Hopeless and Clueless in Europe

[Rustyman]

March 2006

With a couple of weekends being scheduled for international matches and the latter rounds of the Belgian cup, March was going to deliver a light playing schedule for Willebroek with only 2 matches scheduled. Jules Jackson tossed up whether arranging a friendly match or two would be worth the while but at this stage of the season with niggling injuries and late season fatigue setting in, he decided that he would rather try to get his team prepared for the promotion race which was now entering its final stage.

Sunday 12/03/2006 away to Bornem, Belgian Third Division A

After the two week break since the loss against Nieuwkerken, Willebroek could not ask for a better opponent that Bornem against which to regain confidence. The Bornem team was stuck to the bottom of the Third Division A table and their attack was anaemic only scoring 12 goals all season thus far making them easily the lowest scoring team in the league. It was therefore to the great surprise of both the opposition Willebroek players and his own Bornem teammates when Sven Verhulst doubled his season scoring tally by opening the scoring for the home team in the 17th minute. The shock on the Willebroek players faces was evident as despite their own less than stellar recent form, the majority of the players had obviously expected a relatively easy match against lowly Bornem.

Normalcy was restored though when Kevin Stuckens evened the scores in the 34th minute but the expected deluge of goals from Willebroek stayed out and the score remained unchanged at half-time. In the dressing rooms, Jules Jackson impressed on his players not to get impatient and set themselves up for the counter attack as he was certain that the disparity in talent and confidence would eventually tell and that the goals would then come. On the resumption, Willebroek resumed the attack and Bornem took up its favoured defensive stance. When the 70th minute passed without any addition to the score, Jules started asking himself whether he believed his own confident words at half-time as it definitely seemed that his team was wilting slightly, whether that was due to the pressure of leading the league or whether it was simply physical and mental fatigue as could be expected in the final third of the season, he wasn’t yet sure. Fortunately for Willebroek, the cavalry eventually came to the rescue in the form of Denis Ismailovski who scored in the 83rd minute after nice lead-up work from Tom de Craeke to give Willebroek the lead and the remainder of the match was played out without any significant incident despite the feeble attempts by Bornem to get back into the match.

Bornem 1 – 2 Willebroek

[Rustyman]

Sunday 19/03/2006 at home vs Maldegem, Belgian Third Division A

The match against Maldegem should on paper be a relatively comfortable match for Willebroek with Maldegem stuck in mid-table mediocrity and Willebroek being in the comforts of their own stadium. Once more Willebroek took their match to their opponents and once more the opponents relied on a stacked defence and sporadic counter attacks to ward off the Willebroek assault, and once more Willebroek fell for the sucker counter attack with Sergio La Valle scoring in the 24th minute on Maldegem’s first attacking foray of the afternoon. Jules Jackson could barely contain his rage on the bench to see the formidable early season defence being reduced to easy prey for fast paced counter attacks. While there were reasons for the defensive prowess slipping with injuries in the back four having been particularly prevalent, failure to defend adequately at the business end of the season was likely to end up costing Willebroek dearly. To the relief of Jules and the Willebroek home support, Willebroek received a break in the 43rd minute when Maldegem midfielder Bart Boussy was sent off for his second yellow card offence of the afternoon.

During the half-time break Jules decided that the biggest strength of his team in its current composition was its attacking prowess and he therefore instructed his players to go on the attack at the resumption. The second half saw Willebroek go all out to try to restore the balance of the game, however, Maldegem, as teams down a man often appear to do, seemed to defend even better than before. Despite bringing on two fresh strikers and adopting a 3 striker formation, each and every Willebroek attacking foray was blunted by the Maldegem defence and as the half progressed, the Willebroek players became increasingly frustrated. When the referee’s whistle finally brought an end to proceedings, the despondent Willebroek players struggled off the field to the first light catcalls of the season from the Willebroek fans.

Willebroek 0 – 1 Maldegem

The upshot of the game was that the final match of March had turned into a disaster for Willebroek and made the title race much tighter as Aalst had won the previous day against Torhout reducing the Willebroek lead at the top of the table to a single point with 4 matches to play.

[will_coleridge]

Not a good time for a bad patch! Just pray for some luck!

[BobBev]

Rusty - just popped in to congratulate you on an excellent story

[Rustyman]

Thanks for the encouragement guys. I just hope the team can keep afloat for a couple more weeks.

