We have had this debate here (and elsewhere) about the Mickey Mouse Competition or the BoyScout Competition as Rinus Michels called it… Well, we’ve started again. And it does look like we have seen a junior warm up game until the big guns start (EPL, Bundesliga, Serie A, Primera)…
PSV is 3-0 up in 30 minutes and almost drops two points against ADO Den Haag.
Ajax is up 2-0 without a worry, only to concede a penalty (luckily for Ajax, Roda can’t score) and Vermeer needs all his abilities to stop Roda from scoring the 2-1. At the end of the match, Ajax scores the third and appears to win without a problem… But who saw the game (Roda’s defending in particular), will have seen that Ajax did not have real opposition for most of the game. And when they did, the opponent was close to scoring.
Feyenoord, however, was the worst of the bunch. Losing away against PEC Zwolle. It’s always possible to drop points on the road. Last season, all top 6 teams had issues in Zwolle. But in your first game? And to allow to ex-Feyenoord players (Fernandez and Mokotjo) to be the henchmen…. No… Not good. The second goal Zwolle scored was in the dying minutes. De Vrij can’t stay on his feet and BMI is imitating a wax doll. And these two are our central defenders in Brazil??
Willem van Hanegem said in his column: if these two lads play like this in Brazil we will be the joke of international football.
Another sort of freak result was Heerenveen’s home win against AZ. Now, Heerenveen is a good side. But the way they put AZ under pressure and got their goalie Esteban to blunder in the first phase was astonishing. Icelandic goal machine Finnbogason scored three but could have had 7 goals.
Heerenveen playing fresh and playful
Vitesse won their game and are in the top 6 as has FC Groningen. Twente and Utrecht both drew somewhat disappointingly.
At least PSV played with playfulness, with intelligence and forward thrust. The youngsters showed what class they have and with a bit of luck, PSV could have been 6-0 up at half time.
Ajax had good spells but is very dependent on Eriksen and Siem de Jong. The former is probably too hard to hang on to. If any big club is still not 100% sure of his skills, they will be soon as he determines everything at Ajax. Lasse Schone can surely play in Eriksen’s role but will not be that good…
Anyway, maybe this is what Feyenoord needed to wake up and maybe Ajax gets lucky and the Dane might stay after all. PSV will most likely be the toast of the season and somehow I believe Vitesse will be a cool side to watch too.
In the Meantime…. In England, RVP is the most popular player of the EPL based on the jerseys sold. Gareth Bale dropped out of the Top 10 as the fans expect him to leave.
Our good friend Royston Drenthe had a tremendous debut for Reading and his coach stated that Roy Drenthe will show magic on the fields of the Championship this year. Drenthe: “I love football in England. I was born to play here.”
Feyenoord depressing
In the meantime, PSV won their away game against Zulte, 0-3. With Stijn Schaars as midfield engine as Man of the Match. Zulte had a good start but wasn’t able to convert. PSV took the reigns in the game and after Depay and Maher missing chances, it was Depay who got close to scoring. His attempt was blocked by a hand and Tim Matavz scored from the spot for the Philips team. The 17 year old Bakkali scored the second with a zinger and Adam Maher scored the third goal late in the game.
PSV is now looking at a tough draw for the next stage: they could get AC Milan, Lyon, St Petersburg, Arsenal or Schalke 04 as the next opponent. PSV does hope to have Ji-Sung Park in their squad. Other Dutchies in this play off stage: Kuyt at Fenerbache, Huntelaar with Schalke, Van Dijk and Boerrigter with Celtic, Emanuelson and Nigel de Jong at Milan.
