Football Season Guide

Considering how close they came to being relegated in the 23/24 season, they've done staggeringly little to improve things for the season ahead. Adding Decarli as a CB and Maurin as an attacker isn't going to change much, really. They didn't have massive issues at CB last season so Decarli's acquisition seems a tad like jumping the gun. Maurin is more gifted than the departed Momoh but no more consistent so it could be argued that they've not improved that position either. Unless they seriously reinforce their squad as the season begins, they're in trouble this season. There still isn't a proven goal-scorer in this squad, and they're now pinning their hopes on youngster Muci from Lugano instead of Fink from FC Basel. It's a coin toss as to whether that works or not. Lugano had issues with his agent wanting his client to play more games so he was farmed out but Croci-Torti would never let a great talent leave like that so it's a real gamble from Grasshopper Club Zurich. At the present time, they're going to have to rely almost exclusively upon counters via Maurin, Mabil etc. - and they will be good at that. From open play though, they'll struggle, especially having axed long-term injury victim Shabani. Shabani would have been like a new signing for them, and thus his exit should escalate the playmaking burden on Morandi. Another problem with this group is that none of them are especially consistent though, and they seem to rely more and more on younger players as the years roll by. de Carvalho is a fine example of them forcing through a player that is not 100% ready - he's very fast and skilful but seriously lacking in end product because he's got nobody to learn from. They should be rock solid at the back; their variation of a 3-5-2 is very assured, and tough to penetrate. With the proviso that they don't lose Abrashi and Ndenge in front of them, they shouldn't ship many goals this season. They've got a number of good goalkeepers to call upon too. As always, the big problem for this group will be putting the ball in the net, and unless Muci channels his inner Chapuisat on a regular basis, they're going to be in the relegation battle this season.