[FM10] Juve got to be kidding me!

[Elrithral]

Can I make a request Mike? I can't view imageshack pics, but I can view photoshop, could you use photoshop for your screenies? No worries if you can't, i'll just have to pop by when at home.

[Mike7077]

I don't see why not. Imageshack is a pain anyway. It's easy to use, which is why I use it. But sometimes it refuses to upload things. Did you mean Photobucket?

I'm nervous about tonight. Real Madrid when I get home...

[Elrithral]

Yes, photobucket, sorry. Nervousness is par for the course in season four of my Ajax game Not to put a dampener on it, but I think you'll be second best until the AI eventually ruins Inter.

[Mike7077]

November

November 2: Juventus 0-0 Real Madrid

Real Madrid were much better in this match than they were when we met in the Bernabeu. They probably left wondering how they didn't win. But my keeper and back four just did their usual job, which was to perform brilliantly, and we got a good point. A win in Poland next week would secure qualification as group winners.

I really think I've got something special at the back. Buffon is a world class goalkeeper, but we all know that. Zdenek Grygera is not spectacular and he gets booked far too often, but he's utterly reliable. At left back, Paolo De Ceglie is turning into a wonderful player. Ditto Martin Caceres in the centre. And it's all welded together by the magnificent immovable object of Giorgio Chiellini.

November 7: Juventus 3-1 Napoli

It says something about how far we've come that Napoli's goal irritated me so much, but it did. At 3-0 and cruising, we didn't need to become sloppy. It's uncharacteristic of us. But the result, against a really good team, was still satisfying and keeps us right up there with Inter.

November 21: Juventus 2-0 Lecce

With Martin Caceres one booking away from a suspension, I figured we could get by against Lecce with Burdisso at the back instead. And Burdisso certainly delivered. He's a really good defender and I'm surprised Inter let him go. As for the match, it was dull. We did enough and nothing more.

November 24: Lech Poznan 0-3 Juventus

Inspirational left-back De Ceglie was out injured for this one so Fabio Grosso came in for his first game of the season. I also decided to give Tiago his first game of this campaign. I still thought we'd have enough to see off Lech, and we did. We blew them away in the first half and although we came off the gas in the second, it was a comfortable victory. This win saw us through to the next phase. With one game left, Real are three points behind us but with a worse head-to-head record. We can't be caught and it means I can give the fringe squad a run out against Man City.

November 28: Siena 0-3 Juventus

I had a sneaking suspicion our good run of form would come to an end here. Felt like it was due. But there was never any danger. Siena are my tip for relegation and this was an easy victory. Amauri looks like he means business this season.

Serie A - Latest Standings

Champions League Group C - Latest Standings

Monthly Reflection

Another virtually flawless month. Maybe we're heading for a fall, but right now I'm loving our form. Just the one goal conceded in the month and signs that I might have genuine world class players developing. Inter are indeed still top and undefeated, but they're scraping their wins at the moment. We're cruising to ours.

In Europe, what a contrast from last season. I felt we had a tougher draw this year, coming up against Real and Man City, but we've gotten through as group winners with a game to spare. That's a million miles from the desperate failure of last season.

Player of the Month

Amauri: The Brazilian striker was in scintillating form again. I could have picked any of the defenders but ultimately I think Amauri was the most impressive. Alvaro Negredo started to look good, too.

[Mike7077]

Yes, photobucket, sorry. Nervousness is par for the course in season four of my Ajax game Not to put a dampener on it, but I think you'll be second best until the AI eventually ruins Inter.

It takes time to build something special. Even managing a big club, and especially in Italy where Inter are so stupidly good. I'd be happy with second. It's an improvement on third!

[Oxford Red Cobbler]

Four goals conceded in the league is superb! Just a shame Inter are so good.

I love your writing style, btw. Really enjoying this!

[crouchaldinho]

Pretty nice couple of months there Mike.

Loving the defensive record most though. 4 in the league and only 1 in Europe.

[Mike7077]

Four goals conceded in the league is superb! Just a shame Inter are so good.

I love your writing style, btw. Really enjoying this!

Thanks! I like compliments.

Pretty nice couple of months there Mike.

Loving the defensive record most though. 4 in the league and only 1 in Europe.

It's very pleasing to have such a strong defensive record. And what pleases me most is that I don't feel as if I just hit upon it by fluke. I've actually tried to incorporate good defending into my tactical approach. It seems I've got it right. At the moment, at least.

But to be honest, the thing I'm happiest about is our Champions League progress. After last season's debacle, I couldn't see us getting through a group that included Real Madrid and Man City. But we're more stubborn this season and we can go to places like the Bernabeu and Eastlands and come away with something.

[Elrithral]

Blimey, that GA column is mighty impressive! I thought i'd done well conceding only 5 in my first 19, but that's Holland, conceding only 4 in Italy is something to be incredibly proud of

[Mike7077]

December

December 7: Juventus 0-2 Manchester City

This match took place on my birthday, but my players had already given me my present by qualifying with a game to spare. I took the chance to give the fringe players a run out and even got a few youngsters involved. For some inexplicable reason Manchester City, despite being confirmed in third place going into the match, felt the need to send out a full-strength team. I would expect their best team to beat my reserves and youngsters, and they duly did. But no harm done.

