Silver_blue just bit me!

[Terk]

nothing in the terminology you've used throughout the story had me believing you were anything other than a football fan irl. so the fact that you aren't makes the writing achievment of this story possibly even bigger than the playing achievements.

[Donners]

Again, I'm very glad to hear that. Thanks.

The Transfers

Transfers In

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

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

| 1.7.2015 | Demetz, Ludovic | Lens | Free |

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

| 11.7.2015 | Campos, Ghulam | Free Transfer | Free |

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

| 13.7.2015 | Otero, Victor | Free Transfer | Free |

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

| 20.7.2015 | Oßwald | Free Transfer | Free |

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

| 1.8.2015 | Webb, Chi Yuen | Vicenza | Free |

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

| 11.9.2015 | Bradshaw, Adonay | Preston | Free |

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

| 12.11.2015 | Hakala | Free Transfer | Free |

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

| 5.12.2015 | Lemée, Gurpreet | Sevilla | Free |

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

| 2.6.2016 | Furman, Ole | Maribor | Free |

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

| 13.6.2016 | Mayer, Dileep | Free Transfer | Free |

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

| | | | |

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

| | Total | | £0 |

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

Transfers Out

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

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

| 22.6.2015 | Gentili | Free Transfer | Free |

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

| 22.6.2015 | Standaert, Dipankar | Free Transfer | Free |

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

| 22.6.2015 | Barbato | Free Transfer | Free |

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

| 1.7.2015 | Alberto | Chievo | £2.3M |

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

| 25.7.2015 | de la Cuesta, José Julián | Piacenza | £1.5M |

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

| 31.7.2015 | Schiavi | Free Transfer | Free |

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

| 1.8.2015 | Napoli, Hoang | Sporting | Free |

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

| 5.8.2015 | García, Radamel Falcao | Free Transfer | Free |

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

| 13.8.2015 | Giusti, Kent B. | Juventus | £4M |

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

| 1.1.2016 | Altintop, Hamit | Bordeaux | £1.1M |

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

| 8.1.2016 | Lennartsson, Nordin | Vicenza | £400K |

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

| | | | |

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

| | Total | | £9.25M |

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

Loans Out

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

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

| 28.7.2015 | Lombardi, Olgar | Genoa | Loan |

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

| 19.8.2015 | Kok, Aldo Jair | Napoli | Loan |

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

| 19.8.2015 | Contino, Juan Pablo| Genoa | Loan |

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

| 20.8.2015 | Cornacchia | Gladbach | Ln Fee £600K |

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

| 18.1.2016 | Bon, Kishore | Spal | Loan |

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

| | | | |

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

| | Total | | £600K |

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

A good season for transfers. Chi Yuen Webb had a strong season in the middle and Bradshaw and Oßwald played useful roles. Gurpreet Lemée and Victor Otero looked good in the Under-20s but Hakala was very disappointing.

We picked up a decent amount of money from sales, and most of the players didn’t do much at their new clubs. Hamit Altintop did very well in France but de la Cuesta was the only player in Italy to do particularly well.

The players who went out on loan were very successful. Lombardi only played two Serie B games, but scored three goals. Kok and Contino played solid full seasons in the same league, but Cornacchia was the star in Germany – even winning the First Division Player of the Month award in January. Bon played 19 games and looked okay.

[Donners]

Pre-Season 2016/2017

We picked up £20M in TV rights and only lost £1.1M in dividends. I was given a budget of £178M after my “extravagant spending†[sigh] and told to challenge for the title. Three new youth players came up to the Under-20s, and I also signed 17-year-old defender Hussein Reyero.

German international striker Jinshan Petersen arrived, giving us three German internationals aged under 25. He was joined by French forward Manjit Chevallereau, our own former midfielder Markus Neumayr (now also a German international), English veteran keeper Russell Howarth, winger Héctor Antonio Barber, veteran midfielder Andrés Iniesta and defender Wilfrid D’Alessandro (for £600K).

The first to make way for them was Norizam Luz, sold after seven seasons and 243 games to Osasuna for £850K. I also loaned out wingers Juan Contino and Cornacchia to Verona and Perugia respectively, and defender Kishore Bon to Torino. I rejected a £2.5M bid for Adonay Bradshaw.

At the end of July, I released Tommy Lee, Michael Essien, Rajesh Charbonnier, Alexander Tunchev, Marlon Hjelm, Paterson and Sobir White. Charbonnier was the only notable loss there, as he scored at a decent rate, but I already have too many forwards.

[Donners]

The Squad

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Pkd | Inf | Name | Squad Status | Basic Wage | Contract Expiry | Offer Options | Asking Price |

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

| GK | | Howarth, R | Key Player | £12,000 | 31.7.2018 | None | £2.9M |

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

| DL | | Briotti, A* | First Team | £10,500 | 31.7.2017 | None | £5.25M |

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

| DC | | D'Alessandro, W | First Team | £10,000 | 31.7.2019 | None | £2.5M |

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

| FC | | Hoffmann, M* | First Team | £14,500 | 31.7.2019 | None | £12M |

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

| SB4 | Inj | Iniesta, A | First Team | £7,000 | 31.7.2018 | None | £1.4M |

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

| MC | Unh | Lang, A | First Team | £7,500 | 31.7.2017 | None | £3.4M |

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

| DR | | Messner, N | First Team | £26,000 | 31.7.2017 | None | £1M |

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

| SB5 | | Neumayr, M | First Team | £14,000 | 31.7.2018 | None | £4.7M |

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

| | | Petersen, J | First Team | £12,000 | 31.7.2018 | None | £6.5M |

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

| MC | Inj | Rasch, A | First Team | £19,500 | 31.7.2019 | None | £8.25M |

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

| FC | | Semler, B* | First Team | £35,000 | 31.7.2017 | None | £3.7M |

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

| | | Barber, H | Rotation | £6,500 | 31.7.2018 | None | £3.2M |

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

| | Wnt | Bradshaw, A | Rotation | £2,300 | 31.7.2018 | None | £2.5M |

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

| SB6 | | Chevallereau, M | Rotation | £4,500 | 31.7.2019 | None | £5M |

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

| | | D'Laryea, N | Rotation | £7,500 | 31.7.2017 | None | £2.3M |

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

| | Inj | Demetz, L | Rotation | £7,000 | 31.7.2018 | None | £3.7M |

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

| SB7 | | Fontana | Rotation | £14,500 | 31.7.2018 | None | £7.25M |

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

| | | Furman, O | Rotation | £3,500 | 31.7.2019 | None | £6M |

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

| ML | | Hartwig | Rotation | £7,750 | 31.7.2018 | None | £11M |

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

| DC | | Henning, R | Rotation | £7,250 | 31.7.2017 | None | £1.9M |

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

| SB3 | | Nikolov, W | Rotation | £4,000 | 31.7.2018 | None | £3.2M |

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

| | | Oßwald | Rotation | £7,500 | 31.7.2018 | None | £3.6M |

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

| SB1 | | Tommasi, L | Rotation | £9,500 | 31.7.2018 | None | £1.5M |

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

| MR | | Webb, C | Rotation | £18,500 | 31.7.2018 | None | £16M |

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

| SB2 | Unh | Dupuy, S | Backup | £6,500 | 31.7.2018 | None | £3.1M |

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

| | Req | Kunze | Backup | £6,000 | 31.7.2017 | None | £1M |

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

| | Unh | Hakala | Hot Prospect | £3,300 | 31.7.2018 | None | £1.5M |

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

| | Wnt | Kok, A | Hot Prospect | £4,500 | 31.7.2018 | None | £2.6M |

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

| | Loa | Lemée, G | Hot Prospect | £1,700 | 31.7.2017 | None | £3.1M |

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

| | | | | | | | |

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

</pre>

Total Players: 43

Wage Budget: £2,000,000

Total Weekly Wages at 2/8/16: £294,533

Goalkeepers

Russell Howarth [34, GK, ENG – 17/0]

A much-needed signing – a quality keeper, albeit one nearing the end of his career. Howarth has been a regular with FC Bayern in recent years after joining them for £4.1M in 12/13. He’s also spent time at Parma, Preston, Middlesbrough and Betis. Howarth has plenty of big-match experience and still looks to be a talented keeper.

Part of World Cup 2010 winners England; 09/10, 10/11 Spanish First Division Goalkeeper of the Year runner-up; 11/12 Spanish First Division Goalkeeper of the Year third placed

Lingjing Tommasi [24, GK, ITA – Capped at U21 level] – 3, 92, 0

Relegated to second spot by Howarth, but re-signed until 2018 after three solid seasons. Howarth is quite old and will need a few games off, so Tommasi will remain part of the first team squad.

Defender

Andrea Briotti [30, Sw/D RLC, ITA – 20/0] – 10, 361, 2

The new games record holder, taking over from Lennartsson, and still captain. A few years of training have made him capable at right back as well, but left back should be his spot with Messner and Nikolov around. I’m unsure whether to re-sign him at the end of the season.

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

Wilfrid D’Alessandro [23, D C, ITA – Capped at U21 level]

A bargain at £600K from Villarreal – or at least I hope so. He actually spent most of his career at Bologna, but has played his best football in the last three seasons in Spain. A well-rounded but mostly unremarkable player.

Nathan D’Laryea [29, D RC, ENG] – 2, 43, 0

A decent, solid player who should have a minor rotational role this season.

Syed Dupuy [26, D C, FRA – Capped at U21 level] – 5, 92, 1

Another quite solid player. He will likely battle for one of the starting centre back spots with D’Alessandro and Henning.

Hakala [22, D C, FIN – 9/0] – 1, 0, 0

Very disappointing last season, having little impact in the Under-20s. Our lack of options at the back may mean he gets a chance to prove himself at senior level, but he’s not regarded as a good prospect.

Robert Henning [30, D RLC, GER – 3/0] – 2, 72, 3

A good contributor last season. With his adaptability, Henning will probably play a full season at a variety of defensive spots.

Nurullo Messner [32, D/DM RC, AUT – 55/5] – 7, 284, 8

Signed for another year after continuing his great form at right back. This will probably be a transitional season, with Wai Nikolov hopefully stepping up to play Messner’s role in future years.

09/10, 10/11, 11/12, 12/13, 14/15, 15/16 Serie A Team of the Year, 09/10, 11/12, 12/13, 14/15 Italian Defender of the Year, 10/11, 15/16 Serie A Foreign Player of the Year 3rd placed

Wai Nikolov [23, D/DM RC, BUL – 13/1] – 2, 24, 0

Came along well in his first season of senior football, playing 242 games and looking capable. He’s tall and skilled enough to be a good contributor.

Midfielders

Héctor Antonio Barber [28, M RL, ENG]

A useful player who had some exceptional form with Brighton in the Premier league five years ago. A £3.3M move to Marseille didn’t really work out, but he now has a chance at Ancona. Lacks pace, but has good skills and works hard.

Adonay Bradshaw [20, M R, ENG – 8 U21/4] – 1, 23, 1

A top prospect, giving me the freedom to loan out other young right wingers Contino and Cornacchia. Like so many of our midfielders, is quite slow, but is tall and great with the ball.

Ludovic Demetz [29, DM RC, FRA] – 1, 10, 0

Missed most of last season through injury and may struggle to get back into a side with such midfield strength. Looked good in his few games.

12/13 French League One Player of the Season

Ole Furman [21, AM/F LC, SVN – 7/0]

The international team-mate of Semler joins Ancona after just one season of football. He excelled with Slovenian club Maribor, but it’s unclear how he’ll go at this level. Has pace, at least.

Hartwig [25, AM/F LC, GER – 7/1] – 5, 126, 18

Hartwig’s first full season in the seniors was superb, holding down the left wing and breaking into the German side. He wants a new contract, but since he’s signed for two more seasons, I’ll hold out as long as possible.

Andrés Iniesta [32, DM C, ESP – 3/0]

Pretty much a direct replacement for Essien. Iniesta has not been at his best since 2009, after being bought by Real Madrid for £9M, but has shown enough in his brief runs since then that he still can have a big impact on a game. A good playmaker.

08, 09 Spanish Player of the Year; 07/08, 08/09 Deportivo Supporters’ Player of the Year

Aldo Jair Kok [23, M RLC, ITA] – 7, 13, 1

After so many years at the club, it’s time for Kok to show he can give something to the side. He’s done well on loan to Serie B and looks quite talented, but will have trouble breaking into the seniors.

Amit Lang [22, DM C, FRA – Capped at U21 level] – 2, 60, 9

One of several players fighting for a central midfield spot. Lang has done well there in the last two years and will have first chance at the position, but must keep up his form to retain it. Is demanding a new contract and is probably out of my reach.

Markus Neumayr [30, M C, GER – 11/0] – 6, 221, 20

Had a huge impact after leaving us in 2013, being picked up by Kaiserslautern and playing brilliantly in his three seasons there. He returns to the club on a two-year contract and will fight Iniesta for the playmaker spot.

13/14, 14/15, 15/16 Kaiserslautern Supporters’ Player of the Year

Oßwald [23, M C, GER – Capped at U21 level] – 1, 27, 0

A solid season from a solid player last year. He hasn’t really done enough to stand out, and with the big names like Iniesta and Neumayr in, he probably won’t get much chance to play.

Alexandre Rasch [24, M C, GER – Capped at U21 level] – 3, 100, 7

One of our many talented young Germans. Has wonderful ability, and now that he’s been re-signed for three more seasons, will have a big role to play.

Chi Yuen Webb [24, DM RLC, ENG – 11/1] – 5, 81, 5

A great return from the midfielder, spending most of the season on the right wing and looking good. Doesn’t have the passing ability of many of our midfielders, but has plenty of speed.

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

Forwards

Manjit Chevallereau [23, F RC, FRA – Capped at U21 level]

A player I’ve had my eye on for several years. Chevallereau has scored at a great rate in Austria – 72 goals in 96 games. He’s not particularly quick, but can be very dangerous with passes, headers and shots from both short and long range. His main problem is finding a regular spot with Semler around.

Fontana [26, S C, ITA – 1/0] – 3, 84, 45

Did well enough last season to score 14 goals from limited opportunities and earn an Italian cap, but with far classier players now available, he will struggle to get much of a run.

Mohd Nizaruddin Hoffmann [24, S C, GER – 12/3] – 7, 144, 53

Finally re-signed for another three seasons, though he has not quite taken the next step into being a regular first team player. Fontana’s pretty much equal with him, so they’ll have quite a battle to get the second striking spot.

Kunze [23, S C, GER – Capped at U21 level] – 2, 11, 1

A hugely disappointing player who looks to have great talent but doesn’t perform. Unfortunately signed for two more seasons, though I’ll look to get rid of him before then.

Gurpreet Lemée [20, S C, ESP – 2 U21/1] – 1, 1, 0

Seemingly a good prospect, he played well in the Under-20s and even managed a senior game. He has good pace but must work on his skills.

Jinshan Petersen [23, S C, GER – 3/1]

Signed as a replacement for Hoffmann, Petersen now finds himself with an uncertain role. He did well for Gladbach but is not a star. He’s very slow and not particularly tall.

Borut Semler [31, F RC, SVN – 59/38] – 6, 247, 180

Broke club records for goals and Man of the Match awards at 30, so there’s no reason he can’t continue to have a huge impact this season.

10/11, 15/16 Serie A Player of the Year 3rd placed; 13/14 Serie A Player of the Year; 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; 12/13, 13/14, 14/15, 15/16 Supporters’ Player of the Year

[Donners]

The Likely Side:

(Playing with a 4-4-2)

GK – Russell Howarth

LB – Andrea Briotti

CB – Robert Henning

CB – Wilfrid D’Alessandro

RB – Nurullo Messner

LM – Hartwig

CM – Amit Lang

CM – Alexandre Rasch

RM – Chi Yuen Webb

CF – Mohd Nizaruddin Hoffmann

CF – Borut Semler

Sub – Lingjing Tommasi

Sub – Fontana

Sub – Andrés Iniesta

Sub – Syed Dupuy

Sub – Wai Nikolov

Sub – Markus Neumayr

Sub – Héctor Antonio Barber

All Up…

Wow. Though we still have a lot of defensive problems – probably more than the last few seasons – there is a hell of a lot of talent in that squad. I’m going to have a lot of trouble choosing forwards and midfielders with so many quality options. It’s one of our oldest first-choice teams, but there’s plenty of great young players to provide the next generation of Ancona – if I can keep them around.

