Shrewnaldo

I Mastini - Hellas Verona It was another difficult summer of recruitment where we had to sell to buy - and then buy at a fraction of what we'd managed to bring in. Perhaps more important than the fees which were recouped, the sales had to free up wages with the board implementing another cut to our budget despite the prospect of European football. Hence the decision to sell Ander Guevara, on £54k a week, and Pablo Rodriguez, on £42k a week. Joel Mvuka, on a measly £9k, was surplus to requirements as we no longer play out-and-out wingers - the £3.7m we should recoup from that sale was a nice bonus. Guevara had been our regular starting 6 and Pablo the 9, leaving a couple of key gaps in the starting XI. I was also conscious that, with at least 8 additional games in the Europa League, we faced the increased demand for squad depth that comes at this stage of a save. Sadly we couldn't find any sufficient quality on free transfers or within our budget for the majority of positions and Gabriele Ferrarini, capable of providing cover for both IWB positions, was the only real depth we could bring in. The other three signings should be proper first-team material. First, Cristian Volpato who had just come off a season at Sassuolo where he hadn't played a single first-team game. However, from the saves that I'd kept from the end of previous seasons, I could see that he'd had an impressive campaign at Ligue 2 Clermont Foot in 27/28 with 0.4 chances created per 90. On loan at Wolfsburg the season before, he'd struggled for game time but created 0.83 chances per 90. My eye was also immediately drawn to his height - with my continued theme of producing big, physical sides - and his traits. I want him to play wide, acting as one of our wide midfielders that look to draw the fullback by pinning to the touchline in a deep position and then playing smart passes into the space behind for the runners from deep. Likes Ball Played Into Feet and Tries Killer Balls Often are absolutely perfect for that. Then there was his elite First Touch, Technique and Flair. To me, he looked like one of those players with high potential whose development has been stifled by lack of game time at a good level. With an injury to Barbaro, Volpato has been thrown in earlier than I'd anticipated and repaid all my faith with 3 goals and 3 assists in 7 starts. The key target was a 9 and I decided to go with a more simplistic strategy for that one. Extracting a database of all strikers in active leagues and then filtering for only those who were >6'1" and under 31, I sorted them all by xG over-performance per 90 minutes. Marcos was transfer-listed for just £120k but after taking him on trial he clearly wasn't of the required standard. Frustratingly I'd had the chance to sign Bibishkov from Juve on a free a couple of seasons ago but turned it down because he didn't yet have senior-level statistics on which to make a judgement. Having recently signed a new contract at Mølde, he wasn't interested in coming back to Italy. That left Milošević as the next option after an impressive season on loan in Belgium. He was available for about £2.5m from Stuttgart but I opted for a loan instead - partly because the limited statistical approach was a bit new for me and partly to limit the immediate outlay. Keeping that money meant we could jump quickly when Gaetano Castrovilli came on the market for just £2.6m. Following his move from Fiorentina, Castrovilli had spent 5 very solid seasons at Real Sociedad - slowly picking up less game time but clearly of genuine quality and with european experience, something that I'm not sure translates into the game but I felt was a nice realistic touch to add. We're now 10 games into the season and it's been going pretty well results-wise - but I wanted to take a minute to check if the issues of last season were now solved, or if we were simply heading for more of the same. Losing to Milan on the opening day isn't exactly disastrous but I was moderately concerned given the complete lack of chances. 5 shots for 0.28xG is poor, even if we limited last season's runners up to 9 shots for 0.51xG. Not the most entertaining of games then. The defensive side of the game clearly hasn't suffered. 