May 3, 2008
Hello everyone, and thanks for your support if you still happen around these parts occasionally. one fm doesn’t deserve your patronage, having failed to update the site at all over the last two months, but speaking for myself I was touched to find ‘What’s happened?’ messages when I checked the mailbox earlier. Cheers, fellas.
This message is really to advise anyone who still visits that the hosting for one fm is up within the next six weeks, and I have decided not to renew my contract. The reasons for this should be fairly obvious, and though I have had fun writing about my FM exploits here, the sting has gone from it.
I have no doubt that my passion for the game will return some day (it’s been replaced by Medieval Total War II for the time being, a title I only own because I won an FM competition and SEGA sent it as a prize - talk about ironies), and when it does I am likely to foist my writing services on some unlucky scene tinker. Quite honestly, I don’t think I can be bothered to run an FM site anymore. The need to maintain it with some bobbins at least once a week was quite tiring once doing so stopped being a pleasure, and in future contributing as part of a team would seem to be the way forward.
I shall try to maintain some kind of minimal presence around the community, and look forward to talking to those who matter to me. They know who they are. In the meantime, thanks again for your support, and if you want any of these articles for your site then do get in touch.
All the best - Mike.
Posted in Site News 
4 Comments »
March 4, 2008
DAY NINE
What’s the ‘Don Fabio’ Challenge?
Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s hat-trick is all we need to take Livorno down a peg or two. The league opener finds us winning 3-0 on the road, a comprehensive victory that appears to justify our status as clear favourites in the title race.
And why not? Andreas Silenzi has clinched his second Scudetto in a row, and Inter’s fourth. The squad at first glance appears to be little changed from the title winning outfit he took over in July 2007, but peer behind the scenes and it’s clear this a side that contains both depth and its fair share of Italians. At last, Silenzi is putting together a team ready to outlast the challenges of a long season, not to mention the early stages of a dynasty. Young hopefuls are positioned to take over as the stars begin to fade. Milan can spend their £29m on Giuseppe Rossi, and a further £24m to introduce Micah Richards to Europe’s boot. It’s not enough. Inter will prevail. Forza Nerazzurri!
Summer begins with my clearest manifesto for change. The handful of new faces might not look like a revolution is taking place, but I have a dream of cutting Inter’s gigantic squad down to size. First to go are Javier Zanetti, Patrick Vieira, Ivan Cordoba and Marco Materazzi. All are transfer listed. I’ll accept any price for them. Telling a legend like Zanetti that he’s effectively dead to me is gut-wrenching, but necessary. There can be no room for complacency in this side. We have to be razor sharp. Those left in the first team need to know about the calibre of the players they’re replacing.
Next, I cull the rump from our reserves and Under 20s. There are leeches here who will never play in our first eleven. Rather, they’re here to suck us dry, dossing around on the payroll. It ends here. By the close of play, 42 playing staff have gone. Some even I struggle to have heard of, whilst others would take the heart of me if ever they got within a sniff of Serie A action. Notable leavers include Francesco Toldo (retired), Simone Dell’Agnello (joins Arezzo for £250k) and Ivan Ratikic (finally put out of his misery and moves to Fiorentina in a £5m deal). Save for that last bit of business, I have no doubt they’ll benefit the club. As for the Croat Ratikic, I let him go with the horrible feeling I may live to regret it. We shall see.
The next thing to decide upon is which of our co-owned players to bring back into the fold. My main target here is Marco Andreolli, the 22-year old right/centre back who has been getting in some serious match action with AS Roma. Il Lupi are quite serious about hanging on to a talent they’ve nurtured, and slap £4.6m on the table. Fortunately, we’re even more so, and up the stakes to five million. Andreolli is ours. I also want to see the return of striker, Robert Acquafresca (we pay £1m, which is a lot more than Cagliari offer, the Sardinian so and sos), and Enrico Alfonso, the Chievo keeper who rejoins after our £550k bid beats the Verona side’s gambit of a big fat zero.
Two signings are made via the Bosman bargain bucket. First, and straight into the reserves is forward Andrea Russotto, who is only 21 and will continue his development with us after his time at Treviso. For a laugh, and because the alternative is a year in the Stiffs, Russotto is sent straight to one of our affiliates for a season, the name of said affiliate being… Treviso. The more important arrival is that of Salomon Kalou, who incredibly is left surplus to requirements by Chelsea. They must know what they’re doing, I imagine - you don’t win successive Champions Leagues for being shite, after all. That said, for a freebie Kalou represents a considerable coup, though I’m left wondering exactly what to do with him. My coaches tell me his best position is on the right wing, so that’s where he’ll play, as back-up to Belluschi.
My remaining transfer budget is burning a hole in my pocket. The Inter Board have furnished me with a generous £55m, and after lashing out on the co-owned trio, I am still left with the best part of fifty big ones. The obvious area of the team to prop up is in defence, where I compound the listing of Cordoba and Materazzi by dropping Walter Samuel’s status to that of squad player. Samuel isn’t happy, but I think I’m right. The Argentinian is getting on. We need a younger practitioner. As usual, the big names flash up before my eyes. Andrea Barzagli is the obvious choice, but Real Madrid want gajillions for him, and it’s just not worth it for a 28-year old. I also look at Ledley King, Vincent Kompany, and Federico Balzaretti of Fiorentina after a crazy scheme in which Chivu moves to centre back and I look for cover on the left.
None of these work out, but I’m happy with my final choice. Udinese’s Felipe joins in a £11.5m deal that will see the Brazilian pen a three-year contract that nets him a frankly ludicrous £74k per week. Robbing get, I think, but at least he’ll play all the time, unlike Vieira who’s sitting pretty on £60k and refuses to accept mutual termination. Mind you, neither would I on those terms, the big, er, Winston Bogarde.
That ought to do it, yet in a final pique of largesse that even Paul Ince would be impressed with, I activate Samir Nasri’s £31m minimum release clause and snap up the Barcelona midfielder. Is there method in my madness? Nasri looks impressive indeed. 22, French and having enjoyed a very successful term with Barca (following his £21m move from Marseilles in 2007), he has everything I could possibly want from an attacking midfielder, apart from not being Matias Fernandez. Talking of the Chilean, I expect the moaning to start here, only it doesn’t. Fernandez is thrilled at the prospect of working with Nasri, meaning I have achieved some harmony in the ranks… for now.
