New Season: Feyenoord

blog Euro 2020 WC2018
by Jan

We covered Ajax and PSV, time to look at the number 3 of the Top 3 and the winner of the JC Shield: Feyenoord! Five trophies in four seasons is not bad, not bad at all.

The changes this summer were not too bad (knock on wood, transfer period isn’t over yet…). But Jorgensen didn’t get away, Vilhena didn’t get away and despite the interest for Berghuis (Germany) and Van Beek (Turkey), the only players who left are El Ahmadi (free transfer) and Bilal to Turkey for €1,000,000. Very late in the game, Brad Jones got a deal to go to the sand pit and the Australian goalie saw the writing by Bijlow on the wall – who played an amazing pre-season – and decided to prop up his pension fund by taking his exit.

So, with Robin van Persie staying on and homeboy Jordy Clasie returning on a loan deal Feyenoord looks in decent shape. Yassin Ayoub joined on a free deal from FC Utrecht and South American surprise Sinistera was signed to replace Bilal.

Clasie’s return is a good sign for the fans. The midfielder played a decent season for Club Brugge (“I played almost everything in the second season half… only when the finals came, I was dropped to the bench, without explanation. The coach wanted me to stay another year, but something broke when that happened..”). Clasie returned to Southampton and impressed Mark Hughes in the pre-season. Despite this, Clasie longed for a spell back in Rotterdam. Even a last sms by Hughes didn’t change things.

Clasie: “I want to play. Money doesn’t make you happy. Maybe I’m not a guy to play abroad, who knows. When I don’t play I need my friends and family around me, and when you’re in another country and you aren’t playing…it’s hard. But, having said that, it was magical. Playing in the EPL was a dream, I have great memories but I’m also very happy to be at Feyenoord. We’ll see what pans out.

Feyenoord’s pre-season looked ok, with some good, average and bad games / results. The first test was the match vs PSV for the Johan Cruyff Shield. Feyenoord won. And that win might have thrown some magic dust in the eyes of the fan, as Feyenoord didn’t play too well.

Reaction-football. Low pace, never great in possession and quite lucky not to concede. Although they did get the better chances towards the end of the match.

But goalie Bijlow made the difference and Feyenoord had another trophy.

The real test would be the away game against the orange coloured Trencin, for the Europa League. A game in which Gio van Bronckhorst had to trust his youngster for a result. Haps is injured for a spell already, as is goalie Vermeer. Ayoub is injured, Jorgensen as well, Van Persie wasn’t fit enough and St Juste couldn’t start either, while Vilhena was still suspended.

With these big name players missing, Gio hoped for his young talents to step up to the plate.

And sadly, their 4-0 bashing vs Trencin will dominate this post and the week ahead, as they played a dreadful game. Yes, also Bijlow, Van Beek, Vente and Amrabat… Naive, lacking in energy and leadership… Just shallow and clumsy and lacklustre.

Which will give Gio enough headaches for sure. With Van Persie in the team, or Jorgensen, you’d expect leadership, guidance… a player who can sense the danger. But Clasie, Van Beek, Berghuis and Toornstra weren’t capable of bringing some much needed grit to the team.

At home, next week, it is still possible for Feyenoord to do the heroic. Which would boost everyone sensationally of course. But, the odds aren’t good.

At the same time, it could be a blessing in disguise. With Ajax most likely reaching the CL after doing well away vs Liege (2-2) and PSV in the CL, it seems Feyenoord could benefit from a Europe-less season… One must always hope.

And who knows, with New Zealander Ryan Thomas making a late move from PEC Zwolle to PSV Eindhoven, the competition (Ajax and PSV) is getting stronger, while Feyenoord might still lose some players (Vilhena, Jorgensen, Berghuis, Van Beek).

The main issue I see for Feyenoord is their lack of will, their lack of real desire. The Must-Win mentality that Ajax always had and PSV most definitely will have even more of now Van Bommel is in charge. I fear Feyenoord will have to go for the third place. Ajax and PSV will fight for the title I suppose…

As for the rest: Heerenveen lost some quality but do have a new coach in Adriaanse adept Jan Olde Riekerink (my old school mate) and the signing of Rodney Kongolo, from Man City (former Feyenoord talent).

FC Utrecht will be a contender again, as per usual, as will Vitesse, under Russian coach Sloetsky. I do expect something from FC Groningen this coming season, in all honesty and I hope PEC Zwolle can keep on overachieving.

