The Heracles Sentinel
The dugout16 Aug 2027
Mario Engels says Heracles went back on their word
“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.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Tempers go at Heracles
Gaoussou Diarra 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.
Boardroom16 Aug 2027
Graduation day at Heracles
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.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Djevencio van der Kust 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.
Transfer targets16 Aug 2027
Door shut on Agustín Fontana
Heracles asked and Palermo said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The dugout16 Aug 2027
The manager makes an example of Tristan van Gilst
“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.
Market16 Aug 2027
Quincy Timber steps up from the Heracles academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Quincy Timber 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.
Market16 Aug 2027
One of our own: Arnaut Brobbey joins the Heracles first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Arnaut Brobbey is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market16 Aug 2027
One of our own: Bas Clasie joins the Heracles first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Bas Clasie is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
In brief
- Market One of our own: Jasper Xavi Simons joins the Heracles first team
- Boardroom Heracles let a promise lapse
- Squad 13 new faces, and Heracles are still learning each other