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If You Count Your Chickens Before They've Hatched, They Won't Lay An Egg

AK22

By AK22,
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AK22

AK22

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Excellent work

Thanks Dejay.

As someone who dislikes both sides, I hope for a very entertaining 4-4 draw, a mass brawl involving all 22 players, both benches, Sir Alex and Kenny Dalglish, resulting in four red cards apiece.

I can but wish. ;)

I dunno about 4-4, but I reckon it'll be quite an eventful game, and I've got that feeling that something will happen which will trigger all hell breaking loose. I know both managers are appealing for calm from the crowd, but there's a lot of bad blood over the Evra/Suarez debacle, and I'm sure it won't take much to light the blue touch paper. I'd take a boring 1-0 though, as it would be great to knock both Manchester clubs out of the cups in the same week!

Nah, one FA Cup match ongoing right now is much more important than whatever match that is. ;)

:D Yeah, I think I read somewhere that some team in blue were playing tonight. Come on Fulham! ;)

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AK22

AK22

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Liverpool F.C.

676.png

Season Review 2023/24

Competitions

Barclays Premier League: 1st

Position Graph | Fixtures 1 | Fixtures 2

BarclaysPremierLeagueOverview_Stages-2-1.png

UEFAChampionsLeagueOverview_Stages-2-1.png

UEFA Champions League: Semi-Final | FA Cup: Semi-Final | Carling Cup: Quarter-Final

Season Summary

Match of the Season Highlights:

I'm delighted that we managed to defend our Premier League trophy, but am slightly disappointed that we couldn't make it a double by adding either the FA Cup or Champions League to our league success. April was a pretty horrific month for us full stop, as we started to get the jibs, and nearly threw our hard work away in the league as well as the cup competitions. Ultimately, I feel that competing on three fronts cost us severely, as we started to run out of steam, and several members of the squad became jaded and in need of prolonged rests. We played two games a week for most of March, and the entirety of April, which put a lot of strain on the team, and with so many big games, I found it difficult to keep the squad in good condition. Throughout this period, lethargic performances became our trademark, with the worst being the penalty defeat to a nine-man Arsenal team in the semi-final of the FA Cup, followed closely by the poor shows against Leicester and Atletico Madrid. Bum squeaking of the highest nature, and something for us to rectify next season; a stronger nerve and we could well have been celebrating a famous treble.

On a more positive note, we did still manage to cling on to win the Premier League for the 21st time in the club's history. That's now four behind Man Utd, so the gap is continuing to close. However, our rivals down the M62 had a much stronger year this time around, and very nearly pipped us to the post. Old Trafford has not seen major silverware for four years now, but they still have a squad capable of keeping us on our toes in the forthcoming seasons; we can ill afford to get complacent and take our success for granted.

Financial

Bank Balance: £90.3m

Average Attendance: 52739 | Season Ticket Holders: 36358

We're rich, very rich. But then I did only spend £9m on new signings this season. The club is now well set up for the future, and will be debt free by 2030, when the outstanding loan payments have been made. Hopefully that'll be when the board might even contemplate rubber-stamping the 'New Anfield' blueprints.

Squad

Squad Overview | Transfer Summary

Team of the Year | Overall Best Eleven

Fan's Player of the Year: Sébastien Corchia

Manager's Player of the Year: Sébastien Corchia

Top Goalscorer: Pablo Marquina (18 goals)

The squad was severely put to the test this season, and I must say, it did start to crack and creak when the fixtures started to pile up. We also had bad luck with injuries throughout, losing several key players for two/three months periods. Sprained ankles, torn calf muscles, and fractured ribs were just some of the ailments that kept the physio team busy, as well as making team selection a nightmare at times. Arguable, our three best players

Sébastien Corchia, Pedro Correia and Pablo Marquina, were all struck by the injury curse at various stages of the season, and all missed roughly a third of our fixtures whilst on the treatment table. Thankfully, we could always depend on our reliable centre-back partnership of Juame Ferrer and Nicolás Hermosilla, who despite their relative young age, have formed a tight defensive unit. That being said, I'm not convinced that Hermosilla is in the 'world class' bracket, and is unlikely to be the rock of the heart of our defence for several seasons to come, so I may be inclined to promote one of the promising young defenders from my league-winning Under-18s side.

