Category: Shades of Deep Purple

There have been quite a few rainy days in Florence of late – both literally and metaphorically. Second-season syndrome has affected my boys early on, and we’re already playing catch-up in both Serie A and the Europa League. To make matters worse, I’ve accidentally killed team morale, risking the wrath of my captain and the club’s fans.

October could be more of a struggle. Not only do we have to dance with the devil (aka Cristiano Ronaldo and Juventus), we must also plunge into the depths of ‘Hell’ (aka Istanbul). If things continue to go horribly wrong, I might even be tempted to sell my soul for a donut three points. Continue reading “Shades of Deep Purple: Part 15” →

Welcome back to “Shades of Deep Purple” – the story where I lead Fiorentina to domestic and continental glory on Football Manager 2019. Okay, maybe I’m getting carried away, but surely you can excuse my excitement after the start we’ve had?

Four more Serie A matches await us in September, during which we’ll also open up our Europa League campaign. Speaking of that, the group draw has just taken place, so let’s get right down to it… Continue reading “Shades of Deep Purple: Part 14” →

Can you believe it? It’s been three weeks since the Football Manager 2019 beta was released, and I’m already into my second season as Fiorentina manager. That is exceptionally quick by my standards, believe me, but it’s clear that I am thoroughly enjoying this maiden career on the new game.

Back in Part 12, I wrote about my new summer signings and all the pre-season goings-on. In today’s chapter, I will take you through my full senior squad, along with the updated tactics I will mainly be using.

Oh yes, and as a special treat, I’ll round things off with the first two matches of the 2019/2020 Serie A season. We will kick off by facing Coppa Italia holders Lazio in Rome before opening our home campaign against Inter. To be honest, I was hoping things would start off a little easier than that… Continue reading “Shades of Deep Purple: Part 13” →

A new season. A new title image. A new challenge.

The next phase of my Fiorentina story on FM19 has begun, as we look to build on a promising first campaign and challenge for Champions League qualification. A strong showing in the Europa League would be quite nice as well. Continue reading “Shades of Deep Purple: Part 12” →

My first Serie A season as Fiorentina boss is done and dusted. Having shown so much promise at the start of the season, it was rather disappointing to see us fall away a bit after the mid-term interval. Nevertheless, I’m pleased with how things have gone, and I am already looking forward to better things in 2019/2020.

In this post, I will give you a quick recap of how the 2018/2019 season went, along with some statistics and my plans for the next campaign. This is obviously spoiler-heavy, so if you’ve not caught up yet, I’d suggest you do so before continuing. Click here to read Part 11 and see how we finished the season. Continue reading “Shades of Deep Purple: Season Review 2018/2019” →

I have now come to the final month of my first season at Fiorentina. European football will be coming back to the Artemio Franchi in 2019/2020, but it remains to be seen whether we’ll play in the Champions League or the Europa League. These final four games of the Serie A campaign will decide that.

If you’re still to catch up on all the goings-on in April, click here to read through Part 10. (WARNING: Clicking on that link might greatly increase your Injury Risk.) Continue reading “Shades of Deep Purple: Part 11” →

Peerless at home, hapless away. That just about sums up my first season as Fiorentina manager so far. Time is running out on our quest to qualify for the Champions League, and the five matches awaiting us in April could go some way to either making or breaking our top-four hopes.

You can catch up on Part 9 here if you haven’t already. It truly is unmissable, particularly if you have a keen interest in watching virtual Football Managers screw up relations with their best strikers. Continue reading “Shades of Deep Purple: Part 10” →

We are two-thirds into the Serie A season, and after a very strong start, reality has finally hit home. Can I still get Fiorentina into the Champions League at the first attempt, or have I left it too late? The Europa League isn’t the worst consolation prize, but that’s like getting a Bullseye ‘Bendy Bully’ when I could have won a speedboat.

If you missed it last time out, you can go back to Part 8 here. I guarantee that there are no references to 1980s TV shows presented by Jim Bowen in that chapter, though I can’t promise that you won’t read of any violent acts from Serbian hardmen. Continue reading “Shades of Deep Purple: Part 9” →

Welcome back to Fiorentina. After a somewhat quiet January transfer window, my trusty band of brothers is ready to fight for Champions League qualification. Our February schedule looks relatively kind, so there’s no reason why we shouldn’t cling onto our top-four position.

In case you missed what happened in January, you can revisit Part 7 here. If you are a certain Uruguayan left-back who doesn’t know the meaning of the phrase “play it cool”, I would suggest you don’t. Continue reading “Shades of Deep Purple: Part 8” →

We’re halfway through the 2018/2019 Serie A season. Fiorentina have defied expectations so far, but that’ll only make the bigger teams even more determined to knock us back down.

In today’s chapter, I will talk you through the first few weeks of 2019, which includes the start of our Coppa Italia pursuit, plus our mid-season transfer business. Prepare to say goodbye to one of the unsung heroes of this Fiorentina team…

P.S. If you missed it last time, you can catch up on Part 6 here. Continue reading “Shades of Deep Purple: Part 7” →