A.C. Milan - My First Ever FM Story

[CherriesOnTop]

Hello.
I am a new user on FM Base and thought that I might start up my first story here. I am Australian but as you can probably tell from my username, I'm a massive fan of Bournemouth. I've always supported the Premier League and the major 5 leagues despite living in Australia, but in case anyone's interested I'm a Perth Glory fan in terms of Australian clubs. Anyways I don't want to bore anyone with my history and will be tackling A.C. Milan in my first Football Manager 2019 save on FM Base.

I hope you enjoy and I've updated the database for the 2019-20 season, meaning that relegations, promotions and transfers are all in my game. I was thinking of playing as my beloved Bournemouth, but decided against it as I tend to manage in the Premier League quite a lot and would like to explore a different avenue now.

AC Milan have a great history as I'm sure you all know about but in recent seasons they've struggled to revive their past and have recently offloaded Gennaro Gattuso as their manager. They brought in the former Sampdoria manager, Marco Giampaolo, as their manager in real life, but in the game I've been appointed as head of the club.

To round of this introduction, I just wanted to address that I have read through a number of stories on the website and am aware that there are some image related issues. While it annoys me that they're will be attached thumbnails at the bottom of the screen, I hope it doesn't bother any of you too much and hamper the quality of my story.

Thanks for reading, any likes and comments would be appreciated as well. Hope you enjoy!

 

[CherriesOnTop]

I've just arrived at the beginning of pre-season and have already concluded my transfer business. The club looks pretty solid and very young as well. We had one major departure and one major arrival into the club while also trading out a few rotational spots in the team, although there will likely be two changes made to the starting line-up following signings.

These were the bulk of the transfers in, but I'll leave the key one to show in profile just below. Assane Diousse is probably going to be my other new starter as he has Serie A experience on loan at Chievo last season, and currently has 3 star ability at a young age so I think he's good enough. Francesco Vicari may or may not start which will depend on other player performances, but we covered for the most of the areas with good youth who've played in Serie A so I'm happy with the transfer dealings.

As you can see the outgoings here, I'm sure the big departure will stand out as starting CB Mattia Caldara is off to Manchester United. While he was a starter, our transfers plus the fact we've got Musacchio meant that we could deal without him. Plus it allowed me to get a player which I've always wanted to try on FM. Also outgoing was Lucas Biglia, Diousse has replaced him and he was getting on. While he may be off to a Serie A rival in Napoli, I don't think I'll miss him too much.

Introducing....Federico Chiesa!

Our major signing this window is young Italian winger Federico Chiesa who comes in for just under his value and the bulk of the transfer budget. The addition of some instalments helped us afford the deal and he looks like a great pick-up. We have good wingers, but not any back-up so I'm thinking of putting Chiesa on the left, leaving Suso on the right and then Castillejo can be a super-sub. Really looking forward to seeing how he performs for us!

However, we may still be someway off the pace in terms of performance as in our first pre-season game, and only one so far, we were absolutely battered by Bayern Munich, showing that a club of their calibre is still a class above for us. Chiesa hasn't played yet, so hopefully he'll improve us a lot as we were awful. To think we were in front at one point as well!​

 

[CherriesOnTop]

In this post we're going to conclude our pre-season campaign with 2 games against Juventus and Albirex Niigata. Hopefully after the 6-1 thrashing Bayern gave us we can put in some better performances against our Italian rivals and foreign opponents. Big money signing Federico Chiesa will get his first attempt at the first team and hopefully he can lead us to positive results.
.

Unfortunately it wasn't too much better against Juventus as we suffered another pre-season defeat here. It looked a little nicer than it was too and we really need to step up our game. At least, however, it wasn't as bad as Real Madrid's humiliating 7-3 defeat to Atletico Madrid in real life which I just witnessed not a few hours ago in real life. Back to the match though and Federico Chiesa didn't have a great debut. He wasn't poor but didn't contribute too much to the game and went unnoticed overall.

At least we rounded out a with a win against Albirex Niigata, although Juventus beat them 9-1. However we thoroughly dominated today and Ricardo Rodriguez, attracting interest from Arsenal, was our best player on the pitch today. Hopefully we can carry on in this vein of form rather than that which we suffered in the earlier matches.

I did however conclude one last piece of transfer piece with Chievo's Sofian Kiyine coming in as the back-up attacking midfielder to Calhanoglu. He'll go back out on loan for this season and then hopefully the exposure to game time will see him come back as a better overall player next season.

Thanks for reading, next we'll be starting our Serie A campaign with games against Udinese and Hellas Verona.
​

 

[bnpwp1979]

All the best for the upcoming season.

 

[CherriesOnTop]

All the best for the upcoming season.