April 2006

The month of April was going to be make or break for Willebroek and Jules Jackson and everyone knew it. At the beginning of the season, Jules would have gladly accepted qualification for the playoffs as being a successful season, however, as his team had developed and grown, Jules now wanted to win it all. He didn’t want to have to go through the perilous route of a playoff for promotion and he wanted his team to stand up and be counted when the pressure was really on. With 4 matches to play and everything to play for, Willebroek couldn’t afford a repeat of their dreadful March performance as the following pack in the form of Aalst, Mechelen and Harelbeke would not all falter in the run-up to the seasons end. To make it even more difficult, 3 of the 4 matches would be away from home.

Saturday 01/04/2006 away to Turnhout, Belgian Third Division A

With the memory of the previous weekend’s match still fresh in his mind, Jules decided to adopt a different approach for the match against Turnhout. While the previous match between the two sides had ended in a 7-0 romp for Willebroek, Jules didn’t expect anything of that kind for the match today as Turnhout had recently struck a vein of form which had pulled them out of the relegation zone and they didn’t want to lose their momentum and sink back into the relegation dogfight. As his team had loss their momentum during March, doubts had started creeping in amongst the players as to whether they were good enough to win the league. To address these doubts, Jules decided to play an experienced line-up bring Gilles de Bilde in for young Omo Monday and Joeri Schouppe for teenager Hugo Zeghers. Jules also decided to firm up the defence and he instructed his team to return to the counter attacking formation they had used for away matches earlier in the season.

The first half was a nail-biter with both sides playing typical hard as nails end of season football. Turnhout had adopted a very similar counter attacking style to Willebroek and the first half was largely played out as a very physical midfield battle with now and then each team managing to get off a shot at goal. With a minute to play and the game still scoreless, disaster stuck for Willebroek as Kevin Stuckens, after a particularly robust challenge went down and started signalling the sidelines that he needed to come off. This was the last thing Willebroek needed as Stuckens was just the kind of guy who would be able to profit from a quick counter attack. Jules tried to hide his disappointment at the setback and instructed young Peter Smolders to replace Kevin and to try to duplicate his role. While Smolders had been very good in his role as spark off the bench, the loss of Stuckens was a major setback and everyone both camps realised that. When the half-time whistle went, both clubs were relieved to get into the sheds but the balance had tilted Turnhout’s way with the departure of Stuckens.

Once in the sheds and after a few minutes for the players to recover, Jules gathered his squad and once more emphasised to them the importance of not losing the match and be on the lookout for the Turnhout counter. While a win on the day would be great boost to the side, a loss would simply suck the confidence from the side even further and with 3 teams chasing, Jules doubted whether Willebroek would be able to regain the initiative if they were beaten today.

When the teams trudged back on the field for the second half, Jules briefly reflected on how much he had changed in a brief couple of years. Previously, when faced with adversity, he only had one response and that was to attack and to shoot for the big prize. This had worked fabulously well for him in the past and he could not recall the number of times he had come back from a difficult situation to win the day. However, that time had all come to an end with the spectacular failure which had led to his downfall and departure from Australia and it had taken him many months to come to terms with the fact that no matter how much he wanted something to happen, that was no guarantee that it would result in the outcome he wished. Even more painful was the realisation that his actions could have catastrophic impacts on others, irrespective of whether that had been his intention or not. The decision to play it safe in the match against Turnhout was not simply a footballing decision, it was also a sign of his development as a person, finally realising that not winning did not necessarily mean losing.

Much to the surprise of both sides, the second-half had barely begun when a long clearance by goalkeeper Lebrugge found Gilles de Bilde free for once on the left wing. A quick cross to the near post found Peter Smolders who coolly controlled the ball and squeezed it past the Turnhout goalkeeper at the near post. The Willebroek bench and their couple of hundred travelling supporters were off their feet as one, even Jules, who tried to always distance himself from the raw emotions of the game, found himself leaping up with his arms held high before gathering himself and urging his players to get back and defend as if their lives depended on it. The game resumed with Turnhout immediately trying to respond and claw their way back into the match. They had no desire to lose in front of their home support and drop back into the relegation zone and so the rest of the match resumed the character of the first half with both teams battling for control in midfield with the occasional half-chance at goal The result stayed unchanged until the final minute of regulation time when a corner from Gilles de Bilde resulted in a goalmouth scramble which eventually saw Peter Smolders direct the ball into the Turnhout goal once more to double his tally on the day to provide a bit of breathing space for Willebroek. The match ended without any further addition and Jules was happier than he had been in weeks as his team had shown once more that they were capable of battling for a result. In the dresssing room afterwards, Jules made a special point of praising young Smolders for his performance on the day.

Turnhout 0 – 2 Willebroek

The result itself did not change the league position at the top of the table as the next day, Aalst thrashed its opponent Diegem to remain hot on the heals of Willebroek.

