The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Jong PSV people have started saying his name in the past tense.
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” TOP Oss had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
Wessel Kuhn and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad12 Jun 2028
Words at Jong PSV training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jordy Bawuah is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The name of Joshua Kitolano has come up in conversations Jong PSV were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Jong PSV will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Jong PSV, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Armando Obispo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad22 May 2028
Words at Jong PSV training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jordy Bawuah is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Position 20 and 33 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Player ratings8 May 2028
Seb Huntelaar, 19, plays like he has been here for years — 7.74
A mark of 7.74 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Jong PSV they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings8 May 2028
Fabio Kluit was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.08. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
The 87th minute, half the ground already edging towards the exits, and Sam Lammers decided nobody was going anywhere. RKC Waalwijk had no time left to answer.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Jong PSV is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Jong PSV this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
At 21 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Words at Jong PSV training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jaden de Guzmán is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Position 20 and 26 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad10 Apr 2028
Words at Jong PSV training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jordy Bawuah is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Jim Koller was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Jong PSV, and both men came out saying it was fine.
In brief
The terracesEverybody has an opinion about Armando Obispo
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Jong PSV can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Tijn Smolenaars will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Jong PSV the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Jaden de Guzmán did not need any: 8.19, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Jong PSV this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jordy Bawuah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
He is 21 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Armando Obispo and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Words at Jong PSV training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jordy Bawuah is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Tijn Smolenaars has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against De Graafschap? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at Jong PSV that is a harder question to answer.
Nobody at Jong PSV is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jordy Bawuah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Peter Quispel and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Fabian Merién trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
10 shots, and a count that reads like a good afternoon until you check the other column. Strikers survive weeks like this on the understanding that the chances keep arriving; the day they stop is the day it becomes a problem.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Jong PSV is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Marked 8.32 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Successful dribbles: 15. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The hardest thing about being 18 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Seb Huntelaar did not need any: 7.67, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 18 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Squad28 Feb 2028
Jordy Bawuah falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Behind, and beaten by any honest reading, until minute 86. Helmond Sport had the points in their pocket and a corner of the ground still believed, which is generally when it happens.
At 21 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Marked 6.78 on 12 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jordy Bawuah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Tijn Smolenaars reports back to Jong PSV with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Peter Quispel and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
5 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Jong PSV could ask drops and the wages Tijn Smolenaars can ask rise.
Armando Obispo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jordy Bawuah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Level with 86 minutes on the clock, after an afternoon Jong PSV had all but put away. Jong AZ will call it a point earned; the home dressing room will call it two given away, and both of them are right.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and Jong PSV have no good answer.
Played out of position, hooked on the hour, asked to be somebody he is not — the details vary and the mood does not. Jong PSV have a player doing his work under protest.
Position 19 and 16 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Squad17 Jan 2028
Words at Jong PSV training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jordy Bawuah is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Minute 92, against Dordrecht, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Jong PSV has been clear about where Seb Huntelaar stands, which is more than many ever get.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Jong PSV, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Cambuur next, and one man in the Jong PSV dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Two goals and a mark of 8.36 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.93 for the rest of it.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Nicolas Verkooijen. 3‑2 against Emmen, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Fabio Kluit has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Squad10 Jan 2028
Jordy Bawuah falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
7 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Armando Obispo and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad27 Dec 2027
Jordy Bawuah falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Jong PSV, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Fabio Kluit signs something — a contract at Jong PSV or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Successful dribbles: 11. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Sam Lammers and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jordy Bawuah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Successful dribbles: 11. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Jong PSV. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
5 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Jong PSV can tell you which week it ends in.
Armando Obispo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Marked 6.65 on 11 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Jong PSV will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against RKC Waalwijk in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Floris Bos trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 18 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 4 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jordy Bawuah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Peter Quispel was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Jong PSV will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
In brief
Player ratingsFabio Kluit beats them one at a time
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Successful dribbles: 19. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Squad29 Nov 2027
Jordy Bawuah falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Shifted about, taken off before the hour, asked to do somebody else's running — Nicolas Verkooijen has had enough of being useful and would like to be picked. Jong PSV know, and have known for weeks.
