OH Leuven Thread 26/27

[shen]

15 minutes ago, KlaaZ said:

xG of 1.64 against 2.94. Soundly beaten, yes. Five or six, no. And should have scored at least one ourselves. But you need to watch the full game to get a better feel for that. This is also against a club that is leagues ahead of the rest of the Belgian competition.

Of course, I am fully aware I'm missing out on a lot by just watching the highlights, so I will trust your opinion. 

 

For what it's worth, my take from the highlights is that the stats seem a little misleading.
Especially the 2,94 xG for Brugge as their chances felt like high quality chances (the double save first have probably accounted for 1,4-1,5 xG by itself). Their first and last goal also felt like low xG chances, i.e. not unreasonable to suggest they could've had more. 
FYI - Flashscore actually thinks the xG was 0,85 against 3,37.

 

Obviously Brugge are top opposition, but this mirrors the trend from the friendlies a bit.

Against superior opposition they need to be a bit harder to beat IMO. You don't give yourself many chances of getting any points if you concede 3+ goals per game.

[Pelotas]

16 hours ago, shen said:

Of course, I am fully aware I'm missing out on a lot by just watching the highlights, so I will trust your opinion. 

 

For what it's worth, my take from the highlights is that the stats seem a little misleading.
Especially the 2,94 xG for Brugge as their chances felt like high quality chances (the double save first have probably accounted for 1,4-1,5 xG by itself). Their first and last goal also felt like low xG chances, i.e. not unreasonable to suggest they could've had more. 
FYI - Flashscore actually thinks the xG was 0,85 against 3,37.

 

Obviously Brugge are top opposition, but this mirrors the trend from the friendlies a bit.

Against superior opposition they need to be a bit harder to beat IMO. You don't give yourself many chances of getting any points if you concede 3+ goals per game.

Indeed, major issue is that with Simons' playing style you need an excellent goalkeeper as you also give away more opportunities. Van den Heuvel did not look very good…

 

But indeed, Club Brugge is too strong, too wealthy and too powerful right now for the Belgian league. They sell players probably worth more than OHL as a club. There is no shame in losing to them and it could have been more. Best thing to happen is for Club to run away from the rest as soon as possible and take away hope from the rest, as the league needs to be reformed asap again, format is bad for Belgium except for the very wealthy.

[shen]

2 hours ago, Pelotas said:

Indeed, major issue is that with Simons' playing style you need an excellent goalkeeper as you also give away more opportunities. Van den Heuvel did not look very good…

 

But indeed, Club Brugge is too strong, too wealthy and too powerful right now for the Belgian league. They sell players probably worth more than OHL as a club. There is no shame in losing to them and it could have been more. Best thing to happen is for Club to run away from the rest as soon as possible and take away hope from the rest, as the league needs to be reformed asap again, format is bad for Belgium except for the very wealthy.

You mean scrapping the playoffs is bad for Belgium?

 

And Van den Heuvel did not look good for the opener, but then he made some other good saves (the double save first half, from Forbs later) too.
Looking at the highlights in isolation, the left side looks particularly weak defensively. Forbs had a field day and should've had a goal or two, notably from the chance I mentioned.
If you stand off as much as OHL did (which I think was extremely dangerous), you need to stop runs that break the lines and also tall, powerful centerbacks to clear high crosses. The double chance and Mechele & Tresoldi goals shows that OHL are quite soft there as well.

Edited 20 August by shen

[Pelotas]

2 hours ago, shen said:

You mean scrapping the playoffs is bad for Belgium?

 

And Van den Heuvel did not look good for the opener, but then he made some other good saves (the double save first half, from Forbs later) too.
Looking at the highlights in isolation, the left side looks particularly weak defensively. Forbs had a field day and should've had a goal or two, notably from the chance I mentioned.
If you stand off as much as OHL did (which I think was extremely dangerous), you need to stop runs that break the lines and also tall, powerful centerbacks to clear high crosses. The double chance and Mechele & Tresoldi goals shows that OHL are quite soft there as well.

