All posts by Will Burns

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE, CHAMPIONS LEAGUE REPORT

PSV spoil Memphis’ return to Eindhoven

September 15, 2015 Will Burns Leave a comment

TUESDAY 15TH SEPTEMBER

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE – GROUP B

PSV 2-1 MAN UTD

It was a night marred with a horrendous injury to Luke Shaw, but PSV will treat this as a night to remember, a great return to the Champions League with an unlikely victory against Louis van Gaal’s Manchester United writes Will Burns.

As the teams emerged this evening, the atmosphere was electric and for good reason. The Philips Stadion had not seen Champions League football since the 2008/09 season when current head coach Philip Cocu was actually on the pitch at that time for PSV. This time he was leading from the sideline and grabbed a vital victory in Group B of the Champions League.

With Memphis Depay returning ‘home’ of sorts, Louis van Gaal handed a first start to £58m man Anthony Martial in the lone striker role for the Manchester United. The Red Devils came out with a high press, especially on Andrés Guardado, hustling the midfielder from the off. The match failed to get going and the visitors were forced make an early change after quarter of an hour when Luke Shaw suffered a suspected broken leg.

The left-back was moving at pace and made a great run into the PSV area, he was then met head-on with a strong challenge from Hector Moreno. The Mexican defender immediately moved away from the area looking distressed which explained to all it was a bad one. Shaw was replaced by Argentine international Marcos Rojo after a six minute delay to comfortably remove the England defender from the pitch. No booking, no penalty, no foul was given by Italian referee Nicola Rizzoli – Moreno left his feet in the challenge and was lucky to still be on the pitch.

The compassionated fans applauded Shaw off and the minutes surrounding the injury gave the stadium a real subdued feel. Once the game got going again, PSV pressed dangerously with the speed of Luciano Narsingh and Maxime Lestienne causing some trouble but the flag of the linesman was raised more than often halting the play.

Although the game was playing at a good tempo, we had to wait 38 minutes for our first chance as Chris Smalling nodded wide from a Juan Mata free-kick. In the second chance of the game, three minutes later, we had the opening goal. Daley Blind sliding in former PSV favourite Depay, whom overpowered Santiago Arias, slipping his challenge with great footwork and slotted home with a goal that the attendance has seen time and time before.

The former PSV hero could have grabbed his second just a minute later. Mata gifted Depay a ball which sent the winger wide and subsequently dragged his shot the wrong side of Zoet’s post. The hosts were on the ropes and Smalling, somehow found himself through on goal and forced a strong stop from Zoet to keep the score at 1-0.

The lead only lasted six minutes as Cocu’s men grabbed a fortunate equaliser on 47 minutes. Lestienne with a whipping corner and defender Moreno easily rose over Matteo Darmain and the Mexican’s effort skimmed off Blind’s head to nestle into the net.

The second half began an even contest with both sides using swift attacks to build chances but neither goalkeeper were trouble initially before Narsingh gave David de Gea no chance with PSV’s second goal.

As they threatened in the first half, PSV’s famous counter attacking football gained them the unlikely lead. Great awareness from Guardado spotted the troublesome Lestienne sitting on the high defence of United. The Belgian received the ball and sped down the left and crossed at the back post for the unmarked Narsingh nod home from yards out and the Philips Stadion erupted.

Van Gaal’s side should have been level soon after, Bastien Schweinsteiger lofted a wonderful ball over the PSV back four, putting it on a plate for Mata, but the Spaniard failed to control the ball and the Eindhoven jeers and cheers sounded out to sarcastically congratulate him.

The visitors dominated and hunted the equaliser but lacked options in the final third. Van Gaal added Marouane Fellaini into the mix replacing Ander Herrera but the big Belgian, like on Saturday in United’s 3-1 win over Liverpool; he did not have any affect.

United’s energy waned and the long balls were being booted forward as PSV got men behind the ball and rode out the unlikely win.

It was great performance for PSV who finally deliver some good news for the Eredivisie and Dutch football in general. The Eindhoven side had done their country proud tonight and on the final whistle they celebrated like they had lifted the trophy, not just a victory in their first game.

TEAMS

PSV: Zoet – Arias, Bruma, Moreno, Brenet – Hendrix, Pröpper, Guardado (Schaars 72) – Narsingh, De Jong, Lestienne (Locadia 86).

GOALS: Moreno 47, Narsingh 57.

BOOKINGS: Arias 55, Moreno 60, Bruma 71.

MANCHESTER UNITED: De Gea – Darmian, Smalling, Blind, Shaw (Marcos Rojo 24) – Schweinsteiger, Herrera – Young (Valencia 86), Mata, Depay – Martial.

GOALS: Depay 41.

BOOKINGS: Smalling 67.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Joshua Brenet (PSV)

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EUROPA LEAGUE, EUROPA LEAGUE PREVIEW, EUROPEAN SCOUTING REPORT

EUROPEAN SCOUTING REPORT: Celtic

September 15, 2015 Will Burns 1 Comment

In a battle of two historic giants of European football, Ajax play host to Scottish champions Celtic on Thursday in the first game of UEFA Europa League Group A, Will Burns is on hand with a full lowdown on Ronny Deila’s men.

No stranger to European competition, Glasgow-based club Celtic hold the moniker of being the first British club to have won the European Cup defeating Inter Milan in the final in May 1967. Domestically, The Hoops have clinched a grand total of 46 Scottish League titles and the Scottish F.A. Cup on 36 occasions, while lifting the League Cup a total of 15 times.

In the 1966-67 European Cup winning season, Celtic enjoyed their most successful year when it comes to silverware which will possibly never ever be repeated. Not only claiming European football’s most coveted prize but winning the League title, the Scottish F.A. Cup, the League Cup and the lesser-known Glasgow Cup.

After dispatching the threat of Aberdeen last season on the way to lifting the League title once again, Champions League qualification was a mist for the Scottish giants. However, a disappointing qualification campaign in pre-season in which Scottish clubs wade through three sets of qualifiers before clinching as group stage spot, Celtic fell at the final hurdle. A 5-0 aggregate win over Icelandic champions KR Reykjavík meant Celtic must face their conquers from the 2013/14 qualifiers, Polish side Legia Warsaw. After crashing to a 4-1 defeat away in Warsaw, Ronny Deila’s men hit Legia with a 3-0 defeat to emerge to the playoff on away goals. NK Maribor stood in Celtic’s way of the group stages and unfortunately for The Bhoys after holding the Slovenian champions to a 1-1 draw, they failed to clinch the spot after Maribor captain Tavares notched the only goal of the game.

