Domzale End of Season 7 Update
It's fair to say it was a season of two halves. Both of which had a lot of goals in them. The first half more of mine, the second more of their's. It included a monumental recovery and the mother of all collapses in the same game, a farewell to Minanda and Iouga, not that anyone noticed Iouga go. A brief moment of this might get interesting and a briefer moment of this might get very interesting during the monumental recovery which was swiftly dashed by the collapse and a keeper who had more clean sheets when he was two years old.
It all started, naturally, at Heracles. After going 2-0 down again and missing a penalty again and then seeing Macca hit the post with the rebound cleared by the defender blasting it against his own post as well as seen in the earlier video. I subbed Ordaz as I'd had enough of him in the game and moved Ruskin up to LW, he responded by getting onto a Hamsun through ball and poking a lovely goal over the keeper who had gone to ground. A lovely finish - are you watching Ordaz!? Fouque then blasted one home and we added to more to turn things around for a 4-2 win!
Great I thought, a good start now can we push on. No, of course not, what we'll do is lose our bogey team St Polten 1-0, in the only game we didn't score in all season! I give up with them.
Next up was Altach who were just behind me and always a tricky team to play. I went 1-0 up early and then 2-1 up before throwing it away thanks to some awful keeping and it ended up a 5-2 defeat!
Games like Heracles only come up once a season right? Wrong! The game against AZ had it all. They had drawn with Korona and Altach so here was my chance to go above them , although Altach would also do so if they won. Before long I was 2-0 down and thinking that's that then. But no Fouqe and Macco scored to get it back to 2-2 for HT. Then right at the start of the second half Ordaz made it 3-2 followed by a Hamsun strike for 4-2! Suddenly from 2-0 down we had steamed into a 4-2 lead. Just see it out I thought. Kremer wasn't listening and made a mistake and it was 4-3. Bouyed by that they added another, 4-4. Then another. From 4-2 with 25 minute left I had managed to lose it 5-4. Five goals conceded for the second game in a row. Talk about clutch defeat from the jaws of victory!
Next was "Can we play you every week" Vardar, who if I could then I'd be out of this bloody Division by now. A relative calm in the recent storm saw a fairly comfortable 2-1 victory.
With any promotion hopes hanging by a thread now, I had to beat Poznan and hope Altach and AZ both lost to take it to the last game, where they'd have to both lose again. I did say it was hanging by a thread!
Cue third remarkable game this season. Poznan took the lead early on, then in a remarkable 15 minutes before half time they extended their lead to 3-0 only for me to get 2 back for 3-2 HT. Kremer was asked at half time if he'd mind saving a shot occasionally. Apparently it didn't translate into German too well because be 75 minutes it was 6-2!! Hamsun got a late goal to make it 6-3.
Last game of the season was Korona who I hope to never see in Division 2 again as you'll see by the league table. With nothing on the game for either team with Korona long since crowned Champions it was more of a Testimonial game for retiring Minanda. He made a few incisive passes had a couple of shots both well saved so unfortunately no late goal and then as injury time approached he was subbed off for the final time bringing down the curtain on a fine career to the immortal words of Peter Brackley "He's probably taking him off because he's already been booked!" Right up there with "They think it's all over. It is now."
Korona were unstoppable, breaking Heerenveen's record points total of 29 by some margin.
I don't know if it's the low mentality of a lot of the players (most are in the 60's) but they just can't seem to perform under pressure. This is four times now they have fallen away in the second half of the season. It wasn't helped by playing an 18yr old keeper and maybe I should have stuck with Ivarov for this season but at least his stats are increasing nicely. He must have cost me at least three games though and even the other goals that went in, there were lots where I thought Ivarov would have saved that.
We conceded 5 on three occasions which is madness. A mixture of the attacking 4-3-3, Kremer, no decent cover for when Liberrman or Jaric are suspended. Stremer's legs have gone, Valeny's good enough defending but a liablity once he gets the ball and Ceciu is worse than Stremer.
At the other end of the pitch we were flying with a record haul of 33 goals, the best attack in the Division. Hamsun is a man mountain and very rarely gets outmuscled off the ball. Macco was on fire all season and Ordaz continues to be frustrating. Stein was like Kante, Dodo was off the pace a bit but not really playing in his best position while Fouque had another decent season.
The other problem was I really had very little choice in selection. Once a suspension or two kicked in I had no options other than Valeny that wouldn't weaken the team considerably.
Div2 Golden Boot Hamsun
Div 2 Assists Leader Macco
Div 2 Player Of The Season N. Nielsen (Lech Poznan)
Domzale Awards
Player Of The Year Macco 8 Goals, 6 Assists
Top Rated Stein 6.8* Hamsun 6.5, Jaric, Fouque, Valeny 6.2, Macco, Ruskin 6.1 (Dodo 5.7)
Scorers Hamsun 13*, Macco 8, Fouque 5, Ordaz, Stein 3, Ruskin 1
Assists Macco 6*, Valeny, Hamsun, Jaric 2 Stein, Dodo, Fouque, Ruskin 1
* Domzale records.
So, another season in Division 2, where we'll be welcoming (?) back GA Eagles and Lokeren with AZ Alkmaar spending a second year in the divison as well. It doesn't look like it's going to be any easier.
With the youngest players now about to reach 26 other than Kremer who'll be 19, it's vital the two newcomers can make an instant impact on the team (Not quite in the way Kremer did hopefully!) It's also vital at least 2 more retire next season. I now have 4 keepers in my 23 as Zamenhof is up for another year in the sun. At least with 2 new additions that should give me 14 worthwhile players to pick from meaning at least I'll have 3 subs who might be able to contribute.
Stremere Ceciu, Ximelez, Huylens (41!), Burchet and Zamenhof please retire next season!
Given that hopefully Stremer and Ceciu could retire and the possibility that Valeny might to o as he is 37 and declining and with Liberrman 29 and whilst commanding in the air he isn't the best defender around really then I must get one CB if not two. I'd like to move Jaric out to CB as Ruskin isn't the best there and his lack of height has cost me more than once on corners and crosses. Jaric has played well there when I've played him.
Formation is going to be a real decision though. I can't have another season like last, but 2 new defenders and hopefully a keeper who is over his inexperience and improving all the time might make a big difference there. Even if it can knock 10 goals off then if the other end can keep scoring like it was that's going to be a big points swing in my favour. Lot of if's there though.
There's so many positives and negatives with it. Macco was a sensation at RW. Ordaz was ordinary at LW and when at CF, it didn't seem to make a difference either way. Hamsun as the focal point is a must so Ordaz has to buck up his ideas or settle for a place on the bench. I'm leaning towards Ruskin at LW with Jaric at LB if I can pick up 1(2?) CB's in the newcomers. Stein was superhuman at the base of the three in midfield but Dodo suffered playing further forward despite doing ok he wasn't himself there at all.
I could opt for a 4-4-2 but then where does Fouque go and Macco at RM wasn't the same Macco as he was at RW.
Oh well, off to scour the newcomers!
12 cup games played now and not a single win. 
) and where the hell is my main man: Kelsen ? 
Retired at thirty four ? Ivarov seems to have in his contract that he must drop every cross and parry every shot a striker-friendly three yards in front of him. 
He'd have neck cramps watching the ball fly over his head 
