[FM10] Crouchy's Calcio Journeyman Save

[crouchaldinho]

The Stadio dei Marmi, Carrara, apparently looks like this:

View from the Curva Sud.

[crouchaldinho]

UPDATE - December 2013:

Chievo 4 – 1 Carrarese (Serie B)

We started the month with this heavy defeat in Verona. I’ve been courting their rivals for some time and I really wanted to put one over them but it wasn’t to be.

To be quite honest, just as I have no idea how we got a point at Bari, I similarly have little clue how we didn’t get something from this game. We kept the ball well and made as many chances as them. The difference was that they scored their chances and we didn’t.

Essentially, we were at 1-1 until 60 minutes when three goals for Chievo in the last half an hour put this spin on it. A heavy defeat but the performance wasn’t that awful. Really, the defence let us down, as I have always suspected it would at some point.

Carrarese scorers: Attacking midfielder, Wilker.

Carrarese MoM: Wilker.

Carrarese 1 – 1 Cesena (Serie B)

We entertained the league leaders at Dei Marmi on my 31st birthday but unfortunately couldn’t get the win. However, we gave as good as we got, and the match really could have gone either way.

They scored early in the second-half, only for Wilker to pull us level just 5 minutes later. On reflection, a draw was a fair result in a very even game, and it is a result and performance I can be proud of.

As I joined Carrarese on my 27th birthday, this match also marked my four year anniversary at the club.

Carrarese scorers: Wilker.

Carrarese MoM: Wilker.

Piacenza 2 – 2 Carrarese (Serie B)

Piacenza were in the relegation zone – bottom of the league at the time we visited them, if I recall correctly – and struggling. You always have to fancy your chances against a side who have only won 2 games all season.

We played very well for large spells of the game but it was very even and a draw was always the most likely result. A bit of a missed opportunity really, as I think we had the edge.

We went 2-0 down to a couple of goals in either half but a spirited comeback, and goals from Signorini and Wilker, saw us fight back to 2-2 in the last ten minutes. We deserved the point and you would have to say that it was really our defence that got us into the situation of being 2 down in the first place. Nevertheless a useful point was gained.

Carrarese scorers: Andrea Signorini & Wilker.

Carrarese MoM: Andrea Bracaletti.

Carrarese 2 – 1 AlbinoLeffe (Serie B)

Having not picked up a win for four games, I was feeling a bit anxious and I really wanted to go into the winter break with a strong performance and preferably three points.

In the end, this was a terrific performance and it shows the qualities that I have in this otherwise limited side (at least limited in terms of quality at Serie B level, anyway).

They took the lead at around the half hour mark and we were simply not convincing. I was worried and sensed another defeat on the horizon. At half-time, I told a number of the team that I wanted to see more from them!

A marvellous comeback was on the cards. I subbed a midfield player for a forward and switched the 4-2-3-1 to more or less a 4-2-4 formation with attacking wingers. Just as I was about to get down on my knees and pray for some serious ‘Fergie time’, Dag Alexander Olsen, on as a sub for the disappointing Umberto Eusepi, pulled one back on 88 minutes to bring us level.

We were on top at this point but, considering the fact that we had just snatched a potential point from the jaws of defeat, I was feeling satisfied with the draw. Quickly, I decided to pull the wings back and revert to 4-4-2. Before I could get my instructions across to the players, we had taken the lead!

I had brought on Nicolas Cordova as a sub for Wilker during the second-half. I was so disappointed by our lack of threat from set-pieces that I decided to bring him on in order to provide some more quality from free-kicks and corners. Sure enough, it was his corner that led to the winner. A perfect ball was played in to Spanish defender Pedro Baquero, who leapt to meet the ball with a firm header. It took a deflection on its way into the net, and was counted as an own goal. We had done it! All that was left was to see out the remaining minutes and secure a massive and vital victory. On the balance of play, it was just about deserved!

Carrarese scorers: Dag Alexander Olsen and own goal.

Carrarese MoM: Deep-lying playmaker, Daniel Philliskirk.

Manager Comments for December:

A tough month seeing us recording 5 points from 4 games. I’m delighted with it and if we can keep plugging away at it and getting points on the board like this, we should be safe. We’re more than halfway to 50 points now coming up to the halfway point of the season. As long as we don’t severely muck up in the second half of the season, we will be able to secure our safety in Serie B.

I think it’s fairly remarkable seeing as we have, at best, a very average squad. My Carrarese team is mainly made up of players who are rated as 'decent' for Serie B, with 4 who are 'good' for Serie B level (D'Alessandro, Lacalamita, Philliskirk and Eusepi) according to my coaches. The majority are playing well above their level at the moment.

If we can record 7 wins from the next 22 games, we will be safe! It means getting roughly one win every three games, or at least 3 points every three games on average.

Forza Azzurri! \o/

[crouchaldinho]

SUMMARY GOING INTO THE WINTER BREAK (end of December 2013):

Full Serie B Standings Before the Winter Break:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team         |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Cesena       |       | 20    | 13    | 5     | 2     | 37    | 17    | +20   | 44    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Salernitana  |       | 20    | 13    | 1     | 6     | 31    | 24    | +7    | 40    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Mantova      |       | 20    | 11    | 6     | 3     | 36    | 16    | +20   | 39    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Bari         |       | 20    | 12    | 3     | 5     | 32    | 18    | +14   | 39    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Atalanta     |       | 20    | 9     | 8     | 3     | 24    | 14    | +10   | 35    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Chievo       |       | 20    | 11    | 2     | 7     | 25    | 16    | +9    | 35    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Ascoli       |       | 20    | 9     | 6     | 5     | 25    | 17    | +8    | 33    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Triestina    |       | 20    | 9     | 6     | 5     | 32    | 23    | +9    | 33    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | Frosinone    |       | 20    | 8     | 7     | 5     | 32    | 29    | +3    | 31    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | Brescia      |       | 20    | 8     | 5     | 7     | 28    | 26    | +2    | 29    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Vicenza      |       | 20    | 9     | 2     | 9     | 24    | 23    | +1    | 29    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 12th  |       | Carrarese    |       | 20    | 7     | 7     | 6     | 26    | 20    | +6    | 28    | [/b]
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | Grosseto     |       | 20    | 7     | 6     | 7     | 19    | 19    | 0     | 27    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | Livorno      |       | 20    | 7     | 5     | 8     | 24    | 27    | -3    | 26    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Padova       |       | 20    | 5     | 8     | 7     | 24    | 29    | -5    | 23    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | AlbinoLeffe  |       | 20    | 7     | 2     | 11    | 31    | 37    | -6    | 23    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th  |       | Pro Vercelli |       | 20    | 6     | 5     | 9     | 19    | 26    | -7    | 23    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  |       | Modena       |       | 20    | 5     | 4     | 11    | 25    | 34    | -9    | 19    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th  |       | Crotone      |       | 20    | 2     | 8     | 10    | 15    | 30    | -15   | 14    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th  |       | Piacenza     |       | 20    | 2     | 6     | 12    | 20    | 34    | -14   | 12    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 21st  |       | Rimini       |       | 20    | 3     | 2     | 15    | 19    | 45    | -26   | 11    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 22nd  |       | Sassuolo     |       | 20    | 1     | 8     | 11    | 7     | 31    | -24   | 11    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

First Team Squad Statistics:

| Pkd  | Inf  | Name                 | Apps   | Gls  | Ast  | MoM  | Pas R| Tck  | Drb  | Sh T | Yel  | Red  | Av Rat | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| GK   | PR   | Christian Di Bari    | 17     | -    | -    | -    | 66%  | -    | 0.12 | -    | -    | -    | 6.91   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DR   | Tut  | Matteo D'Alessandro  | 21     | -    | -    | -    | 77%  | 3.09 | 0.05 | -    | 1    | -    | 7.01   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DL   |      | Alessandro Cibocchi  | 11     | -    | -    | -    | 78%  | 2.88 | -    | -    | 1    | -    | 7.15   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC   | PR   | Andrea Signorini     | 21     | 1    | 1    | -    | 76%  | 1.90 | 0.15 | -    | 1    | -    | 6.81   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC   | PR   | Pedro Baquero        | 21     | 1    | 1    | -    | 80%  | 1.63 | -    | -    | -    | -    | 7.00   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DMC  | PR   | Albert Cano          | 19 (1) | 4    | 1    | 1    | 81%  | 3.34 | 0.29 | 21%  | 2    | -    | 7.15   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DMC  | HG   | Daniel Philliskirk   | 17 (2) | 1    | 4    | 2    | 79%  | 3.53 | 0.24 | 29%  | 4    | -    | 7.15   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| AMR  |      | Andrea Bracaletti    | 19     | 1    | 6    | 1    | 56%  | 1.01 | 3.92 | -    | -    | -    | 6.99   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| AML  | HG   | Mattia Lacalamita    | 17 (1) | 3    | 4    | 2    | 61%  | 2.16 | 5.38 | 69%  | 2    | -    | 7.18   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| AMC  | PR   | Wilker               | 18 (3) | 4    | 1    | -    | 71%  | 1.84 | 0.53 | 62%  | -    | -    | 6.85   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| ST   | PR   | Umberto Eusepi       | 20     | 9    | 2    | 3    | 61%  | 1.06 | 2.00 | 40%  | -    | -    | 7.05   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S1   | Unh  | Salvatore Sirigu     | 4      | -    | -    | -    | 70%  | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | 6.78   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S2   | Tut  | Olivier N'Siabamfumu | 6 (4)  | -    | -    | -    | 75%  | 3.57 | 0.15 | -    | 2    | 1    | 6.77   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S3   |      | Nicholas Costantini  | 0 (4)  | -    | -    | -    | 83%  | 3.65 | -    | -    | -    | -    | 6.90   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S4   | PR   | Julio                | 6 (8)  | -    | 1    | -    | 84%  | 3.47 | 0.13 | -    | -    | -    | 6.90   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S5   | Tut  | Liban Abdi           | 3 (4)  | -    | -    | -    | 69%  | 1.17 | 2.62 | -    | -    | -    | 6.90   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S6   |      | Nicolás Córdova      | 3 (11) | -    | 2    | -    | 63%  | 1.71 | 0.19 | -    | 1    | -    | 6.74   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S7   |      | Dag Alexander Olsen  | 1 (8)  | 2    | 1    | -    | 63%  | 1.15 | 3.45 | -    | -    | -    | 6.98   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -    | PR   | Martin Christensen   | 3 (7)  | -    | -    | -    | 58%  | 1.64 | 4.46 | -    | -    | -    | 6.73   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -    | PR   | Zeshan Rehman        | 2 (6)  | -    | -    | -    | 73%  | 3.08 | 0.58 | -    | -    | -    | 7.09   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

