How I got started on this
So last Tuesday, I was scrolling through soccer forums late at night, munching on chips. Saw tons of arguments about which Belgian second division teams might get promoted. Thought: “Hell, I watch these games every weekend anyway – why not actually track this properly?” Grabbed my worn notebook that still smells like coffee.
First thing Wednesday morning, I started dumping all the team names onto sticky notes. Threw ’em on my kitchen table – looked like colorful confetti after a party. Meerkat United? No clue who they were before this. Used my phone to check last five matches for each squad while stirring oatmeal with my other hand.
The real grind begins
Thursday was ugly. Spreadsheets open on one monitor, live stats website on the other. Burned my toast three times because I kept running back to note down injuries. Forgot how painful data entry gets – typing stuff like “KV Oostende conceded 12 goals in last 3 away games” made my fingers ache.
Realized around midnight that some clubs changed managers mid-season. Cursed loud enough that my cat ran under the couch. Had to redo entire sections when I noticed RWDM’s striker got suspended. Nearly smashed my laptop when the spreadsheet crashed without saving.
Putting pieces together
Friday felt like detective work. Saw that RFC Liège kept winning ugly 1-0 games while Lommel scored bucketloads but leaked goals like a sieve. Scribbled comparisons in my notebook:
- Lommel SK: Goals galore but defense? Pure Swiss cheese
- Waasland-Beveren: Old guys winning on pure experience juice
- Deinze: Dark horses with creepy-good home record
My coffee table transformed into war zone with highlighted stats sheets everywhere. Girlfriend called it “soccer Chernobyl” when she tripped over my goal difference charts.
The messy final stretch
Saturday morning panic hit when new injury reports dropped. Had to cross out three key players with red marker – looked like a crime scene. Tore up half my predictions and taped new notes over them. Ended up using crayons for the final rankings because my pens died.
Honestly? The process was way messier than those polished YouTube analysts make it seem. Found crumbs stuck to my final analysis page. But hell, it’s done – and my money’s on Deinze shocking everyone if they fix their away curse.
