Oranje draws, but takes a loss…

blog WC2018
by Jan

Or actually: three losses…

Friendlies are there for coaches to try things out, test the team, build confidence, let players gel together and for federations to make money….

However, prestigious friendlies against rivals might do the opposite: a loss will not build confidence and as Oranje already had to make so many changes, letting players gel together was a big ask.

And typically for the bigger mess we find ourselves in, Danny Blind loses three key players in run up to Luxembourg! Stijn Schaars: calf. Vincent Janssen: concussion. Jeremian Lens: hamstring.

Sure, it’s only Luxembourg, but again Blind needs to re-shuffle and again we will miss an opportunity to build on a new foundation.

Danny is almost able to field a complete team of players not available due to injuries or not available coz they don’t get playing time…

lens ham

The good thing is: Arjen Robben will be back.

Watching Nederland – Belgie was watching a team of top class players playing against a team of rookies, with one top class player: on the stands. And it was a boring ass game. Belgium didn’t seem to want too much, Holland couldn’t do too much.

Belgium is stacked with players from the big leagues / teams who clearly didn’t want to put too much into the game. As a result, they had nice dominance, nice possession, some flowing passing but no end product. Not having a real striker but Dries Mertens as a false nine didn’t serve them too well.

Defensively Belgium was vulnerable and looked off the pace at times but I don’t think they will have been too shocked with the Dutch attacks.

They have sensational players and I’m sure they’ll do well.

As for Oranje: yes we have injuries, yes we lack team composure and automatisms, but it was definitely not the sort of performance that instills confidence in the average fan (like me).

hazard sneijder

It was poor. Team tactics were fine and to see us go 5 at the back in the second half with young Brenet coming in was actually refreshing. At the WC2014, it worked at times. In the friendlies (Van Gaal, Blind) it didn’t work at all (France at home!) but against this Belgium it did. Veltman in particular was dramatically exposed on the right flank in the first half and the fast and hard working Brenet, playing fearlessly, add some spice to the team in the second half.

But on all other aspects of the game, we looked second-best constantly. The result is ok (if you care about this), but the performance was poor. No creativity, lack of speed and sense of urgency off the ball and poor passing.

Joel Veltman would be the first player to take off the team sheet for me. Defensively weak, build up play even weaker. He had several opportunities to launch the fast Lens with a ball over the top and he hardly used those.

Virgil van Dijk was the only player for me who stood out, with Vincent Janssen second best, purely because of his hustling and ballsy duelling. Van Dijk is becoming the real deal. Plays like a leader. Will make a big move this summer.

janssen baalt

Stijn Schaars started well but got knicked twice in a midfield duel and had to go off with a bad calf. He actually got the knock last week in the Eredivisie game vs Sparta, and might have agitated the muscle by changing his movement a little to avoid that knock. A dependable player. Low in risk taking. But not moving too gingerly anymore with his 32 years on the clock. He might not wear an orange jersey anymore, once the suspended and injured players return.

Lens was good on the ball but it was visible that he hasn’t been part of Oranje for a while. A lot of miscommunication between him and the midfield/defenders.

Janssen is able to make something out of nothing. Goes for everyball and will happily clash into goalies if the game needs it. Reminded me of Huntelaar eating grass at Wembley a couple of years ago, in a friendly.

I think he should have had two penalties for the two clashes with Mignolet, to be honest. The first one he knicked past Mignolet – ok, foot was high – and the Pool goalie grabbed him. Second clash, Janssen was there first and Mignolet crashed through him with his elbow hitting the Spurs striker on the head.

Lens did well to create the pen for us. On the ball, he looked solid. Sad to see him leave with a hamstring.

In typical fashion, Janssen played on for a spell – refusing to go off – but a concussion is not something to fool around with, and he’s out for Luxembourg.

janssen klap

For me, most players were average to poor. Clasie needed time to find his feet and rhythm and had some poor balls. Daley Blind didn’t reach his usual level. Wijnaldum still can be wrestled off the ball to easily for me. And to top it all of, sub Memphis Depay was not able to shake the cobwebs off and do something special.

