Season 2 - End Of Season
So so so close…
So we were this ------- close to getting into the promotion playoff.
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The back half of the season form was better than expected but still we were a little up and down. Surprisingly (not to some), Ibrahimovic had a fantastic impact on the team and this even allowed for a bit of rotation from time to time, something I haven’t been able to do during my time at 1860 so far.
As we entered the final few months of the season Evan Ferguson began to hit some real good form which elevated us into the promotion places, a real over achievement going off the expectations at the start of this year. However, as the season came to a close, we really dropped off a cliff edge, falling to a late defeat at Sandhausen and dropping points we shouldn’t have against St Pauli and Duisberg. This left it all down to the final day of the season, if we could win and Paderborn would lose to 2nd in the league Werder Bremen then we would finish in the promotion playoff spot…
So, Ferguson put us ahead after 13 minutes and just moments later Paderborn also took the lead. We stayed in control for the rest of the half until an early second half equaliser and a quick second from Nurnberg seemed to end all hope. Typically, the game faded away with a goal for each team finishing the score line as the game came to an end. This was only to see that Bremen had 2 last minute goals to actually win the game meaning I was just a couple of goals away. just TYPICAL!
The Final Table
So after all of that, here’s how our first season in 2. Bundesliga finished!
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The Squad
For those wanting to see some of the final statistics from this season, here's what the line-up and squad looked like at the end of the season.
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Similar to the first season we became pretty reliant on our loan signings as we developed as a team across the season. They will be very difficult to replace for next season unless we are able to bring them back in, but this is something ive really struggled with in FM23 so I doubt we’ll be able to.
Morgalla and Reyes formed a decent partnership at the back which will certainly be a real positive going forward, and ive managed to get Lawrence in on a pre-contract deal so we should be able to keep the same back 5 as we enter season 3.
Some Goodbyes…
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Sadly, the Ibra and Alves era was not to be. Both have confirmed they are retiring at the end of the season. Neither will come back and Alves has even turned down the chance to be a coach so it’ll be a short but sweet era with the two of them…
Heading into the summer…
So as we head into the summer, we have a bit of money to play with yet again from the board. We’re not expected to have a top half finish next season which is certainly achievable after the success of this season.
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We’ll have some big boots to fill from the loan players who are leaving us. There are a couple of up-and-coming youth prospects who ill be looking to use more next season so they’ll be great depth to have available.
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As mentioned earlier we already have Lawrence coming in who will slot straight in at right back. I’m also hoping to bring in a few more German/ Home grown in nation players to the club, and as a starting point i was able to agree a deal with Lino Tempelmann who will slot in as a starting CM next year. He’s not only home grown in nation but has the added bonus of being trained at the club too! Something ill be looking more into to see if I can bring a few more back to us…
Now let’s get cracking on this transfer window!
So so so close…
So we were this ------- close to getting into the promotion playoff.
The back half of the season form was better than expected but still we were a little up and down. Surprisingly (not to some), Ibrahimovic had a fantastic impact on the team and this even allowed for a bit of rotation from time to time, something I haven’t been able to do during my time at 1860 so far.
As we entered the final few months of the season Evan Ferguson began to hit some real good form which elevated us into the promotion places, a real over achievement going off the expectations at the start of this year. However, as the season came to a close, we really dropped off a cliff edge, falling to a late defeat at Sandhausen and dropping points we shouldn’t have against St Pauli and Duisberg. This left it all down to the final day of the season, if we could win and Paderborn would lose to 2nd in the league Werder Bremen then we would finish in the promotion playoff spot…
So, Ferguson put us ahead after 13 minutes and just moments later Paderborn also took the lead. We stayed in control for the rest of the half until an early second half equaliser and a quick second from Nurnberg seemed to end all hope. Typically, the game faded away with a goal for each team finishing the score line as the game came to an end. This was only to see that Bremen had 2 last minute goals to actually win the game meaning I was just a couple of goals away. just TYPICAL!
The Final Table
So after all of that, here’s how our first season in 2. Bundesliga finished!
The Squad
For those wanting to see some of the final statistics from this season, here's what the line-up and squad looked like at the end of the season.
Similar to the first season we became pretty reliant on our loan signings as we developed as a team across the season. They will be very difficult to replace for next season unless we are able to bring them back in, but this is something ive really struggled with in FM23 so I doubt we’ll be able to.
Morgalla and Reyes formed a decent partnership at the back which will certainly be a real positive going forward, and ive managed to get Lawrence in on a pre-contract deal so we should be able to keep the same back 5 as we enter season 3.
Some Goodbyes…
Sadly, the Ibra and Alves era was not to be. Both have confirmed they are retiring at the end of the season. Neither will come back and Alves has even turned down the chance to be a coach so it’ll be a short but sweet era with the two of them…
Heading into the summer…
So as we head into the summer, we have a bit of money to play with yet again from the board. We’re not expected to have a top half finish next season which is certainly achievable after the success of this season.
We’ll have some big boots to fill from the loan players who are leaving us. There are a couple of up-and-coming youth prospects who ill be looking to use more next season so they’ll be great depth to have available.
As mentioned earlier we already have Lawrence coming in who will slot straight in at right back. I’m also hoping to bring in a few more German/ Home grown in nation players to the club, and as a starting point i was able to agree a deal with Lino Tempelmann who will slot in as a starting CM next year. He’s not only home grown in nation but has the added bonus of being trained at the club too! Something ill be looking more into to see if I can bring a few more back to us…
Now let’s get cracking on this transfer window!
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