I will be looking to strengthen the squad over the course of the summer, mainly targeting a central midfielder and another right back. Aaron Ramsey and Sébastien Corchia have both turned 33, and even though they are still consistent first team regulars, it would be churlish of me to think that they will go on forever; more likely, they'll become more rotational players next season, alternating with the impending new signings.

Other News

Kingstonian - A record high finish of 13th in League Two.

Hull - 9th in The Championship, just short of reaching the playoffs.

Fulham - After a slow start, Gareth Southgate was sacked mid-season. Final position of 10th in the Premier League was still pretty respectable.

Career Summary

[size=2]Season     Team              League                   Finish    Cups                             
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2011/12    Unemployed
2012/13    Kingstonian       Blue Square Bet South    3rd       FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round, FA Trophy 2nd Round
2013/14    Kingstonian       Blue Square Bet Premier  3rd       FA Cup 1st Round, FA Trophy 1st Round
2014/15    Kingstonian       npower League Two        16th      FA Cup 1st Round, Carling Cup 1st Round, JPT 1st Round
2015/16    Kingstonian       npower League Two        17th**    **Resigned 19/12/2015
          Hull City         npower League One        6th       FA Cup 4th Round
[/size]2016/17    Hull City         npower League One        1st       FA Cup 1st Round, Carling Cup 1st Round, JPT Winner
2017/18    Hull City         npower Championship      2nd       FA Cup 5th Round, Carling Cup 2nd Round
2018/19    Fulham            Barclays Premier League  5th       FA Cup Semi-Final, Carling Cup Semi-Final
2019/20    Fulham            Barclays Premier League  7th       Europa League 2nd KO Rd, FA Cup 6th Rd, Carling Cup 3rd Rd
2020/21    Fulham            Barclays Premier League  8th**     **Resigned 13/11/2020
          Liverpool         Barclays Premier League  6th       Europa League 1st KO Rd, FA Cup 5th Rd
2021/22    Liverpool         Barclays Premier League  3rd       Europa League Winners, FA Cup 4th Rd, Carling Cup QF
2022/23    Liverpool         Barclays Premier League  1st       Champions League Runner-Up, FA Cup 3rd Rd, Carling Cup QF
2023/24    Liverpool         Barclays Premier League  1st       Champions League SF, FA Cup SF, Carling Cup QF

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Pangaea

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Well done winning the league. Although you were on top for virtually the whole season, it looks like you were pushed hard by United, Arsenal and City so well on keeping your nose in front the whole time. Looks like a very capable squad too, so if you find good replacements for some of the ageing players the future will be bright. And with that kind of money you can probably buy whatever you find.

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AK22

AK22

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Top work, especially with spending so little.

Unlucky with the CL though.

Well done on winning the league again :thup:.

Shame about the cups though.

Definitely nearly men in cups.

Cheers! The cups were a bit of a frustration for me. Not just because we fell short, but also because of the fixture pile-up our cup runs caused. As much as it pains me to say it, but next season, I may consider sacrificing the FA Cup if it means I can have another stab at a Champions League final.

I think Liverpool fans will be happy just sat above Man Utd and back on top spot.

In-game with real life who has won more titles, Liverpool or Man Utd?

Currently, it's Man Utd 25, Liverpool 21, Arsenal 15, Man City 3. Still a fair gap.

Good all around. Typical they're not willing to finance a new stadium with that money in the coffers. Take your time, Mr. Henry. ;)

One more year!!! :D

I think his interest in the club is starting to wane now, as his chairman status has dropped to 'happy to stay'. A new man at the top could be what we need to get a new stadium back on the radar, as currently, 'there is no evidence of the fanbase expanding in the near future'. We've just won back-to-back Premier League titles, you moron!! :mad:

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AK22

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Well done winning the league. Although you were on top for virtually the whole season, it looks like you were pushed hard by United, Arsenal and City so well on keeping your nose in front the whole time. Looks like a very capable squad too, so if you find good replacements for some of the ageing players the future will be bright. And with that kind of money you can probably buy whatever you find.
Nice work defending the title. A little unlucky in the cups but I'm sure Liverpool fans would happily forgo cup success for a return to the league glory days. :)
Congrats on defending the league title,a bit unlucky in the cups though.
Great title defence!

