Liverpool - ReBorn

[JosefJoseph]

*I literally just got FM14 last night, so this will be my first attempt at the game with all the ups and downs that a rookie boss encounters that will surely follow*

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 to garner more attention from around the world after Brenden Rodgers was unceremoniously sacked after failing to get the Reds into Europe.

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 44 caps and 5 goals for England, the most important of which being a beautifully struck free-kick past an outstretched Jorg Stiel at Euro 2004, in Englands 4-0 win over Switzerland.

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.

​

 

[JosefJoseph]

Squad Review

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

​

1. The 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 seem to only be there to make up the numbers (Ryan Crump). This is a problem that I will carefully have to bring up at the next board meeting.


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GK - Simon Mignolet is the best 'keeper at the club, and I'd hope so considering he is a new signing. After the Belgian though is Brad Jones on an amazing 25k a week. Jones has been transfer listed to get him off the wage bill, if someone signs him then I'll look for a free agent to takeover as back-up.

DR - Glen Johnson will be starting, with Martin Kelly as the second choice back-up once he is back from injury; until then John Flanaghan will be in the first team squad getting experience throughout the pre-season.

DL - Jose Enrique beats out Aly Cissokho who is only staying in Liverpool this season due to his pace. Jack Robinson (who is out on loan) looks like a capable fullback for future seasons.

DC - Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel look like the strongest pairing, I'm going to blood Sakho in slowly so he can get used to the Premier League. Kolo Toure is the 4th choice centreback, if there is an injury Martin Kelly will have to cover in central defense.


Defense Summary - The Defense isn't as strong as in previous years (Coates was amazing), but I'm happy with the depth at right back, overall it's not bad but not great.


DMC - Lucas and Steven Gerrard are the only defensive midfielders in the senior squad and will rotate. PSG are very interested in Lucas, with the Brazilian rated at over 20,000,000 if they make a bid I might not be able to turn it down.

MC - Jordan Henderson looks like the successor to Gerrard's throne right now and I'll try to nurture him into his Idol, Joe Allen looks like something else entirely.

AMC - A lot more depth here than I thought there would be; Coutinho, Moses, Aspas, Luis Alberto all look capable on paper. Saurez and Gerrard can also drop back/move up to cover.

AMR/L - Apart from players already mentioned, there is only one winger in the squad, Raheem Sterling. First thoughts are I might have to loan him out to get some games as wingers do not seem to be an option right now.


Midfield Summary - This was a massive strength on previous Football Managers, this time I really don't see it. The midfield as a whole is just not strong enough to cope with the challenges of a full season. I'm a little worried how this year will turn out now.


SC - Luis Saurez is head and shoulders above every single player in the squad (except Gerrard), and will be the star man for the coming season. After the Uruguayan, Daniel Sturridge will cause teams problems with his pace an eye for goal. Iago Aspas does not look good enough at this point.


Forward Summary - I am one injury away from destruction. No other way to put it.

 

[Disclaimer89]

Interesting! Will be following.

Have you set yourself any specific targets? Such as developing local players?

 

[AldoKemp-1]

Good start mate, Aspas does not too bad, & I managed to get ?15mil for Joe Allan if you are going to sell him lol! I failed miserably as manager though

 

[JosefJoseph]

Interesting! Will be following.

Have you set yourself any specific targets? Such as developing local players?

No specific targets exactly, I look to develop players rather than sign world class players. I don't think with Liverpool I have any other option anyway.

 

[JosefJoseph]

Good start mate, Aspas does not too bad, & I managed to get ?15mil for Joe Allan if you are going to sell him lol! I failed miserably as manager though

Aspas will get his chance with the lack of depth in the squad, if he takes the chance and rolls with it I'll be a very happy guy.

 

[JosefJoseph]

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 Attacking Midfielders will be used, with Daniel Sturridge up front, i'll be looking for Luis Saurez to move around the front three depending on the opposition.

SUMMARY -

In short my primary tactic will incorporate the following:

- A back four, with a Ball Playing Centreback on the left to allow Agger/Sakho/Toure 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 (or Defensive 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.

- As for the attacking midfielders it'll take all of pre-season to figure out how I'm going to work it.

- Again this is my thoughts before I've got through the season, changes may have to be made.

