Outta This and Inter Something Better

September 2015


Just a short update as we continued our start to the campaign with a strong month.

Losing away to Fiorentina is annoying but is almost to be expected as they are a strong team, however if we're going to challenge this season we really need to be picking up at least a point.

We followed that up with a home draw against Arsenal who are the strongest team in this group. Icardi got us ahead early on, only to be pegged back as Gibbs of all people scored a rocket just before half time.

Palacio helped us to grind out a tough 1-0 win against Lazio in a game I didn't think we would win! With 10 minutes to go I changed my fullbacks as they appeared to be very tired and as it happens Donati managed the assist for the goal in the last 10 minutes. Tactical genius.

The man Palacio then bagged us another 3 points against a resilient Genoa side who nicked a goal towards the end of the game to give us a very nervy final 10 minutes. Starting to realise that it's going to be hard to replace Palacio going forward, hopefully we can find a young Italian with the creative spark and eye for goal that he brings us.

Against Torino we scraped another 1-0 home win, this time Dani Osvaldo grabbing us an early goal which we defended quite comfortably for the remaining minutes.

Finally we made the trek out to Kharkiv to face Metalist who were stronger than I thought and in fact the two players I didn't rest scored our goals. Osvaldo again gave us the lead and then a Kovacic screamer just after half time sealed the points.

A strong start on all fronts.

October 2015


The month started off badly with a 1-0 to defeat to Sassuolo who I think are becoming a bit of a bogey team for us, which is more annoying due to the fact that I struggle to spell it. This result sparked a load of changes, Krul came out for Scuffet, Hernanes came out for Taider and 3 of the back 4 changed with only Santon surviving the cull.

The ever reliable Palacio returned from injury to get himself another hat-trick, finishing off Catania on his own in the new look side. Whether the win was down to individual brilliance or the changes is yet to be decided.

We then travelled to Turkey to visit Fenerbache the supposed 'weakest' side in our group. They took an early lead and we looked set to loose it until I replaced the ever sulking Osvaldo with Icardi who made his mark on the game and turned it around scoring with his first and second touches of the ball.

We then faced tough opposition in Napoli who arrived as Guiseppe Meazza having dominated us in our previous meetings. Icardi kept his place in the side and set us on our way early on and then grabbed another just after Saphir Taider managed to score directly from a corner. That was incredibly comfortable and pleasing to see.

It's also worth noting that Zuniga was sent off right at the end of that game. Why is this worth noting? Well, he turned us down to return to Napoli in the summer in a £3m deal from PSG whom signed him for £14m in January 2015 having already signed De Sciglio in the summer of 2014 from The Other Lot for £22m. Add to the fact that they spent big to get Naga from us in the summer of 2015 and I think it's all clear to see that PSG have some form of full back fetish.

Anyways back to the football...

After a great performance against Napoli we then put a poor show in against Empoli a few days later with a bit of a rotated team. Taider scored again, this time from the half way line having just been selected to be subbed, true FM style again. Something else about this game is that I thought it looked like we were playing in an old service station toilet bowl:


DAT RUST!

We closed out the month with a win against Udinese who I'm pretty sure beat us twice last time. Having stole their keeper in the summer, he kept a clean sheet as M'Vila scored his first goal for the club and Osvaldo the whinge netted another from the bench. He might get a start soon.

Table

With a game in hand on most of our rivals the table looks healthy for a change, I'm pretty sure this is the highest we've been during my reign which is appalling really. Nice to see The Other Lot struggling but they've played all of the big teams where we've only really crossed Napoli with the rest to come in the winter. Saying that, Fiorentina in second are one of the two sides to have beaten me so it is understandable why they are there, the Sassuolo defeat really hurts me when I look at those standings!

Good News

This was definitely needed as I sense Osvaldo is about to kick off about not replacing Naga regardless of bringing in 3 full backs in the summer and M'Vila is unhappy at the sale of a 19 year old keeper that never made a first team appearance. This 2 year extension may strengthen my hand when they do eventually blow. M'Vila also needs to remember that he's foreign too so I might be eccentric and get rid of him if he's being annoying.

November 2015


Another decent month starting with a win at home to Fenerbache, clinching our qualification from the groups and achieving our season target after just 4 group games.