Well… moving to 18 teams mostly. Gaps will be bigger, middle of the table teams play for nothing from January, and second division is near dead with the 11 remaining Pro teams and 4 U23 teams no one comes to watch.

 

Reform was made especially for Club Brugge, because 16 plus playoffs makes 40 MDs which is too much for them as they understandably want to focus on the shitload of money they get in Europe. Everyone knew it was bad but they couldnt get to an agreement sooner, in the end Club Brugge bought the votes of smaller teams with the entry fee for the U23 teams in second div and changed the relegation rules of the running season so that the U23s of Genk would not be relegated (acquiring the crucial vote of Genk). In the end we move from a league of 40 MDs (of which a lot of matchups between big teams) and excitement until the end, to a league of 34 matches with less quality matches (2 small teams added and fewer big team clashes), with much less excitement as most will often be decided by March or April, while middle of the table teams will play for nothing from January. 
 

In short: league should move to fewer teams ASAP,  probably 12 or 14 as is the case in same size countries like Scotland, Denmark, Switzerland, Austria… but with fewer teams we’ll probably indeed need playoffs again to have sufficient matches… and second division should be hugely upgraded and invested in by the league. Remove the u23s no one comes to watch and share some of the income from Europe and tv.

 

On OHL and the need for strong tall defs: our 2meter tall newcomer is on the bench.

[KlaaZ]

26 minutes ago, Pelotas said:

Well… moving to 18 teams mostly. Gaps will be bigger, middle of the table teams play for nothing from January, and second division is near dead with the 11 remaining Pro teams and 4 U23 teams no one comes to watch.

 

Reform was made especially for Club Brugge, because 16 plus playoffs makes 40 MDs which is too much for them as they understandably want to focus on the shitload of money they get in Europe. Everyone knew it was bad but they couldnt get to an agreement sooner, in the end Club Brugge bought the votes of smaller teams with the entry fee for the U23 teams in second div and changed the relegation rules of the running season so that the U23s of Genk would not be relegated (acquiring the crucial vote of Genk). In the end we move from a league of 40 MDs (of which a lot of matchups between big teams) and excitement until the end, to a league of 34 matches with less quality matches (2 small teams added and fewer big team clashes), with much less excitement as most will often be decided by March or April, while middle of the table teams will play for nothing from January. 
 

In short: league should move to fewer teams ASAP,  probably 12 or 14 as is the case in same size countries like Scotland, Denmark, Switzerland, Austria… but with fewer teams we’ll probably indeed need playoffs again to have sufficient matches… and second division should be hugely upgraded and invested in by the league. Remove the u23s no one comes to watch and share some of the income from Europe and tv.

 

On OHL and the need for strong tall defs: our 2meter tall newcomer is on the bench.

Slight correction, Lawrence was suffering from a small injury and not on the bench. Was training individually yesterday so should be back against Standard. 

[KlaaZ]

3 hours ago, shen said:

You mean scrapping the playoffs is bad for Belgium?

 

And Van den Heuvel did not look good for the opener, but then he made some other good saves (the double save first half, from Forbs later) too.
Looking at the highlights in isolation, the left side looks particularly weak defensively. Forbs had a field day and should've had a goal or two, notably from the chance I mentioned.
If you stand off as much as OHL did (which I think was extremely dangerous), you need to stop runs that break the lines and also tall, powerful centerbacks to clear high crosses. The double chance and Mechele & Tresoldi goals shows that OHL are quite soft there as well.

Gotta keep in mind that we were playing a team that is just way beyond all other teams except Union (maybe) in terms of absolute quality. You can compare it to PSG playing a lower half side in the Ligue 1, you need absolutely everything to go for you if you even want to stand a chance of grabbing a result. 

