Van Persie joins his former club as they sit fourth in the table, any hopes of catching their fierce rivals Ajax at the top of the table dashed at this stage in the season.
The Dutch record-goalscorer’s arrival at De Kuip has drawn mixed reactions from the fan base. Many are excited to see a popular name return to the club, with the “Flying Dutchman” having come through the youth ranks at Feyenoord in the early 2000s before returning to the club to finish his career, hanging up his boots in 2019. Other fans have shown a justifiable degree of scepticism towards the appointment of the former Premier League golden boot winner, pointing to his underwhelming managerial record thus far.
Led many to question if he is just another former player whose name is preceding his abilities as a coach
The top job at Feyenoord will be the Dutchman’s second managerial position in the senior men’s game, having spent the first half of the season in charge of fellow Eredivisie side Heerenveen. Van Persie left the club mid table following a bumpy spell in charge of “De Superfriezen”. A lack of investment in the first team squad and a failure to replace star player Osmane Sahraoui left the Dutchman with an uphill task heading into the new season. Given the circumstances, a mid-table position was far from underwhelming for Heerenveen, however a 9-1 thrashing at the hands of AZ Alkmaar in mid-September and a defeat to third tier amateur side Quick Boys in the Dutch Cup in January has led many to question if he is just another former player whose name is preceding his abilities as a coach.
The Van Persie era at Feyenoord commenced with a dreadful 0-0 draw at De Kuip against a struggling N.E.C. Nijmegen. The Rotterdam side enjoyed almost three quarters of the possession over a turgid ninety minutes, however failed to create anything meaningful apart from an offside goal with ten minutes to go.
The decision to play an extremely high line allowed Feyenoord to stay in the opposition half for large swathes of the game, although it did leave them very vulnerable to the counter
Van Persie will be hoping to improve the output of his attacking players in the weeks to come, with the Feyenoord front line looking decidedly blunt against a resilient Nijmegen back line. The decision to play an extremely high line allowed Feyenoord to stay in the opposition half for large swathes of the game, although it did leave them very vulnerable to the counter. For better or for worse, the Van Persie era at Feyenoord promises to be an eventful one