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Post by Boony on Apr 27, 2008 23:59:28 GMT
October 2002 We started October in fine form, beating Fiorenzuola 4-1 at home. Before the game, I'd decided to drop Seminara and replace him with Miglioranzi. Giglio opened the scoring in the first minute, and Chionna converted a corner from Vado on the quarter hour. Another corner resulted in a goal for Sotgiu, before Fiorenzuola finally showed up to score a goal just before half time. There was, however, enough time before the whistle for Abbate to have to come on to replace an injured Vado. The second half was much less interesting, with a Valentini free kick finding Giglio free in the area to complete the victory. Vado would be out for two weeks, while Ambrosini picked up a knock in training to keep him out for nearly a month. We visited Biellese for the sixth game of the season, and found ourselves 2-0 down after just 25 minutes. Di Lauro pulled one back before half time, but the whistle wouldn't come before Piazza, their star player, grabbed his second of the game. I switched my two centrebacks at half time so that Miglioranzi could try and counter Piazza's play, but the damage had already been done. Abbatte crossed for Chionna to make things interesting in the 49th minute, but we just couldn't get an equaliser. Romellini and Nativi both rated 4/10 for the game, prompting me into drastic reaction. Nativi was dropped for the next game, with reserve centreback Seminara coming in to play at right fullback. I also replaced our inconsistent goalie with young 16-year old Benedetti. The visitors were Montichiari, who'd finished 9th in Serie C2B last season. We opened the scoring with Giannusa putting the ball past their keeper in the 18th minute. Dossi equalised for the visitors on the 33rd minute, running past Segreto, Goisis, and Segreto again before placing the ball past Benedetti. The last action of the first half saw a corner from Di Lauro find the head of centreback Goisis, who made amends for his part in the previous goal by putting us back in the lead. The only action of note in the second half was a debut for striker Vitali having played well in the reserved, bagging four goals in six games. We held on for the win, and were starting to climb up the table. Our final game of the month was away at Trento, 15th in C2B last term. Vado was fit again, and came back in the team to replace Seminara; Abbate keeping Nativi out of the team. I switched centrebacks again, so that Miglioranzi could look after the threat of Cucci, their star striker. This was another game where the goals came early: Sotgiu assisted Giglio's opener after twenty minutes of play, and eight minutes later new fullback Abbate crossed for Chionna to double the lead. In the second half, Vitali came on as a substitute again, having netted two more goals in the midweek friendly, as we kept Trento at bay. Bad news for Miglioranzi, though, as his reward for keeping Cucci quiet was an 81st minute injury which would take the next month out of his season. As the remaining leaves dropped off the trees, October turned into November and we were sitting in the playoff positions, fifth after eight games with 14 points, eight points behind early leaders Alessandria. Player Profile - Walter Di Lauro
18 years old, AMLC, joined August 2002 Strengths: Creativity (19); Pace, Strength, Set Pieces, and Flair (14) 2 goals in 8 games rating 7.13, with one assist
Di Lauro has ousted Valentini from the team, using his left-footedness to balance my midfield trio, and providing tactical flexibility by playing out on the left wing in our more conservative formations. He has the attributes to effectively run with the ball (agility 13, dribbling 9), and although he doesn't quite bring with him the level of teamwork I desire, the skills he possesses more than outweigh any slight deficiencies he may have with the mental side of his game. This boy could, in short, be very useful for us in the years to come.
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Post by Mr Bismarck's Electric Donkey on Apr 28, 2008 1:38:44 GMT
More decent results there Mr Boo, keeping you in range. Of course, it's the end of the season that will tell and any possible plummet...
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Post by Moo on Apr 28, 2008 7:51:44 GMT
Nice start, Boo. KUTGW! :thumb:
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Post by coffers on Apr 28, 2008 8:00:27 GMT
Hmm a disappointing start, maybe, but it's early doors yet. KUTGW! oops Narkled, didn't see the next page, ignore my comment until I've read this one.