Deila now has to prepare Celtic for another Europa League run after his first one ended in a valiant, but failed effort (4-3 on aggregate) last season with a last sixteen defeat to their 1966/67 final opponents Inter Milan.

TACTICS

The defending Scottish Premiership champions dropped two points to their closest rivals Aberdeen on Saturday lunchtime. What made things worse was that The Dons were down to ten-men when The Bhoys conceded the fatal second goal in a 2-1 defeat.

The result will have been a bitter blow to the confidence of Ronny Deila and his squad and Ajax and Frank de Boer may chomping at the bit, knowing this may be the perfect time to add more weight on The Hoops’ shoulders.

Celtic set up for Saturday’s game in a 4-2-3-1 formation and held the majority of the possession in the fierce but a close match at Pittodrie, however in front of goal is where they lost the game. Only three shots landed on target with eight sailing into the stands. The back four received a shake-up after Virgil van Dijk moved south to the Premier League in the transfer window so Tyler Blackett partnered Dedryck Boyata (pardon spelling in the below graphic) in the centre of the defence, wth Charlie Mulgrew on the left and the usually reliable Swedish right-back Mikael Lustig slotting into his normal position, although he did not appear comfortable dealing with Aberdeen’s crosses.

Celtic like to use a long ball from the back to send speedy striker Leigh Griffiths on his way racing onto goal, which is how the opener came about. Left-back Charlie Mulgrew launched a ball over the top of the Aberdeen back four onto Griffiths chest and Reds defender Andrew Considine pulled back the striker to give away a penalty. Griffiths converted for his ninth goal of the season.

However, Aberdeen were encouraged by some slack passing by Boyata, and gradually claimed a foothold to fight back and grab an equaliser through a spot-kick of their own after the Belgian defender bundled Graham Shinnie over in the area in what was an unnecessary challenge. Adam Rooney stepped up to level the game up.

Tempers flared, as they do between these sides and Jonny Hayes was dismissed on 72 minutes for rash challenge on Lustig. Defensive frailties were unveiled in the dying seconds when Celtic simply failed to defend a free-kick that allowed Paul Quinn, unmarked, to head home the winner and send Aberdeen top of the Scottish Premiership with a game in hand.

MANAGER PROFILE: Ronny Deila

A relatively young manager at only 39 years of age, former Norwegian defender Deila took over the reins at Parkhead in June last year after being very successful in his homeland with Strømsgodset, winning the Tippeligaen before leaving for Glasgow.

Quite the fan favourite for Hoops fans after just over a year in the job, Deila lead Celtic to a League and League Cup double but after failing to qualify for the Champions League football this year, the critics were out in force, pondering whether or not he is up for the job.

KEY PLAYER: Stefan Johansen

Strangely enough, Stefan Johansen arrived from Strømsgodset before Ronny Deila joined Celtic, then-manager Neil Lennon paid a £2 million fee for the midfielder. That price, after just over a year at the club, looks to be a absolute snip as Johansen has excelled and won acclaim for fans and the press for his performances in the League and Europe last term.

The 24-year old, Johansen is a technical, smart central midfielder with tremendous awareness for a pass. The left-footer’s range of passing is impressive and also a real threat from free-kicks. At Celtic he is played with as a creative playmaker in the middle of the park but can also be at home in a deep-lying role when protecting a lead.

Johansen will be have to be closely marked by Frank de Boer’s midfield with youngster Riechedly Bazoer or the experienced Nemanja Gudelj will have the task of keeping the Norwegian under control – both will have their hands full.

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EUROPA LEAGUE, EUROPA LEAGUE PREVIEW, EUROPEAN SCOUTING REPORT

EUROPEAN SCOUTING REPORT: Partizan Belgrade

September 14, 2015 Will Burns Leave a comment

This Thursday night John van der Brom takes AZ Alkmaar over to Serbia to face the stern test of Partizan Belgrade, here’s Milos Dusanovic of Serbian Footy to give us the lowdown on the current SuperLiga champions.

FK Partizan is one of the most famous and storied football clubs from the former Yugoslavia and Eastern Europe. They have won 26 league titles, 12 cup titles and were the first Eastern European club to appear in a major European final when they lost 2-1 to Real Madrid in the 1966 European Champions Cup.

Partizan has had modest success in Europe in the last 15 years, they have qualified for the Champions League group stages twice (2003 and 2010) and the Europa League group stages a total of seven times (2004,2006,2008,2009,2012,2014 and 2015). Partizan reached the round of sixteen of the Europa League in 2004 but since then they have only managed one victory in their last 26 group stage matches which is a truly terrible record. They will hope to end that horrible streak this time around but group L is extremely tough and it will take a lot for them to get a victory.

TACTICS

Partizan usually plays in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with most of their attacks coming from the wings through Andrija Živković and Aboubakar Oumarou. They also rely on the creativity of midfielders Stefan Babović and Saša Ilić to create goalscoring chances through the middle.

When it comes to Europe, the club installs defensive tactics and looks to hurt their opponents on the counter. Unfortunately this tactic does not work very well for them because the clubs back four is very weak and susceptible to mental and positioning errors.

The last match Partizan played was the 149th Belgrade Derby against bitter rivals Red Star this past weekend. Their defence was continuously cut apart in that match en-route to a disappointing 3-1 defeat. More of the same should be expected when they come up against stronger opposition in Group L.

MANAGER PROFILE: Zoran Milinković

Partizan’s manager is Zoran Milinković, he was appointed in late March and led the club to a league title. He is a experienced Serbian manager who is known for having organized sides that play hard.

He is currently on the hot seat and in danger of losing his job after the clubs poor performance in the Belgrade Derby. The usually dominant Partizan currently sits fourth in the league table with three losses from eight matches which is their worst start to a season since 2006/2007. If these disappointing results continue Milinković will be relieved of his duties before the end of the month.

KEY PLAYER: Andrija Živković

Partizan’s main danger man is without a doubt 19-year-old Andrija Živković. The speedy winger is one of the most coveted young players in Europe after leading Serbia to a surprising first place finish at this years’ FIFA Under-20 World Cup in New Zealand.

Živković is a difference maker on the pitch and his combination of speed and skill is very difficult for any side to deal with. He is Partizan’s main offensive weapon and the key to their counter attacking strategy in European matches.

Živković is also known for his set pieces, he can score free kicks and has a very good delivery from corner kicks which adds another potentially dangerous element to Partizan’s attacking play.

