Rodgers' Reds: Class is Permanent

We're here today for the biggest event in European football - the 2017 Champions League Final, contested between two English clubs, Chelsea and Liverpool. Both have been playing at the top of their game, finishing 1st and 2nd in their domestic league respectively, but things are very much even between the two sides and this is definitely going to be an interesting clash of the titans.


Drawn into Group G, Chelsea started their Champions League campaign rather poorly with a loss to Valencia, but moved on soon enough, not losing any more of their group games against BATE and Basel. Despite their best efforts, they finished 2nd, going on to face Atletico Madrid in the First Knockout Round.

Atletico were expected to pose as a big challenge, but Chelsea took them down easily. Next came Juventus, who failed to get past the in-form Blues. Bayern were their last victims, with Pep Guardiola's side failing to score a single goal in both legs and eventually succumbing to a 3-0 loss.


Starting 11: Courtois; Azpilicueta, Pepe, Terry, Bertrand; Khedira, Rakitic, Willian; Oscar, Hazard; Costa
Subs: Cech, Musacchio, Cahill, Fabregas, Musonda, Schurrle, Remy


Prior to the game, Chelsea were dealt a huge blow, with Juan Cuadrado, one of their best players alongside Eden Hazard this season, not being able to play because of a broken foot. As a result, Oscar has been moved to his place in the starting lineup on the right wing. There are no real surprises with the lineup that Jose Mourinho has chosen to go for - the recent Premier League Manager of the Year winner reasonably opts to not change a title-winning starting eleven. Hazard is going to cause some big problems for Liverpool, but Oscar and Diego Costa cannot be overlooked either.


Drawn into a fairly troublesome Group B containing the likes of Real Madrid and Napoli, Liverpool showed they meant business by not losing a single game, drawing twice against Real before crushing Vitesse 7-0 and Napoli 3-0. Topping their group saw them face Inter Milan in the First Knockout Round.

Liverpool easily brushed their Italian opponents aside with a 6-2 scoreline before running Porto into the ground, putting another 6 goals past the Portuguese champions. Longtime rivals Manchester United awaited in the Semi Final and gave Liverpool one of their toughest Champions League games yet, but a 3-0 win in the second leg at Anfield sent the Reds cruising to a comeback.


Starting 11: Mignolet; Clyne, Umtiti, Balanta, Alaba; Gerrard, Ward-Prowse, Garcia; Ibe, Sterling, Zivkovic
Subs: Steele, Joseph, Flanagan, Sakho, Skrtel, Romero, Balotelli


Liverpool are in somewhat of a crisis - Daniel Sturridge, Philippe Coutinho, and Lazar Markovic will be missing out on the Champions League Final because of injury, while vice-captain Jordan Henderson cannot play either after his dismissal against United in the previous round. Mario Balotelli, who has just recovered from his torn calf muscle, is also not fit enough to start and has to settle for a place on the bench, although the forward is expected to play a part in the later stages of the match. Instead, Brendan Rodgers has chosen to play young winger Jordon Ibe. Without Sturridge, Richairo Zivkovic has to fill in, and the Dutchman will be supported by Raheem Sterling, who has been pushed out to an attacking midfield role, a position usually occupied by the absent Coutinho.

0' - Chelsea kick off the Champions League Final!

9' - GOAL! Chelsea certainly didn't take too long to make an impression! Ivan Rakitic swings a free kick into the Liverpool box for Diego Costa to get to it, and the striker powers an unstoppable header into goal! Chelsea take the lead!


21' - Liverpool want an equaliser, but they are simply not getting it as Zivkovic's shot is brilliantly turned around the post by Thibaut Courtois.

25' - GOAL! Liverpool find the goal that they want! Nathaniel Clyne plays Jordon Ibe into a dangerous area, and the winger surges forward to smash it into the top left corner of the net.

30' - GOAL! Simply amazing! Zivkovic meets the cross of Ruben Garcia with a ferocious left-footed volley to give his side the lead! No goalkeeper in the world could have saved that one! Magical stuff from Zivkovic!


