PGC: The Italian Job for FM15

https://www.facebook.com/pgconline

http://the-pgc.webs.com/

For Football Manager 2015, the PGC online game continues! In existence since 2009, PGC has become the leading Football Manager online experience. Originally standing for 'Premiership Glory Clan', as a result of our origins, the group is now called just 'PGC', with no particular meaning, simply our identification.

Our history of games:

FM 2009: English Premiership

FM 2010: English Premiership: thread

FM 2011: English Leagues: thread

FM 2012: English Premiership & English Leagues: thread & thread

FM 2013: English Leagues & German Leagues: thread & thread

FM 2014: Dutch Leagues: thread

During the days of FM 2013, the group went in different directions, with the German League players calling themselves 'The Mongrels', but for FM 2014, the clan reverted back to the PGC moniker.

This year, the group will be taking on the Italian leagues. With so much rich history in so many clubs, it's bound to be a cracker. All players will start in Serie B, or lower should they wish.

Confirmed to be taking part this year are:

Stuart: PGC founder

Joe: PGC founder

Davie: PGC since FM 2010

Alistair: PGC since FM 2011

Andy: PGC since FM 2012

Jonas: PGC since FM 2014

Ryan: PGC since FM 2014 (admin)

Arthur: PGC since FM 2014

We have now filled up the spare slots in the clan, but keep your eyes peeled, we might have slots opening soon.

How do I join the game?

First off, the game is played Monday through Wednesday every week, from 1900UK to 2300UK / 2000CET to 0000CET.

Secondly, make sure you familiarise yourself with our game rules. Boring stuff, yes, but not too long-winded and essential reading.

Thirdly, make sure you have Skype. Voice chat is not necessary, but all communications are run through the Skype text conversation.

Fourthly, have a good grasp of English.

If you are happy with the rules and times, have Skype, and are committed, you can apply to join our game in a number of ways:

1. Private message myself (Ryan).

2. Advertise yourself in the available players thread.

3. Through the application form on our website.

In all cases, remember to include your Skype & Steam username, and any previous experience, either on- or offline. All new players are vetted beforehand for their suitability to join the game.

Good luck, and even if you are not part of our game, enjoy our thread!

Players and teams:

Ali T(Advantageous)

San Marino (C/C)

Alistair was the most successful manager on PGC 14, winning countless Eredivisie's with his all-conquering Feyenoord side and adding a few with Twente also. The Champions League win (with Twente) came later than perhaps it should, but this was made up by his unbeaten league season in his final year at Feyenoord. A move to Twente followed, after a brief sojourn at Ajax, and there Turner found it more of a struggle with the efforts of Roda to contend with. For 15, he takes on one of the biggest challenges in Italy: San Marino. They lack in all areas, and with his spare time limited, it remains to be seen if Ali can put in the effort required to consolidate their position in C, never mind push on.

Andy Fallon (AndyFal36)

Latina (B)

PGC mainstay Andy Fallon was almost the definitive 'one club man' in PGC 14, steering FC Eindhoven for over 20 years, having ended up there after being sacked by Roda in his first season. The tiny club had significant success under Andy's financial wizardry, with two Dutch Cup wins and just a one season blip in it's Eredivisie stay. Perhaps question marks remain over Fallon's ability to step it up to the big time, with his chance at Roda blown, but for now, in PGC 15, he has taken a smaller club again, with Latina his choice. Playing staff that finished 3rd in Serie B last year are really the only plus point in Latina's profile, with average facilities and a small stadium. It may be that a rapid promotion based on the current crop of players will be the best chance for the Lazio-based club, one that has never tasted the riches of Serie A.

Arthur O'Shea (ArthurOS)

Lecce (C/C)

Arthur joined PGC late in the 14 game, with De Graafschaap. Some up and down seasons followed, but in the main there were more positives than negatives to his tenure, usually placing well in the MOTY vote, along with showing a keen eye for talent along the way. There are still many questions marks surrounding O'Shea, including will he keep his attention firmly on the matter at hand? It may not matter if his attention is not fully on the game, as with Lecce he has picked the strongest team in all of C, with financial clout and large stadium.

