Pikoldan - Comments

The final incoming that will affect us this season will be that of Rafinha. What one you may ask?

Yeah. The really old Rafinha. He has come in on a free to offer us some vital experience on top of what we already have, and his contract runs until his retirement at the end of 2024. Already he has proven his worth as he has delivered with a goal and an assist in his first three games….but he is injured for 3 weeks.

As we run into the new year of the 2023-24 season, this is how the Serie C/B table stands: 

We have had an incredible first half of the season, with us having the best offense and the 2nd best defence in the league, leading to us having an 8 point gap to Entella in 2nd at the turn of the New Year.

Coppa Italia: 

Unfortunately we were knocked out at the first round of the Coppa Italia after we got drawn against a Parma team that was stronger than our own, and we did well to hold on into extra-time but we couldn't find a way through before conceding, and bowing out of the cup.

Serie C Cup

The Serie C cup was a competition that Ranieri himself won with Cagliari in 1988-89, and is something that we will also be aiming to do this season, as to follow in his footsteps (obviously, that's what this is all about xD)

We entered the competition in the second round, as we easily dispatched a weaker Casertana team that as of writing are actually sitting 2nd in the Serie C/C. A brace by our main striker Franco Ferrari were the nail in the coffin in this match after already breaking through twice with the other side of the Ferrari(s) duo and 20 year-old prospect Matteo Dagasso.

The next round of the cup proved to be a bit more difficult, as we faced Juventus' Under-23s team, filled with young stars like Renato Veiga and Felix Afena-Gyan. In the end our domination of the possession in the match felt like it gave us an edge when building up our attacks and we took our chances through a solid yassin Fekir solo run and an easy tap-in from Simone Pafundi to win us the game after Afena-Gyan had previously levelled the game.

This game proved to be the biggest test of the entire cup competition, as we faced a Catania team that contained solid experienced Serie A vets like Stefano Sturaro and Roberto Inglese, the latter of which opened the scoring to put Catania ahead in the tie, before Yassin Fekir pulled through for us yet again in the cup as it sent us to extra-time, where nothing happened, before we headed for penalties, which felt harsh as we were banging on the door for the go-ahead goal the entire match but we just couldn't find it. Luckily, it proved to be of no consequence as we ended up winning as Fekir, Ferraris, Moruzzi, loanee Thomas Alberti, and Niccolo Squizzato all put away their penalties while Catania's final taker, Adriano Montalto, had his penalty saved by Alessandro Plizzari.

Top performers so far:

One player that has been vital this season so far to us, if not the most vital, has been Alessandro Plizzari. This man has had 10 clean sheets in 22 games. The man hasn't conceded in nearly 50% of games. I would say that does tend to be a recipe for success. Another thing that has been huge from him, is his comfortability wiht the ball at his feet, even though his stats are not at all great in terms of technique, he hasn't made a single mistake at all this year, not a foot wrong, and he has had vital roles in plenty of the goals we have scored this year, often coming slightly further up to help rebuild lost attacks or start new ones as an extra option to play back to. along with this his moments in the clutch have been tantamount to our performance. he has saved EVERY penalty he has faced this season (excluding shootouts) and has saved 90% of the shots he has faced. But, when they do go in, the player shown next saves his bacon by delivering on the opposite end of the pitch.

Franco Ferrari. don't let the name fool you, he isn't flashy, he isn't expensive. He is plain, and he is cheap, but just like most good cheap things, he does the job needed of him. Not only does he do it, he does it perfectly. He has put away 13 in his 19 appearances for the club in all competitions, and along with that has 3 assists to his name, and is perfectly delivering on his xG to the exact decimal place. If that isn't the most does it's job kind of thing ever, I don't know what is. However, the next man is the exact opposite of him.

He is young, expensive, and has a buttload of technique and flair, the perfect thing to balance just what old man Ferrari misses. Simone Pafundi has been a revelation for us this year, with his 13 G/A you might think it isn't amazing, but he has been playing his role to perfection, and it's more than just goal contributions. he opens up space for his teammates by doing perfectly timed runs to displace defenders, he completes mazy dribbles before either slapping it into the top corner or laying it off to a teammate for an easy tap-in. 29.20 passes completed per 90, nearly 8 of those are key passes that have led to high-percentage chances for us in matches. If Udinese were dumb enough to let him ever go for cheap or on a free, I would immediately bite their head off and then laugh right to them.

Pre-Jan Signings:

Only one signing to report that happened between Summer and January, and it is one that is yet to be ran out all that much.

Andrew Hjulsager was a man that I have been trialling every second of the season until I finally convinced him to drop his wages enough, and then ironically as soon as I sign him he starts to degress in his stats. Perfect Timing.

He is still a great player though, and one I think will still be an important figure if we make it into Serie B at the tail end of this season, and he is already proving his worth as he has delivered 2 assists in his first 5 appearances, with only 1 start so far.

As we go into the season this is how our team and tactic are looking:

Franco Ferrari and Simone Pafundi are looking to be our main goalscoring threats while Andrea Ferraris and Davide Merola cut in from the flanks to provide more support up top, and another loanee in Alessandro Plizzari stands between the sticks to keep out opposition forwards.

The team looks to supply mainly from the fullbacks and through the playmaking ability of Pafundi, as Moruzzi and Pierozzi are to throw in as many crosses as possible towards the big man in Ferrari, while Pafundi looks to play him through alternatively breaking the lines, or by making runs through the defence himself.

To complete the transfer business for the first window at Pescara, we bring in another 5 players, one costing £160,000, and selling two players for a total of $85,000.

The first player we brought in was Maxime Penneteau who is a 24 year-old Striker that comes in as a squad depth player up top. Next we brought in Franco Ferrari from Vicenza for £160K, he is a 6'3 29 year-old striker who is excellent in the air and is a very reliable striker who goes straight into the starting line-up for the season. Yassin Fekir also came into the squad, the younger brother of Nebil is a well-rounded advanced player who is excellent on the ball and comes in as a backup for the majority of our attack. We also brought in Vagner after he was released by FC Metz as another attacking backup for free. Finally we brought in 6'6 Ionut Gurau who is a brilliant rotational goalkeeper who may end up being the starter in the future if others leave.

As we go towards the beginning of the first season, we have brought in a triad of Defensive free transfers, along with the loan of Udinese starboy Simone Pafundi. 

Christian Pastina is a 23 year-old 6'1 Centre-back with decent physicals and defensive capabilities for this level, with a good aerial ability to match. Andrea Tozzo is a 6'4 Backup Goalkeeper at 31 who will be there in the case of our starting keeper getting injured. The final of the free transfers was Alessandro Crescenzi, who is a versatile wingback who can play on both flanks and is an extremely well-rounded player at 32. 

Cornelius Staver left the club to Sheriff Tiraspol in Moldova to free up wage budget and registration spots, with more to be leaving the club.

An iconic manager who has been all over Europe as one of the greats, winning trophies and getting clubs out of peril. Claudio Ranieri started at Cagliari and dragged them from Serie C1 to Serie A after joining them in 1988. I will be following his career and too starting at this exact point. This save will start at Pescara in the Serie C/B and aims to get into Serie A.