Donners Posted April 10, 2004 Author Share Posted April 10, 2004 Well, this was actually supposed to be the consolidation with next year being the push, but with Bucchi leaving soon, I'm really not so sure. Much will depend on the events of the pre-season. The season in review Summary <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Holders - Juventus | Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | Inter | | 37 | 23 | 9 | 5 | 59 | 22 | +37 | 78 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Juventus | | 37 | 22 | 11 | 4 | 69 | 34 | +35 | 77 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Milan | | 38 | 21 | 6 | 11 | 62 | 39 | +23 | 69 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Udinese | | 38 | 19 | 9 | 10 | 52 | 34 | +18 | 66 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Palermo | | 37 | 17 | 11 | 9 | 54 | 35 | +19 | 62 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Verona | | 38 | 17 | 11 | 10 | 57 | 41 | +16 | 62 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Brescia | | 38 | 17 | 10 | 11 | 56 | 44 | +12 | 61 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Roma | | 38 | 19 | 4 | 15 | 62 | 52 | +10 | 61 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Lecce | | 38 | 16 | 7 | 15 | 43 | 56 | -13 | 55 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Perugia | | 38 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 47 | 42 | +5 | 53 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Vicenza | | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 49 | 49 | 0 | 52 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Ancona | | 38 | 11 | 15 | 12 | 57 | 57 | 0 | 48 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Lazio | | 38 | 12 | 9 | 17 | 54 | 62 | -8 | 45 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Atalanta | | 38 | 11 | 9 | 18 | 51 | 55 | -4 | 42 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Chievo | | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 49 | 57 | -8 | 42 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Sampdoria | | 38 | 12 | 6 | 20 | 53 | 71 | -18 | 42 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Bologna | | 37 | 10 | 11 | 16 | 48 | 59 | -11 | 41 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | | Genoa | | 38 | 10 | 11 | 17 | 34 | 52 | -18 | 41 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | R | Napoli | | 38 | 4 | 11 | 23 | 26 | 66 | -40 | 23 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | R | Torino | | 38 | 4 | 7 | 27 | 29 | 84 | -55 | 19 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre> <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">12th in Italian Serie A Squad Screen | Pkd | Inf | Name | Apps | Gls | Asts | MoM | Pass | Tck | Drb | Sh Tar | Av R | Value | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | GK | | Agliardi, F | 38 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 45 % | - | - | - | 6.76 | £1.1M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | ML | | Chadwick, L* | 34 (3) | 0 | 5 | 3 | 65 % | 4.70 | 2.12 | 35 % | 7.19 | £5.5M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | MC | | Rabito, A | 33 (3) | 9 | 3 | 2 | 68 % | 2.75 | 3.20 | 49 % | 7.19 | £6.75M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | MC | | Lennartsson, N | 33 (1) | 3 | 5 | 1 | 73 % | 2.61 | 0.84 | 43 % | 7.24 | £3.9M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB7 | | El Kadouri, B | 33 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 72 % | 2.74 | 1.34 | 50 % | 7.00 | £3.9M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | DL | | Zamperini, A | 31 (1) | 0 | 4 | 0 | 73 % | 2.62 | 0.56 | 100 % | 6.69 | £1M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | DC | | Sarr | 30 (4) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 74 % | 2.93 | 0.10 | 100 % | 6.68 | £1.1M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | FC | | Rungratsamee, S | 23 (3) | 21 | 3 | 4 | 62 % | 1.05 | 3.38 | 66 % | 7.69 | £6M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | DR | Unh | Cattani, M | 23 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 63 % | 3.63 | 0.46 | - | 6.71 | £925K | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | FC | Wnt | Bucchi, C* | 22 (6) | 15 | 4 | 6 | 57 % | 0.83 | 1.20 | 80 % | 7.14 | £3.7M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB2 | | Munitis, P | 22 (5) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 68 % | 3.04 | 1.01 | 37 % | 6.93 | £1.5M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | MR | | Sommese, V* | 22 (3) | 0 | 8 | 1 | 69 % | 3.40 | 1.48 | 39 % | 7.12 | £2.6M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB1 | | Cassani, M | 20 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 57 % | 3.07 | 1.29 | - | 6.43 | £850K | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB6 | | Stepanovs, I | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 71 % | 1.97 | - | 100 % | 6.45 | £325K | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Inj | Zavagno, L | 16 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 70 % | 2.82 | 1.25 | - | 6.56 | £650K | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Stendardo, G | 11 (4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 67 % | 2.46 | 0.26 | - | 6.07 | £725K | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB3 | Wnt | Vucinic, M | 10 (5) | 3 | 5 | 0 | 58 % | 0.91 | 0.30 | 80 % | 6.40 | £500K | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Potenza, A | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 71 % | 0.87 | 0.14 | - | 6.13 | £625K | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Pezzarossi, D | 6 (5) | 1 | 3 | 0 | 69 % | 1.60 | 1.02 | 87 % | 6.18 | £2.6M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | DC | | Briotti, A | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 76 % | 2.92 | 0.27 | - | 7.25 | £1.2M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Redavid, V | 3 (2) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 67 % | 2.52 | 1.57 | 50 % | 6.80 | £1.6M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Ferrari, D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 % | - | - | - | 7.00 | £575K | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Unh | Vianello, M | 2 (3) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 83 % | 2.22 | 0.37 | 100 % | 6.60 | £1M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB5 | | Adu, F | 1 (13) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 65 % | 1.25 | 0.75 | 60 % | 6.71 | £4.7M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Unh | Reid, A | 1 (4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 54 % | 2.66 | - | 100 % | 6.40 | £275K | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Unh | Nossa, D | 1 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 62 % | 3.63 | - | 100 % | 6.67 | £600K | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Inj | Pandev, G | 1 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60 % | 2.37 | - | - | 6.00 | £350K | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB4 | | Ajide, O | 0 (8) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 75 % | 2.42 | 1.21 | 100 % | 6.63 | £1.9M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Unh | Arthur | 0 (3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 6.00 | £1.2M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Unh | Leonelli, M | 0 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 6.00 | £350K | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre> Hmm… That is what I would regard as a textbook consolidation season. The side settled into a mid-table position early and held that spot, I brought in a number of new players and cleared out some of the deadwood while younger players (Rungratsamee, Degano, Adu, Ferrari, Arthur and Nossa) showed potential, fringe players stepped up a level (Lennartsson, Rabito and Sommese) while others were exposed as not being up to the challenge of top level football (Potenza, Vucinic, Reid and Stendardo). Whether this leaves us in a stronger or weaker position than at the start of the season is unclear. I know a lot more about my side, but the failure to sign the likes of Sommese, Bucchi and Chadwick to new contracts will weaken the side significantly. That, however, is in the future. I achieved my goal of survival this season and did so comfortably. That is satisfying enough. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donners Posted April 11, 2004 Author Share Posted April 11, 2004 Wrapping it up There was an assortment of news immediately after the final game. Corrado Grabbi finally announced his retirement (yay!), but defender Manuel Cattani demanded a new contract. He’s on £750 per week and is demanding £9K, which is rather annoying. To make matters worse, he now wants to move to a bigger club. Meanwhile, young defender Devis Nossa was called up to the Italian Under-21 side while new signing Andrea Briotti was named the Italian Serie A Young Player of the Year – a fair effort given that he played five games in total. Supat Rungratsamee finished second on the Serie A goalscoring list. Nordin Lennartsson’s ridiculous goal against Sampdoria from January was named the Serie A goal of the year. I brought in almost a dozen young, newly released players on trials in June. The first two to receive contracts were 17-year-olds Jugurta Tait (a former Chelsea defender, who actually played a Premier League game) and Sharle Agenor Eckhardt (a German Under-21 striker, with three senior games for Dortmund). They were followed by McGowen (a defender from Ipswich), Webb (a central midfielder from Arsenal) and Mohammed Guillou (a goalkeeper from Hertha BSC). German centre-back Krause (formerly of HSV) and Newcastle midfielder Sobir White were the final two signings. All these players are currently aged 17 and are signed until 2010. I guess there go my chances of any youth players coming up from my academy in the near future… I released upwards of a dozen Under-20 players this season, so these new players should get a decent go. I gave up on attempting to re-sign Manuel Cattani after five rejected offers (I went as high as £5K), but did for once manage to re-sign my staff members with expiring contracts (except for physio Alberto Lugli, who retired). Around the world: major awards and results Ancona Supporters’ Player of the Year: Supat Rungratsamee World Player of the Year: Thierry Henry (Arsenal) World Footballer of the year: Philippe Mexés (Real Madrid) England: Arsenal Spain: Real Madrid Champions Cup: Arsenal UEFA Cup: Hertha BSC Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mario Posted April 11, 2004 Share Posted April 11, 2004 Although you are unlukcy to have messed up italian awards, you're main ones are still okay. I'm not that fortunate, 4 Rosenborg players won the most important world awards for me... Nice to see you've stayed up. Next season is gonna be exciting too. Btw, how's your financial stats? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donners Posted April 12, 2004 Author Share Posted April 12, 2004 I think we're making about £8M profit a season, which is a pretty fair effort. Shame I don't actually have a use for it... The Transfers Trans In <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Date | Person | From | Fee | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 22.6.2006 | Fusco, Alessandro | Free Transfer | Free | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 23.6.2006 | Gregory, Shavkat | Free Transfer | Free | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 23.6.2006 | Roberts, Khairani | Free Transfer | Free | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 27.6.2006 | Reid, Amor | Free Transfer | Free | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1.7.2006 | Ferrari, Daniel | Carrarese | £130K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1.7.2006 | Stendardo, Guglielmo | Perugia | £325K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1.7.2006 | Pappalardo, Tse Lung | Novara | £110K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1.7.2006 | Sarr | Free Transfer | Free | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 21.12.2006 | Nossa, Devis | Free Transfer | Free | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 31.12.2006 | Ajide, Olasunkanmi Akande | Free Transfer | Free | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1.1.2007 | Pezzarossi, Dwight | Ferrol | Free | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1.1.2007 | Redavid, Vito | Juventus | £75K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 23.1.2007 | Perrone, Antonio | Lecce | Free | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3.5.2007 | Briotti, Andrea | Roma | Free | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15.6.2007 | Eckhardt, Sharle Agenor | Free Transfer | Free | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17.6.2007 | Tait, Jugurta | Free Transfer | Free | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Total | | £650K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre> Trans Out <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Date | Person | To | Fee | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17.6.2006 | Kalambay, Patrick | Como | Free | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 30.6.2006 | Peccarisi, Maurizio | Free Transfer | Free | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 30.6.2006 | Del Gaudio, Giovanni | Free Transfer | Free | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1.7.2006 | Minin, Enrico | Free Transfer | Free | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1.7.2006 | Palloni, Nicola | Free Transfer | Free | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1.7.2006 | Rossi, Matteo | Free Transfer | Free | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1.7.2006 | Triuzzi, Gianluca | Treviso | Free | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1.7.2006 | Bilica | Bari | Free | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1.7.2006 | Vives, Giuseppe | Free Transfer | Free | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1.8.2006 | Scarchilli, Alessio | Pistoiese | Free | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1.8.2006 | Rapaic, Milan | Reggiana | Free | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10.9.2006 | Ciccantelli, Stefano | Free Transfer | Free | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 29.10.2006 | Borsatti, Luca | Free Transfer | Free | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10.1.2007 | Sannino, Francesco | Free Transfer | Free | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14.1.2007 | Vichi, Davide | Free Transfer | Free | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3.2.2007 | Paci, Riccardo | Free Transfer | Free | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 28.2.2007 | Faccioni, Artur | Free Transfer | Free | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18.3.2007 | Stecconi, Nicola | Free Transfer | Free | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 24.3.2007 | Caldaroni, William | Free Transfer | Free | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 24.3.2007 | Baiocchi, Michael | Free Transfer | Free | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 26.4.2007 | Anconetani, Sergio | Free Transfer | Free | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20.5.2007 | Santarelli, Marco | Free Transfer | Free | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20.5.2007 | Inglese, Luigi | Free Transfer | Free | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20.5.2007 | Lambiase, Giuseppe | Free Transfer | Free | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20.5.2007 | Sollitto, Gabriele | Free Transfer | Free | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Total | | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre> Loans Out <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Date | Person | To | Fee | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7.7.2006 | Cignacco, Luca | Nocerina | Loan | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15.7.2006 | Carlos Henrique | Salernitana | Loan | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 25.7.2006 | De Nicolò, Enzo | Igea Virtus | Loan | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 27.7.2006 | Chiaramida, Carmelo| Meda | Loan | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 29.7.2006 | Sealey, George | Lucchese | Loan | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1.8.2006 | Degano, Daniele | Reggiana | Loan | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 21.8.2006 | Donzelli, Elia | Crotone | Loan | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Total | | £0 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre> Staff In <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Date | Person | From | Fee | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3.7.2006 | Venturelli, Giuseppe | Free Transfer | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4.7.2006 | Davies, Tim | Free Transfer | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Total | | £0 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre> Not a great season at all for transfers. It’s a bit too early to judge the young players signed as long-term prospects, but Devis Nossa managed some senior games and Tse Lung Pappalardo looked good. Daniel Ferrari did his job as backup goalkeeper and Antonio Briotti did well in his four senior games –so well that he won the Serie A Young Player of the Year award. Amor Reid unfortunately did little, but he was a long-shot anyway. Of the players signed as senior regulars, the results were fairly poor. Sarr did okay at the back, but Stendardo was a waste of £325K and Igors Stepanovs was unremarkable. Dwight Pezzarossi was particularly disappointing while Redavid and Ajide didn’t do a heck of a lot. We made no money at all from transfers out, but at least cleared up a bit of space in the squad. Daniele Degano was the only player to look good on loan. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donners Posted April 13, 2004 Author Share Posted April 13, 2004 Pre-Season 2007/2008 A very interesting start to the 07/08 season. We received a new sponsorship deal for two years worth £1.1M - £600K less than what we got from the previous deal that had been running from the start of the game. I was given a transfer budget of £7.5M, with the rather disturbing request that I invest in new players and start rebuilding the team. Sommese, Chadwick and Bucchi aren’t even gone, and we’re already expected to be relegated? I don’t like this at all… The supporters at least expect a mid-table spot, but my board seems to have no confidence in the side. Corrado Grabbi, Vincenzo Sommese and Goran Pandev were the first senior players to leave. That clears up more than £20K in wages – most of those which went to Grabbi – but leaves me minus one useful player. Incidentally, it’s worth noting that Grabbi received upwards of £3M in wages while at Ancona, for the grand total of 23 senior games. My wage budget is now up to £160K, which is quite useful. Markus Neumayr took out a chunk of my transfer budget at the start of July, arriving for £1.7M from Arsenal. Quite a hefty price for somebody with four senior games in his career, but hopefully it’ll work out. It caused immediate problems, though, with Vito Redavid and Olasunkanmi Akande Ajide complaining about the amount of competition in the midfield. They probably had a point, but with a lack of playmakers at the side, I felt it necessary to sign Neumayr to cover that weakness. I made another purchase immediately after Neumayr arrived, grabbing 28-year-old Italian goalkeeper Generoso Rossi for £150K from Udinese. Agliardi did well last season, but Ferrari needs time to develop and a bit of competition for a position is never a bad thing. I had a go at signing former Italian international Francesco Coco on a free transfer, but he chose Rayo over Ancona. Perhaps my best signing was veteran English centre back Darren Purse on a free transfer, after he played particularly well at Birmingham in the English Premier League over the last few seasons. I received a £1.1M bid for Federico Agliardi from Piacenza, which I did consider having signed Generoso Rossi, particularly as Agliardi’s contract expired at the end of the season. I eventually rejected it, though, as I didn’t really want to take the risk of leaving the side with an unproven goalkeeper. The 31st of July, 2007, was a big day for Ancona, with Amor Reid, Luke Chadwick and Christian Bucchi leaving the club at the ends of their respective contracts. Chadwick, Bucchi and Sommese (who was released at the start of the month) were Ancona’s three “*†players, which certainly underlines their importance to the side. For what it’s worth, Rabito, Lennartsson and Rungratsamee are the three new “*†players. Forward Mirko Vucinic left to join Wolfsburg while Brazilian defender Carlos Henrique went to Bari after neither looked good enough last season to earn a new contract. Our first friendly offered some promising signs for the season ahead. We easily downed Chievo 2-0, with goals to Degano and Pezzarossi – two players who will need to step up this season. Supat Rungratsamee suffered a groin strain in the game, but since it only put him out for two weeks, it mattered little. Thanks to the fact that my assistant did not arrange any friendlies despite being set to do so and the mysterious disappearance of a game against our Under-20 side, that turned out to be the only friendly for 07/08, so Rungratsamee was no more unfit than any other member of the side by the time of the first senior game. As the pre-season drew to a close, I brought in two first-team signings – Dutch right back Christian Gyan on a free transfer and Liverpool forward Sinama-Pongolle on loan. Midfielder Olasunkanmi Akande Ajide was placed on the transfer list by request, but there was no interest. There was another bid for Agliardi, this one £1.3M, but I again rejected it. I received news that Supat Rungratsamee was unhappy that I’d not offered him an improved contract at the end of the season as promised. Of course, I’d thought (rather logically, I believe) that since I’d offered him an improved contract before the end of the season, which he’d happily accepted, that promise was pretty much fulfilled, albeit a bit earlier. But no, apparently if you promise a contract at the end of the season, doing it earlier is just as bad as not doing it at all. So now my most important player is angry at me though a lack of flexibility [read: stupid programming oversight] in the game. In all seriousness, if I had not put so much work into this story, which may well be my last, the game would not only be uninstalled by now, the CD would probably be snapped in half. Even EA Sports would be ashamed of some of the crap in this game. [/rant] Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mario Posted April 14, 2004 Share Posted April 14, 2004 The last paragraph summed up everything I feel about CM too. The most worrying thing is that I almost don't play it anymore, your story is the only ramification I've have left with the game. Reading it made me try to play it once more, but if even you that "fantasize" the wrong aspects of the game can't stand it anymore I figure it's a lost cause. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donners Posted April 14, 2004 Author Share Posted April 14, 2004 Indeed. It's just a shame I'd already put so much work into this before finally realising just how bad it truly was. Now I have to keep playing the game regardless of the numerous flaws because I don't want to have totally wasted all this time. I hope you appreciate the sacrifices I make for you... The Squad <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">1st in Italian Serie A Squad Screen | Pkd | Inf | Name | Squad Status | Basic Wage | Contract Expiry | Offer Options | Asking Price | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Loa | Sinama-Pongolle, F | - | £750 | 17.6.2008 | None | £3.8M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | GK | Wnt | Agliardi, F | First Team | £7,000 | 31.7.2010 | None | £1.1M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | DC | | Briotti, A | First Team | £7,500 | 31.7.2008 | None | £1.2M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | DR | | Gyan, C | First Team | £5,000 | 31.7.2010 | None | £1.8M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | MC | | Lennartsson, N* | First Team | £5,000 | 31.7.2008 | None | £4.2M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB6 | | Munitis, P | First Team | £6,500 | 31.7.2008 | None | £700K | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | MC | | Neumayr, M | First Team | £4,000 | 31.7.2010 | None | £2.1M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | FC | | Pezzarossi, D | First Team | £4,000 | 31.7.2009 | None | £2.4M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | DC | | Purse, D | First Team | £5,000 | 31.7.2009 | None | £1.8M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | MR | | Rabito, A* | First Team | £13,250 | 31.7.2009 | None | £6.75M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB1 | | Rossi, G | First Team | £3,000 | 31.7.2010 | None | £1M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | FC | | Rungratsamee, S* | First Team | £5,500 | 31.7.2009 | None | £6M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | DL | | Zamperini, A | First Team | £2,600 | 31.7.2009 | None | £1.1M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Req | Ajide, O | Rotation | £2,200 | 31.7.2009 | None | £1.8M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Cassani, M | Rotation | £2,200 | 31.7.2010 | None | £875K | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | ML | | El Kadouri, B | Rotation | £5,500 | 31.7.2010 | None | £3.7M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Unh | Nossa, D | Rotation | £600 | 31.7.2009 | None | £625K | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB2 | Unh | Redavid, V | Rotation | £1,100 | 31.7.2009 | None | £1.4M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB3 | | Sarr | Rotation | £3,500 | 31.7.2009 | None | £1.1M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Stendardo, G | Rotation | £975 | 31.7.2009 | None | £725K | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Zavagno, L | Rotation | £6,000 | 31.7.2008 | None | £525K | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Unh | Arthur | Backup | £425 | 31.7.2009 | None | £1.2M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB5 | Unh | Cattani, M | Backup | £750 | 31.7.2009 | None | £925K | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB4 | Wnt | Degano, D | Backup | £725 | 31.7.2008 | None | £1.8M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Potenza, A | Backup | £2,000 | 31.7.2010 | None | £625K | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Stepanovs, I | Backup | £550 | 31.7.2008 | None | £350K | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB7 | | Adu, F | Hot Prospect | £750 | 31.7.2011 | None | N/A | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Bid | Vianello, M | Hot Prospect | £850 | 31.7.2009 | None | £1.1M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Unh | Leonelli, M | Youngster | £150 | 31.7.2008 | None | £350K | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre> Total Players: 54 Wage Budget: £160,000 Total Weekly Wages at 30/7/07: £95,849 Goalkeepers Federico Agliardi [24, GK, ITA – Capped at U21 level] – 2, 68, 0 A better season from Agliardi, which was certainly important considering the lack of a proven backup. He did concede big numbers of goals a couple of times against the bigger teams, but considering our weak defence and the strength of some of our opponents, that’s not too surprising. There’s a few sides interested in buying him, and I will have to decide fairly early in the season if I wish to re-sign him, lest I wind up with a lot of competition come January 2008. Daniel Ferrari [18, GK, ITA] – 1, 4, 0 Ferrari did a decent job when called up for a few games last season, but he now has a chance to get a full season of games under his belt in the Under-20s rather than sitting on the bench in the seniors. He looks a good prospect, and hopefully will continue to show promise. Generoso Rossi [28, GK, ITA] Bought for £150K in an attempt to cover our lack of first-team options for goalkeeping, Rossi looks solid but hasn’t played a lot of senior football in recent times. He was loaned from Serie B to Serie A to become Siena’s first choice goalkeeper, but after he was bought by Udinese in 04/05 for £375K he really struggled, and only played 13 senior games for them. Hopefully he can play something of a rotational role here. Defenders Andrea Briotti [21, Sw/D LC, ITA – 7 U21/0] – 1, 4, 0 In only four games with Ancona, Briotti seemed to seal a first team spot for this season. He’s only contracted until the end of 07/08 and may well be the subject of some demand, but I hope he can be a solid player at the back this season. 