Career Career - "6 league titles..." COMPLETED

[CamelXCVII]

Challenge: 

 

I created this challenge, therefore it's only fair that I try to complete it. In this update, I'm going to reveal my two key players, and go through my pre-season results, along with any key changes made to the squad. 

Firstly, I completely overhauled my staff, bringing in coaching staff who preferred the 4-1-2-2-1 formation, led by my new assistant manager, Sunderland legend Kevin Phillips.

Then I moved onto securing my modern Ned Doig and Raich Carter. There's an academy product who I have decided to use for Raich (more on that later), so I need to find a Scottish goalkeeper. I looked at young goalkeepers such as Jon McCracken and Archie Mair, but ended up settling for a relatively experienced goalkeeper, who's still young enough to have the longevity I require.

My Selections

I signed Craig MacGillivray from Portsmouth to be my Ned Doig. Having seen him save the decisive penalty last season's Checkatrade Final, I knew he had the immediate quality along with the potential to stay at the club for the long-term, signing a five year deal.

Academy product Elliot Embleton is my choice to be the new Raich Carter. He's also from the North East and has potential, having impressed on loan at Grimsby last season. He is excellent with both feet, however I have had to retrain his position in order to try and get him to the level I want for him in the AMR position. 

Pre-season

I started pre-season with a disappointing draw away to Barrow, conceding lots of chances, with Charlie Wyke sparing my blushes in a 2-2 draw. However, I have to admit that my focus was on new signings, so I hadn't yet implemented my tactics.

In the second game I faced Premier League side West Ham United. At home I hoped I wouldn't be embarrassed, however, the team played extremely well, with Marc McNulty coming off the bench to recover a 1-1 draw against superior opposition, where we conceded shots, but no clear cut chances.

In our third pre-season fixture, we dominated in a home win against League 2 side Newport County. Embleton was superb, scoring twice, either side of substitute Will Grigg's effort. This was also Craig MacGillivray's first clean sheet for the club.

Finally, I hoped to finish with a bang away to Ebbsfleet, but a rotated team really struggled, showing a lack of discipline in the process. We came back from 2-0 down at half-time, with McNulty once again coming off the bench to score twice, including a last minute equaliser to draw 2-2. I was disappointed to see us concede from a 40 yard free kick, commit 12 fouls and for Elliot Embleton to receive a straight red card, especially considering his influential performance in the last game.

In my next update, I'll look for a strong start to my League One campaign and to progress in the Carabao Cup. Hope you enjoy this career thread, along with the challenge if you decide to give it a go!

Edited December 6, 2019 by CamelXCVII
Spelling error

[BatiGoal]

This looks interesting. Goodluck 👍 

[CamelXCVII]

Any guys following this, would you prefer monthly updates or season-by-season?

[broodje kip]

Just now, CamelXCVII said:

Any guys following this, would you prefer monthly updates or season-by-season?

I would say every season as long as it doesn’t took a month to upload

[Kanegan]

Season update should be fine as long as it's frequency is good.

[CamelXCVII]

First 3 Months

August

August was excellent, 7 wins out of a possible 8, with a 2-1 reverse away to Ipswich being the only blot on our copybook. 2nd in the league, only behind Fleetwood on goal difference, along with progress through the opening two rounds of the Carabao Cup despite squad rotation. Home form has also been good, scoring 3 goals in each of the three home league games so far. McNulty, Wyke and Maguire seem to be the best performers so far, with Embleton also playing well, scoring a last minute winner against Peterborough. I do intend to improve on set pieces however, need to take advantage of about 10 corners per game. 

September

September started with a 4-3 win over Doncaster in the leasing.com trophy, almost throwing away a 4-0 lead at half time. This was followed up by 4 league wins on the trot, although it seems that we keep conceding towards the end of games. Now 11 wins in a row since the Ipswich defeat, but it seemed like we'd need a miracle in our next Carabao Cup fixture. We found ourselves as 9/2 underdogs away to Arsenal. Could we pull off a shock?...

No. 5-2 was probably a little harsh on us, but we couldn't handle Aubameyang. At least we bounced back quickly with a 3-0 win over MK Dons, despite McNulty getting injured during training. Once again we win all of this month's games except 1.

