It's been around 15 months that I've been in Top100, managing Napoli all along. I think struggling is the best word to describe my adventure here at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, as I couldn't avoid relegation in my second season. Not bad though, considering we are constantly predicted to be relegation favorites anyway...

At first, I had a bad squad in terms of ability compared to the rest of the division and even I couldn't play the tactics I'd been using. I usually played with a back 3, but only had 2 85+ CBs. And on top of that, CBs are a hot commodity in Top100. So, a change of tactic was required... I was lucky enough to stay in division 3 in my first season with that condition.

Then, how about the potential? I had absolutely no idea. I had never heard of many players in my squad, and if I'm not wrong, youth players were rare. So I just sold some of them to make space and sometimes got critics. I remember once I sold Miles Robinson (he was 82), later Man City bought him, and the manager criticized how a player with potential like Miles could've sold to an external. Well, Miles is still 85 though, but still, it hit me as I always buy U21 players when considering potential, and that's too difficult to find in Top100...

After experiencing that, I changed my approach and kept experimenting, especially in transfer. Sometimes I sacrifice potential youths to improve my squads, such as Valentine Gomez, and Vitor Roque. Sometimes I kind of overpay for a player who I rated high potentially like Salih Ozcan. Is it paid off? Well, haven't, as I could have done many deals just lately. But in my opinion, compared to the squad I inherited, my current squad has improved in terms of stability and potential.

Currently, we have covered all positions with 87+ players with only 1 player over 30 years old. Besides, with the current squad, we could compete in a youth cup, despite losing in the group stage. We are also in the race for promotion for next season as we are just one point away from the playoff zone, if it's not because of Perin's curse (3W and 7L while he playing) we should have in a higher position. After the disappointment from last season, hope we could make it this time and take Napoli to the place it should be.

Despite Napoli being relegated to the fourth division last season, Napoli's board still trusted Anew Dayo to continue his stint in Naples. He was given a three-year contract with high expectations, to finish in the Top 14 for this season, Top 12 for next season, and Top 10 for the third season. In addition to that, Napoli was predicted to be relegated (again?) by mistertrex's "Division 4 Season 18 Stats and Facts" blogpost.

And after 28 matches, what happens? Currently, Napoli is in the FIFTH place, fighting for promotion back to the third division! With only three points difference from third place, winning the automatic promotion is still within our reach. And on top of that, we have done that despite having some of our regular players decrease in rating.

Anomaly? Maybe… But, I think we have a thing stranger than our position. That is our performance against the current top 4. After the last match against Lille, we have already faced 4 teams above us, teams which I think have been there for a while. In our first legs, we have a record 1W 2D 1L against them. Superb for a team predicted for relegation, and what about the second legs? We beat them all! All by one-goal margins though, but still, that's mad (at least for me lol).

Confidence is high at the moment. With ten more games to go, we hope we could get freedom from the contract by finishing Top 10 or even get a promotion.

Greetings all. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Aqil a.k.a Anew Dayo in SM. I'm here as the new manager of SSC Napoli, having previously been the manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers in Top 120. A big challenge here at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, but I'm determined to develop the squad and keep it competitive.

The previous manager was doing a good job here despite the squad, in my opinion, being a bit below average in the division. Napoli won their first 5 league games under him and even guided them to the Shield's quarterfinal. I'm keen to continue the momentum, but I would need to adjust the squad a bit to suit my system.

The current squad has many good attacking players, on the contrary, the defensive side is lacking in quality despite the quantity. Because of that, strengthening the defensive side will be my priority. Knowing what Top 100 is, I need to be careful about our transfer management, unlike how I usually do in other game worlds (reckless and about 90% squad change in the 1st season, lol). Besides that, finding good youngsters is also on the list. It'll be hard in a game world like Top 100, but I am optimistic I could build Napoli on that.

Managing such a big club in a big game world is a big opportunity and also a big challenge for me. Hope I'll do well here, good luck to me (and to all). #ForzaNapoliSempre

Napoli have today signed serbian teenage star Stefan Tomovic.

He is one we've been monitoring for a while along with three or four others. We had a space open up, so now was the right time to make a move. He is playing top flight football in serbia and had a good eye for a goal from an advanced midfield role. He is only 19 so has lots of potential to become a very good player for this club and has been bought very much for the future. We've quite a few interesting youngsters now and are looking to add a couple more in the next couple of weeks as we free up squad places"

Napoli continue to defy their early season odds as they pulled of a another memorable win this time against one of the pre season favourites West Brom. Napoli had to do without in the influential pair of Nastasic and Moutinho, but dug in hard. Vidal came up with the winner with an expertly taken freekick, to move Mullans men up to second.

