The Sammarinese Challenge.

[leonavich]

I would try option one for this season to start with. As you are half way through the season, you have 6 months before he enters the final year of his contract and you have already missed the transfer window. Re-sign all the players you need/want to with your current wage bill allowance, then get rid of as much transfer budget for wage bill increase as you need IF you can match what he wants through negotiating him down to something affordable. If not then don't worry too much about the adjusting. If the start of the new season expectations don't give you enough either, safe option is to sell him in the July/August window if you can.

I personally would keep though. Usually in Serie A, money isn't too big of a problem, so I am known to try and keep the star and risk losing him on a fee than sell. Usually you are able to keep them on the books, but every no and then you just can't.

[Daymor]

Cheers for the input Leon.

Obviously part of the reason he wants such ridiculous wages is the fact that he is in the form of his life. Past 5 games would be circa 8.0 - 8.5 avg rating. So if his form drops down the stretch I might try get him on some reduced wages.

But I might wait till the transfer window and see what kind of bids/interest there is in him and if I can get a suitable replacement. If I get a huge offer for him it might be too good to turn down, assuming of course I can find an adequate replacement.

[ryanlion28]

One point in this save i did multiple reloads to get a son, must of done hundreds of reloads and didn't get a son, but didn't get one non italian/sanmarinese player - I didn't even get a son

[leonavich]

Transfers 2016-17

We picked up two amazing frees in midfield with 16 year olds Olivieri and Morra, While Jara was an experience replacement for Grassi and rotational player with Rodriguez up front.

Migliaccio and Bellaid represented the experienced side of the signings, as they were on the other side of 30.

We let a lot of players go, but Benedetti was a sore point. He went for £525k which was above his asking price, but not really much considering he was only mid 20's and would of been a key player to our campaign. Still, the money helps us financially which is important at this stage. Ronaldo also left for a fee as we replaced him with, really, with 5 midfielders, although Migliaacio will be the starting replacement.

This gives us added depth in the middle and up front, while also actually saving on some funds in the wage department, and also making a small return on investment in the sales.

The team is slightly stronger thanks to playing at this level last season and gelling and not adding too many new first XI players.

| Date               | Person             | From               | Fee                | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1/7/2016           | Niccolò Morra      | Tritium            | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1/7/2016           | Gabriele Olivieri  | Treviso            | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4/7/2016           | Luca Mazzitelli    | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6/7/2016           | Daniel Jara        | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9/7/2016           | Matteo Brillanti   | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4/8/2016           | Giulio Migliaccio  | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 26/8/2016          | Habib Bellaïd      | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|                    | Total              |                    | £0                 | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|                    |                    |                    |                    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 







| Date               | Person             | To                 | Fee                | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 29/6/2016          | Simone Guarco      | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 30/6/2016          | Luigi Grassi       | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 30/6/2016          | Simone Piva        | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 30/6/2016          | Ivano Ciano        | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 30/6/2016          | Francesco Pollini  | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 30/6/2016          | Marco Marchesi     | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 30/6/2016          | Mamadou Conte      | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 30/6/2016          | Gianluca Proli     | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 30/6/2016          | Michele Bozzetto   | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 30/6/2016          | Antonio Gatto      | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 30/6/2016          | Giancarlo Alberti  | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 30/6/2016          | Alfredo Bernardo   | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 30/6/2016          | Andrea Gobbi       | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 30/6/2016          | Stefano Dainelli   | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 30/6/2016          | Marco Botto        | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 28/7/2016          | Emanuele Sottovia  | Forlì              | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 22/8/2016          | Ronaldo            | Perugia            | £230K              | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 23/8/2016          | Riccardo Bettini   | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 31/8/2016          | Amedeo Benedetti   | Catania            | £525K              | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|                    | Total              |                    | £758K              | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|                    |                    |                    |                    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

[leonavich]

One point in this save i did multiple reloads to get a son, must of done hundreds of reloads and didn't get a son, but didn't get one non italian/sanmarinese player - I didn't even get a son

I have never seen a direct relative to me (brother, son, etc) in the game so not sure if that is possible.

[Daymor]

Sounds like you made some good deals there Leon.

You can get a son through the Youth Intake, Jimbo has one in his San Marino save. I think you have to be at the club for 10 years (maybe more, I am not sure) before it is even possible. I have been at the Club for more than 10 years now so for me I think it's possible to have one come through the Youth Intake.

[leonavich]

Sounds like you made some good deals there Leon.

You can get a son through the Youth Intake, Jimbo has one in his San Marino save. I think you have to be at the club for 10 years (maybe more, I am not sure) before it is even possible. I have been at the Club for more than 10 years now so for me I think it's possible to have one come through the Youth Intake.

The first 6-7 matches have been promising with the new signings. Will probably have the 10 match update out tonight. I am going out for a while this evening but should get the 3 games done to get to that part of the season.

That's actually pretty interesting! I have never seen that before, so hopefully I get a son coming through also after 10 or so seasons.

[Daymor]

Bringing in new blood really can help. The season I am working on at the moment where I am actually challenging for the Serie A title (a couple points back from Juve now) I brought in about 5-8 new players and retooled my midfield. I have no doubt that it has had a significant impact on my performances on the park.

For the past couple seasons I have remained loyal to those who got me to where I am instead of looking to upgrade. I also brought in a new striker to pair with Thanasis Papadinas (the Greek I mentioned earlier). They are both in the top 4 goalscorers in the league. I'll try post a couple images later tonight. But I am certainly happy with how my team is performing.

[leonavich]

I like to stay loyal to the few that perform well, but improve around them and slowly remove players so as to not disrupt the chemistry much. As an example, Pacciardi has slowly been getting less game time as my defensively based midfielder. I brought in Ronaldo last season who got more game time than he did, but they shared it fairly evenly. I wanted to keep Ronaldo this season as well, but a bid came in with some cash that was handy so I just got a stop gap until I can find another younger player.

I am slowly getting a younger core that will get better than they are currently, but at the same time, they are interchangeable with new players that I will slowly bring in and integrate from transfers etc.

[leonavich]

How about this for a 12 goal thriller, with the keeper scoring the equalising penalty in the 90th +4 minutes.

How we let a 5-2 lead at half time slip is beyond me, but well done for hanging in there and clawing back to level it deep into stoppage time.

[leonavich]

Season 2016-17 Match Day 10

We had strengthened the team over the summer and it showed early as we went undefeated in our first 10 games. The disappointing side of things is that we started with 3 straight wins, then proceeded to draw everything under the sun. We ended with 3 straight draws to go 5 wins and 5 draws in our opening 10 matches, for a total of 20 points. While it was enough for 4th on the ladder, we really should of taken more. the 6-6 draw which we had 5-2 up at half time springs to mind, as I hope these early results don't come back to bite us.

| Pos   | Inf   | Team           |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Cittadella     |       | 11    | 8     | 1     | 2     | 25    | 13    | +12   | 25    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Crotone        |       | 11    | 7     | 1     | 3     | 21    | 15    | +6    | 22    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Parma          |       | 10    | 6     | 3     | 1     | 20    | 6     | +14   | 21    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | San Marino     |       | 10    | 5     | 5     | 0     | 24    | 16    | +8    | 20    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Catania        |       | 11    | 5     | 4     | 2     | 17    | 14    | +3    | 19    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Empoli         |       | 11    | 6     | 1     | 4     | 21    | 19    | +2    | 19    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Spezia         |       | 11    | 5     | 3     | 3     | 19    | 14    | +5    | 18    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Bari           |       | 11    | 5     | 2     | 4     | 20    | 19    | +1    | 17    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | Livorno        |       | 11    | 5     | 0     | 6     | 28    | 21    | +7    | 15    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | Perugia        |       | 11    | 4     | 3     | 4     | 12    | 16    | -4    | 15    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Padova         |       | 11    | 4     | 3     | 4     | 17    | 14    | +3    | 15    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Siena          |       | 11    | 4     | 3     | 4     | 16    | 19    | -3    | 15    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | Varese         |       | 11    | 4     | 3     | 4     | 17    | 19    | -2    | 15    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | Pisa           |       | 11    | 4     | 2     | 5     | 25    | 25    | 0     | 14    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Benevento      |       | 11    | 4     | 2     | 5     | 17    | 20    | -3    | 14    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | Avellino       |       | 11    | 4     | 0     | 7     | 16    | 26    | -10   | 12    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th  |       | Lumezzane      |       | 11    | 2     | 5     | 4     | 18    | 19    | -1    | 11    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  |       | Modena         |       | 10    | 2     | 4     | 4     | 12    | 18    | -6    | 10    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th  |       | Verona         |       | 10    | 3     | 0     | 7     | 10    | 16    | -6    | 9     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th  |       | Virtus Entella |       | 11    | 2     | 3     | 6     | 19    | 28    | -9    | 9     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 21st  |       | Ternana        |       | 11    | 2     | 3     | 6     | 18    | 21    | -3    | 9     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 22nd  |       | Trapani        |       | 11    | 2     | 1     | 8     | 7     | 21    | -14   | 7     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|       |       |                |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

[Daymor]

2021/2022 Season

Was reasonably active in the transfer market prior to the start of the season and upgraded a few positions. Transfer of note was the acquisition of Thanasis Papadinas from FC Nantes for $10.25Mil, a record transfer for our club. Although I was one year late, the prior season he was sold from Atalanta for $1.6Mil.

