[FM20][FM21][FM22][FM23] Calcio

[goonergez]

Perugia FC: 2022/23 Mid-Season Report

My third season in charge of this club saw a very busy summer as we looked to build upon a solid 11th placed finish last time around. We lost two key midfielders in the summer, but brought in some players I felt ready to replace them.  After a bright end to last season we had manage to strike a deal with FC Copenhagen to keep striker Mohamed Daramy at the club on loan for this term, and the hope was that he could replicate the form he showed and help us on our way.

We've made ourselves extremely hard to beat, but simply put we've thrown away too many points from winning positions. If we can turn some of those draws into victories between now and the end of the season then we could yet have an extremely successful campaign. Defensively we've been pretty impressive really, and several of the goals we've conceded have come in games that we actually went on to win. Unfortunately at the other end goals have proven a problem again with none of our strikers really stepping up to the plate. Mohamed Daramy has scored just 3 in 17, and fellow summer arrival Christian Tommasini has managed just 4 in his 18. If we could find somebody to regularly find the net I really feel that we could push on. An out and out goal scorer is all that is really lacking from our squad at the moment.

We achieved a little success in the Italian Cup this season as well, before having our run ended by Serie A opposition. First up was Serie C side Mantova at home, and we absolutely dominated proceedings. Somehow the score line was 0-0 after 90 minutes, but two quick goals at the start of extra time saw us through. Next up was an away trip to Salernitana who had been promoted from our division last season. We produced a fantastic display, and were rewarded with a Christian Tommasini goal that saw us progress 1-0. Bologna awaited in the next round, and a decent enough performance left us feeling a little unlucky to be on the end of a 1-3 defeat.

With goal scoring our real issue, the arrival of the January transfer window gave us an opportunity to look at a solution to the problem. Despite spending a fair bit in the summer (and breaking our transfer record twice), the transfer kitty was still pretty impressive and that meant we could look around with ease. I started chasing targets in December during the break for the World Cup, hoping to clinch a deal to go through as the window opened. Initially we were chasing one of two targets, with 26-year old M'Bala Nzola and 25-year old Guiseppe Panico the intended two.
Angolan Nzola looked a difficult deal to complete, but Panico was much more attainable. As we began negotiations the price for both players just seemed to grow and grow though, and eventually reached a level where we would be breaking our transfer record for the third time within six months. That wasn't something I was willing to do. At this stage a new target came in mind though and we moved swiftly to complete a deal.

Spoiler

Claudio Spinelli arrives from fellow Serie B side Crotone in a deal worth £100,000. I couldn't be happier. The Argentine possesses all the qualities I want from a player leading our front line, and I can't wait to throw him in and see how he does. I don't want to put pressure on him, but to be honest we really need him to prove a really good signing. Hopefully he is the man who is going to help take us to higher heights and ambitions over the next few years.

So foundations have been laid for us to potentially go on and enjoy a fantastic campaign. I'm delighted with how difficult we are to beat, but we have to start turning some of the draws into victories. If we can do that then we really could finish very high up this league table. On our day we can compete with absolutely anybody in this division, and I have no doubt that with a few more goals we can enjoy a great future. The arrival of Claudio Spinelli brings with it great excitement, and hopefully he will be the answer to our problems. We're also currently chasing a young wide player, but nothing has been confirmed on that front just yet. The World Cup and winter break means the remainder of the season is jam packed, so hopefully we can build some early momentum when we return to action.

-------------------------------

Honours:

2020/21 Serie C/B Winners

[Jogo Bonito]

Funnily enough, Spinelli was one I checked out for Parma when looking for an Argentine striker to be the new Crespo. I didn't think we was up to Serie A, but for Serie B hopefully he can deliver. You're very hard to beat indeed. I had more defeats than that just in pre-season, including to Perugia! I insisted on two bottles of red from you that day 

 

[Sabine]

 

My Atalanta squad just before 2023.   

Won league and Champions league in first season, and went unbeaten all throughout the second season.  By far one of my favourite ever teams to play with!  Just wish they would hurry up and build a new stadium. 

[Jogo Bonito]

3 hours ago, Sabine said:

My Atalanta squad just before 2023.   

Won league and Champions league in first season, and went unbeaten all throughout the second season.  By far one of my favourite ever teams to play with!  Just wish they would hurry up and build a new stadium. 

What can go wrong if you have Haaland 

[Sabine]

3 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

What can go wrong if you have Haaland 

Cruciates done in after half a year?  

I love him to bits, I don't think I've seen a player dominate so much since the Carlos Fierro and Yaya Sanogo days 

[goonergez]

1 hour ago, Sabine said:

Cruciates done in after half a year?  

I love him to bits, I don't think I've seen a player dominate so much since the Carlos Fierro and Yaya Sanogo days 

As an Arsenal fan Yaya Sanogo is one of my most famed players for being great in game and shocking in really life! Having attended that FA Cup Final against Hull that he somehow managed to earn a start with I could never ever buy him again. Even if he suddenly becomes the new Messi the frustrations I felt at Wembley that day means I could never ever face him again 😂😂😂 Fierro was a boss though!

[PGP]

10 hours ago, Sabine said:

 

My Atalanta squad just before 2023.   

Won league and Champions league in first season, and went unbeaten all throughout the second season.  By far one of my favourite ever teams to play with!  Just wish they would hurry up and build a new stadium. 

Wow! What a squad. I was happy for my squad at Verona but your squad is crazy.

[goonergez]

Perugia FC: 2022/23 Review

After a stop start season with the World Cup and then the winter break, we were due a real jam packed end to the campaign as we looked to build upon a solid first season in Serie B.
When I left you we sat in really good shape and form, climbing the table to sit within reach of the top two spaces and potentially a fight at promotion. The restart saw our season hit the fan though, as form truly deserted us. We were unable to get anywhere near to the level we showed before the two weeks off, and alarmingly fell off the pace quickly. We drew plenty of matches in the opening block of games, but in the second part of the season those draws were becoming defeats and we really slipped down the table badly. I said I wanted us to turn some of those draws into wins, but unfortunately things went the other way for us and we quickly found ourselves hovering down in mid table.

Shockingly we strung together a really fine last five games of the season, including a 4-1 hammering of league winners Genoa on the final day. Three wins in those last five games saw us creep into the play-off spots and earn the opportunity to compete for a real surprise promotion. We entered at the preliminary round of the play-offs, drawn away from home against Pescara. I desperately hoped that our really solid end to the season would set us up nicely for a run through the play-offs. A tough game was expected, despite the fact that our opposition parted company with their manager on the eve of the game. As expected the game was a really tense affair, with chances at a premium. In the end we lost out though, conceding to a fantastic header fifteen minutes from time. A 0-1 score line was devastating but probably deserved in all honesty.

So we picked up one point less than we managed last season, but ended the league campaign four positions higher. It's difficult to analyse this campaign really, as we mixed the really good with the really bad. A few more wins during the opening exchanges may have put us in better place, but the second half of the season was incredibly disappointing. In the end a surprise ending of good form put gloss on what could've been a really disappointing season. It wasn't really that we played particularly badly either, we just struggled to score goals and hence ended up drawing far too many games. I had hoped that January arrival Claudio Spinelli would prove our difference maker, but he didn't hit the heights I had hoped that he would. He chipped in with 5 goals in his 20 appearances, which was acceptable but not outstanding. Defensively we weren't as good as last season, but it's hard to pinpoint any direct issues. Having lost just once in the opening portion of the season, to end with 8 losses is incredibly infuriating for me though.

I was disappointed with the second half of our campaign, but it's difficult to stay to down about it having made the play-offs. I didn't expect it and regardless of the fact we finished one point worse off than last year we finished four positions higher which is fantastic. The first half of the season shows that we can be really competitive, and with the right arrivals in the summer hopefully we can maintain a longer push towards the top end of the league table. It would be nice to take a season long in regards to pushing towards a promotion spot. I did say that i am in this for the long haul though, and I have never really expected us to even be thinking about reaching the top flight at this stage. I guess that shows the levels of progress we've made and how far this team has moved since I took charge. I'm delighted with how a number of our summer signings settled in this season. Having lost two real key members of our midfield it was very pleasing to see how Abdallah Basit and Marco Toscano in particular settled in. January arrival Claudio Spinelli did alright up front too, although we could have done with a few more goals from him.

