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2023/24 Recap Last season brought moments of genuine triumph for St. Gallen. We battled our way to a 2nd-place finish in the Super League—an impressive achievement, albeit one tinged with frustration after a late-season collapse cost us a real shot at the title. The high point, however, was undoubtedly our Swiss Cup victory. We defeated both Young Boys and Basel en route to lifting silverware, proving that when we click, we’re capable of taking on—and beating—Switzerland’s elite. The challenge, though, was consistency. While we showed flashes of brilliance and competed toe-to-toe with the best in the country, we simply lacked the squad depth to maintain our intensity over the full course of a league campaign. Injuries, fatigue, and a reliance on a core group of players caught up with us, and it became clear that if we want to take the next step, we need to build a squad not just for moments—but for months. And so begins our first major rebuild. The core is there, the ambition is clear, and the identity is starting to take hold. Now, it’s about assembling a group capable of sustaining our pressing, attacking philosophy week in, week out. The project enters a new phase—one that will define whether we’re just exciting underdogs, or genuine contenders. __________________________________________________________________________________ 📋 Rebuilding Smart: Tips From My First Transfer Window If you want to go the distance in a league like the Swiss Super League, you need more than a strong first eleven—you need depth, adaptability, and players who fit your system. Heading into this summer, my core goal was to evolve the squad into one that could dominate possession, press with intensity, and consistently create chances. But with limited resources, the rebuild had to be targeted, realistic, and smart. 🎯 Tip 1: Focus Your Scouting Network One of the first decisions I made was to keep my recruitment local . Scouting in Switzerland is not only affordable but highly efficient. By staying within a familiar market, I can scout and sign players quickly, reduce the risk of settling issues, and use my existing knowledge of domestic talent to my advantage. If you’re managing in a smaller league, mastering your domestic market  gives you a clear edge—especially early in a save when resources are tight. 💰 Tip 2: Make the Budget Work for You With just €3.1 million in transfer funds  and €191k/week in wages , I knew I couldn’t afford any vanity signings. Every euro needed to be maximised. My strategy? Identify sellable assets early  and be ruthless. Every player has a price, of course, but I drew up a list of players I felt I could move on without breaking the spine of the team: Lawrence Ati-Zigi  – a very solid goalkeeper, but potentially replaceable with a cheaper, younger option. Albert Vallci & Chima Okoroji  – fringe defenders on decent wages who I believe could attract offers from elsewhere. Jordi Quintillà  – a veteran leader, but possibly the right time to cash in before his value drops further. He is out of contract in 12 months, so now is the time to sell. Willem Geubbels  – despite hitting 27 goals I feel he is replaceable in a sense. A good player, but a decent fee will see him sold. By selling wisely, I hope to free up budget room to bring in high-potential domestic players and deepen the squad without compromising our identity. A key tip is to ensure you have 100% of sales added to your budget. 🧠 Tip 3: Build Depth With Discipline – Fit the System, Not Just the Budget When you're managing on a tight budget, it's tempting to just grab whoever is available, affordable, and decent on paper. But when you're trying to implement a specific style—like I am, with a possession-based, high-pressing approach—you can't afford to bring in passengers. Every player needs to fit the system, not just the spreadsheet. For me, the priority this summer has been to add depth without compromising tactical identity . That means targeting players who are mobile, tactically intelligent, and comfortable on the ball. Press-resistant midfielders, wide players who can run beyond the line, and defenders who can play a high line without panic—these are the archetypes I’m chasing. That said, not every bargain is a good fit . There are plenty of players in the Swiss market with decent technical stats, but if they lack the work rate, stamina, or anticipation required for our pressing system, I have to walk away. It's taken a degree of restraint—not every signing is exciting, and not every hole can be filled this window—but that discipline is what stops a squad from becoming bloated and tactically incoherent. One useful tip: I use custom scouting filters that highlight key attributes for my style (e.g. Off the Ball, Work Rate, First Touch, Teamwork ), so I can instantly rule out players who won't contribute to our tactical goals. Even for backups, there’s no point signing someone who can’t step in without disrupting the system. Ultimately, this is a long-term project. If we want to compete consistently at the top, we need more than just "decent players"—we need players who embody how we play. So while the rebuild might take longer, the squad I’m building now will be structurally and stylistically sound for seasons to come. 🏁 Step 1: Sell Early, Sell Smart The first step in any rebuild—especially with a limited budget—is freeing up both cash and squad space . For me, that meant making some tough calls on players like Lawrence Ati-Zigi, Albert Vallci, Chima Okoroji, Jordi Quintillà, and Willem Geubbels . While all five have had valuable moments in a St. Gallen shirt, I identified them as assets I could afford to lose in exchange for budget flexibility and a clearer pathway for new signings. One tip I’ve found effective in FM24 : transfer list early . Even though this might mean sacrificing peak value, getting your players on the market at the start of the window gives clubs time to plan—and gives you time to react. By putting these players on the transfer list immediately, I didn’t have to waste time shopping them around through agents or intermediaries, which can sometimes lower the quality of offers or reduce your control over negotiations. The results: 🧤 Lawrence Ati-Zigi  joined Toulouse  for €6.5M, with add-ons taking the deal to €8.25M. 🔁 Willem Geubbels  moved to Braga  for €3.7M, rising to €4.5M. 🎯 Jordi Quintillà  signed for Osasuna  in a €3.7M deal, rising to €4.4M. 🛡️ Chima Okoroji  joined Rapid Vienna  for €1.7M, with potential add-ons bringing the fee to €3.1M. 🧱 Albert Vallci  completed a move to FC Twente  for €1.6M, rising to €1.9M. Yes, I might have missed out on squeezing every last euro out of each sale, but what I gained was time—and that’s just as valuable in a rebuild. The earlier the funds come in, the earlier you can strike for replacements, and the more likely you are to grab undervalued targets before other clubs join the race. It’s not glamorous, but being proactive in the transfer window puts you in control of the rebuild from the very beginning. For a save like mine, where structure, cohesion, and style  matter as much as raw ability, that control is everything. The above deals took my budget up to €16.4m - so let's have a look at how I set about spending it! __________________________________________________________________________________ 🔍 Step 2: Identifying the Right Profiles — Build for the System, Not Just the Stats Once the outgoing business was handled, it was time to reshape the squad—and this is where your recruitment philosophy really gets tested. With fresh funds in hand and a clearer squad picture, I moved into profile-based scouting . My goal wasn’t just to find “good” players—it was to find the right players  for how I want to play. In Football Manager, it’s easy to get tempted by raw attributes or eye-catching scout ratings, or even just by the big name. But I’ve learned (sometimes the hard way) that a player’s effectiveness often comes down to how well they fit your tactical system . For my St. Gallen side, that means: Players who are comfortable on the ball  and calm under pressure. Midfielders and attackers with high work rate, off-the-ball movement , and stamina  to sustain a pressing game. Defenders who are positionally aware , quick enough to recover in transition, and confident in building from the back. A big part of this process is filtering. In my scouting views, I use custom attribute filters tailored to each role in my tactic—whether it’s a roaming playmaker, an inverted winger, or a ball-playing centre-back. This helps me quickly eliminate players who don’t tick the minimum requirements, even if they’re available or affordable. If a player doesn’t fit the system, they’re maybe not worth the investment. Budget discipline was still key here. While I now had more money to work with, I wasn’t about to waste it. Every signing had to raise the floor or raise the ceiling. I need first-team quality and decent strength in depth. A key tip here is to be prepared to haggle over prices - and spread payments over multiple years to stretch your budget as far as it can go! And that’s the big tip for anyone tackling a rebuild: recruit for your style . Don’t just buy players—buy profiles. Know what each position demands in your system, and make sure your signings match that blueprint. It might mean saying no to popular or familiar names, but it leads to a more coherent, successful squad over time. 🧩 Step 3: Making the Key Signings — Fitting the Pieces to the Puzzle With my targets identified and the squad trimmed, it was time to get to work in the market. This was always going to be a foundational transfer window , not just a flurry of activity. I didn’t want to just plug gaps—I wanted to lay the groundwork for a team that could dominate the ball, press effectively, and carry attacking threat in every phase of play. Here’s a look at the key signings I made—and why each one fits the vision. 🧤 Justin Hammel – Sweeper Keeper with Room to Grow Signed from Grasshopper for €2.1M (€400K up front) With Ati-Zigi moving on, I needed a new No.1 who could handle the demands of a high defensive line and aggressive pressing system . Enter Justin Hammel —not the flashiest on the ball, but quick off his line, brave, and well-suited to a sweeper keeper  role. At just 23, he’s got time to improve, and the deal structure—just €400K paid up front—made it a low-risk, high-upside move. He gives us the mobility and mentality to back up a proactive defensive shape, even if his distribution isn’t perfect yet. I also added Nino Ziswiler  from Luzern for just €16K  as a backup. He’s young, Swiss, and reliable enough to cover in cup games or early rounds—ideal for a cost-efficient, development-focused squad. 