Oranje: where to now?

So Fred Grim will go into the history books as the worst team manager EVER! He lost all the games he was in charge of! 100% score in losing!!

Just kidding of course, poor fellow. But, he might be in charge even for the Luxembourg game and in that case he might actually up his score, from 0% wins to 50% wins…

So, Oranje played a friendly no one really wanted. The whole nation was in mourning. The KNVB expected 40,000 fans to come and yell abuse at the players, staff and KNVB officials. With Italy as opponent, it was highly likely that we’d lose yet again…so what was the whole fukcing use of a friendly 3 days AFTER an official qualification game?

But the reception of the fans was not as bad as expected. The fans know that now the team needs the full support. Even if it was the team that led them (the fans) down. But that is football: the coach is end responsible and accountable so the coach needs to go while the ones who actually performed lousy get to stay, play and say meaningless things after the game.

Hoek grim ital

After the Bulgaria game, more news came out about Blind’s utter and complete misjudgement of the Bulgarian tactics. He expected them to park the bus and expected to have 65% possession. His analysis and the views of the people in his team confirmed this.

The reality was: Bulgaria doesn’t even respect us anymore and they played the high-press (on De Ligt!) from the first minute. Our build-up was pathetic all day long (also with Hoedt by the way) and our positioning (Strootman!) amateuristic.

Blind wasn’t able to help the team change their tactics in that first half and the players weren’t capable of doing so either.

They kept on trying to build up from the back, with players who are not really known for these qualities. Karsdorp is great running down the channel but played his third cap so can’t be expected to bully his team mates into something else. Zoet does not have the shrewdness and experience Stekelenburg has while De Ligt and Martins Indi are simply not good enough to play out from the back.

This got Strootman to drop deeper to collect the ball which totally unhinged our team and Bas Dost was as a result very hard to reach.

stroot ital

Grim made some changes vs Italy. Still Zoet on goal, but Hoedt and Martins Indi in the heart of defence with Tete for Karsdorp. The midfield was – surprisingly – left as it was vs Bulgaria.

The desire was there, the intensity and pace was better. This is/was something that could and should have been the case vs Bulgaria as well. For me, whether Ronald McDonald, The Pope or Louis van Gaal is the coach, you always need to have this in your backpack. The days that ball skills were enough to win are over. Every team/nation (Germany, Italy, France) will have the ability to deliver this at will. Like Italy.

Robben Sneijder italy

Wes: “Arjen, whatever you do: don’t get Van Gaal back!!”

We needed a double deflection to score our goal. They needed three Oranje mistakes to get their two goals.

Losing 1-2 vs Italy while there were good chances for us to finish 2-2 is not a big drama for me, as it was a friendly.

Fred Grim: “We showed some more energy, some flair. I’m not too disappointed to be honest. We straightened our backs. It was a tough week for all of us and given all that, I cannot be displeased.” Asked about his future: “I am only here because of this game. When Danny was let go, he called me and said: make sure you stay for the team and do your utmost to right the ship. We’ve got 40,000 fans who paid money to see us Tuesday and you need to have the team respond”. I think my future is vague. I’ll find out I guess. The KNVB will have to say what they think is needed. This might be my first and last game in charge, but some suggest that the search for a new coach might take until June (when the seasons end) and I might be in charge against Luxembourg as well.”

memphis ital

I personally like the team without a Dost-style striker. I think our game doesn’t fit his strengths. It’s been demonstrated a couple of times, also with Luuk de Jong in the Dost-role, so to speak.

We are more in need of fluid, dynamic players, like Memphis, Robben and Promes with the added value of Janssen’s hold up play and ability to “bounce”.

The main topic for me, is not so much who will play where.

The main topic for me is: who will be our new coach, what does the KNVB want from that coach and how will they support him?

And on top of that: what structural / strategic changes will the KNVB make internally to allow for a bright future? Incl. development of talent, development of coaches and development of a football philosophy. For Oranje but also for Dutch football in general.