All of which leaves Inter’s first team in 2009/10 looking like this (names in order of preference):
GK: Julio Cesar, Antonio Mirante
DR: Maicon, Marco Andreolli
DL: Christian Chivu, Marco Pisano
DC: Fabricio Coloccini, Matteo Ferrari
DC: Felipe, Walter Samuel
MR: Fernando Belluschi, Salomon Kalou
ML: Maxwell, Aiden McGeady
MC: Esteban Cambiasso, Antonio Nocerino, Ever Banega
MC: Samir Nasri, Matias Fernandez
FC: Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Fabio Quagliarella, Mario Balotelli
FC: David Suazo, Adriano, Antonio Cassano
All we need to do now is win the Italian Supercoppa, which we duly do, beating Roma 3-2 (they score their two very late, so stick that in your pipe) and we’re away.
Posted in The Don Fabio Challenge, Challenges 5 Comments »
February 20, 2008
Looking through my e-mail inbox the other day, what should I come across but a message from none other than David Kempshall, SEGA Europe’s Community Manager. David is planning a ‘Community Day’ for webmasters across the scene, at which the topic for discussion will be how best we can be served by Sports Interactive.
This isn’t the first time such an event has been organised. By all accounts, they’re positive experiences for all concerned, and an unrivalled opportunity to see where the magic happens. I use the word ‘magic’ loosely, of course.
I thought you might all be interested to read my reply to David’s kind offer, which follows:
Hi David
Thanks for the mail, and for the invitation to attend the Community Day. Unfortunately I can’t make it on this occasion, but I do appreciate the offer. It’s good to know that people actually read one fm enough to include its opinion (whatever the site’s puny visitor statistics say).
As for what is discussed on the day, I’m sure that speaking as the webmaster of a site based on articles and blogs, the concept of sharing resources wouldn’t interest me personally. That isn’t to say such things aren’t useful. I think the fact you distributed the 8.0.2 patch for community sites to download and host for their own visitors is a good thing, and a positive sign of whatever may be to come [Mike’s note - David’s e-mail included access to a quicker download server for the patch, basically so sites could get their own files and host them for visitors. It was another offer I failed to take up - my reasons (and they’re the best ones, natch) are detailed below]. There are many domains that offer nothing but downloadable goodies, and by sheer coincidence they’re the ones that get all the hits. one fm isn’t one of them, and I don’t imagine for a moment that people would visit this place expecting anything of the sort. Besides which, this is a site run very much on the cheap and cheerful. It wouldn’t take many patch downloads before my bandwidth limit waved a little white flag and died, leaving me grateful that February is a short month.
If I was there, I would no doubt be arguing for the affiliation scheme to be revived and indeed restarted. I know I’m not the only one who would really appreciate it. Affiliation for one fm would be like a badge of approval, and I hope might steer people here who enjoy what the place has to offer. Within a community that seems ever more introspective where other sites are concerned (I think the word ‘rivals’ is used, bizarrely enough) I could do with the plug, quite honestly. The popularity of the stories board on Sports Interactive’s community forums shows that there are people playing the game who want more from the scene than graphic packs and utilities. It’s my belief that one fm could be useful to these lonely souls, and affiliation would do a lot to show them the way.
Naturally, I have a sack of further ideas, but they’re for another time and I’m sure you’ll have your hands full on the day. It’s a shame I can’t go. There are several people working within the community - not to mention SI Games - who I would very much like to meet.
In the meantime, if there’s any other way I can contribute, please don’t hesitate to ask. I hope all goes well at the Community Day, and with future developments.
All the best!
Mike from off of one fm
While I’m at it, take a gander at FM Live Online, the new site produced by beta testers of, well, the clue’s in the title. FM Live isn’t a thing I’ve shown a lot of interest in (the little free time I enjoy goes on FM, this site, watching movies, some other stuff that would bore you, and lamenting the nosedive in Heroes’ quality) but I might in the future, and this comprehensive affair is as good a promotional tool as you will find. The inclusion of a Wiki is a very nice touch, and gives the impression that dangerous levels of thought have gone into the site’s presentation.
Posted in Scene, Site News No Comments »
February 19, 2008
Hurray! The new patch for Football Manager 2008 is out! There’s a big list of things that it fixes, and no doubt it’ll make FM easier to play because as we all know, your bad run of results was nothing to do with you, and everything to do with how riddled with bugs the game is.
Yeah, we all know that’s nonsense, just as it’s incredible to find every site on the scene has advertised 8.0.2, as though anyone in their right mind would find these things out from unofficial sources in the first place. I appreciate that one fm has nodded off over the last week, and for that I apologise. My excuses are that I’ve been very busy, the cat ate all my recent articles and I have spent the time catching up on my television and movie viewing. I love Reaper, the comedy/drama currently showing on E4 (in the You Kay), whilst in terms of cinema Sweeney Todd caught my heart with its beautiful music, grotesque characters and a London Town ever entombed within its pea souper. In other words, I honestly couldn’t be mithered. No good reason really, simply that other things caught my imagination and I can only apologise for that. Though I’m not actually very sorry. Go and see Sweeney. Your eyes will love you.
The thing is that whilst not maintaining the site, I haven’t been keeping up with all things scenewide over the past week. And having righted that wrong tonight (when able to peel my eyes from the quite spiffing Liverpool-Inter match on the telly), it’s clear I have not missed very much. Where’s all the content, lads? The crappy guides? The news releases about the patch that are included to masquerade as actual content? It’s very poor, so much so that it could almost make an honest writer lay down his pen in dismay. All these sites garner more hits than one fm? Why? Answers on a Peter Crouch volley.
In the meantime, I do intend to get more stuff added to these here pages, and that includes further updates from Don Fabio. Thanks for the comments and e-mails you have sent to one fm Towers. Everything gets read, and all feedback is appreciated. I was especially touched by the fella who wanted more of the Don. I’m happy to oblige. Unless something drastically bad happens tomorrow, or I polish off this bottle of Pinotage and am fit for nothing over the next 24 hours, a new instalment of my Internazionale adventures will be available for you to read, enjoy or simply ignore.
