Brane_Orsou
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Some goods points picked up there! Certainly a challenge this one!
Ernie Allan Takes On 'The Dutch Challenge'
- Thread starter FM_TNSSO
- Start date
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FM_TNSSO
Member
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Cheers mate....its definitely not one where you're likely to win the league within 1 or 2 seasons
FM_TNSSO
Member
- Joined
- May 10, 2018
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- 2,943
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- 3,704
- Points
- 113
November 2017
"Dutch legend Marc Overmars played for Willem II for the 1991/92 season,
playing 31 games for the club, before moving on to Ajax"
November 2017
Sunday 5th November 2017
Vitesse vs Willem II
Formation: 4-5-1 Flat
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Dankerlui, Lachman, Peters, Tsimikas, Lewis, Haye, Rienstra, Chirivella, Azzaoui, Sol
View attachment 47559
A late goal from Fran Sol earns us our first away win of the season! We kick off November in style with a win, a clean sheet and an all round decent performance against the side that were 6th at kickoff!
Friday 17th November 2017
VVV-Venlo vs Willem II
Formation: 4-5-1 Flat
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Dankerlui, Lachman, Peters, Tsimikas (Wijnaldum 90), Lewis, Haye, Rienstra (Crowley 60), Chirivella, Azzaoui, Sol
View attachment 47558
If we’re going to keep ourselves away from the relegation battle, then games like this are absolute must wins, with VVV sitting 17th in the table at kick off! So I’m pleased we’ve managed to come away with the victory and that now makes it 4 games unbeaten in the league! Fran Sol seems to have hit a purple patch as he bagged his 4th and 5th goals in his last 4 games! That’s after scoring 2 in his previous 10!
Sunday 26th November 2017
Willem II vs FC Groningen
Formation: 4-5-1 Flat
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Dankerlui, Lachman, Peters, Tsimikas, Lewis, Haye (Dadachov 62), Rienstra, Chirivella, Azzaoui, Sol
View attachment 47557
That unbeaten run quickly came crashing down with a disappointing defeat at home to Groningen, who were struggling in the bottom 3rd of the table before this game. We weren’t without our chances, but didn’t take them when needed. Two big chances fell to Fran Sol when we were 2-1 down and if he had taken either of them, I’m confident we’d have at least gone on to get a draw here.
Wednesday 29th November 2017
Willem II vs Ajax
Formation: 4-5-1 Flat
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Dankerlui (Meissner 63), Lachman, Peters, Tsimikas, Lewis, Haye, Rienstra, Chirivella (Crowley 63), Azzaoui (Coulibaly 63), Sol
View attachment 47556
The game against the biggest team in Holland was always going to be a case of defend for our lives and hope to nick some sort of result. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite work out that way as we completely failed to cope with Ajax’s sensational attacking football, as the league leaders created more than 30 chances! On the plus side, we took our own chances incredibly well and managed 3 goals from our 7 shots. Despite the surprisingly close scoreline, the game showed me just how big the gulf is between us and the top teams in the country!
2 wins and 2 losses has got to be seen as a good month for us. I don’t feel like we are quite ready to look up the table (negative I know) but should be looking behind and concentrating on how far ahead of that bottom 3 we can pull….right now that gap is 11 points, so I’m happy!
View attachment 47555
Player of the Month
Fernando Lewis
View attachment 47554
The right winger has been in good form this month with a couple of assists and a cracker of a strike against Ajax.
December will see us pass the half way stage of the season and there are a couple of games I am targeting points from. We open against Excelsior and this is a game we can get at least a point from, and the home game against Utrecht on Christmas Eve is winnable. The away game against our biggest rivals NAC will be a big day for the fans!
View attachment 47553
"Dutch legend Marc Overmars played for Willem II for the 1991/92 season,
playing 31 games for the club, before moving on to Ajax"
November 2017
Sunday 5th November 2017
Vitesse vs Willem II
Formation: 4-5-1 Flat
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Dankerlui, Lachman, Peters, Tsimikas, Lewis, Haye, Rienstra, Chirivella, Azzaoui, Sol
View attachment 47559
A late goal from Fran Sol earns us our first away win of the season! We kick off November in style with a win, a clean sheet and an all round decent performance against the side that were 6th at kickoff!
Friday 17th November 2017
VVV-Venlo vs Willem II
Formation: 4-5-1 Flat
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Dankerlui, Lachman, Peters, Tsimikas (Wijnaldum 90), Lewis, Haye, Rienstra (Crowley 60), Chirivella, Azzaoui, Sol
View attachment 47558
If we’re going to keep ourselves away from the relegation battle, then games like this are absolute must wins, with VVV sitting 17th in the table at kick off! So I’m pleased we’ve managed to come away with the victory and that now makes it 4 games unbeaten in the league! Fran Sol seems to have hit a purple patch as he bagged his 4th and 5th goals in his last 4 games! That’s after scoring 2 in his previous 10!
Sunday 26th November 2017
Willem II vs FC Groningen
Formation: 4-5-1 Flat
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Dankerlui, Lachman, Peters, Tsimikas, Lewis, Haye (Dadachov 62), Rienstra, Chirivella, Azzaoui, Sol
View attachment 47557
That unbeaten run quickly came crashing down with a disappointing defeat at home to Groningen, who were struggling in the bottom 3rd of the table before this game. We weren’t without our chances, but didn’t take them when needed. Two big chances fell to Fran Sol when we were 2-1 down and if he had taken either of them, I’m confident we’d have at least gone on to get a draw here.
Wednesday 29th November 2017
Willem II vs Ajax
Formation: 4-5-1 Flat
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Dankerlui (Meissner 63), Lachman, Peters, Tsimikas, Lewis, Haye, Rienstra, Chirivella (Crowley 63), Azzaoui (Coulibaly 63), Sol
View attachment 47556
The game against the biggest team in Holland was always going to be a case of defend for our lives and hope to nick some sort of result. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite work out that way as we completely failed to cope with Ajax’s sensational attacking football, as the league leaders created more than 30 chances! On the plus side, we took our own chances incredibly well and managed 3 goals from our 7 shots. Despite the surprisingly close scoreline, the game showed me just how big the gulf is between us and the top teams in the country!
2 wins and 2 losses has got to be seen as a good month for us. I don’t feel like we are quite ready to look up the table (negative I know) but should be looking behind and concentrating on how far ahead of that bottom 3 we can pull….right now that gap is 11 points, so I’m happy!
View attachment 47555
Player of the Month
Fernando Lewis
View attachment 47554
The right winger has been in good form this month with a couple of assists and a cracker of a strike against Ajax.
December will see us pass the half way stage of the season and there are a couple of games I am targeting points from. We open against Excelsior and this is a game we can get at least a point from, and the home game against Utrecht on Christmas Eve is winnable. The away game against our biggest rivals NAC will be a big day for the fans!
View attachment 47553
FM_TNSSO
Member
- Joined
- May 10, 2018
- Messages
- 2,943
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- 3,704
- Points
- 113
December 2017
"The most league goals Willem II have ever scored in a single season was 78.
That was during the Jupiler League 2013/14 campaign"
December 2017
Bartlomiej Urbanski has a hamstring strain that will mean he won’t play anymore football in 2017.
View attachment 47418
Sunday 3rd December 2017
Excelsior vs Willem II
Formation: 4-5-1 Flat
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Meissner, Peters, Tsimikas, Lewis, Crowley, Rienstra, Chirivella, Azzaoui, Sol (Dadachov 70)
View attachment 47417
We gave Excelsior a good game at their place and played some decent football at times. Dan Crowley gave us an early lead with his first goal for the club, but Excelsior were not without their moments and got a deserved equalizer in the second half to share the points.
Sunday 10th December 2017
Willem II vs PSV
Formation: 4-5-1 Flat
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Meissner, Peters, Tsimikas, Lewis, Crowley, Rienstra, Chirivella (Dadachov 68), Azzaoui (Croux 80), Sol
View attachment 47416
Again, we concede a **** load of goals to one of the top teams in the league! Again, we managed to bang in a few of our own! A similar story here to last month’s home game against Ajax and the same result as we take nothing from the game.
Saturday 16th December 2017
NAC Breda vs Willem II
Formation: 4-5-1
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Dankerlui, Meissner, Peters, Tsimikas (Heerkens 77), Lewis, Crowley, Chirivella (Dadachov 41), Haye, Azzaoui, Sol (Ogbeche 77)
View attachment 47415
Losing to the big teams I can take….but this result is unforgivable. Losing to our main rivals who are below us in the table, by such a wide margin, is f*cking ****! Roll on the Summer when I can replace some of these players who are quite frankly not cut out for this level of football (that is of course if I still have a job by then).
At least the players did the right thing and refunded the fans for their tickets to watch that ****!
