All posts by Will Burns

EREDIVISIE, EREDIVISIE REPORT

EREDIVISIE: Heracles 0-1 SC Cambuur

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FRIDAY 22ND AUGUST 2014

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HERACLES 0 – 1 SC CAMBUUR

Ten-man Heracles were undone with a late Michiel Hemmen goal to give SC Cambuur their first win of the season. A result that keeps the Almelo side rock bottom of the league and manager Jan de Jonge with his head in his hands after three defeats in three writes Kalkeren Kieran.

The first half was dominated by the visitors and when Heracles goalkeeper Dennis Telgenkamp fouled Cambuur’s Erik Bakker inside the box but the claims fell on deaf ears, in the opening minutes of the match. There was not a clear cut opportunity for the either of the teams in the first half.

The home side looked lacklustre in front of goal and failed to convert their chances and when Cambuur’s Lucas Bijker was yellow carded on the 23rd minute leading to a free kick awarded to the home side just outside the box, captain Mark-Jan Fledderus wasted the opportunity to the disappointment of the home crowd.

At half-time, the teams went into the dressing rooms goal-less and the away side continued to dominate possession in the opening minutes of the second period.

In the 67th minute, Fadh Aktaou received his second yellow card of the night and was shown a red and Heracles were reduced to ten men for the remaining 23 minutes of the match. The hosts went close in the 73rd minute but Leonard Nienhuis saved well for Cambuur. A ridiculous through ball gave Heracles a chance one-on-one with Nienhuis, however the keeper left his area and cleared the ball before the chance could really come to fruition.

There was five added minutes of stoppage time and Cambuur were awarded a corner and Michiel Hemmen leaped over all the Heracles defence and headed home the winning goal for the visiting side.

At the end of the game the home fans inside the Polman Stadion were obviously not happy and chanted for coach Jan de Jonge to leave the club.

TEAMS

HERACLES: Telgenkamp, Te Wierik, Schenkeveld, Zomer, Aktaou, Pelupessy, Fledderus, Bel Hassani (Cziommer 46), Tannane, Avdic (Bruns 81), Linssen (Weghorst 88).

SUBS NOT USED: Sibum, Gyasi, Fij, Engberink.

GOALS: None.

BOOKINGS: Tannane 27, Aktaou 34, Fledderus 49.

SENT OFF: Tannane 67.

CAMBUUR: Nienhuis, Droste (Pereira 53), Reijnen, Bijker, Andriuškevičius, Bakker (Meleg 78), El Makrini, Van der Streek (Barto 64), Rusnák, Hemmen, Ogbeche.

SUBS NOT USED: Zeinstra, Dijkstra, Schepers, Mac-Intosch.

GOALS: Hemmen 90+2.

BOOKINGS: Bijker 22, Droste 52, Andriuškevičius 63, El Makrini 71, Rusnák 89.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Lucas Bijker (SC Cambuur)

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NEWS

Spurs and Man Utd miss out as Depay signs new PSV deal

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Lawk Raoof discusses the new and highly improved contract signed by World Cup star Memphis Depay, which looks like the end of the road for Tottenham and Manchester United’s chances of signing the Dutchman.

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PSV’s Technical Director Marcel Brands announced this evening that Memphis Depay has signed a new contract binding him till the summer of 2018. After Vloet, Locadia and the team’s captain Georginio Wijnaldum, Depay is the fourth crucial player which signed a new and highly improved contract. Makes him and Wijnaldum PSV’s most paid player with a net yearly salary of approximately €1m and a signing bonus. However, signing an improved contract does not guarantee anything for a club. That’s why Left Forward Depay promised to stay at least one more season with PSV. A great step forward for PSV who will be vying to be this year’s Eredivisie champions. Now with midfielder Wijnaldum and Depay, two of the best and most important players in the Eredivisie are staying in Eindhoven.

Is it all good news then? Not quite. Brands stated that this means there is no longer room for a new player on the attacking front. The budget has been spent to persuade Depay to sign a new contract. Which means that PSV can ask a higher price for him when a big club such as Manchester United or Tottenham Hotspur come to buy him. Still, Brands has done the impossible because nobody was expecting Depay to stay after a fabulous World Cup and PSV has got him signed for 4 more years.

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BETTING TIPS, EREDIVISIE, EREDIVISIE PREVIEW

EREDIVISIE WEEK 3: Friday’s Preview & Betting Tips

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FRIDAY 22ND AUGUST

Heracles-Cambuur

HERACLES vs. SC CAMBUUR (19:00 BST)

Sitting rock bottom of the Eredivisie, Heracles will look to Friday’s home game against SC Cambuur as a perfect opportunity to climb off the bottom with three points. However, Dutch tipster Will Burns thinks the game will be a stalemate.

On the road away from the Cambuur Stadion, Henk de Jong’s side have an appalling record, failing to win their last 18 league games away from the comforts of their home. Things do not look too good for Jan de Jonge’s Heracles either, collecting six defeats in their last seven games. Back-to back defeats in this campaign already, has left the Almelo side propping up the rest of the league. What is more worrying is in the ‘goal crazy’ Eredivisie, the Heraclieden have only found the net once in those two outings.

These two defeats have been triggered by defensive disappointments. At home to AZ Alkmaar on the opening weekend, they conceded three without reply and last weekend, Groningen hit them for three again with Moroccan midfielder Iliass Bel Hassani grabbing a consolation.

