Danny Blind is the National Team Manager but his assistant Marco van Basten will always turn more heads. No matter how good Danny was, San Marco is sacred. He has a good vision on football too. Here, he goes into 14 (!) topics.
Personality of the Year
MvB: “For me, Phillip Cocu. He won the title with PSV and manages to remain in the Champions League through winter for the first time since 2006. Frank de Boer is a personality as well. Cocu is different, but they’re both special. We should be proud of both. In other competitions, we have Louis van Gaal and Ronald Koeman as trailblazers but that is it. We do have more good coaches in Holland, though. Don’t get me wrong. Some good young coaches coming through. Cocu did have some setbacks, his first season he copped a lot of criticism and then he had this tumor in his back. But he remain standing upright and that is pure class. Cocu does have players at his disposal that need less management. The Ajax players are a bit younger and need coaching. Cocu has Moreno. He simply defends. Luuk de Jong knows what he can and can’t do. Guardado puts in a shift, always. Cocu turned it into a good mix. PSV has a firm game plan but they do mix it up. Guardado plays it short and then suddenly long. Sometimes the inside foot, sometimes the outside. He is the main man. And the PSV defenders are more manly than the Ajax players. Less “football”, more defending. Football is more than just tiki taka, you know?”
Biggest disappointment
“Missing the Euros obviously. When you drop points against the Czechs, Iceland, Turkey…you simply aren’t good enough. Hiddink was replaced by Blind and I came in to assist Danny. For me, a good challenge. I loved my work at AZ. The level is a bit less and there is more time to work with them. With Oranje, better quality but less time to work on things. You only have the lads a couple of days to get them prepped. The only way to really work on a game plan is when you prep for a tournament, like Van Gaal did. We can do a lot of work in the background though. Our scouting and preparing our tactical briefs etc. Our challenge is that we have a number of top top players who are reaching the autumn or winter of their career and a number of young, inexperienced talents. We lack players in that mid category. The cement of the team, usually. They’re either not good enough or injured, like Strootman and Vlaar. We had a similar problem between 1982 and 1988. It’s all cycles I think. But time and time again, we produce talents. We need to take the talent, the experience and add focus and mental strength. This is a massive wake-up call and we can’t just think “ah well, it will all come good again.”
Superfluous rule
“Three rules come to mind. The one that annoys me if when play is stopped for off-side when a player jogs back from offside position, back on-side to get back into the game. No one gets that. There is no threat and he usually doesn’t even get the ball mostly. Let the play go on! There are too many whistles and stops. Another thing, when the ball is on its way to the byline or touch, the defenders are allowed to use everything they can to stop the forward to get to the ball. They push, put their butt out, use their arms and push. The forward wants to play football and the defender doesn’t. But 9 out of 10 times, the forward gets the decision against him. Weird. And then this silly rule that a goal kick needs to be out of the box before play is allowed to resume. Why? If the defender is put under pressure, why not just allow play to go. Allow forwards to put pressure on. And if the ball is touched in the box, the goalie gets to take the goal kick again! So there is a mistake being made and the goalie gets a second chance? Good way to steal seconds. The only logical thing would be to give the attacking team the free kick or just do away with the rule.”
Tip for KNVB’s competition management
“Do away with silly play offs for European football qualifications. The supporters don’t want it. The box office is a disappointment. Every year clubs get into trouble with their planning and prep for the new season. It is useless. And unfair. You have 34 competition games and you end up 3rd. Then you deserve that spot. Why would the number 6 get a chance to become 3rd after all? Confuses me….”
Dutch School
“Dutch clubs tend to have 70% possession. But on their own half! It doesn’t work. The fans and the tv viewers pull their hair out. The point in football is: how many chances do you create and how many goals do you make vs how many do you concede. In Italy, Spain, Brazil and other big nations, they laugh at us. The Dutch School? We are being too arrogant. We never won a trophy with the Dutch School. In 1988 we were fully focused on doing everything we can to beat our opponent. We played West Germany with fight football. Obviously, you want to put your mark on the game with attacking, adventurous football. Taking the initiative. But you can’t play high pressure all the time. You need to pick your moments and sometime go for the turnaround. You need to be able to do all of it, these days.”
Oranje playing Uruguay in 1974
Scaling the Eredivisie up
“I am not negative about the future. But, we do lose ground. When I played, Holland still have a position in Europe. But in the last fifteen years, countries like Russia, Turkey, Portugal and Ukraine have surpassed us. Even Sweden, Switzerland and Belgium are competitors now. We need to think bigger. Make our competition tougher. This is why I love the idea of the Low Lands League. The LLL. It means tougher teams to play against, better players to play against. The distances are not that great and nowadays most teams have international players, so the language is never a problem. We shouldn’t focus on beating England, Italy, Spain, Germany and France in terms of competition strength but we do need to focus on competing with the second tier.”
Kluivert not happy with Lowland Competition plans
Impact of Van Basten’s opinion on the Cruyff Plan (MvB wrote a column saying that Ajax hadn’t progressed after the so-called Cruyff Revolution at Ajax)
“I think Johan understood what I meant. He was the one who never really agitated against the article I wrote. The Amsterdam newspaper De Telegraaf was the only one attacking me for it. They don’t like it if people have a different opinion about Ajax than them. It’s all a bit subjective, it’s getting embarrassing. I can imagine the man in the street can’t follow it all anymore. This Plan Cruyff, or the Plan Telegraaf as I call it, it is one big wet fart. First they needed 4 yours to make it happen, then they said the execution was wrong, all this politics… If you need so much publicity to sell your product, your product is not good enough. And if it all is working so well, why is Johan walking out, why are people being axed, why are people resigning?”
Marco admires…
“Guys like Messi, C Ronaldo and Zlatan. These guys are at the top level for so long and so dominant too. These guys play 60 games per year and sure, they play in top teams with amazing team mates and it’s easier to score goals for Madrid than it is for, say, Cambuur or De Graafschap. But if I see how focused and hungry C Ronaldo still is against weaker opponents or when Real Madrid is 4-0 up already… He is sooo eager, year in year out. And he is hardly ever injured too. And they constantly seek new challenges. I totally respect that. Ibrahimovic, it’s like he has been around for ages. And everywhere he plays, he wins titles. Now, he helps Sweden to the Euros. C Ronaldo and Zlatan and Arjen Robben are incredible players, but…Messi… Messi is phenomenal.”
