Search
On FM Scout you can chat about Football Manager in real time since 2011. Here are 10 reasons to join!

Resurrecting Palermo

Our journey to bring Palermo back to Serie A & beyond!
Started on 13 April 2020 by FMBlake
Latest Reply on 18 July 2020 by d4vidjames
Pages  
You're going to need a lot of Red Bull to keep you going at work throughout December, I'll tell you that much! :))
1
...Where's Mo Farah when you need him? Although I don't even think he would cope with this schedule!
1
Eoin97 - You are right, all the other teams in Italy have to deal with the same schedule, so we will play through it!

J_ames -It's nuts right, but we can do it!

Griffo - Haha wish me luck

Justice - At first I thought it was....but it turns out there's another reason...

TedBro20 - No other major comps on, you are about to find out why it is scheduled like that in my next update!

Jack - Coffee for me thanks! Will need at least two cups!

ScottT - I need a squad of Mo Farah's!
FMBlake's avatar Group FMBlake
4 yearsEdited
SEASON 9: DECEMBER 2027 | SERIE A MADNESS!



Breaking News! AC MILAN FANS SEND SERIE A INTO SCHEDULE MADNESS!
In a bid to try and save their club for relegation the AC Milan ultras have worked alongside their MAFIA connections and hold Serie A officials all over Italy hostage, at knife point. The Milan fans are demanding that all Serie A club's play as many games as possible in an attempt to finish the season early, and throw the standard competition out the window. The Serie A official's have no choice but to agree with their deal, otherwise their live's are at risk. Out of fear, the rest of the league are acting accordingly. Riots are beginning all over the country and the competition is in a state it has never been seen before. Let's hope that AC Milan do not get relegated and this madness can end once and for all!


So there you have it. We have no choice but to abide by the schedule changes. 13 games in one month is going to be a huge challenge! Rotation is going to be key. We have called up all of our U20 and some U18 players to add numbers to our squad. The starting team will largley be selected based on fitness rather than ability. This has come at the worst time as we were having our best season so far with Palermo! Let's hope we can come out the other side of all this somewhat unscathed.


In a bid to try and keep me in Italy the board have offered me a new 3 year contract. I decided to sign the deal, although if the riots and fighting continues, I will have no choice but to resign, and leave the club, for my own well-being!

(H) Palermo 2-2 Inter Milan
A very competitive game against one of the top teams in the competition! We took a 1-0 lead through Brobbey. Inter came back with 2 goals to lead 2-1, before Brobbey scored again to equalize in the 79th minute. A fair result, and we are happy with a point in this match.


(A) Udinese 4-0 Palermo
A crazy game! Udinese scored 4 goals in 18 minutes with their first 4 shots of the game! Overall it was a fairly even contest, just we couldn't score, and this resulted in an embarrassing defeat. Again, a lack of goals, and a lack of a quality striker let us down.


7 games in 7 days! Let the madness begin!


(H) Palermo 0-0 Parma
Another poor game from us. Parma have not been a good team this season, although we created chances, we struggled to score goals again. A disappointing draw.


(A) Atalanta 0-3 Palermo
It was that man again! Brian Brobbey scored a brace to lead us to a comfortable victory. I have been quite hard on him this season and expect a lot. But Brobbey has been scoring goals in spells this season. Gutierrez on the other hand, I will be glad to see his back when he leave's come the end of the month.


(H) Palermo 0-4 Lazio
This game was all about one man. Sebastian Esposito. Since we were promoted to Serie A, this guy has always been in the top 5 goal scorers in the league. Every time we play him, he scores against us. In this match he took it to the next level. 4 goals for their main man! Roudout made things harder getting sent off in the second half. A humbling defeat, but we have no time to dwell on it as we have another match the next day! and the next, and the next and the next!


(A) Cagliari 2-2 Palermo
Another tough away game. Guess who scored our 2 goals, that man again, Brian Brobbey! He really has found form with the fixture congestion seeming to suit him best! We looked like we were going to lose 2-1, but luckily for us Brobbey scored an equalizer in the 89th minute.


(A) Benevento 0-1 Palermo
A tough, close game. Luckily we managed to find the back of the net thanks to our Nigerian star, Michael Kingsley. An important 3 points, in our challenge for a top 10 finish this season.


