The title of this blog suggests progress. Don’t get me wrong, there has been undeniable progress but, for me, it also represents that frustration at seeing our progress held back from its true potential.
Last season we managed to climb our way to 10th in the league but the obvious blemish on our record was the ridiculous number of goals conceded - 77 in La Liga which works out at 2.03 per game. It’s obvious that we’ve made a significant move on this problem as in season three we reduced this figure to 57, which equates to 1.5 goals conceded per game. It’s going in the right direction but there’s obviously still more to be done.
In season two we struggled through the loss of previous loanee Fer Niño’s bag full of goals. Despite this fact we still managed to score 57 in La Liga - 1.5 goals per game. Sadly, this year we struggled once more by scoring just 48 goals - 1.23 per game. It’s clear that where the football gods have given in one area for us, they have taken away in another.
The board were happy for us to avoid a relegation battle in the league but demanded progress to the fourth round of the Copa Del Rey.
I was licking my lips at the opening fixtures, assuming we’d be well positioned after the first five to move on and pursue a top half finish. We ended up winning just 6 points from a possible 15 which included an incredibly frustrating 0-4 reverse to Levante.
The struggles continued until December when we won back to back for the first time this season. January’s hectic schedule threatened to derail any progress but we valiantly fought through claiming 11 points in the league from a possible 24 either side of the winter break while also achieving and surpassing the boards aim in the Copa Del Rey.
The Cup run came to an alarming halt as Levante claimed an 8-1 victory in the Quarter Final, though we would exact our revenge on them two weeks later in the league.
The theme of the season would be how we were consistently inconsistent. It could almost be believed that the results were drawn at random from a magic hat. The most frustrating element of the season was our ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. On five occasions we let a lead slip and went on to lose the game, it was a familiar story in five of of drawn games also… on one occasion even throwing away a 3-0 Half Time lead to draw 3-3.
We finished the season in 11th place, one place lower than last year. Some people may see this as regression but I feel that with our progress on the goals conceded it’s been a good season overall. With a bit more refinement and stability to avoid throwing away points in a stupid way, we could easily achieve a top half finish next year.
HIGH TURNOVER OF PLAYERS
I always try to avoid such a high turnover of playing staff but when you’re trying to take a club up to the next playing level it is unavoidable. It’s something I discussed during my FM21 save with Atalanta and it’s something I see continuing for at least another season or two (assuming I get to that point and beyond).
Summer 2023
I had already agreed to extend the loans of Michaël Cuisance and Aleksander Buksa. Cuisance’s corner taking ability has become such a big way of how we play and I was glad to see it continue into this season as he recorded 14 assists over the year in all competitions. Buksa had found his role as my Target Forward and in addition to his 4 assists and incredible help in building up play, he managed to end the year as joint top scorer on 11 goals.
Lovro Zvonarek was another loan signing from Bayern Munich II and while I initially considered him as a possible Attacking Midfielder, he became a mainstay in my three man midfield as a Central Midfielder on Attack. His ability to carry the ball was incredible and helped in some way to give him 6 assists in addition to his 4 goals.
We welcomed back a familiar face in Takefusa Kubo who Real Madrid eventually decided to loan back to us for the year. Take was initially a back up to Kang-In Lee but ended up usurping his fellow Asian’s place in the side and playing as an Attacking Midfielder. 4 goals and 4 assists was a decent return but it could have been so much more given the countless number of times his long range efforts rattled the opposition crossbar.
Another familiar face is that of Luka Romero - the Argentine prodigy who left Mallorca in the summer of 2021 to sign for Lazio. Romero operated as a squad player for me, only making 2 starts over the whole season but a further 21 appearances from the bench. No goals and no assists but that’s not for the want to trying given his audacious attempts to lob the goalkeeper at literally every opportunity from anywhere within the opposition half. Fair play.