Thanks chaps :thup:

It's great to see the club back at the pinnacle of English football, and I'm hoping that everything is in place for it to continue for several more seasons. The current squad is certainly good enough to win another couple of titles, and the youth in the ranks all have bags of potential, which could lead to the club being dominant for a decade or so. Financially, all is looking rosy too, so even if a few holes start to appear in the squad, there are the resources available to go out and buy some quality replacements. The only thing we need is a bigger stadium, but I really can't see that happening any time soon.

That all being said, we're still nowhere near becoming the richest club in England, with Man Utd, Arsenal and Chelsea being the highest valued. It's no surprise Man Utd are still top when you consider that Old Trafford now holds 99737, almost double the capacity of Anfield, which they sell-out for the majority of their home games. Kerching!

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AK22

AK22

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Another quality season. You have the bread and butter firmly in your grasp.
I think actually, butter is quite hard to grasp.
If you fold the bread over then it'd be alright.
But then you're not holding the butter, just the bread :D
The bread holds the butter, you hold the bread, ergo by theory of transitivity, you hold the butter.

Wow, that's quite some bread-based discussion. Not quite up to the standard of the sandwich talk in HC's thread though :D

Another fantastic season, you've built an excellent squad :thup:

Thanks roganp! Another couple of quality players will be joining us in the summer too.

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AK22

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UEFA European Championship 2024

Hosts: Spain

Holders: Germany

Group Stages

UEFAEuropeanFootballChampionshipOverview_Stages-3-1.png

UEFAEuropeanFootballChampionshipOverview_Stages-4-1.png

Turkey Results

Abject. Abysmal. Appalling. Just three of the words that spring to mind when describing our performance at the Euros. We even managed to finish below a side that couldn't even score a goal! And to be honest, I can't really put my finger on why we were so poor either. We may have been missing a couple of first eleven regulars, but the squad was still good enough on paper to make it out of the group stages, and even though it was unlikely we were going to beat Netherlands, we really should have dispatched the two Scandinavian nations without too much fuss. So, after those terrible performances, and just after a week after landing in Spain, it was time for me and all the Turkish fans to get the flight home.

Elsewhere, there were a few other shocks in the groups with Belgium and Slovenia finishing above Spain in Group A, and defending champions, Germany, limping through in 3rd place from their group. That being said, we're still the biggest name missing from the knockout rounds.

Knockout Rounds

UEFAEuropeanFootballChampionshipOverview_Stages-2-1.png

Italy and Germany's second round exits will come as a shock to most, but pretty much all the other big names made it into the last eight alongside surprise-package Slovenia.

A really tense final that went all the way to penalties. The Czechs could consider themselves unlucky, but ultimately, the Dutch kept their nerve to lift the trophy for the first time since the 'Gullit' era, 36 years earlier.

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AK22

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After a terrible Euro 2024, I really had to reconsider my position as the national team boss; the performances were severely under par, and due to this, our World Ranking dropped dramatically.

WorldNations_WorldRankings-1.png

Thankfully, due to our decent qualifying record, the FA decided to grant me a stay of execution, and allowed me to remain in the job for the time being. We've got a very tricky World Cup qualifying draw with Spain likely to be a huge threat to our safe passage to Mexico 2026. However, when the draw was completed, we were seeded first, due to Spain shockingly low world ranking (51st!), so will be the favourites to qualify as group winners. If we are going to do this, we will need to improve hugely on our European Championship performance though, so major changes in both squad selection, and team mentality, are likely to happen in the forthcoming matches.

FIFAWorldCupUEFAQualifyingSectionOverview_Stages-2-1.png

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Pangaea

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Ouch! That was a really poor World Cup :(

Very tough group draw too. Slovakia to the knockout stage in the World Cup so no slouch, and Switzerland are pretty decent too, plus Spain of course. Very unlucky draw, but hope you can get through it. Hopefully you have some fine youths that can make an impact too. Need to improve on the World Cup performance. Good luck.

