Feyenoord have announced Nesto Groen’s contract renewal. The 18-year-old athlete renews with the Stadionclub until the end of the 2025/26 season.
Nesto Groen has been playing for Feyenoord’s youth team since 2013 and signed his first professional contract in 2021 with the Rotterdammers.
“Nesto Groen has developed a lot in recent seasons as a striker. He did everything to become a better football player. No wonder he appears so often in Feyenoord’s professional squad” said Feyenoord’s head of youth teams, Rini Coolen.
𝗡𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝗲𝗻 ➠ 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 💚
Let's hunt for more goals now!#VarkenoordView
— Feyenoord Rotterdam (@Feyenoord) February 1, 2023
“I see this contract renewal as recognition from the club. I am very happy and satisfied here. It’s good to see that the club is also enjoying my development. This confidence is very good for me and it is a sign that I am on the right path” said Nesto Groen.
Dallinga is slowly settling down in Ligue 1. 7 goals and 1 assist now in 20 games. Arsenal Loanee Florian Balogun of Remis though has been at the centre of attention having scored 14 goals . top scorer now in ligue 1. can see him next season in epl. for dallinga maybe another season or so and transition from JO.
Watched Levekusan vs Stuttgart. Bakker and frimpong both had normal day in office and though they lost, both put in a good performance. Bakker has improved a lot I must say. His first touch particularly where he stops the ball and then able to hold the ball at feet and then move looking for options has been a marked improvement . Before he never use to stop the ball but just get his pass away with the ball still rolling. Also use to buckle under feet when caught under pressure. This is is second season I believe and like mentioned before playing regularly makes a big difference from development point of view. He should be called up by koeman. Frimpong nothing much to say. He just needs to injected in NT as soon as possible.Gibraltar game
Augsburg captain Jeffrey Gouweleeuw also caught my attention. Calm composed solid in defense RCB. It’s a pity how he has never been called up in NT,even in extended squad. Sometimes you think about and wonder why players playing in lower clubs are overlooked even though some have potential to play at highest level. If I recall correctly Benjamin pavard was called up by France national team in 2018WC while playing at Stuttgart. His trajectory from after that WC just took off. This absolutely sucks when it comes to Dutch football and in NT. I mean in player investment. While a lot of focus is centered around Ajax players given they play CL football a lot , that goes wasted when they depart Ajax only to fade out abroad. Then it’s back to square 1 in NT.
@wilson i feel the same when talent is looked down upon by the coaches, saying you are playing in a lower league or a lower club. Koeman had seen that Noppert from a lower club did far better than the others. So it should serve as an example. We all know the Ajax supporters did not like his selection. Its not about Ajax or any club, its about dutch team any one with talent and playing well needs to be brought in. Then definitely things will be better.
Watched Toulouse vs PSG.. wanted to see how Van den boomen fairs in big games and vs a team of psg magnitude who were missing neymar , mbappe and Verratti. while offensively he was constructive as ever and often pulling the strings when with possession, pretty much like Veerman, in defense his flaws as a deep lying midfielder was pretty much evident. I think this is where frenkie simply is on another level. Break downs, closing down marker, covering up etc. Scored a smart goal from a free kick just outside of the box to give Toulouse the lead but with PSG dominating possession, it was tough ask for Toulouse as a team to sustain the onslaught especially when psg were penetrating using the inside channels. Again this was where the Toulouse midfield struggled and conceded both goals from hakimi and Messi both cutting them open and scoring sublime goals. Not entirely his fault but he didn’t look authoritative defensively as he looked offensively. Set pieces he looked dangerous as ever and will and can score goals and provide assists but that’s pretty much you can ask of him. I think this is also where he is better than veerman. Not sure you can count on him to track back defensively especially when playing as a deep lying midfielder. Again pretty much in the same boat as veerman.