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CHAMPIONS LEAGUE, CHAMPIONS LEAGUE PREVIEW, EUROPEAN SCOUTING REPORT

EUROPEAN SCOUTING REPORT: Manchester United

September 14, 2015 Will Burns Leave a comment

PSV Eindhoven are set to venture into the Champions League group stages for the first time since 2009 and their first opponents are one of the most successful clubs in the world. Manchester United have claimed the European Cup silverware three times as well as winning the Cup Winners Cup in 1991 and arrive in Eindhoven on Tuesday to face Philip Cocu’s men.

Memphis Depay, PSV’s record sale of any player in their history, arrives home to face his former side and will look to make an impact which he has failed to do so far in the Premier League. The 21-year-old winger, however did help the Red Devils qualify for the group stages notching twice in part one of the Playoff round against Club Brugge at Old Trafford.

TACTICS

Manchester United defeated bitter rivals Liverpool 3-1 at Old Trafford on Saturday evening however, in all fairness it was a poor game including an atrocious first half. There was no creative spark for Van Gaal’s side, which looked like they lacked energy and passion. Apart from left-back Luke Shaw getting forward there was very little to admire from either side.

In a 4-2-3-1 formation, the powerful big Belgian Marouane Fellaini was used as makeshift centre-forward in the absence of the injured Wayne Rooney but failed to make an impression. Although, United were the home side, they seemed to be restricted by their tactical straitjacket enforced on them without Rooney, but still against a poor Liverpool side, who have only scored three goals all season, they still ran out 3-1 winners.

The second half showed an improvement from the Old Trafford outfit mainly due to new sense of urgency that half-time substitute Ashley Young (replacing Depay) brought on with him. Former Ajax man Daley Blind scored a good goal just after the break, although Brendan Rodgers’ men did not look switched on to close the Dutchman down.

One thing Van Gaal has constructed in Manchester is a well-organised defence, even though some second-half chances from the Reds made the back four look uncomfortable under pressure. The inexperienced Joe Gomez gave away a penalty to set-up Ander Herrera to make it 2-0 and after Christian Benetke (Liverpool) grabbed a consolation with a perfect overhead kick, a young Frenchman appeared off the bench to send the 75,347 into raptures.

The £58.8 million price tag was deemed as ‘ridiculous’ by Van Gaal prior to Saturday’s game, but 18-year-old Anthony Martial, a window signing from AS Monaco, killed the game off in style and paid off a tiny bit of monstrous fee. With great composure the teenager, making his debut, had veteran defender Martin Skrtel retreating before placing a shot into the Liverpool net.

PSV could trouble United come Tuesday night with their precision passing and speed off the counter. Look for Maxime Lestienne to stress out Darmain in the right-back position and Luuk de Jong should prove to be a handful, especially if the much smaller Daley Blind is sitting in central defence.

Manchester United will be without Rooney through injury and Van Gaal may look to the young Martial to make his first start and gain further confidence after his dream start.

MANAGER PROFILE: Louis van Gaal

Great tactician. Disciplinarian. Legend. Can all be words to describe former Ajax manager Louis van Gaal, who has one Champions League medal himself with the Amsterdammers. The 64-year-old stepped into the Red Devils’ hot-seat after David Moyes failed to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson, when the famous Scotsman retired in 2013.

The clipboard wielding Dutchman has had little success in his tenure in Manchester so far, but this is indeed a transitional period for the 20-time league title winning side, where Van Gaal is bringing in his own players, own formation and own style of football to the Premier League.

KEY PLAYER: Memphis Depay

If Memphis Depay is going to pick his game up, surely the Philips Stadion is his perfect stage to perform this act. The 21-year-old is physically strong, fast and skilful so has all the credentials to be a top player but looks to having a tough time adjusting in the Premier League. Obviously, PSV head coach Philip Cocu knows the player very well and will look to Colombian right-back Santiago Arias to control Depay and keep him quiet. Arias will find it hard to discover a tougher task in his career, although as he proved in Saturday’s 6-0 win away to SC Cambuur, Depay may have to do some defending of his own.

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TEAM OF THE WEEK

Eredivisie Team Of The Week – Round 5

September 14, 2015 Will Burns Leave a comment

Welcome to week five of our Eredivisie Team of the Week which leads into our Eredivisie ‘Player of the Season’ competition. All players have performed so well this weekend that Martijn Hilhorst and Will Burns have decided they should be in our team of the week. Each player in the eleven receives one point and whichever player is declared ‘Player of the Week’, he receives an extra point.

GOALKEEPER

KENNETH VERMEER – FEYENOORD: Deserved clean sheet that protected all three points for Feyenoord against an persistent Willem II side.

DEFENDERS

SANTIAGO ARIAS – PSV: The Colombian faces a tough test against former team-mate Memphis Depay on Tuesday night but he prepared superbly in the 6-0 win over Cambuur with an assist.

SEAN KLAIBER – FC UTRECHT: Commanding display at right-back in Utrecht’s 2-1 win over Vitesse. Great attacking outing.

TIMO LETSCHERT – FC UTRECHT: The big central defender was untroubled by Vitesse in Utrecht’s excellent 2-1 win over Vitesse.

RAJKO BREŽANČIĆ – FC TWENTE: Great debut from Twente’s new Serbian left-back and a great goal to match in a 2-2 draw with Ajax.

MIDFIELDERS

REICHEDLY BAZOER – AJAX: The youngster improves with every outing and was influential in Ajax’s comeback against FC Twente.

MARKUS HENRIKSEN – AZ ALKMAAR: Two quick fire goals for AZ in their first win of the season over De Graafschap.

HAKIM ZIYECH – FC TWENTE: The playmaker notched a spot-kick and was an constant thorn in Ajax’s side in Twente’s 2-2 draw.

ATTACKERS

LARS VELDWIJK – PEC ZWOLLE: The loanee from Nottingham Forest notched a hat-trick in Zwolle’s 3-0 win over Excelsior which makes him our PLAYER OF THE WEEK.

LUUK DE JONG – PSV: The big target man will not get an easier hat-trick than he did in the first-half against SC Cambuur on Sunday. Took all three goals well.

JÜRGEN LOCADIA – PSV: The youngster seems to have patch things up with coach Philip Cocu and scored twice after coming off the bench in PSV’s 6-0 demolition of Cambuur.

Click here to see the ‘Player of the Season’ standings.

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EREDIVISIE, EREDIVISIE REPORT

EREDIVISIE REPORT: WEEK 5

September 13, 2015 Will Burns Leave a comment

WEEK FIVE – 12TH-13TH SEPTEMBER 2015

Ajax slip up away to Twente as PSV thump Cambuur to make up some ground on the Amsterdammers – Will Burns is here with the full round-up of week five in the Eredivisie.