December 12: Roma 1-2 Juventus

Sometimes a side will only start playing after an hour and still get a favourable result. But if you allow the opposition to take a two goal lead first, you'll struggle. After our second goal, Roma ripped us apart, but it was too late. They'd given themselves too much to do and we walked away with yet another win.

NEWSFLASH

In the first round of the Coppa Italia, we've been given the exact same draw as last year - home to Palermo! Last season they won 3-0 in our poorest home performance. Hopefully this year we'll put the record straight.

December 15: Juventus 1-0 Atalanta

Don't be fooled by the scoreline, we battered Atalanta. You have to give them credit, though. Nobody has put in a defensive shift like that against us since I took over. Every one of them put body and soul on the line to keep us at bay and I left feeling satisfied to have broken them down just once. They're struggling, Atalanta, but that kind of effort and commitment should see them safe. We had a little defensive crisis going into the game. Grygera, Caceres, Burdisso and Grosso were all ruled out, meaning I had to draft in the veteran Niccola Legrottaglie in to the centre and then play Mahamadou Diarra as a makeshift right back. We weren't troubled, though.

NEWSFLASH

Typical. Just typical. Real Madrid finish second in the group and get a relatively straightforward draw against Zenit St. Petersburg. We win it and end up with Chelsea. Bloody Chelsea! It's gonna take something special to make the quarters.

December 19: Juventus 3-1 Bari

We certainly racked up the home games in December! I was frustrated with our performance in this match. We were fine when in possession, but we allowed Bari far too much time on the ball and they carved us open a few times. Can't complain with the win, but I hope we can play better than we did here in the future.

Serie A - Latest Standings

Champions League Group C - Final Standings

Monthly Reflection

Just the four games in December, and we kept our impressive form going. Only Bari gave us a scare, taking the lead at our place and turning in a good performance in defeat. We're still behind an Inter side that just doesn't drop points, but if we can keep this up, I'm sure we'll catch them. It just depends on who blinks first.

In Europe, the one game we played was completely irrelevant. The only thing to reflect on is the fact we face Chelsea in the first knockout round. Could've done without that!

Player of the Month

Alvaro Negredo: It was hard to pick this month because nobody stood out. Negredo bagged a few goals though and his general play was excellent. He often drops deep and picks the ball up before running at the defence or playing a dangerous through-ball. Negredo edges it this month.

[Elrithral]

I am delighted with your season so far Mike, within 2 points of first and 9 ahead of third, top notch. Unlucky with the CL draw, but always remember Moscow, BELIEVE!

[Mike7077]

Thanks dude.

It's soooo much better than last season. We were too far behind Inter too early and crashed out of the Champions League in the group stage. This year, by comparision, is a triumph. Or at least, it has the potential to be a triumph.

[Mike7077]

January

The January transfer window was very uneventful for us. I signed nobody and probably couldn't sign anyone of the kind of quality I'd want, given the fact that the best players are all cup-tied for the Champions League and that I spent a large chunk of my season's budget back in August. The only thing that happened was that I terminated the contract of veteran defender Fabio Cannavaro. No point of having him on the wage bill when he was a long way from even acting as back up.

January proved to be a month of injuries and indiscipline...

January 5: Juventus 3-0 Sampdoria

2011 began the way 2010 ended. This was a confident performance against a very good Sampdoria team. Alvaro Negredo was in particularly inspired form.

January 9: AC Milan 1-1 Juventus

If you wanted proof of how much better we are than last season, compare this to our performance away to Milan last season, when we lost 2-0. We were comfortable second-best back then, but this time we were the better side. And this despite losing our best defender to a red card after just ten minutes. Milan got an equaliser late on, but we were right to feel disappointed at not coming away with the three points after a dominant showing.

January 12: Juventus 1-0 Palermo

No repeat of Palermo's incredibly 3-0 win in last year's Coppa Italia First Round as we took a comfortable win. I weakened the side a little by bringing in a fringe player or two, and they did fine. Palermo occasionally threatened on the break, but we were more likely to score another than they were to get one.

January 16: Juventus 3-0 Palermo

Our friends from Sicily barely had time to leave town and turn back as this league fixture came hot on the heels of our win in the cup. We went into the game without the suspended Giorgio Chiellini and Paolo De Ceglie, but Fabio Grosso and Nicolas Burdisso are more than able deputies. Burdisso in particular impressed, getting himself on the scoresheet. The sending-off didn't help Palermo, who managed not one shot on goal. How we didn't win by more is a mystery.

January 19: Bologna 0-2 Juventus

The games are certainly coming thick and fast! This was all going swimmingly until De Ceglie picked up a red for stupid diving tackle. He'd been picking up too many yellows of late, and this left me fuming. I promptly fined him after the match. It meant that we would be without Chiellini, who was still serving a ban, and De Ceglie for our next match. As for this match, it was all very straightforward, but Bologna could have got something towards the end as my ten men seemed to tire.

January 22: Juventus 2-2 Udinese

Astonishingly, this was the first time all season that we failed to win at home in the league. The only other time we didn't win in Turin was the meaningless match with Manchester City back in December. Udinese are a great team and flying high in the league. They deserved at least a point. Our players looked jaded by the recent run of fixtures, but Udinese have had the same thing to deal with. The biggest disappointment was surrending the top spot back to Inter. We'd overtaken them after they dropped four points in their previous two matches. I also earned a touchline ban after criticising a decision to disallow a goal of ours for offside. Apparently the referee got it right, despite the fact I can see with my own eyes that Diego was onside. I'll miss the next match, a trip to the San Siro to face Milan in the cup.

