The Italian Job! Italian league thread is here!

[john1]

Decided to fire up my Torino save, after playing with different teams, Played 3 games so far in my second season. Drew 1-1 with Sampdoria, thrashed Chievo, 4-0 at home. Next game was away to Juventus /o\ 

 

Who else but Mario   We played very well and didn't seem to be troubled by them at all. Brought on Mario on 59th minutes.

 

I am very confident of finishing top of the group, I can see Club Brugge, will be difficult one.

[jonathan44]

2 hours ago, AndySummers said:

I was in a bit of a bind with that one. The DoF had implemented a £7.5m release clause, which I then had to upgrade further into the season. I could potentially have removed it altogether, but was running so tight on wages I couldn't reasonable afford to overpay Tonali's salary and instead decided to leave it in. Overall, it is too low, but all things considered £22m goes a long way at Brescia.

As it goes, Viviani had beaten Tonali to the main youth awards too.

I normally don't rage quit, but at the end of my second season I thought it'd be interesting to see what my DoF could do with Sergi Samper as he wanted a new contract and wanted 20k a week higher wages (which I couldn't afford). My DoF offered him a new contract removing the 18 million release clause and adding one in for his exact value (5-6 million) and added 30k to his weekly wage.

Never again.

[Gungner]

After failing saves with both Roma and AC Milan, I'd like to start a new save in Italy... But I'm really torn between Torino and Palermo. I had a great Torino save last year, but I think Palermo would definately be the biggest challenge of the two... Hmm, what to do?

[Gungner]

14 hours ago, john1 said:

Decided to fire up my Torino save, after playing with different teams, Played 3 games so far in my second season. Drew 1-1 with Sampdoria, thrashed Chievo, 4-0 at home. Next game was away to Juventus /o\ 

 

Who else but Mario   We played very well and didn't seem to be troubled by them at all. Brought on Mario on 59th minutes.

 

I am very confident of finishing top of the group, I can see Club Brugge, will be difficult one.

How could you afford Balotelli?

I know his contract is up come january, but his wage demands are often insane...

[Gungner]

Just started a save with Torino. Bought Sandro Tonali for £4 million, had an offer for Xadas accepted, contract offered an all, when Roma comes in in the 11th hour and signs him. They've immidiately made him available for loan though, citing that they're hoping to make a profit on him, so I'm considering that...

Edited January 30, 2019 by Gungner

[john1]

5 hours ago, Gungner said:

How could you afford Balotelli?

I know his contract is up come january, but his wage demands are often insane...

 

Top earner at the club (second highest player is on 66K!) He wasn't even a option for me, but went for him in the end as Zaza, was bloody awful. Big clauses put in too /o\ Hopefully I can sell both of them in the summer and promote few youngsters.

 

Under control on the wages  

Edited January 30, 2019 by john1

[Gungner]

Well, sometimes you just have to pay what it takes

Guessing you have sold Belotti then?

[john1]

3 hours ago, Gungner said:

Just started a save with Torino. Bought Sandro Tonali for £4 million, had an offer for Xadas accepted, contract offered an all, when Roma comes in in the 11th hour and signs him. They've immidiately made him available for loan though, citing that they're hoping to make a profit on him, so I'm considering that...

 

I would take a look at him as well, been brilliant and is natural as defender too

[john1]

5 minutes ago, Gungner said:

Well, sometimes you just have to pay what it takes

Guessing you have sold Belotti then?

Yeah, back up strikers are terrible, hence why Mario brought in  

Nah, he still at the club, turned down offers for him (slapped 90M on his head which is his minimum release clause) I have seen on other saves that he goes for that figure, so I will hopefully get closer to that.

[Gungner]

Thanks for the tip, my scouts are crazy about him! The transferwindow has passed though, so it'll have to be in January.

Just beat Milan 1-0 at San Siro to go to 2nd place after 3 matches.

[jonathan44]

@Gungner shame you didn't go with Palermo, I found the season in Serie B to be loads of fun before getting smashed by Inter and Juve in Serie A. Xadas is a good player, but Tonali is the star so I wouldn't be that annoyed. Belotti went for 52 million to Man City in the second season.

Just through to the second knockout round of the Europa League, beat Monaco 5-3 on aggregate.

[Gungner]

@jonathan44 I'll probably go Palermo in a later save. I'm already 5 wins in 5 matches with Torino... Tad unrealistic maybe?  Any recommendations for signings in the first season with Palermo?

Edited January 30, 2019 by Gungner

[CapaJr]

I want to start with Atalanta (again) but Juventus really struggles to dominate in my saves due to stupid transfers. 

dont get me wrong, if i dont play in Serie A, they easily dominate..

but when i do play with an Italian team against them, they really do struggle to challenge. 

does this happen to you guys too? 

[john1]

23 minutes ago, CapaJr said:

I want to start with Atalanta (again) but Juventus really struggles to dominate in my saves due to stupid transfers. 

dont get me wrong, if i dont play in Serie A, they easily dominate..

but when i do play with an Italian team against them, they really do struggle to challenge. 

does this happen to you guys too? 