Thanasis played up front with Sasa Cicarevic who has been with me the whole way through the save to date and had became the most capped Titani player, until he got injured and Marcello Ahmetovic surpassed him. Our form over the year was very solid, we were never in danger of being relegated which is a nice change of pace. I need to continue signing more players to improve the weaker areas of my squad.

Serie A

Past Positions

Table

Squad

- Youth Intake was not particularly impressive, only two players worth tagging for potential and signed only 1 SMR player for National Team depth. In hindsight I should have signed more as I subsequently took over management for the National Team.

- Enrico Bonini was the top rated recruit, surprise surprise, yet another CD. The National Team no longer has any shortage of CD's, many with a lot of room for growth which is promising.

National Team Update

As I mentioned, I have taken over as head coach of the National Team and have not really settled on any particular formation. Rather just playing whatever suits the players I have in the squad depending on availability.

- I am regretting not signing every single SMR player for the past couple of intakes since I have been in Serie A, as even the half a star recuits would likely add depth to the squad. Plus there is the added benefit of being able to control their training and tutor them.

- Lucca Rattini stands head and shoulders above any other player in the squad by quite a significant margin. Accordingly I am trying to create formations where he is the focal point of the team. He is my best goal scorer having grabbed 4 over the course of the 7 or so international games played.

The main area of concern for the National Team is definitely the front end, we lack solid Strikers. I did have a good striker come through the youth system a few years ago, Roberto Ceccoli. Unfortunately he had dual nationalities and was capped once at U21 level and has been refusing my call-ups ever since. I am confident he will eventually play in the National Team, but I may just have to be patient with him.

This is the first time I have managed a National Squad and I am quite enjoying it so far. Hopefully San Marino can climb the rankings and become relevant.

[leonavich]

Good luck with the National Team... It's a tough gig. You seem very steady in the top flight now also. Time to aim for the Champions League spots!

[leonavich]

Match Day 23

After picking up 20 points in our opening 10 matches, I was confident of our first target, avoiding the drop. Our next target was the be in the top half, which would require another solid performance as our opening to the season. We did not disappoint, as we picked up 19 to move onto 39. Our undefeated streak fell in remarkable fashion, as we lost 5-2 in two consecutive matches, but we got back on track as we got 7 points from our last 3 games, including a win over then first place Cittadella to end up on 46 points. Tied 3rd place and 1 point off first is a remarkable position to be in at this stage of the season, and with 19 games to go, even if we fall off our current form, we should still keep a top 10 placing.

| Pos   | Inf   | Team           |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Crotone        |       | 23    | 15    | 2     | 6     | 44    | 27    | +17   | 47    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Parma          |       | 23    | 14    | 4     | 5     | 40    | 18    | +22   | 46    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | San Marino     |       | 23    | 13    | 7     | 3     | 50    | 35    | +15   | 46    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Cittadella     |       | 23    | 14    | 2     | 7     | 50    | 33    | +17   | 44    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Spezia         |       | 23    | 13    | 4     | 6     | 42    | 31    | +11   | 43    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Catania        |       | 23    | 12    | 6     | 5     | 37    | 25    | +12   | 42    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Bari           |       | 23    | 11    | 3     | 9     | 42    | 39    | +3    | 36    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Avellino       |       | 23    | 11    | 2     | 10    | 48    | 49    | -1    | 35    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | Livorno        |       | 23    | 11    | 1     | 11    | 54    | 43    | +11   | 34    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | Pisa           |       | 23    | 10    | 3     | 10    | 52    | 54    | -2    | 33    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Perugia        |       | 22    | 9     | 5     | 8     | 31    | 31    | 0     | 32    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Ternana        |       | 23    | 8     | 5     | 10    | 36    | 40    | -4    | 29    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | Empoli         |       | 23    | 9     | 2     | 12    | 37    | 42    | -5    | 29    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | Verona         |       | 23    | 8     | 4     | 11    | 30    | 29    | +1    | 28    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Modena         |       | 23    | 7     | 6     | 10    | 32    | 41    | -9    | 27    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | Siena          |       | 22    | 7     | 5     | 10    | 29    | 39    | -10   | 26    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th  |       | Varese         |       | 23    | 6     | 6     | 11    | 38    | 48    | -10   | 24    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  |       | Padova         |       | 23    | 6     | 6     | 11    | 31    | 41    | -10   | 24    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th  |       | Benevento      |       | 23    | 6     | 5     | 12    | 32    | 46    | -14   | 23    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th  |       | Lumezzane      |       | 23    | 5     | 7     | 11    | 35    | 43    | -8    | 22    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 21st  |       | Trapani        |       | 23    | 6     | 2     | 15    | 18    | 37    | -19   | 20    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 22nd  |       | Virtus Entella |       | 23    | 5     | 5     | 13    | 38    | 55    | -17   | 20    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|       |       |                |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

[Daymor]

Leon. Looks like things are going well for you this season.

Hope your form stays consistent and you can earn your promotion to Serie A either by coming 1st or through the playoffs.

A funny thing just happened to me in my save as well. I saw Michele Bindi had been released by Torino after two seasons and only earning 1 cap for them (they paid me $400k for him). So I picked him up on a free because I didn't want him to retire and tried to get him out on loan because he is not of sufficient quality to be in my team.

I couldn't get him out on loan, but Torino did come to me and offer $400k for him again. So I sold him to Torino again, for the exact same amount as last time. I was scratching my head a little, especially given last time they bought him he played 1 game over two seasons.

But hey, I'll happily take more of Torino's money.

[leonavich]

Haha, sometimes the AI isn't very bright. I once bought a striker from AC Milan for something like £3.5m named Devide De Negris mid season, so, early January. During the window I had about 4 or 5 matches in which he scored almost 3 goals a game and he ended up with something like 13 or 14 goals.

Needless to say he became a hot commodity, and on the last few days of the window, AC Milan put in a bid for him again... Something like £20m. He was playing amazing, and so I wasn't too keen to sell, so I put in something that was way over the top. About £70m plus their main striker as a substitute. Turns out they accepted the offer! I ended up getting a world class striker my way and £65m+ profit.

Pretty silly considering this was all in the space of a month, and both players belonged to AC Milan in the first place!

[Daymor]

O wow, that is some pretty stellar business there on your behalf though.

I was happy with $400k, but you got a World Class striker and $65mil. Now that's pretty damn nice.

[leonavich]

Alan Smith his name was. No idea why he was world class though. He had a finish ability of 9, yet banged in almost a goal a game. I think it may have been to do with how over poered pace used to be. He was had 20 acceleration and pace and it really helped him. It was back in FM07 I think.

[leonavich]

Match Day 34

We genuinely struggled as we entered the second part of the season, mainly due to injuries and suspensions rendering us wafer thin in the backline and on the wings. As a result we lost 4 out of 6 and managed 17 points from 11 games. Whilst we dropped from the pinnacle of the table, we still stand a chance of promotion as we currently occupy 4th place though things are tight a few place behind me.