A number of academy products made debuts for us which again is another pleasing piece of news.  I'm especially excited by 17-year old goalkeeper Dani Valori who slotted in decently during the injury absence of Andrea Fulignati. He is a really talented player, and I think he could enjoy a very long and successful career with us. Mohamed Daramy was a bit of a disappointment though, not impressing anywhere near as much as he did last term. His contract with FC Copenhagen is drawing to a close, but I am still very undecided as to whether to take a punt and try to bring him in. I'll have to assess how the early stages of the transfer window go before making a decision.

--------------------------------------

Honours:

2020/21 Serie C/B Winners

[Jogo Bonito]

1 hour ago, PGP said:

Wow! What a squad. I was happy for my squad at Verona but your squad is crazy.

I've got Ricci in my U20 group at Parma, and Kromar arriving in the summer of 2021. I hope they will both establish themselves for me too.

@goonergezNot a bad season to finish 8th. It's natural to have some highs and lows but next year maybe it will be your time.

I've just updated my Parma story in FMCU - a rocky start doesn't even begin to cover it! But I am hoping to have turned a corner now...

 

[MWE]

Massive 3rd season with Sassuolo

Won the league with 9 defeats at that

[goonergez]

Perugia FC: 2023/24 Preview

We've enjoyed three pretty decent campaigns under my leadership, with promotion followed by two very secure mid-table finishes. We've established ourselves within Serie B now, and in my eyes it is now that we should start looking towards the next step and reaching the top flight. Perugia haven't been in Serie A since they were relegated at the end of the 2003/04 season, and I really hope I am the man who leads them back to a return. To do that though we needed reinforcements. Last summer we lost a couple of key midfield players, but replaced them really well. Defensively we are pretty decent, but up top we lack quality. In my whole time here we've never had a really regular goal scorer up front, if we find that then we may well be able to break clear of the pack. We drew more than half of our league matches last season, and the challenge is to bring in some new faces that can help turn some of those into victories. If we can do that then I am sure we will enjoy a very fruitful campaign.

The board were more than happy with last seasons efforts, although the new club vision laid out sees them demanding more attacking football. I set my team up with a positive mentality and that won't be changing. Hopefully results on the pitch will appease the negativity they feel towards our style.  They presented me with a transfer budget of around £1,700,000 to improve the squad, expecting us to achieve a safe mid-table finish this time around. For me this season is all about progress, and I would love us to put together a push towards the upper positions in the league. With the right additions I was confident we could achieve it as we weren't expected to lose any real key performers this season. A far cry away from the losses of Salvatore Burrai and Christian Kouan last summer.

The summer started with Mohamed Daramy returning to FC Copenhagen at the end of his loan deal. Due to contract expirations senior players Mattia Minesso, Gabriele Angella and Aleandro Rosi all departed the club. The former and latter opted to retire and Rosi stayed at the club to join our under-18s coaching setup. The big sale was of central defender Flippo Sgarbi. He left for Parma in a £2,000,000 deal after making it clear he wanted to leave. We also sold striker Christian Tommasini to Reggina for £170,000 after an average season for us. Also departing for money were Dimitros Sounas to Salernitana for £250,000, Alex Cossalter to Pordenone for £60,000 and midfielder Tom van de Looi to Frosinone for £200,000. We raked in £2,800,000 in fees arming us to attempt an improve the squad.

A couple of our youth prospects departed the club too. Winger Guissepi Raucci was a player I really didn't want to lose, but he decided to leave at the end of his deal here. We offered him a bumper pay rise to try and keep him, but we also can't blame him for wanting to leave to go to Sampdoria. Fellow academy product Tammaro Ferraro was somebody I like initially, but he never really took his chances. For that reason we didn't offer him a new contract here, and he moved to Entella at the end of his existing contract.

Arrival wise we were busy, but without spending ridiculous amounts. Eleven new faces arrived to improve our squad ready for the season. Our most expensive deal was a £200,000 deal we completed for centre back Riccardo Cargnelutti from Modena. Our most exciting arrival was probably Mirko Antonucci, a winger signed from Leece. I had attempted to sign him twice previously, but finally we managed to get a deal done this summer. We had to part with £150,000 for the 24-year old, but he should prove a really strong signing for us. Another exciting signing was 20-year old winger Franco Carbone from SPAL. We parted with £200,000 to secure him but he looks a really promising talent.

Left back Angelo Ndrecka was picked up on a free transfer from Lazio as a long term replacement for Carlo Crialese, and striker Luan Capanni also looks like he will be important for us. The 23-year old Brazilian will slot into our striker position after his arrival from AC Milan on a free. We added depth to our squad with centre back Allesandro Vogliacco (on loan from Atalanta) and wingers Riccardo Ronin (free transfer from AC Milan) and Samuil Berimski (free from Levski Sofia). Finally we added some more options to our squad with free transfer midfielders Enrico di Gesu and Andrea Marcucci. The busiest summer I have led at this side comes to an end, but we're in good shape. We lost a couple of influential players, but I still feel we possess enough quality. Hopefully we can continue to progress and enjoy another successful campaign.

--------------------------------------------

Honours:

2020/21 Serie C/B Winners

Edited February 13, 2021 by goonergez

[Jogo Bonito]

@goonergezA busy summer but you have done well to bring in young players from Serie A clubs on free transfers. I agree with you, if you finally get a reliable goal scorer a promotion is definitely within grasp. Good luck for the new season.

[goonergez]

40 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

@goonergezA busy summer but you have done well to bring in young players from Serie A clubs on free transfers. I agree with you, if you finally get a reliable goal scorer a promotion is definitely within grasp. Good luck for the new season.

Fair to say the season has not gone to plan. 12 games in and just 2 victories see us sat firmly in the relegation zone and in serious trouble already. We’re not scoring goals and none of our summer arrivals have helped on that front. Defensively we are woeful and shipping goals far too regularly. I’m starting to worry about the security of my job at this stage....

[Jogo Bonito]

8 minutes ago, goonergez said:

Fair to say the season has not gone to plan. 12 games in and just 2 victories see us sat firmly in the relegation zone and in serious trouble already. We’re not scoring goals and none of our summer arrivals have helped on that front. Defensively we are woeful and shipping goals far too regularly. I’m starting to worry about the security of my job at this stage....

That is a surprise. Ride it out, hold some team meetings and if in doubt exit and log back in. It's a myth but if I go on a bad run, it always seems to 'break the pattern'. It seems to happen vice versa on good runs too.

[goonergez]

Funny you say that @Jogo Bonito I have literally just rebooted the laptop to try that 😂

[Ewan0404]

22 minutes ago, goonergez said:

Fair to say the season has not gone to plan. 12 games in and just 2 victories see us sat firmly in the relegation zone and in serious trouble already. We’re not scoring goals and none of our summer arrivals have helped on that front. Defensively we are woeful and shipping goals far too regularly. I’m starting to worry about the security of my job at this stage....

How are you lining up this season? 

[goonergez]

9 minutes ago, Ewan0404 said:

How are you lining up this season? 

It’s a 4-1-2-2-1 formation focusing on quick tempo counter attaching football. Win the ball and then play it quickly up the field. I haven’t changed much from when I first joined but for some reason it just isn’t working this time around. I still desperately need a goal scorer, but finding one just hasn’t worked. I’ve tried many different options and none of them have worked so far. I’ve got around a million and a half to spend and may just go all out trying to find one to join in January. 
 

 

[Jogo Bonito]

3 minutes ago, goonergez said:

It’s a 4-1-2-2-1 formation focusing on quick tempo counter attaching football. Win the ball and then play it quickly up the field. I haven’t changed much from when I first joined but for some reason it just isn’t working this time around. I still desperately need a goal scorer, but finding one just hasn’t worked. I’ve tried many different options and none of them have worked so far. I’ve got around a million and a half to spend and may just go all out trying to find one to join in January. 
 