Dallinga came on in the second and while it was going to be hard for him to get serviced in this type of games, he did bring some spark upfront. Was once released by van den bommen clear on a through ball, raced well but his final shot of weaker left was easily saved by Donnaruma. Few touches here and there apart from that. Looks like a decent striker if serviced well can be decisive. Fast as well.
From the looks of it, it looked like double pivot with spierings at the base in point back step up and all dropping back in defense.
So if van den boomen would go up high (left)), spierings would shift to cover for him and the other midfielder (right) would drop back to slot in at Spiering position and vice visa. Like I said he is not a attacking midfielder and like veerman likes to move all over the park when possible pulling the strings with his trademark passes, overhead balls, crosses etc.
I have seen alot of pSV games to contrast this situation.
In NT the delimma is somebody to pair up with frenkie which can work efficiently. I mean you look at koopmeiners, offensively moments/ flashes of brilliance and defensively become a ghostly figure just running around.
I think simons, frenkie, Matusiwa would the best trio for koeman to go with.
My only concern with that trio: lack of physicality vs France…more from a height & sheer pace standpoint. That’s I’m leaning Simons on the wing. Matusiwa as the pivot w/ Frenkie doing Frenkie things. But that 3rd midfielder having more physical traits.
Hopefully Gravenberch features in more matches for Bayern & not just token crumb minutes he’s been getting as of late. He’d be a candidate. Wieffer & Q Timber could feature too.
As it is the midfield should be simons, Frenkie and Matusiwa vs france
I’ve slowly become a Matusiwa fan. He’s by far the best pure DM we have. Not shy about getting stuck in & is a solid distributor. That Will Still lad is doing wonders at Reims.
Someone likened his playing style to Moises Caicedo. Even mentioned on some fan outlets as a possible replacement for the Ecuadorean DM next summer.
Gakpo’s time at liverpool is closing down fast and as he plays more and more. Another one who fails to live up to expectation. The fans have spoken and it’s not good.
It is not a surprise. For the last decade, the only striker that Netherlands produce and can survive a couple of seasons in top foreign league is Weghorst. He did kinda alright at wolfsburg and he is not traditional Netherlands striker.
Every other forwards/wingers/attacking midfields has disappeared at top leagues. Some of them settled down to lower league level like Depay or Vincent Janssen and then they shine again. The moment they go to the next level, they will disappear.
It looked like the development has entirely shifted after 2010 from attacking skills to defensive skills. All talents who did well in foreign league is defender or defensive mid.
watchedfeyenoord vs PSV. without a doubt, PSV was a better team and would have been if not for red card abd dominated as fcuk till obispo’s foolishness. after the red card it was always going to be a tatical battle and again without a doubt slot was going to win it . the equalizer for feyenoord was cheap and benitez should have done better other wise it was all feyenoord after the red card.
best player for me was simons and he will be germ for NT. also it looks like he is developing in mould of sneijder playing on the left and cutting inside. he was so menacing from there in the first half making those runs and cutting inside. got the assist on el ghazi’s goal if im correct. I was thinking about it and probably lang and him are similar esque and it kind of will be shame having either on bench considering how much they can influence the game. then there is also danjuma, gakpo in the picture. somebody needs to shift to the right.
For Oranje, Simons will be used on the wing or in an Iniesta type of role in the midfield 3. Be some fun things for the Koeman & staff to look at in March
We might be finally having a super star striker, with skills and who knows how to dribble past players and has strong physical presence, I’ve been watching Bologna games in serie A and I can tell you Zirkzee might be our guy that we’ve been looking for forever, the guy has grown up a lot and is very convincing he hasn’t scored yet only because of some bad luck or excellent goal keeping last two games but even today against Fiorentina he showed some real class, I am sick and tired of hearing about the 600 great defenders that we are developing I want to see talent that dribbles and score goals …. Joshua might be the one !!!
what about schouten. any thoughts
not sure though if zirkzee will be looked at playing at bologna. as usual he will have to join a bigger club and then prove himself to the jury.
