Oranje stunned by French, stuns English…

blog WC2018
by Jan

What a week we had!

We lost the greatest Dutchman of the last 100 years. The most famous Dutchman, actually. Step into any taxi on the planet and when the driver realises you’re from Holland, he’ll say some version of Cruyff’s name. “Croeff!” Or “Croif”. Or YohanKruf”. But they all talk about the number 14… When he passed away last week, the Oranje players were stunned. Some of them knew him, all of them were influenced, directly or indirectly by him. Team manager Danny Blind and assistant coach Marco van Basten owe their careers to him and both are heavily influenced by his thinking.

A day later, Danny Blind did what the media, the fans and probably the players and the Federation expected him to do. Change the playing system from 4-3-3 to 5-3-2 ( 3-4-3). Cruyff turned around in his grave, if he wasn’t still above the ground. On the day Oranje faces France in the future Cruyff Arena, in Johan’s city of birth, Blind reverted to a more defensive playing style.

blind france

And to add insult to injury. the French scored in the 13th minute, making the 1 minute tribute applause for JC sounds ironic.

Shifting to 5-3-2 was a mistake.

We can safely assume that we have learned that lesson. But, I hear you say…. Louis van Gaal managed it quite well at the WC2014!!!

Yes he did. After weeks of straightjacket practice. With Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie on top. And with luck.

Spain could have been 2-0 up at half time. Australia could have beaten us. The penalty vs Mexico was a 50/50 and another ref might not have given it… We weren’t short of luck. In the losers final we played a totally deflated Brazil…

This time around: Blind didn’t have 3 weeks to practice, he had 2 days. And he didn’t have Robben.

Playing 5-3-2 without Robben or a player of his calibre is ridiculous. Who is making the difference up front? Promes? Not yet… Luuk de Jong? Never!

afellay france

When Oranje shifted to 4-3-3 we got more control. More clarity. More width. Depay played horrendous, yes. But he kept Evra at bay and he assisted both goals. I’d be happy if I was Blind.

And I know, France could have led by 0-5 at half time. They missed opportunities but you could also say we defended well. Cillesen stopped a certain goal and Bruma in particular played a good game.

But Veltman is not a 5-3-2 wing back. He did everything wrong, while Clasie in midfield was outnumbered by all these darting French midfielders who played a 4-5-1, really.

They do have talent to burn, the frogs and I do believe they’re a level up from us at the moment. But to come back to 2-2 was not a bad effort. Sad that their #14 got the winner…. And sad Sneijder had to leave the pitch. Daley Blind succeeds him now as skipper. The only player from the Spain victory in 2014 to start in the England match…

danny daley

And the goals fell cheap… The free kick was a very soft one to be awarded to the French. Klaassen didn’t do much wrong. Cillesen got tricked and moved to the left, while the ball came to his right. His corner. And he couldn’t even come close. The corner kick resulting in the second goal was badly defended. The second ball was hardly challenged by Promes and Veltman lost Giroud out of his sight: 0-2.

Memphis was partly responsible for the 1-2. He got fouled and his inswinger was scored via De Jong’s arm. But he got a big push in his back and if that wouldn’t have happened, he probably would have headed the ball in. I’m not a huge De Jong fan, but I can see him score from that cross. The second goal was good vision by Memphis and a nice finish by Afellay, who was unmarked. France’ winner should never have been scored, in the dying minutes of the game, but heck…. France deserved the win!

So, Blind decided to fix it for the England game. Back to 4-3-3. With Depay and Promes sticking to their position and with a better football player leading the line. Vincent Janssen played a Kuyt style game. Running, working, being annoying, using his body and with a very cool head indeed!

Blind skipper

In the 6th minute, we deserved a penalty (Veltman played great this time around and was clipped by Rose). England didn’t have shot on goal until the 25th minute. By then we had 3 attempts on goal already. Depay didn’t dazzle yet again, but he played with more discipline and if one of the throughpasses into space would have been better, he could have been in on goal two times at least.

But the key was Blind’s game plan (4-5-1 without the ball, 4-3-3 with) and the way midfield pushed forward. Sacrificing Bazoer to hassle Barkley worked really well too.

England had more of the ball, but Holland was in control. One moment of lack of focus got England their goal. Narsingh allowed Rose to get away, Stones pass reached him, Bazoer got pulled away from the center of the pitch and Lallana had time and space. Depay forgot to track back to cover Walker and Bruma was too late to block Vardy’s run. Good goal. Bad defending.

