Liverpool: From the BPL to La Liga

[fmliverpool]

View attachment 379993
Spanish football officials announced today that the English club Liverpool will be playing as part of La Liga as of next season. he astonishing move comes after John Henry issued a statement saying that his team would win La Liga with ease. The switch also sees Celta Vigo move to the English league to replace Liverpool in the table. It is hought that they will continue to play at the same stadiums, which will cause a great deal of hassle to the other teams in the league. Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers is said to be furious at a 'joke' move, saying that his future at Anfield may be over before it even began.
View attachment 379994

 

[fmliverpool]

View attachment 379995
Brendan Rodgers has resigned from his position as Liverpool manager as expected, saying he was 'furious' and 'disappointed' at the decision to relocate his team to the Spanish league. He indicated he was not prepared to go abroad every time his side played away, and couldn't leave his family behind. A training camp has been set up in Andorra for Liverpool to use during away games. Manuel Pelligrini has been touted as the early favourite for the job, although Laurent Blanc, Harry Redknapp and even Kenny Dalglish have been linked with the job. For now, assistant manager Mike Hunt will take charge of the Reds, with their tour of Belgium coming within the next few weeks.
View attachment 379996

 

[jstewart85]

I dont know how far you have played of this save but be careful mate. i did a similar thing by putting Rangers into the English leagues and played 6 season before finding out I wasn't eligible for Europe which I 'm sure you can imagine was guttening. Just a heads up for you

 

[fmliverpool]

I dont know how far you have played of this save but be careful mate. i did a similar thing by putting Rangers into the English leagues and played 6 season before finding out I wasn't eligible for Europe which I 'm sure you can imagine was guttening. Just a heads up for you

Thanks, no problem at the moment with Europe, so hopefully it stays that way.

 

[fmliverpool]

View attachment 380023

Liverpool: August Review


La Liga

Levante 1 - 3 Liverpool

Liverpool's start to life in Spain began in exciting fashion, the Reds wowing the 17,745 in attendance with a 3-1 win over relegation candidates Levante. Jose Enrique got the team off to a dream start, scoring his first ever Liverpool goal with an angled shot from outside the box. Daniel Agger's header from Coutinho's corner gave them a 2-0 lead going into half time, and Sturridge made sure of victory with a tap in after 62 minutes. Suarez picked up a second yellow, but minutes later, Pedro Lopez also picked up a second yellow. Vicente Iborra scored a consolation goal after 82 minutes, but temporary manager Hunt will have been very pleased with what he saw.

Liverpool 3 - 0 Deportivo

Even with Suarez's absence, Hunt's team secured their second win of the season to go top. Sturridge opened the scoring after five minutes, scoring the rebound after Gerrard's long range effort was parried. New Italian recruit Fabio Borini opened his Liverpool account in front of the Kop, scoring a header from Assaidi's cross just before half time. Borini added his second after 66 minutes, scoring a close range effort from inside the box.


Europa League


Rapid Buc. 0 - 2 Liverpool

In the 3rd qualifying round for the Europa League, new recruit Joe Allen opened the scoring after 27 minutes, with a long range effort. Joe Allen showed the form that led him to be nicknamed 'The Welsh Xavi' during his time at Swansea, also assisting a goal from Luis Suarez three minutes later. Allen won man of the match, completing 70 of his 73 passes during the contest.

Liverpool 2 - 0 Rapid Bucharest (4-0 agg.)

Second half goals from new signings Assaidi and Coutinho killed the tie off, while new loan signing Ricardo Rodriguez impressed at left back.

AC Horsens 1 - 4 Liverpool

An early goal from Andreasen gave the Reds a scare, but quick fire goals from Lucas, Gerrard and Ibe gave the away team a 3-1 half time lead. With his goal, Ibe became the youngest Europa League and Liverpool scorer. Daniel Agger sealed victory with a header late on in the match.

Liverpool 1 - 0 AC Horsens (5-1 agg.)

A poor home performance, but Samed Yesil's 35th minute goal was enough to send Liverpool through to the group stages, having done all the hard work in the away performance.


League Table

View attachment 380042




Europa League Group

View attachment 380043




Transfer Round-up

View attachment 380044



EPL Round-up

Tottenham, Manchester City, Celta and Wigan began their season with two wins out of two matches. Celta particularly impressed, coming from two behind to beat Manchester United, and beating Arsenal at the Emirates, while Wigan opened the season with a shock 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge.

 

[fmliverpool]

View attachment 380086
An Interview with Mike Hunt: 01/11/12


GB: After Assaidi's last minute winner against Atletico Madrid, your Liverpool side are 2nd in the table, having won eight of your nine matches. How pleased have you been with your performance in La Liga so far?


