On Monday, Peter Vandenbempt will lay down the past Jupiler Pro League match day. This week he talks about how Union performs without being really tested, a Standard who has to adjust his goals without reinforcements and Brian Riemer who has to make his team play better football. “With less luck, the 6 out of 9 could just as well have been 2 out of 9.”
“We won’t know the true value of Union until mid-September”
The fact that Union is showing off with 9 out of 9 is at the same time very punishment and not too punishment. They have not really been tested so far, they were allowed to play 3 times against a weak opponent.
Although Marc Brys was satisfied and left with a good feeling. He is therefore the only one at OH Leuven, I think.
You can also say that those opponents were bad because Union let them play badly due to their high pressing and pace. But those teams, Standard and Anderlecht, did not show great form in the other matches either.
At the same time, what Union is doing is also very bad, since a busload of key players has already left. Lynen and Nieuwkoop this week, especially the latter was very important.
Blessin is the first not to be dazzled by the 9 out of 9.
Peter Vandenbempt
Coach Alexander Blessin is even better than his predecessors Geraerts and Mazzu, who started with 4 out of 9 and 6 out of 9. Although the German is the first not to be blinded by the 9 out of 9.
Blessin knows that players with added value still need to be added to compete at the top until the end.
Union didn’t play its best game on Saturday, they did during certain periods in the 2 previous games. We won’t know their true value until mid-September.
Then they will have played against better opponents with Antwerp and Genk and will have completed European preliminary rounds.
“The football that Hoefkens sees is miles away from what he envisions”
In the Walloon derby, the supporters behaved themselves, which is already quite an achievement. In advance there was great concern because of the poor start of both teams.
On the field, the game was a very thin beast. Poor football, hardly any chances and weak strikers, then all in all you have a logical draw.
Although I can imagine that Standard is displeased with that penalty kick.
Carl Hoefkens is not to be envied. He has been able to avoid the disgrace of the first start with 0 out of 9 in 70 years, as well as an always painful defeat against great rival Charleroi.
Standard may not require the trainer to reach the top 6 with this team.
Peter Vandenbempt
Standard’s football was so weak, they had to endure almost the entire game against a weak Charleroi. The midfield, with the exception of Price, lacks quality on the ball.
The football Hoefkens sees is miles away from what he envisions and showed at Club Brugge, albeit with a different team with different qualities.
The question is whether the owners still want to get good players, the budget is limited for Standard.
Although those people also have other clubs and they have acquired expensive players. That’s no problem, but then you shouldn’t fool the Standard fans.
They should make the objectives clear at Standard and not require the trainer to reach the top 6. That is simply not possible with this team.
Even with this team, Anderlecht should be able to play better football
I don’t understand Riemer’s statements about the Sint-Truiden field. There are many problems in Belgian football, but the pitches are not really one of them.
Last year, Anderlecht played their best match under Mazzu on that field and the opponent also played some really good football yesterday before the break.
Riemer is lucky that STVV does not have a good striker, otherwise it might have been a defeat.
He’s talking about standards. Then I say that they should also come for the football of his team, that was just bad at Stayen.
The coach was pleased with the battle in the second half and how they all held together easily and that makes sense. I wouldn’t use the word “brilliant” for it though.
Riemer talks about standards, which should therefore be introduced for his team’s football.
Peter Vandenbempt
The coach is right that it is important to be with the peloton. I also understand that he says that his team will be good later.
Although he does say “in a few months”, that is still a very long time.
The team that will play then will be very different. New players have yet to arrive or have arrived, but still need to be fitted in.
So there is work ahead. They are still in a process to use that forbidden word again at Anderlecht. In the meantime, it’s a matter of running at the top and grabbing points.
Even with this team, it should really be possible to play better football. Wasn’t there a preparation of 7 or 8 weeks?
It should be less panicky, with more structure and a little more dominant. Like in the first half against Antwerp. They also have to make better use of the spaces, make more correct choices and so on.
Surely there must be a lower limit?
With less luck, the 6 out of 9 could just as well have been 2 out of 9. Then even for the optimistic Riemer, the world looked a little different today.
Peter Vandenbempt
2023-08-14 07:54:32
#Peter #Vandenbempt #strong #Union #strong #time #Jupiler #Pro #League
