11 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
Kacper Potulski 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Andries Noppert was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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.
The dugout29 Nov 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Guus Malen was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the RKC Waalwijk dressing room was either.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 14 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
2‑6 to Cambuur, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Two goals and a mark of 8.71 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Henk Veerman 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.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 8 goals between RKC Waalwijk and Cambuur, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
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.
He is 21 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Jordan Holsgrove 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Roy Kuijpers was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Marcel Schaapman’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and RKC Waalwijk needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Bjarn Zorgdrager is on it.
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at RKC Waalwijk would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Roy Kuijpers trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at RKC Waalwijk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
10 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kacper Potulski was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason RKC Waalwijk will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph a local paper has to write. 36 years old, 3 points down on where he was, and a body that has started charging interest on a career.
9 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. RKC Waalwijk will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Jordan Holsgrove 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Julian Geerts has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
8 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around RKC Waalwijk are no longer polite ones.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Words at RKC Waalwijk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kacper Potulski 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.
Successful dribbles: 20. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Liam van Gelderen 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.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Jong Utrecht next, and one man in the RKC Waalwijk dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Melle Witteveen trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Jean-Paul Boëtius 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Andries Noppert was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
MVV Maastricht next, and one man in the RKC Waalwijk dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. RKC Waalwijk know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Jordan Holsgrove arrived with a record at a bigger club than this one, and the room has treated him accordingly. The young ones watch him train; the senior ones watch to see whether it lasts.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Jean-Paul Boëtius and RKC Waalwijk agree another 2 years.
Successful dribbles: 17. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at RKC Waalwijk, another week without a signature from Henk Veerman.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at RKC Waalwijk can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at RKC Waalwijk, and both men came out saying it was fine.
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Henk Veerman 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.
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.
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
The dugout27 Sep 2027
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Guus Malen chose the glass-half-full version of 1‑1; the supporters left with the other one.
ADO Den Haag next, and one man in the RKC Waalwijk dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” RKC Waalwijk have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Henk Veerman 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.
The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 14 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Andries Noppert was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Successful dribbles: 14. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what RKC Waalwijk can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings13 Sep 2027
Julian Geerts, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.60
A mark of 7.60 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” RKC Waalwijk have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at RKC Waalwijk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The phone has started ringing about Faissal Al Mazyani again, and this time the name on the line is Willem II. RKC Waalwijk are listening politely and promising nothing.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Bodo/Glimt have kept their man, and RKC Waalwijk go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Level with 90 minutes on the clock, after an afternoon RKC Waalwijk had all but put away. Almere City will call it a point earned; the home dressing room will call it two given away, and both of them are right.
In brief
SquadWords at RKC Waalwijk training over how hard people work
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” RKC Waalwijk may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
RKC Waalwijk close the window on a squad of their own making
21 in and 9 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Henk Veerman and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Words at RKC Waalwijk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Chris-Kévin Nadje 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.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Marcel Schaapman commits to RKC Waalwijk for another 3 years.
Squad6 Sep 2027
9 new faces, and RKC Waalwijk are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what RKC Waalwijk can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at RKC Waalwijk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
RKC Waalwijk asked and PSV said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Minute 90, against Jong Ajax, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at RKC Waalwijk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He is 21 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Zino Sneijer was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at RKC Waalwijk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Chris-Kévin Nadje was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
RKC Waalwijk asked and Twente 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 phone has started ringing about Faissal Al Mazyani again, and this time the name on the line is Willem II. RKC Waalwijk are listening politely and promising nothing.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Donny 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.
The deal with Heerenveen is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
RKC Waalwijk have gone to AZ with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Palmeiras have kept their man, and RKC Waalwijk go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at RKC Waalwijk can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Words at RKC Waalwijk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Layee Kromah 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.
Squad9 Aug 2027
9 new faces, and RKC Waalwijk are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what RKC Waalwijk can pretend not to have heard.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; RKC Waalwijk are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
The offer went to Heerenveen this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Henk Veerman 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Zino Sneijer was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what RKC Waalwijk can pretend not to have heard.
Henk Veerman 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.
The offer went to AZ this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Words at RKC Waalwijk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Chris-Kévin Nadje 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.
