[FM24] Unterhaching - To der top

[DanWarnock]

Unterhaching – To der top

 

Intro

Whilst I've done many a journeyman save and been playing the game a long time, I've not yet taken the dive into having a full documented 'FM Story' and decided to fix that asap.

The choice of club was thanks to a mate who when I suggested a few teams, picked Unterhaching because of their position in the German football setup and their hideous financials.

Without further Adu, lets get this underway.
 

The Club

Unterhaching's football team was only an anonymous local amateur team with no significant successes until a climb through league ranks that began in 1976 with promotion from B-Klasse to A-Klasse play. A first-place finished earned the club quick promotion to the Bezirksliga in 1977. Continued good play put the team into the fourth-division Landesliga Bayern-Süd in 1979 and then the Oberliga Bayern, the highest amateur division at the time, by 1981.

In 1999, the club reached its highest point when it gained promotion to the Bundesliga, the top tier of German football, for the first time in its history. After a two season stay in the top flight, Unterhaching were relegated and then suffered relegation the following season, falling to the Regionalliga Sud. Immediate promotion back to the 2. Bundesliga followed but the club were then relegated in the 2006-07 season and have flitted between 3. Liga and the Regionalliga Bayer ever since.

Last season saw the club promoted as champions from the Regionalliga Bayer under the management of Sandro Wagner; the coach agreeing to leave at the end of the season to join the German national setup.

 

Overview

Manni seemed fairly excited, if he's hailing it as a momentous day then I'm thinking they're expecting at least a lower half finish with this lot.

 

Vision

My Vision

1.      Recover the financial position of the club (£11m of debt)

2.     Build a strong, young core of a squad to establish a cornerstone for growth of the club

3.     Ensure high quality international quality staff are instilled into the backroom team

4.    Work towards ascending to the Bundesliga

5.     Establish the club as a leading German force

Club Vision

 

The Squad | June 2023

Key Players

Raphael Schifferi                         Centre Back                      (on loan from Wolfsberger)

Top quality centre back – will be one of the first names on the team sheet.

 

Maurice Krattenmacher                Attacking Midfielder

Could develop into a magnificent playmaker or shadow striker; attracting a fair bit of interest and will definitely be in the first team reckoning this season.

 

Aaron Keller                     Left Midfield / AML

Again as with Krattenmacher has bags of potential. Might be a struggle to keep hold of him and would be criminal if it was for anything less than seven figures. Wanted by 34 clubs might be problematic.

 

Finances

I have no idea what the club have been doing but that is quite a hole. Not sure how we begin to wriggle out of that and assume that some kind of loan or borrowing will be needed to sort the finances.

 

The Target for 2023 / 24

Absolutely no idea what to aim at. The squad is average looking and the debt is immense - I'm not sure this season will be anything more than trying to reduce the outgoings and trying to ensure a top half finish (despite the board asking for mid table).

Krattenmacher and Keller look like top players in the making; I really want to have them be the bedrock of any potential rise to the Bundesliga but I am very aware (especially in Kellers instance) how difficult it might be to keep them.

Although one of the aims is to build a strong, young core of a squad as a cornerstone for future growth I'm not sure this will be feasible for a couple of seasons at least as it'll be loanees supplementing the squad as we try and resolve the finances.

My Prediction: 8th Place

Media Prediction: 14th Place

 

Up Next

Tactics, Transfers and Pre Season.

[DanWarnock]

Season 2023 / 24 - 3.Liga

 

June 2023

The debt is now a loan

Hurrah – I think?
The club are still £1.8m in debt meaning if any kind of rebuild of the squad is to take place we’ve got to sell before we can buy.

That now means it's a hefty net debt of:

Overall finances below:

 

Not a lot else to mention for the rest of June other than checking through the big earners and realising most of them can't be moved on easily as they also have combined staff roles which mean they can't be transfer listed. Like bastard ticks buried beneath the skin.

Vollath to be fair wasn't bad but that's a big wage that could go a long way in the loan market. The other two offered fair options for the squad but it's mainly not having the autonomy to sell them that was the issue.

Mathias Fetsch was the main big earner on £4,200 per week but moving him on wouldn't be a problem.

July 2023

The Trials and Transfers 

In an effort to get some quality (or ridiculous names) into the squad, trial requests were practically sent out to anyone who would say yes and want to come along for a training session.

The likes of Winston Reid, Liam Moore and a 36 year old Gervinho came (and went) after trials but there were three standout players who would definitely add quality to the squad:

Costa and Rose would have been outstanding acquisitions but unfortunately the wage demands and interest of other clubs was too great.

Rzatkowski however was interested at closer to a reasonable wage but we'd still need to wait it out with him to try and get something half sensible agreed.

The other main target I was looking for was a striker as I didn't fancy Fetsch up top and would be looking to move him on.

Well, we definitely struck out in the loan market and the first signing of the Warnock era had arrived:

Mateo Joseph                         Striker                      (on loan from Leeds)

Now I know £3,600 a week is a big wedge of cash considering all the talk of reducing the wage bill but couldn't pass this one up; he'd provide an excellent option up top as an advanced forward with a decent all round feel to his game.
Given we'd likely go with the one up top he'd be perfect as the focal point.

 

Goodbye Maurice

Bollocks. So being in the lower rungs of the German league setup with the bank balance of Katie Price wasn't all sunshine and lollipops.

Clubs started raining bids in for Krattenmacher and the board were accepting them. It was a bit too early to start threatening to quit so I decided to get out in front of it and put him up for sale to try and get a good deal.

I say a good deal as for me a player who was worth about £2.5m left the club for £140k but the most important thing I negotiated was a decent percentage of profit from the next sale. Fortunately he went to Hamburg who had offered 40%

Still gutted as he was one of the players I wanted to build a team around.

 

Friendlies

Wasn't a bad run of games in pre-season as we tried to work out the best setup for the squad.

Tactically I'd settled on a 4-5-1 kind of setup with a more defensive approach with a counter press to try and win possession back.

I'll show a bit more detail around the tactics, players and setup for the squad in August after we hopefully get a few more bodies in.

Will include the transfer ins and outs in Augusts update as well.

 

Up Next

Season starts, transfers and all the signings.

[DanWarnock]

Season 2023 / 24 - 3.Liga

 

August 2023

Results

What a start.

• Dominant performance against Regensburg in the opener with an extremely promising debut from Joseph. We played conservative and simple football in the lower areas of the pitch and did the damage in the final third.
• Karlsruhe in the cup was a show of the gap between the second and third tiers and we had a go but were by far second best.
• Ulm was another superb attacking display, Joseph and Maier were particularly strong but off the back of signing his new deal Aaron Keller shone with two goals and a great all round performance.
• Heading into the Freiburg game the squad depth was evidently an issue that we’d need to look at before the window closed but with finances being as tight as they are it’d be difficult. The game itself was a grind and we were on the back foot throughout but came away with a point after a goalless affair.
• The Koln game again just showed the complete lack of depth as they were utter mince but we had nothing to break them down. But it was time to concentrate on deadline day.

Note: I forgot to take a screenshot of the table. But we finished August in 5th Position.

Not it was time to concentrate on deadline day...

Ahead of which…

Good lad Manni. I'm just hoping that was the result of a quick rummage down the back of the sofa cushions and he'd be able to actually prop us up with a full transfer budget in the forthcoming season.

I mean - the balance was still a rotten one but every little helps.

 

Deadline Day

I'd been looking across the market but other than keeping an close watch on Rzatkowski's wage demands whilst he was on trial there was no-one else on the market that I felt we needed to get in so it was all hold for getting some loan deals done on deadline day.

Our main target was Assan Ouédraogo but couldn’t get the funds sorted for the £4.1k a week fee. I have no idea why Schalke would let him out on loan as he'd be a top player in the Bundesliga 2 but we'd try again for him in January if still available. Kaide Gordon came in for no fee to replace the outgoing Skarlatidis and looked like he has raw talent that will shine at this level, Tim Hoffmann again covered the loss of Hoops and we managed to strike an excellent season long loan for Kevin Zeroli as a playmaker in place of Ouédraogo. Nicolo Turco offered an affordable option for cover up top to strengthen numbers and with 30 minutes of the window remaining we got a loan deal done to bring Maurice Krattenmacher back to the club on loan only weeks after he'd left for Hamburg. 

Five deadline day loans in and three players out. We looked stronger!

Transfers

Kaide Gordon                         AMR                      (on loan from Liverpool)

Kevin Zeroli                         Centre Mid                      (on loan from Milan)

Maurice Krattenmacher                         AMC                      (on loan from Hamburg)

Tim Hoffmann                         Centre Back                      (on loan from Hamburg)

Nicoli Turco                         Striker                      (on loan from RB Salzburg)

Transfers In

Transfers Out

 

Tactics / Starting Lineup

The starting eleven would now look something like this with the aim of strengthening with a couple of free transfers (ideally a left back and a centre mid; hopeful of a deal being able to be done on Rzatowski and he'd replace Stark in the middle):

 

Up Next

September and October.

[SixPointer]

Nice idea for a save. Following along and best of luck

[DanWarnock]

Season 2023 / 24 - 3.Liga

 

September 2023

Results

• The late show at Verl, shifted around the team to bring on Krattenmacher at 2-1 down and we were absolutely dominant. The temporary formation looked like it would have legs going forward as it allowed for two late goals which kept us unbeaten. Switching it up to a 4231.
• However, the next game it all came crashing down with a 4-2 reverse against Saarbrucken. We went behind to two early goals and in trying to press forward to get back into the game left it too open at the back and lost the game which we’d on paper dominated.
• Against Bielefeld everything clicked into place and it was our most impressive performance of the season to date. A 5-0 drubbing with Zeroli, Keller and Krattenmacher pulling the strings. Zeroli was quickly becoming one of the key players in the team and whatever happened over the course of the season would be key in any success areas.
• Dortmund II were dispatched in a fairly straightforward game with Zeroli and Joseph getting the goals and we closed out September in 3rd spot in the league. (Note: forgot league table again!)

After the Saarbrucken game, the signing of Marc Rzatkowski was finalised after a prolonged trial period and was the first signing of the Warnock tenure. He’d fit straight into the midfield in place of  and would allow a move to a 4231 which would allow Krattenmacher to be deployed as an AMC after some good performances off the bench.

Marc Rzatkowski                         Centre Mid

Other Transfer News

Two players left in September after the window closed; Benedikt Bauer went to Sint-Truiden for £150k and Mathias Fetsch headed to Greek side Lamia for £25k (crucially removing £4.2k a week from the wage bill)

October 2023

• A big game to kick off October and another excellent display against Essen, Zeroli had absolutely become the most important player in the team as an absolute key influence in our attacking shape and also capable of scoring from anywhere around the 18 yard box. This put us on top of the pile and the football that was being played meant it was absolutely on merit.
• A trip to Duisburg followed this one and it was an absolutely dominant display again with a comfortable 2-0 victory. Krattenmacher got the man of the match award in this one and again the pressing play and enterprising attacking football proved the difference. Although we’d lost him to Hamburg, getting him back on loan on deadline day proved to be an absolutely vital piece of business as he’s played a key role in the early season success. Joseph scored again in this one to make it three in three and he was another player who was showing form levels way above this league.
• The Sandhausen game saw us line up without Zeroli; he’d just received his first Italian under 21 cap and scored a brace in a 2-1 victory. The lack of depth was still evident in the team as we had to play Maier as the attacking centre mid in his absence. The visitors were tipped for a top three finish at the start of the season and found themselves bottom of the league going into this one. Their performance certainly defied their league standing and they were much the better side throughout but Maier proved he was the right choice to replace Zeroli for this game with a barely deserved 93^rd minute winner. That was now five wins on the bounce.
• Next up was Ingolstadt away, with the home side sitting top of the league. We worked hard and despite going a goal down early were brought back into it with a goal of the season contender from Kaide Gordon from 25 yard after running in off the right flank. Despite having chances to win it, we were punished by a 94^th minute penalty to give them the victory and knock us off the top of the pile.
• Final game of the month was Waldhof at home and we were on top first half but with nothing to show for it. Brought Turco on as an inside forward and played a higher line and everything came up Milhouse. Turco grabbed one early and then Joseph got two in as many minutes.

