Football Season Guide

Almere were ultimately unable to pull off an instant return back to the Eredivisie as they were upstaged by Willem II in the play-offs despite arriving into the game with real momentum. They had a really strange, up-and-down season in which any chance of automatic promotion was lost by September after a terrible start. They improved markedly in the spring and were one of the better teams but a bit of luck and some players not being at their best cost them. Now the team has a new coach in Anoush Dastgir, a former academy and assistant manager here, and he has the task of making this team more resilient and effective. They have managed to retain most of the core of their squad and generally the squad remains one of the most talented in the league. Ferdy Druijf had a pretty strong season in which he managed to stay fit and get into double figures. Emmanuel Poku and Hamza El Dahri had very good season in which they grew into important parts of the team while Emmanuel van den Blaak was a standout in defence. Milan de Haan was also one of the best midfielders in the league last season and all of them are still in place and ready for a very strong start that gives the Sheepheads momentum. The challenge will be to retain that attacking firepower and remain a serious threat throughout games, while being a bit more robust defensively and not wilting when they concede the opening goal. The away form was a particular concern after losing ten out of 19 games on the road last season and that needs to get better if they are serious about promotion. All in all, the Black Sheep should be there and thereabouts in the battle at the summit and whether they make the top two or outside of it will be down to details and keeping key players fit.