Silver_blue just bit me!

[Dark_Soccer]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Donners:

Trust me, you aren't even close to finished.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

[Donners]

Not so great for me. Not only is it a lot of work, I don't even like the bloody game! But hell, since this is probably my final story, I may as well make it a big one.

The Transfers

Transfers In

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">1st in Italian Serie A

Transfers

| Date | Person | From | Fee |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1.7.2013 | Charbonnier, Rajesh | Sporting | Free |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1.7.2013 | Fontana | Dortmund | Free |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1.7.2013 | Essien, Michael | Man Utd | Free |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1.8.2013 | Rasch, Alexandre | Alavés | Free |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1.8.2013 | Paterson | Alavés | Free |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 30.8.2013 | Tommasi, Lingjing | Vicenza | £2.5M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 11.11.2013 | Hjelm, Marlon Geovany | Free Transfer | Free |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 14.2.2014 | Horjak, Francis | Newcastle | Free |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Total | | £2.5M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

</pre>

Transfers Out

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">1st in Italian Serie A

Transfers

| Date | Person | To | Fee |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 17.6.2013 | Iodice, Mauricio Omar | Free Transfer | Free |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 18.6.2013 | Martin, Lee | FC Bayern | £7.25M |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 29.7.2013 | Ferrari, Daniel | 1860 München | £450K |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 31.7.2013 | Arthur | Free Transfer | Free |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 31.7.2013 | Zamperini, Alessandro | Free Transfer | Free |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 31.7.2013 | Neumayr, Markus | Free Transfer | Free |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 31.7.2013 | Adu, Freddy | Free Transfer | Free |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 31.7.2013 | Grillo, Fabrizio | Free Transfer | Free |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 3.8.2013 | Baggio, Takayasu | Free Transfer | Free |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 3.8.2013 | Di Dio | Free Transfer | Free |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 3.8.2013 | Manzoni, Habib | Free Transfer | Free |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 3.8.2013 | Poggi | Free Transfer | Free |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 3.8.2013 | Solberg, Ping Loy | Free Transfer | Free |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 3.8.2013 | Pappalardo, Tse Lung | Free Transfer | Free |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 5.8.2013 | Hidalgo, Carlos Daniel | Brescia | £4.5M |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 6.8.2013 | Paoloni | Free Transfer | Free |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 20.1.2014 | Rabito, Andrea | Bologna | £825K |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 17.5.2014 | D'Innocenzo, Eleandro José | Free Transfer | Free |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Total | | £13M |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

</pre>

Loans In

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Date | Person | From | Fee |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 31.7.2013 | Braun, K. | FC Bayern | Loan |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Total | | £0 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

Loans Out

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Date | Person | To | Fee |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 12.7.2013 | Giusti, Kent B. | Napoli | Loan |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Total | | £0 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

Staff Out

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Date | Person | To | Fee |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 31.7.2013 | Berntsen, Tommy | Free Transfer | Free |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Total | | £0 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

With one free signing alone scoring 16 goals, it’s hard to have too many complaints about our performance in the transfer market. While Fontana was the standout, Charbonnier showed great signs and Rasch, Essien and Paterson all fitted into the midfield well. Tommasi also found a regular place as our #1 keeper. Hjelm and Horjak didn’t get much of a chance, but look promising. K. Braun did well as a regular defender on loan. A great season for transfers in.

Our transfers out were quite interesting. Martin had a solid season at Bayern, Ferrari hardly played at all at Munich, Adu retired (!) and Arthur went off to a Spanish lower division. Pappalardo and Zamperini became decent regulars in Serie B, but the real shocks were Neumayr and Hidalgo. Neumayr was a star at Kaiserslautern, becoming a German international and one of the top midfielders in the country, while Hidalgo scored 14 goals in 31 games for Brescia. Hidalgo was probably worth the £4.5M, but I wish I’d got something for Neumayr.

Aldo Jair Kok played a solid full season with Udinese as part of his co-ownership deal, but I’m not sure whether I want to try and purchase him. Kent Giusti didn’t get much of a run on loan, which was annoying.

[Donners]

Pre-Season 2014/2015

A number of young players came up from the Academy for a change. They were: attacking midfielder Dipankar Standaert (16), defender Barbato (16), forward Weiyang Moro (16), Francisco Lima Gatto (16) and defender Shun Man Grandi (15). I can’t see much promise in any of them. We wound up getting Aldo Jair Kok back from Udinese, bidding £60K to their nothing. Considering they paid £425K to co-own him from us last season, that’s a good deal.

We received £20M TV rights, with £775K going to shareholders. I was given a transfer budget of £112M, with a challenge for the title expected. I rejected job offers from Juventus, Manchester United, Liverpool and the Czech Republic.

Ancona 2 [Lennartsson 53; Fontana 75] d. Atlanta 0

With the Super Cup and an early start to Serie A, I’ll jump ahead to the squad section before covering August.

[Donners]

The Squad

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> 1st in Italian Serie A

Squad Screen

| Pkd | Inf | Name | Squad Status | Basic Wage | Contract Expiry | Offer Options | Asking Price |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB6 | | Altintop, H | First Team | £8,000 | 31.7.2016 | None | £2.5M |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| DL | | Briotti, A | First Team | £10,500 | 31.7.2016 | None | £5M |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB7 | | D'Laryea, N | First Team | £7,500 | 31.7.2017 | None | £3.3M |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| MC | | Essien, M | First Team | £15,000 | 31.7.2016 | None | £2.3M |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| FC | | Hoffmann, M | First Team | £8,000 | 31.7.2016 | None | £5.5M |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Wnt | Horjak, F | First Team | £9,250 | 31.7.2016 | None | £2.6M |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB3 | Inj | Lang, A | First Team | £7,500 | 31.7.2017 | None | £3M |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| MC | | Lennartsson, N* | First Team | £23,500 | 31.7.2016 | None | £2.9M |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| DC | | Luz, N | First Team | £7,000 | 31.7.2015 | None | £1.6M |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| DR | | Messner, N | First Team | £26,000 | 31.7.2016 | None | £5.75M |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| MR | | Rasch, A | First Team | £4,800 | 31.7.2016 | None | £8.25M |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Lmp | Reuser | First Team | £7,250 | 31.7.2016 | None | £1.6M |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| FC | | Semler, B* | First Team | £42,000 | 31.7.2015 | None | £15.75M |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| GK | | Tommasi, L | First Team | £9,500 | 31.7.2016 | None | £1.4M |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| DC | Unh | de la Cuesta, J* | First Team | £14,000 | 31.7.2015 | None | £1.9M |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | Alberto | Rotation | £2,300 | 31.7.2016 | None | £4.4M |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Inj | Charbonnier, R | Rotation | £4,000 | 31.7.2016 | None | £4.8M |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB4 | | Fontana | Rotation | £4,800 | 31.7.2016 | None | £5.75M |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Unh | García, R | Rotation | £500 | 31.7.2015 | None | £1.9M |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB5 | | Hartwig | Rotation | £7,750 | 31.7.2018 | None | £6.5M |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB2 | | Henning, R | Rotation | £7,250 | 31.7.2017 | None | £2.9M |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | Kunze | Rotation | £4,600 | 31.7.2017 | None | £4.8M |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB1 | | Lee, T | Rotation | £4,000 | 31.7.2016 | None | £1.1M |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| ML | | Motta, T | Rotation | £10,000 | 31.7.2016 | None | £2.8M |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | Nikolov, W | Rotation | £4,000 | 31.7.2018 | None | £2.8M |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | Paterson | Rotation | £6,250 | 31.7.2016 | None | £4M |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | Tunchev, A | Rotation | £3,000 | 31.7.2016 | None | £300K |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | Dupuy, S | Backup | £6,500 | 31.7.2018 | None | £3.2M |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Unh | Napoli, H | Backup | £925 | 31.7.2015 | None | £425K |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | White, S | Backup | £4,400 | 31.7.2016 | None | £2.9M |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | Cornacchia | Hot Prospect | £3,000 | 31.7.2017 | None | £1.6M |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | Hjelm, M | Hot Prospect | £2,500 | 31.7.2016 | None | £2.9M |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | | | | | |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

</pre>

Total Players: 46

Wage Budget: £1,800,000

Total Weekly Wages at 2/8/14: £281,575

Goalkeepers

Tommy Lee [28, GK, ENG – Capped at U21 level] – 6, 197, 0

Signed for another two seasons after a reasonably good season in 13/14. Still behind Tommasi.

Hoang Napoli [22, GK, ITA] – 2, 12, 0

With Tommasi established and Lee re-signed, will probably not get a go this season. Didn’t do anything special in the Under-20s.

Lingjing Tommasi [22, GK, ITA – Capped at U21 level] – 1, 32, 0

A solid start to his time at Ancona. Not a star by any means, but good enough to be reasonably reliable with a decent defence.

Defenders

Andrea Briotti [28, Sw/D LC, ITA – 17/0] – 8, 263, 2

Our longest-serving captain by some distance, Briotti now has quite a lot of competition for left back. His leadership skills should keep him as the first choice, but he’ll need to play well.

06/07 Serie A Young Player of the Year, Ancona captain 09/10-present

Nathan D’Laryea [27, D RC, ENG]

A veteran of 171 games at Manchester City, D’Laryea is a solid and reasonably capable defender. He’s here more to add depth than to be a particularly key member of the side.

José Julián de la Cuesta [31, D LC, COL – 47/6] – 7, 254, 9

A veteran of the side, who is not at all pleased about not being able to leave. Had I known I’d sign so many defenders, I’d have let him go, but there is now no interest in him, so I daresay it’s too late. Will still have a regular first team role, but may be in his final season.

Syed Dupuy [24, Sw/D C, FRA – Capped at U21 level] – 2, 61, 1

Re-signed after three quite solid seasons at the club. He’ll struggle to get ahead of all our new signings, so this will be a tough season for him.

Robert Henning [28, D RLC, GER – 3/0]

Played over 300 games for Everton before finally joining us on a free transfer. Has been one of the better defenders in the Premier Division for the last decade without being particularly talented. Will have a regular role here.

Norizam Luz [30, Sw/D C, ARG – 7/0] – 5, 175, 5

One of our better players last season, continuing to team well with de la Cuesta. May be in his final season at the club, and will have to fight to remain a regular.

Nurullo Messner [30, D/DM RC, AUT – 44/4] – 5, 197, 7

Strangely overlooked for awards last season despite arguably his best year for Ancona. Messner faces plenty of competition, but is easily the first choice at right back due to his fine record. Could also get a run on the right wing.

09/10, 10/11, 11/12, 12/13 Serie A Team of the Year, 09/10, 11/12, 12/13 Italian Defender of the Year, 10/11 Serie A Foreign Player of the Year 3rd placed

Wai Nikolov [21, D/DM RC, BUL – 5/0]

A potential future replacement for Messner, Nikolov is tall and has good passing skills. He’s only played one season of senior football, starring with Naftex in Bulgaria, and will have to start in the Under-20s.

Aleksandar Tunchev [33, D LC, BUL – 17/3]

A true veteran, with over 400 career games – albeit most in Spain’s lower leagues. He should help Nikolov settle and still has enough skill to fill in at the back if required.

Midfielders

Hamit Altintop [31, AM LC, TUR – 12/0]

Altintop was been a semi-regular in Germany’s top league, having been purchased by Kaiserslautern and Schalke 04 for £2.1M and £4.6M respectively – the latter only three years ago. He’s not too quick, but reads the play well and is a good passer.

Cornacchia [23, AM R, GER – Capped at U21 level]

Spent time at Cottbus and Brescia without ever cementing a position. Very slow for a winger, but great with the ball. Will start in the Under-20s.

Michael Essien [31, DM C, GHA– 63/12] – 1, 23, 0

Reasonably disappointing last season, missing several games with the African Cup of Nations and not having as much impact as I’d hoped. He’s here for two more years, and must improve.

Hartwig [23, F LC, GER – Capped at U21 level] – 3, 54, 5

Did enough last year while replacing the injured Motta to earn a re-signing until 2018. He’s on big wages, and will have to play at least a rotational role.

Marlon Hjelm [22, M L, SWE – 3/0] – 1, 9, 0

The young Swedish international showed promise last season, setting up several goals. Needs to work on his ball skills, and will stay on the fringe of the side for a while.

Francis Horjak [19, AM L, FRA – 5 U21/0] – 1, 2, 0

An apparent “wonderkidâ€, the young winger has had trouble settling into Italy. I’ll probably loan him out or leave him in the Under-20s this season, despite his high wages.

Amit Lang [20, DM C, FRA]

Either a hugely underrated player or one who has over performed. He played 90 games with Charlton, rating an impressive 7.60 in 40 Premier League games last season, yet I signed him with no competition. Quick, skilful and deadly from long range. I’ll give him a go early.

Nordin Lennartsson [31, AM C, SWE – 39/15] – 9, 326, 65

Finally re-signed, our games record-holder should continue his attacking role in the midfield.

10/11, 12/13, 13/14 Serie A Team of the Year

Thiago Motta [31, AM L, BRA – 5/0] – 4, 105, 2

A reasonably solid season in 13/14 from Motta, but he faces plenty of challenges from younger players like Hjelm, Hartwig and Horjak (Triple H, if you prefer, though Juni would probably be the only one to get that). Still signed until 2016 though, so will play regularly.

Paterson [24, AM C, ENG – Capped at U21 level] – 1, 27, 1

Looked promising last season, but didn’t quite do enough to cement a place in the team. Will play a rotational role.

Alexandre Rasch [22, M C, GER – Capped at U21 level] – 1, 25, 1

Seemingly a hugely talented player, Rasch missed much of last season with injury but will get a go this year. He’ll probably start on the right wing, despite not being overly quick, due to the number of options in the centre of midfield.

Sobir White [24, AM RC, ENG] – 7, 67, 4

Finally got a senior spot after many years on the fringe, but now will struggle with Messner freed to play in the middle and Cornacchia signed. A solid player.

Forwards

Alberto [24, F RC, BRA – Capped at U21 level] – 2, 17, 6

Few players could score a hat-trick at the top level and not be in their team’s plans, but Alberto is one of those. Didn’t seal a spot last season and with more competition now, will almost certainly play very few games.

Rajesh Charbonnier [21, F LC, FRA – 7 U21/2] – 1, 21, 8

A very promising forward who looked very impressive last season. Rather injury prone, but will get his chance to shine.

Fontana [24, S C, ITA – Capped at U21 level] – 1, 31, 16

A surprise success as a goalscoring partner for Semler. Not particularly quick or tall, but a great shooter and passer. I’m not sure if he’s in the first XI, but he’s not far away.

Radamel García [28, S C, COL] – 2, 19, 8

Last season’s big disappointment. Has been overtaken by younger players and is in his final season at the club.

Mohd Nizaruddin Hoffmann [22, S C, GER – 4/1] – 4, 75, 25

Now a German international and despite a few injuries, definitely a key player at the club. Will be an important player this season.

Kunze [21, S C, GER – 1 U21/0]

A big prospect in my eyes, despite only five senior games at Juventus and Ipswich. Looks skilful but not particularly quick or tall, which could hold him back.

Reuser [31, F C, NED – 3/0]

Unlike Kunze, Reuser is both quick and tall. He’s actually played under 100 games in his career, at the likes of Real Madrid and Feyenoord, but has shown good scoring ability. Will play a rotational role.

Borut Semler [29, F RC, SVN – 44/26] – 4, 163, 123

Have a look at the scoring rate above. Look at the awards below. He more than paid his new contract in just one season with 31 goals and 16 assists in 13/14. Unfortunately, it expires in 2015, and will undoubtedly cost plenty to sign him again.

10/11 Serie A Player of the Year 3rd placed, Serie A leading goalscorer runner-up 10/11, 10/11, 13/14 Serie A Team of the Year, 12/13 Serie A Foreign Player of the Year, 13/14 Serie A Player of the Year, 12/13, 13/14 Supporters’ Player of the Year

[Donners]

The Likely Side:

(Playing with a 4-4-2)

GK – Lingjing Tommasi

LB – Andrea Briotti

CB – José Julián de la Cuesta

CB – Norizam Luz

RB – Nurullo Messner

LM – Thiago Motta

CM – Nordin Lennartsson

CM – Michael Essien

RM – Alexandre Rasch

CF – Mohd Nizaruddin Hoffmann

CF – Borut Semler

Sub – Tommy Lee

Sub – Fontana

Sub – Robert Henning

Sub – Amit Lang

Sub – Nathan D’Laryea

Sub – Hamit Altintop

Sub – Hartwig

All Up…

As you can probably guess, I’ve tried to add depth to the squad this season to counter our record of poor league performance while playing in Europe. There’s a lot of promising players in the side, but it is a bit of a concern that they won’t get much of a go in the seniors with so many other players around.

