Owen Wijndal damages knee ligaments — 113 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 113 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.
Feyenoord have accepted the money. What Twente do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Successful dribbles: 26. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Boardroom2 Sep 2030
Twente close the window on a squad of their own making
41 in and 33 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.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Lars Unnerstall 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.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ramiz Zerrouki was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
129 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Twente lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“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 The request is on a desk at Twente, and it is not being withdrawn.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Twente they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Daan Rots 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 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 announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Twente lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Twente have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Twente can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Twente they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The deal with AZ 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.
Lars Unnerstall 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.
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.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and IFK Norrkoping waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Twente is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
“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 Twente, and it is not being withdrawn.
9 seasons and 300 appearances, all of them here. Careers like this are not designed; they happen to a certain kind of man at a certain kind of club, and this town has one.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Twente this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 Aug 2030
Words at Twente training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Lars Unnerstall 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 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 Twente will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Twente can pretend not to have heard.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Fabrizio Brignani is living that version at Twente, and it tends to show in the first month.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 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 offer from Roda for Gosiame Ngobeni 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.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Twente have done the hard part with AZ, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Delano Gelici has agreed terms with Groningen for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Lars Unnerstall 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.
Twente offered $740.0K; PSV 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ramiz Zerrouki 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 Twente, and it is not being withdrawn.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Fabian Merién is living that version at Twente, and it tends to show in the first month.
The offer went to Ajax this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Twente heard it as anything else.
Lars Unnerstall and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad3 Jun 2030
Words at Twente training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Owen Wijndal 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.
8 clean sheets in 25 appearances on loan. Whoever starts the first game of the season will have had to earn it, which is not something anybody at Twente could say last August.
Done, and with games to spare. Next season has floodlit nights against clubs from other countries in it, and the accounts have a line they did not have last year.
21 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. AZ 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 AZ they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Mateo Chávez 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.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Raheem Sterling 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 nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Twente can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Twente is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Twente this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad29 Apr 2030
Owen Wijndal 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.
6 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
Nobody at Twente 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Twente know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Twente, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” AZ have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Calvin Carrilho will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around AZ the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kees Smit was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
14 shut-outs in 37 games. A goalkeeper’s loan is judged on the afternoons when nothing happened at all, and Charlie Setford has been having a lot of them.
Delé Thomas 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 shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. AZ will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
“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 AZ know it.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 37 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what AZ can pretend not to have heard.
Add another name to the list: Breidablik have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Martin Henrion. The answer from AZ has not changed — yet.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around AZ 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 Raheem Sterling was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Sami Bouhoudane provided it, and the 9.37 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 Twente, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Twente is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Lars Unnerstall 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.
Squad25 Mar 2030
Words at Twente training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ramiz Zerrouki 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.
9 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.
1‑3 against Fenerbahce. Continental football is unforgiving about the things a domestic league lets a side get away with, and this was a night spent finding out which of those the club still has.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 69 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
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.
“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 AZ, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Calvin Carrilho will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around AZ the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Marcel Ruiz 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 had been thinking. Raheem Sterling 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.
11 clean sheets from 29 appearances at Notts County. That is the whole of a goalkeeper’s job done properly, and it is being done a long way from the club that owns him.
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Daley Blind will call it something else in private.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Sami Bouhoudane provided it, and the 8.76 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 Twente, and it is not being withdrawn.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Twente they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Ramiz Zerrouki 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 Lars Unnerstall was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Twente have lost him in all but the paperwork.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Bendegúz Kovács provided it, and the 8.99 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
He is going to Feyenoord, the club has $13.2M it did not have on Friday, and the phone-ins have already decided how they feel about that. Selling well and selling somebody they loved are not the same skill.
Player ratings21 Jan 2030
Melih Junuzov, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.76
A mark of 7.76 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
“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 Twente, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Robyn Esajas will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Twente the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Two goals and a mark of 8.29 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 Twente is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The offer from Groningen for Oskar Annell 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 rules permit it and it stings anyway. Sofian Bouzian has agreed terms with Utrecht 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 Owen Wijndal was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
15 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Twente lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Twente is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“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 Twente, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Twente this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The words a physio says slowly. 78 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 agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Twente is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Alexandre Tunkadi has agreed terms with ADO Den Haag for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Twente this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Sep 2029
Words at Twente training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Lars Unnerstall 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. Ayoub Oufkir 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.
102 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Twente 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 Twente is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“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 Twente, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom3 Sep 2029
Deadline passes with 30 signed and 21 gone
That is the business done at Twente until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Lars Unnerstall 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.
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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 116 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
123 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. AZ lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Atletico Nacional have kept their man, and AZ go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“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 AZ, and it is not being withdrawn.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around AZ they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Rome-Jayden Owusu-Oduro 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 offer went to Ajax this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
15 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Twente lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Twente scored in the 92th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Twente 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 Twente 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 Twente 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.