Cambuur grabbed a great 1-1 draw at home to FC Twente in their opening game, with an excellent free-kick from on-loan Albert Rusnák from Manchester City. Last Saturday, a late Bartholomew Ogbeche goal gained another point away to Vitesse Arnhem in a 2-2 draw.

MATCH ODDS

Heracles are desperate for points and the ever hard-working Cambuur will be hard to break down. The draw is valued at 13/5 with Bet Victor and that is a price too good to ignore. After witnessing Heracles’ defensive lapses against AZ and Groningen, I can see this game providing goals and a 2-2 scoreline is a massive 12/1 and this could be worth a small stake.

RECCOMMENDED BETS

Draw (13/5 – Bet Victor)

Correct Score 2-2 (12/1 – Bet Victor)

All odds are with Bet Victor, click here to join and claim up to £25 in free bets for all new customers.

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EUROPA LEAGUE, EUROPA LEAGUE REPORT

EUROPA LEAGUE: PEC Zwolle 1-1 Sparta Prague

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THURSDAY 21ST AUGUST

EUROPA LEAGUE PLAYOFF – FIRST LEG

PECZwolle-SpartaPrague

PEC ZWOLLE 1 – 1 SPARTA PRAGUE

PEC Zwolle will be ruing first half chances, including a missed penalty, as they drew their first ever game in European competition 1-1 against Czech giants Sparta Prague reports Will Burns.

Ron Jans decided to select Czech striker Tomas Necid against the club, Necid seen as his biggest rival growing up as a Slavia Prague fan. The big 6ft 3inches forward was constant thorn in Sparta’s side tonight and his performance will surely earn himself a place in Jans’ starting line-up at the weekend against Vitesse Arnhem.

Zwolle dropped Jody Lukoki to the bench and replaced him with Greek attacked Nikos Ioannidis, a summer loan signing from Olympiakos. Sparta keeper David Bičík was kept busy throughout the night and on six minutes, Ioannidis fired a great effort at the stopper after cutting in from the right wing, but Bičík held firm.

Jesper Drost then had a golden opportunity minutes later, after some great work from New Zealand winger Ryan Thomas. Thomas weaved his way into the area from the left wing and Necid controlled the 19-year-old cross into the path of Drost. Unfortunately, for the midfielder he failed to connect properly with his first time shot and scuffed his effort wide.

Necid then decided to test Bičík with a half-volley from the edge of the box after again linking up well with Thomas, however minutes later Necid had a bigger impact on the game when he was fouled in the area by Jakub Brabec. Immediately, English referee Michael Oliver pointed to the spot but Maikel van der Werff hit a poor penalty as Bičík easily saved the spot-kick.

The visitors only had one real chance before half-time when Pavel Kadeřábek latched onto a mistake by Zwolle goalie Diederik Boer. The right-back crossed for Costa Nhamoinesu in the centre, but the Zimbabwean sliced his shot and Boer recovered to save on the line. Further efforts from Necid and long range efforts from Thomas and Mustafa Saymak tested Bičík but the sides went into the break goal-less.

Ron Jans decided to bring on the tricky Jody Lukoki on at the interval for Ioannidis to give his side more creativity on the right-wing. However, it was the Czechs that should have taken the lead nine minutes after the restart. Veteran striker David Lafata had a great chance just before the hour-mark but Drost got back to clear off the line.

Minutes after Bart van Hintum had flashed a shot across goal, substitute Jody Lukoki gave the hosts the lead, their first ever goal in Europe. After a great exchange of passes between Lukoki, Necid and Drost, the former Ajax winger was on hand to tap home to make it 1-0.

The Ijsseldelta Stadion exploded however, the atmosphere was cut short by Sparta’s equaliser four minutes later. The impressive Kamil Vacek, a recent on-loan signing from Chievo, sped down the right wing and beat Van Hintum with ease. Vacek cut back to Ladislav Krejčí in the box whose shot clipped off Van der Werff and past Boer in goal to level the game up and give Prague that all important away goal.

Tomas Necid may have won the game for Zwolle after his free header from Lukoki’s corner was well wide with minutes to go. The game finished all square and Zwolle has to get at least one goal over in Prague next Thursday to qualify further.

TEAMS

ZWOLLE: Boer, Van Polen, Sainsbury, Van der Werff, Van Hintum, Rienstra, Saymak, Ioannidis (Lukoki 46), Drost, Thomas (Nijland 65), Necid.

SUBS NOT USED: De Jong, Dekker, Moro, Pereira, Lam.

GOALS: Lukoki 77.

BOOKINGS: Lukoki 77, Van Polen 86.

SPARTA PRAGUE: Bičík, Kadeřábek, Kovac, Brabec, Nhamoinesu, Marecek, Husbauer (Prikryl 66), Matejovsky, Dockal (Vacek 76), Lafata (Bednar 90+2), Krejci.

SUBS NOT USED: Stech, Svejdik, Konaté, Breznanik.

GOALS: Krejci 82.

BOOKINGS: Matejovsky 57.

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EUROPA LEAGUE, EUROPA LEAGUE REPORT

EUROPA LEAGUE: Zoyra 1-1 Feyenoord

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THURSDAY 21ST AUGUST

EUROPA LEAGUE PLAYOFF – FIRST LEG

Zoyra-Feyenoord

ZOYRA LUHANSK 1 – 1 FEYENOORD

Feyenoord disappoint in Europe once again as they head back De Kuip with a 1-1 draw in what could be Jordy Clasie’s last game for the club. Maksim Beliy gave Zorya the lead with a deflected free kick before te Vrede levelled in the 37th minute in an uneventful game in Ukraine reports Ryan O’Grady.