Thank you for listening, and - much like Rafael Benitez where Dirk Kuyt is concerned - keeping the faith.
Posted in General Waffle 3 Comments »
February 11, 2008
This aspect of the game is one you can choose to ignore entirely. The game will quite happily select a captain for you, and eight times out of ten it will be a sound choice. The best managers however pick their own, a steadfast, trusted and loyal bastion who commands his teammates’ respect, cuts an inspirational figure and, as Bruce Rioch once said of his then Middlesbrough captain, Tony Mowbray, if you could take one person with you when flying to the moon, it would be him.
Why are captains important? Well, think about the number of occasions when a manager states he can’t control his side any longer once they’re out there playing a game, or the times when your boys are 1-0 down in the second half and looking for someone to inspire them. The captain is your on-pitch leader, someone who demands enough respect to make his fellow players listen to him, follow his lead, etc. There are many different kinds of footballer who have stepped up to the captaincy, and a variety of personalities. This means a prototype captain simply doesn’t exist, which is good news for the 99.99% of clubs without the next Bobby Moore in their ranks.
Picking the right player for the job is a fairly straightforward process on Football Manager, thank goodness, and not like in reality where some bizarre and inappropriate choices have worn the armband. Fair enough, every gaffer has his preferred leaders, and there will always be an element of favouritism that goes into the decision. At the foot of this document are some case studies that show a few good and bad examples of captaincy. In FM, all you really need to do is check through a few criteria to work out who your most likely candidate is. Everyone has their own, and mine works along the lines of a six-point checklist, in order to priority. It looks like this:
1. Influence
Invariably, if left to its own devices the AI will automatically offer the armband to the player with the best ‘Influence.’ As the Oxford English Dictionary suggests, it’s a quality within people who can wield ‘influence’ over others, like an extension of natural charisma and presence. Your captain must have a high number here in order to exert any authority over his colleagues. But this can be as much a problem as a blessing. Influence alone does not a captain make, and you can find your team becoming quarrelsome and divisive if the captain is an antagonistic Cassano type.
2. Teamwork, Determination and Personality
Two other categories that are not quite as important in determining the identity of your captain, yet crucial nonetheless. My tip would be to use these numbers as a kind of tie-breaker if you have two players with similar levels of Influence. Obviously, good statistics in all three is a given - in the Premiership/La Liga/Serie A, you would ideally want at least ‘15′ in these categories. ‘Teamwork’ determines how likely your man is to play as part of a unit, rather than for himself. Consider Cristiano Ronaldo, especially in his early days at Old Trafford, and the amount of showboating he attempted, impressing the fans with his individual trickery rather than operating in tandem with his teammates. He was an example of the wrong stuff. Your captain ought to be the archetypal team player, someone who can draw colleagues together rather than divide them and weaken the line. As for ‘Determination,’ here you’re talking about someone who will, in the words of Elliott Ness, never stop fighting until the fight is won. Every side has one, a terrier who keeps the cause in the forefront of his mind at all times, and applies himself accordingly.
Though the numbers can tell you a lot about your player’s make-up, it’s always worth taking a look at his personality and the coach’s report. Here’s where you find out exactly what sort of guy your potential captain is. What you’re looking for is someone whose mindset is roughly in tandem with the ambitious attitude you want permeating through the entire squad. Get this right, and that hungry group of players you’ve put together will be topped off with a captain who’s just as determined for success as you. He can make all the difference.
3. Squad Status
Put simply, this means little more than ensuring you pick a captain who will play as often as humanly possible. There’s no point selecting a confirmed squad rotation type to wear the armband, as he will only actually get to lead the side from time to time, which is useless to you and potentially damaging to the team’s morale. If your present captain is relegated in status due to age, then it’s time to pass on the armband. Don’t be too put off by the warning that changing the identity of your captain can have a detrimental effect. As long as you don’t entirely switch things around each season, and you select appropriate candidates for the role, there should be few problems.
4. Age
Personally, I don’t hold entirely with the notion that team captains must be over 25. In CM 01/02, I handed the responsibility to 21-year old Mark Kerr, leading to years of constant and fine service. Generally though, players like Kerr and Nigel Reo-Coker are flukes, and the advice is basically sound. The reason for this is that by then, your player is presumed to have reached or be very near to his peak years as a footballer, coupled with accumulating enough experience to be a competent leader. Prior to this, he’s too wet behind the ears to command the sort of dog-eared respect that captains possess quite naturally.
5. Language Barriers
It’s such an obvious point but one that is very rarely mentioned. Let’s say you’re Tottenham, playing with a side packed full of young homegrown talent. Then you go out and sign Javier Saviola, and you’re so chuffed with your investment that you instantly make him team captain. Saviola can’t speak a word of English. It’s going to take him a few months to grasp the basics, let alone the year or two he’ll need to be comfortable with his new tongue. How on earth is this going to work? Answer - it ain’t. My advice would be to choose someone who’s either the same nationality as the country he’s playing in, or get a fluent home language speaker. Otherwise, communication is lost, and you can almost picture the scene where Saviola is barking instructions to his players, each of whom is running around the pitch with an interpreter at their side doing some breathless translating.
6. The Importance of Position
A bit of a personal one this, but when I choose a captain, I like him to be either a central defender or holding midfielder. The reasons for this should be straightforward enough. From here, your man can see most of the pitch before his eyes, and is capable of spotting things going awry in most sectors. The defensive midfielder should be a fairly authoritative player anyway, a natural leader who has a lot of work to do bridging the gap between defence and midfield, and you’ll often find he’s a candidate. In all truth, I have no idea whether this criteria has any bearing whatsoever on the strength of your captain, but it occurs to me that their typical personality traits don’t lend themselves too well to the sleeves rolled up grittiness that one needs to fill those boots.
