For two years running now, poor Carl Hoefkens has been sacked just before the new year. Last season he was let go by Club Brugge on the 27th of December, while this year his current or now ex club Standard Liege decided to end their collaboration on the 31st of December. It has been a tumultuous period for the club since Hoefkens took over to start the season. The side have had two transfer embargoes and only really brought in the players of the level required for the Pro League at the last minute of the summer transfer window.
The addition of these new players did help the side initially. Hoefkens was able to oversee a run of six games unbeaten from the start of September, with one draw and four wins. However, the side have failed to win since the 25th of November when they beat Genk 1-0. That saw a run of six games without a win, with three draws and three defeats. The 3-0 defeat to KV Mechelen was a particularly bad result for the side, even if they did have to play the majority of the game down to 10 men.
Hoefkens final game in charge was against Sint-Truiden. There were already rumours that a negative result at home to the Canaries would mean the end of his time at the club. Wilfried Kanga rescued a point late on for Standard, but it proved to not be enough to save Hoefkens’ job.
GBeNeFNÂ |Â Ben Jackson