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Post by Boony on Apr 28, 2008 8:07:34 GMT
November 2002 High scoring draws might be exciting for the fans, but as a manager I detest them. I will, however, take some credit for sharing the points against Montova in the first game of November. Before the game, there was a slight shuffle of personnel as Ambrosini's return to full fitness dropped Diamanti into the reserves. Vitali was deemed good enough to keep his place on the bench. Miglioranzi's injury meant Baroni could come in from the reserves to start, leapfrogging Seminara due to his superb positional sense. We opened the scoring in the 12th minute through Giannusa, but Montova struck back immediately. Eight minutes later, Giglio fed Chionna as we took the lead for the second time. Five minutes of madness either side of halftime saw Montova firstly equalise, and then take the lead seconds after an injury to Giannusa forced Vitali onto the pitch. Just before the hour, I pulled off a weary Di Lauro, who hadn't had a fantastic game, and brought on fresh legs in the form of Valentini. Seven minutes later, Sotgiu followed his instructions to the letter, swinging in a fine cross for the substitute Valentini to level things up. I'll mark that one down to managerial expertise, I think... There were lots more chances from both teams, but for once, neither team could find a way past the other's keeper. 17th placed Legnano were our hosts for the tenth game of the league season, and very accomodating they were too. The 3-3 draw in the last game paved the way for Romellini to reclaim his starting berth between the sticks, and Vitali came in for the injured Giannusa. Attilio Chionna was the main man in this game, converting two first-half passes from Sotgiu and Vado to settle the game at 2-0. In what was proving to be a slightly odd month in terms of results, we proceeded to draw another home game (1-1 against Imolese with Giglio scoring; they equalised just after we took Chionna and Di Lauro off the pitch) and win another away game (3-1 against Baracca, goals for Sotgiu, Chionna and Giglio). Francesco Bruni, who'd just joined the club a couple of weeks ago, had scored three times in two reserve games and so took a spot amongst the substitutes in this last league game of November. An injury to Ambrosini had paved the way for young Bruni to warm the bench for 90 minutes... By the end of the month, we'd jumped another place in the league table, moving up to fourth after twelve games. We're still eight points behind Alessandria at the top, and are now 2 points above the playoff line. Player Profile - Fabio Abbate
20 years old, D/DMRL, joined December 2001 Strengths: Strength (17); Stamina (16); Tackling (15); Pace, Positioning, Jumping (12) 7(1) games rating 6.75, with two assists
Abbate has recently replaced Nativi as Vado's full-back partner in the first choice line-up. Despite his preference for playing with his right foot, he currently finds himself on the left side of defence. Taking a quick look at his attributes, you can see that Abbate is a very solid defender, but his play is slightly one-dimensional. You won't see him bombing up the wing to deliver a cross from the by-line, but he has provided two goals in the season so far.
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Post by coffers on Apr 28, 2008 8:15:31 GMT
Nice work in the next two months, sort taht home form out and you should steam ahead.
KUTGW! :thumb:
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Post by Boony on Apr 28, 2008 19:54:39 GMT
December 2002 More player shifting in our defence, as Vado's injury lets Nativi back into the team, while Miglioranzi's return to fitness means he replaces Goisis in the back four. Baroni's performances kept him in the team ahead of the more experienced Goisis, as top team Alessandria visit us for the first game in December. Giglio opened the scoring in the 26th minute, but things were shaken up when Miglioranzi earned a red card just before half time. Giglio conned the referee on the stroke of half time, taking a tumble in the area, and Baroni knocked the penalty past the league leaders' keeper. I switched things to 5-3-1 to close the game out, and we held on for the win, their goalkeeper earning the man of the match award. What a way to beat the top team... A trip to Pavia for our next game, with Giannusa back in the team for Vitali. We really struggled throughout this game, and I was so worried I was pondering a switch to a more solid 5-3-2, but held off long enough for Di Lauro to put us ahead after a nice little dribble past two defenders. We pulled back to 5-3-2 on the hour and defended well until the last kick of the game.... Damn. Equaliser. Lumezzone came to town for the 15th game in the league season, and came away with no points. A Vado freekick found Giglio for the game's only goal. Miglioranzi had returned from suspension to replace Goisis, to shore up the defence. The final game of 2002 was a trip to Mestre. Skipper Giglio was injured, so Ambrosini came in to add experience to the side. Things weren't going well as two goals were disallowed and a penalty appeal was turned down in the first half and, predictably enough, Mestre knocked in two goals in the second half to leave a sour taste in our mouths at the end of the year. We sat in fourth spot in the league, seven points off Alessandria and 3 above the playoff line. Player Profile - Daniele Baroni
17 years old, DC, joined August 2002 Strengths: Positioning (19), Acceleration (18), Stamina (17), Pace (13) 1 goal in 8 games rating 7.00, with 3.5 tackles per game
Baroni is a very average defender who only really commands a first team spot due to his positioning and acceleration. Other selected attributes include jumping (5), tackling (7), marking (9), strength (9) and technique (1). I don't think Baroni is a long-term pick at centreback, but he's commanding one of the spots at the moment...