(A) Sampdoria 1-2 Palermo
We picked up our second win in a row, against relegation threatened, Sampdoria. Goals from Djordjevic and Hodges sealed the victory. it is nice to be winning away games, which we struggled to do earlier on in the season.


(A) Lazio 2-0 Palermo
Another tough game against Lazio. This time we were much more competitive, but we still couldn't grind out a result. Esposito didn't play but Lazio still found the back of our net through Rosa and Blaschke.


(H) Palermo 3-0 Leece | Italian Cup 3rd Round
A comfortable win over Leece in the cup sees us progress to the Quarter Finals. Our best ever cup run so far. De Winter, Miele and Brobbey all scored in a dominant performance. Leece couldn't even manage one shot all game. A very nice win.


(H) Palermo 1-0 Atalanta
Anthony Hodges scored the only goal of the match. Another 3 points in the league, we are starting to gain momentum again and are on a good run of form.


(H) Palermo 1-1 SPAL
A closely contested game, by two teams similar positions in the table. Our Dutchman Brobbey scored our only goal of the game.He really is starting to play a lot better now.


Our youth intake preview this year looks somewhat promising, we seem to have a number of good wingers coming through this year

(H) Palermo 1-0 Entella
We managed to win our last game of the month. In his last game for the club I decided to start Gutierrez and he says goodbye to the Palermo faithful with a goal. Could this win be very important at the end of the season? We may have something to thank Gutierrez for this season after all..


So we managed to get through the crazy month, with some decent results. Other than the Udinese loss, I think all the other results were quite decent for us. This mean's the remainder of the season we will have lot's of time to rest player's and continue our push to finish the season as high as we can.We ended the month very well, so let's hope to continue that form for the rest of the season.

After a very eventful month, we still find ourselves in a very good league position. We are 4th in the table, although between 3rd and 7th it is very close. The worry for the rest of the league is that AC Milan are still near the bottom of the league, if that doesn't change there could be even more trouble for the people involved in the league all over Italy. We have the opportunity now to really push on and try to finish in the top 4 to secure a Champions League position for next season. If we can't finish in the top 4, then finishing 5th or 6th would also be great as we would qualify for the Europa league. We really are performing well this season, and exceeding our pre-season expectations of a mid table finish!

We only have 8 games left now in the league. It is January so we could look to bring in some new players. Although Brobbey is scoring goals, I would still like to sign a better striker. We play Verona in the Italian Cup Quarter Final, so will also aim to progress and potentially play in our first final with Palermo.

As always, thanks for reading!
Despite their ultras best efforts, it appears Milan are still in a lot of trouble. You made the most of a difficult situation really, there's some good results in there. The draw against Cagiliari would've been disappointing/frustrating, but it was your 4th game in 4 days after all!
1
You've got to be proud of your teams form over that month with how busy everything was. Sitting 4the with 8 games to go means a European spot is well and truly in your sights now
1
Well, that season took a turn! Shocking news but it’s good to see you battled through the busy period with your head firmly above water. You’re in serious contention of securing Champions League football now and the extra breaks in between games should hopefully give you the opportunity to ensure there is always gas in the tank.
1
Well, it doesn't seem to have helped Milan much at all whereas you have coped well with the tricky circumstances. Well done!
1
Just caught up now, congratulations on Story of the Month! Well deserved.

You should bring Fabrizio Miccoli back in to get some mafia connections on your side for when Milan get relegated. :)

Fingers crossed the scheduling doesn't mess up again in the future.
1
That is some incredible schedule! Well done on getting some good results in there despite the chaos. Also congratulations on the new contract, not like they could let you go after the rise you have given the club!
1
some really good results throughout that window so well done! at lest the players can have a rest inbetween matches now - unless you schedule some frendlies to keep the match sharpness up
1
J_ames - Yeah mate we got through it alright! I am worried the Milan fans may still be frustrated and the drama might not end here..

TedBro20 - That's the aim now for sure! We are in a very good position, a huge improvement from last season!

Justice - The players certainly deserve the longer breaks they have now, hopefully we can push on and end the season well, unlike last season.

