The latest Nottingham Forest news from Nottinghamshire Live brings you what former Reds boss Dave Bassett has said about van Hooijdonk
Former Nottingham Forest manager Dave Bassett admits he made a mistake in refusing Pierre van Hooijdonk’s olive gesture when the striker went on strike.
Van Hooijdonk made headlines at the City Ground when he questioned the club’s decision to sell a slew of its finest players. Under Dave Bassett, Forest were ready to return to the Premier League, but they sold players like Kevin Campbell and club captain Colin Cooper.
Van Hooijdonk went on strike after being denied the opportunity to leave Forest and returned to the Netherlands to train with NAC Breda.
He returned to the club in November of the 1998–99 season before being sold to Vitesse for £3.5 million. Speaking about Van Hooijdonk on the Under the Cosh podcast, Bassett said he should have handled the situation differently.
“I made a mistake,” he said. “He went on strike, and the Dutch press reported that he was extending an olive branch.” I said, “Do you know where he can put that?” I really shouldn’t have done that. We should have gone to Holland and convinced Pierre to return for pre-season with the hope of selling him in the next few games.
“They all thought we’d sell him to Leeds when he returned, but Peter Ridsdale’s days were numbered at the time.” At the end of the season, he returned to Vitesse Arnhem for £3.5 million. We may have gotten £7 million if he had returned.”
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