The Dutch Dream a FC Groningen Story

[leckuno]

September

FC Groningen v sc Heerenveen

We finally get a win in the Derby and we couldn't of got off to a better start if we tried with a goal in the opening minute.

Europa Conference League
FC Groningen v FK Partizan

Or first group game and we knew this would be a tough one and we were very lucky with our goal and a draw would of been a much fairer result

FC Groningen v Heracles

We continue our fine form in the league as Hlozek and Arezo link up and get a brace each

PSV v FC Groningen

A game I was dreading as I knew it was going to be hard but we blew PSV away with our fast and attacking play as we raced to a 2-0 lead in 11 minutes and we never looked in trouble after that as we got a huge 3 points.

Europa Conference League
FK Sarajevo v FC Groningen

The easiest game of the group so we rotated the squad a bit here to give players a rest and again we got off to a very quick start through Postema before putting the game to bed with 14 minutes remaining.

League

We're still hot on the heals of Ajax and that will be important as the season goes on but more importantly we have a gap of 4 points over 3rd spot

October

Arsenal is going to be the biggest match next month in Europe and it will be a good test for us​

 

[DecFM]

On my Liverpool save, I’ve got these as an affiliate club, which youngsters do you think I should sign?

 

[leckuno]

On my Liverpool save, I’ve got these as an affiliate club, which youngsters do you think I should sign?

I'd go with Postema if you can get him

 

[leckuno]

October

FC Volendam v FC Groningen

Trust us to lose our first game of the season to the division new boys but we just didn't trouble them apart from the penalty.

Vitesse v FC Groningen

We had to bounce back quickly as we saw what happened last season when we went on a bad run but the dynamic duo get the win for us.

Europa Conference League
FC Groningen v Arsenal

What a result against Arsenal as we show we're not here to be pushed around.

FC Groningen v AZ

Robben continues to keep breaking records this season as every time he scores he becomes the oldest scorer in the league.

FC Groningen v FC Utrecht

Postema is continuing to take his chances when given game time and I'm glad I've kept him here this season to continue his development

De Graafschap v FC Groningen

We start and finish the month with a loss. Again we were never really in this game and were always on the back foot here and deserved the result.

League

It doesn't look to bad being only 3 points behind Ajax but then remember they have a game in hand so it will probably be 6 but we do keep our lead over 3rd which is good.

November

Away to Arsenal, Ajax and Partizan so its not going to be a fun month​

 

[DanWright14]

Could you please post a picture of your full squad and tactics? I’ve got a save with Groningen and I’m 6th at Christmas in my first season. Can’t seem to get it right!

 

[leckuno]

Could you please post a picture of your full squad and tactics? I’ve got a save with Groningen and I’m 6th at Christmas in my first season. Can’t seem to get it right!

6th isn't too bad for Christmas in the 1st season

Squad

Tactic

I don't use anything special for this its just the Gegenpress 4-2-3-1 wide that comes with FM but it seems to work for me just now

 

[leckuno]

November

Europa Conference League
Arsenal v FC Groningen

Nothing quite like getting one of your biggest ever wins with a goal with the final kick of the ball.

FC Groningen v VVV-Venlo

Riding in on a high Venlo had no chance and it showed as we hit them for 6.

Ajax v FC Groningen

We just can't seem to play against Ajax at all and bottle it and concede early goals and then not able to get back into the game.

Europa Conference League
FK Partizan v FC Groningen

We go into this game knowing that a win will see us top the group and go straight into the 2nd knockout round and they don't cause us any issues and we top the group.

FC Groningen v Sparta Rotterdam

What a game and the fans certainly get their monies worth here in an 8 goal thriller. We never had to worry as they never got ahead of us and its always easier then.

League

We're looking at potentially Ajax having a 9 point lead once their game in hand is played but we'll see how that goes.

December

We've got two tough games this month as we have PSV in the cup which were expected to reach the semi final of closely followed by AZ.​

 

[leckuno]

December

FC Groningen v FC Twente

We were a little bit slow out the blocks in this game but once we managed to pull it out the bag and walked away with the 3 points.

Europa Conference League
FC Groningen v FK Sarajevo

With everything done and dusted we rotated the squad here and everybody did well trying to show why the deserve to be in the starting XI.

TOTO KNVB Beker Second Round
PSV v FC Groningen

We were pushed hard here and our super sub Postema came on and scored within 2 minutes of coming on the pitch and even managed to grab a 2nd with the final kick of the ball.