Importantly, I remembered the league table:

We finished the month in second place but it had been a solid period with four wins and a loss.

The shine was taken off hugely by two injuries; a hamstring strain for Maier would see him out for up to 7 weeks but crucially Kevin Zeroli twisted an ankle and he would be out for 8 weeks. Both picked up in the same training session. ****s sake.

Slight positive was agreeing a January loan deal for Florian Hoxha from Grasshoppers; the left back would slot straight into the starting eleven to add much needed strength in that area.

Mateo Joseph also secured the player of the month award after bagging four goals in five games.

Edited May 3 by DanWarnock

[DanWarnock]

Season 2023 / 24 - 3.Liga

 

November 2023

Results

• Lubeck away for the first game of the month without the talismanic Zeroli and the performance was lethargic first half and we went in deservedly behind. Second half we pushed the defensive and attacking lines forward and increased the press and a blockbuster from Schifferl got us level in the 90^th minute and then two minutes later Krattenmacher seized on a defensive error to sweep the ball home for a smash and grab win.
• This was followed up with another scraped win against Erzgebirge, again we went behind and again came back in the second half with a Schwabl penalty and a superb curling effort from the edge of the box from Stark to win it.
• It would be a much needed two week break before the next game, the derby against 1860 Munchen  Zeroli and Maier were still out so it was down to Stark and Rzatkowski to marshall the midfield. Turco was also in for a start after a good showing off the bench against Erzgebirge and the Italian rewarded his selection with a brace before half time sandwiched either side of an opportunist striker by Krattenmacher for a commanding and deserved 3-0 lead. Hoffman made it 4-0 just after half time and despite conceding on the hour it was a comprehensive win. Only three games in the month but three wins put us on the top of the table again.

Table

 

December 2023

Results and Stuff

• Another big win to start the month, Hallescher took the lead (which was becoming a theme) but it was a dominant performance again with Krattenmacher and Turco scoring again in a 3-1 win.

• Dresden away next and a win in this one could give us a real gap at the top of the table.

We went into it three points clear and avoiding defeat would be a perfect result.

We setup to go toe to toe with Dresden but were completely overwhelmed in the midfield and despite going ahead early on conceded a swift leveller and were behind before half time. They made it three early into the second half and despite a late second we never troubled them and went down to a 3-2 loss.

After the Dresden game, our second permanent deal of the season was struck and again after a period on trial, Ovie Ejaria joins on a free after recovering from cruciate ligament damage. He’d offer a bit of quality and depth on the left and behind the striker.

• Next up, Munster and despite being hugely on top throughout we were wasteful in front of goal and were hit on the counter after Krattenmacher’s penalty had put us ahead and had to settle for a point. A little bit of a wobble and again it was tired legs and a lack of quality in the squad depth that were being shown up.

• Regensburg next and the last game before the winter break and importantly the opening of the transfer window.Despite going into it with a few jaded players, we worked hard for a 2-0 win. After a goalless first half, Turco headed home a Zeroli cross for the first and Krattenmacher ripped one in from 25 yards to have us finishing December top and after all three teams below us dropped points we’d go into the winter break with a five-point cushion over Dresden.

Results Summary

Table

 

Winter Break | Thoughts and Things

Crikey. This was going a lot better than expected.

The players that we've got in have gelled perfectly and getting Rzatowski in to play as a ball winner in the midfield has given license for both Krattenmacher and Zeroli to do so much damage in the opposing third.

According to my albeit not great rated coaches, Zeroli has progressed to a level where he'd be a regular in the Bundesliga and Krattenmacher a top Bundasliga 2 performer.

The squad definitely needs a few adding; finances still aren't great however and it'll definitely be loans in the window.

Getting rid of Fetsch in September freed up some wage budget and we could look to hopefully get the right players in to maintain this (whisper it) title challenge. In the words of Morpheus:

Oh. The board and fans are happy with things as well.

 

Next Up

January. Results and window.

[DanWarnock]

19 hours ago, SixPointer said:

Nice idea for a save. Following along and best of luck

Thanks mate. I'm really enjoying it so far; I've played a lot of lower leagues but have never started in Germany (usually I'm unemployed journeyman with no badges and the league rep is too good in Liga 3).

Feels like massive overachievement so far but we'll take it.

[DanWarnock]

Season 2023 / 24 - 3.Liga

 

January 2024

Transfers

So - a few deals in Jan and hopefully we'd done enough with the players that had been brought in to supplement the unlikely promotion bid.

We also lost a couple of big names but for the fees offered and the state of the finances it had to be done.

Hoxta would hopefully strengthen the weak as **** left back options and Gruger would give us a great option in centre mid. The arrivals of Beney and Mendy were forced after the departures of Keller and Waidner for big money.

I know I'd said it would be criminal to get less than seven figures for Keller but he was getting disruptive with all the interest shown and the deal would also see us pocket 30% of any future profit.

The new boys in a bit more detail below.

Arrivals

 

 

Results

• Not sure what happened against Ulm. We looked fairly comfortable after Gordon put us ahead but just completely floundered in the second half and they levelled it up on 53 mins. Stale first game back.
• Freiburg was another lackluster performance but we scraped a win. They went ahead on 3 mins but we pulled one back before Zeroli got us out of jail with a brilliant first time strike from the edge of the box. We had just lost Keller and Waidner for this one and were still trying to source replacements.
• Relegation threatened Koln were our last one of the month and it was the same pattern. Go behind and then come back. Schifferl got the important leveller just before half time and then a cheeky rabona from Schwabl and Joseph gave us all three points.

Table

 

Summary

Not a bad month, losing two first team options was something we just had to deal with and the loan market as ever was forcibly the answer (always will be when the board offer you 10% of any fees).

The squad was looking like this (with the first team tactic of choice being the 4-2-3-1):

 

Our salary spend at the end of Jan also showed the disadvantage the budget was putting us at and again, forcing the issue with the loan market:

Edited May 5 by DanWarnock

[DanWarnock]

Season 2023 / 24 - 3.Liga

 

February 2024

Results
 

Pretty solid month (ignoring the Verl game of course) and the Bielefeld game was a massive performance!

• Verl was an absolute shocker. We were two up by the half hour and then just imploded. Hoxha on paper looked lime a better option than Lamby but he was looking absolutely dreadful and cost us two goals. They'd levelled it by half time then got the winner with twenty mins to go. We rallied after that but all too late.
• Saarbrucken was a gritty performance - Schifferl grabbed his third in as many games and was an absolute threat at set pieces. Krattenmacher was running things again in the middle.
• Bielefeld was possibly our best performance of the season to date. Krattenmacher again absolutely ran the show and it was just a proper dominant performance. They had 2 shots all game compared to our 22!
• Finished the month with an easy win against Dortmund II. 

Table
 

 

 

Affiliate

Took advantage of the good board relationship to request an affiliate. Was obviously hoping for Dortmund or Bayern but this wasn't too bad.

Union Berlin had some fairly decent looking players and hopefully we could get some good loans in next season.

 

March 2024

Results

Dropped points at the end of this month was a bit of a worry and the nature of the defeat against an albeit solid Ingolstadt was a concern.

Still we were absolutely maintaining the charge at the top and despite the hiccup were four clear of Dresden and five clear of Ingolstadt.

• Essen are a good side but we blew them away; familiar faces amongst the goalscorers and Schifferl was our main threat from corners!
• Duisburg was a strong win on paper but we had to work for it. Three late goals sealed it and Romeo Beney got the goal that some of his performances had deserved since joining at the end of Jan on loan.
• Sandhausen was an ugly one. No one put in a particularly strong shift and despite going ahead just after the hour through the most prolific centre back I've seen since Bert Konterman in CM 01/02; they levelled and we limped over the line.
• Before the Ingolstadt game we lost Hoffmann to injury with the German under 21s for three months and Schifferl wasn't fully fit. It showed. By 48 mins we were 4-0 down and despite pulling a few back were on the wrong side of a 5-3 scoreline. Had we beaten them we'd have pulled 11 points clear and surely secured promotion! We were still out in front and just about doing enough.

Table

Other Business

Managed to extend Zerolis loan until the end of next season which was great news for whatever division we were in. He is absolutely key to our midfield. Did try the same for Krattenmacher but the Hamburg management weren't keen on loaning him out again and we'd have to try and negotiate another loan in the summer.

 

Bundesliga 2 Riches!

Despite all the talk about tempering expectations I did take a peek at the rules, stages and rewards in the second tier and my god. I could finish bottom of the table and secure £6.71m. Suddenly the need to get promoted seemed that bit more important!

[Vođi]

You are on the right path, hopefully you can finish it! 2nd Bundesliga would make huge difference to the finances and the fortunes of the club.

[DanWarnock]

Season 2023 / 24 - 3.Liga

 

April 2024

Squeaky bum time

Slightly different approach for this one and we'll go game by game given it's getting interesting at the top!

We had our two first choice centre backs out injured for the start of the month which was going to make it tricky.

We started April looking like this:

 

Results in detail

A visit to 6th placed Waldhof in our first game of April without Schifferl and Hoffmann; as important in the opposition box as he was our own with 7 league goals to date from centre back. Stark would backfill as again the depth of having a squad full of loan players was stretched to its limit.

We started well and Turco put us ahead within ten mins and then had a follow up disallowed shortly after.

We conceded a sloppy one before half time and then they scored twice in three mins in the second half. Got one back late but it was a poor performance and we were really missing the centre back pairing of Schifferl and the injured Hoffmann. 

Bottom side Lubeck were up next and it would be a good opportunity to get back into winning ways after losing two on the bounce.

On paper we obliterated the visitors but it was still a bit of a nervy affair until Krattenmacher tucked home the second goal and his 11^th of the season. For someone who was a bit of an afterthought at 11:30pm on deadline day in September he was pretty much player of the season already. Zeroli had been good but since January Krattenmachers contributions had been carrying the team in places.

Before our next game against Erzgebirge, Dresden beat Koln 1-0 to put the pressure on for us to get a result.

So away to lowly Erzgebirge. We needed a win to keep the pressure on.

We battered them. Joseph (getting a start after some under par displays from Turco blasted us ahead and the two late goals from Beney and Zeroli sealed it. Since coming in to replace Keller in January, Beney was another one putting in some top performances.

Off the back of the Erzebirge game, we had done enough to secure a playoff place!

Manni was happy. 4 years ahead of schedule.

Four Games Left

On the pitch we had four games left.