January 26: AC Milan 2-1 Juventus

De Ceglie saw red AGAIN!! I can hardly talk, sitting in the stands serving a ban for my own ill-discipline, but for Christ sake, it was frustrating. 2-1 down and we needed 11 men on the pitch. The stats showed that we were better in all departments, and I'm annoyed we won't be going any further in the cup. But there's always next year...

January 30: Juventus 2-0 Reggina

Well we got a good win and played perfectly acceptably. However, another sending off, this time for Felipe Melo, left me feeling really hacked off. What were my players doing this month? The injury to Fernando Gago was a blow, too. But another three points in the bag.

Serie A - Latest Standings

Monthly Reflection

We may have gone out of the cup, but it will never be the priority and I can console myself with more excellent league form. We haven't lost in Serie A since Udinese beat us back on 11 September. In all my years playing FM, I don't think I've ever been on a run like this. The draw with Udinese at home was a tad frustrating as it meant we surrendered top spot after having just claimed it. But we're a point closer to Inter than we were at the start of the month and that's acceptable enough for now. Really pleased with how it's going.

Player of the Month

Mohamed Sissoko: The Malian midfielder is giving me a lot to think about. I play a 4-3-1-2 formation (4-3-2-1 in more difficult away games) and I consider that midfield three to be Felipe Melo, Claudio Marchisio and Fernando Gago. But it should say something that I'm mulling over selling Gago because Sissoko is, to put it simply, playing consistently better. He was a star this month. And still only 24.

[Elrithral]

I had a bit of a discipline problem with Mo Diarra, took him off hard tackling, fined him and seemed to sort it. Nice month there Michael, if it wasn't for the second red you would be top.

The Milan screenshot is a duplicate of the Udinese one btw.

[Mike7077]

Oops! I'm a dope. I'll sort that out now.

[Elrithral]

Ah right, it was a cup game so you wouldn't be top, but still only a point in it

[Mike7077]

I'll be honest, I can't believe how well we're doing. I never saw this coming. Just goes to show how good Inter are!

[Elrithral]

Delighted to see Udinese in the CL spots, is Quagliarella still with them? I had a brilliant 09 save with them, as i'm sure you remember, before moving on to Roma and 5 consecutive CL finals. <3 Miss that save

[Mike7077]

Quagliarella is at Napoli. I was wondering if it might be worth bidding for him in the summer, but I think I probably have good enough strikers already.

[Mike7077]

February

February would be a crucial month. At the end of the month we faced a tricky away trip to Genoa, followed by a Champions League First Knockout Round First Leg tie away to Chelsea and then a home match against title rivals Inter. A positive result in London and we'd be in a great position to get into the quarter-finals. The Inter match would decide nothing, but it would hand an advantage to the victors in the race for the title.

February 2: Brescia 0-4 Juventus

Brescia are really struggling now and, later on in the month, lost 8-0 at home to Sampdoria. I don't know if we'll have an easier win this season. I don't understand why we're picking up so many bookings, though. Our poor discipline would mean I struggled to name a settled defence through February...

February 5: Juventus 1-1 Lazio

Oh the frustration. We followed up a good win at Brescia with a really lacklustre effort here in Turin against Lazio. Lazio offered little, but neither did we. The draw was a fair result. Luckily for us, Inter lost at home to Napoli. We had edged ahead in the title race...

February 12: Cagliari 0-3 Juventus

The win was great and the performance matched it, but there were major negative here too. Yet another red card, this time for Grygera meant a suspension, and Giorgio Chiellini picked up a knock that would keep him out for six weeks. To lose our most important defender - if not our most important player - along with another first choice defender was a big blow.

February 20: Genoa 2-0 Juventus

Not good, folks. Not good. Okay, I was forced to play Fabio Grosso at right back and okay, I rested a couple of key players with the Chelsea and Inter games up next, but I still expected better. We were never in it and Genoa deserved their win. The incredible unbeaten run, stretching back to 11 September, was over...

February 23: Chelsea 1-0 Juventus

Oh good god. Chelsea were good. Really good. I've just watched my team get pulverised by a vastly superior opposition. Given that, I have to be pleased that we take them back to Turin only a goal behind. I would have liked an away goal but I just can't see any way I can complain. Chelsea were too good for us. Perhaps, just perhaps, we might have handled Drogba better with Chiellini available. But in truth, Burdisso did fine. We just aren't at Chelsea's level. I hope they have an off-day in the second leg!

February 27: Juventus 0-0 Inter

With Chiellini injured and Caceres suspended, we went into this game with the less than idea centre-back pairing of Burdisso and right-back Grygera. Fabio Grosso went over to right-back. However, Inter lost Lucio to injury in the first ten minutes and on fifteen they saw influential midfielder Wesley Sneijder sent off. So I have to feel that we missed a big chance here. We controlled the match as you might expect against ten men. But Inter held firm. That's three games without a goal for us!

Serie A - Latest Standings

Monthly Reflection

That was a tough one. In the league, we missed a chance to put a bit of daylight between ourselves and Inter. But at least I've finally gotten us to the top! I would say that we're in a decent position. In Europe, Chelsea destroyed us, but Buffon's performance gave us just a glimmer of hope of getting through. Two things worried me, though. Firstly, we're seeing far too many yellow and red cards. And secondly, the goals have dried up. None in our last three. We really can't let that continue.

