FM17: Liverpool FC - Heavy Metal Football

[cezar.sl]

Welcome to the Football Manager 2017

Liverpool Football Club Thread

 

History

Liverpool F.C. was founded following a dispute between the Everton committee and John Houlding, club president and owner of the land at Anfield. After eight years at the stadium, Everton relocated to Goodison Park in 1892 and Houlding founded Liverpool F.C. to play at Anfield. Originally named "Everton F.C. and Athletic Grounds Ltd" (Everton Athletic for short), the club became Liverpool F.C. in March 1892 and gained official recognition three months later, after The Football Association refused to recognise the club as Everton. The team won the Lancashire League in its début season, and joined the Football League Second Division at the start of the 1893–94 season. After finishing in first place the club was promoted to the First Division, which it won in 1901 and again in 1906.

Liverpool reached its first FA Cup Final in 1914, losing 1–0 to Burnley. It won consecutive League championships in 1922 and 1923, but did not win another trophy until the 1946–47 season, when the club won the First Division for a fifth time under the control of ex-West Ham Utd centre half George Kay. Liverpool suffered its second Cup Final defeat in 1950, playing against Arsenal. The club was relegated to the Second Division in the 1953–54 season. Soon after Liverpool lost 2–1 to non-league Worcester City in the 1958–59 FA Cup, Bill Shankly was appointed manager. Upon his arrival he released 24 players and converted a boot storage room at Anfield into a room where the coaches could discuss strategy; here, Shankly and other "Boot Room" members Joe Fagan, Reuben Bennett, and Bob Paisley began reshaping the team.

The club was promoted back into the First Division in 1962 and won it in 1964, for the first time in 17 years. In 1965, the club won its first FA Cup. In 1966, the club won the First Division but lost to Borussia Dortmund in the European Cup Winners' Cup final. Liverpool won both the League and the UEFA Cup during the 1972–73 season, and the FA Cup again a year later. Shankly retired soon afterwards and was replaced by his assistant, Bob Paisley.In 1976, Paisley's second season as manager, the club won another League and UEFA Cup double. The following season, the club retained the League title and won the European Cup for the first time, but it lost in the 1977 FA Cup Final. Liverpool retained the European Cup in 1978 and regained the First Division title in 1979. During Paisley's nine seasons as manager Liverpool won 21 trophies, including three European Cups, a UEFA Cup, six League titles and three consecutive League Cups; the only domestic trophy he did not win was the FA Cup.

Paisley retired in 1983 and was replaced by his assistant, Joe Fagan. Liverpool won the League, League Cup and European Cup in Fagan's first season, becoming the first English side to win three trophies in a season. Liverpool reached the European Cup final again in 1985, against Juventus at the Heysel Stadium. Before kick-off, Liverpool fans breached a fence which separated the two groups of supporters, and charged the Juventus fans. The resulting weight of people caused a retaining wall to collapse, killing 39 fans, mostly Italians. The incident became known as the Heysel Stadium disaster. The match was played in spite of protests by both managers, and Liverpool lost 1–0 to Juventus. As a result of the tragedy, English clubs were banned from participating in European competition for five years; Liverpool received a ten-year ban, which was later reduced to six years. Fourteen Liverpool fans received convictions for involuntary manslaughter.

Fagan had announced his retirement just before the disaster and Kenny Dalglish was appointed as player-manager. During his tenure, the club won another three League Championships and two FA Cups, including a League and Cup "Double" in the 1985–86 season. Liverpool's success was overshadowed by the Hillsborough disaster: in an FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest on 15 April 1989, hundreds of Liverpool fans were crushed against perimeter fencing. Ninety-four fans died that day; the 95th victim died in hospital from his injuries four days later and the 96th died nearly four years later, without regaining consciousness. After the Hillsborough disaster there was a government review of stadium safety. The resulting Taylor Report paved the way for legislation that required top-division teams to have all-seater stadiums. The report ruled that the main reason for the disaster was overcrowding due to a failure of police control.

Liverpool was involved in the closest finish to a league season during the 1988–89 season. Liverpool finished equal with Arsenal on both points and goal difference, but lost the title on total goals scored when Arsenal scored the final goal in the last minute of the season.

Dalglish cited the Hillsborough disaster and its repercussions as the reason for his resignation in 1991; he was replaced by former player Graeme Souness. Under his leadership Liverpool won the 1992 FA Cup Final, but their league performances slumped, with two consecutive sixth-place finishes, eventually resulting in his dismissal in January 1994. Souness was replaced by Roy Evans, and Liverpool went on to win the 1995 Football League Cup Final. While they made some title challenges under Evans, third-place finishes in 1996 and 1998 were the best they could manage, and so Gérard Houllier was appointed co-manager in the 1998–99 season, and became the sole manager in November 1998 after Evans resigned. In 2001, Houllier's second full season in charge, Liverpool won a "Treble": the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup. Houllier underwent major heart surgery during the 2001–02 season and Liverpool finished second in the League, behind Arsenal. They won a further League Cup in 2003, but failed to mount a title challenge in the two seasons that followed.

Houllier was replaced by Rafael Benítez at the end of the 2003–04 season. Despite finishing fifth in Benítez's first season, Liverpool won the 2004–05 UEFA Champions League, beating A.C. Milan 3–2 in a penalty shootout after the match ended with a score of 3–3. The following season, Liverpool finished third in the Premier League and won the 2006 FA Cup Final, beating West Ham United in a penalty shootout after the match finished 3–3. American businessmen George Gillett and Tom Hicks became the owners of the club during the 2006–07 season, in a deal which valued the club and its outstanding debts at £218.9 million. The club reached the 2007 UEFA Champions League Final against Milan, as it had in 2005, but lost 2–1. During the 2008–09 season Liverpool achieved 86 points, its highest Premier League points total, and finished as runners up to Manchester United.

