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

[Terk]

Thanks for the support again, guys TheMister, I never really played 09 enough to know that, but I'd say of my experience of 10 so far, it's the more attacking sides, if anything, that have the slight upper hand in European competition.

Glad the tumbleweed picture went down well

[Terk]

2014/15

Part 4: May 2015

Only a short update this time as I missed the end of March update and don't want to go too long on the game-by-game in one post.

Premier League

On the back of the draw with Wolves, it was vital that we won our two games before facing Villa, so a 2-2 draw with Spurs and a 2-1 defeat at Blackburn weren't ideal. Realistically, despite our 3-0 win over Villa, they were the end of our title challenge. We did go on a run of six victories to (theoretically) keep us in it, including a 3-0 win over Arsenal thanks to a Gary Cahill hat-trick, but the inevitable was confirmed with a 1-1 draw at Burnley, and a final day (6-2) defeat at Old Trafford knocked us down to third in the final standings.

Champions League

Despite Genoa being a much better side than when the game started, I was confident going into the tie. That was misplaced, however, as they won the first leg 1-0 at their place and an early goal at Anfield effectively sealed it up. We almost came back, winning the 2nd leg 2-1, but eventually we went out on the away goals rule.

Finances

Bad. Really bad. For some reason, despite being under the wage budget, having a net spend of, for all intents and purposes, nothing, and the added bonus of Champions League gate money, we were losing money at a faster rate than ever, forcing the board to take out a £10M gift loan in March and another of £4.4M in April. Because more loan repayments were just what I needed. I honestly can't see a way out of this financial mess for the club, and it may come to the point where some of the better players have to make way.

Summary

In the end it was a decent season, we're scored one less point than we did in winning the title last season; it seems we've stood still and others have overtaken us. Still, after their last title wins both Man United and Arsenal dropped out of the top four the following season, so we've done better than they did. It's already looking like a long road back to the top of the table, but if anything this season has only strengthened my resolve to stay at the club for a long time yet.

[Terk]

As you can see if you're keeping up with the roll of honour in my opening posts, it's definitely Spanish domination of Europe so far. 4 of the 6 Champions League titles have gone to either Barcelona or Real Madrid (2 each) and the last two Europa League titles have found their way to Spain as well.

In a piece of truly wonderful timing though, on the same day as Mark Hughes gets sacked in real life, he's just been sacked in my game after losing the CL final against Real Madrid. The man they've hired to replace him? Barcelona's Pep Guardiola. I am now officially scared.

[hrbfcrule]

Congratz on getting a champions league spot:thup:. I hate to say this but i fear you may have to jump ship, i think liverpool are slowly sinking and selling the top players isnt going to be enough to save them. So despite the fantastic job you have done there i think you may have to leave due to the increasingly bad financial situation theyre in.

[TheMister]

the roll of honour in my opening posts

Hadn't even noticed that :o It's a good idea I may thieve :o:o To be honest I'm still unsettled on the format of my thread.

[rancer890]

Nice season Terk, but with the financial situation, I would jump ship too. Blame America for this mess!

[Terk]

Thieve away, TheMister, thieve away

And to hrbfcrule and rancer, I'm determined that the finances aren't going to drive me out of the club. The loans are due to finish being repaid in 2020, so if I can survive four more years of pain then there could be the real chance to make some money.

[Terk]

2015/16

Preview

Info

Board Expectation: Top 4 finish

Pre-Season Odds: 10-1 (4th favourites)

Media Prediction: 5th

After losing our title last season, there is a natural inclination to want it back this time around. But the truth is that we over achieved in my first year, and realistically another top four finish and another year of Champions League qualification should be the target. The £29M we got from the Champions League TV revenue, coupled with the same amount for the coming season's Premier League TV revenue means that, for now, the finances are looking a bit brighter, but I know that by January we'll be back in the red once more, so I'm making every effort to keep my wage budget at least £100K per week below the £936K per week that the board will allow me.

There have been some big transfer moves out of the club, not least veteran of 530 league games Jamie Carragher retiring at the end of his contract. The one deal that the fans are not happy with is the sale of Pepe Reina - who played 358 league games in 10 seasons at the club - to Barcelona for £20M. In January Pepe had come out and said he wanted a new challenge, so when Barca offered the cash, I jumped, particularly given the availability of Lyon 'keeper Hugo Lloris on a free transfer. Similar quality of keeper and a £20M profit, good business in my eyes. Huddlestone and Mascherano have been amongst various others to leave whilst the biggest arrival was the £14M capture of Napoli centre back Simon Kjær.

Like last season the board have set a target of the Quarter Finals in the Champions League and the Semi Finals in the FA Cup, whilst they don't care about the League Cup, so I have free license to continue using it as a proving ground for the youngsters. I'd like to put a trophy in the cabinet this season though.

[hrbfcrule]

Thieve away, TheMister, thieve away

And to hrbfcrule and rancer, I'm determined that the finances aren't going to drive me out of the club. The loans are due to finish being repaid in 2020, so if I can survive four more years of pain then there could be the real chance to make some money.

Well then i wish you good luck, you will do well to maintain a champions league place for the next four years.

There have been some big transfer moves out of the club, not least veteran of 530 league games Jamie Carragher retiring at the end of his contract. The one deal that the fans are not happy with is the sale of Pepe Reina - who played 358 league games in 10 seasons at the club - to Barcelona for £20M. In January Pepe had come out and said he wanted a new challenge, so when Barca offered the cash, I jumped, particularly given the availability of Lyon 'keeper Hugo Lloris on a free transfer. Similar quality of keeper and a £20M profit, good business in my eyes. Huddlestone and Mascherano have been amongst various others to leave whilst the biggest arrival was the £14M capture of Napoli centre back Simon Kjær.