Goalkeeping is still the big weakness, but Tommasi looks at least solid. The defence is rather old and with de la Cuesta and Luz probably gone at the end of the year, could probably do with a talented young signing.

With such an overall strong side though, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t do well in both Europe and Serie A this season.

The Staff

Giacomo Tafuro (Assistant Manager)

Gilberto Vallesi (Coach)

Roberto Bocchino (Coach)

Roberto Corti (Coach)

Giannicola Pinotti (Coach)

Giuseppe Venturelli (Coach)

Å°mit Davala (Coach)

Stéphane Wiertelak (Coach)

Massimo Tabai (Coach)

França (Coach)

Salvatore Gnisci (Physio)

Massimo D’Ambrosio (Physio)

David Jarrett (Scout)

Rob Campkin (Scout)

Julian Carrera (Scout)

Tim Davies (Scout)

Peter Krobbach (Scout)

Rahman Rezaei (Scout)

Søren Colding (Scout)

[Donners]

August, season 2014/2015

Our first senior game was the Italian Super Cup against Juventus. The only first team player missing was the injured Amit Lang, who was replaced by Hjelm. Tommasi made two saves in the first half, while Lennartsson missed a couple of shots. The second half was highlighted by a great run from Rasch, who carried the ball half the length of the pitch and crossed in for Hoffmann to head home the opener. Semler had plenty of chances, but missed most. The closest Juventus came to scoring was a shot that came back off the post, and the game was sealed in the final minutes when Semler passed into the area for Lennartsson to finish. Our first Italian Super Cup win, after a loss in 2012. We also set a new attendance record with 27,080 (25 under total capacity, 5,000 over the seated capacity) people, and record gate takings of £625K.

Ancona 1 [Fontana 77] drew Napoli 1

Ancona 2 [White 35; Charbonnier 55] d. San Marino 0

Ancona 0 drew Pisa 0

Our campaign to defend our Serie A title began against last year’s runner-up, Sampdoria. It was not an impressive start, with Sampdoria scoring in the first minute, and again in the 28th. A third to Sampdoria just after half time, and our season started with a disasterous 0-3 loss. Despite that, we were given odds of 8-1 to win the title, making us favourites. Hamit Altintop suffered a torn groin muscle at training, putting him out for two months. We were drawn in Group E of the Champions Cup with Levski Sofia, Rayo and Partizan – a relatively weak group. We have odds of 14-1 to win the Champions Cup.

Despite that bad loss, I stayed with the same side against Verona. After three shots in as many minutes to start the game, Verona went ahead in the 4th. 94 minutes into the season, and already things look very bad. Semler finally gave us some joy with a goal two minutes into the second half, volleying in a Rasch cross to level the scores. Rasch was behind our next goal, chipping the ball up for Hoffmann to head home a much-needed goal. 2-1 was the final score. It wasn’t at all convincing, with Ancona only having four shots for the game, but at least we’re off the mark.

[Donners]

September, season 2014/2015

After a fortnight off due to international games, we faced Fiorentina. I dropped Motta, Luz and de la Cuesta due to their poor first few games. Semler missed an early volley but scored in the 27th when a Fontana shot was parried to him. In a reversal of our previous game, Fiorentina scored an equaliser two minutes into the second half, and this time we couldn’t manage a second. Not a good start to the season at all, and this is with a full-strength side.

Our first game in the Champions Cup was at home to Partizan. Lennartsson and Paterson had eight shots between them in the first half, but few were on target and none went in. Despite 15 shots, we still hadn’t scored with 20 minutes to go, until Fontana finally rose up to a Rasch corner and headed in a 71st minute goal. Considering our total dominance, with 15 shots to 3, one could have safely assumed that would be enough. A free kick from outside the area six minutes later, though, made it 1-1. Fine, at least we could hang on for one point…right? A 30-yard free kick with seven minutes to go, and it was 1-2. 16 shots to 5 was the final tally, but it remained 1-2 at the final whistle. Have I mentioned that I hate this game?

We desperately needed to improve against Palermo. Robert Henning put us ahead in the 16th, heading in Rasch’s corner, but ten minutes later it was level again through a penalty to Palermo. Semler forced three saves and Hoffmann had quite a few chances, but at the end it was still 1-1.

Our problems continued against Parma. We had nine shots to one in the first half, but had no goals to show for it at the break. Semler scored an important goal seven minutes into the second half after winning the ball from a defender. Parma had a goal ruled out in the 69th, then in the 80th Paterson won the ball in the middle, ran to the edge of the area and slotted it past the keeper. A crucial 2-0 win.

Amit Lang made his debut against Levski Sofia, after missing the start of the season with injury. We had nine shots in the first half before a Hartwig free kick deflected off an opponent and into the net in the 40th. Semler added a second just before half time, having his first shot saved then scoring from the parry. The second half was quiet, but Lang scored on debut in the final minutes, volleying in a defensive header from 25 yards out for a 3-0 victory.

[Donners]

October, season 2014/2015

We started October in the league against Juventus. Alexandre Rasch, having already set up five goals, scored in the second minute. Semler put through his 5th of the season in the 21st minute after a Reuser cross eluded the keeper and left him with a simple finish. It remained 2-0 at the end, and we now look to be close to being back on track with three straight wins.

An important test against undefeated Milan was next. Semler had two great chances to score in the first twenty minutes, but both were saved. Hoffmann eventually hit one in from a Messner pass in the 28th. Paterson hit the post in the second half, but it made no difference as Lee kept his fourth straight clean sheet. Semler should have scored at least two himself, but 1-0 was enough. I arranged for young Verona midfielder Juan Pablo Contino to join at the end of December on a free transfer.

Lennartsson, Semler, Lee and Messner were rested against Roma with a Champions Cup game looming. After a quiet first half, we took the lead through a Motta free kick in the 52nd. Roma returned the game to level status with one of their own in the 65th, and with play fairly even, a draw seemed a fair result. However, with eight minutes to go, Amit Lang blasted in a shot from 25 yards out that went straight into the net. Seven minutes later, he did the same thing, this time after a great run out of defence from Francis Horjak gave him a shot from outside the area. 3-1, with two goals to our young midfielder in his fourth game for the club.

Our third Champions Cup game was against Rayo. They had a player sent off mid-way through the first half, but with Semler missing several chances, we were level at the break. Fontana finally scored in the final 15 minutes when Semler chipped the ball over a defender, then made it a brace in the 82nd by hitting in a Briotti cross.

We returned to the league and faced Perugia. It was a quiet start, but in the final ten minutes of the half Semler and Lang (from 25 yards, naturally) put us two goals ahead. Francis Horjak scored a third in the 50th, volleying in a Charbonnier header, before Charbonnier himself put through a penalty five minutes later. Semler completed the 5-0 rout with his second in the 58th.

Three days later we took on Genoa in the final game of the month. With Semler rested, we had trouble scoring despite looking the better side. Like our game against Rayo, we managed two goals in the final 15 minutes for the 2-0 win. Here, they came from striking team Charbonnier (runner-up Goal of the Month) and Hoffmann. After our terrible start, we’ve actually set a new club record with eight straight wins.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Holders - Ancona

| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1st | | Ancona | | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 19 | 7 | +12 | 23 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 2nd | | Bologna | | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 21 | 7 | +14 | 22 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 3rd | | Inter | | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 20 | 9 | +11 | 21 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 4th | | Chievo | | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 17 | 6 | +11 | 20 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 5th | | Sampdoria | | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 17 | 11 | +6 | 18 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 6th | | Vicenza | | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 17 | 11 | +6 | 18 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 7th | | Milan | | 10 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 16 | 10 | +6 | 16 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 8th | | Juventus | | 10 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 17 | 16 | +1 | 13 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 9th | | Parma | | 10 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 9 | 10 | -1 | 12 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 10th | | Roma | | 10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 15 | 19 | -4 | 12 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 11th | | Lecce | | 10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 12 | 19 | -7 | 12 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 12th | | Fiorentina | | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 13 | -2 | 11 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 13th | | Atalanta | | 10 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 15 | 18 | -3 | 11 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 14th | | Lazio | | 10 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 13 | 18 | -5 | 11 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 15th | | Verona | | 10 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 14 | -6 | 10 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 16th | | Cagliari | | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 17 | -7 | 9 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 17th | | Genoa | | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 15 | -8 | 8 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 18th | | Perugia | | 10 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 12 | 22 | -10 | 8 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 19th | | Palermo | | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 12 | -6 | 7 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 20th | | Piacenza | | 10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 11 | 19 | -8 | 7 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

</pre>

[Donners]

November, season 2014/2015

Unlike our last few games, we grabbed the lead early against Chievo after Semler tapped in a parry from a long-range Lennartsson effort. Lennartsson controlled the game and deservedly put through his 50th club goal in the 21st minute. Despite our dominance, we didn’t score again, but Tommy Lee grabbed his eight clean sheet in as many games, as were recorded our ninth straight victory.

We returned to the Champions Cup to face Rayo at home. Semler scored in the 7th while Rasch had a shot cleared off the line and another from Semler was just turned away in the next four minutes. Hamit Altintop returned from injury in the second half. Despite a late attack from Rayo, Lee made it nine clean sheets, Semler scored a second in the final minutes – his tenth of the season, we moved to the top of our group with our tenth successive win and picked up a record £725K in gate receipts. Now that’s some good form.

Could our run continue against Atlanta? They looked the better side, and by the 70th minute scores were still level. I tried to attack in order to continue our winning run, but even with an Atlanta player sent off, we couldn’t even get a shot on goal. I threw caution to the wind in the final minutes, moving Messner to the midfield and going for a gung ho approach, and just seconds after doing that, Semler took a pass from Charbonnier, ran around the keeper and scored. I quickly switched back to a normal approach and we held on for successive win #11.

A 20-yard strike from Lennartsson put us ahead after only seven minutes against Cagliari. Alexandre Rasch scored in the 21st when a Robert Henning header was parried to him for a 2-0 half time lead. Lennartsson was sent off for a second yellow, but a 30-yard volley on an angle from Motta made it 3-0. Semler capped it off with a fourth after a great pass from Rasch into the area. Our 13th straight game without a loss – another new club record.

Lecce came next. Semler scored in the 5th while Lee made a series of great saves – two common features in our incredible run. Hoffmann scored in the 41st and then again in the 63rd for a convincing 3-0 win. 13 wins in a row, 14 without a loss, a dozen clean sheets to Lee.

Back to the Champions Cup against Partizan – the last side to beat us. Any fears of a repeat were put to rest to some degree by a 4th minute Semler goal. Hoffmann added to that with one of his own early in the second half, and we qualified from our group with a game to go.

We ended the month at home to title challengers Bologna, with star striker Supat Rungratsamee having scored 15 goals in 17 games and looming as a massive threat to Tommy Lee’s streak of 13 clean sheets. We had four shots in the first five minutes, but missed them all. Indeed, we had 11 in the first half – five to Lennartsson – with only one on target and no goals. Bologna didn’t even have an attempt. Reuser finally broke through with his first goal for Ancona – a volley in the 64th. Andrea Rabito came on for Bologna to join Rungratsamee, but Hamit Altintop came off the bench and put us two goals up with a half volley in the 77th. Luz sealed it four minutes later, heading in a Rasch cross. The final shots tally – 19-3 – proved our dominance over the second placed side. For those keeping score, that’s 15 straight wins, and 14 clean sheets to Lee.

[Terk]

great start to the season, donners and still a great read

[Donners]

Cheers. Let's see if we can keep it going...

December, season 2014/2015

Our Italian Cup defence began at home against Milan in the second round. The first half was very quiet, and by the 80th minute, we’d only had one shot on goal with scores still level. I brought Lang, Lennartsson and Charbonnier off the bench, but with Essien’s last-minute header saved, we had to settle for a 0-0 draw. Our unbeaten streak extended to 17, but our winning streak ended at 15.

After that disappointment, we played Vicenza in the league. Lee pulled off a great early save, but we lost Robert Henning due to a professional foul in the 5th. Lee’s 15th clean sheet in a row proved to be his last, with Vicenza scoring in the 30th. Semler drew us level in the 68th and a wonderful run and pass from Messner allowed Hartwig to hit home the winner in injury time. Another part of our streak came to an end here, but that’s 18 games and counting without a loss.

Our last group stage Champions Cup game against Levski Sofia was irrelevant, since we’d already progressed, but Amit Lang scored from 20 yards in the 4th minute just for the hell of it. Semler added two more in the next fifteen but wasted numerous chances for his hat-trick. 3-0 was good enough for £220K prize money and a convincing progression to the next stage. We’ll face PSV at home in the second round.

Semler took a much-deserved break against Piacenza. Unfortunately, we went behind in the 16th due to a penalty, with both Hoffmann and Charbonnier missing sitters later in the half. An outright attack in the final 20 minutes gave Piacenza plenty of chances, but it was Ancona with an 89th minute goal thanks to a run from Reuser and shot from Hoffmann. A last second Reuser shot was saved, leaving us with a 1-1 draw.

Semler returned for the second leg of our Italian Cup game against Milan. Fontana scored when a shot from Rasch was parried to him mid-way through the first half, then scored again just before half time. Milan had plenty of chances to get back in it in the second half, but hit the woodwork three times and missed a few other chances, allowing us to progress to the quarter final with a 2-0 win. Unfortunately, there was disastrous news, with star midfielder and club games record holder Nordin Lennartsson suffering damaged cruciate ligaments during the game – putting him out for nine months and bringing him to the brink of retirement.

Paterson replaced him in the side that took on Inter. He was instrumental in a goal just before half time to Hoffmann which turned out to be the only one of the game.

There was some big transfer action to end the month. With Francis Horjak unable to settle in Italy, I sold him to Atlético Madrid for £9.25M. Right winger Juan Pablo Contino arrived the same day.

Juan Pablo Contino [20, M R, ITA]

Signed from Verona for free. He’s played 80 senior games over four seasons without ever really standing out, but is very quick and reasonably good with the ball. Will get a run.

[Donners]

January, season 2014/2015

Juan Contino debuted and Aldo Jair Kok played his first senior game for the club in several years against Lazio. We didn’t start well, conceding to a free kick in the 6th and then losing Hoffmann to an injury. They scored a second just after half time, putting our unbeaten streak in huge jeopardy. Semler had a shot saved just after the break, but it was an unlikely scorer, Michael Essien, who broke through in the 66th with help from Reuser. Just six minutes later, Andrea Briotti took the ball on the wing and raced ahead. He then crossed to Messner in the area, and the Austrian headed home his first of the season. The remaining minutes went by quickly and our streak continued for the time being. I arranged for defender Kishore Bon to join in March on a free transfer.

We had a similar start against Sampdoria next, letting through two goals in the first seventeen minutes. Ironically, the first was by Won-Chul Parisi, a player I’d been following for over a year who’d just re-signed with them after rejecting my offer. A second-half goal to Sampdoria made sure there was no comeback this time, ending our run of 23 games without a loss.

Semler, Charbonnier and Lang missed the home leg of our Italian Cup quarter final against Como through a combination of injury and suspension. Nonetheless, we dominated early and after several shots, finally broke through with a volley from Sobir White from 25 yards. Mohd Hoffmann scored his 10th of the season later in the first half and Lee managed his 18th clean sheet for a 2-0 win.

Semler returned for our league game against Verona. We had six shots to none in the first half, but didn’t make anything of them. They scored from their first chance in the 74th and then put through another in the 80th and finally a third with a couple of minutes to go. With one point in our last three league games, our top spot is now in danger.

Back to the Italian Cup to finish our tie with Como. It was a pretty boring game for the most part, but Aldo Jair Kok sealed it with his 72nd – his first senior goal.

Michael Essien went off to the African Cup of Nations just before our game against Palermo. Lang returned in the middle. We had our chances in the first half, but good keeping kept things scoreless. Lang put one through six minutes into the second half, which turned out to be the only goal of the game.

