Flamers Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 True.. Thats one thing none of you have! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
crouchaldinho Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 They're gorgeous! I love shirts with no sponsor, they look so much better Yeah, they are pretty special looking. Wish I could purchase one without it costing so much. Will keep an eye out on ebay but I've been looking for quite a long time now and nothing ever seems to come up on there for Hellas Verona. Might have to save it for the big games, or it'll get a bit smelly Put it on over the top of whatever t-shirt you are wearing at the time then! I never wear football tops next to my skin, I have to confess. The material of replicas always seems to increase sweat. I always wear something underneath them. Chin up, Flamers, least you can go bowling at your club! I bet Flamers is pleased about that as well! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
crouchaldinho Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 True.. Thats one thing none of you have! Missed your post as it was on the next page F. Thought you'd be pleased with that! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flamers Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 Oh I am. When I go to Iceland I might have to visit it... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 Precisely. That makes you selfish then. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeXe Posted May 7, 2011 Author Share Posted May 7, 2011 Will keep an eye out on ebay but I've been looking for quite a long time now and nothing ever seems to come up on there for Hellas Verona. Good luck, I'm sure something will pop up eventually! If not then perhaps a friendly CU forummer will take a holiday to Verona and pick you up one? I never wear football tops next to my skin, I have to confess. The material of replicas always seems to increase sweat. I always wear something underneath them. That's not been an issue for me with the newer tops (got a couple of WC2010 shirts cheap that are very nice material), but the older ones get a bit clammy. Oh I am. When I go to Iceland I might have to visit it... Definitely need a pic of you bowling a strike in the KFK alley That makes you selfish then. It does indeed! Poor forumming Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeXe Posted May 7, 2011 Author Share Posted May 7, 2011 I think it's safe to say at least one of my players is in form. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeXe Posted May 7, 2011 Author Share Posted May 7, 2011 Season 25: Winter Break Update As always the season kicked off with the Supercoppa - this year we took on Napoli, in the first fixture at the brand-spanking new Serpente Park! Napoli opened the scoring through former Messina man Tom O'Donnell, but we fought our way to a 2-1 lead with an own-goal and Marquinhos Parana doing the damage. O'Donnell's second for Napoli took it to extra time, where there were no scorers, so it was penalty shootout time. Having lost the last two in a row, I was mildly apprehensive (or as apprehensive as you can get about a mickey mouse trophy that noone cares about). We scored our first three, whilst Napoli missed one of theirs. Everybody then missed their last two, so we won the game of "who is the least rubbish". The league season kicked off with a 4-0 demolition of Catania in Javier Aramaio's last game for the club before heading off to Manchester, before successive draws against Pescara and Napoli merely confirmed how much we would miss the Spaniard. Nevertheless, we found some form from somewhere, winning the next three before another pair of draws against Inter (throwing away a 2-goal lead) and Gubbio (dominating but couldn't find a finish). A 5-game winning streak blew away those cobwebs, before Lazio somehow stole a point at Serpente Park. Grosseto and Andria were blown away at a total score of 11-0, then AC Milan were powerless to resist at the San Siro as we stormed to a 3-1 win, before Parma again made light of a 2-goal disadvantage to take a point. That all left us 1 point behind Juventus, despite being unbeaten and having beaten the Old Lady 4-1 earlier in the season. Eep. The Champions League campaign started in shambolic fashion, in a game highlighting all the various occasional flaws of my Messina side simultaneously. First, profligacy. 13 shots on goal, 0 goals. Secondly, indiscipline. Mohammed Benali sent off for a challenge on the half way line in first half injury time. Thirdly, crap defending. Deportivo scored with their only attack of the first half. That put a fair bit of pressure on our next game, at home to Bayern. Luckily the players were up to it, a goal each from the centre-backs and a Goncalves effort just after coming on as a substitute secured a 3-1 win. LASK Linz, an Austrian side, were up next in a double header. We won the home leg 4-0 with a brace a piece from Marco Antonio and Igor Mikhailov, and the away leg 5-1, the goals this time from Marquinhos Parana, Oleg Ryzhov, a brace from Carlos Roldan, and teenager Daniel Wansi's first goal for the club. After that came the chance for revenge against Depor. They made it tricky for us, as we again defended with embarassing incompetence, but a Marco Antonio hattrick stole a 3-2 win to put us through to the next phase. It was then just a question of avoiding defeat in Munich to win the group, something we tried very hard to fail to do, going in 2-0 down at half time. Goals from Juarez and Marco Antonio brought it back to 2-2, before we shipped a third. Mikhailov got another equaliser, and despite chances at both ends, that's how it stayed. We again got a ridiculously tough draw in the knockout round, English giants Chelsea. The Good Marco Antonio has kicked into gear, both in Europe and domestically - and is officially the best player in the world (amongst all the various other gongs he picked up this year - although not, weirdly, European striker of the year) Vitor Goncalves has been wonderful as backup We're unbeaten in the league so far The Bad The defence has been awful at times - we've thrown away a two-goal lead twice in the league Gonzalez has been unable to make an appearance due to injury - thanks Argentina Jesus Jimenez's injury problems have meant Loureiro has had to make 13 starts so far this season - he is not up to it Results 1 - Results 2 - League Table - Squad Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flamers Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 Keep it up Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neushoorn70 Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 great thread snake! great read, thought this was kinda funny after seeing ur squad: http://s824.photobucket.com/albums/zz161/heavyscope/FM11/?action=view¤t=parana.png http://s824.photobucket.com/albums/zz161/heavyscope/FM11/?action=view¤t=paranareport.png Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeXe Posted May 7, 2011 Author Share Posted May 7, 2011 Haha! Get him signed! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamie. Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 just read from the start to now, great read & congratulations on what you have achieved! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeXe Posted May 7, 2011 Author Share Posted May 7, 2011 Thanks Jamie, glad you enjoyed it Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 An unbeaten league season coming..? Sampdoria! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeXe Posted May 8, 2011 Author Share Posted May 8, 2011 Sampdoria are utterly awful! I beat them 7-0 in the return fixture. No idea how they got promoted in the first place. Looks like they'll take away our unwanted record of "Most Goals Conceded in a Season" Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeXe Posted May 8, 2011 Author Share Posted May 8, 2011 SnakeXe's Messina - Season 25 - 2035/36 Story of the Season: Serie A - 1st, Champions We entered 2036 in second place, a point behind Juventus, who were in very good form, albeit we were the only unbeaten team left. The year started with a brace of victories over Fiorentina and Catania, before a hattrick of draws, with Pescara, Napoli and Juventus. We kicked back into gear with a 4-1 thumping of Reggina, which was followed by 5 more wins, including a 7-0 destruction of Sampdoria. Grosseto pricked our run of form with a battling 0-0 draw, but 5 more wins were enough to secure the title, the final game an excellent 3-0 home win against AC Milan. With three games left against lower mid-table sides, we had a great chance of going the whole season unbeaten. Except we lost the very next game away to Andria, going 2-0 down early on and unable to equalise despite Misic getting one back. The team were clearly thinking about the cup final (see below), as we then drew 0-0 with Parma at home, before finally rousing from our hangover to beat Fiorentina 2-0 in the last game. Coppa Italia - Lost