After reading the book 'Calcio' by John Foot - a history of the Italian game, I noticed a team who were very successful early on in their history - Pro Vercelli. During the infancy of Italian football just before the First World War, 'The Lions' won 5 titles in 6 years, losing one in very controvesial circumstances. The first club to diligently practice set-plays and to have a youth policy that worked, Vercelli once provided 9 of the first Italian national team 11. After winning two more titles in the 20's, they began a slow decline (not before producing one of the greatest Italian players of all time, Silvio Piola), spent most of the rest of their life in the semi-pro divisions before dragging themselves back into Italian C2 (four divisions down). They almost went out of existence in 2003 but were saved by a small group of loyal fans.
So wanting/needing a challenge I decided to take them on!
Club: Pro Vercelli Season: 2007/08
League: Italian Serie C2/A
Transfer Budget: approx 5k
Wage Budget: approx 12k
Board Expectations: Playoffs
Media Expectation: 6th
Your Expectations: Playoffs
League record: Pos 3rd, W 20, D 6, L 8, F 54, A 24, Pts 66
Serie C Cup: Out at Group Stage
First XI: (4-3-2-1 wingers) Novembre, Fresi, Pablo Paz, Vanigli, Sussi, Rossitto, D'Agostino, Wolf, Tedoldi, Esposito, Bonuccelli
Top Scorer: Vitaliano Bonuccelli 15
Top Assister: Massimiliano Esposito 13
Average Attendance: 2063
Fans Player Of The Year: Massimiliano Esposito
My Player Of The Year: Salvatore Fresi
Notable Results: 3-1 v Alto Adige, 3-2 agg v Ivrea in Playoff final
Transfers In: All of the first XI but Tedoldi. 14 players brought in for a combined total of 145k, 2 loans.
Best Buy: Fresi on a free. Solid as a rock at the back and technically sound.
Worst Buy: Angelo Pagotto - thankfully on a free, as I hadn't noticed he had a global ban till 2009!
Transfers Out: 21 in total for a combined sum of 525k
Best Sale: Somehow snaffling 100k for a truly awful left-back (who went on to become 'worst-signing of season' in Season Summary)
Reflection: Toothless up front (due to having a 39 year old lead the line) but watertight at the back. Should have won the league, but a lack of firepower cost me. Olbia who won the title have yo-yo'ed back and forth between C1 and C2 since. Still went up via the play-offs though. Some excellent dealings in the transfer market, though having to buy veterans was never going to help stability. Unfortunately I had no choice.
* Italy won Euro 2008, Barcelona the Champions League, Sevilla the UEFA Cup, Man Utd, Milan and Madrid winning their domestic leagues.
Season: 2008/09
League: Italian Serie C1/A
Transfer Budget: 0k
Wage Budget: approx 20k
Board Expectations: Respectable position
Media Expectation: 13th
Your Expectations: Playoffs
League record: Pos 5th, W 18, D 7, L 9, F 60, A 39, Pts 61
Serie C Cup: First Round
First XI: Padelli, Fresi, Pisani, Panini, Sussi, Mezavilla, Rosano, Morfeo, Chiesa, Savio, Paulinho
Top Scorer: Paulinho Betanin 26
Top Assister: Paulinho Betanin 14
Average Attendance: 5043
Fans Player Of The Year: Paulinho Betanin
My Player Of The Year: Paulinho Betanin
Notable results: 8-0 v Pro Belvedere, 3-0 v Cittadella, 0-3 v Novara, 4-3 agg v Ravenna Playoff semi, 2-6 v Novara Playoff final
Transfers In: All on frees or loans, the notable transfers in were Paulinho, Chiesa, Morfeo, Mezavilla, Rosano, Panini, Padelli
Best Buy: Paulinho. However Chiesa, Morfeo and Mezavilla were brilliant aswell.
Worst Buy: Not a bad player per se, but I kept faith with Padelli in goal instead of playing Novembre (who I had again brought in on loan). It was to take me until the following November (no pun intended) to realise my mistake.
Transfers Out: Generated 550k....
Best Sale: ....most notably from the sale of D'Agostino for 300k, who I had picked up on a free 18 months beforehand.
Reflection: Some excellent wheeler dealing (probably my best summer in terms of value for money) but a season of what might have been, having a suspect goalkeeper and left back meant I leaked too many silly goals. Got to the playoff final where I lost 6-2 on a aggregate to Novara, a rival (who were relegated the next year). Not happy. However, I was optimistic for next season, with Paulinho in excellent form. That was to be dashed...
