The World Clan FM2005 goes le Mediterranean [*Established Clan*]

The World Clan FM2005 goes le Mediterranean

Welcome at the World Clan SI-forum thread. The place where you can follow all the insights and info about our FM2005 online game. With being an official recognised clan for FM2005 we hope to entertain ourselves and the visitors of FMOnline in this thread with good in-game stories.

If you are interested for more information about The World Clan you can find us at www.worldclan.tk. There are still places available for new members so look at the website how to join before the game start.

The Game:

The number of leagues that will be playable isn’t 100% sure, because there will be some testing on game speed. The number of available leagues + database will be chosen after the speed tests. But confirmed is that at least theâ€Mediterranean†leagues from Italy and Spain will be made available in the online game. Confirmed is that all members will start in the hard Serie B from Italy. Before we kick off there will be a live online draw on webcam . The Serie B teams that go in the draw have all various ambitions what will give us â€human†managers different goals from the start.

The teams that will go in the draw: Genua, Albinoleffe, Torino, Empoli, Perugia, Cesena, Triestina, Vicenza, Piacenza, Arezzo, Catania, Ascoli, Crotone, Verona, Ternana, Catanzaro, Pescara, Venezia, Bari, Salernitana, Modena, Treviso.

You can find our in-game rules here. We need these to get a fair play game. Offcourse we don’t use our rules as all teachers do .

The confirmed members so far:

<UL TYPE=SQUARE>

<LI> Andrej "Kuky" (Slovenia)

<LI> Mika Nihtilä (Sweden)

<LI> Kozak (Netherlands)

<LI> Simon Toroskainen (Sweden)

<LI> Pavle Fairhurst (England)

<LI> Alexis Manson (France/Ireland)

<LI> Martin Buchan (Scotland)

<LI> Damo Field (England)

<LI> David Manson (France/Ireland)

<LI> Sebastian Dro¿yñski (Poland)

We will keep this the same as our CM03/04 game. So the official playing times will be:

<UL TYPE=SQUARE>

<LI> Tuesday 7.45pm - 9.15pm UKtime (will be Monday on Champions League weeks)

<LI> Thursday 7.45pm - 9.15pm UKtime (will be Friday on UEFA CUP weeks)

<LI> Sunday 11.00am - 1.30pm UKtime

Let’s come FM2005, and kick it off……

The World Clan FM2005 goes le Mediterranean

Welcome at the World Clan SI-forum thread. The place where you can follow all the insights and info about our FM2005 online game. With being an official recognised clan for FM2005 we hope to entertain ourselves and the visitors of FMOnline in this thread with good in-game stories.

If you are interested for more information about The World Clan you can find us at www.worldclan.tk. There are still places available for new members so look at the website how to join before the game start.

The Game:

The number of leagues that will be playable isn’t 100% sure, because there will be some testing on game speed. The number of available leagues + database will be chosen after the speed tests. But confirmed is that at least theâ€Mediterranean†leagues from Italy and Spain will be made available in the online game. Confirmed is that all members will start in the hard Serie B from Italy. Before we kick off there will be a live online draw on webcam . The Serie B teams that go in the draw have all various ambitions what will give us â€human†managers different goals from the start.

The teams that will go in the draw: Genua, Albinoleffe, Torino, Empoli, Perugia, Cesena, Triestina, Vicenza, Piacenza, Arezzo, Catania, Ascoli, Crotone, Verona, Ternana, Catanzaro, Pescara, Venezia, Bari, Salernitana, Modena, Treviso.

You can find our in-game rules here. We need these to get a fair play game. Offcourse we don’t use our rules as all teachers do .

The confirmed members so far:

<UL TYPE=SQUARE>

<LI> Andrej "Kuky" (Slovenia)

<LI> Mika Nihtilä (Sweden)

<LI> Kozak (Netherlands)

<LI> Simon Toroskainen (Sweden)

<LI> Pavle Fairhurst (England)

<LI> Alexis Manson (France/Ireland)

<LI> Martin Buchan (Scotland)

<LI> Damo Field (England)

<LI> David Manson (France/Ireland)

<LI> Sebastian Dro¿yñski (Poland)

We will keep this the same as our CM03/04 game. So the official playing times will be:

<UL TYPE=SQUARE>

<LI> Tuesday 7.45pm - 9.15pm UKtime (will be Monday on Champions League weeks)

<LI> Thursday 7.45pm - 9.15pm UKtime (will be Friday on UEFA CUP weeks)

<LI> Sunday 11.00am - 1.30pm UKtime

Let’s come FM2005, and kick it off……

Latest news:

AFter some FM2005 speed testing on database size and number of leagues we can happily come out with good news. FM2005 is much more optimilized in speed than the previous games what makes us happy. So we finally can announce that the game will be played on a HUGE database with the following playable leagues to expand if we come further into the game:

<UL TYPE=SQUARE>

<LI> Serie A (Italy)

<LI> Serie B (Italy)

<LI> Serie C1 (Italy)

<LI> Primera Division (Spain)

<LI> Segunda Division (Spain)

<LI> Premier League (England)

<LI> First Division (England)

The teams draw live on webcam with ........:

The draw will be this Sunday at 11am UK-time. Hope to see all members around there. Everyone will get drawed a Serie B team. Low budgets means hard challenges but lots of fun. Come to the MIRC room next sunday members. We will link you through to the webcam there.

Send a mail to all members. Come to chatroom tomorrow and see you all to kick-off.

Due to some problems we will wait for first patch. Draw will be tomorrow though.

The Serie B managers presentation:

Andrej "Kuky" (Slovenian)

Albinoleffe

media prediction: Relegation battlers

Mika Nihtilä (Swede)

Ternana

media prediction: Midtable

Kozak (Dutch)

Cesena

media prediction: Relegation battlers

Sebastian Dro¿yñski (Polish)

Vicenza

media prediction: Midtable

Alexis Manson (French/Irish)

Piacenza

media prediction: Promotion Contenders

Martin Buchan (Scottish)

Catanzaro

media prediction: Relegation battlers

David Manson (French/Irish)

Ascoli

media prediction: Midtable

"Pavle" Fairhurst (English)

Triestina

media prediction: Midtable

Sarah "headshrinker" (English)

Modena

media prediction: Promotion Contenders

Claes Sonde (Swede)

Venezia

media prediction: Relegation battlers

Simon Toroskainen (Swede)

Bari

media prediction: Midtable

Damo Field (English)

Genua

media prediction: Promotion Contenders

Patch ne where are you!!!

With the bad news the first patch is at least 2 weeks away we will delay the start with another 2 weeks .

WORLD CLAN finally kicks off

Sunday 12 december 11am - 1.30pm SORTITOUT-session.