MH: Obviously I'm delighted, couldn't ask for much more than that. The 3-3 draw with Real Sociedad was disappointing, especially as we were 3-1 up and playing at home, but apart from that, I'm very happy.

GB: Your team's performances were enough to persuade the board to give you the job full time, how has the step up to management been for you?

MH: A lot more difficult than it seems. Everyone's so keen to play, so I've had to rotate my squad a lot. The constant flying has been difficult as well, the younger players have found it particularly stressful.

GB: You mention squad rotation, many fans have praised you for giving the likes of Sterling, Ibe and Suso a chance in the first team. Do you consider age as important when selecting your team?

MH: Absolutely not, if Suso is impressing me more than Steven [Gerrard] in training, I will pick Suso. Equally if Jamie [Carragher] is working harder than Sebastian [Coates], he will get the nod.

GB: How have the team adapted to Gerrard's injury? (Gerrard suffered a broken foot during the 1-0 win over Napoli)

MH: I've been really impressed, the likes of Jonjo [Shelvey] and Jordan [Henderson] have been excellent for me, and Agger has captained the team brilliantly. Obviously we've missed him in some of the stalemates (away to Dinamo and at home to FC Midtjylland), but I'm thrilled with how we've adapted.

GB: Your Spanish cup tie with SD Huesca has been met with some controversy. Do you believe you should be allowed to play in the Spanish cup?

MH: No. We're an English side, and this is the Spanish cup. I can understand why people are annoyed and I am as well. My agreement was I was going to play in the Spanish league. I want to play in the FA Cup, it's a special competition for me.

GB: Your next league game comes at the Nou Camp, how will you aim to play?

MH: Why would I tell you my tactics?

GB: Can you at least tell me what you think of Lionel Messi?

MH: Completely over-rated, can't see him scoring against us if Martin [Skrtel] and Sebastian [Coates] are on form. The fact a 21 year old Italian striker adjusting to a new club and league is currently outscoring him speaks wonders.

GB: Who would you say the best player in the world is then?

MH: Luis Suarez

GB: What do you think the score will be on Sunday?

MH: It's going to be tough, but we're better in most areas, so I'd say a 1-0 win for us.

Mike Hunt was talking to Guilame Balague.

 

[fmliverpool]

View attachment 380117

FC Barcelona 3 - 1 Liverpool

Barcelona inflicted outspoken manager Mike Hunt his first defeat as Liverpool manager. Comments made by Hunt to Marca before Liverpool's 0-0 draw with SD Huesca were described as disrespectful and outrageous by Barcelona assistant manager Jordi Roura, and the pre-match handshake was noticably weak. The Catalan giants dominated the early stages, with Messi, one of the victims of Hunt's extraordinary rant, forcing two reflex saves from Reina. Kelly and Skrtel struggled to deal with the repeated attacks on their goal, and were it not for a sublime performance from Reina, Barcelona could have been 3-0 up by the time their first goal came.

A rash challenge from Philippe Coutinho resulted in a penalty to the home side, and also forced the referee to issue the Brazilian with a second yellow card. Messi stepped up to take the penalty, and cooly sent Reina the wrong way. The Argentine then made a point of running over to Hunt's technical area, mockingly drying his eyes in front of the furious Liverpool substitute bench. The extra man played a part for Barcelona, and they quickly doubled their lead, Xavi's free-kick beating Reina. Hunt yelled at his team to try and rally them, but he was unable to reduce the 2-0 half time deficit.

A dull second half eventually saw another goal, after a mis-hit free kick from Reina was swooped upon by Sergio Busquets, who delicately placed the ball into the empty net from 30 yards. Minutes later Liverpool reduced the deficit, after Assaidi found Lucas on the edge of the box, who took his chance excellently. After that, the dynamic of the game changed. Suddenly, Barcelona looked on the ropes, while Liverpool looked great. Suarez had a long range shot that whistled just over, while Downing and Henderson both missed golden chances to equalise. In the end, the fiery affair ended 3-1, and saw a fight break out after the final whistle, Borini angry at a foul from Puyol that he felt was over the top.

Barcelona caretaker manager Jordi Roura: "I couldn't be much happier with our performance, we gave Liverpool very few chances, and I hope Mike Hunt thinks before the next time he gives an interview. I didn't see much of the fight afterwards, but Borini was out of line to act like that. I hope the referees take retrospective action"

Liverpool manager Mike Hunt: "It's a bad result and I've made my feelings clear in that dressing room. Philippe got a right bollocking and Jonjo can think again if he plans on playing like that in this league. Would we have won with 11 men? Probably. Philippe has let the whole team down, and I hope he can redeem himself. A big reality check for us really."

