Football Season Guide

Last season Anderlecht recorded their worst final league position in 86 years as they finished 11th. It was a poor campaign all round for Belgian’s most successful club with lacklustre performances on the pitch combined with fan unrest and board bickering off it. There at least seems a determination from the board to put things right this season. They have decided to stick with Danish Head Coach Brian Riemer, who brought some stability to the club when he was appointed halfway through last season but without a big improvement in performances. There have been changes in Riemer’s backroom staff while several experienced players have left. Excellent young goalkeeper Verbruggen has also departed. Scoring goals was a major issue last season and Anderlecht supporters will hope the addition of forward Kasper Dolberg from Nice goes some way to solving that problem. He has the potential but has lost his way in the last few seasons. There is also a new goalkeeper with Maxime Dupe joining from Ligue 1 side Toulouse. Anderlecht should be defensively strong this season with the experienced Vertonghen and youngster Debast forming a promising central partnership with Delcroix as backup. A weakness could be a lack of creativity with key attacking midfielder Verschaeren ruled out until the new year.