Football Season Guide

Groningen endured an all-time disaster of a season last year where they turned into the worst team in the Eredivisie from a relative position of comfort in the early weeks and a series of woful decisions from club management lead to a hugely demoralising run and eventual relegation, on the backdrop of a major fan unrest. It can only get better for the Northerners this season as they have the chance to start fresh with Dick Lukkien as the new manager in charge. He is clearly liked by the fans, being born in the area and already with one stint as a Groningen manager, back from 2010 to 2013. He is under no illusions that a club this size has no business being in the second division and will demand high standard and relentless pace from the start as the only acceptable outcome is a return to the Ereidivise. Naturally, there has been quite a lot of turnaround after the shipwreck from last season but the Green and Whites have signed well and do have the look of the best team in the league. Marvin Peersman, Kevin van Veen and Leandro Bacuna are excellent players for this level while Marco Rente was the backbone of the Heracles defence that won the title in the Eerste Divisie last season. On top of that, good players like John Hoven, Radinio Bakker and Paulos Abraham remain with the team. Therefore, it looks like this side really should have far too much for the rest of the league and it will be a surprise if they do not clinch promotion.