[FM20][FM21][FM22][FM23] Calcio

[AceCream]

18 minutes ago, quee said:

I genuinely didn't know he is still playing! Last I heard he was in China

He is still playing and has pretty good attributes as well !

Spoiler

 

 

20 minutes ago, quee said:

Surprised by this, as the highest transfer you made was 2.9m? The loan fees adds up that much?

Good transfer strategy though, especially on the mentoring side.

One thing I noticed is your defenders all had an average rating below 7? Not performing as a defensive unit?

Yeah most of the loans are for 2 seasons! Getting Salcedo, Dimarco and so on for 2 seasons should really help me. The Italian clubs always make me pay monthly fees because the wages are so low.

I guess my defenders aren't getting too good ratings because I want them to play them as ball playing defenders. We are however not really good enough to be playing that way so we are suffering a bit. 

[quee]

That's the 2000th post!

I remembered my first update was on page 7, the thread really blown up recently

Back then, the Man Utd was already around the 20+ pages as well iirc, for comparison.

3 minutes ago, AceCream said:

He is still playing and has pretty good attributes as well !

Yeah, still great actually and would fit well playing in Italy. Who's the leader then? I thought it would be Mascherano for sure.

[Matt_1979]

27 minutes ago, quee said:

What was the issue? DB?

Well it’s kinda embarrassing.... I saved over it 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️  Luckily I’m doing equally as badly in this one!!

[AceCream]

36 minutes ago, quee said:

Who's the leader then? I thought it would be Mascherano for sure.

Hugo Campagnaro. He is our 4th choice center back. Hopefully Kumbulla, Varnier and Dawidowicz will benefit from his mentoring.

Spoiler

 

Edited May 19, 2020 by AceCream

[ParanoidBuddha]

38 minuti fa, quee ha scritto:

That's the 2000th post!

I remembered my first update was on page 7, the thread really blown up recently

If in FM21 they will add the Decreto Crescita and implement it correctly () even for the cpu (then making more big transfers etc) will be even nicer to play in Italia! 

[Sysiphus]

Ascoli 1st season

Am in March now and received an offer I don't know what to do with. An UAE club (which means he'll leave immediately) has offered up to 300k for the 36 y/o Simone Padoin. 300k is great money for me (balance is currently -2m), he is the highest paid player at the club on 12.25k p/w and he's declining rather quickly. Only two other players are on over 6k p/w so 12.25k is very high. However, he is a model citizen (a great tutor) and has been a stalwart in the Italian game for years, playing about 400 games in Serie A and almost 90 of them with Juventus. He is also my best player if we go by the stars (around the 3rd–4th best in my opinion though) and performs well in my setup. Another hangup in this is that his midfield partner Piccinocchi leaves after the season, so if I sell Padoin I'll have two midfield positions to fill up.

What do you guys think? I'm sat in 7th currently so I may get into the playoffs but there's no rush to go up on my behalf, don't think I'll have the team and platform for Serie A next season.

Edited May 19, 2020 by Sysiphus

[quee]

27 minutes ago, ParanoidBuddha said:

If in FM21 they will add the Decreto Crescita and implement it correctly () even for the cpu (then making more big transfers etc) will be even nicer to play in Italia! 

Will you play it though?

I'm not sure if there will be even FM21 tbh, but if they do, will wait as always until after the Winter Update.

[quee]

21 minutes ago, Sysiphus said:

What do you guys think? I'm sat in 7th currently so I may get into the playoffs but there's no rush to go up on my behalf, don't think I'll have the team and platform for Serie A next season.

I'm in favour of not basing my decision on just financial aspect.

I know in FM it is fashionable to discard old heads asap, but I think the unique thing about Italy is that such players are welcomed and can still thrived.

If he is a backup, it would be an easy enough choice.

Since he is your starting midfielder, you will lose a first teamer without actually able to bring a replacement. Then you will lose his influence on the mentoring side and hierarchy as well. Your team might be upset to lose an influential or team leader?

I would say, with him your side, better chance to perform better hence getting more money in the mid to long term?

Just my humble opinion

[Stackalee]

59 minutes ago, Sysiphus said:

Am in March now and received an offer I don't know what to do with. An UAE club (which means he'll leave immediately) has offered up to 300k for the 36 y/o Simone Padoin. 

What do you guys think? I'm sat in 7th currently so I may get into the playoffs but there's no rush to go up on my behalf, don't think I'll have the team and platform for Serie A next season.

Unless he's retiring at the end of the season I'd be shocked if he wasn't worth more to you, especially if you can get in young players around him. Good tutors can propagate a good mentality really well in FM20, and if you can get him signed up as a player/coach anytime soon his influence will grow. 