In the 2009–10 season, Liverpool finished seventh in the Premier League and failed to qualify for the Champions League. Benítez subsequently left by mutual consent and was replaced by Fulham manager Roy Hodgson. At the start of the 2010–11 season Liverpool was on the verge of bankruptcy and the club's creditors asked the High Court to allow the sale of the club, overruling the wishes of Hicks and Gillett. John W. Henry, owner of the Boston Red Sox and of Fenway Sports Group, bid successfully for the club and took ownership in October 2010. Poor results during the start of that season led to Hodgson leaving the club by mutual consent and former player & manager Kenny Dalglish taking over. Despite a record 8th League Cup success against Cardiff and an FA Cup final defeat to Chelsea, Liverpool finished in eighth position in the 2011–12 season, the worst league finish in 18 years and led to the sacking of Dalglish. He was replaced by Brendan Rodgers. In Rodgers' first season, Liverpool finished in seventh. In the 2013–14 season, Liverpool mounted an unexpected title charge to finish second behind champions Manchester City and subsequently return to the Champions League, scoring 101 goals in the process, the most since the 106 scored in the 1895–96 season. Following a disappointing 2014-15 season, where Liverpool finished sixth in the league, and a poor start to the 2015-16 season, Brendan Rodgers was sacked in October 2015. He was replaced by Jürgen Klopp, who became the third foreign manager in Liverpool's history. In Klopp's first season at Liverpool, he took the club to the finals of both the Football League Cup and UEFA Europa League, finishing as runner-up in both competitions.

 

The Fans

In Game

[cezar.sl]

SQUAD ANALYSIS

Goalkeepers

Simon Mignolet

Stats : summer - vsFM16 | Rating : ★★★★★ | Home Grown Status : No

Recommendation : Average keeper. Sell if you have the opportunity.

Notes : 

Loris Karius

Stats : summer - vsFM16 | Rating : ★★★★★ | Home Grown Status : No

Recommendation : No that much better than Mignolet. Sell once you get a new #1 and use Ward as backup as he is HG.

Notes : Injured for between 4 weeks and 2 months

Danny Ward

Stats : summer - vsFM16 | Rating : ★★★★★ | Home Grown Status : Nation

Recommendation : Has decent potential. Can become a decent #2. Keep

Notes : On load at Huddersfield

 

Full backs

Nathaniel Clyne

Stats : summer - vsFM16 | Rating : ★★★★★ | Home Grown Status : Nation

Recommendation : Good reliable fullback. Keep until you can get a crazy regen.

Notes : 

Alberto Moreno

Stats : summer - vsFM16 | Rating : ★★★★★ | Home Grown Status : No

Recommendation : Work on his defensive stats. More a winger than a fullback.

Notes : 

Trent Alexander-Arnold

Stats : summer - vsFM16 | Rating : ★★★★★ | Home Grown Status : Club

Recommendation : Try to develop him. Has well rounded stats for his age.

Notes : Some stats are probably random

Jon Flanagan

Stats : summer - vsFM16 | Rating : ★★★★★ | Home Grown Status : Club

Recommendation : Injury prone, so he may not develop. Has good defensive stats, should be retained as CB/DM to provide cover.

Notes : On loan at Burnely

 

Centre Backs

Joel Matip

Stats : summer - vsFM16 | Rating : ★★★★★ | Home Grown Status : No

Recommendation : Lacks mental attributes for a CB, but excels in other areas. 3rd choice.

Notes : Injured for between 3 to 5 weeks

Mamadou Sakho

Stats : summer - vsFM16 | Rating : ★★★★★ | Home Grown Status : No

Recommendation : Out best CB despite real life mistakes.

Notes : Injured for between 4 to 7 weeks. Banned until 7/8/2016. Good tutor.

Dejan Lovren

Stats : summer - vsFM16 | Rating : ★★★★★ | Home Grown Status : No

Recommendation : Got a nice boost in mental stats, worth keeping.

Notes : Bad tutor.

Ragnar Klavan

Stats : summer - vsFM16 | Rating : ★★★★★ | Home Grown Status : No

Recommendation : Good backup.

Notes : Can play LB. Good tutor.

Tiago Illori

Stats : summer - vsFM16 | Rating : ★★★★★ | Home Grown Status : No

Recommendation : Sell

Notes : Contract expires at the end of the season

Joe Gomez

Stats : summer - vsFM16 | Rating : ★★★★★ | Home Grown Status : Nation

Recommendation : Injury prone, but work developing

Notes : Injured for between 2 to 4 weeks, some stats. like determination are probably random

Andre Wisdom

Stats : summer - vsFM16 | Rating : ★★★★★ | Home Grown Status : Club

Recommendation : Good physicals but doesn't like big matches. Keep as HG backup.

Notes : On loan at FC Red Bull Salzburg

 

Defensive Midfielders

Jordan Henderson

Stats : summer - vsFM16 | Rating : ★★★★★ | Home Grown Status : Nation

Recommendation : Great midfield engine, but does not excel either defensively or offensively.

Notes : Great tutor.

James Milner

Stats : summer - vsFM16 | Rating : ★★★★★ | Home Grown Status : Nation

Recommendation : Not as good as in real life and on huge wages. Sell at the end of the season or keep as a tutor.