[Mike7077]

Unfortunately, that isn't Carrarese's ground. At least, I don't think it is.

Gutted. The one with the statues is awesome.

Although, to be fair, the location of the one in Carrara is pretty stunning.

Just had a look on Google Maps and it would appear that Carrarese's ground is not in Carrara itself but in the neighbouring town of San Luca.

[ArranoBeltza]

We have an imposter starting an Eastern European career

I promise that I had no knowledge of your plans!!!!

[crouchaldinho]

Only a joke, I assure you ArranoBeltza.

[crouchaldinho]

Quick newsflash: I've managed to sell on 4 youngsters in the January sales to bring in a total of £600k, which has cleared our debts. \o/

For the first time since I have been at the club, we are out of the red!

[iacovone]

Woo hoo, the accountants will be ecstatic

[crouchaldinho]

UPDATE - JANUARY 2014:

Modena 2 – 1 Carrarese (Serie B)

Modena are relegation battlers and I really wanted to take something from this game. However, they were simply the better side on the day and we didn’t deserve anything.

We conceded first after 20 minutes and didn’t really look like coming back. What was most disappointing was that after pulling the game back to 1-1 through Umberto Eusepi towards the end of the first-half, we then immediately allowed them back in to get the lead again.

A disappointing result but I cannot really fault the players.

Carrarese scorers: Umberto Eusepi.

Carrarese MoM: Umberto Eusepi.

Vicenza 1 – 0 Carrarese (Serie B)

Another key game against a team who were tipped to be relegation candidates during pre-season. Vicenza were promoted (as Champions) with us last season and have a similar record to us in the league.

I felt as though we had a good chance of getting something in this one but it wasn’t to be. We made quality chances and played very well, and the fact that the Vicenza goalkeeper got the man of the match award says everything really. Can’t really fault our players, although Andrea Signorini wasn’t at his best. It was one of those games which could have gone another way on a different day.

Carrarese scorers: None.

Carrarese MoM: Daniel Philliskirk.

Salernitana 0 – 1 Carrarese (Serie B)

Having just lost against two relegation battling rivals, I was feeling pretty down. It hadn’t been a great start to 2014.

This result and performance against promotion contenders Salernitana was way beyond my expectations!

I decided to start with the experienced attacking midfielder, Nicolas Cordova, knowing that he could be key for us from set-pieces. He unleashed a marvellous strike from outside the box and buried the ball in the top left of the goal. It was to be the only goal of the game and we were a little fortunate that Salernitana had an off day, missing a few great chances.

A strong wind made the conditions difficult and I think that we probably mastered them better than our opposition. We kept the ball better and our overall performance was more impressive. A truly excellent win for the Azzurri!

Carrarese scorers: Veteran attacking midfielder, Nicolas Cordova.

Carrarese MoM: Nicolas Cordova.

Carrarese 2 – 2 Mantova (Serie B)

Mantova are up there challenging for automatic promotion and therefore I knew we would be in for a tough game. However, with the pressure off slightly after the away win at Salernitana, I felt quite positive going into this game.

Maybe there was a complacency today, or perhaps Mantova were just playing at the top of their game, because the first-half was all one-way traffic. We were 2-0 down after 10 minutes. Umberto Eusepi pulled one back just before half-time.

I let the players know in no uncertain terms how angry I was and I got the response I wanted in the second-half. With 15 minutes to go, I took off a defensive midfielder and brought on a forward to go to 4-2-4. Umberto Eusepi got the equaliser on 82 minutes and I was delighted with the point.

The performance of the players was very strong in the second-half but, to be quite honest, this point was very fortuitous. Mantova could have been 3 or 4 up and clear but somehow we pulled off a draw today. A useful point indeed.

Carrarese scorers: Umberto Eusepi x2.

Carrarese MoM: Umberto Eusepi.

Manager Comments for January:

A very difficult start to 2014 was turned around by the end of the month. In the end, it was 4 points from 4 games, which will keep us going along in the league just nicely.

I did some very good work in the transfer window, selling a number of youngsters for good fees and also selling Leandro Greco for £250k. The attacking midfielder/winger wasn’t getting games and I decided to move him on in order to free up funds. It means that I have brought in a total of £900k into the club this season and stabilised the finances, keeping the accountants happy as Iacovone said. The financial future of the club is now looking much better.

I also used the transfer window to bring in a couple of loan signings for the rest of the season, which will give us some good short-term squad options. Defender Pablo Molina and attacking midfielder Marco Santangelo have joined the club from Genoa and Parma respectively.

I also spent a little over £40k, which came from transfer funds coming into the club, in order to bolster the defence. Riccardo Colombo, a right-back, came in from Cremonese. He has plenty of experience and will do a good job for us. Francesco Zarini, a left-back, comes in from Igea Virtus. They should both do a good job for us and they add some much needed strength to our defence. However, neither signing is really going to set the world alight in Serie B. In order to bring in those kind of players, we will need to spend some proper money. It’s money that the club simply cannot afford right now though.

Part of the reason that the club is doing so well at the moment is because we have a stable squad, who have gelled well as a team and who are all naturals in their position. We are also strongly organised with the team built around our very best players, particularly English midfielder Daniel Philliskirk, who is playing as our deep-lying midfielder. I am therefore reluctant to make too many changes at once while our safety is still in the balance. However, we will need to improve the squad a great deal before next season to ensure that there is no ‘second season syndrome’.

Forza Azzurri! \o/

[crouchaldinho]

END OF JANUARY 2014 SUMMARY:

Serie B Standings:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team         |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Livorno      |       | 24    | 9     | 6     | 9     | 29    | 30    | -1    | 33    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Vicenza      |       | 24    | 10    | 3     | 11    | 26    | 26    | 0     | 33    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 13th  |       | Carrarese    |       | 24    | 8     | 8     | 8     | 30    | 25    | +5    | 32    | [/b]
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | AlbinoLeffe  |       | 24    | 9     | 3     | 12    | 35    | 40    | -5    | 30    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Padova       |       | 25    | 6     | 11    | 8     | 28    | 33    | -5    | 29    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