7.8xGA is the second best in the league and our 4 clean sheets so far have brought us 10 points. But we don't appear to have improved any at the other end. Ignoring the European games, we've scored 10 in the next 7 - drawing blanks at Sampdoria and reigning Scudetto holders Inter. Again, not hugely concerning - particularly when you know that we played with 10 in Genoa for 65 minutes, and at the Giuseppe Meazza for 18 minutes... before then playing with 9 men for another 20. Creditable draws then. Last season, the average xG per team per game was 1.3 - ours was 1.4. Across our 8 league matches so far we've averaged 1.08xG. Even ignoring the two outliers where we've had red cards, we average 1.3. And that's with 4 home games and 2 away. All of this matches my 'eye test' that we're still not creative enough. I've said before that my aim is for about 1.8xG per match from an average of 12 shots per 90 (0.15 xG/shot). Currently, we're creating 1.08xG from 9 shots per 90 (0.12 xG/shot). So, in short, we're failing offensively across the board - not enough xG, not enough shots, and the shots we're taking are of insufficient quality. Any positives? If I'm trying to find silver linings then there may be some extenuating circumstances. We've played last season's top three. We've had two games with significant numerical disadvantages. Milošević has been taking about 30% more shots than predecessor Pablo... Erm... And I guess we can be pleased that, so far, we have managed the addition of midweek European fixtures. Not to mention that our defence is still outstanding. But the fact remains that, offensively, we're scraping past teams and I don't think have won a game comfortably yet this season. Our best performance was probably the 2-0 against Lecce, where we out xG'd the southern side by 2.53 to 0.10. Yet we still needed a penalty and an 83rd minute goal from a corner to win it. All of which is a really, really long-winded way of saying that I think the time has come for a change of approach. If we want to step up to be comfortable against the poorer sides, then I need to accept the inevitable and become more of what is, "these days", termed a "progressive" side with more possession and control of the ball in advanced areas. The counter-attacking system is still clearly effective against the better teams - or at least our defensive system is - so we will continue to employ that. But I think I'll need to transition over the course of this season into a different sort of team. To be honest, this suits me fine. Six seasons of counter-attacking - four in the direct system at FeralpiSalò and two in a more fluid manner in Verona - is starting to get a little monotonous and I've been feeling the urge to experiment a bit. Speaking of Feralpi, after they reached the playoffs in their first Toporagno-less season, they have sadly reverted to the norm and were relegated in 2028/29 - winning just 3 games as they finished bottom of Serie B. After a stint in Belgium with Charleroi, former Parma, Milan, Fiorentina and indeed Hellas Verona striker Alberto Gilardino has taken over at the Lina Turina. As I've now removed Serie C from the game, I can't tell how well he is doing until or unless Feralpi are re-promoted. I'll certainly be keeping one eye on the Leoni del Garda. For my part, I'm wondering if this will be my last season in Verona. I am enjoying it but feel like we might have hit a financial ceiling. Again, I think an ambitious manager in Toporagno's position would be keeping an eye open for opportunities. Having taken I Mastini into Europe for the first time since 1988, you'd think bigger clubs would be starting to take notice. Perhaps not one of the elite clubs but someone like Roma - who have finished 7th, 9th, 10th, 10th and 7th - would be on the lookout for an up-and-coming manager. Or further afield, Sevilla have failed to qualify for Europe in the last two seasons. Or Gladbach finished 15th just three seasons ago. These sorts of 'next echelon' teams would be a realistic step-up if I decided to move away from Verona. That decision may rest on how much I enjoy the transition away from a purely counter-attacking team... and how successful that transition is.

