The Royal Redemption

Whitehawk FC today confirmed that Piet Velthuizen and Stephan Fürstner are both currently on trial with the club, after being released by Vitesse Arnheim and Greuter Fürth respectively in the summer. Manager Prince William will be evaluating the two players and assess whether they would be risks worth taking to bring them in to his squad for the season.

Piet Velthuizen - GK

Age: 33 (03/11/1986)
Nationality: Dutch
Position: Goalkeeper
Previous Clubs: Vittese Arnhem (NED) 2006-2010 & 2011-2020, Hércules CF (ESP) 2010-2011
National Caps: 1

Piet Velthuizen is a very experienced shot stopped from Holland. Having broke in to the first-team picture of Vitesse in 2006, he became first-choice the following season and has clocked up 283 league appearances for his club. He had a brief spell in Liga BBVA for Herculés in the 2010/2011 season but returned to his old club the following season after failing to play more than three times in the league. Injuries distorted Velthuizen's last season at Vitesse and he let his contract expire in order to explore a new challenge. Would Whitehawk be the right fit for him? He would have stiff competition for a starting spot with Elliot Parish and Ross Fitzsimons both performing well in recent seasons.

Stephan Fürstner - DM

Age: 33 (11/09/1987)
Nationality: German
Position: Defensive Midfielder/Central Midfielder
Previous Clubs: FC Bayern München (GER) 2002-2009, SpVgg Greuther Fürth (GER) 2009-2020
National Caps: 0

Stephan Fürstner was a product of the Bayern Munich academy but despite playing 76 times for the second team, only managed a single appearance in the Bundesliga for the first team. In 2009, he moved to Greuther Fürth where he became an important player for the second division side. They enjoyed a single season in the Bundesliga in 2012/2013 before being relegated once more. However, Stephan Fürstner's defensive work in midfield had earned him a lot of praise and he was appointed as captain in 2016. He lead his side to promotion back to the Bundesliga in 2017 where they enjoyed three seasons before facing relegation once again last season. Stephan Fürstner decided it was time to move on and ended his contract with the club. He comes in on trial as Prince William looks to add defensive stability to his midfield following humbling defeats to Chelsea and Liverpool early in the season. Would Stephan Fürstner be a good signing?

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Previous Update: Season Seven: August
Next Update: William: We Were Not Humiliated

Honestly can't see Fürstner being a good signing. His technicals are shoddy, and while has awesome mentals his physicals are just not up to BPL standard.

However, goalkeepers are known to ripen in their old(er) age and Velthuizen has all the attributes to add to your squad - definitely better than Elliot Parish

2015-02-20 06:41#208508 Walter : Honestly can't see Fürstner being a good signing. His technicals are shoddy, and while has awesome mentals his physicals are just not up to BPL standard.

However, goalkeepers are known to ripen in their old(er) age and Velthuizen has all the attributes to add to your squad - definitely better than Elliot Parish

We'll have to wait and see

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Big defeats at the hands of Chelsea and Liverpool have left Whitehawk in the relegation zone after the opening three games of the league season. Not even a point against Tottenham was enough for them to climb out of the bottom three positions as Whitehawk's lack of Premier League quality has shown against the league's biggest teams. However, manager Prince William does not believe that his team was humiliated during any game this season.

Prince William: "No we were not humiliated at all. We were well beaten, yes, but we were not humiliated. You have to consider the size of the teams which we lost to. Chelsea were Champions League finalists last season, in case you had forgotten. Of course they were always going to be favourites against a newly promoted team. Have you looked at their squad? It screams world class talent. They are a big club. The same can be said for Liverpool, especially at Anfield. We were always on the back foot, yes, but we showed some glimpses of quality too. Our defenders played bravely and cut out a lot of chances, and our attackers showed brief glimpses of hunger as they made some very good attacking moves.

Unfortunately we were out-powered by these teams but we were certainly not humiliated. We showed just how good we are with that draw against Tottenham, a club vying for a top four spot! We had them under pressure for most of the game and we were perhaps unlucky not to have gotten more out of the game. Zach Clough took his goal wonderfully and our performance in that game typified the hard work which we put in during pre-season to prepare for this season."