43' - Eden Hazard makes a superb pass to Costa, and the Spaniard jinks past Balanta and Umtiti to try for a second goal, but the lightning fast reflexes of Simon Mignolet keeps the score in Liverpool's favor.

45' - HT: Chelsea 1-2 Liverpool. After Chelsea's quick 9th-minute goal, Liverpool turned things around with two quickfire goals in five minutes from Jordon Ibe and Richairo Zivkovic. Can Chelsea turn things around?

45' - Liverpool kick off the second half of the Champions League Final here at Estádio da Luz.

50' - It's a penalty! Willian brings down Clyne in the Chelsea box and the referee instantly points to the spot!

51' - GOAL! Steven Gerrard makes no mistake, and the Liverpool captain beats Courtois to make it 1-3! Is there any way back for Chelsea?


65' - Ibe, eager to complete a brace, snatches the ball away from Ryan Bertrand and fires toward goal at a tight angle, but it goes straight into the hands of Courtois.

78' - Chelsea are having to send their men behind regularly as Liverpool press the attack, and it's almost 1-4 as Zivkovic has an effort punched to the right by Courtois. Substitute Balotelli comes for the ball and slams it against the woodwork, and the danger is eventually cleared by Cesar Azpilicueta.

90' - FT: Chelsea 1-3 Liverpool. And with that, it's all over! Liverpool will be taking home the Champions League title! Magnificent football on display here!

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In a club interview today with LFCTV, Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers discussed the recent Champions League win and the team's aims for next season and beyond.

Despite missing out on the Premier League title, with Chelsea finishing top by two points, Liverpool still claimed the League Cup and the Champions League, their sixth title in history and their first since the famed Istanbul Miracle in 2005.

"We've won the league title for two years running so I felt it was time to give other teams a chance," Rodgers claimed jokingly. "In all seriousness, not winning the Premier League for a third time was quite disappointing, since only Manchester United have accomplished something like that in the entire Premier League era.

"But winning the Champions League more than made up for it. The team played very well in every single one of our Champions League matches, and I'm pleased about that."

And that is a point that can easily be proven, simply by looking at the Champions League Dream Team for 2016/17.

No less than eight Liverpool players made the cut and the Dream Team's back four is completely Liverpool, namely Nathaniel Clyne, Eder Alvarez Balanta, Samuel Umtiti, and David Alaba.

In midfield, Jordan Henderson and Philippe Coutinho are paired together in the center while James Ward-Prowse is placed on the left wing, a position where he has excelled. Last but not least, up front is Daniel Sturridge, who leads the line for the Dream Team with his 7 goals in 8 Champions League appearances this season.


"I watched the 2005 Champions League Final, the one at Istanbul. Who didn't? It was one of the best games that I've ever had the pleasure of watching. It's been a long time coming for the Liverpool fans, twelve years in fact, but we've finally moved on from number five to get six.

"But it's not going to be over at six. I want to make Liverpool the best club in England and in Europe, so of course the goal is ten. Ten European Cups, that's the ultimate goal, and I want to achieve it before I leave Liverpool."

The Champions League win against Chelsea means that Liverpool are just four European Cups shy of achieving Rodgers' aim.

"It's a target that is very possible and achievable within the next five years or so, maybe. If we keep up how we've been playing four Champions League titles in five years isn't something impossible to do. Perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself here, but that's what I genuinely think."

Constant injuries within the team is another thing that Rodgers has been struggling with, and the 44-year-old made clear his frustration regarding the problem. "One clear explanation about why we did not manage to win the Premier League is injuries. Daniel Sturridge and Mario Balotelli have been key for us but they got hit by these injuries at really unlucky times."

Sturridge, who has scored 99 goals in 132 league appearances since joining from Chelsea in January 2012, is a loss that is especially huge for Rodgers, considering the prolific striker will only manage to recover by the end of 2017 latest due to damaged cruciate ligaments, meaning he will miss out on half of next season.


"Daniel's goalscoring record speaks for itself. He's one of Liverpool's most important players and to not have him playing until December or January is disastrous.

"He's not somebody that can be replaced but hopefully Mario and Richairo can step in during this period."

The Northern Irishman also confirmed his plans to dip his toes into the transfer market.

