Football Season Guide

Oostende underwent a pretty disappointing and at times turbulent season in which they never went close to replicating their achievements from prior campaigns, having endured a really poor start. Coach Adnan Custovic had a mixed run at the job after taking over initially as a caretaker in October and even if the start was promising, the team fizzled out quite disappointing in the closing stages of the season. Thus, it was not really a surprise when he was let go, with former Belgium U-19 manager Gert Verheyen taking over. The summer transfer window has so far seen a pretty significant and major stripping of prized assets and the squad does look inferior compared to last season. Knowledge Musona and Antonio Milic are the two biggest losses as they joined Anderlecht early on just before the summer. They were key at either end of the pitch and will be hard to replace, especially with funds tighter after the change of ownership. Zinho Gano divided opinion during his one-year spell with the Kusboys, often blowing hot and cold, but the tall striker is another one out of the door as Genk snapped him up. That is not to say that Verheyen has no quality players to work with as the likes of Brecht Capon, Fernando Canesin and Zarko Tomasevic are all established players at this level and enjoyed stellar campaigns last season. Yet, the signings so far have looked more like shots in the dark than really aiming for quality at this level, and look like a real mixed bag as well. Sindrit Guri enjoyed a good season in the Albanian league last year but has not been tested anywhere else while Wout Faes and Indy Boonen will be hoping to realise their potential after failing to cut it at big clubs. Therefore, there are reasons for concern for the Oostende fans that they could be in for a pretty rough ride this season but optimism and anticipation are predominant so far as the new coach deserves a chance to prove himself and the team should have enough to stave off any serious relegation concerns.