Biggest Dutch talent
“I’d have to say Quincy Promes. He is one of the key players at Spartak Moscow. He plays left, sometimes right, then centrally upfront, leading the line. He has no issues being a key player in a competition that is much stronger than the Eredivisie. He scored 10 in 18 games. He’s actually not really a talent anymore. He turns 24 in 2016 but he is now breaking internationally. Big future.”
Defending in the Eredivisie
“We are slowly turning into clowns. A ful back needs to attack. And if he can defend too, that is wonderful. It’s the world upside down. Kenny Tete is a positive exception. Most players from Ajax’ Academy have this, but Tete is a real defender. He is the youngest of the new batch. He does need to improve in his attacking play so he can make the difference on the ball too. Players need to learn timing. When do I go, when do I not. He said in an interview recently “I just do what comes up” and that means he plays on 100% intuition. He plays 100% on his talent. Now he needs to improve and make progress. His speed and his tough duel power combined with vision…he will turn into an international top defender. But, we should never forget, first and foremost he needs to defend.”
We need to get rid of this, as quickly as possible:
“The FIFA mafia. The way you make your career in that organisation…it is just wrong. They are all tainted, for me. They should all make way. Maybe a new batch, people like Luis Figo, Gary Lineker, myself…maybe we should do it. I mean, I’m not keen and I am not a diplomat, really, hahahaha and I don’t have the ambition for such a role but come on! They arrested around 30 people. How many more will they arrest? Is there anyone there with clean hands?”
State of Dutch Football
“We are in the middle of discussing and finding solutions. We develop great skillfull players but there are not enough players with vision. Players who can keep track of their mates, of space on the pitch or who can control the ball and keep track of their opponents. It is hard, but it is the difference between good players and very good players. It does start with technical skills of course. Once you are the boss over the ball, the rest kicks in. Running, shooting, passing, physical development, dealing with losing, dealing with winning…. And becoming boss over the situation. Knowing what is going on behind you, next to you. Technical skills is one, tactical vision is another. This order is key. The Iniesta’s and Xavi’s developed this to the max. They are hardly ever surprised by situations. They know where the threats are, they know where to move the ball. And these two are not strong physically, They can’t tackle well, they are not made of concrete but they can hold their own. These are processes our players need to go through. And most of our players haven’t. Players like Memphis and Wijnaldum were top notch in the Eredivisie but need a lot of time in a tougher environment to remain on their feet. Maybe it’s because we don’t play street football anymore? Maybe kids spent too much time behind the computer? Or maybe all that panna football is the culprit? We played to win and that means you play forward. You need to be able to play the ball forward, instead of nutmegging a player when you move backwards. In those panna cages, it’s the world upside down. It’s not effective.”
Technique and dynamics
“Johan said in his latest columns that we run too much. I do agree, but not fully. Football is much tougher now than when I played. Some teams park 10 men in the box. What you need is dynamics. You can’t dribble amongst them anymore. Movement is key. Defences are well organised, much better than 15 years ago. All defenders developed skills now as well. The space is getting more limited by the year. So, you do need to run more and smart to find the space and open up defences. A couple of years ago, Barcelona was playing the ball around while standing still. Nothing happened. 80% possession but no chances. You need the Messi’s and Neymar’s to be making runs to allow for something to happen. Johan says he doesn’t see players like Ronald Koeman anymore who can open up a game with a long ball. But these players do still exist, but there is simply no more space for them. That deep opportunity to pass the ball is getting rare. It is all about the turnaround moment and the killer pass. Ajax is playing the ball ad infinitum as they can’t find the killer pass. It’s not about what you can do with the ball, but knowing where and when to run when you don’t have it. You need a surplus of technical skills these days,as a forward, but also the vision to find the space. Some players have it, some need to learn it. You need to recognise the one-two or the third man situation. And that starts at the back. Johan says: we still play eleven vs eleven and the pitch is still the same size but it’s not that simple. In the 1970s you’d have 7 seconds to decide what to do, in my time maybe 5 or 4 seconds and now you have 2 seconds. You need to decide within 2 seconds what you are going to do and a lot of players have skills up the gazoo but lack the intelligence and insights to do something useful.”
Artificial pitches
“This is purely a financial issue. I don’t think it’s good for football. You do lose the connection with the bigger competition even more. Nowhere else, not in Germany, not even in Belgium do they use these artificial pitches. It has nothing to do with the climate, as it can get colder in Germany than in Holland. In Germany, no club will make that decision. Our way of playing will change as a result. Sliding tackles are part of football and I think we need to draw a line in the sand: we only play on real grass. The hard pitches are not ideal in winter, but artificial pitches are dramatic in summer. Maybe you should allow it for amateur clubs for financial reasons but as a pro club you need to be able to maintain a grass pitch. If you can’t, you are not equipped to play pro football. End of story.”
Too many injuries as a result of artificial pitches
Great stuff! Love these big interviews.. thx Jan
Agreed. Thank you, Jan.
Particularly liked what he had to say about Kenny Tete.
Thanks Jan….
Promes is the best??then we have got a problem .but got too agree promes is improving….though i dont rate Vanbasten,s opinion on players much. As He kicked RVN for kuyt.and he considered bulahruz as big talent…
he says biggest talent, referring to rising stars.
he does not say Promes is the best
Wijnaldum easily got in to PL and doing very very great.even though he is in relegation team…Is van basten is smoking?
Wijnaldum was the most rated player of news castle in almost every match…Now jonjo shelvy is making little headlines…
wijnaldum,Janmaat,lenz,annholt are doing really great..Peiters and Afellay are doing not bad…Only Depay is the worst..
Looks like Dutch boys were again dominant for Stroke vs Liverpool.Unfortunate to loose on penalties.next up Man United.
it is Stoke, not Stroke
I coulndt watch, but stats look pretty even – dominant how?
what do you think of Afellay?
seems like Pieters much better than his lousy game on the weekend, led the match in interceptions and tackles, bonus credit for 3 chances created.
he doesnt watch games ,when watching games he is in delusion…or orgasm or something like that..
let’s give the negativity a rest
One again thanks professor Auto correct. I will try to keep that in mind the next time. Also didn’t watch the game but from the ratings it LOOKS like they had a good outings.
