Author: Chris Fuller

We’re now in February 2022, and Fiorentina are ready to do battle with Napoli on two fronts. As well as contending for the Serie A scudetto (alongside Udinese), this month sees the Viola and the Partenopei cross swords in a two-legged Coppa Italia Semi Final.

It’s sure to be a real ‘clash of the titans’, involving two sides who are back to their best after many, many years in the shadows. Fiorentina’s recent form harks back to the 1999/2000 heyday of Gabriel Batistuta and Rui Costa. As for Napoli, they haven’t been this good since 1990, when Diego Maradona and Careca were in their pomp, and I was but a newborn baby.

Okay, I think that’s just about enough 90s nostalgia, don’t you? If I carry on like this, I might as well rename the blog “BuzzFeed” and start posting video clips from “Kenan & Kel” all the time. I’d also give my articles more clickbaity titles like, “You Won’t Believe What Enrico Chiesa’s Son Looks Like Now!”

I’m now halfway through my final season with Fiorentina, and we’re well on course to have our best campaign yet. Inter have not defended their scudetto particularly well, which has left the door wide open for a number of teams to take advantage. Despite a few wobbles, we are most certainly in contention for Serie A glory.

In this latest chapter, I will take you through the first few weeks of 2022 – the year in which Qatar stages a winter World Cup without England (cheers, Sean Dyche). Once we’ve done our January transfer business – and don’t expect too much on that front – we’ve got four league matches to get through. One of them is against our bitterest rivals Juventus, who just so happen to be back to something like their best…

Yes, I probably could do with some help right about now. A nightmare November has contributed to Fiorentina’s worst run of form this season, and a premature exit from the Champions League.

Here’s hoping we can finish 2021 on a high by building up some much-needed momentum in December. Five Serie A matches await us, as do the opening rounds of the Coppa Italia. As things stand, that looks like being my last realistic chance of ending my four-year reign at the Artemio Franchi with a trophy.

Now we’re really getting stuck into the meat of the 2021/2022 season. Having enjoyed an historically strong start to the Serie A campaign, Fiorentina fans are growing increasingly hopeful that they could see their side lift a first scudetto since 1969. Incidentally, that was also the last time Hotel California had its ‘spirit’.

Leaving 70s rock references aside, we enter November in the middle of a tricky run of league fixtures. Having already faced Roma at home and Inter away in October (check out Part 36 if you missed that), we are now making plans for Lazio and Napoli. By the end of this month, we should have a good idea of where we really stand.

Before that, though, we’ve got some continental business to take care of…

Welcome to the first post on Fuller FM in 2019. This blog has already had just over 4,000 total views since it went live in October, so thanks to those of you who’ve visited regularly over those first few months.

As it so happens, we’re now in October 2021 in the final season of my Fiorentina story. Today’s chapter includes a Champions League trip to Chelsea, along with six Serie A matches. We’ll finish things off by crossing swords with champions Inter at the San Siro, but the month begins with us welcoming the top flight’s newest side to the Artemio Franchi.

So… we in the real world are just coming towards the end of 2018. If you’re reading this in Asia or Australia as soon as it’s been published, then you’re probably in 2019 right now. If you’re reading this in March, what took you so long? Also… has Theresa screwed up Brexit completely yet?

Anyway, back in the Football Manager universe, my fourth season at Fiorentina is now in full swing. It looks like I’ve done some fine business in the transfer market, as the Viola have begun the Serie A campaign in solid form and go into September 2021 sitting in the top four.

Now it’s time to see can replicate that in the Champions League. Actually, we’re already on course to do just that, to a point. After all, there are only four teams in a Champions League group, though when you consider the calibre of our opponents, we’d do very well to finish 4th. Please let me know if I’m rambling again…

Pre-season is over, and now all the hard work begins in earnest. My fourth Serie A campaign in charge of Fiorentina kicks off with a trip to Bologna, followed by successive home games against Juventus and Pescara. We’re pretty strong starters here at the Artemio Franchi, and I’m confident we can fly out of the traps again.

Before we get stuck into those opening fixtures (not to mention the Champions League draw), it’s about time we had a fresh squad and tactics report, isn’t it?

Now that we’ve all had a nice break for the winter/summer holidays (delete where appropriate), it’s about time we returned to work. Welcome to the fourth – and final – regular season of “Shades of Deep Purple” on Fuller FM.

Last season saw Fiorentina finally secure a return to the Champions League, after over a decade away. The Viola are now ready to step up to the next level, and maybe even threaten Inter’s recent stranglehold on the Serie A scudetto. Okay, maybe I’m getting a little carried away, but I’m honestly feeling quite excited after such a strong transfer window. (The updated title image should give you a good idea about one of the players we’ve signed.)

Before I move on to all our transfer business, though, I must update you on some news from elsewhere. That’s because there was a small chance I might not have been managing Fiorentina for another season after all…

The 2020/2021 season – my third at Fiorentina – was ‘make or break’. After finishing 6th in successive seasons, we had to qualify for the Champions League this time around, otherwise I would be calling a premature halt to my project with the club.

This post will summarise how we performed on domestic and European fronts, and there’ll also be the usual awards and stats round-up, along with my future plans. If you’ve not yet read Part 32, please go back there before continuing here, because there are obvious spoilers.