"6 wins from 7 is an excellent return, add to that our one defeat was against the league leaders and we've got to be pleased. Defensively we are doing well once again this season, whilst we are finding ways to score and spread the goals amongst the team. I'm mindful Bamford is due to depart, but we've not been reliant on him. Its still very early days, and we had a great start last season, so we are not getting too carried away. We've beat some great teams so far, so that gives us some great confidence that we can mix it up with the better teams in division 3. We put these points on the board and look to Thursday now and trying to add to them"

Napoli tonight host Zagreb as an early season of first versus second in division 3. Both sides have started the season in fine form and remain unbeaten. Napoli have no fresh injury or suspension concerns having rested their first team for the cup earlier in the week, whilst Moutinho and Matic are back in contention having missed Sundays win against Dnipro.

Zagreb have been freescoring during the opening 5 matches with Jiminez and Kramaric amongst the goals. Rongier who was a target for Napoli over the close season has also hit the ground running producing 4 assist in 5 games, and will be looking to pull the strings again. Last season the two clubs helped themselves to a win a piece in this fixture, so are quite evenly matched.

"its going to be an interesting game, we've only 8 players out of 50 not on transfer bans, which shows how much we are in transition. Zagreb have a very settled squad, and some top players for this level. We are thrilled with the start we've made and are on a 10 match unbeaten league run, with 6 straight wins. However we are not getting carried away. Bamford is our top scorer but is serving his last few days of his transfer ban before heading to Partizan. We will need to fill that void once he goes, with goals from the likes of Wood, Negredo ,Stindl and the incoming Vinicius.

We are still struggling at centre back with Nastacic still out, and have Doucoure in on an emergency loan. He will go back after tonights game to free up that squad slot.

Patrick Bamford may have agreed to join Partizan with that move set to be completed this weekend, but thats not stopped him bagging four goals in four games as Napoli beat Dnipro 1-0, to now stand alone in division 3 with a 100% start with 5 wins from 5. This see's the fallen Italian giants top of the table.

Its been a summer of change, with experienced heads, Moutinho, Vidal and Matic joining to give midfield a solid look, however 2 of the 3 missed the win against Dnipro due to fitness, which is testament to how far Napoli have come. The last few seasons its been a steep decline, and Manager Mullan has had a mammoth task to try and halt the slide. However the future is already looking brighter this season, despite it only being early days.

"We expected a period of transition for the first half of the season, our starting line up has 9 different players than the line up that ended last season. We've looked to build on last season which was very much a season of steadying the ship. We wanted to be hard to beat, and those foundations were built on being solid at the back. By having one of the divisions tightest defences we finished the season in a credible 12th. This season our focus is on trying to score more goals. We only found the net 33 times in 38 games last season, but already in the 5 games this season we have hit 10 goals, nearly a third of last seasons total. Bamford has been a big part of that scoring 40% of them. We have some options once he moves on with Stindl, Woods, Negredo and Vinicious looking to fight it out to lead the line. I will be looking for a couple of these to step up to plate to produce goals consistently. Its important the midfield also chip in, Costa and Moutinho are both off the mark, and thats a good sign"

"Defence is a slight concern, Nastacic is out for 6 games, and i dont think we can afford injuries in defence as statistically rating wise its one of the lowest in the division. We have brought Doucoure in on a short term loan, but he is only here for a couple of games as his parent club wants to use him in the youth cup. Bayern agreeing to loan us Foyth for the season, then selling him, has caused us a few issues. Lots of our transfer business was geared around him being here, so I was quite annoyed when that happened. We would of possibly not sold a couple of players had we known that a deal struck can be changed once agreed with no punishment. We live and learn, but on the whole I'm really pleased where we currently are at. I dont think we are playing at anymore than at 60% potential, which sets us up for an exciting season as we improve with continuity of squad"

Napoli tonight face Basel looking to keep their unbeaten start to season 16 in tack. In whats been a surprise turn around of fortune in some quarters, manager Mullan thinks the best is yet to come.

