Rodgers' Reds: Class is Permanent

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A New Year is on the horizon and with January comes the transfer window. Brendan Rodgers is unlikely to add to his already talented squad but could be tempted to move for cover in central midfield after the revelation that Jordan Henderson will not be able to kick a ball until March. Departures might also happen, with backup goalkeeper Jason Steele and young winger Harry Wilson yet to sign extensions to their Liverpool contracts, both of which expire at the end of the season.

Which takes us to our first rumor of the day. The aforementioned Harry Wilson had an impressive start to the season, scoring his first ever Liverpool goal against Everton on the first game of the season and endearing himself to fans immediately.

However, he has fallen off since then and has managed only 4 more appearances in all competitions. The presence of Jordon Ibe has largely restricted the Wales international and it is understood that although he is in no hurry to leave, Rodgers and the Liverpool hierarchy are reluctant to offer him an extension to his contract, which expires in six months.

Wilson will be allowed to leave if interested clubs match Liverpool's £3 million valuation of him. Fellow Premier League clubs Blackburn and Nottingham Forest want to recruit the 20-year-old to help them in their battle to avoid relegation. Championship sides Fulham and Crystal Palace are two other possible destinations.

The excellent performances of James Ward-Prowse has attracted suitors searching for midfield enforcers. Bayern Munich and Roma are keen on the Southampton youth product, who was given the role of second vice-captain for his side after Steven Gerrard and Henderson at the start of the season.

Since his big money move to Anfield from the Saints, Ward-Prowse has made 73 league appearances and just last year won the Premier League's PFA Young Player of the Year. But the inital £40k per week contract he signed is due to run out in 18 months.

Bayern and Roma should not be encouraged though, with Ward-Prowse having emphasized his desire to stay with Liverpool on various occasions. But if the club do decide to make a profit on the player, Ward-Prowse could cost more than double the £26 million Liverpool paid for him in 2015.


With Steele out of contract in the summer, Vanja Milinkovic-Savic has been earmarked as a potential replacement as backup to Simon Mignolet.

The 20-year-old Serb plays for bitter rivals Manchester United, but the continued brilliance of David de Gea has not done much to help his chances of breaking into the first team and he has demanded a transfer away from Old Trafford.

But United are understandably hesitant to sell to a rival and it would take up to £15 million to prise Milinkovic-Savic from the Red Devils.

Jordan Henderson's torn hamstring has not deterred foreign clubs from registering their interest in him. The England international is highly rated in Italy and has been courted by Juventus and Roma.

Henderson, regarded as 37-year-old Steven Gerrard's successor after the long-serving Liverpool captain retires, is a critical part of Rodgers' vision for the Merseyside outfit and has played in more than 200 Premier League games in a Reds jersey.

A move to Juve, who have been crowned Serie A champions for six consecutive years, is undoubtedly appealing though, and Rodgers' head could be turned by a mega money offer of around £50-60 million.


Lazar Markovic's £60 million summer move to Manchester City has not turned out so well. The winger flourished under the guidance of Rodgers but has not really managed to adapt to City and is rumored to be already angling to depart.

But City are undeterred and have continued looking towards Liverpool for talent, and their latest target is also a winger, but this time in the form of Jordon Ibe.

Ibe has shown promise when given games this season with 6 goals in 16 appearances so far in all competitions. The 22-year-old has mainly been used in cup games and is a rising figure within the Anfield club.

City have a penchant for signing Liverpool players, and head coach Slaven Bilic wants to add Ibe to a squad that already boasts the likes of former teammates Markovic, Emre Can, and Divock Origi.

However, Ibe has made clear that he does not want to leave Liverpool, especially not for an overcrowded City side that already has Markovic, Theo Walcott, and Kasper Kusk, all of whom can play in Ibe's favored right wing position.


Liverpool have been sending scouts to watch 20-year-old Gustavo Cuello, who plays for Dutch club ADO Den Haag in the Eredivisie.

The Argentine is an Under-21 international and was brought to the Netherlands barely six months ago in June, after being noticed by Den Haag scouts while playing for local club C.A.I. de Chubut.

Cuello has immediately slotted into the first team and is currently the first-choice of Den Haag manager Ron Elsen in central midfield. He has so far appeared in 14 Eredivisie games and is enjoying a run of good form.

