The season 2017/2018 turned into a nightmare for Roda JC, after they dropped to the Jupiler League by losing out to Almere City in the semi-finals of the promotion/relegation play-offs. The first half of the campaign was simply poor for Roda JC. Many defeats were suffered and not a lot of points were collected. The second half of the campaign was much better, as a result of which the Kerkrade side managed to leave the bottom of the league table. Roda JC had become quite hard to beat, so several draws were recorded and some wins as well. Nevertheless, the Kerkrade side never came really close to avoiding participation in the promotion/relegation play-offs.
Despite having to participate in the promotion/relegation play-offs, the confidence had grown in Kerkrade, due to the pretty good results towards the end of the season. Roda JC were in a good position to survive the promotion/relegation play-offs and ensure themselves of another year in the Eredivisie. However, they fell short in a double-header against Almere City. After a 0-0 draw in Almere, a 1-2 defeat was suffered on home soil, which means that Roda JC will drop to the Jupiler League, three years after the promotion to the Eredivisie at the end of the season 2014/2015.
Simon Gustafson, who played for Roda JC on loan from Feyenoord, became the player of the season by scoring some important goals and taking care of several assists as well. He has been rewarded for his good season with a transfer to FC Utrecht. Dani Schahin and Donis Avdijaj showed that they were a good tandem in the second half of the season by scoring goals themselves on the one hand and giving the other the opportunity to score on the other hand. It does not look likely, though, that these two will play for Roda JC in the new season. Coach Robert Molenaar will stay in Kerkrade to coach Roda JC in the Jupiler League. After the relegation, it looks very likely that the starting line-up in the new season will be totally different from the starting eleven in the last several matches of this season.
