Bologna - Under New Management

[leckuno]

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I’ve chosen to manage Bologna FC after a long hard think as I went to watch them play against A.C Milan last year and have followed them closely since as they have the potential if managed correctly to make it big in a few seasons.

Nickname - Rossoblù
Stadium - Stadio Renato Dall’Ara

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They are one of the most successful teams in the history of Italian Football.
The club was at the height of power before World War 2. They held dominance in the late 1930’s winning 4 straight scudetto’s. After this dominance the club were neither successful or a failure. The club finished many seasons between the 1950’s – 1960’s around 5th 6th on the table.

In the 1963 - 1964 season Bologna won their last Scudetto.
Though that didn’t mean that the trophy’s stopped coming, the club won the Italian Cup twice during the 1970’s.

However the next few decades for Bologna were ones you’d like to forget if you are a fan of Bologna.
The club slid all the way out of the first two divisions in Italy. They eventually worked all the way back up to Serie A after numerous years fighting for promotion.

The early 1990’s were rough for Bologna being relegated again back to the third division by 1993. They worked back up to Serie A by 1996.

In 1998 they experienced European success winning the now defunct UEFA Intertoto cup and competing for the UEFA Cup.
They remained in Serie A until 2004-2005 season losing to rivals Parma in the playoffs.

Bologna didn’t return to Serie A until the 2008 season being stuck in off field turmoil before being relegated again in 2014.

They bounced straight back and got promotion the following season.

Bologna still remain in Serie A yet are constant relegation threats, the club are a giant waiting to be awoken.

Bologna have had 6 different presidents since 2010. Bankruptcy threats and unstable leadership. The current chairman is even looking to move on as we start out.

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[leckuno]

Squad Overview

I'm not going to bore you all with going right through the squad but I feel we have a good enough squad to be able to avoid a relegation battle which is where we are expected with a 15th spot finish this season with the board just wanting us to stay up.

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We have a number of players on loan from some good clubs which will help our battle this season as well.

We have a couple of players though who we will be relying on this season heavily if we've to finish higher up the table.

Andrea Poli will be a staple in midfield this season as we look at his experience with the national team and A.C Milan to help steady the ship.

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Upfront we will be looking to new signing Federico Santander who joined in the summer to get in amongst the goals and as a target man set up the other players.
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Finally we have one other player who we are very excited about in the youth ranks who will be given first team exposure this season as we try and get him to become a staple in the heart of defence for us and the national team.

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With an ageing squad any players we do sign will be younger for us to try and develop and if the need occurs then to sell on for a large profit to help bring success to the club and topple the top teams in Italy.


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[leckuno]

So we hit August and a board takeover could already be on the cards with a promotion from with in. I'm guessing that if this happens then nothing at the club will change and we will just continue as normal.

The club currently has a managing director and 6 normal directors so I assume it will be one of them that will step up.​

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In other news the club has broken its transfer record to sign Sandro Tonali from Brescia for £7.5 million

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He will become a key player and helps start to form the spine of the club as the team will now be built around Tonali and Corbo as we look to get back to old Italian ways of having a solid Italian core to the team instead of focusing on Foreign players.

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The move was made possible by the sale of Blerim Dzemaili to Udinese for £3 million.

Our expectations have also been set with the board.

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This season I fully expect us to avoid the relegation battle and then build from there over the next few seasons to then build into European football. In the cup I don't expect to make it past the first round as if we manage to reach it we will be playing Napoli.


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[WeArePalace]

A great deal to sign Tonali. Already looks like a bargain. Just a bit of advice - I recommend using Donsah because he's quite a good player for me in previous saves on FM. Good luck!

 

[leckuno]

Pre-Season

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We have a very short pre-season as we concentrate more in getting the training sorted than the friendlies as we warm up for our first competitive games. I changed tactics after the Toulouse loss and then again after the Barakaldo draw so at the moment I have settled on a 4-4-2.

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I feel that this plays to the clubs strengths as will give us a chance of meeting our targets for the season with avoiding the relegation fight. I will still be looking for the right players to come in if they become available in our budgets.

We have now also sold Adam Nagy to Southampton for £4.3 million. He wasn't going to come in and become a key player for us in the future so I feel it was a good bit of business to bring the cash into the club.