* Madrid won the Champions League, Man Utd the UEFA Cup, Arsenal, Inter and Barcelona winning their domestic leagues
Season: 2009/10
League: Italian Serie C1/A
Transfer budget: 500k
Wage budget: approx 24k
Board Expectations: Top half finish
Media Expectation: 6th
Your Expectations: Promotion
League record: Pos 1st, W 23, D 5, L 6, F 64, A 27, Pts
Serie C Cup: Second Round
First XI: Novembre, Pisani, Forlin, Austin, Colombini, Mezavilla, Jadid, Alegretti, Dobrescu, Biabiany, Alfageme
Top Scorer: Luis Alfageme 17
Top Assister: Jonathan Biabiany 12
Average Attendance: 6821
Fans Player Of The Year: Luis Alfageme
My Player Of The Year: Rudolph Austin
Notable results: 3-0 v Padova, 3-0 v Pro Sesto, 2-0 v Ternana, 4-0 v Triestina (Triestina's first defeat of the season), 3-0 v Padova (again), 3-0 v Ravenna, 0-1 v Ternana, 4-0 v Venezia
Transfers In: Brought Forlin in from Boca for a whopping 500k. He had been on loan at Castilla and I had taken advantage. Novembre, Pisani were brought back in on loan, Dobescu and Biabiany were also on loan and povided my wing play, Austin was brought in for a measly 35k, Colombini for 40k, Dailos, Cristophe and Mahon free, Alegretti and Pellicori were bought in January for 12k and 26k respectively. 625k total
Best Buy: Rudolph Austin. An excellent right-back who was equally excellent at CB and MC
Worst Buy: Andreas Horvath. Bought in summer, sold in January. For a 20k profit mind....
Transfers Out: Piacenza made a 575k bid for Paulinho which my board accepted for me (Paulinho started 5 games for them all season, scoring no goals - made me angry!). Also sold Rosano for 325k (12 months on from purchase on a free) and Panini for 120k. 1.3m recouped in all.
Best Sale: Rosano for 325k - Alegretti cost 12k and played better than him!
Reflection: A slow start which saw me 9 points behind Triestina was followed by a storming run of form which saw me win the title by 11 points. An excellent year, but I wondered if my strikeforce was potent enough for Serie B...
* France won the World Cup, Man Utd the Champions League, Lyon the UEFA Cup, Liverpool, Inter and Barcelona winning their domestic leagues
Season: 2010/11
League: Italian Serie B
Transfer Budget: approx 100k, raised to approx 1.5m in January
Wage budget: approx 35k
Board Expectations: Battle against relegation
Media Expectation: 21st
Your Expectations: Stay in the division!
League record: Pos 6th, W 20, D 12, L 10, F 71, A 56, Pts 72
Italian Cup: 1st Qulaifying Round
First XI: Novembre, Pisani, Forlin, Dailos, Scro, Obara, Antenucci, Jadid, Dobrescu, Bau, Alfageme
Top Scorer: Luis Alfageme 27
Top Assister: Eder Bau 12
Average Attendance: 9203
Fans Player Of The Year: Luis Alfageme
My Player Of The Year: Luis Alfageme
Notable results: 1-5 v Messina, 1-5 v Bologna , 4-0 v Avellino (these were my first three games), 3-0 v Ascoli, 1-0 Messina, 2-3 v Lecce, 1-3 v Cesena, 2-1 v Chievo, 5-3 v Piacenza, 1-3 v Rimini, 3-1 v Messina, 0-3 v Ascoli, 1-3 v Siena, 2-1 v Chievo (again), 3-3 agg v Livorno Playoff semi (lost on league position).
Transfers In: Courtois, Antenucci, Fabiano and Pisani free (after two loan spells), Bau 450k, Dobrescu structured 1m, Cristino 80k, Obara 170k, Scro 250k, Paulinho 325k, Tonucci structured 800k. 3.3m total
Best Buy: Best discovery was Obara, a Japanese 'poor man's Pirlo' regen. No physical presence but excellent technique.
