Reporters William Pomp and Jonathan Ploeg write each other weekly about ‘their’ club in the premier league. This time it is about the dirty game around Dick Lukkien and the shelf life of the trainer at FC Emmen.
Hi Jonathan,
Do they remember the proverb in Emmen ‘he who digs a pit for someone else, falls in it himself’? Was reminded when the news leaked out on Sunday morning just before the Derby van het Noorden that Dick Lukkien will be the new trainer of FC Groningen next season.
Wouter Gudde immediately suspected malicious intent from Southeast Drenthe. Creating chaos just before the kick-off of a crucial game, while the agreement was not to release the news until after the weekend. I now have enough indications to assume that the director of FC Groningen is not far from the truth.
On the one hand I think, what a dirty game from FC Emmen. On the other hand, I understand that in the middle of a death throes, all means are allowed. At FC Groningen they didn’t do it very smartly either, certainly not in light of the fact that there were already suspicions that they would be caught.
After the deal was finalized, they should have informed players and staff internally in addition to trainer Dennis van der Ree about the impending appointment. Then the chance that the news would have come out too early would have been greater, but at least those directly involved would have been informed. Now it came most inconvenient and like a bolt from the blue, especially for staffers whose jobs are at stake.
Anyway. In hindsight it is nice to live, they say in our region. I think that FC Groningen would have gone down against sc Heerenveen anyway. The old ailment of complete collapse after a setback resurfaced. Apart from all this, I am very happy with the arrival of Dick Lukkien. A real Groninger who has proven to be able to make a team play football beautifully. Players love him, he knows FC Groningen inside out and has enough flying hours in the premier league to lead a club of this size. How nice do you want it? Stay in the Premier League for now.
Goodbye again, William
Hi William,
What a weekend it was again, huh? Both FC Emmen and FC Groningen got to the pants, Euroborg was startled by a so-called supporter who slapped Jetro Willems and then there was indeed that soap about Dick Lukkien on Sunday morning. It’s been more boring, let’s just say.
Provided: I wish Lukkien the transfer to FC Groningen. How could it be otherwise? He has brought FC Emmen quite a bit since his arrival in 2016. Under his leadership, the club was promoted to the premier league twice, won the championship in the first division and the audience regularly saw entertaining football. The stadium is sold out almost every game for a reason. It is understandable that Lukkien now wants to investigate what he can do with a better quality selection, at a club with more options. A wish he expressed more than once.
At the same time, I think an unworkable situation has arisen, now that it is known that after this season he will start working for the major competitor in the fight against relegation. I am convinced that Lukkien is professional enough to do everything he can to keep FC Emmen in the Eredivisie, although a voice in the back of his mind will wish that FC Groningen will also be retained for the highest level. That’s not the point. What matters is that from now on he has appearances against every decision and every result. You just don’t want that.
It is not without reason that technical manager Mike Willems has announced that he will evaluate whether there is still sufficient support for Lukkien to stay on until the end of this season. Such unrest can unnecessarily distract from priority number one, which is survival. An early departure would therefore not seem illogical to me. But whatever the outcome will be, I hope that it will be accompanied by dignity and respect and that what has been achieved in Emmen and the surrounding area over the past seven years will not be ignored.
See you later, Jonathan