The Jewel of Old Bari - An Antonio Cassano & SSC Bari Story

[Klippybo]

FEBRUARY

Lineup - Plizzari, Rensch, Gabbia, Perrotta, Calafiori, Brescianini, De Risio (Dembele), Marras, Gaetano (Rafia), Millico, Esposito (Candellone)

WHAT THE **** IS THIS???

Back to back 1-0 defeats. Terrible. We were the better side but they struck early on and we just never really threatened their goal with any clear cut chances. Are the wheels coming off?

--

Lineup - Plizzari, Rensch, Gabbia, Perrotta, D'Orazio, Brescianini, Dembele (Lollo), Marras (Mastinu), Gaetano, Millico*, Esposito

We get back to winning ways here as we beat the bottom side 2-0. Not a great performance but a win is a win.

--

Lineup - Plizzari, Rensch, Gabbia, Perrotta, Calafiori (D'Orazio), Brescianini, De Risio, Marras (Mastinu), Gaetano, Millico*, Esposito (Candellone)

The top 2 met here and it was an even game. They had the better of it in the 1st half while we were the better side in the 2nd half. I am happy with this result given our recent results.

--

Lineup - Plizzari, Rensch, Gabbia*, Perrotta, Calafiori, Brescianini, De Risio (Dembele), Marras, Gaetano (Rafia), Millico, Esposito (Candellone)

A good win. Millico scored for the 3rd match running while Candellone broke his recent goal duck although to be fair he has been used as a sub for most of the season.

--

SUMMARY

We go into March with us now having given away our lead at the top of the table but we are miles ahead of 3rd place so promotion is still all but secured. The reason we lost our lead was our defeat to Livorno which allowed Parma to leapfrog us and when we faced Parma we couldnt beat them but a 1-1 draw was a good result.

We need Parma to slip up again if we are to win the league and we have to make sure we keep things going at our end. It will be tricky but not impossible.

Youth intake next month but I was told not to expect much.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
VINCENZO MILLICO

--

SERIE B

 

[Klippybo]

MARCH

Lineup - Plizzari, Rensch, Celiento (Brosco), Perrotta, Calafiori*, Brescianini, De Risio, Marras, Gaetano, Millico, Esposito (Candellone)

Millico scores for a 4th game in a row and that strike was enough to see us win the match.

--

Lineup - Branescu, Rensch (Barra), Gabbia, Celiento, Calafiori, Brescianini, De Risio, Marras, Gaetano, Millico, Esposito*

UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!

We absolutely smash Monza here as we scored 8. Esposito scored 4, Marras got a double while there were also goals for De Risio and Millico with Millico's goals being a stunner from 25 yards and means its 5 games in a row in which he has scored.. Plizzari was ill before the match so Branescu came in - what a game to come in for!!!

Parma lost so we are top of the league again!!!

--

Lineup - Plizzari, Berra, Gabbia, Perrotta, D'Orazio, Brescianini (Ranocchia), De Risio (Dembele), Marras, Rafia (Lollo), Millico, Esposito

There are no words to explain this. Both sides had goals disallowed (Aramu for them, Esposito for us) but to concede 6 goals at home is not acceptable.

Before the match Calafiori and Gaetano picked up injuries and are out for the season with Calafiori being recalled but I am not using that as an excuse.

--

SUMMARY

Another 3 game month but although we won our first 2 matches of the month - the 2nd being an 8-1 thrashing of Monza - we actually go into April in a bad place as we lost 6-4 at home to struggling Venezia who complete the double over us and we have Calafiori and Gaetano out for the remainder of the season.

Dont get me wrong, promotion to Serie A is all but secured but I want to win the title and with 7 games to play we are 2pts behind Parma.

As for the youth intake we got a decent striker but nobody who is going to set the world alight.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
SEBASTIANO ESPOSITO

--

SERIE B

​

 

[Klippybo]

APRIL

Lineup - Plizzari, Rensch, Gabbia, Perrotta, D'Orazio, Brescianini, De Risio (Ranocchia), Marras, Rafia, Millico, Esposito*

Back to winning ways with Esposito scoring a double and he had a goal disallowed once again.

--

Lineup - Plizzari, Rensch (Celiento), Gabbia, Perrotta, D'Orazio, Brescianini*, De Risio, Marras (Mastinu), Rafia, Millico (Candellone), Esposito

We are 1pt away from promotion now as we win against one of our rivals. Brescianini scored 2 great goals and Candellone came off the bench to get the 3rd. Unfortunately for us Marras got injured and he will probably miss the remainder of the season.

--

Lineup - Plizzari, Rensch (Celiento), Gabbia, Perrotta, D'Orazio, Brescianini, De Risio (Dembele), Gobbo*, Rafia, Millico (Candellone), Esposito

SERIE A HERE WE COME!!!!!

This win secures promotion although it wasnt an easy game - even with them having a man sent-off. I decided to give 16y/o winger Giuseppe Gobbo a chance on the right wing and he ended up getting the MOM award which was nice.

--

Lineup - Plizzari, Rensch, Gabbia, Perrotta, D'Orazio, Brescianini (Lollo), De Risio (Dembele), Gobbo, Rafia (Ranocchia), Millico*, Esposito

We win this match but we rode our luck - no more so than when we went down to 10 men when Dembele got sent-off and they had a goal disallowed immediately afterwards. As it was we ended up scoring the 4th through Esposito while I was delighted with Gobbo grabbing a brace.