Though I don’t claim that this is in any way a comprehensive list, I think it covers the basics, and I have usually found a good captain by judging them against the six points outlined above. Currently, my armband wearer at Inter is Fabricio Coloccini. The vice-captain is Esteban Cambiasso. Both stack up well against the things I’m looking for, and with Inter being one of the world’s top teams, there are the merits of Christian Chivu to take into account also.
As promised, I have picked up on a few case studies from real life, which are intended to see why some choices for captain work, whilst others crash and burn…
Case One - Roy Keane (Manchester United)
Keane is quite possibly the best team captain I have ever seen (I’m a bit too young to remember Lord Bobby of Moore). Aside from ticking all the boxes where the above points are concerned, he was the very epitome of determination. When he told you to join him in overturning that 1-0 deficit in the 85th minute, you would be there, and not because of the danger that he might go medieval on you afterwards, but due to the sheer fact you knew he would be first over the wall, every time.
Case Two - David Beckham (England)
Sven-Goran Eriksson made Goldenballs his captain because the latter would always play for ‘Team England’ and had perhaps the highest profile in world sport at one point. Never the obvious choice for the armband, Becks tried to lead by example, often covering more turf than any other player for his country and certainly providing the passion his comrades usually lacked. Unfortunately, Eriksson’s policy of selecting Beckham on a ‘no matter what’ basis meant we sometimes had to endure the sight of a far from fully fit superstar who contributed very little to games whilst a string of young and potentially better alternatives languished on the sidelines.
In the plus column, Becks was willing to run his legs off for the cause and at his best cut a genuinely inspirational figure. On the downside, he lacked natural authority, was unable to ‘gee’ his teammates up when the chips were down, and will probably go down as the tip of the iceberg where the problematic ‘golden generation’ was concerned. A group of players that was talented certainly, but ever with an eye on the next contract, image rights and other income streams. Try as he might to overcome that, Beckham led the way for profit-seeking footballers and remains a curious choice for captaincy. Still, he was miles better than Michael Owen.
Case Three - Geremi (Newcastle)
I admit my brain did a leap when it learned Sam Allardyce had nominated Geremi to lead his side. A Cameroon international with slightly above average skills who played on the right wing? He was an incredible selection, all right, a player who seemed to have a passing acquaintance with English rather than cordial relations, and someone who didn’t once strike me as Mr Charisma. I could be wrong, but Geremi didn’t match up well against the usual criteria. Consequently, the Toon staggered through their games, lacked obvious leadership, and led to the end for Allardyce. This wasn’t all Geremi’s fault, but a factor it must have been.
Posted in How Do I... 7 Comments »
February 8, 2008
DAY EIGHT
What’s the ‘Don Fabio’ Challenge?
Here’s a tip for any readers who have a job, and aren’t scruffy students who might miss a 10.00 lecture or state spongers with nothing better to do… Whatever you do, don’t start your gameplaying so that the season is coming to a close when it’s your bedtime. You won’t go. Instead, you’ll find excuses to stop up, get that campaign closed, and once you have done that you will naturally want to see how much your transfer budget will be for the upcoming year. Even worse, don’t be in this position whilst in the company of alcohol. It’s a killer combination. You won’t be worth knowing the following day.
I know what I’m talking about. I slunk out of the office at two-ish today, my head pounding like it was on the end of a David Wheater clearance and my feet already up in anticipation of the rest and relaxation ahead. So don’t do it.
Even more predictably than in 2008, Inter had Serie A in the bag by the end of March, so far ahead of the nearest opposition that I was able to field a second string eleven for the last six or seven games. It was pathetically easy, not so much because we were ace, but due to everyone else’s inconsistency. Below this paragraph is a link to the final Serie A table - note AC Milan’s position. They were our only realistic challengers, yet they stubbornly refused to put anything like a run of victories together. In weary similarity to my first year, once they were out of the running, it was simply a case of working out the maths.
Serie A 2008/09
As you can see from the image above, we didn’t really break a sweat, especially in defence where the usual suspects restricted the opposition to just under a goal every other game. That Rosina bloke looks a reasonably good buy, doesn’t he?
In the Italian Cup, we eased past the considerable hurdle of Fiorentina in the semi-final. Having won a close encounter 1-0 at the Giuseppe Meazza, I was quite concerned about il Viola having their revenge in Firenze. I needn’t have been. Suazo’s double and a sublime Ibrahimovic header kept us on course for the final, and then it was a case of holding the home side and listening out for the whistle. The showpiece saw us take on AS Roma. By now, the league calendar had finished, one defined by our stuttering form as nobody seemed to care anymore. But the boys didn’t let me down when it mattered. Ibrahimovic, Matias Fernandez and Cassano put us on top. The Romans could manage naught but a late Cerci consolation. 3-1! Another double season! The neutrals must have been… yawn… thrilled.
Europe was less rewarding. Having played out a narrow 1-1 at home, we went to the Bernabeu as firm underdogs. Even that draw was scratched out, Belluschi scoring a late, late equaliser to cancel Robinho’s advantage. At Real Madrid’s home ground, we were nudged out of the way early, Royston Drenthe and Raul giving them an early lead. Fernando Gago was dismissed shortly before half-time, which gave us an opportunity to make a stand. Suazo scored, and the second half became a match of attrition, of increasingly desperate attacks as we tried to get that golden equaliser. No dice. Real won, were in turn dumped by Chelsea in the semi-finals, who then went on to down Barca 2-1 at the Olimpico, Rome, to lift their second successive Champions League. It will be us one year. Oh yes. One year.
In terms of co-efficients, we were now Europe’s seventh best club. For the completists out there, the top ten looked like this:
10. AZ (Netherlands, 97.638)
9. Manchester United (England, 101.498)
8. Real Madrid (Spain, 109.125)
7. Internazionale (Italy, 109.337)
6. AC Milan (bastards, Italy, 121.337)
5. Sevilla (Spain, 127.125)
4. Arsenal (England, 127.498)
3. Barcelona (Spain, 132.125)
2. Liverpool (England, 132.498)
1. Chelsea (England, 140.498)
I suppose Roman is happy, even if they relinquished the Premiership to Liverpool, and could only manage a league finish of fourth. It’s a secondary ambition of mine to have Inter near the top before I leave the club. My feeling is that we had better enjoy a few colossal seasons to achieve anything like this, but one day I’ll make it happen. Oh yes. One day.
