I think over time I have written thousands of these post match reviews, it feels. Almost on par with the reviews of friendlies, and somehow the Latvia game felt like a friendly.
The stadium only had stands on one side. The pitch was rough and rugged. The players were just a bit off the pace.
Oranje tried to attack from the get go, tried to let the ball do the work and find the openings against two blocks of 4 players, with 1 player in between to sure up the defence. A 4-1-4-1, with a tall, strong target man up top.
Klaassen could have scored in the first 3 minutes again, but “could have” was the name of the game for Oranje.
It was a bit rusty, a bit sloppy and full of good intentions. But it took Gakpo a long time to finally take his opponent on and reach the byline. It took too many touches for Dumfries (!) and Berghuis on the right to get to a decent attacking play. It took too long for De Vrij, Frenkie or Daley to play that forward pass.
We just missed that oomph, that laser focus to tear down the Latvian defences and in the mean time Latvia created three clear cut opportunities in that first part of the first half.
It would still be Memphis with his assist, yet again, and Mr 1-0 to score that all important first goal, but apart from some attempts by Berghuis, Memphis, Gakpo headers and some intricate attempts by Memphis and Lang in the second half, the ball wouldn’t do what we wanted from it.
And so, we got the clean sheet, thanks to Bijlow’s last minute stretch, we got the three points and we almost kept everyone in one piece.
It seems Cody Gakpo suffered a light concussion though, so he will have to leave the camp. The good news for all of us, Van Gaal immediately called up Danjuma, who will join the Dutch squad today, after having had his debut in October 2018, under Koeman. The 24 year old left winger is back!
After the Latvia game, Van Gaal said he was annoyed at times. “I am satisfied with the result. I was asked by fans this morning, what score I’d be happy with? I said 0-1. I also said we would have 70% possession but they would still get 2 chances. Well, we had 75% and they got 4 chances. But, even against amateurs, we would always give one or two chances away. We ended up doing well. Bijlow did what he is hired for. So we are not unhappy. Turkey and Norway both dropped points, we got the three points. Ergo: we are closer to our goal.”
“I did get annoyed at times with the lack of forward thrust. We are playing too square at times, too safe. You can only break down these kind of opponents by playing that first ball forward quicker. We will be looking at that.”
Despite the dominance and the win, only a couple of players really stood out. Frenkie will always be a 6, never less. Gakpo was active, Memphis was probing, as always and Blind was the one trying to find that forward pass all the time. But the right hand side didn’t perform very well as the Latvians made sure there was no way through for Dumfries. The Inter defender put a lot of energy in the game and was threatening at times but his limited ball skills also took the pace out of several attacks. He sometimes stands out negatively, particularly when quick feet are needed (in combi plays with Berghuis, Klaassen and Memphis, Denzel is oftentimes the player who breaks it up).
The left hand side was a tad more threatening and Guus Til earned his Heineken with his off-the-ball performance. He worked, he covered for Blind, he led the forward press and ended up in the box regularly as well, but the ball simply didn’t fall for him.
To me, I think Van Gaal made a mistake in using two box to box midfielders. The idea is good: Memphis drifts away from the #9 position and Klaassen and Til will run into that space, but during this match it was clear after 10 minutes, that we would have so much dominance that Til and Klaassen would be in the box or close to the box already, cramping up the spaces. The flanks were the ideal spots to attack but Gakpo always comes to his right foot, inside, and on the right Berghuis does this with his left. Dumfries usually supports with an overlap but there was no space. Same on the left. Blind had one overlapping run in the second half which immediately resulted in a header opportunity for Gakpo.
This image below shows how Klaassen and Til are already “there” instead of “arriving there” with Memphis dropping back. There are two midfielders close to Memphis to smother him and this way we played to Latvia’s strength.
Til and Klaassen are too similar. And when you play against a compact, defending team, you don’t want runners, you want creativity. That is the lesson for Van Gaal to be learned (he won’t like reading this….).
Against Latvia (and Gibraltar) I think you need to play with a real #9, and use Memphis as a 10 behind him, to feed off the target man. Til and Klaassen lack the creativity to find the free man in front of goal, so it was always up to Berghuis, later Lang, and Gakpo to create.
Noa Lang made his debut and it left us wanting for more. He’s cheeky, he demands the ball, he wants to be everywhere and he almost had a goal (blocked shot) and an assist (on Memphis).
He also got a big smile on the face of Louis van Gaal. “I want to use him as a right winger. And guess what, he’s not on the pitch for more than 10 minutes, or he switches flanks with Gakpo!! And I wanted to see Lang on the right. So I immediately told him to get back to the right. He’s got some nerve, that kid, hahahaha!”