[Pelotas]

1 hour ago, KlaaZ said:

Slight correction, Lawrence was suffering from a small injury and not on the bench. Was training individually yesterday so should be back against Standard. 

Bench vs Charleroi no? 
 

btw Mathieu Maertens named as possible new signing at newly promoted Cambuur. If so I’m off to Friesland for a match this season

[shen]

2 hours ago, KlaaZ said:

Gotta keep in mind that we were playing a team that is just way beyond all other teams except Union (maybe) in terms of absolute quality. You can compare it to PSG playing a lower half side in the Ligue 1, you need absolutely everything to go for you if you even want to stand a chance of grabbing a result. 

Of course, I'll cut them some slack because of Brugge.

But you can still make yourself difficult to beat against the top teams. It's still early days, but I just feel from the friendlies and games against Charleroi and Brugge that there are worrying signs and that they're too open at the back. Fingers crossed Lawrence beds in quickly. Have the Ikwuemesi transfer links cooled off a bit? And are the club still targeting more signings?

[Pelotas]

1 hour ago, shen said:

Of course, I'll cut them some slack because of Brugge.

But you can still make yourself difficult to beat against the top teams. It's still early days, but I just feel from the friendlies and games against Charleroi and Brugge that there are worrying signs and that they're too open at the back. Fingers crossed Lawrence beds in quickly. Have the Ikwuemesi transfer links cooled off a bit? And are the club still targeting more signings?

Yes indeed, but Simons does not want to park the bus. Even against Club Brugge in the second half I think we had equal possession and were regularly on the attacking half… I can appreciate that, we had a chance to make 1-1. Trying to hold on for a draw often fails anyway and a win pays off more anyways. Against Charleroi we were down to ten men early on as well… 

 

No recent updates wrt Ikwuemesi, Opoku, or Leysen. Nyakossi to Mönchengladbach was rumoured.
 

Regarding new signings: seems like players need to leave before we sign new ones I’m afraid, although I’m sure we’ll loan some or sign for free on deadline day as always  

Edited 20 August by Pelotas

[KlaaZ]

5 hours ago, shen said:

Of course, I'll cut them some slack because of Brugge.

But you can still make yourself difficult to beat against the top teams. It's still early days, but I just feel from the friendlies and games against Charleroi and Brugge that there are worrying signs and that they're too open at the back. Fingers crossed Lawrence beds in quickly. Have the Ikwuemesi transfer links cooled off a bit? And are the club still targeting more signings?

To be fair, we played a lot of teams that are, on paper, better than us (Olympiacos, Lille, Heerenveen) and did remarkably well against them (drew the first, lost 3-6 against Lille, drew 4-4 with Heerenveen after 90 minutes). We completely demolished newly promoted Lommel 5-1, beat Lierse 1-0 in a game that apparently should have been fix or six as well,... So against teams that are just as good or slightly weaker, we do a lot better. Either way, it's way too early to draw conclusions but if we play like we did against Charleroi and Club in the next games, the points will follow.

In regards to transfers, we're still on the lookout for a left footed central defender. Pelotas is technically correct that there is no transfer budget unless we sell more players. Nyakossi is the most likely one to go, Leysen fails to attract much interest (despite making it clear that he wants to leave since January, seems to have overestimated himself a little), and Ikwuemesi is also still on the transfer list. The latter was not present for training yesterday, by the way. So who knows, might be happening after all? For Leysen, Standard might be an option but only if Epolo leaves.

Edited 20 August by KlaaZ

[Pelotas]

I fail to see how Standard could afford Leysen and why Leysen would want to go there in the first place. He can do better, if Burnley was in play that says smth…

[KlaaZ]

16 hours ago, Pelotas said:

I fail to see how Standard could afford Leysen and why Leysen would want to go there in the first place. He can do better, if Burnley was in play that says smth…

Because if they sell Epolo, it'll be for 10M+. Or at least that's the rationale. Burnley was indeed a better option, but it was one of the very few he has. There is little to no interest for him, apparently.

