Euros schmeuros… it was balls! Let’s move on….

blog WC2018
by Jan

Disappointing. The finals of the Euros reflected the quality of this tournament perfectly…. A boring game with one nation not really interested in playing attacking football and the other nation somehow not capable. One of the few stars of the tournament injured in the first 10 minutes and then 100+ minutes without a goal. And at the end… Portugal wins!

CR7 tears of despair in the first stage and tears of joy at the end.

You know how bad a tournament is when all you can rave about is 1) the quality of the broadcast, 2) the consistency and leniency of the refs and 3) the fact that Wales, Iceland, Ireland and Hungary impressed….

de roon

Marten de Roon to Middlesbrough

With all due respect of course. We weren’t even there! And Iceland beat us twice, so we can’t say their rubbish. But football took a turn and we need a response to that turn.

Atletico Madrid in Spain, Leicester in England and now Wales and Iceland at the Euros…

Make no mistake, the two club teams definitely have quality… And Wales and Iceland have top players as well. But what set them apart from the others, is not their individual quality or their tactical smarts. What sets them apart is work rate, desire, discipline and commitment.

This is quite interesting of course, because if the likes of Real Madrid, Ajax, Man United, Arsenal and Oranje had similar grit in their past season, things would have looked different, for sure. This is the only thing we will need to add to our arsenal and we might lift ourselves up.

nouri

 

 

Nouri on the radar…

Sure, we do need some quality to turn a gritty team into a winning team. But quality we have. And we do need coaching smarts to drill the patterns in, which is something that won’t happen so easily in a qualification series, but need to happen before the tournament.

I think Blind has that capability. Particularly with Advocaat beside him.

I think we have the players to play with more grit, with more passion and commitment. Strootman offers tons of that, Janssen up front too. I hope De Vrij will get to his normal level and have high hopes for Propper, Bazoer but also the likes of Fer and Vilhena.

Tonny-Trindade-de-Vilhena

Tonny Trindade Vilhena

The best news this summer was the fact that Tonny Vilhena will stay in the Eredivisie! He’ll play weekly and learn more and more. When he’s 23 / 24 years old, he could be a top midfielder for us. Dynamic, duelling power, rocket in his feet and good mentality.

The start of the Under 19s vs Croatia is also hopeful. Some good passages of play and that Nouri flick is going viral. Very Bergkamp-esque.

We’re now prepping for the new season. Still a lot of question marks. Depay and Blind being obvious ones, of course. But Janssen at Spurs.. what to expect? Will Van Ginkel stay at PSV? Will Clasie find himself in a team that shares the conviction and courage of Koeman’s teams?

De Roon in the EPL is going to be good fun and Ake and Berghuis will make some steps too next season.

ake oranje

 

Nathan Ake

If Blind is able to start the WC campaign with the strongest players fit, I don’t think Sweden should be a problem and I even believe France is doable. They will take their disappointment into their WC campaign for sure and their hangover can be our advantage.

I am positive about our future, but then again: I always am!

Anyway, here is a team of the big disappointments:

EURO2016worstXI

This, by the way, is the team of players that didn’t qualify.

not qualified

And this a team of players that weren’t selected by their coaches…… Not too shabby…

not selected

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250 comments

  1. Thanks Jan – good stuff!

    “And we do need coaching smarts to drill the patterns in, which is something that won’t happen so easily in a qualification series, but need to happen before the tournament.”

    Completely agree with this and adds to the comments from your last post about player selection.. Players who have been with the team already have an advantage here over ones whom have not been selected. Ones who have not been selected must prove themselves even further.

    This does not mean I agree with Blinds’ selections..
    Personally I have not been convinced by his managing/ tactics at all, but it does appear that we may have turned a corner so let’s get behind the team! Onwards and upwards!
    Hup Holland!

    1. Terrific article, as usual, Jan.

      btw: I like the team that didn’t qualify a lot more than I like the team that didn’t get selected.

      Going forward, it seems to me that the first big question Blind (with the rest of his staff) has to decide is whether Sneijder fits in or not. I saw little of him in Turkey; others can/will opine. I’d like to think that he has still has much to give; and if he does, they can be a much different team than without. For example, if he is on his game, I could see a strong partnership with Janssen.

      I do think that if he does play, it has to be as a No. 10, behind Janssen, and with two MF’s in holding roles behind him. I’d pick Strootman and Wijnaldum for those spots. Strootman because you would always want Strootman if he is healthy, and Wijnaldum because he is strong, fast, will play the entire field, and, as he showed in the friendlies, he’ll stick the ball in the net when he has a chance.

      What are your (and others’) thoughts on who Blind should play with Sneijder to get the most out of him?

      1. I think sneijder should be used as impact at most. his 10 shots per 1 on target clearly reflects his current form. I dont think he is 90 minute player now at top level. Its apparent that he can be instrumental with minor teams but I would rather have some new faces tested out at at 10 so that there can be a smooth transition leading up to or after the WC. CM and wingers are deficiency areas at the moment. Im thinking life without Robben. lets get rid of wingers and CMS. This is what can be formed.

        4-1-3-2

        —-Locadia——Janssen—–

        Van Ginkel – Strootman– Propper

        ————Ake—————

        Van Annholt-Van Dijk-Bruma- Tete

        ———–Zoet—————–

  2. When some of the best stuff in the tournament or something that everybody will remember are J. Low´s nasty taste, that sums it all.

    I agree with Jan…with good coaching everything is possible. Also, those countries like Iceland and Wales, beside the grit, they are very concentrated and hardly make stupid mistakes. In the EC qualifiers, Oranje´s players, made silly mistakes specially in defence and the holding mids. I think we have really good defenders but you need players with common sense to recover some possesion, a guy like Davids, Van Bommel or Cocu.

    I am confident in the future and time will tell who will be new stars of the Oranje. Right now many bright futures and candidates, but it is yet to see if Wijnaldum, Klaassen, Depay and Janssen can take their game to the next level at international games, Champions League in a consisten basis like guys as Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Sneijder and Robben have done in the past.

