San Marino- Attempting the Impossible

View attachment 282923

Adailton has come back from injury just in time for the first playoff match, and somehow not only did his attributes decrease as much as I had feared, some of them have improved! Hopefully he can help lead us to promotion.
 
2012/13 Promotion Playoffs

View attachment 282929

Trapani finally got the better of us when it really counted. I thought we did well to control the game, just couldn't get forward enough. Adailton was less than stellar in his return.

With a 1-2 loss at home we were up against it heading to Trapani to try and realize our dream of back to back promotions. Could we do it?
View attachment 282931

No! Despite being the more lively of the two sides and a Man of the Match performance from Adailton, we just couldn't get the equalizer. Trapani got an early lead right after kickoff in what proved to be their only real chance of the night. Looks like another season in Serie C1/A is in store for us and hopefully we can do better next time around.​
 
End of Season 2012/13

What can I say other than missing out on promotion is extremely disheartening. I thought that we would be in a tight financial situation had we not been promoted, and I was right.
View attachment 282939
I went ahead and picked top half finish, but with already spending more than allowed I'll need to find a way to cut some wages and will most likely have to rely heavily on loan players for next season. I'll be looking to put our parent club Juventus (who won Serie A) to good use. I've already got my eye on a couple of their youngsters that popped up over last season in scouting reports.

After contracts expiring and loans finishing, this is how the squad looks:
View attachment 282946
I'm definitely going to have to find a way to vastly improve the squad with spending as little as possible.

Best Eleven
View attachment 282948
Maiorino really impressed me, however I had him on loan from Vicenza and doubt that I'll be able to afford to bring him back this season. Bandini, Galuppo, Briglia, and Stefanelli all return to their parent clubs as well. I really wanted to hold on to Perna, even though he was on an incredible decline, but just couldn't afford to get him a contract extension so he's gone on a free.
​
 
Really good story man, I have the same financial problems in my Cadiz save (story is on here)

good luck next season, will be following
 
Ashleigh1984 said:
Really good story man, I have the same financial problems in my Cadiz save (story is on here)

good luck next season, will be following
Click to expand...


Yeah, I don't understand why the board sets the wage budget so high if it's going to lose them loads of money. Oh well, seems to me that there's no limit to how many players you can have on loan in Italy. Nice story you've got going, thanks for reading
 
Just started this myself, 2nd in C1 and only lost to Poland due to two late goals :mad:

Good luck anyway, finances without promotion will be a challenge :)
 
jordyoffy said:
Just started this myself, 2nd in C1 and only lost to Poland due to two late goals :mad:

Good luck anyway, finances without promotion will be a challenge :)
Click to expand...

Very nice results! As far as the National Team goes, they're finally starting to gel with my tactics, but we're a long way off from being anywhere near competitive. The financial situation I think won't be as difficult a challenge to overcome as I thought, found some good free players for cheap wages and decent loans. Good luck to you.
 
Preseason 2013/14

First thing's first, the squad needed improving after the players that left
View attachment 282966
The top 4 Ins are all co-owned players that I offered $0 for in hopes that I would be out bid and not have to pay their wages. No such luck. Here are the rest of the signings:
View attachment 282970View attachment 282971View attachment 282972View attachment 282973View attachment 282975View attachment 282976View attachment 282977View attachment 282978View attachment 282979

Overall, I think that with these additions the squad is much improved over last year and hope that we can challenge for the league title behind them. Disappointing that Jonathan Lucca suffered a broken leg away on international duty, thought he would really perform for me. Instead, was forced to cancel his loan.

Here's how the squad looks now:
View attachment 282983
I'm really looking for the two Brazilians, Adailton and Pink (gotta love that name!...main reason I signed him), to be our key players this season. Kirev will hopefully improve over last season, although even after 735 days in the country he doesn't even speak basic Italian.

Tactics
View attachment 282991View attachment 282992

I think I've finally found something that works for me, created all by myself! I used these or some variation for the last half of last season and they've been working great.

League Table
View attachment 282994
Obviously no games played in the league yet, but wanted to show the newcomers. From what I can tell we shouldn't have too tough of a time competing with anyone. Coming up from C2 are Bellaria, Monza, and Venezia. Down from Serie B are Cittadella and Varese.

Next up, I'll update with the friendlies and cups we're involved in.​
 
Epic signing with Adailton! Pity he got injured at such a bad time!!
Well done with Bouy, he was a wonderkid a few years back with Ajax I think...

And so much for learning Italian with Habarugira! Sack him or get him deported for being a ****! (Especially with Camara in to replace him)
Good luck for next year!!!
 
Eric the Red said:
Epic signing with Adailton! Pity he got injured at such a bad time!!
Well done with Bouy, he was a wonderkid a few years back with Ajax I think...

And so much for learning Italian with Habarugira! Sack him or get him deported for being a ****! (Especially with Camara in to replace him)
Good luck for next year!!!
Click to expand...

Adailton has definitely been proving to be the signing of my career so far, and Bouy looks like he should really add some creativity to midfield. You're right that he started with Ajax.

As far as Habarugira goes, there's some interest in him from another club so he'll be leaving if there's an offer made. However he really does add a lot of depth on the bench, just look at everywhere he can play:
View attachment 283112
 
July/August 2013
View attachment 283113
A busy 5 weeks and I've got to be pleased with how we played. The only teams we let score on us are all currently playing in Serie A as Sassuolo was promoted last year. Adailton was the cup hero, scoring in the 90th at Fiorentina (who was relegated from Serie A last season) to ****** us an unlikely win. Then away to Palermo I was fully expecting a loss, but to lose in the way that we did was disappointing:
View attachment 283114
We were the only ones to create any real chances (3 ccc's to their 0) but couldn't put them away.

