Starting from the bottom, and working up to glory. A geographical misadventure

[scousevasey]

November 2022

"This is a month where a good run will be important"  The final words Asambani signed off his State of the Club address to the board on the first of November

A rotated team lost in the cup.  The board didn't think it was important so neither did Asambani.  But a full strength team then fell to the same scoreline 11 days later.

A good win against Foggia kept up the pretence of a promotion push, before losing to Catania dented those hopes once more

It leaves Asambani in 8th, not far away from boosting his chances in the playoffs with a home tie or even a bye.  With one game to go in the first half of the season, there is hope and potential, but there is also disappointment after some poor performances.

Asambani is not enjoying his time at Avellino, partly down to the rollercoaster form, where each time he feels progress is made there is a slump.  But it is mainly down to reading the Gazzetta.

A takeover, long mooted moves closer, but with the potential that Asambani will be relieved of his job.

These are all the classified ads in the back of the Gazzetta, with all of the roles being at fellow Serie C clubs, but more importantly for Asambani, there are jobs in the two other regional leagues.  December is a short month, with only three games, and depending on his mood, and the updates to the takeover bids he may well drop in some applications during his holidays

December is two teams who are in the relegation spots, both at home, before travelling to a team who may have a new manager bounce at this stage, but are just outside the relegation spots.  Asambani is aiming for at least 7 points here to try and move up to the top 6 and make it harder for any new board to get rid of him

[scousevasey]

December 2022

The month started with news of the intake

A good group of players, with hope at GK, DC and ST.   It could be the makings of a spine for the future.  Or just garbage

Three teams struggling were dispatched, with a couple of rotations being made by Asambani to try and keep players on their toes in training.

Nothing majorly important happened in any of the matches apart from the goals, and Asambani seems to have settled on playing with a positive mentality against most teams

That leaves Avellino in the heady heights of 5th at the turn of the year, only three points off of 4th, although the gap of 6 down to 10th is a little worrying.

Based on the games last season, 7th is the  minimum aim to get a higher seed draw in the first round to allow a drawn game as a way of progressing.  But the bye that comes from 4th, or better above has to be the focus.  To aid with this when the transfer window opens, Asambani is going to see if any Serie A teams are willing to loan him a quality DC to shore up the defence as best as possible.  He will be starting with a phone call to his old friend  Deco.

After a month off to recuperate it is back to the grind against three teams fighting for the bottom few playoff places.  These should be wins, but Monopoli seem to have monopolised the wins during Asambani's reign, so he is targeting that as a key fixture

 

[scousevasey]

A new board, and an uncertain future

The takeover is complete, and Asambani is on thin ice.  As there are no fixture for two weeks, he is hoping his training sessions look good, and the positive rapport he has build with the key players in the squad give him a chance of sticking around

 

I mean, what board in their right mind would choose the manager on the left.  Asambani has circled the GK coaching comparison in the Gazzetta to prove he belongs at Avellino.  Rastelli is no better than an unqualified Mexican at coaching GKs, so why switch it up?

No investment at this point...

But there is a nice new loan that has been taken out.  Hopefully the board feel flush with cash, and allow some facilities improvements, although Asambani will be waiting for confirmation his job still exists before asking.  No point provoking a bear.

Bit of a harsh rating from the board currently.  Understandable they want to judge transfers and fixtures in their regime, but A-, B-, and C+ should give at least a C+ average, not an E.

And their vision matches the old board, with the future aims of reaching the playoffs back on the table

[scousevasey]

January 2023

The month started with some good news

We haven't sold a player in the time Asambani has been at the club, so the chances of seeing any income this way, let alone reaching £12m are low

Asambani also managed to get his foot on the first rung of the coaching ladder, although the board didn't sign off on him going for the next one as they were worried he might look to jump ship

But most importantly, the month started with the news that Asambani wouldn't become the first casualty of 2023.  With his contract running out in June it remains to be seen how long this reprieve lasts.

It was a good job the news on the job came through before the fixtures this month, as it was a true mixed bag

Langer is key, so for the second season in a row, the goals are all coming from a loanee

 

 

 

Asambani was scratching his head this month, and leafing through the shiny handout of powerpoint slides from his coaching course.  All season he has asked his players to focus play through the middle, even getting players to underlap on each side to aid this, but still the heat maps show that the play is all down the wings.  As both the AMR and AML are in Inside Forward roles they should be cutting inside, so most of the play should stay in the central area anyway.

Oh well, it may by time for some more tactical tweaks

That all leaves Avellino 6th, but the gap to 4th is growing and is now 7 points.  It looks like Avellino will be battling to claim a home tie and higher seeding in the first round of the playoffs.

4th, 1st and 2nd this month, although it gets easier with two teams in the relegation playoff spots to end the month.  Hopefully morale won't be too low after the three tough games

[scousevasey]

February 2023

Asambani was not happy this month, as there was a small article hidden in the rumour mill section of the Gazzetta, that listed him as third favourite for the sack.  Stupid board forgetting about his good wins earlier in the season.

He is now actively looking to move north in his quest for footballing glory, as he feels this board are just trying to find excuses to get rid of him

Due to his poor grasp of logic, and the league positions of the other clubs in Serie C there is only one job catching his eye at the minute

Avellino is highlighted just outside of Naples.  Lecce is to the south, so according to our wayward hero a step downwards, despite being a league above Avellino.  But Cittadella are based in Padua, just outside of Venice.

