After 10 years with FM, my first career update

[trman73]

The transfer window comes and goes and we offload a couple younger players who play right and left midfield, and therefore don't need. We bring in one youngster, a 19-year-old Swedish forward named Rasmus Jonsson. He could be a gem to build up for the future.

But the big news is that midfielder Adam Newton requests a transfer to Man City. He's playing great for us in the early going, so I hang on to him. The next day, he tears a calf muscle on international duty, and is out 3-4 months. Technically he's a key player, as he's valued at $32 million, but I actually feel like some other guys can step up and do what he does. So I'm not as upset about the injury as I am about potentially letting him go for upwards of $30 million, and not doing it.

In better news, Jovica Suvajac is named the Premier League Player of the Month for August. He had a hand in eight of our nine EPL goals, scoring four with four assists. I tie Unai Emery for Manager of the Month, but for some reason he takes it. Oh well.

[trman73]

September 11, 2032 - Premier League: Leicester (1-0-2, 3 pts., 11th) vs. Liverpool (3-0-0, 9 pts., 1st)

I have mixed emotions coming into King Power Stadium for the first time, and wonder what type of response I'll get from the fans. I did good things with this club, but left them halfway through a successful season. So I'd probably be bitter if I was a fan, especially since they kind of fell off after my departure.

The Foxes got off to a horrific start, losing to Brighton and West Brom by a combined 7-1. But they rebounded in a huge way in their third match, demolishing Huddersfield on the road, 6-0. I know they will be motivated to beat us, to beat me, in this one.

We replace Newton in the midfield with Jorge Acosta, who played well for me last season. I have faith that he can help keep things going for us. Man United and Arsenal are the only other teams with nine points through three matches, and before our match Arsenal ties at home with Chelsea (that's just 1-3-0 for the defending champs). We get United after Leicester, so we have a chance at a really special start to the season here.

Leicester does something that no team has done yet against us, and that's score, which they do in the 23rd. Then they do something else no one's yet done - they beat us. They score a second early in the second half, we come back with a PK from Suvajac in the 69th, we have multiple chances late, including hitting the post with a shot, and then Leicester ices it late on a counter when we're in overload mode. We fall, 3-1, and I'm sure Foxes fans will enjoy a pint or two at my expense this evening.

[trman73]

September 19, 2032 - Premier League: Liverpool (3-0-1, 9 pts., 4th) vs. Manchester United (4-0-0, 12 pts., 1st)

Had we beaten Leicester, this would be an epic battle of undefeated teams with early supremacy in the EPL on the line. As it stands, our loss opened the door for United, Arsenal, and Everton to all pass us in the standings. United has absolutely blitzed its opposition thus far, both in the league and the Euro Cup. They have outscored their nine opponents 27-3 and are 9-0-0 (although four of those matches were Euro Cup playoffs, so the competition was Young Boys and Gil Vicente). I don't want to pick up a second straight loss and ruin the positive start, especially not with City next up on the schedule, but it will take a big effort to win this one. We did the back-to-back "Manchester double" last season, so maybe we can somehow do it again. We're the last match of the week and we sit in 5th at kickoff, so we need to keep pace with the top clubs here.

We break through first, in the 36th, courtesy of Acosta. Then right before halftime, Bernardino lobs a long pass from our end to Kretzschmar, who beats his man and scores easily. It's 2-0 at the break, and we may get a huge rebound victory here. But United isn't going down without a fight, and they score in the 51st to cut it to 2-1. Suvajac scores five minutes later to put us back up two, but five minutes after that it's 3-2, and this is one of those games. We go back up two yet again in the 70th, as Suvajac hits Kretzschmar for his second. Kretz was singled out as our weak link by United's manager before the match, and he's responded with two goals and an assist. Take that! When Bernardino finds Suvajac late to make it 5-2, the rout is complete, and we humble a previously undefeated United team.

Next up is the EFL Cup match with Leeds, then we hit the road for another big one against City.

[fridge73]

A great win in the "Biggest game in football". As a Liverpool fan I hope you wheel in the title as it has been too long we won it last time. 

 

 

[Chappy2509]

Starting well keep it up 

[trman73]

September 22, 2032 - EFL Cup, Third Round: Liverpool vs. Leeds

We should handle up on this team but Premier League clubs are dropping like flies in this tournament. Chelsea, Bournemouth, and West Ham have gone down just in this round thus far. We're still starting substitutes in this match, including Guedet, who I am obsessed with and am giving serious thought to giving some playing time to in EPL games.

We get a goal from an unlikely source in the 17th as left back Eddie Webber waltzes in unimpeded from the left side and scores easily in a terrible piece of defending from Leeds. Claus gets us a second in the 34th, and it looks like we'll be on to the fourth round. We get a third early in the second half from Hugo Schmidt, and this one appears to be over.

But... Leeds scores twice in a 62 second stretch in the 80th and 81st minutes, and suddenly we have a late fight on our hands. We hang on for the 3-2 win, but Leeds made us sweat a bit at the end.

We avoid the big clubs for yet another round when the draw is held, as in the round of 16 we get... Championship side Colchester.

[trman73]

September 25, 2032 - Premier League: Manchester City (4-0-1, 12 pts., 5th) vs. Liverpool (4-0-1, 12 pts., 3rd)

Other than the blip against Leicester we're playing well, and my pre-season concerns about our scoring ability seem to be unfounded. We've got 15 goals in our first five league matches to lead the EPL. I'd say we've played a couple bad teams (Derby and Bolton), but we've also faced three of the teams that finished ahead of us last year - Leicester, Spurs and United - and drubbed two of them.

This may be a different story though, as we're on the road at probably the toughest place to play in England. City lost its opener to Chelsea, 3-0, but has not conceded a goal in league play since. So this is the irresistible force of our attack against the immovable object that is their defense. Should be a good game, and the winner's in great position six games in.

We go down on a goal in the 21st, and City gets a second later in the half. We're not playing well, but we get a break in first half stoppage time as Fliess sends us to the locker room down just 2-1. It looks like we may be able to equalize when City has a man sent off in the 66th. But we can't. We come close a couple times, but can't get that tying goal, and it's a second straight road loss. We're now 4-0-2, down to 6th.

[trman73]

October 2, 2032 - Premier League: Liverpool (4-0-2, 12 pts., 6th) vs. West Ham (1-2-3, 5 pts., 14th)

Including the EFL Cup we're 5-0-0 at home, and getting back to a time where road matches at Liverpool are difficult trips would be a great step for us here in Year Two. We should be able to take care of a West Ham team that is not off to a good start and has two straight bottom-half finishes in the league.