We should at least among the top few in both the Champions Cup 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)

Rahman Rezaei (Scout)

Søren Colding (Scout)

[Donners]

August, season 2016/2017

Ancona 3 [Hoffmann 14; Webb 40; Chevallereau 69 (pen)] drew Spezia 3

I arranged the transfer of very promising Atlanta winger Adhemar Balestrieri (to join in December) and Cadiz defender Saad Izquierdo (January). To help make way fo them, I sold midfielder Aldo Jair Kok to Hertha BSC for £4.8M.

Ancona 1 [Furman 10] drew Livorno 1

Ancona 0 drew Rimini 0

I made a huge, club record purchase after the friendlies, snapping up defender Nelson De Bellis for £6.5M.

Nelson De Bellis [19, D RC, ITA – 14 U21/1]

A hugely talented player, with pace, height and defensive skill. He’s been one of the best Serie A defenders with Atlanta over the last four seasons, and has now been signed on a five-year deal during which he will hopefully become a star.

He was not available for the first senior game of the season, in the league against Bologna, due to the Olympics. We outplayed them in the first half, with five shots to our strikers but Bologna went in front with a rare chance just before the break. Alexandre Rasch scored our first of the season with a header in the early stages of the second half and we held on for a decent 1-1 draw. D’Alessandro, Howarth and Iniesta all debuted. We were given odds of 10-1 to win the title – second only to Milan. Our Champions Cup group features Dortmund, Partizan and Metalurg Donetsk – one of the weakest groups in the competition.

[itsginga]

Donners what can I say that has not been said before given they show no Football apart from on fox here in Oz you have a unique touch to the game.

I have read your first Rushden story and now this both awesome.

With only freebies mainly being bought you treat the game like an AFL roster but what do you specifically look for with attributes is there something that usually catches your eye?

[Dark_Soccer]

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

given they show no Football apart from on fox here in Oz <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

What do you mean no Football we have The World Game. However speaking of which just went and purchased Foxtel because of the lack of soccer.

Great Work Donners as usual a great read

[Donners]

Yeah, you pretty much need Foxtel for any sort of decent sports coverage. I'm just not a big soccer fan though, so I make do without it. The Ashes, on the other hand...

I like the AFL comparison. I would love this game with a draft (though no, I don't play EHM). As for what I look for in a signing, it depends on the type. If it's an unproven young player, I look to performance (usually non-competitive games). This typically involves going through 50+ released players from major clubs in the transfers list at the end of every season. Stand-out players (rating of a bit over 7) usually get a trial offer, and if their attributes are decent, I may sign them from there. If they are more established, I'll mostly just rely on attributes, with a bit of attention to performance. There aren't any particular attributes I really focus on, though Pace is one I always check.

[Donners]

September, season 2016/2017

As Champions Cup winners, we faced UEFA Cup winners Juventus in the Super Cup. They hit the lead after seven minutes and hit the post with a header later in the half, while the best we could manage were saved shots from Semler and Hoffmann. We were disappointingly quiet in the second half, with former Ancona player Kent Giusti sealing it in injury time.

Russell Howarth was dropped after only two games due to his poor performances. I re-shuffled the side against Parma, with Chevallereau, De Bellis, Fontana, Tommasi, Neumayr and Oßwald all coming in. A good run from Chevallereau got the ball to Semler in the area, and after drawing a few defenders he passed to Fontana for a simple finish. The striker added a second in the 66th to stake a real claim for a first team spot and ensure we picked up three points. Unfortunately, Chevallereau was put out for a month with a groin strain, and Iniesta suffered a similar injury at training, putting him out for two months. We received odds of 11-1 to win the Champions Cup.

Despite those injuries, our midfield depth ensured we still had a strong side against Piacenza. Unfortunately, we not only conceded an early goal but had defender Nathan D’Laryea sent off with a straight red. Worse still, the resulting free was knocked by Messner into his own net to leave us two goals and a player down at the break. Markus Neumayr made a great return to our home ground, slamming in a 30-yard goal two minutes into the second half (runner-up as Goal of the Month). However, we were still behind, and having only 10 men made attacking a lot harder. It took until the very final minute of regular time for us to get another decent chance on goal. Hartwig’s cross into the area floated above a few defenders and was met by a perfect header from Chi Yuen Webb for a dramatic late equaliser. We held on through injury time for a point.

We began the Champions Cup defence at home against Partizan. Borut Semler was dropped due to poor form for the first time I can remember, with Fontana and Hoffmann together up forward. However, it was Webb who put us ahead in the 22nd with a header. We lost Neumayr and Fontana to injury during the game (both out for two weeks), but held on in a quiet game for the win. To add to our injury problems, Lang was put out for two months with a groin injury from training. That’s now Iniesta, Chevallereau, Neumayr, Lang and Fontana out for at least a couple of weeks.

Add to that the three-game suspension of D’Laryea, and we were missing a lot of players against Inter. Believe it or not, we lost Messner to injury in the first half. Hoffmann scored just before half time after a great ball from Ole Furman, and despite several bad misses from Semler, one was enough, with Héctor Antonio Barber Man of the Match. The injury to Messner was thankfully minor, but Semler’s form is a huge worry. His past performances have been so brilliant that I’m reluctant to give up on him, but at the same time there’s only two strikers on the pitch. If one isn’t performing, that’s a lot of pressure on the other.

[Donners]

October, season 2016/2017

We began the month with another injury – midfielder Ludovic Demetz out for three weeks. Fortunately, Fontana and Manjit Chevallereau made timely returns against Sampdoria, while Russell Howarth was given another chance. Chevallereau scored with help from partner Hoffmann for a 31st minute lead but Sampdoria equalised early in the second half. It was a mostly even game and the 1-1 result was probably fair. It is worrying that we’ve only won two of five league games, though at least we haven’t lost yet.

Semler got what could be one of his final chances in the Champions Cup against Dortmund. We let through an early goal due to sloppy marking and a few minutes later conceded a second after a player simply waltzed through the defence. 0-2 was the final score with no spark from Ancona and another bad performance from Semler. In hindsight, re-signing him until the end of the season was a mistake.

Howarth and Semler were both dumped from the Serie A game against Lazio. Gurpreet Lemée partnered Fontana after exceptional Under 20s form. A header from Webb was saved but at the other end Lazio put through the first of the game. We were very lucky to equalise in the 91st minute after Briotti threw the ball in and Messner had a clean run at goal for a simple finish. However, we were outplayed and Lemée did not look good at all. One point was fortunate, but still not enough for a title contender.

Jinshan Petersen replaced Lemée against Fiorentina. Webb looked to have wasted a great chance with a wild cross that missed the forwards, but Bradshaw was able to grab it and spin around to score a great 4th minute goal. Webb scored one himself in the 59th with a great 25 yard strike before Chevallereau put through a penalty eight minutes later to seal a 3-0 win. Bradshaw and Webb were particularly impressive on the wings. Defender Tak Cheong Williams arrived after the game.

Tak Cheong Williams [19, D C, ENG – Capped at Schoolboy level]

Signed from Aston Villa after some decent signs in 20-odd senior games over the last few years. More a long-term prospect, but has the pace and height to be a useful player.

We fought to continue our unbeaten record against Chievo. Mohd Hoffmann had a great first half, scoring from a Messner cross in the 21st and then intercepting a defensive pass and racing into the area to score his second ten minutes later. Those two goals made the difference in the end, though former Ancona forward Alberto missed a few good chances.

Semler got a run against seemingly weak Champions Cup opponents Metalurg Donetsk. He had six shots in the first half, and though he missed several good chances, a third-minute goal was just what he needed. Wai Nikolov added a second with a volley just before the break before Semler completed a Man of the Match performance with his second goal in the final minutes. Now he just needs to carry that form to the league – and inspire Howarth and Petersen, who have been awful.

We ended the month at home to Palermo. Semler had a few early misses, which proved costly when they scored in the 28th. Semler hit back in the 44th thanks to a pass from Bradshaw, but despite 12 shots to 3, we were level at half time. Fontana finally scored in the 66th from a Hartwig cross to put us into the lead, which we easily held for the remaining minutes. Semler was again named Man of the Match as we made it nine league games without a loss, leaving us in third at the end of the month.

[Donners]

November, season 2016/2017

Semler did not get a chance to continue his form, rested against Brescia. Hoffmann and Chevallereau paired up in his absence. They combined for our first in the 14th, with Chevallereau dribbling past a defender and passing to Hoffmann who scored from a clean strike. A header from Hartwig put Hoffmann past the defence just before half time, and the German striker finished the move with a successful 25-yard chip over the keeper. He completed his hat-trick in the 62nd after Oßwald headed the ball down, taking us to the top of the table with a 3-0 win.

Semler and Howarth returned against Como. It was a defensive game, but a Chi Yuen Webb shot in the 28th which deflected off a defender and into the net made the difference.

Our Champions Cup encounter with Metalurg Donetsk followed. As expected, we controlled the game. Fontana put us ahead in the 17th and played a strong game. He made it a brace late in the game with his 50th goal for the club. Metalurg Donetsk didn’t have a shot all game, while Fontana had six himself. Semler assisted both goals. I arranged the signing of young German wing-back Alexey Torres from FC Bayern, to take place in May.

We took on Juventus with Andres Iniesta returning from injury. We let through a goal in the first minute, and if not for a few saves from Howarth, would have been several down at the break. Our first shot on goal didn’t come until late in the second half and with a long-range goal, Juventus sealed their win and gave us our first league loss of the season.

A big match next, with 2nd placed Ancona taking on league leaders Milan. They featured Won-Chul Parisi – a player I could have signed on a free transfer, who has 16 goals already this season and is valued at £41M. He scored the first in the 10th, but a 23rd minute header from Rasch was parried to Wai Nikolov, who tapped it in. We lost Semler to injury just before half time, with Jinshan Petersen replacing him. Hoffmann scored from a similar situation in the 62nd to put us ahead, and then Petersen finally showed some of the ability that made him a German international, taking a pass from Neumayr and sidestepping the keeper to seal a 3-1 win.

Amit Lang returned from injury against Genoa, just as Andrés Iniesta was put out for two months with a groin injury. Hoffmann headed in a 10th minute Hartwig cross, but Genoa equalised in the 34th. Scores were level at the break but in the 63rd Petersen passed across the area for Hoffmann to put us ahead with his second. Hoffmann was shoved over in the area going for his hat-trick, and fellow German international Hartwig put through the 71st minute penalty. That was quite important, as Genoa scored from a penalty of their own eight minutes later but couldn’t get a third. 3-2.

We could seal progression in the Champions Cup with even a draw against Partizan. However, we conceded an early goal and then had Hoffmann forced off with an injury. We barely had a shot all day and let through a second goal late while trying to attack. That left us still three points ahead of Partizan in second spot, but we play group leaders Dortmund in our final group match.

[Donners]

December, season 2016/2017

For once our league form was better than our Champions Cup form. Unfortunately, that seemed to vanish when we faced Roma. Neither side had many chances at goal, and the game was a dull scoreless draw.

Our first Italian Cup game was against Palermo in the second round. A 10th minute header from Syed Dupuy was parried, but fellow defender Wilfrid D’Alessandro put it through. Fontana made it 2-0 six minutes later and a penalty from Chevallereau left us with a big lead at half time. Hoffmann capped off a strong 4-0 win with his 10th of the season in the second half. Winger Adhemar Balestrieri arrived on a free transfer after the game.

Adhemar Balestrieri [21, M RL, ITA – 2 U21/1]

Signed as a first-team player, but with such midfield strength he will wind up playing a rotational role. He’s played five seasons of senior football at Atlanta and has good ball skills.

He got the chance to debut in the Inter-Continental Cup against Corinthians. Olgar Lombardi played in the middle after good Under-20s form. They looked the better side in the first half, though the scores were level at the break. Corinthians scored twice in a few minutes early in the second half, and it wasn’t until the final 15 minutes that we started to fight back. Semler had a shot saved before Fontana headed in a goal with 10 minutes to go. They finally sealed it with a third in the 88th.

Of more importance was our final Champions Cup group match against leaders Dortmund. A draw would be enough to put us through, as would anything less than a win for Partizan in their game. Both sides missed a large number of chances in the first half, with Hartwig our main offender. Partizan were leading in their game at half time, so we couldn’t afford to let through a goal. As it turned out, not only did Tommasi keep a clean sheet, Partizan conceded a late goal to ensure we progressed to the second round where we will play Austria Vienna.

Our first half against Atlanta was sleep-inducing, with no action at either end. Things picked up in the second half, with Fontana scoring the first of the game on the counter-attack and Russel Howarth forced into several saves. Mohd Hoffmann scored from a good solo effort in the 71st, breaking through the defence and hitting the ball in from the edge of the area. Howarth was Man of the Match in the 2-0 win – his first decent game for Ancona.

Since we had a 4-0 aggregate lead going into the second leg of our Italian Cup game against Palermo, I gave the likes of Olgar Lombardi, Gurpreet Lemée and Tak Cheong Williams a go. The game was uneventful but for a last-minute Palermo goal. 4-1 was the final aggregate, putting us into the quarter final against Vicenza.

Howarth retained his spot against Vicenza in the league, with Tommasi injured at training. Lang was also injured in the first few minutes of the game, but Alexandre Rasch put us ahead in the 17th by heading in a Hartwig corner. Vicenza drew level ten minutes into the second half after a Howarth parry. With only three minutes to go in regular time, Mohd Hoffmann sent in a corner which was headed perfectly by Wai Nikolov for a great late goal. Former Ancona player Nordin Lennartsson missed a few late shots for Vicenza and we finished the year on top of the table. The only downside was news that Lang would miss two months with a hip injury.

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

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

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

| 1st | | Ancona | | 17 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 29 | 12 | +17 | 38 |

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

| 2nd | | Inter | | 17 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 37 | 17 | +20 | 34 |

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

| 3rd | | Milan | | 17 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 30 | 22 | +8 | 33 |

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

| 4th | | Juventus | | 17 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 30 | 12 | +18 | 31 |

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

| 5th | | Lazio | | 17 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 24 | 10 | +14 | 30 |

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

| 6th | | Chievo | | 17 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 24 | 18 | +6 | 27 |

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

| 7th | | Bologna | | 17 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 27 | 27 | 0 | 27 |

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

| 8th | | Brescia | | 17 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 33 | 23 | +10 | 26 |

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

| 9th | | Como | | 17 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 22 | 22 | 0 | 24 |

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

| 10th | | Perugia | | 17 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 27 | 28 | -1 | 24 |

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

| 11th | | Vicenza | | 17 | 7 | 2 | 8 | 24 | 22 | +2 | 23 |

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

| 12th | | Ascoli | | 17 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 25 | 32 | -7 | 21 |

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

| 13th | | Atalanta | | 17 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 29 | 35 | -6 | 20 |

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

| 14th | | Genoa | | 17 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 19 | 29 | -10 | 19 |

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

| 15th | | Parma | | 17 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 21 | 30 | -9 | 18 |

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

| 16th | | Palermo | | 17 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 21 | 32 | -11 | 17 |

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

| 17th | | Fiorentina | | 17 | 5 | 2 | 10 | 18 | 31 | -13 | 17 |

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

| 18th | | Sampdoria | | 17 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 22 | 33 | -11 | 16 |

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

| 19th | | Roma | | 17 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 22 | 36 | -14 | 15 |

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

| 20th | | Piacenza | | 17 | 4 | 2 | 11 | 21 | 34 | -13 | 14 |

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

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

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

</pre>

[Donners]

January, season 2016/2017

I loaned out youngsters Olgar Lombardi and Gurpreet Lemée to Venezia and Lecce respectively at the start of the year.

Our first opponents of 2017 were Ascoli. Hoffmann went off injured early, but winger headed in a cross from Ole Furman for a 23rd minute lead. Though Ascoli had a player sent off, they did quite well and forced Tommasi into a few saves. Semler had a late goal ruled out, but a clean sheet from Tommasi ensured a 1-0 win. I re-signed Andrea Briotti for two more seasons after the win, while wing back prospect Saad Izquierdo arrived from Real Madrid.

Mid-table side Perugia were next. Chevallereau put us ahead in the 21st through a penalty and made it a brace 15 minutes later when he connected with a diving header to a parry from Perugia’s goalkeeper. They didn’t have so much as an attempt on goal all day as we cruised to a 2-0 win.

Surprise strugglers Parma continued their poor run, conceding two goals in the first half. We scored the first in the 22nd – having scored in the 23rd and 21st in the last two games. Fontana was the man who did it, hitting in a headed pass from Ole Furman. Borut Semler added a second just before half time, heading in a throw-in from Nelson De Bellis. It was just his fourth of the season. The second half went by without incident, giving us another 2-0 victory.