Joshua Brenet has clearly put himself on the radar though. After 1,5 years of “not talking to each other”, Danny Blind and Brenet made peace. The PSV defender once said on tv that he thought Danny Blind only selected Ajax players, which is why he was ignored for Oranje. A gutsy thing to say. But also stupid.

Obviously, it isn’t true. And secondly, you don’t make the coach select you quicker. Brenet was ridiculed in Holland for these statements, as he was playing average in those days. Like many Dutch defenders: good on the ball, good going forward, but shocking defensively.

Brenet and Blind had their pow wow last week, shook hands and move forward. I’m sure he made an excellent impression and he could have had an unforgettable debut with an unforgettable goal, with a massive counter-attacking run when Belgium was out of position. Sadly, he missed the target.

Marten de Roon and Leroy Fer are called up for the Luxembourg game. I don’t think Blind will add another striker. Surely, Dost, Luuk de Jong and Fer as pinchhitter should be able to do the business.

Brenet

It will be nice to take some rest from Oranje and hope for the likes of Elia, Bazoer, Willems, Janmaat, Memphis, De Vrij, Karsdorp…

Danny Blind said after the game he was happy with the result and the defensive performance. I can’t agree fully. The Belgiums didn’t really try. We were not really tested. The center backs did ok. The defensive mid did ok. The work rate of the team was ok, but parking the bus and stopping attacks is not “defending well”. Our out ball was poor and we had many chances to play out from the back only to dwindle too much on the ball and losing it again.

The key difference for me, and not just in this game, is the running and positioning off the ball by Belgium. As opposed to our play. Our defensive mids (Strootman, Schaars, Clasie) simply sit in that space. Not enough dynamics. Our midfield runs to support the striker (Sneijder, Wijnaldum, Klaassen) are lacking. The change of position up front and diagonal runs (De Bruyne/Hazard versus Janssen/Lens) was absent. It is not so much a quality thing, but more a sense of urgency thing, if you know what I mean.

Klopp, Conte, Pep, Pochetino, Ancelotti, Simeone…these are the coaches demanding this from their players. And players like De Bruyne, Hazard, Dembele, Vertonghen, Carrasco bring this to the team. In our team, only Wijnaldum has it (at times). Sneijder doesn’t have the legs. Lens doesn’t have the wherewithal and I think Clasie/Strootman/Schaars are simply not allowed…

Unless we don’t adapt to this new level of play soon (Ajax, Feyenoord, PSV, Oranje) we will slip and keep on slipping…

Iceland, Wales, Portugal, Leicester City… These teams do not have amazing quality players. Still they beat England, Belgium, France and the whole EPL last year…

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61 comments

  1. Jan, the conclusion to your analysis is that we need a new coach, and preferably foreigner or a Dutch coach who successfully worked abroad and who could teach Dutch players how to play a modern football.

    1. We had the chance to have a good Dutch coach that knows how to play a combination of Dutch and modern football at the same time but sadly the KNVB decided to appoint Hiddink instead of Koeman.

  2. I wish it was that easy. I don’t think the NT coach is there to teach players how to play!!

    Look at the players who left Holland in the last 10 years. Babel, Maduro, Maher, Janmaat, Memphis, Fer,v Anita, Siem de Jong, Luuk de Jong, etc etc it happened to all of them in some sort of way.

    That was not Blind’s fault!!

    It goes much deeper. It has to do with how we develop players at clubs and KNVB.

    Two of our main players with the right mentality are Vincent Janssen and Quincy Promes. Both players who were sent away from respectively Feyenoord and Ajax.

    Janssen will thank Fred Grim. Promes will thank Kluivert (Twente) and Erik ten Hag (Eagles).

    1. ” teach them how to play” then why select them.