View attachment 47414
After 20 games in charge, it seems the general consensus is that I’m doing a good job! **** right I’m doing a good job….this bunch of shitsters should be bottom of the f*cking table based on that last performance!
View attachment 47413
Saturday 23rd December 2017
Willem II vs FC Utrecht
Formation: 4-2-3-1 Variation
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Meissner, Peters, Wijnaldum (Tsimikas 63), Chirivella, Rienstra, Lewis, Haye (Crowley 38), Azzaoui, Sol (Ogbeche 63)
View attachment 47412
It’s not been very often this season that we’ve had more possession and more shots than the opposite team in a game (in fact this could even be the first time), but it still wasn’t enough for us to get a win here against an underachieving FC Utrecht team. Our last game of 2017 ends in a draw!
Thom Haye picks up an injury that will keep him out for 4 weeks. Luckily, he won’t miss much football as we now have the Winter break upcoming.
View attachment 47411
Same goes for Giliano Wijnaldum. He should be back from his injury by the time we kick off again on 21st January.
View attachment 47410
We end 2017 in 12th position. A winless December leaves us as the ‘out of form’ team in the league and we’ll need to pick things up when we come back after the Winter break to avoid being drawn into the relegation battle.
View attachment 47409
Player of the Month
Fran Sol
View attachment 47408
The big man up top has been one of the only players this month who has actually turned in some decent performances. It’s a shame his goals and assists haven’t helped us get more points.
Only 2 games in January as we now have a 4 week Winter break.
View attachment 47407
"The most league goals Willem II have ever scored in a single season was 78.
That was during the Jupiler League 2013/14 campaign"
December 2017
Bartlomiej Urbanski has a hamstring strain that will mean he won’t play anymore football in 2017.
View attachment 47418
Sunday 3rd December 2017
Excelsior vs Willem II
Formation: 4-5-1 Flat
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Meissner, Peters, Tsimikas, Lewis, Crowley, Rienstra, Chirivella, Azzaoui, Sol (Dadachov 70)
View attachment 47417
We gave Excelsior a good game at their place and played some decent football at times. Dan Crowley gave us an early lead with his first goal for the club, but Excelsior were not without their moments and got a deserved equalizer in the second half to share the points.
Sunday 10th December 2017
Willem II vs PSV
Formation: 4-5-1 Flat
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Meissner, Peters, Tsimikas, Lewis, Crowley, Rienstra, Chirivella (Dadachov 68), Azzaoui (Croux 80), Sol
View attachment 47416
Again, we concede a **** load of goals to one of the top teams in the league! Again, we managed to bang in a few of our own! A similar story here to last month’s home game against Ajax and the same result as we take nothing from the game.
Saturday 16th December 2017
NAC Breda vs Willem II
Formation: 4-5-1
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Dankerlui, Meissner, Peters, Tsimikas (Heerkens 77), Lewis, Crowley, Chirivella (Dadachov 41), Haye, Azzaoui, Sol (Ogbeche 77)
View attachment 47415
Losing to the big teams I can take….but this result is unforgivable. Losing to our main rivals who are below us in the table, by such a wide margin, is f*cking ****! Roll on the Summer when I can replace some of these players who are quite frankly not cut out for this level of football (that is of course if I still have a job by then).
At least the players did the right thing and refunded the fans for their tickets to watch that ****!
View attachment 47414
After 20 games in charge, it seems the general consensus is that I’m doing a good job! **** right I’m doing a good job….this bunch of shitsters should be bottom of the f*cking table based on that last performance!
View attachment 47413
Saturday 23rd December 2017
Willem II vs FC Utrecht
Formation: 4-2-3-1 Variation
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Meissner, Peters, Wijnaldum (Tsimikas 63), Chirivella, Rienstra, Lewis, Haye (Crowley 38), Azzaoui, Sol (Ogbeche 63)
View attachment 47412
It’s not been very often this season that we’ve had more possession and more shots than the opposite team in a game (in fact this could even be the first time), but it still wasn’t enough for us to get a win here against an underachieving FC Utrecht team. Our last game of 2017 ends in a draw!
Thom Haye picks up an injury that will keep him out for 4 weeks. Luckily, he won’t miss much football as we now have the Winter break upcoming.
View attachment 47411
Same goes for Giliano Wijnaldum. He should be back from his injury by the time we kick off again on 21st January.
View attachment 47410
We end 2017 in 12th position. A winless December leaves us as the ‘out of form’ team in the league and we’ll need to pick things up when we come back after the Winter break to avoid being drawn into the relegation battle.
View attachment 47409
Player of the Month
Fran Sol
View attachment 47408
The big man up top has been one of the only players this month who has actually turned in some decent performances. It’s a shame his goals and assists haven’t helped us get more points.
Only 2 games in January as we now have a 4 week Winter break.
View attachment 47407
FM_TNSSO
Member
- Joined
- May 10, 2018
- Messages
- 2,943
- Reaction score
- 3,704
- Points
- 113
January 2018
"Fran Sol is a Spanish striker who joined the club from Villarreal on a free transfer in 2016.
Before his 3 year spell with Villarreal, he had come through the youth system at Real Madrid
although he never made a first team appearance for them in 7 years"
January 2018
As we turn into January, the transfer window opens which is pretty irrelevant to us as I have no budget to spend anyway! However, what it does mean is that players contracts will be expiring in 6 months time and clubs can approach those players in January. Things are not looking good for us as two of our players have quickly arranged moves away from the club at the end of the season on free transfers, one of them being Thom Haye…..one of our best players!! Obviously I tried to keep both Haye and Velikonja here, but neither of them were interested in staying.
View attachment 47297
View attachment 47296
Saturday 20th January 2018
PEC Zwolle vs Willem II
Formation: 4-2-3-1 Variation
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Meissner, Peters, Wijnaldum, Heerkens, Rienstra (Crowley 59), Lewis, Haye (Dadachov 14), Azzaoui (El Hankouri 59), Sol
View attachment 47295
Zwolle are having a good season and were sitting 5th at kick off, so this was always expected to be a big challenge for us! And it proved to be exactly that as we were pretty much dominated for the full 90 minutes and were lucky in the end to only go down 1-0!
A new formation and it will look familiar to anyone who followed my previous story! Let’s hope it sparks a rejuvenation of form for us!
View attachment 47294
Saturday 27th January 2018
Willem II vs Heracles
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Peters, Meissner, Lewis, Heerkens, Wijnaldum, Haye, Crowley, Sol, Dadachov (Velikonja 61)
View attachment 47293
With Heracles bottom of the table, this was a must win game for us….no excuses! And we did get the win….JUST!!! A Freek Heerkens header in the final seconds of the match earned us our first victory in 8 games and a massive, massive 3 points!
With no funds available, there was no movement whatsoever for us in the January transfer window. On the other hand, Ajax were very busy as they raked in over £18 million from Arsenal for Hakim Ziyech, before reinvesting some of that money on a couple of players from Porto! Am I envious…..f*ck yes!
View attachment 47292
That win against Heracles was absolutely huge for us and ensures we stay a good 9 points clear of the relegation places! Realistically, I think we are looking at ensuring we stay in the league this year and I will be looking to secure safety and set the board and fans minds at rest as soon as I can.
View attachment 47291
Player of the Month
Freek Heerkens
View attachment 47290
Heerkens has to get it after his excellent performance against Heracles!
Four games on the horizon in February and we’ll be looking to get at least 4 points from these, which should be enough to keep us away from the bottom 3. The Roda game is massive with them sitting below us in the league.
View attachment 47289
"Fran Sol is a Spanish striker who joined the club from Villarreal on a free transfer in 2016.
Before his 3 year spell with Villarreal, he had come through the youth system at Real Madrid
although he never made a first team appearance for them in 7 years"
January 2018
As we turn into January, the transfer window opens which is pretty irrelevant to us as I have no budget to spend anyway! However, what it does mean is that players contracts will be expiring in 6 months time and clubs can approach those players in January. Things are not looking good for us as two of our players have quickly arranged moves away from the club at the end of the season on free transfers, one of them being Thom Haye…..one of our best players!! Obviously I tried to keep both Haye and Velikonja here, but neither of them were interested in staying.
View attachment 47297
View attachment 47296
Saturday 20th January 2018
PEC Zwolle vs Willem II
Formation: 4-2-3-1 Variation
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Meissner, Peters, Wijnaldum, Heerkens, Rienstra (Crowley 59), Lewis, Haye (Dadachov 14), Azzaoui (El Hankouri 59), Sol
View attachment 47295
Zwolle are having a good season and were sitting 5th at kick off, so this was always expected to be a big challenge for us! And it proved to be exactly that as we were pretty much dominated for the full 90 minutes and were lucky in the end to only go down 1-0!
