BobBev

His Darkest Hour

The hunched figure sat in semi-darkness, his hair and beard unkempt, his shirt rumpled and stained, an overflowing ashtray and a half-empty wine glass at his hand. Sandy Banks was a mess and he knew it – he just didn’t know what to do about it. How to purge the demons that plagued his thoughts when he was awake and sober. That was probably why he spent most of his time either asleep or drunk.

God he’d come so close, and that’s what hurt. Not the losing so much but the manner it which it was lost, and with it his self-esteem and self-respect. Gone. Compulsively his hand went to the tattered newspaper clipping lying on the table. His eyes followed the newsprint; scanning but not reading – he knew every word by heart and had no need to read.

The Times
May 29th, 2000
Banks Quits Rangers
Late yesterday afternoon Alexander “Sandy” Banks gave a perfunctory press conference at Ibrox Stadium announcing that he had tendered his resignation as manager of Glasgow Rangers Football Club. His terse statement did not dwell on the reasons for his departure – anyone with an interest in football will know exactly why Banks is taking this action. In the space of 7 short days he has seen his team come agonisingly close to securing a glorious treble of Scottish Premier League, Scottish Cup and Champions League only for each prize to be ripped from their grasp in dramatic fashion.

Firstly the League title, seemingly in the bag a few short weeks ago, was thrown away as Rangers lost their last three games of the season to allow rivals Celtic to pip them on goal difference. Then the Scottish Cup Final was lost. Leading by two goals to nil with less than 20 minutes remaining, opponents Hearts were awarded a controversial penalty to pull a goal back. Then in stoppage time a bizarre own goal sent the game into extra time. With no further goals scored the Cup was decided on penalties with the almost inevitable result – Hearts won the shootout.

And then the cruellest blow of all – the Champions League Final. In virtually a mirror image of events in Barcelona last season Rangers conceded two stoppage time goals to allow Real Madrid to overturn their 1-0 deficit. Sandy’s team had somehow recovered from their previous disappointments to put in an inspired performance against the Spanish giants and should have been two or three goals ahead such was their dominance. But they failed to kill the game off and paid a heavy price indeed.

The Scottish press, already circling like vultures scenting blood, moved in for the kill. A man that just days earlier had been acclaimed as a tactical genius, a man manger supreme, a coaching miracle worker, was now labelled a failure. A choker who couldn’t take the pressure. A lightweight that flattered to deceive. The man who was touted as Ferguson’s successor at Old Trafford was now a Jonah, a pariah whose very presence meant the kiss of death.

No wonder Sandy Banks has thrown in the towel!


That was over three years ago now but it still felt like yesterday. Never a day went past that he didn’t re-live those events, keeping the memories alive and fresh. Recalling each game, the cries of the crowd, the reactions of the players, the hollow feeling in the pit of his stomach as he realised that it had all turned to dust. That glory had morphed to tragedy in the blink of an eye.

The ringing of the telephone made Sandy start – it had been a long time since his phone had rung. The first few weeks and months after his sudden resignation were quiet but after that he was contacted with increasing frequency. It seemed that there was no shortage of football clubs out there that wanted Sandy as their manager. But each time his answer was always the same – “No thanks, I’m not a football manager any more.”

It took him some time to locate his phone under the mounds of discarded books and magazines but he found it eventually. “Hello” he muttered tersely into the mouthpiece.

“Signor Sandy Banks por favore” said a faint voice at the other end of the line.

“Speaking”.

“Signor Sandy, so sorry to call late but eet ees Mirco Giovanelli speaking. I am Chairman of Fano club in Italy.”

“What? I don’t have an Italian fan club – I don’t have any feckin fan club.”

“No no, from Fano football team. We play een Serie C2/B in Italy.”

“Well that’s very nice for you but what’s that got to do with me?”

“Please Signor Sandy, I have been long admirer of your and I want you to come here and manage.”

“Manage what?”

“My football team of course.”

Sandy was taken aback – the last thing he has expected was a job offer. He had long since resigned himself to being washed up on the shores of failure. However his response was automatic. “No thanks, I’m not a football manager any more.”

“Si, I know that. But Signor Sandy I am asking you to, how you say, come outside of retirement and make my team great.”

“Don’t be bloody ridiculous man.”

“What Ees ridiculous? You theenk Fano cannot be great team. You know nothing about my Fano.”

“No, and I don’t bloody want to. Look, I’ve told you once, I’m not a football manager any more. I have nothing to offer your Fano.”

“Oh Signor Sandy, how can you say that. You were bellissimo manager, of course you have a lot to offer. Please, you theenk it over. I cannot pay much money but I can offer you a real challenge.”

“I’m not looking for a challenge – I don’t do challenges anymore.”

“Well I ask you to theenk about it Signor Sandy – after all, what have you to lose? I weel call you back in a few days. Arrivederci Signor Sandy.”

And with that the line went dead. Sandy stared at the receiver in his hand for a few seconds, shrugged his shoulders and hung up, reaching for his wine glass. Bloody Italians – why would some pasta-loving joker think that he would take an offer like that seriously? Bloody edjit.

BobBev

Hope For The Future

Over the next few days Sandy found his thoughts wandering and instead of obsessively replaying his final few weeks in management wondering what he could have done differently, his mind strayed to his telephone conversation with Mirco Giovanelli. He even left the sanctuary of his flat to take a trip to his local library where he browsed a few publications explaining more about the league structure in Italy, and the lower league pyramid in particular. Not that he was taking Giovanelli’s offer seriously – far from it, but it made a change to get out and the organisation of the Italian league was rather interesting.

As promised, the Fano Chairman did call back. “So Signor Sandy, you have thought about my offer? You weel come here to Fano?”

“I can’t see it working out. I mean, I don’t know anything about Italian football for a start.”

“Oh Signor Sandy, the language of football she is universal. Eet is not so different in Italy than in Scotland.”

“And I can’t speak Italian.”

“We can get you translator.”

“I have no idea where my passport is. And I don’t like flying. Where the hell is Fano anyway?”

“Eet is een the Le Marche district on the Adriatic coast and ees about half of the way down the East side of Italy. Thee biggest city in thee district, and thee regional capital, ees Ancona and Fano ees a fishing port but with many tourists. Eet ees a molto bello place to leev.”

“I hate bloody sunshine – I’ve lived all my life in Glasgow you know.”

“I understand that you are a leetle scared Signor Sandy.” The Italian was now speaking very gently and with real feeling. “I can only imagine what you have been through since you left Rangers. But I know football and I know football people. And you are a football people Signor Sandy. Eet ees in your blood and you can never escape. You say to me you are not a football manager any more. I say to you that you are always a football manager. You need this and we need you. I have a vision for thees club and I really have a feeling that you can help me make it real.”

There was a long pause. And then Sandy said “Which airport do I fly into?”