[will_coleridge]

one game at a time!!! so tense! can't wait to see if you win the league!

[Rustyman]

Sunday 09/04/2006 at home vs Ruppel-Boom, Belgian Third Division A

With the match against Ruppel-Boom being the final home match of the season, barring playoffs, and still buoyed by the display against Turnhout the previous week, Jules was determined to try to reward the home fans for their support by taking the match to their opponents. Ruppel-Boom were not a bad team and they were fighting for a position in the promotion playoffs but Jules was confident that his team were on their way back. The only changes made to the previous week’s line-up was to start Peter Smolders in the place of the injured Stuckens, partly as reward for his performance the previous week but also because Jan Huygens was returning from injury after missing the previous match and was a bit too underdone to start.

The match against Ruppel-Boom got off to a brilliant start for Willebroek with Peter Smolders picking up where he had left off in the previous match, got on to the end of a nice through ball from Tom De Craeke to beat his marker and slot the ball pass the oncoming Ruppel-Boom goalkeeper in the 4th minute. Ruppel-Boom were not about to lay down and give up though and they came back hard, taking the match up to Willebroek. Their endeavour was rewarded in the 17th minute when Carl Meseure showing all of his 37 years was late in reacting to a run by one of the opposition strikers and tugged him back by the shirt. Unfortunately for Willebroek, the action was all to visible to the referee and from the resultant penalty, Nordin Achbari scored for Ruppel-Boom to put the match back on level pegging. The match resumed and surprisingly it was Ruppel-Boom who took the match to Willebroek and were it not for a couple of last ditch clearances, they may have taken the lead as well. Then, in the 33rd minute, the match was turned on its head.

Gilles de Bilde, in one of those fits of madness which typified his entire career, managed to get 2 yellow cards in the space of a minute, firstly for an idiotic shirt tug when nothing was happening, and then for another ridiculous tackle when there was no danger. De Bilde marched off the field and straight to the dressing room with his head held, low studiously avoiding looking in the direction of the Willebroek dugout. Jules’ feelings at this point were indescribable. If he could, he would have dismissed de Bilde there and then, however, there was a match going on and while Willebroek were a man down, it was no reason to give up. Quickly shuffling his formation, Jules brought off one of his strikers and brought on Omo Monday to fill the gap on the left wing caused by de Bilde’s dismissal. The makeshift formation held out till half-time and when Willebroek entered their dressing room, Jules wasn’t too surprised to hear that Gilles de Bilde had left the ground, it was probably the best decision in the circumstances.

The second half resumed with a very different atmosphere than that at the beginning of the match. Ruppel-Boom came out determined to take the match to their opponents and Willebroek were content to blunt the attacks of their opponent and occasionally try their own hand on the counter attack. This pattern remain unchanged until the 83rd minute when Ruppel-Boom, becoming increasingly frustrated by their inability to penetrate the Willebroek defence, initiated another wave which resulted in a crisp cross from the right wing which found the head of striker Bart Thijs and much to the dismay of the Willebroek fans and players, evaded the hand of Jan Lebegge and found the net. 1-2 to Ruppel-Boom with less than 10 minutes to go and Willebroek were facing a major disaster.

With all his substitutes used up, Jules could only urge his team forward to try to grab an unlikely equaliser as another opposition goal couldn’t cause any more damage. As the saying goes, “cometh the hour, cometh the man†and shortly after the re-start, a hopeful freekick in the 86th minute into the Ruppel-Boom penalty area found the head of Jan Huygens who despite playing on one leg and lacking match fitness, managed to direct the ball into the Ruppel-Boom net. The home support went wild after having just a couple of minutes earlier been in the depths of despair. Jules waved every all his players back urging them to hold out for the final few minutes which much to the delight of their supporters they did.

Willebroek 2 – 2 Ruppel-Boom

The draw wasn’t however for Willebroek to hold on to the lead at the top of the table as Aalst took the 3 points in their away match to Bornem to take hold of the top position with a 1 point lead over Willebroek with 2 matches to play. For the first time this season, Willebroek no longer had complete control over their own destiny and were dependent on results elsewhere if they wanted to be win the league this season.

[Rustyman]

Saturday 22/04/2006 away to RC Mechelen, Belgian Third Division A

The match against RC Mechelen was going to be the biggest match of the season for Willebroek and it was one they had to win. A draw would not be enough at this stage of the season as even if Aalst were to lose tomorrow against Turnhout, a Willebroek draw would still see them on level points with Aalst and it was highly unlikely that Aalst would lose both their final matches of the season to hand the title to Willebroek. No, Willebroek had to win this match and Jules ensured that everyone in the squad was aware of that objective.

