Meldert, Belgium - December 18th 2011
Board expectation: stay clear of relegation
Media prediction: 17th
Mid-season table
Well, there you have it. A season of consolidation is what I had in mind, a run-of-the-mill season of boring midtable football. But the players decided otherwise, so we're going into the winter break in the lead.
It took us a few matches to get warmed up (that tends to happen when almost the entire first 11 are new players), which caused an early exit in the Cup against a lesser opponent. But after that, things have been going smoothly, and we're now on a 10 match unbeaten run.
Like last season around this stage, I have the feeling that we're getting the absolute most out of the team, and maybe being in first place is a touch flattering.
By which I don't mean that we've been getting a lot of fortuitous wins, or something like that. We just haven't had any bad luck. Our matches generally end in a score that is a fair reflection of the match. Just a touch of bad luck here and there, and we could be four places lower - and I probably wouldn't be complaining about it.
The team is quite balanced and playing attractive football. As always, the loan players are making all the difference.
Two players worth singling out, for playing a key part in earning us points:
Steven Guéguin: His first season as a first choice goalie, after being in the squad since before I took charge. I never really paid much attention to him, just kept him on board as a third goalie because he looked decent enough, until I noticed last season that his attributes had improved nicely and my coaches rated him better than my other goalies.
20 conceded in 18 matches doesn't look hugely spectacular, but he makes key saves in pretty much every match, enough to make a difference and earn us points.
Romélu Lukaku: The new star loan signing from parent team Anderlecht. Not quite as pacy as the one I had last season, but equally efficient. Without this kid I'd be nowhere near the top of the table. Hopefully he can maintain his form.
So, onwards to the second half of the season. I'm not overly confident of hanging on to first place. Our lack of bad luck can't continue forever.
As I mentioned in last season's update, I won't be too bothered if we miss out on promotion this season though. Structurally, the team isn't ready for the top division yet. We're still in the red.
The board decided to expand the stadium again this season. Funnily, these 1.600 seats only cost us 300k euro or so, while last season's 1.000 seats cost 3 mil. Guess they found a cheaper builder, heh.
We're still 250k in the red at the moment. We do make a profit each month, so we're slowly climbing out of the hole, but not quite fast enough to clear our entire debt by the end of the season.
So at least another season in the Second Division would probably be a good thing. Which doesn't mean I'll be throwing matches though. If we promote, I'll deal with it.
If we do promote, I'd preferably do it through the playoffs though. We could use the extra income from ticket sales.
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