As for Afellay I think both Shaqiri and Arnautovic often stretch the defenders with their pace and strength especially Arnautovic which gives Afellay more time and space to exacuate.
4-2-3-1 does suit him well at stoke but NT could be a different story.
Tiju it seems like you headless chicken is starting to grow some brain. I hope you won’t twist and turn again this time. Let’s wait till march.
Shaqiri and Arnautovic was the star forwards they have,they scored couple of gaols too..what is Afellay is doing…Both are head and shoulder above ur afellay..
i really dont want ur kind of brain growth..neither i dont wish that for afellay..
Ah sorry, was not trying to insult you, it LOOKS like you usually spell that wrong so it seems you don’t know..
Words have meaning.
This is a place for communication
So, you are referencing other people’s ratings that no one else is looking at.. you know those are not real experts or even journalists, they are regular people like us. So goal .com again? haha
I thought maybe a reason you made the comment – some insight, something interesting, or maybe you saw or an actual stat – so I just ask.
But no.. you say Afellay was good because he had more time on the ball, because Shakiri and Arnautovic were doing exactly what wingers are supposed to do.
Afellay has been decent when I watched him this season but never really dominates at all…
And another thought – spare me the insults, Wilson and Tiju.
You guys need to realize how similar you are..
@Sybal..u r entirely wrong to compare me with wilson..as we are always on opposite poles…u r wrong sybal,like MVB,bert,blind and co…time will prove that again..
Sorry sir, I should be more clear – only similar in the ways you act, def not your opinions… 😉
I saw part of the 2nd half and extra time. In the period I watched, Affellay looked good. Sharp with the pass, used his skills to get out of trouble when pressed, and positionally sound on defense. Van Ginkel played as well; in a more forward position. Hit the post in extra time. Both nailed their penalty shots. Pieters was fine.
Aha, awesome that’s the good stuff
http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/594546/Ashley-Young-Manchester-United-News-Memphis-Depay-Roberto-Carlos-Legs-Real-Madrid
stuart pearce and Roberto carlos had natural thighs….
Depay developed in in gym….and he lost his footballing ability..
Interesting review on Bruma which I read somewhere else which articulates well the reason which I am skeptical when a talent leaves the eredivisie so young, maybe a defender especially since consistency with playing time is so important:
“Have a good look at Bruma’s development while abroad and out of the Eredivisie. Playing like a shit defender and only after like two years struggling in the Eredivisie finally this season playing like he would have done if he hadnot move to London.
Sure, Bruma made hundreds of thousands a year as a kid, but in the end got nowhere. If he had stayed with Feyenoord and developed there he probably would have made millions a year like now de Vrij and BrunoMI do.
Idiots go for the easy money at the expense of investing for a higher return in the future.”
And for the record, I am only skeptical.. maybe it could work for some players, I don’t know..
Amen..100% agree…Bruma did a stupid mistake but he did nt continue that mistake and rectified it and realized it..thats great..Evry one are entitled to do mistakes but repetition mistakes are inexcusable..
Interesting point, Sybe, and I agree that players have to play…and I don’t think that playing in a big team’s reserves is equivalent to playing regular league matches in a European professional league…
…but, in regards to Bruma, he did play. He didn’t play a lot at Chelsea (though enough to be called up to Oranje in 2010). But he was loaned to Leicester City in 2011, in 2012 he was at Hamburg (where he didn’t set the world on fire), and he’s been at PSV the last few years,
He’s now on the verge of being a regular on the NT, and the EPL is beckoning. I guess the argument is that if he had just stayed at Feyenoord, he’d be a regular in a big league somewhere. That is sheer speculation—especially given that it is not unusual for defenders to blossom at a later age.
He signed with Chelsea when he was 15…he wasn’t going to play regularly for Feyenoord at 15, or 16, or 17…he was doing the same thing at Chelsea he would have been doing at Feyenoord. So who is to say that the time he spent on the training grounds and with the youth team at Chelsea wasn’t well spent for him, or was less helpful than if he had been at Feyenoord. All the big teams have youth trainers. Certainly seeing how John Terry and other professionals went about their business couldn’t have hurt.
Compare him with Joel Veltman—who has had a model career, coming through Jong Ajax, deputizing and then slotting into the first team. Who is in a better spot? Who is the more accomplished player, and who is looking at a brighter future? I’d argue Bruma. So I’m not prepared to say that Bruma (or Van Aanholt whose career has followed a similar trajectory) would be so much farther along if he had just stayed home—we’ll never know. But his path has worked out for him, and the adversity probably toughened up.
@Andrew…
its absloutly rubbish to say bruma is better than veltman..Coz bruma was heavy talent considered with veltman from young age..Normally plastic money clubs go for the brightest of talent..i mean at the age of 15 bruma was making headlines than veltman..that edge is still with bruma..i would say veltman development is more like kuyt…bruma is now 24..i mean his third in PSV…that means at 21 he joined PSV…what would have happend had him stayed at feynoord…offcousre he would have been a regular at 18 at feynoord..and at 21 in feynoord itself he would have been regular like Devrij…look at shit happening to vanginkel and what is goin with bazoer….thats how it is..
@Tiju, your comment: “its absolutely rubbish to say Bruma is better than Veltman.”
You may be right. But, right now, I’d take Bruma ahead of Veltman.
Its all speculation as to where Bruma would be had he stayed at Feyenoord. All I’m saying is that he did get opportunities, and he is presently in a good spot in his career. Talent usually makes it way to the front of the pack.
When Van Ginkel went to Chelsea, it was with the expectation that he would compete for a first team spot. He got buried in the depth chart. (He now has the opportunity to play at Stoke. So we’ll see what happens with him.) But Bruma went to Chelsea at 15, and was set up with their youth program—that is a completely different scenario than Van Ginkel leaving when he did.
