Lower Leagues Rule Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 Wow it looks like the challenge for the completion of the challenge is now coming from all fronts at once. Good luck to all of you as I prepare for work. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
iacovone Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 :( :( Just the most catastrophic disastrous return leg ever. Unbelievable Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rancer890 Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 Unlucky... I've been on both the good side (vs Ajax in Europa League Quarterfinal), and bad side (vs HSV in Europa League Semifinal) of return legs in Europe. Forum jinx lives on. :( Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
iacovone Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 I can't believe it. That's our heaviest defeat all year and I just knew as soon as they scored their first goal we'd lose. Its so so so annoying. Challenge remains incomplete for another year Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lower Leagues Rule Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 My God that is insane...the jinx strikes down one more user in the mission to win a challenge. I can't believe it got to penalties and then one miss was all it took that is disappointing, well hard luck iacovone, must be time to go for the title alone now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
iacovone Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 We drew 0-0 at home to Lecce just before that game. And 0-0 away at Atalanta. I think we take the title by beating Pisa at home (fingers crossed). PLEASE. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lower Leagues Rule Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 You can do it Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
iacovone Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 Yes we can And just like Barca last night, we won it without kicking a ball . Juve failing to win away at AC Milan. Champs we are \o/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lower Leagues Rule Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 Congratulations Iacovone, hard luck with the Champs League, but at least you got a good victory in the League finally repeating your last effort. Edit: You better be happy its my 2400th post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
iacovone Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 Cheers Des Its been a long time coming but we've finally emulated the success of 2022 (6 years ago!). Expect a fairly large end of season report later this evening Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rancer890 Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 Great job iacovone. Couldn't do the double, but winning the league again is a positive sign. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rlipscombe Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 my everyones been bust last couple of days..... iacovone... what can i say? congrats on title but SO unlicky against Napoli. if you can keep the squad together, then surely next season..... Anyway, time to see if Oviedo can win the title... (i fear personaly i've blown it but we shall see ) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rlipscombe Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 Real Oviedo 3-0 Rayo Vallecano Unfortunately Barcelona won 2-0 v Villarreal so status quo. 3 to go. Unforunately Gorrotxategi is out for two weeks and will miss the next match vs Sevilla. Speaking of Sevilla, on the eve of the game they have offered me the managers job..... Sorry, but no thanks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomsmith1989 Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 Congratulations on the league iacovone, but hard luck in the Champions Cup. Looking forward to the report! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rlipscombe Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 Zaragoza 0-3 Barcelona Sevilla 0-3 Real Oviedo 2 to go, and Dixon has found his scoring boots again. going to need them if we stand a chance..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
iacovone Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 Savona End of Season 19 Update (2027/28) Serie A: Predicted Finish: 3rd Actual Finish: 1st|Graph Notes: Looking at the graph it is clear to see our title win came from a sustained surge towards the top. We may not have started fantastically but we were adapting to my latest tactic so that was ok. Once we got into our stride the goals flowed and we genuinely looked far better than any other side in the league. This showed in our encounters against the top 6 sides. We held a P10 W6 D2 L2 against the 5 teams beneath us. Not bad at all. We sealed the title at a canter in the end. Amusingly both Milan sides failed to make the CL next year in what has to be seen as the least successful year for these two great clubs. Juve were resurgent, Napoli remained exceptional but Roma also lost their way a little. Next season shall be very interesting. I will have to deal with a number of want-away stars in the summer. It looks as if Kumar has run his course here and with just a year remaining on his contract will need to be sold. Bertolucci, Quinto, Secco and Maggio are also in the same boat. Though with slightly longer contracts I have a bit more time on my side to look at convincing them to stay. Italian Cup: Quarters (Lost to Lecce on pens) Notes: Fairly disappointing really. Going to aim to do a lot better next year. This penalty loss should have been a sign....avoid pens at all cost in future! Champions League: Semi Finalists (Lost to Napoli - 5-5 on agg, lost on pens) Notes: Dominated our group comfortably against Celtic and Roda JC. R. Madrid were beaten in the Bernabeu but not at home. Zenit were our first knockout opponents - a team we outclassed and sent packing 8-3 on aggregate! In the Quarters we had the satisfaction of soundly beating AC Milan 5-1 on aggregate. The Semi's should have been wrapped up after the first leg, a 4-1 home victory over Napoli. However the lingering away goal proved costly as we were carved open in Naples and taken to penalties. The ref was awful, dishing out a stunning 14 yellows and 1 red, but he can't be blamed. Bertolucci missed the crucial penalty, denying us European glory once again. Napoli went on to beat Roma 1-0 in the final to win