Looks like you have made some quality transfers there. If its not too much trouble can i see your transfer history for this summer transfer window? I just wanna see your net transfer spend and players you have bought and sold.

[JoeLatics]

Fantastic thread, keep it up, mate!

[LCFC]

Good luck in this new season. Hopefully it won't become a case of one step forward and two steps back since your arrival at the club. Though saying that it was a pretty big first step forward in winning the league

[crouchaldinho]

Really enjoyed reading through this. Superb updates.

Good luck for the new season.

C.

[rancer890]

Since you're staying with Liverpool, good luck in the new season, and despite the sales of some long-time players, it's a business, and you're doing it for the long term stability of the club. Looking forward to the next update with those new signings.

[Terk]

Looks like you have made some quality transfers there. If its not too much trouble can i see your transfer history for this summer transfer window? I just wanna see your net transfer spend and players you have bought and sold.

I'm pretty happy with how the summer went, and my transfer history should be pasted below. It's also linked in the update (coming soon) as usual. The two players missing off the bottom of the screenshot are José Paulo, who moved to Betis for £500K and Carl McMahon, who I loaned to Crystal Palace for 6 months. Also, the total transfer income is listed as £61M.

The last five guys listed in the incoming transfers are youngsters. Sold a bunch of those who I'd brought in but weren't progressing, so it was time for the next batch to join. Cesare De Rosa is the highest rated by my scouts.

[Terk]

2015/16

Part 1: September 2015

Transfers

It was a very busy summer at the club with another bunch of players whom I inherited moving out. There was also a cull of some of the youngsters brought in who hadn't progressed as much as we'd have liked, though I think we managed to turn a profit on each one of them. Undoubtedly the biggest capture was my cheapest one, 35 times capped French 'keeper Hugo Lloris. His distribution isn't as good as Pepe's, but his shot stopping, reflexes and aerial ability are top notch and he's two years younger than Pepe, so good business.

Premier League

1. Reading (away), won 4-0

Last year we had a stinkingly difficult start to the season, so I was delighted to get one of the newly promoted sides this time around. I had a few problems against Reading in my first year at Liverpool, but no such trouble this time; two goals from Torres, one from Cahill and a Scott Sinclair own goal had us 4 up by half time and that was how it stayed.

2. Ipswich (home), won 3-1

Another of the promoted sides, how good a start can you get? This one was slightly tougher, to illustrate the point Aleksandar Prijovic put them in front early on, but a second half fightback saw the old heads of Arshavin, Gerrard and Torres seal the points.

3. Q.P.R. (away), won 3-1

A visit to Loftus Road didn't exactly fill me with fear either, and a Fernando Torres hat-trick saw them easily dispatched, even if Denis Alibec grabbed them a late consolation goal.

4. Tottenham (home), won 3-2

And now we get into the more difficult games. Sporting their new signing Emmanuel Adebayor, Spurs proved a tough challenge, even after Gerrard put us in front from the penalty spot. A quickfire double from Adebayor just after the hour put them in charge, and we were seemingly heading for defeat until Skrtel headed home with four minutes left and then three minutes into injury time, Bojinov tapped home the rebound from Kiko Macheda's parried shot.

5. Newcastle (away), won 3-2

With a few players tired after the international break, I was a little worried about this one, but less so when Bojinov put us in front after five minutes. Unfortunately I should have remained worried as Ross Smith equalised before a penalty from Alberto Aquilani put them in front. Another comeback had to be staged and Torres levelled matters on fifty-five minutes before sealing the win with just five minutes remaining.

6. Burnley (home), won 2-1

With Arsenal winning as relentlessly as we were, we had to keep going, and we managed to get two up inside twenty minutes against Owen Coyle's Burnley side, whom I usually found trouble against. Bojinov and Cahill got the goals before a slight second half rally saw Steven Fletcher grab one back for them, but it was never going to be enough.

7. Wolves (home), won 2-0

For once we shut them out. Both Berg and Derdiyok played as they continued with the 4-4-2 diamond which caused me so many problems (particularly the little passing triangles they get going), but we put in a very solid shift with Torres and Kjær netting either side of half time.

League Cup

3rd Round. Wolves (away), lost 3-2

Three days before we faced them in the league, a fringe side travelled to Molineux to try and win a place in round four. Unfortunately they met us with a full strength side - which perhaps shows why we kept them out in the league game - so Ross Turnbull really didn't need to help them out with an own goal. They added to that advantage, however, with Cohen and Keogh scoring, but a little rally late on saw us gain a tiny piece of respectability back with goals from Dalla Valle and Ricardo in the last ten minutes.

Champions League

We were seeded 4th for the group stage draw, so I was dreading what we could end up with in terms of a group. In the end it turned out about as good as we could have hoped, facing Juventus, Stade Rennais and Olympicos.

Matchday 1. Stade Rennais (away), drew 2-2

With important league games around this one, Torres and Gerrard both started on the bench. That seemed a fine decision when Macheda netted from the penalty spot but Diogo equalised early in the second half. We looked to have it tied up when Gennaro Bracigliano turned the ball into his own net with six minutes left, but with almost the last kick of the match, Guillaume Hoarau stole a point.

Other Result: Olympiacos 0-5 Juventus

Matchday 2. Olympiacos (home), won 6-1

Given the fact that Juve humped them on their own patch, I was expecting a full three points, and we delivered in style, even with Torres as an unused substitute. Gerrard and Dalla Valle scored two each in the first half, and although Rydell Poepon pulled one back within a minute of the second half starting, we were never in trouble. Kjær and Cazorla netted goals five and six to round off the win.

