2013/14. The season which Liverpool fans will forever remember as almost their year. But it wasn't to be. That slip against Chelsea, a devastating loss to Stoke; fans could point to several games which 'lost' them the title as they slipped 2 points behind Manchester City to finish 2nd.

Now, having lost Talismanic striker Luis Suarez to Barcelona, Liverpool must regroup and push harder in the coming season, bolstered by several new additions including Adam Lallana, Emre Can, Lazar Markovic and Mario Balotelli.

This story; Liverpool FC: Regeneration is my attempt at taking my beloved club Liverpool to the very pinnacle of English and European football. I will be playing as (now former) manager Brendan Rodgers, and seeking to embody an attacking, passionate style of play which I think matches the players at the club's disposal.

I'm using the standard FM15 database, which does not account for the transfer of Raheem Sterling to Manchester City, nor any of the transfers made by Rodgers in the summer of 2015: I'm using no editor data, and have a medium database loaded.

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Season One

Chapter One: Transfer #1: Competition In Goal
Chapter Two: Spanish Wonderkid is Anfield Bound
Chapter Three: Dortmund Star in Liverpool Switch
Chapter Four: French Wonderkid Arrives at Anfield
Chapter Five: Pre-Season 2014
Chapter Six: August 2014
Chapter Seven: September 2014
Chapter Eight: Liverpool Strike Deal for Reading Youngster

Sounds Good

Target: Begovic had been a target for both Chelsea and Juventus, but will arrive at Anfield this week.

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Liverpool's summer of transfer action kicked off this weekend with the arrival of Bosnian goalkeeper Asmir Begovic in a deal with up to £12.5m over the next 2 years. The Anfield side have stumped up at least £8.5m up front for the 27 year old, thought to have been brought in with a view to replacing Simon Mingolet as the club's first choice goalkeeper.

Begovic signed for Stoke in 2009 for just £3.7m, and quickly cemented his position as a first-team goalkeeper, a position he has retained for the last 5 years, turning in some impressive performances, including against Liverpool last season, when he pulled of a particularly impressive save from Brazilian Phillipe Coutinho.

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Save: Begovic saves athletically from Coutinho last season

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Now, Begovic has his sights set on cementing a first team place at Anfield, at the expense of Belgian stopper Simon Mingolet.

"Of course, first team football is always the priority. Simon is a top goalkeeper, and he showed that last season with the club only conceding 50 goals all season. But as a professional, you always have to compete to start games, and that's what I want to do: start as many games as possible."

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Talent: Zaragoza defender Vallejo had attracted the attentions of Real Madrid in recent months

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Liverpool seem to be in the business of striking while the iron is hot this summer, completing a £1.1m move for 17 year old Centre-Back Jesus Vallejo from Real Zaragoza. The youngster had been attracting attention from both Real Madrid and Barcelona in recent weeks, but has opted for Anfield in the hope of more playing time.

"For me, a career move must always be to somewhere that I have the best chance of developing my game. The Premiership is a very physical league; very different to how technical it is in Spain. I think that will be a challenge, but it will make me develop that side of my game, which will be very helpful."

Vallejo is yet to make a professional 1st team appearance, but with bags of potential, and a strong technical foundation, Liverpool fans are sure to be hoping their team can turn him into a world-class defender. With players like Alberto Moreno, and Javi Manquillo around to help him settle, Vallejo looks to have a bright future at Anfield.

Speaking on the youngster, Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers was full of praise, stating that: "If you look at the clubs who were interested in this kid, it's clear we've got ourselves a bargain - Real and Barcelona don't just chase anyone, but they do have an excellent nose for talent. Jesus is technically gifted, and shows a lot of character and promise. Obviously moving to England is a big step for him, but the guys have been great in training, helping him settle in, and hopefully we can get him involved as soon as possible."

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Key: German 26 year old Großkreutz has made the switch to Anfield

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Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has indicated his intentions for the coming season by completing a £12m deal for Dortmund right back Kevin Großkreutz who is due to arrive this week. The £12m deal has been split into an upfront cost of £6.5m, with the remaining £5.5m to be paid over the next 2 years.

The 26 year old, who can play on either side of defence, and also on either wing in a more attacking role, has been an integral part of Dortmund's side for 5 seasons since his free transfer from Ahlen, and in that time he has made over 100 appearances for the German top flight side, displaying an incredible level of stamina and determination to fight for his team's cause.

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Großkreutz has scored 23 goals for Dortmund in the past 4 seasons

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Liverpool fans have been quick to note the German's pace and determination, and will be hoping he can carry on the level of performance he has been displaying in the Bundesliga. One noted on Facebook that "It's a relief to see Rodgers do something about the defence; we only had Johnson and Manquillo till now, and i'm not sure they would have been good enough: this guy is class, and he's gonna make an impact I reckon."

The player himself was complimentary of the club and it's fans stating that: "This club has a very proud history, and it is great to be making the move to England: the game here is very physical, and I can't wait to get involved in first team football and make a difference to the team"

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Bargain: £1m up front may turn out to be a bargain for the man from Guadeloupe

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Many Liverpool fans may have thought their transfer spending was over for the season, but manager Brendan Rodgers has other ideas, bringing in French national Thomas Lemar from Stade Caen in a deal which cost the Reds just £1m up front, with clauses built in which could take the deal to a staggering £6m over the next 4 years.

