youan - ST

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A young French striker with great potential for the future. I brought him in for a cheap fee and will keep him in the youth squad and train and develop him.

That's all of the transfers for the year most likely as I am pretty sure the board will not approve a larger transfer budget. I might have gone a little overboard with the youngsters, but I wanted to have a good core group of young players that will develop to first team players in a few years.

The only departure was Kolo Toure as he was most likely not going to be used this year and by letting him leave I freed up some money on the wage budget.

Transfer Roundup

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That's pretty much it. I did loan out Origi since I have Ings, Benteke, and Sturridge returning from injury which wouldn't give him enough game time to keep him this year.

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Overall not a bad pre-season. Lost to some teams we shouldn't have but as I'm a new coach implementing some new tactics it isn't anything to worry about. As fitness levels improve and the squad tactics are becoming more familiar it's time to start the regular season!

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[lewie100]

Good luck!

 

[JustaJim]

Plenty of youth brought in, look forward to seeing how they do, good luck mate!

 

[Sticx]

Good luck!

Thanks!

 

[Sticx]

Plenty of youth brought in, look forward to seeing how they do, good luck mate!

Yeah it might be too much. I might have been better off with a 10-15 million signing and 1-2 youh. But we'll see how we do with the squad Rodgers left us!

 

[Sticx]

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August 2015

Liverpool vs Stoke

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Not the worst start to my career! Coutinho was the only goal in the 9th minute. With 14 shots though I would have liked to see another goal but we got the first 3 points

Watford vs Liverpool

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Second game of the year with the same scoreline. This time with 20 shots and just one goal which is a little concerning. If they got one counter this would have been a dissaster

Liverpool vs Man Utd

My first North-West Derby and Van Gaal is not a fan of mine apparently

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We got revenge though!

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It looked like a draw until Can got his second of the year in the 58th minute. Utd had more shots but our defense held. Rooney had a goal disallowed for offsides

And Van Gaal is still not happy...

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Aston Villa vs Liverpool

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Coming off the Derby with a disappointing 0-0 result. 16 shots with no goals. For the season so far, 58 shots with only 3 goals. The good news is that we haven't conceded yet but if our lack of finishing continues I may need to adjust our tactics a bit​

 

[Neeeko]

Nice story so far!
With the affiliation with LA Galaxy, does this mean you would be able to buy back Steven Gerrard easily?

 

[PatrickLFC]

At least it's realistic, our finishing in real life is woeful right now!

 

[Sticx]

Nice story so far!
With the affiliation with LA Galaxy, does this mean you would be able to buy back Steven Gerrard easily?

I think that if someone puts a bid in on one of their players you can match it and it's up to the player then on which team he wants to go to. I'm not sure if there is any benefit with growing your brand in another country or not.

I might try to loan back Gerrard and see what happens.

 

[Sticx]

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September 2015

Liverpool vs Arsenal

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Was a pretty even game that finished 2-2. We had a bit more possession and they had a few more shots than us. Ings and Firmino both got their first of the season. We almost won but Ozil equalized in the 85th minute on a breakaway. This match did put us on a five match unbeaten run and top of the table early in the season

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Not a bad draw in the Europa League. Villarreal will be our toughest opponent and El Madrigal is a tough place to get a result at but I like our chances to top the group.

Sion vs Liverpool

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The scoreline makes our first Europa League match look closer than it was. We were in control for most of the match but got hit twice on the counter. Our summer signing made his debut with his first goal for the club!

Liverpool vs Crystal Palace

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Our defense continues to be rock solid so far as Firmino and Lallana both get on the score sheet. Ings picked up an injury during training as our injuries begin to mount.

Cardiff vs Liverpool

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Early disaster for the season as we get knocked out of the Capital One Cup in our first match by Cardiff. We played a lot of our young players and it showed. Joe Allen didn't help matters by getting his second yellow in the 61st minute as we go out on penalties

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Another disappointing draw as we dominated the match but just couldn't get a go ahead goal. 23 shots with 7 on target with just one goal we continue our poor form in front of goal.

