Werder Bremen had to endure yet another disappointing season with the club failing to improve on their poor performance from last campaign and had to settle for a place in the bottom half of the Bundesliga table. Bremen started the season with a change at top, with Robin Dutt replacing the long serving Thomas Schaaf as the head coach. Bremen spent a busy summer, signing as many as six players with Nils Petersen, Cedric Makiadi, Luca Caldirola, Ludovic Obraniak, Santiago Garcia and Franco di Santo arriving, though there were a couple of high profile departures with Sokratis and Marko Arnautovic leaving the club. Bremen started the season on a positive note, winning their opening two games and though they lost their next three, a four-match unbeaten run followed as Bremen found themselves around the top half of the table 10 games into the season. However, things slowly got worse for Dutt and his side and a poor run of just four points from seven games saw Bremen drop down near the relegation zone. Bremen were struggling defensively, at one point conceding 25 goals in just seven games. Things did not improve after the winter break as they suffered heavy defeats to Augsburg and Borussia Dortmund though it was followed by a six-match unbeaten run that lifted them clear of the relegation zone. Bremen continued to struggle defensively in the closing stages of the season, managing just one cleansheet in their final 10 games, though they did pick up crucial points against Hannover 96, Schalke and Hoffenheim to banish any lingering fears of relegation. While there has been some positives for Bremen, Dutt will be disappointed over the lack of consistency shown by his side throughout the season and will be aware that changes are needed at either ends of the pitch, if they are to improve next campaign. Aaron Hunt's creativity saved Bremen time and again this season but, with the midfielder leaving the club, a creative midfielder is also needed while Dutt will also have to address lack of goals upfront with both Petersen and Di Santo managing to score just 11 goals between them.