Notes : Great tutor.

Emre Can

Stats : summer - vsFM16 | Rating : ★★★★★ | Home Grown Status : No

Recommendation : Current and future star of our midfield. Keep at all costs.

Notes : Get Henderson or Milner to tutor him.

Lucas Leiva

Stats : summer - vsFM16 | Rating : ★★★★★ | Home Grown Status : No

Recommendation : Great tutor. Only real DM. Keep.

Notes : Injured for betwen 5 to 8 weeks

Kevin Stewart

Stats : summer - vsFM16 | Rating : ★★★★★ | Home Grown Status : Nation

Recommendation : Sell at the end of the season.

Notes : 

 

Offensive Midfielders

Roberto Firmino

Stats : summer - vsFM16 | Rating : ★★★★★ | Home Grown Status : No

Recommendation : Versatile but unspectacular stats. Performs well.

Notes : 

Philippe Coutinho

Stats : summer - vsFM16 | Rating : ★★★★★ | Home Grown Status : No

Recommendation : Star of the team. Keep at all costs. 

Notes : Good tutor.

Sadio Mane

Stats : summer - vsFM16 | Rating : ★★★★★ | Home Grown Status : No

Recommendation : Fast and versatile, but weak mental stats. Try to get an a more well rounded upgrade on him.

Notes : 

Adam Lallana

Stats : summer - vsFM16 | Rating : ★★★★★ | Home Grown Status : Nation

Recommendation : Another player not as good as real life. Speed and stamina let him down. Sell.

Notes : 

Georginio Wijnaldum

Stats : summer - vsFM16 | Rating : ★★★★★ | Home Grown Status : No

Recommendation : Well rounded and versatile. Keep as rotation/backup until you get an upgrade.

Notes : 

Lazar Markovic

Stats : summer - vsFM16 | Rating : ★★★★★ | Home Grown Status : No

Recommendation : Injury Prone. inconsistent. Only asset is pace. A worse Mane. Sell.

Notes :  On loan at Sporting CP

 

Strikers

Daniel Sturridge

Stats : summer - vsFM16 | Rating : ★★★★★ | Home Grown Status : Nation

Recommendation : Lost his speed. Best used in a more static role or of the bench.

Notes : Very injury prone.

Danny Ings

Stats : summer - vsFM16 | Rating : ★★★★★ | Home Grown Status : Nation

Recommendation : Good backup but won't set the world on fire. 

Notes : May have a problem with injuries.

Divock Origi

Stats : summer - vsFM16 | Rating : ★★★★★ | Home Grown Status : No

Recommendation : Will become your main striker by the end of the season. Keep.

Notes : 

Ben Woodburn

Stats : summer  | Rating : ★★★★★ | Home Grown Status : Club

Recommendation : Best prospect at the club. Versatile. Try to give him first team games.

Notes : Has random stats

 

Notable youngsters (Random potential and stats)

Jordan Williams

Stats : summer - vsFM16 | Rating : ★★★★★ | Home Grown Status : Club

Recommendation :

Notes : 

Pedro Chirivella

Stats : summer - vsFM16 | Rating : ★★★★★ | Home Grown Status : Club

Recommendation :

Notes : 

Marko Gujic

Stats : summer - vsFM16 | Rating : ★★★★★ | Home Grown Status : No

Recommendation : Good starting ability, give him some games.

Notes : Injured for between 3 to 7 weeks

Ryan Kent

Stats : summer - vsFM16 | Rating : ★★★★★ | Home Grown Status : Club

Recommendation :

Notes : On loan at Barnsley

Cameron Brannagan

Stats : summer - vsFM16 | Rating : ★★★★★ | Home Grown Status : Club

Recommendation :

Notes : 

Sheyi Ojo

Stats : summer - vsFM16 | Rating : ★★★★★ | Home Grown Status : Club

Recommendation :

Notes : 

Allan

Stats : summer - vsFM16 | Rating : ★★★★★ | Home Grown Status : No

Recommendation :

Notes : On loan at Herta

Ovie Ejaria

Stats : summer - vsFM16 | Rating : ★★★★★ | Home Grown Status : Nation

Recommendation :

Notes : Injured for between 6 weeks to 6 months. Probably has random stats.

 

 

[cezar.sl]

Tactics 

 

The Klopp

 

 

The "We don't have backup fullbacks"

 

 

The Christmas Tree

 

[carlowsaint19]

Great write-up, haven't got the game yet but will be interesting to see how Woodburn develops. Seems like he has huge potential if pre season is anything to go by!

 

Think there are a few players who I'd expect to have better stats but every club fan will say that about their team.

[yonko]

Good start. I love the title! I'm starting my Beta save now to test the waters. Pre-season will be challenging with so many injured players. But the way I see it the squad needs fullbacks.

[Solo171013]

Had Lovern in pre season ask for pay rise to 115k a week. He is being chased by a Chinese club. Get an offer of 95k a week on table....  He then request move. Contract offer withdrawn.

Shame I play with 1st transfer window shut for him. Leaving him out till he backs down or I get an offer in January. 

Got enough cover with Sakho, Matip, Ragnar, Lucas, Gomez and Thiago is even doing well so far. He can sit out for me. Shame as he lòoked good in pre season openers.

[Solo171013]

52 minutes ago, yonko said:

Good start. I love the title! I'm starting my Beta save now to test the waters. Pre-season will be challenging with so many injured players. But the way I see it the squad needs fullbacks.