Our opponents for the Italian Cup quarter final were Vicenza, with the first leg at home. They put through a surprise away goal after only six minutes, which was mostly cancelled out by Neumayr in the 28th with a chipped goal. There weren’t many chances for either side, and with a missed shot from Messner in the final minutes, the first leg ended 1-1 with a slight advantage to our opponents.

Piacenza were our next league opponents. Borut Semler continued his partial form revival, scoring in the 7th from a half-volley after Webb found him in space. Partner Fontana made it 2-0 ten minutes later from a Hartwig pass, but the German international undid his good work in the 21st, missing a penalty. Undeterred, he set up Fontana again in the 38th with a nice chip into the area for a three goal lead. Piacenza pulled one back on the counter-attack at the end of the half, but a lucky free kick from Hartwig in the 71st ended an eventful game for him and completed a 4-1 win. A cool £400K from Chievo arrived, with former Ancona forward Alberto having scored 10 league goals for them. For what it’s worth, our bank balance is now at £265M.

We needed to score in the second leg of the Italian Cup final. Fontana looked certain to do that in the 31st after getting past the defence, but was kept out by a brilliant save. A header from Nikolov from a Hartwig corner gave us the required goal in the 34th. Chevallereau came off the bench in the second half and had two fine chances saved, but Markus Neumayr finally sealed it with an 82nd minute volley. 3-1 the final aggregate.

Our final match of the month was against Bologna, with the ever-present threat of Rungratsamee. However, like many of our encounters with them, it was another player who put them ahead early. We remained down at half time, and our great record of only one loss for the season looked to be in danger. Unfortunately, we showed little fight in the second half, and actually conceded a goal in the final minutes. I arranged the end-of-season signing of Celta forward Terranova at the end of the month, pretty much ensuring Semler won’t get a new contract. I’d like to offer Messner a new contract, but apparently being a couple of million pounds under my wage budget isn’t enough to let me offer him a one-year contract on the same terms he has now.

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

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

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

| 1st | | Ancona | | 22 | 15 | 5 | 2 | 38 | 15 | +23 | 50 |

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

| 2nd | | Juventus | | 22 | 13 | 4 | 5 | 39 | 16 | +23 | 43 |

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

| 3rd | | Milan | | 22 | 13 | 3 | 6 | 42 | 26 | +16 | 42 |

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

| 4th | | Chievo | | 22 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 34 | 23 | +11 | 38 |

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

| 5th | | Inter | | 21 | 11 | 4 | 6 | 42 | 26 | +16 | 37 |

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

| 6th | | Bologna | | 22 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 35 | 32 | +3 | 37 |

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

| 7th | | Brescia | | 22 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 42 | 27 | +15 | 36 |

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

| 8th | | Lazio | | 21 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 28 | 17 | +11 | 34 |

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

| 9th | | Vicenza | | 22 | 10 | 4 | 8 | 34 | 27 | +7 | 34 |

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

| 10th | | Como | | 22 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 28 | 29 | -1 | 28 |

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

| 11th | | Perugia | | 22 | 8 | 4 | 10 | 32 | 38 | -6 | 28 |

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

| 12th | | Palermo | | 22 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 30 | 42 | -12 | 26 |

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

| 13th | | Genoa | | 22 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 23 | 35 | -12 | 26 |

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

| 14th | | Parma | | 22 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 26 | 38 | -12 | 24 |

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

| 15th | | Ascoli | | 22 | 7 | 1 | 14 | 31 | 42 | -11 | 22 |

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

| 16th | | Piacenza | | 22 | 6 | 4 | 12 | 29 | 42 | -13 | 22 |

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

| 17th | | Fiorentina | | 21 | 6 | 4 | 11 | 23 | 38 | -15 | 22 |

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

| 18th | | Atalanta | | 22 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 31 | 45 | -14 | 21 |

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

| 19th | | Sampdoria | | 21 | 5 | 4 | 12 | 27 | 38 | -11 | 19 |

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

| 20th | | Roma | | 22 | 5 | 4 | 13 | 27 | 45 | -18 | 19 |

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

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

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

</pre>

[Donners]

February, season 2016/2017

We kicked off the month against Inter. Hoffmann had a good chance to score after skipping past a defender, but it was turned away. Inter had a goal ruled out mid-way through the first half, but a header from former Ancona forward Papa Waigo put them ahead just on half time. They had another goal to Papa Waigo ruled out early in the second, but eventually made it 0-2 in the 72nd. They capped it off with a third in injury time, and while the scoreboard only said 0-3, it could have been 0-5. After one loss in 21 league games, we’d lost two in a row.

Our bad run continued in the home leg of the Italian Cup quarter final against Chievo. We let through a goal to former Ancona forward Alberto in the 16th and only drew level just before half time through a goal from Chevallereau. Fontana looked to have given us the lead with three minutes to go, but Chievo responded moments later to make it a 2-2 aggregate and give them an advantage on away goals.

We had to improve against Sampdoria, with Milan and Juventus closing in on top spot. However, we conceded two goals in the first ten minutes and then lost both Chevallereau and Messner to injury in the first half. Neumayr got one back just before half time, but a header from a corner in the 65th gave Sampdoria their third goal – and our third straight league loss as our season tilted towards disaster.

It didn’t get any easier against 7th placed Lazio. They took the lead in just the third minute. Rather than fighting to get back in the game, we spent most of it trying to stop from going further behind. They scored again anyway in the third minute of second half injury time, dropping us to second place with our fourth straight league loss.

Desperate to try and turn things around against Fiorentina, I selected my side based on morale rather than ability. It was a nice idea, but we still let through a goal three minutes before half time – only for it to be ruled out. Nonetheless, we were outplayed by the struggling side. It was only through great keeping from Howarth that we stayed level, and somehow took the lead in the 76th through Adhemar Balestrieri. Naturally, it wasn’t to be, with an 83rd minute goal to Fiorentina making it a 1-1 draw.

[Donners]

March, season 2016/2017

Our second round Champions Cup match against Austria Vienna came at a bad time, with the side in a terrible form slump. Hoffmann was denied first by a great save and then by the post in the scoreless first half. Manjit Chevallereau came off the bench and scored a crucial away goal in the 82nd, heading in a Balestrieri corner against his own side. Fontana set up Hoffmann for our second three minutes later for an all-important 2-0 away win.

We needed a good performance in the league against Chievo. However, it was an uneventful game with few chances and a scoreless finish. The only good news was that top placed Milan lost, so we’re only two points behind. Andrés Iniesta suffered yet another groin injury, ending his season.

The Italian Cup quarter final away leg against Chievo was next. Since we had a 2-2 draw at home, we needed to score in order to progress. Mohd Hoffmann did that in the 26th, but former Ancona forward Alberto scored twice in the first half and another former Ancona forward, Nicola Pozzi, made it a 3-5 aggregate late in the game. Another terrible loss.

We couldn’t afford another in the league against Brescia. Continuing a recent trend, former Ancona forward Carlos Hidalgo scored for our opponents late in the first half. Semler did a beautiful job to give Hoffmann an equaliser in the 72nd, but that was all we could manage. Milan pulled four points clear.

A 2-0 away lead would normally be enough to ensure progression, but with our recent form, the chances of giving that up in the home leg of the Champions Cup second round against Austria Vienna were quite high. Sure enough, we missed no more than seven shots in the first half before they scored with their second attempt just before the break. We were fortunate enough to receive and score from a penalty in the 47th and finally sealed it with a long-range goal to Neumayr with 20 minutes to go. That took us to the quarter final against Rangers.

Our game against relegation-threatened Como started terribly, with Ancona a goal down after three minutes. After 18 it was 0-2 from as many shots. Our second penalty in as many new games was put through by Hartwig, and a cross from Semler was headed in by Hoffmann in the 36 to tie the scores 2-2. We dominated the game and finally scored a third through Semler mid-way through the second half for the three points.

We took on Palermo next. Unfortunately, Semler’s numerous attempts were kept out and we could only finish with a scoreless draw. Milan won their game 5-0, extending their lead at the top.

The last game of the month was the away leg of the Champions Cup quarter final against Rangers. For a change, we got a good start, with Hoffmann taking a loose ball in the area and slamming it home for an eighth minute lead. The game was quite even, but we did well to hold onto our lead and give ourselves a good chance of making it to the semi final.

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

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

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

| 1st | | Milan | | 30 | 19 | 4 | 7 | 66 | 32 | +34 | 61 |

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

| 2nd | | Juventus | | 30 | 17 | 6 | 7 | 54 | 26 | +28 | 57 |

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

| 3rd | | Ancona | | 30 | 16 | 9 | 5 | 44 | 27 | +17 | 57 |

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

| 4th | | Chievo | | 30 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 48 | 34 | +14 | 52 |

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

| 5th | | Lazio | | 30 | 13 | 11 | 6 | 44 | 27 | +17 | 50 |

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

| 6th | | Vicenza | | 30 | 15 | 5 | 10 | 52 | 37 | +15 | 50 |

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

| 7th | | Inter | | 30 | 14 | 7 | 9 | 52 | 37 | +15 | 49 |

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

| 8th | | Brescia | | 30 | 13 | 8 | 9 | 56 | 38 | +18 | 47 |

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

| 9th | | Bologna | | 30 | 12 | 4 | 14 | 46 | 58 | -12 | 40 |

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

| 10th | | Genoa | | 30 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 38 | 46 | -8 | 39 |

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

| 11th | | Piacenza | | 30 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 43 | 50 | -7 | 38 |

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

| 12th | | Sampdoria | | 30 | 11 | 5 | 14 | 43 | 50 | -7 | 38 |

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

| 13th | | Perugia | | 30 | 10 | 6 | 14 | 41 | 52 | -11 | 36 |

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

| 14th | | Palermo | | 30 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 40 | 52 | -12 | 36 |

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

| 15th | | Ascoli | | 30 | 11 | 2 | 17 | 45 | 55 | -10 | 35 |

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

| 16th | | Roma | | 30 | 10 | 5 | 15 | 43 | 53 | -10 | 35 |

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

| 17th | | Como | | 30 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 36 | 45 | -9 | 31 |

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

| 18th | | Parma | | 30 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 32 | 52 | -20 | 31 |

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

| 19th | | Fiorentina | | 30 | 8 | 5 | 17 | 34 | 57 | -23 | 29 |

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

| 20th | | Atalanta | | 30 | 5 | 8 | 17 | 33 | 62 | -29 | 23 |

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

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

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

</pre>

[Donners]

April, season 2016/2017

April began with terrible news – Messner was put out for two months with a groin injury.

We had to win against Juventus, who’d moved ahead of us on goal difference, especially with Milan winning the day earlier. The first half was very quiet, but we burst out of the blocks in the second. Hoffmann and Webb fired in a few shots, and Semler tapped in a parry from the former’s attempt for a 53rd minute lead. He had two more chances later in the half, but both were saved. Robert Henning, replacing Messner, was sent off for a second yellow in the final moments, but we held on to pull back to four points behind Milan.

Another big game followed – the home leg of the Champions Cup quarter final against Rangers. We went in with a 1-0 lead and extended that to 2-0 in the 18th with Semler tapping in a parry, as usual. Most of the play went to Ancona, so it was quite a surprise when Rangers scored in the 75th. Another goal would put them through, but we held on through the tense final minutes to get through to the semi final against Manchester United.

Our game against Genoa was simply ridiculous. We had 27 shots to two, but scored just one goal – Hoffmann’s 50th league goal for the club after three attempts from Semler were saved. Their keeper made no less than 15 saves. Were it not for a last-minute save from Tommasi, we could have finished with a 1-1 draw, which would be enough to end this story, but thankfully he kept it out and we remained four points behind Milan with six games to go.

There was still the Champions Cup to worry about – in particular the home leg of our semi final against Manchester United. Man U conceded an own goal through a back pass in the 18th, then let through a sharp shot from Semler six minutes later for a great 2-0 lead. They pulled one back just before half time to make it 2-1. We had a stroke of luck, with a second half goal to Man U ruled out. The final minutes saw Ancona earn a late penalty, but Webb’s shot (with Hartwig suspended) was saved. Not a bad lead, but one that can certainly be challenged. A new record of £750K in gate takings was set.

A big win for Milan over Brescia kept the pressure on us as we faced Roma. Fortunately, Semler put us ahead in two minutes and then set up Hoffmann for a second seven minutes into the second half. Roma pulled one back, but Semler was simply on fire. He scored one himself and gave another to Hoffmann for a solid 4-1 lead. Again, though, we’re four points behind, and now only have five games to go. However, we can close the gap in our first match next month – away to Milan.

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

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

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

| 1st | | Milan | | 33 | 22 | 4 | 7 | 73 | 33 | +40 | 70 |

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

| 2nd | | Ancona | | 33 | 19 | 9 | 5 | 50 | 28 | +22 | 66 |

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

| 3rd | | Juventus | | 34 | 19 | 7 | 8 | 61 | 29 | +32 | 64 |

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

| 4th | | Inter | | 34 | 16 | 8 | 10 | 59 | 43 | +16 | 56 |

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

| 5th | | Lazio | | 34 | 14 | 13 | 7 | 51 | 34 | +17 | 55 |

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

| 6th | | Chievo | | 34 | 15 | 8 | 11 | 51 | 44 | +7 | 53 |

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

| 7th | | Vicenza | | 34 | 15 | 6 | 13 | 53 | 46 | +7 | 51 |

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

| 8th | | Bologna | | 34 | 15 | 4 | 15 | 57 | 61 | -4 | 49 |

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

| 9th | | Brescia | | 34 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 62 | 49 | +13 | 48 |

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

| 10th | | Piacenza | | 34 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 49 | 51 | -2 | 48 |

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

| 11th | | Sampdoria | | 34 | 13 | 6 | 15 | 52 | 54 | -2 | 45 |

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

| 12th | | Ascoli | | 34 | 13 | 3 | 18 | 52 | 60 | -8 | 42 |

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

| 13th | | Como | | 34 | 11 | 8 | 15 | 43 | 49 | -6 | 41 |

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

| 14th | | Palermo | | 34 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 49 | 61 | -12 | 41 |

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

| 15th | | Genoa | | 34 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 44 | 56 | -12 | 41 |

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

| 16th | | Perugia | | 34 | 11 | 6 | 17 | 43 | 57 | -14 | 39 |

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

| 17th | | Roma | | 34 | 11 | 5 | 18 | 51 | 65 | -14 | 38 |

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

| 18th | | Parma | | 34 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 35 | 57 | -22 | 37 |

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

| 19th | | Fiorentina | | 34 | 9 | 6 | 19 | 40 | 63 | -23 | 33 |

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

| 20th | R | Atalanta | | 34 | 5 | 10 | 19 | 34 | 69 | -35 | 25 |

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

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

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

</pre>

[Donners]

Sorry for the lack of update - I've been very busy for the last week or so. Hopefully this extra big one will make up for it.

May, season 2016/2017

Our biggest league game of the year, away against Milan, started May. A loss would end our title hopes. There were only two shots in the first half, both to Milan and both wide. They scored just three minutes into the second half, thanks to Won-Chul “should have been ours†Parisi. It all fell apart in the final minutes, with Hartwig hitting a penalty straight at the keeper and Milan scoring a second to pretty much assure them of the title.

That made our league game against Atlanta pretty irrelevant. We cruised to a 1-0 win thanks to a goal from the returning Amit Lang, and though Milan had a shock loss to Como, top spot still seems out of reach. Wing back Alexey Torres arrived after the game.

Alexey Torres [19, D/DM RL, GER – 3 U21/1]

A pacy and tall wing back who has been one of FC Bayern’s better senior players over the last three years. Needs a bit of work on his skills, but will get a rotational role with Henning and possibly Messner set to leave.

Torres was ineligible for our next game – the away leg of the Champions Cup semi final. We led Manchester United 2-1, and had our final spot sealed with two goals to Semler inside 20 minutes. Man U pulled back a consolation goal, but Semler completed his hat-trick in the second half. It was classic Semler, but probably not enough for a new contract.

Torres debuted against Vicenza in the league and saw fellow defender Robert Henning head home the first of the game mid-way through the first half. Both Ancona and Milan lead 1-0 at half time, but our opponents hit back two minutes into the second. Hoffmann made sure we took the three points with two goals in five minutes, but Milan held their lead.

We played Ascoli while Milan faced Juventus. Fontana put us ahead early and we carried the lead into half time. Interestingly, Milan was still level at the break. Our fortunes went full circle in the second half – first Milan going a goal down against Juventus, then Ascoli levelling the scores in our game moments later. Juventus moved to 2-0 up, but we were still trapped on 1-1 with ten minutes to go. With only two minutes remaining in regular time, Iniesta (having just returned from injury) passed into the area for Fontana. The ball evaded the defenders and found the forward, who crossed to partner Hoffmann. The shot looked to be straight at the keeper, but it took a tiny deflection off a defender and went past him into the net. In the other game, Milan had scored their first to make it 2-1 in Juventus’ favour. That’s how it remained at the final whistle – two 2-1 results going our way to leave us a point clear of top spot. Their goal difference is huge, so we must defeat 16th placed Perugia and hope they lose to or draw with 19th placed Fiorentina.

