[FM 20] Building Berlin

[RPM13]

April 2021

This has been a month of professional performances against lesser opposition. First, we got a rather fortunate win against Großaspach. The scoreline looks convincing, but the match was actually pretty even. We followed that up with a much more convincing performance, but only managed to win 1-0. We followed that up with two very convincing performances, but we were only able to win one of them. This month, Surmanski finally got back into true goalscoring form with 3 goals.

We remain in 4th, but Jena lost their last match bringing us to within 4 points of them. There's still hope for us to go up automatically.

I feel like this is getting redundant now. Still an A+.

[RPM13]

End of Season?

To end the league, we were very good defensively with no goals conceded, but we should have spread out our goals a bit more. In the Braunschweig match, we had a lot of shots, but not many actual chances. Against Bayern II, we deserved to win, but not by 5 goals. They had as many decent chances as us, but they were the opposite of clinical. We then faced Lichtenburg in the final of the regional cup and came away with a deserved win to make it 2 cup wins in 2 attempts. In the final league match of the season, we somehow failed to score even hitting the post in the 90th minute. At that point, a goal for us would have sent us up into 3rd and gotten us promoted. Unfortunately, we couldn't score and Jena scored a 91st minute winner to retake their 4 point lead over us.

So we end the season in 4th, 10 points clear of those below us. Now we have 2 matches which will be the biggest in the club's history to get us promoted into the Bundesliga 2. These matches will be against:

Kaiserslautern are in much worse form than us (shocking, I know) having lost their last 3 and 4 of their last 5. Hopefully the difference in morale between the squads will be enough to cover the enormous skill gap. They're spending about 7 times as much as we are on wages so I'm not sure how much of a chance we have, but we'll give it our all.

[RPM13]

 I'm so disappointed. We played so well throughout the match, but we just couldn't put the ball in the net. We were without our best scorer and our best creator for the entire second half so that didn't help. Surmanski should be back for the second leg so hopefully he'll be back in top form.

[RPM13]

And it's off to extra time. They're down to 10 men and we're absolutely dominating the match so I'm very optimistic. Another stressful end to the season.

[RPM13]

HOLY S***!!! Look who showed up with a 5 minute hat trick in extra time. I think he's just cemented his place as a BFC Dynamo legend (even if FM doesn't think so). I'm honestly in disbelief right now, there are no words.

[RPM13]

And our wage budget has doubled. 

[RPM13]

This has been another unbelievable season. Our average attendance went up significantly to over double what it was last year.

No expectations at all. They don't even want us to play a specific type of football next year.

Van der Gaag finished his great debut season in 3rd in player of the season voting. I don't expect to have any players even close to this next year in the Bundesliga 2.

We already knew this, but just confirming that Surmanski won top scorer in the league.

...and made team of the year. I'm still not sure how Van der Gaag didn't make the team of the year despite finishing in the top 3 in POTS voting.

I'll be honest, I'm quite disappointed not to win this, considering I got promoted with a squad that should have been threatened by relegation.

[RPM13]

We've had massive improvements across the board which is good to see, but we've only gotten one sponsorship so far for the season. Our total sponsorship income is £240 000, the next least is £1.6 million and Schalke (yep, they got relegated) are raking in £62 million.

And that's why the season preview looks like this. Us and Jena have basically no chance according to this, but we all know how much the preview matters.

[RPM13]

Summer 2021 Transfers

For this season, I've decided to switch to an inside forward on the left and a winger on the right to take advantage of most players being right footed. This means I had to bring in some new wingers to play in those roles. Hopefully the new additions will be capable of making a difference this season. 

In addition to the players above, I felt we needed a new goalkeeper. This guy isn't quite what I wanted, but he's young and got lots of room to improve.

I wasn't looking for a new centre back, but this guy was too good to turn down for free.

I needed a backup striker so I brought this guy in. He's not great and I have another striker in on trial, so I'm almost regretting this signing, but we'll see what happens with him.

[RPM13]

Summer Signing Profiles

Here are the profiles of our best signings of the summer:

Mario comes in as one of our best players and he still has some room to grow. Hopefully his skill will help us to create chances when he plays on either wing.

Toure is a very well-rounded option to have in midfield. I was really drawn to his physical and mental attributes, but he isn't a slouch technically either.

Petrov is another well-rounded player. I'm hoping his lack of a real weakness will make up for not having any real strengths either.

There are 3 parts of Branco's game that really drew me to him. His height, handling, and reflexes. All three are very good and he's still only 19 so they will all improve.

