Willem II sit bottom with 2 points from 10

Willem II have taken 2 points from their first 10 games of the Eredivisie season. That is the whole story of their campaign so far: 0 wins, 2 draws, 8 defeats, a goal difference of -22.

The gap to Zwolle in 15th is 6 points. Not enormous in October. Large enough to be uncomfortable, though, when you have lost 5L in a row and the next five results read L, L, L, L, L.

Look at the home and away columns and the problem is not a venue. 0 home wins, 1 draw and 4 losses; 0 away wins, 1 draw and 4 losses. The same team turns up in both places.

The goals are the sharper concern. 32 conceded in 10 matches means more than three per game, against 10 scored. Two of those goals came in a single fixture, the 0-2 reverse on Sunday 25 October — and that was the league's round, not theirs.

For comparison, Zwolle sit on 8 points with 2 wins, 11 goals for and 23 against, a goal difference of -12. That is the bar Willem II have to clear, and it is a low one.

At the other end, Feyenoord lead on 24 points with a goal difference of +21, ahead of Ajax on 21 and PSV on 20. The top of the table is tight. The bottom is not.

Why does it matter now, ten games in? Because the table stops being noise around this point. Willem II have not led at any stage of a result worth keeping, and the fixture list does not soften. Whatever the plan was in August, 2 points is what it has produced.

Six points is two wins. Sounds simple. Nothing about 10 goals in 10 games suggests two wins are close.