Feyenoord announce signing of Thomas van den Belt

blog Transfers
by Tarcísio Neri

Feyenoord have announced their first signing for next season and that is Thomas van den Belt. The 21-year-old midfielder signs for four seasons with the Stadionclub. It is worth remembering that in the middle of this current season, Feyenoorders tried to remove Thomas van den Belt from PEC Zwolle, but the Blauwvingers played hard to release one of the main highlights of this season’s Keuken Kampioen Divisie.

The curious fact is that Arne Slot spent several seasons defending the colors of PEC Zwolle, but what caught a lot of attention is that the Feyenoord coach worked alongside Thomas van den Belt’s father, Gerald van den Belt, for many years.

Born in Zwolle, Thomas van den Belt has never played for any club other than PEC Zwolle. The young athlete has 73 appearances for the Blauwvingers and 16 goals scored. In the Eredivisie he played thirty-nine games and scored one goal. He was formed in the youth ranks of Zwollenaars.

 

“I am happy with this opportunity. I’m fulfilling a childhood dream. It’s a great honor to wear Feyenoord’s shirt. Now, I still have a contract to complete with PEC Zwolle and I am focusing all my energies on securing the club’s return to the Eredivisie. Once we achieve this goal, I will start thinking about my future at Feyenoord” said Thomas van den Belt.

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41 comments

  2. Once upon time, the attack players who got included in the World Cup and euros list was the following 😢😢😢: hasselbaink, makaay, kluivert, Van nostelrooy, Dennis begkamp; overmars……

    Mega star list, and behind them in midfield there was Davids, seedorf, wim jonk, aaron winter etc…

    Looking at those names and rechecking the names we have now in attack and midfield makes me wanna cry, the gap is huge and the drop in quality is immense, from the current midfield/attack list only frenkie would make it in that 1999-2000 squad, the rest of both attack and midfield we have now wouldn’t even be allowed on the pitch…

    1. @alaa..midfeild is pretty safe the quality drop in forward line is scary..no wingers ,no strikers…Frenkie,koopmeiners,Reis,Weiffer,Tijjani,Gerdy schouten will do the Job or they will get the Job done..i would add Van de boomen and Matusiva…those are the players to be locked…the problem is biased dutch coaches…as long as we spenting time on Wijnaldum,De roon,klassen, and Blind at mid we are doomed…its pitty and funny that koeman wants their experience as loosers…they experienced loosers..to be honest…
      Why cannot they retire just like Bergkamp at 30,davids at 32,Seadorf at 32…if these legends can do why not these loosers???
      time to groom rensch,Frimpong at RB…also hartman ,malacia at LB…
      The forward lines needs complete shuffle…Depay and berjwin is maximum at bench and sub players..time for malen-Summerville-Gakpo-Lang….if Danjuma works hard just like depay did,he can or else he can forget NT…We cannot carry another deadwood…

  3. Yes, don’t think we are short of talent, just that they ain’t given the opportunity. Koeman should shake things up, and quickly. Those players had played for past many coaches and their ceilings are obvious by now.

  5. My proposition to koeman.

    Players that deserve to be called up based on their form and talent. First and foremost Lang, then Van den bommen, tie down frimpong at least for future and perhaps wild card Piroe to solve the striker dilemma upfront.

    Players that are lacking game time and should easily make it into the team. Gravenberch, danjuma, Stengs ,
    karsdorp

    Players that should be on standby and provide cover up, Veerman, botman and very soon Reis.

    I mean these are enough players to intergrate into the team and mould a formidable unit with the current players. How can you not.

  7. i was watching Liverpool vs city…as wanted liverpool to win to get arsenal a trophy…Ake is awesome…what a player…thrwon out cancelo to bayern….while Virgil looks shocked and helpless…is ti beacsue of him or his team mates or klopp?? icannot figure out…he didnt do bad but????Euro 2024 should be hi slast Touranament for Virgil and he should make ways for Botman,Doekhi,Struijk etc..

