[FM10] Frank? He Hate Me. Tales of an increasingly average manager.

[Terk]

So, 361 days after taking the job at Notts County, I have been approached by Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn to take over at the Stadium of Light on an eighteen month deal, replacing Stanley Menzo. They're 19th in the Premier League with eight points from thirteen games (but only three points from safety) and they still have a good squad (Darren Bent, Lorik Cana, Lee Cattermole, Anton Ferdinand, James McFadden), which made it all the more satisfying when I told them where they could stick their offer.

[Dalbeider]

So did the defences just not bother with this game?

The relief that came when Smárason put in the sixth after we'd thrown away a 5-1 lead was unbelievable.

Yep, seems to happen a lot in FM10 for some reason (sucky defense, most likely). Just yesterday I saw that same scoreline in an Eintracht Braunschweig vs. Dynamo Dresden in the German 2.Bundesliga. Must have been fun to watch, at least...

[Terk]

Fun whilst we were cuffing them, certainly. Not quite so much fun watching my defenders stand around like total muppets whilst Oldham were banging their way towards an equaliser.

[Terk]

2012/13

Part 1

Summary

Well, could it be? It seems that the final four games of last season, in which we finally found our feet, were a sign of things to come as we have played some truly outstanding football (along with the occasional appearance of the ridiculous as ever) and we are certainly heading towards 'objective achieved'.

League 1

The inconsistency that plagued my first season in charge at Notts County has been far less evident this season as we've managed to string together a few runs of four and five wins which leave us sitting pretty atop the table at the half way stage. It didn't look so good when we got spanked 3-0 at home by Swindon on the opening day, nor when games six, seven and eight resulted in hugely frustrating draws against sides that were then in the bottom third of the table. Thankfully though, they have not been the norm this time around, and some of the football we have played this season has been truly wonderful to watch.

The highlight so far has been either the 4-0 win at Crewe or the 4-0 home demolition of Watford, both were achieved with excellent performances, quick on the break with moves sweeping from one end of the field to the other. The lowlight was probably actually a win, the 6-5 success over Oldham which involved throwing away a 5-1 lead with some of the worst defending I have ever seen.

League Positions Graph

Cups

Average. We reached the target set of the second round of the League Cup where we pushed Premier League Blackburn all the way, only to lose to a goal scored two minutes from time, but we were embarrassed in the second round on the FA Cup (our target was third round) by bottom-of-League-Two Accrington. We're set to face Blackpool in the Northern section final of the Johnstone's Paint trophy.

Transfers

A very very lot out, slightly fewer in. The three missing from the top of the 'out' section in that screenshot are Karl Hawley, Craig Westcarr and Richie Byrne, each of whom was released on a free at the end of his contract. I still have just over a million to spend in January and I'm looking for a striker and competition on the right wing for Gary Taylor-Fletcher. Overall though, I'm very pleased with the business we conducted over the summer.

Key Players

As you would expect with us sitting top of the table, the squad as a whole has been performing pretty well (sixteen out of twenty-three have a rating of 7.00 or higher) but there have been a few stand-outs. Zat Knight has been sensational (when fit), an absolute rock at the heart of our defence and a goal threat from set pieces whilst club captain Paul Quinn is having a very good season either at right back or filling in for Knight in the centre of defence.

Jason Puncheon is revelling in the style of quick breaking play we employ and his assist count has already broken the club record. If he doesn't end up with at least twenty-five assists this season, I'll be pretty disappointed in him. The one who gets all the headlines, however, is Irish striker Shane Long, and eighteen goals in twenty-seven games, you can see why. He took a little while to settle down after his move, but he has been absolutely lethal since he won a regular place.

We have some good youngsters in the squad, Arvydas Novikovas has shown glimpses of brilliance and Arnaud Mendy has impressed as a solid back up player and Pedro Botelho just gets better and better as an attacking left back.

The Season Ahead

Obviously, promotion is very much the goal. The highest points tally it has taken to claim a top two spot in League One in the three game seasons so far has been the ninety points that Leeds claimed in second spot last season (although actually eighty-four would still have seen them beat third placed Watford). We seem very much on for that sort of tally from our campaign, but there is a nagging doubt in my mind that says that the team will fall apart at some point during the campaign.