AZ still has to prove it to the fans, with their two threats up front – Weghorst and Jahanbaksh – gone. The new signings haven’t done it so far for the Alkmaar club but with Stengs on the way back and many great young talents, you can rest assured Van de Brom will have a goodlooking team and will battle for a place up top.

So, your turn guys… What do you think we can expect from this Eredivisie season?

Bookmark and Share

91 comments

  1. Free fall of Dutch clubs continues and they have not reached the bottom yet. In the season of 1985-1986, in the coefficient table Netherlands was on 19th place and represented with only 4 clubs! Dutch clubs revived quite fast and with 4 teams they jumped to the 6th place after two years. Since the formats of the competitions were different and less money were involved, this time it will take much longer for the Netherlands to get back to top 10. From the other side it is advantageous to be represented with only 4 but strong clubs: the value of each earned point increases. It is interesting to observe how low the Netherlands will go in the UEFA coefficient table.

  2. My prediction is :

    1. Ajax
    2. PSV
    3. Vitesse
    —————————————–
    —————————————–
    4. wide open: Feyenoord, AZ, and Utrecht

  3. Dutch football is sinking, and no one is there to save it, Ajax is not building a team, every year they have a new start after selling 3 or 4 players, they never build up confidence and team work, that is why they keep losing, I hope I am wrong and see them in CL , but the road is tough, PSV is still a mystery, and shame on Feyenoord for this disastrous performance in EL, their task is really difficult, they are almost out, I don’t know what is next!!

      2. Where is the bottom? how bad can it get? not reaching tow major tournaments in a row , clubs losing to very mediocre teams!! how bad this will go?

        1. Bottom is when Dutch football will be represented by 4 clubs only like Belarus, Malta, and Luxembourg. It happened once and will happen again. Then we will see the rise.

          2. Not necessarily, maybe last year was the bottom, Ajax and PSV could perform will this year in CL or EL , it can go either way

  4. Wow there is some really sad people here. You guys just have to look on the bright side and realize psv is winning the champions league

  5. cannot predict…if Ajax can hold on deligt,frenkie and zyech….others are no match for them..So i cannot predict…
    I dont like van bommel neither his father in law….so doesnt know about his training methods and style..so cannt predict…
    We cannot write of some clubs as well…Feynoord wont win it that i am sure…their defense is shambolic..

  6. PSV has some of the biggest talents in Europe with bergwijn malen ramselaar Rosario Dumfries and outstanding an outstanding keeper. There is no way they arent making it to at least the final 8 of champions league

  7. Heracles under coach Frank wormuth is one team to watch out. With a coaching style which is based on the opponent and as he says tactics consisting of 14 different ways building up play. It is worth to look at them this season. May be he can fit in as an assistant to Ronald koeman I think.

  8. This season could be very promising, lot of talents at Eredivisie & abroad will have opportunity to play senior level, if they can show their clean-sheet at their club then we hope that we can recover our Orange reign.

    Chong, Dirosun, Malen, Boadu, Kongolo, Schuur, Kluivert, ter Avest, etc

  9. Arnaut Groeneveld ( Danjuma) scored twice for club brugge vs kortijk wining 3-0.he has cemented his place in starting line up and is playing as wing back.denswil and vormer also both started the game. He is defintely a lock for me but his style of playing is very similay to Depay and im not sure how both can fit in the same team given both play the same position.

    Elsewhere El Ghazi was a unused subbed as Lille won in the opening round.

    Promes also started for Spartak Moscow and is still looking for his first goal.

    Kongolo was in no mans land for huddesfield as chelsea beat them 3-0.

    1. Konngolo was Top always…Chelsea is one step head ,they are big team…huddsefield is small to compete with them..No point in blaming Kongolo..He is way better than Blind,Annholt,Haps as LB..
      Elghazi will sit in bench ,he lacks intelligence..
      Promes too lack quality..

    2. Promes has lot of skills but he is immature. Spartak is not the right environment for him, the team is very mediocre and he doesn’t develop.

      I think he moves to Italy soon. Roma or Inter? That will transform him in a year or two. Overall he is good Oranje material and he should be a star in the next Euro.