RKC Waalwijk asked and Crvena Zvezda said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and RKC Waalwijk will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
RKC Waalwijk had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Crvena Zvezda, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at RKC Waalwijk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Crvena Zvezda have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. RKC Waalwijk 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 RKC Waalwijk can pretend not to have heard.
Kacper Potulski 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.
RKC Waalwijk asked and PSV said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Timo Schreuder is 20, and RKC Waalwijk 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.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation RKC Waalwijk are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Roy Kuijpers 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what RKC Waalwijk can pretend not to have heard.
The deal that would have taken Richard van der Venne to Helmond Sport has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to RKC Waalwijk with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. RKC Waalwijk have done the hard part with Vitesse, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Chris-Kévin Nadje was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
RKC Waalwijk asked and Ajax said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at RKC Waalwijk, another week without a signature from Henk Veerman.
Henk Veerman 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.
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.
RKC Waalwijk asked and Al Ahly 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 most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. RKC Waalwijk will quote 15 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at RKC Waalwijk would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what RKC Waalwijk can pretend not to have heard.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at FC Copenhagen is saying, and nobody at RKC Waalwijk is enjoying the guessing.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at RKC Waalwijk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Words at RKC Waalwijk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Soufiane Hetli 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Burnley have kept their man, and RKC Waalwijk go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Henk Veerman trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation RKC Waalwijk are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Roy Kuijpers has his answer from RKC Waalwijk; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what RKC Waalwijk can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Richard van der Venne will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around RKC Waalwijk the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Sevilla is saying, and nobody at RKC Waalwijk is enjoying the guessing.
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
Henk Veerman and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Words at RKC Waalwijk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Chris-Kévin Nadje 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.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Tim van de Loo has his answer from RKC Waalwijk; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
In brief
The dugoutHenk Veerman asks for a word with the manager
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at RKC Waalwijk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Henk Veerman 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Adrián Portillo and RKC Waalwijk agree another 3 years.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Words at RKC Waalwijk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jesper Uneken 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.
RKC Waalwijk have made the call to FC Copenhagen. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Henk Veerman 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.
Squad31 May 2027
Words at RKC Waalwijk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kevin Yakob 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.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at RKC Waalwijk can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Kevin Yakob 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.
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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. RKC Waalwijk know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one RKC Waalwijk will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at RKC Waalwijk, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The least glamorous thing a foreign signing ever does and the one that decides most of them. A player who can hear the shout behind him is a different footballer from one who cannot.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager plants his flag on Anan Khalaili
A brace, and Nathan Lowe takes the afternoon — 9.42
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Nathan Lowe provided it, and the 9.42 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Anan Khalaili 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Frédéric Guilbert was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The dugout17 May 2027
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Guus Malen, on a 2‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Xander Mulder will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around RKC Waalwijk the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad10 May 2027
Kevin Yakob 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.
Jordy Bawuah 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.
Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The dugout10 May 2027
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑2 defeat, delivered by Guus Malen to a room that had heard them before.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. RKC Waalwijk will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“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 RKC Waalwijk, and it is not being withdrawn.
A season average of 7.12 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. RKC Waalwijk know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Marked 9.96 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason RKC Waalwijk will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Frédéric Guilbert 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.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Kevin Yakob 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.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Guus Malen after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Tijme Wessels's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason RKC Waalwijk will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at RKC Waalwijk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Words at RKC Waalwijk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kevin Yakob 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Bjarn Zorgdrager and RKC Waalwijk agree another 4 years.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at RKC Waalwijk, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Guus Malen chose the glass-half-full version of 1‑1; the supporters left with the other one.
In brief
The dugoutThe plan did not have a place for Soufiane Hetli
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 43 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around RKC Waalwijk they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Henk Veerman 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Frédéric Guilbert was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Feyenoord will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Zino Sneijer has pre-agreed a move to RKC Waalwijk, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
Something was said to Frédéric Guilbert and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. RKC Waalwijk will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Romano Postema provided it, and the 9.54 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.91 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” RKC Waalwijk have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Henk Veerman 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.
A season average of 7.02 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. RKC Waalwijk know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
In brief
MatchAnother one collected away from home
The dugoutThe team sheet said everything about Soufiane Hetli
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 58 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Kevin Yakob 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.
