Smurph Posted August 2, 2012 Author Share Posted August 2, 2012 Second. Won it before in 2023 beating Parma 1-0, Le Moal scoring in the 109th minute. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Brightside Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 Aw, I thought it was the first, congrats anyway! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thistle_do_nicely Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 Great thread. Regarding the ridiculous amounts of money you get; I have the same issue a lot of the time. I tend to manage Thistle on save games, and most of the time I'm able to get really good SPL squads without spending a penny (free transfers + loans) but after a few seasons either I'll end up selling or the board will take it out of my hands and sell star players for millions of pounds, resulting in a transfer budget that I struggle to spend, beyond maybe an expensive purchase or two to replace departures but tbh even then I can usually get a 3/4 star player in on a free anyway! The answer is to spend big on youth players; if you've got good scouts then its worth spending almost any amount of money on under 18 players who have at least a star or two in current ability and 4 1/2 - 5 star potential ability, they're almost guaranteed to excel in the u-19s for a season or two and then slot right into the first team. I find it very satisfying signing really promising 15 - 17 year olds for the youth team even if it takes the bulk of my budget and then watching my u-19 team absolutely dominate in the youth leagues/cups, with said players then becoming mainstays in the league after a time. There's also the added bonus of these players counting as home-grown for Europe, and of course the warm fuzzy feeling of them listing you/your club as favourites is more likely. Finding it hard to get good Scottish regens through the Thistle youth system on the latest version though, but its still pleasing snatching the best Scottish youngsters elsewhere if my scouts recommend them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
South Lanarkshire Jag Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 Great thread. Regarding the ridiculous amounts of money you get; I have the same issue a lot of the time. I tend to manage Thistle on save games, and most of the time I'm able to get really good SPL squads without spending a penny (free transfers + loans) but after a few seasons either I'll end up selling or the board will take it out of my hands and sell star players for millions of pounds, resulting in a transfer budget that I struggle to spend, beyond maybe an expensive purchase or two to replace departures but tbh even then I can usually get a 3/4 star player in on a free anyway! The answer is to spend big on youth players; if you've got good scouts then its worth spending almost any amount of money on under 18 players who have at least a star or two in current ability and 4 1/2 - 5 star potential ability, they're almost guaranteed to excel in the u-19s for a season or two and then slot right into the first team. I find it very satisfying signing really promising 15 - 17 year olds for the youth team even if it takes the bulk of my budget and then watching my u-19 team absolutely dominate in the youth leagues/cups, with said players then becoming mainstays in the league after a time. There's also the added bonus of these players counting as home-grown for Europe, and of course the warm fuzzy feeling of them listing you/your club as favourites is more likely. Finding it hard to get good Scottish regens through the Thistle youth system on the latest version though, but its still pleasing snatching the best Scottish youngsters elsewhere if my scouts recommend them. Smurph was taken over by a rich benefactor. I presumed that's where most of his money came from. Well deserved and very well spent. All we need is the second Champions League We are ALL Pro Vercelli Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thistle_do_nicely Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 Smurph was taken over by a rich benefactor. I presumed that's where most of his money came from. Well deserved and very well spent. All we need is the second Champions League We are ALL Pro Vercelli I mind on one of my Thistle games after about 5 or 6 seasons I was starting to get a bit bored, then some Slovenian guy took over the club and gave me a transfer budget of something like £60 million immediately. It was ridiculous. I quite enjoyed being able to outspend the Old Firm but that save died a death shortly afterward, tbh. Anyway, that's probably better left for the FM thread. Forza Pro Vercelli. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smurph Posted August 3, 2012 Author Share Posted August 3, 2012 Rizzi wasn't that rich when he first came: He was slightly richer than Secondo (original owner) but Secondo would have gotten to this point regardless. It was all about being in Serie A and being in the Champions League. I don't think there was much difference between how wealthy they were it was just the timing of it all. I like to buy youth players and that's what I've done this whole thread. None of them have really made it into any of my first teams to be honest, but I think that was more to do with the progress we were making as a club. I signed a four-star potential player, but he was four-stars with the squad I had in Serie B or with a lesser side in Serie A - when I have my players like Reinaldo, Cunha, Toplek, etc. - he's not four stars and goes down to a three or something. The only player I bought when he was exceptionally young in the first-team just now is Leonard. There's a couple of others who have been in and about but they don't feature regularly. My youth squad is pretty good just now and I'm going to continue to