Didn't realise you had Gondo too. I looked at him a few times for Feralpisalò but decided against it as I had him in an old save. Him and Antiste are a brilliant front pairing for Serie B

Were you applying for loads of jobs or publicly declaring interest in other jobs?

Nice idea, will be reading along It'll be interesting to see how you take advantage of the inherent altitude advantages you'll have for home games. When I played in Peru, it really was debilitating for my coastal club (Cantolao) to visit the likes of Cusco or Huancayo. Something you can certainly turn to your benefit.

Thanks! I always appreciate feedback. I do feel like I've got it right with this move to Verona but thanks for reminding me of their scudetto in the 80s... maybe the answer to my question is to sign a massive Danish striker. Pretty sure someone suggested that early in the thread.

Always nice to go out to the eventual winners and some effort even getting that far in the Champions League. Do you want to leave Lens? Seems like you're still having a good time in France and with that one objective still to go... are you tempted to stay even if a suitable role comes up and offers you the position?

I really like Antiste. He was a great prospect at Toulouse a long time ago and I keep looking at him for my save this year. Unfortunately he's always outside my price range but would imagine he'll bang for you on loan.

Europe I Mastini - Hellas Verona A successful season, no doubt, but also another frustration as we let a superior position slip away through March and April. As is becoming a recurring theme, the lack of quality squad depth becomes exposed in the latter moments of the season and we just couldn't overcome a goal drought through some critical fixtures. Looking at the positions graph above the table, you can see that we were consistently in the Champions League spots throughout the season and only dropped into 5th in March and then 6th in late April. What's all the more frustrating is that, thanks to the expanded Swiss system and Italy's strong co-efficient, 5th spot would also have got us into the Champions League. As it is, we'll need to make do with the Europa. Not a disaster but the financial difference is staggering and, again a recurring theme, the money is a real problem for us. We ended last season £25m in debt and with a project that this will double every season from here on in. Correspondingly, the board have greeted the prospect of continental football with a cut to the wage budget and a transfer kitty of <£1m. That really isn't going to go far. It's particularly frustrating given our track record of successful recruitment. Giovanni Fabbian, who is fast becoming my new favourite player, was Serie A signing of the season - and little wonder with 25 goal involvements in 36 games. 7 of those goals came in the opening 6 games and I was feeling incredibly smug about his summer recruitment from Bologna. Sadly his only dry spell coincided with similar profligacy from those around him - particularly the supposed strikers - and killed us during that spell in March and April. An xG of 9.86 resulted in just two goals across 8 games and, with a number of those games coming against rivals in the upper echelons, was the critical factor in not turning a good season into a great one. The obvious priority for this summer's recruitment is, therefore, at 9. In an ideal world, I'd like to strengthen in some of the areas where the incumbent players are advancing in years. Specifically in goal with 33 year-old Lorenzo Montipò; at 6, where I think we could do better than 31 year-old Ander Guevara; and 32 year-old Toma Bašić is starting to struggle with the physicality of the B2B role. But we already have the best defence in the league and need to prioritise the limited funding at my disposal. Coli Saco, the 6'6" stalwart that I brought with me from FeralpiSalò, should be able to do a pass-able job at 6 and it was always my intention to phase in Leonardo Benedetti as Bašić's replacement, after the former arrived from Samp on a free last summer. At 9, we are very short of options. The problem, I think, is two-fold. Our two options for 9 are Pablo Rodriguez and Emanual Vignato - two quite different players. Pablo is a poacher-type, trying to play on the shoulder of the last defender to use his pace and traits. He looks like he should be a very good striker for us and the Mustermann radar chart would suggest so. 0.50 non-penalty xG/90 is really very good, but he lets himself down in two areas - the comparatively low number of shots he takes per 90 and his ability to meet that xG. Underperforming by any amount is sub-optimal in your primary goal threat and Pablo underperformed his xG by 1.54. That's probably 5 or 