Light through the Fog(gia)

I've been a long time reader of many of the stories appearing on sortitousi for years. This is my first attempt and it is also coinciding with my first real attempt at FM 2015. Thus far I have chalked up 26 hours on the game, which is a season and a half off the back of the demo with Blackburn Rovers. Experience wise this game is pretty alien to me, as I have actually been heavily updating and playing FM12 and have only upgraded this year. Consequently I have skipped the 2013 and 2014 incarnations of the game, although I did spend/enjoy/waste innumerable hours on FM12 so should be OK with the basics (apart from the absence of sliders!!).

Being a huge fan of Italian football I've started with a team who many people hold quite close to their hearts, Foggia. Inextricably linked to the crazy Czech Zeman, they enjoyed a huge period of (relative) success in the early 90's with a huge commitment to attacking football. When Zeman left Foggia could not maintain their progress and have gradually fallen away over the years.



I've started with the lowest experience and coaching qualifications to ensure that whatever I do is having the impact, rather than my previous reputation or qualifications making 'the difference'.

Going on to the club, facilities are OK. I always like to have a stadium with a decent attendance as it can bite you in the ar** when the club grows and money is having to be syphoned off to deal with seat expansions.



My knowledge of Italian football isn't bad, but this low down it is sketchy at best. I've looked at the squad and it looks short on quality in the final third. Defence is pretty good and keeper is solid. Lack of funds will mean I work with what I have for now though, bar a couple of loan deals that could beef up my attacking options.

Highlights include my goalkeeper



I'm a sucker for a left footed centre half (big Danny Agger being one of my all time favourites)



And my sole attacking player who I trust to actually create a touch of excitement in my team this season



I will be working through pre-season and will try and update monthly, rounding up any games/issues that arise as I attempt to emulate Zeman's heroic effort.

Comments and input welcome, especially as this is my first story and proper attempt at FM 15.

Cheers to Dan for sorting me out with a few questions I had!

Good luck

As I previously said, this squad is bang average - particularly with regards to our potency in attack.

Lucky for me, we've snapped up a decent winger/striker on loan for the season from Verona. Wasn't planning on playing with wingers/wide strikers, but this lad will give us his best football from these positions



Even with that last addition, we were still looking short out wide. Although I think Zeman would rather do a Joey Barton and stick one of his beloved cigars in this guy's eye, needs must and he is in



Squad is now looking serviceable and moving forward we have a couple of early Serie C cup games to get a grip on what tactics we will use moving forward. I was initially hoping on a variation of 352, in the belief that this would make use of my strong group of CB's and take the weight off my few wide players who can actually kick a ball.

Another assessment of my squad led to a 4231 formation, even though I generally hate it because it is so prevalent. I also don't like the lack of flexibility in the middle of the pitch, particularly if the AM does not track back to make a midfield three.



Next update will be the first batch of games.

You know when you have that feeling in the pit of your stomach that your tactic is an ill thought out concept that does not remotely suit the players at your disposal, nor the league you are competing in? How do you get rid of it...

Cheers Johno - much appreciated mate.

First couple months of the season I will cover each game until I settle down with a tactic that I feel comfortable with. I'll go on to covering games in batches when I've got everything sorted and I can stop micromanaging every 3.7 minutes of the game.

Mixed bag of results, but I don't think we've been outclassed in any game we've played. Tactic is about as watertight as post-iceberg titanic, though.



Cup games allowed us to iron out some issues, I thought we were far too open and it was a bit like Keegan vs. Keegan tactically. I know we're in the spirit of Zeman here but there's limits to how much time we can give the opposition.

Against Melfi our new lad from Verona showed his class and scored two good goals. I'm already slightly concerned about him getting an injury as nobody else really looked a threat.



Spitting feathers in the next game, but probably in the context of doing it as proudly as possible. We dominated, but picked up a bad injury and some red cards that do not bode well for the discipline of the squad going forward. I almost think two yellows are worse than a straight red, as it is more indicative of either your tactics or the players ability to control their actions, rather than a rash moment. Anyway, a draw I was pretty pleased with, even though it would have been nice to match possession with more goals.