  10. AZ-NAC 5:0.

    Just finished watching the game. Although I am happy with the result but the result does not reflect the game. First, about NAC. Normally, it is very difficult for AZ to play against clubs lick NAC and Roda. However, this current NAC was extremely weak so it is not surprising why AZ easily won this club. First half showed why AZ was unable to win Kairat. Everything was going well until ball was received by wingers, Idrissi and Seutjens. Those two guys did not know what to do and how to engage Boadu who played as a central striker. Idrissi tried to solve problem alone and most of his decisions were poor. With respect to Myron, he was playing very carefully and I believe there has been a psychological pressure from his terrible injury. He scored in very bizaar way, but that goal was highly appreciated. Myron is a good dribbler but his touches need to get better: the ball was jumping from his foot 2-3 meters away. Also, his speed needs to be improved….Things started to change after Seuntjens was replaced by Rotariu and Johnson came to the field. Rotariu was fast and elaborative and Johnson scored a beautiful goal. Koopmeiners was the best player on the field. He is just a joy to watch and Koeman needs to pay closer attention to this boy. Til was not very visible. Maybe my sight is not sharp enough but to me he was invisible. Bottomline, based on this game it is hard to say whether AZ will fight for the third place as NAC was too weak opponent. However, I am quite convinced that if AZ started match with Kairat two-three later, it would have been a different story.

        1. At this point, absolutely NO. He needs to get up to speed. The problem is that Johnsen will soon take a striker position and Myron will get less and less playing time unless he is going to be deployed in different position, which I think is not right thing to do. I saw him playing as winger, it was not very good. I would say Myron needs to go back to AZ II and get more playing time and develop as a striker. But in reality, he will be number 2 behind Johnsen unless he will be used as left winger instead of Idrissi.

          1. On a positive note that is exactly what you wanna see, competition at its best.On another note Boadu playing in Eerste Divisie will be step down for him. well lets see who comes on top at best.

            I also read Adam Maher is also training with the squad and looking for a new club at the same time.sad this guy didnt make to the top.

  11. Memphis Depay opened the season in style with a stunning freekick.lyon wining 2-0 vs Amiens.

    https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6rw0za

    Rick van Drongelen also scored his first goal for Hamburg after losing in the opening round.

    Bast Dost also had a double for sporting after committing to the club after the attacks which prompted many prominent names to leave.

    Richairo Zivkovic was subbed just after half time as KV Oostende lost to Genk 0-2.

    Vitesse. 5 stars to all the the players who played. If they continue with the same intensity and with no injures they will go far.

  12. looking at feyenoord, its pretty much evident that Clasie is not the right man to fill in void left by karim El Ahamdi. The Faster GVB realizes this the better for them. clasie simply doesnt have the defensive qualities for a central midfielder and 3-5-2 formation will only suit him best but in a advance role. Again I would say St Juste should be deployed in the Central mid. he can provided that extra cover in front of the centre backs rovering back and forth in attack as well.

    Depay – Lens

    *Buttner-frenkie- *St juste- clasie – Karsdorp

    Ake – Van Dijk – De ligt

    Cillessen

  13. Apparently Koeman was in the stands for Ajax vs Hercales game. I wonder if he came with intrest in the midfield. Eiting and VDBeek. Frenkie starting on the bench somewhat adding fuel to the fire on the growing speculation of him joing Barcelona. Again disppointing to see Frenkie deployed at CB and again as suspected Blind getting the benefit of doubt at LB. Im 100 percent guranting Koeman would have penciled him off from the Left back position come NT. Was caught out on many occasions going forward. Looks like Bakker will have to wait more in order to get decent playing time. Dont understand Ten Hag selection. Wober starting at LB while Tagliafico sits on the bench. Laybad signing is a waste.

    2. “””Im 100 percent guranting Koeman would have penciled him off from the Left back position come NT””‘
      mOST OF THE UDTHC MANGERS ARE TOOO STUBORN TO CHANGE THINGS.SO LESS HOPE…

      1. They didn’t play their good players because the wanted them to rest up for champions league. Ten hag assumed it would be an easy game so he didn’t bother putting his best lineup

    3. Wilson, Ten Hag used Wober instead of Tagliafico to find out how much he can rely on him for the match against Standard since Tagliafico is suspended. It’s gonna be a tough decision for Ten Hag because he has to choose between Blind and Wober to defend against the dangerous Carcela who was a constant threat to Ajax the whole game.