A new formation and it will look familiar to anyone who followed my previous story! Let’s hope it sparks a rejuvenation of form for us!
View attachment 47294
Saturday 27th January 2018
Willem II vs Heracles
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Peters, Meissner, Lewis, Heerkens, Wijnaldum, Haye, Crowley, Sol, Dadachov (Velikonja 61)
View attachment 47293
With Heracles bottom of the table, this was a must win game for us….no excuses! And we did get the win….JUST!!! A Freek Heerkens header in the final seconds of the match earned us our first victory in 8 games and a massive, massive 3 points!
With no funds available, there was no movement whatsoever for us in the January transfer window. On the other hand, Ajax were very busy as they raked in over £18 million from Arsenal for Hakim Ziyech, before reinvesting some of that money on a couple of players from Porto! Am I envious…..f*ck yes!
View attachment 47292
That win against Heracles was absolutely huge for us and ensures we stay a good 9 points clear of the relegation places! Realistically, I think we are looking at ensuring we stay in the league this year and I will be looking to secure safety and set the board and fans minds at rest as soon as I can.
View attachment 47291
Player of the Month
Freek Heerkens
View attachment 47290
Heerkens has to get it after his excellent performance against Heracles!
Four games on the horizon in February and we’ll be looking to get at least 4 points from these, which should be enough to keep us away from the bottom 3. The Roda game is massive with them sitting below us in the league.
View attachment 47289
FM_TNSSO
Member
- Joined
- May 10, 2018
- Messages
- 2,943
- Reaction score
- 3,704
- Points
- 113
February 2018
"Willem II have won the Eredivisie title 3 times in their history. In 1916, 1952 and
their most recent title was all the way back in 1955"
February 2018
Friday 2nd February 2018
Roda JC vs Willem II
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Peters, Meissner, Lewis, Heerkens, Tsimikas, Haye, Crowley, Sol (Velikonja 64), Dadachov
View attachment 47241
This was a closely fought contest which either side could have nicked, but neither side really seemed to have the quality to do so. Decent chances were few and far between and when they did come, the finishing was of a low standard. A draw was probably a fair result.
Sunday 11th February 2018
Willem II vs ADO Den Haag
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Peters, Meissner, Lewis, Heerkens (Sent off 20), Tsimikas, Haye (Velikonja 56), Crowley, Sol (Lieftink 20), Dadachov
View attachment 47240
We started this game really well and were well on top in the opening quarter of the game. Dadachov gave us an early lead and I was confident…..then Heerkens went and got himself sent off for an awful challenge and we were then going to be up against it with 70 minutes still on the clock!! Sure enough ADO came back into the game and by the hour mark, they were in front! However, my boys never gave up and earned themselves a much deserved point when Velikonja grabbed an eqaulizer from the bench! Without that sending off though, I am pretty confident we would have won this game!
Sunday 18th February 2018
sc Heerenveen vs Willem II
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Peters, Meissner, Lewis, Lieftink (Enoh 83), Tsimikas, Haye, Crowley, Sol (Velikonja 68), Dadachov
View attachment 47239
This was a real ****** and grab win for us as we were largely outplayed for periods of this game. Heerenveen managing 14 shots on goal to our 4! But it’s about how many times you put the ball in the back of the net that counts and today we managed to do that one more time than them…..which was enough! The game saw the return of Eyong Enoh as he was given the final few minutes from the bench after a few months out.
Saturday 24th February 2018
Feyenoord vs Willem II
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Peters, Meissner, Lewis, Lieftink, Tsimikas (Sent off 60), Haye (Wijnaldum 60), Crowley, Velikonja (Sol 78), Dadachov
View attachment 47238
Again, one of the big boys were far too good for us! Although we kept the scoreline respectable, we were never really in the game as we only managed 3 shots on goal, whilst Feyenoord looked dangerous with every attack as they created nearly 20 chances! Having Tsimikas sent off with half an hour remaining didn’t exactly help our cause either.
We’ve had a decent month, picking up 5 points and only losing one game to the mighty Feyenoord! It’s not seen us rise up the table, but it has meant we have pulled 12 points clear of the relegation places and with only 8 games remaining this season, I’m inclined to think we are probably relatively safe.
View attachment 47237
Player of the Month
Renat Dadachov
View attachment 47236
The young striker has given a fantastic return of 3 goals and 1 assist this month!
Only 3 games coming up next month! We’ve only lost one of our last five games and I’m aiming to continue this run of good form into March, so that we can have a relatively stress free April not worrying about relegation possibilities.
View attachment 47235
"Willem II have won the Eredivisie title 3 times in their history. In 1916, 1952 and
their most recent title was all the way back in 1955"
February 2018
Friday 2nd February 2018
Roda JC vs Willem II
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Peters, Meissner, Lewis, Heerkens, Tsimikas, Haye, Crowley, Sol (Velikonja 64), Dadachov
View attachment 47241
This was a closely fought contest which either side could have nicked, but neither side really seemed to have the quality to do so. Decent chances were few and far between and when they did come, the finishing was of a low standard. A draw was probably a fair result.
Sunday 11th February 2018
Willem II vs ADO Den Haag
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Peters, Meissner, Lewis, Heerkens (Sent off 20), Tsimikas, Haye (Velikonja 56), Crowley, Sol (Lieftink 20), Dadachov
View attachment 47240
We started this game really well and were well on top in the opening quarter of the game. Dadachov gave us an early lead and I was confident…..then Heerkens went and got himself sent off for an awful challenge and we were then going to be up against it with 70 minutes still on the clock!! Sure enough ADO came back into the game and by the hour mark, they were in front! However, my boys never gave up and earned themselves a much deserved point when Velikonja grabbed an eqaulizer from the bench! Without that sending off though, I am pretty confident we would have won this game!
Sunday 18th February 2018
sc Heerenveen vs Willem II
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Peters, Meissner, Lewis, Lieftink (Enoh 83), Tsimikas, Haye, Crowley, Sol (Velikonja 68), Dadachov
View attachment 47239
This was a real ****** and grab win for us as we were largely outplayed for periods of this game. Heerenveen managing 14 shots on goal to our 4! But it’s about how many times you put the ball in the back of the net that counts and today we managed to do that one more time than them…..which was enough! The game saw the return of Eyong Enoh as he was given the final few minutes from the bench after a few months out.
Saturday 24th February 2018
Feyenoord vs Willem II
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Peters, Meissner, Lewis, Lieftink, Tsimikas (Sent off 60), Haye (Wijnaldum 60), Crowley, Velikonja (Sol 78), Dadachov
View attachment 47238
Again, one of the big boys were far too good for us! Although we kept the scoreline respectable, we were never really in the game as we only managed 3 shots on goal, whilst Feyenoord looked dangerous with every attack as they created nearly 20 chances! Having Tsimikas sent off with half an hour remaining didn’t exactly help our cause either.
We’ve had a decent month, picking up 5 points and only losing one game to the mighty Feyenoord! It’s not seen us rise up the table, but it has meant we have pulled 12 points clear of the relegation places and with only 8 games remaining this season, I’m inclined to think we are probably relatively safe.
View attachment 47237
Player of the Month
Renat Dadachov
View attachment 47236
The young striker has given a fantastic return of 3 goals and 1 assist this month!
Only 3 games coming up next month! We’ve only lost one of our last five games and I’m aiming to continue this run of good form into March, so that we can have a relatively stress free April not worrying about relegation possibilities.
View attachment 47235
Brane_Orsou
Member
- Joined
- Oct 21, 2016
- Messages
- 819
- Reaction score
- 156
- Points
- 43
Decent month, assume you've started the planning for next season with an eye on potential transfers?
FM_TNSSO
Member
- Joined
- May 10, 2018
- Messages
- 2,943
- Reaction score
- 3,704
- Points
- 113
I'm looking but it's not looking likely I'll have any money to spend as we are now £700k in debt! Hopefully I can pick p a couple of decent frees!
FM_TNSSO
Member
- Joined
- May 10, 2018
- Messages
- 2,943
- Reaction score
- 3,704
- Points
- 113
March 2018
"Jaap Stam played for the club during the 1995/96 season, making 19 appearances and scoring 1 goal.
He joined the club from SC Cambuur and left for PSV Eindhoven after just the one season"
March 2018
Just as young striker Renat Dadachov has hit a purple patch in form, he picks up an injury that will see him miss the next 3 or 4 games! Such a shame as he seemed to be thriving in the new 3-3-2-2 formation we’ve been playing.