Other Result: Juventus 2-2 Stade Rennais

Key Players

I'm not quite so petulant this time, so I'll give credit where it's due. Hugo Lloris came in with huge boots to fill, and has done an excellent job so far. He has been brilliant in 1-on-1 situations and his confidence dealing with crosses seems to be growing with every game. Gary Cahill is now looking very confident in the centre of our defence after a shaky start last season (and he took up Carragher's position of vice-captain this season), whilst his defensive partner, Simon Kjær looks worth every penny of the £14M we spent on him.

For a 19 year old, Luis Pérez looks very composed in the defensive midfield role and has quickly become first choice ahead of Didier Digard, and Steven Gerrard continues to defy his age with a generally brilliant level of performance that means I'll likely give him another one year deal at the end of this season. I've been very impressed with Santi Cazorla's contribution, whilst Valeri Bojinov seems to have settled in quickly, and if anyone knows how to stop Fernando Torres from scoring then the rest of the league would like to know.

Summary

A truly fantastic start to the league season, even if a couple of the wins have been of the skin-of-the-teeth variety. We seem to be scoring like last year, and although we're still letting in a few more goals than I would like, we do look a lot more solid at the back with Kjær in the mix. Arsenal have clearly begun in magnificent form as well, and if Chelsea win their game in hand then they're not far behind either. I am enjoying being 10 points ahead of Man City though.

The League Cup was undoubtedly a frustration, but with the Champions League group we were handed, I'm hoping to go through as group winners and this year meet my target of the Quarter Finals. Top four in the league remains the absolute target (though I'm also going all out to win the FA Cup) but I'm starting to get sneaky thoughts of a title challenge.

[Terk]

Also thanks to everyone for the encouragement, with special mention to JoeLatics, LCFC and crouchaldinho who I don't think I've seen post in here before (sorry if you have, my memory is awful). I've not had much enthusiasm to write in FMS of late, so posting this has really kept my interest going in FM and it's nice to know people are enjoying following along

[Terk]

despite the sales of some long-time players, it's a business, and you're doing it for the long term stability of the club.

That's exactly my reasoning. I've never really got a game going with Liverpool on previous versions of FM because it was too easy, you'd absolutely rake in the money and just the the best players going. But this time the financial problems are much more realistic and I'm loving the challenge of it, so if and when I do get into a position of making proper money it will feel like a real achievement.

That reasoning didn't quite tempt me to part with Torres though. Man City offered £55M after Guardiola had spent a month chasing him through the press and it took me about 10 minutes before I clicked 'reject' and I'm very glad I did now. I think I might have been virtually lynched had I sold him, particularly to a rival in the same division.

[hrbfcrule]

Thnx for the screenshot. Also congratz on your 100% record in the premiership even if it is only 7 games in

[DodgeeD]

Kjaer and Lloris were key players in my all-conquering Blackburn side on FM08. Ah, the memories

Perez looks like a cracking player for his age and Gerrard is still looking good, even his physical stats! Good luck for the rest of the season.

[Terk]

Thanks guys Kjær and Lloris are two signings I'm very happy with, and Gerrard's now causing me a few problems as I have two young central midfielders that I want to give game time to (David Drake and Karim Boulanger) but Gerrard's performance and fitness levels keep surprising me and make me very reluctant to drop him.

[Terk]

2015/16

Part 2: November 2015

Premier League

8. Chelsea (away), won 2-1

The start of a very tough run of fixtures, this was the biggest test of our league record so far. The Tinkerman stayed with Cavani and Sturridge up front, but this time we managed to nullify them, and started brilliantly ourselves, two up inside quarter of an hour thanks to a Bojinov double. Chelsea pulled one back late on when André-Pierre Gignac scored on 86 minutes, but we held out to the whistle.

9. Man Utd (home), won 1-0

Given the fact that, under current manager Mick McCarthy, they spanked us 6-2 at Old Trafford at the back end of last season, I was expecting more than their league form suggested. They didn't provide it, however, and really we laboured to a 1-0 win (that man Torres with the goal) that should have been much bigger. Unsurprisingly, a few weeks later McCarthy was sacked and Juande Ramos took his place.

10. Aston Villa (away), lost 2-1

The place where the wheels truly fell off for us last season, we gave a better account of ourselves this time but still couldn't deal with their relentless pace as Kévin Gameiro put them in front. I thought we'd snatched a point through Betrand Priso, but six minutes from time Gabby Agbonlahor grabbed a deserved winner for Villa.

11. Leeds (home), won 2-1

Bounce back time. We made heavy weather of it, Miroslav Stoch scoring his inevitable goal on his return to Anfield to equalise Torres' opener. It wasn't until the last quarter than we bagged the points, young striker Ben Marshall finishing off a sweeping move with a simple strike.

12. Stoke (away), won 5-4

Mental. We tried everything we could to throw this one away, then right at the end thought that we might as well win it. Bojinov and Insúa had us two in front before Diego Arismendi pulled one back for Stoke. Bojinov restored our two goal lead in double quick time, but a Gary Cahill own goal halved that gap again before the break. Four minutes into the second half, Jô equalised before Matt Derbyshire put them in front. I was now seriously panicking, but Bojinov grabbed his hat-trick goal to pull us level and, two minutes into injury time, Dalla Valle fired us towards three points.