1860 Munchen in what felt like our biggest game of the season; fitting it's against our biggest rivals in the S-Bahn derby.

We started superbly against 1860, Gordon weaving away on the right and plonking it straight onto the head of Joseph. Then on 24 minutes a long range effort by Zeroli was spilled by Hiller in the visitors goal and Joseph seized on it to tuck away for two nil. Then on the stroke of half time, another ball in from the right from the livewire Gordon and Beney caught it on the volley back post for a spectacular third. The half time stats were decent reading:

Mendy got in on the act on the hour to put us four up as it was a humiliation job of our supposed bigger rivals. Lakenmacher got a late consolation but it was a huge win in the battle for promotion and a step closer to Bundasliga 2 football.

In the other games in and around us, Dresden and Ingolstadt both drew their games giving us a healthy cushion at the top

Basically one more win and with the goal difference we'd be almost guaranteed promotion!

April Results

Table

 

Edited May 7 by DanWarnock

[DanWarnock]

Season 2023 / 24 - 3.Liga

 

May 2024

Results in detail

One more win would likely be enough for promotion given the goal difference situation, and it was Hallescher away up next.

And it was absolutely dominant from Haching, Joseph was finishing the season in great form and even missed a penalty in this one. The home side did pull it back to 2-1 but Joseph scored in injury time to give us the result we needed to almost mathematically secure promotion.

But hold on...

BREAKING NEWS

Ingolstadt could only draw with Waldhof which meant we'd done it! An absolutely unexpected but deserved promotion in our first season.

The fans were jubilant:

Surely nothing could bring us down from this high.

Oh Manni. Come on lad. That's slightly less than this seasons budget.

Anyway, that would have to wait as we had a big game in the battle for the title and we'd be playing our closest competitors. If we avoided defeat against Dresden we'd won the title.

It was a cagey first half with very little in the way of chances, Gruger striking a free kick over the bar.

Second half we did put them under a lot more pressure and it was just after the hour mark that a decisive goal in our season hit the back of the net. Dresden failed to clear their lines from a corner and Schifferl knocked the ball down to the on fire Joseph who fired a deflected effort past the keeper. With a draw set to be enough, the picture got even better as on 70 minutes Gordon picked up a pass from Zeroli, skated into the box and lashed home for two!

Dresden then had a great chance to get back into the game, winning a penalty after a sloppy foul by Welzmuller but Vollath stood firm and tipped the penalty against the crossbar and over to keep us two ahead. Meißner did get one back for the visitors in the 85^th minute as they poured forward looking for goals and despite an end to end finish we’d done enough. A 2-1 win and the title!

BREAKING NEWS

What a result. One last game at Munster to finish the season and there was still one more bit of pride to play for:

Munster away - started superbly with a Zeroli header from a corner on 2 mins and then Joseph picked up on a defensive error for two. Goalmouth scramble for the third all within the 22^nd minute! Krattenmacher made it four nil in the 50^th minute then a sentimental set of subs to give the likes of Maier, Schwabl, Stark and Rzatowski a final run out nearly cost us the points title.
Munster had pulled it back to 4-3 with five minutes left but we held on and Krattenmacher struck again in the 94^th minute to secure the victory and the points record!

May Results

Final Table

 

Up Next

End of season review.

Edited May 7 by DanWarnock

[DanWarnock]

On 06/05/2024 at 10:18, Vođi said:

You are on the right path, hopefully you can finish it! 2nd Bundesliga would make huge difference to the finances and the fortunes of the club.

[SixPointer]

Congratulations on the league title 

[DanWarnock]

Season 2023 / 24 - 3.Liga

 

End of Season Review

 

My Prediction: 8th Place

Media Prediction: 14th Place

Actual Finish: 1st Place

 

Well that was definitely some serious overachievement.

We were 50/1 with the bookies at the start of the season and Haching didn't drop from the top of the league from November onwards.

Summary

Best Eleven

 

Player of the Season  -  Maurice Krattenmacher

As the average ratings denoted, Schifferl, Zeroli and Joseph were all fundamental in the promotion push but Krattenmacher was the one who tied everything together.

Despite losing him before the start of the season to Hamburg for a paltry £140k, the Hatching youth product rejoined the club on a season loan with half an hour before before the transfer window closed early September.

With 26 goal contributions in the league, he was invaluable and the difference in so many games and unpicked defensive lines with ease.

 

Top Scorer  -  Mateo Joseph  -  19 League Goals

Joseph was an integral part of the promotion push and his rich vein of goalscoring form in April and May were vital in securing the title.

 

Youth Intake  -  2024

We had three decent looking players sign up in the youth intake, Mehmet Turkmen looked to have 2. Bundesliga potential and Manuel Heindinger as a potential Bundesliga player.

But it was Faruk Esmeray who looked the pick of the bunch as a potential Bundesliga player of the future. 
 

 

 

Next Up

Season 2024 / 25 - 2. Bundesliga.

[DanWarnock]

Season 2024 / 25 - 2. Bundesliga

 

June 2024

Where's the money Manni?

Two fairly sizeable issues coming into the new season.

Firstly was the fact that we had planned to retain the following players from the squad:

• Kevin Zeroli (loan)
• Alexander Leuthard
• Viktor Zentrich
• Fabian Scherger
• Konstantin Heide

We also had the three youth propects of Mehmet Turkmen, Manuel Heindinger and Faruk Esmeray. Although in the case of Heindinger he didn't turn 16 until the registration window closed which meant he wouldn't be an option until January. And no disrespect to the lads, but they wouldn't have got into the 3. Liga team let alone be considered for a squad in the Bundesliga second tier.

Oh - also due to my own lack of care and attention, Alexander Leuthard was actually going to Augsburg on a free. Bugger it.

Second issue was this wage budget:

I literally have no idea how this is going to work. Not only to fill a squad but to fill it with players that would actually assist in any way with a relegation battle.

Trialists Assemble!

Of that mammoth list, only the highlighted Bauer signed as we were either priced out of or muscled out on anyone of note or ability.

Oh and Romeo Beckham is just cack.

The window opened July 1st. So we'll hop to July.

 

July 2024

Squad assembly

I think I can best liken it to this:

Although first of all we released this lot:

Some of them were actually from the second team but I had no interest in running any players or staff in that (same with under 19s) as we have no money as it is.

The likes of Vollath, Rzatowski, Stark, Maier, Welzmuller and Lamby were all on wages that didn't match up with their ability so it was time to go.

Markus Schwabl is actually Manni's son, I would have definitely kept him had I been given a greater budget.

So. Players in. There are a few here. Prior to the season opener we got this lot in:

Permanent Deals

Kaide Gordon (free) signed on a free after a good loan spell last year. He'd be an asset!

Tomas Koubek (free) looked a great option in goal and would hopefully be capable of miracles.

Patrick Bauer I know from his spells with Charlton and Preston and he looked capable at this level.

Loans

Gael Lafont. Well this is a funny one, I actually meant to sign him in the January of the season before and failed to realise I'd missed the cut off for the French window and instead he joined in July. Still looked good but £3k a week on a loan.

Tommaso Ravaglioli looked top notch as well. Really happy with this one on loan and hopefully he can get goals.

Kebir Ali Canpolat. Pro - no loan fee or wage. Con - everything else.

Andrik Markgrav. See the description for Canpolat above.

Olivier Aertssen is a player I've liked in recent FM games and was more than happy to have a ball player of his quality as a centre back option.

FInal one before the opening game and Levis Asanji was the last of the Union Berlin loans that if nothing else meant we had bodies in the squad with no wage requirements.

So how did this all look in readiness for the opener away to Heidenheim?

It did not look good. Thoughts and prayers for both the opening game and season were required.

There was still time and budget to get more players in but in the footballing equivalent of doing your homework on the bus we'd run out of time and simply weren't ready for the season.

Next Up

Season opener, August results and more transfers.

 

Edited May 29 by DanWarnock

[Vođi]

Not having a good striker could be a real problem, I hope you will manage to find some wages-free loan to fill the role.

[DanWarnock]

Season 2024 / 25 - 2. Bundesliga

July 2024

So technically we had our first game of the season at the end of July and with a threadbare squad I was worried, especially given we were away to recently relegated Heidenheim.

Incredibly we took the lead through Ravaglioli and held on until half time. Absolute scenes.

However, second half they absolutely battered us and levelled it up on 55 mins. Just as we'd looked to have done enough to hang on a winner five minutes from the end gave the home side a deserved win but we'd put a good account in.

I think my assistant summed it up well enough with this little gem in game:

No kidding. His position should probably be the bench at this level.

August 2024

Transfers 

Thankfully we did manage to get these lot in after the opener against Heidenheim:

Unbelievably, we actually paid a fee for a player and signed two strong looking defensive players with Premier League pedigree. What is happening!

Permanent Deals

Cheikhou Kouyaté (free) looked like he'd be a great defensive screen and was really pleased to get him in; was one of those signings that happened thanks to a player / coach role.

David Karavatakis (£7.5k). We actually paid a team a fee for a player. Whilst checking out some of the Oceanic u21 squads Karavatakis caught my eye as he was wanted by a couple of clubs; then saw he had a release fee clause of £7.5k. Actually looked like he had a bit of potential as well and would definitely do a job in our team at the moment.

Eliaquim Mangala (free) was another one that would give us great experience and quality in the team. I felt it was key to get some old heads in amongst the young loan squad we had built.

Loans

Yacine Chaib was signed a bit blind as he was a French u21 international in their first team. I was hoping for a bit more quality but he'd do.

Francis Onyeka looked like he'd really develop into a top player but to be honest he was another that didn't look quite up to the mark for the second tier at this stage.

John Mellberg was one I'd been keeping an eye on and having seen (and managed him) before was happy to pick him up as a good CB option.

Johaneko Louis-Jean was another blind one from the French u21. Not a huge wage but there was a fee to be paid to supplement his loan. Not hugely excited by him but we had to chance it on a few of these players given there isn't enough money to even scout in some cases.

Dane Scarlett was a really interesting one. The Spurs youngster had been hailed as a huge prospect a couple of years back but hadn't really kicked on yet. Given we had no loan fee to pay we'd take a chance.

Kian Fitz-Jim. Really liked this one, he's versatile and has been another player I've really got a tune out of in recent FM games.

Elione Fernandes-Neto looked class and would help us shore things up as a ball winner in the middle. Was really looking for a replacement for Rzatkowski and hopefully he'd fit the bill.

Christian Cugnata was another blind punt at full back and again as per the theme, didn't fill me with confidence as a first team option.

Last one in was Felix Hagmann who was cheap enough (wage wise) and was importantly another body at full back to give a bit of depth.

Results

• Paderborn at home showed the gulf in class; we were properly second best and it was youth prospect Faruk Esmeray who got our consolation.
• We then proceeded to beat top flight Werder Bremen in the DFB Pokal; Ejaria and Canpolat put us ahead and despite being absolutely roasted all game the visitors could only pull one back and we'd made it through to the next stage!
• Karlsruhe was a hard fought game and we went ahead on 53 mins thanks to a Zeroli header from a pinpoint Canpolat (better stop slating him) delivery. Unfortunately the vistors equalised on 86 mins and we'd missed a great chance to get our first win of the league season.
• St Pauli was a rollercoaster. Home side looked in control at 1-0 but Ravaglioli and Canpolat scored late on to give us the lead and what looked likely the win. 93rd minute, sloppy defensive play and Eggestein slotted home the equaliser.
• Kaiserslautern was the third draw in a row where we'd conceded another late goal but this one needs a bit more detail. I have no idea how we even held on as long as we did but after two red cards in the first half we played most of the game with 9 men. Cracking point in the circumstances.
  