 

Do you have any non-EU slots available?

[Ewan0404]

17 minutes ago, goonergez said:

It’s a 4-1-2-2-1 formation focusing on quick tempo counter attaching football. Win the ball and then play it quickly up the field. I haven’t changed much from when I first joined but for some reason it just isn’t working this time around. I still desperately need a goal scorer, but finding one just hasn’t worked. I’ve tried many different options and none of them have worked so far. I’ve got around a million and a half to spend and may just go all out trying to find one to join in January. 
 

 

I would try a flat 4141 if you have the players for it. 

 

[goonergez]

1 hour ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Do you have any non-EU slots available?

I do indeed. But I have a very minimal Italy only database loaded up. 

[Ewan0404]

1 hour ago, goonergez said:

I do indeed. But I have a very minimal Italy only database loaded up. 

What month are you in and do you have any money to spend? 

[goonergez]

28 minutes ago, Ewan0404 said:

What month are you in and do you have any money to spend? 

 

28 minutes ago, Ewan0404 said:

What month are you in and do you have any money to spend? 

I’m in November of 2023. Yeah, there is about £2m in the kitty, but obviously me reputation isn’t huge. I just need somebody who can bang in regular goals.

I did the reload thing to try and trick some form @Jogo Bonito but have only played one game since. We were unlucky to concede a late goal to settle for a 1-1 draw. Team played much better though. I’ll have a stint tomorrow and see if we can get some form going.

I could probably do with a centre back to come in as well as a proven goal scorer. I’ll look to bring those two positions in when the window opens and then hopefully push on and put some form together to climb back up the table.

[Ewan0404]

24 minutes ago, goonergez said:

 

I’m in November of 2023. Yeah, there is about £2m in the kitty, but obviously me reputation isn’t huge. I just need somebody who can bang in regular goals.

I did the reload thing to try and trick some form @Jogo Bonito

Try and see if you can get Pellegri on a loan to buy if he's still a bit part player at Monaco? 

[goonergez]

Perugia FC: 2023/24 Mid-Season Report

After a very busy summer we headed into our fourth season ready to try and push on from last seasons surprising 8th placed finish. We lost out in the play-off stages, but the fact we even made it that far was pretty impressive during only our second season at this level. We ended up very active in the summer in bringing a new eleven faces into the club. The biggest disappointment was losing last seasons central defensive partnership as Flippo Sgarbi and Valerio Mantovani both departed. I hadn't updated about the latter, but he left on deadline day to join Brescia in a £725,000 deal. It was gutting to lose both of them, but both had made clear that they wanted the opportunity to move on. I'm not going to be a manager who keeps players at the club who don't want to be here.

The less said the better really. We've struggled to pick up victories, although I do feel we should consider ourselves slightly unlucky to be as low down the table as possible. Goal scoring has been our issue really, with none of the strikers chipping in regularly enough. The signs have just started to show a glimmer of improvement though. We've ended this first portion much better and maybe we can start looking at a potential climb up the table in the remainder of the season.

I'm on the hunt for a striker to come in, and we are already in negotiations over two or three different options. As has been the problem since my arrival, if we can bring in a regular goal scorer then I really think we're capable of producing a top half finish. That is near enough the only position this squad is lacking in. I will also be trying to bring in a new central defender as well. The summer arrivals haven't been brilliant, and because Mantovani left so late we were unable to bring in a replacement. Those are the only two positions I am looking to bring in though. Hopefully we will string some form together now and start to climb up the league table. We're so much better than we have shown so far, and i am confident that we can put our early season struggles behind us and ensure we finish well clear of any relegation fears.

---------------------------------------

Honours:

2020/21 Serie C/B Winners

[Jogo Bonito]

@goonergezDefinite signs of improvement, hopefully you can find the right two players to maintain that and maybe sneak a play-off spot again.

I've just updated my Parma career for anyone interested. Link below:

 

Edited February 15, 2021 by Jogo Bonito

[goonergez]

Perugia FC: 2023/24 Review

When I left you we were sat in the bottom half of the season after a really disappointing start to the campaign. We had shown some signs of improvements though, and had enjoyed a sort of revival in the latter stages. The arrival of January gave us the opportunity to strengthen the squad, with a central defender and regular goal scorer the two main targets. We completed a pre-arranged deal for 22-year old goalkeeper Ludovico Gelmi from Atalanta on a free transfer to start the month. The central defender of choice was 23-year old Brazilian Rodrigo Guth who arrived from Entella. The youngster looked a promising snatch and cost us just £100,000. Hopefully he could help shore up a slightly shaky back line. A striker was our priority though, and eventually we whittled it down and completed a signing. We smashed our transfer record by parting with £1,000,000 to sign 21-year old Alberto Cristiano from Catanzaro. The youngster had impressed within our division, and had scored goals fairly regularly in the league below over the last couple of seasons as well.

My scouting team see a really big future for him, and I was delighted to bring him in. At his age he has plenty of time to develop, and he should go on to be a real big performer for this side over the next few years. Our outgoings were fairly non eventful, with only a couple of younger players departing on free transfers to lower league sides.

Our return to action after the winter break saw an immediate improvement as we looked to put right the wrong of the first chunk of the season. Having won back to back games before the break we added another six wins and a couple of draws to take an unbeaten run of ten matches. A disappointing 0-3 defeat to Reggina ended that run, but we had shuffled ourselves right back into play-off contention. The arrival of centre back Rodrigo Guth certainly shored us up at the back, and Alberto Cristiano impressed after his mega move too. He went on to score 9 goals in 17 games as we took a difficult season all the way.

To finish as high up the table as we did is a real testament to our second portion performances and gives us some real positivity. The January arrivals made a huge difference to us, and it gives us something to work with going forwards. We actually ended up finishing the season with more points than in either of our two previous campaigns, despite the really poor start. Another 8th placed finish was nothing to sniff at and gave us another shot at the play-offs. Unfortunately we yet again fell at the first hurdle. The absence of Alessandro Vogliacco to suspension costing us as we shipped goals in a disappointing 2-4 defeat away to Bari. Disappointingly we lost winger slash striker Luan Capanni to Brazil with just seven matches of the season left. He had impressed with 11 goals in 26 appearances, but Fluminense paid his release clause of £2,300,000 to snatch him from us.

The Italian Cup didn't prove so successful for us this season, as we crashed out of it early on. An extra time goal from Claudio Spinelli saw off a spirited Palermo side 2-1 at home, before we lost out 0-1 to Parma away in the Second Round of qualifying. Nothing to be ashamed off, but disappointing none the less.

Overall I have to look at the season as a success despite the poor start. At the winter break I never expected us to finish as high as we did, let alone with more points than in both of our previous campaigns at this level.  Our good form seemed to arrive with a couple of personnel changes. Right back Tommasco Cancelotti came in for Mario Ierardi and Luan Capanni was shuffled out to the left wing. Cappani started popping up with goals and that seemed to really help us on our way. Our season didn't go the way I had planned, but at least we finished it strongly and showed some fight. Losing in the play-offs again is hard to take, but after the start we had it was a bit of a free pass really. In fact at one stage I was very close to being sacked from my position, so anything after that was a real bonus. Hopefully we can make some solid improvements to our squad, and come back better than ever next time around.

-----------------------------------------

Honours:

2020/21 Serie C/B Winners

[Jogo Bonito]

Nice recovery there, definitely reasons to be hopeful next year. The new striker looks good so well played on that one. Next year my friend 

[goonergez]

Perugia FC: 2024/25 Season Preview

Last season turned out to be a campaign of two halves, as we put aside a poor start to finish strongly and clinch a second straight 8th placed finish. The form showed over the second half of the campaign was very strong and left me pondering what we actually needed in order to improve ahead of this campaign. I decided that in honesty probably not much. The arrivals of centre back Rodrigo Guth and striker Adriano Cristiano in January certainly helped and meant that I felt we had nearly a complete team. A couple of new faces would be targeted but definitely nothing drastic. I decided that bringing in eleven new faces last summer probably didn't help the squad to settle early doors last season and probably played a big part in our weak beginning. This summer I would try to keep things a little simpler, despite the board throwing a £4,000,000 transfer budget in my direction. In the end we enjoyed a relatively quiet summer as there weren't too many arrivals or departures in the transfer market.