13. Arsenal (home), won 3-0

A very tight first half ended goalless with Lloris probably the slightly busier keeper, but some well placed encouragement at half time saw us come alive after the break, Torres scoring on just forty-seven minutes to give us the lead. Gerrard, back from a calf injury that had seen him miss the last three league games, curled a second in four minutes later and Torres wrapped up the victory with a bullet header on 89 minutes.

14. Sunderland (away), drew 2-2

Another game that contributed to the run which saw us throw away our title chances last season, we had struggled to a 2-2 draw, and this year was no different. Having taken the lead through Bojinov, quickfire goals from Cattermole and Bilyaletdinov put the hosts in front. Thankfully this season we've been superb late on in matches, and this was no different, Djukic scoring on 85 to seal a point.

Champions League

Matchday 3. Juventus (home), won 1-0

Slightly less exciting than when we met them last season, the deciding moment came on 48 minutes when Edin Dzeko headed Gerrard's corner into his own net.

Matchday 4. Juventus (away), lost 1-0

A game that followed a similar pattern to the tie at Anfield, though this time Edin Dzeko scored just before halftime and in the right net.

Matchday 5. Stade Rennais (home), won 1-0

Figuring that we had a second chance in the Olympiacos game that we were almost certain to win, I fielded a few youngsters in this one and went in without either Torres or Gerrard in the squad. We did well, but the Frenchists looked to have held on for a point until Bojinov slammed a penalty home off the inside of the post. Qualification sorted.

Key Players

It has mostly been the same crowd who have impressed, Gerrard, Torres, Lloris and the rest. There have been a few who have caught my eye though, particularly Nikola Djukic, who is pushing Ricardo for the right back slot and Emiliano Insúa, who has overcome the injury problems he suffered last season (torn calf muscle and broken ankle) to establish himself in the first team once more.

Summary

Whilst Aston Villa appear to be continuing the tradition of defending league champions struggling, we are probably playing better than at any point since I took over. The wins over Chelsea and Arsenal were huge in terms of how things are going to play out, and if we can be victorious in the reverse fixtures in the second half of the season then I'll be confident that we're on our way to a second title in three years. The Champions League has been a little tougher this year, mainly I think because I've occasionally held players back for important league games which come up just a few days later, but a good win over Olympiacos should see us win the group and hopefully we get a kinder second round draw than Genoa this time.

[rancer890]

Solid results Terk. Keep it up. And Merry Christmas. :thup:

[Terk]

Same to you, rancer I had a spare half hour in the day so figured I'd throw in an update.

[hrbfcrule]

Keep up the good form:thup:, 6 pts clear already has put you in an awesome position not just for a champions lge place but actually winning the league. Also an update on christmas shows how committed you are to the save

[Terk]

Cheers, hrbfcrule It certainly has been a great start to the season, and you get nothing but commitment with me on this save

[Terk]

2015/16

Part 3: January 2016

Premier League

15. Blackburn (home), won 2-1

Save for the Arsenal game we hadn't been playing too well of late, though thankfully we'd still largely been winning, and that was the case again in this one. After a turgid first half, Bojinov replaced Vukcevic at the break and duly set up Torres for the opener, Insúa crossing for the Spaniard to rifle home a second four minutes later. A goal from Jamie Ness made it nervous late on, but the points were ours.

16. Everton (away), won 2-1

I've a growing dislike for Derby day, even when we win I come away mumbling. The source of displeasure this time was a bad hip injury to Insúa, and the fact that we were very much second best in the first half, with them leading at the break through Alexandre Coeff. We didn't improve by much in the second half, but did just enough to get the win, Torres and Cahill with the goals.

17. Fulham (home), won 3-2

This should have been easier against a bottom of the table side, but Fulham came armed with an intent to attack and quickly found themselves two up through Steven N'Zonzi and James Henry. Santi Cazorla nicked one back just before the break, and I would have happily come out of the game with just a point, but second half goals from Torres and Cahill ensured that we got all three - a harsh result on the visitors.

18. Man City (away), drew 3-3

How to throw a game in three easy steps. (1) Play some blinding football to build a seemingly insurmountable early lead with goals from Digard, Bojinov and Kjær. (2) Let Carlos Tevez shoot from distance (twice) without any sort of challenge, virtually allowing him to pick his spot past Lloris. (3) Post your entire defence missing at an 87th minute corner, allowing Wesley Sneijder the sort of easy header than my dead Granny couldn't have missed. Terk not happy.

19. West Ham (home), won 2-1

A long time since we last saw a clean sheet, and I thought we'd done it in this one until Omar Koroma popped up in the ninety second minute for West Ham's consolation goal. Our first half efforts came from Torres and youngster Ben Marshall and were enough for the points.

20. Reading (home), won 2-1

Well into the Christmas period now, this came just forty eight hours after the Boxing Day win over West Ham. A defensive midfield injury crisis saw a debut for 16 year old Cesare De Rosa, and the young lad did himself proud in 65 minutes on the field, but it was Gerrard and Bojinov who grabbed the winning goals, Reading pulling one back through Jamil Adam with seven minutes left.

21. Ipswich (away), drew 2-2

More football with no rest, and I think this one has to go down as our shocker result of the season. Kiko Macheda and Magaye Gueye grabbed early goals to put us in charge, but then we seemed to think it was job done and two second half efforts from striker Aleksandar Prijovic earned the home side a vital point.

22. Q.P.R. (home), won 2-0

The Holy Grail, a clean sheet. Coupled with two strikes from Ricardo (employed as a defensive midfielder for the day with Djukic fit enough to take the right back slot) in three minutes, it was enough to get us back on the winning route.

