I noticed there was not a topic about the Eredivisie and I know that at least one member would be interested in contributing. *wink*

PSV of course are the reigning champions, and are currently top of the division having lost just twice so far this campaign. Ajax are third, while the awesome Klaas van Huntelaar is currently the top-scorer in the division. After losing seven out of their first eight games, newly promoted VVV Venlo are currently avoiding the drop and are in 13th place, though with no big names at the club, they may struggle during the second half of the season.

As for my second team (Ajax are my first, if only because it looks good on the CV..), they are currently... bottom of the division. Yes, I support Willem II. Incredible to think that just nine years ago this was a team finishing second in the division.

Today's fixtures

FeijenoordNECDe GraafschapFC Groningenvs.vs.vs.vs.Sparta RotterdamVVV VenloAZPSV Eindhoven

All afternoon kickoffs, all will be over by 5pm. Reports to follow.

I noticed there was not a topic about the Eredivisie and I know that at least one member would be interested in contributing. *wink*

PSV of course are the reigning champions, and are currently top of the division having lost just twice so far this campaign. Ajax are third, while the awesome Klaas van Huntelaar is currently the top-scorer in the division. After losing seven out of their first eight games, newly promoted VVV Venlo are currently avoiding the drop and are in 13th place, though with no big names at the club, they may struggle during the second half of the season.

As for my second team (Ajax are my first, if only because it looks good on the CV..), they are currently... bottom of the division. Yes, I support Willem II. Incredible to think that just nine years ago this was a team finishing second in the division.

Today's fixtures

FeijenoordNECDe GraafschapFC Groningenvs.vs.vs.vs.Sparta RotterdamVVV VenloAZPSV Eindhoven

All afternoon kickoffs, all will be over by 5pm. Reports to follow.


Supporting Ajax is probably not one of the wisest things to do right now. You've become the laughing stock of the country, losing 2 to 1 against Excelsior Rotterdam (their first home victory over Ajax EVER!)
And Willem II...it's not the same since Co Adriaanse left. Oh, the days when they played against the high and mighty in the Champions League...seems like ages ago.

Not that my team (AZ) is doing any better at the moment (10th place in the table). They've got some serious problems too, and now they're out of Uefa Cup tournament as well. :-\\

Supporting Ajax is probably not one of the wisest things to do right now.


Oh believe me, I realize that, I just was attempting to avoid the PSV bandwagon which is so present in this country. As for Co Adriaanse, I had forgotten that he had moved on, the commentators on the soccer highlights made so little of it at the time that the event had sort of passed me by. I became entrenched in following Willem II when I received a Christmas present of a home shirt from my dear friend Renske, and it's strange how these things just happen as they do.. now that I've not spoken to Renske for nearly a year and a half, as I say, some things just pass me by.

Updates on today's games coming up, feel free to do them yourself, Henk, if you get the results before I post again on this thread.

Feijenoord beat Sparta 2-0, thanks to goals in both halves by Roy Makaay.
VVV Venlo come back from two goals down to draw 2-all against NEC Nijmegen.
Second-in-the-table PSV suffer their second away defeat of the season away at FC Gronigen's Euroborg stadium.
De Graafschap vs. AZ was postponed because of an unplayable pitch.

Today's fixtures:

AjaxFC UtrechtHeraclesNAC BredaRoda JC Kerkradevs.vs.vs.vs.vs.Twente EnschedeExcelsiorWillem IIVitesse ArnhemHeerenveen

All evening kickoffs, kicking off at or around 7pm my time, 8pm local time.

Ajax drop two further points in the fixture against Twente Enschede, with Blaise Nkufo picking up a last-minute equalizer, the game finishing 2-2.
Utrecht beat Excelsior 4-1, though the BBC and ESPN disagree over the second goalscorer.
Heracles beat Willem II 1-0, with a goal inside the last five minutes of the game by Kwame Quansah.
Vitesse Arnhem beat NAC Breda 2-1 away from home, despite having Sansoni sent off in the last minute, and a consolation goal coming courtesy of a penalty.
Roda beat Heerenveen thanks to a first-minute goal from Chiekh Tiote.


Saturday sees just one fixture, with Sparta hosting Groningen.

Oh believe me, I realize that, I just was attempting to avoid the PSV bandwagon which is so present in this country. As for Co Adriaanse, I had forgotten that he had moved on, the commentators on the soccer highlights made so little of it at the time that the event had sort of passed me by. I became entrenched in following Willem II when I received a Christmas present of a home shirt from my dear friend Renske, and it's strange how these things just happen as they do.. now that I've not spoken to Renske for nearly a year and a half, as I say, some things just pass me by.


Co Adriaanse moved on to AZ Alkmaar, where he did just the same: he took a rather moderate team to the top-5 of the table. That sorta made him a semi-god in this country.
Of course, when Co Adriaanse left and was replaced by Louis van Gaal, things went even better for AZ (with a real chance of taking the championship in the previous season. However, on the final day of the season, AZ lost their away game against....Excelsior Rotterdam.)

Ajax drop two further points in the fixture against Twente Enschede, with Blaise Nkufo picking up a last-minute equalizer, the game finishing 2-2.
Utrecht beat Excelsior 4-1, though the BBC and ESPN disagree over the second goalscorer.
Heracles beat Willem II 1-0, with a goal inside the last five minutes of the game by Kwame Quansah.
Vitesse Arnhem beat NAC Breda 2-1 away from home, despite having Sansoni sent off in the last minute, and a consolation goal coming courtesy of a penalty.
Roda beat Heerenveen thanks to a first-minute goal from Chiekh Tiote.


Saturday sees just one fixture, with Sparta hosting Groningen.


According to my information, the second goalscorer was Leroy George.

Aha, thank you Henk - I'll probably see for certain on Goalissimo on Saturday morning - a soccer highlights show which pays special attention to the Eredivisie for one reason or another - probably because it's cheaper to get coverage...

Might as well list Sunday's fixtures while I'm here. Sparta host the Saturday game against Groningen, who have scored nearly twice the number of goals away from home as they have in the Euroborg so far this season.

VVV VenloAZWillem IIVitesse ArnhemTwente EnschedePSV EindhovenHeerenveenExcelsior Rotterdamvs.vs.vs.vs.vs.vs.vs.vs.Ajax AmsterdamHeraclesNECFC UtrechtDe GraafschapNAC BredaFeijenoordRoda JC

Four of the bottom five teams are still looking for their first away victory. Willem II are still looking for their first goal away from home after eight matches, and their first victory since the 6-0 drubbing of co-favourites for relegation, Excelsior at the beginning of this month.

Meanwhile, the battle for the top in the Eerste Divisie continues in two weeks time - RKC Waalwijk currently lead the way. Leeuwarden and Fortuna Sittard are both attempting to stay off the bottom. An update on the Saturday game will come soon.

Willem II are still looking for their first goal away from home after eight matches, and their first victory since the 6-0 drubbing of co-favourites for relegation, Excelsior at the beginning of this month.


Sadly, they're holding a record with that score (or should I say: no score). :(


Meanwhile, the battle for the top in the Eerste Divisie continues in two weeks time - RKC Waalwijk currently lead the way. Leeuwarden and Fortuna Sittard are both attempting to stay off the bottom. An update on the Saturday game will come soon.


Good thing there's no relegation from Eerste Divisie...

Groningen beat Sparta Rotterdam 3-1 away from home - Nijland putting Groningen ahead, Sepp de Roover equalizing for Sparta just before half time, Nijland grabbing a second for Groningen on 53 and Lovre sealing all three points ten minutes from time.

I shall update tomorrow's fixtures at the earliest possible opportunity, VVV Venlo and Ajax kick off early at De Koel.

Saturday sees just one fixture, with Sparta hosting Groningen.


Groningen takes the points, with a 3 to 1 victory. And with that, they move up the table to 3rd position (although they've now played 18 matches already compared to 16 for Feyenoord, PSV and Ajax).

Goal scorers:
30' Nijland 0-1
44' De Roover 1-1
53' Nijland 1-2
81' Lovre 1-3


Groningen beat Sparta Rotterdam 3-1 away from home - Nijland putting Groningen ahead, Sepp de Roover equalizing for Sparta just before half time, Nijland grabbing a second for Groningen on 53 and Lovre sealing all three points ten minutes from time.

I shall update tomorrow's fixtures at the earliest possible opportunity, VVV Venlo and Ajax kick off early at De Koel.


As you can see, I was just about to post something similar.

Might as well list Sunday's fixtures while I'm here. Sparta host the Saturday game against Groningen, who have scored nearly twice the number of goals away from home as they have in the Euroborg so far this season.

VVV VenloAZWillem IIVitesse ArnhemTwente EnschedePSV EindhovenHeerenveenExcelsior Rotterdamvs.vs.vs.vs.vs.vs.vs.vs.Ajax AmsterdamHeraclesNECFC UtrechtDe GraafschapNAC BredaFeijenoordRoda JC

Four of the bottom five teams are still looking for their first away victory. Willem II are still looking for their first goal away from home after eight matches, and their first victory since the 6-0 drubbing of co-favourites for relegation, Excelsior at the beginning of this month.


The bad news is: Ajax lost another valuable two points in their match against VVV Venlo (2 all draw)...They've only managed to score 2 points out of the last three games.
The good news is: Willem II are no longer last, after defeating NEC Nijmegen 3 to 0.
Feyenoord (top of the table) also didn't manage to win their away game against Heerenveen, and with PSV winning their home match against NAC Breda it's still anyone's game.

Here are the results of today's matches:

VVV Venlo - Ajax 2-2 
Vitesse - FC Utrecht 2-2 
SC Heerenveen - Feyenoord 1-1 
AZ - Heracles Almelo 1-0 
Willem II - NEC 3-0 
FC Twente - De Graafschap 2-0 
PSV - NAC Breda 2-0 
Excelsior - Roda JC 1-2

Looking at the stats, we can see that Groningen have picked up every single one of their last twelve points, putting them in a rather good-looking fourth place. Can they keep this charge going? With their next game at home against Excelsior Rotterdam, bottom of the table and without a win away so far this season, it looks like a certain three points, but football's a funny old game. In comparison, Ajax, one place above them, haven't won any of their last three games, and FC Twente are on a ten-game unbeaten run in fifth position, the second longest of the league season so far, if my stats and memory are accurate.