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Post by Sonic on Apr 28, 2008 21:42:00 GMT
You can't seem to finish teams when you need to it seems. It's probably because you've no cheap Brazilians in your side like a good Italian team should. Still, your still in the playoff spot and you'll take that into the new year.
:thumb:
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Post by Boony on Apr 28, 2008 21:51:31 GMT
Cheers Sonic. Yeah, it's tough - a fair few of our matches are close affairs, leading to the game itself being quite exciting to play. I'd kill for a cheap Brazilian or Swedish import to give us a bit of zing, but instead we're having to work the hard yards.
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Post by Boony on Apr 29, 2008 7:33:33 GMT
January 2003 One look at the fixture list for January shows you that our three games were all against teams from the nether regions of the division, and two of the three games were at home. I expected at least seven points, but was ecstatic with the result - ten goals, one conceded, nine points in the bag to move us up to second in the league. Novara were the first visitors, and goals from Segreto, Baroni, and two from Giglio sent them packing with a 4-1 scoreline to shove in their kitbags. It could have been more, too, as we had two goals disallowed in the dying minutes. Brescello were up next, and had no chance in a very comfortable 2-0 victory for my boys. Chionna and Giglio were the goalscorers, and Diamanti hit the woodwork twice in the second half. The final game in January was a visit to newly promoted Voghera, who couldn't halt our march into the new year. Ambrosini came in for an injured Giglio to take the armband, and Diamanti took over as target man, preferred to Giannusa in a very tough decision guided by recent form. The Diamond, as I shall affectionatly call him, played a blinder, scoring two and setting up the other two in a 4-0 humping. An outstanding effort and one that earns him the role for a while to come. We finished the month five points behind Alessandria, and eight above the playoff line. Player Profile - Alessandro Diamanti
19 years old, FRC, joined October 2001 Strengths: Determination (18); Stamina (16); Off the Ball, Strength, Aggression (13); Jumping (11) Skills: Finishing (7); Passing (5); Creativity (4); Technique (8) 2 goal in 3(1) games rating 7.75 with three assists
Diamanti scored five goals in 11(5) games last term, but has found himself mainly in the reserves again this year. Having scored 5 goals in 9 appearances for the second team, a few injuries to the first choice strikers game him a chance which he has grabbed with both hands. I'd now class him as the first choice target man, alongside both Chionna (12 goals in 19(1) at 7.70) and club captain Giglio (11 goals in 19(1) games at 7.50).
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Post by Moo on Apr 29, 2008 7:45:00 GMT
Great read, Boony. :thumb:
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Post by coffers on Apr 29, 2008 7:54:34 GMT
Excellent results Boo. :thumb: I'm confident February will be good for you too. I think the biggest problem is keeping a good head on the players shoulders when the pressure build for the run in.
KUTGW! :thumb:
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Post by Boony on Apr 29, 2008 9:54:16 GMT
Cheers, guys. Thanks for the support!
