UPDATE: Do or Die for the Dutch….

blog
by Jan

UPDATE MATCH DAY:

 

Here is the latest. Skipper Arjen Robben laughs when asked about this Iceland game. “Listen, I played the game already in my head. A couple of times. We’ll win it. Van Gaal calls it “imagining” it and I did it and guess what: we did well.” Robben was pleased to see the quality of the lads on the training pitch. “Everyone is hungry. We all know what is at stake. Pride, honour, ego, etc… We finished third at the World Cup. That may not mean we are the best of the world per se, today, but we have it in us to play any team off the pitch. We are still the master of our destiny and we are very confident.”

robben skip

In a packed Arena Stadium, Oranje wants to go for the jugular and pin Iceland down. And makes goals. Lots of goals. Team manager Danny Blind: “We want to make goals, and we want to play in a good pace. With aggression. But from experience I know we also will need patience. The pressure is on but funnily enough I feel quiet and relaxed and confident. Our players deal well with pressure.  We lost the away game against them due to lack of sharpness. Two set pieces. That tells the story. But Iceland is a smart team, they don’t spill many points and are disciplined. But in terms of quality, they don’t really have world class players. Their players all play at decent level, Basel, Swansea…that sort of level. But we should definitely be able to beat them.”

depay hunter

When Robben was asked about his role as captain, he joked: “I gave the team manager the line up for the game and that was it.”

I don’t like football-less summers and I don’t like the month of August. In which clubs need to start the competitions and play qualification game while the transfer period is still going and teams can lose key players and therefore we, the fans, have to suffer from what I call competition falsification. I mean, if El Ghazi would be bought by Sunderland on the last day of the transfer period, the clubs that played Ajax in the Eredivisie might well protest that their competitors now have to face an Ajax without El Ghazi while they had to play against him…. Etc etc…. I simply do not get why clubs need that long to sort out their bloody squads.

selectie

 

San Marco is back….

But September is here and not only that: the big Do or Die games are on our doorstep.

Who would have guessed that we would get ourselves in such a mess…. Oranje finished third at the last World Cup. And second at the World Cup before that. Not too shabby. In 2010, we sort of hoped for it to happen, with Wes, Raf, Robin and Arjen in their prime. But in 2014 no one predicted it. Not me, not you and certainly not Louis van Gaal. But it came at a price. A large group of players left the Eredivisie to set up camp elsewhere. Most of the back four left Holland, which always affects a player and our beloved team manager left as well. And in their infinite wisdom, the KNVB made the only logical decision they could: they appointed someone who was the total opposite of Van Gaal and forced him to work with Van Gaal’s legacy and his former assistant. Who, by the way, was already given the contract to succeed the new coach on the way to the World Cup 2018. Only in The Netherlands…. Well, at least it is clear that should Danny Blind not be able to qualify for the Euros, his short career will be over and so will the career of Bert van Oostveen, CEO of the KNVB.

robben

 

Captain Arjen Robben

Poor Guus didn’t gel with Blind and was too fuzzy for the squad, who was used to benign dictator Van Gaal. And it isn’t hard to imagine that Danny Blind was on the squawker with Van Gaal on a weekly basis, making it hard for Hiddink to make something out of the team. Lucky Guus took on the job not realising how much work there was to do and with a series of disappointing performances by his team and the injuries of Strootman, Robben, Van Persie and Vlaar it became clear that the Dutch were not going to qualify that easily as they did in the 10 years prior to this qualifications.

So Guus left. Danny stepped up. And San Marco joined Blind and Van Nistelrooy in his quest to help Oranje qualify.

This Thursday, Iceland awaits in the Amsterdam Arena while Turkey is host on Sunday.

The selection of players Danny Blind presented for the games did raise some eyebrows… Kenneth Vermeer, going through some issues at Feyenoord, is not longer part of the squad. Jeroen Zoet of PSV replaces him. Krul and Cillesen are the other two and the latter will be goalie number 1.

RVP

At the back, Jetro Willems is injured (like Vlaar) and Daley Blind seems to be the only real option for that spot. Blind decided to ignore Pieters and Van Aanholt, two players who have extensive EPL experience and picked Kongolo as potential stand in for Daley. On right back, Daryl Janmaat hasn’t made it into the squad, again… most fans don’t get why, and Greg van der Wiel (benched at PSG) and debutant Kenny Tete (only 4 eredivisie games) will compete for that spot. Stefan de Vrij will most likely play centrally, but his former partner in crime Martins Indi might have to start on the bench as he hasn’t had any football yet.

As controlling midfielder, Vernon Anita and Davy Klaassen seem to be the candidates. Wijnaldum can play there as well, as he demonstrated at the World Cup. Clasie (injured) and De Jong ( ignored) are absent. Sneijder and Wijnaldum or Afellay will complete midfield. It is also pretty certain that Robben will wear the armband, with Huntelaar leading the line as RVP is not yet fully match fit. Rising star Memphis will start on the left wing.