So far Milner does well at left back and TAA has been good cover for Clyne. 

With lack of Europe a huge squad isn't necessary. 

[martplfc1]

Look forward to this thread developing. I'm currently in the title race with my Liverpool side playing a 4-4-2 narrow diamond.

I've bought Romagnoli from Milan and a very good cover/alternative right back called Rosales from Malaga - definitely worth a look as he has a low minimum release clause. Oh, I also bought Cristico relatively cheaply as an alternative to Moreno.

The lack of Europe has made it difficult for me to satisfy players though. I sold Lovren to some Chinese team in the Jan x/fer window for around £17m and Klavan for around £2m. Currently Sakho, Lucas and Mignolet have 'very poor' morale and I'll be looking to sell too.

Good OP, but Coutinho only 3*? He's 4.5* on my game.

[cezar.sl]

44 minutes ago, martplfc1 said:

Look forward to this thread developing. I'm currently in the title race with my Liverpool side playing a 4-4-2 narrow diamond.

I've bought Romagnoli from Milan and a very good cover/alternative right back called Rosales from Malaga - definitely worth a look as he has a low minimum release clause. Oh, I also bought Cristico relatively cheaply as an alternative to Moreno.

The lack of Europe has made it difficult for me to satisfy players though. I sold Lovren to some Chinese team in the Jan x/fer window for around £17m and Klavan for around £2m. Currently Sakho, Lucas and Mignolet have 'very poor' morale and I'll be looking to sell too.

Good OP, but Coutinho only 3*? He's 4.5* on my game.

I'm not finished yet.

Stopped last night to see the game.

[martplfc1]

Ah, sorry fella, didn't realise. KUTGW ?

[yonko]

Got my save started. Very early on in the pre-season, just played 3 friendlies. Team is looking good. I went a little bit on huge shopping spree and maybe I bought too much. But I couldn't help it. I like to have two proper fullbacks on each side, I can't resist good young talented English players for the future. I find it kind of easy to buy players in this edition - maybe cause it's the Beta. I can't believe how easily Tottenham sold me Onomah and for so cheap. I had to bring back Rossitier, he looks amazing, home-grown. I'll look to sell some players, if not now, for sure in the Winter. Moreno is wanted by Man City and Real Madrid want Can, so if they make reasonable offers they will be sold. Sakho, Milner and Lucas will also be surplus to requirements. However I have to consider keeping some leadership players.

In terms of tactic, I've settle for this for now. I'll see how it works out. I'm sure I'll have to tinker a little bit here and there. I have many playmaking midfielders but rather than playing them in their natural playmaking roles (DLP/RPM/AP) for now I've opted for more generic roles. That may change as Hendo is only given 12 for vision (underrated, should be like 14) which worries me a little. But I can always change him to a DM-D and turn CM-S into DLP/AP-S. I'm still tinkering with Mane's role too between Winger and IF. He plays both equally well in the friendlies so far.

That's it for now

[glenn28]

Great forum but sadly I won't get FM 17 until the final patch is out as I don't start a long term save until it's released but I will check here for hints & tips for when I start my save 

[Staf9]

good start.

 

have the Beta but just using it to have a look at the squad. haven't had time to get into it at all. have a huge list of potential u21 players saved to properly scout when the full game is out.

will look to add a couple of young Fullbacks and 1 CM to the squad. anything else will depend on sales.

 

think getting Emre to sign a new deal at the very start of the game will be the main target.

 

Generally don't think much is needed in season 1.

GK - you are well covered with both Karius and Migs. ward looks like he got a boost which is good.

FB's - defo lacking in cover. Clyne and Moreno are perfect attached FB's for FM. just try and find younger versions to develop.

CB's - overloaded really but most would be sold by the end of the season.

MC - plenty of options. would only look at adding 1 player really and that could do you for the first 2 seasons. as IRL i'll be looking at 1 of Neves/Dahoud/Paredes to come in

AMR/L - strong area and Divok can play wide right as well, depends on the PA of the youth in the squad, Be nice if Kent, Wison, Ojo were good enough to become back ups

ST - strong with the 3 we have there altho I will be selling Ings from the start as I want Woodburn to develop quickly.

 

this is probably the best squad we've had in years for starting FM with. I say that as I would normally be a player who rips the team up and brings in around 10 players at the start of every version. defo feel only 3/4 are needed even with selling a      couple of players.

added to that we start with a big budget, 50m+ so we have plenty of scope to buy plenty or buy big

 

should be one of the best years for a Liverpool save

 

 

[Staf9]

only thing I don't like is the number of injuries we start with. especially as a few of them only happened at the start of the season. the players were not injured before pre-season

[..Valhalla..]

Trying to manage Liverpool on this FM is like trying to sail a small boat into the wind. Never seen a more impotent load of performances from any team in any FM before.

I think I have restarted 5 games so far and never got beyond September before quitting and starting again. I put countless hours into pre-season, going over every detail of the team with a fine tooth comb. My most recent formation was thus:

                    CF-a (occasionally DLF-s or TM-s)

   IF-s     .    AM-s    .     IF-s

        BWM-d . DLP-d

WB-a . CD-d . CD-s . WB-a

                 GK-d

Control, fluid, higher tempo, shorter passing, overlap, work into box, play wider. Occasionally I would change to standard or counter depending on the opposition, and also remove overlap and change the WB's to support or defend when leading and looking to close out a result.