Anyone that cant play must mail me. Hope to see you all.

Good luck lads and Kozak they are some top top quality banners you have done mate.

nice to see you still rate my ability koz, promotion contender eh? he he. well i think mika can do better than midtable tho, club captain mario frick has always been a fave of mine!!!

Hi guys, Sorry I wasn't there on Sunday and Tuesday

I wasn't there on Sunday due to work and now my PC has been taken away to get it's hard-drive wiped due to a ****ing virus so once I get it back I will inform you.

@ Kozak: RELEGATION BATTELERS!!! I thoguht you said I had Benito Carbone in my team (even though he takes up my whole wage budget) he will work wonders hopefully for me

NEXT session tomorrow at 11am UKtime

Team Updates are welcome. I will do one myself tomorrow after the session. And... dont forget the banner

Woo Hoo World Clan Is Back!!! Good luck to everyone tommorrow....er today. you will all be hurt by the genoa power though, ive been locked away in a dark cupboard for weeks tryin and testin all my new tactics and taining regime, only seeing the light of day for a bit of food, so beware!! however, none of my tactics appear to be workin lol, so we will stick to 442 as usual lol. no stephen heywood and lee king in this game to drag me through!!!! lol ah remember my shouts of heywooooooooooooooodddd from the champ days! good days

Thank to UFMIG in future everyone has to put the following options off tgo fix the online lag:

Every clan member must go into preferences and disable the following

sounds,

show player pics,

show badges/logos

show background pics,

show unique ids,

Thanks to all members already to this till SIgames solves the problem as we love the player pics

I don't think this is an application thread guys. At the moment we dont look for new members due to the lag problem in the game.

CESENA Calcio  BENVENUTA Kozak

Cesena Calcio appoints Dutch manager Kozak as their new head of the club playing at Dino Manuzzi

Cesena is the team that moved up after a big Serie C1 playoff “fight†last season against Lumezzane. The party was big last season, but the truth was next season in Serie B would be a hard one. Two important Cesena players got long bans due some fights on the pitch in the final against Lumezzane last season. Manolo Pestrin the captain will be banned till 12 October 2004 while best defender Angelo Rea is suspended till even New Year.

Things had to happen after Cesena successor Fabrizio Castori wanted to look if he could move up in the Italian ranks. Cesena known as the Serie B club with the lowest budget had to find a new manager, but there wasn’t much money available. So it wasn’t a real surprise an unknown manager was appointed. But it was a surprise it became a Dutchman.

The board of directors told the local press the main reason for a Dutchman was the “Total gallery football†played by Barcelona. Our new manager comes from the same school as Barca manager Frank Rijkaard and has a big potential in managing young players. Kozak, who never managed a senior team, was delighted with the chance to join Italian football. The Serie B is not very well known in Holland but I heard good stories about it after I heard Cesena was interested. “A world class player like Cristian Vieri grew up in the Serie B. His brother even still plays there at Ternanaâ€.

The managers’ expectations for the coming season

The expectations around the country aren’t very high for this season. The club couldn’t get enough money to get some bigger names to the club. In the Serie B bets Cesena is placed around the three biggest relegation favourites. Kozak doesn’t want to relegate directly after the success season in Serie C last year. “We have to be creative and we won’t be playing the best soccer in the league. Playing some decent Catenacchio soccer will be the only chance to survive. I will also look to improve the very small squad we have, but there is just 60k available for transfers while we are already above the salary the club can pay. We have to work at our club image and try to make more money through the year. If we can survive this season it would be a great resultâ€.

The first results of Kozak

The first thing Kozak did was searching for some new bright players to the club that hadn’t a real price. Kozak wondered about the foreigner policy at Cesena where they were only allowed to have 1 foreigner. The problem is that they loaned that one player away. Cheap players from far countries weren’t an option this way. So Kozak had to look at Italy and other European countries.

Kozak had talks with many players but most of them moved a bigger club in Serie B or even higher. At the moment he finished up with 3 new players. A 16 year old keeper, a defender and a striker.

The names:

<UL TYPE=SQUARE><LI> Andrea Compagnone comes from Serie C team Orlandini and costed 6k. Compagnone was one of the most talented defenders in Serie C last season and might be a starter this season at Cesena.

<LI> Fausto Mangili had no current team. He played Serie D last season and was all Cesena could afford to partner with Cesena star striker Bernacci.

<LI> Lasse Staw is a young Danish keeper. Kozak already got him on trial at his previous youth team. Staw is just 16 years old and hopes to be one of the challengers to become the new Schmeighel.

The pre-season already kicked off and Cesena got a big loss in their first friendly against their own reserves. 3-1 loss!!!

Then the real games started with the cup draw. Cesena drawn big Serie B teams like Venezia and Empoli. Teams that will play for the prizes this season. Napoli was the third rivals in group 7 of the Italian cup.

Cesena started the cup away at favourites Empoli. Empoli played with a 3 men attack including former Udinese star Nomvethe. Empoli was the better team in the whole game but a penalty at the other side was converted by star striker Marco Bernacci. Juventus seems to want to land in this attacker as soon as possible but Kozak doesn’t wanna sell him at this moment. Empoli didn’t get big chances after that Bernacci penalty and the first surprise of the season was there. Signing Conpagnone became “man of the match†and Cesena directly got a bid for the player. The offer for him was a laugh for Cesena and we don’t wanna call the clubs’ name. But rumours say Juventus is the team that wanted to sign this player for just 10.000 Pound. Juventus was scouting Bernacci this game so it might be really them.

The game after this cup game was a friendly against Serie C team Cosenza. Cesena played a good game and won 3-0. Marco Bernacci was the big man with two goals.

Then the second game in the Italian cup at home against the former bankrupt team Napoli. Napoli surprised Venezia in the first cup game so the winner of this game would have been very near the 2nd round for the Italian cup. Napoli, however Serie C these days, pressed Cesena away and were the better team. But a great action by right fullback Ambrogioni gave Cesena again a good lead in the cup. After that Cesena took over the game. With a great shot from a very hard angle new striker Mangili made it 2-0 for the small home team.

The next round is very near now as Venezia – Empoli ended in a draw. With one game to go Cesena has three points more than Napoli so a draw at Venezia will give “small Cesena†a place in next round. At Cesena people are already hoping for a home game against Juventus in second round. Financially this would be perfect for the club that will do everything to survive….

Happy New Year you lazy members.

That you can write more updates than last year .

WORLD Clan Fm2005 will kick off 2005 with a session on Tuesday at 7.45pm UKtime

koz man where can i get my banner from?

Genoa Fans In A Rage At Appointment!!!

Genoa fans were this preseason in a red rage after the appointment of complete novice Damo Field. Field who had never been any further than a school semi final effort in which he managed and played striker for his school group was appointed at a press confrence and was greeted with open arms from the press after a comedy performance from the new boss. The boss suggested that his genoa side could win serie B.

