retired_embartl

Another season of consolidation :thup: Euro spot challenge next year?

retired_amalonea

absolutly awesome story .....but either im stupid or just Polish........is this the story of yu playing FM2005??...or u makin this story up???....( which i doubt)

anyways great work

retired_jgirl87

Bob's starting date is August 2003, so I'd say this is a CM03/04 story.

retired_lazza68

i agree , i have just started to read the story and it looks as though it will be a great one i like to see extra detail and this certainly has that more more

retired_amyslack

Thanks for the feedback chaps. I must admit that I had kind of lost interest in this one but your encouragement has mitivated me to get back to it.

A Change Is As Good As A Rest

After an unaccustomed few weeks of idleness, Sandy was itching to get back into action and he returned to the Stadio Mancini well before his backroom team. Most of the Board were back at work and he took the opportunity to establish Mirco’s goals for the season. With the Serie A TV rights and an excellent new sponsorship deal that the Chairman had put together, the club had in excess of €12M in the bank. Just over €5M of that was earmarked as a transfer budget and the wage budget was increased to €120K a week. Both Sandy and Mirco were keen to see the club build on two pretty decent seasons in the top flight and decided to make a real push for European qualification. But to do that Sandy felt that he needed to make a few changes – some new players, strengthening of the coaching staff and perhaps a different tactical approach too.

In the early summer the first of the backroom changes were initiated with physio Leonardo Profili (59) and coach Roberto Serena (62) both offered early retirement. Sandy asked Director of Football Loris Servadio to try to identify some new coaching staff as well as physios and scouts in order to strengthen Fano’s off-the-field team. He interviewed a number of candidates and made several appointments before the end of the summer. On the coaching side, former Russian international Valery Karpin accepted an offer and retired Colombian star Faustino Asprilla joined the physio team.

On the playing front 33-year-old Michele Marcolini decided that he would be hanging up his boots but as Sandy wasn’t about to renew his contract anyway, it made little difference to the squad. Striker Marco Pierobon was another who would not be getting an extended contract and youngster Carmine Lorenzini accepted an offer from Verona. Defender Jean Dika and young keeper Antonio Corti also left when their contracts expired. Sandy was pleased when Spanish defender Fernandez Perez decided to stay on in Italy, despite his difficulty in settling into the lifestyle.

Sandy was strangely inactive in the transfer market, making just a few acquisitions. Former Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor agreed a three-year deal and speedy forward Luca Foldi joined from Bari for a nominal fee. His final deal of the summer was to bring centre back Dorian Ame in from Juventus for just under €1M.

During his meetings with his coaching staff, the team had discussed various ideas for a different tactical formation and they agreed that it would be interesting to try out a Sweeper system. The squad had several players capable of filling that role and Sandy felt that it might offer more stability at the back. He was certainly prepared to give it a go, at least for the early part of the season. So with that in mind the players worked hard in pre-season to put the formation into practice. To help in this process Sandy had agreed to several warm-up games against lower-league opposition. He was pretty pleased with the results but the real test would begin when with the season opener at home to Serie A title holders Sampdoria.

Sandy had to make some difficult team selection decisions for the opening game, given that his team was trying to adapt to a new formation. He decided to play Tchangai as sweeper and pair Santos and Ricardo Costa in the centre of defence. New signing McGregor would start in goal with Michele at right back. First choice left back Luca Ferri would miss the first few games through injury so he tried youngster Gianluca Amadio in that position. In midfield he played Odair, Ochs and Collacchioni with Visentin and Pazzi up front.

Sandy’s Journal
Wednesday September 2nd 2009
Serie A Game 1
Fano 0 Sampdoria 0
We can’t be too disappointed with a shutout against the defending champions and this game was as close as the scoreline suggests. There was little to choose between the teams and to be honest this wasn’t the most thrilling of contests. McGregor made a solid debut and young Leo was as dynamic as ever.

