Travelling across Europe - proving I'm better than Dan!

Thanks pal, I'm just seriously glad that I managed to wrap up the cup so I could advance on this challenge. It's Belgium time.


I feel that we could have won the league if I had remained at the club until the end of the season but once the Belarusian Cup was won there wasn't any point, was there? I'd like to go straight in as I need to get off the "dole" as soon as possible as it's "depressing" but I will only go for the correct job, no crap teams.


I can never match Dan's success, I can try too.

Cheers for the comments guys. Appreciate them.

The truths come out

Whenever I arrived in Belgium I immediately went on the job hunt to see where my next port of call would be, I had to show severe patience for a managerial vacancy to come up and when they did.. I had three to choose from, two from the Third Division A league and one from the Second League.


So I had three job offers to choose from and they were Namur, Dender and Oosterzonen and it was indeed a tough choice to see were I was going to start my Belgian chapter.

I decided that I might as well start from the bottom league so that's officially ruled out the vacancy at Dender so it was now a toss up between semi-professional sides Namur or Oosterzonen.

Where will I end up? I suppose it might be whoever comes back first from the week delay.


Namur was the first to come back with the job offer and I decided that I was going to accept it. They've offered me a three year deal and are expected to achieve a respectable league position within the Third Division A this season but I feel I can better that as I'm used to overachieving wherever I end up and I'm sure this job will be no different.


And this is conformation that I've been appointed as the new manager of Union Royale (UR) Namur, signing a three year deal and I'm looking forward to starting work at the Stade Communal (Bas-Pres) immediately.

Who are UR Namur?

They're a semi-professional club who are currently playing in the Belgian Third Division A and finished in eighth place last season. The squad currently needs some work done to it but once I've finished with it the fans can expect a quality season ahead.. or a disastrous one, it depends on if I can who I want at the club.

I can't tell a lie mate, if I was better than you then I'd be like in Finland by now...

Good luck in Belgium, a semi professional side, you may need it if you dont leave within days again

well done on completing a second country pal, best of luck in Belgium

well done with Belarus! Good luck with UR Namur

Well done getting out of Belarus. Good luck in Belgium!

How long are you going to give me before I quit another semi-professional club?


Cheers pal, Belgium is sure going to be tough.


Namur is going to be a tough challenge since they're semi-professional but I think most teams in the bottom two divisions are semi professional or amateur.


Thanks, was pleased that we won the Belarusian Cup and now I'm hoping for a good start in Belgium.

As soon as I arrived at the club I wasted no time in trying to strengthen the squad the best I could before our first competitive game of the season, in the Belgian Cup against non-leaguers Beringen while I also had an extremely tough pre season that didn't exactly go to plan.


With four players already being signed in the summer while the club had no manager, I've added another four to the ranks.

My first signing since arriving at the club was Lafevre who is a thirty-two-year-old right back who was available on a free transfer, previously being on the books of Witgoor. The experienced defender agreed a one year deal and will be my starting right back for the season.

Second signing has seen Gerritsen arrive at the club on-loan for the season from Westerlo and the twenty-year-old, who will be a starter for me during this loan deal can player either as a central attacking midfielder or a central midfielder, I'm not sure were I'll play him yet.

With us lacking in quality central defenders I have brought in twenty-nine-year-old Lodders who was released by Vise. Unsure whether he'll be a starter for me but he'll definitely be rotating with the other two central defenders who are also talented.

And my final signing at the club to date was Frederix who is a striker and he's arrived on a free after departing Geel-Meerhout. At the age of thirty he's on a one year deal and Frederix may be my starting striker as I hope to neutralise a loan striker formation, as per usual.


Didn't have a great pre season although we did play some tough matches against Dutch giants PSV and Spanish duo Zaragoza and Osasuna while we also travelled to Patro Eisden and Tournai.

Reindorf finished as our pre season top scorer with two goals as he struck in the four one defeat to PSV Eindhoven and the score draw with Patro Eisden, Marin scored against Zaragoza while Perrier and Adriaensen both scored in our final pre season friendly game against Tournai that ended two all.

A month of competitive games after that pre season!

But sure we did play some bigger clubs who play in leagues better than ours so I expected hidings, surprised PSV only gave me one.

August embarked my first month of competitive football in Belgium and it started with a Belgian Cup tie and saw us also play three league games too as I hoped to have a successful first season at Namur, I have no excuses because I did have a full pre season to get the squad ready to my style.