First Team Squad Statistics:

| Pkd  | Inf  | Name                 | Apps   | Gls  | Ast  | MoM  | Pas R| Tck  | Drb  | Sh T | Yel  | Red  | Av Rat | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| GK   | PR   | Christian Di Bari    | 21     | -    | -    | -    | 65%  | -    | 0.10 | -    | -    | -    | 6.90   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DR   | Wnt  | Matteo D'Alessandro  | 25     | -    | -    | -    | 76%  | 2.92 | 0.08 | -    | 2    | -    | 7.01   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DL   | PR   | Alessandro Cibocchi  | 15     | -    | -    | -    | 78%  | 2.63 | 0.14 | -    | 2    | -    | 7.12   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC   | PR   | Andrea Signorini     | 25     | 1    | 1    | -    | 77%  | 1.92 | 0.12 | -    | 3    | -    | 6.80   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC   | PR   | Armando Mendes       | 4      | -    | -    | -    | 77%  | 2.43 | -    | -    | 1    | -    | 7.13   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DMC  | PR   | Albert Cano          | 23 (1) | 4    | 1    | 1    | 81%  | 3.38 | 0.24 | 19%  | 3    | -    | 7.14   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DMC  | HG   | Daniel Philliskirk   | 21 (2) | 1    | 4    | 2    | 78%  | 3.70 | 0.25 | 35%  | 4    | -    | 7.16   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| AMR  | PR   | Andrea Bracaletti    | 23     | 1    | 7    | 1    | 57%  | 1.03 | 4.03 | -    | -    | -    | 6.95   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| AML  | HG   | Mattia Lacalamita    | 21 (1) | 3    | 6    | 2    | 61%  | 2.14 | 5.16 | 66%  | 2    | -    | 7.15   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| AMC  |      | Nicolás Córdova      | 5 (13) | 1    | 2    | 1    | 60%  | 1.47 | 0.40 | -    | 1    | -    | 6.79   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| ST   | PR   | Umberto Eusepi       | 24     | 12   | 2    | 4    | 62%  | 1.19 | 1.91 | 42%  | 1    | -    | 7.11   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S1   | Trn  | Salvatore Sirigu     | 4      | -    | -    | -    | 70%  | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | 6.78   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S2   | Wnt  | Pablo Molina         | 0 (1)  | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | 6.90   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S3   | Unh  | Nicholas Costantini  | 0 (4)  | -    | -    | -    | 83%  | 3.65 | -    | -    | -    | -    | 6.90   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S4   | PR   | Julio                | 6 (10) | -    | 1    | -    | 84%  | 3.38 | 0.13 | -    | -    | -    | 6.90   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S5   | Wnt  | Liban Abdi           | 3 (6)  | -    | -    | -    | 71%  | 1.50 | 2.76 | -    | -    | -    | 6.90   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S6   | Wnt  | Marco Santangelo     | 0 (1)  | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | 6.90   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S7   | PR   | Ishak Belfodil       | -      | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | -      | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -    | Trn  | Pedro Baquero        | 21 (1) | 1    | 1    | -    | 80%  | 1.68 | -    | -    | -    | -    | 7.00   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -    | Tut  | Olivier N'Siabamfumu | 6 (4)  | -    | -    | -    | 75%  | 3.57 | 0.15 | -    | 2    | 1    | 6.77   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -    | Unh  | Martin Christensen   | 3 (7)  | -    | -    | -    | 58%  | 1.64 | 4.46 | -    | -    | -    | 6.73   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -    | Wnt  | Zeshan Rehman        | 2 (6)  | -    | -    | -    | 73%  | 3.08 | 0.58 | -    | -    | -    | 7.09   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -    | Wnt  | Wilker               | 19 (3) | 4    | 1    | -    | 72%  | 2.01 | 0.73 | 58%  | -    | -    | 6.85   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -    | Inj  | Dag Alexander Olsen  | 1 (10) | 2    | 1    | -    | 62%  | 1.04 | 3.12 | -    | -    | -    | 6.98   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

[Mike7077]

Just a heads-up, Crouchy. Your update of the Salernitana game says something about it being 2010. Might wanna correct that.

As for your performance, it looks to me like you just need to do your best to keep your heads above water and if you stay in Carrara next season you might be stronger and possible push for promotion.

[crouchaldinho]

Just a heads-up, Crouchy. Your update of the Salernitana game says something about it being 2010. Might wanna correct that.

Good spot Mike. I've changed it now. Thanks.

Someone is paying attention!

As for your performance, it looks to me like you just need to do your best to keep your heads above water and if you stay in Carrara next season you might be stronger and possible push for promotion.

I think promotion is a fair way off, especially with the lack of money at Carrarese compared to the big boys in Serie B. But yes, we just need to keep as far away from 18th as possible for the rest of this season! 7 points separating us from there at the moment.

[crouchaldinho]

UPDATE FOR FEBRUARY 2014:

Carrarese 3 – 1 Pro Vercelli (Serie B)

I wanted to keep the momentum going after the fantastic end to last month and we certainly did here. They had their chances but we were clearly the better side and we bossed the game.

The real highlight was Nicolas Cordova’s performance. I brought the veteran Chilean attacking midfielder to the club on a free transfer from Parma. At 35, he hasn’t got a lot of pace and the physical side of his game is not his strong point, but his technical ability is fantastic. Playing in the hole, we’re able to get the best out of the ex-Parma man, and today he repaid my faith in him by setting up two goals and scoring a fine solo effort. He can only stay on for maybe 60 or 70 minutes due to a lack of stamina but he is worth having in the team, especially considering his ability from set-pieces.

Carrarese scorers: Armando Mendes, Andrea Bracaletti and Nicolas Cordova.

Carrarese MoM: Nicolas Cordova.

Ascoli 0 – 1 Carrarese (Serie B)

Result of the season against one of the favourites for promotion!

Absolutely outstanding from start to finish, we equalled them and put in a fantastic performance to pull off the best result this season.

We edged this game, just, with a goal by our young Portuguese defender, Armando Mendes, securing the points. We soaked up the Ascoli pressure admirably after going ahead and never looked like conceding an equaliser.

Surely with a result like this we can be very confident of survival this season.

Carrarese scorers: Armando Mendes.

Carrarese MoM: Armando Mendes.

Carrarese 4 – 3 Livorno (Serie B)

I imagined that nothing could really top beating Ascoli away but this certainly ran it close. An end-to-end game, which we really ought to have made a little more comfortable on ourselves.

We dominated possession, created a lot of good chances and deserved the win, but some poor defending let Livorno in and made this game into a bit of a thriller.

Umberto Eusepi opened the scoring, only for Livorno to go up the other end and pull level two minutes later. However, an own goal and a headed goal from Andrea Signorini put us 3-1 up going into the break.

In the second-half, Livorno quickly got back into the game to make it 3-2 before Umberto Eusepi scored a cracker to make it 4-2.

I made the mistake of thinking that it was more or less over, however Livorno got another one back with 20 minutes to go. We had to battle hard and defend well for the remainder of the game but we never really looked in danger of squandering the points. Another very good result indeed.

Carrarese scorers: Umberto Eusepi x2, own goal and Andrea Signorini.

Carrarese MoM: Umberto Eusepi.

Rimini 3 – 1 Carrarese (Serie B)

I was hoping to record an amazing four game winning streak for my February summary but unfortunately we fell apart here against Rimini.

Things seemed to be going swimmingly after old boy Nicolas Cordova put us 1-0 ahead after just 10 minutes. However, it all went wrong from then on. Rimini scored three goals in the space of 9 minutes in the second-half and we surrendered our grip on the game pathetically.

It was even more disappointing considering that Rimini are relegation candidates currently sitting in 20th place.

Carrarese scorers: Nicolas Cordova.

Carrarese MoM: Nicolas Cordova.

Manager Comments for February:

9 points from 4 games says that it was a truly excellent month, and it was, but I can’t help but be disappointed with the end to it. We avoided the expected hiding we were due to get at Ascoli, beat Livorno 4-3 at home, and then, with the really hard work done, went and threw away a 1-0 lead at lowly Rimini. Frustrating.

Nevertheless, this has been an excellent month and it has put us in a great position. We really just need 3 more wins from the remaining 14 games to secure our status in the division and that will be a marvellous achievement for the club.

Forza Azzurri! \o/

[Mike7077]

We really just need 3 more wins from the remaining 14 games to secure our status in the division and that will be a marvellous achievement for the club.

And for you.

[crouchaldinho]

END OF FEBRUARY 2014 SUMMARY:

Serie B Standings:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team         |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | Brescia      |       | 28    | 12    | 7     | 9     | 42    | 38    | +4    | 43    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | Frosinone    |       | 29    | 11    | 9     | 9     | 44    | 44    | 0     | 42    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 11th  |       | Carrarese    |       | 28    | 11    | 8     | 9     | 39    | 32    | +7    | 41    | [/b]
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Livorno      |       | 28    | 10    | 7     | 11    | 36    | 40    | -4    | 37    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | Vicenza      |       | 28    | 11    | 4     | 13    | 33    | 35    | -2    | 37    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