23. Tottenham (away), drew 1-1

I say to this game. We were the better side throughout, but with Torres having one of his quieter days, all we had to show for our domination was a Gerrard penalty. That left us vulnerable, and Sam Vokes exposed us on 71 minutes, getting in behind the defence and winning a point with a well placed shot past Lloris.

24. Burnley (away), won 4-1

There was no way Burnley deserved this kind of score line against them, they probably deserved a point out of the game, but Torres was back firing, grabbing two goals, either side of which Cahill and Gerrard scored to ensure that Fábio Coentrão's equaliser meant nothing in the grand scheme.

25. Newcastle (home), won 3-1

3-0 by half time, this was job done. Cahill opened the scoring and Torres hit another double before Newcastle boss Paul Jewell finally put his two best players (Alberto Aquilani and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake) on the field in the second half and they began to cause us problems, the former setting up the latter to grab a consolation.

Champions League

Matchday 6. Olympiacos (away), won 2-1

I put out a relatively weak side for this one, anxious about the fitness of some players, but we still had enough to win with goals from David Drake and Valeri Bojinov cancelling out an early opener from home striker Sherjill MacDonald. Coupled with Juventus' draw with Stade Rennais, it was enough to see us win the group and bag a tie against Besiktas in the first knockout round.

League Cup

Oh, we're out of this already

F.A. Cup

3rd Round. Rotherham (home), won 3-1

With the crazy run of fixtures over Christmas and New Year, it was time for the youngsters against a mid-table League 1 side. And they did me proud with 17 year old centre back Ryan Gemmill heading us in front before 17 year old striker Liam Sims (who has 21 goals in 26 games between the U-18s and reserves this season) doubled our advantage. Ben Marshall made it three before the visitors grabbed a consolation thanks to Takura Mtandari.

4th Round. Cardiff (home), drew 1-1

Youngsters again, and Ben Marshall continued to impress by putting us in front, but we couldn't get the second that we deserved and Gabriel Torje earned the Welsh side a replay at their place with a low shot past Lloris.

Transfers

Not much business in January, but we did make two decent sales, with the underwhelming Federico Macheda earning us £6M just six months after joining on a free, and midfielder David Drake bringing in a very welcome £8M as he joined Spartak Moscow. I would have liked to keep young keeper Erwin Kuiper as he looks very promising indeed, but he was refusing to extend his contract that was due to run out in the summer, so any fee was a good fee.

Benjamin Tasche is a young German left back brought in to cover Insúa's seemingly endless injury problems, whilst Anthony Watson is a very highly rated young striker whom we had to fight tooth and nail to get - if he is successful at the club he could end up costing us over £6M. Steven Davis will provide some experienced cover in the middle of the park having sold Drake, though I can't say I expect him to feature hugely.

Key Players

Who else but Fernando Torres can lead us into this section? His league record for the club is now 179 goals in 264 games (his overall Liverpool record - excluding all non-league goals in 07/08 and 08/09 which aren't represented in the game - is 295 games, 191 goals). He has 22 in 22 in the league this season and at 31 shows no signs of stopping. I'm not sure Roger Hunt's club record of 245 league goals is achievable for him, but he'll not be that far short.

Such have been the performances of Simon Kjær since he joined in the summer that I had to field a bid of £21M for him from Real Madrid in Janury. Luckily the big Dane doesn't seem to want the move - he certainly hasn't complained about it being rejected - and at just 26 he can have a massive future with us. Alongside him in defence, Leandro Grimi has been something of a solid surprise. Brought in as an emergency 'I Can't Get Anyone Else' loan last season, he covered well enough for Insúa's injuries to earn a permanent move, and he's done the same this year, providing solid, unspectacular cover whilst Insúa's injury record gives me increasing cause for concern.

On the youngster front, striker Ben Marshall was one of the reasons I felt comfortable selling Macheda. His physical stats may not be the best, but he links up well with Torres and has an eye for goal which could lead to him becoming a useful squad player. And there must be special mention made of Cesare De Rosa, who did a very good job making his league debut at just 16, and though his natural position is centre back, he impressed me greatly in the holding midfield role and I think that is where his future lies. Already in January we've had to hold firm in the face of some sizeable offers for him.

Summary

Things continue to look good for us in the Premier League, and but for a few frustrating draws we could be pulling well clear of the pack. Already the race is down to just three teams, and Villa are only a defeat or two away from dropping out as well. We have a tough run coming up soon with Chelsea, Man Utd, Aston Villa and Arsenal in a run of just five games (the other being Leeds), and if we can come out the other end of that with our lead not having diminished, I'll be very happy indeed.

The Champions League has definitely handed us a kinder draw this time with Besiktas, and that should enable me to hit my target of the quarter final. I'm not sure we're ready to win the tournament yet; if we come up against someone like Barcelona then I think we'll get found out defensively, but I'd like to hit the semi finals if we can. I'd really like to add the F.A. Cup to my trophy cabinet this year, and with Arsenal having already been knocked out and Chelsea drawn against Man Utd in the 5th round, it looks like we might have the chance to do just that.

[MeLikeFM]

What sort of bid would you accept for Kjaer ?

[Terk]

Given the fact that the finances essentially still make us a selling club, £25M would make me think very seriously and £30M would see me definitely accept. I've set his asking price at £30M and Real are still sniffing around, so I'm bracing myself for another bid from them this summer and I've already instructed my scouts to look around for central defenders, searching out potential replacements.

[weeeman27bob]

A top month for you there

And a couple of good youngsters coming through.