 

[JosefJoseph]

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 will be playing till the end of pre-season now which should involve plenty of movement throughout the club, as well as press conferences and with a little bit of luck some depth to my squad.

 

[JosefJoseph]

NEWS

JOSEF WASTES NO TIME

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; Brad Jones was rumored to be the first called into the office of his new gaffer, the Australian did not look happy, say our sources, as he finds 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 Ryan Crump and Jordan Randell; more are rumored to be following in the coming days.

It wasn't just the playing staff that saw out goings however - coaches Mike Marsh, Ryland Morgans, Glen Driscoll, Andy O'Boyle as well as Under 18s manager Neil Critchley 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 Chris Davies, Barry Hunter, Julian Ward, Ian Barrigan, Andy Sayer, Kevin Hunt, Dave Fallows, David Moss and David Vizcaino all leaving, at present just two scouts remain at the club with Josef looking to establish a wider approach to recent years. Also, physios Matt Konopinski and Paolo Barreira have left the club through mutual consent.
This drastic action has surprised many, new more disciplined staff are said to have been approached.

Liverpool may also be losing senior players soon if Gerardo Martino has anything to do with it. Martino has been quoted as saying he would love to be have Luis Suarez up alongside Lionel Messi and Neymar. Barcelona are believed to be looking at tabling a 50m bid to test Liverpool's resolve, with Suarez currently on 200k a week, the new Reds boss may take this opportunity to increase transfer funds while significantly lowering the wage bill.
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[JosefJoseph]

PRESS CONFERENCE

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 get into Europe, and then from there we will fight for everything above it"

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"

It is believed that Liverpool have a transfer budget of roughly 10m.
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[JosefJoseph]

NEW SIGNING

NEW SIGNING AT ANFIELD

We've just had reports that Ghanian International Anthony Annan is currently undergoing a medical at Liverpool's training ground on the hopes of confirming a season long loan deal at the club. The 27 year old defensive midfielder would join youngsters Richairo Zikovic (Groningen) and Sam Lavelle (Blackburn) who joined for a combined fee of roughly 1.5m, and are seen as ones 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 and loan signings to move the team forward.

More worryingly for Liverpool is that the signing of Annan is rumoured to be a replacement for Brazilian International Lucas; the midfielder is said to be on the verge of a move to PSG in a deal that could eventually rise to 23m.
After a slow start to his Liverpool career Lucas has become a fan favourite, and it will be interesting to see how the supporters feel about Frederik Josef's first foray into the transfer market.

It is also believed that new Chief Scout Paul Montgomery is under orders to search for the best youngsters in football, rather than for players who can immediately help the first team.
Montgomery is himself a new signing at Anfield along with Sergio Vignoni (Scout), David Hamilton (Scout), John Steen Olsen (Scout), Gwyn Williams (Scout), Bryan Robson (Scout), Erik Larsen (Scout), Dave Galley (Physio), Nicky Reed (Physio), Gary Lewin (Physio) & Iain Brunskill (U-18s Manager),
With former Fulham manager Rene Meulensteen (Attacking Coach), Tony Carr (Ball Control Coach), David Court (Defending Coach), and the promotion of Andy Renshaw to Head Physio; this could be a completely different kind of Liverpool team we see this year.
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[JosefJoseph]

Pre-Season Over for Liverpool

Games Played = 9
Won = 9 Drawn = 0 Lost = 0 Scored = 46 Conceded = 4

View attachment 391667

The statistics do not tell the story, we played a lot of pre-season friendlies once I realised that we were in danger of not being match fit for the start of the season; I also purposely choose nearby teams to play so we could win with ease and thus increase morale.
I will not be celebrating too much about the 9-0 wins against F.C. Nomads and Formby.
Saying that however, I was pleased with the way the fullbacks got involved and positives I got from Iago Aspas who I played in various positions. I have began to alter my initial tactics, but I won't know how well they'll work until a few games into the season at least.

Liverpool have drawn Preston North End in the 2nd Round of the Capital One Cup, with no European football for the Merseyside club this season it will be important for the new manager to pacify the fans with a strong cup run.

In other news, players continue to leave Anfield in droves; Samed Yesil (Wolves), Llyod Jones (Coventry), Ryan Fulton (Crewe), Rafa Paez (Port Vale) among others have all left to gain much needed match experience. Other players like Daniel Trickett-Smith and Yusuf Mersin have not been so lucky and will have to find a new club soon if they want a career in football.