With an almost identical tactic I walked the Bundesliga with Dortmund, winning by 11 points ahead of Bayern, but with Liverpool it's hard to explain how bad it is without swearing. Load of old nonsense. Win every friendly 4-0, 6-0, as much as 11-0, never conceded a goal.

Competitive matches start and... lose, draw, lose... 1 shot on target out of 10, ratings of 6.3 and 6.4 across the board. Back to the drawing board.

 

PS - I totally agree with Staf9 regarding injuries. It's stupid to add an injury in late June that didn't happen to a player until August or September in real life.

[martplfc1]

@..Valhalla..

Try going 4-4-2 narrow diamond. I am hammering teams at the moment, at Anfield at least:

SK(A)

FB(A)

CB(D)

CB(D)

FB(A)

DM(D)

DLP(S)

MC(S)

AP(A)

DLF(S)

AF(A)

Play control and flexible, no TIs, follow Assistant's advice for OIs.

The formation seems more effective at home than away, but give it a go and let me know how you get on.

Obviously ensure the familiarity is as high as possible before starting the competitive season.

http://sharemytactics.com/77015/

[yonko]

Staf9,

The problem is that the team is not in Europe in the first season, which affects the players that are willing or not willing to join Liverpool in the first window. The positive is that we can focus on the League and the Cups. There are still quality young players that can be bought.

As for the injuries, I hope some of them are changed for the full release. If not, I'll just use the editor. Or I will se if there is an update in the editor's section like from pr0

[Solo171013]

4 hours ago, martplfc1 said:

@..Valhalla..

Try going 4-4-2 narrow diamond. I am hammering teams at the moment, at Anfield at least:

SK(A)

FB(A)

CB(D)

CB(D)

FB(A)

DM(D)

DLP(S)

MC(S)

AP(A)

DLF(S)

AF(A)

Play control and flexible, no TIs, follow Assistant's advice for OIs.

The formation seems more effective at home than away, but give it a go and let me know how you get on.

Obviously ensure the familiarity is as high as possible before starting the competitive season.

http://sharemytactics.com/77015/

Who were the friendlies against? Maybe playing Cannon Fodder means team is not fully prepared. 

I've had a steady pre season. Some Chinese teams. Dover. AC Milan and PSV. Won all by 2/3 goals. Started season 2-2 away at stoke. 0-0 home against Man City. I play same tactic all the time. Think it all comes down to 1st season where it always feels that players have to learn tactic. Even though I play the current LFC style. 

Sorry meant for @Valhalla

[Solo171013]

8 hours ago, Staf9 said:

good start.

 

have the Beta but just using it to have a look at the squad. haven't had time to get into it at all. have a huge list of potential u21 players saved to properly scout when the full game is out.

will look to add a couple of young Fullbacks and 1 CM to the squad. anything else will depend on sales.

 

think getting Emre to sign a new deal at the very start of the game will be the main target.

 

Generally don't think much is needed in season 1.

GK - you are well covered with both Karius and Migs. ward looks like he got a boost which is good.

FB's - defo lacking in cover. Clyne and Moreno are perfect attached FB's for FM. just try and find younger versions to develop.

CB's - overloaded really but most would be sold by the end of the season.

MC - plenty of options. would only look at adding 1 player really and that could do you for the first 2 seasons. as IRL i'll be looking at 1 of Neves/Dahoud/Paredes to come in

AMR/L - strong area and Divok can play wide right as well, depends on the PA of the youth in the squad, Be nice if Kent, Wison, Ojo were good enough to become back ups

ST - strong with the 3 we have there altho I will be selling Ings from the start as I want Woodburn to develop quickly.

 

this is probably the best squad we've had in years for starting FM with. I say that as I would normally be a player who rips the team up and brings in around 10 players at the start of every version. defo feel only 3/4 are needed even with selling a      couple of players.

added to that we start with a big budget, 50m+ so we have plenty of scope to buy plenty or buy big

 

should be one of the best years for a Liverpool save

 

 

Agree with you. Squad is good. I play with 1st window off so squad as is. Few tweaks in January but enjoying it so far.

[Generation-Next]

Great first month in charge for me. 

 

Only signed the two players, that I thought would massively improve my squad. I love Davy for the pure mental attributes that he comes with. 

 

When I looked at the schedule, I thought hopefully I'll be able to get 5 points out of a possible 9, with WBA, City and Spurs in August. Absolute smashing start though.

I've already got a nick name too

[mikelfc8]

Over-rated one, love that.

Paul May to be banned from Anfield!

[EnigMattic1]

Good to see that Woodburn is on the game, is Brewster there too as he is tearing it up for club and country in real life? 

[michealhill]

how good does harry wilson look? he's a player i usually try and sign for my celtic side, havent been able to get him so far in this year's beta though

is he rated as a decent enough prospect for liverpool?

[Generation-Next]

September and October

Another fantastic few months. Dropping only 5 points. 

Wasn't that interested in the EFL Cup, so I played a team of Under 18's. So a 5-0 loss at London Stadium was expected. 

League Table

Now you can see why I struggled against Sunderland, they're currently high flying! Bit disappointed with only getting one goal, as I'd scored 10 goal over the previous 3 games.

Stats

 

Even with Phil getting 7 assists, and Mane being involved in 13 goals - It's my Center Backs who are currently the best players in the league!

[robertobaggio15]

What formation have you set up?

[Generation-Next]

This is what I think that Jurgen plays in real life. Also in opposition instructions, I've got the defenders and keeper closed down more, and tightly marked. 

[Ö-zil to the Arsenal!]