  8. Frimpong with another goal today; but he is not good enough for koeman hahahaahahah, koeman Who is in desperate needs of a right winger can’t be smart enough to say ok I will use him as a left winger since his dribbling and scoring skills are so good!!! No let’s keep using Berghius on the right who I never saw dribble one player ever …. Talk about bias and blindness!!!!

  9. Bundesliga players with the most successful dribbles this season:

    🇨🇦Alphonso Davies – 64
    🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿Jude Bellingham – 62
    🇩🇪Leroy Sané – 62
    🇳🇱Jeremie Frimpong – 60
    🇫🇷Randal Kolo Muani – 55
    🇩🇪Jamal Musiala – 48
    🇫🇷Kouadio Koné – 45
    🇦🇹Christoph Baumgartner – 42
    🇩🇪Chris Führich – 41
    🇭🇺Dominik Szoboszlai – 38

    looks who’s fourth on the list , what a surprise 🤪

  10. Summerville should be called up after the Euro U21s. Does Koeman have the gumption to sit out Virgil & play a different CD duo? Let alone start Frimpong in the Nations League. I’d start him as RW to give us a threat on that wing.

  11. I still can’t understand how koeman had the audacity to include in the team
    1) Kenneth Taylor a very young player who at least this year is lacking form and inspiration ,
    2) Davy klassen who is a bench for Berghius most of the time at Ajax and when he plays he lacks speed he lacks creativity he is only good at tapping in a ball and he is way past his prime anyway
    3)immediately include a 32 year old wijnaldum after a lengthy injury and immediately assign him as vice captain again…
    4) Brian brobbey who is a bench warmer at Ajax and who’s not offering anything this season
    5) drop frimpong who is almost competing for top scorer in Bundesliga and prefer over him a new feyenoord player , so the only part where he decided to include a youngster and be adventurous was at the expense of a super star like frimpong 😂

    I understand we will never be happy 100% with a managers choice of players in national team but the amount of atrocities koeman committed was alarming….

    1. Koeman is a waste of time. They all are. They come in dangling their credentials of past great players or a mediocre one even, with some form of coaching success. And that’s all they need. Plus their Ajax affiliations.

      Then rinse and repeat. Rinse and repeat because that is what is required of them. The KNVB is a political arm that is quite adroit at vetting and approving of candidate who will never, ever go against the grain. Leave it all in the family. Stale ideas after stale ideas, essentially trying to catch up with their tails.

      That is why you have this repetitive appointments. There is no top nation in world football who does this merry-go-round. Not even in the top 100. And if there is, it is a failure just like this one.

      There is no top football nation in the world that is so closely linked and married to the idea of harvesting players from one single club at the expense of whatever great things might be going on outside the confines of their comfortability.

      And some would say making 2nd place and appearing in world cup finals is success. But then the term “success” is relative as it relates to Oranje and say a Greece. Going to a world cup final and not qualifying for two successive major tournament right after is no success. Especially having a pattern of such.

      Winning only one major trophy over a period of half a century should be nothing to write home about. So it baffles why they keep doing the same things that apparently haven’t worked so well.

      One is a lack of accountability. They are in their own made-up and make believe world of greatness. And this has been solidified in their minds by how they think the world perceives them.

      And indeed the rest of the world is just as mesmerized in some of the beauty of play they’ve served as they are disappointed in their inexplicable underachievement.

      But the latter point doesn’t seem to bother them as long as they are all agreed on trying to reconcile with that picture of excellence that they think the world holds of them. So they stubbornly cling on to a formula that had long past its used by date.

      They can’t reconcile with the notion that an idea they’ve brought forth and had yielded some success can’t be the be-all and end-all for the search of football Holy Grail. They are too invested, too far-gone in their self assurances to ever entertain something that could facilitate even an episode of self-reflection.

