Against all expectations, FC Emmen managed to reach safety at the end of their first season ever in the top flight of the Dutch football.
They never really found themselves at the very bottom of the table, thus not risking straight relegation, but they fell in the playout zone between weeks 22 and 28. 4 wins out of the last 6 games of the season allowed them to achieve a precious 14th standing.
With only 41 goals scored, FC Emmen did not have a very effective attack, only 3 teams did worse than them, and they were only slightly better at the back, they held the 12th best defence conceding 72 goals. Double wins over FC Groningen and FC Utrecht and a home draw against PSV, all top half teams, undoubtedly proved fundamental for their final result.
While their home and away performances were quite similar, they won 5 games in each location, FC Emmen certainly owe a lot to their second half of the season results, as they obtained 4 points more than in the first one.
With most of the squad, no less than 17 players, bound to quit over the summer due to the end of their loans from bigger clubs, and an extremely tight budget to live on, coach Dick Lukkien will have to come up with another miracle in the next campaign, if FC Emmen are to survive in the Eredivisie once again.