With 8 games to go and a possibility of 24 points, I will need at least 73 to secure 4th place, which is 10 more points. The last few seasons have seen 68, 66 and 73 claim 4th.

| Pos   | Inf   | Team           |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Parma          |       | 34    | 22    | 6     | 6     | 63    | 24    | +39   | 72    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Catania        |       | 34    | 21    | 8     | 5     | 60    | 31    | +29   | 71    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Spezia         |       | 34    | 20    | 6     | 8     | 67    | 43    | +24   | 66    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | San Marino     |       | 34    | 18    | 9     | 7     | 72    | 59    | +13   | 63    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Cittadella     |       | 34    | 19    | 5     | 10    | 71    | 52    | +19   | 62    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Empoli         |       | 34    | 19    | 3     | 12    | 62    | 54    | +8    | 60    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Crotone        |       | 34    | 18    | 2     | 14    | 61    | 61    | 0     | 56    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Bari           |       | 34    | 17    | 3     | 14    | 68    | 62    | +6    | 54    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | Pisa           |       | 34    | 16    | 4     | 14    | 73    | 73    | 0     | 52    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | Avellino       |       | 34    | 16    | 4     | 14    | 73    | 75    | -2    | 52    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Livorno        |       | 34    | 16    | 3     | 15    | 76    | 63    | +13   | 51    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Perugia        |       | 34    | 13    | 6     | 15    | 58    | 54    | +4    | 45    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | Modena         |       | 34    | 12    | 9     | 13    | 56    | 58    | -2    | 45    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | Verona         |       | 34    | 12    | 6     | 16    | 46    | 46    | 0     | 42    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Ternana        |       | 34    | 12    | 6     | 16    | 54    | 65    | -11   | 42    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | Lumezzane      |       | 34    | 8     | 10    | 16    | 50    | 63    | -13   | 34    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th  |       | Benevento      |       | 34    | 9     | 6     | 19    | 48    | 73    | -25   | 33    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  |       | Padova         |       | 34    | 8     | 9     | 17    | 47    | 58    | -11   | 33    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th  |       | Siena          |       | 34    | 8     | 7     | 19    | 37    | 64    | -27   | 31    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th  |       | Trapani        |       | 34    | 9     | 4     | 21    | 30    | 54    | -24   | 31    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 21st  |       | Varese         |       | 34    | 7     | 10    | 17    | 53    | 68    | -15   | 31    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 22nd  |       | Virtus Entella |       | 34    | 8     | 6     | 20    | 57    | 82    | -25   | 30    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|       |       |                |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

[leonavich]

We have 4 games left (which means we have played 4 of our last 8). Boy, what an end of season collapse this has been! I have drawn 2 and lost 2 to sides that are mid table and below. Playoffs may not even be in our foreseeable future

I think I will leave the game and save the last few games for tomorrow and hope my luck changes then!

[Daymor]

That's unfortunate Leon.

Hopefully you will have more success in the final 4 games so you can pick up some much needed wins and points to stay in the playoff race. My team always seems to have it's trough in the middle of the season. In my (very limited)experience I find that unless you have a team that is truely superior to the others in the league it always seems happens at some point. Either from injuries, suspension or for no apparent reason sometimes it all just seems to fall apart.

[leonavich]

It definitely fell apart last night. About to play my last 4 games now

[leonavich]

Match day 42

We capitulated at the end of the season as we dropped points left right an centre. We only managed 7 points in our final 8 games, one of which was a 1-1 draw against the winner Catania, and our final game of the season was a 1-0 win over Varese who came dead last. Had we not pulled in those 4 points, we still would of made the playoffs, albeit in 8th place.

As it stands we have Bari in the opening playoff fixture, and I am fairly confident now that we have a number of players back from injury.

One final point to note is that Poletti played in the final match of the season, at home to Varese, and was involved in the winning goal. This was a sad day as this was his final home match before he hangs up his boots. We have made the playoffs, but he is unlikely to be selected for the crucial games, and is on the verge of accepting the under 19 Management role with the club.

| Pos   | Inf   | Team           |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | C     | Catania        |       | 42    | 26    | 10    | 6     | 74    | 39    | +35   | 88    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | P     | Parma          |       | 42    | 26    | 8     | 8     | 73    | 30    | +43   | 86    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   | Pl    | Spezia         |       | 42    | 23    | 8     | 11    | 79    | 54    | +25   | 77    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   | Pl    | Empoli         |       | 42    | 24    | 5     | 13    | 75    | 62    | +13   | 77    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   | Pl    | Cittadella     |       | 42    | 21    | 9     | 12    | 82    | 63    | +19   | 72    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   | Pl    | San Marino     |       | 42    | 19    | 13    | 10    | 80    | 69    | +11   | 70    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   | Pl    | Bari           |       | 42    | 21    | 6     | 15    | 85    | 73    | +12   | 69    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   | Pl    | Crotone        |       | 42    | 21    | 4     | 17    | 72    | 71    | +1    | 67    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | Modena         |       | 42    | 17    | 11    | 14    | 77    | 72    | +5    | 62    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | Livorno        |       | 42    | 19    | 5     | 18    | 88    | 76    | +12   | 62    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Avellino       |       | 42    | 18    | 7     | 17    | 84    | 87    | -3    | 61    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Pisa           |       | 42    | 18    | 6     | 18    | 84    | 86    | -2    | 60    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | Perugia        |       | 42    | 16    | 8     | 18    | 69    | 65    | +4    | 56    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | Verona         |       | 42    | 15    | 8     | 19    | 59    | 58    | +1    | 53    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Ternana        |       | 42    | 14    | 9     | 19    | 64    | 76    | -12   | 51    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | Benevento      |       | 42    | 11    | 9     | 22    | 58    | 85    | -27   | 42    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th  |       | Siena          |       | 42    | 11    | 9     | 22    | 49    | 78    | -29   | 42    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  | Pl    | Virtus Entella |       | 42    | 11    | 8     | 23    | 66    | 92    | -26   | 41    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th  | Pl    | Padova         |       | 42    | 10    | 10    | 22    | 57    | 74    | -17   | 40    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th  | R     | Lumezzane      |       | 42    | 9     | 13    | 20    | 60    | 78    | -18   | 40    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 21st  | R     | Trapani        |       | 42    | 11    | 6     | 25    | 39    | 69    | -30   | 39    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 22nd  | R     | Varese         |       | 42    | 8     | 14    | 20    | 65    | 82    | -17   | 38    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|       |       |                |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

[leonavich]

Playoff Match 1 v Bari

We had a full roster of players back and put out our best line up for the first time in months. It showed as we took an early lead. Bari hit 2 back before Venturi slotted a penalty and we routed them for a winner to progress to the Semi Finals 3-2.

Playoff Match Semi Final 1 V Spezia

The match was evenly poised until the final 10 minutes when Spezia had a man sent off. Instead of the tide turning toward out favour however, we must of let complacency in and Spezia hit a late winner to win 1-0. The return leg meant we needed to win, whilst being away from home.

Playoff Match Semi Final 2 V Spezia

We went down very early thanks to an own goal from Miccoluci, and things did not look great. We went virtually all out attack as we tried to break their defence, but it wasn't until the 51st minute that we struck the equaliser. We were down 2-1 on aggregate so we had to push for another. The clock went into injury time, and all seemed lost... Until this happened!

I went absolutely insane. We were through to the final.... Or not...

I found out after the match and my wild celebrations that Spezia progress being the higher seeded team, not us based on away goal rule aggregates! My lapse in judgement made me look right foolish, as well as really angered. We had played so valiantly to win the game 2-1, and we still went home empty. Absolutely devastated and now we need a whole new season to try to repair that damage.

[leonavich]

I missed the full squad list, so here is the best XI from 2016-17 season

San Marino Best XI

[Daymor]

2022/2023 Season

After my big spending spree over the season break it took a while for my team to gel together and start playing as a unit. Papadinas was excellent in front of the goal scoring 23 goals in the Serie A (one of the top in the league, see table below), scored a few more in the cups etc also. Sasa Cicarevic was let go over the off-season, which was painful. I had really grown to like the guy and even though his stats weren't stellar his production was always adequate if not above what his stats would suggest. But his replacement Papadinas was just a beast and I don't think Sasa would be able to produce at the same level as Papadinas.