Squad Form
View attachment 283115
Once again, Adailton has been performing head and shoulders above everyone else and I just hope I can get another good 2-3 years out of him, but at 36 this could be his final season. Overall, I'm very pleased with the squad I've put together and will be looking to win the league outright this year so we don't have to deal with playoffs.

*Note: I had played up to the Fiorentina game but the game crashed again so replayed with similar results. The only real difference is that Jonathan Lucca, who had broken his leg before even playing for us is healthy.


National Team
View attachment 283116
We scored for the first time in my reign in a 3-1 friendly over Chinese Taipei (aka Taiwan). Other than that, disappointing as usual.

​
 
Looks like SI gave me an early birthday gift! I was putting this on hold until the ME update came out so I'll get right back on it. Already in the first match I saw a defender actually intercept a ball in their own half (opposition defender, but still refreshing). Wait... now I can't blame losing on the bugs
 
September/October 2013
View attachment 283988
A fantastic start to the season, other than the Varese result (more on that in a bit), and anything short of promotion this season will be a disappointment. Adailton was at it again for the month of September and into October. He's a man among boys in this league. The Varese match is what made me decide to wait for the ME to be patched to start this back up.
View attachment 283989
Being tied at 1-1 at half, I thought we could get out of there with a draw then when Adailton worked his mojo at the start of the second I was sure we could secure the victory, or at least walk away with a point. However, our defense decided to moonwalk away from the ball whenever it was close to them and leave the opposition with tons of space, allowing them to score 3 goals in the last 16 minutes. The Cuneo match wasn't any better as far as ME flaws striking and leading to goals, we just benefited from them more than they did.

League Table
View attachment 283990
Sitting just 2 points off of the league title and only automatic promotion spot, I'm pleased with how things have started off. Only thing is Varese looks like the team to beat this year, they have arguably the best squad and will be looking to bounce straight back to Serie B in their first try.

Squad
View attachment 283991
Adailton remains the club's top performer, however he's let his performances drop slightly. Picking up his slack is Massimo Coda, who played in only 14 matches last season. I put him in for the injured Ferrante and he's performed well, picking up the winning goals in the last three matches. With Ferrante due to return in 3 days time, I'll have a decision to make. The surprise signing of the period is Barbuzzi. My scout gave him a low rating when I signed him, but I thought his physical attributes combined with his marking and tackling skills made for decent cover. He's done well the few times I've called on him and at just 22 might be a good one in the future.

National Team
View attachment 283992View attachment 283993

'Nuff Said.

​
 
November/December 2013
View attachment 284383
Not a good period of play as we lost to both Cittadella and Cremonense, who are going to be right up there trying to nab the lone automatic promotion spot. Adailton has really slowed down and might just have his mind elsewhere, like sitting on a beach sipping a pina colada in retirement. Good news is our win against Virtus Luciano of serie C1/B put us top of our cup group and through to the semi final. Hopefully we can pick up the silverware there, we're in dire need of a reputation boost so we can bring in some more fans to the stadium.

League Table
View attachment 284384
So the two teams that we fell against are the two ahead of us in the league. Varese has lost their loose grip on the league after failing to win in 5 of their 8 league matches during the period. Even with our less than stellar run of form, we're still in the title race with a shout.

Squad
View attachment 284385
Ferri, another DC that my scout rated poorly at just 2 stars CA/PA, has stepped up to more than fill the shoes of injured starter Luciani. I've now got a three way race going on who's going to partner regularly at the back with Olivieri and it's a good thing that I'm not able to choose just one. Ceccarelli is another who has stepped up his performances recently.

Please, Adailton, say it ain't so!
View attachment 284386
I won't lie, I shed a few tears when this popped up in my inbox. Whatever am I going to do without my friend, my buddy, my pal, my partner, my lov...ahem.
View attachment 284387
What? He wants to be a coach and he's actually got decent attributes? And he only wants paid a third of what he's paid now? Even if his attributes were **** I'd still sign him as my asst coach.​
 
January/February 2014
View attachment 284390
Two short months with some great results saw the return of form to Adailton, a crucial victory over Varese, and a 7 goal thriller against Virtus Entella. The period also saw a change in tactics to a flat 442 in an attempt to widen the play and get a little more attacking (that and it's a tactic that has been doing good for me on another save). With the switch, I needed to bring in a couple of wide mids on loan:
View attachment 284391View attachment 284392

League Table
View attachment 284393
Couldn't ask for much better at this point, win our game in hand and we'll be sitting decently well off of third in what may become a two horse race between us and Cittadella for the league title. Any guesses who we play away to on the final game day of the league?
View attachment 284397
Mmmm, the plot thickens...

Squad
View attachment 284399
The rotation at center back continues and the top three are all proving they deserve to be on the pitch. Oh, and Adailton's doing all right:
View attachment 284400​
 
Great read, Keep it coming :)

I'm also doing this challenge but your a season ahead of me. Unlucky on the Playoffs must be hard heart breaking! I'm currently 4th after 21 games but 12 points off the top :( I'm hoping the playoff's will be nicer to me than were to you!
 
Murley said:
Great read, Keep it coming :)

I'm also doing this challenge but your a season ahead of me. Unlucky on the Playoffs must be hard heart breaking! I'm currently 4th after 21 games but 12 points off the top :( I'm hoping the playoff's will be nicer to me than were to you!
Click to expand...

Thanks for following! Good luck to you on your challenge.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

FMBase

Beta

Resources

Top