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After 7 matches we sit in second on the table 2 points behind City which with all of our poor finishing I have to be pretty happy about​

 

[JustaJim]

Seems like you've got an amazing defensive set-up, just need to find some goals in that wealth of talent Liverpool has going forward! Looking good so far man

 

[Sticx]

Seems like you've got an amazing defensive set-up, just need to find some goals in that wealth of talent Liverpool has going forward! Looking good so far man

Yeah it could have something to do with my forwards being decimated with injuries. I've had to use Firmino as a ST and an 18 year old to fill in.

 

[Sticx]

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October 2015

Liverpool vs Lokomotiv Moscow

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Nothing other to say than a very disappointing draw especially at home. We got an early goal from Firmino in the 3rd minute and it looked like we were going to run away with it, but as usual we couldn't make our chances count and they equalized in the 86th minute. This dropped us to second and now we need a win against Villarreal to top the group

Liverpool vs Swansea

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Another 1-0 result which is becoming a theme for us this year. An early goal from Ings in the 12th minute and stat wise we dominated the game but couldn't add to our lead. Positives though as we moved to second in the table behind City and kept another clean sheet.

Southampton vs Liverpool

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Finally a goal scoring coming out party! 5 goals with a brace from Ings and a late penalty from Milner saw us put 5 past the Saints. Also great news that Sturridge is finally fit as our strikers are down to bare bones.

Liverpool vs Villarreal

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Another 1-0 win at home put us top of our Europa League group. It took a great finish from Milner in the 74th minute. Ings picked up an injury early in the second half which forced us to use Sturridge for more minutes than I wanted just coming back from injury

Liverpool vs Leicester

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We ended the month on a high as we saw off Leicester 2-0 with Milner scoring two games in a row and another added by Teixeira, his first of the season. Also we extended our unbeaten run to 10 games as we hold on to second in the table​

 

[Sticx]

7979

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November 2015

West Ham vs Liverpool

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Not much else to say than it was just a bad defeat. To make matters worse Lallana picked up a bad injury. I'm going to need Ibe to step up for the time being

Villarreal vs Liverpool

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The most critical match of the group away to Villarreal and we dominated the match. Coutinho and Can scored early and they never looked like scoring. El Madrigal is a tough place to play and we now sit atop the group

Liverpool vs Manchester City

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Was a pretty even match that ended 1-1. It's disappointing not to win at home but considering I didn't strengthen the first team this summer it's a decent result. We sit second in the table 1 point behind Arsenal. Another injury though to Benteke out 2-3 months

West Brom vs Liverpool

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Not a good result considering these are the teams we need to beat if we want to stay in the top 4. They scored twice in ten minutes and we couldn't get a go ahead goal. To make matters worse Henderson picked up an injury on international duty just as he was getting match fitness

Liverpool vs Sion

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Our 5th match of the group saw a brace from Firmino to secure top spot in the group as we are 6 points clear of Villarreal

Liverpool vs Tottenham

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We end the month on a high as our defense continues to perform. Ings scored in the 46th and 90th minutes to keep us second in the league heading into December!






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[Sticx]

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December 2015

Everton vs Liverpool - First Merseyside Derby

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First Derby victory as Lukaku gave Everton the early lead but a brace from wonderkid Ibe and a late Skrtel header gave us the 3 points

Lokomotiv Moscow vs Liverpool

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A fairly dull game until Firmino gave us the lead in the 80th minute. A lot of youngsters were played as we had wrapped up the group in match 5

Hughes becomes the first Manager sacked of the season

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Liverpool vs Newcastle

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Firmino and Sturridge gave us a 2-1 lead as Newcastle scored on their only shot on goal from a counter. Our defense continues to hold strong as we have the fewest goals allowed in the league so far

Chelsea vs Liverpool

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This one had draw written all over it until Remy got a late winner in the 88th minute. Only consolation was Arsenal lost as well so we stayed 1 point behind them at the top of the table

Allardyce sacked

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Liverpool vs Norwich

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We bounced back from the disappointing defeat against Chelsea and took it out on Norwich! Sturridge got a brace and wonderkid Ibe continues his impressive scoring contribution as we rout the Canaries

League Table on Christmas Day

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We continue to perform above of what I thought we could manage when I took over, especially without making any first team signings

Liverpool vs Bournemouth

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Very disappointing draw against a team in the relegation battle. Again these are the teams we have to beat if we want a top 4 finish

Norwich vs Liverpool

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Our second meeting in the span of a week during the congested fixture list. The Canaries put up a better fight but we got the 2-1 win to get back on a winning track to close out the 2015 year.