As the previous match against Ruppel-Boom had seen Gilles de Bilde suspended for the match against Mechelen, Jules decided to start with Omo Monday on the left side of midfield. Peter Smolders had justified his starting position in the last couple of matches so he retained his place. Jan Huygens had been the biggest reason behind the Willebroek success to date and despite still not having regained full fitness, Jules decided to start him and move Denis Ismailovic to the bench where his pace as substitute would hopefully make him more effective. For the rest, young Hugo Zeghers was returned to the starting lineup as despite his youth, his combativeness and workrate made up for his rough edges.

The match started with a bang with Smolders missing wide in the first minute from some lovely leadup work and Huygens having two half chances saved shortly thereafter. The Mechelen players seemed totally unprepared for the Willebroek onslaught away from home and quickly adopted a sitting back mentality to combat the Willebroek attacks. This was the pattern adopted for the entire first half leading up to the final 5 minutes and with half-time approaching, Jules was going through the various permutations. In the 39th minute however, fate decided to smile on Willebroek. A nicely timed pass by Pascal Vande Gucht found young Omo Monday in some space outside the Mechelen penalty area. A finely weighted first time pass from Monday found the feet of Jan Huygens who having just gained half a yard on his marker, slotted the ball first time just inside the base of the Mechelen post. A fantastic goal and Huygens was once more proving worth every cent of the contract extension he was given just months ago. Another rocket from Huygens from just outside the box caused Mechelen another scare just before the half but the lack of follow up allowed a defender to clear the ball to safety. Half-time was reached without further addition to the score and Jules hurried his men into the sheds to discuss the tactics for the second half.

During the break, Jules warned his players not to go into their shell and wait for Mechelen to bring the match to them. Recent history had shown that Willebroek could not easily close down teams and Jules felt the best way to ensure his team won the match would be for them to score another couple of goals as, based on the first half performance, he did not think Mechelen would be able to score 3 goals. The match resumed and much to the surprise of Jules, Mechelen didn’t come out steaming to try and level the scores. With a playoff position very much at stake for Mechelen, Jules had expected them to come out with all guns blazing at the resumption. Instead, they resumed their wait and see attitude and instead it was Willebroek that resumed the attack, the only thing keeping them from adding to their lead being a sterling performance from the Mechelen goalkeeper. With the minutes ticking by and a second goal failing to materialise, Jules urged his players on to maintain their concentration and not fall victim to the Mechelen counter attack. Entering the final 15 minutes, Mechelen seemed to finally decide that they could not simply rely on the counter attack if they hoped to even the match up and so started sending out their players in waves of attacks. While these attacks resulted in a quickening heartbeat for the Willebroek bench everytime Mechelen came within striking distance, they also offered Willebroek the opportunity to counter themselves. Within touching distance of the final whistle, the relief finally came in the 88th minute when Jan Lebegge cleared quickly from a Mechelen attack and the ball found Omo Monday with space to move on the left flank. A quick cut inside by Monday to beat his man and a square ball across the face of goal found Jan Huygens who simply steered the ball into goal to secure the match for Willebroek.

RC Mechelen 0 – 2 Willebroek

With the win, Willebroek once more took over the top spot in the table with a two point lead on Aalst with Aalst still having a game in hand. Pascal Vande Gucht suggested that they meet in a pub the next day to listen to the result of the Aalst match against Turnhout and Jules agreed, feeling it would do a lot to keep the team together for the vital final match. To his surprise all the first team, with the notable exception of Gilles de Bilde, and most of the reserves turned up the next day and a good time was had by all, being made even better by the news that Aalst had drawn with Turnhout and Willebroek now held a one point lead going into the final round of matches. A win in the final match of the season would see them finish the season as champions.

[will_coleridge]

You'll be down the pub again soon - hopefully not drowning your sorrows!!!

[Rustyman]

Hi will, thanks for sticking with the story. With the big game coming up, there is lots of drinking in the future. Whether in celebration or misery, who knows.

[Rustyman]

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In the week leading up to the championship decider, Jules decided to go through his squad with a fine toothcomb to ensure that no stone was left unturned in the effort to put the best prepared out there for the game against FCV Dender. While FCV Dender were not a contender for the playoffs, they were just outside the playoff race and so had little to play for as they were not going to be promoted or relegated this season. However, the match would be at home for them and Jules assumed that they would want to make a good impression in front of their home fans for the final game of the season. It was therefore difficult to predict what Willebroek could expect this coming Sunday and Jules ran through a 1001 permutations in an effort to ensure that all issues had been considered.