Liverpool were reportedly in no rush to sign a player who had just switched clubs in the summer, but Henderson's long-term hamstring injury has forced their hand into signing another player in his position.

Den Haag cannot play hard to get either as Cuello's contract includes a release clause in the region of £10 million, an amount that Liverpool officials are prepared to trigger.

Another talented youngster set to move to Merseyside sometime this month is 17-year-old Yusuf Turan, a versatile and pacey full-back coming through the youth academy at Frankfurt.

The German-born teenager of Turkish ancestry has already broken into the Frankfurt first team despite his young age, with 9 appearances in the Bundesliga thus far.

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Blackburn have confirmed the capture of Harry Wilson from Liverpool for a £2.5 million fee.

The 20-year-old started his career at Liverpool's youth academy and is already in the setup of the Wales national team. Despite being regarded as one of the club's most promising British prospects, he was deemed surplus to requirements by Brendan Rodgers, mostly due to the emergence of Jordon Ibe who can play in the exact same position.

Wilson will now continue to develop his career at Ewood Park, with his first task being to help lift the Rovers from the Premier League's relegation battle.

Blackburn are currently languishing in 19th place, and manager Graham Westley hopes his latest signing can propel them towards safety.

"Harry is a very, very talented player and frankly I'm surprised we could get him for such a cheap fee," said Westley. "He's still young but he definitely has a part to play this season. Hopefully he can give us the boost that we need."


With Wilson's departure, Liverpool have continued to strengthen their youth ranks, albeit for higher prices. Midfield playmaker Gustavo Cuello arrives from Dutch side ADO Den Haag after the activation of his £9.75 million release clause, while Frankfurt accepted a £7 million bid for teenage full-back Yusuf Turan.

Cuello, 20, is expected to be thrust into the first team immediately. The Argentina Under-21 international has experience playing in the Eredivisie for Den Haag and will fill in for the injured Jordan Henderson, with the Reds vice-captain still in the process of nursing his hamstring injury.

However, 17-year-old Turan will perhaps be used in senior games more sparingly, instead turning out more regularly for the club's Under-21 squad.


"Gustavo and Yusuf are players that we've been watching for quite some time," Rodgers revealed. "We have one of the best squads in the world as of now but we also need to regularly look towards the future.

"This club is in a strong position regarding youth and we're always looking to reinforce that. This ensures that we're always ready to challenge for honors be it in the present time or ten years into the future."

The Northern Irish boss also spoke more about Cuello. "Gustavo is someone with plenty of experience playing at a top level. The Eredivisie is quite a competitive league and he's done well there so I'm sure he won't have many problems in the Premier League either.

"At the moment we have some injuries so Gustavo is going to get some starts, some appearances under his belt because I feel he is ready."

Cuello is in line to make his Liverpool debut against Stoke City next week.

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Liverpool midfielder Alejandro Moreyra has scooped the European Golden Boy after a very impressive 2017.

The 21-year-old Argentine scored 7 goals in 13 appearances for his local side Boca Juniors before earning himself a £15 million move to England and Liverpool in the summer.

He has impressed so far in his first four months on Merseyside, with 6 goals in 23 appearances across all competitions.

In total, Moreyra scored 16 goals and created another 12 in 33 games for the entirety of 2017, clinching him the prestigious award.

"It's an honor for me to be recognized as the European Golden Boy," said Moreyra. "Winning awards like this encourage me to keep doing what I've been doing."


The midfield playmaker has been making waves for both club and country, winning his first Argentina Under-20 cap just some time ago, and is already being tipped as South America's next big thing.

In England, opposition teams are starting to take notice of him, especially after his consistent performances for Liverpool in cup competitions.

With Philippe Coutinho ahead of him in the pecking order, Moreyra has not been able to get much game time in the Premier League, but is certainly grabbing at his chances when given them.

"Hopefully winning this award will be a springboard for me to become an even better player. I've learnt a lot in my short time here at Liverpool and I want to start applying what I've learnt on the pitch.

"I want to be a starter, someone who is playing week in, week out, and I'm confident of getting there. But for now all I want to do is to keep impressing the manager."