[sedge11]

So I have smashed out season 4, it was always going to be difficult to live up to our achievement's from season 3, especially the champs league win.

We will start off with the cups and it was a poor show from, knocked out by Milan in the QF of the Italian cup.

Champs league we were shocked and knocked out by Bayer Leverkusen in the 1st knockout round, we drew 1-1 away, then lost 2-1 at home after extra time. Major disappointment, and just shows how we overachieved by winning it the season before.

Now onto the league, we had a tough start losing 2 of our 1st 4 games, but the team responded brilliantly and had been excellent especially defensively.

So with 2 games to we were sitting 1 point behind Juventus.

We beat Frosinone 4-0, while Juventus lost in a shock 3-1 result against Cagliari.

Final game of the season Juventus again choked drawing 1-1 with Frosinone, while we won 3-1 against Atlanta.

The title was ours, back to back league titles, was very happy with that. We easily had the best defence in the league, shown by Strakosha's clean sheets. Immobile again scoring plenty but finishing 2nd to Ronaldo, this has been the 1st time I've ever used him and he is just brilliant, shame he isn't a few years younger.

Here was our overall stats for the season.

Also Zanre who I had mentioned before, had a good 1st half of the season on loan at Bologna, then this is how he did when he came back to us.

Very Impressing and still has room to develop.

Now on to some more interesting developments, we have been offered the RBL job and the Man Utd job. So what to do?

Option 1: Stay at Lazio for another season or 2 and try to dominate before moving on

Option 2: Move to RBL, see if we can win them their 1st Bundesliga and 1st major trophy

Option 3: Takeover Man Utd and get them back on top, as Liverpool have won 3 out of 4 league title, and have now overtaken Man Utd's record number of league wins.

It's a tough one, I really really like this team, and its a team I think I could easily win another league title or 2, but do want to move on at some point, my concern is when I leave the team will be ripped apart, as Gouiri, Tonali, SMS and Almada all have heavy interest. RBL would be a good challenge as they haven't done very well, try win them some major trophies. I have done a Man Utd save on this years fm, but as mentioned Liverpool have overtaken Man Utd's record number of league wins and I can't have that , so no matter what I will want to join Man Utd at some point.

Think I will sleep on this one and decide in the next day or 2.

 

[AceCream]

1 hour ago, Sysiphus said:

What do you guys think?

I agree with @quee and @Stackalee. I think FM players highly underestimate older player's value. Especially now in current FM games they can offer so much in terms of personality, dressing room atmosphere, leadership and mentoring. Also the long term gain of him playing for you and gaining promotion far outweigh the short term financial gains. 

All the great football teams have/had older and more experienced players to motivate the squads. Zanetti at Inter, Totti at Roma, Zlatan at United and more recently Milner at Liverpool.  Even if they are not at the top of their level they offer a lot off the pitch.

 

 

[quee]

Welldone, @sedge11. I would go for option 1

The other jobs will still be there after this, but you can't go back to unfinished business at Lazio (unless you want to)

Who is Zanre again? Screenshot of him?

[sedge11]

7 minutes ago, quee said:

Welldone, @sedge11. I would go for option 1

The other jobs will still be there after this, but you can't go back to unfinished business at Lazio (unless you want to)

Who is Zanre again? Screenshot of him?

Regen brought from Bologna.

It's a tough one, I am loving this Lazio team but would maybe only stay for 2 more seasons max if I do. Like say will take a day or 2 to decide I think. 

I like things to do done right, so can maybe overthink it at times haha.

[Weston]

1 hour ago, Sysiphus said:

Ascoli 1st season

Am in March now and received an offer I don't know what to do with. An UAE club (which means he'll leave immediately) has offered up to 300k for the 36 y/o Simone Padoin. 300k is great money for me (balance is currently -2m), he is the highest paid player at the club on 12.25k p/w and he's declining rather quickly. Only two other players are on over 6k p/w so 12.25k is very high. However, he is a model citizen (a great tutor) and has been a stalwart in the Italian game for years, playing about 400 games in Serie A and almost 90 of them with Juventus. He is also my best player if we go by the stars (around the 3rd–4th best in my opinion though) and performs well in my setup. Another hangup in this is that his midfield partner Piccinocchi leaves after the season, so if I sell Padoin I'll have two midfield positions to fill up.

What do you guys think? I'm sat in 7th currently so I may get into the playoffs but there's no rush to go up on my behalf, don't think I'll have the team and platform for Serie A next season.