Davie Milligan (scooter28)

Perugia (B)

Davie was something of a quandary on PGC 14, with his AZ team on the verge of Europe one moment, the verge of relegation the next. It seemed Davie couldn't quite put his finger on the recipe for success or the fault causing failure, so for Serie B he has chosen one of the richest picks available in Perugia who were last in Serie A in 2004 and have been reformed twice since. They also produced Fabrizio Ravanelli and signed the son of Colonel Gaddaffi in the past. With plenty of cash and a large stadium, with moderate initial expectations, Milligan could be on to a winner.

Jonas Christensen (Jonas Christensen)

Cremonese (C/A)

The Dane, Jonas Chistensen, has the best youth setup in all of Serie C at Cremonese. Famed for his work with youngsters, Christensen was handed his P45 at a couple of clubs in PGC 14, before finding a home at FC Emmen, a tiny club, who he brought up to the top league twice. Twice the team was relegated immediately, but it could have been oh so different the first time round, had he not been absent for the vast majority of the campaign. As it was, he was sent back to scratching around for players, and never really threatened with any menace again.

Ryan Callan (redhawk)

Pro Vercelli (B)

By all accounts, Ryan did a superb job on his debut in PGC, steering Roda JC from second division mediocrity to European champions in short order, having joined part way through the game. However, the highest level of success came after the withdrawal of another top manager from Twente, and the subsequent switch from the ultra-dominant force of Feyenoord to Twente, by Alistair. It seems unlikely that Callan would have enjoyed such success without this movement, but 18 trophies, including two Trebles, certainly demands respect for PGC 15. He has chosen a difficult task, with Pro Vercelli being a C club masquerading as B side. A rich history is behind them, having won seven Serie A titles and producing the top scorer in Italy, Silvio Piola, but with a tiny stadium the odds are against them. The question is: was PGC 14 a flash in the pan for Callan?

Stuart Abrey (FFCStu1428)

Ancona (C/B)

During PGC 14, Stuart reached the milestone of 100 seasons with the clan, a never before achieved feat. In that game, Stuart threatened great success, but some X-factor saw him pull up short each time he began to grasp at the tablecloth of the big boys' buffet, getting his long-yearned chance at Ajax too late in the game to make any real impact, after almost reaching the elite with NAC Breda. In previous FMs Abrey has enjoyed considerable success, so it's a good bet, he'll return to winning ways this time around. If he is to, though, he will have to overcome poor playing staff that are predicted to finish in the bottom half of Serie C/B. If he recruits well, the stadium and solid finances are in place for a push through the divisions, with their second, and last, stay in Serie A being a decade ago now.

Pedro Nervio (Athrill)

Pisa (C/B)

Pedro is a new recruit to PGC, coming across with friends Jean and Mike. He arrives with a reputation of being an excellent FM player, so all are eager to see how he performs. Pisa are his club of choice, and he has chosen wisely, Pisa arguably the strongest club across all three C divisions aside from Lecce. They also have great potential for expansion with a large stadium and potential fanbase. They last played in Serie A as a stereotypical yo-yo club in the 80s and early 90s. Can Nervio live up to the hype?

Mike Pauwels (Kaboooom)

Reggina (C/C)

Mike, the second of the trio of friends, hails from Belgium, and also comes with the reputation of being a good FM player, if not quite as good as Pedro. He has chosen Reggina, not to be confused with Reggiana, who boast one of the largest stadiums in the C divisions. Predicted to finish 4th, he will need to hit the ground running, but, again, like Pisa, the potential is there, as they had a good run in Serie A earlier this millenium, before being indicted in Calciopoli and being relegated in quick succession from then on.

Jean Ekra (Jean614)

Alessandria (C/A)

Jean is more of an enigma than his two pals, and that is reflected in his club choice. Although they are predicted to place strongly in Serie C, they possess a small stadium, and were last in Serie A in 1960, having produced 'Golden Boy' Gianni Rivera, who debuted for them that fateful year. There are certainly more questions than answers surrounding Ekra and Alessandria. Can he produce his own golden boy?

Aaron Hazlett (wiganlover11)

Avellino (B)

Aaron is new to the PGC, the Wigan supporter choosing a strong team in Avellino. With good playing staff, finances and stadium, but fairly low expectations, Hazlett will be looking to do well immediately. The Lupi were last in Serie A in 1988.