Player of the Month

Gianluigi Buffon: The outfield players took their collective foot of the gas this month. We had tough fixtures and I respect how hard they battled against both Chelsea and Inter. But they were toothless against Lazio and Genoa. Buffon, however, just got on with things, turning in consistently impressive displays. What a goalkeeper he is.

[Elrithral]

And secondly, the goals have dried up. None in our last three. We really can't let that continue.

Two of those three were against top teams, both quite defensive teams and both will have went extra defensive because of how important the games were. The Genoa match was poor, but before that you had 8 in 3, kutgw dude. Top

[Mike7077]

March

March 2: Catania 1-1 Juventus

Mohamed Sissoko walked off with man of the match, but it was his daft foul in the penalty area that gave Catania their chance from the spot. But even so, we should have been out of sight before that happened. We're not at our best at the moment, but what fills me with hope is that we're still picking up points. This is the worst we've been all season and we've lost once in the league during this run and once away at Chelsea in Europe.

March 5: Juventus 2-0 Fiorentina

It was good to get back to winning ways, and Fiorentina are desperately poor. Despite that, they did press hard for an equaliser and it was frustrating how much ball we let them have at times. It was down to David Beckham to score a trademark free kick deep, deep, deep into stoppage time to seal the win. Oh, and Inter drew...

March 12: Napoli 0-1 Juventus

I had a hard decision to make here. Next up was Chelsea and I knew I could either play a full strength team here in the knowledge that Serie A represents our best chance of success this season, or I could rest a few key players with the hope of getting something against Chelsea, thus risking an adverse result in Naples. In the end, I went for the latter and decided to rest De Ceglie, Caceres, Diego, Diarra, Sissoko and Negredo, all of whom would play against Chelsea. And we got a massive result. We lost 4-0 here last season and it's never easy to come to Napoli and win. But we thoroughly deserved it. I was delighted that the winning goal was the work of two fringe players, Fabio Grosso's raking pass over the top finding the onrushing David Suazo who planted a firm shot beyond the keeper.

March 16: Juventus 2-0 Chelsea (agg: 2-1)

I could scarcely believe it. The contrast from the Stamford Bridge leg was huge. Indeed, we basically did to them what they did to us. Except we took more than just one of the chances that came our way. I thought that, if we were going to get through, it would be a mighty battle. But it wasn't. Chelsea were poor and we actually eased through. I'm chuffed!

NEWSFLASH

Our opponents in the Quarter Finals will be AC Milan. That's right, yet more matches against Milan. We've already played them in the cup and obviously there are the league fixtures. Can we squeeze past a team that, on paper, aren't as good as us and make it through to the semis? It would be beyond what I anticipated at the start of the season.

March 19: Lecce 0-2 Juventus

After the joy of the Chelsea result, I expected us to come and do a professional job at relegation-threatened Lecce, and we did. It's great to see Amauri in such good form. He's on 17 goals in the league this season, an improvement on the seven he got last year! Even better, Inter were held at Sampdoria! Only downside was an injury to Alvaro Negredo that rules him out for five weeks. Del Piero will now have a big part to play before he retires in the summer.

March 23: Juventus 0-0 AC Milan

0-0 at home in the first leg is not a terrible result. They don't have any away goals and if we can score in the San Siro, we'll have a big chance. Still, it would have been nice to get a goal or two. We played well enough and created enough chances to deserve it. But we'll take this and make the best of it. I genuinely think we have a chance in Milan. Only problem is, Chiellini and Grygera will be suspended and of course Negredo is out injured.

Serie A - Latest Standings

Champions League - First Knockout Round Aggregate Results

Monthly Reflection

A cracking month. Only one goal conceded and we look like we may, just may, win the title. I'm not counting my chickens, though. There's a lot of football left to be played. In Europe I've achieved the board's aim by reaching the Quarter Final stage and getting past Chelsea was a fantastic feeling. The draw with Milan leaves the Quarter Final tie finely balanced. I guess we'll see what happens...

Player of the Month

Mohamed Sissoko: I have a midfielder in Sissoko who is going to build a long career with Juventus, should he choose to spend it with us. He was magnificent in March. He's grown into a fine player and is becoming a hard player to leave out. Fernando Gago and Claudio Marchisio should be worried.

[crouchaldinho]

Great work since I last checked in here Mike.

I've got my fingers crossed for you in Europe as well.

[Mike7077]

April

Well, we enter April. The season is fast approaching its conclusion. Last season we were pretty much finished on all fronts by April. This season, we're favourites for the title and still in the Champions League. Something about "squeaky bums" springs to mind...

April 2: Juventus 1-0 Roma

A good solid win to keep us in pole position in the title race. Inter dropped further points today and, although they have a game in hand, they're doing their best to hand us the title. Roma weren't up to much in truth and we should have taken a bigger win from this. But it's the points that matter most and we got all three of them.

April 5: AC Milan 0-2 Juventus (agg: 0-2)

Fantastic! We were genuinely excellent, picking Milan off and standing firm when they pressed. This result means we go into the semis, one stage further than what the board asked of me. Can't complain about that! Milan had their chances, but I think it's fair to say we were the better side and thoroughly deserved to win. Del Piero was excellent. I wish he would reconsider retirement!