Excelsior, at the foot of the table, have lost six of their last seven, while only one team can still boast an unbeaten home record so far, with Feijenoord's only two goals conceded at home in the 2-2 draw against Ajax Amsterdam. NEC have gone the longest time without registering a win, almost exactly two months.

More thoughts to come. Perhaps.

Saturday's fixtures:

FeijenoordFC GroningenNAC BredaRoda JCvs.vs.vs.vs.PSVExcelsior RotterdamVVV VenloWillem II

Looks like a banker for Groningen with Excelsior still suffering from bad form. VVV are one of only two teams in the bottom five of the table, the other being the greatly underperforming Sparta Rotterdam, to have picked up an away win this season, which they did against fellow strugglers Willem II at the beginning of November. Whether they can do the same against NAC, especially considering that VVV have only lost once in their last nine fixtures, is still to be seen.

Willem II are hopefully looking to put their first away goal(s) of the season past Roda's defence, which has conceded three goals at home three times so far this season, but who hung on for a victory against bottom-placed Excelsior in the last round of fixtures.

---

A minute’s silence will be observed in every Eredivisie encounter this week to the memory of Karel Jansen senior, a former member of the KNVB and the association of professional footballers (VVCS) who passed away a few days ago. Latest news from the Eredivisie is that Ajax, strapped for cash, are apparently looking at a £12M bid for Klaas Jan Huntelaar from Manchester United. But who can trust these rumours?

Tomorrow's games to be summarized soon.

PSV beat Feijenoord 1-0, and cement their position at the top of the table, thanks to a goal by Otman Bakkal.
FC Groningen beat Excelsior 3-2, with Lovre scoring two goals, the last in the 90th minute. All the goals came during the second half of the game.
VVV and NEC play out a goalless draw at the Rat Verlegh Stadium, VVV keeping up their consistent, if not exceptionally productive, unbeaten run, now stretching to ten games.
Willem II go up 1-0 against Roda thanks to a 36th-minute penalty from top-scorer Poepon, their first away goal of the season, only to have their lead nullified in the last ten minutes of the game, ensuring that for now, they climb one place to fifteenth and grab only their second away point of the season.


I have no idea why I keep producing fixture lists in HTML format, it's more difficult to read that way. Let's look over tomorrow's fixtures.


De Graafschap v. Vitesse Arnhem

Midfielder Leon Hese claims his team De Graafschap are ready and raring to go against Vitesse Arnhem, but Hese's team has major problems in all departments with injury, while Vitesse coach Aad De Mos claims that the team are ready to avenge their most recent game against De Graafschap, a 2-0 home defeat.

Ajax Amsterdam v. AZ

AZ go to Ajax with Louis van Gaal still maintaining the hope that they can win the title, despite being quite some way off the pace. Edgar Davids, meanwhile, remains on the Ajax sidelines with a broken leg.

Heracles v. Sparta Rotterdam

Tomorrow will be Gert Heerkes' first match in charge at Heracles, which he is hoping will be a positive one. However, there is a lot of work for the home team to do if they wish to remain out of the drop zone.

Utrecht v. Heerenveen

And finally, Utrecht's coach believes that in spite of the absence of Heerenveen's leading top scorer Afonso Alves, there will be no discernable advantage or disadvantage to either team. We shall see.

Ajax thrash AZ 6-1, despite going 1-0 down within the first five minutes of the game. Goals from Vertonghen, Perez, two from Huntelaar, and one each from Bakircioglu and Leonardo put them on their way to 52 goals scored for the season. Alkmaar's De Zeeuw gets sent off in the 43rd minute.
De Graafschap go down 3-0 at home to Vitesse Arnhem, thanks to two goals by Kolk and one by Jasar Tatak.
Heerenveen score twice in the first half, but Utrecht pull back with two goals in the second half, to play out a 2-2 draw.
Heerkes' first match in charge of Heracles finishes well as they beat the hapless Sparta 2-0 with a goal in each half at the Polman Stadion.

Ajax thrash AZ 6-1, despite going 1-0 down within the first five minutes of the game. Goals from Vertonghen, Perez, two from Huntelaar, and one each from Bakircioglu and Leonardo put them on their way to 52 goals scored for the season. Alkmaar's De Zeeuw gets sent off in the 43rd minute.



My upstair neighbors were very pleased with that result. I could hear them celebrate every Ajax goal, and even the cheering when De Zeeuw was sent off.

Hard luck on the result, Henk.

Hard luck on the result, Henk.


Yeah, well...you win some, you lose some. This is not going to be the best season ever for AZ (obviously). I'm just hoping they'll qualify for Uefa Cup at the end of the season, but even that's going to be one helluva job.

Tomorrow sees your boys head to Doetinchem to face Da Graafschap, presumably this is the match held over from December 26.

Bolton Wanderers have captured the signing of Grétar Steinsson from AZ. With three goals from nineteen international caps for Iceland from the right side of defence, this looks to be a promising signing by Gary Megson, though you can probably tell me more, Henk.

Bolton Wanderers have captured the signing of Grétar Steinsson from AZ. With three goals from nineteen international caps for Iceland from the right side of defence, this looks to be a promising signing by Gary Megson, though you can probably tell me more, Henk.


This is news to me. More bad news for AZ... :(

This may strike you as odd, but I don't really follow Dutch competition on a regular basis (anymore).

Forgot to update this last night, but yeah. AZ won out against Da Graafschap 2-1 away from home, despite going 1-0 down earlier in the game.

Tomorrow, third-placed Feijenoord travel to the Stadion Woudestein to face bottom-placed Excelsior.

Friday's fixture saw Excelsior unsuspectedly beat Feijenoord 2—1 at home, thus moving them out of the bottom three of the table and above Willem II and NEC.

I shall summarize the fixtures for today and tomorrow soon.

Utrecht win 3-1 at Roda JC, with the away team down 3-0 at half time and going down to ten men and losing Marcel Meeuwis.
Heerenveen go 1-0 up thanks to a Pranjic penalty within the first three minutes of the game, and finish 4-0 against AZ.
Willem II suffer their eighth away defeat of the campaign so far - but do manage to score the only goal of the game - a Baelum own-goal in the first two minutes of the second half.
And Vitesse Arnhem score a goal either side of the break to finish 2-0 against Heracles Almedo.

Results for Sunday, January 20:


FC Twente beat Groningen 3-1, thanks to two goals from Blaise N'kofu.
PSV drop two points away from home as they draw with VVV, the home team having gone ahead as early as the second minute.
Bottom club Sparta Rotterdam pick up three points, lifting them off the bottom of the table, thrashing Da Graafschap 6-1.
Ajax, meanwhile, are unable to capitalize on PSV's dropped points, as they too draw against bottom-half opposition, the game against NEC finishing 1-1.

Today AZ host NAC, Excelsior travel to Heracles and Willem II host Vitesse Arnhem.

Results for Tuesday, January 22, 2008:


AZ go 1-0 up against NAC within the first 25 minutes, but lose to two goals in the last five minutes by Belgium's Fouad Idabdelhay.
Heracles Almedo beat bottom-of-the-table Excelsior 2-0, and miss a penalty in the last minute of the first half.
Willem II win emphatically by a score of 4-0 against fellow strugglers Vitesse Arnhem, therefore lifting themselves off the bottom of the table.


Five fixtures today:


Ajax can go top by goal difference so long as they beat Utrecht at home.
Roda JC visit De Graafschap, who have the worst last-six record in the entire league, having only won once in their last six, against strugglers Willem II.
NEC, third from bottom in the league and only goal difference away from the basement of the table, visit FC Groningen, who despite having won over half their games, have negative goal difference on account of their appalling away record.
Heerenveen and VVV match up, giving the home team the chance to perhaps climb to fourth in the table if results go their way.
And finally, top-of-the-table PSV have their first of this week's two basement-team matches, this one against Sparta Rotterdam.

Ajax beat FC Utrecht two goals to nil, thanks to two second half goals from Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Johnny Heitinga. Utrecht have Sander Keller sent off for a foul on Urby Emanuelson in the 72nd minute.
De Graafschap beat Roda 2-1 despite going 1-0 behind in the 31st minute.
FC Groningen score their first two goals within two minutes of each other, and end up thrashing NEC 5-1, with Peter Wisgerhof sent off for a second bookable offence for NEC in the 65th minute
Heerenveen thrash VVV Venlo 5-1, bringing their tally up to nine goals in the last two games, following last week's... well, you know.
And finally... PSV beat Sparta Rotterdam 3-1, with the only glimmer of light for the away team coming in the final couple of minutes of the game, thanks to Trinidadian forward Darryl Roberts.


Today, Feijenoord take on FC Twente, while tomorrow sees my team Willem II, take on AZ.

FC Groningen score their first two goals within two minutes of each other, and end up thrashing NEC 5-1, with Peter Wisgerhof sent off for a second bookable offence for NEC in the 65th minute



Because you like your statistics.... ;) Earlier this season, NEC beat Groningen with the exact same figures.


Today, Feijenoord take on FC Twente, while tomorrow sees my team Willem II, take on AZ.


I've a funny feeling about that one... I think Willem II's gonna win. And I also think Louis van Gaal will be asked to leave pretty soon...

My team v. your team, quite a fixture. I wish you luck. Of course, Twente beat Feijenoord in their last fixture, and if they do so today, they will go up to third, given their much superior goal difference over FC Groningen.

As for van Gaal, 20 seconds worth of research tells me that his contract isn't to run out for two more seasons, but that he would be keen to leave if he were wanted by "a national team".

My team v. your team, quite a fixture. I wish you luck. Of course, Twente beat Feijenoord in their last fixture, and if they do so today, they will go up to third, given their much superior goal difference over FC Groningen.

As for van Gaal, 20 seconds worth of research tells me that his contract isn't to run out for two more seasons, but that he would be keen to leave if he were wanted by "a national team".


Contracts are there to be broken - especially when performance doesn't match up to expectations. If AZ fail to qualify for Uefa Cup at the end of this season (and that is what I foresee happening), that'll be the end of Van Gaal.