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.
Something was said to Kevin Yakob and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
“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.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
Tijme Wessels is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Loek Postma’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and RKC Waalwijk needing him to play as if none of it matters.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. RKC Waalwijk will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” RKC Waalwijk have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Words at RKC Waalwijk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Frédéric Guilbert 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.
He is 21 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Xander Mulder 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.
In brief
The dugoutThe view from the dugout
SquadRKC Waalwijk are still strangers to each other
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 73 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” RKC Waalwijk have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at RKC Waalwijk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Henk Veerman 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.
Successful dribbles: 21. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Words at RKC Waalwijk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Frédéric Guilbert 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.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. RKC Waalwijk will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“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 RKC Waalwijk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Successful dribbles: 23. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at RKC Waalwijk can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at RKC Waalwijk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 91 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 100 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
12 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at RKC Waalwijk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
6 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Kevin Yakob 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.
Marked 8.09 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad22 Feb 2027
6 new faces, and RKC Waalwijk are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason RKC Waalwijk will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at RKC Waalwijk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Henk Veerman 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.
Successful dribbles: 22. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Kevin Yakob 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.
RKC Waalwijk asked and Slavia Prague said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason RKC Waalwijk will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Two goals and a mark of 7.87 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what RKC Waalwijk can pretend not to have heard.
10 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between RKC Waalwijk and Vitesse, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason RKC Waalwijk will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around RKC Waalwijk people have started saying his name in the past tense.
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 have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
RKC Waalwijk close the window on a squad of their own making
4 in and 0 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Viktoria Plzen keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Anan Khalaili 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.
9 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
At 35 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 10.00 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Jordy Bawuah did not need any: 8.11, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
“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 RKC Waalwijk, and it is not being withdrawn.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. RKC Waalwijk will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The deal with RWDM is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Henk Veerman 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Soufiane Hetli was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
RKC Waalwijk asked and Helmond Sport said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. RKC Waalwijk will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 9.19 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Nazjir Held did not need any: 8.12, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
RKC Waalwijk asked and Barcelona said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. RKC Waalwijk will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.93 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and RKC Waalwijk have had the benefit of it.
Go Ahead Eagles will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Sven Jansen has pre-agreed a move to RKC Waalwijk, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
RKC Waalwijk asked and Cruz Azul said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 99 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Nazjir Held did not need any: 7.92, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason RKC Waalwijk will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.84 for the rest of it.
1 for Tim van de Loo, marked 7.42, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Niek Schiks 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.
At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Marked 7.69 on 9 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
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.” Liam van Gelderen and RKC Waalwijk agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
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.
Jordy Bawuah 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Niek Schiks has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
A performance of 8.01 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Guus Malen kept it short after the 1‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
Henk Veerman and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Words at RKC Waalwijk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Soufiane Hetli 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.
A point taken on 90 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Quentin van Beekveld and RKC Waalwijk agree another 3 years.
Squad7 Dec 2026
A place in the month's best eleven for Nazjir Held
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Nazjir Held has come out of that comparison in the side, and RKC Waalwijk have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Guus Malen after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at RKC Waalwijk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Jesper Uneken has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Marked 8.55 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Marked 8.29 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Soufiane Hetli was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.05. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Marked 8.03 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 5‑0, Guus Malen could afford to be generous.
Henk Veerman 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.
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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Bjarn Zorgdrager and RKC Waalwijk agree another 4 years.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Guus Malen after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
Jong AZ next, and one man in the RKC Waalwijk dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Henk Veerman 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Soufiane Hetli was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Daniël van Kaam’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and RKC Waalwijk needing him to play as if none of it matters.
What was a back-page link has become a chant, and the chant is not friendly. RKC Waalwijk would rather it were settled quietly, and it has stopped being quiet.
Some goals win a match and some take one off somebody else. Daniël van Kaam scored in the 87th minute, Dordrecht had already begun thinking about the journey home, and RKC Waalwijk took the lot.
Dordrecht made RKC Waalwijk work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Daniël van Kaam was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.15. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. RKC Waalwijk told Chris-Kévin Nadje something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Words at RKC Waalwijk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Harrie Kuster 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.