Again, slightly concerned about our reckless approach, it seems like it's equivalent to flicking a Euro in the air. Generally I hate losing at home, at least it was close. Fares, the Veronese hitman, struck again.



Finally, the best of the lot. Dominated the ball and made a few clear cut chances that the opposition couldn't match. I know we relied on a couple pen's at the end, but this was evidence that the inside forwards directness could work in a league where defenders are less athletic.



Not sure if I would call any of the above progress, but I know more about what I can't do rather than what I can. A good run of league games now so hopefully build up some momentum and make further tweaks to our tactics to ensure we're getting the best out of the little blighters.

Decent start Hopefully you can start building up momentum, which you said.

So things settled down fairly quickly. I'm not sure if it was the sweet Italian air, a run of simple fixtures or some accidental piece of genius management, but we're on a good run of form and look decent in the league.





Away wins against Reggina and Paganese were particular highlights. The defeat vs. Matera was irritating but it's the type of game where if you play it ten times you win nine. Missed a few brilliant chances and got done on set pieces.We made hard work of the last two home games against poor sides (Juve Stabia and Melfi) but that is the consequence of having six games in twenty days. Added to this I would say I've realistically got a core of around 14 players who can contribute to what I want from the players. There's a definite drop of quality when I go outside of this group.





One look at our schedule will give an idea that we don't struggle to score goals. Our front three have ratings of 7+, whilst the remaining players are mostly late 6's. I will need to look at this moving forward as it doesn't seem particularly sustainable to me. What I have been suprised about is the effectiveness of our striker in a target man role. He isn't scoring prolifically but he is leading the league's assist table.




Finally, the league table shows the progress we've made since the start of the season. Again, some games can be far too end-to-end but I don't have the players to change formation to adapt to the opposition.

First port of call in January will be full backs, injuries combined with the sheer amount of games so far mean that I'm having to slog the poor lads half to death at the moment.

Another decent month

I would switch your wingers to winger - attack. or switch DLP to support or AP support.

Cheers Johno - I will certainly give it a try as I'm new to FM15. I'd be worried about Fares' goals drying up as a winger, or would you expect his output to be quite similar? He certainly seems to be my most effective player at the moment. Do you think dropping the DLP to a DM slot and giving a support duty would have the same impact as your suggested change? Again, I'm worried about opening up my team too much as we already look as leaky as a sieve.

With my Gladbach save, I got my MR/L as Wingers - attack and both getting few goals and decent assists for other players

I would stick with your current formation but change your wingers to winger attack role. Can I also see your team instructions as well?

Started very well mate, keep this up!

Decent start mate and decent enough tactics.Your biggest problem as you said is the lack of quality and I hope your main man can keep injury free.All the best with this it looks a good project.

Following this. Hopefully you can surpass the glory days of Zemanlandia one day.

October has proven to be an inconsistent month for Foggia, which is disappointing after September yielded six wins out of seven games. I'm continually tweaking the way the team is set out to play but with this group of players it is sometimes difficult to notice any changes. We do seem to be very strong away from home and we actually kept three clean sheets out of three away games this month. Our style of football also allowed us to enjoy more possesion that the opposition in each of these games.

The two games that were particularly hard to take were the home league defeats vs Benevento and Casertana. I was slightly aggrieved by the first result against Benevento as we conceded an early penalty and got a man sent off in the second half (Gigliotti, for the second time this season). Looking back, this is one game where I should have changed the system and went with two up front, they aren't a good side and we didn't occupy their defenders as much as we should have. The defeat against Casertana, who are also challenging for promotion, was a tactical lesson. They played five across the middle of the pitch and defended quite deeply. There was no space for my attacking three and the two CM's I deployed were totally overrun. Note to self: use cup games to develop an alternative tactic.