It’s traditionally been hard for Oranje to impress against weaker teams that park the bus. Gibraltar will park two buses, one can imagine. You need a couple of things: a quick forward pass, ideally passing over the midfield. You need players who can take on opponents and you need width. We have the latter. We have wingers and good full backs. We also have players who can pass that forward ball (Frenkie, Daley, Virgil, De Vrij). We don’t currently have that creative midfielder like a Sneijder or Van der Vaart on the #10 position (as LvG prefers a runner there). But Gravenberch was introduced instead of Til to get more out of the midfield. I reckon we might see him start versus Gibraltar…
My starting eleven versus Gibraltar
The Starting Eleven Louis will field, according to me:
I think we’ll beat Gibraltar, 4-0 or something like that. Memphis will add to his tally and who ever plays target man will score too. If Lang gets a nod again, he also might find the net.
I agree as well about Til, alot of people dont realize his workrate of the ball. He has got big lungs. Thomas Muller esque.
Another thing I would point out is if you have both Til and Klaassen both in the box then it really hurt u on the counter. lativa did open them up on few occasions but the backline defused the situation. You dont wanna do this with the big teams
I have a different proposition. Go out with full guns blazing.
Danjuma-Malen-Lang
Depay
Frenkie- De Roon
Malacia-Van Dijk-De Ligt-Dumfries
Bijlow
No more experiment with berghuis pliz.
I don’t think it was an experiment, with Berghuis.
De Roon / Wijnaldum if he is eligible to play.
I don’t comment too often but thank you jan for keeping this website updated. I can’t remember when I got first hooked up with this forum, but it was a long time ago.
I personally think that this forum has turned (compared to a couple of years ago) into a bashing of the Netherlands (team) rather than a fan base forum. I know the team has been through some rough times, but I think we are slowly building something important. Van Gaal has some questionable methods but I do believe in him.
Thank you Gio, I appreciate your kind words.
I too have trouble with some of the fans here. They seem to enjoy talking shit and being disrespectful. It’s hurtful and I know there are more people here who don’t enjoy that part.
Davy Klaassen copped a lot of criticism here as well, over the years, but yesterday he scored the winner and he blocked to attempts in our goal area! That guy will always work his socks of….
This was from Orangutan on the previous post. I want to copy it here and respond to it. Once and for all.
@Jan
Re: Did you ever play or coach football?
I actually was a fine box to box midfielder. Never professional level but also never a slouch.
But that’s not really what we want to talk about is it?
Let’s talk about favoritism and how you conveniently left out all the names that have been blasted as recipients of that most regressive tendency? We are not going to talk about Memphis, Cruyff, Virgil, FDJ or any of the names you mentioned because they are all deserving and worthy of their roles. Remember we are talking about favoritism. So let’s talk about the names you slyly left out.
We will start with Europe’s best Berghuis. What more is there to say? Or see? A dud.
Danjuma. If there was anytime for him to shine it would have been today.
Blind. Wish you saw the France/Belgium game and tell me how someone that lacks such athleticism would cope. Imagine.
Gakpo. Trying to force him down our throats(like Berghuis) without him facing any type of competition. Gross.
We eagerly await your match report.
In reply to Urangutan:
I ask the question about your football “level” to ascertain why you make certain comments. I would expect someone who played at a certain level to have an understanding of coaching and people management and tactics.
You mentioned favoritism. I responded by explaining why favoritism is normal and is what a coach is there for: team selection. And you say that my point is valid for Cruyff but not for Blind?
This argument is getting so old. I have debated that here with certain people for years. I will say it one more time:
Statement 1: Every coach will field the team he believes in, as it will be his job if he fails and his victory (and next paycheck) if they win. No coach will play Blind just because he tells good jokes. Maybe Danny would. But next to him, coaches like Frank de Boer, Louis van Gaal, Peter Bosz, Erik ten Hag, Ronald Koeman, Dick Advocaat and Henk Grim decided to use him.
Not only that: every Dutch expert (ex coach, ex player, sports writer) hails his qualities and speak about him with respect. The only fans that boo him are the die-hard Feyenoord fans, for obvious reasons.
There are only a number of “fans” here who constantly talk shit about him. It’s getting old.
And if I feel that you are just winding me up with the anti-Blind bs, that I will ban your from posting here. That would totally piss me off.
Berghuis was top notch at Feyenoord, now at Ajax. He has a gifted left, not a lot of players can do what he can do with that left. He had 4 or 5 key through passes or crosses versus Latvia, which all could have resulted in goals. I think Berghuis suffered from a Dumfries playing with hard feet.
Danjuma is now in the squad. No coach would suddenly drop Malen or Gakpo because another player has a good spell of 4 matches. Think!
Gakpo is a class-act.
Why are you here?
Good post. Of course favourtism is important. If we think that Malacia is best, and van Gaal thinks Blind is best, he’s going to pick Blind because it’s his job on the line. Once upon a time, back in 2003, Advocaat had to pick between Europe’s top scorer, Barca’s top scorer and Man Utd’s top scorer for the role of number 9 in Oranje. He picked Kluivert based on experience with Oranje, when there were many cries for Makaay and RVN.