Prince William believes that his side will soon pick up their form and put more points on the board in order to stage a rise to breach the relegation zone barrier and avoid the drop.

Prince William: "We are now four games in to our season and we are starting to adjust to the demands of the Premier League. We still have two or three more players to come in on free transfers before our squad is fully complete and Junior (Stanislas) and Medo will be back from injury very soon. With our squad coming together very well now, we can focus on improving our performances and with a bit of luck we could see us climbing the table very soon. There will be no easy game this season, for sure, but we will be damned if we don't try to avoid the drop!"

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Previous Update: Experienced Duo On Trial At Hawks
Next Update: Whitehawk Strengthen With Talented Trio

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After a tough opening month to the league season, Prince William felt that more signings were needed and he called upon Piet Velthuizen, Stephan Fürstner and Dabney dos Santos Souza to strengthen his squad to push for safety. All three come in on free transfers after being released from Vitesse, Greuther Fürth and AZ Alkmaar respectively.

25. Piet Velthuizen - GK

Fee: £0
Signed From: Free Transfer
Squad Role: Rotation

I felt that with the demand and pressures of the Premier League, one more cool-head would do my squad no harm and Velthuizen comes in to challenge Elliot Parish and Ross Fitzsimons for a starting spot. This guy brings a lot of experience and intelligence to the table and is a good leader too. He is a good character to have in the dressing room and a solid goalkeeper on the pitch. While he is not so great in the air, he has no other faults and is a solid purchase for our squad.

Value For Money:

21. Stephan Fürstner - DM

Fee: £0
Signed From: Free Transfer
Squad Role: Key Player

Experience and intelligence was my main reason behind this transfer as Stephan joins for free. With four years of experience as a captain at his old club, Fürstner will certainly be an inspirational figure to have in the dressing room. He is surprisingly fit for his age and his versatility makes him a good asset to have. He is a solid defensive midfield player and will be key to our survival hopes.

Value For Money:

13. Dabney dos Santos Souza

Fee: £0
Signed From: Free Transfer
Squad Role: Key Player

Once considered to be one of Holland's up-and-coming superstars, Dabney was a hot prospect at AZ Alkmaar and a key player in midfield too. He clocked up a total of 106 league appearances for AZ, scoring 6 and assisting 19. His last season was in the Jupiler League after relegation and Dabney's ambition saw him want to move to bigger things. He let his contract expire and many clubs came knocking. Luckily for us, he chose Whitehawk. He is very, very good on the ball and his passing range is excellent. While he may be a little selfish, his determination will see this and other attributes improve and he is an excellent addition to our squad.

Value For Money:

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Previous Update: William: We Were Not Humiliated
Next Update: Season Seven: September

Results

League Match vs Hull (A) 13/09/2020: Unfortunately for us we could not make it three games unbeaten as a Danny Ings-inspired Hull City won 2-0. Truth be told, they started the game way more comfortably than we did and Danny Ings opened the scoring after a quarter of an hour. While we did grow in to the game, the English striker added his second of the game in the second half to seal the win. We played quite well but we didn't take our chances while they took their's.
Man Of The Match: Danny Ings (Hull)

League Match vs Newcastle (H) 19/09/2020: Back at home, we could not break down a sturdy Newcastle side. A solid back four and midfield quenched our attacks and a fine goal from Danish midfielder Philip Billing midway through the first half proved to be the winner for Newcastle United as we suffered our fourth loss of the season.
Man Of The Match: Vurnon Anita (Newcastle)

Capital One Cup Match vs Aston Villa (A) 22/09/2020: After back-to-back loses, we looked to make amends in the cup. We attacked right from the off and were on the front foot for most of the first half. Twenty-five minutes in, we were leading thanks to a goal from Callum Saunders and James McClean excellently doubled our lead in stoppage time of the first half. A Scott Tanser penalty seemed to have killed off the game for us after an hour but a brace from young striker Stefan Gyselinck gave Villa hope with fifteen minutes remaining. Luckily, we saw off the final quarter of an hour and progressed with our second win of the cup and of the season.
Man Of The Match: Humam Tariq (Aston Villa)

League Match vs Norwich (A) 26/09/2020: It was a very even game at Carrow Road as two newly promoted sides clashed. Unfortunately for us, our shooting was off as we wasted chance-after-chance. Brave defending saw us keep our first cleansheet of the season and earn a precious point away from home.
Man Of The Match: John Brayford (Whitehawk)

Overall: I'm a little disappointed that we only mustered one point from this month but that being said, it has doubled our points tally for the season! We found it very difficult to cope with pace in the opening couple of games and I will have to look at a way of dealing with this is we are going to survive this season successfully.