When coming down to the his match day selection, Jules eventually decided to go with the following match day squad:

GK – Johnny Lebegge. Johnny had been a model of consistency between the posts this season and one of the main reasons why the club had registered such a good defensive record. He was both a good communicator and organiser of the back four and had the respect of his players. Johnny had played in every league match this season and his return of 18 goals conceded and 17 clean sheets should have him as prime contender for the starting GK in the season select squad.

DR - Frank Rits. Frank like Johnny had started every league game to date and there was no reason to change that situation for the final game. His greatest quality was reliability and consistency. Frank was not very likely to win MOM but he was also unlikely to be the reason for losing a game. With his 4 assists to date, he had done all that was expected of him at the beginning of the season.

DL – Laurens Melotte. Laurens had been one of the stars if not the star of the season thus far for Willebroek. Despite only being 20, he had performed like an experienced campaigner at both his favoured DL and DC despite the fact that he still needed to work on building up his body. He was one of the pillars of the future as far as Jules was concerned and it would be interesting to see how he developed in the future as the potential seemed to be there for Laurens to play at the top level.

DC – Sebastian Rassart. Sebastian had fulfilled the expectations Jules had for him when he decided to make him one of the top 2 wage earners at the club. Unfortunately, injuries had robbed him of a large part of the season but he was back now and playing as Jules had hoped he would.

DC – Jelle Gerrits. Jelle was another of those players who had performed up to expectations. He wasn’t a fancy player, but his tough tackling and stonewall defence had been a primary reason for the good defensive performances Willebroek had delivered this season. In addition, his organisational abilities and quiet leadership had ensured that players around him did not panic when placed in difficult situations.

MR – Tom de Craeke. Tom had done a superb job this past season leading the team from either flank and providing the necessary steel when required to get the team out of difficult situations. His team leading 11 assists was testimony to his value to the team and his inspirational captaincy had been deciding on a number of occasions this season.

ML – Omo Monday. Whereas the other positions on the squad to face FCV Dender had virtually chosen themselves, this position provided Jules with a number of headaches. He had finally decided to go with Omo above Gilles de Bilde because Omo had done well thusfar as a starter, was the better worker in that he would track back for balls, was more disciplined in his play and could be relied upon to stick to the team plan. At this stage of their respective careers, Gilles was still the better player however his indiscipline and failure to fit in with the rest of the squad had ensured that if he played a role in the final match of the season, that role would be from the bench.

MC – Pascal Vande Gucht. Pascal had been a rock in the centre of the park for Willebroek the entire season. His performances were the most consistent of any player on the squad and he had developed a habit of chipping in goals from dead ball situations or by being a late runner into the box. His physical style of play also ensured that Willebroek was very rarely bested in the physical battle in midfield and his return of 8 goals, 6 assists and 6 MOM performances clearly illustrated the vital role he had played in the success of the Willebroek team to date.

MC – Hugo Zeghers. Jules decided on Hugo as the starter against FCV Dender as he had shared the job with Joeri Schouppe and Jeroen Driessen for much of the season but as both those players were coming back from niggling injuries, Jules decided on Hugo as the starter for the upcoming match. The one quality that Jules really liked about Hugo was that he wasn’t fazed by the quality of the opposition or the importance of the match. He simply played a nice tidy game which allowed the more talented players around him the room to express their skills.

FC – Jan Huygens. Jan had been the unquestioned star of the Willebroek season. At the beginning of the season Jules had thought of Jan as a nice backup and complementary starter, however, Jan had blown all those ideas by being the mainstay of the Willebroek strikeforce as his return of 19 goals and 9 assists attested. It was not simply the number of goals he scored, what made him so valuable is that he tended to score important goals in important matches and that was why he was undoubtably the most valuable player of the season for Willebroek.

FC – Denis Ismailovski. With Kevin Stuckens just having recently returned from injury and in no state to play a full match, Jules decided to start Denis as he was fit and he seemed to perform better in a starting role. At this stage, Jules was still undecided about Denis’s future at the club as he hadn’t really challenged either of the regular starters for their positions. However, he and Peter Smolders were good options for a club like Willebroek as the 3rd and 4th strikers and both had proven to be good options off the bench and adequate spot starters when required.

Bench – Gilles Berckmoes, GK. Joeri Schouppe, DC, DM, AM C. Gilles de Bilder AM L/FC. Kevin Stuckens, AM R/ST

[Plumble]

Good luck on the last day.

[Rustyman]

Thanks Plumble, I think we will need all the luck we can get.

