I’m coming to the end of the second season of my Championship Manager 3 series. It hasn’t been the most thrilling campaign, but thanks to the second-greatest Argentine striker ever to play for Napoli, the Partenopei are all but certain to survive their first season back in Serie A.

Can it get even better, though? Please join me for the last few games of the 1999/2000 season, as Napoli bid to secure a place in European competition!

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APRIL 2000

With eight games to play, Napoli were almost assured of survival – and now our focus was on bigger prizes. If we could hold onto our top-six place over the run-in, our first season back in the top flight would end with us qualifying for the UEFA Cup.

Thanks to a robust defence and a (usually) reliable goalkeeper, we had been one of the toughest teams to beat in the league. Only leaders Roma and dark horses Cagliari had suffered fewer defeats than us.

However, we still had to play four of the five teams above us. First up was a trip to the Artemio Franchi to face 3rd-placed Fiorentina – the only team to have beaten us at home in the league this season. We would also have to face them without one of our main men.

Though Patrik Fredholm‘s form had dipped of late, I was still gutted when he went down with Neapolitan Groin Disease. This left Gabriel Bordi as our only fit player who had scored more than twice so far this season. Fiorentina had SIX of these, including their new £11.25million signing Patrick Kluivert, whom they left on the bench…

…because they didn’t need him.

Gabriel Batistuta and co raced into a 2-0 lead inside just six minutes, and it was basically game over already, despite Bordi’s best efforts. Though we had fallen further off the championship pace, none of the teams below us had capitalised, so the gap to 7th place was still four points.

Parma would present a similarly tough challenge in our next home game. It truly was a match for the ages.

No, of course it wasn’t. It was another bloody 0-0 draw. Bordi was voted ‘man of the match’, perhaps because he was the only player on the pitch who actually tried to score.

So, where did that stalemate leave us in the standings?

Things were getting very tense. Udinese and Lazio were both breathing down our necks, and soon-to-be-dethroned champions Juventus would have been too if they hadn’t drawn quite so many matches.

We had now recorded just one win from our last six matches. This rotten run had to end sooner rather than later – and surely it would end at rock-bottom Empoli, who hadn’t won a single league game all season? Then again, I’d already seen enough memes to know what would happen next…

Yes, folks. In true Fuller FM fashion, we almost lost an unlosable game.

Our usual number 1 Giuseppe Taglialatela got up on the wrong side of the bed on Sunday morning, which meant an early 1-0 lead turned into a 2-1 deficit at half-time. Substitute keeper Luca Mondini avoided any further embarrassment after the break, but the Azzurri were still on course for a long-awaited victory until target man Roberto Murgita came to our rescue late on.

We were somehow still in 6th… but only just. Lazio had now drawn level on points with us, trailing on goal difference. That put even more pressure on our shoulders as we headed off to Sardinia for our next match.

Since suffering a 5-0 hammering at our hands in December, Cagliari had bounced back strongly to sustain a European challenge of their own. They were much more resilient in the rematch, soaking up our attacks for over an hour before striking a devastating counter-attacking blow. Even when they went down to 10 men, we still couldn’t produce a response.

Two defeats in four games. And to make matters worse…

…Lazio and Udinese had bumped us down to 8th. Our European dream was crumbling in front of our very eyes.

After another toothless performance, one-time star man Claudio Bellucci was dropped from the squad entirely for the home game against 9th-placed Sampdoria. Though Fredholm was now back to full fitness, he only made it to the bench, as I instead gave a first start up front to 21-year-old Cosimo Sarli.

The gamble didn’t really pay off. Sampdoria couldn’t lay a finger on our defence as we dominated the match from start to finish – but all we had to show for it was a Bordi penalty early in the second half. Though that spot-kick was enough to get us the win, I still wasn’t happy…

…not even after Lazio and Udinese each slipped up. Napoli were back in the European spots, but we were stumbling rather than strolling towards the line.

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MAY 2000

Our season might have been threatening to fall apart, but Internazione‘s fall from grace had been even more spectacular. Having entered April as serious scudetto challengers, the Nerazzurri had failed to win a single match and were now scrapping just to stay in the top six. They had also lost meekly to Juventus in the Coppa Italia Final.

