From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Defensive actions: 27, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Market30 Nov 2026
“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 The request is on a desk at Heerenveen, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Ringo Meerveld 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.
Match28 Nov 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad30 Nov 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Defensive actions: 17, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad30 Nov 2026
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Bernt Klaverboer knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
Squad30 Nov 2026
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Heerenveen pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 31. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market23 Nov 2026
Sam Kersten hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Heerenveen can pretend not to have heard.
Squad23 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Heerenveen this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match21 Nov 2026
It finished 2‑1, and it was Jacob Trenskow’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Heerenveen.
Squad23 Nov 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
A performance of 8.57 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match11 Nov 2026
Groningen are out and Heerenveen go through, 2‑1 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.
Market16 Nov 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Heerenveen can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 28. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Ringo Meerveld 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.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
A performance of 8.93 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad16 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Andries Noppert, and the manager let it.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
A performance of 8.57 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match14 Nov 2026
A bad afternoon for Heerenveen against NEC
0‑1 to NEC, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
Shots: 12, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 33. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad9 Nov 2026
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 25 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad9 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Heerenveen this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.31, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad9 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Luca Oyen
“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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad2 Nov 2026
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Bendegúz Kovács: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Heerenveen have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market2 Nov 2026
Nordin Bakker hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Heerenveen can pretend not to have heard.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Ringo Meerveld 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.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match31 Oct 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Bendegúz Kovács. 2‑1 against Heracles, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.28, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
A performance of 8.21 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad2 Nov 2026
20 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 38. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad26 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Heerenveen this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
A performance of 9.15 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad26 Oct 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Match24 Oct 2026
Willem II left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Marked 8.43 — 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 ratings26 Oct 2026
Marked 8.20 — 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.
Squad26 Oct 2026
The team sheet said everything about Joris van Overeem
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Joris van Overeem.
Squad26 Oct 2026
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Bernt Klaverboer knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad19 Oct 2026
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Ringo Meerveld 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.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Dylan Vente gets it from the manager
“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.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Marked 8.83 — 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 ratings19 Oct 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.74, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Shots: 12, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
Match17 Oct 2026
It finished 2‑2, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
Squad19 Oct 2026
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 38. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad12 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Heerenveen this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match10 Oct 2026
De Graafschap made Heerenveen work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.69, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.05, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Marcus Linday knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Heerenveen, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match3 Oct 2026
9 matches without a win for Heerenveen
The run now stands at 9, and the questions being asked around Heerenveen are no longer polite ones.
Market5 Oct 2026
Nordin Bakker hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Heerenveen can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 25. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Ringo Meerveld 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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Match3 Oct 2026
0‑1 to Groningen, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad5 Oct 2026
The medical room confirms 52 days on the sidelines for Erald Krasniqi, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
Wages eat 126% of everything Heerenveen earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Squad5 Oct 2026
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Jacob Trenskow will call it something else in private.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match26 Sep 2026
No end in sight to Heerenveen's wait for a win
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Heerenveen has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad28 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Heerenveen this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match26 Sep 2026
Utrecht left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Luca Oyen runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Marked 8.59 — 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 ratings28 Sep 2026
A costly moment from Levi Smans
One lapse, one goal, and ninety minutes of honest work counting for nothing. That is the job at Heerenveen, and it is a cruel one.
Squad28 Sep 2026
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Luca Oyen asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
The one thing Dylan Vente could not do
Shots: 7, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad21 Sep 2026
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.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 30. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match19 Sep 2026
6 matches without a win for Heerenveen
The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Heerenveen are no longer polite ones.
Squad21 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Heerenveen this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match19 Sep 2026
Maxence Rivera scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to Feyenoord, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
A performance of 8.81 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad21 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Andries Noppert, and the manager let it.
Squad21 Sep 2026
The team sheet said everything about Maas Willemsen
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Maas Willemsen.
Match19 Sep 2026
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad14 Sep 2026
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Match12 Sep 2026
4 matches without a win for Heerenveen
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Heerenveen are no longer polite ones.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Dylan Vente 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.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match12 Sep 2026
A bad afternoon for Heerenveen against PSV
0‑1 to PSV, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Sam Kersten gets it from the manager
“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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 44. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market7 Sep 2026
Utrecht come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Heerenveen did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market7 Sep 2026
Nordin Bakker hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Heerenveen can pretend not to have heard.
Market7 Sep 2026
The deal that would have taken Robin Bouw to Cambuur has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Heerenveen with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Ringo Meerveld 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.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Heerenveen now.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Dylan Vente gets it from the manager
“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.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Defensive actions: 17. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
89% of the income goes out in wages at Heerenveen
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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market31 Aug 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Heerenveen can pretend not to have heard.
Market31 Aug 2026
The offer from Zwolle for Nordin Bakker was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Squad31 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Heerenveen this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market31 Aug 2026
The name of Zakaria El Kachati has come up in conversations Heerenveen were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Match29 Aug 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Nobody could get near Levi Smans
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad31 Aug 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
The one thing Dylan Vente could not do
Shots: 8, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Marked 4.89, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 33. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market24 Aug 2026
The offer from PSV for Ringo Meerveld was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
A defender's afternoon for Oliver Braude
Defensive actions: 30. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Market24 Aug 2026
“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.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Defensive actions: 26, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Defensive actions: 26. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Ringo Meerveld 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.
Match22 Aug 2026
Heerenveen and AZ cancel each other out
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. AZ came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
Market24 Aug 2026
Dylan Vente linked with a move away
The name of Dylan Vente keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Heerenveen say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Market17 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 26. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market17 Aug 2026
PSV pay $2.7M, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
Squad17 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Heerenveen this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match15 Aug 2026
It finished 2‑1, and it was Dylan Vente’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Heerenveen.
Squad17 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Marcus Linday, and the manager let it.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
A performance of 8.80 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
A performance of 8.40 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market10 Aug 2026
NEC come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Heerenveen did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market10 Aug 2026
“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.
Market10 Aug 2026
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Heerenveen have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ringo Meerveld and Heerenveen agree another 5 years.
Squad10 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Heerenveen this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom10 Aug 2026
The Heerenveen debt reaches $19.2M
Football clubs borrow; that is not the story. Borrowing more than the facility allows is, because from here it is the owner's money or somebody else's decision, and neither of those belongs to the board.
Market10 Aug 2026
Still no offer on the table, and Andries Noppert’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Ringo Meerveld asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Joris van Overeem has done the arithmetic and does not like the answer. Nothing corrodes a squad faster, and no club has ever solved it by explaining the wage structure to a footballer.
In brief
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The terraces
Supporters make their feelings known about Luuk Brouwers
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Boardroom
Heerenveen spend where nobody can see it
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market3 Aug 2026
“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.
Market3 Aug 2026
The offer from NEC for Nordin Bakker was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Joris van Overeem and Heerenveen agree another 2 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Heerenveen this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market3 Aug 2026
Still no offer on the table, and Joris van Overeem’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Ringo Meerveld knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Heerenveen, and both men came out saying it was fine.