Just to make things difficult, the game came three days before the Champions Cup final. Hartwig hit the side netting with an early free while a Hoffmann shot which looked set for the goal deflected off a defender and out for a corner. However, there was brilliant news from the other game, with Fiorentina scoring a shock goal in the 4th. Fontana had a close-range shot saved, and disaster struck in the 35th with the first goal to Perugia. Milan equalised at the same time and Perugia added a second late in the half. Three goals in 45 minutes required. I went to an attacking formation and brought Semler off the bench, but we only managed one in the half, and that was an own goal off a Hartwig corner. Milan scored twice, and with our 1-2 loss and their 3-1 win, retained the Serie A title. Our late run was only good enough for 2nd, leaving us runners-up to Milan for the second year in a row.

There was still one game left to go – the Champions Cup final. We’d played opponents PSV six times before in this competition, though never beyond the second round, for a record of two wins, three draws and a loss. Messner made a shock return to form part of the following side:

(Playing with a 4-4-2)

GK – Lingjing Tommasi

LB – Andrea Briotti

CB – Nelson De Bellis

CB – Wai Nikolov

RB – Nurullo Messner

LM – Hartwig

CM – Markus Neumayr

CM – Alexandre Rasch

RM – Chi Yuen Webb

CF – Mohd Nizaruddin Hoffmann

CF – Borut Semler

Sub – Oßwald

Sub – Adonay Bradshaw

Sub – Andrés Iniesta

Sub – Amit Lang

Sub – Robert Henning

Sub – Ludovic Demetz

Sub – Fontana

As it turned out, PSV didn’t even put up a fight. Semler and Hoffmann scored a goal each in the 13th and 16th respectively and PSV didn’t even have a shot all game. The simplest of wins to give Ancona its third – and second consecutive – Champions Cup win. Semler scored and Messner was Man of the Match in what could be their final game for the club.

[Donners]

The season in review

Summary

<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 |

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

| MC | | Neumayr, M | 45 (2) | 5 | 3 | 1 | 80 % | 2.47 | 0.25 | 58 % | 7.06 | £2.7M |

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

| DL | | Briotti, A | 45 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 77 % | 2.74 | 0.87 | - | 7.02 | £1.7M |

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

| FC | | Hoffmann, M* | 44 (1) | 23 | 5 | 5 | 67 % | 1.15 | 2.93 | 78 % | 7.36 | £16.25M |

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

| DC | | De Bellis, N | 43 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 72 % | 2.70 | 0.12 | 80 % | 6.98 | £4.9M |

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

| GK | | Tommasi, L | 41 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 43 % | - | - | - | 6.73 | £1.4M |

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

| DR | | Messner, N | 40 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 65 % | 3.52 | 3.00 | 22 % | 7.45 | £450K |

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

| MR | | Webb, C | 38 (2) | 4 | 9 | 2 | 69 % | 3.81 | 1.02 | 62 % | 7.35 | £17M |

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

| ML | Inj | Hartwig* | 37 | 4 | 18 | 1 | 70 % | 2.98 | 2.02 | 50 % | 7.30 | £19.25M |

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

| MC | | Rasch, A | 35 (1) | 2 | 3 | 1 | 75 % | 2.65 | 0.65 | 56 % | 7.06 | £8.5M |

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

| SB6 | | Henning, R | 31 (1) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 78 % | 2.43 | 0.44 | 66 % | 6.94 | £1.5M |

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

| SB4 | | Fontana | 30 (5) | 13 | 5 | 4 | 75 % | 0.84 | 2.20 | 65 % | 7.17 | £7.25M |

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

| DC | | Nikolov, W | 30 (2) | 4 | 0 | 2 | 74 % | 2.19 | 0.36 | 100 % | 7.22 | £3.9M |

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

| FC | Inj | Semler, B* | 29 (2) | 15 | 7 | 7 | 60 % | 1.28 | 2.50 | 61 % | 7.48 | £1.8M |

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

| | | Dupuy, S | 22 (1) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 76 % | 2.10 | 0.09 | 100 % | 6.78 | £3.2M |

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

| | Unh | D'Alessandro, W | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 64 % | 2.68 | 0.34 | 100 % | 6.44 | £2.3M |

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

| | | Howarth, R | 18 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 40 % | - | - | - | 6.50 | £400K |

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

| SB3 | Wnt | Bradshaw, A | 15 (5) | 2 | 1 | 2 | 67 % | 4.37 | 1.22 | 45 % | 7.20 | £2.7M |

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

| | | Chevallereau, M | 14 (5) | 7 | 2 | 2 | 71 % | 1.74 | 1.32 | 73 % | 6.74 | £7.75M |

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

| | | Barber, H | 13 (3) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 65 % | 3.00 | 2.25 | 20 % | 7.13 | £3.1M |

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

| | Unh | Balestrieri, A | 12 (2) | 1 | 2 | 1 | 64 % | 3.18 | 3.93 | 66 % | 7.36 | £5.75M |

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

| | Wnt | Furman, O | 11 (2) | 0 | 5 | 0 | 77 % | 2.55 | - | 52 % | 6.69 | £6.5M |

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

| SB7 | | Oßwald | 9 (5) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 76 % | 3.23 | 0.54 | 52 % | 7.00 | £3.9M |

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

| | Unh | Petersen, J | 5 (7) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 71 % | 1.04 | 0.26 | 100 % | 6.50 | £6M |

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

| SB2 | | Demetz, L | 5 (5) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 74 % | 1.48 | 1.92 | 22 % | 7.00 | £2.9M |

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

| SB5 | Unh | Lang, A | 5 (4) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 84 % | 2.37 | 0.22 | 85 % | 6.44 | £825K |

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

| SB1 | | Iniesta, A | 3 (6) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 80 % | 1.24 | 0.41 | - | 7.00 | £625K |

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

| | Wnt | D'Laryea, N | 3 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 78 % | 3.25 | 0.30 | - | 6.60 | £425K |

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

| | | Torres, A | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 79 % | 2.67 | - | - | 7.00 | £2.8M |

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

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

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

</pre>

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

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

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

| 1st | C | Milan | | 38 | 25 | 4 | 9 | 80 | 38 | +42 | 79 |

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

| 2nd | | Ancona | | 38 | 22 | 9 | 7 | 57 | 34 | +23 | 75 |

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

| 3rd | | Juventus | | 38 | 21 | 7 | 10 | 66 | 33 | +33 | 70 |

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

| 4th | | Lazio | | 38 | 16 | 13 | 9 | 56 | 37 | +19 | 61 |

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

| 5th | | Inter | | 38 | 17 | 9 | 12 | 65 | 48 | +17 | 60 |

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

| 6th | | Chievo | | 38 | 17 | 9 | 12 | 57 | 48 | +9 | 60 |

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

| 7th | | Brescia | | 38 | 16 | 10 | 12 | 74 | 55 | +19 | 58 |

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

| 8th | | Bologna | | 38 | 17 | 5 | 16 | 65 | 65 | 0 | 56 |

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

| 9th | | Vicenza | | 38 | 16 | 6 | 16 | 56 | 55 | +1 | 54 |

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

| 10th | | Piacenza | | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 53 | 59 | -6 | 52 |

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

| 11th | | Sampdoria | | 38 | 14 | 9 | 15 | 56 | 56 | 0 | 51 |

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

| 12th | | Como | | 38 | 13 | 10 | 15 | 47 | 50 | -3 | 49 |

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

| 13th | | Genoa | | 38 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 49 | 62 | -13 | 46 |

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

| 14th | | Perugia | | 38 | 13 | 7 | 18 | 46 | 60 | -14 | 46 |

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

| 15th | | Parma | | 38 | 13 | 7 | 18 | 42 | 62 | -20 | 46 |

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

| 16th | | Roma | | 38 | 13 | 6 | 19 | 58 | 70 | -12 | 45 |

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

| 17th | | Palermo | | 38 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 53 | 66 | -13 | 45 |

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

| 18th | R | Ascoli | | 38 | 13 | 4 | 21 | 54 | 67 | -13 | 43 |

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

| 19th | R | Fiorentina | | 38 | 9 | 6 | 23 | 41 | 72 | -31 | 33 |

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

| 20th | R | Atalanta | | 38 | 5 | 12 | 21 | 36 | 74 | -38 | 27 |

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

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

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

</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.

If that sounds familiar, it’s because I said the same thing last season. This time we were let down by a terrible run in February where we didn’t win a game for the month.

Player-wise there were some interesting outcomes. Semler had a terrible start then finished off the season in fine style. Fontana was the opposite, with 11 goals in 15 games and then 2 in 17. Some young players came along brilliantly, others disappointed.

Again we showed enough to be a genuine threat to the title, but again we fell short. We must take our chances next season.

[Donners]

Wrapping it up

I came third as Serie A Manager of the Year, Messner (right back) and Webb (bench) made the Team of the Year, Hoffmann was runner-up as Foreign Player of the Year and Messner was runner-up as Italian Player of the Year – a fair effort given he’s Austrian. It was a good year for former Ancona players, with Carlos Daniel Hidalgo and Supat Rungratsamee featuring heavily.

I cleared up the squad, selling Nathan D’Laryea to Manchester City for £425K a month before his contract expired and young midfielder Ole Furman to Liverpool for £6.5M. The last one was a tough call, but this gives me the freedom to put Webb into the middle and give my many young wingers more of a run.

Mohd Hoffmann demanded a new contract, but since he’s signed until 2019, I refused. Goalkeeper Russell Howarth retired, so I’ll need to find a new keeper.

Around the world: major awards and results

Ancona Supporters’ Player of the Year:

Mohd Hoffmann

World Player of the Year:

Won-Chul Parisi (Milan)

World Footballer of the year:

Francis Horjak (Atlético Madrid) – yes, the former Ancona player.

England:

Arsenal

Spain:

Rayo

Champions Cup:

Ancona \o/

UEFA Cup:

1860 München

[Donners]

The Transfers

Transfers In

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

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

| 1.7.2016 | Petersen, Jinshan | Gladbach | Free |

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

| 1.7.2016 | Chevallereau, Manjit | Austria Vienna | Free |

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

| 1.7.2016 | Neumayr, Markus | Kaiserslautern | Free |

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

| 1.7.2016 | Howarth, Russell | FC Bayern | Free |

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

| 1.7.2016 | Barber, Héctor Antonio | Marseille | Free |

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

| 1.7.2016 | Iniesta, Andrés | Schalke 04 | Free |

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

| 1.7.2016 | D'Alessandro, Wilfrid | Villarreal | £600K |

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

| 11.7.2016 | Reyero, Hussein | Free Transfer | Free |

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

| 23.8.2016 | De Bellis, Nelson | Atalanta | £6.5M |

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

| 14.10.2016 | Williams, Tak Cheong | Aston Villa | Free |

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

| 7.12.2016 | Balestrieri, Adhemar | Atalanta | Free |

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

| 10.1.2017 | Izquierdo, Saad | Real Madrid | Free |

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

| 8.5.2017 | Torres, Alexey | FC Bayern | Free |

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

| | | | |

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

| | Total | | £7M |

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

Transfers Out

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

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

| 20.6.2016 | Cantoni, Sajhib | Free Transfer | Free |

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

| 20.6.2016 | Grandi, Shun Man | Free Transfer | Free |

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

| 20.6.2016 | Gatto, Francisco Lima | Free Transfer | Free |

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

| 20.6.2016 | Pellegrini, Aziana | Free Transfer | Free |

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

| 20.6.2016 | Bertolucci, Robert | Free Transfer | Free |

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

| 1.7.2016 | Luz, Norizam | Osasuna | £850K |

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

| 31.7.2016 | Tunchev, Aleksandar | Free Transfer | Free |

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

| 31.7.2016 | Essien, Michael | Free Transfer | Free |

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

| 31.7.2016 | Lee, Tommy | Free Transfer | Free |

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

| 31.7.2016 | Paterson | Free Transfer | Free |

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

| 31.7.2016 | White, Sobir | Free Transfer | Free |

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

| 31.7.2016 | Charbonnier, Rajesh | Free Transfer | Free |

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

| 31.7.2016 | Hjelm, Marlon Geovany | Free Transfer | Free |

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

| 2.8.2016 | Boni, Wénder Wilson | Free Transfer | Free |

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

| 17.8.2016 | Kok, Aldo Jair | Hertha BSC | £4.8M |

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

| 13.6.2017 | D'Laryea, Nathan | Man City | £425K |

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

| 15.6.2017 | Furman, Ole | Liverpool | £6.5M |

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

| | | | |

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

| | Total | | £12.5M |

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

Loans Out

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

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

| 15.7.2016 | Contino, Juan Pablo| Verona | Loan |

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

| 22.7.2016 | Bon, Kishore | Torino | Loan |

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

| 1.8.2016 | Cornacchia | Perugia | Ln Fee £875K |

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

| 6.1.2017 | Lombardi, Olgar | Venezia | Loan |

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

| 7.1.2017 | Lemée, Gurpreet | Lecce | Loan |

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

| | | | |

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

| | Total | | £875K |

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

As could be expected with so many moves, the results were mixed. I think my policy of not buying players was strongly supported, with D’Alessandro proving to be a £600K dud and De Bellis not showing anywhere near enough to justify £6.5M.

Jinshan Peterson was also a huge disappointment. How he became a German international is beyond me. Howarth also seemed well past his prime, while Iniesta spent most of the season injured. The rest of the inclusions showed some promise, but none really stood out.

None of the released or sold players did anything of note. Lombardi was the only loaned out player to show much, scoring regularly in Serie B.

[Donners]

Pre-Season 2017/2018

I received an impressive £22M TV rights and was told by my board to win the title, with help from a transfer budget of £214M. Only one player came up to the Under-20s.

To shore up my squad for this challenge, I re-signed Robert Henning, Nurullo Messner and Borut Semler on one-season deals and Amit Lang for another three. Unfortunately, Olgar Lombardi agreed terms with Recreativo over us, as did Cornacchia with Genoa and Gurpreet Lemée with Bologna. Forward Terranova arrived to replace them.

Needing to replace Howarth, I signed QPR keeper Albert Webb for free and bought Milan goalkeeper Solly Marini for £1M. I also picked up physio Abdel Karim Villalba as a replacement for the retired Salvatore Gnisci.

[Terk]

just caught up with this. another strong league showing and another champions league success. excellent work once more, donners

[Donners]

Cheers.

The Squad

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Pkd | Inf | Name | Squad Status | Basic Wage | Contract Expiry | Offer Options | Asking Price |

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

| DL | | Briotti, A | First Team | £10,500 | 31.7.2019 | None | £1.6M |

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

| DC | Wnt | De Bellis, N | First Team | £12,750 | 31.7.2021 | None | £4.9M |

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

| ML | | Hartwig* | First Team | £7,750 | 31.7.2018 | None | £18.75M |

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

| FC | Unh | Hoffmann, M* | First Team | £14,500 | 31.7.2019 | None | £16.75M |

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

| MC | | Neumayr, M | First Team | £14,000 | 31.7.2018 | None | £2.7M |

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

| MC | | Rasch, A | First Team | £19,500 | 31.7.2019 | None | £9.25M |

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

| FC | | Semler, B* | First Team | £34,000 | 31.7.2018 | None | £1.8M |

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

| SB6 | | Terranova | First Team | £9,750 | 31.7.2021 | None | £10.25M |

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

| SB4 | Unh | Balestrieri, A | Rotation | £11,000 | 31.7.2021 | None | £5.5M |

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

| | | Barber, H | Rotation | £6,500 | 31.7.2018 | None | £3.1M |

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

| SB7 | Wnt | Bradshaw, A | Rotation | £2,300 | 31.7.2018 | None | £2.7M |

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

| SB5 | Wnt | Chevallereau, M | Rotation | £4,500 | 31.7.2019 | None | £8.5M |

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

| | Unh | D'Alessandro, W | Rotation | £10,000 | 31.7.2019 | None | £2.3M |

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

| | | Demetz, L | Rotation | £7,000 | 31.7.2018 | None | £2.9M |

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

| | | Fontana | Rotation | £14,500 | 31.7.2018 | None | £6.75M |

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

| SB3 | | Henning, R | Rotation | £7,000 | 31.7.2018 | None | £1.4M |

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

| | Inj | Iniesta, A | Rotation | £7,000 | 31.7.2018 | None | £625K |

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

| GK | | Marini, S | Rotation | £8,500 | 31.7.2020 | None | £2.5M |

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

| DR | | Messner, N | Rotation | £16,250 | 31.7.2018 | None | £475K |

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

| DC | | Nikolov, W | Rotation | £4,000 | 31.7.2018 | None | £4.2M |

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

| | | Oßwald | Rotation | £7,500 | 31.7.2018 | None | £3.9M |

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

| | | Petersen, J | Rotation | £12,000 | 31.7.2018 | None | £2.5M |

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

| SB1 | | Tommasi, L | Rotation | £9,500 | 31.7.2018 | None | £1.4M |

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

| | Unh | Torres, A | Rotation | £2,500 | 31.7.2020 | None | £2.7M |

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

| | | Webb, A | Rotation | £4,000 | 31.7.2020 | None | £1.6M |

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

| MR | | Webb, C | Rotation | £21,000 | 31.7.2018 | None | £16.5M |

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

| SB2 | | Dupuy, S | Backup | £6,500 | 31.7.2018 | None | £3.2M |

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

| | | Lang, A | Backup | £8,000 | 31.7.2020 | None | £3.3M |

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

| | | | | | | | |

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

</pre>

Total Players: 39

Wage Budget: £2,000,000

Total Weekly Wages at 4/8/17: £304,293

Goalkeepers

Solly Marini [25, GK, ITA – Capped at U21 level]

A very talented goalkeeper who was bought by Milan for £5.5M just three seasons ago, so our price of £1M isn’t bad. Didn’t play at all last season so may have to be eased in.

