JoseRR's FM08 Small Club to Big Club From a Big European Nation Challenge

[Des Tiny]

Des Tiny has been announced as the new manager of Domegliara. With not much of a Squad and no Staff. Des decided he had to start from scratch. So I have gone on a huge hunt offering contracts to 8 new staff members and 20 players, I am hoping that this line up selected without staff are going to be able to do it. So now back to the game and hope they all accept m contracts. Oh I filtered all players under 25, so my oldest player will be 25 to join my 14, 15 and 16 year old youth squad.

[Des Tiny]

Notice the small size of my stadium, 959 seated and no standing room, though I have an extension of about 100 seats coming. Still a very small stadium, hopefully the bank balance of 500k is able to help that.

[Des Tiny]

Well looking good so far first game against Juve Stabia (Serie C1) 3-0 victory and showing signs of a great team. Weaknesses where I thought they were and all three goals were good signs, Left Wing from a corner, Striker from 25 yards out and Goalie from a Free kick. Match Squad as follows.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

GK Renna (MoM)

DR Legittimo

DL Chinelli

DC Tedesco

DC Labriola ©

DM Diagne

MR Piro

AML Marfia

MC Del Sole

MC Torzoni

ST Cammilluzzi

</pre>

Happy so far, now back to see what my squad can do as they head into the league, predicted eleventh, board want safe midtable and I am hoping for top 5 to qualify for promotion.

[Des Tiny]

Well with odds of $41.00 I am feeling happy at being slightly better off than Rlipscombe.

I am predicted 11th (Mid Table) Odds place me mid table and the board want me midtable. I think I might have to go for promotion lol.

A win a draw and a loss in Pre-season and now with a great looking team the only thing lacking being a top class goal keeper, but I know if I can restrict shots this won't matter and usually end of Season 1 is the best time to sign a top Goalie.

[rlipscombe]

good start Des. sounds like a really small club! although you have a bit more in the bank than me. have you made your squad up from permanent signings, or have you brought in loan players?

a lot of my players are on loan, although i did find a few gems via my scouts on deadline day. mid-table prediction is a lot more than i got - i'm tipped to struggle and finish 17th i have my aims a bit higher, and am hoping to push for a top-5 place.

[Des Tiny]

I don't have a single loanee, I paid for all of them. Though I managed to steal a lot from free transfers, with a 132k pounds transfer budget it was reasonably easy. Have managed to get something like 34 players in, 17 for first squad and 17 for the Under 20s, Not bothering with reserves right now, they have no permanent fixtures and all my reserves are under 20 with the exception of one player. Well League starts well, a draw away followed by a victory at home.

Yeah that prediction is not good though with your loan players you should be able to make up for it. The bank balance is going to be my way out of C2, my Cup run is looking poor though.

[rlipscombe]

Originally posted by Des Tiny:

I don't have a single loanee, I paid for all of them. Though I managed to steal a lot from free transfers, with a 132k pounds transfer budget it was reasonably easy. Have managed to get something like 34 players in, 17 for first squad and 17 for the Under 20s, Not bothering with reserves right now, they have no permanent fixtures and all my reserves are under 20 with the exception of one player. Well League starts well, a draw away followed by a victory at home.

Yeah that prediction is not good though with your loan players you should be able to make up for it. The bank balance is going to be my way out of C2, my Cup run is looking poor though.

that transfer budget will help. i had to do budget adjustments and could only squeeze £50k out of them. didn't have much option but to loan players really or quality would have been poor. i don't like to have loads of loan players, but needs must.

My Cup run isn't great - 2 draws and a defeat so far. to be honest though, i'm kind of treating it as friendlies, as i have no hope of winning it, and am playing teams from higher leagues. the league is what matters, and had a win and a disappointing defeat so far.

[Des Tiny]

Yeah to me the cup is pretty much the same, a chance to test some players and combinations, looking more at the League as the way to go, a bit worried my Stadium is going to cause problems, I am already getting 935 people in for my home league games and only with 20 spare seats I am in trouble already. I desperately need some upgrades, may ask the board for another.

Well my league is good so far 2 wins and a draw. with only one home game so far. But it is really early on. Hopefully we can resurrect this thread and maybe bring some other people in, but I am really enjoying my Italian experience so far.

[rlipscombe]

your small ground might hold you back a little bit... i think i'm getting around double that in attendances, so that helps a bit.

would be nice to get a couple of others on the thread - hopefully if we do well it might inspire a few others!!

[Des Tiny]

DesTiny's Domegliara Season 08/09 September Update

A great start to the season with a 3-0 victory led into the League, I had my hopes that a playoff spot was viable.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

Friendlies

vs Juve Stabia 3-0 HT: 3-0 Att: 391 MoM: Renna (GK)

Marfia (13) Cammilluzzi (29) Renna (45)

at Mezzocorona 0-1 HT: 0-1

at Portosummaga 1-1 HT: 1-1

Cammilluzzi (6)

</pre>

Well it wasn't looking quite so promising after the friendlies were over, hopefully the two cup games before the season would build up the teams hopes.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

Serie C Cup Group Stage

vs Messina 1-2 HT: 0-2 Att: 942

Diagne (58)

at Siracusa 0-1 HT: 0-1

Serie C2

at Catanzaro 1-1 HT: 0-1 MoM: Marfia

Marfia (68)

vs Isola Liri 3-0 HT: 3-0 Att: 935 MoM: Cammilluzzi

Del Sole (5) Cammilluzzi (23,32)

Cup Game

vs Gela 2-2 HT: 2-0 Att: 703 MoM: Cammilluzzi

Cammilluzzi (41,45)

Serie C

at Vibonese 3-2 HT: 1-2

Cammilluzzi (15) Labriola (54) Morelli (87)

Cup Game

at Igea Virtus 2-1 HT: 0-1 MoM: Migliaccio (GK)

Migliaccio (pen 48,90)

</pre>

With the team now out of the cup and sitting 3rd in the League, the whole season was now about the league as I had predicted there was no real chance in the cup, so now to hope I could take some good results and cement a top 5 finish in the league.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

Serie C

vs Potenza 2-1 HT: 1-0 Att: 935 MoM: Labriola

Labriola (33) Diagne (55)

at Andria 1-0 HT: 1-0

Diagne (19)

vs Cassino 2-1 HT: 0-1 Att: 957 MoM: Merito

Aquino (57) Labriola (78)

</pre>

I was extremely happy with this, though even happier with my players appearing in the Team of the week for 3 weeks running.