Juventus finished second in my first season with Inter Milan, winning the league. Juventus didn't sign anyone in first season but brought in one player in second season so far.

Edited January 30, 2019 by john1

[CapaJr]

4 minutes ago, john1 said:

Juventus finished second in my first season with Inter Milan, winning the league. Juventus didn't sign anyone in first season but brought in one player in second season so far.

in my both of italian league saves, Rugani goes to Real Madrid and they buy stupid alternatives like Mangala etc.. 

Edited January 30, 2019 by CapaJr

[jonathan44]

1 hour ago, Gungner said:

@jonathan44 I'll probably go Palermo in a later save. I'm already 5 wins in 5 matches with Torino... Tad unrealistic maybe?  Any recommendations for signings in the first season with Palermo?

My transfers are somewhere in this thread, from what I remember, I sold alot of deadwood (3 of 7 CB's went) and brought in Marin and a couple of loans. You start with a very large squad so have alot of room to mould it into whatever formation you like.

 

Juve have come top 2nd, 3rd then 1st on my save. Nicolo Barella, Bartra, Gnabry and Meunier have been good signings but they're the best from alot of crap signings. At a rough look they're £175 million in credit just based on their transfer history so they could be alot stronger.

[Gungner]

I just don't do well with clubs that never gets a decent transfer and wagebudget

[thxrteen]

Currently going into my 5th season as AC Milan manager, finishing 4th, 2nd, 3rd, 1st in the league respectively. Managed to fluke a win in the Champions League in my third season which made up for not winning the league. Managed to win the Italian Cup in my second season having a pretty easy run of games and facing Sassuolo in the final so I've definitely had some success.

In my most recent season finishing 1st in the league on 97 points and currently on a 34 game unbeaten streak losing only to Fiorentina (and winning the league by coming back from 4-1 down in the 76th minute vs Roma), knocked out of the semis of the Champions League by PSG (they were the team I beat in the final back in my third season) and an embarrassing exit in the quarter final of the cup to Fiorentina on penalties.

With the save I didn't want to overload my team with transfers and sales and keep the basic team the same (though became difficult with a lot of players opting to move to bigger clubs) and any signings I do make I try to make it a calculated one (went for Italian - and if no options, European players, lack of depth in that position, not radical prices, age and potential, role suitability as well as the squad status they'd have). My best signings so far have been Berardi (1st season January transfer - £17,500,000), Jonny (Wolves), Lucas Paqueta & Kessie (both arranged by Gattuso before my management), Magnani from Sassuolo (2nd season Jan Transfer), Varnier from Atalanta (3rd Season Summer Window) who is insane as well as Barella, Lorenzo Pellegrini (record transfer of about £55,000,000) also an absolutely insane signing, Zivkovic (£32,000,000), Oyarzabal for a bargain price of about £15,750,000 in my 3rd season and Ferland Mendy for about £25,000,000. And selling Suso (£55,000,000) to Spurs (he was very adamant about joining them), Calhanoglu unfortunate release clause of £42,500,000 to Napoli which i had no idea about, Paqueta (record sale of ~ £75,000,000 to Barca, again adamant on leaving after I turned down earlier offers from L'pool and Spurs), Jonny, Mussachio, Halilovic, Borini and other minor transfers and selling off deadwood. But now big Premier League clubs are knocking on the door for Kessie who, at 25, has won Serie A player of the year twice as well as scoring 30 goals in the last 2 seasons from BBM, CM for about £90,000,000 though I'm very reluctant to see him leave. 

Having had both domestic and continental success the club now appears to be in all its glory like it was in 2010 etc. Clubs finances are now secure with all the prize money and record transfers and upgrading the youth facilities a little is bringing in a lot of young gods. Inter seem to be on a similar path as me and it only fuels the rivalry the clubs have, they won the league in the 3rd season with me finishing 3pts behind in 3rd. Napoli have also been fierce competitors but with little success as they always start the league strong but seem to drop off towards the end and are yet to win a league title, though they have won the Italian cup twice I believe. Juventus were extremely dominant in the first few seasons of my save, winning the league in seasons 1 & 2 as well as the Champions League (and every other possible cup in the first season) planting them 1st in the European Club Rankings. However, come halfway through my 3rd season, the sacking of Antonio Conte (who replaced Allegri very early on) has caused turmoil at the club as they finished 8th in that season and are yet to cause a threat in any competition since with the retirement of Ronaldo. 

I'd also quickly like to add that Lautaro Martinez, after transferring to Chelsea from Inter for about £130,000,000, has dominated every competition scoring like 80 goals in 90 games or something absurd.

