Bored of my Gretna game, decided to take it easy and go Liverpool lol.
Liverpool are obviously a great club capable of winning trophies. But back in the 70's/80's they were a dominant force not only in England but also in Europe! I am aiming to make Liverpool the force they were. The main aim of the first season is to put an end to Liverpool's 19 year wait for the Premier League. But I am going to play 3 seasons. After the 3 season I want to win all the main competitions in England, Europe and the World Club Championship also. So in all I want to win the Barclays Premier League, UEFA Champions League, F.A Cup, League Cup, Super Cup and the World Club Championship.
The fans were shocked at the appointment of a relatively unknown manager, especially when Benitez was not doing much wrong and a lot of the staff and players were Spanish, some threatened to leave when he went. I walked into the training ground on a cold Tuesday morning but I was up for it. I was a lifelong Liverpool fan and the chance to manage them is massive. Got to the training ground at 8:05 AM, 5 minutes late not really expecting any players to be at Melwood yet... I was wrong, 20-odd players were standing outside the training complex playing one-bounce. I was shocked. All players looked so disciplined and all looked like they were dying to get into training. I quickly realised I was going to have to keep up Benitez's discipline. I walked into Melwood with the players and after grabbing a cuppa the players were looking at me weirdly. I was puzzled. On the way to the meeting room Steven Gerrard said to me 'you can't drink tea'. I looked around, all players were drinking orange/apple juice or water. Gerrard said 'Rafa expected us to eat and drink healthily and he did also'. All of this was new to me. Just 5 months ago I was managing Prescot Cables and when we got a good win I would treat the team to a Maccies, or a KFC. This was a total shock to the system.
So after throwing away my cup of tea, me, the squad and the staff went into the meeting room. We sat around a massive desk. The first thing I said was 'Do you all want to be here, at Liverpool Football Club?'. I certainly never knew all the players and staff had so much passion and love for Liverpool Football Club. Jamie Carragher was the first to start. 'When you walk, through a storm, hold your head up high'. Then the rest started singing Liverpool's famous anthem, 'You'll never walk alone'. I couldn't believe it. After a particulary short meeting I sent Sammy Lee and the rest of the coaching staff out with the squad. I then sat at my desk with a pen and a piece of paper writing what I wanted to do with the squad. First task was to get rid of the dead wood in there, Voronin, Itandje, Dossena etc etc. I then made a call to Tom Hicks in which I pleaded for a bit more cash, at first he rejected but persuaded him to give me an extra 12 Million, Therefore 19 Million I had to spend on players.
I had a few players in mind. I needed a winger, and a couple of midfield players. I needed some bargains and that is what I got. I phoned Schalke and Lyon and voiced my interest in Jefferson Farfan and Jeremy Toulalan. We agreed a 10 Mil fee with Schalke for Farfan. Lyon were somewhat more difficult to negotiate with but we eventually agreed a 9 Mil deal. I also signed a 23 year old Brazilian midfielder for just over 1 Million from a Spanish side as back up. I sold Voronin to Sunderland, Itandje went to Lyon as part of the Toulalan transfer and I sold some other poor players. I had my team, my team were training well, had a good pre-season and looked up for the season ahead.
Pre-Season tour of Switzerland:
Young Boys 3-1 Lucas2, Johnson
Grasshopper 5-2 N'gog2, Gerrard, Skrtel, Kuyt
FC Basel 2-0 Mascherano, Gerrard
Friendlies:
Away V Wrexham 2-0 Johnson, Gerrard
Away V Crewe 2-0 Aurelio, Lucas
Won all pre season matches although no real test in there, was worried after playing Grasshopper, although we were scoring freely we had also conceded 3 in 2 games. I moved my defensive line down slightly and tampered with my more defensive players instructions. We never conceded again in pre season. Farfan looks a great signing with 3 assist in 3 starts in pre-season and 2 short sub apps. Toulalan looks decent and the rest of the lads look confident and full of ability. Going into the league season we were fit and ready to go.