It was another good year for the money men. Inter remained in fifth place financially, but are now worth a tidy two hundred and eleven million big ones. I of course put that down to my accounting ingenuity. For the record, the other four are AC Milan, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Barcelona. It’s not unrealistic for the Nerazzurri to finish second, but Barca are something like £300m ahead of anyone else, so the top spot isn’t going to happen anytime soon. Hey, check out our new range of branded club duvets, kids! Buy a Mihajlovic toothbrush while you’re at it - it’ll break your teeth, just like the real thing!
Our customary run through the squad, divided into categories for your ease and convenience…
The Untouchables
Julio Cesar (Position - GK, Nationality - Brazilian, Age - 29, Appearances in 2008/09 - 49, Goals - 0, Man of the Match Awards - 5, Average Rating - 7.35) - somehow even better than in 2007/08, and still just 29! Every side should have one.
Fabricio Coloccini (DC, Argentinian, 27, 47, 2, 3, 7.28) - almost the perfect defender, first team captain and a massive, commanding figure on the field. £13.5m well spent.
Christian Chivu (DL, Romanian, 28, 37, 1, 0, 7.27) - more greatness from Chivu, but he was slightly more injury-prone than previously, losing a month with a sprained ankle. Still, a superb year.
Maicon (DR, Brazilian, 27, 53, 0, 1, 7.36) - so good that when he moaned about wanting a new contract, I didn’t see my arse and instead agreed terms quicker than you could say ‘left wing menace.’ Bloody fantastic defender, and also managed ten assists.
Maxwell (ML, Brazilian, 27, 47 (1), 5, 1, 7.54) - shrugged off the potential threat to his position of McGeady by turning in another excellent year’s work. The injury situation improved, and his natural football intelligence made him a constant threat on the left.
Esteban Cambiasso (MC, Argentinian, 28, 36, 2, 1, 6.92) - another solid year from ‘Cambo,’ though the 20 yellow cards and one dismissal were frustrating. By now the default starter at ‘holding’ midfielder.
Fernando Belluschi (MR, Argentinian/Italian, 25, 54, 7, 5, 7.54) - my personal choice for ‘Player of the Year,’ ‘Ferdy’ took over from Javier Zanetti full-time this season and excelled. 27 assists is a brilliant statistic however you choose to look at it.
David Suazo (FC, Honduran, 29, 41 (1), 29, 12, 7.38) - part of me always wants to see who else can do his job, only better. The answer would appear to be that no one can. The Honduran international quietly ended the season as our top scorer and remains an uncomplaining professional with electric pace and a sure-footed eye for goal.
Matias Fernandez (MC, Chilean, 23, 45 (2), 6, 1, 7.13) - arrived for £22m and had a fine first year as we adapted our midfield make-up to allow for more creativity in the centre. Superb in all attacking midfield aspects and a better finisher than his six goals suggests.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (FC, Swedish, 27, 36 (2), 27, 10, 7.39) - started the year as he’d finished the previous one, but tailed off slightly after his six weeks off in winter with strained knee ligaments. This will have to be addressed. Collected no yellow or red cards whatsoever, which is more than you can say for the people marking him.
Redoubtable First Team Players
Walter Samuel (DC, Argentinian, 31, 45, 2, 0, 7.27) - Walter was a default starter for us, and did a man’s job at the heart of defence. However, slight signs of decline are beginning to appear, and we may need to rotate him more in 2009/10, a suggestion that appears almost heartbreaking given his level of service to the cause.
Matteo Ferrari (DC, Italian, 29, 5, 0, 1, 7.40) - didn’t see an awful lot of action, and let me know how he felt about it enough times. As it turned out, he was well worth it when he did take to the pitch, which makes him a default first teamer in my book.
Marco Pisano (DL, Italian, 27, 19, 0, 0, 7.21) - a surprising trouper who waited patiently for his opportunity in the first team, and didn’t disappoint me when he took it. Pisano will never go down as a legend of the game, but he has his place in the squad sealed with numbers like those he produced this year.
Ever Banega (MC, Argentinian, 20, 17 (5), 0, 0, 6.45) - the numbers are illusory. Banega started coming of age this term, my only complaint being his high number of cards (11 bloody yellows!).
Antonio Nocerino (MC, Italian, 24, 11 (33), 1, 0, 6.34) - money well spent? Nocerino cost a packet, had disciplinary problems, started weakly and must have had Juventus laughing their butts off over the sum they weasled out of us for him. Fortunately, ‘Ant’ finished the year strongly, and I’m looking forward to more in 2009.
Fabio Quagliarella (FC, Italian, 26, 18 (16), 12, 4, 6.74) - Fabio came into his own when Zlatan was injured, and supplied an admirable number of goals. It’s possible he’s a bit too good for his squad rotation place. Ended the year quietly.
Aiden McGeady (ML, Irish, 23, 8 (9), 1, 0, 7.12) - enjoyed his run in the first eleven after we clinched the title, and covered for Maxwell otherwise. Probably deserves better than a squad rotation place, but I’m not complaining. Fantastic dribbler.
Adriano (FC, Brazilian, 27, 8 (34), 11, 2, 6.69) - the Brazilian wasn’t as reliable off the bench as in previous seasons. Moments of brilliance were few and far between, and I’m beginning to wonder if Adriano’s days as an Inter player are limited, especially if the right offer comes along…
The Pretenders
Antonio Mirante (GK, Italian, 25, 7, 0, 0, 7.14) - we got the man we wanted, a good back-up who has left us all thinking ‘Francesco who?’ Four clean sheets were included in his seven appearances.
Antonio Cassano (FC, Italian, 26, 10 (19), 8, 0, 6.59) - whinged, whined and skriked about his lack of opportunities. Then he got them, and wasn’t really the machine we hoped for. ‘Cass’ is definitely the side’s fifth forward, and I may look at packing his bags before too long.
Ivan Rakitic (MC, Croatian, 21, 2 (15), 0, 0, 6.24) - not good enough, not nearly good enough, and though his chances were severely limited, Rakitic’s returns have been limited from the start. Must improve. Could go.