      1. Well its defintely too late for that because both wober and Blind dont have depth in that position. This is exactly what wrong with mentality of dutch coaches these days.When it starts raining then they start looking for the umbrella. I mean why not before.Wober hasnt played LB and neither has Blind, well for sometime now then why waste time on them. Bakker had a good pre seasson and should have been paired with Tagliafico. If Ten Hag can go with Mazraoui on the right then Bakker shouldnt be an exception. I dont think ten hag will last long at Ajax and if Ajax bomb out , he will become a scapegoat at some point in time.

        1. Ajax can win Standard but I still believe that Ten Hag is overrated coach. Slutskiy is the only foreign coach in Eredivisie and he will show how you need to develop and coach a team to play a modern football.

  14. Rewan Amin who plays as a defensive midfielder for Dalkurd FC is getting a promotion as he moves to Östersunds FK placed Fourth in swedish league with his impressive performances in 15 games which caught attention.

  16. Tjaronn chery kicked start his debut in turkish league scoring the opening goal for Kayserispor who went on to beat Antantalyaspor 2-0 . Was replaced by bilal Basacikoglu in the second half.im telling this guy will a hit if koeman gives him the nod just like vormer and babel.

  18. Ajax 3-0. Just speculating, but if they can reach the CL Group Stage, its possible they’d keep the names which have been predicted for transfer (DeJong, Neres, Ziyech) for the year. A team with KJH, playing in front of Ziyech, Neres and Tadic, with Frenkie DeJong in the MF, and De ligt in middle of the defense could surprise in the CL.

    Anyone know anything about Dynamo Kiev’s current squad?

      1. Standard Liege were a tougher oponent than D Kiev and with the same lineup, they only have to make sure they dont stumble in the away game.no big names in the squad but that shouldnt be taken for guranted.Did somebody say that Tagliafico was suspended for this game.

        I have said this throughout since joining this blog.if you service huntelaar, he can absolutely be deadly and clinical at the same time in front of goal. He just knows where to be if you service him.Tagliafico really penetrated far upfront and his crosses were determential. This is something you dont see in NT, where the fullbacks penetrate upfront linking up with the wingers.well with Depay its impossible.this is why playing with inverted wing system kills the game.good to see Frenkie in the middle and especially in that double pivot role.

        Was wrong about Ten Hag, looks like he did his homework.

        2. I was the one that said Tagliafico was suspended because i did read it on a Ajax forum and thinking he did get 2 yellows in the qualifiers prior to the second leg against Standard!! Don’t really know how UEFAs rule is now but i’m so glad he played because he had a hell of a game.

          Also you guys should not underestimate Dinamo Kiev at all. So far they’ve been excellent winning all their league games without conceding any goals. They faced last years Ukrainian champion Shakhtar twice so far in the season and both times they were able to win without conceding. Both games the team from Donetsk had dominated possession with more chances to score but they faced a resilient team that doesn’t give much away. The only goal that was scored against them was from a late penalty kick against Slavia. If those stats don’t scare you guys and Standard who was able to win 1 out of the 5 games they played so far then i don’t know what to say!!!

          Another thing to remember is the poor record Ajax has against teams from Ruassia or Ukraine in the recent years. Rostov, Dnipro proved too strong for Ajax and this Dynamo Kiev is just as defensive minded as those teams that Ajax had trouble against. On the other hand though this Ajax team doesn’t resemble at all the Ajax of those years with Ten Hag having so much talent and skill on his team to prevail and hopefully bring this great club amongst the Europes elite clubs.

  19. Quincy Promes has to defintely leave Sparta Moscow now that they have bombed out from the CL. They needed a win in the return leg vs PAOK but it ended up nil all. If he doesnt he will jus end up like jeremine lens.

    PSV already have one foot in the CL after being drawn vs belarus champions BATE Borisov

  20. Im expecting van Drongelen to follow the same foot steps of Van Vijk after staying put at Harmburg even after relegation. Scored his first goal over the weekend and has also become a starter. Still 19 and is another of those player who is taking the risk (gamble) to reach the top of the ladder.

    Talking on centre backs, borussia Monchengladbach have also contacted club brugge about stefano denswils potential transfer but nothing confirmed from the player.

  21. Any hopes for feyenoord reaching the last qualifying rounds?.its so intruging that till the first leg there was very little known about the dutch influence in that AS Trencin side.