The other thing people don’t consider is the psychological effects of changing the team. So for this game we can say that Blind, Dumfries, Til and Berghuis all underwhelmed. Let’s say all 4 of them are replaced next game. Now the squad knows that they need to be perfect otherwise they’re losing their spot. This will hinder their performance, not benefit it. If you think we pass backwards too much now, imagine what the players will be like when they know their spot is on the line.
And finally, when it comes to Danjuma, I personally think he’s class, but we don’t know that. We’ve only seen him play 6 games at this level, and he could just be running hot.
Two questions I have for You.
1. If what you are saying about making changes is not wise then how come other big teams are thriving better . Have you forgotten how Italy made seven changes vs NT and still beat them in the Nations league. Where were you then my friend.
2. 26 players are called up to the squad everytime. Are you saying the reserve players are sleeping during training seasons that they dont what to do if they start or are not familiar with each other especially when they have been together for last how many qualifers now.
If I had to answer this:
1. Italy v Netherlands
This is not an either-or discussion. You can get wins with a team that plays together for a long spell so you can use the automatisms as we call it in Holland. See Bert van Marwijk. But you can also mix it up when the players are used playing in a certain system. For all I know, Italy’s squad has been together for a longer time (youth teams) or whatever. Some coaches use and believe in rotation. others don’t. There is not one way.
2. If you study Van Gaal a bit, you should know that this is not true. He spends time with them and also manages them very conscientiously. Because all players are key. Do you remember the quarter finals v Brazil in 2010? We was there suddenly: Ooijer. I can’t even remember his first name. But he played top. Because he was part of the machine. Like Van Gaal can rely on his subs. Have you seen our subs fail? No, they were excellent! But now, Van Gaal does not have time to fiddle about and he is firmly trying to build the core team he will rely on for the World Cup: Bijlow, Virgil, De Vrij, De Ligt, Frenkie, Memphis.
Potentially, Blind, Klaassen and Wijnaldum.
The rest will be filled in based on form and fitness. Obviously, if Frenkie doesn’t play for months, he won’t be picked. See Van de Beek.
Agreed
@Jan
Re: And if I feel that you are just winding me up with the anti-Blind bs, that I will ban your from posting here. That would totally piss me off.
I will save you the trouble, cheers
Bravo Jan.
I appreciate you drawing a line here.
Well, that appears to be clear then. I am all for critical analyses about whatever but the brainless hammering on about Blind being the son of Danny, is getting really old! No more time for that BS.
Guys, chill! There’s no reason to get ardent. Things are looking good and hopefully tomorrow we play well and Montenegro does too lol!
I like Blind. He actually tries to create things when he has the ball and moves it forward. Most other guys just pass back and he keeps pushing ahead.
I’ll take Klaassen’s game against Turkey any day. He’s won me over with his timely touches. Berghuis has been improving as well. I think we all agree he’s no Robben, but he works hard. Gapko had a really good spell with PSV last season and is young. He’s growing. Why not give him a try. I don’t think anyone is forcing him down our throats. He’s a fine lad, played great last season and we’ll see where he goes from here. Danjuma and Lang will get their chances. But we have what we have and we might as well make the best of it and see what works.
@ Jan
There is few things I wanna point out from your statement above which I think you are misleading or may have forgotten.
Van Gaal and Danny blind both paved the way/ laid the foundation for Daley to have a successfully career in NT because of their very close family/Friend relation. Yes the argument has always being that he was a break out player at Ajax at that point time but eredivisie had already seen depature of big names from the league itself and was dying a natural death in context to competition level. You had players like Finnbogson and Pelle who scored more than 20 goals and Ajax was also undisputed at that time at eredivisie level
If it was for any other player mind you, no way in hell he would reached thus far.this happens everywhere. Whom you know. Yes Blind did win the eredivisie player of the season like I said on top before the WC but also what Van Gaal did to Buttner was treacherous and back stabbing from patriotism point of view.
They made sure at every hurdle Daley gets through and so forth to become undisputed but still with lack of speed weakness.It on the record both in NT and at United. If he can be overlooked to his strengths then why not others. Buttner did had a slow start at united with experienced Evra ahead of him but then he had gone on prove in that CL quarter final first leg vs Bayern that he was coming up to par when he stopped Robben in all his tracks.
Now this is where the true colours of van gaal came out. Playing at Man united level , buttner deserved to be called up to the team atleast and then get assessed in training. But instead he got written off both from Man United which van gaal was suppose to join after the WC and in NT. Van Gaal even before arriving at United instructed united hierarchy to persue Luke Shaw which made buttner surplus there and also didnt call him up even in the Provisional WC squad which was cunning tbh knowing he was going to use a wingback system and buttner was the best fit for that role. Instead he opted for Blind due to his distribution qualities oversighting his weakness of lack of speed which had been exposed badly prior in qualifiers. This is what is the ugly M$ther fcuking face of favortism. So please dont try to potray a transparent picture that it does exist in dutch football. I know you will bring the argument off his his involvement in that van persies goal vs spain and vs Brazil but it didnt justify his selection. Who knows what Buttner would have brought to the team given his explosiviness and being a natural attacking fullback.. Also looking at the aftermath of that world cup and till todate, that LB position continues to comes under spot light in big games and if he plays.