6 lower than I'd be looking for in a 9, and it's the second season in a row he's underperformed against expectations. At this point, I'm more than willing to take the cash for him. The second option is Emanuele Vignato. Initially signed with the intention of being a creator from 10, Vignato has consistently underwhelmed and this season has scored just a single goal when played at 9. He is notably better from deeper, more creative positions and would probably be a very nice squad option were it not for his £37.5k a week wage. Having paid Pisa £5m for his services when I was in the honeymoon-period of post-Feralpi spending spree, I think I have to chalk this one up as an error. At maybe £2.5m and half his wage, he'd be a perfectly acceptable signing... but the fee and the wage are quite the millstones. And because of that wage, I doubt we'll be able to move him on - but he is certainly not a reliable 9 for a team in European competition. Our strikers' ability to convert is not the only problem going forward, though. As a team, our finishing ability is not terrible. We create the 5th best xG per shot in the league and we're 5th best at converting those shots. However, both these graphs show, to me, that we're just not taking enough shots in the first place. Right from the start of this thread, I'd wanted to prioritise high-quality chances over quantity - but there has to be a balance and 1.85 shots per 90 for our only striker just isn't good enough. As is so often the case, as I write these posts my views tend to change - 'when the facts change, I change my mind - what do you do, sir?' you might say. And now my mind is going to the 31 year-old 6 that I wanted to replace... and a creative 9 who isn't a 9 but plays much better from 10. Perhaps the answer is to combine the replacement at 9 with a change of system. To date, we have been employing the 4-1-4-1 - sitting deep and hitting teams on the break with pace and direct running power. Intuitively, this is something I've done as in-game changes throughout the season if we've been chasing a goal. Either I've shifted the DM to AM and gone with the flat 4-4-1-1, or I've brought the AM in but switched to two DMs rather than MCs. Both have the same idea - simply trying to get someone closer to the 9 and be more creative rather than relying on turnovers to create our space. I can't say that either option has been spectacularly successful. Where we were able to create more shots, they rarely fell to the 9 which is what I'm aiming to do here. I'm also a little hesitant to weaken the defensive solidity on which our success has been based. We conceded the fewest goals in the league last season and kept 17 clean sheets (at 2.53 points per game). Any evolution has to supplement, rather than replace, this defensive success. Lastly, I wanted to look at the games we didn't win to see whether there were any consistent themes or obvious failures. I reckon a lot of these games we can just accept losing or drawing. Away at champions Inter, for example. Or away at Atalanta when Zemura was sent off after 13 minutes. Losing at home to Genoa or at Lecce? Not so much. In the former, we've created more xG with 11 shots for 1.44. Pablo played at 9 and had one shot. In the latter, Lecce created more xG from 5 shots than we did from our 10. And Pablo played and 9 and had one shot. Indeed, in this game Pablo didn't receive a pass within 20 yards of their box. Every single year, every single FM, strikers are a problem for me. It probably comes from having played in defence - I naturally know how to stop things happening rather than create. So I reckon I'll be using pre-season to develop a better alternative tactic which I can use against weaker sides or when chasing games, something which aims to get the 9 into more regular (but still high-quality) goalscoring positions. Perhaps this will include some sort of evolution away from the purely low / mid block counter-game... something which I think is an inevitability as we get better and better. Perhaps we need more established possession in the final third - moving away from this sort of direct, transitional attack that has served us so well but to which we clearly need an alternative. With an £884k budget, it's highly unlikely that we'll have any major evolution through recruitment - it'll have to be tactical and one or two signings. We could look to sell a few to make room and money, but we're back to the conundrum of having very few high-value assets. I'd love to sell Guevara at 6 - on £58k and eminently replaceable - but the board would only give me 20% of the pittance we get for him to bring in a replacement. Another summer of recruitment dilemmas, tactical meandering and baleful looks at the bank balance looms.

