A sober but decent win vs Ghana

blog
by Jan

Only 10 days to go now!!

A somewhat annoyed Van Gaal said after the Ghana win: “I am hired to get results. That comes first. Good football is a bonus. The KNVB wants me to finish in the top 4 and that is what I’m going for.”

We won 1-0. After a pretty mediocre game. With Ghana not at full strength and not overly motivated. But the game did tell us a number of things.

1. If our three golden boys upfront can find each other, we will create opportunities
2. Robben can be the man with the through pass and Sneijder can be the man making runs into the box.
3.Blind and Janmaat can deliver in the wide role
4. We can be thrifty at the back and not give a lot away
5. If Robben had a bit more sharpness we would have scored 3 before the break

robin scoort

But also…

1. Our build up is slow and at times clumsy
2. De Guzman lacks creativity it seems and our midfield might needs some oomph
3. Twelve days is not a long time for Louis….

Arjen Robben was quite positive. “It wasn’t great but we created four or five chances and that is not bad, as they got none.”
The Bayern star lashed out to an opponent when he was tackled really hard. “I wanted to knock the guy down. The moron. It did cross my mind… only 12 days to go and then a tackle like this. THe ref said he’d redcard him if it was at the World Cup. I wish he redcarded him here and now as well!”

robben lasht

Daryl Janmaat was happy too. “I think we are all starting to get comfortable in the different roles. And I believe the defence stood their ground really well. We are getting there.”

Daley Blind seems to be Van Gaal’s favorite left back. The Ajax midfielder is the fittest player of the lot, with Daryl Janmaat and the best option on the flank. “Daley is our best left full back, due to his experience on the spot and his fitness. I can imagine Ajax will keep on using him as a midfielder after the World Cup and the new team manager might want to use different leftbacks but for this tournament I think he is the best candidate.

blind ghana

The 24 year old former super talent is a late blossomer, despite his early introduction in the Ajax 1 team. He wasn’t even considered for the job two years ago when then 18 year old Jetro Willems was given the nod. Blind: “I like to call this system 3-5-2. The emphasis for me is the attacking intentions of the full backs. We’ll drop deep if we need to but once Daryl or I see an option to go, we will.” Janmaat and Blind both created opportunities for Robben but sadly Arjen was playing a real friendly.

Bookmark and Share

97 comments

  1. Blind will crumble with fast wingers. till that France game every one was optimistic about him as being the No 1 lb but his weakness was revealed in that game. Van Gaal is gambling their.

  3. With Spain you have to running the full 90. And if don’t then they will definitely outplay even though with 5 backs. Ghana defense are mostly locals and lack killer instinct.

  4. Van Gaals tatics is clear…..the big 3 to attack with extra man in defense to tighten up the back line. Once the game is played at high pace and Everbody has to drop back that’s when the weakness will be exposed. Ghana attack was not lethal that why cillesen never show much which meant more balls for sneijder ,robben,RVP. Once senijder starts defending and drop back that when the attack might be minimal in front .

  5. Hi guys

    Anyone know when the kit numbers will be revealed? Was trying to look for it, keen to purchase my home and away kits

    Thanks in advance

  7. I think starting with De Guzman was a mistake. Probably Clasie would’ve brought more creativity into the midfield, allowing Sneijder to penetrate even deeper (I was quite impressed by him).

    Blind as a leftback is fine, he has good vision and buildup but the only problem is that he is lacking in speed somewhat.

    With this system Lens unfortunately doesn’t bring a lot to the table. Also he looks weird without a beard!

  8. Don’t wanna talk about any conspiracy or whatever, but don’t you think that the VDV injury is a bit strange ?

    Just like VDW and Willems.

    Well they are probably all real injuries but it seems like some players don’t wanna go to the WC, or Van Gaal made them understand that he doesn’t want them but talked about injuries instead.

    It’s just an hypothesis, cause I don’t see any other nation where some players gave up as easiliy and as quickly.

    1. There are so many people linked with national team fitness that if these are hoaxes, it will surely come out at some point. Injuries happen and in fact they are happening at many teams. VDW was more a question of fitness rather than injury and it was obvious fof all to see.