🧱 Jan Kronig & Jan Bamert – Smart Depth at Centre-Back Kronig from Sion (€500K), Bamert from Thun (€250K release clause) With Fazliji  and Stergiou  forming my first-choice centre-back pairing, I focused on adding depth that fits the tactical system without breaking the budget. Jan Kronig  joined from Sion for €500K —a smart pickup not only for his defensive consistency but also because he's left-footed , giving us better balance when building from the back. He's strong in the air, composed under pressure, and reads the game well—ideal for our high line and pressing game. Alongside him, Jan Bamert  arrived via a €250K release clause  from Thun. He’s another solid, tactically flexible defender who suits our proactive style and offers dependable cover. Neither will start every week—but both raise the floor of the squad and ensure we’re not one injury away from chaos at the back. 🏃‍♂️ Michael Heule – A Smart, Home-Grown Addition at Left-Back Signed from Stade Lausanne-Ouchy for €250K (relegation release clause) With Isaac Schmidt  established as my first-choice left-back, I needed a reliable understudy who could offer cover without disrupting the balance of the squad. Michael Heule  fit the brief perfectly. Signed from Stade Lausanne-Ouchy  for just €250K  via a relegation release clause, Heule is not only a promising full-back who suits our up-tempo, overlapping style , but also a St. Gallen academy graduate —helping us tick off key home-grown quotas for European competition. A smart depth signing who strengthens both the present and the registration sheet. ⚙️ Grgić, Dos Santos & Arnold – Rebuilding the Midfield Core Anto Grgić from Lugano (€600K), Daniel Dos Santos from Thun (€1.6M), Remo Arnold from Winterthur (free) With Jordi Quintillà  departing, replacing his influence in the middle of the park was a top priority. I moved quickly to bring in Anto Grgić  from Lugano for €600K —a composed, technically gifted midfielder with excellent passing range and set-piece quality . He’ll step into a deep-lying role and help us dictate play. To add more energy and directness, Daniel Dos Santos  arrived from Thun for €1.6M . At 21, he’s mobile, aggressive, and press-resistant—a perfect fit for our vertical, high-tempo style . I also added Remo Arnold  on a free transfer  from Winterthur. He’s versatile, with good defensive instincts and positional awareness, and crucially, he can also cover at centre-back  when needed. He boosts our squad depth and gives us more tactical flexibility without eating into the budget. That said, I still feel we’re missing a true physical, ball-winning midfielder —someone to offer presence when we need to dig in. I’m happy to hold off and wait for the right profile to emerge later in the window. ⚡ Burkhart & Babić – Injecting Pace and Power Up Front Nishan Burkhart from Winterthur (€3M, €500K up front), Boris Babić from Lugano (€150K) One of the key objectives in the final third was to add explosiveness and direct threat —players who can stretch defences, break lines, and thrive in transition. Nishan Burkhart  was the headline addition, joining from Winterthur for €3M , though just €500K was paid up front . With 18 pace and acceleration , he brings a level of speed we didn’t have in the squad. He’s electric in wide areas and will be a major outlet on the counter or in behind compact blocks. Alongside him, I brought in Boris Babić  from Lugano for just €150K . A St. Gallen academy graduate , he helps with European squad registration and offers versatility across the front line . He’s not as quick as Burkhart, but he presses well, links play effectively, and gives us depth in multiple roles. Both signings bring pace, movement, and flexibility —exactly what we need to round out our attack and give us more options in tight or open games alike.

Why St. Gallen? Some clubs just get under your skin—and for me, FC St. Gallen  is one of them. I’ve managed them across several versions of Football Manager, and each time I return, I find new inspiration and fresh challenges. There’s something about this club—the underdog status, the passionate fans, the flashes of potential—that keeps pulling me back. In Football Manager 2024 , I’m once again heading to eastern Switzerland with a clear purpose: to build something lasting. This isn’t about a quick promotion push or a one-season wonder—this is about transforming St. Gallen into a club that can compete consistently at the top of Swiss football and eventually test itself on the European stage. The Club Vision – A Perfect Fit One of the reasons FC St. Gallen stands out as the ideal club for this project is how closely the club’s vision aligns with my own philosophy as a manager. The board’s expectations are ambitious but realistic—they want a team that not only competes near the top of the Swiss Super League but also plays with a clear identity rooted in attacking football and youth development. The media are buzzing with predictions that we’ll be in the hunt for European qualification spots, and the board supports this ambition, but with a long-term perspective. This isn’t about chasing immediate glory through big-money signings or short-term fixes. Instead, they’ve outlined a strategic vision focused on building a sustainable, competitive team that grows from within. This vision places heavy emphasis on playing an attacking brand of football —fast-paced, aggressive, and entertaining. The club wants a high-tempo style with plenty of pressing and proactive play, aiming to dominate matches rather than sit back and absorb pressure. This suits my own tactical inclinations perfectly and provides a clear framework to build upon. I'm returning to Kybunpark again in FM24 Equally important is the club’s commitment to developing young players . St. Gallen’s proud tradition of promoting talent from their academy and scouting young prospects aligns with my passion for nurturing emerging stars. The board is keen on integrating youth into the first team, providing them opportunities to grow and eventually become core contributors. This approach also reflects smart financial management, focusing on long-term investment rather than quick returns. The club’s vision extends beyond just the first team—it’s about fostering a strong culture throughout the entire club, from the youth ranks up to the senior squad. Creating a clear identity and culture is key to ensuring consistency on and off the pitch. This kind of alignment makes my job easier because the expectations at every level support the same philosophy. For a manager who enjoys long-term projects, this is a dream scenario. I’m not here to just “win now” and move on—I want to be the architect of a club that plays exciting football, develops talent, and consistently challenges for top honours. The clear, shared vision at St. Gallen means there’s a solid foundation to build something lasting and meaningful. Key Players to Build Around There are already some excellent building blocks at St. Gallen, and these players will be crucial to shaping the team’s identity and long-term success. Lawrence Ati Zigi (Goalkeeper)  provides a rock-solid presence between the sticks. His consistency and leadership give the backline confidence—a vital asset for a side playing high-intensity, high-press football that can sometimes leave gaps at the back. Ati Zigi’s command of his area and communication help maintain defensive organization, making him an indispensable figure in goal. In midfield, Jordi Quintillà  serves as the calm, composed anchor. His technical ability and tactical intelligence allow him to control the tempo and recycle possession efficiently, which fits perfectly with the team’s high-tempo playing style. Quintillà acts as the cerebral hub, dictating play and providing the stability needed during quick transitions and pressing phases. Lucas Gortlers combative style complements my technical midfield Complementing him is Lucas Görtler , the hardworking, energetic midfielder who brings grit and determination. Görtler’s relentless work rate and defensive contributions are key to sustaining the team’s press. His box-to-box style means he supports both defense and attack, providing balance and intensity in midfield. On the wings, Isaac Schmidt  is a pacey threat whose ability to beat defenders and deliver dangerous crosses adds width and penetration to the attack. His speed stretches opposition defenses, creating space for teammates to exploit, while his precise delivery fuels goal-scoring chances. Academy graduate Christian Witzig  offers a different kind of threat on the flanks. His creativity, intelligence, and vision allow him to unlock defenses with incisive passes and clever movement. Developing homegrown talents like Witzig not only strengthens the squad but also deepens the club’s identity and connection with fans. Christian Witzig is an ideal midfielder for the style I want to see Up front, the youthful trio of Julian von Moos, Felix Mambimbi, and Willem Geubbels  embodies the team’s hunger and potential. Von Moos brings physicality and finishing prowess, Mambimbi offers explosive pace and intelligent runs, while Geubbels adds flair and technical skill. Together, they provide a dynamic and versatile attacking line that, with the right guidance, could develop into a lethal force. Finally, the recent signing of Bastien Toma  injects a dose of creativity and composure in central midfield. His flair and calmness on the ball complement the energy of the other midfielders and offer a valuable mix of experience and youth in key areas. This group forms a strong foundation—combining leadership, technical ability, energy, and youthful potential. My role is to nurture their strengths, shape their development, and integrate new signings who align with our high-pressing, attacking style. Together, they’ll be the heart of a team that can grow, compete, and eventually challenge the league’s traditional powerhouses. Playing Style – Fast, Fearless, and Forward From day one, my ambition is to create a team that embodies an exciting, high-energy brand of football—fast, fearless, and relentlessly forward. I want St. Gallen to be a side that doesn’t just react to opponents but imposes its will on the game through pace, intensity, and tactical discipline. At the core of this style is a high pressing system . Pressing aggressively high up the pitch forces opponents into mistakes and quick turnovers, allowing us to regain possession in dangerous areas. This approach demands incredible fitness, focus, and teamwork, so every player must buy into the philosophy. It’s not just about chasing the ball, but knowing when and where to press, cutting off passing lanes, and working collectively to suffocate the opposition’s build-up. Offensively, the aim is to attack with