Jack - Amen! We have done very well considering the circumstances.

ML Scouter - Cheers bro! I actually looked for Miccoli in my first season, unfortunately he isn't in my game.

TheLFCFan - Thanks mate, the new contract is a great thing for sure, but I will have to reconsider depending on the schedule next season.

Lankyman22 - Cheers man, not going to schedule any friendlies, the players deserve a rest!
SEASON 9: JUST 8 LEAGUE GAMES LEFT


After the hectic schedule in December, Palermo sit in 4th position in the league with just 8 games left. The riots continue in Milan. The league still has a sense of fear and uncertainty about the remainder of the season. Will AC Milan be able to salvage their season? And more importantly can Palermo continue their good form, and push for a top 4 finish, securing Champions League football next season?

At the beginning of the season, we set more realistic expectations and were simply aiming for a top 10 finish. Although, we have exceeding those expectation's so much already! Now anything less than 6th place would feel like we have under achieved. 8 games left, we have it in our own hands. This is our season to finish strong, and we have time now to rest players in between games, as well as strengthen the squad in January if we can find the right players.

Although we just have 8 games left in the league, we have to play some tough opponents. Juventus, Roma, Fiorentina, Brescia, Milan and Sassuolo are all very tough. However, our last game of the season is against Verona, who are rock bottom of the league, perhaps that will play into our favour. We also have the cup quarter-final against Verona, so we are looking to beat them and progress into the semi-final, with a real chance at our first Italian Cup Final!


Let's see how the rest of the season panned out...

We managed to get through the hectic December schedule without any major injuries, and then Brobbey picks up an injury in training putting him out for 4-5 months! That means he misses the rest of our season. He was starting to really find form, and now with Gutierrez leaving the club to Lille, we have a huge gap in the ST position. We have Srgo and Batrachenko, but the two young strikers are yet to show any quality worthy of a starting first team position. We now desperately have to look for a new striker now. We want Urso from Sassuolo, but he is just too expensive for us right now.


The board are delighted with our current progress at the club. To think how far we have come since Season 1 back in Serie D, it has been an amazing journey, and we hope it can continue for many more years. The only thing stopping the Palermo dream from continuing is those nasty Milan fans causing havoc all over the country. They are the only barrier right now standing in our way of another decade at least with the club.


(A) Juventus 0-0 Palermo
We battled hard against Juventus who have been one of the top 2 teams all season. They were dominant the whole game and we certainly have our goalkeeper Urso to thank. A superb team performance to keep a clean sheet, and a very impressive point earned. With our lack of strikers, Nuno Santos started up top. We are looking to fix this problem as soon as possible.


Aldo Gargano Sign's On Loan Until the End of the Season
We found our new striker! Until the end of the season at least. Gargano has been a quality striker this season for Roma scoring 8 goals in 19 appearances. The 23 year old Italian will fill in the gap for the remainder of the season, so we can re-evaluate in at the end of the season. The main reason I wanted to secure this deal, was because we were playing Roma in our next match! I don't know why Mourniho let him come on loan to us, because he was predicted to start the game against us. He is a very quick striker, with great dribbling and passing ability, I am hoping he can contribute in his short spell with us, if he does he will go down in Palermo history, and we may look at signing him again next season.


We are currently in 6th place, with our next game against Roma who sit in 3rd. A win could propel us up to 3rd spot! This is one of the biggest games of our season!

(H) Palermo 3-0 Roma
Gargano came straight into the starting XI and made an instant impact against his parent club! A double from our new striker, followed by a goal from Esedin rounded off an amazing victory. Mourinho must be raging that he let Gargano go. But boy was I happy. I don't care what else he does for the rest of his loan, that performance alone was worth the money. This was a huge victory in our charge for a European position this season!


We then get some more bad news. Another injury. This time Michael Kinglsey broke his ankle, and will also miss the remainder of the season. Luckily centre-midfield is probably our strongest position, and we have a number of replacements who can come in for him. He will be missed as his is one of our best midfielders, but I am hoping we can deal with his loss, without making any more signings.