It takes a while for us to get going in this one, but we get a corner in the 33rd that finds defender Anton Tulyakov and he scores. Just 35 seconds later, on our next touch, Suvajac threads a cross between two defenders and finds Kretzschmar, who scores to make it 2-0. Those 35 seconds hold all of the goals in this one, as we win handily, 2-0. Now we need to get back into good standing on the road, where we face Wolves next week.

[trman73]

October 16, 2032 - Premier League: Wolves (3-3-1, 12 pts., 8th) vs. Liverpool (5-0-2, 15 pts., 5th)

This is the type of team we need to get a road win against if we're going to move to the upper tier of teams. Wolves are a good club, but we're more talented than they are and we need to string together 90 good minutes and head to our next home match, against Arsenal, with a chance to move to one of the top three spots in the league.

We start off great as a series of perfect passes from Claus to Suvajac to Fliess puts us up 1-0 just four minutes in. We absolutely dominate for the next 35 minutes, but don't score again until Savajac fires an absolute bomb from 30 yards out that finds the upper right corner of the net. This may wind up being the goal of the year, and we're up 2-0. Veteran Ben Woodburn adds a late goal in the 83rd, and we win in a dominant performance, 3-0. This is possibly our best and most complete game of the season.

[trman73]

October 23, 2032 - Premier League: Liverpool (6-0-2, 18 pts., 4th) vs. Arsenal (5-2-1, 17 pts., 6th)

We close out the first quarter of our season with two big ones - this home match against Arsenal, then a road game at the surprising league leaders, Everton. Arsenal started off on fire but is 0-1-1 in their last two EPL matches, falling at home to Huddersfield in their last one. We remain undefeated at home, and if we continue that here and get a result over Everton we may very well wind up atop the league 10 games in. Arsenal has a midweek match in Champions League (which they win), so they won't be at full strength for this one, and we will.

We play an ugly first 25 minutes and give up two goals by James Boothby to go down 2-0. Our home streak looks like it may end, but we get one back after putting together a string of good runs, and it's Claus who gets it to make it 2-1. Right before the half we pull even, as Kretzschmar ties it.

The n the second half is a total disaster. On the first possession of the half, Tulyakov makes a horrible mistake and gives the ball away to Boothby right in front of the net, then fouls the Arsenal man for a penalty, which he converts. Boothby then adds two more in a four-minute span in the 68th and 71st, and we are getting hammered, 5-2. We keep some hope alive on Claus' second of the match in the 75th, but we don't get any closer. It's a terrible defensive performance and a disappointing 5-3 loss in which James Boothby scores all five Arsenal goals. Jerk.

Edited September 1, 2017 by trman73

[trman73]

October 26, 2032 - EFL Cup, Fourth Round: Colchester vs. Liverpool

Colchester's done well in this save and has established itself as a decent Championship side. They are on a terrible run right now though, having lost six straight to fall to 20th in that league. We'll go ahead and continue to start some subs in this one, and then maybe, depending on whether we win and who we draw, we may play the first side in the quarters and beyond.

Well I did not expect this one to go to extra time, and I certainly didn't want it, but that's what happens in an uninspired effort by us that ends in a regulation 0-0 draw. Luckily, it's not a total disaster as Florian Claus continues his good play with a goal in the 93rd, and that winds up being the only score of the match. We certainly don't deserve a win with this effort, but we'll take it, and it's on to the quarterfinals of the EFL Cup.

In the next round, the surviving teams joining us are West Brom, Man City, Man United, Leicester, and Newcastle from the Premier League, plus Crystal Palace from the Championship and the surprise of the tournament, League Two side Portsmouth. The draw is held on the 29th, and Portsmouth winds up with West Brom, United hosts Leicester, City gets Newcastle, and we wind up with our fourth straight match against a non-EPL team, as we'll hit the road on November 30 to face... Crystal Palace.

[trman73]

October 30, 2032 - Premier League: Everton (6-2-1, 20 pts., 4th) vs. Liverpool (6-0-3, 18 pts., 6th)

Each team comes into this game off of a bad loss, as Everton was destroyed by Huddersfield 5-1 in their last match, and we also gave up five to Arsenal (what's with Huddersfield? They've beaten each of our last two opponents). I'll do a quarter season report after this one, and I'd like to do it with us as a top-five team, not as a 7th-place team, which is likely where we'll be with a loss here. We're still second in the league with a +12 goal differential, behind only Arsenal. And we're just four points back of City for the league lead.

This is a really good match. Everton gets on the board first in the 26th, but Suvajac ties it in the 38th and it's 1-1 at halftime. We get our first lead of the match in the 73rd as Tulyakov heads in a corner kick. But in the 81st, a great bit of passing by Everton leads to a wide open man in the box who scores to tie it. Each team has chances in the final few minutes, but it ends 2-2, a fair result for the day.

[trman73]

At the quarter point of the season there are a number of teams that can say they have a legit shot at the league title, and at Champions League...

We're one of those teams. Yes, we're in 6th, but we've already played each of the five teams ahead of us in the standings (we went 2-1-2 in those games).

Right now Jovica Suvajac can make a legitimate claim that he's been the best player in the EPL over the first 10 matches. Second in goals, tops in assists (by a wide margin), and second in average rating. Overall we're second in the league with 26 goals scored, two behind Arsenal, and again, with some of the weaker teams still on our schedule, we could very well end the first half on pace to score 100 goals.

I'm more concerned about the defense, which has allowed 14 goals, good for just 10th. I don't think it's personnel, as we're strong all over. We'll see if we improve in the next couple months, then will assess whether we need to strengthen the back in the transfer window.

Given our upcoming schedule, my goal is that by the end of the first half, we are one of the top four teams in the league.

[trman73]

November 6, 2032 - Premier League: Liverpool (6-1-3, 19 pts., 6th) vs. Watford (1-3-6, 6 pts., 19th)

We need this game if we're going to do what I described above. Watford is just terrible and looks like a team that's headed right back down to the Championship next season. The only team they've beaten is Brighton.

Prior to the match we lose Bradley Kretzschmar for the next 9-11 days, so he'll miss this one. That shouldn't matter today though, and then we're off for two weeks. Ben Woodburn takes his spot.

Watford scores first in the 7th minute, but we answer immediately a minute later on a goal from Claus. Midway through the half, we take the lead as Niklas Fliess scores off Suvajac's second assist to make it 2-1. Watford does us a favor early in the second half by getting a man sent off with a straight red, and they run out of steam after that. Suvajac scores late in the 84th to put it away. He gets a goal and two assists, and we win easily after conceding the early goal.