You will all have picked up on the Man City news? If all goes as it should, they will be losing points (best case) or get relegated. I think Financial Fair Play is key. It’s just not fair at the moment, also in between nations. The rules in Holland are strict, the rules in Spain not, etc etc. It’s not a fair playing field.
And sad news: I mentioned the other day that Davy Propper returned to pro football? After two matches, he suffered a serious knee injury and will be out for a spell….
I saw the Feyenoord PSV match as well. I can understand Wilson’s view, but PSV only got 3 chances or so. Feyenoord should have scored 5. Timber missing a complete sitter. I think Feyenoord should have won against PSV and Twente, but lack of sharpness and stupid ref decisions cost them.
Decided to watch clips of Matusiwa after he was heralded by @Wilson and @Victonary_47 above. Must say he resembled like Ngolo Kante, tough tackler and good passer. Can see why Wilson wants to pair him with FDJ at midfield.
Again, seems we are well stacked at defence and midfield. While the search for a prolific goalscorer continues..😬
Also watched the Feyenoord Vs PSV match. Specifically to see Quinten Timber, Mark Weifer and Xavi Simons. Timber was lively and good duels with Ibrahim Sangare. Missed few open chances. Simons was brave in taking on the PSV defenders. He was very much alone upfront, with little support from rest. He was able to compete well with his good technical skills.
Weifer I don’t rem much of his play.
https://www.espn.nl/voetbal/artikel/_/id/11584407/van-den-boomen-grote-meneer-in-ligue-1-messi-was-een-beetje-boos-op-mij. Little tidbit from the ESPN NL article:
“Messi was a bit angry with me”
A goal from Lionel Messi finally won PSG against the number 12 in France. Van den Boomen exchanged some words with the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner. “Messi was a bit angry with me because I got into an argument with him and the referee.”
In addition to Van den Boomen, the Dutch contigent in the southern French city also consists of Stijn Spierings and Thijs Dallinga. The latter came in as a substitute and has seven league goals in his debut season. Dallinga is therefore also working hard, but remains modest. He was with the Dutch Juniors during the last international match period. “Not really,” says Dallinga when asked if he ever thinks about the ‘big’ Orange. “With the European Championships ahead, that is the first goal. It is important to me that I keep scoring goals and keep performing well. I think that Orange is a main goal for every football player, that is no different for me,” concludes the 22-year-old goal thief.
“Dreaming is always allowed,” said Van den Boomen about his international career. He hadn’t heard anything from Zeist yet. “I’m not really counting on it. If you set goals as a player, that would be nice. Players who do well abroad are always seen, so I hope I can continue like this. Then you never know what could happen.”
he also made some late tackles (1) on him (Messi) resulting in exchanges of words.
@wilson, thanks for the updates and analysis
Ajax will take his time to pick up a technical director and a new coach.
They offered the job to Gallardo and he declined because he wanted to take a time off. Maybe he will be able to come next season? Maybe this is the reason Ajax hired Heitinga until the end of the season?
I watched Ajax last two games. The team spirit is totally different from the one under Schreuder. I also like basic changes made by Heitinga, like using Berjwin on the left, and starting Winjdal. It’s another team.
On a bright note, he is also giving time to the youngest players. Last weekend debuted a 16 years old right back called Hato
https://www.transfermarkt.us/jorrel-hato/profil/spieler/904802
Also debuted a 19 years old that caught my eyes for the way he moved, named Fitz-Jim
https://www.transfermarkt.us/kian-fitz-jim/profil/spieler/559333
And he played the 16 years old defender Regeer.
Does anybody know something about these youngsters players?
Malen’s future at Dortmund is starting to look blink with competition now at its tougher given the options that are available now including with the new arrivals. he should have taken the chance when it came to him, unfortunately he couldnt and didnt have it and joins the list of those who faded moving abroad.
any thoughts here guys. he was seen as depay heir sometimes back.
