Thistle heaven as Frans finds his peace in Maryhill
IT’S not every day you hear someone describe Firhill as a bastion of stability and sanity. Then again, not every f ootballer has had to contend with what Frederic Frans has prior to arriving in Maryhill.
Born and bred in the quaint Belgian town of Lierse, the defender was living the dream when he rose to skipper his hometown team. Already with Under-20 international recognition under his belt, he was entitled t o ask what could possibly go wrong.
The answer came in the form of Egyptian businessman Maged Samy. Initially hailed as a hero by fans when took over the club and wiped out their debt, it slowly became apparent that all was not as it seemed.
From being a mainstay of a successful side, Frans gradually saw his position undermined to the point where he and other Belgians became pariah figures for the simple reason they were not Egyptian. Indeed, a year ago they found themselves in the equivalent of Siberia.
A season-long stand-off ensued during which the homegrown players could do nothing other than sit on the sidelines and wait for their contracts to run down.
While Frans realises he was purely a victim of circumstance, that year lost to the game is a wound that will truly never heal.
‘In the beginning, he was really good for the Belgian guys but then he brought 10 or 12 Egyptian players and an Egyptian coach to the club,’ Frans recalled.
‘Not that I have anything against t hese guys, but i t was my hometown club and the dressing room was more Arabic than Dutch — or even English. That felt quite strange.
‘He offered me a new contract but I said no because I wanted to wait and see what was happening as I didn’t like the way the club was going.
‘Then he went really crazy on me. He said: “You’ve been here since you were five, you have to stay here forever. If you don’t want this contract straight away, you have no respect for me.”
‘I simply wanted to see how the club was going. I told him I might have been there since the age of five, but he had only been there a couple of years. I had every right to wait. After that, he told the coach I couldn’t play for the team any more. It’s how it goes in football — the guy with the money decides.’
Frans takes no satisfaction when he looks at the current Belgian Pro League table and sees his former club sitting bottom.
He retains fond memories of much of his early time at the club but it’s hard to gloss over the many long afternoons of inactivity that preceded his exit.
He said: ‘It was sad. When I was a kid I always watched the club play and I was so proud to be captain.
‘After I was frozen out I went to every game. We were also obliged to go to the home games and I never wanted them to be able to say anything against me.
‘I had no problem with the club or my team- mates, j ust one person. The supporters liked me, too. In the last few games, he didn’t play with a single Belgian in the starting line-up. You must have at least seven in the squad for a matchday — so he put seven of them on the bench.’
Finally freed from his contract in the summer, Frans must have thought he’d seen the last of madcap owners when he plotted his next career move.
Unfortunately, Leeds United, with Massimo Cellino as chairman, was the equivalent of jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire.
A trial period seemed destined to end with a contract being penned until the eccentricities of the Italian president came into view.
‘I went to Leeds and it was another crazy man,’ Frans recalled. ‘I thought I had seen everything with t he Lierse owner but apparently not.
‘Leeds was great. A really nice club, amazing. I can’t say a bad word about it, it was just one guy who decides everything.
‘You see that at a lot of clubs and it leads to trouble — just like at Lierse with the Egyptian.
‘He (Cellino) didn’t sign Paddy Kenny because his birthday was May 17 and that’s the owner’s least favourite number.
‘I didn’t meet him. It was Dave Hockaday who was the manager when I was there.
‘He told me he wanted me to sign but said he had to go through a list of things first — including the star sign, date of birth and what squad number you wanted. I didn’t pick 17. I knew beforehand I shouldn’t pick that number.’
Ultimately, Hockaday’s sacking after just 70 days drew a line under that option for the Belgian.
Mercifully, a phone call from former team-mate Charlie Miller to Jags boss Alan Archibald ensured the door to British football was not yet closed.
A trial period at Firhill in October ended with the offer of a short- term deal and, despite making only four appearances to date, Partick this week moved to tie the player down until 2016.
Unsurprisingly, given what he’s been t hrough, he bit their hand off. ‘ It’ s li ke a dream compared to what has gone on at other clubs,’ he smiled. ‘Everyone is so nice. It’s been amazing.
‘My wife and I have a nice flat in Glasgow and things are great.
‘I knew a little bit about the city from Charlie Miller and Tony Watt (another former team-mate) and they were really positive. I feel happy and settled at Partick.’