The new season started with a Belgian Cup third round tie away to non league Beringen and we had to come from behind to secure a passage as Mestdagh had given the home side the lead but Boulanger equalised just a minute later before Frederix won us the match with a goal four minutes into the second half and on his debut.

That win meant our second game was also in the cup as I played my first game at home and we advanced to the fifth round thanks to a two one home success over Virton as central defender Toussaint headed us into a sixth minute lead but the away fans started celebrating on sixty three minutes whenever Gbaguidi levelled but Frederix won us the game two minutes later.

It was then time for us to start the league season and we started with a tough trip to Geel-Meerhout but we secured a three one away success despite being second best, in a game that saw us take our chances Lesage opened the scoring on twenty three minutes before Frederix doubled the lead just after the half hour. The striker, signed in the summer added his second with the game entering second half stoppage time but Bloemen bagged a consolation for the home side two minutes later.

Our next game was in the Belgian Cup against Second Division side Leuven and they were upset two goals to one as we took the lead through loan signing Gerritsen on fifty three minutes but they equalised just three minutes later but we won the game as Boulanger won us the game early in extra time.

We returned to league action with a game against recently relegated Liege who were expected to make an immediate return to the second tier of Belgian football and they defeated us two one at our home ground despite us taking the lead through Frederix just before half time - second half goals from Ly and then an own goal from our goalkeeper De Jonghe turned the game around.

And the month concluded with us "facing the impossible" away from home against Hoogstraten and it was impossible as we slumped to a disgusting four one defeat and quickly found ourselves two goals behind inside the opening twenty minutes before they added a third in first half stoppage time, we pulled a goal back through Frederix but they soon added a fourth.


A promising start to the league season has soon turned into a disappointing start to the season following those two defeats as we've slipped to thirteenth place but with the league being extremely tight early on, we're just six points from top spot so it's very important we get back to winning ways and quickly.

Decent start in the cup, I got to the sixth round I believe so be interesting to see how far you get! Not a horrendous start in the league either!

We've lost our last two games on the bounce so it's important that doesn't stretch further and puts me under-pressure. The cup run has been pretty good but I think we're playing a top flight club in the next round so I can't see that run going any further, the league is priority anyway, I need to try and get promotion and see if we can turn professional - semi-professionalism sucks.

The second month of the season saw us face four leagues game with two being at home and two being away, it was almost a perfect month but Machelen ruined it by beating me by a single goal to end our three game unbeaten run.


Oosterzonen came to our home venue to start the month and we secured three crucial points to end our two game winless run in the league as the on-loan Gerritsen opened the scoring for us on twenty minutes but the visitors levelled proceedings from the penalty spot just after the hour mark before Henrot won us the game with a goal five minutes from time.

We then made the trip to Sprimont and had to come from behind to pick up an impressive three one success despite Dyck giving Sprimont the lead we levelled just two minutes later whenever Dildick headed home and then Frederix turned the game around on fifty six minutes and the points were sealed just ten minutes later thanks to Gerritsen's second goal in as many games.

Next up was a home tie with Kelmis and we picked up a single goal victory to stretch our winning streak to three games as summer signing Frederix scored the winner just a minute into the second half.

And September ended with a disappointing result away to Machelen as the home side secured a single goal victory with Verplancke scoring the winner on forty seven minutes.


Despite ending the month with a defeat, those three wins against Oosterzonen, Sprimont and Kelmis has fired us up the league table as we're now in seventh position with seven games played. It hasn't been a bad start to the league season but it can be better as we've only scored eleven from those seven clashes and have conceded ten.

We "faced the impossible" cup tie against top flight side Genk in the Belgian Cup at the end of October but we also had to play four league games as we looked to bounce back from that disappointing defeat away to Machelen. In this month we played Hamoir and Wetteren at home and Heist and Berchem both away.


We started the month at home against Hamoir and we picked up an impressive four one home victory as central defender Lodders gave us the lead on thirty seven minutes before Frederix doubled the lead early in the second half, on the hour mark Lodders bagged his second goal before Adriaensen scored our fourth. Hamoir did pull a goal back on seventy seven minutes through Harrevelt but it was just a consolation.

In our next game we had to travel to Heist and could only manage a point as Stevens had given the home side a twenty second minute lead and when it looked like they would hold on for the maximum points the referee awarded Namur a penalty three minutes from time that Henrot converted.

