Update 2 - Season 1: Changing My Mind as Often as My Underpants
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I wasn’t planning on posting an update again so soon, but I have been flying through the games, and really enjoying playing this save with Pisa SC. In this update I will discuss the results in the first two and half months of the season. I will also introduce a new feature called - Look It’s Lucca! In this mini feature I will give you all an update on how our young superstar in the making is performing, before revealing the results.
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There is obviously a heavy weight on Lucca’s shoulder as he is the man the fans, the squad and the manager all expect to perform in every match, and we need his goals to help us gain promotion this season. He wasted no time making an impact, scoring his first goal for the club since his £2 million move from Palermo in the opening game of the Serie B season. We then had to wait two more games before Lucca scored his second, but he then went on to score in the next consecutive match. Lucca ended September with another goal taking his goal tally to 4 goals in 6 games. Lucca began October with a bang, he scored his first brace for the Pisa blue and black, as well as scoring another two throughout the month. Lucca currently shares the top spot of the golden boot race with Alfredo Donnarumma, they have each scored 8 goals in 11 appearances. Not only has Lucca been performing well, but he has been training well too, consistently being our star performer in training, he even managed a very rare 10.00 training rating! The final piece of Lucca news is the praise he received from former Pisa player, and Brazil legend Dunga. Dunga couldn’t help but confess how much of a fan he was. I cannot wait to see him continue to develop throughout this season. But can we keep him for years to come? That is the real question. But for now, just enjoy him!
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Transfer Update
Last time I posted, we discussed how I signed Paletta, and was hoping to bring in some under-23 players into the squad. Yeah, I didn’t do that. Instead we signed a 34 year old Jérémy Ménez for £36k a week on a 2-year deal. He is a very good player for Serie B level, having also played in the Serie A like Paletta. Ménez's biggest strength is his technical ability, with 17 dribbling, 16 technique and 15 passing, he can be a real attacking threat for us anywhere in the attacking third. Unfortunately, I was unable to bring anyone else in, so that concluded my transfer business in the first window.
Results
Our competitive fixtures began with a Coppa Italia first round match against Serie A side Verona, who we drew with in pre-season. We started with the 4-3-3 DM formation that I discussed in the last update. We competed well in the first half, but in the second half Verona were awarded a soft penalty. It was a former Pisa player’s son Simeone (Yes, Diego Simeone played for Pisa). Simeone stepped up, but our Brazilian keeper saved it! We looked like we were going to extra time, but 2 minutes before the end of the match, Verona’s Croatian striker Nikola Kalinić stole the match, and knocked us out of the cup. It was a tough result to take, and not the start I wanted in my Pisa SC career. In our first Serie B game of the season things got even worse. I stuck with the 4-3-3 DM tactic, and although our man Lucca scored, we fell to a 1-3 defeat against Monza.
Back to back defeats prompted me to make a tactical change. I threw away the two tactics I made, and started fresh. I should have known better, as I managed in Italy for 20 seasons with Palermo, but I decided to go to a back 3, technically a back 5, just like almost every other team plays in Italy. For the second Serie B game, our first home match, we set up in a 5-2-3 WB. The change of tactic worked miraculously! We won the match 2-0, my first ever win as Pisa FC boss. We followed this up with another win, this time 1-0 against Ascoli, to end August with 6 points.
We went into September confident, having won two games on the trot. But Leece knocked us back down to earth, smashing us 4-1, Lucca scored in that match. I stuck to my guns as Benevento came to our ground, and Lucca’s goal was enough to seal a 1-0 win. Perugia was next, away from home, in a tough match we suffered a 1-2 loss, which prompted me to tinker with the tactic again.
Our final match of September was against Ternana, we made a slight change and played a 5-4-1 diamond. This seemed to work, we won the match 2-1, Lucca scored the opening goal.
I then tinkered again, yes I know - probably shouldn’t change tactics this much. But we set up in a 5-2-1-2 WB and began October with a 2-0 win against Cosenza, this was Lucca’s best performance so far, scoring a double. We stuck with the same formation and beat Cittadella 3-1, this put us 2nd in the league! We were doing really well. However, we then drew with Crotone 2-2 and ended the month with a 1-2 defeat against Parma.
Serie B Update
11 games into the Serie B season, we sit in 5th position. I am pretty happy so far! I am feeling comfortable with the current 5-2-1-2 WB formation, and think this could be the one we use now for the remainder of the season. As long as Lucca stays fit, we should be able to carry on playing well and stay in the upper half of the table.
Until next time, thanks for reading.
Forza Pisa!
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Tango - Lucca is without a doubt who we rely on! Paletta has been a big dissapointment so far, he missed the first month with a bad injury, and hasn't played well in his few appearances.
mrtepig - Thanks for the support mate! Hope you enjoy the story
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