Team Selection
McGregor (8), Tchangai (7), M Ferri (8), Amadio (6), Santos (7), Ricardo Costa (6), Odair (7), Ochs (7), Collacchioni (8), Pazzi (7), Visentin (8*)


World Cup qualification was in full swing with two rounds of matches played before Fano next saw action. Italy had a good 3-0 win at home to Lithuania and then a narrow 3-2 win over the Ukraine. Scotland played out a creditable 0-0 draw at group leaders Norway and then had a fine 3-1 win in the Czech Republic. McGregor was in the squad for both of Scotland’s games but failed to add to his single international cap.

For the visit to Reggina, Sandy saw no reason to make any changes to his starting eleven for the moment and went with an unchanged selection.

Sandy’s Journal
Saturday September 12th 2009
Serie A Game 2
Reggina 1 Fano 1
Another pretty even game that could have gone either way. We recovered well after conceding an early goal even though McGregor was struggling somewhat with an injured hand. We were caught out a bit with the opening goal when Tchangai seemed to forget that he was sweeping and was dragged out of position trying to mark an attacker. Something to work at on the training ground I think.

Team Selection
McGregor (5), Tchangai (7), M Ferri (7), Amadio (7), Santos (8), Ricardo Costa (7, sub 75), Odair (8*), Ochs (7, sub 75), Collacchioni (7, sub 75), Pazzi (7), Visentin (7)
Subs – Ame (6), Foldi (6), Palacios (7)

Goals
Santos 48


McGregor’s injury turned out to be more serious than first expected, a nasty dislocation that would keep him out of action for a few weeks. This meant that Luzi would come back into the team to cover for a few games. For the midweek trip to Como, Sandy had to make a few changes as, this early in the season, some of his players were still not totally match-fit.

Sandy’s Journal
Wednesday September 16th 2009
Serie A Game 3
Como 1 Fano 2
A goal down at half time, the introduction of Dirk Ochs at half time for the disappointing Hagen proved to be significant, the midfielder getting the equaliser within a minute of the restart. The 25-year-old German scorned the chance of another goal when he put his penalty too near the keeper but thankfully young Matteo was on hand to drive home what proved to be the winning goal.

Team Selection
Luzi (8), Tchangai (7), M Ferri (7), L Ferri (8), Santos (7), Herrero (7, sub 78), Odair (8), Hagen (4, sub 45), Collacchioni (8), Foldi (8), Visentin (10*, sub 78)
Subs – Ochs (8), Fernandez Perez (6), Alberti (6)

Goals
Ochs 46, Visentin 56


Sandy was pleased to get his first win of the season and he was encouraged by the early form of some of his key players – Visentin, Odair and Collacchioni had all started well. All three would start the game at home to Lazio as Fano sought to keep up their unbeaten start to the season.

Sandy’s Journal
Sunday September 20th 2009
Serie A Game 4
Fano 2 Lazio 1
This was a really good performance as we matched a strong Lazio side chance for chance and could actually have won by a greater margin. The two goals from Visentin were sandwiched either side of a strike form the visitors in the first half. The Lazio keeper was called into action several times in the second half, and his quick reactions kept his team in the game.

Team Selection
Luzi (8), Tchangai (9*), M Ferri (8), L Ferri (7), Santos (7), Ame (7, sub 80), Odair (7), Ochs (7), Collacchioni (8), Pazzi (7, sub 80), Visentin (8)
Subs – Fernandez Perez (7), Rosales (6)

Goals
Visentin 14, 41


Sandy’s team had a week to recover before their credentials would be tested further with a trip to Juventus for what was sure to be a very difficult game and he was able to name an unchanged side for the game in Turin.

Sandy’s Journal
Sunday September 27th 2009
Serie A Game 5
Juventus 1 Fano 2
An early goal from Ochs served to settle the nerves and although we conceded an equaliser on the half hour, Visentin tucked away his penalty with great aplomb. Injuries to Luca Ferri and then Santos caused us to re-shuffle our formation twice, the second time abandoning the sweeper system as we had no more defensive subs on the bench. In the circumstances we did extremely well to hold on to our lead and I am delighted with the result.