One player who has shone throughout the month despite the indifferent form of the team is Giovanni Cavallaro. I didn't expect a great deal from him, through a combination of not intending to play wingers and his age, but he has been immense coming in from the left hand side. When the undoubted star of the team, Fares, fails to produce, Cavallaro has been the man to step up.




If you are interested here is the team summary. Backs up my belief that Cavallaro is a classy cat, and that our target man (Iemmello) is becoming a vital cog in the Foggia machine, despite the fact that he rarely scores.




In other news, on my travels around lower league Italy I have noticed a bit of an FM legend kicking around in Serie C. The one, the only...Fabrizio Miccoli. Fine purveyor of wonder strikes and close control. This lad was the Aguero of the Peninsula - and he looked great in Palermo pink, surely that's worth something?




Finally, Johno - here are my team instructions so far. Again, not entirely convinced by them but I have noticed we earn a lot of FK's and penalties due to direct running with the ball from our attacking players. Sometimes the AM can be a passenger, however.

SBR - injuries have been kind to me so far with only a few knocks here and there. Suspensions on the other hand are proving to be a total pain and we're rarely able to put out the same back four for more than a couple games in a row.

Jonas - that's the dream mate, thanks for the comment.

Not the best of months as you said but could of been a lot worse.Discipline (or lack of) is a hard one to manage I find.I usually just make sure my lads aren't going in hard on too many players.Just finished a 34 match season in the german 2nd division with Leipzig and only got 1 man sent off.Hopefully you can manage something that will sort itself out.I don't think there is much wrong with the instuctions but if you are still playing 4-2-3-1 I would go attack the flanks myself.All the best for the rest of the season mate.

Cheers SBR - one man sent off over the course of a season, good work!

I will try to attack the flanks, hopefully that may give more space to my AM who doesn't really contribute as much as his stats would suggest.

Any of you seasoned campaigners got any tips on how to manage pre/post game training & focus? Feel like I should be taking advantage of the little things with the quality of the squad not being great.

I tends to leave training to assistant I do the team talks myself as I tends to notice assistant says the wrong things.

Miccoli! I remember him from FM years back, what a beast!

Another month and I'm actually pretty happy. The total points amassed isn't perfect by any means, but I've felt we've started to develop an identity and I'm starting to figure out how certain players tick.



We started with a game against Ischia, and produced our most professional performance of the season. We combined possession with the ability to carve out clear chances whilst keeping the oppostion away from our goal. Usually our home games tend to be end to end, so I was pretty chuffed that we looked quite solid in this one.



Our away form has been a real highlight of our growth this season, and we usually enjoy our few clean sheets in these games. Whilst we conceded three against Barletta I couldn't really be angry at a performance that produced good football and dominated the home side on their own turf.

The next two games we managed to scrape a victory against a poor side, Martina France. This was followed by an away draw with Lecce. As I previously mentioned the living legend Fabrizio Miccoli is turning out for them and putting in some really good performances. So much so that he is second in the league assist tables. The bloke still has it! Although we went two up I wasn't too upset with their fightback for a draw, as their team is riddled with Serie A veterans.

Player focus







This month I have been really impressed with our target man. I've praised him a couple of times over the course of the season so far but he has started to add the magic ingredient - goals. Not just any goals (or M&S goals), they have been key strikes at key times. In addition, as he is a TM, if he has a good game this generally means the players behind him are enjoying the fruits of his labour. His successful passing rates of 82% give an indicator of how the ball sticks with this lad leading the line. My second choice TM, Leonetti, has a passing rate of 77%.



My best player continues to be the Algerian magician, Fares. He allows the team to counter attack effectively and he's precise enough when he gets through to turn that into goals and assists. Pity he is only on loan!



Finally, league table shows that we're steady away. Hoping to add at least one fullback in January in addition to a striker with an alternative skillset. Ideally a more dynamic finisher to allow us to go either two up top or stretch the pitch with one forward with runs behind.