Anita

 

Vernon Anita

Danny Blind will need to win in his first match as team manager and if he does, he will be the first one to do so since Frank Rijkaard in 1998. There has been a lot of debate in Holland about the fact that Blind doesn’t really have a lot of experience as coach. His only year as Ajax coach didn’t end too well with technical director Martin van Geel saying “Danny is the right man, but not in the right job”. However, he did secure CL football for Ajax and he won the national cup so it wasn’t all that bad… At the same time, being a successful club coach doesn’t guarantee a good stint as team manager. Van Gaal himself is the proof of that statement, with his abysmal turn in 2000 – 2002. Joachim Low, the world champion coach, also cannot look back at a great career as club coach, but being a club coach is simply a different job altogether.

blind doceert weer

It will be quite something though. Our new team manager hasn’t even had the chance to play one practice game with his team. His first game is immediately a must-win game. There is no long term vision needed at the moment. Simply the short term one. Winning. We have Iceland on Thurs, Turkey on Sunday and next month the Czechs at home and Kazachstan away.

Oranje played 10 times against Iceland and won 9. The last one was a debacle and happened to be the one earlier in this qualification race. The goal difference between Oranje and Iceland is 25-2.

tete

 

Kenny Tete

Jairo Riedenwald and Kenny Tete are two young Ajax defenders. Both are known talents of the highest order. Blind selected both and left Virgil van Dijk and Daryl Janmaat out. Blind: “I see around 20 games every weekend. I follow all the players and analyse their game. I am all for experience, but when I see experienced players make the same mistakes over and over again, experience clearly doesn’t count for much. I believe in these youngsters. They have something special. I selected them because I think they can do the job. I didn’t make the decision flippantly, but after very careful consideration. The fact that they play for Ajax has nothing to do with it, for me. And obviously, they won’t be starters. I have experience in my squad but I do believe it is good for us and for Dutch football to allow these guys a look in.”

Gregory van der Wiel was asked a lot of questions about his situation at Paris SG. “I started seasons like this before and I always came back into the team, stronger. I hear there is a lot of questions about my ability to play. Ridiculous. As if I don’t know how to play anymore? It is about quality, yes? Who made up that rule that you cannot be selected if you don’t play with your club?”

memphis

 

Memphis “Clint” Depay

Memphis Depay had the entrance in the Oranje camp of a diva. Kenny Tete had a different welcome. He stepped out of the car, driven by his dad, and when the news teams jumped on him, his dad drove off. The young debutant realised his bag was still in the car and he quickly called his father to ask him to turn around. “My bag is still in the boot, dad! Please come back.” At Ajax, Tete seems to have won the competition duel for the right back spot with Ricardo van Rhijn. “I would have been so pleased to play for Young Oranje. It is quite special that the team manager acknowledged our strong start (referring to him and Riedewald). But this is even more crazy. Cillesen told me about the media being present so I’m well prepared. What? Do all debutants have to sing a song? He didn’t say that? Gosh I hope not….” Tete doesn’t count on playing time. “I am just so happy to be here. I have Greg van der Wiel in front of me. He is big player. I look up to him. And I am not really counting on anything else. My first job is to introduce myself to the other players. I don’t think Robin van Persie knows who Kenny Tete is, hahaha.”

Vernon Anita is back at Oranje. The little defensive mid had a stint earlier under Van Marwijk but basically was considered “too light” for Oranje. He appeared to be too light for Newcastle United too but after being patient, he seems to have his starting position under McClaren in North East England.  The 26 year old wasn’t called up for 5 years. “I don’t know why I wasn’t called up and I actually never wondered. I mean, Holland has a tremendous talent pool and when you have players like Nigel de Jong or Rafa van der Vaart and more recently Blind and Clasie for my spot, it is not hard to see why I wasn’t getting any games. I was not a regular for a while at Newcastle. so…” The new coach Blind has a special relationship with Anita. The midfielder made his debut under Blind at Ajax, when 16 years old. Anita: “Wow, that is quite some time ago now… But we have many players who can play on that spot. Wijnaldum and Klaassen, Blind… and in the future Clasie, Strootman, Van Ginkel and De Guzman. I don’t count on anything, but I’m ready if the coach needs me.”

Sneijder Robben

 

Old guns Robben and Sneijder

With his 31 years behind his name, Wes Sneijder could be seen as a veteran. He scored twice last weekend and was his cocky old self when at Oranje’s camp in Noordwijk.  “We created this situation ourselves and we will get ourselves out of it. I remember the 2004 Euros when we had to win against Scotland in those play offs. These games are a bit like those play offs. All finals now. And we need to do all we can to be there. You simply have to be present at those tournaments. But it will be tough. Iceland at home sounds easy but it’s not.” When questioned about the second game, Turkey, Sneijder showed his usual grit. “Are you asking me about the second game now? You don’t get it. The second game is irrelevant. We first need to win this one. Then we talk Turkey.” Sneijder played every tournament from 2004 onwards. Three World Cups, Three Euros. And it is unthinkable for him to think he’ll watch this one from his sofa, on telly. The kit managers and medical staff is constantly reminded of Sneijder’s presence in Brazil 2014. He gifted all of them a special watch with inscription. “We won bronze in Brazil, but you were gold for me!”.