[trman73]

November 20, 2032 - Premier League: Bournemouth (4-1-6, 13 pts., 13th) vs. Liverpool (7-1-3, 22 pts., 6th)

Our win over Watford didn't move us up in the standings, but a win here should, as some of the teams above us have tough matchups. United has moved into the top spot heading in to this week, the fourth different team to occupy 1st place in the last four weeks. This match starts a four-game run for us where we play no team currently better than 13th in the league. We get Kretzschmar back for this one and are just a few weeks out from Newton being back, although I'll have a choice to make as Jorge Acosta is playing well in the midfield.

It's a boring first half that's played almost entirely in the midfield. In the second half we start to get things going, but we're not generating legitimate scoring chances. That is, until the 67th, when Kretzschmar plays a cross to Suvajac, and he finally scores for us, his 11th of the season, to make it 1-0. Bournemouth certainly don't look like they have what it takes to tie it, but in the 77th we don't defend well on a throw in, and they do tie it at 1-1. It looks like this one will end in a draw, but in the 90th minute, an innocent looking cross finds the chest of sub Jose Antonio, he gets control of it, and fires it in for the winner!!! We really got a away with this one, but we'll take the road victory and the win shoots us up two spots to 4th.

Edited September 2, 2017 by trman73

[trman73]

November 27, 2032 - Premier League: Liverpool (8-1-3, 25 pts., 4th) vs. Reading (2-2-8, 8 pts., 18th)

Reading is 0-1-6 in their last seven league matches and have fallen into the relegation zone. They haven't scored a goal in three games and have the second-worst defense in the league, conceding 27 goals in 12 matches. We should easily handle these guys before we go on a three-game road trip that begins with the EFL Cup quarterfinal against Palace. Center defender Alejandro Barra will miss his first match of the season in this one, as he's suspended for yellow card accumulation. Still, we should be just fine.

It takes just five minutes for us to put one in, as Kretzschmar finds Suvajac, who heads it to Fliess for a goal. Suvajac gets his own later in the half and we are absolutely controlling this match. I don't know how we don't score five or six goals in this match, but we "settle" for a 2-0 win. A third of the way through the campaign, we're now second in Premier League.

[fridge73]

I dont see why you cant reach a top 4, or go on and win it, this year, without any Continental action. 

You have clearly got a good base to build on, but like in so many saves out there, the backline is causing problems. This can be addressed with a leader-type of defender in the off-season. 

[trman73]

On the first of the month, Jovica Suvajac is named the Premier League Player of the Month. He scored three goals with three assists in our wins over Watford, Bournemouth, and Reading. He won this award in August as well, with Arsenal's James Boothby winning it in September and October (of course we helped his cause in October by allowing five goals to him.)

Once again I finished in the top three for Manager of the Month, and once again I lose out to Unai Emery of United.

December 1, 2032 - EFL Cup, Quarterfinal: Crystal Palace vs. Liverpool

Palace has gotten here by beating Newport Co., Sheff United, West Ham, and Coventry. They also look like they may be poised to return to Premier League next year for the first time in four seasons. So this is not a pushover team, especially on the road. But still, we're better than they are, and they aren't going to get our starting lineup. Man City and West Brom (which needed extra time to beat League Two side Portsmouth in their matchup) have already punched their tickets to the semis. The winner of this one will join those teams, plus either United or Leicester, in the final four. I did set a goal of making it to a cup final this year.

Scarpone (DC), Eddie Webber (DL), Hugo Schmidt (MC), Jose Antonio (AMC), and Federico Aguirre (in for Suvajac, who can use the rest), get starting nods today.

Palace scores in the 19th and holds the 1-0 lead at the break. We're not playing well, so I need to bring in the big gun, and Suvajac comes in for an ineffective Aguirre to start the second half. For a while it looks like it won't matter, but in the 76th, he gets a pass from Jorge Acosta, controls it in the box, and fires in the tying goal.

I really don't want to play 30 extra minutes in a midweek match, but in the 86th minute, Hugo Schmidt gets called for his second yellow, and we're down to 10 men. Despite the sending off we have a couple good chances in the final minute, but we will, in fact, go to extra time tied 1-1. We dominate the first 15 minutes but can't get one through, and I may have penalty kicks for the first time since I can't even remember. But it won't happen. In stoppage time, Crystal Palace gets the winner on a good cross, and we fall, 2-1. Our cup run is ended, and to take a positive ot of it, we won't have two additional matches to worry about in an already jam packed December and January.

Edited September 2, 2017 by trman73

[trman73]

Hey fridge, yeah, the defense is leaky to say the least, and it shows up in matches against good teams. Thankfully, the board just approved a large increase in our transfer budget, and I now have $45 million to play with in the window. I need a midfielder first, but if I can get another veteran defender in, that would make me feel better.

[Tajerio]

My two cents if you're interested: that formation demands a lot defensively from your fullbacks--in particular they've got to be excellent tacklers since they'll be doing a lot of that out on the flanks.  And even then you're still going to be facing a lot of crosses, so your defenders have got to have top positioning, jumping, anticipation, and heading--more so than they would otherwise.  Of course, if the midfielder in the center of your three isn't a great defender himself, your back line is going to look worse than it is, especially when the AI plays 4-2-3-1 against you.

You probably know all that already, but on the off chance you didn't I thought I'd post it.

[trman73]

December 4, 2032 - Premier League: Middlesbrough (3-3-7, 12 pts., 16th) vs. Liverpool (9-1-3, 28 pts., 2nd)

Our next two matches are on the road against 16th-place Middlesbrough and 17th-place Newcastle, which just fired its coach. Right back Bernardino is suspended for this one along with Hugo Schmidt (who isn't a regular starter), but we should still get a result here. Valentin Jimenez, who I brought in during the off-season and who has been dominant playing for the Under 23s, starts at right back.

All's well in the first half as Suvajac continues his great scoring run with a goal in the 19th from Kretzschmar. But from there we don't take advantage of our chances and leave the door open for Middlesbrough. They go through that opening in the 83rd with a tying goal, and despite a number of chances in the final minutes, we settle for a disappointing draw that will allow some teams to pass us in the table.

[trman73]

Tajerio that's great analysis. My fullbacks with Juventus were world class, and that was a big reason for our defensive dominance. The fullbacks I have now are fine  (3 or 3.5 stars). But you're right... their ratings in the categories you mention are 12-13 across the board, except for heading, where they are well below that. 