[Rustyman]

Sunday 30/04/2006 away to FCV Dender, Belgian Third Division A

In the dressing room before the match, Jules Jackson invited the chairman Christian Mellaerts to addess the player. He knew that this was a risky tactic and even Mr Mellaerts had questioned the wisdom of doing so when Jules had approached him, however, Jules wanted the players totally focussed on what they were doing on the day. Mr Mellaerts also did not disappoint. From him there was no fire and brimstone speech about how they had to win the match, instead he once more repeated his mantra of the importance of the club to the local community, how the success of the club had such a widespread impact on the community at large and Mellaerts expressed his pride in having the team represent the community in the manner they had done thus far, irrespective of the outcome of the upcoming match.

The speech seemed to strike just the right tone and every man who walked out on the pitch to represent Willebroek seemed to want to do so with pride and a steely resolve to complete the job and win promotion. When the whistle indicating the start of the game went, Jules looked around his team and the bench and felt proud of what they had achieved in 9 short months.

With Willebroek needing a win to definitively clinch promotion but only a draw if Aalst failed to win, Jules decided to begin the game cautiously to first get a better feel for how FCV Dender wanted to play the match before committing his too many players to attack. He also ensured that his assistant Jean-Pierre de Backer kept his ear glued to the radio to keep tabs on the match between Aalst and Mechelen. To Jules’ surprise, FCV Dender did not come out and try to take the game to Willebroek in an attempt to treat their supporters in the final game of the season, instead they seemed to be content to stay back and rely on the counter attack to try and steal a goal. This suited Jules perfectly as long as the match between Aalst and Mechelen stayed level. A nice header by Huygens, a snap shot by Ismailovic and a shot from a wide angle from Huygens provided a couple of half chances for Willebroek but by half-time the scores remained unchanged and with Mechelen scoring just before the break to be 1-0 up on Aalst, as things stood, Willebroek would be promoted.

At half-time Jules stressed to his guys that they were doing well and another 45 minutes of the same effort and concentration should see them home, dependent on the result in the Aalst match. The second half resumed the pattern of the first and by the 60th minute, Jules felt that his team was well in control of the match. However, two disasters then struck in quick succession. In the 63rd minute, Jelle Gerrits got on to the end of a long clearance from the FCV Dender goalkeeper and to remove any danger, attempted the backpass to his goalkeeper, however, Omo Monday in his youthful exuberance to help out got in the way of the backpass and the ball deflected into the path of the opposition striker Wim Roels who calmly brought the ball under control and then cheekily chipped the Willebroek goalkeeper to hand the lead of FCV Dender. To compound matters, and before the match had restarted, Jean-Pierre informed Jules that Aalst had just equalised in their match against Mechelen and the pressure was back on Willebroek to ensure they did not lose their nerve at this late stage. Jules decided to gamble and bring all his reserves on immediately in order to try to force the issue and to get back into the match as a win by Aalst with the scores remaining as they were would ensure that Aalst would claim the championship.

The old guard in the form of Kevin Stuckens, Gilles de Bilde and Joeri Schouppe were brought on to replace Denis Ismailovic, Laurens Melotte and Hugo Zeghers respectively in the hope that their experience and skill would enable Willebroek to find a way of breaking down the massed FCV Dender defence. The equation was simple, as things stood, if Aalst won, Willebroek would have to win the match to win the championship, in all other situations, Willebroek would be promoted. Jules however had no intention of simply hoping that Aalst would not win. He knew they were a good side who were more than capable of scoring multiple goals in a match and he was determined that Willebroek would determine its own destiny and not tamely wait while others did it for them.

Within 5 minutes of going behind, Willebroek equalised. Omo Monday, anxious to make up for his blunder found himself in possession with a bit of space just inside the FCV Dender half in the 69th minute. A quick glance up to see that his forwards were making their runs into the box and he hit a long ball that Jan Huygens met in his stride and headed past the helpless opposition goalkeeper. 1-1 and the game was back on even though the goal did not change current positions. The next 10 minutes was a tussle between the massed defence of FCV Dender and the waves of attack from Willebroek leading to an enthralling spectacle for the fans. In the 80th minute, the complexion of the game changed once more. This time Tom de Craeke hit a cross into the FCV Dender box that was met by the head of Kevin Stuckens and for the second time this match, the opposition goalkeeper was left helpless. 1-2 to Willebroek with 10 minutes to play and with the scores still level in the match between Aalst and Mechelen, the chances of promotion had swung strongly back in Willebroek’s favour. The battle for promotion was not concluded though as a goal for Aalst and a counter by FCV Dender would once again tilt the balance in favour of Aalst. The minutes ticked down slowly and still no change in the two matches. Jules didn’t even have to get verbal updates from Jean-Pierre any longer, simply watching his body language with the radio glued to his ear told Jules that Aalst were dominating but as yet hadn’t found the elusive winner.