      This was Danny Blind on Zeegelaars selection

      http://www.football-oranje.com/danny-blind-marvin-zeegelaar-useful-offensive-qualities/

      What happened after Lens injury,he opted for Memphis Depay who by right shouldn’t be in the squad at all.as usually the assumption there is nobody is better than him even though he is a bench warmer at united which is jus crazy.

      If the input in shit then obviously the output will be shit. Simple logic.

  4. I don’t agree with the comments on Zeegelaar and Stekelenburg.

    For starters, Zeegelaar is a full back. Players like Karsdorp, Janmaat, Van Aanholt, Brenet and Zeegelaar have impact when they come up from the back and make runs on the wing. Like Brenet did. In a turn over.

    Forwards are players who have the ability to score, play the through pass, cross the ball in or take on defenders one v one. Like Robben, Promes, Elia and Memphis.

    I totally understand that Blind didn’t use Zeegelaar as left winger :-).

    As for Stekelenburg, most keepers are in front of goal as to make the goal smaller and inprove his angles. Not smart when you’re smaller, like Vorm. But good goal keeping by Steks. And yes, the goalie sometimes get caught out by a deflection.

    Surely you won’t blame Stekelenburg for that conceded goal?

    1. Closing in the angle of hazard was perfect..as hazard was inside small box..what he doing when pogba was miles away?carassco was miles away?Forlan was miles away??.this is not the first time he is doing it…he cannt do that as of now he is no1 Gk for NT..its anavoidable mistake he repeatedly does..

      1. Jan I think Zeegelaar is more a winger but playing lB at Spotting. The 4-4-2 suits is well him Just because they play with two strikers and there is more space for him on the flanks. I think he has played on the wings in one or two games for Sporting but either way I thought after Dosts introduction Zeegelaar would have been a better option than Depay who hasn’t played much compared to Zeegelaar.

        Klaassen is not a wing either but yet Danny started him vs France which also was wasteful decsion.

        This is why for me he is just a amateur coach who can’t make the right decsion on the right time.

        I think this is what will happen, the KNVB will once again approach Van Gaal to come and work with Danny Blind if they scrap through the qualifers and if they fail to qualify they can continue rubbing each others balls.

  5. Interesting news on Mourinho. Last week he criticised some players for their inability to play with “some little pain”. He was clearly talking about Shaw and Smalling. He said “all the great players have little pains all the time.” Smalling copped a lot of flak as a result.

    Now however, it seems Smalling broke his toe on two spots and he did so weeks ago. He was forced by Mourinho to play vs Chelsea with injections. Smalling now refused to take more injections and will take at least 4 weeks rest. More egg on Jose’s face.

  6. The merger of tiju and wilson is almost complete!
    Jan don’t worry about defending your points against those “2”, haha

    File under ‘totally ridiculous’:
    – blaming a keeper for a deflected goal
    – being surprised when manager will not put fullbacks up front as attackers

  8. Definitely a great result for this group of players to draw Belgium, but what an awful match to watch. Not pleased to see us basically parking the bus.. but could understand it and ultimately I guess it is good for FIFA ranking to not lose this otherwise meaningless and poorly timed friendly.
    I dont think we even had any interceptions or tackles in the Belgium half all match. Would it have been suicidal to have tried to pressed them in their own half? Maybe, but at least it would not have been so boring. haha
    Maybe Blind thought boring would help avoid injuries? 😉
    Maybe we wanted them in our half so we could counter attack, but that was ruined losing Lens and Janssen – Memphis and Dost had no bite, no fluidity together, and neither could create anything.

