Football Season Guide

Standard endured a truly dire season in which they missed out on a top-six finish for a second year in a row. Moreover, they actually had some pretty useful players in the squad and were by far and away the biggest underachievers in the division. The damage done to the club in the last year or two has pretty much relegated them from a position as one of the top sides in the country to one that is now merely hoping to build a challenge for Europe. The new man in charge is Ricardo Sa Pinto, who may be a relatively young manager but has shown a tendency to switch clubs quite often and has struggled to stick around for too long. The transfer work has been mostly impressive so far. The club brought back an explosive winger in Paul-Jose M'Poku after his two and a half years in the wilderness in Italy. Guillermo Ochoa is a well-known name too, even if he has endured a couple of poor seasons. Meanwhile, losing a promising keeper like Guillaume Hubert is somewhat of a blow. Sébastien Pocognoli is a good player with experience while Uche Agbo may well prove the best of the additions in midfield. Building a decent side around promising players like Razvan Marin, Edmilson and Alexander Scholz seems the way to go for this side while the hopes are that players like Ishak Belfodil and Orlando Sa regain their best form up front. Overall, the squad looks well-covered and with some pretty good players in it. However, the players will need to overcome the scepticism and lack of positivity from the fans and show on the pitch that they can have a much better season this time.