Feyenoord came into this game off the back of a slightly disappointing draw with Heerenveen at home, whilst opponents Zorya were coming into this game in 7th in their domestic league. This game was not only important for Feyenoord but for Dutch football in general, if you look at the UEFA country coefficients then you’ll notice that Ukraine lie in eighth just ahead of the Netherlands in ninth, so a win for Feyenoord could benefit all Dutch teams who qualify for Europe in the future.

The game kicked off very slowly with the first shot on target coming in the 21st minute. Before that there were barely any half chances, with only a couple of note, one was te Vrede running clear before over-running the ball and the second occurred when Vilhena slid in to get a touch on a cross from Schaken but it went well over. Then in the 21st came the first real chance, Chaykovskiy was booked for a challenge on Kongolo where he swung for the ball but Kongolo manages to knock it past him before he was brought down. Clasie stepped up to take the free kick and it looked like it was heading into the top corner before Shevchenko, the Zorya keeper, made a really good save and pushed it out for a corner which came to nothing. The reply from Zorya came in the 27th minute when they won a free kick on the edge of the box, Khomchenovskiy touched it to Maksim Beliy before he fired a low ball in that gained a deflection and went into the bottom corner leaving Mulder with no chance and brought out an eccentric celebration from Vernydub, the Zorya coach. This brought a short period of pressure from the home side, with another free kick 3 minutes later that Ignjatijević put just wide. Then in the 32nd minute Feyenoord replied with a shot from Vilhena on the edge of the box that was blocked by the goalscorer Beliy. This was followed by the Feyenoord equaliser, Wilkshire controlled a cross-field ball before he sent in a cross that beat three defenders before Mitchell te Vrede tapped it in from close range, the Zorya centre-back should’ve have positioned himself better so he could’ve cut out the cross. The half was then finished off by a long-range effort from Clasie into the bottom corner of the net but was saved by Shevchenko.

During half time a substitution was made by Zorya, Maksim Malyshev had to come off after sustaining a head injury in the first half and was replaced by Oleksandr Grytsay. The start of the second half was almost identical to the first half with nothing happening at either end where up until the 59th minute the only event of note was Kongolo getting booked for a challenge on Karavayev. In the 59th minute van Beek fouled striker Budkivskiy who was Zorya’s most useful player on the night. The free kick was taken by Malinovskiy and was headed for the top corner on the near side of the goal but it was well saved by Mulder. Almost immediately after this shot came two golden oppurtunities for Zorya, first Budkivskiy received the ball in the box with far too much space around him but his was shot was palmed away by Mulder only for Karavaev to try and follow it up but at the crucial moment he was tackled brilliantly by captain Jordy Clasie This was followed by a substitution from Feyenoord coach, Frank Rutten, who took off Boëtius, who has clearly not been performing at his best recently, and brought on new signing Basaçikoglu, who had no impact whatsoever. In the 67th minute Khomchenovskiy was one-on-one with the keeper but Mulder came out well and saved the shot easily. Then Jordy Clasie had to come off because he had been struggling with cramp since his brilliant last-ditch tackle 10 minutes earlier and was replaced by Vormer. Another eventless few minutes passed by ended only by a brilliant chance for Lex Immers. Substitute Vormer sent in a cross onto which Lex Immers ran onto right in front of goal before unbelievably putting it over, he was under pressure from Chaykovskiy and arguably had a penalty claim for his challenge but he still should have put the ball away. This was followed immediately by a Zorya counter attack where they themselves were unlucky not receive a penalty after a van Beek challenge. In the 89th minute came the best chance yet for Feyenoord, Schaken ran down the line before putting in a lofted cross that was met at the far post by Vilhena but he inexplicably put it wide and to use a common footballing phrase ‘it seemed easier to score than miss’. He appeared to try and place the header rather than just heading it down which almost certainly would’ve resulted in a goal and the win for Feyenoord. However the Feyenoord performance as a whole was poor and they didn’t deserve the win.

TEAMS

ZORYA: Shevchenko, Kamenyuka, Beliy, Ignjatijevic, Pysko, Karavayev, Chaykovsky, Malyshev (Gritsay 47), Khomchenovskiy, Segbefia (Malinovsky 57), Budkovskiy.

SUBS NOT USED: Santini, Khudzik, Yarmash, Ljubenovic, Pylyavskyi.

GOALS: Beliy 27.

BOOKINGS: Chaykovskiy 21.

FEYENOORD: Mulder, Wilkshire (Karsdorp 83), Van Beek, Mathijsen, Kongolo, Clasie (Vormer 73), Immers, Vilhena, Schaken, Te Vrede, Boëtius (Basacikoglu 63).

SUBS NOT USED: Hahn, Nelom, Steenvoorden, Manu.

GOALS: Te Vrede 38.

BOOKINGS: Boëtius 29, Kongolo 55.

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EUROPA LEAGUE, EUROPA LEAGUE REPORT

EUROPA LEAGUE: PSV 1-0 FC Shakhtyor Soligorsk

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THURSDAY 21ST AUGUST

EUROPA LEAGUE PLAYOFF – FIRST LEG

Qarabag-Twente

PSV 1 – 0 FC SHAKHTYOR SOLIGORSK

PSV Eindhoven win the first out of two games after attacking midfielder Adam Maher led his team to a 1-0 win thanks to a deflected shot. Next week the teams face each other in the return leg in Belarus writes Lawk Raoof.