NEWSFLASH

With our magnificent win over Milan, we have earned a Semi Final tie with Bayern Munich. The Germans are in good form and are a point of the top of the Bundesliga. But I would rather have played them than Real Madrid or Manchester Utd.

April 17: Juventus 2-0 Siena

Once again, I was left with a tough decision. Weaken the team and risk dropping points in the title race or name my strongest side and risk injuries prior to the Champions League Semi Final First Leg. In the end, I felt I simply had to rest players. Siena are in grave danger of the drop and I thought even a weakened XI should be able to beat them. And we did, with minimum of fuss. It was nice to get some youngsters in for a run out as well in the second half.

April 20: Juventus 3-4 Bayern Munich

What a match! Bayern were brilliant, and we were good value too. Unfortunately, the result leaves us needing at least two goals in Bavaria in the second leg. The result might have been different had Martin Caceres, normally one of the most dependable defenders you'll see, not had a nightmare. He gave away an early penalty and never recovered. In the end I had to get im out of there. Shame, really. But you never what can happen and I wouldn't exactly rule us out just yet...

April 23: Atalanta 1-2 Juventus

When Atalanta took the lead, I started to worry. Was our season suddenly starting to unravel? In truth, we'd still have been in a decent position even if we lost. Inter, by this stage, needed to win all their remaining games to have any chance of the title. But still, it would be typical for a poor run of form to start here. Fortunately, Amauri and the returning Alvaro Negredo were on song and managed to turn it around quickly. We deserved to win the match and Atalanta must look nervously over their shoulders at the bottom three as the end of the season approaches.

NEWSFLASH

Some rather sad news. Juve legend Alessandro Del Piero picked up an injury against Atalanta and looks to have played his last game for the club and his last as a profession with retirement looming in the summer. I wanted him to stay for another season but he declined and now it looks like his career is over.

April 26: Bayern Munich 0-1 Juventus (agg: 4-4 - Bayern Munich win on away goals rule)

And so it wasn't to be. But I was really proud of our performance in Germany. Bayern sat back, clearly happy to defend what they had. But we actually found our way through them several times and should have put more chances away. If we had, we'd be in the final. But there are other ifs. If we'd have defended like we normally do in the first leg maybe we'd be finalists. But we still gave a performance to be proud of here and to come through a group containing Real Madrid and Manchester City as winners and then get past Chelsea and Milan is no mean feat. Bayern go through to the final to face Real Madrid. I hope they win it because they played so well at our place and I think they would deserve it.

Serie A - Latest Standings

Champions League - Quarter Final Results

Champions League - Semi Final Results

Monthly Reflection

We kept our charge on the Serie A title firmly on course in April. Our position actually strengthed slightly due to Inter dropping yet more points. Their game in hand comes on the Wednesday before the last games of the season and is away at Genoa, so there's no guarantee they'll win that. One thing is for sure, they can mathematically beat us to the title if they win three of their last four, but it would be very tricky. We're almost home and dry, although our last three matches are tricky - a home match again Milan sandwiched between trips to Sampdoria and Bari.

In Europe, we were imperious away at Milan and I was so pleased with the way we played. The semi with Bayern was truly epic. The football was stunning and I just suspect that the better side may have edged it. But we came so close. So close to a final. I should point out that I didn't necessarily intend us to be this close to a final at this stage. I'm disappointed that we fell down on our ability to defend because that usually marks us out. But we'll give it another go next year and see what happens.

Player of the Month

Diego: The Brazilian playmaker is a very gifted footballer. He's not hit the heights of last season, but April was all about him. Stunning goals and some wonderful general play. Any team in the world would be better off for having him.

[crouchaldinho]

Harsh defeat in Europe.

But quality progress in the league. More or less there now aren't you?

Keep going and good luck!

[CAFCIan75]

Nearly there Mike just one win away. Unlucky in Europe but a semi final place and the prize money should keep the board happy. It's a shame about Del Piero getting injured the last home game against Milan would have been a fitting end to his career - I think you will have to pay top dollar to replace him.

Good luck for the remaining three games

[AcidBurn]

Unlucky in Europe Mike but the league looks very good. How is Negrado performing for you overall?

[Mike7077]

I don't think top dollar will be needed to replace Del Piero. Obviously he was an awesome player but he's 36 and been acting as back-up. He's effectively already replaced.

On an amusing note, before the second leg of the Bayern game, the pundit's prediction thing that comes up was saying that he expected it to go to penalties. The only way it could possibly have gone to penalties was if we'd have won 4-3! Not impossible but a very bold prediction to make!

[Mike7077]

Unlucky in Europe Mike but the league looks very good. How is Negrado performing for you overall?

He's been great, really. Plenty of goals and a lot of assists too. I'm pleased with what I got from him. His arrival seemed to spur Amauri on too because he was crap last season but he's been on fire this time round.

[Mike7077]

May

Three games left. One win would equal the title. And that's assuming Inter win every game left. Here's what happened...

May 1: Sampdoria 2-1 Juventus

Not today, then. The Luigi Ferraris in Genoa was not a happy hunting ground for us this year. Genoa beat us a few weeks back and now it was Sampdoria's turn. We weren't at our best. Felipe Melo's influence in the middle of the pitch was missed. Inter won, which kept the title race alive until at least Wednesday when they would travel to this very stadium to take on Genoa.

NEWSFLASH

Champions!! Inter continued their indifferent form by losing 3-1 at Genoa. We can't be caught. It feels fantastic to have done it and now I can take on Milan and Bari in a relaxed mood.

