PGC: The Italian Job for FM15

[AndyFal36]

[Jonas Christensen]

MOTY 2023/24

The managers have all cast their votes for 2023/24 Manager of the Year... It was a close vote this year with 3 performances over-shadowing the others... Davie did the double by winning Serie C/A and the Serie C Cup, while Stuart won Serie B and got promoted to Serie A, and finally Jonas getting 4th and Champions League qualification in his second season in Serie A... In the end, Jonas ran with the award, which was his first in FM15...

[SeanBhoy88]

End of season update.

Serie A.

Jonas Christensen had a very solid season. His Siena side was up there battling throughout, as they reached the latter stages of the cup. His side managed to march on and grab a Champions League spot - fantastic for his second season in A. With a good window under his belt, Siena will be the one to watch in Serie A this coming season.

Andy Fallon was working with a budget marginally smaller than the rest of the teams in A. He did very well to maintain his teams status in the league, his side starting pretty well, then hit a really bad patch before consolidating their position in Serie A for next season. This year could be the year we see him spending some of the hard earned cash and moving on up the ladder in A, perhaps grabbing Novara's first stint in a European competition.

Ali Turner was given the job of resurrecting Roma with £0 budget. Things were not going to plan, but you wouldn't say things were going bad either. His sacking came as a surprise to the clan, his dismissal a result of squad morale rather than league form. He is currently unemployed and waiting on the right club to take forward.

Serie B.

Stuart Abrey had a very good season - his side never dropping below the top 4 throughout. He managed to go on and bag the league title in pretty good fashion and now faces the task of taking that form into Serie A. If they turn up with their Serie B form, there is no reason why Palermo cannot fight off relegation with ease.

Andy Gillespie he was only at Empoli for a short while, following his sacking from Fiorentina. Empoli are a team that was not long out of A and still possesses some quality playing personnel, not to mention the war chest of £19m. Insane budget for Serie B, big things are expected from his side in the coming season.

Josh Blakey took over Parma with a huge job on his hands (with so many players out and relegation staring him in the face). He managed to turn that around however, and he can certainly talk a good game. This season will be his first full season and with a transfer window under his belt, it will be interesting to see how he does.

Also we have a new addition to the clan, Damien Turner, who has got his hands on a very good Cesena side. If he can sort out their minor problems, there could be some exciting things to come.

Serie C.

Davie fell short of promotion last season (which must have hurt), but bounced back with a bang this season, taking the Title and the Serie C cup in great fashion. With a tiny budget however, questions will be raised about Davie’s ability to handle the heat in Serie B. It’ll be a tough season, but all the best fella.

[SeanBhoy88]

Perugia end of season update.

Well all did not go to plan for me this season despite making the playoffs we were far from being at our best, its taking me some time to get to grips with the style in Italy having come from a very long spell in the premiership playing such an attacking and possession based style for a long time you could say I am kind of stuck in my ways and that has to change.

The highlight of my season had to be making the playoffs and beating the eventual league winners Palermo 6-2 which was surprising, at the time of this victory my team was absolutely flying and I believed the playoffs would be a breeze, little did I know that my team would yet again go off the boil, we went on to lose 4-3 away to Verona in the playoffs.

Here is my marquee signing this summer a very promising young lad from west ham who I was very fortunate to snap up, I expect him to make that left back spot his own this year.

Here is the man many clubs are chasing young Josef, a recruit I snapped up from Spurs on a pre contract his displays have really caught the eye and I am finding myself having to fend off a lot of very good bids, if the clubs step up their bids to match my evaluation I will be resigned to losing him as every player has their price.

As you can see my time here has been somewhat of a transition there has been a lot in and a lot out with not much money being spent, I have improved the clubs balance by around 3-4+ million and we turn over a profit by the month, so the future doesn't look to bad for us at the moment.

Window and expectations.

This window hasn't been to great for me if I am honest but its only half way through so I wont be to down about that yet, we have secured 3-4 good players but we have also lost a lot of players including 4-5 first team regulars, yet again there has probably been to much change in personnel, my goals this season is to finish inside the top 5 and qualify for the Italian cup, I reckon that will be hard this year because of the amount of good teams and human managers now applying their trade in b, but having been in here building for 2 years now I believe we have the materials to go on and be one of the top sides.

More soon.

[Jonas Christensen]

HoF 2023/24 Season

[AndyFal36]

AndyF - Novara

Mission accomplished, with one of the youngest squads in Serie A and a salary expenditure which was bettered by 50% of Serie B sides, safety was guaranteed on the penultimate game of the season. Things got a little to close for comfort after a great 1st half of the season in which we accumulated enough points by mid-December to find ourselves in 12th place and all was going well but things were soon to change. With only 3 wins in the next 17 games we were right in the middle of a relegation dogfight with 6 games to go. Vital wins against San Marino, Udinese and Genoa added to the vital and most important point of the season picked up against Lazio it was enough to enable us to fend of the efforts of Sampdoria and Genoa in the battle for the drop with the latter suffering heart break on the final day of the season.

In the transfer market we made a profit of £4m on all transfer activity with the club only spending £600k on two permanent signings with 23year old Brazilian Adhemar Cintra signing from Sao Paolo and new club record signing from CSKA Moscow for £350k Russian U-21 international Alexandr Menschikov.

This money added to the extra income from gate receipts with our average attendance up to over 16,000, TV revenue and sponsorship helped the club achieve record profits of almost £30M prompting the board to clear the clubs debts and upgrade the training and youth facilities funding an investment of almost £8M.

At the moment we sit with £40M in the bank with a projected balance of £58M, a transfer budget of £25M and a spare £260K to spend on player wages.

With this financial nouse or is it noose (only people in clan will get that) comes the obligatory burden to the tax man and the club were hit with a tax bill of almost £10M.

Once again this season its all about consolidation with a media prediction of 20th we are the favourites to go down this year with the board expecting us to battle bravely to avoid the drop. I wont be looking to splash the cash around on big money signings this year either I'll be sticking to my philosophy of loans, frees and tiny fees but would probably pay up to a max of £1.5-2M for the right player.

So i'll post next week with a full list of this summer windows comings and goings and hopefully have some positive news in our quest of 17th place or better this upcoming season.

Until Next Time.......

[Jonas Christensen]

So my second season in Serie A is over, and we achieved a record-high position and it was by far my best season of FM15 so far...

We achieved a phenomenal 4th place and a cup final (which we lost to Juventus)... And Willian won best Young Player of the Year, we were Biggest Overachievers, voted Best Team in Serie A, Olic won best Young Player of the Year in Serie B where he was on loan and Blin was tied for Top Goalscorer and Most Assists in Serie A...

All in all, it was a great season, and it's going to be difficult to follow up on it this season...

For the new season, we're expected to get a midtable position, and, despite my 4th place last season, I'll be perfectly happy if I can just fulfill that expectation... We haven't brought in many players so far, but quite a few have left our side... But we have splashed on two first team signings and I'm hoping to get one more in...

Looking outside the scope of Siena

To end off this post, I'd like to take a moment to talk a bit about my fellow clan members, and give me perspective on the new season...

Me and Andy F are being joined in Serie A by Stu this season, who grabbed an impressive league win in Serie B last season... Since Stu is in charge of Palermo, expectations are probably unfairly high, with him being expected to get a midtable position in his first season up. Granted, I haven't looked properly at his side yet, so I don't know what quality he might have among his players. I've seen him and Andy land a few good players, that I myself had also had my eyes on at one point or another. But while I'm hoping to find myself battling for a top 10 position, I'm expecting it to be a bit more difficult for the two others. Andy has been saving his cash and getting the club extremely financially secure so far, but I won't make the mistake of under-estimating Andy and Stu, since they are both very experienced, and hopefully, they'll end up well up the table with me...

I'm expecting an extremely competitive Serie B this season with a large amount of human managers... Two of the lads are new, Damien and Josh, so it'll be interesting to see how well they do... Damien have taken on the task of bringing back Cesena to Serie A, while Josh is rebuilding the fallen "giants" Parma...

I'm fully expecting Sean and his Perugia side to put in a bid for the top 4 this season, after being a PO candidate to seasons running, and if Josh can back up his big talk in the clan chat about tactics, he should be up there as well.