      And like any good, dysfunctional family, the trauma stays locked up as role characters perfect their performances. Actors that reminds them of something outside of what they know will not be entertained.

      And I say this with no hint of sarcasm or irony. I really do believe Alphonso Davies would have struggled to make the team of every Dutch coach, as far back as Marjiwk, just so the subject of comparison with the left-sided elephant in the room never comes up.

  13. I think it is time for orangutang to share who is his ideal coach.

    I believe orang thinks none of the Dutch coaches are good enough?

    I mean, I do get the criticism on Koeman, I too hoped the KNVB would select a different personality this time, I guess I was hoping for Peter Bosz or even Ron Jans.

    I don’t think it’s fair to say that Koeman doesn’t “dare” to select Frimpong, or that he didn’t recognise his talent. Everyone can see it. Even better: he’s part of the Young Oranje squad and Erwin vd Looij and Koeman discuss their squads periodically etc etc.

    So those claims are false.

    Trying to look into Koeman’s head: he will not bypass Dumfries. Which I can understand. And he had to choose between Geertruida and Frimpong (or so it seems). And he picked the player who has been impressing longer, and who can play on 3 different positions and who has experience in playing on the right with Berghuis and Wieffer. This is how coaches think (I believe).

    So he picked Geertruida.

    If he would have picked Frimpong and the latter would have made an error, everyone hear would be “why did he not pick Geertruida??”

    It’s not an easy job, this NT coach job. You see the players perform over months, in different scenarios, in different tactical set ups and with different team mates. Taylor for instance, will not have a superb season, true, but he also hasn’t been shite every week.

    Then there is the factor of “only have 3 days to gel a team together” which in this case was cut short by the virus and players leaving etc.

    And then there is the perceived factor of keeping the squad together as much as possible because constant changes (duiventil) will not improve the flow of the football.

    You simply can’t switch from Blind to Ake, to Malacia, to Bakker, back to Ake and then next time Hartman. I won’t help with consistency, it won’t help with confidence and it will definitely potentially screw up your relationship with the key players (Ake?) who will feel let down.

    Same risk with taking of Virgil. It’s not an easy decision. A coach will not do this willy nilly.

  14. The number of players the likes of Emanuel and Wilson have mentioned here that deserve a call up for Oranje is mindblowing and would never have worked outside of their Football Fantasy life.

    Humour me for a bit ok? These players should all have had their time in the Orange Sun, according to Wilson.

    Ki Jana Hoever
    Tjaron Cherry
    Richairo Zivkovic
    Sam Lammers
    Ludovic Reis
    Sven Botman
    Owen Wijndal
    Per Schuurs
    El Ghazi
    Mitchell Bakker
    Buttner
    Myron Boadu
    Calvin Stengs
    Ihatarren
    Dilrosun
    St Juste
    Boetius
    Justin Kluivert
    Dani de Wit
    Sergio Padt
    Ruud Vormer
    Marco Bizot
    Daley Sinkgraven
    Zeefuik
    Kadigolu
    Matusiwa
    Redan
    Joel Piroe
    Kenny Tete
    Joey Veerman
    Pascal Struijk

    I hope you understand an NT coach simply cannot try all these guys out. There simply isn’t time. You want to work with a core squad that you believe in and then you can use a couple of slots for new talent of lads that show incredible form.

    But in order to mould a team together, you can’t just use Karsdorp today, Tete tomorrow and Frimpong the next day.

    Koeman and his staff (like LVG, like FdB, and all of them before them) have a list of around 60 players they actively follow.

    they watch and analyse their game but they also speak to their coaches about them and this is about “coachability”, about their personality and more.

    Based on this and based on the coach’ personal beliefs, he will use that list of 60 to come back with a pre lim list of 32 or 36 or whatever.

    One thing any coach will take into account, is to be careful with public criticism as not all players will take disappointments well and some will even spread their negativity into some of the other players.

