KlaaZ

2022-2023: Season overview Transfer news We made one additional signing during the winter break. Mickaël Malsa joins us on loan from Levante to provide some more depth in midfield, with an option to buy. Serie A Our great start dips a little in September, where we pick up two wins and two losses, and october, with seven out of fifteen points. Highlights are a 3-1 home win against Roma and a holdup in Napoli. However, it's becoming more and more clear at that point that we struggle against the bottom teams. We already lost at home to Bologna, but we also lose at home against Cagliari, draw away at SPAL and only narrowly beat Spezia. There's an early winter break because of the World Cup in Quatar, which makes us lose momentum completely. Our form keeps up a little in February but afterwards, we start racking in the results of a team that's meant to go down, which sees us fall down the table. Four games until the end, we're in a comfortable 11th place, six points ahead of Sampdoria and Udinese, but we still manage to drop to 12th and only barely avoid 13th on the last day of the season by beating Udinese 3-1 at home in a head to head duel. The games against the smaller teams were really worrisome. Lost twice against Verona and Bologna, drew twice against SPAL and Empoli and only beat Genoa once. We snatched two wins against dead last Brescia, but even those were on a one goal margin. That said, I think we overperformed. The media predicted us to be 16th, and we pretty much played the season with last season's squad, players returning from loan and a few freebies. Coppa Italia We beat Ternana and Verona in the first two rounds to exceed (board) expectations, and are wipped in the next round thanks to a narrow 1-0 loss away in Roma. Youth intake Three players standing out in this intake. Finances and facilities Thanks to the promotion, TV money from the Serie A and cutting our wages down but moving some dead wood, we managed to clear our precarious financial situation. We're now a healthy 2.8M in the white, and that it after two investments were recently made into both the training and youth facilities. It also resulted in a better wage and transfer budget. We started out with a 1M wage kitty and about 900k in the transfer pool, but after some moving around went with a wage budget of 884k and a transfer budget of little over 9M, which should be plenty to strengthen the team. About performances and the squad I think we can be happy with how our back line performed during our first season back among the big boys. Zagaritis, Valenti and Araujo would be first team regulars in most Serie A sides, and on the right Busi has done surprisingly well for a player with limited ability. Between the stakes, Colombi took over from Buffon who will retire. In the midfield, it was more of a mixed bag. Schiattarella was probably our best player there but will be leaving for Sturm Graz at the end of the season. Together with Buffon leaving, this means both our captain and vice captain are out the door. I'm very curious to see how this will affect the team. Seoane had a very difficult start but his form picked up near the end of the season so I have some hope for him. Cyprien was ok as well, and Grassi a bit of a disappointment. Up front, Vazquez had a very good first half of the season but then mostly fell away completely. He turned 34 and his physicals are going down fast. His replacements, Inglese and Mulattieri, were even worse, with both not scoring a league goal this season. Even worse, Inglese has been on a dry spell for at least sixteen games. On the right wing, Man was good in most games, but we'll be looking at some more competition for the left flank als Brunetta and Tutino didn't live up to expectations. The good news is that most of our transfer work is already finished. We're still in the market for a replacement for Schiattarella, and maybe a left back as we just missed our top prospect, but apart from that we look good. More on that later though!

Season's done, will try to squeeze in an update before I leave on holiday tomorrow.

Made me laugh

Composure, decisions and hidden mentals could play a role as well I think.

Buzzin'!

2022-2023: August Transfers One more new guy! Samuele Mulattieri joins us on loan from Inter, as we don't need to pay his wage. Serie A We only pick up one out of six in two home games against Bologna and Empoli. In the former, they score a penalty to win the game and against Empoli, we drop two points through silly own goal, as they didn't manage to hit the target even once. We pick ourselves up again afterwards, first with a very important win away at Brescia, with Vazquez scoring another brace. We then go on to completely demolish struggling Sampdoria in their own home 0-4 in what was actually a very even game. Another brace from Vazquez, and two beauties (from Brunetta and Cyprien) secure a very important result. This moves us into a very satisfying third place in the league, ten points off a relegation spot. We won't get ahead of ourselves though. Coppa Italia I rotated a bit in the first round against Ternana and it almost cost us as they were surprisingly good but a brace from Mulattieri on his debut and a goal from Mihaila are enough to see us through to the second round where we'll face Verona.