October

We start October 6 points clear at the top. Chris Maguire and I have just been awarded Player of the Month and Manager of the Month respectively. Will Grigg is on fire. Yet Luke O'Nien doesn't believe we can beat Everton (reserves), despite having just beating Lincoln 3-0. Well guess what Luke? 1-0 win, we've qualified for next round. We then continued to grind out wins in the league against Fleetwood, Tranmere and Wycombe until we had our first competitive draw of the season, being held 2-2 away to Shrewsbury. Donald Love even scored!

 

Hope you enjoyed this update. I want to start doing seasonal updates, but got a few 14 hour shifts coming up so want to make sure this thread stays fresh. Cheers!

[Ian]

You’ve made an excellent start here, look forward to the next update. 

[CamelXCVII]

3 hours ago, Ian said:

You’ve made an excellent start here, look forward to the next update. 

Cheers

[samhardy]

Wish we could appoint you in real life!

[CamelXCVII]

12 minutes ago, samhardy said:

Wish we could appoint you in real life!

Loving the parky party

[mustafa58]

Will Grigg's on fire 🔥

[CamelXCVII]

November to May - season 1

November

November started with the signing of free agent Joe Ledley. I hoped he would add some experience and squad depth to the side. We then faced Southend, where despite having 23 shots (8 on target), we needed an 87th minute equaliser to come back from 2-0 down at half time. Luckily, our form in the cups continued, a victory against Carlisle in the FA Cup getting us back to winning ways. We then edged Port Vale in our final leasing.com trophy group game before being brought back down to earth with a defeat to Bristol Rovers. 3 league games without a win, although we were hit by injuries, suspensions and players on international duty. Finally we finished the month with 11 goals in 2 games, beating Coventry 5-3 in the league and Salisbury 6-0 in the FA Cup Second Round.

December

In December, I made my first major tactical shake-up after another 2-2 draw. The side needs a way to look solid whilst being dangerous going forward. Therefore, my wingbacks have became full backs and I've went for two up top. To enhance this, I signed Lawrence Shankland on a pre-contract agreement in order to partner Will Grigg. Results wise we had a good month with the humiliation of 4th placed Blackpool, a comfortable leasing.com 2nd round win against Accrington, a close 1-0 win over Bolton and a 1-1 draw away to Doncaster.

January

With the opening of the January transfer window, Shankland arrived and Wyke, J.McLaughlin, Watmore and Ozturk left. It also meant the end of our FA Cup run, falling to last year's play off final opponents, Charlton. However, I carried on in the leasing.com trophy, fielding 5 debutants from the reserves in a 3-0 win against Liverpool reserves. In the league we picked up 13 of a possible 18 points, being held by Lincoln City at the Stadium of Light before a shock defeat to Mk Dons. The defeat was particularly frustrating, due to Shankland having two goals disallowed. Going into the rest of the season, we're top, 13 points clear with 15 games to play. However, Ipswich in second have a game in hand.

February

February had a bad start. A shambolic display against Burton meant that we were out of the leasing.com trophy on penalties, immediately after a toothless 0-0 draw against 3rd placed Portsmouth. This was followed up with a huge top of the table clash with Ipswich, where we got revenge for our loss on matchday 2. This was followed up by further wins against Rochdale, Oxford and Bristol Rovers, before returning from Coventry with nothing, despite an impressive performance.

March

What a March! The opening game saw Grigg reach his 30th goal of the season, embracing his inner Arshavin and scoring 4 goals. It also saw me guarantee at least a place in the Play-Offs. The final game saw me win manager of the month and guarantee promotion! I also signed Matthew Virtue after he scored a last minute equaliser for Blackpool. He joins in the summer.

April

CAMPIONES! We've done it! April saw us win the league with 5 games to spare after a win at Southend. It also saw us field our youngest team yet, giving youth players a chance in the league against Peterborough. The oldest outfield player starting was 24. We still won 3-1! I used my remaining games to try new tactics and fringe players.

May

Beat Rotherham. Cost them Play Off place. Love it.

Season Review

For this part, I actually remembered to take screenshots! We won the league comfortably, finishing 17 points ahead of nearest rivals Ipswich. We could be a bit dodgy away from home, but didn't lose a single game at the Stadium of Light. Ipswich came second, with Lincoln edging Bristol Rovers in the Play-Off Final.