The reason why other coaches had to go with him was simply because there was no other options and it again goes back to van gaal and Danny Blind who between Daley and Jetro ( injury prone) never called up anyone else. Van annholt had joined crystal palace and Buttner had joined Dynamo Moscow and were not considered. They were some experiments in between which didnt yield much either. (Vilhnea – wingback)
In the same context above you can always ask as to Why has Patrick Kluivert has not able to influence his sons justin’s Career in NT?. Give it a try.
lol.
Can we ban Wilson for winding up?
What happened. You cant handle the truth.
You’re probably right Wilson.
I bet van Gaal thinks Buttner is twice the footballer that Daley is, and the only reason that van Gaal didn’t play him at Man U is because Buttner was giving his girl the eyes or something.
Van Gaal wasn’t happy about that so then he decides to sign Blind, knowing full well that if Blind doesn’t perform he’s getting the sack. But he’s so devoted to ruining Buttner’s career that he’s willing to put his own career on the line. van Gaal risked his own career to destroy Buttner’s not for footballing reasons, but simply because van Gaal didn’t like the guy.
First question, did you follow Buttner at Man United back in 2012-2013- 2014 season?
Secondly You forget van Gaal already had a agreement with Man United before the World Cup so what you are talking about being sacked is irrelevant and even if they would have lost to Mexico ,wouldnt have made much difference to him. He would have gone either way but look what followed in the aftermath. Chaos and mediocrity plagued the team until koeman came on board after 4 years.in between most of the players here featured under van gaal.
I never said anywhere buttner should have been picked over Blind but playing at Man united level did warrant him a callup and then get assessed in training sessions. This is how you get to know who best fits the purpose. Not just because experts in nerthlands ( average league) think Blind has good qualities and talk about him with respect, he is the best and should start . Where do these so called experts go when he gets exposed or when he simply cant live up to expectation in crucial games
Daley Blind was once given the armband in NT because he was playing for man united. While in contrast in Buttner’s case he wasnt even considered seemingly deemed not good enough even though playing at the same level and having showed his potential at CL level. There is where the axe falls. How do compare a player playing in a medicore league to a someone at the very top. Again my emphasis here is, they should have called both of them up and let them compete for the spot not just write off.
” twice the footballer Blind is”
With weakness. You have to assert this in there and not close one eye on it become it will always have a impact on his game.
Back then Buttner had his strengths as well which Blind didnt and plus Blinds weakness of lack of speed has always being a talking point til todate but for experts or the so called jury only want to see his intelligence only. What has it yielded in the last seven years.
I tried to follow his career in those years, but the camera doesn’t spend that much time on the bench.
Buttner himself was so unhappy that he put in a transfer request after one season.
In 2013-14 (the world cup year) I think he may have had 5 appearances before the New Year (all from the bench). And then he got a bit more time after Evra became injured. Meanwhile Blind was not just performing in a “mediocre” league, he was being named LB of the year (twice in a row), as well as Ajax player of the year.
You’ll notice that Donny, who is playing the same amount of time as Buttner, is also not being selected by van Gaal.
Hahahahaha
An interesting article about van Gaal from yesterday, worth a read:
https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2021/oct/09/louis-van-gaal-rude-stubborn-vision-netherlands
@Stephen, Thank you posting the Guardian article; I enjoyed it.
@ Derekvdberg91
Yes the cameras dont lie. Usually I dont like to do this but for argument sake.
https://youtu.be/EbOZYdsJJBc
https://www.manutd.com/en/videos/detail/goal-of-the-day-alexander-b%C3%BCttner-v-west-brom-21-november-2020
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/european/manchester-united-1-bayern-munich-1-five-tactical-observations-including-alexander-buttner-worthy-understudy-patrice-evra-and-marouane-fellaini-must-show-his-worth-9235383.html%3famp
Again he had good potential as well and he had showed in the little he played he could handle the top flight football. Dont stray away from the argument.
“Here’s a youtube video from 2013 that proves my point”
Good enough for me. Bring back Buttner
So he played at Man Utd for 2 years and there’s only 3 minutes of highlights, from 4 separate games.
Also that article you posted, the praise he received was “oodles of energy” “not the same skill on the ball as Evra” “give David Moyes something to think about”.
Ok, here we go again. For the last time. Wilson keeps on coming back with the same old same old and simply will not rest until everyone agrees with him.
I will respond below to your words:
“There is few things I wanna point out from your statement above which I think you are misleading or may have forgotten.”
There was nothing misleading or forgotten.
“Van Gaal and Danny blind both paved the way/ laid the foundation for Daley to have a successfully career in NT because of their very close family/Friend relation.”
Wrong. Frenkie has a younger brother, Donny has an older brother. They all play football. Why aren’t they in the NT? Because they’re not good enough. Van Gaal will always pick the player who will win him games. Every coach does this. You keep on ignoring this. That is how top flight football works. The close relation bit is utter BS, disrespectful and plain wrong.