  22. Roma has confirmed the signing of Steven Nzonzi from sevilla and this directly means he will be competing with strootman in the midfield. Strootman himself has said in an interview that the last injury changed his life and he is trying hard to get back to where he was before.he quoted saying” its not like before I could go and start playing . Now I have to go to gym , warmup and then start playing” defensively Steven Nzonzi can be a brick wall but his offensive capabilities are limited. Strootman might get pushed here and if he doesnt get to fend of the competition from him, he might get offloaded at some point in time. Cristante, pellegrini, pastore, coric and ever green De Rossi are all crowding that Roma midfield.

  23. I am reading a lot about Promes going to Italy, Roma or Milan. That is a good move for everyone. CL or not he has no place in Spartak. I watched their CL games and they have absolutely nothing other than Promes.

  24. I am wondering whether JvB stays as Feyenoord coach…Do not think that he will be dismissed because of this exit from EL…EL slowly turns into waste of time and energy..Very long competition with very small monetary incentives.

    1. I think GVB has done a very good good injecting the young generation in the team but unfortunately it will take time for them to to reach the level where they can meet the expectations of whats required especially when having the giants status in eredivisie.there is something that you have to realize though, when ever there is injuries, the teams starts back paddling and this is what GVB needs to fix this and fast. Last season they buckled in middle of the season and which cost them Top three spots and again there are early symptoms that this could haunt them again.

      I can see this squad thriving next squad with more game time under belt of the new boys.

      Another thing I wanna say is Vilhnea development will stall like others who left it late to make a move abroad. Well in context to NT..will be intresting to see what happens to Ayoub.

  25. I dont wanna jinx it but both Ajax and PSV qualifying for Champions league could be in the best intrest for both NT and as well for eredivisie. They need to get back that direct pass to CL rather than both going through qualification while on the other the CL experience could be a movtivational factor for the young faces in both teams. I was looking at De Ligts performance vs standard liege and I must say he destined for greater heights which he can only achieve at CL level or in a tougher league. If Ajax fails to qualify for CL it will be great waste for him.

  26. https://youtu.be/yOJ9wl7C3vM

    I was looking at this video of Depay and there few things that stands out and few that doesnt . He looks good operating in the middle and even when dropping back. The one that doesnt standout is that of not bringing the fullbacks more into the game. There are some phases of play where he simply ignores the overlapping fullbacks or others overall.this is where he needs to play smart and become a team player rather than one man army taking on one to many and which could also shift off his predictibity of cutting in and pulling the trigger to the defenders.I can see him in Griezmman role as a false striker in france as the best position AND with two dymanic midfielders.

  27. The new argentina squad announced.
    Goalkeepers: Franco Armani (River), Geronimo Rulli (Real Sociedad), Sergio Romero (Manchester United).

    Defenders: Fabricio Bustos (Independiente), Gabriel Mercado (Sevilla), German Pezzella (Fiorentina), Ramiro Funes Mori (Villarreal), Alan Franco (Independiente), Nicolas Tagliafico (Ajax), Walter Kannemann (Gremio), Leonel Di Plácido (Lanus), Eduardo Salvio (Benfica), Marcos Acuna (Sporting Lisbon).

    Midfielders: Leandro Paredes (Zenit), Santiago Ascacibar (Stuttgart), Rodrigo Battaglia (Sporting Lisbon), Gonzalo Martinez (River), Giovani Lo Celso (PSG), Franco Cervi (Benfica), Maxi Meza (Independiente), Matias Vargas (Velez), Franco Vazquez (Sevilla), Exequiel Palacios (River).

    Forwards: Angel Correa (Athletico Madrid), Lautaro Martinez (Internazionale), Mauro Icardi (Internazionale), Giovanni Simeone (Fiorentina), Cristian Pavon (Boca Juniors), Paulo Dybala (Juventus).

    Koeman has alot of work to do.

  30. Boadu one assist and goal for AZ which was the only positive light of hope this week as far as NT is concerned.should be a strong contender for the U21s who will take on england in the upcoming qualifers.

    Elsewhere kluivert came off the bench late to assist Dzekos wining goal in the last minute.

    Ruud vormers also saw his goal cancelled out with a late equalizer.

  31. Kluivert came on with about 20 mins. to go. He looked very good. Great play on the assist. Dzeko hit a beauty, but Kluivert did a lot of work to get him the ball.

    2. one of the reasons why he is being deployed on that right side and not on his preferred left side. stretch the defense and provide those aerial balls for Dzeko. simple and effective stuff.