View attachment 47234
Saturday 3rd March 2018
Willem II vs Sparta Rotterdam
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Peters, Meissner, Dankerlui, Heerkens, Wijnaldum, Haye, Crowley, Velikonja, Sol (el Hankouri 68)
View attachment 47233
A late Thom Haye goal ensures we kick off March with another big 3 points! A great result against a Sparta side pushing for a European qualification spot in the league and it sees us move up to 11th and 13 points clear of relegation! I’d say with 34 points on the board now, we’re safe for this year!
Saturday 10th March 2018
FC Twente vs Willem II
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Peters, Meissner, Lewis, Heerkens, Wijnaldum, Haye, Crowley (Enoh 80), Velikonja, Sol (Ogbeche 65)
View attachment 47232
We managed to get a 2-1 win against Twente earlier in the season, and we completed the double over them here with a fantastic away win! Again, we scored 2 past them, and this time with no reply! They may have dominated the possession but it was all about the quality of the chances created today, and the best chances definitely fell to us as Twente struggled to play through our defence and create anything clear cut. Back to back clean sheets for us for the first time this season!
That goal for Fran Sol against FC Twente ended a 10 hour goal drought for the striker!
View attachment 47231
But he won’t be pushing on from there immediately as he also picked up an injury in the game that will keep him out for the next 3 weeks.
View attachment 47230
Sunday 18th March 2018
Willem II vs Vitesse
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Peters, Meissner, Lewis, Heerkens (Enoh 67), Wijnaldum (Tsimikas 67), Haye, Crowley, Velikonja (Ogbeche 67), el Hankouri
View attachment 47229
Once you take out the top 3 (Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord), Vitesse have been the best of the rest so far this season as they lead the chasing pack in 4th. Despite that, we still managed to hold them to a respectable 0-0 draw. Bit of a boring game but another good result for us and my defence it looking very strong as they keep a 3rd consecutive clean sheet.
We underwent our annual youth intake, but to be fair there are no players to write home about! The best of the bench is seen as Joris Molenaar. As he is predominantly a left winger, I’ll immediately be looking to retrain him as a wing back so that he will fit my formation!
View attachment 47228
View attachment 47227
The board show their appreciation for my work this season by rewarding me with a new contract. I am delighted to sign a new 2 year deal that also sees my salary rise to £4,000 per week!
View attachment 47226
Saturday 31st March 2018
AZ vs Willem II
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Rienstra, Peters, Meissner, Lewis, Heerkens (Enoh 70), Tsimikas, Haye, Crowley, Velikonja, Sol
View attachment 47225
AZ are possibly the biggest underachievers so far this season as they were predicted a 4th place finish at the start of the season, but find themselves in 10th as we kicked off this game and on the same points as little old us! And we leapfrogged them in the table with another solid performance and another big victory away from home!
What a month March was for us! Four games played, three wins and not a single goal conceded! Incredibly, we are up to 9th in the table and talks of being drawn closer to the bottom 3 are a distant memory now! With 4 games remaining, we now have realistic hopes of finishing the season in the top 10, with an outside chance of even breaking into the top 7 or 8!
View attachment 47224
Player of the Month
Jordens Peters
View attachment 47223
With our defensive record this month, it had to go to one of the three centre backs! Peters has been a constant in the starting lineup throughout the entire season and his performances over the past month have been pivotal to our amazing defensive record and 4 straight clean sheets!
We’ll play 3 of our final 4 games in April. We start with a very winnable fixture against VVV, and end the month against league leaders Ajax! With the season’s objective already comfortably achieved, we are now just looking to finish as high as possible and every point is a bonus now!
View attachment 47222
"Jaap Stam played for the club during the 1995/96 season, making 19 appearances and scoring 1 goal.
He joined the club from SC Cambuur and left for PSV Eindhoven after just the one season"
March 2018
Just as young striker Renat Dadachov has hit a purple patch in form, he picks up an injury that will see him miss the next 3 or 4 games! Such a shame as he seemed to be thriving in the new 3-3-2-2 formation we’ve been playing.
View attachment 47234
Saturday 3rd March 2018
Willem II vs Sparta Rotterdam
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Peters, Meissner, Dankerlui, Heerkens, Wijnaldum, Haye, Crowley, Velikonja, Sol (el Hankouri 68)
View attachment 47233
A late Thom Haye goal ensures we kick off March with another big 3 points! A great result against a Sparta side pushing for a European qualification spot in the league and it sees us move up to 11th and 13 points clear of relegation! I’d say with 34 points on the board now, we’re safe for this year!
Saturday 10th March 2018
FC Twente vs Willem II
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Peters, Meissner, Lewis, Heerkens, Wijnaldum, Haye, Crowley (Enoh 80), Velikonja, Sol (Ogbeche 65)
View attachment 47232
We managed to get a 2-1 win against Twente earlier in the season, and we completed the double over them here with a fantastic away win! Again, we scored 2 past them, and this time with no reply! They may have dominated the possession but it was all about the quality of the chances created today, and the best chances definitely fell to us as Twente struggled to play through our defence and create anything clear cut. Back to back clean sheets for us for the first time this season!
That goal for Fran Sol against FC Twente ended a 10 hour goal drought for the striker!
View attachment 47231
But he won’t be pushing on from there immediately as he also picked up an injury in the game that will keep him out for the next 3 weeks.
View attachment 47230
Sunday 18th March 2018
Willem II vs Vitesse
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Peters, Meissner, Lewis, Heerkens (Enoh 67), Wijnaldum (Tsimikas 67), Haye, Crowley, Velikonja (Ogbeche 67), el Hankouri
View attachment 47229
Once you take out the top 3 (Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord), Vitesse have been the best of the rest so far this season as they lead the chasing pack in 4th. Despite that, we still managed to hold them to a respectable 0-0 draw. Bit of a boring game but another good result for us and my defence it looking very strong as they keep a 3rd consecutive clean sheet.
We underwent our annual youth intake, but to be fair there are no players to write home about! The best of the bench is seen as Joris Molenaar. As he is predominantly a left winger, I’ll immediately be looking to retrain him as a wing back so that he will fit my formation!
View attachment 47228
View attachment 47227
The board show their appreciation for my work this season by rewarding me with a new contract. I am delighted to sign a new 2 year deal that also sees my salary rise to £4,000 per week!
View attachment 47226
Saturday 31st March 2018
AZ vs Willem II
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Rienstra, Peters, Meissner, Lewis, Heerkens (Enoh 70), Tsimikas, Haye, Crowley, Velikonja, Sol
View attachment 47225
AZ are possibly the biggest underachievers so far this season as they were predicted a 4th place finish at the start of the season, but find themselves in 10th as we kicked off this game and on the same points as little old us! And we leapfrogged them in the table with another solid performance and another big victory away from home!
What a month March was for us! Four games played, three wins and not a single goal conceded! Incredibly, we are up to 9th in the table and talks of being drawn closer to the bottom 3 are a distant memory now! With 4 games remaining, we now have realistic hopes of finishing the season in the top 10, with an outside chance of even breaking into the top 7 or 8!
View attachment 47224
Player of the Month
Jordens Peters
View attachment 47223
With our defensive record this month, it had to go to one of the three centre backs! Peters has been a constant in the starting lineup throughout the entire season and his performances over the past month have been pivotal to our amazing defensive record and 4 straight clean sheets!
We’ll play 3 of our final 4 games in April. We start with a very winnable fixture against VVV, and end the month against league leaders Ajax! With the season’s objective already comfortably achieved, we are now just looking to finish as high as possible and every point is a bonus now!
View attachment 47222
TaylorBAFC
Member
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- 0
- Points
- 0
Just caught up on this, glad I have!
A very important month for you in terms of results there, hopefully it's a sign of things to come. Really enjoyed really this.
A very important month for you in terms of results there, hopefully it's a sign of things to come. Really enjoyed really this.
FM_TNSSO
Member
- Joined
- May 10, 2018
- Messages
- 2,943
- Reaction score
- 3,704
- Points
- 113
Cheers mate, glad you're enjoying the read! I'm really enjoying playing the game....definitely one of the biggest challenges I've ever taken on in FM!
FM_TNSSO
Member
- Joined
- May 10, 2018
- Messages
- 2,943
- Reaction score
- 3,704
- Points
- 113
April 2018
"The lowest amount of points achieved in a single season by Willem II is 15.
That was during the 2010/11 Eredivisie campaign.
Yes they were relegated after finishing bottom of the table"
April 2018
I’ve been really impressed with centre back, Darryl Lachman, over the past month or so, and wanted to address the issue of his contract running out at the end of the season. I’m really pleased he has signed a new deal keeping him here for another 3 years!
View attachment 47189
Friday 6th April 2018
Willem II vs VVV-Venlo
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Peters, Meissner, Lewis (Enoh 88), Heerkens (Liefink 73), Wijnaldum, Haye, Crowley, Velikonja, Sol (Dadachov 60)
View attachment 47187
There hasn’t been many times this season when I’ve gone into a game expecting to win, but this was one of those rare occasions. But we didn’t…..we did dominate the match for the entire 90 minutes but just couldn’t make the breakthrough to get the goal to secure victory, and instead had to settle for a bore draw.