We were safely clear of relegation for the whole season, and slowly making a push up the table. I think I need to keep bringing in complimentary players to help improve my roster if I want to seriously push up the league. Juve, Roma and Napoli etc can still offer significantly higher wages than I can, as a result still have squads that are just better than what I can put together.

The bookies even gave us odds of ~40-1 which isn't too bad, a significant improvement over the 2000-1 they offered on our first season in Serie A.

Serie A

Past Positions

Table

Squad

- Youth Intake was pretty good, our top 3 recruits are all eligible for San Marino, Matteo Casali however has dual nationalities. Our Head of Youth Development is brining in a lot of defenders but we have a serious shortage of talent up front and I am still holding out for Roberto Ceccoli to cave and play for the National Team or for a good striker to show up.

- Adriano Somma was the top rated recuit of the bunch and looks to be a very solid player, will slide straight into the NT team as a starter. Luckily he is only SMR, otherwise I feel his ambitious nature would lead to him wanting to play for Italy I feel.

- Matteo Casali, a Striker. Hopefully this guy can develop into something useful. Dennis Albani is currently my best NT striker and he is below average at best.

- Pierluca Orlando adds some more depth to the NT midfield which is useful. I found that when I upgraded the Midfield for my club side it had a huge impact on results. Hoping for something similar for the NT.

National Team Update

As each intake passes I am signing virutally all players eligible for the NT to help build a pool of depth. I figure even half a star would be somewhat useful to the NT. If they don't develop over the course of their youth contract then I just cut them.

The results for the National Team were pretty terrible as to be expected. I don't think we won or even drew a game, even a friendly against China/Hong Kong. Was pretty disappointed. We did manage to score some goals though, even against Spain which was surprising. I think we managed to hold them to 3-1 by parking the bus.

- National Team Squad

Luca Rattini - Returns Home!

Unfortunately only on loan for till the end of the season, but I jumped at the chance to have him back at San Marino if only so I could control his training for that brief moment of time for NT purposes.

I just wanted to show you the progress my best regen to come through my academy as a National Team player. I knew he was going to be good when I first saw him, but he has developed into something amazing now he just needs support from the rest of the NT.

- Luca Rattini @ 15

- Luca Rattini @ 21

BREAKING NEWS - Look who has signed Luca Rattini

[Daymor]

Leon.

Hard Luck on not getting the promotion. I am pretty sure I have been caught out the by the progression rules in the playoffs as well, I am so use to playing in England that I always though it was away goals in the case of a draw on aggregate.

[leonavich]

Rattini looks immense! I have never seen a midfield national player like that, bar maybe Nicola Mularoni in my FM13 San Marino save. Looks quality!

Thanks, to be honest, I don't think I have ever drawn in a Serie B playoff match before so I wasn't expecting it. So far this season has been alright, but promotion may be a bit tough as I didn't strengthen much and let a few of my fringe players go in case I made the step up, to free up some space. I didn't, and struggled to bring in adequate cover so I am even thinner than last year.

[leonavich]

Transfers 2017-18

We let a few of our limbo players go as I risked freeing wage space for promotion. Needless to say, we didn't go up, and some loyal players where let go without outcome swinging my way.

Sy and Rodriguez spring to mind and may have been worth keeping, while Gavilan and Micolcci had served well over the years and probably deserved new contracts for loyalty purposes. Bellaid was a solid defender but the money offer was a tidy profit, and our young Di Menna was never good enough, but forced a huge £230k fee. A record actually, and for a very mediocre player at that.

We did strengthen though. Maini's co-ownership was won with a fee of £130k, half of his value and the most I was willing to contribute as otherwise I would of co-owned him for a loss. Yaisien, after 3 years of being on loan, was finally bought on a full time basis, while Carraro, Rondanini and Morleo made up the first team squad purchases. The rest are really just fringe and rotation players, though Russo and Di Vicino were brought in by my head of youth development, and I am very disappointed with the players, let alone the fees he has paid.

| Date               | Person             | From               | Fee                | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 30/6/2017          | Marco Maini        | Cesena             | £130K              | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1/7/2017           | Pietro Urso Russo  | Pro Sesto          | £10K               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1/7/2017           | Federico Carraro   | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1/7/2017           | Abdallah Yaisien   | Bologna            | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9/7/2017           | Ivan Rondanini     | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11/7/2017          | Archimede Morleo   | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11/7/2017          | Francesco Di Vicino| Vigor Lamezia      | £45.5K             | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12/7/2017          | Francesco Urso     | Cesena             | Ln Fee £4.2K p/m   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15/7/2017          | Andrea Guatelli    | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18/9/2017          | Ignacio Piatti     | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|                    | Total              |                    | £185K              | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|                    |                    |                    |                    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 







| Date               | Person             | To                 | Fee                | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 30/6/2017          | Vittorio Micolucci | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 30/6/2017          | Ousmane Sy         | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 30/6/2017          | Adam Kovacsik      | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 30/6/2017          | Alejandro Rodríguez| Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 30/6/2017          | Matteo Maresca     | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 30/6/2017          | Cristian Petricelli| Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 30/6/2017          | Marco Morri        | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 30/6/2017          | Manuel Gavilán     | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 30/6/2017          | Alfonso Piccirillo | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 30/6/2017          | Andrea Gasperoni   | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13/7/2017          | Habib Bellaïd      | Novara             | £125K              | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14/7/2017          | Daniele Di Menna   | Cagliari           | £230K              | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 31/8/2017          | Marco Contratto    | Forlì              | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|                    | Total              |                    | £352K              | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|                    |                    |                    |                    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

[leonavich]

Season 2017-18 Mach Day 10

Not as good a start as last season where we were undefeated with a record of 5-5-0, but at the same time, we only had 1 point more, so we are not far off despite 3 losses. We have suffered a big loss to Spezia, but also had a big win over Sassuoulo, both games bring 5-0 so we need to work on consistency over the next 10 games to bring us midway through the season. Still, early days, we shall see how we fair a bit deeper in to the year.

| Pos   | Inf   | Team       |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Spezia     |       | 10    | 7     | 2     | 1     | 23    | 9     | +14   | 23    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Pisa       |       | 10    | 6     | 3     | 1     | 24    | 12    | +12   | 21    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Padova     |       | 10    | 6     | 3     | 1     | 13    | 9     | +4    | 21    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Livorno    |       | 10    | 6     | 1     | 3     | 20    | 9     | +11   | 19    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | San Marino |       | 10    | 6     | 1     | 3     | 18    | 12    | +6    | 19    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Ternana    |       | 10    | 5     | 3     | 2     | 20    | 14    | +6    | 18    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Benevento  |       | 10    | 5     | 3     | 2     | 18    | 14    | +4    | 18    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Modena     |       | 10    | 5     | 1     | 4     | 20    | 19    | +1    | 16    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | Novara     |       | 10    | 4     | 3     | 3     | 12    | 11    | +1    | 15    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | Verona     |       | 10    | 3     | 5     | 2     | 12    | 11    | +1    | 14    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Cesena     |       | 10    | 3     | 4     | 3     | 16    | 13    | +3    | 13    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Sassuolo   |       | 10    | 4     | 1     | 5     | 18    | 22    | -4    | 13    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | Crotone    |       | 10    | 3     | 3     | 4     | 21    | 16    | +5    | 12    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | Cittadella |       | 10    | 3     | 3     | 4     | 16    | 14    | +2    | 12    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Vicenza    |       | 10    | 3     | 3     | 4     | 15    | 16    | -1    | 12    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | Ascoli     |       | 10    | 3     | 3     | 4     | 16    | 19    | -3    | 12    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th  |       | Avellino   |       | 10    | 3     | 2     | 5     | 16    | 23    | -7    | 11    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  |       | Perugia    |       | 10    | 3     | 2     | 5     | 14    | 21    | -7    | 11    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th  |       | Siena      |       | 10    | 1     | 6     | 3     | 13    | 12    | +1    | 9     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th  |       | Bari       |       | 10    | 2     | 1     | 7     | 10    | 28    | -18   | 7     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 21st  |       | Latina     |       | 10    | 2     | 1     | 7     | 7     | 19    | -12   | 7     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 22nd  |       | Grosseto   |       | 10    | 0     | 0     | 10    | 8     | 27    | -19   | 0     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|       |       |            |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

[MADA]

jimbo are you still playing this?

i've won the champions league now, so half completed. national team currently ranked at 49, with a superstar striker, but i have a terrible GK. every other position is okay, a couple of very good midfielders, and a good right back, but i won't be cracking the top 25 any time soon.