"Am I surprised by the start? No is the simple answer, we've improved by the week since I joined and we've had a really good summer in terms of our transfer business. I expect our best form to come in the second half of the season, once this group settles. Its been wholesale changes and it takes time to gel. We set a 15 point target from the first 10 games, and we've got 9 from the first 3 games, which is an excellent return. We have weaknesses in the certain areas, but we also have big strengths too, in particular in midfield. On our day, i believe we are match for anyone in this division. Last season we beat the teams that went up, were solid defensively, but struggled to score goals. Its the consistency we seek now, as does most teams. We've another tough game tonight against Basel. They have'nt started the season well, so we need to ensure their season does not start tonight against us. We will continue we our squad rotation policy, and will no doubt make 3 or 4 changes tonight from the side that beat Flamengo. I want to keep it fresh, I want us to be non predictable and I want to show my wealth of experience in building successful teams. I've won trophies and promotions at every team I've ever managed in the last 12 years. Sometimes I will do transfer deals others don't agree with, which appear i'm giving far more away than i'm getting. However there is always a plan and method behind such decisions. Its about winning games and trophies, for me, and not having a collection of stars or young talent which has the promise, but wins nothing. You can build the greatest squad ever, but if you have no silverware to show for it, in the end you've failed. Success has and always will be measured by results and achievements in my opinion. Napoli are coming back from some drastic management from previous managers. The squad I inherited was amongst the worse i've ever had. No youth set up, all the star players sold, literally no tradeable assets, yet playing in division 1 with a division 4 squad. No one wanted this job, it was a mammoth task, and still is. However little shoots of hope are appearing, we are on an 8 match unbeaten run, we've some really good players now who can do a job in division 3. We've 3 or 4 youth players with big futures, and the gap in ratings across 40 or so players is not a big gulf which allows us to rotate, but also creates good competition for places. We were given odds of 28-1 for promotion which is fair given how far this club has fallen, however regardless of others ruling us out, or failing to recognise the job being done here, I have strong belief in this squad. Its going to be tough, but my target is that top 6 and an opportunity of trying to get promoted this season. Our start has given us a great platform, we need to take each game as it comes and try and improve or learn from the last game. There are some excellent teams and managers in division 3, but we are up for the fight. No one is going to get an easy 3 points at Napoli this season. They need to be up for a scrap, and they need to earn it. Yes, we will lose games we should win, and win games perhaps we should lose, however we will go into every game with no fear and with the sole purpose of trying to win that match"

Napoli today beat off stiff competition to land Brazilian teenager Alencar Marquinhos. The young starlet already has Brazilian top division experience having featured for Sao Paulo both last season and also at the start of this season. He is highly rated in his native brazil and can play in that number 10 role supporting the main striker.

"When these new players come available, its a lottery with at times 30-40 clubs all chasing the signature. We've been patient with new players over the summer and waited for the right ones before we bid, but even then you only have a small percentage chance of securing the player. I'm delighted to bag Marquinhos, He is already making the right noises in Brazil at a big club, getting minutes on the pitch and has the perfect profile to improve and become a big player. Like with any young player, the potential is there, however that potential brings no guarantee's. He has only just turned 18 a couple of months ago, and this season in particular in Brazil will go a long way in seeing if he is the latest breakthrough star for the South American's. Here at Napoli, we let a few of our star youngsters go over the close season, to aid us in bringing some players who could impact the first team this season. It was always our intention to monitor the market this season, to see who came in and filled the void their exits created. Marquinhos fits that profile, and joins the likes of Clarkson, Arriagada, Burch, Mitoglou, Khadra and Joseph as prospects we believe will improve to the levels which has them impacting our first team squad. Its been the best transfer window we've had since I arrived, with us securing players for now and the future, which has ultimately seen us start the season in excellent form with 2 wins from 2"

Napoli started life without Rajkovic, with a 2-1 win against newly relegated Hamburg. Moutinho who was suspended for the Italian sides opener, came in for his debut and took 2 minutes to bag his first goal for the club with a trademark freekick. It was end to end stuff then, before Alario was sent off for Hamburg. However that spurned the Germans on who equalised through Sanchez. With the game heading for a draw, Vidal picked out Bamford who sent the travelling support wild with a fantastic winner in the last minute.

"its been a great start, and that was a big test for us against a side who have come down. We have taken last seasons great run towards the end into the new campaign and the team is currently bouncing with confidence. I've always said you won't see the best of us until the second half of the season, so to get 6 points from 6 on the board at the start is more than we could of possibly imagined. In Moutinho and Vidal we have 2 little magician's, despite their age who can unlock doors. They are key for us this season. We've another tough game next against Flamengo who are one of the favourites for promotion. They've started the season well also, so we will need to be at our very best if we are to get something from the game"

After a close season of much speculation, Napoli have finally parted with star keeper Rajkovic, with Fiorentina winning the race to sign the 25 year old. Rajkovic managed 15 clean sheets last season, and also won 8 man of the match awards, to help the Italian club to having once of the meanest defences in division 3. Rajkovic started this season as he ended last season with a man of the match performance against Chievo.

"We've said throughout the summer that every player has a valuation, we are a trading club, and we saw Rajkovic as our biggest current saleable asset. We had at least 10 clubs make offers enquiries over the summer, but none really ticked the boxes at that stage. We had internally decided to move on with Rajkovic as number 1 for the season despite bringing in Sepe. However last night we was offered a deal worth over £10 Million for the player, with us receiving 27 year old Russian international Roman Zobnin in exchange with cash our way. Zobnin is rated at 88, and we think still has some improvement in him. He is an established international player, who will add further strength in depth to our midfield which is already our strongest area of the side. We've added Moutinho, Mooy, Vidal and Matic already to that central area, and having a 5th player in there, will aid us through suspensions, fatigue and injuries."

