[FM18] Taking Torino To The Top!

[JD nawrat]

All the Ts  Hello all! Long time - but part time - user of FMCU. I've decided to start with Torino due to a former FMCU thread of mine where I managed Torino to good success (well... I just re-read the OP and the save was less successful than I remembered, but regardless, a Scudetto isn't to be scoffed at!). I recently bought FM18 a couple of months ago after not playing much of FM17 and I have to say this is my favourite FM yet  I think it's the best, too. Anyway, on to the point, I've got a serious bug for this FM again at the moment so I've decided to start a new save and a new FMCU thread, and we're going back to Turin to repeat and better the glory of FM15  (hopefully)

First off I've gone with the suggested qualifications for the Torino job and just maxed out a couple of the coaching attributes and then maximised all of the mental attributes bar Adaptability as I don't plan to leave Turin at any point... the save that inspired this particular one didn't pan out that way, so hopefully I can avoid history repeating itself. 

My manager was born on April 7th 1983, in Turin, Italy, and named Enrico Falcone, after the greatest regen to have ever played for me on any FM (11, I believe) 

I have loaded the top two tiers of Italian football (Serie A & B) and the top tiers of England, France, Germany and Spain. I also have a large database and have started the game at the early Italian pre-season, which is in July. I've taken over Torino who are my favoured club for this particular profile. 

Goals for Torino

• Beat Juventus in the Derby della Mole - Accomplished 23/12/17
• Win the TIM Cup
• Finish above Juventus in Serie A - Accomplished 2017-18 season
• Win Serie A - Accomplished 2017-18 season
• Win the Domestic Double (Serie A + TIM Cup)
• Win the Champions League
• Win the Treble (Serie A + TIM Cup + Champions League)
• Establish Torino as a force in both Italian and European football

The exact same as back then. Let's see how this goes.

I plan to update as regularly as possible within reason - I'll probably go with one month updates (if competitive games are played) with separate posts for transfer windows, as this is how I have always posted my FMCU threads. However I might extend it to every two months so that I can play a bit more at a time and update with more results  Either way I'll definitely be providing regular updates.

If you've got this far, that hopefully means you are interested in the journey I'm about to go on. I hope you stick around for my experience, and I thank you all for reading this  

 

[JD nawrat]

So after getting into the game, I've had a look at the squad. My early analysis is... not great  I'll point out now that in FM18 I've found that I have particular success with a particular style of play that I created with my HSV team and plan to use with this Torino team, as it is easy on the eye and ultimately, successful. So the best thing to do is show what I want to do:

So off the bat it is clear that the first choice team doesn't really fit the style of play I want. Moretti is the best CB at the club and he's older than time itself, as is Burdisso, so I've got two golden oldies. I've got N'Koulou on loan with an option to buy for 3M or so, which is nice. He's not as good as on previous instalments of FM, but he still looks good and will feature plenty for me I think. The two young CBs on the bench lack in key areas. I will try to develop them this season but if they're not cutting it, I'll cut them loose in 12 months time. I don't need any CBs this season, but it is a situation I will have to address at some point in the next 12 months. 

Bizarrely, Torino have 3 LBs and 1 RB. I don't get it either. One of these LBs is Cristian Ansaldi, who is on loan and being signed permanently next season. He is already 30 years old and if I had him as a permanent player now I would probably move him on to be honest. It is frustrating to be stuck with him for at least 18 more months. But I will make do. Molinaro is older than Ansaldi so I will try to sell him now I guess. I need a RB, but I will probably use other players for cover there as De Silvestri is good enough and will play most games. 

Across midfield I have some good passers like Basselli who is well suited to the Mezzala role, even if the game does not suggest so. He has all of the attributes to be a good Mezzala and that is how I will use him. I was disappointed to see Marco Benassi left Torino this year in real life, he was a gem on FM15. But hey ho. Acquah isn't very good at crossing or finishing but he is good-to-great in everything else, especially physically. He'll make the perfect box to box player, again despite what the game suggests. Rincon is another loan to be signed permanently much like Ansaldi. He is 29 and while a good player, not the playmaker I want. The other DM at the club, Valdifiori, is 31. He is also injured for 3 months with Cruciate Ligament damage. He is perfect for the role, even if too old. But I will address this and look to sign a DM if possible this summer. The other midfielders at the club - Joel Obi is a good engine and back-up to Acquad, but really there is no other depth. I'll have to sign one, possibly two midfielders this summer. 

In attack I am very, very light in ST. Belotti is undoubtedly class. But there is no back-up to him, except maybe Niang - another loan/pre-arranged transfer. Not a good one either, but he is young at least. They did something right before I arrived. I don't think I'll bother signing a striker though. Niang will do as a back-up and I plan to play Belotti in every game possible. The two wingers, Ljajic and Falque, are very very good and will make for a devastating forward trio. I don't even need to sign any back-ups as Niang and Berenguer between them can cover all three positions. Perhaps a bit lightweight to have 5 players for 3 positions, but without European football then why bother? We only have 38 league games and the Coppa Italia, we can manage. If we get any serious injuries we will do our best to cope. 