HvB1

At this point in time, Hans van Breukelen is the man responsible for selecting the coach and supporting the coach. But Hans van Breukelen is also walking around like a wounded deer. Will he still be there in 5 months? Or has he suffered too much damage already? Astute coach candidates will want to know what the deal is. And who will be assessing Hans van Breukelen’s work? His coach selection? His instructions for the coach? Jean Paul Decossaux? A part time interim commercial director??

I’m sure a series of smart football people (Van Praag, Adriaanse, Van Hanegem, maybe Wim Jansen, Robben, Sneijder) will be asked for their opinions, but someone will have to make a firm decision. Judging how Hans van Breukelen managed Hans Jorritsma, Ruud Gullit and those clowns from the company he is related to does not instill a lot of confidence in me….

I don’t think a foreign top coach (Capello, Wenger, Schmidt, Klinsmann) will say yes to the job. For starters, they make 10 times more abroad than with Oranje, in terms of dollars. Secondly, they will think thrice before committing to this weak Oranje. And like I said before, the KNVB is in such a chaos that this role will have many red flags going up for any serious coach.

I also don’t believe that a foreign coach will work with our national team. Our culture, our competition, our language, etc will be a big hurdle. It’s also a prestige thing for the Dutch: we should be able to find a suitable candidate in our own ranks.

Gulliman

Even Dutch coaches will think thrice before committing to the job right now. It’s a snake pit.

Co Adriaanse won’t do it. Louis van Gaal already said he won’t come back as a coach, he will only consider the chair role at the KNVB (yes! Do it!). Ronald Koeman will not do it (“They had their chance. They decided differently and now we seem to be missing out on two major tournaments in a row!”). Frank de Boer wants to remain a club coach for now. Cocu and Van Bronckhorst are not ready yet. Dick Advocaat would not be a credible option after abandoning Oranje earlier for money.

So it seems Henk ten Cate and Ruud Gullit are the main candidates for the job. Ten Cate seems to have the best papers. He’s got international experience, loves attacking football, is tough and disciplined and has standing.

Gullit will have prestige to the hilt as well, internationally, but that won’t win you games. He’s a good people manager but probably not a good coach / trainer. He could do the figure head role but will need a strong field coach beside him.

Ten Cate worked in that role at Barca with Rijkaard, but Gullit is a different type of person than Rijkaard. The combination Gullit – Ten Cate or vice versa will not work, most likely. Too much similarities in their personality and I won’t be surprised if Ten Cate by now would not want to be an assistant anymore.

blind grim ital

The most important question is:

Do we focus on a short term success and aim for the World Cup qualification – against all odds- and bring in a crisis coach a la Van Gaal (De Mos, Ten Cate, Advocaat) or do we accept that the World Cup campaign is over and select a coach who can build and gel a new team towards 2020 and beyond, using the new generation of talents (Nouri, Vilhena, De Ligt, Bazoer, Tete, Memphis, Karsdorp, Bergwijn, Ramselaar, Ake). John van ‘t Schip could be considered. Alex Pastoor. Gullit with Rene Meulensteen. Or, why not Erwin Koeman? I don’t know…you name some….

memphis lion

 

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42 comments

  1. As long as we have coaches named Blind, Grim, Pot we won’t go anywhere anytime soon.
    Jan, if we expect small nations show us respect nowadays then we’re living in the past. Last time that happened was more than a decade ago. Nations like Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary etc. are not afraid anymore and they play pretty decent football. The only ones who still command some respect are Spain, Germany and France. We are a few steps down from that level.
    For now, in Grim we trust. 🙂

  2. Ah, and Depay’s performance is just a flash in the pan. He had some fun yesterday but won’t be interested again for a while as he will probably be on his next project of body painting.

  3. Blind acted like a demon possed coach…On a day he will select bazoer and Annholt and the team will play will next day he will drop them…and he will invite the flopped ones like BMI,Dost etc….

    1. These are players that play on different positions Tiju. Is Bazoer really better than Wijnaldum? Do you think the nation would criticize Blind for picking Bazoer who just started to play for Wolfsburg over Wijnaldum????