06/07 Serie A Young Player of the Year Manuel Cassani [23, D RC, ITA – Capped at U21 level] – 2, 56, 0 A fairly flat season from Cassani, clearly behind Cattani for the right back position, but he wasn’t as bad as some (i.e. Potenza). I did re-sign him last season until 2010, so hopefully he can pick up his game this year. Manuel Cattani [22, D RC, ITA – Capped at U21 level] – 2, 33, 1 A pretty solid year from Cattani, holding down right back without ever standing out. He wants a new contract and to move to a bigger club, but he’s contracted until 2009 and I won’t increase his wages too much unless his performances improve dramatically. He will likely play fewer games this season due to the following player. Christian Gyan [28, D R, GHA – 21/1] A specialist right back, and a quite good one. Gyan only played semi-regularly with Feyenoord, but put in some superb performances when he did. We haven’t had a really good right back since Sartor (and even then he was only good for one season), but Gyan should change that. He has the pace to be a threat going forward and is reasonably good as a defender. A regular first team role looks likely. Marco Leonelli [23, D C, ITA] – 3, 4, 0 Having had little impact in either the seniors or Under-20s, it’s hard to see Leonelli getting much of a go this season or getting his contract renewed. Devis Nossa [21, D C, ITA – 2 U21/0] – 1, 3, 0 One of the better prospects at the side, the former Inter defender fought his way into the senior side last season and didn’t look too out of place. He’s not happy at Ancona, but may be if he gets more of a go in the seniors this year. Alessandro Potenza [23, D C, ITA – Capped at U21 level] – 3, 41, 0 I have no idea why I signed him for another three seasons last year. He has struggled in both the seniors and youth team, and will play few games this season. Darren Purse [30, D C, ENG] Signed as a centre back partner for Briotti and Sarr, Purse has been one of the better English Premier League defenders at Birmingham, and should play an important role at Ancona. He is strong in the defensive aspects of the game and finally provides us with a decent choice for captain. Sarr [23, D RC, SEN – 20/0] – 1, 34, 2 A reasonably good year from Sarr in 06/07, but with Briotti and Purse now at the club, he will have to fight hard to retain his regular first team spot. Even if he loses his starting place, he has the ability to play a useful rotational role at the back. Igors Stepanovs [31, D C, LVA – 74/3] – 1, 20, 1 After having little impact last season, Stepanovs will have little to do this year with two new centre back options. He may be a useful backup if one of the three main centre backs suffers an injury, but he won’t get in ahead of them otherwise. Guglielmo Stendardo [26, D C, ITA] – 1, 15, 0 See above. Alessandro Zamperini [24, D LC, ITA] – 2, 43, 0 Zamperini wasn’t as impressive in Serie A as he was in his couple of games after being signed while we were in Serie B, but like right back Cattani, he did a decent job without ever standing out. He should continue to be a first team player in the absence of other left back options. Luciano Zavagno [29, D L, ARG] – 4, 101, 6 Zavagno is behind Zamperini in the battle for left back, and since he can only play in that position, that puts him in a bit of trouble. This is his last season under contract, and he will have to improve a lot to be re-signed. Midfielders Freddy Adu [18, AM/F RC, USA – 15/1] – 4, 36, 0 Yep, that position is correct – I’ve re-trained him as a right-sided player in an attempt to cover the loss of Sommese and Chadwick from the right wing. Adu hasn’t had much impact at Ancona yet, but he looked good in a couple of games last season and looks to have improved as a player. This should be his biggest season yet. Olasunkanmi Akande Ajide [21, DM RC, NGA – 1/0] – 1, 8, 0 Ajide apparently showed enough last season to make his international debut, but didn’t look great in his few chances at Ancona. He’s upset at the competition for a first team spot, and unless he does particularly well off the bench off the season early, he may indeed struggle for a place in the side. Arthur [21, AM C, BRA] – 2, 3, 0 Though he didn’t do much in the seniors last season, Arthur has been one of the better Under-20s players. He will need to improve to get a spot in the seniors this season, but has shown some promise. Badr El Kadouri [26, AM L, MAR – 12/0] – 68, 4, 23 While he didn’t have as much impact last season as he did in Serie A, El Kadouri did well to hold down the left wing. With Chadwick now gone and few options on the wings, El Kadouri will need to play well for the team to succeed. Nordin Lennartsson [24, AM C, SWE] – 2, 59, 5 A surprise success, Lennartsson was originally only going to be a fringe player but last season became an important part of the side. His long shooting is often questionable, but he has created quite a few goals with some incredible passes. He will likely play alongside Neumayr for much of this season. I may have trouble re-signing him at the end of the season, as his wage demands are likely to go up. Pedro Munitis [32, AM/F LC, ESP – 21/2] – 2, 55, 5 After a poor start to the season which saw him lose his midfield spot to Rabito, Munitis managed to perform much better in the latter half and regain his place. He will likely have to play a bit on the left wing with Chadwick gone and no other obvious backup for El Kadouri, which should help give him a reasonable number of games despite the signing of Neumayr. A forward role may also be possible. Markus Neumayr [21, M C, GER – 1 U21/0] A record signing at £1.7M from Arsenal, Neumayr has just four senior games in his career but should be a key player at Ancona. He dominated in Arsenal’s reserve side, with 22 assists in 26 games, and is a brilliant playmaker. He doesn’t have a lot of pace, but there’s more than enough quick players at the club already. Andrea Rabito [27, F RLC, ITA] – 2, 66, 18 Our highest-paid player, Rabito will unfortunately not have much of a chance to play in his better position of forward with no other obvious options on the right. He played well last season, but has not played on the right wing much at Ancona so I’m not sure if he will continue to be such a strong performer. Vito Redavid [26, M LC, ITA – Capped at schoolboy level] – 1, 5, 1 A useful backup for the left wing and centre of midfield, Redavid has not helped his chances of a rotational role by complaining about the competition for a first team spot. Forwards Daniele Degano [24, F LC, ITA] – 4, 17, 4 A strong season on loan to Reggina in Serie B, with 17 goals in 36 games, combined with the departure of Bucchi has given Degano another shot at a first team spot. He’s still very strong and possesses good heading ability, but his lack of height makes it difficult to use him as a target forward. He will get a few chances, but won’t be in the initial first team plans. Dwight Pezzarossi [27, S C, GUA – 18/7] – 1, 11, 1 A dismal debut and average performance after that was disappointing from the player signed as a replacement for Bucchi. He had a good scoring record at Ferrol, but that was in Spain’s lower leagues. If he doesn’t do well early this season, I may have to look for a replacement. Supat Rungratsamee [19, S C, THA – 3/1] – 3, 43, 31 The unquestioned star of our forwards, and possibly the side, Rungratsamee is angry at me thanks to a lovely touch of game stupidity, but if he stays at the club, he will be a key player over the next few years. We have far fewer options up forward than last season, so he needs to continue his fine form. 06/07 Supporters’ Player of the Year Florent Sinama-Pongolle [22, S C, FRA – Capped at U21 level] On loan from Liverpool until 17/6/08 Signed due to the lack of depth up forward for Ancona, Sinama-Pongolle has little senior experience but unquestioned potential. He’s quite small, and will probably be a better partner for Pezzarossi than Rungratsamee, but should get a regular run. I hope readers of my Rushden stories appreciate the irony of me signing him… Marco Vianello [23, S C, ITA] – 3, 22, 0 With poor performances in both the seniors and youth team in three seasons at Ancona, it’s hard to see Vianello doing much this season. However, with a sudden lack of depth up forward, he may indeed need to play a few games. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mario Posted April 14, 2004 Share Posted April 14, 2004 I am fully enjoying what you're doing for me, no doubt about that. You made me play a bug-ridden badly-coded game again and lose important hours of my day (aminly the beggining of afternoons or deep night moments. There is no gift greater than that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donners Posted April 15, 2004 Author Share Posted April 15, 2004 Well said. All Up… I’m not quite sure what to think of this squad in comparison to that of previous seasons. Losing three stars is always difficult to cover, but what we have lost in some areas, we’ve gained in others. Most notably, we now have an experienced goalkeeper to backup Agliardi. Agliardi improved last season, but it’s better to have a 28-year-old as his backup than somebody ten years younger. Defence is clearly the most improved area, with two new starting centre backs. The sides of defence were a bit of a concern, but the late addition of Gyan makes a huge difference. Overall it will be much stronger with the inclusions of Purse, Gyan and Briotti. The midfield also looks stronger, despite the losses of Chadwick and Sommese. Neumayr proves us with a much-needed playmaker and the right wing is the only obvious concern. For once, we have very few options up forward. I didn’t really realise how bad it would be during last season, as I’d intended to play Rabito up forward without really thinking about who would have to cover the right wing. His likely move to the middle combined with the loss of Vucinic and Bucchi creates problems, particularly as none of the forwards outside Rungratsamee have done anything much at the club. There are no real forward prospects in the Under-20s either, so this could be a real concern. The Likely Side: (Playing with a 4-4-2) GK – Federico Agliardi LB – Alessandro Zamperini CB – Darren Purse CB – Andrea Briotti RB – Christian Gyan LM – Badr El Kadouri CM – Nordin Lennartsson CM – Markus Neumayr RM – Andrea Rabito CF – Dwight Pezzarossi CF – Supat Rungratsamee Sub – Pedro Munitis Sub – Manuel Cattani Sub – Sarr Sub – Generoso Rossi Sub – Vito Redavid Sub – Florent Sinama-Pongolle Sub – Freddy Adu The Staff Giacomo Tafuro (Assistant Manager) Gilberto Vallesi (Coach) Roberto Bocchino (Coach) Roberto Corti (Coach) Giannicola Pinotti (Coach) Gianluca Pagliuca (Coach) Udalrico Tretter (Coach) Paulo Roberto Zanon (Coach) Giuseppe Venturelli (Coach) Salvatore Gnisci (Physio) Massimo D’Ambrosio (Physio) David Jarrett (Scout) Rob Campkin (Scout) Julian Carrera (Scout) Tim Davies (Scout) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donners Posted April 16, 2004 Author Share Posted April 16, 2004 August, season 2007/2008 Just the one senior game this month, against Udinese. It posed quite a problem, as with only one friendly before it, the side was lacking match fitness. Freddie Adu started in the midfield, since he had at least played a few international games over the last few months. It wasn’t a promising start, with a forward waltzing right around Andrea Briotti for a shot on goal, which luckily was saved by Agliardi. A wild 37th minute cross from Pezzarossi missed his partner, Rungratsamee, but the Thai striker was quick enough to get the ball and hit it out of the area to Nordin Lennartsson. The midfielder wound up from 25 yards out and slotted it straight in. Rabito hit the bar in the 76th after a fantastic run, but a pass from Rungratsamee to substitute partner Florent Sinama-Pongolle for a simple tap-in put our second on the board a few minutes later. A nice 2-0 win, with Purse, Sinama-Pongolle, Neumayr and Gyan all solid on their Ancona debuts. Having loaned in Florent Sinama-Pongolle, I decided to let Marco Vianello go to Reggina when they made a loan offer for the striker. If nothing else, this should ensure Degano gets a decent go. I was given odds of 150-1 for the Serie A title, which I believe are my best yet. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donners Posted April 17, 2004 Author Share Posted April 17, 2004 September, season 2007/2008 Sampdoria were our second Serie A opponents of the season. They took an early lead, with a winger running straight through our defence, while at the other end Dwight Pezzarossi missed a chip that he could easily have scored from. Lennartsson levelled the scores with a 30-yard free kick five minutes into the second half, but our chance to go ahead after Rungratsamee was put through by a Neumayr pass was wasted with a weak finish. There was an anxious moment when defender Darren Purse went off injured in the 80th after all three substitutions had been made, but despite being a man down we held on for the draw. Markus Neumayr revealed after the game that he was having trouble settling in Italy. As if I don’t have enough to worry about with Rungratsamee angry with me, now my record signing is unhappy. Bologna came next. The opening dozen minutes were incredibly busy, with seven shots in total. Unfortunately, six went to our opponents. Agliardi somehow held on, and a scramble in our area in the 25th allowed Rungratsamee to tap in a goal from point-blank range. Bologna kept dominating the game, but Agliardi and the defenders, led by Darren Purse, kept them out (with the aid of some sloppy finishing). Against the run of play, a great pass from Ajide gave Sinama-Pongolle our second with ten minutes remaining and Bologna continued to waste their chances. Agliardi rated a perfect ‘10’ for keeping a clean sheet despite 24 Bologna shots (12 on target). I was not entirely certain I should have rejected the bids for him during the pre-season, but this performance makes the decision look good. I re-signed him until 2010 on the strength of that performance alone. After that lucky win, we faced Vicenza. Rungratsamee and Sinama-Pongolle had a rest, replaced by Degano and Pezzarossi. It started off much like the previous game, with Vicenza attacking hard only to be thwarted by good saves from Agliardi and sloppy shooting. A good tackle and pass down the right from Christian Gyan sent Dwight Pezzarossi running forward, and while his cross was seemingly cleared, Degano was apparently fouled in the process. Purse took the 27th minute penalty and hit it straight in. Vicenza hit back with a goal in the 40th, and then had a penalty of their own a few minutes into the second half. It was hit hard and beat Agliardi, but came back off the post and was cleared. Vicenza continued to waste chances in the final 20 minutes, and by injury time scores were still level. Two minutes in, Rungratsamee (having come off the bench earlier) raced down the right of the area and sent in a short cross. Aide’s half-volley was parried straight to Daniele Degano, who hit it in to snatch a late lead. We made it through the final minutes for our third win in four games. It was not all good news, though, with new defender Christian Gyan complaining about being taken off. He’d suffered a minor injury and I didn’t want to have an unfit player there in defence, but heaven forbid a manager could actually use common sense. I gave him an official warning, which he accepted. El Kadouri missed the game against Atlanta with a thigh strain, with Munitis starting on the left. Atlanta received a penalty in the 29th after Purse pushed a forward, but for the second week in a row our opponents failed to score from it – this time it was saved by Agliardi. There wasn’t really much to the rest of the game, with Agliardi continuing to play well and Rabito missing no less than six shots. Rungratsamee is well down on form compared to last season, which is no doubt at least partly due to being angry at me. Pezzarossi was dropped for the game against Chievo after four mediocre games. The first half looked to be scoreless, but Lennartsson drilled in a 20-yard free kick just before the half time whistle. Rungratsamee uncharacteristically had a shot from close range saved by the keeper in the 75th, but thankfully it was parried to Sinama-Pongolle who hit it into the open goal. However, Rungratsamee missed a sitter two minutes later, and this time there was nobody to clean it up. This is becoming a serious problem now. Chievo scored their first in the 85th and had a few chances to level the scores, but again Agliardi did well enough to hold onto a clean sheet. Daniel Ferrari made his Italian Under-21 debut after the game, while young defender Tse Lung Pappalardo was also called up to the squad. I certainly cannot complain about being undefeated after five Serie A games, with four wins, but player-wise the season has been very mixed. Rungratsamee is clearly struggling and unhappy, and may request a transfer soon. Pezzarossi has been awful and Neumayr is looking like a big disappointment. On the plus side, Sinama-Pongolle has done his job well, Ajide has done excellently in the middle and Agliardi is playing better than I could possibly have hoped. It remains to be seen what long-term impact these issues will have, but it should be an interesting season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donners Posted April 18, 2004 Author Share Posted April 18, 2004 October, season 2007/2008 Our defensive stocks were weakened for a game which provided a serious threat to our unbeaten start to the season. We took on Inter without Christian Gyan and Sarr, who were on international duty with Ghana and Senegal respectively, and Manuel Cattani, who suffered a fractured skull in an Under-20s game. An 11th minute goal to Inter was thankfully denied due to an offside. There was no denying them a 37th minute strike, and after being thoroughly outplayed through the first half, we were lucky it was only one. Rungratsamee went on one of his usual runs down the side of the area before charging at the goalkeeper moments into the second half, but his shot went horribly wide. Inter scored a second in the 65th, and not even a close-range shot from Degano after a cross from Rabito could get us back in the game, with the shot straight at the keeper. Inter finished the game with a third goal in the final minutes, for Ancona’s first loss of the season – 0-3. To make matters worse, Supat Rungratsamee was placed on the transfer list at his own request after the game. I can’t really find the words to express how angry I am at this situation – at least, not with a filter in place. Generoso Rossi came in for his senior debut against Perugia three days later. Rungratsamee missed with international duty, but this was not a major loss considering he only has one goal in seven senior games. Several players, including Sinama-Pongolle, Lennartsson and Rabito were rested, leaving us with the unusual forward pairing of Munitis and Pezzarossi. Ancona received a penalty in the 10th minute after Ajide was fouled in the area, and there was no mistake from captain Darren Purse. Unlike the last game, we dominated much of the play despite having a weakened side. Rossi had little to do, and despite a number of missed shots from Ancona, the one goal was enough. Rungratsamee, Lennartsson and Rabito returned to face Lazio, but we were a goal down after only eleven minutes. A good run down the middle from Pezzarossi finally gave him his first of the season four minutes later, and the scores were still level at the half-time interval. Rungratsamee scored moments into the second half with a run into the area and angled shot past the keeper, and just three minutes after that it was 3-1, with a great throw-in from Gyan sending Rabito into the area for a Rungratsamee-like goal from a tight angle. Lazio cut the lead back to one goal in the 83rd, and a wild shot from Pezzarossi five minutes later that should have sealed the game didn’t help. Last-minute attacks from Lazio were alternately ruled offside or cleared by the defence, leaving us with a win which took Ancona to second spot on the table. Federico Agliardi regained the goalkeeping position against Serie C1/B team Messina for our first Italian Cup game (round 1), with Rossi having shown little in his brief run. Messina took a surprise lead in the 19th, but a Rungratsamee header from a Rabito corner made it 1-1 three minutes later. Unfortunately, Rabito then made things harder for Ancona, getting two yellow cards in the 33rd for complaining about a dodgy foul and then the first yellow card. Neumayr moved to the right wing in Rabito’s absence, and it was a pass from the German that put Pezzarossi through for a simple finish just before half time. Despite being a man down, we’d taken the lead…but could we hold it for 45 more minutes? As it turned out, we did so quite easily despite not scoring another goal. Not an entirely convincing performance against such a weak side, but at least we have the aggregate lead. I re-signed defender Andrea Briotti until 2011 after the match. The second-last game of the month, with the potential to put us top of Serie A, was against Lecce. Rungratsamee missed with international duty, so Sinama-Pongolle partnered Dwight Pezzarossi. Rabito looked good early, but it was Lennartsson who came closest to scoring, forcing two saves in the first half with shots from a fair distance out. He had a free kick parried shortly into the second half, but nobody was there to collect it. Sinama-Pongolle had a shot from close range saved a few minutes later, and it looked as if we were doomed to finish without a goal despite numerous passes. It took a deflection off a defender in the 66th for Lennartsson to finally score a much-deserved goal, which seemed to open the floodgates. Pezzarossi scored after a great pass from substitute Adu (only brought onto the pitch two minutes earlier) a few minutes later, and Adu should have scored shortly after that when his shot from inside the area was parried back to him. His shot, unfortunately, went over, as did one from Pezzarossi a few minutes later. Lennartsson made up for these wasted chances with a goal from a free kick in the 79th, while Pezzarossi was unlucky not to score his second with his shot from close range just barely tipped away. A great 3-0 win, though it probably should have been more. A win to Roma left us just a point away from top spot, but we have plenty of time left to overtake them. Rungratsamee returned to the side which faced Fiorentina at home, with defender and captain Darren Purse rested. Dwight Pezzarossi put us ahead in the first 90 seconds, while at the other end a wonderful tackle from Sarr in the 27th prevented a seemingly certain equaliser. A cross from Rabito gave Rungratsamee our second, seemingly assuring us of continuing the incredible start to the season. Ajide should have scored in the 75th, but his shot at an open goal didn’t quite curl back enough. Fiorentina scored a moment later, making the miss potentially quite costly, but a goal from defender Andrea Briotti after a corner sealed the 3-1 win. Briotti and Sarr played well in the absence of Purse. Most importantly, we finished the month on top of Serie A. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | Ancona | | 11 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 19 | 9 | +10 | 26 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Roma | | 11 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 20 | 9 | +11 | 25 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Brescia | | 10 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 5 | +11 | 24 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Inter | | 11 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 18 | 8 | +10 | 22 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Udinese | | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 18 | 9 | +9 | 21 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Juventus | | 11 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 15 | 7 | +8 | 19 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Bologna | | 11 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 16 | 11 | +5 | 18 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Milan | | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 16 | 13 | +3 | 18 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Lazio | | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 21 | 16 | +5 | 14 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Chievo | | 11 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 17 | 18 | -1 | 14 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Atalanta | | 11 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 17 | 17 | 0 | 13 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Sampdoria | | 11 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 13 | 18 | -5 | 13 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Perugia | | 11 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 16 | 15 | +1 | 12 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Fiorentina | | 11 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 15 | 18 | -3 | 12 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Verona | | 11 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 9 | 15 | -6 | 10 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Palermo | | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 13 | 19 | -6 | 9 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Vicenza | | 11 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 13 | 20 | -7 | 9 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | | Reggina | | 11 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 13 | 28 | -15 | 7 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | | Lecce | | 11 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 13 | 25 | -12 | 6 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | | Piacenza | | 11 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 25 | -18 | 6 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mario Posted April 18, 2004 Share Posted April 18, 2004 And the game gets crazeir and crazier. There are only few things now to officially proclaim CM 03/04 "Loonies #1 choice game'2003". Good luck. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ads Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 Good work, Ancona top!! Keep it up! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donners Posted April 19, 2004 Author Share Posted April 19, 2004 Cheers! November, season 2007/2008 I arranged a signing for January at the start of the month – Colombian international defender José Julián de la Cuesta for £925K from Atlético Nacional. He looks to be a real talent, and should become an immediate first team regular. Our first game of November was against Reggina. They took control early and scored in the 27th. We didn’t even have a shot in the first half, but the game turned around dramatically straight after the break. Andrea Rabito dominated the midfield, setting off on several huge runs around a series of opponents. His resulting shots wound up saved or over the bar, but a cross from Rungratsamee to Degano gave him an equaliser for Ancona in the 59th. The game went back and forth from there, with neither side looking like taking the lead. The 1-1 draw against one of the weaker sides in Serie A was disappointing, particularly since it knocked us off the top, but we’re only a dozen games in. The second leg of our first round Italian Cup tie with Messina followed, with Ancona 2-1 up on aggregate. A few fringe players like Generoso Rossi, Mattia Cassani and Vito Redavid got a run, though I was prepared to bring the bigger names off the bench if things went wrong. The game was uneventful for the most part, and indeed it wasn’t until El Kadouri intercepted a defensive pass in the 80th minute that there was any real chance for either side to score. He ran around the keeper for a simple finish, ensuring that we finally made it through our first round of the Italian Cup. I returned to a more regular starting XI against Brescia, but they had the lead after only 20 minutes. Lennartsson equalised five minutes later, but Brescia made it 1-2 just before half time. Though there were three goals scored, there wasn’t much attacking football played, especially in the second half. Pezzarossi should have scored in the final minutes after receiving the ball unopposed in the area, but his shot was tipped aside A great ball from Rabito in injury time gave Lennartsson an open run at the goal, but his shot was also wasted, going well over. A wide shot from Rungratsamee capped off a wasteful few minutes and ensured we recorded our second loss of the season. I desperately want to sign Lennartsson, but he’s requesting £20K per week (up from £5K, and with a maximum limit of £14.25K on my wages despite being £60K under the budget with £15M in the bank). After two disappointing Serie A performances in November, we had the chance to get back on track against Piacenza. A huge run down the right in the opening minutes from Gyan finished with a great cross into the area, but El Kadouri’s header was tipped away. Piacenza took the lead in the 30th from a corner, while we did not have a single scoring chance after the second minute. The second half was much better from the first few minutes. Lennartsson had a shot just barely go over, and moments later a beautiful Rabito cross was easily driven in from 20 yards by El Kadouri (runner-up for Goal of the Month). El Kadouri switched roles in the 60th, sending in a cross from the left. It wasn’t nearly as good as Rabito’s but the recipient (Degano) had enough time to collect it, compose himself and whack it straight past the keeper to give Ancona the lead. An injury to Andrea Briotti was followed by an equaliser to Piacenza in the 69th. Former Ancona player Vincenzo Sommese came off the bench for Piacenza, but it was our substitute, Markus Neumayr, who was taking control of the midfield. It wasn’t enough, though, with the game finishing in a 2-2 draw. A disappointing month, but we’re still towards the top of the table. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | Udinese | | 14 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 26 | 10 | +16 | 30 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Roma | | 14 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 26 | 13 | +13 | 30 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Inter | | 14 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 24 | 10 | +14 | 29 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Brescia | | 14 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 20 | 12 | +8 | 29 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Ancona | | 14 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 23 | 14 | +9 | 28 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Milan | | 14 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 24 | 19 | +5 | 25 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Juventus | | 14 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 19 | 11 | +8 | 23 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Bologna | | 14 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 19 | 14 | +5 | 21 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Lazio | | 14 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 29 | 23 | +6 | 20 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Perugia | | 14 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 22 | 16 | +6 | 19 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Sampdoria | | 14 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 17 | 23 | -6 | 17 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Atalanta | | 14 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 19 | 21 | -2 | 16 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Chievo | | 14 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 22 | 25 | -3 | 16 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Palermo | | 14 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 18 | 26 | -8 | 15 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Vicenza | | 14 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 16 | 24 | -8 | 13 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Fiorentina | | 14 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 17 | 26 | -9 | 13 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Verona | | 14 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 10 | 19 | -9 | 11 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | | Lecce | | 14 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 15 | 27 | -12 | 10 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | | Piacenza | | 14 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 28 | -16 | 10 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | | Reggina | | 14 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 15 | 32 | -17 | 9 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donners Posted April 21, 2004 Author Share Posted April 21, 2004 December, season 2007/2008 Palermo were our first opponents for December. A Rabito throw-in led to a Rungratsamee run straight through a series of defenders and well into the area, but his resulting shot went wide. Finishing has been his major problem this season. Palermo had no such problems, taking the lead in the 42nd. A great piece of play from El Kadouri saw him run around former Ancona player Francesco Montervino and hold up the ball long enough for Andrea Rabito to get into position for the cross. The pass was perfect and so was the finish. 1-1 in the 56th, and that’s how it remained at the end of the game. With only three days between that and the second round League Cup game against Udinese, I made half-a-dozen changes to the side, including bringing in Generoso Rossi to replace Agliardi, who had been disappointing in the last few games after such a great start. Sinama-Pongolle scored for Ancona in the 21st, but Udinese made it 1-1 shortly before half time. A classic Rabito run down the right in the 81st was finished with a typically beautiful cross for substitute Freddy Adu. The young American made no mistake from close range, finally putting through his first goal for Ancona. We held on for the final minutes of the game, taking a 2-1 lead into the second leg. 17-year-old defender Tse Lung Pappalardo made his senior debut against Roma after good form for the Under-20s. Both sides had chances early, but it was a lovely angled pass into the area from Rungratsamee that bypassed a few defenders and found Pezzarossi in enough space for him to knock the ball into a corner of the net for a 33rd minute lead. Ajide sent in an equally good pass for Rungratsamee to made it 2-0 five minutes later, and we retained that lead at half time. A goal to Roma immediately after half time was ruled offside. Ajide gave away a penalty in the 53rd that brought Roma within a goal of us. Rungratsamee had a few shots saved in the following minutes, including some he should have scored from, while at the other end it took a great save from Rossi to keep out Roma in the 71st. A counter-attack in the 78th saw Rungratsamee through on goal after a pass from Lennartsson, but again he had saved what he should have scored from. A Roma free kick moments later was almost deflected into the net, but thankfully Rossi somehow saved it. Rungratsamee finally scored his second in the 81st after a nice run, leaving us 3-1 winners and breaking a four-game streak without a Serie A win. Agliardi regained his spot for our Serie A encounter with Verona. A great long-range curling effort from Lennartsson was barely tipped over in the first few minutes, while Ajide put a similar shot over the bar. We had plenty of shots on goal in the first half, with several parried back into a crowd of players, but all were cleared by the Verona defenders. Agliardi pulled off a great save in the 68th after timid defending saw a Verona player through on goal, but nobody at the other end could take advantage. Lennartsson had nine shots, with seven on target, but couldn’t make any count. A rare scoreless draw for Ancona, made worse with a torn groin muscle putting key defender Darren Purse out for two months. Luckily, another defender is arriving at the start of January (two weeks away). We entered the second leg of our 2nd round Italian Cup tie with Udinese 2-1 up. Sarr replaced the injured Purse, while several other players like Lennartsson and Rungratsamee were rested, as the previous game was only three days earlier. Udinese came forward frequently early, but had little impact. A great little flick-on from Daniele Degano gave Sinama-Pongolle a shot on goal in the 38th, but it was tipped away. A throw-in straight to Munitis seconds into the second half saw the former Spanish international hit the ball into the area for Degano, who squeezed the ball into the net from a tight angle. 3-1 on aggregate, assuring our progression to the quarter final of the Italian Cup (against Vicenza) for the first time during my reign. A match against Milan back in Serie A gave us the chance to show our credentials as serious title challengers. Milan launched an onslaught from the opening whistle, and had a goal within three minutes with a chip. A great pass from Rabito in the 26th put Rungratsamee in a race with a defender for the ball. The Thai striker won out easily, running around the keeper for a simple finish. Milan looked to regain their lead in the 37th, but the goal was ruled offside. Milan had a player sent off just before half time, but continued to attack. It was only thanks to a few simple misses that we stayed level. It meant, though, that we were too busy defending to get forward ourselves. Thus, it was quite surprising to see Rabito charging down the right in the 85th minute. He went close to the goal line while staying wide, as usual, and then flicked a low cross into the area. Somehow it went through a couple of defenders and found Rungratsamee in a bit of space within the six-yard box. He collected the ball and knocked it straight into the net to give Ancona a shock late lead. Agliardi made a crucial save in the 87th and we finished 2-1 winners. We probably didn’t deserve the three points, but that’s the way it goes sometimes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donners Posted April 22, 2004 Author Share Posted April 22, 2004 January, season 2007/2008 I kicked off the new year with two new signings – the arranged transfer of José Julián de la Cuesta for £925K from Atlético Nacional and added in Valéz midfielder Juan MartÃn Pietravallo for slightly more. Striker Ping Loy Solberg joined on a free transfer. I also arranged for England Under-21 goalkeeper Tommy Lee to join on a Bosman at the end of the season. José Julián de la Cuesta [24, D LC, COL – 4/0] de la Cuesta has been a regular at Atlético Nacional for the past four seasons, and has put in generally excellent performances in the Colombian First Division. He seems to be a very talented player, with pace, height, strength and strong defensive skills. There’s plenty of competition for a defensive spot, but he could well be a regular, particularly with Purse out for two months. Juan MartÃn Pietravallo [26, DM C, ARG – Capped at U21 level] A star in the Argentinean Premier Division, Pietravallo arrives for £950K for a regular role in the midfield. He’s not too quick, but is a brilliant shot from long range and is a decent playmaker. A regular role is likely. Ping Loy Solberg [21, S C, NOR – 4 U21/2] Unlike the other two players, Solberg is not expected to immediately step into the first team. He has only played one season at club level, scoring ten goals in 18 games with Rosenborg. He’s very small and not too quick, but with such a good scoring record, he must have some ability. José de la Cuesta and Pietravallo made their debuts against Juventus. Juventus missed plenty of first half shots, but we had few chances at the other end. The pattern continued for much of the second half, but they finally broke away to score in the 83rd. de la Cuesta did well to halt an attack that almost got Juventus their second, but it was too late for us to grab an equaliser. Udinese were our next Serie A opponents. They took the lead in 20 seconds and were 0-2 up after 17 minutes. It wasn’t until the 74th minute that we even had a shot on goal, and then Rungratsamee’s shot was tipped over. El Kadouri, Sinama-Pongolle and Pietravallo had particularly awful games, but it was just a bad team effort overall. Two losses weren’t the ideal lead-in to our Italian Cup quarter final match with Vicenza. The first leg was at home, but this small advantage was outweighed by the loss of Andrea Briotti (injured), Sarr (international duty) and Rabito (suspended). A 33rd minute penalty to Ancona due to a handball was put in by José de la Cuesta, and Rungratsamee made it 2-0 three minutes into the second half. Vicenza pulled one back in the 72nd, but couldn’t prevent us taking a 2-1 aggregate lead into the second leg. José de la Cuesta was superb in defence. Sarr and Briotti were still absent for our second game in a week against Vicenza, this time in Serie A. Rossi continued in goal after coming in for the Italian Cup game. Juan MartÃn Pietravallo was dropped to the bench after three pretty poor performances since joining, but José de la Cuesta held his spot at centre back. It proved to be a good move – within six minutes, he had our first goal. It was a mis-hit pass intended for Rungratsamee, but it counted nonetheless. Rungratsamee put through one of his own ten minutes later and Degano made it 3-0 in the 30th. A classic Ancona move – Rabito running down the right and passing to Rungratsamee, who ran into the area and snuck in a goal from a tight angle – gave us our fourth a few minutes later. The second half was much quieter, with our only decent chance (a shot from Rabito) brilliantly saved. de la Cuesta had another superb game in defence, but Rungratsamee walked away as Man of the Match for his two goals. Our third straight game against Vicenza was the second leg of the Italian Cup quarter final. Rossi was the goalkeeper, as he was for the last two matches against this club. After demolishing them 4-0 and leading by a goal on aggregate, it seemed a safe bet this would be a mere formality in our progression to the semi final. A Vicenza goal in the 23rd, putting them ahead due to their away goal in the last match, ensured that would be an unsuccessful bet. The loss of Lennartsson to injury just before half time did not help, and nor did a 66th minute goal to Vicenza from a free kick. We just needed one goal to level things up, but all we got was an injury to key midfielder Andrea Rabito. An El Kadouri shot from within the area in the dying minutes was brilliantly saved and a third to Vicenza in injury time sealed it. Rungratsamee finally got us one in the final moments, but it was far too late. From a 2-1 win to a 4-1 win to a 1-3 loss in a fortnight, knocking Ancona out of the Italian Cup with a 3-4 aggregate. Unfortunately, we lost coach (and former goalkeeper) Gianluca Pagliuca after the game, with Lecce appointing him as their manager. He had been the Under-20 coach, so Giuseppe Venturelli will have to take over that role. Agliardi regained his goalkeeping spot against Bologna, but the early action was up the other end. Markus Neumayr’s drive was parried, but straight to Rungratsamee. Unfortunately, he couldn’t get a shot through a crowd of players, and the ball was cleared. The first half was scoreless, and the second looked little better. A brilliant curling shot from Lennartsson in the 76th was just barely tipped aside, but a run and close-range shot from substitute Andrea Rabito (playing as a forward) finally saw us get a goal on the board with three minutes to go in regular time. Bologna had a bad miss in injury time, and that one goal was thankfully enough. We ended the month away to Sampdoria. Rungratsamee was rested, with Sinama-Pongolle partnering Pezzarossi. A brilliant run and pass from Rabito gave Pezzarossi a chance mid-way through the first half, but his shot was tipped over the bar. Rabito dominated the half, but his hard work did not result in a goal. The closest he came was with a cross to El Kadouri, whose header hit the upright and bounced clear. Great play from Sinama-Pongolle, holding the ball up in the midfield for over ten seconds to give Pezzarossi time to run free, gave us our first goal in the 71st minute. It turned out to be the only goal of the game, and again one goal was enough for three points to Ancona. I arranged the transfer of Atlanta midfielder Riccardo Montolvio for August after the game, and also signed Norwegian veteran Tommy Bertensen on a free transfer. Tommy Bertensen [34, D C, NOR – 1/0] Signed as a player-coach, Bertensen is a powerful centre back who has spent the last few seasons dominating the Norwegian Premier Division with Lyn. He has the experience and leadership ability to be a useful part of our defence, especially with Purse still out. January was a disappointing month all up, with an exit from the Italian Cup and mixed league form. Pietravallo has been disappointing in his four games, but at least de la Cuesta looks worth his £950K fee. I haven’t re-signed anybody yet and have only arranged two signings for the end of the season, so I will probably have to continue to work on this in the coming months. There’s no complaining about our league position, but there’s still the faint sense it is undeserved. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> | Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | Inter | | 23 | 13 | 8 | 2 | 39 | 18 | +21 | 47 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Roma | | 23 | 14 | 4 | 5 | 38 | 22 | +16 | 46 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Ancona | | 23 | 13 | 6 | 4 | 35 | 20 | +15 | 45 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Juventus | | 23 | 12 | 8 | 3 | 31 | 15 | +16 | 44 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Milan | | 23 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 38 | 26 | +12 | 42 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Udinese | | 23 | 12 | 4 | 7 | 35 | 20 | +15 | 40 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Bologna | | 23 | 12 | 2 | 9 | 35 | 21 | +14 | 38 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Brescia | | 23 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 27 | 24 | +3 | 37 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Perugia | | 23 | 8 | 5 | 10 | 30 | 30 | 0 | 29 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Sampdoria | | 23 | 6 | 11 | 6 | 28 | 29 | -1 | 29 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Palermo | | 23 | 8 | 5 | 10 | 29 | 36 | -7 | 29 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Atalanta | | 23 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 30 | 32 | -2 | 27 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Vicenza | | 23 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 30 | 35 | -5 | 27 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Lazio | | 23 | 7 | 5 | 11 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 26 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Chievo | | 23 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 27 | 34 | -7 | 24 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Piacenza | | 23 | 6 | 5 | 12 | 25 | 43 | -18 | 23 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Fiorentina | | 23 | 4 | 9 | 10 | 24 | 39 | -15 | 21 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | | Reggina | | 23 | 5 | 6 | 12 | 26 | 47 | -21 | 21 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | | Verona | | 23 | 4 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 35 | -16 | 17 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | | Lecce | | 23 | 3 | 6 | 14 | 21 | 41 | -20 | 15 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre> The senior player stats to date follow: <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Pkd | Inf | Name | Apps | Gls | Asts | MoM | Pass | Tck | Drb | Sh Tar | Av R | Value | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | MR | | Rabito, A* | 25 (1) | 3 | 8 | 5 | 54 % | 3.22 | 5.09 | 42 % | 7.54 | £8.25M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | ML | | El Kadouri, B* | 25 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 64 % | 2.27 | 0.95 | 50 % | 7.04 | £4.5M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | DR | Yel | Gyan, C | 25 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 67 % | 4.09 | 0.86 | 33 % | 6.84 | £1.6M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Inj | Zamperini, A | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 71 % | 2.23 | 0.85 | - | 6.80 | £1M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | FC | Req | Rungratsamee, S | 22 (1) | 12 | 5 | 3 | 59 % | 1.06 | 2.40 | 61 % | 7.30 | £5.25M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | DL | | Briotti, A | 22 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 74 % | 2.57 | 0.34 | 100 % | 7.05 | £1.6M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB7 | | Lennartsson, N* | 22 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 68 % | 1.92 | 0.48 | 53 % | 7.23 | £6M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | GK | | Agliardi, F | 21 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 44 % | - | - | - | 7.00 | £1M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | FC | | Pezzarossi, D | 16 (1) | 6 | 3 | 0 | 58 % | 0.56 | 0.21 | 75 % | 6.29 | £1.5M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Inj | Purse, D | 16 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 72 % | 2.97 | 0.25 | 100 % | 7.19 | £1.8M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | MC | Req | Ajide, O | 13 (6) | 0 | 5 | 1 | 67 % | 4.22 | 0.51 | 28 % | 6.79 | £1.9M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB2 | Unh | Neumayr, M | 12 (6) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 76 % | 2.34 | 0.16 | 42 % | 6.83 | £2.3M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Loa | Sinama-Pongolle, F | 10 (1) | 4 | 1 | 0 | 74 % | 1.05 | 0.53 | 87 % | 6.18 | £3.6M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB4 | Wnt | Degano, D | 9 (7) | 5 | 1 | 0 | 78 % | 0.88 | 0.39 | 93 % | 6.50 | £750K | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB5 | | Munitis, P | 8 (8) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 66 % | 1.56 | 1.32 | 40 % | 6.81 | £600K | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Inj | Sarr | 8 (2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 68 % | 2.89 | - | - | 6.70 | £875K | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB3 | | Rossi, G | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 % | - | - | - | 6.13 | £950K | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | DC | | de la Cuesta, J | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 72 % | 2.71 | 0.14 | 100 % | 7.14 | £2M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Adu, F | 5 (7) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 73 % | 1.82 | 1.37 | 40 % | 6.75 | £0 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB6 | | Stendardo, G | 5 (6) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 76 % | 2.38 | 0.17 | 100 % | 6.64 | £925K | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | MC | | Pietravallo, J | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50 % | 3.31 | - | - | 5.50 | £2M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Unh | Redavid, V | 3 (7) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 75 % | 2.28 | 0.69 | - | 6.50 | £1.2M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB1 | | Cassani, M | 3 (5) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 51 % | 1.97 | 0.66 | - | 6.00 | £900K | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Pappalardo, T | 2 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 70 % | 0.38 | - | 100 % | 6.67 | £325K | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Lst | Zavagno, L | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 71 % | 1.62 | - | - | 5.50 | £250K | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Stepanovs, I | 0 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 6.50 | £95K | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | DC | | Berntsen, T | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | ---- | £210K | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donners Posted April 23, 2004 Author Share Posted April 23, 2004 February, season 2007/2008 New signing Tommy Berntsen made his debut at centre back against Chievo. A cross from El Kadouri which floated over a crowd of players in the 8th minute was collected by Rungratsamee thanks to his superior pace, and slammed into the net. The second half was unremarkable, and for the third game in a row we finished 1-0 winners. I arranged for young Parma striker Alex Gibbs to join Ancona at the end of August after the game. Young English midfielder Webb came up after some good form in the Under-20s to start on the bench against Atlanta. Atlanta took the lead after only three minutes, but just a minute after that strikers Sinama-Pongolle and Rungratsamee combined for the latter to make it 1-1. A few chances after that were wasted by Ancona, with Sinama-Pongolle in particular finishing poorly. He made up for it with a great cross to Rabito to put us a goal up in the 59th, but that lead lasted only five minutes, with Atlanta quickly equalising. There was yet another wonderful run down the right from Rabito in the 79th, but while his cross to Lennartsson was met with a powerful drive, the shot was superbly saved. A pass out of defence from Berntsen in the first minute of injury time put Rungratsamee though on goal, but his first shot was parried straight back to him and his second was knocked away. However, this time it was Sinama-Pongolle on the end of it, and he made no mistake from close range. That took us back into the lead with a 3-2 scoreline, and that’s the way it stayed at the end. Perhaps a lucky win, but they all count. Could our five-game Serie A winning streak be extended against Lazio, a side currently struggling in the middle of the table? A 21st minute goal from Sinama-Pongolle after a Rabito corner was a strong answer of “yesâ€, particularly with two brilliant saves from Agliardi just after it. Lazio looked better in the second half, attacking frequently, but the defence – especially new signings Berntsen and de la Cuesta – held up well enough for the 1-0 win. Unfortunately, we lost Supat Rungratsamee to a twisted knee, putting him out for two weeks. While we were certainly in good form, our final match o February presented a challenge. Not only were we without Rungratsamee, we were facing league leaders Inter – two points ahead of us on the table and with wins in their last eight league games. A victory would take us to the top, but a loss would extend the gap significantly. Andrea Rabito took Rungratsamee’s place alongside Sinama-Pongolle, with Adu on the right wing. Agliardi pulled off a great save to deny Inter in the 39th in the scoreless first half. Sinama-Pongolle had a nice curling shot saved late in the second half and put one over moments later. Inter scored from a rare chance in the 82nd, leaving us just eight minutes to try and come back in a game dominated by defenders. It didn’t happen, and we fell five points clear of Inter on the Serie A table. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> | Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | Inter | | 27 | 17 | 8 | 2 | 45 | 19 | +26 | 59 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Juventus | | 27 | 15 | 9 | 3 | 37 | 17 | +20 | 54 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Ancona | | 27 | 16 | 6 | 5 | 40 | 23 | +17 | 54 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Roma | | 27 | 15 | 4 | 8 | 42 | 27 | +15 | 49 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Milan | | 27 | 13 | 9 | 5 | 45 | 29 | +16 | 48 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Bologna | | 27 | 14 | 4 | 9 | 42 | 26 | +16 | 46 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Brescia | | 27 | 12 | 9 | 6 | 36 | 29 | +7 | 45 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Udinese | | 27 | 13 | 5 | 9 | 37 | 23 | +14 | 44 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Sampdoria | | 27 | 9 | 12 | 6 | 36 | 33 | +3 | 39 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Perugia | | 27 | 11 | 5 | 11 | 39 | 34 | +5 | 38 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Palermo | | 27 | 10 | 6 | 11 | 38 | 40 | -2 | 36 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Lazio | | 28 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 44 | 43 | +1 | 32 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Vicenza | | 27 | 8 | 7 | 12 | 35 | 46 | -11 | 31 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Atalanta | | 27 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 37 | 43 | -6 | 30 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Chievo | | 27 | 6 | 11 | 10 | 34 | 37 | -3 | 29 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Piacenza | | 28 | 6 | 7 | 15 | 29 | 53 | -24 | 25 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Fiorentina | | 27 | 5 | 9 | 13 | 29 | 51 | -22 | 24 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | | Reggina | | 27 | 5 | 8 | 14 | 29 | 54 | -25 | 23 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | | Verona | | 27 | 4 | 6 | 17 | 23 | 44 | -21 | 18 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | | Lecce | | 27 | 3 | 7 | 17 | 24 | 50 | -26 | 16 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donners Posted April 24, 2004 Author Share Posted April 24, 2004 March, season 2007/2008 The opening match of the month, against Perugia, saw us take the lead after only six minutes, with Rungratsamee latching onto a stray defensive pass and squeezing it into the net. Perugia hit back in the 30th, and while we should have taken the lead five minutes later after a brilliant pass from Markus Neumayr put Rabito through on goal, Rabito got too close to the keeper and had his shot saved. A counter-attack in the 39th gave Rabito another chance, and while his shot was parried, it went straight to Rungratsamee who hit his second goal of the first half. Perugia scored in similar fashion in the 50th to again draw level, but a corner from Adu to José de la Cuesta three minutes later saw the Colombian’s header parried to Rabito. No mistake this time, making it 3-2. Just a few minutes after that, Rabito ran into the area and flicked a cross to Rungratsamee. The pass was too wide, but Rungratsamee had the pace to collect it before any defenders got there, and the class to put it into the net. A hat-trick to the Thai international and two goals to Ancona in four minutes. Former Ancona striker Christian Bucchi came off the bench for Perugia, and quickly put through a goal in the 80th to make it 4-3. Alessandro Zamperini halted their last-minute attacks, and an attempted pass in injury time from Christian Gyan from the centre circle floated over the goalkeeper and into the net to end the game 5-3. Rabito and Rungratsamee made a great striking pair, and Adu did well enough on the right wing The first half of our game against bottom-placed Lecce was scoreless, in stark contrast to the previous game. Darren Purse returned from injury late in the second half, but had little to do as Lecce rarely went forward. The closest we came to scoring was when Rabito intercepted a weak clearance and fired in a shot, but he only hit the outside of the net. El Kadouri missed a pretty simple chance in the final minutes, and we had to settle for the one point. Pedro Munitis suffered a broken collarbone during the match, putting him out for a month. Another game against a struggling side, this time Fiorentina, followed that disappointing showing. The first half went back and forth for a while, but it was Fiorentina on the board first with a 40th minute goal. Only a few good saves from Agliardi kept them from going two goals up early in the second half, but a long run from Freddy Adu in the 54th minute looked to change things. He was tripped just as he entered the area, and a penalty was awarded. José Julián de la Cuesta stepped up, fired in the penalty…and hit the post. The ball was cleared, and our chance to equalise went begging. Thankfully, Rabito ran around the keeper a few minutes later after a header from Lennartsson, and drilled the ball into the net to level the scores. In the 65th, Rungratsamee repeated the move after a pass from Juan Pietravallo (a rare run after his terrible early form), giving Ancona the lead. We dominated the game from there, with Rabito finally sealing the game with his second goal in injury time. He actually had a chance for a hat-trick in the final seconds of the game, but three times his shot was parried away, and finally it was cleared just before the final whistle. A solid 3-1 win, and we are starting to look like genuine title contenders. Manuel Cattani returned to the side that faced Reggina, five months after suffering a fractured skull. The first half was scoreless and mostly uneventful, and a wild Rungratsamee shot from within the area early in the second didn’t help. A beautiful 55-yard pass from Adu found Rabito close to the goal line, and while he had a go, the angle was just too tight to score from. Reggina, despite being outplayed for most of the game, snuck in a goal in the 65th to take the lead. Rungratsamee should have scored seconds after the kick-off, but his shot from under 10 yards out went well over. Thankfully, we got another chance two minutes later when Rabito was knocked over in the area. Neumayr took the shot…and hit it straight at the goalkeeper, who easily saved it. Another dismal shot from Rungratsamee in the final minutes looked to have cost us our chance of equalising, but an 89th minute run down the right from Rabito saw his cross finally headed in by Rungratsamee. Two minutes into injury time, a Reggina player took the ball forward despite being hugely outnumbered. Manuel Cattani went to tackle him as he went into the area, but the player ran straight past him and at the goal. Agliardi came out just in time to knock the ball away and prevent Reggina from taking back the lead. The final whistle blew moments later, forcing us to settle for one point. Ancona finished March in third spot, but it will take a lot of work to overtake 1st placed Inter, who are seven points clear of us on top. 2nd placed Juventus are also several points ahead. Even if we can’t take the title, we can at least grab a spot in a major European competition, which would be good for both the image and financial state of the club. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terk Posted April 24, 2004 Share Posted April 24, 2004 Ancona to be in the champions league nice going, donners Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donners Posted April 25, 2004 Author Share Posted April 25, 2004 Thanks, but we're not there yet... April, season 2007/2008 April started with the disastrous news that Supat Rungratsamee had suffered a torn groin muscle at training, and would miss two months. He has 19 senior goals this season, and the next best is Rabito with 7. With the season finishing in late May, he may not play another game this season, which is a huge problem. The situation was made worse with a knee injury to Lennartsson (equal third, with 6 goals), putting him out for two weeks. Sinama-Pongolle partnered Andrea Rabito up forward against Piacenza, with Dwight Pezzarossi on international duty. Piacenza took the lead in the 28th and we never really looked capable of scoring ourselves. They put through a second in the final twenty minutes, and though a 74th minute goal to Rabito gave us some hope, Piacenza sealed it with a third in the 85th. A fourth to Piacenza, therefore, just rubbed it in. A 1-4 loss to a side just outside the relegation zone is not a good sign for the remaining two months. Generoso Rossi replaced Agliardi for the game against Brescia. Pezzarossi returned to partner Rabito. Brescia took a 23rd minute lead after a stray defensive pass from Andrea Briotti, and only a few decent saves from Rossi kept them from extending that lead. They did so, however, in the 56th, which meant a 20-yard goal from Neumayr with ten minutes to go was only enough to bring us within one goal. Despite five minutes of injury time, that one goal proved impossible to get. We’re still four points clear of fourth spot, but with five games to go and ten points between us and top spot, it looks like any chance of a title win is gone. I signed two Under-20s defenders after the game – Morgan Neilson for another season and Tse Lung Pappalardo until 2013. Agliardi took back the goalkeeping spot from Rossi against Verona after only one game for the older Italian. With talented English goalkeeper Tommy Lee arriving soon, they need to stake a claim for a regular first team spot, but both have been disappointing lately. The first half was scoreless with few chances at either end, but Verona took the lead ten minutes into the second half. They controlled the game pretty easily from there, putting our third straight loss on the board. I at least arranged the transfer of Sampdorian midfielder Ikechukwu Kalú, due to the fact that Lennartsson and Munitis likely to depart at the end of the season. Our last game of a terrible month was three days later, against Palermo. For once, we took the early lead, thanks to a lovely Adu pass which left Daniele Degano with a fairly simple finish in the 12th. Palermo equalised in the 53rd, curling a shot into the corner of the net. El Kadouri and Pezzarossi combined for the Guatemalan to regain the lead for Ancona four minutes later, with the game sealed in the 75th by a goal from Lennartsson. The 3-1 win should help us hold on to third spot, but there’s only three points in it. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Holders - Juventus | Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | Inter | | 35 | 23 | 10 | 2 | 59 | 23 | +36 | 79 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Juventus | | 35 | 21 | 10 | 4 | 51 | 25 | +26 | 73 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Ancona | | 35 | 19 | 8 | 8 | 54 | 36 | +18 | 65 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Brescia | | 35 | 17 | 11 | 7 | 49 | 34 | +15 | 62 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Milan | | 33 | 17 | 10 | 6 | 56 | 34 | +22 | 61 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Roma | | 35 | 17 | 6 | 12 | 51 | 38 | +13 | 57 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Bologna | | 35 | 15 | 9 | 11 | 51 | 36 | +15 | 54 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Udinese | | 35 | 14 | 8 | 13 | 44 | 32 | +12 | 50 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Sampdoria | | 35 | 12 | 13 | 10 | 43 | 43 | 0 | 49 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Lazio | | 35 | 13 | 6 | 16 | 55 | 50 | +5 | 45 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Palermo | | 35 | 12 | 9 | 14 | 47 | 51 | -4 | 45 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Perugia | | 34 | 12 | 6 | 16 | 47 | 49 | -2 | 42 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Atalanta | | 35 | 9 | 12 | 14 | 48 | 54 | -6 | 39 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Vicenza | | 35 | 10 | 9 | 16 | 40 | 57 | -17 | 39 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Chievo | | 34 | 8 | 13 | 13 | 44 | 45 | -1 | 37 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Reggina | | 35 | 8 | 11 | 16 | 36 | 60 | -24 | 35 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Piacenza | | 35 | 8 | 10 | 17 | 38 | 62 | -24 | 34 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | | Verona | | 35 | 7 | 8 | 20 | 32 | 51 | -19 | 29 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | | Fiorentina | | 35 | 6 | 11 | 18 | 33 | 69 | -36 | 29 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | | Lecce | | 35 | 5 | 10 | 20 | 30 | 59 | -29 | 25 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terk Posted April 26, 2004 Share Posted April 26, 2004 i was merely showing my confidence in you, donners the loss of Rungratsamee seems to have hit you hard. really hope you can hold brescia off, if only for the financial benefit that the CL would bring Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donners Posted April 26, 2004 Author Share Posted April 26, 2004 Actually, money is never that much of a problem for me due to the fact that I...well, never actually spend it, but I suppose a few extra pounds couldn't hurt my relations with the board. May, season 2007/2008 Our third-last game of the season was against Roma. Both sides had their chances in the first half, but it ended without a goal. The second half looked like being the same, but a corner gave Roma the first of the game with only ten minutes of regular time left. Those ten minutes went without an answer from Ancona, which allowed 4th placed Brescia to draw level on points. We are ahead only by one goal of goal difference, with two games to go. I re-signed scout Julian Carrera and coaches Giacomo Tafuro, Giannicola Pinotti and Udalrico Tretter. I also signed former Bulgarian international Daniel Borimirov as a coach. A tough match against Milan was our second-last of the season. Rabito made a wonderful run from the middle of the pitch in the 6th, but his shot was saved. At the other end, Milan from a scramble in their area two minutes later, knocking us down to 4th on the live table. A penalty shortly into the second half made it 0-2, and a third to Milan in the 67th ended it. A Purse own goal in the 80th made things even worse, if that was possible. Another dismal performance from Ancona, which is in incredible contrast to our form for most of the season. We actually dropped below Milan as well as Brescia, leaving us in fifth spot. A broken jaw suffered by Andrea Rabito made our task of winning the final game of the season even harder. Darren Purse suffered a torn groin muscle just before our final game, joining Rungratsamee and Rabito on the sidelines. That final game was at home to Juventus, the second-placed side in Serie A. The first half was utterly uneventful, but the second half took a horrible turn, with Daniele Degano receiving two yellow cards after arguing with the referee. An attempt to attack despite having only ten men on the pitch served only to give Juventus a goal in the 76th, and 0-1’s the way it stayed at the end. A dismal finish to the season overshadowed what was actually an excellent season for the club. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mario Posted April 27, 2004 Share Posted April 27, 2004 Poor end to a season, what an unlucky streak. But finishing this high is still a great feat for the humble Ancona. What are your expectations for the next year? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donners Posted April 28, 2004 Author Share Posted April 28, 2004 I'm not really sure at this point. It's hard to tell which part of the season was reflective of our true strength, but I'd say that a top-7 finish would be appropriate next season. A lot depends on the fitness and form of Rabito and Rungratsamee, not to mention any pre-season transfers that may occur. The season in review Summary <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Holders - Inter | Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | C | Inter | | 38 | 25 | 11 | 2 | 64 | 25 | +39 | 86 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Juventus | | 38 | 22 | 11 | 5 | 52 | 29 | +23 | 77 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Brescia | | 38 | 19 | 12 | 7 | 52 | 34 | +18 | 69 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Milan | | 38 | 18 | 12 | 8 | 64 | 41 | +23 | 66 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Ancona | | 38 | 19 | 8 | 11 | 54 | 42 | +12 | 65 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Roma | | 38 | 19 | 7 | 12 | 53 | 38 | +15 | 64 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Bologna | | 38 | 16 | 10 | 12 | 53 | 40 | +13 | 58 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Udinese | | 38 | 15 | 9 | 14 | 45 | 35 | +10 | 54 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Palermo | | 38 | 15 | 9 | 14 | 53 | 52 | +1 | 54 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Perugia | | 38 | 15 | 7 | 16 | 55 | 50 | +5 | 52 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Lazio | | 38 | 14 | 8 | 16 | 59 | 51 | +8 | 50 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Sampdoria | | 38 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 46 | 48 | -2 | 50 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Atalanta | | 38 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 52 | 56 | -4 | 43 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Vicenza | | 38 | 11 | 9 | 18 | 43 | 63 | -20 | 42 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Chievo | | 38 | 9 | 14 | 15 | 47 | 52 | -5 | 41 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Reggina | | 38 | 9 | 11 | 18 | 38 | 62 | -24 | 38 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Piacenza | | 38 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 41 | 67 | -26 | 37 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | R | Fiorentina | | 38 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 40 | 72 | -32 | 35 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | R | Verona | | 38 | 7 | 8 | 23 | 33 | 56 | -23 | 29 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | R | Lecce | | 38 | 5 | 12 | 21 | 31 | 62 | -31 | 27 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre> <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">5th in Italian Serie A Squad Screen | Pkd | Inf | Name | Apps | Gls | Asts | MoM | Pass | Tck | Drb | Sh Tar | Av R | Value | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | ML | | El Kadouri, B* | 39 (1) | 2 | 8 | 0 | 65 % | 2.70 | 1.11 | 55 % | 7.03 | £5.25M | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | DR | | Gyan, C | 39 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 65 % | 4.06 | 0.99 | 50 % | 6.72 | £1.4M | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Inj | Rabito, A* | 38 (1) | 8 | 12 | 7 | 56 % | 2.78 | 4.69 | 46 % | 7.51 | £8M | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | GK | | Agliardi, F | 35 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 41 % | - | - | - | 6.94 | £950K | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | DL | | Briotti, A | 33 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 72 % | 2.37 | 0.48 | 100 % | 6.88 | £1.7M | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | DC | | Zamperini, A | 33 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 70 % | 2.12 | 0.74 | - | 6.64 | £850K | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | MC | | Lennartsson, N* | 32 (1) | 7 | 2 | 1 | 68 % | 2.80 | 0.59 | 52 % | 7.18 | £6M | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Inj | Rungratsamee, S | 29 (1) | 19 | 6 | 4 | 58 % | 0.97 | 2.74 | 61 % | 7.50 | £5.75M | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB6 | Unh | Neumayr, M | 23 (7) | 1 | 3 | 0 | 75 % | 2.76 | 0.08 | 50 % | 6.80 | £2.3M | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | FC | | Pezzarossi, D | 21 (1) | 7 | 4 | 0 | 61 % | 0.57 | 0.46 | 79 % | 6.32 | £2.9M | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Inj | Purse, D | 20 (3) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 71 % | 2.82 | 0.24 | 100 % | 7.00 | £1.2M | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | MR | | Adu, F | 18 (9) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 67 % | 2.52 | 1.86 | 40 % | 6.74 | £0 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | DC | | de la Cuesta, J | 18 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 73 % | 2.45 | 0.18 | 80 % | 7.06 | £2.2M | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB4 | Loa | Sinama-Pongolle, F | 16 (3) | 6 | 3 | 0 | 75 % | 0.93 | 0.60 | 67 % | 6.05 | £3.2M | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB2 | Req | Ajide, O | 15 (12) | 0 | 5 | 1 | 65 % | 3.70 | 0.40 | 37 % | 6.59 | £1.4M | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | MC | Wnt | Munitis, P | 12 (10) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 65 % | 1.97 | 1.32 | 47 % | 6.73 | £525K | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | FC | Wnt | Degano, D | 11 (12) | 6 | 1 | 0 | 76 % | 0.77 | 0.31 | 85 % | 6.30 | £425K | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB5 | | Berntsen, T | 10 (1) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 69 % | 1.83 | - | 100 % | 6.91 | £150K | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB1 | | Sarr | 9 (2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 66 % | 2.90 | 0.11 | - | 6.73 | £1.3M | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB3 | | Rossi, G | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 % | - | - | - | 6.22 | £1.1M | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Pietravallo, J | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 58 % | 2.79 | 0.33 | - | 6.00 | £1.8M | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Stendardo, G | 5 (7) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 76 % | 2.49 | 0.17 | 100 % | 6.58 | £925K | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB7 | Unh | Redavid, V | 3 (8) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 73 % | 2.65 | 0.61 | - | 6.55 | £1.3M | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Wnt | Cassani, M | 3 (5) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 51 % | 1.97 | 0.66 | - | 6.00 | £925K | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Unh | Cattani, M | 2 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 58 % | 4.03 | 1.79 | - | 7.00 | £1.1M | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Wnt | Pappalardo, T | 2 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 70 % | 0.38 | - | 100 % | 6.67 | £750K | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Wnt | Zavagno, L | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 71 % | 1.62 | - | - | 5.50 | £120K | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Unh | Stepanovs, I | 0 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 6.50 | £45K | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Unh | Nossa, D | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 6.00 | £525K | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre> I’m not quite sure what to think of this season. On the one hand, our final league position of 5th (taking us into the UEFA Cup) is an incredible achievement, considering we were in Serie B only two years ago, and had to cope with three stars leaving last year – not to mention an unhappy top striker. Nonetheless, it was certainly a terrible finish. We lost 11 games for the season, and six of those came in our last seven games. Yes, some were against some tough sides like Milan, Juventus and Brescia, but also sides towards the bottom of the table like Verona and Piacenza. Losing to them in the run home is unacceptable for a side on track for a top-3 finish. Freddy Adu at least finally became a regular in the side, and Rungratsamee continued his fine scoring record despite being unhappy. Our lack of striking depth was exposed late in the season, but for the rest of the time we looked strong enough overall to be one of the better sides in Serie A. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donners Posted April 28, 2004 Author Share Posted April 28, 2004 Wrapping it up Supat Rungratsamee was the runner-up in the Serie A Young Player of the Year award – curiously, with two fewer goals in four more games than last season, where he didn’t get a mention. Andrea Rabito finished second in the Serie A Italian Player of the year award. I arranged the signing of Senegalese international striker Papa Waigo for August, with Degano and Sinama-Pongolle set to leave the club soon. Young Danish left back Hélio Frimann joined on a free transfer as a likely rotational player for next season, and was followed by English midfielder Alexander McGowan as a long-term prospect. I brought in a dozen young players on trials, but the only players I wound up signing were midfielder Gustavo Crane (from Arsenal) and striker Narimon O’Brien (Derby). Happily, Markus Neumayr has now apparently settled in Italy, which should hopefully see better performances from him next season. Around the world: major awards and results Ancona Supporters’ Player of the Year: Supat Rungratsamee World Player of the Year: Patrick Viera (Arsenal) World Footballer of the year: Ashley Cole (Arsenal) England: Arsenal Spain: Barcelona Champions Cup: Arsenal UEFA Cup: Dortmund Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donners Posted April 29, 2004 Author Share Posted April 29, 2004 The Transfers Transfers In <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Date | Person | From | Fee | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17.6.2007 | Tait, Jugurta | Free Transfer | Free | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19.6.2007 | McGowan | Free Transfer | Free | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20.6.2007 | Webb | Free Transfer | Free | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20.6.2007 | Guillou, Mohammed | Free Transfer | Free | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 22.6.2007 | Krause | Free Transfer | Free | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 22.6.2007 | White, Sobir | Free Transfer | Free | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1.7.2007 | Neumayr, Markus | Arsenal | £1.7M | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2.7.2007 | Rossi, Generoso | Udinese | £150K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15.7.2007 | Purse, Darren | Birmingham | Free | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 21.8.2007 | Gyan, Christian | Feyenoord | Free | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1.1.2008 | de la Cuesta, José Julián | Atlético Nacional | £925K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1.1.2008 | Pietravallo, Juan MartÃn | Vélez | £950K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6.1.2008 | Solberg, Ping Loy | Free Transfer | Free | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 31.1.2008 | Berntsen, Tommy | Lyn | Free | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10.6.2008 | Frimann, Hélio | Free Transfer | Free | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11.6.2008 | McGowan, Alexander | Free Transfer | Free | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18.6.2008 | Crane, Gustavo | Free Transfer | Free | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19.6.2008 | O'Brien, Narimon | Free Transfer | Free | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Total | | £3.7M | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre> Transfers Out <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Date | Person | To | Fee | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 22.6.2007 | Cignacco, Luca | Free Transfer | Free | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 22.6.2007 | Chiaramida, Carmelo| Free Transfer | Free | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 22.6.2007 | Savini, Andrea | Free Transfer | Free | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 22.6.2007 | De Falco, Andrea | Free Transfer | Free | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 22.6.2007 | Zangaro, Domenico | Free Transfer | Free | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 30.6.2007 | Grabbi, Corrado | Free Transfer | Free | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 30.6.2007 | Pandev, Goran | Free Transfer | Free | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 30.6.2007 | Sommese, Vincenzo | Free Transfer | Free | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3.7.2007 | De Nicolò, Enzo | Free Transfer | Free | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3.7.2007 | Del Vecchio, Angelo| Free Transfer | Free | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3.7.2007 | Donzelli, Elia | Free Transfer | Free | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3.7.2007 | Rossini, Leonardo | Free Transfer | Free | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 31.7.2007 | Reid, Amor | Free Transfer | Free | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 31.7.2007 | Chadwick, Luke | Free Transfer | Free | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 31.7.2007 | Bucchi, Christian | Free Transfer | Free | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1.8.2007 | Vucinic, Mirko | Wolfsburg | Free | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1.8.2007 | Carlos Henrique | Bari | Free | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 28.8.2007 | Manini, Francesco | Free Transfer | Free | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20.10.2007 | D'Ascanio, Samuel | Free Transfer | Free | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 24.11.2007 | Dominici, Diego | Free Transfer | Free | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Total | | £0 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre> Loans In <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Date | Person | From | Fee | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 21.8.2007 | Sinama-Pongolle, Florent | Liverpool | Loan | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Total | | £0 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | </pre> Loans Out <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Date | Person | To | Fee | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 28.8.2007 | Vianello, Marco | Reggiana | Loan | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19.1.2008 | Fusco, Alessandro | Crotone | Loan | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Total | | £0 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre> Staff In <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Date | Person | From | Fee | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5.5.2008 | Borimirov, Daniel | Free Transfer | £0 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Total | | £0 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre> An interesting season for transfers. I don’t often spend money on purchases, but in 07/08 I forked out £3.7M. De la Cuesta looks to be a good signing, but Pietravallo was particularly disappointing. Markus Neumayr had a terrible start, especially considering his expensive fee, but did show a bit more in the second half of the season. Darren Purse was probably the best of the new arrivals, becoming a regular in defence and first-choice captain, and fellow free transfer signing Gyan did fairly well. Rossi was okay for his price. Of the young players, Webb and White showed some good signs, though it’s too early to tell. My signing of Norwegian striker Ping Loy Solberg to a long-term contract looks to be a huge mistake, with the player already requesting a transfer. The losses of Chadwick, Sommese and Bucchi didn’t have as much impact as I would have expected, though we did look a bit weak up front. The others were just deadwood. The loan of Sinama-Pongolle didn’t go too badly, but our loans out proved nothing. 