One potential problem lurking is the renewal of contracts. A number of key players are out of contract in the summer and are either sulking at my refusal to sell them last summer (Paul Quinn and Arnor Smárason) or getting a bit too greedy with their wage demands (Jason Puncheon and Pedro Botelho). To be honest, I can't see Quinn or Smárason changing their minds and I'm pretty sure they'll leave in the summer, but I'll probably cave to the demands of my two left-sided wizards before the season is out.

[TheMister]

KUTGW Terk

You'll need to keep it up - as any of the 5 or 6 behind are still in the hunt!

[Terk]

Cheers. I've reckon that any of the top 7 are still in with a chance of automatic promotion should they put a run together and I've got a feeling that it might take more than 90 points to secure 2nd place this time around. I'm guessing that one or two teams may make a break in the next ten or so games, so it could be a crucial part of the season coming up.

[Terk]

2012/13

Part 2

Summary

A fantastic season that saw us break many records, play some wonderful football and, most importantly, bag ourselves a place in next season's Championship. The board love me, the fans love me, and the media are quick to link me with practically every job going, including a few tasty Premier League ones (Spurs and West Ham, as well as the offer from Sunderland earlier in the season).

League 1

A truly superb season, we went on an unbeaten run from round 21 to 38 which all but sealed our promotion. A couple of disappointing defeats delayed the inevitable, but with four games left we clinched promotion and a game later we wrapped up the title. Over 100 points and 100 goals, we really were untouchable in the second half of the campaign, winning far more than our fair share of games by margins of 3-0, 4-0 and 5-0. Game of the season was probably the 5-0 home win over Blackpool in January, a stunning performance against a side who ended up finishing second and one we'd had difficult games against before. It also included one of six hat-tricks that Shane Long bagged during the season.

League Positions Graph

Cups

Having been knocked out of both the FA and League Cups before Christmas, all we had to focus on was the Johnstone's Paint Pot. Having progressed to the Northern section final, January saw us claim a 3-2 aggregate win over Blackpool, booking our place at Wembley. An impressive crowd of over 85,000 turned up for the final against Cardiff, and our lot went home happy having seen Smárason tear the Welshists apart in a 5-0 win.

Paint Pot Final

Transfers

With a little bit of cash still to spend, we strengthened the squad early in January with three arrivals, of which Chris Burke (£600,000 from Portsmouth) was the only anticipated first teamer. Micky Murphy (a quite brilliant Irish name), a defensive midfielder, joined from Bohemians for £50,000 whilst Maikel Hernando swapped our parent club, St. Etienne, for Meadow Lane for £500,000. The young Uruguayan spent plenty of time heading back home to play for the U-20s, but he also worked his way into our first team, grabbing five goals in a good start to life with us.

Later in the window we sold contract-refusing captain Paul Quinn to Swansea for £750,000 and replaced him with Celtic's full back Mark Wilson for £130,000. Darcy Blake also returned to Cardiff for £70,000.

Key Players

Where to start? Wee Chrissy Burke did well (when fit) after he joined in January and Zat Knight continued his excellent form at the heart of our defence. Pedro Boltelho continues to improve on the left flank, and fellow youngsters Marek Kysela, Arnaud Mendy and Arvydas Novikovas showed real promise, particularly Novikovas when played on the left flank.

Kári Arnason had a very good season as the central playmaker in our midfield, showing off a good range of passing an an ability to score from the edge of the area, whilst Arnór Smárason put his contract issues to one side, taking up the captaincy after Quinn left, and putting in a string of late season performances which sealed our promotion.

The undoubted stars of the show, however, were Jason Puncheon and Shane Long. Puncheon picked up a few injuries after Christmas, but he continued his form, providing goal after goal after goal on the break, particularly for Long. I think it was Dean Ashton for Derby on CM01/02 the last time I had a striker top thirty goals in a season (my teams tend to spread the goals around) and I can't remember any time that I've had someone top forty. So for Long to score so many, even with a near ten hour goal drought in the closing games of the season, is something truly special; a season I will always remember.

Next Season

Avoiding relegation will be the #1 target, but with the squad I have and another £5M or so to strengthen (if I get such cash), I would be disappointed if we weren't up to finishing around 13th or 14th in the Championship.

[Terk]

The Problem

May 2013

After two successive 8th place finishes, Liverpool finally sacked Rafa Benítez, and to my massive surprise, my name was linked as favourite to take over. I stated in the media that I would be very interested (which annoyed my board, but they understood) and now it seems I am faced with a dilemma. Now, I'm a Liverpool fan, it says so in my profile, I had my long terms eyes set on this job. Only, it wasn't supposed to come around this quick and I don't know if I want to leave Notts County, I'm really enjoying moving them up the ladder. The thing that intrigues me though is that transfer budget. Just how bad are the finances at Anfield? Restoring them to the top from that kind of trouble could be a brilliant challenge?