Awards

Spoiler

Will Grigg led by example, excelling in partnerships with Marc McNulty and then Lawrence Shankland.

I'm a little gutted I didn't win manager of the year, but Lincoln were outstanding and shocked everyone by gaining promotion. Well deserved.

Grigg may have been the goalscorer, but I don't know where we'd be without Chris Maguire. He chipped in with 25 assists! The nearest to that was Regan Charles-Cook with 11! He also reached double figures for goals. Clear winner for Player of the Year. Long live the King!

Doig and Carter (and Stokoe)

If you're interested in how Elliot Embleton and Craig MacGillivray performed, here are their stats for the season, along with my own:

Spoiler

Thanks for reading season 1. Hope you're enjoying this career. Here's to a successful second season! 

Points achieved: 10 (won League One)

Points total: 10.

Edited November 25, 2019 by CamelXCVII
Points

[CamelXCVII]

Bit of a strange one, as I get offered the England job, despite only one year's managerial experience and that was in League One!

[CamelXCVII]

Season 2

Transfers

With our promotion to the Championship, our squad report was that long it would give Santa list envy. Therefore, unlike last year, we needed an overhaul. We sold some older players and brought in quite a few loanees and free agents so that I could spent my budget on less quantity and more quality. I also had a bit of a surprise getting offered the England job! There was no chance of me going Full Allardyce, therefore I rejected their proposal. 

Preseason and August

Preseason was poor, failing to win any games. Losing after being 2-0 up against West Ham, and failing to beat sides that are at least two leagues below is completely unacceptable. Luckily my final signings arrived before the opening game of the season against Fulham.

Looks like my home form is going to be crucial again, if August was anything to go by. All games held at the Stadium of Light ended with the Mackems taking all the spoils. However, we need to add more consistency away from home, winning, drawing and losing 1 league game each. In addition, our Carabao Cup run is over before it even begun, going out to fellow Championship side Norwich on penalties. There was good news on the awards front, the Elliot Embleton winning both Player and Young Player of the Month, publicly thanking me for his success. Loanee Eddie Nketiah was also nominated for YPOTM.

September

September was the month for playing rival sides consecutively. Firstly Sheffield. I hosted United, winning 3-2 in a match which was 1st v 2nd. I then travelled to Wednesday, where I won again, winning 4-2. However, East Anglia was a whole different story. I had a disappointing bore draw away to Ipswich, before losing my year-long unbeaten run at home in astonishing fashion, falling to my Carabao Cup conquerors Norwich, losing 5-2.

October and November

The Norwich defeat led to a bad run of form through October and November, winning just 2 games in 7, including a 3-0 loss to Brighton. This meant that just like last season, I'm using this part of this season to change tactics. With our summer signings including players that are good on the ball, I've decided to implement a more possession-based game. This took effect for the final 2 games of November, both of which I won.

December

I ended 2020 with steady form, taking me back into Play-Off contention. I was disappointed to be edged out by promotion rivals Stoke, but we were consistent, winning three and drawing two.

January

January was a month where results against promotion rivals were decent, yet the side let us down when playing teams lower in the table. We also blooded a few youngsters in the F.A. Cup, beating Bolton in the 3rd Round before falling to Premier League side Wolves in the 4th.

February and March

February and March were almost unbeaten, only losing to Sheffield United. That game unfortunately almost guarantees that I won't achieve automatic promotion. However, the rest of our results were good, including securing a league double of rivals Middlesbrough and a 3-1 win against top-of-the-table Cardiff.

April and May

5 games left and it's crunch time. If I'd have beaten Sheffield United I'd be 1 point off automatic places, yet here I am in 5th place, just 4 points clear of Fulham in 7th. First up is Norwich, a side that's already beaten me twice. YES! Won 3-1. Then Charlton, another side who have already beaten us. NO! It's like groundhog day. Losing 2-1 in the last minute. 3rd game, Brighton. 0-0 and my best midfielder is injured. 4th game, Swansea. We battered them! WE ARE IN THE PLAY-OFFS. We then finished the season by beating 7th placed Reading.

CHAMPIONSHIP PLAY OFFS

Find out how the Play-Offs go in the next update. How do you think it'll go?