Signings!!!

Field has already put his stamp on the transfer market. He made a raid on english league one side bristol city. he is said to be a massive fan of the club and makes regular trips to see them at ashton gate. This love was reinforced when he bought club captain tommy doherty who is a commanding defensive midfielder and left back mickey bell who is thought to be cover for the first team. He is also chasing star striker leroy lita from the same club. Field topped off his pre-season spending with a bargin 9k move for tony dinning of wigan. the defensive midfielder is a ideal partner for doherty. Field was also disappointed to miss out on freddy adu in the transfer spell but is now not looking to further stregthen.

aspirtaions and threats!!!

Field would like to relay to the fans that he intends to win the league but does see terana and modena to be the main threats to acheiving his goal.

Field said outside the training ground - "please could all fans and media get behind genoa and push them on and off the field to greatness, the least we should aspire to this season is the playoffs, so lets buod a big fanbase to push us to these targets."

Ternana

Ternana hoping to promote this season and appoints the great Swedish Manager - Mr Mika Nihtilä

Ternana is a professional club in Serie B with big hopes to be at the top this season. The great

stadium "Libero Liberati" will hopefully be full and the team needs the backup of 20000 Ternana fans.

But surprisingly the new Manager has bought several players to strongen the U20 team, some great

youngsters has moved to Ternana, but it will take 2-3 years before they can be in action. Hopefully Mr Nihtilä survives

so long so he can see how great the youngsters will be.

In late pre-season the First team got some great add-ons like the Swedish International Alexander Östlund, a player

who always goes at 110% - will he never get tired? Some oldies with great knowledge has also been bought buy Ternana, players

like Mutiu, Wome and Redondo.

Players in:

2004-7-25 Lekgetho, Jacob Free

2004-7-26 Mutiu Free

2004-7-26 Wome, Pierre Free

2004-7-27 Länsimies, Erkka £12K

2004-7-28 Lähitie, Matti £9K

2004-7-28 Lizzori, Cristian £90K

2004-7-29 Perna, Massimo £75K

2004-7-30 Stenild, Kenneth £20K

2004-8-2 Redondo, Fernando Free

2004-8-11 Eremenko, Roma £9K

2004-8-18 Bumbakovic, Damir £2K

2004-8-22 Fønss, Anders £1K

2004-8-30 Barlay, Samuel £725K

2004-8-30 Östlund, Alexander £800K

The expectations is high and the preaseason games has showed what a great potential this team has, the

results so far:

2-0 Mantova

1-0 Lumezzane

4-0 Ternana U20

0-3 Fiorentina

2-1 Ternana reserves

1-1 Catanzaro

Freak accident delays inception of Dello Spliff's tenure at Ascoli. Agence France Presse, 16/7/04.

Just hours after Chairman Roberto Benigni had announced his appointment as the new manager of Ascoli Calcio 1898, the unfortunate Davide Dello Spliff was rushed to hospital after being struck in the face by a horse's hoof. Although his condition is deemed stable, it seems the 29-year-old is currently in a coma. Further tests are being carried out to determine whether any neurological damage was occasioned.

Dello Spliff returns to the dugout for Ascoli's first home game in Serie B. Reuter's, 16/9/04.

Days only after being released from the Instituto Medicale delle Marche, rookie manager Dello Spliff will be present on the sidelines when Ascoli take on Vicenza at Cino e Lillo del Duca, on 18th September. Upon his return to the team, Dello Spliff was somewhat perplexed to find that whilst several influential players had been sold, loaned out or returned to their clubs (Brevi, Agomeri, Micillo, Franchini, Eliakwu), only one had been brought in; José, a left-winger who signed from Salamanca for a pittance.

"Obviously I'm a little concerned at the lack of depth in the squad, and by the fact that we are now only allowed to sign players who are out of contract" he declared on his first day back in the job. "Nonetheless, if we stay out of trouble until this winter's transfer window, I feel that we are more than capable of matching both the board and the fans' expectations." These expectations, it is believed, would be fulfilled if Ascoli were to finish in the top eight this season.

Serie B results (Ascoli, 11/9 to 23/10). www.calcio365.it, 25/10/04.

11/9/04: v. Triestina (a.) 1-0 (De Martis 50).

18/9/04: v. Vicenza (h.) 3-1 (Bucchi 6, 40; Colacone 12).

25/9/04: v. Treviso (a.) 2-1 (Bucchi 21, 67).

[Ascoli sign two players on free transfers: Muamer Vugdalic (SLO, 27 caps, 27 yrs old, SW/D C) and Lubomir Talda (SVK, 2 caps, 29 yrs old, AM LC)]

29/9/04: v. Catanzaro (h.) 2-0 (Colacone 1, Biso 9).

2/10/04: v. Salernitana (a.) 1-2 (Speranza 53).

16/10/04: v. Piacenza (h.) 5-0 (Bucchi pen 34, 36, 38, pen 90; Capparella 86).

20/10/04: v. Perugia (h.) 2-1 (Bucchi pen 15, Colacone 56).

23/10/04: v. Torino (a.) 0-2.

Game up again at 7.45pm for the clan without top 3 finishers at the FMO award

jus saw you post koz and took a look at the shortlists, yeah bucket on the worst managers list! lol unlucky mate

Hey. i come with bad news. really bad news. im quiting the clan. im really sorry bout this, but other commitments have had to take priority over world clan, my commitments would mean only being able to make one session, sunday. as you all can apreciate this isnt enough to do my clan place justice. so sorry to say but im leaving with immediate effect. just a few thank yous before i go.

Koz - Thanks mate for getting in touch with me way back and letting me in the clan, ill never tire of hearing those immortal kozak words....ffs 0-1 i will relagate for sure now!! you my friend are a true gr8 of FMO.

Rav - Havnt seen you much this season but you challeneged me all the way in cm 03 04. thank god i cut your brakes causing that crash or i may of never won the league with celtic

Bucket - Scottish Ledgend!!! you are a good un. a decent bloke, will win a game in fm one day

Mika - Except for you not being there sunday (damn the swedish internet) i loved your hosting mate. terana will ome good for you if you hold on to frick.

Dave - Easily the funniest posts ive ever read from you mate. your a funny funny man.

NiteEye - Silent in the mirc room, deadly in the game. thank god i hardly got to play you......nah you were rubbish!!! joking mate

Alexis - Got me on form with my win over you last week, shame im off now.

