Goals Leader 8 - Jean-Pierre Nsame - YB 6 - Kemal Ademi - Basel 4 - Cedric Itten - FCSG 4 - Pajtim Kasami - Sion 4 - Raphael Nuzzolo - Xamax 3 - 6 with 3 goals Assists Leader 5 - Kevin Bua - Basel 3 - 8 with 3 assists Attendance 25,829 - YB (5) 22,381 - Basel (5) 11,335 - FCSG (5) 9,575 - Sion (4) 9,440 - Luzern (4) 9,178 - FCZ (4) 7,692 - Servette (5) 6,752 - Xamax (4) 6,095 - Thun (5) 3,570 - Lugano (4)
5 Oct Thun - Luzern 0-2 Xamax - Servette 2-2 Servette was up 0-2 at the half, Xamax fights back for the draw. Servette needs to relearn how to finish matches. 6 Oct FCSG - Basel 0-0 Sion - Lugano 1-2 FCZ - YB 0-4 YB draws to within one point. Basel 23 YB 22 FCSG 17 Sion 16 Luzern 12 Servette 11 FCZ 11 Lugano 9 Xamax 8 Thun 6 Around 35 points is needed to avoid relegation. As a Servette fan, that is my first goal for the team this season.
Goals Leader 9 - Jean-Pierre Nsame - YB 6 - Kemal Ademi - Basel 5 - Raphael Nuzzolo - Xamax 4 - Cedric Itten - FCSG 4 - Pajtim Kasami - Sion 4 - Gaëtan Karlen - Xamax 3 - 8 with 3 goals Assists Leader 5 - Kevin Bua - Basel 3 - 10 with 3 assists Attendance 25,829 - YB (5) 22,381 - Basel (5) 12,265 - FCSG (6) 9,440 - Luzern (4) 9,266 - FCZ (5) 9,220 - Sion (5) 7,692 - Servette (5) 6,565 - Xamax (5) 5,849 - Thun (6) 3,570 - Lugano (4)
2 Nov FCSG - Sion 3-0 Thun - FCZ 0-1 3 Nov Basel - Xamax 1-1 Luzern - Lugano 1-2 Servette - YB 3-0 Huge win for Servette, big loss for YB. YB 28 Basel 27 FCSG 26 FCZ 18 Sion 17 Servette 15 Luzern 15 Lugano 13 Xamax 12 Thun 6 Clear gap with the top 3. Thun looks terrible this season.
Goals Leader 11 - Jean-Pierre Nsame - YB 7 - Kemal Ademi - Basel 6 - Raphael Nuzzolo - Xamax 6 - Jordi Quintilla - FCSG 6 - Gaëtan Karlen - Xamax 5 - 2 with 5 goals Assists Leader 5 - Nicholas Moumi Ngamaleu - YB 5 - Kevin Bua - Basel 5 - Francesco Margiotta - Luzern 5 - Victor Ruiz - FCSG 3 - 13 with 3 assists Attendance 26,33335,829 - YB (7) 21,630 - Basel (7) 12,477 - FCSG (7) 9,650 - Sion (6) 9,572 - FCZ (6) 9,083 - Luzern (6) 7,330 - Servette (7) 6,419 - Xamax (6) 5,899 - Thun (7) 3,429 - Lugano (6)
23 November Luzern - Lugano 3-0 Sevette - Basel 2-3 -That makes three wins in a row for Servette over YB, Luzern and Basel. What a strange season for them. 24 November FCSG - Xamax 4-1 Sion - YB 3-4 Sion still can not seem to defeat YB. Thun - Lugano 0-3 YB 34 Basel 30 FCSG 29 FCZ 24 Servette 21 - I just want to see them get 35 points, then they are safe for next season. Assure RSL for 2020-2021 before anything else. Sion - 17 Lugano 16 Luzern 15 Xamax 12 Thun 9 Goals Leader 15 - Jean-Pierre Nsame - YB - 15 goals in 15 matches, that is amazing. 8 - Kemal Ademi - Basel 7 - Ermedin Demirovic - FCSG 7 - Pajtim Kasami - Sion 7 - Cedric Itten - FCSG 7 - Gaëtan Karlen - Xamax Assists Leader 7 - Victor Ruiz - FCSG 6 - Matteo Tosetti - Thun - The entire team has 13 goals, Tosetti has accounted for almost 50% of the potential assists for the team. Ouch. 6 - Nicholas Moumi Ngamaleu - YB 6 - Raphaël Nuzzolo - Xamax Attendance 26,622 - YB (8) 21,630 - Basel (7) 12,729 - FCSG (8) 9,629 - Sion (7) 9,299 - FCZ (8) 8,916 - Luzern (7) 7,716 - Servette (8) 6,316 - Xamax (7) 5,765 - Thun (8) 3,456 - Lugano (7) - If you combine Lugano an Chiasso together, you still are about 1700 people short of Thun, nor do them match Winterthur the highest in the BCL.