Sirigu is very good and at 30 represents a fairly young GK. I can use him for at least 4-5 years, anyway. I doubt I'll have to replace him, unless performances are lacking, but he looks the real deal attribute-wise.

In terms of the formation and tactic itself - this is something that doesn't really have a place in this forum, but I love the tactical side of the game. I play Attacking/Very Fluid because I'm trying to create a high pressure system where everyone gets stuck in. The passing is kept at mixed because I want fast transitioning, and the pass into space is because we have players who should be good at taking advantage of spaces in behind both lines of midfield and defence. I want to play out of defence because it should lead to more attacks from the back. I don't favour lumping it forward, unless there is a good opportunity open.  Tighter Marking is just a preference I have. Work ball into box is to stop us from smashing long shots and the low crosses is because I find my players more likely to play square balls across the box with this option selected

The player roles are simple - I have one FB rampaging past the IF, the other WB is supporting his Winger. The Winger I like to be either footed so he has the option to cut inside, but really it's just essential that he spreads the play wide to allow the Mezzala to operate in those half spaces on the same side as him. On the right we create an overload with the B2B, FB and IF all attacking the right side of defence and then you have the DLP sitting back to start the attacks - this is why Rincon is not good enough there, with his 13 passing. But the DLP is also the only defensive player outside of the 2 CBs, so I need him to be good defensively, which Rincon can do to be fair... 

The roles all together form one very simple idea - you have the BPD/D and the DLP/D to start attacks from the back, while you have the spearhead creating spaces for the runners in CM; we overload the right and create from the left. The DCB/C is to help deal with the FB rampaging forward and the Defensive part is because I find that the DCB has a nice habit for launching balls over the top - not always a bad idea with a dangerous forward like Belotti, eh?

I have no clubs philosophies in place, which I am pleased with. But generally I like to bring in young players, through signings and youth, and also play attacking football (couldn't you guess?). 

The overall opinion of Torino at the moment is not great  The defence is a mix between veterans who are close to the end and youngsters who are way off the pace. The midfield needs reinforcements although two of them are very good. The attack is great, though, and I hope to get the best out of them. 

The Board expect me to make the Quarter Finals of the Coppa Italia and finish in T10 of Serie A.

Personally, I want to finish in a European spot (top 6). That would involve finishing above a couple of decent teams but with the attack we have and if I can identify a good DLP then we will be sorted I hope and can press for a European spot. I don't care about the cup at all right now. I just want to keep the board happy, so QFs will do I guess. 

I've sort of spewed my thoughts into one post here, rather than detailing anything neatly or any of that nonsense  More posts will come, most likely surrounding my TW dealings. I've got about 8k spare wages and 6.7M to spend, so not a great deal. I may have to rely on deals over the next season or two and just hope we can stay strong financially due to performances on the pitch. 

[JD nawrat]

To get quality you have to pay for it. Enter Manuel Locatelli, 16.5M record signing.

At 19 he is one for the future of course, but I feel he can make a contribution right away - he will start at DM for us this season. 

[Deisler26]

Welcome back fella.

Have a special place in my heart for Il Grande Torino, so I will be keeping an eye out for this.

[wynter]

As a Torino lover I'm immediately following <3

[Sheriff7]

Good luck with this man.. 

[Makoto Nakamura]

Good luck with this, I enjoyed reading about your HSV save over on OTF so I should enjoy this as well.  

[JD nawrat]

Many thanks for your posts guys! Much appreciated I played my first competitive game with Torino last night (Cup qualifier) so shouldn't be long before the first update

Glad some folk remember me too, means I haven't been gone from FMCU as long as I thought... that or you guys just have a good memory

[vossmaj]

Will be following, too! In my save (started with CFC Genoa and now managing Napoli in 2020) Torino do extremely well. I don't remember the Details now (could provide some later, if you're interested) but as far as I know they are a Champions League side...

[bestbrother]

I want to see the passion and hatred for Juventus come through  

Good luck mate, will be following.

[JD nawrat]

47 minutes ago, bestbrother said:

I want to see the passion and hatred for Juventus come through  

Good luck mate, will be following.

BE AFRAID JUVE SCUM

WE'RE COMING FOR YOU (but not like Booker T)

Was proper bricking it when I saw their line-up was a 433 with DM/CMs and 3 STs - cut us open a few times and had Dzeko been on form we probably would've lost. However we also created very good chances ourselves and were unlucky to not win by more than 2 - Burdisso hitting the bar from a free header was a disappointment, especially given Allison was flapping about, nowhere to be seen

[JD nawrat]

Mission accomplished, took em to the top

[wynter]

Quickest save I've ever seen 

[JD nawrat]

Straight from the school of Kevin Keegan, this Toro side.

