Venezia F.C.

[leckuno]

The club is probably more well know for its shirts in recent years rather than its football as its only spent a grand total of 9 seasons playing in Serie A with the most recent being last season where they finished in bottom spot with 27 points and a -35 goal difference for an instant relegation. The club did manage to win the Coppa Italia though in 1941 before finishing as runners up in 1943 as well.

The Stadium

Venezia's Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo first opened in 1913 and takes its name from World War I pilot Pier Luigi Penzo. Stadio Penzo is the second-oldest stadium in Italy, after Genoa's Stadio Luigi Ferraris.

The stadium, located on the island of Sant'Elena, adjacent to the grounds of the Venice Biennale, is notable for being primarily accessible by boat.

The current capacity of the stadium is only 11,750 so we won't make much money from season tickets.

The stadium does look nice though and is in a cracking spot as well

One things to notice is the facilities at the club are quite poor as well so we will need to improve those over the seasons as well

The Squad

We have a very large squad to work with here but it is quite mixed in ability and you can see that most of the team is on low wages as well apart from the odd player who also just happens to be out on loan after the clubs relegation. There are a couple of young American midfielders though who look like could develop well at the club. Gianluca Busio is the club record signing though at £8million so we will be looking to utilise him in the midfield so not to waste the money. He did manage 29 appearances last season so should be use to Italian football now.


Its going to be an interesting save as we will try and get back to Serie A before making the club the kings of Europe as well​

 

[leckuno]

Season 1

Board Vision

So with being relegated last season its good to see the board don't expect us to go straight back up and just want a top half finish from us which we should be more than capable of. The strangest thing the board want us to do though is sign more American players which is going to be tough to do since we aren't allowed to sign non-eu players until we get promoted again. Also we're not going to be able to sign high profile players either with being in the Serie B so we need to make the most of the market as we can.

Supporter Vision

Apart from playing defensive football the most important things to the fans is making sure we beat all our rivals if we happen to play them which is understandable. Hopefully they all come out in their numbers though to support the club

Tactics

After analysing the squad for a while I've decided to move away from my favoured 4-3-3 formation and opt for a 4-4-2 as we look to utilise the areas we have a lot of cover for in the team

Friendlies

Apart from the loses to Aston Villa and Inter it was a good preseason with a draw again Lazio and a win against Marseille being the biggest results for us once the team started to get use to the tactics

Expectations

Nothing to hard with the season ahead and we still have a nice bit of cash to spend on transfers as well but our wage budget is maxed out at the moment so to sign anybody then we need to either move players on or move the budgets around.

August

A tough draw in the first round of the cup but we will give it our best shot. We could of also done without travelling to Cagliari as well but I guess we get that game out the way early​

 

[leckuno]

August

Coppa Italia 1st Round
Venezia v Benevento

The game was a proper slog and Benevento had a goal disallowed but we got the breakthrough with 5 minutes to go thanks to one of our young Americans

Venezia v Como

What a start to the game as Redan scores in the opening minute to become leagues fastest scorer before he also scored from the spot to give us the opening win.

Venezia v Sudtirol

Well we knew this wasn't going to be an easy season as Sudtirol scored in the 4th minute meaning we had to fight back and we did it 4 minutes after the break to rescue a draw.

Cagliari v Venezia

We were worried going into this game against Cagliari and we were rightly so as they just kept us out all together until there was a sloppy tackle and we were able to take the full 3 points and a huge win for the club

Venezia v Pisa

What a result here as Novakovic has an amazing game but Redan's goal earlier was still quicker but it was a great first half performance to show we don't have an issue when it comes to goals.

League

2nd in the league after 4 games a long time to go

September

A nice short month where we get to face Parma along with Benevento again​

 

[leckuno]

September

Benevento v Venezia

We fell behind early again but managed to pull it back. Sadly we weren't able to replicate the form of the previous game though

Venezia v Perugia

2nd game in a row that we concede the opening goal in the 4th minute but thankfully Redan was there to get us back in front before we ran away with it.

Parma v Venezia

Parma are going to be one of the teams to beat this season and we conceded from a set piece before Redan was able to cheap Buffon to get the equalizer for a very good point

League

We sit nicely in 3rd spot but its already looking like Parma are going to be favourites for the top spot.