Worst Buy: Michelle De Bellis. Having brought him in on a Bosman, to add squad depth to my Serie C1 side, I found him hopelessly out of his depth in Serie B and he was sold before he played a game (for 250k)
Transfers Out: This time having to sell two key players. One forced on me by the board (Austin 675k), one brought about by a players unhappiness (Mezavilla 750k). 2.7m in total
Best Sale: Mezavilla 750k. Although an excellent player, he wanted to move on and he financed the transfers for Bau and Obara, who became essential.
Reflection: A surprisingly excellent season. After getting beaten 5-1 in my first two games I feared the worst, but my theory that my strikeforce would be two weak for Serie B held no water and we surged up the table, losing in the Playoff semis. Having kept faith with my central defence of the season before, they performed well, however a few goals were leaked and it was something I looked into during the summer.
* Liverpool won the Champions League, Bayern the UEFA Cup, Liverpool, Inter and Barcelona winning their domestic leagues
Season: 2011/12
League: Italian Serie B
Transfer Budget: approx 2m
Wage Budget: approx 67k
Board Expectations: Respectable position
Media Expectation: 13th
Your Expectations: Playoffs
League record: Pos 5th, W 21, D 9, L 12, F 72, A 46, Pts 72
Italian Cup: Quarter-Final
First XI: Acerbis, Digao, Tonucci, Azizou, Scro, Antenucci, Alfageme, D Bellon, Bau, Dobrescu, Bandieri
Top Scorer: Marco Bandieri 37
Top Assister: Victor Dobrescu 15
Fans Player Of The Year: Mirko Antenucci
My Player Of The Year: Marco Bandieri
Notable Results: 5-3 v Bologna, 0-2 v Verona, 4-1 v Reggina, 1-3 v Cesena, 4-0 v Mantova, 4-1 v Bari, 9-3 agg v Inter, 1-4 agg v Juventus, 3-1, v Rimini, 4-1 v Vicenza, 4-0 v Chievo, 4-0 v Bari, 3-2 Empoli (champions), 1-2 ag v Mantova (playoff semi)
Transfers In: All in all spent 6m. Broke my transfer record to bring in a GK, Paolo Acerbis, for a structured 2.6m. Azizou, a RB, was also expensive coming in on a structured 1.4m. Digao was brought in on a free, as were Tevfik and Garics who added squad depth. Leon cost 250k as cover for AMRL/MC, David Bellon was bought in January to replace Obara and I brought in some hot prospects, Tenorio, Pradales, Jager but....
Best Buy: ....the best piece of business was technically nothing to do with me! Being a feeder club to Juventus, they send one or two players on loan to me at the start of every season. One of these was Marco Bandieri. My initial thoughts were he wold be good back up to Alfageme who had done well the season before. However, Bandieri's form was terrific, forcing me to play him and move Alfageme back to MC. His value shot up from 1.8m to 5.75m as he scored 37 goals in 35(5) appearances.
Worst Buy: No poor buys this season really, but I suppose Garics was the most diappointing. I signed him on a free (albeit on a large wage) so it wasn't too big a deal.
Transfers Out: Camolese, Forlin both 1m, Cristino, Dailos and Paulinho 500k each. Obara 1.8m - once again I had a player who I'd rescued from obscurity wanting to move on. Obara threw a paddy in August, I refused to let him move on and continued to play him into October, hoping he would play well. However we played poorly, so I sold him and left him to rot in the reserves. Two months too late though...
Best Sale: Camolese 1m - signed a free the season before, made 9 appearances and sold for 1m. Good times :)
Reflection: A poor start left me 17th after 13 games, but such was the closeness of the league this season I was 2nd after 20 games! Again hit a rough patch during Februay and March winnin only 2 in 11, but stayed in touch. With 4 games, 5th down to 14th were covered by just 4 points and I was 8th. 3 games later (thanks to winning the last 6 games in row) I had sealed 5th spot (keeping my recod of progressing every season) which meant the playoffs again. Which also meant I lost in the semis again!. There was obviously the frankly astonishing highlight of beating Inter Milan 8-1 in the Cup (having beaten 2 Serie A teams along the way), but after that I went on that run of 2 wins in 11 games, so it didn't do me any good! So close yet so far!
* France won Euro 2012, Milan the Champions League, Spartak Moscow the UEFA Cup, Man Utd, Milan and Sevilla their domestic leagues.