First Up West Ham

I'm pleased with starting the campaign away to West Ham, they are a decent side but not a team that should be in and around us at the end of the season.
I'm still unsure who the XI at kick-off will be.

Certain players are a certainty:

Simon Mignolet will start in goal.

John Flanagan at right back, due to an injury to Glen Johnson, and Martin Kelly still recovering.
Martin Skrtel and Daniel Agger as well as loan signing Aly Cissokho will make up the rest of the back four,
Cissokho has really impressed this pre-season, plus Jose Enrique is out with a knock.

As for the midfield Steven Gerrard (obviously) but after that it could be anyone.

Luis Suarez is suspended, so it looks like Daniel Sturridge will be leading the line to begin the season.


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[DannyLFC1892]

For a backup GK have a look at Tim Wiese, he's a free agent much better than Brad Jones and happy to be backup for around 15k a week. I would definitely keep Sterling as well, I'm 21 games into my season and he has 12 goals and 10 assists, play him on the right as an inside forward or AMC as a second striker and he's amazing.

 

[rocheyb]

Logos for every team in England:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/jjcjhm3msfkpcp6/England.zip

 

[JosefJoseph]

AUGUST

West Ham 1 Liverpool 5

View attachment 391658

"Defensively we were very solid, a great scoreline but some of our shooting was wild"

Steven Gerrard led out a confident looking Liverpool side for their first game of the season; the pace and vigor in the opening moments by the away side made numerous chances before Raheem Sterling slotted neatly, after great work from Daniel Sturridge.
Martin Skrtel made it 0-2 with barely 20 minutes played with an outstanding volley from a corner. Liverpool looked to have complete control of the game, until slack defending allowed Matt Jarvis to get one back for the Irons with the home teams only shot on target in the first half.
Steven Gerrard was taken off with a knock on the hour mark, but by then Liverpool were already 1-3 up, with Sturridge once again providing for Sterling. Daniel Agger got in on the act to make it 1-4, before it got even worse for West Ham when Joey O'Brien gave away a penalty to allow Sterling to complete his hat-trick.

MOTM - Raheem Sterling



Liverpool 4 Cardiff 0

View attachment 391657

"It was a more even game than people will realise looking at the score, but we showed the killer instinct"

Liverpool made one change from their previous match with Anthony Annan coming in for Joe Allen, allowing Steven Gerrard a more offensive role.
Again Liverpool Attacked from the off and Cardiff have Steven Caulker to thank for clearing off the line in the opening exchanges. Jordan Henderson soon found Daniel Sturridge onside for the England striker to drill home the first goal of the season at Anfield. Captain Steven Gerrard quickly made it 2-0 with an excellent 20 yard free-kick. In the 33rd minute, flamboyant midfielder Coutinho made it 3-0 with a cute finish from another through ball from Henderson.
In the second half Sterling rounded the 'keeper to finish the game off after fantastic work from Sturridge.

MOTD - Daniel Sturridge

Liverpool Fans Rejoice

What has so far been an uneventful summer for Liverpool has turned into excitement in the city, after Liverpool surprisingly announced that young Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse will be joining them with immediate effect for a fee believed to be 5m raising to a possible 19.75m.

The Englishman is highly rated and is considered to be a full international in the not too distant future, Ward-Prowse might even make his debut in the Carling Cup game against Preston North End in the coming days.

*I never usually spend that much on any player, but it's became obvious that there is no depth at MC in the squad, and after a long search and more than a few dead ends I've been able to land a good young player who can go straight into the first team squad*

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Preston 0 Liverpool 2

(Capital One Cup - 2nd Round)

View attachment 391655

"I'm very happy with the youngsters that came in, but I'm worried about the next game. Preston kicked us off the park with 22 fouls and few players ended the match complaining of knocks"

Liverpool made nine changes to the line-up for this cup match, in came squad players Iago Aspas, Luis Alberto, Kolo Toure and Mohammed Sakho; Luis Enrique was given a run out as he recovered from injury, as well as new signing James Ward-Prowse. The most intriguing inclusion however was 16 year old Jerome Sinclair, who started up front for Liverpool.
Jerome Sinclair repayed his manager for the start in the 10th minute with a debut goal from inside the box, the strikers day however was ruined when he was forced off with an injury before have time. Daniel Sturridge kept up his rich vein of form with a poachers effort after the goalkeeper had parried a shot from Luis Alberto.
Liverpool were in second gear for much of the second half, and Preston were unlucky not to get a consolation in the dying minutes as Scott Laird hit the bar from 40 yards.