Cheers mate, appreciate the comment and hope that we can have a good season as well!

 

[CherriesOnTop]

In this post we'll begin our Serie A season with 2 matches this month against Udinese and Hellas Verona respectively. At the current time, Federico Chiesa, Assane Diousse and Francesco Vicari are the new signings in the starting line-up. Obviously Chiesa is the main one while I'm keen to test the other two out and think that they can positively impact the team. I'd like to get two wins from two here and ideally get off to the perfect start. Looking for the goals to come from Piatek and Suso to act as our star player.

We just about got our first win here against Udinese but it's not how I'd really liked it to have gone. They were on par with us here and maybe could've even beaten on us on another day. While we've started with all three points, I'd really like better performances against lower half sides such as Udinese but as it's the first game and the fact that we did win - I won't dwell on it too much.

Much better here as we thrash newly promoted side Hellas Verona 3-0. All of the lads played well today and there wasn't many faults to pick out on the whole. They barely got a chance today and Piatek got his goal as well. Bonaventura did run the show with a double and ultimately once one of their players was sent off after 2 minutes it was pretty much settled then.

While some players may have done better in individual matches, Davide Calabria was consistent across both and some of his crosses were simply stunning. He showed me some really skillful touches in the game and showed himself as a top young prospect for the right-back spot here. Bad news for back-up Andrea Conti but great news for the rest of us!

A good start in terms of the league ladder as well. Lazio and Roma struggling however and we're one of a number of teams with 2 wins from 2 games.​

 

[CherriesOnTop]

This will be our biggest post yet, as not only do we have our first Milan derby - The Derby Della Madonnina. Then we go up against AS Roma, and have a few matches in between before we go up against Juventus. This'll be a huge month for us and will really show me what my team is capable of. Hopefully Piatek can start to perform as he's had a bit of a slow start despite a goal, as he's been a little lethargic on the ball and is struggling to adapt to our tactics.

Just a quick preview of the game for you. The odds are quite tight and it should be a great match - just hope we can come out on top!

Wow! Just wow! What an absolutely brilliant performance by the team!!! We were untouchable today and despite a couple first half chances they couldn't get near us today. Franck Kessie netted a hat-trick with two bangers and Cutrone came off the bench to net another. I don't want to complain or anything, but despite our amazing performance, Piatek didn't do himself any favours, showing no real willingness to make runs and struggling. Otherwise, absolutely buzzing!

The good form continues with another good performance by Kessie! He netted the winner here in the first half in a deserved win over Roma. It was a tight affair with little clear cut chances. Special mention to Davide Calabria who's done a superb job at RB across the season so far and almost every game has been above 7.0.

Our first slightly disappointing result was a draw against SPAL here. Everything happened late in the game as we went ahead and then conceded slightly later as well. Their goalkeeper was player of the match as our numerous chances weren't put away and the game ended level in the end and we were made to rue our misses.

We got back to winning ways against Sassuolo and managed to dominate the game. Once again Calabria did well and it was Suso who shone by netting the winner. Piatek is really struggling and I'm thinking of dropping him. I'll give him the game against Juventus to see if he can step up but otherwise he'll be out of the team.

Our first defeat comes at the hands of the biggest name in Italy; Juventus. It was a narrow squeak as they raced into a 2-0 lead but we fought back. It was the final straw for me and striker Krzysztof Piatek who missed a first half penalty. Early in the second half Chiesa got us back in it and we stepped up in the second half but to no avail as we succumb to defeat.

ROUND-UP

The league table looks good for us, sitting behind Juve at the moment. They're threatening to run away with it already so hopefully we can present them some competition but the aim is only Top 4 so hopefully that can be achieved.

Franck Kessie was my personal player of the month for stunning performances in the first two games despite two of our players, Chiesa and Donnarumma featuring in the Young Player of the Month rankings. Kessie presents a great option for energy and stamina and is a great fit for our attacking system.​

 

[Average Joe]

Some great results and interesting transfers mate!

Whatever you're feeding Kessie, keep it up!

Surprised you sold Caldara though!

 

[CherriesOnTop]

Some great results and interesting transfers mate!Whatever you're feeding Kessie, keep it up!Surprised you sold Caldara though!

Thanks for the response mate, Kessie is sure doing a great job. Caldara was a difficult decision but one of those cases where the offer was too good to deny. I do have a CB deal in the works which I'll keep quiet until January.

 

[CherriesOnTop]

This month presents us with less games, although they are all against sides challenging for European Places. We begin against Lazio, then face Sampdoria and finish by travelling away to Torino. Overall, I'm really not sure what to expect here, but I just hope that we can get two wins out of this as we are probably favourites for all of the games and I'm hoping that we come out of this month still in the Top 4 at least.