Fixtures:

Sunderland v Blackburn

Stoke v Derby

[CamelXCVII]

Play Off Semi Final First Leg

Sunderland AFC v Blackburn Rovers

Result during season: SUN 4-1 BLA

Highlights:

Spoiler

3. Nketiah is through! No! Misses a clear chance to give us the lead.

6. Buendia and Embleton are playing though Blackburn with ease. Now it's threaded through to Nketiah... Another miss! Two clear chances in 6 minutes.

30. In complete control so far, and we've released Nketiah again! He's through.....MISS! 3 clear chances, 3 misses. I'm stunned.

45. Olaza brings the ball forward, plays a through ball to Buendia... GOAL!!!!!!! 1-0!!!!

56. First attack for Blackburn and they force a corner. Headed over.

69. Another corner... GOAL. Rothwell. 1-1.

89. Passing the ball around the middle of the park. Maguire gets in on the left hand side of the box. He cuts in... GOAL!!!! 2-1!!

Play Off Semi Final Second Leg

Blackburn Rovers (1) v Sunderland AFC (2)

Result during season: BLA 1-0 SUN

Highlights:

Spoiler

22. Corner for Blackburn. Headed over.

45. Virtue does well in midfield, he plays it through to Buendia, surely a repeat of the first leg...? MISS! Another clear chance missed.

47. Free kick. Virtue lays it off to Maddison, good save.

54. Another free kick. Maddison takes and it's another good save pushing it out for corner. Maddison takes the corner, the ball's heading straight to Shankland...GOAL!!!! 0-1! A two goal cushion and we've ruled out their away goal!

73. Substitutes Embleton and O'Nien are linking up well. O'Nien plays it through to Shankland... GOAL!!! 0-2! Surely game over.

 

 

 

Results:

Blackburn (1) 0-2 (2) Sunderland. Sunderland win 4-1 on aggregate.

Stoke (3) 4-0 (2) Derby. Stoke win 7-2 on aggregate.

PLAY OFF FINAL

Sunderland v Stoke will be on next update, as I plan on doing something a bit different due to how important the fixture is. Hope you've enjoyed reading this career so far. 

[BatiGoal]

Enjoyed the reading indeed 👍 

Going to be a close final I think. I'm predicting a single goal in 90min. Which side tho 🤔 

[CamelXCVII]

1 hour ago, BatiGoal said:

Enjoyed the reading indeed 👍 

Going to be a close final I think. I'm predicting a single goal in 90min. Which side tho 🤔 

Both games against Stoke were close and could've went either way if I'm remembering right. However, I'm normally quite good at getting revenge on teams such as Norwich, so I'm hoping that'll work in my favour.

[CamelXCVII]

Welcome to Mackem Sports News and our coverage of the 2021 Championship Play Off Final, where Sunderland face Stoke. Stoke come into this game as slight favourites after finishing 2 places above today's opposition. 

Team Stats

- Stoke didn't lose against Sunderland during the regular season. They won 2-1 at the Stadium of Light and drew 1-1 at the Bet365 Stadium.

- Sunderland have failed to win in their last 8 appearances at Wembley. They last faced Charlton in the 2019 League One Play Off Final, losing 2-1 to a last minute goal.

- Stoke have won 4 of their 6 trips to Wembley. However, they've lost their last 2, the most recent being a 5-1 Premier League defeat to Tottenham in 2017.

Team News

- Stoke will be missing top scorer Benik Afobe and ex-Sunderland player James McClean for this final. These two stood out during their 2-1 win earlier in the season. However, Sam Vokes is a suitable replacement, scoring the equaliser in the side's 1-1 draw.

- Sunderland striker Eddie Nketiah faces a late fitness test after missing the second leg against Blackburn. The on loan Arsenal striker has been central to Sunderland's plans, although Shankland scored twice in his absence against Blackburn. Guendouzi also misses the game through injury.

Predictions

16 hours ago, BatiGoal said:

👍 Going to be a close final I think. I'm predicting a single goal in 90min. Which side tho 🤔 

 To see our highlights, see below:

Spoiler

The teams are in! Eddie Nketiah isn't fit enough to start for Sunderland, who are wearing their traditional red and white stripes 

Expected like up for Stoke who are going to play in a 4-2-2-2 formation. Vokes is expected to be their main threat.

AND IT'S LIVE!