"There are going to be a few players leaving but I can also say with certainty that I'm looking to bring in one or two quality ones.

"All the injuries last season really stretched the squad thin and I'm looking to expand by getting in more players to prevent a repetition of something like that."

Liverpool missed out on the Premier League this season, and got knocked out in the Sixth Round of the FA Cup against Tottenham. But under Brendan Rodgers, the club continued their tradition of winning trophies and secured a double of the League Cup and the Champions League. A multitude of players impressed, but who got voted as the Fans' Player of the Year, and who made it into the annual Liverpool Best Eleven?


The delightful Daniel Sturridge scored 38 goals in 43 appearances this season, with 23 of them coming in the Premier League. The lethal frontman could have scored a ton more, but injury ruled him out of the closing stages of the club's campaign.


A rather unlikely winner, Lazar Markovic played spectacularly this season and has his 16 assists to prove that.


Club legend Steven Gerrard is still a first team regular for Liverpool at the age of 37, and the midfielder excelled this season as always, with his consistency and general leadership on the pitch winning him the Fans' Player of the Year award.

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It's that time of the year again for football clubs, and this summer, Brendan Rodgers has promised changes at Liverpool, although a complete squad overhaul is of course not to be expected.

To start things off, the Champions League-winning manager is reportedly keen on Yannis Aubry. The highly-rated 17-year-old plays as a defensive midfielder for Ligue 1 club Stade Rennais, and has been tipped to be a hot prospect for both club and country in the future. He is currently a France Under-19 international.

Aubry was trained at INF Clairefontaine, one of France's most famous national football centres and the same elite academy that produced stars like Thierry Henry and William Gallas, before joining the youth team at Rennes in 2015.

Liverpool scouts are keeping a close eye on the midfielder, but Rennes are reluctant to sell one of their best young talents.

Mario Gotze's promising football career has spectacularly collapsed at Bayern Munich. Once hailed as a potential world beater while at Dortmund, Gotze has not been quite the same player since joining Bayern in 2014 and played only 19 Bundesliga games in the last two years.


Liverpool want the 25-year-old as another option in midfield, and Rodgers is ready to offer Gotze, who can play in a variety of positions like attacking midfield and on both wings, an escape route out of the Allianz Arena.

Bayern are more than ready to get rid, but Gotze's wage demands of £150k per week could prove to be a major stumbling block. His current contract, which runs until 2019, sees him earn a hefty £195k a week for doing nothing except warm the bench.

Rodgers is also ready to cash in on Ruben Garcia. The 24-year-old only arrived at Anfield from Levante in 2015, but has made only 28 appearances in the Premier League due to his constant struggle with fitness and injury problems.

Inter Milan are interested in bringing the winger to Italy, with manager Cesare Prandelli ready to stump up a fee of about £15 million.

Real Madrid's Kwadwo Asamoah has been monitored and is regarded as a ready-made replacement for Garcia. The Ghanaian international is not favored by Andre Villas-Boas and has made only 31 appearances in La Liga for Los Blancos over his two seasons at the club.

Real want to keep Asamoah as at the Bernabeu as a backup player, but are prepared to sell if Liverpool come in with a generous offer.


Full-back Jon Flanagan is a reported transfer target for Arsenal this summer, despite not being too high on their priority list.

Rumors are rife that Mathieu Debuchy is poised to make a return to France and the 32-year-old is wanted by Olympique Lyonnais. If that does happen, Gunners boss Frank de Boer wants Flanagan as a replacement for Debuchy.

However, the England international is not so keen on leaving Liverpool and will only agree to
a transfer if informed that he's not in the plans of the Anfield hierarchy.

Lazar Markovic is a wanted man after arguably his most successful season at Liverpool, where he made 46 appearances in all competitions and scored 11 goals. Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona, and Dortmund are believed to be interested parties but Manchester City and Real Madrid have both placed him as number one on their list of transfer targets.

Liverpool do not want to let Markovic go, but have other players that can play in his position and could allow a move if presented with an enormous transfer fee.