    When Wijnaldum was dropped by Van Gaal, I’m sure it did had a negative effect on Gini’s mates Memphis and Virgil.

    So when Koeman is ready to sub Van Dijk in favor of Ake he will need to be 100% sure that he is doing what he needs to do.

    You can say about this all you want (yes you orangutan) but it is sensible management.

  15. @Jan

    Re:I think it is time for orangutang to share who is his ideal coach.

    Generally, the Dutch have always been great in football and in extension have had great guiding minds like LVG, Cruyff, Michels, Leo etc. They’ve never really suffered for lack of coaching talents. The overwhelming and relentless problem that have failed and continue to mar Oranje is the politicizing of these characters. These are people who are supposed to be independent-minded and not influenced by affiliations to the KNVB and Ajax to be able to make the soundest decision to forward the programme. And they are anything but. And I am not going to elaborate in that regard because we all know who and what I’m getting at. Giving a Van Marwijk a shot every 3rd decade is not really going to cut it.

    Re: I don’t think it’s fair to say that Koeman doesn’t “dare” to select Frimpong, or that he didn’t recognise his talent. Everyone can see it. Even better: he’s part of the Young Oranje squad and Erwin vd Looij and Koeman discuss their squads periodically etc etc.
    So those claims are false.

    Jan, I know you do not like the term gaslighting but here we go again. When you do write a statement like this, with the intent of it being a reason or a soothing balm, for one of the best wingback in Europe to be completely left out of the team, I have to respectfully assume that you think you can say anything to us and we’ll buy it. Young Oranje??? haha

    Re: Trying to look into Koeman’s head: he will not bypass Dumfries. Which I can understand. And he had to choose between Geertruida and Frimpong (or so it seems). And he picked the player who has been impressing longer, and who can play on 3 different positions and who has experience in playing on the right with Berghuis and Wieffer. This is how coaches think (I believe).
    So he picked Geertruida

    I’ve always enjoyed your analysis and do believe you know a thing or two about football. But what I have always grappled with is how readily you make excuses for these coaches. Frimpong was part of the world cup squad. He has been tearing up the bundesliga for the better part of two years. Why do we need him to play three positions when our team is oozing quality defenders? Why is right back not enough and as a bonus a better winger than the nonentity, Berghuis? Why can’t I believe that you can’t figure this out instead of lame excuses?

    Re: You simply can’t switch from Blind to Ake, to Malacia, to Bakker, back to Ake and then next time Hartman. I won’t help with consistency, it won’t help with confidence and it will definitely potentially screw up your relationship with the key players (Ake?) who will feel let down.

    I told you two write-ups ago that you harbor this habit of speculating in extremes as a way of justifying this crude stagnation that Oranje have brought on itself. Was Blind a young Maldini not to have ever had a challenge in that position in the name of keeping a cohesive unit? Why do we all of a sudden now realize that Ake is quite a capable left full back after baby Blind went into semi-retirement? Excuses after excuses.

    Re: I hope you understand an NT coach simply cannot try all these guys out. There simply isn’t time. You want to work with a core squad that you believe in and then you can use a couple of slots for new talent of lads that show incredible form

    Again you continue on your expertise of extreme scenarios naming Redan, Zefuik, Boetuis as if they are the only calibre of players that can replace or at least challenge some staples of Oranje. Some of these players are legitimately recommended from ten years ago.

    How about Ake for Blind, three years ago?

    Matuwisa/Van Boomen/Schouten/Ake/ for the limited de Roon who runs like an aging wrestler?

    How about a direct and jackrabbit quick right winger in Frimpong instead of Berghuis who has a less than pathetic record with Oranje? You want to Play a 4-3-3 and you have a right winger with the pace of a snail and can’t beat nobody? Don’t you see the difference every time Malen replaces him? You don’t remember one Arjen Robben and the threat of a Zenden and Overmaars in the classic formation you clamour for?