BobBev

The New Man At Fano

As Sandy Banks came out of Ancona airport, blinking in the bright August sunshine, a dapper bespectacled man approached him and extended a hand. “Signor Sandy, I am Giacomo, please come with me to my car.”

Sandy shook his hand. “ Hello Giacomo, and who exactly are you?”

“I am your driver and translator. Signor Giovanelli has employed me to make your stay more comfortable. I will take you to your hotel and then we will go on to the stadium so that you can meet everyone.”

With that Giacomo grabbed Sandy’s suitcase and led him towards the car park. He glanced back over his shoulder and remarked “Thinking about it, you may want to change into something more suitable for the summer heat.”

He had a point, Sandy thought, it was bloody hot. He had made a special effort for his new job – freshly shaved and showered, his hair had been cut and he had dusted off an old suit from the back of his wardrobe. “I’m not sure that I’ve got anything more suitable.”

“No problema. We will take a short detour. My cousin has a clothing shop and I am sure that we can find something to suit.”

Giacomo was as good as his word and within 40 minutes Sandy was wearing a smart polo top, a pair of lightweight slacks and a comfortable pair of deck shoes. Pausing only to drop his case at the hotel they went straight to the Fano stadium, the Stadio Mancini. Sandy was pleasantly surprised by what he saw. He had been expecting some ramshackle place but it didn’t look too bad at all. Compact for sure but tidy and well maintained. They made their way inside and suddenly Sandy was aware of a large jovial man approaching him and he was immediately engulfed in a suffocating bear hug.

“Signor Sandy, so pleased to meet you. I am Mirco Giovanelli and I am so pleased that you are here weeth us. Please come with me to meet my colleagues.”

“Sure Mirco, but just for future reference, I’m not at all keen on all this hugging – we don’t really do that kind of thing in Scotland.”

“I understand, sorry for my happiness but eet ees a beeg day for my Fano on your arrival.”

Sandy was led through various corridors and into what he took to be the Boardroom judging by the size of the table. There were four men already in the room and they all stood up to greet him. Mirco made the introductions.

“Signor Sandy, I am pleased for you to meet my colleagues. Paolo Petrucci ees our Direttore Di Controllo (Giacomo whispered a translation – Managing Director). Loris Servadio thee Direttore di Gioco del Calcio (Director of Football), Sandro Mengucci ees thee Direttore Generale (General Manager) and Dario Sanguin ees your Responsabile di Aiuto (Assistant Manager).”

“Nice to meet you all gentlemen. I hope you don’t mind me being frank and open Mirco.” Giovanelli shrugged his shoulders and smiled. “I’m bloody surprised that a wee club like this has got so many feckin executives. It makes me nervous. As you may know I’ve never had the best of relationships with the suits in the past.”

“Signor Sandy, I appreciate your honesty but I am sure that you will have very intimate relations with our Fano suits. I believe that you cannot be a beeg club if you no organise like a beeg club so we have a beeg club structure.”

“I’d rather spend money on players and wages.”

“My executives they are no paid – at thees time it is done for thee love of their Fano. That weel change later but now they are how you say part of the timers.”

“I see. Well sorry for the misunderstanding.”

“No problema. I have prepared some basic information regarding finances that Giacomo has translated for you. Please have a look through thees evening and see what you theenk. But now Signor Sandy, why you no go weeth Dario and he can tell you about thee staff and thee players.”

So with Giacomo in tow Sandy and Dario left the room and headed for the manager’s office.

This turned out to be a small but comfortably furnished room with a desk, a few chairs, a small meeting space, telephone, fax machine, computer and various whiteboards and wall charts. Giacomo handed Sandy a folder containing several sheets of paper. “Dario has prepared some basic information on all of the staff and the players.”

Sandy barely glanced at it. “Thanks, I’ll take a look at that later. But first things first – when is the next training session.”

There was a staccato exchange of Italian between Giacomo and Dario. “Tomorrow morning at 10.00.”

“Good. I’d like Dario to take that session. In fact I’d like him to handle all of the hands on coaching to begin with until I’ve got a better idea of the players strengths and weaknesses. Is that OK?”

Another rapid fire burst. “Perfetto. But one question from Dario Signor Sandy. The backroom staff are all a little worried that you will bring in your own team to replace them. Do you have any plans for this?”

Sandy laughed out loud. “Boys, I’ve been out of the game for three years now, I don’t have my own team any more. Tell them that there is no danger of them being fired straightaway. OK, if there’s nothing more then I’d like to get back to the hotel and catch up on my reading.”

Back at his hotel Sandy started to go through the information that he had been given, starting with the financial summary. The club had some cash in the bank, about €95K in total, but most of this was earmarked for running costs with only €10K in the transfer kitty. However he could spend up to 65% of any transfer fees received. More worryingly the wage budget was way over – the target was €8K a week and they were spending over €11K. That would need to be fixed if possible. The club had 28 players on their books, 5 of whom were in on loan. No one was on huge wages – the maximum was €800 a week. Still there might be some room to re-negotiate some contracts and save a penny or two there.

Next was a short section on the backroom staff. In addition to Dario and himself there were two other coaches, Gianni Boiani and Glauco Simonetti. There were two physios, Leonardo Profili and Augusto Sanchioni, as well as a single scout, Luciano Marino. His initial reaction was that they needed to strengthen the scouting side pretty quickly so that would be an action item for the next few weeks.

He had a look through the player profiles next. This contained basic information such as name, age, position, contract details and so on but said nothing about the qualities and strengths of the individuals. That was OK with Sandy as he would be assessing exactly that over the next few weeks. Finally there was the fixture list. The first match was in the Serie C Cup and would take place on Friday 15th August. Sandy had to check his new pocket diary to find out what day it was today – Sunday 3rd. OK, that gave him almost two weeks to assess the coaches and the squad and decide on tactics and formation.

As Sandy tidied up the paperwork and prepared for bed he mulled over his decision to come to Italy. He still didn’t really understand why he had agreed to take the job. After all he had sworn to himself that never again would he expose himself to the pressures of the managerial merry-go-round. Never again would he put himself in the firing line ready to be shot down. Never again would he risk being branded a failure. And yet here he was. In a town that he had never heard of, managing a club that he had no knowledge of, in a country where he couldn’t speak the language – it was a recipe for disaster. So why was he here? Well he had felt a connection with Mirco Giovanelli. Even though they were at opposite ends of a telephone he had somehow felt that the Italian had understood. He didn’t yet want to admit the truth to himself but deep inside Sandy knew that the only way he could exorcise his demons was to prove that he wasn’t a failure and the only way to do that was to be a success.