As for national teams...I believe Namibia may be looking for one...  ::)

My gosh, I hadn't even realized Ben Bamfuchile had died — yet the BBC had covered it and I usually keep a good eye on this kind of thing on their website. Of course, the minute van Gaal doesn't do what the board told him to do, it costs much less money to get rid of him than to pay to keep him.

I do have a question: do the fixture times here correspond to UK time or to local time? in other words, is the Willem/AZ match kicking off at 7:30 Dutch time or one hour later on, at 8:30, as corresponds to your local time? I assume that they will start at 7:30?

My gosh, I hadn't even realized Ben Bamfuchile had died — yet the BBC had covered it and I usually keep a good eye on this kind of thing on their website. Of course, the minute van Gaal doesn't do what the board told him to do, it costs much less money to get rid of him than to pay to keep him.


FYI: I was just stating my personal opinion on the matter, I don't know anything about the terms of his contract.


I do have a question: do the fixture times here correspond to UK time or to local time? in other words, is the Willem/AZ match kicking off at 7:30 Dutch time or one hour later on, at 8:30, as corresponds to your local time? I assume that they will start at 7:30?


The times given are UK time, so for you kick off will be 7:30. Local time is +1 hour, so over here it's already 8:30 PM by then.

Feijenoord beat Twente 3-1, despite going one-down to a Blaise N'Kofu penalty.

Yesterday's match saw Willem II beat out AZ 3-0, while AZ have Opdam sent off within the last five minutes of the game for a challenge on Niels Vorthoren. This still doesn't change the fact that the team have only scored one goal away from home this whole season, one of the worst records I've ever seen from a club at this stage of the campaign.

Yesterday's match saw Willem II beat out AZ 3-0, while AZ have Opdam sent off within the last five minutes of the game for a challenge on Niels Vorthoren. This still doesn't change the fact that the team have only scored one goal away from home this whole season, one of the worst records I've ever seen from a club at this stage of the campaign.


So I was right... :(

Four losses in the last five matches...things are really starting to look grim for AZ and Louis van Gaal now.

Today, top plays bottom as Excelsior visit PSV. Also, De Graafschap v. Heerenveen and Roda v. NAC.

PSV beat out Excelsior in injury time, Koevermans rescuing the team at the last minute just as bottom-placed Excelsior looked destined to steal a shock point.
Heerenveen, without their top scorer, who is scheduled to be moving away from the club soon, even so batter De Graafschap 3-0, with two goals from Michael Bradley and one from Miralem Sulejmani. Heerenveen therefore, albeit possibly temporarily, bisect PSV and Ajax at the top of the table, and become the league's top-scorers with 56 goals so far this campaign.
And finally, NAC beat Roda 2-0, meaning that Attevald's team have now taken just one point from the last twelve available. Meanwhile, NAC have now won three games on the bounce.


In other news, FC Groningen have refused to let former Manchester United man Erik Nevland join Fulham, for which he has lambasted the side.

Five fixtures today, all taking place in and around lunchtime:


Fresh from their defeat to top club PSV, Sparta travel to FC Twente.
Fourth plays fifth as Feijenoord take on FC Groningen, both of whom had comfortable wins in their most recent fixtures.
Second-bottom team NEC Nijmegen, who are winless in ten fixtures, host FC Utrecht, who most recently lost out to Ajax.
VVV host Heracles, a team who have scored fewer goals than any other so far this season, and who have gained points from just three of their last seven fixtures, rather than Venlo's six - these include taking a point each from the big two of Ajax and PSV.
And finally, the aforementioned Ajax travel to the Gelredome to face Vitesse Arnhem, hoping once again to go second and become the league's highest-scoring team.

Results are in:


Sparta get their second away victory of the campaign and jump to sixteenth in the table following their 2-1 away victory at FC Twente.
Feijenoord drop points at home for just the third time so far this season, Groningen going ahead in the 32nd minute, while an own goal from Mark Jan Fledderus levels the scores.
NEC Nijmegen manage a win against FC Utrecht with two second-half goals.
Heracles thrash VVV five goals to zip, the BBC claiming two goals for Gonzalo García García, currently on loan from Heerenveen, while a local newspaper claim two for Croatia's Srđan Lakić.
And finally, Ajax go one down to Vitesse before pulling it back, finishing the game two goals apiece.


No fixtures now until Wednesday, when Ajax face PSV and AZ visit Feijenoord.

Heracles thrash VVV five goals to zip, the BBC claiming two goals for Gonzalo García García, currently on loan from Heerenveen, while a local newspaper claim two for Croatia's Srđan Lakić.



I've done some research on the matter. Goals were made by Looms, García-García, then Lakić (twice), and last but not least Gluscevic.



No fixtures now until Wednesday, when Ajax face PSV and AZ visit Feijenoord.


Oh dear... :-\\

I completely forgot to update this last night, but here goes:


PSV beat Ajax away from home, 2-0, thanks to Bakkal and Dzsudzsak
AZ go up twice against Feijenoord, but squander the lead both times, the game finishing 2-2.


So near, and yet...

I completely forgot to update this last night, but here goes:


PSV beat Ajax away from home, 2-0, thanks to Bakkal and Dzsudzsak
AZ go up twice against Feijenoord, but squander the lead both times, the game finishing 2-2.


So near, and yet...


Dzsudzsak might just be what the doctor ordered for PSV...

...and at least AZ didn't lose (again). Not that it matters much, I'm afraid.

Three goals in five appearances so far, quite a record indeed.

Yesterday NAC overcame Twente thanks to a 21st minute penalty by Patrick Zwaanswijk, a Dutch player who, five years ago, was making his living in Japan with Oita Trinita. This merely swaps the teams in the table, with NAC moving to sixth and Twente dropping to seventh.

Four fixtures today:


Heerenveen's goalkeeper Brian Vandenbussche is back from a shoulder injury, but whether he will be able to replace the in form Rob van Dijk is yet to be seen.
AZ stay at the DSB Stadion, facing PSV. Alkmaar are winless in four games, and in the meantime, this rubbish with Alfonso Alves continues to hang over the club.
Bottom club Excelsior face De Graafschap, both teams have four losses in their last five games.
And finally, Heracles, fresh from their 0-5 thumping of VVV at De Koel, take on NEC. Jonas Olsson is apparently suffering from what will hopefully be a brief lay-off, with an ankle ligament injury.

Yesterday's results:


Heerenveen thrash Vitesse 7-0, sending them second in the Eredivisie, their fourth victory in a row. And indeed, Vandenbussche did play for the side.
PSV beat AZ with two first-half goals, despite AZ having the chance to go ahead in the first minute of the game. AZ failed to capitalize on several chances in the second half.
Excelsior and De Graafschap share the points with a 1-all draw, though Excelsior should have grabbed a winner in second half stoppage time.
Heracles lose 2-0 to NEC, with a goal in each half from Jeremain Lens, who joined the club from AZ at the beginning of this season.


Four early fixtures today:


Ajax face Feijenoord, both of whom lost ground to PSV when they drew last week.
Roda travel to FC Groningen, having lost their last three fixtures, but the home side will be looking to avenge November 11th's 5-1 thrashing.
FC Utrecht are still in with a shout of reaching the playoffs, as they face a currently revived Willem II side.
And finally, Sparta Rotterdam could leapfrog VVV Venlo with a victory today, and with VVV having conceded ten goals in their last two games, against Heerenveen and Heracles, who is to say the same is not capable of happening today?

Ajax beat Feijenoord 3-0, with a goal on the stroke of half and full time by Klaas Jan Huntelaar, having gone ahead early in the game through Johnny Heitinga.
Roda rescue their first point in four games, striking late, after Berry Powel put Groningen ahead in the fifteenth minute.
Willem II go down 2-0 against FC Utrecht, van der Gun putting the home side ahead within five minutes, and Nelisse finishing the job after 56.
Sparta squeeze a goal in just before the interval and score within five minutes of the restart to kill the game off against VVV. Amazingly this lifts them to 14th in the table, when they looked down and out not so long ago.


Two games before the weekend, Sparta face NAC on Wednesday and on Friday FC Twente take on Heracles.

Current standings (after 23 games):

  1  PSV..................................52 (50 - 17)
  2  Ajax..................................44 (60 - 31)
  3  sc Heerenveen...................43 (63 - 28)
  4  Feyenoord.........................41 (41 - 23)
  5  FC Groningen.....................41 (39 - 36)
  6  NAC Breda*.......................38 (28 - 26)
  7  FC Twente.........................36 (35 - 23)
  8  FC Utrecht.........................35 (46 - 38)
  9  Roda JC.............................34 (39 - 36)
10  Vitesse..............................32 (30 - 37)
11  AZ....................................29 (35 - 38)
12  De Graafschap...................26 (26 - 42)
13  Heracles Almelo.................22 (22 - 45)
14  Sparta Rotterdam*.............21 (33 - 49)
15  NEC..................................21 (23 - 39)
16  Willem II...........................19 (26 - 31)
17  VVV-Venlo........................19 (25 - 51)
18  Excelsior Rotterdam............16 (26 - 57)


* = 22 games played.

Thank you very much Henk, I was going to look at the standings this morning but I never got around to it.

Between now and the weekend there are two fixtures: Wednesday sees Sparta, fresh from a 2-0 victory against VVV, visit NAC, and while NAC would not change places unless they were victorious by say, 15 goals, Sparta could get slightly closer to safety if they were victorious.

Meanwhile on Friday, FC Twente visit Heracles.

Between now and the weekend there are two fixtures: Wednesday sees Sparta, fresh from a 2-0 victory against VVV, visit NAC, and while NAC would not change places unless they were victorious by say, 15 goals, Sparta could get slightly closer to safety if they were victorious.

Meanwhile on Friday, FC Twente visit Heracles.


I disagree with you ... A win and a two goal difference would take NAC up one place.

Of course - I can't read, apologies! I was getting it from a different table where the columns weren't in the normal order. Thank you for clarifying, Henk.

Of course - I can't read, apologies! I was getting it from a different table where the columns weren't in the normal order. Thank you for clarifying, Henk.