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Post by Boony on Apr 29, 2008 9:54:28 GMT
February 2003 After the heady heights of January, we were brought back to earth somewhat during February. Our first game was away at Valenzuola, and it promised to be an important game as we were level on points with the team from the far north-west of Italy. It was a short trip from our base near Milan, but took us close to the French and German borders. We could smell the cheese, wine, sausages, and beer drifting from the west and north, and it must have put us off our game. That, or my tactics didn't quite work. I'd spotted that their main threat was midfielder Zamboni, so I pushed Miglioranzi into midfield to do a man-marking job in a 4-5-1 formation. 36 minutes and two goals later, I abandoned the idea as a stupid submission to other's abilities rather than concentrating on our strengths, and reverted to our familiar 4-3-3. Yes, we'd kept Zamboni quiet, but their striker ran amok against Goisis... The Diamond was injured in the 48th minute in a return of the Player Profile Curseā¢ (out for three weeks), and striker Chionna was given marching orders from the referee with twenty minutes to play. There was no change to the scoreline after those initial two goals, and we made the short trip back to Meda with our tails between our legs. In a fit of pique, I released reserve keeper Radaelli on a free transfer. Take that! The next game was at home against fourth placed Pro Patria, who brought two monster players with them - right midfielder Colombo averaging 8.09 and forward Lencina averaging 8.00, both having played over 20 games this season. I decided to trust my 4-3-3 after the debacle in the last game, but moved Miglioranzi to take care of Lencina. The main event of the game is young Bruni coming on as a second half substitue to make his debut in an otherwise fairly turgid 0-0 draw. Not a bad result against a team in fourth place, but we lost ground on the top two teams. The final game in a short February was a another short trip to Fiorenzuola, past Piacenza on the way to Parma. Chionna and Diamanti returned to the starting eleven, to replace Giannusa and Vitali. The game was another quiet affair; the home team took the lead in the 32nd minute, only to see Chionna equalise on the stroke of half time. Giannusa was brought on to replace an ineffective Diamond in the second half, but neither team could find a winner. A poor February, considering our league position, and we slipped to fourth in the league. We do, however, boast the best defence in the league, having conceded 23 goals in 22 games. Player Profile - Fabio Miglioranzi
19 years old, DC, joined September 2001 Strengths: Marking (20); Work Rate (17); Strength, Aggression, Set Pieces (16); Acceleration, Balance, Teamwork (15); Positioning, Jumping (13); Pace (12) Weaknesses: Tackling (6); Heading (5) 3 tackles per game, rating 6.93 in 14 matches
Miglio played 29 games last year, without really cementing a place in the starting lineup. This year, he's slowly proving himself to be our best defender. If it wasn't for his tackling weakness, he'd be playing at a much higher level than Serie C2. He's a little injury prone, and rarely strings together a run of games due to these fitness problems, but I think the lad has something about him, and I'm glad he's finally pushing his way into our first choice defence.
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Post by Sonic on Apr 29, 2008 10:02:07 GMT
A great January followed by a meh February. Ah well. Here's hoping for a much improved March.
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Post by Mr Bismarck's Electric Donkey on Apr 29, 2008 11:16:56 GMT
The Coffers' jinx strikes again.
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Post by coffers on Apr 29, 2008 11:19:34 GMT
Ouch sorry Boo, I'll shut up now.
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Post by Moo on Apr 29, 2008 11:20:03 GMT
Like that'll happen.
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Post by coffers on Apr 29, 2008 11:27:26 GMT
It will on Friday, I'm going to London for a long weekend.
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Post by Boony on Apr 29, 2008 11:41:44 GMT
I won't update until then, then
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Post by Sonic on Apr 29, 2008 12:47:02 GMT
:checkit:
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Post by coffers on Apr 29, 2008 13:10:26 GMT
Good point well made.