Table

Squad, Thoughts and Predictions

A lot of positives in the opening few games despite not managing to get a first league win.

We'd had to forge a whole new squad together and most of them were loans in giving us a feel of a Watford side before the English loan system got tightened up.

Squad (end of August 2024 window)

Starting eleven (end of August 2024 window)

We'd go with a positive approach but a little more conservative with Kouyate as the DM / Anchor. We could switch up as games went on to a more 4-2-3-1 setup should there be an opportunity to seize goals in a game but we had to accept we'd be second best in a lot of these fixtures and had to setup accordingly.

Predictions (2024/2025 season)

The bookies had us down as relegation certainties but I'd be hopeful of dodging the relegation mix-up altogether. Hopeful was probably the key word there.

My Prediction: 15th Place

Media Prediction: 18th Place

[DanWarnock]

Season 2024 / 25 - 2. Bundesliga

September 2024

Results

Oh dear. Not a good month.

• Greuther Furth was a tight enough game but the difference in quality was so clear throughout and we were behind in the 5th minute and never looked like troubling them.
• Darmstadt we started brilliantly and took the lead through a Patrick Bauer header but by the 20 minute mark they'd hit three and were so comfortable. Other than Zeroli, it was really hard to see any quality on the pitch to trouble any of these sides so far.
• Nurnberg was another game where the opposition were just far too much for us throughout. Ejaria and Fernandes-Neto had good games but again, the defensive play and quality in the final third to pressure the opposition was so lacking.
• Dresden was the only game of the month where we showed a bit of mettle. Mellberg was sent off just after the half hour for a second bookable offense and we actually stayed competitive. Zimmerschied put them ahead on 80 minutes and then they had a pen minutes later that Koubek got down brilliantly to save. We pushed everything up for the last five and got a reward, Ravaglioli sweeping home a Gordon cross. In the circumstances a brilliant point but that was it for the month. One point.

Table

We were four adrift of 15th place and it was already looking like a long hard season.

 

October 2024

Results

This division was looking beyond us at the moment. Other than the Dortmund game in the cup, there was not enough battle and quality again on the field. Formation changes, lucky rabbits feet and player meetings all thrown at the squad but it was a red month.

• Schalke we traded with throughout the game but we were already two down by the half hour and it was an unassailable uphill task from there. Bauer scored another header from an Ejaria ball in but we didn't get close to threatening them regularly enough in this one.
• Hansa Rostock was another game where we took an early lead but as soon as the game settled into it's rhythm the quality difference was showing us up. There were a few good performances in there from Fitz-Jim, Zeroli and Gordon but this one was all over by the 50 minute mark when the home side got their third.
• Kiel was a tough one to take but we were second best again and the scoreline told the story. They'd dominated the first half and Koubek kept us in it with a string of saves. Second half we tried to keep it competitive but they took the lead on the hour. However ten mins later we were level, Louis-Jean's low cross swept in by Ravaglioli. Similar story though and as our legs tired, the visitors got the winner after pinball in the box and that was it. Three straight defeats in the league for the month.
• Dortmund in the DFB Pokal second round; we actually looked really good in this one. We were two down by half time and then a Louis-Jean own goal put them three up on 50 minutes. We didn't stop though and really had a go at them and were rewarded in the 67th minute when Canpolat pulled one back. In injury time we got another after Scarlett was brought down in the box, Lafont tucked away the resultant penalty.

Table

A worse month than September. Four red dots and a mixed bag performance wise. Dortmund in the cup was encouraging that the players could put a shift in but it was another season of loanees forming our first team and the lack of cohesion was a real concern. We were already 9 points away from safety after 12 games and November / December would be crucial for any chances of survival but it was looking bleak. Maybe we had gone up too quickly from the third tier.

[Vođi]

Things arent looking pretty. How does the board feel about the situation?

[DanWarnock]

On 14/05/2024 at 09:56, Vođi said:

Things arent looking pretty. How does the board feel about the situation?

They weren't happy Vođi, think we were on a D with the board at the end of October. Didn't get a screenshot of that and have moved on a bit since then.

[DanWarnock]

Season 2024 / 25 - 2. Bundesliga

November 2024

Results

It was a record breaking month.

Thanks Tom, appreciated.

It was the draw at Dusseldorf that tipped the scales it it had again been a game we should have won but couldn't hold on. We did however have some room for optimism this month as we did pick up our first win!

• Fortuna Dusseldorf - should have been a win. We went ahead through, they levelled it on the hour and then Fitz-Jim scored from distance to put us ahead. Familar story though and this time it was a Koubek calamity own goal that saw us throw away the chance of a win.
• Magdeburg felt like a must win game and we had much the better of the chances but after Ravaglioli went off injured we looked toothless. Dane Scarlett was definitely not the answer. The visitors scored on 40 minutes to go ahead and despite 8 corners and a ton of pressure we never looked like scoring.
• We finally did it. Elversberg took the lead in this one on 20 minutes and second half we pushed through the gears. Zeroli fired home from close range on the hour after they failed to clear a corner and a 30 yard thunderbolt from Fernandes-Neto gave us the win.
• We had no chance of carrying that momentum into the next game as it was a drubbing at Werder Bremen. They dominated the game and were two up by the half hour. Canopolat pulled one back but Hansen-Aaroen scored with ten to go to wrap it up for them.

Table

We were still nine points adrift at the bottom. Our next game (and only game of December) was home to Braunschweig and this game had to be won; it'd take us off the bottom at the halfway stage and if nothing else that would give us hope. 

 

December 2024

Results

Massive game. Home to second bottom Braunschweig. We were still without Ravaglioli so would have to start with Scarlett up top.

Mellberg put us ahead on 8 minutes with a front post header from a corner and we continued to lay siege to their goal for the rest of the game and missed chance after chance. It looked like we'd been punished when on 74 minutes Cugnata fell asleep at left back and the ball was cut back to Antonucci to fire them level.

We went all out in an attempt to get the winner and were rewarded on 92 minutes when a low Lafont cross was poked home by Karavatakis. An absolutely vital win!

 

 

Table

We finished December 7 points adrift but off the bottom. Still felt like a huge ask at this stage but at least we'd started picking up wins.

We would need some serious additions in the window and some decent momentum to have any chance of survival at this stage.

 

Other News

Unfortunately it had been a disastrous spell at the club for Kouyate and in order to free up some wage budget for January we bit the bullet and released him early from his deal. 

We also agreed a £400k deal with FC Groningen to take Ovie Ejaria in January. He'd done well for us but we are still desperately short of money and have to take those kind of deals when they come round and rely on the loan market to cover the gaps.

This January window needed to be a good one.

[DanWarnock]

Season 2024 / 25 - 2. Bundesliga

January 2025

Transfers

It had been a very good window and deadline day had seen some cracking players arrive at the club.

Gonzaga, Kamara, Arthur and Hoffmann looked like proper first team quality.

The deal for Ejaria going to Groningen and similar to Kouyate we also got Mangala off the wage bill as he was another player who just wasn't at the level.

We had a few interesting players on trial (Bradley Dack being one of them) but no-one worth picking up on a permanent deal.

 

Arrivals - Loans

Jamal Gonzaga would go straight into the first team, a quality all round attacking midfielder and it would need performances from players like him to give us a hope.

Clancy Biten Valere was a bit of a punt to try and get a full back with a bit of quality in but without a scouting budget we were going off limited information and it was still hit or miss. He looked like he'd be ok.

Kassoum Ouattara looked like he had a much more rounded game and would be a reliable body in at left back.

Abu Kamara had a lot of potential and the speed to hopefully cause problems from the flank.

Jesper Uneken. Bit of a blind punt and to be honest didn't look like he'd be pulling up any trees.

The first of five deadline day deals; Christian Osinaga was our first look over to South America for options and without any scouting knowledge I was hoping the Bolivian international was going to have a bit more quality than he's got.

Arthur on loan was an incredible deal. No wage to pay and gave us some real first team quality at right back.

Similar to Kamara, Robert was a good addition to the squad to offer an option in the final third.

Tim Hoffmann again had so much ability at centre back and we now had a proper rounded squad.

Last deal of deadline day was Iggy Houben from PSV, a right sided attacking player with good ability as a winger.

 

Results

• We stuck in there against Paderborn but couldn't reallt shift the pattern of play of them dominating play from deep. They got the goal not long after half time and we didn't come close.
• Heidenheim went two up early and Hagmann was sent off just after half time to make it an impossible one to turn around. Chermiti got their third on 53 minutes and we didn't really lay a glove on them second half.
• But with a few more of our additions coming into the team, we comfortably beat top of the table Darmstadt . Ravaglioli put us ahead on five minutes and substitute Uneken made sure with five to go. Ouattara had a brilliant game for us in this one at left back.

Table

That win against Darmstadt was huge and left us six points adrift of 15th and 5 points away from the playoff spot.

 

Summary

The starting eleven and squad looked so much better after the window, The planned starting eleven looked like this:

Our salary spend compared to the rest of the division at the end of the window:

 

Next Up

Feb and March.

Edited May 18 by DanWarnock

[GrayMatter]

Binge read through this, it really puts into perspective how flexible the rules are in Germany. The fact that all but one of your starters are loanees is nuts! However, the promise of a decent financial windfall regardless of league position should put you in good stead for next season in at least financing some free transfers or cheap youngsters.

[Vođi]

Il 18/5/2024 in 16:40 , DanWarnock ha scritto:

Our salary spend compared to the rest of the division at the end of the window:

 

You are fighting against a totaly different world. The january window looks like you've set yourself up well for the battle, fingers crossed!

[DanWarnock]

On 18/05/2024 at 20:34, ShaunG95 said:

Binge read through this, it really puts into perspective how flexible the rules are in Germany. The fact that all but one of your starters are loanees is nuts! However, the promise of a decent financial windfall regardless of league position should put you in good stead for next season in at least financing some free transfers or cheap youngsters.

Yeah given how much the rules have been clamped down since the whole thing Watford did a few years back with Udinese it was a surprise to see no limit in a league. Yeah hopeful that money can be put to some good use! I'd love to buy some players I actually want / build the team out and recover things properly.

[DanWarnock]

On 21/05/2024 at 10:34, Vođi said:

You are fighting against a totaly different world. The january window looks like you've set yourself up well for the battle, fingers crossed!

The deadline day players are huge improvements on quality. Update incoming

[DanWarnock]

Season 2024 / 25 - 2. Bundesliga

February 2025

Results

Absolute madness. 10 points from a possible 12 (should have been a full 12 as well). Everything had changed in this month alone!