May 8: Juventus 3-1 AC Milan

Despite having the title wrapped up, I was reluctant to weaken the team for this one. Beating Milan means something to the fans under any circumstances and I wanted to keep up our excellent record against the top sides this season. In the end, we cantered to a straightforward victory.

May 15: Bari 2-2 Juventus

This was a team made up mainly of second-stringers, although a few big names got a run out. 19 year-old striker Luca Arena played quite well on his debut and we finished the match with 17 year-old German defender Carsten Wagner and 16 year-old midfielder Vincenzo Pagano on the pitch. Bari took advantage of all this and earned a draw, but we were the better side and probably should have won. This blew our chance of finishing the season with the fewest goals conceded.

Final table will appear in Screenshots post

Monthly Reflection

One win in three, but who cares? We wrapped the title up thanks to Genoa's win over Inter and I thought we did well against Milan and Bari.

Player of the Month

Alvaro Negredo: The Spaniard did well in the two games he played. Nobody needed to give 100% in May as it turned out, and Negredo probably turned in the best performances this month. Nobody gave me anything major to shout about, though.

[Mike7077]

2010/2011 Screenshots

Serie A 2010/2011 - Final Standings

Home Record

Away Record

Team of the Year

Coppa Italia

Champions League

[Mike7077]

2010/2011 - Season Review

Player of the Season

Amauri: I spent £24m on Alvaro Negredo last summer and he had an excellent season, but it also seemed to spur Amauri on. I almost sold the Brazilian last summer due to his less than impressive 09/10 season. But he stepped it up this season and was probably the star. The whole squad gave an exceptional account of themselves, though.

Europe

It was a big contrast to last season! I thought we were magnificent. We got ourselves through a group that included reigning champions Real Madrid and Manchester City with relative ease, winning the group. We then knocked out Chelsea and AC Milan on our way to the semis, where Bayern Munich proved to be a bridge too far. The tie was epic and Bayern probably just about deserved to edge past us. But I can't complain. I surpassed the board's expectations by getting this far, and probably my own too.

Domestically

Well we won the league. Can't do much better than that! Inter led the way for much of the season, but we put together a massive unbeaten run following defeat at Udinese in August that got us right in there. As the season drew to a close, Inter seemed to bottle it. They dropped a rash of points and we kept winning. In the end, we deserved the title. We actually scored one fewer goal than we did the previous season, when we finished third. However, this didn't prevent us being comfortably the top scorers.

More disappointment in the cup, though. We got past Palermo this time, but Milan got the better of us in the next round. I do want to win this competition and I hope we can do it next season.

Thoughts for next season

Next season I'll be aiming to consolidate our position at the top of Italian football. I'm hoping Inter are beginning a decline, but even if they aren't, it has to be my aim to try and win back-to-back titles. No point resting on our laurels. What I really want is to get to the final of the Champions League. The current squad looks not far off being good enough, so hopefully I can do the right things this summer and prepare us for a full-on assualt on Europe's premier club competition. But we'll be doing it without Alessandro Del Piero. He's retiring. I've already confirmed the signing of Eidur Gudjohnsen on a free transfer, who I think is good enough to step into the role Del Piero was playing last season, which was pretty much as a back-up forward. Nicola Legrotagglie's contract will expire this summer and David Suazo's loan will end so there'll be a few holes to try and fill. I'm also looking to sell Tiago and even Fernando Gago might leave because I'm not sure I rate him. This all means I've got some work to do putting together the right squad for next season's journey...

[Elrithral]

With all due respect i'm absolutely astounded that you won the league, Inter are so damn good. You should be incredibly proud of this Mike.

Fantastic career update btw, really enjoying it and makes a change from the "I woz a small club n I got 15 straight promotions" threads. You can really see how much you care about the save, which makes it even more enjoyable.

[Mike7077]

Thanks, matey!

To be honest, Inter were dreadful after Christmas. They were their usual unstoppable selves before then. I was on a wonderful run but I still couldn't get to the top because they matches us all the way. I was actually wondering if I'd taken on an impossible task. But then they just... fell away. And fortunately, we seemed to keep playing the way we had been.

I'm actually a bit of a small club man myself when it comes to FM. However, I had this sudden feeling of missing managing at the top and having cash to spend and playing in Europe. I know managing Juve isn't a big challenge like managing Tinytown Rovers FC but I felt there was a degree of challenge involved, given Inter's dominance and the fact that Juve have been nowhere in Europe recently. So I'm chuffed to have won the league!

[Elrithral]

I adore the big club challenge, especially small big clubs. I couldn't play without the thrill of European competition and the seemingly impossible task of doing something in Europe with one of the teams that usually makes up the numbers. Setting yourself rules and limitations makes it just as difficult as LLM imo.

Strange about them falling away after christmas, seems to happen to one of my challengers every season.

[Mike7077]

I'll be honest, as the title started to look like it was coming our way I was thinking "people will start to think I'm cheating..". But I never ever cheat! We just seemed to get everything right. Or, maybe, I just seemed to get everything right.

[Elrithral]

If you had cheated you would have gone for CL glory as well.

[Mike7077]

2011/2012 - Pre-Season

I was given £50m to spend after last season's success and promptly set about spending it. But I also recouped a hefty chunk by selling off a few players I don't rate. In addition to those players that left, Alessandro Del Piero and Nicola Legrottaglie retired from football.

