The Future of Oranje and Dutch Football

Musings…

ON FACEBOOK

Our Netherlands World Cup Facebook page was taken down by Facebook! I am not sure why, they don’t get back to me and I’m a bit done with them, so sadly, we’ll need to start that again. In case you were wondering….

bad FB

ON THE BLOG

I still highly enjoy the work and Dutch football (or football in general) but due to my busy days and circumstances (partly also the disappointing Dutch results) I will not post weekly anymore, as you will have notices. I love it that you keep coming back and appreciate it. I can say I don’t enjoy all the comments all the time, but that is my problem. I offer free speech here.

ON TIJU

I struggle with Tiju. I find his comments abrasive and sometimes offensive. His black and white views are pissing me off regularly and his inability or unwillingness to spell people’s names properly annoys me too. Saye can’ing Memphis can’t play football for shit, but he himself can’t spell Willems??? If Memphis doesn’t belong on the pitch due to his lack of skills, Tiju should look in the mirror and see if he belongs on a blog if he can’t be bothered to show respect to players. Saying you don’t like Memphis is fine with me, but saying “Blind is weak” is sacrilege. He plays for Man United and skippered Oranje for God’s and Jesus’ sakes!! No Oranje fan would say something like that about one of their most professional players. Go to the Dutch Oranje game in the 1970s and say Krol is weak, or in the 1980s and say “Muhren is weak” or in the 1990s to say “Rijkaard is weak” and you’d end the evening with orange testicles… Just sayin’. But do keep on commenting please Tiju, but take a hint when you can…..

tiju

Tiju when ready to post….

ON TIMOTHY FOSU-MENSAH

I just want to say here that the story that Ajax snubbed him is untrue. I am not sure if the article quoted Tim, but in Holland, pro clubs are not allowed to sign contracts with players until they’re 17 years old. It is a big no no. Ajax will not do this. Man United does (all other European countries bar Germany I think, do) and this is why Man City, Chelsea, Man U etc rob young players from Ajax, Feyenoord and the like. I am sure if Ajax could have, they would have…

Timothy

I do fully agree that he is the real deal, for now, but as we saw with Donk, Drenthe, Maduro et al, let’s not put too much pressure on the lad.

ON MEMPHIS

I will not debate that he had a disappointing season. But I will defend Memphis to the death re: his ability, his will to succeed, his workrate and seriousness re: the game. When people watch football (Tiju??) they usually watch the ball. I suggest that people (Tiju??) spend time watching the players play without the ball. And watch their movement. And watch the team dynamics. Whenever Man U played with Memphis, Rooney, Martial and Mata, you will find that due to hierarchy and “custom” the first ball from the back will be played into Rooney or Mata. When Rooney wants the ball, he gets it. That is how hierarchy works. Rooney will normally put his head up and either dribble, pass short or find the direct route to goal. Usually, Martial would be the next target (now Rashford, but I mean the central striker). Mata is a similar player and in my view also a #10, like Rooney. Driving the ball up, watching for a run. Memphis was often crowded out. Once the ball came in the final third, Memphis had 2 defenders marking him. At PSV, it was Memphis who would get that first ball. He was the go to man for PSV. He is not at Man U.

man u passing

Against Villa, the through balls and the focus was on the right hand side again. Rooney and Martial drifting left a lot, opening to the right

He is used differently. The number of time, for instance vs Aston Villa, that Memphis was open but the first ball would go to Rooney, couldn’t be counted on one hand. Man U’s style of play and Rooney’s movement has more impact on Memphis’ effectiveness than Memphis individual quality. Against Midjeland, he showed what he can do if he gets space i.e. the ball earlier. Now, versus Aston Villa, he ended up the central striker in the box, as the ball would be moved to the right (Mata!) who would cross with his left towards Memphis who is not a header of the ball. Memphis plays better when Rooney is not in the team and Herrera plays in the hole. I’m not saying it’s Rooney’s fault, per se. It’s just how the team dynamics are. Remember the discussion in Oranje in the 1980s? Can Kieft and Van Basten play in the same team? Or in the naughties? Can Van der Vaart and Sneijder play in the same team? Or Sneijder, Van Persie and Huntelaar?

man u crowded

A good example of four ManU players all going for the same ball!