Team Selection
Luzi (6), Tchangai (6), M Ferri (8), L Ferri (6, sub 69), Santos (8, sub 85), Ame (8, sub 69), Odair (8), Ochs (8), Collacchioni (9*), Pazzi (7), Visentin (9)
Subs – Fernandez Perez (6), Palacios (7), Machado (6)

Goals
Ochs 3, Visentin 36

Full back Ferri would be out for four weeks with broken ribs, opening up an opportunity for Academy graduate Gianluca Amadio to establish his place in the team. An unbeaten opening to the season saw Fano hold 3rd place in Serie A at the end of the month, the highest that Sandy’s team had ever been. Whilst no one expected them to maintain that position at the end of the campaign, everyone at the club was still thrilled with their current position.

retired_xs2khizar

Asprilla in the physio room :eek:. I hope he realises not everyone is quite as bendy as he is.

Decent start, the sweeper system seems to be doing okay and I reckon Europe's on this season. Forza Fano :thup:

retired_amyslack

Cheers nerf - still hoping for the Ragusa playoff triumph!

A Sweeping Success

The switch in tactics to introduce a Catenaccio formation had certainly paid off, taking Fano to their best ever start to a Serie A season. It was not as watertight as Sandy would have wanted – only one clean sheet in 5 games would testify to that – but his team were definitely looking more solid in defence. With three of their five games being played against very strong teams in the shape of Sampdoria, Lazio and Juventus, Sandy was doubly pleased with the results thus far. His team would face another big challenge at the start of October with the visit of Inter, although Fano had a decent record against them – 2 wins, 2 draws and 2 defeats in their 6 meetings. Their opponents had made a terrible start to the season with 4 defeats in their first 5 games and Sandy was hoping to add to their discomfort. As well as playing Amadio for the injured Ferri there would be another change as Dorian Ame was on international duty so Ricardo Costa would deputise in central defence.

Sandy’s Journal
Sunday October 4th 2009
Serie A Game 6
Fano 2 Inter 1
I have to say that we rode our luck a little in this game as the visitors created the better chances and we have Luzi to thank for the win. Collacchioni took advantage of a poor clearance from the visiting keeper to open the scoring but they struck back with an equaliser immediately after the restart. With Odair tiring rapidly I brought on Andorno for his first appearance of the season and he was in the right place to latch on to the ball after Leo’s shot from distance was spilled by the veteran Francesco Toldo.

Team Selection
Luzi (9), Tchangai (7), M Ferri (7), Amadio (6), Santos (7), Ricardo Costa (5, sub 45), Odair (7, sub 75), Ochs (7), Collacchioni (9*), Pazzi (6), Visentin (7)
Subs – Fernandez Perez (6), Andorno (7)

Goals
Collacchioni 28, Andorno 82


Christian Pazzi became Fano’s record holder for the most appearances for the club, the game against Inter marking his 190th game. He, along with several other players, was rested for the midweek visit of newly promoted Ternana.

Sandy’s Journal
Wednesday October 7th 2009
Serie A Game 7
Fano 1 Ternana 0
A flicked header by Luca Foldi from a near-post corner gave the new boy his first goal for the club and three more very useful points. How that remained the only goal of the game I’ll never know as we created a shedload of chances. We nearly lived to regret out carelessness in front of goal as the visitors finished with a flourish, hitting the woodwork late on when they could easily have scored.