Mario Balotelli (FC, Italian, 18, 0 (5), 1, 1, 6.54) - 46 goals in the Under 20s was enough to hand young Mario a few games at the tit end of the year. Did enough to earn a new contract, and the promise of more playing time in 2009.
Too much, too old?
Ivan Cordoba (DC, Colombian, 32, 5 (3), 1, 0, 7.25) - the Inter stalwart is now in free fall decline, and doesn’t have much of a future at the club, though he may stay if I don’t find someone to replace him.
Marco Materazzi (DC, Italian, 35, 7, 1, 0, 7.29) - definitely on his way out, with his numbers dropping across the board and too much whining about sitting on his hands to make it any other way.
Javier Zanetti (MR, Argentinian, 35, 5 (10), 1, 0, 7.13) - Mr Inter’s final hurrah. I am thinking of offering him a coaching job in honour of his good service.
Patrick Vieira (MC, French, 33, 1 (10), 0, 0, 6.27) - he still looks the part, but the performances are no longer there, and the pace of the game has moved on. Now third choice behind Cambiasso and Banega - what sort of role is that for an old, gnarled campaigner like Vieira?
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February 6, 2008
Sir Alex Ferguson knows it. Arsene Wenger positively lives by it. Fabio Capello swears by it, yet Carlo Ancelotti could do with a lesson in it. No, I’m not talking about managers who persuade their players to get a bloody haircut (though the germ of a storming article is there), but rather those who appreciate one of the fundamental tenets about keeping your team at the top of their game. Ferguson, Wenger and Capello all understand that they need to make changes to successful sides. The best managers can never sit back, light a cigar and bask in the knowledge that their squad is as good as it’s ever going to be. Such a situation simply doesn’t occur, even with a team that has won everything in sight.
Consider the Manchester United side that did the Treble in 1999. You couldn’t really ask any more of them, yet Sir Alex made changes, drafting in the next generation of stars like Van Nistelrooy, Silvestre and Ronaldo. Arsene Wenger appears to have a supernatural sense of when to switch things at the Emirates. Twice in recent years he has sold his best players - Vieira and Henry - and in both cases, it’s quickly become clear that the illustrious departees are in decline, whilst those he has replaced them with - Fabregas, Flamini, Eduardo, Adebayor - have turned out to be exciting prospects with nothing but gold in their future. The Don famously broke up the culture of Galacticos whilst at Real Madrid, and won La Liga. On the flip side, you have the current Milan outfit. The Rossoneri might have had enough guile and cause to win last May’s Champions League, but only the blindest of fans would disagree that theirs is a side in dire need of cosmetic surgery. Players like Maldini, Cafu, Seedorf and Nesta bring vast amounts of experience to the line-up, but they’re showing their age. With the average player clocking in at 29, it’s clearly a squad closer to retirement than its prime.
You get the impression that a thread of sentimentality runs through this team, which is almost suicidal within a sport that can be as hard as nails. As much as you may love a certain player, it seems clear that he’s ever on borrowed time at his current outfit. And so it should be. The best managers identify the right time to chop and change, and do it without mercy or exception.
So how do you know when the ‘right time’ is? The first and simplest way of working this out is via players’ performances. If someone is starting to return poor numbers, there are various things you can check to find out why - is he being used out of position? Does he have some cause for dissatisfaction? Is he after a new contract? Does he enjoy his training sessions? Is he getting on with his teammates? If none of these factors are the reason, then perhaps it’s time to think about moving him along. Everyone knows the ‘peak’ years for footballers, that these can vary slightly according to position and the stamina of the individual, but in general your players need to be pretty special to maintain star status long after they’ve celebrated their 30th birthdays. Every team has veterans, grizzled ‘Greybeards’ (as the Americans call them) who can hold down their place in the side for years. Javier Zanetti of Internazionale is one of these. Liverpool’s Sami Hyypia is another. Gary Speed has played top flight football for years. But these are exceptions, one-offs who have maintained their fitness levels way beyond the usual standards.
Another method is to consult your Assistant Manager. As the man who leads your training sessions and potentially knows the squad better than you, he can advise more truthfully than anybody on who’s hot, and who’s on the wane. The legend ‘This player has declined slightly as a footballer over the last three months’ is your early warning sign. You don’t need to do anything yet, but by now you know that the player in question isn’t going to improve, and has most definitely peaked. From here, it’s all downhill, and depending on your resources and how attached you are to him, it might be time to start scouting for alternatives.
Personally, I check this once per summer with my Assistant in every player’s case. Most of the time, I know before I even enquire who is on the slippery slope, but I have been surprised by some verdicts, and acting on them has kept my side fresh. As with many gamers, my almost fatal flaw is loyalty. I have grown attached to my Inter stars. They’re my boys. Knowing that I am going to have to reduce their role within the side, before ultimately jettisoning them isn’t easy to take. It’s at times like these that I need to conjure up an image of Don Fabio, who would never let emotions cloud his judgement, to will me into wielding the axe.
Finally, there’s the ‘x factor,’ otherwise known as that essence of common sense underpinning your entire management style. After working with your crop of players for a certain amount of time, a season for instance, you should be fully aware who has a long-term future, who isn’t performing and who will need to be replaced over time. Long-term readers of the site will recall part one of my Don Fabio Challenge, in which I spelled out the age problem facing Inter. If I stayed with the team for five years and didn’t augment the squad, half my current lot would have retired by 2012 and the rest would be the wrong side of 30. Though I was happy with the side in terms of its quality, the goal was clear. I needed to overhaul it, bit by bit, and if that meant dropping players who had sweated blood for the cause, then so be it. As a consequence, as I enter my fourth season (you’re currently only halfway through Season Two in the story, so I’ll keep this spoiler-free) my starting eleven bears little resemblance to the one I inherited. Only seven players from the original squad remain in situ. The rest have gone - retired, sold or sulking in the reserves. I don’t like the situation any more than them, but progress is progress. To take the Nerazzurri up a level whilst keeping them at the top of Serie A, I’ve had to make some tough changes. Ferguson, Wenger and the Don wouldn’t have it any other way.
