JK Maag Tammeka – The Worst Side In Europe?

The disconsolate status as a continental source of cannon-fodder is a repute which no club in modern-day Europe would be proud to bear, a mortification and indignity for all involved and the ultimate sense of vulnerability to even the least potent of opposition, but the figures and facts from JK Maag Tammeka’s ghastly season present an almost impossible case to dispute against. Is the Estonian unit the worst in Europe?

Perhaps such an allegation is unmerited and extremely excessive, principally as JK Maag Tammeka’s season is barely seven matches old, but even the loyalties of the most staunchly committed devotee would have been hard-pressed on several occasions and the bleakness and dejection could be a permanently unsought hassle for the remainder of the calendar.

The club situated in the second largest city in Estonia have shown immunity to experiencing the euphoric sensations which arise with a richly deserved victory. JK Maag Tammeka inevitably find themselves marooned at the foot of the Meistriliiga after conceding 31 goals and only scoring three – this after the short matter of seven matches. Surrendering more than twice as many goals as any other in the division creates an instantly pessimistic vision while, to create a diverse comparison, current leaders Levadia Tallinn conceded merely 22 in the whole duration of their title-winning season in 2008, which lasted 36 matches.

Estonia’s premier competition is notorious for a gaping partition between the thriving usual-suspects, such as the Tallinn powerhouses of Levadia and Flora, who breed accomplishment and seize the national silverware at every given opportunity, and those who grapple for survival in the nether regions of the table. The last campaign witnessed Levadia Tallinn and Flora Tallinn suffer only a sole loss each along with a phenomenal strike-rate of 105 and 113 goals respectively and positive goal differences of 83 and 85, poles apart from relegation-stricken JK Vaprus Parnu, whose defence was resignedly pulverised on 125 instances – over a hundred more than the crowned champions – and with a negative difference of -84.

If their current vein of form is to persist for much longer, with waning self-esteem and vastly deteriorating confidence, relegation to the Esiliiga will become an inescapable verdict for JK Maag Tammeka, who have enjoyed their top-flight status ever since a merger between Maag Tartu and Tammeka Tartu back in 2006.