And I do feel like that center midfield position is a bit of a problem. I hated the guys I had there last year, but could not bring in someone suitable in the off-season, so I repositioned a guy who played on the left side of the midfield last year. I don't expect goals or even assists from that guy, but right now Sandoval has started every game for us and has the lowest rating of any starter on the team. That's the position I aim to strengthen during the window with my cash influx. The guys who flank him are superb and we have depth there as well. Obviously scoring is, uh, not an issue.

Thanks for those suggestions. Trust me, I will consider all that in another month when I look to bring in some reinforcements.

[Tajerio]

Glad to have made some sense. Though I should note, since I worded it confusingly, that your fullbacks don't have to be great jumpers to make it work--I play the Christmas tree right now and my fullbacks each only have 7 jumping--but those centre backs have really got to know what they're about in the air.

Also, that central midfielder on a defend duty is always likely to have poor ratings because he doesn't do the things the game rates most highly (key passes, won headers, goals & assists).  What I want out of that guy is high pass completion and a lot of interceptions, and the ratings can go hang.

[trman73]

December 15, 2032 - Premier League: Newcastle (4-1-9, 13 pts., 17th) vs. Liverpool (9-2-3, 29 pts., 4th)

Our late slip-up against Middlesbrough allow both Arsenal and a surging Chelsea team to pass us in the standings. We get more bad news when the FA Cup Third Round draw is held, and we get a road game at Spurs. Yikes.

I don't know what's happened to Newcastle, but they've gone from top-half finishes in nine of the last 11 years to completely falling off the table this year. They are still search for a permanent coach, although they have actually won their last two league matches to go from being complete doormats to simply bad. Still, it's a road match against a team that has more talent than it's displaying, and we can't afford another drop in the table right now against these lower teams. We're 3-2-0 in our last five league games since the embarrassing loss to Arsenal. And Newcastle had a midweek Champions League match, which they won to clinch third in their group, meaning they will move down to Euro Cup.

There's good news on the injury front as midfielder Adam Newton is back after missing 11 matches. Depth at midfield is a big problem for us right now; we've been using a 20-year-old as a sub, and he's been in over his head. So Newton is on the bench for this one and hopefully we can get him a little run to get his legs back. I make another roster decision as well, and it's to bring up Martin Guedet to serve as our third striker, as no one has stepped up to fill that role in sub duty.

Dammit, before this match we suffer a key injury, and it's to our keeper. Lecomte is out three weeks with a dislocated jaw (punched in practice for giving up too many softies?), so Aaron Lovatt will be in net for our next seven matches. He hasn't appeared in a game for Liverpool since 2029. Oh boy.

Lovatt's time in net gets off to a bad start as we concede in the 4th on a play that isn't his fault. We tie it, though, in the 30th on a nice pass from Fliess to Kretzschmar, and it's 1-1. We get bad news in the 66th, as Kretzschmar needs to come off with an injury, and Guedet is called into action in a big moment, as the scores that flash during this match show all the teams ahead of us winning. In the 88th, we get a corner, it finds Barra, he passes it in the box to Guedet, and he puts it in! That's the game winner, as we hang on, the 19-year-old gets his first EPL goal, Lovatt gets a confidence boosting win in net, and we keep pace in the league. Whew!

Edited September 2, 2017 by trman73

[trman73]

Hey Tajerio, I get it with the defending central midfielder's average game ratings. Still though, I think we need to upgrade there, and knew so from Day One of the season.

Much going on right now both on our team and in the league. First, Bradley Kretzschmar's injury is not good. He's out 5-6 weeks with knee ligament damage. With the congested schedule coming up, that means a dozen matches with him on the shelf. Guedet will take his spot, and with us in a legitimate league chase, that's a lot of pressure for a 19-year-old.

Leicester City fires the coach they replaced me with, Lazio's Juan Cuardado, after just 299 days and 36 matches, in which they go 16-4-16. It was a weird hire. I really hoped they would keep going with what we built, after Jamie Vardy set the foundation. It does not look like that's happening. They are in 16th place at 4-2-10.

December 19, 2032 - Premier League: Liverpool (10-2-3, 32 pts., 3rd) vs. Brighton (4-4-8, 16 pts., 15th)

We've got three straight home matches before we close out the first half of the season at West Brom. We're up to third and tied with Arsenal but below them on a +22 to +18 goal differential advantage for them (Man U is pulling away, having gone 9-1-0 in their last 10 league games). But they've played one more game than us, a game we'll make up this week at home against fifth-place Chelsea.

Guedet gets his first ever start for us in this one. I'm quite excited to see what he can do against a Brighton team that is playing admirably to stay above water in its first season back in the EPL since 2025.

Brighton gets a straight red in the 11th minute and their mountain looks even harder to climb. We capitalize in the 23rd on a free kick from Claus, but in the 36th Dagnino lets his man get by him and he scores to tie it. I'm surprised we're not doing better a man up, but finally in the 74th Barnardino crosses a ball that finds Suvajac, and he scores to put us back up. That's it, and we win, 2-1. We haven't been very impressive recently, but it's still our seventh straight league match without a loss.

[trman73]

December 22, 2032 - Premier League: Liverpool (11-2-3, 35 pts., 3rd) vs. Chelsea (9-3-2, 30 pts., 6th)

Due to playing in Champions League and the Club World Championship (which they easily won), Chelsea has played three fewer games than the rest of the teams in Premier League. One of those make-up games is today against us. We're still in 3rd, and we still have a game in hand (until today) over Arsenal, who we're tied with. This is the toughest opponent we've played in a while, and we need a better effort than we've had in just scraping by against Newcastle and Brighton. Chelsea started slow but they are 8-0-1 in their last nine EPL matches. This will be a good one (I hope). The sting of last year's season-ending defeat by these guys is still fresh in my mind.

This is also a battle of the league's leading scorer the last two years, Victor Bounou, and the leading scorer this year, Suvajac. It's Suvajac that makes the early statement with a goal in the 11th, and he gives us a 2-0 lead in the 21st. That's the halftime score, but Bounou brings Chelsea closer in the 51st to make it 2-1. We're holding on, but in the 86th minute Jorge Acosta goes down with an injury. I've used all my subs, so we will play the rest of the match a man down.

It doesn't matter. We go into defend mode, and do just that. Suvajac gets the better of Bounou, and we get the better of Chelsea in an enormous 2-1 victory.

