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Deleted Account #151676
#181685 The Final
#181672 The Final
#181662 The Final
#181622 Maldini - A Father & Son tale
A tough month for us threw up some bumps in the road, especially for our Champions League hopes despite a credible draw with Manchester United;
Drawing with Parma was a poor result, we should be putting the likes of them to the sword if we are truly looking to break into the elite group of teams in the division, a win over Atalanta was ok, however the big game this month was the visit of Udinese, which up until the 82nd minute was a drab affair, unfortunately Nadir Minnotti ruined that what would have been a decent point.
In the Champions League the loss to CSKA ruined our chances of qualification, at least in my mind, I hadn't expected such a strong performance against Man Utd, to our detriment it was again a late goal that cost us dearly, Adnan Januzaj bending in a free kick to cancel out Brad Herrick's opener. we now need United to lose at home to already qualified CSKA to stand a chance, not something I consider particularly likely but you never know.
Christian
Started each game this month, picking up average ratings in each, although he did make the mistake that cost us CSKA.
#181602 Maldini - A Father & Son tale
October proved a fine month for my Viola, we're currently riding the wave of a four game winning streak in Serie A as well as being on course for qualification in the Champions league.
We really should have of beaten Dinamo Zagreb, we had been expected to win, however we just couldn't get the damn ball in the back of the net, a point isn't the end of the world of course but it does reduce our margin for error in the remaining games if we are serious about reaching the last sixteen. Another blow followed as we allowed Juventus to come back from a goal down to win 2-1, our first defeat of the campaign, however three consecutive Serie A victories over Napoli, Sampdoria and Palermo have ensured we stay within the throng of title chasers, it wouldn't do to get cut adrift even at this early stage considering the distance between Milan and everybody else in the last couple of years.
Beating CSKA has improved our claim to a place in the knockout stages of the Champions League, next up we welcome Manchester United to Stadio Arteimo Franchi, a point will be a decent result for us, provided we can defeat CSKA and Dinamo of course.
In other news; I have concluded deals for two potential future stars who will be joining us this winter;
Swedish under-21 captain Gustav comes highly recommended by my scouting staff, He will have to prove himself of course but he can expect a chance in the first team before the end of the season, he could become a real talent.
Ramazani has already made 90 appearances for Sepahan in his native Iran, scoring 55 times, as well as having earned 24 caps and three for his country. My plan is to immediately loan him to a Serie B side to help acclimatise to Italian life and hopefully pick up the language before he returns next season.
Christian
Was injured for much of the month, he returned against Sampdoria from the bench before staring against Palermo, earning a 7.4 rating.
#181588 Humam Tariq - The Iraqi Wonderkid
2013/14 - Al Quwa Al Jawiya - 16 games (3 goals)
2014/15 - Roma - 0 (0) £500k
2014/15 - PAOK - 19 (7) Loan
2015/16 - Roma - 31 (4)
2016/17 - Roma - 23 (3)
2017/18 - Roma - 20 (0)
2018/19 - Roma - 22 (6)
2019/20 - Roma - 8 (0) ongoing season
#181586 2014/15 Kit Thread
I like Derby's new kit, nice and simple.
#181582 Susie FC
#181567 The Final
#181551 Taking Fiorentina to the top
#181518 The Night Thread Mk. IX
#181299 The Final
#181298 Third-Place Playoff
#181297 Maldini - A Father & Son tale
We seem to be becoming draw specialists at the moment with four of this months five games culminating in us having to share a point. Whilst some may see this a failure to win, we can at least say we are as yet unbeaten in all competitions this season which is a decent achievement as we enter October.
Being held by the likes of Bolonga and Novara was somewhat frustrating, Novara have become somewhat of a bogey side for me personally, I've only won once against them in nine attempts now with Brescia, Roma and now Fiorentina...Next time it's personal.
Talking of my former employers, beating Roma at Stadio Olimpico was a bitter-sweet feeling, I harbour no ill feelings towards the club, but it's always nice to show your ex's what their missing! Unfortunately that defeat cost Cesare Prandelli his job, Roberto Di Matteo has now succeeded him.
