The big news on the transfer front was the targetting of Fernando Cavenaghi, of Kid Chameleon. Following Etien Velikonja's disappointing form towards the end of the season, Cavenaghi was being targetted as the perfect big-name signing to take some of the pressure off of young Anthony Modeste's shoulders. Unfortunately, it wasn't to be- Cavenaghi's wage demands proved too far beyond the established RMR structure, and the Argentinian international moved to Great Scot instead.
Velikonja's release, coupled with the transfer of Diego Silva to Screaming Vikings for £100k, left us a little thin on the ground in terms of striking options. 18-year-old Simone Dell'Agnello returned from a disappointing loan spell at CWA rivals Gary Town FC, but the wheels were put in motion to bring in some more established players to challenge Modeste, Dumisani Ngwenya and Kaimar Saag for the available first-team spots.
Panamanian striker Luis Tejada had been sitting on the bench at Sierra Olson's Loverdunk Lemurs side for a few season, and in a squad with Nicolas Anelka and Enrique Sola, didn't look like breaking into the first XI anytime soon. Some very fast-moving back-and-forth negotiations between myself and the charming Miss Olson resulted in a deal acceptable to both parties, worth £350,000, but which saw Riot youngsters Denis Huber, Florian Pizzinat and Edilson Mendes form the spine of the Lemurs' new youth side.
Also joining was man-mountain Bogdan Milic, whose contract at Chryssalid FC expired. At 6'5 and over 14 stone, Milic had again found his opportuities limited at his present club, and was delighted to get both a pay rise and the opportunity to relaunch his career. Since coming in, he's established a powerful partnership with Anthony Modeste, and looks like he could prove to be a valuable asset.
Riot's other big story was the acquisition of 22-year-old AMRC Giles Barnes, a man who had averaged over a 7.00 rating for pretty much his entire career to date, including over 250 games for previous club G700 F.C. His RMR career has got off to an even finer start, scoring 8 goals in 14 friendly fixtures, and picking up two man of the match awards. Although Barnes was transfer listed with a £1.1m fee, G700 manager Nick "The Greek" accepted a straight swap deal for hotly-tipped RMR youth product Marco Criscuolo.
Other transfer activity saw the strengthening of the defence to fit a new look formation, with the three-man defence ditched for four at the back to try and establish some consistency in form. While Riot scored the second-highest number of goals in the CWA Premiership last season, they were also second in the league for goals conceded.
As it stands, it seems River Medway Riot will line up the first game of the season as follows, in a 4-1-3-2 formation:
Anthony Modeste ... Bogdan Milic
Jozef Michalik ... Giles Barnes ... Roberto Tacchi
Arouca
Reto Ziegler ... Michele Canini ... Severo Meza ... David Romminger
Jason Brown
The flexibility of the formation and starting line up, particularly with Tacchi, Romminger and Barnes, allow for easy modification to both a more attacking 3-5-2 and a more defensive 5-3-2. Ziegler and Romminger have occasionally been employed as wingbacks in preseason, while Meza can become the fifth man in defence as a sweeper, if necessary.
At present, Riot are competing in a Greek competition, the "Big Cup", which features predominantly newer teams, but which is hosted by XFA Premier League runners-up Aspra Chomata F.C. The Riot invitation came as part of a transfer deal which saw Lucas Correa move to Chomata, and given their experience compared with the fresh-faced opposition, it is unsurprising RMR sit top of the table, unbeaten, having won 7 from 8.
Finally, a word on two other friendly games, both with scores which make the mind boggle. Having experimented with a ten-striker formation, in the hopes of catching their opponents offside, Riot took a sound beating at the hands of Northampton Hurricanes. Brazilian superstar Kaka set a new GW record in the process, scoring ten of the goals in a 17-4 victory for the Hurricanes- Fernando Torres also bagged six, with Damien Le Tallec rounding off the rout. The shoe was on the other foot, however, when Riot agreed to be the opposition in Francesco Toldo's Testimonial Game for Carnoustie Celtic. Despite giving up over 100 places to Celtic, Riot ran out 9-3 winners in a remarkably open game, with new faces Milic, Barnes and Tejada joined on the scoresheet by Modeste, Arouca, Gislason and Ngwenya.
Last but not least, voting is currently in process for the official River Medway Riot Away Strip Babe for season four. Campaigning from respected FC Highlanders boss Federico Rizzi has seen a surge in popularity for a return of Season 3's beautiful Alison Angel, but sources from inside the polling station suggest the Olsen Twins, Stacy Keibler and Myleene Klass are all in the running to fill Angel's dainty boots.
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