Team Selection
Luzi (8), Tchangai (7), M Ferri (8), Santos (8), Ame (7, sub 64), Herrero (6), Odair (9*), Riccio (8), Palacios (8), Alberti (7, sub 64), Foldi (8)
Subs – Hagen (6), Machado (7)

Goals
Foldi 1


Fano’s 5th win of the season took them to uncharted territory – the top of the Serie A table, two points clear of Perugia and a further point ahead of Vicenza. With Cagliari in 4th place, the top of the table had a very unfamiliar look about it at this early stage of the season. With a weekend break because of World Cup qualifiers, Sandy could watch as Italy won 2-1 in Belgium to secure their place at the finals next summer. With Poland failing to win their final fixture and Norway suffering an unlikely 4-1 defeat in Cyprus, Scotland somehow finished top of their group to book their place alongside his adopted nation. His team’s next game would be a visit to Parma, struggling in 16th place in the table. He was pleased to go back to his first choice starters for what he hoped would be another productive match.


Sandy’s Journal
Saturday October 17th 2009
Serie A Game 8
Parma 0 Fano 0
This was not the most entertaining match that I have witnessed as neither side played with much attacking ambition and few chances were created. Everything seemed to bog down in midfield and we struggled to impose ourselves on the game.

Team Selection
Luzi (8), Tchangai (6), M Ferri (6), Amadio (6), Santos (6), Ame (6, sub 45), Odair (7), Ochs (8*), Collacchioni (7), Pazzi (7), Visentin (7)
Subs – Ricardo Costa (7), Foldi (6)


Sandy’s team was soon back in action with an Italian Cup tie at home to Siena of Serie B. As was his habit, the manager swapped most of his team around for the Cup game in order to preserve the fitness of his first choice players.

Sandy’s Journal
Tuesday October 20th 2009
Italian Cup 1st Round 1st Leg
Fano 6 Siena 0
The rather sparse crowd at the Stadio Mancini enjoyed a goal fest this evening as our midfield and forwards ran riot against rather poor opposition. Young Alberti scored his first goals for the club and Foldi had a field day with his two goals.

Team Selection
McGregor (7), Fernandez Perez (7), Herrero (6, sub 45), Hagen (8, sub 54), Ame (5, sub 45), Amadio (8), Andorno (8), Riccio (8), Palacios (9), Foldi (10*), Alberti (9)
Subs – M Ferri (7), Santos (7), Tchangai (7)

Goals
Palacios 5, Hagen 7, Alberti 53, 54, Foldi 77, 80


It was soon back to reality for Fano after their fun in the cup as they faced two key games in four days. Firstly they would take on Vicenza at home and then they would welcome the visit of Perugia, both teams challenging for the leadership of Serie A. With a few injuries starting to affect availability Sandy had to make some enforced changes to his preferred lineup.

Sandy’s Journal
Sunday October 25th 2009
Serie A Game 9
Fano 1 Vicenza 0
With time running out it was beginning to look like we would not be rewarded for our territorial dominance but then Visentin showed his power in the air when he met a precise corner from Odair to head home the winning goal. The win was not without cost though as we had a few more players pick up knocks so let’s hope that none of them are serious.

Team Selection
Luzi (6), Tchangai (7), M Ferri (7), Ricardo Costa (6, sub 85), Fernandez Perez (6, sub 40), Santos (7), Odair (8), Ochs (7), Collacchioni (7), Pazzi (4, sub 65), Visentin (9*)
Subs – Ame (7), Foldi (7), Herrero (6)

Goals
Visentin 84


Buoyed by a win that took them back to the top of the table, Sandy’s team looked forward to their next game with great enthusiasm. Fortunately there were no long-term injuries following their last game but several players required to be rested so the manager had to shuffle his eleven once more.

Sandy’s Journal
Wednesday October 28th 2009
Serie A Game 10
Fano 2 Perugia 1
We showed great spirit to come back from a half-time deficit and score twice in the last quarter of the game to seal a great win. It was no more than our pressure deserved as we finally found a way past an inspired visiting keeper. Both goals were excellent – Andorno’s equaliser was a perfectly placed free kick and the winner from Ochs came courtesy of a first-time volley. I am delighted with the way we are grinding out results and we are certainly proving to be a difficult team to beat at present.