We kick with a lacklustre draw to Lazio here. They took the lead in the 1st half and we drew level in the 2nd. I'd dropped Piatek for the game but Cutrone couldn't do much in replacement. When I did bring on Piatek, though, I played him in a more advanced role and he actually caused a lot more problems and seemed to have more of an impact on the game.

I switched to a 4-4-2 here to incorporate both Piatek and Cutrone and it worked absolute wonders as we ripped Sampdoria apart 4-0. Piatek got Man of the Match as well with a brace and Cutrone also got himself on the scoresheet. Chiesa really adapted well to a deeper role and he and Piatek linked up superbly. Against Torino, I might revert to the old formation just as a one off to see if Piatek's new role is making him a better player.

We did grab a win and Piatek did score as we weren't really in huge doubt over the final result. It's fair to say that maybe all Piatek needed was a role change as he's really coming alive nicely and has racked up our best training performance rating twice in a row. I feel a bit for Cutrone as he's done well and I've only given him one start but I'm thinking of going back to the 4-4-2 as that was really a good formation.

ROUND-UP

We drop one position due to the Lazio draw but it was a good month and 3rd is right where we should be in m opinion. Juventus are absolutely cruising Serie A, they've got nothing but wins in the first 10 games, already getting clear of the chasing pack. Us and Napoli are tight, while Lazio have massively revived their season, and their rivals Roma are beginning to. Champions League qualifiers Atalanta, however, are struggling in 19th and we face them next.

I didn't think I would see Piatek win Player of the Month anytime soon for us but I've given it to him as he's really stepped up from his criticism. I was also surprised to see Cutrone win the Young Player of the Month considering he only scored once but Donnarumma is in their again as well.​

 

[Average Joe]

Keen to see who you bring in next! Going well so far

 

[Disclaimer89]

So far so good...the team is playing really well together! Keep it up

 

[CherriesOnTop]

Keen to see who you bring in next! Going well so far

Ill be trying to update everyone to January as soon as I can! All I can say is there’s been some big sales and arrivals for the club.

 

[CherriesOnTop]

So far so good...the team is playing really well together! Keep it up

Thanks for your comment mate! Hope your enjoying it, and yes the team chemistry is really good, a lot of the team have green links between themselves. I certainly hope it continues as well.

 

[bnpwp1979]

Well done on some great victories over Inter, Roma and Samp. Shame about the Juve score though.

Keep it up.

 

[CherriesOnTop]

Well done on some great victories over Inter, Roma and Samp. Shame about the Juve score though.

Keep it up.

Thanks mate, the team has been playing some great stuff lately, and yes the Juve result was hard to take considering the missed pen but they are outright the best team in the league so at least we put up a fight.

 

[CherriesOnTop]

This month will certainly be an entertaining one as we face one of the biggest games of our season against 2nd placed Napoli. We're just off them and could leapfrog them with a win so it's an absolutely vital fixture. They're in between games against shock cellar dwellers Atalanta and Cagliari who are also fighting off the relegation battle. I might implement a few tactic changes if required but at the moment the formation is going to remain the same.

We kicked off with a solid enough win against Atalanta. I'm not sure what's behind their struggles, whether it's balancing Champions League football or just general poor performances, but they continued here as we dominated them and pressed until the goals came. Kessie continued his good vein of form while Ricardo Rodriguez added the gloss with a stunning free-kick to mark the win.

Then the big day game - I opted against altering any tactics or players. Perhaps I should've. Lorenzo Insigne was too hot to handle and he had a number of opportunities. His runs weren't tracked and he could've even had more. We didn't play badly in terms of attack at all, with a few solid chances, but it was really the first time I saw Vicari and Calabria being run ragged, both by a single player! Honestly I think the 8.8 was even too low for Insigne, he was absolutely fantastic and leaves us in a disappointing spot. Our worst result so far.

The lads didn't show any sign of disappointing here as we rallied to a comfortable 2-0 win over Cagliari. Most players have been consistent, but Krzysztof Piatek is the one I can never be sure of. Maybe he needs the 4-4-2, maybe he just needs praise from his colleagues, I don't know. But he was great here today getting a double to get the win for us.

ROUND-UP

Juventus have drawn two games in a row, meaning Napoli have crept to within just a point of them - **** I wish I'd beaten them. They're playing some brilliant stuff of late and it might just be a two horse race as now I'm contending with Lazio for the Top 4! Serie A has been full of surprises and I'm thoroughly enjoying them so far.

