The season of Bari was far below expectations, they have fluctuated in mid-table without ever being able to make the quantum leap that was expected and that would have enabled them to reach the playoffs...a featureless league they ended in 12th position, 7 points below the playoff zone. Last year they had reached the playoffs being surprisingly eliminated in the preliminary round and in this season it was expected a further improvement. Once again the club made a sumptuous transfer campaign, both outbound and inbound, many important players left such as Rosina, Sansone, Dezi and Defendi, but were well replaced with players of more or less the same level, beginning from fantasista Franco Brienza, talented forward Gaetano Monachello, experienced defenders like Vangelis Moras, Mattia Cassani and Fabio Daprelà, but was especially the midfield to have been revolutionated and strengthened with the arrivals of Albanian international Migjen Basha, Brazilian Raphael Martinho, winger Federico Furlan and former Carpi Matteo Fedele. Moreover the club decided to appoint as new coach former Frosinone Roberto Stellone, able to win two consecutive promotions with the canaries, from Lega Pro to Serie A. There seemed to be all the components for a season in the top positions, while things didn't work right from the start, Stellone lasted on the Apulian bench only 13 rounds in which he collected just 16 points. He was replaced by a very experienced coach like Stefano Colantuono. The former Atalanta gaffer switched from the 4-4-2 system of play of his predecessor to a braver 4-3-3, but results didn't change much...the team had a very wavering trend, some excellent performances were followed by unexpected defeats, In particular, the cockerels alternated wins at home and defeats away from the San Nicola (in the end they collected only 2 away victories and 11 defeats!). The blame for this disappointing year can be definitely laid on the coaches who have not unraveled the key to the problem, but also to the many changes that in the last years the club is making, the new coaches have always to deal with several new arrivals with the consequent difficulty of having to create a group in few weeks. Also many of the purchases have been very experienced players far beyond thirty, which means they either come with a precarious physical condition or are more easily injured. This happened with former Italian international Cassani, but also with former Roma Greco (who arrived in January and never played!), Morleo and Moras, but especially with Franco Brienza who missed the last part of the season leaving a big void since, until that moment, he had been by far the best player. Moreover some key players underperformed, especially in attack, players such as Floro Flores and Galano, who arrived in January didn't give a good contribution, as well as centre-forward Riccardo Maniero who last year scored 13 goals and this season only 6.