Otherwise, Oranje’s defence looked solid with Daley Blind playing as a real captain, and Bruma putting his body on the line. Willems still doesn’t look fresh but he needs time after 6 months on the sideline while Veltman played like a man.

cruyff wembley

Wijnaldum was the only one looking out of sorts. He has a form issue, like Depay, but they’re both so talented, that will come good.

Janssen was key in our attack. He pushed Stones back who slipped and he could have done better in finishing, but the cross was on and Narsigh hit Rose’ hand. The Spurs defender sort of slapped at it and the penalty was justified, in my view. We should have had one earlier as well. While the England players protested you could see Janssen going for the ball. Blind would later admit either Janssen or Promes were the penalty takers. Promes was out already, so Janssen took it and buried the ball high in the roof of the goal. His body check on a loose ball vs Jagielka kept Oranje in possession and Janssen had all the composure to find an unmarked orange jersey. Not an easy finish for Narsingh but he did very well.

With 14 players missing (Robben and Sneijder obvious losses but the lack of Vlaar, De Vrij and Strootman is also key) I am not pessimistic about our future at all.

janssen pingel

We have good goalies (Cillesen was at fault with France’ first goal), good center backs, and with Tete, Janmaat on the right and Pieters and Van Aanholt and even Ake on the left, our defence looks alright.

I rate Bazoer very high and I think Propper will make big steps as well. Afellay and Clasie are useful and Van Ginkel might still work his way up too. If Strootman reaches his old level, we will be spoiled with choices for midfield. We also have Fer, Klaassen, Hendrix, Wijnaldum… Not too shabby. Upfront, Robben will remain key. I can even see us play with a false #9.

I personally don’t see it in Locadia and De Jong. Fine for top of Eredivisie, but lacking technical ability and handling speed in big matches. Luuk de Jong was painful to watch vs Atletico and France and Klaas Jan Huntelaar and Bas Dost to me are better players to use as pinch hitters.

Vincent Janssen needs more time. He’s just broken through and he will need to prove himself a bit more. But he did demonstrate work rate, a cool head and a fighting mentality. He could be our next Dirk Kuyt.

janssen career

 

Vincent Janssen’s career in pics. Youth of Feyenoord, move to second tier Almere City and back to the top via AZ….

I would play a 4-5-1 with Robben in a free role on top. Depay left, Promes on the right and a midfield with Bazoer, Strootman (fingers crossed) and Propper or Wijnaldum or Klaassen. If Strootman isn’t available, Clasie can play in that role. And don’t rule Sneijder out! Afellay is a good utility player. He gave Oranje some oomph when he came on in the second half vs France. He can play anywhere in midfield.

Willems would always play in my team, and on the right I’d play Tete if the opponent has a strong left winger or Janmaat if the opponent doesn’t.

Blind is proving to be a strong CB and at his side you simply pick the man in form. Vlaar, Bruma, De Vrij, Van Dijk…whoever….

This summer, I hope Blind will take his squad on a trip to work on 5-3-2. Provided Vlaar, Janmaat and Robben are fit, this system can work well against tough opponents.

As for Danny Blind, a coach is as good as his material. Poor Danny is not responsible for the fact we don’t have strong world beaters at the moment. I don’t think Koeman or De Boer would do much better than Blind. He’s a good communicator and I think he has a good football vision.

oranje eng scoort

After the France game: “Playing 5-3-2 means you have to work more. It’s hard. We only had 2 days to practice and we didn’t perform a couple of essential tasks. That was clear. It was not good enough. But, that is what a practice game is for. I was asked if it wouldn’t have been a good tribute to Cruyff if we’d played 4-3-3….  I think we can play this, and I want to be able to play more systems. But, against a top team like France, we did come back into the game. That final winner should never have been scored of course.”

Blind, after the England game: “I am positively surprised. You don’t expect to beat England at Wembley with 14 players absent. We beat them with Cruyff, with Jan Peters, with Koeman and Van Vossen and once with Robben in form. Now we needed to rely on Janssen and Zoet. Very pleased about, although… we won’t get any points with this game and it will still be a long long summer….”

Blind Eng

The WC 2018 campaign won’t be easy. But France will be vulnerable, as they always are in qualification games. They’ll probably do very well at the Euros, most teams get a dip after a bit tournament (duh!!). Sweden will not be too hard for us. They’re good but beatable. We’ll probably finish second in the group, maybe even first. Mark my words.