We ended the month against Parma. Semler was rested, but replacement Fontana scored inside three minutes with a header which deflected off a defender. Hoffmann, Fontana, Lang and Contino attacked the goal frequently, but it was a shot from Alexandre Rasch from outside the area early in the second half that finally got our second. Tommy Lee kept yet another clean sheet in a Man of the Match performance.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Holders - Ancona

| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1st | | Ancona | | 23 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 41 | 17 | +24 | 52 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 2nd | | Inter | | 24 | 14 | 6 | 4 | 44 | 24 | +20 | 48 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 3rd | | Milan | | 24 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 39 | 23 | +16 | 43 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 4th | | Bologna | | 24 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 43 | 28 | +15 | 42 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 5th | | Sampdoria | | 22 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 37 | 23 | +14 | 42 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 6th | | Juventus | | 23 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 42 | 29 | +13 | 39 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 7th | | Roma | | 23 | 12 | 2 | 9 | 38 | 32 | +6 | 38 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 8th | | Vicenza | | 23 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 41 | 28 | +13 | 35 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 9th | | Parma | | 25 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 29 | 29 | 0 | 35 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 10th | | Chievo | | 24 | 10 | 4 | 10 | 29 | 22 | +7 | 34 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 11th | | Verona | | 23 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 26 | 31 | -5 | 30 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 12th | | Atalanta | | 24 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 32 | 39 | -7 | 28 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 13th | | Lazio | | 23 | 5 | 10 | 8 | 28 | 37 | -9 | 25 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 14th | | Perugia | | 24 | 5 | 9 | 10 | 30 | 44 | -14 | 24 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 15th | | Palermo | | 24 | 6 | 5 | 13 | 23 | 35 | -12 | 23 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 16th | | Fiorentina | | 23 | 6 | 5 | 12 | 23 | 36 | -13 | 23 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 17th | | Lecce | | 24 | 6 | 5 | 13 | 28 | 49 | -21 | 23 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 18th | | Piacenza | | 24 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 28 | 38 | -10 | 22 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 19th | | Cagliari | | 23 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 24 | 43 | -19 | 19 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 20th | | Genoa | | 23 | 4 | 6 | 13 | 18 | 36 | -18 | 18 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

</pre>

The stats to this point follow:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">1st in Italian Serie A

Squad Screen

| Pkd | Inf | Name | Apps | Gls | Asts | MoM | Pass | Tck | Drb | Sh Tar | Av R | Value |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| DL | | Briotti, A* | 33 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 75 % | 2.70 | 1.21 | - | 7.15 | £6.5M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| MC | | Rasch, A | 28 | 3 | 14 | 2 | 70 % | 3.25 | 0.93 | 51 % | 7.29 | £9M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | Semler, B* | 28 | 17 | 7 | 10 | 65 % | 1.43 | 2.36 | 65 % | 7.82 | £16.75M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| DR | | Messner, N* | 24 (1) | 1 | 3 | 1 | 70 % | 3.43 | 2.77 | 60 % | 7.40 | £5.5M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| GK | | Lee, T | 24 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 46 % | - | - | - | 6.83 | £1.3M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB7 | Req | Henning, R | 19 (1) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 74 % | 1.49 | 0.17 | 66 % | 6.70 | £2.4M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| MC | | Lang, A | 19 (1) | 6 | 3 | 1 | 73 % | 3.51 | 0.38 | 56 % | 7.25 | £3.3M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB3 | | Luz, N | 19 (1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 78 % | 2.26 | 0.21 | 100 % | 7.20 | £1.4M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| FC | | Hoffmann, M | 19 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 57 % | 1.42 | 2.84 | 76 % | 7.37 | £6M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Inj | Lennartsson, N | 18 (1) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 74 % | 2.23 | 0.68 | 47 % | 7.21 | £1.6M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | Essien, M | 15 (2) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 69 % | 2.89 | 0.14 | 50 % | 7.06 | £1.3M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | D'Laryea, N | 15 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 73 % | 2.71 | 0.20 | - | 6.81 | £2.7M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB6 | | Tunchev, A | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 75 % | 2.24 | - | - | 6.33 | £250K |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| DC | Wnt | de la Cuesta, J | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 70 % | 2.09 | 0.18 | 100 % | 6.45 | £1.7M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | Tommasi, L | 10 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 53 % | - | - | - | 6.70 | £1.3M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB1 | | Charbonnier, R | 9 (5) | 2 | 5 | 0 | 67 % | 0.81 | 1.02 | 72 % | 7.00 | £5M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| FC | | Fontana | 9 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 78 % | 0.37 | 1.71 | 88 % | 7.56 | £5.75M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB5 | Unh | Motta, T | 9 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 74 % | 1.79 | 0.96 | 37 % | 6.44 | £1.4M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | Hjelm, M | 7 (4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 77 % | 2.97 | 0.71 | 25 % | 6.64 | £2.9M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB2 | | Paterson | 7 (3) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 79 % | 3.39 | 1.41 | 52 % | 7.10 | £4M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | White, S | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 69 % | 2.77 | 0.87 | 60 % | 7.00 | £3.2M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB4 | | Hartwig | 5 (8) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 72 % | 3.56 | 1.19 | 47 % | 7.08 | £7M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| MR | | Contino, J | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 62 % | 5.20 | 1.20 | 50 % | 7.20 | £2.9M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| ML | | Altintop, H | 3 (6) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 77 % | 1.43 | - | 37 % | 6.78 | £1.3M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | Reuser | 3 (5) | 1 | 2 | 1 | 72 % | 0.43 | 0.43 | 100 % | 7.00 | £900K |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| DC | Unh | Dupuy, S | 3 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 68 % | 1.51 | - | - | 6.50 | £3.2M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | Kok, A | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 75 % | 2.50 | - | 100 % | 7.00 | £1.1M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Unh | Kunze | 1 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 85 % | 0.74 | 0.74 | - | 7.00 | £3.5M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | | | | | | | | | | |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

</pre>

[Donners]

February, season 2014/2015

We started the month against Perugia, with Michael Essien returning from the African Cup of Nations. Semler scored in the 16th, but five minutes later they drew level. We had few chances, and a goal to Perugia in the final minute after we tried to attack, and with only three shots for the game, we had no answer. A bad performance and a bad loss against a mid-table side. I signed Borut Semler until January 2016 on the same wages. Juan Contino replaced Nordin Lennartsson in our Champions Cup squad.

Our Italian Cup semi final against Juventus saw the first leg played at home. Mohd Hoffmann went off early with a groin strain, which would turn out to sideline him for three weeks. A 43rd penalty allowed Hartwig to put us in front, and our lead was then extended by Semler in the 56th with a chip. Juventus pulled one back in the 75th to make the second leg very interesting.

The match was repeated a few days later, though this time in the league. Juventus took the lead early and scored again just before half time. We had five shots for the game but could not get any through. Two league losses in a row, and suddenly we are just one point ahead of Sampdoria on the table having each played 26 games.

This made our encounter with Milan critical. A seventh minute goal to Milan was exactly what we didn’t need, particularly with just one shot for the half for Ancona going over. They put through a second in the 57th, but Kunze thankfully answered just a minute later with a volley – his first senior goal for Ancona. Nonetheless, we remained a goal ahead, and that was extended back to two in the 75th. Sampdoria took over on top, and are now two points ahead of us.

We desperately needed a win against Fiorentina. The strugglers somehow got ahead in the 9th with a header and with knocks to Semler, Fontana and Essien, we were doomed by half time. They put through a second in the 57th and sealed it 0-3 just before the end of the game. Another shockingly bad effort, dropping us to third place. The only consolation was that Sampdoria also lost, but Inter rose up to join them on 54 points. I completed a rather odd signing after the game, getting former Ancona midfielder Chi Yuen Webb to come back at the end of the season on a free transfer.

Tommy Lee was dropped against Roma having conceded too many goals lately, while Semler was rested. Fortunately, Fontana gave us a good start with the opening goal in the 13th thanks to a Reuser header that got him past the defence. We dominated play, but it wasn’t until the 60th that Fontana sealed it with his second – a great 30-yard chip over the out-of-position keeper. Three minutes later he completed his hat-trick after a pass from Hartwig for a much-needed 3-0 win. Sampdoria drew and Inter won, leaving Inter on top by two points and Sampdoria ahead of us on goal difference.

We finally returned to the Champions Cup to face PSV in the second round. We failed to beat them in two group stage encounters in 2009, and with our current form, it was not easy to see that being rectified here. However, we did get back Hoffmann and Semler. The first leg was played at home, with the first half mostly even. PSV were on the back foot for most of the second. Semler missed a good chance in the 48th while Hartwig had one saved two minutes later. A great long-range effort from Rasch was tipped away late, and the first leg finished scoreless. We lost Amit Lang to injury for a fortnight, and I continue to be warned that Semler needs a rest.

February was a terrible month for the club, and with the Italian Cup, Champions Cup and league all to deal with next month, we must improve.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Holders - Ancona

| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1st | | Inter | | 28 | 17 | 6 | 5 | 52 | 28 | +24 | 57 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 2nd | | Sampdoria | | 28 | 16 | 7 | 5 | 51 | 28 | +23 | 55 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 3rd | | Ancona | | 28 | 17 | 4 | 7 | 46 | 27 | +19 | 55 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 4th | | Milan | | 28 | 15 | 7 | 6 | 47 | 27 | +20 | 52 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 5th | | Bologna | | 28 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 49 | 33 | +16 | 49 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 6th | | Roma | | 28 | 14 | 3 | 11 | 47 | 40 | +7 | 45 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 7th | | Juventus | | 28 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 45 | 35 | +10 | 44 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 8th | | Verona | | 29 | 12 | 7 | 10 | 38 | 38 | 0 | 43 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 9th | | Chievo | | 28 | 12 | 6 | 10 | 35 | 24 | +11 | 42 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 10th | | Vicenza | | 28 | 11 | 8 | 9 | 49 | 37 | +12 | 41 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 11th | | Parma | | 29 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 36 | 36 | 0 | 39 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 12th | | Lazio | | 29 | 8 | 11 | 10 | 35 | 45 | -10 | 35 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 13th | | Atalanta | | 28 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 37 | 45 | -8 | 33 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 14th | | Perugia | | 29 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 36 | 50 | -14 | 31 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 15th | | Fiorentina | | 28 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 26 | 40 | -14 | 28 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 16th | | Cagliari | | 28 | 5 | 11 | 12 | 28 | 46 | -18 | 26 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 17th | | Palermo | | 28 | 7 | 5 | 16 | 27 | 45 | -18 | 26 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 18th | | Lecce | | 28 | 7 | 5 | 16 | 31 | 57 | -26 | 26 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 19th | | Genoa | | 28 | 6 | 6 | 16 | 26 | 46 | -20 | 24 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 20th | | Piacenza | | 28 | 5 | 8 | 15 | 33 | 47 | -14 | 23 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

</pre>

[Donners]

February, season 2014/2015

We started the month against Perugia, with Michael Essien returning from the African Cup of Nations. Semler scored in the 16th, but five minutes later they drew level. We had few chances, and a goal to Perugia in the final minute after we tried to attack, and with only three shots for the game, we had no answer. A bad performance and a bad loss against a mid-table side. I signed Borut Semler until January 2016 on the same wages. Juan Contino replaced Nordin Lennartsson in our Champions Cup squad.

Our Italian Cup semi final against Juventus saw the first leg played at home. Mohd Hoffmann went off early with a groin strain, which would turn out to sideline him for three weeks. A 43rd penalty allowed Hartwig to put us in front, and our lead was then extended by Semler in the 56th with a chip. Juventus pulled one back in the 75th to make the second leg very interesting.

The match was repeated a few days later, though this time in the league. Juventus took the lead early and scored again just before half time. We had five shots for the game but could not get any through. Two league losses in a row, and suddenly we are just one point ahead of Sampdoria on the table having each played 26 games.

This made our encounter with Milan critical. A seventh minute goal to Milan was exactly what we didn’t need, particularly with just one shot for the half for Ancona going over. They put through a second in the 57th, but Kunze thankfully answered just a minute later with a volley – his first senior goal for Ancona. Nonetheless, we remained a goal ahead, and that was extended back to two in the 75th. Sampdoria took over on top, and are now two points ahead of us.

We desperately needed a win against Fiorentina. The strugglers somehow got ahead in the 9th with a header and with knocks to Semler, Fontana and Essien, we were doomed by half time. They put through a second in the 57th and sealed it 0-3 just before the end of the game. Another shockingly bad effort, dropping us to third place. The only consolation was that Sampdoria also lost, but Inter rose up to join them on 54 points. I completed a rather odd signing after the game, getting former Ancona midfielder Chi Yuen Webb to come back at the end of the season on a free transfer.

Tommy Lee was dropped against Roma having conceded too many goals lately, while Semler was rested. Fortunately, Fontana gave us a good start with the opening goal in the 13th thanks to a Reuser header that got him past the defence. We dominated play, but it wasn’t until the 60th that Fontana sealed it with his second – a great 30-yard chip over the out-of-position keeper. Three minutes later he completed his hat-trick after a pass from Hartwig for a much-needed 3-0 win. Sampdoria drew and Inter won, leaving Inter on top by two points and Sampdoria ahead of us on goal difference.

We finally returned to the Champions Cup to face PSV in the second round. We failed to beat them in two group stage encounters in 2009, and with our current form, it was not easy to see that being rectified here. However, we did get back Hoffmann and Semler. The first leg was played at home, with the first half mostly even. PSV were on the back foot for most of the second. Semler missed a good chance in the 48th while Hartwig had one saved two minutes later. A great long-range effort from Rasch was tipped away late, and the first leg finished scoreless. We lost Amit Lang to injury for a fortnight, and I continue to be warned that Semler needs a rest.

February was a terrible month for the club, and with the Italian Cup, Champions Cup and league all to deal with next month, we must improve.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Holders - Ancona

| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1st | | Inter | | 28 | 17 | 6 | 5 | 52 | 28 | +24 | 57 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 2nd | | Sampdoria | | 28 | 16 | 7 | 5 | 51 | 28 | +23 | 55 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 3rd | | Ancona | | 28 | 17 | 4 | 7 | 46 | 27 | +19 | 55 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 4th | | Milan | | 28 | 15 | 7 | 6 | 47 | 27 | +20 | 52 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 5th | | Bologna | | 28 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 49 | 33 | +16 | 49 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 6th | | Roma | | 28 | 14 | 3 | 11 | 47 | 40 | +7 | 45 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 7th | | Juventus | | 28 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 45 | 35 | +10 | 44 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 8th | | Verona | | 29 | 12 | 7 | 10 | 38 | 38 | 0 | 43 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 9th | | Chievo | | 28 | 12 | 6 | 10 | 35 | 24 | +11 | 42 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 10th | | Vicenza | | 28 | 11 | 8 | 9 | 49 | 37 | +12 | 41 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 11th | | Parma | | 29 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 36 | 36 | 0 | 39 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 12th | | Lazio | | 29 | 8 | 11 | 10 | 35 | 45 | -10 | 35 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 13th | | Atalanta | | 28 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 37 | 45 | -8 | 33 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 14th | | Perugia | | 29 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 36 | 50 | -14 | 31 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 15th | | Fiorentina | | 28 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 26 | 40 | -14 | 28 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 16th | | Cagliari | | 28 | 5 | 11 | 12 | 28 | 46 | -18 | 26 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 17th | | Palermo | | 28 | 7 | 5 | 16 | 27 | 45 | -18 | 26 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 18th | | Lecce | | 28 | 7 | 5 | 16 | 31 | 57 | -26 | 26 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 19th | | Genoa | | 28 | 6 | 6 | 16 | 26 | 46 | -20 | 24 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 20th | | Piacenza | | 28 | 5 | 8 | 15 | 33 | 47 | -14 | 23 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

</pre>

[Donners]

Yes, I did post that one twice. Naturally when I do a double-post, it has to be one of our worst months...

March, season 2014/2015

The big month began quietly, with a home league game against Genoa. Robert Henning was the unlikely first scorer, heading in a 15th minute Hartwig corner. Hartwig scored himself from the penalty spot slightly before half time, and 2-0 is how it remained at the end. With a draw to Sampdoria and a day off for Inter, we moved back on top. However, Inter beat 4th placed Milan the following day to regain 1st place.

We led 2-1 in the Italian Cup semi final against Juventus. The away leg began disastrously, with Henning conceding a penalty in just two minutes. Lee actually pulled off a great save, but couldn’t stop the follow-up attempt going in. With an away goal to Juventus in the last leg, that put them ahead. Worse still, they scored again in the 14th, but we drew level through a 29th minute penalty to Hartwig. We didn’t have a shot in the second half, but Juventus had several. Good keeping from Lee kept them out, leaving us still locked at 3-3 with an away goal each after 90 minutes. Sobir White and Fontana missed shots in the first half of extra time. In the 105th minute, Juventus sent forward a pass from beyond half-way. With classic Ancona luck, it went over the players, past the keeper and into the net. The half ended seconds later, thus ending the game on the silver goal rule. At least that’s one less competition to worry about, but with our league and Champions Cup fates uncertain, it’s not a good result.