32. Nothing much happening, but Virtue has played a ball in behind... Shankland is through 1 on 1... GOALLLLLLLL!!!! 1-0!!!!!!!

38. Stoke are passing it around the middle. Virtue intercepts and releases Shankland who makes a run in between the centre backs... GOALLLLLLL!!!! 2-0.

HT. Not the best quality of game, with the only 2 highlights being the goals. Sunderland are 45 minutes away from promotion.

49. Virtue is playing out of his skin. He gives it to Owusu-Ofeh. Once again the Stoke defence has opened up. It's Garcia, lays it off for Shankland... HE'S DONE IT!!!! 3-0!!! Lawrence Shankland has scored a hat-trick in the Play Off Final!

64. Butland plays it upfield. Olaza dallies on the ball, Campbell nips in and shoots... over the bar.

FT. A Sunderland performance that would make Mourinho proud, staying tight at the back and taking their chances. The Black Cats are Premier League!

What a performance from Sunderland, who took their chances in order to get a comfortable win. They will be a Premier League side next season.

Thanks for reading our Mackem Sports News coverage, we'll be back in the future to cover any more big games!

 

Season stats:

Spoiler

Points this season: 0 (didn't win league)

Points total: 10

Edited November 27, 2019 by CamelXCVII

[BatiGoal]

I did indirectly predict a clean sheet, hehe. Well done and congrats on your promotion to the EPL. The sun is shining in Sunderland. 

[CamelXCVII]

Season 3

It's official, we're back in the big time. The task at hand is starting to dawn on me, a threadbare squad that are only expected to fight relegation. However, I do have 60mil, that should help. Once again I've invested heavily in the loan and free markets, only paying money for 4 players. 

July - October

These opening couple of months were a perfect example of taking time to adapt to the new challenges that we faced in the Premier League. August was a poor month, failing to win a single game, including a conceding a last minute equaliser in the Tyne-Wear Derby. I also lost to Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup. September was a month we started settling in, managing to shock Manchester City with a 1-0 win. Finally, in October we flipped the switch and won all 3 games, including Arsenal and Manchester United. I finished with my annual tinkering of tactics.

November & December

These 2 months were quite strange, going on a spell where I won just 1 in 8, yet found myself happy with results. I won 3-0 the first two games I played in November, before having to wait 7 more games for my next win, a 4-0 win over Burnley on boxing day. However, during this run I held Wolves (4th), Chelsea, Manchester United and Leicester to draws, despite having a much poorer squad.

January & February

An 11 game run without defeat (until Chelsea ruined things). Won all my cup games. All I need to say for our games. Did have a frustrating month on the transfer front. Cancelled a couple of loans and brought in Brewster on loan, along with a permanent deal of Sam Surridge.

March - May

These months really summed up the highs and lows of football. Firstly, the negatives. I lost 3 of my last 4 Premier League games, including at home to Newcastle, costing me a guaranteed place in the Europa League. However, I stunned England by managing to secure a 7th placed finish meaning that my place in Europe depends on the F.A. Cup Final. Who's playing in the final? Leicester and SUNDERLAND. That's right! We beat Man City on penalties, Newcastle in the quarter-finals and Arsenal in the semis to reach out first FA Cup final since 1992! In addition, I won manager of the year for the first time!

Review

What a season, surpassing all expectations and it's still not over, with the FA Cup on the horizon. Once again I'm going to do a specific post for the final, so please reply with your predictions. I hope you've enjoyed the career so far.

[samhardy]

Still going really well, are many of the original squad left now? Can't think of many who would still be around.

Win the cup and a good run in Europe next season

[CamelXCVII]

23 minutes ago, samhardy said:

Still going really well, are many of the original squad left now? Can't think of many who would still be around.

Win the cup and a good run in Europe next season

I don't have any of the original guys starting except Embleton. Dobson is deputy to Guendouzi who I've had on loan for last 2 years. Maguire has been a decent utility player and was starting on the wing at the start of the season. Only other lads I've played once this season are Ethan Robson, Brandon Taylor and Denver Hume. I did also play O'Nien 5 times this season, but sold him to Charlton in January.

I have now played the cup final (suspense...) I guess you'll find out if we're in Europe later tonight!