    Anyway, should be exciting to watch a new generation grow and mature.

  3. @Jan, i think you forgot mention for Mesah, upcoming season maybe very important & key for him, i am also give some hopes on Hoedt, Hateboer, Juste, K.Diks, Dos Santos, Mallen, Bergwijn.

    1. I didn’t mention Mensah coz I think he is steady on his path. He is young and will be brought (hopefully) in the right manner. He is not a starter for me, as yet. Depay and Berghuis and co will need to really step up this coming season.

  4. Guys, do you think Richairo Živković is better & more experience than Sam Lammer & van der Heijden for Central Forward position at u19 Orange, don’t know why he’s not in the squad of current tournament, something behide the scene?

    1. Zivkovic is uncoachable, not too intelligent and inconsistent. Lots of speed and talent but sent away from Ajax 2 and Willem II. It says something.

  5. I believe Sneijder might well be relevant for Oranje still, but seeing is believing. He has a difficult relationship with the Gala board, but coach Olde Riekerink is a good friend.

    If Sneijder is fit and motivated, he is still a top midfielder. His style of play is not depended on age (speed is not something that is key to his game).

    He was pretty good in 2014 for instance, in that role and he put in a massive shift.

    We had Robin and Robben in the team that needed some protection.

    A guy like Janssen will put in a shift Van Persie won’t offer and might take some pressure of Sneijder.

    I am not a believer in hard work, so much. Smart work is more important.

    Janssen and Robben up front would be nice.

    Sneijder behind them and two strong athletes along side him in the middle: Strootman/Van Ginkel/Wijnaldum/Bazoer….?

    Willems left wing back, Janmaat or another on the right.

    Van Dijk / Bruma / De Vrij / Riedewald / Tete as defenders and Blind centrally as the deep sitting playmaker.

    1. i think Bart Ramseelar can be our next sneijder…i am really optimistic about this guy.Brilliant,can dribble,Vision,quick thinking,unslefish,coachable guy..
      .Wesly seems exhausted and he is not 90 minute player i think now..Will it affect balance of the team??that is big question mark..But like in 2014 he hired a boxing triner and became really fit for WC2014 by surpraising LVG and everyone…Can he do that again??

      1. We need Smart work to get the goals or to defend the game successfully..But Hardwork is basics of football game..you build ur smart work on the base of hardwork..

      2. with what i know about football and look at players, i don’t think Ramselaar can reach Sneijder’s level, yes he’s talent we should give him some chances however he doesn’t have almost skills to be a best playmaker such as free-kick, creative, shoot from distance that’s what i am concern he can only play for some average team not a big team. I am still remember when Sneijder ‘s at Ajax he had almost these skills.

        1. I mean some one who is close to Sneijder..not his level though..i liked Vaart more than Sneijder always as vaart was tremendous player vaart played vs tough opponents brilliantly like cezc in WCQ2006 etc…he got overlooked many times..

  6. Aparently Jose mourihno has stated he wants specialist in every spot not a big fan of multy functionality players…this means people say that Mensah have to prove again..Already he had displaced so called specialist RB matteo Darmain,Was excellent LB and played as Excellent LCB…Complete dominance over the opponent.than any other specialist MAnu defender.what else Jose need??i know he is killer of youth players..this guy has boundless energy and he pretty good thats why he is useful for multyspots..i dont know why stupids cannt understand that..

    1. thanks to Hiddink,Memphis,Afellay,RVP??old,hunter???old,weil,BMI,Narsingh,klassen???…isnt it partially Danny blind too though he is getting better.

      1. Fifa ranking is based on results and coefficients made on several years

        Afellay’s stats with NT since the beginning :

        Started 26 games
        17 victories, 5 draws, 4 losses

        Retard.

  9. FIFA’s ranking has always been shit but being in the 26th spot now is accurate.

    Something is for sure when Holland is the “underdog” they perform very well, the pressure is off and they take advantage of that. Remember 2014?.

    Holland’s qualifying group for 2018 WC is stronger than EC’s qualifying group but I am positive we will qualify. Our players will settle down in their teams and will start showing the world what they are capable of.

  10. Patrick Kluivert, just recently appointed as Ajax u19 manager, is the new director of football at PSG.. disappointing, but, money rules I suppose!

  13. It’s shame looking at FIFA ranking for July 2017 NT at 26th, after almost mediocre teams Turkey, Poland, Slovalikia, Austria, Iceland, Ecuador, etc. Haizzzzz

  16. Too bad, we lost 1-2 to England U19s.
    Our U19s go to a 1-0 lead from another Lammers goal but draw it up by half. Apparently at some point coach Winter went defensive and we backed up to our heels and unfortunately conceded in added time to lose 1-2…
    And a bit of football irony, the two English goalscorers were playing at Vitesse Arnhem last year..

    So the France game on Monday now becomes a quarter final more or less, with the winner going on to the semis.

    1. France beat Croatia 2-0. So looks like NL and France both have 3 pts, and a +1 goal difference, but NL has 4 goals and France only 3. So, Sybe, am I correct that NL goes through with the draw?

    1. Jose is very clear it seems….he doesnt want to see regulars like Ronney,Martial,smalling etc…his message is simple lets see what you got.show me in play…he selected 2 new recruits plus players who has 50/50 chance to play as regular..Hope Mensah shines..
      Depay has got his final chances..i dont know how Depay is going impress Jose with big thigh muscles hence leseer speed etc…The guy gets exhaused easily too..

  19. Blind is having a good game..Mensah was good at defense but when going forward he seems confused or didnt get back up support…Memphis is tried something but as usual end up in futility..No acuracy…2-0 up after mensah and Depay got subbed..

  22. Watched the first half of Man U vs Wigan.
    Depay’s play needs to improve still….not threatening enough, shifting ball to his favored right leg too often for a cross or shot from distance. Too easily read and neutralize by the opposing defenders.
    He needs to make more runs behind the defender into the opposing half and be threatening.

    Hope he will really turn out good.

