The GRUNNball Blog

[Kwarkzak]

OOC:


This story will take place from the perspective of a fan blog, in the vein of the famous Arseblog ... an Arsenal blog. I will not post comments on every match played, because that would be impossible to keep up with. However! I will post the occasional OOC overview of my results and what happened. The gimmick here being: You guys can also comment IC to the blog! If your post is in character, just start it off like this: "[IC]" Simple as that!

For those who do not get the reference in the title (which, I suspect, is all of you) - "Grunn" is the local dialect for "Groningen". A (relatively) large city in the north of the Netherlands. It is most famous for its university and university hospital (the former being the second-oldest in the Netherlands), but its local team is considered fairly talented. FC Groningen arguably lost the recent 'rat race for replacing the Top Three', but they're still decent.

I aim to play possession football, with a focus on producing young talent (both bought and raised through the Academy). The club was taken over by a consortium half-way through the first season, who immediately dumped money in the coffers, improved training/youth facility and happily went on their way to improve the stadium capacity with ~50%. This is financially ruining the club, but if we hold on - the future does shine bright.

Fun fact: Because of the extension to the stadium - Groningen has been playing their home matches in the stadium of their great rival FC Heerenveen (which are based in a town close to Groningen). That must certainly have been awkward!

First update coming.

 

[Kwarkzak]

FC GRONINGEN - AJAX
2 - 1
(8: Tielemans; 31: Falkenburg - 64: Ademi)


"Beating Amsterdam at their own game, but a game of two faces."
​

Groningen wakes up to a drunken stupor. Even more so than usual, as we've beaten Frank de Boer's side in a game that was, admittedly, only amazing for 45 minutes. A brilliant performance by Erik Falkenburg (Lindgren Who?) saw us extend our winning streak to six games. More importantly, the victory made us keep our three point advantage on Vitesse, and we have - at least on paper - the easier set of fixtures ahead of us. Still, with six victories on the trot, overconfidence is a real danger. And it's not like we're steamrolling the opposition.

Groningen absolutely dominated Ajax in the first half. Passing the ball around while also attempting to splice the Ajax defense with through balls. It was the kind of football those snooty Amsterdammers profess to have mastered, but for 45 minutes they got a master class handed to them by those "provincials". Second half was a different beast. Whatever it was that De Boer told his players, they upped the ante. After the Ademi goal, we seemed to falter - slowly losing the battle in midfield.

Nevertheless, last night was a confidence performance and it should have made the manager happy. It was particularly good to see Pablo Aimar play such a good match. 32 good passes out of 39 attempted passes, and 2 key passes; the loveable Not Quite Messi, Really made De Boer eat his words. "Our weakest link". Pfah! Granted, I have seen glaciers move with more pace than our NQMR, but his technical abilities are still among the best of the league.

In other team news. With the sudden departure of Botteghin to Atletico Paranaense (why can they buy players in March?), the boss has recalled young Nigerian defender Christian Agboh from loan at Salzburg. Perhaps we'll see him make his debut against RKC. The club website also reports that Fadigah (scout) and Brierly (fitness coach) have signed new contracts. Good for them!

Alright. Enjoy your hangovers. The guys who made the trip over to the Frisian hideout - I hope you puked all over those ugly blue seats. Our performance certainly warranted some debauchery. Until next time!

 

[Kwarkzak]

Youthful Heroes Beat Grumpy Geriatrics

FC Groningen - NAC
2 - 0
(41: Agboh; 72: Tanda)

​

On a fine May afternoon, the youthful, handsome heroes of this utterly objective narrative overcame a horde of angry, ancient goblins. The good guys attempted 754 passes, and 591 succesful ones made it to a fellow hero somewhere on the pitch. Our young Norwegian viking, Herman Stengel, controlled the center of the pitch with a handsome 102 succesful passes. It was a good follow up to the previous match against RODA JC, where he got on the scoresheet.

We all remember that game. Up and ahead, through brilliant play, but ultimately giving away the 2 - 0 lead. Ultimately, we needed a single point from the RODA match to secure third place, and that we did.

The fact that we had nothing left to play for, is probably the reason why the Boss send in a very inexperienced team. There were starters for young central back Christian Agboh, striker Ruud Ploeger and Prado in midfield. Manuel dos Santos got some time, coming off from the bench before being taken off again 30 minutes later. The poor guy is being hassled with injury problems.

