Unusual strugglers

Much has been written about how so far this season there have been some surprise packages around Europe after making incredible starts to the season. In Spain we have Espanyol and Alaves punching way above their station, Sporting Braga mounting a challenge in Portugal and Bournemouth quietly sitting in the lofty heights of 6th in England.
However not much has been written about the struggles of some big clubs. In this post I'll discuss the struggles of two sides that caught the eye.

Fenerbahçe:

Phillip Cocu unveiled in July
Source: .fotomac.com.tr

We'll start with the chaos that is unfolding in Istanbul. Fenerbahçe have endured an absolute wrenched start to the season. The sari kanaryalar occupy 15th just above the relegation zone in the eighteen-team Süper Lig. Last Friday's derby with Galatasaray was their first game since the sacking of Dutchman Phillip Cocu. Cocu was dismissed as coach hours after the previous week's defeat at home to Ankaragücü which saw the giants slip perilously close to the drop zone. Cocu managed just one league win at home in five outings which came on the opening day against Bursaspor. Cocu had only arrived in Istanbul in July when he signed a three-year deal fresh after guiding PSV Eindhoven to the Eredivisie title last season.

The summer recruitment saw the likes of Islam Slimani, André Ayew and Yassine Benzia all signed on loan with the club also signing Jailson, Michael Frey and Harun Tekin to add a younger look to the squad. Out went big earners such as Giuliano, Josef and Fernandão. Fenerbahçe have been known to splash cash on relatively big names but this summer saw them change direction. Between the ins and outs in the summer the club actually made a profit in the transfer window of £8.11 million. 
Benfica put a quick halt to their champions league progress in August which saw them drafted into the Europa league where they haven't fared much better. So far they have four points from three games in their group and that included the shambolic 4-1 defeat away to a Dinamo Zagreb side who had only registered one group stage victory in four years prior. 

Cocu had bought his favored 4-2-3-1 to the club. However this was altered after two defeats in his first three games before referring back until the first major collapse in the 3-0 defeat away to Rizespor. After that thumping Cocu changed the system to a 4-4-2 with Jailson and Diego Reyes as a double pivot. This was used in the 0-0 draw at home to Basaksehir and then the following week away to Sivasspor which was also 0-0, which saw Eljif Elmas come in for Reyes. 
What turned out to be Cocu's final game against Ankaragücü he ditched the double pivot in favor of a more attack minded 3-4-1-2 or at times a 3-5-2. This was to ensure all three loan signings of Slimani, Ayew and Benzia formed the attacking trident. However they came up against an Ankaragücü side that were both stubborn in defense and quick on the counter. The pace of Thievy Bifouma and form of Mostapha El-Kabir was too much for Fener to handle. It certainly didn't help Cocu's fate that Slimani was red carded for dissent minutes before Erdenç Ozgenç converted a penalty after Ricardo Faty's first half opener. El-Kabir made it three four minutes after the penalty with whistles echoing throughout the Şükrü Saracoğlu stadium which rendered Michael Frey's strike in stoppage time nothing more than a consolation goal, although consolation is being used here very loosely. 

Cocu was fired and replaced by his fellow countryman Erwin Koeman on an interim basis and in the 2-2 derby draw away to Galatasaray last Friday he went back to a 4-2-3-1. Fener did fall 2-0 behind before salvaging a 2-2 draw with goals from Mathieu Valbuena and Jailson, who would be red carded for his part in the mass confrontation between the teams after the final whistle. 
Next up for Fenerbahçe is a home game against fellow strugglers Alanyaspor before the international break. Ten points from eleven games leaves the club fourteen off top spot and nine off a European spot. We shall see if Erwin Koeman can drag the team back up the table. 

Beitar Jerusalem

Up until Monday's clash against Maccabi Haifa, Beitar were bottom of the league with a measly five points from eight games. Like Fenerbahçe, Beitar are onto their second coach of the season with Guy Luzon given his marching orders in October following a 1-1 draw away to Ashdod. He wasn't sacked for that draw in particular but it was the final straw for the board as Luzon had only managed to win one game from the first seven in the league (a 3-2 win at home to Bnei Sakhnin in September). Luzon was appointed in the summer and oversaw Beitar's early exit from Europe at the hands of Georgian side Chikhura. 

Luzon favored an attacking 4-3-3 early doors. This was altered after two defeats from the first two games to a 4-2-3-1 which did yield an improvement in results with a draw and a win coming in the next two games. However results turned with a 2-0 defeat to Kiryat-Schmona, who played a 5-3-2 which nullified Beitar's attacking threat and the lack of pace throughout the team was exposed. A 2-0 home defeat to Maccabi Tel-Aviv preceded the final draw away to Ashdod which was the end of Luzon's tenure. 