      1. Kluivert was all over the field in his 20 minutes. He originally came on, as Wilson says, to replace the right sided starting forward. Early after he subbed in, he came right through the middle and made a lovely little set up to pass to Pastore, who should have scored from it. Shortly after, Pastore was subbed off and the replacement (Schick) played on the right and Kluivert went to the left. On his assist, he took the ball on the middle left, kept possession for about 30 yards with some high quality dribbling, and ended up on the right where he went to the endline and made his cross. Top class all the way. He was a factor from the moment he came on.

  32. Koeman was in attendence for both Bournemouth vs Cardiff City and Liverpool vs Crystal palace.good to see him keeping the tabs on his players.

    Ake put in a good shift other than the tackle which resulted in the penalty for Cardiff.

    When Ox returns from injury, there will no stopping Liverpool. Van Dijk No 1 in the world now and obviously koeman No 1 as well. Van annholt, 4-4-2 suited him but was often caught in no mans land esecially with Salah, Mane, Ketia running riot. Wijndlum was in the central mid and given palace had two midfielders coped well.

    Ake-Van Dijk- De Ligt are lock for me.but it would also be good to see koeman try more pressing formation leading to NL.

  33. Hateboer also scored for Atalanta thrashing Frosinone 4-0.A star started Inter(De Vrij) lost to Saussalo 1-0. Fiorentina (Diks) vs Samporida was cancelled while Filipo Inzaghis Bologna with Mitchell dijks starting at wing back lost 1-0 to SPAL.

  34. Im still thinking who should start at right back janmaat or Hateboer. Janmaat put in a good shift when he replaced hateboer last time out and janmaat also has developed using his left foot.I think hateboer needs more time though to calm his nervous at NT level. Even Van dijk was nervy in his first few games. St juste is also in good form but I think he will drop to the u21s.

    1. Denzel Dumfries will get a look at RB. He is solid defensively, and has big muscular body to block out opponents. Great speed in going forward and can whip out crosses to the box. Also, he is dangerous in set pieces (scored last week in the league match, and almost another one this past weekend). I think Hateboer is ahead of him in the pecking list, but I’d suspect that Dumfries is toe-to-toe with Janmaat for RB back-up. Koeman also has Karsdorp returning from injury. And Fosu-Menshah (much) further behind. Plenty of options here.

      1. Dumfries most likely will feature for u21s.important qualifers coming up. Karsdorps playing time at Roma is a question even though he was active in the pre sesson. I dont think he will get nod over florenzi either.well unless florenzi gets injured. Janmaat could get the benefit of doubt.

  36. Ok guys with the peru friendly coming in two weeks or so what should be idle lineup with all the leagues already commencing or What could koeman mind as of now?

        1. “In the beginning it was not like that, he had his eyes closed. But he woke up bit by bit. Since December and January, his awareness has improved a bit and since also a form of communication is possible.

          “If you ask him things, like ‘open your mouth’ or ‘confirm this with your eyebrows’, he can do it.”

          1. Good news for the lad and the family.faith in god is the greatest ideology of spiritual life for the human beings.

  38. The provisional Netherlands squad named by koeman.

    Wout Weghorst,quincy promes, Memphis Depay, Luuk De Jong, Justin Kluivert,Elijero Elia, Ruud Vormer, Georginio Wijnaldum, Guus Til, Steven Bergwijn, Steven Berghuis, Davy Propper, Virgil Van Dijk, Nathan Ake, Hans hateboer, Kenny Tete, Tim Fesu Mensah,darly janmaat, patrick Van Annholt, kenny tete,terence kongolo,wesley sneijder, Matthjis De Ligt,frenkie De Jong, Donny Van Der Beek,kevin strootman, Tony Vilhnea, Danny Blind, Marten De Roon,sefan De Vrij, Jasper Cillessen,Jereon zoet, Sergio Padt, Marco Bizot

