Liverpool FC: Time for change

July 1st 2013 10;30am


Breaking News:
Liverpool have confirmed the exit of Brendan Rodgers as head coach the reasons are not yet known but we will be sure to keep you up to date on the story.

Bookies are already taking on bets as to who the potential successor will be:
Carragher- 2/1
Di Matteo- 6/1
Hypia- 10/1

July 1st 2013 12am


More on the news of the managerial situation at Liverpool.
We can confirm that Rodgers has left his position due to personal reasons which is believed to be family orientated. This has surely came as a blow to many fans of Liverpool who believed this may be their year to get a top 4 spot with many of the teams above them changing managers this season. A statement released by the clubs website has wished Rogers all the best and a message to the fans stating that they are already in talks with an exciting young manager for the vacant role.


“All of us here at Liverpool would like to wish Brendan all the best of luck for the future he will be missed and we hope to see him back in football very soon. But it is now time to move on and get in a new manager to continue the progress we have made and take this club further forward.”


Shock as Rodgers leaves Liverpool

http://s1349.photobucket.com/user/JimmerRawlings/media/Rodgers_zpsb496023f.jpg.html

Good luck!

July 5th 2013 2;00pm



Breaking News:

Liverpool have confirmed the appointment of their new manager.

Liverpool FC have today announced the appointment of their new manager which has caught many by surprise and has left even more confused and angered. The new boss has been unveiled as James Rawlings a very young manager from Gloucestershire with very little experience. We can confirm that Rawlings has been given a 1 year contract until July 2014. This was what he had to say on his first press interview.

J(Journalist): James you sit here as the new manager of Liverpool FC, one of the biggest clubs on the planet, yet no one has heard of you how did you manage to get the job?

R(Rawlings): Well as a fan of the club I always keep tabs on what has happened to the club and i saw that Rodgers left leaving his position open and having recently qualified and got my coaching certificates I applied for the job and after the interview with the owners and Ian Ayre I was given the job. As I always like to say ‘you can’t win a raffle unless you buy a ticket.’

J: Fair enough. With regards to the running of the club are you going to keep with Rodgers possession style of play? And what are the chances of new signings? As many sources have indicated you may be looking at bringing Tom Ince back to the club as well as Will Hughes from Blackpool and Derby respectively.

R: Well I enjoyed watching the team play under Rodgers so yes I will definitely look to play a similar style to what he had enforced. As with regards to transfers I will look to bring in some players to add some depth in key areas but I will not make any comments regarding who I’m looking at for now.

J: Okay also when managers join there is often a shift around with both players and staff what do you make of your staff and are any players set to leave the club?

R: Yes there most likely be some changes in the staff and coaching areas but I’m looking to hold onto my players as any leaving would weaken my squad rather than strengthen it.

J; Yes but sources are saying Barcelona may be looking to Luis Suarez this summer what do you make of that?

R: Luis is a fantastic player and up there with the best in the world and is very important to us so Barcelona will have to look elsewhere for players as Suarez is a Liverpool player and will remain that way.

J: Okay. Thanks for your time one last question before I go as a fan of the club this must be a dream come true.

R: (grins) Yes without a doubt. Goodbye


Rawlings takes charge at Liverpool

http://s1349.photobucket.com/user/JimmerRawlings/media/Anfield_zpsd2e48c6e.jpg.html

Pres-Season

Pre season had been nice to my side this season we played each match away from home though so I haven’t even had a home game before the new season which will be very special for me, although my first home match will not be an easy one as we will be playing a good Newcastle squad.
However I was very impressed with my side during pre season as we managed to win each game scoring 15 times in 4 games and only conceding 1.

The first match came against Trnava which we won 3-0 with goals coming from Allen and Aspas (2)

Next we took on Patrick Thistle a game in which we came back from a 1-0 deficit to win 2-1 with Aspas scoring twice again.

The third game and the one which on paper looked the toughest saw the team travel to Galatasaray who have the likes of Bernard, Yilmaz and Sneijder. But we managed to win this

The final game was against Cadiz where we won 5-0 again the scorers in this game were; Gaitan, Allen, Sterling (2), Airam (og)

These results should give us a good platform to start the season although I hope the team do not underestimate Newcastle.