For a man basking in his National C license that is a huge step up, so he has applied, and started to brush up on Paddington Bear, just in case there is a link between the two places.

Back at the job he currently has, and it was a tough month on paper

A good win against Palermo, but tactical mistakes in the two losses.  Asambani decided to go Cautious against Benevento, and when it backfired returned to Positive.  The fact it worked against Palermo meant he kept it for the trip to Bari.  In hindsight he thinks a Balanced mentality for both games was the best option, but he can't go back and change it

 

A deserved win against Palermo, in a game that was fairly even, but Avellino showed more quality in front of goal.

Both losses were abysmal with statistics that show Avellino were lucky to leave without losing points.

 

Another good performance against Rende, but the goals being conceded are a worry.

 

Three more conceded against Virtus.  Asambani had been experimenting with Cinque in goal to try and prepare for next season when he shows Ravaglia the door, but there isn't the quality there.  Between Rende and Virtus there were 8 shots on target and 5 goals conceded.  While Cinque has potential in spades, if he doesn't improve quickly he will be shown the door too.  The defensive issues are not helped by the fact that there was no loan deals secured in January, because the board didn't lift the transfer embargo when they took over, but waiting until they decided not to scrap Asambani, but it left no time for him to get anyone decent in.

Despite the defensive failings, Avellino should really be beating Virtus, especially with the amount of shots, and decent possession they had

The quest for the top 4 is basically open.  There are 9 games left and a 10 point gap to 4th, as well as a group of teams in between that would need to be overtaken.  6th is still an option, as there is only a point between 6th and 8th, and the six points to 5th is possibly manageable if Asambani can spark a good run.  5th-7th get home ties in the playoffs so that is the minimum aim, with the gaps back to 9th and 10 meaning that avoiding the 7th-8th game is a huge incentive

The first four of those remaining 9 include a game against the team in 5th currently.  A win leaves Avellino in striking distance for that spot.  A loss basically means they are fighting for 6th at best.  The rest of the games in March are against teams in the bottom 6, and should be clear wins, but unless the team can learn that defending is important then there are no guarantees

[scousevasey]

March 2023

In positive news, aside from the final game of the month, Avellino learnt to defend.  But they forgot that to win they need to score too.  A good point gained against Casertana, where the 9th minute saw the end of the scoring, before Avellino struggled to one point from the final two games where they should have been collecting six instead

Shots a plenty, but none of them anywhere near the goal. Just dire all round

Five games to go.

Miraculously Avellino are only five points behind 5th, which is still possible based on a tricky remaining schedule.  8 points clear of Juve Stabia in 11th, who have a game in hand, or 7 clear of Sicula in 10th means that the playoffs are nearly guaranteed, but the chance of a first round  home tie is fading

Asambani needs his team to get wins in the games that bookend the month, but the middle three are the most interesting

Bisceglie in 4th have secured the playoffs and are too far ahead to catch realistically.  Foggia and Catania are the two places above Avellino in the table, with two points covering all three.  Wins in these games keep the chances of a home tie alive.  Draws mean that it is tight depending on how Foggia and Catania do.  Losses mean Asambani will be going all out to win in the playoffs without the safety net of a draw to progress

[scousevasey]

2023 Youth Intake

Not a lot going on here

The six players given a reference code will be invited to stick around, but I doubt any of they will make it.

The board won't allow any improvements either due to the finances involved so it is unlikely to get any better in the near future

[scousevasey]

April 2023

A poor month.  The win against Olbia was expected, along with the loss against Bisceglie, but Foggia was a poor performance.

The first four games left us in 8th, with a game to go, but secure in the playoffs.  There was nothing to play for except pride.  Fidelis were needing a win to raise the possibility of forcing a relegation playoff.  Draw or loss and they were straight down.

 

So of course Avellino are dire again and give Fidelis hope with a relegation playoff tie

Vastese drew on the final day.  A win would have guaranteed their survival, but instead they are facing off against Fidelis for their future at this level.

Casertana next up, where the poor form of Avellino, coupled with the away fixture and the higher seeding rules means that Asambani is not feeling positive about the tie

[scousevasey]

Playoffs

 

Played off the park.

 

A poor end to a season that promised much more than an 8th placed finished.

Asambani is plotting on two fronts, firstly how to improve the squad at his disposal, and secondly how to find a job further up the country to boost his ambitions of reaching the top of Europe

[scousevasey]

End of Season Review

While waiting for the playoffs to finish, Asambani has been busy ordering the fake Deco to improve his squad, while he started the reading for his next coaching badge.  The board agreed to send him on it during the off season, which meant he also knew a new contract was in the offing.

One more year, or two if he manages to wangle promotion somehow.

The new board also want to see attacking entertaining football, from youth players.  That means Asambani will be asking the board for some improvements in facilities and recruitment to aid his quest.  The fact it is only favoured importance, it is unlikely they will agreed, but it is worth asking

The quest to improve has garnered a couple of signings before their contracts officially end, with the aim of upgrading the squad with Serie A offcasts, and some from further afield

 

Much needed improvements as the top player of the season is a loanee, and Langer also topped 4 of the seven stats categories.  Ravaglia will be leaving too as he ages out at GK

[scousevasey]

Inquiry into Italian Football

Rumours are spreading that the Mexican Drugs Barons have infiltrated the Italian Mafia, and therefore Italian football in general.  Obviously all rumours of corruption in Italian football have been denied by the Italian parliament, so there is obviously no truth to them

 

In unrelated news, Asambani has won manager of the year, after coming in 8th with a team predicted to finish 6th

[scousevasey]

Offseason 2023 - a busy one

Two updates due to size

Firstly our transfer business

Only two players listed as leaving, but these are the only two who had contracts running down that sorted out a new club before the season ticked over.  Another 6-8 players left the club at the end of June as their contract expired, along with a bunch of underage players who had no chance to make it.