Sepe and Kaminski will now fight out to be the clubs number one, with Sepe likely to take the mantle in the first instance given his higher rating. Sepe came in for a straight £7 million cash deal, which is now looking great business given he shared the 87 rating with Rajkovic, it sort of gives us an 88 rated central midfielder for free, who can impact the first team this season.

Tonao Rodrigues is also currently undergoing a medical, as he will swap Gremio for Italy, in a deal which see's O'hare go in the opposite direction. "We like the look of O'hare, but felt Tonao has a little more potential right now, so we've moved to secure his signature. We are also currently trying to get Roberts over the line but are in competition with Leverkusen for his signature, so that may or may not happen. We would like more cover in the full back positions and feel Roberts could improve over the next season or two to become a genuine first team option, we'll have to see how that ones goes, as we do have a potential back up option if that falls through. Either way once these deals are done, then the cheque book will be closed and there will be no more incomings or outgoings this season.

Napoli started the season as they ended last season, with a win and in form. They Italian side needed to come from behind against Chievo with new signing Wood coming off the bench to bag the winner, but on balance it was deserved, despite Rajkovic once again waltzing off with the man of the match.

"Its been a revolving door over the last few weeks, with a lot of player's coming and going. You expect the changes to cause disruption and its going to take at least half a season before we start seeing the results and consistency from making so many changes. To start the season with a win, gives everyone a boost. A point seperated Chievo and us last season, so it was always going to be a tight game. We have Hamburg next who have just come down and will be favourites to get the job done against us. They beat fellow relegated Lazio last night and kept a clean sheet, so I imagine they will be looking at us, as a winnable fixture. We will have some decisions to make regarding formation and personnel, what i like about our squad its very interchangeable we can set up in 3 or 4 different ways, and this has proved to be successful particularly last season. We have Moutinho back from suspension, so he will definitely come in. We then have decisions to make on the likes of Wood, Negredo, Mooy and Inui. Bamford is here for a few weeks yet, so do we utilise him? Or start the planning without him? He played yesterday, but there is no guarantee he starts Thursday given the scoring cameo from Wood. I've had a good look at Division 3 and the squads in there. There is some top top players lining up in there this season. However I think on our day we can beat anyone, and go into this season with our eyes wide open, on the prize of pushing for the top 6, and ultimately trying to get this team promoted. "

Napoli get their season underway against Chievo, but must do so without starman Moutinho (suspended) and Woods (undergoing medical. The Italian side have been in good form over pre-season but that will count for nothing once the game gets underway tonight. "I'm fully expecting a tough first third of the season. We have a lot of new players and its going to take time to gel. We've set ourself a target of 15 points from the first 10 games, which i think is achievable with a bit of luck. I fully expect us to show our best form over the last third of the season, so trying to stay in touch within the top 10 has to be the target. Its a pity Moutinho can't play tonight, but we have the added bonus that Bamford will be here for another month before he signs for Partizan. Whilst still at Napoli, we will utilise him, and he starts tonight. We've a full squad now, so all business is completed/agreed, and I dont forsee any more deals this season. Stats have us finishing mid table, but I genuinely feel we can do better than that. No one is really looking at Napoli and thinking promotion, danger team. Im okay with that, as it takes all the pressure off us. As a manager i'm not here to make the numbers up I want to win things, and that starts tonight with Chievo. We have to win matches like this if we are serious about promotion. They've a very settled team, and have that slight advantage going into the match. Statistically we have the lowest rated defence in division 3, but i'm hoping we compensate for that by being strong in midfield and attack."

Whilst Chile was being hit with Brereton-Diaz mania over the summer as the English born striker was the unlikely hero of the Copa America for the South American's, with a goal, a couple of assist and now the face of Pepsi, Napoli were quietly working away in the background to bag what many in Chile believe could be the next superstar off their conveyor belt.

Luciano Arriagada is a 19 year old striker, who like Brereton went to the Copa America and managed to stay off the Radar due to the hype of having an English born striker leading the attack, against the likes of Argentina and Brazil. Plying his trade for Colo Colo in Chile, the flying teenager has already been amongst the goals in his handful of first team games for the Chilean side, so much so, he is now a full international.