August Fixtures

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We have our first competitive match against Carpi in the Italian cup so we should beat the Serie B team here and I fancy our chances with our first two league games as well to get maximum points but after that we will see what happens.​

 

[leckuno]

August

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We started of our season with a great win against Carpi in the Italian cup to progress. Nicola Sansone gets us going with a great goal coming in from the left hand side of the pitch in the 27th minute. Orsolini then comes in off the right to tuck home a pass from Sansone in the 56th minute. Reodrigo Palacio then comes on and slots home in the 87th minute to become Bologna's oldest ever goal scorer at 36.

Next we came up against two of our local rivals who will be fighting it out down at the bottom of the table with us. First up was SPAL. Santander put us ahead after only 5 minutes before he linekd up with Destro to double the tally after 15 minutes. SPAL got one back through Paloshchi after 75 minutes to make it squeaky *** time for the final 15 minutes but Soriano came on to guarantee the win with a well laced finish from outside the box in the 89th minute. Parma were much harder to break down away from home as we take our chance with Pulgar getting on the end of a corner to head home in the 21st minute to get the 3 points.

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We have a bit of an update about the takeover as well as a current director looks to try and takeover the club.

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We didn't do any more transfer business for people to join us in this window but we have completed a £3 million deal for Marcos Paulo from Fluminense as he looks like he could become a great player for us in the future if he gets the correct training.

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September Fixtures

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We have a very tough month ahead of us with 3 big games with Inter, Roma, and Napoli. Got to say I'll be happy with just 3 points from this month.​

 

[leckuno]

September

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What a month as we totally exceed all expectations and walk away with 10 points from the 15 on offer. The loss against Inter was hard to take as we had 2 goals cut off for being offside thanks to VAR. Yet against Roma VAR came to the rescue to give us a penalty that meant we won the game 2-1 for our biggest win of the season so far. Against Napoli we got lucky again as they had Raul Albiol sent off in the 66th minute letting us get a goal back to make it 2-2.

Gabriele Corbo startef the game against Roma to make his debut for the club and he hasn't looked back since with grabbing his opportunity at the heart of our defence.

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The takeover has collapsed so know we play the waiting game to see if he tries again or a new buyer for the club comes in.

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We have also agreed to sell a number of players this month to try and raise some funds for January. Angelo da Costa will be joining Santos for £325,000 at 34 and on high wages we're glad to get rid of him. Filip Helander is joining Genoa for £4 million. He was right down the pecking order so wasn't going to get much game time. Erick Pulgar is joining Wolfsburg for £7.5 million as again he was down the pecking order and was unhappy with playing time. Finally we have agreed to sell Rodrigo Palacio to LOSC for £350,000. His contract was up at the end of the season so decided to get a bit of cash and get his £28,000 wage off the budget.

October Fixtures

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Another tough month ahead with big games against Milan and Juventus which are going to be two of the toughest games this season.


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[leckuno]

October

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The month goes a lot better than expected as we get a very respectable draw away to Milan. We even led them from the 17th minute right up until the 70th before they equalised. We did lose Orsolini in the 92nd minute though through his second yellow card meaning he will miss the Juventus game. Against Juventus I felt we played really well but were unlucky to fall to a Dybala goal in the 13th minute but we held on to not lose by any more and even had a few chances ourselves but just couldn't take them. We bounce back instantly with a win against Udinese with Falcinelli putting us ahead in the 3rd minute from the penalty spot before Orsolini comes back into the match day squad to get the second in the 15th minute. We then concede a penalty on the stroke of half time which Lasagna converts.

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November Fixtures

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Another short month thanks to the international window but we have 2 great opportunists at home to pick up 3 points from each where as Fiorentina will be the toughest opponents. ​

 

[leckuno]

November

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We start the month off with a boring 0-0 draw against Chievo as we just couldn't take our chances. We get a good win against Cagliari as Sansone gets the opener on the stroke of half time to give us a massive confidence boost for the second half where Gonzalez gets a bit of a collectors item with a headed goal from a corner in the 67th minute to secure us the 3 points. Finally a tough game against Fiorentina were Benassi gets the only goal of the game in the 4th minute. We had 2 goals disallowed for offside in the final 10 minutes which was a bit annoying.

