Rafa Returns - A Liverpool Story

[TheTwelthMan]

Brendan Rodgers Steps Down as Liverpool Manager

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A shock statement was today released by Liverpool Football Club regarding the departure of beloved Manager Brendan Rodgers. The Northern Irishman has decided to step-down from his role only weeks after Liverpool's 2nd placed finish in the Barclays Premier League last season.

As you might expect there have been no end of rumours circulating Melwood this afternoon with some reports stating that the Manager was stepping down for personal reasons following the separation from his ex-wife, others said a backroom disagreement with John W. Ghad led to the departure.

But until we can confirm these reports, we can instead present you with a bit of background information on the departing Liverpool Manager.​

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Brendan Rodgers; The Story so Far...

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Brendan Rodgers (Born January 26th, 1973) is a Northern Irish Football Manager, initially he followed the steps to becoming a professional player but a genetic knee injury cut his career short at the age of just 20.

After retiring as a player, Rodgers then stayed on at Reading where he become a club Coach before eventually moving up to become a director of the academy. While studying in Spain to gain an insight into various coaching methods, José Mourinho invited Brendan Rodgers to leave Reading and take up a role as a Youth Manager at Chelsea. Rodgers accepted the invitation and stayed on as a Youth Manager until 2006, where he was promoted to Reserve Manager.

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In 2008 he was appointed manager of Watford, where he remained until accepting an offer to become manager of his former club Reading in 2009. Rodgers later went on to express his regret at leaving Vicerage Road stating that he should have stayed in the job, after all he only spent 192 days there...

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After taking over at Reading in 2009, Rodgers only managed to maintain his place at the Madejski Stadium for 6 months after only managing to win 5 matches during his tenure. The poor run of results saw the Royals sit only a single place above the drop-zone, a position which left them no choice but to dismiss Rodgers from his position at the club.

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On the 16th July, 2010.. Brendan Rodgers accepted an offer to become the Manager of Championship side Swansea City, an offer he accepted after declining a position to be a member of Roberto Mancini's Manchester City coaching staff. Rodgersd tenure at the Liberty Stadium proved to be a very successful one with the club gaining promotion to the Barclays Premier League following a Play-Off Final victory over former club Reading.

Rodgers then guided Swansea to safety in the Premier League despite the Welsh Club being favourites for relegation, this prompted interest from a number of sides including Liverpool Football Club, an offer he accepted on the 1st June, 2012.

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During his first year at Anfield, Brendan Rodgers opted to try and install a unique fast-paced attacking/possession style of play at Liverpool, something that would impress the viewers while getting the most out of his players. During this first year it was evident that a new philosophy was being installed, lots of mistakes and missed opportunities led to Liverpool finishing the season in 7th place, a mere place above where they finished the prior season.

Things vastly improved during the 2013-14 season with Liverpool finishing in 2nd place, on the way the club notched a total of 101 goals, the clubs most since the 1895-96 season and the third most in Premier League history. However, late defensive mistakes and a lack of defensive solidity meant that the club failed to win what would have been their first title in 24 years, the first since the Premier League was founded.

During this season Brendan Rodgers was awarded the LMA Manager of the Year accolade, this made him the first Liverpool Manager to have won the prestigious award in it's 20 year history.

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Liverpool Football Club will now begin the task of selecting their next Manager, not an easy task by any means.

Credit to Brendn and his 'http://www.fm-base.co.uk/forum/foot...stories/181141-liverpool-f-c-5-year-plan.html' thread for the inspiration along with some of the graphics and information in the opening posts. I do not take credit for any of his work.
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[TheTwelthMan]

The Vacancy

Liverpool Football Club - The Vacancy

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With the departure of Brendan Rodgers as Liverpool Manager, the club will now be looking for their next Manager. With a fan-base of over 100,000,000 fans worldwide the selected candidate will face a lot of pressure from the the hypothetical 12th man that is the Kop in once again turning The Reds into a domestic powerhouse.

Liverpool have now gone 24 years without a domestic title, the last coming under the Management of Kenny Dalglish back in 1990. The club have however won 5 European Cups, the latest being the penalty shoot-out win that followed a 3-3 draw against A.C. Milan back in 2005.

