Competitive, but not Complete

As we reach the midpoint of the season and approach the January window, the league table underlines both our progress and our limitations. Sitting 7th after 21 games, we’re firmly in the play-off conversation, but also clearly chasing a group of sides who have found greater consistency. Our goal difference of +8 (28 scored, 20 conceded) reflects a team that is well-structured and competitive rather than dominant.

After a rocky start to life in Serie B, where we’d won just 1 game from the opening 6, we then went on a run of 3 wins from 4 (including a draw). We were able to carry on that form with two more wins – taking us to 7th in the table – before hitting a rocky patch which saw us go 6 games without a single victory.

This wasn’t helped a sudden glut of injuries which shook the starting lineup.

Injury Woes

I made the decision to only carry two Strikers in the squad this season. Both Cianci (Targetman) and Capello (more dynamic and creative) give nice tactical options and wingers Patterello and Tavernelli able to step in up top if required, I thought that was enough cover.

I didn’t factor in potential injuries to all of them.

We suffered the loss of Cianci for 5 weeks with sprained knee ligaments, and on his first game back in the match day squad, Capello strained a calf and will miss 2 months.

Inbetween this, Patterello missed 3 weeks with a hamstring injury and Taverelli 2 weeks with groin troubles.

Deeper into midfield, Chierico missed 2 weeks and then 5 weeks with knee ligament issues. At the same time, playmaker Guccione strained his thigh and being out for 6 weeks.

Next Man Up – A Star is Born

What these injuries do, however, is give a chance to someone lower down the pecking order. When these chances arise, a player stepping up will either underwhelm or grasp the opportunity with both hands – and that’s exactly what one man did: Niccolo Pietra.

Pietra – now 23 years old – was signed as a free agent. We were his 4th team in 4 seasons. Although his physical prowess was clear, I was expecting him to be a back up for a couple of seasons with the hope he’d develop well enough to be a squad player, or sell for decent profit.

What he’s effectively done is stick two fingers up at everyone who doubted him and rejected him as he seized the box-to-box role and turned it into his own. Pietra has already scored 6 goals from 3.71 xG, providing a level of goal threat that simply wasn’t anticipated, while maintaining the defensive output required of the role with 6.2 possessions won and 2.4 interceptions per 90. Add in a 91% pass completion rate on high volume (61 passes per 90), and the picture is of a midfielder who contributes in both boxes without undermining structure. What began as rotation has become reliability and, increasingly, leadership through performance.

He’s forged a formidable partnership with loanee Michele Besaggio, whose influence is backed up emphatically by the data. He leads the midfield for creativity, registering 6 assists from 4.7 xA, alongside an outstanding 3.9 key passes per 90 – elite numbers at this level. Crucially for a Disciplina & Controllo system, that creativity hasn’t come at the expense of control: he completes 88% of his passes, averages nearly 58 passes per 90, and still contributes defensively with 5.9 possessions won per 90. Besaggio isn’t just creating chances — he’s setting the tempo of matches, and the side’s attacking cohesion increasingly reflects that.

Why the Midfield Still Needs a Destroyer

The absence of a truly dominant defensive midfielder is becoming more and more clear. While Mattia Damiani is tidy in possession (92% pass completion), his defensive impact is limited for the role, with just 4.8 possessions won and 0.7 tackles per 90, numbers that don’t impose control in front of the defence. Meanwhile, Shaka Mawuli Eklu has struggled to justify his place: despite a respectable 7.4 possessions won per 90, he has delivered 0 goals, 0 assists, and minimal progression (5.0 progressive passes per 90). He’s just too passive. And teams are interested in him.

As we enter January, the evidence points towards two clear priorities: recruiting a proper D&C-fit defensive midfielder to raise the team’s ceiling, and moving Eklu on to streamline the squad and fund that upgrade.

Finding Form, Again

The game which turned out form around, was an Italian Cup 3rd round game against Serie A, Como. Despite the home side making only 3 changes to their line up we were able to provide a stern test. Despite thinking it was all over when they took a 79th minute lead, we quickly equalised through Tavernelli and then youngster Balentien scored on his debut to give us a great win.

A much needed £375k in prize money and through to a 4th round tie against Inter.

A run of three Serie B wins in a row took us into the new year in fine form.

New Steel in Midfield

With Eklu having teams interested, it was easy to talk to his agent and encourage offers. Within days he’d agreed a deal to Catanzaro in Serie C for £400k – an amount I’m more than happy with.

With the January window offering limited options for true ball-winning midfielders, Angelo Talia arrives as a low-risk solution rather than a statement signing – and that in itself fits the moment. At 23, he brings the physical and mental base that had been missing in the role: strong positioning and anticipation, solid tackling and decision making, whilst also willing to put in the hard yards for the team. All of which point towards a midfielder who reads danger early and holds his ground rather than chasing it. On the ball, he’s tidy rather than expansive, with decent passing and first touch, suggesting he should recycle possession cleanly within a Disciplina & Controllo framework rather than disrupt it. He isn’t dominant aerially and lacks the raw aggression of a pure destroyer, but his mobility and intelligence hint at a player better suited to screening space and stabilising transitions. With his contract expiring at the end of the season, the loan offers me a useful evaluation period: Talia doesn’t need to transform the side, only to raise the baseline – and if he can provide consistent defensive presence without undermining control, he may yet prove the quietly decisive piece in the second half of the campaign.

Other than a few younger, and fringe, players going out on loan for some valuable first team minutes, the transfer window closed with no further action.

I’m largely happy with the players I have available, especially for this stage in the S.S. Arezzo Calcio story.

I had around £600k to spend but there not no one available who was enough of an improvement on what I already have, and therefore, I valued continuity and stability over potentially needless additions.

Looking ahead

We’re in and around the playoff places. Amongst teams who are much higher profile than us and some whose wage budgets eclipse ours. That’s why I’m happy with our progress. It’s not lack of ambition, its establishing ourselves in Serie B, finding our level and THEN looking how and where we need to improve to mount a proper challenge.

Saying that, we’ve lost our last two league games 2-4 (vs Parma) and 1-3 (vs Genoa) before getting spanked 1-6 by Inter in the Italian Cup.

Maybe I should’ve been more active in the transfer window….