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FROM DEEP IN THE SOUTH OF FRANCE

End of Season Review

The end of almost 2 seasons here in Montpellier for me and what has season 6 been like.

Well at the end of last season we finished with what I thought was a respectable 8^th place and 53 points. I thought then that we could and should push on for a promotion spot this season, until I saw the teams that had come down and the sudden quality of top experienced managers arriving in Division 5.  This was also confirmed by the media pundits that we would finish in the lower half of the league.

My major concern last season was the number of goals we conceded.  The decision by the president not to inject more funds into the club made this more difficult to resolve. I was not prepared to buy in old players with high wage demands and settled on hoping the younger players would pull us through.

On the plus side we had in season 5 two terrific strikers in Defoe and Pelle and I pinned my hopes on them repeating the same in season 6.

Transfers

During the season there was a lot of transfer activity with both senior and youngsters arriving and going. I did gamble somewhat in paying over the top for youngsters in particular and the president has certainly been getting worried about our wage bill.

I am not one to normally single out individuals within our club but Adrian (eventually) and Ideye both from West Ham coming in early September and Narsingh in November have made a difference.  Ideye’s arrival allowed me to let go long time servant Defoe, which was a difficult choice at the time. Adrian was

a gamble as he was not doing well at his old club and I have to say in the first half of season he struggled here, but to his credit he has put in some fine performances lately.

The Season

As they say a story of two half’s. The first half we again conceded far too many goals and it look like we would finished towards the bottom of the division.  Just over half way through we started to improve and my target (40 points) seemed to be within reach.  Then in the last ten games we suddenly seem to put some good results together and we finished the season strongly. We were never going to match the top five teams in our division and it was always a battle for us to claim one of the last 2 play-off spots.

Looking ahead

Losing to FC Twente (one of my old teams) on penalties really hurt.  I met with the president and meeting went on for several hours. The outcome was an option to continue for another season. I have said I will decide within next 24 hours.

As I left I turned to him and said THERE ARE SUCH FINE MARGINS BETWEEN SUCCESS AND FAILURE – WHAT HAS THIS SEASON BEEN FOR YOU!!