I didn't want us to lose too many guys over the summer, and we actually did a pretty good job of keeping hold of much of our squad. We spent a lot of the summer rebuffing approaches and bids for first choice goalkeeper Andrea Fulignati from Serie A sides. Newly promoted Empoli were the most persistent, but thankfully we managed to keep hold of him. We could have picked up a fee between £2,000,000-3,000,000 for him, but money isn't really an issue for us and it would've hurt us too much to lose him from our squad. We also faced a fight to keep hold of backup striker and winger Riccardo Tonin. So far nobody has matched our valuation for him, although I do expect him to depart before the transfer window closes.

A few players left at the end of their contracts with us, although none of them were regulars last season. Veteran winger Marcello Falzerano was probably the most high profile of those to depart. Young centre back Nello D'Onofrio was another, as was £100,000 signing from last summer Riccardo Cargnelutti after a real disappointing spell here. The defender made a handful of error strewn performances at the beginning of the season before being cast aside for the rest of the campaign. Claudio Spinelli had joined us with our hopes of being a real key performer and never really lived up to the billing. He grabbed 10 league goals for us across 41 appearances, hence no fight being put up when Lanus tabled a contract offer for him. Central midfielder Andrea Marcucci was sold on to Piacenza after just a one season spell with us. We picked him up from Reggina last summer, but he made just seven appearances for us and I decided to take the money and let him leave. Young winger Marian Ahmann is a real bright talent, but not quite at first team level for us yet. He heads away on loan for the season to recently relegated Chievo. I don't expect him to feature much for them, but it may help him develop to be surrounded by a number of ex-Serie A players. The rest of the departures were young prospects who were not close to getting a look in at first team action with us and so I allowed them to leave.

Arrival wise we kept things simple this time around, bringing in just four new faces and filling the spots I felt needed filling. This summer was more about adding depth than real first team quality, and I feel like we managed that really well.

Not included above was possibly the most important deal that we actually completed, organising an extension to the loan deal for Alessandro Vogliacco from Atalanta. He was a superb performer for us last season, and formed a really good partnership with January arrival Rodrigo Guth. Keeping him here was important to our plans, and thankfully we managed to get it done. A pre-arranged deal for 18-year old French centre back Jeremy Joly went through without any hitches, as we signed him at the end of his contract with Stade Reims of the French top flight. Despite his age, Joly made 87 league appearances for them, and so already possesses some experience of competitive football. We had to fight off a lot of interest from top flight teams across Europe, but I am delighted to bring him in. He will offer some valuable cover to our defensive line, and should develop into a very tidy player indeed. Another free transfer was completed as we snapped up 27-year old central midfielder Joseph Minala from Ascoli. The Cameroonian international (he has 10 international caps) made 35 league appearances within our division for Ascoli last season, and brings with him a real hard working and tenacious attitude. Having lost Spinelli and Luan Capanni in quick succession we needed another option up front, so moved for Kevin Cannavo from Empoli. The 24-year old has never been a regular for them, but has goals everywhere he has been. Hopefully he can provide a capable backup for us having signed
for a £400,000 fee. The money spent was much more than I would've hoped, but we've picked up a really good player and another goal scoring option. For a team that has struggled to score goals his arrival can only be a positive for us.

We finished our summer activities with the signing of 17-year old central midfielder Djibril M'Heimar from Cosenza. A very raw talent, the Mauritian youngster looks to possess plenty of quality. Hopefully we can develop him into a really top player here with us over the next few years.

The board here are after a top half finish this season, although personally I would like more than that. Another crack at the play-offs should be a minimum for us really, and we should be aiming higher than that. I'd like us to pick up a new high finish, and preferably take a charge at promotion long into the season. If we can show some of the form we finished last season with then we shouldn't have any problems really. Hopefully that is exactly what will happen over the coming months.

----------------------------------------

Honours:

2020/21 Serie C/B Winners

[goonergez]

Perugia: 2024/25 Squad Overview

As we are about to enter my fifth season in charge of this club, I thought it may be nice to just give you a little information on the squad we're taking with us. Hopefully this will be a campaign in which we push towards the upper parts of the league table, and so here is the first team squad we take in with us to our fourth Serie B campaign. I've included the player ages as well as league appearances and goals for Perugia in brackets.

Andrea Fulignati 29yo (145apps): At the club since my arrival, after a solid first season we moved to snap him up on a free transfer from Ascoli and he’s been number one ever since. Rarely makes an error and ensures our back line has a solid goalkeeper behind them at all times.

Ludovico Gelmi 23yo: Young stopper singed in January on a free transfer from Atalanta. Promising young talent with a big future. Currently third choice keeper here.

Dani Valori 18yo (8apps): The young goalkeeper came through the youth ranks here and is probably the most promising player to come out of our system since I arrived at the club. Current number two who has impressed during a few games over the past couple of seasons. Will be long term replacement for Fulignati.

Alessandro Vogliacco 25yo (35apps 2gls): Central defender who spent last season on loan from Atalanta. Impressed so much that we moved quickly to snap him up again for this coming campaign. Price is too high to bring in on a permanent deal right now, but he really is integral to our defensive line.

Mauro Ierardi 26yo (58apps): Right back arrived on a free transfer from Vicenza of the league below and has never looked back. Initially signed as cover he’s gone on to be a regular in the match day squad.

Rodrigo Guth 23yo (16apps): Brazilian centre back signed for £100,000 from Entella back in January. His arrival prompted a much more solidified defensive line and he will be a key figure for us moving forwards.

Ettiene Marius Catena 20yo (7apps): Young central defender picked up last summer after his release by AC Milan. The youngster has some significant potential but at the moment is merely a cover option for us. Attracting interest from elsewhere, and may be shifted on in order to raise some funds as he isn't breaking into the first team just yet.

Jeremy Joly 18yo: Young French centre back signed on a free transfer from Stade Reims in his homeland. The talented youngster was targeted by a host of top flight sides across Europe but chose to join us instead. Very exciting prospect who will immediately be on the cusp of our starting line up.

Tomasco Cancelotti 32yo (76apps 5gls): Right back who just can’t be kept out of the side. An attacking full back who finds the net regularly, he’s a great option to have. Spent a year away on loan two seasons ago before returning as a key starter in our side at the end of last season.

James Guidi 18yo (1app): Another product of the youth system here, although he hasn’t featured much so far for the first team. Predominantly a right back, his versatility means he could also be used at the heart of the defence. 

Carlo Crialese 31yo (134apps 4gls): Left back who was at the club upon my arrival on loan. After impressing he was signed on loan for a second campaign before joining permanently the following summer. In and out of the side now but has been a regular throughout our match day squads.

Angelo Ndrecka 22yo (32apps): Exciting left back picked up after his release from Napoli. Rotates in the first team with Crialese but looks a great long term option for us.

Marco Toscano 26yo (76apps 9gls): Picked up on a free transfer from Entella two summers back Marco has lodged himself firmly in the sides holding midfield role. A fantastic player with a great ability to strike a free kick or penalty. Initially signed to be a hopeful replacement for Christian Kouan, Toscano has possibly proven himself to be even better in that position.

Djibril M'Heimar 17yo: A summer arrival from Cosenza, the young Mauritian central midfielder looks a fantastic prospect. A fee of £200,000 was parted with to bring him into the club, but he looks a phenomenal young prospect who will be straight in with the first team squad. A lack of work rate is a worry, but creatively and technically he looks a real talent.

