The Excelsior Gazette
Squad22 Mar 2027
Tempers go at Excelsior
Mats Deijl 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.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Gyan de Regt 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.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Another clean sheet for Stijn van Gassel
13 shut-outs and counting. Goalkeepers are only noticed when they fail, and Stijn van Gassel has given nobody the chance.
Market22 Mar 2027
Excelsior promote Daley Van Dijk from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Daley Van Dijk 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.
Market22 Mar 2027
Quincy Weghorst steps up from the Excelsior academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Quincy Weghorst has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market22 Mar 2027
One of our own: Frenkie Stengs joins the Excelsior first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Frenkie Stengs is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market22 Mar 2027
Excelsior promote Wout Stengs from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Wout Stengs 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.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Dirk Rasing out for 15 days
The medical room confirms 15 days on the sidelines for Dirk Rasing, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
The team sheet said everything about Rick Meissen
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 Rick Meissen.
In brief
- The dugout Rick Gakpo on the point
- Match Excelsior draw a blank against AZ
- The dugout Lennard Hartjes knocks on the manager’s door