Pav - Never actually played you to my knowledge, always one of us not there, or seperated by leagues in the old game, but a nice bloke and a credit to the clan

Simon tro er um, ok i cant spell your silly surname - but i love ya never the less

And To The Newbies - nice playing with u, especially u marcello, your knowledge of serie b was invaluable in pre season.

ok im done. thanks for the fun, and maybe one day if i can kick the rest of my activities out i may beg koz for my place back, but certainly from now till august i really couldnt do a gr8 clan justice.

Have Fun, let koz win a league....please....let bucket win a game lol

Damo

Bad news Damo as you was a member that almost always played . But probably you are not the boss in house, but your girlfriend is .

You can always come back and I hope we can get some new reliables in soon, but that is pretty hard.

PS. Simon and NiteEye is one and the same person and you forgot Kuky. I will miss my points with relegation fighter Cesena against you champions team.

**** man how did i not get kuky, maybe i got confused with simon as kukys real name, lol. you too kuky your a good bloke and a great manager, and as for you koz! the girlfriend doesnt control my house lol! if i can shake of my commitments i will be back for sure.

thanks again guys

Thanks for playing Damo, you were great fun Read the stories and join us in mirc if you get chance mate, im sure there will be much more 'ffs'...

Couldnt make todays session as i've had big computer problems since sunday night couldnt make sunday as went out to celebrate madrid-mallorca. i hope to get my computer running in time for thursdays session and also to salvage update i had on my hdd

*sniff sniff* buhuuuuu *sniff*

you are leaving me?

buhuuuu *sniff*

Sorry to hear you're leaving the clan, Damo. Good luck with your real life, and thanks for what I think was a compliment

Pavle there's no session Thursday as it's been moved to Friday.

Ascoli hang on despite string of injuries.

A bright enough start to the Serie B league campaign saw Ascoli climb to third spot in early November, after earning a draw away to Catania (0-0) and beating rivals Genoa (1-0) at Cino e Lillo del Duca. The enjoyment was somewhat marred by the horrific injury sustained by left winger José in training that week, one that will see him away from pitches for at least eight months. José had been Ascoli's best player, and added to Vugdalic's two-month absence, it seemed sure to cause a few selection headaches for Dello Spliff, forcing him to put untried (and untalented) youngsters from the under-18s onto the team sheet.

But despite the 3-0 beating Ascoli took at the hands of Albinoleffe, they bounced back well in their next game, brushing Vicenza aside 2-0 thanks to a brace by top scorer -and local hero- Christian Bucchi. November ended with another away defeat, this time to promotion contenders Modena.

December was by far the team's best month so far, and saw Ascoli confirm their presence amongst the top three in Serie B. A 3-1 home win against Arezzo was followed by a tense game at Ternana, Ascoli eventually sneaking a 1-0 win thanks to a goal by (who else...) Bucchi. Another away victory, this time against struggling Cesena (2-1), put them level with Catania at the top of the table. The following week Ascoli obtained four poits from two home fixtures, a draw with Empoli (1-1) and a win over Verona (3-1).

An excellent run of results in the lead-up to the winter break, during which Ascoli will hope to add some depth to the squad. Two signings are scheduled for 1st January already, both of them on free transfers: Reynir Leosson, an Icelandic central defender, and Lars Kristian Eriksen, a versatile Norwegian who can play in any of the wide positions.

Well the clan won't be the same without Damo, No-one to share my jokes with now.

Hope I'll catch you on MSN in the future Damo.

Pavle Appointed New Triestina Manager

Following Triestina’s failure to secure the services a top manager, an unknown known Englishman named Pavle was appointed.

Founded in 1918, Triestina arose from the amalgamation of the clubs Trieste and Ponziana. In the season of 1923-24, Triestina gained its first promotion into what is known today as Serie B, however the club is better known from its period under coach Nereo Rocco. Appointed as coach of bottom of the league Triestina in 1947, he developed a system known as catenaccio to finish 2nd place in Serie A in 1948. This was the ‘golden period’ for the club and today its stadium bears his name. Pavle is now charged with emulating Rocco’s success, starting with a quick return to Serie A...

First Impressions

Upon meeting chairman Amilcare Berti I was informed that he and his fellow board members expected a safe mid-table finish. Despite some fans unrest at my appointment, ive a feeling that this would satisfy them too, and convince them that I can follow in the footsteps of Nereo Rocco.

After some deliberation, ive decided to work with the existing staff, hoping they can give me a valuable insight into my new players. Assistant manager Mark Tullio Strukelj, seems to think that the squad needs strengthening if we are to achieve our goal of mid-table, especially in attack. But im not so sure, with only £1.3m available to me I think it could be best to give the lads a chance to show what they can do and see where we are at January.

The Squad

The first day at training gave me a great opportunity to see what these players could do and I took down some notes of the players Strukelj thought would feature this season.

In goal I have two options Andrea Campagnolo and Alessandro Venditti. Both players seem capable of claiming the number one spot, therefore form will become a big important factor, but Campagnolo will start the season as first choice because Venditti returns to Milan at the end of the season.

Andrea Campagnolo: 26 year old goalkeeper who was first choice last season. Strong, brave, and commands his area well.

Alessandro Venditti: 20 years old and on loan from AC Milan. This talented goalie makes good decisions, has great anticipation and commands his area at such a young age. However the coaches have noted that his reflexes could do with improving.

My defence leaves me a little worried at first and already i’ve noticed a severe lack of height, particularly through the middle.

Massimo Tarantino: 33 year old defender who can play in the centre or left of defence. Composed, has a fierce tackle and good technique for a defender. Will give the needed experience to my defence but his lack of height or heading ability are a worry.

Marco Pecorari: 26 years old and can play either centre or right. Aggressive and a strong header of the ball. Nothing fancy about him but knows how to defend. Might be a good partner in the centre for Tarantino.

Emanuele Bruni: 25 years old and can play anywhere in the defence. His bravery and excellent teamwork stand out. Will feature heavily this season.

Michelangelo Minieri: 23 years old and co-owned by Fiorentina. Can play anywhere in defence. Not the best, however quick and agile, so will have his uses.

William Pianu: 28 year old right-back. Has pace and a good marker. Will start the season on the right of defence.

Mauro Bianchi: 24 year old who can play on the left or in the middle. His bravery, work rate and positioning are his strongest attributes. Will be pushing hard to be in the 1st team at the start of the season.

Pietro Sportillo: 25 year old who can play left back or centre back. Has good tackling and anticipation, but maybe a place on the bench is the best he can hope for.

Roberto Gimmelli: 22 year old right-back. Appears to be concentrated, quite quick, and a good decision maker. However, i have doubts about his ability going forward.

Simone Piva: 20 years old U21 international and co-owned by AS Roma. Piva can play either left or right wing-back. An aggressive player who gets forward well. I expect him to do well this season.

As with the defence the midfield also lacks height and pace. With the lack of any real talent in the middle, it seems as though most of the attack must be focused through wide areas.

