D5 Promotion Push

The top of D5 looks like this with six games to play:

According to my latest stats, Shakhtar under new manager Dan W can celebrate promotion now, and need only one more point to be sure of the D5 title. Quite a turnaround from last season!

With 66 points needed to “guarantee” a top three finish, it looks like two from the next three.

Rubin Kazan have only ever been promoted once – in S10 under Dave Inglis. Not even Doc could manage that! Current boss Frank Tyson has had them knocking on the door in two of the last three seasons. Will this be their turn?

Independiente are on course for their best ever league season – better even than under Gregg Robinson! In fact, if they do go up, it will be their first promotion after 22 seasons in D5. That would be a nice way to follow up last season’s shock Shield win.

Boca Juniors are another team who have been knocking on the promotion door in successive seasons, but without success.

With 58 points needed to be sure of a playoff place, the above three look certain of that barring complete collapse in the final straight.

Of the chasing pack, AZ Alkmaar won the D5 title as recently as S18 under manager Golden Bear (who like Dan W this season transformed his bottom place team from the previous season).

Dynamo Kyiv’s best days were winning D3 in S14 under Alessandro Ioli, but current boss Chris Baggio has fostered Ukrainian talent to begin the long road back to glory.

The Fall and Rise and Fall Again of Basel is one of the great stories Top 100. They won the D5 Playoffs in S7 under Dr Martinez five seasons later they were in D1. Within another six seasons they were back where they started.

Current manager Josh McMillan took a lot of criticism after four seasons going ever downwards in the table, but this time around has splashed the cash and got the results to match.

Villarreal, Newcastle and Marseille are all outside the top 7 waiting to pounce if one or more of the teams above suffer an end of season collapse in form.