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abulezz

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LOL at Spain seeded 51st! I think after those Euro 2024, you should have done the Turkish people a favor and retired - if it was real life, they would be calling for your head!

Joking aside, its a very manageable World Cup Qualifiers draw, I think - you should ATLEAST be aiming for second, unless Switzerland has turned into a world power!

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AK22

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Ouch! That was a really poor World Cup :(

Very tough group draw too. Slovakia to the knockout stage in the World Cup so no slouch, and Switzerland are pretty decent too, plus Spain of course. Very unlucky draw, but hope you can get through it. Hopefully you have some fine youths that can make an impact too. Need to improve on the World Cup performance. Good luck.

We do certainly need to improve, and quickly. I'm pretty embarrassed by our Euros performance, and hopefully, so should the players be; one point from three games is not what I was expecting!

Ooooo, the less said about the World Cup the better.
He hasn't played in the World Cup just.

Glad someone's paying attention! I read through all my previous posts just to make sure I hadn't gone mad!

LOL at Spain seeded 51st! I think after those Euro 2024, you should have done the Turkish people a favor and retired - if it was real life, they would be calling for your head!

Joking aside, its a very manageable World Cup Qualifiers draw, I think - you should ATLEAST be aiming for second, unless Switzerland has turned into a world power!

Spain have really fallen off their perch in my save! Something's gone horribly awry with their youth development recently, and are no longer the force that they were. That all being said, they're certainly not as bad as their rankings suggests, and I'd still make them the favourites for qualification from our group.

I did consider resigning, as well as contemplating offers from Russia, Czech Republic and England too, but decided I would battle it out for another two years with Turkey. The team has bags of potential, I just need to hope I can unleash it on the rest of Europe, sooner rather than later!

Not the easiest draw for the qualifiers either.
Not the best of European Championships for yourself and a pretty tough World Cup draw...but you can definitely get through it.
Disappointing Euros for sure, second place in the WC qualifiers looks a good shout though.
Tough break in the Euro's but you should be able to get a top two finish in the World Cup qualifiers if things go your way.

I think it's going to very close between ourselves, Spain, Switzerland and Slovakia. I'm fairly confident that we could win all our home matches, so it will all be down to who has the best away record that will decide who qualifies. I'm targeting a total of 23 points, which has historically been enough to secure qualification; hopefully we don't drop any silly points against the Faroes or Northern Ireland along the way.

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AK22

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I'm completely baffled as to why I said World Cup.

If only their was time travel, I must have looked at it and then gone and done something else to come back by accident put Euros.

I do apologize AK :o:D

Haha, don't worry, it's easily done! I just hope it's not a premonition; I don't want to be having a shocking World Cup too :D

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AK22

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Euros, eh? :D

Don't know why I said World Cup either. Too many other threads occupied with World Cup perhaps. Dunno. Let's hope you do not have a poor World Cup too ;)

Better luck in the World Cup qualification!
Oooh tough euro's man. Hope you do much better in the qualifiers!
Ah bad Euros mate! Better luck in WC hopefully!

Thanks fellas! :)

It was definitely Euro 2024 I've just finished ;) World Cup coming up in 2026; as long as I qualify that is!

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Raware

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As others as have said AK, tough Euro's and without sounding too negative, given your performances in the Euro's, qualification from the World Cup qualifying group isn't a foregone conclusion.

Still, on the plus side...it's looking good domestically with Liverpool :thup:.

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AK22

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Liverpool F.C.

676.png

Pre-Season Summary 2024/25

Wage: £30.5k per week | Contract Length Remaining: 1 year

Unless I have a dramatic change of heart, this will be my last season in charge of my beloved Liverpool. Obviously, I want to win as many trophies as possible, but my main objective is just to have fun and enjoy my final year at the club.

Board Expectations

Barclays Premier League: Challenge for the Premier League title

UEFA Champions League: Quarter Final | FA Cup: Semi Final | Carling Cup: Not Important

Transfer Budget: £56.08m

Wage Budget: £2.1m per week | Current Player Wage Total: £1.48m per week

Media Prediction: 3rd | Title Odds: 5/1

We're going to face stiff competition from Arsenal and Man Utd in the league, but I'd give us a good chance of winning at least one trophy. I won't be prioritising one competition over another, but obviously, winning the Premier League and/or the Champions League would be a great way to bow out from Anfield.

