The OH Leuven Thread 2020/21

[KlaaZ]

Thanks! I vaguely remembered the name and I did like his stats from last season at Rotherham. 

[CosbehFox]

51 minutes ago, KlaaZ said:

Anyone who can shed any light on the quality of Iversen? Talk of the town is that he's on his way to Leuven for a one year loan deal. 

Supposed to be a good prospect - had two good seasons at League 2 and 1. The expectation was a Championship club for him next. 

[Bonanza]

Iversen just signed a 1-year-deal

 

 

 

 

 

[jeffschlupp]

Iversen is the only player on the club's books contracted until 2025, they seriously rate him at City.

 

He's on a Dean Henderson style trajectory up the leagues, League Two to League One and now a season in the Belgian top flight is a great move for him.

 

Hope he does well.

[Blue and white]

Not sure about this, his next move should have been in the championship.

[jeffschlupp]

I think the Belgian league is about the same level as the Championship if not better, even if OHL are scrapping relegation they will be under lots of pressure which is great for a keeper. There are some top European sides in that division with good strikers. The club can also keep a much better eye on him over there given the link between the two.

[CloudFox]

4 minutes ago, Blue and white said:

Not sure about this, his next move should have been in the championship.

I think you could easily argue that the level is about the same, if not better. He'll be facing the likes of Anderlecht, Gent et al. Big test for him, and pleased it actually benefits Leuven too!

[goose2010]

6 minutes ago, Blue and white said:

Not sure about this, his next move should have been in the championship.

Playing top flight in Belgium is far better than the championship. 

 

This is great business for all parties. 

[Bonanza]

 

Edited 11 August 2020 by Bonanza

[Jimmy]

is the Belgian pro league of an equivalent or higher standard than the Championship?

[KlaaZ]

4 minutes ago, Jimmy said:

is the Belgian pro league of an equivalent or higher standard than the Championship?

I'd say it's generally a slightly higher standard, yes. The top five Belgian clubs would probably be competitive in the second half of the PL table, The lower ranked teams are a bit harder to compare. 

[Jimmy]

5 minutes ago, KlaaZ said:

I'd say it's generally a slightly higher standard, yes. The top five Belgian clubs would probably be competitive in the second half of the PL table, The lower ranked teams are a bit harder to compare. 

OK thanks, then this makes all the sense in the world from our perspective, Iversen's next step was Championship, the same could be said for Josh Knight and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall at least

[KingsX]

1 hour ago, Jimmy said:

is the Belgian pro league of an equivalent or higher standard than the Championship?

 

54 minutes ago, KlaaZ said:

I'd say it's generally a slightly higher standard, yes. The top five Belgian clubs would probably be competitive in the second half of the PL table, The lower ranked teams are a bit harder to compare. 

 

I thought it would be interesting to see how fivethirtyeight place the clubs in these leagues.  Here are Belgium’s top six compared to selected Championship clubs and the lowest ranked PL clubs:

 

 

Compared to the Belgian “A”, the Championship is only slightly stronger at the top end, but much stronger at the bottom.  Eupen (who looked better than OHL yesterday) sit way down at #436.

 

As a new club in the Jupiler, OHL have yet to debut on these rankings.  I’ll let you know when it happens

 

 

It’s ironic, I thought keeper looked the one position Leuven don’t need to improve.  Their guy claimed every high ball in the box, no nonsense.  But with Iversen moved there, Iversen is going to play.  And he will face Championship level competition -- just not against the likes of Eupen.

[brucey]

45 minutes ago, KingsX said:

 

Compared to the Belgian “A”, the Championship is only slightly stronger at the top end, but much stronger at the bottom.  Eupen (who looked better than OHL yesterday) sit way down at #436.

 

But with Iversen moved there, Iversen is going to play.  And he will face Championship level competition -- just not against the likes of Eupen.

Is it better for a young goalkeeper's development to play in a 200th or 400th ranked team against the same 100th ranked team? 🤔

[KingsX]

6 minutes ago, brucey said:

Is it better for a young goalkeeper's development to play in a 200th or 400th ranked team against the same 100th ranked team? 🤔

 

Does he need more confidence?  or toughness?  OHL v Brugge is going to be much more of an adventure in developing the latter 

[brucey]

Do we know if he had any concrete offers to take him on loan in the Championship? Rotherham would likely have taken him back but they are ranked 428 so not a huge difference there tbf. Any better Championship team might not have been able to guarantee him a starting spot. 