Man U has four players who all want the ball in their feet to go and make something happen: Martial, Rooney, Mata and Memphis. The only two players who go beyond the back four as runners to get the ball in their stride are Rashford and Lindgard. If you want to know why Lindgard gets the nod over Memphis, I’m 100% sure this is why. Man United needs diversity up front. Rashford is a real striker. Memphis is not. Martial is not. Lindgard is a runner. But then again, Lindgard is not a killer/finisher. Misses many guild-edged chances. Memphis? Memphis is an artist. He needs to be the key player in the team. This is how it worked with PSV and this is why it doesn’t work (yet) at Man U and Oranje.

I do agree, that Memphis might still end up a fluke (I doubt it, he is sooo talented) but there is the same chance that after one disappointing season he will flourish under another coach, with another group of players around him or at another club. For every Drenthe, there is a Bergkamp. For every Daniel de Ridder, there is a Huntelaar. And for every Tiju, there is a Jan….

ON ORANJE

The news hit hard last week. The KNVB – Bert van Oostveen – declared that Oranje should be world class again by 2026. WHAT??????? Is he a moron? What do we pay him for??? What the F!! Not 2026, Bert! 2018 please!!! For crying out loud. If I was a KNVB director I’d sack him on the spot. Because if it takes 10 years to reach the world top again, he has clearly not done his job in the last years. What an idiot. And the plan they presented makes me cringe. “We need to develop better defenders”. Yeah right. Well done Sherlock! But….how???? They don’t say. And so it goes on.

oostveen chair

“Look Mr Chairman, that is the goal where Oranje needs to kick the ball”

Like with any organisation, any industry, any business…. if there is a problem, look at management. It’s not Tim Fosu Mensah, Stefan de Vrij or Jordy Clasie who are at fault here. It’s management. Development. Vision. Leadership. Bloody Louis van Gaal demonstrated that with the right tactics and a bit of luck, you can finish 3rd in the world! This man has no clue. In a way, it would be good if Man United decides to let LVG go. He would be an awesome technical director. Talking about leadership and vision. We missed out on the Euros not because we have a bad team. Or bad players. I don’t even think Hiddink and Blind are terrible managers. I think mostly we missed the Euros as a combination of 1) post WC issues (Robben, De Vrij, Vlaar, Van Persie), 2) under estimation of the campaign, 3) bad luck.

teleurstelling oranje 6 anp_1_0

Quality is not an excuse. And qualifying for the World Cup 2018 should NOT be a problem. Sure, France is the tits but Sweden? Come on!!

Obviously, if we miss Robben, Sneijder and – say – Vlaar we might be in trouble again, but with players like them and Memphis, Wijnaldum, Propper, Klaassen, Strootman, Afellay, Janmaat, Willems, Van Ginkel, Bruma, Van Dijk, Cillesen, Zoet, Krul et al we should be able to get there!

ON ORANJE’S SYSTEM

Systems is what you put on a piece of paper (or blog). Football is what you do on the pitch. I don’t believe in systems, but in players and a football philosophy. Our philosophy should be to use our core skills (tactical smarts and technical skills) to play the sort of football that will enterain the fans and win games. Ergo: possession, dominance, front foot, forward pressing. The way Barca, Bayern and Arsenal play, with other words. That should be the standard. However, when you play an opponent which is stronger and has more of the same skills than we do (Spain? Germany? France?), then it is ok to leave possession to them, play more compact and play for the break.

van gaal tactics

I believe you determine your actual system on the players you have. The quality you have. So, this style of football you can play with 4-3-3 (traditional Ajax, Feyenoord) or with 3-4-3 (Oranje 1974) or with 4-4-2 (AC Miland 1980s/90s) or even with 4-2-3-1 (Arsenal). Doesn’t matter. The players at hand determine the system, eventually. At this time it is too hard to say “This is the ideal line up!” as it is unclear how Robben/Van Persie/Sneijder will hold up, how Memphis/Janssen/Bazoer will develop and what surprises we will see come forward (Letscher, Fosu Mensah, De Rooy, Maher)…. More on this topic once the qualifications start.

