Over the past few years, Chievo have been a model of consistency in comfortably avoiding relegation and finishing around mid-table. The fact that they've ended up one position higher than last season would suggest a similar story but it was far from plain sailing for the Flying Donkeys.
Rolando Maran's men actually started the campaign very well with just two defeats from their first nine matches and they were as high as 9th place by the end of November. However, a 5-0 humiliation at Inter Milan triggered a huge downturn in fortunes for Chievo as they picked up just two points from 10 games between early December and mid-February.
In years gone by, the Flying Donkeys have always seemed to pick up results just when it looked like they were getting dragged into trouble but that trait appeared to have gone and a 4-1 defeat to Roma left them in the relegation zone with just three games left to play.
Maran was let go and club legend and former captain Lorenzo D'Anna took charge for the run-in with the daunting task of getting them out of the bottom three. He couldn't have achieved it in much better fashion by winning all three of his games at the helm. Was it beginners luck or does he have the Midas touch?
There weren't many standout performers for Chievo this season but, without Roberto Inglese's finishing, they may well have been relegated. It seems unlikely that he'll be at the club next season so they'll need to replace his goals and Manuel Pucciarelli certainly wasn't the answer. Young Polish striker Mariusz Stepinski turned out to be a better recruit and he showed plenty of promise with some fine cameos from the bench. He has been signed on a permanent basis now but the Flying Donkeys will need more investment if they are to avoid another near-disaster like this season.
