Ernie Allan Takes On 'The Dutch Challenge'

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Great start to the season (aside from the 2 red and the 5-2 result!) KIU
 
September 2018

900


"Willem II was founded on 12th August 1896"


September 2018

The draw for the 1st​ round of the Dutch Cup took place and we’ve been handed a home tie against lower league side JVC Cuijk.

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Saturday 1st​ September 2018
PSV vs Willem II
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Peters, Chiosa, Lewis (Dankerlui 70), Grimm, Wijnaldum, Crowley, Chirivella (Majetschak 70), Sol, Puscas (Dadachov 70)

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On the opening day of last season, we held PSV to a draw at their place, and today we repeated that feat again! They were highly dominant (as expected), but we were clinical in front of goal and earned a valuable point. And we were the first team this season to hold PSV as they’d previously won 3 out of 3!



Saturday 15th​ September 2018
sc Heerenveen vs Willem II
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Peters, Chiosa, Lewis, Grimm (van Ooijen 63), Wijnaldum (Simonse 85), Crowley, Chirivella, Sol, Puscas (Abubakar 63)

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This game all came down to the quality of the chances that the sides created and ours were simply better than theirs. We had a lot more of the possession and turned that into a number of clear cut opportunities, converting into 3 good goals. Heerenveen had a lot of shots at goal, but most of them were hopeful long range efforts which were never going to trouble our keeper.



I gave Peter van Ooijen the final half hour of the Heerenveen game to make his debut for the club. Despite playing in an unfamiliar defensive midfield role, he turned in a decent performance with a match rating of 6.80.

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Tuesday 25th​ September 2018
Dutch Cup 1st​ Round
Willem II vs JVC Cuijk
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Branderhorst, Lachman, Peters, Chiosa, Dankerlui, Grimm (Lieftink 45), Tsimikas, Majetschak, Chirivella (van Ooijen 64), Dadachov, Puscas (Abubakar 45)

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A very easy win against the lower league side and we surpass last year’s achievement as we make the 2nd​ round! Erik Majetschak and young striker Asumah Abubakar both scored their first goals for the club.



Asumah Abubakar was promoted from the reserves side in the Summer as I felt he had something to offer in the first team. So I’m delighted for the lad to get his first couple of goals for the club.

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We’ll go away to Jupiler League side Helmond Sport in the 2nd​ round of the cup! They currently sit bottom of that league after 8 games, without a league win this season.

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Saturday 29th​ September 2018
Excelsior vs Willem II
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Peters, Chiosa, Lewis, Heerkens, Tsimikas, Majetschak, Chirivella, Dadachov, Puscas

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Excelsior came into this game bottom of the league with only 3 points and 0 wins to their name, so it’s safe to say I was expecting a win. Now, we did get the win, but f*ck me did we make it difficult for ourselves! Every time we took the lead, these b*stards pegged us back, but just as the game looked like it was destined for a draw our two wing backs go furthest forward and combined as Tsimikas crossed for Fernando Lewis to hammer home a late, late winner!



2 wins and a draw in September sees us sitting 3rd​ in the table after 6 games! It’s more than I could possibly have hoped for from the start of the season and to say I’m pleased would be an understatement. Feyenoord have shot right up the table this month into 5th​ following their poor start to the season.

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Player of the Month
George Puscas

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The on loan striker has been in amazing form this month, with 5 goals in 4 games!



Four league games and the 2nd​ round of the cup coming up next month. Big games in the league as we take on the improving Feyenoord and our fierce rivals NAC Breda, who we have a point to prove against after they thrashed us when we last met!

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Great start! Puscas has been quality for you. Fingers crossed you can upset the big boys this season, would be a great achievement
 
danjames101 said:
Great start! Puscas has been quality for you. Fingers crossed you can upset the big boys this season, would be a great achievement
Click to expand...

Puscas has been immense! Linking up with Inter Milan is a real game-changing move and I'm hoping to take advantage of that affiliation for years to come! Cheers for reading mate....appreciate it!
 
October 2018

900


"The club's training and youth facilities are both currently rated as 3 stars/good"


October 2018

Wednesday 3rd​ October 2018
Willem II vs FC Utrecht
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Peters, Chiosa, Lewis, Heerkens, Tsimikas, Majetschak (Crowley 63), Chirivella (van Ooijen 55), Dadachov (Sol 55), Puscas

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This was a tough home game against a Utrecht side that most would perceive to be underachieving as they languish in the bottom half of the table after the opening 8 or 9 games. They pushed us all the way and held us to a draw in an entertaining game that was end to end stuff…..it was a surprise it only ended 1-1 to be honest!



