Football Season Guide

Enjoyed a terrific start to their Bundesliga campaign last season, and where did it get them? Sturm Graz poached their manager - Fabio Ingolitsch - mid-season. From there, it was a bit of a gradual downward spiral. Relegation was never truly on the cards but still only finished 3rd in the Relegation Group. The spine of the team is largely intact from last season. Gorgon retiring was no loss, their CBs all stayed (fortuitous, given how many they sold mid-season), and their central midfield still looks as strong as usual. Their biggest weakness this season is their WBs. Sandro Ingolitsch was allowed to leave, which was very odd. That's especially problematic because there isn't a natural RWB in the squad to replace him, so they've hastily had to add Niklas Niehoff at the last minute. Either new CB Henrique or one of their various LBs will presumably have to deputise. LWB is a problem too though, with Ouedraogo having been poached by Olympique Lyonnais. He was terrific at both ends of the pitch. I think they've reacted to that as well as they realistically could though, bringing in Böckle, who shone whilst on loan at WSG Tirol last season. They've beefed up their CM options due to the constant injury battles for Tietietta and Madritsch, not to mention the constant looming threat of suspensions for both Dermaku and Bahre. In terms of creativity, they should be ok - a tad over-reliant on Greil, but Massombo is warming to his more advanced role. Yalcin looks ready to contribute more, and Diawara is always more of a threat with the ball at his feet than he is a penalty box predator. Goal-scoring will be their biggest challenge, as always. The Benjamin and Mustapha loans didn't work out, so they've left, as have Fetahu and Hrstic. They've had to take a couple of gambles, bringing in unproven Japanese forward Nakano (who may miss the start of the season due to injury anyway), and FK Austria Wien outcast Raguz. The latter is a good striker at this level but keeping him fit is something every club he's played for has failed at - again, risky. They're going to be competitive and disciplined again, Altach. It's difficult to envision anything really changing from last season though, unless Raguz becomes the player everybody in Austria knows he can be, and unless one of their RWB "solutions" turns out to be a stroke of genius. Shouldn't be any danger of relegation, really.