BobBev

Getting Into The Swing

The next 10 or 12 days were a whirlwind of activity. Sandy spent as much time as possible watching the players go through their paces in training, adding to the basic information that he had already been given. He met with each of the backroom staff and, courtesy of Giacomo, talked with them in detail about their experience and their approach to their jobs. He went through the same process with the players and, despite the language barrier he began to get a feel for how some of them ticked. He also began to pick up some rudimentary Italian, specialising in swearwords and curses mainly.

He also made a big effort to get himself back in shape, cutting down on the red wine (but not entirely, as the local stuff was top notch) and trying to wean himself off cigarettes. He was keen to move out of the hotel and fortunately Giacomo had a cousin who was an Estate Agent and he helped Sandy locate a small apartment for rent near the Stadio Mancicni. Things were starting to come together nicely. With two days to go before the Cup game, Sandy sat down to review his player notes in more detail.

Goalkeepers

Frederico Orlandi, 22, GK
The most experienced of the three young goalies at the club, Fredi would be first choice keeper. A little eccentric but quick off his line and not one to shirk a challenge.

Piero Spina, 22, GK
Not too much to choose between him and Fredi but he will be on the bench initially and should be an able deputy.

Emilio Cionfrini, 19, GK
Very raw and not much indication of hidden talent, Emilio will only be called upon in emergencies and is a definite candidate for the transfer list.


Defenders

Marino D’Aloisio, 33, SW/D C
A very experienced centre back with some 18 seasons in the lower leagues but he only joined the club in the summer. Marino is fit and hard working but definitely past his best. However his influence could be valuable with such a young squad and he may even be given the captain’s armband.

Stefano Bettella, 33, D C
Another experienced player but that’s about all he has going for him as far as I can see. Surplus to requirements and will be offloaded as soon as possible.

Marco Pomante, 20, D C
Marco is a strapping lad and will work hard for the team but I think I can detect a niggly side to his game. If he can learn from Marino then the two might for a useful defensive partnership.

Daniele Niccolini, 20, D C
On loan from Fiorentina for the season Dan has a physical presence but little else. He may have a part to play though as we don’t have an over-abundance of central defenders.

Luca Tomasetti, 19, D R
A hard working youngster that will definitely be pushing for a starting place. His role will depend on the tactical formation that we deploy but he seems to have some potential.

Diego Borioni, 19, D RC
I’m sorry to day that young Diego looks like a no-hoper and may be leaving the club sooner rather than later.

Francesco Calanchi, 22, D RC
Francesco shows a little more promise and is likely to be given every opportunity to stake his claim in the starting lineup.

Francesco Giangolini, 18, D RL
A fit young man and his two-footedness may be useful but I can’t see him being more than a backup.

Giacomo Bonora, 23, D/DM L
On loan from Pistoiese for the season. A strong player with a little bit of pace. Not too technically gifted but he could be pretty effective.

Francesco De Luca, 21, D/DM R
A bit too slow for my liking and at the moment he looks like a backup selection.

Frederico Carelli, 26, DM C
A solid but uninspiring player but likely to see a lot of action given the alternatives. He is a relative latecomer to the professional game having only three seasons under his belt. I wonder if he plays the mandolin?

Nicola Vitali, 21, DM C
He’s keen and he takes a decent penalty. Apart from that, not a lot to offer. A bench warmer at best but also a transfer candidate.

Andrea Ghidini, 22, DM LC
Dario likes his boy and he does show some potential. A good team player and fairly well rounded Andrea is going to see a lot of action I feel.


Midfielders

Marco Biagianti, 19, M C
Another Fiorentina loanee. Quite a highly rated player but I can’t see what the fuss is about myself. On the bench to start with.

Danilo Stefani, 24, M C
One of our more experienced players Dani has a good engine and could well be a key player in our midfield. Not the most gifted but there’s nothing wrong with being a grafter at this level of football.

Tommaso Colombaretti, 23, M R
He takes a nice corner I’ll give him that but Tom looks way too slow to play as a winger. But maybe they have really slow fullbacks in Serie C!

Nicolo Gentilucci, 17, M R
I don’t think that young Nic will be seeing any first team action – he is definitely one for the transfer list.

Alessandro Brancaccio, 20, M RC
An intelligent youngster I feel that Alessandro has some potential and could be a good performer for us.

Jacopo Gasparoni, 20, M RC
Another boy with potential ability I will certainly be giving Jac a few games to see how he performs.

Marco Trufelli, 19, M RC
Marco is another transfer candidate unless he does something really surprising.


Attackers

Matteo Merloni, 30, F RC
The coaches rate Mat and he looked fairly sharp in training so he will certainly get his opportunity.

Marco Pelliccia, 25, F RC
Marco looks like he has an eye for goal and he’s a pretty strong player so he too will feature in the first team.

Hashimu Mast Garba, 23, S C
Our only foreign player the young Nigerian has trawled around the lower leagues in Italy for the last 6 seasons but his record isn’t inspiring – 10 goals in 57 games is not a wonderful strike rate.

Cristian Pazzi, 21, S C
Probably our quickest player, his pace and close control could give us some interesting tactical options but I don’t fancy him as an out and out striker.

Marco Pierobon, 24, S C
He’s a strapping lad but he’s very raw and inexperienced. Worth a gamble to see how he does but I don’t think he will be the next Christian Vieri!


All in all it was a very young squad and Sandy instinctively felt that adding an older head or two would pay dividends. But experience told him that no matter how players performed in training the ultimate test was competitive football – that was what sorted out the men from the boys, the wheat from the chaff. It would take a few games to properly assess the true contribution that each player could make and what better way to start than in an unimportant Cup competition. Sandy had already made it clear to Mirco that his only priority in this initial season was the league and that the Cup games would be experimental. The Chairman was in tune with his manager in this as he explained to Sandy that Fano had only recently made it out of Serie D and that league survival was vital.

Sandy decided that for the first game he would field what he thought was his strongest 11 and see how that went. Tactically he wanted nothing fancy – a basic 4-4-2 to begin with. There was no point in trying a fancy formation with lots of complicated instructions for the players to follow. For a start he lacked the language skills to explain anything like that and much as he trusted Giacomo you needed to know the game to get that sort of stuff across. But more importantly he wanted to keep everything simple until he understood his players’ strengths and weaknesses.

His decision process complete, Sandy took a fresh sheet of paper and started to write down his team selection.

GK – Orlandi
DR – Tomasetti
DL – Giangolini
DC - D’Aloisio (Captain)
DC – Pomante
MR – Brancaccio
ML – Bonora
MC – Carelli
MC – Ghidini
FC – Pierobon
FC – Pazzi

Danilo Stefani was out with a training injury otherwise he would have been definite starter in midfield but apart from that every player that Sandy wanted to start was fit and available.