The transfer page for the league shows this as 12 incoming players, and the big part is that we are collecting Serie A offcasts which bodes well for the promotion push

This is the remaining squad.  Still quite large, possibly too large, and Asambani will have to work at keeping them all happy.  The best part is, when doing scouting reports, his scouts are suggesting 2* CA is good for Serie C, which has been the quality of the squad for the majority of the past two seasons.

Any requests for individual screenshots will be honoured, but there are quite a lost shown that I don't want to overload the post

With the changes in personnel, where Asambani asked any half decent Serie A offcast to sign, or at least go on trial with the aim of signing, and an influx of decent DCs he has decided to change to at new formation.  Hopefully this will allow him to meet the board targets of attacking and entertaining football.  They are currently pleased, but it is still early.

There may be tweaks as the season progresses but Asamabani is looking to run with the new style for his assault on Serie C

Expected to be third, behind Benevento who were relegated the season before last, and Reggina who were relegated last season.  But we have overtaken some of the stronger sides in the league in these terms so there is a chance the signings are paying off

Langer enters his 2nd season of the loan deal, and should be banging the goals in

Di, the only other loanee is expected to be one of the best players in the league.  The predicted top two teams show their strength with two players each in this list

 

[scousevasey]

Preseason 2023

Part two of the big update, focused on games played

First up is the friendlies, where quite a few were organised, especially against better opposition

Losses to Marseille and Roma are not surprising, but were only 2-0 games.  Roma faced a severely rotated squad due to cup games, so it is even better.  Napoli are another who had a rotated team put out against them, so the draw is a positive too.

Good wins against some Serie A opposition, alongside some weaker teams left Asambani hopeful that his new signings and tactical shape would lead to a promotion

TIM Cup qualifiying rounds took place mixed into the friendlies, and the board expected us to reach the 3rd qualifying round, as in previous years, but it is the first time Asambani has made it past the first tie

 

Lecco are in Serie C, League A, but expected to finish 12th.  A good performance and a better heat map than last season too

 

Spezia are a Serie B team, so to defeat them, is a real boost, even if it required extra time.  The two goals came early in extra time, so it wasn't too bad a performance and last gasp lucky goal.

 

Pordenone are also in Serie C, League A, and are a good test.  They are predicted third in their league as Avellino are, and were relegated last season, so are nearly a Serie B team in quality,  The worst performance of the three games, but a win is a win, leading to the final qualifying round against Serie A opposition in December

Avellino are the lowest ranked team left, and face an away tie.  If the run is to end in December, at least Asambani is putting his credentials out for the world to see (in the lesser cup in Italy, but still)

The cup draw is done in one go, so Asambani can see his route to the final, with possible ties against Juventus, Lazio and then Roma in the semi final giving a tough path.  It will most likely be a loss to Frosinone, but the dream of a trip to Turin is on the cards

Before then is the league, and a early run of games.

Only two games in August this season, with an update for the month depending on any further transfers, or key changes, before a busier September.

[scousevasey]

Positivity from the board

After sneaking in the Nat B licence by asking for it at the end of the season, and spending the summer studying, with the guarantee to the board that studying meant Asambani couldn't hunt for better job options, he qualified, and immediately went to visit the board proudly holding his two certificates

And the board have agreed that the Nat A should be a target for him this season

[scousevasey]

August and September 2023

The start of a positive looking league campaign

Too many draws , all against teams expected to do well and reach the playoffs, but all at home.  It doesn't bode well for the return legs, although with a perfect away record maybe the tactic is better for playing against the odds...

Still early, but after facing some of the top teams we are well plages.  Benevento and Palermo look set for a fun battle at the top, and our loss against Casertana to end the month sees them jump above us.  With it being early, we are still only a few points from falling out of the playoffs, but hopefully that gap can open up soon

The board seem satisfied, although the loss being a negative is a bit of recency, coming one day before the update about my performance.

October sees us creep up to the 1/3 marker in the league with the 13th game ending the month, as well as a Serie C/C grudgematch in the cup

[scousevasey]

October 2023

The games against Catania in the cup and Benevento in the league were put back due to international call ups, meaning November gets very busy.

Coming back from the international break Avellino lacked a goalscoring threat meaning they lost four points they would have expected to gain.  The lack of goals is due to injuries up front

Asambani is hoping that they come back quickly in November as it is a tough month, and there is a risk of falling away in the race for the seedings in the playoffs, even it the season is still relatively early

The rearranged game against Benevento means there is a game in hand, but the chance of points is low as Benevento are unbeaten at the top of the table so far.  A win in that game would see Avellino race up 4th on goal difference, so they are not too far away from competing, but the nine point gap to the top, that could become 12 is a worry.

Asambani is working towards his National A license and is looking to grab the certificate as soon as possible and race off to a better job closer to the top of European football

In the meantime he has six games in November, with four of those being away.

Catania in the cup will be tough, and home advantage may be enough to swing it for Catania

Palermo and Benevento back to back is the big challenge.  Avellino will be looking to get points somehow, but would be happy with 2 good draws.