Kostas Tsimikas will miss the rest of the month through injury.
View attachment 47185
Sunday 15th April 2018
FC Groningen vs Willem II
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Peters, Meissner, Lewis, Heerkens (Enoh 80), Wijnaldum, Haye, Crowley (el Hankouri 67), Velikonja, Dadachov
View attachment 47183
Renat Dadachov had a blinder, scoring two goals, but he could have easily had 4 or 5 as he consistently found plenty of space in the Groningen box and had chance after chance! Another away win that propels us into the top half of the table with 2 games remaining!
That result against FC Groningen made is 6 games unbeaten and that my friends, is a new club record.
View attachment 47182
Sunday 22nd April 2018
Ajax vs Willem II
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Peters, Meissner, Lewis, Enoh, Wijnaldum, Haye, Crowley, Velikonja, Dadachov
View attachment 47181
Ajax needed a win here to win the Eredivisie title, so there was a little extra pressure on them. However, you’d never know it as they were sensational here as they wrap up league with a comfortable win over us! We were really poor in that 1st half….a lot more competitive in the 2nd but by then the damage was already done!
And there’s the confirmation that Ajax are champions of Holland once again after 3 seasons finishing runners up!
View attachment 47180
PSV require penalties to beat PEC Zwolle in the final of the Dutch Cup and lift the trophy for the 10th time. League winners Ajax were the underachievers of the competition crashing out in the 3rd round to Excelsior.
View attachment 47179
With only one game remaining, the lowest we can finish is 11th. However, with a win and other results going our way we could finish as high as 7th!
View attachment 47178
Player of the Month
Fernando Lewis
View attachment 47177
The right wing back has been our most consistent performer across the 3 games in April, although nobody really stood out this month.
Only one game remains and the season will finish in May. Our final match is at home to Excelsior and they have plenty to play for as a loss could mean them dropping into the relegation playoff places.
View attachment 47176
"The lowest amount of points achieved in a single season by Willem II is 15.
That was during the 2010/11 Eredivisie campaign.
Yes they were relegated after finishing bottom of the table"
April 2018
I’ve been really impressed with centre back, Darryl Lachman, over the past month or so, and wanted to address the issue of his contract running out at the end of the season. I’m really pleased he has signed a new deal keeping him here for another 3 years!
View attachment 47189
Friday 6th April 2018
Willem II vs VVV-Venlo
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Peters, Meissner, Lewis (Enoh 88), Heerkens (Liefink 73), Wijnaldum, Haye, Crowley, Velikonja, Sol (Dadachov 60)
View attachment 47187
There hasn’t been many times this season when I’ve gone into a game expecting to win, but this was one of those rare occasions. But we didn’t…..we did dominate the match for the entire 90 minutes but just couldn’t make the breakthrough to get the goal to secure victory, and instead had to settle for a bore draw.
Kostas Tsimikas will miss the rest of the month through injury.
View attachment 47185
Sunday 15th April 2018
FC Groningen vs Willem II
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Peters, Meissner, Lewis, Heerkens (Enoh 80), Wijnaldum, Haye, Crowley (el Hankouri 67), Velikonja, Dadachov
View attachment 47183
Renat Dadachov had a blinder, scoring two goals, but he could have easily had 4 or 5 as he consistently found plenty of space in the Groningen box and had chance after chance! Another away win that propels us into the top half of the table with 2 games remaining!
That result against FC Groningen made is 6 games unbeaten and that my friends, is a new club record.
View attachment 47182
Sunday 22nd April 2018
Ajax vs Willem II
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Peters, Meissner, Lewis, Enoh, Wijnaldum, Haye, Crowley, Velikonja, Dadachov
View attachment 47181
Ajax needed a win here to win the Eredivisie title, so there was a little extra pressure on them. However, you’d never know it as they were sensational here as they wrap up league with a comfortable win over us! We were really poor in that 1st half….a lot more competitive in the 2nd but by then the damage was already done!
And there’s the confirmation that Ajax are champions of Holland once again after 3 seasons finishing runners up!
View attachment 47180
PSV require penalties to beat PEC Zwolle in the final of the Dutch Cup and lift the trophy for the 10th time. League winners Ajax were the underachievers of the competition crashing out in the 3rd round to Excelsior.
View attachment 47179
With only one game remaining, the lowest we can finish is 11th. However, with a win and other results going our way we could finish as high as 7th!
View attachment 47178
Player of the Month
Fernando Lewis
View attachment 47177
The right wing back has been our most consistent performer across the 3 games in April, although nobody really stood out this month.
Only one game remains and the season will finish in May. Our final match is at home to Excelsior and they have plenty to play for as a loss could mean them dropping into the relegation playoff places.
View attachment 47176
FM_TNSSO
Member
- Joined
- May 10, 2018
- Messages
- 2,943
- Reaction score
- 3,704
- Points
- 113
May 2018
"Sami Hyypia played for Willem II from 1995 to 1999, making over 100 appearances for the club.
He moved on to join Liverpool where he stayed for the next 10 years"
May 2018 (End of Season)
Sunday 6th May 2018
Willem II vs Excelsior
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Branderhorst, Lachman, Peters, Meissner, Lewis, Lieftink (Heerkens 62), Wijnaldum, Haye, Crowley, Velikonja (Sol 62 (Ogbeche 73)), Dadachov
View attachment 47135
As mentioned in last month’s post, Excelsior still had it all to play for here as they could still drop into the bottom 3 without a win. On the other hand, we were really just here to give the fans an end of season send off. It probably showed in the first half as Excelsior went about their business in a bit more of an urgent fashion than us and we seemed to be coasting through the game. A little bit of a kick up the **** at the break seemed to spur the lads into a bit more action in the 2nd half, and a late goal from substitute Bart Ogbeche was enough for us to finish the season with a win. Despite the loss, Excelsior survived the bottom 3!
So here’s the final league table. I have to be pleased with how my first season has gone as we finished 10th. We were 19 points clear of the relegation battle that we set out to avoid at the start of the season! It’s the three big boys that really pulled away at the top, with Ajax lifting the title and a 3rd placed Feyenoord were a good 19 points clear of PEC Zwolle in 4th! The gap between the top 3 and the rest is huge and reiterates the magnitude of this challenge to overthrow them! Vitesse and ADO Den Haag will be playing European football next season, whilst Roda JC and VVV are going down after they both lost their relegation playoff games against teams from the Jupiler league.
View attachment 47134
Throughout the entire season, we managed to stay clear of the bottom 3, never going below 13th in the table. Early on, we were as high as 6th after a good start, but spent majority of the season in that mid table pack from 9th to 13th.
View attachment 47133
At the end of season awards, it’s Fernando Lewis that picks up the fan’s player of the year, winning it pretty easily with nearly half the vote. Dan Crowley was the young player of the season, and there was no signing of the season as I didn’t sign anyone!
View attachment 47132
Managers Player of the Season
Dan Crowley
View attachment 47131
I’m giving my award to Dan Crowley! I think it was a pivotal part of our season to recall him from loan and the 20 year old did me proud in the 2nd half of the campaign. He was a consistent performer, chipped in with 4 assists and a goal, and has really put himself in line for a first team place all of next season with us!
The media’s review of our season makes for a positive read. The general feel is that we had a good year and overachieved so I’m pleased.
View attachment 47130
The board are chuffed, so my job is safe at the end of the season…not that I had any doubts about that!
View attachment 47129
Looking at the squad stats for the past season, it was Fran Sol that finished top goalscorer with 12, but the striker that catches my eye was on loan Renat Dadachov who came in and bagged 8 goals despite only starting 10 games. The assists were much more shared out with players from all over the pitch chipping in and it was right wing back Fernando Lewis who bagged the most with 6. It was left wing back Kostas Tsimikas that grabbed the most man of the match awards with 4, but the whole of the defence really upped their game in the final 7 or 8 games of the season and I really hope we can carry that form into the start of next season.
View attachment 47128
The chairman sends over the commercial summary to me and it makes for positive reading. The club have agreed two new sponsorship deals worth £2.5 million per year and the individual TV deal is up by £100k on last year. Corporate & hospitality, match day retail are both also on the up!
View attachment 47127
Despite that, the budgets are still ****, with the club making absolutely no money available for transfers. The wage budget sits at £67k with our committed spending at £52k, so I will have some money to play with there, but it’s going to be the free transfer market and loan signings to strengthen next season!
View attachment 47126
And that’s why I have no money to spend as the club announce losses of £1.4 million for the past year.