Lastly, we have Okoli. He definitely has some weaknesses technically (dribbling and finishing spring to mind) and his composure is very low, but other than that, his purely defensive attributes are very good for this level, especially at only 20 years old.

[RPM13]

We have about a 50% increase in season ticket holders and we now have more season ticket holders than we had people in the stadium at all in the first season. We're seeing some nice progress on and off the pitch.

[keeper#1]

Excellent progress!

[RPM13]

3 hours ago, keeper#1 said:

Excellent progress!

Thanks. Unfortunately, I think we're likely to take a step back this year considering how much we're spending on wages:

Then again, we did draw against Hannover who are spending about 8 times as much as us (and yes that is a bit of a spoiler).

[RPM13]

Preseason 2021 and First Match

Preseason went well, lots of goals scored, not many conceded. We even got a draw against PSV! In our first match of the season, we had a really difficult one against Hannover who are predicted to finish 2nd. We did really well to hold them to no chances, but we were unable to create any of our own.

This means just about nothing since we have a game in hand over almost everyone, but I can confirm that we're outside of the relegation zone after 2 matches, so that's something.

We're at a B+ so far, but it's still early in the season.

[RPM13]

We've made one last signing for the season. We were a bit light a left back, so I thought I'd bring another one in.

He's better and on half the wage of the player he's replacing. I'd say this is a solid signing.

He's another of the well-rounded players that we've brought in this summer. He should do well.

[RPM13]

August 2021

So, uh, yeah. It's gone quite well. The first two matches were just ridiculous and we completely deserved the victories. The Heidenheim win was another in which we completely deserved to win and were perhaps unlucky to not win by more. The same goes for the Ingolstadt victory. The match against Greuther Fürth was a different story. I have no idea how they didn't score, but I'll take it. Over the first 5 matches of the league, we're the club with the 2nd most possession with an average of 58%. This is insane.

And so is this. Yes, you're reading that right, we're top of the league and have yet to concede! I just want to keep this run going as long as I can.

This shouldn't come as a surprise, but the board are absolutely loving this season.

[RPM13]

I got really excited when I saw the email pop up, but I was left a bit disappointed. At least it's something.

[RPM13]

September 2021

Well this was not the month I was hoping for. First off we played BOTTOM OF THE LEAGUE Holstein Kiel and were just atrocious. We were completely deserving of the result, although we could have scored a few ourselves. Next, we hosted Jena, who were now bottom of the league and just couldn't create anything. After those two poor matches against poor opposition, we made the short trip to Union Berlin in the first Ostberliner Derby of the save against a side who had lost their last 3. Once again, we were absolutely demolished. Finally, we ended off the month against Sandhausen who were also in poor form (and still are) and actually played really well. A 3-0 win was just what the doctor ordered.

As terrible as this month was in comparison to last month, we only dropped one position to 2nd. Just look at the bottom half of the table, the bottom 10 are separated by just 2 points! 

Despite the poor results, the board are still delighted.

[RPM13]

October 2021

This was another poor month, but with good reason this time. Our first 3 matches this month were against the current top 3 in the league. We probably deserved a point against Arminia, but nothing more. Against Paderborn, we were dominated, but created better chances and probably just about deserved the win. Against Schalke however, we were unbelievably lucky. We actually took the lead, but eventually the pressure became too much and they scored the equalizer in the 82nd minute, but it was no less than they deserved. Against Bundesliga opposition Augsburg, we actually put up a decent fight, but once again, their quality was too much. We got some nice TV revenue though. Finally, against Darmstadt, we were the better side, but just couldn't finish our chances.

This month sees us drop out of the promotion places, but only on goal difference. Not bad for a team who's supposed to get relegated.

Board are still delighted.

[RPM13]

November 2021

The first two matches of the month, we really struggled to create any chances. Luckily, Petrov was on his game against St. Pauli which allowed us to get a draw. In our final match of this short month, Surmanski finally found his scoring touch again, having gone 12 matches without scoring since his hat trick in our second match of the season. Hopefully, this will get his confidence up and he will get back to scoring regularly.

The two draws see us drop 4 points off Paderborn in second who are on an unbelievable run of form right now.

The board are still over the moon with our league performance.

[RPM13]

After last year's 'golden generation', I don't have much hope for this one.