21 year old central midfielder Pedro Chirivella suffered a bad injury in the FC Utrecht game and had to come off. It’s been confirmed as a broken foot and will keep him out for the next 4 months!! This is a huge loss for us!!

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Sunday 7th​ October 2018
Feyenoord vs Willem II
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Peters, Chiosa, Lewis (Dankerlui 66), Grimm, Wijnaldum, Majetschak, Crowley (van Ooijen 58), Sol, Puscas (Dadachov 66)

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**** poor performance from my lads here as they completely folded against one of the best teams in the country. Defensively, we just didn’t cope with their quality coming forward. Our only highlight was a well taken goal from Fran Sol as we lost for the first time in 6 league games.



Saturday 20th​ October 2018
Willem II vs NAC Breda
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Peters, Chiosa, Lewis (Dankerlui 69), Heerkens, Wijnaldum (Sent off 72), Majetschak (van Ooijen 63), Crowley, Sol (Dadachov 63), Puscas

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Last time we played our fiercest rivals, we were on the end of a 5-0 thrashing! And we didn’t get our revenge here as we were beaten again by NAC. We were lacklustre again and seemed to lack passion in what is such a big game for our fans! Our strikers were awful, missing several very good chances, our discipline was poor with Wijnaldum getting sent off for two bad challenges resulting in two yellows and we gave away a penalty too! I really don’t have any positives to take from this game.



Wednesday 24th​ October 2018
Dutch Cup 2nd​ Round
Helmond vs Willem II
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Branderhorst, Lieftink, Peters, Chiosa (Grimm 64), Dankerlui, Heerkens (Simonse 24), Wijnaldum (Sent off 24), Majetschak, van Ooijen, Dadachov, Puscas (Abubakar 64)

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Despite having to play ¾ of the game with only 10 men after Wijnaldum was sent off for the 2nd​ game in a row, we still managed to get past the lower league side and progress to the 3rd​ round of the competition. Nothing to write home about, but a job well done under pressure.



We are handed a home tie against Jupiler League side VVV-Venlo in the next round. VVV were relegated from the Eredivisie last season and we recorded a 2-1 win and a 0-0 draw against them last season.

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Last season’s top goalscorer, Fran Sol, joins Pedro Chirivella on the long term injury list as he picks up a torn calf muscle that will keep him out of action for the next 3 months!

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Saturday 27th​ October 2018
Willem II vs PEC Zwolle
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Branderhorst, Lachman, Peters, Chiosa, Lewis, Heerkens, Tsimikas, Majetschak (van den Broek 71), Crowley, Dadachov (Abubakar 34), Puscas

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After three league games without a win, things were starting to get a little worrying. But this game put all my reservations at rest as the team come back to Eredevisie action with a bang as we smashed Zwolle 4-0! All three strikers who were involved in the game added to their goalscoring tally, including young Asumah Abubakar first ever Eredivisie goal!



Rena Dadachov limped off in the game against PEC Zwolle with injury and will miss up to 5 weeks with a calf strain! Not good as we are already missing Fran Sol up top and it leaves us thin on the ground for strikers.

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Sem van den Broek made his debut for the club, coming on for the last 20 minutes against PEC Zwolle. Van den Broek was promoted from the Reserves side as I felt he could feature for the first team before the end of the season and with us comfortably ahead in the Zwolle game, I thought I’d hand the 18 year old midfielder his debut.

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As October comes to an end, we take a look at the league table and are we’re still flying high inside the top 5. It wasn’t a great month this month, and we dropped all the way down to 9th​, but the big win against PEC Zwolle saw us shoot back up the table. Things are so tight though with only 10 points separating 1st​ to 13th​!

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Player of the Month
Fernando Lewis

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October was a little hit and miss for most of the players, with all of them struggling to find consistency across all the games. Fernando Lewis was one of the only ones to turn in a handful of good games without dropping his level of performance.



I ain’t gonna lie….how ****** good does November look! Not only do we have a nicely spread schedule, playing only 3 games throughout the entire month, but we also play 3 sides that are all in the bottom 6! Potential for 9 points coming up and if we bag all 9, then we could even be at the top of the league by this time next month…..dream big lads, dream big!

