Football Season Guide

Union Saint Gilloise had the campaign of their lives last season and punched well above any sort of heights imaginable throughout the whirlwind period of nine months in which they were leaders for 90% of the time, only to agonisingly lose out in the title race in the final two weeks. The creator of that magical run, Felice Mazzu, was always likely to be enticed to by a bigger club after what he accomplished with the newcomers and he indeed accepted the proposal of Anderlecht in the off-season, leaving Union with a bitter taste as he single-handedly rescinded his contract and left without the club receiving compensation. That is in the past now, however, and Mazzu's former assistant, Karel Geraets, takes over with the near-impossible task of keeping up the same sort of momentum and success for Union this season. It is clear that any such run in the top end of the standings is highly improbable, not least because the rest of the league is already clued-up about the strengths and style that Union possess. He is also without last-season top scorer, Deniz Undav, and he is nigh-on impossible but bringing in Simon Adingra from Brighton could be a really clever move as the wide forward displayed lots of potential in Denmark last season and may become a real force in a league where defending is not of high standard. There has not been much strengthening in other areas so far and Geraets will be desperately hoping to keep hold of Casper Nielsen, who is wanted by Brugge and Gent and emerged as a real driving force of the team. There is still enough depth in midfield and defence for Union to remain quite a good and competitive side, with Senne Lynne back after a serious injury and Koki Machida staying on in defence after joining on loan in the winter. Thus, a spot in the Europa Conference play-offs, and a finish between 5th and 8th is most likely for Union this season as there is bound to be coming down from the lofty heights of last season, with a new manager finding his feet in the dugout.