Abdallah Basit 24yo (71apps 5gls): Young Ghanaian central midfielder who was signed as more of a prospect but has gone on to become a really key component within our midfield. Long term he could form himself a place as a real club legend here.

Enrico de Gesu: 22yo (17apps 1gl): Young central midfield player full of talent who was signed on a free transfer after being on the books with AC Milan. Long term he looks a really promising player. Currently very much on the cusp of a starting berth but being kept out the side by Dragomir and Basit.

Vlad Dragomir 25yo (200apps 16gls): The former Arsenal youngster, Romanian Dragomir is a key player within our side. Full of hard work and creativity he’s a regular and has also managed to pick up INSERT international caps for his nation. Most appearances of anyone within our squad, Vlad is a club legend in the making for sure.

Joseph Minala 27yo: Solid central midfielder picked up this summer on a free transfer from Ascoli. Looks a more than capable backup option within the heart of our team.

Marian Ahmann 17yo (1app): Young German winger with bags of potential, Marian came through the youth ranks here and looks to have a really long future with the club. Will spend this coming campaign on loan with Chievo.

Mirko Antonucci 25yo (26apps 1gl): Young winger who signed last summer from Leece in a £150,000 deal. We didn’t see the best of him last season, but hopes are high for a big future with the club. A player I tried to sign twice before finally clinching his signature.

Franco Carboni 21yo (35apps 3gls): The young winger was signed last summer from SPAL in a £200,000 deal. Full of potential we saw little glimpses last season, but hopefully he will develop into a real key player here.

Marko Jankovic 28yo (57apps 8gls): Montenegrin international winger with bags of creativity and an eye for goal. The experience he brings the side is huge when paired with the other young wingers we possess.

Alberto Cristiano 21yo (17apps 9gls): A club record fee was paid to Catanzaro as we completed a £1,000,000 move for the young striker back in January. He’s showed his talent already and a lot is riding on him finding goals regularly for us.

Samuil Berinski 21yo: Young winger signed last summer from Levski Sofia on a free transfer. He’s in and around the first team squad but hasn’t so far developed as much as we had hoped.

Riccardo Tonin 23yo (22apps 8gls): Young winger who can also play up top, we snapped him up on a free transfer from Roma last summer. Bags of potential, but attracting interest from a number of Serie A clubs already.

Kevin Cannavo 24yo: Promising young striker signed this summer from Empoli in a £400,000 deal. Will provide a backup option to Cristiano whilst he develops his game here. 

Francesco Maisto 20yo (5apps 1gl): Another product of our academy, Maisto looks a real talent. A young striker who bagged 13 goals last season on loan at non-league Aglianese and will probably head out on loan again this season.

------------------------------------

Honours:

2020/21 Serie C/B Winners

 

[Jogo Bonito]

@goonergezTwo more cracking updates and I especially like the squad review. Great stuff 

[goonergez]

7 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Nice recovery there, definitely reasons to be hopeful next year. The new striker looks good so well played on that one. Next year my friend 

it definitely isn’t proving to be our year. Approaching the twenty game mark and we’re firmly stacked in the bottom half of the table. Things just aren’t quite clicking and I’m struggling to pinpoint where. Striker Alberto Cristiano has gone quiet which certainly isn’t helping, but we’re going to need one hell of a second half to the season to get anywhere near the top spots in the league.

[Jogo Bonito]

Ah Gez, what a tale of woe. Come on man, sort it out 

Time for a tactic or formation change? 

[goonergez]

I don’t know what it is but I just can’t quite make the step up on this years edition of the game. I have tried to tweak my tactic and formation and it hasn’t made much different. We are creating changes and more of them that our opposition, but keep losing out 0-1 or 1-2. It’s very disappointing. The January window is about to open and I’m looking to upgrade one of our wingers. Hopefully that’ll help to pick things up. Update will be up later today

[Ewan0404]

3 hours ago, goonergez said:

I don’t know what it is but I just can’t quite make the step up on this years edition of the game. I have tried to tweak my tactic and formation and it hasn’t made much different. We are creating changes and more of them that our opposition, but keep losing out 0-1 or 1-2. It’s very disappointing. The January window is about to open and I’m looking to upgrade one of our wingers. Hopefully that’ll help to pick things up. Update will be up later today

What is the table looking like just now? 

[goonergez]

7 minutes ago, Ewan0404 said:

What is the table looking like just now? 

I’m not at my screen but I’m down in about 12th after 20ish games. About 11 points adrift of the top two spots. It’s not catastrophic but we’re in poor form and dropping rather than climbing.

[goonergez]

Perugia FC: 2024/25 Mid-Season Report

After enjoying a fairly quiet summer we entered our fourth campaign at this level full of hope for what lie ahead. We had brought in just four players after a fantastic end to last season, and managed to keep hold of basically all of our important squad members. Hopes were high around the club, and initially it looked like we were in for a very impressive campaign. One defeat in the opening five games handed us a strong start, before the wheels really came off. Suddenly the wins were turning into draws and the narrow and tight games started to slip away from us. The defeats started to rack up, and the pressure really started to build on both the team and myself. We enter the mid-season winter break on the back of two consecutive victories, but still a way short of where we wanted to be.

As always seems to be the case, scoring goals has been a real problem for us. Summer arrival Kevin Cannavo has done nothing, and lead man Alberto Cristiano has managed just 7 league goals after a strong start to the season tailed off. Defensively we haven't been at our best, although Jeremy Joly has now started to establish himself as a key part of our defence. In all honesty our best performer has probably been goalkeeper Andrea Fulginati who has consistently kept us in games that we probably shouldn't have been in. The most frustrating thing is that the majority of the games we have lost have been by the odd goal. If we can put the ball in the net more then we will really climb up the table quickly. The Italian Cup was yet again unimpressive, although we did smash Sudtirol 5-2 at home in the opening game. Unfortunately despite a brave and courageous effort we lost out 1-2 at Udinese to a late goal.

This season really has been incredibly frustrating for me as manager. We have kept ourselves in so many matches, and if we could put the ball in the net on a more regular basis then I really do think we could push on towards the promotion places. We create plenty of chances, we are just to wasteful when we get them. Hopefully we can put that right during the remainder of the season and push ourselves up the table. If we can start to win games on a consistent basis we really will climb up the table quickly. We are a much better side that we've shown so far, and hopefully we can show that over the rest of the season.

---------------------------------------

Honours:

2020/21 Serie C/B Winners

[Ewan0404]

18 minutes ago, goonergez said:

Perugia FC: 2024/25 Mid-Season Report

After enjoying a fairly quiet summer we entered our fourth campaign at this level full of hope for what lie ahead. We had brought in just four players after a fantastic end to last season, and managed to keep hold of basically all of our important squad members. Hopes were high around the club, and initially it looked like we were in for a very impressive campaign. One defeat in the opening five games handed us a strong start, before the wheels really came off. Suddenly the wins were turning into draws and the narrow and tight games started to slip away from us. The defeats started to rack up, and the pressure really started to build on both the team and myself. We enter the mid-season winter break on the back of two consecutive victories, but still a way short of where we wanted to be.

As always seems to be the case, scoring goals has been a real problem for us. Summer arrival Kevin Cannavo has done nothing, and lead man Alberto Cristiano has managed just 7 league goals after a strong start to the season tailed off. Defensively we haven't been at our best, although Jeremy Joly has now started to establish himself as a key part of our defence. In all honesty our best performer has probably been goalkeeper Andrea Fulginati who has consistently kept us in games that we probably shouldn't have been in. The most frustrating thing is that the majority of the games we have lost have been by the odd goal. If we can put the ball in the net more then we will really climb up the table quickly. The Italian Cup was yet again unimpressive, although we did smash Sudtirol 5-2 at home in the opening game. Unfortunately despite a brave and courageous effort we lost out 1-2 at Udinese to a late goal.