--

Lineup - Plizzari, Rensch, Gabbia (Brosco), Perrotta, D'Orazio, Brescianini, De Risio, Mastinu (Previtali), Rafia, Millico, Esposito

Another win and it could have been 4-2 again as Millico had an effort disallowed. The best player in my recent youth intake, Sergio Previtali, came off the bench to make his debut and he scored what proved to be the winning goal.

--

SUMMARY

We go into the final 2 games of the season with us requiring just one point to seal the title. We won all 5 games this month and it was pretty frantic stuff as goals were flying in from all over the place. With promotion secured I have been given an initial £12m to spend in the summer but as ever with most of my side being on loan I am going to have to box clever!!!

I forgot to mention in last months post that Sebastiano Esposito won his first cap for Italy which is pretty good considering he has been plying his trade in Serie B.

Also I got offered the managers job at Genoa but I rejected it.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
MARCO BRESCIANINI

--

SERIE B

​

 

[Klippybo]

MAY

Lineup - Plizzari, Rensch (Berra), Gabbia, Perrotta, D'Orazio, Brescianini, De Risio, Gobbo (Previtali), Rafia, Millico, Esposito*

CHAMPIONS!!!!!!

We seal the title with a comfortable win over Ascoli who have been one of the stronger sides this season. Esposito scored 2 and had 1 disallowed while Brescianini and De Risio got the other 2.

--

Lineup - Plizzari, Rensch (Celiento), Gabbia, Perotta, D'Orazio, Dembele, De Risio, Gobbo (Previtali), Rafia (Candellone), Millico*, Esposito

We end the season with a comfortable win and a clean sheet. Happy days.

--

END OF SEASON POST

We had another very successful season as we won the Serie B title at the first time of asking to secure our promotion to Serie A. We were predicted to finish 6th before the start of the season so we were always likely to be involved and in the end ourselves and Parma broke away from everyone else and it was a 2 horse race. In the end we won the title by 6pts although it wasnt secured until the 3rd last game of the season. We had some great wins including a 3-0 win over Parma and an 8-1 win away to Monza while there were also some poor results with the 6-4 home defeat to Venezia still annoying me!!!

I got most of my loan players back from the previous season and added a few more on top with Plizzari, Calafiori, Esposito and Gaetano coming in and they were all great - especially Esposito who netted 37 goals and earned a cap for Italy.

That is all well and good but they are not my players and I cannot afford to buy them so once again I am going to have to completely reshape my squad.

--

SERIE B

--

FIRST TEAM SQUAD

Goalkeepers - Alessandro Plizzari came in from AC Milan on loan and he kept the goal well. With him being behind Donnarumma he really needs to play regularly and I will hope to prize him away from Milan in the summer. He only missed 1 game and that was the 8-1 win over Monza when Branescu played.

Defenders - Gabbia was brought back from AC Milan again on loan to continue his partnership with Perrotta. They both did well enough although they didnt stroll it like they did in Serie C last season obviously. My left back was Calafiori who did well until he got injured late on in the season and was recalled by Roma which gave D'Orazio a chance but he is leaving in the summer.

At right back, well they were all absolutely terrible and there will be changes there!!!!!!!

Midfielders - In central midfield I loved Brescianini who was our final AC Milan loanee and with 9 goals and 10 assists he was outstanding while De Risio was solid alongside him. I brought Mousa Dembele in to act as cover in January while Lollo and Ranocchia barely had opportunities.

On the right wing Manuel Marras had a fine season until he missed the last 2 months with injury. He racked up 16 goals and was a menace while his backup was Mastinu who wasnt great and 16y/o Gobbo who barely played until Marras got injured but he did impress.

On the left wing Millico struggled a bit with injuries but did well overall with 14 goals and 13 assists. Candellone covered for him when he was injured and he did a job in a foreign position to him. At AMC it was Gaetano and Rafia who shared that duty. Gaetano came in on loan from Napoli and started the season on fire before he missed 2 months with injury. He returned and did very well although I would have liked him to have scored more but he missed the last few months of the season through injury. Rafia came in and despite only scoring once he did assist 10 goals.

Forwards - Sebastiano Esposito was the man and the only man as he started all 40 of our matches and scored 37 goals. He was exceptional and earned his 1st cap for Italy. Candellone was always on the bench as backup but he barely got an opportunity.

My Player of the Year - Sebastiano Esposito
My Young Player of the Year - Sebastiano Esposito
Must Improve - Daniele Celiento
Donkey of the Year - Devyne Rensch

--

SUMMER PLANS

Buy, buy, buy, buy, buy lol. I have maybe 3 possibly 4 players who we own that can survive at Serie A level but survive is all. With the loan players leaving I basically need to either get them back or find replacements. I do have £12m to spend but considering I didnt spend a trnasfer see this season I will find it hard to splash the cash lol.

I need a keeper, 2 right backs, 2 left backs, 3 centre backs, 2 cms, 1 rw, 2 lw, 1 amc and 2 strikers. Not a lot to ask for!!!!!!!​

 

[Klippybo]

PRE-SEASON POST

Its safe to say I have had a busy summer. I have signed nearly 20 players during the summer but have spent only £4.1m in doing so. There were a few regens who came in for the U18s who came in for a pittance but I have baulked up the first team squad and I am not finished yet but as I write this (on the day of the opening game of the season) I only have £1m left to spend in my transfer budget.