Liverpool currently play their home matches at the iconic stadium known as Anfield which has been used by the club since the founding back in 1892. To this date Anfield only currently holds 42,276 (All Seated) making it one of the smaller stadiums among the bigger clubs. However, having scrapped the idea of moving to a new stadium there have now been plans put in place to expand the stadium to accommodate 54,000.

Liverpool take great pride in their development of young talent, this development process takes place at the Kirkby Academy, a School established specifically to further the progress of young footballers from not only the local area, but from all over the World.

Having been opened in 1998, Kirkby Academy was presented as a 'State of the Art' Footballing Academy with former Liverpool player Steve Heighway acting as a Director of Youth. The development of Kirkby enabled the club to provide a more focused youth development programme, and also enables Melwood to be kept solely for use by the first team squad.

Four full-size grass pitches were constructed, including one with a Polytan surface. There are also a further seven smaller pitches and an indoor arena. The Academy also houses a lecture theatre and a computer-equipped classroom in order to continue the academic teaching of young teenagers pulled from school. The grounds cover an area of 56 acres.

However, these rennovations did not see an increase in first-team talent with Steven Gerrard being the last notable graduate. This all changed when Rafael Benítez took over at Anfield with the Spaniard prioritising the restructure of personnel at the Academy. Jose Seguera and Rodolfo Borrell were initially hired to focus on the youth side of the club, both having worked at the World Famous La Masia Youth Academy in Barcelona. There have since been notable names coming out of the academy as well as an increase in players being signed from other academies across the country with Jordan Ibe, Sheyi Ojo and Raheem Sterling all joining for 7 figure sums.

Notable graduates from the Kirkby Academy include Steven Gerrard, Michael Owen, Jon Flanagan, Robbie Fowler, Jamie Carragher and many more.

With Liverpool having finished 2nd last year the club will now be making their return to the UEFA Champions League, a long-awaited return for a Club who have lifted the trophy on five occasions. The facilities, fans, history and current-squad will surely be enough to attract many a Manager from all over the World.
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[TheTwelthMan]

The Unveiling

Rafael Benítez Returns to Anfield

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Liverpool Chairman Thomas Werner has today released a statement confirming the return of Rafael Benítez as Manager of Liverpool Football Club following the sudden departure of outgoing Manager Brendan Rodgers.

Benitez (54) managed Liverpool between 2004-2010 before being dismissed following a power struggle under the ownership of Tom Hicks & George Gillet in what became a very conflicting relationship.

Benitez is most belovedly known by Liverpool fans for guiding the Reds to two Champions League Finals in 3 years, the first being a 3-3p victory over A.C. Milan in Istanbul in 2005, a game that saw Liverpool trail 3-0 at half-time. He was however unable to repeat the feat two years later with A.C. Milan this time winning the tie 2-0. During his time at the Club Benitez also managed to win the 2006 FA Cup after beating West Ham United on penalties along with the 2005 UEFA Super Cup and the 2006 Community Shield.

Prior to his return to Anfield, Benitez was managing Italian side Napoli where he guided them to a 3rd placed finish in the 2013-14 Serie A campaign ensure that the club qualify for the UEFA Champions League as well as winning the Italian Cup. However, despite his instant success in Naples it seems that a return to Anfield was too much to turn down for the Spaniard.

R.Benítez: "It's a great moment for me. I managed this Club for 6 years and fell in love with the fans, the city and the history...Tt was a spell I never wanted to end so of course I am delighted to be back here. I wish to thank the board for the opportunity to return to Anfield."

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Rafa's Record as Liverpool Boss

This table shows Rafael Benitez's record during his 6 year stint at Liverpool between 2004/10, as you can see he had a very good record overall, one that slid downhill during the final season but nonetheless he has proven his worth as a Manager in England.​

 

[TheTwelthMan]

The Squad

Liverpool Football Club - The Squad

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With the 2014/15 campaign approaching we now look to the current squad.

Goalkeepers: Simon Mignolet, Brad Jones, Daniel Ward.

Defenders: Dejan Lovren, Jose Enrique, Jon Flanagan, Javi Manquillo, Mamadou Sakho, Martin Skrtel, Glen Johnson, Kolo Touré, Alberto Moreno.

