Ryan Thomas (PEC Zwolle | Netherlands)

Looks like Ryan will be playing this game as far as I can tell. I’ll be pitch side at Stadion Galgenwaard as I’m now working there. I’m glad the Zwolle game wasn’t a few weeks earlier before we replaced the pitch - the pitch was destroyed in December when the referee of FC Utrecht vs Feyenoord insisted that the pitch was cleared of heavy snow before it was eventually called off - the traffic on the grass while frozen killed most of it. The snow was so heavy that it was clear there was no chance of a game but the pressure from the broadcasters eventually decided the fate of the pitch and the repairs cost well in excess of €100,000 - all of which was fronted by the club who don’t have a lot of money. Anyway, the replay of FCU vs Fey, as well as games vs AZ and Ajax were played on the poor surface which effected the quality of skills on display - tomorrow I’m happy Ryan won’t be too effected by that. The last encounter by these two upper-mid-table teams was 1-1 at Zwolle.

Edit. Sorry slightly off topic and maybe a bit boring but I’ll be stoked to see him play close up especially on our pitch.

now that's a nice football stadium

That's awesome TopLeft - pitch looking much better; hope all going well over there!

‘tis pretty nice, atmosphere is awesome as well - was at each of Feyenoord (replay), Ajax and Sparta games. Holds 25k and crowds generally between 22k-24k

Cheers! All is good so far. The pitch is looking even better now. The top picture was taken after the Ajax game 28.01 and the second the night we relaid the pitch 30.01. Haven’t had a chance to take another photo as it’s had a massive tent on it most days or I’ve been too busy.

Great stadium.

Those lucky bastards

Thomas played 90 mins as Zwolle lost 1-2.

Any photos from game Top Left?

Never got around to a follow up post so here goes. Zwolle were played off the park in the first 20 minutes and trailed 2-0 at that point. The game sort of turned into a boring arm wrestle from there and Zwolle barely had any chances apart from one Ryan should have buried, although from my angle it looked as if he was fouled as he shot which caused him to drag it wide. FC Utrecht had a fair few chances but were wasteful. Zwolle earned a penalty late in the game (couldn’t really see the foul from my seat) but that goal flattered them in all fairness. 

Naturally I watched Ryan closely and I feel like watching live always gives you a better sense of who the better players on the park are - even though I’m probably a bit biased I’d say he was in the top few. He’s got a lot to his game, a lot of the other stand outs in the game have one or two very strong attributes but Ryan is more well rounded IMO. Great reader of the game, great ball skills, creative, organised, great defensively especially 1v1 and perhaps the most impressive thing for me was his physical attributes - he really gets around the park for 90 minutes and doesn’t really slow down. Fast as well. 

The pitch held up fairly well, although it’s far from perfect. Can’t complain too much, it’s far better than it was and should get us through to the end of the season. 

I have a few photos but for some reason I can no longer access/upload photos. Good old apple for ya. Will try solve and upload but they aren’t that good anyway

Cheers for report. 

Can I ask exactly what your role with FC Utrecht is?

Pretty cool to be working for a club in one of the well known European leagues.

Well I haven’t received the contract yet but they agreed to employ me as ‘Assistant Turf Manager’. It is pretty cool, I came over with no job, looking for anything to fund some travel etc with fairly low expectations. Figured most stadiums would have their staff fairly sorted at this time of year but they’ve had some problems and they decided now was as good as any for a change! I’ve barely had a day off since I started but loving every moment so far. The quality of football is eye opening and a nice bonus!

Was also interviewed by (and work with) Bas van den Brink who I’m sure a few people on here are familiar with. Nice guy!

That’s about all I got, more of the same but nothing great

Awesome stuff. Good luck. 

whats the standard of football like Top Left?

Sorry to butt in and I hate to be negative, but for what it's worth, Tim Sherwood calls it the 'stand still league'. He said that, when scouting, it's impossible to tell how good players really are because the football is so structured and static compared to the Premier League. He made the comments when asked about Spurs signing Vincent Janssen.

Anyway, I'd also love to hear what you think of the standard Top Left, sorry for the interuption :-)

No worries reg! 

My observations so far are that it’s a very skilful/technical and organised league but I do sense the structured nature you speak of - although only from a small sample size. Unfortunately the Ajax and Feyenoord games I watched were on the damaged pitch so weren’t the best games to witness the best skills/attributes those teams offer the other two games were Sparta Rotterdam who parked the bus and Zwolle who like to play but were a bit off. Having been a Dutch football fan for a long time it’s fair to say something is holding us back currently and perhaps it is the style across the domestic league. For me it’s all pretty impressive regardless - I’m watching from the sideline and the only games I’ve watched from that close in NZ are ISHP/NRPL/CL games at best. It’s a whole lot different to watching on TV obviously. 

