2017/2018 was another season of near misses for Borussia Mönchengladbach who once again finished in 9th spot. Dieter Hecking completed his first full season in charge this term, and while he clearly progressed his side in their style of play, the team still showed more potential than their eventual league position showed.
With some good additions to what was already a solid core squad, Gladbach made a decent start to the season which included a home win against the mighty Bayern München. That win led them on a good run that saw them finish 6th at the half way stage.
However, a run of just 1 win in 9 matches between the end of January and early April meant their league position plummeted, and they were unable to recover late in the season. One reason for their poor results in the second half of the season was an injury list that was consistently one of the longest in the league, and contained important players. Hecking certainly had planned a deep enough squad, but at times they were chronically undermanned in certain positions.
In addition, the ever reliable Raffael began to show some signs of age as they struggled to find the net early in the season, and only ended with 9 goals in 23 appearances following numerous minor injuries. The goalscoring responsibility rested largely with Belgian Thorgan Hazard who scored 10, and captain Lars Stindl who found the net 6 times. Those two will be the key players for Hecking should both remain at the club over the summer.
With strength in depth over most positions in the squad the future looks bright for Gladbach, so long as they also get a bit of luck. Hecking has the full backing of the board for now, but fans and executives alike will expect a better finish than 9th in the coming season.