Andrea Parola: 25 year old defensive midfielder who can play either side or in the middle. His dribbling, tackling, aggressive play, teamwork and work rate stand out. Has a good chance to establish a place in the centre of my midfield.

Gianni Munari: 21 year old who can play in the centre or right. Co-owned by Chievo. Brave and determined but has limited technique.

Daniele Galloppa: 19 year old defensive midfielder who is co-owned by AS Roma. Has good technique despite his young age and could give some much needed height to the midfield.

Valentino Lai: 20 year old Swedish U21 international. Co-owned by Palermo. Defensive midfielder who can play on the left. A good passer who finishes well but is physically weak. * pre-season shows that this player is a much better player than the initial impression given. Never loses the ball and much stronger than he looks.

Evans Soligo: 25 year old midfielder on loan from Palermo. Good all-round midfielder who will be expecting to start.

Marco Rigoni: 24 year old former Juventus player. He can play anywhere across the midfield and will be injecting the creativity into the midfield. Working out how to get the best of him will be the problem.

Gianfranco Nardi: 26 years old and co-owned by Alto Adige. An attacking player who can play all over the midfield. Nothing special so may find his chances limited.

Nicola Princivalli: 24 year old attacking midfielder. His technical ability together with his pace will prove invaluable when we require attacking options through the middle.

Eder Baú: 22 year old who can play anywhere in midfield and attack. Co-owned by AC Milan. His pace and dribbling will give the team penetration. Easily the player who should cause the most damage to the opposition.

The forwards all seem capable finishers who can work well together. I was disappointed that I didn’t find a player I could use as a target man to give me more options. Again we suffer from a lack of height. Both Godeas and Moscardelli are useful with their head, but are more suited to balls through the middle.

Alessandro Tulli: 22 year old right sided forward. Co-owned by AS Roma. A good finisher who is quite creative and has slightly more pace than the other forwards. Expected to start on bench.

Denis Godeas: 29 years old forward. Excellent finishing, good dribbling, heading, creativity and flair. Is sure to start the season in the first team.

Davide Moscardelli: 24 year old striker. Excellent finishing, heading and concentration. Will probably partner Godeas in the first game of the season.

Triestina Players In Olympic Success

My Italian Cup campaign was hit early, by the news that players Eder Baú and defender Roberto Gimmelli would be representing Italy in the Olympic Games. Italy went on to win the competition which meant I was unable to pick either player throughout my cup campaign. Baú proved on of the stars of the tournament, scoring numerous goals and gaining acclaim from pundits.

Italian Cup

Livorno 1 - 1 Triestina

My reign in charge started in Tuscany with a visit to Serie A side A.S.Livorno. Concerned with the threat of their two strikers, Protti and Lucarelli, we started with a 4-4-2 formation and very little freedom given to the midfield. Livorno played 3-5-2 system and had the best of the initial exchanges. But our tactics were working and it was a surprise when Cristiano Lucarelli opened the scoring in the 43rd min. Getting on the end of a through ball from Igor Protti, he placed a shot to the left of Campagnolo from just inside the area. However we hit back almost instantaneously!After breaking down a Livorno attack, Bruni found Nardi on the left wing. After beating the full-back, he squared the ball to Godeas on the edge of the box. Immediately he crossed to Rigoni on the far post and he beat keeper from 6 yards out. After this, chances for both teams dried up. Although not exciting, this game had given me encouragement for the future, as even without Baú and Gimmelli (Olympics), we had proved stubborn opponents to a team in Serie A.

Triestina 1 - 1 Perugia

My first game in charge at the Nereo Rocco saw a huge turn out from the fans- 23,866!! We both started with a 4-4-2, but this time much more freedom was given to my two wingers. The game proved scrappy, with neither side able to put any move together as both defences were on top. Particularly impressive was the form of Perugia's right-back, Ferdinand Coly. In the 65th min we managed to get the breakthrough. Galloppa got his head on a goal kick from Kalac, finding the run of Godeas who had drifted between the two central defenders. Once inside the box he made no mistake, putting it to the left of Milanese. With 2 mins to go i though we had done enough as Perugia had offered nothing all game. However when they won a corner in the 88th min, manager Franco Colomba saved the game. By sending up his goalie it caused chaos in the area so when the ball dropped to Bernini he equalised with a half-volley.

Triestina 0 - 0 AlbinoLeffe

A disappointing end to the last game meant our only hope of qualification was a win here and a win for Livorno away at Perugia . The excitement surrounding my first game at home had subsided, and a modest crowd of 11,271 saw me take on Slovenian tactician Kuky. We both started with an adventurous 4-4-2 and it was us who forced the early pressure. On another day we could have had 2 or 3, but on this occasion we were me with stiff resistance in the form of goalie Paolo Acerbis and left-back Riccardo Colombo. AlbinoLeffe came into the game late on and they too will feel disappointed not to have scored.

I was disappointed with our performance in the cup. After getting a great start in Livorno, we should have been able capitalise on our two home games. Perugia went through into the next phase, topping the table with 5 points. We tied 2nd place with Livorno on 3 points, while AlbinoLeffe finished bottom with 2 points.

Serie B standings **update**

PS. people with -/- before there name hadnt much impact on there league position due to they nearly played a game. . Damo left due to other commitments (see above) at Genua.

January/February 2005: Brick by brick, step by step. Cosimo Galtieri, Notizie dalle Marche.

Return from the Winter break.

With eleven games crammed into the first two months of 2005, and the opportunity to strengthen the depth of the squad during the transfer window, Ascoli fans knew this would be a crucial period for the club, which had so far exceeded expectations and lay top of Serie B as 2004 ended.

Dello Spliff's priority was to reinforce the defensive and midfield areas, and January saw the arrival of six new players. Reynir Leosson (DC) and Lars Kristian Eriksen (D/AM RL) arrived on free transfers on 1st January, whilst later in the month two former Palermo players were signed; Christian Terlizzi (DC) for an initial £350k, and Francesco Modesto (D/DM L) for £300k. In the last week of January, Ascoli made three further signings: Arved Smit (AM R) signed from PSV for £250k, Tony Dinning (DM C) signed from Genoa for £35k, and experienced former Atalanta midfielder Bernardini (DM C) signed for £400k.

The Results.

The year started with an opportunistic 1-0 away win at Pescara, quickly followed by a comfortable home win over Bari (3-0) and decent performance away at Crotone, which earned Ascoli a 1-1 draw. On 23rd January they played host to Triestina, and Christian Bucchi's second hat-trick of the season gave Ascoli a 3-1 win, stretching their unbeaten run to nine games. The month ended with a fine 2-0 away win against Venezia, leaving Ascoli at the top of the table with a comfortable seven-point cushion.