15/16 Italian Serie A Team of the Year

Lingjing Tommasi [25, GK, ITA – Capped at U21 level] – 4, 133, 0

Regained the #1 spot from Howarth early in the season, but more through Howarth’s awful form than good performances from Tommasi. Will be ranked behind Marini for at least the first few games.

Albert Webb [25, GK, ENG]

A reasonably solid keeper who put in some good games with Q.P.R. He’s now rather redundant with Marini at the club.

Defenders

Andrea Briotti [31, Sw/D RLC, ITA – 21/0] – 11, 406, 2

Signed for two more seasons after continuing his solid form. Will continue to act as captain and hold down left back.

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

Wilfrid D’Alessandro [24, D C, ITA – Capped at U21 level] – 1, 18, 1

A big disappointment last season, putting in flat performances and not developing as a player at all. May still get a go considering our lack of options.

Nelson De Bellis [20, D RC, ITA – 23 U21/2] – 1, 43, 0

A solid first season from the £6.5M man, who’s signed for four more. Will hopefully continue to progress.

Syed Dupuy [27, Sw/D C, FRA – Capped at U21 level] – 6, 115, 1

A lot older than I thought, but still a decent rotational option at the back.

Robert Henning [31, D RLC, GER – 3/0] – 3, 104, 4

I was prepared to let the veteran go, but with our weakness at the back I had to keep him around. Will play a rotational role all over defence.

Nurullo Messner [33, D/DM RC, AUT – 60/5] – 8, 324, 9

Still going despite being the oldest player at the side. A mainstay at right back and one of the finest players in Ancona history. Probably in his final season.

09/10, 10/11, 11/12, 12/13, 14/15, 15/16, 16/17 Serie A Team of the Year, 09/10, 11/12, 12/13, 14/15 Italian Defender of the Year, 10/11, 15/16 Serie A Foreign Player of the Year 3rd placed, 16/17 Serie A Italian Player of the Year

Wai Nikolov [24, D/DM RC, BUL – 21/1] – 3, 56, 4

Was originally intended to replace Messner, but with his fine form and our lack of strength at the back, Nikolov played as a central defender last season. He did so well, and was one of our best defenders. Re-signing him could be costly.

Alexey Torres [19, D/DM RL, GER – 5 U21/1] – 1, 3, 0

Our new defender looked okay after arriving late in the season. He’s struggled to settle in, but should play a rotational role this season.

Midfielders

Héctor Antonio Barber [29, M RL, ENG] – 1, 16, 0

A decent player, but with so many options on the wings his age may count against him. Like the majority of our squad, in the final season of his current contract.

Adhemar Balestrieri [21, M RL, ITA – 7 U21/4] – 1, 14, 1

One of the brightest prospects in the side, though he is unfortunately unhappy about not being a regular. Signed for four more seasons, so will have to get a regular role.

Adonay Bradshaw [21, M R, ENG – 11 U21/5] – 2, 43, 3

Another hot prospect, though in need of a new contract. I may have to sell him if I’m unable to re-sign him.

Ludovic Demetz [30, DM RC, FRA] – 2, 20, 0

Has not played much for the seniors, mostly due to injury, but has been consistently decent when given a chance. Probably in his final season at Ancona.

12/13 French League One Player of the Season

Hartwig [26, F LC, GER – 14/2] – 6, 163, 22

Our highest-valued player and a key part of our midfield, but one who may not be able to be re-signed.

Andrés Iniesta [33, DM C, ESP – 3/0] – 1, 9,

Incredibly injury prone and in his final season at the club. May not play at all.

08, 09 Spanish Player of the Year; 07/08, 08/09 Deportivo Supporters’ Player of the Year

Amit Lang [23, DM C, FRA – Capped at U21 level] – 3, 69, 10

Almost released at the end of last season after missing plenty of games through injury and not playing well on his return. However, with so many contracts ending this season, I felt it best to keep at least one midfielder around for a few years.

Markus Neumayr [31, M C, GER – 13/0] – 7, 268, 25

Did not do nearly as well at Ancona as he did in Germany, but was still a decent member of our midfield. His contract ends this season and I may not re-sign him considering his age.

13/14, 14/15, 15/16 Kaiserslautern Supporters’ Player of the Year

Oßwald [24, M C, GER – Capped at U21 level] – 2, 41, 0

Yet another player in his final contracted year. Didn’t play much last season but has been reasonably solid when given the chance. I’m not sure if I’ll try to re-sign him.

Alexandre Rasch [25, M C, GER – 8/2] – 4, 136, 9

Last season was probably Rasch’s worst at Ancona despite making his international debut. Considering he’s one of our few players signed beyond this season, it’s important he steps up.

Chi Yuen Webb [25, M RLC, ENG – 16/2] – 6, 121, 9

One of our best players last season, spending time all over midfield and setting up many goals. I’d like to re-sign him, but it doesn’t seem likely.

12/13 Italian Young Player of the Year runner-up; Part of World Cup 2014 winners England; 14/15, 16/17 Italian Serie A Team of the Year

Forwards

Manjit Chevallereau [24, F RC, FRA – Capped at U21 level] – 1, 19, 7

Had an up-and-down season, but put in some decent performances as both a forward and winger. There’s plenty of options for both of those positions, so he may not play regularly.

Fontana [27, S C, ITA – 1/0] – 4, 119, 58

Fell away after a tremendous start to the season, and may only be the fourth choice for a striking spot. Could be in his final season at Ancona.

Mohd Hoffmann [25, S C, GER – 17/6] – 8, 189, 76

Our most consistent forward last season, who should be a key part of the side for the next two years but is demanding a new contract. Will have to fight for a first team spot, but is certainly one of the best options.

16/17 Supporters’ Player of the Year

Jinshan Petersen [24, S C, GER – 5/1] – 1, 12, 1

A big disappointment last season, making no impact at all. Will probably be released at the end of the season.

Borut Semler [32, F RC, SVN – 64/40] – 7, 278, 195

Had an awful start to 16/17 and then played as well as he ever has in the second half. This will surely be his final season as a transition to allow other options to step up while still having a reliable source of goals.

10/11, 15/16 Serie A Player of the Year 3rd placed; 13/14 Serie A Player of the Year; 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; 12/13, 13/14, 14/15, 15/16 Supporters’ Player of the Year

Terranova [23, F C, ITA – Capped at U21 level]

Rated highly, but never held down a spot at either Chelsea or Celta. Has pace but is quite small and mostly unproven. Still, he must be valued at £10M for some reason.

[Guest]

Just spent the last few days reading this story.

All I can say is WOW!

[Donners]

It only took a few days?

The Likely Side:

(Playing with a 4-4-2)

GK – Solly Marini

LB – Andrea Briotti

CB – Wai Nikolov

CB – Nelson De Bellis

RB – Nurullo Messner

LM – Hartwig

CM – Markus Neumayr

CM – Alexandre Rasch

RM – Chi Yuen Webb

CF – Mohd Nizaruddin Hoffmann

CF – Borut Semler

Sub – Lingjing Tommasi

Sub – Fontana

Sub – Adhemar Balestrieri

Sub – Syed Dupuy

Sub – Adonay Bradshaw

Sub – Terranova

Sub – Robert Henning

All Up…

The most notable thing about this side is the huge number of players with expiring contracts. The problem with having improving young players is that their wage demands can go up a long way, and as such I may need to rebuild the side at the end of the season.

For the time being, though, it looks to be a strong side in all areas but defence. We have a large number of options everywhere else on the pitch, and quite a decent number of very talented players. A result similar to the last two seasons seems a reasonable expectation, though hopefully we’ll finally go all the way in the league.

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)

Massimo D’Ambrosio (Physio)

Abdel Karim Villalba (Physio)

David Jarrett (Scout)

Rob Campkin (Scout)

Julian Carrera (Scout)

Tim Davies (Scout)

Rahman Rezaei (Scout)

Søren Colding (Scout)

[Donners]

August, season 2017/2018

Ancona 0 drew Giulianova 0

Ancona 2 [Lang 25; Fontana 47] d. Poitiers 0

Ancona 2 [Fontana 5; Balestrieri 46] d. Charleville 0

Ancona 0 drew Martigues 0

Ancona 0 drew Modena 0

I rejected a £2.1M bid from Chievo for Kishore Bon, hoping to re-sign him on a long-term deal, but an £8.5M bid from Manchester United for Manjit Chevallereau was more interesting. With Terranova and Hoffmann the only other forwards signed beyond this season, it would be a dangerous move to sell him here. I rejected it, but a better offer or one in 6-12 months may be a different story.

Our only senior match of August was against Juventus in the league. Solly Marini made his debut and conceded a goal in 21 minutes. Rasch and Hartwig had shots on goal in the final minutes, but neither could prevent us starting the season with a loss. We have the second-best title odds, at 12-1. Milan and Juventus are the other favourites. Our Champions Cup group features Maribor, Rangers and Sporting. I turned down an £8.5M FC Bayern bid for Chevallereau at the end of the month.

[mattie]

Your still going! Blimey this story is brilliant i posted when you had done about 3 seasons now your miles in, well done!

[Donners]

Cheers. Scarily enough, there's still plenty to go...

September, season 2017/2018

We faced 1860 München in the Super Cup at the start of the month. About the only notable event of the 90 minutes was Hartwig being forced off with an injury. Webb had a header saved in the final minute and the match went to penalties. Unfortunately, our best three penalty takers – Petersen, Hartwig and Chevallereau weren’t out there, nor were other notables like Rasch and Barber. De Bellis had our first shot saved and Hoffmann missed our third. It was 2-3 after four shots each, but Wai Nikolov ended it by missing our final shot. Our third loss in three goes at the European Super Cup.

Balestriri replaced Hartwig (out for two weeks) on the left against Napoli. Tommasi was beaten 20 minutes into his first game of the season and despite great work from Terranova and Fontana it was 0-1 at half time. Semler came off the bench and had two second half shots, but both were saved and we finished with another loss. We were given odds of 14-1 to win the Champions Cup.

We needed to halt our poor start to the season against Vicenza. Hoffmann finally scored our first of the season in the 48th and from there we controlled the game. Terranova half-volleyed in his first for Ancona a few minutes later and Nikolov sealed it with a header late in the game. 3-0 to get us off the mark.

Our first Champions Cup game was at home to Maribor, probably the weakest side in our group. As expected, we had plenty of chances to score and finally did so through Hoffmann mid-way through the first half. He added a second ten minutes into the second half to complete a simple 2-0 win.

Unfortunately, our dismal league form continued against Palermo. We went behind through an early penalty and then lost leading scorer Hoffmann to injury. His replacement, Semler, scored four minutes into the second half after I switched to an attacking formation, but Palermo scored no less than four more goals in the last twenty of the minutes for a 1-5 belting. We didn’t have one good player on the pitch, and with three league losses in four games, I’m fearing not only for our title chances, but my job.

Albert Webb made his debut in the final game of the month, which we needed to win to have some momentum going into next month. Naturally, we faced powerhouse Milan and were a goal down in 11 minutes. Semler got us back to level terms with a great goal, curling it in from near the touchline. Hoffmann grazed the bar in the 58th and saves were made at both ends in the following minutes. Webb made three saves in the final minutes, finishing with a perfect rating and the Man of the Match award in the 1-1 draw. A good result against a side that had won its other four league games.

[Donners]

October, season 2017/2018

Rangers were our first opponents of October. They had a player sent off for a professional foul in the otherwise quiet first half, which allowed us to attack in the second. In the 67th, Hartwig chipped a beautiful little pass over a defender and into the area for Hoffmann to run onto. He was forced wide, however, and his shot came back off the woodwork. A defender headed it out of the area, but straight to Hartwig. He passed back to substitute Terranova, who hit it from 35 yards. The shot deflected off a defender and the keeper only managed to knock it into his own net. That was the only goal of the game, with Man of the Match Tommasi keeping a clean sheet.

With some slightly decent form behind us, we faced Chievo in the league. Fontana scored in just the second minute from a Semler cross and then hit in a second in the 29th after a Semler shot was parried. Semler added a deserved one of his own after winning the ball from a defender just before half time. 3-0 in the end.

Roma were our next league opponents. Terranova scored a good goal in the 24th but Roma pulled level a few minutes before half time. Terranova continued his fine game, taking a throw-in from Messner in the 58th and passing for Héctor Barber to volley us into the lead. We held that lead for 22 minutes, forcing several more saves in the meantime. Unfortunately, Roma scored in the first minute of injury time to make it 2-2. Hoffmann had a great chance in the final seconds after a deflection off a defender left him with an open shot, but he hit it straight at the keeper and we lost the chance for a win. Nelson De Bellis made his Italian debut after the game.

A better result was expected against 19th placed Genoa, a side featuring former Ancona keeper Daniel Ferrari. Semler had a header saved early but put through a cross from Terranova in the 16th. Terranova volleyed one home himself ten minutes into the second half, and with Genoa without a single shot all game, we walked away with a simple 2-0 win.

Our third Champions Cup game was against Sporting, possibly the strongest side in our group. They went some way to proving this with the first goal, after 19 minutes. Alexandre Rasch returned from injury but had little impact. Semler won the ball in the final minutes and sent a pass to partner Terranova for an open shot on the edge of the area, but it was turned away. However, a header from Semler in the 90th was better, putting Terranova past the defence and giving him a simple shot past the keeper and into the net. The draw left us on top of the table after three games, and set new records with attendance of 27,082 and gate takings of £1M.

Back to the league for the last game of the month, against Cagliari. Semler scored a brilliant solo effort in the 22nd, getting past several defenders and hitting the ball into the net from a tight angle on the edge of the area. Terranova was able to tap in a simple goal in the 64th after the keeper only got a hand to a Semler shot. They got one with five minutes to go but Semler, after having two shots saved, finally sealed it two minutes into injury time. A good end to the month, leaving us in 7th spot.

[WLKRAS]

I'm ashamed to admit that i stopped reading this a while ago and i have soooo much catching up to do

It's still an excellent read though, great stuff

[bartley_m]

I just spent 30 mins ctahing up on this story and I am not regretting it

Great story, maybe a srceeny or two of your best players? I alwyas love seeing regens and new players when your up to 2017 - 2020

[Donners]

I've had a lot of trouble posting screenshots in the past, but I'll see what I can do...

November, season 2017/2018

A few senior players were rested in the first game of October, at home to Parma. Nonetheless, we hit the lead after only two minutes when Neumayr scored from a corner. Hartwig hit in a second in the 14th with a great 25-yard strike, which was followed four minutes later by a similar goal to Amit Lang. Hartwig missed by mere inches in the 61st and 66th, but 3-0 was good enough.

Just three days later, we faced Brescia. They scored in the 11th on the counter-attack after a Webb shot was saved. Terranove brought us level through a header from an Oßwald cross early in the second, and two minutes later put Ancona ahead by running around the keeper. He completed a wonderful hat-trick in the 65th by running half the pitch after a good pass from Lang put him past the defence. Brescia ensured that wasn’t the end, making it 3-2 in the 84th, but despite a bad late miss from Terranova, we held on for a one-goal win.