First Team Squad Statistics:

| Pkd  | Inf  | Name                 | Apps   | Gls  | Ast  | MoM  | Pas R| Tck  | Drb  | Sh T | Yel  | Red  | Av Rat | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| GK   |      | Christian Di Bari    | 25     | -    | -    | -    | 65%  | -    | 0.08 | -    | -    | -    | 6.90   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DR   | Rsv  | Riccardo Colombo     | 2 (1)  | -    | -    | -    | 80%  | 2.43 | -    | -    | -    | -    | 6.70   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DL   |      | Francesco Zarini     | 4      | -    | 1    | -    | 79%  | 3.25 | 0.25 | -    | 1    | -    | 7.17   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC   | PR   | Andrea Signorini     | 28     | 2    | 1    | -    | 77%  | 2.07 | 0.11 | -    | 4    | -    | 6.85   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC   | Rsv  | Armando Mendes       | 8      | 2    | -    | 1    | 77%  | 2.34 | -    | -    | 1    | -    | 7.22   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DMC  | Tut  | Julio                | 8 (11) | -    | 2    | -    | 85%  | 3.73 | 0.10 | -    | -    | -    | 6.93   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DMC  | Wnt  | Daniel Philliskirk   | 25 (2) | 1    | 5    | 2    | 79%  | 3.31 | 0.33 | 30%  | 4    | -    | 7.14   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| AMR  |      | Andrea Bracaletti    | 27     | 2    | 7    | 1    | 59%  | 1.12 | 3.87 | 57%  | -    | -    | 6.96   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| AML  | HG   | Mattia Lacalamita    | 25 (1) | 3    | 9    | 2    | 61%  | 1.93 | 4.83 | 68%  | 2    | -    | 7.12   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| AMC  | Rsv  | Nicolás Córdova      | 9 (13) | 3    | 5    | 2    | 60%  | 1.34 | 0.38 | 38%  | 1    | -    | 6.90   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| ST   | Unh  | Umberto Eusepi       | 28     | 14   | 2    | 5    | 63%  | 1.12 | 2.00 | 45%  | 1    | -    | 7.13   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S1   | Rsv  | Rino Gilardi         | -      | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | -      | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S2   | PR   | Pablo Molina         | 1 (3)  | -    | -    | -    | 65%  | 0.95 | -    | -    | -    | -    | 7.08   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S3   | Unh  | Nicholas Costantini  | 0 (5)  | -    | -    | -    | 85%  | 3.18 | -    | -    | -    | -    | 6.90   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S4   | Lrn  | Tom Culshaw          | 0 (1)  | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | -      | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S5   | Wnt  | Liban Abdi           | 3 (7)  | -    | -    | -    | 71%  | 1.42 | 2.61 | -    | -    | -    | 6.81   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S6   | Wnt  | Wilker               | 19 (7) | 4    | 1    | -    | 72%  | 2.06 | 0.84 | 60%  | -    | -    | 6.82   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S7   | Inj  | Ishak Belfodil       | 0 (1)  | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | -      | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -    | Rsv  | Alessandro Cibocchi  | 15     | -    | -    | -    | 78%  | 2.63 | 0.14 | -    | 2    | -    | 7.12   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -    | Rsv  | Olivier N'Siabamfumu | 7 (4)  | -    | -    | -    | 77%  | 3.63 | 0.27 | -    | 2    | 1    | 6.84   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -    | Rsv  | Martin Christensen   | 3 (7)  | -    | -    | -    | 58%  | 1.64 | 4.46 | -    | -    | -    | 6.73   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -    | Inj  | Salvatore Sirigu     | 4      | -    | -    | -    | 70%  | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | 6.78   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -    | Inj  | Albert Cano          | 25 (1) | 4    | 1    | 1    | 81%  | 3.30 | 0.22 | 18%  | 3    | -    | 7.13   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -    | Rsv  | Matteo D'Alessandro  | 26     | -    | -    | -    | 76%  | 2.87 | 0.08 | -    | 2    | -    | 7.01   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -    | Inj  | Dag Alexander Olsen  | 1 (10) | 2    | 1    | -    | 62%  | 1.04 | 3.12 | -    | -    | -    | 6.98   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

[crouchaldinho]

And for you.

That's true!

Cheers Mike.

[Jason the Yank]

Ha, my first Serie C Cup has Carrarese in our group.

[crouchaldinho]

Ha, my first Serie C Cup has Carrarese in our group.

Welcome to Italy Jason! Best of luck against the mighty Azzurri!

I was just looking on the Internet to see if I could find out where Carrarese are in the table in real life at the moment. I found out here that they are having a very poor season and are struggling in the relegation play-out zone at the moment.

[Jason the Yank]

Carrarese beat us 7-0.

[crouchaldinho]

Blimey!

[crouchaldinho]

UPDATE FOR MARCH 2014:

Carrarese 3 – 0 Triestina (Serie B)

Another fine win takes us closer to our 50 point safety target.

We dominated from start to finish and well worth the 3-0 score-line. Umberto Eusepi was on fine form with a brace and Wilker scored the other goal but also got himself injured and will be out for the rest of the month.

Carrarese scorers: Umberto Eusepi x2 and Wilker.

Carrarese MoM: Umberto Eusepi.

Atalanta 2 – 1 Carrarese (Serie B)

An admirable performance but we were beaten by the better team.

All of the goals went in during a mad 6 minutes at the beginning of the second-half. They quickly went 2-0 up and we pulled one back a few minutes later. Unfortunately, we couldn’t manage to get the equaliser but there is much to be proud of in terms of the performance.

Carrarese scorers: Armando Mendes.

Carrarese MoM: Armando Mendes.

Carrarese 0– 5 Frosinone (Serie B)

My worst defeat as manager. Absolutely abysmal.

We actually had some good chances in this game and the 5-0 flatters them massively.

Essentially, we had a poor first-half and went in at 2-0 down. In the second-half, we came out all guns blazing but quickly lost a third. The final two goals came late and were as a result of us pushing forward and trying to get a goal to reduce the deficit.

Hugely disappointing result, especially at Dei Marmi.

Carrarese scorers: None.

Carrarese MoM: Albert Cano – about the only player who can come out of the game with some small credit to his name.

Grosseto 3 – 1 Carrarese (Serie B)

The 5-0 had knocked the confidence back and we never really looked like winning this one as a result of that.

We were basically outplayed and Grosseto deserved the points. There was a point at 2-1 where I felt that we could still get something out of the game but Grosseto ended our hopes in the last 5 minutes by scoring a third.

Carrarese scorers: Umberto Eusepi.

Carrarese MoM: Umberto Eusepi.

Sassuolo 3 – 2 Carrarese (Serie B)

This could have been a turning point for us against the relegation candidates but we just didn’t turn up. With confidence at its lowest point this season after three straight defeats prior to this match, I decided to take the pressure off going into this game. It backfired as we found ourselves 3-0 down by half-time.

In the second-half, we fought back to 3-2, but we couldn’t find the equaliser our play deserved. We really should have taken a point as a draw would have been a fair result on the balance of play. Another disappointing defeat.

Carrarese scorers: Umberto Eusepi and Nicolas Costantini.

Carrarese MoM: Nicolas Costantini.

Carrarese 1– 0 Brescia (Serie B)

This brought to an end my poorest run of form as manager of Carrarese. We had lost 4 in a row for the first time under my management.

I knew it would be tough to turn it around against Brescia, who have ambitions of getting back into Serie A, but I felt that we had a chance.

In the end, it was a very strong performance, although Brescia will feel that they were unlucky not to get something from the game. An Umberto Eusepi penalty settled the destination of the points in the second-half and we held on for a much needed victory.

Carrarese scorers: Umberto Eusepi (pen).

Carrarese MoM: Fullback Francesco Zarini.

Manager Comments for March:

March was a cruel month. We started unbelievably well but then ended up losing 4 games in a row. The result against Brescia, in the final game of the month, came as a huge relief.

We are now just one win, or three points, away from the target of 50 points, which should see us keep our position in Serie B. Once we have reached this target, I will introduce some youth players into the first team for the remaining games, in order that they might get some match experience. We have quite a few injuries at the moment, so one or two youngsters like Rino Gilardi and Tom Culshaw for instance, have been drafted into the first team. We look like we have a few prospects waiting in the wings, which is good news indeed!

Forza Azzurri! \o/

[crouchaldinho]

END OF MARCH 2014 SUMMARY:

Serie B Standings:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team         |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | Bari         |       | 34    | 14    | 10    | 10    | 43    | 32    | +11   | 52    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | Brescia      |       | 34    | 14    | 9     | 11    | 46    | 42    | +4    | 51    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 11th  |       | Carrarese    |       | 34    | 13    | 8     | 13    | 47    | 45    | +2    | 47    | [/b]
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Livorno      |       | 34    | 13    | 7     | 14    | 42    | 45    | -3    | 46    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | AlbinoLeffe  |       | 34    | 13    | 5     | 16    | 50    | 55    | -5    | 44    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

First Team Squad Statistics:

| Pkd  | Inf  | Name                 | Apps    | Gls  | Ast  | MoM  | Pas R| Tck  | Drb  | Sh T | Yel  | Red  | Av Rat | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| GK   | Inj  | Christian Di Bari    | 31      | -    | -    | -    | 65%  | -    | 0.06 | -    | -    | -    | 6.82   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DR   | PR   | Riccardo Colombo     | 8 (1)   | -    | 1    | -    | 81%  | 2.73 | 0.25 | -    | -    | -    | 6.79   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DL   | Inj  | Francesco Zarini     | 10      | -    | 2    | 1    | 71%  | 3.10 | 0.20 | -    | 2    | -    | 6.93   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC   | Wnt  | Andrea Signorini     | 34      | 2    | 1    | -    | 77%  | 2.00 | 0.12 | -    | 4    | -    | 6.85   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC   | Int  | Zeshan Rehman        | 3 (6)   | -    | -    | -    | 73%  | 2.91 | 0.48 | -    | 1    | -    | 7.09   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DMC  | Sus  | Albert Cano          | 29 (1)  | 4    | 1    | 1    | 82%  | 3.32 | 0.34 | 17%  | 4    | -    | 7.10   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DMC  | HG   | Daniel Philliskirk   | 31 (2)  | 1    | 6    | 2    | 79%  | 3.09 | 0.37 | 29%  | 5    | -    | 7.13   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| AMR  | Wnt  | Liban Abdi           | 6 (9)   | -    | -    | -    | 73%  | 1.24 | 3.17 | -    | -    | -    | 6.74   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| AML  | HG   | Mattia Lacalamita    | 31 (1)  | 3    | 11   | 2    | 62%  | 2.01 | 4.47 | 69%  | 3    | -    | 7.03   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| AMC  | Inj  | Nicolás Córdova      | 15 (13) | 3    | 7    | 2    | 62%  | 1.46 | 0.42 | 37%  | 1    | -    | 6.85   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| ST   | PR   | Umberto Eusepi       | 34      | 19   | 2    | 6    | 64%  | 1.21 | 1.77 | 47%  | 2    | -    | 7.08   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S1   | Rsv  | Rino Gilardi         | -       | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | -      | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S2   | Trn  | Pedro Baquero        | 21 (1)  | 1    | 1    | -    | 80%  | 1.68 | -    | -    | -    | -    | 7.00   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S3   | Unh  | Nicholas Costantini  | 0 (7)   | 1    | -    | -    | 83%  | 2.21 | -    | -    | -    | -    | 7.08   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S4   | HG   | Julio                | 10 (13) | -    | 2    | -    | 85%  | 4.02 | 0.08 | -    | 1    | -    | 6.92   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S5   | Rsv  | Martin Christensen   | 3 (10)  | -    | -    | -    | 58%  | 1.48 | 4.01 | -    | -    | -    | 6.76   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S6   | Rsv  | Marco Santangelo     | 0 (5)   | -    | -    | -    | 56%  | 1.90 | 0.63 | -    | -    | -    | 6.54   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S7   | Inj  | Ishak Belfodil       | 0 (3)   | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | 6.65   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -    | Inj  | Andrea Bracaletti    | 30      | 2    | 7    | 1    | 60%  | 1.01 | 3.74 | 56%  | -    | -    | 6.92   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -    | Inj  | Alessandro Cibocchi  | 15      | -    | -    | -    | 78%  | 2.63 | 0.14 | -    | 2    | -    | 7.12   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -    | Rsv  | Olivier N'Siabamfumu | 7 (4)   | -    | -    | -    | 77%  | 3.63 | 0.27 | -    | 2    | 1    | 6.84   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -    | Inj  | Salvatore Sirigu     | 4       | -    | -    | -    | 70%  | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | 6.78   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -    | Rsv  | Wilker               | 19 (8)  | 5    | 1    | -    | 72%  | 2.03 | 0.83 | 62%  | -    | -    | 6.84   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -    | Rsv  | Matteo D'Alessandro  | 26      | -    | -    | -    | 76%  | 2.87 | 0.08 | -    | 2    | -    | 7.01   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -    | Rsv  | Dag Alexander Olsen  | 1 (11)  | 2    | 1    | -    | 64%  | 1.26 | 2.83 | -    | -    | -    | 6.97   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -    | Rsv  | Tom Culshaw          | 0 (2)   | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | -    | 6.90   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -    | Inj  | Armando Mendes       | 12      | 3    | -    | 2    | 77%  | 2.14 | -    | -    | 2    | -    | 7.19   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -    | Inj  | Pablo Molina         | 2 (3)   | -    | -    | -    | 72%  | 1.61 | -    | -    | -    | -    | 7.06   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

[bobatwal]

Your are doing a great job

What a Manager!

[crouchaldinho]

Your are doing a great job

What a Manager!

Thanks!

You are far too kind.

[AcidBurn]

Any plans to move on at the end of the season or are you getting a bit attached to Carrarese?

[crouchaldinho]

While I am quite attached to Carrarese, I'm definitely looking for a move at some point.

Ultimately, I really want to end up at Roma via Hellas Verona. I don't know if it will work like that though.

[crouchaldinho]

UPDATE FOR APRIL 2014:

Carrarese 1 – 3 Crotone (Serie B)

A very poor performance against the relegation strugglers. We conceded an early goal and never looked like coming back.

Finding ourselves 2-0 behind at half-time, we went out to attack and ended up falling a further goal behind before grabbing a consolation goal. One of our poorest performances this season.

Carrarese scorers: Wilker.

Carrarese MoM: Wilker.

Padova 1 – 1 Carrarese (Serie B)

We bounced back with a fairly strong performance here although we never looked like winning it.

We went ahead through veteran attacking midfielder Nicolas Cordova, who scored with a cracking free-kick. Padova piled on the pressure in the second-half and equalised in the last 10 minutes to take a point.

Carrarese scorers: Nicolas Cordova.

Carrarese MoM: Nicolas Cordova.

Carrarese 3 - 3 Bari (Serie B)

A terrific game! What a match!

We lost an early goal and ended up 2-0 down after half an hour, only to pull it back to 2-1 just before half-time.

In the second-half, Bari scored on 81 minutes and it looked as though we were going to lose 3-1. Throwing all caution to the wind, I went to 4-2-4 and pushed us forward. Armando Mendes pulled another goal back on 84 minutes, before Wilker levelled the score deep into injury time. Super result against a very good side!

Carrarese scorers: Umberto Eusepi, Armando Mendes and Wilker.

Carrarese MoM: Young Portuguese defender Armando Mendes.

Cesena 3 – 1 Carrarese (Serie B)

We had little chance against the league leaders who are running away with the title (being a whole 10 points away from their nearest rivals).

An admirable first-half performance saw us keeping it at 0-0 going in at half-time. However, in the second-half they were just too strong and we shipped three goals. Wilker pulled a consolation goal back for us on 90 minutes. Not a great performance but we didn’t expect to get much from this one.

Carrarese scorers: Wilker.

Carrarese MoM: Wilker.

Manager Comments for April:

April is the cruellest month, said T.S. Eliot, and it certainly was for us as we failed to record a win. We picked up a couple of decent points though, which takes us to within 1 point of my target of 50 points for the season.

With four games to go, we are more or less home and dry. We cannot be automatically relegated from our current position. We can pretty much relax for the final games in May and I’m likely to give a few youngsters some experience in the first team as we come to the end of a very good season for Carrarese.

Forza Azzurri! \o/

[Mike7077]

It looks like you've kept Carrarese up, Crouchy. I bet that means more to you than the promotions of the past couple of season, right?

Tempted to stick around and see what you can build?

[crouchaldinho]

END OF APRIL 2014 SUMMARY:

Serie B Standings:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team         |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Livorno      |       | 38    | 16    | 7     | 15    | 48    | 48    | 0     | 55    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | AlbinoLeffe  |       | 38    | 15    | 6     | 17    | 53    | 58    | -5    | 51    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 13th  |       | Carrarese    |       | 38    | 13    | 10    | 15    | 53    | 55    | -2    | 49    | [/b]
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | Grosseto     |       | 38    | 12    | 12    | 14    | 47    | 54    | -7    | 48    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Vicenza      |       | 38    | 13    | 7     | 18    | 42    | 48    | -6    | 46    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

First Team Squad Statistics:

| Pkd   | Inf   | Name                | Position     | Apps    | Gls   | Ast   | MoM   | Av Rat| Age   | Nat   | Value | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| GK    | Wnt   | Christian Di Bari   | GK           | 35      | -     | -     | -     | 6.80  | 17    | ITA   | £825K | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DR    | Inj   | Riccardo Colombo    | D/WB/M R     | 12 (1)  | -     | 1     | -     | 6.76  | 31    | ITA   | £12K  | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DL    | Rsv   | Francesco Zarini    | D/WB L       | 14      | -     | 3     | 1     | 6.95  | 25    | ITA   | £30K  | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC    | Wnt   | Andrea Signorini    | SW, D RC     | 38      | 2     | 1     | -     | 6.79  | 24    | ITA   | £275K | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC    | Wnt   | Armando Mendes      | D C, DM, M C | 16      | 4     | -     | 2     | 7.16  | 19    | POR   | £425K | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DMC   | Wnt   | Julio               | D C, DM, M C | 12 (15) | -     | 2     | -     | 6.91  | 27    | ESP   | £24K  | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DMC   | Wnt   | Daniel Philliskirk  | DM, M C      | 35 (2)  | 1     | 6     | 2     | 7.09  | 23    | ENG   | £750K | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| AMR   | Rsv   | Martin Christensen  | AM RL        | 4 (11)  | -     | -     | -     | 6.69  | 26    | DEN   | £7K   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| AML   | HG    | Mattia Lacalamita   | AM L         | 35 (1)  | 3     | 12    | 2     | 7.03  | 19    | ITA   | £2.1M | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| AMC   | Wnt   | Nicolás Córdova     | AM C         | 19 (13) | 4     | 7     | 2     | 6.80  | 35    | CHI   | £8K   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| ST    | Rsv   | Umberto Eusepi      | AM L, ST     | 38      | 20    | 3     | 6     | 7.06  | 25    | ITA   | £1M   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S1    | Rsv   | Rino Gilardi        | GK           | -       | -     | -     | -     | -     | 18    | ITA   | £10K  | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S2    | Rsv   | Pablo Molina        | D C          | 2 (4)   | -     | -     | -     | 7.03  | 19    | ARG   | £825K | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S3    | Unh   | Nicholas Costantini | DM, M C      | 0 (9)   | 1     | -     | -     | 7.00  | 24    | ITA   | £55K  | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S4    | Rsv   | Albert Cano         | DM, AM C     | 31 (1)  | 4     | 2     | 1     | 7.10  | 30    | ESP   | £700K | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S5    | Wnt   | Matt Clarke         | AM R         | 0 (1)   | -     | -     | -     | 6.40  | 19    | ENG   | £220K | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S6    | Inj   | Wilker              | AM LC, F C   | 19 (12) | 8     | 1     | -     | 6.87  | 26    | BRA   | £475K | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S7    | Slt   | Dag Alexander Olsen | F C          | 1 (11)  | 2     | 1     | -     | 6.97  | 24    | NOR   | £100K | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Inj   | Andrea Bracaletti   | AM RLC       | 30      | 2     | 7     | 1     | 6.92  | 31    | ITA   | £450K | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Inj   | Alessandro Cibocchi | D/WB L, AM L | 15      | -     | -     | -     | 7.12  | 31    | ITA   | £120K | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Rsv   | Zeshan Rehman       | D RC         | 3 (6)   | -     | -     | -     | 7.09  | 30    | PAK   | £425K | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Inj   | Liban Abdi          | AM RL, ST    | 9 (9)   | -     | 2     | -     | 6.81  | 25    | SOM   | £160K | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Rsv   | Matteo D'Alessandro | D RL         | 26      | -     | -     | -     | 7.01  | 24    | ITA   | £400K | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Inj   | Marco Santangelo    | AM/F C       | 0 (5)   | -     | -     | -     | 6.54  | 17    | ITA   | £1.2M | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

