New Season: PSV

blog Euro 2020 WC2018
by Jan

This last title won by PSV appeared to be the closure of a era for PSV. Phillip Cocu decided to move on. He probably felt there wasn’t any more room for him to grow at the level of the Eredivisie, working with the confines the Dutch league brings. He wanted something bigger and Fenerbahce would be a logical next step for him. But the change in Eindhoven wasn’t limited to the coach, as the Technical Director was also lured away. Marcel Brands, serially successful, couldn’t withstand the opportunity to work in the Premier League. Everton had an interesting challenge in store for him. A bigger club on a bigger stage. Bigger budgets to work with. A rare opportunity for a technical director and Brands – former playmaker of RKC Waalwijk and Feyenoord – who had success in the managerial job with his old club RKC, AZ Alkmaar and now consistently with PSV also felt he was ready for a big step up.

These two exits forced PSV to make a big shift. Former PSV player John de Jong will take on the Marcel Brands role and another former PSV player has been prepped for the coach job. When Mark van Bommel made it clear during his playing career that coaching would be his next logical career move, PSV knew they wanted the former captain on the bench at some stage.

General Manager Toon Gerbrands, Technical Manager John de Jong and head coach Mark van Bommel

The ex Bayern Munich, Barca and AC Milan player was prepped in the youth academy for this role and last World Cup he assisted his father in law Bert van Marwijk with Australia.

Is he ready already? Is he forced into the job too soon with Cocu leaving?

Who knows, but I think not. Mark van Bommel was already a coach as a player and the first signs are positive for PSV.

At his introduction press conference, Van Bommel was clear in his football vision. “I want to be in control, of the game and of the ball. We want to be the boss on the pitch. preferably with ball but if need be without the ball. We want to play further up the pitch and taking advantage of the weaknesses of the opponent.”

Where Cocu was criticized for playing a bit passive, a bit counter-attacking style, Van Bommel wants to impose the Barcelona / Bayern Munich philosophy onto his team.

PSV’s pre-season was quite a success. The hand of Van Bommel was visible in the first games already and Gaston Pereiro in particular was the most remarkable player (Hirving Lozano returned late to PSV due to his contributions to Mexico’s World Cup campaign).

Van Bommel: “Every one can see Pereiro is a special player. Even non-PSV fans will like to see him play. I use him in the #10 role. He’s not a winger for me. Yes, he still has his moments where he seems to be dreaming a bit, we’ll work on that.”

Luuk de Jong decided to stay in Eindhoven and said no to several offers from Mexico, France and other competitions. The striker is scoring prolifically and is currently PSV’s captain. Van Bommel will select his skipper for the season in the coming week.

Steven Bergwijn is already high on the hitlist of many big clubs in Europe, but Van Bommel is adamant. “I want to keep Steven at the club. There is still a lot to learn for him and I believe he can make a big move if he stays a bit longer here.”

Marco van Ginkel is not going to be part of the plans for now. PSV would have loved to have signed him but the poor bastard’s knees are giving him a lot of grieve again and he’s out for another 8 to 9 months most likely. Sad story. Will he ever get back to 100% fitness?

Van Bommel is building his foundation at PSV and it seems he’s doing good business. Jeroen Zoet is the number 1 goalkeeper of course. Nick Viergever seems to be the left central defender, with either Schwaab or Luckassen as his partner on the right. Denzel Dumfries came from Heerenveen and the assist king will take the spot on the right, with Arias most likely moving up to Atletico Madrid. Angelino, the former Man City man, will take the left spot at the back.

Ramselaar and Hendrix will be the two holding mids in the middle of the park with Pereiro the playmaker, attacking mid. Van Bommel has a couple of tremendous talents available to him as alternatives of course, such as Mauro Junior and Pablo Rosario.