Overall, Milan has been a great club to manage, and I've found the gradual dominance of the club very satisfying (from only just scraping ECC in the first season and getting knocked out in the Europa League Qtrs to Valencia to winning the league in 4th season and triumphing in the CL in the 3rd, beating the likes of Napoli, Man Utd and PSG) and hoping for more wins in the seasons to come though I believe that to be down to my own skill level rather than the challenge of managing the club. Would very much recommend as the starting budget isn't non-existent but not enough to barrage the squad with new transfers so forces a little bit of smart spending as well as good youth facilities allows you to bring in super stars (like Fabrizio Barbieri a 2.5 star RB with 5 star potential at 17yo) and is sort of realistic to take over the team due to their struggles in real life in the past few seasons.

 

 

 

Edited January 31, 2019 by thxrteen

[AndySummers]

On ‎28‎/‎01‎/‎2019 at 22:02, VinceLombardi said:

I'll be interested in your new tactic with the IWBs. You should drop me a mention again when you break it out. Always looking for ideas.

Currently only in the early stages. but this is an idea of what I am aiming towards:

The genesis of the tactic came via two routes: Roman frontier systems such as Hadrian's Wall/Antonine Wall where there would/could be a triple defensive layer; a primary forward layer as the first defence (such ditches or lilia), then the main obstacle (rampart) and a further control zone behind (i.e. vallum). It was also sparked by a nod towards Hitler's Atlantic Wall and the notion of 'defence in layers'. So, in this situation the lone attacker and first midfield strata act as the notional primary obstacle to press, constrict or offer resistance, the inside wing backs and defensive midfield act as the main barrier to contain the opposition (being surrounded on all sides in a controlled compact shape), whilst the backline is the control zone if the opening layers are penetrated.

Although I have used formations with triplicate defence, this is more aimed at controlling zones across the pitch and, by placing multiple players on the flanks, taking away what can be a powerful overlap effect in FM.

The TIs and some of the roles are still to be defined. Points:

• IWB(d) as I want players who would cover the flanks defensively and play wider than a traditional CD, but still support the BPD
• BPD as I want to play out from the back.
• IWB(s)  - these were initially IWB(a) in combination with DW(s) as I had a desire for the main support to the striker to come from roaming fullbacks cutting in from the flank and an underlap TI, a gentle nod to Catenaccio. And therefore with wingers who were responsible defensively. However, early play tests saw a real constriction of space between players, minimal impact from the inverted wingbacks, and I don't have players that I like in the system. So, temporarily at least, I've moved to supporting IWBs to stiffen the centre and allow very attacking wingers to roam forward.

Currently I am set on six roles; SK(s), IWB(d) x2, BPD(d), DM(d), PF(s). The rest are up for grabs.

Currently five games in; four wins with three clean sheets and latterly a 1-2 loss against KRC Genk. Eight scored, three conceded. Defensively, I like what I see. Opposition wingplay is minimal at best, the lone centreback has been very rarely left exposed (although when the middle opens up, it does so spectacularly - but the two IWB(d) usually manage to cover). And the combination of three layers of defence makes it very compact and difficult to play through. Attack, less content. Although this has been hampered by a few tweaks I have been making in-game. Generally though, clear chances have been hard to come by and more work needs to be done.

A couple of negatives:

• When ball is with the keeper, the DM practically sits on top of the BPD. And the spacing between the two layers of IWB is poor.

Edited January 31, 2019 by AndySummers

[VinceLombardi]

4 hours ago, AndySummers said:

Roman

Its come to the Triarii. 

Very cool idea. I really like it. 

4 hours ago, AndySummers said:

When ball is with the keeper, the DM practically sits on top of the BPD.

Thats play out of the Defense hurting you there.

4 hours ago, AndySummers said:

And the spacing between the two layers of IWB is poor

In defense or attack? Or both?

[AndySummers]

47 minutes ago, VinceLombardi said:

In defense or attack? Or both?

Only (or mostly) when the ball is with the keeper. Like the BPD/DM, the two strata of wingbacks sit virtually on top of each other.

The 'play out' TI could indeed be an issue here, which is a shame as it is one of my stock instructions. I have one friendly left to play in the current set, I'll remove it for the next game and see how that impacts.

In general, I am happy enough with the start made here. It will remain on the chalkboard as the option tactic and I'll look to continue developing it during mid-season friendlies and perhaps the early rounds of the cup.

Edited February 1, 2019 by AndySummers

[VinceLombardi]

2 minutes ago, AndySummers said:

Only (or mostly) when the ball is with the keeper.

It's going to be hard to get over that. Goal kick positioning seems to be hard coded. And the game treats FBs and WBs as the same position for them as they don't expect both to ever be present at the same time.

Edited February 1, 2019 by VinceLombardi

[jonathan44]

Does staggering the CDM (and probably the CM) help to stop the CB and CDM sitting on top of one another?

 

Edited February 2, 2019 by jonathan44

[3maldini3]

Anyone can recommend an Italian DC to play next to Romangoli?

[AndySummers]

1 hour ago, turgi said:

Anyone can recommend an Italian DC to play next to Romangoli?