purpose and speed . That means quick transitions from defense to attack, exploiting spaces left by opponents, and using the team’s natural width to stretch defenses. I want my wide players like Isaac Schmidt and Christian Witzig to take on defenders, whip in dangerous crosses, or cut inside to create shooting opportunities. Movement off the ball is key—players need to be constantly available for passes, making clever runs that open up channels and create overloads in attacking zones. While attacking with tempo, I also want to maintain positional discipline . High-tempo football can easily become chaotic if players lose their shape, so the team must be tactically drilled. The midfielders, especially Jordi Quintillà and Lucas Görtler, have to balance pressing and positioning—supporting both attack and defense seamlessly. Of course, I’m mindful of the squad’s current limitations, especially in terms of depth and experience. While the identity is clear, there will be moments where pragmatism is needed—sometimes sitting a bit deeper or absorbing pressure to protect a lead. This flexibility will be crucial as we build the squad to fully embody this style over time. Ultimately, I want St. Gallen’s playing style to be both effective and entertaining . Our fans deserve to see a team that battles hard, takes the game to opponents, and plays with flair and freedom. If we can win games while thrilling the supporters, it will lay a strong foundation for lasting success on and off the pitch. Training Ground Standards Success on matchday doesn’t start at kickoff—it starts on the training pitch. That’s why one of my top priorities at St. Gallen is to establish and maintain elite training standards . The way we train sets the tone for everything else: intensity, discipline, identity, and ambition. If we want to play fast, fearless football with tactical cohesion, that level of performance has to be ingrained during the week, not just expected on the weekend. First and foremost, our training sessions will reflect the way we want to play: high pressing, quick transitions, intelligent movement , and constant communication. Every drill will serve a purpose—whether it’s building fitness to sustain our tempo, sharpening decision-making under pressure, or fine-tuning our attacking patterns. I don’t want passive sessions or half-speed walkthroughs; training should feel like a compressed, controlled version of a real match. But it's not just about running intense drills for the sake of it. There's a structure and rhythm to the week. Early in the week, we focus on physical recovery and technical sharpness. Midweek is where tactical shape, pressing triggers, and attacking automation come into play. Leading into matchday, the focus narrows to set pieces, situational training, and mental readiness. Every day has a goal—and every player knows what’s expected of them. Player development  is at the heart of this approach. I’ll be hands-on when it comes to monitoring individual progress. Training isn’t just about fitness or tactics—it’s about growth. That means setting development plans, providing feedback (positive and corrective), and rewarding consistent effort. Players who show hunger and adaptability in training will get their chance in the first team. Those who coast will be challenged. I want a competitive environment, but one that also feels fair, transparent, and forward-thinking. Equally important is building a culture of accountability . Standards matter—whether it's being five minutes early to a session, maintaining focus during video analysis, or pushing yourself and your teammates through the last drill of the day. That’s how habits form. That’s how winning cultures are built. I also want the training ground to be a place where young players can step into the spotlight , not just fill numbers. Integrating academy players into first-team training sessions will be a regular occurrence. Not only does it help their development, but it raises the standards for everyone. If a 19-year-old is pressing like his life depends on it, the senior pros will feel that competitive edge—and that’s exactly what I want. Ultimately, the training ground will be our engine room —where we forge the identity we want to show on the pitch. This is where buy-in happens. This is where cohesion is built. And if we do it right, we won’t just play with intensity on matchdays—we’ll live it, every single day. The Long-Term Plan – Build, Develop, Dominate While every season matters, this project isn’t just about the short-term grind. It’s about building something that lasts—a club with a clear identity, sustainable success, and a squad that evolves together over time. At FC St. Gallen, I see the perfect opportunity to shape a long-term footballing project grounded in youth, tactical clarity, and smart recruitment. The first step is to establish a clear recruitment strategy . The Swiss market is full of undervalued talent—players with raw ability and strong fundamentals who, with the right coaching and development, can grow into elite performers. I’ll be leaning heavily on this knowledge of the domestic scene to identify players who not only fit our tactical system but also match the club’s values: hungry, hardworking, and highly coachable. Take Alvyn Sanches , for example—a versatile, fearless playmaker who thrives between the lines. Or Ardon Jashari , a tactically intelligent midfielder with the energy and vision to thrive in a pressing system. In defence, Aurèle Amenda  has all the tools to become a dominant centre-back: height, composure, and the ability to play out from the back. These types of profiles—young, tactically adaptable, and full of potential—will be the cornerstone of my recruitment efforts. They’re not just signings for now—they’re investments in where we’re going. But recruitment is only one side of the equation. Just as crucial is building a robust development pipeline . I want to make St. Gallen a club where young players don’t just make cameos—they grow into leaders. That means establishing a culture where training and development are taken seriously at all levels. The goal is to create a self-sustaining squad model: identify early, develop consistently, and promote confidently. To do this, I’ll be expanding our scouting and data analysis infrastructure . I want a recruitment team that can spot breakout talent across domestically and emerging markets like Scandinavia and the Balkans. African and South America are consistent producers of value-for-money young talent for European clubs. In Switzerand, we're ideally placed to buy these players with a view to developing and selling them onto bigger Leagues. But beyond potential, I’m looking for players who fit our system—pressing intensity, quick ball circulation, and intelligent off-ball movement. Every signing must serve the broader tactical and cultural vision. Of course, development takes time. The first couple of seasons will be about laying the foundations —getting the right players in, instilling the tactical identity, and competing for a top-half finish and perhaps a European qualification spot. Season by season, the squad will evolve. Depth will be added. Experience will be balanced with youth. And slowly but surely, we’ll begin to close the gap on the traditional powerhouses like Young Boys and Basel. Ultimately, the long-term goal is clear: turn FC St. Gallen into a top-tier Swiss side that not only competes domestically but regularly qualifies for Europe —and doesn’t just make up the numbers there. I want us to be the team nobody wants to draw. A club with a clear style, a reputation for developing talent, and the infrastructure to sustain success long after this managerial era ends. The vision is bold. The path will have challenges. But with the right structure, the right people, and the right principles, I believe we can transform this club into a modern powerhouse—on our own terms. Looking Ahead It’s going to take time— two or three seasons at least —to fully implement my vision. But I believe the foundation is there. This is a club with history, identity, and ambition. Now it just needs the right direction. I’m here to provide it. Every rebuild starts with a plan—and this is mine. I’ll be back soon with tactical insights and transfer updates as the project takes shape. Until then, thanks for reading.

Sebastien Meyer was applauding the 373-strong away contingent at the MEWA Stadium. A 2-0 win over Mainz 05 had secured a 3-1 aggregate win, and had preserved Energie Cottbus' Bundesliga status. For many this was a moment of joy, of delirium. For Meyer, however, there was only relief. Relief in avoiding relegation. Relief in preserving the clubs immediate financial security. Relief in knowing he had made his decision. The Summer had began well, and Energie were pro-active in securing their targets. Joshua Quarshie was signed from Hoffenheim and Christian Fruchtl was snapped up following his release from Salernitana. Goalkeeper and centre-back were the two areas Meyer had identified as requiring upgrades, and Sporting Director Arne Friedrich had agreed deals for two of his Head Coaches main targets. But the cracks in the relationship between Meyer & Friedrich had started to appear. Miroljub Jovanovic, Ionut Iorga, Veceslav Knezovic, Adrian Zelewski, Ivan Kokonov, Gennadii Khakimov & Andrei Heriou were all signed up in a busy Summer for the club. All young players undoubtedly had talent, but sources within the club have said that Meyer didn't approve the signings, all of which were led by Friedrich. This created a real tension within the club, and the frosty relationship between the two only worsened. With Friedrich's influence at Energie Cottbus growing, many felt there would only be one outcome. Their arrivals also led to divisions between players and coaches. Several of the players who helped the club secure promotion were seeking assurances around their playing time, but Meyer refused to ease any concerns - sometimes choosing to avoid those conversations altogether. Fractions were starting to become an issue, and the bloated squad limped to a winless start to the Bundesliga campaign. By March, Energie were in serious trouble, and each match was rumoured to be Meyer's last. A run of improved results granted the under-fire coach a stay of execution, but by that point his decision was already made. Fan unrest was becoming an issue within the club, with the board becoming concerned about the atmosphere within the stadium. It had felt that the end of each season had brought about a conversation of whether Meyer would resign or stay on. He had always struggled to build a connection with the club, and had felt that he was continuing out of some feeling of obligation, rather than simply the love of doing it.