I must admit, the football Klopp has been playing this year has me highly tempted by a Liverpool save which may be the first time in more than 10 years of FM.

[yonko]

5 hours ago, Ö-zil to the Arsenal! said:

I must admit, the football Klopp has been playing this year has me highly tempted by a Liverpool save which may be the first time in more than 10 years of FM.

And I'll be curious to see what your approach would be in a save with them in therms of tactics. The team is loaded with attacking players which gives a lot of possibilities.

[gmulv]

5 hours ago, Generation-Next said:

This is what I think that Jurgen plays in real life. Also in opposition instructions, I've got the defenders and keeper closed down more, and tightly marked. 

Hi mate, is there any chance you could post your team instructions/mentality etc (or message me).  I play the same formation as you but really struggling for results.  I can only assume I have my instructions set up wrong  - thanks

[carlowsaint19]

5 hours ago, Generation-Next said:

This is what I think that Jurgen plays in real life. Also in opposition instructions, I've got the defenders and keeper closed down more, and tightly marked. 

Interesting that you have Lallana left centre mid, does he and Coutinho end up occupying similar spaces? Was thinking of trying something similar maybe with Can as a Box to Box instead?

 

How has everyone found Migs and Karius so far?

[Generation-Next]

Tactic

Now, by no means would I class myself as a master tactician, but I've found something that definitely works. For those asking for Instructions;

I play control against teams in the bottom half. Home and Away, such as both 'Boro games, and teams like that.

I play counter against teams who will come to attack me, which works wonders. Beat United 4-1 and Manchester City 1-0. 

The only position specific instructions I have also, is add Tight Marking to the front 3. Watching Coutinho, Firmino and Mane chase down the keeper and defenders is a joy to watch.

 

 

[Generation-Next]

Also, Karius has done poorly for me, so used Migs. Like real life, we're conceding but high scoring. 

[gmulv]

46 minutes ago, Generation-Next said:

Tactic

Now, by no means would I class myself as a master tactician, but I've found something that definitely works. For those asking for Instructions;

I play control against teams in the bottom half. Home and Away, such as both 'Boro games, and teams like that.

I play counter against teams who will come to attack me, which works wonders. Beat United 4-1 and Manchester City 1-0. 

The only position specific instructions I have also, is add Tight Marking to the front 3. Watching Coutinho, Firmino and Mane chase down the keeper and defenders is a joy to watch.

 

 

thanks for that - Ill give it a try.  Our formations and roles are almost identicle (same formation I used for FM16), but our actual instructions are very different.  I'll see how it pans out with some new instructions.  Hopefully will have a nice tactic ready fro full release when I'll start a new game

[Generation-Next]

No problem, good luck! 

[Old Scouser Tommy]

Not posted in here for a long while but just popped in to see what was going on. Started the Beta with my usual Liverpool save so here goes....

Not brought much in really and sent a lot out on loan.

I went with this to begin with. Mane injured and Klavan has been brilliant keeping Lovren and Sakho out of the side and it's working well so far.

Some decent results but lost away at Spurs.

So after 15 games I'm top by 3 points.

 

[Staf9]

On ‎31‎/‎10‎/‎2016 at 16:32, yonko said:

Staf9,

The problem is that the team is not in Europe in the first season, which affects the players that are willing or not willing to join Liverpool in the first window. The positive is that we can focus on the League and the Cups. There are still quality young players that can be bought.

As for the injuries, I hope some of them are changed for the full release. If not, I'll just use the editor. Or I will se if there is an update in the editor's section like from pr0

that's why I don't think we need much. RB & LB cover and maybe a CM are what I'm looking at. id go with youth for the fullback positions to let them develop.

[Staf9]

On ‎31‎/‎10‎/‎2016 at 12:41, ..Valhalla.. said:

Trying to manage Liverpool on this FM is like trying to sail a small boat into the wind. Never seen a more impotent load of performances from any team in any FM before.

I think I have restarted 5 games so far and never got beyond September before quitting and starting again. I put countless hours into pre-season, going over every detail of the team with a fine tooth comb. My most recent formation was thus:

                    CF-a (occasionally DLF-s or TM-s)

   IF-s     .    AM-s    .     IF-s

        BWM-d . DLP-d

WB-a . CD-d . CD-s . WB-a

                 GK-d

Control, fluid, higher tempo, shorter passing, overlap, work into box, play wider. Occasionally I would change to standard or counter depending on the opposition, and also remove overlap and change the WB's to support or defend when leading and looking to close out a result.

With an almost identical tactic I walked the Bundesliga with Dortmund, winning by 11 points ahead of Bayern, but with Liverpool it's hard to explain how bad it is without swearing. Load of old nonsense. Win every friendly 4-0, 6-0, as much as 11-0, never conceded a goal.

Competitive matches start and... lose, draw, lose... 1 shot on target out of 10, ratings of 6.3 and 6.4 across the board. Back to the drawing board.

 

PS - I totally agree with Staf9 regarding injuries. It's stupid to add an injury in late June that didn't happen to a player until August or September in real life.

I think you need to look at your Midfield. all either on defend or support. no one there is going to run behind or stretch teams to leave space for others. you need to get 1 of the CM's on Support and 1 of your AM's on attack to get something different going forward. I'd even put your IF's on attack and switch the CF to Support

[Staf9]

6 hours ago, Old Scouser Tommy said:

Not posted in here for a long while but just popped in to see what was going on. Started the Beta with my usual Liverpool save so here goes....

Not brought much in really and sent a lot out on loan.

