Up for the corner, and Noé Lebreton delivers — 7.94
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Noé Lebreton scored, was marked 7.94, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
Noé Lebreton scored, and precious little else went right: 2‑3 to ADO Den Haag, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Nick Venema 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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Cody Blind after 2‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Dordrecht told Jurre van Aken something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Thijs Kraaijeveld 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.
Successful dribbles: 19. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Player ratings10 Apr 2028
Nick Venema was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.40. 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Joep van der Sluijs was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑0, Cody Blind could afford to be generous.
Thijs Kraaijeveld and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Words at Dordrecht training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nick Venema 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 easiest signature of my career.” Djaymoh Dommisse and Dordrecht agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad21 Feb 2028
7 new faces, and Dordrecht are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Dordrecht, and both men came out saying it was fine.
14 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Dordrecht lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Thijs Kraaijeveld 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.
Add another name to the list: Volendam have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Sem Verdonk. The answer from Dordrecht has not changed — yet.
Squad3 Jan 2028
Nick Venema 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.
Dordrecht asked and Ajax said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
21 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Dordrecht lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Dordrecht this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The words a physio says slowly. 65 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Dordrecht can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Thijs Kraaijeveld was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Daniel van Vianen 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.
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Dordrecht would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
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.
The words a physio says slowly. 72 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The unbeaten run reaches 6. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Words at Dordrecht training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nick Venema 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 figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Lorenzo Codutti has come out of that comparison in the side, and Dordrecht have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Dordrecht, another week without a signature from Said Bakari.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
94 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Dordrecht lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a 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 Dordrecht this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Words at Dordrecht training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nick Venema 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.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Dordrecht, and 5 appearances in 16 say he has earned the hearing.
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Dordrecht now.
The dugout18 Oct 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Cody Blind was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Dordrecht dressing room was either.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Mannou Berger
116 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Dordrecht lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Daniel van Vianen had done his part in building a 3-goal cushion. What happened after that was collective, and De Graafschap were allowed back into a match that had been finished with.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Daniel van Vianen provided it, and the 8.08 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
3‑4 to De Graafschap, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Nick Venema 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.
131 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Dordrecht lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
It is a specific kind of quiet, a ground watching a winning position dissolve. Den Bosch kept coming because nothing stopped them, and Dordrecht will be asked about the last half hour all week.
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Said Bakari reports back to Dordrecht with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
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 7.83 for the rest of it.
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Nicolás Rossi wants continental football; whether Dordrecht can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
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.
138 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Dordrecht lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Groningen waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Dordrecht is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Dordrecht have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The offer from Heerenveen for Joep van der Sluijs was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Dordrecht, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
Dordrecht close the window on a squad of their own making
15 in and 20 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Thijs Kraaijeveld 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 Nick Venema was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Dordrecht, and it is not being withdrawn.
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Daniel van Vianen scored, was marked 7.76, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
The deal with De Graafschap is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 8 goals between Dordrecht and Helmond Sport, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Dordrecht, and it is not being withdrawn.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Dordrecht may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad31 May 2027
Words at Dordrecht training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Said Bakari 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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Celton Biai signs something — a contract at Dordrecht or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
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.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Dordrecht has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
In brief
The dugoutMartin Vetkal knocks on the manager's door
Successful dribbles: 49. 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.
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Daniel van Vianen scored, was marked 7.68, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Daniel van Vianen. 2‑1 against FC Eindhoven, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Marked 8.23 — 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.
Squad10 May 2027
Words at Vitesse training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nathan Markelo 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.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Jordy Blind on a 2‑1 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
29 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Dordrecht lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Dordrecht can pretend not to have heard.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Robin van Asten is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Player ratings5 Apr 2027
Nick Venema was on a different afternoon to everybody else
9.66. 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.
8 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Vitesse this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Vitesse can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Elias Huth. 2‑0 against Cambuur, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Marked 8.03 — 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.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Jordy Blind, on a 2‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
39 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Dordrecht lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
27 goals and a season average of 7.45. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
A brace, and Noah Bischof takes the afternoon — 9.17
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Noah Bischof provided it, and the 9.17 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Dordrecht, and it is not being withdrawn.
Position 3, 43 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Thijs Kraaijeveld 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.
Dordrecht asked and AGF said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Noah Bischof. 2‑0 against Helmond Sport, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
In brief
SquadWords at Dordrecht training over how hard people work
Successful dribbles: 26. 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 offer from Debrecen for João Pinto was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
The deal with Dordrecht is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Vitesse asked and Tromso said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Djenahro Nunumete 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 Solomon Bonnah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
76 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Dordrecht lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Successful dribbles: 33. 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 2-goal deficit was real and so was the recovery. Stephano Carrillo was at the centre of it, Jong AZ were at the end of it, and everybody who left early will hear about this one for years.
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 7.61 for the rest of it.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Lorenzo Codutti 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.
Marked 8.47 — 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.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Dordrecht will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
A mark of 9.10 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Dordrecht have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Marked 10.00 — 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.
Marked 10.00 — 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.