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Post by Boony on Apr 30, 2008 12:32:22 GMT
March 2003 We needed to swing things around in March, after a reasonably poor showing during the previous month. There are six league games scheduled, the first of which was a home tie against seventh placed Biellese. What we really didn't need was an 18th minute opener for the visiting side, but our skipper Giglio pulled another important goal out of the bag 8 minutes before the half. Unfortunately the parity couldn't last, and Biellese scored the winner in the 51st minute. Segreto injured himself with half an hour to play, and I was feeling quite despondant on the final whistle. We hadn't won in four games, not since January's game against a very poor Voghera side. My mood was lifted slightly when, amusingly enough for Pops, both Igea Virtus Barcellona and their local rivals Gela made a transfer bid for my crap rightback Piluso. I wonder who he'll choose... Fifth placed Montichiari came to town for our second home game in a row, and when they scored in the first minute, I felt like walking out of the stadium and going to the pub to drown some sorrows. But... what's this? Before I could get my coat on, Valentini converted a freekick from Vado to level things up. I stood still for a while, unsure whether to carry on putting my coat on, or to sit back down in the dugout, when Di Lauro found Chionna in the box for our second. From the kickoff, we earned another free kick, from which the dangerous Vado found Diamanti. His shot could only be parried, and Chionna was first to the ball once again. 3-1 after just 14 minutes! This cheered me no end, and not even a 33rd minute goal for Montichiari could upset me that much. Especially as Sotgiu latched onto a pass from Giglio to restore the two goal advantage at the half-time break. 4-2? I must be dreaming... The dream continuted after half-time - Murante scored on the hour and again on 78, either side of Montichiari's third goal of the game. In the closing minutes, Giglio was fouled in the area, and Baroni did the honours from the spot to seal our biggest ever win! What a way to break a non-winning streak! I was over the moon!! The only bad news was that midfielder Murante would be out for the next three weeks. In other news, Piluso moved to Gela, 2nd in C2C. Igea are struggling at the foot of the C2C table, so the choice was really no surprise. Sorry Pops... The 7-3 thrashing of Montichiari seemed to kickstart our lads. Trento came to town and were sent packing with a 2-1 scoreline, Diamanti scoring the winner in the last minute. A visit to Mantova gave us a few worries as we were 3-2 down after an hour, but Giglio took control to set up Diamanti for the equaliser, before taking on a pass from the Diamond to score the winner with five minutes left to play. This moved us up to third in the table, and a quick mention must be made of the Diamond, who had now picked up three man of the match awards in 8(1) games, scoring six goals and making a further three. His current form reads 6-7-8-9-10 14th placed Legnano were next up to face a firing Meda side, who took their time before settling the game just before half time. Chionna had an eventful ten minutes, scoring from a Diamond pass on the half hour, before being booked for diving and then heading in a Vado corner to double our lead. Giglio finished things off late in the second half, after Sotgiu had laid the ball off to him. The number of times I see "Sotgiu laid the ball off...." in the commentary is astounding, it seems to be one of his favourite moves. Imolese were the hosts for our last game of the month, and by half time we were walking it, 4-0 up after goals from Giglio (2), Chionna and Diamanti. Three of these goals were headers, two from Vado corners. The full-back really is a little gem with the set pieces. Imolese scored two second-half goals, but this didn't bother me in the slightest. After a slow start, March was an absolutely fantastic month, and we finish it on a five game winning streak. This has moved us up to second in the table, just one point behind leaders Alessandria (who we play in two games time) and a whole ten points above the playoff line. One note of caution, though - does anyone remember last April? I bloody do... As every member of the first choice team has been profiled, I think it's about time we took a good look at these eleven players. The numbers are for the players' careers at Meda, and obviously the keeper's goals are those he's conceded! Pos Name Age Joined club Games Goals Assists MotM Rating -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GK Romellini 21 Original squad member 76 85 0 2 6.82 DR Vado 18 August 2001 68 4 13 0 6.91 DL Abbate 20 December 2001 38 1 4 0 6.89 DC Baroni 17 August 2002 20 3 0 0 6.85 DC Miglioranzi 19 September 2001 49 3 0 1 6.80 MC Di Lauro 19 August 2002 28 3 6 0 7.39 MC Segreto 19 August 2001 61 5 16 4 7.38 MC Sotgiu 17 November 2001 59 7 10 3 7.08 FC Chionna 21 November 2001 41 24 1 4 7.51 FC Giglio 29 Original squad member 87 31 11 9 7.36 FC Diamanti 19 October 2001 28 12 4 5 7.39
Giglio had played 17 games for the club before I took over the reins. This year, the leading lights so far have been: Goals: Chionna (19) Assists: Vado (9) Rating: Diamanti (8.00) MotM: Giglio (7) Now, surely I can't jinx all my players, can I?
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Post by Mr Bismarck's Electric Donkey on Apr 30, 2008 12:58:03 GMT
7-3! See, I told you in the Slackers thread that everyone gets a 7-3.
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Post by Boony on Apr 30, 2008 13:00:34 GMT
Aye, so you did. Mystic s1ut :thumb:
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