Football Season Guide

After dramatically surviving in the league last season it was a small surprise that Erzgebirge released Tedesco, the man who saved them, and appointed instead Thomas Letsch in charge for the start of the new campaign. The modest budget and the relatively small squad once again will see the Violets flirting with danger but the new gaffer hopes to use the momentum gathered last spring in the early rounds, although he will be working with an entirely new back line. The two main starters in the heart of the defence plus two more centre-backs departed. So far, the only two replacements signed are aged 20 and 22, which will make Erzgebirge's back-four one of the youngest in the entire division. This might be a problem in the long term also because there aren't many cover options and, even with captain Mannel between the posts, the Violets will struggle to keep clean sheets according to many. In the middle of the park, the 35-year-old veteran Tiffert will be orchestrating things, with two newcomers expected to improve the competition for the other starting places. Kvesic had a strong end to last season in the number 10 role but the fans are really excited to see youngster Ferati arriving on loan and this might cut the playing time of the former. Ferati is just 19 years old but his explosiveness and crafty passing make him a joy to watch. If he has a breakthrough campaign at senior level, Erzgebirge might surprise many. Up front, last season's heroes Kopke and Nazarov scored 73% of the goals in 2016/17 between them. They will hope to receive better support from Adler, Soukou and Bunjaku this time around but Erzgebirge are generally a team that don's create a lot of chances and the key for survival will be a high conversion rate.