in Quarter Final (v Juventus) A familiar tale as we beat Serie B Sassuolo in the first round, Arguelles on the scoresheet, before losing in extra time to Juventus in the Quarters. Our luck in cup draws is shocking. Supercoppa - Winners Won on penalties after a 2-2 draw against Napoli. Champions League - Runners Up (v Barcelona) When I last left you we'd had yet another horrendous first round draw, with English giants Chelsea the latest king-size banana skin to be thrown in front of us. Honestly, I'm going to deliberately come second next year. We faced the away leg first, and despite a good performance we couldn't score. Chelsea could. A 1-0 deficit was huge, considering we still couldn't defend at that point, so we were going to have to win by 2 clear goals. Roldan opened the scoring for us at Serpente Park, before Chelsea got a fluke goal, hitting Martin on the back off the crossbar. Jammy gits. We weren't done though, as despite the heroic efforts of the Chelsea keeper, Martinez Gonzalez and Marco Antonio struck to give us a 3-1 lead, which we held on to to get through to the Quarter Finals! Proof of how dodgy our draw was would come in the next two rounds, as we faced relative minnows in Rangers and Benfica, who we duly dispatched 7-2 and 7-1 on aggregate respectively, Marco Antonio, Vitor Goncalves, Igor Mikhailov and Walter Gonzalez doing the bulk of the scoring. So we came to yet another final against Barcelona. We'd now faced them in 4 out of the 5 Champions League finals we'd ever reached, and had won the previous 3 against them. Could we make it 4? Not if the players had anything to do with it, evidently, as we played utterly shambolically in gifting Barcelona a 2-0 lead at half time. I gave them a rocket in the dressing room, before letting them off the leash in the second half. They finally responded, with goals from Igor Mikhailov and Martinez Gonzalez completing a heroic fightback. I then faced the decision of whether to keep the hammer down and go for the jugular, or pull back and hold on to what we had. In the end I chose the hidden third option, try and do both and fail completely. Barcelona scored 10 minutes later, and despite chances, including a glorious chance for Goncalves at the end, we just couldn't do it. Results 1 - Results 2 - Results 3 - Results 4 - Squad Transfers - £3.4m Profit Vitor Goncalves (£4.5m), Daniel Wansi (£7.5m), and Gregoire Gauthier (£13.5m) were the relatively austere signings, whilst Javier Aramaio left for a huge £28.5m fee. Still rather we'd kept the Spaniard, but there we go. 5 Most Important Players: 5. Bartul Misic - DM/MC - The captain, and leader in the centre of the field. Can be somewhat frustrating with pointless long-ranged efforts when there's a pass on, but we're better of with him than without him. 4. Vitor Goncalves - ST - Goncalves' fantastic form from the bench and in games where Marco Antonio was rested really took the pressure off the young Brazilian, allowing him to perform to his best. One of my best signings. 3. Igor Mikhailov - AMRC - 31 goals and assists combined, a great season for the Russian. 2. Jose Luis Vega - AMC - Finally cracked the 30-assist barrier - I knew he could do it! His best season yet. 1. Marco Antonio - AMC/ST - Found his shooting boots in Europe, whilst retaining them in Italy, scoring a mammoth 36 goals in 36 games. Phenomenon. History: Season League Position Achievements ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2011/12 Serie C2/C 2nd Serie C Cup Runners Up, Playoff Finalists 2012/13 Serie C2/C 1st Serie C2/C Champions, Promoted 2013/14 Serie C1/B 5th Playoff Semi-Finalists 2014/15 Serie C1/B 2nd Playoff Winners, Promoted 2015/15 Serie B 12th 2016/17 Serie B 2nd Promoted 2017/18 Serie A 20th Relegated 2018/19 Serie B 2nd Promoted 2019/20 Serie A 7th Qualified for Europa League 2020/21 Serie A 6th Qualified for Europa League 2021/22 Serie A 9th 2022/23 Serie A 5th Qualified for Europa League 2023/24 Serie A 3rd Qualified for Champions League, Coppa Italia Runners Up 2024/25 Serie A 4th Qualified for Champions League, Coppa Italia Runners Up 2025/26 Serie A 4th Qualified for Champions League 2026/27 Serie A 4th Qualified for Champions League 2027/28 Serie A 3rd Qualified for Champions League 2028/29 Serie A 1st Serie A Champions, Coppa Italia Runners Up 2029/30 Serie A 1st Serie A Champions, Champions League Winners 2030/31 Serie A 1st Serie A Champions, Champions League Winners, CWC Winners 2031/32 Serie A 3rd Champions League Winners, Coppa Italia Winners, CWC Winners 2032/33 Serie A 1st Serie A Champions, Champions League Winners, Coppa Italia Winners, CWC Winners 2033/34 Serie A 1st Serie A Champions, CWC Winners 2034/35 Serie A 1st Serie A Champions 2035/36 Serie A 1st Serie A Champions, Champions League Runners Up Messina 100 Club: A list of those Messina players who make 100 or more appearances for the club under my management. Name Pos Era Apps Goals AvR -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rene Kooiman DC 2019-2035 618 80 7.17 Filippo Vitone AMRC 2018-2035 561 123 7.11 Jose A. Loureiro DR 2020-Present 470 3 7.20 Jon Pagola AMLC 2019-2034 417 78 7.20 Walter Aguero AM/ST 2021-2032 414 146 7.06 Daniel Martin GK 2027-Present 407 0 7.00 Victor Amoruso MC 2018-2029 380 33 6.98 Mauro Quiroga DM/MC 2019-2031 372 17 6.96 Abel Petrillo AML/ST 2016-2031 366 153 7.13 Walter Gonzalez AMLC 2026-Present 312 57 7.17 Jose Luis Vega AMC 2028-Present 302 28 7.28 Joaquin Arguelles AM/ST 2025-Present 291 177 7.28 Nenad Arnautovic DM/MC 2025-2035 279 28 7.00 Stefano Tulino D/DM/MRC 2019-2030 274 17 7.12 Jose D/WB/M/AML 2026-2035 267 6 7.07 Da Silva DC 2027-Present 262 30 7.15 Igor Mikhailov AMRC 2029-Present 256 68 7.23 Antonio Gola DM/MC 2028-Present 252 10 7.10 Philipp Egger DC 2023-2035 251 38 7.20 Julian Juarez AML 2029-Present 246 35 7.12 Jose Maria DL 2028-Present 239 1 7.25 Javier AMR 2025-2034 227 29 7.00 Bartul Misic DM/MC 2030-Present 221 25 7.20 Mauro Vigorito GK 2011-2023 217 0 6.82 Nauzet M. Gonzalez DC 2029-Present 216 39 7.24 Juan Jose Godoy GK 2023-2027 207 0 6.96 Marco Antonio AMC/ST 2030-Present 206 109 7.25 Patxi Rodriguez DM/MC 2017-2026 203 14 6.87 Nenad Lukic MLC 2021-2026 188 23 6.98 Mauricio Martin D/DM/MC 2020-2027 187 9 6.96 Nicolas Amodio DM/MC 2012-2018 183 12 6.93 Remi Thouvenin DL 2021-2026 181 0 7.06 Antonio Marino DLC 2013-2021 180 5 6.88 Sergio Real ST 2024-2030 174 31 6.87 Adem Ljajic AMRLC 2019-2027 170 26 6.91 Mario Ortiz DM/MC 2013-2021 169 5 6.83 Celso DM/MC 2025-2030 169 9 6.95 Nicola Ravaglia GK 2018-2025 164 0 6.90 Enzo Scorza ST 2012-2018 159 82 7.24 Nicolas D/DM/MC 2015-2022 159 5 6.85 Rocco Signore D/WBR 2022-2035 154 0 7.06 Agustin Lertxundi DM/MC 2031-Present 148 4 7.07 Rosario Licata D/WB/ML 2011-2016 146 3 6.92 Francesc Alcalde AMLC/ST 2014-2020 145 45 6.98 Gustavo Sanchez AMC 2031-Present 142 14 6.97 Javier Aramaio DR 2031-2035 142 1 7.28 Luca Tedeschi DC 2012-2018 139 8 7.09 Mogi DRC 2017-2022 134 0 6.76 Diego Farias AMRLC 2015-2019 126 19 6.90 Gonzalo Valdez ST 2022-2026 126 34 6.87 Davide Testa AM/ST 2011-2015 121 40 7.04 Yohann Sallaberry AMLC 2021-2028 117 10 7.01 Marquinhos Parana ST 2032-Present 103 40 7.04 Ruben AML 2015-2019 103 7 6.86 Fausto Rossi AML 2016-2021 102 18 6.97 Next Season: So close to picking up another Champions League crown - but nobody remembers who came second. I definitely want to pick that trophy up once more, so that's the aim again. Other than that, we could really do with a new right back, around 29 or 30 years old, just to bring Jesus Jimenez through under slightly less pressure. It'd also be nice to go 5 in a row in Serie A, a competition we've really dominated for the last two or three seasons. As for the young players, Quinonez had another encouraging season, whilst Mohammed Benali was doing very well until a shocking cruciate injury that will keep him out for 9 months. Fernando played a full season on loan in Austria, and will be at the club next season due to Benali's injury. Lala played less than I would have liked on loan at Marseille, but got 12 goals in 16 starts, a very good return for the young striker. Oleg Ryzhov played a good few games, mostly from the bench, and did reasonably well. Daniel Wansi had 10 starts and looked really excellent in every one of them. He'll play more next season as Da Silva's career winds down. Forza Messina! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