“Yes the argument has always being that he was a break out player at Ajax at that point time but eredivisie had already seen depature of big names from the league itself and was dying a natural death in context to competition level. You had players like Finnbogson and Pelle who scored more than 20 goals and Ajax was also undisputed at that time at eredivisie level”
So what? Why is that important? Do you think because the eredivisie is getting weaker, we can’t develop good players? We have had players leave Holland at a young age and not making it big (Ebicilio, Rodney Kongolo) ans we had players leaving who made it after all (Ake, Rekik(?)) and we have players who stayed and honed their craft in the Eredivisie for a bit longer. We still should pick a Best Of Player, shouldn’t we?
“If it was for any other player mind you, no way in hell he would reached thus far.”
This is your opinion. Nothing more. And we have heard it, Wilson. But we also heard Advocaat, Gullit, Van der Gijp, Kieft, Derksen, Perez, Bruggink, Van Basten, Van Gaal, Bosz, De Boer and Ten Hag praising Blind. So whose opinion is better… Hmm… Wilson? Or the Dutch legends?? Hmmm….?
“Yes Blind did win the eredivisie player of the season like I said on top before the WC but also what Van Gaal did to Buttner was treacherous and back stabbing from patriotism point of view.”
You watch too many movies. It’s ridiculous. Because Van Gaal picked Blind over Buttner??? What has Buttner achieved :-). How many titles? How many Europa League trophies? How many FA Cups? Everywhere Buttner went, he ended up failing. Danny Blind’s fault?
“They made sure at every hurdle Daley gets through and so forth to become undisputed but still with lack of speed weakness.It on the record both in NT and at United.”
You are paranoid. Daley is pretty unique as a defender. Yet with all his weaknesses, he still played approx 8 years at top level and played almost 80+ games for the NT!! And all the players he played with (Sneijder, Robben, Van Persie, Van der Vaart, Kuyt) hated him and didn’t understand why on Earth Daley was in the team and they all repeatedly said this in the media?? Eh, no! This would not happen in a Dutch team. You clearly don’t get the Dutch mentality. Sneijder would never play with a kid who is in the team because of his daddy. You saw legend Paul mc Grath say in an interview recently that he would have loved to have played with Daley. Or did you decide to skip that video? Sorry Wilson, you are embarrassing yourself.
“If he can be overlooked to his strengths then why not others. Buttner did had a slow start at united with experienced Evra ahead of him but then he had gone on prove in that CL quarter final first leg vs Bayern that he was coming up to par when he stopped Robben in all his tracks.”
Every player has weaknesses. And these are all overlooked if the weakness is compensated and if the strengths are significant. Huntelaar was slow. Van Hanegem was slow. Van der Vaart was slow. Robben wasn’t a good header of the ball. Kuyt lacked the silky skills. Suurbier had a bad cross. And the list goes on and on and on. If Buttner failed, he did so by his own account.
He Did ok with Vitesse and he started well at Man United. Yes, he played some amazing games, as I have followed him as well. He suffered from home-sickness and he clashed with Van Gaal. That happens. And no matter how good you are, if your personality is toxic or if you screw up the group dynamics, you can play amazing but a coach will not want you in their team. I’m certain that is what happened. You see, Buttner is your idol apparently but 1) he was not that good, 2) he has a difficult personality. Van Gaal has clashed with Van Persie, Sneijder, Van Bommel and Memphis. It’s not all Buttner’s fault. Louis is a difficult guy too. But don’t believe for a single second that he pestered Buttner out of the club to get Daley in. Ridiculous.
Buttner went on to fail for Dynamo Moscow, Anderlecht, Vitesse, New England Revolution and is currently one of the key players in lowly RKC. The Gibraltar of the Eredivisie.
Reality proves you wrong.
[stuff deleted, irrelevant]
“Instead he opted for Blind due to his distribution qualities oversighting his weakness of lack of speed which had been exposed badly prior in qualifiers.”
How do you know Van Gaal didn’t know about the weakness of Daley hahahaha. According to you, there are closer than family. Van Gaal is considered one of the best analysts of the game and you think that you spotted a weakness in Daley, which Louis didn’t see, hahahaha.
“This is what is the ugly M$ther fcuking face of favortism. So please dont try to potray a transparent picture that it does exist in dutch football. I know you will bring the argument off his his involvement in that van persies goal vs spain and vs Brazil but it didnt justify his selection. Who knows what Buttner would have brought to the team given his explosiviness and being a natural attacking fullback..”
Sorry, this is not a real argument. Who knows what we would have done with Buttner?? We don’t. Why would we debate that now? How would we have done with Cruyff, Bergkamp, Van Basten, Rijkaard and Neeskens if they were all 24 years old now? The favoritism what you are referring to is very normal in football. A coach is allowed to have a fave. I mentioned this before but you will not have understood it. There are coaches that go to a club, and will aim to bring their fave players with. Pep and Fernandinho… Pep and Iniesta. Klopp and Van Dijk. Tuchel and Jorginho. You are really childish, you know. The Grown Up World works like this. Ten Hag gets signed by PSG, he will try and bring Antony and Tadic. Slot brought Jahanbaksh and Til to Feyenoord. Schmidt took Gotze to PSV. Oooh… scary… favoritism. BAD PEOPLE.