@Andrew …i didnt completed my sentence of that…Bruma is a better talent i mean very strong,good speed,very good at headers,and brave and commands respect…like u i would also prefer Bruma…i would rate bruma of 7/10 and veltman of 6/10..i like the attitude of both lads,silent and hardworking…i really like it…Not much tatoos,hair styles,rap songs,..both humble and strong..
my main point is Bruma made a wise desiion to join back in netherlands or else he would have been rotten in some forgin clubs like drenthe and co..after his so called development in chelsea…
At the age of 19-23 u need to play regular to develop and become world class…bruma missed that with chelsea…unless u dont play regular u dont develop..
Really good points, it’s true it is only speculation and we will never really know how things might have been if different..
And really good comparison with Veltman as well since they are the same age and same position – agree, it’s a bit different scenario for van Ginkel..
I always heard so much promise from Bruma, and not so much from Veltman, and to me now they are not so far apart. Although Bruma does have more experience since playing in a few leagues, Veltman has more experience playing with the same players. Maybe this benefits Veltman and this is why the gap between them is less?
I suppose it truly comes down to attitude of each individual in the end, with anyone having potential to either squander their potential or keep working and growing with it..
Either way, very excited (and impatient, thanks to our age gap in talent) for these guys to mature and hopefully become great no matter how they get there!
“”Sorry sir, I should be more clear – only similar in the ways you act, def not your opinions…”””
thats blatant stupid statement sybal
How so?
Here are some of the ways I think you 2 are similar:
– very passionate about Oranje (great!)
– post the most (not a bad thing!)
– very opinionated (nothing wrong with that!)
– don’t care for communicating clearly (doesn’t really matter, although may mean redundant discussion at times)
– disrespectful and insulting to people who disagree with you
@Sybe…i do not disrespect any one unless they do that to me at very first…
Yes I am guilty of it too
Also it is Sybe – not Sybal
😉
hey pals, i not sitting in exam where I need to justify how intelligent I am. everybody makes errors here but as long you point is clear and makes sense thats it, no need to proof read or proof spell as what you do. I left it when I graduated from high school .these days I leave it people like you to do my work.be my guest if you want to be my bitch.
I also find it funny why only u and not anyone else.
Sorry but as I said before, if anyone spells Stoke City consistently wrong so often then I might check and make sure they knew what the actual city name was too!
Honestly meant no disrespect with that one.
Also it is true, I try to be clear with my posts so I proof read and check things before I post them so that the message is clear.. but you’re right, that does not mean I should expect the same from you.
I also have a problem where I like to bully a bully, gets me into trouble sometimes.. I see hypocritical people insulting other people and it makes me want to expose them, especially you because of how much disrespect you have shown me here since I have started posting again.
So I apologize for that, it’s not my responsibility to police this space, and sorry to other readers who have to read this.
Let’s agree to show eachother more respect and stick to footballing questions and comments.
Ok with you?
Hey pals are you serious here.whether it is a constructive criticism, arguments or opinions I know where to draw the line and mind your I don’t think I have crossed it todate and I don’t intended on crossing it.
This blog is not just about opinions or one way traffic. It’s also comes down to debating and counter rucking and this where it does melt down to some degree. Bit surprised you find this bullying.
Let’s me make few things clear hear. I don’t mind your BULLYING
as you call it and neither I will waste my time on proof reading my post as it is not up for noble prize. So if you wanna continue with you so called bullying, be my guest.
As for Tiju,I don’t mind his opinions,it only when he starts dancing which which makes me wanna expose him of how keeps turning and twisting which is not a opining imo
one example.He talks a lot about Depay.Flopay,Body builder and so on. Now it obvious with more games he will reach his peak. I wonder if he will then jump the ship like what is said about Rooney and Promes.
So I hope you get where I coming from.
THIS IS NOT PROVOKING OR BULLYING…..
.
I did not say debating was bullying!
I love debating!
And I honestly I dont care if you don’t wanna proof read to see if your sentences make sense – just don’t be surprised if I laugh about them when they don’t make sense (please don’t be offended, hopefully I laugh with you), and sometimes I’m not sure you even realize it, so maybe I’ll also check with you like Stroke City.
And I do understand where you’re coming from with Tiju (although myself I don’t understand what’s the big deal if someones opinion changes over time), of course go ahead and discuss things all you want! I would never say to stop that.
You also have opinions that I don’t understand and I will debate them too!
It’s when anyone throws childish insults around that I think it is insulting to everyone here, and it’s mostly disrespectful to Jan who keeps this place for us to do this…
So anyways, will you answer my question?
I can try.
“And I honestly I dont care if you don’t wanna proof read to see if your sentences make sense”
then why make the effort. jus ignore
Annholt——Dost————Roben
——-Sneijder—-Bazoer——-
————-Hendrix————–
Williems—-Raidwald–Bruma—kevin dijks
—————krul——————
=========================================
Locadia——-Luuk———Wijnaldum
——-Vanginkel—Proper———–
————-Ake———————
Kongolo—–Veltman–De vrij—–karsdorp
————Vermeer/Cillessen————-
Since Tete,strootman are injured
My questions for vanbasten..
Why Depay over locadia??
Why blind over kongolo,proper,ake hendrix??
Why RVP over Luuk and Dost??
Why vanderweil over kevindijks,karsdorp,and janmaat??
why BMI over veltman,reikik and riadwald???
Why Afellay over Annholt,locadia ???
I can’t help but respond to all of this.
I don’t mind Tiju, he has been a very loyal supporter of Oranje and this site but I cannot read most of his posts as I find it super annoying if people don’t even try to spell properly. Either his keyboard is broken or he is dyslectic or he doesn’t care. Until I know what is going on with him. I try not to get my head confused.
As for Bruma, and as for all defenders, it all depends how they play and who they play with. Bruma has Moreno with him now. Big difference with Rekik. Bruma has Guardado in front of him. Very nice.
The Feyenoord defence looked shit vs AZ but this was mostly the result of an undisciplined midfield.
As for the choices made by the Oranje staff and questioned by Tiju:
Depay vs Locadia is quite clear. Depay has Oranje history, plays and trains at high level. Is very capable.
Propper and Hendrix are midfielders. Ake is defensive mid but plays full back now. Blind is center back and a very good one too. One of the best build up players. Kongolo is good but less experienced than Blind.
Afellay and van Aanholt / Locadia is not a comparison. Different roles in the team. Apples and Pears.
