Going into the new season, there was one main concern that I had about the squad. If you recall, Skrtel got tapped up during the 2013/14 preseason. This meant that I only had 2 experienced CBs and, although I had several up and coming future stars, I wasn't sure if they could make the step up and was worried about the defensive backbone of my team.
Champions Cup
I started the Champions Cup extremely strongly. Torres was in top form and we walked the group stage. Unfortunately, both Torres and one of my key CBs got injured just as we got to the first knockout round. We were up against Fiorentina who, despite having a weaker squad on paper, must have fancied their chances.
They promptly wiped the floor with me 6-2 on aggregate (beating me 3-1 both home and away). The annoying thing was that Stefan Jovetic, an attacking midfielder who I had previously tried to sign, was the key player in both legs and was the main reason I got pwned. As you can imagine, neither the fans nor the board were particularly impressed.
Premier League
The other key competition I wanted to win was the Premier League. And just as with the Champions Cup, my team started strongly with Torres in absolutely scintillating form and by Christmas, we were 10 points clear at the top. Unfortunately, the same injuries which led to Liverpool getting knocked out of Europe also allowed Man Utd to close the gap.
By the time we got to March, Man Utd were only 2 points behind me. What a time for us to face-off in an early title decider! We managed to beat them - but only just.
A marginally better performance allows us to win this critical match
Two weeks later, Bobby Charlton leads a takeover of Man Utd - no doubt displeased with how Man Utd are no longer a powerhouse in the Prem
Although we only just managed to beat Man Utd, this match would prove to be critical in more ways than one. Despite their run of good results to catch up with me, this defeat knocked the spirit out of them and they subsequently had a run of bad results.
In the end, we ended up walking the Premiership. :)
Consecutive Premiership titles has the fans dancing in the streets!
The Premier League title, coupled with the League Cup and the Club World Championship, meant that we ended up with a historic treble. It was a shame that we couldn't add the FA Cup to that (we got beat by Arsenal 2-0 in the final). Still, a decent year overall.
The squad
Final squad ratings below.
Check out the stats on Torres!
As you can see, Torres has been outstanding this year. In fact, the only reason those numbers aren't higher is because he picked up several injuries throughout the year which, in addition to limiting his playing time, also meant that he sometimes played even when he wasn't fully fit. Even so, 32 starts is nothing to be sneezed at.
Stevie G continues to be an excellent captain. With that said, his form clearly dipped during the second half of the year at which point, I played Sneijder and Ozil a bit more. I suspect that he will be playing a much smaller role next season (in his defence, he is 34 now).
Lastly, as you can see from the stats, my team were pretty good when going forward. Unfortunately, they were rather less impressive when defending. I really need to make one more CB a priority for my off-season.
A look at the squad value. The addition of Ozil and Sneijder mean that I now have 7 players valued over GBP10m (as before though, a huge caveat around how values are now calculated).
Although there are still some old players, I now also have a pretty impressive mix of youngsters too
Finances
The money side of this game has always been a problem for me. Even last year, when our club received massive prize money from the Premiership and the Champions Cup, we still ended the season with a loss. With us getting knocked out of the Champions Cup at an early stage, I had a real concern about what our financial situation was going to look like. As such, it was a nice surprise at the end of the year when I realised that I actually ended up with a profit!
We made a profit this year thanks to a reduced net transfer spend
As you can see, our turnover for the year did indeed drop compared to last year. Luckily for me, the extra income from winning the Club World Championship was able to slightly offset the reduced Champions Cup income.
However, the key reason for our profit this year was a reduced net transfer spend. Although I spent a fortune on players, this was partially offset from player sales. In particular, the sale of Fabien Ritter for GBP8.5m was a great piece of wheelin' dealin' as he originally signed on a free transfer at the start of the season.
Harry Redknapp would be proud of me
The Board
With a treble to my name, the increase in stature of Liverpool FC means that the Board love me. In fact, they just offered me a new deal with a weekly wage of GBP150,000 (up from GBP110,000). :)
Bloody fans - you would think they would appreciate me a bit more!
Overall, I have to admit that I do like my new board. I've been bugging them in recent years about expanding the stadium. However, we have never been able to do anything as there was no room for expansion at Anfield. Fortunately for me, the Board decided to go out and build a new stadium instead. Unfortunately for me, my interest payments just shot up again.
Liverpool finally get their new stadium
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