Previously on SuperClub Diaries, Liverpool’s Last 16 UCL exit and trophyless season was a welcomed reality check.
Intro
I had previously decided that consecutive trophyless seasons could not be tolerated in this SuperClub Diaries save. If it were to happen, I’d have to walk out of any contract I was currently on. With 2026/27 ending up my first season without silverware, the pressure was therefore amplified at Liverpool. I needed to win something, and being outclassed in Europe so convincingly last time out by Barcelona meant that I did not have much hope for Liverpool’s 7th European Cup. Despite a clear style to our play (as discussed last time out), we seemed a long way from ever being considered ‘the best team in Europe’.
Or so I thought…
SuperSignings
Similar to last year, the big signings at Liverpool came in a three: Aaron Hickey became the heir to Andrew Robertson’s left back position for a cool €69m. It may seem pricey, but consider his natural positioning at right back too…I have a great full back here who will get plenty of minutes. Next up is the big one: Alexander Isak for a monstrous €120m fee, with Caoimhin Kelleher going the other way to Tyneside too. The fee could also increase by €15m, with performance add-ons. Liverpool’s new iconic No.7 is there to excite at the peak of his powers. It is the most I have ever spent on a player in a Football Manager save, but the decision to hit ‘Confirm’ is a throwback to my motivations for this save. As mentioned in the introduction of this series…
But maybe there is an FM save here by behaving like a super club? It’s something I never really do, usually players in my FM saves are carefully recruited with the aim to get as much out of the budget as possible. A super club would, and absolutely should, be in the moment of building an elite XI each year, with the aim to win it all.
Vol1. SuperClub Diaries Announcement
Sorry if this signing makes you uneasy, but perhaps the signing of Edoardo Bove for a minimum fee release clause of €22.5m helps calm you down? Bove is a solid Segundo Volante (great engine), proven professional (Model Citizen) and has his best years ahead (26-years-old).
2028 Champions League
The new signings slotted into a revised 424 counter style tactic, and the UCL performances were a lot better. Keen to avoid the play-off match like last year, we grabbed enough wins to qualify for the Round of 16. The only worry was the heavy defeat to Jürgen Klopp’s Real Madrid, but on reflection they totally deserved to batter us. Into UCL knockout football and it must be noted how solid we were. Both Endrick and Isak came alive, with the latter scoring in both Barcelona ties to finish on 6 UCL goals for the season.
Sadly Endrick missed the final, breaking a rib in the final few minutes away in the Nou Camp. But the final was all about MOTM Ibrahima Konaté heading in two Dominik Szoboszlai out-swinging corners. It’s hard to know what contributed more to the big day Vs PSG, the extra sessions on set pieces OR the fact that pretty much everybody in the starting XI had ‘Relishes Big Matches’ or ‘Enjoys Big Matches’ in their coach reports. Liverpool 2028 looked to be one for the big game, and so it proved…keeping Pep Guardiola’s PSG quiet; despite my former side having the lion’s share of possession (64%).
Liverpool’s 7th UCL trophy (and my second in the save) was a welcome high point in an almost-trophyless-season. Once again, my side finished 2nd in the league (this time to Arsenal with 3 points between the teams). The big failing was not how we performed against the big boys, but rather anybody playing in claret and blue. We lost to Aston Villa (home and away), Burnley and West Ham. This is a sure sign that in order to win the league I perhaps need to move away from a 424 counter tactic in those games and have something more active in the opponents’ halves.
There was also pain the in the domestic cups too. Penalty exits in both the League Cup (against Tottenham in the Quarter Finals) and then in the FA Cup Final (against Manchester City). It was so nearly a treble or quadruple season 😬
England
Twenty four years is how long Arsenal had to wait for a league title, and once again it’s a Frenchman at the helm: Zinedine Zidane. Liverpool come second, but have a Champions League trophy to placate the disappointment of narrowly missing out on both league and FA Cup success. Manchester City were the FA Cup winners this time round, but disappointingly spent the second successive season outside of the Champions League places with a 6th placed finish. As a result, Mauricio Pochettino’s 322 days in charge are over. Other SuperClubs in England, Chelsea and Manchester United, go trophyless.
France
There is no surprise as to who won the Ligue 1 trophy for a 7th time: Paris Saint-Germain. The Parisians went big on 22-year-old Luka Vrbančić (a €104m signing from Dinamo Zagreb), who is arguably one of the most attractive redheads since Isla Fisher and Ted Redwood. Their season would end in relative failure though: the aforementioned 3-1 defeat to Liverpool in Austria.
Germany
The irresistible midfield combination of Jamal Musiala and Xavi Simons (34 goals between them in 2027/28) was enough to see Bayern Munich retain the Bundesliga again with 86 points (the same total points as last year). The Bavarians topped the League Phase of the UCL too, but fell to Liverpool 0-1 on aggregate at the Quarter Final stage. Roberto de Zerbi’s cup agony continued with a 0-1 defeat to Wolfsburg in the DFB-Pokal.
Italy
AC Milan retained Serie A, but did so without having a player score more than 11 goals in the league. I Rossoneri had the luxury of 18 different goalscorers in the league over 2027/28, Stefano Pioli’s side clearly showing they were not reliant on just one, two or three men. Other Italian SuperClubs, Juventus and Inter Milan, finish 2nd and 5th respectively. With all three Italian sides once again failing to impress on the continental stage, with the Old Lady’s Quarter Final exit being the furthest anybody went in Europe.
Spain
102 points meant Barcelona were crowned champions once again in Spain, and doubled the domestic success with a 4-1 Copa del Rey win Vs Atlético de Madrid. The Madrid team became the first SuperClub side to fall out of Europe competition last season, and they only just redeemed themselves this season with a 6th place finish to qualify for the Europa League. City rivals Real Madrid went trophyless, meaning that the pressure is back on Manager Jürgen Klopp (despite a previous UCL win in 2027)…a 21 point difference between arch-rivals Barcelona in La Liga cannot be accepted!
Save On Hold 📴
I have enjoyed these five seasons of SuperClub Diaries on FM24. However, I’m going to pause playing (and therefore creating content around the game) for an extended period of time. There’s a lot going on in my personal life right now and, more importantly, I need to properly say goodbye to somebody (and spend time with them) who isn’t going to get better in 2024…and I can tell from the length of time I got this post out, that I’m just not ‘in the zone’ to be FM’ing and writing about it right now in March 2024.
The good thing about this save is that it’s there for me to come back to: another season with Liverpool to see if I can retain the UCL, with a close eye on another SuperClub opportunity opening up elsewhere? It sounds exciting, and certainly enough to lure me back, when the time is right. Maybe it’s something for later this Summer, or as a save loaded into FM25. So, this isn’t a big goodbye/”I am leaving the community” etc, I will write about FM again…just not for a little while.
Thanks again for taking the time to read, previous sharing and caring. Look after yourselves.
Tony / FM Grasshopper