Day 1
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Following the decision to sack
Ernie Brandts due to his dodgy links with the Hungarian mob, the upcoming manager
Carlos Calheiros was announced to take
NAC Breda forward and restore some dignity to the club.
His appointment was the target of mixed reactions, with some of the eldest fans believing that he hasn’t got what it takes to succeed in such a reputable team, whilst the majority of the youngest supporters admit that fresh blood is exactly what was lacking in previous managers.
After almost a week in charge, the manager already touted as the next
Mourinho faced his first real test, a friendly match against Belgian minors
Torhout. The result couldn’t be worse:
Deschepper, Boydens and
Amond giving the home team a comfortable 3-0 lead at half-time.
The second half did little to restore the pride of the passionate Dutch fans, though the introduction of 19-year-old striker
Fouad Idabdelhay was warmly received. He and
van Gessel both scored in the last 3 minutes of the match, bringing the final result back to a respectable 3-2. Asked about his team's performance in the wake of the defeat,
Calheiros remained coy:
“Well, some faces may be frowned right now, but we’re still in July and we have a lot of time ahead of us until the real season begins.
"We had our fair amount of chances to score, but unfortunately there’s an evident lack of strikers in our squad which limits our aspirations. I’m currently looking at a small number of forwards who are capable of bagging more than 10 goals per season, so that we can overcome this problem and establish ourselves in Eredivisie.”
Calheiros is said to have been disappointed by the way some of the Torhout players approached the game, citing a bad tackle midway through the second-half as the cause of left-sided midfielder
Tim Gilissen's sustained fractured arm. The composed midfielder now faces an uphill battle to be fit for the start of the season.
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Comparisons have already been drawn between new
NEC boss
Daniel Cuthbert and outspoken boss
Ian Holloway, after the former produced one of the more memorable - and unexpected - opening press conferences of recent times.
With the media circus very much alive and kicking with the appointment of six new managers on the same day in pre-season, and the spotlight of the local gazette firmly on him,
Cuthbert outlined his intent to the on-looking
NEC fans:
"Let me explain, here at Nijmegen Eendracht Combinatie, we pride ourselves on hard work and dedication, not lollipops and Cruyff-turns."
In an attempt to shift the emphasis,
Cuthbert went on to claim that there were
"no real star players," within his ranks.
"We have a squad full of lads who all want to achieve great things," the new appointment went on to say.
SV Wilhelmshaven vs. NEC Nijmegen -
Vitesse boss
Matt Connolly has been spotted in the stands on a day off. Although he claims he is simply taking in some live football, rumours abound that he is eyeing up some attacking talent from rival
Cuthbert's young squad full of potential.
Wojcik puts
Wilhelmshaven ahead early, but
Jhon van Beukering responds with a cracking finish from a tight angle, to the rupturous applause of
Vitesse gaffer,
Connolly.
Van Beukering grabs his second after only 12 minutes, and
Connolly is seen to be taking copious notes.
Wojcik equalises on the stroke of half-time to make it 2-2 at break.
A dull second half which saw little created, but a potential injury to
Cuthbert's attacking midfielder
Dominique Scholten dampened the first-half party mood created by the excellent attacking display from
NEC.
In
Cuthbert's post-match analysis, the new boss was quick to dismiss rumours that his negative system cost them a result. He admitted that his team were not
"quite ready" although he insisted that he believed
"they’ll get used to it...and I feel playing 4-5-1 helps us."
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Recent
Roda JC appointment
Michael Burke has already been making waves within and around the club, and for all the right reasons.
A source close to the club has claimed that
Burke has promised chairman
Servé Kuijer a European place in his first season in charge, and the long-term head of the club has been receptive to this claim and is happy to back him financially.
Burke's no-nonsense approach remained as he was presented to the media for the first time, where he - in no uncertain terms - gave the media plenty to think about.