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February 5, 2008
DAY SEVEN
What’s the ‘Don Fabio’ Challenge?
We pick up the action in March 2009. A frantic spate of playing has seen me move the game along as far as I can. Honestly. it’s around now that I start wondering whether to take a day off work, drive mine wife to the train station, dump The Boy on his school, lock the door, close the curtains, fix a jug of Douwe Egbert and divide my time between Football Manager and some of the less family-friendly corners of the Interweb. Nah, just kidding, everyone. I’m far too worked up at the business end of the season to start mucking around with porn, and besides I wouldn’t do it because I don’t know what porn is.
No doubt I won’t. I’ve toiled hard to build up some hours at work, enough to give me the best part of two days’ leave. The sensible portion of my brain is urging me to save them until the weather’s better, something that seems to be a long, long way off in these splish-splash times. It has a point. I should be playing FM while the sun streams through the window, knowing that outside chores like gardening and mowing the bastard lawn await. Why does grass grow anyway? What does that grass want?
On to Inter, and we left things with the Nerazzurri waiting to see who their First Round opponents in the Champions League were going to be. Barcelona were tied against AC Milan, and then Valencia were paired with Liverpool. We got Hamburger SV, otherwise known as HSV, the German lot who are still probably best known for signing Kevin Keegan in the 1970s. With the likes of Christian Pander, Vagner Love and Florent Sinama-Pongolle filling their ranks, they’re going to be tough, but it could be worse. As it is, Fernando Belluschi’s late equaliser makes it 1-1 in the first leg at the Wolfgang-Meyer. We then sweat it out for a time at home, before two HSV players helpfully get themselves sent off and goals from Suazo and Ibrahimovic take us through at a leisurely pace.
Talking of Zlatan, this game represents one of the few he’s played since recovering from his two-month injury. Strained knee ligaments saw the Swede farting about in the reserves for what seemed an eternity, while I tried to choose one from Quagliarella, Cassano and Adriano to partner Suazo. Young Fabio Q won out, hitting a rich vein of form as we carved out an imperious 21-point lead in Serie A. He was certainly more effective than Adriano, the Brazilian forward putting in a string of tame displays just as he was being given a chance to strut his Samba stuff. As for Cassano, I couldn’t blame him for his moans. He wanted to play. We couldn’t guarantee him a game, though when he did come on the results were usually worth watching. As chance would have it, Suazo ended up twisting his knee in the HSV tie, which perhaps will give Cassano his window.
It was in the early weeks of 2009 that I realised I actually had a decent squad at my disposal. I lost Christian Chivu and Esteban Cambiasso for a month apiece. Marco Pisano turned out to be good value as an alternative for the Romanian, fitting in nicely alongside his defensive partners as we gave away little in the league. Though I had big money signing Antonio Nocerino down as the instant Cambiasso replacement, it was in fact Ever Banega who stepped up, showing us his growing potential in the side and offering further evidence that this just might be Patrick Vieira’s last season at the club.
Vieira seems to know his cards are due. Unlike many of his teammates who aren’t getting a game, the Frenchman hasn’t once raised his voice in anger. Maybe the £60k he gets each week for precisely piss all helps. I’m beginning to think about who I will lose in the summer. Toldo should be out. I can’t see a future for Materazzi, and I might cut my losses where dead weight attacking midfielder Ivan Rakitic is concerned also.
During the January transfer window (a far quieter one for us, thankfully), AC Milan start throwing around the lire. Villarreal forward Giuseppe Rossi joins in a deal that doesn’t leave much change out of £30m. And then they offer us a cool ten million for disgruntled defender, Leandro Rinauldo. I don’t especially want to see the back of him, remembering the few chances I gave him when one of my starting centre halves were injured. On the other hand, I’d be getting nearly five times what I paid for him. Reluctantly, I sanction the deal, and everyone ends up happy with Rinauldo getting a regular place in Milan’s first eleven.
Along with selling Rinauldo, we get rid of some of the shower that sits around in the stiffs. My only signing is Antonio Mirante, Juventus’s reserve goalkeeper. You’ll recall (and I will be running a quiz later) from Day Five that I already coveted the youngster, but the Old Lady wanted £6.8m. By January 2009, my overtures had unsettled him enough into making the transfer list. We got our man for a more reasonable £2.3m. In the meantime, Toldo was on loan at Charlton Athletic, and ready to sod off to whoever wanted a 37-year old with stories to tell in the summer.
As the campaign enters its climactic weeks, I don’t think I am being presumptuous when I suggest we might win the Scudetto. That leaves the Italian Cup. Bologna and Napoli both fell to the Blue Blacks, setting us up for what is sure to be tight semi against Fiorentina. I would argue that il Viola have been our toughest opponents during my time at the Giuseppe Meazza, not least because they own the contract of the player I would most like to have in my side, Serie A’s leading scorer Giampaolo Pazzini. The fact we beat them in last year’s final isn’t lost on me.
Just the little matter of the Champions League to look forward to, and we learn our quarter final opponents will be none other than Real Madrid. A pundit anally announces that one of our most famous meetings was in the 1964 final, which Inter won 3-1 in Vienna against a side featuring Di Stefano and Puskas. A good omen?
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February 3, 2008
Evening readers, and my apologies that this site hasn’t been falling over itself with activity during the last few days. I can’t even blame my lack of inspiration. Episodes of ‘Don Fabio’ are queued up and ready to be published - it’s something I just haven’t got around to sorting. Sorry.
I would do it tonight, but as I write this I’m already settling down for a nice evening of beer and Super Bowl action. It’s some years since the American Football finale held any importance for me, yet back when I followed it avidly - mid-eighties… Nicky Horne on the telly… trying to get the hang of passing the ball… subscribing to First Down, even when shite all was happening in it - my favourite team, the New York Giants were one of the bigger deals, and by happy chance they’ve made it through to this year’s showpiece. Sadly, they’re up against the New England Patriots, who haven’t lost a single game throughout the campaign and are tipped to win through sheer momentum tonight.