Andy Gillespie (smashin88)

Spezia (B)

Also brand new to the PGC, Andy has made his acumen very apparent right off the bat with his choice of Spezia, the club with the most easily liquidated playing assets for rebuilding. They are initially one of the richer clubs too, but with a relatively small stadium, early success could be required as the Little Eagles have never tasted Serie A.

Ian McAlister (MaddogBaxter)

Foggia (C/C)

Oldham fan Ian has gone hipster for his debut in PGC, taking over Foggia in Serie C, hoping to emulate the glory days of Zdenek Zeman and bring Foggia back to the big boys' table. Although they have a start point of -1, this shouldn't too big of a hurdle for McAlister, who has been giving it large in pre-game banter. Right?

Good Luck Boys..

AndyF - Latina

E 'un grande onore nel mio primo passo nella direzione di prendere le redini in questo club. Spero di ripagare la fiducia nei miei confronti da parte del presidente e portare il successo di questo gigante addormentato. Abbiamo un sacco di lavoro davanti a noi, ma se spingiamo tutti nella direzione giusta e un paio di nuovi acquisti per dare alla squadra un ascensore che potremmo essere su qualcosa di speciale qui.

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Davie- Perugia

Associazione Calcistica Perugia Calcio, previously A.C. Perugia, Perugia Calcio and commonly referred to as simply Perugia is an Italian association football club based in Perugia, Umbria. Founded in 1905 (refounded in 2005 and 2010 due to financial troubles) has amongst its best records a runners-up season in serie A 1978-79, in wich they finished unbeaten, and the 2003 UEFA Intertoto Cup. The team currently plays in Serie B after promotion from Lega Pro Prima Divisione in 2013-14 season.

The Stadio Renato Curi holds 28000

Kit colours

Team Captain-Gianluca Comotto

Players to watch -Rodrigo Taddei,Michael Rabusic and Brayan Perea

SPEZIA CONFIRM GILLESPIE

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Today Spezia Calcio have unveiled new boss Andy Gillespie at the Stadio Alberto Picco. In some what of a shock move this untried manager is rumoured to have won the job in a high stakes poker game with chairman Matteo Volpi these rumours are vigouresly denied though with Volpi replying" once you lot see this guy on the training pitch and understand his passion for the game youll know why hes my manager"

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A fans representative has said " we are over the moon with this appointment and will give Gillespie our full support we expect promotion as soon as possible and for the new manager to build on the success of recent years.

A C D Foggia Calcio - i Satanelli

Full name Foggia Calcio s.r.l.

Nickname(s) i Satanelli (The Little Satans)

Founded 1920 2012 (refounded)

Ground Stadio Pino Zaccheria,Foggia, Italy

Capacity 25,000

Chairman Fabio Verile

League Lega Pro/C

2013–14 Lega Pro Seconda Divisione/B, 5th

Foggia Calcio is an Italian football club, based in Foggia, Puglia. Foggia currently plays in Lega Pro, having last been in Serie A in 1995.

The team gained nationwide popularity as US Foggia in the 1990s when coached by Zdeněk Zeman because of its attacking, spectacular style of play, which brought Foggia continuously on the verge of UEFA Cup qualification, launching several players who later broke through at international level such as Giuseppe Signori, Francesco Baiano, Brian Roy, Igor Kolyvanov, Igor Shalimov, Roberto Rambaudi and Dan Petrescu.

Since then the club have struggled financially, making numerous reincarnations to their current guise as A C D Foggia Calcio.

Football has always been a popular sport to follow in the city of Foggia, especially since the Zeman years. I Satanelli can also count on support from across the Province of Foggia. Their top boy Antonio Esposito is the Ultra's leader.

The only twinning Foggia fans have is with the supporters of Cagliari and more specifically with the Sconvolts 1987 ultras. However, each group has personal friendships, notable are those with Monza, Latina and Budapest Honved.

i Satanelli To Appoint McAlister As Manager

There are strong rumours that Foggia are close to appointing their new manager. Ian McAlister a young-englishman is understood to be the man to take charge with a deal to be concluded tomorrow. Foggia will start the new season with minus 1 point due to financial irregularities last season. A problem that has plagued the club in recent years. Despite this the club are predicted to do ok and McAlister will be expected to move the club in the direction.