Mark van Bommel is still looking for a replacement for Van Ginkel though and is also still a bit concerned that there will be a mega offer for Lozano or Bergwijn. But otherwise, these two with Luuk de Jong will be the front men. Sam Lammers is off to Heerenveen to get some playing time there, will young talents like Romer0, Gudmundsson and Malen are chomping at the bits for playing time as well.

In the pre season, PSV beat three serious opponents and seems to be ready for the season opening vs Feyenoord for the Johan Cruyff shield. PSV beat Galatasaray, Panathinaikos and Valencia (the latter finishing third in La Liga last season!).

 

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60 comments

  3. I too think PSV will have a good future with van Bommel.

    Re: Ajax and Frenkie de Jong. I think Ajax expects to seel Ziyech still. De Jong will move to midfield and Blind will take the CB spot.

    Should Barca really make a play for Frenkie, I think he can hold his own there and become one of Europe’s best midfielders.

  4. Im in the same opinion as MVB.Periero at 10 could better serve team better than on the wings. he could well play up as false striker behind De Jong just like Griezmann for France.For me Ramselaar doesn’t have the skills for a attacking Midfield.if PSV has to qualify for CL, I think it will be in the best interest for the youngsters who will get the rotation and also playing time.Malen,Teze, Rosario,Bergwijn,Dumfries, Gapko and Obispo. With Athletico Madrid signing Santiago Arias, Teze could well become Dumfries backup.

    this is a encouraging sign in context to development of dutch players and dutch NT

    1. I was looking at some of the pre season highlights for PSV and one player that really struck was Dumfries. Luuk De Jong could really pounce from his crosses just like he did when willems was around. Dumfries has got pin point accuracy on his crosses and also likes penetrating the flanks from the back. Who better than Luuk could be best of the people to be on the receiving end.

      lastly I dont know want lies ahead for Jorrit Hendrix. was this the right time for him to move?

    2. Barcelona 1-1 Roma. HT. Kliuvert assisting on El Shaarway equalizer. looks like he will be groomed on that right flank by Spalletti. Barce 2-1 now.

        1. Simple stuff but effective. Sometimes its jus about playing simple. Its clear spalletti wants crosses from the flanks especially with strikers like Dzeko and Schick around.kluivert is quiet good in this department and this where he could make his mark.on the left he has the tendency of taking on one too many and ending up pulling the trigger without any intent.very similar to Depay who look clue less on the right.he looks good and for sure he will get more game time when season starts proper.

          On a disppointing note strootman was poor and his days are numbered with quality of midfielders that Roma have brought in the transfer window. Christine and Pastore. He had no clue what was happening in the middle.even though Roma picked up the momentum after he got subbed but by that time Barcelona had their C team on the field.but again not to say his performance till the time on the f

          2. Kluivert’s pinpoint pass to El-Sharrawy after beating two defenders was a sublime effort. If he can do that on a regular basis, he can be one of the best wingers. Roma is a good team with quality forwards/strikers so he’ll have lot of targets to work with.

            Cilissen for Barca didn’t fare too good. He was playing with B-team defenders in front of him but the third goal was clearly one that he could have saved. As he is entering his prime, he needs to find a move away from Barca to get regular game time. I don’t see him replacing Ter Stegen unless the German keeper is injured.

  5. The one to watch from PSV this season is Jorrit Hendrix. He had a “semi” break-out last season… almost always present at PSV, but not quite made it to the Dutch NT (only made a single cameo appearance). I’d wager this season he will flourish a lot, and I can’t think of a better coach who can get the best of Hendrix other than Van Bommel… from whom Hendrix’s game is mold. I won’t even be surprised is Hendrix is named one of the captains (unlikely first, but a vice or third-captain).

    Hendrix already has a very decent tackling and passing abilities. He breaks down opponent’s flow methodically, and he can distribute the ball quite well. He is a discipline fella, covering his ground smartly and maintaining composure. He does need to get much stronger, physically and mentally. To my liking, he lacks “bite” and nastiness in his game. I think this is where Van Bommel can influence him. Van Bommel was/is the master at bullying people on and off the ball (a little bit too aggressive at times), so Hendrix can definitely learn a thing or two.