[DodgeeD]

Good career so far Terk and an interesting job offer! As you say, it could be a challenge to find out what kind of mess they are in - what does the Liverpool squad look like at present? However, I like what you've started at Notts Co and it would be interesting to see how they adapt to the step up to the Championship.

[Dalbeider]

And more importantly: is Lucas still part of the Liverpool squad so you can release him on a free transfer and/or torture him by sending him on loan to some Third Division team in Russia?

I'd jump in with both feet, but then I can't ever let interesting offers from top division teams pass by, unless I'm in one of them. Add in the additional challenge of a scrawny transfer budget and the fact that it's one of my favourite teams, and I'm sold.

[Terk]

Cheers, DodgeeD. It's a bit removed from Tai Po, although your career is tempting me to give the Asian leagues a shot at some point

The Liverpool squad hasn't actually changed that much, they still have Reina, Gerrard, Johnson, Mascherano, Benayoun, Aquilani and Torres. And looking at the transfer history, they don't seem to have spent their way into oblivion either, so I can only assume it's loan debt and the suchlike that has then in trouble. Their finances are listed as 'insecure', so I'm guessing they're in the red and their value is down to £129M.

I asked for a week long delay to my decision. Right now I'm leaning towards turning them down, but ten minutes ago I was set on taking it

[Terk]

And more importantly: is Lucas still part of the Liverpool squad so you can release him on a free transfer and/or torture him by sending him on loan to some Third Division team in Russia?

I'd jump in with both feet, but then I can't ever let interesting offers from top division teams pass by, unless I'm in one of them. Add in the additional challenge of a scrawny transfer budget and the fact that it's one of my favourite teams, and I'm sold.

Lucas was one of the first players to leave in the game, £11.25M to Man City, so at least Benítez did something right before he left They're still saddled with Babel though.

[Terk]

BREAKING NEWS

I've taken the Liverpool job. Couldn't resist it. And now I see the trouble I'm in, the club are £25,930,261 in the red! The wages are nearly £200,000 per week over budget and we're burning over £4,000,000 per month in loan repayments and interest. This is going to be interesting.

EDIT: Notts County hired Real Madrid youth coach Jonathan Woodgate to replace me.

[DodgeeD]

Good luck with the new job Terk. That's some serious financial trouble you've got there! Is it still Gillet & Hicks in charge?

[TheMister]

The debt, in it's own right, isn't a mountain; but it takes on a whole different complexion when you consider the monthly payments combined with a bloated wage bill

[Dalbeider]

Hm, wow. That's a big black hole there. Looks like it's back to free transfers in and (hopefully) big sales out. Anybody interested in Babel?

[rancer890]

Wow. Good luck with Liverpool Terk. Who are you planning to sell?

Hope you don't regret entering this situation in the end.

[Terk]

DodgeeD, Christian Purslow took over from Hicks about six months ago in the game.

Babel is first on the list to go, but the only bids so far have been from Stoke and Fulham offering to pay £5M over 48 months. There's already a free transfer arranged to bring in Slovenian goalkeeper Jan Koprivec from Werder Bremen.

Carragher is still around and needs a zimmer frame, Richard Dunne isn't much quicker. Obviously Dani Agger was sold a few years ago (why would you want to keep a decent defender at the club?) and I think I'll look to get rid of Benayoun and Kuyt, who are both over the hill now and still on over £40K per week. I'd like to keep hold of Gerrard, but at 33 and earning £125,000 per week, if we get a decent bid then he'll be off. I'll do anything to avoid selling Torres, Mascherano or Reina.

Cheers for all the support, guys I think I'll be back down in the lower leagues before the season is out.

[Terk]

Oh, and I saved the game just before I took over at Liverpool, so if it all goes horribly wrong then I can just pretend it never happened

[Cardiovascular]

BREAKING NEWS

I've taken the Liverpool job. Couldn't resist it. And now I see the trouble I'm in, the club are £25,930,261 in the red! The wages are nearly £200,000 per week over budget and we're burning over £4,000,000 per month in loan repayments and interest. This is going to be interesting.

EDIT: Notts County hired Real Madrid youth coach Jonathan Woodgate to replace me.

