Football Season Guide

Antwerp were a massive disappointment last season as they never really looked close to challenging for the title despite having a very expensively assembled squad and were really poor toward the end. That poor finish of the season spelled the end for Brian Priske after just a season in charge and now Mark van Bommel comes in as his replacement. He has pedigree from spells with Wolfsburg and PSV and his appointment makes the Good Old a real force to be reckoned with. Dutch international and former Tottenham striker Vincent Janssen is the most high-profile new signing so far and it is a bit puzzling that the club made such an investment in him given how good Michael Frey was last season as the main striker. The core of the squad has been kept intact and players like Radja Nainggolan, Bjorn Engels and Viktor Fischer should dominate at a league like the Belgian one. It will be interesting if the likes of Manuel Benson and Michel Single Balokwisha kick on as well after having good seasons last year. There is good depth across the board as long as no key players depart and Van Bommel can be quite confident heading to the new season, especially that most of the big clubs do have new manager as well. He will insist on more discipline and bigger effort across the board for his side to genuinely compete with the likes of Brugge and Anderlecht for top honours.