January 2028 didn’t so much begin as lurch into view. With no left back yet signed, and me in a mild state of panic, we opened the new year against a strong AC Cesena side. Snow was swirling around the stadium and I stayed loyal to the 3-4-3 and asked Victor Narro – a winger by trade – to perform as a marauding wing-back.

It worked… until it didn’t.

We grew into the game, created the better chances, but football in winter is rarely fair. Two goals against the run of play. 0-2. A reminder that structural fragility eventually catches up with you.

Injuries Begin to Bite

A tactical reset to 4-2-3-1 brought a gritty 0-0 at Empoli FC – but top scorer Thibo Baeten pulled up chasing a through ball. Three weeks out.

Robin Risser, fresh from RC Lens, went straight into the XI against Vicenza and delivered a composed clean sheet in a 3-0 win. Authority. Calm. An upgrade you could feel.

However, for the second game in a row, another sprint for a through ball saw Estanis Pedrola twist an ankle – three weeks out.

And then the real blow.

Victor Narro, our emergency left back, partially tore his groin. Five to six weeks.

We were running out of players and beds in the physio’s room!

Makeshift Solutions

With central defender Giorgio Altare forced to cover at left back, we scraped together a 2-0 win over Virtus Entella – and were only able to name five substitutes. Gabbiani scoring as a back-up striker should. Tavsan bending in a lovely free kick that briefly made me forget the injury list.

And finally, the cavalry arrived.

Andrés Cuenca, our new left back, stepped straight in against Spezia Calcio. We instantly looked more structured and well balanced. But football isn’t always about structure, it’s about moment. And Spezia took theirs. A 0-2 defeat which saw them leapfrog us as we dropped down to 4th.

The week didn’t bring positives though. The Cavalry arrived!

Baeten. Pedrola. Guti. Altare. All returning from injury and illness. Depth was restored and I had options again.

Against US Catanzaro 1929, Baeten and Pedrola combined within 15 minutes. Rhythm and confidence had returned. Cuenca added his first goal from range as we eased to a 3-1 win.

Then came the benchmark.

Runaway leaders Parma Calcio 1913.

Adama Traoré – 12 assists and counting – made it 13, sliding in Anjorin. Tavsan nearly equalised moments later but saw his effort cleared off the line. We competed. We were organised. But we didn’t create enough.

That’s the difference at the top.

A moment of reflection: Wingers

Well into the final third of the season, something bothered me.

I still didn’t know my best wingers.

Rotation had become reactionary. Form-driven. Injury-forced. And time away from the game due to lack of immersion.

It was time to strip away instinct and look at the data.

Victor Narro

Our most complete wide player on paper.

• 7.02 average rating (highest of the group)
• 9 starts, 9 subs appearances
• 4.64 xA
• 2.2 key passes per 90
• 89% pass completion
• 2 goals, 3 assists

He creates. He protects the ball. He connects phases.

Unfortunately, he’s injured.

Elayis Tavsan

The volume shooter, who has mostly played as an Inside Forward on the right.

• 9 starts, 14 subs appearances
• 3.3 shots per game (highest of the group)
• 11% conversion
• 2.0 key passes
• 2.1 dribbles per game
• 4 goals, 3 assists

High involvement. Low ruthlessness.

Estanis Pedrola

The enigma.

• 19 starts, 6 subs appearances
• 3.94 xG
• 4 goals
• 2.6 shots per game
• 9% conversion (lowest)

The positions are good. The finishing is not.

This feels psychological. Confidence or composure – it’s one of the two.

Nikola Sekulov

The efficient one.

• 11 starts, 13 subs appearances
• 4 goals from 2.8 xG
• 19% conversion (best)
• 57% shot accuracy
• 3 assists
• 28% cross completion (highest)
• 7.4 possessions won per game

He doesn’t dominate matches.
But he impacts them.

Which makes his 6.86 average rating… puzzling.

The Tactical Decision

In an ideal world, I start Narro and Sekulov.

But Narro is sidelined.

As Luis Hasa remains the creative hub in the centre. Which means the wide roles should offer:

• One direct goal threat.
• One balanced contributor.

Pedrola as the attacking bet – gambling that his underlying finishing numbers can improve.

Sekulov as the all-rounder to offer pressing, crossing and efficiency.

The complication? Both right-footed.

Which means the right wing role shifts from Inside Forward to a traditional Winger.

Less cutting inside.
More width.
More deliveries.
Hopefully more goals.