Quoting this so we all know it happened

[Terk]

Cheers for that, Cardio

[Terk]

2013/14

Preview

'Liverpool FC is hard as hell' You've got to love somebody who quotes the Anfield Rap in their update thread. And this challenge I've accepted could well be 'hard as hell'. It was with a heavy heart that I left Notts County, and I'll be keeping an eye out to see how they do in the Championship under Woodgate, but right now it's onward and (hopefully) upward.

Liverpool

History

Liverpool Football Club is a professional association football club based in Liverpool, England. The club plays in the Premier League, and it is the most successful club in the history of English football; the club has won more trophies than any other English club. Liverpool Football Club has won a record eighteen First Division titles, and seven League Cups. The club has won five European Cups, which is an English record and the FA Cup eight times.

The club was founded in 1892, and quickly became a strong force in English football, winning five league championships between 1900 and 1947. However, Liverpool spent several years in the Second Division (level 2) during the late 1950s, and did not win promotion again until the appointment of Bill Shankly as manager in 1959. The club traditionally played in red and white, but this was changed to all red in the 1960s.

Under Shankly's management, Liverpool won three League Championship titles, two FA Cups and a UEFA Cup; the club's first European trophy. In the past 30 years, they have been one of the most successful clubs in English and European football; they won four European Cups between 1977 and 1984. The club experienced a lean period during the 1990s, but saw a revival when they won a cup treble in 2001 and the club's fifth European Cup in 2005.

The Heysel Stadium disaster made the club infamous in Europe; 39 Juventus fans died after a wall collapsed as they fled from charging Liverpool fans. The club was involved in a worse disaster four years later—the Hillsborough Disaster— which saw the death of 96 Liverpool fans in a crush against perimeter fencing. Both disasters have had wide-ranging impacts on English and European football, and the club to this day.

Liverpool F.C. has played at Anfield since its formation, but plans to move to a new stadium in Stanley Park, which was due to be completed by 2011 but has been put on hold until economic conditions improve. Liverpool has a large and diverse fan base, which holds long-standing rivalries with several clubs. The most notable of these is their rivalry with Manchester United, and Everton, with whom they regularly contest the Merseyside derby.

Info

Stadium: Anfield

Capacity: 45,362 (all-seater)

Bank Balance: £18,463,722

Transfer Budget: £8,352,820

Wage Budget: £1,034,540 per week

Wage Bill: £1,146,379 per week

Media Prediction: 5th

Board Expectation: Europa League qualification

Summary

On the face of it the situation may seem to be solved already, a nice balance, decently in the black and enough money for a transfer fund. That came about thanks to the £29.4M in TV revenue from the Premier League and two kit sponsorship deals worth £33M per season between them. Unfortunately, the better of them, worth £20M per season, is now in its final year, and unless we seriously impress in this campaign then the deal we sign for next season will be significantly reduced. The club operated at a loss of nearly £50M last season, despite no net transfer spend, and with just over £4M per month going out of the door to service the £287M of bank loans, the future isn't bright either.

The squad still has quality, although an ageing Steve Gerrard is quickly losing his pace. Deals have already been agreed to sell Dirk Kuyt (£2M to Schalke), Kévin Monnet-Paquet (£5M to Panathinaikos) and Nikola Saric (£2M to FC Midtjylland) whilst Jamie Carragher has been persuaded to sign a one year deal for just less than half the £41,000 per week he was on. There's a decent amount of young talent which will have to be relied upon, as I can't in all good conscience dip into my transfer fund knowing that the club is leaking money, and it looks like the best we can do to get rid of Ryan Babel is a loan deal which will see us still paying half his wages. The season ahead looks like being a long one.

[Cardiovascular]

I think you're going to be the one parting with cash to sell Babel

[TheMister]

Oh, and I saved the game just before I took over at Liverpool, so if it all goes horribly wrong then I can just pretend it never happened

Such shenanigans from a moderator

[Terk]

Such shenanigans from a moderator

It's only us mods who can get away with such things The power of the delete option

[TheMister]

Nazi

BTW, your negative vibes about the chances of my Eintracht Frankfurt title challenge have had an effect on my team

Sorry for the off-topic :o

[Terk]

No need to be sorry, you have my wholehearted apologies I'll make sure to stick a bet on next time you're listed at outrageous odds

[Terk]

A quick update as the winds of change blow through Anfield. Gone are the days of splashing £20M+ on players like Torres, Keane and Mascherano, now we're forced to shop bargain basement, picking up a striker on a free transfer after he was discarded by Spurs. We've been bringing cash in though, and plenty of it. The only transfer I wasn't happy about was the sale of Glen Johnson, but he had stated a desire to move and when Chelsea came in with their £22M offer, the board went over my head and accepted it, a decision which I can understand.