Replacing Luzon is Nir Klinger who was appointed after the team put in a shambolic performance in a 5-1 home defeat to Bnei Yehuda. Klinger left his position at Hapoel Haifa to take charge and his first game was Monday's 2-1 victory away to Maccabi Haifa. Despite falling behind in the game Klinger's side showed resolve to not only get back into the game but to get the victory. A stunning free-kick from Moar Buzaglo starting the revival before substitute Lior Inbrum's winner five minutes later. Klinger seemingly went with a 5-3-2 in an attempt to bolster the defense that had been ripped to shreds the previous week by Bnei Yehuda while also integrating Eran Levi in the number 10 role behind Idan Vered and Aaron Olanare. Samuel Schelmann and Oz Raly provided width in the system as wing-backs to support the attack with Ofir Kriaf and David Keltjens as the shields in front of the deep defense. 

The Ligat'Al table November 7th 2018

Thanks to that victory Beitar are now off the foot of the table. They host defending champions Hapoel Be'er Sheva before the upcoming international break and it remains to be seem whether Nir Klinger can get the club back into contention for the European spots like they have been for the past few seasons. 

Everything still to play for

Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain finally wrapped up their inevitable league titles this past weekend which also saw Juventus take a big step towards retaining theirs to go with the already secured league title for Bayern Munich. Elsewhere on the continent PSV ended the title race in the Netherlands while next weekend could see champions crowned in Azerbaijan, Macedonia and Scotland with  Montenegro and Albania also on the cusp of seeing their champions crowned in the next two weeks. So this begs the questions are there any leagues still with exciting title races to keep an eye on in the next few weeks? The answer is yes and there are a few really close ones too featuring a number of contenders.

Malta

We'll start with the league that reaches it's conclusion this coming weekend. Two sides are locked level on points going into Sunday's final day with Balzan ahead of Valletta by virtue of the head-to-head record between the sides. Last weekend Valletta failed to beat ten man Floriana while Balzan secured a narrow 2-1 win over Senglea Athletic to move level on points. 

Balzan have never won the league title in Malta and up until 2015-16 had never even played a game in European competition. Their progress has been astonishing to the point where they are a win away from the biggest prize in Malta. 

Valletta on the other hand are twenty-three times champions, most recently in 2015-16, and have a long history of European football participation going back to 1963-64. 

Valletta need to better Balzan's result on Sunday, they host Gżira United while Balzan are away at defending champions Hibernians who still harbor hopes of qualifying for the Europa League. 

Armenia

In the past I've blogged about the unique but chaotic nature of the Armenian Premier league with it's makeup consisting of just six teams. However of those six teams, four are firmly in the race for the title. All four of Shirak Gyumri, Alashkert, Banants and Gandzasar Kapan are separated by three points with seven games to play.  It's not often you can say that more than half the league can still win it with so few games remaining. 

Champions for the past two seasons, Alashkert have dropped off the top in recent weeks which sees Shirak currently head the queue. Shirak themselves have only ever been champions on four occasions since independence. Of the four contenders only Gandzasar are yet to taste league glory. 

Given the size of the league there are still a few key head-to-head clashes to come in the next few weeks. 

Northern Ireland

I blogged a couple of months back about how Coleraine were looking to take the league title in Northern Ireland out of Belfast for the first time since 2002. Since that post they have remained with Crusaders and with just two rounds of games left they are level on points with the hatchetmen. The bad news for the Bannsiders is that their goal difference is significantly inferior to Cruaders', twenty-two goals to be exact so essentially it acts as an extra point for the Crues.  

Coleraine are away to Linfield at Windsor Park this coming weekend before finishing up the campaign with a trip to Mourneview Park the home of Glenavon. Crusaders meanwhile face a north Belfast derby at home to Cliftonville before a final day trip to Ballymena United. 

Cyprus

Apollon were 4-0 winners at APOEL earlier in the season
source: www.apollon.com.cy

APOEL have won every title since AEL Limassol's title victory in 2011-12 and have in total twenty-six titles to their name. However this season they are being pushed right to the finish line by Apollon Limassol. Apollon have just three league titles in total, the last being in 2005-06 where they finished the campaign unbeaten. Apollon this season were involved in the Europa league group stages and took a point away at Everton despite finishing bottom of their group, APOEL finished bottom of their champions league group this season. 