ON DUTCH CLUBS

Our troubles won’t be over soon! The fact that Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord are playing with teams 5 years younger on average than 10 years ago, says a lot. But we keep on developing talent. As you know… Bazoer, Karsdorp, Vilhena, Propper, Ake, Janssen, Fosu Mensah… We’ll keep the faith. The competition is too hard. The other countries make more money and spend more money. Players are offered sensational deals at 20 instead of 24 as in the times of Bergkamp and Jonk. Would you say no if Man United wanted to pay you 5Mio per year? Compared to 500k at PSV?

justin kluivert

Justin and Patrick

I’ve said this before, we still produce talent, but as a result of the development steps made by Germany, Spain, England even and France, we are not the unique developers of talent anymore. Heck, look at Belgium! Watch Man City play Spurs and you see Belgian players, Danes, French guys and England talent but no Dutch. Or see Atletico play Bayern and you see French, Belgian, Austrian but no Dutch lads involved (granted, Robben was injured). We do have the talent but we don’t develop them well enough. Too much focus on skills and tactics, no focus on physical strength, mental strength and  focus. A new generation of coaches has stepped up though and in line with the new style of management (Flores, Guardiola, Emery, Klopp, Simeone), Dutch coaches like Erik ten Hag (Utrecht), Fons Groenendijk (Excelsior), John van den Brom (AZ Alkmaar) and Gio van Bronckhorst (Feyenoord) you see a new style of working and thinking making its way. Erik ten Hag, like Pep, demands the presence of his players all day. Like a 9 to 5 job. Spending time together, for video analysis, physiological work, tactical team talks, individual training, nutrition guidance etc. Louis van Gaal, despite being of the old guard, has adapted his work methods as well. Potentially a good step forward.

ten hag pep

Erik ten Hag with Pep at Bayern (now at FC Utrecht)

Lets hope we can see some positive changes in the way clubs manage and work and lets hope FIFA will start working on Financial Fair Play as well. If PSV, for instance, gets in the CL again next year and is able to hang on to Luuk de Jong, Guardado, Propper and Van Ginkel they might be able to do what they did this year. And Ajax? Well, let’s hope they start spending some of the 100mio euros they seem to have in their vaults and lets hope Huntelaar comes to the Arena. And let’s hope Ajax signs Hakim Zyiech from FC Twente…

In the meantime Feyenoord won their first big trophy since 2008. The National Cup is a big trophy. Holland only has two prizes that can be won, so the Cup definitely counts. Feyenoord currently has a 45 mio euro budget compared to the 70+ of PSV and Ajax, so there is still room to improve there. The Youth Academy works well, but a new stadium (or a re-furbished De Kuip) will be needed to up the ante. If players like Kramer and Elia develop more into next season and Kuyt keeps his form and new blood is found to replace Vilhena (who will most certainly be out transfer free), they might finally challenge for the title.

knvb coolsingel

Van Bronckhorst and Kuyt celebrating with The Legion in Rotterdam

Feyenoord will play Europa League group stage football next season, while hopefully both Ajax and PSV will make it into the Champions League. Step by step, we will recover… Tonny Vilhena has been playing strong in midfield for Feyenoord, pushing and tackling and running and scoring. His long distance shot is impressive, but now he will need to work on his tactical awareness and positioning. Sadly, he will walk away from De Kuip for free and even more sadly, he might end up warming the bench at some European sub top team like AC Milan, Atletico or AS Monaco…

And, if Leicester can finish top in the EPL with their budget, at some stage, Ajax or PSV might actually get to the last four in the CL. I can see PSV do it.

