Dutch Treat [FM 15]

[Tom Ashley]

I originally began this save on FM 14, but the file crashed.  I liked the story idea enough to give it another go, using FM 15 this time.  Same basic premise, same first couple posts...with a few changes that reflect the details of the new game.  "Fake players" again.  

Summer 2014

Some boys who grow up with famous fathers decide they'll do anything but follow in Dad's large footsteps.  If Dad's a musician, they won't pick up an instrument.  If he's a doctor, they aspire to a career in law.  

Others never consider anything other than "the family business."  Tommy van de Mark was one of those lads. 

Tommy's father, Jan, had been a very good footballer in his day, a center half with eleven Holland caps to his name.  It was as a manager, however, that Jan truly excelled.  He led AS La Jeunesse d'Esch-Alzette to three league titles in Luxembourg.  He managed in the Dutch lower leagues for several seasons, and in 1979 went from there to England, where he became a club icon at Carlisle United.  

Jan van de Mark liked England.  He put down roots there, marrying an English woman ten years his junior and, finally, starting a family.  Tommy arrived on 1 December 1983, Jan's second child, and only son.  

Tommy quickly proved he'd inherited his father's athletic gifts, and then some; his mum, Emma, had been a fine athlete as a schoolgirl, and she passed her pace down to Tommy.  Armed with that speed, Tom became a flashy winger, good with either foot.  By the time he was 20, he'd cracked the first team at Aldershot Town.  He wasn't destined for the highest levels of the game, but he was well on his way to establishing himself as a solid professional.

It became clear to Tom that he had inherited his dad's love of coaching the game of football.  He'd often stop by the pitches where the youth teams were training, lending a hand and chatting with the youth coaches.  He also began studying for his coaching badges.  More and more, Tom found greater enjoyment in these activities than he did playing the game itself.

Dad wasn't shocked when, in 2010, he received an application for a coaching position from his son.  "I asked Tom if he was sure this was what he wanted to do," Jan recalled.  "He was only 26, and he was still in his prime years as a player.  He wasn't injured, and he was a fixture in the first team at Aldershot.  So it wasn't a desperate move on his part.  He assured me he was doing exactly what he wanted to do."

There were some whispers of nepotism when Tom got the job, but he quickly proved he was a good hire.  "I don't have a family.  I can come in early and stay late, and I'm happiest when that's what I'm doing," he explained.  His boss was impressed by his knowledge, too.  "I tried to be neither too demanding or too easy on Tom," said Jan.  "I really didn't have to look over his shoulder too much.  He's good."  

Ronald de Jong was the chairman of FC Den Bosch, a club in the Eerste Divisie, Holland's second division.  De Jong had known Jan van de Mark for years; they'd played against each other as schoolboys.  One day in the late spring of 2013, de Jong gave his old friend a call.  His manager had just taken another position, and he had a vacancy.  Did he know of any talented coaches who might be flying under the radar, someone who might want a chance to manage a team?

"I didn't recommend anyone," Jan insisted.  "I simply told him I would put the word out among people I knew."

A week later, de Jong received a resume from Tom van de Mark.  

The directors weren't immediately impressed.  Tom was 30, and his experience was limited to three years as a first team coach.  His name and heritage were Dutch, and he could speak the language, but Tom had never lived outside England.   He'd be managing men who might be several years older than he, with better credentials as players.  Hiring such a manager would be a gamble.  With some reservations, the board put his name on the short list of candidates who would come to stadion De Vliert for an interview.

In Tom's words, "I aced it."  The board were impressed with his energy and optimism.  The interim assistant manager, Kevin Zwaan, found him easy to talk to, easy to work with.  So did Jan Hooiveld, the Under 19s manager.  What impressed chairman de Jong the most was the way the players responded to the young candidate.  Mike Berghuis, the club captain, was four years older than Tom and might have been less than happy with the idea of taking direction from him.  Instead, Berghuis took the initiative to dash off an email to de Jong, letting him know how favorably the players viewed Tom.