Just four rounds of games remain in the season where the lead has chopped and changed multiple times. In total five sides (APOEL, Apollon, AEK Larnaca, Anorthosis & AEL Limassol) have topped the table at some stage this season with the most recent change coming in round 28 when Apollon assumed top spot after beating Anorthosis while APOEL were held at home by AEK Larnaca. 

Currently Apollon head the table by just two points from APOEL with head-to-head being used as the first tie breaker and that is in Apollon's favour ahead of the final meeting between the sides on April 29th. 

APOEL face AEK Larnaca away, Apollon at home, AEL Limassol away and Anorthosis at home with Apollon facing Anorthosis at home, APOEL away, AEK Larnaca at home and Omonia away in the final four fixtures. Needless to say that April 29th meeting will be pivotal. 

Bosnia-Herzegovina

This is a race that will finish with very little between the two contenders. Sitting at the top of the league is Zrinjski Mostar level on points with traditional powerhouse Željezničar but ahead by virtue of their better goal difference of ONE goal.
The race up until a few weeks ago did have as many as four sides but poor form for Široki Brijeg and FK Sarajevo has seen them fall away. The most recent meeting between Zrinjski and Željezničar was filled with high drama to say the least. Željezničar were 3-0 to the good after converting an 86th minute penalty away at Zrinjski before the hosts pulled off the most unlikely of comebacks in the following six minutes. A goal on eighty-eight minutes followed by two stoppage time goals the final one being an own goal saw Zrinjski clutch onto a point in the most dramatic of circumstances.
Five rounds remain for both sides to edge themselves in front. Both sides are away this coming weekend before they do battle for the final head-to-head clash on April 28th. A game that could decide everything given that only three rounds will remain after that.

Hungary

Another league that features two sides currently level on points. Tied on fifty-five points after twenty-six games both Ferencváros and Videton have been streets ahead of everyone else this season. Debreceni who sit third are thirteen points behind so it's only really been a two horse race this season. 

The Hungarian league uses games won as the first tie breaker and of course both sides are level in that column with sixteen wins each. Goal difference is the next tie breaker and that sees Ferencváros ahead by just three. Both still have to face each other before the season is out with that head-to-head taking place on May 5th with Videoton hosting Ferencváros. In total seven rounds are still to play so lots of twists and turns no doubt to come. 

Denmark

Brøndby (yellow) will battle with Midtjylland for the title
source: http://www.indkast.dk 

FC København's disastrous start to the season opened up a major window of opportunity for someone to lay claim to the title this season. A two horse race has developed between Brøndby and FC Midtjylland with both sides level on points. Goal difference is the next tie-breaker and Brøndby top the league thanks to their superior difference being six better than Midtjylland's. Seven rounds remain of the season and it does include a head-to-head between the sides which is tomorrow (Thursday 19th).

Poland

Saving the closest and most exciting for last we have the Ekstraklasa yet again. Last season saw four sides going into the final day with a shot at lifting the title and this season is shaping up to be a similar outcome. Lech Poznań are a single point ahead of both Jagiellonia Białystok and Legia Warszawa with two further sides sitting five points behind the leaders. Six rounds of games remain and given the league has split it is full of head-to-heads in the next few weeks.
So many twists and turns await as evident last weekend when all of the top three were beaten. Lech fell at home 0-1 to Korona, Jagiellonia lost at home to Górnik Zabrze and Legia were beaten at home by Zagłębie Lublin. Sitting five points behind Lech Poznań are Górnik Zabrze and Wisła Płock who have outside chances and given the recent form of the top three it isn't beyond the realms of possibility that either side can sneak into firm contention. Definitely a league to follow in the next few weeks because it is getting crowded at the top in Poland!.

The winless teams 2017-18

Having seen which sides are unbeaten across Europe, this post is to check in on the teams that are yet to taste a league victory. In total there are four sides across European top divisions yet to win a league game. One of them hasn't even registered a single point and another is still within a shout of staying up despite their winless run. Let's meet the teams.

Andorra - Penya Encarnada d'Andorra

Penya Encarnada d'Andorra or Penya for short are enduring a very difficult campaign in the Andorra top division. Promoted last season via the play-offs the campaign to date has seen them play fifteen games and collected just a solitary point in the process. 

A very young club that was founded only in 2009 it seems Penya will be returning to the second tier baring a serious upturn in results. Penya have graced the top divison once in their short history which was 2015-16 and they went down with six points, a win and three draws. They have some work to do this campaign to try and beat that tally as they are currently six points off Encamp who occupy the play-off spot in the eight team division. 

