Chelsea’s relationship with Dutch side, Vitesse Arnhem has been a controversial one, to say the least. Has it worked? Does it benefit them in any way?
To get more of a perspective on how the mood is among Vitesse supporters we quizzed FourFourTwo’s Joe Brewin, who spent time at Vitesse, writing the feature ‘What’s it like to be a feeder club?’
Here is what Joe had to say about the link between the two clubs.
You described the mood among Vitesse fans as a mixed one, how challenging is it for them to accept the tag of being Chelsea’s ‘sister club’?
It’s mixed, sure, but the overriding mood I found was a very successful one towards Chelsea – and always has been. To understand that it’s first a good idea to understand the situation in Dutch football, a league financially dominated by a couple of clubs, where the also-rans really struggle. The only thing that Vitesse fans really cared about was making sure that Chelsea’s kids didn’t keep theirs out of the team – but that hasn’t really happened. One of their recent youths, right-back Kevin Diks, has joined Fiorentina this summer.
Vitesse’s old manager Peter Bosz told me that he was never forced to play any of the Chelsea players, and that’s showed in the fact that only a couple of them last season really played (Lewis Baker, who is clearly excellent, and Izzy Brown). As such, Vitesse fans are pretty happy that they get some good players – better than the ones they could otherwise have attracted.
It’s rival fans who have a problem with it – but then the landscape is changing for them too. Manchester City have linked up with NAC Breda for five years, while Vitesse’s closest rivals Nijmegen (and fiercest critics) took Todd Kane last season. Will any of them be complaining?
Chelsea were one of the first clubs to establish major relationships with clubs abroad, whereas now it’s much more common. Do you think that played a part in the mockery of the situation?
If it’s an alien concept to people then that generally comes with scrutiny. From the outside it’s easy to see a one-way relationship: Big Bad Chelsea sending whoever they want to Little Old Vitesse, and treating them like a dumping ground. But it’s not like that at all, from what I could gather.
Chelsea have had varied amounts of success from their time sending players to Holland. How much longer do you see the connection continuing?
I don’t see why it would stop anytime soon – it’s more a case of developing it now. The one thing Vitesse fans wanted to see most – and this was a widespread view – was the better Chelsea players spending more than just a season there. It’s no good for them, a Europe-chasing club, to get new players who take time to adjust and then see them leave a few months later. You’ve seen that with Baker and Nathan re-joining them this summer.
Really, the relationship has been developing from the start. There was a point when Vitesse probably didn’t know who they were getting on loan, but through very regular dialogue with Michael Emanalo & Co. they’ve been able to identify players they want and get better picks.
How much of the player’s time at the club can potentially be defined on their ability to embed themselves into the club, the country and the culture?
They have to throw themselves into it, but that goes for every player trying to settle abroad. From what I gather, last season’s Chelsea youngsters did just that: you’ll see an anecdote in the feature about Baker and Brown attending a Christmas event for the fans, cooking in the kitchen and serving drinks on the door.
For some players it’s just a case of going at the right time, though: for Sam Hutchinson it definitely wasn’t. He’d just had a newborn child, was injured, and didn’t realise he was only going out there to get fit. Moving abroad at that point of his life was always going to be tough for him.
Finally, would you describe the link as a successful one?
Definitely. Chelsea make sure their players get regular football at a decent level, and Vitesse get players that are normally out of their reach. It’s a two-way relationship, and that’s probably the best thing you can measure it by.