View attachment 47125
And then we get this boost as the club picks up it’s prize money from the Eredivisie. I wonder whether those budgets will be adjusted or if this money is what the club project it will need to ‘tick over’ next season?
View attachment 47124
"Sami Hyypia played for Willem II from 1995 to 1999, making over 100 appearances for the club.
He moved on to join Liverpool where he stayed for the next 10 years"
May 2018 (End of Season)
Sunday 6th May 2018
Willem II vs Excelsior
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Branderhorst, Lachman, Peters, Meissner, Lewis, Lieftink (Heerkens 62), Wijnaldum, Haye, Crowley, Velikonja (Sol 62 (Ogbeche 73)), Dadachov
View attachment 47135
As mentioned in last month’s post, Excelsior still had it all to play for here as they could still drop into the bottom 3 without a win. On the other hand, we were really just here to give the fans an end of season send off. It probably showed in the first half as Excelsior went about their business in a bit more of an urgent fashion than us and we seemed to be coasting through the game. A little bit of a kick up the **** at the break seemed to spur the lads into a bit more action in the 2nd half, and a late goal from substitute Bart Ogbeche was enough for us to finish the season with a win. Despite the loss, Excelsior survived the bottom 3!
So here’s the final league table. I have to be pleased with how my first season has gone as we finished 10th. We were 19 points clear of the relegation battle that we set out to avoid at the start of the season! It’s the three big boys that really pulled away at the top, with Ajax lifting the title and a 3rd placed Feyenoord were a good 19 points clear of PEC Zwolle in 4th! The gap between the top 3 and the rest is huge and reiterates the magnitude of this challenge to overthrow them! Vitesse and ADO Den Haag will be playing European football next season, whilst Roda JC and VVV are going down after they both lost their relegation playoff games against teams from the Jupiler league.
View attachment 47134
Throughout the entire season, we managed to stay clear of the bottom 3, never going below 13th in the table. Early on, we were as high as 6th after a good start, but spent majority of the season in that mid table pack from 9th to 13th.
View attachment 47133
At the end of season awards, it’s Fernando Lewis that picks up the fan’s player of the year, winning it pretty easily with nearly half the vote. Dan Crowley was the young player of the season, and there was no signing of the season as I didn’t sign anyone!
View attachment 47132
Managers Player of the Season
Dan Crowley
View attachment 47131
I’m giving my award to Dan Crowley! I think it was a pivotal part of our season to recall him from loan and the 20 year old did me proud in the 2nd half of the campaign. He was a consistent performer, chipped in with 4 assists and a goal, and has really put himself in line for a first team place all of next season with us!
The media’s review of our season makes for a positive read. The general feel is that we had a good year and overachieved so I’m pleased.
View attachment 47130
The board are chuffed, so my job is safe at the end of the season…not that I had any doubts about that!
View attachment 47129
Looking at the squad stats for the past season, it was Fran Sol that finished top goalscorer with 12, but the striker that catches my eye was on loan Renat Dadachov who came in and bagged 8 goals despite only starting 10 games. The assists were much more shared out with players from all over the pitch chipping in and it was right wing back Fernando Lewis who bagged the most with 6. It was left wing back Kostas Tsimikas that grabbed the most man of the match awards with 4, but the whole of the defence really upped their game in the final 7 or 8 games of the season and I really hope we can carry that form into the start of next season.
View attachment 47128
The chairman sends over the commercial summary to me and it makes for positive reading. The club have agreed two new sponsorship deals worth £2.5 million per year and the individual TV deal is up by £100k on last year. Corporate & hospitality, match day retail are both also on the up!
View attachment 47127
Despite that, the budgets are still ****, with the club making absolutely no money available for transfers. The wage budget sits at £67k with our committed spending at £52k, so I will have some money to play with there, but it’s going to be the free transfer market and loan signings to strengthen next season!
View attachment 47126
And that’s why I have no money to spend as the club announce losses of £1.4 million for the past year.
View attachment 47125
And then we get this boost as the club picks up it’s prize money from the Eredivisie. I wonder whether those budgets will be adjusted or if this money is what the club project it will need to ‘tick over’ next season?
View attachment 47124
FM_TNSSO
Member
- Joined
- May 10, 2018
- Messages
- 2,943
- Reaction score
- 3,704
- Points
- 113
June 2018
"The average home attendance last season was 13,048. The highest was 14,500 against NAC Breda
and the lowest was 11,390 against Heracles"
June 2018
If the board won’t give me money to buy players, then we need to be investing in the youth to bring players up through the club. The board obviously agree as they grant my request to improve the youth facilities. It’s going to cost us £2 million and will be complete in about 5 months.
View attachment 47107
I have made my first signing of the Summer. Peter van Ooijen will join from relegated Heracles on a free transfer in 1st July. Ooijen is a Dutch centre mid who played 32 times for Heracles last season, achieveing an average match rating of 6.94. He is a welcome addition to bolster the midfield, with Thom Haye leaving.
View attachment 47106
View attachment 47105
With the 3-3-2-2 formation I am now playing, I have no need for wingers in my team. Karim Coulibaly and Jordy Croux didn’t feature hardly at all in the 2nd half of last season so I have put them both up for sale. They were quickly snapped up by AC Ajaccio (Coulibaly) and Charleroi (Croux) for a combined £270k. Both will leave when the window re-opens on 1st July.
View attachment 47104
View attachment 47103
Kostas Tsimikas will remain with the club for another season after Olympiakos allowed me to extend his loan deal.
View attachment 47102
View attachment 47099
I mentioned before that I was very impressed with 19 year old striker Renat Dadachov last season after he joined us on loan for the 2nd half of the season. So I was keen to tie him down for another year and am pleased that Frankfurt have agreed to extend his stay with us.
View attachment 47101
View attachment 47100
There was 1 more player who I decided to extend on their loan contract and that was central midfielder Pedro Chirivella. Might seem like a strange one as he actually only played 14 times for us last season and wasn’t a first team regular, but I really think he could feature more this year!
View attachment 47098
View attachment 47097
I approached the board and asked them to go find me a senior affiliate. They have come up trumps, agreeing a deal with Inter Milan and this should give us good access to some Italian prospects. Also, it’s an extra £100k on the income every year!
View attachment 47096
I also asked the board to go find us a feeder club, so that we would have first dibs on any decent youth prospects coming through their ranks. They came back with 4 clubs (2 Dutch and 2 Belgian) and I have decided to go with RBC Roosendaal from the lower leagues of Dutch football.
View attachment 47095
View attachment 47094
Dutch football is on the up as the Eredivisie rises from 13th to 11th in the European competition rankings.
View attachment 47093
That means, we’ll have teams going into the European competitions at later stages. The biggest change is probably the fact we will have 1 team going directly into the Europa League group stage.
View attachment 47092
Jeremy Grimm is my first ever proper signing that I actually spent money on! He will sign on 1st July from French club Strasbourg for £18,000. Grimm can play both defensive midfield and centre back roles and is a determined individual with a very high work rate.
View attachment 47091
View attachment 47090
"The average home attendance last season was 13,048. The highest was 14,500 against NAC Breda
and the lowest was 11,390 against Heracles"
June 2018
If the board won’t give me money to buy players, then we need to be investing in the youth to bring players up through the club. The board obviously agree as they grant my request to improve the youth facilities. It’s going to cost us £2 million and will be complete in about 5 months.
View attachment 47107
I have made my first signing of the Summer. Peter van Ooijen will join from relegated Heracles on a free transfer in 1st July. Ooijen is a Dutch centre mid who played 32 times for Heracles last season, achieveing an average match rating of 6.94. He is a welcome addition to bolster the midfield, with Thom Haye leaving.
View attachment 47106
View attachment 47105
With the 3-3-2-2 formation I am now playing, I have no need for wingers in my team. Karim Coulibaly and Jordy Croux didn’t feature hardly at all in the 2nd half of last season so I have put them both up for sale. They were quickly snapped up by AC Ajaccio (Coulibaly) and Charleroi (Croux) for a combined £270k. Both will leave when the window re-opens on 1st July.
View attachment 47104
View attachment 47103
Kostas Tsimikas will remain with the club for another season after Olympiakos allowed me to extend his loan deal.
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I mentioned before that I was very impressed with 19 year old striker Renat Dadachov last season after he joined us on loan for the 2nd half of the season. So I was keen to tie him down for another year and am pleased that Frankfurt have agreed to extend his stay with us.
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There was 1 more player who I decided to extend on their loan contract and that was central midfielder Pedro Chirivella. Might seem like a strange one as he actually only played 14 times for us last season and wasn’t a first team regular, but I really think he could feature more this year!
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I approached the board and asked them to go find me a senior affiliate. They have come up trumps, agreeing a deal with Inter Milan and this should give us good access to some Italian prospects. Also, it’s an extra £100k on the income every year!