• Against Karlsruhe we took the lead early on thanks to some great work from Zeroli and an emphatic finish from Ravaglioli. Then just before half time they had a man sent off and surely we could push on and get another goal to secure the win? Nope. Home side equalised on 70 minutes. We still had time to absolutely throw it away when we won a penalty with six minutes to go; Lafont rocketed his spot kick towards the top corner but the keeper was equal to it.
• St Pauli were in the top six and it was an absolute battle of a game, the defense stood firm and Robert got the breakthrough just before half time after linking up with fellow Brazilian Arthur
• We came out on top in a crucial relegation six pointer against Kaiserslauten. Zeroli gave us the lead after a jinking run, Abu Kamara put us two up from the spot and then grabbed the third on the hour after nodding home from close range after some pinball in the box. The home side did respond quickly afterwards but three points were safe.
• We ended the month with another win at home to Greuther Furth. Another Kamara penalty gave us the early lead and then Robert put the game beyond reach on 66 mins after latching onto a deft reverse ball from Kamara. The two January window loanees had scored 5 of our 7 goals this month.

Table

We'd finished the month outside of the bottom two and in the relegation playoff spot. Suddenly it had all changed.

 

March 2025

Results

Another huge month! Two wins and then we were well beaten at Schalke.

• We went into this one on the crest of a wave and Nurnberg was all about Kamara from the spot again. Twice! He was looking the absolute key player amongst the quality that was brought to the club in Jan.
• Dynamo Dresden was another three points courtesy of Abu Kamara. He laid on Uneken for the first just before half time and got the crucial second with a superb volley after a Hoffmann knock down. The visitors pulled one back in injury time but another crucial win! Suddenly survival was looking like a possibility.
• Bit of a reality check at Schalke. They were 4-0 up inside 20 minutes and it was game over. We just could not handle them and on loan Mathis Lambourde in particular tore us apart; scoring a hat trick in the process.

Table

In ten games we'd gone from dead and buried to five points clear of the relegation zone in 13th! Abu Kamara - what a man.

 

Summary

I feel it needs one. Whilst we'd hoped some of the signings in the window would have given us a chance, never did I think that run was going to take place. We were dominating games and taking our chances (even if four of the goals in this period had come from Abu Kamara penalties). Seven games left and it felt as if three wins would be enough!

Oh, other news. We managed to get a decent coach in. Although he lacked the international experience we'd set out for at the start of the save, he was the first coach of any quality or pedigree that wanted to join.

April up next.

Edited May 24 by DanWarnock

[SixPointer]

Wow it’s tight down there, but I think with your current form in the last two months you’ll survive 

[DanWarnock]

Season 2024 / 25 - 2. Bundesliga

April 2025

Crunch Time

This month was going to be massive, I think three wins and it's safety.

Our first game would be a huge one against Rostock at home and would be a great opportunity for us to gain three huge points against a relegation rival.

___________________________________________________________________
2. Bundesliga | Hansa Rostock (H)

Unfortunately the visitors absolutely bossed the game and the attacking nature of our current setup was unpicked, they found huge swaithes of space on the counter and tore us apart.

The bottom of the table after this one still had us clear but looked like we'd really missed a chance here to pull clear.

Kiel up next. Hoping we can get back on the form that pulled us out of the relegation mire to give us a chance of survival.

Changed it up a bit to try and command the midfield; shipping 8 goals in the last two wasn’t good and Kiel are flying high.

___________________________________________________________________

2. Bundesliga | Kiel (A)

Tightened up massively against Kiel, the home team didn’t have a shot on target first half and Zeroli headed home after the half hour to put us ahead.

The second half they were much the better side but we held firm for a huge three points!

With Kaiserslautern winning as well we'd pushed the gap out to the bottom two to six points with that one.

Allowed myself a glance at the prize money again as it looked like we were somehow edging closer to safety.

Not sure how 4th - 15th get paid, Does everyone get £12.71m if we finished 15^th or better. Doesn't seem right but that would be insane.

Dusseldorf at home next, the visitors could end up just outside the playoff with a win.

Ahead of the Dusseldorf game there was a bit of bad news.

The talismanic midfielder would be out for a few weeks and hopefully we could still get the points and get over the line.

___________________________________________________________________

2. Bundesliga | Fortuna Dusseldorf (H)

We went two behind early on in this; tried to chop and change it and push the team on from half time but they got the third just at the end of the game and it was a case of being well beaten by a much better side on the day.

Braunschweig got a win which meant it was down to a four point gap to the playoff and relegation zone:

11^th place Magdeburg next. I think four more points would be enough and we had to be targeting this one for a win.

The respective relegation run ins of us and those around us looked like this:

It was looking promising.

___________________________________________________________________

2. Bundesliga | Magdeburg (A)

Fortunately the lads put in their best performance of the season at the best possible time and we annihilated them. Kamara scored a beauty early on and despite signing on loan in January he was an absolute pivotal player in this survival run. They levelled seconds after the restart but Ravaglioli and then Mellberg gave us a decent cushion. Ravaglioli got a second late on to cap a match winning performance for him and surely that would be enough to keep us out of danger and in the second tier.

Seven clear of 17^th place. One more win and we were mathematically safe from relegation. Six clear of 16^th place and realistically another win should do it!

___________________________________________________________________

Results

___________________________________________________________________

April 2025 - Table

___________________________________________________________________

Up Next

May.

Edited May 26 by DanWarnock

[DanWarnock]

On 24/05/2024 at 23:57, SixPointer said:

Wow it’s tight down there, but I think with your current form in the last two months you’ll survive 

[DanWarnock]

Season 2024 / 25 - 2. Bundesliga

May 2025

Final Countdown

Three games left, surely we're safe but until it's mathematically assured there's always a chance.

Away to 12th place Elversberg and given the run of form (especially away from home) it was a great chance to secure safety.
___________________________________________________________________

2. Bundesliga | Elversberg (A)

Huge game this one. We started well enough and were dominating the midfield battle early on but couldn't force the early goal. We were then punished on 36 minutes after they drove down our left and after pinball in the box, Schnellbacher tucking it home past Koubek. But before half time, it was all level. Kamara picked the ball up inside their box on the right hand side, got to the byline and crossed for Fitz-Jim to slot home. After the break, we went through the gears and Ravaglioli latched onto a through ball from Lafont to crucially put us ahead. We continued to look the better side but it wasn't until 86 minutes that the game was put to bed. Ouattara picked up a short corner and played a simple ball across the box for Fitz-Jim to make sure and surely put us safe. There was still time for another goal; Lafont making it 4 in added time from the spot.

Results had gone our way in the other games; Braunschweig lost and this meant that we were safe.
___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

Next up Werden Bremen.

They’re top of the league and I’m glad we don’t have anything to play for going into this one.
___________________________________________________________________

2. Bundesliga | Werder Bremen (H)

Just as well there was nothing to play in this one as we got ripped apart by the top side in the division.

Mara put them ahead and we got one back on the half hour with an own goal but they took full control with goals either side of half time. Ravaglioli got one back for us but they were a class apart.

For context their matchwinner Sekou Mara is on £41k a week. Our whole team budget for the week is just under £41k.

They actually won the league with this one and paraded the title on the pitch. 

Well we were safe, that was probably a bigger achievement than what they'd done to be fair.

Final game - Braunschweig away. A win would give us a chance of finishing 11th which would have been an utterly unthinkable target back in November.
___________________________________________________________________

2. Bundesliga | Braunschweig (A)

It was a scrappy first half with few chances but we got two just before half time. Another Abu Kamara penalty put us ahead and then a deflected effort from Kaide Gordon gave us a healthy cushion. Ujah pulled one back for them on 70 mins but we held out to win.

This gave us a final finishing position of 12th

Results

Table

Prize Money

Good money that!

Budget

Thoughts on this can be summed up by the below:

Other News

The board agreed to increase the transfer revenue up from 5% to 20%!

They also came back with some quality options for a new senior affiliate!

Decided to go with Leverkusen based purely on the spread of quality players who would provisionally join us on loan.

The Krattenmacher sell on fee was available for us to sell as well for nearly £1m; given Juventus are currently sniffing around we'll hold out for now:

Up Next

Season Review - 2024 / 25 Season.

Edited May 27 by DanWarnock

[SixPointer]

5 hours ago, DanWarnock said:

Season 2024 / 25 - 2. Bundesliga

May 2025

Final Countdown

Three games left, surely we're safe but until it's mathematically assured there's always a chance.

Away to 12th place Elversberg and given the run of form (especially away from home) it was a great chance to secure safety.
___________________________________________________________________

2. Bundesliga | Elversberg (A)

Huge game this one. We started well enough and were dominating the midfield battle early on but couldn't force the early goal. We were then punished on 36 minutes after they drove down our left and after pinball in the box, Schnellbacher tucking it home past Koubek. But before half time, it was all level. Kamara picked the ball up inside their box on the right hand side, got to the byline and crossed for Fitz-Jim to slot home. After the break, we went through the gears and Ravaglioli latched onto a through ball from Lafont to crucially put us ahead. We continued to look the better side but it wasn't until 86 minutes that the game was put to bed. Ouattara picked up a short corner and played a simple ball across the box for Fitz-Jim to make sure and surely put us safe. There was still time for another goal; Lafont making it 4 in added time from the spot.

Results had gone our way in the other games; Braunschweig lost and this meant that we were safe.
___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

Next up Werden Bremen.

They’re top of the league and I’m glad we don’t have anything to play for going into this one.
___________________________________________________________________

2. Bundesliga | Werder Bremen (H)

Just as well there was nothing to play in this one as we got ripped apart by the top side in the division.

Mara put them ahead and we got one back on the half hour with an own goal but they took full control with goals either side of half time. Ravaglioli got one back for us but they were a class apart.

For context their matchwinner Sekou Mara is on £41k a week. Our whole team budget for the week is just under £41k.

They actually won the league with this one and paraded the title on the pitch. 

Well we were safe, that was probably a bigger achievement than what they'd done to be fair.

Final game - Braunschweig away. A win would give us a chance of finishing 11th which would have been an utterly unthinkable target back in November.
___________________________________________________________________

2. Bundesliga | Braunschweig (A)

It was a scrappy first half with few chances but we got two just before half time. Another Abu Kamara penalty put us ahead and then a deflected effort from Kaide Gordon gave us a healthy cushion. Ujah pulled one back for them on 70 mins but we held out to win.

This gave us a final finishing position of 12th

Results

Table

Prize Money

Good money that!

Budget

Thoughts on this can be summed up by the below:

Other News

The board agreed to increase the transfer revenue up from 5% to 20%!

They also came back with some quality options for a new senior affiliate!

Decided to go with Leverkusen based purely on the spread of quality players who would provisionally join us on loan.

The Krattenmacher sell on fee was available for us to sell as well for nearly £1m; given Juventus are currently sniffing around we'll hold out for now:

Up Next

Another summer rebuild in June and July. In the second tier still!

 

Superb season bud. Built some solid foundations to go on and cement that place. 
 

hopefully Juve part with the cash would be a nice boost to the budget. 
 

have you already got your targets for additions looked out?

[Vođi]

Congrats! 12th place finish, with 10 points in excess, now that comes as a great surprise!

Hopefully now with the money flowing in, you can concentrate on building the squad proper. 

[DanWarnock]

18 hours ago, SixPointer said:

Superb season bud. Built some solid foundations to go on and cement that place. 
 

hopefully Juve part with the cash would be a nice boost to the budget. 
 

have you already got your targets for additions looked out?

Thanks mate.

Budget situation is still dire in comparison to the rest of the league. We netted £8m but finances were £3.5m in the red by the end of the season; the commercial and matchday revenue streams and paltry in comparison to the whole division.