Davie is back in Serie B, this time with Cremonese, my old side and my favourite Italian club, and while it can be tricky to go up, I'm hopefull for Davie, since he had a strong season with doing the double in Serie C

[smashin88]

Empoli today announced the signing of manager Andrew Gillespie. The manager had been out of work for 6 months after his sacking from the Fiorentina job. His departure from Fiorentina after a second place finish is still clouded in mystery with fans and media alike unsure what to make of the manager now after tasting success and failure now with Spezia and the Viola. This probably contributed in the manager opting for a Serie b team in an effort to resurrect his career and reputation. Empoli as they stand at the moment are in a bad way. Ageing players, a lack of effort and a real unease in the stadium brought about by years of lacklustre performanses and a distrust of the previous manager. On the bright side the manager has a reported 15 million pound war chest to spend and going by his financial prudence at Spezia and Fiorentina the fans will know their money is in good hands.

Gillespie will have a head start on bringing in players he knows and trusts with last seasons player of the year Acursio Bentivegna a player he signed for spezia and spoke very highly off during his time there and also Rene Piscopo a player he had in the reserves at Spezia too. With a transfer already in place for Lorenzo Pezzi another of his Spezia players the manager is surrounding himself with players he knows he can trust and players with the same attacking ethos that he hopes to implement into this Empoli team.

With the team lookin short in almost all areas and a severe lack of pace throught the first team its going to be a huge rebuilding job this summer and the Empoli fans are demanding promotion this year the manager has his work cut out and its going to be a busy couple of months before the season starts. a rumoured move for former Torino player Mat Miazga is on the cards with sources saying the player i8s mulling over a 2 year deal and another of gillespies former players Icheannacho looking close to agreeing a 1.7 million deal the money is already being spent some really top quality loan moves are already in the pipe line with De Mauro coming in from Chelsea most likely to play as a centre back he will be joined by Larry Okoro who as a holding midfielder from QPR was a man in demand with Empolis rivals Perugia also trying during the last few weeks to bring him in.

The board have made it clear they will back the manager and are happy to have him in charge but they want promotion this year so the pressure is on from the start and its sure to be an exciting season ahead for the fans and manager alike .

[FFCStu1428]

Stuart - Palermo

Champions Again and back in the big time after 2 season's away. Its been a great season for us and i am really pleased for the fans as there has been a few dark years at this club. We did stumble away over the finish line but with a small a side there was always going to be a risk of players getting tired.

Below is a how the end half of the season went.

SUMMER WINDOW

So now its time to scout around for all the free and bargin players. so far things have gone very well for me as i have signed all the players i have gone for and have spent next to nothing below is the signings so far

One for the 2,3 seaons time. Sent on loan to Davie and should do well in B

Maybe my best find this summer. Was let go on a free from Roma and will fit into my side with ease. I hope for good things.

My new Number 1 goal keeper 1.9million is no money at all, very pleased.

On loan from gent and a back up for the first team

Had to battle it out with andy for this signing andy offer was 17k a week mine was 14k and he went to me. a great signing for me

On loan from Villa with a 6m Deal in place if hes good enough, he is a risk but time will tell.

Much needed center half for less than a million. More than good enough for my side.

There will be more signings to come this summer, i am in for another MC and i think 2,3 back up players are needed.

Well thats you upto date and another great season for me

[scooter28]

Lega girone A champions and serie C cup winners

Well this season has went very well i could not have done any better really won the league and won the serie C cup.I might have won the league by

8 points but am still not happy drawing 10 games i need to turn 1 point into 3.

My star player for the season has to be the lad i got onloan from siena(Jonas) he missed a chunk of the season but still managed to get 20 league

goals in 23 league games and thanks to jonas i will have him again this year for the serie B challenge

The serie C Cup or as others would call it the mickey mouse cup was rather easy if the truth be told it was all over after the 1st leg

2nd leg i lost but the cup was already won

So we move on up to serie B and whats the 1st thing my board do they downgrade the training facilites its so funny i need to laugh

ontop of that they give a transfer kitty of NOTHING yes not 1 bean then they turn round and say we want mid-table in serie B

My goal is just to staying in the division a think my board may have been drinking when they said mid-table

[Kamakazeee]

So my first few months as the manager of Parma are over and it has been one of the biggest challenges I have had in the game. It has consisted of ill-mouthed rants, fist pumps, pulling at the hair, many cans of lager and the occasional rant ending in a high pitched squeal when Alberto Grassi somehow dances between two defenders and side foots the ball into the net, who fast becoming one of my favourite players of any save I have had.

Parma? Probably one of the most unlucky and badly run teams I know about, that crown will always go to my beloved Newcastle, I they have a bright pink kit. Alberto Cerri, who never wants to leave apparently and clubs doctors who seem to have acquired their qualifications from playing the board game operation. When I first walked into the club, things looked bleak, I was faced with around 60% of the team out injured and it quickly became apparent that the players that were left were rather limited in quality. Still, I felt optimistic that I could bring this great club back to its former glories, who doesn’t love the story of a once fallen giant rising once again.

Sadly I was quickly brought down to earth, I walked into the club with an ego, I wanted to take a poor team and make them Gucci. I soon found how limited this squad would be, after number of tactical choices, rather stubborn ones at that, I decided we had to go back to basics, we had to be tight at the back. If the above results continued we would be relegated without a doubt. We started off with a draw, a game which I thought we played quite well, but following this we went on a torrid run of not winning a game in 10. We got some beatings in that time without a doubt, morale was at an all time low, more worringly we couldn’t score goals as well as keep em out. Both at the same time is a hard fix.

However, due to the strikers not being anywhere near of the standard required in this league, we ditched them and with the return of Alberto Grassi, we began to turn a corner. He spearheaded an attacking midfield trio, which would drag Parma’s sorry behind to safety. We went on to win 5, draw 3 and lose only 3 of our last 11 fixtures of the season, only just getting over the finishing line on the last day. In comparison the results from the first half of my tenure and the last is day and night, with maybe only the struggle for consistency stopping us from finishing the season very strongly.

After spending much of my time hovering in and out of relegation, I wasn’t too fussed where we finished as long as it was still in the league next season.

Transfers, January.

Luca Hartwig – Young striker with bags of potential, but requires a lot of work to reach his potential and become a rounded player.

Stefan Standberg – 33 year old brute of a centre back, brought some much needed experience to the backline whilst fighting relegation.

Ben Garratt – Added some cover for a other wise weak goalkeeping situation when I first took over the club.

Livio Boscaglia – A great full back who was quickly became a force down the left hand side, quite coup.

Transfers, summer.

What had planned to be a major clear out in the summer, didn’t really kick off, I wanted to give players a chance and see what they could do with a more stable infrastructure and better team morale all round. So only certain areas were beefed up with quality over quantity.

Baldini was a great free transfer and add some much needed steel to a otherwise lacklustre cental midfield area. Zwane a great keeper, the only player brought in who cost an actual transfer fee, Pasini will add some much needed pace and quality up front and will hopefully turn out to be our main scoring threat this year. Hutchings, a stylish English central midfielder who will add guile and class to a new look midfield. Szucs came in on loan and is out instantly for three month, but should add some much needed quality upfront and poachers instinct and the last two Vugrinec and Retteghieri will and some depth to the squad. Hopefully progress can be made and a mid table finish is the target this year, with a more balanced squad and better harmony around the club.

[AndyFal36]

[AndyFal36]

[FFCStu1428]

Stuart - Palmero

WHAT A SEASON!!! Finishing 7th was way above anything i could of hope for. After losing 8 games in a row at the start of the season i thought the writing was on the wall for me but the 2nd half of the season was one of my best on fm15, not just because of the teams we beat but how we went about it, some of the football was the best i have seen and with this team. I still had alot of players from last season so it shows you don't have to rebuilt a whole new side in one summer. A big factor in all this tho has to be the the loan signing i got of manchester City called wilson. He was unhappy at city so a cheeky loan bid was made with a 12.75 buy out at the end of the season if he was good enough, BOY WAS HE GOOD ENOUGH. With out his goals i would not of had this kinda season, the lad is top class and as soon as i the board gave me my money for the summer he was signed 12,75Million is worth every penny, yes it took a big chunk out of my Transfer Kitty but hes worth it.

2nd half of the season madness

In 6months he got Seria A young player of the season.

Summer window

I need to add again to my side with the signing of wilson being my main signing for money i will be looking again for bargins in the free market. below is a list of my signings so far

The board are looking for a midtabe finish again this season, this might be a little harder with Europa league football also to play next season so i will need a bigger squad of players to try and finish 7th or higher again.

Well thats you upto date on whats been a season to remember.