“I am not asking anybody to be better than they are. I am asking everybody to be as good as they are, every week.” Said out loud, in front of everybody, and the room at Jong PSV was different afterwards.
Successful dribbles: 22. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The fixture the calendar is arranged around. Form goes out of the window, the table is not consulted, and for ninety minutes Jong PSV will be judged on one thing only.
Essien Bassey was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Nobody at Jong PSV is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
“Nobody outside is coming to save us.” It was short, it was not comfortable, and by all accounts the Jong PSV squad were quieter afterwards than they had been all season.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Jong PSV this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Three points for Jong PSV, 1‑0 the final word against FC Eindhoven in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Words at Jong PSV training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jordy Bawuah is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Player ratings8 Nov 2027
Sam Lammers was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.09. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Jong PSV, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Jong PSV will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
Chances created: 8. Not on the scoresheet and not remotely anonymous — a passing performance that pulled a defence apart without leaving a mark on the column that gets read.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Jong PSV, and both men came out saying it was fine.
He used to be one of the options. He is now one of the men the options are picked around, and the change happened quietly enough that only the dressing room noticed on the day.
Chances created: 6. Nothing on the scoresheet and everything in the match: the pass before the pass, over and over, until the defence stopped guessing right.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Armando Obispo and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Sam Lammers scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to Helmond Sport, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Words at Jong PSV training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jordy Bawuah is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Somebody watched every match in the division at the weekend and decided he was the best thing in any of them. A small honour, and most careers end without one.
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
A brace, and Sam Lammers takes the afternoon — 9.05
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Sam Lammers provided it, and the 9.05 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
He is 21 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Successful dribbles: 18. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
100 games in these colours. Service of that kind gets rarer every season, and the crowd knows it.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Jordy Bawuah falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Jesper Uneken trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at Jong PSV that is a harder question to answer.
A mark of 7.65 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jordy Bawuah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Jong PSV will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
Squad4 Oct 2027
A place in the month's best eleven for Fabio Kluit
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Fabio Kluit has come out of that comparison in the side, and Jong PSV have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
He used to be one of the options. He is now one of the men the options are picked around, and the change happened quietly enough that only the dressing room noticed on the day.
Successful dribbles: 12. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Jesper Uneken trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
0‑2 to VVV-Venlo, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Words at Jong PSV training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jordy Bawuah is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Jong PSV this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Fabio Kluit has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Words at Jong PSV training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jordy Bawuah is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
In brief
Player ratingsSam Lammers beats them one at a time
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Jong PSV have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Add another name to the list: Napredak have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Noah Fernandez. The answer from Jong PSV has not changed — yet.
Armando Obispo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Words at Jong PSV training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Esmir Bajraktarević is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Armando Obispo’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Jong PSV needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Esmir Bajraktarević was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Esmir Bajraktarević has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Donny Van de Beek has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Marked 8.11 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Liam van Nistelrooij is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Armando Obispo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
15 appearances and 1 goals away from here, and a player the manager did not have in August. Loans are sent out hoping for exactly this and most of them do not deliver it.
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Squad31 May 2027
Jordy Bawuah falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
He is 21 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
There is a particular helplessness in conceding 2 times before the twentieth minute. Jong Utrecht tried to reorganise, Jong PSV did not allow it, and the result was written long before it was confirmed.
“If we are going to be beaten, let it not be because somebody in here could not be bothered.” He stood up and said it in front of everybody, which is a thing a squad remembers about a man for years.
The wait is over, and the relief was visible from the back of the stand. 3 for the season, and the next one always comes easier.
The terraces17 May 2027
The crowd stays with them
4 of the 7 senior squad came off to the sort of reception a club has to earn. Support like that is not unconditional, but this week it was not asked to be.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 23 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Nobody at Jong PSV is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
“I am not asking anybody to be better than they are. I am asking everybody to be as good as they are, every week.” Said out loud, in front of everybody, and the room at Jong PSV was different afterwards.