Midfielders: Emre Can, Raheem Sterling, Lazar Markovic, Philippe Coutinho, Adam Lallana, Steven Gerrard (c), Jordan Henderson, Lucas Leiva, Joe Allen.

Strikers: Daniel Sturridge, Rickie Lambert, Fabio Borini, Mario Balotelli.​

 

[TheTwelthMan]

The Backroom Staff

Liverpool Football Club - The Backroom Staff

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The Fenway Sports Group are an investment company that currently serves as the parent company to the Major League Baseball's Boston Red Sox and Barclays Premier League side Liverpool Football Club.

The Company, currently chaired by Thomas Werner will be at the top of the ladder in terms of the backroom management of the club. Werner essentially has the final say on Club matters and is responsible for existence and growth of Liverpool Football Club.

As a major Football Club, Liverpool currently have a fairly large number of backroom staff. To make this coaching more essential, they are divided into 5 categories of coaching such as the Senior Management, First Team, Academy, Fitness & Physiology and last but not least Scouting.

To explain these the role of categories I will below state the responsibilities of the staff as well as the actual staff themselves.

Senior Management

The Senior management at the club is responsible for adhering to the Chairman's wishes while running the other four departments, here are the roles of the senior management:

Senior Manager	Responsible for all 5 departments
Assistant Manager	Runs the First-Team department
Head of Youth Development	In charge of the academy training
Under 18's Manager	Responsible for academy teams
Head Physio	In charge of Fitness and Physiology
Chief Scout	Runs the Scouting department

First Team

Academy/Youth Coaching

Fitness & Physiology

Scouting

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For now I have decided to leave the majority of the staff as they are, having only just arrived here I feel it is essential that I put faith in my staff to help me to settle in to life at Anfield, especially as a lot has changed since my exit in 2010. Some staff may stay on in the future but some will be replaced upon expiry of their contracts. Some areas such as the U18 coaching may be upgraded, but we'll have to wait and see.​

 

[TheTwelthMan]

The First Training Session

Liverpool Football Club - The First Training Session

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Upon the arrival at Melwood I decided to observe the players in training while Colin led the training for the day, I know a lot about some of these players but it's intriguing to see how they function as a unit as well as identifying key strengths and weaknesses in the squad.

One of the first things I noticed was the strong unity in the squad, they're a close bunch but that's no less than expected for a club led by somebody as fantastic as Steven Gerrard. Although his best days are behind him he still has the ability to influence the younger boys, as well as providing mentoring and experience. Don't get me wrong, he could still be very useful on the pitch, but his days are sadly numbered. The same could be said for Kolo Touré, Rickie Lambert and Brad Jones.

On the other side of the spectrum we have plenty of young talent in the squad with the likes of Raheem Sterling, Jordan Ibe and Jon Flanagan recently making the leap from academy prospects to first-team players. The additions of Lazar Markovic and Emre Can also allow for some versatility in the squad, there's a lot of potential on show.

One of the players I'm most looking forward to managing is Philippe Coutinho, he was a young prospect during my days at Inter Milan and I knew he had talent but he was never quite able to cement a spot in the first-team. But I look at him now and the development over the last few years is astonishing, he's quick, skillful and has a beautiful eye when it comes to unlocking a defence. He's going to be influential in any possible success this season.

A lot of scrutiny last season came from Liverpool's number of goals conceded..A lot of people blamed Simon Mignolet for this, which isn't right..Sure the lad made some mistakes but the team is a team..You can't single out individuals for collective mistakes. The key to getting Mignolet in-form is to protect his confidence, he's still young after all..His positioning, reflexes and one-on-one ability is very good, he perhaps just needs a bit more reliability and desire in the air. But that's something we'll work on over the coming year.​

 

[TheTwelthMan]

The Pre-Season Schedule

Liverpool Football Club - The Pre-Season Schedule

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It's not quite the 2011 tour of Asia as a whole but for our pre-season tour we will be visiting the continent of Asia as we take on 5 Chinese sides as we look to build a team-bond over the coming weeks before the Premier League campaign starts.