Summer 2011 Transfers

There were two big-money signings. Stephane Sessegnon may not be a household name, but he was one of the most talented midfielders in France. I figured that, at 27, it was now or never for the Benin international. He's got talent and I think he'll give us a little extra quality in midfield where I felt we've been a bit too workmanlike in the past.

Andrej Kramaric is an attacking midfielder or forward from Croatia who is just 20. I splashed out because, to put it bluntly, he looks effing awesome. He's been ripping the Croatian league up for Dinamo for the last two years and I think he has what it takes to be a success in Italy.

Eidur Gudjohnsen has been brought in to try and fill the Del Piero role. He's no Del Piero but it's worth bearing in mind that I'm asking him to fill Del Piero's role from last season, not during his pomp. I want a reliable attacker on the bench who has a bit of spark and might be able to make something happen when we're struggling. I think Gudjohnsen has something to offer still. He's only 32.

With the retirement of Legrottaglie, I wanted a new back-up defender. For the past few seasons, Domenico Crescito has been co-owned by ourselves and Genoa, and has played his football for them. He's a good player though and it came time for us to put in our bids. I managed to get an Italian international defender for just £2m. Not bad.

I've also brought Federico Macheda in on loan from Man Utd. I wanted an extra Italian body in there because I'm operating an unofficial rule that I have to at least try and keep an Italian presence in the squad. But with Iaquinta leaving, Zidan going back out on loan and Suazo returning to Inter, I did need to get another striker in and Macheda seemed a good choice. If he impresses, I'll be looking to sign him permanently.

Here's my squad for the coming season in full...

Juventus Squad - 2011/2012

-------------------

Friendlies

August 2: Sunderland 0-1 Juventus

August 8: Chivas USA 0-4 Juventus

August 10: Los Angeles Galaxy 2-0 Juventus

August 14: AC Milan 1-2 Juventus

Super Cup

August 6: Juventus 2-0 Roma (aet)

Winning the league last season meant my first taste of Super Cup action and I was happy enough with what I saw. This was also our first match in our brand new stadium. Roma at times had more possession than I would have liked and I suspect their players were working harder, but we have the better players and it told in the end. This game was notable also for a remarkable cameo from new Croatian signing Kramaric who set up the first goal and nearly scored a wondergoal, taking on almost the entire Roma team before drilling a shot straight at Doni. Just what I want to see from the new owner of Del Piero's no.10 shirt.

[Elrithral]

Oops. Just noticed this update, there's me asking you about signings :o Big money moves, I liek your style. However, i'm sure you're not surprised to hear that the signing that catches my eye is the freebie, he could turn out to be a cracking player to have on the bench and can fill a few different positions.

[Mike7077]

Freebie veterans are great, assuming you pick the right veteran. David Beckham has worked out and hopefully Gudjohnsen will too.

Interestingly I tried to sign Berbatov and was prepared to go up to £25m. In the end Sevilla came in and bid £36m! I could have afforded to match or even beat that but I wasn't going to pay that kind of money for a 30 year old! I imagine I'll get more mileage out of Kramaric in the long-run anyway.

[higgins]

It's sad to see our proud captain (Del Piero) retiring, I hope you'll offer him a staff job!

Interestingly I saw you bought Kramaric, I got him on loan in my Nice savegame (during first season, so he's still 18) and I could buy him definitely for 1,7 mil. only, a must buy for that price I think.

By the way, it could be good if Amauri was so brilliant in real life too...

Forza Juve!

[Mike7077]

I wanted to keep Del Piero on as a coach but he would only agree a contract as an assistant manager and I already have one of those. I toyed with the idea of sacking him and giving the job to Del Piero but then I wondered if it would be a good idea to sack an experienced assistant manager for one with no experience whatsoever.

[Elrithral]

I have three assistant's atm, one of them is Andrade.

[CAFCIan75]

Congratulations on winning the title Mike. They always say the hardest part once you get to the top is staying there, it will be interesting to see how you get on next season. Good Luck

[Mike7077]

Season 2011/2012

August/September

August 20: Juventus 4-0 Sampdoria

What a great start to the season! Honestly, this was the perfect performance. And look who got the goals! Macheda started with Negredo being out injured and ended up scoring twice! Sessegnon also got a debut goal and two assists. If this is a sign of things to come... great! This was the first time in three attempts that we've won on the opening day.

August 28: Bari 1-2 Juventus

Felipe Melo's red card early on certainly didn't help us but in truth Bari didn't put us under the pressure I expected. A deserved win. Sessegnon on the scoresheet again. Nice.

NEWSFLASH

Once again we were second seeds in the Champions League draw and once again we will face Real Madrid. We did so well against them last season but can we do it again? I don't know. Also in the group are Bayer Leverkusen and IFK Gothenburg. Tricky matches await but I do expect us to get through in one piece.

September 11: Lazio 0-2 Juventus

I was nervous going into this match. We've yet to lose to Lazio and I figured perhaps they were due. But then my players took the pitch, got on the ball and brushed Lazio aside. As straightforward a victory as we'll have on the road. This is all very positive-looking so far.

September 14: Real Madrid 0-0 Juventus

This was a great result against the reiging European champions and it means that in three encounters with them, we haven't lost. However, injuries to key players put a dampener on it. We'd go into our next match, against Inter, with crucial players injured. Can't complain about the result, though. Real had the better of the game. Cristiano Ronaldo is simply unplayable. But we held firm and I would wager we deserved this.