the CL for the first time since the Maradona days. Roberto Pecoraro (RB), Emanuele Moroni (LB) and Maurizio Secco (CB) were named in the CL Dream Team. Slightly surprising in that if anything, it was our defence that proved our weak link. End of Season Notes: A glance at our overall season achievements is quite impressive really. CL semis and our 2nd Scudetto. On the face of it, a very successful season. Importantly the squad proved they could handle the number of games that came with successful runs in Europe. In Italy we say goodbye to Bologna, Viterbese and Torino. Bologna end a 6 year stay in the top flight, the other two go straight back down. Coming up to Serie A we have Chievo and two smaller sides, Salernitana and Alessandria. Should be interesting. I also won Manager of the Year. Notable Players: Arjan Gjoni (GK) - So here he is, the young Albanian, slightly odd looking character. He spent 2 'apprentice' years here, playing in the youth team and benching for Liguori, but this year he got the nod and claimed the no.1 jersey for himself. 3rd in Gk of the Year Roberto Pecoraro (RB) - Another solid season from the world's best RB. Played a lot of games but just steadily went about his business. A true Savona star. Maurizio Secco (CB) - Been at the club for 9 years now and one of the best defenders the club has ever seen. Gutted me to hear that he wants to leave now but I'm hoping he can be persuaded to stick around. Scored a phenomenal 12 goals with his head this year. 2nd in Defender of the Year. Tommaso Cilona (CM) - Probably didn't play as many games as usual because of the overflow of classy CMs we have now (Gambini, Ceausu, Cardozo). Nonetheless played very well all year. Alexandru Ceausu (CM) - Highly rated and respected CM and the current captain of Romania. He had an excellent first season for us, so much so that we received bids for him after just 6 months! 2nd in Foreign Player of the Year. Diego Cardozo (AM) - Finally nailed down his place in our starting XI. With Bertolucci moving out wide it left a gap for the creative goalscoring AM. His passing range is incredible and he really does make us tick at times. Giuseppe Quinto (LM) - Classy Messi-like winger who I'm delighted to say has just signed a new long term deal - proof that wantaways can be persuaded to U-turn. Had a mesmeric year from the left flank. Named Italian Player of the Year. Jimmy Blixt (LM/RM) - This season dropped back to our 3rd choice winger, but because he has adapted to play either flank, played a lot of games anyway. Fabio Bertolucci (RM) - Fabio was my player of the year. I finally opted to play him on the wing rather than in CM and he duly rewarded with me with an epic number of assists! Quality season from the flair winger and didn't deserve to be the man that cost us a CL final place. Named Serie A Player of the Year. Michele Badini (ST) - This will be remembered as his breakthrough season. Always had the class and had shown glimpses of his ability but it was only this year that we saw it on a regular basis. Unfortunately he missed the last 10 or so games after he tore his hamstring. Perhaps cost us the CL as Kumar didn't step up to the plate. Ricki Kumar (ST) - Shame it had to end like this really. Gave him his big break in Italy and stuck by him in his first 2 barren years. Came good and now he wants to leave. B*stard. Anyway should be able to get good money for him in the summer. Scored a fair few goals despite his mind not being focussed at the club. Riccardo Rotunno (ST) - Savona legend in the making. This was his 12th year after coming through the academy and without a doubt his best year. Broke our league goals record in a season with 19. I think I've finally found a suitable tactic for this flamboyant front man. Squad Secco, Bertolucci, Quinto and Rotunno made the Serie A Team of the Year. Next Season: Well the key is to win another trophy. Ideally it will be the CL. But I'd actually be just as happy to continue our reign over Italy. Can we win back to back league titles? That could be the toughest test. Main target in the transfer window is to bring in a top top quality LB. Though Moroni has done well, he isn't rated particularly highly and thus I want a new LB . End of Season Further News: My job status is now 'untouchable'. We have 6 players in Italy's Euro 2028 squad (and 3 ex-players ) We are also expanding the Savona Stadium Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
iacovone Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 Good luck rlipscombe - as things stand are you top or 2nd? EDIT: Also thanks for the congratulations/commiserations everyone Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
iacovone Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 Oh. Dear. God. What do I do now!? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lower Leagues Rule Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 Oh. Dear. God.What do I do now!? Haha Good call, maybe he can donate some money to AD Fafe, currently 2million in the dirt with no way out. Haha, you had 19 seasons of it, surely you can survive without the money now, but I would love to see you losing money. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rancer890 Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 The recession is hitting hard in 2028. I don't even need a tycoon and I already have over US$200 million in the bank. EDIT: How dare the Canadian national team drop my son?!?! And England drops Colin Welch as well, 3rd on the La Liga scoring charts... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomsmith1989 Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 Great update iacovone! All your players are brilliant. What are the board expanding your stadium capacity to? Also, shame about the removed financial backing. I've never seen that before. Although, i've never been at a club with a 'mega-rich' chairman. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
iacovone Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 Yeah haha I have been living the dream for 19 years to be fair. He must have pumped close to half a billion I reckon in total. Not too shabby. And yes Des, it would be hilarious for me to start losing money ! I think we're on a firm financial footing now, and the stadium will be around 36000 all seater once its complete \o/. So the great recession of 2028......... to that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomsmith1989 Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 I think we're on a firm financial footing now, and the stadium will be around 36000 all seater once its complete \o/. An 11,953 capacity increase is huge then. Thats great Come to think of it, you must have a relatively small stadimu compared to the top Serie A teams. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