Benefitted when Marco Rose was there. Now that Erin Terzic is manager, he’s behind in the depth chart behind the likes of Adeyemi Bynoe-Gittens at LW. When he used deputize Haaland last year, Malen is behind Modeste Moukoko & Haller now. That’s just a deep deep team at BVB currently
It is not about the depth. It is about his performance. He does not score like half a season already. His form is a crisis.
But he is just another name on a long list.
Babel, Afellay, Depay, Siem De Jong, Luuk De Jong, Elia, Lens, Kluivert, Janssen, Bergwijn, Boadu, Stengs, Brobbey those are some of the names of the next big forwards and none has achieved anything significantly in big league. It will take entire league to figure it out.
At the moment, if NT is a club then this club is busy buying all top CBs while having none striker.
His height for a striker for me was an issue as well and I’m suspecting this was one of the reason why he was shifted to the wings.
It’s also true moukoko who even around the same height showed more quality in the little he played especially from being clinical point of view.
Pascal Struijk did well against Man united and Summerville also played well as a substitute.
I checked the ratings, was not good
Struijk was playing well. He was instrumental for the first Leeds goal and Summerville for the second goal.
Leeds has Arne Slot on their hitlist for the coaching role. He will most certainly say no now, but you never know. Once he wins the title, he might want to move on and he will do ever so well there.
Feyenoord – NEC for the national cup was a scorcher of a game. NEC got to 0-2 at half time. Feyenoord had to wait with their equaliser till the 96th minute or so. By the NEC was playing with 10 men due to a Sandler red card. In the extra time, NEC got to 2-3 but a minute later Feyenoord’s Mexican striker scored the 3-3. Dilrosun, a one-time Dutch international, scored a scorcher with his left but 10 men NEC battled on and scored the 4-4 very late. Penalties! With Bijlow out with a wrist problem, his stand in saved a spotkick and Feyenoord is now in the quarter finals.
Ajax escaped versus Twente, who were the better side. The Twente left winger could have decided the game when he was tackled from behind on the edge of the box. If he would have gone down, it would have been a spot kick and a red for Alvarez, but Midsijan stayed on his feet, but missed. Ajax got the goal (Kudus) in the second half and go to the quarter finals.
Ian Maatsen won Championship player of the month. He looked really good from the highlight i found. Does anyone follow him? His trajectory looks similar to Reece James.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnyojO9WUpI
Yes kevin, I am and he is in my dream team projection for 2026. I have followed him from when he was loaned out to league one, then to Coventry city and now at Burnley under Vincent company. His next step would be to get promoted with burnely to epl and build up from their to Chelsea which is practically what he targeting. Maybe another season or so I can see him competiting with the current LBs.
Ludviot reis continues to make headlines at Hamburg. He is now 5 goals and 2 assists in 19 games. He has scored respectively in the the last three games. I was reading about his contract clause, if Hamburg doesnt gain transfer to the top flight in bundasliga, he is eligible to leave the club. Eagerly waiting for him to enter the NT stage.
Nice, it is not easy to be Championship player of the month. I have the same impression about him watching how he play. If he could continue this trajectory, he will be a strong candidate for LB position.
Ashley Cole esque
Ian maatsen gives a positve hope ,people rate high on him…i saw only his youtube videos…i feel he has something to play in NT..Struijk,Malacia and Maatsen for LB…thats should be our LB pool…I am not convinced by wijndal,he lacks quality to play for oranje..on The right Frimpong,Rensch and dumfries thats the pool…We should narrow down like that..
i am still not following football as i sued to ,still i cannot forget after seeing Messi walks free aftera delibrate hand ball to discontinue our play..That refree was whistling against us consistently,which disrupted any of our moves..i am still bitter over it…
FFS…Ronald koeman must take younger ones who has the lungs for pressing untill unless for get everything…or He should learn from sceloni who played ENzo and Mac alister.Alvarez all of sudden..in crunch world cup matches ….
https://youtu.be/TvyPQDphtK8
Noa Lang
As it is the line up should be
Lang- Depay- Tavsan
Xavi
Frenkie- matusiwa
Ake- Botman- De Vrij- Dumfries
Noppert
Depay only needs to bring his fitness level up. He has slways delivers in NT and I think by March he should be fit. This is the best team I can think of now.