BobBev

The Season Begins

It was a beautiful summer evening in mid-August when Fano played their first competitive match under Sandy’s control. Their opponents were Lucchese who played in Serie C1/A, a division above Fano so Sandy expected a difficult game. He felt a growing excitement as he went through his final team talk with the players with Giacomo translating his instructions. As he took his place on the bench he began to feel that familiar mixture of anxiety and anticipation that was such an addictive combination for the Scotsman.

In his years in management Sandy had always kept a log of the games that his teams had played and he continued that habit at Fano. He often found that looking back at his notes after a game would trigger a thought or an idea that could be used to improve a future performance. So for his new team’s first competitive outing he started a fresh notebook. He had a certain way of organising his notes and rating his players performances and he saw no reason to change that now.


Sandy’s Journal
Friday August 15th 2003
Serie C Cup Group G Game 1
Fano 3 Lucchese 0
I knew little about our opponents except that they were in Serie C1/A, the division above us, so I expected a difficult game. Now maybe Lucchese sent their reserves but to my untutored eye they didn’t look like a team from a higher league. It took Pazzi 6 minutes to open the scoring and 10 minutes later Pierobon made it 2-0. I kept waiting for the visitors to start playing but they never did. We made most of the running and created most of the chances. Pierobon got his second of the game late on to give us an unexpected 3-0 win. I was very impressed with how the boys played. The front two worked well together and there weren’t any obvious weak areas although Tomasetti tired quickly and had to be replaced by Francesco Giangolini.

Team Selection
Orlandi (7), Tomasetti (7, sub 49), Giangolini (7), D’Aloisio (8, Yellow), Pomante (7), Brancaccio (7), Bonora (8), Carelli (8), Ghidini (7), Pierobon (10*), Pazzi (9)
Subs – Calanchi (7)

Goals
Pazzi 7, Pierobon 17, 86

He was impressed by the team’s performance and with the two strikers in particular, although the team were short of match fitness and some players tired quickly and had to be replaced. After the pleasant surprise of a comfortable win in his first game Sandy started thinking about the next match. In 4 days time they would travel to Arezzo, another C1/A outfit, for their second Cup game. He intended to change the side around anyway but given that most of the players were still struggling for match fitness, changes would have been forced upon him. It became clear that there was no adequate cover on the left, both in defence and midfield, so that was added to his priority list.


Sandy’s Journal
Tuesday August 19th 2003
Serie C Cup Group G Game 2
Arezzo 2 Fano 2
If I was impressed by the team’s performance in the last game it was quite the opposite in this encounter. With less than a minute played we were a goal down as the home side caught us cold. For the remainder of the first half we were subjected to a barrage of attacks and only a great performance by keeper Orlandi kept us in the game. On the stroke of half time Jacopo Gasparoni, playing out of position on the left wing, limped off with an injury so on came Andrea Ghidini. Striker Hashimu Mast Garba was dire in the first half so he was replaced by Matteo Merloni. The home side kept pressing and on 58 minutes they went 2-0 ahead and it all looked over. Central defender Stefano Bettella was less than impressive so I took him off and sent on Marino D’Aloisio. Ten minutes later Pazzi, who never stopped trying all game, pulled a goal back with a fine solo effort as the home side eased off a little. Then as we entered stoppage time the youngster worked space for a neat cross and Merloni headed home for an unlikely equaliser and a scarcely deserved point.

Team Selection
Orlandi (8), De Luca (7), Borioni (6), Niccolini (6), Bettella (4, sub 58), Colombaretti (7), Gasparoni (5, inj 45), Biagianti (7), Vitali (7), Garba (4, sub 45), Pazzi (10*)
Subs – Ghidini (7), Merloni (7), D’Aloisio (7)

Goals
Pazzi 68, Merloni 90

Whilst disappointed with the performance of a number of the players, Sandy was very pleased with the team spirit and delighted with the effort shown by Cristian Pazzi. With a week before their next Cup game there was some time to improve the players’ fitness with a good weeks training. Sandy continued to have Dario run the sessions whilst he was content to observe. He spent an hour a day having Giacomo start to teach him some Italian so that he could get more contact and involvement with the players on a daily basis. In the lead up to the next game striker Marco Pierobon, so impressive in the opener, suffered a groin strain and would be unavailable but midfielder Stefani would make his first start.


Sandy’s Journal
Tuesday August 26th 2003
Serie C Cup Group G Game 3
Fano 4 Montevarchi 0
Our opponents play in the same division and Dario tells me that their defence may be a little vulnerable to pace. Carelli got us off to a great start with an early goal and we settled into a rhythm and ran the game. The midfield and the fullbacks really impressed and Pazzi played well up front. Merloni picked up a knock and was taken off as a precaution and D’Aloisio looked tired so he was replaced too. Goals from Brancaccio and Bonora put us in the driving seat and Carelli’s late second was a bonus. This was another fine performance and I am very encouraged by what I have seen.

Team Selection
Orlandi (7), Tomasetti (8), Giangolini (8), D’Aloisio (6, sub 53), Pomante (7), Brancaccio (8), Bonora (9*), Carelli (9), Stefani (7), Merloni (7, sub 53), Pazzi (8)
Subs – Calanchi (7), Pelliccia (7)

Goals
Carelli 4, 88, Brancaccio 39, Bonora 65

After such a bright start to the season Sandy was looking forward to the first league game. He had secured another loan signing on the advice of scout Luciano Marino to provide some cover on the left of midfield. Ribeiro was a 20-year-old Brazilian from Serie B/1 side Lanciano and looked like a decent enough player. Fano’s opponents in their league opener would be Forlì.


Sandy’s Journal
Sunday August 31st 2003
Serie C2/B Game 1
Fano 4 Forlì 0
Dario tells me that Forlì have a fast attack and a creative midfield but to be honest they showed very little threat. We dominated the game with Bonaro operating well on the left side of midfield and Pazzi getting in the goals again although he was taken off with a minor injury in the second half. The boys are still not totally match fit though and we will need to keep rotating players.

Team Selection
Orlandi (7), Calanchi (7), Giangolini (8), D’Aloisio (7), Pomante (7, sub 79), Brancaccio (7), Bonora (8*), Carelli (7, sub 59), Stefani (7), Merloni (7), Pazzi (8, sub 70)
Subs – Ghidini (7), Pelliccia (7), Niccolini (6)

Goals
Bonora 8, Pazzi 45, 48, Pelliccia 82

BobBev

Like Riding A Bike

With his first month under his belt Sandy was pleased, and more than a little surprised, at how easily he had slipped back into management. There were some obvious differences between running a club like Rangers and being in charge of the minnows of Fano but there were a lot of similarities too. A small club and a small squad meant that he could rediscover the pleasure of having a real hands-on involvement in training although his language skills would still not allow him to take charge of the sessions. Most of all he just loved the experience of preparing his team for matchday and the nervous thrill of watching them play, seeing if his plans worked out, watching his players put in practice what they had learnt.