"I think there is some good young players in Chile right now, and although its never been a breeding ground for superstar after superstar, Chile has produced the Likes of Vidal and Sanchez, who have played and won a lot at the very highest level. We currently have Brereton at the club, although he has agreed a transfer to Dnipro, and Vidal which will help Arriagada settle in. With many clubs and Football associations refusing to release their players for September's internationals due to the red country status and potential quarantine, Arriagada is likely to get even more full international minutes to add to the ones he managed at the Copa America. Every young player carries a risk when you sign them, as you are weighing up the likely improvements against the squad space. I do like this kid, I think he has great potential to fly up the ratings and catch the eye of some of Europe,s biggest clubs. Chile is very much in a transition looking for new hero's with the old guard very much at the end of their careers. When I look at Brereton three years older and the hype that's gathering traction around him, it gives me real confidence that we are in a great place with Arriagada, as they are fighting out between themselves to be the new main man up front for Chile. Brereton won't play in Septembers internationals due to the EFL's domestic ban on players, going to red countries. This really gives Arriagada a fantastic opportunity to stake a claim to be Chile's number 1 striker."

After three seasons of decline the Chairman of Napoli, now want's his side to focus on getting back up through the divisions. Napoli had been victims of asset stripping by previous management which left them with a squad value of less than £70 Million across 50 players and sitting 20 points adrift at the bottom of Division 1. Having appointed Glen Mullan when rock bottom of Division 1, with a Division 4/5 squad, it was inevitable the team would suffer a second relegation. Last season that slide down the divisions came to a halt, as the club managed a 12th place finish in division 3.

"Its been the best close season transfer activity we've has in a number of season's. We are actually trading for players who can come in and impact the first team, and increase our overall starting 11's rating. We go back three seasons, and we contacted most of the league asking the question if they had anyone they would trade for any of our players. 90% of the time it was either no response or a flat no, given the players we had at our disposal. We've had to be patient, we've had to try and find players from outside of the top 100 clubs and internal deals we managed to get over the line, we had to give away what was remaining of our best players in most cases taking 2 or 3 in return who we could potentially trade later. To bring in the likes of Vidal, Moutinho, Matic, Stindl and Costa this window is a clear statement from us, that we are slowly on our way back. The squad is starting to take shape, and we have to believe we can improve on 12th and push into play-off contention given the new players that have arrived. There is no guarantee's, a team takes time to gel, you need a bit of luck suspension/injury wise and you need to be able to manage the squads fitness. The players we have brought in are very experienced, and are the wrong side of 30. However we need to look at our surroundings. We are in division 3, and our priority was to stabilise the club, and then kick it on again. We have 35 players 25 or under, this shows we have implemented succession planning when building this squad. Yes, many of the under 25's are not going to rip up tree's in the future, but are still assets that can do a job for us, or another club when we ultimately have to trade again.

There is an air of optimism around the place, we still have Erlinc, Brereton and Bamford due to leave in pre-agreed deals. They are being replaced by Wood and Vinicius, which is good business for us given that Moutinho for example arrived as part of the Bamford sale too. I'm excited by a few of our young players too, I think Leighton Clarkson is going to become a massive asset for us, as are Arriagada, Burch, Luquinha and Joseph. Again when we've looked at what young players we bring in, its been a little more calculated, we've done our homework, highlighted the target and in these lads cases, have gone external and bought without getting into the bidding war/lottery. Time will tell, like with any youngster if they can push on, but we are confident we have some great potential here, which over the next 12 months we are going to be getting the messages asking for their availability.

Can we make the top 6 and ultimately get promoted?????? I think 20 managers will start off on Sunday hoping to get promoted regardless of their chairman's expectations. We have three strong teams coming down from Division 2, who will all fancy their chances of going back up. We've some impressive looking squads coming up from Division 4, on a high, in the habit of winning who will be looking for back to back promotions. Then we have the manager merry go around with new managers taking the reigns at new clubs, looking to make an impact. That's before we look at the established squads of West Brom, Sporting etc. Who should be up there pushing from the first ball kicked. Here at Napoli, we are certainly in the strongest position we've been in, since I arrived. We have some real quality in the middle of the park, and decent attacking options. Last season we just could not score goals and had one of the worse goal returns in the division. I'm hoping we have addressed that a little with the business we have done. Defensively we do look low on ratings, but this is the same defence which last season managed 14 clean sheets and finished the 4th best in Division 3, so I'm not overly worried on that front, and do have quite a number of potential improvers who could force their way into the back four next season.

On the whole, there is not much gulf in class from one player to another in our squad, we have players who if they get a plus 1 or plus 2, are suddenly starters, they are much closer to our first 11, than perhaps other clubs have with their squad players. I do think this will come into play a little this season, especially managing the fitness side of our squad. We will go into the weekends fixtures optimistic of a top 6 finish, we will need to show we've improved by 6 positions with our summer activity, but that's 6 points from last seasons total. Can this team win 2 more games than they did last season? 100% the squads best 5 players were not here last season, so on that basis I fully expect us to be hard to beat and to be one of the teams in that promotion mix.