It looks as though we'll be traveling all over China as we take on Shanghai, Beijing, Fuli, Henan and Renhe whilst on our pre-season tour of the country. This will be a great time to motivate the players while observing who I believe will be featuring in my first-team squad. China has a large amount of Liverpool fans so I feel that it's going to be a great experience for us.

Here's a look at the 40-man squad that has been selected to participate in the Chinese Training Camp, this camp will begin on the 16th July and will run for 10 days until the 26th. This means the actual training camp will finish before our tour of China, but nonetheless it will be great to train in such a fantastic nation.
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[DarrylFMgenius]

Will be following mate.

 

[TheTwelthMan]

New Staff Additions

New Staff Additions at Liverpool

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Although it wasn't my intention to make changes to the backroom staff I have decided to hire 4 new coaches in a bid to boost our coaching strength in each area, the staff number here was reasonably low and so the decision to hire more coaches seemed like a viable one.

As you can see the coaching is now looking much better apart from Ball Control which remains at 3*, but it's an improvement!​

 

[TheTwelthMan]

A Trio of Signings

Liverpool Confirm Three Signings​

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Liverpool Football Club have today confirmed the signing of three new players for a combined fee of £11m. Having only returned to Anfield a couple of weeks ago Manager Rafael Benítez has wasted no time in adding to his squad, with youth clearly being a priority for the Spaniard.

The first signing was the acquisition of Mexican Central Defender Diego Reyes from FC Porto. The 21 year old has at the Portuguese club since his £5.5m move from América (MEX) 2 years ago. However, after failing to establish himself in the first-team the young defender opted to move elsewhere with Liverpool snapping him up for a minor fee of £2.8m, however this fee may rise due to ownership issues regarding the players agent. Reyes seems to have been brought in as a replacement for the outgoing Kolo Touré with the Ivorian accepting a deal to move to West Ham United for £500,000.

With Captain Steven Gerrard leaving in the Summer and Lucas Leiva an inconsistent performer on the pitch Benitez has also opted to sign a defensive midfield prospect in Andrés Cubas, the 18 year old has certainly snatched the attention of the Spaniard as he wasted no time in submitting a £5m bid to secure the Argentinians signature. Some fans may see the deal as an overspend but with ambitions to build a team for the future, who can honestly blame Benítez for snapping-up the Boca prodigy early on?

Finally, Ukrainian Goalkeeper Maxym Koval will join the Anfield Club from Dyamo Kyiv in the coming Winter transfer window. The 21 year old shot-stopper has been touted to be one of the best in the coming years but seems to have been deemed surplus to requirements by the Ukrainian club, with Kyiv accepting a relatively low bid (£3.2m) for the talented youngster.

Benítez has since made it clear that he does not plan to sign anymore players following the trio, but only time will tell if the manager sticks to his guns. Business is out of the way early at Anfield.​

 

[TheTwelthMan]

Community Shield 2014/15

Arsenal Life The FA Community Shield​

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Arsenal have lifted the FA Community Shield following a 2-1 victory over Premier League Champions Manchester City at Wembley earlier this afternoon. The FA Cup Winners put in an admirable shift as they dominated much of the game before scoring two very well worked goals.

Bosnian International Edin Džeko opened the scoring after 70 minutes, a goal that left Manchester City fans on the edge of their seats as they looked to win what could be the start of a large trophy haul this season. However, 5 minutes later Welsh midfielder Aaron Ramsey equalised for the Gunners when the ball dropped to him on the edge of the box before firing under Joe Hart in the Manchester City goal, a lovely finish from the Welshman.

The game finished in dramatic fashion with both teams looking to be set for extra-time, although Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain had other intentions as the former Southampton winger dribbled his way past Yaya Touré before cutting inside past Gael Clichy, after getting in a comfortable position the youngster then wrapped his foot around the ball from just inside the area allowing the ball to curl past the finger tips of Joe Hart, a superb solo goal and the match winner.

Arsene Wenger has now seen his Arsenal side lift two trophies in the past 3 months with Arsenal having won the FA Cup against Hull City back in May, this double comes off the back of a barren run in which the Gunners failed to win a major trophy for 9 years.