In any case, perhaps playing with the freedom of having absolutely diddley squat to lose and the burning ambition to challenge for first team places come next campaign, the youngsters did not succumb to the same lack of focus as we suffered against RODA. We were in charge and made for a comfortable 3rd place. PSV stands 8 points up to the north, AZ 5 points to the south.

't Was a good season, with an excellent platform to build on. Our next post will be from our "resident analyst" [The pompous brat -ed.] Stadjer, who will enlighten us all with some of his insights into our success this season.

Get in!

-Grunnball

 

[Kwarkzak]

The Stadjer Report


Third place - and we have the competition to thank for it.​

The "Striker Gap"
See that table up there? Enjoy it while you can, because our beloved team ended up 3rd, in large part due to rational efficiency and failure on the side of our competitors. Seven teams scored more than we did. Even based on the table itself, it shows. Groningen is the anomaly. This is, however, partly offset by the fact that only three teams conceded fewer goals than we did. We scored 1,64 goal a match, while conceding 1,05. These numbers are really not that good. The sun shines brighter when we only look at the second half of the season, after the winter break we conceded only 12 of the 36 total. During the same period, we scored 31 goals. For an average of 1,94 goals for to 0,75 goals against. Which is certainly an improvement, but it is not enough. If you look at the goal difference in the table, you'll see that four teams had a more positive goal difference than Groningen. The title was decided based on goal difference - but just look at the gap between Ajax and PSV, and Groningen.

In short, the team the Boss send onto the pitch was, based on an entire season, one of the more efficient teams. But certainly not the best. If Ajax and PSV were in a league of their own, than FC Grunn was among the better of the rest of the pack. For example: Assuming that the league table is a reasonable representation of average strength (the upcoming results in the European play-offs be damned), than it would be interesting to see how the top teams fared against one another. I had a look to see how each of the "Top Five Teams" did the other four. I assigned 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss:

1. Ajax: 19
2. PSV: 10
3. Groningen: 12
4. AZ: 4
5. Vitesse: 13

(Fun fact: Groningen was the only team to beat Ajax, and Vitesse was the only team we could not beat at all.)

We scored more points against Top Five teams than PSV, but PSV still ended up light years away. Simply put: in matches against teams outside of the top five, PSV was far more efficient than we were. There are more stats to look at, more connections to explore, but at the end of the day FC Groningen finished in third place because we were ever so slightly more efficient than the competition. At the end of the day, a win with 2 - 0 delivers just as many points as winning with 5 - 0. And where Vitesse cracked under the pressure of the final games of the season, we delivered.

 

[Kwarkzak]

The GRUNNball Blog

Transfer Overview - Season 15/16 - 01/06 to 01/07

​

"It's that time of the season.
Who's committing? Who's committing treason?
A good purchase, or beyond reason?
Of all rumours, one can't keep track.
Don't worry brah, GRUNNball got your back."


The (half) yearly tradition. We'll tell you who's coming in, so that others won't have to.


Out:

Genero Zeefuik, to Roda JC
GRUNNball reports:
Apparently unhappy with playing second fiddle behind Tokelo Rantie. Did not play a lot of games last seasons, and while his performance was okay, it was nothing special. The fee has not been disclosed, but is rumored to be just shy of 1 million euro. The GRUNNball Blog team thanks Zeefuik for his service, and wishes him luck at Roda.

Maikel Kieftenbeld, to Stoke City [Premier League, England]
GRUNNball reports:
One of the more important players of the last campaign. Kieftenbeld's role as the anchor man in front of the defense was absolutely vital to our (still on-going!) unbeaten run in the last quarter of the season. His contract was due to end in the summer of 2016, and rumour has it that his wage demands were in excess of what the club was willing to pay for his services. He therefore had to be offloaded. For a fee of 2.8 million, Stoke City scored a criminal bargain. The type of player we love (hard, tough, but with a touch of technique!), Kieftenbeld is always welcome to return.

Marco Bizot, to West Bromwich Albion [Championship, England
GRUNNball reports:
A former Ajax Academy graduate, Bizot found a place up north. Here, far away from 'Perfidious Amsterdam', he blossomed into one of the three greatest goalies of the Eredivisie. Although it was all too obvious that he was slowly reaching his peak as a goalie, we nevertheless would have liked him to stay. We know Corpus Den Hoorn [where the Academy is located -ed.] is producing top goalie talent, but none of them is ready yet for the step up. Still, we wish him the best.