We returned to the Champions Cup to face Sporting away. Hoffmann scored a good goal in the 12th, but Sporting responded from long range less than a minute later. Hoffmann should have given Terranova the winner in the 87th, but his cross into the box went way over his partner’s head and we finished with a 1-1 draw.

Como were next. Terranova put a good chance over in the 13th, as did D’Alessandro (in a rare game) just before half time. Unfortunately, with a quiet second half, we finished with a draw, despite 11 shots to none for the game.

Another league game, with Ancona facing Perugia away. Rasch missed an early shot while Lang skimmed the bar later in the half. Terranova forced a save in the 51st but Hoffmann finally put us ahead in the 75th after a pass from Briotti floated over the defence. That was all it took for a deserved three points. Despite our terrible start, we’re now in second spot.

We finished the month against Maribor, a side yet to win in the Champions Cup group stage. Terranova’s early shot was tipped aside while Balestrieri and Oßwald forced saves. Maribor scored from a free against the run of play late in the first half and we struggled to get another chance. Semler did brilliantly in the 86th to go on a huge run and get past two defenders, but missed with the resulting shot. They scored again to seal a very disappointing loss, leaving us needing at least a draw in the final game to be definitely safe. I rejected job offers from Leicester and Q.P.R. and turned down bids for Kishore Bon and Nelson De Bellis.

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

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

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

| 1st | | Milan | | 13 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 29 | 17 | +12 | 27 |

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

| 2nd | | Ancona | | 13 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 22 | 13 | +9 | 24 |

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

| 3rd | | Palermo | | 13 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 21 | 12 | +9 | 24 |

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

| 4th | | Juventus | | 13 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 22 | 19 | +3 | 24 |

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

| 5th | | Lazio | | 13 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 15 | 10 | +5 | 23 |

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

| 6th | | Brescia | | 13 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 30 | 23 | +7 | 21 |

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

| 7th | | Sampdoria | | 13 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 27 | 21 | +6 | 20 |

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

| 8th | | Como | | 13 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 15 | 14 | +1 | 19 |

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

| 9th | | Napoli | | 13 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 19 |

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

| 10th | | Chievo | | 13 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 16 | 18 | -2 | 17 |

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

| 11th | | Inter | | 13 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 20 | 21 | -1 | 16 |

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

| 12th | | Perugia | | 13 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 19 | 21 | -2 | 16 |

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

| 13th | | Genoa | | 13 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 15 | 22 | -7 | 16 |

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

| 14th | | Bologna | | 13 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 21 | 21 | 0 | 15 |

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

| 15th | | Cagliari | | 13 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 15 | 17 | -2 | 15 |

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

| 16th | | Piacenza | | 13 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 12 | 15 | -3 | 14 |

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

| 17th | | Roma | | 13 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 21 | 30 | -9 | 14 |

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

| 18th | | Verona | | 13 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 19 | 21 | -2 | 13 |

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

| 19th | | Vicenza | | 13 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 16 | 25 | -9 | 12 |

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

| 20th | | Parma | | 13 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 9 | 24 | -15 | 9 |

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

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

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

</pre>

[Roelchik]

ever considered going over to FM2005 or will you stick with this version ?

still reading your articles on a weekly basis

[Donners]

No, I was very disappointed with the last two CM games (and EHM for that matter) and boycotted FM as a result. It was a struggle just to play out this game.

December, season 2017/2018

We hosted Piacenza in the first game of the month. Alexandre Rasch hit the post from outside the area in the first few minutes while our opponents scored from a similar shot in the 21st. Lang had a shot from a corner at point-blank range parried. Nikolov and Lang had shots from outside the area parried early in the second before Lang finally put one through after intercepting a clearance. Four minutes later, Kishore Bon scored from a volley to catapult us into the lead. Hartwig missed by mere inches from 30 yards but a curling 25-yard strike from Lang gave him his second and Ancona a 3-1 lead. Unfortunately, we lost Rasch to a groin injury for two months.

I went with a totally different starting XI against Napoli in our first Italian Cup game. Oßwald and Jinshan Petersen were the only players to threaten the goal in the first half, and we didn’t even mange that in the second. 0-0 in the home leg of the second round.

The Inter-Continental Cup, which we won in 2012 and lost last season, saw us face Racing. Semler ran half the pitch in the 9th, past a defender…and blasted the ball way over the goal. That was the only chance of the first half. Fontana hit the post early in the second before Semler forced a save with a header and Lang put one over from long-range. A wonderful long-range curling volley from Oßwald hit the post in the 76th, then Semler was dispossessed three minutes later. Finally, Fontana hit in a cross from Hartwig with eight minutes to go. With 16 shots to 1, we should have won by more, but it was enough for £1.2M and another cup for the trophy cabinet.

Our final Champions Cup game was against Rangers at home. They’d already qualified, while we sat in second on eight points. Sporting were behind by three points on equal goal difference but were facing bottom-placed Maribor at home. We got a great start, with Terranova slamming in a Hoffmann pass after eight minutes. Sporting went out to a 3-0 lead by half time, but we were still a goal up. Even a draw would be good enough for us to progress. That was what we were left to face when Rangers seemingly made it 1-1 in the 54th, but it was ruled out. Sporting won 4-0, but we remained in second place with the 1-0 win. We’ll face Everton in the second round. Just something of an update – Marini has done badly as a goalkeeper, so it down to the Under 20s while Tommasi and Webb rotate in the position.

We then took on Lazio, the side directly below us in 5th. Mohd Hoffmann gave us a great start, hitting in a parry from a Fontana shot in just the fifth minute. Fontana threatened the goal throughout the half, but was unfortunately forced off with injury in the second half. Lazio scored in the 82nd, leaving us just eight minutes to regain the lead and pull further ahead of them. It only took five, with Fontana’s replacement, Borut Semler, half-volleying in a Balestrieri cross for a 2-1 win. I re-signed promising defender Kishore Bon for five seasons after the match.

We faced Napoli in the Italian Cup second round, with a 0-0 draw in the home leg. Both sides had their chances, with Amit Lang particularly dangerous, but after 120 minutes it was still scoreless. Chevallereau missed our very first penalty, but Napoli hit the bar with their second and De Bellis scored for us, making it 1-1 after two. Unfortunately, Neumayr then missed for Ancona, leaving us a goal down after three. Barber scored our second with the fourth shot, but Napoli put through both their fourth and fifth for an unbeatable 4-2 lead. That knocked us out of the Italian Cup in the second round.

Ancona’s final game of 2017 was against Verona. We attacked early and scored after only two minutes through a 25-yard Lang free kick. We mostly cruised through the rest of the match, with Terranova and Semler firing in occasional shots, so it was quite a shock when Verona scored out of nowhere in the 88th minute to level the scores. It was far too late in the game to mount a comeback, and two points went missing. A bad way to end the year.

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

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

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

| 1st | | Milan | | 17 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 35 | 21 | +14 | 34 |

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

| 2nd | | Juventus | | 17 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 32 | 24 | +8 | 33 |

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

| 3rd | | Ancona | | 16 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 28 | 16 | +12 | 31 |

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

| 4th | | Palermo | | 17 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 24 | 18 | +6 | 28 |

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

| 5th | | Sampdoria | | 17 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 34 | 26 | +8 | 27 |

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

| 6th | | Lazio | | 17 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 23 | 16 | +7 | 27 |

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

| 7th | | Bologna | | 17 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 31 | 26 | +5 | 25 |

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

| 8th | | Brescia | | 17 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 34 | 29 | +5 | 24 |

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

| 9th | | Como | | 17 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 19 | 17 | +2 | 24 |

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

| 10th | | Napoli | | 17 | 7 | 2 | 8 | 16 | 21 | -5 | 23 |

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

| 11th | | Inter | | 16 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 26 | 25 | +1 | 21 |

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

| 12th | | Piacenza | | 17 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 19 | 20 | -1 | 21 |

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

| 13th | | Vicenza | | 17 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 24 | 29 | -5 | 21 |

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

| 14th | | Cagliari | | 17 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 19 | 21 | -2 | 20 |

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

| 15th | | Perugia | | 17 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 23 | 28 | -5 | 20 |

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

| 16th | | Genoa | | 17 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 19 | 31 | -12 | 19 |

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

| 17th | | Chievo | | 17 | 5 | 3 | 9 | 19 | 25 | -6 | 18 |

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

| 18th | | Roma | | 17 | 5 | 3 | 9 | 28 | 40 | -12 | 18 |

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

| 19th | | Verona | | 17 | 5 | 2 | 10 | 22 | 25 | -3 | 17 |

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

| 20th | | Parma | | 17 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 16 | 33 | -17 | 15 |

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

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

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

</pre>

[Donners]

January, season 2017/2018

Surprisingly, our own Mohd Hoffmann was named European Striker of the Year for 2017. I sold right winger Adonay Bradshaw to West Ham for £5M, since he’d only played four senior games all season and was in the final year of his current contract.

We had the chance to move on top of the table in our first match of 2018, against third-placed Inter. Semler barely missed a 9th minute chip and after missing several shots, crossed to Hoffmann who headed in a good goal just before half time. Barber and Semler missed good chances in the second half, and despite a superb performance from Tommasi, Inter scored an equaliser with ten minutes to go. For the third time in four games, our opponents had levelled the scores in the final ten minutes. There was no answer from Ancona, leaving us stuck in third spot.

Another tough match, with Ancona facing 4th placed Sampdoria. They took the lead in just two minutes. A good header from Neumayr put Hoffmann through for our first in the 27th, but Neumayr was sent off for a second yellow card two minutes later. Terranova barely missed after a brilliant run at the start of the second half, while at the other end Sampdoria missed a penalty a few minutes later. Hartwig and Hoffmann missed shots in the final minutes, for a 1-1 draw.

Yet another high-placed opponent – 6th placed Bologna – for our next game. Hoffmann scored a great goal in the 13th, winning a header, charging forward and slamming through the opener. He scored a second in the 41st and should have set up Semler in the 61st, but unfortunately his cross went well over his partner and the chance was wasted. Bologna scored on the counter-attack, but a header from Oßwald gave Semler our third in the 65th. They had a chance disallowed, as did we with Hoffmann offside in the 82nd. A good 3-1 win, and our 15th straight league game without a loss.

As if those matches weren’t enough, second-placed Juventus were our next league opponents. Nikolov found Semler with an incredible long ball in the 12th, but his shot from a tight angle was saved. However, there was no saving his rocket a minute later from a Terranova cross. The second half was all Juventus, but Albert Webb made no less than seven saves in a magnificent performance. Two and a half minutes into the three of injury time, Juventus had a corner which was hit right into the six-yard box. The first close-range shot was parried, but it was knocked in by a Juventus player for a heartbreaking final-moment equaliser.

At last, a mere mid-table opponent – Napoli. However, they took the lead in the 5th after D’Alessandro was badly beaten for a header, and then in a chase for the ball. We had a few chances in the second half, but shots from Semler, Webb and Barber were saved and we couldn’t even draw the game. A bad loss, considering how well we played against better sides, and an end to a 16 game streak without a loss. I rejected a job offer from Inter.

We took on Palermo a few days after they jumped ahead of us to 3rd spot. Lang forced a save 90 seconds in with a long-range shot, then Terranova tapped the loose ball in. Lang, Semler and Barber missed shots in the next 15 minutes, but Terranova put through his second from a Hartwig cross. Dupuy added another in the 58th from a corner and Hartwig finished the game with a free kick which went in off the post in injury time. 4-0, taking us to within a point of top spot.

The month ended against league leaders Milan. They wasted a large number of shots, with only one of five on target in the first half hour. We didn’t have many chances, but a classic run from Semler in the 35th took him past two opponents for a cross to Terranova, who volleyed it home. Semler scored one himself in the 65th for a good 2-0 win to end January.

I had little success with contracts, failing to re-sign any players. Chi Yuen Webb, Hartwig and Nikolov in particular seem out of reach. Preparing for these losses, I arranged the signings of 1860 München striker Frank, Juventus midfielder Ramzi Münch and Leicester midfielder Patterson.

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

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

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

| 1st | | Juventus | | 23 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 41 | 26 | +15 | 44 |

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

| 2nd | | Ancona | | 23 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 40 | 21 | +19 | 43 |

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

| 3rd | | Milan | | 23 | 12 | 5 | 6 | 41 | 29 | +12 | 41 |

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

| 4th | | Palermo | | 24 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 37 | 28 | +9 | 40 |

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

| 5th | | Sampdoria | | 24 | 10 | 9 | 5 | 47 | 34 | +13 | 39 |

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

| 6th | | Lazio | | 23 | 10 | 9 | 4 | 31 | 20 | +11 | 39 |

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

| 7th | | Bologna | | 24 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 49 | 39 | +10 | 37 |

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

| 8th | | Vicenza | | 23 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 39 | 37 | +2 | 33 |

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

| 9th | | Como | | 23 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 23 | 18 | +5 | 32 |

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

| 10th | | Perugia | | 24 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 32 |

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

| 11th | | Napoli | | 23 | 9 | 5 | 9 | 21 | 25 | -4 | 32 |

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

| 12th | | Brescia | | 23 | 9 | 4 | 10 | 41 | 36 | +5 | 31 |

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

| 13th | | Roma | | 24 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 40 | 53 | -13 | 30 |

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

| 14th | | Cagliari | | 23 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 30 | 31 | -1 | 29 |

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

| 15th | | Chievo | | 24 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 29 | 34 | -5 | 28 |

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

| 16th | | Inter | | 23 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 32 | 43 | -11 | 28 |

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

| 17th | | Verona | | 23 | 6 | 5 | 12 | 31 | 34 | -3 | 23 |

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

| 18th | | Piacenza | | 24 | 6 | 4 | 14 | 22 | 38 | -16 | 22 |

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

| 19th | | Genoa | | 23 | 5 | 5 | 13 | 21 | 44 | -23 | 20 |

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

| 20th | | Parma | | 24 | 4 | 6 | 14 | 23 | 48 | -25 | 18 |

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

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

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

</pre>

[Donners]

February, season 2017/2018

Some good news on contracts at the start of the month, with Fontana and Dupuy signing three-year deals and Tommasi a two-year deal.

We took on Chievo in the first game of February. Mohd Hoffmann earned a penalty in the 5th , which was put through by Hartwig. That was all it took for three points, with Chi Yuen Webb and Hartwig the stars – unfortunately, two players we are likely to lose at the end of the season.

Our encounter with Vicenza was horribly frustrating, with numerous shots from Terranova saved. Naturally, they scored with their first chance in the 71st and we couldn’t get back. A wasted chance to move on top.

Roma provided a similarly frustrating game, but Hoffmann finally scored in the 51st. Hartwig sealed it in the 75th with a good short run after being put through by Webb – again, two players likely to be gone soon.

Alexandre Rasch finally returned from injury against Genoa. We got a lucky break in the 8th, with a 25-yard Genoa backpass flying over the keeper and into the net. Hoffmann and Semler missed simple chances before the latter hit in a wonderful long throw from Nelson De Bellis just before half time. Total domination from Ancona, though with a quiet second half we had to settle for a 2-0 win.

With the end of the season drawing near and Milan and Juventus looking nearly unstoppable, we couldn’t waste any chances against strugglers Parma. Fontana and Balestrieri forced early saves, but we remained level at half time. A brilliant run a minute into the second half took Terranova half the length of the pitch, past two defenders and into the area, where he struck home a perfect angled strike. However, disaster struck in the 72nd, with keeper Albert Webb forced off injured. I didn’t have Tommasi on the bench, and thus had to bring on Jinshan Petersen. Naturally, they scored almost immediately, and I didn’t dare attack lest we concede another. Two valuable points wasted.

We finally returned to the Champions Cup, hosting Everton in the first leg of the second round. Webb was available for the game and started in the goal. I did, however, put Tommasi on the bench this time. Hoffmann scored a great goal in the 34th, running around a defender and slotting it through off the far post from a tight angle. The game was mostly back-and-forth after that, but with few real chances to either side, we held our one-goal lead.

[Donners]

March, season 2017/2018

Our first opponents of the month were Brescia. Hoffmann had a pair of chances a dozen minutes in, but his first shot was parried and his second hit the side netting. He was kept out by two great saves at the start of the second and then missed another in the 63rd. Those chances were all we had, and once again we wasted two valuable points.

That made our next match against Cagliari even more important. Unfortunately, they scored in the 40th. Terranova came close with a couple of shots, but we didn’t get another shot on goal and our title hopes pretty much ended with the 0-1 loss.