When Energie Cottbus blasted their way to the 3. Liga title and the Semi-finals of the DFB Pokal in Sebastien Meyer's first season in charge, they drew praise from all over Germany for the style in which they did so. After a brief, unsuccessful flirtation with a more 'pragmatic' style in Bundesliga 2, Energie reverted to type and recorded 4th and 7th placed finishes with the lowest budget in the division. They were among the highest scorers in the League, but also became known for their incredibly leaky defence. A good watch for the neutral, while never appearing a serious contender for promotion. In Summer of 2026, Cottbus and Meyer would change significantly. Their Summer recruitment, led by Arne Friedrich, signalled an evolution. Oualid Mhamdi, Rasim Bulic, Louis Breinig & Anton Donkor added height and power to the defence, while Tom Geerkens added steel in the midfield area. Christian Conteh, Sirlord Conteh, Aaron Opoku & Dickson Abiama added serious speed in forward areas. Their narrow, compact 4-4-2 mid-block brought strong performances in pre-season, and Energie started the season strongly. In 2025/26 they kept just 4 clean sheets all year. In 2026/27 they matched that tally after just 8 games. They ended the season in third place, losing 4-2 to Nurnberg across two legs in the Play-Off. Meyer looked a broken man out on the pitch at Stadion der Freundschaft at the end of the game. His side had earned a draw in Nurnberg to tip the tie in their favour. They even led in the home leg, but a dramatic second half collapse meant they would remain in Bundesliga 2 ahead of the new season. __________________________________________________________________________________ In 27/28 the recruitment theme continued. Kelven Frees, Marcel Beifus, Emmanuel Iyoha & Jamie Lawrence added yet more height and power to an already towering defence. Nicolai Remberg & Max Christiansen added tenacity and quality in midfield, with Emil Hojlund adding a little more guile to the forward line. Energie started the season with an incredible 10 clean sheets in a row. They secured promotion on the final day, with a 0-0 draw at home to Osnabruck, their 21st clean sheet in a season where they conceded just 16 goals. A far cry from the high-energy, possession hungry side of the first few years of the Meyer era, Energie are now a narrow, compact and disciplined side. They surrender possession to protect space, and hit teams on the counter-attack with blistering speed. One of the criticisms they encountered last season was their poor attacking record. 38 goals in 34 games was one of the poorest records in the League, and they'll need more quality if they are to stand any chance of surviving in Bundesliga.

FC Energie Cottbus have announced the two key appointments behind the scenes, in what appeared to signal a cultural shift at the club. In a statement on the clubs official website, they have confirmed the appointment of Arne Friedrich as Director of Football and Maximilian Zimmer as their new Technical Director. Friedrich, capped 82 times by Germany, has been out of work since leaving his role as Sporting Director at Hertha Berlin in 2022. He has been charged with the task of overhauling the clubs scouting and recruitment processes. "I'm delighted to be here." beams Friedrich, speaking at a press conference at the Stadion der Freundschaft. "This is a really interesting project. The team has done brilliantly in the last two years, and I'm looking forward to helping build towards an exciting future." "We don't have the same resources as other clubs in the division, so we have to be smart. Part of my role is building a database of players, and putting together a team to identify and recruit players who can help us improve." Our source inside the club has confirmed that Friedrich is championing the use of data, with Energie keen to move to a more analytics-based approach to their player recruitment. "We have a promising young Head Coach who has clear ideas on how he wants his teams to play, so that is a great start. My job is to support him by building a squad who can play his style of football, and let him focus on his strength - which is coaching the team." Sebastien Meyer has spoken previously of the difficulty of juggling the task of recruiting with his work on the training ground. "Another big part of my role will be ensuring we generate revenue through our player trading. We want to be a place for players to come and develop, and part of that is selling players for profit which can be re-invested into the team." "That includes our B team. We want to use the B team as part of the pathway between the academy and the first-team, but also as an opportunity to develop talented players from elsewhere that have yet to fulfil their potential." Energie Cottbus II will compete in the North Eastern Regionalliga this season. __________________________________________________________________________________ Max Zimmer, a former Energie Cottbus player, returns to the club in his new role as Technical Director. He has a broader role of implementing a "culture of development" at Energie Cottbus, to include development of training facilities, coach education and academy recruitment. "We want to bring a culture of development to Energie Cottbus. We want a high performance environment from the first-team through to the academy. I'll be in charge of hiring the coaching and technical staff, developing the clubs training facilities and developing our staff." "Another huge part of my job will be improving the processes in the youth academy, and creating opportunities for our young players to come into the first-team. The goal for us is to have a significant portion of our first-team squad to be made up of academy players." __________________________________________________________________________________ "I'm delighted with the news of these appointments." said Head Coach Sebastien Meyer via a statement on the clubs website. "This will help the club push onto the next level, and allow me to focus on what I love doing - coaching the team."

The new season began in somewhat inauspicious circumstances. Energie Cottbus were preparing for pre-season with just four contracted players on the books. With no Sporting Director in place, the challenge of rebuilding an entire squad fell on the shoulders of their young Head Coach, Sebastien Meyer. "In hindsight, it was way too much work for me to take on alone." Meyer admits. "Trying to recruit an entirely new squad and prepare them in time for the start of the new season was a little crazy. But we felt it was worth the gamble to start a fresh, to build a squad for how we wanted to play." The gamble was perhaps unwise. The funds generated from the stirring run to the Semi-Final of the DFB Pokal had failed to materialise into a transfer budget. The financial situations is rumoured to have been exacerbated by the €12m loan facility taken out to finance the building of a brand new stadium. 21 players left that Summer, replaced by 16 free transfers and supplemented by a further 5 players arriving on loan. In those early fixtures, the risk had appeared to pay off. Energie were unbeaten in the first 5 matches, before hitting a bit of a bumpy patch. "We lost a couple of matches, but we recovered to beat Magdeburg 5-0, so we weren't too worried at that point." reflects Meyer. "We had only lost 2 of our first 8 games and we were looking pretty strong." But the storm was already brewing. Parent clubs had seen fit to recall their young players from their loan spells, citing either a lack of game time or a failure to play them in the agreed roles. A spate of injuries then exposed what was already a threadbare squad. Results went against Energie, and amidst calls for change, Meyer altered his tactics to try and stop the bleeding. "The calls for us to be more 'pragmatic' were getting louder and louder. People were saying we were too open, too naive. After talking with the coaching staff, we decided to change things." It didn't work. On a freezing cold February evening in Nurnberg, Henry Rorig trudged off the field following his red card. Unable to lift his head, he walked towards the touchline, past the manager and up the tunnel. It was stoppage time and Energie Cottbus were 3-1 down at the Max-Morlock-Stadion. 95th Minute. Taylan Duman. 4-1. Sebastien Meyer stood motionless, his facial expression barely shifting to acknowledge the worsening situation he faced. The Nurnberg rain clapped down on his club-branded baseball cap, forming a trickling waterfall which failed to mask his quiet fury. The final whistle had marked the 12th successive match without a victory. A team that had been defined by their energy and intensity just a few months earlier now looked in a state of disarray, confidence all but dissipated. "In that moment, everything changed. It had to. If we continued like that, we would have been relegated for sure. I might even have lost my job. I decided if we were going to fail, I would at least do it on my terms." Meyer says candidly. "Last year proved it can work, not just against 3. Liga teams. We beat teams in Bundesliga playing our way, but we lost belief. I lost belief, and that then becomes confusing for the players. We had to go back to our way of working, to our identity." It was as though the rain that night washed away any fear. The turnaround was as instant as it was incredible. Energie thrashed Karlsruhe 5-2 in their next match. That was followed by two draws, before they ended the season with an incredible 10 match winning streak that propelled them into 4th place at the end of the season. "I went away from what I believe in to please other people. I won't make that mistake again."