Season: 2012/13
League: Italian Serie B
Transfer Budget: approx 4m
Wage Budget: approx 90k
Board Expectations: Promotion
Media Expectation: 7th
Your Expectations: Promotion
League record: Pos 4th, W 21, D 14, L 7, F 66, A 40, Pts 77
Italian Cup: 1st Qualifying Round
First XI: Acerbis, Borda, Borin, Azizou, Donazzan, Bellon, Baclet, Volpi, Dobrescu, Bau, Pacheco
Top Scorer: Eder Bau 18
Top Assister: Victor Dobrescu 14
Fans Player Of The Year: Eder Bau
My Player Of The Year: Eder Bau
Notable Results: 0-3 v Udinese, 3-0 Lucchese, 4-0 v Bari, 2-4 v Cremonese, 3-2 v Bologna, 2-1 v Atalanta, 2-2 agg win v Bologna (playoff semi), 4-3 agg win v Udinese (playoff final)
Transfers In: Broke my transfer record twice duing the summer, buying Capelli for 3.4m and then Donazzan for 4.5m. Donazzan would go on to be worth it, Capelli wouldn't really justify his price. I also brought in Drissa Diarra for 600k as the creative spark of my midfield alongside the versatile Baclet who cost 2.4m and Pacheco to try and fill the big shoes of Bandieri. Borda came in on a free. During January I would make three important signings - Dailos, Borin and Volpi. Volpi to improve my midfield, Dailos (who had left the club 18 months earlier) as competition for Azizou at RB and Borin to strengthen my defence, which he did brilliantly. Spent £17.25m altogether.
Best Buy: Borda just shades because he was a Bosman, but Borin was brilliant also.
Worst Buy: Daniele Capelli would never justify his price tag unfortunately, through some bad luck with injuries and poor form. Pacheco was also disappointing.
Transfers Out: A clear out of the players that I thought wouldn't get me to Serie A began with Alfageme being sold for £3.4m. He had been good for me for three seasons, but I felt the time was right to move him on. People like Garics, Abdoulaye Diarra, Leon, Scro and Tonucci were also sold. I was forced into selling Antenucci (my captain) to Bologna however as he requested a transfer in the summer. Digao also became unhappy and was moved on in January (after I picked up Borin) after playing well for me for 18 months. Lanzafame was also moved on in January as I brought in a loanee to free up some funds. Recouped £17.5m
Best Sale: Selling half of Tenorio for 2.5m and later buying it back for 500k :)
Reflection: A season of what might not have been! Struggled to score goals all season, with Pacheco finding it difficult in his first season. Fortunately the defence was strong all season. Duing one period of 6 games in February/March, we scored just 5 goals, won 1 and drew 5, which I was livid at, because I wasn't confident of going up via the playoffs and really wanted automatic promotion. Injuries cost me all year. Capelli, Acerbis, Dobrescu and Bau were all out for extended periods. Absolutely delighted with promotion but next year is going to be very tough!
* Man Utd won the Champions League, Valencia the UEFA Cup, Liverpool, Milan and Espanyol their domestic leagues.
Season: 2013/14
League: Italian Serie A
Transfer Budget: approx 2.6m
Wage Budget: approx 145k
Board Expectations: Battle bravely against relegation
Media Expectation: 20th (bottom)
Your Expectations: Survival
League record: Pos 10th, W 13, D 14, L 11, F 56, A 49, Pts 53
Italian Cup: Quarter Final
First XI: Acerbis, Borda, Borin, Dailos, Donazzan, Antenucci, Motta, Hersi, Eliakwu, Dobrescu, Tarija
Top Scorer: Tarija 20
Top Assister: Victor Dobrescu 11
Fans Player Of The Year: Tarija
My Player Of The Year: Thiago Motta
Notable Results: 0-0 v Milan, 5-3 v Torino, 0-3 v Atalanta, 3-1 v Sampdoria, 1-4 v Inter, 2-4 v Catania, 5-2 v Genoa, 3-0 v Lazio, 3-3 v Juventus, 1-1 Milan, 3-1 v Fiorentina, 3-2 v Roma, 1-1 v Juventus, 4-3 v Catania, 5-0 v Cagliari, 0-3 v Napoli, 3-3 v Lazio
Transfers In: Several players were bought in on Bosmans, inclding Oberman, Motta, Depetris and Pirlo. Tarija cost £1.2m from CSKA Moscow, Eliakwu a structured £5m, Antenucci was bought back for the price I paid for him, £3.5m, Sarki for £3m and Youssouf Hersi was signed in January for £400k. Spent £13.5m all told.