You're welcome. :)

It's a bit sad though, that we're the only two people posting in this thread. :(

I had a feeling that would happen when I first posted it, but I don't feel as though that's really a bad thing - I mean, Dutch football isn't the first thing you think of when you think of this board...

NAC Breda beat Sparta Rotterdam 0-1, thanks to a 63rd minute goal from Ahmed Ammi — though they finish the game with just ten men after former AZ man Roger Molhiek is sent off in the 83rd minute. This is the team's fifth consecutive victory and puts them within touching distance of second place in the table.

Today sees Twente Enschede, home of the league's second-top scorer Blaise Nkofu, but with three consecutive losses under their belt, visit Heracles, who, despite thrashing VVV two games ago, failed to score against NEC Nijmegen.

Yesterday's result saw three late goals, as Twente Enschede came from behind after a 73rd minute goal from Garcia Gonzalo put Heracles ahead, with goals from Eljero Elia and Blaise N'Kofu. The first half, while not producing any goals, was fairly eventful - with three yellow cards for unsporting behaviour - one in the very first minute of the game awarded to Rahim Ouedraogo. Orlando Engelaar, meanwhile, failed in his bid to gain fitness in time for the match.

Today is Saturday, and there are four fixtures this evening, two at 7:30 CET, and two at 8:00 CET.


NAC Breda have won each of their last five games and are currently on scintillating form, but as things stand, it appears that coach Ernie Brandts is leaving at the end of the season. If they win their sixth consecutive game, they will go joint second in the table with Ajax.
PSV and Heerenveen have got absolutely identical last-five records, each with four consecutive wins, Heerenveen's most recent match was a 7-0 thrashing of Vitesse. PSV's most recent fixture, we shan't talk about.
De Graafschap face Feijenoord, for whom their coach, van Marwijk, expressed dissatisfaction at their recent loss to Ajax. Never mind - on the bright side, there are reports of him apparently replacing Marco van Basten after Euro 2008 as Dutch national coach.
And finally, the aforementioned Vitesse Arnhem face FC Groningen, and are hoping for a more even encounter than their last, as mentioned above. Groningen, meanwhile, are plagued with niggling injuries to several of their good players, and who knows what they're going to make of a game with the players they have available. We shall see.

Despite going a goal behind against De Graafschap, Feijenoord pull a goal back on the stroke of half-time, and two goals from Nicky Hofs mean that they win 3-1.
NAC score the first and only goal of the game against Utrecht after just two minutes via Kurt Elshot, formerly of FC Groningen.
43 seconds pass before Otman Bakkal put PSV ahead against Heereneven, but Michael Bradley hits back after 52 minutes to give the away team a share of the points.
And finally, Vitesse beat Groningen 2-1 thanks to goals from Gommans and a winner from Van der Schaaf.


Four fixtures tomorrow:


Roda face Ajax at home, and with the favourites eight points behind PSV at the top, coach Koster is expecting good things from his men. Ajax may have as many as seven of their team-members out, however, with four injuries, a suspension, and doubts over two others.
A right ol' relegation battle as VVV Venlo, with three losses from their last three games, face Willem II, with two victories in the same timespan. I still fancy my boys to come good.
Meanwhile, your boys are away at NEC Nijmegen, and of course, you won the previous fixture by a good four goal cushion. That said, Van Gaal has a lot of injuries to worry about, and with a completely different lineup possible, who can foresee what will happen?
Finally, Excelsior have to travel just ten miles from their home, the Stadion Woudestein, to face Sparta, the latter of whom have gained three victories in their last five games and given themselves a real possibility of hitting a continual good run of form. Only time will tell.

Today's results:


Having beaten Feijenoord last weekend, Ajax sadly fail to do the same away at Roda, with Roland Lamah putting the home side ahead after 22 minutes. Huntelaar equalized before the break, but a header from Anouar Hadouir meant that the game finished 2-1 to Roda.
Peter Reekers puts VVV Venlo ahead on the stroke of half-time, but a 77th minute equalizer from substitute Cristiano meant the game finished level, doing little for either team's chances of avoiding relegation.
AZ Alkmaar go down 5-2 against NEC, despite having gone ahead 1-0 within three minutes of the start of the game. More bad form for the boys.
And finally, Excelsior beat Sparta 0-1, leaving the home team still with a lot of troubles to sort. Props have to go to Sander Westerveld, who had an excellent match.


Next fixture comes on Friday at 7:30 GMT, as Ajax face Sparta.

Ajax win a comparative goalfest at the Amsterdam ArenA, eight goals being scored in their fixture against Sparta, six of which occurred in the first half.

Four fixtures today:


PSV, who drew in their last Eredivisie fixture, but who have had the break of the UEFA Cup since, are away at Willem II, for whom Cristiano should be making his comeback after a long layoff from injury.
Heerenveen are away at Heracles, the reverse fixture of which yielded an incredible 9-0 win for Heerenveen and seven goals from Afonso Alves, though Heracles' coach claims they are more prepared for the fixture this time around.
Roda face Twente Enschede, hoping to repeat the excellent result they had against Ajax - though Enschede boast the league's second top scorer in Blaise N'Kufo - who last weekend scored in his 150th match for the team.
And finally, NEC Nijmegen face Excelsior - who are hoping to continue to boost their morale after last weekend's 1-0 victory against Sparta - moving them to within two points of safety.

Following the sending off of Tim Cornelisse in the sixteenth minute, VVV Venlo defeat FC Utrecht 1-4 away from home, their second away victory of the campaign.
With a goal from either side in the last ten minutes, FC Groningen defeat AZ 2-1, both of Groningen's goals coming from Marcus Berg. This ends the home team's run of three games without a win, and means that AZ have now lost six of their last seven.
Feijenoord's Jonathan de Guzman scores in the last minute of the first half, and Vitesse's Paul Verhaegh is sent off in the last minute of the second half, the score at full-time being 1-0.
And finally, De Graafschap go down to a 0-1 defeat against NAC, thus moving NAC to fourth in the table.


No fixtures until Friday, when Sparta face FC Utrecht at ENECO.

With a goal from either side in the last ten minutes, FC Groningen defeat AZ 2-1, both of Groningen's goals coming from Marcus Berg. This ends the home team's run of three games without a win, and means that AZ have now lost six of their last seven.


AZ seriously need to regroup. This way they're going nowhere fast... :-\\

Martin Emnes puts Sparta 1-0 up against Utrecht, and while Ricky Kruijs levels the scoring on 56, Nourdin Boukhari scores the winning goal for Sparta just a minute later. This lifts Sparta to fourteenth in the table, above Excelsior, Heracles, and VVV Venlo. Utrecht meanwhile drop out of the UEFA Cup playoff spots and into tenth place in the table.

I'll update the fixtures tomorrow when I'm slightly less tired and I've had a chance to see what they're reviewing on the highlights show.

Today's fixtures, currently in progress. Sorry for the wait, I was away for a short period of time:


AZ v. Twente
Excelsior v. Willem II
Heracles v. Feijenoord
Vitesse v. Roda JC


Further analysis will follow with the results as soon as I get the chance to see them.

Saturday's results:


AZ and Twente draw 0-0, just their second point from the last eight games, with more chances falling to AZ, though Twente themselves had two good chances to score, one in each half.
Excelsior and Willem II also draw 0-0, with Sebastian Pardo being sent off for Excelsior in the 66th minute.
Heracles and Feijenoord play out a great game, sharing six goals between them, Heracles pulling temporarily out of the drop zone.
And finally, Vitesse and Roda draw 1-1, Roda rescuing their point just three minutes before the end of the game, after Vitesse went ahead in the 67th minute.

Sunday's games:


NAC faced Ajax, going 1-0 up before Ajax Amsterdam, despite going 2-1 up by the 58th minute.
Heerenveen also go up by two goals at home against NEC, but NEC pull three goals back after half time, the final goal in the ninetieth minute, from Youssef El Akchaoui.
VVV Venlo and FC Groningen share seven goals between them, Groningen 2-0 up at half time, and finally winning by a score of 2-5.
PSV go behind in the seventh minute to De Graafschap, though they draw level almost immediately, and score three goals in the second half to end the game 4-1, including a penalty kick from Timmy Simons.

Next game tomorrow, ninth placed Vitesse take on VVV, who could hopefully improve on their sixteenth position with a victory.

VVV beat Vitesse 3-1 away from home - the third away victory for the team of the year.

Today's fixtures, kicking off in one and a half hours and two hours time - I don't have time to analyze them now, but I'll do that in the results:


De Graafschap v. Willem II
FC Twente v. Heerenveen
NAC v. Sparta
Roda JC v. AZ

Saturday's games:


Sparta took yet another step in the wrong direction, thanks to a 3-0 defeat at the hands of NAC Breda, and two second-half goals scored by Anthony Lurling. I've said it before during this run and I'll say it again - this makes it an incredible eighth win in nine games for NAC Breda, and lifts them two places.
Roda and AZ shared a goal each between them, with William Janssen scoring in the first five minutes of the game for the home team, and Simon Cziommer scoring the equalizer just nine minutes from the end of the game.
Twente stuck just one goal past Heerenveen, thanks to ex-Heerenveen player Youssouf Hersi, who scored after twelve minutes.
And finally - while Willem II went one goal down within five minutes agaisnt De Graafschap, the team were persistent and continued to attack well into the period, scoring once just before half time and once afterward to record a 2-1 away victory. Stephan Keller received a red card with five minutes left on the clock.


Four fixtures today:


Utrecht host league-leaders PSV, though they are without at least seven high-profile players, while PSV are missing Eric Addo through a hamstring injury.
Ajax and Excelsior face off, though Koster had better be careful, as the lower-ranked team beat the team in the reverse fixture earlier in the season. Ajax have at least five players out through injury and two out through suspension.
Feijenoord face NEC, though the home team are somewhat in trouble with their boss after making hard work of dispatching FC Zwolle in the KNVB-Beker just three days ago. Captain van Bronckhorst may be missing from the side due to a knee injury.

A very interesting day at the office, let's round up the results!