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.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Groningen waiting with a shirt. Nobody at AZ is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around AZ 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 AZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
At 23 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.
AZ have gone to Ajax 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.
In brief
SquadRaheem Sterling falls out with a teammate over standards
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and AE Kition waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Twente is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
“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 Twente, and it is not being withdrawn.
At 22 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.
The deal with Ajax 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Twente this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad2 Jul 2029
Words at Twente training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Lars Unnerstall 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.
Utrecht will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Mees Eppink has pre-agreed a move to Twente, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
32 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Twente 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 Twente can pretend not to have heard.
Everything was agreed with Heerenveen and then the doctor spoke. Twente have walked away from a signing on the advice of somebody who never saw him play, which is how it is supposed to work.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Twente have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Melih Junuzov has, at Twente, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Add another name to the list: PSV have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Sander Tangvik. The answer from Twente has not changed — yet.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Twente have done the hard part with AZ, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Lars Unnerstall 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.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and NEC waiting with a shirt. Nobody at AZ is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at AZ is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Kees Smit 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 offer went to Ajax this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud 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.
“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 AZ, and it is not being withdrawn.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at AZ heard it as anything else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The kind of year that ends with a name being read out in a hall. AZ had the benefit of it every week and now have the problem of everybody else knowing.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Armando Obispo 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 Twente, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Twente 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 Lars Unnerstall was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Alexandre Penetra has his answer from Twente; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Bram Nuytinck has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Twente have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Twente will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
Twente have made the call to Sporting CP. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at AZ is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Armando Obispo 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.
Nobody at AZ 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.
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 AZ that is a harder question to answer.
In brief
The dugoutSem van Duijn knocks on the manager's door
“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 Vitesse, and it is not being withdrawn.
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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Vitesse is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad30 Apr 2029
Words at Vitesse training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Simon Graves 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Alexander Büttner trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Vitesse. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
In brief
SquadThe training reports on Nick de Vos are not good
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Vitesse can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Noah Tamsamani will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Vitesse the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Givairo Read 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 Apr 2029
Words at Vitesse training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Simon Graves 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 had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Vitesse, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around AZ 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 AZ, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AZ 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 Raheem Sterling was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at AZ 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Mateo Chávez trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
20 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Excelsior were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
“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 Vitesse, and it is not being withdrawn.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Vitesse they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Givairo Read 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.
Squad26 Mar 2029
Words at Vitesse training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jofre Torrents 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 is 23 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.
In brief
Player ratingsNinety minutes of Jaden Slory at his very best
19 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.
Position 18 and 13 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Vitesse can pretend not to have heard.
39 days with the chair empty, a list of names that grows and shrinks by the day, and not one signature on anything. Every week that passes takes the best candidates off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Simon Graves was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
18 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.
0‑3 to NEC, 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.
Dealt with internally, which is the phrase a club uses when it would rather nobody asked twice. He will be fined, he will apologise, and he will play on Saturday.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 5 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Vitesse heard it as anything else.
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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Vitesse they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Vitesse can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Vitesse can pretend not to have heard.
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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Zwolle have kept their man, and Vitesse go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad8 Jan 2029
Simon Graves 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 clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around AZ people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around AZ 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 AZ 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 Raheem Sterling was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether AZ can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Raheem Sterling 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 first defeat in 6 matches. The manager will say it had to come; the dressing room will say it did not have to come against PSV; the supporters will say both, in that order, all week.
“I watch every AZ game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Sassuolo runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Kees Smit 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.
Squad18 Dec 2028
Calvin Stengs 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 phone has started ringing about Bendegúz Kovács again, and this time the name on the line is Vitória. AZ are listening politely and promising nothing.
8 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Bendegúz Kovács will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around AZ the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Kees Smit 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 had been thinking. Raheem Sterling 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.
Behind, and beaten by any honest reading, until minute 88. Excelsior had the points in their pocket and a corner of the ground still believed, which is generally when it happens.
Two goals and a mark of 8.17 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Delé Thomas did not need any: 8.20, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” AZ have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around AZ they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Raheem Sterling 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.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 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.
In brief
SquadMarcel Ruiz falls out with a teammate over standards
1‑2 away to the standard of Malmo FF. Nobody will pretend this was a scandal; the gap is real, it is measurable, and closing it is a project rather than a team talk.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” AZ have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Calvin Stengs 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.
0‑1 against Malmo FF, and an evening that measured the gap rather than the ninety minutes. Nothing about it was a disgrace and nothing about it was close.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Bendegúz Kovács will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around AZ the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Raheem Sterling was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Wesley Hoedt.