With the two international games this coming week, Robin van Persie can enter the Club of 100. He has 98 games to his name and will need playing minutes in both games to reach that illustrious club. At this stage, Van der Sar is still the record holder with 130. Wes Sneijder is on his tail with 115. He hopes to add four in this qualification series and another 4 or more at the Euros. Then it will be a matter of remaining fit as the World Cup qualifiers and friendlies might lift Sneijder past Sar. Frank de Boer has 112 and retired. Rafa van der Vaart is still active as a player and has 109. Feyenoord coach Gio van Bronckhorst has 106, Dirk Kuyt 104 and Phillip Cocu 101. Huntelaar can reach 75 games while Cillesen might reach the 25 cap milestone on Sunday.

Danny Blind press conference

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159 comments

  1. Great recap, thanks Jan!

    I hope we see some of the intensity and spirit back after it was missing lots of times with Hiddink

    I wear my Oranje kit to work tomorrow 😉
    HUP HOLLAND HUP

      2. Memphis is a cool cat… :-). It’s funny how his shawl is most likely Louis Vutton but it only says “Louis” on the front which is also the first name of his coach at Man U. So he is getting some stick for that hahahaha

  2. Thanks for posting Jan! I am really looking forward to the game tommorrow. Glad to see swedish TV is showing the game (I am dutch-swedish, living in Stockholm). The iceland coach, Lagerbäck, is former swedish national coach and master of defensive tactics.

  3. I like this comment “I am all for experience, but when I see experienced players make the same mistakes over and over again, experience clearly doesn’t count for much. I believe in these youngsters.”
    I hoped to see Tete at RB against Iceland. He looks assured and composed on the ball and dares to go in for tackle or duels. Janmaat has been underwhelming in Newcastle games so far IMO. Poor passes, crosses, tackles etc. the rest if defence should pick itself (de vrij, martins indi and daley blind)
    For midfield I hope to see sneijder, klassen and Wijnaldum. No Afellay pls…he hasn’t impressed me at Stoke.still the same Afellay..:(
    Upfront should be depay, robben and huntelaar.

    1. thats a trickery call for Blind. Both keepers have their own weaknesses and strengths however it may well come down the how well the team can hold the defensive line. I mean you look the midfield trio of Sneijder, Wijnaldum and Blind,assuming they will start. All three are attack minded so you can expect the midfield to open up if possession is lost while in attack. this is where it can be crucial taking into considerations the versatility of the defenders.

      this is one area Cillessen looked very vulnerable looking at when Ajax played Rapid Vienna. (2-3). Though it was the defense who failed to hold up the front line but yet he was out of ideas and this is one area where Krul is a proven.

      but then on the hand Krul hasnt played alot for NT when compared with Cillessen and this could well be the influencing factor.

  5. I really enjoy the likes of Riedewald and Tete but I do believe it is too early. Van der Wiel hasn’t played any top football for months. Janmaat might not impress at Newcastle but he doesn’t play bad either. I saw all his games this season and the only problem really, is that he got redcarded. You can’t just blame Janmaat for his performance, he is obviously part of a team at Newcastle. He has had great runs but was overlooked at times, etc etc.

    You don’t want to see Van der Wiel leave the pitch with an injury and Tete having to come on with 0-0 on the clock and all that nervous energy… It’s actually irresponsible to use debutants in a game this vital.

    1. Blind was fed up with the repeated mistakes of the older ones..Tete and Jairo has something special,they are stable and reliable fast and agile…its good that Blind has turned to new talents rather than looking in to already tested failures..
      But i wonder how much time he requires to understand that Afellay,promes,weil and BMI are bad selection of players..

      1. Seriously, Janmaat will not be held accountable for the bad series Tiju?? He is the only one missing from the squad. So Janmaat is to blame??? Why not Sneijder? Huntelaar? Robben? It is ridiculous. Sorry.

        1. i dont see problem with Roben,sneijder and Hunter…though hunter played lesser games, Roben too..the real issue was the players selected by hiddink to support our main players..i mean Afellay,Weil,Janmaat,BMI,promes…were below par to support our main stem players…
          So the questions should be Why Janmaat alone??…Why not Afellay,weil,BMI and promes,RVP..??.these are guys who played real bad for those 6 games..

      1. No steve…kongolo got it…and he deserves it…Ajax has has only 3 good players all got selected…Feynoord Vanbeek called for u21.Basicogulu is good from news i heard…i dont see a rift…but i am sad about danny and many gets fooled by Afelly,weil and promes..BMI..