Fola - agreed mate, I loved watching him play. Awesome. Shame it didn't work out for him at Juventus.

Not too bad a month mate.Certainly deserve to be up where you are.

In terms of the pre match focus and training I tend to never use the assistant.I am sure it works for others but I don't like the odd couple of players responding negatively to what they say.More often than not I either speak passionately or assertively and just tell them what I expect.I always do the odd individual one too.If a player plays well in the match I let them know and if not I tell them that too.Pre match training I do tend to go with the assistant more often than not.

Like Cantona, It's hit the fan this month. Our decent form has attracted some suitors and my macho approach to dealing with the situation has failed miserably.



Alongside Fares, Cavallaro is our best player. Perhaps with his consistency maybe even the best. And he asks to leave as Catania have shown some interest in taking him up a division. He's a slow winger over 30 yrs old - what is wrong with Italian football! If this was England he'd be falling down the leagues quicker than you can say Marlon Harewood. I thought I'd show him I'm the boss and if he wants to experience Zeman-rage be my guest. He took the bait, kicked off, I panicked, he is now training with the kids. Olive branches are commonplace in Italy, so I've heard. Best add that to my to do list.

Onto our games;



We played fantastically well against an Aversa side who didn't really turn up. Fares continued his outstanding form by netting a fantastic strike. My AM Sarno also scored which was a big positive. I've got a feeling that when I get him playing the team will really fly.

Our only other game this month was against Messina. These guys were awful, and to be honest we absolutely battered them. 18 shots to their 5, and we were done 2-0. It's hard to be harsh on the players when they've played so well. And my name is probably muck thanks to the Cavallaro saga.

To add insult to injury another player expressed interest in wanting to leave my fledgling club. My only good fullback, Agostini, has had his head turned by Livorno. I took the softly softly approach before I was chased out of the dressing room with pitch forks and the outcome was;

Train with the kids.



Football is a team game and on to the fruition of the recent performances of those players who are committed to the club. Going into the winter break I must say I'm really satisfied with our position so far. Having seen SBR's upturn with RB Leipzig in his career I'm hoping a busy January can give me a boost to catch Catanzaro at the top of the table.



I think the squad ratings back up my concerns. Offensively we are exciting and prolific, even though we don't have the depth I would like. Defensively however, our fullbacks are poor, and centre midfielders not much better. That is my priority for the upcoming winter transfer window. My board have unhelpfully lowered my transfer revenue to percentage to 40%, thanks lads.

In other news this month, if anyone was a fan of Sven's Lazio side you may remember their fullback Pancaro. He's just been given his marching orders by Juve Stabia. I'm loving the names I'm running into during this save. Now how to tempt Recoba out of retirement...

Going very well at the halfway mark matey! Keep it goin!

As dan said your doing very well.Keep it up and you can be promoted.Dont look at my January too much.I am lucky to be at a bigger club than yours so I could bring in better players.Make no mistake yours is the harder team to manage.You cant make too much progress selling your best players so kudos to you for sticking to your guns.Good luck for rest of the season mate.

Cheers lads, thanks for the comments.

Yeah I know what you mean SBR. As I'm relatively new to FM15 I'm not used to the number of times players are coming to me with problems. It was easy to knock these on the head without much consequence in older versions, but this time it seems they're all right prima donna's if I don't instantly agree to what they want.

A quick question - on older versions of the game I've been quite happy with key highlights. It provided a fairly comprehensive view of the game and you could get a grip on how well your tactics were working. On FM15 however, key highlights seem to be the absolute bare minimum. Goals and maybe one or two close shaves. I've moved to extended and this is slightly better. What are other people using?

I use key myself.I do get tempted to use extended as it give you more of a bigger picture in terms of chances etc but I stick with key just for getting matches done quicker.It is funny sometimes when I see either team having the majority of the highlights in key but then have far less shots at the final whistle.I like the players coming to me more in this version but I agree they are like prima donnas the majority of the time and its far easier for players to become unhappy on this version.