Sandy was delighted with his team’s league debut and the terrific start to the league campaign. For the next game, a midweek Serie C Cup encounter at fellow C2/B side Sangiovannese, he made a number of changes to the team to rest some players and rotate the squad.

Sandy’s Journal
Wednesday September 3rd 2003
Serie C Cup Group G Game 4
Sangiovannese 0 Fano 0
I was warned that Sangiovannese were a decent side and they certainly played much better football than we did. Young Orlandi had a great game in goal and his fine performance allowed us to cling on to an undeserved point. Ribeiro was unimpressive and D’Aloisio downright awful. Amazingly enough the draw has allowed us to qualify for the second round, something I neither expected nor particularly want.

Team Selection
Orlandi (9*), De Luca (6), Giangolini (7), D’Aloisio (3, sub 56), Pomante (6), Brancaccio (6, sub 66), Ribeiro (4, sub 45), Vitali (7), Biagianti (6), Garba (6), Borioni (6)
Subs – Bonora (7), Niccolini (7), Colombaretti (6)


Sandy’s next game was a league match at Sansovino and he went back to his first choice starters wherever possible. He was particularly pleased to have Pazzi and Pierobon back up front after having played Diego Borioni as an emergency striker in the previous game.

Sandy’s Journal
Sunday September 7th 2003
Serie C2/B Game 2
Sansovino 1 Fano 0
Not the best of performances by the team and we created few chances of note in a rather poor game. We went behind midway through the first half and to be honest never really looked like getting back on terms.

Team Selection
Orlandi (6), Tomasetti (7), Giangolini (7), D’Aloisio (6), Pomante (7), Brancaccio (4, sub 45), Bonora (7), Carelli (7, sub 84), Stefani (7), Pierobon (7, sub 84), Pazzi (7)
Subs – Merloni (7), Ghidini (6), Pelliccia (6)


After making such a good start in the league Sandy was very disappointed with a rather passionless performance against Sansovino. He hoped for a better display in the forthcoming home game against Carrarese. Given that the opposition had won their first two league games 4-0 and 5-0, he felt that Fano would need to raise their game significantly.

Sandy’s Journal
Sunday September 14th 2003
Serie C2/B Game 3
Fano 0 Carrarese 2
This was a better performance despite the loss and the lack of goals. It was clear that we were playing one of the better teams in the division and I would expect Carrarese to be pushing for promotion this season. My main concern was a second consecutive display of awfulness from Alessandro Brancaccio and we need to look at alternatives for the next game.

Team Selection
Orlandi (6), Tomasetti (7), Giangolini (7), D’Aloisio (6), Pomante (7), Brancaccio (4, sub 45), Bonora (7), Carelli (7), Stefani (7), Pierobon (7, sub 82), Pazzi (7)
Subs – Merloni (7), Pelliccia (7)


Sandy would be fielding a much-changed side for the next game, a midweek Serie C Cup tie at Brindisi. This was not a competition that held any attraction and he would be pleased when his team’s participation was over.

Sandy’s Journal
Wednesday September 17th 2003
Serie C Cup 1st Round 1st Leg
Brindisi 1 Fano 1
Not the best of games with neither side looking too impressive. Marco Pelliccia gave us the lead just before the break but the home side had the better of the second period and scored a deserved equaliser. Ghidini and Pelliccia both had to be withdrawn because of knocks but they should be fit enough for our next game.

Team Selection
Orlandi (7*), Calanchi (6), Bonora (6), Borioni (5), Niccolini (6), Gasparoni (7), Ribeiro (7), Vitali (6), Ghidini (7, sub 66), Pelliccia (7, sub 66), Merloni (7, sub 73)
Subs – Biagianti (7), Pazzi (6), Garba (6)

Goals
Pelliccia 43


After an unexpected draw at Brindisi, Fano’s next game would be away at Tolentino, a team just a couple of places lower in the table so Sandy was keen to get back into winning ways.

Sandy’s Journal
Sunday September 21st 2003
Serie C2/B Game 4
Tolentino 0 Fano 1
A decent performance against a team that rarely threatened us. Better finishing would have given us a more comfortable win than Matteo’s single goal in the second half. The right side of midfield is still a problem and we could do with another decent centre back as well. Frederico’s injury is unfortunate but let’s hope that’s it not too serious.

Team Selection
Orlandi (7), Tomasetti (7), Giangolini (7), D’Aloisio (7), Pomante (5, sub 67), Colombaretti (5, sub 45), Bonora (7), Carelli (7, inj 90), Stefani (7), Pazzi (7), Merloni (7, sub 87)
Subs – Brancaccio (7), Calanchi (6), Garba (7)

Goals
Merloni 61


It was good to get another win and the injury to Carelli turned out not to be too serious – a dislocated shoulder that would keep him out for a fortnight. But there was worse news the next day as central defender Marco Pomante broke his arm in a training session and would be sidelined for up to a month. Sandy shuffled the team again for the Serie C Cup second leg game at home to Brindisi.

Sandy’s Journal
Wednesday September 24th 2003
Serie C Cup 1st Round 2nd Leg
Fano 2 Brindisi 0 (Fano win 3-1 on aggregate)
The return of Marco after injury made a difference and he took his two goals very well. It helped our cause no end when a Brindisi midfielder was sent off shortly after the restart. It was a pretty decent performance from the second string with Gasparoni and Vitali both doing well in midfield. The only bad news is that we are still in this daft cup competition.

Team Selection
Orlandi (6), De Luca (7), Bonora (7), Borioni (7), Niccolini (7), Gasparoni (8), Ribeiro (7), Vitali (8, sub 89), Ghidini (7), Pierborn (9, sub 75), Merloni (4)
Subs – Garba (6), Biagianti (6)

Goals
Pierborn 26, 59


Sandy was indeed pleased with the performance and was very happy to have goalscorer Marco Pierborn back in action and looking sharp. Unfortunately he was hit with another injury problem when Jacopo Gasparoni suffered a nasty groin injury in training. The prognosis was a 2-month layoff to allow the injury to heal properly. After a consultation with a local specialist it became clear that Jacopo needed more than rest to resolve the problem and would require surgery and a course of intensive rehab, extending his absence by another month at least. Fano’s next match would be a home league game against 3rd place Grosseto and Sandy was warned to expect a tough match.

Sandy’s Journal
Sunday September 28th 2003
Serie C2/B Game 5
Fano 3 Grosseto 0
This was one of our best performances of the season so far and the visitors never managed a shot on target all day. Marco was terrific up front and he has now scored 6 goals in 5 games. Giacomo Bonora had another good game on the left of midfield and Danilo Stefani also played well, creating two of our goals.