I haven't yet been able to use him myself, but Marco Varnier would be my pick.

[john1]

On 31/01/2019 at 06:50, Gungner said:

I just don't do well with clubs that never gets a decent transfer and wagebudget

I have sold key players like Falque to China for stupid money and few deadwood players. I always push transfers budget toward the wages.

[jonathan44]

End of season 2022:

Had a great season in the league, in comparison to previous years Juve, Napoli and Inter were poor. Milan were the closest competition but I did the double over them that pretty much led me to win the title with 3 games to play. I scored alot of goals with Marin (21), Da Graca (20) and Embolo (16) all showing fantastic form throughtout the year. Embolo struggled with a couple of injuries but for £7 million I could hardly complain. Vavro and Lenglet were fantastic CB's all season, not so impressed with Angus Gunn who made some silly decisions throughout the season.

My first season in the Europa league went fairly well, I used my full squad so some of my youngsters got more game time but in the quarter finals I lost out to eventual runners up Guingamp, I won the first leg 3-2 but then couldn't break through away from home losing 1-nil. Out on away goals.

These were the January transfers, Xadas had 18 months on his contract was unhappy so left on loan to Juve with a guaranteed £30 million in the summer. Tbh, he was one of my first signings but I had moved away from a formation with a CAM so it's not the end of the world. Mbemba left for £7.5 mill but as 5th choice it was good business. J Miranda was a regen who I really like, but I'm at the limit of the non-EU quotas so spent the first 6 months of his contract unhappy and then left on loan for the rest of the season.

Horta joined as Xadas replacement, and has proven really useful in either CM as AP(A) or mezalla(S). Illarramendi joined on loan as cover as Sergi Samper has been injury prone (gonna try and move him on). Illar is a solid performer but doesn't really fit into my system. A couple of players left but they were all on the fringes of the first team.

£15 million transfer budget given by the board, but with another £30 million added I hope I will finally be able to compete with the big boys in the Champions League.

 

 

Edited February 3, 2019 by jonathan44

[john1]

3 hours ago, jonathan44 said:

End of season 2022:

Had a great season in the league, in comparison to previous years Juve, Napoli and Inter were poor. Milan were the closest competition but I did the double over them that pretty much led me to win the title with 3 games to play. I scored alot of goals with Marin (21), Da Graca (20) and Embolo (16) all showing fantastic form throughtout the year. Embolo struggled with a couple of injuries but for £7 million I could hardly complain. Vavro and Lenglet were fantastic CB's all season, not so impressed with Angus Gunn who made some silly decisions throughout the season.

My first season in the Europa league went fairly well, I used my full squad so some of my youngsters got more game time but in the quarter finals I lost out to eventual runners up Guingamp, I won the first leg 3-2 but then couldn't break through away from home losing 1-nil. Out on away goals.

These were the January transfers, Xadas had 18 months on his contract was unhappy so left on loan to Juve with a guaranteed £30 million in the summer. Tbh, he was one of my first signings but I had moved away from a formation with a CAM so it's not the end of the world. Mbemba left for £7.5 mill but as 5th choice it was good business. J Miranda was a regen who I really like, but I'm at the limit of the non-EU quotas so spent the first 6 months of his contract unhappy and then left on loan for the rest of the season.

Horta joined as Xadas replacement, and has proven really useful in either CM as AP(A) or mezalla(S). Illarramendi joined on loan as cover as Sergi Samper has been injury prone (gonna try and move him on). Illar is a solid performer but doesn't really fit into my system. A couple of players left but they were all on the fringes of the first team.

£15 million transfer budget given by the board, but with another £30 million added I hope I will finally be able to compete with the big boys in the Champions League.

 

 

Fantastic Not bad 30M for Xadas, if Juventus take it on  What is your facilities like? As Palermo, are known for their youth system.

[Trent71]

Started a few saves and when I noticed the abundance of talent at Palermo, it was an easy choice which club to pick to start next!

 

Palermo really is the Ajax of Italy, at least ingame - there's so much talent that I only need to sell. Started up by offloading 6-7 players, half permanently, half on loan with fees per month. Fellow Bulgarian Chochev moaned about a transfer to Lille, but after a few strong showings in midfield and a couple of important goals, he's settled and focused on his performance for Palermo (got a shaky start in the first few games due to low morale because everyone was against him). Even though I offloaded some players already, there's other deadwood to remove at the winter window and most of the summer signings are in that list.

 

Gonna drum up a report at the halfway point and/or end of the season :)

[jonathan44]

On 03/02/2019 at 19:48, john1 said:

Fantastic Not bad 30M for Xadas, if Juventus take it on  What is your facilities like? As Palermo, are known for their youth system.

Thanks, having issues in the following season due to the success. Facilities are excellent and exceptional youth junior coaching. My recruitment is 'above average' but the board aren't allowing me to upgrade it which is bizarre.