  40. This is a very strong u21 squad.

    Indy Groothuizen (ADO Den Haag), Carel Eiting (Ajax), Oussama Idrissi (AZ), Teun Koopmeiners (AZ), Thomas Ouwejan (AZ), Arnaut Danjuma Groeneveld (Club Brugge), Rick van Drongelen (Hamburger SV ), Juninho Bacuna (Huddersfield Town), Gervane Kastaneer (NAC Breda), Jay-Roy Cave (VVV Venlo), Joël Drommel (FC Twente), Ferdi Kadioglu (Fenerbahce), Bart Nieuwkoop (Feyenoord), Justin Bijlow (Feyenoord), Jeremiah St.Juste (Feyenoord), Kevin Diks (Fiorentina), Richairo Živković (KV Oostende), Bart Ramselaar (PSV), Denzel Dumfries (PSV), Donyell Malen (PSV), Yanick van Osch (PSV), Pablo Rosario (PSV) ), Pelle Clement (Reading FC), Michel Vlap (SC Heerenveen), Sam Lammers (SC Heerenveen), Pelle van Amersfoort (SC Heerenveen) and Justin Hoogma (TSG 1899 Hoffenheim)

  43. Nice wins for PSV and Ajax. Some quick thoughts.

    Re: PSV

    Started like they were nervous, could have been really behind it in the first 15 minutes. Once they got their feet moving, they had the better of it.

    Back line looks like it needs help. CB’s are competent, not great. Both FB’s look better going forward then defending. I understand why people like Dumfries, but at this point he seems pretty raw. Berweijn and Lozano were their two best players, and each seemed to find alot more space when they switched wings. Hendrix was busy. Very impressed with Rosario. He didn’t do anything spectacular, but for a young guy he didn’t make mistakes with his covering and positioning, strong, didn’t lose battles in the mf, has the ability to make a nice pass, tracked back to make a superb interception in the box; he could have a promising future. Zoet doesn’t look close to Cillesen right now. Nice aggressive movement by Mallen for the late winner.

    Re Ajax

    So much energy from Ajax in the 1st half, would have been impossible to play at that pace all night. Good that they got the 3 goals, but it would have been nice to get the 4th. Second half they sat back a little, probably because of how hard hey worked in the 1st half, plus I got the feeling that Ten Haag pulled them back a bit. Sitting back, though, is definitely not their game.

    I think Wilson said in an earlier post that Tadich and Ziyech are are beginning to find a real understanding, and they were dangerous together in this one. (It seems like Ziyech’s performance at the WC has given him extra confidence because he looks very sharp and dangerous, and demanding of the ball. Sad he is not in Oranje.) Frenkie De Jong oozes class and talent, but…the game he played against Kiev needed some tightening up. Some lovely play, running the ball out the defense, creating space by his forward movement, nice defensive covering, but he also seemed a little too casual and careless at times, didn’t get some passes through in the Mf (a dangerous place to ge picked off), and he was had the ball taken away on a couple of his runs by a player coming from behind or the side. Love the way he is always looking to push the ball forward though, and the way he accelerates the game.

    The right back, Mas. was excellent defensively. Didn’t love the CB’s in this game…De ligt got beaten in the early set pieces (one of which led to a goal), and in general, the Kiev forwards got behind them too easily a few times. Van De Beek and Tagliafico both had good games.

    Anyhow, good starts for both of them in these first legs. Hope they can hold on. PSV looks set. Hoping that Ajax doesn’t come home from Kiev wishing they’d picked up that 4th goal tonite.

    1. Again I dont wanna jinx it but if both Ajax and PSV do qualify for CL they will find it going tough given with the current squad .if you look at the teams like Inter, Roma, Napoli, lyon, schalke, Dortmund, Valencia, Monaco, they have blostered the team well with the overload of CL in mind while PSV and Ajax looking relatively shallowish. if you look at PSV, its hard to swallow what a striker like Luuk de Jong can bring at CL level and on top of that they dont have a backup who can offload the burden of scoring off him. The backup in the backline also looks vague.

      Ajax, on the hand do have players and maybe depth as well but once the injuries start to mount, the plan B is where they will start to stumble, very similar to what happened to feyenoord last season. Well they have the luxury of jong Ajax player who are comptent enough to replace the current ones but may be not comptent enough to shift a gear another level.

      Being said this feyenoord and AZ could well be in good position to take full advantage of this simply because both PSV and Ajax will feel the overload and get stretched once the CL starts.injuries will be very critical for both teams.

  44. Good analysing guys !

    Yes , too sad ziyech is not Oranjes

    And Luuk de Jong is never oranje material . I would rather give more chance to the youngsters such as Donyell Malen

    Fingers cross that there won’t be any surprises and both teams will March to the group stages

    Our young talent will need champions league experience which is so vital for their development

Join the Conversation

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.