A brace, and Thijs Oosting takes the afternoon — 8.74
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Thijs Oosting provided it, and the 8.74 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.29 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Zwolle and Heracles, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Naj Lulić 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Silvinho Esajas was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings14 Feb 2028
Koen Kostons was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.17. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Zwolle they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
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.
Sherel Floranus 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 Dylan Ruward was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I watch every Zwolle game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Feyenoord runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
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.
“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 The request is on a desk at Zwolle, and it is not being withdrawn.
Thijs Oosting 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.
Add another name to the list: Feyenoord have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Nick Dobben. The answer from Zwolle has not changed — yet.
“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 Zwolle know it.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Zwolle told Dylan Mbayo something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Denzel Klaassen after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Words at Zwolle training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ryan Thomas 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 85th minute, half the ground already edging towards the exits, and Sydney van Hooijdonk decided nobody was going anywhere. Groningen had no time left to answer.
Thijs Oosting 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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words at Zwolle training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sydney van Hooijdonk 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 is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Zwolle told Anselmo García Mac Nulty something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 12 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
18 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Zwolle 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 Zwolle, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Words at Zwolle training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thijs Oosting 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 Zwolle this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Zwolle asked and Bodo/Glimt said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Denzel Klaassen after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Nesher Meulenbroek is 20, and Zwolle have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.