Football Season Guide

Returning to the top flight of the Dutch football after a 4-year absence, Go Ahead actually found themselves fighting for a place in the Europa Conference League playoffs only 5 weeks before the end of the season. They eventually finished 13th following a 5-game losing run that closed their campaign, though. The attack certainly was their main weakness as they scored 37 goals only, failing to hit the back of the net in 13 occasions. It is no surprise that most of their goals came from a winger, Cordoba, or a midfielder, Brouwers (9 and 7 respectively). Coach Kees Van Wonderen, who led Go Ahead to promotion first and salvation then, was lured away by Heerenveen money and left the club after two seasons at the helm. The management thus opted for 50-year-old René Hake, who adopts tactics quite similar to his predecessor. He had decent seasons at Utrecht, although he was eventually sacked for failing to meet the club’s higher ambitions. Bad news for Hake is that the Deventer side lost most of their regulars over the summer, Cordoba, Brouwers and also bright winger Oratmangoen above all. They thus lost both in terms of quality, experience and numbers, considering that 18 players left so far and only 11 were signed instead. De Lange, arriving from Twente, will thus be starting in goals, with Noppert gone, while 22-year-old Fontan should become a starter at centre-back instead of departed Kramer. The midfield/attack is the area where they changed the most, with the likes of newly-arrived Llansana, Edvardsen and Willumsson, all coming from minor leagues, in contention for a start. Considering that none of the new-comers is older than 23, experience might represent a big question mark.