ON JOHAN CRUYFF

He is stil sorely missed. During the days/weeks of his mourning, every person who ever had anything to do with JC was dragged in front of the camera to tell stories, anecdotes, opinions… One man, was absent. Willem van Hanegem. Johan’s partner in crime in Oranje 1974 and his rival playmaker at Feyenoord. The perfect #10. Who was instrumental in eventually luring Cruyff to Feyenoord. In a column he said he wasn’t going to go into all the invites for the talk shows, at it simply was too hard for him to talk about Johan. Last week, he finally made his return to a sports talk show. Jack van Gelder had to ask him the question. See this video to witness how Willem van Hanegem is processing the loss of the Legend.

 

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188 comments

  1. its been a long time for long article…but still everyone here understand its difficulty to post articles..
    @“Blind is weak” is sacrilege. “”””””
    Blind himself said he is not a strong player or speedy player but he is smart player…..that means he is physically a weak player as his body shows it so.its no brainer..
    FYI…I was never a AntiBlind fan or Blind fan….i was just neutral and i always put him over Afellay,Depay etc et c player.
    question…why u want to protrating me as a antiblind fan??Wilson must be laughing in the corner as u can check with Steve and some who supported Blind who did not..
    Then comes to spelling mistakes..i speaking one of teh toughest language on this planet…u cannt write/remmber a malayalm name with english letters with out mistakes..
    try this names in home.
    Dhritharashtran or Dhrishtadhumnan….
    Pilavullakandi thekekarayil usha
    So its Difficult for every one…I spell according to my pronunciation of that name.i know i cannt be perfect in that…why to waste time on it??.:.After all; like Shakesphere said ITS JUST NAME.
    what u said about lindgrad is true ,he is runner Memphis is not.thats why Lindgrad gets nod.Yes either u score or assist goals or else help defense and offense.
    Unfortunalty Memphis failed in every department..i dont think he will improve with his big thighs and 85kg…he is going to be a flop..
    Like i said Orange will get humiliated inEC2012 under Bert.we will never have agreement on this.
    My suggestion to dutch coaches are
    BE HUMBLE AND OPEN
    TAKE PLAYERS ONLY ON MERIT
    TAKE PLAYERS WHO SHOWS INTELLIGENCE AND WORKRATE
    NEVER BE BAISED
    Bad examples of past
    RVN–Kuyt vs portugal under MVB
    zeadorf under MVB
    strootman-Bommel under Bert
    Vaart–kuyt under Bert
    etc …
    taking stupid players
    Weil,Afellay under hiddink etc…

    1. I accept your explanation on the names, Tiju. But you do spell them correct at times and then suddenly not. It feels like you are too hasty at times and more focused at other times. You seem to be the Memphis Depay of this blog :-).

      As for the word “weak” re: Blind… It might be a language issue. But no player in the EPL deserves to be called weak. He played almost every game vs players like Lukaku, Kane etc and has never played terrible.

      Weak for me means “soft”.

      He is definitely not soft. He is not fast, but that is not weak. He is incredibly smart and uses his body when he can. His forward pressing is excellent and hardly needs rough fouls.

      People say Terry and Otamendi are “tough” but Blind is smart enough to see the pass before he needs to get rough.

      If people do not see the quality of Blind but only his weaknesses, then I can’t help them. But Man U fans love him and analysts love him. I love him too, and so does Louis van Gaal. But what do we know??

      1. There we agree…i was hasty at times…Williems is one of my favorite player as LW not as LB.i had no intention disrespect certain players.At the same time i have less respcet for Afellay,Weil,Depay etc…
        i think in blind case we are on same boat considering the quality of Blind…But when i see Lukaku,micha Richards,Vincent kompany,Bruma…and Daley Blind..i felt Blind is weak he himself said it he overcomes it with smartness to certain level.

  2. “”” but with players like them and Memphis, Wijnaldum, Propper, Klaassen, Strootman, Afellay, Janmaat, Willems, Van Ginkel, Bruma, Van Dijk, Cillesen, Zoet, Krul et al we should be able to get there!”””””””
    if So we would have qualified for euro2016…So need to cut out players who played regular at ECQ2016 such as afellay,Memphis and Van dijk…Rest is ok and they didnt play enough games.