Potenza at home is the easiest game of the month, but Asambani will be looking to defeat Rende and Foggia too

[scousevasey]

November and December 2023

A double update this time round, as after getting partway through November the last time I had chance to play, I then raced through the end of the month without realising, and was partway through December when I bothered to look at the date.

Our youth intake is not looking good.  Players in every position, but they are mediocre at best and it is only at Full Back that there is any positive.  There are many, at least two may be good, especially a DL.

Another reason for Asambani to start to look to move northwards.  In fact he enquired about taking over at Sampdoria after they were languishing in 17th, but his application was shredded before being read.

After a draw with Catania at home in the league, a close loss was on the cards and we struggled to perform.  Good wins against Palermo and Potenza sandwich another expected loss against Benevento who are setting the pace at the top.  Foggia were only a couple of points behind us as we hit this game, so the draw wasn't the worst result, but a win would have opened up a nice cushion for us

Frosinone are in Serie A, bottom of it, but still there, so to take them to extra time is a good sign, and it gave use a boost for the run in to end 2023, with easy wins against teams in the bottom half, and then finally a win against Catania, away from home, in the final throes.  The fact that Catania are pushing us in the league means this result is a real boost as the calendar flips over

Benevento are going to be tough for anyone to catch, but we in striking distance of Casertana in 2nd which is good.

Our win against Catania pushes them down to 5th, and after ending October 2nd, Palermo have dropped off with a run of poor results.

We are probably secure in a playoff spot with a 14 point gap to 11th, but the aim is to get a bye this time around, so Avellino need to keep stringing good results together.

After the winter break there is a short January fixture list, comprised of 11th, 12th, and 20th, before a tougher February which sees us face the rest of the teams that make up the top 4 currently

[scousevasey]

After a short break from this save, due to a combination of being busy with work, and wanting to try something different, Asambani is back.

He is aiming to finish the season strongly, and reach the playoffs with a decent seeding for once, as well as looking to take inspiration from my recent detour.  Despite the squad at Avellino being built to fit the 5-3-2 formation that Asambani has been getting some success from, he is going to try and remake the squad over the summer to have the flexibility to play that along with a formation that the game calls 4-1-5-0 DM AM WB Wide, that is nicknamed 'Vindaloo' after the Fat Les song, and developed as the more defensive cousin to the extreme 0-5-0-5-0 formation I was playing around with.

 

Once Avellino reach the end of the season, I will delve into the formation a little further before unleashing it on the Italian leagues

[scousevasey]

January and February 2024

A draw-ful run of games that included the break from the save.  The return consisted of the final two draws, and the lack of goals is becoming an issue in the race for seeding

9 games to go.

15 off the top.  So we won't hit the aim of promotion by winning the league.

10 off 2nd place.  Probably out of reach.  5 off 3rd which is possible if we bother to score in games.

To have a decent chance in the playoffs we really need to get a bye, with 5th/6th being worst case so we have the higher seed advantage in the 1st round

But it is tight from 4th to 9th with only five points covering that spread, so some wins are going to be important.  The draws against Casertana and Benevento in February look good as they are the top teams in the league, but we now need to make sure we are beating the teams around us, not just making sure we don't lose ground

18th, 7th, 10th, 6th, 13th, and 15th.

A mix of teams who are down the wrong end of the table, and those fighting for playoff seeding.  We really need to be winning 4 of these, ideally taking points off the three teams in the top ten as part of this.  In the current for we are in, it is likely to be a win, a loss and four draws which won't be good enough

[scousevasey]

Stage 1: Complete

Stage 2 (High Seeding): Reserving judgement

[scousevasey]

March 2024

Asambani had got it wrong, but was happy with that

A small burst of form, at the right time with only 5 points dropped out of 18, when he was expecting much worse

Leaving Avellino 4th, just, and with Catania having a game in hand going into the final month of the league

9th, 8th and 15th, all with something to play for as the month starts.  It could be tough

Catania face 11th, 20th, 3rd, and 17th.  Three of those have something to play for.

Avellino are six points clear of 6th, and 7 behind 3rd, so it is a straight fight between Avellino and Catania for 4th.  The prize is a bye in the playoffs.

[scousevasey]

2024 Youth Intake

Nobody ready to play early, but the building blocks for the future are growing

(24e) Silvestro was mentioned, by virtue of birthplace, in the guidance notes, as a possible strong part of the intake, and as he is 5th best according to the backroom team, there is hope that the top 5 players can make it.

Otherwise there is not a huge amount to write home about

[scousevasey]

April 2024 - Told in parts

Catania had a game in hand going into the month.  Avellino had a single point lead

This left the two teams tied on points.

Head to head record is the most important in Serie C.  The teams had faced off three times in the season

Tied on points.  Tied on results over the three games.  Tied on goals for and against in those three games.

But importantly the Avellino loss came in the cup.  Which means with three games to play, they have the advantage in the league.  Match the Catania results over those three games and 4th place (plus bye) is theirs

Catania win, Avellino win.  As you were

Two games to go.

 

Catania win.  Avellino win.  As you were

One game to go.

Catania against Monopoli.  Monopoli are one point above the relegation playoff places.  They are at risk

Avellino against Virtus Francaville.  They are in the relegation playoff places.  They need a win, and Monopoli to lose to guarantee survival.