AZ v FC Groningen

This was a disappointing game. Postema grabbed a well deserved double after coming off the bench but we through away the 2-0 lead with 3 goals in 13 minutes.

FC Groningen v Vitesse

Vitesse were without a manager going into this game and we needed to take advantage to bounce back and we certainly took advantage as Hlozek got an excellent hat-trick.

League

The league is over with the gap between us and Ajax but we have a real shot of getting second and getting Champions League football next season.

January

A nice start to ease us back in after the winter break

Youth Intake

I'm trying not to read too much into the intake but it certainly looks promising for us.​

 

[leckuno]

January

Transfers

So we looked to trim some of the dead wood from the squad and free up a bit more wages so first out the door was Bart van Hintum at 34 had fallen down the pecking order so left for £54,000 to join Pisa, next Wessel Dammers left to join Sint-Truidense for £1.1 million. Again he's fallen down the pecking order and wasn't going to get near the starting XI. Finally on transfer deadline day Ramon-Pascal Lundqvist left for Eibar for £5 million. He hasn't featured as much this season and was behind Ramos who even though only in until the end of the season the transfer needed to be made to bring in somebody else.

After Dankerlui left for £10 million on deadline day in August we really needed a new RB so first through the door was Ki-Janna Hoever who joins on loan from Wolves until the end of the season.

I wanted more Dutch players in so we brought in Bart van Rooij from N.E.C for £7 million. We could of signed him this point last season for half of that but decided to bring in Proper instead. He will be our starting RB since he's here for the long term.

With Dammers leaving I decided I wanted a bit more cover from a young CB that we can help develop and we found Nnamdi Collins at Dortmund who can play right across the back 3.

Our final piece of business in the reason we needed to sell Lundqvist to help fund it but its one that will hopefully work out well for us. We splashed the cash a whole £10 million of it which will be split into a first payment of £5 million and a further £5 million over the next 3 season to bring in Naci Unuvar from Ajax. He will become our start AMC for the rest of the season taking over from Ramos.

TOTO KNVB Beker Third Round
FC Groningen v SC Telstar

We rotated the squad here where possible but it was the faithful wingers who came to our rescue and got the goals.

ADO Den Haag v FC Groningen

This was disappointing as we threw the lead away twice and then needed to fight back to get the point but on the upside the fans had a great time.

Fortuna Sittard v FC Groningen

Again we were really made to fight for it here but thankfully Arezo gets a final minute goal to win the game.

FC Groningen v Feyenoord

2 goals in 5 minutes got us the lead but we had a nervy final 20 minutes but thankfully we managed to hold on.

League

3 points now separating us from AZ can we hold on for the rest of the rest of the season to ****** 2nd spot.

February

3 tough games in a row this month as we have an Ajax double header followed by PSV as well which all in quick succession isn't going to be fun​

 

[leckuno]

February

VVV-Venlo v FC Groningen

We did our best to throw away a 3 goal lead here but we managed to hang on just. It was also great to see Unuvar score in the first 4 minutes of his debut for the club.

FC Groningen v Ajax

We came so close to finally upsetting Ajax but conceded another late goal but a draw is still the best result we've had against them.

TOTO KNVB Beker Quarter Final
Ajax v FC Groningen

For the 3rd game in a row that we concede late on so its something we will need to look at. Sadly we just couldn't get another goal in extra time and go out of the cup at the hands of Ajax again.

FC Groningen v PSV

A really disappointing result here as we were 1-0 up against 10 men but again concede right at the end to walk away with only a point.

Sparta Rotterdam v FC Groningen

Finally a good game and we even manage a clean sheet after I twigged the training to look at the defence a bit more.

FC Groningen v FC Volendam

A much better result here and Robben breaking his own record for being the oldest scorer in the league. Hlozek has been a different class this season for us and is our top scorer even though he plays down the left wing. We'll be lucky to hold onto him over the summer I reckon.

League

Only a 4 point gap between us and A but I'm confident of holding them off to keep hold of 2nd spot.

March

March see's the return of European action for us and I'm hoping that it should be pretty straight forward.​

 

[leckuno]

March

Heracles v FC Groningen

We continue our form from last month and with form like this it shows we deserve to be where we are in the table. We just need to hang onto these boys now.