ToW 1st September

ToW 8th September

ToW 15th September

Well I was extremely happy with this, and had kept playing mainly the same team with exceptions being two minor injuries, but with the squad looking good, on top of the table with a two point gap and a great outlook I am going to stick with this team for a while.

My 1st XI

Well this squad are good, but my under 20s are doing just as well, winning in the 2nd round of their cup, and sitting in the top half of their League it is looking good on the youth front as well, hopefully in the future some of them can come through, though my current team's oldest player is only 25, so it may be a few years yet.

If you want any shots of particular players, or anything else just ask away.

[rlipscombe]

Good to see it's going well Des.

As for Como, things are going pretty well too. played 11 in the league, and have a record of 7-2-2, scoring 29 and conceding 13 . currently sitting 2nd. although i would like to tighten at the back a little, we're good going forward and have already scored 5 goals in two separate games...

leading the goalscoring charts is.... 37 year old Marco Ferrante, with 8 goals. despite my assistant not rating him, he's on fire at the moment and i am delighted with him. I have another striker who has scored as many, on loan from inter, but his name escapes me...

As for U-20s, mine are sitting top of their league!!

finances aren't too bad at the moment - we're losing about £1,000 a month, mainly due to the wage situation. crowds are pretty decent, and we're averaging about 2500 i think.

hopefully the form will continue, albeit tightening up the back a bit, and we can push for promotion!

[Des Tiny]

Well moving onwards and I have climbed into first, losing 20k a month because of my small stadium been upgraded to 1160 or so, now seating 1147 at every home match, as my team is on top of the league, my under 20s are on top as well. 12 games into the league scored 29 conceded 13, happy, but could do with a better keeper, the weakest position in my whole squad. My leading goalscorers are Cammilluzzi who has 6 and Migliaccio my keeper with 6. Though I think Labriola my defender is leading league scorer with 5. Star has to be Merito who has 11 assists and is providing the ball to everyone. Record stands at 10-1-1 and I am 7 points clear in the league, though second has a game in hand. Only loss so far was to the team leading the league at the time, though they have hit bad form with still being in the cup and plummeted down to 4th. I am loving this Italian experience, clearly need to expand my stadium but my board refuses so I will fight for promotion and see what they say then.

[Des Tiny]

Originally posted by rlipscombe:

leading the goalscoring charts is.... 37 year old Marco Ferrante, with 8 goals. despite my assistant not rating him, he's on fire at the moment and i am delighted with him.

37??? Thats as old as two of my players combined...I don't have a single player over 25, and a fair few are rated 7 stars for potential, so hoping that means they can compete after a promotion, I am hopeful. And still no loan signings, but with my team performing like this I think I will go without loans and see where we go. Interesting to see our respective finances after the first season. What with me starting high and losing lots with a small stadium and you losing a little cause of your large wage budget.

On a side note what is your wage budget and what is you actual spend, my budget is 8k, and spending 7k. I had 9k to spend but turned some into transfers to pick up a star player.

[Des Tiny]

Originally posted by rlipscombe:

good luck with them. if you are a man who like to have all of the graphics, you can find them over at sortitoutsi.com forums. i've got kits and logos, and have just had a background picture of the stadium made...

Well I have got myself the Button logo pack which gets me the italian logos, but I have been struggling to find the kits, any chance you could send me a link to a set of Serie D and probably the rest of the Italian kits as well? As I would really like to add these

[Des Tiny]

DesTiny's Domegliara Mid-Season 08/09 Update

Well I was racing toward halfway in the season and performing above everyone's expectations and absolutely loving my players for doing it, maybe the high league bonus was making them seriously think about winning.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

at Cisco Roma 3-2 HT: 0-2

Migliaccio (60) Cammilluzzi (70) Labriola (90)

at Massese 1-3 HT: 0-3

Pinali (90)

vs Noicattaro 3-1 HT: 3-0 Att: 938 MoM: Del Sole

Scapini (9) Del Sole (14,22)

vs Nuovo Campobasso 5-0 HT: 5-0 Att: 1145 MoM: Migliaccio

Tozoni (4) Labriola (10) Scapini (19) Diagne (27) Migliaccio (pen 36)

at Valdi Sangro 3-1 HT: 1-0 MoM: Migliaccio

Scapini (31) Migliaccio (pen 57,pen 75)

vs Gela 2-1 HT: 0-0 Att: 1147 MoM: Merito

Torzoni (84) Merito (89)

at Sanguiseppese 0-0 HT: 0-0

vs Vigor Lamezia 1-0 HT: 0-0 Att: 1156 MoM: Del Sole

Del Sole (75)

at Monopoli 0-1 HT: 0-1

vs Novese 2-0 HT: 1-0 Att: 1166 MoM: Migliaccio

Migliaccio (25,85)

vs Celano 2-1 HT: 1-1 Att: 1163

Diagne (45) DiGiovanni (62)

</pre>

Following the halfway point of the season we were still top of the table. After a great start the season was not looking like slipping. There had been a bit of trouble away from home, but Domegliara's stadium was like a fortress.

League

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

P W D L F A GD Pts

Home 9 9 - - 22 5 +17 27

Away 8 4 2 2 12 10 + 2 14

Total 17 13 2 2 34 15 +19 41

</pre>

The League Squad was performing greatly with some excellent goals, while overall they looked stunning, even with the losses early in the cup. There were several key stars in the squad:

Umberto Migliaccio - The teams Goalkeeper and top goalscorer, Umberto was great at both ends of the park.