I went with this to begin with. Mane injured and Klavan has been brilliant keeping Lovren and Sakho out of the side and it's working well so far.

Some decent results but lost away at Spurs.

So after 15 games I'm top by 3 points.

 

what wages did Ricardo Rod ask for? if he's gettable in season 1 it would be silly to ignore especially if he's not looking for over 150k  a week

[..Valhalla..]

18 minutes ago, Staf9 said:

I think you need to look at your Midfield. all either on defend or support. no one there is going to run behind or stretch teams to leave space for others. you need to get 1 of the CM's on Support and 1 of your AM's on attack to get something different going forward. I'd even put your IF's on attack and switch the CF to Support

I was watching a Liverpool match recently (I think it was the West Brom one) and heard the commentator mention how Klopp has this "box" of players who largely sit in position, giving freedom for the rest to cause havoc all over the pitch.

That was the idea for the 4 central defensive players in my tactic, and it actually worked very well - with Dortmund anyway. I would have that box of 4 players in a unit, and often 6 players in and around the opposition area, marauding WB's launching crosses in, Inside Forwards scoring screamers... it was beautiful.

We did win the league by 11 points and got to the Champions League final, narrowly losing 2-1 to Real Madrid (including a 6-0 thrashing of Sevilla in their own back yard).

But ah.... Liverpool. I don't know why FM tortures me like this. I've started yet another save - I holidayed the first season and took over in June 2017, something I will do until I have access to the editor to remove loans and injuries at game start. I've read a few tactical threads and I'm going to try a variation of the Cruyff tactic by "Ö-zil to the Arsenal!" and see how we do with that. It'll never work. I don't know how you guys have success with Liverpool.

[robertobaggio15]

17 hours ago, Generation-Next said:

This is what I think that Jurgen plays in real life. Also in opposition instructions, I've got the defenders and keeper closed down more, and tightly marked. 

Yeah, I play a similar tactic but Mane injured himself for a month before the season started so I have actually gone in a Christmas Tree formation with Firmino and Coutinho central behind Sturridge. I have the same 3 in the middle but with Can a CM def and Henderson and B2B midfielder. I have only played one league game though, a Friday night game at home to United. I won 4-1 so things have started well. 

[Staf9]

1 hour ago, ..Valhalla.. said:

I was watching a Liverpool match recently (I think it was the West Brom one) and heard the commentator mention how Klopp has this "box" of players who largely sit in position, giving freedom for the rest to cause havoc all over the pitch.

That was the idea for the 4 central defensive players in my tactic, and it actually worked very well - with Dortmund anyway. I would have that box of 4 players in a unit, and often 6 players in and around the opposition area, marauding WB's launching crosses in, Inside Forwards scoring screamers... it was beautiful.

We did win the league by 11 points and got to the Champions League final, narrowly losing 2-1 to Real Madrid (including a 6-0 thrashing of Sevilla in their own back yard).

But ah.... Liverpool. I don't know why FM tortures me like this. I've started yet another save - I holidayed the first season and took over in June 2017, something I will do until I have access to the editor to remove loans and injuries at game start. I've read a few tactical threads and I'm going to try a variation of the Cruyff tactic by "Ö-zil to the Arsenal!" and see how we do with that. It'll never work. I don't know how you guys have success with Liverpool.

I'm just going by a few tactic threads I've read in the past. too many players on support stop the players going beyond the forward. and with both CM's set to defend they wont push on and give the extra player when you have the ball in the oppo half.

 

I'm not sure which commentator said that about the team. but I think its only really 3 players who stay in position. the CB's and then 1 CM is told to stick. everyone else has freedom to move and support going forward.  at the start of the season it was Henderson who was sitting but with Can back in the sit they seem to be switching a little bit.

i'll be looking at setting up with a 433 formation with the 3 CM's set up as DLP (df) B2B (S) and APM (S)

I see hendo and Can rotating between deep lying Playmaker and box2box roles, 1 always sitting and dictating the play and then having Lallana or Gini as the advance playmaker supporting the forwards and closing down.

 

from 3 will be Phil in the AML role as a playmaker on attack and then Mane AMR as either a winger or Radumueter on Attack. bobby will start as a F9

[..Valhalla..]

Can't remember which commentator said it, I just remember hearing them say something like (I'll paraphrase) "a box of 4 holding player that gives freedom to the rest of the team..." and as I'm sure a lot of us do, I started building an FM tactic in my head.

As said though, it worked beautifully with BvB but was hopeless with Liverpool. My new system is a 5-3-1-1 with attacking WB's making up the back five, so I have 3 midfielders like you @Staf9 (APMs, DLPdf and B2Bs) plus a central AMa (Lallana or Coutinho) and a CFs (Origi).

 

God if I could just have one succesful Liverpool save I could die happy. The BvB League win was my first ever top division title since I started playing FM2005

[yonko]

7 hours ago, Staf9 said:

that's why I don't think we need much. RB & LB cover and maybe a CM are what I'm looking at. id go with youth for the fullback positions to let them develop.

I think you are right. I went a little overboard with buying players and it just didn't feel right. I usually don't buy much, in fact I often play without the first window turned on. But I wanted to see how transfers work and what is available for Liverpool. 

I have stopped playing that save and have started a new one with the first window turned off to see how that can work. Milner now has 12s for acceleration and pace since the update/patch, which is more acceptable to me and thus I can use him to rotate with Moreno on the left. For Clyne on the right there are more options from the Reserve team.

Once everyone is recovered from their injuries, the squad has enough depth until the Winter Transfer Window, when reinforcements can be bought (with even more money I assume) if needed.