When asked about his goals and targets for his first season at Anfield, Moreyra boldly declared, "I want to help the club to win every competition.

"We're still in the League Cup, the FA Cup, and most importantly the Champions League. We're in a good position in the league table as well, so I want to win everything that can be won.

"It's something that's very achievable especially with the kind of players we have."

Moreyra is the second Liverpool player to be awarded the title of European Golden Boy, with Raheem Sterling being the club's first recipient of the award, having won it on two occasions in 2014 and 2015.

This has to be the funniest graphics I've ever seen on FMS, 10/10.

2015-04-25 20:58#211997 Icarus :

This has to be the funniest graphics I've ever seen on FMS, 10/10.

Thanks, I always try my best.

With the New Year comes a good run of form, as Liverpool maintained a perfect win record for the first month of 2018. The Reds also booked their place in their fourth straight League Cup Final after defeating title rivals Chelsea in the Semi Final over two legs.

Liverpool January Player of the Month

Samuel Umtiti has dislodged Mamadou Sakho from a starting place this season and it is easy to see why. The 24-year-old has been nothing short of impressive in January and his presence ensured his side conceded no less than 6 goals in 9 games.

Manager's Thoughts

Great month and an improvement from December where we suffered from two losses and one draw in the league. Our consistency this time around is ensuring that we're keeping the pressure on Chelsea, although they are not letting up themselves. It was pleasing to beat them in the Premier League though, and wrecking them in front of their home fans at Stamford Bridge to get into the League Cup Final was fantastic as well. Hopefully we can continue what we've been doing - next month brings more important fixtures like the Champions League First Knockout Round, and the League Cup Final, of course.

Liverpool were not very active this window, with South American playmaker Gustavo Cuello and German-based youngster Yusuf Turan coming in for a combined fee of £16.75 million, while Harry Wilson departed the club to join relegation-threatened Blackburn Rovers.

After an absolutely smashing January, Liverpool have slightly slackened, losing 2-3 to an enthusiastic Spurs side that are steadily rising up the table. A poor 2-2 draw against Newcastle followed suit, but with Chelsea also making mistakes, namely losing to Arsenal and drawing to Southampton, Liverpool's chase for a 21st title has not died yet. They will also enjoy a 1-0 lead in the second leg of their Champions League clash against Schalke, after Jordon Ibe scored the solitary goal in the first leg at the Veltins-Arena.

Liverpool February Player of the Month

James Ward-Prowse has been an immense player this month and duly takes home the club's Player of the Month. In the absence of Jordan Henderson, Ward-Prowse has been the primary dominant force of Liverpool's central midfield and is relishing in the role, producing a fantastic Man of the Match performance against Queens Park Rangers. He was also his side's standout player in the loss to Tottenham and assisted both of Liverpool's goals during the game.

Injury Report

Lucas Romero - 5 weeks (twisted ankle, twisted knee)
Steven Gerrard - 2 months (dislocated shoulder)
Raheem Sterling - 6 weeks (strained knee ligaments)

The injuries of Lucas Romero and Steven Gerrard are worrying, as this leaves Liverpool briefly without a senior player capable of playing in the defensive midfield position. They will instead have to turn to youngsters like Gustavo Cuello, who only has a month's experience of playing for Liverpool, or Yannis Aubry who is hardly ready for a first-team role yet. Another injury that has hit the team hard is the strained knee ligaments of Raheem Sterling, meaning the Reds number 7 will miss out on the League Cup Final and a number of other important fixtures for the Premier League title run-in.

Manager's Thoughts

The team was outstanding in January, but it seems that we're back to our inconsistent ways. Chelsea also messed up so we've both maintained our distance from each other, but it's frustrating to know that we could have easily caught up and even usurped the top of the table if we had won against Tottenham and Newcastle. Nevertheless, facing forward is the only option and we have to make the most of our remaining games. The League Cup Final comes first thing next month and hopefully the lads are prepared.