To be devil's advocate I say sell him. You'll never get more for him than this, and will likely lose him on a free (or retirement) otherwise. If you're clever you can almost certainly find a player who is as good or better for less money on loan. If I'm in Serie B I never have any young players at the club worth growing anyway, so his mentoring, etc., isn't as valuable as it would be later on in your career. Sentimentally, I love Padoin, but if you've basically given up on being promoted this year cut your loses and reinvest it in loaned players. I think when I was in Serie B I had ONE player in the entire squad that I owned because I sold the old players kicking around and brought in some youngsters from big clubs.

[quee]

4 minutes ago, sedge11 said:

I like things to do done right, so can maybe overthink it at times haha.

Don't we all, mate?

The time and emotional investment in a long-term save is second to none, only a few have the patience for it.

Maybe set a target of one of your player retiring then leave? Most likely Immobile due to his age? You go, I go kind of situation.

[quee]

2 minutes ago, Weston said:

To be devil's advocate I say sell him. You'll never get more for him than this, and will likely lose him on a free (or retirement) otherwise. If you're clever you can almost certainly find a player who is as good or better for less money on loan. If I'm in Serie B I never have any young players at the club worth growing anyway, so his mentoring, etc., isn't as valuable as it would be later on in your career. Sentimentally, I love Padoin, but if you've basically given up on being promoted this year cut your loses and reinvest it in loaned players. I think when I was in Serie B I had ONE player in the entire squad that I owned because I sold the old players kicking around and brought in some youngsters from big clubs.

Interesting PoV here as well. Definitely from someone experience in lower league management and in a long term save.

Definitely a good thing to ponder, but looking at the Ascoli squad, his style of play does seems a bit different to Weston's all loans.

[Weston]

9 minutes ago, quee said:

Interesting PoV here as well. Definitely from someone experience in lower league management and in a long term save.

Definitely a good thing to ponder, but looking at the Ascoli squad, his style of play does seems a bit different to Weston's all loans.

It's not romantic but the sad reality is that no one you play with in the lower leagues will be good enough to still be in your squad in a year or two, unless you've loaned them in and they're young and will continue to grow at a similar rate to your club as you climb the ladder. It's not just loans, I often sign free agents that I then sell for cheap a year later and the cycle continues. So you gotta learn to kill your darlings, in my experience.

Here is my first Serie C season (first window turned off) in which we came 2nd and lost in the playoffs despite having more points than the winners in the other divisions of Serie C:

Other ins below the scroll:

Here is the second Serie C season where we went undefeated and smashed the league, winning the cups as well:

Other ins below the scroll:

Other outs below the scroll:

The profit I made was even better than it looks when you consider I saved a lot on wages from the outgoing players, and the costs I incurred on loans was often really just in place of wages not in addition to them, so it was coming out of a different budge but still less overall. I consistently have one of if not the lowest wage expenditure in the league. Several of the players I loaned joined me on frees or very low fees and are now worth much more. I never do longer than one season at once, but I will often renew them for several years as I rise.

Edited May 19, 2020 by Weston

[quee]

I get that @Weston mate, but it also depends on your play-style. I wouldn't do it your way if I started in Serie C. I would want some players to play for me all the way until Serie A and beyond if I could, even his attributes or star rating isn't great. Will they be important players? Most likely not. Will I subbed one in in a CL final to take a last minute penalty? Heck yeah

I understand what you're saying though, ruthless business-like methods.

The attachment side is important to me, so I'm opposite to your style, I guess.

Sysiphus will have to decide on his own style, despite everyone else's advices

[3maldini3]

Haven't posted in a long time.

2023/2024 was pretty good, won a fifth league title, second coppa italia and fourth consecutive supercup.

Spoiler

Mason Greenwood and Vlahovic were insane scoring 14 and 21 in the league.

Greenwood won the Champions League Golden boot with 10 goals, knocked out PSG in the semis and came to the final with my chest stretched, ready to put Liverpool to bed.

Unfortunately, that didn't go as I planned. 

Spoiler

Massive disappointment! Specially Donnarumma.

 

2024/2025 started really well! My regens are taking over the league and the only L came after a red card in the 8th minute.

Spoiler

This is the current squad, if anyone wants to see a certain profile let me know.

Spoiler

 

Edited May 19, 2020 by turgi

[Weston]

2 hours ago, quee said:

I get that @Weston mate, but it also depends on your play-style. I wouldn't do it your way if I started in Serie C. I would want some players to play for me all the way until Serie A and beyond if I could, even his attributes or star rating isn't great. Will they be important players? Most likely not. Will I subbed one in in a CL final to take a last minute penalty? Heck yeah

I understand what you're saying though, ruthless business-like methods.

The attachment side is important to me, so I'm opposite to your style, I guess.

