Robin van der Laan
Personal information
Full name Robertus Petrus van der Laan[1]
Date of birth (1968-09-05) 5 September 1968 (age 55)
Place of birth Schiedam, South Holland, Netherlands
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[2]
Position(s) Midfielder, forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1987–1990 SVV 59 (13)
1990–1991 FC Wageningen 27 (3)
1991–1995 Port Vale 176 (24)
1995–1998 Derby County 65 (8)
1996 → Wolverhampton Wanderers (loan) 7 (0)
1998–2001 Barnsley 65 (5)
Total 401 (53)
Managerial career
2018–2023 Newcastle Town
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Robertus Petrus van der Laan (born 5 September 1968) is a Dutch former football player and manager.

He began his playing career in his native the Netherlands with Eerste Divisie club Schiedamse Voetbal Vereniging in 1987, before moving on to Wageningen in 1990. In 1991, he moved to England to play for Port Vale, where after four seasons as one of the club's key players he was sold on to Derby County. He won the Football League Trophy with Vale in 1993, and won promotion out of the Second Division in 1993–94. He also won promotion out of the First Division with Derby in 1995–96. In 1998, he transferred to Barnsley, where he saw out his professional playing career until his retirement due to injury in 2001. He made a total of 315 appearances in a ten-year career in the English Football League.

As a coach he worked as the director of his own football school in Canada and as a senior coach for Manchester United Soccer Schools, before he was appointed manager of Newcastle Town in February 2018. He stayed in the role for five years.

Playing career

Netherlands

Van der Laan started his career at Eerste Divisie side Schiedamse Voetbal Vereniging in 1987. The club finished in mid-table in 1987–88 and 1988–89, before winning promotion to the Eredivisie as 1989–90 Eerste Divisie champions. However, he remained in the Dutch second tier as he switched to Wageningen midway through the 1989–90 season. In four years in the Netherlands he played 59 games for SVV and 27 games for Wageningen. He decided to leave his home country after picking up a 14 match ban from the Dutch leagues.[3]

Port Vale

He was signed by English Second Division side Port Vale in February 1991 for a fee of £80,000 after impressing on trial.[4] Initially signed as a striker, manager John Rudge converted him into a bustling, hard-tackling, goalscoring midfielder.[5] Instantly recognisable for his mane of long blonde hair, Van der Laan soon became a popular figure with the Vale fans, his bustling style and midfield engine enabled him to settle into the English game very quickly,[6] as he hit four goals in eighteen games in 1990–91.[4]

He made 49 appearances in 1991–92, scoring six goals, including a strike in front of the Kop in a 2–2 League Cup draw with Liverpool. Despite his contribution, Vale were relegated, though due to the creation of the Premier League, the Third Division became the Second Division. He made 53 appearances in 1992–93, scoring ten goals, helping the "Valiants" to both the Football League Trophy final and the play-off final. Vale beat Stockport County 2–1 in the cup final at Wembley, but lost 3–0 to West Bromwich Albion in the play-off final. However, he sometimes failed to make the starting eleven due to the form of central midfield rivals Andy Porter, Ian Taylor and Paul Kerr, and submitted a transfer request in February 1993 so as to find first-team football elsewhere.[7]

Vale went on to win promotion into the First Division in 1993–94, following a second-place finish. He was again a key player at Vale Park in 1994–95, as the club retained their second tier status. However, his good looks and popularity with the Vale fans saw him targeted by the more thuggish element of rivals Stoke City and he was punched in the face whilst inside a pizza and kebab house in Newcastle-under-Lyme on 18 June 1995.[4]

Derby County

In the summer of 1995, Van der Laan was sold to Derby County for a fee of £475,000 plus Lee Mills. He was made captain by manager Jim Smith and was an influential member of the team. He scored the goal which sealed promotion to the Premier League in 1996 – this made him a permanent fan favourite. He made 21 appearances for the "Rams" in 1996–97, and also spent October and November on loan at First Division Wolverhampton Wanderers, playing seven games. Injury limited him to thirteen appearances in 1997–98, his final season at Pride Park.