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November 2018

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"Virgil Van Dijk started his career as a youth player at Willem II"


November 2018

Saturday 3rd​ November 2018
Willem II vs De Graafschap
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Branderhorst, Lachman, Peters, Chiosa, Lewis, Heerkens, Tsimikas, Majetschak, Crowley, Puscas, Boulamhayan (van Ooijen 85)

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A couple of goals from George Puscas was enough to get us a solid 2-0 home win against the club that are bottom of the league. The stats suggest a close game, and it really was as De Graafschap put up much more of a fight than expected.



With strikers thin on the ground through injury, I had to go rummaging around the reserves and give someone a call up to the first team. That player who was given an opportunity was 20 year old Omar Boulamhayan. He played 85 minutes of the match, but struggled throughout and didn’t make much of an impression.

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Friday 9th​ November 2018
N.E.C Nijmegen vs Willem II
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Branderhorst, Lachman, Peters, Chiosa, Lewis, Heerkens, Tsimikas (Wijnaldum 55), Majetschak, Crowley, Puscas, Boulamhayan (Abubakar 74)

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This was the first time I’d come up against N.E.C after they were promoted from the Jupiler League last season. And they were having a decent campaign so far, being back in the Eredivisie, sitting 10th​ at kick off. They proved to be tough opposition and we struggled to break them down and create any really good chances. But we kept it tight our own end, meaning they struggled for clear cut opportunities as well. A penalty a piece was all the sides could muster up and it led to a 1-1 draw which was probably a fair result.



The youth facilities upgrade is now complete, taking us to a great or 3 ½ star rating for our youth setup now.

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Holland national manager Jan Jansen has been sacked!

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The job has probably come a little too early for me, but I have to issue a statement of intent by applying for it anyway!

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Sunday 25th​ November 2018
FC Groningen vs Willem II
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Branderhorst, Lachman, Peters, Chiosa, Lewis, Heerkens, Wijnaldum, Majetschak (van Ooijen 79), Crowley, Puscas (Dadachov 68), Abubakar (Boulamhayan 68)

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A very boring game here with neither side creating a clear cut chance in the entire much. Our best chance was a direct free kick from Fernando Lewis which skimmed the crossbar on it’s way over.



No major surprise as the Dutch football association inform me I didn’t get the Holland job. I wonder if I'll need to try to bag an international job at a weaker nation to enhance my reputation on the global stage so that I'll be considered more seriously for the Holland job if it comes up again.

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The much more experienced Henk Ten Cate is the man they have chosen to take the national side forward.

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It wasn't the maximum 9 points I thought we could take, but a win and two draws means we had an unbeaten month, which keeps us in the top 6 after 13 games. The biggest surprise is probably the fact that Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV all sit outside of the top 3!!

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Player of the Month
Darryl Lachman

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The centre back has been consistent this month and was a major contributor to the team as we only conceded 1 goal in our 3 games this month.



December promises to be a very tough month for us as we take on top of the league Vitesse, quickly followed up with a game against champions Ajax. Just before Christmas, we’ll also have another tough game against AZ as well! We’ll have to ensure the ADO Den Haag and SC Cambuur games are treated as must wins!!

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Decent looking campaign in the league so far mate, best of luck for the rest of the season :)
 
December 2018

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"Willem II won the Dutch Cup in 1944 and 1963. They were also runners up in the competition in 2005"


December 2018

Continuing development in our youth development programme here is absolutely key to my long term success here. So I was really chuffed when the board agreed to invest some more dough into the junior coaching budget at my request.

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Sunday 2nd​ December 2018
Willem II vs Vitesse
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Branderhorst, Lachman, Peters, Chiosa, Lewis, Heerkens, Tsimikas (Wijnaldum 71), Majetschak (van den Broek 54), Crowley, Dadachov, Puscas (Abubakar 54)

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Vitesse came into this game top of the league, having only lost 2 of their 13 league games this season. So I am delighted to get the win here, and you know what?....it was totally deserved as we were by far the better side for large periods of the game. Young striker Abubakar was the difference when he come on as he scored one and set the other up on our way to a big 3 points!



Having a look at the club’s facilities, I noticed that we had no data analysis facility. In a bid to rectify this immediately, I went to the board and asked them for an improvement. I’m liking my board at the moment as again, they grant my request without any questions asked and we’ll have something in place by the end of the month.

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The improvements keep on coming. Another one on the youth recruitment networking budget as the club agree to invest more into this area, meaning we should be able to attract better young, local players to the club. Especially with our recently upgraded youth facilities as well.