We then scored a late, late goal against Palermo to take the 3 points thanks to super sub Icardi

We then drew with rivals Roma at home which to be honest I'm pleased with. We haven't dropped any points on them and drawing is obviously better than losing in terms of hunting down the title!

We then went to Arsenal having already qualified from our group, thus we rotated the team slightly having only played on the Saturday. We started slowly, going 2 down after 10 before a few tactical changes just ensured it didn't get embarrassing for some of the younger players out there.

At Sampdoria (last years surprise package if you remember) we started with a weak side due to injuries. The young lad Bonazzoli made his second consecutive start having played at the Emirates and thanks to his assist we took an early lead through Medel. Palacio scored to make it 2-0 and then Medel almost instantly let our opponents back into the game by giving away a penalty and getting himself a red card after 23 minutes. In all honesty when they scored again I would have been happy to draw, but Super Santon came up trumps at the death to steal us the extra 2 points.

The resilience in that last game made me very, very happy!

Table

We're still up there with Juve, with them to play next and a game in hand. Beating them could be massive as I can't see where else they're likely to drop points. We also face The Other Lot in December too.

Other News

Given what I said last month, this is really annoying. In all honesty if we get a good bid he's gone because he's not worth the trouble. Such a shame he wants to join our rivals... especially given that we're above them!! £10m and he's yours, Rudi.

December 2015


Well didn't we start well?! Beating Juve was probably the result and performance of my time at Inter, exaggerated by the fact that we had a bit of a striker crisis meaning Bonazzoli started upfront for the whole of the month with a different partner almost every game. He was quality against Juve though, sealing the win after Osvaldo set us away.

Against Metalist we rotated again and managed a boring win after Romagnoli scored from a corner.

We then faced the 'away' tie against The Other Lot and took the lead via a penalty from local boy Bonazzoli (who I am going to rename Bona because it's getting annoying to type). Upfront he was accompanied by Reno Poscobo who has awful hair and was incredible in setting up Bona for his second, despite being younger than his teammate at just 17. Inexperience ftw. We then dropped 2 silly goals but Taider turned it back around for us and gave us the win!

Piscopo then scored his first goal on only his second start, at home to struggling Avellino in a horrendous draw. Medel and Donati were both sent off within the first 70 minutes and so we actually did well to get a point out of it.

We then had a similar result against Parma away where Bona managed a hat-trick and sealed his place in the team for the new year... although couldn't help us seal the points. Despite being 4-2 up at one point we managed to throw away the win and fail to take advantage of our game in hand.

Table

As mentioned, our failure to finish off Parma means we sit behind Fiorentina by a point with the all might Juve floundering in 4th, although still only 3 points behind.

Champions League

We qualified early on, rotating the team for the final two games and no I wish I hadn't!! We missed out on top by a point and as a result...

YEAAAAAHHHHHHH

At least the board only wanted the 1st round.

January 2016


Well. it was a very busy month and a very good one on the pitch!

We started off with a last gasp winner from Palacio at Cesena who seem to cause us a lot of trouble when we play them

Kovacic then grabbed us another 1-0 win, this time at home to Cagliari. Another pretty boring game if I'm honest, not a lot to say

We then rotated the team a little for a cup game with Parma where Bona netted a couple after Icardi got himself on the score sheet with a pretty nuts penalty, hitting both posts.

We then played Parma again where Bona netted an incredible 4 to make it 6 in a week against Parma, 7 in 3 games against them this year.

Our rotated team then beat Napoli in the cup who also rotated quite heavily. This lead to us securing a semi final tie with Roma in the near future.

Struggling Bari then gave us a shock, taking a 2-0 lead early on before we turned it around and took the win. The defence seems to be a bit leaky at the moment which is a worry

We then had an outstanding game against title chasers Fiorentina, with Bona scoring after 18 seconds to set us on our way. Despite it being 3-0 at half time we weren't comfortable as Juan was sent off for a wild challenge after 40 minutes leaving us to play more than half of the game with 10. We scored from a corner after the break to really put it beyond doubt

Finally, we beat Lazio 3-1 to complete our 100% month and in essence 100% record in 2016. It won't last but it's nice to think about

Table

It also meant we went top, 6 points clear with 15 to go (which isn't that great really). Juve are really struggling down in 5th which it appears begun just after we beat them. Fiorentina have fallen away too which leaves Sampdoria and Napoli as our main rivals for now.