In:

Henny van Driel

GRUNNball reports:
Our spies down in Volendam report, in between the copious amounts of fresh fish, horrible music and cocaine, that Henny van Driel is a talented youngster, who plays as a defensive midfielder. Long term replacement to Kieftenbeld? He's said to be highly rated, and was courted also by Amsterdam. But he joined us. Great lad! We'll probably see more of him in the future.


Jo?l Veltman

GRUNNball reports:
We bought him for 2,2 million from Amsterdam, where he was transfer listed. We know that some fans complain that we're importing hand-me-downs from the capital, but we like to think of him as a better alternative to Ivens, whose contract will not be renewed. Is unlikely to reach the potential he was once deemed to have, but who knows? In any case, we're going to say it: Good call from the manager.


Rrrrrrrrrreinaldo Lopez

GRUNNball reports:
Try your most racist Spanish accent, and let that 'R' rrrrrrrroll. Another addition to our ever increasing contingent of Argentinians, Reinaldo Lopez is said to be the next Not Quite Messi, Really. Could he even be better? Our knowledge of Argentina is largely limited to the musical Evita and delicious steak, so we have no clue how good he is. He's looks like a cheery lad, though!


Ronald Graafland

GRUNNball reports:
Once called 'The Best Third Keeper of the Eredivisie', Graafland is primarily an experienced practicioner of the art of goalkeeping, if goalkeepers were allowed to participate from the stands. He won the Eredivisie twice, both times as the back-up goalie (with Feyenoord in 1999, with Amsterdam in 2011. His signing (joining on a free from amateurs IJsselmeervogels) suggests that the boss is going to do the unthinkable: put an Academy goalkeeper in goal. Because we can't nor won't imagine Mr. Bench as our first team option.


Soufyan Ahannach

GRUNNball reports:
Another midfielder. It's getting crowded in midfield. Was already signed at the beginning of last season, but the transfer only happened just now. Had a decent season in the Jupiler League. Is unlikely to start a lot of matches. We suspect he'll be send out on loan.


Stefaan Vanhove

GRUNNball reports:
Could this be our new first choice goalie? He's a bit on the young side, so we suspect/hope he won't. If he is as talented as his Flemish name is beautiful, than we have a great talent on board. We'll follow his development with utmost curiousity!


---

That's it for the transfer news so far. Other contract/transfer/miscalleanous news roundup:
1. Nottingham Forrest are said to have made an offer for Davy Pr?pper.
2. Ron Janzen, Burak Saban, Daro Faraj, Jim de Leeuw, Niels Stenekes, Pier Veldman, Jorran van Santen have all been released from the club.
3. AC Milan and Groningen announced a partnership, in which players from the Italian giant can be send on loan to Groningen. The deal also includes a first option on Groningen players.
4. Stengel, Magnasco and Pr?pper all signed contract extensions.


Until next time.

-GRUNNball

 

[Kwarkzak]

Davy Propper sold to Reading, and other reflections on the (pre)season

Last month we reported that Nottingham Forrest was supposed to have made an offer for attacking midfielder Davy Propper. If so, this bid was unsuccesful as the club now confirmed that Propper made a five million euro move to Reading Football Club, where he will play in the Premier League alongside such players as Royston Drenthe and Gael Kakuta. What's there to say? A five million return on a seventy thousand euro investment (to put that into context: 5.000.000 to 70.000!), for a player who scored nine goals and delivered ten assists in fourty-eight league matches. Even if he had only been sold at market value (which, according to transfermarkt.co.uk, was somewhere around 3.2 million), it would have been a solid piece of business. But unlike Kieftenbeld and Botteghin, Propper was sold above market value. Good job!

In related news: Tyson Manuel Dos Santos has been recalled from FC Dordrecht to join the first team. This immediately answers any question whether the transfer money will be reinvested into the squad (The answer being: No. NO. NOOOOOOOOOO. NO.).

The Eredivisie is about to kick off. Preseason, if you purely look at the results, went ****. While the Boss was guiding the Oranje -19's (including Groningen youngsters Zivkovic, Kabal and Veendorp) to the final of the -19 European Championship, assman Tata was losing to teams from Saudi-Arabia. Lots of youngsters joined the team during their tour of Oilrichystan, and they were hardly any match for the rich Saudi teams. Alas! Fans have been murmuring, but we should remember that last season's preparation went fantastic and was followed by a mediocre start of the season. If this year things are inversed, I would not mind at all.