Catania can only draw.  A point or more is enough for Avellino

They claimed all three, to finish perfectly when the pressure was on

Avellino claim fourth, and the bye to the second playoff round.

Benevento lose out on the title, on the final day after setting the pace for most of the season

Confirmation arrived.  The good news is we haven't made the 2nd round in previous seasons.  But making it is not the aim.  Getting to Serie B is

Facing off against one of two teams from our regional division.  7th and 8th in the league.  So the most evenly matched pairing.  And with the rules set up to help the home teams as much as possible, it could well be the weakest team available.

[scousevasey]

Playoffs 2024

An easy win against a team we had beat in the league, but the third round saw us face a team from one of the other regions who had matched our league position, and we slipped out of the competition meekly

 

Better stats in the home leg, but poor finishing let us down in the end, meaning it is another season ending in the complicated playoffs, and earlier than is ideal.

After being knocked out, Asambani decided he had proved himself at this level and it was time to move on

An application made to Switzerland, with one added in after the screenshot to Liberec.  Liberec is a little too far north for our next jump, but Luzern would be a good stopping point, before rolling into Germany, and then on to the ultimate aim of Denmark

 

[scousevasey]

Playoffs 2024

After bowing out to Pontedera they made the semi final, only to be knocked out by the eventual winners who had finished 2nd in Serie C - A (the most northerly division).  With Benevento making the final of the playoffs it was a case of 2nd vs 2nd, with the strength of these teams, plus the break from the byes making a difference for them

[scousevasey]

Career update

Asambani had his first interview in his quest to move northwards

And is now a qualified coach.  Not very qualified, but those old manuals have been put to one side, and he is looking to improve his stature in the world came

Despite having been for an interview at Luzern, the board were happy to stump up the cash for a second coaching course.  Soon Asambani will need a bigger office to fit all of his certificates on the wall

Unfortunately that wall won't be at Luzern

Asambani is tempted to apply to the lower league Swiss jobs, but at the same time is looking to experiment with the Avellino side he has created.  He has sent out telegrams to every player released from top tier teams in Italy who are 25 or under, asking them to come on trial, and asked his DoF to get their signature before they leave

[scousevasey]

2024-2025 Season Preview

We settle into another season in Serie C, but the board are not too desperate to leave currently

We have been comfortable in the playoffs over recent seasons so there is no risk really.  Without too much to lose the focus this season will be on getting the second coaching qualification, trying to get the highest league position possible to help with progressing in the playoffs (I think the league is a step too far), and finding a team willing to take a chance on a crazy Mexican

The bookies reckon third is our aim, although it is close all the way down to mid-table.  The aim is top 4 again to see what we can do in the playoffs.

The TIM Cup gives us some hope.  FeralipSalo are in Serie C Group A, Cremonese are in Serie B and comfortably mid-table there, while Genoa are Serie A.  We did need penalties to beat Genoa, but we basically held them to a draw away from home.

If we somehow manage to get promotion we should be able to attract some higher quality players and be stable in the league straight away.  If we get promoted, Asambani might stick around, but otherwise he is looking northward

The first eight games of the season give two big tests, at home against Palermo to end August, and away to Catania to end September.  Those two teams are predicted 4th and 6th and are the highest predicted teams in the early season.  That means there should be a good haul of points if we are aiming for the top 4

Instead of a full blown squad review, instead this is the planned formation (the Vindaloo formation didn't suit the players in pre-season so Asambani reverted back to what worked last season)

No world beaters, but most of the players have scope to improve in some ways.  It is a fairly young team too so plenty to play for in terms of developing a core to the team

[scousevasey]

August and September 2024

August was a reasonable start, but in September the strikers stopped scoring, and the wheels have started to fall off.  It is still early but we are nine points off the top of the table and if our form continues like this we are in for a battle to even make the playoffs.

With that in mind Asambani is making a change

This was the starting 11 in the final match of the month, and is close to full strength.  The 5-3-2 formation was originally developed due to a dearth of decent wide midfielders, but over the summer Asambani was investing in more flexibility.

So now it is time to bring out the big guns

2-3-0-5-0 formation, a development of my experimental 0-5-0-5-0 formation that was suspect defensively.  Dropping to have 2 DCs means we are less likely to concede from having possession, but still have the slightly crazy adventure.  I have nicknamed this formation 'Vindaloo' after the Fat Les song

 

We're going to score one more than you, will become the motto of Avellino (hopefully)

Six games in October to try it out, which could make or break the season.  By the end of the month we will be 13 games in, so roughly a third of the season, and could well be back in mix at the top of the table, or looking for a new job

[zindrinho]

I very rarely read these manager stories, so I dont have lots to compare with, but this has been a very enjoyable read! I have taken a liking to this crazy mexican!

You said screenshot requests might be granted, I'm really interested in seeing how your manager attributes have increased with all the badges you now have!
Seems like they had risen quite a bit even before you took any badges, is that correct or have I misread something?

[scousevasey]

17 hours ago, zindrinho said:

I very rarely read these manager stories, so I dont have lots to compare with, but this has been a very enjoyable read! I have taken a liking to this crazy mexican!

You said screenshot requests might be granted, I'm really interested in seeing how your manager attributes have increased with all the badges you now have!
Seems like they had risen quite a bit even before you took any badges, is that correct or have I misread something?