I'm hoping to bring in a young Brazilian full back on loan from Benfica and then spend some actual money on signing Dirk Marcellis from HSV for £5M.

I may have more difficulty in keeping my current squad together as Chelsea are after Tom Huddlestone (they'll have to part with another £20M to get him) and Barcelona are chasing Emiliano Insúa very hard indeed whilst Zaragoza are desperately trying to unsettle Mascherano.

We're now about £80,000 per week under our wage budget.

[Raware]

Nice career progression so far Terk 4 clubs in 4 years...a true managerial merry-go-round! You've got a job on your hands with the scousers but a good start in sorting out the wayward finances already. £40 million in a month isn't a bad profit!

I know you're a Liverpool fan and whilst you said you'd have preferred to cut your managerial teeth for a little while longer before taking your dream job, will this signal a lengthy stay? (without jinxing you, if you don't get the boot that is ) Or will you be looking to move on in the future?

[Terk]

Loyalty has never been my greatest quality on FM I'm always attracted by shiny new jobs. As long as I can keep this job though, I'm planning on staying at Anfield for a long while now. I think that, like the real life version, my success is going to largely be dependent on keeping Torres fit, although Lauri Dalla Valle looks to have developed into a decent player as well.

[psychonaut]

Heh...Nikola Saric, one of your departed Liverpool players, plays for me at Dundee. Random bit of useless info over...

[rancer890]

Nice work on the 40 million pound fundraising Terk. Hope you can turn it around at Anfield.

[Terk]

Cheers, rancer

I've updated the transfers screenshot, we've brought a few more faces in. Currently have my scouts searching for the best young talent and it seems that Portugal is the place to go. Currently raiding the youth teams of Porto, Benfica and Sporting.

[salkster2102]

Nice going with the finances Mr Terk. Hope you get us back where we belong

[rancer890]

Portugal? That's been a bad experience for me. Every player I get from that country is a bust.

I personally have always scouted Brazil/Spain because I can find always good players for cheap because of the release clauses.

I can't wait till you actually start playing some league games, and maybe you'll get Liverpool back to the Champions League soon enough.

[Terk]

Hopefully I won't have the same experience with my Portuguese kids, rancer. At worst I'm hoping to sell them on for a profit in a couple of years time.

[Terk]

2013/14

Part 1: September 2013

Right, seeing as interest seems to have been piqued by my move to Liverpool, I'm going to update every two game months, and given that September has just been completed, it's time for the first of those updates.

Transfers

Now that is a hell of a lot of movement, even if it would appear that I'm something of a loan whore. I'm pretty pleased with the business we've done and the kids we've brought in - I would expect to be able to, at very least, sell each of them for a profit and one or two look like real prospects - and a net gain of £31,000,000 didn't exactly hurt the bank balance. Interestingly, the one deal that the fans were ****ed off about was selling Dirk Kuyt for £2M.

At the beginning of October, the bank balance is sitting at a healthy looking £36,572,729 but when you factor in the fact that during September we made a loss of £9,264,678 and you have to think that by the end of the January transfer window we could be right back where we started.

Premier League

OK, let's take this game-by-game.

1. Sunderland (away), won 1-0

A very tough opening game in which we had more of the ball and the slightly better chances, but had to wait until the 84th minute for substitute Chris Gadi to stick in the only goal after Lorik Cana had been sent off.

2. Burnley (away), lost 1-0

Three days later and I was confident of a second win, but we made a few too many changes and the team didn't gel, eventually sinking to Jay Rodriguez's 78th minute strike. I did feel a little better the following weekend when Burnley went to the Emirates and dicked Arsenal 3-0 on their own patch.

3. Hull (home), won 5-0

They no longer have the Tango Man in charge, so I was expecting a bit better from East Yorkshire's finest, but Torres grabbed two, Adil Rami powered in a header, David Martin scored a wonderfully bizarre own goal and Gadi came off the bench again to wrap it up. Nice.

