fifa 09 - linguine!

date: 1/4/09
league position: 1st (49 pts)
league record: 16-1-0

it's the january transfer window, and we've been doing extremely well. we're first with 49 points, 18 ahead of modena in second. however, i am currently not a very happy manager.

the last few weeks have been pretty frustrating. we got knocked out of the cup by genova in the second round with a aggregate of 4-1. we lost the first leg at home 1-0 because of a total bullshit goal in the 93rd minute. we played so well in that first leg, controlling the run of play and defending well even after going down to 10 men around the 72nd minute. the return leg ended 3-3. we went ahead early due to a great half-volley by ventucci, but soon found ourselves down 3-1 at the half. we crawled back scoring our second goal around the 75th minute, and then getting the equalizer in the 89th. but, it wasn't enough. absolutely frustrating. we then drew the next league match, adding to my poor mood.

so, here's a quick list of problems i'm going to be tackling:
- weak defense: while our defenders have played well (mostly), we're still technically weakest in the back.
- midfield cluster-fuck: this is a two part problem. 1) we have some minor fitness problems. pisanu, ventucci, budel, and morrone get tired way too quickly, and it is becoming a bit of a problem since...2) we have a serious lack of depth in midfield. my options off the bench for the wings are ventucci and reginaldo, while my options for the middle are ventucci, papadoppoulus, and parravicini. those last two are defensive, parravicini being a defensive mid and papadoppolous being a center-back. so, we have no real offensive option for the middle of the pitch.

hopefully, these issues can be fixed during the transfer window. we'll see.

parma - fettucini!

league position: 1st (12 pts)
league record: 4-0-0

okay, so here's a recap so far.

bullet points!
- lucarelli's finishing looked like shite during the first friendly, but might not be as bad as i thought.
- switched to a 4-3-3 (my old stand-by) during the second friendly, and i like it better.
- upgraded my medical staff, scout, stadium, and negotiator.
- lost leon (an attacking mid playing as my left striker, and currently my leading scorer) due to injury until the end of december.
- apparently, paci (right back playing left back) has a laser cannon of a long-shot.
- aquired papadopoulos (cb) and venitucci (cm) off of free transfers.

pre-season friendlies
brandby if 0 - 1 parma
nottingham forrest 1 - 4 parma
parma 4 - 1 chicago fire

not a bad start. theoretically, we should win serie b. parma's rating is the highest in the league, but we'll see.

fifa 09 - spaghetti!

i had a nice manager mode going with borussia moegjdsadadblach, but fifa decided to crap out on me at the beginning of the third season. so, i have moved on. i am now the manger for parma in serie b. this was a tough decision (since i hate the italian league), but i think it'll be fun.


board expectations
- secure promotion
- reach quarterfinal of the domestic cup
- upgrade medical staff
- extend i player's contract to 3+ years

so far, i can see this team has a lot of fat that needs to be shed. a lot of old, under-performers; plus, a lot of untalented (meaning 55 or under rating) players. unfortunately, the "fan favorite" is an aging right wing-back named Zenoni, who i wish i could off-load. i've got a lot of selling to do. i hope to find a few gems on the free transfer side of the market.

however, i've got a few decent players. lucarelli is an older striker (and our captain) who has the highest rating. he should be a pretty solid target man. troest is a great young centerback, who should do well in the future. i remember he was on some of my prospect lists in my other seasons, so that's a good thing. our other striker, paloschi, is going to be amazing. that's all i can say.

i'll probably play parma's default 4-4-2. it seems solid enough. we'll see if i change my mind after a couple of games.

we've got pre-season friendlies lined up: brandby if, nottingham forrest, and the chicago fire.

wish me luck!