It was clear at the start of the game that Shakhtyor wasn’t headed for Eindhoven to impress the fans with flashing combination football. Sadly, it came only to make football impossible for home-team PSV Eindhoven. PSV impressed by high-tempo pressing football and combination through the middle to break through the Belarus defense of Shakhtyor Saligorshk. However, it was after a quarter hour that the first Dutch opening was created by Brenet after a good combination at the right. But defensive winger Brenet choose the wrong side of the goal. After the good first half hour of the match another big chance occurred for PSV. Striker Luuk de Jong had a great opportunity to crack the match with a goal, however his header missed the goal. The greatest moment of the first half was the cheeky lob of World Cup star Memphis Depay which could barely be ticked over by the goalie.

After 59’ minutes of gameplay it was Adam Maher who opened the score by a deflected shot after a short corner from Depay. It was his first goal for PSV in 2014. It was a great relieve and the importance of this goal is great. The team lead by Cocu could play at a slower pace to spare energy for the biggest game of this season on Sunday against four-time Eredivisie champions Ajax. However, an enormous mistake from PSV defender Bruma lead Shakthyor to a chance to play even, but they missed at open goal. It stayed 1-0 for PSV and the return is still left to be played.

TEAMS

PSV: Pasveer, Brenet, Bruma, Rekik, Tamata, Wijnaldum, Hiljemark (Hendrix 51), Maher (Ritzmaier 88), Locadia (Narsingh 63), De Jong, Depay.

SUBS NOT USED: Zoet, Willems, Jozefzoon, Vloet.

GOALS: Maher 59.

BOOKINGS: None.

SHAKHTYOR: Kotenko, Yamushkevich, Kashevski, Kuzianok, Galyuza (Leonchik 88), Matveychik, Stargorodsky, Yurevich, Guruli (Kovalev 89), Yanush (Osipenko 85), Rios.

SUBS NOT USED: Tsevan, VasilevskI.

GOALS: None.

BOOKINGS: Kuzmainok 66, Stargorodsky 70, Kashevski 73.

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EUROPA LEAGUE, EUROPA LEAGUE REPORT

EUROPA LEAGUE: Qarabag FK 0-0 FC Twente

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THURSDAY 21ST AUGUST

EUROPA LEAGUE PLAYOFF – FIRST LEG

Qarabag-Twente

QARABAG FK 0 – 0 FC TWENTE

FC Twente held Azerbaijan champions Qarabağ FK in a lacklustre 0-0 draw to begin their Europa League campaign reports Will Burns.

New signing from Heerenveen, Hakim Ziyech made his first appearance for Twente and playing in the middle with Kamohelo Mokotjo was a mouth-watering prospect pre-game. However, despite exchanging passes well, they failed to create the clear cut chances that were expected of them.

The opening half was poor with only Twente keeper Nick Marsman tested the once to prevent Azerbaijani international striker Vüqar Nadirov from long range, a few minutes before the interval.

After the break, Twente had the majority of the play and Swedish defender Rasmus Bengtsson nearly gave the Alfred Schreuder’s men the lead, but Qarabağ captain Rashad Sadygov had a lucky escape and cleared the Swede’s header off the line.

The game dwindled out and in the last 15 minutes you could see Twente were happy with the draw and take the Azerbaijan side back to Enschede next Thursday with no goals in the tie. Twente will be confident of advancing but will need to step it up to make sure of a positive outcome.

TEAMS

QARABAĞ: Sehic, Qarayev, Medvedev, Sadygov, Guseynov, Reynaldo, Muarem (Alaskarov 67), Agolli, Dias (Tagiyev 56), Richard, Leroy George (Nadirov 29).

SUBS NOT USED: Veliyev, Quilyev, Yusifov, Teli.

GOALS: None.

BOOKINGS: Medvedev 35.

FC TWENTE: Marsman, Martina, Lachman, Bengtsson, Schilder, Mokotjo, Ebecilio, Ziyech (Eghan 77), Mokhtar, Castaignos (Børven 90+4), Kusk (Hölscher 69).

SUBS NOT USED: Stevens, Andersen, Koppers, Breukers.

GOALS: None.

BOOKINGS: Castaignos 35, Kusk 45, Hölscher 86.

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FEATURE, PLAYER SPOTLIGHT

Who is Brighton’s new Dutch midfielder – Danny Holla

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This past Tuesday night, Brighton and Hove Albion handed a debut to midfielder Danny Holla at Elland Road in a 2-0 win over Leeds United in the English Championship. However, in Brighton not much as known about the tenacious Dutchman, Will Burns is here to tell all…

Danny Holla is only 26, however it feels he has been around Dutch football for a long time after making his debut at FC Groningen aged 18 with six appearances in his first season. With over 100 Eredivisie starts, he will bring a lot of big game experience to Brighton this season in the Championship.

I have primarily been watching Holla over the last two seasons at ADO Den Haag where the battling midfielder has been a leading figure in the side notoriously known for their participation in relegation battles, year after year. Over the last two campaigns, Holla helped Den Haag be safe consecutively making it into 9th position just outside the European playoff places.

Although he is classed as a defensive midfielder, Holla will surprise a few people with his attacking prowess. With a great right-foot from long range he found the net 14 times in 54 appearances in Den Haag and I think in the Championship he could find more. ADO were disappointed when trying to secure Holla to a new contract in the summer, however he decided to continue his career elsewhere.

