Football Season Guide

The past campaign left a feeling of under-achievement for De Graafschap, who had to content themselves with another fruitless participation to the playoffs for promotion, after finishing 6th in the regular season. While they actually held the 3rd-best attack of the league, they were too fragile defensively and the 50 goals conceded were just too many for a team aspiring to a return to the top flight of Dutch football. Hit by a deep crisis between November and January, De Graafschap saw coach Jan Vreman eventually leaving and replaced by Marinus Dijkhuizen, architect of Excelsior promotion to the Eredivisie in 2022. At his first full season in charge, Dijkhuizen will be expected to maintain the team among the top sides, while acting with a rejuvenated squad. In fact, during the transfer campaign De Graafschap underwent a major overhaul, with 16 players quitting and only 5 arriving. First of all, they let go all the players in their 30s: injury-prone starting goalie Smits and aging key right-back Fortes above all. Wieggers, who had to stand in for Smits quite often during the last campaign, will thus step in as the new n.1. On the other hand, Othniel Raterink, coming from the youth system, could be given a start at right-back after impressing in the preseason. Then, they lost both starting centre-backs, Hillen and Willemsen, but acquired Meerstadt and Bultman, coming off a poor campaign at Heracles Almelo, who will be battling together with Hardeman for a start alongside Besselink. Truth be said, this is the only area where they have some choice together with the midfield, where they lost starting Colyn and Warmerdam, together with back-up Brittijn and Kaak. Newcomers Smits and Gijselhart, who have both little experience as pro, are set to become two protagonists. Last but not least, the attack lost their top scorers, Van Gilst and Van de Haar, alongside injury-prone Cooper-Love and Theodoridis, coming from AEK B side, is the only new signing so far.