Season 12 - A New Dawn

That's a crap title, but I'm struggling for inspiration.

A pre-season tour of China is in order, and the day before it starts I secure a striker - Collins Osunwa, a Nigerian international from Lens for 5 million.

The season proper starts against Foggia, and it isn't too pretty. They dominate the game. But somehow I emerge with a 1-0 win courtesy of an Osunwa debut goal and an imperious performance from goalkeeper Ivan Pelizzoli. Foggia's new manager is Alberto Malesani and he crowbars them into a 442 with some useless, useless full backs, but it seems to work against me...

League form starts well, and progress in the UEFA Cup is assisted by favorable draws. I add another Foggia striker to my squad, the never before mentioned Alessio Marchioro for an absurdly over inflated 7.5m. He wasn't mentioned previous as he came through the youth setup last season and is only just becoming a talent.

Up to Christmas and I'm 2nd and nicely placed. I face QPR again, sweeping them aside 3-0. And not playing Foggia in the Italian Cup QF is a disappointment.

January sees the beginnings of a slump of sorts in the league. 6 draws in 7 games and a reluctance from my players to score goals. In fact it's the old heads doing the best work. Rossini is top scorer and Samuel looks unbeatable at the back. I'm down in 5th and CL football is looking dodgy. Foggia rear their ugly heads in the Cup Semi and I'm defeated by a last minute Cherno Samba thunderbolt.

League form improves a little, but draws are still ridiculously frequent. I lose just 4 league games and somehow sneak into 3rd place. Man Utd are defeated in the UEFA Cup 4th round, and after that no decent opposition comes my way. Portsmouth (of Division 1) are my opponents in the final and they don't muster a single shot in my 2-0 victory.

Antonio Cassano is Fans Player, with 13 assists from behind the strikers, but I would've given it to Samuel who was brilliant and who I hope to coax into another year at Roma. Rossini finishes as top scorer but was losing it at the end of the year, so will probably go. Much to be done before next year, but a solid season to start with.