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This week I was talking to an Ipswich mate when he mentioned he heard a rumour that ‘Town would get a Dutch manager that was currently not working in the Eredivisie (Dutch PL)’. I asked where he heard this and his answer was ‘a gas station in Cardiff’. I obviously laughed it away and told him that there would only be one manager in the Dutch Championship (Jupiler League) that I would want to see at Town; Maurice Steijn. He’s the current manager of VVV-Venlo a club that I support since I can walk.
I didn’t put much thought into the whole thing. This week the rumours of a ‘Dutch consortium’ came about and I still didn’t think much of it. Last night at the VVV game we were talking about Steijn and how he hasn’t renewed his contract yet despite VVV going up in a matter of days. I told a mate I heard a rumour that Town would get a Dutch Manager and that it might be Steijn. He immediately said ‘Well, in that case ‘The Carpet King’ has be involved. And that actually makes sense.
Who’s ‘The Carpet King’? His name is John van Zweden. A former ADO den Haag Hooligan who bought 1/5 of Swansea City about 25 years ago for 50k. Fast forward 25 years and last year van Zweden sold his interest in Swansea for about 20 million pound. Van Zweden and Steijn are very good mates. I also know van Zweden has a huge soft spot for Ipswich. I follow him on twitter where I repeatedly seen him talk about Ipswich with Tom van Hulsen (writher of the book ‘Game Changers’ on Muhren and Thijssen) about how the club should be in in the Premier League and just last night he tweeted that Steijn would be a perfect manager for Town.
He’s also a bit of controversial person. Like I said he’s former Hooligan with ‘f*ck you money’ and pretty much behaves that way. He called the current Chinese owner of ADO a gook and what not. He’s called The Carpet King (actually The Wall Paper King, but I like Carpet King better, lol) because he — still — has a wallpaper and carpet shop in The Hague.
So, if there is such a thing as a Dutch Consortium odds are likely van Zweden is involved. Obviously 20 Million Pounds isn’t going to get you anywhere but maybe he got some people interested in repeating the Swansea story at Ipswich. I would like him being involved in Town very much over some Chinese or Arab fellow. He’s a proper football man that for sure.
With regard to Steijn. Good manager. Though as nails and doesn’t seem to have any favourites in a team. I haven’t disagreed with his starting line up once in 3 years.
So, make of this what you want. Probably not much but thought it was worth sharing.
Dutch Tractor Boys! Follow on Twitter; @IpswichTownNL
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The Dutch Consortium. Few thoughts. on 16:00 - Apr 10 with 2025 views
The Dutch Consortium. Few thoughts. on 13:26 - Apr 10 by PhilTWTD
I think he has seen us be competitive for the two seasons prior to this one at his current levels of investment. The division has moved on very quickly and I think he has been left behind and needs to rethink. I'm not sure he'd be that bothered by the animosity, to be honest.
Yes, Evans's reclusiveness suits him very well as a now unpopular football club owner as it's hard for supporters to target him. I still think he'd sell, although have no idea what he would consider an attractive price & I'm sure he wouldn't sell Town on the cheap. Mick as manager suits him down to the ground as he seems exactly the type to keep Town in the 2nd tier on a low wage bill. This effectively sustains Town's potential sale value - relegation would reduce this considerably. I'm not a great fan of a "consortium" buying Town as it conjures up an image of a group of businessmen who would like to be able to afford to own a football club, but don't have the money.
The Dutch Consortium. Few thoughts. on 12:52 - Apr 10 by PhilTWTD
I'm not sure he is willing to sell. Unless there's been a recent turnaround I would have thought that making more money available in January (which there was even if they didn't find anyone to spend it on) and spending on things like the 3G pitch would be things he wouldn't have done if he'd been looking to sell imminently.
The caveat to that is that they didn't spend any money, I really can't believe there wasn't anyone out there that could have improved us. You could argue they were keeping thier powder dry for the summer, but thats optimistic at best.
Whilst the spending on the 3G pitch is positive, any infrastructure spending, again, can be viewed as doing up the house before you sell.
The Dutch Consortium. Few thoughts. on 16:08 - Apr 10 by hype313
The caveat to that is that they didn't spend any money, I really can't believe there wasn't anyone out there that could have improved us. You could argue they were keeping thier powder dry for the summer, but thats optimistic at best.
Whilst the spending on the 3G pitch is positive, any infrastructure spending, again, can be viewed as doing up the house before you sell.
If they'd found someone available that MM thought would have been worth paying the c£2m they offered for Hugill then I'm sure they would have signed them. I don't think there's any doubt the money was there, all the whispers re Hugill came from the Preston end so it wasn't as if Town were the ones making a noise about it.
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The Dutch Consortium. Few thoughts. on 22:03 - Apr 10 with 1758 views
My football following friend in Holland says that he's heard rumours of this guy taking over as manager at ITFC in the summer, but could add nothing further, apart from saying the following:
"He was sacked at ADo Den Haag, but that was because results went against him. He is one of the better coaches in Dutch football and should reach promotion with VVV Venlo."
The Dutch Consortium. Few thoughts. on 22:03 - Apr 10 by Vic
My football following friend in Holland says that he's heard rumours of this guy taking over as manager at ITFC in the summer, but could add nothing further, apart from saying the following:
"He was sacked at ADo Den Haag, but that was because results went against him. He is one of the better coaches in Dutch football and should reach promotion with VVV Venlo."
It would be a pretty dramatic change in direction for Evans to pick someone up relatively obscure, unless he's got someone else advising him - someone other than Rednapp, that is. For that reason alone, I'd be surprised by this.
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