      And Aanholt is injured!!!!

      And Dost is a striker!!!!

      God help us!

      1. Jan….We are really shit upfront with Dost,klassen,luuk….So lack some one like Gini up front,gini can do the job there as well..Gini could take Kalssen/Dpeay role and Bazoer could come in for Gini..infact Bazoer has better vision than him at that spot…

  4. Then my comment on Depay….
    He was 1000 times better than Dost,Luuk,klassen…agreed 100 percent..No dispute…
    He has some tricks and every one knows it..THATS NOT NEW for anyone who follows dutch football.But over all what he can do??He looses ball when it matters still…
    Perfect fit with Lenz and Promes are Janssen not Depay…
    My point is that something is better than nothing…
    i think we have 3 okay strikers
    those are
    Janssen
    Lenz
    Fer…
    We are doomed in wings..
    i liked Promes energy,Wijnaldum energy..they are the one who drive us yesterday…but they do lack the finesse to finish off chances which Vaart had,Sneijder had ,RVP had and Roben had..

  5. It seems like the players from this new generation don’t want to take responsibility. They are more focused on sharing selfies on Instagram or Facebook than on winning a game. They are rich, they got hot girls, they feel like they’ve already made it.

    Do you guys remember Robben and Sneijer when they just started with the national team? they didn’t care if they were the youngest in the squad they didn’t feel scared they just wanted to show they deserved a spot next to Van Bommel, Seedorf, Cocu, Davids, Overmars.

    This generation is afraid and needs a coach who fucking makes them wake up.

    Depay can be great but his attitude is stupid he thinks he is as successful as Cristiano Ronaldo. If I were the coach I’d address this issue. I’d tell them you all are rich, popular but nobody will remember you within 10 years if you keep this stupid attitude you will become the next Drenthe or Babel who are remembered as flops.

    We need fighters. I don’t care how old they are if they are 22, 17, 26 or 28 we need players with a winning mentality and that is something a coach can give the team.

    This team needs someone passionate maybe not as crazy as Conte, Simeone or Klopp who are always yelling in the sideline but we need a coach who can give passion to the team….Blind was too cold.

    LVG is most of the time on the bench but when he gets up you see his passion he gives you confidence. Blind seemed like he was lost.

  6. I liked the energy we showed against Italy… but they don’t show it consistently. pretty sure this team can and will qualify for the world cup. we are 3 points behind Sweden but we will beat them on the return match. We will beat Bulgaria and I believe we tie France as long as the team plays with energy and high tempo.

    The fact that Jan said Blind though Bulgaria will park the bus solidifies the idea that he should have been sacked. He maybe is a good tactician or assistant coach but to not realize Bulgaria is going to attack on their home soil when they are 2 points behind, he must be a special kind of disconnected from reality.

    I also think Sneijder will be last man standing from the fab four… Robben’s final day is fast approaching. He was very disinterested in that Bulgaria game.

    I was happy with the Lens and Depay contribution. Klassen played a better game as well. I actually liked the line up and the tactical plan and maybe Grim is the guy to lead.

    Janssen has a major role to plug upfront. Dost is definitely not Oranje material outside of a last 10-15 minute cameo (which I’m not sure why Huntelaar can’t do).

  7. Yes this was a massive mistake. And it wasn’t just Blind. Most of the analysts if not ALL of the analysts (Van Hooijdonk, Boskamp, Van der Gijp, Van’t Schip, Ronald de Boer) said before the game:

    we need to be patient, we’ll see a lot of the ball, they will hope on one counter-attack, etc etc

    Our whole football nation still believes we are BIG and they are small….

    We all got a massive wake up call.

  8. I’m struggling a bit to see this from the point of view you offer, Jan, regarding the players’ responsibility to lift themselves up regardless of who is at the helm. I get it, and certainly don’t find them blameless in this, but I just feel that the spirit of the team comes from the one in charge.