Although Manchester City struck first-blood, the Gunners rallied and went on to win the game...Wenger will be delighted with his players fighting spirit.​

 

[TheTwelthMan]

Injury Woes...

Jose Enrique Adds to Injury Woes

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José Enrique has suffered a major set-back ahead of the Premier League season with the Spaniard having torn his Achilles Tendon during a Friendly against Renhe. The full-back began making a darting run down the left-flank before pulling up in agony just before the half-time break. The injury comes only weeks after the recovery from a prior inury that kept Enrique out for much of the 2013/14 campaign. It is thought that Enrique will now be out of action for at least another 2 months as his injury only adds to concern for the Liverpool Manager.

Liverpool will now be without Summer signings Adam Lallana and Dejan Lovren for their opening Premier League fixtures along with the injury of José Enrique. Hopefully not of sign of things to come for Benítez and his squad.​

 

[TheTwelthMan]

Pre-Season Ends

Liverpool Return Home Ahead of Season Opening​

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Liverpool Football Club have today returned home following their pre-season tour of China. The Reds have been on tour for the past month in which they participated in Friendly matches against 5 Chinese Football teams. The tour was seen as a good chance to help expand the Liverpool brand to areas all over the World while allowing the Liverpool squad to harmonise ahead of their 2014/15 Premier League season.

The confidence in the Liverpool camp seems to be on show with The Reds securing 4 wins out of the 5 matches played, the only draw coming against Chinese Super League side Beijing. Rafael Benítez will be delighted to see the attitude of his players as he looks to continue on the philosophy and foundations left by former Manager Brendan Rodgers.

Confidence and Teamwork will definitely be a needed component as the Anfield Club look set to begin their domestic campaign with a trio of difficult fixtures against Southampton, Manchester City and Arsenal. All 3 of these teams look to be top 4 contenders this season leaving Liverpool the need to pick up the points where they can against their opponents.

The Southampton match will certainly be under the spotlight with Liverpool having signed a trio of players from the Saints during the Summer window. Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana and Dejan Lovren all joined Liverpool from St. Mary's during July but with Lallana and Lovren set to miss the game through injury, it'll be interesting to see how the Liverpool team shape-up against an unpredictable Koeman team.​

 

[TheTwelthMan]

Choosing the Captain

Gerrard to Remain Liverpool Captain

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It has today been decided by Rafael Benítez that Steven Gerrard will remain Liverpool Captain for the 2014/15 Premier League campaign, the scouser has now been Captain of the club for 11 seasons and will be delighted to have a 12th in sight as he looks to end his Liverpool career on a high ahead of his Summer move to LA Galaxy.

The 34 year old may be past his peak but remains an influential member of the Liverpool team, his presence in the big matches will certainly help to rally the Liverpool side as they look to mount another title challenge during his last season at the club.

It is thought that the Liverpudlian will return to Anfield when he decides to hang-up his boots with a coaching role the future option for the Reds Captain.

This means Benítez has one more season in which to decide who will replace the long-serving Captain with Gerrard's understudy and current Vice-Captain Jordan Henderson being touted by the media as the next possible candidate.​

 

[TheTwelthMan]

Winning Start...

A Winning Start at Anfield​

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An enthralling display from Liverpool saw the Reds secure a 4-0 victory over Southampton in their opening game of the season at Anfield. The atmosphere was rocking prior to the game with the famous "You'll Never Walk Alone" anthem being echoed around the venue, there was a lot of hope for the Reds ahead of the season and the fans were certainly voicing their affection for the club.

This game was to be Rafael Benítez's first competitive fixture since his return as Liverpool Manager and I'm sure nobody will be smiling as much as him as his side were in cruise control during their performance against the Saints on Saturday afternoon.

Italian Summer acquisition Mario Balotelli opened his Liverpool account after just 10 minutes when the Italian latched onto a Raheem Sterling pass before guiding the ball under the large frame of Southampton goalkeeper Fraser Forster.

Just 9 minutes later it was 3-0 to the Reds as Daniel Sturridge's 6 minute double put Liverpool out of sight, Sturridge was influential in the Reds 2nd placed finish last season and seems to have picked up where he left of with an impressive brace. It's not quite Suárez and Sturridge but Balotelli and Sturridge seem more than capable of firing their team to glory this season.