Against us at the San Siro, however, they delivered a midfield masterclass in a first half where everything that could’ve gone wrong for Napoli DID go wrong.

Yes, that is 35-year-old Roberto Mancini opening the scoring for Inter. Yes, that is Andrea Pirlo making it 2-0. And yes, that is Gabriel Bordi coming off injured just before half-time. The good news was that ‘El Tanque’ had only bruised his head and would still be fit for our next game.

The bad news was that we were back down to 8th.

We would be missing both our usual defensive midfielders Emiliano Bigica (injury) and Fabio Rossitto (suspension) for our final home match of the season. If we lost to Sven Goran Eriksson’s Lazio, we would no longer be able to finish in the top six, and our UEFA Cup dreams would be dashed.

Hopes… deleted.

Once again, it all came down to the finishing. We had 10 shots at goal, and just one on target (scored by Murgita). Lazio also had 10 shots at goal, but SEVEN were on target, so Sven’s men arguably deserved the win in the end.

With that, we were officially out of UEFA Cup contention. We still had a chance of sneaking into the Inter-Toto Cup, but that was just a very poor man’s Anglo-Italian Cup in my eyes – and you don’t even get a trophy at the end if you win it! Frankly, I didn’t really care.

And just to wrap up this miserable anti-climax, we conceded a 90th-minute winner to Torino. We had finished the season with ONE win from our last eight matches – and TWO from our final dozen.

At the start of this chapter, we still harboured slim hopes of winning the scudetto. At the end of it, you find us in the bottom half, having to settle for 10th place. No European football next season. No Capocannoniere for Bordi.

But hey, we finished above AC Milan! That’s something to celebrate, right?

Anyway, congratulations to Postman Pat on delivering Roma’s first scudetto since 1983 – and on taking them to the Champions League Final, where they narrowly lost to Porto. Runners-up Fiorentina also finished the season with silverware, having seen off Athletic Bilbao to take the Cup Winners’ Cup (which is still going strong on CM3).

Empoli did pick up one victory in the end – against Cagliari, no less – but they fall through the relegation trapdoor along with Atalanta, Piacenza and Venezia. Coming up from Serie B will be Vicenza, Bari, Verona, and our Coppa nemeses Lecce.

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SEASON REVIEW

Obviously, I’m feeling quite salty about how this season ended, but let’s put things in perspective. After coming up as Serie B champions, the board expected us to stay clear of relegation – and we stayed well clear, never dropping any lower than 13th.

In that sense, this season has been a qualified success. That’s not to say it hasn’t been a frustrating one too, especially when it comes to our transfer business.

Left-back Amadeo Carboni and striker Fredholm have both been successful signings, and I can potentially make a case for Bigica in midfield too, but other than that? I’ve not been impressed with Gaetano De Rosa or Miguel Ángel Soria – both of whom were too leaky in defence.

Marco Carparelli hardly did anything after his arrival from Empoli, but the worst signing of all was another wonderless winger. Keith Gillespie has been a complete waste of £4million, producing just two goal contributions in 14 games. No wonder Alex Ferguson was happy to swap him for Andy Cole.

But let’s at least try to focus on the positives. It’s time to give thanks to our top four performers from the season just gone…

Once again, there was no doubt about our star performer. Bordi carried us to survival by scoring 16 of our 38 league goals. Though he wasn’t the top scorer in Serie A (that was Roma’s Fabio Junior), he did post the league’s highest average rating of 7.62 and was voted Player of the Year.

With 20 Pace and Acceleration and 19 Finishing, there’s little doubt now that Bordi is one of the most exciting strikers in European football. Though Argentina are blessed with attacking talents, it’s surely only a matter of time before he gets his first call-up for the Albiceleste.

It’s also been an encouraging first season for Fredholm, who scored nine goals – though they were all in a three-month stretch between October and January. I really hope the young Swede can really kick on from here, as our next-highest scorer was Murgita with… ahem, four goals. After scoring 14 goals last season, Bellucci managed just one this term.