      1. Well I see Falcao having a big injury but struggling to come back, many players like Ribery also for example have problems but give their best to be ready…

        But for Holland Van der Vaart gives up in one day. I read about his injury, normally it takes 2-3 weeks to recover max. Which means he could be ready for the last group game in the worst case. Like Robben did in 2010 for example.

        Instead of that he gives up exactly in the time where Sneijder was threatened not to participate.

        Strange.

    2. I think you have a point , Laurent.
      The thing is , all these players will probably start from bench. Vdv , Vdw or Willems , which makes more sense with your point of view.

  9. Real game is played by Danny Blind,
    He understood that if PVA given chances as LB it would be end of Daley as dutch LB,as for midfeild Blind will have horrendous time vs Clasie,stroot,Ginkel upcoming ake etc.Kongolo is more of CB so he was not an enemy for Blind…
    Nice play by Danny blind…keep it up Danny….

  12. I thought de Jong and de Guzman in the midfield was overkill. We only need one destroyer back there… Especially since we have 5 defenders. I thought the build up struggled a lot form the back. They were passing it back to the keeper way too much. I think that’s a result of not having a creative midfielder able to come get the ball from the defense and advance it forward.

    As someone mentioned before, I think clasie would be better in this role. I would replace de Guzman rather than Nigel because Nigel has more experience.

  14. Van Gaal should not be claiming “results first” in pre-WC friendlies. He either needs to be developing his formation, or trying out different player combinations. If we care about results at this point, Holland should be disappointed to have not won 4-0.

    The US is playing Turkey today and showing much more attacking intent than Holland yesterday (and the US’s WC group is going to be just as tough as Holland’s).

    I shudder to consider this but I’m actually not certain that the US defenders aren’t better on the ball than their Dutch counterparts.

  15. Guys lets leave coaching in Van Gaal s hands. Im sure he is better than all of us in that. We know we dont have too many chances this time, so lets enjoy the tournament without too much pressure and expectations. And who knows, it might end up better than we expected. The Dutch always seem to deliver when the expectations are low!

  16. Cameroon is giving the Germans some nice football lessons. Nationalmannschaft is lucky to finish the 1st half with a 0-0 draw.
    Who was moaning and whining about our game yesterday ?

    PS: Ghana is twice as stronger as Cameroon. I ensure you this.

      1. It’s up to you, but I will tell you, he will let you down in defensive tracking. It’s bound to happen, especially in the later stages of the game. Wijnaldum just let’s his man go, who can then start overloading a space in the final third and create a goal scoring opportunity.

        His attacking energy conceals his defensive frailty.

        1. I understand your point , but I thought yestedray , that we needed someone who is able to run with ball in his feet , make some pressure on the opponents defenders and have some good distance shoots. Wished we had Afellay , Ginkel or Strootman who can all do the job perfectly.
          I am not sure how Wijnaldum will do in defensive duties “you’re probably right” , but as I said , He deserves a shot against Wales. It may work.

  22. I always hated Germany and made fun of their football style that was very unattractive but practical, and I lovers Oranje because they are the beauty of football in my eyes!!! But unfortunately van gaal went to bayern and taught them how to play Dutch style and with the good talented generation they have now they can apply it in their national team, and we have tremendous lack of real good players!! We saw that against Ghana yesterday!!! We don’t even have on player in the whole nation who can receive the ball from the goal keeper and advance with it to the midfield!!! Why??????? All our players just play the simple stupid lateral pass or back to the keeper!!!

    1. this is exactly my problem with the young “talents” – they are far from the robben-vdv.van persie.sneijder generation. when robben was 20 he had already played at chelsea and was one of their star players. van persie was at arsenal,vdv and sneijder in a far better ajax that reached the quarter finals in the champions league. everybody knew they would become world class players in big clubs. as i sad yesterday i don’t know how good or bad oranje are,but i noticed that bar robben,van persie,sneijder,de jong and maybe janmaat and blind the players were very average. not bad players,but aston villa,malaga,monchengladbach level.