The Reds might even attempt to broker an exchange deal involving Sergio Aguero. The Argentinian forward is a key member of the City first team but has demanded to leave for Champions League football, something that City cannot provide him with after finishing 5th last season.


Aguero scored 21 goals in 2016/17 and stood out in a largely average City side under Frank Rijkaard, who has now been sacked and replaced by Slaven Bilic. Aside from a striking role, he can also play at attacking midfield.

The 29-year-old, if signed, would be a reliable stand-in for the injured Daniel Sturridge. Unfortunately, City are not willing to let go of their best player.

Jordan Henderson is a target for Barcelona, Juventus, and Paris Saint-Germain. The Liverpool vice-captain made 37 league appearances last season, missing only one game, and is very well thought of among fans and fellow players.

But, similar to Markovic, Liverpool could be tempted to agree to an offer of astronomical amounts of money, considering they already have James Ward-Prowse ready to step in if Henderson's departure materializes.


La Liga's giants have rekindled their interest in England talisman Raheem Sterling. Real Madrid and Barcelona are both desperate for the 31-capped footballer to abandon Merseyside for a move to Spain.

Nevertheless, Sterling is ready to reject their advances. According to various sources, he Reds' number 7 is determined to stay on and help the club build on their success after winning the Champions League last season.

Mario Balotelli is another player wanted by Real and Barca.

Despite being open to a move, the Italian is unwilling to hand in a transfer request, and has reportedly made clear that he will only leave his current club if he is sure that Liverpool cannot give him the success he is looking for.

After more than 9 years as a Liverpool player, Martin Skrtel will finally leave the club that he joined from Zenit in January 2008.


The emergence of Eder Alvarez Balanta and Samuel Umtiti, as well as the presence of Mamadou Sakho, has kept his first team opportunities limited and Liverpool want to offload the defender.

The 32-year-old can leave for about £2 million and has various options, ranging from Espanyol in Spain to Inter in Italy.

Recent loan returnee Lloyd Jones, who enjoyed a fairly successful spell at League One side Bristol City, will be used as a replacement for Skrtel.

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Liverpool have confirmed the departure of winger Lazar Markovic to Manchester City, for a gigantic transfer fee of £60 million.

The 23-year-old spent three seasons at Anfield and quickly established himself as an important member of Brendan Rodgers' side, ousting Adam Lallana from the first team with his form and consistency.

Since arriving from Benfica for £20 million in 2014, Markovic has made 92 league appearances in total for Liverpool, scoring 25 goals.

He is predicted to be the first signing of many, with new City manager Slaven Bilic having been reportedly given a transfer kitty of about £100 million by the club's Arab owners, in exchange for promises of success.

"Lazar is a fantastic player and one that we've been watching for awhile," said Bilic. "He will add plenty of attacking options to our team and is someone we are going to build the squad around."


Markovic, who will wear the number 50 at the Etihad Stadium, also spoke out about his desire to change his new club's fortunes.

"City have been struggling in recent years, but I'm excited to take on the challenge of helping this club rise back to the top where it belongs.

"I will definitely miss Liverpool. They are a great club with great fans. I really enjoyed my time there but now I'm fully focused on starting this new journey in my career."

According to reports, Rodgers will not look to sign a replacement for the Serbian international, instead looking to promote from within. Harry Wilson and Jordon Ibe are two Under-21 players who can act as cover at Markovic's position.

If that's the case, it will certainly be interesting to observe what the Liverpool manager plans to do with the amount of money received from the deal.

Bayern Munich's Mario Gotze and Real Madrid's Kwadwo Asamoah are touted as possible transfer targets.

Rodgers' Reds: Class is Permanent has won the March Story of the Month! Thank you to everyone who voted

Congrats on the award Glenn, you're a very worthy winner!

Well done on winning, these are some superb updates!!

Pompey and Zap: Thank you for the kind words!

Congratulations on SOTM

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The money from Lazar Markovic's £60 million transfer to Manchester City has quickly been put into use, with Liverpool concluding three deals this weekend and welcoming three new players into their squad.

The first of which is Real Madrid outcast Kwadwo Asamoah. The 28-year-old is a versatile player who can be fitted into almost anywhere on the left, be it at left-back or on the wing. Asamoah made only 8 appearances in La Liga last season and Real were happy to offload him for £15 million.