Top of the table PSV had a surprising loss to depleted Utrecht, despite going 1-0 up thanks to a penalty from Simons. Two goals just before the break, from Robin Nelisse and Tim Cornelisse, and a second half penalty from Gregor van Dijk sealed the win for Utrecht.
Ajax, in the meantime, took full advantage of the leaders' slip-up, gaining a 4-0 victory against Excelsior. Two first-half strikes from goal-machine Klaas Jan Huntelaar, mean that he has 26 goals so far this season. Ajax will be pleased at this result as it reverses their shock defeat against Excelsior in the other fixture between the two teams this season.
Feijenoord, another team right amongst the leaders of the pack, also managed an uncharacteristic slip-up, and while they were able to level just before the interval thanks to a goal from Van Bronckhorst cancelling out Brett Holman's opener, Nijmegen scored two in the second half of the game, including one in the ninetieth minute, to ensure the second defeat of a team in the top three of the table.
FC Groningen put themselves ahead thanks to a ninth minute strike from Berry Powel, however, a swift reply from Everton Ramos da Silva, followed by a 73rd minute strike from Srdjan Lakic, ensured that Heracles jumped two places, above VVV Venlo and De Graafschap, into the final Intertoto Cup playoff place.


No fixtures now until Friday, when Heracles face Utrecht. AZ's next fixture is against Feijenoord, at 11:30 GMT on Sunday 9th, a game which yielded a 2-2 draw in the reverse fixture on January 30.

Heracles beat Utrecht 2-1, with a goal from Everton Ramos da Silva, and while they have Boakye sent off in the 58th minute, and Utrecht equalize through Tim Cornelisse, Lakic regains the lead for Heracles, a lead which they hold on to for the rest of the match.

Four fixtures today:


Heerenveen take on NAC Breda, with NAC's coach wishing to gain revenge for their 5-1 thrashing last time around. Heerenveen are winless in four, while NAC have won four of their last five.
Groningen visit Willem II, who they have not won against for twelve years. Meanwhile, Willem's coach Jonker admits his side got lucky last time out against De Graafschap, and will be looking for a more comfortable result today, if only that were possible.
Excelsior square off against Vitesse, and despite being bottom of the table, the coach still is adamant they can avoid the drop - having suffered just one defeat in their last five games. Starting on the bench, Ricky van Wolfswingel is hoping to make his debut appearance in the Eredivisie.
And finally, NEC face De Graafschap, coming off wins against Heerenveen and Feijenoord, while their coach is hoping to stay at the club next season. De Graafschap, meanwhile, are just two points above the drop zone, and are hoping to avoid a slump as they wish to avoid relegation.

Today's results:


Heerenveen put three past NAC Breda for their first win in five games, thanks to Michael Bradley, a first goal for Sulejmani, followed by a second, twelve minutes from time, for the same player.
Despite going 1-0 up thanks to a van der Struijk penalty, but an 82nd minute own goal and an 84th minute strike from Sepp de Roover mean that Groningen come from behind to win 1-2.
Excelsior lose by two goals to one at home against Vitesse. While Voskamp equalized from the penalty spot after an opener from Anduele Prijor, Juan Lorca seals the win four minutes from time for Vitesse.
And finally, NEC win comfortably against De Graafschap, a first-half goal from Brett Holman being added to with a goal from Krisztian Vadocz, and despite a comeback goal from Niklas Tarvajarvi, the game was sealed for NEC fifteen minutes from the end with a Brett Holman goal.


Three games postponed tomorrow, AZ v. Feijenoord, VVV v. Twente and PSV v. Ajax because of a "police dispute". The only game currently scheduled to occur is Sparta v. Roda JC.

Sparta pull off a surprise 4-1 victory, goals from Roberts, Rutjes, Emnes and Emnes, replied to with a single Roda goal from Matonda in the 65th minute, seal victory for Sparta as they jump from 17th to 14th.

Today sees the previously postponed game, VVV v. Twente, take place.

Twente beat VVV 0-2, Franco scoring in the first half and Hersi in the second.

Yesterday, Feijenoord beat AZ 1-0, with AZ's Jaliens being sent off in the final minute of the game.

Heerenveen beat Groningen 0-1, thanks to a goal from Sulejmani in the 85th minute.

Tomorrow's fixtures, with more information when I can get to it in the morning.


Da Graafshcap v. Heracles
FC Twente v. Vitesse Arnhem
Feijenoord v. VVV
NAC v. Excelsior

Games already underway but I'm not reading through any of the results yet..


Breda's Anthony Lurling claims that the team are still aiming for a top-five finish in the league. Meanwhile, one striker is out with groin problems. Excelsior's coach is hoping to improve on recent games.
Da Graafschap have slipped to one place above the relegation zone, with five defeats in their last five games. Heerkes meanwhile is expecting a tough game from Da Graafschap, but Heracles are without at least two players, due to suspension.
Twente's coach Fred Rutten is hoping for a stiff test from Vitesse tonight, though Aad de Mos is struggling badly with suspensions and injuries to several of his top guns. Meanwhile, the Brazilian Claudemir may be starting for the first time for Vitesse.
And finally, Feijenoord v. VVV. I wonder how many V's I can shove into the next sentence. Roy Makaay is not going to be making an appearance for Feijenoord, and Bert van Marwijk is concerned that this could make a lot of difference for the team. The player himself has torn his ankle ligaments, an injury picked up in the game against AZ.

Results to come.

Yesterday's results:


Breda v. Excelsior: Breda were victorious by two goals to nil, thanks to two goals, first from Fouad Idabdelhay and secondly Joonas Kolkka.
Da Graafschap and Heracles played out a goalless draw at De Vijverberg.
Twente and Vitesse play out a seven-goal thriller, including two goals for the home team from Blaise N'Kofu, and two for the away team from Santi Kolk. The match finishes 4-3 to Twente.
And finally, Feijenoord score three before the break with only one in reply from VVV. The game finishes four goals to one.


Today's results:


Four goals in the second half mean that AZ and Utrecht play out a 2-2 draw, a goal in the last minute from Mounir El Hamdaoui securing just one point for AZ.
Though Sparta go up twice against NEC Nijmegen, the home team eventually run out 4-2 winners thanks to three goals in the last ten minutes, including two from Patrick Pothuizen.
Ajax go behind 1-0 at home against Willem II, but a goal from Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and a hat trick from Luis Suarez seals a 4-1 victory for the favourites.
And finally, Roda have just scored in the last minute to secure a draw against Eredivisie big-boys PSV.

Yesterday, PSV and Ajax played out a 0-0 draw at the Philipsstadion.

On Friday, Vitesse and NAC were involved in a 3-3 draw, the home side making up two unanswered goals in the second half.

Saturday's results:


Despite going two down, Heerenveen eventually pull a home victory out against Roda JC, with three goals after the break securing them a 4-3 victory at the final whistle.
Excelsior look doomed at the bottom of the table thanks to a 0-2 home defeat against Utrecht.
PSV beat Groningen 3-0 with two goals from Danny Koevermans and one from Otman Bakkal.
And finally, AZ and De Graafschap play out a goalless draw at the DSB-Stadion.

Results from Easter Sunday March 23:


Despite going 1-0 up away from home, Ajax finish their game against FC Twente on the wrong end of a 2-1 scoreline, with the winning goal coming from Ejiro Elia.
Incredibly, on the same day, Sparta are victorious against Feijenoord by a score of three goals to two, thanks to two goals from Boukhari and a ninetieth minute strike from Marvin Emnes.
VVV are the second team to lose a lead on this day's fixtures, having gone 1-0 up, they concede two goals in the last 11 minutes of the game to lose 1-2 at home.
And finally, Willem II put two past Heracles, with the away team scoring just one in reply in the 71st minute, not enough to stop them getting three points.


Friday, meanwhile, saw De Graafschap and FC Groningen play out a 1-1 draw.

I've a funny feeling about that one... I think Willem II's gonna win. And I also think Louis van Gaal will be asked to leave pretty soon...


Guess what...?


I was right. Van Gaal will be leaving AZ by the end of this season. Seems like the magic has gone...

Wiki has nothing about it but apparently there is talk of him taking over from Van Basten, how much truth is there in this?

Wiki has nothing about it but apparently there is talk of him taking over from Van Basten, how much truth is there in this?


None. That job's already taken...


As I understand it, it is not yet clear if Van Gaal will actually be leaving after all. If the team wants him to stay, he probably will stay, but it's not quite sure what the team (the players, that is) want exactly...

Thanks for filling me in, I couldn't find anything on it for some surreal reason.

I'm peed off that ESPN have finished their wrap-ups of each of the Eredivisie games, I don't know if that's a permanent thing or what, but I hope it's not my fault! Here are yesterday's results:


Excelsior21VVV
Heerenveen24Ajax
Heracles00Roda JC
NEC00PSV

Sunday's results:


AZ21Vitesse
FC Utrecht01FC Twente
NAC31Feijenoord
Sparta22Willem II


Current stats show PSV top by five points over Ajax, with NAC Breda in third, three points further behind. What is surprising is that the current leaders of the form table are tenth-placed NAC - a mantle held in the not-so-distant past, but with a similarly consistant record - by NEC.

Been away this weekend but here we are with recent wrap-ups:

Friday's match:


Roda go down to a 0-2 defeat at home against NEC, possibly a distraction to their appearance in the KNVB Cup final against Feijenoord, coming up very soon. Goals from van Beukering and Lens seal the game for NEC.


Saturday's results:


Despite going up as early as the third minute at home against Heerenveen, Willem II slip to a 2-3 defeat, which unfortunately means they slip into the relegation zone with just two games in the season remaining.
Vitesse score three second-half goals, moving them within touching distance of a potential UEFA Cup place - despite this being their first win in four fixtures.
And finally, Twente's single goal against Excelsior is enough to see them rise to third place, and to root Excelsior to the bottom of the table.


Soon it'll be time for the Nacompetitie, with the two lowest-placed unrelegated Eredivsie teams and the six highest-placed unpromoted Dutch Eerstedivisie teams. I think I have that correct. At this present time, that means that Willem II and VVV will go into the competition from the Eredivisie.