Sysiphus will have to decide on his own style, despite everyone else's advices

Of course, as he/she should. But many of the players I loaned in Serie C I owned in Serie A and continued to play with as you say, like Plizzari, Dimarco, Ranieri, Bree, Melegoni, Gaetano, and maybe another I've forgotten. Others, too, continued to play with me on loan for 4+ years, which is really no different from signing them and selling them, like Gouiri, Esposito, and others.

That's arguably a LARGER core of the squad maintained than if I'd bought weaker players from the start. I'm a romantic like you, but I think this strategy ironically helps our shared preference of keeping some lads to grow with loyally over time. I'm curious, do you happen to know how many players from Parma's Serie C season survived to play for them in Serie A?

Edited May 20, 2020 by Weston

[Bradz FM]

7 hours ago, turgi said:

This is the current squad, if anyone wants to see a certain profile let me know.

  Hide contents

 

Excellent stuff.

 

Did many of young young Italian newgens come through the academy or did you sign them from elsewhere? How fruitful has the academy been in general for you?

[Stackalee]

7 hours ago, Weston said:

But many of the players I loaned in Serie C I owned in Serie A and continued to play with as you say, like Plizzari, Dimarco, Ranieri, Bree, Melegoni, Gaetano, and maybe another I've forgotten. Others, too, continued to play with me on loan for 4+ years

That's arguably a LARGER core of the squad maintained than if I'd bought weaker players from the start. 

To return to the original question then, would you not be in a stronger position today had you had a tutor like Padoin around while those players were on loan? 

Like, I can see why you wouldn't at the time as you had no reason to know you would later be able to own those players. But with the benefit of hindsight it seems like you're making quite a strong case for building a lower league squad of loanees and tutors.

Edited May 20, 2020 by Stackalee

[djsmith0410]

Parma: End of Season 1

Having topped the league at the half way point, we kind of fell off and dropped to 3rd. Quite happy, winning the league this early would have killed the save tbh. Juventus won by 17 pts in the end. 

Buffon retired, he did pick up an injury which probably didn't help his decision.  Got him in as a u18s gk coach. 

Signed Coman (Romanian winger) and Ricci (young cm from Empoli), Balic from Udinese has come in on a free, was a world beater for me at Hajduk a few years ago. 

Not sure I will sign anyone else. Extended Kulusevski's loan, unfortunately Bastoni won't come back. Looking at Kumublla from Verona for a long term option. 

Zola still won't sign as my assistant manager after finishing 3rd in the league, maybe he will when next season actually starts. 

[Sysiphus]

Thanks all for the recommendations on Padoin – this thread is very active! Generally I am a low transfer guy, wanting to establish a team of 24-28 year olds and then start to add younger players and more experienced ones into the mix, as I like to have a large age range. @Weston makes a good point that the young lads I'm having tutored now by Padoin will probably not feature for me in the long term, but they might help with the general atmosphere in the club and the transmission of strong personalities through the the slow process of squad overhaul.

One of the most fun things about FM is the tough decisions you have to make, and this is one of them. I have to stick to my principles, and I will be rejecting the offer. Although I have a good depth in midfield, quality behind the first 2-3 players is quite lacking, and I'd prefer to free up some wages and get some cash in by losing 2 of the backups then to lose Padoin.

Thanks again all for your advice!

[Sysiphus]

Ascoli 1st season youth intake

Kind of a rubbish intake. Will only be signing two of these players I think (Chiarucci and the Romanian goalkeeper Paveliuc). Chiarucci actually looks quite good, if he develops well he might become a member of the first team eventually, depending on Ascoli's status in the football world in 3-5 years.

 

Edited May 20, 2020 by Sysiphus

[djsmith0410]

Might be decent then!!

[3maldini3]

3 hours ago, Trevomac said:

Excellent stuff.

 

Did many of young young Italian newgens come through the academy or did you sign them from elsewhere? How fruitful has the academy been in general for you?

None of my regens came through the academy. It's the only thing I can't get to work in this save.

 

[Muttley84]

We started the season pretty low finishing 4th in the new format of the Club World Championship 2021, but that was only cause a lot of the players were just arriving at club (some during and after), and I used it mainly as a pre-season tournament. After then that our season was superb, we finished Serie A with 91 points (our biggest total so far) and won it ahead of Milan and Lazio. It was actually Milan who gave us a good push to the end, and also our first and only defeat of the season following  a 1-0 loss in the 34 stage. They jumped ahead of us following that, and stayed there till the last stage, but somehow they managed to fail miserably at already relegated Lecce (loss 1-2) and we jumped ahead of them and win Serie A. So I guess it was a lucky win.