We still had a chance in the Champions Cup, leading Everton 1-0 going into the away leg. They hit the post in the 31st, but Webb sealed it early in the second half with an away goal, hitting in a Balestrieri corner. Everton did pull one back, but Semler made it a 3-1 aggregate in the 70th, followed by Hoffmann adding his first a few minutes later. Semler flicked on a long Webb pass in injury time to complete a 5-1 aggregate rout.

Surprise league losses for both Milan and Juventus meant that we were only five points off the top despite our disappointing recent run, which made our game against Como crucial. Chevallereau missed a simple chance in just the second minute, justifying my decision to leave him out for most of the season. Hoffmann made things worse by hitting a sitter straight at the keeper, while Semler also had a good chance parried. Amit Lang finally had success with a header from a corner just before half time. Hoffmann again hit the ball at the keeper in the 55th, but this time was able to score from the parry. This was quite important, as Como made it 2-1 a minute later. A brilliant move in the 80th saw Hartwig tackle a running opponent in defence and slam forward a wonderful pass over the defence. Semler got to the ball and in one motion struck it in from outside the area. Como managed to pull another goal back from a penalty in the 90th, but we held on for the three points. Milan and Juventus had draws, but we remained in 4th place, three points away from the top.

We had the chance to put a bit of pressure on Milan, Juventus and Palermo with the only game of the day against Perugia, with a win able to put us on top, at least for a few days. Fontana slammed in a cross from Hartwig two minutes before the end of the half, then added a second a minute later. Robert Henning made it 3-0 in the 82nd with a header, putting us on equal points and a goal ahead of Milan. Unfortunately, we lost Syed Dupuy to a hip injury for two months. Our place on top only lasted a day – Palermo was held to a draw, but Juventus won 3-1 and Milan hammered Sampdoria 7-1.

A big game to end the month, with Ancona taking on Manchester United in the Champions Cup quarter final home leg. We actually have a 5-0 record against them, which is certainly promising. Hoffmann missed an early header, but Webb was successful, heading in a long Balestrieri free kick. Balestrieri then scored a great goal himself, running down the right and charging into the area to slot through our second in the 27th. Hoffmann took it to 3-0 just before half time, then crossed to Semler for our fourth in the 70th minute. A comprehensive win, ensuring our progression to the semi final.

[Donners]

April, season 2017/2018

Milan suffered a surprise loss to Bologna at the start of the month, meaning we could again draw level with them on points in our 33rd game, against Piacenza. However, we were still behind Juventus, and three goals behind Milan’s difference. Piacenza attacked early, while we lost Chi Yuen Webb and Fontana to injury. They dominated the first half and hit the bar early in the second. We finally had a chance at the other end in the 60th, but Hoffmann’s close-range shot as tipped over. He put Fontana through five minutes later for what turned out to be the only goal of the game. Albert Webb was Man of the Match in the 1-0 win, which thanks to a draw between Palermo and Juventus took us to second place. However, we lost Chi Yuen Webb for two weeks with an injury.

I went with a mostly second-string side against Manchester United in the Champions Cup quarter final, having won the first leg 4-0. Nonetheless, Chevallereau scored from a Hartwig pass in the first half, and the German winger then set up Terranova for a second. Man U finally scored in the second half to make it a 6-1 aggregate. Our opponents in the semi final will be Juventus in what should be a very interesting match.

What looked to be our easiest match of our last five league games was against 18th placed Inter. Fontana ballooned a shot just before half time that should have gone in. Webb made a crucial save in the final minutes from former Ancona striker Papa Waigo, but we were still scoreless. 21 seconds into injury time, however, Nelson De Bellis scored his first goal in his 81 games at Ancona, heading in a corner from Oßwald. We held on for the remaining three minutes to move on top – albeit having played a game more than Milan and Juventus. However, they drew with each other, meaning we were two points ahead on top of the table. Our remaining four games are against Verona, Lazio, Sampdoria and Bologna, so we can’t rely on knocking out a title contender ourselves.

The first of those games was the easiest, based on league position. Unfortunately, it was just three days before our Champions Cup game against Juventus, so we couldn’t go out full-strength. A goal in 26 seconds to Terranova was rather helpful in this regard. He added a second in the 11th and Chevallereau scored a penalty in the 37th. Webb did very well to keep out a few shots to give us a useful three-goal boost to our difference. Juventus won 4-0, but are still two points behind us, while Milan fell further behind with a draw against Napoli.

Our first leg of the Champions Cup semi final against Juventus was away. Alexandre Rasch intercepted a defensive pass in the second minute, but both his shots were saved. We lost Wai Nikolov to injury in the 9th and then conceded a goal a minute later. Hartwig had a shot saved late in the half and missed one from long-range early in the second. A Hoffmann header in the 49th was turned away, but just as it looked like we would finish the leg behind, a one-two pass saw Webb give the ball back to Semler for a headed goal in the 80th. Juventus scored five minutes later, but in the final minute of regular time, Semler rounded the keeper and scored his second Amazingly, Juventus scored 30 seconds later, making it five goals in eleven minutes. 2-3 in the first leg, but at least we have two away goals.

The month ended with Ancona facing 5th placed Lazio. Terranova missed badly in the 8th, as did Semler six minutes later. Former Ancona striker Carlos Hidalgo scored for Lazio in the 23rd, which was particularly bad with Juventus and Milan already ahead in their games. Semler scored a much-needed equaliser two minutes into the second half, and then in the 53rd Hartwig gave us the lead with a free kick. Unfortuantely, Hidalgo scored his second a minute later to bring the game level. That was the way it ended, with Juventus pulling level with us on both points and goal difference. This is apparently enough for them to hold a position above us, which is a worry.

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

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

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

| 1st | | Juventus | | 36 | 20 | 10 | 6 | 68 | 37 | +31 | 70 |

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

| 2nd | | Ancona | | 36 | 20 | 10 | 6 | 59 | 28 | +31 | 70 |

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

| 3rd | | Milan | | 36 | 20 | 8 | 8 | 71 | 40 | +31 | 68 |

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

| 4th | | Palermo | | 36 | 17 | 11 | 8 | 57 | 37 | +20 | 62 |

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

| 5th | | Lazio | | 36 | 15 | 14 | 7 | 56 | 40 | +16 | 59 |

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

| 6th | | Bologna | | 36 | 15 | 11 | 10 | 76 | 61 | +15 | 56 |

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

| 7th | | Cagliari | | 36 | 15 | 10 | 11 | 56 | 42 | +14 | 55 |

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

| 8th | | Napoli | | 36 | 15 | 10 | 11 | 40 | 36 | +4 | 55 |

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

| 9th | | Brescia | | 36 | 14 | 8 | 14 | 63 | 60 | +3 | 50 |

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

| 10th | | Sampdoria | | 36 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 63 | 62 | +1 | 50 |

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

| 11th | | Vicenza | | 36 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 53 | 61 | -8 | 47 |

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

| 12th | | Verona | | 36 | 13 | 6 | 17 | 52 | 53 | -1 | 45 |

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

| 13th | | Como | | 36 | 11 | 9 | 16 | 37 | 45 | -8 | 42 |

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

| 14th | | Chievo | | 36 | 12 | 6 | 18 | 44 | 54 | -10 | 42 |

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

| 15th | | Roma | | 36 | 12 | 5 | 19 | 54 | 79 | -25 | 41 |

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

| 16th | | Parma | | 36 | 9 | 11 | 16 | 46 | 62 | -16 | 38 |

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

| 17th | | Piacenza | | 36 | 11 | 4 | 21 | 35 | 51 | -16 | 37 |

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

| 18th | | Perugia | | 36 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 43 | 63 | -20 | 36 |

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

| 19th | | Inter | | 36 | 8 | 9 | 19 | 37 | 67 | -30 | 33 |

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

| 20th | | Genoa | | 36 | 7 | 10 | 19 | 34 | 66 | -32 | 31 |

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

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

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

</pre>

[Terk]

this is a somewhat tense finish to the season

forza ancona

[Donners]

Identical points and goal difference for the top two sides is a pretty good example of a tense finish to a season.

May, season 2017/2018

I made a surprise move at the start of May, re-signing Borut Semler for another season, even though he’s 33. With 18 goals for the season, though, there’s no doubting his value. Annoyingly, my board won’t let me pay Chi Yuen Webb more than £15.5K, which is ridiculous.

Our first half in the second-last game of the season against Sampdoria was unfortunately even, but both Milan and Juventus were losing. Semler and Hartwig missed shots at the start of the second, and Semler missed a great chance in the 77th, putting a chip wide. That was costly, with the game finishing scoreless. However, both Milan and Juventus lost, so we moved a point ahead of Juventus and three above Milan, with one game to go.

Semler had better luck in the second leg of the Champions Cup semi final against Juventus, scoring a crucial goal in the 12th. That made it 3-3 on aggregate, with two away goals to us. They regained the aggregate lead through Cristiano Ronaldo, but a chip from Terranova made it 4-4 in the 29th. We had the chance to go ahead in the 32nd when Semler was tripped in the area. Hartwig’s penalty was saved, but he managed to score from the rebound. Semler celebrated his new contract with our fourth of the game early in the second and finally sealed our progression with a header in the 76th – his hat-trick. Juventus got one late, but the 7-5 aggregate put us into the final against Lazio.

Speaking of finals, it was time for our final league game of the year, at home against Bologna. Milan (three points behind) took on 10th placed Brescia, while Juventus (one point behind) faced 17th placed Parma. Considering Juventus’ weak opponents, we probably needed a win to get the title. As always, Bologna had Rungratsamee up forward. It was our current star striker, Borut Semler, who scored the first in the 15th, only for former star Rungratsamee to respond fourteen minutes later. Our half finished 1-1, but Milan were 3-0 up while, crucially, Juventus were still 0-0. If this stayed the same at the final whistle, we would finish on top – but obviously we couldn’t rely on that. In the 70th, Amit Lang took a throw-in and sent it to the in-form Semler. With one touch, he hit it from 25 yards out and put it straight into the back of the net – 2-1. Terranova missed in the 81st, but Semler made it 3-1 in the 87th, heading in a long free from De Bellis for his second hat-trick in as many games. A minute later, he sealed it with another goal from 25 yards. It didn’t matter, with Juventus remaining level in their game, but there was no doubting the appropriateness of the 33-year-old Semler completing our second title win with his 220th goal for the club – more than double the next best. An amazing player, and a wonderful result.

Semler made the Serie A Team of the Year and I was named Manager of the Year, but otherwise we were unrecognised in the awards. There was some great news though, with Hartwig signing a £6M, 3-year deal. Unfortunately, I’m still unable to sign Chi Yuen Webb.

There was just one game left to go – the Champions Cup final against Lazio. We’ve never done the League/Champions Cup double, and indeed weren’t even in the Champions Cup when we won the league in 2013/2014. However, we had won the last two Champions Cups, and finished above Lazio on the table. Our overall record against them going in was 12 wins, 7 losses and 9 draws, with no losses since January 2010. Since then, we’ve had results including 7-1, 5-1, 4-2 and, most memorably, 8-5 in 2012. This year, we had 2-1 and 2-2 results in the league.

The side was as follows:

GK – Albert Webb

LB – Andrea Briotti

CB – Wai Nikolov

CB – Nelson De Bellis

RB – Nurullo Messner

LM – Hartwig

CM – Chi Yuen Webb

CM – Amit Lang

RM – Adhemar Balestrieri

CF – Mohd Nizaruddin Hoffmann

CF – Borut Semler

Sub – Alexey Torres

Sub – Tak Cheong Williams

Sub – Oßwald

Sub – Héctor Barber

Sub – Alexandre Rasch

Sub – Terranova

Sub – Robert Henning

Lazio featured Carlos Hidalgo up forward, who played 44 games for us and was the Serie A top goalscorer this season. There was nothing of note until the 40th minute, when Semler collected a long, curling pass from Lang on the edge of the area. He spun around two defenders and crossed the ball, but Hartwig’s shot was blasted way over the bar. That was the only shot for the first half, but Hidalgo hit the side netting just four minutes into the second. Semler made a perfect move in the 63rd, charging forward and not only drawing two defenders, but also taking the keeper out of the six yard box. He crossed to Hoffmann in the area for what was surely a certain goal…only for the German to head it straight to the out-of-position keeper. He then picked up a yellow card and was immediately replaced by Terranova. A few minutes after coming on, he took a Briotti throw-in and crossed to Semler. Despite being marked by two opponents, the 33-year-old won the header, only to see it parried. However, he still got there first, and tapped in a simple goal for a 77th minute lead. Lazio came forward straight from the kick-off, but a shot from inside the area was blasted over. Balestrieri and Messner – probably in his final Ancona game – helped scramble clear a Lazio corner in the 85th, and it was another clearance from Messner that found Semler on the run in the 89th. Similar to his earlier move, he drew two defenders and crossed into the area for his partner. Unlike Hoffmann, Terranova made no mistake, sealing a hat-trick of Champions Cup victories, not to mention a league/cup double for the season. Lazio gave us a late scare, scoring their first three minutes into injury time from 25 yards, but the final whistle blew before we could even kick off. A 2-1 Champions Cup victory.

[Donners]

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 | Ancona | | 38 | 21 | 11 | 6 | 63 | 29 | +34 | 74 |

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

| 2nd | | Milan | | 38 | 21 | 8 | 9 | 74 | 43 | +31 | 71 |

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

| 3rd | | Juventus | | 38 | 20 | 11 | 7 | 69 | 39 | +30 | 71 |

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

| 4th | | Palermo | | 38 | 18 | 11 | 9 | 60 | 39 | +21 | 65 |

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

| 5th | | Lazio | | 38 | 16 | 15 | 7 | 60 | 41 | +19 | 63 |

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

| 6th | | Bologna | | 38 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 80 | 66 | +14 | 59 |

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

| 7th | | Cagliari | | 38 | 16 | 10 | 12 | 59 | 47 | +12 | 58 |

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

| 8th | | Napoli | | 38 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 43 | 39 | +4 | 57 |

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

| 9th | | Verona | | 38 | 15 | 6 | 17 | 56 | 53 | +3 | 51 |

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

| 10th | | Sampdoria | | 38 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 64 | 64 | 0 | 51 |

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

| 11th | | Brescia | | 38 | 14 | 8 | 16 | 65 | 67 | -2 | 50 |

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

| 12th | | Vicenza | | 38 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 56 | 65 | -9 | 50 |

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

| 13th | | Chievo | | 38 | 14 | 6 | 18 | 48 | 55 | -7 | 48 |

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

| 14th | | Como | | 38 | 11 | 10 | 17 | 37 | 48 | -11 | 43 |

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

| 15th | | Roma | | 38 | 12 | 6 | 20 | 58 | 84 | -26 | 42 |

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

| 16th | | Piacenza | | 38 | 12 | 4 | 22 | 39 | 53 | -14 | 40 |

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

| 17th | | Parma | | 38 | 9 | 12 | 17 | 47 | 65 | -18 | 39 |

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

| 18th | R | Perugia | | 38 | 8 | 13 | 17 | 43 | 64 | -21 | 37 |

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

| 19th | R | Inter | | 38 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 38 | 67 | -29 | 37 |

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

| 20th | R | Genoa | | 38 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 37 | 68 | -31 | 35 |

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

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

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

</pre>

<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 |

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

| DC | | De Bellis, N | 45 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 74 % | 2.74 | 0.24 | 100 % | 7.09 | £7M |

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

| MC | Int | Webb, C | 42 | 2 | 11 | 1 | 74 % | 3.72 | 0.55 | 75 % | 7.02 | £16.25M |

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

| ML | Int | Hartwig* | 40 (1) | 6 | 9 | 2 | 70 % | 3.14 | 2.88 | 44 % | 7.39 | £30M |

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

| DL | | Briotti, A* | 38 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 75 % | 2.62 | 1.05 | 100 % | 7.08 | £950K |

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

| FC | Int | Semler, B* | 33 (6) | 26 | 12 | 9 | 64 % | 1.46 | 2.32 | 64 % | 7.79 | £1M |

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

| DR | | Messner, N | 33 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 66 % | 3.29 | 3.20 | 57 % | 7.33 | £300K |

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

| FC | Int | Hoffmann, M | 31 (2) | 15 | 6 | 4 | 65 % | 1.07 | 2.74 | 71 % | 7.42 | £11.5M |

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

| MC | | Lang, A | 30 (2) | 5 | 5 | 2 | 77 % | 3.30 | 0.21 | 68 % | 7.19 | £4.3M |

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

| SB6 | | Terranova | 27 (6) | 19 | 7 | 5 | 69 % | 1.20 | 1.89 | 58 % | 7.30 | £11M |

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

| DC | Wnt | Nikolov, W | 27 (5) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 74 % | 1.80 | 0.07 | 78 % | 6.88 | £4.4M |