Back to the league to face Chievo. Fontana hit the post in the first half, but our opponents had most of the chances. They eventually scored in the 56th and then finished it with another in the 84th. Sampdoria drew, so we stayed ahead of them. Inter lost 1-3 to Roma, so we lost a great chance to go on top.

Our critical game second leg against PSV came next. Hartwig had a free kick saved in the first half, where we had four shots to none. We had better luck with a free in the 55th, when Charbonnier headed one down to Semler for the simple finish. He had a volley saved three minutes later and then missed another from inside the area. PSV scored one of their own in the 84th, but with an away goal, we managed to scrape through to the quarter final where we’ll face Newcastle. I arranged the signing of 19-year-old right winger Adonay Bradshaw after the game, though it won’t take place until September.

We’d dropped to 4th having played one game less than Milan, Sampdoria and Inter. A win could take us to second, or first if it was by five goals. Fontana scored the opener in the 26th with a diving header from a Hoffmann chip. Cagliari scored in the 73rd to level the scores and despite being the better side, we couldn’t score the second goal we needed. That left us in 3rd, a point behind Sampdoria and two behind Inter.

Another league game, this time against Lecce. Semler and Messner were rested with a Champions Cup game next, but Fontana put us ahead with a goal in the 27th. Just when it looked like we’d moved to second spot, with Inter going down, Syed Dupuy conceded a penalty in the 90th minute. Having had 13 shots to 1, a draw would be a grossly unfair result, but thanks to a successful penalty, that’s exactly what happened. That left us three points clear of Sampdoria with six games left to go.

We needed a better result in the home leg of the Champions Cup quarter final against Newcastle. However, they scored in just the third minute, which was a huge blow. Hoffmann hit back in the 23rd, but Semler and Rasch missed chances to put us ahead. Rasch hit the post in the second half, which was as close as we came to a second. That gives them a significant advantage for the second leg, which is quite a problem for us. Defender Kishore Bon arrived after the game.

Kishore Bon [18, D RL, FRA]

Part of my push to rebuild the side, Bon has played over 40 senior games in the top French league with Strasbourg. He has pace and looks fairly promising.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Holders - Ancona

| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1st | | Sampdoria | | 32 | 18 | 9 | 5 | 59 | 32 | +27 | 63 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 2nd | | Inter | | 32 | 18 | 8 | 6 | 58 | 35 | +23 | 62 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 3rd | | Ancona | | 32 | 18 | 6 | 8 | 50 | 31 | +19 | 60 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 4th | | Bologna | | 32 | 17 | 8 | 7 | 57 | 35 | +22 | 59 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 5th | | Milan | | 32 | 17 | 7 | 8 | 54 | 35 | +19 | 58 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 6th | | Roma | | 32 | 15 | 3 | 14 | 52 | 49 | +3 | 48 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 7th | | Chievo | | 32 | 13 | 8 | 11 | 39 | 28 | +11 | 47 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 8th | | Verona | | 32 | 13 | 8 | 11 | 42 | 42 | 0 | 47 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 9th | | Vicenza | | 32 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 53 | 39 | +14 | 46 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 10th | | Juventus | | 32 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 48 | 41 | +7 | 46 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 11th | | Parma | | 32 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 40 | 38 | +2 | 44 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 12th | | Lazio | | 32 | 9 | 12 | 11 | 37 | 48 | -11 | 39 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 13th | | Fiorentina | | 32 | 10 | 8 | 14 | 35 | 43 | -8 | 38 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 14th | | Atalanta | | 32 | 8 | 12 | 12 | 39 | 48 | -9 | 36 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 15th | | Lecce | | 32 | 9 | 6 | 17 | 36 | 62 | -26 | 33 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 16th | | Perugia | | 32 | 7 | 11 | 14 | 39 | 56 | -17 | 32 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 17th | | Palermo | | 32 | 9 | 5 | 18 | 33 | 53 | -20 | 32 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 18th | | Cagliari | | 32 | 6 | 13 | 13 | 34 | 52 | -18 | 31 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 19th | | Piacenza | | 32 | 6 | 9 | 17 | 40 | 54 | -14 | 27 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 20th | | Genoa | | 32 | 7 | 6 | 19 | 28 | 52 | -24 | 27 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

</pre>

[Donners]

April, season 2014/2015

April began with a big challenge – the second leg against Newcastle. After a 1-1 draw at home, we needed to score again or drop out on away goals. We missed five shots in the first twenty minutes, and despite eight attempts at the first half, including one where Contino was one-on-one with the keeper and hit the side netting, we were still level – and thus behind on away goals. An all-out attack late from Ancona only saw Newcastle score from a penalty in the 79th on the counter-attack. A goal from us was still required, but now it would only take us to extra time. With Semler’s attempted pass to Fontana in the area knocked away by the keeper and a wild volley from Hartwig at the start of injury time, we looked doomed. However, in the third minute of injury time, Semler took a pass from Fontana, dodged between the keeper and a defender and slotted it straight into the net. It was enough to buy 30 more minutes, but could we score again? Semler missed badly in the 100th, ending a scoreless first half of extra time. Briotti had a header saved in the 114th, which led to a series of attacks at both ends. Lee took the ball from a backpass in the 116th and hit it to Messner on the wing. He headed it down for Fontana, and the forward took the ball in space and charged forward. He made it to the edge of the area and sent in a low cross…which was hammered into the net by Semler. 3-2 on aggregate, and with two away goals, there was no way Newcastle could come back. We pushed through to the semi final against Liverpool.

Kishore Bon debuted in a critical game against 3rd placed Bologna (who had overtaken us after playing an extra game). We were now five points off top, albeit with a game in hand, and had to win. There were only three shots in the first half, all to Ancona. Fontana missed the first and Hoffmann had the second saved, but with the third the German international put us ahead just before half time. With Inter and Sampdoria both level at the break, this was a great position to be in. Unfortunately, with just five minutes to go, Bologna scored. Inter managed to win their game as well, leaving us 7 points adrift.

Our last real chance to make a grab for the title was against Atlanta. I brought in Semler, having rested him for most of the recent league games, and he had a shot in the first minute. It missed, but Reuser headed in a Rasch free kick moments later for an early lead. Atlanta had their chances, but for once we held on for the three points. With four league games to go, we’re four points behind Inter – and play them in the second-last.

Naturally, we needed full points from our game against Piacenza, even with Semler rested. We launched a flurry of attacks in the 15th minute, with Fontana eventually heading in a Contino cross. The game was mostly even, but again we held onto our lead. With a draw to Sampdoria, that took us back to 2nd, but Inter won to remain four points ahead.

We needed to focus on the Champions Cup, with the away leg of the semi final against Liverpool. They took the lead through a 7th minute goal and things got worse with Juan Contino sent off mid-way through the first half. Fontata hit back with a header from a Hoffmann cross in the 28th and great saves at both ends kept it level at the break. Liverpool were reduced to ten men in the 74th but just like us, scored a few minutes later. Just as it looked like we were going to take a deficit into the next leg, our two best players in the game, Hartwig and Fontana, combined for an 82nd minute goal. 2-2 the final score, but D’Laryer, Contino, Hartwig, Briotti and Rasch all picked up suspensions for the next leg. I re-signed Aldo Jair Kok until 2018.

Back to the league. Fontana looked to have scored in the second minute, but it was ruled offside. Vicenza scored just before the break, but on the other side of it, Hoffmann headed in an equaliser. That ruled out goal proved costly – Inter and Sampdoria lost, but we couldn’t take advantage with a win.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Holders - Ancona

| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1st | | Inter | | 36 | 21 | 8 | 7 | 65 | 36 | +29 | 71 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 2nd | | Ancona | | 36 | 20 | 8 | 8 | 54 | 33 | +21 | 68 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 3rd | | Sampdoria | | 36 | 18 | 12 | 6 | 62 | 37 | +25 | 66 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 4th | | Bologna | | 36 | 19 | 9 | 8 | 62 | 39 | +23 | 66 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 5th | | Milan | | 36 | 18 | 9 | 9 | 59 | 40 | +19 | 63 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 6th | | Vicenza | | 36 | 15 | 11 | 10 | 61 | 43 | +18 | 56 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 7th | | Verona | | 36 | 16 | 8 | 12 | 48 | 45 | +3 | 56 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 8th | | Parma | | 36 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 48 | 42 | +6 | 54 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 9th | | Chievo | | 36 | 13 | 10 | 13 | 40 | 31 | +9 | 49 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 10th | | Roma | | 36 | 15 | 4 | 17 | 57 | 60 | -3 | 49 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 11th | | Fiorentina | | 36 | 13 | 9 | 14 | 41 | 45 | -4 | 48 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 12th | | Juventus | | 36 | 12 | 10 | 14 | 52 | 51 | +1 | 46 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 13th | | Lazio | | 36 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 45 | 56 | -11 | 45 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 14th | | Atalanta | | 36 | 10 | 13 | 13 | 44 | 50 | -6 | 43 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 15th | | Cagliari | | 36 | 8 | 13 | 15 | 39 | 56 | -17 | 37 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 16th | | Perugia | | 36 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 46 | 64 | -18 | 36 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 17th | | Palermo | | 36 | 10 | 6 | 20 | 43 | 62 | -19 | 36 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 18th | | Piacenza | | 36 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 46 | 59 | -13 | 34 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 19th | | Lecce | | 36 | 9 | 6 | 21 | 40 | 74 | -34 | 33 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 20th | | Genoa | | 36 | 8 | 6 | 22 | 33 | 62 | -29 | 30 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

</pre>

[Donners]

May, season 2014/2015

One of our biggest games ever came at the start of May, where we faced league leaders Inter. A win would probably still leave us behind on goal difference, but a loss would put the title totally out of our reach. A 25th minute goal for Inter made the latter result more likely, and an own goal from Luz in the second half made sure of it. I re-signed Luz for another season after the game.

With D’Laryer, Contino, Hartwig, Briotti and Rasch suspended, we were missing a lot of important players in the second leg against Liverpool, though we at least had a slight lead after a 2-2 away draw. Liverpool took that away in the 38th with the first shot of the game. Lang, Semler and Paterson all missed chances to get us level on aggregate (and thus ahead on away goals) in the final 20 minutes, and the game ended without another goal. Record £725K gate receipts weren’t enough to make up for two bad losses.

Our league game of the season saw us fighting for second spot. We faced Lazio while Sampdoria played against Bologna. At half time, we were both 2-0 up. Our goals came from Fontana and Hjelm. Semler scored a third in the 58th, but with Sampdoria still ahead, it meant nothing. Lazio scored two late goals to end the game 3-2, but with Sampdoria winning, we remained stuck in third.

[Terk]

such a disappointing end to the season hopefully you can bounce back next year

[Donners]

I sure hope so.

The season in review

Summary

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Holders - Ancona

| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1st | C | Inter | | 38 | 22 | 8 | 8 | 67 | 38 | +29 | 74 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 2nd | | Sampdoria | | 38 | 20 | 12 | 6 | 68 | 37 | +31 | 72 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 3rd | | Ancona | | 38 | 21 | 8 | 9 | 57 | 37 | +20 | 71 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 4th | | Bologna | | 38 | 19 | 9 | 10 | 62 | 43 | +19 | 66 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 5th | | Milan | | 38 | 19 | 9 | 10 | 61 | 43 | +18 | 66 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 6th | | Verona | | 38 | 17 | 9 | 12 | 52 | 47 | +5 | 60 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 7th | | Vicenza | | 38 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 64 | 46 | +18 | 59 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 8th | | Chievo | | 38 | 15 | 10 | 13 | 43 | 31 | +12 | 55 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 9th | | Parma | | 38 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 50 | 46 | +4 | 54 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 10th | | Fiorentina | | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 43 | 46 | -3 | 52 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 11th | | Roma | | 38 | 16 | 4 | 18 | 60 | 65 | -5 | 52 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 12th | | Juventus | | 38 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 58 | 54 | +4 | 50 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 13th | | Lazio | | 38 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 49 | 59 | -10 | 48 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 14th | | Atalanta | | 38 | 11 | 14 | 13 | 45 | 50 | -5 | 47 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 15th | | Perugia | | 38 | 9 | 12 | 17 | 49 | 65 | -16 | 39 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 16th | | Piacenza | | 38 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 49 | 62 | -13 | 37 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 17th | | Cagliari | | 38 | 8 | 13 | 17 | 41 | 61 | -20 | 37 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 18th | R | Palermo | | 38 | 10 | 6 | 22 | 43 | 65 | -22 | 36 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 19th | R | Genoa | | 38 | 9 | 7 | 22 | 37 | 65 | -28 | 34 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 20th | R | Lecce | | 38 | 9 | 7 | 22 | 41 | 79 | -38 | 34 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

</pre>

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">3rd in Italian Serie A

Squad Screen

| Pkd | Inf | Name | Apps | Gls | Asts | MoM | Pass | Tck | Drb | Sh Tar | Av R | Value |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| DL | | Briotti, A* | 48 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 75 % | 2.50 | 1.22 | 50 % | 7.10 | £6M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | Rasch, A | 46 | 3 | 16 | 2 | 71 % | 3.20 | 0.88 | 43 % | 7.24 | £8.75M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | Messner, N* | 41 (1) | 1 | 3 | 2 | 67 % | 3.53 | 3.34 | 50 % | 7.48 | £1.8M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| FC | Unh | Semler, B* | 41 | 23 | 7 | 12 | 64 % | 1.30 | 2.19 | 62 % | 7.61 | £5.75M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| GK | | Lee, T | 38 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 47 % | - | - | - | 6.66 | £1.4M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| DC | Wnt | Luz, N | 35 (1) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 76 % | 2.18 | 0.14 | 100 % | 6.92 | £1.2M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| DR | Req | Henning, R | 33 (1) | 2 | 2 | 1 | 75 % | 1.64 | 0.15 | 66 % | 6.79 | £2.3M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB6 | | Hoffmann, M | 31 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 60 % | 1.63 | 2.91 | 75 % | 7.23 | £7.75M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| MC | | Lang, A | 30 (3) | 6 | 4 | 1 | 76 % | 3.45 | 0.31 | 58 % | 7.15 | £3.5M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| MC | | Essien, M | 26 (2) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 72 % | 2.75 | 0.19 | 45 % | 6.89 | £1.2M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| DC | | D'Laryea, N | 25 (3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 72 % | 2.59 | 0.43 | 100 % | 6.79 | £2.7M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| FC | | Fontana | 25 | 15 | 6 | 6 | 77 % | 0.82 | 1.81 | 69 % | 7.56 | £6.25M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Wnt | de la Cuesta, J | 21 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 72 % | 2.47 | 0.23 | 100 % | 6.71 | £875K |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB4 | | Contino, J | 20 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 63 % | 4.13 | 0.97 | 40 % | 7.00 | £3.1M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | Hartwig | 19 (10) | 5 | 4 | 0 | 71 % | 3.11 | 2.14 | 45 % | 7.21 | £8M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Inj | Tommasi, L | 19 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 50 % | - | - | - | 6.89 | £1.5M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Inj | Lennartsson, N | 18 (1) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 74 % | 2.23 | 0.68 | 47 % | 7.21 | £1.6M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | Tunchev, A | 17 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 78 % | 2.65 | - | 100 % | 6.50 | £275K |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| ML | | Hjelm, M | 11 (5) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 75 % | 3.05 | 1.02 | 50 % | 6.75 | £3.2M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB7 | Unh | Motta, T | 11 (1) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 73 % | 1.94 | 1.02 | 36 % | 6.58 | £1.2M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB1 | | Charbonnier, R | 10 (9) | 2 | 6 | 0 | 66 % | 0.72 | 1.04 | 80 % | 6.95 | £4.9M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB2 | Inj | Paterson | 10 (6) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 77 % | 2.94 | 1.10 | 52 % | 6.94 | £3.9M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| MR | | White, S | 9 (2) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 74 % | 3.06 | 0.87 | 50 % | 6.82 | £3.1M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Wnt | Kok, A | 9 (1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 67 % | 2.68 | 1.05 | 60 % | 6.80 | £2.2M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Unh | Dupuy, S | 7 (2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 74 % | 2.42 | 0.13 | 100 % | 6.67 | £3.1M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB5 | | Altintop, H | 6 (6) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 76 % | 1.89 | 0.44 | 37 % | 6.83 | £1.3M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | Reuser | 5 (7) | 2 | 3 | 2 | 67 % | 0.42 | 0.42 | 66 % | 6.92 | £850K |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Req | Kunze | 3 (1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 81 % | 0.66 | 0.99 | 33 % | 6.75 | £4M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB3 | | Bon, K | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 56 % | 4.00 | - | - | 6.00 | £1.2M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | | | | | | | | | | |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

</pre>

Whereas last year we participated in two competitions and won both, this year we played in three and didn’t win any. To be fair, we did not exactly do badly. 3rd in Serie A and making the semi final in both the Italian and Champions Cups is a pretty fair effort. However, it’s hard not to feel frustrated at going all that way and not really getting anything out of the season

At least we’re going to get another shot next year, though there are some mixed signs from our squad.