Till next time

[AndyFal36]

[AndyFal36]

[AndyFal36]

End Of Season Summary 2024/25

[AndyFal36]

AndyF- Novara

With a media predicted finish of 20th, the team with the lowest salary expenditure in the league spending less than £10M per year, one of the smallest grounds in Serie A and the rank outsiders with the bookies at 2000/1 for the title we somehow managed the unthinkable and kept ourselves in the top flight as we ended the season in 17th place in one of the tightest finishes Serie A has seen.

With 3 games left we were in a proper dogfight with Udinese, Pescara and Spezia vying for safety with 2 places still to be filled in the drop zone with Monza already down. We went into the game against AC Milan needing a win and Karlo Prahic stepped up to the plate once again,netting the only goal of the game and his 17th goal of the season for a vital 3pts as in the next two games I didn't garner much hope for any points and I was proved right suffering defeats in both games against in form Palermo and rivals Pro Vercelli.

Those points from the win verses AC were vital for another season in Serie A and with another 3 human managed sides in Serie A next year coming up from Serie B its going to be a mad one and am so looking forward to it even thou we have a media prediction once again of 20th.

Even thou it has been a tough season the fans have flocked to ground to watch this years games with the club announcing a new average high attendance.

Last Seasons Transfers

Only 2 back up players have arrived this year both commanding a total of £0 in transfer fees, we have had offers accepted with bids up to £7M for players but I keep cancelling as I just don't want to depart with my hard earned stash. Maybe I needs to release the purse strings and decide to spend the money available to enable us to push on in the league I definitely will be looking to buy a Goalkeeper, Centre Half, Winger and possibly a new Centre Forward that will improve the side this summer window.

Finances are on the increase we currently sit with £40M+ in the bank, no debt, a transfer budget of £30M and 220K per week spare from a total wage budget of £21.1M for wages all this after just 5 years at the club.

Until Next Time........

[Jonas Christensen]

Hall of Fame 2024/25 Season

[Jonas Christensen]

So another season is over, and we're beginning to look like an established Serie A side. This season, the goal was a midtable position with the hopes of a spot in Europe, while I didn't have any hopes for progressing to the Champions League group stage.

As you can see from the tables further up, we wound up in a 6th position, which was okay, but not fantastisc... We weren't as good as last season, but we were decent, and we played well in Champions League as well.

As I mentioned, I didn't expect to get to the group stage, but we managed to beat Valencia in the playoff to the group stage - we then found ourselves in a group with FC Porto, Chelsea and Lyon... A tough group, and I wasn't expecting anything - perhaps a 3rd...

But we were brilliant and managed to get 2nd after Porto, thereby knocking Chelsea out of CL! We then drew Man Utd in the 1st knockout round, and I was sure, it was over, but... once again we surprised and knockd Man Utd out as well! Only to find ourselves up against Juventus, who later won the tournament.

As can be seen from our games above, we had several poor runs in the league, which is why, I'm not completely satisfied, as we were only 3 points behind the 4th place and another season in Champions League - which we should have gotten!

Poor performances and many injuries at times proved to be our weaknesses, and it's something I'm focusing on in the current transfer window... Which I'll talk a bit about later...

Last season, 3 of my strikers were in brilliant form and scoring for fun... but this season the goals dried out. Only Blin was a persistent threat in front of goal - despite a 2-3 month injury. He managed to beat Junior Tallo's only goal scoring record of 30 goals in Serie C/A by scoring 31 goals.

Now, on to the new season!

For the new season, the board was a top half position, while my goal is the 4th spot and Champions League... I'm also aiming to progress from the Europe League group stage and get to at least the Semi-Finals of the TIM Cup (given that we don't get Pro Vercelli or Juventus early on)...

To achieve this, I'm looking to strengthen both my staff and my team. I let 3 physios go at the end of last season, since it seemed like they weren't doing a good enough job, as it was the third season in a row where he had an extreme amount of injuries... In came 3 new physios all with 20 in the physio rating...

In regards to players, I've been looking to get 2 new DC's in - at least 1 who will start, and 1 who will be a really good sub... So far, I've gotten the starting DC in, and I'm just waiting for the sub to be confirmed... I'm also waiting for confirmation on a young reserve DC as well, just be sure...

I've been selling loads of my players, where I would normally send most of them out on loan, but this time, I felt it was better to change things up a bit...

I've secured a new attacking midfielder from Argentina on a free transfer for the winter window, while also securing Daryl Henderson, a familiar face, who was on loan at our club during our time in Serie B...

Furthermore, I've secured 2 young strikers, where at least one of them will be going out on loan, while I might keep the other on as a sub/reserve...

I'm nearly done with all my transfers, but as I mentioned, a few are still left to be confirmed, so I can't show them yet... Besides the ones I've mentioned, and currently also trying to secure a new player, who I'm hoping will be the replacement for Blin (for when he's sold), a 19 year old AMC that I'm planning on training to be a striker - I'm extremely excited about him, and I've been trying to sign him for a little over a year... I really can't believe, that I'm the only club that seems to be after him, and that all the top clubs apparently aren't looking at him... I've finally gotten his club to agree to a deal, which has been a battle, and it's looking to be a deal in the vicinity of 5 million up front with 15 million over 48 months... A crazy amount and double what I've paid for anyone! I'm not too fond of paying such a high amount, but I simply must sign this kid!

Hopefully, I can show him to you on Monday

On to the competitors!

The most interesting aspect of this season was that we were now 3 managers in A, and in the pre-season, Stu were mouthing off, saying he was gonna beat me, which added some incentive to our two matches - where I beat him in both of them!

I was determined to show the new kid in A, that he still has some way to go - despite an impressive first season up, where he did really well... In the new season, it's going to be interesting to see, if he can follow up on his good first season, while I'm although expecting some distance between us, but we'll see - he might surprise me - or I might fail myself...

We're also getting Davie, Damien and Sean in A, while Andy secured one more season - barely... If Andy starts to spend some of his money, I'm expecting a better season from him... I really think his team does have potential, and I was surprised he struggled that much last season...

I'm not sure what to expect from the new arrivals, since I have no clue about their players, so it will be interesting...

In B I'm expecting a tough battle for the two direct promotion spots with Andy G, Ali and Josh in a battle for them... Andy G has the advantage of great financials and supposedly a good team from the previous season, so I'm expecting him to get 1st, while good transfer activities from the two others might put some pressure on him...

[Advantageous]

Alessandro Jacobo - Atalanta

After a successful spell at San Marino, followed by a 6-month stint at Roma, I find myself at The Dea. The club, predicted to achieve promotion, found themselves in the relegation zone of Serie B after 13 games. Their manager was subsequently sacked and I applied for the job.

The board, originally stating they'd like a playoff position, decided to increase their expectations to automatic promotion. A incredibly unlikely scenario, considering we were several points from mid-table as it was. As the season went on, my job stability deviated from insecure to very insecure and back again. Not at any single point was my job considered stable. That said, with the help of the January transfer window, we rose from 20th position to 9th playing a pretty successful 31312 formation.

The real work starts now though. The board expect a title challenge this time around, and the team simply hasn't got the quality at the moment. Bids for several loans have fallen through and it looks as though I'll be stretching my transfer budget as far as possible.

With the window only just open, there's not much else I can say here. However, as you can see, there is plenty of work to do. I have decided to keep nine of the players from last season (although 1 of which was a loanee signed on a free, plus another free who has only just arrived). This means I have 9 players of adequate quality to purchase, in order to mount a successful title challenge. A tricky feat to manage, considering the £4.5k wage cap and our limited transfer funds. It also means I'm shopping from a very narrow pool when you take into account the non EU regulations. Still, I feel I have found several players who could step up and rise to the challenge. More on that later.

[scooter28]

i won the serie C last season and my 1st season in serie B i managed to finish 7th and get into the playoffs.

The 1st playoff game was only 1 game and i was away to moneybags emploi (andy) I managed to win that

game 2-1 then i got Sassuolo in the semi which was 2 legs i managed to win 2-1 at home but got a lesson away

from home i lost 6-2 so i go out 7-4

So the season has finished and genoa are looking for a new manager for there run in serie A and i got an

interview for the job and believe it or not they have gave it to me yes Davie boys going to be playing in

serie A next season hahahahahahhahaha

The team overall is not to bad maybe get 1 or 2 in for the 1st time on this fm i have money to spend

just over 10million which will come in handy but there may be a suprise coming soon as a foreign tycoon

is tracking the club.