  24. Ghana played 4-3-3 and mind you they dominated alot possession and we basically worked our way out from counter rack situation. our wingers never penetrated the flanks deep enough apart from that set piece leading to the goal. Again question mark their as to what PVA would have brought in terms of attacking. My eye was only on two players Sneijder and Blind. As expected Senijder diminished as the game progressed and as he started dropping back and as for Blind he was caught out at many occasion but BMI came to his rescue. Blind remains me of Kuyt in 2010 instead of takng the traffic head on he jus passes the ball back which fucken kills the build up speed and kills the game. He is next Kuyt IMO.PVA had the ability to go head to head and outside of the defenders which Blind does not possess.. Our wing backs have to penetrate more deep so that we can can stretch the opponents and create space for our midfield and strikers.

    1. Twente bought him 6,5 mo to Inter if I’m not mistaken ?

      What’s the sense to sell him for 9,8 mo euros ?

      Sporting, Benfica or Porto would have sold him for 15/18 mo for sure.

    1. I thought Nigel de Jong was MOTM vs. Ghana.

      He was all over the pitch making long passes, and tackling the opposition like it was a must-win game at the WC. That kind of grit can’t be taught, and I’m not sure if any of these youngsters have the same determination. I feel there’s a noticeable gap in our defense when Nigel doesn’t play and it shows.

      I see a lot of criticism for de Guzman. I do agree that our attack becomes static with him on the field, but defensively I think we’re better off with him than Clasie, IMO.

      We leave a lot of gaps open with this formation, and I don’t think Clasie is as good of a defender as JdG, so for that reason I’d stick with JdG.

    2. They were absolutely awful against a very poor Ireland. I know those are friendlies and Italy starts slow but still I did not see any real encouraging sign for the Azzuris this year.

  28. chile:
    Goalkeepers: Claudio Bravo (Real Sociedad), Johnny Herrera (Universidad de Chile), Cristopher Toselli (Universidad Catolica)
    Defenders: Miiko Albornoz (Malmo), Gonzalo Jara (Nottingham Forest), Gary Medel (Cardiff City), Eugenio Mena (Santos), Jose Rojas (Universidad de Chile)
    Midfielders: Charles Aranguiz (Internacional), Jean Beausejour (Wigan Athletic), Carlos Carmona (Atalanta), Marcelo Diaz (Basel), Jose Pedro Fuenzalida (Colo Colo), Felipe Gutierrez (Twente), Mauricio Isla (Juventus), Francisco Silva (Osasuna), Jorge Valdivia (Palmeiras), Arturo Vidal (Juventus)
    Forwards: Fabian Orellana (Celta), Esteban Paredes (Colo Colo), Mauricio Pinilla (Cagliari), Alexis Sanchez (Barcelona), Eduardo Vargas (Valencia)

  29. PSV after Boulhrouz and Afellay
    Castaignos will go through medical recently, transfer fee 8m euro agreed, I think he leave early again, I really hope he prove me wrong because I think he is the next generation’s No.9.
    Napoli after Klaassen, AC Milan has also been keeping track of him.
    Roma after Ziyech.
    Coimbra interested in Van der Gaag as coach
    Jordy Buijs free transfer to Herenveen

  30. I do like Chile, they are a good side but I really think we will take them and progress thru.
    Then it’s up to us in the last match with Australia to score as many as possible to take top spot if possible still.
    But of course – first is slow-starters Spain, need at least a draw to get a good start but I think we win our other 2 and go thru anyways – they lost their first match last WC and they arguably more tired this time around with most of their players playing tough matches deep into their leagues.

    No one is looking at us, do the pressure is not huge.. all depends on how we are playing as a TEAM by June 13!!!

    I hope the Wales games is like Ghana match, a huge win is always nice but maybe if we don’t spark any attention we have a better chance for solidarity into the tournament.

    1. Can’t wait to see who starts versus Wales!

      I think good for back 3 (or 5, however you look at it) and Nigel to continue to play together as much as possible as trust and playing time is important for defenses.
      But I think it is good if van Gaal gives others a chance in mid., I would like to see Wijnaldum/Fer have a chance.. I say good for him giving de Guzman the minutes v Ghana, need to see him play before we can decide – also he didn’t make too many mistakes just was not too creative, but big deal! look at the other top sides’ friendlies!
      Mostly blaaaah
      Up front maybe nice to get some more time for the power 3 to find form together.. Also forces the subs to earn those spots and make the most of the chances they do get.