My player Of Pre-season: Iago Aspas hopefully he can continue his form into the start of the season.

Aspas found the net 5 times in 4 matches for the Reds

http://s1349.photobucket.com/user/JimmerRawlings/media/Aspas_zpsf0d31f21.jpg.html

First Game of the Season

In my first competitive game for Liverpool I would be up against a stong Newcastle squad who boast the likes of Cabaye, Remy and Cisse. But I remained positive for a good result due to the boosted fact we play them at Anfield.

We didn’t take long to settle in to the game taking control of 75% possession for the first 25 minutes until Papiss Cisse fired Newcastle into lead the lead on the 26th minute. We managed to reply of the 55th minute when Agger got free in the box to equalise, then on the 57th minute Aspas had a goal disallowed due to off side. We then took the lead on the 69th minute with a good finish from Sterling then Suarez made it 3-1 on the 77th minute. Sterling was awarded man of the match.

It was a great feeling to win my first competitive game but the next will be even harder facing Chelsea away.

August

After playing Newcastle in the first match of the season the rest of August offered some tough fixtures with both Chelsea and Stoke away things weren't going to be easy. Although the Capitol One Cup offered an easier fixture in the form of Barnsley.


The Chelsea match ended up the way many had expected it to with Chelsea wining 2-0 although it easily could of been the other way round on another day the goals came from Eto’o and Mata with Cech getting man of the match.

The game against Stoke was a frustrating one we took the lead when Skrtel headed home from a corner we held on to this lead until the 55th minute where Steven Ireland blasted the ball past Mignolet to equalize this proved to be there only shot on target which earned them the draw.

Our final game of August would see us travel to Barnsely for the Capitol One Cup 2nd round. I would like to of played a young squad for this match due to it coming two days after the Stoke game however most of my prospects have been loaned out for more game time. Despite some players showing signs of fatigue we still managed to grab a win with goals coming from Skrtel, Sakho and Aspas with Taylor getting a consolation goal for Barnsley. Sterling was awarded man of the match again.

Managers thoughts.
This month definitely proved this was not going to be an easy task although we recorded wins against Newcastle and Barnsley we dropped silly points at Stoke and suffered defeat to Chelsea in a match we played better in. New signings are a must with just a few days left.

My Player of the month has to go to Sterling he has shown great promise so far demonstrated by his two POM awards.

http://s1349.photobucket.com/user/JimmerRawlings/media/Sterling_zps1871fe6d.jpg.html

Always love to read a Liverpool story, keep up the good work, I'll definitely be following

That is it transfer deadline day has passed teams can no longer buy or sell players untill the next window. Now lets have a look at each teams purchases.

Now time to see what went on regarding Liverpools transfers. After saying there will be few signings he decided on bringing in seven players.



Ins

The first signing made by Rawlings was Tom Ince who was deemed surplus to requirements at Liverpool and was released. However due to performances at Blackpool Liverpool decided on bringing him back for a fee of 3.5m on July 16th

http://s1349.photobucket.com/user/JimmerRawlings/media/tomince_zpsae49b658.jpg.html

The next signing made by Rawlings was Nicolas Gaitan who was transfered listed by his former club and Liverpool payed the asking price of £7m this went through on July 22nd

http://s1349.photobucket.com/user/JimmerRawlings/media/Gaitan_zps6b34310a.jpg.html

The next signing the made was Alvarez Balanta who joined Liverpool for a fee believed to bee around £9m. Balanta is to believed one of the best young talents around at the moment so Rawlings decided to make a move while he was still growing as a player. Fans seemed confused with this signing though after Rogers recently brought in 3 defenders (Sakho, Toure, Llorri)

http://s1349.photobucket.com/user/JimmerRawlings/media/Balanta_zps929bb5fa.jpg.html

Rawlings then went on to sign another defender although he is more of a Right back rather than Centre Back and this player was Callum Chambers who has stayed at Southampton on loan for the season. The fee is believed to be around £8m

http://s1349.photobucket.com/user/JimmerRawlings/media/calum-chambers148-988335_231x264_zpsbabb663e.jpg.html

