St. Pauli secured their safety in the second division with just one game to spare in what was another rollercoaster season for the Hamburg side.
After over 2 seasons of consistency under former head coach Ewald Lienen, it was hoped that his former assistant Olaf Janßon would continue on in his footsteps.
However he failed to bed his new signings in and the club struggled for goals. A run of 7 games without a win in the lead up to Christmas saw the end of Janßon with experienced second division coach Markus Kauczinski taking the reins. He started well but also had his struggles and only got over the line with a round 33 win over Arminia Bielefeld.
Janßon started the season with very few changes to the squad in the hope the core squad from last season would be enough to keep the team in contention to go up. While the squad as a whole was as effective as in the previous season, in attack there were significant failings. Aziz Bouhaddouz did not find the net until the round 21 visit to Heidenheim and summer signing Sami Allagui also failed to settle.
A round 31 defeat to Jahn Regensburg in which the team fell apart and two players were sent off seemed to spell the end for the club’s time in the second division. Before crucial wins over Fürth and Bielefeld rescued Pauli’s season.
Few players shone in what was a disappointing campaign overall. The likes of Allagui and Bouhaddouz will likely have to fear for their future at the club. While some of the better players in the squad such as Christopher Buchtmann and Waldemar Sobota had their seasons cut short through injury.
Centre back Lasse Sobiech did show a lot of heart though, as he fought for his side with everything he had, and often had to play through the pain barrier. He will be a big loss as he leaves to go to Köln next season.
Kauczinski also has a lot of work ahead of him to rebuild the confidence of a side who played so poorly this season.