[SeanBhoy88]

End of season summary.

Serie A

Fallon’s Novara side started the season predicted rock bottom and at long odds for the title (which proved to be correct as his side went on to struggle), narrowly keeping his Serie A status alive on goal difference. A good season, nonetheless, but will we perhaps see AndyF finally open that chequebook?

Prediction: Lower Mid-table.

Stu's Palermo side were in one hell of a dogfight! That was until he made the recovery of the season finishing in the European places. Definitely one to watch for next season as Stu begins to flex those dormant muscles that earned him ‘top dog’ status in FM2012 and FM2013.

Prediction: Second season syndrome. Mid-table.

Jonas’ Siena side were struggling a little at the beginning, adjusting to life at the top, juggling both domestic and European dreams. His side was losing almost every game following a mid-week European adventure, but they finally got their collective acts together. Quarter Finals of the Champions League were reached coupled with a respectable 6th place domestic finish.

Prediction: Top 5.

Serie B

Josh was in the sinking ship that is Parma, with no one expecting any miracles overnight. However, Josh proved himself to be a very astute manager - kicking, clawing and scratching his way to 8th place. It would have been a playoff position had his assistant manager not messed up his final game (Josh had computer issues). With his club haemorrhaging financially, it will be a very good manager that achieves promotion with this side.

Prediction: Mid-table.

Damien introduced himself to the clan in good fashion, bagging himself a promotion in his first season via the playoffs. His Cesena side were always ‘in-and-around’ the top 4, proving to be a very tough nut to crack. I suspect there will be a lot more to come from Damien.

Prediction: Survival.

Davie's Cremonese side was a strange old one - given £0 transfer budget and no wiggle room with wages, after a fantastic previous season. Questions were raised as to whether Davie could step up to Serie B and compete under such challenging constraints. He answered those questions in style, achieving a playoff place (knocked out in the Semi Final) before applying and earning him the Genoa job in Serie A. Expectations will be high, but Davie has shown he can rise to the challenge.

Prediction: Survival.

Ali took over Atalanta (a side in 20th place), who wanted him to reach the playoffs. It was always going to be a hard job, given the nature of the clubs position, but he did very well to take them to a credible 9th position. One to watch next season, providing he manages to sort his squad out.

Prediction: Promotion.

Gillespie’s Empoli side was expected to take B by storm, but it never really happened for him. His team wasn’t all that far away though, but AndyG just couldn’t get that winning run going, drawing every second game. Now he is predicted second for this season and, still possessing such a talented squad, all eyes on Empoli to take B by storm.

Prediction: Automatic Promotion.

Sean's Perugia side started the league on fire, and never really looked as though they’d relinquish their hold on first place. They went on to win the league in style, breaking records by amassing 99 points in the process, not to mention a successful cup run (beating Inter, Davie’s Cremonese and Atalanta all away from home). He does face a hard task of putting together a squad to stay up, but Sean has shown he is up to the task.

Prediction: Lower Mid-table.

[SeanBhoy88]

End of season update.

What a season for Perugia! I always believed we could do well but maybe I didn't expect us to do so well. The season itself was a massive success on and off the park, the clubs finances soared profits throughout the season averaging about 1 million per month, and on the park we had quite an amazing cup run overcoming good teams in 4 rounds before eventually narrowly losing to a rather lucky Juve side.

Now I go into Serie A lacking in strength and numbers so this window is incredibly crucial, we have to have our heads screwed on as there is no room for error what so ever.

Here you can see just how ecstatic the board are with our performance, I have quickly become a hero among the Perugia fans and a trusted employee.

This is our Talisman Palmieri, his goals throughout the season were absolutely key in our success he was one of many players who had a fantastic season, and iv no doubt in my mind that he will be key again in any success we may have next season.

Window and season aims.

Well as previously mentioned this window is crucial we are lacking in depth and real talent we don't even have a goalkeeper at the moment, we have to come out of this window with a feeling of satisfaction otherwise the job this season will be very tough, I am in the market for a good right back and right winger also cover on basically every position on the field, I don't want to overdo it and start the season a disjointed mess but these changes are a must

as this team as it stands will not cope with the upgrade in quality that Serie A has to offer.

My personal goals for the season first and foremost is to survive, depending on how the window goes maybe we can aim for higher than that but that's something we will need to wait and see, I hope we can yet again turn up in the cup competition and have a decent run.

Till next time.

[smashin88]

Empoli Disapoint

In a tough season for Empoli manager Gillespie the team and the manager can only be disappointed with a 6th place finish and falling short against Cremonase in the playoffs. The loan signings proved a huge success but the rumoured contracts already agreed would have breached serie b rules so the team for next season is going to have a different look to it, especially up front. The pressure is going to be on Gillespie right from the start with the board expecting promotion and the media predicting them to finish 2nd. News coming out of Empoli isn't good with the manager expecting to miss some of the season after contracting a mystery illness while on safari in Glasgow city centre. New assistant manager Micheal Dawson though has the full support of the club and the manager, and will hopefully install the managers tactics and philosophies in his absence.

The star of the show was undoubtedly Bentivegna who was far and away the best player in serie B, even more so with Perugia manager Sean Black offering up his whole transfer budget and an evening with either his mum or wife for a chance to sit in the same room as the right winger. Bentivegna however has been a loyal servant to the club performaing every week and never moaning or complaining about the situation the club finds itself in in fact he was the one bright spark in a season of too many ups and downs and not enough sustained hard work.

With Remy Roger signed up for another season loan and De Mauro following suit the defence is beginning to take shape. Lorenzo Pezzi has returned from a loan at Atalanta and is expected to lead the attack alongside Bentivegna.

News is also coming out at the minute of 2 real Madrid stars agreeing to loan moves and a new goalkeeper possibly coming in the next few days.

Gillespie has said he stands by the team he has at the moment but he will be secretly praying for some new additions to help in his promotion push.

[Tiki Tak'n Turner]

Having joined PGC this season, they were already in season 2023/24, so i wasn't sure what to expect when i chose Cesena, they were a club in decline, relegated from serie A 2 seasons previously and only managing 15th and 16th spot in serie B since, they were an established serie A club at one time though, and i was confident if the foundation was still there i could achieve success.

There was a substantial war chest available, with 19mil transfer and 100k wage budget so i set to work firstly on renewing contracts nearing expiry, thats when i got a nasty suprise, that being the 4.5k wage cap in serie b, suddenly things weren't looking quite as straight forward and with my only decent GK about to leave and nothing i could do to stop him, i had some urgent scouting to do

I managed to sign a GK just before my first game along with 4 or 5 decent additions to build up my squads depth and replace others leaving on a free, the season started off well enough after a hiccup in the opening game against josh but i was conceding far too many goals, resulting in dropped points from being 2, or sometimes 3 goals up, i tweaked my tactic slightly and saw a gradual improvement which allowed me to keep pace with the league leaders to begin with.

By mid-season Sean had already opened up a 12 point lead at the top of the table, so it was a race for that 2nd automatic promotion place which was MUCH closer, a mere 4 points seperating 2nd and 8th place

The season finished with Sean the clear and deserved winner, with Genoa's consistency allowing them to take 2nd, I finished 5th, not what i was hoping for, but still comfortably in the play offs, my first opponents were Latina, and a 3-2 LOSS away followed by a 2-1 WIN at home saw me narrowly scrape through to the final, in the other game Davie was unlucky to go out against Sassuolo.

The first leg was extremely close, Cesena taking a 1 goal advantage into the away leg, a rousing speech from Dazz Turner before the game led to perhaps their best performance of the campaign from Cesena as they thumped Sassoulo 4-0 in the 2nd leg to join Perugia and Genoa in Serie A next season!!

[Kamakazeee]

So the rebuilding of Parma began this season, I wanted to implement my stamp on the team and start the ball rolling of getting this once proud club back to the heights its predecessors are used too. After marginally avoiding relegation last season we needed to push on and cement ourselves in the division and bring a sense of stability to the club whilst still remaining competitive and managing the clubs debt as best as possible. Tactically, we have gone for a counter pressing style of play, another buzz word surrounding football at the moment, but it has more than served us well this season. At times through the season I could be guilty of being a tad stubborn in terms of the style I wanted to play with the quality of players at my disposal, however I stood by the system and we managed to get over a mid-season slip and finish strongly to capture 8^th place.