Regarding outgoings I managed to recoup £1.2m so I am hardly rolling in the cash however we will get £43m in TV rights which really gives the club a huge financial boost but we really need to avoid relegation to really build on that. We are predicted to just finish 17th in the table which is fair enough I suppose but I am aiming for 10th-12th.

I better get on with introducing my new signings etc.

--

PLAYERS OUT

Not much to see here then. However D'Orazio was released while Candellone, Gabbia, Plizzari, Esposito, Gaetano, Millico and Brescianini all had their loan spells ended............

--

PLAYERS IN

..........and then I brought most of them back!!! Alas Vincenzo Millico is not one of them as Torino want him now. In 70 games he scored 41 goals and while Torino were willing to sell him I couldnt afford him and he wasnt available for loan.

I did however manage to bring back Gabbia, Plizzari, Esposito, Brescianini and Gaetano back however!!!!!!

Candellone is also back but I got him in permanently as his contract had run out at Napoli.

My 2 most expensive signings were my 2 signings for the left wing position. Petar Bockaj came in from Osijek for £2.5m while Facundo Colidio joined from Inter Milan for £500,000 rising up to £750,000. Bockaj can play on either wing and is a free-kick specialist and he should be fine at this level. Colidio was very highly rated by my scouts although I must admit I dont quite see what they have however needs must and it was a cheap enough deal.

I spent £550,000 on Marco Sala from Sassuolo and he will be one of my new left backs. He was available on the cheap so I pounced on the deal.

I brought 5 players in on free transfers for the first team. John Souttar arrived from Hearts, Davide Santon from Roma, ***** Ta Bi and Federico Mattiello from Atalanta and Fabio Maistro from Lazio. Souttar will compete for a CB spot, Santon can play in either full back position, Mattiello will be my left back and he was the one who I had arranged to sign anyway while Maistro will be in at CM and Ta Bi will be backup.

My 4 other signings so far were regens at a cost of £100k.

--

AIMS FOR THE SEASON

Avoid relegation naturally but as I have said already a position between 10th and 12th would be good. Our first XI should be competitive to where we want to be but if injuries happen we will struggle. I would like to strengthen the squad further and we shall see what happens. We have less loan players this month so that is a boost as it means I am more in control when it comes to shaping my squad and we can sell players etc.

A special shout out goes to Celiento, Perrotta, Mattas and De Risio as they are the only ones that were at the club before I arrived who are still involved. Lollo is still at the club but he is transfer listed.

--

JULY

Lineup - Branescu, Santon, Gabbia, Souttar, Mattiello (Sala), Brescianini, Maistro (De Risio), Bockaj, Rafia, Colidio (Candellone), Esposito

Meh. This was always going to be a tough match and thats before Plizzari, Marras and Gaetano got injured so couldnt play. They also had a goal disallowed so it could have been more but we actually didnt play too badly.

--

Lineup - Plizzari, Santon, Gabbia, Souttar, Mattiello, Brescianini, Maistro (De Risio), Bockaj (Marras), Rafia (Gaetano), Colidio, Esposito

Ouch. Once again we didnt play too badly but we barely threatened up front while AC Milan were ruthless. Maistro has had 2 shockers while Plizzari didnt have his best of games against his parent club.

--

SCOTLAND APPOINT ANTONIO CASSANO AS MANAGER!!!!

The morning after the AC Milan match I got offered the chance to manage Scotland. Now naturally as Antonio Cassano I want to manage Italy but with myself being Scottish this is the perfect country for me to start with.


AND THEN I IMMEDIATELY RESIGN!!!!

They didnt have a ******* goalkeeper to call up lol. Cant be arsed with that lol​

 

[HugoCaldeira1234]

So you left bari to become manager of scotland and then quit become scotland managed after not a called up from goalkeepers
**** you just lose an bari job by become manager at scotland

 

[Mr_Grieves]

Serves you right for not loading the Scottish leagues!

 

[Klippybo]

AUGUST

Lineup - Plizzari, Santon, Gabbia, Souttar, Mattiello, Brescianini, Maistro*, Marras, Rafia (Gaetano), Bockaj (Colidio), Esposito (Panico)

Our first goals and point of the season. We battled back from 2-0 down to get a draw but in truth we should have won as we had over 20 shots on goal. Panico got the leveller in the last minute as he came off the bench to grab a debut goal just days after signing - he has spent the last 2 years in Serie C so it was a great moment.

--

Coppa Italia 3rd Qualifying Round

Lineup - Plizzari, Santon (Celiento), Gabbia*, Souttar, Sala, Ta Bi, De Risio, Gobbo (Gaetano), Rafia, Bockaj (Colidio), Esposito

I rested a few players here with Ta Bi getting his debut and Gobbo getitng a start amongst others. We battered them and it took us a while to get the opener but when we got the 1st the other 2 were soon following.

--

Lineup - Plizzari, Santon, Gabbia, Souttar, Mattiello, Brescianini, Maistro (De Risio), Marras (Candellone*), Gaetano, Bockaj, Esposito (Panico)

Our first win in Serie A and it was a cracker as there were 6 goals, 1 disallowed goal (Marras for us) and a penalty. Once again defensively we had a shocker but up front we were on fire even though it took Candellone to come off the bench to score the clinching 2 goals.

--

Lineup - Plizzari, Mattiello, Gabbia, Souttar, Santon, Brescianini, Maistro, Marras (Rafia*), Gaetano, Bockaj (Colidio), Esposito (Candellone)

I am overjoyed with this win - not only because of the manner of it with Rafia striking in injury time but more due to the fact that we kept our first clean sheet in Serie A.