But if one decides to start with transfers in the first window, I would just buy couple of young talented fullbacks, one for each side (Ryan Sessegnon or Jorge and Diogo Dalot), and a young English midfielder (Hughes or Onomah, which ever is rated higher by the scouts if their PAs are random). I like buying young domestic talents, plus we have to prepare for Brexit this edition.

[yonko]

@..Valhalla..

IRL, Klopp has the team playing from a 4-1-4-1 formation where Coutinho (ML), Lallana (MCR), Mane (MR) and Firmino (ST) are given creative freedom and freedom of movement (Coutinho the most). Henderson is a deep orchestrator with the ball and protector without it. Emre Can/Wijnaldum role is a shuttle role, more like a Box-to-Box role.

The problem is that in the game Coutinho is not Accomplish at the ML as he should be. 

[Old Scouser Tommy]

14 hours ago, Staf9 said:

what wages did Ricardo Rod ask for? if he's gettable in season 1 it would be silly to ignore especially if he's not looking for over 150k  a week

He's on 185k a week. I have Frank Arnesen as Director of Football and he did the deal.

[..Valhalla..]

I haven't played any competitive football yet, but my new save (#45 or so, might as well be) is looking promising...

I played 2 friendlies with a daft 5-3-1-1 and a buttload of TI's, and was disgusted with what I was watching so deleted all tactics and set up 3 basic formations and roles, and set the team to flexible + balanced. I decided I was just going to add a TI or two during team talks, depending on what I saw in the pre-match formations. Results so far:

 

Beat Borussia Mönchengladbach 7-2

Beat Roma 4-0

Beat Juventus 4-0

Beat Napoli 2-1

Beat RB Salzburg 5-0

 

I realise these matches are pretty meaningless, but I feel like I earned the results. One or two TI changes throughout each match completely transforms our performance. I'm really excited, it's like the penny has dropped.

[mikelfc8]

7 hours ago, ..Valhalla.. said:

I haven't played any competitive football yet, but my new save (#45 or so, might as well be) is looking promising...

I played 2 friendlies with a daft 5-3-1-1 and a buttload of TI's, and was disgusted with what I was watching so deleted all tactics and set up 3 basic formations and roles, and set the team to flexible + balanced. I decided I was just going to add a TI or two during team talks, depending on what I saw in the pre-match formations. Results so far:

 

Beat Borussia Mönchengladbach 7-2

Beat Roma 4-0

Beat Juventus 4-0

Beat Napoli 2-1

Beat RB Salzburg 5-0

 

I realise these matches are pretty meaningless, but I feel like I earned the results. One or two TI changes throughout each match completely transforms our performance. I'm really excited, it's like the penny has dropped.

Interesting, it'll be good to see how that goes. I'm pretty conservative with my application of TIs anyway but even less could be even more.

[..Valhalla..]

Beat Dortmund 3-1, only have Olympiakos to play before the new season kicks off (away to Leicester and home to United, so a good start).

 

@mikelfc8 I'm by no means a tactical manager. I honestly haven't got a clue, and I've no idea how I won the league with BvB - I used the same tactic throughout the entire season in every match. If things had started to go wrong I wouldn't have known how to fix them tbh.

Anyway the formation I use at the minute is a 4-2-3-1 wide (flexible, balanced, no TI's), roles as follows:

 

                  DLF-a

       AP-s . AM-a . W-a

           CM-s . DLP-d

FB-a . CD-d . CD-d . FB-s

                 GK-d

 

Before the Roma match kicked off I added exploit both wings and counter mentality. They were playing a compact formation with De Rossi shielding the back four, so I added those instructions to draw them out, counter, and get down the wings to avoid trying to play through their solid looking defence. Won 4-0 with 4 counter attacks.

Juventus had a formidable-looking attack, so I shifted the defensive line much deeper to negate their pace, press more, and again added counter. Again won 4-0 with 4 counter attacks.

In the Napoli match I added no instructions because they lined up identical to us. We went 1-0 down and I made a couple of simple changes, and we pulled it back to win 2-1. 

That's the idea anyway. My friend who also plays the game and chats with me a lot on Steam tells me this kind of thing will not work in the Premier League, but I'm making tactical decisions that are clearly working, so what else can I do? Little changes seem to make a big difference.

He's probably right, but still

[yonko]

48 minutes ago, ..Valhalla.. said:

 

 

                  DLF-a

       AP-s . AM-a . W-a

           CM-s . DLP-d

FB-a . CD-d . CD-d . FB-s

                 GK-d

 

 

If I can make one small recommendation.......switch/flip the positions of the CM-S and DLP-D to have more balance in your formation. The DLP will be better able to cover for your attacking fullback and also create more space for your Advanced Playmaker to operate. On the other side, the CM-S will have more room due to the Winger and the supporting fullback will able to cover for both of them.

[..Valhalla..]

@yonko this is why I'm posting here; you guys will spot things I might miss. What you've just said makes perfect sense but I would never have thought of that. My team is playing well so I just assume I'm doing it right

 

EDIT: so we beat Olympiakos 4-0. I looked at their team and the GK had good command of the area but poor rushing out, plus their RB was pretty weak (decisions, concentration, composure), so instructed the team to exploit the left flank and play in low crosses.

Worked perfectly; we overrun their poor FB, and scored from a few low crosses. Any high balls that went in were gobbled up by the 'keeper as I expected. 

 

Premier League just about to kick off. Oh PLEASE don't just fall apart on me