Got some youth stars, the two below are the top rated ones I've had in the first 4 years. Last years intakes best was 2.5/5 stars which was great...

In my first team I have 7 who are trained at club. If anyone to see any of them let me know.

[3maldini3]

If money is not an issue who would you buy? Meret? Plizzari or Audero?

[FMbeginner]

8 hours ago, turgi said:

If money is not an issue who would you buy? Meret? Plizzari or Audero?

I would recommend Plizzari. I've had him for almost 3 seasons now at Sassuolo and he has been fantastic in a sweeper keeper role. Audero hasn't really developed in the game, although he might develop better from a manager rather than AI. Meret does look decent, but I don't have any experience.

Which team are you playing as?

[Trent71]

8 hours ago, turgi said:

If money is not an issue who would you buy? Meret? Plizzari or Audero?

 

Personally, I would go for Audero

 

Anyways, at the start of my Palermo save, I offloaded:

 

Mato Jajalo  >>> Sampdoria, 750K

Radoslaw Murawski >>> Brescia, 65k p/m loan fee

Aleksandar Trajkovski >>> Lokeren, 60k p/m loan fee

Aljaz Struna >>> Verona, 850K

Andrea Ingegneri >>> Livorno, 150K

Giuseppe Bellusci >>> Wigan, 30K p/m loan fee

 

 

So I began with a team heavily consisting of youth prodegees, Alastra in goal, Mirko Gallo and Angileri in defence, Santoro, Ruggiero, Fiordilino, Mendola in midfield, along with Lo Faso, Lucera. As the season reached the January transfer window, I also introduced De Marino, Antonino Gallo, Correnti and Cannavo.

 

The league table stands like this:

https://gyazo.com/25135fbfb4d4de6ce6bfc49ae403264a

 

Brescia and Verona both have abysmal seasons and have already changed managers.

 

From the experienced players perspective, Nestorovski has been a revelation with his 10 goals in 13 apps, but has no real alternative up front, as all the youth are just natural wingers and we don't have another poacher like him. Chochev is another leader who scored some very important goals along the way. Rispoli started well in the center of the defense, but then got sidelined for 3 months and is currently recovering. 

 

The latest matches show a lot of 1:0 games...what's not to love about Italy?  

[3maldini3]

2 hours ago, FMbeginner said:

I would recommend Plizzari. I've had him for almost 3 seasons now at Sassuolo and he has been fantastic in a sweeper keeper role. Audero hasn't really developed in the game, although he might develop better from a manager rather than AI. Meret does look decent, but I don't have any experience.

Which team are you playing as?

 

Roma. I'll finish the first season with Olsen but he is average at best.

[FMbeginner]

2 hours ago, turgi said:

 

Roma. I'll finish the first season with Olsen but he is average at best.

Agree with you there 100%. Olsen is not good enough for first choice at a team like Roma. Plenty of decent italian goalkeepers to go for. Cragno from Cagliari is usually available from Cagliari cheaply, for example

@RandomGuy. had Cragno as his first choice keeper in his Roma save, back on page 7-9 in this thread and he performed well by the sounds of it

[jonathan44]

@Trent71

Really nice, I'm glad someone else has started with Palermo. Even more impressed that you could get Nestorovski to score, I gave up on him and just used Puscas who I found to be a monster in Serie B. And best of luck with the kids, Lo Faso is good if you can keep him fit and Santoro/Cannavo/Angelieri are top notch, just wait till Da Graca returns from his season at Juventus. Absolute monster.

I can't agree with you using Rispoli at CB though, he's the best RB/RWB in the league!

[Trent71]

@jonathan44 Cheers

 

Puscas also seems quite decent, yeah, Nesterovski actually started relatively slow, before starting to score goal after goal!   Lo Faso looked impressive since the start of the game, when he was still injured - seemed quite interesting. From the loanees, I have my eye not only on Da Graca - I have plans for Posavec, Toscano, Balogh, Bentivegna to feature more in the first team, while Giappone and Guddo look formidable future goalkeepers, probably gonna loan them out again to follow their progress closely.

 

Since Rispoli just returned from injury, I'm gonna try him on the right side

 

In the January transfer window, we made our first signings of the season:

Filippo Ranocchia (Perugia, 625K)

Giulio Magri (Brescia, 300K)

 

With the youths grabbing more and more first team places, the hatchet continue to fall on former first team players:

 

Haas and Faletti's loan deals were terminated.

Alberto Pomini - Parma, free

Slobodan Rajkovic - Bologna, 750K

Carlos Embalo - Spezia, 525K

Antonio Mazotta - Verona, 325K

Przemyslaw Szyminski - OGC Nice, 950K

Alessandro Salvi - Chievo, 275K

Roberto Pirrello - Lecce, loan (his 4.8K per week was a burden and his younger counterparts are better options than him)

Agostino Rizzo - Siracusa, loan - the lad needs some playing time and offloading him to one of our feeders seems like a good idea.

