creative36

Season 7
Italian Cup: Not bad. A reasonable group stage was followed by a deserved aggregate win over Cagliari. We lost in the next match against Juventus, but if one of the donkeys up front for me hadn't missed a sitter with a minute to go, we would have gone through. Oh well, them's the breaks.
Serie B: We had, not to put it lightly, a disastrous start. The whole team played like donkeys. When you consider we weren't the only team with 3 points after 9 games, you have some idea of how many donkeys must have been playing in Serie B this season. As it happens, we had an excuse: the 6 teams who beat us in this run were 6 of the top 7 at the end of the season.
We did eventually get going, and from January on, we actually played quite well, getting a few big wins, too. Our form was good enough that we climbed from 18th (on Christmas Day) to finish 6th with 66 points. The strikers from last season ended up with 15 each, with a midfield freebie getting 15 assists.

World Cup 2010: 1:England ; 2:Spain ; 3: Tunisia; 4: Hungary

Only four new players made an impression in the first-team this season: a Gk, DL, DC and the 15 assist midfielder - all freebies. Otherwise, a stack of other players came in and are mostly stewing in the reserves, notable exceptions being a Gk on the bench, a SC from Americano who got himself injured after five matches and a MRLC who joined a bit late to make much of an impact.
The 9 foot tall strker is Player of the Year again.
Oh, and the board have upgraded the training facilities. Only spent £100k on it. Cheapskates. Despite being massively over the wage budget all season, I've made £2m profit. Another similar season, and I might get a stadium extension.

creative36

And that will be it for the time being. I don't get much CM time during the week - certainly not enough to get a season done - and I'm off on my travels next weekend.
So the next update will probably not be until October.

retired_kswansonwoolf

Good work so far, turnip :thup:. Will be waiting for more to come.

creative36

Season 8
Luxembourg thrashing Norway 4-1 was the highlight of the international fixtures. Elsewhere, Sevilla went into receivership 4 days before claiming the Spanish 1st Division title.
Italian Cup: We failed to progress from the group stage despite fielding a strong side. The only thing more irritating than that was losing 4 key players to injury before the season had even begun, especially since I was using the games to get them match-fit.
Serie B: The first half of the season drew some pretty erratic performances which led me to believe that the team was actually playing worse than the league position showed. In fact, at the midway point we were 6th. From then on, there was a marked improvement in both performances and results. A tough (on paper) run against the teams crowding the top only brought one defeat - to Brescia, eventual champions. We finished the season in style, with 8 straight wins including a 5-0 mauling of Avellino away from home on the final day - made all the sweeter because they had beaten me by the same scoreline last season. That helped us top score in the league with 80, even if promotion had already been assured 2 weeks previously with a win over Udinese. Final position: 2nd.
CASTEL DI SANGRO GET PROMOTION !!!

The MRLC signed at the arse-end of last season broke into the 1st team and looks good. He was joined by a Tajik AMLC who finished top-assister with 15. But the surprise package was an 18 yr-old DC who only got a game through injuries/suspensions but ended up played 19 consecutive matches, averaging 7.84. One of my first-choice strikers missed 8 months through injuries, but others chipped in including a Russian freebie who popped up with 10 in 10. The Lump top scored with 17 and also picked up his 4th consecutive Player Of The Year award.
For Serie A, the board have said they have plans to expand the stadium. Let's hope they're not lying; it was getting pretty cramped towards the end of the season.

creative36

The stadium expansion was blocked by the local council.
Since I think this means I won't ever get an expansion, this is disappointing, to say the least. Can anyone tell me if there's a chance of getting a new ground?

Which means it might be time to start looking for another club. Serie A is going to be tough enough, but what with certain players needing new contracts soon I need some way of making more money, otherwise I will be royally screwed when the pay cheques are due.

creative36

Season 9
Italian Cup: The reserves, plus two first team wingers played Serie B Udinese and lost on away goals after conceding in the 85th and 88th minutes.
Serie A: After a summer of agonising over whether I should stay or go, the team showed that there's a reason my coaches aren't managers themselves. Despite only 3 players in my squad being reckoned 'Useful' or 'A good prospect', they started the season playing well. Apart from my keeper. I was unfortunate not to beat Milan despite running all over them for 90 minutes, and probably only the 4-2 win over Inter was undeserved. The good form continues until 8 games short of the end of the season, at which point the CM Conspiracy (tm AndyProutchkine) kicks in , more specifically the 'Stupidizer', 'Revolt' and (inevitably) 'SuperGoalie'. Only a 6-2 win over my personal whipping-boys Inter and a 3-0 win against Empoli on the final day saves my keyboard and mouse from a brief but exciting flight. Still, once the blood pressure has subsided, finishing 3rd is nothing to complain about, especially with the joint-best goal difference in the league. Inter narrowly avoid the drop, but Lazio aren't so fortunate. [/snerk]
CASTEL DI SANGRO QUALIFY FOR EUROPE !!!
The stadium expansion was once again refused by the local council... oh well. Hopefully a run in Europe will bring in some extra cash.
With one of my first-choice strikers getting a lengthy injury a week before the season started, I went shopping and came home with an Iranian who got 18 goals and 14 assists. He partnered The Lump (who bagged 23 goals and the Player Of The Season... again) up front, but the best signing was probably a midfielder from Watford (£130k) who bombed down the right wing all season and made the perfect match with my previous right winger who swapped flanks and bombed down the left all season. Stockport also donated a midfielder for a pittance. I signed a Dutch keeper at Christmas to shore things up, while a DC who had fallen out of favour (for being rubbish) made his way back into the team. The young DC played every game he wasn't injured or suspended for.
The Lump finally signed a new deal after turning offers down all season (the last on his contract). Fiorentina put in a bid, just to make me sweat it.