    I think v Lux will be a completely different game, but we will probably see a similar lineup:
    Sneijder – Dost – Robben
    Klaassen – Clasie – Wijnaldum
    Blind – van Dijk – Bruma – Brenet
    Stekelenburg

    Lux last results:
    Oct 10, Away Draw 1-1 to Belarus
    Oct 7, Home Loss 0-1 to Sweden
    Sep 6, Away Loss 3-4 to Bulgaria

    I think Fer would be an improvement to Klaassen, esp for breaking down a defensive team, and same with adding a more attacking LB to Blind in Zeegelaar.
    So here is what I would like to see:
    Sneijder – Dost – Robben
    Wijnaldum – Clasie – Fer
    Zeegelaar – Blind – van Dijk – Brenet
    Stekelenburg

    Also a side note, apparently the pitch we will be playing on in Luxembourg is really terrible, so we better be prepared for a gritty performance as well as ready to breakdown Luxembourg’s bus. Ready and prepared tactically and 100% focused and ready to fight for 3 points and as many goals as possible. Obviously it is a team we ‘should’ beat, but lets hope we dont play with that attitude – I prefer Robben’s attitude:
    http://nos.nl/artikel/2142591-robben-eist-ruime-zege-we-moeten-ze-niet-op-adem-laten-komen.html

      1. Nonsense
        You know as well as anyone that Memphis is only chosen by Blind because of poor depth and form on our wings. Justified selection IMO even though personally I would not have chosen him.

        You must mean Nouri.. Not really a winger, but I wouldn’t be against giving him a call to make sure he stays with Oranje..
        van Aanholt and Willems are not wingers either, plus they are both in bad form right now.

        Feel free to use this post later on when you want to pretend you know our players, you might look less uneducated and foolish if you at the least get their names correct.

        1. Sybe…why Blind is playing Ringa ringa rose with Depay??i am sure nouri ,Williams and annholt CANNOT BE worse than Depay..
          They have pace,they have stamina,they can cross,they can integrate with team…This what i expcet from 3 or even from Mmephis..I am telling you this is poor assumption by Blind that we dont have anyone bar Memphis..
          Thats his blindness
          Playing Veltman at Rb is blindness
          Playing Daley at LB when you have fit Williams,Mensah,Kongolo, and Annholt is Blindness
          that is atrocious tactics by him..That needs to be changed…

  9. I forgot the game in the heat of US elections however it seems like I didn’t miss much. I saw the highlights, the stats and I could tell we were outplayed. Same old story. I still think a new coach would marginally improve so firing Blind doesn’t make a big difference. It is clear now dutch soccer in in depression. Let’s hope it doesn’t last forever.

  10. I don’t think we were outplayed vs Belgium? Their flow and fluidity was better, yes. But that is quite normal playing a team that played together for quite a while, with players in their mid 20s or older (with some young talents) and all players playing for top top teams.

    Holland played a young team, with less quality and a lot of players missing (Strootman, Vlaar, Promes, Janmaat, De Vrij)…..

    They dominated possession but did they have so many chances? I think not.

    I haven’t heard any comments on my penalty claims btw.

    Did Janssen deserve two penalties?

    your thoughts…..

    1. I never know what a ref might call these days.. but I think yes on the first one (which does not make the highlights), because iirc Mignolet misses the ball and takes a piece of Janssen stopping him from getting to the ball.. I think the second was a 50/50 and since Mignolet does get all the ball is not a pen, even though I could still see some refs calling that..
      I do appreciate that Janssen will go for any ball!

      I thought Belgium missed 3 big chances and so could have won 3-0 just as easy, but I can only remember that huge save on Hazard.. the Carrasco goal was lucky. Veltman needs to block it or move so Stek can save, but also IMO the ref should have stopped the play earlier for clumsy Vertonghens foul on Clasie which caused him to be late to Carrasco.. Vertoghen was even still apologizing to Jordy after the ball went in!

      1. Jan seriously you analysis is so
        Weak. As sybe pals said it should have been 3-0.surisingly the tempo of the game was dictated by the beligans and even though it was quiet low contrary to what was expected from them,they still managed to 60% possession which jus shows how they outplayed the orange. After schaars departure the mid field to some extent went stray.

