Vladis

We were certainly very lucky in Amsterdam, but to take points away from Ajax is very pleasing. That trick didn't work with Feyenoord, unfortunately. In a very important match against Emmen we were saved by a change of formation at half-time. We scored all four goals by switching to 4-2-3-1. YOUTH INTAKE Intake is very average. There are only a few names to highlight. Sven Hake - introduced as the most talented among others, but I don`t really know what to do with him Romeo de Haan - could be decent centre-back if he will improve his jumping skill. Pieter Rosema - the best one for me. Very balanced skill range and professional personality, Melvin Parmentier - second one. Probably box-to-box in the future. I like his aggression and determination. And good personality, New contract is here.

Things are going really better! Yeah, maybe not the hardest schedule for last 5 matches but it`s a good sign that we take points in games where we at least slight favourites.

Thanks, mate! Yes, at least we meet expectations at this moment, but the league is very unpredictable aside from top 3. So, we could even climb to top 6 or to fall outside the top ten.

TRANSFER UPDATE Deadline Day was really busy. We had several variants to strengthen the squad, and three signings were finally done. Jeppe Okkels (25 y.o., free transfer) - massive player for the club of our calibre. He was one of the leaders of the Swedish side IF Elfsborg but declined to stay in Sweden. He should add quality to our left flank. Marco van Ginkel (32 y.o., free transfer) - big name at Euroborg! ex-Chelsea playmaker has agreed to play for us for the food) He`s still capable of performing on a good level but there is a nuance...few days after joining us he got injured almost until the end of season. Big sign - big loss. Nemanja Motika (21 y.o., loan from Atalanta) - unplanned loan of very good young winger. After Abraham was moaning about signing Okkels at his position I decided to find a new club for him and we`ve even got offer from Belgium, but Abraham rejected it and decided to think about his future after the end of contract. And the deal with Motika was agreed few hours before his decision. So, we have for now five players on two positions of winger. Sorry for my bad English

We went into the winter break with four matches' winless streak. However, draws with AZ and PSV can be put in our favour both in terms of play and results. The rest went good for us and in the first game of 2025 we defeated a very tough Sparta in an away game. January transfer window is still opened but some major deals are already done. We've waited for a good offer on Suslov and finally let him go to bigger side. I`m pleased that he will stay in Netherlands. Very good player for the league. We`ve also agreed 25% profit from the next transfer clause. Three players went on loan for more playing time. NEW SIGNING Ramon Hendriks (23 y.o., loan from Feyenoord, joining on full status 01/07/2024 (end of contract)) - top bargain deal. Very good young defender who is comfortable on the ball which is important for our system. We`ve activated future fee clause for Bogarde and he will also become permanent member of our team in the summer.

Good shout. My striker is lacking in dribble and technique but has good physics and decent vision.

Yes, I`ve tried that. I haven't noticed any more productive actions from the players in that position, and at the same time the left flank has become more vulnerable to the opposition's counter-attacks. Again, I think this is due to the lack of profilic players for this role. I have added PI to my CM(A): roam from position and move into channels to partially replicate the movement of the mezzala. But I will probably experiment with MEZ again. Thanks.

Exactly. That`s why I use CM (A) on the side of IWB and B2B has PM you mentioned.

Hello, mates! I`m a big fun of building 3-2-5 from 4-3-3 shape like at the picture below. I have no doubts about roles and duties for back 4, DM, and wingers. However, I`m in search for perfect (for my liking) set-up for my 8`s and striker. I want them not only creating threats or scoring but also blending well with other positions. This is my current set-up with pretty average Eredivisie team. My thinking about roles for 8`s here: CM (A) because he as quicky moves to AM strata as IWB to DM. BBM beacuse he is more later runner, which is useful for supporting IFB at the first stages of building from the back. Striker is PF (A) because it suits my best player here and he is not so isolated like AF. Ususally I play with balanced or positive mentalities, compact mid-block, mixed passing, quick counter-attacks in transition. Results are satisfying for the team I currently have but nothing overachieving. My 8`s don`t have any high numbers in goals, assists but may be it`s due to their quality or tactical style . PF has 7 goals in 18 matches so far. So if anyone have good experience in building the team with box midfield I would love to hear some advices or ideas or just show your successful set-ups for discussion)

We're definitely not in the best conditions at the moment. 7 matches without a win, including a penalty shootout defeat to Eredivisie side Cambuur, before we finally beat Volendam...which is absolutely the worst team in the league right now. Possibly, it`s time for some tactical tweaks without touching basic principles of my system. As you can see, for example, we chose 4231 for the last match.

