Hi all, this is our safe space. This is where we can hang out all of us, safely, without fear of contamination. I mean, COVID19 contamination of course. Because we do have some other viruses going around here, which hopefully are not contagious… The Kuyt-is-bad-virus. The Daley-Blind-Is-In-Oranje-because-his-dad-used-to-be-virus. More dangerous than Corona, of course.
Enough jokes! I hope everyone is well? Safe? At home with family? And taking care of business!
I read that this virus has the most dramatic impact on men!! No more football, no more pub crawls, no more music events or partying, while women can still do what they do: cooking, ironing, vacuum cleaning, laundry… It’s not fair!
ENOUGH JOKES, I SAID!
Let me know how you are all going, below in the comments. There is still a lot of fun for us Oranje fans. Youtube is filled with super dooper clips. And we have this blog of course…
The news will come to you faster via other channels, so I won’t even try to be bringing you scoops.
But we do need to talk Euro tournament and the impact of the virus.
So I think common sense prevailed, we will not have the Euros this summer. A big bummer for most, but the Dutch will probably count their chickens… Memphis, Malen, Bergwijn… And more time for Zirkzee and Karsdorp and Wijndal and Boadu… It’s not that bad.
I do hope the competitions will be finalised properly and I hope this particularly for Liverpool!
I’m not going to go into conspiracy theories here or what this whole panic pandemonium means, there are heaps of comments and posts on social media and tweets and what not to deal with this.
So, we’ll keep our eye on the ball here, as far as I am concerned.
There is stuff to read, this blog to get with and start interacting more often, there are amazing youtube clips and classic games to enjoy too.
Tell me below how you guys get through all this.
I’ll start:
I’m working from home, in a remote little beach town in Australia. Life is going as per usual, with the exception of the availability of toilet paper!
I spend more time watching movies, as opposed to watching football and I probably hit the sack earlier. I can freely check the sports sites without the risk of seeing a final score of a game I have yet to watch.
I’m intrigued by this whole global shit show and focus – as an amateur anthropologist – on that, on American politics and other geo-political stuff.
We are not stocking food and supplies but take it all as it comes.
And you?
@ Jan
“The Kuyt-is-bad-virus. The Daley-Blind-Is-In-Oranje-because-his-dad-used-to-be-virus. More dangerous than Corona, of course”
unfortunately the vaccine is readily available for this virus. so dont need to worry.
good times ahead indeed with postponement of the euros to 2021. the best part about this is more players, who now will be competing for the individual spots. there is a lot and this is what I have been crying for all these years. intense competition. i just looking at the forwrds. depay, malen, boadu, Lammers,Zivkovic and perhaps zirkzee. bring it on.
this could aslo be a good news for the lost kid Marco Van Ginkel who will be free agent come summer.
Yep!
I moved back to india from uAE..due to Project loss,might be back in UAE after June july..Completely safe from corona in my village..Which is remoote area where cryuff in never heard or Van basten…but there is plenty sachin fans and british cricket fans,i was fed of that from samll age…but i do have some footballing friends who are hard core arjntina fans and brazilian fans…with a heavy back injury now i cannot even play amature football…So chapter closed for me,tear on L4-L5 spine…So case clsoed for me.
Governement here is more alerted and strict so there is less spreading with fantastically brliinat doctors arround..i am glad that i am lucky to have them..
Tehere was a family came from italy they fucked 8 people…but things are undre control…
I moved back to india from uAE..due to Project loss,might be back in UAE after June july..Completely safe from corona in my village..Which is remoote area where cryuff in never heard or Van basten…but there is plenty sachin fans and british cricket fans,i was fed of that from samll age…but i do have some footballing friends who are hard core arjntina fans and brazilian fans…with a heavy back injury now i cannot even play amature football…So chapter closed for me,tear on L4-L5 spine…So case clsoed for me.
Governement here is more alerted and strict so there is less spreading with fantastically brliinat doctors arround..i am glad that i am lucky to have them..
Tehere was a family came from italy they fu%%d 8 people…but things are undre control…
I never liked kuyt playing ahead of castelen romeo at RW,Nestel roory at striker,RVP at striker,Roben at wings,Vaart as False striker or playmaker…or Even Babel or depay at at wings…he did not deserved over these players at these spots.
But i stopped when he layed as Rwback….thats okay and he did well,Even as dM he did well. i think he spoiled our chances in 2006WC,2010WC…
Danny Blind cost at 2 tournamnets ina pathetic way…
Daley shouldstay as bench as LCB…we have chices at LW..and LB
MY comments on Kuyt and Blind were irony. Or sarcasm. Or satire. Not sure which one.
But not an invitation to have another go!
Jan,
Thank you for the article and providing this forum for us.
I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, so, if you happened to see the news, we (about 7,000,000 of us) are “sheltering in place.” Only essential businesses open. Everyone is under an order from the public health department to stay in unless conducting essential activities—which include getting food (groceries are open, restaurants are open for take out and delivery), medical appointments, getting outside for exercise (as long as you social distance)…the order just came down on Monday, so am still adjusting, working at home, etc.