Alessio Morelli - Captain fantastic tried to be involved in everything and was leading from the front.

Jaime Leon Merito - Was able to provide more goals than anyone else in the club and he was looking forward to breaking the league record for most assists in a season, currently at 12.

Momar Diagne - The star defensive midfielder was putting in a very good set of performances and clearly going to be a star for the team.

Salvatore Del Sole - In the midfield Del Sole was ordering the game around, showing the others how it was done.

Luca Cammilluzzi - Was great before he ran into an injury which knocked him out, he has been unable to score since and is in desperate need of a workover, and has been sent to the under 20's to try and regain his scoring streak.

Several players had featured in Team of the Week through this period.

ToW 5th Oct

ToW 20th Oct

ToW 27th Oct

ToW 3rd Nov

ToW 24th Nov

ToW 1st Dec

ToW 8th Dec

And runner-up and third in goal of the month twice.

Sept Goal of the Month

Oct Goal of the Month

The great work seemed to being outdone by the Under 20s team who were outscoring and outdefending every other team in their group to be sitting 2nd. Under 20s Table

The Under 20s squad seemed to be performing excellently, and several of them were making first team appearances, but the clear star was attacking midfielder Simone Di Giovanni, who is leading them in goals and scored on his league debut as well.

So now heading into the second half of the season, I am looking at cementing my place for automatic promotion, with 6 points clear I am hoping to extend that somewhat, though hopefully I can just keep the victory and not have to worry about the playoffs, I don't think I have any relegation worries as it appears my team at home is almost unbeatable, hang on 9 games in a row won at home. Ok I am unbeatable at home.

Hope your season is going as well Rlipscombe, wanna hear about it soon, I am on my way back into it now.

[rlipscombe]

Originally posted by Des Tiny:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by rlipscombe:

good luck with them. if you are a man who like to have all of the graphics, you can find them over at sortitoutsi.com forums. i've got kits and logos, and have just had a background picture of the stadium made...

Well I have got myself the Button logo pack which gets me the italian logos, but I have been struggling to find the kits, any chance you could send me a link to a set of Serie D and probably the rest of the Italian kits as well? As I would really like to add these </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Sortitoutsi Forums - Kits

hope that works. i don't know if you're registered there or not. you will need to be i think. well worth it though. i get all of my graphics from there, and i've got quite a lot!

[rlipscombe]

Originally posted by Des Tiny:

DesTiny's Domegliara Mid-Season 08/09 Update

Well I was racing toward halfway in the season and performing above everyone's expectations and absolutely loving my players for doing it, maybe the high league bonus was making them seriously think about winning.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

at Cisco Roma 3-2 HT: 0-2

Migliaccio (60) Cammilluzzi (70) Labriola (90)

at Massese 1-3 HT: 0-3

Pinali (90)

vs Noicattaro 3-1 HT: 3-0 Att: 938 MoM: Del Sole

Scapini (9) Del Sole (14,22)

vs Nuovo Campobasso 5-0 HT: 5-0 Att: 1145 MoM: Migliaccio

Tozoni (4) Labriola (10) Scapini (19) Diagne (27) Migliaccio (pen 36)

at Valdi Sangro 3-1 HT: 1-0 MoM: Migliaccio

Scapini (31) Migliaccio (pen 57,pen 75)

vs Gela 2-1 HT: 0-0 Att: 1147 MoM: Merito

Torzoni (84) Merito (89)

at Sanguiseppese 0-0 HT: 0-0

vs Vigor Lamezia 1-0 HT: 0-0 Att: 1156 MoM: Del Sole

Del Sole (75)

at Monopoli 0-1 HT: 0-1

vs Novese 2-0 HT: 1-0 Att: 1166 MoM: Migliaccio

Migliaccio (25,85)

vs Celano 2-1 HT: 1-1 Att: 1163

Diagne (45) DiGiovanni (62)

</pre>

Following the halfway point of the season we were still top of the table. After a great start the season was not looking like slipping. There had been a bit of trouble away from home, but Domegliara's stadium was like a fortress.

League

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

P W D L F A GD Pts

Home 9 9 - - 22 5 +17 27

Away 8 4 2 2 12 10 + 2 14

Total 17 13 2 2 34 15 +19 41

</pre>

The League Squad was performing greatly with some excellent goals, while overall they looked stunning, even with the losses early in the cup. There were several key stars in the squad:

Umberto Migliaccio - The teams Goalkeeper and top goalscorer, Umberto was great at both ends of the park.

Alessio Morelli - Captain fantastic tried to be involved in everything and was leading from the front.

Jaime Leon Merito - Was able to provide more goals than anyone else in the club and he was looking forward to breaking the league record for most assists in a season, currently at 12.

Momar Diagne - The star defensive midfielder was putting in a very good set of performances and clearly going to be a star for the team.

Salvatore Del Sole - In the midfield Del Sole was ordering the game around, showing the others how it was done.

Luca Cammilluzzi - Was great before he ran into an injury which knocked him out, he has been unable to score since and is in desperate need of a workover, and has been sent to the under 20's to try and regain his scoring streak.

Several players had featured in Team of the Week through this period.

ToW 5th Oct

ToW 20th Oct

ToW 27th Oct

ToW 3rd Nov

ToW 24th Nov

ToW 1st Dec

ToW 8th Dec

And runner-up and third in goal of the month twice.

Sept Goal of the Month

Oct Goal of the Month

The great work seemed to being outdone by the Under 20s team who were outscoring and outdefending every other team in their group to be sitting 2nd. Under 20s Table

The Under 20s squad seemed to be performing excellently, and several of them were making first team appearances, but the clear star was attacking midfielder Simone Di Giovanni, who is leading them in goals and scored on his league debut as well.