[Donners]

Wrapping it up

I was runner-up as Manager of the Year, with Messner the only Ancona player with any recognition – Defender of the Year and in the Team of the Year. Rungratsamee was Player of the Year.

I sold forward Alberto to Chievo for £2.3M due to our strength in this area. Reuser, Thiago Motta and Altintop announced they would retire at the end of the season.

Around the world: major awards and results

Ancona Supporters’ Player of the Year:

Borut Semler

World Player of the Year:

Andrea Lazzari (Rayo)

World Footballer of the year:

Alberto Gilardino (Arsenal)

England:

Arsenal

Spain:

Barcelona

Champions Cup:

Liverpool

UEFA Cup:

Manchester United

[Donners]

The Transfers

In

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> | Date | Person | From | Fee |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1.7.2014 | Henning, Robert | Everton | Free |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1.7.2014 | Lang, Amit | Charlton | Free |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1.7.2014 | D'Laryea, Nathan | Man City | Free |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1.7.2014 | Altintop, Hamit | Schalke 04 | Free |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1.7.2014 | Tunchev, Aleksandar| Lleida | Free |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 28.7.2014 | Kok, Aldo Jair | Udinese | £60K |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1.8.2014 | Reuser | Real Madrid | Free |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1.8.2014 | Kunze | Juventus | Free |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1.8.2014 | Cornacchia | Brescia | Free |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 30.12.2014 | Contino, Juan Pablo| Verona | Free |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 26.3.2015 | Bon, Kishore | Strasbourg | Free |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Total | | £60K |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

Out

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Date | Person | To | Fee |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 31.7.2014 | Almirón, Sergio Bernardo | Free Transfer | Free |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 2.8.2014 | Fantini | Free Transfer | Free |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 3.11.2014 | Mooney, Richard | Free Transfer | Free |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 27.12.2014 | Gasparini, Gordian | Free Transfer | Free |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 31.12.2014 | Horjak, Francis | Atlético Madrid | £9.25M |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 13.5.2015 | Moro, Weiyang | Free Transfer | Free |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Total | | £9.25M |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

Loans Out

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Date | Person | To | Fee |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 8.7.2014 | Lombardi, Olgar | Ascoli | Loan |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 2.8.2014 | Giusti, Kent B. | Brescia | Loan |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Total | | £0 |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|</pre>

We brought in plenty of new players in 14/15, but few had an immediate impact. Lang was the only one to be particularly successful, though Contino showed promise. Several others played first team football, but were mostly unremarkable.

Of the players who went out, only Horjak looked particularly impressive elsewhere, but £9.25M was more than sufficient compensation.

Our loaned out players didn’t get much of a go at all.

[Donners]

Pre-Season 2015/2016

We paid out £3.3M in transfers, but picked up £20M in TV rights and got a new £4.8M sponsorship deal. Our bank balance is now up to £223M. We are expected to challenge for the title, with a budget of £142M. Six players came up to the Under-20s, with all but one a defender. None of them look at all promising.

Hamit Altintop decided against retiring, which is rather annoying, particularly after 28-year-old French midfielder Ludovic Demetz arrived following three brilliant years with Lens. Reuser did go through with it, though. I re-signed José de la Cuesta for another season despite a poor 14/15. However, after a series of bids I finally sold him to Piacenza for £1.5M. Hell, at least I made a profit out of it. I rejected offers from Verona to co-own Wai Nikolov and Juan Contino.

Chi Yuen Webb arrived in August, along with young German midfielder Oßwald and 17-year-olds Ghulam Campos and Victor Otero.

In the Champions Cup third qualifying stage, we were drawn to face either Rosenborg or Glentoran.

[Donners]

The Squad

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">1st in Italian Serie A

Squad Screen

| Pkd | Inf | Name | Squad Status | Basic Wage | Contract Expiry | Offer Options | Asking Price |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| DL | | Briotti, A* | First Team | £10,500 | 31.7.2016 | None | £6M |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| FC | | Hoffmann, M | First Team | £8,000 | 31.7.2016 | None | £7M |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| MC | Unh | Lang, A | First Team | £7,500 | 31.7.2017 | None | £3.6M |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB5 | Inj | Lennartsson, N | First Team | £23,500 | 31.7.2016 | None | £1.6M |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| DC | Wnt | Luz, N | First Team | £7,250 | 31.7.2016 | None | £1.2M |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| DR | | Messner, N* | First Team | £26,000 | 31.7.2016 | None | £1.7M |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | Oßwald | First Team | £7,500 | 31.7.2018 | None | £2.9M |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| MC | Inj | Rasch, A | First Team | £4,800 | 31.7.2016 | None | £8.25M |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| FC | Unh | Semler, B* | First Team | £42,000 | 31.1.2016 | None | £6.25M |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | Altintop, H | Rotation | £8,000 | 31.7.2016 | None | £1.2M |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB7 | | Charbonnier, R | Rotation | £4,600 | 31.7.2016 | None | £4.8M |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| DC | | D'Laryea, N | Rotation | £7,500 | 31.7.2017 | None | £2.7M |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | Demetz, L | Rotation | £7,000 | 31.7.2018 | None | £4.7M |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB4 | Wnt | Essien, M | Rotation | £15,000 | 31.7.2016 | None | £1.2M |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB6 | | Fontana | Rotation | £5,250 | 31.7.2016 | None | £6.5M |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| ML | | Hartwig | Rotation | £7,750 | 31.7.2018 | None | £7.25M |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB2 | Req | Henning, R | Rotation | £7,250 | 31.7.2017 | None | £1M |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Req | Kunze | Rotation | £5,250 | 31.7.2017 | None | £4M |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB1 | | Lee, T | Rotation | £4,000 | 31.7.2016 | None | £1.4M |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Wnt | Nikolov, W | Rotation | £4,000 | 31.7.2018 | None | £2.8M |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | Paterson | Rotation | £6,250 | 31.7.2016 | None | £4M |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| GK | | Tommasi, L | Rotation | £9,500 | 31.7.2016 | None | £1.5M |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | Tunchev, A | Rotation | £3,000 | 31.7.2016 | None | £150K |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| MR | | Webb, C | Rotation | £16,000 | 31.7.2018 | None | £7.75M |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Unh | Cornacchia | Backup | £3,000 | 31.7.2017 | None | £2.5M |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB3 | Unh | Dupuy, S | Backup | £6,500 | 31.7.2018 | None | £3.1M |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | White, S | Backup | £4,800 | 31.7.2016 | None | £3.1M |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Inj | Bon, K | Hot Prospect | £1,200 | 31.7.2018 | None | £1.2M |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Wnt | Contino, J | Hot Prospect | £2,500 | 31.7.2017 | None | £3M |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Wnt | Giusti, K | Hot Prospect | £450 | 31.7.2016 | None | £4M |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Inj | Hjelm, M | Hot Prospect | £2,500 | 31.7.2016 | None | £3.1M |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Wnt | Kok, A | Hot Prospect | £4,500 | 31.7.2018 | None | £2.2M |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | | | | | |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

</pre>

Total Players: 44

Wage Budget: £2,000,000

Total Weekly Wages at 6/8/15: £277,028

Goalkeepers

Tommy Lee [29, GK, ENG – Capped at U21 level] – 7, 235, 0

Though his 14/15 season was highlighted by a run of 15 clean sheets in a row, Lee did not actually have a great season overall. He only had two Man of the Match awards, which suggests the defence was mostly responsible for his success. He fell away late in the season and is probably still behind Tommasi.

Lingjing Tommasi [23, GK, ITA – Capped at U21 level] – 2, 51, 0

Lost his spot for a while during Lee’s streak, but is back to the #1 keeping position after a solid finish to the season. Only contracted until 2016, so I will need to try and re-sign him if he does well.

Defenders

Kishore Bon [18, D RL, FRA] – 1, 2, 0

Very much a long-term prospect who probably will have to play a full season in the Under-20s before being considered as a senior player.

Andrea Briotti [29, Sw/D LC, ITA – 19/0] – 9, 311, 2

Despite entering his 10th year at the club, Briotti still seems to be in close to the best form of his career. This is his last contracted year, but if all goes well I will re-sign him. The loss of de la Cuesta gives him increased responsibility.

06/07 Serie A Young Player of the Year, Ancona captain 09/10-present

Nathan D’Laryea [28, D RC, ENG] – 1, 28, 0

A reasonably solid performance last season, giving Messner some much-needed rests, but was not quite as impactful [if that is even a word] as I would have hoped.

Syed Dupuy [25, Sw/D C, FRA – Capped at U21 level] – 4, 70, 1

Did not come along as hoped, playing only nine games and not looking too impressive. He needs to improve this year with a few older players likely to move on soon.

Robert Henning [29, D RLC, GER – 3/0] – 1, 34, 2

Another reasonably solid but slightly disappointing new defender. Henning filled holes at the back where needed, but never really stood out. May leave the club before the end of this contract in 2017.

Norizam Luz [31, Sw/D C, ARG – 7/0] – 6, 211, 6

Re-signed for another season despite his age and a mediocre season. We don’t have many stand-out prospects for centre back, so he will still be in the first XI.

Nurullo Messner [31, D/DM RC, AUT – 50/5] – 6, 239, 8

Another great season from the veteran, who was named Serie A Defender of the Year for the third time. He will continue to play an important regular role, but I will need to re-sign him.

09/10, 10/11, 11/12, 12/13, 14/15 Serie A Team of the Year, 09/10, 11/12, 12/13, 14/15 Italian Defender of the Year, 10/11 Serie A Foreign Player of the Year 3rd placed

Wai Nikolov [22, D/DM RC, BUL – 8/1] – 1, 0, 0

Played a full season with the Under-20s and looked quite good. He’s not happy at the club currently, but a few first team games may change his mind.

Aleksandar Tunchev [34, D LC, BUL – 24/3] – 1, 18, 0

Did not look good at all last season, and even with de la Cuesta gone will struggle to make the first team.

Midfielders

Hamit Altintop [32, AM LC, TUR – 16/0] – 1, 12, 1

Decided not to retire for no apparent reason. Had little role in the side last season and with our new signings, may not play a game.

Juan Pablo Contino [20, M R, ITA – 2 U21/1] – 1, 20, 0

Not a bad first season, earning two Under-21 caps. Has remarkable pace, but is not as good a goalscorer as I’d like.

Cornacchia [24, AM R, GER – Capped at U21 level] – 1, 0, 0

Like Demetz, a slow player with good ball control. Lack of pace is not good for a winger, and after a poor showing in the Under-20s last season, he may not get much of a go.

Ludovic Demetz [28, DM RC, FRA]

One of our new signings. He is remarkably slow for a midfielder, but has an astonishing career average rating of 7.81, with 154 assists in 213 games. He was named French League One Player of the Season in 2013 after a brilliant year with Lens, but despite similar great form in the next two seasons, did not play nearly as many games. His ball skills are remarkable, but as noted, he is very slow. I’m not sure what role he will play this season.

12/13 French League One Player of the Season

Michael Essien [32, DM C, GHA – 67/12] – 2, 51, 1

Another decent season from the veteran, though he’s probably in his final year at the club. With such incredible strength in the midfield, he may not play too many games.

Hartwig [24, AM/F LC, GER – Capped at U21 level] – 4, 83, 10

Has earned a first team spot after a great 14/15 and the retirement of Motta. Re-signed until 2018, he now represents the future of the club.

Marlon Geovany Hjelm [23, M L, SWE – 8/0] – 2, 25, 1

Played a handful of games last season and looked okay, but needs to step up to earn a new contract.

Aldo Jair Kok [22, M RLC, ITA] – 6, 13, 1

Returns to Ancona after a good season with Udinese as part of a co-ownership deal. Quick, tall and good with the ball, but faces a lot of competition.

Amit Lang [21, DM C, FRA – 6 U21/2] – 1, 33, 6

Our best 14/15 signing, showing great scoring ability from long-range and remarkable talent for his age. Sure to be a key part of our midfield. He wants a new contract, but this will undoubtedly costly.

Nordin Lennartsson [32, AM C, SWE – 42/16] – 10, 345, 68

Is set to return from his serious knee injury in September, but with age, injury and competition, may not be in the first XI any longer. Still has pace and looked good before his injury.

10/11, 12/13, 13/14 Serie A Team of the Year

Oßwald [22, M C, GER – Capped at U21 level]

Another new signing for the midfield. Oßwald spent time at Dortmund and Bochum without ever finding a regular first team spot. He’s well-rounded and recommended by my coaches, but I’m not sure if he will have a regular role.

Paterson [25, AM C, ENG – Capped at U21 level] – 2, 43, 2

In an important season, having not sealed a first team spot and in the final year of his contract. With so many midfielders around, he’ll have a hard time holding down a regular spot.

Alexandre Rasch [23, M C, GER – Capped at U21 level] – 2, 71, 4

Another good season from the young midfielder, even though he had to play mostly on the right wing. With Webb, Demetz and Contino around, he may be able to play in the middle more often.

Chi Yuen Webb [23, M RLC, ENG – 3/0] – 4, 37, 1

Returns to the club on a free transfer having spent three seasons at Vicenza after being sold for £5.75M and Hoang Napoli (who ironically left on a free transfer the same day he arrived). Will probably play on the right wing to free Rasch to play in the middle, but could also spend time on the left.

12/13 Italian Young Player of the Year runner-up; Part of World Cup 2014 winners England; 14/15 Italian Serie A Team of the Year

Sobir White [25, AM RC, ENG] – 8, 78, 5

Dropped out of the first team and looked inconsistent when given a chance. The arrival of Webb and Demetz pushes him down even further.

Forwards

Rajesh Charbonnier [22, F LC, FRA – Capped at U21 level] – 2, 40, 10

Regressed last season, with only two goals in 19 games. In his final contracted year, and may be renewed if he shows better signs.

Fontana [25, S C, ITA – Capped at U21 level] – 2, 56, 31

Has an astonishing scoring record considering how many Semler scores. Does not appear hugely talented, but just keeps putting goals through. His contract ends this season and will cost plenty to renew.

Kent B. Giusti [20, S C, ITA – 3 U21/3] – 4, 0, 0

Has been at the club for some time now, and with interest from Juventus, Milan, Zaragoza and others, will need to impress to avoid a move. A bit slow, but very tall and quite skilful.

Mohd Nizaruddin Hoffmann [23, S C, GER – 6/2] – 5, 106, 38

Overshadowed to some degree by Fontana, but mostly due to injury. Still in my opinion our #2 striker. In his final contracted year.

Kunze [22, S C, GER – Capped at U21 level] – 1, 4, 1

Unhappy at not getting a first team run, but will get more of a chance with Reuser gone.

Borut Semler [30, F RC, SLV – 51/30] – 5, 204, 146

Had his lowest tally in his time at Ancona – a mere 23 goals in 41 games. Only signed until January 2016, and re-signing will depend on how well he goes until then.

10/11 Serie A Player of the Year 3rd placed, Serie A leading goalscorer runner-up 10/11, 10/11, 13/14 Serie A Team of the Year, 12/13 Serie A Foreign Player of the Year, 13/14 Serie A Player of the Year, 12/13, 13/14, 14/15 Supporters’ Player of the Year

[Donners]

The Likely Side:

(Playing with a 4-4-2)

GK – Lingjing Tommasi

LB – Andrea Briotti

CB – Nathan D’Laryea

CB – Norizam Luz

RB – Nurullo Messner

LM – Hartwig

CM – Amit Lang

CM – Alexandre Rasch

RM – Chi Yuen Webb

CF – Mohd Nizaruddin Hoffmann

CF – Borut Semler

Sub – Tommy Lee

Sub – Fontana

Sub – Robert Henning

Sub – Syed Dupuy

Sub – Michael Essien

Sub – Nordin Lennartsson

Sub – Rajesh Charbonnier

All Up…

Not a bad squad at all. As usual, defence and goalkeeping are the problems, but these are combined with a large number of players with expiring contracts. There’s also a bit of a problem with age, though I do have a number of young stars. Midfield looks, if anything, too strong, but we may be a bit weak up forward if Semler goes.