This season really has been incredibly frustrating for me as manager. We have kept ourselves in so many matches, and if we could put the ball in the net on a more regular basis then I really do think we could push on towards the promotion places. We create plenty of chances, we are just to wasteful when we get them. Hopefully we can put that right during the remainder of the season and push ourselves up the table. If we can start to win games on a consistent basis we really will climb up the table quickly. We are a much better side that we've shown so far, and hopefully we can show that over the rest of the season.

---------------------------------------

Honours:

2020/21 Serie C/B Winners

If you can find a bit of form soon you should make the playoffs hopefully. 

How do they work in Serie B again? Am I right in thinking it depends on points off third etc? 

Playoff formatEdit

A new playoff format^[2] changes the number of playoff participants from four (third through sixth place) to a variable-size playoff including up to six teams (third through eighth place). Qualifying teams must finish the season within a "playoff margin" of 14 points from the third place team. Similar to previous seasons, if the third-place team finishes 10 or more points above the fourth place team, no playoffs will be held.

Edited February 16, 2021 by Ewan0404

[Jogo Bonito]

@goonergezI wish I could recommend that striker to you, but it's impossible to come up with names for the 2024/25 season. You're really still very much capable of a PO spot or maybe even better though.

[goonergez]

Perugia FC: 2024/25 Review

I left you as we entered the mid-season winter break, and sat in a far from ideal position within mid-table. A strong start had given way, although we ended the section of the season with a pair of wins to move us up a few places and into 10th place. The month of January brought with it the opening of the transfer window, although we didn't actually conduct very much business at all. We spent much of the month fighting off advances for goalkeeper Andrea Fulignati and striker Alberto Cristiano, eventually managing to keep both of them with the club. We raised some significant funds in selling on 19-year old winger Simone Corrardi to Ascoli. The youngster was promising, but hadn't got near to our first team yet and so I decided to cash in and take a £600,000 offer for him. On deadline day we raised another £500,000 selling on summer arrival Joseph Minala to Crotone. The holding midfielder had only made four league appearances for us, and so taking the money was a very easy decision. We nearly completed a sensational piece of business as the window opened, but narrowly missed out to Napoli. 18-year old winger Thiago was a free agent after being released by Internacional of his home land, but the Brazilian eventually rejected us to join Napoli. He would've been a truly sensational signing for us but alas it wasn't to be. Arrival wise we did manage to bring in a winger though as 25-year old Matteo Della Morte arrived from Pro Vercelli. He had impressed this season in the league below, so we moved to sign him on a £70,000 deal.

On the field we returned to action seemingly with the mindset of being entertaining. Goals were going in regularly at both ends of the pitch, although in the early stages we tended to be the beneficiaries more often than not. Form was mixed, but we were suddenly winning a few more on more regular occasions. After an inconsistent start we begun to find some form, and just one defeat in our last twelve matches saw us climb steadily back into play-off contention. We went into the final day of the season needing to better the result of Ascoli to creep into 8th and that final spot in the post season.

Spoiler

Thankfully we did it, but it wasn't all plain sailing. We were tied 1-1 away at Padova until the 94th minute when Alberto Cristiano continued a fantastic run of form to steal the win. That victory coupled with a draw for Ascoli meant we jumped over them to clinch that final play-off berth. We were drawn away against Crotone in the preliminary round, after a third consecutive 8th placed finish. Our end of season form gave me confidence, but at the same time our two previous play-off efforts had resulted in first game disappointments. We dominated the game, but lo and behold were undone. Despite having more attempts and a higher xG rating we lost out to a really unlucky own goal to suffer a 0-1 defeat.

I am truly gutted to miss out in the play-offs yet again. Three seasons in a row we've scrambled in with an 8th placed finish, and three seasons in a row all of our hard work has come undone in the very first game. Our form over the end of the season really deserved more and a barrage of injuries certainly didn't help us. We were missing both of our first choice wingers as well as holding midfielder Marco Toscano to suspension. It was gutting to miss out, and its going to take some to pick me up after that. The turning point for our season was when Alberto Cristiano started to find the net on a regular basis. He ended the league campaign with 19 goals, and has definitely started to pay back some of that £1,000,000 fee we handed over to secure him. Hopefully he can carry that on with him into next season where I want us to really push on.

The last two seasons have seen us start the campaign really badly and then battle back to secure our objectives. This coming season I want us to be competitive throughout and push higher up the table. I want us to have a real go at trying to gain promotion. Four seasons at this level is positive, but now is the time to start looking forwards. It looks like a holding midfielder will be my priority this summer, as Marco Toscano looks to have played his last game for the club. He's going to be a huge loss for us, and finding a replacement is pivotal to our future. I also want a new winger and possibly a backup striker to Cristiano. It could be a busy one for us as we look to move onwards and upwards after yet more play-off heartbreak.

---------------------------------

Honours:

2020/21 Serie C/B Winners

[Ewan0404]

55 minutes ago, goonergez said:

Perugia FC: 2024/25 Review

I left you as we entered the mid-season winter break, and sat in a far from ideal position within mid-table. A strong start had given way, although we ended the section of the season with a pair of wins to move us up a few places and into 10th place. The month of January brought with it the opening of the transfer window, although we didn't actually conduct very much business at all. We spent much of the month fighting off advances for goalkeeper Andrea Fulignati and striker Alberto Cristiano, eventually managing to keep both of them with the club. We raised some significant funds in selling on 19-year old winger Simone Corrardi to Ascoli. The youngster was promising, but hadn't got near to our first team yet and so I decided to cash in and take a £600,000 offer for him. On deadline day we raised another £500,000 selling on summer arrival Joseph Minala to Crotone. The holding midfielder had only made four league appearances for us, and so taking the money was a very easy decision. We nearly completed a sensational piece of business as the window opened, but narrowly missed out to Napoli. 18-year old winger Thiago was a free agent after being released by Internacional of his home land, but the Brazilian eventually rejected us to join Napoli. He would've been a truly sensational signing for us but alas it wasn't to be. Arrival wise we did manage to bring in a winger though as 25-year old Matteo Della Morte arrived from Pro Vercelli. He had impressed this season in the league below, so we moved to sign him on a £70,000 deal.

On the field we returned to action seemingly with the mindset of being entertaining. Goals were going in regularly at both ends of the pitch, although in the early stages we tended to be the beneficiaries more often than not. Form was mixed, but we were suddenly winning a few more on more regular occasions. After an inconsistent start we begun to find some form, and just one defeat in our last twelve matches saw us climb steadily back into play-off contention. We went into the final day of the season needing to better the result of Ascoli to creep into 8th and that final spot in the post season.

  Hide contents

Thankfully we did it, but it wasn't all plain sailing. We were tied 1-1 away at Padova until the 94th minute when Alberto Cristiano continued a fantastic run of form to steal the win. That victory coupled with a draw for Ascoli meant we jumped over them to clinch that final play-off berth. We were drawn away against Crotone in the preliminary round, after a third consecutive 8th placed finish. Our end of season form gave me confidence, but at the same time our two previous play-off efforts had resulted in first game disappointments. We dominated the game, but lo and behold were undone. Despite having more attempts and a higher xG rating we lost out to a really unlucky own goal to suffer a 0-1 defeat.

I am truly gutted to miss out in the play-offs yet again. Three seasons in a row we've scrambled in with an 8th placed finish, and three seasons in a row all of our hard work has come undone in the very first game. Our form over the end of the season really deserved more and a barrage of injuries certainly didn't help us. We were missing both of our first choice wingers as well as holding midfielder Marco Toscano to suspension. It was gutting to miss out, and its going to take some to pick me up after that. The turning point for our season was when Alberto Cristiano started to find the net on a regular basis. He ended the league campaign with 19 goals, and has definitely started to pay back some of that £1,000,000 fee we handed over to secure him. Hopefully he can carry that on with him into next season where I want us to really push on.

The last two seasons have seen us start the campaign really badly and then battle back to secure our objectives. This coming season I want us to be competitive throughout and push higher up the table. I want us to have a real go at trying to gain promotion. Four seasons at this level is positive, but now is the time to start looking forwards. It looks like a holding midfielder will be my priority this summer, as Marco Toscano looks to have played his last game for the club. He's going to be a huge loss for us, and finding a replacement is pivotal to our future. I also want a new winger and possibly a backup striker to Cristiano. It could be a busy one for us as we look to move onwards and upwards after yet more play-off heartbreak.

