Germany, of course, famously has a Christmas break in their football season, something that various non-native Premier League managers have been campaigning for en masse for years, usually once they first encounter the mad rush that is the seasonal football fixture list. I’d miss Christmas football, but they probably have a point.

Arminia’s break lasted from December 19 to January 2, which meant they’ve played three games since the table looked like this:

Those games have gone exactly as the table would suggest, and they have helped Arminia a little in what is – below the top few at least – a fiercely competitive league.

First up were Augsburg, who are a side who don’t get a lot of credit or acknowledgement internationally, but have become increasingly competitive in the Bundesliga.

Arminia actually had slightly the better of this game, but conceded late on when they really deserved more. The struggle to score goals continues.

This is the second of my bulky Christmas round ups now that the calm has settled in after the Christmas football binge.

I left Fulham struggling in the relegation zone, though perhaps performing as well as many of us expected. The standings before the Christmas chaos left Fulham three points and some significant goal difference away from safety, as shown here:

As a side note, how bad does that look for Arsenal? They’ve had a massive Christmas.

Anyhow, Fulham have essentially drawn their way through life since, oddly, given they’d had only one draw in the whole season before the Christmas period.

The opening one was a great one to grab, against Liverpool, though in truth they were really unfortunate not to win this one, with Liverpool given a very harsh penalty to equalise late on, and Fulham dominating much of the game and with a decent penalty shout themselves turned down along the way. A bit of a daylight robbery of a draw for the champions, 1-1.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cw_Bqu5VgZk

Not a good week for results this week, with a win, a draw and three losses, but with Arminia getting the win, we’re back to no teams in the drop zone (though Arminia are still in the play off relegation spot).

Not bad for week 12…

Bundesliga: Arminia Bielefeld (5/6 on to be relegated) 2-1 at home to Mainz

After seven straight defeats in the league, Arminia badly needed a win, and with a run of mediocre teams coming down the line in their next few fixtures, getting some momentum in the run up to Christmas might be key to their survival this year.

This win dumped opponents Mainz into the relegation zone, and was most notable for a bustling performance from Japanese player Ritsu Doan, who scored a great solo goal and chipped in throughout.

That said, the opener for Arminia was a total fluke and they were fortunate to hold on at the end, but wins like this will be vital, and they’ll take it, especially when it breaks that losing streak.

What’s been most noticeable about this project so far is that, eleven weeks in, it’s been mostly not about losers, but about sides putting up real fight, about clubs that are below average for their league, typically, perhaps, but still performing.

Here’s the latest, with only one set to go down as it stands…

Premier League: Fulham (evens to go down) 2-1 away to Leicester

I didn’t give Fulham a lot of hope against high-flying Leicester away, to be honest, but they definitely are coming to handle the Premier League a bit better, and looking like a side that could be competitive in a few more games. This also closes the gap – that had been substantial – to anyone above 16th.

Lookman has probably been their best player so far his year in my view, and he threatened plenty here, and could have had a couple more. Leicester were dominant early on, though, and while Fulham held their own and eventually took over for periods, they were probably a little lucky.

Still, they’ve been due a bit of luck, and they’re back out of the bottom three. You’d have to assume Sheffield United will come back to life at some point, right?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noBDdOaPs_w&feature=onebox