Best Buy: Thiago Motta. Cost nothing and was brilliant alll season. Starting off attacks, breaking up opposition attacks and scoring vital goals.
Worst Buy: Sarki. At £3m he was fairly expensive and was signed to solve my RB problem but never played vey well at all, causing me to drop him halfway through the season for Dailos - who is a Serie B standard player but at least showed commitment!
Transfers Out: Cash needed to be raised if I was to stay in Serie A. Drissa Diara wanted to leave and duly did, to Udinese for £3m, Pacheco who had been disappointing also left for a structured £3.8m. Azizou was surplus and left for £1.6m. Zecchin was signed for if I stayed in Serie B, so although it was harsh, I had to sell him and duly did for a healthy £1m. BAclet was went on loan as I couldn't sell him and Tevfik, Papa, Juanma and Zdrazil were loaned out to gain experience/take the weight off my wage bill. Papa was sold in January along with Juanma, Pirlo and Tevfik were also released at that time. My two best sales were selling Gerald Jager for £2.5m, 2 years after signing him for £100k and....
Best Sale: ... Pradales, a prospect I had bought for £300k 2 seasons ago, for £5m! Recouped £18m altogether.
Reflection: A fantastic season, a lot better than anybody expected, we got better and better as the season progressed. I would be surprised if we finished top-half next season though it would be an awesome achievement if we could. Slow rebuilding is the name of the game from now on, rather than the frantic rebuilding I have had to do in past seasons. We had a very useful cup run aswell, falling in the quarter-finals.
*Brazil won the World Cup, Man Utd the Champions League, Real Madrid the UEFA Cup, Man Utd, Juventus and Real Madrid their domestic leagues
Season: 2014/15
League: Italian Serie A
Transfer Budget: approx 8.5m
Wage Budget: approx 180k
Board Expectations: Respectable position
Media Expectation: 13th
Your Expectations: Top-half
League record: Pos 4th, W 20, D 11, L 7, F 72, A 45, Pts 71
Coppa Italia: Quarter Final
First XI: Heidemann, Borda, Ferronetti, Dailos, Angel, Motta, Hersi, Volpi, Eliakwu, Dobrescu, Bandieri
Top Scorer: Marco Bandieri 30
Top Assister: Victor Dobrescu 15
Average Attendance: 15479
Fans Player Of The Year: Issah Eliakwu
My Player Of The Year: Marco Bandieri
Notable Results: 3-0 v Inter, 5-2 v Bari, 4-0 v Empoli, 6-2 v Sampdoria, 7-4 v Milan, 4-3 v Milan, 0-4 v Inter, 3-3 v Catania, 3-0 v Empoli
Transfers In: My biggest spending yet, with the club record being broken twice, first by Ferronetti, then by Heidemann. Angel was also bought for £2.6m, with Kristyan Petrov costing £300k in January. A whole host of youngsters came in aswell, most notably Aaron Dixon for £2.2m but my best signing was undoubtedly...
Best Buy: ...Bandieri on loan from Juventus. He again produced heroics for us, scoring 30 goals in 33(3) apps. I spent £22m altogether.
Worst Buy: Probably Dixon for £2.2m, I'm beginning to worry he may not fulfil his potential. Time will tell...
Transfers Out: I gained back £8.5m in sales, with fringe first team players Depretis and Baclet the first to go in the summer for £3m and £2.4m respectively. The other two notable transfers out were Oberman and Donazzan in January for £1m and £2m respectively. Capelli was loaned out to relieve a little of his wage burden and after 4 years of excellent service Eder Bau was released right at the start of summer.
Best Sale: Probably Donazzan, whose stats almost immediately faded after he had moved.
Reflection: A brilliant start to the league campaign, and a consistent run after that helped qualify us for the Champions League, well ahead of my ambitions at this point. I had hoped we would maybe scrape UEFA Cup, but to get the Champions league is something else! Brilliance again from Bandieri, and amazing matches against Milan and Catania in paticular. Need to strengthen my squad now to deal with the extra burden of Europe. If we gain European football again next year I will be happy, I'm not getting carried away!
* Barcelona won the Champions League, Feyenoord the UEFA Cup, Zaragoza, Juventus and Liverpool their domestic leagues.
So... my Pro Vercelli challenge is going well - it only gets harder from here on in though....
If anyone wants a look at my save game - just ask and I'll upload it somewhere :)
Bringing Pro Vercelli back to the big time... 
TOTW/F/M Award(s): 1