An Exploration of the Wonders.

August 2012

Ideal First Team

I thought I would show you my ideal first team until January (where it could change depending on transfers). These are the players that make my strongest first team as well as the subs – you can see that Walter Montillo now is in CM with Mark van Bommel, with Oscar now plating ahead of him behind Mirallas and de Jong. Anita, Douglas, Bjelland and Tiendalli make up my ever strong defence.

It was a brilliant start to the season for Twente as they won all 4 of their games in their opening month, including a stunning 8-0 win over Willem II. The season started off with a potentially tricky home game to Feyenoord but a confident, assured display saw Twente run out 3-0 winners, Glynor Plet coming off the bench to bag a brace. Next up Twente had to go away to PSV, and I would of been happy with a point – but an emphatic display on Kevin Mirallas’s debut saw Twente win 5-0, with Mirallas scoring himself in an incredible victory. Next up we went to a newly promoted side FC Zwolle in what was predicted an easy win, and it was, Twente winning 4-1 with Walter Montillo scoring two stunning goals from free kicks. We ended the month at home to another newly-promoted side Willem II – Oscar made his home debut and we smashed them 8-0, Oscar scoring twice along with a double for CB Douglas, his first goals of the season.

September 2012

September saw Twente venture into the Champions League and the Dutch Cup for the first time this season. We started off half way through September after the internationals, facing Roda JC in the league away. An easy win as we strolled to a 3-0 victory, Montillo, Douglas and Labyad all getting on the scoresheet. Next up we were going to Ukraine to face Shaktar Donetsk – we put up a fight but were easily beaten 2-0, although we should do better at home. We then played our first home game of the month, welcoming NEC to Twente and a Kevin Mirallas double and Maxi Lopez’s first goal for the club was enough to see them off, another comfortable win. Next up we had the Dutch Cup 2nd Round game v Jupiler League side Sparta Rotterdam – a comfortable 2-0 win saw both Oscar and Plet score. We ended the month with a straight-forward away game at NAC Breda – but a Bjelland own-goal changed that and we conceded just our 2nd league goal of the season, meaning we picked up our first defeat of the season, losing 1-0.

October 2012

October saw Twente lose just once in a massive 7-game filled month. We started off again in the CL against Anderlecht – a stunning first half hattrick coupled with a Walter Montillo super-strike saw us win 4-0, picking up our first CL win of the campaign. Michel Vorm also save a late penalty from the Belgians. We then had our first league game of the month, welcoming ADO Den Haag, and after a not-so great performance we scraped a 1-0 win thanks to Oscar’s cool finish from the edge of the area. We then had our biggest league game of the season so far – at home To Heerenveen, 2nd v 1st with a win taking us into 1st place. Andreas Bjelland struck twice in the final 15 minutes to give us the win, the Danish CB delighted with his contribution. Bjelland was on the scoresheet a week later as he scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory over AZ Alkmaar. We then had to go to England to face Arsenal – a terribly tough game and after Plet and Walcott had hit the bar in the first half, Ayew’s bundled goal and Arteta’s thumping effort gave Arsenal a 2-0 win. We were back on the road again after arriving home from England as we went and faced VVV-Venlo, with Kevin Mirallas back in the goals as he scored a brace to give Twente a 2-0 win. We ended the month at home to Jupiler League side Excelsior in the Dutch Cup 3rd Round and my reserves produced a good display as Felipe Anderson scored his first goal of the season and John Guidetti scored his first for the club. So at the end of October FC Twente sit in a very comfortable position, 1st by 7 points to second placed Heerenveen with a game in hand;

Also after playing half of our Champions League Group F fixtures, we had one win and two defeats, sitting 3rd in the group;

Player Stats from the Eredivisie

As you can see as well as the team the players of FC Twente have had a fantastic start to the season. 5 of the 7 players in the highest average rating charts are Twente players, and we have the join top goalscorer in Kevin Mirallas, who has 7 goals. Walter Montillo has the second most assists with 6 whilst Woud Brama is 1 assist behind in 3rd. Mark van Bommel’s 91% pass completion rate is also the highest in the league.

Board Confidence

Player Stats

That’s it for this post but next post we’ll include the months November, December and January, as well as the January transfer window with it’s possible signings and pre-contract signings.

Cheers,

Dan.