February started somewhat less brightly, with points dropped at home against Treviso (1-1), followed by Ascoli's first defeat in eleven games, a 3-0 away drubbing at the hands of Catanzaro. But the team reacted in determined fashion with a good home win against rivals Salernitana (3-1), and an excellent 4-0 away win at Piacenza, whose beleaguered manager Alex Manson is coming under increasing pressure. There were two games left in February, and the first of these was a vital encounter at Cino e Lillo del Duca against second-placed Catania, which saw Dello Spliff's team emerge victorious (2-0) and confirm their place at the top of the table, with 61 points from 28 games. On 27th February Ascoli travelled to Perugia and put in a good display, earning themselves a 2-2 draw during which Bucchi scored his twenty-eighth goal of the season.

The Outlook.

With thirteen games to go in Serie B, Ascoli seem to be in a very favourable position to gain access to Serie A, however they cannot afford too many slip-ups as Catania, Catanzaro and Salernitana all still threaten. The squad, however, is stronger than it was at the turn of the year, and should now be able to cope better in the event of injuries or suspensions. Dello Spliff can look to the future with a certain degree of confidence, and this whether his team achieves promotion or not.

We are heading for the end of the season ( 9 matches left) and the AlbinoGods are making an exciting second part of the tournament. After being struggleing the first 20 matches looks like the North italian side finnaly found a constant form and moved away of the moving sands of the bottom places. Veteran striker Bonazzi found and excelent scoring form ... helped by his brother Pozzagoal with lots of assists. The two "terrible" are the best pair in the second half of the league hands down. Even the fans are surprised ,but looks like AlbinoLeffe is going to the playoffs, at least with this kind of playing. But there are few questins now at Leffe ,one is what the hell are we going to do in serie A with lots of old players and no budget to invest. Even if we dont go to Serie A AlbinoGods with still be heros ....

The thirteen-year stretch: Ascoli put the lean years behind them and return to Serie A.

Since their relegation from Serie A at the close of the '91/'92 season, Ascoli had struggled considerably and spent quite a few of the intervening years in Serie C. This season, however, they led the pack throughout most of the league schedule, and ended up champions of Serie B by a comfortable margin.

Things looked a little shaky in March, starting with a home draw against Torino (1-1) and a 3-1 away defeat at Genoa. But the unease was dispelled by three wins in a row after that, home games against Albinoleffe (3-2) and Modena (3-0).

In April Ascoli made their move for the title, though once again the month started off with a tense 1-1 draw away to bottom-placed Arezzo. From then on, their form was irrepressible: home wins against Ternana (4-0), Cesena (2-1) and Pescara (2-1), as well as away wins against Empoli (2-0), Verona (3-0) and resurgent Bari (3-0).

The last game of the season, away to Crotone, was a tired 0-0 draw but by then the title had already been secured. Ascoli finished the season with the following stats:

92 points (28 wins, 8 draws and 6 defeats)

77 goals scored/34 goals conceded

Christian Bucchi was without doubt Ascoli's star performer this season. Banging in 34 league goals (a club record) and setting up quite a few others, he led the line admirably and terrorised center-halves up and down the country. The player is partly-owned by Chievo, and it is uncertain whether his future lies with Ascoli or the Verona giants, though the matter may be resolved this summer.

The challenge for manager Dello Spliff will be to build a squad capable of surviving in Serie A, and much will depend on how far the board trust him with the club's funds.

"I'm thrilled at the prospect of leading the club back up to Serie A" he stated to the assembled press at Piceno. "As a kid I used to watch Liam Brady playing in our beloved black-and-white stripes and think: 'one day that will be me'. And of course, I never became the great player that he was, but in my own way I've now contributed to getting the club back where it was when the master was around. Having said that, we'll need to find ourselves another Brady if we're serious about staying up there with the big boys."

Time will tell whether the club from the Marche is able to carve itself a corner of Italy's football map...

1st SEASON results

Adjustment to 2nd season:

* David Manson promoted to serie A to battle with the big teams.

* Rav left due to marriage.

* James relegated with Verona and will battle for a fast return to Serie B.

* Damo Field returns the clan after a short breakout. He will takover the Crotone job after seeing his old club Genua being promoted from playoffs.

Serie B team of the year:

Goalkeeper:

Silvio Lafuento (Catanzaro)

Defense:

Massimo de Martis (Ascoli)

Lars Kritian Eriksen (Ascoli)

Stefano Lorenzi (Arezzo)

Mauro Bonomi (Catanzaro)

Midfield:

Emiliano Salvetti (Cesena)

Johan Walem (Catania)

Marco Rigoni (Triestina)

Davie Bombardini (Salernitana)

Attack:

Christian Bucchi (Ascoli)

Davide Possanzini (Albinoleffe)

Subs

Olivier Renard (Modena)

Simone Padoin (Vicenza)

Carlos Alberto Ortiz (Venezia)

Luca Rigoni (Vicenza)

Salvatore Bruno (Catania)

hi dudes is the a wy of joining up to this game or some website wer i had in my detials for the next one thanx?

If you ever read this, congratulations Rav, and all the best

Nice table Koz

hey guys, thanks to koz im back!!! iid like to thank him for taking me back and am looking forward to playin agina, sorry about the typos but my screen is knackered, will be fixed for tonight, good season by the looks of things!!! congrats to rav, and crotone will lead the way this season!!!

PIAGOL!!! (August edition)

Our beloved team, Piacenza, managed by French tactician Alexis Manson, is undergoing major reconstruction works. Indeed, the players that were available to Manson in his first season at the club did not seem capable of achieving anything in the Serie B, except perhaps relegation.

Whether the fault lies in a lack of vision from Manson, or a lack of ability coupled with low determnination among the players, is still unclear, however what we do know is that there was obviously something deeply wrong with the club.

Indeed, the club, after a promising start which gave a lot of supporters hope that the team would at least reach the promotion playoffs, went on what seemed like an infinite downward slope from there. And this, despite bringing in 'quality' players over the January mercato. The club was very lucky not to have to fight for their place in the Serie B, as they finished just one spot above the last relegation playoff place.

Everyone working on this great fanzine was depressed and refused to write articles for a while, preferring to turn their attentions to other sports, such as curling and fishing. However we have every reason to believe that next season could be much more exciting, with the arrivals of excellent players who should dramatically improve the squad, as well as the club's fortunes.

The best signing was probably Lastuvka, one of the highest-rated young goalkeepers in the world. Many of us are still wondering just how Manson managed to convince the starlet to come to Piacenza. The French-Irish manager had also secured Koubsky's arrival on a free transfer back in late December. Markus Munch also joined the club, from Panathinaikos.