      2. No I cannot believe this. It would be outright stupid for Blind to even go there. And why? Wijnaldum and Van Persie are in it. De Vrij and BMI are in it. I do believe Daley has gotten some preference over Clasie but I am not sure how Clasie holds himself in the Oranje selection. He is a bit shy and introverted I think. Not unlike Paul Scholes. We’ll see how Clasie plays at Sotho I guess.

  6. I really don’t expect much from them no matter how good they are playing at eredivisie level. They all choke at NT level. Van Rhijn,Boetius,Clasie,Maher,Promes and even Kongolo had decent outings on their debut for NT. If I’m correctly remember only Van Annholt,Depay, Rekik looked exceptional.

    2. Only Reikik was solid…and kongolo too..Not even Depay…..Annholt is a talented player with nonchalance..
      Clasie struggled vs turkey..Maher was good…crap was promes,and boetius and even after 48 matches Afeally is still crap…from his debt..As manu fan i am really worried about Depay..once LVG is gone life will be difficult for Depay in MAnu..

      1. It’s too early to call man. Afellay was hot when he was young. Boetius dazzled in his first season. Babel, Daniel de Ridder, so many exciting youngsters. But to stay at the top is hard.

        I take you back to 2008 – 2010 when everyone said that with Mathijsen, Heitinga and Ooijer you could never win a trophy. Casillas toe stopped that from happening in 2010.

        Alan Hansen and his infamous comment about the Class of 1992 at Man United (you can’t win trophies with kids)…. Tete and Riedewald could end up the next Maduro and Babel, the next Boetius and Maher….

          1. Tete and Riedewald did not play 48 games?? They haven’t even played 10 in the Eredivisie!! I believe Blind is taking a risk with these youngsters. I don’t think it is worth it.

            That is my point. You claim that Afellay is bad and Tete is great. I am merely saying that Afellay looked great too when he was 19 years old. Look at him now. Don’t throw these kids into the lions den too early.

          2. my point is even after 48 games Afellay still plays crap..all i remmber is Afellay was withdrawn from u21 2007 squad and his replacement bakal played and awesome tournament and we won..Afellay was never a team player..
            Tete and jario might be too early since our many experienced players play crap(Weil,Afellay,promes and to extend BMI)i like the ides of gambling like LVG did in his first game vs turkey for WCQ2014..

  8. I’m jus wondering here what happens to Van Rhijn now with Tete seemingly becoming no 1 for
    FDB. With the experience Van Rhijn Possess it would be shame seeing him warm the bench.

  10. Hey Guys,

    Haven’t messaged in a while. But I just have to say this:

    It is simply ridiculous that Blind would select kids such as Riedewald and Tete for such hugely important games. I was appalled when I saw their selection. How could Blind be so irresponsible? And I cannot believe that well-thinking Oranje fans could be fine with their selection.

    I am an avid Eredivisie fan and is very familiar with the games of both kids, and I think they both have great potential. But it is simply way too early to select them and thrust them into the deep.

    Also, the correct thing to do would have been to select Janmaat instead of Tete, and Virgil for Riedewald. Yes, Daryl played foolishly a few games ago when he got a silly red card, but otherwise he has been decent. And Virgil is way more experienced than Jairo, and is on a good form(he just commanded a huge transfer to the Premier League).

    On another note. I am fine with most other parts of the selection, except the Luuk over Bas move. Bas playing in a big European league and is in good form. Addionally, with these games against Iceland and Turkey, we could need a pitch-hitter if we are not able to score late into the game, and Bas would obviously be a better option than Luuk.

  11. Someone mentioned de Roon earlier. I can tell you that he is a decent DM. The former Heerenveen caption started life well in Italy and I have been watching a few Atalanta games for his sake. He still has some rough edges, but I think he is showing enough for Danny and his staff to keep on eye on.

    1. Beat me to it, Steve M, I was just going to post the lineup.

      Wijnaldum, Klassen, Sneijder is a very offensive minded MF. Nothing conservative about Blind’s debut.

  15. Iceland is very well organized and dangerous in attack. It will be tough beating them. A draw looks more probable than any other result. We will likely concede at least a goal. Depay is unrecognizable.

    1. its due to BMI and Blind at our back,they make iceland players looks like messi and Ronaldo..
      Blind is paying penalty for BMI the stupid player…hope we escape with 0-0 at least…

  22. remind me if am wrong…i remember to be commenting along the lines of FUCK YOU MARTINS INDI…when he lost his temper and snapped out before…WTF is he still doing in the teamm….am I missing something…are his family druglords that threaten the coaching staff…what single attribute does he bring which is superior to Bruma/Rekik/van Dijk/ Heitinga????????

  25. Iceland will not do anything unless it is a counter-attack!!! Even with the man advantage after BMI’s send off, they are happy to park the bus and wait.

    Better to have taken off klassen instead of huntelaar.

