When the Bundesliga season kicked off last August, there was plenty to be excited about.
Bayern Munich had recruited well, with Xabi Alonso gracing the German league for the first time and Robert Lewandowski joining from rivals Borussia Dortmund, who recruited Shinji Kagawa and Ciro Immobile amongst others.
The likes of Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, Hakan Calhanoglu, Aaron Hunt and Andre Hahn had earned moves from mid-to-lower table sides up towards the top of the Bundesliga, whilst Bayer Leverkusen, Mainz 05 and Stuttgart all had new managers.
With all the star quality packed throughout the division, predictions were made and debates began over who the champions would be, who would get relegated, and who would finish as the league's top scorer.
For the latter, I doubt very many, if any, predicted a certain Alexander Meier.
The 32-year-old had been at Eintracht Frankfurt since 2004, moving from Hamburger SV after just one season with the club.
Frankfurt were a 2. Bundesliga side when Meier arrived, having just been relegated from the top tier, but nine goals in 34 appearances by the German that season helped them back into the top flight that year.
The club spent the next six seasons in the Bundesliga, Meier's tallies reading 9, 7, 6, 4, 3, 10 and 2 - the latter of which was a big reason why Frankfurt were relegated once more that year, playing their 2011-12 season in the second tier. He scored 17 goals to help them win immediate promotion back to the first division, scored 16 in the 2012-13 season and 8 the following year.
He was a reliable goal-scorer, most of the time, and more than good enough for a side who consistently finished just above the relegation places, occasionally over-achieving with a finish in the top 10. In other words, he was not a contender for the honour of the 2014/15 Bundesliga's top-scorer.
This view remained when the season began too, as it did not start brilliantly for the 32-year-old.
He was on the bench for Frankfurt's first game of the season, eventually coming on for the final 23 minutes as his side won the game 1-0, Haris Seferovic's 15th minute goal separating the two teams. He was not included in the following game, a 2-2 draw with VfL Wolfsburg, and again featured as a substitute in game number three, playing 35 minutes as Frankfurt lost 1-0 to FC Augsburg.
Instead, Meier's season kick-started on September 20 as the striker was handed his first start of the new campaign as Frankfurt traveled to Schalke 04. It was a crazy game, containing three red cards and four goals - one of which was scored by Meier.
With 15 minutes of the game played, Constant Djakpa was given a second chance to deliver his poor corner, with an attempted clearance by a Schalke defender sending it towards his own goal. Goalkeeper Ralf Fahrmann did well to save his teammates blushes initially, but, despite him clawing the ball into a seemingly safe area, away from the goal-mouth, Meier reacted quicker than the two opponents in front of him, latched onto the loose ball and squeezed a low, hard effort in at the near post with his right foot. He was alert and showed his poacher's instinct to open the scoring, as well as providing a difficult finish from such a tight angle as Fahrmann made himself as big as possible.
Frankfurt may have let a two goal lead slip in the end, drawing 2-2, but the game was extremely valuable for them as it started Meier's wonderful goal-scoring form.
The 32-year-old scored a further 18 goals in 23 appearances for his club as they finished ninth in the Bundesliga.
Meier spent the majority of the season as a centre-forward in a striking partnership, often linking up with Seferovic in what proved to be a fruitful and effective duo for Frankfurt this season. The German scored 13 of his 19 goals as a part of a front two, eight of these coming in the six-yard box as he optimised his poaching ability whilst playing off another player.
Still, his versatility was evident throughout the campaign as he adjusted to a variety of positions to score a variety of goals.
Four goals when deployed as a lone striker showed that he is capable of making things happen on his own, whilst a goal from the left wing and another in an advanced midfield role weren't bad either. Meier was proving game after game that he was a natural goal-scorer, regardless of his position on the pitch.
Meier's main source of goals this season came from his poaching ability, with seven of his 19 strikes seeing him pounce onto loose balls and convert rebounds whilst defenders stood and watched, kicking themselves for not reacting quicker.
Another five saw him convert crosses clinically, usually using his 6ft 5" frame to head them in, whilst another two efforts were coolly taken penalties. However, one interesting aspect of Meier's game, particularly observed this season, is his ability to shadow a lack of real pace with good positioning.
Three times this season, Meier scored by latching onto a through ball, racing away from his opposing defenders and finishing with great composure. His positional discipline when it came to watching his offsides, and his ability to creep behind defenders and get on their blind side, as well as his anticipation of a pass, able to match it with great movement, meant he was in behind back lines and finding the back of the net before the defenders even knew it.
The 32-year-old also scored a couple of well placed strikes from the edge of the box too, arriving in the right place at the right time to coolly arrow the ball into the back of the net on two occasions. One of these goals was scored whilst he operated in an advanced midfield position, and his ability to adapt so readily to this role was exciting to see.
Meier is a great striker of the ball who could probably be a quality box-to-box midfielder, albeit it would not utilise his strengths - his poaching and his aerial threat. Still, it is another option Frankfurt have had if they have needed it this season, allowing for rotation and depth in the squad.
As for his and his goals' importance to the team, it's worth noting that when Meier scored in the league this season, in 14 different matches, Frankfurt lost just three times. They won six times when he has scored, and drew the remaining five games in which he found the back of the net.
When he did not score, there was a negative effect. In 12 games this season, Meier failed to get his name on the score-sheet, and seven of these games ended in defeat for his side. A further two were draws, and just three were wins.
Excluding the final seven games of the season when Meier was injured, Frankfurt won just nine games all season, Meier scoring in six of them. He scored in five of their eight draws, but just three of their eight defeats. In other words; the striker's goals have been crucial in ensuring points for his team this season. In fact, if you took away Meier's goals for Frankfurt this season, you'd be taking away 11 points from their eventual tally.
The role Meier played this season for his club was extraordinary. Had he not been injured for their final seven games of the season, they could have certainly got themselves a European football spot, finishing just three points and two places off one in the end having won just two of their last seven matches. A defeat to Werder Bremen and a draw against Hertha BSC were the most disappointing results, and the ones that could have got them a top seven finish had they been better.
However, for a striker at a club in ninth place who started just 24 games all season to finish as the Bundesliga's top scorer is magnificent. The variety, versatility and all round composure in front of goal Meier demonstrated in the 2014-15 Bundesliga season was a joy to watch, and it made him quite simply unstoppable. It's so rare that a classic, poaching style of striker enjoys such success in today's modern game, and so to watch his season develop into the remarkable one it was, was quite incredible.
Forget Robert Lewandowski, forget Arjen Robben, forget Marco Reus, and forget Bas Dost. The award for the 2014-15 Bundesliga's Torjägerkanone belonged to Eintracht Frankfurt's Alexander Meier - and deservedly so.