Magnus Breitenmoser (who I always felt was a useful midfielder) has finally been picked up by Schaffhausen.
2 Nov Schaffhausen - Winterthur 1-1 SLO - Aarau 0-2 GCZ - Kriens 2-0 3 Nov Chiasso - LS 3-2 ????? Vaduz - Wil 4-2 LS 27 GCZ 25 Wil 23 Winterthur 22 Aarau 17 Vaduz 16 Kriens 16 Schaffhausen 14 SLO 14 Chiasso 7 - Wow, they are bad, but how did they manage to win vs LS?
Leading Goalscorers 11- Aldin Turkes - LS 9 - Andi Zeqiri - LS 7 - Filip Stojikovic - Wil 6 - 3 with 6 goals Leading Assists 10 - Stjepan Kukuruzovic - LS 7 - Petar Pusic - GCZ 6 - Markus Neumayr - Aarau 5 - with 5 assists Attendence 3,700 - Aarau (6) 3,608 - LS (6) 3,433 - Winterthur (6) 3,111 - GCZ (7) 1,871 - Schaffhausen (7) 1,674 - Kriens (6) 1,662 - Wil (7) 1,657 - Vaduz (6) 593 - Stade Lausanne-Ouchy (7) 527 - Chiasso (7)
Huge news Voters in the city of Aarau have approved 60-40 to allow the city of Aarau to use 17 million CHF to build a new stadium to replace the Brügglifeld. This was a huge step for the club, and it's the first major hurdle. There are still a few more hurdles to clear, but this was a huge one since if the voters didn't approve it, the plan would be dead, and Aarau would most likely be headed for the Promotion League. https://fcaarau.ch/news/aarau-sagt-ja-zum-stadion/
22 Nov LS - Wil 5-0 23 November Chiasso - SLO 2-2 Schaffhausen - Vaduz 0-3 24 November Winterthur - Kriens 0-2 GCZ - Aarau 0-0 LS 33 - They are going to be difficult to catch. GCZ 27 - Could also win promotion through a playoff. I would give them better than 50% chance against Xamax, current #9 in the RSL. Wil 23 Winterthur 23 Kriens 22 Vaduz 20 Aarau 19 SLO 15 Schaffhausen 14 Chiasso 11 Leading Goalscorers 13- Aldin Turkes - LS - 13 goals in 15 matches!!! 12 - Andi Zeqiri - LS - 12 goals in 15 matches!!! - With these two, no wonder they are leading the league. 7 - Filip Stojikovic - Wil 6 - 5 with 6 goals Leading Assists 11 - Stjepan Kukuruzovic - LS 7 - Petar Pusic - GCZ 7 - Markus Neumayr - Aarau 6 - Nikola Gjorgev - GCZ Attendence 4,075 - Winterthur (8) 3,614 - Aarau (7) 3,366 - GCZ (8) 3,237 - LS (8) 1,750 - Schaffhausen (8) 1,657 - Vaduz (7) 1,613 - Kriens (7) 1,537 - Wil (7) 593 - Stade Lausanne-Ouchy (7) 511 - Chiasso (8)
6 Dec Schaffhausen - Aarau 0-0 7 Dec Chiasso - GCZ 0-1 Kriens - Wil 2-1 8 Dec LS - Vaduz 0-2 Winterthur - SLO 1-2 A few surprises here. The LS loss and GCZ win brings them to within 3 points of each other. Chiasso still down in the bottom. LS 36 GCZ 33 Vaduz - 26 Kriens - 25 Wil 24 Winterthur 23 Kriens 22 Aarau 21 SLO 18 Schaffhausen 16 Chiasso 11 Leading Goalscorers 14- Aldin Turkes - LS 12 - Andi Zeqiri - LS 8 - Luka Sliskovic - Winterthur 7 - 2 with 7 goals each. Leading Assists 11 - Stjepan Kukuruzovic - LS 7 - Petar Pusic - GCZ 7 - Markus Neumayr - Aarau 6 - 3 with 6 assists Attendence 3,922 - Winterthur (9) 3,489 - Aarau (8) 3,366 - GCZ (8) 3,238 - LS (9) 1,661 - Schaffhausen (9) 1,628 - Vaduz (8) 1,527 - Kriens (9) 1,434 - Wil (8) 575 - Stade Lausanne-Ouchy (8) 566 - Chiasso (9)
24 January Schaffhausen - LS A 6 point lead going into the break, can LS keep the distance between themselves and GCZ> 25 January SLO- Aarau - retooled Aarau looks to make a 2nd half surge again. Kriens - Winterthur 26 January Vaduz - Wil Chiasso - GCZ So looking at the top 5, there are really only 3 that could make it in the RSL. LS, GCZ and Vaduz. Kriens and Wil lack a whole smattering of things.