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Donners Posted April 30, 2004 Author Share Posted April 30, 2004 Pre-Season 2008/2009 The arrival of £5.5M TV rights took Ancona’s bank balance up to over £20M – not a bad effort considering I started with £2.5M. I was given a £7M transfer budget and told by the board to cement a “respectable league position†this season. The fans expect a title challenge, but what do they know? Incidentally, my board is “absolutely thrilled with the level of commitment†I show the club, which sounds nice. Goalkeeper Tommy Lee arrived from Ipswich as planned. I finally managed to re-sign Nordin Lennartsson just weeks before his contract expired. I took an offer of £10.75K per week, which is rather excessive, but he has been one of our better players in recent years. Unfortunately, Rungratsamee rejected a similar offer. This is his last year on his current contract, and it may be his last at Ancona thanks to a bug which made him unhappy. Trust me, he’s no unhappier than I am about this game… There were more problems with a young star to come – Freddie Adu began demanding a new contract. Not only did he want six times his current wage (£5.75K), he only wanted it for one season despite being contracted for three. He rejected my offer of a moderate wage increase, so this could prove to be a problem… I grabbed 16-year-old forward Takayasu Baggio only a few weeks after he came up through Messina’s youth set-up. It cost me £150K in compensation, but he looks to have promise. With three new youth players (two signed at the end of last season), I cleared out a number of young players from the Under-20s. Marco Leonelli was the only one to have played at senior level. Incidentally, former Ancona player Davide Carrus, who was sold to Piacenza in 05/06 for £450K was bought by Palermo over the pre-season…for £4M. Naturally, he didn’t have a sell-on clause. Our first friendly was against Genoa. This took place before four new players arrived (at the start of August), so it was mostly just for a bit of match fitness. Neumayr missed a penalty in the scoreless draw. I signed coach Stéphane Wiertelak and Scottish striker Belhassen Gardiner (as a rotational player) after the game. I also re-signed Pedro Munitis on a slightly reduced wage for an additional season. There was one big signing before the arrival of four players at the start of August – veteran Jon Dahl Tomasson on a one-year contract. He’s a decent forward, but an even better coach, and has in fact been signed as a player/coach, hopefully becoming a specialist coach at the end of the season. Forward Daniele Degano and defender Igors Stepanovs were released at the end of August. Forwards Alex Gibbs and Papa Waigo and midfielders Ikechukwu Kalú and Riccardo Montolvio arrived to take their places. Since I have so many new players this season, I’ll skip ahead to the Squad section and cover the remaining friendlies (and any transfers) in “Augustâ€. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donners Posted May 1, 2004 Author Share Posted May 1, 2004 The Squad <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Pkd | Inf | Name | Squad Status | Basic Wage | Contract Expiry | Offer Options | Asking Price | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | MR | | Rabito, A* | Key Player | £13,250 | 31.7.2009 | None | £6.5M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | FC | Req | Rungratsamee, S | Key Player | £5,750 | 31.7.2009 | None | £6.25M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | GK | Wnt | Agliardi, F | First Team | £7,000 | 31.7.2010 | None | £1M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | DL | | Briotti, A | First Team | £7,500 | 31.7.2011 | None | £1.7M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Gibbs, A | First Team | £2,800 | 31.7.2011 | None | £3.1M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | DR | | Gyan, C | First Team | £5,000 | 31.7.2010 | None | £1.5M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | MC | | Lennartsson, N* | First Team | £10,750 | 31.7.2011 | None | £6M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | MC | | Montolivo, R | First Team | £4,000 | 31.7.2011 | None | £3.5M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB4 | | Neumayr, M | First Team | £4,600 | 31.7.2010 | None | £2.3M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | FC | | Papa Waigo | First Team | £4,000 | 31.7.2011 | None | £3.9M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | DC | | Purse, D | First Team | £5,000 | 31.7.2009 | None | £1.2M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Tomasson, J | First Team | £7,500 | 31.7.2009 | None | £1.1M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB1 | | Zamperini, A | First Team | £3,000 | 31.7.2009 | None | £700K | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Int | Ajide, O | Rotation | £2,400 | 31.7.2009 | None | £100K | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB2 | | Berntsen, T | Rotation | £2,500 | 31.7.2010 | None | £150K | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | ML | | El Kadouri, B* | Rotation | £5,500 | 31.7.2010 | None | £5.25M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Int | Frimann, H | Rotation | £1,700 | 31.7.2011 | None | £825K | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB6 | | Gardiner, B | Rotation | £3,500 | 31.7.2011 | None | £2.5M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB5 | Lmp | Kalù, I | Rotation | £3,000 | 31.7.2012 | None | £3.1M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB7 | | Lee, T | Rotation | £2,800 | 31.7.2012 | None | £1.1M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Munitis, P | Rotation | £6,000 | 31.7.2009 | None | £300K | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Pezzarossi, D | Rotation | £4,000 | 31.7.2009 | None | £2.2M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Pietravallo, J | Rotation | £2,000 | 31.7.2012 | None | £1.8M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Sarr | Rotation | £4,000 | 31.7.2009 | None | £1.4M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Stendardo, G | Rotation | £975 | 31.7.2009 | None | £925K | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | DC | | de la Cuesta, J | Rotation | £2,400 | 31.7.2012 | None | £2.4M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB3 | Int | Adu, F | Backup | £925 | 31.7.2011 | None | £4.7M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Loa | Cassani, M | Backup | £2,500 | 31.7.2010 | None | £925K | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Unh | Cattani, M | Backup | £825 | 31.7.2009 | None | £1.1M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Unh | Nossa, D | Backup | £650 | 31.7.2009 | None | £550K | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Req | Potenza, A | Backup | £2,200 | 31.7.2010 | None | £625K | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Loa | Rossi, G | Backup | £3,000 | 31.7.2010 | None | £1.1M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Loa | Vianello, M | Backup | £925 | 31.7.2009 | None | £900K | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Req | Pappalardo, T | Hot Prospect | £350 | 31.7.2013 | None | £800K | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre> Total Players: 58 Wage Budget: £180,000 Total Weekly Wages at 3/8/08: £138,861 Goalkeepers Federico Agliardi [25, GK, ITA – Capped at U21 level] – 3, 103, 0 An exceptional start to the season from our #1 goalkeeper helped set us up for a high league finish, though his form did drop away later on. The arrival of Tommy Lee puts him under a bit of pressure, but he will be part of the first team squad. Tommy Lee [22, GK, ENG – Capped at U21 level] A talented young player who began his career at Manchester United, playing one senior game, before moving to Ipswich in 05/06. He played eighteen senior games there in the Premier Division, and looked quite solid. Handling-wise Agliardi (and Rossi and Ferrari) are better, but Lee is very strong and agile in the air. He will get his chance. Generoso Rossi [29, GK, ITA] – 1, 9, 0 After some fairly mediocre performances last season, Rossi moves down to third-choice keeper. He probably won’t get much of a go, and it would be nice if a club would take him on loan. Daniel Ferrari [19, GK, ITA – 1 U21/0] – 2, 3, 0 A solid season in the Under-20s and an Italian Under-21 cap suggests this young player could go far. He will have another season in the Under-20s due to our goalkeeping strength. Defenders Tommy Berntsen [34, D C, NOR – 2/1] – 1, 11, 0 Though signed mostly as a coach, Berntsen has enough ability to be a regular part of our defence. He looked good last season, and despite nearing the end of his career should still be a solid performer. Andrea Briotti [22, Sw/D LC, ITA – Capped at U21 level] – 2, 37, 1 A pretty solid season from Briotti in what was really his first full one as a regular senior player. His form dipped in the last few months, but so did that of most players. His role will drop a bit with a so much competition at the back, but he should still be a regular. 06/07 Serie A Young Player of the Year Mattia Cassani [24, D RC, ITA – Capped at U21 level] – 3, 64, 0 Fell out of the senior side last season and looks unlikely to regain his spot. Manuel Cattani [23, D RC, ITA – Capped at U21 level] – 3, 36, 1 Missed most of last season with a fractured skull, and then struggled to hold down a senior spot when he came back. He’s been a fairly decent player for Ancona, but needs strong performances when given a chance to play regularly. José Julián de la Cuesta [25, D LC, COL – 10/1] – 1, 18, 2 One of the few purchases to actually look worth his cost. He’s a talented defender who should be a regular part of the side this season. Hélio Frimann [21, D L, DEN – 1 U21/0] Despite having an exceptional record with FC Copenhagen in his only season of club football, Frimann does not look as talented as I’d expected. He’s quite small and doesn’t have a lot of pace. His crossing skills are excellent though, so hopefully he will run forward on occasion to use them. May not get much senior football. Christian Gyan [29, D R, GHA – 26/1] – 1, 39, 1 A quite consistent season at right back last season, which is all I really wanted. There are plenty of options for right back, but Gyan is currently the first choice. Darren Purse [31, D C, ENG] – 1, 23, 2 Despite losing much of his season to injury, Purse looked like our best defender. He was strong, powerful and cut out numerous attacks. Hopefully he will play the same role this season. Sarr [24, D RC, SEN – 28/0] – 2, 45, 2 Though he played reasonably well when he got the chance, Sarr didn’t get much of a run last season. I’ll try to give him more of a go this season, but it’s hard with so many useful defenders. Part of World Cup 2006 winners Senegal Guglielmo Stendardo [27, D C, ITA] – 2, 27, 0 Though fairly highly rated by my coaches, Stendardo’s two seasons of mediocre performances make it hard for him to get a regular run with so much competition. This could be his last season here. Alessandro Zamperini [25, D LC, ITA] – 3, 76, 0 Though he played 33 games in 07/08, Zamperini was actually fairly disappointing. His performances in April and May were very bad, and if that form continues he may well lose his spot – not to mention a chance of a new contract. Midfielders Freddy Adu [19, AM/F RC, USA – 22/1] – 5, 63, 1 Finally played a full season last year, but did not have quite the same impact on the right wing I’d hoped for. He’s demanding a new contract, and may well have a reduced role this season. Olasunkanmi Akande Ajide [22, DM RC, NGA – 2/0] – 2, 35, 0 Despite being upset at the competition for a spot in the midfield, Ajide managed some decent performances last season. Still, he dropped away after a solid start, and won’t get much chance this season with even more midfielders at the club. Badr El Kadouri [27, AM L, MAR – 17/2] – 3, 108, 6 One of our most consistent players, El Kadouri has a bit more of a fight for the left wing this season, but has done enough to be the first choice. Ikechukwu Kalú [24, AM RLC, NGA – 1/0] An interesting signing, who spent most of his time at Sampdoria without doing much, Kalú could play a regular role on the right wing. He isn’t too quick, but possesses excellent ball control and generally looks to be a classy player. Nordin Lennartsson [25, AM C, SWE – 4/1] – 3, 92, 12 Finally re-signed, albeit for rather excessive wages, Lennartsson should continue to be a key member of our midfield. Many of the new signings are slightly sluggish, so they will be best partnered with the lightning-quick Lennartsson. Riccardo Montolivo [23, AM LC, ITA – Capped at U21 level] Probably the hottest of our new signings, Montolivo comes over after six seasons at Atlanta – though most were spent on loan. He showed enough in Serie B to suggest he’s a talent, and looks to have exceptional ball skills. He should get a regular role. Pedro Munitis [33, AM/F LC, ESP – 21/2] – 3, 77, 5 A reasonably solid season was enough for the veteran to get a one-year extension on his contract. He will face plenty of competition, but could still contribute when required. Markus Neumayr [22, M C, GER – Capped at U21 level] – 1, 30, 1 After a particularly disappointing start, Neumayr started to look good towards the middle of the season – though not £1.7M good. He looks to have lost a bit of pace over Summer, and will need to work hard to retain his place in the side. Juan MartÃn Pietravallo [26, DM C, ARG – Capped at U21 level] – 1, 7, 0 Had a simply dismal start to his time at Ancona, and did not improve greatly over the next few games. He’s contracted for four more years, so he will get a chance, but he must show more than last year. Andrea Rabito [28, F RLC, ITA] – 3, 105, 26 Had an exceptional season on both the right wing and, later in the season, up forward. Our much-improved forward depth seems to suggest he would be best on the wing this season, and though I prefer him as a forward, I have no doubt he will do well there. This is the last year of his current contract, and after the wages he demanded to re-sign last time, it could be very costly to keep him here any longer… Forwards Belhassen Gardiner [25, S C, SCO] Signed after a brief trial, Gardiner is an interesting player. He was released by Celtic after only one season and was picked up by Fulham. He helped them get promoted from the First Division, but then lost favour to the point of being loaned out to Third Division side Wrexham. He dominated there before being released and joining Ancona. He’s slow, weak and small, but possesses exceptional shooting skills from long-range, up-close and the penalty spot. I’m not sure how much of a role he will play this season – it depends on his performances and the form of others. Alex Gibbs [24, S C, ITA] Like Gardiner, Gibbs is fairly slow, but is much stronger in the air. He played occasionally for Parma, but never really showed a great deal for them. Gibbs will get more of a go here, but will have to perform well early. Papa Waigo [24, F LC, SEN – 7/2] Another new forward, Waigo is also fairly slow but is excellent when it comes to headers. He showed some good signs with Verona, and should be a reasonably regular player here. Dwight Pezzarossi [28, S C, GUA – 24/12] – 2, 33, 8 Another disappointing year for the striker, which was why I signed so many new forwards. He still looks fairly talented, but just hasn’t produced on the pitch. This is almost certainly his last season here. Supat Rungratsamee [20, S C, THA – 15/7] – 4, 73, 50 The stats say it all. A key young player who will likely be gone at the end of the season thanks to a bug. Supporters’ Player of the Year 06/07, 07/08 2007 Serie A Top Goalscorer runner-up 2008 Serie A Young Player of the Year runner-up Jon Dahl Tomasson [31, F C, DEN– 85/37] The only really proven player of our new strikers (and even then his age suggests that past performances may not mean much), Tomasson comes over on a one-season contract more for his coaching skills than his playing ability. He hasn’t played much since joining Newcastle for £2.2M in 05/06, but may get a decent run here. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donners Posted May 2, 2004 Author Share Posted May 2, 2004 All Up… On paper, this is our strongest squad yet. We have plenty of depth in all areas of the pitch. In defence and midfield, in particular, there’s a number of very useful players who may not get a game simply because there is so much competition for a spot. Goalkeeping is also a particularly strong area, with at least three players who could be capable of being a successful #1, and a talented youngster who could well fill that role in the near future. Striking is the biggest concern, with a mostly unproven line-up led by an unhappy young player. However, with five options to partner Rungratsamee, I’m sure one will eventually work out. The Likely Side: (Playing with a 4-4-2) GK – Federico Agliardi LB – Andrea Briotti CB – Darren Purse CB – José Julián de la Cuesta RB – Christian Gyan LM – Badr El Kadouri CM – Nordin Lennartsson CM – Riccardo Montolivo RM – Andrea Rabito CF – Papa Waigo CF – Supat Rungratsamee Sub – Pedro Munitis Sub – Markus Neumayr Sub – Ikechukwu Kalú Sub – Tommy Lee Sub – Tommy Berntsen Sub – Alessandro Zamperini Sub – Freddy Adu The Staff Giacomo Tafuro (Assistant Manager) Gilberto Vallesi (Coach) Roberto Bocchino (Coach) Roberto Corti (Coach) Giannicola Pinotti (Coach) Giuseppe Venturelli (Coach) Udalrico Tretter (Coach) Paulo Roberto Zanon (Coach) Tommy Berntsen (Coach) Daniel Borimirov (Coach) Stéphane Wiertelak (Coach) Jon Dahl Tomasson (Coach) Salvatore Gnisci (Physio) Massimo D’Ambrosio (Physio) David Jarrett (Scout) Rob Campkin (Scout) Julian Carrera (Scout) Tim Davies (Scout) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donners Posted May 3, 2004 Author Share Posted May 3, 2004 August, season 2008/2009 Our first friendly match of the month saw a solid 3-0 win against ForlÃ. Andrea Rabito gave us an early lead, and Arthur and Alex Gibbs added to it with a goal apiece in the final 20 minutes. Lennartsson and Briotti were particularly impressive. That match turned out to be goalkeeper Federico Agliardi’s last for the club. I received an offer of £925K for him from Napoli and agreed to the deal. With such depth in the goalkeeping department, it seems a reasonably safe move. Tommy Lee will take over as the #1 goalkeeper, with Rossi on the bench. A goal to Ikechukwu Kalú gave us a 1-0 win against non-league Italian club Gubbio. It wasn’t the most convincing performance, but Lennartsson and Neumayr looked good in the middle. We continued our good start to the season, defeating Cesena 2-0. Purse and Rabito scored the goals in the first half, with Lennartsson yet again playing well in the middle. Tommy Lee let through his first goal in five games against Vis Pesaro, but goals to Tomasson, Papa Waigo and Pietravallo gave us a 3-1 win. I re-signed goalkeeper Daniel Ferrari until 2013 after the game. Our final friendly was against Chieto. It took until the final ten minutes, but a goal from Papa Waigo gave us the 1-0 win. A promising start to the season, with five wins and a draw from six games (albeit against fairly weak opponents). There was even better news after the game, with Freddy Adu agreeing to a five-year deal for £3.5K per week. If only Rungratsamee would do the same… Finally on to the real stuff. Our only Serie A game of August was against Atlanta. Lennartsson was suspended, Adu was away on international duty, Tomasson had suffered a groin strain and was not yet recovered while Rungratsamee had a minor chest injury. Rungratsamee started on the bench, with debuting strikers Alex Gibbs and Papa Waigo pairing up, with Neumayr replacing Lennartsson in the middle. Rabito gave us the lead in the 6th, his shot after a long run deflecting off the goalkeeper and into the net. Atlanta had most of the play from there, but Tommy Lee and the defenders kept them from scoring in the first half. It took them only five minutes to equalise in the second half, but a wonderful clearance from Lee four minutes later sent Papa Waigo on a run past the defence. He made it into the area and scored in almost identical fashion to Rabito – a shot at the end of the run deflecting off the keeper and into the net. Rabito went off injured after that, which gave Ikechukwu Kalú his senior debut on the right wing. Badr El Kadouri and substitute Pedro Munitis had shots saved when they really should have scored, but the one goal was enough for win in our first match of the season. Lee and Waigo looked particularly good on debut, but Rabito will miss two weeks with a shoulder injury. We drew OFK Beograd in the UEFA Cup, with the first leg to be played away in late September. That’s probably one of the best possible draws for Ancona, so hopefully we will take advantage of it. Daniel Ferrari went out on loan to Serie B side Cagliari just before the transfer window closed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donners Posted May 5, 2004 Author Share Posted May 5, 2004 September, season 2008/2009 It was a fortnight before our next match, which was at home to Bologna. Rungratsamee and Lennartsson started on the pitch, unlike the previous game. A knock to Rungratsamee and yellow card to Rabito in the first 10 minutes was not the ideal start, but Tommy Lee brightened things up with a brilliant save. Rungratsamee went off mid-way through the first half, replaced by Gibbs. Waigo badly missed a shot on goal just before the end of the scoreless half. The second half was uneventful, with Tommy Lee Man of the Match in the scoreless draw. Belhassen Gardiner made his senior Ancona debut against Reggina. A wonderful long pass from Gardiner gave Rungratsamee an early shot on goal, but he failed to get around the goalkeeper and the ball was knocked aside. He gave him another chance in the 16th, but this time was close enough for a one-two. Rungratsamee’s pass across the area gave him enough time to tap the ball in from close range for a goal on debut. Twenty minutes later, Rabito came forward but was tacked on the edge of the area. The ball spilled ahead, and a volley from Gardiner snuck through a posse of defenders and went into the net for his second. A cross from Rabito a few minutes into the second half found the head of Nordin Lennartsson for our third. Jon Dahl Tomasson made his Ancona debut late in the game, but had little to do as the game finished 3-0. Our first UEFA Cup game took place next. I had, unfortunately, not registered Gardiner in the 25-man squad, so Papa Waigo partnered Rungratsamee. In under 90 seconds, those two combined for our first goal, with Rungratsamee heading in a Waigo cross. OFK Belograd equalised in the 34th, and only a good save from Lee six minutes later kept them from taking the lead. An OFK goal thirty seconds into the second half was ruled offside, and five minutes later we took advantage, with Neumayr slamming in a goal from outside the area after a pass from Waigo. Moments later, Waigo put through one of his own after a great run, taking us to a 3-1 away lead. That’s the way it remained – a solid win pretty much ensuring our progression to the second round. José Julián de la Cuesta suffered a broken arm during the match, but Sarr did an excellent job as his replacement. Returning to Serie A, we hosted Perugia. A brilliant pass from Lennartsson gave Rungratsamee our opener seven minutes in, and thanks to some awful misses from Perugia we retained the lead at half time. Ten minutes into the second half, a header from Lennartsson gave Gardiner a shot on goal, and he drilled it in from just outside the area. Perugia continued to waste chances and the game ended 2-0. A very strong start to the season with Ancona undefeated after four games in Serie A and likely to progress in the UEFA Cup. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donners Posted May 5, 2004 Author Share Posted May 5, 2004 October, season 2008/2009 It was a big match to start October – Ancona vs. league leaders Juventus. We lost Belhassen Gardiner in the first few minutes, with Jon Dahl Tomasson coming on to partner Rungratsamee. Juventus took the lead moments into the second half with a pass from the middle which just floated over the defence and rolled straight past Tommy Lee. Tomasson and Rungratsamee broke through the defence ten minutes later, and while Tomasson’s shot was saved, it rebounded to Rungratsamee to ran around the goalkeeper and tapped it in. Juventus regained their lead in the 66th, and three minutes later it was suddenly 1-3. A late header from an Ancona corner was cleared off the line and Freddie Adu had a shot from close range saved a few minutes later. A wasted chance to take top spot. At least there was some good news after the game, with midfielder Andrea Rabito finally making his international debut for Italy against Hungary. The only problem is that this will probably push his wage demands even higher when it comes time to renew his contract in the next few months. A few “lesser†senior players, like Generoso Rossi, Manuel Cattani and Pedro Munitis got their chance to start on the pitch in the home leg of our encounter with OFK Belgrade. We went in 3-1 up on aggregate and never really looked like giving up that advantage. Tomasson scored from a Munitis corner mid-way through the first half, and that was all it took to seal our progression. A solid 4-1 aggregate win, putting us through to the second round of the UEFA Cup. There we will face Dutch club Feyenoord, with the first leg early next month. Sampdoria were our next Serie A opponents. They opened the scoring mid-way through the first half with a free kick, but a shove on Riccardo Montolivo gave us a penalty in the 56th. With a poor recent record with these, I was more than a little nervous as Gardiner stepped up to the spot…and slammed the ball into the goal. An awful clearance that just floated across the 6-yard box ten minutes later allowed Rungratsamee to finish with a simple header, gifting Ancona the lead. Purse came close to putting through an own goal in the final moments, but it thankfully went just wide. A goal to Sampdoria in injury time was ruled offside, and we escaped 2-1 winners. Though Gardiner had four goals in as many games, I gave Alex Gibbs a run alongside Rungratsamee against Inter. The first half was dominated by Inter, but the scores remained 0-0 at half time. They took the lead with a 55th minute counter-attack, but a brilliant 35-yard half-volley from Lennartsson (second in the Goal of the Month award) brought the scores level again ten minutes later. Lennartsson was involved again in the 77th, passing the ball into the area for Rungratsamee. The Thai international was shoved over, earning Ancona a penalty. Purse made no mistake from the spot – 2-1 with thirteen minutes to go. Fine games from Purse and Lee kept Inter from scoring another, putting our fifth win on the board. I set up the transfer of 16-year-old midfielder Chi Yuen Webb from Birmingham at the end of October. He was transfer listed for free after speculation that Southampton was interested, so it cost nothing in compensation. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ads Posted May 6, 2004 Share Posted May 6, 2004 Fairly promising start to the season then, that Gardiner could be an asset. Keep up the good work (although i'm having trouble pronouncing the names of most of your squad these days! ) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donners Posted May 6, 2004 Author Share Posted May 6, 2004 It's quite a diverse side, isn't it? November, season 2008/2009 November began with Ancona hosting Chievo. Rungratsamee’s early shot from a Rabito cross was saved, but Chievo did not clear the ball effectively and Rabito put the ball into the net himself. Chievo equalised in the 22nd, and our chances to equalise in the next few minutes with Rungratsamee’s shots either wide or saved. He was taken off in the 67th, and just two minutes later we regained the lead. It wasn’t his replacement, Belhassen Gardiner, who did the damage, but defender Darren Purse from a Rabito corner. Gardiner did, however, head one in from a Rabito corner in the 84th, and the game was capped off in injury time with a goal to Papa Waigo. Rabito was involved in all four of our goals, scoring one and setting up three more, making him the obvious Man of the Match. Our first second round UEFA Cup game was at home to Feyenoord. Purse unfortunately missed with a minor injury, while Gardiner, Hélio Frimann and Juan Pietravallo were unregistered and thus unavailable. Sander Westerveldt made three good early saves for Feyenoord, with Nordin Lennartsson hitting the bar from long range in the 12th minute. It finally took a little flick across the area from Papa Waigo for Rungratsamee to knock in his fifth goal of the season, giving us the lead. An incredible curling effort from Montolivo came back off the post a few minutes later and was cleared, which was followed by Lennartsson hitting the side netting with a similar shot moments later. Rabito hit the post late in the first half, while in injury time Rungratsamee had a shot saved after failing to get around the goalkeeper. In short, the first half finished 1-0, though it should have been about 6-0 with all our chances. After 45 minutes, it was 20 shots (12 on target) to 0. A chip from Papa Waigo just fifteen seconds into the second half finally made it 2-0, and with a relatively quiet second half, that’s the way it stayed. Not only did the game set a new record for gate takings (£475K), we now look set to progress to the third round of the UEFA Cup. Tommy Lee and Rungratsamee took a break for our game against Lazio. Despite being well down on the table, Lazio dominated the first half and took the lead in the 22nd. The second half was no better for Ancona, with Lazio controlling the play and nearly going two goals ahead in the 77th with a penalty. It was blazed over, but they put through a goal two minutes later. They sealed it with a third in the final minutes for an amazing turnaround for Ancona – from 20 shots in a half to five for a game. Norwegian winger Michael Berntsen made his debut against Napoli. I didn’t have him pegged as a first team player, but Under 20s coach Gilberto Vallesi decided to re-sign him for three seasons, so I figured it was best to see what he could do. Generoso Rossi remained in goal. It was a cross from Berntsen that gave us our first chance – Rungratsamee received the ball in the area, but was promptly tripped to earn a 7th minute penalty. Riccardo Montolivo stepped up to the spot, fired in the shot…only to see it saved by Jerzy Dudek. A cross from Berntsen ten minutes later worked better, with Rungratsamee escaping the defenders this time and smacking in the first of the game. A corner from Berntsen found the head of Papa Waigo mid-way through the second half to make it 2-0, with Berntsen assisting in both goals. Napoli hit back with one a few minutes later, but substitutes Kalú and Munitis combined, with the latter hitting in the former’s cross, to return the lead to two goals. A nice 3-1 win after the previous game’s disappointing performance. Rossi and Berntsen retained their spots against Vicenza. Lennartsson gave us the lead after six minutes with a 25-yard curling half-volley and a 33rd minute penalty after Rungratsamee was pushed after a Berntsen cross (just like the previous game) gave us a chance at our second. Unlike the previous game, the spot kick was taken by Markus Neumayr, and he put it straight through. In just the next seven minutes, Vicenza suddenly slammed in two goals, levelling the scores. Thirteen seconds into the second half, a long pass from right back Sarr put Papa Waigo into the area. He tried to flick the ball across the area for Rungratsamee, but the keeper got in the way and cleared the ball. A late shot from Papa Waigo hit the post, and despite action at both ends, the neither side could break the 2-2 deadlock. Our second UEFA Cup second round match against Feyenoord away saw Ancona leading 2-0 before the game even began. We simply dominated the first match and should have led by much more, but it would take a drastic turn-around in performance for Feyenoord to progress. A second-minute Lennartsson goal from a 20-yard free kick made things a lot safer, and though Feyenoord pulled one back in the 23rd, they still needed three more to overtake us. Rungratsamee headed in a Rabito corner ten minutes into the second half, but Feyenoord again kept their faint hopes alive, taking the aggregate to 4-2 in the 59th. They made it 4-3 in the 71st, and with Tommy Lee and the defenders having poor games, things were looking a little worrying despite our away goal advantage. I brought on a fifth defender, and that thankfully kept things quiet for the remaining twenty minutes. A little tight there at the end, but enough to take us through to the third round. A number of players were rested for the final game of the month, against Palermo. Hence, it was a combination of Ikechukwu Kalú (cross) and Belhassen Gardiner (goal) that got our first score on the board. Palermo looked the better side, and finally scored in the first half’s injury time. A brilliant cross from Rungratsamee that went around several defenders in the 59th gave Gardiner his second, regaining the lead. Tommy Lee had a much better game than he did against Feyenoord, holding on for the win to leave us in 2nd spot at the end of the month. Gardiner now has seven goals in as many games, and has not even played well! Incidentally, Palermo had three of our former players starting on the pitch – Milivoje Cirkovic, Davide Carrus and Francesco Montervino. I successfully re-signed Andrea Rabito until 2012 for £15K per week and Darren Purse until 2010 for £6K, but failed to get Rungratsamee to agree to a new contract. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyJoe Posted May 7, 2004 Share Posted May 7, 2004 AH Donners another good read my fellow Aussie Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donners Posted May 8, 2004 Author Share Posted May 8, 2004 Thanks. December, season 2008/2009 Our first game of the month was also our first Italian Cup game – a second round tie against Atlanta. We missed a number of chances throughout the game and really should have finished with a better result than a 0-0 draw. Returning to Serie A, we hosted Piacenza. The took the lead in the 43rd and never really looked like dropping it. Gardiner in particular had a terrible game for Ancona, and the dismissal of Darren Purse for a second yellow card in the second half didn’t help. I loaned out backup keeper Generoso Rossi to Alavés after the game to save me his £3K per week in wages. There is the possibility of a purchase for £400K during the loan period. This was reasonably dangerous since Daniel Ferrari is also out on loan, but hopefully Tommy Lee will stay injury free. We also had the drawing of the UEFA Cup third round, which saw Ancona matched with Deportivo. The first leg will take place at home in February. Torino were our next opponents, with Darren Purse suspended. Gardiner was tripped in the area, giving Markus Neumayr a simple finish from the spot in the sixth minute. A huge defensive mix-up gave Torino an equaliser in the 29th, but Lennartsson headed in a Rabito corner to grab back the lead ten minutes later. It took just over a minute in the second half for Torino to again draw level, but again we were back in front ten minutes later – this time thanks to Gardiner intercepting a defensive pass and running forward to hit one past the keeper. Two minutes later, in the 58th, and it was 3-3, with another equaliser to Torino. It took a bit longer this time, but twelve minutes later Belhassen Gardiner found some space and fired the ball into the net from thirty yards out. A pass from Gardiner which floated over the top of a defender and put Rungratsamee through on goal made it 5-3 in the 81st minute, and we finally held onto the lead for the three points and top spot in Serie A. Young defender Tse Lung Pappalardo played his first senior game in some time in the final minutes, with Michael Berntsen returned to the Under-20s. Our second round Italian Cup game against Atlanta was next, with Ancona entering the away leg with a scoreless aggregate. The first half saw just three shots between the sides, all well over the bar. The second half also saw a number of missed shots, with Gardiner coming closest for Ancona with a volley that came back off the post. Atlanta scored on the counter-attack from that, with Lee parrying a shot to another Atlanta striker. With 25 minutes to go and only three shots for the game, we didn’t look to have much chance of getting back in it. Lennartsson looked to have made it one-on-one with the goalkeeper in the 76th, but an opponent just managed to cut in and clear the ball. However, he did so while grabbing Lennartsson’s shirt, and not only did we receive a penalty, the defender was sent off. Belhassen Gardiner took the spot kick…and hit it straight at the goalkeeper. There went our final chance – Ancona knocked out of the Italian Cup in the second round. Nonetheless, we were still top of Serie A, and went out to retain that against Milan. Dwight Pezzarossi returned after a long stint in the Under-20s, and after just four minutes he repaid my faith with a scorching 25-yard goal. We held onto the lead for a while, but things became more difficult when Darren Purse was sent off in the final twenty minutes for a professional foul. Tommy Lee made a great save from the free kick, and a red card a few minutes later for Milan evened things up. Somehow we survived, finishing 1-0 winners. The final week of 2008 saw a frenzy of transfer action, but for a change Ancona was actually at the centre of it. There was interest from several clubs in Supat Rungratsamee, and after I offered him to Q.P.R., Piacenza and Bologna for £6.25M, all three clubs back with bids. Q.P.R. was my preference (since that way he wouldn’t be playing against Ancona), but while they and Piacenza bid a straight £6.25M, Bologna’s offer was for £5.5M, with a further £1.3M after 20 league goals and £875K after 30 league appearances, plus 20% of his next sale. It was a close call between Q.P.R. and Bologna and something of a gamble, but I decided to go with Bologna’s bid. Rungratsamee accepted their contract, and the transfer was arranged for the start of next month. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyJoe Posted May 8, 2004 Share Posted May 8, 2004 I hope you have a quality replacement for Rungratsamee?? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donners Posted May 12, 2004 Author Share Posted May 12, 2004 Finding a decent striker in CM 03/04 is never an overly difficult task... January, season 2008/2009 Young midfielder Chi Yun Webb arrived from Birmingham at the start of January, but the main focus was on Supat Rungratsamee, who left to Bologna for at least £5.5M. With 58 goals in 89 games, he certainly had a major impact at Ancona, and will be missed. However, considering his contract expires in a few months, this is a pretty good deal (especially when you consider I signed him for £210K). His career summary follows: <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> ================================================================================================ Supat Rungratsamee - Ancona Career 1/1/05 - 1/1/09 ================================================================================================ No Year Apps Gls Con Asts Yel Red MoM Av R ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 37 2004/2005 2 (2) 4 0 0 1 0 1 7.50 37 2005/2006 13 6 0 3 1 0 2 7.38 37 2006/2007 23 (3) 21 0 3 4 1 4 7.69 37 2007/2008 29 (1) 19 0 6 4 0 4 7.50 37 2008/2009 16 8 0 2 0 0 4 7.88 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ TOTAL 83 (6) 58 0 14 10 1 16 7.61 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ DOB: 1/4/1988 Position: S C Nationality: Thai International Caps/Goals: 15/7 Total Career Games: 97 Previous Clubs: Portsmouth (8 games, 3 goals) Achievements: 08/05/05 - First international cap against Palestine, aged 17 05/06/07 - 2007 Italian Serie A Top Goalscorer runner up 30/06/07 - 2006/07 Ancona Supporters' Player of the Year 27/05/08 - Italian Serie A Young Player of the Year runner up 29/06/08 - 2007/08 Ancona Supporters' Player of the Year </pre> I started looking around the Bosman prospects for a replacement striker, and found Slovenian international Evzal Dzeladini at Tenerife. He was fortunately available for loan, so I grabbed him until the end of the season to both cover for the loss of Rungratsamee and see if he’s worth signing at the end of the season. Evzal Dzeladini [22, S C, SVN – 3/0] *On loan from Tenerife until 16/6/09 A player who looks very similar to Rungratsamee, Dzeladini has a good scoring record in weak leagues (the Spanish Third Division and Slovenian First Division), but is unproven at such a high level. He looks to be very quick, with exceptional pace and ball control. He’s actually a better passer than Rungratsamee, but not quite as good a finisher. Dzeladini should play a regular role, and may well be offered a contract later in the season. Dzeladini made his debut against Roma. He looked good early, but it was defender Andrea Briotti who put us on the board first, heading in a Rabito corner mid-way through the first half. Despite sitting in third spot on the table, Roma put up little resistance. Dzeladini scored our second in the 61st, but this woke up Roma who suddenly scored one of their own a few minutes later. Thanks to good work from Lee, that turned out to be their only score – a goal and win on debut for Evzal Dzeladini. Darren Purse returned from suspension to captain the side against Brescia. He did not make a favourable impression on his return, conceding an 8th minute penalty which put us a goal behind. The referee evened things up with a penalty to Ancona right on half time, which was put through by Riccardo Montolivo for his first goal at the club. A series of chances went begging in the second half, and we had to be satisfied with a 1-1 draw. Genoa were our next opponents. We took the lead 23 minutes in through a deflected long-range shot from Munitis and extended it to two goals with Dzeladini running around the keeper moments before half time (his second in two games, after being rested in the previous one). Just as it looked like we had the match sewn up, Genoa scored in the 88th. With only six seconds to go in injury time, Tommy Lee was again beaten, but this time the shot came back off the bar and we snuck away with a 2-1 win. Evzal Dzeladini was again rested against Udinese. The first half was uneventful, and despite a few chances in the second half, we could do nothing to break the 0-0 deadlock. Though this was only January 18, it was our last game of the month. I arranged the signings of Evzal Dzeladini and Massimo Tabai (as a coach) for the end of the season, but it looks like players such as Pedro Munitis, Dwight Pezzarossi, Manuel Cattani, Alessandro Zamperini and Jon Dahl Tomasson will leave Ancona. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Holders - Inter | Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | Ancona | | 15 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 29 | 18 | +11 | 32 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Juventus | | 16 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 26 | 16 | +10 | 32 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Roma | | 16 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 28 | 14 | +14 | 31 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Sampdoria | | 16 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 35 | 22 | +13 | 30 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Inter | | 16 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 27 | 14 | +13 | 27 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Bologna | | 15 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 22 | 17 | +5 | 26 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Milan | | 16 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 21 | 19 | +2 | 25 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Udinese | | 16 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 28 | 23 | +5 | 24 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Vicenza | | 16 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 23 | 17 | +6 | 23 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Chievo | | 16 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 21 | 25 | -4 | 22 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Brescia | | 16 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 25 | 21 | +4 | 21 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Atalanta | | 16 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 21 | 25 | -4 | 21 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Perugia | | 16 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 26 | 29 | -3 | 19 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Palermo | | 16 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 23 | 28 | -5 | 19 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Lazio | | 16 | 5 | 2 | 9 | 21 | 24 | -3 | 17 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Piacenza | | 16 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 21 | 26 | -5 | 15 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Torino | | 16 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 26 | 44 | -18 | 14 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | | Genoa | | 15 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 14 | 24 | -10 | 13 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | | Reggina | | 15 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 28 | -17 | 13 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | | Napoli | | 16 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 13 | 27 | -14 | 11 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre> Ancona’s senior stats to date also follow: <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">2nd in Italian Serie A Squad Screen | Pkd | Inf | Name | Apps | Gls | Asts | MoM | Pass | Tck | Drb | Sh Tar | Av R | Value | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | MR | Yel | Rabito, A* | 22 (1) | 2 | 9 | 4 | 57 % | 3.59 | 5.19 | 54 % | 7.61 | £9M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | GK | | Lee, T | 21 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 37 % | - | - | - | 6.48 | £975K | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB4 | | Lennartsson, N* | 19 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 69 % | 2.44 | 1.08 | 43 % | 7.37 | £6.25M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | DC | Yel | Purse, D | 19 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 73 % | 3.02 | 0.27 | 100 % | 6.84 | £1.2M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | DR | Sus | Sarr | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 67 % | 2.89 | 0.22 | 50 % | 6.78 | £1.5M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | ML | | El Kadouri, B* | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 73 % | 2.46 | 1.41 | 50 % | 6.82 | £4.9M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Briotti, A | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 73 % | 2.31 | 0.61 | 100 % | 7.00 | £1.8M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | FC | Unh | Gardiner, B | 13 (1) | 9 | 3 | 2 | 77 % | 0.96 | 0.61 | 82 % | 6.50 | £2.5M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | MC | | Montolivo, R | 12 (3) | 1 | 2 | 1 | 72 % | 3.46 | 0.85 | 48 % | 7.13 | £4.5M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | FC | | Papa Waigo | 12 (3) | 5 | 4 | 0 | 68 % | 0.98 | 2.04 | 54 % | 7.07 | £4.2M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | MC | | Neumayr, M | 12 (1) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 75 % | 2.32 | 0.43 | 100 % | 7.08 | £2.3M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | DL | | de la Cuesta, J | 12 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 72 % | 2.66 | 0.55 | 50 % | 6.69 | £2.2M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | DC | | Zamperini, A | 11 (3) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 73 % | 2.89 | 0.25 | 100 % | 6.71 | £1.2M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Yel | Gyan, C | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 62 % | 3.73 | 1.27 | - | 6.55 | £1M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Unh | Frimann, H | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 75 % | 1.64 | 1.19 | - | 6.43 | £675K | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Kalù, I | 6 (6) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 69 % | 2.71 | 5.59 | 100 % | 7.25 | £3.4M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB3 | | Munitis, P | 5 (4) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 72 % | 1.70 | 1.70 | 55 % | 6.89 | £275K | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Berntsen, T | 5 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 72 % | 2.83 | - | - | 6.50 | £80K | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB1 | | Gibbs, A | 4 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 73 % | 1.22 | - | 100 % | 6.00 | £2.2M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Unh | Pietravallo, J | 4 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 57 % | 2.05 | - | 100 % | 6.20 | £1.4M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Unh | Berntsen, M | 2 (3) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 76 % | 1.88 | 0.94 | - | 6.60 | £750K | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Unh | Cattani, M | 2 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 57 % | 1.23 | 0.41 | - | 5.75 | £450K | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB7 | Unh | Pezzarossi, D | 2 (2) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 61 % | - | 0.98 | 100 % | 6.00 | £925K | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Trn | Dzeladini, E | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 81 % | 2.50 | 2.50 | 87 % | 7.50 | £1.7M | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB2 | | Adu, F | 1 (9) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 53 % | 2.14 | 0.61 | 100 % | 6.60 | £0 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Tomasson, J | 1 (5) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 70 % | 0.78 | 0.39 | 75 % | 6.33 | £210K | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB6 | | Pappalardo, T | 0 (3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 7.00 | £875K | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Inj | Nielsen, M | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 7.00 | £50K | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donners Posted May 13, 2004 Author Share Posted May 13, 2004 February, season 2008/2009 We had an absolutely packed schedule in February, with seven Serie A games and one from the UEFA Cup. The first was against Reggina. We missed a series of shots in the first half-hour, with particularly poor shooting from Rabito and Ajide (in his first senior game of the season). Rabito finally put one in after an El Kadouri cross, and that was followed a few minutes later by Papa Waigo heading Rabito’s corner into the net, leaving us 2-0 up at half time. Papa Waigo scored his second in the final fifteen minutes, sealing a solid 3-0 win. I added Belhassen Gardiner and Evzal Dzeladini to our UEFA Cup squad when given the opportunity, with Guglielmo Stendardo and Alex Gibbs replaced. It was only three days before our next game, against Atlanta – the side that knocked us out of the Italian Cup. We struggled to attack early, and our best chance saw a long-range shot from Markus Neumayr come back off the upright. 17-year-old forward Takayasu Baggio came on for his debut in the 70th (after five goals in as many games for the Under 20s) and just six minutes later sent in a cross to Lennartsson which was headed over the keeper for our first. An attempt to repeat the move a few minutes later just failed, with the header coming back off the post. El Kadouri made sure of the result with three minutes to go, blasting the ball right past the keeper from outside the area. A good 2-0 win, particularly considering several players were rested. Takayasu Baggio started on the pitch against Perugia after his fine debut. An early shot from Papa Waigo was saved, and a quick counter-attack saw Perugia take the lead. A brilliant run from Rabito mid-way through the first half took him to the area, but his angled shot was just tipped away. Again Perugia took advantage almost immediately, scoring a second from a penalty in the 36th. We had no chances to get back in the game until the 85th, when Rabito earned a penalty. Neumayr’s shot was saved, leaving us 0-2 losers to a mid-table side. At least our next match was postponed until March, as was another later in the month, giving us a bit of a break. Hence, I was able to go out full-strength against Sampdoria. The first half was scoreless, with Sampdoria marginally the better side. They took the lead in the 50th and we really struggled to hit back. A Sampdoria goal in the final 20 minutes was ruled offside, but they managed a legal one in the 83rd. Lennartsson gave us a faint hope, heading in a goal two minutes later, but it wasn’t enough. Two straight losses, knocking us from first to third. This was not the form to take into a tough quartet of games – Juventus, Deportivo, Inter and Deportivo again. Juventus dominated the first half, with only good defending keeping it scoreless. The second half looked like being a similar story, but substitute Olasunkanmi Ajide turned out to be an unlikely goalscorer, slotting the ball in from a tight angle in the 75th. Papa Waigo made it 2-0 after a goalkeeper fumble in the 85th and Freddy Adu capped it off with a goal in literally the final seconds. 