"What a season!" Sebastien Meyer lets out with an exasperated puff of air and weary shake of the head. "Nobody expected any of this last Summer, but we didn't pay attention to what was being said on the outside. We came to work every day with an attitude and a commitment to improve, to show people what this team could do. That takes a strong mentality. Thank you all for your hard work this season, and enjoy tonight with your team-mates, your colleagues and your families. You never know what happens it football, so it is important to celebrate your successes. Prost!" Meyer signs off, raising a glass. He is understandably jaded after a long, hard season which began amidst the doubts and snipes in the weeks following his appointment. But his first year as a Head Coach has ended in more convivial circumstances as he addresses those in attendance at an opulent hotel just outside Cottbus. The mood in the room is good, and with some justification. Energie Cottbus are hosting their end of season awards dinner, having secured their return to Bundesliga 2 with a thumping 4-0 win over Viktoria Koln just one week ago. Meyer could be forgiven for wanting to take aim at the doubters after leading his team to the League title, but is insistent that it's not in his nature. "It's not about me proving people wrong - I just had to get on with my job." Meyer protests. "I think in this job you cannot worry about what people say on TV, in the papers or on social media. If you look hard enough you can find negativity anywhere and it can destroy you. What mattered was getting the players on board, to get them to believe in what we were trying to do. We had some good results early on, which helped get the fans behind us as well." __________________________________________________________________________________ "It felt like a big moment for this team" Good results might be slightly underplaying it. Energie Cottbus started the League campaign with a 17 match unbeaten run, but it was their performances in the DFB Pokal garnered goodwill amongst the home support and generated interest in the national media. Their reward for the 5-2 thrashing of Bundesliga side Heidenheim was to be given a home tie against arch rivals, Hertha Berlin. A Berlin-Brandenberg derby so early in Meyer's tenure felt make or break, and Energie grapsed their opportunity with both hands by beating their rivals 3-2. Axel Borgmann captained the side that day. "It felt like a big moment for this team." Borgmann reflects. Borgmann joined Energie in 2019 with the club languishing in the lower divisions, and has become something of a fan favourite. His performances this season as a rampaging left-back have been a huge part of the success. "When Hertha equalised so late in the game, we didn't let the disappointment affect us - our heads never went down. We scored straight from our kick off and the rest is history." And they didn't stop there. Energie defeated 2nd tier Munster 1-0 before a penalty shootout win over Augsburg set up a semi-final clash with Wolfsburg. A 2-1 defeat to the eventual Cup winners was the end of a campaign Borgmann is naturally proud of. "It gave us so much belief, and you could feel the momentum gathering. The energy in training, the energy in the stadium on matchdays, everything just felt different to those first few weeks. It was an amazing thing to be a part of." __________________________________________________________________________________ There was little fanfare when Lucas Copado arrived in Cottbus last Summer, signing on a one-year loan deal from Austrian side LASK. The former Bayern Munich youngster has been a revelation, scoring 42 goals in 42 games. "It has gone better than I could have ever hoped for." beams Copado, speaking after picking up the Players Player of the Year, Fans Player of the Year and Top Goalscorer awards. "Of course, I have always had faith in my ability. Sometimes you just need the opportunity to show what you can do." Copado quickly became a fans favourite, and his goals were crucial as Energie secured their promotion. He was also instrumental in the Cup run. A hat-trick against Heidenheim was followed by a brace against Hertha Berlin. He scored the first spot-kick in the shoot-out against Augsburg, and scored again the semi-final defeat versus Wolfsburg. "I have to thank my team-mates. I just try to be in the right positions when the chances come, and I'm happy I could help the team. The manager helped me a lot, too. He believed in me a lot, and gave me the confidence to go and show what I can do. I have to thank the fans, also. The support this year has been amazing and we couldn't have done this without them." But will he be back next season? "I'm a LASK player until they tell me something different. You never know what can happen in football, but I've loved my time here." __________________________________________________________________________________ The evening was winding to a close. Some of the players headed home with their young families, and for some the evenings festivities were only beginning. Meyer's comments at the end of his speech may have been telling. You never know what is around the corner in football. "The truth is that a lot of these players won't be here next season. We've done incredible things this year, but we're on a journey and not everyone can come with us." That is the brutal nature of sport. But for now, at least, there is time to celebrate, to relax and to reflect. Players and staff will be jetting off on their holidays to unwind after a demanding campaign. "Not me, I'll be in tomorrow." Meyer laughs.

""He's like a mini-Klopp, he's trying too hard" "I don't set targets for this team - why would I want to put limitations on what this club can achieve?" says Sebastien Meyer, speaking to me at Stadion der Freundschaft following a pleasant if vague and non-committal first meeting between the manager and his new players. Whether these are words of substance or empty rhetoric will be determined - as always - by results. These are the kind of statements that are lapped up by supporters when the wins are racking up, but can quickly become a stick to be beaten with when things aren't going your way. I've been given access all areas as we follow FC Energie Cottbus upon their return to the third tier of German football. We'll be covering their progress through pre-season and we'll have exclusive behind-the-scenes access as they navigate the first few fixtures of the new campaign. For the last decade, Energie has languished outside of the top two divisions and in an attempt to get things moving in the right direction the club hierarchy turned to a 34 year-old from Berlin with no previous management experience. It's an appointment met with confusion by many of the clubs supporters, who now find themselves questioning the ambition of the club. A common opinion is that a more experienced Head Coach would have been better suited, especially given the lack of Director of Football or Sporting Director leading the strategic decision-making at board level. The expectation from within the club is that Energie attempt to avoid relegation, and the consensus among local media is that this season will be an ultimately unsuccessful uphill battle. Bookmakers have Energie has rank outsiders to win the title, and favourites to be relegated. Meyer doesn't see it that way. "There's so much potential here, just look around yourselves, it's everywhere!" Meyer barks enthusiastically during his first press conference. You can't help but admire the optimism, but not everyone in the room is convinced. "I've seen this one before. A young coach who has done well in youth football gets a first-team job, can't cope with the demands and is gone within 6 months. We see it every year." one journalist says following the new coaches first press conference. "He's like a mini-Klopp, he's trying too hard." says another. And he might have a point. Beyond the spectacles/baseball cap combo and effusive nature, Meyer shares a similar penchant for the high-energy style of football that Klopp's Dortmund and Liverpool sides came to be famous for. "Of course, Jurgen is an inspiration for so many young coaches - not just here in Germany." Meyer says, failing to conceal his delight at being mentioned in the same breath as Klopp. "I share a similar idea of how I want my teams to play, but I'm not a copycat - I'm my own man." he adds. __________________________________________________________________________________ "Pre-season is not always fun, but we do it for a reason" On the morning the team was due to depart for their training camp on the outskirts of Berlin, five senior first team players informed their manager they were keen to explore their options when their contract expire at the end of the season. You could understand if the rookie coach was rocked by this setback but, if he was, he wasn't showing it. "Nothing is decided, staying is still an option for them." he declared cheerily when quizzed by a local journalist. It's another blow for Meyer as he walks the treacherous path of a first-time manager. The first challenge came in the form of a transfer embargo, the news breaking within days of his appointment. "We already have a squad in place, so it's not as big a problem as it could have been." Meyer suggests. "The squad is balanced and we have a good blend of youth and experience. Of course, you'd prefer to add your own players and put your own stamp on the squad but that will come in time." But time is in short supply for first-time managers. Meyer also has a relatively short turnaround to get his players ready for the new season. "From the first day of pre-season to the first matchday is less than three weeks - that is not really enough time. But we have a plan in place to put ourselves in the best possible position to start the season strongly." The days that follow see the team really put through their paces in the scorching heat in East Germany. Meyer is demanding, and the training is intense. His information is clear and concise, and the players appear to be responding well to his sessions. However, ability on the training pitch does not always translate into results when the real games begin. The energy-sapping sessions are designed to prepare the players for what will be a long, gruelling season. "The hard work we do now will help us during the season" says full-back Henry Rorig, speaking like a man who thinks his new manager might be within earshot. "Pre-season is not always fun, but we do it for a reason." "If we want to be a team that can run, press and counter then we have to be fit." says Jonas Hildebrandt, Energie's 27 year-old Assistant Manager. "That is how we want to be, so that is how we have to train. Pre-season is where you can build that fitness, hone those principles and give the players that tactical understanding." The coaching staff are singing from the same hymn sheet, at least. __________________________________________________________________________________ "We have to block out the noise" Sebastien Meyer takes charge of his first pre-season game, a 2-0 victory over semi-professional side Tasmania Berlin. This is followed up days later by a 5-0 victory over local amateur side, Inter Berlin. The final test, this time against Berliner AK (another semi-pro outfit) which brings a similarly comfortable 3-0 win. The crowds of around 2,000 that attended each of the games will have been met with mixed feelings. Early signs of the new coaches style of play were clear, and Energie dominated each of their opponents, created plenty of chances and won their games comfortably. The caveat, however, being that their local opponents will not have provided the kind of stiffer test Energie will face on their return to 3. Liga. Meyer's decision to play 'softer' opposition and boost morale with wins, rather than play strong sides to really work out the tactical kinks during pre-season has attracted criticism. Former players and columnists in the local press have suggested Meyer appears naive and that these decisions could seriously backfire, with some supporters also expressing concerns that the team are unprepared and under-equipped to compete at this level. "We have to block out the noise." Meyer responds. "Pre-season has been positive, we've made good progress in a short space of time and we're ready to go. That is all that matters." Expectations are understandably muted ahead of the season opener against VfL Osnabruck, but training