Team Selection
Luzi (6), Tchangai (7), Collacchioni (7), M Ferri (5), Herrero (7), Santos (8), Andorno (8), Ochs (7), Palacios (7), Pazzi (7), Visentin (8)

Goals
Andorno 72, Ochs 79


Fano were indeed proving to be hard to beat – no one had achieved that feat in the league thus far and they proudly topped the table at the end of the month, holding a 5-point cushion over the chasing group. As Sandy perused the table he noted just how tight it was and reflected on the strong position that his team held at present. He would be amazed if they could continue their outstanding form and he was acutely aware just how quickly they could slip down the table if they got into a losing streak.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Pos | Inf | Team | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | FANO | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 6 | +7 | 24 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Roma | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 23 | 10 | +13 | 19 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Cagliari | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 24 | 14 | +10 | 19 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Perugia | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 19 | 11 | +8 | 19 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Milan | 11 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 21 | 19 | +2 | 19 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Udinese | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 16 | 11 | +5 | 18 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Torino | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 19 | 14 | +5 | 17 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Vicenza | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 9 | +2 | 17 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Juventus | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 12 | +1 | 15 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Sampdoria | 11 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 14 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Atalanta | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 19 | 18 | +1 | 12 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Reggina | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 16 | -2 | 12 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Como | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 17 | 19 | -2 | 11 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Inter | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 15 | 19 | -4 | 10 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Parma | 10 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 16 | -4 | 10 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Lazio | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 12 | 14 | -2 | 9 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Ternana | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 16 | -6 | 9 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | | Fiorentina | 9 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 13 | -7 | 7 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | | Palermo | 10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 23 | -15 | 7 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | | Bari | 10 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 8 | 20 | -12 | 4 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

retired_Gentle Lady

I'm loving these stories Bob: Keep them up!

retired_amyslack

Thanks beanochris – appreciate the support.

Knocked Off The Top

Full back Luca Ferri was still not fit enough to be in the team that travelled to Fiorentina and with backup Amadio out of action with a dislocated shoulder Sandy had to make some defensive changes. Michele Ferri would move to the left of defence and Fernandez Perez would come in on the right and he would also revert back to his favoured midfield trio.

Sandy’s Journal
Sunday November 1st 2009
Serie A Game 11
Fiorentina 0 Fano 0
This was a pretty sterile display from us as far as scoring opportunities went, with the home side creating most of the openings. Patrice Luzi seems to have improved his consistency and is certainly playing well enough to keep new signing McGregor on the bench as once again he was out best player on the night.

Team Selection
Luzi (8*), Tchangai (8), Fernandez Perez (5, sub 47), Santos (7), Ricardo Costa (7, sub 47), M Ferri (8), Odair (7), Ochs (7), Collacchioni (8), Pazzi (7), Visentin (7)
Subs – Herrero (7), Ame (7)


Fano faced yet another midweek game when they travelled to Siena for the 2nd leg of their Italian Cup tie. Sandy went with pretty much the same side that played so well in the first encounter, the only change being the return of Luca Ferri on the left of defence.

Sandy’s Journal
Wednesday November 4th 2009
Italian Cup 1st Round 2nd Leg
Siena 1 Fano 1 (Fano win 7-1 on aggregate)
We dominated play and should have wrapped up another comfortable win over these opponents but some slack finishing, combined with a fine display by the home keeper, kept the score respectable. It was frustrating to see us concede a goal against the run of play when Siena converted their only scoring attempt of the game.

Team Selection
McGregor (5), Fernandez Perez (7), Herrero (6, sub 60), Hagen (8), Ame (6, sub 72), L Ferri (6), Andorno (7, sub 60), Riccio (7), Palacios (7), Foldi (7), Alberti (8)
Subs – M Ferri (7), Santos (6), Dall’Acqua (6)

Goals
Alberti 28


Sandy went back to his favoured eleven for the visit to Udinese. Their opponents were having a good season so far, sitting in 6th place in the table, but they had never previously beaten Fano and the manager was anxious for that record to be maintained.

