European Leagues Thread 2012/2013

[prostak]

In fairness, yes - they beat SV Babelsberg 2-1 in the DFB-Pokal. Still makes that 7-0 against Gladbach look like an incredible anomaly.

[bobbybottler]

I'm laying Cologne at home to Dortmund tonight, I believe it's on ESPN.

[bobbybottler]

PSV 10 Feyenoord 0

Can't see Been staying on after this.

{edit} If memory serves, Feye's previous worst defeat, an 8-2 loss against Ajax, came in a season in which they won Eredivisie (Cruyff's last season in Holland) so maybe history will repeat itself.

{another edit} Excelsior hold Ajax to a 2-2 draw. The talent's there, just playing for the wrong club. Can a parent club get relegated whilst the nursery club stays up?

[handbags_harris]

PSV 10 Feyenoord 0

Can't see Been staying on after this.

{edit} If memory serves, Feye's previous worst defeat, an 8-2 loss against Ajax, came in a season in which they won Eredivisie (Cruyff's last season in Holland) so maybe history will repeat itself.

{another edit} Excelsior hold Ajax to a 2-2 draw. The talent's there, just playing for the wrong club. Can a parent club get relegated whilst the nursery club stays up?

This is quite literally the worst day in Feyenoord's proud 102 year history. Feyenoord's biggest defeat ever, PSV's biggest win, the Dutch equivalent of Chelsea beating Liverpool in current circumstances. And the Feyenoord chairman basically accepted it stating that it was something that could happen. That is the attitude of the chairman of one of the Netherlands big three clubs, stating that a 10-0 defeat is acceptable. At any professional club around the world if a chairman accepted a heavy defeat like that s/he would be castigated.

On the subject of Mario Been, he stated in the dressing room afterwards that he will leave if the players want him to leave. Nobody said anything. He is meeting the board of directors there tomorrow and has stated a similar mantra to that of the players - he will leave if the board want him to go.

Excelsior are doing ridiculously well. Beaten Feyenoord, drew with Ajax, beat AZ I believe. The agreement between Feyenoord isn't well received by Excelsior fans, so they will also be liking what has happened today, albeit with some trepidation at what will happen to their players.

[RoyalChicagoFC]

I was streaming that one live on ESPN3 and came close to posting at several points in medias battering res, but I figured, with some justification, that whatever I had to say would be rendered obsolete between the instant that I clicked "Submit" and when it actually appeared

How, I wonder, are Feyenoord supporters going to explain this one to generations yet unborn?

[handbags_harris]

How, I wonder, are Feyenoord supporters going to explain this one to generations yet unborn?

A very dark day but not one that encompasses the end of the club. It is, after all, a league result in isolation, a mere three points on the face of it. What it does psychologically to all concerned in the aftermath is anybody's guess, but what is certain is that Feyenoord fans will support the club come what may. They will explain it in the bare context that it is - a horrendous day in the middle of a barren spell for the club.

Bobby, there is absolutely no way that Feyenoord will win the league. History will not repeat itself.

[bobbybottler]

Bobby, there is absolutely no way that Feyenoord will win the league. History will not repeat itself.

On reflection, you're probably right.

I'm not confident about them beating Venlo on Wednesday.

[handbags_harris]

Well, a lot depends on what happens in the coming days. Either way whatever happens there has to be a determination shown. Defeat is acceptable to Feyenoord fans, it is the manner of defeat that matters.

[Rev Algenon Stickleback H]

Well, a lot depends on what happens in the coming days. Either way whatever happens there has to be a determination shown. Defeat is acceptable to Feyenoord fans, it is the manner of defeat that matters.

Fans often moan their team didn't seem interested during a bad defeat, but I don't think I've seen a team put up less of a fight than Feyenoord did in the second half.

[handbags_harris]

Been a bit slack with the results recently, but a 3-week update is here:

Results Round 8 (1, 2, 3 October):

Vitesse Arnhem 0-0 Willem II
NAC Breda 2-0 NEC Nijmegen (Amoah 30, Idabdelhay 88)
Excelsior 1-2 Roda JC Kerkrade (Gudde 38; Kah 69, Hadouir 88)
Ajax 1-2 FC Utrecht (De Jong 93; Van Wolfswinkel 6, Van Wolfswinkel 15)
AZ 2-1 Heracles Almelo (Sigthorsson 43, Johnathas 88; Overtoom 41)
FC Twente Enschede 4-2 FC Groningen (Ruiz 30, Ruiz 49, Janko 72, Janssen 88; Granqvist 28, Matavz 75)
Heerenveen 0-0 ADO Den Haag
De Graafschap 1-1 Feyenoord (Bargas 20; Bruins 31)
PSV 3-0 VVV-Venlo (Reis 56, Bouma 63, Reis 78)

