by handbags_harris »
10 Apr 2011 19:01
About time I gave an Eredivisie update I suppose.
Michel Preud'homme's FC Twente sit atop the table two points ahead of PSV in 2nd, with Ajax a further point behind. Twente are looking a good bet to retain their title, won under the management of Steve McLaren. Pre-winter break form has deserted FC Groningen who have dropped to 6th, having won only four of their eleven matches since, and suffered three hammerings in a row in the process to Roda JC, Feyenoord and Heracles. ADO Den Haag sit 4th, seven points behind Ajax, while AZ sit 5th. At the bottom Willem II's thoroughly miserable season pre-winter hasn't abated a single jot, suffering hammering after hammering. The Tilburg club have conceded 86 goals in 30 games, a little under three goals a game. VVV-Venlo sit above them, while Excelsior's early season form has also deserted them as reality bites, the Rotterdam club sitting in 16th.
Standings after Round 30 (P, W, D, L, Pts, F - A):
1 FC Twente 30 19 7 4 64 57 - 29
2 PSV 30 18 8 4 62 74 - 30
3 Ajax 30 18 7 5 61 61 - 26
4 ADO Den Haag 30 16 6 8 54 59 - 43
5 AZ 30 15 8 7 53 45 - 35
6 FC Groningen 30 15 5 10 50 57 - 47
7 Roda JC Kerkrade 30 12 12 6 48 55 - 42
8 FC Utrecht 30 11 8 11 41 45 - 42
9 Heracles Almelo 30 11 7 12 40 58 - 53
10 NEC 30 9 12 9 39 49 - 50
11 Feyenoord 30 10 7 13 37 41 - 48
12 NAC Breda 30 11 5 14 37 40 - 51
13 sc Heerenveen 30 9 9 12 36 54 - 50
14 De Graafschap 30 8 10 12 34 28 - 48
15 Vitesse 30 8 8 14 32 36 - 50
16 Excelsior 30 7 5 18 26 35 - 59
17 VVV-Venlo 30 5 2 23 17 27 - 66
18 Willem II 30 2 6 22 12 34 - 86
The European qualification structure is slightly convoluted, likewise the relegation/promotion battle to and from the Eerste Divisie, so to give a breakdown on what each position entitles:
1st: Champions League Group Stage
2nd: Champions League 3rd Qualifying Round
3rd: Europa League 3rd Qualifying Round
4th - 7th: Play-off system for the right to enter the Europa League 2nd Qualifying Round. Format is similar to that for promotion in England - 4th v 7th, 5th v 6th over two legs followed by a one-off final.
16th & 17th: An extraordinarily complex playoff system* to determine one of the two promotion and relegation positions. One Eredivisie club plays off against three Eerste Divisie clubs in a group, with the other Eredivisie club playing against another three, with the ultimate winners either gaining promotion in the case of Eerste Divisie clubs, or remaining in the Eredivisie in the case of prevailing Eredivisie clubs.
18th: Automatic relegation to the Eerste Divisie, replaced by the Eerste Divisie Champions.
* To quote Wikipedia which is up to date, this is the promotion/relegation playoff qualification criteria:
"At the end of each season, the champion of the Eerste Divisie is automatically promoted to the Eredivisie. Eight other clubs enter the Nacompetitie, a promotion/relegation playoff that includes the 16th- and 17th-place clubs in the Eredivisie. The following teams qualify for the Nacompetitie:
* The club with the best record in the "first period" of the season (after 8 rounds).
* The club with the best record in the "second period" of the season (rounds 9–16).
* The club with the best record in the "third period" of the season (rounds 17–24).
* The club with the best record in the "fourth period" of the season (rounds 25–32).
* The four remaining spots are filled at the season's end by the highest-placed clubs that have not already earned automatic promotion or qualified for the Nacompetitie.
If the club that wins a period has qualified for the Nacompetitie by winning a previous period, its place is filled by the next-best club in that period that has not already qualified. Usually, the clubs that qualify for the Nacompetitie turn out to be the 2nd- through 9th-placed clubs in the final table. Clubs in the Nacompetitie face each other in a knock-out system with the numbers 16 and 17 of the Eredivisie for two places in next season's Eredivisie."
