Having had to duck out the Nottm For Feb challenge, due to PC playing up, thought I would make a suggestion for next challenge.

Napoli, currently in Serie C, have a new chairman in real life, so should be decent transfer funds, and big rep club should help getting loan players in, they still attract hugh crowds also.

Can we get them back into Serie A where they belong?

Good call, i ducked out of the Forest one as i made a real mess of it!!! would like to start a new challenge to redeem myself

A strong smell of fresh coffee wafts along the corridors of Napoli's San Paolo stadium, past the photos and trophies of more successful days.
"Just savour this aroma," says Giuseppe in the club kitchen, carefully pouring four small cups.
There is a murmur of approval from the club coaches and managers standing around the table, suddenly oblivious to the chanting crowds outside.
This is less of a pre-match ritual, more a religious rite. Giuseppe holds up the coffee pot.
"There's 20 years of history in here," he says, tapping the lid. "Maradona drank from it, and we haven't cleaned it since."

Back in the 1980s, Diego Maradona catapulted Napoli football club into the limelight and on to win numerous league and championship titles.
The team became a beacon of success amidst the grinding poverty of southern Italy.
But the dream finally ended this summer when Napoli Calcio was declared bankrupt with debts of over 70 million euros, many pointing the finger at mafia entanglements.
After losing a bitter legal battle to avoid relegation, Napoli now finds itself flailing in the country's third division, Serie C.

Films to football

The man promising Napoli's renaissance pushes his cup forward for a drop more of the hallowed golden era.
Aurelio de Laurentiis is a celebrated film producer with a passion for southern Italy.
He bought Napoli football club this summer, renamed it "Napoli Soccer", and set it up in 15 days to be ready for the start of the season.
His strategy is to invest in a young squad of players and to use his unique experience from the movie business.
"Selling rights is something I can do left-handed. I can get Sky and Murdoch on the phone like that..." He clicks his fingers.
"I understand the importance of serving our nine million Napoli fans worldwide and running this operation like a successful company."
He leans forward confidentially. "I want to create a strong symbol of this city. It's the only way to improve the depressed south of our country."
The businessman suddenly turns movie director.
"For me, Naples represents the life. My father was from Naples, my mother was from the north of Italy. Only in my father's house were the tomatoes really red.
"All cities in Italy are black and white, only Naples is in colour."

Mafia war

Life in Naples is more colourful than usual right now, but not in a good way.
In the grip of a bloody mafia turf war, daily shootings have become unremarkable, and rising unemployment inescapable.
For many fans living with these problems in the impoverished Neapolitan suburbs, their team's relegation was the last straw.
"I felt so bad when our team went down into Serie C," said Alexander watching the game.
"You can't understand...it was like torture playing these tiny teams away at village stadiums. When the ball goes out, kids in the park kick it back...that hurts."
His friend Raffaele nods. "The only thing that can make us forget the problems of our city, and the problems with mafia killings right now is our team," he says.
"I have no job here, none of us do ... we live for Sundays to try and forget everything."
Gennaro, who has supported Naples all his life, says: "We're really at the bottom now. At least now the only way is up."
Neapolitans are not only banking on Mr De Laurentiis to restore their pride but also their earnings.
Outside the stadium, the stalls of blue and white Napoli memorabilia are deserted, racks of scarves flap forlornly in the wind.
"We estimate that when Napoli is playing in the first division, 1m euros are pumped into the local black economy every Sunday," says Il Mattino's football correspondent Paolo Barbuto.
"That's for people doing non-official jobs like finding car park spaces, selling tickets and scarves," he explains.
"Now imagine that in Serie C, Napoli loses 1m euros every Sunday.
"What do those people do? They are trying to earn that money in other ways...not legal ways. There's more crime around here now."
Fervent fans
Napoli may be at the bottom, but it has not lost the intensity of its following.
Up to 30,000 fans still religiously come to the stadium.
Although the singing and cheering is decidedly muted, this home crowd is larger than the turnout at some first division games.
"Life for the fans isn't any worse because Napoli is in Serie C," says Mr Barbuto.
"When Maradona was playing and Napoli was winning, the problems of this city were the same. There was still mafia, there was still poverty.
"Today without any football glory to talk of, or hide behind, all we see is the pain. Soccer is a bandage."
But with so much violence and suffering right now in Naples, everyone wants the feel-good football bandage back.
As the new club president, Mr De Laurentiis drives away from the stadium, a sea of faces press up to his car window.
"Take us back to Serie A, take us back to Serie A," they chant.

Not sure what the post above is all about,
but who are the star players at Napoli for this FM2005 game challenge?

Roberto Sosa looks about the only half decent player. Gatti in midfield aint to bad, oh and Toledo is ok.

Gonna be a bleedin hard challenge if you ask me.

And another thing, if your thinking about going down the obligatory "Adu" route, remember than in Italy you are only allowed 2 non-EU players, and you already have 2 from the start!

Have started my challenge off, as Kev says. not much to work with, but some cash to spend, almost £1m at start.

I offloaded one of my foreigners, a Brazilian who was on loan.

Signed up a couple of freebies, Mutiu, Luis Cembranos and Giampero Maini.
Aswell and Luznhy and Rinald to bolster central defence. Young Pozzi on loan is a class striker, I also signed Majoros and Marquinhos from PSV. Plus 2 young Scandinavians for GK and DL.

So far so good, won first 6 league games, conceding only 1 goal, and into 2nd round of the cup.

Starting my FM game Napoli tonight.

Fingers crossed for success.

Gatti in midfield I like.

Yet to sign anyone new, but unbeaten in pre season games.

Started off poo but have picked up now. Into second place behind Benerveno or summat.

All off the top of my head here:

GK Beliglio????
DR Accursi
DL Mora
DC Ignaffo
DC Bogarde (free transfer, recommended)
MR Toledo
ML Fernando (free transfer, recommended)
MC Gatti
MC Montervino
FW Pozzi
FW Sosa

Two front men are goal machines!

Top of the league at Christmas.

GK Balardi
DR Porrini
DL Savino
DC Scariato
DC Bogarde (free transfer, recommended)
MR Toledo
ML Dani (free transfer, recommended - more a AMC though)
MC Gatti
MC Montervino
FW Varricchio
FW Sosa

Nicola Corrent MC is super sub,
despite Nicola being a girls name!

Just finished first season and it went very well indeed

Won Serie C1/B
Serie C Cup Winner
C1 Super Cup Winner
Italian Cup Group Stage

Signed loads of new players such as, Redondo, Van Vossen, Dani, Andre Cruz, Bogarde, Witschge, Marquinhos, Cembranos.

Arriving in the summer Batistuta and Calaio. All Set for the attack on serie B. BRING IT ON!!

Promoted in first season. Just started to pick up pace in Serie B.

My "kind of" first choice team:

GK Belardi
DR Accursi / Jorginho
DL Moretti / Mora
DC Bogarde
DC Scarlato
MR Montervino / Limbersky
ML Fernando / Adu
MC Trond Anderson / Selim Benachour (two decent signings)
MC Gatti / Morten Weighorst
FW Salvatore Bruno (recommended)
FW Sosa / Davide Matteini

Will update again soon.

Promoted in first season. Just started to pick up pace in Serie B too.

Squad a bit thread bare. Time to freshen things up a bit.

Is it worth me starting this FM05 challenge,
or will there be a new one set up for April ?