The lack of goals coming from our strikers is now becoming a bit worrying and we may need to look to rectify this in the next transfer window if we can find anybody suitable.

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To be sitting in 8th spot at this point of the season is well above our expectations especially since we are just 2 points off the Europa League places so we'll see what happens.

The board have been that impressed I've been handed a new contract that see's me extend my stay at the club until 2021

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December Fixtures

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A much busier month this time with a good mix of opponents but with 7 games this month we will need to rotate a bit to be sure we can still field a competitive team in every fixture.​

 

[Yeti01]

Great start mate

 

[leckuno]

December

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What a start to the month as we notch up 4 straight wins which also included a great cup win for our fringe players who were given a chance to impress. The best game out of the opening 4 though was against Frosinone after we gave away a penalty in the second minute which they scored before we fought back with all goals being scored in the first half.

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Shame that after that though came our worst result of the season so far but Lazio were just far too much for us and we just couldn't get going at all against them with our only goal coming from the penalty spot.

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We then followed this up with 2 draws but to end the month with 11 points out of 18 was fantastic and see's us keep pace with the European spots.

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The takeover talks have kicked off again so we will see what happens this time as the same director makes a play for control.

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January Fixtures

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A much quieter month again with only the 3 games and I really feel we can take the 6 points from the two league games​

 

[leckuno]

January

So lets start with the transfer window as players who were signed made an instant impact. We let a number of players go to reduce wages and free up some funds to invest in the team.

Players Out

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View attachment 13527Three players I am most excited about are Moise Kean, Goncalo Cardoso and Mohammed Mallahi who can all be massive players for the club as the develop.
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A good month in the league where we picked up maximum points with Kean getting 3 goals across the two games which has seen us rise to fifth in the table so right in the mix for the European spots. The big loss was Napoli in the cup where we fought right to the end coming back from 2-0 down after the first half with Kean getting a debut goal before they scored an own goal in the final minute of the game. We just weren't able to cope with the penalties though as we bottled it and only scored 1 of the 3 we tool

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The takeover has finally happened and absolutely nothing has changed which is a bit annoying but who knows what the future will bring.

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February Fixtures

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[leckuno]

February

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The first game of the month was a bit annoying as I felt we should of done better but it was Kean who came to the rescue to get out goal just before half time to make it 1-1. Against Inter I've got to say that we were lucky to finish the game at 1-0 as we actually played the last 10 minutes with 10 men thanks to two red cards so to hold on against the league leaders was a great result.

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Against Roma and Atalanta we manage to sneak two 1-0 wins which was good to bounce back after the loss to Inter. The Roma result was even more impressive since we were missing two first team players. We stay right up there in the European mix.

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March Fixtures

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A really tough month coming up which could see our European fight falter as I can realistically only see us getting 3 points here.



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[leckuno]

March

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We start the month with yet another defeat to Napoli which was one of the games I was expecting to lose but to be 2-0 down after 11 minutes and only lose 2-1 shows the lads keep fighting right until the very end. We ended up bouncing back with a massive win against A.C Milan where Mallahi comes on with 20 minutes to go to score the winner with 8 minutes to go. We then travelled to Juventus where we got an absolute pummelling from Mandzukic who scored a hat-trick. We then managed to bounce back with another win with Andrea Poli scoring the winner in the 52nd minute before being sent off for a vicious tackle in the 53rd minute. We continue in the hunt again for the European spots.

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March also brings the youth intake and we have one promising youth player so it will be interesting to see how he develops over the next few seasons and if he can break into the first team.

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April Fixtures

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[leckuno]

April

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We start the month with two good away wins as Kean grabs the winner against Cagliari with the last kick of the ball in the first half. We then came up against Fiorentina in a game we really should of won as we lead until we went down to 10 men which cost us as we conceded the equaliser with the final kick of the ball.


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We then had a nice easy game aganst bottom of the table Empoli who we absolutely dominated as we managed to get five different goal scores on the score sheet. Corbo grabbed his first goal for the club so hopefully its the first of many to come from the young defender.