    I believe Hendrix will be a more-than-useful asset for Dutch NT this year. He can be the defensive wall to give his midfield peers more freedom to go on offense, something that Strootman has not done a good job at lately.

    High ceiling for Hendrix is a Van Bommel-lite, the low ceiling is a rich-man Stijn Schaars/Jordy Clasie.

    1. What hendrix really needs to prove is his defensive abilities. There is no doubt about his offensive capabilities.CL will be a good test for this and if PSV fail to qualify for CL, hendrix will find himself on the downward side of performance curve. Hopefully MVB will be able to mould him into a overall complete midfielder.

  6. Ajax qualify for the second round of CL qualification after beating sturm Graz 3-1 in second leg.The one thing that has struck me about their squad for this season is how Eiting has surpassed VDBeek.this is something I remember saying about how the development of certain player stall within one or two season after they hit peak very early. Though in VDbeeks case, his development hasnt stalled but eiting seems to have a better package to that of VDBeek.

  12. Yes, it was very disappointing to see how AZ sank but things happen. PSV also lost last year to Osijek in the first round of EL. I think, management has not done a good job in preparing team for the early season after selling two major strikers and not finding replacement on time. Max was busy negotiating 2 million euros +/-and that made Bjorn ineligible for the game. Although even if he was eligible, I do not think AZ would have won. A lot of work needs to be done in defense: Vlaar and Hatzidiakos form very poor central defense. Fred Friday should go back to Norway. On a bright side: midfield is still good and new right winger Rotariu played well. Another area for improvement is AZ management and primarily Max Huijberts who has to learn that bargaining 1-2 million euros for almost two months most likely is not worthy of all hard work that AZ put last year to get European ticket in order to exit it after the first round from the hand of Kazakhstan team. With all my respect to Kairat, it was not the team that should stop AZ.

    I hope that this defeat WILL leave a bitter taste in Max after euphoria of making millions on sales. If it will not then he will be doing the same things year after year.

    I am still looking forward to a good season for AZ but unfortunately without games in Europe. Will be cheering for the remaining Dutch clubs in Europe.

  13. If im not wrong then AZ have invested but in youth talents and most probably with future in mind. Bergsma,Dekker, Savastano and De Boer are and will hit the ground rolling at some stage for them. I think they dont have depth in team at this moment to compete both in El and eredivsie especially with injuries and with the transfers out.maybe next season is when they will have good depth and should use this season to build towards it with all players avaliable. as far the departures of Weghorst and Jahanbakhsh is concerned, its hard to see any player who could have fill the void left by them. even for Bjørn Johnsen whom they have signed from ADO Den Haag, only time will tell how good he is or whether he is the idle replacement for weghorst.

  15. Re-watched the game again. I honestly do not understand why van den Brom was crucified in Dutch media. AZ played the same style that made them third in Eredivisie last year. The only difference was that offensive line was non-existent. Last but not least, there was no penalty there. Anyway, I still think AZ will have very good run this year too in Eredivisie, particularly second half of the Championship. Kairat resembled me NAC Breda.

    1. It was Justin Bijlow who stole the show actually . GVB has given him the biggest break.this guy will become no 1 GK one day for NT.

      As for Verdonk, that physical factor seems to be missing but its still early to judge him from the cover.

          1. St juste got subbed in the 85th minute and saying he was not good enough to play another 5 minutes is ridiculous. what on earth you have been cracking.

          2. They still had extra time and pens it means they didn’t have faith in him to complete the game or score his pen

          3. Are you saying GVB never had faith in him and he still let him play for 85 minutes. Van persie also got subbed in 84th minutes so indirectly GVB also never had faith in him as well.is this what you are implying.St Juste wad already on yellow and with Hiriving raiding his flank, could well have been a precautionary change.though nothing was confirmed. Nieuwkoop is not a bad defender either but neither he took the penalty and nor he made any impact after coming on. Just my conclusion based on before and after the change. The faith part will defintely have to checked out.