I don’t know Kevin Dijks. Karsdorp has not had many international games. Van der Wiel has 50 caps or so, plays with PSG, played many CL games. Not even close to Karsdorp. Why Janmaat was overlooked. beats me… Maybe personality issue?
Jan looking at all away games for PSV in Champions league you can raise the fingers at the midfield and back line with the goals they considered against the run of play compared to the home game both in CL and at eredivise level. . As you said in the above post and also in the article, Guardado is really steering midfield diligently especially when playing at Philips Stadion making life easy for the defenders. For me Bruma is 50-50 at this stage. At NT level he hasnt proven much either and it will intresting to see him in the upcoming friendlies and qualifications as to whether he has really developed or no and contray to what most of the people are thinking here. vs Atletico Madrid could also be a good game to gauage him as they are also a good team with young players like PSV.
Same goes for Hendrix, for me he kind of clicks because of Guardado and vice visa. At U21 level he has been average which makes you wonder how good he is when Guardado is not playing. this is also why cocu has stick with midfield trio throughout the campaign with likes of Maher mostly warming bench.
@Jan…most of the time i am coming quick and then posting it fast,also my sentence construction is not good or it doesn’t have fluency..that makes the error..i mean the faster u post u r more prone to mistakes unless u r a master in writing..
Agree on what u said about those questions,and i am sure that this is the same thing went through the heads of MVB,Blind and co…thats scary..coz only with Roben and Sneijder can help Marco and Blind with this kind of plan..Roben is injury prone and sneijder cant do it alone…
Am a fan of dutcha nd Manu as well,I do follow clubs which plays dutch players..the FACT the saw with naked eyes are…
Depay is really poor in Manu even with dutch coach like LVG…Week in week out he flops,considering the state of Ginkel at chelsea,Depay has got enormous support and coaching from LVG bit biased selection also he benefited.Poor guy is struggling with gym build thighs which has reduced his speed,and dribbling capacity..so its obvious that he cannot do any thing better..So i do not expect him to be a savior of orange..i expect him to be a cause for our incoming failure in WCQ.While Locadia is playing CL and contributing to team nicely,has better speed and stronger than depay and most importantly he helps defense and works hard..So i consider its a sin..SIN would be punished..
I do like Blind as he has got quick brain and good feet,He is been physically abused in EPL week in week out..either as CB or DM or LB..So in these positions he is a disaster waiting to happen..But i would say its best to play him box to ox runner who supports defense and offense..
Since our midfield is crowed with talents and we dont have a left winger…Afellay has played i left wing,Locadia is playing in left wing Annholt play as LB but he is more suited to LW.We know Afellay is not productive while Locadia and Annholt are productive…So selecting Afellay over Annholt and Locadia is Sin..
Kevin dijks is an excellent rightback very good at defense and offense..i mean the bets balanced guy in RB..So why select a player who has repeatedly let us down(weil)thats a sin too..
Ah that RB is Kevin Diks, the 19 yr old from Vitesse.
Dijks is from Ajax
Proving that even simple spelling of a name can make a difference right? Hahaha 😉
I used full name kevin Diks….not Mitchell Dijks..so i dont think there was confusion issue..
I don;t agree that Memphis disappoints. Not at all. He had trouble settling in, which is normal for a player like him. Van Persie went to Arsenal and didn’t play from scratch. Bergkamp went to Italy when he was 24 years old. Wijnaldum is 25. And McClaren made him a key player.
Memphis has to fit into the Man U system, which in itself doesn’t work. You can’t blame Memphis for his performance alone. The last weeks he was a super sub. Created Rooney’s goal vs Newcastle, Penalty in the FA cup, he had two wonderful assists which were missed by Herrera and Felaini. Not Memphis fault.
Tiju, really. Blind is a lot but NOT a box to box player. You don’t see it right.
Afellay is midfielder.
And I don’t mind you writing with urgency but you might want to slow down and get the names right. English is not your first language so the sentences and grammar are forgiven but names are names for Godsakes.
JAN…Memphis will be THROWN out of Manu.once LVG departs.You Can take a note of it..Missing chances are part of games..i dont rate Fellaini well..Even if it was not mclaren wijnaldum 25 will shine basically due to his attitude.Also wijnaldum could have gone at the age of 19 or 21 he didnt..Wijnaldum had tougher job in a relegation team..
Anyways i am fed up with Memphis at Manu..
.Bargkamp didnt had the support LVG gave to MEmphis in Manu at inter..so no comparison..
Afellay is midfeilder and left winger and playmaker at times he played as holding mid duo in PSV if i remember.
Daley Blind has quick brain,accurate shots i am sure if he plays more advanced attacking position we will see goals from Daley blind..
other outrageous goal form Anass Achahbar but beaten 2-1 by Heereveen
Good call, that was awesome!
Finally some playing time, first goal of the season 71 minutes in for him, hah
Thanks for the article Jan it shows that San Marco is not afraid to say it like it is! I like that in a person, especially a coach (I’m referring to the Dutch Football quotes).
I was happy to hear that Affelay and Van Ginkle scored their penalties during the week, it has always been very hit and miss for us in penalty shoot outs over the years, I seam to remember the bad one’s ( Kluivert V Italy) more than the good one’s, not sure why?
Do we know when the next NT will be selected? I’m sure some of you have said but I’ve forgotten. It will be interesting to see if they go on form or experience or both.
@ Wilson, Sybe, Tiju – we all have differing opinions on certain topics, that is what makes this blog “go around” and keeps us interested and I’m sure we are all of differing age and education, I’m 46, so I won’t get into the tit for tat stuff as it’s just not my style, however I will at times question what someone has written, let’s keep up the football talk and try not to insult each other because between all of our brains I’m sure we can solve the current problems in the NT and make us great again
@Vanbanger …the new generation of dutch are pretty good at penalty’s….In the end Stoke lost it that is why it did not get noticed…
My worries are Marco and Blind…Marco had best players at their best age in 2006 and 2008 could’nt achieve anything…and Blind is all about experience and player history in NT..Both are simply sort of ideas…i think RVN is not Gelling with Marco and blind…
Next team won’t be chosen until mid-March, for the friendlies versus France and England.
