Jeroen Boere
Full Name: Jeroen Willem Boere
Born: 18 November 18 1967, Arnhem, (The Netherlands)
Nationality: Dutch
Loaned from: West Ham United, March 1994. Loan
Previous Clubs: Go Ahead Eagles, VVV-Venlo, Roda JC, De Graafschap, SBV Excelsior
Pompey Debut: 26 March 1994 v Nottingham Forest (W 2-1)
First Pompey Goal: n/a
Games: 5 (All league)
Final Game: 23 April 1994 v Birmingham City (L 0-2)
Transferred to: Returned to West Ham United – Loan End
Subsequent Clubs: West Bromwich Albion (Loan), Crystal Palace, Southend United, Omiya Ardija (Jap)
Date of Death: 16 August 2007, Marbella (Spain)
Profile:
Jeroen Boere spent the early part of his career moving from club to club in Holland’s second tier until he was offered the opportunity to ply his trade at the highest level, the English Premier League.
In the summer of 1993 West Ham manager Billy Bonds paid Go-ahead Eagles £250,000 for 6ft 2in striker as the newly-promoted Hammers prepared for their first taste of life in the Premiership.
Although he made his debut in a 2-0 defeat to Newcastle in the September (a game which also saw him red carded for a clash with United’s Kevin Scott) Boere struggled to command a regular place in the starting line up and by the following March, with only four first team appearances under his belt he was made available for loan.
Having just sold Paul Walsh to struggling Manchester City and misfit Mark Blake to Leicester, Pompey were in need of some attacking options and manager Jim Smith believed Boere could be the answer. A loan period of one month was agreed and the big Dutchman headed to Fratton Park.
Unfortunately however, despite featuring in four of a run of six unbeaten games; a run which eased the threat of relegation, it became clear that Boere did not meet Pompey’s need and he was returned to Upton Park. Boere’s Fratton legacy amounted to no more than one assist – a knock-down that set up Gerry Creaney to score against Nottingham Forest.
The close season of 1994 saw a change in management at Upton Park and following a disagreement with the board, Bonds resigned, only to be replaced by the very catalyst of the disagreement – Harry Redknapp!
Initially Boere blossomed as he struck up a strike partnership with returnee Tony Cottee, but with Redknapp’s foreign transfer policy in full swing he soon found himself out of the first team and out in the cold.
Another loan move, this time to West Brom threatened to reignite Boere’s career but it was not to be and he was eventually used as leverage in a cash-plus-player deal that saw Iain Dowie return to Upton Park from Crystal Palace.
Few could argue that Boere had not tried to cut it at the top level but despite a spectacular diving header against Spurs and two match saving goals v Leeds after coming on as a sub, a total of 29 appearances and 7 goals during two seasons was not enough to secure his future as a Premiership player.
Boere’s spell at Selhurst Park was short lived managing only a solitary goal in just eight appearances during his one and only season for the Eagles, and although on paper his next move (to Southend United) appeared a little more successful, the monetary aspect of his transfer was viewed as a key reason why the club were suffering financially. The two seasons Boere spent at penniless Southend saw them relegated twice.
Boere ended his five year English career when he signed for Japanese second division side Omiya Ardija at the end of the 1997/1998 season.
The Dutch striker settled quickly in Japan playing 15 matches and scoring 9 goals in his first season, then just as he was heading the J2 League’s scoring chart disaster struck. During a quarrel outside a Tokyo bar he was stabbed in the eye and as a result was forced to retire from the game.
In 1999 Boere move backed to England and ran the Half Moon pub in Epping High Street for five years before moving to Marbella in Spain to work as a real estate agent in 2004
In August 2007 a Dutch radio station announced that Boere had died. Initial reports suggested he had been killed in a car crash, possibly on Ibiza, but it later transpired that he himself had brought his life to an abrupt and premature end by committing suicide. He was 39 years old
Other Facts:
Boere was considered to have an arrogant personality throughout his career but this was no better demonstrated when following his stabbing incident the Southend United Supporters Club delivered a goodwill message to Jeroen via his club Omiya Ardija’s. Boere’s response was to refer to Southend fans as “those sad bastards”
As a mark of respect for their former player both West Ham and Southend requested their players to wear black armbands in memory of Boere during their home games on August 25 2007
Links:
Season by season games played via PompeyRama
Vital Pompey Author Chix
Statistics provided by: PompeyRama.com
Date: April 2009
