Anderlecht’s managerial search is not going well. After failing to convince Jon Dahl Tomasson to join, the club have also been rejected by former Go Ahead Eagles and Wolfsburg head coach Paul Simonis. As reported by Pieter-Jan Calcoen, Simonis does not want to take over at Anderlecht while they do not have a Sporting Director in place. This was always the risk that Anderlecht faced when looking to appoint a manager before putting a new Sporting Director in place.
Simonis could have been a great hire for Anderlecht. Last season he led Go Ahead Eagles to the KNVB Cup and into European football. As a result, he was brought in by Wolfsburg. However, Simonis struggled to recreate the success he had enjoyed in the Eredivisie and was sacked by the club in November. He only won three of the 12 games he was in charge for.
Yet, his success in Dutch football should lend itself to the Pro League. Anderlecht need someone with fresh ideas to shake things up, having been unable to return to the top of Belgian football for some time. Since sacking Vincent Kompany, the side have been searching for the magic formula. In that time, they have seen the likes of city rivals Union St Gilloise surpass them as the best team in Brussels.