[crouchaldinho]

I tried to add some more information into the player table to give some more details about my current squad.

Let me know if there is anything more that you would like to see, or anything there that you think is unnecessary, or if you'd like me to change the order of the columns etc.

Thanks guys.

[crouchaldinho]

It looks like you've kept Carrarese up, Crouchy. I bet that means more to you than the promotions of the past couple of season, right?

This has been a really enjoyable season because I've really had to squeeze everything I can out of the squad. Definitely very pleased and surprised at staying up with games to spare because the squad is certainly lacking in quality and depth.

Tempted to stick around and see what you can build?

I'm really after a move to be honest Mike. I'll hang on at Carrarese for now but I'm hoping that a good job at a bigger club will come up.

Having said that, I've got quite a few promising youngsters and my U20s are on course to potentially win their league. So maybe I will end up hanging around a bit longer to see how some of them turn out.

[TaylorB]

I tried to add some more information into the player table to give some more details about my current squad.

Let me know if there is anything more that you would like to see, or anything there that you think is unnecessary, or if you'd like me to change the order of the columns etc.

Thanks guys.

The effort you're putting in is incredible, there's nothing else that could be added to improve it imo. It helps me and I'm sure other users, feel involved in the career.

Also, if I were you, I'd seriously be looking for another job, what kind of level do you think you could get a job in right now?

[crouchaldinho]

Thanks for the comments TaylorB. Much appreciated.

As for a new job, my reputation is regional which means basically top C1 clubs and maybe the lower half of Serie B.

I was considered a 'leading candidate' for the Hellas Verona job earlier in the season but I was laughed at when I expressed interest in Atalanta.

[iacovone]

Great job on survival Crouchy. Now it could well be time to seek a move. I'm intrigued as to who you'll end up at.

[crouchaldinho]

I'm not sure what to do now. I'm tempted to resign at the end of the season and then wait to see what jobs come up over the summer or at the beginning of next season. It's been 5 years at Carrarese and I think it's probably time to move on.

I could resign now on a high and wait for my next move, or continue with Carrarese while keeping an eye out for a job. The trouble with the latter option is that it often becomes distracting and you can become unmotivated to play with your current team knowing that you're looking to move on asap.

Any thoughts people?

Hopefully finish the season tonight and will then do an end of season summary.

[iacovone]

You sound like your leaning towards leaving and to be honest I'd probably resign in your position. You've got them up and kept them up and that's more than the fans would have expected of you! Plus how many managers last 5 years in Italian lower league football!? Not many. You don't want to become one of those guys do you?

Move on! Its no loss if you're unemployed for a few months. I spent over 9 months like that IIRC. Had a lovely holiday

[AcidBurn]

I agree with iacovone it's time to move on. I think you have done very well there and needa new project, like you said motivation is a problem if you are looking for a new job. What league are Cisco Roma in? I have always wanted to manage them the starting place of Totti, Luca Toni and even Di Canio played for them.

[NepentheZ]

Crouchy, your updates are immense. Well done. As for the career... you should move on.

[iacovone]

Just noticed the full name of your striker - Umberto Eusepi . That is a fantastic Italian name \o/

[UELLfan]

In my modest opinion, if you feel like moving on just do it.

There's nothing worse than a season of job-hunting done from the managerial position of a team you no longer care for... Tedious is an understatement.

[crouchaldinho]

Thanks for all of the replies guys.

Move on! Its no loss if you're unemployed for a few months. I spent over 9 months like that IIRC. Had a lovely holiday

You don't lose any rep while you're on holiday then?

I agree with iacovone it's time to move on. I think you have done very well there and needa new project, like you said motivation is a problem if you are looking for a new job. What league are Cisco Roma in? I have always wanted to manage them the starting place of Totti, Luca Toni and even Di Canio played for them.

I think Cisco Roma play at C2 level. I'll be looking for a bigger club than that to be honest.

I definitely want to end up in Rome though at some point, managing Roma hopefully!

Crouchy, your updates are immense. Well done. As for the career... you should move on.

Thanks for the feedback Nep!

In my modest opinion, if you feel like moving on just do it.

There's nothing worse than a season of job-hunting done from the managerial position of a team you no longer care for... Tedious is an understatement.

Absolutely right UELLfan.

Well, I haven't made a decision just yet. Couple more games of the season to go; could they be my last as Carrarese manager?

[Nobby_McDonald]

Well done on keeping Carrarese up.

[crouchaldinho]

Thanks Nobby.

[crouchaldinho]

UPDATE FOR MAY 2014:

Carrarese 0 – 0 Piacenza (Serie B)

Poor performance for us and it is questionable whether or not we deserved the point.

We made a few chances but gave up a lot of possession to Piacenza and were certainly second best.

In the end, this was the all important 50th point of the season and it absolutely guaranteed our safety.

Carrarese scorers: None.

Carrarese MoM: Goalkeeper Christian Di Bari.

Albinoleffe 2 – 0 Carrarese (Serie B)

I put out a few youngsters such as defensive midfielder Tom Culshaw, attacking midfielder Davide Vangi (the next Pirlo!) and young Englishman Matt Clarke also got a start on the right wing.

It was more or less men against boys though as we were overwhelmed by Albinoleffe. We kept the ball well but couldn’t handle our opposition and conceded too many chances. Out of the youngsters, only Vangi really shone.

Carrarese scorers: None.

Carrarese MoM: Daniel Philliskirk.

Carrarese 1 -1 Chievo (Serie B)

A fairly even game between us and the promotion contenders. A draw was a fair result.

Davide Vangi got on as a sub and performed well again. He hit the post late on and might have even won us the game.

Carrarese scorers: Liban Abdi.

Carrarese MoM: Liban Abdi.

Carrarese 1 – 0 Modena (Serie B)

A perfect end to the season as we defeated the side who were relegated in 19th place.

We were superior and well worth the 3 points. We had to wait until the 80th minute for the winner though, which was a trademark Umberto Eusepi powerful drive from distance. A scorcher and a cracking goal!

This one wraps up the season very nicely and also makes a rather decent last game at Dei Marmi for the manager. That’s right, I’m pretty sure I’m moving on now.

Carrarese scorers: Umberto Eusepi.

Carrarese MoM: Wilker.

Manager Comments for May:

Great end to the season for us. I couldn’t really be much happier with how it has gone as a whole and it is always nice to finish with a good performance and a victory!