Ajax were forced to fight back from a two-goal deficit to earn a point away to FC Twente in Enschede on Saturday evening.

The hosts looking for their first win of the campaign took the lead after 19 minutes of play through a well worked corner between Hakim Ziyech and Felipe Gutiérrez. Ziyech forcefully hit a low pass into the area that daunted the Amsterdammers defence and the Chilean midfielder was alert to collect the ball and smash home past Jasper Cillessen.

Ajax, who host Scottish champions Celtic on Thursday night in their first Europa League group stage clash, were poor in front of goal, and were unable to grab the equaliser before Twente doubled their lead. Again from a corner, Twente caused danger in the visitor’s area and Jerson Cabral fired a shot towards goal. Ajax midfielder Nemanja Gudelj leant forward into the way of the oncoming shot and the ball ricocheted off the Serbian hand and out for another corner. However, referee Pol van Boekel spotted the handball and awarded a penalty much to Gudelj’s chagrin. The confident Ziyech stepped up and floated the spot-kick down the middle to add further insult to Cillessen after a shocking week in the internationals this past week for the goalkeeper.

Frank de Boer urged his men forward but looked to have no ‘plan B’ and rarely threatened Twente goalkeeper Joël Drommel with long range drives. The young stopper, aged only 18, was making his first professional start in Dutch football.

Looking at his side’s lacklustre display in front of goal, De Boer replaced Arek Milik for young Dane Viktor Fischer and within minutes of being on the field, Ajax had a goal back. Midfielder Riechedly Bazoer spotted Fischer’s run into the area and lofted a wonderful ball over the top of the Twente defence. The Danish international ran on and hit a wonderful first time side-footed sliding volley into the corner of Drommel’s goal as the keeper was forced to be just an onlooker. It was 2-1 after 65 minutes and Ajax had gained some confidence which kept Twente in their own half for the majority of the remainder.

As time drew on however, Drommel’s dream debut turned into a nightmare. Another substitute Yaya Sanogo, who had been very vocal midweek about the lack of action he is seeing at Ajax, ran through away from goal and after the ball looked dead, Drommel stretched out and brought the Frenchman down in the area. Van Boekel pointed to the spot and Gudelj made amends for his earlier error and levelled the game up with ten minutes to go. It was a poor performance from De Boer’s men who will have to vastly improved midweek as they start their Europa League venture.

Defending champions PSV Eindhoven demolished ten-man SC Cambuur with a six goal thumping which lifts Phillip Cocu’s men up to fourth in the table. After a poor display against Vitesse before the international break, Cambuur goalkeeper Leonard Nienhuis was dropped to the bench for Harm Zeinstra by coach Henk de Jong. Zeinstra, unfortunately for him, was dropped into a baptism of fire as Cocu’s men were ruthless in front of goal, in particular Luuk de Jong.

The opening goal came with controversy which resulted in Cambuur having to deal with having only ten men on the pitch after just eight minutes. Mexican midfielder Andrés Guardado shot from the edge of the area after Zeinstra had made a good save from a De Jong effort and referee Kevin Blom had adjudged that Sander van de Streek had blocked the Mexican’s effort with his hand. Van de Streek protested but Blom pointed to the spot and dished out the red card to the Cambuur defender. Video replays were indecisive but De Jong coolly stepped up and sent Zeinstra the wrong way to give PSV the 1-0 advantage.

Three minutes later, De Jong grabbed his second goal to make it 2-0. After some great combination passing from Guardado and Maxime Lestienne on the left wing, it resulted in the Belgian whipping a cross over for the big striker to easily power through the aerial challenge of Vytautas Andriuškevičius and double PSV’s lead.

De Jong claimed his hat-trick before half-time tapping home after Zeinstra had blocked Luciano Narsingh’s effort which fell into the striker feet before crossing the line. The game was over for Cambuur at the half-time whistle, the question left in the match was how many were PSV going to win by?

Davy Pröpper notched his first goal for club on 56 minutes after right-back Santiago Arias found some space on the right to pull the ball back into the midfielder’s path on the edge of the area. Philip Cocu and Jürgen Locadia seemed to have patched things up as the young forward scored the final two goals after coming on mid-way through the second half. He hit a powerful low free-kick on 74 minutes and nodded home an excellent cross from Arias with just a minute to go to complete the scoring.

Even with the man advantage it was an impressive display from the PSV ahead of beginning life in the Champions’ League group stages, their first appearance since 2008. Hosting Louis van Gaal’s Manchester United along with keeping former star Memphis Depay at bay is their first task to meet head on this coming Tuesday night.

On Sunday, Feyenoord escaped with a narrow 1-0 win over Willem II at De Kuip. Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side failed to breach Kostas Lamprou’s goal until Eljero Elia notched a 67th minute winner just minutes after replacing Bilal Başaçıkoğlu as a substitute.

De Jong’s hat-trick was the only treble on Saturday night as Lars Veldwijk scored all three of PEC Zwolle’s goals against Excelsior in a 3-0 win that keeps Ron Jans’ side undefeated this season. It could have been an even bigger win if Excelsior stopper Filip Kurto had not kept out a Stef Nijland penalty late on. The Rotterdam side lost their discipline deep into the second half seeing two red cards shown to Sander Fischer and Tom van Weert which may hurt their hopes next week against Ajax.

AZ Alkmaar gained their first win of the season in a 3-1 away win at rock bottom De Graafschap who still awaits their first points of the campaign. Serbian defender Rajko Brežančić notched AZ’s first on his debut after a wicked deflection off De Graafschap’s Robin Pröpper floated the ball over keeper Hidde Jurjus. The hosts pulled level just before half-time through an excellent goal from Nathaniel Will, but a quick fire double from Norwegian midfielder Markus Henriksen handed AZ the victory and hopefully a turning point for coach John van der Brom to build on.

FC Groningen romped to a great 3-1 home win over Dwight Lodeweges’ sc Heerenveen. Danny Hoesen gave the hosts a first minute lead and Bryan Linssen made it 2-0 after 16 minutes. Swedish midfielder Simon Thern gave Heerenveen a lifeline with twenty minutes remaning but Mimoun Mahi made the points secure before the whistle.

High-flying Heracles are still in second place after a narrow 1-0 win away to ADO Den Haag thanks to a Wout Weghorst goal, his fourth of the season.

FC Utrecht climb up to seventh after an impressive 2-1 win over Vitesse on Sunday afternoon. Willem Janssen gave Utrecht the lead before Guram Kashia grabbed an equaliser four minutes later for the Arnhem outfit. Peter Bosz side pressed for the winning goal but Bart Ramselaar cemented the points for Utrecht early in the second half.