    1. Memhis is 1.74 cm at height weighs 85kg..thats a lot for a football player.developed a heavy upperbody with 8packs.it makes hard for him on his ball control…also he will be exhausted than a thin fast player..its not his fault…he has already over streched his muscles in his body.Now he is paying penalty for it…this is why i predicted Memphis is already lost.

    1. roben should be considered as icing on the cake…or else Bonus point..If we get fit Roben its so good.at 32 body become more fragile..lets see..

  25. The Preseason seems to be going well for most of the Dutchies. Kevin Diks had his first run with Fiorentina,so were the Lazio contingent, De Vrij,Hoedt and Kishna.Kishna is definitely back from injury and this should be his break out season with Ketia Blade refusing to train with the team aimed at a possible departure from the club.

    Club brugge has also completed the transfer of Riccardo Van Rhijn mean while Fenerbahce is up against Monaco and Ajax vs PAOK in the CL qualification.

    Bruma and Dost suffered defeat to Celtic mean while Beskitas are finalizing deal for Alex Buttner.

  26. Transfers in full

    Nathan Ake- Bournemouth/ Chelsea

    Jeffery Bruma- Wolfburg

    Vincent Janssen- Tottenham Spurs

    Kevin Diks- Fiorentina

    Marteen De Roon- Middleborough

    Gregory Van Der Weil- Fenerbahce

    Riccardo Van Rhijn – Club brugge

    Tahith Chong- Man United

    Juan Familia Castillo- Chelsea

    Transfers still on the cards

    Wijnaldum- Liverpool

    Janmaat – Watford

    Alex Buttner- Beskitas

    Luc castaignos- Galatasarsy.

      1. Some addition in term of senior leagues & senior players irrespective Championship/Small leagues or Young boys.

        Done deal:
        – der Hoorn: Swansea
        – Fer: Permanently to Swansea on loan from QPR
        On Card:
        – Jerry St Juste: Celtic
        – Hans Hateboer: Everton

  27. it’s likely Wijnadum in last step to join Liverpool with a massive transfer fee €25 millions. Klopp is our star’s fan, he stated his admiration on former PSV captain so many times recently.

  28. Ugh disheartening 1-5 loss for the U19s v France.
    Not sure if there is one thing which went wrong although there was some brutal defending, but seems France was stronger, faster, had better technique and a better tactical game. Cannot win games when you are beaten in these things, and you can’t play a beautiful game without the last 2..
    Nouri had our only goal on a penalty.

    Now the 2 third placed teams play a playoff to see who qualifies to the WC next year – we will play against Germany. Let’s see if our boys can recover.

    1. Maybe expected – if we do not take the tournament seriously, the best players would rather play for their clubs rather than their national team (TFM, van Drongelen, van de Beek, de Jong..), then we don’t deserve to win.

  29. Well, bad summer for the Oranje. Hopefully Dutch football and the KNVB makes the decisions and changes needed because if youth levels struggle then the National Team will suffer. Also the Eredivisie has to be more competitive. I mean, now Holland´s teams can hardly beat teams that were very beatable in the past.

    I think the technical part of the game in Holland has been so important that basical principles of defending has been overlooked because all young guys in the Netherlands have a lot of skill but lack mental strenght and above all, common sense in defending specially. There is a lot of emphasis in attack and very little in defending. This has to change, without a good defence you don´t win championships. In the past the Dutch were not considered great in defending as the Italians, but players like Krol, De Boer, Stam, Reiziger and many others were great defenders with toughness. Now we have many talented lads but kind of soft and very naive.

    I hope guys like De Vrij, Van Dijk, Tete, Willems, Van Aanholt, Bruma and the newcomers can take their game to the next level because losing like this certainly is a wake up call.

    1. THIS Is happening due to dryness of brilliant players who has looked their paths in medicine,engineering and computers…Also players like Janssen gets overlooked for Elvis Manu type…Janssen was fighter and he came back what will happen to others ??they will drop their playing career.
      Ruud Van Nestel started as defender,i dont know which brilliant man saw him as striker….We need people with real eye to spot real talents rather than dveleoping players like just depay,afellay,Elvis manu,Boetius,Promes,Narsingh etc..

    1. As I mentioned earlier both him and Hoedt are bonding together a lot as the pre season continues. Especially hoedt who keeps posting pics on his Facebook page. There was one with both chilling out near a river with friends.kind of hoping De Vrij will be instrumental in guiding him the more they play together.

      Kishna too,have high hopes for him.he only showed glimpse of his abilities last season especially in set pieces.another injury and he is gone.

      1. kishna has attitude problem,he is not a great hardworker,just a cocky guy..First he should start as washmen of janssen jursey…then we can think next step.
        Hoedt is likeable guy but bit soft for a defender..cannt rely on him…
        Devrij will be back soon…hope he recovers well..

  33. Jus going back to what Mario Rosado said.I cant see anybody breaking out of eredivisie has a complete talent.jus like The current golden generation of beligans,it might be those who have moved abroad at 18,19,20,21,who might well go on to become the next golden generation for Dutch NT.

  34. @Wilson: I disagree about the “golden generation of belgians”. I mean they do have good players but they’ve done nothing…Wales beat them!!!. Now with Wilmots out if they get a good coach they should be able to do well especially if they sign LVG 🙁

    1. Many belgians were overhyped
      hyped no1—Lukkaku
      hyped 2—–Fellaini
      hyped 3—-Witsel
      hyped -4 –Naingolan
      hyped 5—Denayer
      hyped no6 —Jodi lukkau
      Good players in my point
      Vertoghen
      Toby
      hazard
      courtois
      Dembele??? then who else i dont know…

        1. EXCEPT lVG WE ALSO DIDNT HAD GOOD coach since Rinus michels Always hopes ended up with arguments ,ego and recently stupid selection of players..

          1. LVG 2000 Golden Generation, if Holland was to win its first ever WC,that was the year but unfortunately they never qualified.

          2. I wonder if it would have been in the best interest of Wijnaldum to move to Everton rather than Liverpool. Liverpool already have coutinho and Firmino,sturidge,Origi,Lallana,then have also signed Mane from Southampton,cant see how Klopp will line him up in Starting 11.