The Italian cup was nothing special, we won our first leg blowing away lower league opposition three goals too nil. However, once a stronger opponent came in the form of Serie A Pescara we were found upon, despite going into a 2 nil early lead.

The first half the season was a revelation in all fairness, as we started the season with a prediction of only finishing 19^th and the board expected us to battle relegation. However, 3 months later and 12 wins, 5 draws and only 6 losses in 23 games and we found selves in the lofty heights of 3^rd place. We enjoyed winning runs consisting of 4 and 5 games, unbeaten runs stretching 7 games, not bad for a team not even expected to reach mid table. However, even in the first half of the season I still felt that air of uncertainty around the team and consistency still wasn’t out forte.

The second half of the season I don’t think the players had realised they had come off holiday, as it took us 7 games to realise we were actually playing football back in the league and register our first win. But by that point all our hard work had been undone and we had dropped down to 10^th place. Could it be recovered? Could the once promising season be revived? Well we gave it our best shot, as we went onto win our 6 games drawing 3 and losing only 3 managing to claw our way back up to the outskirts of the playoffs. However it was never to be, a season which had so much promise.

Saying that, we will recuperate, strengthen the squad which will prove to be a challenge its self, with the financial restrictions of the clubs debt meaning we can’t offer new contracts to a few of last season’s top performers. However, signing our top playmaker Grassi must be a top priority to a new contract must be a top priority due to is importance to the team, he is the only player I class as indispensable to the team. We will delve into the market and see what we can muster up. Next season im hoping for a deep cup run and a minimum of gaining a playoff place.

[smashin88]

End of Season Review

In truth a disappointing season with Novara massively underachieving. A first round exit in the cup too lowly Monza and an 11th place finish is not what the board demanded after last seasons excellent finish and Gambino found himself unsurprisingly in the directors office in the closing weeks off the season. The result of this meeting was that the manager has too gain 12 points from the next 15 available in order to keep his job.

Looking back over the season the manager could look to the loss of Paul Monstor who had played so well the previous season as a contributing factor and with the new signings not providing the attacking spark needed to help out superstar striker Bueno the season was really a struggle for manager and fans alike. Fingers crossed for Gambino next season whether it be with Novara or another club as his achievments so far should enable him to take on a big job if Novara lose patience.

It is hard to gauge success at Perugia, with so much money being spent surely only a league title will do ? This being said though manager Sean Black has improved every season with this club and this seasons second place finish to the ever dominating Juventus will have pleased him if not his critics. Add into the equation the Europa league title which he won at a canter and all in all it was a good season for the club. The manager will look back on the season and remember his long goalless spell mid season, which in all honesty probably cost him the title and his Group stage exit in the Champions League but im sure work is already in place to make sure that lessons where learnt and the team will push on again next season.

The squad Black has at his disposal really is something to behold its one thing to spend money but another to spend it well I can only see a first serie A title ahead for his team and world domination immediately after.

With Palermo struggling below the champions league places recently they really answered there critics this season. There superb home form carried them through too a 3rd place finish. With Aubrey spending a small fortune on his new young centre back form Bayern many critics looked at it as an act of desperation but Koushki proved his class making it in to the team of the year and shoring up a previously leaky defense. In Europe too Palermo had a good run making it to the quarter finals where a poor performance away too Empoli cost them there semi final spot.

With further investment promised and classy winger Douglas already signed up Aubrey will be hoping that Palermo are back in the top 4 too stay It will be a tough task with some top teams fighting it out for the champions league places but if he can maintain last seasons home form I think Champions league should be the minimum expectation.

Its been a mediocre season for new manager Michielini with a 12th place finish just about his media prediction. A deserved win over Serie A Siena probably saved his job when the directors were starting to question his ability, but some good attacking displays in the league and some shrewd purchases in the transfer market has shown the manager too be an excellent tactician and he can definitely spot a bargain.

Next season I think Bologna will be in the promotion hunt and possibly even pushing for the title they have a great goalscorer in Burgueaz and with one or two additions they will be a force to be reckoned with in Serie B

A great season for Empoli finished with 4th place in the league and 2 semi final appearances in the Italian cup and Europa league. New striker Bankowski looks a gem of a player and the midfield gets stronger all the time, if Gillespie could shore up his defence then the team would really start to look like it could achieve great things. A new 26000 seater stadium has just been finished to satisfy the demand for tickets and the finances are definatly going to improve with champions league football on its way next season.

A new defender and goalkeeper is a must for a team that scores goals for fun but concedes plenty too Empoli will be another team hoping to finish in the top 4 next season and with the players now at the club this should be the clubs minimum aim

Last seasons horror show off a season meant that the Siena manager was under pressure from the off. The manager has worked wonders at the club but with it seemingly heading backwards it was time too stop the rot. A 9th place finish was a definite improvement in the league and some good performances in the cup against Juve and in Europe against a very very lucky Real Madrid the players showed that they weren't going to be pushovers any longer. The manager has ruthlessly cut away the dead wood and sold wonderkid Uranga for a whopping 40 mill showing hes ready to put the last few years disappointment behind him and push his club back up the table.

I think Siena will be in the mix for European places this next year the manager is hungry for success and he loves a European adventure Europa League would be a good finish for the club and a stepping stone back too the top 4

A 6th place finish for Atalanta this season might look like a disaster, no champions league money for a club already struggling too pay top dollar for players isn't going to please the manager or the board, but after Atalantas early season problems and lowly league position its a tremendous achievement that manager Jacobo got the club too within 3 points of the illusive top 4. A great end of season run put Atalanta back where they belong at the top of the league but with money still tight the manager is going to have to rely on superstar Zanelletto to carry the team forward. The managers abilty to find a bargain will be tested this next season but his reputation as a top class tactician means last seasons wobble should be a thing of the past. On a brighter note Atalanta confounded there league ups and downs with some terrific performances in the Italian cup going on too defeat pre season feavorites Juve in the final in a thrilling encounter. The manager himself couldn't have been happier, with the cup win hopefully a sign of bigger things to come.

Top four is where its at for Atalanta they will be in there next season the manager wont let his team miss out on it two years on the trot.

Its been a tough season for Damien Turner he led Pisa up into Serie B and promptly spent a reported 31 million on new players only to be sacked by March. The signings had looked good he had brought in some real quality too shore up a lean squad but it never really got going for the manager and he was on the wrong end of some brutal results. After his sacking though Cesena showed interest in him making a return and he didn't hesitate in accepting the job saying in the press "his heart has always belonged to Cesena". In an almost fairytale like return he kept the club up with 2 points too spare and will be hoping to push on with them next season.

I predict a tough campaign for turner but theres still some quality players left over from his initial tenure and he has the ability too take them into a safe mid table position.

[AndyFal36]

End Of Week Standings

Serie A

[AndyFal36]

End Of Week Standings

Serie B

[Nikigreat]

NICHOLAS MICHELINI - BOLOGNA

END OF THE SEASON 2029-2030

[video=youtube;Y_L96yO06qs]

The masterpiece is completed.

Bologna is back on Serie A TIM after nine years. The emilians won the Serie B Eurobet with 95 points, 8 points above Cagliari.

Nicholas Michelini is the main maker of this big achievement, he won the league dominating the second half of the season coming from a disappointing 12th place. After becoming 1st on november his players has never left that position until the end. And who knows what would have happen if they lost that TIM Cup game at Siena, with the board ready to sack him just before the start of the league. What a huge mistake that could have been. Walter Burguez and Ross Souttar are the heroes of this achievement, but every player gave an important contribution. The uruguayan striker scored 36 goals in 35 games. The scottish was simply class: by far the best player of the league, his presence on the right side was always a danger for the opponent side, it seemed just very easy for him to dribble the defender and put sweet balls in the center or to be ready to finish off a rebound.

Christian Meier was a perfect playmaker; signed for free, he dictated the tempo of the midfield; a key player, not by chance Bologna missed him just for 2 weeks in the entire season and in the games played in that period the team struggled in creating chances and having control of possession.

Now finally the players have found a big harmony, this certainly is a true team, but Serie A is full of sharks, everyone is ready to bite you if you are not 100% ready, Michelini knows it and that's why Bologna will need to invest on improving the team in every zone of the pitch. So after the celebration there will be one month of deserved rest for the players, few days for the manager, then back to work to build a team able to save itself in Serie A TIM next season.