So the defence was therefore the area to improve, and Manson quickly acknowledged that. He has not signed any midfielders so far, which is slightly worrying, as Piacenza do need more depth, especially on the left wing, and in central midfield. Manson has apparently discovered a pearl, whose name he is reticent to reveal, for fear of seeing him get stolen by fellow managers. Emmanuele Calaio is the only signing up front so far, but what a signing!

With another couple of good signings, Piacenza should have the strength to compete for a promotion spot this season, so please everyone, buy season tickets and support your team!!!

Albinogods turned into Albinoyouths. Slovenian manager Kuk said goodbye to some veteran Albino players and brought about 7-8 young (16y-18y) future stars. So for the forthcoming season Kuk not expecting a great season. Those players with the help of some experienced players are expected to bring glory to the club in about 3-4 years. Season started with a different kind of aproach in training and it ain't looking good for the players . So the preparation is very harder then the season before ( partys all nights ) and players are expected to be in great form in nov-dec. The first official match (coppa italia first round) showed a very tired team with Albino lost 1-4 with promotion chaser Perugia. Financialy the club got some money from the transfer of one english youngster just signed and immediatly sold to Stuttgart ... what a deal. Looks like Possagoal is staying and will be coupled with a 15y old striker Cesare Rossi (30 goals last season in u18 league ). Stay tuned for some Albinonews !!!!!

posted for Damo as he has explorer problems:

GO GO CROTONE!!! VOLUME ONE

Back In Serie B

Midway into last season now promoted genoa layed 12th in serie b with a young attacking manager at the helm, just as it was looking like genoa would pull there socks up and push for promotion manager Damo Field dropped the bombshell that due to famlily commitments he would have to resign from the post. The world of football thought they had lost one of the bright young managers in the country. but just a week ago serie b mid table hopefulls crotone made the shock announcement that they would be appointing field as there new manager! the news was well received by the pundits in serie b who claimed Field would thrive on the shoe string budget and low resources at the club, this has proved the case. Field signed a couple of signings, young striker Meloni came in for a couple of K from mid table rivals cesensa. and he also made the purchase of kharaja after a mix up over EU nationality at his previous club. however Field has singled out one player as the key to crotones succsess this season, the attacking midfielder tarantino. After scoring freely in pre-season Field was very impressed with his efforts thus far under his managment.

Cup Shock Takes Field Back

Upon the Coppa italia group draw the draw room was amist gasps from crotone and genoa officials who realised they would meet in the first game of the cup. As it turned out field walked into the stadium to a rapptorous applause and a heros welcome which was odd for such a manager who acheived nothing at genoa, the fans said they appreciated key signings which got them promoted. And as for the match serie b crotone did themselves no worries in the match itself. a taratino goal early on gave Field his first competitve joy, a penalty midway through the second half looked to have tied it up until striker savoldi stepped up and shot straight over the bar. however Field wasnt worried as the clock ticked down the victory looked certain until one time fave player stellone stepped up for genoa and popped in a equaliser! however considering genoa are now serie a material Field was upbeat.

Player For Volume One

This volumes outstanding player is tarantino. a goal against genoa and some goals pre-season made him a obvious choice this edition

CROTONE GO INTO THE START OF THE SEASON UPBEAT. THEY HAVE A FRIENDLY AGAINST VERONA TO PLAY WHICH WILL BE A GOOD WARM UP FOR THEM, DAMO FIELD SEEMS TO THINK THEY CAN GET A PLAYOFF PLACE THIS SEASON, MUCH TO THE DISGUST OF DAVE AT ASCOLI. BUT FIELD PROMISES THE FANS A TOP HALF OF THE TABLE FINISH AND CERTAINLY TOP 6 IS NOT OUT FO ANYONES REACH, HE SINGLED OUT CESENSA AS THERE MAIN THREAT AND WILL LOOK FORWARD TO CHALLENGING ALL TEAMS THIS SEASON!!!!

Not so much disgust as disbelief, Damo

CESENA Calcio  BENVENUTA Kozak

Manager Kozak looks up for his second season at Dino Manuzzi

After being a Serie B team for first time in lots of years and a 5 loss-game-streak at the start of last season there was no doubt: Cesena would go down directly to Serie C1. Even the manager was feeling that way, however he kept saying other things in press. By saying his team would be able to stay in Serie B he tried to keep a positive mood around the Cesena camp. He succeeded. The banned and injured players Pestrin, Rea and Salvetti returned to the starting team. Especially the non-loosing streak of 10 games after the Pestrin comeback gave good hope and brought the team back above the red line. However good & bad games were played the Cesena talents growed during season. All ending in a very good 13th spot in their first Serie B season. Especially experienced winger Salvetti showed impressive dribbles around the ground and even finished in the SERIE B TEAM OF THE YEAR with only played half of the season due to a 6 month injury at the start. The board and Cesena fans were happy. The manager could stay at Dino Manuzzi.

The signings of last season all did a good job. Andrea Compagnone already got interest from big stars Juventus who want a co-ownership on this talented defender. Till now the offers were rejected by Kozak as he thinks Compagnone is not available for the price offered by the Turin based team. Fausto Mangili the striker signing who came from Serie D showed a very good second season half. Especiall his Maradona-like-goals after huge runs impressed the fans. But not only the fans seen that, as also Serie A team Parma already showed their interest in Fausto Mangili. Reserve talented 17 year old keeper Lasse Staw (Norway) will get a few more seasons to break into the team and already played a few games in first team.

Cesena U20 wins the BABY Serie B league

Part of the future is the youth from Cesena. As a club without that much money they will always need own youth to complete the team. Impressive was the championship won by this team. As most talented player for sure are topscorer Federico Zacchini and 19 year old keeper Alex Foiera . 17 year old Zacchini is loaned away for next season to get a place in the team next season. Foiera will be third keeper next season.

Player changes

Like needed Kozak tried to improve the team. For that he first needed to sell a few players. Keeper Indiveri was sold for an initial fee of 65k to Fortuna Dusseldorf. Last seasons’ captain Riccardo Bocchini hasn’t found a new team yet after being released on a free transfer. He lost his starting place to midseason signing Pedrag Pazin . The Bulgarian experienced defender came over from the bench of Shakthar Donetsk. Further also Simone Groppi , a starting left fullback had to leave to make wage budget available.

In the offseason manager Kozak was very busy in trying to improve the relegation favourites of last season. Dutch keeper Jelle ten Rouwelaar came from PSV for a 30k fee. The keeper was loaned to FC Zwolle last year. He must become the new first keeper of Cesena. Cesena signed in three defenders: Sannino a 17 year old left wingback who comes from Serie C; Guiseppe Scurto came on a free transfer from AS Roma Reserves; while Belgian Gilles Swerts comes from Dutch team Feyenoord where he couldn’t break into the first team.