2022-2023: July We're off for a special start on our return to the highest level as we open the league against reigning champions Juventus, in a sold out Ennio Tardini. Because of our transfer issues youngster Busi will start in the right back position after an unsuccessful loan spell at Reims last year. On the other end of the pitch, we'll be counting on Vazquez to continue his good form from the end of last season. On the left, Brunetta will be replacing Maldini as we can't get him to join us because of the wage limits. I'm not sure if it's because they underestimate us, but the Old Lady doesn't start off too well and we're easily able to keep pace. To make matters worse for them, Chiesa is forced off with an injury after only ten minutes. In the last quarter of the first half, they start pushing forward a little more, but we manage to go to the dressing room with a 0-0 score. Only two minutes into the second half, it happens. Vazquez gets into a one on one position against Chiellini, with Man coming up on the right side. He plays the ball square to the latter, putting him against Sandro. Instead of turning to his left foot as everyone would expect, he swings in a right footed cross to the back post, reaching an unmarked Brunetta because Cuadrado moved inside to cover the central area against the infiltration Cyprien. Brunetta pulls off a great control, takes a touch to reach the byline and plays a square cross to the center where Vazquez is present to tap it in. 1-0! In the 65th minute, Schiattarella takes a corner from the right hand side. He curls it to the penalty point, where Vazquez attacks the ball from deep to head it high into the net, making it 2-0. We run into one more scare when Vlahovic hits the bar, but apart from that easily protect our lead. The fact that Juve doesn't manage a single shot on target is very telling. We're on a high and on the last day of the month, we comfortably dispatch of Sassuolo on their own turf with 1-3. Brunetta scores a brace, and after they draw one back, Cyprien scores his first of the season to bring home the three points. Two games, two wins, what a start to the season!

2022-2023: Summer transfer window We're at the end of July and it has been a very interesting transfer window, to say the least. As mentioned earlier, I didn't get a transfer budget and my wage budget was limited to 600k. I figured I'd bring in some free players, maybe some loans, and cut some dead weight on the other side. What I didn't take into account, however, was the fact that I had a boatload of players returning from loan on very high wages. Once they did, I was spending a whopping 900k on player salaries which meant that from that point onwards, I couldn't bring anyone in. To make matters worse, my two main right backs left the club. Del Prato was on loan from Atalanta and I was planning on signing him permanently but I failed to notice his contract was running out so Sampdoria already picked him up instead. Andrea Rispoli, his backup, turned 33 and was already declining to a point where he would be useless. Luckily, I already had a few transfers arranged before everyone got back from their loan deals. Pietro Beruatto joins on a free from Juve and will cover for Zagaritis in the left back position. Frederik Jäkel is a young German central defender who was released by Leipzig, and Javier Belman will provide some cover for Colombi between the stakes. We also loan Lennard Hartjes from Feyenoord, with the idea to sign him on a free in 2023 if he makes sufficient progress. As I'm supposed to sign players under 23 for the first team, this also pleases the board as a side effect. On the outgoing side, I tried to cut as much deadwood as possible to reduce the wage bill. Twelve players leave the club, for various fees. Usually less than what I could have gotten, but I really needed to lose some salaries. Among them are Pandev, Juric, Sepe, Karamoh, Brugman and Osorio. This way, I managed to cut our wages back to 677k per week, which is still a bit overkill but it may be possible to do a deal or two in January now.

Thanks! Had a very rough time during the first half of the season, really worried that I wasn't going to get promoted which would have made this save a whole lot harder because of big wage players returning from loan. Also means that I'll have to be very creative in my first season in the Serie A.

Right, a bit more substantial but I've found something that worked, which allowed me to climb back from a seemingly impossible position to clench the title in the Serie B. This is how it looks now, with a more creative player in the DLF slot (Vazquez started out as my ACM and moved to the right wing later on). He was my main threat in the second half of the season, scoring eleven in the last thirteen games. The only thing I still play around with a little is the mentality, based on our possession vs. the chances we create. If we have very high possession stats without goal attempts, I tend to go a bit more adventurous.

This was a bit weird, considering our financial downwards progress.