Harry Wilson a second half substitute for the away side became the youngest ever player in Carling Cup History
Jerome Sinclair also became the youngest goalscorer in Liverpool history.

MOTM - Jose Enrique

Liverpool have been drawn away to Reading in the Third Round of the Capital One Cup


MONTHLY ROUND-UP

Honestly, I am amazed! I expected to start poorly and maybe ease a win against West Ham, and also get knocked out at Preston if I'm completely honest. I know we haven't faced a proper test yet (next match is Tottenham, though), but it's been a positive start.
There are concerns when it comes to depth though, as such I've decided to build very slowly; get Liverpool out of debt and concentrate on building the team from within. James Ward-Prowse was a one off big money signing, I can see the youth team players being involved in the season which will only make them stronger in the coming years.

GAMES:3 WON: 3
SCORED: 11 CONCEDED: 1

PLAYER OF THE MONTH

RAHEEM STERLING

In Other News

Sterling won August's Player of the Month Award, Daniel Sturridge was beaten into third by Wayne Rooney.
Chelsea's Oscar won Young Player of Month award, narrowly beating Coutinho (2nd) and John Flanagan (3rd).
In ironic fashion (considering recent news) David Moyes was named manager of the month, Frederik Josef came second, with Tottenham's Tim Sherwood in third.

​

 

[JosefJoseph]

For a backup GK have a look at Tim Wiese, he's a free agent much better than Brad Jones and happy to be backup for around 15k a week. I would definitely keep Sterling as well, I'm 21 games into my season and he has 12 goals and 10 assists, play him on the right as an inside forward or AMC as a second striker and he's amazing.

I looked at Tim Wiese, but he wanted 28k which defeated the purpose of waving goodbye to Brad Jones. I decided to keep Sterling during the pre-season, and after the first month he had I'm glad I did. His link up play (from AMC) with Sturridge has been incredible.

 

[JosefJoseph]

Logos for every team in England:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/jjcjhm3msfkpcp6/England.zip

Thanks, I'll take a look at that tomorrow, its 4:15 here now and I'm in work later. So this is my last update for tonight.

 

[JosefJoseph]

SEPTEMBER

Tottenham 1 Liverpool 1

View attachment 391270

"I would have taken the point before the game, but in truth neither team did enough to even earn that much"

In what can only be described as a drab opening ten minute, Coutinho managed to slide in the opening goal past the outstretched Hugo Lloris. From there Liverpool looked to be on top before a goal, from a corner, from Tottenham'snew signing Roberto Soldado completely against the run of play, made it all square at half-time.
The rest of the match continued, just as the first half started; both sides will be glad to put this match far behind them
MOTD - Steven Gerrard


INJURY NEWS - Jordan Henderson to miss Southampton
Jordan Henderson has been ruled out for the visit of Southampton, after bizarrely straining a muscle in a weights session at the club. Henderson has played every minute of Liverpool's first three league games this season, and could be replaced by new signing, and Southampton old-boy James Ward-Prowse.


Liverpool 4 Southampton 1

View attachment 391266

"Great victory against a very under-rated opponent, very happy for Ward-Prowse scoring his first goal for the club too"

Daniel Sturridge opened the scoring with barely 7 minutes on the clock, Liverpool dominated the opening exchanges with Steven Gerrard having a goal harshly disallowed before Sturridge was brought down in the box.
Gerrard stepped up confidently but Artur Boruc saved low to his left, the resulting clearance allowing Rickie Lambert, a life-long Liverpool fan, to beat Simon Mignolet at his near post. With the half-time fast approaching Raheem Sterling squeezed through the Saints defense to give Liverpool the lead at the break.
With the game drawing to a close Dejan Lovren lunged in twice in quick succession on Daniel Sturridge and found himself taking an early bath, from the resulting free-kick second half substitute James Ward-Prowse curled in a stunning free-kick against his old team, Daniel Sturridge made it 4-1 with a tight angled header to seal a nice victory for the Reds.
Jordan Rossiter also made his professional debut for Liverpool in the closing stages.

