Chapter 85: The Crucial April: Is the Real Fraud at Utrecht Finally Revealed

On April 2, Matchday 29 of the Eredivisie, Utrecht played away against Almere City.

“The match has reached the 30th minute; it’s now 10 p.m. Dutch time. Let’s see how Ten Hag handles this.”

“Ten Hag! Ten Hag hasn’t made a substitution!”

“Utrecht’s bench has no player warming up at all!”

Ten Hag failed to substitute Tang Ye within the allotted time; the home fans in the stands booed him.

In the camera shot, Ten Hag frowned, his forehead wrinkles clearly visible.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to substitute him—only that the score was still 1-1, and Ten Hag dared not remove Tang Ye from the field at this moment.

“Move forward! Move forward!”

Ten Hag shouted incessantly.

By the 62nd minute of the second half, the score remained 1-1, and Ten Hag still hadn’t made a substitution.

At that moment, his phone rang in his pocket.

“Huh? Ten Hag took a phone call?”

“Damn, what’s going on? The match is still on, and Ten Hag is taking a call!”

Ten Hag looked tense—it was a call from his boss, Verhof.

According to Utrecht’s legal team’s assessment, if Tang Ye is subbed off now, the club must pay a fine of 45,000 euros.

If Tang Ye remains on the pitch after the 75th minute, his total overtime playing time will reach one and a half hours.

This is Ten Hag’s third violation this season—the club will face a minimum fine of 70,000 euros!

“Damn!”

Ten Hag clasped his head and signaled to the fourth official to substitute Tang Ye off.

“I’m being subbed off already?”

Looking at the substitution board showing number 99, Tang Ye pointed at his own nose.

In his own judgment, Tang Ye felt he had played quite well in this match.

Yet Ten Hag substituted him outright.

“Mr. Eric, isn’t this unreasonable?”

Tang Ye high-fived Amrabat, then didn’t head straight for the bench—he went to ask Ten Hag.

At the start of the match, he spent 5 comeback points to buy a Valdi’s Red Bull, yet now he hadn’t earned even 1 comeback point before being subbed off.

Isn’t this pure loss?

Ten Hag shook his head without speaking, telling Tang Ye to sit back down.

“...”

Tang Ye walked back to his bench seat with a sour expression.

Sitting in front of him was assistant coach Fan Degah, so Tang Ye asked: “Why am I being subbed off...?”

Fan Degah turned his head and smiled at Tang Ye: “Because of money.”

For the remaining 15 minutes, if Tang Ye stayed on the pitch, he might not bring the team another goal.

But he would definitely bring the team more fines!

The match ended 1-1 between Utrecht and Almere City. Ten Hag attended the post-match press conference.

“Eric, you substituted Tang off at the 73rd minute. From our understanding, this was to avoid the fine.”

“I have a question.”

The journalist paused, then locked eyes with Ten Hag.

“When Tang was on the pitch, Utrecht produced an effective attack every seven minutes on average. After he was subbed off, that interval stretched to fifteen minutes—more than doubled...”

Before the journalist finished speaking, Ten Hag’s expression had already turned uneasy.

“Mr. Eric, according to data from Utrecht Evening News reporters, Utrecht’s win rate is extremely closely tied to whether Tang starts. But Mr. Eric, in your previous interviews, you claimed Tang isn’t a key player for Utrecht. Could you address this contradiction?”

The journalist’s accusation targeted Ten Hag directly; his entire face flushed red.

This was the first time since joining Utrecht that Ten Hag had been humiliated at a press conference!

“Sorry.”

Ten Hag uttered a soft apology, then stood up and left the press conference room immediately.

“Ten Hag Leaves Press Conference in Rage”

“The Real Fraud Emerges? Ten Hag Unable to Handle Journalists’ Questions!”

“Tang Ye or Ten Hag—who is the real fraud at Utrecht?”

As the king of press conferences, Ten Hag’s defeat immediately drew fan attention.

Now, journalists and fans shared a common question.