For me, we should move on from Depay. I feel he has reached his ceiling and just a slightly average player. He can’t lead the line upfront, not a target man, in the mold of Van Nistelrooy, Kluivert, Van Persie. He isn’t one for the wings as well. Depay’s feints and quick feet aren’t exactly threatening OR productive. We know many can do better than him.
Overall, Depay doesn’t fit into the dynamics of team play which we want from the NT.
For defense and midfield, we have many many options now. I am just waiting who Koeman be choosing.
Again, you can see in the WC, the team just lacked the cutting edge upfront, the midfield and defence can compete well.
Alfred Schreuder looks to be a top candidate for the now open hot seat at Leeds. Honestly he must have a damn good agent working the phones for him.
@ ycsng0822
there are some good upcoming strikers currently out there (playing aborad) but just because there are not firing all clyinders,or lets say they are not scoring that they have not come under spotlight yet. I have been following lammers from last season at Empoli and now at Sampdoria. those who watch serie A or if happen to watch him play, you will instantly notice his workrate and excellent positioning, unfortunately serie A unlike eredivisie is more free flow in the sense that its not only about strikers who needs to be serviced to get goals but individually everybody wants to take a bite at the cherry and this is where strikers like lammers esque become spotless (lack of service) and they end up dropping deep to hunt for ball rather than staying up as isolated figure. they are typical dutch strikers like what we have seen how the management in NT always prefer(target man) and I think it wont be difficult for him or others like him to transition in NT. one reason being they have that dutch DNA to click around or in dutch setting. it doesnt mean that they are scorings goals in different leagues that they are formless . I mean a very good example is to that of gakpo at Liverpool but there is no doubt in NT he will a different beast. at liverpool though I dont think this will change for him at Liverpool.
this was the same think I was reading about Zirkzee at Bologna. he is not in the spot light yet as well but his contribution and threat is well being noticed and applauded by the critics in Italy.
then you have Piroe. his situation is different and though he looks like a complete striker, as usual when it comes dutch football its more about where you play and not how. its also surprising how he was never even invited by JO. for me this just sucks especially when forward (9) department is so thin (quality depth). like some others its long road for him as well and hoping he can go to bigger club and prove critics wrong once again. sometimes you have to look out of box or simply gamble. you would recall this guy Wilfried Gnonto (19) now at leeds united. even before that he was called by Mancini in the Italy squad while playing for FC zurich. After just few caps his market value shoot off and was picked up by leeds. im hoping for the day when I see this happening in NT.
Even you look at xavi simons, just in one season he has proved that is better off playing at eredivsie level and needs to be playing at a higher level and again look when he was on PSG bench making cameos, he was still not deemed good enough for even JO LEVEL. this mentality really needs to change if the dutch football wants to strive big or simply reach the summit. otherwise its gone be the same climax again and again.
I don’t think Lammers or Zirkzee will be the answer. They are both at Serie A for a long time now, if they cannot adjust by now, when will they? The moment they go to lower league, they will start banging in goals.
Piroe should have received the call up by now, skipping him for giving call to LDJ is just unfair. Same for Dallinga, just because of the clubs they play, they did not get the chance when their numbers actually look better than a lot of other invites. Piroe and Dallinga will be a stop gap solution. Until we fix the youth development pipeline, nothing good will come out of it.
Anyone else feeling absolutely bright about Oranje’s future!?