[RPM13]

December 2021

This was another quiet month due to an international break, then the start of the winter break. We started the month with a really poor performance against mid-table Regensburg. Despite dominating possession, we only managed one shot on target. In our next match, we earned our second draw of the season against Hannover. We were lucky to get a point this time with them outnumbering us 10-2 for shots on target, but neither side was able to create many chances.

At the midway point in the season (plus one match), we're sitting in 6th in the table, 4 points off the playoffs. Paderborn's insane form continued this month. They now have at least 7 consecutive league wins.

For the first time in what feels like forever, my board rating in down to a B+. I think it's mostly down to us dropping a bit in the league and our recent performances dropping off. We're still not losing many, but we're getting too many draws for my liking.

[RPM13]

January 2022

We started the month off with a good performance against bottom side Karlsruhe. Surmanski got another brace which brings him up to 6 for the season. He's now only 4 goals away from being the top scorer in the league. After that, we had quite a poor game against Heidenheim who jump above us in the league. They dominated every aspect of the match except possession which was quite even.

We remain in 6th in the league, but are now 6 points off the playoffs. The top 3 are in unbelievable form right now with Schalke the only side who've dropped points in their last 5. Paderborn have won 9 straight.

Our board rating remains at a B+. I'm not sure why the board are reserving judgement on our matches, but that might have an influence on the overall rating.

[RPM13]

February 2022

This was another solid month overall where we actually managed to average 2 goals per game. First, we played Ingolstadt who came up with us last year and are doing decently in mid-table. It was a fairly even match, but we just about edged it. Next we played another mid-table side in Greuther Fürth and came away with a solid 4-2 win in what was another quite even match. We created the better chances though with right winger Petrov creating 4 chances on his own! We followed that up with a tough match against Holstein Kiel which was similar to the last one. The match was even, but they created better chances. Finally, we ended the month against Jena, who also got promoted last year. We just about edged it, but we were probably lucky to get the win with our goals coming from a penalty and a 91st minute winner.

This month of good results has moved us up into 4th, but we're still 7 points off the playoffs. With another 3 goals this month, Surmanski is remarkably tied for the second top scorer in the league despite going on a run of 12 games without scoring earlier in the season.

Now that the board aren't reserving judgement on our results, I'm back up to an A+. It probably helps that we're up to 4th in the table again.

[RPM13]

Youth Intake 2022

This is much better than I was expecting! We have a few good players in there who are already quite decent. I'm really surprised with how many second nationalities we have, almost everyone has one.

Harun is good mentally and decent physically, but 5 finishing for a striker really has to improve. I'm not sure if he'll have a future here, we'll see how it goes.

Hagen on the other hand has a decent attribute balance with no major glaring weaknesses except potentially his strength.

 

I figured I'd mention our top prospect from last year, Marco Adermann, because his development has been unreal. This is him last year:

On 15/05/2020 at 13:25, RPM13 said:

Now this guy on the other hand does have some standout attributes, most notably tackling and bravery. He's also got a professional personality and I could see him being a decent player someday, just likely not for us.

And this is how his attributes have improved since he's joined the club. He now has 5 star potential and is at 2 star current ability. His physicals have improved an insane amount with both his acceleration and strength going up 3! This just goes to show that star ratings on day 1 aren't everything.

[RPM13]

March 2022

A perfect month! It started with an absolutely incredible match when we hosted the Ostberliner derby with a whopping 15 000 people in the stands! In reality, it was quite a poor match with neither side creating any chances, until the 94th minute that is, when van der Gaag scored a winner. What a moment that was. Next, we went to Sandhausen who are languishing near the bottom of the table and won what was really an even match with three absolute wondergoals. Gasco's goal in the 19th minute was particularly special: an 18-yard volley into the top corner. We ended the month with another even match, this time against Arminia Bielefeld, and once again we were able to walk away with the three points.

With 7 matches left in the season, we're back in with a shout for the playoffs. Berlin lost two of their matches this month (including the loss to us) meaning we closed the gap to just 1 point.

Unsurprisingly, we're still at an A+.

[RPM13]

April 2022

This month, we got progressively better. Our first two matches were against the top 2 in the league so I wasn't expecting anything from them. We were decent in both, but I'm not too upset. Against Darmstadt, we were disappointing. They're battling against relegation so to not get all 3 points from this match was poor, but we didn't do enough to deserve them. For the Bochum match, I decided to start backup striker, de Sagastizabal, and he repaid me by scoring a brace. Unfortunately, we conceded 2 late goals and only managed to get a draw from the match. Finally, against St. Pauli, we were absolutely fantastic, especially Joao Mario who scored 2 great goals cutting inside from the left.