Will update tomorrow with screenis, cba uploading them just of my friendly results.
Liverpool are obviously a great club capable of winning trophies. But back in the 70's/80's they were a dominant force not only in England but also in Europe! I am aiming to make Liverpool the force they were. The main aim of the first season is to put an end to Liverpool's 19 year wait for the Premier League. But I am going to play 3 seasons. After the 3 season I want to win all the main competitions in England, Europe and the World Club Championship also. So in all I want to win the Barclays Premier League, UEFA Champions League, F.A Cup, League Cup, Super Cup and the World Club Championship.
The fans were shocked at the appointment of a relatively unknown manager, especially when Benitez was not doing much wrong and a lot of the staff and players were Spanish, some threatened to leave when he went. I walked into the training ground on a cold Tuesday morning but I was up for it. I was a lifelong Liverpool fan and the chance to manage them is massive. Got to the training ground at 8:05 AM, 5 minutes late not really expecting any players to be at Melwood yet... I was wrong, 20-odd players were standing outside the training complex playing one-bounce. I was shocked. All players looked so disciplined and all looked like they were dying to get into training. I quickly realised I was going to have to keep up Benitez's discipline. I walked into Melwood with the players and after grabbing a cuppa the players were looking at me weirdly. I was puzzled. On the way to the meeting room Steven Gerrard said to me 'you can't drink tea'. I looked around, all players were drinking orange/apple juice or water. Gerrard said 'Rafa expected us to eat and drink healthily and he did also'. All of this was new to me. Just 5 months ago I was managing Prescot Cables and when we got a good win I would treat the team to a Maccies, or a KFC. This was a total shock to the system.
So after throwing away my cup of tea, me, the squad and the staff went into the meeting room. We sat around a massive desk. The first thing I said was 'Do you all want to be here, at Liverpool Football Club?'. I certainly never knew all the players and staff had so much passion and love for Liverpool Football Club. Jamie Carragher was the first to start. 'When you walk, through a storm, hold your head up high'. Then the rest started singing Liverpool's famous anthem, 'You'll never walk alone'. I couldn't believe it. After a particulary short meeting I sent Sammy Lee and the rest of the coaching staff out with the squad. I then sat at my desk with a pen and a piece of paper writing what I wanted to do with the squad. First task was to get rid of the dead wood in there, Voronin, Itandje, Dossena etc etc. I then made a call to Tom Hicks in which I pleaded for a bit more cash, at first he rejected but persuaded him to give me an extra 12 Million, Therefore 19 Million I had to spend on players.
I had a few players in mind. I needed a winger, and a couple of midfield players. I needed some bargains and that is what I got. I phoned Schalke and Lyon and voiced my interest in Jefferson Farfan and Jeremy Toulalan. We agreed a 10 Mil fee with Schalke for Farfan. Lyon were somewhat more difficult to negotiate with but we eventually agreed a 9 Mil deal. I also signed a 23 year old Brazilian midfielder for just over 1 Million from a Spanish side as back up. I sold Voronin to Sunderland, Itandje went to Lyon as part of the Toulalan transfer and I sold some other poor players. I had my team, my team were training well, had a good pre-season and looked up for the season ahead.
Pre-Season tour of Switzerland:
Young Boys 3-1 Lucas2, Johnson
Grasshopper 5-2 N'gog2, Gerrard, Skrtel, Kuyt
FC Basel 2-0 Mascherano, Gerrard
Friendlies:
Away V Wrexham 2-0 Johnson, Gerrard
Away V Crewe 2-0 Aurelio, Lucas
Won all pre season matches although no real test in there, was worried after playing Grasshopper, although we were scoring freely we had also conceded 3 in 2 games. I moved my defensive line down slightly and tampered with my more defensive players instructions. We never conceded again in pre season. Farfan looks a great signing with 3 assist in 3 starts in pre-season and 2 short sub apps. Toulalan looks decent and the rest of the lads look confident and full of ability. Going into the league season we were fit and ready to go.
Will update tomorrow with screenis, cba uploading them just of my friendly results.
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