4. West Brom (home), drew 2-2

In the end this felt good, but having to come back from 2-0 down against the Baggies really isn't. Two defence splitting passes from Yossi Benayoun gave Simon Cox two early goals, and after a bit of half-time hair-drying, we came out and goals from Miroslav Stoch and Rami earned us a point.

5. Reading (home), won 3-0

Against a newly promoted side I feared the worst, but it was a simple win with goals from Torres and Gerrard in the first half before Lauri Dalla Valle grabbed his first league goal for the club late on.

6. Arsenal (away), lost 1-0

A good effort in which we had plenty of chances to score, but we could take them and were punished in the second half by a stunning solo goal from that little pest, Theo Walcott. Good to see that we can still compete with the better teams though.

7. Fulham (home), won 3-1

We only grabbed this one late on, and given that Fulham are squarely rooted to the foot of the table, that would have been embarrassing. Dalla Valle put us in front but a Mascherano **** up in the first minute of the second half saw Edixon Perea equalise. Fortunately our super-sub Gadi came on to save the day, putting us back in front before Adrien wrapped up the points.

League Cup

2nd Round. Leeds (home), won 4-2 (a.e.t.)

Given that we have a number of good kids around the place, decided to go down the Arsenal route and fielded five players under 20 years of age. Looked to have backfired when we went 2-0 down but Murray McManus and David Drake pulled us level before extra time goals from McManus and SupercalifragilisticRomanPavlyuchenko saw us through.

3rd Round. Q.P.R. (away), won 3-2

Stuck with the kids policy, again looked not to have been the best decision as we went behind early on. Sergio García pulled us level before we fell behind again, only for McManus to get us back on terms. Sergio García helped us avoid extra time with a 93rd minute winner. New Chinese striker Chen Chenqi impressed with two assists.

Impressive Players

There are a good number who've done well, but the two who have surprised me most have been Adil Rami, who has won everything in the air in both penalty areas and Magaye Gueye, who has been by far our most creative player as easily my player of the season so far.

Summary

A decent start, not world beating but not as bad as I had feared. We have Man City in the fourth round of the League Cup, so I'm glad the board don't rate the competition as important and we're in the early mix for European places. If we're still 5th come May, I'll be very happy; European football next season is an absolute must to help our finances.

[rancer890]

It's a positive start Terk. Also pleased you signed a Chinese player...

It's certainly something to build on for the rest of the season.

[hrbfcrule]

Liking the way you are describing your career. Really helps me get into it.

Congratz on a decent career so far:thup:

However as a Chelsea fan i really hate liverpool (im sure you hate us chelsea fans as well ), but despite this i really want to see you turn them around. good luck because it looks like it will be a difficult job:thup:

[Terk]

Thanks for the support again, rancer. And Chen Chenqi came highly recommended by my scouts. He's only 18 years old and had already played 86 games for Liaoning, scoring 46 goals and grabbing 18 assists. Also has 16 goals in 30 youth caps for China. I'm hopeful he can make the step up.

And good to have you along, hrbfcrule, glad you're enjoying it. I can understand the animosity given that you're a Chelsea fan, and rest assured it is mutual. Maybe you can tell me what it feels like to win the title though, we haven't done that since I was 7

[Terk]

2013/14

Part 2: November 2013

Premier League

Right, a game-by-game account again.

8. Aston Villa (away), won 4-2

I was expecting a tough game and got it. Torres gave us the lead in twenty-five seconds but Delfouneso equalised. Rami restored our lead but Antonio Valencia then pegged us back. Second half was better, Mascherano thumping one in from twenty yards before Torres broke away in injury time to seal the deal.

9. Stoke (home), won 4-1

We went behind (a stunning free kick from Ola Toivonen) which wasn't in the plans, but Gadi repayed on his first start with a brace whilst Torres and Sergio García made it easy enough in the end.

10. Man Utd (home), won 4-0

Frankly I was ******** myself given that they'd won 7 on the bounce, but I needn't have worried. Torres brilliantly set up Dalla Valle for the first then grabbed one himself two minutes later. Rami added a third just after the hour, and even though Insúa was then sent off, Pavlyuchenko came off the bench to rub salt into Salford wounds.

11. Wigan (away), won 2-0

I think this is what you class as a run. Two Gerrard strikes, the second from the penalty spot, sealed a pretty easy win over a struggling side.

12. Newcastle (away), lost 4-3

Ah, run over then. Insúa and Reina both made howlers to give them early goals, we pegged them with an effort from Gerrard and two from Gadi to make it 3-3 with ten minutes left, but Olexiy Gai buried a late winner for the Toon. Do neutrals ever get sick of Liverpool/Newcastle games?