The 18 year old has made 7 appearances for Caen, and attracted attention from Ligue 1 sides including PSG and AS Monaco, but much like Jesus Vallejo, chose Liverpool for the opportunity at first team football sooner rather than later. Despite not being the most physical player, Lemar has some impeccable technical skills, and a good turn of pace which will carry him past a defender.

The youngster still has a lot of work to do, but at a club where he can learn from the likes of Phillipe Coutinho and Lazar Markovic, he is in an excellent position to develop his game. He was unavailable for comment today, ahead of the press conference called to announce his arrival, and said nothing during that press conference. Rodgers did remark that his new signing had a lot of work to do on his English language skills, but that football, a universal language, would do the talking.

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Great story, really looking forward to it. Hopefully you can finally make Liverpool a worthy competitor for Spurs

Touché, Donkey! haha <3

Strong Start: Phillipe Coutinho was inspirational in his pre-season games

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4-1 v LIVERPOOL U21S
Mario Balotelli (x2), Mamadou Sakho, Ryan Kent


2-2 v DC UNITED
Lazar Markovic, Daniel Sturridge

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4-1 v COLUMBUS CREW
Mario Balotelli, Phillipe Coutinho (x2), Rickie Lambert


3-2 v HOUSTON DYNAMO
Thomas Lemar, Daniel Sturridge (x2)

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6-1 v PRESTON
Martin Skrtel, Lazar Markovic (x2), Jose Enrique, Jordan Henderson, Steven Gerrard

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3-1 v TERNANA
Lazar Markovic, Rickie Lambert, Glen Johnson

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2-1 v PHILADELPHIA UNION
Harry Wilson, Daniel Sturridge

Really looking forward to this.

Inspirational: Raheem Sterling shone for Liverpool in attack

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We've started our season well, with 2 wins in 3 matches, though it was disappointing to lose to Everton on the opening day. I've been impressed with the way that we've settled into our play: Emre Can, who i've awarded our Player of the Month award for some solid performances in the heart of midfield.



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2-1 v EVERTON
Lazar Markovic

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2-0 v WEST HAM
Steven Gerrard, Lazar Markovic

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4-0 v LEICESTER
Daniel Sturridge, Raheem Sterling, Phillipe Coutinho, Emre Can

Valuel: £10m man Emre Can already looks like spectacular value for money.

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Another solid month for the team, with particularly impressive wins coming against Bayern Munich and Manchester United - we've been playing some incredible football at times, and i'm hoping we can continue our good form as the season progresses. Once again, Emre Can has been a force in the centre of the pitch for us - narrowly missing out on his second Young Player of the Month award to team-mate Lazar Markovic.



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4-0 v BURNLEY
Mamadou Sakho, Daniel Sturridge (2), Steven Gerrard

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4-2 v BAYERN MUNICH
Steven Gerrard, Raheem Sterling (2), Martin Skrtel

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2-1 v SOUTHAMPTON
Emre Can

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2-0 v NORWICH
Jordan Henderson, Thomas Lemar

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4-1 v MANCHESTER UNITED
Daniel Sturridge (2), Robin Van Persie (o.g.), Lazar Markovic

High Expectations: Reading youngster Harry Cardwell has been tipped in the media as the next Michael Owen

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Even with the Transfer window closed for summer, Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers is continuing to look for ways to secure the bright future which is emerging at the club. Today, the club announced that they had reached a deal with Reading for young striker Harry Cardwell, in a deal which sees the club spend under £1m up front.

The full breakdown of the deal is as follows:
Up Front: £975k
Paid over 30 Months: £1.2m
Paid after 40 League appearances: £3.6m
Paid after 30 League goals: £3.6m
Total outlay if all clauses met: £9.5m

Overall, the Anfield club seem to have struck a solid deal for the youngster, who has so far scored 4 goals in 6 matches for the Reading Under 21s. Between now and January, Cardwell has work to do to convince fans that he can make the grade at Liverpool: he certainly is not short on ability, with his pace and strength drawing plaudits and comparisons to Anfield legend Michael Owen, but there are some concerns around his Technical ability.

Neither the player nor his agent were available for comment, but it is believed that the transfer will be completed on January 1st, when the transfer window re opens.

Hmm, never heard of him but under your leadership, sure he'll turn great!

Phenomenal: Daniel Sturbridge put 5 past Steaua in the Champions League

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We're starting to put together a solid run of form, as our performances this month bring us into the territory of 8 games unbeaten in all competitions. We're drawing games that I would perhaps prefer to win, but the draws are not concerning me too much at the moment. We're in solid contention for European football, and i'm keen to kick on and bring the Champions League within our grasp.




7-0 v STEAUA
Lazar Markovic, Daniel Sturridge (5), Steven Gerrard

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1-1 v ASTON VILLA
Raheem Sterling

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1-0 v TOTTENHAM
Mario Ballotelli


2-0 v ZENIT
Daniel Sturridge, Phillipe Coutinho

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1-1 v Q.P.R
Mario Ballotelli

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3-1 v BRIGHTON
Fabio Borini, Emre Can, Daniel Sturridge