[MIJB#19]

2004 - 2019 The Louie Flannery era

In professional football, every franchise strives for success. One way or another, long periods of success are usually determined not just by how the team is ran, but the arrival and continuing excellence of a franchise quarterback can lift a team from a usual suspect playoff team to a championship winning franchise. The Maassluis Merchantmen thought the 5th pick of the 2006 draft was the place to get this player. Louie Flannery was his name, 6'4" tall out of Middle Tennessee State. The story of the Merchantmen started two years earlier. The International House of Football kicked off in 2004 with the Maassluis Merchantmen as 1 of 32 competing teams.

The 2004 season turned out to be a false start for the Merchantmen, posting their first victory in week 3, but failing to beat any other opponents, to 'clinch' the #1 overall pick in the 2005 draft. Before the draft class was revealed, the Merchantmen made a truckload of trades, finishing the draft with 4 first round draft picks, including QB Leonard Lyon. But as the general management was unconvinced by Lyon's skills, despite seeing the team improve to a 7-9 record. Lyon had to fight off management's favorite Fumblin' Justin McDavid, whom blew out his knee with a career devastating injury. McDavid came back after a long recovery and played a backup role for 14 seasons.

Lyon's stint was terminated after just 1 season. The Merchantmen told Leo to pack his bags and try to win the starting gig of the Springfield Isotopes. But that was just the beginning of another crapload of trades that eventually had the Merchantmen able to move up to the #5 overall slot and select Louie Flannery. Unlike Lyon and despite the love-hate relationship with fan favorite McDavid, Flannery was designated the opening day starter. Flannery became the centerpiece of the Merchantmen offense, helped by a strong defense anchored by defensive tackle Charles Gomez (Maassluis' 1st round pick in the 2004 league draft) and linebacker Cody Cluff. In 2007, Flannery got the top-notch left tackle he wanted in Indestructible Ivan Jacques and repaid the team with their first AOC Championship appearance.

The 2007 AOC Championship game turned out to be the highlight of Flannery's career. Gomez retired after the 2014, Jacques and Flannery's favorite target tight end Jim Reiser retired after the 2015 season. In 2016, Flannery finally posted his first 4,000-yard season and in 2016 he was at last rewarded with a top-notch wide receiver Gabe Springer out of Ohio, taken #8 overall, the Merchantmen's first 1st round pick since Louie Flannery 10 years earlier, as the Merchantmen made a habit of trading their top pick in prior off-seasons for over the hill veterans. Springer burst into the league receiving All-IHOF 2nd team honors as a rookie. But Flannery to Springer turned out to not be a winning combination, the Merchantmen posted 6-10 records in three straight seasons after Springer's impressive rookie campaign. Even the acquisition of all-league cornerbacks Randall Allen and Ben Greer in the 2019 off-season for the #9 overall pick and a triplet of second round picks didn't improve the team.

2004 1-15 (16th in the AOC)
2005 7-9 (12th)
2006 8-8 (9th)
2007 13-3 (2nd) conference finalist
2008 9-7 (4th) wild card round
2009 8-8 (11th)
2010 6-10 (12th)
2011 11-5 (3rd) wild card round
2012 10-6 (6th) conference semifinals
2013 8-8 (9th)
2014 9-7 (8th)
2015 8-8 (9th)
2016 8-8 (11th)
2017 6-10 (11th)
2018 6-10 (13th)
2019 6-10 (10th)