Henk Fraser will have to ‘think carefully’ about his future if Henk van Stee decides to leave Sparta Rotterdam. On Monday it became clear that the technical director is at odds with general manager Manfred Laros: after a mutual conversation, Van Stee would have left the stadium furious. In the run-up to the away game against AZ on Sunday, it is therefore mainly about the administrative crisis at Het Kasteel.
It General Newspaper Fraser and Van Stee already mentioned ‘two hands on one stomach’: the trainer and director will support each other at all times. It is therefore possible that Fraser would decide to follow Van Stee’s footsteps. However, it is not that far yet. “I have to think carefully about that. But I assume that it will be solved,” the trainer tells RTV Rijnmond. “I came to Sparta based on Henk’s ideas. Is that possible if he leaves? I am faced with a dilemma if things go wrong, but that is the worst scenario.”
Fraser says he works ‘excellent’ with Van Stee, but at the same time has a ‘fantastic professional relationship’ with the player group. “I can say that friendships have also developed with certain players. So when it comes to that, that is a choice you have to make. Are you loyal to the plan (of Henk van Stee, ed.) or is the loyalty towards a bigger player group?” Fraser realizes that conflict is normal in football. “Sometimes one person is slightly stimulated, then you drink a glass of wine and it will be fine. That also happened between Van Stee and me. That is normal in sport.”
The situation between Van Stee and Laros escalated on Monday. Laros would be disturbed by the fact that Van Stee speaks publicly about amounts in the media. Van Stee is of the opinion that Laros should be allowed to take more financial risks. Sparta is currently in sixteenth place in the Eredivisie with ten points. The club has only won two of their fourteen games. Van Stee is of the opinion that the current situation could have been avoided if he had been allowed onto the market earlier in the summer with the transfer millions for Abdou Harroui, which were due at that time.
Harroui seemed to be heading for the exit all summer, but his departure was only smoothed out on the final day of the transfer market. Formally, he is leased for half a million euros to Sassuolo, which must exercise an option to buy three million if certain conditions are met. In the summer, Sparta also sold Laros Duarte on deadline day, which went to FC Groningen for 650,000 euros. Intended purchases such as Wouter Burger, Tijjani Reijnders and Oussama Darfalou did not come at the last minute, making it a frustrating transfer summer for the Rotterdam team.