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We finish the month with a standard win against Sampdoria to finish the month in the Champions League places

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May Fixtures

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A reasonable way to finish the season which gives us a great opportunity to finish with European football next season.

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[leckuno]

May

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A good month where we go unbeaten with 2 wins and 2 draws. We get off to a great start against Frosinone securing a 2-0 victory before managing to secure a late draw against Lazio. The turning point of the month though was the comaback against Torino though as we manage to get a massive 3-1 win.

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After going behind in the 5th minute I was worried but Sansone took is in at half time with a 1-1 draw before our young centre back made it 2-1 and then wonderkid Kean put them to the sword and made it 3-1. The next game was massive though and we could only secure a 0-0 draw in the final game of the season in front of our own fans.

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The draw was enough to see us secure third spot in the league and secure us Champions League football next season. I'm not honestly sure how we finished about Lazio as they had a better head to head and goal difference than us. Roma were unlucky and miss out even though joint on 75 points.

We have a reasonable budget for next season which will increase as we look to sell players.

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[leckuno]

Pre-Season
So we may as well start with the important part of pre-season and go with the transfers. There have been a lot of in comings (18) and a lot of outgoings to make room and money to help build a team for the future.

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As you can see we have had a lot of changes over the transfer window as we want to be able to continue to compete at the top end of the table and see how far we can go in Europe. We have focused on younger players as we build for the long term. We have also signed Italian players as well with where they could improve to team as I want to have as many a possible for registration rules along with improving the fortunes of the national team. Our most expensive signing was Myron Boadu from AZ but he will be playing down the left wing for years to come.

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We go undefeated in pre-season to give us a big boost going into the season. Especially the home win against AC Milan. The fact we managed to score 18 and concede only 2 shows the quality we now have at the club.

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Expectations have been set by the board and even though we finished third last season and with the quality we have brought in we're only expected to finish in the top half of the table this season which I feel we should be pushing for the top 6 again and making one of the two European Competitions.

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We will start the season off using the same tactics as last year with this being my preferred XI just now but we will see what happens when other people are given a chance.

August

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[leckuno]

August

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We have a fantastic slow start to the season with a 1-0 win over Palermo where Kean got the only goal of the game. Next up we player Frosinone where we had a great game on the attacking front but a weak on on the defence part.

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Petagna gets us off to a great start in what turned out to be his first goal in over 25 hours of football before being followed up with first club goals for everybody else. We then follow it up with a good rivalry win over Parma with Petagna getting another 2 goals in the process.

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If only the table would look like this at the end of the season as well.

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We have been given a very tough group and I think 3rd spot will be the best we can achieve but it will come down to the results against Benfica I think.

September Fixtures

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I actually fancy our chances in most of these matches with 3 of them being at home and feel we can take Cagliari away as well.​

 

[leckuno]

September

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We continue our impressive start to the season with a routine win over Genoa with Petagna getting on the score sheet again along with Pellegri. We then follow that up with a very impressive win over Arsenal.

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Boadu gets us off to the best possible start with a fantastic goal in the first minute before Petagna gets the second after just 8 minutes. Arsenal just weren't able to cope at all in the first half with Petagna getting his second in the 41st minute. Petagna is already showing his worth after being brought in.

We then follow that up with a defeat at home to reigning champions Inter who were the better team. We did manage to take the lead at the start but Inter were just too strong and took a 3-1 lead. We then bounced back with a solid away win to Cagliari with Romagna getting his first goal for the club.

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October Fixtures

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We have a tough month with two away games in the Champions League and two away games in the league. The home game will hopefully be a formality though after travelling to Portugal.​

 

[leckuno]

October

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What a month where we managed to go unbeaten against some very good teams. It all started with an away win to Dortmund.

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We get off to a fantastic start against Dortmund and win a game I really wasn't expecting us to be in but we manage to get the 3 points which will be massive. We followed this up with a very impressive win against Lazio as well.

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Pellegri got us off to the best possible start with the fastest goal of the season before Boadu gets his first senior hat-trick.

We then get a routine win over Benfica to give us 9 points out of 9 so far in the group stages.

We then have a very tough game against Atalanta where we nearly threw away a 3-0 lead

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November Fixtures

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3 home games this month which should hopefully mean 3 wins but Arsenal away should be a tough game.​