crouchaldinho Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 I'm glad I'm not the only one who finds it hard to win the Champions League. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flamers Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 I'm glad that your Messina shirt is working Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeXe Posted May 8, 2011 Author Share Posted May 8, 2011 I'm glad I'm not the only one who finds it hard to win the Champions League. I don't know what's happened since the 4-in-a-row - we were so ruthless all the time, and now we can't really seem to control games the way we used to. I'm glad that your Messina shirt is working Well obviously not well enough! In other news, Serpente Park clearly wasn't big enough, so it's going up to around 64,000 for next season! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeXe Posted May 9, 2011 Author Share Posted May 9, 2011 The Squad: 2036 Goalkeepers Daniel Martin - GK - Argentina - Missed the end of the season and the Champions League final with an injury (he was fit for the final but didn't want that to be his first game back!). Getting on now, will start looking for a replacement, don't think Rocha (as good as he is) will progress quite enough. Juan Carlos - GK - Spain - Finished last season in the team, and started the Champions League final. Didn't cover himself in glory. Ricardo Rocha - GK - Portugal - Made his second debut for us in the Coppa Italia and played a league game when Martin was injured and Juan Carlos unfit. Played reasonably well. Defenders Jose Alberto Loureiro - DR - Italy - I don't think even he thought he'd be playing 22 games and earning a year's contract extension at the beginning of last season, but that's just what he did. Will play far less regularly this season with any luck, the addition of Jesus decreasing our reliance on the 37 year old, who has announced he will retire at the end of the season. Hopefully there's still a couple of great performances in the old dog yet, but as the athletic monster wingback he once was, he's long since gone. Jesus Jimenez - D/WBR - Spain - Coped admirably with his immediate thrusting into the spotlight following Aramaio's shock departure. Hopefully Jesus' arrival will allow both of them to develop at a good pace without too much pressure. Jesus - D/WB/MR - Spain - A £12m signing from Barcelona, fantastic athlete, great competition for Jimenez. Jose Maria - DL - Spain - Has developed into an amazingly good player - not bad for £1.5m. Carlos Quinonez - DL - Spain - Another reasonably solid season was tarnished as he was very badly found out in the Champions League final after Jose Maria suffered an injury. Still a work in progress. Da Silva - DC - Italy - Very valuable experienced head in a back line which has lost 100s of years of nous with the departures of Egger, Kooiman, Aramaio, and Jose over the last couple of years. Nauzet Martinez Gonzalez - DC - Spain - Excellent defender. Suffered a little for form in the early part of last season but came through to finish strongly. Raul - DC - Spain - Has the odd mare but is a very mobile defender, still with room to improve over the coming seasons. Gregoire Gauthier - DC - France - Slightly disappointing debut season, his lack of mobility is quite a serious flaw. Absolutely unbeatable in the air, though. Midfielders Walter Gonzalez - AMLC - Argentina - Really battled with injury last season but back to his best by the end of it. Julian Juarez - AML - Spain - Had a great run in the first team thanks to Gonzalez's spectacularly bad run with injury in 2035, but was easily outshone by the Argentine when he came back. Carlos Roldan - AMRLC - Argentina - Didn't quite kick on from his great run of form at the back end of 2034/35, but still played a big role last season. Continues to grow in stature. Antonio Gola - DM/MC - Italy - Coping with his advancing years slightly better than Lertxundi. Bartul Misic - DM/MC - Croatia - The captain really dominates the midfield when he's on form. Agustin Lertxundi - DM/MC - Spain - Not too many seasons left in him now, but still worth a game. Mohammed Benali - DM/MC - Spain - Was starting to really look the part before the injury every player dreads - cruciate ligaments. Hopefully that 9 months out of his development won't harm his prospects of becoming the player he should do. Gian Maria Lelj - D/DM/MC - Italy - Wasn't particularly happy with Fernando's progress, so bought the young Italian in from Juve for £3.5m. Looks solid enough already, and has room to improve. Jose Luis Vega - M/AMC - Spain - Cracked the 30-assist barrier last season - wouldn't bet against him doing so again. Igor Mikhailov - M/AMRC - Russia - Facing some real competition for his place from Roldan now, but rising to the challenge. Gustavo Sanchez - M/AMC - Argentina - Probably winding down his career now. Forwards Joaquin Arguelles - AMC/ST - Spain - Barely played last season, simply too many injury problems to have him in as a passenger. And, unfortunately, that's what he is nowadays. Can still finish like a demon, but against proper opposition that's not quite enough. Marco Antonio - AMC/ST - Brazil - A really stunning season last time, with 36 goals in 36 games, is hopefully just the beginning for this man. Marquinhos Parana - ST - Brazil - Am retraining the big man at AMC, hopefully he'll get more games there. He needs to play more because he's an utterly fabulously talented player, but just doesn't have the explosive pace of Goncalves or Antonio that really makes my system tick. Vitor Goncalves - ST - Portugal - Excellent debut season for the Portuguese international last time, hope he keeps it up. On Loan Daniel Wansi - DLC - France - Along with Fernando and Ryzhov, has gone off to newly-promoted feeder club Pro Vercelli. Hopefully the three of them will get a lot of first team action, and hopefully help that grand old club establish itself in the Serie A. Fernando - DM/MC - Spain - See Wansi. Oleg Ryzhov - M/AMC - Russia - See Wansi. Enrique Lala - ST - France - Off on loan again, this time to Spurs. Hopefully he'll get more games there than he did at Marseille. He just doesn't have a place in the squad yet. Leavers For the first time ever, noone in the first team squad has left! Overall What is still a very young squad in places should only get better over the next few seasons, and hopefully last year's experience in getting back to the Champions League final will galvanise them into one which can make that final step to win the cups we've missed out on over the last 3 years. The three guys off on loan to Pro Vercelli should get a great full season's worth of top-flight football under their belts, and come back ready to oust Da Silva, Lertxundi, and Sanchez from the squad. Forza Messina! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flamers Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 Copy and paste win, you might want to edit the third keeper description Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeXe Posted May 9, 2011 Author Share Posted May 9, 2011 Copy and paste win, you might want to edit the third keeper description I just quote the post and remove the quotations, then edit it! Forgot to change all the keepers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flamers Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 Quote it, put it in advanced then edit it, then post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeXe Posted May 9, 2011 Author Share Posted May 9, 2011 That's what I just said Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flamers Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 You failed at the editing bit Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeXe Posted May 9, 2011 Author Share Posted May 9, 2011 Not completely, just forgot to edit the keepers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 Rubbish. Sampdoria won more games than you lost. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeXe Posted May 10, 2011 Author Share Posted May 10, 2011 Rubbish. Sampdoria won more games than you lost. And they've taken our record for worst defense in a season! A truly awful side. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeXe Posted May 10, 2011 Author Share Posted May 10, 2011 Season 26: Winter Break Update This season's Supercoppa saw us face Lazio. With a few players off for the Olympics, I was a little restricted in my selection, but a double from Goncalves set us on the way to a relatively comfortable 3-2 win. The league campaign started with a slightly disappointing 1-1 draw away against Catania. Not the ideal start, but you can never take anything for granted in a derby game. We won the next game 3-1 against Reggina to kick our season off properly, and successive wins against Pro Vercelli and Mantova kept it going in a relatively smooth start. 