Napoli have confirmed all their transfer business is complete bar the completion of two pre-agreed deals which will see Vincius and Wood come in, with Bamford, Brereton and Erlic departing. "I've been as busy as I can ever remember of SM in the 13 years I have been a manager. I've spent many hours looking at players, speaking with Managers, Looking at the domino affect if I let this player go, or that player whilst trying to balance our incomings so we retain the flexibility we enjoyed last season in terms of being able to change formations successfully with the personnel we had at our disposal. We've had to make some big big decisions by letting the likes of Bamford, Milner and Philips move on. I think in Bamford we had a striker capable of getting 15 goals plus next season if we could bring in the players who can pick out the passes and create chances. The downside, those type of players come at a premium, no-one wants to part with their higher rated players, or those that will part with a 33, 34, 35 year old player on the decline want from you your highest rated players and best prospects in terms of rating and value increases. On the other side of the coin we've had approaches from half the league for our best players, but then when you engage with certain Managers their opening statement is for example "What do you want for Bamford?" You then tell them you are looking for and he offers you two 29yr old 86/87 rated players on the decline and has zero interest in parting with any of his own assets. I find that rather strange that they think you've been dropped off from Mars and are stupid enough to say okay. We've had this all pre-season with Rajkovic, lots of offers for our player of the year, who was arguably the most consistent in division 3, with 14 clean sheets, 8 Man of the matches and is expected to move the French Champions in real life to become their number 1. We are willing to sacrifice our best player, knowing it would leave us weaker in that department, with his replacement an 85 keeper, yet we are being offered players who would not get near our match day squad, have no prospects of rising, and to be honest, no-body else wants them. Why other managers even think that's a proposal is beyond me. We did have a deal in principal for Rajkovic with Fernandinho, however it was reliant on Hamburg selling their keeper, buying a striker and it rumbled on for weeks. It did hinder us on possible other opportunities to use Rajkovic in a 2 for 1 deal in other deals. In the end Hamburg pulled out of the deal, leaving us a little frustrated although thankfully we had already started to plan around that deal not happening. We moved quickly to agreed deals for Vidal, Moutinho and Matic, which were agreed quickly with managers who are always decisive and always balance the deal so both parties are happy with the outcome. What this pre-season has taught us in Top 100, is which managers you want to deal with, and which one's its pointless engaging with. I'd like to think my approach of, Everyone is for sale, gives the other manager a chance of securing the player, providing what he is offering is balanced and fair. Too many managers will hoard players waiting for them to improve, and will prey on weaker managers by trying to steal their best players with shocking proposals. I've seen a number of deals go through already this close season which just don't make sense. I think other the last few years Napoli have been subjected to losing all its best players by poor management. I know from what I inherited 3 seasons ago, to now, Napoli are suddenly looking at lot brighter. We have a really good starting line up now for Division 3 brimming with experience and decent ratings. However we have not just gone out and signed mid 30 players for short term success, we actually also have 36 players aged 25 or under with lots of improvement in them ensuring the team can continue to evolve and improve, and not find themselves 2 seasons from now with half the squad retired with no assets, and players on the decline. I genuinely fear for teams who have been totally asset stripped. Having witnessed it first hand at Napoli, it leaves you very much just making the numbers up. You don't get any recognition for the work you are doing or have done. People are quite short sighted and judge on trophies and promotions. This was very evident in applications I put in for other jobs over the close season, I felt my case was strong especially after taking on the team no one wanted, which was in fact my route into Top100. I was approached to take the job on, for my sins I had never even heard of the world, and certainly did not apply to join it, but took the gig on. At that time, I did not realise that any player with a pulse was pretty much snapped up or i'd be looking around obscure leagues for sub 80 rated players which may improve in 3 or 4 years. Everyone had been sold and I had 50 players with a value of £65 Million. I had nearly £600 Million in the bank, but cash is useless in this world. My best player had a rating of 88, second best 86 and then everyone else was 85 or lower. I had to google some of my squad, because I'd never heard of them, and I quickly realised I'd not be able to give them away. Fast forward three seasons Napoli finished 12th in Division 3, 4th Best defence, players people suddenly want, and going into season 16th I think could spring a surprise in the promotion stakes. I've read a number of reviews, watched a number of Video's and Napoli don't even get a mention. It will be interesting this season, those who suddenly start taking about Napoli, after I was overlooked for all these other clubs which became available at the end of season 15. I have great confidence in my own Manager ability. 13 years is a long time playing soccer manager, my trophy haul is quite large and my SM Diety is 658. Given I've not had a million clubs in that time either or played in hundreds of worlds, I'm more than confident that I more than match up with the managers in this game world and time will prove this especially when I get Napoli promoted. I strongly believe I'm in a very small percentage in this world capable of achieving that, from the starting block I had. I think looking at my squad now, a bigger percentage would fancy their chances of getting Napoli up, I just know that same percentage could not have built this team and would of walked away within months of taking up the position. Getting teams promoted is the easy part, keeping them up is the hard part. So right now although we've improved, had a high turnover of players this window, realistically I'm looking to improve on 12th with me targeting an 8th Place finish next season. Napoli right now, are not good enough for Division 2. Any promotion this season gives you the opportunity to jump ship for a better club, but leaves Napoli competing in a division 2 with a division 3 squad. Someone else gets the Napoli job, gets relegated, destroys any planning you put in place and the season after they become a division 4 club, hence my earlier comments about people being short sighted regarding how success is measured.