in the lead up to the game is sharp and the players seem in good spirits. You can even detect some confidence from within the camp. The supporters, however, don't appear to share the players' optimism. The stadium was around a third full, with only 7,000 supporters turning up for the season opener, but those in attendance were on their feet almost instantly. Jonas Hoffman raced in behind and had the ball in the net after just 9 minutes, only to be ruled offside. Energie dominated much of the possession and created plenty of chances, but they were almost punished on numerous occasions when playing out from the back when they were turning over possession cheaply under little pressure. If Meyer is to persist with this style, there is much work to do. As it was, the teams took their share of the spoils in a relatively entertaining 0-0 draw. Despite their shortcomings, Energie Cottbus can feel disappointed not to take all three points. They scored again late on when on-loan striker Lucas Copado fired in a low shot, again to be denied by the offside flag. "A draw is a fair result on the balance of play." Meyer says diplomatically. "We kept a clean sheet and some aspects of our attacking play was very good, so we take the positives and move forward". __________________________________________________________________________________ "What is the point in sitting back and waiting for defeat?" "It's a good opportunity for us to go and test ourselves against top level opposition." Meyer says ahead of the DFB-Pokal tie with Bundesliga side, Heidenheim. "We won't be taking a backwards step." he adds defiantly. It is the kind of statement that will make you a genius or a fool. Meyer tells me he will be instructing his side to approach the game in a positive manner and play on the front foot. "What is the point in sitting back and waiting for defeat?" he asks me, I assume rhetorically. "It's not how I want my team to be. If I want my players to buy into what we're trying to do, what does it say if I change everything for one opponent? I want us to be brave and go after the opponent every time, at every opportunity." There were quiet murmurings within the club that Meyer's cavalier style would be brutally exposed by a Bundesliga opponent, but I was in attendance to watch his vindication over the course of 90 thrilling minutes in Cottbus. True to his word, Meyer sent his Energie side out with the intention of taking the game to Heidenheim and stunned their opponents in a pulsating 5-2 victory. A Max Oesterhelweg double was bettered by Lucas Copado's hat-trick as Energie swept aside their top-flight counterparts. The home side raced into a 3-0 lead by half-time. Their nerve was tested when Sirlord Conteh hit two quick goals to reduce the deficit to just one goal. A hush fell over the stadium as anxiety grew amongst the previously fervent Energie crowd. Mirroring their managers' journey in the first few weeks of his reign the team pushed on, seemingly unaffected by the on-field setbacks and off-field noise (or lack of) and showed no signs of wavering from the plan. Within ten minutes of conceding, Energie had restored their three-goal advantage and with it, the party atmosphere. By the time the full-time whistle had gone and the players were soaking up the adulation from the 10,000 strong crowd, it felt like the mood had begun to shift. From the early scepticism came a groundswell of positivity. For the time being, at least, the dissenting voices have been silenced.

Ahead of the upcoming 2027/28 season I was keen to ensure we avoided a situation where we began to stagnate, plateau and eventually fall into decline. We'd worked hard to battle our way through the Leagues, and I didn't want us to fall into the trap of thinking we'd 'made it' - we have to keep pushing forward. But first, a quick recap on the journey so far. In 2023/24 we found ourselves competing in the National - French footballs third tier - following the clubs 'administrative relegation'. Being one of the stronger sides in the division, I was keen to seize the initiative and take control of games. Large parts of the plan for this season was inspired by Liverpool. Our 4-3-3 shape when defending became a 3-2-5 when attacking. A constant theme throughout this save so far has been maintaining the 3-2-5 attacking shape, but experimenting with different systems when out of possession. I wanted the team to evolve, and I wanted to try new things rather than simply sticking to the same things, and just improving the playing squad. We played an aggressively high defensive line on our way to winning the title, boasting a strong defensive record and giving opportunities to our young talent - the ideal start to our renaissance. __________________________________________________________________________________ In 2024/25 we were back in Ligue 2 and were considered among the favourites for relegation. With tougher challenges awaiting us this year, I wanted to ensure we remained strong defensively. We changed up our out of possession shape, opting for a 4-4-1-1 with a double pivot instead of a lone defensive midfielder. We also dropped the wide players a little deeper to give us a little extra protection when defending. The idea for this season was partially inspired by Manchester City and how they have begun to regularly field 4 central defenders in a back 4. The use of two inverted full-backs, a libero and a segundo volante meant we retained our 3-2-5 attacking shape, but out of possession we defended in a mid-block and with more players in deeper positions. Our only Summer signings were two centre-backs - Billy Koumetio on loan from Liverpool and Willy Kambwala following his release by Manchester United - and several youngster were promoted into the first-team picture. In January we added two more defenders. Leo Petrot, a left-back/centre-back arrived from St. Ettiene for €46k and Christopher Jullien joined from Montpellier for €75k. With just 27 goals conceded in the 34 games - we had the best defensive record in the division and secured a play-off place with our 4th place finish. Sadly, an extra-time loss to Caen ended our promotion charge. __________________________________________________________________________________ In 2025/26 I really focused on adding quality to our squad in order to maintain another promotion challenge. With no major outgoings, we upgraded our options for the goalkeeper, left-back, defensive midfield and wide positions, while also adding depth up front all while keeping our spending relatively low. With several key positions upgraded, and extra pace and power added to the squad, I was really pleased with our Summer recruitment and quietly confident ahead of the new season that we could have another real go at winning promotion to the top flight. The Summer recruitment shaped my tactical choices for the season ahead and another new season brought another out of possession shape - this time opting for a 3-4-3 shape. The extra central defender along with the height and power at defensive midfield was designed to increase the physicality of the side, and improve our attacking and defensive set pieces. Our defensive quality has become my primary concern. First and foremost, I'm thinking about our defensive shape and this was reflected by another strong showing. We conceded just 25 goals as we surprised our board, fans and media alike by winning Ligue 2 and sealing promotion to the top flight. __________________________________________________________________________________ So in 2026/27 we were back in Ligue 1 and had a big challenge on our hands to stave off relegation. I decided to keep the 3-4-3 out of possession approach, but would tweak a lot during the season. We were all but written off as relegation fodder, which I'm pretty happy with as it allows us to go about our business without any real pressure. Sidy Diagne, Christ Makosso, Nolan Galves, Malcolm Viltard, Leny Tela, N'Dri Phillipe Koffi & Sany Faraj were all with us in the third tier and we would still be relying heavily on them in Ligue 1. It was clear we needed extra quality to give ourselves the best chance of staying up. Alain Sutter was recruited as our Director of Football and tasked with handling all our transfers, with the manager having the final say - so let's have a look at our Summer business. No first-teamers were sold, but we moved on a few squad members to ensure our transfer business resulted in a small net profit. Here's who we brought in during the Summer: Former Lyon forward Bertrand Traore was signed from Girona for €425k. He definitely adds quality and depth to our forward line, as well as versatility. We made the loan deals for Jason Pendant (€500k) and Alan Virginius (€1.8m) permanent. Key players last season, and bother are products of the Sochaux academy. Goalkeeper Gaetan Poussin joined from Zaragoza on a free transfer to provide competition for Sonny Laiton. He has the attributes to play the Sweeper Keeper role so suits our style well. Former Huddersfield striker Steve Mounie joined from Brest, also on a free transfer. He is another player who adds great height and power and provides a good alternative to Koffi. We also signed Jerome Onguene on loan from Werder Bremen. Chris Jullien's physical attributes have fallen off a cliff, so Onguene arrives on a 'try before you buy' basis. He is also an academy graduate. We lost our first two games of the season which was cause for concern, but we did recover and found our feet in the division pretty well. Our chance creation and goalscoring statistics were on the low side, but our defensive strength was something we could really lean on. Our defensive solidity is what was separating us from the teams in the relegation scrap, and by December we were challenging for a European place. When January rolled around I decided to move on Benjamin Bouchouari (€525k) and Mohamed Diaby (€1.6m). Neither ever really made the grade, and Diaby didn't really have the mobility or quality in possession I'd have liked. In their place we signed Issouf Sissokho on loan from Bordeaux and Bryan Lasme on loan from Lorient. Sissokho is a smaller, more mobile midfielder who is a tenacious ball-winner with the ability to carry the ball forward from deeper areas. Lasme, another Sochaux academy alumni, is a forward who combines excellent pace and power, while lacking a little in technical ability. Inevitably, we fell off the pace in the chase for a European place but with four games to go we achieved our goal of avoiding relegation and secured another season in Ligue 1. Our 11th place finish is probably just about fair. Never really in danger of relegation, but also never a serious candidate to challenge for a European spot. __________________________________________________________________________________ So what do the numbers say about our performances, and how can we learn from it? Well, the first thing is that we defend very high up the pitch. On average we have the 3rd highest defensive line in the League with only Nice & PSG positioning their defence higher up the pitch. Interestingly, we allow the opposition a lot of passes. We face the 4th most passes with only Strasbourg, Toulouse & Concarneau facing more - but not a lot of passes in our defensive third (4th fewest). I'm pretty comfortable with that, and it suggests that we're defending well in quite a compact block. Opponents make a lot of passes, but they're not making them in or around our penalty area. We're not being penned in for long spells. Continuing our look at the defence, we allow the 6th fewest shots and shots on target against in the League. Again, this suggests we're not facing long spells of pressure and doing a lot of backs-to-the-wall defending. We have the 7th most clean sheets, concede the 8th fewest goals and rank 9th for xGA. So defensively it would seem we're doing reasonably well. In attack, we're a fairly middling possession side. We rank 8th in the League with our 50% and in terms of chance creation we're a lower half side. We rank 15th for both goals scored and xG, and are 11th for chances created. We rank 13th for shots, and 17th for shots on target. In terms of set pieces, we're average defensively but well below par for attacking set pieces. We scored 4 goals from corners - which is well below Strasbourg who top the charts with 20. In simple terms, we're relatively good defensively, poor in attack and inefficient from set pieces. Lots to think about ahead of the new season.

