The Dutch Dream a FC Groningen Story

[leckuno]

September

Transfer News

The big news coming out of the club is that since nobody made an offer for Arezo so he has now declared that he wants to remain at the club so straight away we offered him a new contract which removes his release clause and he will now stay at the club until 2028.

FC Groningen v PSV

I can't take too much credit for this win as PSV have sold off all of their stars now and not replaced them with the same calibre and that showed as our 2 new young stars stole the headlines with 2 fantastic goals.

Champions League
FC Groningen v Lille OSC

This was a game we needed to win to make sure we get 3rd spot come the end of the group and Arezo is showing he can get a goal on the big stage which is going to be important for when the time comes to sell him.

Fortuna Sittard v FC Groningen

Tesic is on fire at the moment as the young Serbian is showing why he was brought in to be the new Robben for us. He will be key until again we probably sell him to fund a Dutch replacement.

Vitesse v FC Groningen

Arezo with his first hat-trick of the season in a game that we were never troubled in.

League

We keep the 2 point lead over Ajax and that will be key going into next month

October

Two games in the Champions league which are going to be tough but the big game this month isn't even the derby against Heerenveen but the home game against Ajax as it could be what defines our season.​

 

[leckuno]

October

Champions League
Inter v FC Groningen

Whats nuts about this games Pogba's weekly wage is only £9,000 less than what we spend as a club in wages. What a final 10 minutes to the game though as we take the lead again, get a man sent off and then Postema gets a goal with his first touch in the game.

FC Groningen v Heerenveen

Its always important to come out top in this game as who wants to lose to their rivals and again we deliver after rotating the squad a bit after the Inter game.

FC Groningen v Ajax

We had the International break before this game and we were lucky that nobody came back injured and I thought it was going to be the usual when they equalized with 3 minutes to go but Arezo pops up in the dying minutes for us to record only our second win against them.

Champions League
Chelsea v FC Groningen

Our young team has really gelled here and we are doing unbelievably. Spruit is paying us back after paying a small fortune for him while Arezo is just increasing his price for when he moves on.

FC Volendam v FC Groningen

We rotate the squad a bit here again and our depth at the club is exceptional now as we get a great result with half our first team missing.

League

We've opened up a 5 point lead at the top of the table now and even have a much better goal difference this time as well over Ajax.

November

2 big games in the champions league and the league games shouldn't cause us any problems this month and we should be able to rotate the squad a bit as well.

International News

Bart Van Rooij has been making great strides since joining the club and he has managed to force his way into the Dutch team and now the starting RB. He is the first of my players to get into the Dutch team and he certainly won't be the last.​

 

[leckuno]

November

FC Groningen v Willem II

It was a tough game and we had an eye on the Chelsea game so we rotated the squad to rest key players but we were still able to do enough for the 3 points.

Champions League
FC Groningen v Chelsea

We got off to a great start with Arezo opening the scoring in the 4th minute but Isak then got a goal back. Isak had a fair few chances to win the game in the 2nd half but Slor was stood in his way and he couldn't get past the young keeper/

PEC Zwolle v FC Groningen

We just weren't good enough today and we record our first loss of the season.

N.E.C v FC Groningen

It was another poor performance here and its not often you win a game 2-0 without scoring a goal yourself.

Champions League
Lille OSC v FC Groningen

When we fell behind early I really thought we were going to get battered but luckily our team is full of fighting spirit and we managed to come back twice to secure a draw meaning we go into the final game knowing we've qualified for the next round.

League

A 5 point lead already. Not to count our chickens too early but I reckon this will be a walk in the park.

December

Our busiest month of the season so far as we get all of the games in before the winter break so we will be rotating the squad to make sure everybody is kept fit.​

 

[leckuno]

December

FC Groningen v N.A.C

We fell behind early and were certainly made to work had to get back into it. We'd put out a rotated squad as we had our eye on the Inter game.

Champions League
FC Groningen v Inter Milan

A really tough game and probably a fair result as we manage to make it through our group undefeated and in first place which I wasn't expecting as we win 3 and draw 3.