--

Lineup - Plizzari, Mattiello, Gabbia, Souttar, Santon (Sala), Brescianini, Maistro (Ta Bi), Marras (Colidio), Gaetano, Bockaj, Esposito*

This Serie A lark is easy now lol. We make it 3 wins in a row as our 2nd half performance blew away Udinese. Esposito scored a hat-trick to get his first goals in the top division and Gabbia added another.

--

SUMMARY

Having had a tough introduction to life in Serie A in our first 2 matches we have found our feet this month by going unbeaten and winning 3 of our 4 matches. We started off by coming from 2 down to draw in the last minute against Torino and that gave my players a new found belief and confidence it seems. We then won in the cup against Pescara before putting 4 past Bologna, edging out Cagliari and then hitting Udinese for 4 which sees us finish the month in 6th place.

Defensively we have been largely all over the place although we have kept 2 clean sheets in our last 2 league games - I like to think we are the version of Leeds United this season!!!

The transfer window has closed and I sold Ranocchia for £225,000 but strengthened the squad with 2 free transfer signings. Daniel Bessa came in on deadline day to strengthen the midfield and Giuseppe Panico comes in as a backup striker and he made his mark on his debut by scoring the last minute equaliser against Torino.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
MATTEO GABBIA

--

SERIE A

​

 

[Klippybo]

So you left bari to become manager of scotland and then quit become scotland managed after not a called up from goalkeepers
**** you just lose an bari job by become manager at scotland

I kept the Bari job going. Just resigned from Scotland manager after 1 day lol

Serves you right for not loading the Scottish leagues!

I had them loaded up as view only. Marshall, McGregor are retired. Gunn wasnt for changing and no McCrorie, McLaughlin, McGillvary etc.

Just 2 16y/o players who are hump. If it was March or February I would just make the leagues playable but not going a whole year without a keeper lol

 

[Klippybo]

SEPTEMBER

Lineup - Plizzari, Mattiello, Perrotta (Celiento), Souttar, Santon, Brescianini, Maistro (Daniel Bessa), Marras (Colidio), Gaetano, Bockaj, Esposito

A bad day at the office. We were 2-1 up and looking good but from the moment Perrotta put the ball into his own net we were outplayed. 5-2 is a bit harsh but we got what we deserved overall.

--

Lineup - Plizzari, Mattiello (Sala), Gabbia, Souttar, Santon, Brescianini (Daniel Bessa), Maistro, Marras, Gaetano, Bockaj (Candellone), Esposito*

Parma have struggled since getting promoted with us and we piled on the misery here with a relatively comfortable victory. Esposito scored 2 early goals and we just saw the game out.

--

Lineup - Plizzari, Mattiello, Gabbia, Souttar, Santon, Brescianini (Ta Bi), Maistro (De Risio), Marras, Gaetano, Bockaj (Rafia), Esposito*

Excellent. Sampdoria are near the bottom of the league and it seems that the history of the club is bigger than the side itself at the moment as we sweep them aside. Esposito was at it again with 2 goals, Gaetano scored a screamer and Ta Bi came off the bench to score in the last minute.

--

Coppa Italia 4th Qualifying Round

Lineup - Plizzari, Mattiello (Celiento), Gabbia, Souttar, Santon, Brescianini*, Maistro (Ta Bi), Marras, Gaetano, Bockaj, Esposito (Ciganek)

A fine victory with 3 world class goals. Santon bent in the first from 20 yards, Brescianini fired in a rocket from 30 yards and Bockaj wrapped things up with a fine individual effort. Ciganek - a regen I signed in the summer - came off the bench to make his debut.

--

SUMMARY

Apart from our first match - a 5-2 defeat to Sassuolo - we have had an excellent month and we got some decent results. Parma were defeated 2-0 before we went away to Sampdoria and smashed them 4-1 and we followed that up by beating Brescia 3-0 away in the cup which sets us up with a tie against Juventus.

It seems that although we end the month in 6th place we can usually take care of the **** sides in the division but we really struggle against sides of real quality which is a worry for next month as we play Inter, Lazio and Juventus!!!!!

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
SEBASTIANO ESPOSITO

--

SERIE A

​

 

[Klippybo]

OCTOBER

Lineup - Plizzari, Mattiello, Gabbia, Perrotta, Santon (Sala), Brescianini, Maistro, Marras, Gaetano*, Bockaj, Esposito (Ciganek)

We make it 3 wins in a row in the league with this result. They scored the opener with their only shot in the match but we played them off the park thereafter.

--

Lineup - Plizzari, Mattiello (Celiento), Gabbia, Souttar, Santon (Sala), Brescianini, Maistro, Marras, Gaetano, Bockaj, Esposito (Panico)

We deserved to lose here but to concede 2 late goals is pretty tough to take. Lazio won the league last year apparently so there is no shame in this defeat.

--

Lineup - Plizzari, Mattiello (Sala), Gabbia, Souttar, Santon, Brescianini, Maistro, Marras (Rafia), Gaetano, Bockaj (Colidio), Esposito

Our 2nd 3-1 defeat in a row but it was always going to take something special to beat Inter. At least Esposito scored against his parent club.