When the news came last year that FC Sochaux-Montbeliard were to be 'administratively relegated', it was a crushing blow to one of French footballs founding clubs. The club was formed in 1928 by the Peugeot family. The car manufacturing company of the same name had a factory in Sochaux, and director Jean-Pierre Peugeot wanted to create a football club for the workforce. Peugeot was among the first to really push for professionalisation, and were even known to pay players when it was forbidden to do so. It was their recruitment of French internationals and players from abroad that precipitated their early growth and led to their merger with neighbouring Montbeliard. Their early ambition paid off, with the club winning the title in 1935 & 1938. Their only other successes came relatively recently, winning the Coupe de la Ligue (2004) and the Coupe de France (2007). But for fans of the club this already seems like a long time ago. In 2015 the club is sold by Peugeot to Hong Kong company Ledus. With financial difficulties mounting, Nenking Group step in and invest the money needed to save the club from demotion to the third tier before officially taking ownership of the club in April 2020. In 2023, the club are demoted to the third tier by DNGG (French footballs financial regulators). Citing the situation in the Chinese property market, the club say their owners were unable to secure the financial guarantees required to cover the projected deficit. With the clubs future cast into doubt, former club president Jean-Claude Plessis (pictured above) steps in to save the club, buying them from Nenking Group. And that brings us to the Summer of 2023, and untested French coach Remy Barbier is appointed to begin the revival of FCSM. Concept, Competence, Capital In 'Wings of Change' by Karan Tejwani, Ralf Rangnick talks a lot about what he calls 'The 3 C's'. Concept, Competence, Capital. You can also read a little about it in an interview he does with The Coaches Voice . “EVEN ON A BAD DAY, YOU CAN STILL RECOGNISE THE KIND OF FOOTBALL THAT THE TEAM WANTS TO PLAY” What he is essentially saying is that any plan, done well, is a good plan. But you need a plan. He talks about the clear sense of identity at the Red Bull Group, and how this started with a vision of his style of football and that all club decisions were taken with this in mind. Coaches were brought in to coach the style Rangnick implemented, scouts were appointed to recruit talented young players who suited that style and success followed. RB Salzburg have won the last 10 League titles and are top of the League as they seek an 11th. Their recruitment success include the likes of Dayot Upamecano, Erling Haaland, Sadio Mane, Dominik Szobozlai & Naby Keita. Not bad. Intensity I've recently been reading 'Intensity' by Pep Lijnders, and the book has helped when thinking about the style of play I want to implement in France. The kind of high-energy football based on hard-work and togetherness feels like a good fit for FCSM, a club formed for the working class local community. The key to Liverpool's style is their counter-pressing, so that will be something we need to implement and get right quickly. What also comes across in the book is how important training is to Lijnders in giving the players the appropriate tactical understanding, and to hone the skills of the players to help achieve the desired style. "Training is our transfer" he says. "Training is our GPS - it guides us". "People can recognise us when we play. Even if we wore different shirts they would still know and feel it's a Liverpool FC performance" He also speaks about how Liverpool have such a clear style of play in a very similar way to Rangnick, which highlights the importance of identity to them both. Les Lionceaux FCSM is known for their academy in France, and played a key role in the development of the likes of Ibrahima Konate (Liverpool), Lucien Agoume (Inter Milan), Maxence Lacroix (Wolfsburg) and Marcus Thuram (Inter Milan). Given their nickname translates to 'The Lion Cubs' it makes sense to tie this into the identity of the club. Lion cubs are born with their eyes closed and no teeth, but are quick developers, are naturally playful and watch how the adult lions hunt so they can learn how it's done. Lions move carefully into position when approaching their prey, and keep the final charge to a relatively short distance. They also hunt co-operatively when taking down large or difficult prey. I like the idea of incorporating these qualities as part of our 'identity'. So we have our concept. A high energy pressing game based on hard-work, togetherness and resilience in line with the clubs working class roots. Youth development is also a key component of our identity. We give young players chances early, and give them senior figures they can learn from. Every decision will be made with these key principles in mind.

I talked a little in the previous post about the need for an identity at FCSM, and what our values were going to be. The first thing I wanted to try to get right with our playing identity was the pressing/counter-pressing. More long-term I really wanted us to be a club with a big reputation for youth development. This season we fought our way to the title and won promotion back to Ligue 2, so we can definitely call the first campaign a success. But how did we do in terms of implementing our 'Concept'? I wanted to take a quick look at how we did. Les Lionceaux The first thing to consider is did this season help with the development of our young players? So let's take a look. I wanted to ensure minutes were given to the young players at the club and with a season in the third tier and a fairly restrictive season in terms of transfers I felt I had the ideal opportunity. As the graph to the left shows, a pretty significant number of minutes (around 60%) were given to players aged 22 and under. A large number of players were brought up to the first-team squad from our 2nd team and some played significant minutes throughout the season. Christ Makosso was arguably the player to benefit the most, with the 20 year old playing more minutes (3420) than anyone else in the squad. But the player whose development really surprised me was my 19 year-old left-back, Leny Tela. My first-choice left-back was injured at the very end of pre-season, so Tela was thrust into the line-up for the first few matches and he performed fairly well. Tela ended up playing 34 matches throughout the season and, as the image above shows, his development over the course of the year was pretty incredible. To re-affirm my commitment to giving game times to young players, I allowed Kevin Hoggas (32), Kevin Zohi (27), Issouf Macalou (25), Julien Dacosta (27) & Amilcar Silva (24) to leave in the winter transfer window. The Press So with the youth development aspect looking OK, how about our style of play - our identity. What does the data say? A big theme in 'Intensity' by Pep Lijnders is how Liverpool don't necessarily need to be the best team, but a team who can beat the best teams. They focus a lot on being horrible to play against. Their energy, their relentlessness, their speed and their intensity - coupled with their tactical positioning on the field - is aimed at making things uncomfortable for the opposition. Never letting them settle, always having to look over their shoulder. I wanted to take this kind of attitude to France. In order for counter-pressing to be successful, the team requires compactness and proximity. In other words, you need to be close enough to your team-mates to hunt in packs, and close enough to the opponent that you can do it quickly. I wanted us to play a high line, so we had vertical and horizontal compactness, so lets see how that looks in the numbers. As the images below show, our OPPDA was around average but the real outlier was our high line. We pushed much higher up the pitch than the rest of the teams in the League. While this can be a risky approach, if it is done well it also brings big rewards. We won the ball in the opposition half quite a lot, and it'll be interesting to see how these numbers look at the end of next season against stronger opposition. I mentioned that this strategy can be risky, but for us it paid off massively: We had the best defensive record in the League, and this was backed up by our xGA which was also the lowest (23.58) with the next best side, FC Martigues, conceding an expected 29.12. We conceded the fewest Shots (189) and Shots on Target (80) by a considerable margin. We also allowed by far the fewest Passes Attempted/Completed against. (13007/11049 vs 16244/13959) We also allowed the fewest Final Third Passes Against per game (38), which was far fewer than the next best team (59). One area I think we could stand to improve upon is set pieces. We face just over 4 defensive corners per game, while having almost 10 of our own. But over the course of the season we scored 4 and conceded 4. In summary, the early signs of our pressing style and youth development are positive. It'll be interesting to reflect back on these numbers as a point of reference at the end of our next campaign.