Been reading this story (without being a member) for a while, just want to say it's a brilliant read, also I'm trying to use that same tactic in my FM 2014 save, but the file isn't importing. Could you post the team and player instructions for me so I can do it manually? Cheers pal

2015-04-28 21:37#212156 Titus07 : Been reading this story (without being a member) for a while, just want to say it's a brilliant read, also I'm trying to use that same tactic in my FM 2014 save, but the file isn't importing. Could you post the team and player instructions for me so I can do it manually? Cheers pal

Thanks, that's awesome to know! Yeah it's an FM15 tactic so I don't think it can be imported into FM14, here are the screenshots though, hope they'll help.





If you want to check out anything else from my save, let me know and I'll see what I can do.

We're here today to view the spectacle of the Capital One Cup Final, with Liverpool competing against Aston Villa for this year's edition.

Liverpool under Brendan Rodgers have amazing statistics in this tournament - this is their fourth Capital One Cup Final appearance in a row, and they have won two of their previous three Finals. Despite that, this is not their best record - the Reds won four League Cups in four seasons between 1981 and 1984, with Bob Paisley and Joe Fagan.

Aston Villa, on the other hand, are making their first appearance in the Final since 2010, almost ten years ago. The Villans last won the tournament in 1996 and have the odds firmly stacked against them this match, but will be hoping to bring glory to the Midlands once more.


Villa had a less than impressive run to the Final but should still be credited for their work all the same. Their entrance into the Second Round was marked by a penalty shootout against Ipswich. Portsmouth were swept aside 2-0 but Fourth Round opponents Watford proved to be a tougher nut to crack, with Christian Benteke only managing to find the winner in the 107th minute. Another penalty shootout win happened following a shaky game against Newcastle, and Villa, powered by renewed vigor, went on to demolish Southampton 5-1 in the Semi Final.



Starting 11: Guzan; Dier, Moore, Dawson, Enrique; Sanchez, Meyler, Zelalem; Grealish; Kokorin, Benteke
Subs: Foderingham, Ambrose, Cissokho, Westwood, Delph, Agbonlahor, Dicko


A 3-month long injury to Matthew Lowton has forced Villa manager Slavisa Jokanovic to call up Eric Dier as a stand-in. However, he will be pleased that Lowton is the only key player out. Important team figures Jack Grealish and Christian Benteke are present in the matchday squad, but there is no place for Fabian Delph, who is left on the bench. Vice-captain Gabby Agbonlahor has not been in the best of form this season, and his place in the lineup as Benteke's strike partner goes to Russian forward Alexandr Kokorin. Left-back Jose Enrique is also due to start against his former club and he will be eager to show Liverpool what they have been missing out on.


Liverpool faced Bournemouth in the Third Round and cruised to an easy 3-1 win. A 5-1 wrecking of Nottingham Forest came right after, but Norwich was much more of a challenge as Rodgers' side struggled to win 3-2. A 0-1 loss against Chelsea in the first leg of the Semi Final invited fears that Liverpool would not make it to the Final this year, but they came back with a vengeance to put 3 goals past their rivals in the second leg at Stamford Bridge.



Starting 11: Mignolet; Clyne, Balanta, Umtiti, Alaba; Aubry, Ward-Prowse, Asamoah; Balotelli, Coutinho; Sturridge
Subs: Steele, Joseph, Sakho, Cuello, Moreyra, Ibe, Zivkovic


Liverpool are without Lucas Romero, Jordan Henderson, Steven Gerrard and Raheem Sterling for the Final, but the presences of James Ward-Prowse and Philippe Coutinho ensures that the quality of the team is there. Summer signings Yannis Aubry and Kwadwo Asamoah are included in the starting eleven, meaning that they are on the verge of claiming their first medals in Liverpool colors. Gustavo Cuello and Alejandro Moreyra, both of whom are on the bench, are two others who could win their first Liverpool trophy this game.

0' - Aston Villa kick off the 2018 League Cup Final! Are Liverpool going to win it again, or is Villa going to cause an upset?

8' - GOAL! Villa go 1-0 up! David Meyler plays in Alexandr Kokorin, who squeezes the ball past Samuel Umtiti and David Alaba before going on to fire a nice little curler past Simon Mignolet. The Villa fans are going wild! What a start to the match!


22' - GOAL! Liverpool respond in perfect fashion! Nathaniel Clyne swings in a fantastic cross to find Kwadwo Asamoah, and the Ghanaian winger hits a ferocious effort to strike the back of the net! That's an assist from Clyne that we are going to be seeing for some time!