“Also looking at the aftermath of that world cup and till todate, that LB position continues to comes under spot light in big games and if he plays.”
You should try and learn to analyse games and not just look at the ball. Study the situations in which Oranje lost games or conceded goals. It’s never 1 person’s fault (unless a goalie makes a howler).
“The reason why other coaches had to go with him was simply because there was no other options and it again goes back to van gaal and Danny Blind who between Daley and Jetro ( injury prone) never called up anyone else. Van annholt had joined crystal palace and Buttner had joined Dynamo Moscow and were not considered. They were some experiments in between which didnt yield much either. (Vilhnea – wingback)”
This is not true. There are always options. Every coach picks the best option. Maybe he is the best of the worst, but coaches selected him for that reason.
“In the same context above you can always ask as to Why has Patrick Kluivert has not able to influence his sons justin’s Career in NT?. Give it a try.”
Again, a silly question. What does this have to do with anything? How and why would Kluivert try this? Do you think Van Gaal would listen to a football dad? I don’t get this last bit. Kluivert left Ajax when he just broke through and failed everywhere he went: Roma, Leipzig and hopefully at a sub top team in a sub rate league, he might succeed.
Wilson, you are put on notice. We have all read your anti Blind drivel for years now. We get it. You are in love with Buttner. Fine. Watch RKC.
Jan has the patience of Job.
Hahahaha
For real.
Kind of amazing that you’re still able to spend time on a response like that, Jan.
I appreciate it a ton, though, and I also think it’s great that you draw lines on the rambling and conspiracy theories— those things are such a negative force here that it’s difficult to wade through all of that for the actual content provided by thoughtful posters who know a good bit about Dutch football and specifically about individual players (and provide critical analysis without BS theories, making up childish names for players, etc)
There’s a simple equation that should perhaps be on the banner for this page—
The “evidence” that you found through highlight videos on YouTube is not better than or equal to the entire scouting apparatus at the Dutch national team AND every professional club scout around the world.
That’s not to say that we hold scouts and coaches up on a pedestal like they don’t make mistakes or don’t miss intangibles or even just miss players who weren’t identified at an early age by the right club. But to make all of this underlying conspiracy and innuendo is just unfounded and, perhaps more importantly, incredibly annoying.
Thanks mate. I hope I was clear this was the last time I will entertain this drivel. Urangutan showed his colours. I said “IF you are winding me up and I find out, you’re banned”. He immediately walked, so there you have it. Trolls.
From FootballOrange:
“According to De Telegraaf, Noa Lang will start for Netherlands tonight.
Expected XI: Bijlow; Dumfries, De Vrij, Van Dijk, Blind; Wijnaldum, De Jong, Klaassen; Berghuis, Memphis, Lang”
Here is hoping for goals in Rotterdam tonite…and slips by Norway and Turkey.
Well Said Jan. It can be so tiresome reading rants about how bad the Dutch are, and how everything will be magically solved if player X replaces player Y.
Love your blog posts, and the details and knowledge that you have is incomparable to most soccer sites. Please keep up the good work and don’t be disheartened by the inevitable replies from the usual suspects.
All the best and Hup Holland Hup – that’s what we’re here for isn’t it?!!!?
“All the best and Hup Holland Hup – that’s what we’re here for isn’t it?!!!?” Indeed.
And we are on the board, Van Dijk!
I like what I see from the team today. Depay and Klaassen were good as usual. Lang, Danjuma, Weghorst and Malen also had good game. Our attacking options are a lot better now than before.
The speed and dribble skill of Danjuma is superb but his passing need to improve imo. Lang has a lot of tricks and his passing is good. The left winger position will be a fierce competition between those two.
Agree. I think Danjuma will be necessary against teams parking the bus because he’s shown he can get past a man much better than the rest of the team.
It was interesting when van Gaal switched to a 4-2-4 or 4-2-3-1 with Weghorst coming on for FDJ.
Agree on Weghorst; the change in tactics and his use was a different and effective look. Depay and Klassen really do combine well. Liked Lang and Danjuma, gives Van Gaal something to think about going forward. Once (if) they qualify, He’ll have a year to build the team, and these guys are now in the mix.
Question, WC starts Nov. 21, 2022 in Qatar. Have the leagues announced when they will go on hiatus? Wondering whether the pre-Cup training camps will be shorter than normal.
I say “if” above because I’m still concerned. Its looking more and more like they will go into the final against Norway needing only a draw. (Though, I understand that Montenegro could be a tricky away match.) Those games always make me nervous—if the team has draw in the back of their minds, it is too easy to get nicked by a late goal.
@ jan
I will respond to your post later. but for now will stick to the present.
