As we have reached the mid-season break in NB2, why don’t I update you all on how Alexander Robertson’s Soroksár have been performing? A team that the media felt pre-season would be firmly mid-table in 11th, with the bookies disagreeing and placing them in the promotion hunt at 17-2, leading the chasing pack behind big-spending Vasas and the two relegated teams (Honved and ZTE). With Alexander promising more rotation of his squad and possibly more tactical changes, would these potential changes help or hinder his side improve on last years 3rd place finish?
Pre-Season
This time with Robertson already in post, there was more time for pre-season games with 6 organised rather than last seasons 3. The most interesting results came in the form of another 3-1 win versus Debrecen, a 0-0 draw with top-flight Újpest and a 0-3 defeat to Ferencváros, who had won the domestic double last season. The other 3 games provided 3 comfortable wins against smaller sides, tactically the 4-1-4-1 was deployed more frequently, 4 out of 6 matches, with the 4-3-3 once and a 4-4-2 once. The 4-4-2 appeared to be a homage to the system often deployed by RB Leipzig and Julian Nagelsmann, a very narrow system only widening slightly in attack, with a small distance between the back and forward line compressing the pitch with direct passes (mainly forward) when in possession.
Transfers
I will cover players brought in as necessary through the reporting of the season, however, Atilla and the transfer team were responsible for sixteen players coming into Sori this summer. With 6 loanees, 9 free transfers and 1 cash deal (a club record). Not all of these players are admittedly for the first team with 3 signed with 2nd squad minutes in mind initially. There are also some returning faces from last season; Zoltán Derekas (the defensive midfielder) had agreed to make his loan permanent prior to the end of last season, Ádám Varga has returned on loan although only for a 6-month loan contract from Ferencváros (last season he conceded 25 goals in 26 matches keeping 8 clean sheets in the process for Sori) and Krisztofer Szerető has rejoined after his season on loan, this time permanently as his contract had expired with the NB1 champions, could the 21-year old winger improve on his 7 goals and 3 assists provided last season?
NB2
August
The season kicked off for Sori on the 1st of August with a tight 1-0 win against Szentlőrinc SE, with Robertson setting his team up with 2 defensive midfielders in the 4-3-3 system rather than his usual 1 as Szentlőrinc SE often deploy 2 attacking midfielders behind their striker. What followed was an unbeaten month, with the only points dropped, at home, to newly-promoted Jászberényi FC. On-loan striker, Toni Suciu, finished the month with 5 goals scored, overall the month had seen 15 goals scored for and 5 conceded against for Sori.
September
September saw only 4 league games, with the matches bookmarking the month versus Vasas and Honved the most anticipated. A 2-2 draw at home to Vasas saw Toni Suciu add to his goal tally, having now scored 5 in his last 3 matches. A 1-0 win away followed by a 0-0 away draw saw Sori head into the Honved game, still unbeaten. Robertson went into the games versus his former employers in bullish mood, having said that their current form was way off the levels expected of such a club. The pre-season league favourites had lost 3 games at this point, and, Kipest continued to struggle as Sori played them off the park in a 3-0 away win for the team in yellow.
October
October began with the ending of the unbeaten run, a 1-0 away loss to Siófok witnessed by me and 2 other Sori fans in the stadium. The team bounced back with 2 home wins and ended the month with 2 away draws, one against recently relegated ZTE.
November and December
November saw 9 points taken from a possible 12 with the only dropped points coming at home to Gyirmót Football Club Győr. Gyirmót put in a peak Jose performance, well and truly parking several busses on the goal line before striking with a rather unjust 85th-minute winner. Their cross-town rivals were dispatched 3-0 in the following game. The return tie at Szentlőrinc saw the return of the dual defensive midfielder 4-3-3, which resulted in a 3-1 win for Sori. The only match in December saw a narrow 2-1 win against Jászberényi FC. This result leaves Sori heading into the winter break 5 points clear of 2nd place and 7 points clear of 3rd.
Player Statistics
Dávid Valencsik has been rated as the 2nd best player on average performance rating at this stage the left-sided centre back is rated as 7.24 from his 16 appearances, including 2 MOTM awards. He currently boasts an imperious 100% tackle success record, his passing however has directly contributed to 2 conceded goals. He is overall 20th for clearances and joint 4th for shots blocked. At the other end of the pitch, he has contributed 4 goals and 1 assist.
Toni Suciu is leading the Sori goal scoring charts with 8 league goals so far, this puts him 10th overall with Balázs Lovrencsics contributing 6 goals in 19th. They are both slightly higher when measured in minuted per goal with Suciu 7th and Lovrencsics 11th. The loanee Suciu has also played more minutes in all competitions with 1,002 versus Lovrencsics’ 908 minutes. This does show that Robertson has followed through with his promise of more rotation, particularly in his central striking role.
Assist wise, Krisztián Kárász leads Sori with 7 league assists which puts the right back 4th overall, club captain, Kevin Korozmán has provided 6 assists and is joint 5th and another summer signing, Máté Adamcsek is in joint 16th with 4 assists.
Team Statistics
Despite their dominance in the league Sorsokar aren’t leading the league in any particular metric at the mid-season break other than goals from corners with Sori leading with 8. However, they are regularly towards the top in many other areas, average possession of 55% (2nd), goals scored 40 (2nd), xG for 29.29 (5th), goals conceded 16 (2nd), xG against 17.25 (19th highest so 2nd lowest) and shots for 309 (2nd). Whilst this is not an exhaustive list, it does outline their overall high level of performance as a team which has allowed them to lead the table at this stage. Overall as you can see from the graphic below, Sori are largely outperforming the league average in every metric, only falling behind in shots on target.
However, when asked about this, Robertson remarked “I’m not too bothered about it whilst we are winning, we do take some low percentage shots, particularly Kevin loves a long-distance go. We could try and remove that from our game, but, last year he won the overall goal of the season and part of football is the enjoyment, what’s more enjoyable than some unexpected belter? Plus, let me tell you from experience, sometimes an unexpected long-distance shot is just what beats a goalkeeper having a good game!”
So, we enter into the winter break with Soroksár firmly ahead in the table and looking to improve on last years 3rd place finish. However, it was last seasons second half performances that led to the team slipping away slightly and allowing two teams to go up automatically, so we will see if a similar dip occurs this season. Although, even if it does, with a 7 point cushion to 3rd place this does allow them some wiggle room before the nerves kick in. Will this be the season that Alexander gets his hands on a first league title as a manager or will he have to continue the wait in his fledgeling managerial career?
JDH Football Manager Blogs 
Looking good value for promotion, here… I’m off to the bookie’s…
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