[Ewan0404]

Great start so far. I was torn between Torino and Real Betis when I started my recent save.

The Torino front three is a real asset to start with, did anyone come in for Belotti at the start?

[deltablue]

Still 36 matches to go

[JD nawrat]

32 minutes ago, deltablue said:

Still 36 matches to go

35, actually  Might as well hand me the title!

3 hours ago, Ewan0404 said:

Great start so far. I was torn between Torino and Real Betis when I started my recent save.

The Torino front three is a real asset to start with, did anyone come in for Belotti at the start?

Thanks for following!

Nobody came in, no. I had a look and with only the Serie A and Coppa Italia first season, I'm quite content with Belotti and Niang as my first and second choice. I'll buy a new striker next season as I will hopefully be in Europe and will need the rotation. 

The only signing I made first window was Locatelli for 16.5M  I flirted the idea of signing a RB but again, I should be able to get through the season with De Silvestri and then Bonifazi and Ansaldi playing as the back-up RB. 

I spent quite a lot on Locatelli so I probably won't spent any more, unless I get a serious injury before February.

[JD nawrat]

It's going to be a special season

Results just keep coming. Rather ashamed to admit that I didn't even realise we missed a penalty until taking this screenshot  They played with 3 STs, exploiting the ME  We created 5 CCCs (well...3 when you take off the pens) to their 4, deserved win

[JD nawrat]

I had planned to update every second game month or maybe every month, but with the way these games are going

2-0 down within 4 minutes... up 4-2 by the 58th and we still draw 4-4. 

You can't say we're not entertaining! Need to figure out this defence

[JD nawrat]

2017/18 - August & September Update

Well half of the results have already been posted above, so there's not a great deal of point to this post, but I thought I'd give a first quick update (real one) and the league table, so you can all see how Serie A itself is going.

We disposed of Palermo with relative ease after an early scare saw them take the league, but we equalised within half an hour and by HT it was comfortable. Late goal from Niang sealed it and meant he bagged a goal on his debut. Nice one  I'm not quite sure how to explain that the toughest game of the lot was the only one we kept a clean sheet in... still, what a precious clean sheet it is  Could be the only one this season, at this rate! Goals left right and centre, and almost all Ws. The dream start really. Udinese game (screenshot above) was frustrating but hey ho, can't knock 6 wins out of 7 to kick the job off.

This early run of bright form sees us sitting second in the table, behind city-rivals Juventus who haven't conceded a single goal in the 6 games. Conversely, we are by some distance the top scorer, over next-place Juve with 19... I can't wait to stuff the striped tossers (am i doing it right @bestbrother?? ). The contrast between the two sides is unbelievable. You have the majestic champagne football of Torino up against the turgid Allegri-led anti-footballists aka Juve... unfortunately we don't have them any time soon. A look ahead for the next two months:

Some tasty ties in there, including matches against fierce rivals Sampdoria, then Milan, Lazio, Fiorentina, Napoli and a cup match against Sassuolo... exciting two months ahead. I just hope we can keep our goalscoring antics up. The last thing to share is Torino's Top 5:

The wide men are unplayable  In fact it's fair to say just generally speaking that my front 5 are the best 5 in my team - Belotti has done well but been too anonymous in some games (Roma - 6.1) and he's nowhere to be seen - going forward I'll probably start Niang more and more if he keeps up the sort of form he's shown so far this season. Baselli and Acquah both so good I had to offer them contracts which more than doubled each of their wages... They're worth it and more, right now

 

[bestbrother]

Cracking start mate, cannot believe Juve still havent conceded, you are right in how the teams contrast.

Will make Derby day even more intense 

[JD nawrat]

Never Give Up

We actually smashed Lazio in this game - they had two more shots than us and 52% possession, but how we didn't score 5+ is beyond me. Totally cut them open every time we went forward. I thought the red (which I expected - but to Ansaldi, who ended up assisting the equaliser so thankfully not!) would be the end of our run but it continues for now... Injuries starting to pile up, things could continue to be a grind. 

[JD nawrat]

2017/18 - October & November Update

After a flying start to the season, our character and fight was and would again be tested. Above against Lazio we showed our positive fight... That didn't continue  Prepare for the November horrorshow

October went really well and up until the Fiorentina game we were top of the league. A home win to La Viola would have opened a 5 point gap at the top, but instead we slipped to second after a daft red card from Burdisso at 0-1 down gave us a mountain to climb. Joel Obi actually equalised but we conceded two late goals... Chiesa was insane. One for me to try and sign in a season or two hopefully  But one loss wasn't too bad... and then Napoli battered us. Absolutely battered us. The scoreline was closer than the game actually was. They had 9 CCCs and how they didn't score 7+ goals is honestly a surprise to me. We were terrible. And then we got absolutely smashed by Sassuolo. I have no idea what has happened to this team... I've been tinkering with the tactics, just slight little things... they were supposed to lead to clean sheets, instead we've leaked massive goals and we can't string two passes together. Rebooting from the OP tactic and will see if we can rediscover our form.

