Football Season Guide

Last season was definitely poor and very troubled. At the time of the suspension due to COVID-19 they were in second to last position with just 19 points in 26 rounds. Much more was expected was expected considering that in the previous season they had come very close to qualifying for the play-offs. There was confusion both within the squad and the club, as 3 coaches had control during the season. They started with Alfons Groenendijk, for a short time replaced by Dirk Heesen and finally appointed Alan Pardew. None of them convinced and since July the role has been entrusted to Serbian Aleksandar Rankovic, Henk Fraser's former deputy at Sparta Rotterdam. Being a team with a tight budget, ADO signings were mainly loan deals. The consequence being that every year the squad is destined to change, making it difficult to predict the course of the season which depends on how new players integrate. Also, ADO draw many players from foreign leagues (the past season mainly from English ones given the nationality of their coach), and have to adapt quickly to a league they do not know. Among the many changes made during the summer, two involved key players, forward Tomas Necid and attacking midfielder Lex Immers who were released. Several other regular players left, among them defenders Tom Beugelsdijk and Sam Stubbs, midfielders Tudor Baluta and Dion Malone and striker Omar Bogle. As for the new faces, it is difficult to give a complete judgment considering that many come from youth sectors such as Amar Catic from PSV U21, Boy Kemper from Ajax U21, Kees de Boer from Swansea U23 and Vicente Besuijen from AS Roma U19. The only experience brought in is striker Jonas Arweiler from Utrecht, Peet Bijen from Twente, Ricardo Kishna (re-signed) and midfielder Dante Rigo on loan from PSV.