Unfortunately, after the match we get just terrible news, as Jorge Acosta will miss 7-8 months with a damaged ACL. We are absolutely going to need to strengthen the midfield as the window gets close to opening.

Edited September 3, 2017 by trman73

[trman73]

December 26, 2032 - Premier League: Liverpool (12-2-3, 38 pts., 3rd) vs. Huddersfield (7-5-5, 26 pts., 9th)

Since the Arsenal loss on October 23rd we've gone 6-2-0 in the league. We're also 3-0-0 since Lecomte went down and Lovatt took over in net. Basically, we're playing great football right now, and that should continue here. Adam Newton takes back the starting spot in the midfield he had before his injury, now that Acosta is gone. Huddersfield is having its best season of this save, but we're just rolling at this point, especially at home, where we are 8-0-1 and have scored 26 goals in those nine matches.

The first half is a total mess for us. Huddersfield scores first in the 8th, and after Tulyakov ties it off a corner kick five minutes later, Huddersfield retakes the lead in the 16th and we're down 2-1. It's that way at the break and I let the team know this won't do. But it will have to do, as it's a scoreless second half and a very, very disappointing 2-1 loss at home.

[trman73]

December 28, 2032 - Premier League: West Bromwich Albion (8-4-7, 28 pts., 9th) vs. Liverpool (12-2-4, 38 pts., 3rd)

It's a two-day turnaround and now we face another surprise team, as West Brom has been in the top half basically all year. Adrian Sandoval, who I said earlier has played every game for us in the center of our three-man midfield, is suspended for this match. I move Newton over to that spot, and start Hugo Schmidt on the right side of him.

We have eight games in the next 25 days. This is ridiculous.

The following players have started matches this year as our second forward along with Jovica Suvajac: Elias Sainz, Federico Aguirre, Bradley Kretzschmar, Ben Woodburn, and Martin Guedet. Add to that list Rasmus Jonsson, who gets the start today as the Guedet experiment didn't really work. That's six forwards in 19 matches. With Kretzschmar out another month, we can either try to keep piecing it together, or look for a better solution elsewhere.

It's a scoreless first half and we're struggling. But in the 54th, Jonsson leads Suvajac with a pass, and he nails it easily to put us up 1-0. Late in the half, it's almost the same exact play, except this time Suvajac is fouled in the box for a penalty. Tulyakov gets the kick and makes it, and we win, 2-0, to close out the first half of the season.

[trman73]

Liverpool 2032-2033 Mid-Season Report

Here's where the league stands as well as our team stats at the midway point...

Even with every team not playing the same number of games (thanks mostly to Chelsea), it looks like there are five teams in contention for those coveted top four spots: United (which has really pulled away), Arsenal, us, City, and Chelsea. Chelsea has three games in hand and could certainly win all of them, but we have one on Arsenal, so based just on points per match we're actually in second.

I knew we'd be good this year, but how we're good is the opposite of what I thought. I assumed that with what looked like an upgrade at keeper and a solid central defense, plus adequate fullbacks, we'd be a good defensive team that would need to just score enough to get by. But I didn't count on the degree of improvement that we've gotten from Suvajac, who right now has got to be considered the Player of the Year in the EPL. He's had a hand in 29 goals, which is more than the total number of goals of 13 teams in the league.

But it's not just him. One of the things that worried me last year was that almost all of our goals came from the forwards. This year we're really spreading it around, as Florian Claus has five, Niklas Fliess has four, and even defender Anton Tulyakov has four (three from corner and a penalty kick). We're tied for second in the league with 43 goals, four behind Arsenal and even with United, each of whom has played one more game than us.

So right now for the league, I'm giving us an A at the midway point. That Leicester City loss is the one that looks bad of our four, as they are terrible. But we've got good wins over Tottenham, Chelsea, and the win of the year thus far, the 5-2 drubbing of United.

As for the EFL Cup, I wish I had taken that Crystal Palace game more seriously and started more key starters. We never beat a quality EPL team during our run to the quarters, so really what did we do? We get a B-.

Our first half MVP is Hugo Schmidt. No, no wait, it's F Jovica Suvajac. What is there to even say? He's on point to collect 34 goals with 24 assists. He's been the league's best player, and given that it's been a mishmash of players up front next to him, he's been the number one catalyst for our success by a mile. Runners-up are MC Florian Claus (5 goals, 4 assist, 7.42), and DC Alejandro Barra (easily our best defender), with honorable mention to F Bradley Ketzschmar, who has seven goals and three assists in 14 league matches and was our leading goal scorer in the EFL Cup.

As for the second half, at this point nothing short of Champions League qualifying will do. We can't assume road wins over Chelsea or United, but maybe we get a result at home over City, and we'll beat Leicester City at home, plus we end the season with the softest schedule of any team competing to the top four, as after Chelsea we've got four very, very winnable games to end the campaign.

Edited September 3, 2017 by trman73

[Chappy2509]

All looking good keep up f

withnthe good updates

[john1]

Decent start so far  Shame about Huddersfield lost  

[trman73]

January 1 2033 - Premier League: Liverpool (13-2-4, 41 pts., 3rd) vs. Derby (2-4-13, 10 pts., 20th)

There's no way Derby stays up this season. They are the worst team in EPL by a mile, scoring just nine goals and conceding 45 in their 19 matches. This team should pose no threat to us as we kick off the second half of our season. The transfer window also opens today, and I immediately make an offer for a 29-year-old German center midfielder who is not playing a lot at PSG, Thomas Hoppe. He's valued at $16.5 million, and PSG accepts my $8.25 million offer for him.

We establish control early here, as Florian Claus scores in the 4th minute on a pass from Huge Schmidt. Schmidt then gets one of his own on a long, 30-year strike in the 18th, and I just can't see this going any better for Derby. We hit the crossbar twice more in the first 30 minutes and are in complete control. Rasmus Jonsson scores his first as a Liverpool player later in the half, and it's 3-0 at the break. Jonsson gets another early in the second half to make it 4-0. Derby gets one in the 72nd, but by then it's already long over. We close out the scoring on a goal from Ben Woodburn in the 86th (in what may be his last match for Livrpool - stay tuned), and it's a 5-1 rout of the worst team in the league.

Following the match, Derby fires its coach. Sorry buddy.

[trman73]

January 5, 2033 - Premier League: Tottenham (9-5-6, 32 pts., 8th) vs. Liverpool (14-2-4, 44 pts., 3rd)

Our next two matches are at New White Hart Lane as we've got this league match then the FA Cup match here in three days. We get Michel Lecomte back in goal for this one. Aaron Lovatt played well, going 5-0-1 and giving up six goals in his six matches.

