Liverpool Story — December 2012

Hello everyone, it’s time for my next update. This time it’s the month of December. At the end of the November we were sitting 6 points clear at the top of the Premier League, and we had successfully qualified for the Champions League Knockout Stages.

We started the month with a trip to Fulham, who were struggling in 15th place. The first half couldn’t have gone any better for us, Gignac gave us the lead from Torres cross. It was a great counter attack after we had been under pressure and I feel this is one of our main strengths, due to us having so much pace up front and out wide. Torres then doubled the advantage with a wonderful goal after beating 3 players. We went 3-0 up just 4 minutes later, Gignac powering home from Gerrard’s through ball. The perfect half was completed when Torres slotted past the keeper, after Benayoun’s defence splitting pass. If the first half was brilliant for us, the second could hardly have been more different. Fulham pulled a goal through back through Lucas Licht, who headed in from a free kick, before Lucas Biglia scored their second, slotting home from Licht’s cross. I thought we were heading for trouble at this point, but the defence tightened up a bit after that and by the time Macheda scored from 35 yards it was too late for Fulham.

It was a victory that I was pleased we had got, but I was worried about the defence conceding so many goals, and if you look at the match stats, you can see that Fulham had a lot more attempts, which is also worrying.

The next match was, again, away, this time at Wigan who were sitting in mid table. We played very poorly and succumbed to a loss due to  Rodallega’s cool finish, after a clearance had rebounded of two defenders and fell into his path.  The problem was our finishing which was very poor . This was mainly down to Torres’ absence, who broke his arm against Fulham and will be out for 3-4 weeks. I was very disappointed, as we should be winning games like this. Looking at the match stats, it seems we definitely deserved a draw, we dominated possession and attempts on goal.

Next up was a trip to Ibrox, for the final Champions League group game. As we had already qualified I decided to rest a few players, in preperation for the busy schedule ahead. Again we didn’t play well and didn’t create many chances. It wasn’t a good game, but we took the lead when Srna nodded in at the back post. Rangers got their deserved equaliser, however, when Joe Kennan slotted in in the 71st minute. I wasn’t too bothered with the result, as it was a meaningless game, but our form was still poor, which was a worry.

We needed to return to winning ways quickly, and had a difficult game at home to Man Utd to play. We didn’t play well at all but managed to steal a win after Silva volleyed in at the back post after Gignac’s run and cross. Despite the victory I was still concerned as we weren’t playing well at all and that needed to change. I was pleased we had won, and felt it could kick start our month.

Next was another away game, this time we travelled to The Hawthorns to play West Brom, so far the surprise package of the season, they were flying high in 5th. The match was a very even one, and I felt it was going to drift to a disappointing draw. Gerrard popped up however, to secure a win, when he slotted home after breaking from deep. I was pleased with the win and we had looked much more secure at the back, which was also pleasing.

The busy month continued when just 3 days later, we were away (again), this time  to Everton, in the local derby. It was a very important game for the fans, and I really wanted to win this for them. We went ahead when Sanchez, cooly finished when he was one-on-one. Unfortunately Michael Turner volleyed in 12 minutes later, to restore parity. Dan Gosling then gave Everton the lead when he tucked it away at the back post from Baines’ cross. We responded brilliantly though, when Gerrard smashed in after Gignac’s pass. Unfortunately Reina then made a bad and very rare blunder, when he dropped the ball at Yakubu’s feet, and he punished us. The match was level when Dowining scored a wonderful volley, his first goal for the club, and we shared the points in a very entertaining match. I was disappointed though, as we should have won, but it was a great game for the neutrals.

The final game of the month was at home to Arsenal. This was a crucial game, if Arsenal won then they would close the gap to 1 point. Unfortunately we played dreadfully again, creating a meagre 6 attempts on goal. Arsenal grabbed a deserved win in the 19th minute when Abou Diaby smashed in a 25 yard strike. If it wasn’t for the performance of Reina they would have won by many more, but the main worry was that we played poorly once again.

This ended a very poor month for us, one which saw us win only 3 out of 7 matches. Because we have been so poor, I am now seriously considering delving into the transfer market again, and I may well move Fabiano on because he has been so poor. If I do this then a replacement will be brought in, someone who can challenge Gignac for a place and provide ample cover for Torres or Gignac when they are injured.

Here is the league table after these results, the title race is very much on now, with Arsenal in very good form, we need a good January to stay top.

This is probably my worst month so far in FM 2010, and we need to get winning again soon. On a more positive note, we have agreed the signing of promising 17 year old defensive midfielder Manuel Pereda, for $6.5m. There will be more about him in the next post.

We have 6 matches to play in January, including a home tie with Notts County, in the FA Cup and a trip to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea. We have drawn Inter Milan, in the Champions League, a good team and I am sure the game will be very tough. Hopefully we can beat them in pursuit of our goal of winning the Champions League!