 

[fmliverpool]

View attachment 380374


Liverpool set to rack up airmiles


After a season full of travel, Liverpool have been drawn against Ukrainian side Metalist in the first knockout round of the Europa League. Should the Merseyside based side negotiate this challenge, they face further long distance travel, with either Ukraine's Dynamo Kyiv or Spartak Moscow of Russia in the next round. Liverpool qualified for this stage despite only winning two matches, at home to Napoli and GNK Dinamo. These two wins, alongside draws away to GNK Dinamo and at home to FC Midtyjalland, allowed the Reds to qualify as the second place team in the group. Metalist qualified from a tough group, containing Newcastle and Sporting Lisbon. A superb 5-1 win at St James' Park was the highlight, although the Ukrainian side also stunned their fans with a 2-1 win at home to Sporting Lisbon. Metalist qualified top, having edged the goal difference tally against Sporting Lisbon.

Elsewhere in the draw, Inter Milan face Anzhi Makhachkala, with a possible all-Italian clash on the cards, should Napoli overcome Stuttgart. Tottenham face Feyenoord for the right to play Lazio or Sporting Lisbon, while underdogs Zilna face Borussia Monchengladbach to try and continue their dream run. Benfica or Olympiakos await the winner of that tie.

View attachment 380382

 

[fmliverpool]

View attachment 380390


Liverpool and Celta Vigo: 6 months on

As the turn of the year comes, we look at how well Liverpool have adjusted to life in La Liga, and compare it to the impact that Celta Vigo made in the Premier League.

At the moment, Liverpool are sitting pretty at 2nd in the table. 3 points behind Barcelona and 4 points ahead of Real Madrid, it appears that Henry's bold assertion that they would win the Liga BBVA if they entered is at least not way off the mark. The strike force of Suarez, Borini and Sturridge managed to grab 20 goals in total, while Moroccan Assaidi created 8 goals, more than Xavi, Fabregras, Modric and Ozil. Liverpool's home form has been fantastic, dropping just two points, in a dramatic 3-3 draw with Real Sociedad. Despite a disappointing 5-2 aggregate loss to Valladoid in the Spanish Cup, Liverpool have looked one of the most impressive teams in Spain, delighting everyone with their exciting passing and creativity.

Celta haven't enjoyed times as much, facing a relegation battle in the Premier League. Despite their strong start, Celta Vigo quickly fell away, and have only beaten Aston Villa, Everton and Wigan, since stunning early season wins over Arsenal and Manchester United. The club lost Iago Aspas to Arsenal, and Graham Dorrans and Jonathan Hogg have so far disappointed. Their away tie to Fleetwood offers a great chance to redeem themselves, and they will hope for a good run in the FA Cup.

 

[fmliverpool]

View attachment 380445
An Interview with Luis Suarez: 26/01/2013

GB: Thanks for doing this Luis. Firstly congratulations on your performance against Levante, do you think that's the best personal performance of your career?
LS: It's definitely up there, I haven't scored four goals in a game since I was 17, and it's certainly my best performance playing on the wing. It's up there with my hat-trick last season, where I scored from the halfway line. (Suarez scored all 3 in a win over Norwich City).

GB: What is your opinion on the team's latest performances?

LS: I'm delighted, just one loss so far in the league shows how strong a team we are. The 2-0 win over Real Madrid was my highlight, I was so relieved to score that penalty at 1-0 up, because they were dominating us up to that point. Four straight wins has kept us up with Barcelona, but we must beat them at Anfield in six weeks.

GB: What were your thoughts when you found out you were going to be playing in Spain?

LS: It was difficult, I had to make a big decision whether I was prepared to be away from my family so much. But Mike [Hunt] has been great, he's made sure to allow time out of training to see family when back in Liverpool. I will never understand why Liverpool now play in this league, but I've enjoyed it more than the English league so far.

GB: You've scored 15 goals in 17 games this season, already beating your Premier league tally. Is it easier to score here than back in England?

LS: I think so, yes. English defences seem to be better organised, and leave less space on the counter attack. I've had some horrible games in the Premier League, where I was specifically targeted and sometimes deliberately kicked just to reduce my chances of getting through on goal.

GB: Last season, you were in trouble with the FA for alleged racial abuse on Patrice Evra. Do you admit you were wrong?

LS: F*ck off, I'm not answering that.

GB: Please, it will only take a minute.

LS: You scum are all the same.

This interview with Guillem Balague was cut short as Luis Suarez refused to answer any more questions.