To compound matters, with 10 minutes to play, FCV Dender finally decided to make a match of it and started initiating its own attacking forays. With the lead in hand, Jules instructed his team to get back and adopt the stance that FCV Dender had done for the previous 80 minutes and to defend staunchly and with numbers and only venturing out on the counter attack. Relief finally came in the 3rd minute of time added on when a clumsy challenge by the FCV Dender defender brought down Kevin Stuckens in the penalty box. Up stepped Pascal Vande Gucht and calmly stroked the ball passed the keeper to the cheers and celebrations of the Willebroek players. No matter what the result in the Aalst-Mechelen match, Willebroek were now champions. There was barely time to get the match restarted before the final whistle went and it took Jules a good few seconds to comprehend, that Willebroek were indeed champions of the Belgian Third Division A and that they would be plying their trade in the Belgian Second Division next year.

FCV Dender 1 – Willebroek 3.

[will_coleridge]

Congratulations!!! Must have been nerve racking for you!

How big is your stadium and what are you training facilities like?

[Rustyman]

My stadium is quite large for a club at my level being able to hold 5000 people however both stadium and training facilities are very basic.

[Plumble]

Well done mate i knew you could do it now it's time to prepare for the 2nd division. The gap is pretty big i've been told.

[Rustyman]

Yep will, it definitely was a nailbiter and it is one game where the split screen view was used a LOT.

Plumble, I know that what Willebroek achieved this year was against team with comparable talent. I need to strengthen the squad significantly to compete in the 2nd division.

[will_coleridge]

When is the second season coming!!!???

[Rustyman]

Will, I've been a bit busy later but I will hopefully be continuing sometime this weekend.

[Rustyman]

The Aftermath

The ride back home in the team bus was one of the best rides Jules had experienced in his life. While the expected yelling and shouting of players to express their joy at managing to achieve promotion continued until after a rousing send-off from their travelling supporters, the bus quickly descended into a quiet calm thereafter. Players were calling loved ones or simply speaking softly amongst themselves trying to comprehend what this meant for them personally. Being in the 2nd Division could bring about major changes in some players lives. There was a chance of becoming a full-time professional, either with Willebroek, or catching the eye of a more established team and getting the opportunity to earn considerably more. Jules understood that the promotion opened doors to both his staff and the players and that the success of the club could mean that some of the players would not be at the club next season. He once more gave himself a little pat on the back for having the foresight to signup most of his core players to longer term deals just before the winter break and silently thanked Christian Mellaerts for sharing his vision of the teams future and providing the funds for extending contracts at that time.

The days after the season end was filled with constant congratulations from everywhere Jules went, whether it was the baker, the newsagent, the postman or the garbage men. While these were expected, Jules was surprised at the number of congratulations he received from quarters that were not expected like the local government officials at the town house or even the upper class neighbourhood where Christian Mellaerts lived when Jules went to visit him to discuss the future for the club.

This was only the second time Jules had the honour of visiting the chairman in his own home and he was once more impressed by the sense of power and reverence his surroundings created. That Mellaerts was rich, powerful and respected was unquestioned and Jules once more asked himself why he had been Mellaerts choice to take over the club when he obviously had the money to get a much more high profile manager if he chose to do so. When Mellaerts emerged, he was all smiles, even going so far as to grasping his arm and almost hugging him when they greeted.

The rich food and even richer liqueur served at what seemed to be a private dinner for the two of them put them both into an expansive and open mood. Mellaerts more clearly than ever before, explained to Jules that he saw the football club as a tool which would propel him to the very front of the financial and political society in Belgium, and would help him achieve his aim of expanding and growing his financial and media interests. To that end, he committed to providing an extra 600,000 Euros in transfer fees for the coming season to strengthen the squad and to hopefully ensure that the club avoided relegation. Both of them were aware that the jump to the second division was a major jump in terms of the quality and that opponents at this level were most likely to have players and resources that were significantly better than Willebroek currently had. While Mellaerts indicated that he would not hesitate to put more funds into the club if that was required to stave off relegation, he also wanted to see if the club could become self-sufficient financially as the environment and stadium did make that possible. The also discussed the rewards that Jules would be receiving for attaining promotion and the bonuses he could achieve if the club succeeded in staying in the 2nd division at the end of the coming season. These negotiations were however strictly between Christian Mellarts and Jules Jackson and it was agreed that not a word of these agreements would ever be repeated or committed to paper.