[Pelotas]

Epolo a bit overrated imho

 

https://youtu.be/prN6NbOKA_g

[KlaaZ]

4 hours ago, Pelotas said:

Epolo a bit overrated imho

 

https://youtu.be/prN6NbOKA_g

For what it's worth, all goalkeepers make mistakes. If no mistake is the bar, Leysen is arguably overrated as well. 

[Pelotas]

9 hours ago, KlaaZ said:

For what it's worth, all goalkeepers make mistakes. If no mistake is the bar, Leysen is arguably overrated as well. 

Of course, but most clubs always assume they can sell their players for way more than in reality, all I'm saying. e.g. amounts I've heard for Nyakossi are crazy.

[KlaaZ]

1 hour ago, Pelotas said:

Of course, but most clubs always assume they can sell their players for way more than in reality, all I'm saying. e.g. amounts I've heard for Nyakossi are crazy.

True, but in our case there might be merit to it. Csepregi manages to consistently sell even redundant players for profit. 

[shen]

7 minutes ago, KlaaZ said:

True, but in our case there might be merit to it. Csepregi manages to consistently sell even redundant players for profit. 

Can we loan Csepregi? 😅

[Pelotas]

On 17/08/2026 at 23:38, Pelotas said:

Good news of the weekend, Kortrijk also not playing coming weekend so we can’t sink any further 

Lol... moving up out of the relegation zone without playing a match this wknd 

[Pelotas]

Apparently, Jonathan Panzo is on his way to OH Leuven. Another free agent, as his contract at Birmingham ended this summer. 
 

Edit: despite various sources saying the deal was done. Latest now is Panzo ultimately not given a contract due to fitness concerns.

 

Good decision ofc, but concerning that the current player pool looked at leads to unfit free agents. At least the women are in the Champions League again and we get some Europa League action at Den Dreef through Union SG. 🙄

Edited 28 August by Pelotas

[Bonanza]

Results and standings after round 4

 

Genk	4-0	Beveren
La Louvière	2-2	KV Mechelen
Kortrijk	1-3	Charleroi
Cercle Brugge	0-1	Lommel
OH Leuven	1-2	Standard Liège
Gent	2-1	Club Brugge
Antwerp	1-4	St. Truidense
USG	3-0	Anderlecht
Westerlo	2-2	Zulte Waregem

 

 

Fixtures for round 5

 

Lommel	-	Club Brugge
Charleroi	-	USG
KV Mechelen	-	Westerlo
Standard Liège	-	Antwerp
St. Truidense	-	La Louvière
Cercle Brugge	-	Gent
Kortrijk	-	Zulte Waregem
Anderlecht	-	Genk
Beveren	-	OH Leuven

[Bonanza]

 

[ClaphamFox]

1 minute ago, Bonanza said:

 

Looks like they could do with a new centre-half. Preferably one with curly hair and a nice line in throwing his hands in the air in mock frustration. 

[Bonanza]

Deadline Day in Belgium

 

Tobe Leysen sold to Genk, Kiany Vroman (GK, 22) comes in from Lierse (Belgian 2nd Division)

 

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/kiany-vroman/profil/spieler/671665

 

 

 

[Ryy]

10 minutes ago, Bonanza said:

Deadline Day in Belgium

 

Tobe Leysen sold to Genk, Kiany Vroman (GK, 22) comes in from Lierse (Belgian 2nd Division)

 

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/kiany-vroman/profil/spieler/671665

 

 

 

Pls take Faes

[Bonanza]

2 late signings on deadline day

 

Robin Mirisola (19, ST) comes in on loan from Genk (no option to buy)

 

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/robin-mirisola/profil/spieler/952439

 

Alessandro Fontanarosa (23, CB) comes in on loan with an option to buy from Avelino (Italian 2nd division)

 

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/alessandro-fontanarosa/profil/spieler/616162