The rout was completed after 54 minutes when French defender Mamadou Sakho towered above the Southampton defence to guide home Steven Gerrard's corner, a well-timed header from the former PSG man as the ball nestled into the top right hand corner, out of Forster's reach.

The Reds will now be full of confidence as they prepare for a stern test away at the Etihad Stadium as they take on last seasons Premier League Champions, but if this display is anything to go by they will be more than confident of securing three more points.

As for Southampton, well it's not a great introduction to life in England for Ronald Koeman, but there's plenty of time to improve.

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Match Stats

It really was a controlling performance, lots of possession and lots of chances created. If this is a sign of things to come over the next 37 games, I'm excited. Our team isn't even at 100% yet in terms of fluidity or match fitness so to come out on top against a very young, talented set of players such as Southampton, it's astonishing.​

 

[DeanHehe]

To be brutally honest I don't feel that this story will be able take off, there's way too many Liverpool stories.
If this had came out 4 months ago then it would have had over 100,000 views IMO.

 

[TheTwelthMan]

To be brutally honest I don't feel that this story will be able take off, there's way too many Liverpool stories.
If this had came out 4 months ago then it would have had over 100,000 views IMO.

It's all about the fun, writing helps me to become committed to a save. Views are one thing but having fun myself is the main goal.

 

[CataDiaz12]

Cubas! Awesome playe, if you use him well, he becomes world class

 

[TheTwelthMan]

Champions League Group Stage Draw (2014/15)

UEFA Champions League Group Stage Draw​

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August 28th has arrived and this means one thing...The UEFA Champions League Group Stage, and with Liverpool having finished 2nd in the league last year we've automatically qualified for this round. Having won the competition 5 times we know the Champions League very well, the Kop always provide fantastic atmosphere that unnerves the biggest of competitors.

It's a competition that not only brings pride, but a lot of money..Qualification for this stage alone brings in millions in terms of revenue which makes it a dream competition for clubs seeking financial gain. Balancing the domestic campaign and the European one won't be easy, but hopefully we can do.

Let's look at the teams competing in this years group stage.

First Seed Teams:

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Some big names in here along with Porto and Benfica. These are the terrifying teams, nobody wants to face Bayern, Barcelona or Real Madrid but then again you have to beat the best to be the best.

Second Seed Teams:

Here's a look at the second seed teams in this years Champions League, hopefully we can avoid the big boys (Man City/PSG) and find ourselves alongside Zenit, Basel or Shakhtar. This seed could be important for us.

Third Seed Teams:

We find ourselves in the third seed, this is fair enough seeing as we haven't been a consistent European team, we'll be avoiding draws against Ajax, Sporting and Napoli which is pleasing.

Fourth Seed Teams:

Some surprise candidates in the fourth seed with Strømsgodset IF and Tel-Aviv along with some of the European big boys in AS Roma and AS Monaco. We'll certainly be looking to pick up a good draw here to further our chances of progressing.

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The Draw...

Having looked at the teams in this years Champions League the draw got underway, Legends from the decades pulled names from the hat with Pelé, Luis Figo and Fabio Canavarro to name a few...

Here's a look at how the groups looked upon completion of the draw:

It's not been an easy one for us, as a third seed team we've been drawn against two giants in FC Barcelona and Serie A's Juventus..Tel-Aviv make up the group but qualification is gonna be difficult for us..But Europa League should be an acceptable fall-back if we don't qualify.

Here's how the schedule is looking for our Champions League campaign, we start with an away trip to Israel to take on Tel-Aviv before returning to Anfield to take on Barcelona and Juventus. We then travel to Turin, return to Anfield to face Tel-Aviv and end the group with a stern test at the Nou Camp.

I hope we can qualify but we definitely need to make sure we pick up the points in our home games, 10 points is a realistic target.​

 

[TheTwelthMan]

Cubas! Awesome playe, if you use him well, he becomes world class

He looks like a good little player! Had a save with Boca for a few seasons but I don't remember playing him much, hopefully he'll develop well.