We then headed back home to host Wetteren and we picked up a crucial single goal victory but only against ten men as De Wilde was sent off for two yellow cards after just fourteen minutes and despite pressing and pressing we did find the winner ten minutes into the second half through Van Der Putten.

Our final league game of the month saw us make the trip to the bottom club and we picked up a massive three one victory in a game that I refused to lose and we broke the deadlock after just eight minutes through Frederix but they equalised after a mix-up on the stroke of half time. Goals from Henrot and Dildick in the second half wrapped up the points.

There was a severe gulf in class in our next game as we faced top flight side Genk in the Belgian Cup sixth round and we crashed out at home by four goals to nil and truth be told it could have been a lot more. All the goals arrived in the first forty five minutes as Emaankaf scored a hat trick with Votava also on target.


Hoogstraten have secured a play off spot after they won the first period.

We're in third place following the unbeaten league month that saw us secure three wins and a draw and we're looking good but it's also important that we don't become inconsistent because I feel if we lose players then we'll struggle but I hope that's not the case. We've started to score goals too as now we have netted twenty from eleven games, conceding thirteen.

Good first period for you mate much better than I expected

Cheers pal, I'm just hoping the hiding that Genk gave me won't balls up confidence.

The penultimate month of the calendar year saw us play five league games as we completed an unbeaten month.


A home game with Deinze started the month as we picked up the three points as Henrot scored the only goal of the game on forty one minutes.

With Frederix and Henrot both injured we still had to make the trip to Witgoor and we picked up an impressive three nil away success as Perrier, in for the injured Frederix opened the scoring on just two minutes before Gerritsen added a second on thirty one minutes and then the points were sealed with ten minutes remaining as Boulanger struck.

The next three games all ended in draws as the goals dried up and the first was at home to Sint-Niklaas and despite tying we could manage a scoreless draw. We had seventeen shots but only managed four on target while Sint-Niklaas had seven shots with just the one on target.

Our next game was on the road at Hasselt and yet again the game ended nil each despite both teams trying to score, it was entertaining.

Turnhout visited us to complete the month and yet again we could only manage a draw but at least we managed to score but had to come from behind to earn a point as central defender Dildick but through his own net to give the away side the lead before Gerritsen equalised on twenty three minutes.


We are in second place despite those three draws on the spin.

The league is split into three periods to determine who gets the playoff spots, Hoogstraten won the first period.


With six games played in the second period has seen us in fourth place but no doubt those three draws on the spin has seriously hindered us so far, I've no doubt the form will pick up eventually so I've to be patient as their is still a long way to go.

Very good mate, still there or there abouts! Could make the playoff spot this time around!

December, the final month in the calendar year saw us face a short month as we just had the three league games to play, two at home and one away from home, our unbeaten run continued but a lack of wins continued to be elusive with two draws from the three games.


We started the final month of the year with a home encounter against Dessel and we had to come from two goals down to secure a pleasing point, goals from Peljto and Mobubi inside the first quarter hour had gave Dessel a two nil lead but Boulange halved the deficit on twenty five minute but Adriaensen earned us a share of the spoils with eleven minutes remaining.

Our third home on the bounce was against Geel-Meerhout and we picked up a crucial three points as we picked up a two one win and Perrier fired us into the lead on eighteen minutes and that's how it remained until the seventy seventh minute when Mathe-Luvagho beat his own goalkeeper - Christianens scored a consolation for the away side but thankfully we held on for a big three points.

And the month, and year ended with a trip to Liege and we could only manage a draw. We looked all set to pick up the points whenever winger Adriansen had given us the lead when he slammed the ball past the Liege stopper with just three minutes on the clock but we couldn't hold on because Swagers levelled in the first minute of stoppage time.


The year has ended with us lying in third place on goal difference with Turnhout in second due to them scoring two more goals than me and Hoogstraten remain top due to them having a better goal difference than both of us combined. I'm hoping the New Year can see us hit come consistency on the wins.


The second period has Mechelen in control with them three points ahead at the top, three points ahead of Dessell and Turnhout.

We're in fifth place during the second period and doesn't look like we will win it due to the amount of draws we've had. We've had five draws and they've come in the last six games and that's annoying but I'm going to try and address that in the New Year all being well.

If we could pick up a few wins on the bounce then I'd be laughing... we're still doing decent enough.

decent start to the season in belgium mate, keep it up

Thanks, we're predicted to come seventh I think so it's good that we're exceeding expectations.

We faced three games as the New Year was entered and two of them were at home and one away, nine points were available and we managed to secure six, which is quite a good return I suppose.