September 18: Juventus 1-0 Inter

This result actually put Inter into the relegation zone. I think they'll probably stay up, though. This was our first win over Inter after four draws out of four and we did do enough to earn it. Really annoyed at Martin Caceres for getting himself sent off when we're already struggling with injuries, though.

September 24: Lecce 2-3 Juventus

Good going forward but slacker than usual at the back. It goes without saying that we're better than Lecce and we did play the better football, but they have strikers who can hurt you if you give them space we kept giving them space. It was like our defenders couldn't resist the urge to get forward and we did leave ourselves open too often. But we go the win despite missing some important players and Macheda scored again so I'm happy.

September 27: Juventus 1-0 Bayer Leverkusen

This was our worst performance so far this season. I'll always take a win, but the manner of it did not please me. Leverkusen were allowed far too much time on the ball and how they didn't score is beyond me. I want to see us put this performance firmly behind us and get back to what we saw in the previous matches.

Serie A - Latest Standings

Champions League Group G - Latest Standings

Monthly Reflection

How could I possibly complain? We have a 100% record in the league and have had an excellent result at Real Madrid in Europe. I couldn't have asked for much more. And with the likes of Inter and Milan floundering in the league, we've already got a healthy gap over our rivals. It would be foolish to think we can cruise this, but the past six weeks have shown me that I genuinely have an excellent squad now. As I should, going into my third season. The new signings have bedded in fantastically. Sessegnon and Macheda are playing really well, Gudjohnsen has performed solidly off the bench and I've seen good things in the brief appearances that Kramaric and Criscito have made. All in all, a fabulous start.

Player of the Month (and a bit)

Stephane Sessegnon: I suppose Macheda wasn't far off, but Sessegnon gets it. The Benin midfielder looks born to play for Juventus. Could be a snip at £16m if he keeps this form up. Really, really pleased with him.

[crouchaldinho]

Nice beginning to the season there Mike. Starting how you mean to go on.

I'm sure I have already congratulated you on your title last season but if I haven't then congratulations! Terrific work!

Interesting to see how your new signings will work out over the course of the season. Looking pretty good already.

[Mike7077]

Pretty impressive stuff, eh? I'm already thinking I've got the league sewn up! That's gotta be dangerous, right?

[crouchaldinho]

Pretty impressive stuff, eh? I'm already thinking I've got the league sewn up! That's gotta be dangerous, right?

A very dangerous attitude Mike. Complacency setting in already!

[batata169]

I've been reading this for quite a while, and im really enjoying it Mike!

Keep it up and hopefully you'll get that champions league trophy soon.

[Mike7077]

October

October 2: Juventus 2-0 Chievo

Expecting a comfortable home win over Chievo, I decided to give Eidur Gudjohnsen and Andrej Kramaric an opportunity, and it was the young Croatian who stole the show. Two goals and all round excellent display suggest I might have a real star of the future on my hands. The team as a whole did a professional job here and the run rolls on.

October 15: Juventus 3-0 Napoli

What do you get when a side with a 100% record takes on a side with a 0% record on home soil? The answer is a straightforward 3-0 win. I've always thought of Napoli as tricky opposition but they weren't at the races today and we strode to an easy win.

October 18: Juventus 4-0 IFK Gothenburg

For an hour, we stuggled to finish Gothenburg off. The Swedes were stubborn and we showed no composure in front of goal. Eventually, though, quality told and we put the match to bed. Federico Macheda looks like an inspired signing. Alvaro Negredo, however, has started the season in poor form.

October 22: Cagliari 1-0 Juventus

I suppose it had to come to an end eventually. I just wish it didn't come so limply. Granted, we fashioned chances, but mostly we looked out of idea. Dare I say it, we looked tired. Not good for October! Cagliari fully deserved their win. We do find it a hard place to go.

October 26: Atalanta 0-1 Juventus

I hoped we'd respond with a win, and we did. But this wasn't a good performance. Atalanta had far too much of the ball for my lacking and, thankfully, my defenders were on their game. Going forward we've looked oddly out-of-sorts in our last two matches. Alvaro Negredo was left out completely following previous woeful performances. He'll be back, though.

October 29: Juventus 1-0 Palermo

Second game in a row where we've won 1-0 thanks to an own goal. What's wrong with my forwards all of a sudden?! The fact that Buffon was man of the match should tell you all you need to know about this game. I don't like seeing anyone come to our place and dominate us. Palermo should have won. I couldn't have complained of we'd lost 3-0 today. What I have to do now is try and get things sorted and get us back to our best.

Serie A - Latest Standings

Champions League Group G - Latest Standings

Monthly Reflection

I really don't have any right to be disappointed with the month just because we lost one match, do I? Nah, I'm not too disappointed. We're top of the league with points dropped in just one match and we're top of our Champions League group without a goal conceded. October was a strong month by anyone's standards. I'm just a bit worried by our performances after the 4-0 win over Gothenburg. It's like we've come off the gas just a little. Even Buffon's making errors.

Player of the Month

Giorgio Chiellini: There were no standout performers this month. When we were good, everyone was good. When we were less impressive, more or less everyone had an off-day. Chiellini, however, was probably the most consistently good. The defender is probably among the best centre-backs in the world now and absolutely crucial to our ambitions. We rely on him so much. He's the main reason we concede so few goals.