Bonjour to you! Welcome back for the second half of season five, where we’re out of Europe, but still have both domestic cups and the league to compete for, although the latter will be a challenge with a nine-point deficit to try and overturn. Anyway, let us crack on…

While Bilbao never follow the Basque-only policy in this game, it’s always nice to see our sister club do well, and they get the better of Ajax to lift the European Super Cup…

Twice we lead Lyon, and twice we throw it away, and for the second game running, we end up losing to a last minute goal…

It’s straightforward enough against Le Havre in the main cup despite some early struggles, and we’re through to face Montpellier…

Back in the league, it’s a less than ideal start against Laval, but things begin to click before half time, and Calle puts them to bed late on…

And then we throw in a stinker against Caen, who rip right through our midfield. I haul off struggling anchor man Garitano, and then his replacement, Billabona gets sent off. Just f*cking great…

Problematic Guingamp peg us back twice, but then for once we actually score a last minute winner instead of conceding one…

We’re making hard work of Montpellier in the cup, being outplayed for large spells, but luckily a late handball gifts us a penalty and a place in the next round…

Please, anyone but Bordeaux…

It’s always a battle against teams fighting for survival at this stage of the season, but we eventually manage to overcome lowly Nimes…

And this hammering from 15th-placed Metz illustrates my point. Not ideal preparation for a cup match against the team running away with the league…

Speaking of which… Any hopes that I had of us having a chance in this one are dashed before half time, as Bordeaux take cold hard revenge for the hiding we gave them in the league…

After being shite for a while, Monaco seem to be getting it together at last, and they deliver us our third defeat on the bounce…

And the losses keep coming against Lens, with a disallowed equaliser in the 79th minute summing up our luck at the moment…

We finally catch a break in the Cup against Auxerre, with a late winner to send us into our first final against Marseille, who took care of Bordeaux in the other semi…

We’ve nine games left, and the final five are Auxerre, Marseille, Bordeaux, Strasbourg, and PSG, so we could really do with picking up some points over the next four, and a solid home win against Bastia is just the ticket…

With one centre back suspended and both first choice strikers injured, I didn’t expect to get much away at Nantes, but a hammering was not in the script…

It’s not looking good when Txutxi gets sent off just before half time against Montpellier, but our ten men grind out a much-needed win…

And we’re about to make it back to back wins at rock bottom Nancy, but annoyingly take our eye off the ball near the end, and have to make do with a point…

Another check-in with Bilbao, as they defend their Cup Winners Cup crown, hammering Juventus 5-2 in the final…

A point is still a point, but it seems better against Auxerre than against Nancy…

Pascual is establishing himself as one of the best young defenders around at the moment…

The dress rehearsal for the League Cup final goes horrendously. We’ll just have to hope Marseille have an off day if we’re to win…

Bordeaux again, the last fixture you need when you’re struggling, and they once again decide to remind us who’s boss…

Our recent slump sees us cut adrift from the top three, meaning a midweek catchup game against Strasbourg has now become massive. Lyon, Caen, and Nantes can all mathematically catch us, but just a point from our last two games will be enough to secure fourth place…

Luckily, Strasbourg are currently on a similar run to us, and haven’t won in four games. We manage to get the job done to salvage a top four finish after such terrible recent form…

Meanwhile back in Spain, it’s an all-Basque Copa del Rey final, and Sociedad deny Bilbao a third trophy of the season…

Our last game against PSG is meaningless for us and them, so I put the second string out to avoid risking any injuries for the League Cup final, and it goes about as well as expected…

So, we end up fourth, which I’ll take after such a fall from grace over the second half of the season. It’ll mean more European football next season, which might also raise our appeal to some of the top quality Basque Boys out there..

Honestly, why even bother?…

I should have probably guessed what was coming in the League Cup final. It was nice to have something to look forward to at the end of the season, and have a first shot at some silverware, but the result is just a reminder of how far off the top teams we still are…

I won’t dwell on it though, here are the stats. It’s never a good thing when your keeper has the highest average ratings, but I dread to think where we’d be without Leighton…

Spain won the World Cup, beating England 2-0 in the final with two Basque Boys in the starting eleven (Rios and Etxeberria), and three on the bench (Valencia, Larrazabal, and Guerrero).

And my decision not to loan out Diaz (Salinas’ regen) this season pays off, as he scoops the PFA young player of the year award, and we as a team win the fair play award. I think this is the first time I’ve ever won that, and I hope there’s some very big prize money for it…

So that’s season five wrapped up! A slight backwards step from last season’s third-place finish, but to salvage top four and get to a cup final makes it a reasonable season, I guess. See you next week for season six. Au Revoir!