Mainly because of one man, XAVI SIMONS. I see no red flags. He can pass, shoot, run, dribble and he’s tenacious. Unlike my previous fav Ihattaren he seems destined for the top through work ethic on and off the field. I hope he makes smart moves unlike Gravenberch. He really does have so much in his game, a #10 that can run :). Tried thinking of comparables stylistically, not based on talent and maybe a shorter Kaka? Most 10s cant run. Somebody on twitter suggested David Silva but I think Xavi is for more direct and quick, and loves scoring. Or even a bit of Edgar Davids pitbull in him. Even our great Sneijder loved drinking wine, but Xavi seems to have more fire in him.
If he does become that world class star, we will be set. Him and De Jong could be magic. So many strong defenders. Yes we are light upfront but Gakpo, Danjuma, Brobbey, ect we will always have good enough guys. I like van brederode. If Simons pans out, One more star upfront and we will be set for a decade. De jong has 8+ years left.
Great national teams don’t need 11 stars, they need a couple and lots of guys that are top level. Klopp wanted Gakpo must mean something.
And oh my, Ihattaren arrested today, almost comical at this point. Biggest waste of talent I can remember. People that get injured I can’t blame them, but this guy is an idiot.
In Xavi Simons we trust.
Fun excercise, if people were making a top 10 Oranje Prospect/Future Star list
1. Xavi Simons
2. J. Timber
Gravenberch, Malacia, Van Brederode, Brobbey, Botman if he counts.
Would love to see somebody make this
@ Sonneveld
indeed. unfortunately it will be quiet a competition between him and Lang in future whom are very very similar esque players or how they play. the one problem with lang though is his attitude. he so wants to emulate neymar that he often over does things at times but then he makes up for it with the general play and threat he brings influencing the team.
Lang can look dazzling at times, but since the 2020-2021 season his production has been been ordinary at best. Simons should be rated ahead of him.
like I mentioned above it doesn’t mean when somebody is not scoring that their form has regressed (not necessarily and injuries aside). you have to look at what he is doing in other departments as well eg complementing the team and this season, this is where Lang has been quiet outstanding. being said this it has not been good season for them, big name departures, change of coaches and injuries as well. scoring rate, yes it has slumped but production (creativity) I wouldnt say it has been ordinary. him starting in every game says alot about it.
his major downfall is that he wants to be the one man show (alpha dog) and this was one of the reasons which saw him have fallout with Ten hag and later schruder who relegated him to the bench. later on schruder did realize how influential he was coming of bench and slowly brought him back into the starting 11.
being said this looking at both their technical abilities, its almost identical, speed, dribbling, creativity, workrate, warrior instinct. Simons future does look brighter because of his high profile status coming through barce ranks and then PSG who have a buy back clause in his contract. for lang he next step or club will absolutely be critical with respect to his future I think their maturity (attitude, discipline, ethics) will play a vital role in their development and this is where I see simons to be ahead of lang atm.
ten hag has being saying the same thing for weghorst.
“like I mentioned above it doesn’t mean when somebody is not scoring that their form has regressed”
Well, you’re not wrong about that in general. I hope you are right that this is the case with Lang. We’ll see.
Noa Lang has completed 12 dribbles out of 14 attempts in the match vs Benfica, that’s crazy!!!! Still 20 more minutes to go…
Man of the match
Lang-Depay
Gakpo- Frenkie- Matusiwa- tavsan
Ake- Botman- De Vrij- Karsdorp
Noppert
Two work horse upfront
Pace on the flanks
Efficient engine room
Good defense.
It would be big if Tavsan would get that NT callup ..but in light of that, he should finish the season strong & if eligible for Euro U21s this summer put in a solid performance. Idk I like him at a Toulouse or Reims, clubs that seem to scout both Jupiler & Eredivisie pretty well, esp Will Still’s Reims (the current UK & FM fanboys’ favorite young manager story)
For LB, Aké & Malacia are in for me. But watch out for the pundits new fav Feyenoord’s Quilindschy Hartman. Seems to get a lot of plaudits in 2023 so far.