Barnsley

Van der Laan signed for Barnsley in summer 1998 for a fee of £325,000. He played twenty games for the First Division club in 1998–99, scoring twice. He made 37 appearances in 1999–2000, as the "Tykes" reached the play-offs, only to lose 4–2 to Ipswich Town in the final. He played 22 games in 2000–01, before a recurring knee injury he picked up in December 2000 forced him to retire from professional football in March 2001, at the age of 32.[8] He later played for Newcastle Town, after coming out of retirement in September 2003.[9]

Style of play

Van der Laan spent most of his career as a box-to-box midfielder, having spent his early days as a forward.[3] He was an excellent set piece taker and had good hard tackling, precision passing and sharp shooting abilities.[10][11]

Coaching career

Van der Laan worked as the Head International Coach for Manchester United Soccer Schools. He set up The Robin van der Laan Soccer School and Academy in Canada. He was appointed assistant manager at Newcastle Town in May 2014.[12] He was taken ill whilst coaching for Manchester United in Saudi Arabia in May 2016 and underwent heart surgery.[13]

On 26 February 2018, Van der Laan was appointed as manager at Newcastle Town, who were then fifth-bottom of the Northern Premier League Division One South.[14] The "Castle" finished third-bottom at the end of the 2017–18 season, then 15th in the Division One West in 2018–19 and were 17th in the Division One South-East by the time the 2019–20 season was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in England. The 2020–21 season was also abandoned. Newcastle finished 16th and 15th in the Northern Premier League Division One West in the 2021–22 and 2022–23 seasons. He resigned as manager in summer 2023, though remained as a director at the club.[15]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[16]
Club Season League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
SVV[17] 1987–88 Eerste Divisie 18 1 18 1
1988–89 Eerste Divisie 26 6 26 6
1989–90 Eerste Divisie 15 6 15 6
Total 59 13 0 0 0 0 59 13
FC Wageningen[17] 1989–90 Eerste Divisie 17 2 17 2
1990–91 Eerste Divisie 10 1 10 1
Total 27 3 0 0 0 0 27 3
Port Vale 1990–91 Second Division 18 4 0 0 0 0 18 4
1991–92 Second Division 43 5 1 0 5 1 49 6
1992–93 Second Division 38 6 2 1 10 1 50 8
1993–94 Second Division 33 4 5 0 5 0 43 4
1994–95 First Division 44 5 2 0 4 0 50 5
Total 176 24 10 1 24 2 210 27
Derby County 1995–96 First Division 39 6 1 0 3 0 43 6
1996–97 Premier League 16 2 3 3 2 0 21 5
1997–98 Premier League 10 0 0 0 3 0 13 0
Total 65 8 4 3 8 0 77 11
Wolverhampton Wanderers (loan) 1996–97 First Division 7 0 0 0 0 0 7 0
Barnsley 1998–99 First Division 17 1 1 0 2 1 20 2
1999–2000 First Division 32 3 0 0 5 2 37 5
2000–01 First Division 18 1 0 0 5 1 23 2
Total 67 5 1 0 12 4 80 9
Career total 401 53 15 4 44 6 460 63

Honours

Port Vale

Derby County

References

  1. ^ "Robin van der Laan". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  2. ^ Rothmans football yearbook, 1997-98. London : Headline. 31 July 1997. ISBN 978-0-7472-7738-5.
  3. ^ a b "Cult Hero 08: Robin van der Laan". onevalefan.co.uk. 29 January 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  4. ^ a b c Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 297. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
  5. ^ "Robin van der Laan player profile". onevalefan.co.uk. 8 April 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  6. ^ Owen, Gareth (5 November 2011). "Gareth Owen: Life in League Two can be too hot to handle for some foreign imports". The Sentinel: The Green UN. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
  7. ^ Baggaley, Michael (3 March 2018). "Happy anniversary Port Vale 25 years on from Autoglass Trophy win at Stoke City". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  8. ^ "Barnsley duo forced to retire". BBC Sport. 9 March 2001. Retrieved 11 June 2009.
  9. ^ "Dutch Coup for Newcastle Town". 6 September 2003. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  10. ^ Baggaley, Michael (5 October 2013). "Chris Lines in good company when it comes to taking free-kicks". The Sentinel. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
  11. ^ Fielding, Rob (19 July 2020). "Five of the best: players converted to other positions by John Rudge". onevalefan.co.uk. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  12. ^ "Port Vale legend Robin Van der Laan made coach at Newcastle Town". The Sentinel. 8 May 2014. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
  13. ^ Baggaley, Mike (5 May 2016). "Port Vale and Derby County hero Robin van der Laan recovering after heart surgery". The Sentinel. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  14. ^ Hannah, Jim (26 February 2018). "Robin van der Laan is new manager at Newcastle Town". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  15. ^ "Club Announcement". Newcastle Town FC. 8 March 2023. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  16. ^ Robin van der Laan at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  17. ^ a b "Profile". voetbalschrijver (in Dutch). Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  18. ^ Kent, Jeff (1993). The Port Vale Record 1879–1993. Witan Books. p. 236. ISBN 0-9508981-9-8.

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