Thanks for reading.  It is slow going at the minute with the quest to either get promotion or leave Avellino, but hopefully this season will be the last at the same club

That is Asambani currently.  Definite improvement from the beginning, but still has plenty of room to develop

[scousevasey]

October 2024

The start of the new formation.

Not ideal, with the one win coming in the cup, albeit against a team in our division.  A lack of goals is an issue, that the formation will need to change to address if it continues

 

The two losses were even games, with the level of possession being in our favour.  Find the goals and life would be good

We became more dominant in the latter games of the month, but need to sort out the attacking options.

Current thoughts are to move to a full WM formation with two of the AMCs (R and L) moving to the STC line leaving AMR, AMC, and AML to support them.

Or to move the one AMC to STC giving a 4-1 attacking shape

Or keeping the shape that is working well and tweaking roles.

That leaves us closer to the bottom than the top after 13 games, so we need some wins to arrive soon

Of course a struggling side gets the top of the table team twice, cup then league, and the teams in 2nd and third this month...

Asambani could be struggling to keep his job unless he finds some goals soon

[scousevasey]

November 2024

Rumours have been swirling in the press that Asambani may be shown the door.  So he has stopped attending all press conferences, and has turned to using the Gazzetta as bedding for the rats he trapped in his apartment, now caged and the main feature of the dining table.

Only the one league loss, but also only the one league win.  Not good enough, but the win was against one of the better teams in the league so there is hope for the rest of the season.

The cup runs continue, with December bringing the return of the TIM Italian Cup too

Cup win, league loss, but the stats say we should be winning the league game.  Thoroughly annoyed to see Benevento score from their one shot on target in the league game

A slight improvement in the league.  Three points off the bottom of the playoffs, and five away from the relegation ones.  Still need to improve, but with a couple more wins the picture will be rosier

The Serie C cup quarter final sees us face a team we have just beaten, with that tie being between the only two representatives from Serie C Group C.

December brings both cups, as mentioned, with Frosinone sitting mid table in Serie B we are likely to struggle in this one.  With two games against teams near the bottom of the table, there needs to be some good wins this month

[scousevasey]

Before the first match of December the press were sticking their oar in again.  Then the board waded in

Happy with the support, and the league win, no mention of the cups.

And a meeting to go to.

Asambani went with the middle response "I appreciate that things haven't been going exactly to plan, but our next few fixtures look far more favourable, so please let me get through those and things will look better at the end of them"

The board left it there, with a thinly veiled threat that the next meeting had better be in better circumstances, meaning there is a huge amount of pressure on December

[scousevasey]

]

Second match of the month was the cup game against a team from the division above.  We lost.  And the stats didn't look good, but we did better than the board wanted from us

But they still requested another meeting.

"I think it looks worse than it is; we've played really well but the form table doesn't show that.  Stick to the plan and everything will work out fine"

"I promise you that things will look a lot better in a month's time, give me until then"

The pressure is going up again

[scousevasey]

December 2024

A huge improvement, although the draw against Latina was a worry as they have recently parted ways with a manager due to their poor league position.

Fidelis Andria as a team in the playoff places was a good result, with a nice return to scoring form against Messina who are struggling

It means we end the calendar year one point outside the playoff spaces, with only two spaces in reach with an eight point gap to 8th.  The challenge will be to see if finishing 9th is enough for the board, who only wanted playoffs originally.

Or if finishing 2024 outside of the playoffs is enough for them to allow Asambani a tilt at 2025.

If he does make it back, January is a short month, with a challenging game away to Palermo before a should win against struggling Siracusa.

February brings the first leg of the Serie C cup semi finals, but also has three league games against teams in the lower half of the playoffs as a real opportunity to stake a claim for the top 10 positions.

And Asambani will be doing it as a B licence holder.  

Getting better.  Still areas to improve on, but getting better

[scousevasey]

Asambani is currently contacting his lawyers, as we tick into January 2025

Fair enough you might think.  The club is £1.9m in debt, savings need to be made

But the £42,657p/w being spend currently is less than the previous budget, but £5k more than the new one.  So there needs to be some wage trimming going on, without upsetting players.  And if nobody wants them, there isn't a huge amount available to pay them off.

But here is the bit that has really irked Asambani.

He was in budget, until they moved the goalposts.

So his question for the lawyers, is if he gets sacked, and this is cited, does it count as constructive dismissal?  Although how much you would get from a football team who will be £2m or more in debt by then is a different question

 

So Asambani has decided to do two things.

Offer out some players who earn too much for the role they are playing, and scour the job market.  Clearly the board want rid of him.

His target is to leave Italy and make it to Austria or Switzerland

Edited March 22, 2020 by scousevasey

[scousevasey]

The cease and desist letters worked, and the board have said they won't fire Asambani at the minute.  But they are still keeping the reduced wage budget, so there are still issues.

But Asambani is working on is escape plan

With an aim of avoiding relegation, Lugano are precarious, so if Asambani does take over he will have to work fast.

He is willing to go to Lugano as soon as they offer the job to get away from Avellino, although the news has leaked to the press about the plan to head north

Ha

Ha

Ha

[scousevasey]

Excitement was building, and the Italian league was about to restart after the break, with the press all over the rumours of Asambani being fired or jumping ship.

January 18th 2025

Avellino visiting Palermo

Asambani was sat in the hotel lobby, waiting to board the coach to the game, trying to work out whether not arranging any friendlies was going to come back and bite him

A bike messenger appeared, and the receptionist pointed to where Asambani was sat nervously fiddling with a beer mat.  Dressed all in black, still with his helmet on, Asambani thought this was it.  A trip to Sicily, rumours of being removed.  Clearly the board were thinking permanently...