October

A busier month this time in the league and some more interesting games including the 2nd round of the Coppa Italia​

 

[leckuno]

October

Venezia v Reggina

A close game right up until half time due to 3 goals in 9 minutes to finish the half but thankfully we had enough to get the 3 points

AS Cittadella v Venezia

2 goals within 3 minutes is enough for this game but we were fortunate to get the penalty and get the point

Venezia v Brescia

Brescia are a good team and took the lead through a nice bit of team play but Novakovic made the most of his height to head home

Coppa Italia 2nd Round
Salernitana v Venezia

A huge test for us against Serie A opposition and the gap was just too big in quality as they made us pay.

FC Bari v Venezia

Redan scored a well placed finish early on but sadly we couldn't hold on

Venezia v Cosenza

A bore draw in a game we really should of won as we missed far too many opportunities

League

Parma are still in the lead with Reggina just behind them as we sit 6 points off 2nd spot

November

A interesting run of games as we face teams just sitting a few games behind us​

 

[leckuno]

November

Venezia v Spal 2013

A good all round performance and it was sorely needed as we win our first game in 6 to get us back on track

Ascoli v Venezia

Another solid win as Cheryshev gets an assist and a goal in a rare start for the club

Palermo v Venezia

I wasn't too sure on Novakovic at the start of the season but the big American has been in great form as he's excellent from set pieces thanks to his 6'4 frame

Venezia v Frosinone

A really disappointing game where we somehow found ourselves 4-0 down just after half time but at least we found 2 goals in the 2nd half to make it look a bit better at least but it is our first loss in the league

League

Still in 3rd spot as Reggina are starting to run away with the league but thankfully we have now won more games than we've drawn

December

Another short month for us thanks to the World Cup but we do have a tough trip away to Genoa to look forward to​

 

[leckuno]

December

Modena v Venezia

We bounced right back from the loss in the last game with a great first half performance getting 3 well worked goals

Venezia v Ternana

A great opening 10 minutes as Ciervo opens the scoring in just the 3rd minutes cutting in off the wing which he did for a 2nd time just before half time as well but it was good to score another 4 goals.

Genoa v Venezia

This was always going to be a tough game and we probably deserved a draw out of this as Redan missed a penalty but sadly it wasn't to be sadly

League

We're at the halfway mark now and still in 3rd spot and the gap has closed at the top and still in with a chance of the top 2 spots

January

Its the reverse of the fixtures from the start of the season and we'll see if we can get the double over Cagliari.​

 

[leckuno]

January

Como v Venezia

What a game, It had everything in it from Fabregas getting a goal to us going down to 10 men and then 2 very late goals where we thought we had thrown the lead to us scoring the winner with the final kick of the ball

Sudtirol v Venezia

A really poor performance here as we just couldn't get a foothold in the game.

Venezia v Cagliari

Another poor game at home where we just couldn't cope with Cagliari at all/

League

Well the two losses this month have caused us to drop down to 4th spot so we're going to need to improve this to try and get promoted

Transfers

With the transfer window now open we are going to look to improve the squad for a promotion push and even improve the quality if we get promoted

Transfers Out

We let a number of players go in this window as they were just not getting football and weren't happy. Cheryshev and Jajalo were in the same boat and left on loan with a mandatory future fee. We remain to pay their wages just now but in the summer when they leave they will trim £30,000 off the budget.

A number of players already out on loan at the club were offered out to the clubs and transfers have been agreed for the summer but it means we have the money to spend in this window.

Transfers In

We made a whopping 8 signings in this window to really improve the squad with 4 players coming in on deadline day

Alberto Moleiro

Molerio joins for £5million from Las Palmas and will hopefully be key for us for seasons to come

Trilli

We went back to Spain to sign Trilli from Deportivo de La Coruna for £1.3million

Ruan

I wanted a new centre back and Ruan fits the bill perfectly as he signs from Sassuolo for £1.8million

Tim Ronning

Again I wanted a keeper that could continue to improve as well as stepping up and being an improvment this season as we've been conceding a lot of goals as Ronning joins for £1.1million from IF Elfsborg

Finnur Tomas Palmason

Palmasson is an exciting young centre back who will happily be a backup but we will do our best to incorporate him into the first team now he's signed from Knattspyrnudeild KR for just £200,000

Hugo Larsson

Larsson joins on loan as backup in the middle of the park due to other players who have left the club and Bayern will be paying all of his wages

Miguel Gutierrez

I wanted a new LB and Gutierrez fits the bill as a young and exciting players as he joins on loan from Girona

Julian Rijkhoff

Thanks to injuries I wanted a bit more cover up from and we struggled to find somebody of a high enough quality but he joins from Dortmund on loan for the rest of the season.