Sandy’s Journal
Sunday November 8th 2009
Serie A Game 12
Udinese 1 Fano 0
The loss of Visentin after half an hour made a big difference to the outcome of this game as we definitely missed his presence in attack, especially as Pazzi had a pretty poor game. But on chances created we did mort that enough to get the win and only a poor refereeing decision late on denied us a point when a strike from Ochs was chalked off.

Team Selection
Luzi (5), Tchangai (7), M Ferri (5), Santos (7), Ricardo Costa (7), L Ferri (6), Odair (7), Ochs (7), Collacchioni (7), Pazzi (5, sub 85), Visentin (7, sub 30)
Subs – Alberti (7), Foldi (6)


Fano’s first defeat of the season allowed Perugia to re-take the leadership of Serie A, moving above Sandy’s team on goal difference. Fortunately, striker Visentin was not badly injured and would not miss any competitive action. The team had a weekend off before their next game due to the World Cup qualification playoffs. England and Wales were amongst the teams that went through, the latter on away goals after an enthralling 4-4 aggregate draw with Ireland.

Fano’s next game would be the biggest of the season so far – a visit by title challengers Roma. Michele Ferri would be missing after he suffered a training injury so Sandy dropped Collacchioni back into defence and brought Palacios into midfield.

Sandy’s Journal
Saturday November 21st 2009
Serie A Game 13
Fano 3 Roma 4
Our previously reliable defence struggled a bit today as a record crowd enjoyed an enthralling encounter. Roberto Palacios played superbly in midfield and put us into a great position with 2 goals from the penalty spot in the first 25 minutes. But the visitors came powering back and scored twice before half time. A cruel own goal by Tchangai put us behind just after the restart but a superb free kick from Odair squared the game. Unfortunately we just couldn’t hold on for a deserved point and we conceded once again with 10 minutes to go.

Team Selection
Luzi (7), Tchangai (6), Collacchioni (6), Santos (6), Ricardo Costa (5, sub 45), L Ferri (6), Odair (7), Ochs (7), Palacios (9*), Pazzi (6, sub 45), Visentin (7)
Subs – Fernandez Perez (7), Alberti (7)

Goals
Palacios 9, 25, Odair 70


Still smarting from two consecutive defeats, Sandy knew that it was vital for his team to get back into winning ways quickly, otherwise their wonderful start to the season would start to unravel. On paper, the visit to 7th place Torino did not appear to offer an easy three points by any means and Sandy decided to replace the out of sorts Pazzi with 18-year-old Michele Alberti.

Sandy’s Journal
Sunday November 29th 2009
Serie A Game 14
Torino 0 Fano 3
Our teenage strike force were excellent today and it took Alberti just 13 minutes to register his first Serie A goal. With the defence looking much more solid we never really looked like losing this one. Michele’s opener was as good a goal as I have seen – picking up possession just inside his own half, he outstripped the entire Torino defence before finishing from a narrow angle. Matteo took advantage of two goalkeeping howlers to wrap up the scoring and give us a morale-boosting win.

Team Selection
Luzi (8), Tchangai (8), Collacchioni (8), Santos (9*), Ricardo Costa (6, sub 33), L Ferri (6), Odair (8), Ochs (7, sub 88), Palacios (8, sub 88), Alberti (8), Visentin (9)
Subs – Ame (7), Hagen (6), Foldi (6)

Goals
Alberti 13, Visentin 22, 66


Fano’s two defeats had seen them drop down to 3rd in the table, a point behind surprise leaders Perugia and just behind Roma on goal difference. Cagliari were just a point further back with a little daylight between them and the chasing pack.

retired_chikiuso

Really enjoying this one. A great read.