[CamelXCVII]

2022 FA CUP FINAL

Welcome to Mackem Sports News and our coverage of the 2022 FA Cup Final between Leicester City and Sunderland AFC. 

Previous fixtures

With both sides being in the Premier League, they have already faced each other twice this season:

Sunderland 1-1 Leicester (Arp; Sabitzer)

Leicester 2-1 Sunderland (Bentaleb x2, Rog)

Stat Attack

• Sunderland have reached the FA Cup final on four occasions. They won the trophy in 1937 and 1973. Their last appearance was 30 years ago, when they lost 2-0 to Liverpool in 1992.
• Leicester have also reached the FA Cup Final on four occasions. However, they've failed to win any of them. Their last appearance was 53 years ago, where they lost 1-0 to Manchester City in 1969.
• On their last trip to Wembley, Sunderland comfortably beat Stoke 3-0 in the 2021 Championship Play Off Final.
• Leicester lost their last trip to Wembley, losing 3-1 to Tottenham in the Premier League during February 2019.

Betting and Team News

Highlights

Spoiler

First Half

20. Cross comes in from Leicester's right flank. It's reached top-scorer Iheanacho, he has to score...SAVED! What a stop from MacGillivray, who even stopped Iheanacho's second attempt.

44. Sunderland try a through ball but Schmeichel clears it, although Sunderland retain possession just by the half way line. Mata gets in on the edge of Leicester's penalty area, plays it across to Sam Surridge... GOALLLLL!!!! 1-0 to Sunderland!

Second Half

73. Embleton takes the corner. Drops to Shankland who plays it back to Embleton who's moved back onside. He lays it to the edge of the box where Guendouzi strikes it... GOALLLLL!!!  2-0 to Sunderland!

76. Leicester win a free kick. It's played to Arias who tries to get the ball in but Sunderland counter attack. Surridge, plays it through to Shankland, he's 1v1 against Schmeichel... SKIES IT! Great chance to kill the game off but he misses.

78. Sunderland keep counter attacking with such pace. Here they go again, Surridge, plays it to Shankland, knocked in to Embleton...GOAL!!!! GAME OVER! Great play between the 3 attackers. 3-0 to Sunderland!

We did it! What a result which means we are in Europe! 

Manager

Spoiler

Carter and Doig

Spoiler

Points

Points this season: 50 (FA Cup) + 25 (League Position)

Points so far: 10 + 75= 85

Edited November 30, 2019 by CamelXCVII

[BatiGoal]

Really like the history lessons throughout the career. 👍 

And a trophy for the fans at last! 

[CamelXCVII]

2 hours ago, BatiGoal said:

Really like the history lessons throughout the career. 👍 

And a trophy for the fans at last! 

Cheers, it's definitely been a while since our last trophy!

[CamelXCVII]

Season 4 - Mini-Update

Premier League

I've been very "meh" when it comes to the Premier League this year, just chilling in mid table. I've been failing to score chances and conceding so many goals due to errors. A bit of recent tinkering has helped a bit, a 5-1 win against Southampton being a standout performance. Worst performance was a 4-0 loss to Liverpool.

Community Shield

Lost 2-0 to Liverpool. Never looked like winning. Next.

F.A. Cup

Our poor league performances couldn't be any further away from our cup performances as we are through to the quarter finals of the competition we hope to retain. So far we've beaten Crewe, Barnet and Manchester City (again), with the draw still to be made for the quarters.

Europa League

Bit of a tough group with French giants PSG, Slavia Prague and FC Midtjylland. However, we coasted it, winning the group. I am a bit confused regarding the knockout round, because we've been drawn with...PSG. From our group...?

Carabao Cup

3rd Round - Beat Scunthorpe 3-0

4th Round - Beat Newcastle 3-1

Quarter Finals - Beat Man Utd 1-0

Semi Finals - Beat Stoke 4-0*

Final - ????

That's right I'm in the Carabao Cup final! Hence the mid-season update. We'll be facing Premier League holders Liverpool. 

* The semi final was played at Elland Road and was only 1 leg? I thought Carabao Cup was a 2 legged semi final?

Next Update

Next up will be the "Mackem Sports News" coverage of the Carabao Cup Final. Think I'll pull off a shock? Also, of anyone knows about the Carabao Cup semi final and Europa League draw, please let me know, I'm still a bit confused.

