Football Season Guide

If Hatay had offered stability last season, they could have made the biggest surprise of the league history but the fans had to see lots of ups & downs instead of great excitement. In the summer the board decided to appoint coach Serkan Ozbalta after they were not satisfied with coach Omer Erdogan last season. They have brought in new defenders like Burak Yilmaz, Cengiz, Vranjes and Kanak but only Vranjes is a potential starter. Musa and Aabid come into the midfield, teenager Koray also moves to the offence but they look short in attacking options following the departure of Diouf. It is good to keep offensive wingers like Saba, Saint-Louis and Kamara who can sometimes be used up front. They still look strong comparing to some league opponents but the friendly fixtures showed that they are not ready yet, especially in some roles. First of all, they need some experience at center back. Vranjes and Oksuz are considered the main duo but others are not what the fans expect to see at the moment. They have to bring more quality to the backline. Unfortunately, a few new arrivals are expected to be considered as regular starters. This could turn into an advantage for them from a disadvantage. Midfielders and offensive wingers know eachother very well. So, they are expected to make less mistakes in the early fixtures.