Category: Shades of Deep Purple

Fiorentina fans had plenty of reason to be excited about the 2021/2022 season. Having ended a long absence from the Champions League, hopes were high that we would do ourselves justice back on Europe’s biggest stage. Meanwhile, the Viola looked to wrest the Serie A scudetto from Inter’s grasp and become Italian champions for the first time in 53 years.

My fourth and final season as Fiorentina manager proved to be my most dramatic yet. My quest for silverware came down to the final weeks, after which I would leave Florence either in glory… or simply as a glorious failure.

CAUTION: If you have not yet read Part 42 – the closing chapter in this story – then PLEASE read that before continuing here. I’m sure you don’t want the ending to be spoiled. Continue reading “Shades of Deep Purple: Season Review 2021/2022” →

After nearly three months, and 45 blog posts, “Shades of Deep Purple” has come down to this. As the 2021/2022 Serie A season, it really is all or nothing for me and my Fiorentina team.

The Coppa Italia has eluded as, and so too has anything resembling success in Europe. Serie A represents my final chance of leaving Florence with any silverware on my CV. If we can overhaul Napoli’s advantage at the top of the standings, it will end the Viola’s 21-year wait for a major trophy, and a 53-year wait to become Italian league champions.

And so, unlike Britain’s politicians, let us immediately get on with the matter at hand… Continue reading “Shades of Deep Purple: Part 42 – IL FINALE” →

I’ll tell you something about this Fiorentina team: when we can get ourselves on a roll, we are very difficult to stop. We enter the final three months of the 2021/2022 Serie A season in an incredible vein of league form. Unfortunately for us, Napoli are themselves proving very difficult to beat.

I’ve got six league matches for you in this latest chapter, and there’s no doubt about which is the biggest. If both teams can continue their excellent runs, Fiorentina vs Napoli at the Artemio Franchi on 10 April – the day before my 32nd birthday – could well decide the destiny of this season’s scudetto. Continue reading “Shades of Deep Purple: Part 41” →

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!” Continue reading “Shades of Deep Purple: Part 40” →

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… Continue reading “Shades of Deep Purple: Part 39” →

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. Continue reading “Shades of Deep Purple: Part 38” →

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… Continue reading “Shades of Deep Purple: Part 37” →

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. Continue reading “Shades of Deep Purple: Part 36” →

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… Continue reading “Shades of Deep Purple: Part 35” →

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? Continue reading “Shades of Deep Purple: Part 34” →