Football Season Guide

They had a good campaign last season. Looked consistently good throughout, offered an attack nobody could truly contain, and kept players fit enough to not need to chop and change regularly. It was the most impressive they've been in many years. There's no real reason to doubt anything changing this season. None of the players they were rumoured to be losing have yet left. Star striker Nivokazi is an example of such - nobody has taken the gamble on the former Atalanta Bergamo man just yet, although they will if he starts strongly. Having made Boteli's loan move permanent, kept hold of the likes of Kololli, Chouaref, Rrudhani (his injury proved useful in the end!), Lukembila, and with the likelihood of Surdez emerging even more this season than lost, not to mention Chipperfield and Berdayes, this attack has the potential to be the best in the country. With longer under his belt, Kessler should be able to step up more for them defensively, and that's necessary as both Kronig and Hajrizi love a card or two! Unfortunately, Hajrizi suffered a bad injury in a pre-season friendly and will need surgery - he won't be on a pitch until October. That's a big blow, and asks Kessler to start very strongly indeed, given Dubosson's departure. It's a risk, though. They've added Sylla to be the new (and hopefully improved) version of loanee Diack. They need that extra strength in midfield when games are getting away from them. He should be a good addition. It's certainly a logical signing, if nothing else. There is a chance FC Sion could start their campaign a little slowly, given the Hajrizi injury plus their European commitments. They should be in for a very good campaign though as their European campaign - as with most Swiss teams - is likely to end prematurely. They've got more consistency than the rest of the teams right now - don't underestimate them.