RESUME OF THE SEASON

Finish Place: 1st (Prediction: 11th)

Wins: 30 - Draw: 5 - Loss: 7

Goal scored: 90 - Goals conceded: 37

Best win: @ Grosseto (6-0)

Worst loss: @ Pescara (0-3)

Top Scorer: Walter Burguez - 35 goals

Player of the Season: Ross Souttar - MV: 7.57 (15 goals - 15 assists)

Manager Reward

Panchina d'Argento: Nicholas Michelini

[smashin88]

A Season to Forget

Theres no hiding the fact its been an awful season for Empoli. In truth Gillespie is lucky to have made it too the end of the season With the team occupying 18th position after the first 10 games things looked bleak for the manager but a good run before Christmas steadied the ship and an even better run at the end of the season meant that Empoli secured an unlikely Europa league spot. The board for there part proved very patient not once complaining to the media about there manager and not once did the manager find himself in the boardroom having to explain himself. Its hard to pin point the exact reason for the slump in form Bankowskis injury and Petricevics loss of form meant the goals dried up and the defense looked short of pace but in the past especially at home Empoli have fought hard in all there games and the fight in the early parts of the season just wasn't there. Gillespie himself didn't pull any punches or make excuses for his team after the final game of the season he said -

" Im not going to give you excuses I know u want a sound bite or a quote for tomorrows headlines but im not here to make your life easier weve been awful this season I can think off 5 games where we played too our full potential and that's not good enough we. We as a team failed each other we failed the fans and looking at the table now I don't think oh wait well done we got in the Europa league I look at it and think we have too do better. Were not a small club anymore we pay big transfer fees big wages and we have a team packed full of international players, scraping 7th place is not good enough and will not happen again during my tenure. "

Strong words from the manager and its exactly what an expectant fan base will want to hear the manager really wears his heart on his sleeve and if next season provides more struggles the manager is definatly up for the fight .

With the board happy and the finances looking healthy the manager can push onto the nest season. The squad has never looked so strong but the manager has identified the positions he feels needs strengthened for the up coming season with a new defender left back and goalkeeper top of his list.

[Advantageous]

Alessandro Jacobo - Atalanta

Serie A: 3rd Place

Italian Cup: Quarter Finals

Europa: First Knockout Round

Strong season for my Atalanta side, finishing the season as the second highest place human. The best I could have hoped for after last seasons poor displays, but thankfully we seemed to have put that all behind us. I had hopes that this was the season I would finally leap frog Juventus, but alas, they are still too good a side - an ageing side at that though. Strong performances against all of the humans was the highlight this time around. In the past couple of seasons, we had struggled to keep the ball out of our own net. This was the season we finally went toe-to-toe with the best and more often than not, came out of the battles with a result.

Our exits from both the Europa League and Italian Cup coincided with a slump in form. Wrong time wrong place unfortunately, as we would have had successful results in both those matches on another day. Red cards and penalties against also didn't help matters. If it wasn't for a couple of players during this bad spell, we would have probably dropped more points. Those players that can create something out of nothing make all the difference during the hard times and one of those was our very own, home grown, Mauro Zanalleto. At 21, he has now reached his full potential (according to my coaches). It's always nice to have a good player come through your academy, especially when you have very little money to compete for transfers.

At first glance he looks very good. As I can neither afford, nor compete for the very best players, I play the game with the attribute 15 (rather than 16) highlighted as 'top level'. This helps me quickly identify those players who are good enough within seconds (as well as increasing the pool of players available) as I trawl through our many scout reports.

Despite his obvious strengths, he does have his weaknesses. As with many young players, there has been one or two games where he has failed to make a meaningful impact. Those were increasingly rare last season however, and I believe those days are behind him. There is a good chance I might end up losing him during this transfer window, if a big club offers a large fee that the board cannot refuse. It wouldn't be the first time they'd done that, so I am prepared for the worst.

[Jonas Christensen]

Hall of Fame - Season 2029/30

[Jonas Christensen]

End of Season - League tables 2029/30

[Jonas Christensen]

So, another season over, and I'm starting to feel like I'm repeating myself... Once again, we had a very good start to the season, and throughout the first half of the season, we were battling for the Champions League spots, but as the we reached our always dreaded midpoint of the season, the team collapsed once again, and we found ourselves dropping quickly down the tables, where we unluckily wound up in 10th.

We were extremely active in the transfer market, securing lots of young players, that will start to make their way into the team in the new season... But the biggest deal were without a doubt the sale of first choice keeper, Van Der Ley, one of the best keepers around...

To replace him, I bought two new keepers, a young 20 year old keeper with plenty of potential, and a 26 year old direct replacement...

Despite the awful second half to the season, the one positive has been Luke Cotton... My lightning-fast striker once again proved his value to the team, scoring the 2nd most goals in the league...

While I've always had some concerns about his technical abilities, his physical abilities just always seem to be enough... My only real annoyance about him is that his value is soo low, and his performances get me a lot of bids on him, but with his low value, none of them are good enough for me to sell...

Last season, I also bought a new second striker, and you can see that he's very similar to Cotton, and I have very high hopes for him...

For the new season, I have a few players lined up, but the most interesting one is:

Budget-wise things are looking okay for the new season... We have a decent transfer budget, and with several players going out on loan or being sold, the wages will drop as well...

For the new season, I'm of course hoping to somehow finally claw my way back into the European spots, but with the past few seasons in mind, it's looking very difficult...

[FFCStu1428]

Stuart - Palermo

A Strange season for me that ended on a high with me winning the Europa League and getting back into the champions league via the back door. My league form was poor this season with me finishing 6th and a long way off the pace when i should of been fighting it out at the top as i now have the best group of players since i became Palermo Manager. Again it was my away form that has let me down with me only winning 8 games but with also dropping point at home i put all hopes into the Europa league as i knew it was the only way i was going to get into the champions league. I rested all my best players in the league games and went all out in the Europa, Lucky for me it paid off and a 1-0 Win in the final brought some light to what was a very dark season league wise.

The summer window is has just started so there has not been any signings. I will be in the market for 3 top players and will show you them when the deals are done.

Thats you upto date on a season where i should of done better in the league but ended in joy with a trophy .

More soon

[smashin88]

A tremendous season from Nico, he has shown a keen eye in the transfer market and has built a team worthy of being crowned champions. Nico hasn't had the finances in Serie B afforded too past champions and by the looks of things he isn't going to get them in Serie A either but if he adds a bit of quality to the team I don't think hell have any problems keeping the team in the top division next year. His top scorer Burgeauz has been a revelation and will be hard too keep a hold off but hes definitely good enough to fire the goals Nico will need this coming season. Itll be nice to see how Nico performs against the human managers with his last performance against Jonas's Siena ending up as a stand out 2-1 away win which probably saved his job at the time. Welcome to Serie A Nico.........

A poor season for Empoli with some very poor performances. The team looked like a bunch of individuals at times and that is with some really solid additions to the attack and defence. Gillespie has said next season must go better and im sure the Empoli board despite showing all the patience in the world with last seasons failures would agree. The board have backed him in the transfer market too the tune of 24 million so the hard work begins now for the manager to turn things around.

What a season, Perugia won every trophy they played for in a tremendous quadruple. They ended Juventus's domination with a huge points gap at the top adding a champions league trophy too the Italian cup already in the trophy cabinet. Black has a squad full off talent and another 102 million in the bank to spend its starting too look like an impossible task stopping him. There cant be many things too worry about after such a trophy haul but as the once great Guardiola experienced when taking over at Bayern when standards are that high its almost impossible too maintain them, Sean will have to watch expectations don't go too high with his ever demanding board who will want a return on there huge investment every year.

Atalanta began the campaign really well and ended poorly. Finishing in the champions league places is a huge bonus for a club struggling to provide there manager with a decent transfer budget and Ali will be praying that he gets some funds to improve his squad for next season. Zanelletto is looking like a real talent for Ali and when hes on form he can really make the difference for Atalanta providing and scoring goals but there are many clubs looking at him now especially Perugia and PSG so Ali will have a big decision to make if a huge bid appears in his inbox

Another season of struggle for Siena, the season started so well and Jonas was flirting with the champions league places but things fell away after Christmas and Siena missed out on the Europa league, finishing in 8th position. Its hard to figure out why Siena keep underperforming but having to sell there star players each year cant be helping. Last year Uranga left and this year commanding goalkeeper Van der Ley departed for the riches of the English Premier League. Jonas will be hoping that the money is reinvested into the playing squad and that finally this year he can get back where he belongs in the European places.

