Rodgers' Reds: Class is Permanent

2015-06-25 02:49#215338 Pauker : 19-18 in PENS?!!??!?! your defense m88!! It was so good, what have you done with it >:( ?

What's wrong with my defense? :S

Liverpool spent only £15 million on three players this summer, while Barcelona starlet Andres Bascon was also recruited on loan with a view to a permanent move next season. Meanwhile, Ola Morley and Tonny Hartvig were both offloaded after failing to develop. Argentina international Gustavo Cuello rounds up the club's list of departures, with Brendan Rodgers reluctantly allowing the midfielder a move to Real Madrid.

Liverpool had a mixed season, lifting the Premier League title with a record number of points, but failed to do the same in the FA Cup and the Champions League, after falling to Arsenal and Chelsea respectively. Brendan Rodgers responded by injecting some young blood into the team and also finalized a permanent transfer for Kyriakos Papadopoulos. Can the Reds challenge for more trophies this season?

This squad is truly one of the best I've seen in FM. I would follow the story but I don't know how to with the layout of the website.
Plus how do you motivate yourself to continue a story where you have won everything.

2015-06-25 19:35#215367 Ta31_a : This squad is truly one of the best I've seen in FM. I would follow the story but I don't know how to with the layout of the website.
Plus how do you motivate yourself to continue a story where you have won everything.

Thanks! It is indeed pretty hard to motivate myself to keep writing and playing the save, but it's really fun to play so that helps a lot. I have had thoughts about doing another FM15 story, but I just can't bring myself to leave this one

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In the Champions League Quarter Finals last season, domestic rivals Chelsea got one over Liverpool, after an extremely close tie over two legs that ended 5-4 in favor to the Blues. This season, Brendan Rodgers' side will attempt to bring European glory back to Merseyside, and their first three obstacles are Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain, and minnows from Switzerland and Italy respectively, FC Basel and AC Cesena.



Paris Saint-Germain had a disappointing 2018/19 season, finishing at a surprising 7th place. However, they hit back quickly to claim their 7th Ligue 1 crown just a year later, sealing their return to the Champions League. Despite the amount of money pumped into the club and the number of amazing talents in their star-studded squad, the kings of French football have never tasted the sweetness of winning a European Cup, and are usually knocked out in the Quarter Finals by their far superior opponents from England and Spain. Could it change this season? The club's Qatari owners have splashed no less than £140 million on players within the past two years, so that may be a positive sign.


When the Belgian was allowed to leave Chelsea for £30.5 million in January 2018, many thought that the London club had conducted some extremely shrewd business, having only purchased the promising youngster for about £2 million two years prior. However, Jose Mourinho has quickly been left to regret his decision. Ricardinho, real name Ricardo Pereira Junior, has blossomed into one of the best defensive-minded midfielders in European football after swiftly becoming a first-team regular in PSG, and at just 21, still has years ahead of him in his professional career. Arguably his side's most influential player after the retirement of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Ricardinho possesses the ability to cause trouble for any opposing attackers and is going to be a very tough nut to crack.


Basel stand almost no chance to qualify for the knockout stages, but they should not be ruled out completely. The club have caused some amazing Champions League upsets in their history, and may just miraculously somehow beat Liverpool or Paris Saint-Germain to that second qualification spot. In their recent history, Basel have not managed to go too far in any European competitions, with their most recent being a small Europa League run that ended in the Second Knockout Round. Of course, they are a lot more successful domestically, and have been crowned as Swiss Super League champions for 11 seasons running.


At just 18 years of age, Novovic has played in 44 Super League games for Basel, and is acknowledged as one of the club's best players ever produced. Already a full international for Switzerland, the midfielder has showed signs of becoming a potential world beater in the future, but still has a long way to go before he can be mentioned in the same breath as players like Paul Pogba. Top European sides such as Real Madrid are already taking notice, and Novovic may just earn himself a big money move if he can drag Basel beyond the group stages.


Cesena were playing in Serie B as recently as 2017, and are in unfamiliar territory this year. Eccentric manager Paolo Di Canio has masterminded the club's amazing race to the top of the Italian football pile, leading them to Serie A promotion during his second year in charge, before finishing at 4th place another three years later, their highest ever finish since the club's founding in 1940. This season will also be Cesena's first time playing in the Champions League, and also their second time playing in Europe after their short UEFA Cup run in 1976. Not much will be expected of the Seahorses, but as proven, they are a club capable of pulling miracles out of nowhere.


The Cesena squad doesn't have many stars that stand out, but if one player has to be picked, it's Brignoli. The goalkeeper was offloaded by Roma just 8 months ago, and proved to be a hit at his new club, conceding just 22 goals in 20 appearances. In Brignoli, Cesena have a very reliable man between the sticks, and if he can bring his league form from last season into the Champions League, qualification from the group may be on the cards.