The hard-working 26-year old has a great knack in gaining the interception and controlling the play. When he has the ball, he is very comfortable and with a strong upper body, he can shrug off the majority of challenges. His stocky physique is ideal for the English game, as he loves to stick his boot and succeed in the tackle. He will protect the defence as well arriving late on the edge of the area, to combine with the attacks to provide goals or assists. The forwards at Brighton will love being able to link up with Holla with his varied range of passing capability.

After his successful debut on Tuesday night, Holla spoke to Brighton’s official website Seagulls.co.uk: “It was good to get out on the pitch again. I haven’t played a game for three months and I’m a little bit tired now, but it’s a great feeling to get the three points.

“Everything has happened really quickly. On Saturday I went to the hotel with the team, before training on Sunday and Monday and then helping the team to victory on Tuesday. In the first-half, especially in the first 30 minutes, I was pleased with how I played and felt I showed a good range of passing.

“I still have to play a few games to get back to full fitness, so it was good to be involved last night. I hope I can play on Saturday and if I play in the next two or three games, then I will be fit. I hope I can play a lot of games. With this team we want to play good football from back-to-front. I want to help the team play good football, win games and score a lot of goals.” 

I can see Holla fitting in very well at Brighton and possibly help the Seagulls fly up the league.

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TRANSFERS

Roma should cash in on Kevin Strootman now before his inevitable move to Man Utd

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Louis van Gaal is a keen admirer of Kevin Strootman and would love to bring his countryman to Old Trafford to strengthen a midfield crying out for reinforcements. David Moyes did make this a priority last summer when he first arrived as manager. He attempted to make a swoop for Cesc Fabregas, who was at the time with Barcelona, as well as Marrouane Fellaini, who he had managed at Everton. The Scot was only able to land Fellaini during a transfer window that became a debacle for United. In truth, neither of Moyes’s primary targets are the type of players the team needs writes Joe Maloney.

Ander Herrera has been impressive since leaving Athletic Bilbao for £29 million. He adds comfort in possession that we have become accustomed to seeing from a classy Spanish midfielder. He evidently has the confidence in playing the ball forward which will enable plenty of chances for the likes of Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney.

Michael Carrick, now the oldest player at the club, is out for a number of months after sustaining a knee injury. Had the England midfielder been fit, evidence illustrated last season indicated his best days were perhaps behind him. Tom Cleverley has not developed into the promising player he once appeared and the same applies for Anderson. Darren Fletcher has impressed during pre-season, but has not featured in over 20 league appearances during a season, since 2010-2011. That leaves the disappointing Fellaini. The Belgian midfielder was probably the least natural fit of a Manchester United player brought to the club in recent memory. Employed in a holding role, he does not possess the movement and struggles to maintain possession. Often, Fellaini is found wanting, in what has been billed as his best position and usually finds the game passes him by. This is a midfield that has been starved of top-class replacements since the departures of Owen Hargreaves and Paul Scholes. It was the reason behind Scholes’s return to the side after his original retirement.

Although Strootman is recovering from a serious knee injury, sustained last March, Van Gaal is a keen admirer of the midfielder and would like to bring him in. David Moyes discarded the opportunity to sign the Roma player. He also called off the chance to sign Thiago from Barcelona before he joined Bayern Munich. Strootman has only recently started light training and still facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines. However, with United’s essential need in midfield, speculation has risen that a bid could be submitted before the transfer window shuts at the end of the month. Roma coach Rudi Garcia was quick to play down this rumour after Roma’s 3-2 defeat to LVG’s team during the club’s tour of America.

“Maybe after a three-digit offer, then we will sit down and think about it” said Garcia.

Last season the midfield was never more exploited, in both matches, against eventual champions Manchester City. City’s dynamic players Yaya Toure and Fernandinho were far too much for the likes of Michael Carrick, Tom Cleverley or Fellaini to handle. Any top-side midfield in the modern game expresses high amounts of speed, power, urgency, movement and ball retention. None of those components you could label at the Red’s centre midfield in the last campaign. Some could say it isn’t something they have displayed for a number of years since losing the likes of Paul Scholes and Owen Hargreaves. Strootman portrays great strength, drive and stability that would match well to the side’s capabilities.

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BETTING TIPS, EUROPA LEAGUE, EUROPA LEAGUE PREVIEW

EUROPA LEAGUE: Preview and Betting Tips

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Four Eredivisie teams head into the Europa League playoffs this Thursday and Will Burns and Lawk Raoof is here to inform you which bets provide the key to profit in the first legs.

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE PLAYOFFS

THURSDAY 21ST AUGUST

Qarabag-Twente

QARABAĞ FK vs. FC TWENTE (17:00 BST)

Alfred Schreuder heads into a hard trip to Azerbaijan with the best squad FC Twente has in recent years, however Will Burns suggests that the Horsemen of Azerbaijan will not make it easy for the Enschede boys.

Qarabağ FK’s 2-1 home victory against Austrian champions Red Bull Salzburg was an extraordinary result in the Champions League third qualifying round first leg, particularly as Salzburg battered Ajax 6-1 over two legs in the Europa League last year and in this game, Gurban Gurbanov’s side finished the match with only nine men.

Strangely enough, Qarabağ and Twente have met at this stage before in 2009/10 with the Eredivisie side winning 3-1 in the home leg but held to a goal-less draw in the return leg. I feel that Twente will be two strong over the two legs but may find life difficult in Stadium Tofig Bahramov Republican. Their coach Gubanov at only 42-years-old has had six years at the club and he has them playing attractive football and they are not reliant on one player.

