The Utrecht Adventure

[Abij2]

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August

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Eredivisie
Feyenoord v. Utrecht

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A solid draw against a really good side here today. We looked very calm at the back, and limited Feyenoord’s chances. Great debut for Tom Carroll who dominated the midfield and finished the match with a 7.9 match rating.



Eredivisie
Utrecht v. PSV

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Another 0-0 draw here and I am really excited about how our defense has looked early on. It has been tough for the team opening the season with two very challenging games but hopefully we can push forward over the remainder of the month as we have some very winnable games.

Eredivisie
Utrecht v. ADO Den Haag
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A good solid win for the club, although in truth it should have been much more comfortable. Manaj gave us the lead very early and we looked like we would control the game, but Janssen’s red card changed the whole dynamic and we struggled to hold on to the points.

Eredivisie
FC Twente v. Utrecht

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Manaj gave us the lead with a clinical finish, but Twente came back and hit us with a tap in off of a corner. Unlucky tonight, as we could have easily gotten the win.

Eredivisie
Utrecht v. Roda JC

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A good solid 2-0 win at home to cap off what has been a excellent start to our campaign. Our defense is looking like it could be one of the best in the league, and we are starting to look more comfortable going forward.

Looking ahead to next month we play 3 games in the Eredivisie as well as a home tie in the KNVB Bekker. VVV looks to be our biggest challenge of the month, as they have been in great form to start the season and are currently in 4th place in the league.

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[Abij2]

Transfer Roundup

A busy window in Utrecht as the team is retooled for an attempt to challenge for a European spot in the league. This task will not be made easier by some of the departures this summer, as key players Robbin Ruiter, Yassin Ayoub, Sebastien Haller, and Mark van der Maarel have all departed the club. Ruiter will probably be the biggest loss for Utrecht as he was terrific for the team last season.

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On the ins we manage to bring 6 players in on free transfers, as we try to keep our finances under control. We also bring 4 players in on loan, 3 of them coming from our new agreement with Lille. Pasveer comes in at under 100,000 to become our new starting GK, and Mustafa Saymak will provide the quality on the left that Joosten has not been able to produce so far.​

 

[Abij2]

Apologies to anyone that may have been following the story. I went on a multi week camping trip with my family and completely forgot to update this story. I have just started at college, so I may wait another week or two to get used to the campus lifestyle before continuing this story. I still hope to get another couple seasons further at Utrecht, and I hope some of you will continue to follow along!