Team Selection
Orlandi (7), Tomasetti (7), Giangolini (7, sub 64), D’Aloisio (7), Calanchi (7), Pelliccia (6, sub 73), Bonora (8), Vitali (7, sub 64), Stefani (8), Pierobon (9*), Pazzi (7)
Subs – Ghidini (7), Biagianti (7), Colombaretti (6)

Goals
Stefani 30, Pierobon 33, 64

BobBev

Settling In

Sandy was beginning to feel quite at home in Fano. His Italian was improving week by week and he found himself able to engage in short conversations in the local restaurants that he frequented. He was becoming a more familiar face around the town as the team continued to perform well and he started to be regarded as something of a local celebrity. He enjoyed living in his little apartment and had even gone as far as dispensing with Giacomo’s driving services now that he knew his way around. His ever-resourceful translator and right hand man just happened to have a cousin who owned a garage and helped Sandy obtain a small but brightly coloured Fiat to meet his transportation requirements.

Sandy had good cause to be pleased with his team – the win moved them up to 4th place although they were 6 points behind leaders Carrarese who had won all 5 of their league games so far. For their next league game at home to Castelnuovo, Sandy made a couple of changes to his winning lineup. Francesco De Luca replaced Marco Pelliccia on the right of midfield and a fit again Frederico Carelli came back into midfield at the expense of Nicola Vitali.

Sandy’s Journal
Sunday October 5th 2003
Serie C2/B Game 6
Fano 3 Castelnuovo 0
We were always in charge in this game but for a long time it looked like some poor finishing would deny us the win. Then substitute Pelliccia broke the deadlock late in the game before we added two more in the closing minutes. Another very pleasing performance from the boys and we are looking quite consistent at present.

Team Selection
Orlandi (8), Tomasetti (7), Giangolini (7), D’Aloisio (7), Calanchi (7), De Luca (4, sub 45), Bonora (8*), Carelli (8), Stefani (8), Pierobon (8), Pazzi (7)
Subs – Pelliccia (8)

Goals
Pelliccia 78, Pierobon 89, Carelli 90


It was an unchanged team that travelled to face Gubbio in the next league game. Although sitting in the bottom half of the table Sandy had been warned that Gubbio’s speedy attackers may cause some problems but with an unchanged lineup he was optimistic of the outcome.

Sandy’s Journal
Sunday October 12th 2003
Serie C2/B Game 7
Gubbio 1 Fano 0
Poor finishing and a lack of concentration in defence cost us a game that we should have won. We had more than enough chances but fell behind just before half time when the home side caught us on the break. We worked hard to get back into the game but lacked accuracy and composure in front of goal. Disappointing result but at least we showed some enterprising play and created chances.

Team Selection
Orlandi (5), Tomasetti (7), Giangolini (7), D’Aloisio (7), Calanchi (5, sub 45), De Luca (5, sub 45), Bonora (7), Carelli (7), Stefani (7), Pierobon (8), Pazzi (7)
Subs – Niccolini (7), Pelliccia (7)


Considering how well his team had played in their previous two games the defeat was a disappointment but there were some positive aspects and he made sure to emphasis those to his players during the next few days. With a midweek Serie C cup game imminent Sandy once again switched the team around to rest his first choice players.

Sandy’s Journal
Wednesday October 15th 2003
Serie C Cup 2nd Round 1st Leg
Fano 1 Frosinone 1
Not the most entertaining of games for the spectator this one. After a scoreless first half we fell behind just after the restart but rescued the draw thanks to a Nicola Vitali penalty.

Team Selection
Spina (5), De Luca (7), Ghidini (7), Borioni (7), Calanchi (7), Brancaccio (5, sub 59), Ribeiro (7), Vitali (7), Biagianti (7), Garba (7), Merloni (7)
Subs – Colombaretti (7)

Goals
Vitali pen 67


Sandy wasn’t very impressed with his team’s performance but given that he had no particular interest in this competition he wasn’t overly disappointed with the final result either. He was much more concerned with the next league game, a home match against Ravenna. It was back to his first choice selection for that game.

Sandy’s Journal
Sunday October 19th 2003
Serie C2/B Game 8
Fano 5 Ravenna 0
This was one of those games where everything seemed to go our way. The visitors had a goal disallowed and had a man sent off near the end. Having said that we did play really well and all of the goalscorers put in excellent performances. But the start of the show was undoubtedly Marco Pelliccia, scoring one and making two. If he can keep up this kind of form then the right wing position will be his alone – great stuff.

Team Selection
Orlandi (8), Tomasetti (6, sub 69), Giangolini (7), D’Aloisio (7), Niccolini (7), Pelliccia (9*), Bonora (8), Carelli (8), Stefani (7), Pierobon (8), Pazzi (7)
Subs – Borioni (7)

Goals
Pierobon 31, 38, Pelliccia 34, Carelli 67, Bonora 81


Sandy was understandably delighted with the fine win and felt that this was possibly his team’s best performance of the season so far. His first choice selection was becoming quite settled by now and were putting fairly steady performances. The next match on the agenda was a midweek journey to Frosinone for the second leg of their Serie C Cup game and with the second string once again representing Fano Sandy hoped that he could be rid of this competition once and for all.


Sandy’s Journal
Wednesday October 22nd 2003
Serie C Cup 2nd Round 2nd Leg
Frosinone 1 Fano 0 (Frosinone win 2-1 on aggregate)
The home side took the lead after just 4 minutes and held on to it for the next 86 minutes to eliminate us from this waste of time Cup competition. It wasn’t a bad performance from the team but the fact is that these boys just weren’t good enough – just as well we don’t have to rely on them for the important games.

Team Selection
Orlandi (6), Calanchi (7), Ghidini (7), Borioni (7), Niccolini (6), Colombaretti (7), Ribeiro (7), Vitali (7), Brancaccio (6), Garba (7), Merloni (7)


Sandy got his wish as Fano exited the Serie C Cup, allowing him to concentrate on the league programme. The next game in the league campaign was a trip to Montevarchi, a team currently some 8 places below Fano in the table. Sandy was pleased to see Marco Pomante back in full training after his injury but the central defender was not yet fit enough to travel with the first team for the next game.

Sandy’s Journal
Sunday October 26th 2003
Serie C2/B Game 9
Montevarchi 0 Fano 2
Marco Pierobon is becoming a pretty indispensable player for us and has now scored 11 goals in 9 games. We will struggle to replace him when his loan expires at the end of the season. His two smartly taken goals were the difference between the two teams today although we also have cause to be grateful to young keeper Frederico Orlandi.

Team Selection
Orlandi (8), Tomasetti (7), Giangolini (7), D’Aloisio (6), Niccolini (8), Pelliccia (7), Bonora (8), Carelli (7, sub 88), Stefani (7), Pierobon (9*), Pazzi (7)
Subs – Ghidini (6)

Goals
Pierobon 16, 72

At the end of his third full month in charge Sandy was pleased to see his team hold on to 3rd place in the league. He had a very clear idea of his best 11 now and was fairly happy with the way that the team was playing. His only real disappointment was his failure to strengthen the squad in any way. He was keen to bring a few more players, probably on loan, but was finding it difficult to spot anyone who would offer more than his first choice players.