Oh well, normal service to be resumed tomorrow, I hope. I’ve gifted myself the day off from work, and plan to loaf my way through the hours, maybe taking in that Cloverfield movie. In the meantime, and just to get around to some sort of point to these words, a couple of new sites have popped up that you might choose to visit. Both are blogs, which means they’re my kind of click, and first on my list is Funky Manager. What makes it ‘funky’ is anyone’s guess, but I quite like its mix of commentary and game-related stuff. The Espanyol blogs are exactly the entries I enjoy best of all, with the opinionated and occasionally hilarious team analyses that reveal a site not taking itself too seriously. Keep up the good work.
Second, we have Pure Football Manager, which according to my sleeve notes is making its return to the scene. It was here before? So far, all we have is two blogs that concern themselves with the community, and by all accounts this will be the site’s raison d’etre. If that sounds a bit ‘Portal’ to you, then it may help that Pure FM looks to be a more opinionated rant machine than Rob’s juggernaut, and as a webmaster I will of course be checking in often. The writer seems to be picking up on one of the scene’s favourite topics currently, which means discussing what’s wrong with the scene. Yawn. As the wiser heads seem to be retorting, does any of this stuff really matter? I could fly into a ramble about how things are just not like how they were in 2002 and all that, but you don’t need to hear it, and besides all this typing is stopping me from concluding the 2009/10 season, with Internazionale facing some crucial fixtures before they can sod off to Gran Canaria for the summer. Surely, that’s what it’s all about…
Posted in General Waffle, Scene No Comments »
January 30, 2008
DAY SIX
What’s the ‘Don Fabio’ Challenge?
This report finds the ‘new Don,’ Andreas Silenzi, in December 2008. Internazionale have played 13 games of the new season. The group stage of the Champions League is almost at an end, and the Nerazzurri are yet to soil their hands with the little matter of defending their Italian Cup.
Since then, Inter have serenely marched on in Serie A. Currently, their record is: Played 13, Won 11, Drawn 2, Lost a big fat zero. I don’t like using the word ‘easy’ but, you know. Added to that is our success in the Champions League. Inter share their group with Benfica, Olympique Lyonnaise (known to most as ‘Lyon’) and Belgian champions, FC Twente. Our form? Played five, won five. Bring on Manchester United! Or, er, don’t. We’d far rather not meet anyone like that until the semi-finals, when I can claim to have met my Board’s target for the competition.
My main concern during the first few months has been to assimilate our expensive new signings into the Inter squad. As noted in the Day Five update, they all had different purposes. For instance, Matias Fernandez and Fabricio Coloccini were the only two slated to have regular starting places. The latter was a straight swap for the fading Ivan Cordoba. Fernandez was seen to be the answer to that tricky fourth midfield slot, which is why I was prepared to pay out so handsomely for his services. Fortunately, both turned out to be astute purchases. Chilean Fernandez was a perfect foil for Esteban Cambiasso. The Argentinian held up the ball, whilst the attacker provided deadly passes to the forwards. It was a playing relationship that worked splendidly, the only drawback being that it diminished Patrick Vieira’s role at the club further still.
Coloccini did what we expected from a £13.5m defender, and turned the route to goal into a brick wall. Some of his tackles were Jade Goody rough, and on one occasion he was banned for three matches after making an effort to separate Parma’s Igor Budan from his feet. I wasn’t happy with his dismissal, but I had the players to stand in for him. Leandro Rinauldo plugged the gap temporarily, which stopped him from moaning about his lack of first team football, at least for a few weeks.
The fans were delighted with these signings, but like last season started to get on my back about the bit part roles being played by the others. Fabio Quagliarella and Antonio Cassano came in for especial stick, and my riposte that the forwards were brought in as back-ups cut little ice. And the more I thought about it, why should it? All right, I knew I needed a defender and midfielder, and spent a lot of money getting them through the Giuseppe Meazza doors. Should I have lavished so much elsewhere? I suddenly wasn’t so sure. It appeared I had treated Inter’s transfer budget like my own personal shopping list, one where I went to John Lewis as opposed to Netto for my purchases.
And now of course I faced the downside of all this. Some of my back-up players were unhappy, and wasted no time letting me know that they hadn’t arrived to warm benches. At various points, I received reports that Toldo, Rinauldo, Pisano, McGeady and Quagliarella were disgruntled with earning so much for so little work. It didn’t sound bad to me. A cheery ‘Molto grazie!’ would have done, but no. These lads wanted to get on the pitch, and I couldn’t blame them. Perhaps I haven’t got the hang of this squad rotation malarkey at all.
It didn’t help that I made one more signing before the transfer window closed. In fairness, it wasn’t my fault. I had been drinking one evening, and the £26m surplus that was the remainder of my war chest was burning a hole. It struck me that I didn’t need to spend that cash, but I let such doubts slide and started searching… for who? And then someone put in an offer for Juventus’s young midfielder, Antonio Nocerino. I matched it. The Old Lady said fine, I could talk to their man, as long as I upped my bid to £21.5m. I thought about it, did the maths in my head, and realised that I did indeed have that sort of moolah lying around. Forget the fact the supporters didn’t want some Juve scum wearing Inter colours, or that I had no real idea where and how Nocerino would fit into the side. I wanted him, and that was all that mattered.
The next morning, I woke up with a head that felt as though it had been on the end of a two-footed Coloccini challenge, and then I realised what I had done. Noooooo! Juventus really saw me coming, didn’t they? How could I have paid so much for what amounted to a luxury squaddie? It wasn’t as though Nocerino was bad, more that I had no idea what he was going to add to a quality-stuffed group of players. In a summer of rampant spending, it was an excuse to pay well over the odds for the opportunity to snag another young Italian player, one who commanded splendid wages, didn’t play especially well and took the hump after I gave him some ‘hairdryer’ for getting himself sent off.
I really dropped the ball with this one, though I didn’t really know how things would turn out. Inter were ten points clear in the league. We won our last Champions Cup group match against Benfica to claim maximum points. Bologna waited in the Italian Cup, English clubs were lining up to take Toldo on loan, and I sweated over the identity of our Champions League opponents. Arsenal had surprisingly finished third in the group, but Manchester United qualified imperiously, as did Chelsea. What price one of those for the first knockout round?
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