Torino's main aim having come up as runners-up from Serie B was to maintain their newly acquired top flight status. They managed to achieve that goal by finishing seven points clear of the relegation zone but there will be some minor disappointment for the club. Giampiero Ventura did some good business in the transfer market with experienced Serie A campaigners like Jean-Francois Gillet, Matteo Brighi, Mario Santana, Alessandro Gazzi and Riccardo Meggiorini joining to add nous to the squad. There was also the purchase of the talented but unpredictable Alessio Cerci, from Fiorentina. That particular piece of business proved to be inspired as Cerci was absolutely outstanding for most of the season. Indeed, Torino started the campaign well and Ventura stuck by his unconventional but trusted 4-2-4 formation which he used to great effect to gain promotion. However, whilst the system produced some swashbuckling attacking football in Serie B, it didn't quite serve the same purpose in the top flight. Despite Torino being the joint-highest scoring team in the bottom half of the table, they were certainly more miserly as they also had the most draws in the entire league. Indeed, the Granata were able to pick up the odd point here and there as they looked destined to finish somewhere around mid-table. Their best form came either side of the new year as they went seven matches unbeaten in the league. It proved to be a crucial run of form because what was to come was a dramatic dip in fortunes to end the season. Having appeared to get close to safety, the players began to relax a little too early and that almost proved costly as they lost seven out of ten games during the run-in. They were dragged down into the relegation scrap but just managed to do enough to limp to safety with another couple of draws at the end of the season. It was a rather tame end for a campaign that promised more. There were some obvious bright points. Cerci's form was sensational as he finally brought some consistency to his game. His speed and trickery cutting inside from the right wing onto his lethal left foot caused problems for many defences in displays that were reminiscent of Arjen Robben's efforts at Bayern Munich. That isn't too flattering a comparison as evidenced by interest from several bigger clubs including Milan but Toro will be desperate to keep hold of him. Kamil Glik was another solid performer in central defence often outshining the highly touted Angelo Ogbonna, who had a rather lacklustre season riddled with injuries. Captain Rolando Bianchi was also another who was inconsistent and he may be on his way out. Indeed, there was a lot of hit-and-miss in the Torino squad this season and they'll hope to find a better balance in the next campaign.