In the Champions League got off to a very reasonable start, holding Manchester United at Old Trafford, Urby gave us the lead after eighteen minutes, however two quick-fire goals from Domenico Berrnardi and Juan Mata just after the hour mark saw us promptly put on the back foot and looking as if we were heading for defeat, however up-stepped American substitute Brad Herrick who broke away from the United defence to rescue a point in the 88th minute, the 21 year old Illinois man was making his first appearance after retuning from an injury picked up at the tail end of last season so it was great he got back to scoring form immediately.
We're still hanging around the upper echelons of the table, although we do need to start turnign our attractive brand of football into victories rather than draws, October sees us face the likes of Juventus, Napoli and Sampdoria so this would be the ideal time in which to do so!
CSKA won in Zagreb whilst we drew in Manchester, so they top the group after the first round of games, next we welcome Dinamo to Florence in a game we will be expected to win, you can never afford any complacency at this level though.
Christian
Is currently on the treatment table after hobbling off with an ankle injury late in the Roma game, he started all three previous games this month, making some solid performances.
#181068 Maldini - A Father & Son tale
I have spent the summer revamping my Viola team with no fewer than twelve new faces who I hope will be able to better last seasons fourth place finish in Serie A as well as being competitive in the Champions League and the Copa Italia.
Transfers In
Signed on loan from Ajax with the option to buy, Branco is a good deep lying playmaker sort who will keep things ticking over in the middle of the park.
Another exciting central midfielder, although Pedro is more attack minded than Van Den Boomen, a top quality distributor who should be able to slice defences in two with his passing abilities.
Rated five stars by my chief scout, Franco looks a real prospect, already an Italian youth international, I think another season in Serie B with Ternana will do him good before he rejoins us next season in order to test his nerve in Serie A.
The left winger has shone in the last couple of years whilst at Verona, his reward was an £8.25M move to us, can he handle the pressure?
Shouldn't be a stranger to anyone who has followed this story over the past few months. My boy once again links up with me, although Everton were reluctant to sell just six months after he joined the Toffee's, he cost me £3M this time around, still he's a reliable enough full back who has improved each season so he should vindicate that fee.
Another Everton recruit, pretty much the one shining light of my god awful spell at the club, a good hard working box-to-box midfielder who will proberly become an integral part of the team once he learns Italian, perhaps he can even push for a place in the England squad now he will be showcasing his talents in the Champions League.
Yet another central midfielder, Adrien joins from Monaco for just under £6M, a good reader of the game who likes to sit deep and dictate the play.
This deal was actually signed by by predecessor Alberto Malesani before his retirement, still he looks like a reasonable striker who should be a viable rotation option.
Ok, that's all the new boys, there is also quite an extensive outgoing list;
I have gotten of to a fantastic start with Fiorentina, four wins from four competitive games and unbeaten throughout pre-season;
Pre-season results
Two good solid dispay's against Russian outfit Krasnodar saw us ease into the group stages of the Champions League where we face a stern test;
The toughest game, the trip to Old Trafford is up first, although I fancy us to beat CSKA and Dinamo Zagreb to the second qualifying spot.
I was delighted that the first goal of the season came from Christian on his debut! It was a bit of a special goal too, coming from a throw in routine he picked up the ball thirty yards out and belted it in with just one touch, I have no idea why he was even in that sort of position as he is supposed to stay back at all set-plays but I'm glad he was in this case, he also has two assists already this season.
The league table doesn't mean anything at this stage, but it is of course nice to say we are top at the moment!
So far I have mostly utilised 4-5-1, which is a real departure from my normal narrow 4-2-3-1 which I have implemented in all my previous posts, I have to say that having widemen has really given my normal tactics an extra dimension which has made me wonder if I have been too rigid in my tactical mentality previously, when I joined Roma I immediately sold off all the wingers in order to implement the aforementioned 4-2-3-1 which had proved successful for me at Brescia, perhaps I was hasty.
#180849 Maldini - A Father & Son tale
After my highly forgettable spell with Everton, who for those of you wondering were eventually relegated (although the returning Roberto Martinez is the one who takes the blot on his managerial CV) it was important for me to choose the right job, least my career stall any more.
I think Fiorentina will be a good choice, a big club with a proud history, Champions League football next season by the grace of their fourth place finish in Serie A this term and an already capable squad.