        Why didn’t dost receive any service. Depay and.
        Vilhnea, Clasie ,Wijnaldum. Because the mid field had nothing to offer and same on the wings.once again why,simply because of no ball possessions.

  11. last game was us practicing on defending vs them practicing on attacking. 😀

    on a more serious note, Blind always lacks plan B. once things go out of scheme (injury, big scoreline margin, etc.), it always seemed that he didn’t know what to do.

    that midfield after Schaars out never clicked until the end. I don’t know which was wrong. tactics, instructions… the players are quite decent w/ their own qualities, but if you don’t know how to fit them into a midfield unit, then they’re doomed.

      1. Agree to the bone vanfadly. I did mentioned this in the previous blog and this is where you can always tell he is jus another amateur coach especially when the new replacements come in and the configuration is not there. Danny has been trolling with a one set of players to maintain that continuity. He has never created that competitive environment where players can be pushed jus because of competition.I have being saying this from way before. Danny only gives nod to other players when there is injury other wise its jus who fits is amateur profile.

        You look at Van Dijk,he only got the nod after Daley Blind got injured.though van Dijk made an impressive partnership start with Bruma in daleys absence,When Daley recovered,vs Greece Danny benched van Dijk and continued with Daley and Bruma CB partnership. The Greek exposed the backline big time and Danny under pressure quickly in his defense brought back van dijk and recalled janmaat for Veltman vs Sweden after the backline got exposed big time.

        You look at how much time Danny wasted on Willem’s and when its was apparent that it was going to be a failure,he pushed sunny boy there and called in Kongolo who obviously would have warmed the bench unless if sonny boy would have gotten injured.I can guarantee you 120% even if Kongolo would have not gotten injured, he would have warmed the bench like zeegelaar
        Now I’m sure there will some here who will argue and will come to Sonny boys defense jus because he plays for man united. This is what I will say to this,NT is not man united and he will not find the same protection in NT as what he gets when is playing at Nan United. This is simply fact and until such time its apparent and his weakness gets exposed again,he will continue to cock block up and coming better defenders.

        This is basically the chapter of Daddy D.

    2. Agree that long balls are lame!
      I barely even like crosses haha

      So, do you mean he lacks a plan C?
      Wasn’t switching to 532 for the 2H the plan B?
      Not very brave, or the move everyone would want in hindsight (armchair managing) but at least it’s logical if your side is over run on the wings, suffering of injuries, to dig in and try to hold on to a 1-0 lead. No?

        1. Pals its always wise to build a house from bottom to top not top to bottom. What happened vs Belgium ( injuries) was un for seen circumstance.if you are saying protecting 1-0 lead by switching to 3-5-2 vs a team like Belgium was good idea ( plan B) then Im sorry to say you are the biggest fool. It would have been better jus to park the bus if that was the case

          1. As you said it should have been 3-0. 60 % possession for the opponents and you wanna play defensive game for 45 minutes.instead of sending Dost,it would have been better to send BMI instead if he really wanted to protect the 1-0.

      2. alright. agreed. it’s a plan. logical plan. but did he know what he’s doing?

        it’s not enough to just have 2-3 gameplans. you also have to make a bridge inbetween them.

        really, I like the 532. it may looked a cowardice move. but if executed properly, it is deadly in a counter.

        but once again the midfield failed..

        here’s what I think: Wijnaldum should’ve been taken off earlier, sent Zeegelaar. Veltman off, BMI on. Blind moved up alongside Clasie.
        Ramselaar for Sneijder.

        I wanna correct wilson’s statement below: Dost came on BEFORE the penalty. so it’s proper sub.