          3. lVG is partially fault of 2002WCQ disaster..But lots of players were injured Davids and co got banned for drugs. etc…2 strong teams both were beating everyone in the group At that point of time Both Ireland,Portugal,Cezh republic were stronger than Germany,italy etc…Russia qualifgied form weak group…had he won even in last mtach vs Ireland we could have made it

  36. Success in football is more likely to be fleeting than sustained. Even the clubs / national teams that experience extended periods of success eventually falter because they become too enamored with whatever they think led to their success.

    Look at Spain / Barcelona. They experienced tremendous success and worldwide acclaim in playing a possession-intensive style featuring many academy players who had played together for years. Their style worked brilliantly and seemed unstoppable. However, they continued to pursue possession to the extreme and began to field line-ups with all midfielders to facilitate that goal. And as time passed, other teams began to find ways of defeating them and making their possession sterile, and they began to struggle. Now Barcelona has move to a more direct style that really emphasizes the capabilities of their front three star players, but no longer are they relying on their home grown players to fill out their line-up. Is this a long term solution? Only so long as they can afford to purchase the world’s top attacking talent. The air has seemingly gone out of Spain’s balloon as well, coincidentally as that same group of players – Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol, etc. — has aged out of their starting line-up.

    Additionally, look at what Germany did after 2000. Failure in the Euros that year provided a tremendous motivator for a nationwide effort at improvement in quality. As a result, they completely revamped their youth football program to develop more skillful German players. And now you have a generation of players in their mid 20s who dominate their national side – Kroos, Ozil, Müller, Reus, Götze, Draxler, Schürrle, Gundogan, Hummels, etc. Germany is not yet in decline, primarily because this new generation of players is still in their prime, but how long can they last, and where and when will the next generation of younger German players fit in?

    Holland’s failure to qualify for these most recent Euros should prompt a similar self-examination, and the KNVB needs to consider why our current style and approach to player development (previously so successful and ironically the model on which both Barcelona’s and Germany’s systems are based) are no longer effective for us. Did we teach the rest of the world too well? Or are we just too enamored with what we think got us here? The same right answer doesn’t exist for every club or country, but I think a number of you have hit the nail on the head. We don’t have quality defenders anymore, we don’t play with steel, and most important to me, we don’t move or create off the ball. These are elements that need to be incorporated in our existing player development programs so that Holland can return to the forefront of international football again.

    The right answer is always changing as football continues to progress and develop, but we’ll never find it if we don’t ask the necessary questions.

  38. Yes, mental strenght is key. And in Holland they have focused so much in skills that you see Kishna boys, Depays and players that think themselves as rock stars rather that soccer players.

    It is a mental thing. I don´t think Rijkaard was much better than a guy like Fer, but Frank could take his game to the next level even though at times he struggled at clubs like f…ing Zaragoza! But he had the discipline and mentality to overcome it and become a top player.

    Robben had the skills and took them to the top…Depay has them, but what is happening? Bad coaching, salaries and mentality are ruining the youngsters. Hans Van Breukelen said in an interview that as the new KNVB technical director he would focus a lot in mentality and becoming the Eredivisie a better league and developing the youngsters. I am confident but it will take time since our team and youngsters have a lot to develop still.

  39. @ JB

    I feel the problem at hand for Dutch is totally different to that of Germany at most. most of the young players by the age of 21 are already topped up having two to three season of bundasligas top flight under their belt. look at Draxler when he was at schalke,Leroy Sane,Max Mayer,Leon Goretzka again at Schalke now, and there are many other who are playing for Hertha Berlin,Maniz and Werder Bremen and if you compare now them to the young orange, at 21 there are still starved of top flight football which will always be downfall for them and the recent u17 and U19 outings is quite a indication where they are headed once they reach that 21 mark. you look at this guy and mark this name, Kevin Volland who was also member of the Germany U21 team few years back has worked his way up from 2 bundasliga, 1860 Munchen,then 1899 Hoffenheim and now at 23 Bayern Leverkusan have signed him, with CL footy also on offer. with this kind of efficiency in producing and development of talents it will take a decade for Germany to get deprived of quality lads especially at young age level before moving on become stars on big stage.

    I think this is where the dutch have fallen simply because eredivisie is not competitive enough for youngs talents to fully sink their teeth in to and as years go by either their development stalls or they have to start from scratch abroad.

    As for Spain, the dominance of Barcelona and Real Madrid which use to be a feature of the spain team is slowly coming to a end and you can jus tell there will be generational gap come after the current ones retire. to add to this its very hard for their youngsters to force their way into the first team especially at Madrid and Barcelona simply because they want to be the best of best which means they will go any length to bring the top players who might not be spanish. those who are in lower ranked teams will end up the same way as what is happening to the young generation of dutch coming up through the ranks. Inestia, Pique, Ramos,Busquets if they go, the spinal will simply break.

  40. Good to see Adam Maher Sparkling in the pre season. Not very sure if Van Ginkel is training with Chelsea.he hasn’t featured in any of the pre season games yet.

  41. I wonder if it would have been in the best interest of Wijnaldum to move to Everton rather than Liverpool. Liverpool already have coutinho and Firmino,sturidge,Origi,Lallana,then have also signed Mane from Southampton,cant see how Klopp will line him up in Starting 11.

    1. Klopp evidently sees Wijnaldum as a centre midfielder. No way would he sign him as a winger/#10 when they already have all the names you mentioned. He’ll have to compete with the overrated Jordan Henderson as well as Joe Allen and James Milner for a spot in the midfield but I definitely think he’s up to the challenge.

  42. Wijnaldum is better than any of those players. He can play as attacking midfielder, he can play as holding midfielder and if Klopp gets creative he can play Wijnaldum as winger.

  44. Done deal, Ricardo van Rhijn has left Ajax for Belgian champions Club Brugge, this is an undisclosed fee but reported to be around €1.3million. he will be played with his new club at champion league next season.

