Football Season Guide

After a dreadful end to last season, Kortrijk logically changed their manager in the summer and the new campaign will start with Giannis Anastasiou in charge. The Greek specialist quickly started reshaping his squad and, after the retirement of the long-serving captain Nebojša Pavlović as well as the departure of four regulars, Anastasiou is determined to put his stamp on the new group of players. So far he kept all of the three strikers returning from loan spells and obviously he is evaluating which of them he should keep in the long run. As Thanasis Papazoglou is the most prolific and experienced of the forwards and is also a countryman of the coach, he is expected to lead the attack together with Teddy Chevalier. That said, the Ukrainian Pylyp Budkivsky arrives for a loan spell with the promise to be used a lot and, if he starts the season well, he might be one to watch too. Anastasiou also reshaped his midfield line by adding three new names and releasing five members of the old squad. The Nigerian playmaker Abdul Jeleel Ajagun knows the manager well from his time in Greece and he is expected to be the preferred starter in the number ten role. What Kortrijk are yet to do is to sign enough new defenders, the only newcomer in this area at the minute is the left-back Bryan Verboom, which is a bit strange considering how pathetic the Reds were last season when put under pressure. The coach is actively looking for recruits, but it seems he will have to start the campaign with those in hand, minus two of last season’s regulars who left. Especially at right-back the situation is perilous as the only natural in that positon is Anthony Van Loo and, if something happens to him, somebody will have to be used out of position. Kortrijk remain a work in progress, but Anastasiou is an experienced manager and, if he completes several more signings this summer, the Reds can actually be one of the pleasant surprises of the season.