And agreed, we have to lose the insulting
Also van banger I appreciate the positivity in your posts
Tiju, correct me if I am wrong, but hasn’t Danny Blind and van Basten already dropped Memphis, RvP, van der Wiel, BMI and Afellay?
That’s 5 out of the 6 players you are questioning..
Also thanks to all the injury troubles how could they have left Daley Blind out of the last couple teams?
For the record I don’t think any of those guys make my best lineup either, and I like some of the replacement options
Also, why do you think there is a rift between them and van Nistelrooy? is there some real reason or just speculation for now?
I tend to disagree with Tiju about everything :-(.
Didn’t you see the Holland – Portugal game in 2006? We survived the group of death and our players were definitely not at the right age! Robben and Van Pesie and Sneijder were not world class yet.
In 2008 we beat the World Champs and the runner up in flamboyant fashion. The Russia game could have gone both ways. We had the chances and we should have seen a Russian sent off but that second yellow card was taken back for some reason.
MVB did fine!
I rate RVP,Roben,Sneijder,vaart as world class,with that Generation MVB underachieved..if Italy can lift 2006WC sure we could have won 2006/08/10…WC and EC..with such top class players..Also we had Bommel,Cocu,EDVS,Nijel.,Giovani.with a very good underrated Joris,heitinga..
if u r underachieved with golden boys then what u are going to do with failed mediocre ones..???
2008 Roben didnt play..we failed..had Roben played we would have won that..First half holland didnt showed the urgency..
2006 MVB bottled by kicking great RVN out..for kuyt.
Not sute why I keep responding to you. Yes Oranje could have won in 2006. Like many other nations. We could have won it in 1974, 1978, 1998. But we didn’t. So Michels, Happel and Hiddink are shit under achievers?
Bull shit. MvB selected the best players, prepared them for the ride and coached them. They were not a fave to win 2006 and they didn’t. Just like many other good nations simply didn’t win it.
In 2008, same story. There is always injuries, coaches do clash with players at times this is why RVN didn’t play. Nothing to do with Marco believing Kuyt was better than RVN.
Nope, Tiju, the 2006 team wasn’t going to win that WC. And as I recollect, MVB received praise for winning a difficult qualifying group that included a very good Czech Republic team.
I saw that Vlaar played the entire match for AZ against Cambuur the other day. Has anyone seen him play? Comments on how he is playing since coming back?
italy was not a great team..still they won..RVN would have buried portugal..it was punishment for ego and arrogance…still i dont forget the tearful face of RVN ,i mean helplessly watching his mates loosing to a lesser team..
Roben will leave Bayern coming summer..The last samurai is getting out of the war field..
daley blind so good today in CB, especially in the second half. even though it was against derby it was an FA cup game away which is never easy. sometimes I think maybe the 2 mids in front of the CBs do the job for United, but schneiderlin and fellaini were both awful. good moment at 56:30 or so if you watch the game where derby have a 2 on 1 on daley.
blind also had a key pass in the build up to the first goal, skipping the mids, plus a great goal and build up play that was all him besides a good cross from lingard.
no action for memphis again, has to take his chances when he gets them now.
was interested in comparison with their other wingers since I hear what a flop he has been so much. Im not going to say he has been great at all, but no one on United has been great really.
I divided minutes by amount of goals for their main wingers:
martial 290
memphis 323
lingard 595
Also memphis and martial both have 5 assists (since martial just had 2 today), even though martial has played 2300 and memphis has played 1600. doesnt seem so bad.
Avoid Club Brugge, and then PSV….then see it…
His over all game is so poor..i am not saying he is alone their off course Fellaini is up there as candidate for worst player,previously there was Rooney too.
@Sybe..what u dont understand is whenever there is half chance coming up Memphis is realy unable to receive the pass due to his Gym build thighs..His work rate is poor too…So over all it affects the team..So he cannt deliver when team needs him.Hence a team with Memphis on wing has little chance to Win EPL.
It’s the same for Martial and Lindgard if you take out 2 or 3 games. How can the worse player on a team be 3rd in scoring and 2nd on assists?
I understand and I do not buy this body builder theory of yours at all. His confidence is gone so his form is at zero, but I reject that the reason for it is because his thighs are bigger than last season. He still looks like a small guy on the pitch compared to opposition.
Depay scored 3 goals Vs club brugge..and an assist vs them..So that is a major part in his achievement..vs poor defenders..
As a diehard fan of Manu i follow the team closely than anyone over here.i know the pulse and theory ,and character of Manu..
U need to wacth Adebayo Akinfewa how awefull when u build ur body to play football..then u might understand.
If u stop martial u r stopping Manu..thats how in old traford now.that means if Depay was good this is the time to show the world how good he is…He is simply incapable and LVG understood it of late and thats why he is sitting in bench now..End of the story..
Januzaj is better threat player and its going to be hard for Depay as he doesnt have the talent of Januzaj..
http://www.goal.com/en/news/780/fa-cup/2016/01/30/19815812/van-gaal-fantastic-martial-will-be-a-man-utd-great?ICID=HP_HN_1
Not Depay
Sure if you want to take away some matches and make the stats not complete, then for Martial take out his first 2 epl games v Liverpool and Southampton when no one knew anything about him and he had 3 gifts. He actually has just 2 goals in the epl since that, yet he is your hero?
More reasons never to trust the opinion of a Man United fan! 😉
Personally I think Memphis biggest issue is a mental one, he needs to get over himself.
Then I hope he will mature and come around to be great eventually – but really that is just as unknown as you saying Memphis can never be a Man United great. But maybe neither are correct and he becomes ask average player. Time will tell, so I see no point in negativity towards Memphis.
I think he is only a flop if you were expecting something unrealistic.
And by the way, I do agree with you that Memphis does not deserve to be with Oranje right now, which is why he was correctly dropped (and only added back for 2 reasons: injury and because Blind wanted to work directly with him and his attitude)..
I only watched the last 20 mins but ManU looked in control of things and so they should against a Championship side! Daley Blind showed what he is capable of and really did well to score that goal , he made a strikers run into the box which is unusual for a CB, but as some of us have said he is better suited up the pitch a bit.
I wish there were no Dutch players in ManU, then we would not have to talk about them so much!!!! I personally like seeing them struggle.