  48. U19s just finished their game v Germany..
    After Germany dominated the first half, Nouri scored a brilliant free kick and van der Heijden scored a great header.
    Unfortunately Germany tied it up again in added time, and then went on to score in extra time to go up 3-2 with our defence switching off again.
    Lammers pulled that one back with a nice finish from a long ball, tying up the match at 3-3. Vlap had a big miss, and then Germany hit the bar before time was up and it went to pens.
    After a German miss, Nouri had a chance to win but hits the bar, next Vlap hits the bar and Germany score and win, giving them the opportunity to go to the U20 World Cup, instead of us… 🙁

    Can’t help but think that if our 2 biggest defenders in qualifying were able to play we’d have done much better, but that’s the way it is..

    1. @Sybe, Followed it on line. Heartbreaking loss. Seemed like the U19’s had lost it a couple of times, then had won it a couple of times. Have to admire the fight in them.

  49. Atletico Madrid scout PSV keeper Jeroen Zoet, Zoet is now very mature, please go abroad to show your talent at the best league & one of top club, boy.

    1. I think he should start on the right instead of left.basic stuff first outside of the marker and cross.once he gains confidence then think about moving to left.work rate looks good though.

      2. Right or left he can do it…the problems with him are..
        No accuracy in passes
        Poor workrate gettting exhausted too soon,thanks to his 8 pack upperbody.
        Doesnt have extra pace like Roben,annholt,aubanuyang to make difference in running.
        Poor passes..He was overhyped now th reality is getting revealed…he has to live with it..
        Mark my words Januzaj could be a relevation under Jose not Depay…

          1. Januzaj has not given fair chances under LVG like Memphis Got.in lat year ..So januzaj went for loan..LVG did certain damge to Januzaj for Depay playing time…Anyways my opions is not based on given chances or upcoming chances..
            Januzaj is faster
            Januzaj is better dribbler
            Januzaj is better finisher..
            januzaj can make difference….IF he just focus and works hard he will get ird of Depay Compettion..

  51. I think this should be the year for my Arsenal.with either Higuan or Icardi,whom ever they sign,now they have the depth in the squad to compete at every level.

      2. Sorry but the legendary DB has been retired a while 😉

        Funny I remember you saying Manche$ter City was going to run away with the EPL last season if they signed de Bruyne…

          2. He got injured in week 23 and didn’t play onwards till April.

            Week 24 the standings were

            Leicester- 53
            Tottenham- 48
            Arsenal-48
            Man city- 47

            I’m not saying he singly handed would have won the title but his absence indeed was felt by Man city.

  52. Today watched AZ – Hertha 3:0. AZ was very impressive with all lines playing equally well. I am pretty sure this year AZ will again compete for the top three. Look forward to the beginning of the season!

  54. JUST CANNOT WAIT FOR MANU THIS TERM

    Rashford—-Martial—–Mkthitrayan
    ———-Rooney/Mata————–
    ——-Blind——–Pogba———–
    Shaw———————–Mensah
    ——–Bailiy—Smalling————
    ————-De gea——————
    Has everything to become CL winner…
    On bench
    zlatan
    Peirera
    Januzaj
    Darmian
    Shniderlin
    Herrera
    Mcnair

    1. You think united bought Zaltan to sit on the bench. Also Mou likes to use midfield’s who break up play in the middle and supplement attack in front. 4-3-2-1.

      1. NO I DONT THINK ..they will bench him especially jose has good bond with him..its my fantasy and i need a young player who give more to attack than just goals..Rashford doesnt have the class of Zlatan but he can make up that with his runs and work up..

    2. @wilson, you have a right point however in addition I think PM upcoming season also an exciting market for Dutch players.Maybe few more days we will see more our boys there. with done deal signs & current contingent there + somes now in rumour such as Indis, Vrij, Willems. It’s very promising.

  58. Jose took 9 number from martial and gave to Zlatan….bad work??? for 34 year old????
    hope he takes Number 7 from Depay and gives to Martial..then it can be balanced..

    1. You are SICK!!! What the heck is this kind of hope?

      No, I am not on Depay’s side, in my last post, I said Depay did not do well in last MU game. But I am against your stupid idea of criticizing Depay in every single post WITHOUT ANY INFORMATION.

      @Jan, why is this acceptable?

      This is Tiju’s comment:
      “here is rooney say about quickest players in Manu…and he has praise for Daley blind and no mention about fast Bodybuilder..”

      Now this is useless because there is nothing related to Depay here, not to mention there is no link or quote about what Rooney actually said. This is however okish since making zero sense comment is not something that can be banned.

      But THIS?
      “hope he takes Number 7 from Depay and gives to Martial”
      This is just SICK, plain hatred.

      1. taking away no 9 from the best player of Manu -Martial for Zlatan is a SICK decision taken by Jose mourihno…thats not nice.
        Some times Sick decision can another sick decision.Since Depay is the biggest flop in 7 number shirt of united,he should not be handed over that number as it belongs to lengeNds…ITS NOT SICK ITS JUSTICE.Now number7 is an insult to MAnu legends..end of the story.its not hatred its thrust for justice and better hope for Manu/
        Yes its nothing related to Depay as he doesnt have the speed to compete with Vlancia,Young and Martial…People are talking about speed of memphis,which i didnt see..if ask me Ola john has pace yes he has,Annholt has it.Jetro rocket has it..But MEMphis has just average speed nothing special like CR7,Roben etc..

    1. I’m not sure about BMI though, could backfire for Koeman,he has been average for Porto at most.kind of inconsistent last season which saw them finish third. Could be a gamble.

      De Vrij in three man defense should be OK.also remember Zouma is still injured.so it would mean competition for him.

  61. We have some players at championship that i believe they deserve to play for some average clubs at PM. Don’t know why they are still suffering to play there =|=

    Such as Chery, Veldwijk, Ola John, Anita, de Jong, Krul, Janmaat, Bacuna, Wolfswinkel, Loovens

  62. Jurgaen Klopp is a bloody coach that he has eye for real talents and his work doesnt stop there as he makes them better unlike MERE Coach Jose maurihno..Jose is assembler of the team…just Assmbler…Jurgan is developer..Williams will get better under Klop so is Wijnaldum..

