Marked for Jayden Spier
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad11 Oct 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Willem II this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad11 Oct 2027
A row about effort at Willem II
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alessandro Ciranni was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
“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.
Squad11 Oct 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Junior Poortvliet and Willem II agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Too much change too quickly at Willem II
7 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.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Willem II told Jens Mathijsen something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Jayden Spier's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Market11 Oct 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Willem II know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Looking ahead11 Oct 2027
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Amir Bryson’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Willem II needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Transfer targets13 Sep 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Meldin Drešković and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match11 Sep 2027
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout13 Sep 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 1‑2 Rick Wijnaldum left the room before anybody could ask which.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Words at Willem II training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Uriël Van Aalst 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 dugout13 Sep 2027
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
The dugout13 Sep 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jayden Spier, and the manager let it.
The dugout13 Sep 2027
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Player ratings13 Sep 2027
Successful dribbles: 12. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout6 Sep 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Willem II may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
Willem II close the window on a squad of their own making
23 in and 22 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.
Market6 Sep 2027
“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.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Manuel Lazzari and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets6 Sep 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Twente have kept their man, and Willem II go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad6 Sep 2027
A row about effort at Willem II
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alessandro Ciranni was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Willem II are still strangers to each other
11 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.
Loan watch6 Sep 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Willem II, and 1 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Devin Haen named in the team of the month
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Devin Haen is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings16 Aug 2027
Both of them Devin Haen's — 8.64
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.64, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Transfer targets16 Aug 2027
The offer went to Blau-Weiß Linz 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.
Market16 Aug 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
The dugout16 Aug 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Market16 Aug 2027
Cambuur come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Willem II did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Match14 Aug 2027
11 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
Squad16 Aug 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Willem II this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market16 Aug 2027
Add another name to the list: FF Jaro have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Armin Ćulum. The answer from Willem II has not changed — yet.
Boardroom16 Aug 2027
5 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad19 Jul 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Willem II this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets19 Jul 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
The dugout19 Jul 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Transfer targets19 Jul 2027
A loan enquiry to KV Mechelen: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Transfer targets19 Jul 2027
A loan move for Mauresmo Hinoke is in the works
Willem II have made the call to TOP Oss. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Market19 Jul 2027
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Willem II will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Armin Ćulum 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 dugout19 Jul 2027
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
Market19 Jul 2027
The Maxim Dekker story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Maxim Dekker signs something — a contract at Willem II or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market21 Jun 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market21 Jun 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Transfer targets21 Jun 2027
Go Ahead Eagles wanted more than $71.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
Transfer targets21 Jun 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. FC Copenhagen have kept their man, and Willem II go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Market21 Jun 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Willem II have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad21 Jun 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Willem II this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout21 Jun 2027
Jayden Spier gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout21 Jun 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Jayden Spier's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
The dugout21 Jun 2027
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad24 May 2027
A row about effort at Willem II
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kasper Boogaard was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad24 May 2027
Damy Bernardina and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout24 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Gijs Besselink, and the manager let it.
Squad24 May 2027
Young player of the week: Eser Gürbüz
At 20 he was the best of everybody his age in the division for one weekend. Nobody should build a career on it and everybody quietly does.
The dugout24 May 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Jayden Spier's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
The dugout24 May 2027
Calvin Twigt knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Willem II, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market24 May 2027
The Maxim Dekker story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Maxim Dekker signs something — a contract at Willem II or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout24 May 2027
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.
Loan watch24 May 2027
30 starts and an average of 6.75. He went there to play and he is playing, which is the only thing a loan was ever for.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout10 May 2027
Damy Bernardina: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Willem II have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad10 May 2027
18 goals and a season average of 7.21. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Match8 May 2027
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout10 May 2027
“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.
Squad10 May 2027
Words at Willem II training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alessandro Ciranni 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.
Squad10 May 2027
Damy Bernardina 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.
Squad10 May 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Jayden Spier and Willem II agree another 5 years.
Player ratings10 May 2027
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.98 on the card, and the Willem II support went home talking about one name.
The dugout10 May 2027
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 1‑2, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad7 Dec 2026
28 goals and a season average of 7.35. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
Kasper Boogaard, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 8.14
A mark of 8.14 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Match5 Dec 2026
5 matches without a win for Willem II
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Willem II are no longer polite ones.
The terraces7 Dec 2026
He is 20 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.
Match1 Dec 2026
0‑1 to RKC Waalwijk, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad7 Dec 2026
A row about effort at Willem II
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kasper Boogaard was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“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; Willem II are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Jayden Spier in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Willem II this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jaden Slory, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Market17 Aug 2026
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Fortuna Sittard had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Marked 7.80 at 20, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.88 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Market17 Aug 2026
Roda come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Willem II did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Boardroom17 Aug 2026
The number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $120.0K — a club that wants Matyáš Havelka enough to be asked twice.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Thomas Verheydt and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
Willem II offered $290.0K; AZ 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.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
The terraces17 Aug 2026
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Kasper Boogaard 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.