The Staff

Giacomo Tafuro (Assistant Manager)

Gilberto Vallesi (Coach)

Roberto Bocchino (Coach)

Roberto Corti (Coach)

Giannicola Pinotti (Coach)

Giuseppe Venturelli (Coach)

Å°mit Davala (Coach)

Stéphane Wiertelak (Coach)

Massimo Tabai (Coach)

França (Coach)

Salvatore Gnisci (Physio)

Massimo D’Ambrosio (Physio)

David Jarrett (Scout)

Rob Campkin (Scout)

Julian Carrera (Scout)

Tim Davies (Scout)

Peter Krobbach (Scout)

Rahman Rezaei (Scout)

Søren Colding (Scout)

[Donners]

August, season 2015/2016

Ancona 3 [semler 39; Fontana 87; Nikolov 89] d. VfB Leipzig 2

Ancona 1 [Fontana 23] d. Wuppertai 0

Ancona 1 [Fontana 15] lost to Ahlen 2

Ancona 2 [Hoffmann 24; Fontana 30] d. Fano 1

I sold Kent B. Giusti to Juventus for £4M but rejected a £2.2M bid from Werder Bremen for Aldo Jair Kok. I did, however, loan him out to Napoli. Juan Contino left on loan to Genoa, as did Cornacchia to Gladbach (for £600K up front with a £1.8M future fee) due to our midfield strength.

Our opponents for the third qualifying stage of the Champions Cup turned out to be Rosenborg. Rasch missed with a shoulder injury, and was replaced by Essien. Hoffmann missed in the 16th, but two minutes later Semler scored with a chip – or so it seemed, until the referee noticed the linesman flagging for offside. Chi Yuen Webb, in his return to Ancona, was more successful in the 62nd, heading in a cross from Hoffmann. Luz had a header cleared off the line in the final minute, and on the counter-attack Rosenborg scored just their third shot of the day (we had 14). 1-1, leaving us slightly ahead on the away goal rule. Webb looked great, while Oßwald made his debut for the club.

Ancona 1 [Kunze 13] d. Bari 0

We had many players missing for our first Serie A game against Juventus. Essien was on international duty while Rasch, Paterson, Demetz and Semler were injured. Wai Nikolov debuted in defence while Lennartsson started on the bench. Curiously, Thiago Motta hadn’t yet retired, so he also started on the bench. Juventus went ahead after only six minutes, while the closest we came in the first half was a Hartwig free which was turned away. Juventus scored a fluke goal ten minutes into the second and with Fontana missing a late attempt, we finished 0-2 losers. Nonetheless, we received odds of 20-1 to win the title – third-best.

[Donners]

September, season 2015/2016

The month kicked off with the second leg of our Champions Cup qualifier against Rosenborg. We had a slight lead with the 1-1 aggregate thanks to an away goal. The first half was uneventful, with Ancona controlling play but not doing much with it. Fontana finally sealed it in the final minute, then Hartwig added a second in injury time for a 3-1 aggregate win. Our Champions Cup group features Dortmund, Shakhtar and Olympiakos. We have odds of 16-1 to win.

Right winger Adonay Bradshaw arrived on a free transfer from Preston, as arranged.

Adonay Bradshaw [20, M R, ENG – 6 U21/2]

Has some notable weaknesses, such as a lack of first-team experience, pace, strength and few stand-out performances. However, he is very tall and a great shot from long range. With Cornacchia and Contino on loan, he may get a run.

I managed to re-sign Fontana until 2018 on significantly increased wages. He started alongside Hoffmann against Sampdoria, with Semler rested ahead of a Champions Cup game. Unfortunately, we went behind after 13 minutes, with several shots from Hartwig saved. They scored again early in the second half from 25 yards, sending us to the very bottom of the league table. Not a good start to the season at all, but there was good news with Alexandre Rasch making his international debut for Germany in a friendly.

That Champions Cup game was our first, against Olympiakos. Webb headed in a Hartwig corner just before half time to put us ahead – and that turned out to be all it took for the three points.

Three points were what we needed against Udinese in the league. Hoffmann forced former Ancona keeper Daniel Ferrari into two saves before beating him in the 10th from a Hartwig pass. He again caused trouble in the 22nd, having a header parried which allowed Semler to easily knock in his first of the season. Messner and Briotti worked hard at the back to keep them scoreless and we finally got off the mark in the league.

[Donners]

October, season 2015/2016

I switched the side around somewhat against Vicenza, giving players like Oßwald, White, Dupuy and Lennartsson a run. We led early, with Semler taking the ball inside the area, running around the keeper and scoring in the 19th. That was one of our few chances for the day, and it was probably fair that Vicenza equalised in the 73rd. Another goal to Vicenza in the 80th, however, wasn’t so fair, and created quite a problem. I pushed players forward, but we didn’t have a shot and recorded our third league loss from four games.

That was poor form to take into a Champions Cup game against Dortmund. They scored in the 36th while we lost Briotti to a knock. Hoffmann put us back in the game ten minutes into the second half, collecting a corner from Hartwig which deflected off an opponent and firing it into the goal. Semler beat a defender in the air and collected his header to score in the 75th – his third in as many games – but Dortmund made it 2-2 a few minutes later. A good save from Tommasi kept it that way at the final whistle.

We desperately needed three Serie A points against Inter. Hoffmann continued his fine recent form with a simple finish in the 34th, then three minutes later Robert Henning had a corner punched away by the keeper. Nathan D’Laryea collected the ball and passed it back to Henning, who scored from a tight angle. Semler slammed in a ripper from 30 yards in the second half then added another from a 40-yard Rasch pass. A convincing 4-0 win, but we have a long way to go. Bordeaux made a £1.1M bid for Hamit Altintop, which I happily accepted. It will take place in January.

We needed to continue that form against Roma, though Semler (replaced by Fontana) and Webb (White) were rested. Hoffmann earned a penalty in the 8th while going for a Motta pass, and the shot was put through by Fontana. The events were repeated in the 32nd for a 2-0 lead. Fontana then competed his hat-trick four minutes later, taking a header from Luz, getting past a defender and hitting it home. When Motta intercepted a defensive clearance and hit it back into the area in the 45th, guess who was there again? Once again Fontana made no mistake, scoring his fourth of the half. He was almost unseen in the second half, but a loose defensive header in the 90th saw him charge into the box and smack in #5. After scoring just one goal in five games, the newly re-signed striker reversed that for five in one game. A new club record, beating Semler and Rungratsamee’s 4 goals in a game, and a great win for the team.

He had to be rested against Shakhtar, but Semler was a pretty decent replacement. Indeed, he scored inside the first minute. Shakhtar hit back in the 26th , but Semler’s second six minutes later after a Rasch header was parried snatched back the lead. Man of the Match Rasch had better luck just before the half time break, heading in a corner to seal our win 3-1.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Holders - Inter

| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1st | | Lazio | | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 6 | +6 | 15 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 2nd | | Brescia | | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 5 | +8 | 14 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 3rd | | Piacenza | | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 2 | +8 | 14 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 4th | | Milan | | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 3 | +5 | 12 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 5th | | Bologna | | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 5 | +6 | 11 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 6th | | Parma | | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 7 | +4 | 11 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 7th | | Vicenza | | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 7 | +2 | 10 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 8th | | Inter | | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 6 | +1 | 10 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 9th | | Ancona | | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 6 | +6 | 9 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 10th | | Atalanta | | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 8 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 11th | | Juventus | | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 7 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 12th | | Chievo | | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 7 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 13th | | Roma | | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 17 | -8 | 7 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 14th | | Perugia | | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 7 | -3 | 6 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 15th | | Cagliari | | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 11 | -4 | 5 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 16th | | Udinese | | 6 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 11 | -4 | 4 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 17th | | Fiorentina | | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 13 | -6 | 4 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 18th | | Sampdoria | | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 11 | -8 | 4 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 19th | | Como | | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 8 | -5 | 2 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 20th | | Verona | | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 11 | -9 | 2 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

</pre>

[Donners]

November, season 2015/2016

We kicked off the month against Chievo. Fontana returned to the side for his first game after his remarkable 5-goal haul, and was partnered by Kunze. Neither had much of a chance at all, with Chievo on the back foot all game. Webb and Fontana forced late saves, but with just four shots for the game, we were unable to break through.

I arranged the signing of 19-year-old Spanish striker Gurpreet Lemée (to take place next month) and re-signed Semler until November 2016. First, though, we had to deal with Perugia. Semler and Hoffmann returned to make things interesting, but again our opponents were defensive. Hoffmann had a shot saved late in the first half, but Perugia scored on the counter-attack. Perugia attacked heavily in the second half, but to no avail. We finally scored in the 73rd, when a defensive tackle left the ball loose in the area – perfect for Semler to tap in. He celebrated his new contract by setting up Hoffmann with a sharp pass ten minutes later for the lead and then sealed the game in the final minute from a Luz pass. Seven goals in his last five games, and another league win for Ancona.

Semler continued his astonishing run against Atlanta, scoring in the first minute from a tight angle. He added a second in the 8th but Atlanta pulled one back just before half time – only to see Semler hit his hat-trick minutes later thanks to a headed pass from young winger Adonay Bradshaw. Three shots for three goals from the star. Amit Lang put through one in the 83rd with help from a deflection, and though Semler’s attempt at a fourth in the 90th was saved, partner Hoffmann put through the rebound. 5-1, making it 22 goals in our last seven games, and 20 in the last six – ten to Semler.

He was rested against Shakhtar in the Champions Cup, with Fontana partnering Hoffmann. Midfielders Lang, Hartwig and Rasch had a number of shots on goal in the first half, but were unable to score. It took a diving header from Hoffmann with twenty minutes to go to finally get us on the board. He added a second four minutes later to seal a 2-0 win and all but assure us of progression to the next stage. I signed 21-year-old Finnish international defender Hakala as a long-term prospect after he was released by . We lost midfielder Ludovic Demetz for three months due to a back injury.

Rasch and Hartwig also missed our game against Piacenza through injury. An 18th minute penalty gave Fontana a goal and reduced our opponents to ten men. Lang and Fontana had occasional shots at goal, but it was Hoffmann who sealed the 2-0 win in the final minutes.

Semler returned for our final game of the month, against Bologna with Rungratsamee (11 goals in 10 games) up forward. We forced five saves in the first fifteen minutes, but the half ended scoreless. Charbonnier scored his first of the season with a header just after the break Semler’s scoring run ended, but one goal was all we needed.

[Donners]

December, season 2015/2016

The month started with a Champions Cup game against Olympiakos, without a point from four games. Unfortunately, there was not much to the game, with only a handful of shots and no goals. The 0-0 draw was enough to ensure we qualified. 19-year-old Spanish striker Gurpreet Lemée arrived after some good scoring in the Spanish second division, and will play in the Under-20s for a while.

Back to the league, where we faced Parma. They had a few early chances and finally scored in the 24th with help from a deflection. A penalty put through by Hartwig later in the half made it 1-1, but in the 63rd Parma went back ahead with their second goal. Hartwig and Hoffmann missed late shots and Parma ended it with their third goal. I arranged for Slovenian international midfielder Ole Furman to join at the end of the season and re-signed Andrea Briotti until 2017.

Our Italian Cup campaign began at home in the second round against Atlanta. We only had one shot for the whole first half, and things weren’t much better in the second with Charbonnier missing three attempts. We looked set for at least a decent draw until D’Laryea knocked an Atlanta pass into his own goal in the 77th. Lang set up Kunze for an equaliser, but his first attempt was saved and a volley missed badly. Hoffmann came off the bench and, with a minute to go, took a pass from D’Laryea, got around a defender and put it through. Only a draw, leaving us behind on away goals. I re-signed Lingjing Tommasi until 2018, but Hoffmann and Rasch rejected my offers.

Our next league game was against a title contender, Brescia. Hoffmann had a great chance saved, but Amit Lang scored mid-way through the first half with a header. Brescia levelled the scores four minutes later, but a beautiful run from Webb put us back to a goal in front in the 35th. Two minutes later, it was level again. Hoffmann had another shot saved just before the break, leaving it 2-2 at half time. Motta (yes, he’s still around), Webb and Lang had their chances in the second half but neither side could break the deadlock. I re-signed Alexandre Rasch until 2019 on significantly increased wages.

I went with a second-string side against Dortmund, with progression assured. Nothing much happened, aside from an awful performance from Kunze (rating ‘2’). He was dropped to the Under-20s and replaced by Gurpreet Lemée. Nonetheless, we progressed and drew PSV for the second round.

Another tough league challenge came against Milan. They scored early, but Fontana answered with a header. Milan were back in front before the break and sealed it later in the second half. Another 1-3 league loss, and three league games without a win.

The pressure was back on when we faced Cagliari three days later. A 24th minute goal to our opponents only intensified that pressure. Semler scored in the 66th with a fine goal, but a dozen minutes later Cagliari were back in front. Our attempts to score a late one only saw two more goals to our opponents, leaving us 1-4 losers. We’re still in 4th, but we’re looking pretty bad at the moment.

We finished the year needing at least one goal against Atlanta to avoid a second round Italian Cup exit. Unfortunately, Atlanta scored mid-way through the first half, leaving us with a 1-2 aggregate at the break. A late half-volley from Lennartsson was saved, and we just couldn’t get that required goal. Our worst Italian Cup result since 2010/11.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Holders - Inter

| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1st | | Ancona | | 11 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 23 | 8 | +15 | 22 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 2nd | | Piacenza | | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 15 | 7 | +8 | 22 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 3rd | | Lazio | | 11 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 22 | 15 | +7 | 22 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 4th | | Brescia | | 12 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 22 | 16 | +6 | 21 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 5th | | Inter | | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 14 | 10 | +4 | 19 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 6th | | Milan | | 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 14 | 10 | +4 | 18 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 7th | | Vicenza | | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 15 | 15 | 0 | 18 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 8th | | Sampdoria | | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 16 | 18 | -2 | 18 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 9th | | Bologna | | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 9 | +5 | 15 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 10th | | Chievo | | 12 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 13 | 12 | +1 | 15 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 11th | | Atalanta | | 11 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 18 | 19 | -1 | 15 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 12th | | Parma | | 12 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 17 | 20 | -3 | 15 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 13th | | Udinese | | 12 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 18 | 17 | +1 | 14 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 14th | | Juventus | | 9 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 13 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 15th | | Roma | | 12 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 15 | 29 | -14 | 13 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 16th | | Fiorentina | | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 16 | 22 | -6 | 12 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 17th | | Cagliari | | 10 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 11 | 13 | -2 | 11 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 18th | | Perugia | | 11 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 14 | 19 | -5 | 11 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 19th | | Verona | | 12 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 18 | -11 | 7 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 20th | | Como | | 11 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 16 | -10 | 5 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

</pre>

[Donners]

January, season 2015/2016

Hamit Altintop joined Bordeaux for £1.1M as agreed at the start of the month. I arranged for young German international striker Jinshan Peterson to join as either a partner or replacement for Hoffmann, who still refuses to re-sign. I made a very tough decision, selling club games record holder Nordin Lennartsson to Vicenza for £400K. He just hadn’t found a regular place in the team after his injury, and was not going to be re-signed at the end of the year. His career profile follows:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">================================================================================================

Nordin Lennartsson - Ancona Career 23/11/05 - 8/1/16

================================================================================================

No Year Apps Gls Con Asts Yel Red MoM Av R

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

15 2008/2009 32 (5) 19 0 8 5 0 5 7.27

15 2009/2010 37 (3) 25 0 10 4 0 13 7.82

15 2010/2011 34 17 0 16 3 0 7 7.68

15 2011/2012 42 20 0 12 2 0 5 7.67

15 2012/2013 25 18 0 4 2 0 5 7.76

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TOTAL 170 (8) 99 0 50 16 0 35 7.61

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DOB: 5/10/1982

Position: AM C

Nationality: Swedish

International Caps/Goals: 45/16

Total Career Games: 373

Previous Clubs: Djurgarden (21 games, 2 goals)

Achievements:

08/09/07 - First international cap against Latvia aged 24

26/05/10 - European Champions Cup runners-up

17/05/11 - Named in 10/11 Serie A Team of the Year

19/05/12 - Italian Cup winners

30/05/12 - European Champions Cup winners

05/08/12 - Italian Super Cup runners-up

31/08/12 - European Super Cup runners-up

14/05/13 - Named in 12/13 Serie A Team of the Year

27/04/14 - Italian Serie A champions

13/05/14 - Named in 13/14 Serie A Team of the Year

13/05/14 - Italian Foreign Player of the Year third placed

17/05/14 - Italian Cup winners

03/08/14 - Italian Super Cup winners</pre>

We simply had to win against Lazio in the league to halt our dangerous slump. However, they scored in the 11th. Semler responded in the 22nd after a great Hoffmann pass, but had a header saved. He did a much better job at the start of the second half, putting us ahead after receiving a pass from Essien and charging into the box. He put through his own parried shot five minutes later for a hat-trick before Webb centred to Hoffmann for a 58th minute sealer. Lazio attacked hard and got a second, but 4-2 was the final result. I arranged the signing of French forward Manjit Chevallereau for the end of the season.