--

Lineup - Plizzari, Mattiello, Gabbia, Souttar, Santon, Brescianini, Maistro, Marras (Daniel Bessa), Gaetano (Celiento), Bockaj (Candellone), Esposito

Yet another 3-1 defeat. Tbh we were looking good for a draw but when Mattiello got sent-off it was game over. We played really well but it wasnt to be.

--

Lineup - Plizzari, Santon (Celiento), Gabbia, Souttar, Sala, Brescianini*, Maistro, Marras, Gaetano (Rafia), Bockaj (Colidio), Esposito

We end our losing streak with a fine win over Fiorentina who started the day a place below us in the table. Esposito scored twice, Brescianini scored a screamer and Maistro pounced for the 4th for his first goal for the club. Defensively, as ever, we were shocking though lol.

--

SUMMARY

This was a tough month although it was bookended with 2 decent wins against Spezia and Fiorentina. In between we lost 3 games in a row, all 3-1, to Lazio, Inter and Juventus which was tough and I had to call a team meeting to raise my players morale a bit before the Fiorentina game. This all means that we end the month 9th in the table which is pretty decent.

I actually forgot about the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and we dont have another game until New Years Eve! I think that will help us as I dont think any of my players will be there so while most of the other Serie A teams will have players playing in the World Cup my players will all be rested.

I got offered the Torino job and that got rejected naturally while there have been takeover rumours but the board have been nice enough to give me a couple more million to spend in the transfer window.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
MARCO BRESCIANINI

--

SERIE A

​

 

[Klippybo]

DECEMBER

Lineup - Plizzari, Mattiello (Celiento), Gabbia, Souttar (Perrotta), Sala, Brescianini*, Maistro, Marras, Gaetano (Rafia), Bockaj, Esposito

We come back from having almost 2 months off with a great win over Brescia. Esposito who has just won the European Golden Boy award got us off to a flyer before a trademark rocket from Brescianini had us on easy street. They pulled a goal back but then Bockaj lobbed their keeper and Marras affed a 4th.

--

ANTONIO CASSANO IS APPOINTED THE NEW MANAGER OF NIGERIA

The World Cup is over (Germany beat England in the final) and a host of managerial jobs became available. None of the top teams, including Italy, was interested in me but I did get offers from Czech Republic, Ivory Coast, Mexico, Chile, USA and Nigeria. The reason I have chosen Nigeria is because the African Nations Cup is next year and I havent won that yet so I thought that they would give me a better chance than Ivory Coast. Its that simple lol.

It wont be a long stay whatever happens.​

 

[Klippybo]

JANUARY

Lineup - Plizzari, Laquintana, Gabbia, Souttar, Sala (Mattiello), Brescianini, Maistro, Marras (Santon), Gaetano, Bockaj (Colidio), Esposito

This is a meeting of the owners as we share the same board. They got the win with Fabian scoring twice and he also missed a penalty. Laquintana made his debut here and had an absolute shocker!

--

Coppa Italia 1st Round

Lineup - Plizzari, Laquintana, Gabbia, Souttar, Santon, Brescianini (De Risio), Daniel Bessa, Marras (Mattiello), Gaetano, Colidio (Candellone), Esposito

This was always going to be mission impossible and tbh they could have scored 6 or 7 but I wasnt expecting Jordan Henderson to pop up with a goal!

--

Lineup - Plizzari, Laquintana, Gabbia, Souttar (Polenta), Santon, Brescianini, Maistro (De Risio), Marras, Gaetano, Bockaj (Colidio), Esposito*

When we win we tend to win big!!!! This is our 9th league win of the season and in those wins we have scored 4,1,4,2,4,3,4,4 and now 5!!!!!

Laquintana got his first goal for us with a fine angled strike, Esposito got his 2nd hat-trick of the season and Gaetano scored a belter. Diego Polenta came off the bench to make his debut too.

--

Lineup - Plizzari, Laquintana, Polenta, Souttar, Santon (Sala), Brescianini (Daniel Bessa), Maistro, Marras*, Gaetano, Bockaj (Candellone), Esposito

Another win and 4 more goals are added to our tally with Manuel Marras scoring a superb hat-trick. For his 1st 2 goals he broke Atalanta's offside trap and for his 3rd he smashed one in from 25 yards. Tbh the scoreline was harsh on Atalanta and they had a goal disallowed which would have made it 2-2.

Atalanta are now managed by Steven Gerrard after Gasperini left to become manager of Italy.

--

Lineup - Plizzari, Laquintana, Gabbia, Souttar*, Santon, Brescianini (Ta Bi), Maistro, Marras (Mattiello), Gaetano, Bockaj (Colidio), Esposito

Only our 2nd draw of the season and this one was a dull affair with little chances created.

--

Lineup - Plizzari, Laquintana, Gabbia, Souttar (Polenta), Santon, Brescianini, Maistro (Ta Bi), Marras (Mattiello), Gaetano, Bockaj, Esposito

We came into this match 6pts clear of Roma but yet again we fail to get something against one of the big clubs in Italy. We actually matched them and the scoreline could so easily have been the other way round but the difference in quality of our players is night and day and that is key.

--

SUMMARY

2023 started with a month with plenty of ups and downs. We unsurprisingly lost to Juventus in the cup and in the league we lost to Napoli and Roma and drew with Verona although we did hand out thrashings to Atalanta and SPAL also which overall sees us lie in 6th place and well in the hunt for European places which if you offered me that at the start of the season I would have bitten your hand off lol. There is a but though and I will come to that later.