It's not too bad really. A few related statistics from last season: =1st most fouls made, 528 in 38 matches (the other team on 528 played 39) 5th tackles on, 898 19th tackles won ratio, 74% =5th yellow cards, 65 (Juve were top with 82) =6th red cards, 1 (Torino were top with 5) =5th goals conceded from indirect free-kicks, 2 (Bologna were worst with 7) =worst for goals conceded from direct free-kicks, 3 The top foul-makers in our team were, in order, the 9, the CM(A), the right mid and the left mid Six players accumulated enough yellows for a suspension - the CM(A) twice, the right mid, both left mids, the back-up left IWB and our best centre back. Only the direct free-kicks would worry me too much. For me, it's about encouraging the players to aggressively engage in the mid-block. Primarily using the 4-1-4-1, we have plenty of numbers within the compact block and so can afford to let one get pulled out of shape a little - particularly if it's those more advanced players that are making the fouls.

It can so often go wrong though, particularly when you're still "into" the old club. Some of the "starting again" stuff can just feel like a drag - particularly staff and not having a scoob who any of the youth players are etc Good feeling when it lands, though. And I think you can tell pretty quickly when it's not going to be something you can get into

I like it. It feels like a realistic move and, like you say, when you hit what is a natural glass-ceiling then most successful managers would move on for personal ambitions rather than stick it out for the years it will take to progress. The latter is very much an FM-ism. Solid effort with Sundsvall though, clearly leaving them in a better position than you left them - with a foundation for continuing that.

4 point gap to PSG doesn't seem too bad, particularly if they go further in Europe than you. Are you hard-committed to getting the double before you can move on? Tempted to soften the parameters a bit?

Re the late goals you're conceding - are you sure it's a tactical issue rather than attributional? Typically Determination and maybe Concentration would affect late game performance? It was also an issue for me at Feralpisalò but it was neither tactical nor attributes. It was just that the subs I had to bring on late game were not of the same quality as the starting XI. And with 5 subs, the bigger teams just have such an advantage in fresh quality. The teams you're conceding to don't seem to be the better squads though?

Branco ❤️

Huh, I've never noticed that personality impact from declining interviews before. Is that a new thing? Good work on turning down Lazio though. Not a fan, regardless of the lack of completed objectives.

Currently feeling very smug about the signing of Fabbian Tough start to the season but pleased with the two away draws at the big clubs, particularly Napoli where we were the better side and suffered from a late freekick from Koopmeiners. Still, I got to see Fabbian do this. a81692a3cf809c259bdc71c5bfe8f9ae.mp4

I did think about a mezzala but I want the WM to stay wide and pull the defence across, then the runner to get into the channel outside the centre back on that side. I found the mezz had the tendency to come too wide, whereas a CM(A) from MCR gets the more central movement that I want. I think the primary question now is what does the 9 do. I really like the WM holds the width though - particularly deep width. I've always been focused on exploiting space. The space will always exist somewhere, it's just about moving the space to where I want it to be rather than where the defensive team wants it to be. A long time ago, I used the analogy of the sliding tile puzzles - Tactical case study – The Dugout (wordpress.com). I think it's still an apt comparison to make and I find it a useful mental model for both our defensive and offensive shapes. Using the WM helps me shift the space from in front of the defending fullback to space in behind him. That then disrupts the defensive line and forces the centre backs to react to our runner from deep - which in turn moves that space to the centre or potentially in behind.

I didn't like 'Reigning Cats and Dogs' - too obscure and who knows if the next clubs will have any canine or feline references. So 'The Traipsing of the Shrew' is next up. Because it's sort of like a journeyman... traipsing around Europe at different clubs... it's a shame The Taming of the Shrew wasn't one of Shakespeare's two plays set in Verona.

That'll be a certain ex-Man Utd forward who was facing criminal charges until not long ago. So I genuinely meant it when I said "dreadful human being". It wasn't hyperbole. Sadly no. I've offloaded a few who wouldn't quite make it and were earning a few thousand a week each. We have, though, had a very nice intake this season so it's possible that we could have a couple coming through. I think a more likely route is existing clauses that I could sell. But even that will only bring in a few million at most. I think it's got to be Europe. We came so close this season that anything else would probably be considered a step back. And I think we'll need the extra money to take the step up. I'm also taking a closer look at the personality profile in the squad. We've got a couple of perfectionists and a model citizen now. But I think it's a big ask. To catch Lazio in 6th, we'd have needed another 12 points. So maybe turning 3 losses and 3 draws into wins? We lost 14 games last season and only 2 of them weren't against the big 8 clubs. Similarly we drew 8 games and only 4 of those weren't against the big teams. So it's hard to find those extra points unless we can genuinely take on the big guns. We beat Milan, drew with Juve, Lazio and Atalanta (twice)... conceded last minute deciders against Inter and Juve... so it's not impossible. Just very, very difficult. Perhaps not going into Europe this year will actually be a blessing, avoiding the fatigue and weakening with rotation.