Is Ten Hag truly a competent coach?

Or is he just a fraud?

【I said it before: Ten Hag is only good at handling journalists—everything else, he’s useless.】

【As expected—I always said: whenever Tang Ye is off, Utrecht’s attack collapses. Aale is a traditional striker—he can’t dribble.】

【Fake football knowledge: Eric Ten Hag; Real football knowledge: Fans!】

【Ten Hag’s only contribution to Utrecht this season is bringing Tang Ye from the reserve team to the first team.】

【Hahaha, holy shit, I just realized: Utrecht hasn’t won many games when Tang didn’t play or was subbed off early—insane. Ten Hag is truly insane.】

Due to exploiting Tang Ye, Ten Hag’s reputation domestically was already poor; this locker room humiliation made fans bring it up again.

Dutch fans, since Ten Hag is a native Dutchman and a former Utrecht player from last century, still trusted him somewhat.

But now... a YouTube user posted a video analyzing every match this season where Ten Hag made decisions.

Most crucially, last October and this February, the Dutchman won the Eredivisie’s monthly Best Coach award.

Utrecht analyzed Ten Hag’s substitutions and in-game adjustments during key matches.

The absurd part: the months he won the monthly award—October and February—were precisely when he made the most passive substitutions and tactical changes.

So how did Ten Hag win the award during those two months?

Because Tang Ye played every single minute during those two months!

Three days after the match against Almere City, on the afternoon of April 5, a news story caught the attention of local Utrecht fans.

Front-page headline of Utrecht Advance News: “Ten Hag received a warning from Montfoort town police for violating youth protection labor regulations three times in a short period. ‘Fines alone won’t solve everything.’”

“Fines alone won’t solve everything” meant Ten Hag could face arrest by Utrecht police.

Police arrest?

A head coach in the Eredivisie?

Seeing this news, not only Utrecht fans but all other bystander fans were stunned.

It sounded absurd, but upon reflection, Ten Hag’s decision to let Tang Ye play after 10 p.m. did violate the law.

The Netherlands’ youth protection laws, like Germany’s, are extremely strict. Online, a lawyer-fan gave his judgment.

Regardless of whether Tang Ye is a professional player, letting him play after 10 p.m. is a serious legal violation—in some lawyers’ eyes, this act is no different from employing child labor.

If youth protection laws are repeatedly violated, those involved can indeed be arrested!

“Why is this happening!”

In Utrecht’s second-floor office, Ten Hag slammed the document onto the desk.

“Hey, Eric, calm down!”

Fan Degah stood up from the sofa.

“No, I can’t calm down now!” Ten Hag leaned back in his chair, hands clasped behind his head.

The local youth protection organization had sent him two warning letters, stating he could be arrested—but Ten Hag thought it was unreasonable, so he ignored them.

But just now, he received a reminder from Montfoort police—he finally realized something was wrong.

Those bastards at the protection agency were telling the truth!

“It’s fine, Eric, it’s fine!”

Fan Degah pushed his chair over and sat beside Ten Hag: “The club already has people handling this. The FA will help us too. No need to panic—it’s unreasonable, and we don’t need to worry!”

After Fan Degah spoke, Ten Hag’s expression eased somewhat.

Ten Hag now needed to believe in the club, believe in the FA.

They would help him!

The Utrecht coaching staff was under heavy pressure, but Tang Ye, the party involved, trained with a relaxed expression.

!

Tang Ye (38 years old)

【Ball Control: 72; Passing: 78】

【Shooting: 69; Heading: 41; Set Pieces: 70】

【Speed: 63; Stamina: 67; Physical Confrontation: 68】

【Defense: 64; Vision: 93】

Overall Rating: 74

After 【Far-Angle Curling Shot】 reached Lv.3, Tang Ye’s shooting attribute jumped directly to 69—just one point away from the 70 threshold.

Considering all of Tang Ye’s attributes, his shooting ability is actually quite good, second only to his set-piece stat of 70!