After only two games in December I was looking forward to getting stuck into January. The transfer window presented us with an opportunity to look for first team quality to boost the team, in addition to getting a few wins under our belt.



Firstly we had a huge away game against the side occupying first place. Catanzaro had been the strongest team in the league all season, so I was not particularly looking forward to this one. For the neutrals this game would have been a six goal thriller. For me, it was a nightmare to watch. Another early red card for our French CB, Gigliotti, undermined our tactics from the start. Only a Fares hatrick, including a late equaliser, allowed us to snatch a point. I asked the side to play more defensively (Sorry Zeman) in the second half, and it seemed to work. I may begin using this approach for more away games as our clean sheet record is pretty woeful.

From an away point we moved on to a home tie against a relegation embattled side. Our targetman Iemmello popped in a goal, but we couldn't get a winner after they equalised. I moved to an attacking 442 in the last twenty, but to no avail. A big two points to drop.

Italy is a nation of fashion, and it seemed a solitary point was in vogue this month as we went away to Cosenza, played like idiots, and came away with another 3-3 draw. This was a real end to end game, with Iemmello being pivotal to our ability to snatch a point. I was going to drop Gigliotti after his second red of the season in the previous game but he is simply too important to leave out. I can't wait to have more options around the squad.



Finally - a win, and our first in five. I was starting to get nervous - particularly after we were caught with our Gucci pants around our ankles and fell behind 2-0 after 10 minutes. I did my absolute nut and the players responded, including an injury time winner from Gigliotti. And to think I was going to drop him...

In the last game of the month we popped in a cosy performance with no drama. 3-1 vs Paganese with goals again from Gigliotti, steady old Cavallaro and the Italian Crouch, Iemmello. We only won 2 out of 5, but it's been a hard run of fixtures, our first 'blip' of the season I would say, and we've came through the other side in decent shape.



This month I was also really pleased to add another loan signing to our squad. I've mentioned before that Sarno, our AM, is quite inconsistent in such a vital area of the pitch. I don't really have an alternative, and with no suitable fullbacks being available, I focused on an attacking midfielder. The player we eventually signed was David Ivan from Sampdoria. With two goals in his first three games I'm already sure we've made the right decision.



Another development was my only good fullback, Agostini, rescinded his request to leave the club after Livorno had withdrawn their interest. Cheeky sod. I just think he was being outclassed by the kids in training and wanted to play with some of the numpty's I've got kicking around my first team squad.

Player focus - Alessandro Potenza



This month I want to give some praise to a player I don't think I've mentioned before. This guy has been quality at the back and a model of consistency in both performances and discipline. Whilst I've had to re-jig the defence several times due to Gigliotti's waste high tackles, this lad has not missed a game due to suspension. With an average rating of 7.17, and a tackle success ratio of 86%, his contribution can't be underestimated.



With a relatively youthful side (average age of 24) Potenza has stacks of experience playing at the highest level of Italian football. I'm actually surprised he is playing in Serie C at this stage of his career, as I reckon his stats show he still has miles in the tank. Regardless of whether we get promoted, I'd like to see a Potenza and Gigliotti partnership at the back next season.



Finally - the table. I don't want to jinx it so I'm going to pull a Mourinho and say you don't win nothing in January!!

Next update - February.

Doing well Cracking come back over Reggina

Yeah ill 2nd that.Very good win against reggina.Potenza looks a good player.I think you could train him to play cb too.Decent in the air except jumping isn't great but strong and good heading ability.3 draws in a row could of been a concern for the few games after with player morale dropping a bit but those 2 wins soon sorted it out.

Superb to see you sitting top of the pile mate, still a way to go though! Keep it coming!

Another month, some things change, others remain the same.



To concede only one goal in four games is absolutely immense. We rode our luck once or twice, but this is the first time we've looked solid. We've sacrificed a bit of our attacking flair (defending deeper, closing down less) but if it has this impact I'm happy to take the hit.