So now heading into the second half of the season, I am looking at cementing my place for automatic promotion, with 6 points clear I am hoping to extend that somewhat, though hopefully I can just keep the victory and not have to worry about the playoffs, I don't think I have any relegation worries as it appears my team at home is almost unbeatable, hang on 9 games in a row won at home. Ok I am unbeatable at home.

Hope your season is going as well Rlipscombe, wanna hear about it soon, I am on my way back into it now.

congrats on a great season so far. it looks like you might well be achieving promotion at the first attempt

looking at your players, you seem to have a few gems there. Diagne looks a real prospect, and hopefully you can keep hold of him. Cammilluzzi also looks like he has the potential to be a great striker too. he has good stats in all the right places.

may i ask how you use / what you do in order to get your keeper scoring so many? i've seen people getting goals from them before but never fully understood why....

with regards to my season, i have also hit halfway, and i'll do a proper update tomorrow, but in the meantime:

- after 17 games, i am top on goal difference. the real thing i have noticed with the league is that it is SOOOO competitive. i'm top, but only about 15 points above the relegation play-off places

- the goals have started to dry up a bit, and Ferrante and Desto (whose name i forgot yesterday) couldn't hit a barn door at the moment... therefore, the goals are having to come from elsewhere, which is proving a little harder. still ticking over though.

- the board are pleased with me so far, dure to our league position. finances are steady, although i am desperate to try and shed some of the wage burden in the winter transfer window.

i will post screenshots tomorrow as well for some of my key players, as well as squad etc.

keep up the good work with your game

[Des Tiny]

Well after my 17th game and the turning point of the season it really was, I fell apart, from 13-2-2 in the first 17 to 6-5-5 in the second 17, managed to still be in contention on the final dayu needing myself to win and the top team to lose, I could only manage a draw and dropped to 3rd. So into the playoffs with 2 of my bogey teams, not looking forward to it, but I have my fingers crossed.

Diagne is doing brilliantly, but Cammilluzzi I am not so sure about, he appears to be a huge signing, but then he just can't hit a barn door and then he scores two in one game, inconsistent to say the least, I think I might have a change of tactics over summer, maybe move to two strikers, my biggest problem this season has been fitting my 6 top midfielders into 5 spots. And with one out injured, well at least one of them at the start tiol about game 28 it was fine, once all 6 were fit I was in trouble, unsure why my team collapsed, but have to be happy with playoffs first go in, the team who came first I had a win and a draw against, so gutted to lose to them in the title hunt. Next season will be interesting whether I go up or not, I am hoping for an increase in wage budget as I have a few targets out there on frees, and I have all my current crop signed til 2010.

And yeah the bottom leagues in Italy are very competitive, it makes a real difference, my away problem continues I think I need to work on that tactic mainly, the home one is superior though I did take one loss in 17 home games.

Good luck with your season finishing and thanks for the kits I have downloaded them as well as a background of my fans celebrating, so should make it all the more exciting now.

[rlipscombe]

Originally posted by Des Tiny:

Well after my 17th game and the turning point of the season it really was, I fell apart, from 13-2-2 in the first 17 to 6-5-5 in the second 17, managed to still be in contention on the final dayu needing myself to win and the top team to lose, I could only manage a draw and dropped to 3rd. So into the playoffs with 2 of my bogey teams, not looking forward to it, but I have my fingers crossed.

Diagne is doing brilliantly, but Cammilluzzi I am not so sure about, he appears to be a huge signing, but then he just can't hit a barn door and then he scores two in one game, inconsistent to say the least, I think I might have a change of tactics over summer, maybe move to two strikers, my biggest problem this season has been fitting my 6 top midfielders into 5 spots. And with one out injured, well at least one of them at the start tiol about game 28 it was fine, once all 6 were fit I was in trouble, unsure why my team collapsed, but have to be happy with playoffs first go in, the team who came first I had a win and a draw against, so gutted to lose to them in the title hunt. Next season will be interesting whether I go up or not, I am hoping for an increase in wage budget as I have a few targets out there on frees, and I have all my current crop signed til 2010.

And yeah the bottom leagues in Italy are very competitive, it makes a real difference, my away problem continues I think I need to work on that tactic mainly, the home one is superior though I did take one loss in 17 home games.

Good luck with your season finishing and thanks for the kits I have downloaded them as well as a background of my fans celebrating, so should make it all the more exciting now.

sorry to hear about the collapse... good luck in the play-offs though. you never know, you might get the promotion you deserve.

as for tactics, i am still struggling to find an exact system. at the moment i am playing a 4-3-1-2 at home and a 4-1-2-1-2 away from home, playing with plenty of attacking width. had to drop in a DM to try and shore up the back a bit, although i don't have a 'Diagne' to do the job properly.

hopefully i should have the season finished in the next few days.

glad you like the kits - i really like to have kits for the teams i'm managing, and quite often have 'fantasy' kits done for them.

[Des Tiny]

Oh I really think Diagne has been my saving grace, his defense has been superior and has lead to a lot less goals making it through to my defense. Which has probably saved me

Full update this afternoon

[Des Tiny]

Domegliara - Serie C2/C - 08/09

End of Season Update

The league was to continue and after a great first half I was only hoping for it to continue and that would lead us to a title in our first season.

