Being a new-found supporter of Feyenoord, it pains me to see the state the Dutch Eredivisie is in. Traditionally in The Netherlands, there is the notion that there is a "Big Three." In reality, it's the "Big Two."
Feyenoord have not won the league championship since 1999, and with the exception of AZ Alkmaar and FC Twente in 2009 and 2010 respectively, no team except for Ajax and PSV have won The Eredivisie Title. The last time neither Ajax nor PSV were in the top 2 was during AZ Alkmaar's win in 2009, in which FC Twente occupied the 2nd spot. Before that, the last time was in 1999, Feyenoord's last win in which Willem II occupied the 2nd place. Both of those seasons however, one of Ajax and PSV occupied 3rd (PSV 1999, Ajax 2009).
Some final stats, the last time that a team other than any of the team mentioned so far; Ajax (23), PSV (18), Feyenoord (7), AZ Alkmaar (1) or FC Twente (1) won the league title, was DWS in 1964. That is more than 50 years of just 5 teams winning the Eredivise.
So, why Feyenoord and not another team? Firstly, I will be moving to the city of Rotterdam in 2016/2017, so have adopted them as a team to support. Secondly, Feyenoord and Ajax are bitter, and according to Football Manager, historical rivals. What better team to end the dominance with than with Ajax's main rivals? Thirdly, the Dutch leagues are always overlooked, as first brought to my attention by Jamie (TheFMHub) To be fair, it's for good reason. The Dutch league is admittedly less desirable than managing in the other "Big Three"; England, Germany and Spain. It has a lot less money and despite having some of the best youth prospects in the world coming through it, Dutch clubs simply can't hold onto their players. Ajax and perhaps PSV aside, Dutch clubs need all the funding they can get, and selling top players seems to be a sure fire way of fundraising. Some notable, recent Dutch exports to the Barclays Premier League include Memphis Depay, Jordy Clasie and Georgino Wijnaldum.
This save will be started on Football Manager 2016, but I wanted to introduce it now to fully commit to it, as I've always wanted to do one of these, but never get round to it. I am hoping to make this into a YouTube series also, depending on how many people would go "Hand in Hand" (Feyenoord's anthem) and follow this Feyenoord save. The goal?
1. To make Feyenoord the #1 team in the Netherlands, both in reputation, league standing and stadium capacity, dethroning their historical rivals Ajax.
2. Linked to the previous aim, for Feyenoord to have the #1 capacity ground. Amsterdam may have the national stadium, but Rotterdam has The KNVB Cup final! Ideally I would like to achieve this by expanding De Kuip, although with Feyenoord actually moving stadium in real life, I will not rule out building a new ground to out-do Ajax.
3. Something which has evaded me so far; win the Champions League with Feyenoord and become the #1 team in the world. With the Dutch League being of such a poor standard compared to other leagues, this is hard to do, especially as only 2 Champions League places are up for grabs.
Bonus, long term goal: Win the World Cup with the Netherlands National Team. Not of as high importance but as an English fan of the Netherlands, I would love to see them lift the World Cup! Of course, Feyenoord will be a priority, but if the Dutch job becomes available, I won't be able to not take it.
I may also do a role play type thing to make the thread a little more interesting. If I am to do that there is really only one option. If you know your Football, you'll know; but if not a clue is that he played for both Feyenoord and Ajax...
Thank you for reading and I am open to any questions, and will reply to all comments!
Feyenoord have not won the league championship since 1999, and with the exception of AZ Alkmaar and FC Twente in 2009 and 2010 respectively, no team except for Ajax and PSV have won The Eredivisie Title. The last time neither Ajax nor PSV were in the top 2 was during AZ Alkmaar's win in 2009, in which FC Twente occupied the 2nd spot. Before that, the last time was in 1999, Feyenoord's last win in which Willem II occupied the 2nd place. Both of those seasons however, one of Ajax and PSV occupied 3rd (PSV 1999, Ajax 2009).
Some final stats, the last time that a team other than any of the team mentioned so far; Ajax (23), PSV (18), Feyenoord (7), AZ Alkmaar (1) or FC Twente (1) won the league title, was DWS in 1964. That is more than 50 years of just 5 teams winning the Eredivise.
So, why Feyenoord and not another team? Firstly, I will be moving to the city of Rotterdam in 2016/2017, so have adopted them as a team to support. Secondly, Feyenoord and Ajax are bitter, and according to Football Manager, historical rivals. What better team to end the dominance with than with Ajax's main rivals? Thirdly, the Dutch leagues are always overlooked, as first brought to my attention by Jamie (TheFMHub) To be fair, it's for good reason. The Dutch league is admittedly less desirable than managing in the other "Big Three"; England, Germany and Spain. It has a lot less money and despite having some of the best youth prospects in the world coming through it, Dutch clubs simply can't hold onto their players. Ajax and perhaps PSV aside, Dutch clubs need all the funding they can get, and selling top players seems to be a sure fire way of fundraising. Some notable, recent Dutch exports to the Barclays Premier League include Memphis Depay, Jordy Clasie and Georgino Wijnaldum.
This save will be started on Football Manager 2016, but I wanted to introduce it now to fully commit to it, as I've always wanted to do one of these, but never get round to it. I am hoping to make this into a YouTube series also, depending on how many people would go "Hand in Hand" (Feyenoord's anthem) and follow this Feyenoord save. The goal?
1. To make Feyenoord the #1 team in the Netherlands, both in reputation, league standing and stadium capacity, dethroning their historical rivals Ajax.
2. Linked to the previous aim, for Feyenoord to have the #1 capacity ground. Amsterdam may have the national stadium, but Rotterdam has The KNVB Cup final! Ideally I would like to achieve this by expanding De Kuip, although with Feyenoord actually moving stadium in real life, I will not rule out building a new ground to out-do Ajax.
3. Something which has evaded me so far; win the Champions League with Feyenoord and become the #1 team in the world. With the Dutch League being of such a poor standard compared to other leagues, this is hard to do, especially as only 2 Champions League places are up for grabs.
Bonus, long term goal: Win the World Cup with the Netherlands National Team. Not of as high importance but as an English fan of the Netherlands, I would love to see them lift the World Cup! Of course, Feyenoord will be a priority, but if the Dutch job becomes available, I won't be able to not take it.
I may also do a role play type thing to make the thread a little more interesting. If I am to do that there is really only one option. If you know your Football, you'll know; but if not a clue is that he played for both Feyenoord and Ajax...
Thank you for reading and I am open to any questions, and will reply to all comments!
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