In terms of overall rating, a 74 rating—based on Tang Ye’s experience playing FIFA—means he’s already at the level of a mid-table Eredivisie player!

That afternoon, after training ended, Tang Ye received a call from his agent, Pol.

Staff from Sevilla in La Liga and Frankfurt in the Bundesliga wanted to talk to Tang Ye about a transfer.

“Tang, I told you before—I’ll get you into one of the five major leagues!”

Pol said excitedly.

To be honest, when Pol signed the contract with Tang Ye, he already suspected Tang would make it to one of the five major leagues someday.

He thought it would take three to five years—turns out it’s only been six months.

Only six months since signing the contract, and now teams from the five major leagues are already reaching out about a transfer!

“The five major leagues...”

Tang Ye held his phone, murmuring softly: “So, Pol, can I play in the five major leagues next season?”

Neither Sevilla nor Frankfurt are powerhouse teams, but they are still clubs from the top five leagues—definitely much stronger than Utrecht.

If Tang Ye joins either of these two teams, it would greatly help his career.

“You could say that, but...”

Pol hesitated, then delivered some bad news to Tang Ye.

Tang Ye’s new contract with Utrecht has no buyout clause, meaning if he wants to transfer, Utrecht must agree.

In short, it depends on whether Sevilla’s and Frankfurt’s offers satisfy Utrecht.

Hmm...

Tang Ye sighed, glancing briefly at his upcoming schedule.

April is a crucial month for Utrecht, so Tang Ye declined the dinner invitations from Sevilla and Frankfurt’s staff.

Tang Ye told Pol that if Sevilla or Frankfurt could reach a transfer agreement with Utrecht, he was willing to move to one of the five major leagues.

“What about weekly salary? What’s your expected weekly wage?”

“You handle the negotiations.”

Tang Ye said indifferently.

It wasn’t that he didn’t care about his weekly wage—he knew Pol would fight tooth and nail for it; he didn’t need to worry.

The higher Tang Ye’s weekly wage, the more Pol would earn as his agent!

“What about preferences?”

Pol asked another question: “Sevilla or Frankfurt—which do you prefer?”

“Hmm...”

“We’ll decide later.”

Tang Ye gave no reply: “It’s only April—the transfer isn’t settled yet.”

On April 10, Utrecht faced Nijmegen at Goffert Stadium.

The match was played at noon; with no risk of breaking rules, Ten Hag naturally included Tang Ye in the starting lineup.

Three hours before kickoff, Ten Hag was giving an interview in the press room.

“Eric, you’ve been facing criticism from fans—some say you haven’t shown the coaching level expected of a monthly Coach of the Month.”

The reporter pushed the microphone toward Ten Hag: “Will you respond to this?”

“It’s all fake. It can’t be true.”

After days of reflection, Ten Hag had regained his former calm when facing reporters.

“I’ve said before: awards are earned through ability; luck plays little role. You can say I won monthly Coach of the Month once by luck.”

Ten Hag held up two fingers: “But I won it twice—October and February. In my first season managing Utrecht, we can’t call that luck.”

“Today’s match will prove it.”

Ten Hag stood up from his chair, radiating confidence.

Click!

Click-click!

“Utrecht!”

Boom-boom!

“Utrecht!”

Boom-boom!

In the player tunnel, Tang Ye walked slowly behind Ramselaar.

“Wow, Tang, look at this!”

Ramselaar pointed to the upper right stand; Tang Ye turned his gaze and saw a fan banner written in Dutch at the spot Ramselaar indicated.

【Tom, go for it!】

“Damn!”

Tang Ye’s eyes lit up; he excitedly rubbed his hands together.

Ramselaar, pulling a ball boy forward, said to Tang Ye: “I told you—you’re already a star!”

“Yeah, a small star! Haha!”

Ramselaar added.

“Looks like we’ve got to win this match today!”

Tang Ye rubbed his hands and stepped onto the pitch.

(End of Chapter)