 

With so many players sold, we have a freedom of 60K in the wage budget, along with 5M Euro for new players. Sadly, we're losing money thanks to a bank loan and other expenditures, as we started out with 7-8M Euro in the beginning of the season and currently languishing at 2.3M in January. I hope life in Serie A brings better financial position for us.

 

I also forgot to mention my intentions for this save - obviously I'm going to integrate a lot of youth talent, but I also have limited myself to Italian players only.

 

The bad thing about having so many talents is that in January I had to fight off a lot of teams for many individuals. Two of our talents eventually went to Roma on deadline day - Simone Santoro and Kevin Cannavo were sold for a combined fee of over 12M Euro, and for both of them we have 50% from their next fee. I'll be carefully glancing at the clauses section, as I expect another 5-8M to come as benefit from purchasing those clauses.

 

De Stefano and Leonardi are promoted in their stead. This brings our finances at the end of the January window to 9M euro and we have breathing space until the end of the season.

On towards the youth intake day!

 

[john1]

Good to see this thread going strong  I have just hit November and I will do half way update when I finish December month. Currently sitting 2nd with a point behind Inter.

Zaza, will be joining Lazio for 35M (they sold Savic for 95M!) and Mario is on verge joining Crystal Palace, which we will pay 40K p/w of his wages until 2023, As I forgot to mention that I brought in Da Graca in the summer, will look to promote one of my regen strikers.

[Trent71]

So, we came across youth intake day! It's always nice to hear the golden generation tag, and most of these kids don't disappoint - Tocchini in goal, Vitagliano on the wing (even though his personality is fickle...  ) Billi in defense and Moroni in attack. Manfre is another that can be a decent addition to the first team one day.

 

In the league, we're nearly there...

 

[Mikal]

Just finished my 21/22 season with Fiorentina and it was a special one.

Transfers

Not a major spend, but a huge improvement in the quality in the team. Some screenshots below of the main transfers (all screenshots taken after the season).

Franco Longo - brought in as a rotation option with Chiesa on the right wing. Very solid.

Patrick Cutrone - a fantastic price and was the reason I flogged Simeone. Couldn't keep Arp out of the team but was a good rotation option.

Carlos Lavin - such a bargain. Had a relegation release clause of £1.9m and just simply couldn't turn it down.

Angel Alvarez - what a talent. Fully worth the price paid. Truly spectacular player. Problem with consistency, but when he's on it, he's incredible.

Rocco Pompa - brought in on loan because he looked brilliant and I wanted to bolster the defence. He never put a foot wrong and nailed the RB position. We've just paid off his release clause of £32m to get him permanent. Other big teams also bid. It's probably overpaying, but young, Italian and already has a great connection with the club. No regrets.

Herbet - brought and loaned back due to restrictions. Looks a top midfielder. Looking forward to having him arrive.

Serie A

An unbelievable season for us. Two seasons in a row we finished runners-up but it was our year this time. We were fantastic across the entire team and were fully deserving of the league win.

Arp with 30 league goals was just spectacular. Here's his attributes if you wanted to see.

Cup Competitions

Champions League

In miraculous fashion we managed to win the Champions League. It was a crazy run, but we generally never looked out of place. After the group stage we faced:

Ajax: 1-1 away, 2-0 home

AC Milan: 1-1 away, 2-0 home

Man City: 1-1 away, 1-0 home

Our sturdy away performances and impeccable home form got us through to the final. Each round was almost a carbon copy of eachother.

Final: Liverpool 0 - 1 Fiorentina (after extra time). 

Liverpool stormed the Premier League and have won the past two Champions League, so I wasn't fancying our chances. We dominated possession (63%) and created some good chances. Equally so did Liverpool, but it was Dani Olmo in extra time to get the one and only goal. Incredible scenes.

Italian Cup

A very good run but a hugely disappointing final. We didn't turn up at all, a let down of a performance really. 

The Squad

Stats for the squad over the season.

As you can see, Arp was our main source of goals with Cheisa and Alvarez chipping in with double figures too.

The Tactic

This is the tactic I played for most of the season. It worked tremendously well.

For next season I will use this as well a tactic where I drop the DMC for an AML.

Edited February 10, 2019 by Mikal

[Trent71]

4 league games before the Serie B ends, we clinched the title! The final table looked like this.

 

The initial budgets don't look impressive. I'll also have to manage not going overboard transfer-wise and wages too, as I'm not sure how the finances in Serie A will bode for us. One problem that jumped straight as we promoted is a lot of players wanting new contracts, some being realistic, while others are very far off (Nesterovski wants 29K per week, which means I'll likely look to sell him). Lo Faso was the first one to strike a new deal, as I believe he'll be a key asset to the team in Serie A. Fiordilino was the next player who put pen to paper, fellow Bulgarian Chochev was the 3rd player to renew his deal.

 

The planned team for next season...

GKs: Alastra / Posavec

DR: Rispoli / Accardi

DC: M. Gallo / ???

