Definitely. Can we look at this as reflecting the fact that that smaller clubs are now mostly living within their means?
Yeah, not to forget the boasting of the first team fans of those clubs about how awesome their youth program is.
It depends on the division. The RL West had a lot of strong club first teams in it. 1. Fortuna Köln 76 2. Sportfreunde Lotte 69 3. RW Oberhausen 69 4. Viktoria Köln 65 5. Sportfreunde Siegen 64 Then the reserve teams of Schalke, M'Gladbach and Leverkusen follow and these clubs have good youth programs. I hope Fortuna can beat Bayern II. Last season Lotte was so unlucky with drawing RB Leipzig and then losing against them after extra-time in the 2nd leg.
Arh all 5 clubs you mentioned are among my dislikes.......... Give me Alemannia, Essen, Uerdingen, Offenbach, Oldenburg, Trier, Ulm, Hessen Kassel, Holstein Kiel, Waldhof Mannheim, Magdeburg, Wuppertaler SV, Lubeck etc. those kind of clubs
Wuppertaler SV failed promotion vs. a the village club called Hönnepel-Niedermörmter (even Germans can't spell that name). Arndt Zeigler made a short documentation about the match in his football show:
Promotion play-off results first leg: Neustrelitz 0-2 Mainz 05 II Großaspach 0-0 Wolfsburg II Fortuna Köln 1-0 Bayern II
As an aside, it surprised me just how hard and fast Regensburg fell after their promotion to 2.BL. Now they seem stuck just as they were before.
I am not surprised, Regensburg only has a small budget (in 2. BL they had 3.5 million € and decreased it when they relegated). In comparison 3. Liga top clubs like RB Leipzig (15 million € budget) or Heidenheim (9 million €) and even midfield clubs like Halle (5.5 million €) have economically much better conditions to form strong teams. In the season Regensburg got promoted they had the smallest budget in 3. Liga, but with Markus Weinzierl a fantastic coach, who shows his qualities now at Augsburg in the Bundesliga. I wish Regensburg all the best (because it is a nice city), maybe they have luck and find another good coach or like Darmstadt (Stroh-Engel 27 goals in 34 matches) players, who join and play instantly much better than expected and improve the whole team.
Agreed on all counts. Regensburg had a good mix of players when they were promoted, but then it all started to fall apart. Markus Weinzierl was a damn fine manager who then left for FCA, I believe. Also, money as you alluded to, has always been an issue with Regensburg. One never knows what can happen, perhaps lightening can be caught in a bottle.
Promotion results 2nd leg: FC Bayern II 2-1 Fortuna Köln (Köln advances 2-2 on aggregate by the away goal rule) FSV Mainz 05 3-1 Neustrelitz (Mainz reserve advances 5-1 over both legs) Wolfsburg II 0-1 Großaspach (Großaspach advances 1-0 over both legs).
Probably need a new thread, but i'm running late for work. Here's something to discuss: http://bundesligafanatic.com/3-liga-season-20142015-preview/
I don't really need to go beyond the first paragraph to disagree with random internet blogger guy. Cottbus and Bielefeld stronger than Heidenheim and Leipzig? Probably not. I kinda like how Fortuna Cologne are now a "historical side"... things have turned so bad, that one of Germany's original plastic clubs is looking good now .
Nice how Regensburg - admittedly not a very good side this year - put it to Duisburg - one of the writer's favorites for the top.
True I always considered Fortuna Koln being one club I didnt like because of plastic, yet the best among the promoted clubs this season
The 3.Liga standings right now. Quite the battle for the promotion spots. After 17 matches, currently only 3 points separates 1st-10th.
I think its a global tendency that the tables are much closer in lower leagues than in top leagues....... because clubs not playing Champions League
Wow... All but a certainty that Jahn Regensburg will be relegated to Regionaliga. I never would have suspected that, even with all of the financial struggles of the club over the years and considering their brief stint in the 2.BL. Just sad.
Bielefeld and Duisburg reached promotion one match day before end of the season, congrats. Thereby Bielefeld only played 2-2 vs. Regensburg, but profited that Duisburg (2nd) and Kiel (3rd) faced each other. Kiel had the better start and led 1-0 by a direct freekick (Kegel, 10.). But Duisburg answered with a double pack by Hajri (20.) and Gardawski (21.). And Gardawski even scored the final 3-1 before half-time (27.). Kiel will make a promotion play-off vs. the 16th from 2. Bundesliga. In the bottom of the table Regensburg (28) and Dortmund II (36) are relagated. The 3rd relegated team will be Unterhaching (39, away at Erfurt), Rostock (41, away at Dresden) or Mainz II (41, home vs. Chemnitz).
What an awful, awful fate for SSV Jahn Regensburg. Only a short time removed from 2.BL, the club's financial woes clearly drive their issues on the pitch. Just so sad.