MOTD - Daniel Sturridge

Liverpool 3 Aston Villa 0

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"Very happy with a great win by the team, all around we were great and I'm finding it hard to rotate with the performances certain players are putting in. BIt worried about the media calling me 'The Tinkerer' after I changed the tactics for this match though."

Iago Aspas came in for Anthony Annan as Liverpool went with a more attacking line-up against the Villians.
The approach started well with the two wide men for Liverpool (Raheem Sterling and Coutinho) carving open the defense leaving an easy finish for Daniel Sturridge to slip home.
Raheem Sterling then continued his rich vein of form by scoring with a drilled shot from just inside the area.
In the second half Liverpool relaxed, possibly with the Capital One Cup game against Reading, and the Premier League match against Chelsea on their minds. It did not put an end to the scoring though as Mignolet made a long kick out which was controlled brilliantly by Luis Alberto, who then squared it neatly across the six-yard box for Sturridge to net his second of the day.
Richairo Zivkovic also made his Liverpool debut.

MOTD - Daniel Sturridge

Suarez Back In Contention

It's been a long wait this season for the Uruguayan, who has had to watch from the sidelines while Daniel Sturridge and Raheem Sterling set the Premier League alight. Now with this suspension over, from the Ivanovic incident last season, he could be in-line to start in he Capital One Cup match against Reading.
Liverpool look set to rotate the entire squad, with Chelsea up next in the Premier League.



Reading 2 Liverpool 1
(Capital One Cup - Third Round)

View attachment 391255

"Reading had two shots on target and had two goals to show for it, no matter how many changes were made the lineup they should easily have beat out Reading. I don't know wether to be angry or disappointed. Anthony Annan will be fined for his poor performance"

Liverpool made eleven changes to the line-up that won against Aston Villa, with Luis Suarez and Glen Johnson getting their first minutes of the campaign under their belt.
Things never really got going for either side, with Suarez coming closest in the first half but little else to show for it.
In the second things quickly started to go badly for the Premier League side as an own goal by Kolo Toure was followed soon after by Pavel Pogrebnyak tapping in after a bad mistake from loanee Anthony Annan. Kolo Toure made amends for his earlier mistake by heading home late on from a corner, but it was too late for Liverpool by then.

MOTD - Glen Johnson


Chelsea 4 Liverpool 0

View attachment 391252

"Nothing, absolutely nothing went right in this game. Absolute disgrace, and I feel like smashing my laptop after the Eden Hazard goal"

Chelsea started strong with both fullbacks and wingers pushing forward at will, but in the end it was Jon Obi Mikel who opened the deadlock with a stunning volley from outside the area, after great work from Eden Hazard.
A mistake from Petr Cech gifted Daniel Sturridge an open goal, but somehow the England and ex-Chelsea striker managed to put the ball wide of goal. With half-time approaching a hopeful ball into the box from Chelsea was bundled home by the hapless Martin Skrtel. Two own goals in as many games for Liverpool does not look good.
Chris Foy has a lot to answer for in the second half, after Steven Gerrard was taken to the side lines with a knock he was allowed to re-enter the pitch by the corner flag, which allowed the previously offside Eden Hazard to have a 30 yard gap between himself and the nearest opposition player, 3-0.
David Luiz made it four with a header as Liverpool's morale begin to slip away.

MOTD - Chris Foy


MONTHLY ROUND-UP

What started off well ended badly, the performances against Reading and Chelsea were disgraceful. With Manchester United up next, if we don't get a result I can see our morale disappearing completely.
That being said, a few young players are getting game time and we're sitting third in the table. Hopefully Luis Suarez can give the players, and fans, and reason to cheer 'cos right now he has been involved in two games and Liverpool have lost both.

GAMES:5 WON:2
SCORED:9 CONCEDED:7

PLAYER OF THE MONTH

DANIEL STURRIDGE

In Other News

Raheem Sterling has won the Young Player of the Month Award for September.

​

 

[Dean Wilkes]

Great read this is, loving the depth of the match analysis aswell....Great start to the season, think making 11 changes to the squad against reading possibly cost you the 4-0 against Chelsea as some players may have lost momentum....Ward Prowse is a superb signing though, goes on to become a world beater on the game after a few seasons....Keep up the great work, looking forward to reading more.