Results Round 9 (16, 17 October):

Ajax 3-0 NAC Breda (Vertonghen 15, El Hamdaoui 30, Suarez 79)
FC Utrecht 2-2 De Graafschap (Wuytens 3, Mulenga 12; Bargas 59, De Ridder 87)
ADO Den Haag 2-1 Excelsior (Kubik 65, Boelykin 90; Vincken 47. Nelom 68 and Nieveld 74 Excelsior red card)
VVV-Venlo 0-1 AZ (Pelle 89)
Feyenoord 0-1 FC Twente (Landzaat 78)
Willem II 2-4 PSV (Landgren 10, Bouma OG 32; Dzsudzsak 3, Lens 16, Afellay 44, Reis 52)
Roda JC Kerkrade 4-1 Vitesse Arnhem (Djoum 31, Junker 32, Junker 35, Janssen 50; Jenner 57)
FC Groningen 1-0 Heerenveen (Granqvist 46)
Heracles Almelo 3-2 NEC Nijmegen (Overtoom 45, Everton 70, Armenteros 89; Davids 73, Schone 80. Fejzullahu 65 red card for NEC)

Round 10:

Round 10 will be dominated by the PSV result as previously discussed, an utterly awful day for the Rotterdam side. In other news Excelsior’s fantastic result against Ajax will forever be overshadowed by their giant city rivals demise. Excelsior actually led 2-0 at half time and only an 89th minute equalizer spared Ajax’s blushes. Vurnon Anita was also sent off for the Amsterdammers. Full reports will return next week.

Results Round 10:

NAC Breda 1-2 Roda JC Kerkrade (Kolkka 36; Djoum 60, Hempte 79 – Junker 50 penalty miss for Roda JC)
De Graafschap 1-1 Heracles Almelo (Hersi 15; Plet 53)
NEC Nijmegen 3-2 FC Groningen (Vleminckx 4, Vleminckx 12, Vleminckx 77; Enevoldsen 70, Andersson 90)
Heerenveen 2-0 VVV-Venlo (Dost 50, Vayrynen 52. Chula 61 sent off for VVV)
Excelsior 2-2 Ajax (Bovenberg37, Wattamaleo 42; El Hamdaoui 46, Vertonghen 89. Anita 27 sent off for Ajax)
PSV 10-0 Feyenoord (Reis 24, Indi OG 39, Reis 47, Toivonen 49, Lens 55, Reis 59, Dzsudzsak 62, Engelaar 69, Dzsudzsak 77, Lens 87. Leerdam 34 sent off for Feyenoord)
FC Twente Enschede 3-2 ADO Den Haag (Janssen 27, Ruiz 57, Janko 70; Boelykin 44, Kubik 54)
AZ 3-0 Willem II (Jonathas 11, Martens 35, Holmans 55)
Vitesse Arnhem 1-4 FC Utrecht (Pederson 61; Rajkovic OG 3, Mertens 45, Cornelisse 51, Mulenga 56)

Standings (P, W, D, L, Pts, F – A)

1 PSV 10 7 3 0 24 35 - 8
2 FC Twente 10 6 4 0 22 19 - 7
3 Ajax 10 6 3 1 21 26 - 11
4 Roda JC Kerkrade 10 6 3 1 21 19 - 12
5 FC Groningen 10 5 3 2 18 17 - 12
6 AZ 10 5 3 2 18 13 - 9
7 FC Utrecht 10 5 1 4 16 18 - 16
8 ADO Den Haag 10 4 3 3 15 20 - 20
9 sc Heerenveen 10 3 4 3 13 14 - 13
10 NEC 10 4 1 5 13 19 - 20
11 NAC Breda 10 4 2 4 13 12 - 13
12 Excelsior 10 3 2 5 11 14 - 19
13 De Graafschap 10 2 4 4 10 13 - 22
14 Heracles Almelo 10 2 3 5 9 14 - 16
15 Feyenoord 10 2 2 6 8 12 - 24
16 Vitesse 10 2 2 6 8 10 - 22
17 VVV-Venlo 10 2 0 8 6 7 - 17
18 Willem II 10 0 1 9 1 8 - 29

[prostak]

A few managers coming under pressure this week in the Bundesliga. Köln made coach Soldo the scapegoat for the widespread problems at the club, as Rafael Honigstein covers in depth in his Guardian column. Saturday's defeat to Hannover 96 was the final straw. Hannover themselves are having a much better season this time out. Didier Ya Konan in particular is playing extremely well, scoring the goal of the week with an beautifully curled shot from the edge of the box (after around 20 seconds of this video).