2nd Half Games[\b]

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

vs Catanzaro 1-0 HT: 1-0 Att: 1180 MoM: Di Giovanni

Di Giovanni (13)

at Isola Lira 1-1 HT: 0-1 MoM: Diagne

Torzoni (63)

vs Vibonese 1-0 HT: 0-0 Att: 1174 MoM: Torzoni

Torzoni (63)

at Potenza 0-0 HT: 0-0 MoM: Del Sole

vs Andria 1-0 HT: 1-0 Att: 1161 MoM: Del Sole

Del Sole (28)

at Cassino 0-1 HT: 0-1

vs Cisco Roma 1-0 HT: 0-0 Att: 1173 MoM: Morelli

Diagne (61)

vs Massese 1-2 HT: 1-1 Att: 1151

Morelli (10)

at Noicattcaro 1-1 HT: 1-1

Cammilluzzi (31)

at Nuovo Campobasso 0-1 HT: 0-1

vs Val di Sangro 1-1 HT: 0-1 Att: 1162 MoM: Migliaccio

Diagne (72)

at Gela 0-1 HT: 0-1

</pre>

At this point it appeared as if the team had come off the tracks and I decided some serious words and a small tactical tweak was needed, so after my change and my harsh words I looked forward to the remaining 5 games of the season that would decide if we would go up or have to go through the playoffs.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

vs Sangiuseppese 3-2 HT: 1-2 Att: 1152 MoM: Cammilluzzi

Labriola (41) Cammilluzzi (75,82)

at Celano 2-4 HT: 1-2

Cammilluzzi (37,61)

vs Monopoli 2-0 HT: 0-0 Att: 1171 MoM: Migliaccio

Migliaccio (52) Cammilluzzi (84)

at Vigor Lamezia 0-0 HT: 0-0 MoM: Chinelli

at Novese 2-2 HT: 1-0 MoM: Scapini

Scapini (19,58)

</pre>

A victory in the final match may have given us a chance at the title, but in the end it was a plummet down to third for the early title leaders, so it was off to the playoffs for us after what I saw as a great season. I was looking forward to what was coming and encouraged the boys to step up and make the difference.

Playoff Semi-final

at Massese 6-1 HT: 4-1 MoM: Cammilluzzi

Cammilluzzi (13,33) Diagne (37) Torzoni (42) Marfia (58) Scapini (68)

vs Massese 1-0 HT: 1-0 Att: 1186 MoM: Milgiaccio

Milgiaccio (16)

[/code]

Well a great 7-1 win on aggregate put us into the final against Celano, the other team we had struggled against during the season, but I couldn't see us losing with this momentum behind us.

Playoff Final

vs Celano 4-1 HT: 3-1 Att: 1183 MoM: Cammilluzzi

Diagne (17) Cammilluzzi (41,71) Del Sole (45)

at Celano 1-2 HT: 1-2

Del Sole (5)

[/code]

A victory and Domegliara is Promoted to Serie C1 for the next season. The Media had asked for my thoughts on the chances for us in the new league. And the Board were delighted with a surprise outcome that saw their team go up.

Here are some screenshots I thought would interest people before I present my own picks for Team of the Year.

The Final Table

Poor Finances

Record for wins in a row

Under 20s win their League

Team of the Year

Transfers 1

Transfers 2

My Keepers

My Defenders

Strikers and Midfield

International Debut

First International Goal

Under 20s Squad

1st XI, well actually First XII

And the team shown individually is available if anyone would like a look at how the players each line up. I am absolutely delighted with this season and hoping to build on it, I have already strengthened my staff and working on the players now though every current player is signed til the end of 2010. So looks safe for the next season, hoping to avoid relegation, still wanting a bigger stadium, I have 1190 seats right now.

[Des Tiny]

Domegliara - Serie C2/C - 08/09

End of Season Update

The league was to continue and after a great first half I was only hoping for it to continue and that would lead us to a title in our first season.

2nd Half Games

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

vs Catanzaro 1-0 HT: 1-0 Att: 1180 MoM: Di Giovanni

Di Giovanni (13)

at Isola Lira 1-1 HT: 0-1 MoM: Diagne

Torzoni (63)

vs Vibonese 1-0 HT: 0-0 Att: 1174 MoM: Torzoni

Torzoni (63)

at Potenza 0-0 HT: 0-0 MoM: Del Sole

vs Andria 1-0 HT: 1-0 Att: 1161 MoM: Del Sole

Del Sole (28)

at Cassino 0-1 HT: 0-1

vs Cisco Roma 1-0 HT: 0-0 Att: 1173 MoM: Morelli

Diagne (61)

vs Massese 1-2 HT: 1-1 Att: 1151

Morelli (10)

at Noicattcaro 1-1 HT: 1-1

Cammilluzzi (31)

at Nuovo Campobasso 0-1 HT: 0-1

vs Val di Sangro 1-1 HT: 0-1 Att: 1162 MoM: Migliaccio

Diagne (72)

at Gela 0-1 HT: 0-1

</pre>

At this point it appeared as if the team had come off the tracks and I decided some serious words and a small tactical tweak was needed, so after my change and my harsh words I looked forward to the remaining 5 games of the season that would decide if we would go up or have to go through the playoffs.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

vs Sangiuseppese 3-2 HT: 1-2 Att: 1152 MoM: Cammilluzzi

Labriola (41) Cammilluzzi (75,82)

at Celano 2-4 HT: 1-2

Cammilluzzi (37,61)

vs Monopoli 2-0 HT: 0-0 Att: 1171 MoM: Migliaccio

Migliaccio (52) Cammilluzzi (84)

at Vigor Lamezia 0-0 HT: 0-0 MoM: Chinelli

at Novese 2-2 HT: 1-0 MoM: Scapini

Scapini (19,58)

</pre>

A victory in the final match may have given us a chance at the title, but in the end it was a plummet down to third for the early title leaders, so it was off to the playoffs for us after what I saw as a great season. I was looking forward to what was coming and encouraged the boys to step up and make the difference.

Playoff Semi-final

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

at Massese 6-1 HT: 4-1 MoM: Cammilluzzi

Cammilluzzi (13,33) Diagne (37) Torzoni (42) Marfia (58) Scapini (68)

vs Massese 1-0 HT: 1-0 Att: 1186 MoM: Milgiaccio

Milgiaccio (16)

</pre>

Well a great 7-1 win on aggregate put us into the final against Celano, the other team we had struggled against during the season, but I couldn't see us losing with this momentum behind us.