BobBev

Lost In Translation

Sandy was working hard on his Italian and according to Giacomo he was an able pupil, quick to grasp the concepts of the language, although his accent left a lot to be desired. In return, Sandy’s language teacher was extending his own vocabulary but he did find it challenging having to translate during training when he needed to find Italian equivalents for phrases such as “daft bampot”, “big Jessie” and “feckin’ bawbag”.

After a weekend off Sandy and his team were keen to get back into action and they were looking forward to the trip to Rosetana. Marco Pomante was now fully fit but Sandy decided against changing a winning lineup so the youngster took a seat on the bench for the game.

Sandy’s Journal
Sunday November 9th 2003
Serie C2/B Game 10
[b]Rosetana 0 Fano 3
With Marco Pierborn a little out of sorts it was great to see Cristian back amongst the goals. His fine hat trick was crucial and this is the first time he has scored since the end of August. It was a very good individual performance and I’m pleased for the boy – it will do his confidence a power of good.

Team Selection
Orlandi (7), Tomasetti (7), Giangolini (7), D’Aloisio (6), Niccolini (6), Pelliccia (7), Bonora (7), Carelli (7), Stefani (7), Pierobon (7, sub 62), Pazzi (10*)
Subs – Merloni (7)

Goals
Pazzi 13, 61, 76


Sandy had cause to be pleased with Pazzi’s display. The young striker had been playing well but just not finding the net and Sandy was glad that he had kept faith with the striker. For the next game at home to promotion chasing San Marino Sandy would be without Danilo Stefani, the hard-working midfielder having suffered a damaged shoulder in training. Perhaps more importantly, top scorer Pierobon would also be absent as his loan agreement stipulated that he could not play against his own club. Sandy decided that Nicola Vitali and Hashimu Mast Garba would replace the missing two.

Sandy’s Journal
Sunday November 16th 2003
Serie C2/B Game 11
Fano 2 San Marino 0
With Pierobon not playing Matteo Merloni came up trumps with two late goals to translate our territorial domination into points. We were the better team throughout and with both wingers playing well we created a lot of good chances. It took some time before any were converted to goals but I’m very pleased with the win.

Team Selection
Orlandi (8), Tomasetti (7), Giangolini (4, sub 45), D’Aloisio (6), Niccolini (7), Pelliccia (8), Bonora (8), Carelli (7, sub 78), Vitali (7), Merloni (9*), Pazzi (7)
Subs – Ghidini (6), Biagianti (7)

Goals
Merloni 78, 90


Following another good win Sandy’s team would have an opportunity to confirm their promotion credentials in the visit to 4th place Bellaria. Despite his two goals in the last game Merloni was moved back to the bench and Pierobon restored to the lineup. Stefani was also fit enough to play having recovered from his shoulder injury.

Sandy’s Journal
Sunday November 23rd 2003
Serie C2/B Game 12
Bellaria 1 Fano 2
Pazzi had another good game and, having hit the woodwork twice in the first half, he deserved his goal. And what a goal it was – a 25 yard screamer. We probably had the better of the game on balance although the home side played pretty well, taking less than a minute to strike back after our second goal. Orlandi had another good game between the sticks and has the makings of a decent keeper.

Team Selection
Orlandi (8), Tomasetti (8), Giangolini (7), D’Aloisio (6), Niccolini (7), Pelliccia (7), Bonora (8), Carelli (7), Stefani (7), Pierobon (7), Pazzi (8*)

Goals
Stefani 35, Pazzi 47


Cristian Pazzi would miss the final game of the month after picking up a shoulder injury in training so Merloni would start up front against Aglianese.

Sandy’s Journal
Sunday November 30th 2003
Serie C2/B Game 13
Fano 4 Aglianese 1
Fredi Carelli ran the midfield today and he must have had half a dozen attempts on goal. This was another really good display – if we can steer clear of serious injuries to our key players then we have a fair chance of making the playoffs. I was particularly pleased that Luca Tomasetti scored as he was clearly upset with his unfortunate own goal. The 19-year-old has established himself as our first choice right back and he is a pretty steady player.

Team Selection
Orlandi (7), Tomasetti (7), Giangolini (8), D’Aloisio (7), Niccolini (7), Pelliccia (7), Bonora (7), Carelli (10*), Stefani (7), Pierobon (8), Merloni (7)

Goals
Carelli 20, Pierobon 44, Niccolini 63, Tomasetti 68

BobBev

A Winning Attitude

One of the things that Sandy was trying to impart to his players as he worked with them was to develop what sports psychologists call PMI – a positive mental image. One of Sandy’s fundamental beliefs was that the mental aspects of the sport were every bit as important as the physical and he encouraged his team to indulge in positive thinking and to believe in themselves. Of course there was a fine line to be drawn between being confident and being arrogant but only experience could show the youngsters where that line lay.

As December approached Sandy was pleased to see that his team had moved up to second place and were now just 3 points behind leaders Carrarese. Pazzi was fit enough to take back his starting place for the trip to Imolese for the next league game.

Sandy’s Journal
Sunday December 7th 2003
Serie C2/B Game 14
Imolese 0 Fano 3
A comfortable win this one, with the home side failing to register a single goal attempts of note. We created enough chances to have doubled our score with Pazzi in particular missing some sitters. But at least the lad is in the right place at the right time and if he keeps playing like this the goals will come.

Team Selection
Orlandi (7), Tomasetti (7), Giangolini (7), D’Aloisio (7), Niccolini (7), Pelliccia (7), Bonora (8), Carelli (8), Stefani (7), Pierobon (8*), Pazzi (8)

Goals
Bonora 34, Pierobon 40, 46[/i]


With a couple of games to go before the Christmas break Fano’s next match was at home to struggling Cuoiocappiano. Sandy was able to field an unchanged team and was quietly confident of gaining another win.

Sandy’s Journal
Sunday December 14th 2003
Serie C2/B Game 15
Fano 1 Cuoiocappiano 1[/i]
Our temperament let us down in this game with the players getting drawn into a number of needless vendettas. We had three players booked in the first 6 minutes as the referee over-reacted to events on the pitch. The early goal from Pazzi should have settled us but we lost concentration at the back to allow the visitors to score with their only serious attack. Despite all of this we had so many chances that we should have buried them. Poor finishing and good goalkeeping were to blame for our failure to convert opportunities to goals.