A few players left the club during the transfer window. Branescu left to join Cremonese on a free but I couldnt afford to replace him (not even on a free lol), he played 45 times for me and played in our first match in Serie A. Mousa Dembele joined Lucchese on a free, Lorenzo Lollo (42 apps, 5 goals) joined Ternana for £150k and Daniele Celiento (69 apps) joined Benevento for £475k.

Incoming were 2 players. Firstly I agreed a deal to sign Ignacio Laquintana on a free transfer from Defensor Sporting when his contract ran out. The Uruguayan is probably best at RW but is also my best RB so he will probably play there until the end of the season. Hopefully he will kick on and develop.

I also brought in another Uruguayan, Diego Polenta, on a free transfer from Olimpia to replace Celiento in the squad. He had an Italian passport so it was a no brainer to bring him in if only with the short term in mind.

Now for the but. While we are doing brilliantly my squad really needs an overhaul. Its a step by step basis though. My Serie A quality players are all on loan to me which leaves me with a bunch of leading Serie B players at best. Against the weaker teams in the division we can swat away sides fairly comfortably but the moment a half decent team faces us we are terrible.

I live in hope that I can get a £20-30m transfer budget for next season. Even that will only fix a couple of problems and if I did get such a budget I would feel duty bound to go in for Gabbia, Brescianini and Plizzari (I fear Esposito has now outgrown us).

Lots to ponder.

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
SEBASTIANO ESPOSITO

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SERIE A

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[Klippybo]

FEBRUARY

Lineup - Plizzari, Laquintana, Gabbia, Souttar, Santon (Sala), Brescianini, Maistro, Marras (Mattiello), Gaetano, Colidio (Candellone), Esposito*

WE FINALL Y BEAT ONE OF THE BIG BOYS!!!!

Sure we had a huge slice of luck when they had an early goal disallowed and then a man sent-off but we dug in and got a momentous victory when Esposito struck in the first half. They probably deserved a draw tbh but ultimately it was us who emerged as victors.

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Lineup - Plizzari, Laquintanta, Gabbia, Polenta (Perrotta), Sala, Brescianini, Maistro, Marras*, Gaetano, Colidio (Sorensen), Esposito (Ciganek)

We pick up another victory and another clean sheet here. Marras scored both goals while Sorensen came off the bench to make his debut.

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Lineup - Plizzari, Laquintana, Gabbia, Souttar, Santon, Brescianini, Daniel Bessa (De Risio), Marras (Mattiello), Gaetano (Rafia), Colidio, Esposito*

A 3rd win and clean sheet in a row as we move up into a Champions League spot! Esposito broke free to score his 20th league goal of the season while Colidio grabbed the 2nd with a powerful effort from the edge of the area to score his 1st goal for the club.

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Lineup - Plizzari, Laquintana, Gabbia, Souttar, Santon, Brescianini*, Maistro (De Risio), Marras, Gaetano (Rafia), Colidio (Bockaj), Esposito

Cagliari are the other surprise package this season and at the start of the match were the side below us in the table. We dominated them from start to finish here although when they scored against the run of play I thought it was going to be one of those days however Esposito nodded in at the backpost to level and Brescianini scored a fabulous curling effort from 25 yards in the last minute to give us another victory.

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SUMMARY

This month could hardly have gone better as we won all 4 matches to move into a Champions League spot. The highlight of the month was us defeating AC Milan 1-0 which gave us our first win against one of the big sides and we then went on to defeat Torino, Bologna and Cagliari. We are in 4th spot, 3pts clear of Napoli and Roma but tbh I cant see us staying there until the end of the season.

At the end of the month we suffered a huge blow when Plizzari got injured and he is out for 4-6 weeks which left me without a keeper. Fortunately I had already agreed to sell Bockaj (he didnt turn up for training, been **** when he has turned up so has been dropped from the side) so I had enough spare cash to bring in an emergency keeper on a free transfer - Eugenio Lamanna.

Next month we have the youth intake and apparently it could be a golden generation for the club - fingers crossed!!!!!

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
SEBASTIANO ESPOSITO

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SERIE A

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[Klippybo]

MARCH

Lineup - Lamanna, Laquintana, Gabbia, Souttar, Santon (Sala), Brescianini, Maistro, Marras, Gaetano, Colidio (Candellone), Esposito (Ciganek)

We came into this match off the back of a 4 game win streak but it was ended here after a nightmare 1st half performance where we conceded 3 goals. We fought back in the 2nd half and managed to score 2 ourselves but we gave ourselves too much to do in the end. Disappointing.

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Lineup - Lamanna, Mattiello, Gabbia, Souttar, Santon (Sala), Brescianini, Maistro (Daniel Bessa), Laquintana, Gaetano, Colidio (Candellone), Esposito*

What a game this was. We gained revenge for our 5-2 defeat to Sassuolo earlier this season by putting 5 past them this time. I am a bit annoyed at the 2 late goals conceded but hey ho. Laquintana scored a hat-trick playing on the RW for the first time (his best position) while Esposito almost got one too - he had a goal disallowed.

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Lineup - Lamanna, Mattiello (Gobbo), Gabbia, Souttar, Santon, Brescianini, Maistro, Laquintana, Gaetano, Colidio (Candellone), Esposito

This is a missed opportunity as Parma are struggling and in the relegation zone. We got off to a perfect start with Esposito converting a penalty but we just couldnt kill them off and they duly levelled.