Bank Loan

With our spending over the transfer budget then we got into a bit of debt the club had to take out a loan but we will have a nice influx of cash in the summer when those deals go through

February

Our new signings will be thrown straight into the mix against Pisa never mind having to play Parma at the end of the month as well​

 

[leckuno]

February

Pisa v Venezia

A vital win as it was sorely needed after our last 2 loses but it was new signing Alberto Moleiro who stood out with 2 assists

Venezia v Benevento

Another good win and a 2nd goal in 2 games for Redan along with a goal for Moleiro along with another assist as he's clearly going to be a huge player for us

Perugia v Venezia

We were really made to work here and thankfully Redan got the breakthrough from the penalty spot

Venezia v Parma

This was a key game that we needed a result and we played a lot of defensive football but broke on the counter and Johnsen managed to slot home. Ronning has been great for us since joining and had 3 clean sheets in his first 3 games for the club.

League

In the space of 4 games this month we have leapt from 4th to first thanks to other results going our way along with other teams being weakened in the transfer window.

March

Just the 3 games this month but two of them come against the two teams directly below us which will be huge for us all​

 

[leckuno]

March

Reggina v Venezia

A great game for the fans as the top 2 teams battle it out and put in a great performance as we forced a stalemate as Reggina came back from behind twice.

Venezia v AS Cittadella

A much better game here as our attacking players were able to run riot and get us a big win

Brescia v Venezia

This time its top versus third where again we play out a draw and this time we were the ones who had to fight back

League

We hold onto top spot just now but Genoa are hot on our heels in 2nd place

Youth Intake

Well there wasn't much to say about the youth intake this year apart from that it was **** but we know we need to improve our facilities and recruitment and this just highlights it

April

Our busiest month of the year it seems with 8 games and this month will make or break our promotion chances​

 

[leckuno]

April

Venezia v FC Bari

A big game as Pohjanpalo gets the only goal with a great lob over the keeper.

Cosenza v Venezia

Pohjanpalo had confidence from his last goal and it showed with two well placed finishes within the opening 10 minutes of the game

Venezia v Ascoli

The result was never in doubt here as we made it look easy here as our new signings have gelled really well with the rest of the squad and driving these results.

Frosinone v Venezia

Sadly a boring draw with not much to say about the result

Venezia v Modena

Two goals right at the end of each half are enough to get us the 3 points as Pohjanpalo keeps his run of excellent form going with another goal

Ternana v Venezia

Johnsen gets the early breakthrough for us before they batten down the hatches and keep everyman behind the ball

League

We're top of the league with 3 games to go and all we need is 1 point from those games to secure promotion to Serie A

May

All we need is a point but Genoa will do whatever they can to stop us but I am confident we should be able to do enough to go up​

 

[leckuno]

May

Venezia v Genoa

Not the result we were looking for here at all as Genoa do a number on us here

Spal 2013 v Venezia

I thought after the early sending off it was going to be another disappointing game but thankfully it seems to push us on and Redan proved his worth with 2 goals and lets us go up as champions.

Venezia v Palermo

What a game to finish the season in front of our own fans as the two late goals gave us a very comfortable win

League

We go up in top spot and Genoa and Brescia will be coming up with us so hopefully we can raid some of the other teams that don't go up

Budgets

We've no increase in the wage budget so its going to be difficult to bring players in and we won't have a lot of money to bring players in so we will need to sell some players as well to increase the transfer budget​

 

[FM_TNSSO]

Well done on the league win mate, but those budgets are not going to make life easy for you in Serie A! Be interesting to see what business you can do over the Summer.

 

[leckuno]

Well done on the league win mate, but those budgets are not going to make life easy for you in Serie A! Be interesting to see what business you can do over the Summer.

I can tell you its not been fun

 

[leckuno]

Season 2

Transfers Out

The first 5 players out the door were the deals we agreed last January for the mini rebuild but at least now they are all off the wage budget

The rest all leave the club as they are not going to be part of the future of the club and we needed the funds to bring much better players into the club as well/

Transfers In

We've signed a fair few players over the course of the transfer window to try and build a team that will be able to compete and fight off relegation in Serie A

Florin Andone

Andone was the first player through the deal on a precontract deal and we are hoping the experienced striker can help lead the line and help the youngsters.