Cellar dwellers Como were our next opponents. They had a player sent off in the first half, but we were still scoreless at the break. Hartwig missed several free kicks, and with 20 minutes to go I was desperate for a goal. I brought on Charbonnier and Webb and went all-out in search of a score. Messner missed a great chance in the 78th but a flick across the area gave Charbonnier the simplest of goals in the 83rd. Semler hit the post from close range three minutes later but hit in the rebound – which proved very valuable when Como scored in the final minute. 2-1 – not convincing, but good enough.

We needed another win in the next game against a similarly weak side, Verona. The first half was mostly uneventful, with Semler having an attempt saved and Rasch and Essien missing a couple of shots each. Semler scored four minutes into the second half after his shot bounced off the inside of the post. Verona hit back ten minutes later, and it was still 1-1 with ten minutes remaining. Hoffmann looked to have given us the three points with an 85th minute goal, but in the final minute of regular time Verona scored their second to again draw level. A late shot from Luz was saved, sending two points down the drain. Thiago Motta picked that point to finally retire.

That made our game against Fiorentina more important. We had seven shots to none in the first half, but had no impact on the scoreboard. Naturally, they scored with their first attempt moments into the second half. It took a perfect header from Semler, taking the ball from deep on the wing to the middle of the area, for Rasch to hit in a great 83rd minute goal. Unfortunately, that was all we could get, and another two points were lost. I loaned out Kishore Bon to Spal after the game.

We had a chance to break our slightly disappointing run against Juventus. Semler was kept out by a brilliant early save, but got one through in the 18th. He made it a brace with a lob just before half time then competed his hat-trick in the 51st when he caught the keeper off his line. Former Ancona player Kent B. Giusti scored a late one for Juventus, but Semler’s hat-trick was more than enough.

Semler’s good form continued with a 1st minute goal against Udinese in the final game of the month. Tommasi was made to work hard for a clean sheet until Rajesh Charbonnier came off the bench and scored a sealer in the 75th. Webb was a stand-out in the 2-0 win.

I set up four big free signings for the end of the season – veteran Spanish midfielder Andrés Iniesta, English winger Héctor Antonio Barber, English international keeper Russel Howarth and former Ancona midfielder Markus Neumayr. Hey, it’s worked for Webb.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Holders - Inter

| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1st | | Lazio | | 21 | 13 | 3 | 5 | 41 | 27 | +14 | 42 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 2nd | | Sampdoria | | 21 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 36 | 26 | +10 | 39 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 3rd | | Milan | | 20 | 12 | 2 | 6 | 31 | 18 | +13 | 38 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 4th | | Piacenza | | 22 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 29 | 18 | +11 | 38 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 5th | | Ancona | | 21 | 11 | 4 | 6 | 42 | 27 | +15 | 37 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 6th | | Inter | | 21 | 11 | 3 | 7 | 29 | 20 | +9 | 36 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 7th | | Vicenza | | 21 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 28 | 25 | +3 | 33 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 8th | | Brescia | | 22 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 38 | 36 | +2 | 31 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 9th | | Roma | | 21 | 9 | 3 | 9 | 30 | 38 | -8 | 30 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 10th | | Bologna | | 21 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 33 | 26 | +7 | 29 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 11th | | Juventus | | 22 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 22 | 22 | 0 | 29 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 12th | | Atalanta | | 20 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 29 | 31 | -2 | 29 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 13th | | Fiorentina | | 22 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 24 | 32 | -8 | 26 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 14th | | Chievo | | 21 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 25 | 25 | 0 | 25 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 15th | | Udinese | | 21 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 26 | 31 | -5 | 24 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 16th | | Parma | | 22 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 30 | 40 | -10 | 24 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 17th | | Perugia | | 21 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 25 | 29 | -4 | 23 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 18th | | Cagliari | | 21 | 3 | 11 | 7 | 26 | 33 | -7 | 20 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 19th | | Verona | | 22 | 3 | 7 | 12 | 16 | 33 | -17 | 16 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 20th | | Como | | 21 | 1 | 6 | 14 | 20 | 43 | -23 | 9 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

</pre>

[Terk]

shame to see Lennartsson leave, but the right decision to move him on before he leaves on a free. he was brilliant

hoping for a good run in the second half of the season

[Donners]

Well, he wasn't nearly as good as that profile suggests. If you didn't notice, those are actually Papa Waigo's stats. Believe me, I wouldn't let a player with those stats go so cheap!

Here's his real profile:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">================================================================================================

Nordin Lennartsson - Ancona Career 23/11/05 - 8/1/16

================================================================================================

No Year Apps Gls Con Asts Yel Red MoM Av R

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

12 2005/2006 20 (5) 2 0 2 1 0 0 7.12

12 2006/2007 33 (1) 3 0 5 4 0 1 7.24

12 2007/2008 32 (1) 7 0 2 5 0 1 7.18

12 2008/2009 37 11 0 5 6 0 4 7.38

12 2009/2010 41 (4) 4 0 6 4 2 1 7.07

12 2010/2011 36 13 0 9 5 0 7 7.53

12 2011/2012 40 13 0 7 4 0 4 7.45

12 2012/2013 38 (2) 3 0 4 6 0 2 7.20

12 2013/2014 34 (2) 9 0 6 9 0 4 7.42

12 2014/2015 18 (1) 3 0 2 3 1 1 7.21

12 2015/2016 2 (8) 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.70

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TOTAL 331 (24) 68 0 48 47 3 25 7.27

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DOB: 5/10/1982

Position: AM C

Nationality: Swedish

International Caps/Goals: 45/16

Total Career Games: 373

Previous Clubs: Djurgarden (21 games, 2 goals)

Achievements:

08/09/07 - First international cap against Latvia aged 24

26/05/10 - European Champions Cup runners-up

17/05/11 - Named in 10/11 Serie A Team of the Year

19/05/12 - Italian Cup winners

30/05/12 - European Champions Cup winners

05/08/12 - Italian Super Cup runners-up

31/08/12 - European Super Cup runners-up

14/05/13 - Named in 12/13 Serie A Team of the Year

27/04/14 - Italian Serie A champions

13/05/14 - Named in 13/14 Serie A Team of the Year

13/05/14 - Italian Foreign Player of the Year third placed

17/05/14 - Italian Cup winners

03/08/14 - Italian Super Cup winners</pre>

[Guest]

Such a good story that I started my own Ancona game.

What you have achieved is superb, especially the finances.

[Donners]

I hope you have similar success.

February, season 2015/2016

February featured six Serie A games, and as such was critical to our success. The first was at home against Vicenza. Hartwig was busy in the first half, with several runs and three shots, but nothing came of them. Rasch struck the post late, but it was Charbonnier with a late goal – aided by a sharp pass from Amit Lang – who slammed home the winner with two minutes to go. A good win against a strong side, taking us up to fourth.

Charbonnier’s good form earned him a spot alongside Semler against Inter. His 10th minute volley was saved, but a corner from Wai Nikolov was knocked into the net by an Inter defender later in the half to put us ahead. A Semler header in the 73rd made it 2-0. Inter scored a late one, but we walked away with the three points.

Our third successive game against a top-7 side was against Sampdoria. An early Fontana header was turned away but Adonay Bradshaw scored in the 36th through a powerful header. Rasch skimmed the bar from long range in the second half before Fontana scored his first in a couple of months to seal the 2-0 win. Three tough games for three wins, and we’re looking good in second spot.

A mid-table opponent next for something different, with Ancona facing Chievo away. Both sides had chances, but a push on Semler allowed Luz to put through a 51st minute penalty. Amit Lang added a second with a 62nd minute volley, and despite Chievo looking the better side, it finished 2-0.

Another mid-table side, Roma, followed. Messner was important in setting up several moves, including one in the 15th where Semler took a pass from him and flicked it into the area for Fontana, who scored. Another good pass from Semler gave Fontana a second goal in the 32nd minute. Hartwig made it 3-0 from a 52nd minute free kick, then Semler picked up his third assist ten minutes later, heading to Fontana for the striker to slam home his hat-trick. That made it eight goals in two games for Fontana against Roma. Roma grabbed one back for a 4-1 finish, leaving us one point clear of top-placed Lazio on equal games. Hartwig was a key figure in the midfield, though as usual he missed several shots.

Despite the chance to go on top, I went with a second-string side against Perugia with a Champions Cup game at the start of next month. Despite the weakened team, we had a huge number of chances in the first half. Despite eight shots to none, it was level at the break. Charbonnier finally scored the long-awaited goal after intercepting a 61st minute defensive header in the area. Fontana took it to 2-0 after a good pass from Bradshaw, and with Lazio losing to Sampdoria, that put us on top of the table.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1st | | Ancona | | 27 | 17 | 4 | 6 | 55 | 29 | +26 | 55 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 2nd | | Lazio | | 27 | 16 | 5 | 6 | 53 | 33 | +20 | 53 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 3rd | | Milan | | 26 | 15 | 4 | 7 | 43 | 25 | +18 | 49 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 4th | | Piacenza | | 27 | 14 | 7 | 6 | 37 | 22 | +15 | 49 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 5th | | Inter | | 27 | 12 | 6 | 9 | 40 | 34 | +6 | 42 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 6th | | Sampdoria | | 27 | 12 | 6 | 9 | 41 | 42 | -1 | 42 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 7th | | Brescia | | 27 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 45 | 42 | +3 | 38 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 8th | | Atalanta | | 26 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 41 | 40 | +1 | 38 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 9th | | Juventus | | 27 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 27 | 26 | +1 | 37 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 10th | | Parma | | 27 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 42 | 45 | -3 | 37 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 11th | | Vicenza | | 27 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 33 | 36 | -3 | 37 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 12th | | Bologna | | 27 | 10 | 6 | 11 | 49 | 40 | +9 | 36 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 13th | | Roma | | 27 | 10 | 5 | 12 | 40 | 53 | -13 | 35 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 14th | | Perugia | | 27 | 7 | 11 | 9 | 37 | 38 | -1 | 32 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 15th | | Chievo | | 27 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 34 | 34 | 0 | 31 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 16th | | Udinese | | 27 | 8 | 6 | 13 | 35 | 46 | -11 | 30 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 17th | | Fiorentina | | 27 | 7 | 8 | 12 | 27 | 43 | -16 | 29 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 18th | | Cagliari | | 27 | 4 | 12 | 11 | 31 | 43 | -12 | 24 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 19th | | Como | | 27 | 4 | 8 | 15 | 29 | 47 | -18 | 20 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 20th | | Verona | | 27 | 4 | 8 | 15 | 20 | 41 | -21 | 20 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

</pre>

[Guest]

Thats great, you've turned things around since the last update. Now grab that title!

[Terk]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Donners:

Well, he wasn't nearly as good as that profile suggests. If you didn't notice, those are actually Papa Waigo's stats. Believe me, I wouldn't let a player with those stats go so cheap!

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

i thought they were a bit on the high side, but Lennartsson was still an excellent player during his years. or so it seems from the reading of the story

glad to see ancona back on top of the pile as well

[KakaKaka]

Ive been browsing this forumjust for your story for weeks now its probably the only story i read every post i detail

kutgw

[Donners]

Thanks.

March, season 2015/2016

March began with the Champions Cup second round away leg against PSV. Hartwig hit the post with a free later in the half, but a minute later Semler was through on goal and put the ball into the top corner. PSV were aggressive in the second half, and had quite a few shots on goal. However, a counter-attack saw Hoffmann send a header at goal in the 68th. It was saved, but there was no stopping Semler’s tap-in – his 25th goal of the season. They scored late, but a 3-1 away win should be enough to ensure progression.

We returned to the league hoping to hold onto top spot with a win against Atlanta. However, we went behind through a penalty in the first half. A 50th minute free kick put Atlanta two goals up and another penalty conceded by Messner gave them a third towards the end of the game. Semler had a few shots, but got nothing from them. The only good news is that Lazio were beaten by Udinese, so we kept first place. I set up two big purchases after the game. Yes, purchases. With Villarreal in financial trouble, I was able to arrange the signings of 22-year-old defender Wilfrid D’Alessandro for £600K and Spanish international midfielder/forward Mohammed Salas for £1.5M. I may pull out of one or both purchases depending on scouting reports and their form.

Our side was weakened against Cagliari, with a Champions Cup game to follow. Nonetheless, Rajesh Charbonnier scored what turned out to be the only goal of the game, after Oßwald returned a defensive header to the area for Charbonnier to smack in. Hartwig missed several shots, but the 1-0 win combined with Lazio’s third straight loss took us five points clear on top. Unfortunately, Amit Lang suffered a torn groin muscle, sidelining him for two months.

The second leg of our second round Champions Cup match saw us entering with an almost unbeatable 3-1 lead. Alexandre Rasch alone had five shots in the first half, with PSV totally on the back foot. Semler finally ended it with a goal in the 73rd. A solid 4-1 aggregate win, taking us through to the quarter final against Deportivo.

An important match against 4th placed Piacenza (with former Ancona defender José de la Cuesta as captain) was next. However, there wasn’t much to it. We looked better, with quite a few chances to Hoffmann and Semler, among others, but it was still 0-0 at the final whistle.

We had a ten-day break before the Champions Cup quarter final away leg against Deportivo. We just snuck through against them in our only other meetings, in the 2009 UEFA Cup, though of course both sides had changed significantly since then. We started off well, with Luz forcing a save with a header and Semler having a few shots on goal. One minute into the second half, Semler took a huge clearance from Lingjing Tommasi, ran past two defenders, sidestepped the keeper and struck a fantastic goal. He looked to have scored again in the 53rd, only to have it ruled out due to an earlier free kick. Deportivo scored through a penalty in the 71st, leaving us with a 1-1 aggregate and a tiny advantage on away goals.

[Guest]

Keep up the good form, the lack of goals is worrying though at this stage of the season, COME ON ANCONA!!!

[Donners]

Lack of goals? What lack of goals?

April, season 2015/2016

There was some good news at the start of the month, with both Fontana and Hartwig making their international debuts for Italy and Germany respectively.

We had a second-string side against Parma due to a critical Champions Cup game three days later. They scored the first in the 29th and with Hartwig missing a penalty just before half time, we went into the break a goal down. Parma scored in the 51st through a free kick anyway, and 0-2 is how it finished.

Of far more importance was the home leg of the Champions Cup quarter final against Deportivo. Chi Yuen Webb, Hartwig and Luz missed through injury, while Essien was away on international duty. Deportivo scored an away goal in the 21st making it 1-2 on aggregate and taking away any advantage we had. Rasch hit the post from long range a few minutes later while Semler put a shot over the bar. Oßwald missed a few shots early in the second half, but Messner came closest with a header in the 59th which was parried and cleared. Oßwald raced at goal in the 60th, but his shot from inside the area went straight to the keeper. I brought on Fontana for Sobir White to play a 3-4-3 formation with Messner going to the right wing. Charbonnier put Fontana through on goal in the 80th, but his shot was likewise straight at the keeper. In the 90th minute, they were still ahead and their keeper had the ball. He hit it to the centre, but Henning was there to head it down for Nikolov. He hit a perfect pass to the edge of the area, where Semler ran onto it and struck it in! 2-2 after 90 minutes, taking us to extra time. A Charbonnier corner in the 96th was headed into the net by Semler, but was ruled offside. Six minutes later, Hoffmann crossed the ball from close to the touchline, and there to meet it was Fontana. He knocked it straight into the net from close range, and the final three minutes ticked by without incident – putting Ancona through to the semi final against Chelsea.