Prior to this match we make our first move of the transfer window, as we do in fact bring in Thomas Hoppe from PSG. He'll start the cup match but Huge Schmidt gets the start in this one, as he's earned it. I want to make one more move in the next month to strengthen the team.

We play to a 0-0 first half, but score on two long-range bombs in the second half. The first is from 30 yards out by Florian Claus in the 57th, and the second comes six minutes later from... Adrian Sandoval, who scores his first of the season from even further out than Claus' goal. Tottenham gets one back in the 75th on probably the pretties goal we've allowed all season, a beautiful cross from the end line that looks like it goes behind the net and winds up on the foot of their man for the goal. We close out the scoring in the 88th, as Adam Newton finds Ben Woodburn for a nice goal to make it 3-1. We take six points from Tottenham this season and pick up a really big road win against a quality side. Arsenal draws with Middlesbrough, and we're now two up on them for second and have still played one fewer game.

Edited September 4, 2017 by trman73

[trman73]

January 8, 2033 - FA Cup, Third Round: Tottenham vs. Liverpool

It's hard to beat a team three times in a season, but that's what we'll need to do if we're going to advance in the FA Cup. Obviously Tottenham knows what to expect from us and we from them. I make a few lineup switches, as Thomas Hoppe starts for us, and Ben Woodburn is in the starting lineup as well. We'll let's hit it. Frankly with how well we're playing in the league, I really don't care about this match all that much, and if we lose I think the board will understand.

I hope they do, because we come out and just get rolled in this match. Spurs score early in the 8th, then take a 2-0 lead in the 15th. They get their revenge on us in a 4-0 rout that includes two goals in the second half from my old Leicester loaner Steve McGreal. I can't say I wanted to go out of the FA Cup with such a meek effort, but we now get to focus on the remaining 17 games of our season, and qualify for Champions League.

[trman73]

I'm halfway to my goal for this transfer window. As I mentioned, we brought in Thomas Hoppe from PSG, and next up we bring in another central midfielder, a young 22-year-old from Celtic, Robbie McKenzie. He's brought in for depth, as we now have six quality central midfielders even with Acosta out for the year.

Our new players...

I don't need these guys to be game-changers, but I need them to be able to come on for 20+ minutes when called upon, and I need them to be able to step up if someone goes down. I now have nine players to fill our three midfield and one attacking midfield spot. All of them are quality options, and all except Sandoval are signed for at least the next two seasons. This will be my midfield moving forward and it's nice to have that position locked up. Of course, things change and you never know.

Next up I aim to bring in a young forward either permanently or (more likely) on loan. I've got a lot of home-grown forwards ready to step up, so I don't think I need to add another permanent option, at least not until I assess again over the summer. As for the defense, I'm going to roll with what I have right now.

January 11, 2033 - Premier League: Bolton (6-6-9, 24 pts., 13th) vs. Liverpool (15-2-4, 47 pts., 2nd)

We're in second all alone in the league right now and still have one more game to play than Arsenal, which is a point back of us. We've gone 6-0-1 in our last seven league matches, with the only blemish being that weird home defeat to Huddersfield. That quality run should continue against Bolton here. We've got a struggling Leicester after this, then two huge games as we do the Manchester double. So we need six points heading into those crucial matches.

Elias Sainz gets called back up from the Under 23s to start alongside Suvajac today, as Jonsson was nicked up in the FA Cup fiasco and will miss this one.

I actually didn't watch the first half of this match as I was grilling out with my son (today is a holiday in the U.S. so everyone's off work and school - it's Labor Day). I'm surprised to see that we're down 1-0 at the half on a 33rd-minute goal by Bolton. I pay a lot more attention in the second half, and we control play but simply cannot break through. Shades of the Huddersfield loss here, but in the 78th, right before I prepare to go into attack mode, a great bit of ball control in their zone ends with Hugo Schmidt finding Florian Claus for the tying goal. We don't get the winner, and settle for a road draw. Disappointing, but the guys are tired and this was a fair result.

[trman73]

I do make another move prior to our next match, and it is a loan. We bring in a young Englishman who's played his career in Germany, most recently for Leverkusen.

January 15, 2033 - Premier League: Liverpool (15-3-4, 48 pts., 2nd) vs. Leicester (5-4-12, 19 pts., 16th)

It really pains me to see what's happened to Leicester. They are already on their second manager since my departure, and they are in some danger of actually going down to the Championship next year, as they are just three points clear of the drop zone. It doesn't pain me enough not to try to take it to them early and often in this one, though, and avenge a frustrating defeat early in the year. We're without Adrian Sandoval for this one, as he's nicked up but will only miss this one match. I give Adam Newton the start in the center of the midfield. Our new guy is available to start at forward today, but I go back to Jonsson.

We get on the board midway through the first half as Claus leads Rasmus Jonsson with a nice pass and he scores. We hold that 1-0 lead deep into the second half, but then Clausio Navarro scores for Leicester in the 75th, and that ends the scoring. Our new guy, Oliver Sharp, hits the post with a late shot that would have won it for us, but no. We dominate the game, outshoot them 13-2, and leave two points on the field. My old side takes four points from us this season.

[trman73]

January 19, 2033 - Premier League: Manchester United (18-2-3, 56 pts., 1st) vs. Liverpool (15-4-4, 49 pts., 3rd)

With our two straight draws, we've fallen back behind Arsenal on goal differential. Even more frustrating, United lost last week to Huddersfield (which is now in 6th place and has beaten United, Arsenal, Tottenham, and us), so had we won those games this match would be for first place in the league. We've got these guys and then City to end the brutal midseason schedule. When it's all said and done it will be 15 matches in 57 days. So far we are 7-3-3 in those matches, with two of those three losses in the cups. So we're 7-3-1 since November 27th. If we can get a result here and in the City match, we will have really accomplished something.

We took it to United in our first meeting, but since then they have emerged as the strong favorites to win the league. The Huddersfield loss ended a 15-match unbeaten streak in the EPL for them. That win early in the year is going to be tough to duplicate, but if we can pull this off, we'll be in great position.

United dominates the first half, but they don't score thanks to some good work by Lecomte in net. But late in the half, Sandoval gets his second yellow and is sent off, and it's really going to take a monumental effort to hold this draw. Sure enough, early in the second half United gets a goal from a cross, and they are up. They get another in the 67th, and this one has gone downhill fast. They get two more, and it's a humbling 4-0 defeat that I saw coming a mile away once we had the man sent off.