In terms of average ratings, our defenders were solid if not spectacular. The best of the bunch was perhaps 34-year-old Carboni, who had a few injury issues but still put in some decent shifts at left-back. Mind you, he will face stiff competition from a newer, younger face next season. (Eagle-eyed readers might have figured out who that is in the previous chapter.)

Captain Giovanni Lopez continued to form a tight central defensive bond with Francesco Baldini. G-Lo’s bravery, strength and positional awareness make him a rock-hard presence at the back – and even though he’s about to turn 33, I reckon he’s still good for a few more seasons in Serie A.

Undoubtedly our weakest area was in midfield, where we sorely lacked creativity. The fact that Bigica – a defensive midfielder – was our top creator with five assists tells you exactly where we most need to strengthen. I will also look to acquire some more defensive depth, as well as a new goalkeeper to upgrade on the increasingly inconsistent Taglialatela.

I certainly won’t be short of cash. Thanks to us having the third-highest average attendance in Serie A (behind only AC Milan and Roma), our transfer budget has swelled to at least £8million – with even more money to come over the summer through TV rights and season ticket sales.

There will also be a big squad clearout. We still have too many mediocre players from our Serie B days who are burning holes in our wage budget, so I’ll be looking to sell them off quickly – or even cancel their contracts outright if there aren’t any takers.

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PLAYER STATISTICS

NAME	APPS	CON	ASTS	YC [RC]	MOM	AVE
Luca Mondini	3	1	0	0	0	6.33
Giuseppe Taglialatela	35	30	0	0	0	6.66

NAME	APPS	GLS	ASTS	YC [RC]	MOM	AVE
Luca Altomare	1	0	0	0	0	6.00
Aziz Ansah	5	0	0	0	0	6.00
Francesco Baldini	31	1	2	8	0	6.68
Giacomo Banchelli	7	0	2	0	0	6.57
Claudio Bellucci	27	1	3	1	0	6.74
Emiliano Bigica	27	0	5	6	0	6.56
Antonio Bocchetti	2	0	1	0	0	6.00
Gabriel Bordi	31	17	1	0	10	7.58
Amadeo Carboni	23	0	2	3	0	6.78
Marco Carparelli	4	0	0	1	0	6.25
Daniel Daino	23	0	1	3	0	6.48
Roberto De Matteo	3	0	0	0	0	5.67
Gaetano De Rosa	16	0	0	1	1	6.19
Massimiliano Esposito	9	0	0	0	1	6.22
Mauro Facci	1	0	0	0	0	6.00
Patrik Fredholm	25	9	3	0	2	6.92
De Paula Gerson	19	0	0	4	0	6.05
Keith Gillespie	14	1	1	0	0	6.07
Roberto Goretti	19	0	1	2	0	6.42
Giuseppe Imburgia	5	0	1	0	0	6.80
Giovanni Lopez	31	2	2	8	1	6.77
Michel	29	1	3	1	0	6.45
Roberto Murgita	14	4	2	2	0	6.71
Steinar Nilsen	4	0	0	0	0	6.25
Emanuele Pesaresi	18	1	0	1	1	6.56
Fabio Rossitto	30	0	3	11 [1]	0	6.47
Cosimo Sarli	5	1	0	0	0	6.40
Miguel Ángel Soria	20	0	1	3	0	6.55
Francesco Turrini	10	1	0	0	0	6.30

In case you’re wondering… no, we didn’t sign Roberto Di Matteo, who has just won the scudetto with Roma. Roberto De Matteo is a teenage regen midfielder I signed on a free transfer last summer, and a young prospect I have high hopes for over the coming years.

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This wasn’t the season finale I was hoping for, but the disappointment will only make us stronger next term.

I’m now going to pick up the pace, and publish three new chapters every fortnight from hereon in. That means I’ll be back on Monday to kick off the 2000/2001 season with some new signings – including a Championship Manager cult icon. Can they take this Napoli team to the next level and finally lead us into Europe?

Until next time, this is Chokey McBottlejob, signing off…