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I also asked the board to go find us a feeder club, so that we would have first dibs on any decent youth prospects coming through their ranks. They came back with 4 clubs (2 Dutch and 2 Belgian) and I have decided to go with RBC Roosendaal from the lower leagues of Dutch football.
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Dutch football is on the up as the Eredivisie rises from 13th to 11th in the European competition rankings.
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That means, we’ll have teams going into the European competitions at later stages. The biggest change is probably the fact we will have 1 team going directly into the Europa League group stage.
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Jeremy Grimm is my first ever proper signing that I actually spent money on! He will sign on 1st July from French club Strasbourg for £18,000. Grimm can play both defensive midfield and centre back roles and is a determined individual with a very high work rate.
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ninjaskill
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£18,000 to sign a player, I tell you something the game is gone if those are the sorts of fees clubs will pay.
Good read and hopefully you can build on a really good first season and keep the good times going at the club.
Good read and hopefully you can build on a really good first season and keep the good times going at the club.
FM_TNSSO
Member
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Haha I know right! You wait til you see how much I spent at the start of July....it'll blow you away lol!
Thanks for your positive feedback as always
FM_TNSSO
Member
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- 2,943
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- 3,704
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July 2018
"Denny Landzaat is a name that will be familiar to Wigan fans after he played more than 50 games for them.
However, before that he had spent 4 years at Willem II and made over 130 appearances, scoring 38 goals!
Not a bad return for a defensive midfielder. He returned to Willem II again in 2014 and played another 9
games late in his career"
July 2018
Confirmation that centre mid Eyong Enoh and striker Bart Ogbeche have been released by the club after their contracts expired. Enoh wanted over £8k per week to stay and I wasn’t prepared to pay that and Ogbeche just wasn’t seen as good enough to keep on the books.
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I have taken advantage of the affiliation with Inter Milan and brough 22 year old striker George Puscas to the club for the season on loan. Puscas definitely has the ability to bang some goals in this season and I’ll be looking to him to lead the front line!
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View attachment 46877
Another loan signing comes in for the season. This time it’s central midfielder Erik Majetschack who joins from RBL in the German league. Upon joining, the 18 year old is already one of the best players in our squad and will surely play a big part for us this year.
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View attachment 46875
With the players that have left the club freeing up a large chunk of the wage budget, I was able to do some adjustment and make some transfer budget available for myself. I needed to bolster the defence and have forked out £375k for Italian centre back Marco Chiosa who joins us from Novara. Chiosa looks like a solid option for us at the back and is a welcome addition to the club.
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Tha Dutch club rankings are released and we currently sit 12th in the country. Ajax are ranked as the most reputable club in Holland!
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The fixtures for the upcoming season have been released and we have been handed an opening day game at home to newly promoted SC Cambuur. Our first game against the big boys will be against PSV 4 games into the season.
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We’ll pick up £1.6 million for TV rights over the coming season.
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The club continue building for the future as the board agree to invest in the youth recruitment network, at my request. This will go hand in hand with our new youth facilities that will be finished in November.
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It's Germany who lift the 2018 World Cup in Russia, retaining their title from 4 years earlier! Germany beat surprise package Mexico 3-2 in the final. Mexico had conquered England at the 2nd round stage and Brazil in the semis too! What a tournament for them! Obviously, Holland were not there on this occasion.
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We’ve played 5 of our 6 friendlies this month and it’s all gone about as well as I could of hoped. The defence has been strong, only conceding two goals, both games resulting in 1-0 losses. However, losing to Anderlecht is not the worst result and we scored plenty of goals in the 3 games we did win.
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Looking ahead to August and we have 1 more friendly against Standard to play before the season kicks off. We’ll play 3 league games and they are 3 matches which we have an opportunity to take points from all of them!
View attachment 46867
"Denny Landzaat is a name that will be familiar to Wigan fans after he played more than 50 games for them.
However, before that he had spent 4 years at Willem II and made over 130 appearances, scoring 38 goals!
Not a bad return for a defensive midfielder. He returned to Willem II again in 2014 and played another 9
games late in his career"
July 2018
Confirmation that centre mid Eyong Enoh and striker Bart Ogbeche have been released by the club after their contracts expired. Enoh wanted over £8k per week to stay and I wasn’t prepared to pay that and Ogbeche just wasn’t seen as good enough to keep on the books.
View attachment 46879
I have taken advantage of the affiliation with Inter Milan and brough 22 year old striker George Puscas to the club for the season on loan. Puscas definitely has the ability to bang some goals in this season and I’ll be looking to him to lead the front line!
View attachment 46878
View attachment 46877
Another loan signing comes in for the season. This time it’s central midfielder Erik Majetschack who joins from RBL in the German league. Upon joining, the 18 year old is already one of the best players in our squad and will surely play a big part for us this year.
View attachment 46876
View attachment 46875
With the players that have left the club freeing up a large chunk of the wage budget, I was able to do some adjustment and make some transfer budget available for myself. I needed to bolster the defence and have forked out £375k for Italian centre back Marco Chiosa who joins us from Novara. Chiosa looks like a solid option for us at the back and is a welcome addition to the club.
View attachment 46874
View attachment 46873
Tha Dutch club rankings are released and we currently sit 12th in the country. Ajax are ranked as the most reputable club in Holland!
View attachment 46872
The fixtures for the upcoming season have been released and we have been handed an opening day game at home to newly promoted SC Cambuur. Our first game against the big boys will be against PSV 4 games into the season.
View attachment 46871
We’ll pick up £1.6 million for TV rights over the coming season.
View attachment 46870
The club continue building for the future as the board agree to invest in the youth recruitment network, at my request. This will go hand in hand with our new youth facilities that will be finished in November.
View attachment 46869
It's Germany who lift the 2018 World Cup in Russia, retaining their title from 4 years earlier! Germany beat surprise package Mexico 3-2 in the final. Mexico had conquered England at the 2nd round stage and Brazil in the semis too! What a tournament for them! Obviously, Holland were not there on this occasion.
View attachment 46866
We’ve played 5 of our 6 friendlies this month and it’s all gone about as well as I could of hoped. The defence has been strong, only conceding two goals, both games resulting in 1-0 losses. However, losing to Anderlecht is not the worst result and we scored plenty of goals in the 3 games we did win.
View attachment 46868
Looking ahead to August and we have 1 more friendly against Standard to play before the season kicks off. We’ll play 3 league games and they are 3 matches which we have an opportunity to take points from all of them!
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Brane_Orsou
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Great first season although the success has obviously gone to your head! Spending £375k on one player! YOU'RE MAD!!
KIU
KIU
Last edited:
FM_TNSSO
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Pushing the boat right out!
FM_TNSSO
Member
- Joined
- May 10, 2018
- Messages
- 2,943
- Reaction score
- 3,704
- Points
- 113
August 2018
.jpg)
"Darryl Lachman scored our fastest goal last season. It came 1 minute and 8 seconds
into the match against Roda JC away"
August 2018
Jordens Peters and Freek Heerkens will keep the captain’s and vice captain’s armbands this season. I feel no need to change and still expect both of these players to be first team regulars so it makes sense not to rock the applecart and keep them in.
View attachment 46681
Our final friendly of the pre season campaign was at home against Belgian side Standard Liege. The final chance for the players to impress me and work their way into the starting lineup for the start of the season, and boy did they impress! I expected this to be a tough friendly, but to be frank it was a walkover on our part!
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Player of Pre Season
Marco Chiosa
View attachment 46679
The new centre back played every minute of every friendly and was outstanding, seamlessly settling into my back 3! He’s already showing me he was worth every penny of the £375k I spent on him! I hope he can continue this form into the competitive games!
With the season about to start, the board send me a reminder of their expectations for the upcoming year. After our 10th place finish last season, the board would like me to replicate a mid table finish again this year in Eredivisie. As far as the Dutch Cup goes, a 3rd round appearance will be deemed good enough…..anything has to be better than the dire 1st round exit of last season!
View attachment 46678
Looking at the season preview, we see that Ajax are the favourites to retain their title, with Feyenoord and PSV again expected to be their closest challengers. Vitesse are rated as a lot closer to the top 3 this season though with their pre season odds sitting at 5-1, when they were 30-1 last season! Our odds to win the title this year have also slashed in half from 1000-1 from 500-1. A sign of progress maybe?! As for the media’s dream eleven, the entire team is made up of players from Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV. Erik Majetschak and Pedro Chirivella made the list of key players this year for me.