    A draw would be considered a good result under the current circumstances

  37. I’m a big fan of Klaasen, but he’s gotta come off for Van Persie. Klaasen doesn’t yet have the ability to take the game on his shoulders, and even though van Persie isn’t 100% fit or on form, he still has a little bit of magic in that left foot that can change the game.

  38. no narsingh is much better than pathetic afellay

    also czech republic just equalized…only hope is to sneak in as the best 3rd place team….wont care..as long as Robben gets one last hurrah

      1. Holland wins all 3, up to 19. Iceland lose to all 3, so they stay at 18, Turkey up to 14, Czech up to 19. Turkey beats Czech, and go up to 17.

        Netherlands 19
        Czech 19
        Iceland 18
        Turkey 17

  48. To be honest, we played better at ten for the first 25 minutes of second half than at 11 the first 30 minutes of the first half…

    From the start, players didn’t seem to be concerned. There is a deep management issue here.

    1. Robben played with his heart on his sleeve as usual..what a legend carrying a bunch of mediocre sunday leaguers…hope is knock is precautionary…we wont be able to get a win against kazakhstan otherwise as they will unveil their new signing for the first time

    2. thats so true..no clear game plan,no inspiartional leader..Holland cannot rely on old legs of RVP,Roben and sneijder,we need fresh blood and fresh ideas..We need if Blind can drop certain players we will be fine at back/defense,Defensive sequirity gives creative players more freedom..
      Move wijnaldum to wings hence Roben is injured
      –Depay——–Hunter——-Wijnaldum
      ————Sneijder—————-
      ——-Blind——–Anita————
      Kongolo—Devrij–Bruma—–Tete
      ————Cillessen————
      For turkey…
      i really miss players like Jetro,Berghuis…
      this will give back line a huge sequirity…hence Blind-Hunetr snijedr can go for attack….
      i feel due to the presense of BMI and Weil i knew Goal or redcard is just matter of time…what makes me sad is how many games u need to undertsand that certain players are crap…

  51. Oh well… This team is terrible… I would rather not go to the euros with this team. Robben can’t seem to get a break with injuries. He must the unluckiest football player in the world.

    Van der Weil and BMI suck this game should be the last game they play with oranje. Memphis should really stop throwing himself to the ground every single time someone touches him, and if he does fall, he should stop claiming and rolling on the pitch like a bitch. He should just get the fuck up and continue playing.

    This has got to be the dark ages of dutch soccer. Without Robben, we have no superstar… All the other players are mediocre at best. Sneijder tried his best but he had no support.

    I do not look forward to the next dutch game… Sigh, sigh…..

  52. well its a matter of where to go from here. Iceland have definitely sealed their spot.Czech have yet to play Holland and Turkey and this is where we can hope things will swing in NTs favour.

    Playoffs shouldn’t be on the mind at this stage. still there is outside chance of directly qualifying.

  53. Awful game. Thanks Latvia! Narsingh, Wiel, Winjaldum were the worst. And of course Bmi. I think we have seen The last of him. Blind need to call a replacement, maybe for robben too.

  54. This was a very disappointing match to watch. How does a team that finished 3rd place just a year ago at the world cup struggle to win at home in a must win game?

    I’m concerned in regards to the new generation of players in terms of their quality compared to what we had in the past.

    Blind didn’t help himself with his team selection. I didn’t see any difference in terms of his strategy and tactics after taking over from Hiddink. The players were doing the same thing over and over again. When things don’t work, change it and be creative.

    I hope they can pick up the pieces and get ready for the next game.

  55. I probably very much in the minority, but I don’t think the sky is falling guys.

    Robben going down sucked the life out of the team. That is understandable to me. He is the captain and vocal leader now. His exit was a shock and immediately followed by another BMI dumb mistake.

    Martins Indi is a hot head and just not very good.

    We are down to 10 men against a solidly organized Iceland team. Van Der Wiel makes a lazy tackle and that’s it. We all know Cillessen can’t save penalties.

    The replacement of Huntelaar was a bonehead move by Blind. It left us with no outlet when we needed to play the ball deep to get openings in the box. That led to a number of shots outside the 18 yard area, and those just weren’t going to trouble the Iceland keeper.

    So, we had a number of player and coaching mistakes…what we didn’t have was a team that was fighting with one another or that gave up. Everyone stayed with it and worked for the equalizer.

    We need to leave this one in the rear view and focus on Turkey. We still control our own destiny and Sunday is a must win game in my opinion. We go to Turkey and take the 3 points, we lock up at least 3rd place and give ourselves a shot at the 2nd spot.

    I think we can do it. As for the speculation that Robben was replaced as a precaution…forget it. He will not play Sunday. If he could have continued, he would have. We will have to do it without him.

    Hup!