Full name: Associazione Sportiva Avellino 1912

Nickname(s): Lupi (Wolves), Biancoverdi (White-greens), Irpini (Irpinians)

Founded: 1912

2009 (as Avellino Calcio.12)

2010 (as AS Avellino 1912)

Ground: Stadio Partenio, Avellino, Italy

Capacity: 26,308

The club was founded as U.S. Avellino during 1912 to give the town of Avellino a footballing representative. The early history of the club is quite obscure as they only competed at a lower level against regional sides. Avellino competed in IV Divisione from 1913 until after the Second World War; today's equivalent of that level is Serie D.For the earlier part of their history the club did not achieve anything of note, until being placed in Serie C for the 1945–46 post-War season. In the 1946–47 season they narrowly missed out on getting through to the interregional final, after finishing third in their group.

Avellino beat out the likes of Catania, Reggina and Messina to win promotion to Serie B at the end of the 1940s. However, the club were accused of match fixing and the federation decided to strip them of their promotion, instead relegating them down to Serie D. Although they were able to return to Serie C after one season, Avellino were relegated back down to spend six seasons in a row at Serie D level.

Eventually Avellino returned, but in the space of six seasons, Avellino gained promotion to Serie C in three of them and were relegated back down twice. Avellino were promoted to Serie B in 1973 and Serie A in 1978. A truly remarkable feat for a southern provincial side was a 10-year stay in Serie A between 1978 and 1988, with the club holding a mid-table place for the majority of that period. Their best finish was 8th in 1987, with a team starring Angelo Alessio, Paolo Benedetti, Franco Colomba and Dirceu. The club has tended to shift between Serie B and C1 in the years since.

More recently, the club marked a Serie B return after defeating neighbours Napoli in the Serie C1/B play-off finals. An unsuccessful 2005–06 campaign ended in a loss on relegation playoffs to Albinoleffe (0–2, 3–2). The 2006–07 season, with Giuseppe Galderisi as head coach, then replaced by Giovanni Vavassori, ended in a second place in the Serie C1/B regular season; this was then followed by a successful campaign in the promotion playoffs, in which Avellino defeated Foggia in the finals, being therefore promoted to Serie B once again. However, this was followed by Vavassori's resignations on 16 July 2007, shortly after his confirmation as Avellino boss, being then replaced by Maurizio Sarri two days later. Sarri himself resigned one month later, being replaced by Guido Carboni and later Alessandro Calori. Despite this, the club did not manage to escape relegation, ending the season in 19th place. The club was however readmitted to Serie B later on to fill a league vacancy created by Messina's disbandment.

The team finished second from bottom in the 2008–09 season and was therefore relegated. On 9 July 2009, the Covisoc (Commissione di Vigilanza sulle Società Calcistiche, Vigilancy Commission on Football Clubs) organization announced that the team did not pass the financial requirements in order to be admitted to the league. The club was allowed to appeal the decision until 11 July 2009. On 11 July, Avellino failed to appeal the exclusion. They then restarted in Serie D.

The club are now in Serie B, after a strong comeback and now under new management with unknown Englishmen, Aaron Hazlett for the 2014/15 campaign. Hazlett has quoted "I look forward to the challenge of the club and pushing for a potential promotion to Serie A, it would be amazing for the club following what's happened in the past few years and I think the fans deserve a big reward for sticking with the club"

Unione Sportiva Cremonese

In FM14, I had the pleasure of being in charge of FC Emmen for a vast majority of the game, so for FM15, I chose to go for a club in Serie C, that had the same kind of potential as FC Emmen had.

A club that I can hopefully build from a small club to a much larger presence in Italian football.

So the choice fell on US Cremonese... A club with a history of over 100 years, founded in March, 1903. Despite being positioned in Serie C/A, they have a top quality youth facility, which was the main reason why I chose them.

For the first season, we're being predicted to finishing 7th, and the board is expecting a top half finish. Judging from my minor experiences with Cremonese in the Beta, I'm however expecing a top 5 position, due to having found 2 decent formations to play with them and decent core players to build upon. So this first season should be very exciting.