The side has a Brazilian contingent, with winger Danilo Leandro Dias, attacking midfielder Chumbinho, anchorman Richard Almeida and forward Reynaldo vital components in the side. However, against the likes of new signings Hakim Ziyech and Kamohelo Mokotjo, creative midfielder Youness Mokhtar, speedy winger Kasper Kusk and clinical striker Luc Castaignos, Twente should have enough power in their eleven to sneak a narrow win.

Twente are favourites and rightly so, however do not expect a whitewash, the Dutch side to win 1-0 or 2-1. A Twente win is valued at Bet Victor at 17/20 and I feel that is the safest and recommended bet in this first leg tie.

RECCOMMENDED BETS

Twente to win (17/20 – Bet Victor)

PSV-Shakhtyor

PSV vs. FC SHAKHTYOR SOLIGORSK (17:45 BST)

Lawk Raoof tells you to tune in this Thursday night for a solid 3-0 win by PSV against Belarusian Cup winner FC Shakhtyor Salihorsk. Be ready to view the clash between David versus Goliath, PSV versus Shaktyor, a Europa League group place versus nothing.

PSV started the Eredivisie season with a great 3-2 win against Willem II and a beastly 6-1 home-win against NAC Breda with World Cup stars Georginio Wijnaldum and Memphis Depay in a defining role. The first leg of the two games will be at the Phillips Stadium in Eindhoven this Thursday, while the second game will be in Belarus, against 2014 cup-winner FC Shakhtyor Salihorsk. The team started in 1961 and has a small capacity of just 4,200 fans in their stadium.

It should not be any surprise that the team should not be underestimated, with quick wingers and a direct playing style they are a typical counter-team. To comprise the danger coming from this fit team is to look at their win against Zulte Waregem (BEL) with an aggregated 7-4 win and their aggregated win against Irish side Derry City of 6-2. Both games with a flashing counter-attack.

However, with the current form of the PSV players, their teamwork and class they will easily win this game by my prediction by 3-0. The team out of Belarus comes out of a poor quality league and has only came so far by winning both second and third qualifying round games against weak opponents and winning the 2014 national cup.

I recommend placing a small stake on PSV to win 3-0 at 6/1 at Bet Victor. Cocu’s men will explode out of the blocks and this time with great combination game defeat this enemy.

RECCOMMENDED BETS

PSV to win 3-0 (6/1 – Bet Victor)

Zoyra-Feyenoord

FC ZORYA LUHANSK vs. FEYENOORD (18:45 BST)

Fred Rutten’s Feyenoord face a tough trip to the Ukraine to face Zoyra Luhansk, a team that struggled to defeat Norweigans Molde FK in the last round in a narrow 2-1 win. Will Burns feels that Rutten’s men may be too strong for the Ukrainians.

The Rotterdammers will have to be aware of striker Pylyp Budkivskiy who has notched once in four games this season so far but is well capable of putting himself about and ruffling the feathers of any defence. The Luhansk side have done their homework and speaking to UEFA.com, the Zorya head coach Yuriy Vernydub seemed confident: “We didn’t expect easy opponents at this stage. Feyenoord are one of the strongest teams in the play-offs. We will do our best to give a respectable account of ourselves. They have some Dutch international players who played in Brazil, but there is nothing to be scared of. Chornomorets Odesa beat PSV last season and we will have our chances.”

Rutten will also be confident heading into Ukraine with talent on the plane like Jordy Clasie, Jean-Paul Boetuis and Lex Immers and I cannot see Feyenoord being troubled too much, however I find it hard to see where the goals may come from. Stand-in striker Mitchell te Vrede has hardly been inspiring this season BUT to his credit he has been in the right place at the right time and scored two goals in two games so far.

Look Feyenoord to win by the single goal and the 1-0 scoreline is 13/2 at Bet Victor may be worth a small stake but taking Feyenoord to win gets you a price of 23/20 which is a safer bet.

RECCOMMENDED BETS

Feyenoord to win (23/20 – Bet Victor)

PECZwolle-SpartaPrague

PEC ZWOLLE vs. SPARTA PRAGUE (19:00 BST)

Excitement is in the air in Zwolle as Ron Jans leads his side into their first ever European adventure against Czech side Sparta Prague, Will Burns predicts it will be a good night for the Blauwvingers.

Domestically, PEC Zwolle are on fire. First defeating Ajax 1-0 in their own backyard for the Johan Cruijff Schaal then clocking up two wins in two games over FC Utrecht and FC Dordrecht. Like Czech football expert Chris Boothroyd mentioned in his piece yesterday, this is possibly the best time to play Sparta Prague. Champions League elimination via Swedish outfit Malmo FF and then crashing to Banik Ostrava at the weekend, Prague are on the ropes and an in-form Zwolle could smell blood and go to kill this tie off in the first leg.

Sparta will be missing influential midfielder Lukas Vacha, who will sit this game out due to a suspension after his last-minute dismissal against Malmo earlier this month. One link between the clubs will be Zwolle’s latest signing, Czech striker Tomas Necid. The big 6ft 3 forward was introduced in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Dordrecht and set up Mustafa Saymak’s 93rd minute winner. Necid grew up supporting Sparta’s bitter rivals Slavia and has also had two spells at the club, including his youth development.

Zwolle have their tails up and with this being their first ever venture into European football, I see Thursday being a special night and a win against their Czech rivals at the hot atmosphere inside the Ijsseldelta Stadion. Bet Victor are offering 8/5 for the home win and it is a fantastic price that cannot be ignored. I cannot see a price for a Tomas Necid anytime goal, however it would be a lovely story if he gets a run out.