iacovone Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 Yep we do. Or did. It was close to 24k since 2023. Before then we had a measly 5k IIRC stadium. Has to be said that our chairman really has given us a fantastic opportunity to dominate Italy. I wonder how my finances will fluctuate now? Just sold Davide Maggio (RM) for £17m to Chelsea. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rlipscombe Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 Real Oviedo 3-2 Cadiz Barcelona 2-0 Racing Was touch and go for a while. We threw away a 2-goal lead but nicked a winner with 10 mins to go. Barca won fresh from winning the Champions league. Down to final day, Barcelona top on goal difference (3 goal advantage.) Fianl day fixtures: Recreativo (18) v Real Oviedo (2) At. Madrid (5) v Barcelona (1) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
iacovone Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 Wow my guess is this: Recreativo 1-3 Oviedo At Madrid 1-1 Barcelona You are the champs!! (Good luck ) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomsmith1989 Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 Yeah, I like iacovone's predictions. Although it'll probably be 2-0 to you instead of 3-1. Good luck Could I just ask - If I were to develop two tactics (one for home games and one for away games) that were a bit different (home one based around 4-4-2, and the away one based around a 5-3-2), would it have a negative effect due to the constant switching around? I hope that make sense. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
iacovone Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 Fabio Bertolucci won the Fans Player of the Year . Bah! A very rough intake of youth players this season Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
iacovone Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 I see what you're saying Tom, and I'd imagine it probably wouldn't be beneficial. At the minimum it would take longer for them to adapt, if you were to stick with it for a couple of seasons I'm sure your players would be fine. I'm thinking of trying out a 3-5-2 this year actually combined with my 4-4-2. I'll let you know how it goes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomsmith1989 Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 I see what you're saying Tom, and I'd imagine it probably wouldn't be beneficial. At the minimum it would take longer for them to adapt, if you were to stick with it for a couple of seasons I'm sure your players would be fine. I'm thinking of trying out a 3-5-2 this year actually combined with my 4-4-2. I'll let you know how it goes. Hmm. The thing is that my at home my current tactic is working great, but away from home it's just not doing the job at all. To illustrate this here is my home and away record this season: Games Played: 15 Home: W6 D1 L0 F17 A5 Away: W1 D3 L4 F11 A14 It's just a little frustrating. We're currently sitting in 6th, but if our away form was even half of that of our home form we would be in 3rd at least. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lower Leagues Rule Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 Hmm. The thing is that my at home my current tactic is working great, but away from home it's just not doing the job at all. To illustrate this here is my home and away record this season:Games Played: 15 Home: W6 D1 L0 F17 A5 Away: W1 D3 L4 F11 A14 It's just a little frustrating. We're currently sitting in 6th, but if our away form was even half of that of our home form we would be in 3rd at least. I think you have to stick with the same formation, I use a diamond 4-4-2. But when playing away my defensive midfielder is so much more defensive that he basically plays as a third DC and the AMC drops into the MC position most of the time. So using mentality and other sliders you can actually make them sit back a lot more but still keep the same formation, it seems to work, but since 9.3 my away record is a lot worse than prior to that. Rlipscombe: I am sorry I wish you the best of luck, but I don't think that its going to happen, hoping that Barca will let you through is unlikely. Your only real chance would be to hand out a thrashing and I hope that is what happens. AD Fafe: I have nearly finished my Softies update and then I will be into my AD Fafe game. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomsmith1989 Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 I think you have to stick with the same formation, I use a diamond 4-4-2. But when playing away my defensive midfielder is so much more defensive that he basically plays as a third DC and the AMC drops into the MC position most of the time. So using mentality and other sliders you can actually make them sit back a lot more but still keep the same formation, it seems to work, but since 9.3 my away record is a lot worse than prior to that. OK. Thanks for the advice LLR and iacovone. I think what i'm going to do is adapt my current formation to be a little more defensive for away games to try and reduce the amount of goals we conceed. Hopefully it won't put too much strain on my players Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
iacovone Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 Jesus 'the minimum expectation is that the team win the CL'...under pressure.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lower Leagues Rule Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 Jesus 'the minimum expectation is that the team win the CL'...under pressure.... Damn that is really harsh...Do you have to win the Serie A as well? What about the Coppa Italia? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
iacovone Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 Challenge for the title Win the CL Italian Cup - not bothered Italian Super Cup - not bothered Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomsmith1989 Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 Challenge for the titleWin the CL Italian Cup - not bothered Italian Super Cup - not bothered Thats some big pressure. What happens if you get sacked, in terms of the challenge? Not that you will of course This is more of a general question. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