[scousevasey]

...

Instead the messenger came with a toblerone and a letter, offering the Mexican a way out.  The one condition, was he left then.

Abandoned his team, to race to the airport as the press conference to introduce him was already arranged

Predicted 10th, and currently 7th, so a bit of work to do at this point

[scousevasey]

Lugano - The arrival

The trip north has begun, with is getting to pretty much the most southerly point of Switzerland

Pretty much on the border, and there is an enclave nearby, that is exciting

And contains a casino.  It will be interesting to see if the players or the manager spend more time exploring the delights of this tiny piece of Italy

Lots of news coming in, and a busy first day for Asambani as he arrives just in time for a match, although thankfully it is a friendly

Three games to bed in before the league starts up again

As for the club,

The finances are in better shape than Avellino, with money in both budgets to go around

 

The league is fairly simple.  Play everyone lots.  Limits on non-EU players, so a detailed look at the squad will be useful to see where the space is in terms of new players.  We have to avoid relegation.  The board aren't clear if 9th and winning the playoff is enough, so we will aim for 8th as a minimum, although the extra £100k for each place looks fairly juicy

Staffing

Not a huge amount of quality at the club in comparison to other teams, but there is scope to add a fresh injection without jettisoning anyone.  Adverts out for a fitness coach, general coach, scout, chief data analyst, head of sport science, and physio.

We already have a goalkeeping coach, and I will wait to see if we can get decent chief/head roles filled first before their staff arrive

The Assistant has some quality, that is good to know, and a reasonable eye for talent too.  He will stay in the short term, and I will put an advert out at some point to see if we can get a better option

The DoF is pretty similar to the Assistant Manager in terms of eye for a player.  Hopefully there are better options available, although I am not desperate to change him.  I have to be careful, as he is also the President, so maybe he sticks around a little longer...

The HoYD is no better at spotting talent, but does have links to Albania, so hopefully we can find the next great Albanian star and bring him through the system

Competitions

The board want us to reach the cup quarter finals and avoid relegation

The cup is sorted, and we have lower league opposition, so should progress to the semi-final

The league is close in bunches. 

Young Boys look good for the title, although Basel will make sure they focus to the end of the season

Lausanne, Luzern and St Gallen are in their own mini league for the different European spots

Everyone else is trying to avoid the relegation spots.  So if we can get up to 6th (only two points) but then open up a gap of safety that would be a good start.  I doubt the 11 point gap to 5th can be closed but the aim will be to get as close as possible to that spot

 

Too many losses, too many draws.  Not too bad for a recently promoted team (2nd season in the top flight at the moment), who are predicted 10th, but we need to do more.

Games in the group of five at the bottom become more important.  They need to be draws at a minimum, if not wins.

The only wins so far have come against Grasshoppers and Servette.  Grasshoppers are bottom, but Servette are just ahead of Lugano in the table, so there should be points available against Thun and Sion.

 

 

[scousevasey]

Lugano - the squad

Depth at some positions, but weak at GK.  Not hugely surprising

  

Bang average in terms of facilities, leading to a less than average future intake.

Attacking midfielder to keep an eye on, and a striker who could be a fine prospect.  Shame the Vindaloo formation doesn't use a striker, but maybe they can be redeloyed

I opened this up to be all three squads, main, U21s and U18s to see what it looked like.

The pros and cons list is pretty accurate, in that there are some decent players, but a lack of depth.  But there is enough here to make a start with

Having looked in each squad the U18s is grey players only, and the U21s have so many players out on loan there are grey players needed to make a team.  Most of the loans are to one of our affiliates

Goalkeepers

It will be a choice between Soldini and Saipi for the starting choice.  Saipi has started all season, so I may give Soldini a start in the friendlies to see if he is any good.

Not a huge amount in the U21s, with none of them having the potential to reach the level of what we have currently

 

Back five

Due to the oddity that is the Vindaloo formation, I have grouped the back five players together.

The formation calls for 2DCs, 1DM and WBR and WBL to fulfil the defensive side of the game

Kecskes is listed as one of the best players at the club, so will be one of the starting DCs.

Custodio is the current captain and the actual star of the squad.  He will take on the reigns at DM

Crnigoj and Stabile will fight it out for the WBR role, with Lujic having the inside track on the WBL position.

For the 2nd DC position there is a bit of a logjam.  Someone like Van der Werff would be an interesting shout as he is more comfortable at MC, so fits the possession focus we have, with Lurvink and Brunner being in contention too

Rancati, Di Paola, Blatter and Vonlanthen will get a chance next season, with a couple of others looking like they could step up if needed.  No depth at WB in the U21s though.

 

Front five

Much easier to manage here as they all fit the AM strata, but still grouped en masse

Rodriguez and Gallo stand out, with Muci and Golliart looking a little off the pace but also preferring positions that are not used.  A decent mix of players, and with a bit of fitness work htey will all be able to step up when needed

Lots of grey here due to the number of loans out, but they are all at ST, so unless I can get them back and work on moving them to AM they don't really fit.

Luthi could step up with a bit of work, with Galovic and Bessard not too far away, but there is not a huge amount of depth at the club currently

 

For the friendlies the Assistant Manager will get a say, to see how things go.