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Wednesday 5th​ December 2018
Willem II vs Ajax
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Branderhorst, Lachman, Peters, Chiosa, Lewis, Grimm, Wijnaldum (Dankerlui 45), Majetschak, Crowley, Dadachov, Abubakar

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My boys really gave me 100% effort in this one but still the champions were just a little too strong for us as they edged a tight game 1-0. Still, it’s another sign that we are gradually closing the gap between ourselves and the top teams in the country as we were being completely dominated in these games last year.



Saturday 8th​ December 2018
ADO Den Haag vs Willem II
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Branderhorst, Lachman, Peters, Chiosa, Lewis, Heerkens, Wijnaldum, Majetschak (Crowley 55), van Ooijen, Dadachov, Puscas (Abubakar 55)

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At the end of last month, I named this game as a must win with our fixture list in December, so I’m really ****** off not to win this one. But to not even come away with a point and the team offering up such a lacklustre effort after the way we played in the previous game against Ajax is nothing short of bitter disappointment.



Friday 14th​ December 2018
SC Cambuur vs Willem II
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Peters, Chiosa, Lewis, Heerkens, Wijnaldum, Crowley, van Ooijen, Dadachov, Puscas

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The lads bounced back from the disappointment of the Den Haag result immediately as we turned in a solid performance away at SC Cambuur! They have one of the best defences in the league, but it was our defence who won the day as we were well organised in defence, making no mistakes and not allowing their strikers anything! Dan Crowley stepped up and really stood out against the club where he spent 4 months on loan last season.



The planned upgrade to the club’s data analysis facility is complete.

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Wednesday 19th​ December 2018
Dutch Cup 3rd​ Round
Willem II vs VVV-Venlo
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Branderhorst, Lachman, Peters, Chiosa (Lieftink 80), Dankerlui, Grimm, Simonse, Crowley (van den Broek 70), van Ooijen, Dadachov, Puscas (Abubakar 70)

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We had a couple of wobbly moments in this game, but for the most part we were pretty dominant and in control. Once we’d gone into a 4-2 lead, I was able to rest the likes of Crowley and Puscas with the league game against AZ only 3 days away. Damil Dankerlui was given a run out for this game in place of the rested Fernando Lewis and really impressed with 3 assists!!



The Quarter Final of the Dutch Cup should be a fiery one for us as we’ve been drawn against arch rivals NAC Breda. They will have the home advantage in what is sure to be a fascinating game.

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Saturday 22nd​ December 2018
Willem II vs AZ Alkmaar
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Peters, Chiosa, Lewis, Grimm, Dankerlui, Crowley, van Ooijen, Dadachov, Puscas

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Our final game of 2018 saw us take on AZ in a clash that saw 4th​ take on 7th​ in the table. As expected, it was a very tight game, with us having more possession but AZ creating more chances. However, it was us reigned supreme on the day and finish the year with a very good home win against a good side!



So a month ago, we had no data analysis facilities at all. Now we have put something in place but it is still of a poor standard, so I asked the board to put some more investment into it and I’m pleased to report that they agreed it would be worthwhile.

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If you’d have told me we’d be in the top 4 at the halfway stage of the season at the start of the campaign, I’d have absolutely bitten your hand off for it! But that’s exactly where we find ourselves after 18 games! The likes of Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV are now closing in and we’d expect them to have a strong 2nd​ half of the season, but things look very open at present with FC Twente and Vitesse really giving the big boys a run for their money! If we can finish in the top 7 this season, I’ll be over the moon!

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Player of the Month
Peter van Ooijen

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Peter only really played as a bit part player for the first few months of the season following his arrival in the Summer, but this month he has forced himself into the first team and has been outstanding!



It’s Winter break time so we have nearly a month off. However, we will return toward the end of January and get in a quick 3 games next month including the quarter final of the Dutch Cup against NAC Breda! The away game against top of the league FC Twente is sure to provide a stern test as well!

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January 2019

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"Since I joined the club, the highest gate receipts we've made are £179k in this
year's Dutch Cup 3rd round game against VVV"


January 2019

We kick off the new year with some unwanted interest in goalkeeper Timon Wellenreuther. Marseille are sniffing around and put forward an offer of £1.1 million rising to £1.5 million. Although this would double the club’s bank balance overnight, I quickly reject the offer telling the French club that he is indispensable to the club.

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Saturday 19th​ January 2019
Willem II vs Sparta Rotterdam
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Peters, Chiosa, Dankerlui, Heerkens, Wijnaldum (Simonse 76), Crowley (van den Broek 76), van Ooijen, Dadachov, Puscas

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We kick off 2019 in style with a good home win against struggling Sparta. They are in the bottom 2, have only won 1 game all season and are currently bottom of the form table and we piled on the misery for them here as we won this game pretty comfortably. Puscas and Dadachov are forming a decent partnership up front for us….it’s a shame they are both only here on loan.