Player Of The Month

The arrival of Piet Velthuizen has not fazed Elliot Parish who has claimed the prize this month. While he did concede three goals in the three league games, he did perform very well and made a number of top-notch saves to keep the scores down. Hopefully he can continue his form to help us achieve our goals this season and to keep his place in the starting eleven.

Elliot Parish's Season Stats
Appearances: 6
Clean Sheets: 1
Goals Conceded: 11
MotM Awards: 0

Yellow Cards: 0
Red Cards: 0

Goals Conceded Per Game: 1.83
Pass Completion Ratio: 68%
Fouls Committed: 0
Fouls Against: 0

Average Rating: 6.85

Barclays Premier League

Nothing changes in the bottom three as we remain 19th with Southampton below us and Fulham one place above us. In my opinion, it is still too early to comment on the league table and so I will not. Hopefully we will climb out of the bottom three sooner rather than later, though.

October Fixtures

We host fellow strugglers Southampton before we then host the reigning champions Manchester City. This is followed by a tough trip to Swansea before we go to Stamford Bridge to play Chelsea in the Capital One Cup. We round off the month with another London trip as we play away to Fulham in the league. This is another very tough month and I don't see us picking up very many points.

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Previous Update: Whitehawk Strengthen Their Squad With Talented Trio
Next Update: William: Embargoes Forced Mid-Season Signings

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Whitehawk signed a total of nine players during the summer transfer window, spending a total of £125k. However, the club has been in "take-over talks" for over twelve months and during this time, there have been several transfer embargoes placed upon the club. Despite a high number of suitors showing interest in the club, chairman Jim Collins is yet to find a buyer, making these transfer embargoes rather wasteful and inconvenient for manager Prince William.

Prince William: "We have had a number of transfer embargoes placed on us by the chairman while he has been in talks with potential buyers. Unfortunately for us staff, we cannot bring in players during this time which stalled our activity in the summer significantly. Had we been able to purchase more players, you would have seen the likes of Piet Velthuizen, Stephan Fürstner and Dabney join us before the season has started, rather than in the middle of September. This has been frustrating for us and has been difficult to work around.

Of course, I don't blame Jim Collins for placing these embargoes on us. He has to do it if he is going to sell the club. Unfortunately for him there has not been a single person who has shown significant interest in the club and we're still in the same stage as we were a year ago. For the life of me, I cannot imagine why nobody would want to buy this club. We have shown a rapid increase in revenue and reputation over the last six seasons and we are very much a club on the rise. Perhaps our early season results have not been too appetising but the value of the club is increasing every day because of the league which we are in. Even if we get relegated, we will still be increasing in value due to amazing income."

Prince William believes that the experience of the three new signings will help lead his struggling Whitehawk side out of the relegation zone and in to safety. He also described their determination to be "second-to-none" and has praised their hunger for success.

Prince William: "The guys I brought in have a great amount of experience in them, even Dabney who is still quite a young footballer. Stephan Fürstner was a very successful club captain at his old club for years while Piet (Velthuizen) and Dabney have both worn the armband at times. Their determination to succeed is second-to-none in this league and they are very hungry for success here. They push themselves to the limit each and every day in training to improve themselves and this rubs off on the other players. They have been influential characters in our dressing room so far and there is plenty more to come from them."