We're currently still in 4th and can finish anywhere between 4th and 7th. At this point, I'm ecstatic with whatever happens in the last 2 matches.

As are the board.

[RPM13]

May 2022

The perfect end to the season. Both wins were against lower mid-table sides and both were fairly comfortable. Our end to the season has been quite good and it brings this quite remarkable season to a close.

As expected, we finish 4th, 6 points clear of the sides below us. Surmanski ended tied for second in the scoring race and also managed the most player of the match awards. Schobert shockingly had the second most clean sheets in the league. I didn't expect that from a side predicted to be relegated.

This is by far the best part about being in the Bundesliga 2. This is more money than we've made in the past 3 years of the save combined!

The board are obviously delighted.

[RPM13]

Season Review

Van der Gaag was far clear of everyone else for player of the season voting and also won young player of the season. I'm not really surprised by either of these as he's been really good all season, but I'm surprised to not see Surmanski at all in the top 3 considering his performances in the league.

Once again, this was a great season. Our average attendance went up significantly (from about 2600) to 4270. This is mostly due to us hosting Union Berlin with 15 000 people in the stands. We're gradually filling the stadium up.

I actually remembered to add this for once! Ben Meyer had our highest average rating, but he wasn't really in the starting lineup. Van der Gaag was close behind with 6 goals, 6 assists and lots of key passes and chances created. Sava Petrov, our right winger nearly reached 10 goals and 10 assists with 9 and 8 respectively.

[RPM13]

Well, this is exciting. We were spending about £42k last year so we now have almost double the wage budget and over £2 million in the transfer budget! This could be an exciting transfer window.

Unfortunately, we don't have any new sponsorships this year, but we've seen improvements in every aspect of this (except tv money because it's combined with prize money in the Bundesliga). Shirt sales went up from 522 to 879, so that saw a nice increase as well.

The board still just want us to avoid relegation.

Before any signings, we're predicted to finish second from bottom! hopefully we can move up a bit with some good signings.

[RPM13]

We're spending some of that prize money wisely by improving our facilities which are quite poor. Hopefully in a few seasons they'll be much better.

[RPM13]

Summer 2022 Transfers

These players include a very young and promising winger, 2 strikers which I couldn't turn down for free, a new playmaker, and a backup full back. Yes, we did actually pay money for Vito, who is the playmaker we brought in.

I wasn't going to buy a new keeper, but the one we brought in last year was bought by Fortuna Dusseldorf for £350k. This was a good switch for us as this guy isn't a downgrade on the one we had.

Finally, our last transfer of the summer is Peter Gajdos, another young and promising player who will be our backup attacking midfielder.

[RPM13]

First off is our up and coming right winger, Albayrak. He's unbelievably fast and has quite good technique currently. I'm hoping his other attributes, especially his crossing, will improve significantly in the next couple years.

Here we have the first (and best) of the two strikers I signed this window. He's got just about everything I want from a striker. Pace, height, finishing and dribbling, determination. He's got it all. I'm hoping he'll be a step up on Surmanski.

Next up is Vito, who will be our starting playmaker for this season. He's got very good passing, technique, and vision and I'm hoping this will lead to him creating a lot of chances for us.

Ok, I'll be honest, we really didn't need Ylan and I'm not sure how I'm going to rotate around our 3 strikers so they're all happy, but I didn't feel like I could refuse to bring this guy in on a free. He's in the same mold as Ekitike and should be very good coming off the bench with his extreme pace and acceleration.

I wanted to bring in a backup to Gasco who signed last year and I feel that Assogba is a good choice. He gives us something different with his superior defensive attributes, but he's still decent going forward. A slight omission on my part was not noticing that he'd be injured for the first month or so of the season.

After last year's backup left for the Bundesliga, we were on the lookout for another keeper and I think Jurca is a very solid option. He doesn't have any glaring weaknesses, but he is a bit on the short side for a keeper at 6 feet tall.

Finally, we have Gajdos. Quite frankly, he looks insane for 17. His vision is a bit on the low side for a playmaker, but other than that, his attributes are very good. I'm excited about where this guy could be headed.

[RPM13]

I thought we sold a lot last year. We've almost doubled from that point! I'm curious to see what the attendances will be like.