Team Selection
Orlandi (5), Tomasetti (7), Giangolini (7), D’Aloisio (7), Niccolini (7), Pelliccia (7), Bonora (7), Carelli (7), Stefani (7), Pierobon (7), Pazzi (7)

Goals
Pazzi 7[/i]


Sandy was not at all happy with his players after this game but he couldn’t be too hard on them. He had to remind himself that he had a very young squad of players and that their lack of experience showed through when they allowed themselves to be rattled by the behaviour of their opponents. He hoped that they would put things right in the trip to 4th place Sangiovannese.

Sandy’s Journal
Sunday December 21st 2003
Serie C2/B Game 16
Sangiovannese 1 Fano 1[/i]
Some of our recent luck deserted us in this game as we lost no fewer than 3 players to injury. Orlandi and Pelliccia both had to come off in the first half following a freak collision between the two. Then we lost Pierobon just seconds after our equaliser. Thankfully none of the injuries are serious so they shouldn’t miss any competitive football.

Team Selection
Orlandi (6, sub 29), Tomasetti (7), Giangolini (7), D’Aloisio (7), Niccolini (7), Pelliccia (4, sub 29), Bonora (7), Carelli (7), Stefani (7), Pierobon (7, sub 76), Pazzi (8*)
Subs – Spina (6), Colombaretti (6), Merloni (7)

Goals
Pazzi 76[/i]

BobBev

A New Year

Sandy entered the Christmas break with his team in second place in the league and looking like strong playoff contenders. He decided against returning to Scotland for Christmas and New Year and instead spent the time getting to know his new home a little better. Having given the players and staff a few days off he took some time to journey along the coast a little, enjoying walks along the beach and generally recharging his batteries. He was still fighting a losing battle with his nicotine addiction but his alcohol consumption was under control and he savoured the experience of enjoying a glass of wine for it’s body and flavour and not as a means to reach oblivion. Looking back on his previous experience he recognised that he had never allowed himself an outlet from the pressures and demands of top flight management and he wasn’t going to make the same mistake again – everybody needed to unwind and Sandy was no exception.

But all too soon it was time to get back to work and begin preparations for competitive action once more. As the visit of Gualdo approached Sandy welcomed back Jacopo Gasparoni from his physiotherapy. He was back in full training but would not be risked in the starting lienup just yet. With a few contracts coming up for renewal he was pleased to offer Matteo Merloni a new 2-year deal, the forward agreeing to a wage decrease given the financial situation at the club. His only injury problem going into the game was Daniele Niccolini, the central defender not yet fit after a pre-Christmas training mishap so Marco Pomante would start.


Sandy’s Journal
Tuesday January 6th 2004
Serie C2/B Game 17
Fano 3 Gualdo 0
Pazzi was the man again as he ensured that out territorial advantage was turned into goals. Pelliccia put in a good display on the right wing and deserved his goal. I was pleased that the layoff doesn’t appear to have done us any harm and the players looked fit and keen for action. Ghidini picked up a little knock but nothing serious

Team Selection
Orlandi (7), Tomasetti (7), Giangolini (7), D’Aloisio (7), Pomante (7), Pelliccia (8), Bonora (7, sub 82), Carelli (7), Stefani (7), Pierobon (7, sub 82), Pazzi (9*)
Subs – Ghidini (7), Merloni (7)

Goals
Pazzi 13, 30, Pelliccia 85


For the trip to Forlì, Gasparoni would take a seat on the bench as Sandy didn’t want to risk the youngster in the starting lineup yet. Apart from that there were no changes and it looked like it would be another week before Niccolini would be back in action.

Sandy’s Journal
Sunday January 11th 2004
Serie C2/B Game 18
Forlì 0 Fano 3
Another great display by striker Pazzi gave us maximum points and I can’t speak highly enough about the boy. I am impressed not just by his scoring (15 goals in 20 games is excellent) but by his attitude. He never stops trying and is great example to his teammates. The home side worked hard but we were always in control and put together a good team display. Pelliccia was disappointing though and I may well give Gasparoni a regular start now that he is fit again.

Team Selection
Orlandi (8), Tomasetti (8), Giangolini (8), D’Aloisio (7), Pomante (8), Pelliccia (5, sub 45), Bonora (9), Carelli (8), Stefani (7), Pierobon (7), Pazzi (10*)
Subs – Gasparoni (7)

Goals
Pazzi 1, 81, 87


For the visit of promotion chasing Sansovino Sandy decided to bring in Jacopo Gasparoni on the right wing to see if he would be more consistent than Marco Pelliccia. Marco Pomante would keep his place in central defence after his decent performances recently and Niccolini would be on the bench.

Sandy’s Journal
Sunday January 18th 2004
Serie C2/B Game 19
Fano 4 Sansovino 0
Our strikers really have their tails up at the moment and they were both on the scoresheet today. This was another good display and word of our fine form seems to be attracting the crowds and we had a good 3,500 in today. Again we controlled the game well, building patiently from the back and then striking quickly. We still hold second place and if we can keep our key players fit then we should certainly make the playoffs. Carelli’s goal was a great strike from distance – a goal of the month contender if ever there was one.

Team Selection
Orlandi (8), Tomasetti (8), Giangolini (7), D’Aloisio (7), Pomante (7), Gasparoni (6, sub 74), Bonora (8), Carelli (8), Stefani (7), Pierobon (8), Pazzi (10*)
Subs – Pelliccia (7)

Goals
Pierobon 22, Pazzi 25, 74, Carelli 31


Fano’s last game of the month was a big one – a visit to league leaders Carrarese. Currently 5 points behind the promotion favourites, a win would really underline his team’s potential but Sandy was keen not to build the game up too much – not that the local media were co-operating as they went overboard as only Italians can. Sandy emphasised to his young charges that they had entered the season with no expectations so, whatever the result it would not be the end of the world. Privately he felt rather differently as he was concerned that a defeat would deflate his inexperienced side and could precipitate a collapse of form. It was 12 games since his team last tasted defeat and he was very keen to keep that momentum going.

Sandy’s Journal
Sunday January 25th 2004
Serie C2/B Game 20
Carrarese 1 Fano 0
The league leaders showed just why they are top of the table with a controlled performance. They never allowed us to establish any kind of rhythm and the few chances we had were well dealt with by their keeper. Not that they overrun us – in fact they had very few scoring chances themselves, but they only needed one. Our cause wasn’t helped by an injury to Carelli and then to his replacement Vitali and by slightly below par performances by a couple of key players.

Team Selection
Orlandi (5), Tomasetti (7), Giangolini (7), D’Aloisio (6), Pomante (7), Gasparoni (6, sub 70), Bonora (7), Carelli (6, sub 21), Stefani (5), Pierobon (8), Pazzi (7)
Subs – Vitali (7, sub 70), Brancaccio (6), Merloni (7)

Fano’s defeat, coupled with a win for San Marino, dropped them down to 3rd but still with a very comfortable buffer over the teams outside the playoff places.