[metallimuse]

I'm missing so much now I actually have to work when I'm at work!

Amazing read as always bro. You look like you're hitting the ground running in Scouseland.

[trman73]

January 22, 2033 - Premier League: Liverpool (15-4-5, 49 pts., 3rd) vs. Manchester City (13-5-4, 44 pts., 4th)

We're playing our worst football of the season right now. Including the FA Cup match, we're 0-2-2 in our last four and have been outscored 10-2 in those four matches. We need to get it together right now against a City team that is five back of us but has played two fewer matches than we have. (It looks like in the next two weeks everyone will have finally played the same amount of games, so we can have a clearer look at the standings.) Bradley Kretzschmar is finally back after this one. We're also without Bernardino and Sandoval due to suspensions, so we're short-handed here. But we need to get out of this slump.

We get a corner in the 5th and it bounces around in the box before left back Andrea Dagnino slams it home for his first goal of the season to give us just the start we needed. Our lead is short-lived though, as City scores in the 10th to tie it. We play to a 1-1 first half, and while we get way more chances in the second half, including three from a slumping Suvajac, we can't score. Finally, in the 78th, Hugo Schmidt leads a pass for Fliess, and he cuts through not one, not two, not three, but four defenders to score! We're up, 2-1. Less than 120 seconds later, City ties it up again on a bad defensive play by us. Argh. We're the better team in this match, but we settle for the 2-2 draw, our fifth straight match without a win.

[trman73]

Deadline day comes and goes and we make no additional moves. It's also January EPL Awards time and Rasmus Jonsson wins the Young Player of the Month Award. What's more, all three Goals of the Month are ours, with Adrian Sandoval's scorcher against Tottenham (in the last match we won) taking the top spot.

And then the terrible news comes. Just two days after the window closes, we lose right back Goncalo Bernardino for 3-4 months with knee tendinitis. Of all the positions on the pitch, this is the one where we're thinnest, as 22-year-old Valentin Jimenez now steps into the starting role, and 21-year-old Ben Duckett now backs him up. I feel like this has happened to me 3-4 times in this save. Bernardino started 28 games over all competitions for us, and has seven assists and a 7.30 rating in EPL play. This is a big loss.

I'm also getting concerned over what has now become a major slump for Suvajac. He hasn't scored a goal since before the first of the year, a span of seven matches, and has just two assists in that span. He's got to pick it up, especially now that we're down a key man on the back line.

February 6, 2033 - Premier League: West Ham (10-6-9, 36 pts., 9th) vs. Liverpool (15-5-5, 50 pts., 4th)

We've fallen to 4th behind United, Arsenal, and Chelsea (who still have a game in hand on us). City is five back of us (also with a game in hand). And only six teams are going to qualify for Europe based on league standings, as West Brom and Crystal Palace are in the EFL Cup Final, each beating a Manchester team in the semis. The five teams I just listed, plus Huddersfield (the surprise of the league this year), right now appear to be those six teams, but there are still three months to go in the season and a lot can happen.

West Ham has turned it around after a poor first half and they've won three of their last four league matches. Under normal circumstances I'd say that shouldn't matter, but we're playing poorly right now and this is a road match. So we will see.

We get off to a great start in just the 2nd minute as the Germans connect with Claus finding Fliess for the goal. It's 1-0 at the half. In the 55th Fliess scores his second on a pass from Suvajac to make it 2-0. The Hammers get a couple late chances, but Lecomte gets the shutout and we hang on for a much-needed 2-0 victory. Hopefully this rights the ship heading into a couple key matches.

[trman73]

February 13, 2033 - Premier League: Liverpool (16-5-5, 53 pts., 4th) vs. Wolves (9-8-9, 35 pts., 10th)

Wolves are the definition of an average team this year as they are right in the middle of the table and have a zero goal differential. Next week we face Arsenal, so it would be good to head into that match on a two-game win streak. Jimenez played well in his first start at right back, which is encouraging. I re-insert Rasmus Jonsson into the lineup for this one, as Kretzschmar did not look ready in the West Ham match.

This is one of the more frustrating games of the season. We dominate the first half, but it's 0-0 at the break. It stays that way deep into the game, when literally seconds after my final sub comes in, Alejandro Barra gets injured and has to come off, and we're down to 10 men. The game ends in a scoreless draw. All the teams ahead of us win, and this is not a good weekend. Barra, thankfully, will only miss one match, but it's at Emirates Stadium next week.

[trman73]

February 26, 2033 - Premier League: Arsenal (18-5-4, 59 pts., 2nd) vs. Liverpool (16-6-5, 54 pts., 5th)

The good news is we got a 12-day break and that allows Barra to be back in the lineup for this one. The bad news is we've fallen behind City into 5th and we are not playing like a team that's going to get a result against Arsenal. I think long and hard about sitting Suvajac for this one, but instead decide to pair him with my loaner, Oliver Sharp, and give him a final chance before resting him for a game. Given how he performed in the first half of the season, I cannot believe I am typing that.

At this point it's safe to say we are not going to win the league. But halfway through the year second place was an actual possibility, yet with a loss today I think that might be out the window as well, and we'll need to set our sights on one of those final two Champions League spots. Still, we've won some big games this season, so I'm not giving up hope of a result today.

It's an incredible first half as Lecomte makes a half dozen great saves to keep us in it, and it's 0-0 at the break. Then in the 54th minute, Arsenal scores on a goal that is clearly, obviously, maddeningly offside. This is the worst referee call (or non-call) I've seen in all the years of this save. I cannot believe that was a goal, but we're down 1-0. Un-freaking-believable. Ten minutes later they score a second, and it's basically over. We got absolutely hosed by the officials in this match. This was probably Lecomte's best game as Liverpool's keeper, and it goes down in the books as a 2-0 loss. I am freaking pissed.

Suvajac finally breaks out of his slump with a goal in the 83rd, but Arsenal scores just a few minutes later, and they win, 3-1. Screw that.

[trman73]

Well, time for a league update. Here's what the table looked like at the halfway point, and here's what it looks like now...

Obviously we've fallen off as we're just 3-4-2 in the second half, and we won our first two, so we've got seven points from our last seven matches. Not good.

However, our final 10 matches do include the weaker teams, and if we can get back on track and go, say, 6-2-2 in those games, that will give us 74 points, which should be enough for the top four. Suvajac finally scored in our last match, and Kretzschmar looks to have his legs back, so that pairing, which was successful for us earlier in the year, will be back. The toughest teams we have remaining are home against Everton (in our next match), at Chelsea, and at Huddersfield to close out the season. I think we beat Everton, lose to Chelsea, draw Huddersfield, and go 5-1-1 against the rest, and still sneak into Champions League. But we've got to start turning it around right now.