    And Klassen, Wjinaldum, de Roon, Berghuis are all interchangeable with any of the prospects mentioned above.

    But all you talk about is the risk of hurting veterans feeling and how a coach should tread carefully. Are you kidding me when most of these guys are at least 5 years over due in their positions if you have to judge them by their tournament performances and even qualifiers?

    But no. Always with the clannish mentality. Always with the judgment outside of football capabilities and looking for loyal soldiers even if they can’t really play. Always this search for pawns.

    And yet, the opposite has happened. Wonder why Oranje is the prime example of pundits for team volatility and infighting.

    1. RE: Generally, the Dutch have always been great in football and in extension have had great guiding minds like LVG, Cruyff, Michels, Leo etc. They’ve never really suffered for lack of coaching talents. The overwhelming and relentless problem that have failed and continue to mar Oranje is the politicizing of these characters. These are people who are supposed to be independent-minded and not influenced by affiliations to the KNVB and Ajax to be able to make the soundest decision to forward the programme. And they are anything but. And I am not going to elaborate in that regard because we all know who and what I’m getting at. Giving a Van Marwijk a shot every 3rd decade is not really going to cut it.

      -This is gaslighting. You didnt use a single name and just went on a nonsensical rant. The question is – Which is your ideal candidate for coach?

      Re: Jan, I know you do not like the term gaslighting but here we go again. When you do write a statement like this, with the intent of it being a reason or a soothing balm, for one of the best wingback in Europe to be completely left out of the team, I have to respectfully assume that you think you can say anything to us and we’ll buy it. Young Oranje??? haha

      -Are you saying that you do not believe Jan when Jan says that the u21 coach and koeman talk? You obviously disagree with koeman’s choice but Jan is just explaining Koemans rationale. How is saying that the u21 coach and koeman talk an example of gaslighting?

      re: I’ve always enjoyed your analysis and do believe you know a thing or two about football. But what I have always grappled with is how readily you make excuses for these coaches. Frimpong was part of the world cup squad. He has been tearing up the bundesliga for the better part of two years. Why do we need him to play three positions when our team is oozing quality defenders? Why is right back not enough and as a bonus a better winger than the nonentity, Berghuis? Why can’t I believe that you can’t figure this out instead of lame excuses?
      -You should get a grip. You’re insulting Jan because Jan is explaining the logic that Koeman uses. What criteria do you think Koeman is using? Which player is versatile, has played with other members of the squad, and has been more consistent are all valid criteria for selecting players.

      re: I told you two write-ups ago that you harbor this habit of speculating in extremes as a way of justifying this crude stagnation that Oranje have brought on itself. Was Blind a young Maldini not to have ever had a challenge in that position in the name of keeping a cohesive unit? Why do we all of a sudden now realize that Ake is quite a capable left full back after baby Blind went into semi-retirement? Excuses after excuses.
      – Nonsense reply. You’re moving the goal post of Jans point. He is saying that its hard to manage egos, playing time, and integrating new guys into the squad while building continuity. Since you think this is just an excuse, then please tell us that you think those things are easy for a coach?

      RE: Again you continue on your expertise of extreme scenarios naming Redan, Zefuik, Boetuis as if they are the only calibre of players that can replace or at least challenge some staples of Oranje. Some of these players are legitimately recommended from ten years ago.
      -Is the list not indicative of how screaming for all these untested players to get call ups is not the right way to build a squad. This list is to show in hindsight that calling for so many changes is not ideal.

      How about Ake for Blind, three years ago?

      Matuwisa/Van Boomen/Schouten/Ake/ for the limited de Roon who runs like an aging wrestler?

      How about a direct and jackrabbit quick right winger in Frimpong instead of Berghuis who has a less than pathetic record with Oranje? You want to Play a 4-3-3 and you have a right winger with the pace of a snail and can’t beat nobody? Don’t you see the difference every time Malen replaces him? You don’t remember one Arjen Robben and the threat of a Zenden and Overmaars in the classic formation you clamour for?