  32. 532 system is really boring and less potent.may be tactically good for getting draw vs strong teams then we can think about penalty shootout.thats opttion LVG sees.
    i personally have not much hope about this LVg team..am not excited..

    1. Yep.

      The football under LvG has been boring to watch. Other than maybe the 1st half vs. Italy, have we ever had an exciting performance?

      I hope Hiddink cleans house, and brings his own team on board after this WC.

  33. I prefer Clasie over De Guzman and Fer too. He offers a great first touch and creativity.

    I also want to see Veltman playing instead Vlaar because of his building up skill

  34. I agree with Sam. De Jong played an outstanding game in the DM and I was also impressed with him coming forward deep to block the attack. does anybody agree that RVP was static apart from that game. he easily went down in tackles, his timing was out when dropping back in defense and positioning on counters. I thought it was robben who was suppose to be setting RVP up rather than him being doing it the other way round. This the thing I was saying about Robben playing as a striker in a 5-3-2. on counters RVP is out of position due to Robben pace and then it is one man two many until the reinforcement arrives. should it be the other way around with Robben tracking back and then counters setting up RVP. WE didnt play any constructive soccer IMO it was always Ghana with possessions and NT accelerating on counter situations.

    Mind you Spain and Boliva match, Spain had phases leading up to 21 touches, they like to keep possession and if we let them do that it could spell danger.

    vs Wales

    Hunter Robben

    clasie – Lens

    De Jong

    Kongolo -BMI- Vlaar -Veltman – Janmaat

    Krul

    Its useless having players like Depay/Hunter/ Lens/ Clasie.

    I agree with Tiju 5-3-2 to is boring and is went for stalemate

  36. What about

    Krul

    Janmaat De Vrij Vlaar Kongolo BLind

    De Jong
    Sneijder

    RVP

    Robben Depay

    In this formation we could use the pace from Robben and Depay in counter attacks, Sneijder in the Pirlo role is a possibility. Sneijder wouldnt have to defend to much since janmaat and blind will be covering him and he can be the nexus between the midfield and the attack. De jong is a must in the defense role.
    The only bad thing in this formation is that Robben Depay doesnt have the killer instinc BUT I think we will be creating more chances than vs Ghana.
    Toughts??
    Cheers!

    1. After the ghana game its clear that with Robben Pace…you need a striker who is equally as fast as him and clinically at the same time ….which we dont have. Robben showed alot of stamina in the game especially when chasing those long balls and positioning runs on counters. with such enthusiasm he can be very useful in the middle…so I would swap RVP with him. jus like sliva at Man City. PVA ommision is jus not fair…….im sure vs spain he wont be able to do the same as what he was doing vs Ghana. jus like before that France game when he was rated as the no 1 LB in for NT.I would rather start with Depay at wing back and rop in Lens at striker with RVP.

      RVP – LENS

      Robben

      Depay – Sneijder-De Jong – Janmaat

      kongolo -Vlaar – Veltman

      krul

      1. correction BMI for kongolo. he bailed out Blind at crucial time when he was caught out of position

        so

        RVP – Lens

        Robben

        Depay Sneijder – De Jong – Janmaat

        BMI – Vlaar – Veltman

        Krul

        1. interesting, I may add that Depay doesnt defend that much but he gave a lot helps to willems at PSV, maybe your line up will be a good choice for the games agains the aussies and the Chileans but against spain I think the more defence we put, the more chance we have to get a draw from that. I now some people here dont rate very high De Vrij but I like the kid, despite he is veeery slow!!, I prefer De Vrij over Veltman any time.
          Cheers!

          1. Jus like Ghana……spain too most probably will use 4-3-3 formation which means we again will be deprived of posession with 5-3-2 formation meaning more pressure on backline. Now Ghana were not able to penetrate the defense but with spain it will be a different story. They have good dribblers like Carzola….Silva…xavi…Fabregas who can toy with defense with easy and defenders often get frustrated and end up with reckless tackling.There were moments in Ghana game when Vlaar and De Vrij restored to the same tatic when they beaten but with Spain you all know which card come out.With spain at some stage the defense will crack open if continous pressure is sustained
            jus like in 2010. The midfield is our key and how long we keep the posession. We cant jus have that mentality of going for draw….we will definitely loss.We cracked open in 2010 and it will happen again.

