Football Season Guide

As is always the case, survival is the goal of this cash-strapped outfit. They've got more sponsors on their football shirts than any other team because of it, and have no idea from one season to the next as to whether they'll be granted a license to continue. Therefore, it should not be a surprise to learn that this is a bit of a revolving door for players. Subsequently, they made big losses pre-season. Star attacker Avdijaj, both LBs, all-rounder Omoregie, engine Demir, and their mainstay GK Sallinger all moved on for one reason or another. They're all big losses; virtually half of their starting eleven has now moved on basically. They've adopted their traditional stance with signing replacements - loans, or bargain basement buys. They believe Bratschko will be an effective signing in the final third. Hennig and Vincze joined to be their options at LB, and Vincze was a great signing. Golles provides more depth on the right. Had to take a punt on CBs though - that's going to be their big problem. Why? Well, the Komposch saga, that's why. Last season they extended his contract but his 'team' protested it, saying it wasn't a legally binding extension. This rumbled on for a while and the Austrian FA ruled in favour of the club, forcing him to stay - or at least let the club command a fee for him to leave. However, in a movie-esque plot twist, he's now injured his ACL and most probably will never play for them again as he won't be back until March 2026, and he's almost certainly not going to stick around after all of the above. Their CBs were mostly wild punts though - it's going to be tricky for them to navigate that particular field. Their attack should be good as they've managed to keep hold of Mijic somehow whilst bringing Havel back again. Midfield should be good with Prokop playing a more key role and Diarra having signed on permanently following a successful loan spell. Their GK situation could be a problem. Signed Maric last season (who only left Sturm Graz to play more football, which didn't happen) to challenge Sallinger. Now Sallinger has left, they've brought in Helac, who has already stated his intent to become their mainstay. Then they also signed massive Tom Ritzy Hülsmann too so nobody is any the wiser as to who will actually play. This issue needs resolving quickly or it will be detrimental to the team. Another complication - they were finally forced to modernise their stadium as the alternative was to be denied a license for this season. This will naturally take time, so they'll have to play home games at Admira's ground for the foreseeable. This is a good hour's drive from Hartberg though, so support could be impacted. The above should all but guarantee a messy start to the campaign for TSV Hartberg. They'll most likely find a way to endure, and they do have some good players in their squad but it should take them a while to get going. The club would settle for survival, and they should really manage that. Anything beyond is a bonus.