I have been concerned all season that we only have 3 recognised centre backs in the team and they are playing every game without cover. We’ve been lucky that none of them have picked up any injuries yet, but I knew I needed to add another centre back this window. I have picked up 21 year old Spaniard Antonio Montoro on a free transfer. Montoro has come through the Atletico Madrid youth system and was released at the end of last season. He made 61 appearances for their B team and is a good addition to the squad as he still has plenty of time to improve with us.

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Saturday 26th​ January 2019
FC Twente vs Willem II
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Peters, Chiosa, Dankerlui, Heerkens, Tsimikas, Crowley, van Ooijen, Dadachov (Sol 31), Puscas

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FC Twente were top of the league at the turn of the year, but lost their first game of 2019 to Ajax, meaning they were 2nd​ at kick off here. Still, there’s no shame in that defeat and we knew we’d have to be on top form to get a result against them away at their place. And we were…..a great performance from my lads as we make it back to back wins in January and leapfrog Twente in the league!



Renat Dadachov limped off in the game against FC Twente and he’ll be absent for up to 3 weeks with injury.

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Tuesday 29th​ January 2019
Dutch Cup Quarter Final
NAC Breda vs Willem II
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Peters, Chiosa, Dankerlui (Lewis 54), Heerkens, Tsimikas (Wijnaldum 54), Crowley, van Ooijen, Sol (Abubakar 54), Puscas

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**** it! I’m gutted to go out here as I really thought this was a winnable game to see us through to the semis! But we have struggled against our fierce rivals so far since I took over, only winning 1 in 4 games so far. I’ll need to improve this record as our fans are taking a lot of stick from their supporters on matchdays and I can’t have the Willem faithful taking **** from our rival’s fans like this!



The biggest transfers of the January window saw players leave Holland rather than arrive. Sc Heerenveen raked in nearly £5 million from Man City for 18 year old Kik Pierie, but surprisingly spent none of the funds to bring new players in! PSV offloaded full back Luis Orejuela for over £2 million but again did not spend any of their newly acquired funds. Vitesse were actually the biggest spenders, forking out £1 million to bring in Sondre Rossbach from Odd, and Saman Ghoddos from Ostersunds.

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Ghoddos looks like a bargain for Vitesse as he is already worth £2.7 million after they only spent £625k to bring him in!

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Two wins from two in the league meant a maximum 6 points and we’re up into the top 3 and only 3 points behind Ajax, although they do have a game in hand. The top 6 do seem to be pulling away a little now and I’m delighted we’re in that mix as I have ambitions of making the European qualification spots this year now. The battle for bottom spot looks set to be played out between De Graafschap and Sparta as the fall away from the rest.

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Player of the Month
George Puscas

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The young striker has to get it as he turned in two great performances in the league, bagging a goal and an assist in both games.



Two really tough games will kick off February as we take on Ajax and PSV and it’s worth noting we haven’t picked up a win against either since I arrived here. If we do kick off the month with a couple of defeats (I’m ever the sceptic), then it will make the Heerenveen and Excelsior games huge for us if we want to stay in the top 6 mix.

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Good couple of wins there. Love how the Twente result hints it was down to them being down to 10 men even though you were 2-0 up within just over 15 minutes.

Forget the cup, it's just a distraction as you mount an unlikely title challenge :P
 
neavie pops23 said:
Good couple of wins there. Love how the Twente result hints it was down to them being down to 10 men even though you were 2-0 up within just over 15 minutes.

Forget the cup, it's just a distraction as you mount an unlikely title challenge :P
Click to expand...

If we could somehow manage results against Ajax and PSV next month, I might actually believe a title challenge is possible....but to be honest top 6 would be a huge achievement for us in only my 2nd season
 
great read mate. if you can get into europe the extra finance could really help change the look and quality of the squad. Keep it up
 
February 2019

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"Piet de Jong is the club's all time record league goalscorer with 216 league goals.
He made 363 appearances for the club between 1947-1961"


February 2019

Sunday 3rd​ February 2019
Willem II vs PSV
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Peters (Montoro 87), Chiosa, Lewis, Heerkens, Tsimikas (Wijnaldum 71), Crowley, van Ooijen (Chirivella 71), Sol, Puscas

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We were so unlucky not to get something out of this game. We really did hold our own for 78 minutes and then they copped a lucky break when a hopeful shot from Efraim took a huge deflection off Peters and went in. The lads were noticeably disheartened and I couldn’t pick them back up before we’d quickly conceded a 2nd​! PSV take the 3 points and I feel sorry for my team as we deserved a point I think!