---------------------------------

Honours:

2020/21 Serie C/B Winners

A good end to the season to get back into the playoffs but it's gutting to miss out. 

Hopefully this season you can start strongly and build a good base to work from pointwise. 

[goonergez]

Perugia FC: 2025/26 Season Preview

We endured another season of two halves last year, eventually clinching an 8th placed finish before losing out in the play-offs again. That's now three straight 8th placed finishes and we are still to win a game in the play-offs in that time. This most recent one was definitely the most disappointing, as we had finished the league campaign in sensational form. Alberto Cristiano was finding the net regularly, and defensively we were very solid indeed. An unfortunate own goal cost us in the play-offs though, and meant we have to prepare for a fifth campaign within Serie B.
For me now this season has become a pivotal one. I want to start taking this team forward, and this coming campaign becomes an important one. The summer was all about bringing in the right signings so that we could look forward and begin to think about making it into Serie A, the top flight.

Pleasingly the board are now showing similar levels of ambition to me. Long term they now have one eye on promotion, and for this coming campaign they want another top half finish in the league. They presented me a mightily impressive £3,500,000 transfer budget to improve the squad although I personally feel we are already playing at that sort of level anyway. I didn't plan on making big changes to the squad this summer, and focused primarily on keeping as many of our key players as possible. I would try to shift on a few of the more disappointing fringe players to raise funds, but had no plans to allow any real key performers to depart.

The big priority was to try and keep hold of holding midfielder Marco Toscano after another impressive campaign. He's won the award for Serie B best midfielder for the past two seasons, but was approaching the end of his contract with the club. Unfortunately we just couldn't get him to discuss terms on a new deal with us, and so he departed the club at the end of his deal here. His departure was hugely disappointing, and made finding a replacement for him a real priority. Veteran and long term defenders Carlo Crialese and Tommasco Cancelloti were both allowed to leave at the expiration of their contracts here too as was young striker Francesco Maisto who hadn't developed as much as I had hoped. Our big sale of the summer was backup striker Kevin Cannavo joining Entella in a £500,000 deal. We made a profit on him despite the fact he found the net just the once in 22 appearances last season, failing to impress at all. After a disappointing spell with the club we also decided to cash in on winger Mirko Antonucci. We again made a profit on him but he really disappointed whilst at the club. Especially so considering I tried to sign him on two occasions prior to us actually securing him. A number of youngsters departed the club on free transfers having failed to make the grade here. The only disappointing one was to lose winger Marian Ahmann to Atalanta. He enjoyed a pretty good loan deal with Chievo last season, but left at the end of his contract with us.

Our first business was exactly the same as it was last season, as we extended the loan deal of central defender Alessandro Vogliacco from Atalanta for a third successive season. He's been a mainstay of our back line since arriving, and I had no intentions of letting him depart. Thankfully his club agreed to allow us to keep him here for a third season. Our biggest summer outlay was on a deal we had completed back in January. 22-year old winger Mohammed Sarr agreed to join the club in a £800,000 deal from Bologna to add some significant quality to our ranks. He enjoyed a fantastic campaign on loan at Pescara last season scoring a host of goals, and looks a real top quality signing. I'm expecting big things from him, and am keen to see him in the red shirt of Perugia. After that it was a case of trying to add some depth to our first team squad. A replacement for Marco Toscano was a priority, but finding one actually proved considerably difficult. In the end we secured the signing of 30-year old Jacopo Petriccione after his release from newly promoted Brescia. He enjoyed a fantastic campaign for them as they won promotion from Serie B last season, and will now arrive to try and fill the gap left by the exit of Toscano. He looks really good for us, and should fit in almost seemingly to our system.

Defensively we needed backup in either full back position after allowing both Cancelloti and Crialese to leave the club. We killed two birds with one stone by signing versatile option
Daniele Magliocca. We paid Brescia a fee of £150,000 for the 22-year old, and he will play a key role for our squad as he can play on either side of the defence. Promising central defender Mariano Mulas was another addition for us, as we snapped him up at the end of his contract with Cagliari. The 20-year old looks a real promising talent for the future, and may well be a part of some match day squads from an early stage. The sale of Cannavo meant we needed a backup striker for Alberto Cristiano, and we found it with the signing of 25-year old Fabian Pavone.
At just £40,000 there is no risk in the deal, and I was delighted to seal his services from Benevento.

A pretty successful summer for us really, although losing Marco Toscano really is a big blow to us. Keeping hold of goalkeeper Andrea Fulignati and striker Alberto Cristiano were priorities though and we managed to do exactly that.  I was somewhat surprised to keep hold of our number one goalkeeper actually, as he turned down several opportunities to leave the club. The board accepted a number of deals for him over my head, with the biggest a £6,000,000 offer. It would have been nice to bring those sort of funds into the club, but I was delighted that he decided to stay with us and try and help us progress. On top of that we managed to add some real quality and some depth to our squad as well. Winger Mohammed Sarr is a really exciting signing for us, and provides us with a real threat on either flank. I really want this season to be the one in which we move forward as a football club. We've got some really talented players in our squad, and realistically we should be looking at finishing higher in this league than we've managed so far. We've secured ourselves as a top half team in this league now, and surely it's time to begin dreaming of reaching Serie A. I think we possess a squad capable of at least pushing that close, and that is exactly what I am expecting us to do this season.

--------------------------

Honours:

2020/21 Serie C/B Winners

[Jogo Bonito]

@goonergezYou did well to claim 8th again, but those PO games are becoming a real let down aren't they. Anyway, again it sounds as though you have assembled another good squad and hopefully this time you will crack it. A good start would seem to be a real importance though, maybe it's harder to lose it from a position of strength than to make up the ground. Great pre-season preview as usual.

[goonergez]

Thanks for the kind words @Jogo Bonito! I always try to put immerse myself into my saves and put a story to it. I like to make my updates as detailed but entertaining as possible. Without being boring 😂😂😂 hopefully this will be our season, I really hope so. We’ve started better than we have in the previous couple so at the moment I’m pleased!

Edited February 17, 2021 by goonergez

[goonergez]

7 hours ago, Ewan0404 said:

A good end to the season to get back into the playoffs but it's gutting to miss out. 

Hopefully this season you can start strongly and build a good base to work from pointwise. 

Apologies i managed to completely miss this post from you! 
 

We have started the season better than the previous couple, although not as well as I would’ve hoped. After 10 matches we sit way down in 11th spot, but ridiculously only 4 points off of the second automatic promotion spot. The league is incredibly compact, and if we can carry on like this and then go on one of our late season bursts then we could enjoy a very successful campaign !

[goonergez]

Perugia FC: 2025/26 Mid-Season Report

I left you after a pretty successful summer in the transfer market as we looked to build a squad capable of finishing higher up the league table. Three 8th placed finishes in a row was successful, but three straight preliminary round play-off defeats were painful and hard to take. We strengthened well in the summer though, and I was confident we had a squad capable of improving. Unfortunately we took one big hit on deadline day as we lost a real key member of our side. Young left back Angelo Ndrecka had his head turned by interest from Serie A club's and decided he wanted to leave us. In the end we sold the 23-year old to Cagliari in a £1,500,000 deal and replaced him with a loan dealing. 19-year old Giovanni Cavallero was snapped up on loan from AC Milan in the dying hours of the window to complete our summer activities.

We then entered competitive competition within the Italian Cup in which we achieved what seems to be the normal for us now. We saw off Siena of the division below with a 2-1 score line as winger Matteo Della Morte picked up a brace, before we crashed out in the next round. Hosting Entella we were beaten 1-2, with former Perugia man Kevin Cannavo getting his name on the score sheet against us to cap a bad day at the office.