It very much at this point feels like I’m just getting to band back together. And so it continues with the free signings of Gabriel Vidović and Joshua Zirkzee from Bayern after their loans with us concluded. Vidović (a wonderkid) finished the season with 6 goals and 4 assists despite me never really being sure whether I wanted him in central midfield, attacking midfield or up top. Zirkzee is a strange one in that he seems like he has so much to offer but yet only registered 11 goals and 5 assists. It’s a decent return for a club of our stature but I just feel that there’s so much more to come from the Dutchman.
The final signing of the summer was the acquisition of striker Pietro Pellegri on a free following the expiry of his Monaco contract. Pellegri was somewhat unfortunate enough to be kept out of the squad by Buksa but with Buksa’s loan coming to an end he may well see a lot more action in season four. 2 goals and 3 assists in 19 appearances (just 4 starts) was his return for the year.
There were a few summer departures with Antonio Sánchez and Álex Alegría going to Huesca (£1m and £66k respectively), Amath N’Diaye to PSV Eindhoven (£2.2m), Aleksander Trajkovski to Málaga (£47k). Tow players were loaned out for the season with Jordi Mboula to Girona and season one flop Akinkunmi Amoo to Alavés.
Winter 2024
As if the summer spree wasn’t enough, I brought a further four players into the club in January.
Giorgi Mamardashvili was a pre-agreed free signing from Dinamo Tbilisi when his contract ended. He was intended to be back up to Dominik Grief and ended the season with 6 appearances - mostly occasions when I took the huff with Grief conceding at his near post. Conceding 12 goals in his 6 appearances, he was a less than adequate alternative.
Samuel Umtiti had been a free agent since the summer. I tried for him back then but he wasn’t interested. Six months without a club seems to have changed his mind. At just 30 years old, he’s not a bad emergency option to have but he was never able to dislodge my first choice defensive partnership of Duffy and Gabbia.
Tayo Adaramola and Bruno Méndez were deadline day impulse signings on loan from Crystal Palace and Liverpool. We needed cover in the full back positions and in the end Méndez finished the season as my first choice right back.
Antonio Raillo’s demands for first team football could no longer be met by Mallorca and he departed on loan to Eibar for the rest of the season. Brian Oliván also went on loan to nearby Ibiza. We raised some amount of funds in January by allowing Martin Valjent to move on to Betis for £5m but perhaps the most significant departure was that of Filip Rønningen Jørgensen who left when Bayer Leverkusen activated his £9m release clause - it may seem like a paltry sum given his age and potential but I have to settle with what our club’s stature is in the wider context of European football and so the fee was probably quite fair in that regard.
THE NUMBERS THAT MATTER
Despite what I’m terming as a fairly successful season, the stats around that don’t make for overly exciting reading.
Matteo Gabbia has started to really grow into his role as one of the first choice centre backs and made the most appearances this season with 42 - scoring 3 goals in the process.
The top goalscorer in the team was tied between Aleksander Buksa and Joshua Zirkzee on 11 goals. Buksa laying on 4 assists for his teammates while Zirkzee had 5. Gabriel Vidovic trailed behind on 6 with freekick maestro Danilo Cataldi next on 5 goals.
The assist leader was well in the clear as Cuisance set up 14 goals, mostly due to his role as set piece taker. Lovro Zvonarek was next with 6, his movement out to the wide right from his starting central position leading him into several golden crossing positions.
Dominik Grief conceded a total of 59 goals in 37 games with just 7 clean sheets this season - a clear area for improvement. His back up Giorgi Mamardashvili conceded 12 in his 6 appearances with no clean sheets.
The future remains bright at the Son Moix. Andreu Barba’s continued emergence into the first team at just 16 years old managed to see him named at Number 4 on the 2024 NxGn Wonderkid list. Lovro Zvonarek sneaked himself in there at number 9 though he remains a loanee for us at this point in time.
The aims for next season are quite simply to break into the top half of the league. To do that we just have to find a way to score more goals but concede less - easy, right?