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SUMMARY

We only had 3 games this month due to the international break and it was a bit hit and miss. We lost to Udinese, thumped Sassuolo and drew with Parma so it was a bit disappointing overall and we are now down to 5th position - 2pts behind Napoli. We also go into next month knowing we have fixtures against Lazio, Juventus and Inter Milan so we shall see where we lie after those matches!

As for the golden generation youth intake - it was **** lol.

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
SEBASTIANO ESPOSITO

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SERIE A

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NIGERIA

Friendly

Lineup - Uzoho, Aina (Ilori), Akpoguma (Awaziem), Omeruo (Troost-Ekong), Zaidu, Ndidi, Agbo, Chukwueze, Iheanacho*, Iwobi (Eze), Osimhen (Okereke)

My first match as an international manager is a victory as we come from behind to defeat Cameroon. We played pretty well and our winner was a screamer from Ebere Eze who came off the bench to score on his international debut.
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[Sam91]

Flying with Esposito man, currently stuck in Serie B with San Marino Calcio myself!! How you finding managing in Italy?

 

[Klippybo]

Flying with Esposito man, currently stuck in Serie B with San Marino Calcio myself!! How you finding managing in Italy?

So far so good but I havent been hampered by the limited number of non eu signings yet.

 

[Klippybo]

APRIL

Lineup - Lemanna, Laquintana, Gabbia, Souttar, Santon, Brescianini (Ta Bi), Maistro, (De Risio), Marras, Gaetano*, Colidio, Esposito

A comfortable victory. I didnt even see the goals as I was typing up the starting lineup lol. Sampdoria sacked Claudio Ranieri immediately after this match.

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Lineup - Lemanna, Laquintana, Gabbia, Souttar, Santon, Daniel Bessa (De Risio), Maistro (Ta Bi), Marras, Gaetano*, Colidio, Candellone (Ciganek)

Spezia are battling against relegation so I am a bit disappointed that we couldnt find a way to win but having said that we were without Esposito so I am content with the point.

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Lineup - Plizzari, Laquintana, Gabbia, Polenta, Santon (Sala), Brescianini, Maistro, Marras (Mattiello), Gaetano, Colidio (Candellone), Esposito*

This was very harsh. Lazio are the side behind us in the table and they were very fortunate to beat us here with the returning Plizzari scoring an own goal to win it for them.

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Lineup - Plizzari, Laquintana, Gabbia, Souttar, Santon, Brescianini, Maistro (Ta Bi), Marras (De Risio), Gaetano (Sala), Colidio, Esposito

OUCH!!!!

For half an hour we were superb and were the better side but then we got caught out by an Inter counter attack and then had 2 men sent-off and it was game over. They could have scored 15 in the end tbh.

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Lineup - Plizzari, Santon, Gabbia, Souttar, Sala, Brescianini, Maistro (Rafia), Marras, Gaetano, Candellone (Sorensen), Esposito (Ciganek)

A fantastic point. I was missing Laquintana and Colidio here (Bockaj has been banished to the reserves as he hasnt been turning up for training) but my players dug in and managed to get a point. Juventus were the better side but Plizzari managed to keep them out.

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SUMMARY

As expected this month was very tough and we have lost a place in the league table. We started the month with a decent win over Sampdoria and then a draw against Spezia however we undeservedly lost to Lazio before Inter thrashed us 5-0 when we had 2 men sent-off. Thankfully though we responded and got a fantastic draw against Juventus.

We are currently lying 6th in the table and while any unrealistic hopes of a Champions League spot are now gone I just want to make sure that we qualify for one of the other two European competitions.

Some Nigeria news - we have been drawn alongside Mali, Gabon and Libya in the African Nations Cup.

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
GIANLUCA GAETANO

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SERIE A

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[Klippybo]

MAY

Lineup - Plizzari, Laquintana (Sala), Gabbia, Souttar, Santon, Brescianini, Rafia, Marras, Gaetano (Maistro), Candellone (Colidio), Esposito

Our poor run of form continues here as we narrowly lose to Fiorentina. Thats now 5 without a win, 1 win in 7 and 2 wins in 9. Very worrying. Whats worse is that Gaetano and Laquintana got injured and are out for the rest of the season.

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Lineup - Plizzari, Santon, Gabbia (Polenta), Souttar, Sala, Daniel Bessa, Maistro, Marras*, Rafia (Ciganek), Colidio (Sorensen), Esposito

We finally pick up a win against Brescia. We were 3-0 up and cruising but we then let them back in it which was annoying however we managed to cling on. Esposito now has 30 goals in all competitions this season.

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Lineup - Plizzari, Santon (Mattiello), Polenta, Souttar, Sala, Brescianini, Maistro (Daniel Bessa), Marras, Rafia, Colidio (Candellone), Esposito

This is a tough one to take. It was an entertaining match and a draw would have been fair but they scored in stoppage time to get the win.

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Lineup - Plizzari*, Santon, Gabbia, Souttar, Sala (Mattiello), Brescianini, Maistro, Marras, Rafia (Daniel Bessa), Colidio (Sorensen), Esposito

Another entertaining affair. Sure we won 2-1 thanks to an own goal and a rare goal from Davide Santon but it could have been 6 or 7 such was our dominance. Colidio and Esposito both had goals disallowed while they also had one chalked off and then towards the end we had John Souttar sent-off. SPAL are now relegated to Serie B.

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Lineup - Plizzari, Mattiello, Gabbia, Polenta, Sorensen, Brescianini, Maistro (Ta Bi), Marras (Gobbo), Rafia (Ciganek), Colidio, Esposito

WE QUALIFY FOR THE UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE!!!!!