Played the full 90 in a 1-0 loss to powerhouse Ajax. Barcelona scout Jose Bakero in attendance to watch a quartet of Ajax players, hopefully Thomas turned his eyes!

hope he goes to Ajax. Absolutely the best club in the world for development and would fit in well. Assume Donny van de Beek or Frenkie de Jong will get snapped up soon enough by a bigger club, Ziyech too if he can fulfill his actual potential, and Schone is getting older now and will need a younger and faster midfield partner especially if van Beek goes 

Sherwood is hardly a tactical mastermind - would not necessarily trust his opinions.

Sherwood is hardly a tactical mastermind - would not necessarily trust his opinions.

Say that agin....

I come onto Ryan Thomas thread, thinking mid week and 9 new posts, must have signed for a new club to read this sharke?

PEC Zwolle & Elijah Just. The 'new Thomas'.

PEC bekijkt 'nieuwe Thomas': 'We wilden hem wat langer aan het werk zien'

donderdag 22 februari 2018 om 22:16

PEC Zwolle lijkt de opvolger van Ryan Thomas al bijna in huis te hebben. De zeventienjarige Nieuw-Zeelander Elijah Just was de afgelopen week bezig met een stageperiode in de Overijsselse hoofdstad, die zelfs is verlengd door de nummer vijf van de Eredivisie.

"Hij heeft op ons in een maand tijd een dusdanige indruk gemaakt, dat we hem wat langer aan het werk wilden zien", motiveert technisch directeur Gerard Nijkamp die beslissing in gesprek met De Stentor. "Hij heeft kwaliteiten. Elijah is vooral goed en betrouwbaar aan de bal en dat maakt hem misschien wel een typische PEC-speler." Of PEC van plan is om Just daadwerkelijk te contracteren, wil Nijland echter niet kwijt.

Het talent zelf houdt zich nog niet bezig met een mogelijke toekomst in Nederland. "Ik doe gewoon mijn best en als ik terug ben in Nieuw-Zeeland, zal ik doen wat Declan (Edge, directeur van de Nieuw-Zeelandse voetbalschool waar Just en Ryan Thomas hun opleiding genoten, red.) mij adviseert. De gesprekken laat ik aan hem en PEC Zwolle over." Voorlopig blijft Just bij de in Nederland woonachtige ouders van Thomas wonen. "Ze zijn geweldig voor me. Ik slaap er, ze maken eten voor me en ze laten me de stad zien (...) Ryan is een voorbeeld voor me. Eigenlijk voor alle jonge voetballers in Nieuw-Zeeland."

Chucked it through Google translate:

PEC looks at 'new Thomas': 'We wanted to see him at work longer' Thursday 22 February 2018 at 22:16 

PEC Zwolle seems to have almost succeeded Ryan Thomas's successor. The seventeen year old New Zealander Elijah Just was last week working on an internship in the capital of Overijssel, which has even been extended by the number five of the Eredivisie. 

"He has made such an impression on us in a month's time that we wanted to see him working longer", technical director Gerard Nijkamp reasons for this decision with De Stentor. "He has qualities, Elijah is especially good and reliable at the ball and that might make him a typical PEC player." However, Nijland does not want to lose out whether PEC is planning to actually contract Just. 

The talent itself is not yet occupied with a possible future in the Netherlands. "I'm just doing my best and when I'm back in New Zealand, I'll do whatever Declan (Edge, director of the New Zealand football school where Just and Ryan Thomas enjoyed their education, ed.) Advise me. to him and PEC Zwolle. " For the time being, Just continues to live with Thomas's parents who live in the Netherlands. "They are great for me, I sleep there, they make food for me and they show me the city (...) Ryan is an example for me, in fact for all young footballers in New Zealand."

Sounds promising... hope he gets a contract!

As much as people question Declan, he continues to produce great pl

90 mins in a 1-2 away loss to Heracles

Mental to think I sat with this guy in maths. Hope he makes it, real nice guy

90 mins for Zwolle in 1-1 draw verus VVV Venlo

Received an impressed +5 to his FIFA18 Ultimate Team rating this morning. While this doesn't mean much in the real world, it does show that Thomas's rapid improvement and ability is being noticed.

Ouch Thomas credited with an OG as Zwolle lose 2-0 to Groningen

Groningen 1-0 Zwolle GOAL: 25’Ryan Thomas (OG) pic.twitter.com/AB9GouWW8I

— Live Goal (@LiveGoalYasin__) March 11, 2018

Plays full 90 mins in a 3-4 home loss to Feyenoord. Wheels have really fallen off Zwolle's season. 

They scored 2 goals in last 5 mins, so score may have flattered them a bit. 34 yr old Robin van Persie scored 2 goals in first 15 mins for Feyenoord.

Fine effort from the Zwolle supporters! 

excellent 

Never been to the stadium but know the capacity is a small one and can't imagine that end being two tiered. Wondering what's holiding that sign up and pity those behind it

The photo is quite clearly pre-match and it won’t have stayed up for long once the game started.

CAN THE AWESOME PEOPLE WHO MADE LASER KIWI FOR THE PLAY-OFF GAME WITH PERU PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LOAN IT TO OUR DUTCH FRIENDS? 

Reminded me of