August will see us travel to PSV, host Ajax, visit Utrecht, travel south-east to Twente, welcome Vitesse and, finally, entertain Roda. So the FA could not have given us a worse start. Matches against three of last season's Top Five (PSV, Ajax and Vitesse), the champion of the 13/14 season (Utrecht) and our beloved rival Twente. It's unlikely we'll grab the full 18 points, but we should at least aim for 12.

Until next time!

-GRUNNball

 

[Kwarkzak]

Hold Your Horses! Breaking News! Christian Abbiati joins FC Groningen on loan
​

Taken from the official club website:
The FC Groningen management, the AC Milan management and Christian Abbiati are delighted to announce that Abbiati will join FC Groningen on loan for the 2015/2016 season. The experienced Italian goalkeeper revealed in the press conference after the signing of the contract that he is delighted to play for FC Groningen, and is looking forward to succesful Eredivisie and UEFA Cup campaigns.

Manager Johan de Keyzer said: "Christian is an experienced goalkeeper who has performed at the highest level in world football. His experience and success in Italian domestic and European cup competitions should not only prove inspirational to the youthful goalkeepers at the club, but to the entire team."

When pressed by journalists of Voetbal International on the goalkeeping hierarchy with the transfer of Bizot and the signing of Graafland, De Keyzer replied that Abbiati will be first choice, while 18-year old Heidekamp will be slowly introduced to the first team through the season. Graafland will serve as an experienced back-up and mentor to the younger goalkeepers.

---

GRUNNball's view:
While we do not approve of mr. Abbiati's personal beliefs, we do believe that politics and football should be kept separate. Mr. Abbiati's experience and skill are beyond any doubt. If he performs well for us, we will cheer his performances.

Now that we have negotiated this political minefield - we believe this to be sound policy. Heidekamp, Van Steensel and Vanhove are among the most talented goalkeepers of the Netherlands, but they are just that. Talents. This loan deal means that we have strengthened our weakest link. Let the season commence!

 

[Kwarkzak]

Reflections On A Season : August​

Summer in the city
One month, eight matches. One month, 13/18 and victory in Europe. An explosive start to the season, but one the team managed well. Further reflections on team and player performance down below, but first we take a look back to the last days of summer...

02/08/15 - PSV : FC Groningen
0 - 3
(55, 70: Tanda; 81: Aimar)


9/08/15 - FC Groningen : Ajax
2 - 1
(4: Lopez; 8: Ploeger - 58: Van der Hoorn)


12/08/15 - FC Utrecht : FC Groningen
0 - 5
(8, 76: Ploeger; 25, 52: Falkenburg; 57: Baas)


15/08/15 - FC Twente : FC Groningen
2 - 0
(8: Castaignos; 43: Tiendalli)


20/08/15 - Rosenborg : FC Groningen
1 - 1
(71: Lekven - 53: Falkenburg)


23/08/15 - FC Groningen : Vitesse
1 - 1
(55: Lopez - 81: Vejinovic)


27/08/15 - FC Groningen : Rosenborg
2 - 0
(16: Falkenburg; 53: Veltman)


30/08/15 - FC Groningen - Roda JC
3 - 0
(14, 29, 48: Rantie)​

In the dying days of July, we wrote that the Pride of the North should aim for at least 12 out of 18 possible points. With 13 points in the pocket it is mission accomplished. More importantly, with the exception of the debacle against Twente, our game has improved significantly. With an average of 2,8 goals for to 0,7 goal against, FC Groningen has started the league campaign on fire. Some have argued that the five goal destruction of FC Utrecht is less impressive due to Mbaye's red card in the 38 minute. Maybe so, but at that point FC Groningen was already leading with two goals to nil.


Tactical ramblings

Rather than the narrow 4-1-3-1-1 of last year, the FC now plays in an aggressive, high pressing "false narrow" 4-1-2-2-1, reminiscent of 13/14 season. In terms of style of play, the FC Groningen of the 15/16 campaign plays in a hybrid fashion; merging the styles and strategies of the 13/14 and 14/15 seasons. The fullbacks cover the wings, although most of the play goes through the center. The defensive line is pushed up higher, while all players are involved in pressing the opponent. So far it seems to be working splendidly. The games against PSV and Rosenborg (the home game) were games of amazing dominance.