    My lineup for Sunday :

    Depay – Huntelaar – Affelay
    Wijnaldum – Sneijder – Promes
    Kongolo – De Vrij – Bruma – Blind
    Cillessen

  57. The Holland coaches have just got STUPID. They are lost now when it comes to personnel decisions. I do not know why they play BMI–he is ALWAYS a red card waiting to happen. Have they not noticed that the last three+ years? And van der Wiel is no good–that is why LVG did not pick him. Look at the two players that blew this game–these two. I have never liked either one of them. What a disaster this campaign has been. Need another new coach–someone who will ditch BMI and van der Wiel permanently and find the right players.

  59. Well, we nees drastic changes in all areas…new goalie, new defenders…specially there is where we need more balance. I mean, we have great forwards and OK midfielders but if every time we concede, it is very difficult to get the result you want.

    Cillessen is a good goalkeeper but is not commanding and in penalties he sucks. Van der Wiel is done for me, Martins Indi has to go for good and Blind should never play as left back again. Klaassen is not a holding mid!!! And Robben injury was bad luck.

    That is why I repeat we need Virgil van Dijk who is a great defender and recently was bought by Southampton. He can really be a solution for the long term. No Bruma, no Veltman and of course no more Martins Indi, never again.

    My line up for the Turkey game.

    1- Cillessen
    2- Tete
    3- De Vrij
    4- Van Dijk (call him instead of stupid Martins Indi)
    5- Pieters (call him to improve defence)
    6- Blind
    7- Depay
    8- Klaassen
    9- Huntelaar
    10- Sneijder
    11- Robben

    ***It is very unlikely that Blind SR will call new defenders and that is why there is a very risky situation now. We also need a player like De Jong, if not at least play Daley as holding mid…BUT KLAASSEN is not a number 6, he plays as number 10 or 8 at the most. I did not get why Danny Blind subbed Huntelaar, he should have taken off Klaassen or Wijnaldum….

    Anyway, Danny Blind is not guilty of the bad spell Hiddink left and the stupidity of Martins Indi or the injury of Robben. Anyway, I think that if we at the end qualify in the play offs or by direct qualification would be a good thing for Oranje and in the tournament things can change dramatically but if we don´t go to France is because of bad decisions at the highest level: the first was not appointing Koeman and selecting Hiddink as Van Gaal replacement, then team selection and respecting players that should not be considered anymore and finally some players have been below par. If you add to that equation that we have had injuries like Robben, Willems, Strootman, things are not good!

    Hup Holland and please Danny Blind, call Van Dijk and put the players in the position they play at their clubs!

  62. We need a radical, authoritative & tactically astute coach like Van Gaal to get anything out of this ordinary bunch of players. After every game I get convinced more and more why LvG had to play 5 at the back to cover for our below average defenders.

    On other note I wonder how can you blame a new coach on his first game if your CB is stupid enough to get himself sent off even after knowing that the most important player of the team is already out due to injury or your Right back who plays for a high profile club like PSG is lazy enough to not get a basic tackle right when the team is a man down and fighting for it’s pride!

    It’s better to either bring back old dogs like Kuyt, Pieters, De Jong, Vaart who at least know how to get basics right or give chance to the 18, 19 year old kids who will be motivated enough to prove themselves.

    1. only peiters or Dejong..Vaart is 20 minute player like RVP,kuyt became 60 minute player..We need goals and creativity upfront which is not happening..Defense will be okay once we play kogolo,williams,Vrijl bruma and co..

  63. I don’t blame the coach at all for todays loss!! Two immature mistakes from BMI and VDW cost us the 3 points….If i was Bind i would never call both of those players until they prove themselves in club level. Janmaat is still paying for his mistake against the Czechs. So them too should suffer the same consequences.

    Cillesens hands are made out of glass!! The guy always guesses right on the pk’s and gets a hand on the ball but somehow never makes a save!

    A must win against a Turkey team who couldn’t beat Latvia but i’m sure against us they’ll show a completely different side.

    1. That is good, BMI needs to take responsibility and I am glad someone in the team called him out for once, as they did to poor Janmaat vs the czechs… but I wouldnt say Robben “blasts” BMI, was just honest. stupid goal .com haha

  66. Guys, the line up I posted earlier could have some changes because Lens and Van Dijk have been added to the squad replacing Robben and stupid Martins Indi (who hopefully never wears an Oranje jersey again).

    1- Krul
    2- Bruma (Tete doesn´t have it yet)
    3- De Vrij
    4- Van Dijk
    5- Kongolo
    6- Blind (as holding mid)
    7- Depay
    8- Klaassen
    9- Huntelaar (or Van Persie)
    10- Sneijder
    11- Lens

    This is a balanced line up with stronger defenders with hunger like Bruma and Kongolo and someone who has been begging for a chance like Van Dijk and really deserves it. A top defender who was overlooked in the past but eventually will prove Blind or whoever is the coach that he has to start.

    In midfield we don´t put Klaassen as holding mid, instead his place will go to Daley. And up front Depay, Huntelaar or Van Persie and Lens is the best alternative to replace Robben…nobody can replace Robben but at least he has more in his legs than Promes and Narsingh at the moment.