Edited December 2, 2019 by CamelXCVII
Images

[CamelXCVII]

Welcome to Mackem Sports News and our coverage of the 2023 Carabao Cup between Sunderland and Liverpool. 

Previous Fixtures

Liverpool 2-0 Sunderland (Alexander-Arnold, Mané) - Community Shield

Liverpool 4-0 Sunderland (Salah x2, Firmino, Fabinho) - Premier League)

Stat Attack

• Liverpool have won the League Cup a record 9 times. They last won in 2020, beating Manchester United in the final.
• Liverpool have been runners up in this competition on 5 occasions. This happened last season, when Manchester City won the 2022 Carabao Cup Final.
• Sunderland have only reached the League Cup final twice, losing on both occasions. They lost to Norwich 1-0 in 1985 and to Manchester City 3-1 in 2014.
• The current Sunderland manager was in the crowd during that defeat to Manchester City in 2014.

Betting and Team News

Highlights

Spoiler

First half
24. Nianzou Kouassi gets injured leaving me with 10 men temporarily. Salah exploits the space, beats his man and cuts on to his left foot...GOAL!!! 1-0 to Liverpool!

29. Good link up play between Maguire, Dembele and Gregoritsch. Gregoritsch strikes it from the edge of the box... Parried away.

39. Chambers with a shocking backpass to MacGillivray, who panics and gives it to Salah... He puts it across to Mané... GOAL!!! 2-0 to Liverpool!

HALF TIME. SUNDERLAND 0-2 LIVERPOOL. Liverpool are in complete control.

Second Half

 

46. Maguire wins a free kick just inside the Liverpool half. Mata spreads it to Embleton, to plays it through to Surridge... Parried away.

78. MacGillivray takes a free kick after Salah was offside. It's straight through to Surridge... GOALLL!!! WAIT. VAR is checking it for offside... ONSIDE! 2-1, Sunderland are back in this!

89. Laird on the left for Sunderland who are really pushing. Now it's Maguire, to Surridge... GOALLLLL!!!! 2-2!!!! UNBELIEVABLE!

90+4. Sunderland are trying to win this. Mata's pass is intercepted but Surridge has stolen it from Gomez, he's 1 on 1... SKIES IT!

FULL TIME. SUNDERLAND 2-2 LIVERPOOL. An incredible comeback from Sunderland. We go to extra time.

Extra Time - 1st Half

 

92. Mata wins a corner. He floats it in to Surridge... Straight at the keeper.

97. Mané floats in a free kick for Liverpool which is knocked down to El Hadj Coly... GOAL!!! 3-2 to Liverpool!

99. Embleton is injured. Sunderland will have to play the rest of the game with ten men.

105. Mata takes a free kick, Liverpool are failing to clear their lines... Mata runs on to it... GOALLL!!!! 3-3!!!!

HALF TIME EXTRA TIME. SUNDERLAND 3-3 LIVERPOOL. Sunderland are somehow still in this despite haven fallen behind and then going down to 10 men. Can either side win this before penalties?

Extra Time - 2nd Half

No highlights.

FULL TIME. SUNDERLAND 3-3 LIVERPOOL. We go to penalties!

Penalties

 

Fabinho...GOAL!! 0-1
Mata... GOAL!! 1-1
Salah... HITS THE POST! 1-1
Surridge... GOAL!! 2-1
Mané... SAVED!! 2-1
Rog... SAVED!! 2-1
Coly... SAVED!! 2-1
Player-coach Chris Maguire with a chance to win it... SCORES!!!!! SUNDERLAND WIN!!!! 3-1

 

Incredible scenes at Wembley! Another trophy as Sunderland win their first ever League Cup. I've almost finished the season now, so will update that next. Here's a little teaser for what's to come...

Spoiler

 

[CamelXCVII]

Season 4

Premier League

In my Mini-Update you might've seen that I was struggling in 12th place. However, after my tinkering of tactics, I went on an incredible run of form, including winning 11 games in a row, 10 of which I scored 3 of more goals. In the end I repeated Peter Reid's heroics, finishing 7th for the second consecutive season. I was only 10 points off top!

Carabao Cup

In my previous update I did my coverage of the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool, where we won on penalties in an incredibly exciting game. Substitute Sam Surridge worked wonders!