In what's been a flurry of activity over the last few days at Napoli, the latest key capture is experienced central midfielder Matic, who becomes the third player to swap Partizan for Napoli in this window, following the weekends capture of Moutinho and Vinicius. "Matic is one we had our eye on for a few days, but took our time in making the approach as we wanted to weigh up our options regarding Linetty who has gone the other way. Interest and bids from other clubs, lead us to accelerate discussions and get the deal over the line. Matic brings experience and will be in there with Vidal and Moutinho giving us some really quality both defensively and also in terms of creativity. In the last 3 days 16 player have left Napoli with 13 arriving, that's a big turnover and it's going to take a while for these to bed in. It's always a gamble when you change the squad so much, however I took the decision to make wholesale changes now, than to make constant changes throughout the season. I think this time tomorrow all our business will be complete bar possibly the departure of Rajkovic which still hangs in the balance"

Since the last ball of the season was kicked by Napoli, the Italian club have very busy in the transfer market. Here we review the teams options and changes going into the new season.

Goalkeepers.

Napoli brought in Belgium international Kaminski towards the end of the season, with the Manager believing he has the potential to become number one with a slight rating tweak, given he is very much in and around the Belgium squad. Rajkovic is the clubs current number 1 and has been subject of a lot of interest from a number of clubs. Last season he managed 14 clean sheets and 8 Man of the matches to be the clubs most consistent performer. IRL Lille the French Champions have made a move to make him their number 1 keeper, however these is a bit messy, due to an illegal approach. This is expected to rumble on until the window close, however if a move does go through then Rajkovic is likely to be getting a rating incease. It is believed Napoli are still open to a sale, but this has been further complicated after they let young Cerofolini leave yesterday as part of the deal which brought promising defensive midfielder Pantaleao. Napoli will be on the look out for another keeper, before they consider letting Rajkovic go.

Defenders

Napoli's defence was what their season was built on last season. Despite finishing 12th in the league, the club had the fourth best defensive record in division 3 conceding just 38 Goals. What was more incredible is the defence was marshalled by O'Connell 87, Williams, 85, Tymchyk 83 and Moreno 86. Since the end of the season, Phillips and Tymchyk have move on, however the club as brought in Gajic 85, Nastasic 87 and have also agreed to loan Foyth from Bayern, which on paper improves the defensive rating on last season. Napoli have a number of young players who play central defence who they are hopeful can continue to improve to force their way into the team, this includes the likes of Andersen who had a decent Euro's for Denmark.

Midfield

Last season the team rotated between Milner 90, Linnety 88, Herrera 89 and Santamaria in the centre of the park. Bar Linnetty the other three have left the club over the last 24 hours in a surprising move. The Manager went on record that he was looking for one CM this close season, but through trading this number increased to three. In as replacements come Vidal 91 and Moutinho 91, Mooy 87 and Pantaleao. On paper this looks very shrewd business with the midfield collective rating increasing to give the midfield a very strong look for Division 3.

Attack

Scoring goals has been the clubs biggest issue since Mullan took the reigns 3 seasons ago. Last season's top scorer was Herrera from Midfield with just 8 goals, so this is an area that needed to be addressed. The club have sold star player Bamford 89 to Partizan, he moved across as part of the deal which saw Moutinho join the club. However also joining in that deal is Vinicius who has an excellent scoring record in Portugal and although struggled for regular at Spurs whilst on loan last season is still at a decent age and with a rating of 87, He already has a better rating than the other strikers that were already at Napoli prior to the transfer merry go around. Napoli have agreed to let talented star youngster Brereton Diaz 82 leave, despite him due a rise and big clubs circling to take him from Blackburn in real life. He along with talented young defender Erlinc have joined Dnipro who have made the play-off final, in a deal which will see Chris Wood 88 join Napoli. This deal was the catalyst to letting Bamford go, as Mullan wanted a minimum 88 striker to lead his attack next season. Napoli have also brought in Douglas Costa 89, rated, hoping his creativity can lead to more goals. It was the original intention that Costa and Willan 89 would provide the ammunition for the forwards this season. However Willian was then sold on Sunday, heading to Wolfsburg in a deal which sees Stindl 90 come in the opposite direction. Stindl has come at quite a price with Milner and talented young brazilian Helinho also being part of that deal. However on the back of Bamfords 89 departure, Napoli now see themselves with a higher rated striker and a very able back up in Wood, and also Inui 87 who joined towards the end of last season.