We started our league season well enough and looked very hard to beat. We won just once in our first five matches, but drew three of them to keep ourselves looking strong. A few victories propelled us into a good position before we suffered a disappointing run of three defeats in four matches to slip down into the bottom half of the table. December proved to be a fantastic month for us though, and a run of 6 straight victories propelled us up the table and into a very commanding position. We drew our last match before the break, but currently sit unbeaten in seven and looking strong. For the first time since we were promoted from Serie C four years ago we sit top of a league table. Very exciting times indeed.

For the first time since I arrived at the club I don't see any issues with regards to scoring goals. Alberto Cristiano has 7 and Riccardo Tonin has also impressed with his own 7. Winger Franco Carboni has recovered from a long layoff with a broken leg, and he too has chipped in with 4. Creatively summer signing Mohammed Sarr has been phenomenal, and already created 8 assists. The big surprise has been 18-year old winger Giulio Armellini who I promoted from our youth setup back in the summer. He's featured only from the bench so far, but has chipped in with 3 goals in his 9 appearances. Defensively we've also  looked much better recently, with Jeremy Joly and Allesandro Vogliacco forging a really impressive central defensive partnership. After his arrival on deadline day, Giovanni Cavallero has also been impressive at left back.

For the first time in a long time there is a real air of confidence surrounding this football club. After a slow start we seem to have found our feet, and we're playing some really good football. The defensive side of our play is strong, and the attacking trio of Mohammed Sarr, Franco Carboni and Alberto Cristiano are scoring plenty of goals. Everybody is performing at a high standard, and we look like we're capable of competing in every game we walk onto the pitch for. After two seasons in which we've started slowly it's good to find ourselves in the position we are as we break off for winter. I don't want to get too ahead of myself with regards to what we may be able to achieve this season, but there is a confidence that we may just be in for a successful season. Hopefully we can hit the ground running when action returns and continue to impress. I haven't got any plans to enter the transfer market now the window is open, and our main priority is to keep hold of the squad we have. Goalkeeper Andrea Fulignati is sure to be a wanted man, and keeping him is huge for us. I don't see why anybody would want to leave though, and that's another pleasing situation. I'm really hoping we can carry on as we have performed so far this season, and if we do then promotion may well be within our grasp come the end of the campaign.

---------------------------

Honours:

2020/21 Serie C/B Winners

[Ewan0404]

2 hours ago, goonergez said:

Perugia FC: 2025/26 Mid-Season Report

I left you after a pretty successful summer in the transfer market as we looked to build a squad capable of finishing higher up the league table. Three 8th placed finishes in a row was successful, but three straight preliminary round play-off defeats were painful and hard to take. We strengthened well in the summer though, and I was confident we had a squad capable of improving. Unfortunately we took one big hit on deadline day as we lost a real key member of our side. Young left back Angelo Ndrecka had his head turned by interest from Serie A club's and decided he wanted to leave us. In the end we sold the 23-year old to Cagliari in a £1,500,000 deal and replaced him with a loan dealing. 19-year old Giovanni Cavallero was snapped up on loan from AC Milan in the dying hours of the window to complete our summer activities.

We then entered competitive competition within the Italian Cup in which we achieved what seems to be the normal for us now. We saw off Siena of the division below with a 2-1 score line as winger Matteo Della Morte picked up a brace, before we crashed out in the next round. Hosting Entella we were beaten 1-2, with former Perugia man Kevin Cannavo getting his name on the score sheet against us to cap a bad day at the office.

We started our league season well enough and looked very hard to beat. We won just once in our first five matches, but drew three of them to keep ourselves looking strong. A few victories propelled us into a good position before we suffered a disappointing run of three defeats in four matches to slip down into the bottom half of the table. December proved to be a fantastic month for us though, and a run of 6 straight victories propelled us up the table and into a very commanding position. We drew our last match before the break, but currently sit unbeaten in seven and looking strong. For the first time since we were promoted from Serie C four years ago we sit top of a league table. Very exciting times indeed.

For the first time since I arrived at the club I don't see any issues with regards to scoring goals. Alberto Cristiano has 7 and Riccardo Tonin has also impressed with his own 7. Winger Franco Carboni has recovered from a long layoff with a broken leg, and he too has chipped in with 4. Creatively summer signing Mohammed Sarr has been phenomenal, and already created 8 assists. The big surprise has been 18-year old winger Giulio Armellini who I promoted from our youth setup back in the summer. He's featured only from the bench so far, but has chipped in with 3 goals in his 9 appearances. Defensively we've also  looked much better recently, with Jeremy Joly and Allesandro Vogliacco forging a really impressive central defensive partnership. After his arrival on deadline day, Giovanni Cavallero has also been impressive at left back.

For the first time in a long time there is a real air of confidence surrounding this football club. After a slow start we seem to have found our feet, and we're playing some really good football. The defensive side of our play is strong, and the attacking trio of Mohammed Sarr, Franco Carboni and Alberto Cristiano are scoring plenty of goals. Everybody is performing at a high standard, and we look like we're capable of competing in every game we walk onto the pitch for. After two seasons in which we've started slowly it's good to find ourselves in the position we are as we break off for winter. I don't want to get too ahead of myself with regards to what we may be able to achieve this season, but there is a confidence that we may just be in for a successful season. Hopefully we can hit the ground running when action returns and continue to impress. I haven't got any plans to enter the transfer market now the window is open, and our main priority is to keep hold of the squad we have. Goalkeeper Andrea Fulignati is sure to be a wanted man, and keeping him is huge for us. I don't see why anybody would want to leave though, and that's another pleasing situation. I'm really hoping we can carry on as we have performed so far this season, and if we do then promotion may well be within our grasp come the end of the campaign.

---------------------------

Honours:

2020/21 Serie C/B Winners

Great start to the season, the top of the table looks so tight though. Not a lot in it between the top seven or eight. 

[Jogo Bonito]

@goonergezDelighted for this news, and I hope this kind of form can be maintained. A great start indeed 

[goonergez]

Perugia FC: 2025/26 Review

The winter break hit us at the worst time really, immediately after we had found some really good form. We sat top of the league table and unbeaten in seven as we chased a campaign high up the league table. Three consecutive 8th placed finishes had been good, but I had said in pre-season how i hoped that this campaign would see us take a promotion challenge deeper than we had managed before. I was worried how we would perform when we returned to action after three weeks off, this was the answer;

We returned from the break in style as we just went on and on without losing. We weren't winning quite so many, but we had made ourselves extremely difficult to beat. We were still scoring goals, and defensively we were pretty solid. The squad was standing up to the challenge and we had given ourselves a really good chance of a successful season.
Our unbeaten run reached a league record 20 before a defeat to Bari, a truly remarkable effort as we suffered just one defeat from November the 8th through until the end of the season.

Spoiler

A fantastic end to the season gives us the promotion I have craved and ensures that next season we will play amongst the big boys. The attacking trio of Mohammed Sarr (10 goals, 9 assists), Franco Carboni (6 goals, 3 assists) and striker Alberto Cristiano (15 goals) were the key really, as we put previous issues regarding scoring goals to bed. Defensively we were as sound as ever, and in goal Andrea Fulignati was once again one of our real key men. 

I said in pre-season I wanted us to compete towards the top end of the table, but I don't think I ever truly believed we could perform as we did. We were superb for the majority of the season and fully deserve all the credits and success we've achieved. I am absolutely enthralled with how things went and am unbelievably proud of each and every member of my squad. For the first time in over 20 years this club will play in the top flight, and that is a very exciting prospect. It does mean an incredibly busy summer lies ahead though. We're going to have to strengthen the squad if we want to avoid relegation straight back down, and that's both exciting and nerve racking. I'm looking forward to it though, and boy does it feel good to pick up my second winners medal as manager of this club.

Spoiler

----------------------------------

Honours:

2020/21 Serie C/B Winners

2025/26 Serie B Winners

[Jogo Bonito]

@goonergezWell played indeed and definitely you deserve this. Done in style 

[Ewan0404]

@goonergez

Great season well done. 

Have you been given your initial budgets for next season yet?