DC: Angileri / ???

DL: Aleesami / Antonino Gallo

DMCR: Fiordilino / Gnahore

DMC: Ruggiero / F. Ranocchia

DMCL: Chochev / Mendola

AMR: Lo Faso / Lucera

AML: Balogh / Bonfiglio

SC: Puscas / Da Graca

 

That's the planned line up,  at least for now, which means a lot of youth will be loaned out and some others will be sold. Those plans can change, though, as I'm not entirely confident that the teenage duo M. Gallo / Angileri can hold the fort in Serie A.

[john1]

7 hours ago, Mikal said:

Just finished my 21/22 season with Fiorentina and it was a special one.

Transfers

Not a major spend, but a huge improvement in the quality in the team. Some screenshots below of the main transfers (all screenshots taken after the season).

Franco Longo - brought in as a rotation option with Chiesa on the right wing. Very solid.

Patrick Cutrone - a fantastic price and was the reason I flogged Simeone. Couldn't keep Arp out of the team but was a good rotation option.

Carlos Lavin - such a bargain. Had a relegation release clause of £1.9m and just simply couldn't turn it down.

Angel Alvarez - what a talent. Fully worth the price paid. Truly spectacular player. Problem with consistency, but when he's on it, he's incredible.

Rocco Pompa - brought in on loan because he looked brilliant and I wanted to bolster the defence. He never put a foot wrong and nailed the RB position. We've just paid off his release clause of £32m to get him permanent. Other big teams also bid. It's probably overpaying, but young, Italian and already has a great connection with the club. No regrets.

Herbet - brought and loaned back due to restrictions. Looks a top midfielder. Looking forward to having him arrive.

Serie A

An unbelievable season for us. Two seasons in a row we finished runners-up but it was our year this time. We were fantastic across the entire team and were fully deserving of the league win.

Arp with 30 league goals was just spectacular. Here's his attributes if you wanted to see.

Cup Competitions

Champions League

In miraculous fashion we managed to win the Champions League. It was a crazy run, but we generally never looked out of place. After the group stage we faced:

Ajax: 1-1 away, 2-0 home

AC Milan: 1-1 away, 2-0 home

Man City: 1-1 away, 1-0 home

Our sturdy away performances and impeccable home form got us through to the final. Each round was almost a carbon copy of eachother.

Final: Liverpool 0 - 1 Fiorentina (after extra time). 

Liverpool stormed the Premier League and have won the past two Champions League, so I wasn't fancying our chances. We dominated possession (63%) and created some good chances. Equally so did Liverpool, but it was Dani Olmo in extra time to get the one and only goal. Incredible scenes.

Italian Cup

A very good run but a hugely disappointing final. We didn't turn up at all, a let down of a performance really. 

The Squad

Stats for the squad over the season.

As you can see, Arp was our main source of goals with Cheisa and Alvarez chipping in with double figures too.

The Tactic

This is the tactic I played for most of the season. It worked tremendously well.

For next season I will use this as well a tactic where I drop the DMC for an AML.

Fantastic season Surprised to see Lazio finishing 2nd and Juventus, 5th.

[Trent71]

Starting up my 2nd season at the helm of Palermo, there were a lot of new additions - starting with a very notable U20 head coach and then signing a new and better assistant in the face of Daniele Russo.

 

The new faces:

Davide Di Pasquale (Sambenedetesse, free) - one deal I regret arranging in January, as Davide lacks the quality to be anything more than backup).

Alberto Senese (Napoli, free) - his contract was up and even though he doesn't look like much, the scouts rate him highly. Will give him a chance in the U20.

Erik Gerbi (Pro Vercelli, 225K) - another one for the U20 team, Erik comes both cheap and with bags of potential.

Mattia Zaccagni (Verona, 250K) - became transferlisted in the struggling Hellas side, so I didn't hesitate to sweep him in for a bargain price. To be honest, though, I hesitated, as I wanted to sign him on loan first with an option to buy!  

Felice D'Amico (Inter, loan fee 300K) - the Palermo youth product returns to bolster the wings. Ofc, I'd look to make the deal permanent, but that's in the future atm.

Victor De Lucia (FeralpiSalo, free) - seemed a good shout for a 3rd choice keeper, so I can loan out all the young guns.

Davide Ghislandi (Atalanta, 78K) - another one for the U20 team, the tricky winger was transferlisted for whatever reason at Atalanta and I moved quickly to sign him before Chievo.

Emanuele Suagher (Atalanta, 48K loan fee + 300K option to buy) - I was looking for more experience in defense and I'm hoping Suagher can help.

Federico Barba (Chievo, loan + 2M option to buy) - Barba is another defender who will be in rotation status throughout the season and we have the option to buy him if he impresses.

 

Having browsed for free agents and transferlisted players, I'm pretty happy with the business we concluded - we added more depth without risking the financial balance of the team, and there's no risk to any of the new signings.