Back to the action

Before the next game, I decided to up the ante slightly and make the team more aggressive. I increased to counter-pressing as well as the line of engagement. I also changed Luis Hasa’s role slightly. To get him more involved, I dropped him back from the AMC slot and made him an attacking central midfielder, asking him to dribble more and take more risks.

We did struggle more that I’d hoped against the 20th placed Salernitana, but ultimately came out with a 2-1 win thanks to a late goal by Tavsan. He replaced the injured Sekulov, who’ll miss 4-5 weeks and throws my winger analysis and plans back into turmoil.

Shockingly though, that win moved us up the table.

This Sampdoria team, have lost EIGHT times and who to me are still inconsistent and struggling to find a rhythm, are now SECOND.

Our 4-2-3-1 dominated Venezia’s narrow 4-2-2-1, peppering their goal but we simply couldn’t break though, and I was resigned to a frustrating 0-0 until Henderson, our Box to Box midfielder, volleyed a poor corner clearing into the top corner in the 89th minute.

Then came our return fixture against my old club Arezzo – still doing well and in the playoff positions again. Our previous game was a 1-0 win for us, but they avenged that and their 4-3-3 dominated, with on-loan striker Braschi (from Fiorentina) scoring his 16th and 17th of the season in a 2-3 defeat. Despite the loss, I was quite proud that the squad I assembled played so well.

The Bottle Job

We responded well, winning four in a row vs Avellino (3-0), Frosinone (2-1), Carrarese (1-0) and Catanzaro (1-0). A run which looks good on the outside, but really, they’re teams we should be beating comfortably but the last 3 were very close games and we rode our luck. I’m still not convinced by the 4-2-3-1.

That doubt proved correct, as we lost two in a row, vs “good” teams: Palermo (1-2) and Hellas Verona (1-3) who played the entire second half with only 10 men.

Heading into the final game of the season we’d dropped from the 2nd automatic promotion place down to 4th.

Spezia had, deservedly, claimed the 2nd place and go up with the dominant Parma.

We limped to a 1-1 draw versus Mantova to finish the season in 4th.

Playoffs here we come.

The Comeback Kings

With news that starting Central Defender Giorgio Altare would miss 8-10 weeks with knee ligament issues, we learned our playoff fate:

We would face Hellas Verona, who’d beaten Arezzo 3-0 in the first round.

The Hellas Verona who’d beaten us 1-3 just weeks ago, and only had 10 men for half the game.

With us finishing higher, the first leg was away, in Verona, and it was a very tight game, until they took the lead in the 65th minute through a towering header by Diop. We dominated the latter stages but couldn’t score… with Baeten missing a 1v1 in injury time.

The home leg, however, saw us totally dominate. Quickfire goals from Tavsan and Gabbiani in the 15th and 16th minutes put the tie in our hands and as Verona desperately pushed for a goal, we managed to score another two late onto give us a comfortable 4-0 win on the day.

We were through to the final, where we’d face Empoli.

The Playoff Final

A bright start to the first leg saw Renzi bought down on the edge of the area, with VAR reversing the Ref’s initial penalty call, but Empoli managed to wrestle control of the game and striker Pellegri scored twice just before half time. We went 0-3 down when Reuben Loftus-Cheek added a 3rd after 49 minutes and the whole tie seemed dead and buried, and not even an hour had been played.

We pushed and pushed and finally got a reward through Tavsan – who has been in a rich vein of form and scored some crucial goals recently.

We head into the second leg, at home, down 1-3 on aggregate and need a HUGE performance.

All or Nothing

Knowing we needed a huge comeback, we went attacking from the start. Empoli were happy to sit back and soak up the pressure and they managed to frustrate us, and the home crowd, for an hour… until Luis Hasa won a penalty and calmly stepped up to score it.

2-3 on aggregate.

We kept piling on the pressure and Empoli were feeling it. Two bookings for them inside 5 minutes.

75 minutes. A corner, inswinging. Henderson’s header. 3-3 on aggregate.

Game on!

With Empoli visibly on the ropes and time running out I urged the team on.

88 minutes.

89 minutes.

90 minutes… club captain, right back Fabio Depaoli received a headed clearance just inside the edge of the area, picks his spot and fires into the far corner, past the helpless keeper.

Empoli players sink to their knees as the crowd went wild.

4-3 on aggregate.

Sampdoria have been promoted to Serie A.