Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Volendam they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Volendam this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Volendam are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
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.
100 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.
Level with 85 minutes on the clock, after an afternoon Volendam had all but put away. Den Bosch will call it a point earned; the home dressing room will call it two given away, and both of them are right.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Yevhen Maiakov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Volendam the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Daniel Bielica 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.
Every long career reaches the week the last one is thought about. He would like it to be where he started, and Volendam know now that the thought has arrived.
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑1, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
Squad22 Oct 2035
Words at Volendam training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Akin Özcan 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 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Leon Smars will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Volendam the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Player ratings1 Oct 2035
Robin De Roon, 19, plays like he has been here for years — 7.63
A mark of 7.63 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.
Daniel Bielica 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 Leon Smars was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
At 19 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Yevhen Maiakov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Volendam the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Tiago Dantas 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: 21. 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 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.
“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.
The dugout24 Sep 2035
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Interim Coach was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Volendam dressing room was either.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against VVV-Venlo? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Volendam have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Volendam have gone to Utrecht with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Everything agreed with Feyenoord, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Daniel Bielica 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.
Squad27 Aug 2035
Words at Volendam training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jeremiah Esajas 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.
Volendam asked and Feyenoord said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Volendam will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Volendam they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“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 Volendam, and it is not being withdrawn.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at PSV is saying, and nobody at Volendam is enjoying the guessing.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Volendam 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 Leon Smars was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Volendam are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 21 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Daniel Bielica 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 Leon Smars was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
3 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Volendam could ask drops and the wages Leon Smars can ask rise.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Volendam will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Leon Smars 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 have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Volendam know it.
Squad2 Jul 2035
Words at Volendam training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Bielica 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 keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Volendam, another week without a signature from Leon Smars.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Volendam will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Volendam can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Volendam they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Daniel Bielica was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Volendam 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.
Sem Valk 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 42 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The words a physio says slowly. 19 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Michée Ndembi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Volendam the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“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 Volendam, and it is not being withdrawn.
The deal with Vitesse 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.
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Michée Ndembi has agreed terms with Heracles for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
The phone has started ringing about Robin De Roon again, and this time the name on the line is Helmond Sport. Volendam are listening politely and promising nothing.
In brief
SquadWords at Volendam training over how hard people work
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Volendam will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The words a physio says slowly. 26 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.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at PSV is saying, and nobody at Volendam is enjoying the guessing.
Tiago Dantas 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.
Squad11 Jun 2035
Words at Volendam training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Bielica 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.
20 goals in 33 games at Volendam — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Almere City updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. George Chubinidze will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Almere City the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad14 May 2035
Words at Almere City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jochem Ritmeester van de Kamp 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.
Enry Hernández 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.
It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph a local paper has to write. 35 years old, 3 points down on where he was, and a body that has started charging interest on a career.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Almere City know it.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Yahia Fofana is on it.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Almere City can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mattia Huqi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Almere City the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Furkan Ulutaş 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 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.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Almere City know it.
Nobody at Almere City will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Almere City, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Jochem Ritmeester van de Kamp’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Volendam is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Daniel Bielica 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.
Squad7 May 2035
Leon Smars 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.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Volendam are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Yulián Acosta has his answer from Volendam; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Volendam, another week without a signature from Michée Ndembi.
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Jesse Bal has come out of that comparison in the side, and Volendam have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Almere City they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Successful dribbles: 24. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad23 Apr 2035
Words at Almere City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jochem Ritmeester van de Kamp 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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Almere City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Almere City are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Volendam is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
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.
Marked 9.33 — 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.
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.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Interim Coach on a 3‑1 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Almere City can pretend not to have heard.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Almere City have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Almere City is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
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.
29 appearances at Volendam and the goals keep coming. Almere City are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
Squad9 Apr 2035
Words at Almere City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jochem Ritmeester van de Kamp 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.
Luc Netten 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.
Every run ends on an afternoon somebody had marked down as routine. This one went 10 matches, which is long enough that a town had stopped counting, and short enough that it will remember exactly who stopped it.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Volendam they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
A season average of 7.05 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Volendam know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
200 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
Squad26 Mar 2035
Akin Özcan 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.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Almere City will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Almere City can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Almere City they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. János Uram is living that version at Almere City, and it tends to show in the first month.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jochem Ritmeester van de Kamp was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Bruno López 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.
Helmond Sport will want this one forgotten quickly: 4‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Volendam were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Patrick Stengs did not need any: 7.80, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.80 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Volendam they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Tiago Dantas 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Almere City will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Almere City can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Almere City is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
Involvement in 2 goals, from a player who spent the ninety minutes doing the thing a manager actually wants: being where the ball was going to end up. 7.51 beside his name.
Jerayno Schaken 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 Jochem Ritmeester van de Kamp was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Almere City asked and Roda said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Almere City will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The offer from RKC Waalwijk for Noah Rwabuzisoni 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.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Feyenoord is saying, and nobody at Almere City is enjoying the guessing.
