Football Season Guide

Last season Racing Genk had a much better campaign than the previous two and despite the slow start and the uncertainty if they will make Play-off I until the last round the Blues were growing in confidence with each passing month and they actually finished the campaign as the team in best play-off form. Without a doubt now the players will want to transport that into the new season and they also have the pleasure to be involved in Europe again. All this is bringing confidence but coach Maes is yet to make a new signing this summer and at the same time the hugely important centre-back Kabasele left, plus four other decent players. This is limiting the options a lot and many worry that Genk’s young and small squad might find it hard to maintain good pace all year. Of course, there is still plenty of time and the money brought by Kabasele’s transfer to England can be spend very quickly. As things stand this is not happening yet and if the season starts today the formation is likely to be 4-2-3-1 with Bizot the new number one, Koteles is a very solid option though. The back four will be made of three youngsters, with Walsh the most likely replacement for Kabasele as Dewaest’s partner. The full-back positions look reserved for Castagne and Uronen, but in terms of covers there aren’t any and in the pre-season matches players from the U19 team were tested. Ndidi can drop back to play in defence, but the gaffer prefers to use him in the double-six position next to Pozuelo, while the trio behind the lone striker is usually Buffel-Kebano-Bailey. Up front the January arrival Samatta seems to be the new number nine, although Karelis is also pushing hard for starting place and in certain games Genk might be seen playing with two strikers and changing the formation to 4-2-2-2. Again the situation in terms of covers available is not very good and Maes was forced to register four players from the U19 squad into the first team for this season. All that makes it vital to monitor closely the team’s transfer activity in the next month or so and from it will depend how competitive the Blues will be this term. They most definitely will rely mainly on their home games once again, with the style of play suggesting that Genk will dominate possession and use crosses from the wings a lot more than the average team.