Go Ahead Eagles v FC Groningen

A much more comfortable game as we get goals from the 3 key areas of the pitch.

Heracles v FC Groningen

Well there are just no words to describe this loss.

FC Groningen v FC Twente

I wouldn't of wanted to be the team that faced us after the last game as there was no chance they were going to come out on top as we kept FC Twente from registering a single shot on target.

Excelsior v FC Groningen

Its always good when you can get off to a nice early start but we were made to wait until the 2nd half to secure the 3 points. This team of youngsters are going to be unreal in a few more seasons.

FC Groningen v FC Volendam

A nice big win for us which is a repeat of the first game against them this season. We seem to have made a bit of a habit scoring goals against them so their heads must just go down as soon as we set foot on the pitch now.

League

A 6 point lead but Ajax do have a game in hand so we need to keep looking over our shoulders.

January

Could of certainly asked for an easier start after the winter break rather than Ajax as our first game.

Youth Preview

We are promised a Golden Generation again but we have yet to have more than 1 player that looks like making it so I take it with a pinch of salt.​

 

[leckuno]

January

Transfers In

We have been busy in the transfer window with a big deal from one of our rivals but something that might be more important is that we beat a number of top European clubs plus Celtic to signing of Ludovit Reis on a precontract deal. Bringing him back from Barcelona is special since he came up through the youth system and he will be joining at the end of the season.

Next through the door was a record signing for Dutch football as we signed Calvin Stengs from Ajax for £27.5 million

This is the sort of calibre of player we want to bring to the club and we are always looking to add Dutch players to the squad as well. Its even better as we weaken Ajax that little bit as well.

The only other transfer is a player I tried to sign in the summer and even managed to unsettle him but Blackburn were wanting a lot more than I was willing to pay so I waited it out until this month for his contract expiring and then took up the buy now option as it was only £250,000. Gary Gault could make us a tasty profit down the line if he develops as I expect since he's a wonderkid and a perfectionist.

Finally we also brought in Taylor Harwood-Bellis on loan from Man City.


Outgoing a few players left the club Joal Van Kaam left for £5.25 million to join Freiburg, Thomas Poll went to Lecce for £2.1 million. We also sadly saw hot prospect Luis Mendes join Inter Milan for £6.5 million. A few clubs bid for him which I rejected and he through his toys out the pram so we had to let him go before he run his contract down. We may see him return at some point if things don't go to plan in Italy for him.

Ajax v FC Groningen

What a game. It had everything in it the fans would want. It went right down to the wire. What a debut for Stengs as he gets a debut goal against his previous club to get us the double win over Ajax for the first time.

TOTO KNVB Beker Third Round
Heracles v FC Groningen

We make easy work of Heracles in the cup and progress to the quarter finals where we will face our old nemesis Ajax.

FC Groningen v FC Utrecht

We are always made to work for it against Utrecht and it was no different this time as it was only a sole goal that saw us past them.

League

A 10 point lead over Ajax even if they do have a game in hand. Its important though as we know Ajax have a knack to keep winning in this league so we need to continue to be at our best.

February

Rotation is going to be key this month as we take in games against Ajax and Valencia this month

​

 

[Hampus Silverholt]

What a signing Stengs is! and interesting that he's only got 5 caps for Holland. How much did Ajax pay for him?

 

[leckuno]

What a signing Stengs is! and interesting that he's only got 5 caps for Holland. How much did Ajax pay for him?

so after leaving AZ his career stalled a bit before his move to Ajax before losing his place again but hopefully I can get him back into the national team and haven't wasted a fortune on him

 

[leckuno]

February

Sparta Rotterdam v FC Groningen

We were made to work for the draw after the sending off and it was a positive result for us.

Willem II v FC Groningen

A much better result. Arezo has been immense for us again this season and I expect this will be his final season at the club.

FC Groningen v N.E.C

Another big result. Scoring goals and keeping clean sheets seem to becoming a regular occurrence for us in the league now.

TOTO KNVB Beker Quarter Final
FC Groningen v Ajax

Fu****g Ajax. We'd done the double over them in the league so I was quietly confident going into this match and that was my undoing as we exit the cup again to Ajax as we have done every year with us only reaching the final once which we again lost to Ajax last season.