View attachment 46677
Friday 10th August 2018
Willem II vs SC Cambuur
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Peters, Chiosa, Lewis, Heerkens, Wijnaldum (Sent off 57), Crowley, Chirivella (Majetschak 79), Sol, Puscas (Tsimikas 57)
View attachment 46676
Without seeming disrespectful to Cambuur, I would have expected us to beat them on the opening day of the season, with them having been promoted last year. And although we did, we made it ****** difficult for ourselves. Not only did we allow them to take the lead and have to fight back, but we also had to do it with 10 men for the final 30 minutes after Wijnaldum got himself sent off for 2 bookable offences. A win, although not in ideal circumstances, is still a win and I am pleased to kick off the new campaign with 3 points!
Centre back Marco Chiosa made his debut for the club against SC Cambuur and gave an OK account of himself recording a match rating of 6.90. Striker, George Puscas, also debuted, but didn’t have a good game and was brought off with 30 minutes remaining.
View attachment 46675
An extra 31 season ticket holders will be coming to watch us play this season!
View attachment 46674
Saturday 18th August 2018
Sparta Rotterdam vs Willem II
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Peters, Chiosa, Lewis, Heerkens (Simonse 63), Tsimikas (Sent off 63), Crowley, Chirivella (Majetschak 70), Sol (Abubakar 70), Puscas
View attachment 46673
After a fantastic first half performance, we were 2-0 up and cruising at the break….and not only that, Sparta hadn’t had a single shot in that first 45 minutes. However, within 10 minutes of the restart, we were unbelievably 3-2 down!!! Frustration kicked in and the player’s started to lose their heads and for the 2nd game in a row we were down to 10 men as Tsimikas was sent off for a dog **** tackle! Sparta added a 4th and 5th, and my boys came in at full time for the f*cking bollocking of their lives!!!
Saturday 25th August 2018
Willem II vs FC Twente
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Peters, Chiosa, Lewis, Heerkens (Grimm 63), Wijnaldum, Crowley (Majetschak 71), Chirivella, Sol (Dadachov 71), Puscas
View attachment 46672
The perfect way to bounce back from the disappointment against Sparta with a nice big win here. New striker George Puscas might not have had the best debut but it hasn’t taken him long to hit form as he followed up his goal against Sparta in the last game, with a brace here and they were both cracking goals too!
Freek Heerkens picked up an injury in the FC Twente game that will see him miss up to 5 weeks of action.
View attachment 46671
Jeremy Grimm came on for the injured Heerkens in the FC Twente game to make his competitive debut for the club. He gave a decent account of himself for the final half hour of the game.
View attachment 46670
I’ve got a few central midfielders at the club now, so I’ve let Bart Urbanski go out on loan for the season to gain some experience. The 20 year old should get plenty of game time at newly promoted De Graafschap in the Eredivisie.
View attachment 46669
De Graafschap actually proved to be the busiest team during this Summer transfer window as they added no less than 15 players to their squad. Ajax were the biggest spenders as they forked out over £20 million, reinvesting the money they got from Tottenham for wonderkid Kasper Dolberg. Ajax also bagged another £14 million for the sale of Nicolas Tagliafico to Benfica.
View attachment 46668
A solid start to the season for us with 2 wins from our opening 3 games. It means we sit 3rd at this early stage and definitely have something to build on. The shock after 3 games is that Feyenoord sit bottom of the table with only a point to their name. And they haven’t even played any of the big boys either.
View attachment 46667
Player of the Month
Dan Crowley
View attachment 46666
The young English midfielder has kicked off the season in great form. He really needed to step up for me this year after the departure of Thom Haye and he has done just that!
September is set to be a difficult month as we take on both PSV and Ajax!
View attachment 46665
"Darryl Lachman scored our fastest goal last season. It came 1 minute and 8 seconds
into the match against Roda JC away"
August 2018
Jordens Peters and Freek Heerkens will keep the captain’s and vice captain’s armbands this season. I feel no need to change and still expect both of these players to be first team regulars so it makes sense not to rock the applecart and keep them in.
View attachment 46681
Our final friendly of the pre season campaign was at home against Belgian side Standard Liege. The final chance for the players to impress me and work their way into the starting lineup for the start of the season, and boy did they impress! I expected this to be a tough friendly, but to be frank it was a walkover on our part!
View attachment 46680
Player of Pre Season
Marco Chiosa
View attachment 46679
The new centre back played every minute of every friendly and was outstanding, seamlessly settling into my back 3! He’s already showing me he was worth every penny of the £375k I spent on him! I hope he can continue this form into the competitive games!
With the season about to start, the board send me a reminder of their expectations for the upcoming year. After our 10th place finish last season, the board would like me to replicate a mid table finish again this year in Eredivisie. As far as the Dutch Cup goes, a 3rd round appearance will be deemed good enough…..anything has to be better than the dire 1st round exit of last season!
View attachment 46678
Looking at the season preview, we see that Ajax are the favourites to retain their title, with Feyenoord and PSV again expected to be their closest challengers. Vitesse are rated as a lot closer to the top 3 this season though with their pre season odds sitting at 5-1, when they were 30-1 last season! Our odds to win the title this year have also slashed in half from 1000-1 from 500-1. A sign of progress maybe?! As for the media’s dream eleven, the entire team is made up of players from Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV. Erik Majetschak and Pedro Chirivella made the list of key players this year for me.
View attachment 46677
Friday 10th August 2018
Willem II vs SC Cambuur
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Peters, Chiosa, Lewis, Heerkens, Wijnaldum (Sent off 57), Crowley, Chirivella (Majetschak 79), Sol, Puscas (Tsimikas 57)
View attachment 46676
Without seeming disrespectful to Cambuur, I would have expected us to beat them on the opening day of the season, with them having been promoted last year. And although we did, we made it ****** difficult for ourselves. Not only did we allow them to take the lead and have to fight back, but we also had to do it with 10 men for the final 30 minutes after Wijnaldum got himself sent off for 2 bookable offences. A win, although not in ideal circumstances, is still a win and I am pleased to kick off the new campaign with 3 points!
Centre back Marco Chiosa made his debut for the club against SC Cambuur and gave an OK account of himself recording a match rating of 6.90. Striker, George Puscas, also debuted, but didn’t have a good game and was brought off with 30 minutes remaining.
View attachment 46675
An extra 31 season ticket holders will be coming to watch us play this season!
View attachment 46674
Saturday 18th August 2018
Sparta Rotterdam vs Willem II
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Peters, Chiosa, Lewis, Heerkens (Simonse 63), Tsimikas (Sent off 63), Crowley, Chirivella (Majetschak 70), Sol (Abubakar 70), Puscas
View attachment 46673
After a fantastic first half performance, we were 2-0 up and cruising at the break….and not only that, Sparta hadn’t had a single shot in that first 45 minutes. However, within 10 minutes of the restart, we were unbelievably 3-2 down!!! Frustration kicked in and the player’s started to lose their heads and for the 2nd game in a row we were down to 10 men as Tsimikas was sent off for a dog **** tackle! Sparta added a 4th and 5th, and my boys came in at full time for the f*cking bollocking of their lives!!!
Saturday 25th August 2018
Willem II vs FC Twente
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Peters, Chiosa, Lewis, Heerkens (Grimm 63), Wijnaldum, Crowley (Majetschak 71), Chirivella, Sol (Dadachov 71), Puscas
View attachment 46672
The perfect way to bounce back from the disappointment against Sparta with a nice big win here. New striker George Puscas might not have had the best debut but it hasn’t taken him long to hit form as he followed up his goal against Sparta in the last game, with a brace here and they were both cracking goals too!
Freek Heerkens picked up an injury in the FC Twente game that will see him miss up to 5 weeks of action.
View attachment 46671
Jeremy Grimm came on for the injured Heerkens in the FC Twente game to make his competitive debut for the club. He gave a decent account of himself for the final half hour of the game.
View attachment 46670
I’ve got a few central midfielders at the club now, so I’ve let Bart Urbanski go out on loan for the season to gain some experience. The 20 year old should get plenty of game time at newly promoted De Graafschap in the Eredivisie.
View attachment 46669
De Graafschap actually proved to be the busiest team during this Summer transfer window as they added no less than 15 players to their squad. Ajax were the biggest spenders as they forked out over £20 million, reinvesting the money they got from Tottenham for wonderkid Kasper Dolberg. Ajax also bagged another £14 million for the sale of Nicolas Tagliafico to Benfica.
View attachment 46668
A solid start to the season for us with 2 wins from our opening 3 games. It means we sit 3rd at this early stage and definitely have something to build on. The shock after 3 games is that Feyenoord sit bottom of the table with only a point to their name. And they haven’t even played any of the big boys either.
View attachment 46667
Player of the Month
Dan Crowley
View attachment 46666
The young English midfielder has kicked off the season in great form. He really needed to step up for me this year after the departure of Thom Haye and he has done just that!
September is set to be a difficult month as we take on both PSV and Ajax!
View attachment 46665