Player and teams preview in the second post: http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/398378-PGC-The-Italian-Job-for-FM15?p=9883178&viewfull=1#post9883178

Media Predctions 2014/15

Serie B

Media Predctions 2014/15

Lega Pro Girone A

Media Predctions 2014/15

Lega Pro Girone B

Media Predctions 2014/15

Lega Pro Girone C

End Of Week Standings Serie B

All teams have actually played 11 games part from Pro Vercelli, Latina, Avellino and Lanciano who have played 10.

End Of Week Standings Lega Pro Girone A

Teams have actually played 10 games.

End Of Week Standings Lega Pro Girone B

Teams have actually played 10 games.

End Of Week Standings Lega Pro Girone C

Teams have actually played 10 games.

Foggia Calcio Update - Season 1 Week 1

It was a fairly quiet Pre Season in terms of transfers with only 2 players coming in and the only ones leaving are on loan. The squad looked strong enough to begin with with just a couple of positions needing attention.

Valentin Gjokaj is an Albanian U-21 International Defender, signed on a free transfer having been released by Derby County. He's currently performing very well for me in the first team.

Lucas Longoni is a 29 year old Argentinian Winger who was also signed on a free. Again has had a positive start to his Foggia career.

The season so far has been pretty promising. The club started the season with one point deducted due to financial irregularities. We qualified to the next stage of the Serie C Cup and had a 100% record in the league after a couple of games. Things were going fantastically but then I was called back to England on business for a few weeks meaning my Assistant had to take over. Since this point the club have only managed 8 points in 8 league games and have fallen back to 9th position. Foggia are also out of the Serie C Cup at the 2nd Round losing 2-1 to Teramo.

I'm now back in the country ready to get this club moving back in the right direction and back towards promotion. There's still plenty of the season left and I'm determined not to let this poor run continue.

FORZA FOGGIA!

Well not a bad start to the campaign got a few players as you can see but knowone has left

My stand out player of the season so far is Diego Falcinelli with an average rating of 7.49 after 11 games

Other than that theres not to much to say sitting 7th in the table at the moment my media prediction is 9th but i really think i should be top 4.I did manage to beat top of the table Cantania but then i go and lose against ryans Pro Vercelli giving them there 1st win if he keeps them up he is a miracal worker think its going to be a long season for ryan.

My next game is against andys spezia who have had a strange start first few games really bad but now he has got them working for him so it will ofcourse be a tough game but am only looking at 3 points againt him nothing more nothing less roll on next week looking forward to it

Stuart - Ancona

The history of Associazione Calcio Ancona has covered 105 years of the football from the club based in Ancona, Marche. It was a professional Italian football club, founded in 1905 as Unione Sportiva Anconitana, changing its name to Ancona Calcio in 1982 and being refounded in 2004 with its last denomination. Since 2010 the club is in liquidation and the current liquidator is Giorgio Paolo Raffaele Perrotti.

The nicknames of the team were i Dorici (The Dorians) and i Biancorossi (The Red and Whites)

Ancona had spells in Serie B before World War II and shortly after, but would not return to that level until 1988. Under coach Vincenzo Guerini, the club's rise was meteoric: 5th place in 1990 and promotion was achieved two years later. Although they would finish 17th and were relegated after just one year, the club nonetheless played in some memorable high-scoring games including a 3–0 home win over Inter. Midfielder Lajos Detari, winger Fabio Lupo and striker Massimo Agostini ensured Ancona had a respectable Goals For tally but conceded goals at an alarming rate.

The following year, Ancona reached an Italian Cup final but were heavily beaten by Sampdoria. Near misses in the promotion race was followed by relegation in 1996 and again in 1998. After returning to Serie B in 2000, Ancona would achieve another promotion in 2003.

Its second Serie A season would be one of the worst enjoyed by any Serie A club, with a record-equalling 28-game winless streak from the start. They finished the season with a pitiful 13 points. This was followed by bankruptcy and condemnation to Serie C2.

Well thats me Little old Ancona, A club with a history of money issues and a club who have never done well in the top league of Italian Football, Lets hope over time i am the man to change that factor.

The fansbase is ok here and the 4,500 season ticket holders bring in some much needed income. The fans call themselfs the Warriors and they make alot of noise at home and away games.

We play our games at the Stadio del Conero and we have a maximum stadium capacity of 26000. This is great news for me as i can put more of my money into the youth and traning side of the club and not worry about building the ground up.