2021-2022: Season review Serie B We had a very average start to the season. We narrowly won our opening game against Vicenza but then drew three out of the four next games (breaking this run with a great 3-1 victory over title rivals Brescia, which would prove crucial at the end of the season). We then went on to win three and lose two, leaving us in fifth position after ten games, already five points behind surprise leaders Cremonense. After a bit of a mixed bag in early november, picking up two wins, a draw and a loss, we did a bit of tactical tinkering and won the last five games before the winter break, seeing us move up to third but still seven points behind Brescia who were on top. January and the first half of Feburary started off terribly. In five games, we lost away at Vicenza and Brescia, and at home against Perugia, drew at home against Pordenone and only managed a narrow 1-0 win against Ascoli. And just when I thought direct promotion was out of the question, things clicked (also thanks to some solid advice from the tactics part of this forum). We moved Vazquez to the striker position and he thanked us by scoring eleven goals in the final thirteen games. Even more impressively, we went on an unbeaten run. Nine wins and a draw moved us to second place, one point behind Brescia. Our first chance to overtake them came four games before the end of the competition when they drew away at Monza, but we didn't hold our nerve and did the same thing in Cremonense. Ironically, Brescia dropped two points again two games later in the prelast game of the season against the same Cremonense and this time, we did our job away against Como, moving us into first place, one point ahead of Brescia with one game to go. In the final game of the season, Brescia went up 2-0 fairly quickly against Alessandria but it was once again Vazquez who put us ahead against Crotone and when Cassata scored a second goal in the 81st minute, we sealed the title on the final day of the season. At the start of the season it looked like Benevento would be our main opposition, but they complete collapsed in the second half of the season. Coppa Italia We beat Lecce in the first round, 3-2, and then went out completely undeserved against Sampdoria, who were clinical. A screenshot of that defeat can be found a few posts back for those that are interested. Player performances A very mixed bag here. Buffon was appalling, losing his spot between the stakes to Colombi halfway through the season. Although he's a very important figure in the dressing room, I'll probably try to move him on as he's on a big contract. We already have a replacement that will join us during the summer. Pandev didn't fare much better. Luckily, his contract is running out and he'll be joining AEK next season. I was hoping to keep him around for another year to have him mentor some players but it is what it is. Roberto Inglese, our second choice up front, also performed below expectations, bagging only one goal in 8 starts and 14 off the bench games. On the other side, we have a few (younger) players who performed very well. Lautaro Valenti was the main man in this regard, becoming our rock at the back. The Argentinian will be very important next season if we want to stay up. Next to him, both Araujo and young Balogh did very well, so I'm happy with things in defense. With Zagaritis we have a great left back prospect that also showed glimpes of his quality. And finally, vice captain Schiatarella was a pivotal figure in the midfield. Turning 35 at the end of May, he'll be very important for us for at least one more season. Youth intake Not terrible, but not great either. There's one player, young striker Matteo Mele, who might be special in due time. He has some work to do on his physicals but the potential is there. In midfield, Rossano Ermini could perhaps become our main Mezzala one day, but I'm a bit worried about his personality. Finances and facilities Financially, we're not in the best spot, almost eleven mil in the red because of a very high wage bill for the Serie B. Because of this, we don't get a transfer budget and our wages are limited to 600k. Looks like we'll have to wheel and deal in our first season with the big boys and just pray that we can stay up. It's possible that we'll get something to work with at the start of the season though, fingers crossed. To make matters worse, our training facilities got downgraded as well.

Season recap coming somewhere today if all goes well.

2021-2022: January transfer window Some more transfer news! Drissa Camara moves to Ulsan for 575k and a percentage on future sale, Sprocati moves to SPAL for 675k. We spend the money on one newcomer, a creative midfielder. Jaime Seoane is a 25-year old Spaniard who comes over from Huesca for 1.1M.

Just a quick note regarding that Brescia goal from my throwin, I have no idea why I was 1 on 1 there. Had a CD and FB with stay back and a CD on stay back if needed, which are the default instructions. Feels like a bug more than anything else? Will read through the rest later, currently at work. But thanks for taking the time go go through it. 🙂

Maybe I should just shelve this.

How can I compress that space? I'm already got a high D line with a standard LoE, and I'm employing a DM... And again, two shots on target, two goals. First goal came from their right full back hitting a long diagonal to the left winger, putting him one on one with Buffon. Second from a set piece.

And if anyone's interested, here are the games. Brescia v Parma.pkm Parma v Perugia.pkm

Always through the middle, despite me playing with force opposition outside and with my defenders not being aggressive enough. I'm struggling immensely against two striker systems. The main pattern is one striker receiving the ball, being pressed but not being challenged and thus able to turn, and launching the other striker. Either that, or a winger that creeps up between my FB and my CD. Ironically, it seems impossible for me to find these gaps in the opponents defense. These are the stats from my last two games. And as @Johnny Ace mentioned, Buffon not making any saves at all doesn't really help me either.

23 minutes in.

Ten minutes in against Perugia at home..

Made some changes following your suggestions and statistically, I did a lot better. But once again, I only conceded two shots on target, both resulting in a goal. It can happen, but for some reason it happens a lot to me. Conceded the first goal because for some reason on one of my throw ins, only one of my CD's stayed back (against one of their strikers). He then lost the aerial duel and the same player recovered faster and picked up the ball he headed on, going on to score.

Counter Press might be one of my problems, will see how I get on without it. I'd like at least one runner from central midfield which is why I picked the mezzala, although I'm considering changing him to a CM(A). I actually went with a HB because I'm encountering a lot of dual striker systems and even a DM(D) looks like he pushes too far up the pitch in possession, which often leaves me one on one at the back when I lose the ball. Maybe an anchorman would do the trick too

Might be a problem with striker quality too, in all fairness. Pandev, Simy and Inglese have three goals scored between them, in 24 appearances. Even as a DLF on support or attack, I would expect them to score a lot more but they keep missing their one on ones. According to their combined xG, they should've scored three times as much.

Currently playing like this and performing very well but the results keep being off... Really not sure what I can do at this point, almost every shot on target results in a goal against. These are my last two games, against mid table teams at home. I'm dominating possession, I'm creating chances (although against ascoli they weren't great), but I just either can't seem to finish them or, when I can, I just concede on pretty much every single chance my opponent creates..