“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” De Graafschap have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
A season average of 7.09 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. De Graafschap know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at De Graafschap, and 2 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
In brief
The terracesThe press cannot get enough of Denso Kasius
A season average of 7.28 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. De Graafschap know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Louka Vanderbruggen and De Graafschap agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at De Graafschap pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at De Graafschap, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” De Graafschap have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what De Graafschap can pretend not to have heard.
A season average of 7.18 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. De Graafschap know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. De Graafschap know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Michael Dokunmu and De Graafschap agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at De Graafschap pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
2 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at De Graafschap, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The award is a small thing with a heavy meaning: for four weeks nobody in this division did his job better. De Graafschap have the trophy on a shelf and the player in the side.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” De Graafschap have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. De Graafschap have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at De Graafschap has been clear about where Gévero Markiet stands, which is more than many ever get.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. De Graafschap know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
In brief
The terracesSupporters make their feelings known about Shedrach Ebite
The terracesThe press cannot get enough of Denso Kasius
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what De Graafschap can pretend not to have heard.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” De Graafschap have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
The shirt still fits. Daley Lang is back at De Graafschap, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at De Graafschap, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Adrián Hernández may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
Contract settled, hands shaken, no fee changing hands. Vinicius Zachmann leaves De Graafschap the quiet way, and the wage bill breathes a little easier.
Contract settled, hands shaken, no fee changing hands. Djalil El Makrini leaves De Graafschap the quiet way, and the wage bill breathes a little easier.
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. De Graafschap know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Ibrahim El Kadiri keeps the shirt for now, at De Graafschap's convenience rather than his own.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what De Graafschap can pretend not to have heard.
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” De Graafschap have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“I will know when it is time. I am not there yet.” Ben Hamer is 39, with 260 appearances behind him, and De Graafschap will have to plan for whichever answer comes.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. De Graafschap know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at De Graafschap, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. De Graafschap know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
A season-long audition: AZ still own him, but the shirt and the minutes are De Graafschap's to give. A loan is a bet both clubs believe they are winning.
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Ibrahim El Kadiri keeps the shirt for now, at De Graafschap's convenience rather than his own.
A season-long audition: Feyenoord still own him, but the shirt and the minutes are De Graafschap's to give. A loan is a bet both clubs believe they are winning.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what De Graafschap can pretend not to have heard.
The fee is $850.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Roda drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
A season average of 7.26 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. De Graafschap know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at De Graafschap, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. De Graafschap know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what De Graafschap can pretend not to have heard.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at De Graafschap, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” De Graafschap have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
A season average of 7.26 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. De Graafschap know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at De Graafschap, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what De Graafschap can pretend not to have heard.
The club looked outside for a month, found nothing it preferred, and handed the job to the man who had been doing it anyway. He knows the building; now he has to prove he knows the rest.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Gévero Markiet and De Graafschap agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at De Graafschap, and 0 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at De Graafschap, and both men came out saying it was fine.
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Ties Wieggers knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what De Graafschap can pretend not to have heard.
Squad15 Mar 2027
At 21, Jevon Simons is already the best thing here
An average of 7.20 in a first team he is several years too young for. De Graafschap have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
14 days with the chair empty, a list of names that grows and shrinks by the day, and not one signature on anything. Every week that passes takes the best candidates off it.
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. ADO Den Haag defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what De Graafschap can pretend not to have heard.
“Somebody has to pick the team on Saturday, and this week that is me.” An interim appointment with no promises attached, which is how most of them start.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at De Graafschap, and 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what De Graafschap can pretend not to have heard.
At 32, Rai Vloet has come through every age group this club has, and now watches a borrowed player of much the same level start every week. An academy notices these things, and so do the parents in the stand.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what De Graafschap can pretend not to have heard.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at De Graafschap pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what De Graafschap can pretend not to have heard.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at De Graafschap pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
A season average of 7.17 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. De Graafschap know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” De Graafschap have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
He is 17, and nobody at De Graafschap signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at De Graafschap, and both men came out saying it was fine.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at De Graafschap can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what De Graafschap can pretend not to have heard.
The name of Michael Dokunmu has come up in conversations De Graafschap were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
“Ask me in the summer. I will know before anybody else does.” He is 39 with 260 appearances behind him, and De Graafschap have to plan for both answers.
In brief
Boardroom$502.7K taken back off the De Graafschap table
A season average of 7.13 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. De Graafschap know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Roda defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what De Graafschap can pretend not to have heard.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at De Graafschap, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
“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.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
113% of the income goes out in wages at De Graafschap
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Whether it was the goalkeeper or the ten in front of him is the argument that will fill every conversation in town this week. 1 saves does not settle it either way.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at De Graafschap, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what De Graafschap can pretend not to have heard.
“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.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
113% of the income goes out in wages at De Graafschap
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” De Graafschap have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what De Graafschap can pretend not to have heard.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
9 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at De Graafschap has to find a result from somewhere.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
173% of the income goes out in wages at De Graafschap
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
At 31, Rai Vloet has come through every age group this club has, and now watches a borrowed player of much the same level start every week. An academy notices these things, and so do the parents in the stand.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at De Graafschap, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Every debut is a small story about the future: Timo Jansen, 20 years old, off the academy pitches and into the first team. The parents in the stand will keep the programme.
“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.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
101% of the income goes out in wages at De Graafschap
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at De Graafschap, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Gévero Markiet is 35 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what De Graafschap can pretend not to have heard.
Tim Haksteeg is 20, and De Graafschap have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
Rogerinho is 39 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.
48 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.
He is 20, and nobody at De Graafschap signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
Justin Strootman is 16, and De Graafschap have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
Justin Dumfries is 16, and De Graafschap have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
49 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at De Graafschap has been clear about where Silvan Bröker stands, which is more than many ever get.
Adrián Hernández arrives at 34 with nothing left to prove and plenty left to pass on. Legs are a young man's currency; knowing where to stand never ages.
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.