  19. some leagues have already started and dutch contingent are in full swing in Belgium. Richairo Zivkovic has featured for KV Oostende in the opening two rounds of Belgian pro league and so has Groeneveld (Danjuma) and Vormer for Club Brugge.Stefano Denswil was not available for brugge this week due to injury.

    In Germany Rick Van Drongelen was in the heart of defense for Hamburg but they lost 3-0 to Holstein Kiel in bundasliga 2.

    1. Standard liege is a good team and Ajax will need to dig deep against them.they cant expect to be misfiring infront of the goal.on the other end hand looking the pre season games for PSV I dont see any reason why they will not qualify.

  22. My assessment of Ajax tonight is that defending in midfield from them is shocking. We need to invest in a decent defensive midfielder unless Eiting is capable.

    Blind, whilst I’m not holding him in anyway responsible for tonight’s slip (conceding a 0-2 lead is always a sore point), he’s never installed confidence in me defensively. I mean that from a physical stature and presence, organisation and communication as well tackling aspect.

    1. Blind?? we will understand him after costing another EC2020…This guy is gurenteed leakage point in the back…whta makes it more worse is that when team plays well and some players makes silly mistakes at back and whole teams gets affceted and they loose the momentum….We shoudl say good Bye to strootman,Blind for the sake of a better NT…

    2. It would have been better if they would have signed back Riedewald who has more depth than him. I really hope Newcastle signs him from crystal palace.

  23. our best Dms are
    Ake
    Bazoer
    Juste….No one is better than these 3..its big mistake that they dont play there..
    2010,2008,2006 kuyt should have played as right or midfeild..same reppetional postional mistake is happening again.

    1. St juste has a better grit than Ake. so I would have him on top. but the unfortunate part is they are not getting to play there at club level as well. most probably he will also join the list of jack of all trades master of none.

      the midfield worse for NT will only resolve if the teams start utilizing the double pivots in the midfield at club level, before transitioning into NT. if you look at Ajax Set up vs standard liege in the CL qualifiers. schone and Frenkie played in as double pivots and Neres, Ziyech and Tadic in behind huntelaar. even though Standard Liege clawed their way back in but Ajax were quiet dominant. there is a need for more team deploying this tactic to nature the all roundness of midfielders rather than them just being deployed to a specific role as DM,BTB or ATM. clasie, van ginkel, wijnaldum and even strootman all could couldnt adpot to the double pivot role and often shine in traditional midfield system which they were groomed in in eredivisie.

    2. Just watched the highlight of the game. Atrocious defending. That’s all I can say.
      If the replacements were inexperienced, GVB should have compensated with a more defensive setup. That way you limit one on one opportunities to the opposition and cut down wide open spaces for them to work with. Looking at all the goals conceded, the defenders were exposed and some of them clearly have a lot of work to do.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbU2Ep0GVec

  27. Hateboer and Babel both were also on target as their teams respectively won their games.
    There is something which is very evident looking from how things are unfolding.it would be in the best intrest for koeman and NT to go with experience players rather than new faces whom are on and off going into the season.I mean you look at VDBeek, he looked good last year but now might struggle with competition coming from Eiting. Lens,chery, Vormer, Donk, clasie, and maybe buttner should be looked at to make shift weight and at the same time have the younger guys injected slowly as they get more experienced.

    https://youtu.be/s5vcn9gyDS8
    He just needs to do simple things rather than complicating it.

    1. Agree on experience but don’t forget the screaming from the crowds when the experience doesn’t produce the desired result and everyone complains “where are the new faces?”

      at this point the NT needs rebuilt. A good recipe is to have a mix of old and new but there is not much useful old in NT right now.

      things are not easy and choices are hard… but we have to renew… and through tournaments glue a team. the nations cup is definitely good for us. The euro campaign as well. At that point we would know more.

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