13. Wolves (home), won 1-0

Potentially tough against the surprise package of the season (for me at least) but we had approximately 25,000,000 chances to score, only doing so through Torres' 21st minute effort, expertly set up by Gadi.

League Cup

4th Round. Man City (away), lost 4-2

Told you we'd lose this one. We continued with the youth policy, then fielded their first team. McManus gifted them an own goal to get them started, then Tevez hit two and Robinho ended his goal drought before we added some respectability to the scoreline with efforts from Gadi and Pavlyuchenko.

Impressive Players

Javier Mascherano seems to have got his game together after a slow start to the season and is even making a difference in the final third as well whilst Chris Gadi has massively impressed in the starts he has been given, and right now I'm thinking of ways to get together the £7,75M it will take to meet his release clause. The star (Newcastle apart) though, has been goalkeeper Pepe Reina who was utterly brilliant in the wins over Manchester United and Wolves in particular, and did enough in October to be voted Player of the Month.

Summary

The league season is going much better than I anticipated as we're right in amongst the top four and threatening to unseat one of them. Everton still look like a threat to me, their defensive record is stunning, as Moyes continues to work his magic, but if we're in and around the top four with ten game left then we might just have the chance to sneak back into a Champions League place.

[rancer890]

Great month Terk. Nice win over Man U.

Hope you can maintain this top form, you're doing a great job with the club.

[hrbfcrule]

And good to have you along, hrbfcrule, glad you're enjoying it. I can understand the animosity given that you're a Chelsea fan, and rest assured it is mutual. Maybe you can tell me what it feels like to win the title though, we haven't done that since I was 7

Don't worry im sure you will win the title with liverpool within a few seasons then you will partly know what it feels like. I know its not the same as winning it in real life but i dont think thats going to happen in the near future for liverpool, especially with rafa in charge

Anyway good monthly results, you should be aiming to secure a champions league spot for liverpool this year at least. Hopefully that will help your financial woes.

[Paggioram]

This is a great read Terk and on the outside looking in it looks like you are having a brilliant career. Keep up the good work mate. You kind of inspire me to make sure that my career game is at least half as good. If thats the case I will be very happy.

[Terk]

Cheers for all the encouragement again, guys rancer, I was pumping my fists and cheering like Liverpool had won the game in real life during that win over Man Utd. Had me a celebratory beer afterwards as well

hrbfcrule, I'm starting to feel like Liverpool winning the league again in my lifetime is barely a possibility. And game-wise you're right, a pot of Champions League cash would do very, very nicely.

and Paggioram, thank you very much indeed for such kind words. I'm really enjoying this, it's the first time I've properly got into a career game since FM07 (when I had a twenty-odd season nomadic game going). And to return the compliment, I'm enjoying your career with Bishop's Stortford; it was a shame to see Luigi sell the club, I hope your new boss does good for the club.

[Terk]

2013/14

Part 3: January 2014

Premier League

You know the drill by now.

14. Tottenham (home), won 3-2

We should have had this wrapped up when Torres and Gerrard put us two up inside twenty-five minutes, but we went to sleep and allowed them to pull us back through John Bostock and Gareth Barry (from the penalty spot). Never mind though, Torres ensured the points were ours in the second half.

15. Birmingham (home), won 4-1

As easy as a very easy thing. Brum put up no resistance to Torres' magnificence, the Spaniard bagging a hat-trick before Dirk Marcellis grabbed the fourth in a rare start for the Dutchman.

16. Chelsea (away), won 4-2

Time to call on the big boys. Chelsea the pre-season favourites, Lothar Matthäus is now everyone's favourite German, but they had no answer to us. Torres, Rami and Dalla Valle netting whilst Cech added an own goal for good measure. In amongst it all Sturridge and Cavani scored for them, but we never looked troubled.

17. Man City (away), won 1-0

Four days later and we call on the top four again, a very tight game finally falling (deservedly) in our favour when Tom Huddlestone curled one in off the post from thirty yards out. Do I dare think 'title'?

18. West Ham (home), lost 1-0

Put those title thoughts back where they belong. A magnificently frustrating game in which Rob Green easily walked away with Man of the Match, his performance encouraging Dimitar Berbatov to stop making daisy chains long enough to score the winner.

19. Burnley (home), won 3-0

Back on track, as they say. A simple win, Dalla Valle and Torres inside eight minutes sealing the points, Gerrard adding the gloss.