SEASON SO FAR

It's been a great start to the season and we are more than holding our own against far better teams than ours. To be sitting 4th is a very nice suprise and shows we can hold our own in this league. The media have us down for 14th so anything above that i would take as a good season.

I know we are not good enough to go up this season but its nice to of had such a good start.

Well thats your update on my new club and its history.

More soon

Lecce reveal O Shea as new boss

Lecce have announced the appointment of Arthur O Shea as their new manager. President Savino Tesoro stated the new boss will be responsible for bringing the club back to it's rightful place in the top flight and remove any tarnishing reputation left over from recent scandals.

O Shea inherits a large stadium at 33,876 capacity with good supporting facilities which were a big incentive to join. The president stated promotion will be the only priority and the club will only be focussing on the league. Lecce are expected to win the C/C this season with no cup expectations.

AndyF - U.S Latina

So the first week of games have passed and I'm happy with the way things have gone so far especially the fantastic comeback in the game against Bologna after being down 3-0 after 40mins, we currently sit in 4th place and are the only human side left in the Cup where an away tie awaits against Atlanta. The only downside has been the amount of goals we have conceded but with a few tweaks I hope to stop that in the forthcoming games and the amount of injuries picked up in the last few weeks all 9 injured at present came within a space of 18 days. Hopefully we can come through this little crisis and be able to sustain a push for the title this season or at least a PO birth come the end of the season but the next 5 games will be tough as we face 3 humans sides in that first period of games on Monday.

League Fixtures

Cup Fixtures

Goalscorers

Injuries

Transfers

Alessandria appoint Wade Wilson as their new head coach.

Unione Sportiva Alessandria Calcio 1912

Founded in 1912, refounded in 2003

Nicknames:I Grigi (The Greys), L'Orso (The Bear)

Stadium Giuseppe Moccagatta,Alessandria, Italy

Capacity 5,827

Chairman Luca Di Masi

Manager Wade Wilson (Jean)

Alessandria has been a fixture in Serie C for almost thirty years. Regardless of their initial form, hopes of promotion always crumble in the later stages of the season, notably due to uncanny declining performances, execrable managers and struggling finances. Indeed, the club was declared bankrupt in 2003 and has yet to recover a somewhat authoritative status in modern football.

Furthermore, following the litigious sacking of his predecessor, Luca D'Angelo, the relatively unknown French manager is expected to bring I Grigi back to financial stability. Even though the media and his fellow managers might be questioning his management credentials and commitment, Mr Wilson has the full backing of Alessandria's chairman and board members to achieve his goals, in what he personally foresees as, the beginning of a renaissance era for Alessandria.

So the first week of FM15 is over, and it's time to reflect on the opening....

Transfers

As you can see, we have been fairly active on the loan market and not so much on the transfer market - this is of course due to the fact that we don't have a lot of money available. While I of course could have freed up some wages and money, I instead chose to keep with the team I have and get extra cover with some loan players from Serie A. But we will probably either offload some player or cancel some loans as we progress, as the team is fairly big while I find my starting 11 and subs...

Form

The form hasn't been as great as I had hoped... We haven't been able to get 2 wins in a row, but we still do decently. We're placed 9th in the league, and we're not that far off the Playoff positions, so I'm still hoping things will stabilize soon, so we can mount a challenge.

Goal-wise my striker Brighenti has bagged 9 goals so far, and in the two single player games I've played, he's been the leading goal scorer in the league both times, so I'm hoping he'll achieve the same here...

So, to close off with, here's my expectations and hopes for the three sessions this week:

I'm hoping we can close the 5 point gap to the last of the Playoff positions. Ideally though, I will be happy with just getting 4-5 points closer, since we're not expected to reach the Playoff's, and I'll be fairly happy with just building the squad towards the next few seasons.

Joe-Modena

So I'm back and in charge of Modena with only a mid table expectation from by board I decided not to do much (or anything) in the transfer window, preferring to stick with whats there see how they do and only brought in a 35 year old spare left back. So far its working alarmingly well. It will no doubt collapse around me but might as well enjoy it while I can.