try with that, but that's how it's been from the start. No-one really cares about the Coppa Italia, do they? That wasn't the game we were interested in. It was the game in Sevilla which we were focused on and what we wanted to win. Could we win it for a consecutive time? Would Real Madrid want revenge for the hammering they received last time? 20 minutes The ball is punted up by the Real Madrid goalkeeper. Ritter gets his head to it and it loops over the defence to Maringá. He runs with the ball towards the goal. He's one-on-one. He shoots... GOAL PRO VERCELLI! Maringá's strike hits off the post before going over the line. Excellent finish from the Brazilian. That's 1-0 to Pro. So it was 1-0 at half time. Neither team really dominated although we did have better possession and more shots. It was in our hands and we needed to stop Real Madrid from creating much. The second half kicked off... I'll be honest. It was a really boring game of football. Nothing exciting really happened in the second half... until... Well, until the final whistle went! YAS! We had added the Champions League to our trophy haul of this season. Another good win over Real Madrid and it was in our hands again, retaining the title from last year. The game itself was really quite rubbish but to win the trophy again is an excellent achievement. I wish I could have posted more but really: nothing happened in that second half. I'll post a season review later on tonight/tomorrow and then we'll start preparations for the 2025/2026 season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
South Lanarkshire Jag Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 YASSSSSSS So you are carrying on then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smurph Posted August 6, 2012 Author Share Posted August 6, 2012 I will be, yes. As I said earlier on the thread, I'm moving house just now, and as such I'll need to get internet sorted out, so I won't be able to play or post on this thread for a while (may be a fortnight or so), but don't worry - when everything gets sorted out I'll be back for another season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Troll Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 Fucking retire ya c**t, your putting me to shame Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smurph Posted August 19, 2012 Author Share Posted August 19, 2012 I won't have the internet in my new house until the 7th of September but I was in the mood to play this today so I went into my old flat which has nothing in it bar carpets, a phone and a broadband connection so I could get a few games in. This will probably be the only update for another couple of days. So, how are we doing in terms of those achievements I was set? Win the European Super Cup Win the World Club Championship Retain the Champions League Replace Inter as best club in Italy Win that World Cup with your Pro Vercelli flavoured Italy team 3/5 done. Sorry, make that 4/5. Le Moal, Hain and Gaspar departed. Le Moal was a tough one to get rid of. He was an excellent servant to the club having been here for seven years after signing for €6.5M. 156 league appearances and he scored an impressive 66 goals in those. He's now back in his native France and plays for PSG. Hain was easier to rid of but I was still saddened by his departure, especially if it means he's plying his trade with Lazio next season. He was only at Pro for four seasons, scoring 29 in 72 games, but he was part of the squad that won the Europa League and the Champions League and came up with some vital goals. Gaspar was signed a few seasons ago as a kid but he never flourished and I was surprised I got so much money for him. As for those I signed, Pérez García and Chirico are youth players. Antonioli is a player I've admired for years so when I found out he was interested in joining the club I just threw a big load of cash at him. €35M is the most I've spent on a player so I'm hoping he's worth it. He's maybe a bit on the old side, but he's Italy's number one right back and he's better than Káka. Piovanelli is another older player but he's Italian and that's what I want in my Pro Vercelli team. €22M for a top, top class player should hopefully be excellent value. Kichenin I worked with when I was manager of Belgium. I feel he's a better option than Mazzon (who didn't have a great season last time - I know we conceded virtually nothing but he was at fault for a few of when we did concede) and at €8M he's a complete steal for that. Number one this season probably. That's all the players I brought in. A new goalkeeper and two new defenders. Defence wasn't even a problem last season... We did well in pre-season. A couple of good wins and only one slip up. I never managed to use the best team available to me, and both Cunha and Maringá missed all the games and still won't be able to play for another three months or so. Needing Esposito, Russo and Samuel to come big. We had two other games in this period. The Supercoppa Italiana final v Inter Fairly easy game. Dominated from the start. I was disappointed to concede but that was the only real problem we faced. and the European Super Cup final v Parma This one was harder. Parma were up for it but we were clinical in the finish and managed to win by two goals in the end. A good performance and now it was on to league business. The 2025/2026 season had started and Pro Vercelli wanted more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smurph Posted August 19, 2012 Author Share Posted August 19, 2012 I won't have the internet in my new house until the 7th of September but I was in the mood to play this today so I went into my old flat which has nothing in it bar carpets, a phone and a broadband connection so I could get a few games in. This will probably be the only update for