RSC Anderlecht

It was another season of mediocre football for the most decorated Belgian team Anderlecht. Despite having the second-best defence all year, Coosemans kept 17 clean sheets in 40 rounds, Purple and Whites struggled. They lost 9 of their 30 games during the regular season, none of the top 3 sides lost more than 5 matches, so their chances to win a medal were over even before the play-offs. Appointed the controversial Besnik Hasi as head coach before the play-offs. He hardly impressed with 6 defeats in 10 games (3 wins and a draw) but luck helped Anderlecht to preserve their fourth place. Hasi is staying in charge but the fans are far from thrilled. The fact that Anderlecht lack depth and quality is obvious. Yet the issues remain the same. At the moment of writing there are only 3 typical centre-backs on the books, with 2 of them prone to injuries. Of the new signings made so far only young Hatenboer could become a regular starter. He is still a developing project though and can hardly be expected to match the productivity Dendoncker had last season. Captain Vertonghen also left, so if anything on paper the squad looks weaker compared to last term. The main hope seem to be in the Academy. 16-year-old playmaker De Cat, 20-year-old full-back Maamar and 19-year-old striker Goto are all expected to find regular place on the bench this season. Hasi is a controversial manager that is not liked much by the fans, so unpleasant atmosphere at home can be expected very early in the season if Anderlecht are not winning.