        1. Yes, actually I do think Blind knows what he is doing – even though it is not what I would do..

          I dont mind 532 either, but if thats the plan A I think he would start with different players. I like your lineup tweaks, besides the BMI part 😉

          Hahaha dont worry about wilson – although it is a good idea to point out when he is lying! but it gets exhausting after a while.
          He has not understood what I have said, yet wants to bait me by a feigned insult even though he knows I will probably not debate with him (and he knows why!).
          Even his statements (^^just above here completely contradict themselves – but, to be expected from someone who makes things up, and then will ignore responding when he is called on it.
          Now he is calling players he does not like “amateur”, but he clearly does not understand what that word even means haha

        2. Yes, actually I do think Blind knows what he is doing – even if it is not always clear to me, or, even though it is not what I would do..

          I dont mind 532 either, but if thats the plan A then I think he would start with different players.
          I do like your lineup tweaks, besides the BMI part 😉
          (if he is doing well, I am not against his selection – but he is still not a player that gives me any confidence..)

          Hahaha dont worry about wilson – although it is a good idea to point out when he is lying, it gets exhausting after a while.
          He has not understood what I have said, yet still wants to bait me by a feigned insult even though he knows I will probably not debate with him (and he knows why!). Even his statements (^^just above, on your original comment) completely contradict themselves, nothing new.
          He keeps going with his Blind conspiracies even though I have taken it apart so many times, so he chooses to live in a fantasy world – like his buddy Tiju.
          In fact, I have looked up lineups so many times (defending reality, not necessarily Blind) that now I have noticed that there is much more “evidence” that the player selections of Danny Blind that either cause us problems or block other players from getting chances, are starting Bruma and/or Klaassen, not Daley Blind.

          He is calling players he does not like “amateur”, but he clearly does not understand what that word even means!! hahaha

  12. i did watch the France Vs Sweden..Sweden is team that will hurt to when u make mistake..there Goalkeepre is fantastic,if he was not the man Sweden would have lost match in first half itself..So is hugo loris Both these keepers are really better than our keeper and they are more trusthworthy than ours…
    I really hope that Mistake of strrootman,the disallowed goal vs Sweden from Dost,and final Stekelenurg presentation to france.
    We must beat evryone form now on..As we lost franceour home game which at least should have been a draw..while Sweden lost only away match to france which is acceptable..I do think that our team is good to get a draw in france i remmber match of PSV Vs athletico(2game) and Match of PSV Vs Manu(2 games in last CL)…but Zoet was excellent in those matches…i dont think we will get a draw if stekelenburg plays as GK..
    He has already put us in to pressure ,that we have to win Sweden home game i mean the last decider…

  13. Good comments… Yes to all these observations on Sweden and Bulgaria and the France away game….

    As for Plan B… I don’t even think we have a solid Plan A that can be executed.

    I’ll tell you why:

    Usually, NT coaches use the best players they have and create a tactic that 1) fits them and 2) they’re used to.

    In our case, under BVM and even LVG, we had tactics that worked as they had a solid core team to work with.

    Hiddink was instructed to go back to 4-3-3 and dominate. That failed miserably.

    Blind tried to salvage the result in his first (and Oranje’s last) euro qualification games but lack of players, bad luck and lack of confidence stopped us in our track. Which does come down to lack of quality, I guess.

    He started the new campaign with players like Promes, Bazoer, Tete, Riedewald but some of these players were taken away from him.

    He is know fitting in new players (Vilhena, Propper, Berghuis, Brenet, KArsdorp, Zeegelaar) as a result and it is fairly impossible to gel a team together when you constantly need to change personnel.

    A Plan B will come down to a tall striker in the box and play hail marys at this stage.

    Also, we will face two different types of opponents in the coming years: teams like France, Belgium, Spain and teams like Luxembourg, Sweden, Bulgaria, Belarus… We need two Plan A’s. One for each.

    Good luck Danny!

    1. Jan can you share more light on this “He started the new campaign with players like Promes, Bazoer, Tete, Riedewald but some of these players were taken away from him” what do you mean when you say it was taken away from him.

      The only positive thing after the euro disqualification till today I see is the rise of Van Dijk which obviously came after danny had no other option.