 

[JosefJoseph]

OCTOBER

Liverpool 3 Manchester Utd 1

View attachment 391179

"After losing the last two games I'm so happy to get back to winning ways, especially against Moyes, Manchester United and their failed atempt at mind-games."

In a game that promised so much through the media in the previous days, Manchester United and David Moyes failed to live upto it. After calling out Kolo Toure as Liverpool's weak link, Liverpool boss Frederik Josef couldn't help but laugh, as the Ivorian has hardly featured on the bench in the Premier League this season, never mind started.
In a quote that could have back-fired in such an important game Josef stated "We have an excellent chance if Moyes keeps making mistakes like this".

The decision to start Javier Hernandez as a lone striker was the first, the second was Marouane Felliani's to make. Trusted by Moyes at Everton and now at Manchester United, the Belgian clattered into Steven Gerrard resulting in a penalty which the caption duly struck home. Jordan Henderson soon extended the lead after a deep free-kick from the returning Luis Suarez caught the defense off guard.
In the second half United begin to adapt to the surprisingly attacking formation to which Liverpool had started, and they got their reward with a fantastic strike from Antonio Valencia. This was Liverpool's day however when Vidic brought down Iago Aspas in the box to gift Daniel Agger another chance from the spot. Manchester United scored with their only shot on target.
MOTM - Daniel Agger



Liverpool 0 Norwich 0

View attachment 391175

"Disappointed with the result, not with the performance - although we should have tested John Ruddy a lot more, I didn't realise Jose Mourinho was managing Norwich in this game... 10 men on the edge of the box for the entire 90 minutes"

Norwich set themselves up to defend deep and with numbers, the only out ball being a route one pass upto lone frontman Ricky van Wolfswinkel. In the first half Liverpool tried hard to create chances, but Norwich were too hard to break down. John Ruddy saved well from a Raheem Sterling drive, but parried it straight back at the winger only for Steven Whittaker to clear.
Iago Aspas had the red half of Merseyside cheering after drilling home his first goal for the club from a smart Sterling cross, the relief on the faces of the fans was evident until they noticed the linesmans flag.
Liverpool should have won but only managed 6 shots on target from 21 attempts. Simon Mignolet had just as much to do as Brad Jones, who spent the game on the bench.
MOTD- Jose Enrique



Sunderland 0 Liverpool 2

View attachment 391161

"Good solid away win, I'm going to have to start rotating my squad more now as players are becoming much more tired towards the end of matches. I'd expect Rossiter and Harry Wilson to have played 10 games each come the end of the season,"

Jordan Henderson, recalled for Coutinho opened the scoring with a curling placed shot from the corner of the area, after collecting a throw in from Glen Johnson. Connor Wickham would have equalised for Sunderland if not for a smart save from Simon Mignolet. Sunderland fans were up in arms as Luis Suarez went down looking for a penalty in the 35th minute, only to be booked for diving.
Luis Suarez hit the bar, from what he later admitted was a cross, before giving way to Iago Aspas. The Spaniard doubled the lead, lofting the ball over the goalkeeper from 25 yards to score his first goal for the club.
Lee Cattermole was stretched off with an injury, and Sunderland decided on going with a flat back five as Daniel Sturridge began finding more and more space.
MOTM - Jordan Henderson


MONTHLY ROUND-UP

Unbeaten in the month, and some really good performances too, the Norwich game was a bit disappointing but I'm happy we never conceded with a token shot on target. Individually certain players aren't doing too well, Coutinho is not adding anything to the team, and Luis Suarez will most likely not be starting the next few games.
I'm considering transfer listing him in January.

GAMES:3 WON:2
SCORED:5 CONCEDED:1

PLAYER OF THE MONTH

JORDAN HENDERSON
In Other News

Iago Aspas won the Goal of the Month award for his brilliant chip over Oscar Ustari
Everton's Roberto Martinez win the Manager of the Month award, Frederik Josef came third behind WBA's Pepe Mel.
Jerome Sinclair has gone to League One side Bristol City on loan, and Sam Lavelle, a recent signing from Blackburn has also gone to Exeter to get some first team football.
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