another couple of days. So, how are we doing in terms of those achievements I was set? Win the European Super Cup Win the World Club Championship Retain the Champions League Replace Inter as best club in Italy Win that World Cup with your Pro Vercelli flavoured Italy team 3/5 done. Sorry, make that 4/5. Le Moal, Hain and Gaspar departed. Le Moal was a tough one to get rid of. He was an excellent servant to the club having been here for seven years after signing for €6.5M. 156 league appearances and he scored an impressive 66 goals in those. He's now back in his native France and plays for PSG. Hain was easier to rid of but I was still saddened by his departure, especially if it means he's plying his trade with Lazio next season. He was only at Pro for four seasons, scoring 29 in 72 games, but he was part of the squad that won the Europa League and the Champions League and came up with some vital goals. Gaspar was signed a few seasons ago as a kid but he never flourished and I was surprised I got so much money for him. As for those I signed, Pérez García and Chirico are youth players. Antonioli is a player I've admired for years so when I found out he was interested in joining the club I just threw a big load of cash at him. €35M is the most I've spent on a player so I'm hoping he's worth it. He's maybe a bit on the old side, but he's Italy's number one right back and he's better than Káka. Piovanelli is another older player but he's Italian and that's what I want in my Pro Vercelli team. €22M for a top, top class player should hopefully be excellent value. Kichenin I worked with when I was manager of Belgium. I feel he's a better option than Mazzon (who didn't have a great season last time - I know we conceded virtually nothing but he was at fault for a few of when we did concede) and at €8M he's a complete steal for that. Number one this season probably. That's all the players I brought in. A new goalkeeper and two new defenders. Defence wasn't even a problem last season... We did well in pre-season. A couple of good wins and only one slip up. I never managed to use the best team available to me, and both Cunha and Maringá missed all the games and still won't be able to play for another three months or so. Needing Esposito, Russo and Samuel to come big. We had two other games in this period. The Supercoppa Italiana final v Inter Fairly easy game. Dominated from the start. I was disappointed to concede but that was the only real problem we faced. and the European Super Cup final v Parma This one was harder. Parma were up for it but we were clinical in the finish and managed to win by two goals in the end. A good performance and now it was on to league business. The 2025/2026 season had started and Pro Vercelli wanted more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smurph Posted August 22, 2012 Author Share Posted August 22, 2012 September/October 2025 Played two months without any internet time to update so here's a special bumper update! It's been plain sailing in the league. Two goals conceded and twenty five scored; a very impressive eleven of those scored by Alessio Esposito as Cunha and Maringá (barring the last three games, where he came on as a seventieth minute substitute against Fiorentina and got his first goal in his first appearance of the season) are out injured but not for long. He's done so well I'm unsure that Cunha and Maringá will be playing together often this season, but we'll see if his excellent form continues. Midfield have been all right, but they've not scored as many as they did last season. Ritter has scored 3/3 penalties though! Defensively we have been very sound and the only goals we've conceded have been a last minute goal from Parma's Bakambu, and a from an Atalanta corner. Kichenin has been sublime. In the Champions League we have Lyon, Schalke and Heerenveen. Looks like we're in the last 16 already. Six goals, none conceded and six different goalscorers. Pleasing performances and hoping we can continue. I haven't updated about Italy in a while so this covers the last few months. I decline both, obviously, but if it was a longer career without certain aims I would have probably accepted the Belgian role again. Alas, my aims are with Italy, and we can continue. Five months of games. The only game we never managed a win in was against Scotland. It was a poor performance but we probably should have won it. No matter, though, as it was only a friendly. We won all our remaining World Cup qualifier games very comfortably after drawing the first two, so it looks like I've found a formation that works and I'm now getting the best out of the players. As you can see, we manage to qualify for the World Cup in 2026 so that's very good news. Undoubtedly, the star for these games was Alessio Esposito. He scored nine goals in seven appearances for the national team, so I'm naturally very, very pleased with the Pro Vercelli players' performances. Easy enough for Italy, and bring on the World Cup! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Brightside Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 EASY. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mizfit Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 Just out of curiousity, what are your plans when you win the world cup with Italy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aidan-bufc Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 Just out of curiousity, what are your plans when you win the world cup with Italy? A good manager takes it one game at a time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smurph Posted September 12, 2012 Author Share Posted September 12, 2012 Just out of curiousity, what are your plans when you win the world cup with Italy? We'll see when the times comes. BACK ONCE AGAIN. November 2025 Almost forgetting what year it was, we continued our assault on Serie A, still trying to maintain our 100% record. ...and maintain it we did. Probably not the most convincing results, but I've started to experiment a little as I'm growing tired of our normal set-up, trying different things and that. They seem to be working but we're not scoring as much. This isn't helped by the fact that Cunha (after scoring 4 in 4) is injured again for a few weeks and Esposito seems to be struggling to hit the incredible form he was showing from the beginning. Not much to say, really. Still doing the business in the Champions League. Great result against OL (why did they change to that? OM for Marseille. GBFC for Bordeaux too (though that's just for FIFA so far) I preferred the full names) and a reasonable result against Schalke away from home. Maringá popped up on the 90+1 minute to get us the three points. A change of defence was the problem for the collapse but our reserve defenders should be doing better than that. We've qualified for the next round now. I'll put a table up next month. As for Italy... A change of formation and that again. We went 1-0 down to a Northern Ireland free kick but got three goals back in the end. Against Brazil it was a lot tougher, and their goal came from a corner. We couldn't get back into it but it was a horrible game of football. We held our own against the world number ones though which bodes well for the World Cup. We just need to defend better at set pieces! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smurph Posted September 18, 2012 Author Share Posted September 18, 2012 December 2025 It was the end of another year in Italy. With the league campaign about to enter its winter break, the Champions League group stages coming to a close and the Club World Championship getting under-way, it was going to be a fairly busy month. League business was fairly standard, although we were lucky to have come away from plucky Cesena with a win. Other than that there weren't any problems. 17 games gone, 17 wins. Hoping we can continue this amazing run of form in the league. At least make it to the 19 game mark without losing/drawing. We beat Heerenveen comfortably in our remaining Champions League group fixture. No problems at all in the group stage. Finished top by some distance. We're rewarded with another trip to France as we face Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16. They may not be the mega-rich club they are in real life, but they do have fan-favourite Benoit Le Moal in their attack. The main concern this month for me was the Club World Championship. We won it last year at the first time of asking, so I was hoping to win it in consecutive seasons. We faced Chivas in the semi-final. No problems there. We started off well and it was essentially over in the first half. We got a second half goal courtesy of an own-goal and they went up and scored very late on in the game. Disappointed to have conceded, but I had pretty much put out my reserve side (with Salles and Maringá making up the numbers). In the final, we played Fluminense from Brazil. BANG! Four minutes in we go 1-0 up and dominate the game from thereon in. No problem whatsoever and Maringá and Samuel complete the scoring. 3-0 win in the end and we win the Club World Championship for the second year running! Very pleased with that and we go back to Italy with another trophy in the bag. As for Italy, they played no fixtures this month, but we did find out who awaited us in the World Cup. A reasonable group. None of those teams are massive, but they're all fairly high in the rankings. Italy (6th), Turkey (13th), Cameroon (20th), South Korea (40th). I would expect us to progress fairly unscathed, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smurph Posted September 18, 2012 Author Share Posted September 18, 2012 January 2026 A new month, a new year, and a brand-new shiny signing. Cristián Campos is the only player to come in this transfer window. He's going straight into the U20's but he's a big prospect for the future. Able to play in a majority of positions helps his claim and he may appear a few times towards the end of the season as the games begin to pile up. No big-name players left. U20 left-back went on loan to Ajax with a €6M fee if they want him full time. Yet again, a 100% record in the league. Incredible performances in the final few games and we're starting to bang in the goals again. Ritter missed a penalty, again, against Milan this time but we still won very comfortably. About that game against Milan, actually - I don't have any photographic proof for this because it's not flashed up, but I believe that the win stretched our unbeaten league record to triple figures. Yes. 100 consecutive wins in Serie A unbeaten. Incredible. I believe that in all competitions now, that's 117 games without defeat. Nothing to comment about really. Easy. We also featured in the Coppa Italia this month. Two easy wins, and the only disappointment was Mazzon conceded his first goal of the month (Kitchenin was out injured, but even when he was back, I couldn't drop Mazzon because of his great form). He went on to save a penalty, though, so that makes up for it and he'll continue to be in goals for the time being. In the semi-final we face Lazio in February and then the second leg is in April! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SodjesSixteenIncher Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 Where the f**k have you been? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
South Lanarkshire Jag Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 Where the f**k have you been? Moving house, as he said on the last page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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