      As for solid Plan A,Its time danny switch to plan B to to get a solid plan A other wise the ship will sink.

      Jus Like karsdorp,Brenet,van Dijk,some more opporunties to player who have good individual abilities, I swear there will be an end to this mediocrity chapter.

      1. “He is know fitting in new players (Vilhena, Propper, Berghuis, Brenet, KArsdorp, Zeegelaar) as a result and it is fairly impossible to gel a team together when you constantly need to change personnel.”

        Yeah only after injuries and yes its fairly impossible to gel a team in short coming. But my question is why only after injuries why not from day 1. Competition is always driving factor for players and unless and until it is not executed, the success rate will minimal

        Karsdorp, Brenet only took one game to showcase their capabilities and they looked for polished than Veltman whom danny has clinged to like Willem’s and is another failure waiting to happen.

        Jus like Brenet and karsdorp I guarantee there are others who can do better job than some of Daany selection and whom he has selected and used but to no avail.

        1. Danny strategy will never work.he will always find himself in the passengers seat if he doesn’t change now. They might scrap through the qualification but then that will be it.will be another vacation in Russia.

        1. Are you blaming Bosz here.you make it sound like it was deliberate.bosz did continue from where FDB left off but it was clearly evident that they needed more reinforcement after their failure in the CL qualification.

          The in coming players were an up grade to the current ones which never looked like giving Bosz what he wanted especially with the high expectation. We all saw what happened to FDB at inter.

          with players like el ghazi, Bazoer, Riedewald,Dijk now slowly fading out,especially with the arrival of incoming player,it jus shows how bosz has psyched the team up ny inciting competiton within the team and which has ehanced the teams mobility.this is what Danby should be doing his in NT

          Well if this has affected Danny and his course then it jus goes to prove how biased he was when selecting players. Its not just me here but apparently there have been others who have also claimed this.

          On a positive note I’m happy this has led to danny looking else where and giving nod to more players whom are slowly shaping the team up.

    2. the problem with our plan A is, we’ve never been able to assembly it, there’s always a part that goes missing (injury, form..)

      he’s learning alright, I’m sure he’ll be great manager someday. but our NT isn’t a place like that. you should learn that extensively in club level.

      1. Completely agree with that!
        In fact, I feel bad for Blind.. out of his depth right from the start – but he does not appoint himself, does he? Part of why I dont always think its fair to blame him for our current issues..

        I would add that for players as well, they need to show what they can do at club level.
        I think any NT will have a hard time to build a strong team culture/ identity with fluidity and tactical prowess if there are constantly changes to the players.

  14. Danny blind needs to evaluate certain players he calls regularly and very interestingly NONE OF these players played a significant part in recent games or since Wc2014…
    Danny must think as follows..
    Is veltman better than kevindiks/janmaat and tete???–Answer is BIG NO…
    Is BMI better than Kongolo??Answer is big NO
    Is Daley Blind is better than Virgil asLCB???Anser is big NO.
    Is Daley is better than Mensah as LB/RB/RCB/LCB..Answer is big NO.
    Is Daley is better than kongolo as LB,answer is big NO…
    Is Klassen is better than Bazoer??Answer is big NO..
    Is propper is better than Ramsselar??Answer is Big NO..
    Is Depay is better than Nouri/Annholt/Williams?????Answer is big NO..
    this were HE FAILS AND FAILS AGAIN..

  15. Well i guess Danny Blind will play like this against Luxembourg: : Stekelenburg, Brenet, Blind, Bruma, van Dijk, Ramselaar, Klaassen, Wijnaldum, Robben, Sneijder, Dost

    A positive point if he chooses to play like i think he will is the integration of Ramselaar who can bring creativity for our midfield and Brenet who actually offers some offensive power especially compared to a weak Veltman!

    I would love to see Daley in the position of Bruma and a offensive leftfullback like Van Ahnholt or even Willems!