Another manager who has given cause for his board to publicly state the security of his position is Steve McLaren. Wolfsburg have begun to lose their way again, after briefly picking up form for a few rounds. Saturday saw the best and worst of the side, with a lovely team goal (from about 2:10 of this) counting for nothing after 2 horrible defensive errors. This was exactly what buying Kjaer and Friedrich was supposed to change, and it's hard to see what McLaren can do to change the fairly gung-ho mentality which has remained with the squad for a few seasons now.

St Pauli's great start has begun to stutter a little, and following a loss to Stuttgart they now lie only one point and one place above minnows Bayern München, who themselves earned a creditable draw against HSV. Hopefully the victories of the early season, plus the improving fitness of Asamoah, will be enough of a confidence boost to see them through to survival. That remains the primary objective for this season.

Elsewhere, Mainz proved they were not just autumnal wonders by earning a convincing 1-0 at Leverkusen, while Hoffenheim and BVB fell victim to some fairly suspect refereeing by John Terry's friend, Wolfgang Stark, with Dortmund being ordered to retake a perfectly legal penalty.

Scores and table, as ever, here.

[handbags_harris]

Midweek games in Holland today and yesterday reaped goals in every game. Seems as though Feyenoord were the weekend's talking point at the weekend so I may as well start with them - a good response this evening after the humiliation of the weekend saw them defeat VVV-Venlo 3-0, second half goals from Georginho Wijnaldum (65, 91) and Andre Bahia (83) initiating the mission in pride restoration. Feyenoord up to 15th, VVV down to 17th.

PSV continue to top the table after a more realistic 2-0 scoreline at Vitesse's Gelredome, goals from Johnathan Reis on 32 and a 61st minute penalty from Dalasz Dszudszak doing the damage. Vitesse drop to 16th.

FC Twente trail the leaders by two points and keep the pressure on the Eindhoven club after a 3-1 victory at Willem II. Rowin van Zaanen opened the scoring for the league's bottom club however parity was restored on 28 through Luuk De Jong, and Douglas gave the Enschede club the lead on 37. The points were sealed on 64 through Luuk De Jong's second of the night. Willem II remain bottom with a solitary point after their 10th defeat of the campaign.

Ajax remain a point further back on 25 points after their respectable 3-1 victory over Heerenveen at the ArenA. Mounir El Hamdaoui initiated goalscoring proceedings on 11, only for Bas Dost to equalise on 24. El Hamdaoui restored Ajax's lead on 48, and Vurnon Anita ensured the game was won on 84. Heerenveen drop to 10th.

Roda JC remain 4th despite a 1-1 draw at home with NEC. Arnaud Sutchuin Djoum gave Kerkrade the lead, Björn Vleminckx equalising on 73 to deny Roda the points. NEC climb to 9th.

FC Groningen's recent patchy form was evident however they ran out 3-1 winners over ADO Den Haag. Lex Immers gave ADO the lead on 12, however second half goals from Jonas Ivens (48), Andreas Granqvist (58), and Koen van de Laak (89) secured victory for Groningen. Den Haag remain 8th, FC Groningen remain 5th.

FC Utrecht climb a place after their 2-0 win at home to faltering Excelsior, an early goal from Jacob Mulenga on 6 and a 94th minute clincher from Ricky Van Wolfswinkel gave Utrecht the points at Stadion Galgenwaard. Excelsior drop to 14th with Eredivisie reality seemingly kicking in.

De Graafschap sprung a surprise tonight with a 2-1 win over AZ, however they had to come from behind to do it. Graziano Pellè handed AZ a 49th minute lead, Rydell Poepon equalised five minutes later and Hugo Bargas fired an 87th minute winner. De Graafschap climb one place to 12th, AZ drop to 7th.

NAC Breda suffered a heavy defeat away to Heracles Almelo. Goals from Samuel Armenteros (2) and Mark-Jan Fledderus (8) gave NAC a blistering start, and Willy Overtoom's 28th minute penalty ensured a comfortable lead going into half time. If they weren't secured already, Glynor Plet's 80th minute effort secured the points while Kees Luijckx's 85th minute free kick proved scant consolation. Heracles climb to 13th, NAC remain 11th.