In football, you'll often hear the term "second season syndrome". This is a phrase typically applied to a promoted side that, upon arriving in the top flight does very well but struggles to replicate this form the season after. The reasons can come from a variety of factors. The teams manager and/or players can be lured away by bigger clubs, or they could lose the element of surprise. This is something I was seeking to avoid in my second season at St. Gallen. In my first season, we capitalised on the chaotic fixture scheduling and stole a march on the likes of Basel and Young Boys to capture our first League title in 23 years. But could we repeat the feat? Transfer Business A couple of fringe players were moved on for nominal fees to free up some cash to bring in new blood. Christian Witzig, Yanik Weidermann, Noha Ndombasi & Stefano Guidotti all left for around a combined €125k. More notable departutes included Ghana No. 1 Lawrence Zigi, who joined VfB Stuttgart for €7.5m and central defender Leonidas Stergiou who joined 1. FC Koln for €8m. Defensive midfielder Basil Stillhart joined Troyes for €2m and Elie Youan, who just returned from a loan spell with Hibs, signed for French side Montpellier in a €1m deal. And here's what we did with the cash: Slovakian midfielder Christian Herc joined on a free transfer from Grasshopper Zurich. He's a player with good physicality and technical ability and will add quality to our midfield. Swiss forward Boris Babic was signed for €140,000 from Lugano. He came through our academy so I was keen to re-sign him for registration purposes, plus he'll make a decent squad player at low cost. Justin Hammel was signed for €1m from Grasshopper Zurich as a replacement for Zigi. He has good attributes for the sweeper keeper role, and is young enough to continue to improve. Brazilian left-back Vanderlan was signed on loan from Palmeiras, with an option to make the deal permanent for €1.7m. The powerful Mirlind Kryeziu was signed for €67,000 from FC Zurich as back-up for Matej Maglica. Yerson Mosquera was signed on loan from Wolves as extra cover at centre-back. Dutch midfielder Branco van den Boomen was signed on a free from Toulouse. He is by far our highest earner, but adds real quality to the side and his set piece delivery will add to our dead ball threat. Finally, pacey winger Emmanuel Latte Lath returns from Atalanta after his loan spell last season, costing us €450,000. Only 3 of the eight player signed are Swiss (or partially Swiss), so this is a bit of a departure from what I outlined at the beginning of the save but, well, needs must. We didn't have a big budget and these players were relatively cheap. Champions League After winning the League, we had the opportunity to qualify for Champions League football with a Play-Off tie vs Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb. After going 1-0 down early in the first leg, we roared back to win 5-1 and all but seal our place in the Group Stages. In a frantic second leg, we drew 3-3 to book our ticket to the Champions League for the first time in the clubs history. Our reward was to be paired with Real Madrid, Inter Milan & Shakhtar Donetsk. As you can see from the results, we didn't fare too well. Aside from the 5-0 drubbing at the Bernabeu - which was genuinely hard to watch, by the way - we actually competed reasonably well. I never really expected to get out of the group, but the TV/prize money will be a big help in ensuring we have the opportunity to come back and have another go next year. In fact, as soon as the TV money rolled in it was spend on upgrading the Training & Youth facilities. I want to develop my own talent where possible, so having the best possible facilities is a must. Stopping the Juggernaut Young Boys enjoyed a ridiculous start to the season and, by the time the League split they had established a pretty firm lead in the title race. We opened with a 0-0 draw with Servette and were playing catch-up from there, while Young Boys just kept on winning. In our first meeting of the season, we were battered 5-1 away from home by Young Boys. It was 0-0 at half-time, but we were already down to ten men before we just totally collapsed after the break. That put a serious dent in our title ambitions, which was harmed further by damaging defeats away to FC Zurich (1-0) and FC Basel (2-1). It was only on the final fixture of the initial League phase that we were able to momentarily halt the progress of the Boys from Bern. With them leading the League by 9 points, they arrived at Kybunpark in confident mood, but there was a very different feeling at full-time... We exacted revenge for our earlier defeat, and narrowed the gap to 6 points, giving us half a chance going into the Championship Group. January Business When January arrived, I reluctantly sold some players not realising I was making a key error in not understanding the registration rules in Switzerland. When you register a player for your League campaign, if they make even one solitary appearance, you are then unable to replace that player in the squad - even if they leave the club during the season. With only 25 slots, you have to be careful. So, when we sold first-team regulars Jordi Quintilla (Nottingham Forest, €7.5m) and Albert Valici (Levante, €5.5m) I did not know that those player registration slots would be, essentially, lost. But we were still able to add some quality ahead of the second half of the season: Anto Grgic arrived for €1.2m from Sion. He really lacks speed, but should be a decent squad option in that defensive midfield role. Dion Kacuri joined for a fee of €350k from Grasshoppers. He has decent all-round attributes and at just 20 years old has plenty of time to grow into the defensive midfield role in the long-term. A shorter-term signing was the experienced Gokhan Inler. A great playing career and good mental attributes to pass onto some of the younger players. He arrived as a bit of a squad player, but an important one. The final arrival was Becir Omeragic. We had to pay his €7.2m release clause to get him from FC Zurich, but he is a strong defender with good technical ability and is an age where he has plenty of time to develop. Despite some confusion over the registration rules, I'm pretty satisfied that we've managed to strengthen the squad and make a small profit in the January window, so I'd deem that a success, but the tricky regulations are something I'll need to be more aware of going forward. The Run-in In one of the early fixtures in the Championship Group, we suffered another damaging defeat away from home at the hands of Young Boys. We were playing them in between their Europa Conference Last 16 tie with Besiktas, so I was hoping we could capitilise on any fatigue or complacency...but they won 1-0 with us again going down to 10 men again. This put them 7 points clear. With the fixtures coming thick and fast, we were quickly able to turn the tide in our favour once again. Goals from Julian von Moos & Randy Schneider gave us a 2-0 win over YBB, and from there we grew stronger and stronger. Young Boys, on the other hand, collapsed entirely. In their last 3 games they lost 5-0 to FC Basel, lost 1-0 at home to Lausanne and drew 1-1 to Servette on the final day as we took top spot. But the title race wasn't over... With the new Swiss League rules, we would now effectively enter a best of 3 scenario with Young Boys, with our Champions advantage granting us two home fixtures. It feels like a controversial way to settle a League season. On the one hand, it is a dramatic way to crown a champion but, on the other hand, a team could theoretically go an entire season unbeaten, finish top by a number of points and lose the title based on this play-off situation. After a brutal season in which we'd clawed back a 9 point deficit to lead the League table, we kicked off the title deciding fixtures at home to Young Boys...and lost 1-0 thanks to a goal from Christian Fassnacht. At this point my bottle absolutely crashed. The next 3 matches would define our season. We had a Cup final against Servette, before the final two matches against Young Boys. Cup Final We'd come through the early rounds pretty comfortably to set-up a final against Servette, a decent side who would eventually finish the season in 4th place. The match itself was a breeze. Matej Maglica gave us an early lead, before an own goal put us in full control. Acadamy graduate Alessio Besio put us 3-0 up before half-time, before adding a 4th just after the break. Servette got a consolation in stoppage time, but the Cup was already ours. This was the clubs first Swiss Cup since 1969. After the home defeat to Young Boys this is exactly what we needed. The Decider We went to the Wankdorf (stop it) knowing a defeat would put the League title beyond our reach. Besio gave us the lead with a gorgeous curling effort and we were looking strong early on. We continued to create chances until we were hit by another body blow, when Meschack Elia levelled the score shortly after the hour mark. From there it was a pretty even game, with both teams having chances to win, until Ulises Garcia was sent off for the home side on 83 minutes. 3 minutes later, Isaac Schmidt ran clear of the Young Boys defence and slotted the ball home to give us a hard-fought lead. Honestly, there are some real life goals I haven't celebrated like that one. Having taken two real sore defeats away to Young Boys earlier in the season, and losing the first game in this little play-off series, we stepped up when it mattered most to take it to the final day... One final match against Young Boys, this time back at Kybunpark and we started like a freight train. With 12 minutes on the clock, Brazilian left-back Vanderlan steamed past the defence and smacked us into an early lead. Just before the half our mark, Mirlind Kryeziu nodded in a corner and we were in dreamland. Niasse pulled one back for the visitors from the penalty spot before half-time, but we upped the tempo again and Christian Herc killed the game on 65 minutes. 3-1 winners and in a season of comebacks, we'd retained the League title. Next season, we qualify straight for the Champions League so we'll have a little more money in the bank. We'll need to work hard in the Summer to add more strength in depth to the squad. Retaining the title is the first priority, but I really want to make a better go of it in Europe next season. Thanks for reading!