Transfer Activity

Transfer Summary

Club Signing of the Window: Moussa Diagola

Total Amount Spent: £18.75m | Total Amount Received: £5m

Once again the main mantra for this summer's transfer window was to buy talented youngsters who could be integrated into club set-up over the coming seasons.

Four teenagers joined the club, including two bright right full-backs, Evaldo and Daniel Kingolo. Being honest, I completely forgot about Evaldo's arrival, having agreed the transfer two seasons prior, and may have thought twice about spending £6m on Kingolo if I had remembered. Never mind, they are both hot prospect, who I'll train at left-back too, so both should get their chance in the first team this season. The other two youngster joining us, Morten Christensen and Lucio Zanotti, are unlikely to get anywhere near the first team squad yet, but give them a couple of years, and they should be knocking on the door for some Carling Cup action.

I didn't really need another goalkeeper, but I couldn't resist the temptation to sign Moustapha Bassolé when he was offered to me on a free transfer. He'll have to play second fiddle to existing 'keeper, Mohammed Ismail, but he's not a bad back-up to have on the bench.

Tactical Outlook

This is my initial formation and team instructions:

LiverpoolTactics_TeamInstructions-2.png

LiverpoolTactics_TeamInstructions-1.png

Exactly the same as last year. This formation has really become the hallmark of my career so far, having also switched to this with my Turkey side too.

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AK22

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As others as have said AK, tough Euro's and without sounding too negative, given your performances in the Euro's, qualification from the World Cup qualifying group isn't a foregone conclusion.

Still, on the plus side...it's looking good domestically with Liverpool :thup:.

Cheers Raware. I'm certainly not taking anything for granted this time around. I've changed to the same 4-5-1 formation I'm using at club level to try and replicate the performances I'm getting with Liverpool. Hopefully it works, otherwise I may end up taking a rest from international management :)

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AK22

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Diagola looks like an absolute beast. The kids look very talented too. Should be great for the future.

Thanks Pangaea, it's a shame he's broken his leg then! Hopefully that doesn't completely wreck his career, as he's only 23, and should recover, but some players never return to the levels they played at before such injuries.

He's certainly a commanding central midfielder, with his high determination, passing and strength the main reason for purchasing him. £8m wasn't a bad price either! :)

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AK22

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Liverpool F.C.

676.png

Mid-Season Update 2024/25

Barclays Premier League: 2nd

UEFA Champions League Group F: 1st

Fixtures

BarclaysPremierLeagueOverview_Stages-1.png

UEFAChampionsLeagueOverview_Stages-1.png

It's going well, but Arsenal currently look unstoppable.

In the league, we started excellently, and asides from the defeat to West Ham, we took maximum points from all of our first 16 fixtures. However, more recently, we've been humbled somewhat, having dropped points three games in a row, allowing Arsenal to overtake us at the top of the league. We deserved more than a point apiece in the games against Newcastle and Man Utd, and if it hadn't been for missed penalties in both matches, we would have done so. Still, we are only one point behind the leaders, and still very much in the frame for the Premier League title. It does look like that the champions will need well over 90 points to lift the trophy this season, so considering we totalled 91 points in our previous two championship-winning seasons, it's going to be a mighty close finish.

Oh, and the fixture computer's been at it again. Final game of the season? Liverpool vs Arsenal at Anfield, obviously!

Arguable, our greatest performance of the season so far has been the 4-0 victory over Barcelona in the opening match of our Champions League campaign. A superb performance against one of the biggest clubs in Europe, which really gave us the impetus in the Group Stages, and helped to ensure we qualified for the next round as group winners. Up next on the agenda, a winnable tie against PSV, as well as a Carling Cup semi-final against Spurs. Maybe we'll make it to Wembley this season!

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HotChocolate

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I was looking at the table and read what you'd put: Arsenal look unstoppable.

I looked back at the table and thought, they've played 19, won 10, drawn 0, lost 0. How does that work out? Obviously it then clicked, but never the less I was quite confused for a bit.

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