3 draws then followed. The first a slightly poor but reasonable 1-1 with Udinese. The next was against Pescara. It ended 3-3. It was a farce. Pescara had three shots before half time. The closest shot was from 30 yards. They scored three goals. We battled back to 3-3 by full time, even managing to have a couple disallowed on the way, but the damage to the confidence was done. The third of the draws started with us shipping 2 goals inside the opening 10 minutes away at Livorno. Livorno are not a good side. Sanchez and Antonio came up with the goods to equalise, but as we pushed for a winner we conceded again. With just 10 minutes to go I had my head in my hands, but Raul headed home deep into injury time to somewhat spare our blushes. I rang the changes for the next game, and got... a response. The scoreline wasn't a problem - 2-0 home win over Fiorentina. However we picked up 7 bookings in the course of the game, completely unnecessarily. Even more unnecessary was the fact that Marco Antonio and Gian Maria Lelj picked up 4 of those between the two of them, leaving us with 9 men by the end. Great. A slightly better result followed, a 3-2 home win over AC Milan with no sendings off, despite a makeshift lineup including the slightly geriatric Arguelles up front - he even scored. We then really kicked into gear, with a complete dismantling of Roma, the game finishing 6-1 with the first really comprehensive performance we'd delivered in weeks. Of course we then drew 0-0 with Parma. Woo. We ground out a 1-0 home win over Juve next, before another stalemate away at Napoli. Then our local and title rivals Palermo came to Serpente Park. We bossed the opening periods, went 1-0 down slightly unluckily, then Gola got himself sent off. Straight red. We battled hard but couldn't avoid a 3-2 defeat for our first and only loss of the season so far. Back to basics for the last 3 matches, and it worked, with victories over Andria, Grosseto, and Gubbio bringing some sort of normality by the turn of the year. These wins left us 3rd, level on points with Palermo in 2nd, but 6 behind an in-form Inter - but it could have been a whole lot worse. So now to the Champions League, where we faced a pretty usual group in Feyenoord, Sevilla and Saint-Ettien. The group started away in Rotterdam, and Roldan won it for us with the only goal of the game. A pretty boring home 1-1 against Sevilla followed, before we won both legs of the double-header against Saint-Ettien, 2-0 at home and away despite Marco Antonio getting himself sent off in France. Some ridiculous profligacy and a Mikhailov red card meant we only drew 1-1 with Feyenoord at home, but a 2-2 away draw in Seville was good enough to finish the group as winners. Porto await in the next round, a slightly normal draw for once. The Good Roldan has been unplayable at times Marco Antonio is still scoring Erm... Gian Maria Lelj has been surprisingly solid at this early stage of his development The Bad The injuries, the suspensions, oh god the suspensions. The red mist has been in full flow for us this half-season, there was a period of games where I was almost shocked if we didn't have a man sent off by full time When we didn't give the opposition a man advantage, we'd give them a 2 or 3 goal headstart. Particularly hideous were the two 3-3s against Pescara and Livorno. We really cannot defend between September and December! The injuries and suspensions have made it impossible to manage the squad. Some players have been virtually ever present whilst others haven't been able to get going. Some, notably Mikhailov, have been shadows of last season's performers Results 1 - Results 2 - League Table - Squad Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flamers Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 Unpredictable squads, FTW Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeXe Posted May 13, 2011 Author Share Posted May 13, 2011 SnakeXe's Messina - Season 26 - 2036/37 Story of the Season: Serie A - 2nd So we started 2037 in third place, but coming off a good run of form it looked possible to repeat the trick of the last season or two and pull away by May. That may have still been the case, but certainly didn't look like it, as we rang in the New Year with a hideous 3-1 defeat away to Lazio. Things went a little better in the next game, a 2-1 home win over Inter tightening the gap back up at the top and giving us a much needed morale boost. A 1-1 home draw with Catania then somewhat deflated things, but we responded with 5 wins in a row as we finally found some form. That run was ended by a nonsensical 1-0 defeat away to perennial relegation candidates Fiorentina, but again we responded with another 4 wins. A brilliant 5-1 demolition of Juventus in the final of those four made me think we really had a chance to catch Inter, but then we travelled to Palermo. Well, I did, the players didn't turn up. 4-0 defeat. Palermo's first three shots sailed into the net and they never looked back. A poor run of 2 draws and a 1-0 win in the next three all but confirmed Inter would take our title. A 1-0 win over Gubbio in the third-from-last match meant Inter still needed a win, but a win they got, 2-0 at home to Andria, to end our run of Serie A titles. The final two matches saw a 1-1 home draw against Lazio, and a much-needed scrap of revenge over Inter, a come-from-behind 2-1 win to spoil the coronation party at the San Siro. Coppa Italia - Runners Up (v Inter) Catania were dispatched 4-1 in the first round, before we finally got a halfway reasonable Quarter Final draw, with feeder club Pro Vercelli providing the cannon fodder. Two Raul headers and a Goncalves blast were enough to beat them 3-0, and we could finally get our teeth into a two-legged semi final again. Juve were the opposition, and we stunned them in Turin, Oleg Ryzhov the unlikely hero with a Messi-like wondergoal to open the scoring, before Marco Antonio finished things off with a late second. The home leg was largely uneventful as we played keep-ball and Juve ran out of ideas, eventually finishing 1-1, Mikhailov with ours. Inter awaited in the final, a game I had to play twice due to my laptop hanging at half-time of my first attempt at the Champions League final (see below). The first time we lost 1-0, the second, 3-1, so no harm done really. A particularly annoying way to fail to win against Inter for the first time this season. So, domestic double for Inter, but I can't really begrudge this guy any success, he must have had it hard as a kid. Supercoppa - Winners A Goncalves brace and a Vega freekick made it 3-2 to us, a scoreline more comfortable than it looks. Champions League - Winners Porto looked likely to be relatively stiff opposition in the first knockout round, but more the normal sort of draw you'd expect, in contrast to our ridiculous ones for the last three years. An efficient away performance took home a 1-1 draw, Marquinhos Parana with ours, where we took them apart 4-1. Sevilla would be a tough test in the Quarter Final, having taken a draw home and away in last season's group stage. We suffered no such problems this year though, winning 3-0 in Spain to take the pressure off, a Marquinhos Parana double capped off with Roldan's placed finish. The home leg ended 3-2, having been 3-0 up at half time. An unusual thing was in the Semi Final for us - an Italian team had finally not been rubbish for the first time in ages! AC Milan were the opposition, and I felt good about making the final for a second year running. The home leg was a tricky affair - whether to go for the jugular or control the game and make sure we didn't concede. I went for the second, probably more sensible option, and it paid off, Marco Antonio securing a 1-0 win. The away leg was much trickier, Milan providing stern opposition, and they eventually scored to equalise on the night. We held the advantage that an away goal would require them to score twice, but they had the fans on their side. I decided to go for it, and we pinned Milan back in their half, but couldn't get the goal. Until. In the 96th minute of the match, 4 minutes added time having been signalled, Walter Gonzalez danced into the box. A Milan defender came in. Gonzalez flicked the ball past him and was duly taken out by the defender. The ref pointed to the spot! Marco Antonio, with 98 minutes on the clock, ran up... and sent the keeper the wrong way to send us into the Champions League final!!! The final was a tricky affair, coming as it did just 3 days after the Coppa Italia final, which we had lost (both times). I went with the same lineup both times: Rocha; Jesus, Raul, M. Gonzalez, Jose Maria; Benali, Soula; Mikhailov, Vega, Juarez; Marco Antonio. The first time I got to half time at 2-2 before my laptop froze. The second time it was 0-0 at half time, so I'm pretty happy things were roughly in the same position. Real Madrid's forward line was creating problems for my centrebacks, and their central midfielders were having plenty of time on the ball to pick their passes, so I took the brave move of moving my defensive midfielders up to the midfielder slots, to directly face off against their Madrid counterparts. The move paid off, as Vega suddenly had much more space and time on the ball without the Madrid midfielders available to close him down. He played some great passes in behind the Madrid defence for our wingers and striker, but none of them could score. So he took it upon himself, firing home from close range after a brilliant cross from Mikhailov! The joy was short-lived, however, as Madrid equalised just 8 minutes later, a towering header from Galdino. The game wound down to full-time, neither side able to find a winner. Extra time. The first half went without much incident, but the second half started with a bang. Marco Antonio was felled in the Madrid box for a penalty. The young Brazilian got up to take it himself... AND SCORED!! Now just time to keep possession, wind the clock down, and keep our fingers crossed. Or, y'know, win another penalty and win it 3-1!!! It being our fifth Champions League crown, we got to keep the thing this time Results 1 - Results 2 - Results 3 - Results 4 - Squad 1 - Squad 2 Transfers - £43.5m Loss Probably my biggest net spend in charge, £24.5m being spent on right-backs in the end! With time running out in the summer I decided to splash £12m on Jesus, an incredibly athletic but fairly poor technically wing-back from Barcelona, but found a much better option in Tim Taylor in January, so brought him in for £12.5m. I'll probably sell one of Jesus or Jesus Jimenez in the next season or two to bring the squad back to size. Baptiste Soula was the other big purchase, the French defensive midfielder costing £12m from Benfica - an absolute steal given his ability. The other two ins were Gian Maria Lelj, a promising defensive midfielder, and Alessandro Gasperini, a promising keeper. Both Italian, an important quality given the paucity of home nationals in my squad, but more importantly, both very cheap, at £3.5m apiece. 