Köln enjoyed a season of consolidation in the Bundesliga this year while also taking their highest league finish since 1992. Peter Stöger’s side were the definition of a utilitarian side last year as they survived based largely on grinding out plenty of draws and a few wins so the target this year was to develop their threat. To a certain extent the coach succeeded as the club played a more attacking brand of football but, on the other hand, they only finished with three points more than last season. However the consistency that they took over from last year is a very positive aspect of Stöger’s coaching as the team avoid the huge variations in results and finishes that other teams suffer from. With that said, there were some barren periods during this season where Stöger was unable to inspire his side to pick up results in key matches and that was especially true in the second half of the season. Before Christmas the club picked up some excellent results with wins over Borussia Mönchengladbach, Schalke, Bayer Leverkusen and Dortmund. However defeats to the likes of Hannover and Stuttgart prevented the team from pushing forward throughout the season. Stöger will be given the chance to continue developing the squad but will hope to keep the current squad together and simply add a few more players during the close season. The attack can still be strengthened but at the back everything is very solid and the coach will generally be happy with that aspect of the team. There have been a number of good performances from players throughout the season as Stöger tends to keep faith with the same core squad. Timo Horn was excellent in goal and will be a transfer target in the summer. Anthony Modeste also led the line well though he did have some tough periods in the season. However their best player was Jonas Hector who continued to develop and was able to play in central midfield as well as left back. The youngster may well be travelling to France with the German national team having been called into the provisional squad named shortly after the conclusion to the season. Köln benefitted this year from a very compact bottom ten teams and they were simply the best of a bad bunch. There is still plenty of work for the team to do next year and they have to be wise in the transfer market but, if the club keeps faith with Stöger, then the future looks positive.
