Dortmund's Demise.

To be quite honest, I am astonished with the current situation at Borussia Dortmund. Sitting not-so-prettily in the relegation zone, it is safe to say that a dark cloud has shadowed over the Westfaldstadion.

Three wins in their opening four games in all competitions seemed like a solid start, one of which being a 2-0 victory over Arsenal in which they outperformed the opposition in all facets of the pitch. Since then they have only registered five victories and haven’t won since December 5th, before ending their duck yesterday. Even though things aren't hunky dory, it was still a bit of a shock to hear the players being booed off at the conclusion of their 1-0 home loss against Augsburg on Wednesday night. Regardless of this, the Powers Above have shown no evidence of removing Klopp from his managerial post.

The heights of 2013’s Champions League Final and the double winning side of 2011/2012 seem distant memory. The loss of vital players such as Mario Gotze, Robert Lewandowski have not helped the current situation. Much was expected of Shinji Kagawa’s return from the Theatre of Dreams, but even he was unable to prevent a disastrous start to Dortmund’s season. Similarly, the signings to replace the departures haven’t exactly set the world alight. Ciro Immobile, whom I am a big fan of, has only been able to record a measly 3 goals with a conversion rate of 12.5%. Last season Lewandowski recorded 20 goals with a significantly better rate of over 22%. Like Immobile, Pierre Emerick Aubameyang has a conversion rate of just under 15%. Dortmund are missing their hitman.

Looking at the defence, it seems that confidence is the issue. If we consider that they have 4 World Cup winning defenders in their possession, it would shock us all, but considering that 3 of them failed to make a single appearance during the tournament we can now see why. Matthias Ginter and Eric Durm both are under the age of 23. Although they have potential, 2 youngsters are unlucky to be able to dig a club seeped in turmoil. Neven Subotic and Lukas Piszczeck are experienced operators so Klopp will be looking for them to aid and abed the youth within their ranks. Looking at Mats Hummels, he may well be considering his future at the German club with Manchester United reportedly interested in him.

That leads me onto another sticky situation that may face Jurgen Klopp in the future. If the unimaginable happens and 2011/2012 Bundesliga champions are relegated to the lower tier, he may well face the exodus of several pivotal players. Marco Reus has been forever linked with a move away and the reported suitors is a list the length of my arm. Pretty much every European 'giant' has been linked with the World Cup winner. As I have said previously, Mats Hummels is another sought after player. Status may begin to talk as teams could swoop in for the remaining talent in the likes of Nuri Sahin, Pierre Emerick Aubameyang and Ciro Immobile, however performances of late will do nothing to persuade clubs to invest in them. It will be interesting to see what happens if the side are relegated and if they don't buck up their ideas, the nightmare could become a reality.

On the bright side, they recorded a resounding 3-0 victory away to Freiburg yesterday, lifting them off the bottom of the table and also easing the pressure on Klopp. Dortmund need to take confidence fron this away result into future games, and they can certainly finish in a mid table position.

Another Season Draws to a Close!

It seems like it was only yesterday when we were gearing up for the start of the 2013/2014 Premier League campaign. Now, at the conclusion of the season, each team will be analysing the positives and negatives of the past season in an attempt to eradicate any faults in preparation for the next campaign.

The Champions

What better way to start a review than at the top? Manchester City finish the season at top of the pile for the second time in three seasons. Under new management, Manuel Pellegrini was able to clinch the title last Sunday along with the Capital One Cup. It can be argued that if City had surrendered the title to Liverpool, then their season could be labelled a failure, instantly putting pressure under the Chilean. There are fine lines in the world of football.

City's attacking threat was monstrous and they always had at least 2 world class strikers available, contributing to a staggering 156 goals in all competitions. At the back they had a rock solid defence, only conceding 37 goals in the league. What won Man City the league was that they had the right balance between defence and attack, something which Liverpool and Chelsea lacked.

Overachievers

As we move down the table, Liverpool were undoubtedly the overachievers of this season. I can honestly say that if anyone had told me Liverpool were going to challenge for the title and end up in 2nd position back in August, I would have laughed at you and told you to stop dreaming. Their Uruguayan centre forward has been instrumental in their success as he notched 31 goals as well as assisting 12 times. Whether Liverpool maintain the momentum of the success from this season into next, may be down to whether they can retain the services of Suarez for the foreseeable future. 

As for Chelsea, they had an indifferent season and Mourinho's return to English football was greeted with a trophy-less season. Throughout the last campaign, it was evident that the Blues lacked a clinical striker as Ba, Torres and Eto'o were inconsistent. The trio could only muster 17 league goals between them, in comparison to Suarez's 31 and Yaya Toure's 20 goals. This problem will need to be rectified for the beginning of next season, or else Mourinho could find himself looking for another job.

Similar to Chelsea, City and Liverpool, Arsenal had an spell on top of the table back in November, December, but failures in the Summer and January transfer markets meant that their challenge tailed off as the season progressed. While it can be deemed that they failed in the league, Wenger and the Arsenal have a chance to end their trophy drought on Sunday in the FA Cup Final against Hull City. Failure on Sunday could result in the imminent departure of Arsene Wenger. As with Chelsea, the piggy bank will need to be broken in order to strengthen for next year. Personally, I'm hoping Arsene has a world class striker on the shortlist as well as strength and depth in defence. A busy summer ahead for the Gunners as they aim to prolong their stay in the title challenge next year.

