Football Season Guide

Vitesse remain a club stuck in limbo and waiting to hear their fate for a second summer in a row. They managed to stumble along last year with a very young side that had some bright moments but were generally out of their depth and finished in the lower half of the standings in terms of point total if not does not take into account their massive point penalties. They especially got more effective and streetwise in the second half of the season and experienced coach John van den Brom does deserve praise for brining in and mentoring quite a few player who were pretty raw at the start of the season. Van den Brom did step down from his role at the end of the season though after concluding that there is just too much uncertainty about the future of the club and where they are heading right now. Indeed, the Yellow and Blacks from Arnhem have been denied a professional licence from KNVB for gross mismanagement and long-standing financial irregularities that they have not proven being capable of solving. The club is appealing that decision but there is little prospect of success and as it stands they are out of professional football and will not be able to complete in the Eerste Divisive. Yet the club did bring in a new coach this summer in experienced German Rüdiger Rehm, who has been spending time with different clubs in the lower divisions in Germany. He is a practical, defence-oriented coach that will give the team structure and focus on being hard to beat. Yet he has to work primarily graduates even if there are indeed a few new signings this summer, mostly youngsters from German clubs that arrive in the hope of exposed to first-team football and regular minutes. None of them look especially promising but Vitesse can do with some numbers to beef up the squad after losing quite a few reliable and solid players like Enzo Cornelisse, Gyan de Regt and Angelos Tsinagras. Irakli Yegoan, Jim Koller and Mats Egbring were some of the players that did make positive impression last season and can further develop in the team this season.