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

| | | Tommasi, L | 25 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 37 % | - | - | - | 6.76 | £1.4M |

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

| MR | | Balestrieri, A | 24 (5) | 1 | 5 | 0 | 61 % | 2.78 | 5.00 | 61 % | 7.24 | £6.5M |

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

| GK | Unh | Webb, A | 24 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 41 % | - | - | - | 6.83 | £1.7M |

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

| SB5 | | Barber, H | 23 (3) | 1 | 3 | 0 | 66 % | 2.19 | 1.68 | 45 % | 6.92 | £2.7M |

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

| | Unh | Neumayr, M | 22 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 75 % | 2.83 | 0.20 | 55 % | 6.86 | £1.2M |

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

| | | Bon, K | 20 (1) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 70 % | 2.91 | 0.75 | 33 % | 7.19 | £4.1M |

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

| SB7 | | Torres, A | 19 (2) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 72 % | 2.62 | 0.36 | 40 % | 7.38 | £3M |

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

| | | Dupuy, S | 17 (2) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 80 % | 2.27 | 0.18 | 100 % | 7.00 | £3.2M |

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

| SB4 | Int | Rasch, A | 16 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 78 % | 3.04 | 0.62 | 50 % | 7.00 | £9M |

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

| | | Fontana | 15 (2) | 6 | 3 | 1 | 80 % | 1.11 | 1.88 | 64 % | 7.00 | £6.25M |

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

| | Unh | D'Alessandro, W | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 72 % | 1.53 | 0.22 | 50 % | 6.79 | £2.3M |

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

| SB2 | | Oßwald | 11 (4) | 0 | 4 | 0 | 71 % | 3.06 | 0.33 | 71 % | 7.07 | £975K |

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

| | Unh | Chevallereau, M | 8 (6) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 80 % | 2.44 | 0.85 | 75 % | 6.79 | £7.25M |

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

| | Unh | Marini, S | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 % | - | - | - | 6.33 | £2.2M |

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

| SB1 | | Williams, T | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 78 % | 3.16 | - | 100 % | 6.83 | £1.4M |

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

| | | Demetz, L | 3 (2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 74 % | 2.48 | 0.83 | 33 % | 7.00 | £525K |

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

| SB3 | Wnt | Henning, R | 1 (8) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 80 % | 1.50 | 0.25 | 100 % | 6.78 | £160K |

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

| | Unh | Petersen, J | 1 (3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 71 % | - | 0.62 | 100 % | 5.50 | £1.6M |

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

| | Ret | Iniesta, A | 1 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 81 % | 2.90 | - | - | 6.67 | £75K |

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

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

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

</pre>

At last, the Champions Cup/Serie A double. You can’t hope for much better than that. It wasn’t the smoothest of seasons, with an early exit in the Italian Cup, a loss in the Super Cup and a horrible start to the season. Despite winning the league, we finished with less points than last season when we were second, and were fortunate to have the other contenders stumble when it counted.

Still, led by the resurgence of Semler, sudden rise of Bon and Torres and the surprise success of Webb and Terranova, we clearly had a strong side and deserved to succeed. This was probably our best season, and with pretty much all the key players behind this success re-signed, we should have another great season ahead.

[Terk]

\o/ the double \o/

well done, donners

[Donners]

Thanks.

Wrapping it up

On the back of his tremendous Champions Cup and late season performance, I re-signed Nurullo Messner for one more season. Ironically, it appears he will outlast Wai Nikolov, who was supposed to succeed him but is demanding excessive wages after a mediocre season.

I was finally allowed more money to re-sign Chi Yuen Webb, but his demands also went up. I nearly decided to let him go, but eventually signed him on a new 3 year deal with a slight pay rise.

I rejected a job offer from Lazio, the side we defeated in the Champions Cup and set about signing a new batch of 17-year-olds. Midfielder/forward Mohammed Bernal (nine senior games for Dortmund, debuting at 15) was the first to sign, and was followed by strikers Igor Carlos Piccolo and Eroglu Mancino, goalkeeper Mirsad Barsotti and defenders Amir Fiorentini and Shane Cornacchia.

[Donners]

Around the world: major awards and results

Ancona Supporters’ Player of the Year:

Borut Semler

World Player of the Year:

Won-Chul Parisi (Milan)

World Footballer of the year:

Kin Young-Kwang (Sporting)

England:

Arsenal

Spain:

Atlético Madrid

Champions Cup:

Ancona \o/

UEFA Cup:

Real Madrid

2018 FIFA World Cup

Australia (!)

[Donners]

The Transfers

Transfers In

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

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

| 10.7.2017 | Webb, Albert | Free Transfer | Free |

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

| 12.7.2017 | Marini, Solly | Milan | £1M |

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

| 1.8.2017 | Terranova | Celta | Free |

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

| | | | |

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

| | Total | | £1M |

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

Transfers Out

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

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

| 19.6.2017 | Zennaro, Dolvy | Free Transfer | Free |

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

| 19.6.2017 | Conte, Premadasa | Free Transfer | Free |

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

| 19.6.2017 | Martino | Free Transfer | Free |

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

| 19.6.2017 | Liguori, Ho | Free Transfer | Free |

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

| 31.7.2017 | Kunze | Free Transfer | Free |

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

| 1.8.2017 | Lombardi, Olgar | Recreativo | Free |

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

| 1.8.2017 | Cornacchia | Genoa | Free |

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

| 1.8.2017 | Lemée, Gurpreet | Bologna | Free |

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

| 1.8.2017 | Messina | Free Transfer | Free |

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

| 15.8.2017 | Contino, Juan Pablo| Free Transfer | Free |

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

| 10.1.2018 | Bradshaw, Adonay | Aston Villa | £5M |

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

| 11.6.2018 | Bernardini, Yasin | Free Transfer | Free |

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

| | | | |

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

| | Total | | £5M |

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

</pre>

Staff In

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

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

| 5.8.2017 | Villalba, Abdel Karim | Free Transfer | £0 |

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

| | | | |

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

| | Total | | £0 |

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

Very little action in the transfer market, but good results overall. Marini looks to be a waste of £1M, but Webb became arguably the #1 keeper and Terranova was a star. Kunze was the only player to do anything after leaving the club, and Bradshaw played just one game after his £5M move.

[Donners]

Pre-Season 2018/2019

Despite my youth signings over the off-season, we got four new players from the youth academy. As usual, none of them look any good. With £22M TV rights, a £3.7M sponsorship deal and only £575K out to shareholders, our bank balance moved to over £350M. I received a transfer budget of £248M with an expectation of winning the title.

I looked for a few new players, and would have signed German international Bruno Karp were he not a striker. Instead, I grabbed 17-year-old striking prospect Francis Xavier Stéphan, who rejected Arsenal to join us. Speaking of rejection, I turned down a job offer from Sweden. Striker Frank and midfielders Patterson and Ramzi Münch arrived as planned.

Barber, Demetz, Neumayr, Nikolov, Oßwald and Petersen were all released at the expiry of their contracts.

[Guest]

What a great season! well done

KUTGW I really enjoy reading this.

What is your stadium cappacity btw?

[Donners]

Thanks. Stadium capacity is just over 27,000, with around 22,000 seated.

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 |

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

| DC | | Briotti, A | First Team | £10,500 | 31.7.2019 | None | £925K |

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

| DC | | De Bellis, N | First Team | £12,750 | 31.7.2021 | None | £7M |

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

| ML | | Hartwig* | First Team | £35,000 | 31.7.2021 | None | £17M |

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

| FC | Unh | Hoffmann, M* | First Team | £14,500 | 31.7.2019 | None | £11.25M |

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

| MC | | Rasch, A | First Team | £19,500 | 31.7.2019 | None | £10.75M |

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

| FC | | Semler, B* | First Team | £30,000 | 31.7.2019 | None | £1M |

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

| SB2 | | Terranova | First Team | £9,750 | 31.7.2021 | None | £11M |

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

| MR | | Webb, C | First Team | £23,500 | 31.7.2021 | None | £17M |

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

| SB5 | | Balestrieri, A | Rotation | £11,000 | 31.7.2021 | None | £6.5M |

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

| DL | Wnt | Bon, K | Rotation | £5,000 | 31.7.2022 | None | £4.9M |

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

| | Wnt | Chevallereau, M | Rotation | £4,500 | 31.7.2019 | None | £7.25M |

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

| | Unh | D'Alessandro, W | Rotation | £10,000 | 31.7.2019 | None | £2.3M |

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

| SB3 | | Dupuy, S | Rotation | £6,500 | 31.7.2021 | None | £3.2M |

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

| | | Fontana | Rotation | £16,000 | 31.7.2020 | None | £5M |

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

| SB7 | | Frank | Rotation | £11,000 | 31.7.2023 | None | £6.5M |

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

| MC | | Lang, A | Rotation | £8,000 | 31.7.2020 | None | £4.3M |

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

| | Unh | Marini, S | Rotation | £8,500 | 31.7.2020 | None | £2.2M |

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

| DR | | Messner, N | Rotation | £15,000 | 31.7.2019 | None | £275K |

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

| | | Münch, R | Rotation | £7,500 | 31.7.2021 | None | £3.2M |

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

| SB4 | | Patterson | Rotation | £14,000 | 31.7.2021 | None | £7M |

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

| GK | | Tommasi, L | Rotation | £9,500 | 31.7.2020 | None | £1.4M |

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

| SB6 | | Torres, A | Rotation | £2,500 | 31.7.2020 | None | £2.7M |

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

| SB1 | | Webb, A | Rotation | £4,000 | 31.7.2020 | None | £1.7M |

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

| | | Williams, T | Hot Prospect | £850 | 31.7.2019 | None | £1.4M |

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

| | Unh | Izquierdo, S | Youngster | £2,200 | 31.7.2019 | None | £1.8M |

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

| | | | | | | | |

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

</pre>

Total Players: 41

Wage Budget: £2,000,000

Total Weekly Wages at 4/8/18: £296,039

Goalkeepers

Solly Marini [26, GK, ITA – Capped at U21 level] – 1, 6, 0

A big disappointment, letting through eight goals in six games and spending most of the season in the Under-20s. Only the third choice now and may not get a go at all.

Lingjing Tommasi [26, GK, ITA – Capped at U21 level] – 5, 158, 0

A good, solid season from Tommasi, sharing the load evenly with Webb. He should do the same again this season.

Albert Webb [26, GK, ENG] – 1, 24, 0

Seemingly a quite average player, but put in some good performances last season when given the chance. Not quite the #1, but will battle with Tommasi for the honour.

Defenders

Kishore Bon [21, D RL, FRA – 1 U21/0] – 4, 23, 1

Finally found a first team spot after several seasons on loan, and looked quite good. Has pace and remarkable skill, and is signed for four more seasons. May not get a key role with Messner and Briotti still around, but will rotate at the back.

Andrea Briotti [32, Sw/D LC, ITA – 21/0] – 12, 444, 2

A legend of the club, who continues to perform consistently at left back. However, with Bon and Torres able to play on either side of defence, Briotti may be better used in the centre.

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

Wilfrid D’Alessandro [25, D C, ITA – Capped at U21 level] – 2, 32, 1

Looked a bit better in his second season than he did in his first, but still isn’t really good enough to be reliable at the back. In his final year at Ancona.

Nelson De Bellis [21, D RC, ITA – 1/0] – 2, 88, 0

Not quite the star I’d hoped he’d be, but a key figure in our defence. His importance only grows with Briotti and Messner getting on in years and Henning and Nikolov gone.

Syed Dupuy [28, D C, FRA – Capped at U21 level] – 7, 134, 2

Signed for three more seasons and now with a big role to play in the centre of defence. Looked okay in limited chances last season, but now has a bigger responsibility.

Saad Izquierdo [21, D/DM RL, ESP] – 2, 0, 0

After two seasons in the Under-20s, it’s time Izquierdo found a first team spot. He’s quick and good defensively, but has a lot of players to get past.

Nurullo Messner [34, D/DM RC, AUT – 64/5] – 9, 357, 9

Signed for one last season after a great performance in the latter stages of 17/18. This will be a transitional year as Bon, Torres and Izquierdo prepare to take over.

09/10, 10/11, 11/12, 12/13, 14/15, 15/16, 16/17 Serie A Team of the Year, 09/10, 11/12, 12/13, 14/15 Italian Defender of the Year, 10/11, 15/16 Serie A Foreign Player of the Year 3rd placed, 16/17 Serie A Italian Player of the Year

Alexey Torres [20, D/DM RL, GER – 9 U21/1] – 2, 24, 0

A very promising season from the wing back, who has a chance to find a more important role this season. Unlike Bon, he also has the ability to play on the wings, which is useful with Barber gone.

Tak Cheong Williams [20, D C, ENG – 1 U21/0] – 2, 7, 0

Some fairly good signs from Williams in 17/18, looking solid in the Under-20s and doing okay when given a late senior run. Very tall and quick, and should get a go.

Midfielders

Adhemar Balestrieri [22, M RL, ITA – Capped at U21 level] – 2, 43, 2

Continued to look promising last season and with Barber gone, can step up to take over the right wing. However, he will struggle to get ahead of Patterson, and will have to stick to a rotational role.

Manjit Chevallereau [25, F RC, FRA – Capped at U21 level] – 2, 33, 9

A frustrating player – he looks hugely talented, but just can’t perform regularly on the pitch. Has far too much competition to be a forward, so may have to stick with the midfield.

Hartwig [27, F LC, GER – 21/5] – 7, 204, 28

A worldclass forward who had his best season both with Ancona and Germany. Signed with a big wage increase for three seasons and will be a key player on the left wing.

Amit Lang [24, DM C, FRA – Capped at U21 level] – 4, 101, 15

Another player who had his best season at the club, covering well for Rasch and Neumayr. With Oßwald and Neumayr gone, should continue to get a good run.

Ramzi Münch [20, DM C, GER – 2 U21/0]

Supposedly a “wonderkidâ€, but doesn’t really stand out a great deal to me. Spent time at Zaragoza and Juventus before coming here on a free transfer. A bit slow and not especially talented.

Patterson [28, AM/F RLC, ENG – 1/0]

Another new player, but one more likely to be a regular in the first team. Doesn’t have much pace, but is very skilful with the ball. Too small to be a forward, especially with our strength there. Has experience at Leicester, Aston Villa, Hertha BSC and Chelsea with transfer fees as high as £7.25M. Will probably rotate through the midfield.

16/17 Leicester Supporters’ Player of the Year

Alexandre Rasch [26, M C, GER – 16/2] – 5, 153, 9

Missed a lot of last season with injuries and didn’t stand out when in the side. He did at least have a good World Cup, so enters the new season with decent form.

Named in 2018 World Cup Dream Team

Chi Yuen Webb [26, M RLC, ENG – 21/4] – 7, 163, 11

Almost let go after a long contract negotiation, but finally signed for three more seasons. One of our few midfielders with remarkable pace, so may be the best choice for the right wing.

12/13 Italian Young Player of the Year runner-up; Part of World Cup 2014 winners England; 14/15, 16/17 Italian Serie A Team of the Year

Forwards

Fontana [28, S C, ITA – 1/0] – 5, 136, 64

Has been pushed down the list of strikers by Terranova and now Frank, and with Semler still around, will struggle to play a regular role.

Frank [24, S C, GER – Capped at U21 level]

Comes to Ancona with the impressive record of 39 goals in 73 games, not to mention remarkable height and shooting ability. Has already been around for 11 seasons without playing many senior games at Cottbus and 1860 München, but has the skill to get a go at Ancona.

Mohd Nizaruddin Hoffmann [26, S C, GER – 20/7] – 9, 222, 91

Was overshadowed by both Semler and Terranova, but still scored 15 goals. Made a bad mistake in the Champions Cup final but aside from that looked pretty good. In his final contracted season.

16/17 Supporters’ Player of the Year

Borut Semler [33, F RC, SLV – 76/50] – 8, 317, 221

Re-signed against all expectations after a great season in what was supposed to be his final year. Played a key role in both our final league game and the Champions Cup final, proving he can still turn it on in the big games. This will surely be his final season…right?

10/11, 15/16 Serie A Player of the Year 3rd placed; 13/14 Serie A Player of the Year; Serie A leading goalscorer runner-up 10/11; 10/11, 13/14, 17/18 Serie A Team of the Year; 12/13 Serie A Foreign Player of the Year; 12/13, 13/14, 14/15, 15/16, 17/18 Supporters’ Player of the Year

[Terk]

huge congratulations on the Best Southern European Story and Story of the Year awards. I've really been enjoying this and hope it continues for a good while yet