Meh, you'll pull through with ease mate

2015-06-26 20:44#215422 AaronHJFT96 : Meh, you'll pull through with ease mate

I think I will too

This month, Champions League winners Arsenal got themselves completely ran over at Anfield, as Liverpool put 5 goals past the unsuspecting Gunners. The Reds also took 3 points from their first European game against Cesena, and just managed to beat rivals Manchester United after extra time to make it to the Fourth Round of the League Cup.

Liverpool September Player of the Month

Pavel Savitskiy takes the Player of the Month gong after a fantastic return of 6 goals in 6 appearances in September. The winger proved to be Arsenal's nightmare and netted a hat trick to help his side to a 5-0 win, before going on to score again against Cesena and Brentford.

Manager's Thoughts

What a pleasing month we've had. Putting 5 goals past a fellow title contender like Arsenal really shows that we mean business, and with 6 wins in 6 league games, we have easily ascended to the top of table. If this form can continue the title will be ours again without a doubt. Getting a win in our first Champions League group game was also great but it's unfortunate that we could only take a point at home to PSG. Anyway, let's keep the wins going into next month!

With school starting back up after a one-month break and various other commitments I've not managed to find much time to update, and even when I have I've found my updates to be largely lacking in quality mostly because of how everything is getting repetitive.

So it was slightly surprising to me when I was nominated for the June Story of the Month, though I can't deny I'm pleased about receiving the nomination. If you liked this story, you can vote for me here.

National exams are around the corner for me in real life (starting in two months actually) but hopefully I can keep Rodgers' Reds: Class is Permanent going until the arrival of FM16.

Thanks for reading!

Liverpool continued on a winning rampage this month, taking their current Premier League record to 10 wins in 10 games. Rodgers' side also just edged out Basel in the Champions League and coasted to the Quarter Finals of the League Cup after putting 4 goals past Sunderland.

Liverpool October Player of the Month

James Ward-Prowse is the recipient of Liverpool's monthly award after several eye-catching displays in October. The Reds captain ran the midfield as splendidly as he always has, and turned in two consecutive Man of the Match performances against former club Southampton and then Watford. He also proved himself to be an instrumental factor in his side's victories over Norwich and Sunderland in the League Cup.

Injury Report

Alejandro Moreyra - 3 weeks (twisted knee)

Liverpool's exciting Argentine, 24-year-old Moreyra, was ruled out for 3 weeks early on in the month with a twisted knee, but he marked his comeback against Stoke with a brilliant goal to kick start a 3-0 win.

Manager's Thoughts

Perfect, just perfect. We could have probably won by a far larger margin against Basel, but I'm happy that we took wins from every game. James Ward-Prowse may have won the Player of the Month but special mention also has to go out to Conor Skinner, who has certainly been taking his chances when given them. Liverpool's next local legend, perhaps? With Ward-Prowse and Jordan Henderson ahead of him in the lineup, though, it's far too early to say. Skinner aside, the team has been playing really well of late and long may that continue.

In a highly-anticipated title clash, Liverpool beat big-spending Manchester City to reinforce their hold on the top of the Premier League table, and they now lead the Citizens by 9 points. Merseyside rivals Everton were gotten rid of next, and so was ailing Tottenham as the Reds made it 13 wins in 13 league games. They also sealed their qualification to the knockout stages of the Champions League after successive wins over Basel and Cesena.

Liverpool November Player of the Month

A player with a growing reputation, Ernie Sharp added on to his credibility after firing Liverpool to a win over their neighboring rivals Everton. A spectacular brace from the 21-year-old also put Basel to the sword and he had another great showing against Cesena where he made plenty of trouble for the Italians' defense, and was one of the best players on the pitch despite not getting on the scoresheet himself.

Injury Report

Conor Skinner - 6 days (bruised head)
Ryan Joseph - 6 weeks (strained knee ligaments)

A short injury ruled Skinner out for one match this month but more worrying news from the Liverpool physios come in the form of Ryan Joseph's ligament problems. The 20-year-old has established himself this season as the preferred right-back in the starting eleven, and his absence will not be welcomed by Liverpool's coaching staff and fans.

Manager's Thoughts

A rather relaxing month as compared to the hectic December we're about to face. I'm pleased that we've put ourselves in the driving seat for the title this early in the season, and those three points collected against City could prove to be very valuable for us. It's unfortunate to be losing Ryan Joseph for such a long time with his great performances lately, but we'll just have to keep pushing on.

Good luck for your exams, Glenn.

Cesena definitely the team that surprised everyone with their qualification! Red hot streak man, keep it going!

Congratulations on your SoTM nomination Glenn!! Very, very well deserved. And good luck!