[RPM13]

July 2022

It was a bit of a rough start with a heavy loss against Greuther Fürth in a match where we were vastly outplayed. We turned it around in the next match though with a huge win in the Ostberliner Derby at Union Berlin's ground! It was an even match, but they really deserved to win based off the chances they created. Either way though, we'll graciously take the win and run. Finally, we had a rather poor match against Rehden from the regional leagues. We were vastly better, but couldn't find a way to score until Taag headed one in in the 93rd minute.

It's still really early in the season, but a win and a loss leave us firmly mid-table.

Again, it's still early, but the board are fairly satisfied.

[RPM13]

August 2022

It's been the month of 2-1 wins I guess. Against Sandhausen and Kiel, we were the better team and definitely deserved to win. Both are currently lower mid-table so we should be winning. Against Heidenheim, who are near the top, we were slightly worse than they were and were probably bailed out quite a bit by our goalkeeper. In the final match of the month, we played Augsburg, who are predicted to win the league, away from home. In what should be our toughest match of the year, we were significantly outplayed, but once again, our keeper bailed us out and we walk away with a scoreless draw. Unfortunately, Van der Gaag who has been incredible this month got injured against Augsburg and will be out for the entirety of next month. Hopefully it won't see us struggle too much.

We're back up to our customary position of 4th in the league. As disappointing as it is to be just outside the playoff spot, I'd be happy to finish 4th again because it means we get lots of prize money to improve the club overall before going up to the Bundesliga.

The board aren't quite giving me an A+, but we're very close and I can see that going up if we stay where we are in the league.

[karanhsingh]

Just read up on this. Great stuff will follow your progress! 

The newgen AM looks very promising! 

[RPM13]

September 2022

Another very decent month with wins in our home games and draws in the away ones. Against Ingolstadt, we were good and came away with the win with two headers from Petrov. The Jena draw was a bit disappointing considering they're in the relegation zone. It was an even match though so I can't complain too much. The Nürnburg match was even once again, but this time Surmanski was the difference maker with his first of 2 consecttive braces. Under different circumstances, I would be really happy with the draw against Dresden even though they're one of the teams to be predicted in the relegation zone. In this match though, we absolutely dominated with Vito creating 5 chances from attacking midfield!

This sees us remain in our favourite spot of 4th, but with a game in hand over Nürnburg. We're still only one point off top so we're hanging on so far. In other news, Magdeburg finally managed to get a point after losing their first 9. Not a good year for them so far.

As I expected, by staying in 4th, the board have improved my rating to an A+.

[RPM13]

October 2022

So this has been another really good month, but the one loss really bothers me. We started off with just a fantastic match against Regensburg where we completely deserved to win. After that though, we lost to Magdeburg who at that point only had 1 point in 11 matches. We completely dominated the match, but they caught us on the break twice and managed to score one to win the match. A disappointing way to end the unbeaten run. Against Hannover, we were quite lucky after a shot from Bokake smashed off the bar, hit Zieler, and went in the back of the net for a 91st minute winner. In the cup, we were incredible, and then we weren't. We were up 4-0 when I took Joao Mario off in the 64th minute. I still can't believe how much the game turned when he came off. Finally, away to Bochum who are near the top of the league, we were great (albeit perhaps a bit lucky with two goals from set pieces).

This leaves us up in 3rd in the table, but only 2 points off top. I'm gradually realizing that promotion is a real possibility this season even though I'm not really sure I want to get promoted this early.

Board are delighted as is to be expected.

[RPM13]

November 2022

In what was a quiet month, we started off with a decent match against St. Pauli. It was 2-1 after only 16 minutes and it stayed that way the rest of the match. It was a fully deserved win for us and it continued our good run. After the international break however, we played really poorly against Bielefeld and by that I mean we dominated the match, but couldn't find a way to put the ball in the net after they scored their first 2 shots of the match. This was definitely a frustrating one.

Despite the loss, we move up to 2nd as Nürnburg played Heidenheim and Augsburg this month and drew against both.

Board are still delighted.

[RPM13]

Yikes. At least we have lots of players on the wings. 

Edited May 27, 2020 by RPM13

[RPM13]

December 2022

This was a mixed month. We started off with a very poor loss against Erzgebirge in a match where we were arguably the better side. The shots were even, but we created better opportunities and couldn't finish them off. Our next match was much better. It was actually quite similar in terms of the balance of the match, but we were much better at taking our chances and keeping them out. Ylan Gomes, one of the two strikers we brought in this summer finally scored his first goal for the club. It was only his 7th league appearance though, so I guess it's not too bad considering 6 have come from the bench.

We remain in 2nd, but now are 6 points off top and only 3 points clear of dropping out of the playoff spot.