    1. I think VDV to Reading is possibly more depressing than RVP to Middlesbrough.

      I also don’t think we need any BMI updates until he’s demonstrated some level of competence.

      Didn’t realize you followed Arsenal. My son is also a big fan. I think RVP, VDV or even RVN would be better pick-ups at this point than any of the strikers they’re after…

  69. as per reports Janssen struggled vs Juventus in ICC 2016 with Pochettino also admitting it in post match interview. Vorm also featured in the goal for spurs conceding two goals to one.

    1. now a days fools are rapidly increasing in this world..Most latin players get very high value,i think he played for madrid and his marketing value increased though he is no were near of Greinzmann,Martial etc..i am Janssen is on the lvele of this Higuain..
      Just over hype a player
      make him popular by talk
      there u get big amount…

  74. Van der weil picked up his first assist in the CL qualifers as he set up Emenike for the winning goal for Fenerbahce vs Monaco in the first leg. No sign of Van Persie with the ongoings transfer rumors.fenerbahce started with 3-5-2 with weil as wing back.

    1. Yeah I definitely do not see him featuring in the midfield much this season. Mourinho hasn’t brought in a rightback yet and it doesn’t look like he has any plans to so TFM has the opportunity to compete for the starting RB spot with Valencia and Darmian. I suspect he will start the season offering depth at all of the positions across the back line.

      LB
      Shaw
      Borthwick Jackson
      Fosuh-Mensah

      CB
      Smalling
      Bailey
      Blind
      Fosuh-Mensah

      RB
      Darmian
      Valencia
      Fosuh Mensah

      I haven’t included Rojo and Jones in these depth charts because I’m sure a manager as “special” as Jose Mourinho will realize both players are trash ;).

      I wish TFM would focus on one position (CB or DM preferably) but unfortunately I don’t think he will get the chance this season.

      1. @dwherway……
        TFM has played very good games for Manu..Surpassing Shaw and Brothwick jackson is bit difficult..but he offers way more defensive stabilty than both..
        But CB he really has a chance…
        Blind is not typical Jose type,Only Baily remains a threat,smalling can have a bad start who knows…
        In RB he just outclassed Darmian..So Darmina wont be threat at all..if he improves in attack he can easily put valencia on bench…
        In DM they simply lack physique and skills,Bastein has become slow…then Pogba and Shinderlin remains threat..Fellaini will fly i think…
        Martial—–Zlatan/Rashford—–Mkhitarayn/Lindgraad
        ———–Rooney/Mata————–
        ——Morgan/Mensah—Pogba———-
        Shaw/Brothwick———————–Valencia/Mensah
        ——–Baily—Smalling/Mensah———-
        —————De gea———————-

        1. Yeah this guy looks like a real deal but m not sure if he will reach his full potential at Heerenveen.the good thing is that he is showing good form in the pre season though they have lost to teams like Celtic and Real Soceidad. If he gets the start on the back of the pre season,this should be his break out season.one or two seasons and he should think of moving to a top team if Heerenveen fail to finish in top 6.

        1. Its more a pre season thing where coach tend to use all the players with the raising talents within the club. If both Dominic Solanke and Isaiah Brown return back, I don’t think he will get the chance to play in first team.

          At this stage,he needs to start getting selected in NT to raise eye brows. He wasn’t even in the U 17s that went to the euros.

          1. Neverless hopefully he will turn heads with more exposure like this and as he matures.

        2. @Idilson…..I dont know him and never heard of him and never watched his any clips…16 year old to first team sqaud is unusual..thats logic only messi,CR7,roben kinds has done it..its logic which u dont have at all…i am not surprised..

  85. I am thinking about how to make a balanced,physically and mentally strong dutch NT with good stamina and intelligence with unselfish play..don think Sneijder and Roben will be fit anytime soon.even if fit they will get injured inbetween…
    Williams——-Janssen——-Wijnaldum
    ————-Propper—————
    ——–Bazoer——Strootman——–
    Mensah———————–Kevindiks
    ———-Vandijk—-Devrij————-
    ————-Zoet——————–
    ============================================
    on Second line
    Annholt——–Luuk———-Berghuis
    ————Ramseelar————–
    ——Hendrix——-Ake————
    Kongolo———————–Tete
    ———-Veltman—Bruma———–
    ————–Krul—————-
    on bench
    Abdhelak Nauri
    Janmaat
    Dost
    letschert

    2. @TIJU1234,

      First squad is very promising to me 🙂 Kevindiks/Mensah/Bazoer/Janssen/Zoet they are quite jong but deserve with line-up over others at same position i think

      1. Mensah is a special case he is rarely player can jump into senior team without u21 level, hopefully he has enough confidence as what he has showed in MU last season. 🙂

          1. Funny things happened to Ajax when we had De Boer as our coach but not anymore. If Overmars uses some of the money we got from Milik the right way by bringing in players that can help make this team better (Ziyech, Gomez, Traore ) we’re not gonna have any problems qualifying.

  87. I did not see the game. I just read that Ajax performance was very poor and the win was simple luck(vi.nl). Very poor defending. I hope they will improve.However, they will face very strong competitors….

      1. Looking at the redults Young boys vs Shakhtar and Rostov vs anderlecht it could be a tight affair. On the other hand it may also come down to if Ajax bring in added reinforcement upfront.
        Balotelli,Gomez etc.

        1. Thats it exactly what i said on my reply on your comment above. If Overmars spends some of the money that the club has on players like Gomez, Ziyech and Traore we have a decent chance against those teams.

          We should stay away from Balotelli

          1. The problem is also in the middle. A midfield of Gudejl,Reidewald and Klaassen is too static. Not every time they will be lucky.ball to foot I mean.