Transfers

Remember it is the mental season and there was quite a lot of activity coming into Inter. A couple of these were mentioned previously but essentially all (bar Jovic) are Italian kids and not a load to really shout about right now. The bonus of it all is that all of these fees are 100% upfront with no clauses at all. No more outlay for what is hopefully our future first team!


In terms of out going I wasn't expecting anything other than maybe M'Vila, who it turns out is now happy to stay. This did happen though and I am gutted:

Big club comes in for young player and young player wants to go to big club. I was powerless really and he went for a decent enough fee. He'll be a nightmare to replace o hopefully we can recover quickly... no surprises that Osvaldo isn't happy about this and has booted off, killing our morale. He's a top bloke...

February 2016


Another busy month and still unbeaten.

We started with a visit from Roma in the cup, now managed by my predecessor Walter Mazzari who has decided that every week he's going to slate my tactical style. An Icardi hat-trick and a strong performance from my second string soon shut him up.

Genoa then came to see us an we were largely disappointing. We created the fewest chances I think I've ever seen from this team and struggled to really threaten them, I worry that the AI may be learning one or two things about this formation

The second leg against Roma was boring, but boring is good when you're already 3-1 up. The 0-0 sees us through to the final against (I think) Sampdoria in May. The board aren't bothered about this cup but it would be nice.

Our win at Torino was almost controversial. Having been 1-0 up for most of the game, Scuffet managed to catch the ball and run out of the box with it in his hands. He received a booking for this and as he headed back to goal, Torino took the kick quickly and it was headed into an empty net. I was actually livid. Thankfully we got a free-kick 20 yards out straight from kick off and Hernanes tucked it away very well.

We then faced our biggest challenge yet, with Ronaldo and co coming to visit. We managed a draw via an Icardi penalty having fell behind to a Bale goal in a move which involved Ronaldo, Rodriguez, Benzema, Modric and Isco all running at our centre halves. FUNNNNN. That away goal could be a killer as we need to score at the Bernabeu.

We then found our shooting boots with an away trip to previously declared 'Bogey Team' Sassuolo. Don't be deceived by our goalscoring form here though, our opponents were down to 10 men after just 6 minutes leaving a lot of time for their players to chase shadows and concede goals.

To wrap off the month, newly happy Yann M'Vila scored a 25 yard volley to seal the points against Catania and scrape another 3 points to keep our unbeaten run of 2016 going... 21 games in all competitions since November.

Table

Well, I did not see this coming. 13 points clear with 11 games to go [Keegan]I would LOVE IT, LOVE IT if we can hang on[/Keegan]... although knowing my FM luck it will be tough and the fact that we have Juve, Roma, Napoli and The Other Lot to come it is going to be tough.

March 2016



We started the month at second placed Napoli and thanks to the God that is Palacio we walked away with 3 points. We dominated the game but didn't really take as many chances as we should have... at least we took one and that is all that we needed! After the game I was criticised by Roma's Walter Mazzarri again for our 'defensive' style despite being on attacking all season, being top of the league and ultimately; winning games. Cya PAL.

We then had a bore draw with Empoli, a team we should really be beating, especially at home

Real then killed the minimal European dream that we had left by smashing us 3-0 in Madrid. You can't really do a lot against a Ronaldo hat-trick, apart from injure him once he's got his third like Gary Medel did, earning himself a straight red. LAD.

A penalty at both ends meant that we failed to beat a poor team in the league for the second game in the row. Sabelli gifted Udinese a 91st minute penalty despite me screaming "CONCENTRATE" both in game and in my bedroom. The penalty was dispatched by Di Natale (of course).

We kicked back into our rhythm after 16 second of the Palermo game as Palacio continued his brilliant form to grab a hat-trick in the first 25 minutes. Taider killed it off in the 92nd minute from the bench.