Results Round 11:

Roda JC Kerkrade 1-1 NEC
Heracles Almelo 4-1 NAC Breda
De Graafschap 2-1 AZ
Ajax 3-1 sc Heerenveen
FC Groningen 3-1 ADO Den Haag
Willem II 1-3 FC Twente
Feyenoord 3-0 VVV-Venlo
FC Utrecht 2-0 Excelsior
Vitesse 0-2 PSV

Standings (W, D, L, Pts, F - A)

1 PSV 11 8 3 0 27 37 - 8
2 FC Twente 11 7 4 0 25 22 - 8
3 Ajax 11 7 3 1 24 29 - 12
4 Roda JC Kerkrade 11 6 4 1 22 20 - 13
5 FC Groningen 11 6 3 2 21 20 - 13
6 FC Utrecht 11 6 1 4 19 20 - 16
7 AZ 11 5 3 3 18 14 - 11
8 ADO Den Haag 11 4 3 4 15 21 - 23
9 NEC 11 4 2 5 14 20 - 21
10 sc Heerenveen 11 3 4 4 13 15 - 16
11 NAC Breda 11 4 2 5 13 13 - 17
12 De Graafschap 11 3 4 4 13 15 - 23
13 Heracles Almelo 11 3 3 5 12 18 - 17
14 Excelsior 11 3 2 6 11 14 - 21
15 Feyenoord 11 3 2 6 11 15 - 24
16 Vitesse 11 2 2 7 8 10 - 24
17 VVV-Venlo 11 2 0 9 6 7 - 20
18 Willem II 11 0 1 10 1 9 - 32

[soggy biscuit]

Del Piero scores his 179th goal to become Juventus all time top goal scorer

[handbags_harris]

Round 12 of the Eredivisie saw PSV, fresh from scoring 10 against Feyenoord in their previous match at the Philips Stadion, score zip in their match against second placed FC Twente. Nacer Chadli's effort on the hour secured victory for the Enschede side, while PSV's hangover also saw Jagos Vukovic sent off near the end. Roles reversed, FC Twente climb to the summit, while PSV drop to 2nd.

3rd placed Ajax proved too strong in Almelo, securing a 4-1 victory at Heracles' Polman Stadion. Mounir El Hamdaoui opened the scoring on the quarter hour, Willy Overtoom equalising on 38 to send the teams into the break level, but Heracles were brushed aside with goals from Rasmus Lindgren (55), André Ooijer (78) and Miralem Sulejmani (81) ensured Ajax keep the pressure on the top two. Heracles remain 13th.

Probably the surprise of the day came in Kerkrade where Willem II secured only their 2nd point of the season at the Parkstad Limburg Stadion, home of Roda JC. Willem Janssen's double (9 and 68) for Roda JC proved in vain as goals from Andreas Lasnik (21) and Gerson Sheotahul's injury time strike meant that instead of two points off 2nd place, they are four points off 3rd in 5th.

Climbing from 5th to 4th is FC Groningen as a result of their entertaining 5-3 victory at De Koel, VVV-Venlo. Tim Matavz opened the scoring early on, Balázs Tóth quickly equalising on 12. Gonzalo García restored Groningen's lead and that's how it stayed until after the break. Achmed Ahahaoui's 50th minute penalty equalised once again, however three goals in 20 minutes secured the points for FC Groningen, Ferry de Regt (55), Tim Matavz again (66) and Koen van de Laak (75). Michael Uchebo got a late consolation for VVV-Venlo but it was too little, too late. VVV remain in 17th, one place and four points off Willem II on the bottom.

FC Utrecht drop a position to 7th as a result of Lex Immers's strike on 46 at the Kyocera Stadion, ADO Den Haag. Den Haag remain 8th.

AZ climb to 6th and immediately halt Feyenoord's mission to restore some pride following the previous weekend's humiliation. Brett Holman in first half injury time and Graziano Pellè just past the hour secured the points, although Feyenoord gave AZ a nervous last twenty minutes thanks to Luc Castaignos but it remained a consolation effort. Feyenoord remain 15th.

NEC drop to 11th thanks to the first 0-0 draw since round 8, neither NEC or Vitesse able to break the deadlock at the Goffert Stadion. Vitesse remain 16th.

Replacing NEC in 9th is Heerenveen who had late goals from Bas Dost on 75 and Oussama Assaidi on 88 to thank for their victory at Excelsior's Stadion Woudestein. Excelsior remain 14th level on points with Feyenoord and with near identical records.