Our hiccough in form sees us fall to 3rd, but we maintain a healthy lead ahead of the chasing pack. 

Looking ahead to December:

We immediately face Sassuolo after our 5-1 humbling at their hands in the Coppa, this time at home. I hope the new month triggers a resurgence of form, as soon enough we travel to cross-city rivals Juventus... I hope we will be prepared to give our all when we travel. If we turn up to them like we did to Sassuolo, we will be humiliated

[bestbrother]

That cup loss was a bit of a stinker, however no distractions now.. onwards to Lo Scudetto

[JD nawrat]

I had taken a few days break from FM in general because I felt I had burned myself out through my HSV save and then I was progressing quicker than usual with my Torino save (for an FMCU - probably due to less regular updates). 

My horrid run of form at the end of November seemed the perfect time to take a couple of days break, come at it with a fresh mind and see what I could do. Just finished my first game back against Sassuolo... 

 Back to winning ways hopefully. It's all very cosy at the top, isn't it? 

Andrea Belotti's 15 goals in 12(2) Serie A appearances is the most in the league, ahead of Icardi's 12 in 14(0). However, Belotti is only 2nd on the goals per game list, that honour is with M'Baye Niang right now - 8 goals in 4(6) is an average of 54.50 mins per goal, way ahead of Belotti's 71.45 (the next best). Niang isn't actually listed on the screen, I only assume it's because his (6) - but he has the 10 appearances that the list requires...hmmm.

Anyway, I'll hopefully update December and January's TW by the end of tonight and finish the season by the weekend 

Hopefully you guys are still reading and enjoying 

[JD nawrat]

So last night it appears I had loaded FM and tried to play a game or two - I even posted in here that Baselli had got injured following a 3-0 win over Atalanta. But I woke up today and my laptop wasn't even switched on (unusual for me - usually just leave it to hibernate). Loaded up FM and I had to replay the Atalanta game  I beat them again thankfully 3-1, and even better Baselli avoided injury. 

Playing my first ever Derby della Molle now... interesting going. Will post shortly about the result

e: Comes across as if I was playing the game smashed under the influence  Not at all - I take an antidepressant that doubles up as a sleeping tablet... knocks me silly and makes staying awake extremely difficult. Woke up with my Xbox controller in bed with me and Mass Effect on the screen... who knows what I was trying to do on there

[JD nawrat]

A famous victory for il Toro - imagine being a little Bull and going to school on the Monday and rubbing this result into your glory hunting Juve mates' faces. This is the beginning of something beautiful. The times they are a-changin'. Be afraid Mr Allegri, be very afraid

Our passion cannot be stopped

Our 54 yellow cards in 18 games represents the highest bookings earned so far in Serie A. A further 3 red cards this season is the joint six number of reds handed out. However, Sassuolo have earned 52 yellows in 18 games, but a whopping 7 (seven)  red cards!

[JD nawrat]

And just a few days later, Matera Calcio - who beat Napoli in the previous round to get this far - knock Juve out of the Coppa Italia to compound their misery

[JD nawrat]

2017/18 - December Update

We suffered our first two defeats in the league in a row to end November, plus we suffered cup heartbreak at the hands of a humbling 5-1 from Sassuolo, which prompted me to go back to my roots in hopes of reigniting our form and preventing a sinking ship.

I'm delighted to say we managed just that, including a maiden Derby della Molle victory for myself. Couldn't have asked for a better month...except for maybe a clean sheet or two. But that is definitely pushing my luck  As I've said before we have shocking behaviour on the pitch, no less personified by Adem Ljajic's 7 yellow cards, the second most in Serie A  I'm not overly concerned, I love the passion we show. I just wish we kept the reds to a minimum - yellows I can deal with. Our resurgent form sees us return back to the top of the table where we belong  At an average of exactly 3.0 Goals Per Game, we are set to break records with our attack. It is somewhat frightening. It's a shame we're no longer banging in 8 like earlier in the season, but there's another 19 to go  At the halfway point:

A great 12 point lead over 5th, meaning that when our title challenge collapses (because surely it will?!) we will hopefully be in a strong healthy position in terms of securing CL football next seaosn.

Looking ahead to January and February, as we're all set for Serie A only now:

We begin to go through the reverse fixtures, starting with Roma which won't be easy. We did secure a 0-1 victory at Olimpico so I'm hopeful of a strong performance... Only match that I'm worried about is visiting Inter. Other than that, there's a good chance to build some solid wins in a row. 