[Terk]

Bringing in young talent is clearly the way I have to do most of my work if I'm going to make Liverpool profitable in the long run. I'm taking something of a scattershot approach, picking up players that are recommended by my scouts (I generally have at least three of them looking specifically for young players), and selling on those who don't make it. Easily the two most successful so far have been Ricardo and Nikola Djukic, who are both right backs by trade, but I think the future may well be Djukic at right back with Ricardo moved in to centre back.

It's also nice to see a few players coming through the club's own youth system, particularly with Ben Marshall now breaking into the first team squad and high hopes for Liam Sims as well.

One thing I have forgotten to mention is that Thomas Larsen, our young Danish striker on loan at Birmingham, made everyone sit up and take notice at the U-20 World Cup. Not only did he help Denmark win the tournament (scoring both goals in the 2-1 win over Brazil in the final) but he walked away with the Golden Shoe (10 goals in 7 games) and the Golden Ball (average rating of 7.83), so I could well see him replacing Lauri Dalla Valle in the first team squad next season.

[hrbfcrule]

Well done on a great month for you:thup: only arsenal and villa holding on now. i assume you still have to play both of them?

Would you ever consider selling Fernando Torres? he does have an amazing record for you but he is getting old so you could cash in on him now to help your finances

[Terk]

I came close to selling him in the summer just passed when Man City offered £55M, but didn't think that the rest of the squad was quite good enough to deal without him yet. With Marshall and Larsen coming on well though, I may be tempted by a good bid. Torres has 18 months left to run on his contract, so if I could get somewhere in the region of £20M for him this summer then I may well think about it.

[Terk]

2015/16

Part 4: May 2016

Premier League

26. Wolves (away), won 3-2

Once more against Wolves, despite their lowly league position this time, we found ourselves in a crazy game. Five goals and three penalties (one of which Marcus Berg missed) were good entertainment for the masses, and luckily we game away with the points, Bojinov, Ricardo and Torres grabbing the all important strikes.

27. Chelsea (home), won 3-1

Having done them on their own patch early in the season I was eager to get the double over the Tinkerman and, to be honest, we were the better side throughout. Daniel Loreto may have equalised Torres' opener, but Bojinov and Cahill made sure of the points we deserved.

28. Man Utd (away), won 4-3

Having already thrown away one wonderful lead in Manchester this season, we came close to doing it again. We lead 4-1 after just 28 minutes (Kjær, Torres and two from Bojinov) but we relaxed in the second half and by the hour mark they were back to within one. We just about managed to hold on though (Rooney hit the bar in injury time) and claimed another three points.

29. Leeds (away), won 4-0

A slightly weaker side was fielded in this one, but we came away with a very easy win. Two goals from Ben Marshall, one from Gary Cahill and one from Lauri Dalla Valle sealed the points.

30. Sunderland (home), won 3-2

This one was easier than it sounds (their second came four minutes into injury time) and was a nice victory. Torres got us going and Marshall grabbed another double either side of a strike from Fraizer Campbell.

31. Stoke (home), drew 1-1

There is just something about Stoke. To be honest, we should have put this one easily to bed, but we couldn't add to Gueye's 4th minute opener and Pape Diop earned the visitors a point in the 88th minute, continuing our worrying recent trend of conceding late on.

32. Blackburn (away), drew 2-2

In the midst of a congested fixture list (we played nine games in April) we were lucky to take even a point from this one. Blackburn twice went ahead, but a Darren Barr own goal and a Martin Skrtel header late on grabbed us a draw.

33. Everton (home), won 3-1

I do like it when Derby Day is this simple. Torres, Skrtel and Marshall wrapped up the game before the hour, even if a Kranjcar strike with twenty minutes left did worry me for a few moments.

34. Arsenal (away), won 5-4

Even before this game Arsenal had faded as a title threat, a run of poor results against lowly opposition costing them any shot at the #1 spot. We had no Torres, Cahill or Kjær for this and debuted a Belgian striker off the bench, but we still came away with the win. Having trailed 3-1 at half time, Dalla Valle grabbed his second of the day just after the break before Bertrand Priso struck twice and Gueye rounded off the win. Theo Walcott pulled one back for the Arse, but they couldn't force the draw.

35. Fulham (away), won 2-1

Another fringe team was put out (just forty eight hours after the Arsenal game) but again we showcased the depth of our squad. Stephen Kelly helped us on the way with an own goal, though Aaron Spear soon cancelled that out, ending his own 30 hour dry spell in front of goal. We grabbed the win midway through the second half, Frédéric Schyns (making his first start after getting twenty minutes at the Emirates) smashing home from a tight angle to get his first goal. This win left us needed just 1 win from our final 3 games to wrap up the title.

36. Man City (home), lost 1-0

We were back to full strength for the City game, but it did us little good as we put in a tired, lifeless performance, eventually falling to Steven Ireland's 86th minute strike.

37. Aston Villa (home), lost 3-2

What better way to wrap up the title that against the only team who could catch us. A draw would ensure our success, but Curtis Davies and Fabian Delph put them into an early lead. José Manuel Fernández Martínez pulled one back for us, but just after the hour Nathan Delfouneso restored their two goal lead. Valeri Bojinov gave us hope with nine minutes left, but Villa held onto their title dreams.

38. West Ham (away), won 3-1

In the end this didn't matter as Villa lost their last game at Everton, but we took a commanding early lead throgh Bojinov and Torres before Mark Noble pulled one back. We were soon two ahead again though, another striker from Torres, and with the news from Goodison Park we were able to celebrate our way through the final half hour as we claimed a second title in three years.