Despite being regarded as a reliable backup option at the Bernabeu, Asamoah has stated his desire to leave Spain numerous times and has finally secured his escape from Madrid.

The Ghanaian international, who has 68 caps for his country, will sign a five-year contract worth £52k per week, an amount that will rise to an amount in the region of £100k once he makes at least 30 Premier League appearances.


Moving on, Liverpool's second signing is the much talked about Yannis Aubry of Stade Rennais.

The young French midfielder, who turns 18 in 4 months, made 13 league appearances for Rennes last season and is tipped to be the next big thing in France.

The £15 million was quick to be concluded, and Aubry is expected to play a part in the first team this season.

Although primarily a defensive midfielder, he is also comfortable when placed in the center of defense, something that will please Brendan Rodgers, who largely prefers his players to have flexibility.

Aubry will be earning about £20k per week, a figure that could rise to £33k after 30 league appearances, similar to Asamoah's contract.


Rodgers' third signing hails from South America. Alejandro Moreyra is an exciting youngster who thrives in the role of the number 10, and has made a name for himself back in Argentina with Boca Juniors.

Moreyra has notched up 35 appearances for Boca in the Primera Division since his breakthrough into the team in 2015, and has a return of 14 goals.

The 20-year-old has been watched by a number of European clubs, but Liverpool have always been the most vocal in their admiration, having frequently sent scouts to watch the attacking midfielder since 2016.

Moreyra, who also cost Liverpool £15 million, will be on £39k a week at Anfield and is set to serve as a rotation player and Philippe Coutinho's understudy.


"These are signings that are going to be a major boost for the team," said Rodgers, addressing journalists in the trio's unveiling. "They are players that could stay with us for many years and I personally am delighted.

"Yannis and Alejandro are both top, top youngsters with bags of talent. They are going to be an important part of Liverpool's present and future. Kwadwo's experience with clubs like Juventus and Real Madrid is also something very valuable."

Asamoah himself also spoke, describing his thoughts and feelings upon being confirmed as a Liverpool player.

"Liverpool is the best club in England, and currently, the best in Europe too. That's a status that I want to help the club in maintaining.

"I'm happy to have received this opportunity to play for one of the world's biggest clubs. Everyone knows the size of Liverpool's stature and for me it's an honor to be able to play here. I can't wait to start playing, it's going to brilliant, I'm sure."

Asamoah, Aubry, and Moreyra have been signed in time for Liverpool's pre-season tour of the United States, and could join up with their new teammates for pre-season fixtures.

Liverpool toured the United States this year, playing against the New York Cosmos before following this up with two games against Carolina RailHawks. The team then made a quick trip to France, facing off against Monaco before returning to Merseyside and hosting Boca Juniors and Anderlecht. Pre-season was concluded with a casual friendly against Fulham at Craven Cottage.

Player of Pre-Season

David Alaba has been in particularly great form, and the left-back even scored 3 goals for himself, with a brace against the Carolina RailHawks before adding on to a 4-0 trashing of Belgian side Anderlecht.

Manager's Thoughts

A rather positive pre-season and now we have the Premier League and the Champions League to look forward to. The league title is something I really want to take back from Chelsea, and I'm sure the fans and the players share my sentiments. But for now, our first game of the season, versus Lille in the European Super Cup, is on the horizon, and it certainly promises to be an interesting fixture to see where we measure up against last season's Europa League winners.

I need help how do you make a story like where do u go what button do u press and how do u make it into a real story with chapters not just like posting different chapters separately

2015-04-11 19:45#211464 Pug Beast : I need help how do you make a story like where do u go what button do u press and how do u make it into a real story with chapters not just like posting different chapters separately

Q: How do you make a story?

There's really no way to answer this question, you just have to have time and effort as well as a somewhat creative mind I suppose.

Q: What buttons do you press?

Forums > Football Manager 2015 Stories > +New Topic

Q: How do you make it into a real story with chapters not just like posting different chapters separately?

I don't think you can...?

Nice pre-season, good luck for the competitive games!!