As expected, the board are delighted.

[RPM13]

January 2023

We nearly had an unbelievable start to the new year against Freiburg (who are in the Bundesliga). We took the lead in the 16th minute and held on until the 80th and they scored the winner 7 minutes into stoppage time. It was disappointing to go out like that, but they fully deserved the win so I can't be too upset. We followed that up with an amazing result against Union Berlin. We were vastly the better side and a quick double from Petrov ensured we got the win. Against Sandhausen, we were great in the first half, pulling out to a 3-0 lead, but in the second they came back into it with two goals to make it a nervy end. We deserved it in the end, but it wasn't as convincing as it should have been.

We're still in 2nd, but we've cut the gap to first down to 4 and we're 4 points clear in an automatic promotion spot and 7 points clear of 4th.

Board are still delighted.

[RPM13]

New Signing

The more eagle-eyed among you may have noticed that we had a goalscorer that you hadn't heard of in the last match of January. That player was Uros Racic and here he is:

This is probably the best fan reaction I've ever seen immediately upon signing a player.

He is a very solid player all-round and has one standout attribute, he's 6'4"! I'm not a huge fan of his traits, but for free, he was hard to turn down. He's immediately the most valuable player at the club by over £1 million.

[RPM13]

February 2023

Wow, I can't believe it, we dropped points at home for the second time this season. Quite frankly I'm disgusted. 

In all seriousness, against Kiel, we were perhaps a bit better, but I think a draw was a fair result. Our next match, against 3rd place Heidenheim, was poor. I know we were away to one of the better teams in the league, but we should have done better and probably deserved better based on the chances that either team created, but in any case, we'll move on to the most notable match of the month. Yes, we beat 1st place Augsburg 6-0. I think the scoreline was harsh on them, but we absolutely deserved to win the match. Finally, we played against Ingolstadt and got a good away result where we once again played well. You may notice that Hugo Ekitike scored 5 goals in our 4 matches this month. I switched him to a complete forward midway through the Kiel match and we frankly haven't looked back. We look far more dangerous (as you can see from the Augsburg match).

After a mixed month, we remain 4 points off top, but the gap to 3rd is down to 3 points and the gap to 4th down to 5.

This is getting redundant again.

[RPM13]

2023 Youth Intake

As we expected, this was a bit of a poor intake, but we did get one player who could be decent.

Here is Nicolas Götze. He has excellent bravery, teamwork and determination as well as some decent attributes elsewhere. He's got decent potential so we'll see how far he gets in his career.

[RPM13]

March 2023

Wow. Our recent from has just been insane. We started off with a fully deserved win against Jena where we got 17 shots on target. Next, we played Nürnburg who are competing for a playoff spot. It was a very tight match and all that separated the sides was an absolute screamer from Reda Khadra. In our final match of the month, we played against rivals Dynamo and took a 2-0 lead into the break. After they scored 2 in 3 minutes, it was 2-2 going into the final minutes when Petrov scored a dramatic winner. What a match in front of nearly 14 000 fans.

This run of 5 straight wins has put us 2 points clear of 3rd and a whopping 10 points clear of 4th with a game in hand over both. We're still 4 points behind Augsburg though so I don't think we have a chance at the title.

Again, the board are quite happy.

[RPM13]

April 2023

This was a bit of a mixed month. We started off with a draw in what was an even match against relegation-threatened Regensburg. The way we dropped points was heartbreaking. With seconds to go in the match, our left back, George Cox, played a back pass to the keeper which was intercepted and finished by their striker. So disappointing. Next, we played against another relegation candidate in Magdeburg. We missed a penalty and in the ensuing goal kick, we intercepted the ball, ran up the pitch and scored to win the match. Against Hannover, we were the better side, but they were  more clinical and wound up winning the match. Against Bochum though, we were much better and ran away 3-0 winners with Van der Gaag assisting all 3 goals.

We're guaranteed playoffs, but if we win any of our last 3 matches, of which 2 are at home, we'll be promoted. Also, if we win our game in hand, we'll move to within 1 point of Augsburg with only 2 matches left. This is getting exciting.

I'm absolutely shocked. 

[keeper#1]

You've got this.  Don't take your foot off the accelerator. 

[RPM13]

We may have been slightly lucky to win what was a tight match, but we won it nonetheless. You know what that means...

We're going up!!!

And with the Bundesliga money comes an increased budget. We have about the same transfer budget, but our wage budget has gone up about 50%.

Now, let's try to win the league.