3-0 was much better than we deserved, but I’m not complaining. I arranged the transfer of Argentinian defender Norizam Luz after the match, but this good news was tempered by a demand for a new contract from Badr El Kadouri. Though a regular in the senior side, his performances haven’t been good enough to justify a new contract, especially with a year and a half to go until it expires. The last game of February was our first game against Deportivo in the third round of the UEFA Cup. It was played at home for us, so we had to be careful not to concede any goals. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what we did – a 28th minute free kick deflecting off a defender and trickling into the net. It took several seconds to do so while the goalkeeper just stood there a few metres away. Yet another bug to add to the list, and one which could have just cost us our UEFA Cup campaign. The loss of both Rabito and Dzeladini to minor knocks made things even harder, and we had barely any chances for the rest of the game. 0-1, courtesy of yet another stupid bug in the game which could end our UEFA Cup run. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Holders - Inter | Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | Roma | | 26 | 16 | 5 | 5 | 54 | 25 | +29 | 53 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Sampdoria | | 26 | 14 | 7 | 5 | 56 | 35 | +21 | 49 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Ancona | | 24 | 15 | 4 | 5 | 43 | 25 | +18 | 49 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Milan | | 26 | 15 | 2 | 9 | 37 | 25 | +12 | 47 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Bologna | | 25 | 14 | 4 | 7 | 49 | 28 | +21 | 46 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Juventus | | 26 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 35 | 30 | +5 | 44 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Inter | | 25 | 13 | 4 | 8 | 41 | 26 | +15 | 43 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Udinese | | 26 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 42 | 37 | +5 | 38 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Brescia | | 26 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 45 | 36 | +9 | 37 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Perugia | | 26 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 45 | 39 | +6 | 37 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Palermo | | 26 | 10 | 5 | 11 | 37 | 38 | -1 | 35 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Atalanta | | 26 | 10 | 4 | 12 | 36 | 40 | -4 | 34 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Vicenza | | 26 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 33 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Lazio | | 26 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 40 | 54 | -14 | 29 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Chievo | | 25 | 8 | 4 | 13 | 32 | 40 | -8 | 28 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Piacenza | | 26 | 8 | 3 | 15 | 33 | 46 | -13 | 27 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Genoa | | 26 | 6 | 9 | 11 | 25 | 39 | -14 | 27 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | | Reggina | | 26 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 20 | 39 | -19 | 27 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | | Napoli | | 27 | 3 | 8 | 16 | 24 | 53 | -29 | 17 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | | Torino | | 26 | 5 | 2 | 19 | 33 | 72 | -39 | 17 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terk Posted May 13, 2004 Share Posted May 13, 2004 come one donners we know you can guide ancona to league glory Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donners Posted May 14, 2004 Author Share Posted May 14, 2004 At least one of us is confident... March, season 2008/2009 Though our first game of March was an important one, against Inter, I couldn’t afford to go out full strength with the next UEFA Cup game a few days later. We were simply totally outplayed, and if not for Tommy Lee’s great performance, could have lost by five goals. He still let through one in the first half, and that goal proved to be the difference between the sides in the end. It was a dismal performance, but would be worth it if we could pull off a win in the next game. That was the away leg against Deportivo. We went in a goal down, but in just 15 minutes scores were level through a 25-yard Lennartsson free kick. A long pass from Sarr drifted into the area a dozen minutes later, and while we couldn’t get a head to it, Riccardo Montolivo was pushed over while going for it. Belhassen Gardiner, only added to the squad last month, took the kick and made no mistake. Suddenly, we had gone from being a goal behind on aggregate to one ahead, with Deportivo needing to score two in order to win. It remained 2-1 at half time, and with a scoreless second half we moved through to the fourth round. There we will face Portugese club Porto, in just over a week. As it happened, that was our next game thanks to some re-arranging of the schedule. The next few months are going to be loaded with Serie A games… The first leg was played away, and I went with the same side that played the away leg against Deportivo. Porto hit the post in the 8th minute with a shot from inside the area, but put through the first of the game in the 21st minute with a powerful strike from the edge of the area. It was only a great save from Tommy Lee that kept out a volley just before half time, but we still went into the break a goal down, having been thoroughly outplayed. An incredible run from the midfield from Andrea Rabito just a minute into the second half saw the Italian get into the area, run around the keeper and finish a brilliant move with a clean strike. Substitute Papa Waigo came forward in the 73rd, but was tackled just as he got to the area. The ball spilled into the path of Belhassen Gardiner, and while he managed to get off a shot, the keeper parried it away. A defender tried to boot it away, but didn’t even clear the area. Papa Waigo got hold of it and hit it at the far post. The ball hit the inside of the post and bounced in, giving us a 2-1 lead. A loose header from Andrea Briotti gave up an equaliser with five minutes to go, and with two shots from Papa Waigo from inside the area saved, we will have to make do with a lead on away goals. Though we had slipped to six in Serie A, we had played two or three fewer games than the sides above us. A match against Napoli three days after the UEFA Cup game gave us a bit of a chance to move back up, but with many top players tired and Freddy Adu and Dwight Pezzarossi on international duty, we were left with a significantly weakened side including Marco Vianello in his first senior game of the season. A great long-range effort from Pedro Munitis was parried and cleared for a throw-in in the 40th. The throw went to Ikechukwu Kalú, who hit a beautiful ball into the area for Papa Waigo to strike past the out-of-position keeper. Just a minute later, Marco Vianello came forward, collecting his own parried shot and putting it past the keeper for his first ever senior Ancona goal, having been here for five seasons. Napoli made it 2-1 in the 55th, but passes from Darren Purse and Marco Vianello put Papa Waigo in great position to score his second a dozen minutes later. We jumped up to third with the 3-1 win, despite having played three fewer games than the sides above us, Roma and Sampdoria. The game also set a new record attendance for Ancona of 23,636. Lazio gave us a chance to move further ahead on the table. Riccardo Montolivo scored inside 90 seconds, somehow getting one-on-one with the keeper after the kick-off and then chipping it over his head for the goal. Lazio came close to equalising, but Vianello found space just before half time and smacked the ball in from 25 yards on an angle. Vianello came close to scoring his brace in the second half, including one chip that came back off the crossbar, before finally scoring again in the 76th. A good 3-0 win with a weakened side, and another new attendance record of 23,950 indicated there are many jumping on the Ancona bandwagon as we push for both UEFA Cup and Serie A success. With four days before our second game against Porto, it was another weakened Ancona side that played in the league, this time against Vicenza. Both sides had their chances, but the closest either side came to a goal was a Vicenza corner that El Kadouri had to clear off the line. Marco Vianello suffered a shoulder injury in the 0-0 draw, putting him out for two weeks. Then it was time for the home leg of the UEFA Cup fourth round tie with Porto. We had a slight lead, having scored two away goals, but with the aggregate level, a loss here would see us knocked out. Six minutes in, Lennartsson hit a rocket from thirty yards out straight at the keeper. He got a hand to it, but not enough to prevent it flying into the net. A critical goal, taking us to a 3-2 aggregate lead. A beautiful curling pass from Andrea Briotti was flicked on towards the goal by Belhassen Gardiner a few minutes later, but it was saved. There was no saving a header from Papa Waigo after a Gardiner cross in the 38th, extending our lead to two goals. Two minutes later, he raced around the goalkeeper and hit the ball into the net, taking it to 3-0 for the game, and 5-3 on aggregate. Just when it looked like the half couldn’t get any better, Rabito ran onto a header into the area from Papa Waigo and struck it into the top corner. 4-0 for the half, ensuring our progression in the UEFA Cup. The second half was utterly uneventful, and we pushed through to the quarter final with a 6-2 aggregate win. £575K in gate receipts and £200K for progressing made it a profitable game. We wound up with probably the best result in the draw for that quarter final, set to face Ukrainian side Shakhtar in early April. They certainly won’t be a walkover, but they’re better for us than the likes of Inter, Betis and PSV. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Holders - Inter | Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | Roma | | 30 | 18 | 6 | 6 | 63 | 31 | +32 | 60 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Milan | | 30 | 18 | 3 | 9 | 47 | 26 | +21 | 57 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Sampdoria | | 30 | 16 | 8 | 6 | 63 | 40 | +23 | 56 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Ancona | | 28 | 17 | 5 | 6 | 49 | 27 | +22 | 56 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Inter | | 29 | 15 | 5 | 9 | 43 | 27 | +16 | 50 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Juventus | | 30 | 14 | 8 | 8 | 40 | 38 | +2 | 50 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Bologna | | 29 | 15 | 4 | 10 | 54 | 36 | +18 | 49 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Perugia | | 30 | 11 | 12 | 7 | 56 | 41 | +15 | 45 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Palermo | | 30 | 13 | 6 | 11 | 48 | 39 | +9 | 45 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Brescia | | 30 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 49 | 39 | +10 | 44 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Udinese | | 30 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 46 | 40 | +6 | 43 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Atalanta | | 30 | 12 | 5 | 13 | 42 | 45 | -3 | 41 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Vicenza | | 30 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 42 | 39 | +3 | 40 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Piacenza | | 30 | 10 | 3 | 17 | 40 | 52 | -12 | 33 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Chievo | | 28 | 8 | 5 | 15 | 36 | 47 | -11 | 29 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Lazio | | 30 | 8 | 5 | 17 | 41 | 72 | -31 | 29 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Genoa | | 30 | 6 | 10 | 14 | 28 | 50 | -22 | 28 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | | Reggina | | 30 | 7 | 7 | 16 | 22 | 50 | -28 | 28 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | | Torino | | 30 | 6 | 4 | 20 | 38 | 77 | -39 | 22 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | | Napoli | | 30 | 4 | 8 | 18 | 28 | 59 | -31 | 20 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donners Posted May 15, 2004 Author Share Posted May 15, 2004 April, season 2008/2009 Though I wanted to climb up the table in our first game of the month, against Palermo, I couldn’t go out with a full-strength side due to the UEFA Cup games that followed it. A horrible pass from Tommy Lee gave them a simple opening goal in the 38th, and they soon made it 0-2 in the second half. It was 0-3 in the 63rd and 0-4 by the final whistle. A dismal performance from a side fighting for the title, but it’s to be expected with most of the first team rested. The first XI returned for the away leg against Shakhtar. An early shot from Gardiner was saved, but a beautiful ball over the top of a defender from El Kadouri sent Papa Waigo through on goal for our first in the 11th minute. Shakthar looked certain to equalise in the 35th with a pass across the area, but Tommy Lee got across just in time to make the save. Unfortunately, he couldn’t pull off a similar feat in the 44th after Sarr conceded a penalty, levelling the scores. Shakthar came forward strongly in the 76th, but it backfired when substitute Dwight Pezzarossi stole the ball in the midfield. Ancona players raced forward, with six of our players easily outnumbering a sole defender and the keeper. Pezzarossi passed the ball across to the edge of the area, where it was met with a volley from Sarr. 2-1, making up for the penalty he conceded earlier. Freddy Adu came on for Rabito after an injury to the latter and almost immediately made a potentially huge mistake. He tried to pass back to Tommy Lee from the midfield, but missed him by a long way, giving Shakhtar a corner. Thankfully, the resulting shot went wide, and Lee took the goal kick. Somehow, Adu had found a huge amount of space on the right wing, and Lee’s pass went to him perfectly. The young American charged down the right while Ancona players rushed to the area, eventually passing across to Dwight Pezzarossi. The Guatemalan made no mistake, putting through his first senior goal since December. 3-1, and considering those three are away goals, it looks like a semi-final berth for Ancona. I made two fairly significant moves after the game, re-signing defender Alessandro Zamperini until 2012 and cancelling the previously arranged signing of Evzal Dzeladini. He has done little since his first two games, so I shall have to look for another option. The second leg of the UEFA Cup quarter final was next. I went with the same side that won 3-1 in the away leg, apart from switching Belhassen Gardiner with Evzal Dzeladini. Apparently spurred by the cancellation of his transfer, Dzeladini scored in the 31st after a good run. Papa Waigo hit the post in the 54th after a brilliant solo run past three defenders, but while Shakhtar scored in the 62nd, we still looked safe with a 4-2 aggregate lead. Papa Waigo made sure of it, giving Dzeladini his second in the final minutes. Dzeladini was the Man of the Match, creating a bit of a dilemma for me as to whether I should try to sign him again. The 5-3 win put us through to the semi final to play Betis, but it came at a cost – Sarr suffered a torn groin muscle, sidelining him for two months. Centre back Hammond fortuitously arrived the next day. Hammond [20, D C, ENG] A talented young defender, Hammond has had mixed form with Derby over the past four seasons, but should play a regular role here. He’s very tall and quite skilful for a defender, so should be a useful member of the side. Our third straight UEFA Cup game saw us face Betis at home in the semi final. We are again three games behind most other sides in Serie A, and May looks like it will be a very busy month. Christian Gyan replaced Sarr, but otherwise the side was the same as the one in the second leg against Shakhtar. Betis took the lead in the 39th and we never really looked like equalising in the first half. Like the previous game, Dwight Pezzarossi came on as a sub in the second half and had a major impact, crossing the ball for Papa Waigo to hit in his 15th of the season. Unfortunately, we conceded another goal in the 70th minute, and will now need at least two goals in the next leg in order to progress to the final. Betis looked very good, and with the likes of DenÃlson, Morientes, Carlos Tevez and co in their side, they will be hard to beat. I returned to a second-string side to play against Torino in Serie A. They took the lead in the 37th and extended it to two goals mid-way through the second half. Hammond looked okay on his debut, but that was the only positive from another disappointing Serie A loss. With 0-4 and 0-2 results in our last two Serie A games, a good performance against Piacenza was critical. Papa Waigo looked set to give us a great start after being played through by El Kadouri, but his shot came back off the post and was cleared. A 46th minute free kick gave Piacenza the opener, and like the previous game we really struggled to get back into it. A Lennartsson run from the midfield to the area only resulted in an easily saved shot, and moments later Piacenza made it 0-2. There was worse news to come – Tommy Lee went off injured (thankfully, it turned out to be minor), and I had no goalkeeper on the bench. Dwight Pezzarossi came on and promptly conceded two more goals. We have now lost three straight Serie A games, and have not scored in the last four while conceding ten. So much for the title. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Holders - Inter | Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | Roma | | 34 | 20 | 6 | 8 | 68 | 37 | +31 | 66 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Milan | | 34 | 21 | 3 | 10 | 55 | 30 | +25 | 66 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Sampdoria | | 35 | 18 | 10 | 7 | 68 | 44 | +24 | 64 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Bologna | | 34 | 19 | 4 | 11 | 65 | 41 | +24 | 61 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Juventus | | 35 | 17 | 9 | 9 | 47 | 40 | +7 | 60 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Ancona | | 31 | 17 | 5 | 9 | 49 | 37 | +12 | 56 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Palermo | | 34 | 15 | 8 | 11 | 56 | 41 | +15 | 53 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Udinese | | 35 | 14 | 11 | 10 | 50 | 42 | +8 | 53 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Inter | | 33 | 15 | 7 | 11 | 46 | 34 | +12 | 52 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Brescia | | 35 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 56 | 45 | +11 | 50 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Perugia | | 35 | 12 | 13 | 10 | 63 | 51 | +12 | 49 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Atalanta | | 35 | 14 | 6 | 15 | 50 | 50 | 0 | 48 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Vicenza | | 35 | 11 | 13 | 11 | 49 | 45 | +4 | 46 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Piacenza | | 34 | 11 | 5 | 18 | 45 | 55 | -10 | 38 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Chievo | | 34 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 39 | 54 | -15 | 35 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Lazio | | 35 | 9 | 6 | 20 | 48 | 85 | -37 | 33 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Torino | | 34 | 9 | 5 | 20 | 47 | 79 | -32 | 32 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | | Genoa | | 34 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 36 | 59 | -23 | 31 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | | Reggina | | 35 | 8 | 7 | 20 | 25 | 60 | -35 | 31 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | | Napoli | | 35 | 6 | 9 | 20 | 34 | 67 | -33 | 27 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donners Posted May 16, 2004 Author Share Posted May 16, 2004 May, season 2008/2009 The busy month began with the away leg of our UEFA Cup semi final against Betis. Having gone down 1-2 in the home leg, we needed at least two goals to make it to the final. Rabito (playing as a forward) gave us early hope, getting around a few defenders to squeeze in an angled goal in the 27th. Betis responded in just eight minutes to make it 2-3 on the aggregate. An own goal from Purse just after half time, and it was all over. It was 2-5 just a few minutes later, and even though José Julián de la Cuesta snuck one in from a corner in the 60th, it wasn’t even enough to be of any consolation. Rabito missed a 69th minute chip and despite getting past four opponents ten minutes later, couldn’t make it count with a goal. A late goal to Betis and we exited the UEFA Cup with a 3-6 drubbing. With the side on a terrible streak in Serie A, we had to improve against Milan. Unfortunately, most of the first XI players were tired from the last game, and had to be rested. With a 31st minute goal to Milan, it looked like things weren’t going to improve. Though we finally scored in the 65th through Gardiner, Milan regained their lead a few minutes later and never looked like dropping it again. Another loss, and it looks like the title dream is over. It didn’t get any easier, with the following game against league leaders Roma. The opening minutes were mixed, but Rabito found space to receive a Lennartsson pass and hit it home in the 28th. A 60-yard pass from Tommy Lee sent Lennartsson through on goal for our second mid-way through the second half, and just a few minutes later he headed in a pass from Rabito to make it 3-0. Despite sitting in top spot, Roma had little impact all game, with Ancona clearly the better side. The packed schedule, with eight games in May, meant many players had to be rested against Chievo. The first half was even, with both sides having sufficient chances to score. It looked like we would go unrewarded for creating several chances, but Adu finally earned a penalty in the 71st. He took the kick himself, but hit it straight to the keeper. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Chievo scored in the 86th after Tommy Lee failed to hold a shot. It was too late for an equaliser, and we tumbled to yet another league loss. We had our last real chance to fight for the title against Bologna. It was a familiar name on the scoresheet in less than two minutes – Supat Rungratsamee. Unfortunately, he now plays for Bologna, and that was his 11th in 14 games there. It was 0-2 soon after, but Purse put us back in with a faint hope, heading in an El Kadouri corner just before the break. Montolivo hit the crossbar from long-range seconds into the second half, and thankfully Andrea Rabito was there to tap in the rebound and make it 2-2. There were no real chances for the rest of the half, so we took just one point from the game. With three matches to go, we are nine points clear of the top two, and will have to settle for third at best. The first of the final trio was Brescia. Rabito gave Ancona the lead in the 20th, but a chance of a second was wasted with Riccardo Montolvio putting a penalty over the bar late in the half. It proved costly, with Brescia scoring seventeen seconds into the second half. Papa Waigo made it 2-1 in the 60th after an El Kadouri shot was deflected to him, and he scored a second nine minutes later after intercepting a defensive clearance. Defender Antonio Perrone made his debut in the final minutes of the 3-1 win. The second-last match of the season was away to Genoa. Dzeldani continued his fight for a contract, scoring in the second minute for a useful lead. A run around a defender from Papa Waigo a dozen minutes later made it 2-0, and he put though his second in the 20th to pretty much seal the game even at this early point. A fourth to Dzeldani in the 28th had us looking set for a new club record. Genoa finally got one a minute into the second half (why are there so many goals just after the break?) with a penalty, and then made it 4-2 with a header ten minutes later. The little scare got bigger with a third in the 85th minute to Genoa, and if not for desperate defending they could have scored an equaliser two minutes later during a frantic scramble in the box. A great save three minutes into injury time from Lee denied them a fourth goal; Ancona barely scraping through for a 4-3 victory. Our last match was against Udinese. We began it sitting in fourth spot, level on points with 3rd placed Bologna but 10 goals behind. Rabito gave us a great start, scoring in the 6th after intercepting a defensive pass, moving us to 3rd on the live table. Montolivo hit one from 25 yards out in the 19th for a 2-0 lead, and he successfully put through a penalty to make it 3-0 two minutes later. Rabito scored his second just after half time, but despite our 4-0 lead, we returned to 4th spot with Bologna taking the lead against Lazio. There was nothing more we could do, so my attention was squarely on that game. It was tight, but Lazio came back with a 77th minute penalty, sending Bologna down to 4th. That was how it remained at the final whistle – third place in Serie A for Ancona. Young midfielder Chi Yuen Webb made his debut late in the game. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donners Posted May 19, 2004 Author Share Posted May 19, 2004 The season in review Summary <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Holders - Milan | Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | C | Milan | | 38 | 24 | 4 | 10 | 61 | 32 | +29 | 76 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Roma | | 38 | 23 | 6 | 9 | 73 | 40 | +33 | 75 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Ancona | | 38 | 21 | 6 | 11 | 66 | 46 | +20 | 69 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Bologna | | 38 | 20 | 7 | 11 | 70 | 44 | +26 | 67 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Juventus | | 38 | 18 | 11 | 9 | 51 | 42 | +9 | 65 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Sampdoria | | 38 | 18 | 10 | 10 | 68 | 51 | +17 | 64 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Inter | | 38 | 17 | 8 | 13 | 53 | 41 | +12 | 59 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Udinese | | 38 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 54 | 47 | +7 | 59 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Palermo | | 38 | 16 | 10 | 12 | 62 | 46 | +16 | 58 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Atalanta | | 38 | 15 | 6 | 17 | 55 | 56 | -1 | 51 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Perugia | | 38 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 65 | 57 | +8 | 50 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Brescia | | 38 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 60 | 54 | +6 | 50 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Vicenza | | 38 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 49 | 50 | -1 | 46 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Chievo | | 38 | 12 | 9 | 17 | 45 | 54 | -9 | 45 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Piacenza | | 38 | 12 | 7 | 19 | 52 | 62 | -10 | 43 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Reggina | | 38 | 10 | 7 | 21 | 31 | 64 | -33 | 37 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Lazio | | 38 | 10 | 7 | 21 | 53 | 89 | -36 | 37 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | R | Genoa | | 38 | 8 | 12 | 18 | 43 | 66 | -23 | 36 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | R | Torino | | 38 | 9 | 7 | 22 | 49 | 86 | -37 | 34 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | R | Napoli | | 38 | 7 | 10 | 21 | 38 | 71 | -33 | 31 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre> <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">3rd in Italian Serie A Squad Screen | Pkd | Inf | Name | Apps | Gls | Asts | MoM | Pass | Tck | Drb | Sh Tar | Av R | Value | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | GK | | Lee, T | 48 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 36 % | - | - | - | 6.56 | £775K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | ML | Int | El Kadouri, B* | 40 (2) | 1 | 8 | 0 | 69 % | 2.36 | 1.26 | 61 % | 6.98 | £4.7M | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | FC | | Rabito, A* | 40 (1) | 11 | 12 | 6 | 57 % | 3.33 | 5.14 | 55 % | 7.71 | £5.75M | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | MC | | Lennartsson, N* | 37 | 11 | 5 | 4 | 68 % | 2.85 | 0.84 | 44 % | 7.38 | £6.25M | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | DC | | Purse, D | 36 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 73 % | 2.94 | 0.17 | 100 % | 6.83 | £600K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | FC | Int | Papa Waigo | 32 (5) | 19 | 8 | 5 | 66 % | 0.68 | 1.83 | 67 % | 7.27 | £6.5M | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | DL | | Briotti, A | 32 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 72 % | 2.49 | 0.76 | 100 % | 7.19 | £2.3M | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | DC | | Zamperini, A | 30 (3) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 73 % | 2.20 | 0.56 | 100 % | 6.67 | £950K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | MC | Wnt | Montolivo, R | 27 (5) | 4 | 6 | 1 | 71 % | 3.19 | 0.67 | 42 % | 7.03 | £4.6M | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Inj | Sarr | 27 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 65 % | 3.33 | 0.26 | 75 % | 7.00 | £1.6M | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | DR | Int | Gyan, C | 26 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 66 % | 4.14 | 1.01 | - | 6.77 | £1M | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB5 | | de la Cuesta, J | 23 (2) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 73 % | 3.08 | 0.54 | 66 % | 6.84 | £2.3M | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB3 | | Neumayr, M | 22 (4) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 71 % | 1.97 | 0.36 | 77 % | 6.81 | £2.3M | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Unh | Gardiner, B | 21 (4) | 11 | 4 | 2 | 75 % | 1.14 | 0.40 | 77 % | 6.20 | £1.5M | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | MR | | Kalù, I | 18 (11) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 60 % | 3.12 | 4.55 | 85 % | 7.28 | £4.6M | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Inj | Dzeladini, E | 15 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 60 % | 1.16 | 3.02 | 85 % | 7.07 | £975K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB7 | Wnt | Munitis, P | 11 (5) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 72 % | 1.88 | 1.67 | 60 % | 6.88 | £55K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Ret | Berntsen, T | 9 (1) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 73 % | 2.79 | - | - | 6.50 | £75K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Lst | Frimann, H | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 74 % | 2.07 | 1.03 | - | 6.44 | £700K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Adu, F | 6 (12) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 55 % | 2.73 | 1.14 | 87 % | 6.67 | £0 | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Pappalardo, T | 6 (4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 71 % | 1.85 | - | 100 % | 6.70 | £875K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Req | Ajide, O | 6 (2) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 68 % | 2.96 | - | 50 % | 6.75 | £400K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Hammond | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 67 % | 2.00 | - | - | 6.80 | £1.3M | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Unh | Gibbs, A | 4 (3) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 74 % | 1.15 | - | 100 % | 6.14 | £1.6M | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Unh | Cattani, M | 4 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 51 % | 2.93 | 0.23 | - | 5.67 | £180K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Unh | Pietravallo, J | 4 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 57 % | 2.05 | - | 100 % | 6.20 | £1.5M | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB2 | Wnt | Vianello, M | 4 (1) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 50 % | 1.27 | 0.51 | 70 % | 6.80 | £300K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB1 | Wnt | Pezzarossi, D | 3 (8) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 66 % | 0.43 | 0.85 | 100 % | 6.45 | £300K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Ret | Tomasson, J | 3 (6) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 63 % | 0.80 | 0.80 | 75 % | 6.11 | £100K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Unh | Berntsen, M | 2 (3) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 76 % | 1.88 | 0.94 | - | 6.60 | £775K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Baggio, T | 1 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 5.50 | £120K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB6 | Unh | Perrone, A | 0 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 6.50 | £550K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB4 | | Webb, C | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 7.00 | £625K | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre> Phew. That was a busy few months there at the end of the season. Despite another late-season slump, we had our best season yet, finishing third in Serie A and making it to the semi final of the UEFA Cup. Admittedly, there’s a feeling we fell short of where we seemed set to finish in both competitions, but we still performed significantly beyond expectations again. Player-wise, the season was mixed. The loss of Rungratsamee hurt, though at least we got some money out of it. Freddy Adu continues to come along very slowly, and no other young players really stood out. However, Andrea Rabito had his best season at the club, both on the right wing and up forward in the final games, while our defence finally looked reasonably solid. One of the best signs was Daniel Ferrari holding his own in Serie B, which suggests he could be a regular for us in the future. It was certainly a good season all up, but there look to be a lot of changes to the squad in the following months which could have a significant impact on the side. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donners Posted May 20, 2004 Author Share Posted May 20, 2004 Wrapping it up We had minor success in this year’s awards, with Freddie Adu coming third in the Serie A Young Player of the Year award. I won Serie A Manager of the Year. My main focus was on signing and re-signing players. With Tomasson, Munitis and Tommy Berntsen set to retire at the end of the season, I should have a bit of money free. I quickly gave up on Evzal Dzeladini, whose asking price has gone up sharply since the initial deal. In hindsight, it was a mistake to cancel the transfer, but at the time he looked distinctly unimpressive. I also made a few attempts at re-signing Ancona players, but had little luck. Sarr repeatedly refused deals of around £5K per week (he’s demanding £9K), which could leave me without a right back next season. I did re-sign promising young midfielder Arthur until 2013, but I already have enough midfielders as it is. Speaking of which, Ipswich came in with a £4.7M bid for Riccardo Montolivo. He was probably worth a bit more than that, but since he’s demanding a new contract, I decided to let him go for that price. That at least gave me room to finally re-sign Sarr, for £6K per week. I released a few Under-20s players, with the only new young player former Modena defender Di Dio. Many more players will be released at the end of July, with hopefully a few new signings as well. Generoso Rossi returned from his loan at Alavés without being purchased. Around the world: major awards and results Ancona Supporters’ Player of the Year: Andrea Rabito World Player of the Year: Adriano (Inter) World Footballer of the year: Thierry Henry (Arsenal) England: Arsenal Spain: Barcelona Champions Cup: FC Bayern UEFA Cup: Inter Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donners Posted May 21, 2004 Author Share Posted May 21, 2004 The Transfers Trans In <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Date | Person | From | Fee | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1.7.2008 | Lee, Tommy | Ipswich | Free | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12.7.2008 | Baggio, Takayasu | Messina | £150K | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 25.7.2008 | Gardiner, Belhassen| Free Transfer | Free | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 26.7.2008 | Tomasson, Jon Dahl | Free Transfer | Free | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1.8.2008 | Gibbs, Alex | Parma | Free | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1.8.2008 | Papa Waigo | Verona | Free | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1.8.2008 | Kalù, Ikechukwu | Sampdoria | Free | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1.8.2008 | Montolivo, Riccardo| Atalanta | Free | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1.1.2009 | Webb, Chi Yuen | Birmingham | Free | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16.4.2009 | Hammond | Derby | Free | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20.6.2009 | Di Dio | Free Transfer | Free | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Total | | £150K | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre> Trans Out <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Date | Person | To | Fee | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8.7.2008 | Zavagno, Luciano | Free Transfer | Free | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16.7.2008 | Colosi, Francesco Pio | Free Transfer | Free | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16.7.2008 | Fusco, Alessandro | Free Transfer | Free | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16.7.2008 | Leonelli, Marco | Free Transfer | Free | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16.7.2008 | Sealey, George | Free Transfer | Free | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16.7.2008 | Patterson, Jugurta | Free Transfer | Free | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 31.7.2008 | Degano, Daniele | Free Transfer | Free | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 31.7.2008 | Stepanovs, Igors | Free Transfer | Free | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7.8.2008 | Agliardi, Federico | Napoli | £925K | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1.1.2009 | Rungratsamee, Supat | Bologna | £5.5M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16.5.2009 | Nielsen, Morgan | Free Transfer | Free | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14.6.2009 | Montolivo, Riccardo | Ipswich | £4.7M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20.6.2009 | Bozzetti | Free Transfer | Free | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20.6.2009 | Nossa, Devis | Free Transfer | Free | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20.6.2009 | Watts | Free Transfer | Free | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Total | | £11.25M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre> Loan In <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Date | Person | From | Fee | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5.1.2009 | Dzeladini, Evzal | Tenerife | Loan | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Total | | £0 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|</pre> Loan Out <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Date | Person | To | Fee | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 31.8.2008 | Ferrari, Daniel | Cagliari | Loan | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7.12.2008 | Rossi, Generoso | Alavés | Ln Fee £130K | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Total | | £130K | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre> Staff In <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Date | Person | From | Fee | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 21.7.2008 | Wiertelak, Stéphane| Free Transfer | £0 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Total | | £0 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|</pre> Returning to my usual strategy of spending little and signing many players on free transfers saw reasonably good results. Kalú, Montolivo and Papa Waigo were among our very best players last season, but our other players had mixed results at best. Gibbs and Tomasson couldn’t hold down a spot and Gardiner was inconsistent at best. Tommy Lee was unreliable at times, but at least held down the #1 spot. We made an impressive £11.25M from transfers out, and since Rungratsamee was about to leave anyway and the others weren’t a major loss, that’s a decent deal. It was disappointing to see so many young players leave. Evzal Dzeladini did reasonably well on loan here, while Daniel Ferrari got valuable senior experience in Serie B. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donners Posted May 22, 2004 Author Share Posted May 22, 2004 Pre-Season 2009/2010 I grabbed an impressive £8.5M in TV rights at the start of the season, but £1.5M went out to shareholders immediately. Our financial balance is up to an impressive £38.5M, and I now have a wage budget of £375K (triple what I’m currently paying). My board announced expectations of a reasonable league position (with the aid of a £19.5M transfer budget), but the fans expect me to win the league. I signed Lithuanian international Ole Brichkus as a replacement for Evzal Dzeladini. He looks talented, but is unproven and disturbingly the only other club interested in him was Reading. I also signed 16-year-old midfielder Aldo Jair Kok from Triestina for £150K compensation. Our young forward Takayasu Baggio left on a loan to Lucchese. I received a managerial job offer, and promptly accepted it. Don’t worry, though, my time at Ancona isn’t over yet. It was from Australia, and though I won’t have many players available for my side, it’ll be an interesting challenge. I will not provide detailed coverage of my games here [sorry Terk, but I’m not writing a couple of thousand words if only one person can be bothered writing a dozen or so when I ask if I should write about it], but will try to keep you informed. Pedro Munitis decided not to retire at the end of the season, but I still decided against re-signing him. He left at the end of July, as did Manuel Cattani, Olasunkanmi Ajide, Marco Vianello and Dwight Pezzarossi. Massimo Tabai arrived, but bizarrely did so as a player/coach. I know I signed him as a coach, and the news item reflects that, but the bug reported in the demo for this game is still present. Wonderful. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ads Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 Could give you the opportunity to scout out some promising young aussie talents for Ancona anyway It amazes me how you manage to restrain yourself from spending all the money you have been accumulating though, i know i can't! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donners Posted May 24, 2004 Author Share Posted May 24, 2004 I just don't see the point in forking out millions of pounds for a player when I usually have decent success getting them on free tranfers. Then again, our performances haven't exactly set the world on fire, so perhaps it isn't the best approach. The Squad <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> 1st in Italian Serie A Squad Screen | Pkd | Inf | Name | Squad Status | Basic Wage | Contract Expiry | Offer Options | Asking Price | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | MR | | Rabito, A* | Key Player | £15,000 | 31.7.2012 | None | £8M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | FC | | Brichkus, O | First Team | £4,500 | 31.7.2012 | None | £2.9M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | DL | | Briotti, A | First Team | £8,250 | 31.7.2011 | None | £2.4M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB2 | | Gyan, C | First Team | £5,000 | 31.7.2010 | None | £1.1M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | MC | | Lennartsson, N* | First Team | £10,750 | 31.7.2011 | None | £6.5M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | FC | | Papa Waigo | First Team | £4,000 | 31.7.2011 | None | £7.25M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | DC | | Purse, D | First Team | £6,000 | 31.7.2010 | None | £575K | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB6 | | Adu, F | Rotation | £3,500 | 31.7.2013 | None | N/A | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Ret | Berntsen, T | Rotation | £2,500 | 31.7.2010 | None | £75K | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | ML | Unh | El Kadouri, B* | Rotation | £5,500 | 31.7.2010 | None | £4.8M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB7 | | Gardiner, B | Rotation | £3,500 | 31.7.2011 | None | £1.5M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB4 | Unh | Hammond | Rotation | £2,800 | 31.7.2012 | None | £1.4M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB5 | | Kalù, I | Rotation | £3,000 | 31.7.2012 | None | £4.9M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | GK | | Lee, T | Rotation | £3,200 | 31.7.2012 | None | £800K | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | MC | | Neumayr, M | Rotation | £5,250 | 31.7.2010 | None | £2.3M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | DR | | Sarr | Rotation | £6,000 | 31.7.2013 | None | £1.8M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB1 | | Taibi, M | Rotation | £2,000 | 31.7.2014 | None | £75K | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB3 | | Zamperini, A | Rotation | £5,000 | 31.7.2012 | None | £950K | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | DC | | de la Cuesta, J | Rotation | £2,400 | 31.7.2012 | None | £2.3M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Unh | Berntsen, M | Backup | £275 | 31.7.2011 | None | £850K | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Loa | Cassani, M | Backup | £2,900 | 31.7.2010 | None | £975K | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Lst | Frimann, H | Backup | £2,000 | 31.7.2011 | None | £750K | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Wnt | Gibbs, A | Backup | £2,800 | 31.7.2011 | None | N/A | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Unh | Pietravallo, J | Backup | £2,000 | 31.7.2012 | None | £1.5M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Req | Potenza, A | Backup | £2,400 | 31.7.2010 | None | £600K | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Rossi, G | Backup | £3,000 | 31.7.2010 | None | £1.6M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Unh | Arthur | Hot Prospect | £550 | 31.7.2013 | None | £1.7M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Loa | Ferrari, D | Hot Prospect | £650 | 31.7.2012 | None | £850K | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Pappalardo, T | Hot Prospect | £450 | 31.7.2013 | None | £1M | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Unh | Perrone, A | Hot Prospect | £525 | 31.7.2010 | None | £550K | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Webb, C | Hot Prospect | £350 | 31.10.2009 | None | £400K | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre> Total Players: 49 Wage Budget: £375,000 Total Weekly Wages at 2/8/09: £119,852 Goalkeepers Daniel Ferrari [20, GK, ITA – 2 U21/0] – 3, 3, 0 Fresh off a full season in Serie B, where he played quite well as Cagliari’s #1 goalkeeper, Ferrari will have to go through at least another season either in the Under-20s or on loan before getting his chance in the seniors. Tommy Lee [23, GK, ENG – Capped at U21 level] – 1, 48, 0 A reasonably good season from Lee, but he did concede a significant number of goals and was probably the weak link in the side. The return of Ferrari and Rossi will put him under a bit more pressure. Generoso Rossi [30, GK, ITA] – 2, 13, 0 Little impact from Rossi last season, and he played few games on loan at Alavés. He’s a more solid keeper than Lee, and may get a run this season. Massimo Tabai [39, GK, ITA] Signed as a coach, but thanks to bug #557213, he is available as a player. He’s fourth in line as far as I can see, but may get a run to keep him happy. Defenders Andrea Briotti [23, GK, ITA – Capped at U21 level] – 3, 69, 2 One of our most solid defenders, Briotti did well at both left and centre back. He certainly needs to do well considering his large wages… José Julián de la Cuesta [26, D LC, COL – 15/1] – 2, 43, 3 Another solid defender, de la Cuesta should play a similar role to Briotti, rotating between left and centre back. Hélio Frimann [22, D L, DEN – Capped at U21 level] – 1, 9, 0 The good performances of the above two players combined with Frimann’s unremarkable displays saw him quickly lose his spot in the side. He will start in the Under-20s and is unlikely to get promoted. Christian Gyan [30, D R, GHA – 36/1] – 2, 65, 1 The re-signing of Sarr has taken Gyan from a likely first-team regular to a rotational player. He’s been pretty unremarkable in his time at Ancona, but fortunately for him there aren’t as many options at right back as there are at left. Hammond [20, D C, ENG – 2 U21/0] – 1, 5, 0 Hammond broke into the seniors late last season, having played as a regular with Derby for four seasons prior to that. He’s tall and a very capable defender who should get a decent run. Tse Lung Pappalardo [19, D C, ITA – 7 U21/3] – 3, 13, 0 Gee, you think with that name he could be a generated player? After several years of strong performances in the Under-20s, Pappalardo is now on the fringe of the senior side. He’s a huge man, but a bit slow. Antonio Perrone [23, D C, ITA] – 3, 2, 0 Perrone played his first ever senior games last season, despite several seasons at Lecce – including going on loan to Serie C1/A. He’s quite big, but a lot quicker than Pappalardo. Like Pappalardo, he is on the fringe of the senior side. Darren Purse [32, D C, ENG] – 2, 59, 5 Re-signed for this season, Purse should play regularly at centre back to give Pappalardo and Perrone time to develop. Whether he stays on beyond that depends on his performance. Ancona captain 07/08 – present Sarr [25, D RC, SEN – 37/0] – 3, 72, 3 Sarr, signed late in the pre-season, managed to find a regular role in the first team last season at right back. He will have to fight Gyan, but at the moment is the first choice for the spot. Part of World Cup 2006 winners Senegal Alessandro Zamperini [26, D LC, ITA] – 4, 109, 0 Zamperini was re-signed in April last year after excellent form, then promptly fell away just like in 07/08. He’ll have a battle to get a regular spot, but since he’s on large wages for three seasons, he will play quite a few games. Midfielders Freddy Adu [20, AM/F RC, USA – 36/4] – 6, 81, 2 Probably the biggest disappointment last season, Adu not only failed to progress, he regressed. A weak start to the season, and he will be back to the Under-20s. Arthur [23, AM C, BRA] – 4, 3, 0 Having spent more than long enough in the Under-20s, it’s time for the supposedly promising midfielder to show what he’s got. He’s reasonably quick, but not overly skilled. He’ll get a chance, but will need to make an early impression to stay in the side. Michael Berntsen [25, AM L, NOR – Capped at U21 level] – 5, 5, 0 Moved to the seniors only because a coach re-signed him, Berntsen looked good on debut but did nothing after that. He doesn’t really have the pace or skill to be a first team player, and will probably be quickly dropped. Badr El Kadouri [28, AM L, MAR – 27/2] – 4, 150, 7 One of our most experienced players, and still a regular on the left. Kalú may provide a bit more of a challenge, particularly with El Kadouri demanding a new contract, but he will get first shot at the left wing. Ikechukwu Kalú [25, AM RLC, NGA – 5/1] – 1, 29, 0 One of our most impressive players last season, Kalú will get more of a go this season on both wings, and could also take over in the centre if Neumayr doesn’t do well. He, like El Kadouri, wants a new contract. Nordin Lennartsson [26, AM C, SWE – 8/2] – 4, 129, 23 Lennartsson repaid his significantly increased wages with probably his best season yet for Ancona. He scored regularly, set up a few more and generally controlled the midfield. Another good season is required. Markus Neumayr [23, M C, GER – Capped at U21 level] – 2, 56, 4 Another reasonably solid year from the midfielder, who hasn’t quite repaid his £1.7M fee or secured a regular spot on the side. With Montolivo gone, he will partner Lennartsson in the first XI for a while, but will be under pressure from Kalú, Pietravallo and Arthur. Juan MartÃn Pietravallo [27, DM C, ARG – Capped at U21 level] – 2, 12, 0 A huge disappointment, the £950K signing has failed to hold down a senior spot. The departures of Montolivo and Munitis give him a chance, but he will have to improve dramatically to earn a regular place. Andrea Rabito [29, F RLC, ITA – 2/0] – 4, 146, 37 The unquestioned star of the side, and for £15K per week he’d better be. He did well on the right ring for most of the season before moving forward late and scoring six goals in as many games. If Adu and Kalú do well early, he may well move forward again to help out our strikers, particularly considering their lack of pace. Serie A Player of the Year runner-up 07/08, Supporters’ Player of the Year 08/09 Chi Yuen Webb [17, DM RLC, ENG – 2 U21/0] – 1, 1, 0 One of the best prospects in the side, Webb was a regular in the Premier League with Birmingham at 15 and now has his chance to impress here. His technical skills aren’t great just yet, but he has plenty of pace and raw ability. He may get a run this year. Forwards Ole Brichkus [25, S C, LTU – 15/5] An interesting signing, Brichkus played just three senior games in four seasons at Wolves. He was a regular scorer for their reserves, but his ability at Serie A level is unknown. He’s very quick, a reliable finisher and great with his head – a sign that he is capable of scoring plenty. Whether he actually does so remains to be seen. Considering we now have very few particularly quick forwards, Brichkus will need to play a regular role alongside taller players like Gardiner and Waigo. Belhassen Gardiner [26, S C, SCO] – 1, 25, 11 Despite his excellent scoring record, Gardiner is not a first choice for a striking position. He was far too inconsistent last season, playing terribly in the games where he didn’t score (and even in some where he did). He may be better suited to an “impact†role off the bench. Alex Gibbs [25, S C, ITA] – 1, 7, 0 An utter failure last season. He played poorly in both the seniors and Under-20s and looks to have little chance of a spot this year. I would happily release him for free to any club that wants him. Papa Waigo [25, F LC, SEN – 18/8] – 1, 37, 19 One of our best players last season, scoring regularly in the absence of Rungratsamee. He’s best partnered with a fast player, which is a problem considering our weakness in this area, but could do well with Rabito or Brichkus. The Likely Side: (Playing with a 4-4-2) GK – Tommy Lee LB – Andrea Briotti CB – Darren Purse CB – José Julián de la Cuesta RB – Sarr LM – Badr El Kadouri CM – Nordin Lennartsson CM – Markus Neumayr RM – Andrea Rabito CF – Papa Waigo CF – Ole Brichkus Sub – Hammond Sub – Generoso Rossi Sub – Ikechukwu Kalú Sub – Christian Gyan Sub – Belhassen Gardiner Sub – Alessandro Zamperini Sub – Freddy Adu The Staff Giacomo Tafuro (Assistant Manager) Gilberto Vallesi (Coach) Roberto Bocchino (Coach) Roberto Corti (Coach) Giannicola Pinotti (Coach) Giuseppe Venturelli (Coach) Udalrico Tretter (Coach) Stéphane Wiertelak (Coach) Daniel Borimirov (Coach) Massimo Tabai (Coach) Tommy Berntsen (Coach) Salvatore Gnisci (Physio) Massimo D’Ambrosio (Physio) David Jarrett (Scout) Rob Campkin (Scout) Julian Carrera (Scout) Tim Davies (Scout) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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