In a battle of the newly promoted sides, Roda JC drew 0-0 with N.E.C. Nijmegen on Saturday evening.

RESULTS

Saturday 12th September

De Graafschap 1-3 AZ Alkmaar

Roda JC 0-0 N.E.C. Nijmegen

FC Twente 2-2 Ajax

SC Cambuur 0-6 PSV

PEC Zwolle 3-0 Excelsior

Sunday 13th September

FC Groningen 3-1 sc Heerenveen

Feyenoord 1-0 Willem II

ADO Den Haag 0-1 Heracles

FC Utrecht 2-1 Vitesse

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BETTING TIPS, EREDIVISIE, EREDIVISIE PREVIEW

EREDIVISIE Week Five Preview and Betting Tips

September 10, 2015 Will Burns Leave a comment

Back after the international break, we enter the fifth week of games in the Eredivisie, Simon Prue is with his selections and like all his tips – good luck!

Saturday 12th September

FC TWENTE vs. AJAX (17:45 BST)

This is a fixture Ajax have generally enjoyed over the past seven seasons or so, as they have not lost to FC Twente since November 2009. Although the last two meetings at De Grolsch Veste have finished 1-1, these two Dutch sides have experienced polar opposite starts to the season.

Ajax have won all four Eredivisie games this campaign, scoring 12 goals without reply. On the other hand, Twente have succumbed to three defeats and they have only picked up one solitary point, which came away at Groningen on the opening day. To top all of this, FC Twente lost their only home game so far 1-4 against Den Haag, and ejected head coach Alfred Schreuder from the under pressure hot seat, so things are looking bleak for the Tukkers.

Given the evidence of how these sides have started this season, I really fancy Ajax to keep up their winning form in this one. Ajax are 4-5 (Betfair) to beat FC Twente, which is great for people betting with large stakes, but there is certainly value in the ‘result/total goals’ market. Twente have scored in 75% of their matches this season and history suggests they usually score in this fixture, but I think Ajax’s attacking power will be too much for them. Therefore, I think Ajax to win & over 2.5 goals is a good bet at 8/5 (Bet365).

Fancy a scorer? It is not an ambitious selection but Anwar El Ghazi has started the season tremendously by scoring six goals in four games and I don’t think the Eredivisie’s top goalscorer can be overlooked in a game which typically produces goals.

BEST BET: Ajax to win with over 2.5 goals (8/5 at Bet365)

SAFE BET: Ajax to win (4/5 at Betfair)

OTHER TIPS: Anwar El Ghazi to score anytime (5/4 at Bet365)

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EURO 2016, EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS, KNVB, NETHERLANDS, ORANJE

Euro 2016 Qualifier Preview – Turkey vs. Netherlands

September 5, 2015 Will Burns Leave a comment

The Netherlands are back in Euro 2016 qualifying action on Sunday at 17:00BST when they go head to head with Fatih Terim’s Turkey. A game, which is crucial for both sides in Group A as the two sides are desperate for three points to help keep their European qualifying dream alive. Here’s Sam May with a full pre-match preview…

Both teams currently sit out of the automatic qualification places in Group A, but a win for either side on Sunday would help boost their chances of qualification. The Netherlands currently sit six points behind the Czech Republic and eight points behind group leaders Iceland. Whilst Turkey are seven points behind the Czech’s and nine points behind the Icelanders.

Danny Blind takes charge of his second game for the Dutch hoping it will be a night to remember in Turkey. It was a losing start for manager Blind as he watched his side fall short to Iceland at the Amsterdam ArenA through Swansea City midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson’s spot-kick just after the half-time break. The victory for Iceland was also helped by the sending off of Bruno Martins Indi for his unnecessary reaction to a scuffle with former Ajax striker Kolbeinn Sigthorsson, a reaction that Oranje captain Arjen Robben slammed as “very stupid”.

As a result, the Oranje can still qualify and gain one of the two automatic qualification spots, they will however be hoping that either Iceland or the Czech Republic slip up, which would enable them to do so. The defeat to the Czech Republic in their opening match was the one that left the Netherlands trailing, but wins over Latvia and Kazakhstan have helped to keep them in contention. Blind’s side will be hoping to secure all three points in Turkey or his team will be left hanging by a thread and could face an early exit from Group A. The Netherlands still haven’t recorded back-to-back wins in the competition. A win on Sunday though and there is still hope bearing in mind that one of the teams above them must slip up.

The Dutch also play the Czech Republic in their final match and the Oranje have not failed to qualify for the European Championships since 1984 – an early exit from the competition would definitely send shock waves around Holland. They have however won the tournament in 1988 and have reached the semi-finals three times since then.

TEAM NEWS

Bruno Martins Indi is suspended for the crucial clash due to his unprofessional foul on Tuesday night, which helped Iceland claim the three points. PSV central defender Jeffrey Bruma is expected to fill the void left by Martins Indi, however Blind could also turn to Feyenoord’s 21 year-old versatile defender Terence Kongolo or Southampton’s new signing from Celtic, Virgil van Dijk. Captain Arjen Robben has also been sent back to Munich due to the groin injury he picked up in the 1-0 defeat to Iceland with Sunderland winger Jeremain Lens been added to the squad as a replacement. Look to PSV Luciano Narsingh to start in FC Bayern Munich man’s place.

Turkey’s Arda Turn was suspended due to picking up too many bookings for the previous clash against the Netherlands but is expected to lead the line for Turkey on Sunday night.

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Netherlands 4-3-3: Cillessen;Van der Wiel, De Vrij, Bruma, Blind; Klaassen, Wijnaldum, Sneijder; Depay, Narsingh, Huntelaar.

Recent Form: WLWDWL

Turkey 4-3-3: Babacan; Balta, Aziz, Calhanoglu, Inan; Turan, Tore, Tufan; Sen, Bulut, Yilmaz.

Recent Form: LDWDWD

REFEREE

Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain)

PREDICTION

Turkey 1-2 Netherlands

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FEATURE

What can Reading FC fans expect from Ola John?

September 5, 2015 Will Burns Leave a comment

On deadline day over in England, Sky Bet Championship side Reading FC pulled off quite a coup by the loan signing of Dutch winger Ola John from Portuguese giants Benfica. Fin Crebolder is here to inform the Reading fanbase what they are about to witness…

BACKGROUND

After being born in Liberia, Ola John moved to the Netherlands at a young age, and joined the youth academy of Dutch giants FC Twente at the age of ten after spending two years at minnows DES Nijverdal. He made his professional debut for the club in November 2010, at the age of 18, coming off the bench against AZ Alkmaar. This set the tone for the rest of the season for John, as he came off the bench in nine more games, and even started in three games, managing to get one goal and one assist in 13 appearances overall.

