Football-Oranje editor Michael Bell offers up his opinions on what he saw during round three of the Eredivisie.

Ajax look much better with Huntelaar in the side

Kasper Dolberg may be in the headlines because of interest from Monaco and Borussia Dortmund, but on the pitch the young Dane is having a torrid time. He was preferred to Klaas-Jan Huntelaar again on Sunday in the tie with VVV but looked totally short of confidence in the first half, losing the ball constantly and failing to create any real chances.

At half-time Huntelaar was brought on and Dolberg dropped to a deeper role, which totally changed the game in Ajax’s favour. Huntelaar set up the opener and held up the ball much better than the youngster. Keizer admitted after the game that Huntelaar will start going forward, so what does that mean for Dolberg going forward? Ajax may decide to play two up top or move Dolberg into a deeper role but its clear that Huntelaar should be the starting centre forward.

Zero goals in six matches now for Dolberg and although it won’t be a popular opinion in Amsterdam, if Monaco or Dortmund were to offer €65+ million for the 19-year-old at the moment I would be very tempted to sell.

The sun clearly caught out this VVV Venlo fan

The first half between VVV Venlo and Ajax was a dreary watch but one fan caught the eye with a rather unusual choice of headwear to shield him from the sun.

Feyenoord finally come to life

Last week I lamented Feyenoord for their lethargic and rather boring start to the season but on Sunday they finally came to life against Willem II. For the first time, Ridgeciano Haps and Kevin Diks were allowed to bomb forward and the two caused the Tilburg side countless issues in the first half, which ended 4-0 to the champions.

Although they took their foot off the gas in the second half it was a much-improved performance by Feyenoord and one that cements them as title favourites. Boetius was a particular standout in Van Bronckhorst’s side and the winger looks full of confidence after returning to the club from Basel.

PSV front three looking deadly

PSV are set to lose Luuk de Jong to Bordeaux this week, but their front three of Steven Bergwijn, Jurgen Locadia and Hirving Lozano proved against Roda JC on Sunday that the former captain will not be missed.

The trio were electric from the beginning and linked up perfectly to cause a constant threat to the Roda JC defence. Locadia and Lozano both netted one each in the first half, but all three easily could have had a double as they created chance after chance. If the three can improve their finishing then they may become the most deadly and exciting attack in the Eredivisie.

Bon Voyage De Jong, PSV will be fine without you.

Sparta have a talented forward in Ache

After Matthias Pogba’s departure, Sparta are short of options up front but in 19-year-old Ragner Ache they have found a gem. The youngster came off the bench to net a double against NAC Breda which rescued his side a point and enhanced Ache’s reputation in Rotterdam. He was on fire during pre-season and now looks likely to break into Alex Pastoor’s side full time. He will definitely be one to watch for the rest of the campaign.

Brandley Kuwas only scores screamers

Following on from his wonder-goal against Ajax in round one, Heracles winger Brandley Kuwas was once again on the scoresheet in spectacular fashion against Excelsior. Samuel Armenteros may be on his way out of Almelo, but Heracles fans will be delighted that Kuwas is still at the club.

AZ are early favourites for fourth

After the disappointing campaign last season many have tipped AZ to struggle but I have been impressed by John van den Brom’s side so far and believe they are currently the best team outside the top three. The victory over Vitesse on Saturday which really should have been more than 2-1 cemented my opinion that they will finish fourth.

AZ currently look strong all over the pitch and in Weghorst they have a striker that will score into the double figures this season. Van den Brom may get a lot of criticism for the way the club played last season, but he deserves some credit for the way they have started this campaign.

Dumfries and Thorsby are forming a great partnership

It has been an incredible start for Denzel Dumfries at Heerenveen with the right back already registering four assists, with all of them setting up goals for Morten Thorsby. Both players look at the top of their game and that bodes well for the Frisian’s who will be hoping to challenge for Europe this season.

ADO Den Haag look awful

Tom Beugelsdijk may have said after the defeat to Heerenveen that there is no reason for ADO Den Haag to panic, but the club have had an awful start to the campaign. I tipped ADO to surprise some people before the season started, but Alfons Groenendijk’s side look short of quality all over the pitch and with only one goal in their opening three games it’s hard to see how they can avoid a relegation battle this season.




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Michael Bell (59 Posts)