Ex Manchester City Skipper Kompany Struggling at Anderlecht

Last Summer Manchester City Captain Vincent Kompany left the Club after 10 trophy laden years to take up the reigns as player manager at RS Anderlecht.

When Vincent Kompany left Manchester City last Summer at the end of the Fourmidables campaign, and after that goal against Leicester City, which all but secured the back to back Premier League title win, fans were palpably distraught. This was the passing of a true club legend, who was spectacularly choosing to leave at the height of his powers – before we got to see his memory dulled by the inevitable deterioration brought by age and injury.

Even his leaving was blessed with dignity and spared us all the ignominy of watching him become a shadow of our greatest ever Captain and leader. Few players get to choose the manner of their own departure in such a memorable way.

Choosing to return to his boyhood club as the new player manager was a leap both into the dark and a refreshing opportunity to quite simply go home. Kompany had left RS Anderlecht back in 2006 as he embarked upon a playing career across Europe. The return to Anderlecht was treated as a fairy tale moment by the Belgian press.

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But that of course did not tell the full story. Anderlecht were a former European giant, winners of the Belgian League Title a record 34 times who had found themselves in difficult times. The owner of the club – Marc Coucke – had purchased the team back in 2018. Despite their glorious history this was a club which had largely been in the doldrums since their heady days in the 1970’s and 1980’s. But based in the Capital City, Brussels, they have huge potential if only this sleeping giant can be resurrected.

Unfortunately, under the stewardship of the new owner the Club veered towards chaos. There have been a series of errors made in the management and strategy of Anderlecht. A shotgun approach to player signings saw a bloated and expensive squad assembled and under perform. The poor showings on the pitch have resulted in fan protests, which have not been helped by the owner appearing to reveal he is actually a fan of rival team FC Bruges! The club has also been under investigation by the Police regarding dubious transfer dealings in the past resulting in police raids.

So, the recruitment of Kompany was something of a last-ditch attempt to cement the renewal of the club and resurrection.

The problem for Kompany though he is now in charge of a club in the throes of chaos where some semblance of order needs to be restored, and this looks like a long process. To help on the pitch the owners have supported Kompany with the recruitment of some expensive players – Samir Nasri, Nacer Chadli and Kemar Roofe. But so far, the results have actually got worse.

Under Kompany Anderlecht have so far played 4 League games – winning none, drawing 2 and losing 2. It is these performances on the pitch which have created some dissent around Kompany and his team.

Last week Anderlecht lost to lowly Kortrijk 4:2 and Kompany was at fault for at least 2 of the goals. As the figurehead he is in focus and newspapers have questioned whether he should in fact drop himself. They have suggested he is too big for his boots, trying to play the Guardiola way with a makeshift squad. The fact he is spending the upcoming International break as a player at Belgium National team rather than focussing on addressing the issues at Anderlecht has led to further criticism.

Kompany finds himself facing a must win game away at Genk in the League at the weekend. Of course, as City fans we all know that Kompany is exactly the person you would want in your corner when things were not going well, but this has been no easy route into management so far.

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We shall be watching the next few games very closely, hoping Kompany is able to turn the performances around and make his time at RS Anderlecht a success.