(H) Palermo 2-1 Verona - Cup Quarter-Final
Roudout came in to replace the injured Kingsley but the rest of the team that beat Roma remained. The scoreline was a lot closer than our performance deserved. A dominant display capped off by goals from Hodges and Roudout. We progress on to the semi-final, but who will we face?



(H) Palermo 1-1 Fiorentina
Fiorentina have always been a tough opponent for us. A fairly even game, where a draw was a fair result. Fiorentina took the lead in the 60th minute by a penalty. Gargano scored again just 8 minutes later and is proving to be a very worthwhile signing.


(A) Bologna 2-5 Palermo
A 7 goal thriller that went in our favour! Bologna lead at half-time 2-1 so I had no choice but to bring out the hair-dryer treatment and blast the team. They came out firing in the second half. Our English winger Hodges scored a hat-trick, with goals also from Joensen and Gargano. Our front 3 were deadly, I am hoping they can continue to bang in goals as we come to the crunchtime of the season.


(H) Palermo 0-0 Torino - Cup Semi-Final Leg 1
Tornio came to our ground and performed very well. We played well defensively, especially after Roudout's second yellow card in the 83rd minute. A tough game, but a draw means that we go to Torino for the second league, needing a goal at least to go through to the final. We would have like to get a home win, but it wasn't to be.


With 4 games left, our next match was against Brescia. They have been playing very well this season and are currently just 3 points behind us, so this is a very important match as we want to finish in the top 4 desperately to qualify for Champions League football next season.


(H) Palermo 0-1 Brescia
This was a tough pill to swallow. We had 61% possession and created 9 shots in the game. Yet Brescia scored a winner in the 91st minute... could our hopes and dreams of finishing in the top 4 be over? We only have 3 games left and it is too close to call right now. But losing this game certainly didn't help our cause.


(A) Torino 0-2 Palermo - Cup Semi-Final Leg 2
A great victory away from home to progress to the Supercoppa Italia Final! Both our wingers scored, Hodges with the first in the 12th minute and Joensen finishing off the game in the 64th minute. A very good victory, but who will we play in the final???



(A) AC Milan 4-0 Palermo
We arrived in Milan with wobbly knees and sweaty palms. The riots were still happening and the team bus was confronted with rocks and flaming spears. The players didn't want to play, but I forced them onto the field, only for them to barely compete. Milan played us off the park and Schmidt had enough and headbutt one of their players in the dying moments of the game. A disappointing loss, but we want to get out of Milan straight away, so the player's left the pitch and got straight onto the team bus. No time for a team-talk or even a shower. We went back to Palermo with our tails between our legs.


As we arrived back in Palermo I was greeted by Martin van Geel with our annual youth intake. Francesco Ciotti was the pick of the bunch, but no players of real ability came through this year.

(H) Palermo 3-1 Sassuolo
A strange game as Sassuolo were the better team. We took a 2-0 lead at the end of half-time, but directly after the break Sassuolo brought one back. Diego Esedin finished of the game in the 73rd minute. He has been quite a revelation in the second half of our season and is certainly a player to look out for moving forward.


With 1 game remaining in the season we sit in 5th place. Brescia are just above us, but we are on the same points. If we finish the season 5th we will play in the Europa League next season, so we are desperate for a top 4 finish.


To make things even more tense we have a 28 day break before the final game! Our last game of the season is against Verona away. Brescia play league champions Inter Milan. On paper it looks promising for us, but as we all know football is a crazy game and anything can happen. We are on the verge of something amazing with Palermo, in an unbelievable season.

(A) Verona 0-1 Palermo
In the final game of the season, a 12th minute goal from Pol Joensen was enough to secure the 1-0 victory. We were keeping an eye on the Brescia game as our game played out, and Brescia led against Inter early on. But Inter fought back and ended up winning the game. This meant....


We finished the season in 4th position! This is Palermo's highest finish in the club history! A crazy season, with lots of highs and lows, but ultimately our best season at the club, and one to be very proud of.


Palermo secure Champions League qualification!
It is official! Palermo will be competing in the highest competition in Europe next season. We have well and truly resurrected Palermo and taken them to the next stage. This is very exciting for the club and the fans, although it will come with challenges with the increased fixtures, demanding more from our players and our squad as a whole. The next pre-season is crucial as we must secure more players and build the squad to be even stronger.