Liverpool then recruited another 2 youngsters Keko of Cantania and Van Der Bruggen of AA Gent for fees of £2m and £700k respectively.

http://s1349.photobucket.com/user/JimmerRawlings/media/Keko_zps2273a6ec.jpg.html
http://s1349.photobucket.com/user/JimmerRawlings/media/Bruggen_zps135b760f.jpg.html

Liverpool's final signing and 'marquee' signing was Sevilla's midfielder Ivan Rakitic who joined for a large fee of £17.5m. This signing could be pivitol for the Reds success as Lucas Levia left Liverpool for the lure of Monaco

http://s1349.photobucket.com/user/JimmerRawlings/media/Ivan_zps1c77dae6.jpg.html

Liverpool also made two loan signings in the form of Man City's Javi Garcia and PSG's Javier Pastore.

Outs

The main reason Liverpool were able to buy the amount of players they did was due to the departures of two key players both Johnson and Lucas who both left to play in France with money bags Monaco. We understand that Lucas left for a fee of £35m with Johnson leaving for a fee of £20m

Liverpool also allowed a large number of players to leave on loan;
Craig Roddan- Newport
Luis Alberto- Norwich
Andre Wisdom- Middlesborough
John Flannagan- Huddersfield
Adam Morgan- Stevanage
Jordan Ibe- Sheffield Utd
Samed Yesil- Sheffield Weds
Tiago Llorri- Bristol City
Joao Teixeira- Walsall
Ryan McLaughlin- Leyton Orient
Brad Smith- Torquay
Jack Dunn- Walsall
Callum Chambers- Southampton
Keko- Reading
Der Bruggen- Reading

Johnson and Lucas leave for the lust of Monaco

http://s1349.photobucket.com/user/JimmerRawlings/media/Lucas_zpsc993a7c9.jpg.html
http://s1349.photobucket.com/user/JimmerRawlings/media/GlenJohnson_zps33d37163.jpg.html

2014-01-15 00:14#154742 BantamsBanter : Always love to read a Liverpool story, keep up the good work, I'll definitely be following

Thanks my first proper save on this years version hopefully I can bring success but this year is proving much harder to manage Liverpool!

September

The start of September proved to be very difficult for my team having to play Tottenham at home the United away, then home to Swansea in the Capitol One Cup with the last game being against Aston Villa at home

Our first match of the month would be at home against Tottenham which was a difficult game which tottenham dominated however due to Mignolet have a storming game earning him man of the match and ensuring the match ended 0-0

The next game was away to Manchester United as nice as it would of been to get a win over Moyes we ended up suffering a 2-1. nited were by far the better team in the first half but as soon as Agger pulled one back Liverpool became more dominant even more so when Fellaini was sent of just after the hour mark but we couldn't find the net so United got the 3 points thanks to early goals from Rooney and Evra. This loss would leave us dwindling above relegation and made my job status insecure.

After the loss at United I knew we had to get some sort of result at Swansea and keep a cup run together. We took the lead on 18 minutes through Gaitan. We added another two goals before the break through Coutinho and Suarez. However after the break Mignolet was taken off injured so Brad Jones came on to replace him and was very shaky letting 2 goals in very quickly which left me fearing the worst however we managed to see the game out 3-2. Coutnho was named POM.

The last game saw us face Aston Villa in the league another game in which a win was vital to me keeping my job. The team were fantastic during my hour of need managing to secure a 4-0 win. Suarez managed to net twice (45,90) Gerrard got on the score sheet with a penalty on the 86th minute. But it was substitute Daniel Sturridge who would take the plaudits who scored what became goal of the month on the 68th minute.

Managers notes;
The squad he been okay so far definitely needs to improve against the top sides. Signing a replacement keeper is a priority as Jones just isn't good enough. The neew boys are settling well now so hopefully we can go from strength to strength.

My player of the month goes to Phillipe Coutinho

http://s1349.photobucket.com/user/JimmerRawlings/media/Coutinho_zps5ef119d5.jpg.html

October - A good month to be red

October was a much nicer month fixture wise for the team we started the month away to West Ham then away to Hull City the final league match of October would see us playing Cardiff at home. Our final match of the month was away to Wigan in the Capitol One Cup.