A poor season in the League for Palermo who really should be finishing in the champions league places. Sixth place isn't where the manager would expect to be at the end of the season and I am sure he's disappointed. This being said though with Palermo's win in the Europa league the club will be getting a coveted slot in the coming seasons Champions League. The squad is looking stronger every year at Palermo with the first team full of international players and im sure the manager will be expecting big things this coming season. I cant imagine the board will be happy with another mid table finish so the pressure will be on Stu to push on into the Champions League places

Unfortunately Andy couldn't get the results needed to keep his job at Novara and found his contract terminated in the opening few weeks of the season. Inter Milan wasted little time in snapping him up and all in all it was a good season. The trigger happy board at Inter though seen things differently and decided that a mid table finish wasn't good enough and again Andy found himself out of a job. The manager has now decided to take some time off vowing to spend some time in the garden and with family expecting to return in a few weeks. Recent pictures of Andy living it up in Ibiza with a host of bikini clad women has led to worry that he may take his time returning to the league but fingers crossed he's back soon as I personally need the 6 points he gives me every season.

A good season from Cesena finishing safely in the top half off the table. Damo will be hoping to build on last season and add to the exciting young team he is trying to build. I think this next season is huge for Cesena if it goes well he could be pushing for Europe but the failures experienced the year Cesena sacked him will last long in the memory and the manager will not want to experience that again.

[Advantageous]

How they voted

Sean: 1. Stuart, 2. Nicholas, 3. Ali

Nicholas: 1. Sean, 2. Stuart, 3. Ali

Stuart: 1. Sean, 2. Nicholas, 3. Ali

Ali: 1. Sean, 2. Stuart, 3. Nicholas

Damien: 1. Sean, 2. Ali, 3. Nicholas

Fallon: 1. Sean, 2. Stuart, 3. Nicholas

Gilly: 1. Sean, 2. Nicholas, 3. Stuart

Jonas: 1. Sean, 2. Nicholas, 3. Stuart

[Tiki Tak'n Turner]

MANAGERS PROFILE:-

Club:- Cesena

League:- Serie A

Board Confidence:-

Club Finances:-

Media Predictions:-

Pre-Season Developments:- Ok, I wasn't sure what sort of budgets the board were able to give, Cesena's financial status is not among the leagues most impressive, but they were able to inject 17mil into the transfer kitty, I also had a wage bill among the lowest in the league, which meant i had around 350k available, which I promptly exchanged around a third of, to boost my transfer budget up to around 26mil, there was a reason our wage bill was so low however, we barely had enough senior players to be able to fill our subs bench!!

Top of my shopping list would be a first choice GK and a first team ST, these were of the highest priority, no matter how much of my transfer budget it would cost, I'd had my eye on a ST while at Pisa last season, a 17 yr old wonderkid from Club Brugge, i knew he wouldn't be cheap but with me already having I. Nanni as my first choice ST, I needed a 2nd for when i alternated to a 2 ST formation, He would fill that description perfectly. The transfer fees being paid by other clubs in the clan during the last few seasons for youngsters of similar potential, some as high as an eye watering 30 mil, the 11.5m i signed him for almost feels like a bargain. I agreed to pay half over 46 months in order to have as much of my transfer funds still left over as possible. (After paying the Agent fees!! what service they provide to warrant 7 figure pay offs remains a complete mystery to me. )

1. K. Janssens ST 11.5m

Next on the list was a First Choice GK, again there was someone i'd had my eye on while at Pisa, he was already playing for a club in Italy, Napoli, and their relegation to serie B last season made it easier to prize him away, Viola signed for 10.25m and on the same day we also secured the signature of full back M. Oviedo for 4m from Greek side Panathanaikos, when asked what held the most appeal to him about joining Cesena, he replied, "being able to withdraw over £60 per day from a cashpoint."

2. Viola GK 10.25m

3. M. Oviedo LB 4m

Those deals used up the remainder of our transfer budget, although i still had 150k in wages, which i could exchange some more into transfer cash, It was now a case of searching for the best value for money deals to increase our squad depth, there was also some difficult decisions to be made over some of our current players that were on much higher wages than their ability warranted, either through being of an age that saw them well past their prime, or from bad negotiations from my predecessor, trouble was, 2 of them were fans favourites R. Strnadel (5.5m) and N. Scarsella (3m), i also got E. Hyndman off the wage bill aswell as Lucas (1.5m) who were both signings i made during my first spell at Cesena, Lucas remained a decent player, but since i left, they'd given him a wage of 60k so we had no choice but to say farewell.

That gave my transfer budget enough of a boost to enable me to sign 6 more players, all great value for money in my opinion, They included:

4. R. Affatatto CB 1.6m

5. F. Fernandez LM 4.3m

6. R. Havenaar M/AM© 3m

7. E. Lemes M/AM© 750k (Non-EU)

8. D. Santos D/M/AM(L) 250K

9. L. Elias LM 1m

All transfer action up to close of August window:-

SEASON PROGRESSION:- (fixture list: )

We were dealt a tough start to the season, 4 of our opening 5 fixtures were against clubs with aspirations of a top 4 finish, 2 of them being Ali's Atalanta and Sean's Perugia, we came out of those 5 fixtures with an impressive 8pts, losing only 1, that being away game at Perugia, (a hurdle many other clubs would also fall down on this season.)

October's schedule included 5 league games including , Lazio, Inter, Siena, Verona and finally Empoli, we started slowly with a draw and a loss before picking up a well deserved win with a fine away performance against jonas's 3rd placed high flying Siena, inconsistency was again a feature though and we followed that display with a poor 2-1 loss at struggling Verona.

Our next game was quite possibly THE MATCH OF THE DECADE!!

CESENA 6-6 EMPOLI

2 wins and a draw in November, which included a 3-1 victory at home against Pro V, meant we went into December mid-table, with a respectable record of:

PL 13 W5 D5 L3.

Out of our 5 league games we won 3 drew 1 and lost 1 which elevated us up to 6th in the league, we did suffer a frustrating exit from the cup, home to spezia they parked thebus and despite over 30 shots, we were unable to make the breakthrough and subsequently lost on penalties.

1. E. Mercier RB 5m

2. C. Augusto M/AM© 1.2m

3. O. Ahmeti CB 6m

Transfer Action during january window:-

2nd half of season progression:-

January saw a change in fortunes, not entirely suprising with our fixtures during the month, we lost 3 in a row against Stu's Palermo, Juventus and Ali's high flying Atalanta before ending the month with a much needed win vs Udinese, that blip in form saw us slide down to 10th.

We bounced back well though winning 3 out of 4 games in february to see us once again occupying 1 of the European places, but our yo-yo season continued, another frustrating loss of form resulted in 4 losses in a row, which saw us, once again, slide back down to 10th before ending March with a point against Novaro.

League table (9th March):-

April began with us securing an impressive double over Pro V and although we would get through the rest of the month unbeaten, 3 draws in games we could, and should have won left a feeling of frustration.

It was a fantastic end to the season though, maximum points in our final 3 games elevated us up to 8th in the league, and due to the success in europe of the teams above us, it meant we had done enough to qualify for next seasons Euro cup.

[FFCStu1428]

Stuart

Just a update to tell our followers the file on our game corrupted tonight. We hope our friends from Si are able to help. We will have a clan meeting over the weekend to see where we go next if the latest file can't be saved. It took 2 sessions to get though the Summer window so a group decision will be made by monday to see if we all want to do it all again.

An Update will be made by Mondays Session

Till then #PRAYFORPGC15

[SeanBhoy88]

End of season review.

Well we started on fire and finished on fire, firing on all cylinders all season long scoring an impressive number of goals in a season that can only be called dominant.

We won the league the champions league the Italian cup and the European super cup, I wouldn't go as far as saying everything was easy but my team certainly made it look that way sometimes, having the backing of a tycoon owner certainly makes life comfortable at Perugia and hands me an advantage over people in the market but I think our journey to were we are now as a whole has been a huge success and that's even before the tycoon arrived.

Scenes of the Perugia street party after their impressive season!!

obviously this season is going to be difficult for us there is a fair few changes and thanks to a technical hitch I have a new profile so I have lost all my relationships with the players and board, big change here at Perugia this season which in the early stages is already showing as long as we can mount a serious challenge ill be happy, last season was always going to be a very hard job of living up to but there is many seasons left before FM16 and I am hoping that means a good few more trophies.