    BvM probably wasn’t the most inspirational in this regard, but he compensated with a steady hand and a consistent team– I always thought that group’s ability to go as far as they did was borne of the feeling of security and significance that each player carried.

    There is a deep-seeded problem in Oranje that I’d presume is not unique to the Netherlands– how to get a group of self-centered, highly-compensated and hopefully highly-talented group of players to come together and play as a team but more importantly, in my mind, to place the same significance on that orange jersey as those of us obsessing over your blog do. Like each time you put it on, in a friendly or a qualifier or a WC final, is the most important game you’ll ever play (despite the fact that your bread is buttered by your club salary and you’d just as soon not endanger your income and your future). That is a job for an inspirational and motivational figure. Not sure who that might be going forward, of course, but from what I could see through the TV from several thousand miles away, I believe that this quality was lacking in an otherwise capable Danny Blind.

  9. I would like to share this post which I think perfectly sums up the third coming of van Gaal and also limelight of 2014.

    “The people who think Van Gaal will save us are dreaming. Van Gaal was lucky to have the Robben, Van Persie, Sneijder, Huntelaar, Nigel, VDV etc. when they were still performing at a top level.
    All these players contributed a lot in the WC 2014 qualifiers and of course during the world cup. He was dependant on these players (and especially Robben) much more than any other coach. Without Robben we wouldn’t pass the group stage for sure. And with the current situation I’m not sure Van Gaal would have done better than Hiddink/Blind in terms of results. I don’t think he would be stupid enough to put De Ligt as a starter though, but Van Gaal can also be very stupid and non logical like not being able to put Krul for the penalties against Argentina because he made some useless subs before and admitting it himself…

    Remember the season 2009/2010 of Bayern please, Van Gaal took the team and Robben was injured a lot the first part of the season, Bayern hardly made it through the CL group stage. Then Robben came back and saved Van Gaal with scoring each goal that qualified the club to the CL finale. The following year Robben got injured again and Bayern was at the 9th place of the bundesliga in november so Van Gaal had to be sacked.

    How is this not a proof Van Gaal was completly dependant on Robben ?

    Was Wijnaldum a different player under Van Gaal or was it the same boring midfielder we’re watching with NT now ? Second option.

    What did Van Gaal do in Manchester last year ? Could he make Depay to progress ? No.

    The only thing I like in him is that he got balls and would probably be the only one able to remove the Ajax privilege and Klassen for example. Otherwise I don’t see any reason he would save dutch football while Hiddink couldn’t do it.”

    Again as I see it there will be alot of player causalities if Van gaal comes on board or has somebody as his puppet running the show. One thing for sure he will stick to Daley Blind will never rotate him with someone who has the capability to do better,jus like in 2014. Also and again the club preference will again be on the showcase like Danmy and only during injury crisis will look for other option.

    It so simple but yet there is so much drama going on.

    1. Solid DM

    2. Defensive and offensive LB

    3.lethal and all rounded striker.

    Fix these three key areas, and see the Resurrection.

        1. Ok, the last paragraph of Wilson, I don’t agree with :-).

          Daley Blind is not in the team because of his surname.

          you disqualify yourself if you claim this.

  10. Guys,

    I completely forgot about Gertjan Verbeek. He could be a good coach for Oranje at this point of time. I know he is a character but he is not political as many Dutch coaches are, especially those who has Ajax background. He is good coach, very disciplined, with emphasis on athletic way of play. If he takes a job, we will see a lot of new faces in Oranje as many players of the current team will not survive under his leadership. He will not tolerate any second leader in the team though: he should be the only leader and nobody could tell him what and how to do. Players under him represent very well running machine. Verbeek is good at developing united teams, he will never keep a player in the team due to his old credits or relationships.
    Knowing how difficult Oranje could be, I assume a lot of players from current team will disappear under his coaching. He did not get along with Feyenoord’s “old boys” club when he increased the level of training intensities and those guys started to whine. He did a great job in Heeerveen, AZ and Heracles. For the past couple of years he has worked in Germany (Nuremberg and Bochum)With no great success, he has been quite stable there too. At the same time, he is very stubborn and inflexible when it comes to political games. I do not know whether KNVB would love to consider is candidacy but I think he is worth it. We need an “iron fist” and he has it. Plus, he is a smart guy. Just an opinion….