    1. Blind and wijnaldum must paly as the guard role as both are experienced players in top level and playing for top clubs..
      ———–Steke————
      Brenet—Bruma–Vandijk—Zeeglar
      ———Wijnaldum—Blind——-
      Roben——–Sneijder—–Ramseelar
      ————-Dost——————
      Ramseelar is faster than Sneijder i dont want to that crap Depay on left wing.this team will have pace+balance+stamina..i mean team is balanced…
      it would have been great had they selected Williams and Annholt on left wing..

  16. Daley really lacks pace to go forward when playing on the wing! And we need that pace on the left side as Sneidjer already brings no pace there as a Winger!

  17. here’s hoping:

    Stekelenburg
    Brenet- Van Dijk- BMI- Zeegelaar
    Blind- Wijnaldum
    Sneijder
    Robben- Dost- Memphis

    but instead probably we’ll see this

    Stek
    Veltman- Bruma- vDijk- Blind
    Clasie- Klaassen
    Sneijder
    Robben- Dost- Wijnaldum

    1. Memphis is for what???For pace??he doesnt have it..For workrate??? he doesnt have that too..For balanced team??..he cannt do that…What he can do is whever he gets the ball he can loose it easily..We MUST GET RID OF HIM FOREVER.
      Veltman shits as RB….
      klassen over Blind ,bazoer at DM is really a bad call..
      Blind as LB is not real shit…But that means there would be noforward run form that wing..if Blind do that he cannt go back in time…

    2. OK, put berghuis/el ghazi/wijnaldum on his place vs France. what could they do?

      I agree, Promes above him. or even Lens. or Narsingh.

      now tell me, dear Tiju. when such condition happened, who else would merit the call?

      Nouri? he’s just reaching first team. he’s even looked nervous. not much experience.

      Elia? not fit.

      Kuyt? hell no. I’ll take 2014’s Kuyt, but not the now Kuyt.

      Kishna? hot and cold.

      Wijnaldum? hot and cold. let him be hot and cold at midfield.

      El Ghazi? banished from first team, not even remembered his last good play.

      Depay? OH YES. he combined well w/ Janssen giving France something to think. without him, Blind would never dare to venture further forward. (this is French game I’m talking about so feel free to point my mistakes)

      now Bergwijn would probably be a good pick. Zeegelaar too. but no, don’t mention van Aanholt/Willems. we need someone who can score too. van Aanholt didn’t last long enough as winger at Sunderland.

      1. No Depay was crap against france,often loosing balls from feet.hence disturbing our movemnet.Not able to receive pass hence we cannt have connective play in final third..He was just crap and down grade to promes VS france..Then moment he entered in to feild Vs france i was convinced that we are left with 10 players..with promes it was 12 players.coz promes does offer workrate of 2.
        I dont give a shit about elgahzi he is another crap..Berghuis might be better but not my choice..Wijnaludm on wings i might use like Blind plays for LB/LCB/DM may not be great but still better than these craps.
        Our talents are wing backs right or left our supermen are there..
        I would go with Kevin diks,Vanrhijn on wings…they astonishing in their wings as attackers..
        So is Expereiced Annholt and Williams on left..
        I Dont give repeated try with prove failures..like Depay,Elgahzi,Beghuis,Narsingh…

    1. if so thats a good line up..they should start Blind as DM and Zeegalar as LB…
      Blind is not a great CB or LB he just a make shift adjustment…
      But he can compete with stroot,hendrix, as for DM..

    3. sacrificing Klaassen for one proper DM is better IMO. hahaha…
      sorry, but either Clasie or Blind should start as DM.

      wilson might not like this, but I’ll go with Blind.

      so that’s actually a 442 with Sneijder acting as pseudo wideman. won’t complain as long as he sent many through balls for Robben. like that final goal vs Spain 2014.

  19. I wonder… how’s van der Vaart doing these days? if he’s still at top 5 league, I’ll probably be a fanatic too and putting him in my every proposed lineup 😀

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