FC Groningen undoubtedly had a two-faced season which saw them going from hell very close to heaven.
They looked like serious candidates for a fall to the Eerste Divisie during the first part of the campaign when, with 4 wins, 3 draws and 10 defeats, they were constantly flirting with the bottom 3. Things changed radically from week 19, as they started an impressive climb up the table that brought them to the 8th standing. Their campaign might have had an even sweeter taste had they not been eliminated by Vitesse from the Europa League playoffs.
The main reason for the remarkable results obtained from mid-January onwards, 9 wins, 3 draws and 5 defeats, is that coach Danny Buijs, at his debut in the Eredivisie, managed to tighten their defence. While they had conceded 28 goals before the season break, they were pierced only 13 times in the second half of the campaign. No other team did better than them.
On the other hand, they relied too much on a clinical attitude: with 39 goals scored overall, they only did better than the bottom two, De Graafschap and NAC Breda. This actually cost them a lot in the Europa League playoffs.
The next season could represent an opportunity for a confirmation for Buijs and his boys, provided that they properly manage to replace those protagonists who are bound to leave over the summer. The centreback Jeffrey Chabot and the midfielder Ludovit Reis already started the exodus.
