The Groningen Courier
Player ratings5 Apr 2027
Jorg Schreuders runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 28. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Elvis van der Laan is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Tygo Land 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 Groningen this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Jorg Schreuders 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 dugout5 Apr 2027
The manager makes an example of Etienne Vaessen
“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.
Match3 Apr 2027
Groningen come up short against Zwolle
Zwolle left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Ryan De Vrij out for 14 days
The medical room confirms 14 days on the sidelines for Ryan De Vrij, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
The dugout5 Apr 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 0‑2 Denzel Van de Beek left the room before anybody could ask which.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
Thijmen Blokzijl asks for a word with the manager
“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.
In brief
- The dugout Malcolm Jeng dropped after a run of poor form
- Looking ahead Mats Seuntjens goes back to face Utrecht
- Market The Etienne Vaessen question follows Groningen around