Marked for Szymon Włodarczyk
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad7 Dec 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Excelsior may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad7 Dec 2026
A season average of 7.39 with 7 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Szymon Włodarczyk, and the manager let it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad23 Nov 2026
There were 8 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad23 Nov 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Excelsior may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Match21 Nov 2026
A bad afternoon for Excelsior against AZ
0‑1 to AZ, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match10 Oct 2026
Roda made Excelsior work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad12 Oct 2026
“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.
Squad12 Oct 2026
14 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match26 Sep 2026
1‑2 to Willem II, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad28 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Stijn van Gassel, and the manager let it.
Squad28 Sep 2026
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Excelsior, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match12 Sep 2026
A 1‑0 win over De Graafschap, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Match9 Sep 2026
A 3‑2 win over De Graafschap, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Squad14 Sep 2026
“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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Dani Gómez knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Excelsior, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Every debut is a small story about the future: Sebastiaan Soetekouw, 20 years old, off the academy pitches and into the first team. The parents in the stand will keep the programme.
Market14 Sep 2026
The Dani Gómez talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Excelsior know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad3 Aug 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Stijn van Gassel and Excelsior agree another 4 years.
Market3 Aug 2026
Still no offer on the table, and Stijn van Gassel’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.
Market3 Aug 2026
No place for Rayvian Job in the plan
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Rayvian Job has his answer from Excelsior; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Irakli Yegoian 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.
Squad3 Aug 2026
It is a strip of cloth and it decides nothing on a Saturday. It still tells the dressing room exactly whose opinion the manager values, which is the whole point of it.
Squad3 Aug 2026
A new face in his position, and Szymon Włodarczyk suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Excelsior have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.