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Previous Update: Season Seven: September
Next Update: Season Seven: October

Results

League Match vs Southampton (H) 04/10/2020: In a game where we had a reasonable amount of control and chances, we came out with nothing to show for it. Nathan Redmond was in form for The Saints and scored the only goal of the game after thirty minutes before they were brought down to ten men after Abdoulaye was sent off before half-time. Despite this, we couldn't capitalise as we missed several Clear Cut Chances and Southampton ran away with all three points.
Man Of The Match: Nathan Redmond (Southampton)

League Match vs Man City (H) 17/10/2020: We hosted another giant in the form of Manchester City who dominated the game from kick-off. Domenico Berardi was the man in-form and he indeed netter a classy hat-trick against us in a game which his side dominated. We did score a consolation goal, however, as Liam Kelly scored the rebound of a penalty which he originally had saved by the experienced Joe Hart.
Man Of The Match: Domenico Berardi (Man City)

League Match vs Swansea (A) 24/10/2020: Low on confidence, we made a number of changes to our line-up as we travelled to Swansea. We took the game to them and got just-rewards as new boy Stephan Furstner netted his first goal of the club with a volley from a corner. He then had the chance to double his tally when he was one-on-one with the keeper just moments later but he struck the post. He did score again with one minute remaining, however, as he poked home from a McClean cross to secure us our first league win of the season.
Man Of The Match: Billy Roast (Whitehawk)

Capital One Cup Match vs Chelsea (A) 27/10/2020: It was back to losing ways as Chelsea defeated us in the COC at Stamford Bridge. However, we were much improved this time around and it did look like we were going to snatch a victory for much of the game after an early Stanislas opener. However, Schurrle and Giménez scored in the second half to take the Blues through.
Man Of The Match: Medo (Whitehawk)

League Match vs Fulham (A) 31/10/2020: As the season progressed, we began to look a little more comfortable in each game. This showed against Fulham as an early Scott Tanser penalty gave us the lead. We were moments away from claiming all three points until, quite literally out of nowhere, Fulham defender Craig Dawson produces the most sensational of bicycle kick goals in the 93rd minute to level the game and deny us a second consecutive league victory.
Man Of The Match: Craig Dawson (Fulham)

Overall: Overall, I cannot be too disappointed with my side. We lost as expected to Man City and Chelsea and while we did not win against Southampton and Fulham, we played some good football and probably deserved more than what we got. We were fantastic against Swansea and our best performance of the season produced our best result of the season.

Player Of The Month

New signing Stephan Furstner was without a doubt our best player this month. He was a true inspiration in our midfield. The German defender protected our back four very well and his brace against Swansea gave us a new found hope and belief.

Stephan Furstner's Season Stats
Appearances: 9
Goals: 2
Assists: 0
MotM Awards: 0

Yellow Cards: 4
Red Cards: 0

Pass Completion Ratio: 81%
Tackles Per Game: 4.86
Fouls Committed: 19
Fouls Against: 5

Average Rating: 6.89

Barclays Premier League

Nothing changes in the bottom three as we remain 19th in the table. Swansea sit below us on goal difference while Southampton have climbed above us. Ten games in, the league table is beginning to take shape. Worryingly for us, it sees us in the relegation zone. We will need to begin putting results on the board in order to climb out of the dreaded drop zone.

November Fixtures

Out of the Capital One Cup, we just have three BPL games to look forward to. The Arsenal trip will most certainly be our most difficult so far this season but I am hoping for somewhat positive results against Everton and QPR. Hopefully our fortunes can change.

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Previous Update: William: Embargoes Forced Mid-Season Signings
Next Update: Whitehawk Striker Suffering From Depression

You had a tough month and another one is on the way, I hope you get some nice results against Arsenal and Everton! I like your writing.

2015-02-22 18:35#208774 Oz96 : You had a tough month and another one is on the way, I hope you get some nice results against Arsenal and Everton! I like your writing.

Thanks! Yeah, it will be a tough month but I have faith in my players to begin performing

A win is on the board!
Now for a few more, then you can push on for safety.

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With all the developments made in the medical department since the age of the Black Plague, there still remains one area where doctors are unable to prevent illness. This is a person's mental health. One such person struggling from mental issues is Whitehawk forward Zach Clough, who has admitted to suffering depression and cannot cope well with the current pressure on his shoulders. The English forward has not been in the greatest form, having scored just twice in thirteen games so far this season.

Zach Clough: "It has been an almighty struggle for me so far this season. I have been battling with depression for the last few seasons and while I thought I had won the fight, it struck me again recently. It has made me struggle with life and especially in football and I have not been able to perform on the pitch as a result. My confidence is gone and my strike rate is proving of that.