    1. Nope. Strootman, Afellay, Willems, Van Ginkel, Krul were not available mostly for the qualifications. neither was Robben, Vlaar, De Vrij.

      1. i am against few players like Afellay,Weil,BMI,Depay,Virjil Van dijk.(they all played good number of games in ECQ2016 to disqualify us).Not against Ginekl,Stroot,Williems,krul…

  3. “”When people watch football (Tiju??) they usually watch the ball. I suggest that people (Tiju??) spend time watching the players play without the ball. And watch their movement. “””””””””””
    Movement and Depay?????its so funny..he is the least hardworker in Manu on pitch,if he do that he get exhausted immediatly thanks to 8 pack gym body like Akinfewa..
    I have seen hardworking team players move tirelessly like Jamie Vardy does it for Leicester..But Depay???He is pathetic..i know he wants to move but his body is not supporting…

    1. Did you see Memphis slip past Drinkwater vs Leicester? Did you see it actually was a penalty?

      I am not talking Memphis movements vs Vardy’s. Different players altogether. I’m talking about Memphis making runs or moves to be open to get the ball. But the first pass goes to rooney or Martial and not to him.

  4. Tiju SO MANY TIMES I have seen Jan ask you to show more respect since clearly you chase bloggers away from here and STILL you act defiant — and now it seems like you are even chasing our host away!?
    I am friends with Jan on a personal level, I speak with him outside of this blog, and even though I admire his footballing sense, to me his greatest quality is his open-ness and his accepting nature.
    That’s also the reason why you are still here allowed to post here, Tiju, because he doesn’t want to dictate how it goes.. I myself have even defend your right to be wrong, but not disrespectful.

    It is true Wilson is the most anti-Blind person I have seen, not you, but you are anti a lot of other people so same thing. Don’t pretend to be different, and don’t bring me into that – totally pointless to be anti anyone and esp when the reasons are fictional.
    That’s why I mostly just ignore your posts, besides the fact you say many things that are disrespectful to others, you say things that I completely disagree with in a footballing sense, and also lots of things that are just totally untrue. I see you either hyping players over the top, or else saying you hate them for not being what you wanted them to be.

    As far as the spelling… I think those mistakes are funny most of the time so I often make fun but try to be playful. But it is annoying to me other times when there is an air of arrogance to the language and yet it looks like it has been written by a child.

    And I can totally respect that you are here using your second language, and have no problem with Malaysian, but this blog is using English mate! I’m not going to go to a Malaysian blog and pretend to make intelligent posts if I can’t even bother to get a name right or make a sentence.
    The point is communication, personally if I make a post then I want someone to understand what I mean, and I think it’s up to me to communicate it properly – I won’t just throw a bunch of shit on a page and then tell everyone else to try to figure it out themselves and then berate them when they don’t. And spelling is prob the easiest tool of communication, you can simply look it up and copy and paste, and if you don’t get it right then it is wrong. Also if you spell based on your incorrect pronunciation then it is also wrong.
    And you are also wrong about Shakespeare, you are taking the wrong meaning. He means that a name does not affect what you are capable of, not that a name does not distinguish who different people are. It’s not ‘just a name’ if all were do here is discuss the people who go by these names: for instance, Diks, Dijk and van Dijk are all spelled different because they are pronounced different since they are different people…. but anyways, usually it is easy to tell who someone is intending to speak about..
    But think about it – Shakespeare not Shakeshere… You quote a literary giant and spell his name wrong, is it supposed to be a joke?? Hahaha I almost fell off my chair

    If you want to ask me, I say you owe Jan and other readers more than an apology.

  5. Thanks again Jan!

    “Lets hope we can see some positive changes in the way clubs manage and work and lets hope FIFA will start working on Financial Fair Play as well.”