Forza Azzurri! \o/

[crouchaldinho]

END OF SEASON 2013/14 SUMMARY:

Serie B Standings:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team         |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | C     | Cesena       |       | 42    | 30    | 9     | 3     | 98    | 34    | +64   | 99    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | P     | Atalanta     |       | 42    | 24    | 12    | 6     | 58    | 31    | +27   | 84    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Ascoli       |       | 42    | 22    | 11    | 9     | 65    | 45    | +20   | 77    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Triestina    |       | 42    | 21    | 12    | 9     | 69    | 46    | +23   | 75    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   | P     | Mantova      |       | 42    | 21    | 12    | 9     | 69    | 47    | +22   | 75    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Chievo       |       | 42    | 21    | 7     | 14    | 59    | 41    | +18   | 70    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Salernitana  |       | 42    | 21    | 7     | 14    | 62    | 57    | +5    | 70    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Bari         |       | 42    | 19    | 12    | 11    | 60    | 42    | +18   | 69    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | Brescia      |       | 42    | 17    | 12    | 13    | 58    | 51    | +7    | 63    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | Frosinone    |       | 42    | 16    | 13    | 13    | 72    | 63    | +9    | 61    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Livorno      |       | 42    | 17    | 9     | 16    | 56    | 56    | 0     | 60    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | AlbinoLeffe  |       | 42    | 17    | 6     | 19    | 59    | 66    | -7    | 57    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 13th  |       | Carrarese    |       | 42    | 14    | 12    | 16    | 55    | 58    | -3    | 54    | [/b]
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | Vicenza      |       | 42    | 15    | 7     | 20    | 45    | 54    | -9    | 52    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Grosseto     |       | 42    | 12    | 14    | 16    | 49    | 59    | -10   | 50    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | Pro Vercelli |       | 42    | 13    | 9     | 20    | 48    | 64    | -16   | 48    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th  |       | Padova       |       | 42    | 8     | 19    | 15    | 40    | 55    | -15   | 43    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  |       | Crotone      |       | 42    | 9     | 13    | 20    | 40    | 57    | -17   | 40    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th  | R     | Modena       |       | 42    | 8     | 11    | 23    | 44    | 66    | -22   | 35    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th  | R     | Piacenza     |       | 42    | 6     | 11    | 25    | 46    | 76    | -30   | 29    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 21st  | R     | Rimini       |       | 42    | 6     | 9     | 27    | 43    | 82    | -39   | 27    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 22nd  | R     | Sassuolo     |       | 42    | 4     | 15    | 23    | 32    | 77    | -45   | 27    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

First Team Squad Statistics:

| Pkd   | Inf   | Name                 | Position     | Apps    | Gls   | Ast   | MoM   | Av Rat| Age   | Nat   | Value | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| GK    | Tut   | Christian Di Bari    | GK           | 39      | -     | -     | 1     | 6.84  | 18    | ITA   | £850K | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DR    | Wnt   | Riccardo Colombo     | D/WB/M R     | 15 (1)  | -     | 1     | -     | 6.82  | 31    | ITA   | £12K  | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DL    | Inj   | Matteo D'Alessandro  | D RL         | 29      | -     | -     | -     | 6.99  | 25    | ITA   | £725K | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC    | Rsv   | Pablo Molina         | D C          | 5 (4)   | -     | -     | -     | 6.99  | 19    | ARG   | £825K | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC    | Wnt   | Armando Mendes       | D C, DM, M C | 20      | 4     | -     | 2     | 7.12  | 20    | POR   | £400K | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DMC   | Rsv   | Albert Cano          | DM, AM C     | 34 (1)  | 4     | 2     | 1     | 7.10  | 30    | ESP   | £650K | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DMC   | Wnt   | Daniel Philliskirk   | DM, M C      | 39 (2)  | 1     | 7     | 2     | 7.10  | 23    | ENG   | £750K | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| AMR   | Rsv   | Liban Abdi           | AM RL, ST    | 11 (10) | 1     | 2     | -     | 6.86  | 25    | SOM   | £160K | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| AML   | Rsv   | Wilker               | AM LC, F C   | 20 (14) | 8     | 2     | 1     | 6.87  | 26    | BRA   | £450K | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| AMC   | Wnt   | Nicolás Córdova      | AM C         | 22 (13) | 4     | 7     | 2     | 6.78  | 35    | CHI   | £7K   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| ST    | Wnt   | Umberto Eusepi       | AM L, ST     | 42      | 21    | 3     | 6     | 7.01  | 25    | ITA   | £950K | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S2    | Wnt   | Andrea Signorini     | SW, D RC     | 39 (3)  | 2     | 1     | -     | 6.82  | 24    | ITA   | £275K | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S3    | Unh   | Nicholas Costantini  | DM, M C      | 0 (9)   | 1     | -     | -     | 7.00  | 24    | ITA   | £50K  | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S4    | Trn   | Tom Culshaw          | DM, M C      | 1 (2)   | -     | -     | -     | 6.90  | 20    | ENG   | £375K | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S6    | Yth   | Davide Vangi         | AM/F C       | 1 (5)   | -     | -     | -     | 6.62  | 16    | ITA   | £425K | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S7    | Tut   | Dag Alexander Olsen  | F C          | 1 (13)  | 2     | 1     | -     | 6.92  | 24    | NOR   | £90K  | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Trn   | Pedro Baquero        | SW, D RC     | 21 (2)  | 1     | 1     | -     | 7.00  | 33    | ESP   | £20K  | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Tut   | Andrea Bracaletti    | AM RLC       | 30      | 2     | 7     | 1     | 6.92  | 31    | ITA   | £425K | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Rsv   | Alessandro Cibocchi  | D/WB L, AM L | 15      | -     | -     | -     | 7.12  | 31    | ITA   | £95K  | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Wnt   | Olivier N'Siabamfumu | D RC         | 7 (4)   | -     | -     | -     | 6.84  | 28    | COD   | £22K  | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Rsv   | Martin Christensen   | AM RL        | 5 (11)  | -     | -     | -     | 6.69  | 26    | DEN   | £7K   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Rsv   | Francesco Zarini     | D/WB L       | 16      | -     | 3     | 1     | 6.96  | 25    | ITA   | £22K  | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Trn   | Salvatore Sirigu     | GK           | 4       | -     | -     | -     | 6.78  | 27    | ITA   | £26K  | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Wnt   | Julio                | D C, DM, M C | 12 (16) | -     | 2     | -     | 6.90  | 27    | ESP   | £22K  | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Rsv   | Zeshan Rehman        | D RC         | 3 (6)   | -     | -     | -     | 7.09  | 30    | PAK   | £350K | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Tut   | Mattia Lacalamita    | AM L         | 38 (1)  | 3     | 12    | 2     | 7.00  | 19    | ITA   | £2.1M | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

[crouchaldinho]

Crouchy's Calcio Journeyman Save - Project 1: Carrarese in Serie B (Season Five at Dei Marmi - 2013/14)

End of Season 13/14 Screenshots:

League Table - see this post for the final table.

League Positions Graph

As you can see, we were pretty consistent all season, always occupying a lower mid-table position.

Italian Cup – Another early exit, this time at the 2nd Qualifying Round after this disappointing defeat at home to Modena.

Transfers - As I signed so many of players (particularly youngsters to go into my U21 squad) it is easier to do this in text rather than in a screenshot. See my transfers in the tables below (I have put the key transfers in bold):

IN:

| Date               | Person               | From               | Fee                | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2013           | Appiah, Dennis       | AS Monaco FC       | Free               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5.7.2013           | Olsen, Dag Alexander | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7.7.2013           | Belfodil, Ishak      | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 7.7.2013           | Di Bari, Christian   | Genoa              | Loan               | [/b]
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9.7.2013           | Hayes, Paul          | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10.7.2013          | Coppola, Manuel      | Parma              | Loan               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 12.7.2013          | Mendes, Armando      | Free Transfer      | Free               | [/b]
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12.7.2013          | Laskowski, Jake      | Ipswich            | Loan               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12.7.2013          | Culshaw, Tom         | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15.7.2013          | Wood, Nathan         | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16.7.2013          | Jackson, Chris       | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16.7.2013          | Adragna, Massimo     | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 17.7.2013          | Lacalamita, Mattia   | Roma               | Loan               | [/b]
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 17.7.2013          | Córdova, Nicolás     | Free Transfer      | Free               | [/b]
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18.7.2013          | Sani, Camillo        | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18.7.2013          | Parasidis, Stratos   | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19.7.2013          | Clarke, Matt         | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19.7.2013          | Doran, Peter         | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 22.7.2013          | Paauwe, Jan          | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 23.7.2013          | Vangi, Davide        | Free Transfer      | Free               | [/b]
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 23.7.2013          | De Rose, Giuseppe    | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 24.7.2013          | Newton, Andy         | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 25.7.2013          | Clark, Dale          | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 25.7.2013          | Mariko, Alhassane    | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.8.2013           | McDermott, Tommy     | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.8.2013           | Powell, Mark         | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2.8.2013           | Vardy, Sam           | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3.8.2013           | Ainsley, Chris       | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3.8.2013           | Samuels, Kieran      | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5.8.2013           | Fortune, Paul        | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 23.8.2013          | Bradbury, David      | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3.11.2013          | Salifou, Gnandi      | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 21.1.2014          | Molina, Pablo        | Genoa              | Loan               | [/b]
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 23.1.2014          | Santangelo, Marco    | Parma              | Loan               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 27.1.2014          | Colombo, Riccardo    | Cremonese          | £6K                | [/b]
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 30.1.2014          | Zarini, Francesco    | Igea Virtus        | £35K               | [/b]
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|                    | Total                |                    | £41K               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

As you can see, many of the transfers in were youth players for the U20s. 6 or 7 players who were signed actually bolstered the squad.