Playoff Final

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

vs Celano 4-1 HT: 3-1 Att: 1183 MoM: Cammilluzzi

Diagne (17) Cammilluzzi (41,71) Del Sole (45)

at Celano 1-2 HT: 1-2

Del Sole (5)

</pre>

A victory and Domegliara is Promoted to Serie C1 for the next season. The Media had asked for my thoughts on the chances for us in the new league. And the Board were delighted with a surprise outcome that saw their team go up.

Here are some screenshots I thought would interest people before I present my own picks for Team of the Year.

The Final Table

Poor Finances

Record for wins in a row

Under 20s win their League

Team of the Year

Transfers 1

Transfers 2

My Keepers

My Defenders

Strikers and Midfield

International Debut

First International Goal

Under 20s Squad

1st XI, well actually First XII

And the team shown individually is available if anyone would like a look at how the players each line up. I am absolutely delighted with this season and hoping to build on it, I have already strengthened my staff and working on the players now though every current player is signed til the end of 2010. So looks safe for the next season, hoping to avoid relegation, still wanting a bigger stadium, I have 1190 seats right now.

***I apologise for this double post, but it was just so hard to read.***

[Des Tiny]

Well I got my Stadium Expansion announced, I just had to show you... This

They have got to be taking the ****, my Stadium goes from 1192 up to a massive 1217. Oh my god it is going to sell out stupidly...

[aaberdeenn]

I think that I'm going to have a try at this.

If anyone could help with this it'd be appreciated. Based on the thread so far, what has been posted and what I can see from the screenshots, these are the re-set dates I've got so far:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Germany - 19th June

Italy - 29th June

Spain - 9th July</pre>

I'm not sure how right these are but if anyone can help me I'd appreciate it, just trying to get the full list together before I start.

[rlipscombe]

congrats on promotion!! to the expansion though. i think you're going to have to work hard on keeping the finances in check.

good to see Cammilluzzi come good at the right time. i scouted him in my game and he's still at Lazio. did you buy him or was he on a free?? i also looked at Diagne and tried to sign on pre-contract, but couldn't match wage demands at that time

didn't make too much progress last night, so haven't done the promised update.... suffice to say i am still top on goal difference with about a dozen games to go. me and Pavia have made a break and are 7 points clear of pack. really want to shake them off!!

have done a bit of squad re-shuufling, getting rid on some loanees whose wages i was paying, and have brought some in from Milan on £0 wages to help the wage budget.

itching to get on the game tonight and try and push towards the end of the season. roll on home time!!

[aaberdeenn]

Unlike me to get coding wrong, never mind. I'm sure you'll understand it.

[rlipscombe]

Originally posted by aaberdeenn:

I think that I'm going to have a try at this.

If anyone could help with this it'd be appreciated. Based on the thread so far, what has been posted and what I can see from the screenshots, these are the re-set dates I've got so far:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Germany - 19th June

Italy - 29th June

Spain - 9th July</pre>

I'm not sure how right these are but if anyone can help me I'd appreciate it, just trying to get the full list together before I start.

Quacky did one at the top of this in Portugal, and the date on his info screen is 29th June, so i'd say that's right. as for France, i'd imagine it's be similar to Germany as they start their league early....

hope this helps.

[Ex_Arch_31]

I'm gonna give this a try in France. Just simming the first season now, then I'll post.

[rlipscombe]

Originally posted by Ex_Arch_31:

I'm gonna give this a try in France. Just simming the first season now, then I'll post.

good luck good to see a few people willing to give this a go....

[Des Tiny]

Its great to see that more people are joining us. The date for Italy is actually wrong, but I am unsure what exact date it is I will try to find out at what point they kick me up into the next league.

And Diagne and Cammilluzzi both came to me on a free, Cammilluzzi had no contract at the time and Diagne was priced pretty low, so that means they were both in the lot I picked out before I got any staff haha. I was happy he came good at the end, and in the off season I have managed to sign a Bolivian Striker to help the team look good, he may yet be better than Cammilluzzi. And my AssMan is now a coach and I picked up a new AssMan instead.

[Des Tiny]

Oh and on the finances, ummm the TV rights individual contract I signed was only worth 5k so that didn't help but then I checked my finances and I got a grant worth 800k? No idea whats going on, well back up in the black and enough to run the money down for another season lol.

[Des Tiny]

Well triple post but I got offered the option of fight against relegation for $17k wages and $130k transfer so I took it and thought sweet I am set. Then about 1 day later I get told to drop my wages when signing a player I look and wage budget is 8k...come on ref.

Expectations

Wages in bottom right

Ripped off, I have a save both before and after this point, so I am going to investigate and see what possibly happened, it may be that I signed a new contract the day after the expectations, but if so that shouldn't mean anything.

[Des Tiny]

Well we all saw Como's stadium, took me a while but I found Domegliara's

Haha I have nowhere for anyoner to go haha, looks like a training pitch.

[Quacky]

Very good vineyard near there Des Tiny, maybe you should see if you can get some in for guys instead of squad bonus payout.

[rlipscombe]

Originally posted by Des Tiny:

Well we all saw Como's stadium, took me a while but I found Domegliara's

Haha I have nowhere for anyoner to go haha, looks like a training pitch.

i can see why you have a small capacity..... plenty of room for improvement mind

[Des Tiny]

Oh lots of room for improvement. And I fixed the problem above by signing the contract first and then announcing my expectations so I have $17k Wage Budget and 134k Transfer budget, kinda happy with those and expectation to fight bravely against relegation, meaning I can go down and still keep my job contract signed til 2012.

Now just trying to see if any other players to sign before I attempt to attack Serie C1

[rlipscombe]

well only a short update but....

i have finished the league season. i was trailing Pavia by two points going into the last game. Oavia lost 4-2 this meant we only needed to win our last game to be champions... WE LOST 2-1

play-offs here we come.....

[Des Tiny]

Originally posted by rlipscombe:

well only a short update but....

i have finished the league season. i was trailing Pavia by two points going into the last game. Oavia lost 4-2 this meant we only needed to win our last game to be champions... WE LOST 2-1

play-offs here we come.....