Looking forward
With a month of tough games and good results behind us, even the most critical fan can hope and dream. If the form keeps up... Could we maybe challenge for the title? ADO Den Haag is currently at the head of the pack with an impressive 15/18 points. While a dangerous team, there is no way that ADO can or will keep this run of form going. Feyenoord and Ajax are more likely title challengers, and they are sitting in second and third place respectably ("we" are all level on points, but Feyenoord has a slightly better goal difference than us, while our goal difference is better than Ajax's). It is too early in the race to make a call, but we can all at least agree that PSV is going to have a hard time; sitting at the bottom of the league as they do. Only two points out of six games, with a negative goal difference of 12. Cocu's starting to feel the pressure!

This reflection on a season is already turning into a discussion of the present, which is the way of things in football. Nostalgic as we are, football is enjoyed in the present. The most important match is always the next game. Nevertheless, it is still time to pick the GRUNNball Blog Player of the Month - August.


GRUNNball Blog Player of the Month - August
​

A tough call, this month. Is it young Nigerian central defender Christian Agboh, who is already pushing for a permanent spot? Or maybe our captain Falkenburg? Will we give the "coveted" "award" to young striker Ruud Ploeger, who replaced the injured Rantie and scored three Eredivisie goals in four games?

No.

We pick young goalkeeper Erwin Heidekamp, who has started the campaign by virtue of Abbiati being lightly injured, and who has not looked back since. Eight games, four clean sheets. We retract our earlier criticism of Heidekamp being too young and too inexperienced at this level. While he will certainly make mistakes, and probably "cost" us some points - he gave eight confident performances in eight very important matches. Good job, mate. Keep up the good work!


In other team news...
GRUNNball Blog wishes Zivkovic all the luck and strength he needs for recovering from his latest injury. As most of you know, Zivkovic was just back in training from a pulled hamstring when he broke his ankle in an international -21 match. This is the second injury to the ankle (likewise with the hamstring), and we all hope he makes a full recovery. We urge the fans to cheer for Zivkovic next match.

 

[Kwarkzak]

Reflections On A Season : September​

"Not bad. Not bad at all."


September only started in earnest when it was already half-way over. After the gruelling schedule of August, the international break was more than welcome. September brought us a professional victory over Volendam, a powerful lesson in European football against Lazio, the utter destruction of the amateurs Geldrop, a hard fought draw against Heerenveen and, technically already in October - a brilliant victory against Vit. Guimar?es. Let's have a look back.

13/09/2015 - Volendam : FC Groningen
0-2
(30, 86: Rantie)




17/09/2015 - Lazio Roma : FC Groningen
2 - 0
(pen. 69: Zapata; 92: Ledesma)




22/09/2015 - FC Groningen : Geldrop
7 - 0
(5: Magnasco; 20, 87: Kabak; 38: Baas; 46, 64: Aimar; 66: Falkenburg)




25/09/2015 - FC Groningen : SC Heerenveen
0 - 0




01/10/2015 - FC Groningen : Vit. Guimar?es
5 - 1
(25: Agboh; 50, 76: Falkenburg; 60: Kappelhof; 92: Rantie - 21: Paulo)​

Starting with the match against Geldrop, it was now Abbiati who took his place between the posts, and he immediately made his experience count against Heerenveen. With all due dislike for our Frisian rivals/feudal peasants; we really should have lost that match. Abbiati made some impossible saves, he won us the draw. It was the most hard fought point of the season, and he deserves the credit. So, again, we call a goalkeeper our Player of the Month: Abbiati. Although he has to share it with Herman Stengel. In a team where our attacking midfielders score for fun, it is the Norwegian playmaker who guides the team. For example, against Guimar?es Stengel was the architect of our play, with an impressive 112 succesful passes.

I am torn about the match against Lazio. On the one hand... It was the first time in many, many, many, many, many years that we once again played in Europe, and even longer that we played so well against noteworthy opposition. We gave the Romans a run for their money, but in the end lost. Did Schenk foul Ledesma? He did. Did Ledesma take an easy foul? He certainly did. It was the smart thing to do. He would not have scored from that position, so why not gracefully fall to the pitch when touched? It got them the penalty and the match. His goal in extra time - a magnificent free kick - made for a final score of two to nil. Not a really representative scoreline, but it matters little.

In any case. 4/6 points in the league. Not the best result, but we'll take it. We're still among the leaders of the pack. Let's see what October brings.

 

[Maximus94]

2.2M for Veltman! What a steal!

 

[Kwarkzak]

2.2M for Veltman! What a steal!