OUT:

| Date               | Person             | To                 | Fee                | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2013           | Zlogar, Anton      |                    | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 16.7.2013          | Óscar              | Ejido              | £16K               | [/b]
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 22.7.2013          | Hayes, Paul        | Noceto             | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17.8.2013          | Lamantia, Mirko    | Pescara            | £12K               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2.1.2014           | Appiah, Dennis     | Montevarchi        | £35K               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 9.1.2014           | Parasidis, Stratos | Xerez              | £220K              | [/b]
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10.1.2014          | Clark, Dale        | Cork City          | £18K               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 12.1.2014          | Newton, Andy       | Wigan              | £350K              | [/b]
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 31.1.2014          | Greco, Leandro     | Noicattaro         | £250K              | [/b]
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|                    | Total              |                    | £900K              | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

£900k was raised to bring us back into the black. The hardest sale was that of Leandro Greco who I really had to sell due to him not getting enough first team football.

Squad - see this post for the final player stats.

The squad showed itself to be quite strong against the relegation candidates but we always struggled to match mid-table and top sides. It would need strengthening a lot in order to get into the top half.

Key players:

Albert Cano - First of all, one of my very first signings for the club, the Spanish DM Albert Cano. He won the fans player of the year award and is such a consistent player. If my Carrarese team can be defined by one thing, it would be the quality of the midfield, and Cano and Philliskirk are a key part of my success at the club.

Daniel Philliskirk - Cano's partner in the midfield, the deep-lying playmaker Philliskirk is probably my favourite player at the club. A quality deep-lying playmaker and vital to the successful functioning of the side.

Mattia Lacalamita - We loaned Lacalamita from Roma for the duration of the season and he was exceptional for us as his 12 assists show. A hugely important player at left wing who gave us an attacking threat from the wide left position.

Umberto Eusepi - Another favourite player of mine. I signed Eusepi back in 2011-12 and he has gone from strength-to-strength. He hit a record breaking 21 goals for us in Serie B this season.

Team of the Season.

Career Overview:

Season      	Team      	League      	Position   	Achievements & Notes
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2009/10      	Carrarese   	Serie C2/B   	6th      	(Took over after 17 games)
2010/11      	Carrarese   	Serie C2/C   	1st      	Serie C2/C winners & C2 Super Cup winners (MoY)
2011/12		Carrarese	Serie C1/A	8th
2012/13		Carrarese	Serie C1/A	3rd		3rd in Serie C1/A & Serie C Cup semi-finalists (MoY runner-up)
2013/14		Carrarese	Serie B		13th		Left at end of season

Next Season:

Well, project 1 has finally come to an end. I have made my mind up to leave Dei Marmi.

I think this next screenshot, showing the levels of sponsorship in Serie B, shows you what I was up against this season. We must have had the lowest sponsorship in the league and we were certainly hugely below the average. We certainly had the lowest transfer budget and most likely the smallest wage budget as well.

I leave Carrarese with a heavy heart because I have enjoyed myself here in Carrara. However, it is the right time to move on, as the side really needs rebuilding to progress and the money just isn't there.

I leave the club at its highest point, with secure finances too, and I hope that the next manager will be able to consolidate from this position. My legacy here will be a tradition of playing quality technical football and I have given the likes of Philliskirk and Cano to the fans at this club.

I say goodbye to Dei Marmi and begin job hunting again, hoping that I can progress in my Italian career.

[AcidBurn]

Right thing to do Crouchy you have left them strong and surely finished above expectations. I am curious as to where you go next, don't keep us waiting too long please lol.

[crouchaldinho]

Project 2 - Hellas Verona

Well, it was the job that I always wanted to come up! I've been waiting for this position for a few years!

Basically, I let my contract run down at Carrarese and left. Most of my coaching staff left with me too! Perhaps slightly ironically, the former Verona player Vincenzo Italiano took over from me as manager.

So I applied for a few jobs and was feeling very down that nobody was interested in hiring me. I was about to come on here and slag you all off for telling me to leave Dei Marmi! Anyway, I went on holiday for a while applying for all jobs and Gallipoli (in Serie C1/B) were first to approach me in November. I almost accepted it immediately, however, I noticed something unusual, which was the fact that Hellas Verona were struggling at the bottom of Serie C1/A. Last year, Verona finished 4th in Serie C1/B and lost out on promotion in the playoff final, so I really hadn't expected them to be struggling this season.

In the end, I decided to reject Gallipoli and hold out to see if the position at Verona became insecure. Sure enough, after holidaying another month, the post became insecure. I declared my interest and was 'considered a leading candidate should the position become available' by the media. Much to my surprise, Verona then immediately parted with their current manager and offered me the job! I had pretty much resigned myself to never getting the Verona job as I thought there manager would never be sacked, so this is very unexpected and just what I was hoping for.

So here I am in Verona, a city in Veneto, northern Italy. It has a population of 265,410. The local people are referred to as Veronesi or Scaligeri.

Verona is the city of Romeo and Juliet of course! It was also the birthplace of the Latin poet Catullus, and apparently was the town that Julius Caesar selected for his holidays.

Moving on and this is the club badge of Hellas Verona:

The team's colours are yellow and blue and gialloblu (literally, "yellow-blue" in Italian) is the team's most widely used nickname. This suits me just fine as any team in yellow and blue is good for me! Much like St. Albans, the colours represent the city itself and Verona's emblem (again, like St. Albans, a yellow cross on a blue shield) appears on most team apparel. Two more nicknames for the club are Mastini (the mastiffs) and Scaligeri, both references to Mastino I della Scala of the Della Scala princes that ruled the city during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The Scala family coat of arms is depicted on the team's jersey and on its trademark logo as a stylized image of two large, powerful mastiffs facing opposite directions.

One thing I really like about Hellas Verona is that when the club was founded in 1903, a professor of Classics apparently requested that the club be named Hellas (the Greek word for Greece). As someone who enjoys informal study of Classical literature, I can appreciate this all the more.

It seems that the club has a fierce rivalry with almost half of the teams in Italy(!) but the main rivals are probably neighbours Vicenza and also Chievo Verona who are very much the second team in the city but who are also currently the more successful of the two clubs.

The club was probably most successful during the 1980s. They won Serie A for the only time in 1985. It has now been 15 years without a trophy and the club has fallen down to find itself competing at Serie C1 level.

My goal for Project 2 seems pretty clear. Overtake Chievo, win a trophy for the first time since 1999 and take Verona back to the top division! It's going to be an excellent challenge.

I should mention that the club is in a fantastic financial position compared to other teams at this level. I have the feeling that I have finally arrived at a 'big' club with the 39,211 all seater Bentegodi stadium. Certainly the transfer budget is way beyond anything I could have imagined at Carrarese and the wage budget is easily that of a Serie B side. I am therefore under pressure to succeed here. This feels like a big job and a step in the right direction for my career.

I take over the club in December with almost half of the season gone and the winter break just around the corner. We were predicted to come 11th in the table but we are currently in 16th position. Here is the current table on 10th December 2014:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team       |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Piacenza   |       | 15    | 10    | 1     | 4     | 23    | 12    | +11   | 31    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Modena     |       | 15    | 9     | 1     | 5     | 27    | 16    | +11   | 28    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Cisco      |       | 15    | 8     | 4     | 3     | 24    | 18    | +6    | 28    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Novara     |       | 15    | 8     | 4     | 3     | 23    | 13    | +10   | 28    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Monza      |       | 15    | 8     | 1     | 6     | 17    | 17    | 0     | 25    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Cittadella |       | 15    | 7     | 3     | 5     | 18    | 12    | +6    | 24    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Perugia    |       | 15    | 7     | 3     | 5     | 13    | 9     | +4    | 24    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Catanzaro  |       | 15    | 6     | 5     | 4     | 20    | 15    | +5    | 23    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | Spezia     |       | 15    | 6     | 5     | 4     | 19    | 16    | +3    | 23    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | Lumezzane  |       | 15    | 6     | 3     | 6     | 18    | 20    | -2    | 21    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Como       |       | 15    | 4     | 8     | 3     | 16    | 14    | +2    | 20    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Foggia     |       | 15    | 5     | 3     | 7     | 15    | 18    | -3    | 18    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | Ravenna    |       | 15    | 4     | 4     | 7     | 16    | 20    | -4    | 16    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | Pescara    |       | 15    | 4     | 3     | 8     | 16    | 21    | -5    | 15    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Arezzo     |       | 15    | 3     | 6     | 6     | 12    | 18    | -6    | 15    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 16th  |       | Verona     |       | 15    | 3     | 4     | 8     | 12    | 22    | -10   | 13    | [/b]
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th  |       | Lucchese   |       | 15    | 3     | 3     | 9     | 13    | 25    | -12   | 12    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  |       | Gela       |       | 15    | 2     | 3     | 10    | 8     | 24    | -16   | 9     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

We immediately need to turn around a very bad spell of 7 games without a win. The squad will certainly need strengthening and I'll be looking to try to sign some of my old Carrarese players in January.

Forza Gialloblu!

[DodgeeD]

Just catching up here and it's great to see that you got your dream job. Good luck forging the path to Serie A!

[AcidBurn]

Well it only took you 2 minutes to let us know, good luck Crouchy.