Good luck in those playoffs, hope you can score the goals like I did and join me in Serie C1 for next season, has definitely been good fun, Pre-Season update to come now.

[rlipscombe]

Como - Serie C2/A - Season 2008-09

as i mentioned previously, the league season ended very disappointingly with me missing the chance to win the league on the final day of the season.

League Table

This meant promotion play-offs, and our promotion dreams on the line.

We were drawn against Pro Vercelli in the semis, with the away leg first up. i was fairly happy with this, as we had beaten them in both league games. Prior to the first leg, i got awful news in my inbox - all of my loan signings would be returning to their clubs in the next few days! as the majority of my first team squad were loanees, this was bad news........

Anyway, match day arrived, and they were sill at Como. the game couldn't have started any worse as we went behind after 18 seconds!! Thankfully we rallied and were 1-4 up at half time, eventually going on to win 1 - 5.

it was after this match that i worked out that my loanees contracts were being extended to after every next match, so i was more confident in the knowledge we'd have them all available for the matches. going into the return leg, i made only one change, determined to give our fans something to be proud of. suffice to say it went t*ts up and we lost 4 - 0. the last 15 minutes were awful, as conceding another goal would have seen us miss out. thankfully they didn't score again, and we went through thanks to having finished higher in the league.

the two-legged play-off final would see us play Masses, a team we'd lost to twice in the league. the heavy defeat against Pro Vercelli had shook my confidence, and i went into the first game hopeful rather than confident. my players rose to the challenge, and we walked away with a 2 - 3 win.

The second leg saw a bumper crowd of over 9,000 pack out the Giuseppe Sinigaglia stadium, and the boys turned it on to record a 3 - 0 win.

COMO WERE PROMOTED!!

i was delighted to win promotion, and i felt it was some justice, considering we had been in the top-2 basically all season. at the start of the season, i'd have been delighted to have made the play-offs, so to achieve promotion was great.

As you can see, the first team Squad did feature a lot of loan signings, but this was more through necessity than desire. hopefully, i will be able to bring in more quality on permanent contracts, and pepper the team with loan signings, rather than rely on them as heavily.

Players of note were:

Grimi - the LB loan signing from Milan was immense, and proved a cornerstone of the team. definately one i'll be trying to bring back next season.

Perissinotto - another loan signing, he was our 1st choice left winger, and contributed heavily to our attacking play

Novinic - the young slovenian excelled playing in the hole, creating chances aplenty, as well as weighing with a few goals. another i'd like to return next season.

Di Gennaro - a flying winger for us. supposedly a striker, he didn't really cut it for me there, but more than made up for it as a winger.

Destro - our top goalscorer. was highly frustrating at times, going for long spells without a goal, but was definately our star striker.

other players of note were Marco Ferrante, who weighed in with a number of important goals in the 1st half of the season, Andrea Cosner, who scored 8 goals despite only joining on loan in January and Guido Marilungo.

although i forgot to a screenshot of the finances, we had a good season, eventually turning in a profit of around £100,000.

>>> aims for next season <<<

- to survive in Serie C1

- to bring in better quality players on permanent contracts. i am losing a few higher wage earners in the summer, including Di Canio (who hardly played), Tedesco and Ferrante, so this will help with the wage budget.

- not to disgrace ourselves in the cups. i'm not fussed about the cup competitions at the moment, so any progress will be a bonus.

so that's it - Serie C1 beckons for the mighty Como. the return to Serie A begins here!

[Des Tiny]

Domegliara - Serie C1/B - Preseason 2009/10

Well I had to say I was looking forward to my first season in Serie C1, and was hoping I could just stay up. I had a lot of faith in my team from the previous season, so I was looking to strengthen from where I was and the huge numbers of offers for my players that starred last season was only a good sign. I decided to take advantage of my Parent club and bring in a few players on loan, though overall I was disappointed with what they would send me, by far the best new players came from the Transfer Market. Gustavo Pinedo looked like the player to take Cammilluzzi's place as number 1 striker though he came into the season injured and picked up a new injury in his first game back, not so promising. Guiseppe Ingrosso in the mean time was good enough to knock Canelli (My U19 Italian International) from his place in the team. Sanibale and Domestici were looking like huge stars for the future, but would only serve limited time this season.

In the offseason I received an offer of a new contract extending to 2001, I pushed them with a counter offer til 2012 and was delighted when they Accepted.

Domegliara did not look like they were going to be too promising slated for direct relegation back down again. Absolute rank outsiders for promotion, I was just hoping to avoid relegation. With an improvement in my reputation and my knowledge of Italy and its language Des Tiny was looking forward to the new season. There were absolutely no surprises in the naming of my Best Eleven for the last season other than maybe Marfia being left on the bench for Merito. The rest picked themselves. The clubs Records were nothing to complain about and my stars truly shined as Cammilluzzi and Migliaccio were clear on the list.

The preseason started with three straight losses to Savone, Olympique Lyonnais and Cuneo, but then it was turned around with victories over Olignatese (My feeder Club) and Salernitana (Predicted 3rd in Serie C1/B) and a draw against Forli. Then I had Bari (My Serie A Parent club) come to town and they fought hard to beat me 5-4. Was pretty happy as the day before my Stadium was expanded to 1217, and I had 1194 turn up for the game. With my club in desperate need of an expansion I am hoping the board will listen.

I was delighted with my draw in the Serie C Cup as I felt I could beat all the teams in my Group. Having previously lost agonisingly to Siracusa 0-1, beating Gela 2-1, drawing 2-2 and losing 0-1, Beating Vibonese 2-1 and 1-0 and going 2-1 over Igea Virtus last season. with Sircusa dropping to Serie D, and the others all stuck in Serie C2. I thought I could advance, but I was still treating those games as second to my League run. So without further ado, here are my new squads.

Senior Squad

Reserve Squad

Under 20s

I am concentrating on the Under 20s over the reserves, the reserves will be playing weekly on a tuesday with friendlies against other teams from Serie C1. And the Under 20s are in the challenge of another Group, being Under 20s Group 4 this time around.