We won the SuperCup also to Milan. And in the end of the season we first won the Cup, in a surprise final to Cagliari which was harder than expected and went to extra time (two headers of Bastoni sealed the deal). And in the Champions league final, goals from Barella and Esposito won it for us (5 of our players getting in the Team of the Season). So I guess it is actually doable, you can win the treble with just Italian players as long as you start with a huge team like Inter  I dont feel like I have much merit on this, as its the most successful I was in Football Manager for 4-5 editions now (true, I have not played with big teams for a while). 

The team performed pretty well this season despite playing so many games (over 50 for some of them), and we had a 12 players with ratings over 7. Our best 11 was Donnaruma - Bastoni, Mancini, Bettela - De Sciglio, Pelegrini (transfered in the winter from Arsenal) - Barella, Sensi, Zaniolo (although Dominguez appears in the graphic) - Chiesa, Esposto. Esposito was a monster this season, also winning the European Golden Boot, while Sensi ranked up the most assists. The board gave us 154 millions for transfers, and I've spent it on Tonali (100M from Tottenham, although not sure where he will play giving how good our current ones are) and Cutrone for 35M (haven't been really impressed with Belotti or Pinamonti so thinking of shipping them both out and using Cutrone and young Wilfried Gnonto who has performed really good out on loan  - dunno if anyone had him in their saves). Also considering promoting some 4-5 players from the previous two intakes for rotational purposes, but that will remain to be seen.

Not really sure where to go from here, but for sure I will take a small break from playing this save, but will continue reading the Calcio thread for sure, and get back to updating here when I do.

[john1]

3 hours ago, djsmith0410 said:

Might be decent then!!

Decent keeper, sadly he wanted to leave for Dortmund, so I managed to get stupid fee for him, and off he went. Here he is on my save. Just wish I could have kept him and develop him. 

[john1]

Just suffered my first defeat of the season in the league by losing 3-1 to Juventus away ffs. However, they knocked me out 3 days later in Coppa Italia quarter Final at home, 3-2 with De Ligt, getting later winner. Hoping to finish the season over next few days.

Don't know if I made a biggest mistake of not signing Fabio Silva from Porto for 7M? Cancelled the deal at the last minute due to Isak and with Eddie, coming in next season as I only play with one striker up front,

Edited May 20, 2020 by john1

[Muttley84]

4 hours ago, djsmith0410 said:

Might be decent then!!

Funny thing he is on loan at Alto Adige in my career also. I've signed him as a young prospect and he might get chances next season if in the summer I see there's not much difference between him and Sirigu. He currently looks like this:

28 minutes ago, john1 said:

Decent keeper, sadly he wanted to leave for Dortmund, so I managed to get stupid fee for him, and off he went. Here he is on my save. Just wish I could have kept him and develop him. 

Pretty similar between the two of us, just the notable difference, he has 20 Agression in my save! Wonder if that means he will get lots of cards.

[Weston]

6 hours ago, Stackalee said:

To return to the original question then, would you not be in a stronger position today had you had a tutor like Padoin around while those players were on loan? 

Like, I can see why you wouldn't at the time as you had no reason to know you would later be able to own those players. But with the benefit of hindsight it seems like you're making quite a strong case for building a lower league squad of loanees and tutors.

Ideally, yes, I would have an experienced model citizen tutor for the young kids on loan. But none of the older players I had were as good at mentoring as Padoin is, and I had no money, so I would not have been able to loan the players in had I not sold the older players in the first place. I also changed the formation and built out the depth, so I was loaning or signing frees at sometimes 3x the rate I was selling players and sometimes still making a profit.

If @Sysiphus can improve the squad without selling Padoin then he should go for it, but I also rushed to get promoted as quickly as possible and didn't want to take any risks. The first season left me wishing I'd done more, but the second season I won so safely I could've in theory kept a Padoin had I had more of an equivalent.

[Weston]

5 hours ago, Sysiphus said:

Thanks all for the recommendations on Padoin – this thread is very active! Generally I am a low transfer guy, wanting to establish a team of 24-28 year olds and then start to add younger players and more experienced ones into the mix, as I like to have a large age range. @Weston makes a good point that the young lads I'm having tutored now by Padoin will probably not feature for me in the long term, but they might help with the general atmosphere in the club and the transmission of strong personalities through the the slow process of squad overhaul.

One of the most fun things about FM is the tough decisions you have to make, and this is one of them. I have to stick to my principles, and I will be rejecting the offer. Although I have a good depth in midfield, quality behind the first 2-3 players is quite lacking, and I'd prefer to free up some wages and get some cash in by losing 2 of the backups then to lose Padoin.

Thanks again all for your advice!