    1. Forget about him. He needs to be on the pitch every day. I don’t think he’ll do it.

      He’s definitely not working under Van Breukelen.

      Verbeek is trouble (in a good way) and the KNVB knobheads will never pick him, as they fear him.

      Don’t expect a NT manager to improve the physical condition of the players during the seasons though.

      That is not what he does….

  11. Aanvalluh: “I’m struggling a bit to see this from the point of view you offer, Jan, regarding the players’ responsibility to lift themselves up regardless of who is at the helm.”

    I’ll try to explain….

    What does an NT coach do?

    1. Select the best players.

    I think Blind has done mostly fine in this department. He has not been gifted with the best options. We lost quality along the way and too many key players were missing at key moments, so he was never able to play with the best eleven. (Vlaar, Robben, Sneijder, Van Persie, De Vrij, Janmaat, Strootman, Memphis)

    2. Pick the right tactics

    Here, Blind was limited. The KNVB made it clear when appointing the Hiddink/Blind duo: we need to qualify WITH 4-3-3. The tactics used in the remaining Euro games were obvious. Winning. After BMI’s red card and Robben’s injury at home vs Iceland, the tactics went out of the door.

    He got the tactics right vs Sweden, France, Luxembourg etc. Only against Bulgaria, he miserably failed.

    3. Pick the right eleven

    Again, see squad-selection. We were missing many players and Blind took a chance on Van der wiel and BMI vs Iceland. The alternatives were Tete and Riedewald. I think everyone in Holland understood his decision to go with the more experienced players.

    4. Motivate the team and inspire the team

    This is where I get critical on the players. When you play only finals (last 4 games for Euro qualification and this WC qualifications), you know what you need to do. If the excuse is “Blind should have been like Conte” I think you are wrong. I think many coaches are like Blind (Van Marwijk, Van Gaal, Rijkaard, Wenger) and only Advocaat had a more animated approach. I know for a fact that many players despise a crazy and loud coach in the technical area.

    I think this is an element where Blind’s approach hasn’t worked (he is who he is) but I also think you can expect a team that has underperformed to find the right motivation within themselves.

    If all players would have remained fit during both campaigns, Hiddink/Blind would have gone with the same 11 (give or take) as we saw at the WC.

    Despite having Robben and a top scorer like Dost, the back four need to be solid.

    This is where build up starts, they allow the team to either play compact or stretched (whatever is needed). Their positioning and leadership is key.

    We struggled in both campaigns as De Vrij, Van Dijk, Vlaar were not there or inconsistent. It took 10 games or so to have Van Dijk and Bruma play wel l together. The partnership is important. Whatever Blind would have done vs Bulgaria with the players available would have been a problem.

    I personally would NEVER have paired De Ligt with BMI.

    But any combination would have had problems.

    Look at Spain’s centerbacks, Germany’s, Italy’s, England’s, France’ and then our pairing….

    It tells the story.

    1. That all makes sense, Jan– perhaps I’m just too big of a fan of those Hollywood sports movies or even the 30 For 30 regular themes of coaches as the inspirational leader of the team, pushing them beyond what anyone expected. As you note, that’s an even taller order in a national team, but I guess that’s why I feel it’s even more important.

      And if there’s a vote on whether to look long term for a slow, solid rebuild or to roll the dice with a high energy short term fix that might have a chance at getting us to Russia, I without hesitation vote for doing everything to get to Russia. The four year WC cycle is the only thing that justifies all of my orange clothing, let alone all of the time it takes to scroll past Tiju comments year after year.