19 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.
Position 20 and 5 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Match10 Apr 2027
Nobody could stop scoring
11 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Jong PSV and Almere City in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 18 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
It is a specific kind of quiet, a ground watching a winning position dissolve. Jong Ajax kept coming because nothing stopped them, and Jong PSV will be asked about the last half hour all week.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Liam van Nistelrooij is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Chances created: 11. Not on the scoresheet and not remotely anonymous — a passing performance that pulled a defence apart without leaving a mark on the column that gets read.
Jong Ajax next, which means a week that starts on Monday. Everything else on this page will be forgotten by Saturday; this fixture will not be forgotten for a year.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Jong PSV, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“Judge me on him.” Managers do not say that kind of thing by accident — it moves the pressure from Sam Lammers’s shoulders onto his own, and both of them know it.
17 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 15 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
0‑12 to De Graafschap, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
7 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Jong PSV can tell you which week it ends in.
Match20 Mar 2027
Nobody could stop scoring
12 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Jong PSV and De Graafschap in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
16 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.
0‑19 to FC Eindhoven, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 6 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 19 goals between Jong PSV and FC Eindhoven, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 23 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
12 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 14 goals between Jong PSV and Roda, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑14 Nathan Dijks left the room before anybody could ask which.
0‑13 against VVV-Venlo, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
11 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
It is a specific kind of quiet, a ground watching a winning position dissolve. Willem II kept coming because nothing stopped them, and Jong PSV will be asked about the last half hour all week.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 13 goals between Jong PSV and VVV-Venlo, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
4 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Match30 Jan 2027
Nobody could stop scoring
15 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Jong PSV and Jong AZ in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Nathan Dijks after 0‑15, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Sam Lammers trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
8 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
8 matches, two or more conceded in every one of them. Sides that create as much as this can live with it for a while. Nobody lives with it forever.
Match23 Jan 2027
Nobody could stop scoring
16 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Jong PSV and Cambuur in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑16 defeat, delivered by Nathan Dijks to a room that had heard them before.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 24 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 20 goals between Jong PSV and Emmen, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Sam Lammers's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑20 defeat, delivered by Nathan Dijks to a room that had heard them before.
0‑16 against MVV Maastricht, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 4 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Match26 Dec 2026
Nobody could stop scoring
16 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Jong PSV and MVV Maastricht in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 4 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Peter Quispel was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑16 defeat, delivered by Nathan Dijks to a room that had heard them before.
In brief
The dugoutSami Ouaissa knocks on the manager's door
0‑18 against RKC Waalwijk, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Position 19 and 3 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Match19 Dec 2026
Nobody could stop scoring
18 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Jong PSV and RKC Waalwijk in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Jong PSV can tell you which week it ends in.
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
Sami Ouaissa is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Sami Ouaissa knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 16 goals between Jong PSV and TOP Oss, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑16 defeat, delivered by Nathan Dijks to a room that had heard them before.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 15 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
0‑14 against Vitesse, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Match5 Dec 2026
Nobody could stop scoring
14 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Jong PSV and Vitesse in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.98 on the card, and the Jong PSV support went home talking about one name.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑14 defeat, delivered by Nathan Dijks to a room that had heard them before.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager has not finished forgetting Fabio Kluit's mistake
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 18 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 13 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Match28 Nov 2026
Nobody could stop scoring
15 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Jong PSV and Jong Ajax in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑15 defeat, delivered by Nathan Dijks to a room that had heard them before.
“Nobody outside is coming to save us.” It was short, it was not comfortable, and by all accounts the Jong PSV squad were quieter afterwards than they had been all season.
Jong PSV have let the market know Fabio Kluit can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Ban served, and Sam Lammers returns to the reckoning
Missing football is its own punishment and it has now been paid in full. Jong PSV get a player back, and whoever has been deputising gets the conversation nobody enjoys.