Fair enough! I'm never saying anyone needs to play like me, I love to see different styles, and may have made the same situation had I been in your place and had more of a holistic view.

[Stackalee]

4 minutes ago, Weston said:

Ideally, yes, I would have an experienced model citizen tutor for the young kids on loan. But none of the older players I had were as good at mentoring as Padoin is, and I had no money, so I would not have been able to loan the players in had I not sold the older players in the first place. I also changed the formation and built out the depth, so I was loaning or signing frees at sometimes 3x the rate I was selling players and sometimes still making a profit.

Yeah fair, I've no horse in this race either really I was just curious as once you'd said you still had a bunch of the players it seemed like good tutors would be ideal. 

I've only done two lower league saves in Italy this year and only one of those with transfers. I don't recall Cesena being quite as poverty stricken as all that, but then again my loans weren't as expensive (or extensive!) as yours.

[Weston]

1 hour ago, Stackalee said:

Yeah fair, I've no horse in this race either really I was just curious as once you'd said you still had a bunch of the players it seemed like good tutors would be ideal. 

I've only done two lower league saves in Italy this year and only one of those with transfers. I don't recall Cesena being quite as poverty stricken as all that, but then again my loans weren't as expensive (or extensive!) as yours.

It's an odd combination of being a recently bankrupted club starting from scratch, but also carrying the weight of players basically bribed into joining the project with massive wages. Had to clean house and start over, but I didn't like the way they did it, so I had to clean house and start over again!

[oakesypvfc]

AS Roma - A four year summary

Season 1

Budget was disabled first window so set about to getting rid of a lot of deadwood in January. The club is in a hell of a state at the start so managed to get rid of big wages such as Dzeko, Jesus and Pastore. Belotti came in on loan to cover Dzeko's departure an other signings were for the future, especially Kana.

A really up and down season saw us take 4th place on the last day by the tightest of margins, after someone scored against Inter to equalise in the 96th minute. Champions League is an achievement first season for me though. It was all about steadying the ship and starting a major transfer overhaul.

This was heartbreaking, after leading twice in the final, we ended up losing on penalties, it was a hell of a run though.

Season 2

This season's transfer window was always going to be a massive one, and it was. Showing a profit in transfers, we managed to show a profit and also get rid of a lot of high earners. First teamers came in like Belotti on a permanent after a successful loan deal, Mancini who was already agreed is a rock in our defence and we brought in Livakovic to replace the departing Pau Lopez for a £3 million profit. Diaby, Bastoni, Zappacosta and Alena on loan deals were also solid additions.

This was a really solid season and a very nice improvement from last year. We ended up taking Juventus to the last day but a win for them and a loss for us prevented us lifting our first title.

We won our first trophy though, with a penalties victory over AC Milan in the final.

We fell at the first knockout round in the Champions League, being knocked out by Man United.

Season 3

I think this was probably my most successful transfer window to date. We managed to improve our squad greatly with not a lot of expense. Donnarumma coming in on a free was an absolute steal as Livakovic left for £30 million to replace him at Milan. Esposito was a wonder signing and was very surprised Inter let him go so cheap. Orsolini is great and nice to have quite a few homegrown players coming into the team. I was also very happy to bring Diaby in permanently, aswell as Tomiyasu shoring up the RB spot.

After building a side that I was very happy with, we managed to finally win the league title, after a tight challenge from Napoli ended on the final day with us the victors.

After an absolute torrid effort saw us get knocked out of the Champions League at the group stage, we entered the Europa League, and had a hell of a run, getting us all the way to the final for the second time in three years.

This time, we went one further. A double from Esposito gave us our first European trophy, a great achievement.

Season 4

This season was the money making season, where we showed nearly £100 million profit on transfers. Deals such as signing Nelson on a free and selling for £33 million certainly help. Not a lot of first teamers came in, except for Pellegrini and Kumbulla and former key players Belotti and Kluivert were sold on as we now have better options at the club. Not shown here is Talles Magno joining us on a free in January to replace the outgoing Reiss Nelson.

We pick up our second straight league title, lifting the trophy with a game to spare this year. Our team is really coming together now and we have a lot of strength in depth. Juventus had a shocking season and were down in 10/11th place most of the year before a good end to season.

We lifted the Coppa Italia for the second time in three seasons, this time beating the Inter side of Milan, after extra time.

After finishing second in the group behind Spurs, we had a hell of a run in the Champions league, with amazing results such as the 11-3 aggregate win over AC Milan on the way, we made it all the way to the final. We would take on Manchester United, who knocked us out of my first campaign two years ago.