Pettrucci (Lazio U20) , Taralidis (Panathinaikos Bteam) and Garzon (Pescara) were the signings for midfield. Argentinian German Denis came back from loan and is the only chance in attack.

However these are not the big talents the manager wanted he hopes his team can play themselves safe again this season. Promotion is too far away. Fights for players as Gianfranco Zola, Francesco Bilardo etc were lost against promoted teams like Como and Napoli. The budget at Cesena is simply too low to make a chance for promotion ever.

The PRE-season started with a 3-1 win over Serie C1 team Spezia. In first cup group game the team surprised with a 5-0 win over fellow Serie B team Treviso. A next round will be very hard though with giants Brescia in the group. Lets see what happens this season…..

CESENA Calcio  BENVENUTA Kozak

Cesena surprises again in cup

After getting through the group stages last year as only human manager, Cesena managed it again this season. With 3 wins from 3 games there was no doubt it was deserved this time. In a group with fellow Serie B teams Triestina & Treviso and Serie A team Brescia it was a big result.

Treviso – Cesena 0-5 like in our previous review.

Cesena – Brescia (Serie A) 1-0

A great and deserved win over the Serie A giants Brescia by the small coast team. The only goal of the game came of the foot of striker Marco Bernacci . In last 15 minutes Brescia tried to equalize (both teams won their first game) but didn’t succeed after a good save from Cesena keeper Jelle ten Rouwelaar.

Cesena – Triestina 4-1

Triestina came to Dino Manuzzi without manager Pavle Fairhurst who seemed to be on training course at Ajax’ Amsterdam. Cesena knew 1 point would be good enough to get in the 1st cup round. The game didn’t start too well for the home team with some corners for Triestina. But after that the game turned to a motivated Cesena team. It didn’t took too long before last signing of this transfer window Andrea di Tora brought the home team in the lead with a nice header. Di Tora was unwanted at Inter Milan and could come on a free transfer. Also within the half hour Marco Bernacci doubled the score. Halfway the second half Triestina came back on 2-1. At that moment Brescia were winning their game so Cesena had to win a point. Tired Bernacci, Salvetti and Rosetti were subbed by Denís, Ambrogioni and Petrucci. The subs did their work and Cesena outplayed the visitors in last 25 minutes of the game. With two German Denís goals it finished in a 4-1 win. With 9 points from 3 games a deserved next round for a surprising Cesena who spend just 30k this season. In next round the team drawed Serie A giants Ascoli from manager David Manson.

“Ascoli dominated Serie B last season and done great signings and we will have just 10% on a next round if they play some subs. But it’s a great result from our guys and always good for their experience to play class teams like Chievo (last year) and Ascoli this yearâ€.

Late offer for co-owned Manolo Pestrin on transfer deadline day came in as a shock at Cesena

Fiorentina wants 50% on the transfer rights of Manolo Pestrin. Cesena and their manager are considering the offer if Pestrin can stay at Cesena this season. The offer is supposed to be far over 1 million Pound!!!

PIAGOL!!! (September edition)

Alexis Manson is a lucky man indeed. It is a miracle he did not get the sack at the end of the season. Despite a great start to last season, Piacenza fell apart after the winter break.

The board were most likely trying to be sensible about the situation, acknowledging the fact that one season is perhaps not much for a manager to prove himself, especially when he has had to rebuild a squad neglected for years by previous managers.

As was highlighted in last month's edition of our great fanzine, Manson's signing have been promising to say the least. He has signed two new players since our last edition, who could prove vital to enhance Piacenza's chances of promotion.

One of them is Emmanuel Petit, former French international player who scored the famous third goal in the World Cup final against Brazil in 1998.

The other is Soto, a Costa Rican winger who should do much good to our left wing, which was one of last season's weak positions. He was Piacenza's best player on his debut in the Italian Cup, a game which ended in a draw against Napoli, who have just promoted to Serie B.

Piacenza lost their second game away, which meant they were mathematically out of the competition despite getting one point from two games.

They won their third game easily 3 or 4-0, no-one really cared about the result as you can see, the important thing was that Piacenza finally looked like a winning team capable of achieving great things.

Manson is trying to bring in another two players to the club whose contracts are expiring on January 1st, as he has spent all the money he was allowed to work with for the summer already. However, the French/Irish manager already possesses a squad that is more than capable of competing in the Serie B, and it will take a few key long-term injuries to keep them out of a promotion spot!

Pre-season transfers for the 2005/06 campaign.

PLAYERS OUT:

D. Micillo (GK) to Genoa, E300.000

R. Maurantonio (GK) to Giulianova, E1.000

M. De Martis (D/DM R) to Cagliari, E500.000

M. Cudini (SW/D C) to Napoli, Free Transfer

M. Lauro (D/DM L) to Vicenza, E130.000

F. Modesto (D/DM L) to Benevento, E750.000

T. Dinning (DM C) to Coventry (Eng), Free Transfer

M. Biso (DM C) to Genoa, E675.000

A. Speranza (M C) to Vicenza, E150.000

M. Fini (AM RL) to Cagliari, E200.000

M. Capparella (AM/F RLC) to Messina, E450.000

M. Cordaro (F C) to Reggiana, E150.000

R. Colacone (F C) to Udinese, E375.000

I. Tanko (F RC) to Cagliari, E575.000

PLAYERS IN:

B. Leyenda (GK, Arg/Ita, 28) from Vélez (Arg), E18.000

S. Saja (GK, Arg/Spa, 25) from San Lorenzo (Arg), E1.500.000

A. Görlitz (D/DM R, Ger, 23) from Bayern München (Ger), E475.000

G. Valmy (D C, Fra, 18) from Inter Milan, Free Transfer

O. Petre (D/DM C, Rom, 28) from Galatasaray (Tur), Free Transfer

M. Pieri (D/DM L, Ita, 25) from Udinese, Free Transfer

V. Cioffi (DM C, Ita, 16) Free Transfer (unattached)

M. Maestri (M C, Ita, 18) from Milan AC, Free Transfer

R. Bertolini (M C, Ita, 19) from Milan AC, Free Transfer

D. Bystron (M C, Cze, 22) from Banik Ostrava (Cze), E900.000

R. Douala (AM R, Cam/Por, 23) from Sporting Lisbon (Por), E55.000

M. Regueiro (AM RL, Uru/Ita, 26) from Racing Santander (Spa), Free Transfer

M. Ketelaer (AM L, Hol, 29) from 1.FC Nürnberg, E220.000

Güiza (S C, Spa, 27) Free Transfer (unattached)

Robert (S C, Spa, 25) from Salamanca (Spa), E80.000

C. Riganó (S C, Ita, 31) from Fiorentina, E250.000