Mainly looking at loans still to stay competitive; got a few Leverkusen players I'd like to get in and main thing is renewing the loans for some of the key players from last season (Zeroli) and also Kamara is out of contract at the end of the season with Norwich but although interested I can't get near his wage demands of £8k a week :/ 

8 hours ago, Vođi said:

Congrats! 12th place finish, with 10 points in excess, now that comes as a great surprise!

Hopefully now with the money flowing in, you can concentrate on building the squad proper. 

Delighted to have stayed up but the squad building will still have to wait; need some more of that money pumping through the club to get things stabilised financially.

Will be predominantly loans again I think but there is certainly budget to pick up a few players who we could hopefully use to build out an identity for the squad.

[DanWarnock]

Season 2024 / 25 - 2. Bundesliga

___________________________________________________________________
End of Season Review

My Prediction: 15th Place

Media Prediction: 18th Place

Actual Finish: 12th Place

Well we were dead and buried and somehow absolutely pulled it back out of nowhere. It all changed after the January window for us and the form we showed was absolutely top drawer.

To finish comfortably clear of the drop zone would have been impossible to even consider in November.
___________________________________________________________________

Summary

___________________________________________________________________

Best Eleven

___________________________________________________________________

Player of the Season  -  Abu Kamara

The Norwich loanee was only here for half a season but he was absolutely integral to the turn in form and his ability from the spot was absolutely crucial. He was out of contract at the end of the season and we’d be looking to try and get the tricky winger in on a permanent deal (although the financial restraints might have a big say in this). Ouattara, Zeroli and Ravaglioli had excellent seasons for us as well against a backdrop of general underperformance in a difficult league.

___________________________________________________________________

Top Scorer  -  Tommaso Ravaglioli  -  13 League Goals

The Italian youngster was one of our shining lights in the season and scored some crucial goals. He’d be another we were looking to retain on loan if possible.

___________________________________________________________________

Youth Intake  -  2025

It was a bobbins intake; not a single player of note. 

Instead, we’ll look at how the class of 2024 have developed since they signed deals last year.

Esmeray still looked like the one who might make it but he certainly wasn’t cut out for this level at present. The other two. Not so sure.

Faruk Esmaray

Manuel Heidinger

Mehmet Turkman

Next Up

Season 2026 / 26 - 2. Bundesliga.

[DanWarnock]

Season 2025 / 26 - 2. Bundesliga

June 2025

Finances

The bank was looking much healthier thanks to the prize money and we had a little more to spend as a result.

The net debt was also looking a lot better:

Loan Renewals

Date	Person	From	Fee
01/07/2025	Kevin Zeroli	AC Milan	Loan
01/07/2025	Tommaso Ravaglioli	Bologna	Loan
01/07/2025	Kassoum Ouattara	Monaco	Loan

The budget wasn’t massive again this year so quality loans would be the backbone again of a lot of our business.

Kevin Zeroli, Ravaglioli and Ouattara had their loan deals renewed for another year and all three were massive for us last season. I also realised that Felix Hagmann was still at the club and had no idea why.

Then realised he'd signed on a two year loan deal when we got him last season!

Squad before the transfer window opened

July 2025

Transfers (before season opener)

Some of the permanent deals we landed in July were unreal. A lot of good defensive players came in, probably none better than Jeanuel Belocian so we'll start with him below.

Last years star man Abu Kamara’s contract was expiring at Norwich but unfortunately we couldn’t get anywhere near his demands and he ended up signing a new deal to remain at Carrow Road.

There were a few other trialists we'd got in but we didn't miss out on anything else that I really wanted to get done.

Permanent Deals

Jeanuel Belocian (free) represented an unbelievable bit of business. He had everything and was a top flight defender who could also play left back. Easily the pick of the signings.

Nathanial Phillips (free) in on a free would also mean we had two top class centre backs secured at the start of the window. Really happy to have such a strong core in there.

David Luiz (free) I mean, come on. You have to. At 38 years old Sideshow Bob would give us a load of experience and an option to play as a CB and CDM. He was still a quality player.

 

Alfie Gilchrist (free) was another decent looking signing after his release by Chelsea. He could cover right back as well which meant we had a lot of quality options already at the back.

Loans

John Mellberg, yes another defender. But we really needed quality and plenty of it and I was delighted with what we had at the back now.

Uriah Djedje gave us a quality breaker option in the midfield.

Fin Stevens was the last of the defensive reinforcements and would be first choice at right back.

Leo Walta was another one with plenty of talent and would give us a first team option for a midfield orchestrator / playmaker.

Merveille Papela was another breaker in the midfield and testament to the quality players we had coming in.

Jardell Kanga was another one from Leverkusen and we didn't need to pay a penny for him. First team option on the right hand side without question.

Fabiano was the first of two options we'd got in for the left flank; the Brazilian joined for a season loan and looked like a first team player already at 19.

Afonso Moreira was the other left sided option and he looked even better than Fabiano.

Herbie James was the last of the players we got in before the season opener and he'd offer cover on the right flank and up top.

Players Out

With the quality we'd got in at centre back, we offloaded Patrick Bauer to Osnabruck for a small fee.

But the big one here was Kaide Gordon. He had a few clubs sniffing around him and we could not turn down £2.5m for the former Liverpool winger; that was big money!

 

Friendlies

Standard. The Leverkusen performance wasn't bad at all!

Squad before the opener

Our first game would be at home to Paderborn (end of July but I'll wrap it up with the August results).

The squad had a few 'grey' players on the bench; worth noting that this one was played before the loan signings of Walta, Papela, Kanga, Fabiano, Morieria and James so the flanks were unfortunately looking a bit dire ahead of the game.

Predictions.

The squad was so much better than last seasons already; it's hard to gauge when there are so many new players (and loans especially) coming in but I fancied a top half (and whisper it top six) finish

 

My Prediction: 6th Place

Media Prediction: 14th Place

 

Next Up

Season opener, August results and Deadline Day.

Edited May 29 by DanWarnock

[DanWarnock]

Season 2025 / 26 - 2. Bundesliga

July 2025 

July - season opener

___________________________________________________________________

2. Bundesliga | SC Paderborn (H)

We weren't at full strength with having a fully available starting eleven even yet; despite this we put a good account of ourselves in but fell to a defeat on the opening day.

We went two down in ten minutes but Karavatakis got one back for us after a flicked through ball from Ravaglioli.

We weren't too bad in this one but the visitors were much the better and deserved the win.

Will cover the results and league table end of August.

Broke a record in this one:

___________________________________________________________________

August 2025 

Deadline Day - Transfers

Attacking players were the order of the day and we landed three loans and a quality permanent deal for an attacking midfielder in the form of Faustino Anjorin.

Faruk Esmeray was shipped out on loan to SV Waldhof for first team experience.

Permanent Deals

Faustino Anjorin (free) represented a great bit of business. Versatile and able to play across the attacking front and centre mid; I think he'd be primarily an AMC but really happy with this one.

Loans

Omari Hutchinson gave us some great options again in attacking midfield and with him and Anjorin we would be able to setup with a 4-2-3-1 that had some good balance.

Bertuğ Yıldırım had good all round stats to play a few roles as a striker. Would provide genuine first team depth and a potential starter option.

Yusef Erabi was another really good target man and we got him in on loan from Juve. He had the potential to be the main focal point and starter in this team.

Results - August

• Augsburg away was a great three points. We dominated possession and both goals were opportunist in the second half, Papela latching on to a poor clearance and slotting home and Stevens came in off the flank and knocked home a half cleared header.
• Heiderheim away in the cup; they scored 3rd minute and we grabbed two quick goals in response to go in ahead at half time. They were much the better in the second half and deservedly won it 3-2.
• Magdeburg away was a disappointing one. We were much the better team in this but they took the lead on twenty minutes. Fabiano pulled one back with a wonderful free kick into the top corner just before half time and we should have gone on to push on and dominate the game. But the home side got the eventual winner on 50 minutes and despite pressing forward again we went away empty handed.
• Wehen - the second game running where we did enough and should have won it but couldn't and failed to convert our dominance and chances. This one was one of the main reasons for targeting the better attacking players before the window closed.
• Away to Heiderheim for the second time this month; this time in the league. Didn't mind this one as it was another good performance and we were under the cosh for a lot of it.

 

Results Summary

Table

Squad - end of window

 

Starting 11

Really pleased with the balance of the squad. The starting eleven is very strong on paper, the only area that I'd be hopeful of a better return would be from the strikers but some good players have come in at the end of the window.

It'd be an interesting season if we could keep everyone fit.

Up Next

September and October.

Edited May 29 by DanWarnock

[DanWarnock]

Season 2025 / 26 - 2. Bundesliga

September 2025

Coaches

Realised I hadn't updated on the coaching setup at the club (given one of the aims was to get a coaching staff full of former internationals).

Well given the state of the finances and the draw of the club being prohibitive, we hadn't got too many legendary players in but we did now boast former Arsenal stalwart and England International (2 caps - still an international right?) Steve Bould as assistant manager.

We also had Jason Euell (Jamaica - 3 caps) as a coach. Stellar stuff.

Budgets

We were still absolute minnows compared to the spending power of most of the other teams in the division.

 

Free Transfers

Shopping in the bargain bins and found two quality signings in September to supplement the squad; former United and Arsenal forward Danny Welbeck would give us another option up top as cover and Lewis Bate (released by Leeds) was a player who had more than enough quality for this level.

Danny Welbeck

Lewis Bate

Results

A quite brilliant month - 7 points from a possible 12 and the performances were top notch.

• Hard fought point against Schalke, the visitors did have one disallowed before half time but it was a sturdy defensive performance.
• We dismantled Hansa Rostock, Moriera put us ahead early on with a brilliant run from the left hand side and finish inside the box but the visitors levelled before half time. Second half a glut of three goals in ten minutes then saw them off and they grabbed a consolation at the death.
• Ingolstadt was another game of complete dominance that belied the scoreline. Kanga and Moreira put us two up with and we dominated the game completely. Pollack pulled one back for them late on but it was a comfortable victory.
• Finished the month with defeat against St Pauli; they went two up after 34 minutes and despite Fabiano pulling one back for us on 76 minutes they caught us in added time with a third as we tried to push on for an equaliser. 

 

Table - End of September 2025

October 2025

Results

Another brilliant month, the team was dominating games and getting the results. Only minor concern was lack of goals from strikers but we were getting the job done.

• We dominated against Elversburg but only snuck the win fairly late on thanks to a wonderful free kick from Walta. We'd created a lot of chances in this one but struggled to hit the target with the majority of them.
• Verl was a close game and we went ahead early thanks to a back post volley from Fabinho after a brilliant Stevens cross but they equalised shortly afterwards. We did step it up for the last twenty minutes and were rewarded when a deft ball from Fabiano found Ravaglioli at the back post and he headed home the winner.
• We should have beaten Greuther Furth but given we went behind in this one on the half hour, was happy to get the point; Belocian heading home the rebound after Zeroli's initial header was saved.

Table

Another really strong month and we were up in 7th!

Up Next

November and December.

[_Ben_]

I've really, really loved following this. As someone who has just managed in Germany and loves tha against all odds approach of this, I've been hooked. You, earlier in your save than I, have brought through a load of youngsters I know because they're the 'prime' players I'm facing week in, week out. You've continued to overachieve and I hope you can continue to kick on, become more financially stable and flex your 2.Liga muscles a bit.