      And Klassen, Wjinaldum, de Roon, Berghuis are all interchangeable with any of the prospects mentioned above.

      But all you talk about is the risk of hurting veterans feeling and how a coach should tread carefully. Are you kidding me when most of these guys are at least 5 years over due in their positions if you have to judge them by their tournament performances and even qualifiers?

      But no. Always with the clannish mentality. Always with the judgment outside of football capabilities and looking for loyal soldiers even if they can’t really play. Always this search for pawns.

      And yet, the opposite has happened. Wonder why Oranje is the prime example of pundits for team volatility and infighting.

      -All of these changes could still happen. Its been one squad where there were lots of injuries and a virus throughout the camp. Maybe Koeman would be more likely to give van boomen a chance if he has a trusted player like frenkie besides him. Youre so negative that its hard to take your opinion seriously because you won’t have an open mind. Hmmmmm I wonder if not having an open mind to others opinions is what leads to team volatility and infighting…..

  17. There is a saying, quite apt.

    If one is witness to a lunatic doing headstands in the street, one would be more of the madman if one beats a drum to his antics.

    We operate on different levels my guy.

    Your sentence structures will always tell on you.

    And you are clearly out of your depth, trying to inject yourself in my conversations, that do require large doses of critical thinking ability.

    You yearn for attention.

    You hate that my points are always so well put together.

    Confident.

    Precise.

    And you hate the fact that I can express myself so much better than you.

    It’s arrogance to you.

    That’s how envy works.

    Ignorance too.

    You clearly do not know the meaning of gaslighting.

    I will forever leave you now to stew on in my cauldron of an exposè

    Jig away.

  18. This conversation is a perfect example why I decided to step away from this job. I think orangutan is probably 1) a smart guy, 2) a Dutch football fan and 3) a nice guy in person but I cannot deal with his longwinded rants where he cherry picks comments and takes them out of context and then uses them to smear his elitist arrogant viewpoints all over it.

    I’m leaving again.

  19. @Jan

    Re:Who are you addressing here, orangutan?

    I’m very surprised and a little bit disappointed that you would think that my last comment was targeted at you.

    We’ve always had our back and forth and animated disagreements but it has always been respectful.

    If anything, players in this forum have used very unsavory language and names against me. Including yourself.

    I challenge you to go through my threads and see if you can find a single time I called someone a dxxk or anything of that nature.

    Nothing of what I wrote and, sequence of comments would suggest that this has anything to do with you.

    I was clearly addressing a person(no name no relevance) who jumped into my comments trying to play a peer. He is clearly not.

    You are.

    And that’s why I’m disappointed that you put yourself in place of such.

    1. @Orangutan.

      Jan just said that you’re one of the reasons he quit this job . You are also the reason he’s not going to comment any further. You have ruined this experience for everyone. I am so disappointed that we lost Jan’s post because of your horrible attitude.

      RE: challenging Jan to, “find an instance where you have called someone a dick or anything of that nature.” Your previous post towards me is incredibly disrespectful. You said I am not your peer as a way of elevating yourself.

      You speak about needing critical thinking skills to participate in these types of conversations, yet you’re lack of critical self reflection is the reason you have ruined this community.

      When I try and support Jan from your elitist rants and your degrading attitudes, you insult me and double down on your opinion.

      Is it your goal to ruin this community for everyone? Maybe your goal is to make Jan miserable so he stops commenting as well?

      Whether your opinion on the national team is correct or not, surely you are able to see that how you express yourself has prompted Jan into quitting. You’re lack of emotional intelligence is staggering. To not realize that how you express yourself matters just as much as what you are saying is staggering.

      You’re insecurities that have you needing to be right at all costs has and is continuing to ruin the experience of others on this forum.