"There are talks between Anders Oper and Vitesse. We are also currently in negotiations with Willem II with a view to bringing the young Swedish striker George Mourad to Roda JC. However, I am staying strong at £325k but the Willem II manager is trying to squeeze more out of me. No dice."
Roda JC looked perhaps the most accomplished of all the sides in their pre-season encounter with
WS Woluwé who they brushed aside with a convincing 4-0 victory, including a breath-taking second-half hat-trick from man-of-the-match
Sekou Cissé.
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Of all the appointments, perhaps the most sudden was that of outspoken character
Nick Austin at relative minnows
SBV Excelsior. There are rumours that the chairman had a chance meeting with
Austin whilst he was buying himself a bobble hat in local merchants
Vol ze Schwazgen, though these reports are unconfirmed.
"The board have asked me to enjoy my time at the club - though you guys in the papers seem to be rather pessimistic about me doing so. I feel the previous regime have been able to bring in some good standard players that I feel can make us competitive."
"The nucleus of a team is in place, though I am actively seeking a suitable striker that I could rely on to bag me some goals. I can confirm that we have been in touch with Enrico Chiesa's representatives. I am fraid to say he turned away quicker than Lewis Hamilton on a Monza test-lap."
"There is one other potential ember in the fire. I cannot say more at this time, as I do not wish to attract unnecessary media attention and upset the prospect of this player arriving. All I can say is that he is an exceptional talent."
Austin concluded that he is
"looking forward" to the challenge that lies ahead in making SBV Excelsior competitive.
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Ex-Polish under-21 international Matt Connolly was paraded around the fan-filled Gelredome as Vitesse's new manager on a day when appointments seemed all the rage around Holland's top flight.
To the delight of the 200 or so gathered fans and press associates, Connolly declared that Vitesse "posess some real quality. If I am being brutally honest, we perhaps need one more coach, and some backup in the striking department - however, I don't see many problems."
Asked about the club's prospects, the new manager was quick to hush the suggestion that they are ready to challenge the so-called "big four."
"It is too early to be discussing these things. I am happy, and I have received the backing of the chairman, but revolutions take time. Churchill did not create an empire in one day, and therefore nor can Connolly."
Overseeing the club in their first game against German minnows SC Westfalia Herne, Connolly left pundits baffled with his team's on-pitch philosophy.
"Vitesse is like a cow. We need only grass."
The Arnhem outfit won the game 2-1, with on-loan Chilean striker Juan Gonzalo Lorca and playmaker Onur Kaya scoring what turned out to be the winner.
Diverting the attention away from his own new charges, Connolly has also spoken of his great friendship with new Roda head coach, Michael Burke.
"Me and Michael have grown up with the same footballing philosophy - of course, in this new climate everybody needs friends and mentors. I hope that perhaps we will remain in contact and help each other out when needed."
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The most unenviable position in Dutch football (as claimed by many-a-journalist) has fallen to self-styled English 'tactical supremo' Sean Harris, who was unveiled as new Willem II manager only days ago.
Harris was the first of the new boys in charge to entertain the media, commenting that of all the recent appointments he felt he was the most apt at adjusting to the Dutch footballing theory, and claiming that - amongst others - Michael Burke's "tactical naïvety" may play a part in his early demise.
Controversially, Harris then claimed that his friendly match should have been cancelled, after seeing a hat-trick by ex-Arsenal front-man Tomas Danilevicius and a penalty put his Willem II side 4-0 down at half-time to Serie B side Grosseto.
Using his tactical nouse, Harris mounted a late comeback and the score was brought back to 4-3, with Messoudi, out-of-contract Pascal Heije and reported Roda JC transfer target Geourge Mourad all finding the net to make the scoreline respectable.
Post-match, the new manager was direct in his analysis, claiming his "players are littering the pitch with injuries. They're going to need a long rest."
Though not distraught as he was at half-time - reports from the Willem II camp claim that their first-half performance was described by new boss Harris as "embarassing" - there is no way that a performance like this will be seen as good enough, although Harris has yet to confront the media about his transfer plans.