We managed to continue our winning streak into the opening game of the month as we managed to record a 2-0 we dominated the match from start to finish and big Sam's long ball tactic was no match for my more modern possession style. The goals came for Coutinho and Sturridge. Sturridge was also awarded POM thanks to his lovely header which was nominated as the second best goal of the month.

The second league match was played away to Hull City again we dominated the match and came away with a 4-1 match with Rakitic deliveries being too much for the recently promoted side as he managed to assist all 3 of Sakho's goals with the last goal coming from Coutinho. POM was awarded to Sakho.

Our final league match of the month was against Cardiff and was a home game I was hoping we could continue our good form and we certainly did as we recorded a 4-0 win over the welsh side. The goals came from Pastore (26) Rakitic (44) Gaitan (81) and Enrique (84). Rakitic went on to earn the POM.

With this good run of form behind us I was expecting an easy win over relegated side Wigan, boy was I wrong we ended up losing 2-0 and being knocked out of the cup. A game in which we dominated but just couldn't score.


Managers Notes;
We've had a very good month in the league disappointing with the loss to Wigan but now we can focus on the league. I'm worried with the lack of goals from the Strikers so far Sturridge has managed 2 in 10 and Suarez has only managed a handful and Aspas just hasn't shown up when given the chance. Special mentions to Rakitic and Coutinho who nabbed player of the month and young player of the month respectively. Also an honorable mention for myself as I was awarded Manager of the month.


My player of the month could of gone two a few different players such as Coutinho or Sakho who have been fantastic but I decided on giving it to Rakitic my new signing who has been bagging shed loads of assists and also was awarded goal of the month for September with his strike against Cardiff.

http://s1349.photobucket.com/user/JimmerRawlings/media/Ivan_zps1c77dae6.jpg.html

November- League run goes on! Scoring for fun!

November offered a mixed bag of fixtures for Liverpool who kicked of the month at Anfield to Crystal Palace, next would be Sunderland at home followed by a home derby against Everton and to end the month a tough home fixture against Arsenal.

Our first match went exactly the way I hoped it would we recorded a brilliant victory over Palace this was perhaps our best performance of the season so far. We recorded a smashing 6-0 victory over Palace the goals came from; Gaitan (43,50), Enrique (60), Suarez (67,89), Allen (82) The POM was given to Gaitan.

The game against Sunderland proved to be tougher than I had thought but thanks to a goal from Captain Fantastic Steven Gerrard on the 43rd minute and a solid defensive display from Skrtel which earned him the POM award we were able to get the 3 points.

The third game of the month was my first derby with Liverpool and honestly I was worried as the side has struggled against the top sides so far. However my worries were soon forgotten when Gaitan found the net on the 30th minute. Skrtel then doubled our lead just before half time, he then scored again on the 73rd minute with Enrique getting on the score sheet in the last few minutes. Skrtel was awarded POM for his great defensive display and threat in front of goal when going forward.

The last match of the month would see us playing Arsenal at home, I was quietly confident going into the game thanks to the way the team have been playing and the bonus of the game being at Anfield although I wasn't underestimating Arsenal. My confidence grew more when it only took Coutinho 3 minutes to put us ahead. Skrtel then doubled our lead on the 11th minute with a fine header from Ratikic's corner. POM was given to Skrtel.

Mangers Notes;
Another great month for the side with big victories over both Everton and Arsenal we were unbeaten this month and are on an 8 match unbeaten run! Despite the positives I'm still not happy with my forwards who need to shape up with just a month to go until January as my defenders have been a lot more prolific than they have.

My Player of the month goes to Skrtel due to the amount he has scored and how solid he has been as shown by 3 POM awards.

http://s1349.photobucket.com/user/JimmerRawlings/media/skrtel_2284481b_zpsf415c1f3.jpg.html

You're going well! Keep it up!

Thanks AAN! I'll try my best

Going great so far Jimmy, would like to see Rakitic in a red shirt in real life too!