 

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65 comments

  2. I like this point “Promes? Not yet… Luuk de Jong? Never!”, at the moment Orange team has so many situations like that i can add here “Never: Affelay, Luuk de Jong, Classie, Ginkel, etc”, “Not yet but potential: Depay, Promes, Janssen, Bazoer, El Ghazi, Kishna, Donny Malen, etc”, “In form: Propper, Wijnaldum, Willems, Zoet, Cillisen,van Dijk, Bruma, Veltman, Blind, ect”.

    1. “””Promes? Not yet… Luuk de Jong? Never!”, at the moment Orange team has so many situations like that i can add here “Never: Affelay, Luuk de Jong, Classie, Ginkel, etc”, “Not yet but potential: Depay, Promes, Janssen, Bazoer, El Ghazi, Kishna, Donny Malen, etc”, “In form: Propper, Wijnaldum, Willems, Zoet, Cillisen,van Dijk, Bruma, Veltman, Blind, ect”””””””””””””””
      @Ruud u seems to have vision about players… i would also add Afellay kind etc.but i do like Luuk,clasie and Ginkel..buti know they cannt make difference..but i have still hopes for Ginkel..
      Depay—-Bigmuscles and frog type running on wings with zero back track ..
      Kishna–Pathetic arrogant attaitude never goin to make it..
      Elghazi—doesnt have the intelligence of real dutch..
      Vandijk–just overrated error prone defender.
      rest i agree with u..

      1. Haha, @TIJU

        I think you have a vision of orange players not me on these guys ‘Luuk, Clasie and Ginkel’ as we have seen them several years i am sure with you even 10 years later they cannot improve anything more, i just tell the fact even as an Orange fan we should love all of them.

        I know that you hate some players like Depay, van Dijk but you have to admit their talent/domination/skill, etc.

        These players Depay, van Dijk, Kishna, Elghazi they are still young and very confident/ have special skill and now at least they are good at their age/position, maybe not in form or wrong direction for somes so they always have two ways to become 1. like Affelay or Drenthe 2. be a good player at their position. Maybe it will go well or not in the future depend on so many factors that’s why i put them in potential list.

        The reason i believe this because all most top players in the world such as Messi, Ronaldo, Robben, Neymar, Ibrahimovic they have confidence/special skills during their career path if they can overcome their crisis/difficulty then they will be there.

        For some players like Kroos, Podolski, Ozil, Xavi, Innesta or our RVN, RVP

        1. For some players like Kroos, Podolski, Ozil, Xavi, Innesta or our RVN, RVP even if they have a good vision, direction but they just be a good player not top best player

        2. @Ruud 1984..i dont hate Vrijil or Elgahzi..as they are not players with bad attitude..eg kishna,Depay,Afellay(now seems he is rectifying).i hate players with pussy and bad attitude..Though i dont want vrijil in NT i dont hate him..
          i am just looking for wild card entry call for Donyll malen and Abdhelak naouri in dutch NT..

          1. Ok @TIJU,

            I understand now, you hate bad guys, i also love Donyll Malen and Abdhelak naouri, maybe they & someone such as van de Beek, Fosu-Mensah, Bergwijn, Justin Kluivert, R.Kongolo, J. Dilrosun will be our next generation , let’s see and hope they deserve with our expectation.

  4. Do you guys remember Jordi Cruyff and how Johan cruyff influenced his career.he played for Barcelona,made it into the NT,played for Man United. He was technically a good player but not a complete player and add result couldn’t keep up with the pack. If Van Gaals gets the boot from Man United this is what’s gonna happen to Daley Blind.

  5. @wilson, (Y)

    that’s very good example for Daley Blind and actually that’s what he can reach no more as he is not a special player with special skill/ confidence who can make the match different.

    1. Only some matches. Crunch matches,thats when he will spray from all holes and Danny hands will be on his head. I give you other example Martin Demichelis. Technically a good defender but comes with weakness and if preyed on he be the biggest shitter. But yet he plays for Argentina just because Mascherano/Biliga does all the hard work in front him. At some point it always comes to haunt the team and that’s when you ask the question why was he there in the first place.

    2. Jetro Willems is the perfect modern wing back. A sensational left foot. Very good ball skills. Athletic. He has been out for 6 months Wilson, no player can return to his old form after being out for so long.