F.A. Cup

I was so close to retaining the F.A Cup, reaching the Semi Finals where I lost to eventual winners Spurs.

Europa League

A stunning season saw us reach the Europa League final where we'd face Wolves. (Props if you can guess the stadium). We'd previously beaten PSG, Ludogorets and Schalke in order to reach the final. The result?

Our first ever Europa League! Also, Champions League football next season!

Fixtures

Spoiler

Doig and Carter (and "Stokoe")

Spoiler

My manager profile is 6 games into Season 5 as I forgot to take screenshot.

Points

Carabao Cup - 10 points.

Europa League - 50 points.

New total: 145 points.

[CamelXCVII]

Season 5

Premier League

Another slow start which has cost me this season. 7 games in and I was still without a win. According to the board my job was very insecure. Then from the 30th September until the end of the season I only lost 1 more league game all season. However, a 4th place finish was still an achievement.

Carabao Cup

Beat Middlesbrough, Reading, Chelsea and Everton on the way to my second consecutive Carabao Cup Final where I faced Manchester City, 10 years and 1 day after the two sides faced on 2014. 

A comfortable win which was extra sweet as we'd lost in the league to Manchester City only two weeks before. 2 Carabao Cup's on the trot!

F.A. Cup

I beat QPR, Wolves, Grimsby, Arsenal and Norwich on the way to another domestic final where I'd face Liverpool in a rematch of last season's Carabao Cup final.

Another cup final another win! 

UEFA Super Cup

We started the season as underdogs against Bayern Munich in our first ever Super Cup.

A shock against the run of play. The only good result at the start of our season!

Champions League

A favourable group was easily conquered, coming out on top ahead of Shakhtar, Qarabag and Besiktas. We then continued past Atletico Madrid, Chelsea and Real Madrid in order to reach the Champions League Final! Could we shock the world and win our fourth final of the season against J̶u̶v̶e̶n̶t̶u̶s̶ Zebre?

It wasn't to be unfortunately. However, no shame after such an incredible season, going on a run of only 2 defeats in all competitions in 54 games.

Fixtures

Spoiler

Doig and Carter (and Stokoe)

Spoiler

Due to poor performances in the opening games, MacGillivray had to dropped. Therefore, the returning Jordan Pickford played the majority of the games. This means that the Doig 100 point bonus is now unachievable.

Points

F.A. Cup - 50 points

Carabao Cup - 10 points

Qualified for Europe - 25 points

Total: 230

[CamelXCVII]

Season 6

Community Shield

Premier League

We've improved year after year and after last season I really fancied myself to win the league this year. One INVINCIBLE season later and Sunderland have won their 7th league title! 

Carabao Cup

Having won this cup the last two seasons I was strong favourites this time round. I strolled past Stoke, Tottenham and Wolves before facing Tyne-Wear rivals (and now Championship team) Newcastle in the semis. I needed 2 last minute goals and penalties over the two legs but got to the final where I'd face Manchester United.

Despite going down to 9 men, I held on to claim another Carabao Cup.

F.A. Cup.

Another competition I was desperate to win having won 2 of the last 3. I beat Bristol Rovers, Stoke, Tottenham, Bournemouth and Brighton to get to the final where I'd face West Ham.

Another win!

Champions League

Could I go one better than last year? Especially considering I drew holder's Juventus in the group stage! I won the group, before beating RB Leipzig and Liverpool in the knockouts. I then beat Man City in the semi-final first leg 2-0 before I collapsed in the second leg and lost 3-0. My only defeat in all competitions during the normal season. No Champions League for me.

Club World Cup

I qualified by being runners up in the Champions League last year although I was surprised by the format of the competition. I beat Jeonbuk and ES Tunis in the group stage and then Corinthians in the quarter finals. I then got revenge over Manchester City in the semi-final, meaning that I had Barcelona in the final...

They were the better team in all honesty. Wasn't meant to be.

Fixtures

Spoiler

D̶o̶i̶g̶ and Carter (and Stokoe)

Spoiler

Awards

Spoiler

Points

Carabao Cup - 10 points

F.A. Cup - 25 points

Premier League - 200 points

Carter Bonus - 100 points

MOTY and POTY double - 10 points

Qualify for Europe - 25 points

CAREER TOTAL: 600 POINTS