Ascoli in Trouble

Giampaolo moved to Cagliari at the end of the season and was succeeded by Atillio Tesser. Tesser struggled to emulate what Giampaolo achieved and was fired after losing to Empoli in November. At the time, the club's record was an appalling seven losses and four draws.

Nedo Sonetti was chosen to be Tesser’s replacement and after his arrival, Ascoli drew two and lost three before picking up their first league win of the season last weekend against a hapless Chievo.

Sonetti has a rich CV as a manager and has a reputation for helping teams avoid relegation, which is probably exactly why Ascoli hired him. They are three points behind both Parma and Reggina. Sonetti will be 66 by the end of the season so don’t expect a long and prosperous relationship between him and the club, but he could be the man to keep them up.

Sonetti will have to rely on his physios and a lot of luck if he is to help the club survive. The team is thin on talent and would find it almost impossible to survive an injury crisis of any proportion. The most notable names (Gianluca Paglicua, Luigi Di Biagio and Marco Delvecchio) are well into their 'thirties. Indeed, Pagliuca, their starting goalkeeper and a former national keeper has just turned 40.

A team trying to avoid relegation like Ascoli usually require a few old hands to steady the ship, but this is usually backed up with some younger players who add a bit of adventure and spark. A lot of the younger players don’t seem to have adjusted to life in Serie A and this could prove fatal.

Looking to the future, many of Ascoli’s younger players with potential are on loan or co-owned, which means they may not be there when they hit their straps. Clubs at the lower end of the table often have tight budgets which is why they often have a lot of co-owned and on-loan players. I do think that these clubs should look to have at least 50 percent of their first 25 players owned, about 20 percent co-owned and 30 percent on loan. This would provide a reasonable amount of stability in the team from year to year.

If Ascoli are to survive, the senior members of the club must instill confidence in the younger players. Clubs at the bottom end of the table must play aggressive football because most of the time they can’t shut other teams out. This style can also increase morale amongst the team and that is what will keep them alive.

Prediction: Although I love seeing an underdog prevail, I’d have my money on Ascoli finishing up dead last with no more than 25 points.

Patrick Cook