      He has the most assists in the Eredivisie (for a defender!!) and he’s only 22 years old. I rate him very high

      1. Jetro is really poor at defense at times cannt trust,but he is sensationl when goin up….
        i want to see
        Annholt—Willemson wings
        Both can defend bot can attack that would be sensational total football..pace,trickery,accuracy,defense,offense evrything u get from thsi combo..

        1. Van Aanholt (I suppose you mean him Tiju, not Anholt of Heerenveen??) and Willems, and Janmaat and Ake etc etc are all fine with the ball but not great in defending. Tete is the other way around.

          This applies to Azpilaqueta, to Dani Alves, Marcello…. Many full backs.

          We simply need to use their attacking force and make sure we score one extra.

  10. Fosu mensah is ready for NT as he plays for a top team …more imporantantly he is beast and plays very very well in a top league where Depay chokes week in week out..

    1. You have no clue do you Tiju1234 🙂

      Memphis does a lot, but not choke. Against France, he tried it time and time again. And when he fails, he tries again. He has so much confidence. And he had two assists, might I remind you?

      He fulfilled his tactical tasks vs France and he had the intentions to make a difference. So his actions fail? Tough luck. Robben had games like this.

      No player – Fosu Mensah – is ready for the NT after playing 3 games at the highest level. You’re deilusional, sorry to have to say.

      But, I’m happy you frequent this blog.

      1. @Jan i am sure that u r not following Manu games or may be couple of games uwould have seen that of depay…No Manu fan will say Depay was excllent,but most will say he is crap and flopped…i really dont think memphis had a good game vs france,but i do apprectaite him that he noticed Afellay was unmarked and hence he didnt went for stupid kick and he gave it Afellay…that was smart…
        Then the freekick was nothing special others could have done it same…it resulted in goal mostly of huge luuk de jong…
        HE DOES CHOKED WEEK IN WEEK OUT..he almost cost LVG his job by assisting selfgoals..he is sitting in bench now and Martail,Rashford,lindgraad came to rescue LVG and his job…I CONSIDER its level HIGH CHOKING considering the support Depay got from LVG…
        For me Depay is
        Muscle builder,who wants to keep his body sexy…
        stupidly build his leg muscles and buttocks…
        Now runs like frog who lost his pace..
        dress and fashion lover
        Rollsroyce lover
        No back tracking for team mates,rarely he does that time he scores or assist ofr opponet…
        So DEPAY chokes…Now sitting in bench were he belongs to..

        1. While Mesha was sensationl in three games he played,i mean he JUST EFFICIENTLY CAPABLE OF WHAT HE WAS ASKED TO DO..he single handedly won a match for MAnu..WHEN smalling was absent…IF martial is star upfront,Mensah is star at back.

          1. Fosu-Mensah is not even ready for U21!

            Haha Jan, delusional is an understatement.
            Tiju just relax mate, you’ll give yourself a heart attack if you carry on with this memphis obsession.

          2. @Sybe Pals Well he is certainly ready for U21 but no he is not ready for the Oranje at all. He’s played exactly 138 minutes of premier league football over four appearances. He’s made one start in which I will admit he was quite good but beyond that its just been short substitute appearances. Watching him has got me excited for his future both for the Oranje and for Man U but to call him up now would be completely foolhardy. Maybe next season if he cements himself as a first teamer he will be ready. But then again if you follow TIJU logic play in the Dutch U21 league means you’re ready for the national team…
            @Jan I don’t think there is much point on debating Depay with TIJU haha. I think ever since he got benched around boxing day he’s been much better in terms work rate and team play. He just seems to be very short on confidence at the moment. Also not sure why his shooting from freekicks has been so poor this season? Hopefully its just a confidence issue.

          3. I dont agree, I think would be best for him to stay with U19s, who just qualified for their ECs, and hopefully win there with his age group. And then move to U21s.
            Some good minutes at an injury ridden Man Utd are great too, but dont expect too much for him there next season especially if(when) LvG leaves.
            Lots of time though, has only just turned 18.

        2. You’re wrong. I watch every Man U game. And I specifically watch Memphis. As you can tell, I’m a huge fan.

          Memphis has not played well, I admitted that, but he doesn’t choke. Choking means you lose the balls to do something. You simply play aquare passes and don’t dare to make an action.

          Memphis doesn’t choke. He tries too hard.