N.A.C v FC Groningen

Our first goal conceded in the league this month but I put that down to rotating the squad to keep them fresh for the Valencia game.

Champions League
Valencia v FC Groningen

Well I honestly thought this tie was over after 23 minutes when we were 3-0 down but the team rallied and we take a positive 2 away goals into the return leg in front of our own fans.

FC Groningen v Vitesse

Its goes to show the resolve we have when we get a goal back within a minute and then run away with the game. Dilrosun has really settled into his role on the left wing and taken massive strides forward this month.

League

A 7 point lead but I'm not counting my chickens yet as you never know what might happen.

March

There are only 2 games I'm bothered about this month and thats the derby game and the Valencia game as I feel we can beat them at home.​

 

[leckuno]

March

sc Heerenveen v FC Groningen

The big derby is always a big game and it was nice and close which was good for the fans. Its even better since Reis being a local boy got the opening goal of the game as well.

FC Groningen v Fortuna Sittard

Arezo just can't stop scoring for us at the moment. He's already scored more goals that last season.

Champions League
FC Groningen v Valencia

Well we went into this game knowing that we needed to win and I really didn't expect to win by this much but Arezo was on fire getting 2 goals and setting up the other 2 for the wingers. We will return to Spain in the Quarter Finals to face Barcelona.

AZ v FC Groningen

We rotated the squad here as best we could but we kept our best player on the pitch and he proved to be the difference.

FC Groningen v Heracles

It was a nervy final half hour as Heracles also missed a penalty in the 61st minute which could of changed the game.

League

A 9 point lead over Ajax so surely we can't through it away. It should be back to back titles.

Youth

Nothing beats youth intake time to see what we get but its not the golden generation that we were promised

The best player though was Ronnie Kromkamp who is an attacking midfielder. If we can change his personality we could have a decent player on our hands again

The Final Run In

The Barcelona games are the main even here and to make them even more difficult they fall either side of a game away to PSV​

 

[Hampus Silverholt]

Good luck against Barca... Need a regen update at the end of the season I swear you've got so many good young Dutch players at the club!

 

[leckuno]

Good luck against Barca... Need a regen update at the end of the season I swear you've got so many good young Dutch players at the club!

Will get screenshots of them up after the season ends

 

[leckuno]

The Final Run In

FC Groningen v PEC Zwolle

This game was more difficult than it needed to be right before Barcelona but we managed to get through it unscathed.

Champions League
FC Groningen v Barcelona

What a game, when falling behind I thought that was it but Arezo showed what he can do against big teams and we go to Barcelona knowing that we have a chance.

PSV v FC Groningen

We had to rotate the squad here and was worried that it would affect us but we still had enough in the team to get a big win over PSV meaning that this was the game where we won the league.

Champions League
Barcelona v FC Groningen

We went into the game knowing that we needed to win by a 2 goal margin but we just weren't able to get a goal but can be very proud that they were only able to beat us here thanks to a penalty.

FC Twente v FC Groningen

A strong performance here after going out of the Champions League and being crowned as Champions and this was definitely a game that showed why we're Champions of Holland.

FC Groningen v Feyenoord

With the title in the bag we game some youngsters a run out and Bouw's goal made him the youngest goal scorer in Eredivisie history at 16 years and 175 days. He's going to have a bright future at the club if he realises his potential.

FC Groningen v Go Ahead Eagles

With it being our final game I decided to go with our strongest team since we were in front of our own fans and it might also be the last time some of these players get to run out here. Arezo was key again taking his tally to 42 goals in all competitions this season.

League

Well we end the season with a big win over Ajax. I expect a much closer battle next season.

Budget

An ok budget for the season but we will need to sell players to bring in the ones we've been monitoring.

Stadium

The new stadium is finally underway but we will be forking out £450,000 a month for it though over the next 10 years.​

 

[leckuno]

The Next Generation of Dutch Players

Joop Slor

He came through the youth intake in the 2nd season ever youth intake and he has gone on to become our first team keeper now even through he's only just turned 18. With this he has also been called up to the National team where ha has managed to earn 3 caps already in friendlies. He is going to be key for Holland for the next 15 years.