[leonavich]

Season 2017-18 Match day 20

We are having a great run at the moment, as we notched up 42 point over 20 games, picking up 23 in the last 10 alone. In fact we have had a fantastic streak, going 9 games without loss as we keep pace with the league leaders on 46, 4 points ahead of us. January is now approaching, but I will look to retain rather than expand, as I would like to see the team cohesion remain strong, also I will need to improve if we gain promotion anyway.

| Pos   | Inf   | Team       |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Pisa       |       | 20    | 14    | 4     | 2     | 51    | 28    | +23   | 46    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Spezia     |       | 20    | 13    | 3     | 4     | 43    | 24    | +19   | 42    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | San Marino |       | 20    | 13    | 3     | 4     | 41    | 24    | +17   | 42    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Livorno    |       | 20    | 12    | 3     | 5     | 41    | 19    | +22   | 39    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Padova     |       | 20    | 10    | 5     | 5     | 23    | 19    | +4    | 35    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Cittadella |       | 20    | 9     | 6     | 5     | 38    | 27    | +11   | 33    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Novara     |       | 20    | 8     | 6     | 6     | 33    | 27    | +6    | 30    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Ternana    |       | 21    | 8     | 6     | 7     | 41    | 41    | 0     | 30    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | Benevento  |       | 20    | 7     | 8     | 5     | 38    | 33    | +5    | 29    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | Crotone    |       | 20    | 8     | 5     | 7     | 42    | 28    | +14   | 29    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Cesena     |       | 20    | 8     | 5     | 7     | 38    | 29    | +9    | 29    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Vicenza    |       | 20    | 8     | 4     | 8     | 26    | 27    | -1    | 28    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | Sassuolo   |       | 20    | 8     | 4     | 8     | 34    | 36    | -2    | 28    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | Modena     |       | 20    | 8     | 3     | 9     | 32    | 33    | -1    | 27    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Avellino   |       | 20    | 7     | 6     | 7     | 34    | 41    | -7    | 27    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | Verona     |       | 20    | 6     | 7     | 7     | 28    | 27    | +1    | 25    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th  |       | Ascoli     |       | 20    | 6     | 3     | 11    | 32    | 45    | -13   | 21    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  |       | Siena      |       | 20    | 4     | 8     | 8     | 26    | 29    | -3    | 20    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th  |       | Perugia    |       | 21    | 4     | 6     | 11    | 31    | 44    | -13   | 18    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th  |       | Latina     |       | 20    | 4     | 5     | 11    | 23    | 40    | -17   | 17    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 21st  |       | Bari       |       | 20    | 2     | 3     | 15    | 19    | 58    | -39   | 9     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 22nd  |       | Grosseto   |       | 20    | 1     | 3     | 16    | 14    | 49    | -35   | 6     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|       |       |            |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

[leonavich]

I found this kid at 16 and boy, he looks like he could be a future star if he continues to develop at the rate that he is...

I present to you, Niccolo Morra

Here are his stats in his second season with the club.

[leonavich]

Season 2017-18 Match day 30

We are having an incredible season, having 6 games won on the trot at one point, and it showed as we crept to the top of the table. We beat Spezia 2-1 before losing 3-1 to Pisa who were top at the time, and we also took a heavy 4-0 loss to Sassuolo but went undefeated for the remaining 8 including a 5-0 win over Avellino. We sit top but there is still 12 games to go and that is a long way in a tight table. With 8 points buffering me from 4th, a top 3 position looks likely should I pick up at least 12 points from the final 12 games.

| Pos   | Inf   | Team       |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | San Marino |       | 30    | 20    | 4     | 6     | 62    | 36    | +26   | 64    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Pisa       |       | 30    | 19    | 6     | 5     | 74    | 46    | +28   | 63    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Spezia     |       | 30    | 19    | 5     | 6     | 68    | 38    | +30   | 62    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Livorno    |       | 30    | 16    | 8     | 6     | 59    | 30    | +29   | 56    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Vicenza    |       | 30    | 15    | 5     | 10    | 43    | 38    | +5    | 50    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Sassuolo   |       | 30    | 15    | 4     | 11    | 64    | 53    | +11   | 49    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Novara     |       | 30    | 13    | 8     | 9     | 51    | 38    | +13   | 47    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Modena     |       | 30    | 14    | 5     | 11    | 55    | 50    | +5    | 47    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | Padova     |       | 30    | 12    | 9     | 9     | 33    | 33    | 0     | 45    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | Cittadella |       | 30    | 12    | 9     | 9     | 57    | 51    | +6    | 45    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Verona     |       | 30    | 12    | 8     | 10    | 47    | 41    | +6    | 44    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Cesena     |       | 30    | 12    | 6     | 12    | 56    | 48    | +8    | 42    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | Benevento  |       | 30    | 11    | 9     | 10    | 55    | 50    | +5    | 42    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | Avellino   |       | 30    | 11    | 7     | 12    | 56    | 61    | -5    | 40    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Ternana    |       | 30    | 11    | 7     | 12    | 54    | 60    | -6    | 40    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | Perugia    |       | 30    | 11    | 6     | 13    | 53    | 53    | 0     | 39    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th  |       | Crotone    |       | 30    | 10    | 5     | 15    | 56    | 50    | +6    | 35    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  |       | Siena      |       | 30    | 7     | 9     | 14    | 35    | 47    | -12   | 30    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th  |       | Ascoli     |       | 30    | 9     | 3     | 18    | 48    | 71    | -23   | 30    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th  |       | Latina     |       | 30    | 5     | 7     | 18    | 35    | 62    | -27   | 22    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 21st  |       | Bari       |       | 30    | 3     | 6     | 21    | 30    | 83    | -53   | 15    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 22nd  |       | Grosseto   |       | 30    | 3     | 4     | 23    | 29    | 81    | -52   | 13    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|       |       |            |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

[coady]

Apologies for my long absence due to holiday/house move. I am here to update after youth intake day in my 3rd season, which is amazingly in Serie A after the surprise of back to back promotions. We've been doing okay and have given ourselves a strong chance of just staying up, here's the league table.

On youth intake day this season my hopes were answered. I needed a good youth player who could become a back up centre half for club and a centre midfielder for the national team. I did not expect to get both in one player though! Here is Alessandro Morri. He has the potential to be a good Serie A defender which is great news for the club & nation.

Finally, I thought I'd give a quick update on my star youth player from the first season. He has played a lot of games in Serie A this year and has even scored a couple of vital goals. Here are Giacomo Bianchi's current stats.

I will hopefully post my next update when Serie A safety has been secured.

[leonavich]

Welcome back Coady. You are having a great run!

Staying up in Serie A will really give you the money boost you need for improving those facilities. I found that getting cemented in Serie A is when you really start to make improvements internationally as well since the average Sammarinese player is getting better training, tutelage, and coming through at a higher level due to league.

I'm hoping I can keep my form and make a push for Serie A this season as well.