5 Most Important Players: 5. Nauzet Martinez Gonzalez - DC - Not a vintage season from the big man, but he was better than anything else we had. How we came so close to a treble this season with some of the individual performances being so below par is quite unbelievable. 4. Raul - DC - Really kicked on this season to become our most important defender. His relative pace and agility for a centre-back made him invaluable alongside the more agricultural stylings of Gauthier and Martinez Gonzalez. 3. Jose Luis Vega - AMC - Yet another 20+ assist haul, thanks to injuries and suspensions around him he played a mighty 50 games this season. 2. Carlos Roldan - AMRLC - Breakthrough season for the young attacking midfielder, with 32 combined goals and assists. 1. Marco Antonio - AMC/ST - Not quite up to last season's lofty standards - he missed quite a significant number of chances. The fact he still grabbed 25 shows how many chances he was getting. History: Season League Position Achievements ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2011/12 Serie C2/C 2nd Serie C Cup Runners Up, Playoff Finalists 2012/13 Serie C2/C 1st Serie C2/C Champions, Promoted 2013/14 Serie C1/B 5th Playoff Semi-Finalists 2014/15 Serie C1/B 2nd Playoff Winners, Promoted 2015/15 Serie B 12th 2016/17 Serie B 2nd Promoted 2017/18 Serie A 20th Relegated 2018/19 Serie B 2nd Promoted 2019/20 Serie A 7th Qualified for Europa League 2020/21 Serie A 6th Qualified for Europa League 2021/22 Serie A 9th 2022/23 Serie A 5th Qualified for Europa League 2023/24 Serie A 3rd Qualified for Champions League, Coppa Italia Runners Up 2024/25 Serie A 4th Qualified for Champions League, Coppa Italia Runners Up 2025/26 Serie A 4th Qualified for Champions League 2026/27 Serie A 4th Qualified for Champions League 2027/28 Serie A 3rd Qualified for Champions League 2028/29 Serie A 1st Serie A Champions, Coppa Italia Runners Up 2029/30 Serie A 1st Serie A Champions, Champions League Winners 2030/31 Serie A 1st Serie A Champions, Champions League Winners, CWC Winners 2031/32 Serie A 3rd Champions League Winners, Coppa Italia Winners, CWC Winners 2032/33 Serie A 1st Serie A Champions, Champions League Winners, Coppa Italia Winners, CWC Winners 2033/34 Serie A 1st Serie A Champions, CWC Winners 2034/35 Serie A 1st Serie A Champions 2035/36 Serie A 1st Serie A Champions, Champions League Runners Up 2036/37 Serie A 2nd Champions League Winners, Coppa Italia Runners Up Messina 100 Club: A list of those Messina players who make 100 or more appearances for the club under my management. Name Pos Era Apps Goals AvR -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rene Kooiman DC 2019-2035 618 80 7.17 Filippo Vitone AMRC 2018-2035 561 123 7.11 Jose A. Loureiro DR 2020-Present 471 3 7.20 Daniel Martin GK 2027-Present 431 0 7.00 Jon Pagola AMLC 2019-2034 417 78 7.20 Walter Aguero AM/ST 2021-2032 414 146 7.06 Victor Amoruso MC 2018-2029 380 33 6.98 Mauro Quiroga DM/MC 2019-2031 372 17 6.96 Abel Petrillo AML/ST 2016-2031 366 153 7.13 Walter Gonzalez AMLC 2026-Present 353 68 7.18 Jose Luis Vega AMC 2028-Present 352 34 7.28 Joaquin Arguelles AM/ST 2025-Present 296 179 7.28 Igor Mikhailov AMRC 2029-Present 287 75 7.22 Da Silva DC 2027-Present 280 32 7.14 Nenad Arnautovic DM/MC 2025-2035 279 28 7.00 Jose Maria DL 2028-Present 278 1 7.24 Julian Juarez AML 2029-Present 275 38 7.10 Antonio Gola DM/MC 2028-Present 275 10 7.09 Stefano Tulino D/DM/MRC 2019-2030 274 17 7.12 Jose D/WB/M/AML 2026-2035 267 6 7.07 Nauzet M. Gonzalez DC 2029-Present 252 45 7.24 Bartul Misic DM/MC 2030-Present 252 27 7.18 Philipp Egger DC 2023-2035 251 38 7.20 Marco Antonio AMC/ST 2030-Present 244 134 7.27 Javier AMR 2025-2034 227 29 7.00 Mauro Vigorito GK 2011-2023 217 0 6.82 Juan Jose Godoy GK 2023-2027 207 0 6.96 Patxi Rodriguez DM/MC 2017-2026 203 14 6.87 Nenad Lukic MLC 2021-2026 188 23 6.98 Mauricio Martin D/DM/MC 2020-2027 187 9 6.96 Nicolas Amodio DM/MC 2012-2018 183 12 6.93 Remi Thouvenin DL 2021-2026 181 0 7.06 Antonio Marino DLC 2013-2021 180 5 6.88 Sergio Real ST 2024-2030 174 31 6.87 Agustin Lertxundi DM/MC 2031-Present 173 6 7.05 Adem Ljajic AMRLC 2019-2027 170 26 6.91 Mario Ortiz DM/MC 2013-2021 169 5 6.83 Celso DM/MC 2025-2030 169 9 6.95 Nicola Ravaglia GK 2018-2025 164 0 6.90 Gustavo Sanchez AMC 2031-Present 162 16 6.97 Enzo Scorza ST 2012-2018 159 82 7.24 Nicolas D/DM/MC 2015-2022 159 5 6.85 Rocco Signore D/WBR 2022-2035 154 0 7.06 Rosario Licata D/WB/ML 2011-2016 146 3 6.92 Francesc Alcalde AMLC/ST 2014-2020 145 45 6.98 Javier Aramaio DR 2031-2035 142 1 7.28 Luca Tedeschi DC 2012-2018 139 8 7.09 Mogi DRC 2017-2022 134 0 6.76 Marquinhos Parana ST 2032-Present 133 49 7.01 Diego Farias AMRLC 2015-2019 126 19 6.90 Gonzalo Valdez ST 2022-2026 126 34 6.87 Davide Testa AM/ST 2011-2015 121 40 7.04 Carlos Roldan AMRLC 2034-Present 117 28 7.23 Yohann Sallaberry AMLC 2021-2028 117 10 7.01 Ruben AML 2015-2019 103 7 6.86 Fausto Rossi AML 2016-2021 102 18 6.97 Raul DC 2034-Present 101 22 7.32 Next Season: We had some really horrible luck with injuries and suspensions this season, and it didn't help that it took me until January to spot that Daniel Martin's 3-season run of poor form was a terminal decline. Ricardo Rocha got the nod as youth trumped experience - a harsh one for Juan Carlos, but necessary for the club's future. He did us proud, but he's not a top-class keeper. Yet. Martin will be sold off in the summer if I can find a buyer - he's still got 2 years left on £45,000 a week, far too much for a backup. I've finally found a satisfactory solution to the right-back problem with Tim Taylor playing excellently since joining from Shakhtar in January. He has all the attributes I want, and is only 25. One of Jimenez and Jesus will probably have to be sold off, but I'll see what offers I get for them. Defensive midfield is finally looking stronger after having been in decline ever since Tiago Conceicao left back in January 2032. Misic and Soula will contest the more attacking berth, while the promise of Benali and Lelj looks enough for the more defensive spot now and in the future. The only weak position now is actually where our key player resides - the playmaker. Gustavo Sanchez is really starting to feel the effects of age, and Oleg Ryzhov probably needs a season or two more before he's ready. Marquinhos Parana is being retrained there, and he may yet prove the most effective solution, with his prodigious talent not quite fitting in at striker due to a lack of truly explosive pace. All that said, we have a strong squad now, and if we can avoid the really terrible injury problems we've had in the last couple of seasons, we should have a real chance at winning the lot once again. Forza Messina! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flamers Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 And possibly the 3 at the back? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeXe Posted May 13, 2011 Author Share Posted May 13, 2011 Went 3 at the back when we were 3 down at half time against Palermo. Wasn't great. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romanista1994 Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 So, domestic double for Inter, but I can't really begrudge this guy any success, he must have had it hard as a kid. My biology teacher is called Dick Shafer. Well done on bringing the CL title back to where it belongs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeXe Posted May 13, 2011 Author Share Posted May 13, 2011 Cheers Romanista Roma sold yet another awesome academy-produced player, this time a left winger, for £22.5m. I wasn't aware he was available for that much or I'd have bought him myself! Hopefully they use that money well, but I don't think the Tora money helped much... In news that will excite Crouchy, Hellas Verona are a Serie A club next season! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 In news that will excite Crouchy, Hellas Verona are a Serie A club next season! As long as he doesn't make a mess. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wavelberry Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 Especially with those Verona pants. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeXe Posted May 14, 2011 Author Share Posted May 14, 2011 The Squad: 2037 Goalkeepers Daniel Martin - GK - Argentina - After being undisputed first choice for 9 and a half seasons, I had to drop him in January after his 3-year patch of fuzzy form finally crystalised into a real slump. He's got 2 years left on his contract - it'll be his last with us. Juan Carlos - GK - Spain - Had a big decision whether to go with him or Rocha when I dropped Martin - went with Rocha, looks to have been the right choice. He's not bad, but Rocha could be better. Ricardo Rocha - GK - Portugal - Since coming into the team for Martin he's done quite solidly - very rarely will he win us a match as Martin used to, but then again it's equally rare that he'll lose it, which unfortunately was happening far too often with the Argentine in goal. Defenders Jesus - D/WB/MR - Spain - Played a great game in the Champions League final last season, his athleticism helping combat the skills of Real Madrid's dangerous left winger. Should be very capable backup for Taylor. Tim Taylor - D/WBR - USA - Finally found a right back to get my teeth into 6 months too late. A healthy profit on Jimenez softened that particular blow, however. Jose Maria - D/WBL - Spain - In his prime now, a good 5 seasons left easily. Carlos Quinonez - DL - Spain - Reliable backup for Jose Maria, but perhaps not the player he could/should have been. Da Silva - DC - Italy - With his contract expiring at the end of the season, and Wansi and Raul simultaneously coming of age last season, he'll be let go. Great servant over the last decade. Nauzet Martinez Gonzalez - DC - Spain - Not the irreplaceable lynchpin he was for a couple of years, but that's more of a tribute to the progress of his partners than any slur on his performance. Raul - DRC - Spain - Had an excellent season last time, really getting his teeth into a first team spot. A really great defender now, and very dangerous from set plays. Gregoire Gauthier - DC - France - A bad injury kept him out of most of the season, but he slotted in to add some real aerial power in both defence and attack towards the end of the season. Daniel Wansi - DLC - France - Did more than anyone else to keep Pro Vercelli in Serie A last season, the experience looks to have really made him. The scary thing is he'll improve. Quite a lot. Midfielders Walter Gonzalez - AMLC - Argentina - Somewhat back in form last season after a couple of disappointing ones. I can't believe he's 29 now. Julian Juarez - AML - Spain - Made 21 starts last season. Quite what he did in them I don't know. Can sometimes look devastating, but end product has been really lacking. Never really improved from when he was a teenage wonderkid. Carlos Roldan - AMRLC - Argentina - Finally put together the hot-streaks he's had into a really excellent season. Missed the Coppa and Champions League finals with injury, real shame. Antonio Gola - DM/MC - Italy - Still very capable, but getting on now. Benali and Lelj look ready to take over from him. Bartul Misic - DM/MC - Croatia - Slightly ropey season last time, but now with Soula he doesn't need to do it all himself any more. Mohammed Benali - DM/MC - Spain - I was really hoping for more significant progress from him by now, but he's still a very good performer. Just not really what I expected when I paid £20m for him. Really irritated by that cruciate injury. Needs to stay injury free this season. Gian Maria Lelj - D/DM/MC - Italy - Surprisingly competent considering how little Juventus let him go for - hopefully either him or Benali will kick on and become a really top-drawer defensive midfielder. Baptiste Soula - DM/MC - France - A real steal at £12m, he's the like-for-like backup for Misic we've lacked. Jose Luis Vega - M/AMC - Spain - Will be delighted to have some proper backup for him after a mammoth 50-game season last year. Igor Mikhailov - M/AMRC - Russia - Really poor by his standards last season, very disappointed. Finished much stronger than he started, so that's one thing to pin my hopes for him on. Oleg Ryzhov - M/AMC - Russia - Half a season on loan at Pro Vercelli which didn't really work out, they immediately started playing a diamond which would really have suited him after I brought him back! Irritating. Looks definitely up to first-team quality now, his progress and Gustavo's signing meant Sanchez could be moved on. Gustavo - AMC/ST - Spain - The second teenager from Barcelona I've broken my transfer record for. £24m is a hell of a fee, but he looks like he could be absolutely terrific. Forwards Joaquin Arguelles - AMC/ST - Spain - Does well in his few appearances per season, but that's all he can do these days. Marco Antonio - AMC/ST - Brazil - A slightly disappointing season from him last time - weird to say considering he hit 25 goals, but he really should have had so many more. Seems to have lost that little sparkle he had the season before. Marquinhos Parana - AMC/ST - Brazil - Now accomplished in attacking midfield, he may well finally find his place in the team there. Vitor Goncalves - ST - Portugal - Really suffered with injuries last season - a big factor in us scoring so many fewer goals. On Loan Alessandro Gasperini - GK - Italy - Signed him last January, immediately sent him on loan to Pro Vercelli where he slotted into the side instantly, helping them preserve their Serie A status. Sent him back again this year, where he'll hopefully do much the same. Looks a good prospect. Fernando - DM/MC - Spain - I can't sell him and nor will he play any games for us, so Pro Vercelli may as well have him. Daniel Vicente - AMR - Spain - Very promising winger, signed for £2.6m from Barca in the summer and immediately sent on loan to Pro Vercelli. They haven't used him yet, but hopefully that will change - he's better than both their others. Leavers Jose Alberto Loureiro - DR - Italy - Finally retired at the end of a wonderful career for both Messina and Italy (despite being born Portuguese). Alongside Kooiman and Vitone, I'll remember this guy. Jesus Jimenez - D/WBR - Spain - Following the addition of Tim Taylor last January, it was between him and Jesus for the backup spot. In the end I went with Jesus' athleticism - and Pescara's very generous £15m offer. Agustin Lertxundi - DM/MC - Spain - Not too many seasons left in him now, but still worth a game. Gustavo Sanchez - M/AMC - Argentina - With Ryzhov and Gustavo coming through he just wasn't necessary any more. Enrique Lala - ST - France - Just never really had room in my squad for him. Sent him off to Livorno for roughly what we paid for him, and a nice 20% of next transfer clause. Overall Significant changes continue to happen in the squad, entirely necessary due to the aging nature of many positions over the last few years. Defensive midfield and right back have followed the example of centreback and striker in being almost completely revamped with young, hungry, talented players. Continuity has been kept, however, with the likes of Martin, Da Silva and Arguelles keeping experienced heads around the squad, with the likes of Vega, Mikhailov and Gonzalez bridging the generational gap. Hopefully last season's Champions League triumph is the start of my next great Messina side. Or was it the last hurrah of the generation that once won four in a row? Perhaps in the end it's a little of both. Forza Messina! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeXe Posted May 14, 2011 Author Share Posted May 14, 2011 Especially with those Verona pants. Well if he hadn't messed himself before, he will do when he reads that! Interestingly AC Milan have had a tycoon takeover. Clearly, this tycoon has lots of hangers on - that's a hefty ol' boardroom table they'll be needing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeXe Posted May 15, 2011 Author Share Posted May 15, 2011 Season 27: Winter Break Update As ever we kicked off the season with the Supercoppa, the difference being we weren't at home due to qualifying as league runners up. We didn't really turn up, and although Rocha had a good game in goal, Inter eventually got one, which we never looked like responding to. We once again had the European Super Cup to look forward to this season. Unfortunately the players again couldn't be bothered, and lay down for CSKA Moscow to ease past us 2-0. And so with those two really annoying games past, we start with the league season. It opened with a routine 2-0 win at home against Fiorentina, with another 2-0 coming (rather more encouragingly) from Turin, as we bossed Juventus for the full 90 minutes. Successive 3-0 wins over Grosseto and Pro Vercelli were just a warmup for a 5-1 demolition of Roma, before a high-flying Gubbio were sent packing with a 2-0 win at Serpente Park. That run of 6 successive wins was ended in Naples, as Napoli opened the scoring and looked very pleased with themselves as they sat back on it. Mikhailov eventually hit the equaliser that had most definitely been coming after 87 minutes, and even had a glorious chance to win it, but on the basis of their previously solid defending Napoli probably deserved a point. Back to winning ways against Andria, a 7-game winning run took in Pescara, Reggina, Livorno, Catania, Cagliari, and Lazio, before what was probably our most frustrating performance of the season. We headed to Palermo, our fellow Sicilians having done the double over us last season, with high hopes of restoring local pride. Indeed, we out-CCC'd them in the first half 3-1. The half time score? You guessed it, 3-1 to them! The second half petered out to nothing, meaning we'd lost our first game of the season to our most hated rivals. Great. Only Inter at home remained before the break, and I wanted us to show a reaction. We did, absolutely destroying last season's double winners 4-0, a brace from Marco Antonio and one each from Misic and Gauthier putting the shine on the victory. First in the table with a 9 point lead - almost feels like a role reversal, as usually we're the ones chasing someone with that sort of record. So now to the Champions League, where we drew the most ridiculously easy group I think we've ever had. Rangers, FC Twente, and Maccabi Tel-Aviv would surely provide no resistance whatsoever to our resurgent side? The answer, for once, was actually no. We won our first three matches (away in Tel-Aviv, and at home to Rangers and Twente) 3-0, the fourth (away in Twente) 4-0, and the fifth 2-0 (at home to Maccabi). Rangers did put up a fight in Glasgow, taking a 1-0 lead then equalising at 2-2, but didn't have time to respond to Roldan's 89th minute winner. All that gave us our first perfect group record in ages! Deportivo La Coruna await in the next round, the Galician side having taken points off us in last seasons group stage - including a shock 1-0 win in the north of Spain. Finally, we once again contested the easiest competition in the world - the Club World Championship. I don't know whether it's because the average score for us in the competition is around 4-0 to us, or whether it's the nice trip away just before the winter break, but I'd been missing this one, and it was good to be back. We celebrated our return with a 5-0 thumping of Indian side Mohun Bagan in the semi-final, Roldan, Parana, Gauthier, M. Gonzalez and an own goal on the scoresheet. That left Flamengo in the final, who would surely provide a sterner test. They did not. We won 7-1. It should have been double figures. A Marco Antonio hattrick and a Mikhailov brace were supplemented with Vega's opener and M. Gonzalez's header to break the record for most team goals in the competition. The Good P26 W22. Wow. And 2 of those non-wins were in pointless mickey mouse trophy matches. The squad is finally staying relatively injury free - this is very much related to point 1 I think Mikhailov has shaken off last season's diabolical form to be our top scorer The Bad After nearly a season and a half of wonderful form, Raul has done his cruciates. That's two in two years for us after 24 seasons without one. Marco Antonio's form - whilst still good - isn't quite what it was 2 years ago (can you tell I'm scraping the barrel yet?) That 3-1 loss to Palermo was our third in a row against our main rivals Results 1 - Results 2 - League Table - Squad 1 - Squad 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeXe Posted May 15, 2011 Author Share Posted May 15, 2011 Err, Crouchy, if you're reading this... don't look at the league table screenshot. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackripper Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 threads like this make me wanna stay with one club..congrats man Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
iacovone Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 I love how many random small Italian clubs are in Serie A! Gubbio I presume they're the result of takeovers? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeXe Posted May 15, 2011 Author Share Posted May 15, 2011 threads like this make me wanna stay with one club..congrats man Cheers man, glad you're enjoying it! I love how many random small Italian clubs are in Serie A! Gubbio I presume they're the result of takeovers? I know, it's great isn't it! They're up this high for a variety of reasons - I'm pretty sure Pescara and Gubbio are tycoon takeovers because of the ridiculous wages they're paying some players, but Grosseto, for example, were built up by one excellent manager, and then had a really brief tycoon takeover for 3 or 4 seasons that really established them as a top-6 club. Andria haven't had any such help but are properly established as a mid-table side now. Pro Vercelli are my feeder club, so I've been sending them as many players as I can to keep them up, and then Hellas Verona came up this season, but don't look to be coping at this level. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romanista1994 Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 Andria are an interesting club, they seem to have lots of money in the game. In my FM10 Roma game they've bought two of my academy graduates that I offered out for 325k and 230k while they are in Serie C2. Those two players (and fees) are way too big for that level, so I expect them to get promoted soon. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
crouchaldinho Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 In news that will excite Crouchy, Hellas Verona are a Serie A club next season! As long as he doesn't make a mess. Especially with those Verona pants. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wavelberry Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 Andria are an interesting club, they seem to have lots of money in the game. In my FM10 Roma game they've bought two of my academy graduates that I offered out for 325k and 230k while they are in Serie C2. Those two players (and fees) are way too big for that level, so I expect them to get promoted soon. In the forward to 2200 and beyond thread in GD Andria have had a period of Serie A dominance too. Must be some big love for them... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnakeXe Posted May 15, 2011 Author Share Posted May 15, 2011 SnakeXe's Messina - Season 27 - 2037/38 Story of the Season: Serie A - 1st, Champions With a huge lead coming into 2038, it was just a case of not blowing it in the second half of the season. And that we didn't, kicking off with a run of 4 wins in a row. The first points dropped came in a 2-2 draw away to Grosseto, where we had to come back from 2-0 down, so not a bad result. Pro Vercelli were dispatched 4-0 in the next game, before another draw against closest challengers AC Milan at home. 4 more wins were ended with another away draw, this time at Andria, but after another two wins we slumped to only our second defeat of the season, a really gutting 2-1 away at relegation candidates Livorno. Still, not to worry, after a title-securing win against Cagliari and a draw with Catania, we won all 5 of our remaining games to smash the records for both goals scored and points accrued in a season! Fantastic! Coppa Italia - Winners Serie C1/B side Cosenza were our opposition in the first round, and we took them apart 5-1 in a nice easy start to the competition. Daniel Martin even managed to look a liability against these guys, just to show you how far he's fallen. A fairly decent draw for the Quarter Final saw us at home against Roma, and Goncalves' double set us on the way to a 3-1 win. A two-legged semi final and the chance for revenge for last year's final defeat against Inter was our reward. A 2-0 win at home put us in charge, with an uneventful 1-1 at the San Siro sending us to the final for the second successive year. Palermo lay in wait, our fellow Sicilians having won 3 of the last 4 games against us, but we'd beaten them in the fourth of those just 3 days previously. We started fantastically well, Marco Antonio opening the scoring after just 10 minutes. Roldan made it 2 halfway through the first half, and we were in charge. Antonio added a third just after half time, before Bilger hit back to make it 3-1. We never looked worried though, and Roldan put the cherry on the cake with his second and our fourth - a 4-1 victory, and a rare Coppa Italia win! Supercoppa - Runners Up (v Inter) Rubbish 1-0 loss. European Super Cup - Runners Up (v CSKA Moscow) Rubbish 2-0 loss. Champions League - Runners Up (v Barcelona) Deportivo were first up in the knockout rounds, and a brilliant 