          2. Agree with Gabriel. I think we need to play different starting line ups. Not hold on to one formation like Bert van Marwijk did.

    2. Lenz is faster and stronger than Depay..So why not go for 4231
      krul
      Janmaat–Vlaar—BMI—Kongolo
      ——Dejong—-Blind———
      ———-sneijder————
      Roben——RVP———Lenz

  38. quote: “THe ref said he’d redcard him if it was at the World Cup.”

    Really? That’s so weird, why doesn’t he give a red card in this friendly then, is that in the rulebook somewhere? I don’t think so.

  40. I hope Blind didn’t stop attacking after a while because he thought he had come off good early on and wanted to leave people with that impression (not make any mistakes/lose the ball).

    He started off the game very promising, then came the instant backpassing again (with instant I mean that his body language is already betraying his backpass-intentions before the ball even reaches him, if I can see it, so can a clever opponent, luckily Ghana wasn’t interested apparently). Saw at least 1 instance where the backpass was really uncalled for (no risk at all to just dribble along the sideline towards the corner flag, actually, his opponent was more on the side of the backpass than the forward dribble, still he goes back, sometimes I really don’t understand his thinking and motivations, you’d think if it’s harder to go back you go forward, it’s almost always a backpass that screws you over, not a dribble forward and possibly losing the ball going in that direction, especially if you’ve still got 4 defenders and 2 def.midfielders left over at the back).

    What’s up with vPersie and Robben both wanting to score easy right-foot tap-ins with their left? Weird (instinct?).

    Midfield looked a bit tougher this time around, but we need to be careful about that gap to the attack now in the new formation, sometimes we look quite seperated into 2 parts, offence and defence (but was already getting a bit less compared to last game, perhaps van Gaal has worked on that a lot).

  41. Ok guys, you can all criticise the manager and the formation. Well done. Go ahead. Knock yourselves out.
    It is amusing to see so many people miss the point.
    We simply do not have the players.

    Some of you call 532 negative, and then demand 4231 in the same sentence. Funny. We also played with SIX in defence at the last WC, and we got the final. Why are your memories so short? Spain played without any strikers and won the EC. Quit your babbling and moaning and negativity. Some of you take this all way too seriously. It should be fun.
    Formations do not matter. Only players.

    Of course Kuyt deserves his place in the squad. He is a team player. He does exactly what Van Gaal asks of him. Those kids that were sent home for their summer holidays – they clearly did NOT do what Van Gaal asked of them. Their future is suddenly not so Orange, and they have a nice long vacation away to think about that.

    It’s a tragedy that we still have no replacement for Van Bommel. With those familiar chatty walk-outs, he had every WC referee in his back pocket, all the way up to the final – a smart psychological advantage. Then he tried this with Webb (ex policeman) and it did not work. Such is life.

    A new WC, a new strategy.
    If you saw the last match against Ghana, it is clear what Van Gaal’s tactics are. Why are they still a debate here?

    This is not Dutch football as you know it. You should get used to it. There’s a lot more coming in the next few weeks.
    This is not pass and move, possession-based application of pressure.
    This is steal a goal, sit back, pass back, let the opposition come out and then strike, counter-attacking football.

    We do not have the distribution and retention skills to apply pressure in the opponent’s third.
    We do not have a physical team that can run and bully.
    We do not have a technical team that will outwit and outfox.
    But we can soak up pressure in numbers, anyone can do that.
    And we can make our quality count up front if it is given room.
    So we make room. Simple.
    This means we cannot play a pressing game. You can forget the old Dutch style for now. We will not play in the opponent’s half. That’s how we get caught out. That’s also how we lost the last final. So. We do something different.
    This is Van Gaal 101. This is exactly what he does best.