RECCOMMENDED BETS

PEC Zwolle to win (8/5 – Bet Victor)

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FEATURE

Will Tottenham and Juventus target Memphis, please stop performing…

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Jos Boesveld returns to discuss the amazing talents of PSV Eindhoven winger Memphis Depay.

What makes the Eredivisie our Eredivisie? Is it the combination between young talents and footballers who are at the end of their career? Is it the constant battle between Ajax, Feyenoord, PSV, FC Twente and maybe even Vitesse and AZ? If I had to make a choice, I would say the Eredivisie stands for a few exceptional talents every season. Kevin Strootman, Christian Eriksen, Dries Mertens, all very decent players who are being respected at their new clubs.

And we’ve got one again. His name? Memphis Depay.

I reckon he is the best attacker in the Dutch competition right now. Maybe even the best player overall, but then there’s still Daley Blind and that’s a different story for a different time. Depay shows his skills every week. If even I can see that, how will scouts, who are being paid to watch a lot of football players, look at Depay?

His first big test in the new season will be next Sunday, when he faces Ajax with his PSV. But in his last game against NAC Breda, he showed that little bit extra what makes a player interesting for bigger clubs. It’s no coincidence that it was first ‘only’ Tottenham Hotspur that was linked with Depay and last week the name of Juventus came to my ears.

With two beautiful free kicks he helped PSV get a victory over NAC Breda. It’s moments just like that which decide if a rumour is happening or not.

So all that I’m asking is simple: Memphis Depay, please stop performing in the upcoming matches. Don’t make us lose one of the biggest Dutch talents so soon. I want to enjoy the Eredivisie, with all of her talents. That’s what makes us special, that’s what gives us attention.

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EERSTE DIVISIE, EERSTE DIVISIE REPORT

Eerste Divisie Week 2 Round-up

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The second week of fixtures in the Eerste Divisie began on Friday evening and were completed on Monday evening. An astonishing 30 goals were scored in the 10 matches played in week two reports Kalkeren Kieran.

A shock result in the Mandemakers Stadium in Waalwijk, when the home side RKC Waalwijk were soundly beaten 4-0 by FC Oss. The travelling support returned with all three points, after Kevin van Vaeen scored a hat-trick and RKC keeper Arjan van Dijk scored an own goal to rub salt into the wounds of the yellow and blue support. After suffering a 4-0 defeat in the opening round to FC Volendam the away side showed great character to knock four goals pass Erwin Koeman’s men.

The Limburgers left it late to defeat the home side Telstar on Friday evening, Marcel Keizers’ side took the lead in the 42th minute though Jonathan Kindermans. Roda JC equalised from the penalty spot on the 57th minute as Marc Hoecher finished well for the away side. Roda took the lead on the 86th minute when Johan Plat netted for the Jon Dahl Tomassons side. The Limburg side made it two out of two and continue to build a great start to life in the Eerste Divisie in their fight for promotion.

MVV Maastricht defeated Jong PSV in De Geusselt. Although PSV took the lead in the 23rd minute, when the talented youngster Jetro Willems scored for the away side. It wasn’t long until MVV found them selfs back on level terms, as Sven Braken netted for Tinie Ruijs’ side on the 30th minute. The winner was scored by Davy Brouwers on the 45th minute and the home side managed to hold the lead and take the all three points.

FC Den Bosch faced VVV-Venlo in De Vliert and the home side won 2-0, both goals were scored by Edoardo Ceria on the 68th and 84th minute. Ruud Kaiser’s Den Bosch side showed great character to defeat VVV, who will be hoping to finish in a promotion spot this season.

After showing great potential last weekend against De Graafschap, FC Emmen never got going in Eindhoven this time around. The home side FC Eindhoven defeated FC Emmen comfortably in a 3-0 win for Jean-Paul de Jong’s men. Road van Hout found the back of the net twice and Chiro N’Toko also netted for the home side.

NEC Nijmegen travelled to the Kras Stadium in Volendam to face Hans de Konings FC Volendam side. The opening goal of the match was scored by new signing Sjoerd Ards of NEC on the 16th minute. The away side then doubled their lead on the 55th minute though the substitute Christian Santos. The match finished 0-2 to NEC, in another victory for the Nijmegen side, next week Ruud Broods men face Fortuna Sittard in De Goffert Nijmegen.

After defeating FC Den Bosch last weekend, Sparta Rotterdam travelled to Achilles 29 in Sportspark De Heikant on Friday evening. The Rotterdam side took an early lead though Daniel Breedijk, it wasn’t until the 52nd minute that Achilles 29 equalised, the goal scored by Thijs Hendriks. Sparta took the lead for the second time in the match, when Thomas Verhaar netted for the away side. Verhaar then sealed the victory for Gert Kruy’s men late in added time with his second goal of the match. Sparta will be trying to make it three out of three when they travel to MVV Maastrict in round three.

Fortuna Sittard lost 0-2 at home to Jong Ajax, Sheraldo Becker opened the scoring for the away side in the 10th minute. Jong Ajax were reduced to 10 men before halftime when Riechedly Bazoer was shown a straight red by referee Ingmar Oostrom, which was the first of three red cards to be handed out that night. Sittard’s Ramon Voorn and Jordy Ter Borgh were both shown straight reds and sent off for the home side. Voorn’s red card led to a penalty being awarded to Jong Ajax, which was slotted away by Richairo Zivkovic on the 55th minute.