Lastly NAC Breda climb to 10th thanks to Rob Penders (58) and an injury time penalty from Donny Gorter at the Rat Verlegh Stadion, NAC's 2-0 win coming over De Graafschap who themselves remain 12th.

Results Round 12:

VVV-Venlo 3-5 FC Groningen
NAC Breda 2-0 De Graafschap
Heracles 1-4 Ajax
Excelsior 0-2 Heerenveen
PSV 0-1 FC Twente
NEC 0-0 Vitesse
ADO Den Haag 1-0 FC Utrecht
AZ 2-1 Feyenoord
Roda JC 2-2 Willem II

Standings (P, W, D, L, Pts, F - A):

1 FC Twente 12 8 4 0 28 23 - 8
2 PSV 12 8 3 1 27 37 - 9
3 Ajax 12 8 3 1 27 33 - 13
4 FC Groningen 12 7 3 2 24 25 - 16
5 Roda JC Kerkrade 12 6 5 1 23 22 - 15
6 AZ 12 6 3 3 21 16 - 12
7 FC Utrecht 12 6 1 5 19 20 - 17
8 ADO Den Haag 12 5 3 4 18 22 - 23
9 sc Heerenveen 12 4 4 4 16 17 - 16
10 NAC Breda 12 5 2 5 16 15 - 17
11 NEC 12 4 3 5 15 20 - 21
12 De Graafschap 12 3 4 5 13 15 - 25
13 Heracles Almelo 12 3 3 6 12 19 - 21
14 Excelsior 12 3 2 7 11 14 - 23
15 Feyenoord 12 3 2 7 11 16 - 26
16 Vitesse 12 2 3 7 9 10 - 24
17 VVV-Venlo 12 2 0 10 6 10 - 25
18 Willem II 12 0 2 10 2 11 - 34

[handbags_harris]

All goals can be seen here: http://www.eredivisie.nl/statistieken/uitslagen

(click on the scoreline, then the goal to see videos - it is available in the UK, I've tried it )

Round 13 of the Eredivisie, and it’s as you were in the top six, although the week wasn’t without it’s surprises. FC Twente remain top thanks to their 2-1 win over Excelsior at De Grolsch Veste, although Excelsior supplied an early scare through Leen van Steensel in the 2nd minute. Party was restored 25 minutes later through Nacer Chadli, and Marc Janko finally made the breakthrough in the second half to supply three well-earned points to Enschede. Excelsior drop to 15th.

Second placed PSV also secured a 2-1 victory, this time at Stadion Galgenwaard, Utrecht, although they had to do it the hard way after being reduced to 10 men for just under an hour. Balázs Dzsudzsák did the damage with a double for PSV on 25 and 75, the second a penalty, while Frank Demouge’s deficit reduction proved little more than a consolation. Red cards for Jonathan Reis on 33 (PSV) and Jacob Lensky in giving away the penalty soured the match somewhat. FC Utrecht drop a place to 8th.

Third placed Ajax suffered a shock at the Amsterdam Arena, losing their second home match of the season 1-0 to ADO Den Haag. Wesley Verhoek’s effort just before half time secured the points to lift ADO into 7th place.

FC Groningen also won again continuing their excellent start to the season. A memorable day for Andreas Granqvist as well. Visitors NAC Breda were given the lead by Granqvist’s 2nd minute own goal, however a pair of penalties both converted by Granqvist on 17 and 44 secured the points at Euroborg. NAC drop to 11th.

Roda JC managed to gain a 1-1 draw at struggling Feyenoord, however the Rotterdammers had to rely on a Luc Castaignos equalizer three minutes from time to secure a point. Mads Junker had put Roda JC in front on 24. Feyenoord rise to 14th.

AZ in 6th also suffered late drama as a 90th minute equaliser from Ismail Aissati rescued a point for Vitesse at the Gelredome. Graziano Pellè had given the Alkmaar club the lead on 47.

The Abe Lenstra Stadion witnessed a dramatic finish also as sc Heerenveen eventually nailed a 3-2 win over Heracles Almelo. Michel Breuer on 25, and Roy Beerens’s penalty on 44 had given Heerenveen a comfortable lead however Willy Overtoom on 70, and Everton on 76 appeared to have saved a point for Heracles. Heartbreak for them, however, came in the form of Birger Maertens 94th minute own goal gifting Heerenveen the points. Heerenveen remain 9th, Heracles 13th.