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Almere City has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad12 Feb 2035
Words at Almere City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matthew Mparaganda 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.
Almere City asked and AZ said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Luc Netten 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.
Two goals and a mark of 8.64 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Volendam offered $5.0M; Ajax said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Matvey Zakharzhevskiy will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Volendam the goodbyes have quietly begun.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Volendam have done the hard part with Ajax, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Volendam have gone to Heracles with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
A season average of 7.00 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Volendam know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Laurent Boyata has just signed for Volendam, and for once the answer mattered.
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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 19 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Volendam have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Volendam they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Chahid Mrijina has agreed terms with Heerenveen for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
$890.0K was the most the club would pay and Feyenoord were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
Tiago Dantas 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.
$250.0K on the table at Roda. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Squad22 Jan 2035
Raphaël Sarfo 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.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Volendam can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Volendam will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Volendam they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.21 at 34, and nobody on the pitch was better.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Volendam can pretend not to have heard.
Volendam have gone to Feyenoord with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
The deal with ADO Den Haag 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.
$890.0K on the table at Feyenoord. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Max du Puy is living that version at Volendam, and it tends to show in the first month.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Patrick Stengs did not need any: 7.75, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Daniel Bielica 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 Raphaël Sarfo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: David Min. 2‑0 against RKC Waalwijk, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Half the programme played, position 6, 33 on the board. Doubling it is the sum every supporter has done and the only one nobody at the club will do out loud.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.37 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Praise Israël has, at Volendam, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Simon Francis will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Volendam the goodbyes have quietly begun.
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
Leon Smars 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.
6 goals in one match, Jesse Bal on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Volendam and Jong Ajax.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Volendam they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Jesse Bal. 1‑0 against Helmond Sport, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Volendam told Jesse Bal something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Kenneth Malen and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad6 Nov 2034
A place in the month's best eleven for Raphaël Sarfo
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Raphaël Sarfo has come out of that comparison in the side, and Volendam have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Volendam is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Volendam can pretend not to have heard.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Raphaël Sarfo and Volendam agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad2 Oct 2034
Words at Volendam training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Raphaël Sarfo 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 are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
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.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.25 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Volendam they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. James Lewis has agreed terms with Almere City for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Daniel Bielica 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.
Squad18 Sep 2034
Raphaël Sarfo 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.
Everybody saw it before anybody said it. At 37 the numbers say 3 points down on what he was, and the question for Volendam is how to handle a man they owe a great deal.
Volendam interviewed the field and appointed the corridor: Interim Coach keeps the job he had been doing in all but title. Sometimes the safest pair of hands is the one already holding the wheel.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Volendam is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Volendam asked and Feyenoord said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Boardroom4 Sep 2034
Volendam close the window on a squad of their own making
21 in and 28 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.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Dess Engel has just signed for Volendam, and for once the answer mattered.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Daniel Bielica was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Georginio Gravenberch 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.
53 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Almere City lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Almere City people have started saying his name in the past tense.
14 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Almere City can pretend not to have heard.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Almere City have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Almere City is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. ADO Den Haag have kept their man, and Almere City go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Matthew Mparaganda was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The offer from Dordrecht for Jesse Bal 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 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Luís Fernandes and Almere City agree another 4 years.
Add another name to the list: Cambuur have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Pim Bruggink. The answer from Almere City has not changed — yet.
Luis Segura 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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Almere City is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Ajax is saying, and nobody at Almere City is enjoying the guessing.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jochem Ritmeester van de Kamp was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Almere City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Add another name to the list: Volendam have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Alexandre Tverdohlebov. The answer from Almere City has not changed — yet.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Almere City can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Almere City and Roda have settled on $240.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Cambuur moved on, Pim Bruggink reports back to Almere City, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Almere City have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad24 Jul 2034
Words at Almere City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jochem Ritmeester van de Kamp 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.
Almere City asked and AZ said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Luc Netten 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 clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Almere City people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Luís Fernandes will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Almere City the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“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 Almere City, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad10 Jul 2034
Words at Almere City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jochem Ritmeester van de Kamp 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.
Add another name to the list: Cambuur have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Pim Bruggink. The answer from Almere City has not changed — yet.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Almere City 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 Almere City can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
“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 Almere City, and it is not being withdrawn.
Add another name to the list: Volendam have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Jesse Bal. The answer from Almere City has not changed — yet.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jochem Ritmeester van de Kamp was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. ADO Den Haag have kept their man, and Almere City go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Lyen Ferrant has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Almere City have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Almere City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Volendam they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Volendam can pretend not to have heard.
The deal with Almere City 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.
Daniel Bielica 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.
Squad26 Jun 2034
Words at Volendam training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tiago Dantas 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 want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Volendam hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
2 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Volendam could ask drops and the wages Karim Mperanyi can ask rise.