29' - Some great play from Villa sees Christian Benteke getting the ball to Jack Grealish, who found himself in plenty of space for a goal, but the attacking midfielder fluffed his lines and his weak shot goes into the waiting hands of Mignolet.


45' - HT: Villa 1-1 Liverpool. It's not been the best of Finals so far here at Wembley with neither team looking the better side.

45' - Liverpool kick the game back into action for the second half of the Capital One Cup Final.

83' - And after 40 long boring minutes, there's finally a clear attempt at goal as substitute Alejandro Moreyra receives the ball on the back of a superb Mario Balotelli pass, and goes for glory, only to have Brad Guzan denying him with a superb save.

89' - GOAL! A late winner for Liverpool! Super sub Richairo Zivkovic is the man of the moment! James Ward-Prowse's cracker at goal was punched away by Guzan, but Zivkovic latched onto the rebound, sinking the hearts of Villa fans all over the world!

90' - FT: Villa 1-2 Liverpool. And Liverpool claim their fourth League Cup trophy in three years!

Congrats on the cup win!

I had Zivkovic in a Newcastle save, showed some potential but ultimately Valencia came calling with a 45 million dollar check for him.

The only thing I'd probably need now to build the tactic in 14, are the individual player instructions (if they are any).

Thanks a million bro, looking forward to see how this works

2015-04-29 21:08#212199 Titus07 : Congrats on the cup win!

I had Zivkovic in a Newcastle save, showed some potential but ultimately Valencia came calling with a 45 million dollar check for him.

The only thing I'd probably need now to build the tactic in 14, are the individual player instructions (if they are any).

Thanks a million bro, looking forward to see how this works

Zivkovic's a beast, 30 goals in 45 appearances for me so far this season. He wasn't doing so well the first season I got him and then PSG came with like a 30 or 40 million bid for him, was tempted to sell but I didn't and I think I made the right choice

Don't think there are any individual player instructions. Hope the tactic works for you in FM14!

Liverpool had a good month, lifting the League Cup for a record 11th time, as well as moving on to the FA Cup Semi Final and the Champions League Quarter Final, beating Hull City and Schalke respectively. They're also chasing Chelsea closely, with the gap between Liverpool and the league leaders currently standing at a mere 4 points.

Liverpool March Player of the Month

Mario Balotelli is an Anfield crowd favorite and has been having one of the best seasons of his life. This month, the forward was brilliant as usual and demonstrated his mastery with a dead ball against Blackburn, netting a hat trick entirely out of set pieces - one goal from a hat trick, and the remaining two from free kicks.

Injury Report

Jordan Henderson - 3 months (torn hamstring)
Lucas Romero - 4 weeks (fractured arm)
Raheem Sterling - 3 weeks (twisted ankle)

In a bit of an unlucky situation, Liverpool vice-captain Jordan Henderson has been ruled out for the rest of the season after the worsening of his hamstring injury. Raheem Sterling is also a concern, having injured himself again after attempting to recover from his previous injury through playing a match with the Under-18s. Lastly, Lucas Romero's fractured arm will keep him out for a month or so, leaving a gaping hole in the squad's holding midfield position.

Manager's Thoughts

Loved our football and work rate this month, we're not keeping as many clean sheets as we would have liked but at least we're not conceding too many goals. Winning the League Cup again is fantastic though, that's eleven times for the club now and three times for me! Unfortunately the injury problems are really dealing damage to my squad, and I can only hope the rest can cover for them in our upcoming fixtures.

Thanks bro, seems to be working pretty well actually, the only concern is the high line when playing again a team with fast strikers and top quality wing-backs who pick them out with diagonal balls on the counter, happened against Arsenal, who have Anthony Martial.

But...I did draw with them, and I'm Bristol Rovers, 2-2, I'm coaching 3 teams in my current save, Newcastle, Inter and Bristol Rovers, formation seems to be working well for all, just awaiting them to become fully savvy with it.

Again thanks!

Balotelli should fetch you a really good price should you sell him, saw him sold for somewhere about 50 mil in my game, and that was early, like the first 2 seasons, there obviously will be backlash from the fans and board tho...