Guten morgen! and welcome back to Germany for season four. Nick’s newly-promoted RB Leipzig side are primed and ready for another crack at the Bundesliga. Can they go one better than last time and avoid relegation?

As usual, the first piece of news is the cup draw, and this year it’s Wattenscheid, who we one of our second division opponents last season.

I’m sticking with the 2-3-1-2-2 this season, so there’ll be plenty of goals at both ends, but it’s a formation I know and trust. This is how we line up to start the season…

We begin with a loss to Stuttgart, but we more than match them. We defend well, but can’t do-do-do much about Raducioiu’s winner. An encouraging performance despite the result.

My sub keeper, Hannes Hanke, who’s parents are clearly jokers, signs a new deal without a big club release clause. Not many left now!

Two late goals in quick succession give us our first win of the season at Karlsruhe in a carbon copy of the result from when we last played at their place two seasons ago.

We murder Werder after falling behind early, with all four of our front men amongst the goals. Two wins from our first three games? I think I need a lie down!

I ring the changes in the cup, and it backfires. Even after nineteen shots at goal and playing against ten men for almost half an hour, we can’t hit a barn door. Watte load of shite.

Bakero Jr is the first to leave on loan.

I remember Bochum being bastards last time, and after going ahead, we spend the rest of the game under pressure, which eventually tells. What a bunch of Dickhauts they are.

BMG are our toughest game so far, and we lead against the run of play after soaking up lots of early pressure. An expected equaliser comes, but we hold on for a good away point.

This is bad. It was a toss-up between him and Penksa for the right-sided berth, but the Slovakian will get a longer run in the side now.

We scrap to victory against lowly Duisburg, as Bäumer has a shocker and gets sent off. The ice man gets the winner after half time. It’s not a pretty performance, but I’ll take three points.

If Hannig’s injury was bad, then Wrighty Jr’s is very, very bad. Poor lad.

After trading blows with Bielefeld for the whole match, we think we’ve won it, but they equalise immediately. The iceman has been single-handedly pulling us through lately…

With almost £10m in the bank, I’m constantly looking for new players, and my latest search unearths two absolute gems…

Santi Ezquerro knows me well from our time together in Basque Boys, and he joins for a measly £425k from Celta Vigo…

And Danish hard man, Thomas Gravesen comes in from Hamburg for £500k. £925k for those two, what a cracking piece of business!

Both new boys feature against Uerdingen, who ended our unbeaten run last season, so we deal them a thrashing. I can’t find enough superlatives for the ice man, but penalties just aren’t his forte, so he’ll not take any more…

With the arrival of Gravesen, we’re a bit overrun in the central defensive area, so I reluctantly let Soares leave…

We get off to an unbelievable start at second-placed Hamburg, and lead 3-0 at half time. We get more chances in the second half, but can’t cash in, and we stand firm despite a late show from the hosts for a great away win.

He’s beginning to do my head in now…

We’re giving Schalke a hiding, and then a familiar scenario occurs near the end, I’m not sure it’s all down to the formation though. Still, they’re third, so it’s not a bad point, but it definitely should have been three.

Our game with Leverkusen is all about the keepers. Ours produces save after save to preserve our lead, and theirs is man of the match in a close match all the way through, but it’s us who emerge victorious…

This is annoying, Berlin are rock-bottom, and after taking points off some of the top teams, this is definitely a come-down. The optimist in me says at least we didn’t lose.

Baby Riedle joins Mainz on loan…

The approaches are beginning to come in for Duncan. I’m so relieved to have got rid of that pesky big club release clause…

Now for our toughest test yet, Dortmund. We lead through Duncan of all people, and then ice man makes it 2-0! We’re on the front foot, but two quick goals burst our bubble, and we have to settle for a point, but it’s a good one.

It never rains…

It pours…

Last up this week are 1860 Munich. It’s one of those inexplicably crap results you get once in a while, and annoyingly the defeat sees us fall four places in the table. Yuri Rose’s first goal is the only plus…

Here’s confirmation of that slide, we were going along nicely until that last match, but we’re still thirteen points and ten places better off than we were at this stage two seasons ago, and we’re also only seven points off top spot, so things could be much much worse…

So, it’s a good return to the Bundesliga so far, join me at the same time next week to see if we can keep up the good work, and at least stay in the top half of the table. Tschüss!