Football Season Guide

Four top eight classifications in a row satisfied the fans and the staff to say the least, but sc Heerenveen wasn't able to impress at all during the 2015/16 season. The sloppy start of the campaign eventually resulted in Dwight Lodeweges' departure and his replacement: club icon Foppe de Haan wasn't really able to turn the tide in the Abe Lenstra Stadium. Heerenveen finished 12th and the club will now look for a way to bounce back with a better campaign after the summer. Icon and fan favorite De Haan already announced during the season that he would step down after the regular competition and Heerenveen had to find a new manager as a result. Jurgen Streppel, who performed well with Willem II during the last years, is the new coach in charge and he will have to push for a top ten spot now. The question is however if Heerenveen has enough potential to wash away the last campaign, which is a big doubt to be honest. Team captain Joey van den Berg, a leader on the pitch, left the club to play for Reading in England and Pele van Anholt, another regular in the side left the team as well. Heerenveen will have to add more quality to the side to leave the bottom half of the table, but things have been quiet thus far. Wouter van der Steen joined the team, but the new goalie is expected to become the second goalkeeper, while Pelle van Amersfoort (back from loan) and Jordy Bruijn (an inexperienced youth player) aren't expected to push the performances to a higher level. The only promising signing at the moment is Reza Goochannejhad. The Iranian international played his first professional games in the Heerenveen shirt, but he served clubs like Standard Liege and Charlton Athletic later on. The attacker will be more experienced now and he's set to push for a regular starting spot as a result. Stijn Schaars joined the team as well from PSV Eindhoven, which will result in more experience, but he will need some time to become match fit after spending most of the season on the bench in Eindhoven. The problem however could be the lack of a pure goal scorer up front. Former Feyenoord striker Mitchell te Vrede only bagged ten goals last season and his replacement Henk Veerman, who claimed a decent amount of starting spots as well, produced six goals. The attacking performances will have to improve to bounce back to the Europa League play-off spots, but that's easier said than done. The man to watch in attack is still Sam Larsson. The Swedish winger is the key player in Heerenveen and he's still in the Abe Lenstra Stadium despite heavy transfer rumours. Players like Joost van Aken and Simon Thern have the potential to improve and they will have to show their best football this season to give Heerenveen a new boost. The Heerenveen side was always a force to be reckoned with, but the expectations won't be that high this year with the last campaign still fresh in mind. The scouting staff will have to bring in some quality to push the club back to the top half of the table.