Bulgaria - Vitosha Bistritsa

Kostadin Angelov needs a miracle
source: wiki

Vitosha Bistritsa are this season playing their first ever top flight campaign. However the campaign isn't going as they might've liked as they currently sit bottom after twenty games with just five points to their name. Promotion was secured last season after a third place finish in the second tier. This ensured a play-off with Neftochimic Burgas who they overcame 1-0. 

The league has been on the winter pause since mid-December allowing the club time to reflect and make improvements ahead of a crucial spring campaign to ensure they get to extend their top flight stay. Defensively Vitosha are the worst in the division with the concession of forty-four goals thus far while only scoring ten themselves so you have the horrible mixture of being the worst defense and also the weakest attack. Manager Kostadin Angelov remains at the helm, for now, having overseen the rise of the club to the top division. Vitosha host Dunav Ruse next weekend when the league resumes, Dunav being directly above them in the table albeit some ten points better off. 

Gibraltar - Manchester 62

Sitting at the bottom of the Gibraltarian Premier division is Manchester 62. The club was as the name does suggest named after a certain successful English team with the 62 being the year of foundation. This season however they haven't quite lived up to the name enduring a poor campaign that sees them with just the five points from ten games. They struggled somewhat last season finishing 9th but stayed up by virtue of beating the wonderfully named Bruno's Magpies in the play-off. 

This coming weekend they face European chasing Gibraltar United looking to arrest the run of bad form. 

San Marino - SS Murata

National champions from 2006 to 2008 , SS Murata are a different proposition these days. Currently rock bottom of the Group B section of the totally amateur Campionato Sammarinese, Murata are suffering a retched season. Their record makes for painful reading with fourteen played, no wins, no draws, four scored and forty-three conceded. 

Given the size of San Marino it may come as no shock that there isn't any relegation to worry about for SS Murata. Murata have six league games remaining to register even a point but given that their recent results have been 9-0 and 3-0 reverses that might be a challenge in itself. 

Unbeaten 2017-18

The large winter break across most European leagues will come to an end in the next few weeks and it's a perfect time to recap on the opening half of the season. Five sides across the continent remain undefeated this season and all look to be odds on to be lifting their respective league titles come May.

Croatia - Dinamo Zagreb 

Dinamo are twenty unbeaten this season
source: Pixsell/Sanjin Strukić

The Croatian powerhouse of Dinamo Zagreb will be regaining their league crown that was lost to Rijeka last season. Will they do it unbeaten? Well after twenty league games they are over halfway to reaching that milestone. With sixteen games remaining it's unlikely closest challengers and eternal rivals Hajduk Split are going to cut the twelve point lead significantly. In fact Dinamo are the only club since independence to go a season unbeaten having done so in 2014-15. 

Of the twenty games this season Dinamo have only dropped points in five of them. The transfer window saw them sign Mario Gavranović, who was instrumental in Rijeka's title win last season, to add further depth to the squad. 

The league resumes this coming weekend with Dinamo away at Osijek in a potentially tricky looking fixture.

Czech Republic - Viktoria Plzeň

Viktoria Plzeň are in absolute control of the title in the Czech Republic. Pavel Vrba's side are sixteen points clear of Slavia Praha and incredibly have only dropped two points from sixteen games. It's exactly halfway through the league season and they have pretty much wrapped up the title. 

The numbers become even more impressive when you factor in they have only conceded five goals in the league, striker Michal Krmenčík is the league's top scorer and the club remain in the Europa League in which they face FK Partizan. 

The club are enjoying a somewhat golden era with this season expected to be league title number five since 2010. Going unbeaten is not all too common in the Czech liga with Sparta Praha going the 2009-10 campaign without suffering a reverse, you have to go back to the 1943-44 for the previous unbeaten season which was also achieved by Sparta.

Gibraltar - Lincoln Red Imps

The only side on the list with a perfect unbeaten season thus far with no points dropped. Lincoln Red Imps are sailing toward reclaiming the league title that was lost to Europa FC last May. They are currently eleven points clear of the defending champions having won all ten league games to date. They are enjoying such a dominant season that they have only conceded twice in that period and with eight games of the campaign to come it's looking ominous for the rest of the league to catch them. 

Lincoln do have plenty of experience in an invincible season having done so in 2013-14 and before the league was under UEFA for four seasons in succession from 2009-10 to 2012-13.

Portugal - FC Porto

Porto have form in this category having done so in 2010-11 and 2012-13. One both occasions they won the league title but in recent years they have played second fiddle to Benfica with that 2012-13 title being their last taste of glory. This season after twenty games they are at the summit with a game in hand and two points ahead of Benfica and Sporting CP. 