There was heartbreak again for us in Europe as once again as we were once again beaten on penalties. I was so pleased to get there but it doesn't make it any easier to take. Ah well, we dust ourselves off and go again

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Well, that brings us up to date with the save, I have just done the summer transfer window for my 5th season. I finally took some time to update you all. Look forward to posting updates less sporadically in future 

 

[RVP32]

End of season 3 and...

 

There the lads stand again. An absolute cleansweep, getting all the cups that were available.

Absolutely stunning season by the lads, but one man in particular was unreal.

Pietro Pellegri. Take a bow for this kid. He's been an absolute talisman, finally crowning himself top scorer of the Serie A for the first time in 3 seasons, beating out Ronaldo at last.

But with this... I'm afraid it's the end of the line for me. Roma's the second ranked club in the world right now, I've entered the Hall of Fame, Roma's the most reputable club (apparently so despite not being number 1) and all the prizes have been won. With my way of managing for this project, I don't think I'll be able to put together a better squad than I got available right now. I'll be getting in pre-season to see what becomes of the team but it can only get worse realistically.

Lorenzo Pellegrini got himself 2 spots away from Legendary status, being second on the list of icons. Not suprising but the real kicker here is that Pietro Pellegri has also gotten himself onto the list of Icons, finding himself in the middle of the list. Glad to see the young lad's goal frenzy goes noticed with the fans.

And that's about it for season 3. It's sure been a ride.

 

[Ewan0404]

 

After having along save with the team I support (Everton) I decided to take on a fallen giant save. I played 2 and a half years as Hamburg but got bored quickly. I have now decided to go AC Milan and try and make this a long term save.

When starting as Milan I set myself some key philosophies for myself:

• Sign predominately younger players and if possible Italian.
• I wanted to no matter what keep net transfer spend under £50 million a season.

Transfers

So to start this off here are my transfers in:

Tonali, Armini and Pellegri would be going straight into the starting squad. Maicon was only signed as a sort term back up when Conti, Calabria and Barazzetta were all out injured at the same time.

Not  much to say here other than none of the above were in my plans for this season.

Competition

In the league we managed to have a great run in finishing 2nd.

We went out early in the cup so not much to say really.

Squad Stats

I think we had a great first season build on a solid defence, we beat the record for most points recorded in a season and still didn't win the league however 

[Sysiphus]

Ascoli 1st season update

We managed to squeeze into the playoffs where we'll play Trapani. Not too optimistic, but not too stressed about this either. Of course I'll try to win every game and gain promotion, but thinking about the long term I'm not sure it's beneficial for us to go up as the 8th placed team in Serie B...

In other news, we've extended Armini's loan until the end of next season. I've not been successful in extending Barbieri's loan from Novara, so we may have to pay his 1.9m optional clause to secure his services for the future. The kid's a massive talent.

Edited May 20, 2020 by Sysiphus

[Ewan0404]

Could someone show me how Tonali, Armini and Pellegri develop with you training them? Thanks 

[Sysiphus]

Ascoli 1st season Serie B playoffs

In the preliminary round of the 6 team playoffs we face Trapani, who were the overachievers of the season and ended up in 5th place. This is just a single game, where we play away to the higher placed team.

Spoiler

We managed to see them through after a tough, even game.

Waiting for us in the 2-legged semi finals were 3rd placed Perugia, with their talisman Christian Capone eagerly waiting to prove his worth to his parent club Atlanta – he's been fantastic this season and I have my eyes on him for the next season. First leg:

Spoiler

Even game. Not much between the sides. All still open.

Second leg:

Spoiler

What a game! We quickly went 0-2 up, but they managed to equalise before halftime. More than that, they got a red card which I was delighted with. I went from balanced to attacking and moved my wingers up to AMR/L and we managed to quickly go up 2-3. Capone then scored a great goal almost straight from kick off, even again, now at 3-3. It wasn't until the 83rd minute that we scored the 7th goal of the game, and then managed to hang on to our lead – advancing to the finals.

It is very fitting that I am facing Livorno in the playoff final. Does anybody remember this post I made 10 days ago before starting the save?

On 10/05/2020 at 11:53, Sysiphus said:

Thinking of doing my last FM20 save in Italy, have not been there yet this version. [...] creating history with Livorno (currently bottom in Serie B irl) or Ascoli from Serie B, who both have never worn the Scudetto, is interesting as well. Will hopefully start tonight, has anyone tried these teams?

Well, this is destiny, right? What's even more, these teams are fierce rivals:

The final is two-legged. The first leg is already played:

Spoiler

YES! My team was knackered after the semi finals and my best player Ninkovic is out for both legs. Our rotated side managed to win by one goal, scored in stoppage time by Gravillon.

I still haven't played the 2nd leg as I've been writing this up, let's hope for the best. Starting the game now...

