Bonjola mes amigos and welcome back to Spain, or Gijon to be more precise. It’s part 3 of season 4 which means we’ve got loads of games to get through. There’s a very real possibility of us qualifying for the Champions League and, whisper it quietly, we’re only 2 points off the top. Real Madrid’s insistence on simply turning up for games and keeping the ball for 90 minutes has proven to be a shoddy experiment. Anyway, La Liga, UEFA Cup, Copa Del Rey. Let’s do it.

You may recall we have a minor injury crisis so I’ve moved to add an extra body in the last week of the transfer window. de la Sagra, who I will be calling de la Soul, arrives for £80k on recommendation of the scouts. His stats tick a lot of boxes, as long as you don’t want him to head or pass.

Great start to the update as we fall to defeat at Betis. It’s not a surprise, it’s a tough place to go.

Conceding in the first minute in the next match makes me begin to wonder if we’re going to bottle the whole thing. Thankfully break out star of the season Alex Martin keeps the coolest of heads.

That’s backed up by a classic 1-0 away at Osasuna. Nerves settled.

Forget about losing to Atleti. That happens. We move on.

That’s better, Celta are a tough nut to crack with Dutruel in goal but again the big Scot, along with the little Scot and Ibrahima Ba (not Scottish in any way or size) ensure it’s a good day for us.

Oh, hello. A shocker for the former league leaders.

Well would you look at that.

Now, ideally we can just win each of the remaining 14 games and win the league. You can tick one off.

And another. Real Sociedad have proven to be a pain in the arse over the years.

Wow what is going on at Camp Nou?

UEFA Cup quarter final time and there’s panic on the streets of London as we come from behind to win 3-1. Sibierski’s goal is a direct free kick which I always think is quite a rarity when they “try to curl one” and it goes in. No rebounds here. One foot in the semi final.

There’s another comeback 4 days later as we’re behind at Deportivo and going nowhere until Naybet bundles Martin over in the box and sees red. Bakayoko converts and de la Soul grabs his first to secure us a priceless win.

It’s always nervy when we score and can’t add a second but Las Palmas don’t manage to land a punch and we roll on.

Arsenal are seen off despite Bakayoko seeing a penalty saved.

I think everybody wanted Guimaraes but we’ll have to tackle Liverpool over two legs instead.

Oh no! This is double bad news from the International break.

Our bruised side travel to Espanyol and look like they have nicked a point but Damas ensures we leave with none. A problem.

The UEFA Cup semi final sees us head off to that tricky Anfield atmosphere and we’re found wanting in the opening 20 minutes. We don’t manage a reply to the early two goal salvo and we’ll have it all to do in a fortnight.

The Copa semi is good but bad. We win 1-0 thanks to an early Bakayoko penalty but we are very very wasteful. Look!

That’s probably Father Phil’s season over.

What a dream start in the Bernabeu! The team who don’t concede are breached twice in the first 4 minutes and despite Ronaldo’s best efforts, it’s a win.

An early goal in the second leg is ideal but despite wave after wave of attacks in an attempt to take it to extra time we are repelled by Simon Royce, yes Simon Royce of Southend United, before we over commit and Fowler scores on the break. Boo.

The Copa is settled very quickly. Real Madrid in the final, who see off Barca.

So this is the state of play. We’ve played 3 less than Barcelona but trail them by 6 points. There’s not much margin for error.

A tense win over Zaragoza is a start.

This is more like it. Martin’s return from injury coincides with our return to form.

Uh oh. That margin for error just got a lot smaller as Atleti keep us out.

Oh bloody ball bags. A defeat in Bilbao leaves us in trouble.

8 points behind with 2 games in hand. That’s a problem.

We beat Sevilla to keep our oar in the water so to speak.

What might help is that Barcelona’s next game is a trip to Bernabeu for an El Clasico of high stakes.

We make the most of the lifeline by beating Compostela.

Our goal difference is 14 worse than theirs so that’s not ideal.

The game in hand is just about negotiated.

Sadly this isn’t Italy where we’d be looking at an exciting play off scenario. No, we need to better Barcelona’s result to win it.

1-0 isn’t going to overturn that goal difference…

An equally nervy time in Catalunya ultimately sees the giants win. Boo.

So the good news is we’re in the Champions League. The bad news is we got 90 points and it still wasn’t enough.

The Copa final is hosted by Real Madrid, which seems a bit of a conflict of interest. Luckily, it’s become a good habit of ours to win there and it’s some silverware which underlines our progress.

The B lads “win” promotion again. In reality, they sign themselves up for another season of Segunda.

Here’s the top lads though. So many good performances.

The front two were a great partnership.

Some very valuable players in there now. How Svensson is worth £7m I have no idea.

Klinsmann regen did well. He might get a promotion and Rush Junior/McCoist junior can fill their boots in the B team.

Three cheers for Mark Jeffers.

All in all, a great season. It could have been super fantastic but to lose the league on goal difference is massive progress compared to where we’ve been.

We’ll go again next season to try and finally win this ruddy league. I do hope you’ll join us for that. Have a great week and thanks for reading!