    Totally agree with you there and felt the exact same with this:

    “The news hit hard last week. The KNVB – Bert van Oostveen – declared that Oranje should be world class again by 2026. WHAT??????? Is he a moron? What do we pay him for??? What the F!! Not 2026, Bert! 2018 please!!! For crying out loud. If I was a KNVB director I’d sack him on the spot. Because if it takes 10 years to reach the world top again, he has clearly not done his job in the last years. What an idiot. And the plan they presented makes me cringe. “We need to develop better defenders”. Yeah right. Well done Sherlock! But….how???? They don’t say. And so it goes on.”

    Hard to understand how the ones at the top are still in the job!!

  6. Van Pesie seems to enjoy some kind of a renaissance at Fernabahce. Fernabahce is still in contention for Turkish league champion.
    You guys think he still has a future in the Dutch team?
    For me, good to have some wise old head in the team to guide the young ones coming through. Van Persie, Sneijder, Robben and Vlaar.

    1. Yes I do not see why not. Janssen and Luuk might be the future of the striker position and they should definitely be given chances but if RVP is in good form I see no reason not to select him over the likes of Huntelaar and Dost. He might have a future as some sort of a late game impact sub.

      1. Not really.both him and huntelaar are on a decline.remember this is a fresh start for NT and it would be no use dragging with the them when they might not feature at WC.

    2. I definitely see a future for Van Persie. Age is not an issue for me. If Bazoer at 18 years is an option, RVP at 36 will be an option for me. As long as he is fit and in form.

  7. Memphis looked lively coming on as a late sub against Leicester and should have won a penalty but instead a free kick was given. People (the media) continue to ignore him and call him a flop but the fact is Memphis has been giving good hard working performances for the last couple of months or so. If only he was capable of playing on the right. He is certainly a better option than Lingard.

  8. OK some interesting comments.first thing first,Pals the reason why I always negative about Daley Blind is simply because of the preference he gets just because of being Daddy’s son.you see how many positions he has been tested at NT level.LB,DM and now CB,what was the justification for that.because he was playing there at Ajax and now at Man United. He failed miserably at LB and DM and now the justification is he playing for Man United so start him at CB. If not for Van Gaal I dont think he would have been at Man United in the first place. I call this spoon feeding and players out there who are working their butts off get the thumps down.You can bring up his stats or go and shout his name from the roof but the fact remains the same he is vunerable and a smart coach should always make sure all lose ends are tied but in Daley case they are prepared to the take the risk. Danny Blind is a pussy,he knows if he brings competition to his son,he won’t be able keep up with it simply because of his weakness and for this reason I feel both of them are cock blocking others who should have been picked but they never got the chance jus because the door will never open for them.you look at how many players were overlooked when Blind was at LB,how many players were overlooked when he was at DM and you look at this positions now,still the vaccum exists there.I hope people realize what’s at stake here.

    You need healthy competition in the team to to find the right balance and unless you don’t do that then the result will the same as what is happening now.

    I have a feeling very soon if things don’t change NT will become like Croatia. They also have track record of producing talents but at internationl level they jus cant take it to the next level.

    On Tiju,no comments.all his bullshit and crap from over the years,just makes him special on this blog I guess.special as an entertainer because laughter is also a good stress reliever.

    1. That’s my point, you can dislike him if you like, I don’t care at all. But then in your reasons why, most of what you say is not true!

      1. I knew you would say this.Daley Blind was voted the best eredivisie player in 2013-2014 season when at ajax.I still don’t know for which position or under what merit.neither he was top scorer nor he had the most number of assists. It was a dutch thing simply because both Finnbogason and Tadic were not dutch as both were highest scorer and with most assist respectively.Depay got the same award last season after he was the highest scorer.why they never gave to someone else.

        This is why I said Blind has being spoon fed all this time and at same time they want him to make him look a player he is not. Being said this is where both father and son are holding each others balls when it comes to NT.

        I jus hope WC qualifiers won’t be another disaster.

        1. Haha sweet my favorite part was where you say “I still don’t know for which position or under what merit” and so you make up some conspiracy about him

          1. Well doesn’t it makes sense.when a dutch is top goal scorer he gets the golden boot.the rules are bent if he is not dutch.I wonder whom they gonna give this year Ziyech or Janssen.