Spoiler

Halftime:

Still even. Still in control. Barely...

Full time:

Spoiler

GET IN!

 

Spoiler

 

[Matt_1979]

1 hour ago, Sysiphus said:

Ascoli 1st season update

We managed to squeeze into the playoffs where we'll play Trapani. Not too optimistic, but not too stressed about this either. Of course I'll try to win every game and gain promotion, but thinking about the long term I'm not sure it's beneficial for us to go up as the 8th placed team in Serie B...

In other news, we've extended Armini's loan until the end of next season. I've not been successful in extending Barbieri's loan from Novara, so we may have to pay his 1.9m optional clause to secure his services for the future. The kid's a massive talent.

Wow. Well done!!! It’s going to be a busy off season!!

Edited May 20, 2020 by Matt_1979

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22 hours ago, Weston said:

I'm curious, do you happen to know how many players from Parma's Serie C season survived to play for them in Serie A?

This is a weird question tbh. What I'm doing in my FM save is NOT real-life Parma's philosophy, so I'm not seeing the connection here. Never claimed anything else in this regards. I could do this style of play with any club if I wanted to.

Your question - it's like I'm asking you, so when do you think Bari will released all their players and bring in the Espositos, the Arminis, the Gasperinis on-loan for Serie C onwards for the next 4 seasons before signing them for free IN REAL LIFE? Not related at all, does it?

To answer your question, no I don't know or remember all of the players that did play in Serie D or C or B. But, Lucarelli is one great example of what I'm trying to do in my FM save. Loyalty to the end.

I'll indulged you a bit here. Of those with Parma currently in the first team - Iacoponi and Scozzarella played for Parma since Serie C, so that's 4 years and counting.

Frattali was with Parma from Serie C to Serie A last year, 3 years. He was only given one start in Serie A, one the final day of Season 18/19, before leaving.

22 hours ago, Weston said:

I'm a romantic like you, but I think this strategy ironically helps our shared preference of keeping some lads to grow with loyally over time.

I think your definition of romantic is different to mine. I think yours is ditch the old wives, then get newer and younger wives, sort to speak.

Edited May 20, 2020 by quee

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14 hours ago, djsmith0410 said:

Having topped the league at the half way point, we kind of fell off and dropped to 3rd

You did better than me, I was 7th in the first season. Well done! 

14 hours ago, djsmith0410 said:

Buffon retired, he did pick up an injury which probably didn't help his decision.  Got him in as a u18s gk coach. 

As expected. How is he as a coach for you?

14 hours ago, djsmith0410 said:

Extended Kulusevski's loan

Did you do this in the summer? So, you will have him for another 2 year loan?

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14 hours ago, Sysiphus said:

but they might help with the general atmosphere in the club and the transmission of strong personalities through the the slow process of squad overhaul.

One of the most fun things about FM is the tough decisions you have to make, and this is one of them. I have to stick to my principles, and I will be rejecting the offer. Although I have a good depth in midfield, quality behind the first 2-3 players is quite lacking, and I'd prefer to free up some wages and get some cash in by losing 2 of the backups then to lose Padoin.

Thanks again all for your advice!

Liking your thought process here, well done! 

[oakesypvfc]

1 hour ago, Ewan0404 said:

Could someone show me how Tonali, Armini and Pellegri develop with you training them? Thanks 

I only have him on loan from Bayern, but this is him by natural progression, season 5.

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10 hours ago, Muttley84 said:

Pretty similar between the two of us, just the notable difference, he has 20 Agression in my save! Wonder if that means he will get lots of cards.

I've never seen a GK getting a card before, I think. Unless it was for time wasting in the older FMs.

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2 hours ago, oakesypvfc said:

AS Roma - A four year summary

Nice, succinct, 4-years worth of update there! Welcome to the thread! 

2 hours ago, oakesypvfc said:

Look forward to posting updates less sporadically in future

Looking forward to more updates from you. 

You're a better transfer-master than me, 8.5m for Tomiyasu compared to £23m in mine, and a free transfer for Talles Magno! I'm jealous, tbh 

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42 minutes ago, Sysiphus said:

I still haven't played the 2nd leg as I've been writing this up, let's hope for the best. Starting the game now...

 

Great write up! Get in!

Destiny indeed for the final matchup 

That was a crazy semifinal match! If it had stayed even, would you be knocked out? I think they don't use away goals, right? Decided by higher position in the league?

Looking forward to your next update!

[Sysiphus]

4 minutes ago, quee said:

That was a crazy semifinal match! If it had stayed even, would you be knocked out? I think they don't use away goals, right? Decided by higher position in the league?

Correct, which made it even more nerve-racking!