          He has had contributions this season for ManU. He got them in the CL and he kept them in the EL (until Liverpool). He assisted many great balls, created a key penalty etc etc.

          Yes he had a terrible backpass once, but that is what you get with defenders.

          The real blame is on the youth system of Holland. Memphis should have played as full back in PSV2. As Cruyff used to do with his talents. Because our top talents are spoiled in Holland and don’t need to track back. Whereas playing wide in EPL means you need to defend.

          Raahford is a striker. Lindgard a wide right player. Different positions Tiju. Martial can play central and left wing and was better than Memphis. This is why EPL teams can field two teams almost.

  12. By the way, this kid Baozer that every one is talking about. What was his role in the game against England? This kid only touched the ball one time. He is supposed to be a number 6 like Nigel The Jong? How is this kid the future of Dutch footbal? I remember the very first time i saw Bryan Roy, i saw talent.

    1. Bazoer is very fast,strong midefeilder with brain,his handling speed of ball is worldclass..He is not a one diamentional destroyer kind he is more of schenstinger type or kedira type..Nt Dejong type…if we had strootman fit we would had a world classs trio in
      ——-Proper———
      –Strootman—-Bazoer——
      he is top class not overrated..trust me on this…
      he is not a rolls royce chaser or plastic money chaser..the lad is deal and level headed.he could have gone to mancity when he departed PSV,but he choose Ajax for his development…

  13. Tiju but that kid touched the ball only one time in the entire game. Did you think he had a specific role? If so, what was it? It should of been taking off the game.
    Maybe time will tell!

    1. Looked like his role was to stick onto Barkley, and play some DM otherwise.
      Maybe you forget his ball through for Janssen, the key moment which made that Narsingh goal possible.

    2. Bazoer was sacrificed to keep Barkley out of the game. He is a versatile midfielder like Cocu. Can score, assist, tackle, run… he’ll be a Rijkaard type player for us (was developed as center back at PSV)

  14. We all want the Dutch National Team to do well but we need to stop being delusional. Let’s hope that the Dutch Federation takes all the necessary steps that will take dutch football back to its glory days. As of now, we should be on our knees so we don’t miss Russia 2018.

  15. Here in the US, I’ve read lots of articles recently about Jurgen Klinsmann’s failure to develop and utilize a core of 6-7 players that are constants in the national team XI, and the negative impact of his endless tinkering on team cohesion.

    While it’s almost blasphemous to compare the USA to the Netherlands in soccer / football, I think that the Dutch team is going to have to develop a similar core of young players to build around to ensure a consistent level of play going forward.

    With the Euros off the table and the next World Cup just two years off, if I were the KNVB, I’d really give a lot of consideration to the youngest generation of players (with primary focus on the players currently between 20-23 years old), and try to build a nucleus there and start getting them experience at the senior level. In my view the Sneijder / Van der Vaart / RVP / Robben generation is done. No one over the age of 30 (other than GKs) should merit further consideration for 2018. That would also include Vlaar, Huntelaar, Nigel de Jong, etc.

    Further, the immediately following generation (players in the 24-28 year old age group), have been a real disappointment, and they have killed any opportunity for a smooth transition to a younger team. Fer, de Guzman, BMI, Lens, Afellay, Luuk de Jong, Narsingh, Clasie, van Dijk, Promes, etc. should no longer be a part of the developing core. Their time for ascendance has come and gone. And Blind, Janmaat, de Vrij, van Aanholt and Wijnaldum — probably the best of that group — should really be just place-savers until younger replacements have stepped up. None of them have the attacking skill, understanding or movement to be real difference-makers. Others such as Bast Dost and Marco van Ginkel never really got a chance, and I doubt that we’ll ever see what Strootman can really do due to injuries, etc.

    And so I’d start fresh, with a renewed emphasis on player development and team-play, a national coaching staff focused on the same, and continue to give the younger players a chance to show what they can do. Otherwise, I feel like we’re just spinning our wheels with the current group of players who’ve underachieved and seemingly demonstrated that they don’t have the ability to compete internationally.

  16. @Tiju: I didn’t know Timothy Fosu Mensah was Dutch that’s good to know. I did watch Manchester’s games were he played and I liked him but you simply can’t say he is Oranje material.

    If LVG gives him more minutes and keeps playing good then they might select him for the U-21 but he is far from ready for the big team.