How does the Bundesliga look? Is Xabi recreating his real life accolades?

[DanWarnock]

7 hours ago, _Ben_ said:

I've really, really loved following this. As someone who has just managed in Germany and loves tha against all odds approach of this, I've been hooked. You, earlier in your save than I, have brought through a load of youngsters I know because they're the 'prime' players I'm facing week in, week out. You've continued to overachieve and I hope you can continue to kick on, become more financially stable and flex your 2.Liga muscles a bit.

How does the Bundesliga look? Is Xabi recreating his real life accolades?

Ah thankyou mate, glad you're enjoying it. It's already up there as one of my favourite saves in recent years and glad I chose this to start the blog / story journey. This season is looking promising so far (albeit with a squad full of loans but hey... it's still a squad).

Xabi actually left Leverkusen in the summer of 2024 after finishing 5th place in the previous season to join Inter. Sergio Conceicao took over and they won the Bundesliga in 24/25! He however then left and moved on to... Udinese! Which when I just checked makes sense at they have a Tycoon in charge as of May 2025. Leverkusen look to have hit a sticky patch by the looks and would be hard pressed to defend their title.

Edited May 30 by DanWarnock

[DanWarnock]

Season 2025 / 26 - 2. Bundesliga

November 2025

Results

Top drawer set of results. I'm not getting carried away and saying anything but... errrm, this all looks very promising. We're 4th!

• Nurnberg to start the month. Set us up to be a bit more defensive and cautious. Instead the players put in a performance full of flow, creativity and attacking flair and destroyed the home side. Anjorin scored two and laid on two for our first 10.0 performance of the Warnock reign. He was looking class and I’d already begun to get nervous about the £6.5m release clause.

• Dresden next and Danny Welbeck scored the only goal of the game in the first minute, latching onto a ball across the box from Moreira. They pressed throughout the game and had chances but we were the better side and won it on merit. We finished this one three points off top spot. Ahead of the Dresden game I was asked on my thoughts about Dane Scarlett as he was up top for them. Given his inauspicious spell with us last season I answered politely and clearly in the press conference.
  
  
  
  I was right, he was awful in the game btw.

• Big game away to Hertha who had underperformed and sacked their manager, we were facing them for Dirk Kuyts first game in charge. They are decent and went ahead, we really pushed on and levelled it late through a Zeroli header but the home side scored the eventual winner one minute later and it was probably a fair scorline for how the game went.

• We finished the month with a superb 1-0 victory at home to Darmstadt. The general approach play was class but lack of a goalscorer up top was still hurting (Welbeck got injured before this one) and it took a late Anjorin penalty to secure the win. This put us 4^th. Depending on what kind of budget we could get use of in January it felt like we had every chance of mounting a challenge on a top six finish.

 

Table

 

Other News

The fans and board love Warnock so thought we'd see if we could sweet talk Manni and it worked:

Also had a bit of transfer news that would boost the coffers in January:

He’d not got game time and started making noises about a loan move and I felt it best to just take it on the chin and move him on. Getting £1.5m for a player we’d just picked up on a free months before cannot be baulked at though!

December 2025

Results

As per last season, one game before the winter break and we put Kiel to the sword.

• Kiel away. Superb performance, another Anjorin penalty to open things and then Moreira got the second after good work up top from Ravaglioli up top. He had a decent game but again scoring was beyond him; he missed a sitter at 2-0 from a couple of yards that was blazed over. If this team had a finisher it definitely had the chance to do something. Scouts lobbed on high priority striker search!

Table

Forgot screenshot. We're three points off the top.

 

Job Offers

We were attracting interest:

Obviously rejected without question but nice to know we were getting a bit of respect for the way we were playing football.

What the actual...

Whilst having a look around on the striker search this bang average, low potential forward popped up as an option and thought we'd give him a punt:

How on earth has he joined. Why does he want to join. I have no idea but I hope he does the things I've seen him do on other saves (I've never had him before but surely he's the one to fire the goals in.

The Shortlist

We'd got some more scouts in now we’re in a position to have a bit of a scouting budget and set them off looking across Central Europe for sizing up targets.

Long term targets for players to get in off the back of our work as below:

Rigg, van Persie and Zvonarek were high on the radar but all of them would cost money we don't have right now. I'd be hoping soon to be in a position where we can pick and sign the players we want though if the finances keep improving.

Up Next

January window and results.

 

[DanWarnock]

Season 2025 / 26 - 2. Bundesliga

January 2026

Transfers

Another really strong transfer window and we'd really built out a squad now that... nope, not saying it. Will take each game as it comes.

All loans but the likes of van Persie, Justo, Ramsak, Hoffmann, Hannibal all joining would hugely strengthen the starting eleven and overall depth.

Arrivals - Loans

Shaqueel van Persie. Well I know his dad was pretty good and he's also one of the best young talents in world football so we'll take him all day.

Samuel Justo had absolutely everything and would walk into the midfield.

Robert Ramsak was another instance of us using the Leverkusen link to pick up a top quality player with no fee or wage to pay. All rounder who would strengthen the striking options no end.

Tim Hoffmann. Ol' Reliable. Another loan spell for the defender who is the kind of player I'd like to sign to build a defence around if we had money!

Koen Jansen gave us depth at left back - deadline day was a busy one.

Madi Monamay. Leverkusen loanee. No fee. No wage. Quality. Centre back.

Hannibal. Big hair. Big game player. Big signing.

Harrison Ashby was a very last minute one to get cover in at right back. Helped round off and balance the squad.

Leon Klanac gave us a bit of cover in goal; we'd only had Turkman as cover and he wasn't anywhere near the level really to step in if needed.

Sean Nilsen-Modebe I was really happy to get in. I'd had a journeyman save in the recent past where he helped me take Leicester to the title and was absolutely lethal. Fingers crossed for more of the same.

Results

A great month and one of these games definitely stands out. Couldn't avoid the fact now that this team had a serious chance of getting promoted.

• Augsburg. We didn't create chances and it was a bit of a nothing game. They're mid table but much better than their bare form.
• The Portuguese pair of Justo and Moriera ran this game for us against Paderborn; we went two up and controlled it. Home side pulled one back late on.
• Errrrrrm. Hansa Rostock. Stop it. They were dire but we were absolutely unstoppable. Everything just worked. Three up within fifteen minutes, they pulled one back on 18 mins but than van Persie scored with a move from our kick off. The goals didn't stop and yeah. 8-1. This game told me it's a promotion challenge now.

Table

One point off the top. Goal difference somewhat boosted by absolutely killing Rostock 8-1. More of this and the season would definitely be interesting!

 

Budgets

Lowest budget in the league; vastly overachieving. I mean the freebee loans from Leverkusen and general abuse / use of the loan market are massively aiding this but we're in with every chance of a promotion tilt to the Bundesliga on a shoestring. I'm not quite sure what happens if we get there. Actually. No. Let's not worry about that for now. Too much season to go!

Up Next

Feb / March

[DanWarnock]

Season 2025 / 26 - 2. Bundesliga

February 2026

Results

Against the backdrop of the previous two months and that result against Rostock this was a bit of a fall from grace but still only one loss.

The Magdeburg game - bloody hell. No idea how it wasn't a win.

• As above. Magdeburg. Absolutely shredded them and missed a truckload of chances. I think we hit the goal frame six times.
  
  Yeah funny enough it was frustrating.
• Followed this up with a good win against Wehen. Anjorin. Haven't really spoken much about him but he'd been superb for us this year and this game was no exception. Nilsen-Modebe grabbed his first for the club in injury time to secure the win.
• Huge game against Heidenheim. The visitors were top of the league and we were in second. There was a flurry of goals around the half hour with them going ahead, a comical own goal levelling it but then Mladenovic scored his second a minute later to restore the lead. Raschl then put the visitors 3-1 up before half time. We fought back with a Kanga goal and piled loads of pressure on in the last 15 mins but couldn’t get the goal. This gave them breathing space at the top and we'd missed a chance to go top!

Table

The Heidenheim game was a biggy at the end of the month there. We'd have gone top with a game in hand which would have been huge! Still. 2nd place was unreal. We were still amongst it.

 

March 2026

Results

Huge set of results here. Schalke was a big point, Ingolstadt was a shocker but the other two wins were class.

• Hard fought and good point against Schalke. An Anjorin pen put us ahead but the home side equalised on the half hour. We kept disciplined and battled; thought we’d won it in injury time but Modebe had strayed offside. Koubek went off injured with ten mins left and he'd broken an arm. 
  
  
  Klanac would need to step up; the 18 year old loanee (not that being a loanee in this team is unique) would have a key role to fill.

• Ingolstadt – battered them but couldn't score. 18 shots and dominant, just couldn’t finish and somehow that lack of a goalscorer was still an issue despite the 8-1 win against Rostock in January!

• St Pauli was a huge win and Anjorin was again the match winner.

After the St.Pauli game we had this inbox item pop up:

Justo (2 days), Kanga (2 days), Anjorin (2 weeks) and Ravaglioli (1 month). Not ideal prep ahead of Elversberg.

• But Elversberg was a huge win and van Persie finally showed what he was capable of with four in the 5-2 win.

Table

One point off the top. Ye gads. 

Other news - found a gem.

Saman Bye Nesselquist. He looked absolutely unreal and scouts were telling me to do everything I could to get him. He also has a £3k (yes that's £3,000) release clause. But he doesn't want to join as he doesn't think it will be good for his development. I have no idea what he's on about. We're a team with average training facilities and a squad almost entirely built up of loans. What's not to like!?

Really wanted him and would be keeping a close eye.

[DanWarnock]

Season 2025 / 26 - 2. Bundesliga

April 2026

Another Injury

I mean he wasn't really getting a game but classic Welbeck. out for 4-5 months and retiring end of the season. I took out the injury release clause from his contract as I thought it might sour the deal!

April - Results in detail

Simply a huge month and starting it off home to Verl would hopefully give us an opportunity for another three points.

___________________________________________________________________

2. Bundesliga | Verl (H)

Another attacking masterclass, whilst we couldn’t play Zeroli and Justo in a midfield two for every game in the ones we knew we were going to be pressing forward and dominating play they were the basis for destroying teams. Zeroli’s goals and consistency had been huge again this season and the whole team in this one were on it. Anjorin had a quieter game by his standards but he’d been irrepressible throughout the season so far.

Up next a massive game against Greuther; a win and we’d be 6 clear of them in 3^rd place.
___________________________________________________________________

2. Bundesliga | Greuther Furth (A)

We played a bit more of a defensive setup against the in form side in the division but behind early to a well worked goal. They were definitely up the top of the table on merit but we got into it more in the second half and missed a few good chances (Kanga and van Persie both missing headers when they should have at least hit the target). Despite the late pressure it was a crucial victory for the home side.

___________________________________________________________________

2. Bundesliga | Nurnberg (H)

Home to lowly Nurnberg next and we could play with the choke off again. It was similar results to the Verl game.

Utter dominance, Justo was now undroppable and the first name on the teamsheet. We had a bit of a mare giving away two penalties to go in at half time 4-3 but Moriera and Bate sealed it second half.

St Pauli beat Greuther Furth which gave us a three point cushion again as well which was a huge boost going into the final four games.

___________________________________________________________________

The Promotion Run In

Dresden away would be tough and despite hugely underperforming in the league Hertha had an incredible squad.