Kriens can't go up no matter how well they play because of stadium and finances. Wil could, but I don't think they're good enough to chase promotion. Vaduz isn't as strong as LS and GCZ. They finished the year strong earning 20 points in their last 10 matches, but they're still 7 points away from GCZ. I'd personally be very happy with a top 3 finish. I'm concerned that Chiasso may be going down. I've got a soft spot for la squadra Ticinese. They've made some interesting signings. Patrick Rossini is the biggest to help bolster their attack. They're 4 points ahead of Schaffhausen, so it'll take some work, but I'm hoping they reach la salvezza. Should be a great finish to the season!
I think that there really is not any other options but LS and GCZ. LS seems to have the title and promotion wrapped up. I am not sure if GCZ will win the playoff, but it could be interesting to see. If Gashi can do wonders for Aarau, maybe they can make a challenge!
24 January Schaffhausen - LS 0-0 25 January SLO- Aarau - 0-2 Kriens - Winterthur 0-0 26 January Vaduz - Wil 2-1 Chiasso - GCZ 1-1 GCZ failed to take advantage of a listless LS performance. LS 40 GCZ 34 Vaduz 29 Kriens 29 Wil 27 Aarau 25 Winterthur 25 SLO 21 Schaffhausen 17 Chiasso 13
31 Jan GCZ - Vaduz 1-2 Big loss for GCZ 1 Feb Wil - SLO 1-2 2 Feb Aarau - Schaffhausen 1-2 LS - Kriens 2-0 Winterthur - Chiasso 3-2 LS 43 GCZ 34 Vaduz 32 Kriens 29 Winterthur 28 Wil 27 Aarau 25 SLO 24 Schaffhausen 20 Chiasso 13 - Looks like they are going down.
VADUZ!!! What a win that was, too! GCZ just has a thing against Vaduz where they always get tripped up by them. (St. Gallen had the same thing too when they both were in the Super League. It was so much so that I declared that the only three assurances in life were death, taxes, and Vaduz never losing to St. Gallen.) I'm trying to keep an even keel on this because I don't want to get my hopes up too much, but Frick has the team playing well, and they look like legitimate contenders. I'm cautious optimistic, but I'd love to see a push for the barrage. HOPP MIGHTY VADUZ!! If LS isn't champions come May, I'll eat my hat. They've put together an outstanding squad, and they're well-coached. Good win for them. Poor Chiasso. It's not over, but it's pretty close. They're just not on the same operating level as other CL clubs.
7 Feb SLO - GCZ - GCZ needs to get something from this to keep Vaduz at bay. 8 Feb Schaffhausen - Winterthur Kriens - Wil 9 Feb Chiasso - LS Aarau-Vaduz - For me the most important and interesting match of the weekend. Aarau traditionally plays much better in the 2nd potion of the season. If they want any chance of chasing down the 2nd spot (9 points behind as of right now) they need to defeat Vaduz at home. The challenge they have is the amount of teams between them and 2nd place. They currently sit in 7th, but only 9 points behind 2nd. If they can get hot, really hot, they could make a run at the playoff spot. The truth is, that any of the teams from SLO and up could make a run, it just shows how much parity (some may say boring) there is in the BCL this season.