    He puts together a group of players who will carry out his instructions. He doesn’t want footballers. He wants robots. And that’s fine. Because in case you have not noticed, we are a little short on ‘footballers’ right now.
    I’ll repeat that:
    We are a little short on footballers right now!!

    And to be honest, some of your suggestions have been hilarious. Did you REALLY think that Van Ginkel or Vilhena would be selected??? Hahahaha what are you guys smoking?

    There is more chance of us progressing with a team of hard workers, than with a group of individuals.
    Perhaps you guys should get a few more coaching badges, and spend a few more weeks day in day out with the players, face to face, before you build your fantasy teams and post them for all the world to see (laugh at).

    I wish you guys would lay off the manager and the tactics, and stop criticising for the sake of saying something you genuinely mistake as intelligent. It’s embarrassing.
    If you don’t understand something, that’s fine. Ask.
    But really, just repeatedly posting negativity all day long….. it’s not healthy.

    Some of the crackpot theories I read here. Wow! Laurent, Tiju (or whatever name you are using this week), Wilson – you guys should be chemically castrated. Your genes are defective and serve only to hinder the advancement of humanity. Nobody can be that stupid. You three MUST be trolls.
    I don’t agree with half of what DRB says, it’s mostly positive reinforcement, but he finds a very nice and friendly way to write his posts, which many of you nasty little cretins could learn from.
    Here’s a tip.
    If the facts do not support the theory, it is NOT the facts which are incorrect.
    Do not look for new facts. Instead, find a new theory.

    Thanks Jan.

    2. No… Thank you. Hit it on the head.

      The whole point of 3 at the back so that if Blind or Janmaat are caught out of position, the likes of BMI, Vlaar or De Vrij can bail them out!!!!!! With 4 in the back and with either the right or left back caught out of position, our slow CBs would be completely isolated and we would have the outcome of the France game.

      This 5-3-2 provides a lot more security at the back.. Ghana did not have a single shot on goal. Ecuador had one..

      Is the playing a bit too negative for my liking? Too many back passes to the goalie? Sure… but you all forgot that Van Der Sar always had the ball at his feet. This is not something new the LvG came up with.

      This 5-3-2 is very fluid… They actually played the game more like 3-4-1-2 at other times it was 3-5-2 and many times it was 3-2-3-2. LvG is doing what he does best… But unfortunately with Oranje he can’t buy players, so instead of getting players that fit his 4-3-3, he’s molding his formation to the best abilities of his available resources.

      It might not be pretty, but I think it’s our best chance to get a result against Spain, Chile and later possibly against Brazil.

    3. I’m not at 100%, Andrew, but maybe 95 (I still put most of Laurent’s comments in the ‘analysis’ category, not crackpot theories and replying to ones own crackpot theories with multiple follow-up non-sequiturs).

      On the formation, I don’t think it really dictates how the team plays, necessarily. It’s about the intent and the execution by the players. With two really forward-moving wing backs, I’d argue that this formation could be the stepchild of Total Football. I’d like to see it ratcheted up and try some more attacking players on the wings (maybe Kuyt and Lens?) just to see how this would change the dynamic. I think that creative and unexpected concepts from van Gaal might just give us a chance in 2014– if he had stuck with 4-3-3 on principle, he’d be no better than van Marwijk heading into Euro 2012, and the results likely would have been as grim.

      My biggest issue from the game vs Ghana was not the formation or the substitution but the back passing. My only consolation was when the video feed cut to van Gaal screaming his head off several times when this happened.

      Getting anxious for the WK to start now. Can’t wait.

      1. Good point re Lens/Kuyt as wingbacks. I expect this to happen if Oranje falls behind on a scoresheet and extra speed is needed.
        I’m not quite sure if Kuyt (forgot whether he is left or right footed) would be a good sub for Janmaat, but Lens for Blind should(!) bring something extra in attack IMO.

        1. “We will not play in the opponent’s half. That’s how we get caught out. That’s also how we lost the last final. So. We do something different.”

          Did you actually watch the finale to write that? lol Holland played in Spain half ? That was exactly the contrary.

          Holland is gonna play exactly like in 2010 and 2012 with even more possession back. The system doesn’t change much indeed, it just shows Van Gaal intentions a bit clearer again. It will be WORST than before.