“wish there were no Dutch players in ManU, then we would not have to talk about them so much!!!! I personally like seeing them struggle”
haha me too
Was trying to watch Stoke away at Palace but my stream kept bailing.. Pieters is in as usual, van Ginkel and Ireland take Afellay and Whelans spot in CM and dont look as good, dont have the same cohesion.. they were losing 0-1 at HT when I gave up haha
Stoke lost 0-1, Mark Huges made some changes that indicate he wants to focus on the EPL , particularly with Butland not playing, I will try and catch a replay if I get a chance.
Yeah Man United is up next.
“”More reasons never to trust the opinion of a Man United fan””””””””
they are very loyal and patient…
Okay take martials 3 goals also take Depay has some scored 2 goals take that too,the Depay has Zero goals.
Martial is the most heavily marked man on united squad.if u stop Martial then u won the game vs Manu thats the scenario now..thats they dont care a SH@#$$%t about depay i mean the opponent..in my book if ur colleague is more marked then u have more freedom to show ur ability..
Depay was confident ,got immense support from fans and HIS OWN compatriot coach LVG,and martial his colleague is heavily man marked.the this the exact time to show what u r capable of…
in my book,he has a bad attitude,little immature, but mostly his GYM build THIGHS are causing him to do effective dribble and pace.which is mandatory for top class football..or else he would have done better than this..
its true Blind dropped Depay…then he went him again Why??that means Danny is short of Ideas…
@sybe..mate…We have better options than Depay,BMI,Weil,RVP,Hunter,Afellay and Co..so why waste time on them..and interesting thing that u are not learning the from humiliation occurred in ECQ2016..
Do you want dutch to miss Wc2018.???..then bring on foremetioned players ,they will do it for u…
Hahaha United fans loyal and patient.. good joke Tiju I nearly choked on my coffee with baileys..
So loyal and patient like the way you are being loyal and patient with Memphis? 😉
Joking aside I have lots of questions for you, but none of them involve Memphis Depays thighs..
1. My point was that a comparison on paper does not show Martial to be much better than Memphis at all. These stats are not my opinion.
Why do you take away the good matches of one, but not from the other? (side note, remember that Utd are not in the CL without the Brugge win)
2. you say Blind is out of ideas bringing Memphis back, yet Blind already gave the exact idea about why he did it – are you ignoring this on purpose?
3. you say to me “We have better options than Depay,BMI,Weil,RVP,Hunter,Afellay and Co..so why waste time on them..and interesting thing that u are not learning the from humiliation occurred in ECQ2016..”
I have already told you I would not select any of those players – so why do you only read some of my words and then make up things that I do not say?
“””So loyal and patient like the way you are being loyal and patient with Memphis?””””
Morethan 23 games with LVG….But just after 10 games i understood Memphis is goin to big flop.and do not rate high on players who doesn’t pass and quarrel with senior players and showing More loyalty to Red hat,GYM and Rolce Royes..I am 100 sure he is not going to make it..After seeing his non agile thighs i am 100% convinced..he own his way to down..
“””Why do you take away the good matches of one, but not from the other? (side note, remember that Utd are not in the CL without the Brugge win)””””
its second tier low quality team Aston villa would beat them,so i dont rate Brugge high..
“”I have already told you I would not select any of those players – so why do you only read some of my words and then make up things that I do not say?”””
Basically it was not for u it just came on the way..if do not select then u have better hope about NT.i am glad about it..
http://totaldutchfootball.com/2016/01/30/depay-or-wijnaldum-did-manchester-united-buy-the-wrong-player-from-psv/?
http://www.goal.com/en/news/8/main/2016/01/30/19839342/carrick-martial-can-be-unplayable?ICID=HP_BN_11
Vincent Janssen has been on a rampage in front of goal for AZ.has taken his goal tally to 12 after another 2 goals over the weekend. I wonder if Ajax should move for him if they are looking for a striker. Would be a good step up for his development,which NT would also benefit.jus a thought
We really need another Striker for NT, let’s see how Janssen develops.
I would be devastated! Janssen was let go by Feyenoord in the A youth for Achahbar…. 🙁
Looks like Alexender Buttner is heading to Anderlecht on loan.
http://www.tribalfootball.com/articles/roma-midfielder-kevin-strootman-just-weeks-away-from-return-4114932
Great news, we can only hope that he gets back to his best or close at least!
Massive points dropped for Ajax, so PSV keep the top spot after their win yesterday – though we will see what they are made of if Guardado is out for a few matches.
Late mental error, bad corner marking by Riedewald in extra time and a match that asked went up 2-0 end in a 2-2 draw, was a little weak in the first goal as well. he will learn from these experiences I hope, only 19 yet and great in build up, in possession and generally on the ball but needs to keep it simple sometimes and it will come together for him.
Veltman seems to be maturing nicely, leading in tackles and interceptions and kept his side quiet. Dijks compared to recent form, but don’t really like to see a LB with the most take on attempts haha still best passing %.
Van Rhijn showing why Tete took his spot, or just looked rusty, going forward a lot more than Tete would maybe trying to make something happen.
Ajax really seem to be struggling to create many chances, Bazoer and Sinkgraven started out pretty good and show flashes of greatness but ultimately act their ages (again just 19 and 20) failing to really impress and take over that mid. Sinkgraven should work on using his right foot!
I don’t really like Milik, seems useless besides set piece presence. Hope El Ghazi finds his form back.. nice goal from a Roda error though.
Is FdB out of ideas over there?
I hope to see some nicer football next time I get up at 3:30 am for a match!
PSV are mentally so strong team than Ajax..they play according to their will.
Van rhijn is another annholt.. can be lethaal winger better than Elgahzi..
@Sybe..
e Gahzi is just another Nurudin Amrabat in making…believe me..and take a note..
thats the fault of FDB..he brings up players..but fails to teach them about consistency and Mental power..thats is the problem with ajax for last 5 years…No CL knock out stages but played some nice matches..
Ajax is playing boring football atm. De Boer is still searching. He had Veltman as RB and Van de Hoorn as CB and that went well. But suddenly, Van Rhijn is back in. While he is on his way out most likely. So now vd Hoorn’s confidence gets a crack. And Milik on nr 10 is ridiculous. Ajax should sign Zyiech, get El Ghazi in the striker role and get that right winger from Vitesse.