F.A. Cup

4th Round Replay. Cardiff (away), won 2-1

We put out a fringe rather than youth team, and though we fell behind when Robbie Keane struck from the penalty spot after seven minutes, goals from Skrtel and Dalla Valle were enough to see us through.

5th Round. Leicester (home), won 3-0

A quite young side took to the field for this one, but they had little trouble as a Ben Marshall double put us well in charge before Anthony Watson grabbed his first goal for the club.

Quarter Final. Man Utd (away), won 1-0

Coming only days after our epic league encounter, this was a somewhat more sedate affair and was settled in the 17th minute when Fernando Torres got clear and placed his shot beyond Ben Foster.

Semi Final. Man City (Wembley), won 6-3

You don't get many semi finals like this. Torres put us in front after just 38 seconds and Gerrard doubled our lead with a screamer from the edge of the box. Tevez pulled one back before Torres grabbed his second, though just seconds after that, Tevez notched his second as well. 3-2 after 29 minutes. That wasn't it for the first half though as Gerrard put us two in front again from the penalty spot. Ben Marshall had started ahead of Bojinov and justified his selection with our fifth just before the hour, he was then replaced by the Bulgarian, who made it six on 72 minutes. Wesley Sneijder grabbed a late consolation for City, but it was us through to the final.

Final. Aston Villa (Wembley), won 4-2

Not quite as mental as the semi, but not far off. It was 1-1 after just eight minutes, Kjær getting them underway with an own goal before Bojinov equalised. We then wrapped the trophy up before half time with goals from Gueye, Torres and Bojinov, though a Delph effort thirteen minutes from full time panicked me a little, but we held them off and claimed the double.

Champions League

1st Knockout Round. Besiktas (away), won 2-1

A tougher game than I expected, but Bojinov put us in front and, after we'd given away a sloppy equaliser, Marshall struck in injury time to put us firmly in the driving seat.

1st Knockout Round. Besiktas (home), won 2-0 (won 4-1 on aggregate)

They started well, but we owned the second half with an own goal from Serkan Dogan and a well struck effort from Luis Pérez seeing us match our agreed target of a place in the quarter finals.

Quarter Final. FC Bayern (away), lost 2-1

Things looked good when we took the lead through Gerrard from the penalty spot, but two goals from Chinedu Obasi in a poor second half put the Germans in control.

Quarter Final. FC Bayern (home), won 4-1 (won 5-3 on aggregate)

Things looked really bleak when Stefano Guberti opened the scoring on the night for Bayern, but Torres struck a crucial blow to get us back in it right on the stroke of half time. We still had to work hard, the equalising goal not coming until Bojinov struck on 74 minutes, but then just four minutes later we were ahead through Gerrard. Bayern ran us close a few times in the last ten minutes, but in injury time Bojinov made sure of our place in the semis with a lovely strike.

Semi Final. Aston Villa (away), won 3-2

Probably my least favourite venue in the game so far, but I like it a bit more after this. Gameiro put them ahead on four minutes, but Cazorla quickly equalised and by the quarter hour we were ahead through Bojinov. Nigel Reo-Coker made it level before the break, but Ben Marshall came off the bench to net the winner with seven minutes left.

Semi Final. Aston Villa (home), won 3-1 (won 6-3 on aggregate)

Our fragile lead from the first leg was looking even more so when Kévin Gameiro tied it up on aggregate after 23 minutes, leaving us ahead only on away goals. But we responded in terrific fashion with Bojinov making it level on the night before second half goals from Vukcevic and Cazorla booked our place in Berlin.

Final. Real Madrid (Berlin), won 2-0

To say I was worried about their attacking talent would have been an understatement; their front three of Cristiano Ronaldo, Angel Di Maria and Karim Benzema had netted over 60 goals this season (despite them only finishing second in La Liga). We set up to play on the counter attack and it worked to perfection, Torres putting us in front after 29 minutes and Gerrard wrapping up the win from the penalty spot on 61, making sure of our sixth European Cup triumph. Only five more to go to catch up with Real.

Key Players

Where to start? Hugo Lloris proved to be every bit as good a signing as I hoped he would. The way we set up for a lot of games (the 'we're gonna score one more than you' school of football) means that we're going to concede plenty, but it would have been far more, particularly late in the season, had Hugo not been on absolutely stunning form. A great piece of business, if I say so myself.

Valeri Bojinov surprised me with a haul of twenty seven goals, his form in the second half of the season, and particularly in the big games, was nothing short of top notch. Ben Marshall also matured a lot in the second half of the season and was someone I could rely on if one of my starting pair wasn't fit.

Gary Cahill was a rock in our defence, though better in the league campaign than in Europe. Missing both the FA Cup and Champions League finals with a hamstring injury sustained in our final league game was hellishly cruel though. Still, for those games Ricardo stepped into centre back and continued to enhance his reputation.

Steven Garrard's age did catch up with him in the second half of the season and there were only two games in which he played the full 90 minutes, but if he's willing to accept a squad rotation place for next season then there's a contract on the table for him. Then we arrive at the man who defied superlative, Fernando Torres. I may have toyed with potentially letting him go come the summer, but no matter his age, I can't rid my side of someone who scores 35 goals and adds 18 assists. The man is a legend of the highest order and I hope he plays out his career with us.