Well this settles the NT’s present search for a np. 10, right? 🙂
https://metro.co.uk/2023/02/16/manchester-united-erik-ten-hag-explains-why-he-used-wout-weghorst-in-no-10-role-18298886/
I can’t believe the solution was in front of us all the time and we did not realize. Now to solve the forwards problem, I propose we use the trio
Frimpong – VVD – Timber
Frimpong: nice dribble, good speed, play him on the left side so he can cut inside and score
VVD: pretty good target man, plus he can organize the forward line
Timber: good passing skill, strong quick feet
After all, we still have another 10 defenders to choose.
Noa Lang’s dribbles was so good against Benfica, his final ball is a little bit off though. Bjorn Meijer made a terrible mistake handed Benfica the second goal.
Bad day in office for meijers.he also conceded the penalty for the first goal. Early days.
Lang played as striker with freedom to move around. A notable scene was often when he would drop deep to fetch balls,no one would be upfront in the box and this hurt them alot. Vanaken was playing behind him and he was suppose to slot in his position when ever he was dropping deep but it didnt work.
PSV were hopeless vs Sevilla. They dont deserve to play at EL level especially now . Painful to watch. Typical dutch style, go forward then pass back or side ways.
Simons as usually the only bright spark.
Simons as usually the only bright spark. I think next season he should move a more competitive league and to a team where he can get regular minutes.
Yup, he should move to Spain or France, have a fantastic season then he can move to top clubs. Staying in Eredivisie will not help much with his development. But he need to make good choice of which play that will offer him playing time and suit his play style.
Gakpo and Malen both scored this week. Gakpo’s goal is a good one and this is the second consecutive goal that he scored. Malen looks alright playing striker for Dortmund. Depay had an assist after subbing in late in Atletico’s match. Hope they can fight back and reach their true potential. Last year, many fans were writing off Rashford and now he is one of the best strikers in the world. I hope the Dutch strikers learn from that and rediscover their form. Players like Boadu need to move and find a better club.
Dallinga,Lang,Boadu all scored for their respective clubs. Good week for the dutchies if you include gakpo and malen. Karsdorp also started for Roma. No minutes for danjuma unfortunately at spurs.
Ludviot reis continues his fine form in bundasliga 2 for hamburg. He is now 6 goals and 3 assists in 21 games. 3 goals and 1 assist in last 4 games. Scored in the weekend again and are trailing 2 on the table.
I’m sincerely hoping for them to get promoted this season and join the top flight or a transfer out to a competitive club in a bigger if they fail to qualify.
I followed this guy from groningen days. He is worth putting your money on. If there is a wild card entry to given to a player for the upcoming selection, it should be him.
I hope koeman and his scouts have been out and about tracking players. Good article on Matusiwa and why he should be called up. Will be really disappointed if he doesnt and and once again the selectors and jury will come under spot light.
https://www.vi.nl/pro/azor-matusiwa-is-nog-beter-geworden-in-wat-hij-al-goed-kon-overal-staan
Azor Matusiwa has become even better at what he was already good at: standing everywhere’
A few weeks ago I saw Stade Reims play football against Paris Saint-Germain in the Parc de Princes. Afterwards, it was about the long unbeaten run of the club from the champagne region and the only thirty-year-old Belgian coach who is responsible for this. The undergraduate Will Still. It was also about Arsenal mercenary Folarin Balogun, the surprising top scorer in Ligue 1.
Stade Reims there are still a few things that stand out. One of those things is Azor Matusiwa’s game intelligence and tactical discipline. In his period at De Graafschap and Jong Ajax, he was often compared to N’Golo Kanté as a ball conqueror. I came across an interview from five years ago in which Michael Reiziger, as coach of Jong Ajax, explained that he was happy with the development of Matusiwa. He characterized him as a calf biter who can play football. He was also surprised that he was everywhere on the field and seemed to be in between everything.