Twenty twenty started with a disappointing defeat as Hoogstraten visited us for a home tie and they picked up a two one win as Lonslots opened the scoring for the away side on twenty two minutes but we equalised whenever Perrier found the back of the net with ten first half minutes left but the away side picked up the win thanks to Triantafillidis' goal.

We then travelled to Oosterzonen to pick up what could turn out to be a valuable three one success despite falling behind early on but a hat trick from striker Frederix with goals on thirty five, forty five and in the first minute of second half stoppage time wrapped up a big victory.

The month ended with a second game in three as Spirmont came and looked set for a point before central defender Lodders headed home the winning goal with seven minutes on the clock.


The first month of the New Year has seen us in second place and a point behind the league leaders but remember, the league is split into three periods.


The second period has been completed.

And the second period has been won by Mechelen while we ended it in third place and just three points behind the period winners.

Still in the title race which in sure you will end up ad champions

If not you will go up via the playoffs guaranteed!

I don't understand this league at all, bar the three periods.

So, if I finish top of the table then I head up as Champions and don't need to worry about playoffs? If so, sweet.

February saw the league head into the third and final period and we faced four tough fixtures as we remained in the top four. The month saw us pick up two wins and two draws from the four games.


We started the month on the road we made the trip to Kelmis and picked up an impressive four one away win as we took the lead after thirteen minutes as right winger Adriaensen fired past the keeper before Henrot then slotted home a penalty for our second goal inside twenty minutes. Kelmis were then reduced to ten men on the half hour as Van Loo was shown a straight red card before Frederix curled home a third goal and then Dildick headed a fourth - Martin-Suarez did score a consolation for the home side.

Our next game was at home to Mechelen and we wrapped up our fourth win on the bounce thanks to a two one victory, Dildick put us in the lead on the quarter hour but Mechelen levelled proceedings on twenty one minutes through Van Belle but Boulanger's goal, on thirty five minutes, proved to be the winner.

We then travelled for the second game in three as we arrived at Hamoir looking to continue our fine form and we did remain unbeaten but unfortunately we couldn't pick up a fifth win on the bounce as the game ended nil all.

And the month ended with a home clash against Heist and we could only manage a second straight draw as Adriaensen opened the scoring on seventy two minutes and when Palate was sent off for two yellow cards three minutes later it looked like we could have held on for an important win but it wasn't too be as Fockaert scored a dramatic equaliser in the third minute of stoppage time.


With another month down we've lost top spot to Turnhout but we've a game in hand and should we be victories in that game then we'll return top.


Four games into the third and final period and we are fourth because of those back to back draws we could only manage at the end of February, win our game in hand and we'll move into third but I need to try and remain unbeaten throughout the third period to have any chance of winning it.

A short month faced us in March as we played just the three league matches and we've completed a one hundred per cent league month thanks to three wins from as many games. I've also decided to release two players as I needed to help the wage budget.


We started with a trip to Wetteren and we left Marcel De Kerpelstadion with all three points courtesy of a two nil win as on-loan Westerlo midfielder Gerritsen broke the deadlock on twenty six minutes and the points were sealed with fourteen minutes remaining when striker Frederix slotted the ball home.

Our only home game of the month was up next and we secured a two one success against Berchem as Frederix got us off to a dream start with a goal inside the opening one hundred and twenty seconds before the same man added his second, and our second in the first minute of stoppage time but Berchem made the final few minutes nervous whenever Verstraeten scored with three minutes left.

And our final game of the month was on the road as we visited Deinze and we picked up our third win on the bounce in March thanks to a three one win as Frederix continued his fine goal scoring form with two in the first half in between a Vervaeke equaliser for Deinze but we sealed the points ten minutes into the second half through Boulanger.


With twenty nine league games played we are sitting top of the table and three points clear of second place Turnhout as we've been outstanding this season for large parts and promotion is definitely looking good unless we have a serious bottle job in the final couple of months of the season. Both Liege and Wetteren are still in the hunt to finish top.


After seven league games in the third period we are currently in second place but only a point is separating us from moving top of the period as we have a slightly better goal difference than Turnhout and third place Wetteren.

At the end of the month I have come to the agreement to release both defender Otte and left winger Van Der Putten from their contracts, Otte was using up wages that I could have put back into the club and although Van Der Putten was a good enough player he was on quite hefty wages, for our level, to be sitting either on the bench or in the stands. I'm sure both players will find clubs.