Summary

Well, what more could we do? A truly stunning season, even if the defeats against City and Villa meant that we somewhat limped over the line for the title. What's more, the success on the pitch made it a much better financial year, as for the first time in many a long year, we didn't drop into the red at any point in the season. We still lost £40M over the course of the campaign, but when you consider that, in the season before I arrived the club lost just over £100M, you can see how far we've come. It did cross my mind to perhaps leave if we win the Club World Championship in December, but I know that if I did, the next manager would simply spend us into oblivion with the debt still hanging over our head and we'd be back where we started. I'm adamant that I'm going to stick this out until the loans are paid off and we start making some real cash. To quote Bill Shankly, "My idea was to build Liverpool into a bastion of invincibility. Napoleon had that idea. He wanted to conquer the bloody world. I wanted Liverpool to be untouchable. My idea was to build Liverpool up and up until eventually everyone would have to submit and give in"

[Terk]

Sorry about the length of that update. If I have one that long again I'll break it up into parts.

[Dalbeider]

Treble \o/. Great season there, Terk. Now do a Barça and win three more next year, 'kay?

[hrbfcrule]

congratz on the treble, very impressive stuff especially with your financial situation. Is it getting any better due to recent success?

[iacovone]

Great season Terk. That Shankley quote is epic isn't it.

[salkster2102]

Congrats on the treble Mr Terk. Remember we can still get a treble

[Terk]

congratz on the treble, very impressive stuff especially with your financial situation. Is it getting any better due to recent success?

The success this season helped massively. For the first time in at least six years we didn't drop into the red at any point in the season. We were still losing around £8M per month in those months where we didn't have prize money coming in, and we lost around £40M over the season, but just before the CL final (so before the £20M+ TV revenue came in) we were standing at about £4M in the black. I don't think we can repeat that level of success every season, but it gives us a firmer standing point for the next campaign.

Luckily I don't think the squad needs drastic work any more, just a player or two here and there. I'm keeping Torres, I don't care that he's getting older, I can't give up someone who gets 35 goals and 18 assists in a season. With Marshall and Larsen coming through we're fine in the striking department, we could do with another right winger (Cazorla wants too much money for me to make his deal permanent) and I've agreed to pay the arranged price to bring Benjamin Tasche (the young left back I loaned last season) in on a permanent deal. I've got a couple of players to sell and I can always use some more numbers for the youth side, so I'm aiming for a net spend of £0 this summer, rather than the massive gain we made last year.

[Terk]

What this means in real terms is that the two gift loans that the board took out have been paid off in full, which reduces my loan commitments to £3.5M per month (plus interest). With a chunk of new sponsorship deals improving on the ones they replaced we've taken in about £2.5M more this season in sponsorship (about £33M in total) and with the season ticket money and EPL TV revenue still to come in, we're looking pretty decent financially. Still, until the major loans are fully paid off (due at the end of January 2020), there will be no crazy spending at this club. I haven't worked hard for this only to throw it away.

[Terk]

2016/17

Preview

Info

Bank Balance: £83,902,875

Transfer Budget: £46,936,556

Wage Budget: £1,050,942 per week

Wage Bill: £801,035 per week

Self Imposed Wage Budget: £900,000 per week

Board Expectation: Win the Premier League

Media Prediction: 2nd

So, after winning the treble the board have finally raised their ambition and expect us to stay at the very top of the game. I see no reason why that shouldn't be possible, though as we have found out, defending a title is much harder than winning it in the first place. The financial position is massively improved, so even if we have a poor season on the field, we should be able to cover our losses off it. As I said previously, my aim for the summer is a net spend of £0, as I don't feel the need to boost the balance through player sales, but I don't want to put strain on it by blowing a massive chunk on new talent.

We already have £15M guaranteed to come in when the window re-opens having agreed to sell Lauri Dalla Valle to Dortmund for that price, though around £9M of that is tied up in bringing in Benjamin Tasche on a permanent deal and a couple of youngsters as well.Speaking of youngsters, a very exciting talent was promoted from the academy this summer and my coaching staff are already predicting a hugely bright future for right back Ben Haywood.

I'm looking forward to the season, though my natural pessimism stops me from predicting a successful defence of our title; right now I'm saying we'll finish 2nd behind either Aston Villa or Arsenal. We're expected to reach the semi finals of both the Champions League and the FA Cup, but my main desire is to 'do a Barcelona' and pick up the Community Shield, European Super Cup and Club World Championship, six of the seven trophies available to us in the calendar year.

The board, however, have recognised that I'm doing an awesome job and, with 12 months remaining on my £46,000 per week contract have offered me a new four year deal worth £83,000. A bit of a no brainer decision to accept that one.

[Paggioram]

Great to see that you have turned Liverpool around mate. Great to see your career going from strengh to strengh.

[DodgeeD]

Love the re-phrasing of the title.

Great job on doing the treble and sorting out the debts. Do you feel like you've done what you came to do or will you be sticking around for a while longer?

[JoeLatics]

Still loving the thread, mate, congratulations on the treble, and keep up the good work!

[Terk]

Thanks for the support, guys DodgeeD, there's still a good whack of debt that needs to be paid off and another three and a half years before we're due to be debt free. I'll certainly be sticking around that long (I don't want to quit and then have the next manager just spend and spend, taking the club so quickly back into debt. We're doing well in terms of cash in the bank (about £80M or so in the black) but I want to keep that as in tact as possible, as we're still losing roughly £8M per month in those months that we don't have CL action, so I want as big a buffer as possible to prevent us going into the red at any point.

And just to mention, this save is on a break until next week. I've started an effort on Dafuge's challenge and I'm giving that a go for a few days to get it started, then I'll run them side by side. I'll be keeping a career thread on my effort on Daf's challenge, so look out for that in the next couple of days.

[tenthreeleader]

What this tells me is that FM has abandoned all pretense of realism.

Seriously, though, good work.