20. Hull (away), won 3-1

A fitness crisis for the New Year's Day game meant very new signing Paulo Alves starting in midfield with Gerrard and Torres just about fit enough for the bench. Scott Parker's goal had them ahead at the break, so enter our deadly duo. Torres grabbed two within fifteen minutes of appearing before coming off with a thigh strain, Alves moved up front and scored a stunning lob to round off his debut.

21. Everton (away), drew 1-1

No Torres and a risk taken on starting Gerrard. Not looking good when Ched Evans puts Everton in front, but Murray McManus rises from the bench to tap home an equaliser in the 85th minute.

22. Sunderland (home), won 1-0

Another unconvincing performance, sans Torres, and with Gerrard in the stands as well. Huddlestone our best player with a commanding midfield performance, Dalla Valle nets the winner.

23. West Brom (away), won 3-0

I remember the home game against them, so field as strong a team as possible. Two from Gadi and one from Dalla Valle, wrapped up by half time.

24. Arsenal (home), won 5-2

Properly scared, despite the wins at Chelsea and City and the demolition of United. They dominate for ten minutes, then we take over. Gerrard, Rami, Torres, Gadi, bang, 4-0. Reina helps them out with an own goal, Walcott goes further to make it 4-2, Gadi gets our fifth to halt any thoughts of a comeback. Stunning, no other word for it.

F.A. Cup

3rd Round. West Ham (away), drew 0-0

I officially hate Robert Green. Another Man of the Match performance, only ten days after he stonewalled us in the league. Luckily Berbatov too busy sneaking off for a quick cigarette to score a winner for them this time.

3rd Round Replay. West Ham (home), won 2-1

Seriously, I ****ing hate Rob Green. Kept us out for over an hour and had it looking like Ashton's goal would send them through before Bertrand Priso put in a stunning cross for Gerrard to nod home and then, in massively cruel fashion, Gadi nicked a winner three minutes into injury time.

Transfers

In with the young, out with the not very good. Another batch of youngsters joined, though Brazilian right back Ricardo went straight into the first team squad - my scouts have MASSIVE hopes for his future - whilst Paulo Alves has also impressed in his short time with us. Sad to part with SupercalifragilisticRomanPavlyuchenko, but he wanted guaranteed first team football and I hadn't planned on letting Marcellis go just yet, but he had failed to impress and Tottenham offered a future fee of £9.5M, which I would be delighted with if they stump it up come the end of the season.

Impressive Players

The usual suspects really, Pepe Reina continues to perform at a very consistently high level and Fernando Torres is nigh on unstoppable when he's fit; he certainly deserved his December Player of the Month award.

Steve Gerrard is doing very well for an old man, and ingratiated himself further by agreeing a £50,000 per week wage cut in exchange for a shiny new two year contract. And Chris Gadi overcame a bit of a dry spell and started scoring again, and if we have the cash come the summer then I definitely want him permanently. My favourite player, however, remains Adil Rami; I'm not sure if I've seen him lose a header this season.

Summary

Quite frankly, the season couldn't be going any better for us. Without the distraction of European football we generally have the time to get players fit and ready for the next league match (very important in Gerrard's case in particular) and when we hit our straps we are seriously good to watch. Can we push on in the last third of the season and claim the title? Well if this game is anything to go by, our rivals are doing everything they can to help us by knocking seven bells of **** out of each other.

[fatski]

Great read Ter, I think you may have inspired me to start a game where I change teams regularly, I very rarely do it but when I do I love it. Great logic, eh? Anyway, good luck getting The Scousers out of debt!

[rancer890]

Nice to see you at the top of the league Terk. It wasn't a bad idea at all to move clubs.

Partly influenced by your success, I've taken over AFC Liverpool in level 10 in the 'Give Youth a Chance' Challenge in CSE and hoping to bring some success to that club, and one day hoping to challenge Liverpool FC for the EPL title.

Your club is really gelling, good luck the rest of the way.

[TheMister]

Had me a celebratory beer afterwards as well

Too far mate Turn off the computer, go out (yes I know you don't like daylight after hibernating in front of FM for so long), and talk to some real PEOPLE, in a bar if you must

Love the Manchester derby, 5-5 lmao!

[DodgeeD]

Great stuff Terk. Looks like the decision to ditch Notts Co was the right one. How are your former club getting on with Woodgate at the helm?