      Will you be content with being one of the reason Jan quits or will your arrogance continue until this entire blog is forced to shut down?

      Instead of trying to insult my intelligence, maybe take a minute and reflect on why Jan has said your attitude is why he quit.

  20. koeman said he has serious doubt about defending capability of Frimpong he was omitted for that reason ,then choice was obvious as Geetruida..whom he thought it might work well…if Geertuida was RB why did he play RCB?///thats the question nomber 1…dont teall me De ligt was out sos sososo…nah we had Timber for RB….
    if Koeman is a studous analytical Guy he ha sluxuary for Defenders at NT…
    if he wants shear defender at RB..then its Kenny Tete
    if he want shear attack then its frimpong..
    if he he want mix of box with lesser quality then its dumfries and geetruida…
    He has phenomenonal player who can be a make shift Rb thats Timber,….
    With Timber,Deligt in hands koemna should have gone for Tete and Frimpong..as Tete and timber would play defense monsters and frimpong the attacking luxuary…it would have been a nice choice for him..with frimpong and hartman he could go even for 532 or 343..,,,however we lost in midefeild as we had only 1 quality player there that was weifer…that mad koemans fate..

  21. @ Jan- Jan- Why are you making excuses for Koeman? People are tired of these Dutch coaches. People were looking for a fresh start, to the contrary Koeman is taking us backwards. Koeman brought back a bunch of players that should have been retired long ago, never proven themselves back into the team and people are frustrated. Dutch fans are looking for new leadership, new vision and Koeman doesn’t have that. This is going to be another tournament that we are going to miss.

  22. @ Jan

    I will only talk for myself and not for tiju as his lineups keeps changing with different players every now and then like a girl changing his pantys. for me I have said this before, when I look at player, the first thing I look at his individual quality because this is what gonna determine his long term future. yes there are some who dont live up to expectations but that often is result of certain action or decision making. I recall saying some of the names which you mentioned above, but you also fail to high light the fact that it was at a time when the options were either thin in particular position or if not when needed due circumstances such as injuries etc. for example I mentioned about Piroe just recently given the current situation upfront and considering his form. I mean what wrong it can do or to other players as well to be called up and be assessed in training sessions at least. you look at brobbery’s selection in the last internationals and what koeman said in his interview about him. I was expecting him to start vs Gibraltar but he didnt and that clearly indicated that he didn’t tick all the boxes or to impressed koeman during training sessions. Imagine vs Gibraltar and not even 5 minutes, even when 3-0 up and with weghorst being relentless but not able to make much impact clinically. wasnt this a waste even being selected while being a bench player? My question again here if he was only called him up to be looked at in the 10 days as koeman said in his interview , why not others whom lets say are in form. then there are players on that list that already have been called up. stengs, dilrosun, boadu (scored on his debut), El Ghazi, tete etc.

    there also other stuff you have mentioned which is not in the right context or is arguable.

    “Koeman and his staff (like LVG, like FdB, and all of them before them) have a list of around 60 players they actively follow.

    they watch and analyse their game but they also speak to their coaches about them and this is about “coachability”, about their personality and more.

    Based on this and based on the coach’ personal beliefs, he will use that list of 60 to come back with a pre lim list of 32 or 36 or whatever”.

    its a know fact that those playing in smaller or average league clubs are hardly considered. recall danjuma at bournemouth and the cirumstances surrounding his selections. the Number 60 is also bogus given certain positions for example LW are stacked and you dont need look at surplus wingers. so is in the backline. unfortunately the position that needs rotation or building of depth is often overlooked. LB over the years. RB

    in conclusion the Dutch coaches simply make life hard for themselves. van gaal probably would be the smart one but even he has been made to BITE THE DUST.

  23. Koeman has had some good runs with teams he’s coached and some not so good ones. But he did a good job with the NT in his last run, so I’m not ready to say he is a waste of time or that he should be fired immediately. That seems overly reactive to a bad performance.