As he was driven home in Mellaerts new chauffer driven limousine that evening, he reflected once more on how unpredictable life could be and how quickly success could be attained and lost. He was once more climbing that ladder leading to success, he hoped however that this time the fall, if it came, would not be that painful.

[Rustyman]

The Off-Season

After his talk with Mellaerts, Jules decided to take off a couple of weeks to clear his head and to simply enjoy life. He spent a couple of weeks travelling through Belgium as he genuinely was interested in learning about the culture and history of his forefathers. As a beer lover, he was also constantly being surprised by the ingenuity and skill of the Belgians in not only making beer from the most unlikely combinations but also making it taste good. He also learnt a lot about the long and fractured history of what was modern day Belgium and why the current co-existence of the Flemish and Walloons seemed more like a marriage of convenience than a single national entity. Unity only seemed to be achieved when faced with a common enemy or when some social or sporting event occurred which temporarily seemed to remove the cultural barriers. However, to Jules, the Belgian co-existence seemed infinitely preferable to the crazy outpourings of nationalism which Europe and the world had seen in the past decade or two.

Jules also decided to visit England once more to catch up with friends and acquaintances at his former workplace and to simply visit London once more. For Jules, London was truly the most cosmopolitan, varied and interesting city in the world. He had visited New York, Los Angeles, France, Milan and most other major cities in the past but there was simply something about London that intrigued Jules more than any other city he had been to. However, 4 weeks of traipsing around Europe was enough and by time he returned from London, he was ready to get on with the task of ensuring Willebroek’s survival in the Belgian 2nd Division.

[Rustyman]

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Player Movements

The off-season could be summarised in a single word for Jules Jackson, namely FRUSTRATION. He hadn’t expected the acquisition of players to be easy, however, with a well filled transfer kitty, even by 2nd Division standards, he expected to be able to acquire at least a couple of new starters and hopefully 3-4 starting calibre players. However, despite his willingness to overpay both in terms of transfer fees and salaries, he had no luck in significantly improving the quality of the squad with new acquisitions as the only new players brought in were free transfers inexpensive players with hopefully the potential to be first team players 2-3 years down the track.

Player Acquisitions

Matthais Wuillaert , 17yo MC was signed on a free transfer after he was cut by Club Brugge. Wuillaert seemed to have the potential to be the type of creative midfield force Jules felt his club currently lacked but it would be at least a couple of years before Wuillaert was likely to play a role of significance for the club.

Thomas Meeuwsen , 24yo AM/F C was signed as a free transfer from non-league amateur club Ranst. With the anticipated loss of Gilles de Bilde, a more experienced player was needed to serve as 4th of 5th striker and Meeuwsen was a 6 footer with a few skills who seemed as if he could fill this role.

Jason Duchatelet , 21yo ST was signed from Union SG in the Belgian 3rd Division to complete for one of the backup striker roles. He was the antithesis of Meeuwsen in that he was the short nippy type of striker who should suit the more counter attacking style of play.

Latif Janneh , 24yo ST was signed as a free transfer from non-league amateur side Sassport Boezinge in the hope that he could play a target man role for the club. Janneh was suffering from a broken leg when signed but Jules hoped that he could provide a physical presence up front, especially on bad pitches which were prevalent during the wet long Belgian winter.

Nick van Goethem , 21yo D RLC was signed as a free transfer from 3rd Division RC Waasland to serve as backup for both fullback position. While Nick probably did not have much more improvement in him, Jules felt that his versatility would make him the perfect bench player and if he did develop, so much the better.

Emilien Dentz , 20yo DC was signed on a free transfer from French 2nd Division side Valenciennes to serve as backup and hopefully develop into a starter a couple of years down the track. From what the Willebroek scouts reported, Emilien looked like the prototypical central defender physically but his lack of pace and aggression may have been what allowed Valenciennes to let him leave without complaint.

The haul of players lined up to sign with Willebroek in on the 1st of July was therefore totally unimpressive. No players of starting quality, especially 2nd Division starting quality had been signed or even seemed likely to be signed in the future. The annoying thing for Jules was that even though the club had the money to buy better quality players and the willingness to pay (and overpay) players handsomely for coming to the club, this had not been enough inducement for players to sign with what most regarded as a club that would quickly be relegated once more.

[will_coleridge]

Really get stuck into the transfer market. It pays to scroll for ages through pages of playerrs. Most are useless, but you'll be rewarded for it - with the next George Best or similar.