Playoffs 1: Gent under pressure If this was a horse race, Anderlecht would be the favourite – having won its last three races – who is moving through the pack and is nicely positioned with a few furlongs to go. In fact, as this is Belgium, the race has already been completed over 3 ½… Read More »
Playoffs 1 During the first weekend of the Playoffs 1, all of the three top teams won. Neither Anderlecht nor Club Brugge played particularly well but they took the three points, as did Gent. Standard were particularly unlucky at the Jan Breydel stadium as they lost to two penalties, the second of which was extremely… Read More »
The main JPL Playoffs (see here) started this weekend. (Ed: Gent beat Kortrijk 2-0). The top six (Club Brugge, Gent, Standard Liege, Anderlecht, Charleroi and Kortrijk) will play each other twice in the next six weeks. The clubs receive half of the points gained in the “classic” season. So the clubs started as follows: Club… Read More »
Many eyes will be on the game at Sclessin where Standard Liege play Racing Genk. If this match swings strongly one way or the other, it could impact the games at Charleroi, Beveren and Cercle Brugge – with all three matches featuring clubs that could drop into the P03* places. Charleroi of course could go… Read More »
One final push for Genk, Charleroi need help from their friends in Liège. Charleroi were the big losers last Saturday after going down 1-0 to a Club Brugge side that won without looking particularly good. Preud’homme’s men are missing Victor Vazquez but he won’t be returning for a few weeks. Anderlecht, Gent and Kortrijk also… Read More »
A little history There are just two rounds of games to go in the Belgian championship before the season really starts with the playoffs. I’ve written many times about the system that’s disliked by the majority of clubs, punters and players. Here I’ll focus on the football side of affairs. With the points gained in… Read More »
The ‘football match’ between Standard Liege and Anderlecht today encapsulated every aspect of the modern game. On Wednesday I wrote about the good side of football with Standard Chairman Roland Duchâtelet releasing his international centre back Laurent Ciman who wished to move to Montreal with his wife and family to get treatment for their autistic… Read More »
Anderlecht visit Sclessin today and it’s likely to be a bit feisty. All the pre-match headlines have focused on two players: Alexander Scholz and Steven Defour. Scholz recently moved to Standard Liege from Lokeren. That didn’t please Anderlecht chairman Roger Vanden Stock who had been extremely confident that the Danish centre back would be signing… Read More »
Football is no longer, in Pelé’s words, the “beautiful game”. Today, the leading players can be counted among the world’s ‘super-rich’. Encouraged by their agents, many players seek transfers on a regular basis. Some change clubs to enhance their career, others to improve their own financial situation and those of their ‘people’. January is one… Read More »