Darmstadt arguably would be the easiest of the remaining games and then Kiel at home could easily be anything from a title to playoff clinching game given how tight the league was.

Ahead of the Dresden game we lost van Persie to a hernia; other than a couple of glimpses he hadn’t delivered to the level I’d expected but it was still a blow. We also lost Modebe to food poisoning just before the game, meaning Ramsak would be leading the line in a season where we just hadn’t got a rhythm out of a striker.

Every game was crucial now and ahead of our game these two results couldn’t have been better for us at the top:

Every game was crucial now and ahead of our game these two results couldn’t have been better for us at the top:

___________________________________________________________________

2. Bundesliga | Dynamo Dresden (A)

We were solid, compact and broke well but just couldn’t break the deadlock. Justo had one disallowed on 67 that must have been marginal but we were much the better side throughout.

Happy with a point though as that put us top of the pile!

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Results

Table

Bloody hell. Run in was looking tough and it's unbelievably tight up there. One game at a time and it was Hertha at home first game of May.

Up Next

May. Big scary May.

 

[DanWarnock]

Season 2025 / 26 - 2. Bundesliga

May 2026

Big month.

This one seemed relevant again.

Hertha. Home.

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2. Bundesliga | Hertha Berlin (H)

Hertha next and despite the visitors sitting in 12^th their squad was absolute quality. This was going to be a difficult one.

We started with a positive setup but fell behind just after the twenty minute mark. Anjorin put us level with a cool finish to go in level at the break. van Hooijdonk put the visitors ahead just after half time and then the leveller came again on 56 for us with Kanga heading home a majestic cross from Zeroli. We did push and press towards the end but in the circumstances a point would do.

Kiel hammered Heidenheim to go top with us sitting second:

Away to Darmstadt next (who were actually in great form). We simply had to win.

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2. Bundesliga | Darmstadt (A)

 

We threw it away in gutwrenching style and collapsed with tired legs in the second half.

We forged ahead well with an early Anjorin goal but then proceeded to concede the most ridiculous own goal I’ve seen in FM. Top bins. I'll upload a video of it if I can work out how.

Ramsak headed us ahead however on the quarter hour and then an Anjorin penalty looked to have given us a decent cushion.

However the home side countered on the hour to pull one back and then we fell apart for the remainder of the game. Smajic equalised on 78 and the almost inevitable winner came on 85 mins for the home team.

This put the title out of reach and automatic promotion out of our hands. Last game was against top side Kiel as well. We needed a win and to hope that Paderborn failed to win at Schalke.

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Ahead of the big game

They were already up. We needed to beat them and hope Schalke did us a favour.

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2. Bundesliga | Kiel (H)

The visitors were in rude form and we absolutely have to be on it to win this one. Not only did we need to win for an outside chance of an automatic berth but failing to win would almost certainly knock us out of playoff contention.

Kanga sprung us into an early lead with a great finish from a Justo centre. But despite dominating the early stages our fragility showed as we conceded a soft goal on the half hour.

Kiel then hit a post just before half time when it looked easier to score and it was all getting a bit too much.

The way things were we were out of the playoff hunt and finishing 4^th.

Half Time: Unterhaching 1-1 Kiel

We kicked off the second half and within 20 seconds had been gifted a crucial goal to put us 2-1 up! Kanga overhit a long ball through towards Ravaglioli and their keeper came out to claim. But on the edge of his box he seemed to only be able to try and chest the ball clear and it fell straight to the Italian striker to tuck into an unguarded net!

As it stood, Schalke and Paderborn were level which meant we were looking good.

We carried on battling through and then big news at Schalke!

Goal at Schalke – 84^th minute

Schalke 1-0 Paderborn!

We just needed to stay ahead.

But absolute drama in the 95th minute as a deep Katterbach ball found Sterner at the back post. He steadied himself and the whole season felt like it came down to this.

Koubek stood tall. A wonder save!

We stayed ahead!

Schalke stayed ahead!

We were going up!

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Results

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Final Table

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Another title celebration on our pitch

Kiel celebrated the title; didn't mind too much as we'd got second place and that was unreal.

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PROMOTED TO THE BUNDESLIGA

Prize Money

£14.2m! Absolutely huge!

26/27 Transfer Budget

Right Manni. How many million we got to throw at this. £15m budget would be ideal. £250k a week wages.

Erm. Manni lad. I don't think that's going to work do you!?

Christ.

Well. Again that’s next seasons problem.

For now we were up and by getting automatic had avoided an awful looking tie against last years Bundesliga 2. Champions Werder Bremen.

That said, Greuther Furth beat them over two legs and were also promoted!
 

Other News

Jumped straight into asking about improving training facilities and to be fair Manni stepped up.

I mean I say to be fair. I'm still thinking about the transfer and wage budgets for the Bundeliga.

Remember the £3k lad?

Still doesn't want to know and bigger boys are coming in now. A striker for £3k suddenly seems like a necessity but he ended up going to Nice. 

Up Next

June and July. Bundesliga prep. Hopefully Manni will have a look down the back of the sofa in the interim.

[DanWarnock]

The Ouattara own goal against Darmstadt.

We'd just gone one up and I'd just told them to keep it calm and nothing too silly. 

 

[DanWarnock]

Mega content dump. I had tried queuing all these up as I'm on holiday for a week but turns out I can't unhide posts once I've hidden them. Checked with mods and they unhid them as was easiest way. Don't read it all at once! 

Next update will be little over a week away.

[DanWarnock]

Season 2025 / 26 - 2. Bundesliga

___________________________________________________________________
End of Season Review

My Prediction: 6th Place

Media Prediction: 14th Place

Actual Finish: 2nd Place

Unbelievable season. Went to the wire but promoted to the top tier.

Next seasons budget is absolutely dismal but the money we'll get even if we come straight back down will really set the club up.

It'll be a shot to nothing and we're there now anyway.

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Summary

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Best Eleven

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Player of the Season  -  Faustino Anjorin

His contribution in so many games was integral to the push for promotion. Special mentions to Zeroli, Justo and Moriera for their input as well.

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Top Scorer  -  Faustino Anjorin -  12 League Goals

Player of the season and top scorer. Our run was superb considering we struggled to land on a proper goalscorer.

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Youth Intake  -  2026

Awful again. It's still only Esmaray worth a bolt out of the class of 2024 and the other two (Heidinger and Turkman) won't be anywhere near the first team.

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Next Up

Season 2026 / 27 - Bundesliga!

[DanWarnock]

Season 2026 / 27 - Bundesliga

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June 2026

Finances

Overall Balance

£12,323,000

Transfer Budget

£230,000

Wage Budget

£120,000

The finances were looking absolutely in the best shape they'd ever been, which was obviously great.

However, we were now in the top flight of German football facing off against Dortmund, Leverkusen and Bayern and had a squad and wage budget that made the season ahead already look distinctly impossible.

On the plus side we'd also now completely wiped out the net debt.

 

Selling the crown jewels | Building a better budget

The successes of the previous season brought with it significant interest in a few of our top players and we were not in a position to turn down big money offers given the state of the budget.

We stepped into July with some huge deals agreed for the departure of Jeanuel Belocian, last years star man Faustino Anjorin and Belocian's defensive partner Nathaniel Phillips.

This boosted the coffers to near £40m and gave us a bit of a chance of doing something.

We negotiated up Belocian's deal to £11.5m and Anjorin I actually drummed up interest in after seeing the interest of Al-Ittihad and knew that they'd be able to pay a handsome fee for him.

Phillips was a case of a lot of interest and then offering him out as well.

Koubek was the last gasp hero against Kiel in the final game of last season but he wouldn't be at the level for top flight football so was allowed to leave the club and joined Cadiz on a free.

Player In!

We did get one player signed up and took advantage of an incredibly reasonable minimum release fee.

Fabiano had been on loan and although was competing with Moriera for a place on the flank was too good to turn down at that price and his loan was made permanent.

Loan Renewals

Kevin Zeroli had been with us since the start and Milan agreed to a fourth consecutive loan spell for the midfielder. I would absolutely buy him when we had the money, until then we'd take the loans.

Shaqueel van Persie was another big renewal; despite an underwhelming spell last year we had to go for him again and he wanted another year with us.

Samuel Justo and Afonso Moriera were absolutely huge and getting them both back from Sporting for another season would give us some much needed quality in whatever happened this season.

Date	Person	From	Fee
01/07/2026	Kevin Zeroli	AC Milan	Loan
01/07/2026	Shaqueel van Persie	Feyenoord	Loan
01/07/2026	Afonso Moriera	Sporting	Loan
01/07/2026	Samuel Justo	Sporting	Loan

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July - August 2026

Squad (as of 1st July)

Four loan renewals and three permanent members of the squad (one of which we'd just signed, one of which we're looking to move on and another who has just returned from loan and also wasn't in our future plans).

It would be a another busy summer but that's pretty much been standard stuff since starting at Unterhaching.

Another one out!

Lewis Bate left to join Augsburg for £5m. He'd been great for us last season but that was huge money for a player who we'd easily be able to backfill. 

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Transfers (July - August)

A lot to report on here as we'd had to rebuild the whole team. Below signings ahead of the Bundesliga opener against Hamburg.

Permanent Deals

Fabiano (£210k) as outlined in the June update was a steal for what we were getting. A known quantity after his loan spell with plenty of room for development.

Nabil Bentaleb (free) looked class and he was coming in on big money (£22k a week!) but again, this was the top flight. Hopefully he'd be able to help dictate play going forward and was an experienced head.

Bright Arrey-Mbi (£4.9m). That is not a typo. £4.9m spent on a player. Given the money we'd brought in we had to be splashing the cash and Bright fitted the bill as a young German player and high quality centre back to boot. 

Slobodan Dordevic (£750k) was a gem our scouting team unearthed in Serbia; the striker signing from Napredak for a bargain price of £750k. Hopefully he could step up and hit the ground running.

Domagoj Bukvic (£2m) could play on either flank and again he was a bit of a punt but for the price felt like a gamble worth taking.

Tim Ronning (£1.6m) provided us with an upgrade in goal and although he'd have his work cut out looked like he'd be able to hold his own at this level.

Jayden Candelaria (£85k) was another one that was too good to turn down at the price. He didn't seem quite at the level for Bundesliga football but he had scope for big improvement and we'd need to be taking our chances on a few players like this.

Gabriel Osho (free) had been released by Luton and gave us options at centre and right back. I say options, I'd much rather another player of Arrey-Mbi's quality but again we needed bodies and needed to get some bodies in that we'd hope could do a job.

Thomas Delaney (free) was another experienced head with a bit of quality about him who would give us depth in the midfield.

Noah Persson (£675k) could play either left back or left mid and gave us depth and options on that side of the pitch.

Enner Valencia (free) at 36 years old definitely was a sign of some of the punts we were taking but hopefully when called upon he'd be able to put a shift in up top.

Loan Deals

Charlie Patino (loan) was a punt on a player who hadn't quite developed but I knew had potential. Didn't look the strongest piece of work on reflection.

Lucas Bergvall (loan) was a massive coup. He looked total quality and hopefully could replace the hole that Anjorin had left.

Squad (as of 15th August)

Short of a few more deals as and where we could get them done, this was about it!

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Next Up

August - results and remaining transfers.

Edited June 9 by DanWarnock