          Everything you wrote in your post has been already said by many here. We all know that we don’t have many top players, less quality than before etc. but we don’t agree with the tactics and the possession behind.

          Basically when you don’t have good footballers behind, you throw the ball away. Greece won a cup thanks to that. But Holland and Ajax have ridiculous defenders and play possession behind, which is boring AND dangerous. You will count how many times Cillessen will take risks/lose the ball because of it.

          Where you’re wrong is that you think Holland will play counter attacks. They won’t. I would like Holland to sit back, and send quickly deep balls to Robben, Lens on the sides for counters. But that’s not how they play. They sit behind and make useless lateral passes, and lose the ball once they try to reach a midfielder.

          That has nothing to do with quality of players. Many weaker teams than Holland play a more attacking football, or a football based on counter.

          Dutch boring possession in defence is just the reflect of the stupid Ajax school. Of course Jeff won’t agree with that, but stats agree.

          61 % possession behind against Dortmund and Ajax lost 4-0…Just give me another team that plays possession behind, there is NONE.

          1. “For the record, a different Andrew, here”

            Not a different Andrew. A multi troll who tried to change his style of writing not to be recognized. That worked quite good, he got 6 answers on one post in a short time, while he got NONE on 12 posts last week. I also must admit that I didn’t recognize him first.

            But his NEED to insult some target posters gives us an obvious proof of his presence everytime. Actually the same idiot is pretty lunatic when he talks about football, few weeks ago he was repeating every time “you’ll miss Bert”, now he is defending Van Gaal. He always need to write against the general opinion to feel important. We don’t want LVG tactic ? Then he’ll come and write that we are all silly, understand nothing etc.
            We like LVG tactic ? Then he’ll come to say that we’ll miss Bert.

            That’s all the story of his presence here. Actually I’m pretty sure that he also goes on some other blogs, it can be about football, cars, illuminatis, vegetables or whatever, all he needs is to discuss and write against the general opinion.

            Those people are generally walking head down in the streets, reading newspapers alone in big gardens.

          2. Laurent,

            Not sure what you mean by “not a different Andrew.” As I said, I didn’t write the longer post. I’ve been reading and posting here for a long time, albeit not with the frequency of others. If someone has the same name (or posts with it), I can’t do anything about that. I’ve never been insulting to you, or anyone else on either this blog or the previous one Jan had.

            Much rather talk about Oranje.

  44. People need to give up about the idea of seeing Holland play great, free flowing, total football in the world cup. That isn’t going to happen with the individual talents in our defense. I was really encourged by the performance against Ghana because the defense was rock solid and didn’t give them a sniff. If Robben scored a few of his chances it would have been a thrashing so all in all we created plenty of oppotunities and defended superbly.

    We have to play like we did in WC 2010 to get far. We have to adapt to the limitations in defense and the only way to do that is having men behind the ball and being organised. the 5-3-2 formation gives us that

    1. yes,but foreigners like me and most of us here fell in love with dutch football becsuse it was the most beautiful,most freeflowing and innovative style. last time i saw great dutch football was in 2008,during the european championship in switzerland and austria. bert van marwijk introduced pragmatism,van gaal doesn”t have the players ( this is the least talented oranje squad in the modern era) ,the result is that oranje have been boring for years

      1. Holland has been a winning machine for years (barring Euro 2012 which was an anomaly). Truth is that since 2008, Holland has had the best results in our history.

        I understand that everyone (especially non-Dutch fans) is upset that Total Football is no more, but I for one am sick of being the lovable losers all the time.

        If we win in the quarter finals of the World Cup, I will be just as happy no matter how it was won. It’s the mentality of attractiveness before results that has gotten us so many fans, and so little trophies.

  45. Castaignos to move to Swansea it seems. This would be a great move for him.

    On another note, I was happy with our defending against Ghana. However, our overall buildup play was way too slow and we played too many back passes.

    Also, I must say that Kuyt’s addition in the squad is simply a waste of space as far as I am concerned. Don’t get me wrong, I love Dirk. He has been a great professional and servant for Oranje, but he is past his best days and cannot add anything to our attack or defense in this WC. Why wasnt a guy like Promes not chosen instead of Kuyt? He is very versitile and can play in the Sneijder position or the second striker role.