[trman73]

March 6, 2033 - Premier League: Liverpool (16-6-6, 54 pts., 5th) vs. Everton (12-9-7, 45 pts., 6th)

We can certainly put almost an insurmountable amount of distance between us and Everton with a win here, and take a big step toward solidifying ourselves as a top-five team. We lose Rasmus Jonsson for 4-5 weeks to a training injury, so Kretzschmar is back in the lineup permanently. As I wrote in my last post, we need to get points from just about all of these last 10 matches, starting right now. This would be a good, solid win if we can get it.

We play a scoreless first half. Then we play a scoreless second half. Suvajac has three chances that he would have easily scored on early in the year, but his play is becoming a big problem for us, and we lose a chance to tie City for fourth as they are drilled, 5-0, in the Manchester Derby.

 

Edited September 7, 2017 by trman73

[trman73]

March 12, 2033 - Premier League: Watford (7-10-12, 31 pts., 13th) vs. Liverpool (16-7-5, 55 pts., 5th)

We're 1-5-2 in our last eight league matches. But I just can't bring myself to take Suvajac out of the lineup even though he is playing just terribly. He's got to work his way out of this. Watford looks safe from relegation this year but we absolutely need a result against them in this match. There's nothing else to say.

Suvajac is fouled in the box in the 29th minute, and he takes the kick himself... and misses it. Incredibly, just a minute later, he gets another chance and makes it after Fliess is fouled in the box. Things look good from there, until we get to the 87th, when Watford ties it on a cross that's headed in. We're headed to our sixth tie in our last 10 matches... until two minutes later, when Watford gets a corner, and scores on it on a bad play by Lecomte. We lose, 2-1, in terrible, terrible fashion. This thing is slipping away from us.

This is possibly the worst loss of this career for me. Two goals in the final five minutes of play. We are reeling.

[trman73]

March 19, 2033 - Premier League: Liverpool (16-7-7, 55 pts., 5th) vs. Bournemouth (7-6-17, 27 pts., 17th)

We need this. I hold a team meeting before this match and the guys react positively. Now let's see that translate on the field. Thomas Hoppe gets his first start for us in the midfield. Everyone else stays the same.

My God, the nightmare continues in the 24th as Bournemouth scores to go up. But we rebound, with Kretzschmar scoring his first goal since returning from his injury in the 33rd, and it's 1-1 at the half. In the 25th, Suvajac goes down, and we bring in Oliver Sharp, hopeful that he can make something happen. And he does, in the 63rd, scoring on a great steal and walk-in for the tie-breaking goal. Bournemouth has some late chances, but we hang on and finally get a much-needed win. We're now off for 21 days and we've got time to train and to think about how we'll fare in our final seven matches of the season.

Edited September 7, 2017 by trman73

[trman73]

April 10, 2033 - Premier League: Reading (6-8-17, 26 pts., 18th) vs. Liverpool (17-7-7, 58 pts., 5th)

Unless something really dramatic happens it looks like we're locked into 5th position. We trail City by five points, and a quick look at their schedule shows that they should be able to hold us off. We're a full 10 points behind third-place Arsenal, and we're eight up on Everton. I can dissect what went wrong for us when the season's over, but for now all we can do is try to pick up as many points as possible in our final seven matches.

We play a quality game today. We get on the board with a goal from Kretzschmar in the 6th minute. In the 23rd, Reading has a man sent off, and we take complete control. Fliess scores just a few minutes later, and we go into lockdown mode, winning easily, 2-0.

Edited September 7, 2017 by trman73

[trman73]

April 16, 2033 - Premier League: Liverpool (18-7-7, 61 pts., 5th) vs. Middlesbrough (8-12-12, 36 pts., 14th)

We've got a big match at Chelsea next week (our toughest remaining opponent) and it would be good to head into that match on a three-game winning streak. We're playing better now, and we should beat a below-average Middlesbrough team. Thomas Hoppe has taken over one of the center midfielder spots in the lineup with good play in our last two wins. I've also got a feeling that Suvajac is going to finally get a (non-PK) goal in this game.

We get a goal early on a long free kick from Claus that finds Tulyakov for the header into the net in the 15th minute. The game slogs along and I'm worried it will be one of those where we don't take advantage of chances then give up a late equalizer, but Suvajac makes a nice move into the box in the 84th and gets fouled, then converts the penalty to make it 2-0. Middlesbrough gets a goal in stoppage time, but we win, 2-1, and we do head into Chelsea next week on a three-game win streak.

[trman73]

April 23, 2033 - Premier League: Chelsea (23-4-6, 73 pts., 2nd) vs. Liverpool (19-7-7, 64 pts., 5th)

With a loss by Huddersfield the day before this match, we've clinched no worse than sixth in the league. If we can somehow get a result here I'll start to actually believe that maybe, just maybe, we can sneak past either Arsenal or City and into the top four. But that's a big "if" right now as Chelsea still has its eye on defending its Premier League title, and we're a big challenge for them. We beat them at home earlier in the year, but Stamford Bridge is a different story.

We play well in the first half and the game's 0-0 at the break. But early in the second, Chelsea scores on a cross to grab that important first goal. Our passes in the offensive zone are just missing to deny us quality chances, and it looks like our modest win streak is going to come to an end. Chelsea gets another in the 63rd off a free kick, and we're not going to come back in this one. They put in three more in the second half to humiliate us 5-0. One of things we're gong to have to do moving forward is figure out how to get points on the road against the league's top teams, as we go 0-0-4 against Man U, Man City, Chelsea and Arsenal on the road and are outscored 14-2 in those matches.

[trman73]

May 1, 2033 - Premier League: Liverpool (19-7-8, 64 pts., 5th) vs. Newcastle (13-4-17, 43 pts., 11th)

We've got four games left and it could take as few as just one to clinch fifth place and our spot in Euro Cup. I need to remember that Europa League was the board expectation for this year, and we're going to easily meet that expectation. So while the second half of this season has been a huge disappointment, we're still progressing, and we're still probably going to finish with the most points collected by a Liverpool team in more than a decade.

Everton draws the day before our match, so with a win we will in fact clinch fifth. But we really just don't want to make this easy on ourselves. Newcastle scores midway through the first half, and we play a poor offensive game. We're shut out for the second straight time and lose, 1-0.