Ricardo Rodriguez played some brilliant stuff this month and was key to our two wins, getting on the scoresheet as well. Gianluigi Donnarumma has been in the running for this award nearly every month and he wins it here which is nice to see. Our young players are really doing quite well and I can only hope that continues - I'm sure excited for the youth intake.​

 

[CherriesOnTop]

This update covers a number of games and will be our longest month so far, however I believe it will one of our most crucial as the matches we're playing in it aren't against big opposition so hopefully this allows us to make 3rd spot in the table our own. Lazio have some difficult games which is good to see as they're closest to us and Juventus and Napoli are likely out of our reach for the moment.

We start off with a narrow win against Fiorentina here as a first half winner from Giacomo Bonaventura got us over the line. It wasn't a game with many talking points all in all, although there was a rare opportunity for Mateo Musacchio and he did deliver a solid performance but is still likely to be up for sale in January.

Lecce are the surprise package in the league and are well and truly above their expected finish of last, but I was still expecting to comfortably be getting the 3 points here! Instead, we worked hard to keep it at 1-0 before they got a stoppage time winner with last kick of the game. Gutted to only get a point here!

Good to get back to winning ways here with a 4-0 thumping of strugglers Brescia. It was all over after 16 minutes, with the scoreline at 3-0. Piatek had an early double which unfortunately didn't become a hat-trick but it was pretty much a perfect performance from all of the lads and what we needed after the disappointment of the last game.

Another comfortable victory here against Bologna. Chiesa and Piatek are really starting to form a deadly partnership in attack and they got the goals here which was great to see. We took the game to them and probably should've had even more but I won't dwell on the missed chances and will take the positive result here.

The wins and good form continues with another one here against Genoa. Another double from Piatek and Cutrone took his chance in the team again here to score as well. All in all, no complaints here and I was very happy to get yet another win on the board, we're looking pretty good for 3rd at the minute.

And we finished off as youngster Cutrone nabbed a hat-trick to single handedly get us the win against Parma here which was absolutely wonderful to see. However, the injury to Kessie could be an issue. It's about 6 weeks but he can play through it which I might risk, January might see us get a new midfielder to play; I'm not sure.

ROUND-UP

Perfect for us in the league table. 3rd spot is looking very good, we're 10 points clear of 4th placed Lazio. Juventus and Napoli are the title challengers and hopefully we can just keep this up and stay in 3rd. I'm pretty sure that would be a great first season at Milan if you ask me, so hopefully it happens.

Yearly awards came out as well and we were rather well represented by getting Kessie into the African XI of the year. Donnarumma was the 3rd best GK in the world and at his age, that is a stunning achievement. The biggest surprise though, was Patrick Cutrone winning the Golden Boy ahead of players like Mbappe, Jesus and Dembele! To make it all the better, the legend dedicated the award to me! Love it.

Federico Chiesa is really coming alive so I gave him my monthly award for quality performances because he showed his class and ability this month!

To round off, I signed a new 2 year deal tying me to the club until 2021!​

 

[CherriesOnTop]

This post will cover the first half of January; transfers. We have quite a bit of business to cover as we look to replace a few departing players on pre-organised deals. In the update after this I'll cover the gameplay area of January which has three important cup ties and two games in the Serie A. It also has a couple friendlies prior which shouldn't be of too much importance.
OUT

So as you can see we had some pretty sizeable outgoings with back-up defenders Mateo Musacchio and Andrea Conti both out the exit door as well as creative midfielders Giacomo Bonaventura and Hakan Calhanoglu. Both Conti and Bonaventura were unhappy with their roles this season and despite Conti being a solid back-up and relatively young he's no potential future star so I was happy to sell him. Bonaventura was slightly more difficult as he was having a quality season but those ahead of him had better ones and for good money and considering his age it's probably the right decision. Difficult to sell Calhanoglu as well but he was even behind Bonaventura so unlikely to get any playing time.
IN

And we replaced our outgoings which very capable young players. I guess everyone knew that a deal for Tonali in a Serie A save is always bound to happen and he's having a great season so for the price I got him for I'm confident that's a steal. Rekeem Harper was perhaps a different move. I had Houssem Aouar on my radar at first, but decided to try someone else for a change and the young West Brom midfielder fills the Calhanoglu role well. While they're not as good yet, I've got complete confidence they can become better. The final signing listed above was the biggest in Nikola Milenkovic, a young RB/CB who will be a key back-up player for us across the entire save.

Unfortunately for him, our defence is pretty much set for years....because we made another marquee signing this January!

Bayern Munich's very own Niklas Sule is in!!! He was transfer listed by request due to a lack of playing time and him and Romagnoli are a dream CB pairing for anywhere up to 10 years. Vicari's been ok but maybe our one weaker link so far this season, so to get this man mountain of a player in should shore up our solid defence even more. Buzzing!​

 

[Average Joe]

Never seen this Rakeem Harper, get a screenshot up mate