    Anyways, Im just happy that another WC is upon us and simply can’t wait for the big show to start.

  46. The numbers of the 23 Dutch World Cup players

    1. Jasper Cillessen 12. Paul Verhaegh
    2. Ron Vlaar 13. Joël Veltman
    3. Stefan de Vrij 14. Terence Kongolo
    4. Bruno Martins Indi 15. Dirk Kuyt
    5. Daley Blind 16. Jordy Clasie
    6. Jonathan de Guzman 17. Jeremain Lens
    7. Daryl Janmaat 18. Leroy Fer
    8. Nigel de Jong 19. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
    9. Robin van Persie 20. Georginio Wijnaldum
    10. Wesley Sneijder 21. Depay Memphis
    11. Arjen Robben 22. Michel Vorm
    23 Tim Krul.

        1. When Erik Pieters moved to Stoke there was a quote from LvG where he said, “If players can choose from amongst the top 4 of the Eredivisie, and a middle table foreign club, I always say stay at the top of the Dutch league”

          That sums up his way of thinking as a coach, and it’s for that reason that I’m glad he’ll be gone. I hope he takes ol’ Danny Blind with him.

          Back to Cillessen. I can just see him folding at the WC. Stek wasn’t perfect, notably at close range, but he marshaled the back line, and was always vocal with telling the defenders where to be. His distribution was excellent btw; even when under pressure, he would never hoof the ball into the stands like Cillessen has frequently done (he STILL does this).

          I actually watched the game vs. Portugal at EC12 a couple of weeks ago, and the result could have been way worse if Krul or Vorm was in net.

  47. Last night I finally saw the repeat telecast of the game. Again RVP rescue us. Hope he will be consistent scoring for the next next games. What happen to the rest of our goals? Usually we can get more goals or the goals coming from not a forward. Overall we defended well as NDJ is back commanding the midfield. We got more chance in attacking as Sneijder,Robben are back. If Robben scored both the goal which he should by his standard, guess majority of people here including me will agree with LVG 5-3-2. The final warm up match against the welsh is the game we must score more goals to increase our ego and spirit before we samba…..

  48. I am attempting to stay positive and really direct my comments at the tactics used rather than the talent of the players, but here’s my question:

    We had to play 4231 in 2010 because the defense was too wlow / weak and would be exposed without van Bommel and de Jong as holding midfielders. We couldn’t find a way to get VDV or any additional creativity in the line-up as a result. And we ended up with a team playing in two parts — the 4 up front and the 6 in the back.

    So now, four years later, we are playing not 4231 but 532, with really just 3-4 attacking players and 6-7 defenders.

    Could Holland not have produced 4 international quality defenders in 4 years so that we could play 433 again?

    You can say formation is meaningless, but when the formation dictates that we do not have the best XI possible on the field, then I think formation does matter.

  50. One more thing… I’m glad Robben missed those 2 easy chances.. Knowing him means that he’s getting them out of his system.. he will be putting them away during the World Cup.

  51. “For the record, a different Andrew, here”

    Not a different Andrew. A multi troll who tried to change his style of writing not to be recognized. That worked quite good, he got 6 answers on one post in a short time, while he got NONE on 12 posts last week. I also must admit that I didn’t recognize him first.

    But his NEED to insult some target posters gives us an obvious proof of his presence everytime. Actually the same idiot is pretty lunatic when he talks about football, few weeks ago he was repeating every time “you’ll miss Bert”, now he is defending Van Gaal. He always need to write against the general opinion to feel important. We don’t want LVG tactic ? Then he’ll come and write that we are all silly, understand nothing etc.
    We like LVG tactic ? Then he’ll come to say that we’ll miss Bert.

    That’s all the story of his presence here. Actually I’m pretty sure that he also goes on some other blogs, it can be about football, cars, illuminatis, vegetables or whatever, all he needs is to discuss and write against the general opinion.

    Those people are generally walking head down in the streets, reading newspapers alone in big gardens.

Join the Conversation

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.