When we left it last time we were sitting comfortably in 8th after a really good run of form. We maintained this position up to the league split. We were 8 points off qualifying for the championship playoff section, but a healthy 16 points off the relegation spots. A couple of wins later and we had gained enough points to see us safe from relegation, which initiated a few players receiving bonuses for avoiding relegation. Nothing too major though so didn’t break the bank.
After the split we maintained our form and at the end of the season we finished a creditable 8th. A really good finishing position in our first season in the Israeli Premier League. Considering it was also our first season as a professional outfit I can categorically say this league campaign was a success. We also put in a good showing in the cup. In those last few games of the season we has a semi-final appearance, but lost 2-1 in extra time.
Since we had secured safety I asked the board to improve our youth and training facilities, both of which were approved, at a cost of nearly £1.5million (we received about the same in TV money and appearance money). On the infrastructure side we received our second youth intake. Nothing to write home about, quite a poor intake in general. But since it was only the second one we had there is room for improvement. After the intake I fired the current Head of Youth Development for a better coach! Hopefully he can get an improved cohort of players next year. The board are reluctant to increase the Youth Recruitment so we are stuck with this set up for the time being. Although one of the takeaways I got from my HoYD experiment was that the facilities were a really big part of the youth intake. We will see what we can get for the next few seasons.
All of these upgrades were paid for by our improving finances, which massively increased since last year. Another season in the Premier League will help no end. We still have the debt from the Stadium upgrade a few seasons ago but the balance is looking healthy and we are working towards repairing the financial damage as set out in our club vision.
Dan Gross was the star of the season. A free transfer at the start of the season. He finished top scorer in the league, and was our highest rated player. As you can see below he pretty much took home all the accolades. Scoring 10 goals in 3 matches in that really good run of form helped immeasurably! Bagging 5 in one game, another club and league record.
Overall everyone in the team performed admirably, we signed a bunch of loanees who came in and played well (three in Team of the Year), adding strength and depth to the squad. A couple of which we managed to get for a second season (including Yakir Haim who signed on loan for the third season). As well as the loan players I managed to use the trial system and got quite a good selection of better players who performed in short spurts. We weren’t reliant on just Israeli nationals this season, there are plenty of Brazilians willing to join the club, amongst others. The foreign players were used primarily as utilised as trialists and loanees. We registered 5 foreigners in the squad which gives us some manoeuvrability. I am trying to keep the bulk of the side Israeli, if the opportunity presents itself then I will delve into the market to sign any outstanding foreign players who can make a difference. Although we can only scout Europe, the diversity of the players brought to me in scouting meetings and recruitment meetings is quite large. As mentioned before there are a wealth of Brazilians showing up, as well as Easter Europeans. I have got the Brazilian leagues loaded up so I guess that explains why. We are a top flight side in a European league so the players will be willing to come and sign. Hopefully we can take advantage of this and sign some really good players.
A piece of business I was keen on completing is finding a loan for our hot prospect Mohammed Milad. I managed to ship him out to a second division side where he fared well. 9 goals in 30 games and an average rating above 7. At 19, he returns a much better player, another loan for him next season, and with the same improvement he will be ready for a big season with us. We go into the 2028/29 season looking up. We have a healthy wage budget and a transfer budget that will allow us to sign some higher quality players. I don’t want to be too reliant on loans so I will try to sign players to the club. Although we can get some good players in on cheap loans that will improve the strength of our squad. I will also be looking to loan out a few of the prospects – Milad, as mentioned above, but also Goncalo Costa (who is still here). Hopefully they can have breakout seasons and return ready to step into our first team. I don’t seem to stick to any of the transfer plans I put in place preseason so anything might happen!
Any improvement on last season will be a bonus. Whether we can make the Championship playoff after the split is to be seen. We have had a better finish season after season, so hopefully this can continue. The Gvia HaMedina winners get a spot in the Europa Conference League, so this will be a target. We were semi finalist this season so there is no reason, with a favourable draw, we cannot make the final and take that European spot. After this campaign of consolidation our next goal is gaining a European place, so that is the target for the upcoming season.
Lets see if we can do it.
FM RioSantos 