We brought our winning streak to four matches, but then Ajax and Feyenoord appeared in our schedule alongside with tough RKC side. We looked good in match with Ajax which can`t be sad for Feyenoord game. We keep working.

Yes, it hurts, of course. Discipline in and around of our own box is still a problem.

The first game of the season turned out to be not what I expected, after all Sparta is a team that we should be able to handle, especially at home. Next came the expected defeat to PSV and a disappointing home game against NEC where we conceded penalty at 90+6 minute. But next two games were like a breath of fresh air. Very important 6 points allowed us to look more positive into the future. However, we should improve our defence, 9 goals in 5 matches are too much. In the transfer deadline day we`ve completed another one transfer. Daam Foulon (25 y.o., 220k from KV Mechelen) signed to improve depth at the left flank of defence.

We are back again! It's been a busy summer. Despite the very limited scouting network and finances our recruitment team has done a good job we`ve strengthened the squad with some decent players. ---------- NEW SIGNINGS Goalkeepers: Rúnar Alex Rúnarsson (29 y.o., free transfer) - ex-Arsenal goalkeeper spent solid season in Cardiff where he made 16 clean sheets in 45 matches. Lino Karsten (23 y.o., free transfer) - great founding of our scouts in German lower leagues. Lino is very talented young keeper and already rated by our staff higher than Rúnar. Defenders: Melayro Bogarde (22 y.o., loan from Hoffenheim, 500k optional future fee) - Melayro already wore a Groningen shirt in the 21-22 season. But he spent only 7 matches those time. Now he is much stronger and could become one of the team leaders in the upcoming season. Andreas Skovgaard (27 y.o., 300k from Cracovia) - good central defender in prime years. Graduate of famous Nordsjelland academy, he moved to Heerenveen in 2018 but didn't spend a single match there and left the team 3 years later. Ryan Flamingo (21 y.o., loan from Sassuolo) - another young Dutch defender signed on loan. For Ryan next season will be 3rd in a row in Eredivisie. Last years he was regular starter for Vitesse and Utrecht sides. Midfielders: Emerson Hyndman (28 y.o., 400k from Memphis, USLC) - pretty skilled and creative midfielder was found in 2nd tier of an American soccer pyramid. Maybe we slightly overpaid for him, but I believe he could add some quality to our attacks. Tony Njiké (27 y.o., free transfer) - decent upgrade to our defensive midfielder position. Last season he was at National League, playing for Chateauraux. Anas Tahiri (29 y.o., free from SC Heerenveen) - not the popular decision among our fanbase to sign player from our main rival but at it was hard to resist from signing on free such quality playmaker. Strikers: Sydney van Hooijdonk (24 y.o., 875k from Bologna) - our main transfer and most expensive signing in this summer so far. I have big hopes for this guy. He knows how to score and he is still 24 y.o. ---------- And also, we have two players who returned from loan: Tomas Suslov (Slovakia, 22 y.o., attacking midfielder) - biggest name in this squad, our star. Unfortunately, he wants to move to the bigger club and I`ve promised him to let him go for at least 15M. But good news is that nobody wants to pay these money for him so far. So, there is a chance he will remain at the club at least until winter. Florian Krüger (Germany, 25 y.o., striker) - I see him as back-up striker. Last season he scored 7 goals in Bundesliga 2 for Braunschweig. ---------- Players Out All departures here have been planned. Mainly these players were released because of their quality doesn`t match Eredivisie standard. In case with Bacuna it was low work ethic. I wanted to keep Duarte but here already in winter asked to leave the club after the end of contract so it`s good that we got decent compensation for him from Belgian side. We still have few players to release as soon as we find new clubs for them. ---------- FC GRONINGEN 2024 - 2025 (as for the August 11th) Projected Best XI ---------- Friendly matches | Season Odds | Board expectations

Thanks, Carambau!)