    What I am most concerned about is that, like alot of coaches, he’ll be slow to move on from players with whom he had success in the past. Of the pillars of his past NL team, Van Dyke, Memphis, Wijnaldum are now five years older and struggling. It is Koeman’s job to figure whether their time is past or there are other factors (injuries, just returning from injury, hangover from a WC in the middle of the season), make the hard decisions to move on if necessary, and who to work in. Some have already decided it is time. You could be right. You could tell after the two games, he was angry and embarrassed—as he should have been. Hopefully some of the players were as well. None of his players will have a long leash anymore, and, I suspect changes are coming. FDJ, one of the younger keepers, the continued good form from Malen and Wieffers, and replacing some of the nonperformers (or conversely if they can bring their game back to a higher level) could make this group look like a different team.

    1. Hey Wilson, you’re not. wrong, Croatia is very good. Koeman will have had time to digest the previous two matches and (try) to imprint the style he wants on the NT. It will be a good measuring stick.

  25. Forgot to mention this. Lang scored twice for cub brugge and Also won the man of the match. I hope he wiill be in the selection next up. He has to be.

  26. Oh. I think his last NT played 4-3-3, and did so in a particular manner. I could be wrong, and please tell me if I am, but in the actual games that mattered in the NL and the Euro Qualifiers he played 4-3-3. He had that good result against Portugal in the Friendly early in his tenure, but my recollection is that he went back to 4-3-3 for the games that mattered.

    1. Yeah you are correct there, but he really never had or left any style of football which had an impact in the team. His one and only master stroke was calling up of Babel which reinforced the attacking options and whom

      1. For me one of the down fall of Dutch team in the last few years has being their approach of concentrating more on starting 11 and not building a quality bench whom are on the same page as their starting 11. As in quality, experience etc. like I said they prefer to go tatical rather having someone who can come on and change the complexion of the game as an super sub. Not to confuse here with the pinch hitter tatic has been a feature in NT. Super subs as like Van persie and huntelaar rivalry, vaart and sneijder. Every time when either would be subbed on, you knew something gonna happen. Nail bitting stuff. I hope to see this again. There are some positions that are building up to that especially on that LW but overall there has to be more competition like that in other position. You can’t be relying on certain key players whom when not around leaves a big vacuum in the team. This is what that needs to change. And I will say this again, this can only happen through rotation. Note not the whole team but where it’s needed the most. I forgot to mention this above. You have to look at the circumstances of how noppert got nod not having a single cap but starting at World Cup.

      2. Babel played well, but there were other reasons for the success. Van Dyke and De ligt came together as a central partnership, FDJ came on to the stage, Wijnaldum was in good form. I agree, you can never discount talent.

        But also, my recollection is that they did have a particular style—staying compact, more defensive energy from positions you don’t normally see it from (the wingers Bergweijn and Babel, and Wijnaldum especially in the 10 role; and perhaps that is why FDJ was so prominent in that group, he had more freedom)—and they had a fighting spirit; so many games they fell behind and came back.

        1. Probably yes . The team peaked because the players were at their peak as well. Depay,Van dijk, wijnaldum and off course frenkie but that didn’t last long and straight after the NL coming in the euro qualifiers the intensity had dropped before he abounded the ship.

          Also on playing compact, if I recall correctly during those big wins vs France, Germany , they played more free flow than compact. A common feature was build up from the back though.

          I don’t think the Dutch football has evolved in the last 10 years or so.

  27. Burnely have secured EPL promotion for next season with couple of games still left. I did mention this before and Maatsen now can come into the spotlight for NT selection ofcourse with performance based. On a positive note, there will be competition hosting up now with all three Ake, Malacia and Maatsen playing in EPL. Vincent company has confirmed he was maatsen to remain at Burnely and if possible sign him permanently from Chelsea.

    Joel piroe is also linked to burnely.

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