Football Season Guide

Telstar were pretty dismal, even for their generally low expectations, last season as they struggled to get any wins and too often played some really low-quality football without having much joy on the pitch. It proved the end for coach Andres Jonker, who decided to leave after three seasons fighting with a very limited budget. Instead, the White Lions opted for Mike Snoei to make a return to Telstar as a new coach for his second spell. He is a vastly experienced coach who has a pragmatic style and will look to make this team a bit harder to beat and try to settle into more of a mid-table role instead of just fodder at the bottom of the standings. As usual, there is lots of turnover at the club and 80% of the squad from last season are not around any more. That includes some promising players like Sven van Doorm and Rashaan Fernandes but keeping hold of Rein Smith and Cas Dijkstra, alongside defender Anwar Bensabouh, is a bonus for the squad. In terms of new additions, the only one with actual tangible first-team experience is Thomas Oude Koutte, a reliable left-back who used to play for Excelsior. Otherwise, it is mostly youngsters hungry for a chance and they will surely get it at Telstar. The team does not look ready for anything more than just mere existence in the bottom half of the standings but the hope is that some promising players emerge from the new additions.