7 Dec YB - Luzern 1-0 Xamax - Lugano 1-1 8 Dec Basel - Sion 4-0 Thun - FCSG 1-4 FCZ - Servette 0-5 Ouch! YB 37 Basel 36 FCSG 35 FCZ 27 Servette 24 Lugano 20 Sion - 20 Luzern 15 Xamax 13 Thun 9 Goals Leader 15 - Jean-Pierre Nsame - YB - 15 goals in 15 matches, that is amazing. 8 - 4 with 8 goals Assists Leader 8 - Victor Ruiz - FCSG 6 - Matteo Tosetti - Thun 6 - Nicholas Moumi Ngamaleu - YB 6 - Raphaël Nuzzolo - Xamax 6 - Kevin Bua - Basel Attendance 26,504 - YB (9) 22,739 - Basel (9) 12,729 - FCSG (8) 9,300 - Sion (8) 9,2987- FCZ (9) 8,917 - Luzern (8) 7,716 - Servette (8) 6,045 - Xamax (9) 5,782 - Thun (9) 3,319 - Lugano (8)
A few big movements so far this off season. Basel: In Percy van Lierop a 45 year old Dutch sporting director has joined the club. Xamax: Serey Die has rejoined Xamax as well that Yannis Tafer has joined the club. Sion: Ricardo Dionisio is the new manager. Luzern: Fabio Celestini is the new manager. The question is can LS continue and hold off GCZ without him. Aarau: Shkëlzen Gashi is back with the club.
Celestini was unemployed. He last managed Lugano, but got the sack. My man Giorgio Contini (he publicly thanked me for my support when he was manager of Vaduz) has been managing LS since they went down to the Challenge League.
My brain has been elsewhere today. I forgot that not so great attempt at Lugano. Thanks for the reminder. Also, nice that Contini had a shout out to @KensingtonSC
Matches startup again this weekend. 25 Jan FCZ - Luzern Xamax - Servette - Huge match for Xamax. If they want to be able to pull away from the bottom and overtake Luzern, Xamax needs points in every match they have. 26 Jan YB - Basel - Great way to stat the spring, a Basel win in Bern would set up a great and tense spring. YB is not as good as the two previous seasons, but there is still enough on the squad to win the championship. A Basel loss would put them 5 points down to YB with only one more head to head match. Lots riding on this one. FCSG - Lugano - If Basel slips up, FCSG could easily go into 2nd with a win over Lugano. Thun - Sion - What to expect from this? No idea, Sion was just bad at times in the fall, Thun worse. This could be very entertaining, or very dull.
As a piece of news, the teams expressed their desire for a 12 team top flight. A 38 match schedule, after 33 matches, all teams will have played each other 3 times. Top 6 for the title, bottom 6 for relegation over the last 5 matches.
On the plus side, this gives Vaduz another crack at going up. On the down side, this makes the Challenge League weaker and less relevant. Let's say that everyone stays up this year and Lausanne Sport and Grasshoppers go up. That's good for the Super League, but that means the Challenge League will get two more Promotion League sides that probably shouldn't be in the Challenge League. They really should just go to a 16 team closed league and have semi-pro and amateur sides below them.
I am not sure, but do any leagues in UEFA have closed leagues? I think that 16 teams in a closed league is about what there could be. Since 2003/2004, the first year of the new RSL, here are the total teams that have played in the RSL. Basel YB Servette FCZ FCSG Thun GCZ Aarau Xamax Wil Schaffhausen Yverdon-Sport Luzern AC Bellinzona LS Vaduz Lugano That is 17 total teams.
