Hellas Verona's reputation as a "yo-yo club" in Italy continued as they were immediately relegated back down to Serie B. Much like a couple of years ago, they weren't even close to achieving safety. In fact, they finished even further adrift (13 points) than when they propped up the table for almost the entire season in 2015/16 and that has to be a concern for their fans.
Verona's business in the summer transfer market looked good on paper but didn't flourish in practice. They tried to make a marquee signing in the form of the ageing and erratic Antonio Cassano but, true to form, he decided to suddenly announce his retirement instead. Martin Caceres seemed a quality addition to the defence but he already had an agreement to join Lazio in January and only played half the season. Alessio Cerci made the permanent return to Italy after loan spells at Milan and Genoa but he has never recaptured the sparkling form he had at Torino.
Regarding their season overall, there isn't a lot to say about the Gialloblu other than they were pretty awful throughout. Unlike bottom club Benevento, there was no real romance about Hellas Verona. They played poor football - only Sassuolo scored fewer goals than them - and their manager became increasingly unlikable. Despite massive protests from the supporters, Fabio Pecchia refused to resign and how he managed to last the entire season without being sacked is anyone's guess.
Pecchia had never operated at this level as a head coach and he may be better suited to Serie B where Verona could again be among the favourites to return to the top flight. A new strategy on staying in Serie A is certainly needed if the time comes again.