Indeed!

Although AI-Ajax has a superior defender in 19 year old Bazoer, as illustrated by the below image, Veltman would still have been one of the better defenders. You don't hear me complain though, it is a rare thing in FM14 where the AI is willing to sell at dump prices.

 

[Kwarkzak]

Diary Of A Season - October


With matches against Heracles, AZ and Feyenoord on the roll, October was set to be an interesting month for league football. Four out of nine points. Not bad, but not enough if you want to challenge for the title. "Europe" was a horror, with a draw and a loss to PAOK. The cup match against feeder/little brother FC Dordrecht was a shameful victory. The motto for the month: "It could have been worse, it should have been much better." Let's hope November fares better.

04/10/2015 - FC Groningen : Heracles
2 : 0
(51: Tanda; 66: Randie)


17/10/2015 - AZ : FC Groningen
2 : 0
(14: Martens; 56: Pereira)


22/10/2015 - FC Groningen : PAOK [EURO Cup]
2 : 2
(20: Ploeger; Lopez: 53 - 9: Agboh O.G.; 33: Melezios)


25/10/2015 - Feyenoord : FC Groningen
2 : 2
(50: Mongongu; 92: Schepers - 36: Falkenburg; 90: Ploeger)


28/10/2015 - FC Dordrecht : FC Groningen [Dutch Cup, 3rd Round]
0 : 1
(17: Ploeger)​

GRUNNball Blog Player of the Month - October

The young striker had to cover for Randie, and scored in three successive games.

 

[Kwarkzak]

'Pride of the North' to make January move for Georginio Wijnaldum?

The 'Twittersphere' is twatting with anticipation. @Goalcom mentioned that FC Groningen boss Johan de Keyzer has authorized a two million bid for PSV's Georginio Wijnaldum. Voetbal International is citing an "inside source" within the PSV hierarchy, revealing that contract talks have already been initiated.

If the ex-Feyenoord man and two time Oranje international would make the move to the Euroborg, he would meet up with his younger brother Giliano. It would be the first time in both players' careers that they'd play in the same team.

While we here at GRUNNball Blog have often ridiculed our admired Boss's inclination towards buying central midfielders, we are currently short on quality in the center of the pitch. With Ahannach and Manuel Dos Santos not yet ready for this level of play, Wijnaldum would inject some much needed "off the bench" quality.



Breaking News Update: White smoke is rising from the Euroborg. 'Director of Football' Henk Veldmate has confirmed the transfer. Wijnaldum will join FC Groningen in January on a 2,5 year contract, for a fee of two million euro.

 

[Kwarkzak]

Reflections On A Season - November​

November's come and gone. December's about to pass into January. Sorry for that. December's round-up is coming up next, but first....

...looks nice, doesn't it?

But before that happened, we had November happen. At the end of which, the ranking looked like this:

Also very nice. Ayup. The results:

01/11/2015 - FC Groningen : ADO Den Haag [Eredivisie]
4 : 0
(Falkenburg, Rantie x2, Tanda)


05/11/2015 - PAOK : FC Groningen
4 : 2
(Malezas, Salevris, Katsouranis, Lucas : Rantie, Zivkovic)


08/11/2015 - FC Groningen : Go Ahead Eagles
2 : 2
(Zivkovic, Tielemans : Kramer, Joppen)


22/11/2015 - NAC Breda : FC Groningen
0 : 3
(Rantie, [Seuntjens O.G.], Prado)


26/11/2015 - FC Groningen : Lazio Roma
1 : 1
(Tanda : [Falkenburg O.G.])


29/11/2015 - FC Groningen : PEC Zwolle
1 : 0
([Johnsson O.G.])​

Player of the Month - November.
Tokelo Rantie. He scores for fun.

 

[Kwarkzak]

It seems that the wireless internet thingamajig of my dying laptop is preceding the laptop itself. Since I don't have money to fix it, let alone buy a new rig, this story is over.

EDIT.

It seems that the network adapter is not exactly dead, but not working properly either. This story might not be completely dead.

 

[Dint]

Breaking News Update: White smoke is rising from the Euroborg. 'Director of Football' Henk Veldmate has confirmed the transfer. Wijnaldum will join FC Groningen in January on a 2,5 year contract, for a fee of two million euro.

First Veltman for 2.2M and now Wijnaldum for 2M... I wish I could buy such players for such low prices!

And what happened with PSV? 12th place? oO)