We went through the wars a little in the PSV game and two players picked up injuries. Both Peters and Heerkens picked up injuries that will keep them out for 4 and 2 weeks respectively.

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With Jordens Peters having to come off late in the game against PSV, Antonio Montoro came on for the final few minutes to make his debut for the club. He wasn’t really on the pitch for long enough to pass judgement on his performance, but we’ll probably be getting a much closer look at him over the next few weeks whilst Peters spends time on the sidelines through injury.

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Sunday 10th​ February 2019
Ajax vs Willem II
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Montoro, Chiosa, Lewis, Grimm, Tsimikas, Crowley (Majetschak 45), van Ooijen, Sol, Puscas (Abubakar 65)

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Get in, we’ll take an away draw at Ajax all day long. This was the first time I’ve been able to get anything from a game with them so far with our previous 3 meetings all ending in defeat! To be fair, we probably could have nicked this game at the end when Fran Sol found himself free in the box in the 89th​ minute, but his header from 4 yards out was straight into the arms of the Ajax keeper!



Saturday 16th​ February 2019
Willem II vs sc Heerenveen
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Branderhorst, Lachman, Montoro, Chiosa, Lewis, Grimm, Wijnaldum (Sent off 69), Crowley, van Ooijen (Chirivella 70), Dadachov, Puscas (Simonse 70)

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Heerenveen came into this game in 7th​ place as the team leading the chasing pack for the top 6. So I’m delighted to have opened that gap a little bit more with a good solid home win here! Wijnaldum got himself sent off for the 3rd​ time this season, leaving us to defend our two goal lead with 20 minutes remaining. When they immediately got one back, I thought we were in for a rough ride in the final quarter of the game, but actually we composed ourselves really well controlling the game and even managed another goal through substitute Chirivella.



Saturday 23rd​ February 2019
Willem II vs Excelsior
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Branderhorst, Lachman, Montoro, Chiosa, Lewis (Dankerlui 78), Grimm, Tsimikas, van den Broek (Crowley 62), Ooijen, Dadachov, Puscas (Sol 62)

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This was a game I expected to win, but I have to give credit to Excelsior who gave us a very good game and played very well, especially for a club in the midst of the relegation battle. We created some good chances, but our strikers had a bit of an off day and couldn’t find that goal to get us over the line and grab the win. We have to settle for a point, but I can’t help but walk away thinking this is a bad result against a weaker side.



Ajax have started to pull away at the top of the league as they look to retain their title. We are very much involved still in the chasing pack though, with only 5 points separating 2nd​ and 6th​ place, with us currently lying 5th​. More importantly, there is a 8 point gap between us and NAC in 7th​ place as we continue our push to qualify for Europe. Down at the bottom, the writing is on the wall for De Graafschap and Sparta, with a whole host of teams fighting not to be the other team finishing in the bottom 3.

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Player of the Month
Peter van Ooijen

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Nobody has really shone this month as we had a tough run of games, but van Ooijen still managed to keep up a good level of form and takes the player of the month based on that alone.



Four games coming up in March and it ain’t going to be an easy month as we are set to take on Feyenoord and NAC who are both in the top 7. Our other two games will be against two sides that are widely perceived to be underachieving…..Utrecht who find themselves in 9th​ and PEC Zwolle in 12th​. Both of them are likely to be giving it their all for a good finish to the season after a disappointing campaign so far.

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March 2019

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"The most draws the club have recorded in a single season was 19, during the 1984-85 season.
That's more than half their games that year"


March 2019

Saturday 2nd​ March 2019
FC Utrecht vs Willem II
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Branderhorst, Lachman, Montoro (Peters 61), Chiosa, Lewis (Dankerlui 61), Grimm, Tsimikas, Crowley, van Ooijen, Dadachov, Puscas (Sol 45)

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FC Utrecht are a much better team than their league position suggests, so this was a really good win for us away from home! Renat Dadachov’s winning goal was an absolute beauty, a curled effort into the top corner from outside the box, and after that our defence stayed strong to hold on for all 3 points!



George Puscas came off during the Utrecht game after a clash of heads left him with concussion. He will miss the next 3 weeks of action.