Last thing for the update is Torino's Top 5:

Iago Falqué is attracting attention from Barcelona. He is worth a whopping 44.5M, but insists I should accept a 37M fee... I'll be looking to get at least 40M for him, anyway. But in an ideal world I keep him til the summer - I don't want to have to replace him mid-season to be honest. Nobody will be able to come in and replicate that stunning form. Top assister, fourth top scorer. Incredible talent down the right. Afriyie Acquah, what a boy. African Team of the Year in CM, African Midfielder of the Year. Incredible year for the lad. He is tearing it up for me. Still only worth 13.25M, thankfully no teams sniffing around him. I want him to be here for years, he's the perfect Box-To-Box midfielder. His Stamina of 19 is magnificent, absolute workhorse. Loves to play key passes or bang the occasional goal too. What's not to love? Daniele Baselli best name EU. Ljajic loves a foul. Belotti loves a goal. 

I'm working way over budget in wages and have nothing in the transfer budget. I've already agreed to sell Burdisso and Moretti. They both want first team football and they're both old and rubbish. They're on fairly high wages so it makes sense to punt them while they have offers. I can give N'Koulou/Lyanco/Bonifazi plenty of game time now. Hopefully they impress otherwise I'll be replacing them next season too. I won't sign another CB yet. I'll look at getting someone good on a free, but I'll still be flexing the budget there next season hopefully. 

Should any other transfers happen I'll just do them on a post-by-post basis

Thanks for reading guys. 

 

[JD nawrat]

With the club in a bit of a sticky situation, when the board came to me wanting to discuss a new contract, I made two things clear - I would only be interested in staying if the board invested more money into the financial situation, giving me more wage freedom as a result. They have agreed, now giving me an extra 185k per week. The second condition was that I receive a longer contract as a sign from the board of my long-term desires. Initially they were skeptical - my wage proposal was from 15.25k up to 15.75k. They wanted to give me a 2 year extension originally, whereas I wanted a 4 year. We had to find a compromise, and as such I have taken a massive pay cut in order to secure my long term future.

#TorinoLoveBaby

e: ARGH. A couple of continues later and Arsenal come in for Afriyie Acquah  He signed a new contract just a few months ago so that will stand in good stead, but his agent still indicates that he wants to talk to them... they only offered about 16M after a load of instalments with an initial 10M. I chanced 40M plus 50% of future profits, but we settled on 25M up front, 5M if he wins the FA Cup and 30% of future profits. The poor club finances mean the board would only give me 30% of the 25M, but I've asked them to increase that and will get 45% instead. About 12M to find a world class CM... fat chance  Dunno what I'm gonna do. I'm gutted to be honest lads. I was going to make him vice-captain even though he's a terrible choice, but what's the point now if I'll have to choose another captain by the end of the month

[JD nawrat]

In my quest to find a replacement for Afriyie Acquah, should he choose to move to Arsenal, I came across Karol Linetty of Sampdoria/Poland. He looks perfect to replace Acquah, should hopefully not cost too much either (scouts will get back to me soon I hope). Cheaper than Acquah anyway surely?! Probably not with the stupidness of FM.

I also consider chasing Arthur from Gremio, he is world class and worth signing at just about any price... I'll see. I think Linetty is a more reliable and sensible move. It's also an interesting one because I've never managed him or even can I say am I familiar with the name... it rings a bell but that could just be another footballer with a similar name for all I know. I certainly had no idea he was a B2B from Poland/Sampdoria

You could argue Linetty is a better footballer than Acquah - at least he has got the potential be I would argue - and that's ultimately where I aim to improve the team (more creative and intelligent minds - not to say Acquah isn't brilliant though, just that his technicals don't start out too much). 

e: Acquah has gone  We had a touching moment where I told him he was welcome back any day - he said I helped him improve as a footballer and that he would love to return to il Toro some day. I want to make sure that happens, even if he comes back as an old man with little to offer

I have made a move on Karol Linetty immediately. 20M quid, but worth every penny. This way we will make some money, sign a younger player with more potential too. Linetty wants a bigger wage than Acquah was on, but I'm sure he will be worth it. Hopefully we can confirm him in time for the Roma match, but if not it presents a chance for Joel Obi to step up. 

[JD nawrat]

So Afriyie Acquah departs for 25M hopefully rising to 30M with 30% of any future profits. Our new record sale, but I don't expect that to be the case after this summer... who knows!

In comes new record signing Karol Linetty for 20M up front (breaking the old record of Locatelli for 16.5M). He will wear Acquah's old number - 6. Small profit made but due to the board only giving me 45% of the Acquah money, I'm running serious risk of ruining the finances - we are already 1.2M in the red with us overspending 70k wages... you have to pay for quality. I am hoping the board will continue to back me come the summer and don't enter money-pinching mode. 

I am obsessed with the transformation and evolution of clubs I manage in FM. With my HSV team, we had a lot of sponsorship deals in place before I arrived that would last for 3-4 years into my reign before they got renewed and we saw a mega-increase to finances. Thankfully Torino have loads of short term deals in place right now.

