Willem II are in danger of becoming another yo-yo club in Dutch football. The side only returned to the Eredivisie this past summer, a season after being relegated from the top flight. It has not been a happy return for a side that spent eight seasons in the Eredivisie from 2014 up until their relegation at the end of 2022. Now they look set to become just another side that bounces between the Eredivisie and the second tier, a situation that many other clubs find themselves in at the moment in Dutch football.
After 11 games so far this season, Willem II are the only team in the Eredivisie without a win. They have only picked up two points, with nine defeats. What is much worse is that their defence is a shambles. So far they have already conceded an incredible 39 goals and have a goal difference of -29. While they are only seven points adrift of Telstar in 16th and a chance at redemption through the play-offs, they look in need of a miracle already to get out of their predicament. The gap to safety and another season in the Eredivisie is already ballooning, with nine points separating them and Excelsior. Like the side they are chasing, Willem II were on the opposite end of a pasting this past weekend. Thankfully theirs has been somewhat overshadowed by FC Twente putting nine goals past Excelsior. But still, Willem II shipped another seven goals as PSV ran rampant.
Yet the PSV result can happen, such is the difference in class between sides at the bottom and at the top. The most alarming result came in their previous Eredivisie game, when fellow newly promoted side Cambuur smashed Willem II 6-1 at home. The defeat to PSV was certainly not what Jurgen Streppel was hoping for in his first game in charge, having returned to the dugout 10 years after leaving the side in 2016 to join Heerenveen. He has only signed up until the end of the season, but more results like this and there may be another coaching change in Tilburg before the season comes to an end. However, Streppel hasn’t had much time to get things sorted at the club.
The Willem II social media manager is probably counting his blessings that the club decided to leave X back in June. This will certainly be the case if the side are humiliated by PEC Zwolle in their next Eredivisie match. It is shaping up to be a long hard disappointing season for the Willem II faithful.
