Manchester City’s parent company is looking to add Dutch club NAC Breda but has faced some opposition from vocal supporters
Back in 2016 when Manchester City was searching for a reliable outpost to send developing talent, one of the big attractions of NAC Breda was the passionate fanbase. There are more competitive leagues than the Eredivisie, and certainly more competitive leagues than the Dutch second division, yet the challenge of playing in front of 20,000 passionate fans every week is one that is rare enough to be extremely valuable.
The irony will not have been lost on City bosses when those same supporters felt so strongly about City Football Group’s (CFG) interest in buying their club that they engineered a banner to be unfurled at the Etihad bluntly telling the club to “stay out of our territory”. More demonstrations are expected on Friday when NAC host Jong Ajax looking to climb up from the ninth place in the Eerste Divisie.
At a time when geopolitics has collided with football to raise more questions about ownership, CFG has stumbled into a delicate situation. So why is there such hostility from what was seen as a friendly face? And what happens next?
Back in 2016 when Manchester City was searching for a reliable outpost to send developing talent, one of the big attractions of NAC Breda was the passionate fanbase. There are more competitive leagues than the Eredivisie, and certainly more competitive leagues than the Dutch second division, yet the challenge of playing in front of 20,000 passionate fans every week is one that is rare enough to be extremely valuable.
The irony will not have been lost on City bosses when those same supporters felt so strongly about City Football Group’s (CFG) interest in buying their club that they engineered a banner to be unfurled at the Etihad bluntly telling the club to “stay out of our territory”. More demonstrations are expected on Friday when NAC host Jong Ajax looking to climb up from the ninth place in the Eerste Divisie.
At a time when geopolitics has collided with football to raise more questions about ownership, CFG has stumbled into a delicate situation. So why is there such hostility from what was seen as a friendly face? And what happens next?
Back in 2016 when Manchester City was searching for a reliable outpost to send developing talent, one of the big attractions of NAC Breda was the passionate fanbase. There are more competitive leagues than the Eredivisie, and certainly more competitive leagues than the Dutch second division, yet the challenge of playing in front of 20,000 passionate fans every week is one that is rare enough to be extremely valuable.
The irony will not have been lost on City bosses when those same supporters felt so strongly about City Football Group’s (CFG) interest in buying their club that they engineered a banner to be unfurled at the Etihad bluntly telling the club to “stay out of our territory”. More demonstrations are expected on Friday when NAC host Jong Ajax looking to climb up from the ninth place in the Eerste Divisie.
At a time when geopolitics has collided with football to raise more questions about ownership, CFG has stumbled into a delicate situation. So why is there such hostility from what was seen as a friendly face? And what happens next?
Things are, as is often the case, not as black and white as they may appear. The stunt outside the Etihad (and a few other CFG clubs) was designed to get attention and has done but does not fully reflect the temperature of the fanbase.
It is important to note that there are plenty of people happy to see CFG take ownership, and even those most opposed accept that a change is needed. What’s more, the club’s prior relationship with City sees their group presented as a trusted option by the shareholders.
From a business point of view, CFG is obviously desirable. More and more organizations are coming round to the multi-club model across the industry, and the benefits of coming inside the CFG umbrella include better access to scouting and recruitment as well as the promise of investment and a guaranteed financial commitment.
Football is no ordinary business though, so wooing the ultras can be more difficult than convincing businessmen or even the majority of the fans. In Breda, CFG’s attempts to win over everyone have so far not paid off.
Looking at what has happened at other clubs bought by CFG including Lommel and Troyes has brought fears of an erosion of identity, with the same strength of local pride that first attracted City to NAC seen as in danger of being whitewashed in favor of a model copied and pasted by a global company. A presentation made by CFG selling themselves to fans was witheringly described by one who heard it as ‘their standard Powerpoint translated into Dutch’.
Even if that is not the majority view, the concerns of some supporters reflect wider issues about identity that continue to be prevalent in society; having opted to leave the European Union in 2016, the UK still finds immigration to be a major issue among voters. CFG have put together an ambitious plan for Breda and is offering a path to success, but not all fans are sure it is a price worth paying if it means having to get behind players and coaches imported into their club having had no previous connection rather than local talent that understands the fabric of the city.
For Thijs Kreuzen and the B Side Rats, one of the main fan groups, the worry is that the local figures invested in the club will be replaced by CFG people parachuted in who have no connection with the city.
“The diehard supporters say ‘This is my club, this is my city, this is part of my religion, I’m going to fight for this. In the end, if it was a fair process and it went through the books and City was the last one to buy the club maybe it is time for people to move on and accept it but at the minute people think this is not alright. We don’t want to be one of the 12 [CFG clubs] rather than a unique club. Maybe it can work out but we don’t see it.
“When you see they already did with other clubs in installing new staff and leadership, stuff like that, in our youth squad there are a lot of players who have a history with the club.
“Two of the assistants and the head coach have a big history with the club, they retired and started their training career and are now at Under-14 and Under-16 level. That is also the identity of the club. If you’re going to replace that, what is left of the identity of the club?”
CFG sources insist that there are no plans to strip away the fabric – it is that that has attracted them to the buying opportunity anyway, as well as the need at NAC Breda to find bidders. But while there are other bidders interested – and especially with local building contractor Karel Vrolijk being one of those – then the Manchester horse is never going to be the most popular in the race.
“He is a 60-year-old constructor with no kids and his company makes a lot of money,” explained Kreuzen. “It is a big company and some people may say he doesn’t have the money but for now in the next five years, he wants to invest €20m so you have steps to build on and you can profit in another way.
“Maybe after five years, he sells his company and then has a lot more money? The rumors going on are that after he dies he wants to give the stocks back to the club and then you don’t have an owner anymore. That is the ultimate fairytale.”
The key to CFG winning over the remaining skeptics – those that can be won over, anyway – will be communication. An open letter on Tuesday evening pledged publicly to work with shareholders, but it will take time and investment to convince everyone that there is a clear, specific plan that can allow the best things about NAC Breda to shine.
There are examples of CFG adapting to the different environments of each club they take over, and they are viewed by the majority as positive owners; they would not have had the success they had had without such support.
But, as they may find out again on Friday when the team is next in action, whatever reality they propose it can be very hard for a while to stop people from dreaming of a fairytale.
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