As you can see we aren't exactly raking it in right now. Hopefully by July 1st this will paint a very different picture with us in CL, fingers crossed. Will screenshot on July 1st to compare, hopefully we are making bucketloads by then

 

The media are trying to stir **** for Linetty. He has come from our rivals and apparently that's a big deal. I didn't even realise Sampdoria were rivals, my eyes have been focused squarely on cross-city rivals Juventus...nobody else matters. Nothing will stand in our way

I told the media that Linetty's ties with Sampdoria mean nothing because he has seen sense and joined i Granata 

[ToMexico!!]

Enjoyed reading about your HSV and now Torino saves over in OTF. 

You're doing something I rarely do and that play as a top tier team, boredom slowly sets in for me and always creep back to a lower league save. 

[JD nawrat]

4 hours ago, ToMexico!! said:

Enjoyed reading about your HSV and now Torino saves over in OTF. 

You're doing something I rarely do and that play as a top tier team, boredom slowly sets in for me and always creep back to a lower league save. 

Thanks for following

I was going to say that I tend to take a second-tier side and turn them into a top team, but that's not strictly true... mostly I avoid managing the top, top teams, though. I like a bit of a challenge, usually something I need to spend a minimum of 4/5 seasons at. This save will bring that hopefully

[JD nawrat]

Karol Linetty has hit the ground running

Almost instantly become one of the first names on my teamsheet. Don't even want to sub him off during games tbh - he's so dangerous in the final third. Played some fantastic passes, including a great clipped through ball from the edge of the box to find Niang running from deep who volleyed home the 4th in a home win over Benevento

Into February. Shall post another update soon. 

[JD nawrat]

A goal, two assists, a 9.1 rating and a player of the match...

Welcome to the Karol Linetty show

What an absolute gem of a player. Every time he gets the ball he makes things happen. Put a couple of chances on a platter for Belotti to mess up, too

[JD nawrat]

Andrea Belotti already outscored himself from last season, in only 24 games  

As a team we have 79 goals in 26 games. The Serie A record is 94 (Napoli 16/17). I'll be shocked if we don't smash that. 

Jan/Feb '18 update coming shortly... hopefully going to finish the season within 24 hours

[JD nawrat]

2017/18 - January & February Update

With 2018 set to be the year of the Bull, we would hope to continue our exciting title challenge/push for CL qualification... We parted company with Toro great Afriyie Acquah for a club record fee of 25M, possibly rising to 30M (if he wins an FA Cup at any point with Arsenal) and brought in Polish international Karol Linetty, who as you have seen above has instantly become a key player for us - Acquah is already long forgotten, it seems. But how did we do as a whole for January and February?

Pretty damn well, it has to be said! Unfortunately we hosted Roma a day after selling Acquah but a few days before signing Linetty, so we struggled in CM and Roma really took control of the game. They dominated us and we lacked Acquah/Linetty to really do the dirty work at both ends and make a difference. We had managed to rack up 5 straight wins at three points this season now, all interrupted by a draw or a loss... Roma would once again upset our 6th outing. However, history would not happen for a fourth time. We dispatched of 5 opponents in a row once more with 9 goals and, remarkably, two clean sheets. Sampdoria would not stop il Grande Toro this time. We smashed them to make it 6 in a row - a Torino record, apparently. Massive props to Andrea Belotti, what a couple of months for the lad. 8 goals in 4 games for February saw him earn his way into team of the month alongside Baselli and Linetty. What a duo in CM we have. Both young too. With Locatelli behind, I have a potentially dominant midfield trio. How exciting  This run of top form sees us standing tall heading into March:

We lead the Old Lady of Turin by 4 points with 12 games remaining. A massive 18 point gap separates us from Europa League spots and I'm almost confident in saying Turin will host two CL teams next season. We're not quite over the line though, but by the end of March it could be almost a formality and that is exciting. In terms of the title... well, if you told me at the start of this save I'd be leading Juve by 4 points with 12 games to go, I still wouldn't expect to win the title and that hasn't changed... I don't know what to expect, but we still have to host them and if we can win that (although we have bottled the rest of our big homes games so far... Roma and Fiorentina spring to mind) then who knows...

Looking ahead to the run in, March, April and May:

This is our last 12 fixtures. With only three games in each of March and May, I didn't see the point in splitting it up... I'll no doubt post a lot of the results in here as I have been doing anyway. And if there is a title challenge within the last three games, I'll post specifically on results of both myself and Juve... hope I'm not getting too far ahead of myself

Last thing for the update is Torino's Top 5:

Karol Linetty is Mr. Toro. Falque is still having a great season but Daniele Baselli has really turned it on lately. He is dominating midfielders even more with Linetty alongside him. It's brilliant to see. Belotti is really stepping up lately. As I showed before he has already outscored himself last season... he is running away with the race for Capocannoniere with Icardi, Higuain and Dybala occupying the chasing slots. Icardi is next best with 21 goals iirc. Beltti has 27 goals in 20(2) Serie A appearances. Remarkable. 