I just think it's very funny how often I come read your thread and find parallels to my own game - traits, signing tall players, uncertainty around the role of the 9... Great minds etc And speaking of similarities, how is Kusu? I've looked at him a few times and his statistical output in Sweden has been really good but my scouts aren't that keen for Serie A. Reckon he could do a job? Lastly, what leagues are you running in full detail? I'm also using saves from the end of previous seasons to allow me and check deleted statistical output. But the ability to watch actual games is restricted to Serie A games or anything I load in full detail. So far, I haven't done so due to processing concerns even though I've got a really handy unit.

Is there any money in Italy I Mastini - Hellas Verona Football can be a cruel game, Football Manager all the more so. Going into the final minute of my first season in Verona, we were pulling off an improbable qualification for Europe. Fiorentina, who had gone into the final day holding 7th spot, were losing 2-0 at Lazio. We only needed to beat Sassuolo, already safe and playing for nothing, to steal into Europe at the final hurdle. Well there's final hurdles and then there's a banana skin just yards from the finish line. In the 95th minute, leading Sassuolo 1-0, we conceded a dreadful equaliser to a dreadful human being that I shan't name on these pages. Pain. Yet we can't be too disappointed with 8th. It's well ahead of our media prediction which meandered between relegation fodder and safe by the skin of our teeth. In the end, we were never troubled by the bottom half of the table, nevermind the drop, and were unsurprisingly the over-achievers of the season. Milan won the Scudetto back from Juve, whilst the usual suspects filled out the upper echelons of the table - only Roma were surprisingly poor, finishing 10th. Benevento, Empoli and Spezia were relegated back to Serie B with Parma, Salernitana and Sampdoria (finally) making their way back to the top tier. FeralpiSalò finished a creditable 7th in my absence but failed, again, at the preliminary playoff round. The former Parma manager Gabriele Cioffi taking advantage of the match engine fixes to provide the defensive stability I never could - the Lions of Garda conceding just 30, scoring a paltry 40. It was nice to see that Feralpi's best player was 6'4" holding midfielder Simone Panada, a deal I'd arranged before departing. Semuel Pizzignacco, a stalwart in goal during my time there, was also so impressive that he won the Serie B Goalkeeper of the Year Award... and a free transfer to Hellas Verona. Pizzignacco joined Strasbourg's Abakar Sylla (centre half) and Sampdoria's Leonardo Benedetti in pre-arranged Bosmans to the Bentegodi. The former two are squad players more than starters, whilst Benedetti should get plenty of game time as a box-to-box midfielder. I've always liked doing my business as early as possible but here it caused me no end of problems. Because, much like in Salò, the board has implemented a cut to my wage budget of about 10%. So those deals to bring in Pizzignacco, Sylla and Benedetti bust my budget immediately. With just £2.2m in transfer budget, I had to look at selling before buying. We don't really have many sellable assets - or at least ones that I wanted to let go. Primarily I was looking at the highest earners and who I could do with getting off the bill. Mickael Malsa, earning £55k a week at 32, was therefore an easy target and he was joined at the exit by 30 year-old Toni Moya on £22k a week. Neither were first-choice players and could easily be replaced with cheaper options. So far, they are the only ones out the door but there's a decent chance they could be joined by other high-earners. Centre back Bruno Amione (£59k), Ander Guevara at 6 (58k), left mid Jordan Zemura (£58k) and first-choice striker Pablo Rodriguez (£46k) are all decent but I think replaceable for those wages. My concern is that we are short on quality, rather than quantity, so my scouting has largely focused on potential replacements should either of these four move on. Without the wiggle room in fees or wages, what we've brought in so far has been primarily providing a solid second-string, with the exception of Giovanni Fabbian for whom I have high hopes. They'll all look to fit into the evolving 4-1-4-1, and all with a view to improving that physical, aggressive element I've committed to. Having given up on the notion of the wide midfielders