A very good 4-4-2
Lang- Depay
Gakpo- Frenkie- Matusiwa – simons
Ake- Botman- van Dijk -Frimpong
Noppert
Two work horse upfront who can drop anywhere and roam around at free will.we have seen this with lang vs benfica and Depay as well when they drop deep. Both can play shadow strikers vice versa when dropping deep. 4-4-1-1.
Gakpo can be the lose man making those runs inside the box from the flanks or receive those overhead balls like vs liverpool. (False striker)
Robust and efficient midfield with both frenkie and Matusiwa breaking down plays and also creative as well from engine room
Dynamic backline with frimpong given the authority to play high along side Simons
Dallinga has 9 goals in Ligue 1. I will take him over Depay. Depay is not match fit and that’s why Simeone use him as a substitute. I think Gakpo should play closer to goal as he is a goal threat. Agree with the rest.
Dallinga needs servicing to be able to make it count. If you look at him at Toulouse, he never plays full 90 and is often subbed in final third for other strikers. He is more like Giroud who can latch and squeeze on to the ball in congested and tight spaces.
An unfit Depay is still more influential to that of requiring servicing. His ability to hold ball including to that of defenders is often deceive in creating space for others. His powerful shots are also detrimental from close range and sometimes edges of the box unfortunately dallinga doesn’t bring this qualities.
The one thing that he needs to be relegated from is taking free kicks and corners. I hope gakpo will take over from him in this department.
I know a lot of people want to see change upfront but unfortunately Depay still cannot be ignored yet. The France game is on the 25th of March. A lot of time for him to get back to full fitness.
Gakpo could be experimented with upfront (Liverpool) with Lang on the left , Simons behind him and maybe either of kluivert, el ghazi or dilrosun on the right. But I don’t think koeman will overlook Depay at this moment coz he has always delivered at NT level if not for injury. El ghazi has one cap under his belt and can bring that arieal attack up front and is also good on free kicks. PSV seems to struggling with him injured at the moment. His not that effective on the right but the simple things that he does like crossing, arieal and physical presence are very effective. Experienced as well.
Gravenberch at AM also can be an option. He has looked good there in some games where he has played there at Bayern.
Elia retired today. He was so good in his first season at HSV. And then just like that, one injury and he disappeared.
Tete continues to play well at RB. Kept Mitoma, Brighton quiet in Fulham win against them. Played well also against Chelsea wingers, incl. Mudryk. Surely he will be back in the NT!
Gakpo will be our #10, along with Weghorst. LVG played him at the WC and Klopp is now doing same. These great coaches somehow see things very differently.
Now will be who be the left and right wingers.
Tete is well known for his defense attributes.
Average on attack. Frimpong, Karsdorp, Dumfries are ahead of him.
Karsdorp started for Roma vs Verona. First game since the World Cup break. Still looks rusty and needs to catch up on fitness and time that he missed.
Watched the Newcastle-Liverpool match. Well taken goal by Gakpo—perfectly timed run, and cool-headed finish. Has now scored in consecutive games.
I’ve now seen Newcastle a number of times. Botman is playing well: strong, tough, decisive, controls his areas. What I’m not sure about—and am curious what others here think—is how much his success is due to Newcastle’s system. Putting the Liverpool game aside (neither of the goals were his fault, and after the early red card, Liverpool with a 2-0 lead pretty just saw the game out), Newcastle plays a tight, wonderfully organized defense, with the fullbacks for the most part defending first, coupled with a disciplined midfield, leaving Botman with more limited space to defend and control. Any thoughts how he’ll do playing in what will likely be a more open and offensive system that Koeman will play, with the fullbacks pushed farther up, and De Jong ranging forward?
I suppose we won’t know until we see it, but curious what others who have seen him play more than I have think.
Lang could be in trouble after he was furious after the 2-2 draw where they gave up lead twice vs cercle brugge . he was seen storming down the tunnel swearing about team mates and with coach parker ahead of him. what wrong with this kids. I hope this doesnt have any replications on him or jeopardizes his stakes in NT.