  88. It’s great & suprised news, Timo Letschert has signed for Italian club Sassuolo on a four-year deal. This club is having good progress, last season they have achieved 6th at Serie A, upcoming season will be in Europa league. Congrats our orange new defender talent. He will join other dutchs Hoedt, Vrij, Strootman, Kishna, Kevin Dijk to convince Orange fans pay more attentions to watch the games from Italy.

  93. Ajax will face a toll task to beat Rostov. Although Rostov is a debutante of CL, it is very rich club. They have many good quality foreign players. The owner of the club is the municipality of Rostov district, and entire district sponsors the club. I am afraid and hopefully I am wrong but Ajax will not be able to beat this Russian team.

    With respect to AZ, I think they should win Voivodina. The latter is not very strong team.

    1. I think you’re exaggerating a bit when you say they have quality foreign players. Only 3 out of the 11 are foreigns and they are nothing scary.

      Ajax has a 50% chance to qualify but if Overmars does his job then we might have more than that.

      1. Current Ajax lacks the leaderships,the guts to beat a tough opponent..With the quality they have they could beat Rostov..but as usual for sometimes they will find a way loose…..i want Ajax to be in CL so lets see…

  96. I reckon Ajax should move for Kelechi Iheanacho of Man City if they want to add reinforcement upfront. The guy scored 11 goals last season coming off the bench.talented striker,loan could be an option as Man City already has Aguero,Bony and Gabriel Jesus whom they have recently signed from Palmeiras.

  98. Good start for Jaap stam in championship after Reading won their opening game in the championship. Both Roy Beerens and Joey Van Der Berg started the game.

    Newcastle on the other end suffered defeat to Fulham.both Janmaat and Anita played full 90.

          1. No Tomy he made a brilliant choice unlike VanGinkel to chelsea..COZ he choose to work with a dutch coach who knows him well ie LVG,He was starting every game of the beginning of the season under LVG,played many matches,Got enough support from LVG for first 7 montths. Een with that support if he cannot make it,then i think its really that he was overrated..Even Jose played him in first matches and he was crap as usual..There is nothing to moan about Depay…he was a false hope for us.lets forget the chapter ,,We have Nauri,Bazoer,Janssen etc to look on..

      2. Yes, this is an official game, so from this game we can see who Mou appreciate & trust. Daley Blind still have future at MU i think but TFM & Memphis. the life is harder for Memphis. No problem with TFM even if MU sell him to another club he’s still developing well.

        1. Blind was very good,extreamly intelligent player,Darmian cannot defend well like Mensah ..so he wont be a problem..but valencia can do both attack and defense..

  100. Frank De Boer to replace Roberto Mancini at Inter. I have to say, Mancini is himself to blame after signing players who were either on a decline or had reached that Peak.

  102. First round of Eredivisie: MITCHELL VAN BERGEN in Team of week fantastic

    MITCHELL VAN BERGEN – VITESSE: Did anyone forget this kid is only 16 years old when watching him on Saturday?

    1. The only reason I can see Koeman bringing him to Everton is because maybe he knows he can transform him and polish him into a good defender given his experience both at international and club level.

      1. hehe, i know that we shouldn’t give so much hope on young players it’s depend on their developing but some time we should optimistic on our kids, why i don’t list out Nouri or J.Kluivert, Malen here. the only one reason is at 16 years old not so much players have been line-up at senior level and dominate others to be team of week. that make me surprise on our lads. that’s why i am wondering who they are and how good they are.

        1. i understand the logic Ruud..100 percent agreement on this…
          Nouri has got something to play vision,technique and trickery to reach top class…Cannt say that much sure about Justin and Malen..for me they are 50/50 still…

  109. Almost big clubs want to have Bazoer, the problem is whether Ajax want to sell him or how much money they can reach his price tag. i remember so many articles related to him on big clubs’s target such as Barca, Arsenal, City, etc.

  110. At this time Bazoer, Tete, Kevin Diks, Riedewald, Willems, Fosu-Mesah, Hoedt are our orange ‘s asset. They are jong & talented, any clubs are also desired to have them to strengthen their squad for now & in long term.

  111. Given the transfer of dutch players,I’m jus wondering what the selection criteria will be for the up coming games. I mean you look at the CBs scenario.
    You have,Van Dijk,Bruma,De Vrij,Hoedt,Riedewald,Veltman,Van der hoorn,Rekik,Blind,Gouweleeuw,Letschert. All of these guys will be in actions in the opening round of their domestic league and the question is how will Blind and Company select the best combo out of this defenders. What I’m critical about here is whether how player performance will be monitored with most of them playing outside of eredivisie.or will that fucking menality continue,if you are playing in an average team,you do not qualify for selection.

    I mean you look at Jeffrey Gouweleeuw.this will be his second season at Augsburg.Bruma also will feature for Wolfburg.now lets say Bruma gets selected because he has more exposure at NT Level and Gouweleeuw does not.I find this bullshit. It should be more about play and prove rather judging them from the club they play for.

    I sometimes feel like its a deliberate move as they only wanna see players whom they feel should get selected rather than giving opportunity to everybody and creating that competitive environment where everybody starts breathing on each others neck.

    If only they start doing this,NT will find their lost status in no time.

    2. Bruma is well deserved candidate for RCB..stop farting..Gouweleeuw..was playing ok.i mean just okay..While Bruma was beast he just missed from second round of CL to finalist Athletico…Blind is pretty right at least in this case my doubts is on nonagile vandijk and his son Blind…both can do well but both has weakness one is slow and other is noagile..
      Since Devrij is injured
      Defenders must be
      Rbs–Kevindiks–Tete
      RCBS-Bruma—–Veltman
      LCBs-Vandijk—-Raidwald
      LBs–Mensah—kongolo
      Williams and Anhollt must be promoted as wingers as Depay and Co are real shit..

  112. One player I’m expecting will find his form this seadon is Jermaine Lens. He showed towards the end of last season glimpse of his potential when allardyce had no option buy to use him with sunderland battling.relegation.now with Allardyce gone,hopefully under Moyes he can revive his career.