 

So, all in all, here is how Palermo 2019/2020 will look...only difference can be Aleesami on the left back, as he was injured at the time of the screenshot.

 

We sold quite a lot of players and racked up over 10M of fees - including the loan deals!

Eddy Gnahore (Genoa, 3.3M) - he moaned about a new deal which I wasn't feeling like he deserved, so off he went!

Alberto Brignoli (Parma, 2M) - with the return of Posavec, there was really no point of his remaining at the club.

Aleksandar Trajkovski (Pescara, 1.1M) - after he spent the first season on loan, now we managed to shift him for good.

Giuseppe Bellusci (Crotone, 1.1M) - same as Trajkovski.

Accursio Bentivegna (Perugia, 475K) - he spent the first season on loan and as he returned, we realized there was no space for him in the squad.

Stefano Moreo (Pescara, 350K) - the only player we couldn't get rid of in January! Finally sold in the summer.

 

And the loaned out:

George Puscas, (Steaua, 1.1M loan fee), Marco Toscano (Vis Pesaro, 400K), Corentin Fiore (Foggia, 280K), Radoslaw Murawski (Livorno, 240K), Mario Correnti (Vis Pesaro, 200K), Raimondo Lucera (Foggia, 200K), Mario De Marino (Foggia, 200K), Roberto Pirrello (Brescia, 175K). A douzen other kids like Leonardi, Fradella, De Stefano and Sicuro are just loaned out to gain some match experience.  The fees are the total sum for the whole duration of the loan.

 

Just about to start our first game against Pisa, and we're sitting pretty on 15M Euro, who are increasing regularly due to the TV money flowing in.

[Trent71]

What a time to be alive!

 

 

[RandomGuy.]

On 09/02/2019 at 13:38, FMbeginner said:

Agree with you there 100%. Olsen is not good enough for first choice at a team like Roma. Plenty of decent italian goalkeepers to go for. Cragno from Cagliari is usually available from Cagliari cheaply, for example

@RandomGuy. had Cragno as his first choice keeper in his Roma save, back on page 7-9 in this thread and he performed well by the sounds of it

I'd definitely recommend Cragno, a really reliable, solid keeper for me. I tried "bigger" names but none could match him for sheer consistency, had him for 3/4 seasons and cant remember a single conceded goal I thought was poor keeping.

[Mikal]

On 10/02/2019 at 22:26, john1 said:

Fantastic season Surprised to see Lazio finishing 2nd and Juventus, 5th.

Lazio are an odd one, they're either really good or not so good. This is how Lazio and Juventus have finished since I started.

Lazio       Juventus

1st           5th

7th          1st

8th          5th

2nd         5th

[Trent71]

Close to the transfer window shutting, the board tried to sell Mendola for a ridicilous fee, but I managed to protest against it effectively. A new deal was offered then to Mendola instantly (which he accepted, making his salary 4.5K per week), but the chairman wasn't done being a ****... and he accepted deals for our top youth keeper: and on transfer deadline day, he went to Roma. Our only deal in on deadline day was Inter's Andrea Adorante arriving on a free for the U20 team.

 

One clause I managed to sell was for Rajkovic. With him being 30yo, not playing regularly for Bologna, I don't see him ever making a transfer, so sweeping in those 1.2M Euro is like taking candy from a baby. 

 

Results-wise, we have the freakiest season, as at one point, we were even second! But a bad run of games and results (late defeats to Juventus and Torino) meant we returned to a more realistic 12th position - Milan fans, feel free to look away from that league table! :D  The results show our best highlight to be the 1:0 victory over Sampdoria.

 

The only major change to the side saw A. Gallo become the regular left back and Magri his backup, as Aleesani moaned about a new deal, which I didn't want to give him, hence why he's now cast away, waiting for the transfer window to open to be sold. At the end of the season I'll be doing a more in-depth screenshot of the players to highlight their stats-increase - as shown in Gallo and Magri's case, those young talents excel quite well with first team action!

 

Financially, we're making about 4-5M profit each month, so in the start of December, we're looking at a healthy balance of 30M Euro! In the January transfer window I might do some business to improve our mid-table position and steady the ship, as some of the youngsters like De Graca are far from ready for the first team, and need some more time on loan. 

[Ronaldo Beckham]

I am thinking of starting a new save with Napoli, I have never been them before, I want to find someone to bring to Napoli to beat Hamsik's goalscoring record. 

Any suggestions on who I bring in ?

Edited February 15, 2019 by Ronaldo Beckham

[john1]

On 15/02/2019 at 19:10, Ronaldo Beckham said:

I am thinking of starting a new save with Napoli, I have never been them before, I want to find someone to bring to Napoli to beat Hamsik's goalscoring record. 

Any suggestions on who I bring in ?

Andrea Belotti 

[Ronaldo Beckham]

Yeah I went for him but Torino just rejected every offer I made, I will go for him again in my 2nd season. 

To be honest with Mertens and Milik I am more then covered up front for now.