Table


That leaves the table like this with 7 games to go. Fiorentina jump in to become our main challengers, sitting 12 points behind us at this stage. #LetsAllLaughAtJuve



Yeahhh we do. What's most beautiful about this as that our 4th game next month is....? The Other Lot imagine clinching the title then. We also face Juve though so it may not be that simple

Youth Cnadidates 2016


This sprightly bunch came in, with all of those 2 1/2* potential onwards being signed. We seem to love producing a forward!!

April 2016



Our charge continued towards the title this month starting with a draw at Roma thanks to our skipper Vidic, meaning that the miserable Mazzari couldn't beat my tactics despite how much he griefs them and left us with 9 points to get for the title. The dream of winning in front of The Other Lot was on.

Sampdoria, our cup final opponents couldn't stop us getting EVEN CLOSER to the title, despite going a goal ahead. Marco Benassi who only got a game due to another Medel suspension, scored a rocket to equalise and then GOD gave us the win.

At Juve, GOD set us on our way very early once again, netting 2 in the very early minutes. He rounded off his treble with a penalty in the second half and then our opponents started somewhat of a revival, piling on the pressure and clawing us back to 3-2. I really did panic here and set us to counter and 'stay tight'. Thankfully though Osvaldo/Kahl Drogo netted to secure the three points.

That last win meant that beating The Other Lot at home but also at their ground (technically) would clinch us the title... and we did just that. Palacio, who again was unplayable as he has been for the last 2 months netted early and late to clinch it in front of our arch rivals and caused Inzaghi to kick up a right fuss in the process.

I don't care. CAMPIONI.

To wrap up the month we faced already relegated Avellino with what I assume were massive hangovers. Having rotated the team fully due to the cup final coming up we fell a goal behind early on but managed once again to turn it around and win. Domestically we are still unbeaten in 2016 and with 2 games against poorer opposition and 1 cup final to go, I hope we can do it!

Table


Confirmation of our title, Fiorentina all but secured their second place finish too

Transfers


Of course he's Italian and most importantly he's talented. Florenzi returns to Serie A after just a single season with City. He signed for them for £24m in the summer and will come back to us for a total of £22m (after signing on fee etc) which in my eyes is good business. Hopefully he can fill the hole left by Kovacic in January.

Funny that he wants to play Champions League football at Inter... he does that at City already!

May 2016

TIM Cup Final


The month started well (just) with a cup win. We took the lead through Osvaldo and were then pegged back meaning we had to go to extra time. Balanta did score in the 85th, which I'm pretty sure was a fine goal but it was chalked off and I can't even remember why. As we went to penalties, all of our boys produced as the Sampdoria players cracked under the pressure. A nice double there, considering our 'reserves' played throughout the cup run.

League


In the most pointless fixtures of the season we signed off with 2 more wins and confirmed our status as unbeaten (domestically) in 2016, infact only Real Madrid has managed to beat us this year.

Palacio signed off his last game of the season (he was 1 yellow from a suspension so I took him out of the next game) with ANOTHER fairly quick-fire hat-trick. The boy is on fire.

In our final game it was good to see Bona get back to goalscoring ways and sign off the season as a champion with his boyhood club

Table


Confirmation of our final standings. Surprised to see Juve, The Other Lot and even Roma where they are. I expect a summer of change in Serie A.

Wrapping Up 2015-16

Awards



They translate as Manager of the Year and Manager's Manager of the Year. Nice.



We're well represented in Team of the Year, each of those featured have won Player of the Year for their respective positions and Palacio ended up top scorer with 29 goals, 9 ahead of second place Tevez (forgot the screenshot). I'm surprised to see Kovacic in there considering he left after 17 games but it just shows how monumental he was. Our keeper Scuffet came 2nd in Goalkeeper of the Year.

Miscellaneous



Due to being downgraded in status, I asked for these two and was instantly given my wish.

Transfer News


Gutted about this. It's also curious on the grounds that we're in the CL so have a chance... Florenzi joined us FROM City for that very reason and yet our stand-out performer for the year, Santon sees it in reverse.

This really has made me question if it's going to be worth battling on in a new season with Inter. So far I've had offers from Arsenal (6th in the Prem), Valencia (4th in La Liga) and Bayern (2nd in the Bundesliga). Who knows what might happen.