[JD nawrat]

Mini March Update!

Short month, might as well update!

We failed to make it 7 wins in a row as we succumbed to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of then-19th placed Crotone. Embarrassing, I know. We then went down 1-0 at the San Siro to Milan, before equalising within 60 seconds and seeing out a 1-1 draw. To cap off the month we disposed of Chievo 3-0. A nice comfortable win after the previous two - injuries and suspensions taking their toll on my team. Linetty and N'Koulou both out for a month, Locatelli got himself a 3 match ban for a horrorshow tackle. 

However Juventus lost at home to Milan 2-4 shockingly, before then losing to Roma 1-0 in Rome. We maintain a strong 5 point lead over them and we go into the final two months surely as title favourites.

[JD nawrat]

A famous season indeed  3-1 loss at home to Fiorentina well and truly avenged. 

Serie A goal record of 94 beaten (95) with 6 games to go

[JD nawrat]

Andrea Belotti is 2 goals shy of tying Gonzalo Higuain's goals in a season record (36). 3 to beat it. 5 games left for him to do so

[JD nawrat]

The wheels have almost come completely off of Juve's title challenge and it looks set for us to win the title in my debut season at Torino Much easier than I ever anticipated, but with our attack I'm not really surprised. Only a few teams have kept clean sheets against us. 

Juve's latest result leaves them a massive 9 points behind with 5 to go. One of those five is against ourselves, and given we have already beaten them this season, a win at home to them would more or less seal the title (we need to win 2 of our final 5 with one of those wins being Vs. Juventus and title is sewn up).

Juventus' run-in:

 

Torino's run-in:

They have a much easier run-in but we have the big advantage. I fancy us to win at least two games there... even if we do lose to Juventus, I don't see them winning the title. But stranger things have happened and away to Sassuolo is not easy in the slightest...last time I travelled to face them we lost 5-1

Better screenshot (forgot this inbox item appeared on this FM ). 

[deltablue]

Good luck hanging on. Belotti is looking incredible!

[JD nawrat]

3 hours ago, deltablue said:

Good luck hanging on. Belotti is looking incredible!

I've beaten Sassuolo since, but taken a break until tomorrow most likely (it's CL final night, didn't you know ). Only need 4 points from my last 4 games... or beating Juve will be enough. If we bottle it somehow I'll be shocked  But my teams have been known to bottle, we usually burn out for the final 5 or so games due to the fact I never rotate

Belotti was a favourite of mine a few FMs back, never got him to play this well though. I usually struggle with AFs, I tend to use CFs or Trequartistas but Belotti is killing it. 

[JD nawrat]

Back on the horse...

If we beat Genoa tomorrow we will take the Scudetto for 2018! The biggest game of the season, let's hope we don't bottle

[JD nawrat]

One hand on the trophy! Daniele Baselli slips a through ball in behind and Belotti beats Perin to it first, tapping it under the onrushing keeper! #35 for Belotti

Disaster! Genoa strike back on the brink of half-time with a bundled corner goal - Ljajic failed to clear his lines and has given them a way back in. We've been very poor in the first half, hopefully the importance isn't getting to the players...

Scenes at Olimpico! Andrea Belotti's record-tying 36th goal of the season sees us establish a 2-1 lead despite a below-average perform on the pitch! With minutes remaining, Genoa were unable to prevent he crowning of Torino as 2018 Serie A Champions

Adem Ljajic's season-ending injury is the unfortunate news on an otherwise spectacular day. The pivotal match of the season was the first day apparently, and not when we beat Juventus 3-1 at Juventus Stadium to go 5 points clear

Italy has a new King, and its name is il Toro! 76% Ungrateful bastards! To many more. 

 

[JD nawrat]

Andrea Belotti has done it  Against Juve no less... beautiful goal where he took the ball around Buffon with his first touch and then found the net from close range under pressure with his second. Regardless of whether we beat them or not, I love that he has broken Higuain's record against them

[JD nawrat]

Some interesting (at least in my opinion) facts about Torino this season:

1. With 48.50% average possession, we had the 16th lowest average.
2. Our 9 penalties awarded was a league high - as was our 8 scored.
3. We won 1694 headers this season - 123 more than the next team.
4. But at 60%, we had only the 5th best Headers Won Ratio.
5. We won 104 Yellow Cards this season, the second most behind Benevento's 107.
6. We did so from 487 Fouls, the 3rd most in Serie A.
7. We surprisingly only got 4 Red Cards, the joint 11th most in Serie A.
8. Our 108 Goals this season is a modern day Serie A record, but falls 17 short of the historic record made by Torino back in the 40s.
9. At 15% we had the second best cross completion rate in the league, but we completed the joint 7th most crosses.
10. Alongside Fiorentina, Roma and Cagliari, we scored a league high 8 goals from Corner Kicks.
11. Our Pass Completion Rate of 73% is rather embarrassingly the worst in Serie A
12. We attempt a League Low 14854 Passes, almost 5k less than Verona's highest, the team who finished 17th
13. We did create 197 Chances though, 8 more than Napoli in 2nd (and they created 9 against me when I played them!)
14. With only 375 Fouls Against, we suffered the least fouls of any team in the League, making our league high penalties more surprising.
15. Conceding 54, we had only the 12th best defensive record in Serie A, but had the 14th most clean sheets. Grisly.
16. At 79%, we had the highest Tackles Completed Ratio, and won the 4th most Tackles in Serie A with 953.
17. Juventus had 8 Stadium Sellouts, we were second with a paltry 3. Everybody else had 1 or 0.
18. Our Net Transfer Spend was 12th highest in the league, with a net of (£604k).
19. Our Salary Per Annum was 7th, at 38.71M. Compare to 6th - Lazio with 55.88M. Juve are 1st on 125M. 
20. Salvatore Sirigu was the only Torino player to play every minute of every game in Serie A. Daniele Baselli appeared in 37 matches, though.
21. As a result, Sirigu was the most winningest player  His 26 wins is a league high, with a number of Toro players behind on lesser numbers.
22. Cristian Ansaldi's 14 yellow cards in 22(3) was the worst Toro disciplinary record in Serie A, but only 7th worst in the whole league.
23. Andrea Belotti's 9 MOTM awards was a joint league high with Lorenzo Insigne of Napoli, but he played in all 38 compared to Belotti's 35.
24. The Top 4 players of Serie A by Avg. Rating are all Torino players - Belotti 7.69, Falqué 7.53, Baselli 7.50, Ljajic 7.47
25. Belotti had the most goals (37), most shots (136), most shots on target (85), the best goals per minute rate of 77.57, the most penalties scored (7/8), the second most assists (15) joint with Falqué and the most offsides with 142. What a star.
26. Falqué's 94 Key Passes was a Serie A high, with Baselli 3rd with 78.

 

[JD nawrat]

2017/18 - March, April & May Update

Well you all know what happened and just about how it happened, but I wanted to do one final update for the season before I reviewed the season as a whole. So here goes:

Just the one shock loss to Crotone, but besides that we never really got going... That's a long time to go without a loss of course and I was pleased, but three clean sheets, more draws than wins... I'm just thankful Juventus seemed intent to throw it away  They are in the CL final though against Bayern... here's hoping Bayern win

Fiorentina sunk like a stone - they finished 8th after looking like title challengers just prior to Christmas. I love that we scored twice as many as conceded. The way it should be and the way it will continue to be - although if I can improve the defence then it won't hurt

Last thing is just my Top 5, but that's pretty pointless since I'll be posting a full review... but regardless:

The Forward, The Wingers, The Runners

[JD nawrat]

2017/18 Torino Review
Serie A: Winners (Expectations - Top Half)
Standings | Fixtures (Pt.1, Pt.2)
Coppa Italia: 4th Qualifying Round (Expectations - Quarter-Finals)
Review | Fixtures

My debut season in Turin really couldn't have gone much better. We stormed to a debut Scudetto and despite faltering hard in the early stages of the Coppa Italia, that failure can most definitely be excused because of our victories elsewhere. Because of our performances in Serie A, we will now be in the CL (as first seeds) and we will start later in the Coppa Italia too, hopefully giving us a good platform for a strong cup run next season. The foundations have been laid for the future and with an early Scudetto in our pockets (certainly earlier than I had planned - I was expecting it to take 2-3 seasons) and the season has been perfect for that. Hopefully our standing will improve in football and we can rake in a fair bit in new sponsorship deals... Hoping to make enough to strengthen and get a bigger budget than I have currently (less than a mill...). 

Some nice awards for Torino players Sirigu, De Silvestri, Baselli, Ljajic and Belotti. Harsh on Iago Falqué who had the 2nd best Avg. Rating in all of Serie A.

Serie A Team of the Year, featuring more of runner-up Juventus than winners Torino, because they use 3 STs and not Wingers, so Ljajic and Falqué had no chance ever. Also harsh on Federico Chiesa of Fiorentina. Great for Locatelli, Baselli, LDS and Belotti though

Confirmation of Andrea Belotti's resoundingly successful season.

Belotti also crowned Player of the Year.

Personally, Manuel Locatelli was my Signing of the Season. He was also my YPOTS, but then I wouldn't consider Belotti young anymore.

Go me!

Match of the season was definitely either Juventus 1-3 Torino or Fiorentina 3-8 Torino, bollocks to this. Losing 3-1 at home to Fiorentina was also the moment to forget, as it moved us from 1st to 3rd, and meant that instead of a 5 point lead we were behind.

That's just about everything for now. I'll post transfers as and when they happen, and I'll also post a season preview at some point. Don't be surprised if I bang on about finances too, especially given we are currently 15M in the red