Europa Conference League
FC Midtjylland v FC Groningen

What a game Arezo and Hlozek are just so dangerous when they get going and if we lose them we are going to be in big trouble.

FC Utrecht v FC Groningen

We rotated the squad a bit here and it shows what can happen when we don't play our dynamic duo.

Europa Conference League
FC Groningen v FC Midtjylland

With the tie already won we kept with the rotated squad and this time they stepped up even though I was worried when we fell 2-0 behind but the goal just on the stroke of half time gave us the kick we needed to come back in the 2nd half. We will now face Milan in the next round.

FC Groningen v NAC

With such a shot turnaround between our last few games we struggled here but the club legend just keeps doing it at 38.

League

Ajax are guaranteed top 2 now and we've got a decent lead over PSV so 2nd looks like it might be ours.

Youth

Ah the youth intake and it looks like we have a couple of players who might make it.

The stand out player is goalkeeper Joop Slor who looks like at 15 has an amazing future ahead of him. He might even make his debut before the season is over if we manage to secure 2nd spot.

April

Milan is the key game and I don't rate our chances as they have spent over £100 million in transfers this season so we shouldn't really be able compete with them.

​

 

[leckuno]

April

FC Groningen v De Graafschap

We make light work of De Graafschap here and its good to see Postema continuing to take his chances as we'll slowly give him more and more.

Europa Conference League
AC Milan v FC Groningen

Well after the 1st goal I was expecting us to get hammered but we held it together well and we give ourselves a fighting chance in the home leg.

FC Groningen v Willem II

We fully rotate the squad here as we want everybody fit for the Europa League and we manage to hold on for a draw which was quite surprising.

Europa Conference League
FC Groningen v AC Milan

Well it just wasn't to be but we did our fans proud here and managed to get a draw to show that teams should be afraid of coming here in future

SC Heerenveen v FC Groningen

The best game of the season as who doesn't love playing your biggest rivals and it was made even better with local lad Ludovit Reis getting on the score sheet.

League

With only 2 games left we only require 1 point to confirm 2nd place and get Champions League football.

May

If we get at least a draw in the first game then we will look to get some youngsters playing against Twente

Transfer News

This month we have extended the loan deals of Ki-Janna Hoever, Riccardo Calafiori and Ludovit Reis for another season as they have played well this season and bring a lot to the squad.

With our remaining transfer budget I have also dived into the transfer market to sign a new right winger as we are going to need to replace Robben soon so I have agreed to sign Nemanja Tesic from FK Vojvodina for £4 million but a further £2.5 million over the next 3 seasons. The only thing I didn't realise that it won't actually be until 26/01/23 that he joins the club.

 

[leckuno]

May

FC Groningen v Fortuna Sittard

We wrap up 2nd spot here and who else to get us under way wit local legend Robben before being followed up by the new bread of youths Postema.

FC Twente v FC Groningen

So since we were guaranteed 2nd we decided to throw some youngsters in. Joop Slor started in goal and becomes our youngest player to make their 1st team debut along with Luis Mendes. It was a great moment for the fans to see some of the next generation to make their debuts for the club.

Final Table

Only 5 points between us and Ajax but think they rotated players after they had tied up the league.

Budget

The budget keeps growing season on season and I feel that we can use this to bring in some decent players to the club.​

 

[leckuno]

Season 3

Transfers

So the big bit of news that has rocked the club going into the season is that Robben has decided to hang up his boots but we moved quickly to secure him as the Under 18's assistant manager to ensure he stays at the club and lends us his experience going forward.

On top of this I've decided to have a bit of a clear out as well. First out the door was Ahmed El Messaoudi to FC Utrecht for £4.1 million with most of that coming in over the next 3 years. Next Azor Matusiwa joins Elche for £1.8 million. Oatrick Joosten also joins KV Oostende for £.9 million again most of it coming in over 3 years. I've done these to balance the books a bit as over the first 2 seasons I've signed players with chunks of the fees over 3 year so we need to balance it out to ensure we stay profitable and they were falling further down the pecking order.

At this stage we have only made 2 transfers and I'm happy to say they are both Dutch.

First in the door was Carel Eiting a 24 year old central midfielder who joins from Ajax for £3 million. He played regularly last season so when I spotted he was transfer listed it was a no brainer.