3-0 win in Spain meant the home leg was essentially a dead-rubber, and so it proved, ending 0-0. A tricky draw in the Quarter Final saw us take in Arsenal, and we needed a good performance in the first leg in London to keep the tie in our control. A wonderful counter-attacking performance did just that, and we took a 2-0 win back to Sicily. The home leg was a weird one, we attacked all game and couldn't get the ball in the net, whilst Arsenal got one back through a bizarre Rocha own-goal. Luckily Arsenal gave us a penalty with seconds left, and Marco Antonio converted to put the tie beyond doubt. We were back to London for the Semi Final, with Chelsea the opposition this time. A brilliant 3-0 home win in the first leg was no less than we deserved, and we matched it with a fabulous display of counter-attacking in a 3-0 victory at Stamford Bridge. Guess who was in the final? That's right, Barcelona - our fifth final against the Catalans. The score was currently 3-1 to us in terms of final-wins, so we had the psychological advantage, even if they'd won the last one. I chose the following side: Juan Carlos; Taylor, Wansi, M. Gonzalez, Jose Maria; Benali, Misic ©; Roldan, Vega, Gonzalez; Marco Antonio. We started reasonably well, but it was Barcelona who opened the scoring, a bizarre pinball goal coming off Jose Maria last for an own-goal. Marco Antonio equalised just after half-time, but Barca hit back through Russo to take the lead back. Juarez equalised for us, and it went to extra time. Marco Antonio made it 3-2 just 6 minutes into the extra period, and I thought we were on the way. Unfortunately, Barcelona had other ideas, Saladino scoring twice to put us on the brink. Despite some good chances to equalise, we could not, condemning us to a second final defeat in 3 years. Club World Championship - Winners Easy peasy, 5-0 against Mohun Bagan, and 7-1 against Flamengo. Results 1 - Results 2 - Results 3 - Results 4 - Squad 1 - Squad 2 Transfers - £3.2m Loss Big money moves in and out this season - Gustavo my record buy at £24m, with Enrique Lala and Jesus Jimenez's transfers out for £9.75m and £15m respectively offsetting that. 5 Most Important Players: 5. Vitor Goncalves - ST - It makes such a difference having this guy fit and ready to come in when Antonio needs a rest or isn't quite knocking them in fluently. 16 goals in 19 starts is ridiculously good. Really hope his injury record sorts itself out, a really important squad member for us. 4. Tim Taylor - D/WBR - Delighted with his performances which vindicated my slight chopping and changing with the right backs over the previous 12 months. 3. Jose Luis Vega - AMC - 28 assists this season, just short of the 30 mark - I'd love to see him make it once more in his illustrious career. 2. Daniel Wansi - DLC - His season on loan keeping Pro Vercelli in Serie A really made him into a top class player, and a key man at the back for us at just 19. 1. Marco Antonio - AMC/ST - Back to his best in the second half of this season - unplayable at times. Fantastic striker. History: Season League Position Achievements ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2011/12 Serie C2/C 2nd Serie C Cup Runners Up, Playoff Finalists 2012/13 Serie C2/C 1st Serie C2/C Champions, Promoted 2013/14 Serie C1/B 5th Playoff Semi-Finalists 2014/15 Serie C1/B 2nd Playoff Winners, Promoted 2015/15 Serie B 12th 2016/17 Serie B 2nd Promoted 2017/18 Serie A 20th Relegated 2018/19 Serie B 2nd Promoted 2019/20 Serie A 7th Qualified for Europa League 2020/21 Serie A 6th Qualified for Europa League 2021/22 Serie A 9th 2022/23 Serie A 5th Qualified for Europa League 2023/24 Serie A 3rd Qualified for Champions League, Coppa Italia Runners Up 2024/25 Serie A 4th Qualified for Champions League, Coppa Italia Runners Up 2025/26 Serie A 4th Qualified for Champions League 2026/27 Serie A 4th Qualified for Champions League 2027/28 Serie A 3rd Qualified for Champions League 2028/29 Serie A 1st Serie A Champions, Coppa Italia Runners Up 2029/30 Serie A 1st Serie A Champions, Champions League Winners 2030/31 Serie A 1st Serie A Champions, Champions League Winners, CWC Winners 2031/32 Serie A 3rd Champions League Winners, Coppa Italia Winners, CWC Winners 2032/33 Serie A 1st Serie A Champions, Champions League Winners, Coppa Italia Winners, CWC Winners 2033/34 Serie A 1st Serie A Champions, CWC Winners 2034/35 Serie A 1st Serie A Champions 2035/36 Serie A 1st Serie A Champions, Champions League Runners Up 2036/37 Serie A 2nd Champions League Winners, Coppa Italia Runners Up 2037/37 Serie A 1st Serie A Champions, Coppa Italia Winners, CWC Winners, Champions League R-Up Messina 100 Club: A list of those Messina players who make 100 or more appearances for the club under my management. Name Pos Era Apps Goals AvR -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rene Kooiman DC 2019-2035 618 80 7.17 Filippo Vitone AMRC 2018-2035 561 123 7.11 Jose A. Loureiro DR 2020-2037 471 3 7.20 Daniel Martin GK 2027-Present 432 0 7.00 Jon Pagola AMLC 2019-2034 417 78 7.20 Walter Aguero AM/ST 2021-2032 414 146 7.06 Jose Luis Vega AMC 2028-Present 393 40 7.30 Walter Gonzalez AMLC 2026-Present 389 72 7.18 Victor Amoruso MC 2018-2029 380 33 6.98 Mauro Quiroga DM/MC 2019-2031 372 17 6.96 Abel Petrillo AML/ST 2016-2031 366 153 7.13 Igor Mikhailov AMRC 2029-Present 323 90 7.24 Jose Maria DL 2028-Present 316 1 7.25 Julian Juarez AML 2029-Present 312 46 7.12 Joaquin Arguelles AM/ST 2025-Present 298 180 7.28 Nauzet M. Gonzalez DC 2029-Present 290 55 7.27 Bartul Misic DM/MC 2030-Present 290 31 7.18 Da Silva DC 2027-Present 287 33 7.15 Marco Antonio AMC/ST 2030-Present 286 169 7.32 Antonio Gola DM/MC 2028-Present 286 10 7.09 Nenad Arnautovic DM/MC 2025-2035 279 28 7.00 Stefano Tulino D/DM/MRC 2019-2030 274 17 7.12 Jose D/WB/M/AML 2026-2035 267 6 7.07 Philipp Egger DC 2023-2035 251 38 7.20 Javier AMR 2025-2034 227 29 7.00 Mauro Vigorito GK 2011-2023 217 0 6.82 Juan Jose Godoy GK 2023-2027 207 0 6.96 Patxi Rodriguez DM/MC 2017-2026 203 14 6.87 Nenad Lukic MLC 2021-2026 188 23 6.98 Mauricio Martin D/DM/MC 2020-2027 187 9 6.96 Nicolas Amodio DM/MC 2012-2018 183 12 6.93 Remi Thouvenin DL 2021-2026 181 0 7.06 Antonio Marino DLC 2013-2021 180 5 6.88 Sergio Real ST 2024-2030 174 31 6.87 Agustin Lertxundi DM/MC 2031-2037 173 6 7.05 Adem Ljajic AMRLC 2019-2027 170 26 6.91 Mario Ortiz DM/MC 2013-2021 169 5 6.83 Celso DM/MC 2025-2030 169 9 6.95 Marquinhos Parana ST 2032-Present 166 58 7.04 Nicola Ravaglia GK 2018-2025 164 0 6.90 Gustavo Sanchez AMC 2031-2037 162 16 6.97 Enzo Scorza ST 2012-2018 159 82 7.24 Nicolas D/DM/MC 2015-2022 159 5 6.85 Carlos Roldan AMRLC 2034-Present 157 37 7.25 Rocco Signore D/WBR 2022-2035 154 0 7.06 Rosario Licata D/WB/ML 2011-2016 146 3 6.92 Francesc Alcalde AMLC/ST 2014-2020 145 45 6.98 Javier Aramaio DR 2031-2035 142 1 7.28 Luca Tedeschi DC 2012-2018 139 8 7.09 Mogi DRC 2017-2022 134 0 6.76 Diego Farias AMRLC 2015-2019 126 19 6.90 Gonzalo Valdez ST 2022-2026 126 34 6.87 Davide Testa AM/ST 2011-2015 121 40 7.04 Yohann Sallaberry AMLC 2021-2028 117 10 7.01 Mohammed Benali DM/MC 2034-Present 114 4 7.09 Raul DC 2034-Present 111 24 7.39 Ruben AML 2015-2019 103 7 6.86 Fausto Rossi AML 2016-2021 102 18 6.97 Juan Carlos GK 2028-Present 100 0 7.03 Next Season: After such a truly wonderful season with great performances in almost every game, it's really disappointing that we couldn't take the Champions League title. Barcelona were just too good for the approach I took I think. The squad is fantastically strong, and, as it is so young, will only get better. The one sad thing is that Jose Luis Vega is now 29, and surely only has a couple of years left at his current level. I'd really like to win another Champions League with him at the heart of it if I can, and if we can get to 10 Serie A titles (currently 8) that'd be brilliant. On the young player front, Daniel Vicente came in when Mikhailov and Roldan were injured, and played absolutely fantastically. It was a wrench to take him out of the team when the latter two regained fitness, but in the end his lack of experience was obvious against the best sides. Gustavo showed enough to make me think he really can succeed Vega in a couple of years, whilst Benali and Lelj both had very solid seasons. Wansi is absolutely brilliant. Forza Messina! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lurkingwithintent Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 Hey Snake, Just read through all seven pages of this now and I have to say it's been a terrific read. I always think the best stories make you want to load up FM as soon as you start reading and that's what this does! Can I ask where abouts you live in Bath? I'm a student in Bath Congratulations on your success! Lurking / Jack. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flamers Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 Well done on a much better season Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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