The game in hand against Estoril was abandoned after one of the stands at Estoril's Estádio António Coimbra de Mota was deemed unsafe and likely to collapse, at the time Porto were trailing 1-0.

Spain - Barcelona

Despite the tumultuous summer Barcelona have taken La Liga by storm this season. Unbeaten after twenty-two games they are sailing towards another league title. Currently nine points ahead of second placed Atlético Madrid its unlikely Atlético will be able to catch the Catalans. The unbeaten run was put on the line last weekend in the derby draw with Espanyol only for a Gerard Piqué equalizer to preserve the run. Of the games remaining that look tricky, are home to Atlético ( March 4th) away to Sevilla (April 1st) and away to Celta de Vigo (April 18th). Should they go unbeaten this season Barcelona will have achieved a rare feat of an unbeaten La Liga season something which has only ever happened twice before and not since 1931-32 when Real Madrid went the eighteen games unbeaten. 

Coleraine's unlikely title tilt

This season could see a very rare feat occur in domestic football in Northern Ireland. Coleraine FC a currently involved in a tussle with Belfast's Crusaders at the top of the table having played out an epic 3-3 draw on Saturday. Should Coleraine emerge with the title in April they will end a run of sixteen years that the league title has been won by Belfast clubs. Portadown in 2001-02 were the last provincial club to win the title with nobody else coming close ever since. Portadown nowadays are in the midst of a financial crisis that saw them relegated last season from the top flight.

A quick glance at the list of top flight winners through the history of the league shows just how incredible such a feat would be for Coleraine. For starters Linfield have fifty-two titles which is more than double of the next highest number which is Glentoran's tally of twenty-three. All provincial winners combined have ten titles. Coleraine sit ninth in the winners standings with just the solitary title won back in 1973-74.

That 73-74 title success saw Coleraine win the league by five points (two points for a win in those days) from Portadown. It was certainly a case of now or never as both of Belfast's big two Linfield and Glentoran finished well off the pace in a rare year where neither were in contention. The league success also enabled Coleraine to participate in the following season's European cup. Pitted against Dutch giants Feyenoord, the Bannsiders lost 11-1 on aggregate. Alan Simpson scoring the only goal in the second leg at the Coleraine showgrounds. 

In recent years Coleraine have been on the fringes of qualifying for Europe. They achieved this last season thanks to an impressive third place finish but they finished some twenty-four points off Linfield who won the title. Norwegian side FK Haugesund put an end to any European run in emphatic fashion with Coleraine being demolished 7-0 in Norway which rendered the second leg 0-0 draw meaningless.  

Coleraine started the season on fire winning their first seven games to race clear of the usual contenders. The run was halted by Glentoran at the Oval on September 23rd with Coleraine playing seventy minutes with ten men after Josh Carson was red carded. The next five league games were won which included home wins over Linfield and Glentoran. The Bannsiders were held to a 2-2 draw by ten man Glenavon in November before the first, and to date, only defeat of the campaign away at Linfield.

Coleraine would be eventually caught by Crusaders following a festive dropping of points at home to Ballymena United and then away at Cliftonville. Manager Oran Kearney however signalled his intentions with the surprising capture of Stephen Dooley from Cork City who had just won the League of Ireland title a couple of months previously. Dooley a local lad being an excellent capture for the club adding some creativity. Former Derry and Institute striker Darren McCauley remains the top scorer with twelve goals one of which was Saturday's equalizer against Crusaders. 

Saturday's head-to-head with Crusaders had a little bit of everything. Coleraine fell two goals behind shortly before halftime with a quick fire double from Gavin Whyte. Despite pulling a goal back almost immediately after the restart Coleraine were 3-1 down as Paul Heatley seemingly put the game beyond reach of the hosts. Then came the undoubted turning point, Colin Coates' second yellow of the afternoon just after the hour mark.

With the numerical advantage Coleraine poured forward seeking the second goal to swing the momentum firmly in their favour and it arrived barely five minutes after Coates' dismissal. Jamie McGonigle, Coleriane's second top scorer this season firing his side back into the game. Crusaders were desperate to hang onto a priceless three points that would open the gap between themselves and their opponents to four. Ten minutes after McGonigle's second goal of the game, the aforementioned McCauley got himself and his team a vital goal that bought Coleraine level. There was enough time to go on and win the game which would've put Coleraine two points ahead but just rescuing a point from being two down will no doubt feel like a point well earned as Kearney's men go on to challenge Crusaders for this season' top honor.