    I think Turkey is a very unpredictable opponent, they could play the games of their lives on Sunday or have a mediocre performance like against Latvia. Hopefully they will come short and Oranje beats them.

    Anyway, the whole campaign has been a disaster and the KNVB must evaluate what is best for the long term after we know if we go at the Euros or stay watching on the T.V.

    I am confident we will get a good result in Sunday but with this squad you never know. Good luck!

  67. At last some body has said as to what I have been trying point out form the time Hiddink took over from Van Gaal.

    Quote KJ ” After every game I get convinced more and more why LvG had to play 5 at the back to cover for our below average defenders.”

    Hiddink never took heed of the above and paid the price and now Blind is making the same mistake. Im pretty much sure the reason why BMI started was simply because of the same old crap, both De Vrij and BMIs partnership goes way back to Feyenoord days and they have a common bonding becuase they have played most number of games together.

    You have to go back prior to the WC when Van Gaal was concentrating on 4-3-3, the game vs France exposed every weakness the team had and thats was the only reason why he switched to 3-5-2.

    Hiddinks comes in, switches back to 4-3-3 with the sames players expecting to continue from where Van Gaal left, it backfires.Now again Blind comes in, same back line players, same formation expecting to win. no,never ,it aint gonna work.

    Todays win would have guaranteed touching distance with Iceland and Czech and hopefully by next set of qualifiers there could have been more players fighting for the spot based on the recent transfer and their club performance but unfortunately that has gone in vain.

    For me the backline selection was crap. Everytime I get the feeling that in order to get selected you have to be playing in a good team. This is something I dont understand. I mean you look at Karim Rekik at Marseille, he had a very good pre season and also he has featured in all four games for Marseille in Ligue 1 to date but yet he was selected. the only thing you can get from this is they want BMI and De Vrij partnership to continue which again back fired today.

    But either way, Robben injury had already summed up in which way the game was going to swing in favour off. I think if not for the penalty,or even with BMI on the field that game would have ended in draw.

  68. Even Rekik, who plays with big boys Marseille, should get the nod ahead of lackluster Ajax defenders.

    We need some serious defenders like Pieters + Virgil.

    Regarding the coach, he needs to win at least 2 out of the next 3 games to keep his position (and a draw with the turkey is the bare minimum).

    There is a chance LVG gets sacked at United and comes back to save the NT. I was one of the Anti-LVG guys but now I appreciate what he did for our young guns and built mainstays like De Vrij & Memphis. Where is Van Marwijk these days, it would be ok to see him back too.

    Isn’t it interesting to see that Kluivert’s Curacao has a chance to make it to the WC? Obviously my heart bleeds Orange for life but it’s great to see a ‘Cool Runnings’ adventure in the works.

  69. I have watched the Replay over and over again trying to conclude whether the penalty was actually a legitimate call or not. Again its a 50 – 50 call IMO

    the direction in which the ball went after Weil tackle suggests that he had the first touch on the ball before tangling down Bjarnason.

    any comments here????????

    1. If the ref thinks its dangerous, or even just a tackle from behind, then he must call a pen. Doesnt matter if you get the ball.. the ‘getting the ball first’ kind of thinking is old school and no longer the rules.
      He def did get the ball…

  70. I agree mostly with what Mario Rosado said above. We need to change things if we are to play with 4-3-3. Else I think safer to revert to 5-3-2 to grind out the results for qual.

    Put Tete and Van Dijk in. They can’t do any worse than it is now. But I doubt Blind will do so…it really puzzled me what the coaches are seeing that we don’t..no more Van De Wiel, Afellay and BMI PLS.

  71. Both Hiddink and Blind slecetd non quality players regularly and played them in all matches…
    first 4 matches Afellay…..at front RVP too
    Weil,BMI and Blind at back…thats suicide,when u have these 3 guys at back i feel like am sitting on an arrow.
    LAck of speed & sterntgh of Blind is giving extra pressure on LCB…Already BMI is weak LCB he cannt take that..
    Weil is always a disaster…
    when u hav Afellay up front u will have goal drought but u will see endless dribbles ends up with nothing..
    if Any coach wants to suceed for this NT…they must forget Roben,sneijder(as they are getting old and u cannt expect them to carry every game).by keeping them as leaders…they must premananlty omit Afellay,promes,weil,BMI,and Blind as LB.
    Daley blind is best when plays box to box..since strootman is out blind can be used for it…
    Hunter—Luuk
    Singraven–Depay
    Roben—–Wijnaldum/Berghius
    Sneijder—Clasie/Maher
    Blind——Vanginkel
    Hendrix—-Toonstra
    Williams–Kongolo
    Vrijil—-Reikik
    Devrij—-Bruma
    Tete——Janmaat
    Cillesen/krul/Zoet

  72. Wijladum ,dpeay and co doesnt have the intelligence of Sneijder So…they cannt play as playmakers,its stupidity to waste them over there..Since we dont have a quality winger…why cannt they move Wijnaldum to robens place??like Corpot did for u21..
    Ola john—-luuk——–wijanldum
    ———-maher—————
    —–Strootman—-Ginkel———-
    Blind—BMI—Devrij—-Vanrhijn
    ———Zoet——————
    But no more Blind,BMI,Rhijn,Weil at back line…

  73. Oooof what a bummer. Tough result, but what can you do?
    Still should make the 3rd place, but that is not a huge consolation at this moment.
    It hurts. I hope the players feel it and draw on that for Turkey.