In generally , well nothing much to say but this was on cards all long. it was just a matter of calling up. well looks like the dust has settle eh.
danjuma 1 game and Lang 2 games
injuries has been a blessing in the skies for NT. because of it there has always been a change for good.
That has always been the case. Marco van Basten was third striker, going into the 1988 Euros.
Robben was injured going into the WC2014.
We missed the following centre backs in 1974: Israel, Hulshoff, Mansveld, Drost, Laseroms, so Michels picked a midfielder (Haan) and a rookie (Rijsbergen) and it worked very well.
Its a universal thing for me. This is what makes football fun.
good to hear about it but this time around the mediocrity is been flushed out of the team.
which is plus for the team.
Cody Gakpo is not mediocre, if that was your point?
Norwegians are giving us neck to neck competition…We must beat Montenegro at away match..
if that clown FDB made Turkey looked like world beater we would have been in better position…People should RE watch the match vs turkey under FDB… Tim krul Vs Turkey …..Krul was crap as well vs Turkey….
My sincere THANKS TO LVG AND BIJLOW..
1-LVG for taking us this far.
2-Bijlow for his save vs Latvia.Krul would have kicked our as@##s..
Even Two draws against Montenegro and Norway might take us to WC qataThnaks to LVG again ..thats the good news we have…
the Dutch will beat both Norway and Montenegory. its Danjuma, Memphis, lang vs Haaland now.
DML.
I would still take Berjwin over Danjuma and Lang and Gakpo…
Berjwin is pacey,very tricky,works like dirk kuyt…i hope he doesnt get dropped for anyone..
Memphis,Gakpo,Malen,Berjwin,Danjuma,lang,Berghuis,Weghorst…..thats quality. WE HAVE….7 spots..We have 8 players..
Malen,Depay,Berjwin undroppable…
Bergwijn is a runner only, Danjuma is both runner and a finisher as well.
Nah….He wins things at Spurs…how many dutch wingers can do that????Berjwin is fantacticlly skilled player..Watch he tore apart Montenegreo and Turkey last month…
He assists.
i underestimated Berjwin like all of us…MAY be CLOWN fdb has manipulated us to think like that…i WENT BACK i checked his game VS France as beat them 2-0 at nations league…Berjwin is our top gun VS ANY QUALITY TEAM…WHEN you have the work rate of kuyt plus on ball skills…your team becomes victorious…ask muller…..
Berjwin,Depay,Malen,Danjuma are the most threatening forwards we have….berghuis,gakpo,lang,Weghorst are just below of these four…
Germany qualified…21 points…after 8 games…done dusted..by next month 9 european teams will be fixed..
@ Wilson Vs Jan on Blind….
An year before wilson waS advocating for Lang and Danjuma…i dont know how many remmeber that…Blind has short comings he needs to be replaced but with whom???Annholt,winjdal are below average to replace Blind…back then we had Buttner and Jetro…i feel we(Dutch coaches) have not given a helping hand to buttner as recently LVG given chances to Berghuis and berghuis became starter at Ajax..After all Buttner was not bad,its not easy to get signed for Manu…
Rensch and Timber as well.
Rensch and Timber earned their hienken… Timber displaced shurs a while back… Rensch is dextrous footed… We have craps like hateboer, hoedt, winjdal layee for NT…Rensch whooze talent, he must fast tracked to team NT… Timber is Stunning he is destined for big clubs..Not giving Buttner a chance was a sin… But buttner lost his mojo to Battle.. That buttner can only blame himself.. He could have succeed at least one club.. I want hardfeeted dumfies to be taken over by karsdorp and Rensch.. Infact..
ManU has signed duds in the past. So Buttner’s signing was not an isolated case. Memphis can be seen as one too.
Wilson is not a visionary. Danjuma was already in the NT in 2018, remember? Frank de Boer wanted to get him in last year but then he got injured and informed De Boer, so he was officially not called up.
Lang was key for Young Oranje last year and got injured when Oranje played at some stage.
Don’t for 1 minute assume that Wilson has more scouting skills than Van Gaal/De Boer/Blind 🙂
What? When was Danjuma injured and when did FDB officially call him up.
FDB did tried ,and he was injured..But could have taken him to euros if he had balls…Danjuma should develop his passing range…how about FDB dropping berjwin???
I felt koopemieners and Malacia should have given chances at half time to build our sqaud,…rather than throwing them to a vital moment which already we did.we threw Malacia in vital match VS montengro….that was gamble…happy Malacia took it…
Bit of a shame. Lol. Just found out the world cup is in November and then in between is the Nation league. With almost one year, I think the team can be further fine tuned with more flushing out of mediocrity. There aint much but some positions there are.
http://www.football-oranje.com/netherlands-player-ratings-in-6-0-win-over-gibraltar/
Looks like DML are taking over.
What is DML?
Danjuma, Memphis, lang..
The next trio.
Just wanted to leave a word of encouragement to Jan; I hardly comment, but have been reading your blog for many years now and appreciate the quality of your analysis, your balanced optimism and your patience. Difficult to understand the level of cynicism in some comments, but please keep up the good work.