  17. By the way Man Utd’s fans do have faith in Depay I’ve been following a lot Man U and they do believe he hasn’t played so well but they believe he can become a huge star and I do as well. He is just a kid you’ve to remember that.

  18. @JB: If you are from the US what do you think about Klinsman dropping Donovan for 2014 WC?. For me that was a very bad decision by Klinsman.

    1. Miguel:

      I’d like to be able to say that I’d take the exact same stance with the US team, but the reality is that the United States has so few players who are capable of performing at the international level (let alone actually offering a creative goal-scoring presence), that one of the few such players they have produced — Landon Donovan — should pretty much have been a given on every national team roster so long as he was fit.

      Clearly he and Klinsmann didn’t see eye to eye (perhaps dating back to their brief time together at Bayern). Klinsmann probably (1) felt that Donovan didn’t show consistent commitment during qualification, (2) didn’t want any potential distractions / subversive element on the roster, and (3) wanted to begin a new legacy under his leadership, and so I can sort of understand his decision. But that said, Donovan really is the top attacking talent the US has ever produced, and so it’s very hard to justify his exclusion.

      I think my varied approach to this question is really a result of the current state of football in each nation. In the US, there is the perpetual hope that the sport is growing and attracting new talent and that Americans may some day be competitive internationally, and so, in building the interest level and enthusiasm for the sport throughout the country, it is crucial to always field the strongest team so that results (what Americans focus on most) are possible.

      In Holland, as three time WC runners up, former European Champions, and the model for how the sport is currently taught and played worldwide, there is a higher standard to be upheld, and from my perspective, the current 24-28 year old generation is not up to the challenge. Robben, Sneijder and friends have achieved as much as they can with their own generation and cannot carry this latest generation any further. That’s why I think the KNVB needs to start over with a younger group and build them into a cohesive unit with more emphasis on quality and less on immediate results.

      The US would be truly blessed to have the same challenges the Dutch currently face, but the Dutch need to look to their roots of player development and creativity to regain their lost quality and cohesion.

  19. I’m disappointed with the negativity here about our players.

    Memphis is only 21 years old and playing his first big season in a different competition, different country, different status for him and different role.

    Should Man U as a unit have played well, he would have had no issue to slot in. But Rooney didn’t play a good first season half, Schweinsteiger and Schneiderlin didn’t either. LVG failed to bring top players to Old Trafford (Muller, Bale, Kroos, Hummels). To have to compete in the EPL with the likes of Memphis, Martial, Lindgard, Herreira and with all these injuries would be hard for any coach, even JC.

    Clasie is not a failure for me. I don’t see why people say that here? He played strong for seasons on end for Feyenoord, had a good couple of games at the WC, got injured badly at S’hampton but is recently a strong player for them.

    1. Jan what makes you think Memphis won’t turn out to be like another Drenthe, Elia, Babel and so many other Dutch talents that failed to develop the proper way!! You say that Memphis had an ok game against France because of the two assists he had. Should i remind you how many poor touches of the ball he had on that game which cost us possession. At some point i started counting them because it got extremely annoying…Now in the game against England i thought he did a little bit better but still no where near to what we are used to see from him in the past. This is probably the only time you’ll find me agree with Tiju but he is right on some of the posts he makes about the bodybuilder lol.

      Another subject that i wanna comment on was how poor defensively Willems is. I mean he was getting humiliated on the left wing. I don’t care how good you are going forward, don’t care how many assists you have if you call yourself a defender and you cannot defend, you have no business playing on that position especially for this Oranje who has a major problem defensively. Now i understand that he was out for a long time and thats why i hope he’s going to improve in the next months.

      1. I agree Memphis was not good vs France. I think I said so already. His saving grace is that he’ll go down in the stats book as te man with two assists. If you ask Blind, you have two options: 1) Memphis dazzles but fails to create goals or 2) Memphis has a shocker but does create two goals, what do you think Blind will choose?

        My points is, that he will definitely keep on trying, time and time again. That is what you need.

        Elia was sent away from Ajax for being uncoachable and in every game he did play well, he showed he had individual skill but no tactical mind.

        Drenthe never even played in the Feyenoord first team before Real Madrid signed him.

        The comparison doesn’t work.

