Football Manager 2016 Story on a scenario. Liverpool FC is taken over by a new manager who has to the transfer targeted players listed by the Head of Player Recruitment (His Girlfriend). Can he still achieve his first season's targets?
Introduction:
I have been asked to manage the team of my dreams!! I just cannot put into words the feelings I am experiencing at this very moment. Liverpool F.C. chose an ordinary coach like myself as a follow up to Brendan Rodgers, after what has been an average season to the liking of his standards in my opinion. What is surprising to me, is that they also chose me above a possible candidate, Jurgen Klopp. Therefore, I know I have big shoes to fill and the fans will be looking for me to make an instant impact from the first gun shot. A possible Champions League Finish as well as a decent Cup run will be my possible expectations. As a Liverpool Fan I know the challenge may be tough, but the opportunity is just too unreal for me to decline the two year contract. Unknowing what twists and turns lays ahead, I accepted the job offer and start the job on the first Monday of the coming week.
First Day at the Club:
After a meeting with the Chairman Tom Werner, and his fellow board members, I felt energised to get the team up and running for a great season. I started my planning on the club set up, tactics and looked at possible transfers by the likes of Hulk from Zenit or Marco Reus from BVB.
My first meeting with the players went well and I started planning my training schedules for the next month, which includes friendly matches and a LFC tour.
Everything was running smoothly until the meeting with my assistant manager and newly appointed transfer team put everything to a stop. "Whatttttt the (insert your caption here)"!!! "No way"!! ..........
After snapping out of my own thoughts (as if they are on a goose chase)!!:
I could not believe my eyes... My girlfriend got the job as the club's new Head of Player Recruitment. That is almost as high of a position as the Director of Football!!! "Of course" I thought, since her uncle is Tom Werner..... "Everything makes sense now".
We all know what a recruitment team can do to the managers reputation.
How it will work:
As I am the Manager (The BOSS) and my girlfriend the Head of Recruitment (In charge, but not the BOSS), I still need to sign players she wants me to sign. She has about 10% knowledge of the game. I need to field a minimum of 3 players that she picked for every single match! I also have to pick a minimum of two from the new signings to be on the bench every single match. She has eight players set as transfer targets who I have to sign even if it forces me to sell some of my own key players to get hold of them.
Challenges I will have to face:
- I will have to sign all 8 of the transfer targets as set up by the new Head of Player Recruitment.
- I will have to field a minimum of 3 of those 8 players for every single game.
- I will have to find ways to adjust my tactics accordingly.
- I have to bench a minimum of 2 players of those 8 for every single match.
- The only exception is if my physiotherapist rules them out.
- I need to perform to the expectations of the board and the fans.
Although she is my girlfriend, I will have to refer to her by her surname as it is a professional environment (Yawning in my own deep thoughts). So I asked Miss Werner to send me through the list of Transfer Targets so I could get to work ASAP to allow time for the new recruitments to blend into the squad. I also asked Miss Werner to state on the list the reasons as to why we should bring that specific player to the club and what benefits they could add to our team. Attached should also be each of the players' scouting report.
Miss Werner's Transfer Targets:
Dear Manager:
Please find my transfer target list in order and sign them all will ya! Please do your best with the players I chose as I can't afford to lose my job. I don't have the best football knowledge in the world and I have to do my job as expected from me so I thought about including the following criteria for my search for new players.
- I want balance in the new signings with regards to age.
- I want to sign one player from each country that I would still like to visit on holiday.
- I have a bias towards a surname starting with the letter M.
Xx
Miss Werner
Transfer Targets:
Full Name: Dimitris Myrthianos
Nationality: Greece
Age: 19
Club: Doxa Katokopias
Position: Left Full Back
Reason: Still young, I can see tons of potential looking at his photos on the pitch. Also he is from the country I would like to visit first.
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| Transfer Target: 1 |
Full Name: Dries Mertens
Nationality: Belgium
Age: 28
Club: S.S.C. Napoli
Position: Right, Left and Centre Attacking Midfield
Reason: My second visit would definitely be to Belgium and I believe this is a signing for the win. I like his goatee and believe fans would pay to see him at Anfield. He is a international player, I think. Already great ability and one of the club scouts' also approved. He is a match winner .... I hope.
 |
| Transfer Target: 2 |
Nationality: Italian
Age: 29
Club: FC Basel
Position: Centre Forward, Striker
Reason: My third choice holiday destination is most definitely Italy. This guy plays in Switzerland which makes him an Italian/Swiss and you know how much I love Swiss Chocolate! He is a must. He will be a great addition to the club for European League Cup matches especially if we are to play in Basel. He also looks quite friendly. Sign Him!!
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| Transfer Target: 3 |
Full Name: James Meredith
Nationality: Australian
Age: 27
Club: Bradford City A.F.C.
Position: Left Full Back
Reason: My over the see holiday destination would definitely be no other than Australia. The great barrier reef and Murray River is one of the main attractions I would love to visit. A player born nearby is non other that James Meredith and I would love for you to give him a shot in the team.
 |
| Transfer Target: 4 |
Full Name: Jordan Marie
Nationality: French
Age: 23
Club: Dijon FCO
Position: Midfield
Reason: Rather unknown player to Europe but he is a first team regular at his Ligue 2 Club Dijon. Also what I like about this player is his discipline as he does not pick up many yellow cards during a season and has no record of any red cards. He has the potential to become a big name player and maybe even a French International Midfielder in the Future.
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| Transfer Target: 5 |
Full Name: Leon Montalvo
Nationality: German
Age: 18
Club: SV Darmstadt 98
Position: Right Full Back
Reason: Another Youngster who would benefit the club in the long run.
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| Transfer Target: 6 |
Full Name: Mario Gaspar Pérez
Nationality: Spanish
Age: 24
Club: Villarreal CF
Position: Right Back
Reason: Spanish, La Liga top Player, according to scouts, and current international what more could I say?
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| Transfer Target: 7 |
Full Name: Wouter Marinus
Nationality: Dutch
Age: 20
Club: PEC Zwolle
Position: Midfielder
Reason: Exciting prospect, Exciting hairstyle, Exciting Holiday Destination with Tulip fields as a tourist attraction!! He adds a great deal of flair to the squad with a possible Coutinho and Firmino combination.
 |
| Transfer Target: 8 |
Back to the BOSS:
Looking at the Transfer Targets, I get some mixed feelings... Maybe because Miss Werner knows nothing about football, but still gave me some decent signings to work with. I will have to spend the next week doing my best to sign these players and hopefully still live up to everyone's expectations. This might be hard, but I am always up for a challenge!
In the next blog I will do a Mid-Season Review of how the first half of my season panned out. I will also give feedback on the eight players Miss Werner (My girlfriend) has picked.
Please feel free to comment in the sections below on your predictions for where Liverpool will find themselves at the halfway mark. This blog will consist of three parts, so please stay tuned for the next two episodes of an ever twisting LFC experience.