[scousevasey]

January 2025

Not the best start in the world.  Mura and Celje are both Slovakian teams, which is non-playable, but they are in the top division alongside Maribor.  Rapid Wien are 2nd in the Austrian league, so some tough friendlies.

The match stats are fairly even, so I think it is just the players getting used to the new formation.  They do need a bit of work on their finishing though.

Thun and Servette first up are two key games where we need to take points off our rivals.

[SRL88]

Hopefully you put those pre-season results behind you

[scousevasey]

On 26/03/2020 at 16:52, SRL88 said:

Hopefully you put those pre-season results behind you

It is hard to try and take over mid-season, implement new tactics and settle in immediately.

The aim is to try and pick up points against those in the bottom 5 and not get embarrased against those in the top 5

[scousevasey]

February 2025

Well we picked up six points which is the best we were realistically hoping for, but not in the games that were expected.

Three points dropped to Servette could be big later in the season, with the points against Luzern useful, but not the doubly useful points they would have been against Servette

Easy win in the cup against non-league opposition too

We started the month 7th.  We end the month 7th.  But are now five points clear of the relegation playoff, and amazingly a point closer to the European places.

Bit of a rollercoaster over the last few games, spending a week in the relegation playoff spot, and still at risk as 6-7-8 are spread over one point.

When the cup semi-final rolls around, we are going to struggle as we face one of the best teams in the league.  Hopefully they rotate as they fight for the title...

Servette and Sion are the key games this month.  Lausanne-Sport is a free hit, while Young Boys is going to be tough.  We will be missing one of our WBs and one of our DCs due to suspensions picked up in the win against Luzern.  No chance of a strongest team, against the best team by a distance in the league.

 

[scousevasey]

2025 Youth Intake

The preview on arrival was correct.  Not a huge amount here.  Four strikers, when I don't use any currently, so a quarter of the intake is useless straight away.

I do like the variety of second nationalities though.  A cultured squad

Best player according to PPA, who can finish but not do much else

Second best player, who is the highest rated in a position we use, who is quick.  That is it.

 

Back to the drawing board then

[scousevasey]

March 2025

Not a good month

Four losses, two were expected, but poor in general.

That leaves us ninth, although we only lost one point in terms of the battle to avoid the playoffs.

Eight games to go, and only a four point cushion, means it is going to the wire.  As the team haven't trained with any other formations, the next step is to rotate players and tweak roles in the formation we have.

A month of two halves.

Grasshoppers and Thun first up.  Both away.  Both vital games.  Win both of those, and we will have a minimum of seven point gap to 9th.  Lose both of those and we could be overtaken.

Basel twice and St Gallen means the end of the month will be tough.

[scousevasey]

Poor first half.

With the stakes high, I decided to play the game to see what could improve the formation.

Went from Positive to Attacking, and then Very Attacking, moved both WBs to IWB instead of just one, and tried to play more centrally.

Only six shots, which needs working on, so there are still tweaks to be made.

 

But Thun drew too, so we stay four points clear

 

[scousevasey]

April 2025

The month started with games against our two big relegation rivals

It is save to say that it didn't go well, as the loss to Thun left them only one point behind us.

Next up was the Basel double header in league and cup, then St Gallen to end the month.  2nd and 3rd in the league, after we only managed one point from the bottom two...

Somehow we managed to get maximum points, and take Basel to penalties in the cup

 

Neither game was smash and grab, and while we didn't dominate the games we more than held our own.

The run in information appeared before the final game of the month against St Gallen.

Thun had lost while we beat Basel, so the gap went back to four points, but did manage to beat Luzern, keeping it at four as we enter the final games.  Grasshopper are a further seven points back, so we are close to being save from 10th.

We face all six of the top six in our final games, but have won two of those against 2nd and 3rd

Thun face two of the same teams we do in the last four, but replace Young Boys and Sion with Grasshopper and Servette.  We have to match the Thun results in the shared games at a minimum.  The advantage we have is that three of our games are home fixtures, with the away trip being the lowest team we face.

Young Boys are close to the title.  Basel are close to sealing the 2nd Champions League qualifying round spot.  St Gallen and Lausanne are just playing out for position and the extra money that 3rd would bring.

Sion are still in with a shout of 5th, so out games against Luzern and Sion will not be easy games against players dreaming of the beach.

April was a tough month on the players.  We lost both of our GKs to injury, but handily Saipi was able to battle through the St Gallen game after a painkilling injection and will be recovered before the first game of May.

Loreto is an American MC/WBR who was looking for a club and has stepped up.  Not a crucial loss but he was doing a job, especially in possession.

Husic and Diaz Negrone are two of our AM line, where we don't have huge amounts of depth, so have left us fairly short, although Diaz Negrone got injured between the Thun and Basel games, and his replacement stepped up to score the only goal of the Basel game, so while the staff don't rate those outside of the starting 11, they can do a job

 

Four games to go

Four points clear of the relegation playoff

Asambani is nervous, as he doesn't want this to be a short stay in Switzerland, if it is not his choice

[scousevasey]

Not a good start to May

The performance is not bad enough to lose 4-1, but that is the way of the world

Thun played the next day

And Lausanne do us a favour

Nothing to see in terms of the table as the bottom three all lose.

Next up we play first again, with Young Boys the opponents, while Grasshopper have their last chance to save themselves against Thun.  A draw or loss would consign them to relegation, so they need to win.  Hopefully this situation brings out the best in them and they can defeat Thun and do us a favour