The 2011/12 season was John’s true breakthrough season, as he established himself as one of the nation’s biggest talents. He came on as a late substitute in the first game of the season, but due to an injury to Nacer Chadli, he made the left midfield spot his own from the second game, where he got his first assist of the season. He notched his first league goal for the club in October, in a 2-2 draw with Excelsior, and this sparked a truly remarkable run of form for the 19-year-old, where he got either a goal or an assist in six consecutive games.

John continued this form throughout the season, putting in some very impressive performances, including a game against where he got two goals, one assist and inspired his team to a 6-2 victory. He also impressed in the Europa League, and in the group stages particularly, where he got six assists in six games. He ended the 11/12 campaign with nine goals and an incredible 22 assists in all competitions. This earned him a place in the preliminary Netherlands squad for Euro 2012, an impressive achievement for such a young player.

After it became clear that John was a huge talent, it was inevitable that bigger clubs would come sniffing, and in May 2012, he signed a five-year-deal with Benfica. His first season at the club was relatively successful. After initially struggling to make an impact, being behind Eduardo Salvio and Nicolás Gaitán in the pecking order, he eventually managed to get himself a place in the starting line-up, and enjoyed a good run of form across league, cup and European matches, finishing the season with a respectable four goals and eight assists.

After a solid but unremarkable first season for the Portuguese giants, John was expected to kick on in his second season, but things did not go to plan. At the start of the season, the club signed promising winger Lazar Markovic from the Serbian league, and he impressed straight away, making the Dutch winger the fourth choice. In order to get first team football, John left for German Bundesliga side Hamburger SV on loan in January, hoping to help keep them in the German top flight whilst showing his talents. Again, this did not go to plan, as he failed to impress in eight games for the club, although they did stay up, and this capped off a very disappointing season for John.

He returned to Benfica at the start of the 14/15 season expecting to leave the club in the summer transfer window. However, after Liverpool signed Lazar Markovic from the club, John ended up staying, moving up the pecking order and enjoyed a better season than the previous. Although he continued to struggle to get in the starting line-up, he managed to make an impact off the bench throughout the season, notching up four goals and seven assists. His final action for Benfica was scoring the winning goal in the Portuguese League Cup final.

Overall, his time at Benfica was disappointing considering the huge potential that he arrived with. He never managed to nail down a place in the first team and play his best football, and the fans never really warmed to him either, often complaining about his lack of footballing intelligence, an attribute that was seen as very important by both the fans and coaches of the club.

STYLE OF PLAY

John is a player that will truly excite fans with his blistering pace and quick feet, as well as his dangerous long shots. He is capable of playing on either wing, but is most comfortable playing on the left and cutting inside onto his stronger right foot where he will look for an opportunity to release a shot or play in one of his team-mates. In terms of comparison, his style is similar to that of his compatriot, Memphis Depay.

Alongside his very impressive pace and dribbling, John also has excellent passing ability, and these attributes mean that he can unlock almost any defence on his day. It would be unfair not to mention his weaknesses, and as already mentioned, his footballing intelligence is not the best, and he was often tactically in the wrong during his time at Benfica, something that Jorge Jesus felt was important, hence his lack of starts. Like many players of his style, John’s work rate is also not the best, and he can often leave his full back exposed.

THE FUTURE

That brings us up to present day, where he has just signed for English Championship side Reading. Now, as a half-Dutch (his nationality) Reading (his current club) fan, I am undoubtedly (more than…) slightly biased, but Ola John still has the huge talent that he showed throughout his time at FC Twente, and in brief glimpses at Benfica, and this loan move seems like the ideal opportunity for him to reignite his career. He was scintillating in the Eredivisie and it’s fair to say that the English Championship is a slightly weaker league, so Ola John could find it easier to impress again.

In Reading, he has a club on the up with ambitious owners and a transfer window that has given them a club capable of challenging for promotion. As the club has an option to sign John permanently at the end of the season, he could find himself playing in the best league in the world this time next year, if he can rediscover the incredible form that earned him a move to one of Europe’s biggest clubs, and at the age of 23, there’s no reason why he can’t.

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NEWS

The evolution of Leandro Bacuna

September 4, 2015 Will Burns 1 Comment

A player having his career turned around by the appointment of a new manager is hardly a new phenomenon in football, but there are probably few who have enjoyed such a transformation as Leandro Bacuna.

From considering whether he had a future at Aston Villa, Bacuna has established himself as a first-team regular since the appointment of Tim Sherwood as manager and has subsequently been rewarded with a new five-year contract

Ben1

Photo by Ben Sutherland

Talk of a call-up to the Netherlands squad ahead of Euro 2016 may still be a little premature, but Bacuna has shown how quickly fortunes can change in football and an impressive season could yet see him force his way into Danny Blind’s plans. If he can propel Villa towards a top-10 finish, for which they are 8/1 at the time of writing with Betfair, then he could be the man to provide the back-up for Gregory van der Wiel in France next summer.

The 24-year-old joined Villa from Groningen in the summer of 2013 for a relatively bargain price of £1.5million and he was signed initially as a winger. During that first season at Villa Park under Paul Lambert, Bacuna carved out a reputation for being something of a dead-ball specialist and he scored five Premier League goals.

He was also given a few games at right-back by Lambert, but the start of Bacuna’s second season saw the Dutchman fall out of favour. So much so that, up to December 2014, Bacuna had made just three substitute appearances in the Premier League. It wasn’t until New Year’s Day, in a 0-0 home draw with Crystal Palace, that Bacuna actually started a league game last season.

In truth, it wasn’t until the appointment of Sherwood as the long-term replacement for Lambert that things really started to look up again for Bacuna.

Arguably a key moment in Bacuna’s Villa career was when he scored in the 2-1 victory over Leicester in the FA Cup, with Sherwood watching on from the stands. Bacuna cut in from the left-hand side of the penalty area and curled home a perfectly-placed shot. What better way to demonstrate to the new manager what you can offer?

There was probably a little bit of good fortune on Bacuna’s part, and misfortune on that of his team-mates, that he was given a chance in the team in the Premier League after Sherwood took charge. With Villa short on fit defenders, Sherwood picked Bacuna at right-back and it was an opportunity he grasped.

Bacuna started 11 of Villa’s last 13 games in all competitions last season and was a key figure in helping the club stave off the threat of relegation to the Championship. He started the final seven Premier League games and supplied five assists in all as Villa stayed up by three points.