Next in is a young center back from our biggest rivals and I've been trying to sign him since the start of this save as he looks like he could have a bright future in Dutch football. Timo Zaal may only be 18 but he will be going straight into our starting XI. He has plenty of scope to improve which will hopefully come with game time with us. We signed him from sc Heerenveen for £5 million.

We've not got much money left now so will probably look at bringing in another couple of loans before the transfer window closes.

Preseason

We had a very short preseason this year so we managed to cram in 5 friendlies to see how the team was doing and we held up. Its always nice to throw a game in there which we know we'll dominate and score double figures just to get the confidence going as well.

The big game over the course of preseason though was the Johan Cruijff Schaal where of course we were playing Ajax.

To concede with 3 minutes remaining it was heart breaking and I thought it was the same old story but Reis scored a screamer from 30 yards out on the 90th minute to get us back into it. This was our best chance of getting a win against Ajax with it going to penalties but unfortunately my young team weren't able to handle the pressure. This is where we miss the experience of Robben in the team.

Expectations

Its a big ask to get to the group stages this season as we could get some big teams in the final qualifying round but we'll do our best.

For the league its pretty standard and we will be looking to qualify for the Europa League as a minimum and not the conference league.

The Start

This is going to be tricky to get through as if we beat Kiev we'll be playing 9 games. Most months will be like this I expect with the league being off over November and December thanks to the World Cup so we will just need to do our best and remember other teams will be affected by it as well.​

 

[leckuno]

Transfers

Due to some injuries we needed to look to the loan market as our budget wouldn't let us go after the calibre of players we wanted on a permanent deal so we brought in 3 young players who will get some game time and we will help develop before sending back to their clubs. The only downside was that none of them were Dutch as our rivals didn't want to give us anybody on loan.

Collins come back again from Dortmund while the other two can play down either wing as we were caught short when we decided to sell Remco Balk to ADO Den Haag for £575,000 and then Joel Van Kaam got injured for 6 weeks.

We have also signed young Columbian Gustavo Lopez from Envigado for £1 million and he will be joining us once he turns 18 in January.

The Start of the Season

FC Groningen v Cambuur

We start in front of our own fans and we got lucky here not to throw away the lead but its a solid start to the season against the newly promoted side.

Champions League Third Qualifying Round
Dynamo Kyiv v FC Groningen

We knew this was going to be a tough game and knew we needed an away goal to give us a good chance going through and super sub Postema grabs it right at the death.

NAC v FC Groningen

A nice quick start to the game but sadly we weren't able to build on it and were lucky to walk away with a win here.

Champions League Third Qualifying Round
FC Groningen v Dynamo Kyiv

A much better performance from us as we dominated the first half and will now play CSKA Moscow in the final qualifying round

ADO Den Haag vFC Groningen

Arezo and Hlozek are finding their feet now after the summer and if they keep playing like this there will be no stopping us.

Champions League Fourth Qualifying Round
CSKA Moscow v FC Groningen

I've always said Arezo will be key to us and he's now getting to showcase his talents on the bigger stage and hopefully the tie is now over and we're in the group stages.

FC Groningen v Sparta Rotterdam

There is just no stopping him just now as he is terrifying defences wherever he goes.

Champions League Fourth Qualifying Round
FC Groningen v CSKA Moscow

With us having 3 away goals I decided to rotate a few members of the squad here and even gave our 16 year old keeper Joop Slor his Champions League debut. Boy did he do well. yes he conceded one but he kept out the other 6 shots on target and we certainly agree he'll be getting more game time this season after this performance.

FC Groningen v FC Utrecht

After impressing against Moscow the same team goes out but its the dynamic duo who impress again getting all of the goals but Slor did manage to keep a cleansheet this time.

Champions League Group

The draw has not been kind to us and I think we'll be lucky to get 3rd spot in this group but at least the money is worth it.

League

Ajax lead at the top on goal difference as they are just banging them in just now. The big news is that after our transfer window closed Ajax decided to sell Andre Onana to Chelsea for £44 million meaning that they weren't able to replace him. Can we use that to our advantage up until January if they bring in a replacement keeper.

September

We are really going to see what our squad is made of here as we have 3 Champions League games squeezed into this month so rotation is going to be key to make sure we're at our best in Europe.​

 

[MidKnightDreary]

Impressive work! I was thinking about a Twente save

 

[leckuno]

Impressive work! I was thinking about a Twente save

I've enjoyed being in Holland and its also nice not to need to worry about brexit

 

[DecFM]

Transfers

Due to some injuries we needed to look to the loan market as our budget wouldn't let us go after the calibre of players we wanted on a permanent deal so we brought in 3 young players who will get some game time and we will help develop before sending back to their clubs. The only downside was that none of them were Dutch as our rivals didn't want to give us anybody on loan.