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[Sticx]

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January 2016

Stoke vs Liverpool

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We open the new year with a win as Coutinho gets the only goal in the 29th minute. We had to rotate the squad quite a bit as the congested fixture list was taking its toll on our team. Our summer signing wonderkid makes his First Team debut

Messi wins World Player of the Year

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FA Cup Third Round
Preston vs Liverpool

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We thoroughly dominated the match but couldn't make our chances count as we suffer a disappointing draw and must now play a replay at home. Another talented youngster makes his debut

Liverpool vs Watford

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Back to winning ways in the league as we notch another 1-0 win which seems to be our trademark win this year. Our defense continues to shine. Arsenal drop points as we move to the top of the league!

Man Utd vs Liverpool

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A brace from Sturridge gives us a 2-1 victory at Old Trafford! Have to say we got outplayed a bit but they could never equalize and the win keeps us at the top of the table

Van Gaal didn't take the loss too well

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FA Cup Third Round Replay
Liverpool vs Preston

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Dominated the replay at home but feel like the scoreline should have been higher, especially since they sat defensively the whole match and didn't offer much threat at all. I guess the win is all that matters and we move on in the Cup

Barcelona come after Can...

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I had to turn the bid away and it didn't make Can happy but he is one of our key players and I can't afford to lose him. I held a team meeting afterwards and I think I turned the situation around and kept everyone happy for now. Hopefully that will be the last of it

Liverpool vs Aston Villa

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Another 1-0 win to keep us atop the league early in the new year. We held them to 5 shots and only 1 on target as we stay in good form

FA Cup Fourth Round
Liverpool vs Sunderland

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Finally get some goals coming as both Skrtel and Firmino get braces to move us on in the Cup

A look at the League Table at the end of January

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Arsenal dropped more points as we sit first 7 points above both Arsenal and Man City. We continue to exceed everyone's expectations as a top four finish looks very likely at this point








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[Sticx]

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February 2016

Arsenal vs Liverpool

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A tough 1-2 loss at the Emirates as Mertesaker picked up man of the match with a brace from two corners. The loss drops our lead to just 1 point above Arsenal

Crystal Palace vs Liverpool

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A very disappointing draw against a Palace team we dominated yet couldn't get a second goal. The loss drops us to second a point now behind Arsenal for the lead.

Europa League first knockout round
Gelsenkirchen vs liverpool

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A brace from Sturridge and a late goal from Coutinho gives us a commanding 3 away goal lead effectively sealing the tie before the return leg at Anfield. With such a large lead it will give me a chance to rest some players and to get some solid game time in for our youngsters

FA Cup Fifth Round
Liverpool vs Bournemouth

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Bournemouth took an early lead but a brace from Ings put us into the next round. We dominated the match and they never looked like equalizing

Europa League first knockout round second leg
Liverpool vs Gelsenkirchen

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A lone goal from Sturridge gave us a 1-0 win for a total aggregate of 4-0. We played a lot of youngsters and still solidly won the match


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[Sticx]

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March 2016

Europa League second knockout round
Liverpool vs Lazio

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Well the first round started well but we gave up a late goal which gave them 2 away goals going home to Italy which could have a big impact on who goes through. I thought we played well we just need a good result now on the return leg

Well this was surprising...

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Apparently 3rd place in the league in March isn't good enough for the Citizens. They did end up in the Europa League however so I guess it's understandable

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A pretty nice draw for the 6th round I gotta say

FA Cup 6th Round

Liverpool vs Bristol City

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Well with a favorable draw we were minutes away from getting knocked out until Firmino equalized in the 92nd minute. Talk about cutting it close. We stay alive as we force another replay

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It didn't take City long to find a replacement as they hire Klopp as their new coach

Europa League second knockout round leg 2
Lazio vs Liverpool

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Well this one hurt as I thought we had a good chance going into the game. We were so close to going through but gave up 2 goals in the span of 3 minutes which knocked us out for a total aggregate of 5-6. Looking at the match stats they totally deserved to go on I have to say

FA Cup sixth round replay
Bristol City vs Liverpool

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The replay was no problem as we played much better in the second match. Early goals from Sturridge and Ibe put is into the next round as we face Arsenal in the semi-final








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