Sherwood acknowledged that Bacuna did have to be given a crash course in how to play at right-back, but he has learned quickly on the job and seems to be a better long-term prospect in that position than another converted winger Antonio Valencia, who spent most of last season in a defensive role for Manchester United without ever looking convincing or offering enough going forward. It was no surprise that Louis van Gaal signed a specialist right-back in the summer in the shape of Matteo Darmian.

Bacuna was left out of the starting line-up for the FA Cup final against Arsenal last season, but Sherwood’s caution in preferring the experience of Alan Hutton was understandable on such an occasion and especially given Alexis Sanchez would have been his opponent.

However, further work on Bacuna’s role at right-back over the summer has clearly paid off as he was selected in that position for Villa’s opening game of the season at Bournemouth. He retained his place for the second game against Manchester United and performed a solid job up against his fellow Dutchman, Memphis Depay. There were one or two occasions when Bacuna was caught out by runs off the ball, but he generally did well in quelling the threat of Depay when he was out wide.

Photo by mollyig

For Villa’s fourth game of the season, Bacuna was pushed back up into the role of winger against Sunderland and was substituted during the 2-2 draw. It’s likely that he is only going to play as a winger sparingly this season as Sherwood has spoken on several occasions about how he sees Bacuna’s long-term future at right-back for Villa.

Playing in that position has helped to improve his passing accuracy as he was at just 71.3% in his debut season at Villa, but that rose by seven per cent last season and he is nudging 80% in the early weeks of this season.

Keeping possession will be a key role to Bacuna keeping his place, but he has the raw materials to develop into a fixture at right-back. With such an emphasis on full-backs being able to attack proficiently in the modern game, Bacuna’s experience as a winger will stand him in good stead.

He has already shown an ability to learn defensively and, with the expected natural progression of continually playing at right-back, Bacuna can become one of the best in his position in the Premier League.

EURO 2016, EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS, KNVB, NETHERLANDS, ORANJE

Dutch Euro hopes suffer Blind panic

September 3, 2015 Will Burns Leave a comment

NETHERLANDS 0-1 ICELAND

Danny Blind’s new look Netherlands faced Lars Lagerback and Heimir Hallgrimsson’s Iceland in tonight’s European Championship qualifying encounter at the Amsterdam ArenA. It was a game that saw new coach Blind take to the Holland hot seat for the first time, since the resignation of Guus Hiddink.

Both teams were looking forward to the evening’s encounter but Arjen Robben was feeling the heat the most stating that his side were in a “delicate situation” going into the match. Iceland went into the match knowing a win tonight and win against Kazakhstan on Sunday would clinch them qualification for the first time ever. As for the Netherlands they knew a defeat tonight would make it very difficult for them to secure qualification.

The Dutch roar echoed across the city of Amsterdam as the teams took to the field although, there was however tension in the air knowing that it would be worrying times for the Dutch if they failed to win tonight.

The game kicked off and it was the visitors who started the match brightly though on five minutes, an open goal miss by Bodvarsson from five yards out was the best chance for Iceland. A delightful cross by Gudmundsson. It would have been a well-deserved lead for the visitors but ended with a head in the hands instead moment for the 3,000 travelling supporters.

After eight minutes it was the Netherlands’ time to turn the screw with a fine shot from Robben on the right from 25 yards, that was equally matched by the on-rushing NEC Nijmegen stopper Halldorsson in goal for Iceland.

On 11 minutes, a foul by Stefan De Vrij invited a decent delivery from by Gylfi Sigurdson, which was comfortably caught by Jasper Cillessen in the Dutch goal. Shortly after a cross from Wesley Sneijder found Robben who could only see his tame header deflected out for a Netherlands corner.

Robben found Sneijder after quarter of an hour, whose shot from 20 yards deflected out for a corner to the hosts. It was a decent spell by the Netherlands and a nice piece of trickery from Manchester United’s Memphis Depay helped to find Robben who was deliberately fouled by Arnason. The freekick was taken but Robben could only see his speculative effort deflect of Davy Klaassen and go out for a goal kick to the away team.

There were worrying signs for the Netherlands on 25 minutes when Robben was stood holding his groin and had to be replaced by PSV winger Luciano Narsingh. The Bayern Munich winger had only just returned after four weeks out on the sidelines. Not something manager Blind would have hoped for.

On 27 minutes, a great delivery from the right by Depay picked out Hunterlaar, whose effort looked to have scraped the far hand post. It looked like it could be a long evening for the Netherlands.

It did not get any better shortly after, Bruno Martins Indi was handed a straight red card after a foul on Kolbeinn Sigthorsson but replays show that Martins Indi had acted unprofessionally. Three minutes later, lone striker Klass-Jan Huntelaar was replaced by PSV defender Jeffrey Bruma, a move that did not go down well with the home fans. With half time approaching, there was one last chance for Wesley Sneijder who could only see his 30-yard pile driver, fall into the arms of Halldorsson.

The second half began and on 49 minutes Iceland were awarded a penalty after a rash tackle by Gregory Van Der Wiel on Bjarnason, which was well worthy of a yellow card. The penalty was dispatched confidently by Sigurdsson, only for Cillessen to get a hand on it. A head in the hands moment from Robben as he watched on from the bench. The emotions were showing with Cillessen clearly frustrated with himself for not keeping it out. The Netherlands 37 game-winning streak at home was coming to an end.

The visitors nearly added a second on 53 minutes when Johann Berg Gudmundsson fired a powerful shot onto the post, no chance for Cillessen. Ten minutes later, Narsingh found Sneijder, and his 20-yard low shot found the gloves of Halldorson. Newcastle United’s new signing Georginio Wijnaldum had a similar effort shortly after, which was equally matched by the Iceland shot stopper. It was turning into a real frustrating evening for the Netherlands.

On 68 minutes, Davy Klaassen, found Narsingh only for him blaze wide from ten yards wide right. Mid-way through the second-half, Bjarnason picked out veteran, Eidur Gudjohnson who also found Gudmundsson only to fire over from six yards out, a glorious chance wasted for the visitors to take a two-goal lead.

With only ten minutes remaining on the clock, Blind’s men were hoping to grab at least a point; Narsingh found Wijnaldum on the right who shot from eighteen yards was a conformable save and with news coming in that the Czech Republic were beating Kazakhstan in one of the other fixtures in the group, it was looking that little bit more desperate for the Netherlands.

There was one last chance for a Netherlands equaliser as Klaassen fired a cross into the Iceland box, but the cross was well defender by Skulason as Depay was ready to pounce.