Last season I had many players deserving of my player of the season award, but ill pick the one young guy I signed who came in and set the league alight with his dazzling displays and cracking goals to game ratio, this kid undoubtedly has the talent to not only go on to dominate Serie A but also world football he is that good.

And here is the man on question!! isn't he a beauty hehe

this post has been quickly put together as we had issues with a corrupt file that was outwith our control, a lot of bad luck in the clan of late which has now been sorted and business will be back to usual from now on so expect a better from in the very near future until then.

[Jonas Christensen]

End of week standings

[smashin88]

New Contract Has Surprise Clause

Empoli manager Andrew Gillespie has reached a staggering number of games in charge of the club and although the trophy count isn't as high as it maybe should be he has put together an extremely talented squad and turned a poor struggling club into one of the top teams in Italy. European football has become a permanent item on the fixture schedule and Empoli have built themselves an impressive state of the art stadium which they fill every week.

Last seasons struggles are behind them and this season the team has looked very impressive with a new tactic in place and the team playing well the board have handed the manager a lucrative new contract with one surprise clause added into it. Gillespie read this statement out after the teams impressive win away too Palermo

" I am immensely proud of my teams efforts this season but I will unfortunately be missing the last few games of the season as has been pointed out my handling of the media has been poor a more experienced manager would understand that the lesser team should never win and that luck does not even out over a season. The luck is owned by the teams at the top of the league who have the most money if it goes for them its deserved and if it doesn't its a horrible twist of fate or a conspiracy brought about by the football gods. I will therefore be attending some classes at my local university and spending some time with Sky Italia in the hope that I can learn how to adjust to the fact that my team should never win any game where I don't have 30 shots at goal or 60 % possession. It has also been brought to my attention that the limited trophy count at Empoli is all down to my awfull tactics and my poor adjustments, turning spezia into a solid Serie A club was lucky, taking debt ridden Fiorentina too second and long term financial security was meaningless and as for Empoli they were always a giant of a club and theyre being held back by my awfull management of the club. The fact that we are sitting on equal points with a club who have spent nearly half a billion on players is beside the point I should have saved money in other places at the club and planned ahead more. The lack of funds and small stadium can be solely blamed on me as if I had made the club more attractive then a tycoon would have come in and built me a bigger stadium and gave me millions to spend but as of yet none has, probably because my awfull record in the transfer market means they wouldn't trust me with there hard earned money. I am a proud manager and willing to try and rectify these glaring problems in my managerial career so for the next few years I will be attending the Sean Black school of management and hoping that some of the lessons hes learned in his long distinguished managerial career can inspire me to be a better manager in the future. The board are more than happy for me to take these last few weeks off and I have full confidence in Micheal Dawson in my absence. "

Whether todays statement is a joke or sarcasm who knows but what is clear is that Micheal Dawson will be in charge of Empoli for the remainder of the season., with games in the final stages of the Europa league too come and the team fighting it out with Perugia for second who knows what excitement lies ahead for the Empoli fans.

[SeanBhoy88]

Well my season wasn't one that will go down in history as one to remember but it was none the less another decent outing, we managed to win the champions league both super cups and the club world championship but I have to say in the league we were beaten by Ali's Atalanta who had a cracking season and we finished a ***** 13 points worse off from last year.

the clan is starting to wind down for the year now as we head towards FM16 and I have to say its been fun and the final few years are going to be fun battling at the top with my fellow clan mates to see who can grab those last honours and HOF points this year.

here is a screenshot of my young talent Jose Carlos he bagged 22 goals in only 11 starts last season and has all the credentials to become a world class player for me, he is big pacey strong and you cant fault him at times.

Well this coming seasons aims...

Simple ... regain my league crown beat Ali in every competition possible and then rub his nose in it

we have won the a European trophy 3 years in a row id love to keep that run going as hard as it will be and to obviously keep racking up the trophies so that we have leave a good mark on this years edition.

[faizangmc]

How do i join this game?

Read the op completely. Have played online fm before so wont be a problem settling in.

[Jonas Christensen]

EoS standings 2030/31 Season

[Jonas Christensen]

HoF Season 2030/31

[smashin88]

End of Season Review

Finally Ali managed to win the league. His team never really looked like losing it from early on in the season, his rock solid form and tendency for a late goal meant that he racked up the wins needed to claim the Serie A title for the first time. His excellent form also led to an Italian cup win and a place in the champions league final against Perugia. Ali will be looking to add quality to his squad this summer and will be hoping that the board backs him after the last few years of scrimping by on limited funds.The ever looming shadow of cash rich Perugia will be larger than ever this coming year and Ali will have to fight it out with them for Europes top talent.

Sean had some issues this season poor form and a leaky defense didn't help and leaving in the middle of the season for his own 2 week winter break added to the problems. He did rally for the second half of the season and Perugia started too look like the unbeatable champions of the previous years campaign. After adding to his trophy count with a Champions league win the board will be happy going into the new season and Sean will inevitably be backed with a big budget in the expectation that he wins the Serie A title back from Atalanta

After last seasons struggles a third place finish and the champions league football it brings will be a welcome sight for the Empoli board. In truth Empoli did well too keep pace with Atalanta and Perugia as there end of season form was so good but with Andy missing 2 sessions due to work it was always going to be difficult. The change of tactics has really shored things up at the back but the team seems to be lacking a proper 30 goal a season striker with Petricevic and Bankowski not being able too hit top form.

A great first season in Serie A for Nico, his team didn't look out of place at all and he claimed some big scalps on his way too a safe top half finish beating Juve and Perugia with his attacking brand of football running riot over unsuspecting Serie A defences. He is probably too reliant on his top scorer Burgeouz but this summer he will have the time and hopefully the funds too strengthen his squad for the up coming campaign. I'm sure Nico has his eyes on the Europa league places for this next season and I think that is achievable with a couple of fresh faces in his first team.

Jonas had an awful start to the campaign and was flirting with the relegation zone. The loss of top players has hindered Siena's progress in the past few seasons but a change of tactic by Jonas seems to have steadied the ship and a good cup run and some improved form means that Jonas can go into the new season with renewed optimism. Jonas will be expecting a good transfer budget this season but will be praying that he doesn't have to sell any of his current first team and reverse any of the hard work from last season.

[Advantageous]

Alessandro Jacobo - Atalanta

Serie A: Champions

Italian Cup: Champions

Champions League: Runners Up

Great season from my Atalanta side this time around, with our first Serie A title in the bag and the Italian Cup to boot. Some great performances all around from my squad, with no real individual standouts. We missed out on the Champions League to Sean's Perugia, after a 4-2 drubbing where my side decided not to turn up. Congrats to Sean's Perugia on the Champions League win and as well to Gilly on a fine season where he secured third place, despite his new job eating into his sessions. Congratulations are also in order for both Nico and Jonas, as the latter enjoyed a successful first season in Serie A and the former narrowly missing out on the Italian Cup after a 2-1 defeat.

Fan favourite and club legend Zannellato scoops the Fan's Player of the Season Award. Not quite as crucial to our season as he was last time around, but still a very important cog in the machine. He is still young at 22, and I am hoping his performances continue to get stronger each season.

Transfer wise, the plan is simply to add quality to replace the older, outgoing players. Whilst the plan is to keep some of the older heads around for both experience and backup, I intend on bringing in some class talent in order to compete with the existing first team. At times last season, we were left a bit short, especially in the central and attacking midfield areas. A new centre back is the first priority however, but there are no plans to sign any forwards, a position I feel comfortably covered in at this time.

Thankfully, Roma were relegated last season, which meant I was able to finally purchase a player I've been after for a long time. He's probably got 2 years left at his peak, but for £10m you can't really go wrong. Whilst his acceleration and general ball control are probably his greatest weaknesses, he more than makes up for it with his mental attributes. I am surprised none of the other lads were in for him, truth be told. I've developed a reputation for enticing the OAPs to the club since I've been at Atalanta (whilst everyone else has been chasing the latest wonder kids), which has led me to securing deals for some top talent. Perhaps they didn't fancy a player who captained a juggernaut of a team to relegation last season.

I will never truly understand the logic behind the star ratings for current ability in Football Manager. 2.5 stars suggests to me that this guy would be useful to my first team, but in reality, he'll end up becoming an indispensable cog in what I hope is to be a well oiled machine. Whilst I understand that his star rating is comparative to the other talents in my squad (my best player, a truly world class central defender currently sits at 4 stars), I find that it can be misleading at times. That said, I look forward to seeing Zanetti's star rating increase during the season, however superficial that sounds.