5 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
2 kept out from twelve yards, and a stadium that will describe each of them for twenty years. A goalkeeper needs one night like this in a career, and this was it.
Volendam go through and RKC Waalwijk go home, 1‑1 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Match31 Oct 2026
After 8 games, RKC Waalwijk finally taste it again
The first defeat in 8 matches. The manager will say it had to come; the dressing room will say it did not have to come against Emmen; the supporters will say both, in that order, all week.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at RKC Waalwijk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at RKC Waalwijk, another week without a signature from Henk Veerman.
The board was up, the win was priced in, and then Jong Utrecht scored. There is no worse minute to concede in and the ground emptied in the silence that follows one.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Harrie Kuster 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.
Successful dribbles: 15. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
Everybody saw it before anybody said it. At 35 the numbers say 3 points down on what he was, and the question for RKC Waalwijk is how to handle a man they owe a great deal.
Niek Schiks 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.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 3‑1, Guus Malen could afford to be generous.
In brief
SquadLoek Postma 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.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Liam van Gelderen and RKC Waalwijk agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. RKC Waalwijk told Jordy Bawuah something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Tim van de Loo has his answer from RKC Waalwijk; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at RKC Waalwijk, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at RKC Waalwijk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Every run ends on an afternoon somebody had marked down as routine. This one went 4 matches, which is long enough that a town had stopped counting, and short enough that it will remember exactly who stopped it.
13 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against ADO Den Haag? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
Nobody at RKC Waalwijk is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
4 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.
Henk Veerman 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.
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.06, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Words at RKC Waalwijk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jordy Bawuah 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.
The team at the top of the table next, and the honest measure of where this side actually is. Anybody can beat the club below them; the question is what happens against ADO Den Haag.
A brace, and Henk Veerman takes the afternoon — 9.30
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Henk Veerman provided it, and the 9.30 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Harrie Kuster, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.85
A mark of 7.85 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Henk Veerman 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.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words at RKC Waalwijk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Soufiane Hetli 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.
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
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.
“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 RKC Waalwijk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at RKC Waalwijk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Soufiane Hetli 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Cercle Brugge have kept their man, and RKC Waalwijk go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Soufiane Hetli. 1‑0 against Almere City, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
100 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 21 arrived, 6 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: SuperSport United keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Standard Liege have kept their man, and RKC Waalwijk go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at RKC Waalwijk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at RKC Waalwijk, another week without a signature from Henk Veerman.
Four weeks in which nobody in the division did his job better. The award goes on a shelf and the player goes back into the side, which is the order RKC Waalwijk prefer.
Squad7 Sep 2026
13 new faces, and RKC Waalwijk are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
At 35 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 10.00 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Jean-Paul Boëtius provided it, and the 8.36 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Navajo Bakboord provided it, and the 8.02 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody 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 RKC Waalwijk can pretend not to have heard.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. RKC Waalwijk have done the hard part with SuperSport United, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
“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 RKC Waalwijk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Henk Veerman 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.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Layee Kromah is living that version at RKC Waalwijk, and it tends to show in the first month.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Soufiane Hetli was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Vitesse have kept their man, and RKC Waalwijk go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Guus Malen after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 9.38 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.
The hardest thing about being 19 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Jordy Bawuah did not need any: 7.68, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
6 goals in one match, Henk Veerman on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of RKC Waalwijk and FC Eindhoven.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Storm Vloemans is living that version at RKC Waalwijk, and it tends to show in the first month.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Heerenveen have kept their man, and RKC Waalwijk go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Telstar waiting with a shirt. Nobody at RKC Waalwijk is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Soufiane Hetli is living that version at RKC Waalwijk, and it tends to show in the first month.
The deal with PSV is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Henk Veerman 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.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Words at RKC Waalwijk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Soufiane Hetli 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. PSV have kept their man, and RKC Waalwijk go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Marco Klaassen is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Cody Clasie is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Arnaut Frimpong is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Jean-Paul Boëtius and RKC Waalwijk agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at RKC Waalwijk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Add another name to the list: Olympic Charleroi have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Tim van der Leij. The answer from RKC Waalwijk has not changed — yet.
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
Squad3 Aug 2026
7 new faces, and RKC Waalwijk are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
FC Copenhagen have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.