The disappointment at conceding an injury time equaliser is forgotten as we secure European qualification with a game to spare. Unfortunately however I have only been given a £15m transfer budget - I would have liked double that!

Esposito has now scored 30 league goals this season - unbelievable!

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Lineup - Plizzari, Mattiello, Gabbia, Souttar, Santon (Sorensen), Brescianini, Maistro, Marras, Rafia (Ciganek), Colidio*, Esposito

An entertaining way to end the season as once again we share 6 goals. If we won and Lazio lost then we would have managed to finish 5th but as it is we finish 6th which is some achievement. With this being the end of the season it could have been the last game at the club for Plizzari, Gabbia, Brescianini and Esposito.

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SUMMARY

The season is over and we stumbled across the line to earn a European place via the Europa League. We won 2 of our 6 matches this month but overall we have only won 4 of our last 14 matches.

It is all about the summer now and how I can strengthen my squad plus I also have to manage Nigeria in the African Nations Cup - I am going to be busy!!!!!!

End of season post to follow.

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
ALESSANDRO PLIZZARI

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[Klippybo]

END OF SEASON POST

Our first season in Serie A was a successful one for sure but it had its ups and downs. We lost our first 2 games before we strung a great run of form together and we were always between 5th-8th throughout the season from then on (we were 4th for a wee while too). It became quickly apparent that we were usually fine against the chaff of the division but against the big guns we were useless apart from when we drew against Juventus and beat AC Milan 1-0 away but even then they were down to 10 men.

To finish 6th is a great achievement but perversely I kinda would have liked to have finished 7th and qualify for the UEFA Conference League as I would like to have a crack at that to see what its like but it is the Europa League and I cant really complain lol.

We were largely a one man team with Sebastiano Esposito smashing in 32 goals. A handful of others did do well but on the whole my players were very hit and miss and yet again I have a huge job ahead of me in the summer as I need to replace about 12-15 players in the first team squad unless I can get some of my loan players back!

In the Coppa Italia we got through the qualifying rounds before Juventus knocked us out so there isnt much to say there!

I have to say that financially I have never had a season like it. Because my players are on low wages and the fact that we got £43m in TV money that comes in month by month we actually earned money during the season as we started the season with £2m in the bank and currently we have £38m in the clubs coffers. That is amazing to be fair yet it leaves a bitter taste in the mouth that I only have £15m initially to spend in the summer.

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SERIE A

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FIRST TEAM SQUAD

Goalkeepers - I used 3 during the season. Branescu played our first Serie A match before leaving to join Cremonese and then it was naturally Plizzari who stood in between the sticks and he was amazing tbh. Sure we conceded a few to many but that was mainly due to our defense rather than Plizzari. He did get injured for a month or so and I had to sign an emergency keeper so Lamanna came in and did a job.

Defenders - Gabbia was loaned for a 3rd season in a row and was solid while I signed a new partner for him in John Souttar and he has developed well but needs to step up the performances a bit. It was at full backs where we really struggled as Mattiello, Santon and Sala all struggled as did Laquintana when he signed but he is a RW playing at RB so he gets a pass plus he scored a hat-trick in one game (playing at RW). I had backups in Polenta, Perrotta and Celiento but they are not really up to the standard of Serie A.

Midfielders - Brescianini was back again for a 2nd loan season and he did well and scored 8 goals but alongside him my summer signing, Fabio Maistro, was very poor. De Risio, Ta Bi and Daniel Bessa all featured but were pretty **** tbh and that is one of the many positions where I need to strengthen in the summer.

A big shout out goes to Manuel Marras who, in his first season in Serie A, scored 12 goals for us on the RW which is pretty good considering he has been with us since the Serie C days. Admittedly he was pretty poor overall but when he had a good match he was a game changer. On the opposite wing I had my big summer signing, Petar Bockaj, and he was an absolute disgrace. He scored 4 goals but he was awful in training and in the 2nd half of the season he was constantly getting fined for not turning up to training and I have already agreed to sell him. Facundo Colidio came in for him and did a job but it is another area to improve.

At AMC I had Gaetano again and he had a good season before he got injured. He was one of the few players who ended up with an average rating of above 7.00 so he can hold his head up high as can his backup, Rafia, who didnt feature as much as he would have liked but he did do well.

Forwards - Naturally once again it was all about Sebastiano Esposito as the young striker scored 32 goals in all competitions and he was immense. Whether or not that we can bring him back for another season is another matter as he has outgrown us in truth but we shall see what happens with Inter Milan.

Candellone had a few appearances and scored 4 goals while Ciganek and Panico had sub appearances with Panico scoring the goal which earned us our first Serie A point.

My Player of the Year - Sebastiano Esposito
My Young Player of the Year - Sebastiano Esposito
Must Improve - Fabio Maistro
Donkey of the Year - Petar Bockaj

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SUMMER PLANS

I have the African Nations Cup to deal with with Nigeria but arguably I have a bigger job with Bari in terms of recruitment. I have so many players to replace with little money to do so. I would have loved to have had £30m to spend to sign one or two of the loan players and then strengthen the squad but it wont be possible plus with the added pressures of European football I think we have gone to big to soon.

If I cant get Esposito back on loan (we cant afford to buy him) I somehow have to replace a 30 goal a season striker - not easy!!!!

Its going to be interesting.​