[rlipscombe]

Originally posted by Des Tiny:

Oh lots of room for improvement. And I fixed the problem above by signing the contract first and then announcing my expectations so I have $17k Wage Budget and 134k Transfer budget, kinda happy with those and expectation to fight bravely against relegation, meaning I can go down and still keep my job contract signed til 2012.

Now just trying to see if any other players to sign before I attempt to attack Serie C1

this has happened to me now too. i told board i'd get mid-table, which gave me £0 transfer budget and £16,000 p/w wages. adjusted budget so i had £100k budget and £14,000 wages.

signed my new contract and my transfer budget was down to £5k and my wages £6 p/w!! so angry! don't have a save game from before - only one takes me back before play-offs, so mightily p*ssed off.

my job has now become a lot harder. i'm almost at my wage budget with a pretty rubbish squad........

[Des Tiny]

Its annoying and I have searched the entire forums and it only seems to happen in Italy, I think when they fixed the "Milan" Bug they screwed up the rest of the Italian fees, I was just glad it worked when I managed to do it the other way around, Well I am trundling through currently safely in the top half of the table sitting 7th after 8 games and I also won m group convincingly in the C Cup so I am looking forward to a good cup run saving me some dough, as I have made a few large outlays in wages and am only 2k under my wage budget with 54 players on the books. 18 players in each of my three squads. Pretty happy with it really, and my under 20s are storming their league again looks like they may be able to win Group 4 following on from their victory in Group 7 last year. The main question for me is whether I can fight my way into promotion and make it back to back promotions and then have a go at Serie B and Group 2 Under 20s. I am also pleased with my original signings my first XI from my first season is barely changed this time around so far there are only three players who can beat out my promotion winning team from last year. Pinedo my new Bolivian Striker, De'Angelo the new U19 Right/Left back, funny how my left backs have both played for Italy Under 19s, and Ingrosso a stunning signing from Bari who is pushing them around in the left back position. When this gives me Merito (AMRL) Pinali (DRC) Cannelli (DLC) and Cammilluzzi (ST) on the bench who are all stars the other three slots seem almost wasted on another midfielder, a defender/DM and a Goalkeeper. But I am more than delighted with the season so far. Cavilli (on loan from Bari) is only the third best striker in the squad behind the ones mentioned above, but he is still a stunning score, and I have about 5 other strikers who can all play in the First XI if I get hit by a massive injury spree. So I think my back-up is the one thing that will save me, currently I have my AssMan scouting every single free agent in the game who may join me and am signing anyone with potential to be better than my current players or anyone who si equal or better than them to cheap contracts and building a star Under 20s team, then all the leftovers play for my reserves weekly and the reserves are unbeaten to this stage, I must say my depth is the big bonus. Oh and the fact that my First XI is barely changed may be helping as only had to fit in a couple of new players. De"Angelo was the back up last year, but improved over the other two fullbacks into the position.

Its hard luck Rlipscombe, but I am hoping you at least are able to stay up. I have had some bad runs at home with my attacking football, but I think that is cause I am letting too many in, I am thinking about using my away tactic from here on and seeing how it works at home.

[Des Tiny]

Hey there is a tip about trying to change your currency and then changing it back again not sure if it would work, but you could give it a go, this may be the problem seems there is an Italian currency bug as well where it auto switches off what you normally use without appearing to change. have a glance and see.

[rlipscombe]

it is a bit of a pain in the arse, but not really much i can do now... it just means i'm going to have to boost my squad with loan signings again i guess, particularly from Milan, who hopefully i can get for free. might have to bite the bullet and release some on frees and just take a hit on the compensation. already done it with Di Canio.

am currently scouring the free transfer market. foung a young GK from france who looks good, and trying to sign a couple of italian U-19s.

i'll try that currency thing, but will probably have to battle on i guess. i have the mentality of "it's a challenge, not a problem..."

[Des Tiny]

Yeah thats the way I felt about it to start with, and if signing first hadn't worked then I would've just soldiered on as I was and tried to move my players around probably just keeping 18-25 players and ignoring the Under 20s league.

[rlipscombe]

well i did think about actually starting again in France ( i even loaded the game...) but i decided to try again and i got hooked in again. managed to bring back a number of the best loanees from last season again (due to wage situation) so i feel my squad isn't too bad. only just started pre-season friendlies, but a narrow 3-2 loss at home to Bayern Munich isn't a bad start. they played a v. strong team, and we ran them close.

Forza Como!!

[Des Tiny]

DOMEGLIARA!!! DOME DOME DOMEGLIARA!!!!

Well not only did I make it to the first round of the Serie C cup, I am now in the second round after defeating Foggia 6-2 on aggregate. Excellent two league match, 2-1 at home and 4-1 away delighted.

And to top it off Foggia are the holders of the Serie C Cup. So no defense for them, the league not looking so good sitting about 10th, but the board are delighted I am looking at midtable instead of relegation.

[rlipscombe]

Originally posted by Des Tiny:

DOMEGLIARA!!! DOME DOME DOMEGLIARA!!!!

Well not only did I make it to the first round of the Serie C cup, I am now in the second round after defeating Foggia 6-2 on aggregate. Excellent two league match, 2-1 at home and 4-1 away delighted.

And to top it off Foggia are the holders of the Serie C Cup. So no defense for them, the league not looking so good sitting about 10th, but the board are delighted I am looking at midtable instead of relegation.

congrats! can't really argue too much with mid-table. i'd be happy with that! i just want to survive this season.

[Des Tiny]

Well I am happy with midtable, just not so delighted that I have slipped from third where I was earlier, but looks like my positions graph is a rollercoaster and the league is so tight on points as well.

[rlipscombe]

it does seem that the leagues in Italy are all pretty close. think the key to a good season will be good runs, and a prolific goalscorer...

hopefully i have that!!