25 Jan FCZ - Luzern - 2-3 Xamax - Servette - 1-2 26 Jan YB - Basel - 2-0 FCSG - Lugano - 3-1 Thun - Sion - 2-1 YB dominated a suspension depleted Basel in front of a sold out stadium. They now sit 5 points up on Basel, who finds themselves in 3rd position as FCSG just keeps on winning. Xamax's loss, combined with Thun's win drive the bottom two closer together. With Servette on 30 points, their first goal of the season has now been accomplished at least in my eyes. They are safely in the RSL for next season. It would take a monumental crash, and a massive turnaround from Xamax or Thun to overcome the points. YB 41 FCSG 38 Basel 36 Servette 30 FCZ 30 Lugano 21 Luzern 21 Sion 21 Xamax 14 Thun 12
Looks like Stade de Geneve will get fieldturf. They will join the growing list of stadiums in Switzerland with the fake stuff.
1 Feb Lugano - Xamax 1-1 Luzern - YB 2-0 Oops for YB. 2 Feb Basel - FCSG 1-2 FCSG is now in the lead. I think that they have been much better than many teams thought this year. They just keep getting good results. Sion - FCZ 1-1 Servette - Thun 2-0 FCSG 41 YB 41 Basel 36 Servette 33 FCZ 31 Luzern 24 Lugano 22 Sion 22 Xamax 15 Thun 12 Roger Assalé has been loaned from YB to Leganes in Spain with an option of purchase. They have also brought in on loan Jordan Lefort from Amiens.
Good for St. Gallen, but I still think YB wins the title, and I'm not counting on Basel as title challengers. I know they're depleted, but they look nothing like the Basel of old. They need serious squad changes, and improved coaching. I'm not liking the direction of the club right now. Servette going to the Europa League could happen. That would be something to go from the depths of hell back into Europa after only a few years. Pretty remarkable stuff. Two way race for relegation, but I think it's Xamax that goes down at the end and Thun plays in the Barrage. My goodness, it's an absolute crime how far Thun have fallen.
8 Feb: YB - Sion - can the Sion curse in Bern continue? FCZ-Basel - Can Basel arrest the slide? 9 Feb FCSG-Servette - Can Servette hand with the league leaders, and possible move even on points with Basel, or will FCSG hold onto the top spot for another week? Thun - Lugano - Can Thun right the ship? Xamax - Luzern - Can anything go right for Xamax?
8 Feb YB - Sion 1-0 Sion again, leaves Bern without a win. It seems like it has been forever. FCZ - Basel 0-4 Basel takes some frustration out on FCZ, still 5 points behind YB and FCSG. 9 Feb FCSG - Servette 1-0 FCSG was clinical, but Servette was wasteful. Thun - Lugano 3-2 Thun now draws alongside Xamax. Xamax - Luzern 0-1 FCSG 44 YB 44 Basel 39 Servette 33 FCZ 31 Luzern 27 Lugano 22 Sion 22 Xamax 15 Thun 15
And to make things worse for Sion, Johan Djourou will be out for at least 3 weeks due to an injury picked up vs YB.
15 Feb FC Basel - Thun 0-1 -- What? Such a strange result. Sion - Xamax - 1-2 Xamax and Thun are getting closer to Sion. 16 Feb Lugano - YB 2-1 Another score that baffes the mind. Luzern - FCSG 1-0 And the third of the top 3 who lost. Servette - FCZ 4-1 So the major question of this weekend, is it possible that Basel gets shut out of European play? FCSG 44 YB 44 Basel 39 Servette 36 FCZ 31 Luzern 30 Lugano 25 Sion 22 Xamax 18 Thun 16
So what will happen this week? Last week was very odd, can this one match it? 22 Feb Thun - Luzern FCZ - Xamax 23 Feb Basel - Servette - This is a huge match. If Servette wins, they draw level with Basel. A Basel win separates the two clubs by 6 points. Basel's big away win yesterday eases fears for Basel, and they could start a stronger squad. Lugano - Sion - Can the Tessino club further drive Sion into despair? FCSG - YG - 2nd huge match of the weekend. Too bad they are on the same day at the same time. They should have separated these into Sat/Sun.