Collins come back again from Dortmund while the other two can play down either wing as we were caught short when we decided to sell Remco Balk to ADO Den Haag for £575,000 and then Joel Van Kaam got injured for 6 weeks.

We have also signed young Columbian Gustavo Lopez from Envigado for £1 million and he will be joining us once he turns 18 in January.

The Start of the Season

FC Groningen v Cambuur

We start in front of our own fans and we got lucky here not to throw away the lead but its a solid start to the season against the newly promoted side.

Champions League Third Qualifying Round
Dynamo Kyiv v FC Groningen

We knew this was going to be a tough game and knew we needed an away goal to give us a good chance going through and super sub Postema grabs it right at the death.

NAC v FC Groningen

A nice quick start to the game but sadly we weren't able to build on it and were lucky to walk away with a win here.

Champions League Third Qualifying Round
FC Groningen v Dynamo Kyiv

A much better performance from us as we dominated the first half and will now play CSKA Moscow in the final qualifying round

ADO Den Haag vFC Groningen

Arezo and Hlozek are finding their feet now after the summer and if they keep playing like this there will be no stopping us.

Champions League Fourth Qualifying Round
CSKA Moscow v FC Groningen

I've always said Arezo will be key to us and he's now getting to showcase his talents on the bigger stage and hopefully the tie is now over and we're in the group stages.

FC Groningen v Sparta Rotterdam

There is just no stopping him just now as he is terrifying defences wherever he goes.

Champions League Fourth Qualifying Round
FC Groningen v CSKA Moscow

With us having 3 away goals I decided to rotate a few members of the squad here and even gave our 16 year old keeper Joop Slor his Champions League debut. Boy did he do well. yes he conceded one but he kept out the other 6 shots on target and we certainly agree he'll be getting more game time this season after this performance.

FC Groningen v FC Utrecht

After impressing against Moscow the same team goes out but its the dynamic duo who impress again getting all of the goals but Slor did manage to keep a cleansheet this time.

Champions League Group

The draw has not been kind to us and I think we'll be lucky to get 3rd spot in this group but at least the money is worth it.

League

Ajax lead at the top on goal difference as they are just banging them in just now. The big news is that after our transfer window closed Ajax decided to sell Andre Onana to Chelsea for £44 million meaning that they weren't able to replace him. Can we use that to our advantage up until January if they bring in a replacement keeper.

September

We are really going to see what our squad is made of here as we have 3 Champions League games squeezed into this month so rotation is going to be key to make sure we're at our best in Europe.​

Did you have Colombia loaded or did he just randomly appear?

 

[leckuno]

Did you have Colombia loaded or did he just randomly appear?

He just appeared. Colombia have always had a history of producing good youngster's so I've got a scout over there constantly looking for regenss with potential

 

[leckuno]

September

Fortuna Sittard v FC Groningen

A solid start to the month and this will hopefully set us on our way.

Champions League
Red Bull Salzburg v FC Groningen

We knew there were going to be no easy games in this group but to start off with a draw was perfect in my eyes.

FC Twente v FC Groningen

After falling behind twice I expected to lose this game going into the 90th minute behind Twente but Postema is just amazing coming off the bench when we need to mix a game up and he shows how lethal he can be.

Champions League
Napoli v FC Groningen

Even though we lost I'm happy with this result as its shows that the big teams aren't going to push us around.

FC Groningen v PSV

Safe to say that this month we love a goal in the 90+ minutes as we've scored one in every match so far and this was vital to get the 3 points.

Champions League
FC Groningen v Athletico Madrid

What a game as we too the lead on the stroke of half time but the class of Athletico shown through at the end as we were lucky to hold on and the goal from Felix was a 30 yard screamer.

League

Ajax have dropped points so we secure 1st place with a 2 point lead over them. Could this be Ajax paying the price for selling their keeper?

Champions League Group

Well we sit rock bottom after 3 games but there is still all to play for as we still have 2 home games for the 2nd half of the group stage.

October

The Ajax game is huge for us if we want to stay ahead of them in the league and again its going to be a matter of rotation as we look to do ourselves justice in the Champions League.​