I was also awarded with the Manager of the Year Award for my superb season with the club. I am so proud to win this award and to be able to bring success back to this great club, I am hooping to continue building and progress the club for many more years to come! This is just the beginning of what I want to achieve. An amazing way to cap of a decade with Palermo.

Our season isn't over yet though, as we still have the Supercoppa Italia (Italian Cup Final) to play against league champions Inter Milan!


Unfortunately for the final Joensen and Migliaccio were suspended, D'Emanuele and Ngongang were also injured. This meant we couldn't field our strongest team. Brobbey was back and fit so I had to decide between him and Gargano, and I felt Brobbey deserved to start as he is a permanent Palermo player, and was banging in the goals before his injury. Squillaci is our weak point, as he has barely played this season. Nuno Santos is lucky to get the nod too. Can the boys step up and bring home the silverware?


Palermo v Inter Milan - Supercoppa Italia Final


Palermo 0-1 Inter Milan - Supercoppa Italia Final
A hard fought game resulted in the cup going to Inter Milan. Mattia Franzoso scored the only goal of the game in the 25th minute. The boys played well and did everything they could to win the match but it just wasn't to be. We will not let this dampen our fantastic season. We did very well to even make the final this year!


Our final results in the second half of our season. Overall I am very pleased.

Player Stats this Season:

Squad Stats:

Key Players:

Our English winger had a very good second season with the club. 11 goals and 3 assists in all competitions has attracted some attention from other clubs. Sadly Hodges spoke to me at the end of the season and told me he wants to leave. I will do everything I can to keep him at the club, but potentially we could have seen the last of Anthony in a Palermo shirt. He has served the club well, and if a high enough bid comes in I will have to let him go, as I don't want players at the club that will disrupt the dressing room, especially with next season being so important in the clubs history.

Brian Brobbey really found form this season, and was really unfortunate to pick up such a bad injury. He scored a total of 11 goals in 21 games, and his goals will be very important for us next season, although we already have two experienced goal scorers coming in as their contract's expire at other clubs. Brobbey could be utilized as a left winger next season if Hodges leaves, however he will certainly be an important player next year too regardless of the position he plays.

The Belgian midfield had a very good season this year. An average rating of 7.08 in 27 appearances picking up 8 assists and 2 goals. We had a very good midfield and Roudout was often the heart of that. He was one of our first big money signings and he is continuing to be a great investment for the club. He will be licking his lips at playing Champions League football next season.

This guy has been nothing less than amazing since we signed him. I could nominate him for Player of the Season every year. He continues to get better and better and at just 27 he still has his best years to come as a GK. This season in 43 appearances he conceded just 46 goals! Roma have come in with bids for him all season, but he will be our number 1 for many years to come. He really is a true Palermo legend already playing 200 games for the club!

End of Season Awards

Surprisingly our loan player Runje won Fan's Player of the Season. He never really stood out for me, but he was consistent and clearly the fans appreciated his performances for the club. Nico Schmidt was Signing of the Season (although he didn't score or assist a goal?...) Runje also won Young Player of the Season. A strange set of awards, and none of them relative to what I would have selected. Might make a new feature next season; 'Sempys End of Season Awards'.

Goal of the Season: Esedin v Roma

The club vision next season is a mid-table finish. We have now set the standard of qualifying for Champions League so realistically we would like to do it again next year. Hopefully the Milan fiasco is over as they ended up securing a mid-table finish. Next season will be interesting as Runje and Gargano's loans end, Verratti and Promes are retiring. We must bring in at least four players to replace those four, but we must also strengthen our depth as we will have more games. Bids will likely come in for our better players too so I am sure it is going to be a very busy summer. But what a season, the best so far, and the Palermo journey continues!
Forza Palermo!


As always, thanks for reading!
What a finish to the end of the season with getting champions league football on the final day. Its gutting to lose in the cup final as well but still a massive achievement to get that far in the cup
1
Wow nice Simon Roudaut looks to be a big prospect, nice save!
1

You are reading "Resurrecting Palermo".

FMS Chat

Stam
hey, just wanted to let you know that we have a fb style chat for our members. login or sign up to start chatting.