I'm looking forward to facing Roma and Brescia again next season (who finished 8th and 16th respectively) I just hope things go better than at Everton!
#180844 Maldini - A Father & Son tale
Luck didn't materialise I'm afraid mate;
I have left Everton by mutual consent after I was unable to bring about a revival in the Toffee's fortunes, they still languish in the Premier League relegation zone with things looking very bleak on Merseyside.
The 3-1 defeat to QPR sparked an angry reaction from the board who demanded an explanation, me blaming the players was not what they wanted to hear apparently! they told me to resign or be sacked. I honestly can't say I was too upset to leave Goodison after just four months in charge, it has been a horrible spell and I won't be staying in England, most likely I'll wait for the summer and return to Italy where both the Juventus and Inter jobs are rumoured to be available with Antonio Conte and Walter Materazzi both out of contract and perhaps ready for new challenges.
#180366 Semi Finals
Really wouldn't fancy being Brazil coming out for the third place game.
#180362 Semi Finals
#180353 Semi Finals
#180345 Semi Finals
Edit: Never Mind!
#180325 Semi Finals
#180317 Semi Finals
#180031 Cleansing Europe - One nation at a time.
#180012 Maldini - A Father & Son tale
Plenty of news since my last update!
I am no longer manager of A.S. Roma, a disastrous start to the 2018/19 season brought about my dismissal from Stadio Olimpico, just two wins from eight Serie A games is no form for a side hoping to compete for a Champions League berth, that coupled with our disappointing collapse in the second half of last season were more than the board were willing to tolerate.
Defeat in the Italian cup was a downer right from the beginning, unlike the Copa Italia final in May we could not bemoan our luck against Milan this time, they were by far the better team and fully deserved the trophy. Europe was a bit more fruitful as we qualified comfortably for the group stage of the Europa League, however that wasn't enough to save my job.
I was out of work for two months before being offered a new job, it could of been a shorter length of time had a move to Sassuolo in Serie B intrested me more, Sassuolo were relegated last season but I don't have much interest in dropping down a division and eventually decided to go abroad for a while before eventually returning to have another crack at the Serie A title.
So where did I eventually end up?....
Yes, my career has spread to Merseyside, my aim is to take an flailing Everton side from the EPL relegation zone to something resemebeling the side they had in the early 2010's when they were pushing for Champions League football.
As with my previous jobs at Brescia and Roma I am going to have to overhaul a bloated and ageing side if I am to establish my own ideals at Goodison Park. As luck would have it I was appointed on the 2nd of January so the transfer window has just opened to allow me to start making changes immediatly, as you can see I have already begun by raiding my old club for Radja Nainggolan and obviously Christian will be joining me in England. young centre backs Niklaus Nielson and Mario Jurina also rejoin me on loan, they will add pace to the back line which Phil Jagielka and Dawson are severley lacking in.
The arrivals of Brazilian playmaker Nathan, French ball winner Maxime Gonalons and Ajax frontman Richairo Zivkovic also add some continental quality to our squad.
I have started reasonably well, of course it is not easy to completely revamp a team's playing style whilst bringing in a whole host of new players and to top it all not speak the same language as most of the players, so this is defiantly a long term project.
#179954 The Night Thread Mk. IX
#179953 Fifa 14
#179929 Alfredo di Stefano
#179905 Barclays Premier League 2014/15
Villa sponsors Dafabet are in trouble for teneding to agree with you....
#179438 Maldini - A Father & Son tale
Some really poor results there; We did reasonably well against the side we might have been expected to struggle against, however we were much too complacent against sides who were in the lower half of the table and were too often found lacking in those games.
In the Champions league we were knocked out in the last sixteen by the eventual champions Monaco, something of a suprise winner I must admit!
The highlight of what in the end was a anti-climatic season following our runners up medals in 2016/17 was undoubtedly the Italian cup final against Milan, beating the likes of Juventus over two legs in the semi's. Unfortunately we came up short in the big match despite being the better team throughout the game, we were unable to finish off the Champions and wound up losing 5-4 on penalties.
Christian had a good season, making 29 appearances and scoring one goal for an average rating of 6.96.