GCZ sack Uli Forte after a string of poor results to start the second half of the season. No replacement has been named yet. GCZ was expecting a quick return back to the top flight, but now find themselves 12 points behind Lausanne-Sport, and now in third, one point behind Vaduz.
So a very strange weekend in the BCL. 7 Feb SLO-GCZ 4-1 This mach, of Lausanne team vs direct challenger to LS went very poorly for GCZ. As @KensingtonSC posted, Uli Forte is gone after this match now sees GCZ 12 points out of 1st place. This win for SLO, combined with Chiasso's loss to LS means SLO is 12 points ahead of Chiasso and essentially out of relegation danger. Each Lausanne team helped the other out this past weekend. 8 Feb Schaffhausen - Winterthur 1-0 Kriens - Wil 2-0 9 Feb Chiasso - LS 0-2 Easy win for LS Aarau - Vaduz 1-2 With the away win, Vaduz moves into 2nd place. LS 46 Vaduz 35 GCZ 34 Kriens 32 Winterthur 28 Wil 27 SLO 27 Aarau 25 Schaffhausen 23 Chiasso 13
14 Feb GCZ - Kriens 0-1 This loss at home against a direct competitor continues the GCZ slide. 15 Feb Wil - Schaffhausen 0-0 16 Feb LS - Aarau 1-0 Vaduz - Chissso 0 - 0 Winterhur - SLO 1-0 Only 3 goals scored all weekend, and GCZ is in a world of hurts. With 14 matches to play, Chiasso finds itself 10 points from safety. LS 49 Vaduz 36 Kriens 35 GCZ 34 Winterthur 31 Wil 28 SLO 27 Aarau 25 Schaffhausen 24 Chiasso 14
The race for the playoff spot for promotion is really all that is left. 21 Feb Winterthur - LS 22 Feb Chiasso - Wil Schaffhausen - GCZ SLO - Vaduz 23 Feb Aarau - Kriens If Aarau wants to make a real run, this is really their last chance. A win could move them up into 6th and only 8 points back, that would be manageable. A loss puts them a long way back. Vaduz and Kriens could put some distance between themselves and GCZ this weekend. I imagine Schaffhausen would want nothing more than continue GCZ's misery.
21 Feb Winterthur - LS 0-4 22 Feb Chiasso - Wil 2-0 Schaffhausen - GCZ 0-3 SLO - Vaduz 1-1 23 Feb Aarau - Kriens 4-4 Aarau with a very late goal to level the match. LS 52 Vaduz 37 GCZ 37 Kriens 36 Winterthur 31 Wil 28 SLO 28 Aarau 26 Schaffhausen 24 Chiasso 17 - Two wins in a row. Can they make a run to avoid relegation?
All matches have now been postponed through the end of the March international break (if there even is one). The earliest the league would return is April 3. There is expected to be another meeting on March 15 to discuss if playing beyond April 3 will be possible.
After four months away and much anguish and despair, a light is shown! The Challenge League returns! Freitag, 19 Juni 18.15 CET (12:15 pm EDT) Wil vs Lausanne-Sport - Live streaming on SFL.ch Grasshoppers vs Aarau - Teleclub Sport 20.30 CET (2:30 pm EDT) Vaduz vs Winterthur - Live streaming on SFL.ch Samstag, 20 Juni 18.15 CET (12:15 pm EDT) Lausanne-Ouchy vs Chiasso - Live streaming on SFL.ch 20.30 CET (2:30 pm EDT) Kriens vs Schaffhasuen - Live streaming on SFL.ch
With no promotion and relegation between the Challenge and Promotion Leagues, Chiasso will stay up again. They have now been spared relegation on at least 3 different occasions because of bankruptcies and now because of a pandemic. They've also been the most consistent team in the league over the last 10 years having neither gone up nor down from the league. Funny that...