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Saturday 9th​ March 2019
NAC Breda vs Willem II
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Branderhorst, Lachman, Peters, Chiosa, Dankerlui, Grimm, Tsimikas, Crowley (Majetschak 64), van Ooijen, Dadachov, Sol (Abubakar 64)

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It’s that time again….time to take on our main rivals! We’ve lost our last 3 meetings and failed to score a single goal in any of them games. And they came into this one in high spirits after just knocking Ajax out of the Dutch Cup to progress to the final, where they’ll take on Feyenoord in May. However, despite all of the above, we managed to break our poor run of form against NAC and for once our fans are the ones with the bragging rights! A goal scrambled over the line by centre back Darryl Lachman was enough to secure the win!



Sunday 17th​ March 2019
Willem II vs Feyenoord
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Branderhorst, Lachman (Plat 61), Peters, Chiosa, Dankerlui, Grimm, Tsimikas, Crowley (Majetschak 61), van Ooijen (Chirivella 82), Dadachov, Sol

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YES YES YES…..we’ve beaten one of the big three for the first time since I took over! Our performances against the big 3 this season have really shown me how far our game has come on in just 2 seasons. Last year, we were being completely dominated by Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV, but this year our games with them have been much more closely contested and we’ve now taken it to the next level again by winning one! Chirivella was the hero, coming off the bench to score a 92nd​ minute winner, after we’d fought back to level terms twice in the match! What a performance from my lads!



Alex Plat is a centre back that was brought in during the January transfer window by my Director of Football. I thought he had some potential (and because we were short of cover at centre back), I allowed the deal to go through. (Basically I have my settings for my DoF to go find talented youngsters and do all the contract negotiations, but I am the one who has the final say on if we sign them or not). Alex was brought on for the final half hour against Feyenoord, with Lachman having a pretty poor game. It was Plat’s debut for the club and he actually did very well, looking comfortable on the ball and assured in his defensive responsibilities. I was impressed as it was a big game to bring the youngster on for, but he rose to the occasion well!

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I go to the board again and ask for another improvement in the youth recruitment programme. Again, the board grant my wish and tell me they’ll put more investment into this area for me. I’m really hoping we can bring some very good youngsters into the club over the next 2-3 years that I can nurture and develop!

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Sunday 24th​ March 2019
PEC Zwolle vs Willem II
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Branderhorst, Lachman, Peters, Chiosa, Dankerlui (Lewis 56), Grimm (Heerkens 56), Tsimikas, Crowley, van Ooijen, Dadachov, Sol (Puscas 65)

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Both sides came into this game on a run of 3 straight wins, and it was us who took the early initiative when both our strikers netted inside 6 minutes to put us 2-0 in front. However, Zwolle had a sense of determination about them and fought back to level things in the second half. With the game finely balanced, it was us who nicked it late on for the 2nd​ game in a row, this time with a 94th​ minute winner from striker Renat Dadachov who scored his 9th​ and 10th​ goals of the season today!



I asked the bought to upgrade the data analysis facilities for the third time this year. They immediately agreed that the facilities required more investment and have agreed to put another £24,000 into another upgrade.

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All the investment into the club’s youth recruitment and youth training facilities might just be paying off a little, as my Head of Youth Development reckons we may have a golden generation of youngsters on our hands through the youth intake this year.

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As we look at the youth team, the biggest potential prospects are Harold van Steen, Yoeri Bolsius and Nigel Davids.

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What a month March was for us! 4 wins from 4 games including our first win against one of the big 3! The 12 points earned this month takes us over the 50 mark with 6 games still to play, and moves us up to 2nd​ in the league with a 3 point buffer back to 3rd​ as well! We look nailed on for a top 6 finish, so now we turn our attentions to the possibility of finishing in the top 2 and qualifying for the Champions League!! Although, I’d happily settle for 3rd​ and go straight into the Europa League at the group stage also.

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Player of the Month
Renat Dadachov

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The 19 year old striker has been in sensational form this month chipping in with 5 goals and an assist! It’s such a shame he is only here on loan and we probably won’t have the budget to buy him!



Four games ahead in April and we have a good opportunity to continue our form with Vitesse being the only team we will play who are currently in the top half of the table.

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April 2019

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"Willem II have a very fiery rivalry with NAC Breda. It is classed as a local derby
due to the close geographical nature of the two clubs"


April 2019

We kick off April with more investment in the junior coaching from the board. I asked them to pump some money into this and the quickly obliged, which means our junior coaching will soon be at an ‘excellent’ level.

