Chievo surprised everyone last season with a top half finish and there was plenty of optimism going into this campaign. That was heightened by a shock opening day victory over Inter Milan which allowed the supporters to dare to dream of perhaps a push for a European qualification bid but, ultimately, it wasn't to be. Chievo did win four out of their first seven games but, whenever it looked like the Flying Donkeys were ready to soar, they'd be shot back down to earth with a poor run of results. Four wins from six matches before the Christmas period was followed by five consecutive defeats either side of the new year. Another four wins from seven from late January to mid-March secured their safety with plenty of time to spare which had its obvious positives but hidden negatives. The players simply switched off thinking that their jobs were done and Rolando Maran couldn't get anything more out of them. They lost seven of their last ten games during the run-in and some of them were very heavy defeats. Indeed, Chievo have traditionally been a very miserly side but they conceded far more goals than they did last season whilst scoring the exact same amount. Valter Birsa remained their best creative outlet from midfield. Roberto Inglese had a breakout season with 10 league goals up front whilst Sergio Pellissier also chipped in with 9 of his own, showing he could still contribute at the ripe old age of 38. The big question for Chievo is how much more can Maran contribute as manager? It appears he may well have taken the club as far as he could last season and he won't want to tarnish his work by staying past his sell-by date.
