nice one zark, this could not have gone better ^^

meanwhile the amateur seasons in hamburg are over today (avoided relegation despite losing key players and the most ridiculous bad luck with injuries i have ever seen)

thank god we have a world cup to look forward to
off season sucks

thanks and gz on avoiding the drop ^^

indeed, thank god it's WC year... so hyped! :thubsup:

ty
our 40 goal striker from last year will be coming back from a 4th level experience so next season will be much easier

Lampard named new Derby manager.

Poor bloke doesn't know what he's gotten himself into.

This post was edited by WNxIrvine on May 31 2018 03:10am

Mallorca beat Rayo de Majadahonda 2-1 today in the first leg of the Championship Playoff final.

Like I've said before, this title is mostly just honorific and doesn't really matter much beyond looking good in the record and a little bit of extra money (nothing too meaningful). We played our subs as a reward for their patience and commitment over the season despite not playing much (our manager very rarely rotates). It was obvious that some players were out of form, but it was still enough to beat Rayo de Majadahonda, who fielded their regular starters. We got a lucky win though, and we will likely need to do better in the away game if we want to keep the lead and be crowned champions of Segunda B.

Champions of Segunda B

After beating Rayo de Majadahonda 2-1 in the first leg, we beat them 0-1 away to make an aggregate score of 3-1. Nice way to end the season, and it really just confirms what was expected at the end of the season: we're by a mile the strongest out of the 80 teams in the third level.

Now let's hope we never have to fight for this title again, and remain in the top two levels of the spanish football pyramid... preferably in Primera, where we belong.

Next season won't be easy, as there will be important budget restrictions imposed by La Liga. Since many clubs were in such a financial mess a few years ago, now the league controls how much a club can spend (based on income, and the tv rights which are determined by performances). This mean we will only have 4M€ to spend next season. And La Liga's FFP laws also forbids clubs to spend in transfers and wages more than 10% of whatever money the club owners throw in, so it's unlikely we will increase that budget unless we sell some players.

Can't say I expect a fight for promotion. The 3 teams that dropped from Primera (Málaga, Las Palmas and Depor) will have around 5-6 times our budget, and they'll do their best to return asap. Oviedo, Cádiz and Granada have a lot of money too, and teams like Sporting, Valladolid, Osasuna, Zaragoza and Tenerife always build very competitive teams with the goal of promoting (although Sporting or Valladolid might still promote through the playoffs, which will finish next week).

It's a lot of tough competition, and I really don't expect that we can be up there with them. The realistic goal is to perform well over the next couple of years in order to increase our budget, and aim for promotion in 3-5 seasons.

This post was edited by zarkadon on Jun 10 2018 06:25am

congrats zark
now you gotta stabilise in segunda again

I watched the playoff semifinal between Sporting and Valladolid, and I have to say it was really solid performance by the latter team (above what you expect from Segunda teams for sure). The final will be played against Numancia, which few people expected to see fighting for promotion to Primera (they are usually a mid table Segunda team)... first leg will be played on Wednesday, and the second leg on Saturday. It will be interesting to see who is the last team to promote to top-flight, but unfortunately the WC will have already started by then, so my attention (and I guess that everyone elses, aside from the supporters of these two teams) will likely be focused there.



ty, yes, that has got to be the goal. We shouldn't have too much trouble avoiding the drop, but expecting a top 6 finish in the next two seasons is unrealistic.

Welcome back to Primera, Valladolid! It's no surprise after their 0-3 win over Numancia in the first leg... they easily defended that lead with a 1-1, ending their 4 year spell in Segunda.

jean-philippe mateta. has anyone ever heard of this guy? apparently we signed him for a record breaking €10M fee...