iacovone Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 Well its either start again or take over a newly promoted club! I'd go down the latter route definitely and knock my beloved Savona off the top !! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rlipscombe Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 Recreativo 2-1 Oviedo At Madrid 3-1 Barcelona Absolutely gutted. 85th minute winner for Recreativo robs us of the title. We may never have had a better chance. missed out by two goals. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
iacovone Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 Gutted for you rlipscombe! Can't believe Barca lost too. Did Recreativo stay up because of that win?! What a last day that would be IRL. Unlucky. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaylorB Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 Iacovone's love child - Savona Jnr. - Serie C2 - 2009/2010 A fantastic first season resulting in a safe mid-table spot, far above the media & my prediction. The core of the team was really the midfield; with goals, tackles, assists coming from throughout the midfield. Hopefully with a few good signings I can push on towards promotion. Table Graph Transfers League Position Achievements Serie C2 10th Iacovone's Love Child - Savona Jnr. - Serie C2 - 2010/2011 Well, what can I say? The promotion was breathtaking, but so was the form of our star man Francisco Magnani - signed on a free after he was released on the summer. He went on to terrorize defences across Italy (in C2 ). I have a feeling he could do the same next year hopefully. Table Graph Squad League Position Achievements Serie C2 10th Serie C2 1st Champions Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lower Leagues Rule Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 OMG, that is just hugely unlucky. Rlipscombe, it makes it sooo much worse knowing afterwards that if you had taken the victory or even pushed in a tying goal the title was yours. Hard Luck, hopefully next season is better. I am now going through the huge squad AD Fafe has and looking to who I can cut and who I will keep. Great work Taylor B on the promotion, keep it up and you may be following footsteps to greatness. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaylorB Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 That's harsh rlipscombe! Gutted for you. Hopefully the squad will take this experience and grow from it and win the title next year Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rlipscombe Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 i am gutted. going to cry myself to sleep!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
iacovone Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 TaylorB - two excellent seasons there! Magnani looks superb for that level rlipscombe - this really is a tough challenge! Onto next year Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lower Leagues Rule Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 The challenge is not really as easy as it looked at first, realistically even getting to the top of your own nation is hard. It is not an easy challenge, but interesting to see that there are a few of us all with a chance of cracking that top group in the world. I am currently looking through this very large squad and trying to find my weaknesses. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lower Leagues Rule Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 Keeping the Fafe Getting Reaquainted New Signings These are the signings I have already made to strengthen the club, so I thought I would give a run down on them before I did the squad as a whole. Tom Crawford (USA) DC/DM/MC - The 17 year old is clearly a star for the future, but he is already thought to be good enough to step in already. Being good as cover across the board. He will join AD Fafe on 25/8/2019. Francisco Costa (POR) DL - The 20 year old is another star for the future, but already right behind pants for the position. Good cover, and a leading Liga Sagres Left Back, also means another national player for Europe. He will join us on 01/07/2019. Loukas Filis (GRE) MR - The 19 year old is the future on my right wing, likely to replace Shala in the future, but will be a back-up for this season. Joining on 01/07/2019. Marcel (BRA) ST - The 17 year old striker is coming as a star in a few years time, he is expected to be a leading striker in the future. This season he will become my back-up. Will join AD Fafe on 07/08/2019. Lisandro Juan (ARG) DC/DM/MC - A 19 year old who is able to play all three positions well, he is already considered a good signing, but in the future he should be a leading star. Joining the side on 01/07/2019. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
iacovone Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 Tom Crawford has nearly identical stats that Cilona had when I signed him, potential world beater there Des. The question is...will he leave it all out on the field? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lower Leagues Rule Posted May 17, 2009 Share Posted May 17, 2009 Tom Crawford has nearly identical stats that Cilona had when I signed him, potential world beater there Des. The question is...will he leave it all out on the field? I see him as my favourite of the players, he will probably be a reserve in season one, and then into the starting side after that. Like my background Juan is probably more likely to be a DC instead. EDIT: I have to say it is classic to me that our leading sports story in NZ today is West Brom relegated. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rancer890 Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 Nice group of players, Des, especially the American. Now get some Canadians on the team! I have 3 Americans on my team (albeit one out on loan), and another one on my staff. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lower Leagues Rule Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 My Current 1st XI is...Turkey, Czech Rep, Lithuania, Ukraine, Switzerland, Ivory Coast, Norway, Argentina, Ecuador, Serbia & Spain...How is that for a mix? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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