      1. This is a really good discussion between Jan and Aanvalluh…thank you both. I think you both make awfully good points.

        Its inescapable (to me) that Blind didn’t have the level of talent that has been there in past years/cycles. Would his results have been better if he had Van Persie, Robben, Sneijder, Vaart, Van Bommel, Nigel De Jong, Kuyt? Of course. Would his results have been better done if, but for injuries, he could have teamed VDV, Bruma, De Vrij, Janssen, Robben, Sneijder, all at once. Yes. But it wasn’t in the cards for him, and, as they say, coaching is a results oriented business.

        My guess is that if you asked the players in advance of the Bulgaria game their feelings about playing for the NT, the uniform response would have been that it was always a dream, and that it was an honor. But the team came out looking flat in this important game.

        Players have to be able to fight through it. There have been discussions on this board, and some wonderful articles about past players, about that mentality…about players who figured out what needed to be done in the course of the game and went out and did it. In the Bulgaria game, when things were going badly, not one player reached out and took the game by the scruff of the neck and said, “screw this, we aren’t going down this way.”

        At the same time, my experience is that when a team looks flat—especially in a big game—its often a combination of the moment and uncertainty as to assignments and tactics. If a player has no doubts what he is supposed to do, he can better channel his passion. And, there is no question that some coaches are better at tactics, and some are better getting the players at the right emotional pitch to perform at their best.

        I do completely agree with Annvullah on his last point. Put me down with never throwing a WC cycle away. It only comes every four years, and you should be all in every time.

  12. Where was Bruma against Bulgaria? Hurt, too? When is the last time either Vlaar or De Vrij played a qualifying fixture? Have they played in any since the World Cup? Doesn’t seem like it. Until the Netherlands can play their best back four and keep them healthy for more than a month, this NT will struggle. I’ve never seen team with more injury issues. And the back four is not the only problem. The midfield isn’t great either.

    RE coaching: you don’t need to be loud or animated to inspire your players, and in fact the best coaches inspire based on the respect they command. This may be where Blind suffered. The Netherlands needed a different and better coach–but like the personnel on the pitch, there seems to be a /depth/ problem with Dutch coaching now as well! Oh, my.

    1. Vlaar has not been consistent this season even at AZ Alkmaar. I understand why he had not been chosen by Blind. Bruma was also injured and cold not make game with Bulgaria.

      1. Correct, Bruma was also injured..
        And to answer your other question, neither de Vrij or Vlaar played at all in these qualifiers.. have to go back to the failed euro qualifiers for de Vrij and the 2014 Brazil WC for Vlaar.

  13. Age will caught up with every one…Vlaar is caught,Fab 4 is…its the high time to think team with out them…i think we have some amazing talents like
    Tete,Raidwald,Nauri,Bazoer,karsdorp,Mensah,St juste and janssen,kongolo..But only karsdorp and Janssen got chance properly..
    it was sin to drop williams,Annholt,mensah,toonstra,bazoer in crunch matches…
    Blind said he looks for experience and played De ligt in crunch match…i can see strikers or forwards gets debt in crunch matches often,not defenders..

    1. The Dutch DO seem to have a lot of young talent but the coaches need to figure out who the best of the lot are and play them consistently. Instead, Blind was playing four/five different people every match, seemingly. He never seemed to get a firm grip on the personnel–who could help win. Different players need to be tried, sure, especially younger guys, but you eventually have to settle on who is the best for the team as you are playing qualifying matches. Too little continuity, too much turnover. The constantly changing selections has been a problem.

      1. Yes, but how do you manage this? You play 1 game or 2 games every 3 months??? This is the problem!

        If your team is set and stays fit, cool. We would have qualified. Blind, Vlaar, De Vrij, Janmaat

        If England had to play with different defence or France they would not have it easy either.

    2. Tiju, Blind was looking for consistency at the back.

      Why would he test St Juste, Mensah and Nouri ???

      That would only have meant he would be sacked sooner.

      Bazoer? What did he do in Oranje. First game he played, he got a stiff hamstring (stress)?

      What are you talking about?