  22. Many says age is just number..i must that this so called dialogue exist in philosophy only.or else Johan cryuff would be still our no 1 striker…
    30 onwards players starts dipping or at max 32…they start dipping..thats life of a top level footballer..How ever there are guys who has extra athleticism in body will cop up for 34 years at least like Puyol,terry etc..So if a player plays top class football at the age of 35 or 17..he must be selected..age should not come as barrier in this scenario…
    Timothy mensah is 18/19 and Roben is 32..Both play excellent football when they play..unfortunate that roben is injured most of the time..if roben can be selected, off course Mensah can also be selected as both are success in their clubs…

  23. @Jan: I am very positive. We do have a lot of great players.

    We weren’t lucky during the qualifiers. There were so many injuries! and with Hiddink changing the system to 4-3-3 it was just a stupid decision, our players were getting used to the 5-3-2 with LVG.

    We have Depay, Janssen, Wijnaldum, Clasie, Blind, Willems, Aanholt, Bruma, De Vrij, Klaassen, Bazoer, Promes, Tete,etc…..

    1. 532 with out Roben and RVP????????
      Depay will be kicked out once LVG leave Manu..its been almost confirmed Jose mourihno is on the way to old traford…So depay its just matter of time..
      Depay has bright future in bodybuilding were h would excel..
      Depay is goin to get kicked out from MAnu???Any one wanna bet???????????
      Drenthe was much more talented than overrated Depay..if drenthe and babel can fail who is Floppay???he is just there only LVG…nothing else..

  24. @Tiju: OK you don’t like Depay we get it. I do like him he needs to improve a lot but he has got a future.

    By the way you said “if Robben can be selected of course Mensah can be selected as both are success in their clubs”. Are you smoking weed while you write on the blog? because it’s unbelievable that you even dare to compare Robben who is a UCL winner, a WC fnalist to an 18 year old Fosu Mensah who has played only some games for the Senior Man U team.

    I don’t know if I should get angry or just laugh it off I guess I’ll laugh.

      1. OK this is crap man.. But then again it’s coming from Tiju so no surprises there.

        Tiju go and find the stats for Wesley Hoedt at Lazio first and then talk about TFM.

        1. Lazio who???who are them infront of Manu???Nothing…nothing…when did they won anything???Lazio who??Hoedt who???u go and follow afellay ,Hoedt etc…all ur favorite players are bigflops..if u want to follow hoedt just do it and follow no one cares…and u r against one of the best players of Manu i mean Blind.Blind is physically weak but he is way better than ur Vrijil vandijk and hoedt…Go and smoke weed or whatever u do…i know u r so stupid and dumb…

    2. @Migual u can like depay thats ur freedom,i dont mind it.i dont like him as he is more in to other stuffs like bodybuilding,thigh muscle building especually,Rollsroyce chasing,tatoo on top of it not helping his defenders when he play and offcourse he never plays well Vs a good team and plays like king vs Minows.
      but we clearly have a disagreement that u say he has future,while i dont see future in him…End of the story..So far he plays crap and he is proving Tiju is right…thats how actually it is,i mean truth…Hope u got it.
      then comes
      “”””””By the way you said “if Robben can be selected of course Mensah can be selected as both are success in their clubs”. Are you smoking weed while you write on the blog? because it’s unbelievable that you even dare to compare Robben who is a UCL winner, a WC fnalist to an 18 year old Fosu Mensah who has played only some games for the Senior Man U team.””””””””””
      this is STUPID understanding of MY statement ,i would LIKE TO POINT THAT ,here no compares Mensah with Roben…
      All i said was both plays crucial role in their team and should be selected.i mean in TOPCLASS TEAM in better leagues.not lazio…
      Mensah was really good and handy he played much better than Virjil,Blind of current CBs…so why not he???
      please i dont want to talk abt this anymore..as u lov to support a shit player(Depay) who plays like real shit for MAnu and u dont want to see the developmennt and improvement and capability shown by an young player when he was given chance…and still u have time to support Floppay…ITS AMAZING Miguel..

  25. Tjaronn Chery has now scored in 5 consecutive games for QPR. Has been quiet lethal from long range.

    It’s not looking good for either Wijnaldum and Newcastle. Firstly he is been used all over the park with his best position still unkown. secondly Newcastle doesn’t look like to make it out of the relegation zone.

    Luc Castaignos also came of the bench vs Bayern. Should have equalized for Eintracht but his shoot found the keeper instead. Still rusty I guess.

    1. Not to be nit picky but it’s not 5 consecutive games.. But 5 in his last 8 games. Still great!
      Esp considering no goals in the 15 games before that. Too bad he is stuck in the English championship..

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