Sunday's results:


Despite going behind twice in their game against VVV, AZ's Mounir El Hamdaoui hits two goals to pull a victory out of the hat for the boys.
Feijenoord stay within contention for a Champions' League play-off spot, with two swift goals in the first half, and a goal in the second half only being replied to by a single consolation goal from Robin Nelisse.
NAC Breda finish their game against Groningen two goals to one up, Groningen's consolation goal coming within the first minute of the second half.
PSV score a goal at either end of the game at the Philipsstadion, fully knowledgeable that a victory in this game coupled wtih a loss for Ajax would mean that they retain their title. For the second weekend in a row, however, this was unable to transpire. More to come...
..as our final round-up of the day is one from Ajax, where Klaas-Jan Goalmachine scores a first-half hat-trick to put the game's result beyond doubt in the first half. A fourth was easily achievable but he fell short of this mark. The game against De Graafschap finished 4-1 — thus meaning that PSV have to wait at least until next week to wrap up the title.

Two rounds of Eredivisie fixtures to go - and mathematically speaking, although Excelsior look to be going down, it could be any two of the next four, Sparta, who for so long were at the foot of the table themselves, De Graafschap, whose season has been poor, Willem, who really shouldn't be in the bottom three, and VVV, who could be going into the relegation play-off. We shall see. PSV could do with the win they need to seal the championship up.

All fixtures are taking place on Sunday, I'll rattle through them closer to the time. Meanwhile, dans le Eerstedivisie, the final round of fixtures takes place on the eighteenth, and it's a straight fight to top the division with Volendam and Waalwijk looking for that spot. ADO Den Haag, having been relegated last season, will finish their season either fifth, sixth, or seventh, depending on whether results go their way.

Penultimate round of fixtures today - let's look at the upcoming action:


De Graafschap v. FC Utrecht - the home team are going into this just a point above the relegation zone, while Utrecht are still eyeing a UEFA Cup place. However, Utrecht can be passed by AZ if they lose and AZ win. De Graafschap are winless in eleven games.
PSV take on Twente at the Philipsstadion - the home team having suffered a UEFA Cup defeat to Fiorentina earlier this week. Of course, victory today would secure the Eredivisie for the Eindhoven side. Meanwhile, Rendla is finally back in training for Twente and may make an appearance.
Excelsior face AZ, knowing that anything less than a victory will involve them at the very least in the relegation play-offs. Of course, this will serve as revenge for last season if AZ beat Excelsior, as it was exactly this fixture that they lost 3-2 at this stage of last season.
Roda and VVV face off - with Roda still focusing one eye on the KNVB-Beker Cup final, their coach, who will be stuck on the sidelines thanks to a two-game touchline ban, has promised the fans that the team will keep on fighting. Amazingly after all this time, VVV can still theoretically escape relegation.
Groningen take on Ajax, having lost their last fixture to NAC Breda, manager Ron Jans showing his disgust at last weekend's result. Three Groningen players are out with injury, however their recent form has been poor.
Sparta have somehow managed to escape the relegation zone, having been deeply entrenched in there earlier on in the season. Sparta coach Booy realizes that they may be able to pick up three points either in today's fixture against Heerenveen, or next week's final match, against AZ.
Heracles' coach hopes that the home fans will show their appreciation for the side in the team's final home game of the season, against NAC Breda. The home team have two players down due to suspension, while NAC are in third place.
Willem II take on Feijenoord, with coach Andries Jonker believing they can defeat the high-flyers. Willem are still in the relegation play-off places, a point away from safety - but Jonker believes that their game against Heerenveen bodes well for today's upcoming game.
And finally, NEC v. Vitesse Arnhem - the home team are currently in the final UEFA Cup play-off spot, having won nine of their last eleven games. However, Vitesse are only behind them on goal difference, with an eye to a victory today in order to overtake them. NEC however have a fully fit side, and are capable of anything - their recent form has been incredible - they have five victories from their last five away fixtures.


Results to come - and I'll make sure to update the Eerste Divisie's final round of fixtures when they occur on the eighteenth.

Penultimate round of fixtures today - let's look at the upcoming action:


De Graafschap v. FC Utrecht - the home team are going into this just a point above the relegation zone, while Utrecht are still eyeing a UEFA Cup place. However, Utrecht can be passed by AZ if they lose and AZ win. De Graafschap are winless in eleven games.
PSV take on Twente at the Philipsstadion - the home team having suffered a UEFA Cup defeat to Fiorentina earlier this week. Of course, victory today would secure the Eredivisie for the Eindhoven side. Meanwhile, Rendla is finally back in training for Twente and may make an appearance.
Excelsior face AZ, knowing that anything less than a victory will involve them at the very least in the relegation play-offs. Of course, this will serve as revenge for last season if AZ beat Excelsior, as it was exactly this fixture that they lost 3-2 at this stage of last season.
Roda and VVV face off - with Roda still focusing one eye on the KNVB-Beker Cup final, their coach, who will be stuck on the sidelines thanks to a two-game touchline ban, has promised the fans that the team will keep on fighting. Amazingly after all this time, VVV can still theoretically escape relegation.
Groningen take on Ajax, having lost their last fixture to NAC Breda, manager Ron Jans showing his disgust at last weekend's result. Three Groningen players are out with injury, however their recent form has been poor.
Sparta have somehow managed to escape the relegation zone, having been deeply entrenched in there earlier on in the season. Sparta coach Booy realizes that they may be able to pick up three points either in today's fixture against Heerenveen, or next week's final match, against AZ.
Heracles' coach hopes that the home fans will show their appreciation for the side in the team's final home game of the season, against NAC Breda. The home team have two players down due to suspension, while NAC are in third place.
Willem II take on Feijenoord, with coach Andries Jonker believing they can defeat the high-flyers. Willem are still in the relegation play-off places, a point away from safety - but Jonker believes that their game against Heerenveen bodes well for today's upcoming game.
And finally, NEC v. Vitesse Arnhem - the home team are currently in the final UEFA Cup play-off spot, having won nine of their last eleven games. However, Vitesse are only behind them on goal difference, with an eye to a victory today in order to overtake them. NEC however have a fully fit side, and are capable of anything - their recent form has been incredible - they have five victories from their last five away fixtures.



...and so they did! Willem II defeat Feijenoord by 3 goals to 1, so your club is safe now. Congrats!

It's still not clear who will become champion, with PSV and Twente sharing the points (at one goal each), and Groningen v Ajax postponed to Wednesday (after "celebrations" on the stands caused small fires).

Indeed, great news, Henk! A brilliant results for Willem II. Let's round up today's results.


De Graafschap and Utrecht hit a late goal each between them - meaning that De Graafschap slip into the relegation play-off places - more about that, as we've already found out, later. Utrecht were down to 10 men for the entirety of the second half after the sending off of Gregoor van Dijk.
Twente halted PSV's charge towards the title, with a 1-1 draw at the Philipsstadion - meaning that PSV have to travel to Vitesse Arnhem next weekend not entirely knowing yet whether they have won the title or not. Goal-machine Blaise N'kofu scored for Twente in the 35th minute, with Jefferson Farfan equalizing in the 68th.
A draw for Excelsior against AZ meant that the team move off the bottom of the table - however thanks to results elsewhere, Excelsior can now finish no higher than sixteenth. Luyckx scored for Excelsior on the hour mark, while Ryan Donk equalized in the 69th minute for AZ. With so many chances, however, perhaps AZ should have won the game.
VVV go a goal ahead at Roda, but the home team equalize just before the break thanks to a Meeuwis penalty, and put three goals into the VVV goal in the second half - meaning that VVV are consigned to finish no higher than the relegation play-offs.
Excelsior's game against Ajax has been postponed, probably good news for the players, who were given something of a telling-off by their manager this week for not performing to their full potential.
Heracles go down to an away defeat at NAC Breda, with Edwin De Graaf scoring the only goal of the game. This leaves Heerkes' side just two points above the relegation zone with a trip to Ajax coming in their last fixture. NAC meanwhile are level on points with Ajax in second position.
NEC triumph in the local derby against Vitesse, with Krisztian Vadocz scoring the only goal in the 22nd minute. This is their ninth victory in the last eleven matches. Vitesse had few chances, with two of significance after the break.
Heerenveen go two goals up against Sparta at the end of the first half, their second from the head of former Sheffield Wednesday player Sibon, but a second-half comeback halted the Champions' League-hunters with four goals, including a 73rd minute penalty from Sjaak Polak.
And finally, as we have already mentioned, Willem II put three past Feijenoord in the first half of the game, two coming from Frank Demouge, and one from Said Boutahar. Luiz Santos pulled a goal back for Feijenoord in the 74th minute. No ground has been lost for Feijenoord however, with the game between Heerenveen and Sparta also going their way.


What a day. We'll be back presumably before the 20th with the match between FC Groningen and Ajax, but apart from that, all we have now are the closing day's fixtures.

In the Eerste Divisie, the top five remain the same, Volendam leading RKC Waalwijk, leading FC Den Bosch, with FC Eindhoven and Haarlem propping up the table.

It's still not clear who will become champion, with PSV and Twente sharing the points (at one goal each), and Groningen v Ajax postponed to Wednesday (after "celebrations" on the stands caused small fires).


Ajax defeat Groningen by 2 goals to 1, and thus decreasing the gap between them and leaders PSV to just 3 points with one game remaining... It's still possible.

Of course Ajax have better goal difference than PSV so should results go their way.. it's likely Ajax may become champions. Ajax are against Heracles for their final fixture, while PSV are against Vitesse.

As for period winners in the Eerste Divisie, we're looking at a fight between FC Den Bosch, RKC Waalwijk, Go Ahead Eagles, FC Volendam and FC Zwolle, and one final team, whoever the highest-finishing team will be who does not have a place in the play-off finals.

Okay, we're finally here, the last week of fixtures. Forgot to add Wednesday's result, Groningen 1, Ajax 2, at the Euroborg...

Sunday's fixtures - their current positions out of eighteen teams in the table, are in brackets:


Heerenveen (5) v. (17) Excelsior
Utrecht (10) v. (7) Groningen
Feijenoord (6) v. (8) Roda
AZ (12) v. (13) Sparta
NAC (3) v. (9) NEC
Twente (4) v. (15) Willem II
Ajax (2) v. (14) Heracles
Vitesse (11) v. (1) PSV
VVV (18) v. (16) De Graafschap


So here we go. If VVV win they can go no higher than the lowest of the play-off places. If Willem win and both Heracles and Sparta slip up, they can climb high enough to get into the Intertoto Cup. If PSV lose and Ajax win, Ajax can claim the title. If NAC win by thirty-five goals more than Ajax, and Ajax lose, they can claim second place. If Utrecht win and NEC lose, Utrecht can get into the UEFA Cup playoffs.