It is something which I have perhaps faced as a child. I was always very lonely as a kid and never had that many friends but football was my escape route. I found a lot of happiness in football and it has helped me get through the mental barriers at times. But when I'm not playing all too well, it brings me down and in to depression and that is what is happening to me now. I've not had a good start to the season by any means and I have let a lot of people down, including myself. I know that the longer I continue to play poorly, the worse I'll be mentally. Right now, I'm finding life very difficult and it hurts me a lot."

Manager Prince William has shown his support to the under-pressure striker and has promised to do whatever he can to help Zach Clough to recuperate fully and to get back on his feet.

Prince William: "Depression is a hard thing to take in and it is very unfortunate for Zach (Clough) to be dealing with it. Here at Whitehawk, we'll be doing everything we can to support him and to nurture him while he deals with his struggles. He wants to keep playing and to try to prove his worth to the side and we want him in the team. His strike rate hasn't been as good as he would have hoped but I know Zach and I know that once he gets firing, he will be impossible to stop. We just need to continue to show faith in him and he will produce the goods. He is capable of becoming a leading goalscorer in this division, he just needs to find his happy place."

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Previous Update: Season Seven: October
Next Update: Season Seven: November

Poor Zac Clough.

Results

League Match vs Everton (H) 07/11/2020: If there was a single game where we could say we deserved to win by ten, it was this game. We played the best football that we ever have against Everton. The in-form Junior Stanislas struck twice with deadly precision in the first half but Everton did pull one back before half-time through Diego Rubio. We continued our onslaught on the Merseysiders and Stanislas teed up Kevin Griffiths to seal the win with a long-range curling effort. We brought home the three points in style and fully deserved this victory.
Man Of The Match: Junior Stanislas (Whitehawk)

League Match vs Arsenal (A) 21/11/2020: We were always going to be up against it when playing Arsenal but we surprised ourselves when Martin Remacle scored to give us a surprise lead. However, this was quickly cut out as Aaron Ramsey scored two penalties within ten minutes of our goal. Second half goals from Óliver and Jason Chase sealed a win for Arsenal in a scoreline which was probably very flattering for them. The game was a lot closer than the scoreline suggests.
Man Of The Match: Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal)

League Match vs Q.P.R. (A) 28/11/2020: Under David Moyes, QPR have transformed in to a lethal team and they proved that by taking the lead early through Kike. However, under-pressure striker Zach Clough scored his third goal of the season for us and almost had a second before half-time when he struck the post from range. It was an even game which ended in a fair draw. We happily took the point home.
Man Of The Match: Zach Clough (Whitehawk)

Overall: I am absolutely ecstatic with our performances this month. Our win over Everton was superb and delightful to watch while we played very well against both Arsenal and QPR, away from home. Performances like that will see us go a long way in the future, if we start to take our chances better.

Player Of The Month

This award could not go to anybody but Junior Stanislas. The experienced English winger was in top form this month as he scored a brace and assisted one against Everton. He was at the heart of all our attacks this month and even made Arsenal's defenders look poor at times. He has been a true creative force for us this season and you can expect plenty more exciting performances from this man.

Junior Stanislas' Season Stats
Appearances: 12
Goals: 3
Assists: 3
MotM Awards: 1

Yellow Cards: 0
Red Cards: 0

Pass Completion Ratio: 72%
Dribbles Per Game: 1.80
Fouls Committed: 6
Fouls Against: 14

Average Rating: 6.91

Barclays Premier League

Our good month has seen us climb out of the relegation spots in to 17th. We are nowhere near being safe just yet but it is very positive to see us move away from trouble. We are the lowest scoring team in the league which does need to change and we will do everything we can to change it.

December Fixtures

It is a very big month for us next month as we play six league games over the festive period. Our big games include hosting Aston Villa and trips to Reading, West Ham and Manchester United. I'm hoping to pick up a few more points this month but it will be very tough for us.

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Previous Update: Whitehawk Striker Suffering From Depression
Next Update: Legend Calls Time On Whitehawk Career

Apart from United, all those games are a must 3 points