Other key transfers.

Napoli have also added exciting youngsters Joseph, Babi, Khadra, Olaru, Roberts and Garcia. Going into the new season despite signing quite a few veterans, Napoli only have 15 players over the age of 25, and statistically the squads rating has increased through the transfer activity carried out so far.

Managers view

I'm thrilled with the business we've done. Three seasons ago we could not trade with Managed clubs, as quite frankly we had nothing to trade with. Its been a slow painful rebuild with a high turnover of players to try and get our squad rating and value up, so we can actually compete. The squad when I came would of struggled in Division 5 and had been broken up to the extent, that it was going to take a long time before it was realistically going to be able to compete again. I think last season, we over achieved in fact many were tipping is for a third successive relegation. However we stuck at it and have traded ourselves into a decent position going into next season. Some excellent sides of come up from division 4, whilst some top squads have been relegated from Division 2. We are under no illusions that next season will be one of trying to survive again. However last season we finished just 6 points outside the play off zone, and beat the sides who got promoted. That tells me we are on a bit of a journey but we are beginning to benefit from the work being put in. From a personal point of view I want to push for a top 10 finish next season, and if we can be in and around things towards the last few weeks of the season, then I do not see any reason why we can't surprise one or two, and make a push for the play offs. I think there is goals in this team, and there is certainly a lot of experienced heads. I'd like another centre midfielder and 87 plus CB, however at this stage it's unlikely we will be able to add those players, as we've run out of tradeable options/assets for now."

Napoli tonight confirmed, Bamford will be sold when his transfer ban is up, after a host of enquiries came in over the weekend. "He is our biggest asset, and will rise again in ratings. We were looking to build around him this season, however when teams with far more assets than us come calling we have to consider the short term goal of the team. We've been offered some good 2 for 1's for him. Our stipulation was one needed to be a FC, who can play in our first 11, whilst the other was a MC who can also make our first 11. We've had 3 clubs meet this valuation. Other players who may also depart before the season start include Brereton Diaz. Its been a crazy 24 hours with clubs waking up to what we saw when we signed him. He has taken Chile by storm and has also joined Neymar and Beckham as Pepsi cola's latest pin up boy, as he has just done an advert. He is due a nice rise on the next update, and if the bih move happens IRL with Leeds and Sevilla both registering interest he could really take off. Tobias may also move on with a few clubs in for him, but at this stage we want first team players and wont entertain any more youth players. Its going to ge a busy close season.

Napoli are pleased to announce Manager Glen Mullan has signed a new deal with the club. We was aware that other opportunities may come his way, given the steadying of the ship here over the last 3 seasons. We have a real feeling of optimism as this season closes, with us already planning for next season. The fans have had to endure some difficult times in recent times as the club has tried to recover from some poor previous management appointments, and the sale of our best players.

Glen Mullan said "I've had a long think about the future, its been really tough here, and there was some exciting jobs out there which I was overlooked for. I think the job I've had here is massively underestimated, in terms of what we have achieved from our starting block. This club was very much the one no-one wanted, it had no players of value, no assets to realistically trade and the rot had well set in. I strongly believe it now has a pulse. We've beaten the best teams in the division this season, who have far more riches in players at their disposal than we have. We have shifted out over 50 players in my time here and replaced with a better core, to the extent, we are now getting those messages from other clubs wanting some of the players we have. When I first came, it was no messages, or if we enquired it was a polite "I don't see anyone of interest". My job now is to build on this season, and try and get more stability in our squad. Staying up next season is still the target. We are a couple of season's away from being able to seriously mount a promotion challenge, and to be honest with the squad we have, the team is just not geared up for Division 2 football. I've signed on for another season to continue that organic growth and improvement, and will be here for at least that duration. We are still looking to do one or two deals, which are very complicated at present, as they are reliant of other managers deals on other players. They don't want to let certain targets leave unless they can agree deals on other players from other clubs. We are sort of waiting for that Domino affect for these deals to progress. We are still desperate to add a centre midfielder, and i'm mindful this is going to cost us some of our assets. No player is ever off the table, at any club I have managed over the last 13 years in Soccer Manager. I do believe some will hold on to players regardless of bids, without looking at the bigger picture or how that may hinder progress for their own clubs. I think my CV in soccer manager is excellent, I've won lots and lots of trophies and built some fantastic teams from nothing. I will always have a plan B, C and D and find the way to get the best out of what is available to me."