| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Robertus Petrus van der Laan[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1968-09-05)5 September 1968 (age 57) | ||
| 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 formerfootball player andmanager.
He began his playing career in his native Netherlands withEerste Divisie clubSchiedamse Voetbal Vereniging in 1987 before moving on toWageningen in 1990. In 1991, he moved to England to play forPort Vale, where after four seasons as one of the club's key players, he was sold on toDerby County. He won theFootball League Trophy with Vale in1993, and wonpromotion out of theSecond Division in1993–94. He also won promotion out of theFirst Division with Derby in1995–96. In 1998, hetransferred toBarnsley, where he saw out his professional playing career until his retirement due to injury in 2001. He made 315 appearances in a ten-year career in theEnglish Football League.
As acoach, he directed his own football school in Canada and was a senior coach forManchester United Soccer Schools before he was appointed manager ofNewcastle Town in February 2018. He stayed in the role for five years.
Van der Laan started his career atEerste Divisie sideSchiedamse Voetbal Vereniging in 1987. The club finished in mid-table in1987–88 and1988–89, before winningpromotion to theEredivisie as1989–90 Eerste Divisie champions. However, he remained in the Dutch second tier as he switched toWageningen midway through the 1989–90 season. In four years in theNetherlands, he played 59 games for SVV and 27 for Wageningen. He decided to leave his home country after picking up a 14-match ban from the Dutch leagues.[3]
He was signed by EnglishSecond Division sidePort Vale in February 1991 for a fee of £80,000 after impressing on trial.[4] Initially signed as astriker,managerJohn Rudge converted him into a bustling, hard-tackling, goalscoringmidfielder.[5] Instantly recognisable for his mane oflong 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 18 games in1990–91.[4]
He made 49 appearances in1991–92, scoring six goals, including a strike in front of theKop in a 2–2League Cup draw withLiverpool. Despite his contribution, Vale wererelegated, though due to the creation of thePremier League, theThird Division became the Second Division. He made 53 appearances in1992–93, scoring ten goals, helping the "Valiants" to both theFootball League Trophy final and theplay-off final. Vale beatStockport County 2–1 in the cup final atWembley, but lost 3–0 toWest Bromwich Albion in the play-off final. However, he sometimes failed to make the starting eleven due to the form of central midfield rivalsAndy Porter,Ian Taylor andPaul Kerr, and submitted atransfer request in February 1993 to find first-team football elsewhere.[7]
Vale went on to win promotion into theFirst Division in1993–94, following a second-place finish. He was again a key player atVale Park in1994–95, as the club retained their second-tier status. However, his good looks and popularity with the Vale fans saw him targeted by themore thuggish element ofrivalsStoke City. He was punched in the face whilst inside apizza andkebab house inNewcastle-under-Lyme on 18 June 1995.[4]
In the summer of 1995, Van der Laan was sold toDerby County for a fee of £475,000 plusLee Mills. He was madecaptain by managerJim Smith and was an influential member of the team. He scored the goal which sealed promotion to thePremier League in1996 – this made him a permanent fan favourite. He made 21 appearances for the "Rams" in1996–97, and also spent October and November onloan at First DivisionWolverhampton Wanderers, playing seven games. Injury limited him to 13 appearances in1997–98, his final season atPride Park.
Van der Laan signed forBarnsley in summer 1998 for a fee of £325,000. He played twenty games for the First Division club in1998–99, scoring twice. He made 37 appearances in1999–2000, as the "Tykes" reached theplay-offs, only to lose 4–2 toIpswich Town inthe final. He played 22 games in2000–01 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 forNewcastle Town, after coming out of retirement in September 2003.[9]
Van der Laan spent most of his career as a box-to-boxmidfielder, having spent his early days as aforward.[3] He was an excellentset piece taker and had good hard tackling, precisionpassing and sharpshooting abilities.[10][11] A brave and aggressive player, he was well suited to the English game.[12]
Van der Laan worked as the Head InternationalCoach forManchester United Soccer Schools. He set up The Robin van der Laan Soccer School and Academy in Canada. He was appointed assistant manager atNewcastle Town in May 2014.[13] He was taken ill whilst coaching for Manchester United inSaudi Arabia in May 2016 and underwent heart surgery.[14]
On 26 February 2018, Van der Laan was appointed as manager at Newcastle Town, who were then fifth-bottom of theNorthern Premier League Division One South.[15] The "Castle" finished third-bottom at the end of the2017–18 season, then 15th in the Division One West in2018–19 and were 17th in the Division One South-East by the time the2019–20 season was abandoned due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in England. The2020–21 season was also abandoned. Newcastle finished 16th and 15th in the Northern Premier League Division One West in the2021–22 and2022–23 seasons. He resigned as manager in the summer of 2023, though he remained as a director at the club.[16]
His son, Tommy, playednon-League football for Newcastle Town.[17]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| SVV[19] | 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[19] | 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 | ||
Port Vale
Derby County
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