      Blind is only picking new players to fit in, because he HAS TO

      1. Jan….i wanted Mensah in bench..he is 1000 better than BMI,Weil,Veltman,Veirgiver etc etc even at 18 years…
        St Juste for me is DM..like Daley blind he would be good addtion to squad ,making ake as DM starter and St juste on bench or Hendrix on bench..Should solve our defensive problem.
        If De ligt can play in CB then why not nauri upfront..Defenders are more under pressure,especially when we are stalked with low qulaity players up front such as Dost,Luuk,klassen…
        when fit …….i do think Sneijder and Roben will be fit when we need them..So
        ——-Zoet/Vermeer/Cillessen/Vorm——-
        Karsdorp—–Devrij—Virgil—-kongolo
        —————Ake——————
        —–Bazoer———–Blind———-
        Wijnaldum—–Janssen———-Promes
        =========================================
        on bench
        —————Gks——————–
        Tete——–Bruma—-Mensah—–Williams
        —————St juste————–
        ——-Strootman——–Ramseelar——-
        Lenz—VanGinkel(RVP type)—–Annholt
        on stand bye
        Toonstra
        De Roon
        Clasie
        Nauri
        Locadia…or find a new mobile striker

          1. This was a friendly against Poland. I do hope you realise we haven’t won a serious match against a strong opponent?

            If you pick St Juste, Diks, Nouri, Hendrix, Ake you have a handful of untested players who have potential but never played together.

            Football is a team sports. Van Gaal made 5 mediocre players (on world level) world class. That is gelling a defence together.

            This WILL NOT WORK picking 5 random talents for a game every three months.

            You live in LaLaLand man

      2. if he can call back BMI and Deligt definitly St juste and Mensah deserves a call..
        Nauri is way to better than than Dost,klassen,Luuk..At least he can keep ball in his feet and give nice passes.he can dribble too..which is absent with klassen,Dost,luuk…
        Bazoer is for vision ,energy,dribble down from mid to forward the charger role..

  14. Jan I read your article above word by word and once again you have put it in such way that it sounds like danny was on the right track. Well this my side to what you have said but before that I quickly would like to clear one thing about Daley Blind. Everyone knows if it was not for Louis Van Gaal,Daley wouldnt have even got to sniff old Trafford so its not hard to imagine what would it be like if van gaal returned back as a coach again. Also Again you can look at Rojos/Daley under Van Gaal and Rojos/ Daley under Mourinho,it just clears the air how well protected he was under van gaal when compared to under pressure Mourinho now who has intensifed rotation in the squad to find the r
    Also before the last two games for Man united before the qualifers Daley was injured not even on the bench but yet he somehow made the starting 11. Well I won’t drag much here but let’s wait and see what happens to him under a new coach and with player rotation.

    Going back to you comments to annvalluh.

    1. selected the best players.

    If you are saying Klaassen is the best then clearly its s big joke. Danny openly acknowledged to playing wijnaldum out of position and also apologized for it but yet he used him there again vs Bulguria so I’m thinking how can this be the best. How many times wijnaldum has been a shadow out of that position. Was Willem’s the best but yet danny maintained the continuity with him until it was evident he was jus a waste of time. Danny never had better options simply because he did not choose to have one and was often caught off guard on the last hour

    Injuries is always a hindrance,no doubt about it but looking at the trend which was evident even from the euro qualification, Danny should have mapped out a strategy straight after when they failed to qualify,should it would have happen again in future,especially in areas which had loop holes .with this trend, eventually NT would have continued choking and choking with every injury until the Qualification would have been out of reach.atleast they still stand a chance now.

    1. We can always have individual opinions about who is best, so going on the analysts and experts (ex internationals): they were all in agreement that Blind’s selections were logical selections.

      As for Daley. Yes, the ManU signing was thanks to Van Gaal but Louis picked him not because he’s a friend, but because he believes in Blind. And he knows he can use him. He’s tactically disciplined and reads the game well. Has tremendous control and a good left. And will never underperform.

      And Mourinho used him a lot too.

      There is nothing wrong with coaches having a preference for a certain player. They’re human. But he won’t sign Daley because he has funny jokes.

      I think your opinions say a lot about how you think

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