[leonavich]

Season 2017-18 Match day 40

It was not a very good run of games for us, as we only picked up 15 points in the 10 games. We had a run of 2 losses 2 draws and one win in our final 5 games to really put pressure on, however we still managed to keep first place and even move 1 point further ahead as Spezia picked up only 14 and Pisa, 11. With 2 games remaining, we only need to hold our nerve. Our fate in in our own hands.

| Pos   | Inf   | Team       |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | San Marino |       | 40    | 24    | 7     | 9     | 85    | 58    | +27   | 79    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Spezia     |       | 40    | 22    | 10    | 8     | 87    | 53    | +34   | 76    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Pisa       |       | 40    | 22    | 8     | 10    | 93    | 69    | +24   | 74    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Livorno    |       | 39    | 21    | 8     | 10    | 75    | 47    | +28   | 71    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Sassuolo   |       | 40    | 21    | 7     | 12    | 89    | 69    | +20   | 70    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Novara     |       | 40    | 20    | 9     | 11    | 74    | 50    | +24   | 69    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Modena     |       | 40    | 20    | 7     | 13    | 88    | 67    | +21   | 67    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Vicenza    |       | 40    | 20    | 7     | 13    | 58    | 53    | +5    | 67    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | Verona     |       | 40    | 18    | 10    | 12    | 67    | 53    | +14   | 64    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | Cittadella |       | 40    | 17    | 10    | 13    | 76    | 70    | +6    | 61    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Padova     |       | 40    | 17    | 9     | 14    | 55    | 50    | +5    | 60    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Cesena     |       | 40    | 17    | 7     | 16    | 78    | 69    | +9    | 58    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | Perugia    |       | 40    | 17    | 7     | 16    | 75    | 73    | +2    | 58    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | Benevento  |       | 40    | 15    | 12    | 13    | 76    | 68    | +8    | 57    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Ternana    |       | 40    | 12    | 12    | 16    | 74    | 83    | -9    | 48    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | Avellino   |       | 40    | 12    | 11    | 17    | 70    | 83    | -13   | 47    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th  |       | Ascoli     |       | 40    | 13    | 3     | 24    | 70    | 91    | -21   | 42    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  |       | Crotone    |       | 40    | 12    | 6     | 22    | 81    | 88    | -7    | 42    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th  |       | Siena      |       | 39    | 10    | 11    | 18    | 49    | 63    | -14   | 41    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th  | R     | Latina     |       | 40    | 7     | 10    | 23    | 44    | 82    | -38   | 31    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 21st  | R     | Bari       |       | 40    | 5     | 8     | 27    | 40    | 108   | -68   | 23    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 22nd  | R     | Grosseto   |       | 40    | 5     | 5     | 30    | 43    | 100   | -57   | 20    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|       |       |            |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

The final matches are

San Marino

(H) V Benevento (14)

(A) V Bari (21)

Spezia

(A) V Ascoli (17)

(H) V Grosseto (22)

Pisa

(A) V Ternana (15)

(H) V Ascoli (17)

[coady]

I'm pleased to say we survived our first season in Serie A, although the league table made it look far more comfortable than it was in the end. We survived with a game to spare, then 4 Sammarinese youngsters started in the win over Genoa on the final day!

We managed to pick up a couple of surprise accolades too. This one came as a huge surprise to me! We also got this award, which was nice to receive.

Finally, the best bit of news. I didn't want to ask for a new stadium yet as it would likely be small and restrict potential for the next 20 years, so I did nothing and was surprised to get this announcement! Firstly, this buys us a couple more years before I need to ask for a stadium financially. Secondly, as it is the NT ground, it should increase potential attendance for that too.

[leonavich]

Well done Coady, you did very well and even managed a few awards! It's a good start to life at the top, hopefully you can make it even higher up the Serie A in a few years to come!

[leonavich]

Our Serie B campaign has ended.... Here are the results of the final 2 matches:

(H) V Benevento 3-2 (Jakubiak 18, Yaisien 86, 90+2)

Two late strikes in the final 5 minutes from Yaisien got us over the line and kept our lead at the top to 3 with 1 game to go.

(A) V Bari (21) 4-1 (Venturi pen 17, Draghetti 30, 57, Jakubiak 50) We took an early 4 goal lead and never surrendered, Claiming the Italia Serie B Championship!

We won both our matches, one was a last gasp goal, the other was a great team display. Regardless though, we did enough to win the league by a clear 3 points. We only needed a draw coming in to the final game, and it shows that cohesion really played a part in our great season. A few of this squad had been together since Playing in Serie C1, so it was well worth the pay off that they helped us get to the Serie A 3 years later.

Spezia

(A) V Ascoli (17) 2-1

(H) V Grosseto (22) 1-0 They did enough to retain second place and gain automatic promotion

Pisa

(A) V Ternana (15) 4-2

(H) V Ascoli (17) 2-1 Each side won their games, but it was their rough patch with about 12 games to go that cost them the title, let alone an automatic placing. They now have to battle it out with the playoff sides

[leonavich]

Season 2017-18 Review

We had a great season last year but failed in the final 3rd of the season and dropped down the placings. I had been keen to improve on this so let a lot of players go last season hilst picking up a few who marginally improved our squad, primarily in the back. Our left flank was still a bit light, but as you can see, our backline was fairly consistent, playing in a combined total of 159 games out of 176 games. Only one of those was a substitute appearance. Our goalkeeper played in all 44 matches to give our defense a solid consistency, whilst only Carraro was the only other player to have played in all 44 matches. Veratti came close playing in 43, but this included 11 substitute appearances.

The consistency and rotation in the key areas led to us vying for the title after a slowish start, and Carraro was key to that with a club high 24 assists in the season. We somehow managed to hold on to the title, and we now face a daunting task of Serie A football. I will be looking to retain as much of the side as I can to reward their form this season. Strength will be required primarily in the back for the upcoming season.

Table

| Pos   | Inf   | Team       |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | C     | San Marino |       | 42    | 26    | 7     | 9     | 92    | 61    | +31   | 85    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | P     | Spezia     |       | 42    | 24    | 10    | 8     | 90    | 54    | +36   | 82    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Pisa       |       | 42    | 24    | 8     | 10    | 99    | 72    | +27   | 80    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Livorno    |       | 42    | 23    | 9     | 10    | 81    | 48    | +33   | 78    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Sassuolo   |       | 42    | 22    | 8     | 12    | 93    | 72    | +21   | 74    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   | P     | Novara     |       | 42    | 21    | 9     | 12    | 80    | 55    | +25   | 72    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Modena     |       | 42    | 20    | 7     | 15    | 91    | 72    | +19   | 67    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Vicenza    |       | 42    | 20    | 7     | 15    | 59    | 58    | +1    | 67    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | Padova     |       | 42    | 19    | 9     | 14    | 62    | 55    | +7    | 66    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | Verona     |       | 42    | 18    | 11    | 13    | 70    | 57    | +13   | 65    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Cittadella |       | 42    | 18    | 11    | 13    | 80    | 72    | +8    | 65    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Cesena     |       | 42    | 18    | 8     | 16    | 83    | 72    | +11   | 62    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | Perugia    |       | 42    | 18    | 7     | 17    | 78    | 79    | -1    | 61    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | Benevento  |       | 42    | 16    | 12    | 14    | 79    | 71    | +8    | 60    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Ternana    |       | 42    | 13    | 12    | 17    | 81    | 88    | -7    | 51    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | Avellino   |       | 42    | 12    | 12    | 18    | 72    | 87    | -15   | 48    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th  |       | Siena      |       | 42    | 11    | 11    | 20    | 51    | 67    | -16   | 44    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  | R     | Crotone    |       | 42    | 12    | 7     | 23    | 86    | 95    | -9    | 43    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th  |       | Ascoli     |       | 42    | 13    | 3     | 26    | 72    | 95    | -23   | 42    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th  | R     | Latina     |       | 42    | 7     | 10    | 25    | 45    | 86    | -41   | 31    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 21st  | R     | Bari       |       | 42    | 5     | 9     | 28    | 45    | 116   | -71   | 24    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 22nd  | R     | Grosseto   |       | 42    | 6     | 5     | 31    | 45    | 102   | -57   | 23    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|       |       |            |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

Year at a Glance

2017-18					Place	Played	Win	Draw	Loss	Gf	Ga	Gd	Pts

Serie B		Champions		1st	42	26	7	9	92	61	31	85
Italian Cup	3rd Qualifying Rnd	-	2	1	0	1	1	3	-2	-

