To say that Udinese blew hot and cold this season would be an understatement. There was rarely any middle ground - they were on fire at one point and seemingly froze towards the end of the campaign when they just about managed to survive relegation.
Luigi Delneri continued his reign in charge but a familiar pattern emerged early on. He won four but lost eight of the first 12 matches of the season. It still came as something of a surprise that he was sacked given that the Zebrette were still in mid-table.
Massimo Oddo took over and initially, it looked like a masterstroke from the club. His first 11 matches were a rousing success with just two defeats and six victories in that sequence. Udinese were in the top half at the start of February and there were even whispers of a potential European place but then the wheels flew off! Oddo's second 11 games in charge were an unmitigated disaster. The Zebrette lost every single one of them, setting a new and unwanted club record for consecutive defeats in Serie A. It seemed that the players had eased off, thinking their safety was assured, but they just got worse and worse. Before they knew it, they were just one place above the drop-zone.
Igor Tudor came in for the final four games and managed to win the last two of them which was enough to keep the club safe but it doesn't look like he will remain in charge next season.
The positives for the Friulani are that they have a squad filled with very talented young players. Kevin Lasagna is starting to approach his prime years and his 12 league goals were a big reason why the team survived. His importance was illustrated when he was out injured and Udinese went on that downward spiral. Czech duo Antonin Barak and Jakub Jankto started to attract interest from bigger clubs with some impressive performances but, as can be the case with young players, they were inconsistent throughout the entire season.
Udinese seem like a club with no real direction at the moment and they haven't had much purpose since Francesco Guidolin left them. They need to find an indentity for next season and be shrewder in the transfer market this time around. Some experienced heads to compliment their young stars would be ideal.