De Graafschap defeated Almere City by 3 goals on Saturday evening in De Vijverberg home to De Graafschap. All three goals were scored in the second half, Jerry van Ewijk scored the opener for the home side on the 76th minute, Kristopher Voda and Vincent Vermeij also made their names onto the score sheet as they netted for De Graafschap on the 83rd and 89th minute. The match finished 3-0 to Jan Verman’s De Graafschap side.

The only draw of round two was played out between Jong Twente and Helmond Sport. Jong Twente’s Jesus Manuel Corona scored twice for the home side in the 4th and 8th minute, Helmond Sport replied with a goal from Oumar Diouck in the 17th minute. The away side did not find an equaliser until the 75th minute, when the substitute Stanley Elbers netted for Helmond Sport. Helmond will play host to the spirited FC Oss side in week three, Jong Twente will travel to Almere City to play Fred Grim’s men.

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FEATURE, PLAYER SPOTLIGHT

Spotlight on former Feyenoord, Celtic and Nottingham Forest striker Pierre van Hooijdonk

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Petrus Ferdinandus Johannes Pierre van Hooijdonk or Aziz Pierre, as he is known to Turkish football fans, is yet another Dutch player who has made a huge impact wherever he has played.  Not only was he a prolific striker, especially dangerous at free-kicks, but at a height of 6-foot 4-inches not easy to man mark or compete with in the air writes Andries Oosterveen.

Van Hooijdonk was born in 1969 in Holland in the small town of Welberg, which is located near to Steenbergen.  As a youngster, he was a big fan of NAC Breda but began his life as a footballer by playing for the youth team of SC Welberg.  Eventually after attending an open day at NAC, he was spotted by the club scouts and signed for them where he would play as a right-sided midfielder.  Three years later at the age of 14, he was released and played amateur football as a striker for five years, two of which were in the actual first team.

In 1989, RBC Roosendaal were having financial problems and highly reliant on youth players.  It was here that Van Hooidjonk got his first chance initially with appearances off the bench, where he would score goals.  As confidence grew in him and RBC´s main striker was suffering with injuries, Van Hooijdonk ended up playing two seasons there between 1989 and 1991, and would go on to play a total of 69 games and scoring 33 times.  His boyhood team NAC Breda, eventually took notice and in 1991 he signed up without a second thought for NAC Breda, for an astonishing price of four Dutch Guilders.

At Breda, Van Hooijdonk would play there between 1991 and 1995 for 115 games and score 81 goals.  He had extra determination to show them what he could do and had not forgotten being told he was not good enough years before whilst playing in their youth teams.  He helped the team gain promotion to the Eredivisie and set a goal scoring record of 11 consecutive games whilst also receiving his first international call up.  All this was to be rewarded with a transfer to Scottish footballing giants Glasgow Celtic in 1995.

At Celtic, Van Hooijdonk´s incredible goal scoring would continue.  In Britain, he was not well known but by the end of his time at Celtic it would be far from that.  He played for Celtic between 1995 and 1997, making 84 appearances and scoring 52 goals.  Not a bad way to introduce yourself to Britain.  Sadly towards the end of his time there he did not have a good relationship with Celtic owner Fergus McCann and a transfer to the English club Nottingham Forest quickly followed in 1997.

Despite Nottingham Forest battling against relegation his two year spell there between 1997 and 1999 led to him making 71 appearances and scoring 36 goals.  Despite this, he was not able to stop the club from being relegated and his decision to go on strike after certain promises were broken to him in regards to investment in the team did not go down well with fellow players, fans, the media and the club’s owners.  After finally being allowed to leave he decided to return to Holland.

Between 1999 and 2001, Van Hooijdonk played for one season at Vitesse Arnhem and one season in Portugal at Benfica.  Both periods were successful for him and allowed him to shake off the bad reputation he had achieved whilst at Nottingham Forest.  At Vitesse, he played a total of 29 games scoring 25 and at Benfica playing 30 games and netting 19 times.  As with Forest, internal problems within the administration at Benfica forced him into having to move.  So in 2001 Van Hooijdonk signed for Dutch giants Feyenoord and brought with him, his trademark free-kicks and superb goal to game ratio.  Between 2001 and 2003, he scored 52 goals in 61 games.  One of the most memorable games in which he had a great influence on with his free-kicks was the 2002 UEFA Cup Final which was held in Rotterdam against Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund.  He scored two special goals in the final which would go down in Feyenoord folklore.  However as still is the story today, Feyenoord´s financial position was not nice reading and they were forced to sell him to Fenerbahce in Turkey.

Until then Van Hooijdonk did not stay at any one club for long but at Fenerbache he was able to win his only two league titles and his figures of 32 goals in 52 games between 2003 and 2005 earned him the nickname of Saint Pierre or Aziz Pierre with the Fenerbahce faithful.  He was now slowly coming to the end of his career and in 2005 returned for the final time to Holland where he had two short spells with NAC Breda, scoring 5 goals in 17 games before leaving in 2006 and finishing his career at Feyenoord where he played until 2007,  37 games and scoring 8 goals.

Internationally he made 46 appearances for Holland and scored 14 goals.  Wherever he went he made an impact and clearly is one of the best strikers Holland has ever produced.  Besides commentary work it is good to see that he is not lost from the game and is strongly involved with coaching youngsters at Feyenoord’s Varkenwood Academy in Rotterdam.

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