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I handed a new 2 year contract to Fran Sol. His deal was due to expire at the end of the season and with my two best strikers (Puscas and Dadachov) only being here on loan, it was key to keep Sol here as a permanent member of the team. His squad status has moved down from first team to squad rotation though.

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Friday 5th​ April 2019
Willem II vs N.E.C Nijmegen
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Branderhorst, Lachman, Peters, Chiosa, Dankerlui, Heerkens, Tsimikas (Wijnaldum 81), Crowley, van Ooijen (Chirivella 70), Dadachov (Puscas 58), Sol

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Pure domination from start to finish here, limiting N.E.C to only 1 shot all game. Despite that, we only managed to get the ball in the back of the net once….which thankfully was enough to take the points. Their goalkeeper, Joris Delle, had a blinder to be fair and pulled off a number of eye-catching saves to keep the scoreline respectable.



Sunday 14th​ April 2019
De Graafschap vs Willem II
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Peters, Chiosa, Lewis (Sent off 57), Heerkens, Tsimikas, Crowley, Chirivella, Dadachov (van den Broek 70), Sol (Puscas 70)

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Despite being 2nd​ from bottom, De Graafschap came into this game 7th​ in the league form table, so this wasn’t expected to be as easy as the league table might suggest. The fact we were playing in a torrential downpour was also expected to disrupt our short passing game. And to be fair to our opponents, they were much the better side in the opening 30 minutes, but we weathered the storm and were handed the lead when the referee gave us a penalty for a needless foul from the Graafschap centre back, which Sol converted to put us 1 up. However, it didn’t deter our plucky opponents as they almost immediately levelled things up! The second half got underway and there’s no doubt about it, we were struggling! Things got worse with the sending off of Fabian Lewis and De Graafschap went on to take advantage of the extra man as we suffered our first defeat in 9 games.



Saturday 20th​ April 2019
Willem II vs FC Groningen
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Branderhorst, Lachman, Peters, Chiosa, Dankerlui, Heerkens (Sent off 61), Tsimikas (Wijnaldum 61), Crowley, Chirivella, Dadachov (Sol 61), Puscas

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For the 2nd​ game in a row we were not good enough. For the second game in a row we had a man sent off with half an hour to play. For the 2nd​ game in a row we suffer defeat against a side in the bottom half of the table. Note to self…..must do better!



Ajax are crowned champions of Holland for the 2nd​ season in a row, completing a domestic double after winning the Dutch Super Cup at the start of the season. They are currently 10 points ahead of us in 2nd​ with only 3 games remaining. An added bonus for them is that the match in which they won the title was a 5-2 victory over fierce rivals Feyenoord.

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Sunday 28th​ April 2019
Vitesse vs Willem II
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Branderhorst, Lachman, Peters, Chiosa, Dankerlui, Grimm, Wijnaldum, Crowley, van Ooijen, Dadachov, Sol

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I have to admit I wasn’t confident coming into this game against a 5th​ placed Vitesse, after our previous two performances. But I’m pleased to say we were a lot more competitive here and the players showed a lot more fight. We may not have won the game, but a point is good enough to keep us in the running for a top 3 finish.



Fernando Lewis is one of the players touted for the Dutch Golden Boot award….basically this is the Dutch league best player. Not the top goalscorer as ‘golden boot’ would suggest.

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Despite only recording one win in April, the team’s below us were unable to capatilise as they also recorded some indifferent results. It means we hold on to 2nd​ place with only 2 games remaining. Yes that’s right, if we win our final two games of the season, we will qualify for the Champions League next season!!! That would be unbelievable…..and we look like we’ll at least finish 3rd​ and grab a Europa League Group Stage spot at worst. Sparta are confirmed as relegated….extremely disappointing for them after finishing 8th​ last season.

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Player of the Month
Kostas Tsimikas

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Kostas played extremely well in a couple of games this month, before missing out against Vitesse with suspension. Again, another player that is here on loan but I’d love to make his deal permanent.



The season will come to a close next month as we play the final 2 games of the campaign. ADO Den Haag and AZ both sit 15th​ and 11th​ in the table, so these are very winnable games for us and if we do win them both, we’ll be confirmed as Eredivisie runners up which would be an incredible achievement in only my 2nd​ season!

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Really good job being in 2nd after just 2 seasons mate, hopefully your finances will improve now! How do the Champions League spots work in the Eredivisie, is it the top 2 teams who make it to the group stage? Surely some Champions League money next season would help!
 
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