Jan Paul Van Hecke

Another precontract deal here and Van Hecke should be a great signing for us and will be a starting CB

Val

Our Scouts came across Val and he looks like he could develop into a great player for us if given the right training and whats better is we got him on a free transfer from Taboeira

Franco Carboni

Carboni joins from Inter and even though he's young he'll be our starting LB and we have the option to sign him at the end of the season for £4.5million if it works out

Diego Coppola

Another young player in on loan as we hit Verona after their relegation as again we have the chance to sign him come the end of the season for £6.5million

Lorenzo Lucca

I wanted another striker to come in and Lucca fitted the bill and we are willing to let him take the step up of Serie A after a season at Ajax as we sign him from Pisa for £2.4million

Raoul Bellanova

Finally we sign Bellanova from Cagliari for £6million as we hit them after they failed to get promoted and he will be a big step up at RB for us.

Friendlies

We didn't play too many friendlies this season but we did manage to not lose any and even won one 18-1 as well which was great to see

Expectations

The board just expect us to avoid relegation from Serie A along with just reaching the Coppa Italia which we go straight into so as long as we concentrate on the league thats all that matters.

The Start

Well apart from the opening 2 games for us it goes horribly downhill for us and we'll be lucky to get much out of those 4 games in September and we'll have to do our best not to get hammered.
​

 

[leckuno]

The Start

Coppa Italia 1st Round
Venezia v Cagliari

We get our season underway here and its our new strikers who make an instant impact to show how well they can play together

Venezia v Genoa

Lucca is on the score sheet again to show he's going to be worth every penny. The win was even more impressive given the fact we had to play 45 minutes with 10 men.

Juventus v Venezia

The result was a given and we were probably lucky to only lose 3 goals her as well

Atalanta v Venezia

We sadly went down to 10 men again here which is something we will need to look at but we pull off an excellent 0-0 draw which is like a win here

Venezia v Napoli

What a game here as I thought Napoli would of had this game in the bad but we did brilliantly to come back twice and ****** a very unlikely point

Transfers

We had a few players leave the club on loan to free up some wages from players who weren't going to be first teamers

We did have on incoming player though as Hugo Larsson returns to the club for the rest of the season on loan after his 6 months last season.

Now that the transfer window we can see where we fall in the wage expenditure and its the 2nd lowest of the league which shows how little we have to play with and the gap we need to close on the top

League

As expected we are down at the bottom of the table but we have only played 4 games in the league so far thanks to the game against AC Milan being postponed due to our pitch being waterlogged

October

Things are thankfully a bit easier this month as we avoid the big teams here so lets see how we get on​

 

[leckuno]

October

Venezia v Salernitana

Our 2nd win of the season and it was a great team performance with everybody pulling together and our strikers both get on the score sheet as well

U.S. Lecce v Venezia

Lucca is looking like he's going to be a bargain for us at this rate but Pohjanpalo had to make sure the old strikers could still do it as well

Venezia v Udinese

A game that had it all, we were just lucky to have such a good first half performance so that the late sending off wasn't really an issue as we had the 2 goal buffer.

Venezia v Sampdoria

A 2nd sending off in 2 games isn't going to help things going forward and it sadly cost us the 3 points tonight

League

We've moved up to 8th spot here and if we could finish there come the end of the season we'd be over the moon

November

Not a great month again here as we face 4 decent teams but Roma and Inter are not going to be fun​

 

[leckuno]

November

Roma v Venezia

This was kind of a positive result as we only lost 1-0 away from home to the team which finished 4th last season

Torino v Venezia

I feel we deserved the 3 points here as we managed to throw away a 2 goal lead in the 2nd half which is something I will address with the players

Empoli v Venezia

This was a bit of a drab game for most of it apart from the 2 goals and the signing off and was a fair result as neither team really deserved to win this game

Venezia v Inter

An expected result here but I did fear it would be a lot worse after going 2 down after 13 minutes which forced us to make a tactical change to try and limit the score

League

With only getting 2 points out of 12 we have dropped back down the table but are still sitting higher than we're expected to be which is good

December

With 5 games this month we're a bit busier but we have some tough games against teams that all expect to beat us but I have confidence for the cup game against Monza and then we play AC Milan which was postponed in September​