Ted Spruit

We signed Spruit from AZ for £13 million before he made a single first team start for them but over this season he has made 31 appearances and again managed to work his way into the Holland squad getting a single cap so far.

Yannick Bouw

Another player through our Youth Intake and his stats for a 16 year old are nuts for a striker. We're retraining him to be an Advanced forward so he can take over in a few years time. He is also the current youngest scorer in the league and will be getting more chances going forward.

These are our 3 players to look out for the moment. One thing I've noticed so far is that there is a lack of decent Dutch defenders coming through though so we'll need to be careful and keep an eye out for anybody decent that we can find​

 

[leckuno]

Season 5

Transfers Out

Well I always knew it was coming at some point and Matias Arezo has left the club to join Schalke 04 for £80 million. He's come a long way since joining us for £2.1 million 4 seasons ago. In that time he made 145 appearances for the club scoring 113 goals. Its going to be difficult to replace him but we just couldn't turn down that amount of money or stand in his way of going and playing in a bigger league.

The next player to leave was Javairo Dilrosun as he moved to Norwich for £19.5 million. He only spent one season with us but he just didn't perform as well as I was hoping to but at least we still made a £4.5 million profit from him.

We also sold a Serbian regen to Watford for £10 million after him joining on a free transfer 2 seasons ago.

Transfers In

Now the exiting part as we had a **** of a lot of money to spend as we got 100% of all transfer fees going out. With the money going out our wage budget was also increased to over £1,200,000 a month.

First in though we needed a new LW to replace Dilrosun and I wanted a Dutch player who still has a bit of room to grow and who has experience in the league. We welcome Steven Bergwijn back to Holland for £19.25 million from Red Bull Salzburg. Again like Stengs his career has stalled a bit after he left Spurs to Join Ajax in 2021 for £17.25 million before joining Red Bull for £12.25 million in 2023. Hopefully we can get him back to his best and back into the national team.

Next I've been looking to strengthen our defence for the last few seasons but struggled to bring in the players. We sign Rick Van Drongelen from Sampdoria for £20 million. I had a deal accepted for him last season but wasn't able to afford his wages at the time.

Next we needed to replace Arezo and had a load of money to spend. I missed out on a couple of cheaper options but we signed Joshua Zirkzee from Bayern Munich for £60 million. We've paid a lot of money for somebody who hasn't had a lot of first team football but has still developed well at the club and can hopefully fire in the goals for us.

We concluded one final bit of business which I was surprised about as I found that PSV had listed Mohamed Ihattaren for loan so we have snapped him up for the season in the hope that we can possible get him next season on a permanent deal if the don't want him.

Friendlies

A good set of results with just the one defeat against Barcelona but that was quickly followed by an impressive win against Inter Milan which gives us hope for the season ahead.

Johan Cruijff Schaal

Normally I'd just gloss over this and include it in the friendlies but its different this year as we finally manage to beat Ajax in a cup.

We were missing a large number of players thanks to the Olympics which makes the win even more special. I thought it was going to be the usual against Ajax as we threw away a 2-0 lead but thankfully we had just enough to get win the trophy on penalties.

With it being the first time we've beaten Ajax in any sort of competition it give me and the squad belief we can do it again as the TOTO KNVB Beker still evades us as every year we have gone out to Ajax wither its in the final or earlier rounds.

August

What a start with the derby being the first game of the season.

Expectations

Everything is pretty standard and they still don't expect much of us in the league which is good but I expect a minimum of the Champions League.

​

 

[leckuno]

I've had to rewrite the last update as my daughter manager to delete files while playing on the laptop but I managed to recover a save from just after Arezo had left so had to do preseason again. Now to get the proper season started.

 

[leckuno]

Sorry guys. I'm taking a bit of a break from this save due the league becoming a bit too easy now that everybody has sold their best players and they've found their way to us. I will be starting something else that will be a lot more challenging