The words a physio says slowly. 21 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 clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Almere City people have started saying his name in the past tense.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Almere City can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Almere City they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Mohamed Hamad 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 Jochem Ritmeester van de Kamp was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Twente have kept their man, and Almere City go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The mood at Volendam has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Finn Verhoeven will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Volendam the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Helmond Sport is saying, and nobody at Volendam is enjoying the guessing.
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Andreas Simoens has agreed terms with Telstar for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Daniel Bielica 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.
Squad19 Jun 2034
Words at Volendam training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tiago Dantas 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 have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Volendam can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Volendam asked and PSV said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The words a physio says slowly. 28 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Luís Fernandes will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Almere City the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The offer from Cambuur for Jesse Bal 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 clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Ajax keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Luís Fernandes has agreed terms with Vitesse for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jochem Ritmeester van de Kamp was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. George Chubinidze has just signed for Almere City, and for once the answer mattered.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Almere City they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Anass Hamite has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
The phone has started ringing about Jesse Bal again, and this time the name on the line is Cambuur. Almere City are listening politely and promising nothing.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Sieb Jongens is living that version at Almere City, and it tends to show in the first month.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Matthew Mparaganda was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Almere City they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jochem Ritmeester van de Kamp was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Almere City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Almere City know it.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Jochem Ritmeester van de Kamp is on it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Almere City, and both men came out saying it was fine.
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 paperwork is done long before the player is. Daley Dumfries has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Almere City have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Isak Jensen is on it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Jerayno Schaken trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Almere City know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
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.
Position 8 on 51 points. Every season is a story and this is the last line of it, and now the club has three months to decide what the next one is about.
13 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Almere City they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jochem Ritmeester van de Kamp was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Almere City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Almere City are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Every run ends on an afternoon somebody had marked down as routine. This one went 4 matches, which is long enough that a town had stopped counting, and short enough that it will remember exactly who stopped it.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Jesse Bal will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Almere City the goodbyes have quietly begun.
11 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
This is not rotation. Pim Bruggink has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Almere City is pretending otherwise.
Squad3 Apr 2034
Words at Almere City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matthew Mparaganda 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.” Oliver Midtgård and Almere City agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Almere City know it.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Almere City can pretend not to have heard.
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 Almere City this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Jochem Ritmeester van de Kamp’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Feyenoord next, and one man in the Almere City dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 19 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Yaël Mouanga will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Almere City the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Almere City have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
10 matches unbeaten here. Every visiting manager is asked about it in the week before, which is precisely why it keeps going.
Squad13 Mar 2034
Words at Almere City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jalal Abdullai 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.
Dordrecht will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Luuk Koppert has pre-agreed a move to Almere City, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
Yaël Mouanga 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 26 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Almere City they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Jerayno Schaken and Almere City agree another 4 years.
4 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Almere City can tell you which week it ends in.
Furkan Ulutaş 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.
Two goals and a mark of 8.59 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Almere City is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Boardroom6 Feb 2034
Almere City close the window on a squad of their own making
2 in and 8 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.
The unbeaten run reaches 7. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad6 Feb 2034
Words at Almere City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jochem Ritmeester van de Kamp 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 last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Almere City have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Tiago Ferreyra will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Almere City the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The clubs have shaken hands with Roda; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
Squad23 Jan 2034
Words at Almere City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jochem Ritmeester van de Kamp 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.
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Feyenoord have kept their man, and Almere City go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Everybody at Almere City saw it before anybody said it, which is how this always goes. At 36 the decline is real and measurable — 3 points — and the only question left is how the club handles somebody it owes a great deal to.
Junior Poortvliet 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.
20 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Almere City lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Almere City they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“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 Almere City, and it is not being withdrawn.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Almere City have done the hard part with Utrecht, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
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.
Yaël Mouanga 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.
The words a physio says slowly. 16 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Tijme Wessels will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Almere City the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The phone has started ringing about Jesse Bal again, and this time the name on the line is Excelsior. Almere City are listening politely and promising nothing.
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
Squad9 Jan 2034
Words at Almere City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jalal Abdullai 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.
Almere City asked and Roda said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Diego Medina 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.
30 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Almere City lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Almere City is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
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.
Yaël Mouanga 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.
Position 11, 19 points, and every result so far reduced to one line. The second half of the season starts with the same squad and a different set of expectations.
37 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Almere City lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Patrik Andersen obliged against Utrecht. 1‑0 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is Almere City.
Some goals win a match and some take one off somebody else. Patrik Andersen scored in the 85th minute, Utrecht had already begun thinking about the journey home, and Almere City took the lot.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Yaël Mouanga will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Almere City the goodbyes have quietly begun.
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 7.58 for the rest of it.
7.69, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Yaël Mouanga has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.
Squad19 Dec 2033
Words at Almere City training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jalal Abdullai 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.