NEC secured a good victory at De Vijverberg, De Graafschap, as Bjorn Vleminckx inspired Nijmegen to a 4-1 victory with a hat-trick as well as a missed penalty. Nathaniel Will opened the scoring on 21 for NEC, and Vleminckx notched his first on 48. Nuslu Nalbantoglu pulled one back for De Graafschap on 51, however ten minutes later Bleminckx scored his second before spaffing a penalty on 74 for his hat-trick. Not to be denied, he duly secured the match ball on 84 minutes. NEC rise to 10th, De Graafschap remain 12th.

Last but not least, Willem II’s doomed season got predictably worse as they were stuffed 4-1 at the Koning Willem II Stadion by VVV-Venlo. Arjan Swinkels’s 24th minute red card was the turning point, the game goalless to that point, Ruud Boymans opening the scoring from 12 yards. Boymans notched his second on 48 to double the lead, Balázs Tóth on 53 trebling, and Diogo Viana providing an unassailable lead for VVV. Willem II’s consolation came in the form of a Maceo Rigters strike on 86 minutes.

Results Round 13:

Willem II 1-4 VVV-Venlo
FC Twente 2-1 Excelsior
sc Heerenveen 3-2 Heracles Almelo
FC Groningen 2-1 NAC Breda
De Graafschap 1-4 NEC
Ajax 0-1 ADO Den Haag
FC Utrecht 1-2 PSV
Feyenoord 1-1 Roda JC Kerkrade
Vitesse 1-1 AZ

Standings (P, W, D, L, Pts, F - A)

1 FC Twente 13 9 4 0 31 25 - 9
2 PSV 13 9 3 1 30 39 - 10
3 Ajax 13 8 3 2 27 33 - 14
4 FC Groningen 13 8 3 2 27 27 - 17
5 Roda JC Kerkrade 13 6 6 1 24 23 - 16
6 AZ 13 6 4 3 22 17 - 13
7 ADO Den Haag 13 6 3 4 21 23 - 23
8 FC Utrecht 13 6 1 6 19 21 - 19
9 sc Heerenveen 13 5 4 4 19 20 - 18
10 NEC 13 5 3 5 18 24 - 22
11 NAC Breda 13 5 2 6 16 16 - 19
12 De Graafschap 13 3 4 6 13 16 - 29
13 Heracles Almelo 13 3 3 7 12 21 - 24
14 Feyenoord 13 3 3 7 12 17 - 27
15 Excelsior 13 3 2 8 11 15 - 25
16 Vitesse 13 2 4 7 10 11 - 25
17 VVV-Venlo 13 3 0 10 9 14 - 26
18 Willem II 13 0 2 11 2 12 - 38

[soggy biscuit]

Barcelona currently 0-8 up away at Almeria with 15 minutes left to play

[prostak]

How many huge victories is that so far this year? Joke league...

[RoyalChicagoFC]

For FCB? Only their third win by a three-goal margin or better thru the first dozen league matches of the season (0-3 away to Santander in the curtain raiser, and 5-0 home to Sevilla three weeks ago), and in fact they'd only scored 25 before today

RM have won by 6-1 twice and have won by as many as 3 on two other occasions as of this writing*

First of two legs to determine the winners of the Spanish title on the Monday week the 29th @ Camp Nou --can't wait

*Now make that three --Real 5-1 Bilbao FT

[bobbybottler]

Feyenoord lose again and drop into the bottom three.

Only the bottom team is straight down in Holland (and Feyenoord are unlikely to suffer this fate this season), the next two enter the labyrithine p/o process with what looks like half of the Eerste Divisee teams.

Even so though. I had quiet optimism at the start of the season.

[handbags_harris]

Indeed they do, and I'm two rounds behind already again. Update to come, but Feyenoord lost 2-0 at Euroborg, home of FC Groningen, two Tim Matavz goals in each half. Groningen's season just gets better and they look certain to challenge towards the top end of the table for European spaces. They are third as we speak, Feyenoord have dropped to 16th.

Willem II look doomed at the bottom, their latest demise a 5-0 defeat at Abe Lenstra, sc Heerenveen. 12 defeats from 14, and a grand total of 2 points, 12 goals scored and 43 goals conceded. Seems a long time ago that Co Adriaanse led them to the Champions League. Well, it was really, 11 years ago I believe.

FC Twente failed to capitalise on the goalless fraw between Ajax and PSV, losing 2-1 at home to an AZ which appears to be hitting some form.

All the goals here: http://www.eredivisie.nl/statistieken/uitslagen