    The Iceland matches both were perfect example to me that there is something else inherent (coming right from the top, beyond manager) in the squad, a lack of fighting spirit and belief, which is causes the lack of ruthlessness and a calm confidence which I haven’t seen for a while.

    The obvious problems are BMI and a hole in the RB position…. agree with lots of the above that we can use fresh faces in the back 4.
    No offence to LZ who suggested 5 defenders to cover for below average defenders, I do think we have the quality.. also if I am not mistaken LvG even attributed the 5 at the back to not having Strootman to do that hard B2B work in the middle. I think the best 4 defenders in our group play for netherlands, so something else is wrong I think.

    Ugh I am absolutely gutted for Robben…
    Are we even allowed to call up replacement players for Turkey?
    I dont think you can replace BMI, since he got a straight red he is probably sitting on a suspension so cannot be replaced, but not 100% sure.

    1. I did yes, I was surprised to see him at LB and he was def rusty.
      I guess its been a while since he played there and I think he was struggling with BMI.. still not really challenged too much though so hard to say.
      After all, Icelands 3 goals against us could be seen as being poor or a bit lucky.. 2 penalties which might not be penalties with other refs, and a scramble goal from a corner kick. the ball is round, good luck comes, good luck goes..

      1. I assume he is most confortable in whichever position he has been playing the most recently, but who knows.
        Anyways you are wrong. He was not out of position, and it was a long ball from the back to the striker and BMI followed him over, not a phase of play.

        Go figure you would try and blame Blind for BMIs red card.

        1. So are you saying he should have been playing LCB. He followed him there because Blind was retrieving back after going forward. This is one of the major weakness of Blind. He goes forward well but during counters he just throws the towel by running back like in marathon.This is we here the CBS have to come in and rescue him.

          But yet he always gets selected to play there.

          1. No you’re wrong BMI is the only one to blame for his red card.
            And no I am not saying he should be playing LCB, – although now that you mention, maybe he should have been, with Kongolo on the LB.

        2. Well I’m not disputing about the red card,that was his own foolishness,but if you watch the replay,even though BMI is drawn in by Sigporsson, Blind even though arriving late makes no effort to cover BMI at CB but instead arrives as a spectator watching the wrestling going on the floor. Then when the play is stopped he stands on the ball like nothing has happened.

          Watch that replay I posted again. There is so many occasions when Blind is out of position, could have been easily 3-0 if for a more clinical forward.

          1. You said “BMI got red carded for bailing him out.”, so just say what you mean next time.
            I don’t think you understand how football positions cycle, so not even going into the rest of your comment.

  77. Lenz and Virjil????after loosing a game???? haha
    why did blind do this earlier??????u r a professional,u folow talents closely still u omitted some good ones for some craps..Afellay,BMI,weil,Promes…

  78. how many of u guys noticed Depay is loosing his speed and agility and dribbling skills due to over weight muscles ..???
    Maher,proper was in terrifc form…they were neglected..Lenz scored few goals??? he also neglected
    Virjil and reikik and Kongolo as LB negecletd…then u are punished..

    1. Depay and sneijder on the same side is like iron cutting the Iron. Both always cancel each other out that’s why Depay was largely unanimous on the left flank. Somebody needs to switch.

    2. He was not the best yesterday at all, but I don’t really see it being due to over weight muscles or anything.
      I think he has a lot of pressure on him, defenders all know who he is now so he needs to step up to a new level. I think he has something special and will figure it out.

  80. Well not the result we wanted, I did not see the game but on the highlights it seems that we had the better of the play, with more shots on goal, the Icelandic keeper made a lot of good stops! Cillisen let us down by not saving what was a poor penalty shot, Krul would have caught that in his hands.
    It amazing how professional players (insert BMI, Wiel) can make stupid mistakes in crucial situations, I don’t get it!
    And again it seems that for all the hoohaa about RVP not performing for NT , no goals were scored by his replacements, if he is fit he must play IMO.
    Turkey next, I expect a tougher opponent than Iceland, if we don’t lift our intensity and get in the battle they will beat us.

  82. Alexander Merkel will make his debut in the next game…absolute gem and dont understand why he chose them over his other options…either way its really unfair towards the teams that have already done playing the kazakhs twice

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