Best XI

| Pkd  | Inf  | Name                 | Apps    | Gls  | Ast  | PoM  | Pas R| Tck  | DrbPG| Sh T | Yel  | Red  | Av Rat | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| GK   | Hol  | Giacomo Venturi      | 44      | 6    | 0    | 1    | 91%  | 0.05 | -    | 100% | 1    | 0    | 7.07   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DR   | Hol  | Ivan Rondanini       | 41      | 2    | 5    | 1    | 80%  | 2.90 | 0.52 | 40%  | 9    | 0    | 7.00   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DCR  | Hol  | Marco Maini          | 41      | 2    | 0    | 0    | 73%  | 3.61 | 0.35 | 18%  | 6    | 1    | 6.89   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DCL  | Hol  | Vittorio Ferrero     | 36 (1)  | 6    | 1    | 2    | 74%  | 3.79 | 0.36 | 32%  | 9    | 1    | 6.90   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DL   | Hol  | Archimede Morleo     | 39      | 1    | 0    | 1    | 83%  | 3.95 | 0.46 | 25%  | 16   | 1    | 6.92   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| MCR  | Hol  | Francesco Urso       | 24 (7)  | 1    | 1    | 0    | 88%  | 1.77 | 0.65 | 42%  | 4    | 0    | 6.97   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| MCL  | Hol  | Francesco Di Tacchio | 27 (3)  | 2    | 3    | 0    | 85%  | 1.61 | 0.35 | 47%  | 1    | 1    | 6.97   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| AMR  | Hol  | Gianluca Draghetti   | 23 (5)  | 5    | 8    | 2    | 83%  | 0.91 | 2.81 | 51%  | 1    | 0    | 7.08   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| AMC  | Hol  | Abdallah Yaisien     | 34 (4)  | 11   | 6    | 1    | 83%  | 1.01 | 2.31 | 38%  | 0    | 0    | 7.15   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| AML  | Hol  | Federico Carraro     | 44      | 12   | 24   | 8    | 73%  | 1.20 | 2.67 | 48%  | 2    | 0    | 7.34   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| STC  | Hol  | Luca Veratti         | 32 (11) | 14   | 7    | 4    | 79%  | 1.22 | 0.93 | 49%  | 6    | 0    | 7.04   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S1   | Hol  | Andrea Guatelli      | 0 (2)   | 0    | 0    | 0    | 91%  | -    | -    | -    | 0    | 0    | 6.80   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S2   | Hol  | Ignacio Piatti       | 5 (10)  | 1    | 0    | 0    | 86%  | 1.34 | 0.67 | 9%   | 0    | 0    | 6.73   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S3   | Wnt  | Niccolò Morra        | 21 (19) | 8    | 12   | 1    | 81%  | 0.98 | 1.87 | 41%  | 2    | 0    | 7.18   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S4   | Wnt  | Daniel Jara          | 0 (14)  | 2    | 0    | 0    | 63%  | 0.79 | 0.79 | 60%  | 0    | 0    | 6.79   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S5   | Hol  | Alessandro Mainardi  | 1 (4)   | 0    | 0    | 0    | 77%  | 4.33 | 1.44 | 100% | 0    | 1    | 6.60   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S6   | Hol  | Matteo Saias         | 5 (4)   | 0    | 0    | 0    | 80%  | 2.99 | 0.35 | 0%   | 1    | 0    | 6.74   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S7   |      | Alex Jakubiak        | 25 (11) | 9    | 8    | 2    | 77%  | 0.69 | 0.48 | 52%  | 4    | 0    | 6.94   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S8   | Hol  | Anthony Rivituso     | 9 (13)  | 0    | 2    | 0    | 83%  | 2.75 | 0.76 | 0%   | 5    | 0    | 6.86   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S9   | Hol  | Giulio Migliaccio    | 31 (4)  | 5    | 0    | 3    | 85%  | 2.05 | 0.54 | 36%  | 18   | 0    | 7.00   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -    | Hol  | Luca Valeriani       | 1 (2)   | 0    | 0    | 0    | 84%  | 2.84 | 2.84 | 0%   | 0    | 0    | 6.90   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -    | Hol  | Luca Mazzitelli      | 0 (9)   | 0    | 0    | 0    | 86%  | 2.20 | -    | 0%   | 0    | 0    | 6.73   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -    | Hol  | Matteo Brillanti     | 0 (1)   | 0    | 2    | 0    | 57%  | -    | -    | -    | 0    | 0    | 7.40   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -    | Hol  | Gabriele Olivieri    | 1 (3)   | 1    | 0    | 0    | 77%  | 2.35 | 0.78 | 100% | 0    | 0    | 6.80   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -    | Hol  | Pietro Urso Russo    | 0 (3)   | 0    | 0    | 0    | 84%  | -    | 0.00 | -    | 0    | 0    | 6.80   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|      |      |                      |         |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |        | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

Overall XI

2017-18

[Jimbokav1971]

Serie A. Runners Up. After winning Serie A for the last 5 seasons, we were beaten, (comfortably in the end), into 2nd place by Napoli. We were poor this year by our recent standards, (losing 7 games compared to 1, 3, 1, 5, 4 in recent years. There is a reason for this however as I have looked to really play more (SMR) players in the 1st team and at the moment, (with just the 2 Cup Finals to play), 7 Sammarinese players have featured in 20+ games this season and another 3 not far off that mark. I'm a little peeved that we didn't win our 6th Serie A title, but that's just the way it goes I suppose. In trying to win everything, I have often rotated and rested players more than might be prudent, and I have even rested players with a view to them being in peak condition for INT games. We sold players last season to the value of £126M, and just brought in 4 youngsters valued at a total £21.6M so that certainly suggests thet the squad is somewhat weaker. Napoli won 10 of their last 12 games to clinch the title, (drawing 1 and losing 1), while we really imploded, losing on 5 occasions and drawing another 2 to lose 19 points in the run-in compared to Lazio's 5. We simply didn't deserve to win the title with form like that. Part of the reason for this poor form has been my lack of playing time, (I think). I have been literally grabbing a game here and a game there and often I log on and don't even get to play a game. FM has taken a back seat and I've just been busy so maybe my concentration/focus has wandered.

AC Milan have just set a new Serie A attendance record. 110,979 turned up to see them beat us 1-0 on the last game of the season. Their average attentance in Serie A this season has been 89,996, (compared to our 44,269 average), but there are only 3 other clubs now, (Inter, Juve and Napoli), averaging more than us. We sold out 11 of our 19 games, so as soon as the 20 year stadium limit is reached, I guess we will be in line for a big new one. (Balance is currently about £250M).

Champions League. Champions, for the 2nd year running and the 3rd time in total from a total of 4 appearances in the Final. This was our last game and it was a bit of an anti-climax actually after losing both the Serie A and domestic Cup Final last night/this morning.

Italian Cup. Runners Up. We led 1-0 at HT and the game seemed to be in the bag, but I made some poor lazy substitutions and we paid for it as we lost late on 2-1 to Inter.

World Club Championships. Champions. To be honest, these games seem a bit of a waste of time. The European team always seems to win and you almost seem guarateed the trophy when you qualify.

Italian Super Cup. Champions. We won this for the 6th season in succession and these games, (for whatever reason), seem to be usually quite easy. I don't think the AI manages erarly season fitness values very well, (or they simly don't prioritise this trophy).

European Super Cup. Champions. We won this for the 2nd time in our history, (making it 5 in a row for Italian Clubs. Interestingly, Napoli seem to be developing nicely. They beat us to the Serie A title this season and have been runners up in this competition in 3 of the last 7 seasons, (we have been in the final 3 times ourself).

U19's League. Champions. The youngsters really smashed it this season and fell just 1 point short of the 100 point mark, (losing only 3 times in the process).

U19's Cup. Champions. The boys won the Cup for the 3rd consecutive season and I notice that each of the Finals was played at our Youth Stadium, (Dogana, Serravalle).

Italian Youth Club Invitational. Runners Up. Despite taking this competition seriously, (it's hard because the games come thick and fast in and amongst other Youth Cup games), we lost in the Final to (KOR) side Suwon Blue WIngs. We dominated the game but were poor up front and neither created enough chances, not took them when they came. I was a bit gutted about this one actually. When I have lost these type of Finals in the past, it has often been because I had forgotten to take control of the team. On this occasion I remembered and was in cvharge of the Final. We just performed poorly.

U19's Champions Cup. Runners Up. I can't believe I did it again, but in being so keen to rush to the end of the season, (just to get it over and done with because it has really dragged), I forgot to take control of the the game and we lost 1-0 to Dinamo Zagreb via a late OG. ARGHHHHHH!