Relegation Contingent

Relegation is always a nasty experience to go through and this year, Fulham, Cardiff and Norwich were the victims. I believe that all 3 relegated teams could have escaped the drop if they had kept faith in each of their managers. Each team sacked their managers in a desperate attempt to improve their form, and not one decision was successful. On the other hand, this technique worked for Tony Pulis at Crystal Palace. Pulis was appointed manager back in November when Palace were languishing in 19th position and managed to raise them to an 11th place finish at the close of play on Sunday. 

Fulham were able to score goals, but a leaky back four sealed their fate to the Championship while Cardiff and Norwich found hitting the back of the net harder than it sounds. Norwich's offensive incapabilities was not helped by the lack of goals from club record signing, Ricky Van Wolfswinkel, who only contributed a solitary goal all season.

Period of Transition

It was a season to forget for Manchester United as they watched their neighbours win the title and they slipped to 7th position after a dismal display in the league. Not much went right for the Red Devils as they broke many different records, all for the wrong reasons. The 12 games lost were more than the previous 2 seasons combined, highlighting an ageing defence and a team which was low in confidence for the majority of the season, even if they were the holders of the title. With a new man at the helm in David Moyes, United were in a period of transition after the end of the Ferguson reign. Moyes never had the support from the players and was sacked, rather controversially with only 3 games until the end of the season. 

Much like United, Liverpool's Merseyside rivals, Everton, were also in a season of change. However, this season proved to be more fruitful than the Red Devils, as they reached fifth, and were close to beating Arsenal to the last Champions League spot, when two losses to Southampton and Man City effectively ruled them out of Champions League football next season. An exciting football philosophy coupled with the promotion of some quality youth players, Roberto Martinez enabled Everton to finish in a respectable position as they will look to build for the future.

Another campaign has drawn to a close, and many teams will need to strengthen their squads if they are to maintain or better their position from this season. It has been yet another exhilarating term, with many highs and many lows for each team. Now, we must enjoy pre season and all of the transfer rumours that follow it, before turning our attention to the thrills and spills that come with next season.

Can Fulham Survive the Drop?

Fulham are a team that has had their luck change in matter of years. Currently in their 13th consecutive year in the Barclays Premier League, the Hammersmith side have gone from competing in the Europa League Final in 2010, to fighting for survival in the Premier League.

The 12th May 2010 saw arguably Fulham's finest hour in when an extra time finish from Atletico Madrid striker Diego Forlan dashed the Lilywhites hopes at achieving European glory. It is safe to say that since then, the wheels have come off the Fulham wagon. As it stands, Fulham are propping up the bottom of the table with 20 points, 4 off safety.

January proved to be a productive month off the pitch. On the pitch, however, they only recorded 2 victories in 7 matches. Not the form needed if they aspiring to remain in the Premier League. Fulham manager, Rene Meulensteen was a busy man during the January transfer window. Konstatinos Mitroglou grabbed the Fulham headlines with his big money move from Olympiakos in Greece for a fee around £12m. 

The phrase "panic-buy" immediately rings around especially with the history of the January deadline day disasters. Yes, I hear you yelling "Fernando Torres" sitting at home, however, people are astonishly quick to forget about a certain Uruguayan named Luis Alberto Suarez. The rest is history. I'm not saying that Mitroglou will be as successful as Suarez, I'm saying that not all deadline day signings are flops.

In terms of their other signings, Lewis Holtby has the ability in his young legs to revive their season. The German never made the break through at Tottenham under Tim Sherwood, so agreed a loan deal to West London. Johnny Heitinga was also signed to replace Aaron Hughes who was loaned out to QPR and Clint Dempsey has an authentic track record in the Premier League, particularly with Spurs.

Having squeezed a valuable point out of a lackadaisical Manchester United side, they will take this new found confidence into a difficult match as they welcome Liverpool to Craven Cottage tomorrow. While I don't think they will claim any points from the match, another good performance from the Londoners, mixed with some favourable results, may give them the belief to move from the bottom of the table. As we get into the 'business' end of the season, Fulham versus West Brom will be a vital 6 pointer. While it will be played at The Hawthorns, I expect Fulham to have a solid back four, much like they had against Manchester United and a solitary goal will seal the 3 points for the Cottagers.

However, Fulham have been extremely poor this season and this was summed up with their FA Cup exit to Sheffield Wednesday. Their 6-0 capitulation against Hull was possibly the lowest point. What makes it even worse, Hull are in the thick of the relegation battle, and whether that match will prove crucial come the end of May is another question. Possibly playing in the favour of the Lilywhites is that 5 out of their last 6 games are winnable matches against clubs that could potentially be in the relegation mix towards the conclusion of the season.

Overall, Fulham the glory days of the Roy Hodgson era are long gone and they have a huge, but not impossible task of escaping the bottom 3 places. Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City await in the coming weeks mixed with a vital away game against Cardiff which could make or break the Cottagers season. 

At the start of the season I predicted Fulham to struggle, and they are. However I believed, and still do, that they have enough quality to overcome the relegation dog fight.