As far as Dutch Football goes, I like your idea about looking through YouTube for older matches—loved the video clip you attached re Rensenbrink. I’d be interested in some recommendations of games that either the NT or league teams played where things didn’t go well at the start, and the team turned it around, along with any comments you could add about what to look at during the match that changed the game (strategies, players, etc.) Not asking you to insert the clips, way too much work for you, but maybe just list the game and a comment about what to look for. For example, the 1983 Euro qualifier when the Dutch trailed Ireland 2-0, in Ireland, and at halftime, they switched tactics, moving Gullit further forward, and they came back to win 3-2.
Hope everyone is staying safe and well.
https://www.goal.com/en/news/barcelonas-use-of-de-jong-questioned-by-netherlands-boss/22qmcipldx101rjhw0pyygkue
I wanna comment on this and, no you dont need to be a coach to see this but what koeman is mentioning in this article is exactly what I have been critical about De Jong being not a complete midfielder and this is why it is surfacing at Barcelona for him.
Its the situation in NT probably where koeman is coming from but then again NT at the moment doesnt have a midfielder whose case defintion meets to that of a deep lying midfielder or simply a central midfielder like to that of Busquets at Barcelona. The barce midfield is perfectly built around busquets and thats where xavi and inesita use to thrive and if even today nobody has been able to dethrone him.why because he is the perfect deep lying midfielder which the team can revolve around.with him barce can always form a perfect midfeld point back wards and if you push frenkie along side him like how he is deployed in NT then that will eventually change the axis and offset the balance and this is evidently why the coaches are rotating frenkie so that busquets remains that point of axis.to add to this barce also have midfielders like vidal,Rakitic and arthur who are are better than frenkie playing as offensive midfielders and this is where the options for creating the right balance is ar stake for the coaches.
Im not saying frenkie is bad but like I always say, a complete midfield gives a better structure and complements the overall team rather than just depending on one midfielder who can be absolute best,like whats happening in NT. If you disssect the current NT into half, the left side will probably be more potent than the right. This is one reason why dumfries struggles on the right while frenkie and van dijk provide better coverage to Blind.
Well looking at this article it is clear koeman is locked with frenkie being the focal point in the midfield for NT and again this just makes me wonder will he rotate him if potential deep lying midfielders like koopmeiners, veerman jump onto the big stage.
@Wilson,
I read that article as well. Koeman pointed out that he uses two controlling MF’s in the NT whereas Barca uses one (Busquets), and therefore FDJ plays further up the field in a more offensive role at Barca; not the best utilization of his skills. As you say, you don’t need to be a coach to see that.
Maybe I’m being simplistic, but wouldn’t Koeman play the two best players for the roles in the set up he envisions. At the moment Koeman has De Jong and two players (De Roon and Propper) who bring their various strengths (and weaknesses) to complement him depending on how Koeman wants to play any particular game So, yes, Koeman is locked in on him, and why wouldn’t he be? FDJ is a difference maker who can both turn a game with a moment of brilliance, or control game by his constant probing, passing and circulation of ball over an entire game. It would be wonderful if Koopmeiners or Veerman or anyone else rise to a level that could put him on the bench. But until that happens, when the NT goes out to face France, Germany, Spain, etc., I like the chances with FDJ better than without him.
I’m not certain what you mean by a “complete midfield” or a “complete midfielder.” Perhaps an example would be helpful.
He is not that effective when he switches to the right side of the midfield Rakitic-Busquets-Frenkie or arthur-Busquets-Frenkie for that matter. And the coaches are realizing that. Vs madrid in the classico he was on the left wing with busquets and arthur in the middle. 4-4-2. Also if coutinho has to return to Barcelona then its gonna get even more worse for frenkie.
You could also take wijnaldum as an example here and how klopp has moulded him overall to suit him in various situation but the downfall for him, things changes drastically at NT level as the workload becomes more and plus his inconsistency is evident both at liverpool and NT level as he plays continuously.
Complete midfeld like I said, busquets,Xavi and iniesta. Well looking at present day what coaches like pep are deploying. two attacking and a deep lying midfielder. Silva , de bryne and fernandinho. You see the arrival of Rodri has taken a huge toll on city midfield , injuries aside and with fernandinho deployed at CB, pep still hasnt being able to get the best out of the present trio compared to before.
I think this has been one factor that has contributed to their decline compared to last season when they looked untouchable.injuries aside.
Depay-Lammers
Adekanye-Frenkie-Reis-stengs
Bakker-van Dijk-De ligt-karsdorp
Bizot/cillessen
With boadu,Malen,Groeneveld and Dilrosun on the bench giving a considerable depth to team like the marina trench.
This is what I would like to see in the coming tournments for NT or maybe in near future when all are playing regularly for their clubs redpectively.
I’ve been working from home for weeks now. Schools are now closed since a week ago here in Switzerland.
I watch my (mid-)wife go work everyday in the hospital and fear for her health.
I fear we are just two weeks behind Italy, and wonder why the fuck we are not in full lockdown (although, to be fair, it’s not far from full).
I wonder what will happen next. I don’t see how we can relax lockdown, even if new cases start really going down, as they would just restart going up…