One of the poorest performances of the season kicked off the month, imagine a team full of languid, lazy and unmotivated Dimitar Berbatov's - this is how it looked. Why run when you can walk? I don't know any swear words in Italian but this game had me searching for the Italian profanity dictionary on Amazon. Juve Stabia had 24 attempts (8 on target) against us, and scored in the 80th minute to put to bed any comeback from us.

I looked for a reaction and took over media duties from my assistant, held a team meeting and tried to give a positive spin to the teamtalks. My away form, no win in 6, was starting to worry me and if we wanted to maintain our position at the top of the table we couldn't continue on this path.

The reaction was instant, and positive. A 1-0 victory vs Matera disguises the fact that we absolutely destroyed them from the first minute to the last, registering 22 attempts to their 3. Cavallaro missed two penalties, but thanks to Potenza it didn't matter as he popped up with a goal from a corner. After this game I checked the table and noticed Catanzaro had dropped down to 6th, they had won only one in eleven and since January really fallen off the pace. Only good news for me.

The big test of the month came in my next away game, as we were without an away victory since 11th January. A really professional performance secured a one nil win. A real oddity of my squad, a young spaniard attacking midfielder, scored the goal that secured the points. Miguel Maza - remember the name.

Finally, we faced Salernitana at home. This was a tough proposition as these lads have some classy players on loan from Serie A sides, including Italian u21 midfielder Danilo Cataldi. Another tight game, The Italian Crouchy Iemmello popped his noggin onto a cross to get the winner. Our performance in this game ensured that Potenza, Gigliotti and Iemmello were in the team of the week. I'll take any accolade going at this stage of the season!



I thought I'd share the board's opinion as I hadn't really taken notice of their drivel so far, or at least since they've gradually lowered my transfer revenue percentage every month since October. Pretty pleased with their comments, and interested by their criticism on Vincenzo Sarno, my attacking midfielder. Which leads me onto;

Player Focus - Vincenzo Sarno



When I was looking at clubs to be once I'd made my mind up I would be in the lower reaches of Italian football I was trying to find an interesting club with one or two players that would see me through the first season. Even though I had checked out Iemmello, Potenza and Super Cavallaro, this guy was the one I was pinning my hopes on. He is a good age, versatile, and seems like he would relish playing in the hole behind a striker who would hold up the ball and offer link up play. In reality, he has been a big let down, and my hopes of using him as a sellable asset have totally disappeared.



He is given quite a lot of freedom within the structure of the team, particularly as the full backs are not particularly attacking and the cm's are defensive in their roles. I would say an output of 4 goals and 4 assists in 25 games isn't good enough for a team that is fighting for the title and has amassed 55 goals by the end of February. It almost seems we are scoring despite him rather than because of him.



Compare Sarno's stats with the new signing, David Ivan, and I think the concerns become quite obvious. I'm reluctant to have so many key players in the team on loan (Fares, Iemmello), but Ivan makes a real difference when he plays and we certainly look more of a cohesive unit.

In other news, Gigliotti managed to get another red card and a new contract in the same week. I also signed up three scouts (I initially only had one) with an eye on next season. My guess is that I won't have much in the way of funds to play with so every little nugget of knowledge I can eek out my staff will be worthwhile.



Our transformation into the Arsenal side of the early 90's has meant we have maintained our place at the top of the pile. To be honest, I'd rather keep keeping clean sheets than winning games 3-1 or 4-2. Too many games in this division seem to be like a roll of the dice, there's stacks of red cards and so many clubs have 5 or 6 first team players on loan from clubs higher up the pecking order playing alongside players that I think would be conference level in England. It would be a nightmare for a punt on a coupon!



Again, depth is an issue but we continue to be lucky with injuries. Although I keep on thinking Gigliotti's name is Susgigliotti he is banned that much.

I still wouldn't like to predict where we will come at the end of the season due to the aforementioned unpredictability of the league. Overall, I'm pretty buzzing with how February has gone though.