The full time whistle was blown, and boos bellowed around the Amsterdam ArenA.

For the first time, 24 countries will contest the European Championship. As the host nation, France claim an automatic spot with the other 23 entrants determined by the ongoing qualifiers. The nine group winners along with nine group runners-up and the best third-placed side go directly through to the finals with the eight remaining third-placed teams will face off in two legged play-offs to determine the last four qualifiers. This looks to be the Dutch’s most realistic way of gaining qualification, however, Turkey stand in their way as they are desperate themselves to clinch the third spot, and Blind must take his men to Konya on Sunday evening to face them, in what now seems a vital game for the Oranje.

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Netherlands: Cillessen; Van der Wiel, De Vrij, Martins Indi, Blind; Sneijder, Wijnaldum (Promes 80), Klaassen; Depay, Robben (Narsingh 31), Huntelaar (Bruma 40).

BOOKINGS: Van der Wiel 50, Sneijder 90+3.

SENT OFF: Martins Indi 33.

Iceland: Halldórsson; Saevarsson, Sigurdsson, Árnason, Skúlason; Bjarnason, Sigurdsson, Bödvarsson (Finnbogason 78), Gunnarsson (Skulason 87); Gudmundsson, Sigthorsson (Gudjohnsen 64).

GOALS: Sigurdsson 51P.

BOOKINGS: Sigthorsson 33, Arnason 58, Saevarsson 80.

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EURO 2016, EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS, KNVB, NETHERLANDS, ORANJE

Euro 2016 Qualifier Preview – Netherlands vs. Iceland

September 2, 2015 Will Burns Leave a comment

The Netherlands are back in European 2016 Qualifying action and will be hoping to get back to winning ways on Thursday night when they take on Lars Lagerback and Heimir Hallgrimsson’s Group A leaders Iceland at the Amsterdam ArenA.

The 19:45 (BST) kick off will see new Dutch manager Danny Blind take to the touchline – he served as assistant to Guus Hindink who resigned on August 1^st paving way for Blind to make the step up to manager.

The former international defender has had enough preparation time to prepare his squad and make the necessary changes needed to help his side succeed and progress. One of the main changes Blind has put in place was to hand the captaincy to Arjen Robben replacing vice-captain Robin Van Persie.

Blind has been impressed with Van Persie’s response to his decision stating: “I think Robben brings a lot of enthusiasm”. He added: “I was impressed with how Van Persie responded, he was very professional. For Robin, only one thing counts. He wants to go to the European Championships.”

Van Persie has since responded to the change stating: “Of course, I am disappointed but a new coach can always choose a new leader, that is his right. I’m glad I’m still second captain”.

Both sides have previously met in October 2014 when two goals from Gylfi Sigurdsson were enough to give Iceland a 2-0 victory over the Oranje. The Netherlands currently sit third with ten points in Group A having won three, drawn one and losing two of their matches. Meanwhile, Iceland have won five of their games, losing just one to the Czech Republic back in November 2014.

Iceland have a number of familiar faces in their squad, with former Ajax striker Kolbeinn Sigthorsson set to start up front, while ex-Heerenveen striker Alfred Finnbogason and former-AZ winger Johann Berg Gudmundsson are also in with a chance of playing. All will be hoping to make their mark in Thursday’s mouth watering encounter.

Iceland midfielder Emil Hallfredsson is out having picked up a muscle tear in Verona’s 2-0 defeat of Genoa earlier this week.

Blind’s son Daley is set to start at his favoured left-back position replacing the injured Jetro Willems, whilst the experienced Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Luuk De Jong are set to battle it out for a place in the starting 11.

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Netherlands 4-3-3: Cillessen; Van der Wiel, Blind, De Vrij, Martins Indi; De Jong, Sneijder, Wijnaldum; Depay, Robben, Van Persie.

Iceland 4-3-2-1: Halldorsson; B Bjarnason, Skulason, Sigurdsson, Gislason; Gunnarsson, Sigurosson, T Bjarnason; Gudmundsson, Boovarsson; Sigthorsson.

REFEREE

Milorad Mazic (Serbia)

PREDICTION

Netherlands 2-1 Iceland

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TEAM OF THE WEEK

Eredivisie Team Of The Week – Round 4

September 1, 2015 Will Burns Leave a comment

Welcome to week four of our Eredivisie Team of the Week which leads into our Eredivisie ‘Player of the Season’ competition. All players have performed so well this weekend that Martijn Hilhorst and Will Burns have decided they should be in our team of the week. Each player in the eleven receives one point and whichever player is declared ‘Player of the Week’, he receives an extra point.

GOALKEEPER

JEROEN ZOET – PSV: Another commanding performance from arguably the best keeper in the league right now.

DEFENDERS

SANTIAGO ARIAS – PSV: Solid performance defending for PSV keeping Dirk Kuyt at bay and a great attacking display that resulted in a good goal.

TIMO LETSCHERT – FC UTRECHT: The Utrecht man seems to realising his potential. Letschert was indispensable at the back in Utrecht’s 2-0 win over FC Groningen.

SANDER FISCHER – EXCELSIOR: Sander is always a real handful to strikers but against De Graafschap he halted everything fired in his way.

GURAM KASHIA – VITESSE: The big Georgian notched a goal to cap off an excellent show that kept Bart Ogbeche out of trouble.

MIDFIELDERS

DAVY KLAASSEN – AJAX: The man-of-the-match in Ajax’s 4-0 thumping of ADO Den Haag. The Amsterdam captain provided a goal and two assists which makes him our PLAYER OF THE WEEK.

DAVY PRÖPPER – PSV: A wonderful assist and winner of a dubious penalty in the big clash against Feyenoord. Looks to be finding his feet in Eindhoven.

ILIASS BEL HASSANI – HERACLES: Bel Hassani snatched the limelight back from last week’s star Oussama Tannane in Almelo. Lead the way scoring the opening goal as Heracles heaped more misery on Twente fans in the 2-0 victory over the Enschede side.

ATTACKERS

ANWAR EL GHAZI – AJAX: The Eredivisie top scorer notched another two goals and also provided an assist for Klaassen.

LUUK DE JONG – PSV: The big striker won the majority of his aerial duels against Eric Botteghin and Jan-Arie van der Heijden and continuously held the ball up in the Eindhoven side’s 3-1 win over Feyenoord.

MAXIME LESTIENNE – PSV: A goal and the completely bossing of Sven van Beek that resulted in some good crosses in PSV’s 3-1 win over Feyenoord. Could have more than the one goal.