The Groningen Courier
Boardroom17 May 2027
Groningen are in Europe
Qualification is done, and next season the floodlights come on for something bigger. A stage for the players, oxygen for the accounts and a passport for everybody else.
Market17 May 2027
Thom van Bergen puts it in writing
“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 The request is on a desk at Groningen, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad17 May 2027
Words exchanged at Groningen
Jacob Ondrejka 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.
Squad17 May 2027
Words at Groningen training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dies Janse 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.
Market17 May 2027
Groningen promote Cody Wijnaldum from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Cody Wijnaldum has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Market17 May 2027
One of our own: Denzel Hateboer joins the Groningen first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Denzel Hateboer is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market17 May 2027
One of our own: Denzel Simons joins the Groningen first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Denzel Simons is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The dugout17 May 2027
Wouter Prins 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 dugout17 May 2027
Marvin Peersman knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Marvin Peersman trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
In brief
- The dugout Sven Bouland has become a man the manager trusts
- The dugout The manager makes Remco Balk a promise
- Squad Remco Balk is finding his feet at Groningen