Pioli is the right man for the job and should be given a chance next season.

Fiorentina under Stefano Pioli has been solid but not spectacular. However, it’d be foolish to let him leave so soon. This season has been an incredibly emotional one in which the players and staff seem to have a great bond. At the center of that is Pioli.

The former Lazio and Inter coach only has a year on his current deal left and has guided The Viola to 8th place in Serie A. This is around about what was expected if not slightly better. But, given the mass turnover at the club, it would have been a real shock if the club were to match the fourth and fifth places in recent seasons.

Photo by Emilio Andreoli/Getty Images

Over the last year or so the core of the Fiorentina team has gone. Borja Valero, Gonzalo Rodriguez, Matias Vecino, Federico Bernardeschi, Nikola Kalinic all left over the summer. These were no ordinary squad player, all were pretty much automatic names on the team sheet. It’s been Pioli’s job to see through a transition period. The current Fiorentina squad is heavily centered around youth. Cyril Thereau is the only Viola player over thirty and the average age of Pantaleo Corvino’s transfers in the 17/18 have been 22 years of age.

Fiorentina is sadly a selling club. If Napoli were to come in with a €70 offer for Federico Chiesa there isn’t really much the club can do about it. This make’s Pioli’s job even harder, to build a new team he needs his best players. This season Chiesa, Jordan Veretout, Giovanni Simeone and German Pezzella were The Viola’s four best players this year. All four will no doubt have admires from clubs with higher wage budgets and more money to spend. If Pioli can have a team next year with all four of those players and a bit more could easily be challenging to the top six spots.

As mentioned, the success of the club hinges on who comes into the club. Strength in depth has been a real problem for Pioli this year. Gil Dias, Valentin Eysseric, Diego Falcinelli, Sebastian Christoforo and Cyril Thereau have all not proved their worth. The club is seriously lacking someone to come off the bench and change the game. While players like Josip Ilicic had his faults he was a player capable of doing this. He’s gone on to be a very good player for Atalanta and when you compare him to Eysseric, well there isn’t much of a comparison.

What is also missing from the team is pace. Not since Christian Tello has the club had a player with genuine speed. While Tello wasn’t an amazing player granted, players with pace are a huge asset to teams. The club needs players who especially on the counter can get the ball from one box to the other in an instant. These types of players are enormously important away from home and it’s something that Pioli has to ask Corvino for next season.

Patience isn’t a word often used in football, especially when it comes to managers. However, the board would be unwise to foolishly sack Pioli when he has only begun his journey in building his team. Given the right tools, Pioli could be a success for years to come.

let us know what you think in the poll and comment’s and feel free to tell me how wrong I am.