With the news of Götze signing for PSV, I figured it would be time for another Eredivisie thread. The excitement! The quality! The 20 posts! Well, maybe we'll get to page 2.
It was promising to be a big fight for the top spot by a couple of quality teams (Ajax, AZ, Feyenoord, PSV), but so far, results are a little disappointing.
At the bottom, though, I would not except the current bottom five (ADO, Emmen, Fortuna Sittard, Sparta, RKC) to make it anywhere further up the table, and I'd expect VVV to join them there as well. RKC have made some decent acquisitions and should be able to do a little better than last year (dead last and only not relegated because of COVID-19), so there might even be some excitement for 18th place this time round.
If anyone wants to waste a perfectly good hour, there is a full overview of this summer's Eredivisie transfers available here: https://www.transfermarkt.com/eredivisie/transfers/wettbewerb/NL1.
It was promising to be a big fight for the top spot by a couple of quality teams (Ajax, AZ, Feyenoord, PSV), but so far, results are a little disappointing.
- Ajax (9 pts in 4 games) seems to still be looking for their rhythm this season. They have to adapt to couple of big departures, including Ziyech, Van de Beek, Veltman, and Dest. They did get Klaassen back (well, he was good at Ajax previously), but the biggest new name to watch might be Antony, a winger bought from São Paulo.
- AZ (3 pts in 3 games) could have won it last year had the league been completed: they were equal in points with Ajax and had beaten them home and away, but Ajax's better goal difference gave them the Champions League spot. They 'only' lost Idrissi and Wuytens from last year's core team and got some decent new players, but somehow it's not clicking so far this year. Last weekend, they even let Sparta come back from 0-4 to a 4-4 final score. I'd back them to get their act together again (Arne Slot looks like a great coach), but they are losing a lot of ground quickly already.
- Feyenoord (10 pts in 4 games) did pretty well during the transfer period. I'm not aware of main players they lost (Karsdorp?), and they strengthened their squad. They were on a very strong run after Advocaat had taken over from Stam mid-season, and they seem to have carried that form into the new season.
- PSV (10 pts in 4 games) was supposed to really kick on this season under their new coach Roger Schmidt, but so far he has not been able to really implement his style in the team. They're not losing games yet, though, so nothing's lost yet. They also did not lose a lot of players (Lammers to Atalanta is the main one) and made some pretty good signings (Götze obviously, but also Van Ginkel (if he stays fit) and Max). They really need to get their goal act together though.
At the bottom, though, I would not except the current bottom five (ADO, Emmen, Fortuna Sittard, Sparta, RKC) to make it anywhere further up the table, and I'd expect VVV to join them there as well. RKC have made some decent acquisitions and should be able to do a little better than last year (dead last and only not relegated because of COVID-19), so there might even be some excitement for 18th place this time round.
If anyone wants to waste a perfectly good hour, there is a full overview of this summer's Eredivisie transfers available here: https://www.transfermarkt.com/eredivisie/transfers/wettbewerb/NL1.