After the first third of the season I am hanging in there 6th in the table with 4 wins 4 draws and 3 losses. the best way to describe my team is inconsistent. I have blown comfortable leads and pulled off dramatic comebacks, but all the games were exciting to watch. Never a dull moment at Wattenscheid.
7/29 Away: Madgeburg 0:0 Wattenscheid
Well maybe one dull moment. Madgeburg attacked all game long and I couldn't find an opening. I should have pressed the issue more than I did away from home, but I'll settle for the point. (Turns out Madgeburg is in 3rd after 12 games so I like this result even more now).
8/3 Home: Wattenscheid 4:0 Kiel
What a great home opener! My free transfer Dutch and German strike force have superlative games each scoring twice in the first half and earning 10 match ratings
I am able to put in my Nigerian U21 striker and my 18 year old striker (one of the twins) for the entire second half.
8/11 Away: Lubeck 3:1 Wattenscheid
Winning 1-0 as late as the 85th minute, my side proceeds to crumble and I could not stop the bleeding. After giving up the late equalizer I press for the win in the midst of the hostile crowd and leak 2 more in the wanning moments. In hindsight, I guess I should have stalled for the draw
That week also saw my failure to land a second Portugese player...a needed central defender and companion for my non-German speaking hot prospect...but the transfer window closed before I could seal the deal.
8/19 Home: Wattenscheid 3:2 Uerdigen
I switched my GK after the debacle in the last 7 minutes of the last match. I proceed to give up a PK goal in the first 7 minutes of this game and my best central defender gets hurt. Luckily my Dutch forward has the game of his life netting 2 goals and an assist. He put 7 of 8 shots on target in the first half alone earning his second 10 match rating.
9/2 Away: Leverkusen(U21) 0:2 Wattenscheid
After a two week layoff for the German League Cup (which for some reason I wasn't invited to??? despite most of the other regional clubs being there) I had my first game against a Bundesliga contender's Amateur squad. Looking at my scouting report they look better than the Wattenscheid side, but I dominated this game and got good playing time for 3 subs.
I notice that I am not getting results reported for my B team that I populated with youngsters needing experience. This works differently than it does in England. I can't select tactics, I can't choose to manage the B team, and I can't select a line-up, but they do in fact play games though the results are not reported. If I click on a B team player I can see stats and form listed, but when I promote the player these stats dissappear. Weird.
9/9 Home: Wattenscheid 0:2 Koln
I lose for the first time in front of my fans despite playing good football. All of my players got a 7 match rating.
9/16 Home: Wattenscheid 3:2 Werder (A)
My second game against a Budesliga youth team was gut check time. Those 19 year olds were having the best of us 2:0 after 60 minutes. I switched to a very narrow and pushed forward tactic I call "Panzer" and pull out an amazing comeback. This was the first time I changed tactics all year and it saved me the embarrassment of losing consecutive games in front of my home fans at Lohrheide-Stadion in Bochum.
9/23 Away: Osnabruck 2:1 Wattenscheid
My side crumbled in the wanning moments of the first half leaking 2 goals in extra time. I switch to Panzer at halftime hoping for a repaly of last week's miracle. I claw back to within one but am denied a penalty in the 86th minute when my striker was dragged down in the area. The 11,340 raucus purple wave of Osnabruck fans was the largest crowd my team has played against.
9/30 Home: Wattenscheid 2:2 Brauschweig
The fixture schedule in Germany is very nice at one game a week. I get to play my first team all the time. Brauschweig comes to "Heidi" stadium after losing for the first time last week. My target striker gets hurt early on and I am down 2-0 at the half including one surrendered on a penalty kick. My wunderkind Dutch forward is having his second poor performance in a row, so I open the second half with the identical twins up top. I manage the 2:2 draw against the best team in the league, but I felt as though I outplayed them all afternoon long.
10/7 Away: RW Essen 1:1 Wattenscheid
The Dutchmen gets to ride the pine for the first time as I start the twins who saved the day last week. We dominate this game but the Essen keeper is unbelieveable. My side manages 9 key passes in the first half alone, but they could not break through. I leak a goal in the first minute of the second half on a 'brilliant run'. Lucky for us the Essen superman in goal pulls a groin reaching for his water bottle and one of the twins was able to beat his replacement.
10/14 Home: Wattenscheid 3:3 Dresdener
This game was played at a furious pace. I was up 3:1 at one point but both my central defenders left the pitch with injuries. I surrendered the equalizer in the 83rd minute. Another game I should have won.
10/17 Away: Dusseldorf 0:1 Wattenscheid
My first game played on less than a week's rest required me to rest the twins and the Nigerian U21 who have been playing so well of late. My Portugese hot prospect who had also earned a spot in the first team the last month gets sent off in the 26th minute after protesting a yellow card. The seemingly harsh referee failed to award me a penalty kick when my experienced striker was clattered in the area. But I refused to sit back with 10 men in front of the large hostile crowd because I felt my side was superior. After pressing the issue the whole game my left winger dribbled down the flank and single-handedly won the game.
The win pulled Wattenscheid back up into 6th place. I am already 1M euros in debt and losing 250K every month. Their is no TV money in the regionals and the wages are high. I sold a good looking 21 year old midfielder that refused to sign a new contract very early in the season. Without the 200K coming in per month for that sale things could be pretty bleak. I signed 3 young players with potential on free in the hopes of selling them on next year.
Still have 22 games left to play, but Brauscweig and Koln have a commanding lead and promotion hopes are looking pretty bleak.
Soccer Made in Germany: Wattenscheid 
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