  113. Given the transfer of dutch players,I’m jus wondering what the selection criteria will be for the up coming games. I mean you look at the CBs scenario.
    You have,Van Dijk,Bruma,De Vrij,Hoedt,Riedewald,Veltman,Van der hoorn,Rekik,Blind,Gouweleeuw,Letschert. All of these guys will be in actions in the opening round of their domestic league and the question is how will Blind and Company select the best combo out of this defenders. What I’m critical about here is whether how player performance will be monitored with most of them playing outside of eredivisie.or will that fucking menality continue,if you are playing in an average team,you do not qualify for selection.

    I mean you look at Jeffrey Gouweleeuw.this will be his second season at Augsburg.Bruma also will feature for Wolfburg.now lets say Bruma gets selected because he has more exposure at NT Level and Gouweleeuw does not.I find this bullshit. It should be more about play and prove rather judging them from the club they play for.

    I sometimes feel like its a deliberate move as they only wanna see players whom they feel should get selected rather than giving opportunity to everybody and creating that competitive environment where everybody starts breathing on each others neck.

    If only they start doing this,NT will find their lost status in no time.

    1. @Wilson, I think Blind will select Brouma-VVD. They aren’t far removed from the 3 friendlies they did well in, and they looked like they were getting comfortable with each other. I don’t know why Blind would have played the two together for all 3 games, except that he wanted them to form a partnership. The selection may look different after the season has been underway for awhile, after there is time to evaluate De Vrij’s return from injury, form, etc. But this early in the season, I think familiarity will go a long way.

      1. Yeah agree I did mention earlier that Blind will wanna maintain that continuity but what if one of them gets injured or is injured.that’s where Blind will go I won’t call anyone as my son is a versatile player and he can play there.

        This shouldn’t be the case,Blind should also have his backup players sorted so that during injury crisis,it doesn’t become a hinderence. Different combinations,player rotation etc.blind has already said there are players on his radar but does he really mean that.

        1. Blind has back ups…
          veltman for Bruma
          Daly Blind for Virgil vandijk…Both are okay if not great..i mean just okay….i prefer
          kevindiks—Bruma—Kongolo—Mensah for firstchoice as fast agile strong defenders..
          Second line
          Tete—–devrij—Vandijk—-Williams line…..
          Back ups
          Raidwald
          Veltman
          Janmaat

      1. Wolfburg also beat Bruma 2-0 fartner.or should I say PSV.you see this is what you calla one game mentality kind of thinking .I’m not saying Bruma is bad but this doesnt mean he is the best and he should always
        selected. Gouweleeuw already has a head start in bundasliga and it will intresting now since both playing in one competition to analyze both,maybe via stats etc.not only Gouweleeuw but others also whom I have mentioned above.

          1. This is exactly why you are farter.first of all you don’t know,dont follow and then on top of that you keep farting. Unfortunately for you,the Wiki for Gouweleeuw that you got that
            Stats of 0 games is six months is outdated.this jus proves that you are jus another empty vessel making noise on this blog.

            Gouweleeuw played a big part in Augsburgs survival in bundasliga especially towards the end of season.

            I specially dedicate this to you and personally request, use a stopper if you can’t stop farting.

            https://www.whoscored.com/Players/97351

          3. ha ha 11 appearence….Even Floppay had more appearence than that…..11 appearence for Ausburg thats too great…So he should be sleceted ahead of inform player who won the erdivise,played as pillar for the team..lost only to CL finalist,kicked out MAnu from CL….u r really a farter..

          4. Keeps getting better. Busted and now trying to twist and turn. First thing first,why the fuck you wanna compare Depay with Gouweleeuw.Depay was signed by United in the summer of 2015 when the EPL season started and Gouweleeuw switched to Augsburg in the winter of 2016 .Gouweleeuw played 11/17 games in the second half of the season. That’s why I said put a stopper so you stop farting.

            Secondly you are crying over something that that never happened. If PSV would have beaten Atletico,Barcelona and Bayern I would have agreeded but it never happened so long story short,stop farting about it. You think kicking out man united was special,good on you because your daddy was coaching the team.

            Finally I never said anything about selecting Gouweleeuw. What I said was analyzing both him and Bruma since they will be playing in the same competition and scouting who is better, based on stats. You can’t write and now you can’t read as well.

          5. Keeps getting better. Busted and now trying to twist and turn. First thing first,why the fuck you wanna compare Depay with Gouweleeuw.Depay was signed by United in the summer of 2015 when the EPL season started and Gouweleeuw switched to Augsburg in the winter of 2016 .Gouweleeuw played 11/17 games in the second half of the season. That’s why I said put a stopper so you stop farting.

            Secondly you are crying over something that that never happened. If PSV would have beaten Atletico,Barcelona and Bayern I would have agreeded but it never happened so long story short,stop farting about it. You think kicking out man united was special,good on you because your daddy was coaching the team.

            Finally I never said anything about selecting Gouweleeuw. What I said was analyzing both him and Bruma since they will be playing in the same competition and scouting who is better, based on stats. I didn’t know you can’t read as well.

          6. Keeps getting better. Busted and now trying to twist and turn. First thing first,why the fuck you wanna compare Depay with Gouweleeuw.Depay was signed by United in the summer of 2015 when the EPL season started and Gouweleeuw switched to Augsburg in the winter of 2016 .Gouweleeuw played 11/17 games in the second half of the season. That’s why I said put a stopper so you stop farting.

            Secondly you are crying over something that that never happened. If PSV would have beaten Atletico,Barcelona and Bayern I would have agreeded but it never happened so long story short,stop farting about it. You think kicking out man united was special,good on you because your daddy was coaching the team.

            Finally I never said anything about selecting Gouweleeuw. What I said was analyzing both him and Bruma since they will be playing in the same competition and scouting who is better, based on stats. You can’t write and now you can’t read as well.

  114. Likely El Ghazi will depart Ajax to join bigger club/ league for upcoming season as three big clubs from particular sides are focusing on him. Liverpool, Lazio, Wolfsburg

    I hope Liverpool will win him so that we can see him regularly belong side Wijnadum and other talents.

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