Summary. A quadruple, (Italian Super Cup, European Super Cup, World Club Championships & Champions League), together with 2 U19 wins and 2 U19's Runners Up sounds great, but to be honest it was a bit of a let-down. The Super-Cups are both a bit of nothing competitions and I'm not a fan of the World Club Championships, and would have much preferred to obvioulsy win the League and domestic Cup. I'm not too bothered at losing the Youth Invitational, (we were beaten fair and square), but I'm really peeved with myself for forgetting to manage the U19's Champions Cup Final. Eegit! In terms of developing the squad and keeping the focus on (SMR) players, this will continue and if anything is going to be developed and increased. In the near future I hope to regularly only field HG players. (That's HG registered players rather than players who have been promoted from the academy). I hope to reduce the number of foreign youngsters that I sign at an early age and my goal is eventually to play just (SMR) players. How realistic this is.... well I'm not quite sure. My GK is Italian and he will be my GK for ages because I am tracking his goals, but by the time he retires I hope to be at the stage where he is the only non-SMR player in the squad. I'm not planning on getting FM15 and will be just plodding on with this save. I'm npt getting much game-time at the moment anyway, so it's probably largely irrelevant.

Champions or Runners Up in all 10 competitions we entered sounds great, but really there is significant room for improvement.

[leonavich]

It sounds like a fantastic season to me Jimbo, I won the league I think 6 times and the Champions League only once. So to have come first or second in all comps, as ell as doing back to back in many of them or constitutives up until this season is amazing.

If anyone is going to break the international trophy duck, it most certainly should be you! Good Luck, I hope the SMR home grown players pays off!

[Jimbokav1971]

Thanks Leon. I'm going to just keep plugging away and if that fails then I will have to consider downloading a skin that has an auto result feature. While the club side is great, it's really all about the NT now.

I think my progress just shows that as long as you think long-term and stick with it, challenges such as this don't have to be that daunting. People go through dreadful seasons, (like my 2nd season), and just give up, assuming that they are wasting their time. That season was bloody hard work, but I got enough out of it to keep me going and I certainly learned more than enough to make it worth continuing even had I been sacked, (which I thought likely at the time). Luckily it's now just a dim and distant memory.

Will try and catch up with this thread and the progress you guys have made later on tonight. Mon the San Marino!

[Edit]

ps. Just had 87 players called up for International duty. I think that's a record.

[leonavich]

Woah! 87 people is pretty much every single player in all tiers of the club!

Yeah, it is pretty hard when it gets to those tough stages, I had ultimatums in the previous thread when I struggled, and I think my first attempt back then before I started posting I actually got fired as I was trying to go all SMR too early and I changed up the way I played the save and learnt from it.

[Jimbokav1971]

Woah! 87 people is pretty much every single player in all tiers of the club!

No. I have LOADS of players contracted to the club.

28 Players in my Senior squad. Most of these are senior players that will play 20+ games each season, but there are also tutors who are really only at the club tp tutor youngsters, but are kept in the Senior Squad.

1 Player on trial in the Senior Squad. (He's an ex academy product who had gone to play elsewhere but I have brought him back and will probably offer him a contract and loan him out).

63 Players in the Reserves who are out on loan at other clubs, (46 of these players are Sammarinese). Many of them are not ever going to be good enough for the Senior Team, but I am just trying to add depth to the National pool and develop them as well as possible and keep them in the game.

9 Players in the Reserves who for whatever reason did not go out on loan but are not considered part of the Senior squad.

58 Players in the U19's, (31 of which are Sammarinese and a further 13 of whom are Italian, leaving 14 non-Italian/Sammarinese players in the youth team, all of whom have been purchased rather than been home produced).

5 Players in the U19's who are out on loan. (It's not my policy to loan out youngsters so I have either made a mistake or they are players who were down the pecking order where we had significant strength in depth.

So that means that I currently have a total of.... off the top of my head.... 164 players currently contracted to the club. I have actually streamlined the squad a fair bit in recent seasons and it was probably up at 200+ in previous seasons. I am keeping reasonable San Marino players in the game if they are unable to secure a deal in a playable league. We are nearing the time where this is not going to be needed, but we are not quite there yet.

[Jimbokav1971]

Daymor.

Rattini does indeed look very good. That AMC spot is so key in unlocking defences, (at least it has been the way I play). How much did you sell him for? Was it too good to turn down? Oh, I hjave just seen that he has gone to Bayern for $31M. What I do is sign all the best youngsters on to the longest possible youth contract and then a few days later I sign then on pre-contract terms with the longest possible deal and then also a 3 year option on them, (often giving me an 8 year term). I have to pay more for this, (sometimes a lot more), but it means that the players are tied into me for 5 years + 3 years = 8 years so I get them until they are about 23. The benefits in this are not just that you time them into the club so that you get the benefit of them playing for you for longer, but also, when you do sell them, (I have oly been forced to sign 1 single (SMR) player and I bought him back 3 years later), you get a better price for him. It also means that you can also control their training/development and in particular their mentoring with a view to moulding their personality. I have 13 Model Professionals at the club, (it has been higher), and 21 who are Resolute, together with some other good personalities. This allows me to have a very Professional squad which means that I hope to have fewer issues with players kicking up a fuss and wanting to leave, (so long as I can produce the goods).

It's frustrating when you get a good youth player who has dual Nationality. It's almost a dead cert in the early stages that they will want to play for Italy, and you have to sort of home that they don't develop too well so that they get overlooked. Keep the faith with them though. I have had a few play U21's for Italy and look like they will make the grade for Italy at Senior level, only to surprise me with a change of heart and accept a call-up. Keep an eye on the suggested squad from your Ass Man, (because they can often give a hint that a player might agree to a call-up), but what I do is empty the NT squad every single time and just pick it anew and try to call these dual player up EVERY single time, (often even when they might not be good enough to make the squad), just so that we can get them declared for (SMR).

[Edit]

The most recent convert is 24yo DRC Cavalli "Conti" who racked up 19 (ITA) U21 appearances, (and 1 goal), and has just accepeted a call-up to the squad to play Spain and Luxembourg. He will be making an appearance from the bench against Spain and he will be (SMR) forever after that.

[Jimbokav1971]

Leon.

Yeah, I lost the Serie B Playoff Final to Latina by virtue of them having a higher ranking, (ie having finished higher in the league). I was gutted in the extreme.

Morra looks excellent. Just a shame he is not from (SMR).

Congrats on promotion to Serie A.

[Jimbokav1971]

Mada.

Yes I am still playing, (see recent update), and am determined to keep going. (I won't be buying FM15). We have won the Champions League 3 times now, (last 2 years), and the NT are currently ranked 49th (in June 2035), however we have been ranked as high as 41st, (in June 2033). GK was a huge problem for me in the early years and I think it was about a decade until I got even just a poor GK, (rather than having to play an awful one). Now I have options in all positions, (including 2 decent GK's) and I am really hopeful of qualifying for the 2036 EURO's, (although losing 3 of our opening 4 games to Spain (twice) and a surprise 3-0 hammering to Belarus has given me problems. We were decimated with injuries and suspensions and wasn't a good performance or result.

[Edit]

haha. We had lost to Spain and then to Belarus, and I was just ready to press play on the 2nd game against Spain as I was writing these replies. Spain are ranked 1st in the World and are pretty strong at the moment so I assumed we would lose so mentioned above losing twice to them. We have just gone and beaten the #1 ranked team in the World 2-1. That's our best ever result. It's HUGE!. To be honest we were VERY good and we should have won by more. They bossed possession but we countered them effectively and as well as scoring 2 goals, also hit the woodwork twice, (the 1st one was so good that I had already started celebrating). lol Great result and performance. Now let's see if we can see of Luxembourg.

[Edit2]

While the loss to Belarus has already kicked us in the rankings, (they are ranked 66th so there wasn't a huge difference at the time). Spain on the other hand are a HUGE scalp and it should give us an impressive boost in the rankings.

[Jimbokav1971]

Coady

Morri looks brilliant. Perfect even. Congrats on the double promotions. It's great that Bianchi can still produce for you, (Bianchi was the name of my best 1st season youth product so I can relate to him especially). What I like best about his pic though is his NT scoring ratio of 33%. Very good.

Congrats on staying up.

I used to love getting that "best team" award. Unfortunately I no longer get it now that we are actually winning the league. I'm not sure what exactly the award is.

With regards to the stadium, I made absolutely no requests and just let the Chairman deal with it and he at first extended it and then built a new one and I can't complain at all. The timing was very good all the way through and we are now maxed out at 45,000 capacity and waiting for the 20 years to pass until he builds us a new one. My Chairman got the Olimpico up to a 9,187 capacity before building a new one, (22,500 initially I think).