AZ were one of the worst sides in the league last season as they were clearly lacking in quality in many areas and were just too easy to beat for the most part after an inspired run early on petered out.
Now the aim for Maarten Maartens will be to integrate the young players coming through to the squad better and try to build a more cohesive unit.
The likes of Myron van Brederodeand Meer Meerdink are likely to be the main protagonists in attack while at the back some very young players like Sem Dekkers, Loek Postma and Finn Stam are expected to see lots of game time.
There is not really much to get excited about in this AZ squad as the truly talented players like Ernest Poku and Mohamed Taabouni are now full-time members of the squad and are not really likely to be featuring in the second division.
It will be a surprise if the youngsters from Alkmaar are anywhere else but the bottom four or five places and will struggle to get into double digit wins over the course of the campaign given the lack of attacking firepower and tangible quality in midfield.