End Of Week Standings Serie B

End Of Week Standings Lega Pro Girone A

End Of Week Standings Lega Pro Girone B

End Of Week Standings Lega Pro Girone C

SPEZIA CALCIO

So its been an eventfull start to the season for the mighty Spezia our form has been very up and down and so we find ourselves stuck just outside the play off places.

Despite having a good record against the bigger clubs its our form against so called lesser opposition that's let the side down.

The Fans are still hopefull of a play of place and with things so tight its still a possibility if the players pull together a real lack of goals has been a problem and some poor defending at times has really punished the players

The club had high hopes for Felice Piccolo at the start of the season but after some poor perfprmances his position in the team is now under threat and his form will need to dramatically improve if he is to remain in the team. The same cant be said for Catallani however after a couple of niggling injuries hes found himself instrumental in all that is good about Spezia and has chipped in with some important goals and while the strikers are misfiring this has proved all the more important for Spezia in the middle part of this tense season

The Spezia fans have nicknamed the club the eagles and the fans reallt do believe the club are ready to soar to the top level of the Italian game the turn out in force every week and follow the club religiously to games home or and away chairman Matteo Volpi said " they really are a credit to the club and deserve to see Serie A football at this club and me and the manager will do everything in our power to get them there "

AndyF - U.S Latina

At the start of the week we carried on from the previous one extending our unbeaten run to 8 games but since then things haven't been going to well. As you will have seen we have slipped to 6th spot with 2nd place now the highest finish we can achieve as Catania are running away with the title this season. To be able to acheive this we need to work on things defensively and for the leading scorers to find their form again.

In the Cup we were narrowly defeated 3-2 v Atlanta in the 4th Qualifying Round but on a positive note we progressed further than any other human manged sides.

Remaining Fixtures

Until Next Time....

Foggia Calcio Update - Season 1 Week 2

After a decent start in Week 1 in my absence, Foggia went on an incredible run of 8 victories in 9 games and took the club into 2nd position and 3 points of top spot. This earned me a years extension to my contract and slightly more funds to improve the team. Since then the team have really struggled to find any form and have frustratingly plummeted down the league table. Players have been getting frustrated and no matter what we do despite one or two decent victories we aren't playing as we were doing. Some heavy defeats have knocked confidence and with the strikeforce not firing it's been a difficult end to the week.

Foggia are currently 8th in Serie C/C. 6 points away from a Play Off spot with just 8 games remaining. It's going to be a tough ask with a vastly inferior goal difference to the teams there currently.

The aim for the week ahead is to claw the gap back and be at least 2 points off a Play Off position with 1 game to play. There's everything to play for and gives us hope. Here are the final 8 league matches this season. With a final game against Salernitana who occupy the final spot in the Play Offs it could be a winner takes all showdown!

In the January Transfer Window I brought in a player on loan from Sampdoria. 18 year old Giacomo Calo. A midfielder with an exceptional future ahead of him and he's performed well for me so far, including scoring a cracking winner in injury time on his debut.

FORZA FOGGIA!!

san marino should be kicking ass in that league good luck guys

Well well well tough season so far but am just about holding on 12 points behind the league leaders with 10 games to go so a dont think am going to be able to pull that back but you never know in the sport strange things can happen i wont be giving up the chase for the title anyway.

I must be 1 of the favourites to go up in second place now aswell as i have well a think the better run in than the rest of the teams who are fighting it out along with myself but my guess it will go down to the very last game of the season to see who goes up as its very tight.

On another note these folk are the best fans in italy The Grifoni i salute you

Stuart - Ancona

So the good start came to a crashing halt with me winning 2 of my next 14 games. It was not a big shock as i knew i was punching above my weight with the start i got. The Back 4 is shocking and will need work this summer with 4 New Center backs, The aim for the rest of the season is to finish clear of the drop zone and finish as high as i can.

The summer time will see me sell of let go all of the first team and start again, The youth set up is poor but i do have 2 players who will be good enough for the league next season. It will take time to get this club going and building from within is the way to go.

Till next time

Joe-Modena

I knew it was too good to last. Sadly my form has tailed off from consistently excellent to mid-table indifference. I'm not entirely out of the promotion hunt yet but I wouldn't bet on it. Ah well lets see happens, maybe I'll be planning for a higher league or maybe I'll be rebuilding from scratch.