Top scorers in this year's Eredivisie, Klaas-Jan Goalmachine with 33, Blaise N'Kufo with 21, and Robin Nelisse with 17. And in the Eerstedivisie, Volendam's Jack Tuijp with 25 and MVV's Gunther Thiebaut with 22. The league's fourth-highest scorer plays for the second-bottom team, Fabio Caracciolo contributing 17 of FC Eindhoven's 48 goals.

We're about to see highlights of Groningen/Ajax, by the looks of things, with the fire incident key to the day.

Okay. Here are today's results, and I'll try and make sense of what they mean, if I possibly can:


Heerenveen beat Excelsior 5-0, two up at half-time, an own goal from Sigourney Bandjar, and two further goals before the end of the game mean that Excelsior have been relegated to the Eerstedivisie, after a two year stay at the top division.
Twente's Youssouf Hersi puts two second-half goals behind Willem II, though Willem have avoided the Relegation Play-off berths. More later.
Utrecht put a single goal past Groningen, Pieters scoring just after the break - though they were made to sweat by the away team for their victory.
Ajax claim a 5-1 victory against Heracles, with three first-half strikes, including one from Klaas-Jan Goalmachine, bringing his total I believe to 34 for the season.
PSV go ahead against Vitesse Arnhem within two minutes of the restart, thanks to a goal from Danko Lazovic, who indeed used to play for the Vitesse boys. That's poetic justice for you. That's PSV's 21st Dutch title in the bag.
Mounir El Hamdaoui scores an early goal for AZ to secure victory over Sparta. And now Van Gaal can't decide whether or not he is going to step down after all. We shall see.
Home team NAC Breda go 1-0 up, though an equalizer is quickly scored for NEC, followed by two second-half goals to secure an away victory, though NAC's third place had already been secured before this fixture had begun, so they had nothing to lose.
Feijenoord score three second-half goals against Roda, the first coming from a Luigi Bruins strike just a minute after Marcel De Jong is sent off. Two more goals followed, but Roda, like NAC, had already secured their place in the league.
And finally, VVV score three second-half goals against De Graafschap, the first a Joost Volmer own goal, followed by one each for Amrabat and Ofrany.

Okay. Here are today's results, and I'll try and make sense of what they mean, if I possibly can:


Heerenveen beat Excelsior 5-0, two up at half-time, an own goal from Sigourney Bandjar, and two further goals before the end of the game mean that Excelsior have been relegated to the Eerstedivisie, after a two year stay at the top division.
Twente's Youssouf Hersi puts two second-half goals behind Willem II, though Willem have avoided the Relegation Play-off berths. More later.
Utrecht put a single goal past Groningen, Pieters scoring just after the break - though they were made to sweat by the away team for their victory.
Ajax claim a 5-1 victory against Heracles, with three first-half strikes, including one from Klaas-Jan Goalmachine, bringing his total I believe to 34 for the season.
PSV go ahead against Vitesse Arnhem within two minutes of the restart, thanks to a goal from Danko Lazovic, who indeed used to play for the Vitesse boys. That's poetic justice for you. That's PSV's 21st Dutch title in the bag.
Mounir El Hamdaoui scores an early goal for AZ to secure victory over Sparta. And now Van Gaal can't decide whether or not he is going to step down after all. We shall see.
Home team NAC Breda go 1-0 up, though an equalizer is quickly scored for NEC, followed by two second-half goals to secure an away victory, though NAC's third place had already been secured before this fixture had begun, so they had nothing to lose.
Feijenoord score three second-half goals against Roda, the first coming from a Luigi Bruins strike just a minute after Marcel De Jong is sent off. Two more goals followed, but Roda, like NAC, had already secured their place in the league.
And finally, VVV score three second-half goals against De Graafschap, the first a Joost Volmer own goal, followed by one each for Amrabat and Ofrany.



My upstairs neighbors are avid Ajax fans, detesting any other team. They will be totally p*ssed! ;D

Come to think of it...They weren't home today. Maybe they went to see the game...? That only adds insult to injury (for them, not for me).

A report on the KNVB Cup coming up later - Roda won their place in the final of the competition after beating Heracles 5-3 on penalties, after finishing with a 2-2 stalemate in normal time. Meanwhile, Feijenoord won their place in the final with a 2-0 victory against NAC.

Interestingly, all four losing quarter-final teams were from lower tiers - Zwolle, Haarlem and Dordrecht from the Eerste Divisie, and Dordrecht from the Hoofdklasse.

----

In other news, a brand new play-off system is being introduced from next season onwards, where the champions of the league will qualify automatically for the Champions League, the runners-up for the third preliminary round, and positions three and four for the UEFA Cup. Meanwhile, positions five to eight in the Eredivisie will play best-of-three playoff series to go into the two remaining UEFA spots.

And Feijenoord run out 2-0 victors - apparently their first goal, courtesy of Landzaat, came in the 0th minute, but I will seek clarification on that. Their second, courtesy of Jon de Guzman, came in the 36th.

Okay according to further sources, apparently it was the EIGHTH minute that the goal was scored. Of course, this is van Marwijk's last game in charge, because he is leaving to coach the national side. All the best of luck to him!

And Feijenoord run out 2-0 victors - apparently their first goal, courtesy of Landzaat, came in the 0th minute, but I will seek clarification on that. Their second, courtesy of Jon de Guzman, came in the 36th.


...which means the team has qualified for UEFA Cup.

A consolation prize for the team, after a rather disappointing season (ending in 6th place).


Okay according to further sources, apparently it was the EIGHTH minute that the goal was scored. Of course, this is van Marwijk's last game in charge, because he is leaving to coach the national side. All the best of luck to him!


Coincidentally, the previous time Van Marwijk left Feijenoord (in 2002) the team had just won the UEFA Cup under his guidance.

Okay! Results over the last week, I apologize that I haven't had the tools to update recently..


On Tuesday, Twente beat NAC Breda 3-0, NAC Breda finished the game with nine men after the sendings off of Mtiliga and Ronnie Stam in minute 65 and 77 respectively. Denneboom and Huijsegems score within the final ten minutes of the match.
On Thursday, Utrecht and Groningen stalemated 2-2 in their UEFA Cup Playoff match, each finishing the game with ten men, Groningen's first goalscorer Goran Lovre was sent off in the 75th minute, and Groningen scored their final goal with 90 minutes on the clock.
Thursday: Roda JC fell to a 1-0 home defeat against NEC Nijmegen, Brett Holman scoring in the sixth minute, with Ger Senden being sent off in the 53rd minute.
Thursday: Ajax beat Heerenveen in the Champions League Play-off semi-final, 2-1, thanks to second-half goals from Luis Suarez and Johnny Heitinga.


Relegation play-offs - Thursday:


Den Haag overcame VVV by a score of 1-0, with Wesley Verhoek scoring the only goal of the game.
De Graafschap were victorious by a score of 2-3 against Helmond Sport, the Eredivisie team being carried by a hat-trick scored by Lasse Schoen.
FC Zwolle succumb to an 89th minute goal by FC Den Bosch's Laurens ten Heuven.
And finally, MVV Maastricht beat RKC Waalwijk 1-0 thanks to a 78th minute goal from Sjoerd Winkens.


Saturday's result:

In the second leg of Twente v. NAC, there were an incredible six goals, each one scored in the second half - the game stalemating at 0-0 come half time.

Sunday's results:


In the UEFA Cup Play-offs, second leg, Groningen beat Utrecht 3-1, finishing with an aggregate score of 5-3. All four goals were scored in the second half of the game - the final two within two minutes of each other.
NEC beat Roda 2-0, finishing with an aggregate of 3-0, thanks to goals from Jhon van Beukering and Dominique Kivuvu, finishing with an aggregate score of 3-0.


Relegation play-offs:


Let's start with the biggie first of all - VVV Venlo, trailing by one goal from the previous fixture, score the only goal of the game in regular time in the 59th minute, courtesy of Edwin Linssen. As the game headed to penalties, VVV won an epic battle by defeating ADO by nine penalty kicks to eight.
RKC Waalwijk scored two second-half goals against MVV Maastricht, overcoming MVV's 1-0 lead in the final minute, thanks to a goal from Fred Benson, who was part of the Dutch Under-21 UEFA Championship winning team of 2006.
Defending a 3-2 lead from the first leg, De Graafschap scored two goals in quick succession against Helmond Sport, before conceding a penalty scored by the boot of Marc Hocher. With a slender 2-1 lead for most of the rest of the match, De Graafschap finally put the game to bed with an 89th minute Niklas Tarvajarvi goal.
And finally(!) FC Den Bosch were defeated 1-2 by FC Zwolle, Zwolle's scorers, Koen Garritsen and Jordy Zuidam, Den Bosch's scorer, thanks to a 79th minute penalty, Paul Beekmans


Today at 8:15 CEST begins the second leg of the Ajax-Heerenveen Champions League Playoff semi-final.

Play-offs have ended some 10 days ago. Still waiting for an update... ;)

Sorry Henk. I was hoping you were there doing it - I haven't been following the playoffs very well. Plus I was hoping you'd get there first!

Ajax won 5-2 on aggregate against Heerenveen and Twente won 8-1 against NAC Breda in the semi-finals. Twente overcame Ajax 2-1 on aggregate, despite a 0-0 draw in the second leg to get themselves into the Champions' League.

UEFA Cup playoffs: Having drawn 2-2 in the first leg, seventh-placed Groningen overcame tenth-placed Utrecht 3-1 in the second leg. In the matches between Roda and NEC, the latter team won 1-0 and 2-0 to get to get to the final. With Groningen and NEC in the final, eighth-placed NEC won out 0-1 and 1-3 to get into the UEFA Cup playoffs.