moving into the 10 role for creativity, I'd been using a false 9 to drop off the line, create space and play through balls for runners from deep. Per my post above, this had been working to an extent but we'd really struggled for goals and a look into the details had indicated that we just weren't making the passes for the runners. So I've switched it up a bit again and changed the roles of the wide players. Rather than attacking wingers looking to get in behind with pace and running power, I'm holding them in deeper roles and looking for them to make the passes from wide. In particular, I was looking to exploit the talents of newgen right mid Alexander Barbaro who came through our academy in 23/24. He has elite first touch, technique, balance and - most crucially - passing. So whilst he did ok as a winger, it really wasn't making the most of his potential. Instead, I'm looking for something much more like this. Hold the width, draw the fullback, don't look to take him on with a dribble but instead play the pass into space for the on-rushing CM(A) from MCR. Perfect. With the fullbacks coming inside as inverted wingbacks, it also really helps our transition from through the middle-third. Here's a basic example where Barbaro is holding the width around halfway and receiving the ball from defence as the fullback behind him is moving into midfield. The Empoli left-back has pushed right up to engage Barbaro on the turn, leaving the huge highlighted gap behind him. The Empoli centre halves should really shift across but our CM(A) is bursting into that space and receiving a very simple pass from Barbaro. Inside two passes we've bypassed their entire midfield and disrupted their defensive line. I haven't tended to use wide players in this way before but I'm absolutely loving the WM(S) role and its versatility through the PIs. It also had a knock-on effect on the 9. As we're looking to build through these wide players, I didn't necessarily need the false 9 to be dropping off and looking to link play any more. I haven't entirely settled on what to do with the 9 but have gone with a DLF(A) for now - something of a halfway house really. I think ideally I'll go with a Complete Forward on Attack duty in time, but suspect that the real game-changer will be the quality of personnel rather than the role. And sadly we just can't get that quality at the moment. I nearly managed to sign Mateo Retegui on a free transfer from Genoa. Having scored 80 goals over the last 5 seasons, the nationalised Argentine would have been perfect and a real step up from our current options. Sadly he chose the riches of Saudi Arabia and a £725k per week salary. Fair enough, really. The lack of such funds is probably the only thing holding us back now. I think one of two pieces of genuine quality would turn us into genuine contenders for the European spots. A quality 9, 6 and midfield runner would go some way to bringing the additional 20 points we need to bridge the gap. But we'll have to do without. Money seems to be in short supply in Italy - at least until we hit the Champions League. So it'll need to be more targeted signings, free transfers and unearthing quality bargains. And whilst we're at it, increasing the physical prowess of the side. I went back to FeralpiSalò in January to sign 6'6" Coli Saco for back-up in midfield. He heads a long list >6' signings including one I really like the look of, the aforementioned Giovanni Fabbian. His statistical output on loan at Bodø Glimt and a handful of games for Bologna was quietly impressive and my scouts were keen. Furthermore, he's a Model Citizen with good physicals and a suite of very handy traits that'll suit the CM(A) role perfectly. Even his negatives - "has a competitive streak which can occasionally lead to him bending the rules" - fits in nicely with the model we're going for. I have high hopes. Given the finances, I should probably be going all 'meta' and buying wonderkids with re-sale value but I'm really enjoying this alternative way of playing. Now I just need it to work on the pitch too.

Nice one Reiver, really interesting choice of club. Loving that Martin Harnik is in your league, even if not at your club. Much nostalgia for me

Seems a bit odd that the NxGn player of the year 'only' has 4* potential in a Ligue 1 club

Might have solved the goals issue

Who is your favourite player of the series and why is it Branco van den Boomen? How is the Branco working out for you? PS - I love the Branco