Was also thinking about El Ghazi at No 9 just like RVP when he switched from right wing.
Marco Van Ginkle rumored to be heading to PSV
Read that too. My goodness.
I personally don’t believe Memphis is a flop at Man U. People who say this don’t watch all ManU games. He came on three times as a sub and made things happen. The BBC commentators are praising him every time. He is 1) young, 2) a typical left winger without consistency, 3) still settling in coming from low ranked Eredivisie into EPL.
A lot of Dutch players struggled going to the EPL. Wijnaldum wasn’t a hit from the start, RVP, Van Ginkel had settling in issues (injuries), Clasie… Van Dijk needed two seasons at Celtic., etc etc.
LVG protects Memphis now I feel as the team isn’t performing. When the midfield loses control the players up front look bad. But it isn’t Martial, Memphis or even Lindgard who are to blame for Man U’s bad form.
Give the guy a break. Memphis is highly talented but his mental strength is being tested
Amen!
Loan outlook
Marco Van Ginkle – PSV
Leroy Fey-Swansea
Alexender Buttner – Anderlecht
Good for van Ginkel and Fer, both upgrades.
I suppose Anderlecht is probably not a step up from Dinamo, but it is if Buttner actually plays some football haha
When I saw MVG not even on bench today I thought he must have agreed to something, I was guessing back to Chelsea.
JC
‘Everyone freaks out again’
01 feb 2016
‘I wanted to talk about tactics, but because of all the hassle with the transfer deadline, I will postpone it to next week’, Johan Cruyff writes in his weekly column in Dutch newspaper ‘De Telegraaf’.
“Looking at previous years, I can barely remember purchases in the winter actually changing things. They are almost always purchases out of panic, rarely if ever working out.”
“Sometimes I am thinking it would be good for Dutch football if the clubs would not have any money to spend, forcing them to have a good academy.”
“Especially in these periods it is striking how much panic arises in a serious industry. Not just in Netherlands, but everywhere. In that respect, the rule to have a maximum of three or five overseas players in your team was not so bad. It forces a team to delve even more into a transfer, because a bad buy limits the options even more.”
I am really glad for Van ginkel..finally he is on right place after long 3 wasted years with chelshit…With Guadrado injured this is the right time for Ginkel…its now or Never..if he does not develop under Cocu..i think we can forget him…
still just a loan from Chelsea
they could extend…Ginkel will develop in to a fine player if he listen to cocu..anyways all this depends on Ginkel..Getting out of chelsea contract is also more important
Let’s don’t forget he has already proved himself at eredivisie level when he was at Vitesse and I don’t think he will surpass that at PSV. Kind of step down for me really given he was gaining momentum at Milan and after his move to Stoke city that kind of stalled.
Just listening to the coach doesn’t develop you into a fine player. A big joke . If it was that simply Depay would have been a hit by now at Man United. Also playing 2 CL games
and 3 good games in eredivisie in a half season won’t develop him either. His already a proven player with both Serie A and EPL experience under his belt, not much but atleast, the best thing he can do is to get back to his full strides with as much games as possible and wait for summer.
This could also open doors for him in NT. No doubt.
@Wilson yes u r a Just listener…He would have been a joke had he continued in Chelsea and their puppet loaning system with crooked business mind..
Mere listening is the starting point and u need to work on day to day basis ,Not in Gym where u can build msucles like Arnold schwarsnagr,or Akinfewa,or John Cena..then u will loose ur agility and speed then u wil never be able to play top flight football.this is what exactly Depay did.Depay developed in PSV very well,but his personal stupidity to build muscle cost his career…i am postinn the photos of Paulsholes,Giggs,Becham etc..to show how much muscles u need in EPL to suceed..i am sure Depay has double size muscles than any of these..
paul scholes
https://www.google.ae/search?q=paul+scholes&biw=1366&bih=667&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwj_0aTd69jKAhVDvhQKHcUjCN8Q_AUIBigB#imgrc=_Y7aA5yTSoLwnM%3A
ryan Giggs
https://www.google.ae/search?q=ryan+giggs&biw=1366&bih=667&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjtysH269jKAhWBtxQKHYxDASMQ_AUIBigB#imgrc=qOOeEBCeoBWHeM%3A
Beckham…
https://www.google.ae/search?q=david+beckham+playing+manchester&biw=1366&bih=667&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjPgYyn7NjKAhUD6RQKHfO5AtEQ_AUIBigB#imgrc=XcoWspVVJAj7JM%3A
I think this will be testing times for both PSV and Cocu with Guardado injured. All eyes should be on Hendrix now as this should settle the dust as to whether he is just another average player who was playing in Guardado’s shadow or whether he has really developed into a true DM.
I think Van Ginkle will bring that much needed experience in midfield which Guardado possessed but it would interesting to see if Cocu goes with both Propper and Van Ginkle or if he brings Maher into the equation
https://www.google.ae/search?q=memphis+depay+bodybuilding&biw=1366&bih=667&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwjB_dbJ7NjKAhXGtxQKHRvSCJYQ_AUIBigB#imgdii=L-h7VARQyCKZzM%3A%3BL-h7VARQyCKZzM%3A%3BvMe62GguhbjqiM%3A&imgrc=L-h7VARQyCKZzM%3A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0WyEBp1PVw
That’s cardio exercise not bodybuilding .
PUSHH UPS????..ITS GIVES GOOD UPPER BODY MUSCLE MASS AND TAKES UR BALANCE ON BALL..FYI
http://www.insidefutbol.com/2015/09/07/is-memphis-depay-entering-bodybuilding-contest-dutch-legend-tears-into-netherlands-winger/234863/
Don’t you think he would have realized by now especially under so much pressure to deliver,that it is physically that is the problem. These are things that can only be concluded from training sessions and if this is really the case by now Van Gaal would have made him loose some pounds given his job is on the line.You need eyes in their training sessions or in their gym to prove this. Otherwise looks can always be deceiving.
‘physic’is the issue.
http://www.italianfootballdaily.com/serie-a-team-of-the-week-matchday-23/
He is slowly getting there. Another season he should be right in the mix.De Vrij return could well boost his confidence level along side him.