The losers of the Ajax and Twente matches, Heerenveen and NAC Breda, then faced each other for a UEFA Cup place, as did the losers in the Utrecht v. Groningen and Roda v. NEC games. That is, fifth-placed Heerenveen v. third placed NAC Breda, and seventh-placed Groningen v. eighth-placed NEC facing each other.

Heerenveen v. NAC Breda - Heerenveen won 4-2 on aggregate, winning 2-0 in the first leg and drawing 2-2 in the second leg.

FC Groningen v. NEC - NEC won the first leg 1-0 and the second leg 3-1, thus winning 4-1 on aggregate.

So to summarize:


Ajax v. Twente - FC Twente win 2-1 on aggregate, thus securing a place in the third round of the Champions League. Ajax go into the UEFA Cup competition.
Groningen v. NEC - NEC win 4-1 on aggregate, thus securing a place in the UEFA Cup Playoffs.
NEC overcome NAC 7-0 on aggregate. NAC qualify for the intertoasty Cup.


I think that's all right. Playoffs are confusing!

Meanwhile, the Relegation Playoffs:

Round 1:

ADO Den Haag overcome the Go Ahead Eagles 4-1 on aggregate.
Helmond Sport overcome TOP Oss 2-5 on aggregate.

Round 2 was an aggregate-of-three-matches kind of competition.

ADO Den Haag beat VVV Venlo 3-1 on aggregate.
RKC Waalwijk beat MVV 1-6 on aggregate.
FC Zwolle beat FC Den Bosch 3-2 on aggregate.
De Graafschap beat Helmond Sport 6-3 on aggregate.

Round 3:

ADO Den Haag beat RKC Waalwijk 5-4 on aggregate.
De Graafschap beat FC Zwolle 3-1 on aggregate.

And THAT's where it becomes slightly confusing! Help me out, Henk!

Sorry Henk. I was hoping you were there doing it - I haven't been following the playoffs very well. Plus I was hoping you'd get there first!

Ajax won 5-2 on aggregate against Heerenveen and Twente won 8-1 against NAC Breda in the semi-finals. Twente overcame Ajax 2-1 on aggregate, despite a 0-0 draw in the second leg to get themselves into the Champions' League.

UEFA Cup playoffs: Having drawn 2-2 in the first leg, seventh-placed Groningen overcame tenth-placed Utrecht 3-1 in the second leg. In the matches between Roda and NEC, the latter team won 1-0 and 2-0 to get to get to the final. With Groningen and NEC in the final, eighth-placed NEC won out 0-1 and 1-3 to get into the UEFA Cup playoffs.

The losers of the Ajax and Twente matches, Heerenveen and NAC Breda, then faced each other for a UEFA Cup place, as did the losers in the Utrecht v. Groningen and Roda v. NEC games. That is, fifth-placed Heerenveen v. third placed NAC Breda, and seventh-placed Groningen v. eighth-placed NEC facing each other.

Heerenveen v. NAC Breda - Heerenveen won 4-2 on aggregate, winning 2-0 in the first leg and drawing 2-2 in the second leg.

FC Groningen v. NEC - NEC won the first leg 1-0 and the second leg 3-1, thus winning 4-1 on aggregate.

So to summarize:


Ajax v. Twente - FC Twente win 2-1 on aggregate, thus securing a place in the third round of the Champions League. Ajax go into the UEFA Cup competition.
Groningen v. NEC - NEC win 4-1 on aggregate, thus securing a place in the UEFA Cup Playoffs.
NEC overcome NAC 7-0 on aggregate. NAC qualify for the intertoasty Cup.


I think that's all right. Playoffs are confusing!

Meanwhile, the Relegation Playoffs:

Round 1:

ADO Den Haag overcome the Go Ahead Eagles 4-1 on aggregate.
Helmond Sport overcome TOP Oss 2-5 on aggregate.

Round 2 was an aggregate-of-three-matches kind of competition.

ADO Den Haag beat VVV Venlo 3-1 on aggregate.
RKC Waalwijk beat MVV 1-6 on aggregate.
FC Zwolle beat FC Den Bosch 3-2 on aggregate.
De Graafschap beat Helmond Sport 6-3 on aggregate.

Round 3:

ADO Den Haag beat RKC Waalwijk 5-4 on aggregate.
De Graafschap beat FC Zwolle 3-1 on aggregate.

And THAT's where it becomes slightly confusing! Help me out, Henk!


This is one of the main reasons why I have given up Dutch competition... Those play-offs are way too complicated!

Luckily the teams agree with us, and there will be simplified play-offs next season.

Meanwhile...I'll see what I can do.

Sorry Henk. I was hoping you were there doing it - I haven't been following the playoffs very well. Plus I was hoping you'd get there first!

Ajax won 5-2 on aggregate against Heerenveen and Twente won 8-1 against NAC Breda in the semi-finals. Twente overcame Ajax 2-1 on aggregate, despite a 0-0 draw in the second leg to get themselves into the Champions' League.

UEFA Cup playoffs: Having drawn 2-2 in the first leg, seventh-placed Groningen overcame tenth-placed Utrecht 3-1 in the second leg. In the matches between Roda and NEC, the latter team won 1-0 and 2-0 to get to get to the final. With Groningen and NEC in the final, eighth-placed NEC won out 0-1 and 1-3 to get into the UEFA Cup playoffs.

The losers of the Ajax and Twente matches, Heerenveen and NAC Breda, then faced each other for a UEFA Cup place, as did the losers in the Utrecht v. Groningen and Roda v. NEC games. That is, fifth-placed Heerenveen v. third placed NAC Breda, and seventh-placed Groningen v. eighth-placed NEC facing each other.

Heerenveen v. NAC Breda - Heerenveen won 4-2 on aggregate, winning 2-0 in the first leg and drawing 2-2 in the second leg.

FC Groningen v. NEC - NEC won the first leg 1-0 and the second leg 3-1, thus winning 4-1 on aggregate.

So to summarize:


Ajax v. Twente - FC Twente win 2-1 on aggregate, thus securing a place in the third round of the Champions League. Ajax go into the UEFA Cup competition.
Groningen v. NEC - NEC win 4-1 on aggregate, thus securing a place in the UEFA Cup Playoffs.
NEC overcome NAC 7-0 on aggregate. NAC qualify for the intertoasty Cup.


I think that's all right. Playoffs are confusing!

Meanwhile, the Relegation Playoffs:

Round 1:

ADO Den Haag overcome the Go Ahead Eagles 4-1 on aggregate.
Helmond Sport overcome TOP Oss 2-5 on aggregate.

Round 2 was an aggregate-of-three-matches kind of competition.

ADO Den Haag beat VVV Venlo 3-1 on aggregate.
RKC Waalwijk beat MVV 1-6 on aggregate.
FC Zwolle beat FC Den Bosch 3-2 on aggregate.
De Graafschap beat Helmond Sport 6-3 on aggregate.

Round 3:

ADO Den Haag beat RKC Waalwijk 5-4 on aggregate.
De Graafschap beat FC Zwolle 3-1 on aggregate.

And THAT's where it becomes slightly confusing! Help me out, Henk!


You know what? You've got it all right. After round three, ADO Den Haag move up a league, to Eredivisie, and De Graafschap gets to stay in Eredivisie for another season. And that's it, basically.

But... because I've already spent a lot of time on research, I'll just post my own summary next. :P

Nice one, thank you for the confirmation! I was very tired when I wrote most of that!

Thank you, Henk, for taking the time to clarify that to me. I just hope that's the way it stays for next year otherwise I'll have a hard time understanding it again!

In all seriousness, the deal with the five Periodekampioen winners was confusing me slightly, I'm happy that you've fixed that in my head. So, so, are you prepared to join me in doing this again - this time for the whole of the season - next term?

Thank you, Henk, for taking the time to clarify that to me. I just hope that's the way it stays for next year otherwise I'll have a hard time understanding it again!


Oh no no no...It's gonna change. If I'm correct, the #2 in Eredivisie will qualify directly for qualifying round for Champions League.
Don't know exactly how the tickets for UEFA Cup and Intertoto Competition will be divided amongst the remaining teams... :-\\ ...but we'll find out in due time.

The Relegation/Promotion Play-offs won't change, as far as I know.


In all seriousness, the deal with the five Periodekampioen winners was confusing me slightly, I'm happy that you've fixed that in my head. So, so, are you prepared to join me in doing this again - this time for the whole of the season - next term?


You can count on me. :)

Thank you for the update - I knew something was bound to change! I'll keep my eye on ESPN Soccernet and see if they are carrying anything about it.

At least Willem II survived, even if it was at the expense of VVV... hopefully they will perform better next year, I will have to email my friend Renske and find out if she's able to send me match programs or something..

Meantime, Twente's stadium will increase to 24,000 capacity next year. Good to see the top scorer in the Eerstedivisie come from top-of-the-table Volendam, we'll just have to wait to see who the periodekampioen are.

Lower down, it's nice to see Ijsselmeervogels become champions of the amateur league - according to Wikipedia, their shining moment came in the KNVB Cup, where they got to the semi-finals having beaten AZ! The strange world of Dutch football!

Hope this thread has not yet become obsolete - time enough to mention the squad line-up for Euro 2008.


Goalkeepers
Edwin van der Saar (Manchester United)
Maarten Stekelenburg (Ajax)
Henk Timmer (Feijenoord)
Defenders
Khalid Boulahrouz (Sevilla)
Wilfred Bouma (Aston Villa)
Tim de Cler (Feijenoord)
John Heitinga (Atlético Madrid)
Joris Mathijsen (Hamburg)
Mario Melchiot (Wigan Athletic)
André Ooijer (Blackburn Rovers)
Giovanni van Bronckhorst (Feijenoord)
Midfielders
Demy de Zeeuw (AZ)
Orlando Engelaar (FC Twente)
Nigel de Jong (Hamburg)
Ibrahim Afellay (PSV)
Wesley Sneijder (Real Madrid)
Arjen Robben (Real Madrid)
Rafael van der Vaart (Hamburg)
Forwards
Robin van Persie (Arsenal)
Dirk Kuijt (Liverpool)
Ruud van Nistelrooij (Real Madrid)
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (Ajax)
Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink (Celtic)