[The_Rorab]

I'll be honest I don't think those fivethirtyeight numbers should be taken as gospel - I do think the Belgian 1st Division is a decent enough step even though I expected him to play Championship football this season - as a goalie I'd imagine facing some teams that compete in Europe would be a decent opportunity to show his worth.

[MPH]

great deal for everyone. he’s the best young keeper we have had in quite a few years and i think everyone will benefit from this.

Edited 11 August 2020 by MPH

[KlaaZ]

2 hours ago, The_Rorab said:

I'll be honest I don't think those fivethirtyeight numbers should be taken as gospel - I do think the Belgian 1st Division is a decent enough step even though I expected him to play Championship football this season - as a goalie I'd imagine facing some teams that compete in Europe would be a decent opportunity to show his worth.

Aye. We're also the 8th ranked competition in Europe behind the big five, Portugal and Russia, so that also counts for something. 

[KlaaZ]

4 hours ago, KingsX said:

It’s ironic, I thought keeper looked the one position Leuven don’t need to improve.  Their guy claimed every high ball in the box, no nonsense.  But with Iversen moved there, Iversen is going to play.  And he will face Championship level competition -- just not against the likes of Eupen.

To be fair, Keet (who played the last game) hasn't actually put in any eyecatching performances in the games he played last season. The main reason they extended his contract is because at that point, we still had a Final to play and his contract would run out before. Also, he's the only goalie we have left apart from two youth prospects who are, with all respect for their talent, not ready for a first team spot. So if anything were to happen to him, we'd have been in a very tough spot. That said, I reckon Iversen is a definite improvement compared to Keet. 

[Bonanza]

New signing! Thibault Vlietinck will come in on loan from Club Brugge. We also have the option to buy him at the end of the season.

 

Vlietinck (22, BEL) is a right winger who can also play at right-back. Since our manager likes to play with offensive wingbacks, I think he'll come in and fill that position. Vlietinck came through Brugge's youth rangs and played a decent amount of games in their first team, including some games in the Champions League. Under Brugge's new manager his playing time decreased significantly, so the player wanted to go to a club were he could play.

 

Decent signing in my opinion.

 

 

 

Edited 12 August 2020 by Bonanza

[Bonanza]

We're in big trouble now guys! 6 of our players are out with injuries.

 

Kenneth Schuermans (CB) is out for the rest of the season with a Achilles tendon rupture. Frederic Duplus (RB) (knee) and Derrick Tshimanga (LB)  (adductors) are out for at least 2 month. Both might require surgery which will sideline them for 5 to 6 months. Mathieu Maertens (CM) has a groin injury. He's out for 4 weeks. All of these guys got injured in the last game against Eupen.

 

Yannick Aguemon (LW) and Stallone Limbombe (RW) are recovering from hamstring injuries, so they'll be out for Saterday's game in Genk.

[sdb]

Did we send you our post lockdown physio team? That's rotten luck.

[MPH]

25 minutes ago, Bonanza said:

We're in big trouble now guys! 6 of our players are out with injuries.

 

Kenneth Schuermans (CB) is out for the rest of the season with a Achilles tendon rupture. Frederic Duplus (RB) (knee) and Derrick Tshimanga (LB)  (adductors) are out for at least 2 month. Both might require surgery which will sideline them for 5 to 6 months. Mathieu Maertens (CM) has a groin injury. He's out for 4 weeks. All of these guys got injured in the last game against Eupen.

 

Yannick Aguemon (LW) and Stallone Limbombe (RW) are recovering from hamstring injuries, so they'll be out for Saterday's game in Genk.

 

 

with that many injuries in one game, you have to question the training and preparation...

[Bonanza]

1 hour ago, MPH said:

 

 

with that many injuries in one game, you have to question the training and preparation...

Apparently they've tested all players (blood tests, physical tests,...) and not a single players showed signs of being overtrained or out of shape.

 

Just bad luck I guess...

Edited 13 August 2020 by Bonanza