What is harry kane played for Lucas moura Vs ajax at champions league final????Spurs would have lost it…Pace of lucas moura made ajax in to tears…kane played at final and s##ked..Vs some team you dont need Van basten you can beat them with Romario,bebbeto….of late i am enjoying this period under LVG…however i want Jasper cillesen to be back.. also it is foolish to take weghorst and luuk to oocupy for one pinc hitter spot…
i think van gaal is visioning Rensch as third choice LB after Blind and Malacia..Thats nice..
hope everyone stays fit and injury free…
Not exactly carried away by the wins as Latvia and Gilbratar aren’t the teams which we should benchmark the team performance against.
What pleased me the most is that Danjuma and Noa Lang finally got selected and played, well.
LVG has certainly given many players their debut since he took over, just under few months.
We all can be excited with what will happen over (Karsdorp, Stengs, Veerman?) the course of next one year, assuming the team qualifies for the WC Finals. I believed LVG will mold the team to be champion. 😊
@Jan
Re: I hope I was clear this was the last time I will entertain this drivel. Urangutan showed his colours. I said “IF you are winding me up and I find out, you’re banned”. He immediately walked, so there you have it. Trolls.
Jan, I can’t imagine why you would be using a term like “troll” to namecall me after the fact that I have kept my peace, on my promise to do so.
I did not “walk”. I kept my peace. On the sidelines. Like so many other individuals on this blog.
On the one hand, you clearly stated that I could only be part of the blog if my opinions pass the test of your censorship. Mind you, censorship not based on the eradication of vulgar language or abusive behaviour. But that I can’t criticize certain players.
On the other hand, I am a troll because I kept my peace and silence and did not conform on parroting your talking points.
I am a grown with my own point of view of the world including how I see Oranje. I am and have been a member of dozens of forums and blogs. This is the first time in my experience that an admin have ever told me or anyone I know, how to expressly convey their opinions.
Why? You think I joined this blog to hold hands, form a circle and sing ‘Wilhemus’? Yes, I do have love for Oranje. Being a fan for decades. But not at the expense of “My Truth” and the way I see things. Not with the intention of joining some same-minded individuals enveloped in a cocoon of blind loyalty and group think.
I like perspectives. I like to be educated. But my opinions are also mine. And WILL always be mine. I guess that’s why I’m not triggered, threatened by differing sentiments.
I’m safe on my conclusions. Safe on the sidelines.
Your opinion of Daley Blind only playing due to favoritism is the equivalent of those people who are of the “opinion” that the world is flat. It’s their opinion, but it’s wrong. The two aren’t mutually exclusive.
Daley Blind is a couple of games away from being in thr Top 10 International Caps for Holland. Favoritism can get you one or two caps, but not something like that.
I’m totally down to holding hands in a circle and singing Wilhelmus if we qualify. 😀
My apologies Urangutan. You deserve them. I was under the impression you spat the dummy when you responded to my comment re: the winding up.
I misread that, hence my comment on you walking. My bad. I will get back to your other points as a comment under the new post.
@Wilson, Exactly. LVG will have a year to build the team once they qualify; that is majority of this season, Nations League, and the beginning of next season. If Lang and Danjuma show out they will be in the squad and cahllenging for start positions, as will Bergweijn if he continues his play with Spurs, Malen if he performs at Dortmund, Gakpo if he performs at PSV. Berghuis is going to have to show that he can keep contributing because of the competition. The team that he settles on for Qatar may look very different than the one in Norway. Qualification is everything right now.
…and as I said above, I’m still nervous about qualification. If someone can talk me out of being on edge about that, please do. 😉
yes Andrew its was after reading your post that I went and googled it. this throws the door wide open for other players to walk in if they can hit top form. I guess the Nations league is where it will all come down.
agree with @ ycsng0822a as well
“We all can be excited with what will happen over (Karsdorp, Stengs, Veerman?) the course of next one year, assuming the team qualifies for the WC Finals. I believed LVG will mold the team to be champion. 😊”
Remember there is VDBeek who will be pushing for exist in Jan Transfer window. I was also reading about Ihattaren at Samporida. he is only missing in action because he has fitness issues and the management are happy with what they have seen of him. he is likely to start playing when he up and fit. van Ginkel is also on my radar as somebody who can force his way in now looking at the time frame. he already has the experience factor and only needs to hit his top form which is possible by the end of the season.
My perceptions of thinking has completely changed now knowing that world cup is in November. Van Gaal might just pull it off.
For the qualification, there is no way they will loss to Norway if Danjuma , Memphis and Langs starts up front. the work load now will shift of Memphis and you all must have seen how lang was pulling the strings. the whole complexion o the team has changed now. only individual mistakes could turn the outcome of the game around.
also fingers crossed there will be no injuries.
@ orangutan
I like this part.
“You think I joined this blog to hold hands, form a circle and sing” lol
no offense to anyone