So, against the wishes of at least one of the directors, Tom van de Mark was offered the chance to manage FC Den Bosch.  His father, back for another year at Carlisle, was the first to wish him well.

"I'm not going to be managing against him, so I hope he wins every single match," Jan said with a wink.   

[Tom Ashley]

8 August 2014

Tom arrived in Holland in early July, and he had five weeks to shape the Den Bosch squad that would contend for the Eerste Divisie title.  He decided to leave the club’s back room staff intact, at least for the time being.  He sensed the players might appreciate some sense of continuity, because most of them had liked their previous boss.  Tom really liked Kevin Zwaan, who would be continuing as his assistant.  Kevin was a local hero of sorts, a hometown lad who kept goal for the club in the 1980s and stayed on to coach the goalkeepers before earning a promotion to the assistant managership.  The decision to keep  Kevin around was, therefore, a no-brainer.

Den Bosch employed an avuncular Belgian called Björn Schaap as Director of Football.  He had found several players he wanted to bring into the team, but none of them had been willing to play for the Blue White Dragons--at least for the wages the team were willing to play them.  The team's transfer budget stood at zero, and there weren't more than a few hundred euro worth of room in the wage budget.  So, Tom would have to make do with the team he'd inherited, too.

Tom was a true son of England when it came to football tactics.  He favored direct football, big target men, and pacey wingers, a system where every man knew his place and played his role.  His father Jan warned him that approach might not work in the country that gave the world totaalvoetbal.  

"You're going to have to give them a bit of what they want," Jan cautioned him.  "Your team can't just lump the ball up the pitch to the big blokes."  Tom, somewhat begrudgingly, set aside his beloved 4-4-2 for a "trendier" 4-2-3-1, but he'd also been training the team in a 4-4-1-1 that more closely fit his own preferred style of play.

One man who wasn't sorry to meet the new boss was the team's number one 'keeper, Padraic O'Connor.  Paddy hailed from Limerick, and spoke only a few words of Dutch.  He was, however, a very well-rounded custodian.  Young Pip Joosten backed him up.

Right back Jeffrey de Jong was the best defender in the team.  He was athletic and, at 21, understood the game like a veteran.  Wee Ruud Nelis, all 5'6" of him, would start on the left.  He had bags of pace and the mentality of a terrier.  

Tom wished there were a couple big British-style center halves in the team.  Right now, the best choices were Derek Klooster, who was a natural midfielder, and Tim Verlaan, who was much more comfortable on the left.  Neither Derek nor Tim were good in the air, and Tim revealed a disturbing unwillingness to get stuck in.  Björn Schaap was hard at work looking for their replacements.

Harry Blom was a decent holding midfielder, and he'd team with either quick Eric Thoma or tough Jerry Groeneveld.  In front of them, Tom could choose to employ Tiago Ferreira, a clever Portuguese import, or club captain Mike Berghuis.  Right now, Tom was leaning toward playing Tiago as an advanced playmaker, with Mike shifting to the left wing.  Even at 37, Berghuis was in superb shape, and could still do the job out wide.  Another speed merchant, Mats de Goede, played on the right.  Mats was also absolutely deadly from free kicks.  

The young manager had several options at center forward, too.  Bart Sneijder wasn't flashy, but he did everything fairly well.  Arjen de Groot was tall, strong, and quick--in other words, a classic target man.  Tom couldn't help thinking how well the two players would work together in a formation with two strikers...

Today, the Blue White Dragons would open their season at home away to Telstar.   As he sat in his office before the team boarded the coach for their journey to IJmuiden--an hour or so from the team's home in the old city of 's-Hertogenbosch--Tom heard his phone buzz.  He picked it up to see a text from his dad.

Good luck gaffer.

Tom smiled.  He took a deep breath, slipped his phone into the pocket of his jacket, and stood up from his desk.  It was almost time. 

 

[Diego Imposta]

Excellent setup. That’s my favourite league in FM so I will be reading with interest. Good luck Tom!