Another big game followed, this time in the league against Lazio. Hartwig sent in a brilliant third minute free kick, but it didn’t quite curl enough and came off the post. Hoffmann scored the opener in the 10th, only for Lazio to equalise a minute later. Inspired by his earlier effort, Hartwig’s second attempt at a free was blasted straight into the net in the 27th. He had another chance three minutes later after Semler was pushed, and put it through from 20 yards for a 3-1 lead. Hoffmann missed a great chance to make it a four-goal half, hitting the post from close range in the 43rd. Semler scored the fourth in the 60th and then the game was capped off by a remarkable feat – Hartwig hitting a 30-yard free kick two minutes later to complete a hat-trick purely from free kicks. 5-1 against one of the biggest title challengers. I arranged the signing of young Aston Villa defender Tak Cheong Williams, to take place in October, after the win.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t afford to go all-out to follow up that form against Brescia, with our Champions Cup game against Chelsea three days later. They took an early lead and despite a few chances to Ancona, scored another in the 73rd to beat us 0-2.

Was it worth the sacrifice? The first leg against Chelsea was at home. The closest thing to a goal in the first half was a header from Rasch, which was saved by the diving Chelsea keeper Petr Cech. Semler forced a save early in the second while Tommasi did well to tip one away at the other end. Messner took a throw-in in the 66th and sent it to Semler. He held up the ball, fired in a curling shot from 25 yards…and put it straight into the back of the net. Five minutes later, he chested down a long clearance from Hartwig, took it into the area and struck a second past Cech. Two goals to Semler, and with a clean sheet to Tommasi, we are set for the final of the Champions Cup for the third time.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1st | | Ancona | | 33 | 19 | 5 | 9 | 61 | 37 | +24 | 62 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 2nd | | Milan | | 33 | 18 | 7 | 8 | 55 | 33 | +22 | 61 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 3rd | | Lazio | | 34 | 17 | 6 | 11 | 58 | 50 | +8 | 57 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 4th | | Piacenza | | 34 | 15 | 9 | 10 | 41 | 34 | +7 | 54 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 5th | | Roma | | 34 | 16 | 5 | 13 | 58 | 62 | -4 | 53 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 6th | | Sampdoria | | 33 | 14 | 7 | 12 | 49 | 50 | -1 | 49 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 7th | | Parma | | 34 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 51 | 53 | -2 | 49 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 8th | | Atalanta | | 33 | 13 | 9 | 11 | 51 | 46 | +5 | 48 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 9th | | Brescia | | 34 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 55 | 51 | +4 | 48 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 10th | | Vicenza | | 34 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 42 | 45 | -3 | 47 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 11th | | Juventus | | 33 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 36 | 35 | +1 | 46 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 12th | | Inter | | 32 | 12 | 8 | 12 | 43 | 43 | 0 | 44 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 13th | | Bologna | | 32 | 12 | 7 | 13 | 55 | 44 | +11 | 43 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 14th | | Chievo | | 34 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 40 | 40 | 0 | 42 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 15th | | Perugia | | 34 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 47 | 48 | -1 | 42 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 16th | | Fiorentina | | 33 | 10 | 9 | 14 | 35 | 47 | -12 | 39 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 17th | | Udinese | | 34 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 41 | 53 | -12 | 37 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 18th | | Como | | 33 | 8 | 9 | 16 | 39 | 53 | -14 | 33 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 19th | | Cagliari | | 33 | 6 | 13 | 14 | 39 | 51 | -12 | 31 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 20th | | Verona | | 34 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 29 | 50 | -21 | 29 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

</pre>

[Donners]

May, season 2015/2016

A huge match to start May, with Ancona taking on Milan, a side only a point below us on the table. As one could reasonably expect, it was quite an even game. We had the majority of chances but could not make them count. 0-0 was the final score. I re-signed Nurullo Messner for another season, but Hoffmann and Luz rejected conservative new deals. A second attempt, however, saw Hoffmann re-sign until 2019.

Our next opponents were bottom-placed Verona. Hoffmann and Hartwig had shots saved early. Oßwald sent in an 11th minute cross, and while a defender got a header in, it went straight to Hartwig who volleyed in a goal. We dominated the game and came away with a solid 1-0 win.

A 2-0 lead was a pretty good advantage to take into the away leg of the Champions Cup semi final against Chelsea. Semler made sure of it with a goal in the 26th and capped off a 4-0 aggregate win by heading in a cross from Webb in the second half. We will face Porto in the final at the start of June.

We entered the final trio of league games just one point clear of Milan on top of the table. Fiorentina were our first opponents of these final three. Hoffmann scored the opener, celebrating his new contract with a nice shot after Hartwig chipped a pass over a defender. He hit the post three minutes later, but two in a couple of minutes to Fiorentina suddenly had us a goal down. Hoffmann was involved again just before half time, passing to Webb for an important equaliser. With Milan leading 2-1 at half time, we’d dropped to second on the live table. Thankfully, they conceded a second goal and we held out for a draw, meaning we remained a point clear with two games left.

As noted, there were two games left in the season. Milan were the only team capable of catching us, as the other sides had played 37 and were at least four points behind. With only one point and one goal difference between Ancona and Milan, our game against Bologna (with Rungratsamee up forward – with 37 goals for the season) was critical. Milan faced Atlanta at the same time. Hartwig struck a 7th minute goal after a pass from Semler, but Bologna responded a minute later. A second goal to Bologna in the 28th had us in huge trouble at half time. Not only were we behind, Milan were a goal up and, even worse, Semler had been forced off with a knock. Six minutes midway through the second half dramatically changed things. While nothing much occurred in our game, Atlanta scored twice to get ahead of Milan. Unfortunately, the last ten minutes turned things around again. Milan scored no less than three goals while we conceded another. A 1-3 loss for us, a 4-2 win to Milan, and we must now win our final game to have any chance of getting the title.

Como were our final opponents, though Milan did not play on the same day. Disastrously, they scored after only four minutes, and we simply couldn’t score. A disappointing end to the league season, though we still have one game to go – and a huge one at that.

[Roelchik]

hi Donners,

exceptional story.

i have been reading it for several weeks now (because it's already 10 pages long).

you have a really good way of managing a club, very like a real club with a critical way of resigning players and roaming the transfer market for free & good players.

although i would suggest to invest more in some talented older players (mid-twenties), since you now definetely have the room to sign more experienced players.

nevertheless your approach has proven its success (relegation, promotion, champions league success).

good luck

[Guest]

Very bad luck to lose out at the end like that, hope the morale is still good for the Porto game.

Can you post your avg. attendances over the years?

Nice one mate, Brilliant stuff, keep it up!

[Donners]

I must say, I'm delighted to see so many responses. I was worried for a while that I was just talking to myself here.

Average attendances are as follows:

03/04 - 19042

04/05 - 18400

05/06 - 17863

06/07 - 20189

07/08 - 19165

08/09 - 19771

09/10 - 18888

10/11 - 19726

11/12 - 19238

12/13 - 19190

13/14 - 19780

14/15 - 20299

15/16 - 20071

[Guest]

I would have thought that more people would have jumped aboard the Ancona bandwagon than that. Still though it makes it more of an achievment when you look at the size of the club.

Will you continue this story or will you be playing fm2005 now?

KUTGW!

[Donners]

I've played a long, long way ahead of what I've posted, so this will keep going for a while yet. Besides, I won't be buying FM 2005. I was very disappointed with this game, and refuse to fork out for a sequel so soon after it.

June, season 2015/2016

Only one match this month – our third Champions Cup final. Alexandre Rasch missed with injury, but otherwise we were at full strength. The side was as follows:

(Playing with a 4-4-2)

GK – Lingjing Tommasi

LB – Andrea Briotti

CB – Robert Henning

CB – Norizam Luz

RB – Nurullo Messner

LM – Hartwig

CM – Amit Lang

CM – Chi Yuen Webb

RM – Adonay Bradshaw

CF – Mohd Nizaruddin Hoffmann

CF – Borut Semler

Sub – Tommy Lee

Sub – Fontana

Sub – Wai Nikolov

Sub – Paterson

Sub – Michael Essien

Sub – Nathan D’Laryea

Sub – Rajesh Charbonnier

There was no doubting the strength of our opponents, so when a 10th minute Hartwig free kick was headed into the net by Mohd Hoffmann – the first attempt on goal of the day – it was a huge relief. From there, we dominated. Webb, Bradshaw, Hoffmann and Hartwig all had shots on goal, albeit without success. Webb was knocked over in the area in the 34th and a penalty was awarded. Hartwig stepped up with the chance to put us two goals up…and put it straight over the bar. We remained ahead at the break, with both sides having shots early in the second without success. In the 67th, Semler tacked a defender and moved into the area. His first attempt was saved, but his second from the parry made it 2-0. Porto gave us a late score with one in the 75th, but young German internationals Hartwig and Hoffmann combined in the 83rd for the latter to make it a brace and seal a 3-1 Champions Cup win. Our second victory in this competition, going some way to make up for the disappointment of our league finish. Semler set new club records with 34 goals and 16 Man of the Match awards for the season.

[Terk]

\o/ another fine achievement, donners long may this kind of success continue

[Donners]

Cheers, but I would have preferred the league title over the Champions Cup. :\

The season in review

Summary

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Holders - Milan

| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1st | C | Milan | | 38 | 21 | 9 | 8 | 66 | 38 | +28 | 72 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 2nd | | Ancona | | 38 | 20 | 7 | 11 | 65 | 43 | +22 | 67 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 3rd | | Piacenza | | 38 | 19 | 9 | 10 | 49 | 36 | +13 | 66 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 4th | | Roma | | 38 | 20 | 5 | 13 | 70 | 64 | +6 | 65 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 5th | | Inter | | 38 | 17 | 8 | 13 | 58 | 46 | +12 | 59 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 6th | | Lazio | | 38 | 17 | 7 | 14 | 62 | 61 | +1 | 58 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 7th | | Atalanta | | 38 | 16 | 9 | 13 | 62 | 52 | +10 | 57 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 8th | | Parma | | 38 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 59 | 60 | -1 | 54 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 9th | | Sampdoria | | 38 | 15 | 9 | 14 | 53 | 54 | -1 | 54 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 10th | | Bologna | | 38 | 15 | 8 | 15 | 65 | 54 | +11 | 53 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 11th | | Vicenza | | 38 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 47 | 52 | -5 | 53 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 12th | | Brescia | | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 59 | 59 | 0 | 52 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 13th | | Juventus | | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 40 | 41 | -1 | 52 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 14th | | Chievo | | 38 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 46 | 42 | +4 | 50 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 15th | | Perugia | | 38 | 10 | 15 | 13 | 48 | 51 | -3 | 45 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 16th | | Como | | 38 | 10 | 10 | 18 | 43 | 59 | -16 | 40 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 17th | | Fiorentina | | 38 | 10 | 10 | 18 | 38 | 60 | -22 | 40 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 18th | R | Udinese | | 38 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 44 | 64 | -20 | 39 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 19th | R | Cagliari | | 38 | 7 | 14 | 17 | 45 | 58 | -13 | 35 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 20th | R | Verona | | 38 | 6 | 12 | 20 | 31 | 56 | -25 | 30 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

</pre>

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">2nd in Italian Serie A

Squad Screen

| Pkd | Inf | Name | Apps | Gls | Asts | MoM | Pass | Tck | Drb | Sh Tar | Av R | Value |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| DL | | Briotti, A* | 50 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 78 % | 2.41 | 1.08 | - | 7.04 | £5.25M |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| DR | | Messner, N | 45 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 65 % | 3.57 | 3.13 | 47 % | 7.40 | £1M |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| MC | | Webb, C | 42 (2) | 4 | 7 | 2 | 71 % | 3.15 | 0.80 | 76 % | 7.23 | £14.5M |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| FC | | Semler, B* | 42 (1) | 34 | 13 | 16 | 63 % | 1.12 | 2.28 | 64 % | 7.79 | £3.7M |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| ML | | Hartwig | 41 (2) | 8 | 11 | 3 | 73 % | 2.88 | 2.55 | 48 % | 7.23 | £10.5M |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| GK | | Tommasi, L | 41 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 47 % | 0.02 | - | - | 6.78 | £1.6M |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| DC | | Henning, R | 38 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 77 % | 1.95 | 0.32 | 75 % | 6.84 | £1.9M |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| FC | | Hoffmann, M* | 35 (3) | 15 | 11 | 3 | 65 % | 1.19 | 2.70 | 74 % | 7.26 | £10.75M |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| DC | Wnt | Luz, N | 32 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 76 % | 2.38 | 0.10 | 87 % | 7.00 | £825K |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Inj | Rasch, A | 26 (3) | 3 | 5 | 1 | 74 % | 2.78 | 0.98 | 55 % | 7.14 | £8.25M |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| MC | Unh | Lang, A | 26 (1) | 3 | 3 | 1 | 76 % | 3.26 | 0.39 | 42 % | 7.11 | £3.5M |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB4 | | Fontana | 22 (6) | 14 | 1 | 4 | 70 % | 0.64 | 2.06 | 60 % | 7.39 | £7.5M |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Unh | Dupuy, S | 21 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 79 % | 2.77 | 0.23 | 100 % | 6.86 | £3.2M |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB5 | | Essien, M | 21 (1) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 79 % | 2.73 | 0.27 | 38 % | 6.91 | £600K |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB3 | Wnt | Nikolov, W | 19 (5) | 0 | 4 | 0 | 72 % | 2.29 | 0.45 | 66 % | 6.96 | £3.2M |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Unh | Oßwald | 18 (9) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 73 % | 4.14 | 0.82 | 45 % | 7.04 | £3.6M |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| MR | Unh | Bradshaw, A | 18 (5) | 1 | 3 | 0 | 65 % | 3.57 | 0.54 | 38 % | 7.04 | £2.5M |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB2 | | D'Laryea, N | 15 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 74 % | 2.67 | 0.20 | 100 % | 6.80 | £2.3M |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB1 | | Lee, T | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 % | - | - | - | 6.29 | £275K |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB7 | | Charbonnier, R | 10 (7) | 6 | 0 | 0 | 63 % | 0.80 | 0.89 | 65 % | 6.94 | £4.4M |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB6 | Unh | Paterson | 6 (4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 76 % | 1.90 | 0.52 | 25 % | 6.70 | £975K |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | Demetz, L | 5 (5) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 71 % | 2.42 | 2.10 | - | 7.00 | £3.8M |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Inj | White, S | 5 (5) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 75 % | 3.89 | 1.11 | 60 % | 6.70 | £650K |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Req | Kunze | 2 (5) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 70 % | - | - | 40 % | 5.43 | £3.1M |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Unh | Hjelm, M | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 72 % | 3.00 | 1.00 | - | 7.00 | £800K |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Wnt | Tunchev, A | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 73 % | - | - | - | 6.50 | £40K |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | | | | | | | | | | |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

</pre>

While second place in the league and a Champions Cup victory certainly sound impressive, we really should have done a lot better. We just wasted too many games in the league, and it proved costly in the end. Our Italian Cup exit was also disappointing.

We did well from a personnel perspective, with young players like Hartwig and Bradshaw coming along very nicely and veterans such as Henning doing a solid job.

Though we came up short this season, there were enough positive signs to suggest we can take the next step in 16/17.

[Roelchik]

absolutely brilliant stuff

just like professional football coverage

you should consider working as a journalist

[Donners]

You're most kind. I find that my biggest difficultly is that I don't follow soccer at all IRL, so I often struggle to think of the right terms and phrases to use without really knowing how the professionals do it. You've just made me feel much better.

Wrapping it up

Semler came third as Italian Player of the Year (behind Rungratsamee), I was runner-up as Manager of the Year and Messner made the Team of the Year and was third as Foreign Player of the Year (former Ancona forward Carlos Daniel Hidalgo won).

I cancelled the £1.5M purchase of Mohammed Salas, deciding that we already had enough midfielders coming in. One of those, Slovenian international Ole Furman, arrived early in June. Speaking of Slovenians, Borut Semler signed a contract extension until July 2017. I signed 17-year-old midfielder Dileep Mayer as a long-term prospect while five Under-20s players were released by my assistant. Scout Peter Krobbach retired.

I rejected job offers from Greece and Senegal.

Around the world: major awards and results

Ancona Supporters’ Player of the Year:

Borut Semler

World Player of the Year:

Arjen Robben (Barcelona)

World Footballer of the year:

Jung-Ho Cruz (FC Bayen)

England:

Manchester United

Spain:

Real Sociedad

Champions Cup:

Ancona \o/

UEFA Cup:

Juventus