          2. So you think your conspiracy idea must be correct, without even looking up any info about this Dutch Footballer of the Year award which Blind was given??

            First off, Memphis did not get that award last season – Wijnaldum did.
            Second, the winner is decided by vote of other players – not the KNVB, not the senior manager.
            There used to be a golden boot award as well, but they merged them. So anyways, it’s not an award for top goal scorer or the player with most assists, it’s essentially most valuable player.
            Does it make sense to you yet?

            Here are the last 6 winners for you:
            14/15 – Wijnaldum
            13/14 – Blind
            12/13 – Bony
            11/12 – Vertonghen
            10/11 – Janssen
            09/10 – Suarez

            Now you can apologize to the people of this blog for spreading lies because for some reason you do not just look up the info for yourself.

            Exact same for your initial rant on Blind, you say some things that are not true – then you’ve based your opinions on false points because you won’t look it up yourself (or believe the actual info I have looked up and presented to you).

          3. OK Pals I got the depay and wijnaldum one wrong because I saw a article with Depay holding an award (YPY),I jus never read what it was for..I also never checked the ‘wiki’and I do aplogise but I did mention it was Dutch thing which makes sense because it is voted by the captains and coaches of eredivisie.even though Ajax won the eredivisie in 2013-2014,Davy klaassen was by far their best player that season but can’t find who were nominated that season for Player of the year.I personally felt it should have been someone from Feyenoord as they had more grit in their squad then Ajax.

            My point was strictly on the spoon feeding Blind has been getting through out his career.I jus hope other players can also get the same preference and the chance to compete at NT level.that’s all I want to see.

          4. No. It’s not a dutch thing, people who are not Dutch have won it before and will again, so that is not true either…
            Also, regardless of Feyenoord having a good season, Ajax won the league and Blind was their captain by the end – so it does make sense why he might get that award.
            Was Klaassen’s first season, yes it was great. But as he was tied for most goals saying he was “by far” the best player on the team is probably wrong as well (although it’s subjective or just your opinion, even if you don’t say “by far”).

            I see zero basis at all for this spoon-fed conspiracy, just made up stories.
            I must agree with Miguel below, I think he hits the nail right on the head with this line: if someone says he (Blind) is playing for Oranje just because his dad is the coach well I guess you know little about football.

          5. I would say that it makes sense that the most influential player on the team which won the league might get that award.

    2. Utter bull. Daley Blind is one of the most gifted players we have in ball skills, touch, passing and vision. Now, the next step is leadership. I see a more extraverted Blind vs two seasons ago. If you don’t see Blind’s quality, you don’t understand football. See above.

      I can handle criticism on Memphis and Afellay and Willems etc as they deserve criticism at the moment, but Blind is a very strong player. Always available, hardly sloppy on the ball, always head up for the forward pass, very good in early pressing. Great corner kicks… I think you are right that Man U wouldn’t sign him if LVG wasn’t their coach, but I will put this blog on the table in a bet that should LVG leave ManU, the new coach will want to keep Blind 100% sure!

    3. Both Louis van Gaal and Guus Hiddink picked Daley before Danny got the gig. So are Louis and Guus also his dad?? The skippers and coaches voted Daley best player? Surely, they all were in on the act with Mrs Blind? Footbally orgy?

      Blind is versatile and can play LB as he does in a 3-4-3 for Man U still!

      So you think you are a better judge than LVG, Guus, Danny (who was a sensational center back himself and won quite a lot) and all the others?

      I would always find a spot for Daley in my line up. He is a real player. If you’d play someone Martins Indi or Van der Hoorn or Bruma on his spot, you will bring the team down from a football perspective.

  9. Club brugge look set to qualify for CL next season from Begian Pro league.Both Stefano Denswil and Ruud Vormer were on target at they beak Genk 3-1. Vormer has been in a good form lately for club brugge.should get a call up for summer camp along side Buttner who also featured for Anderlecht in their 2-0 win over Gent.

  10. “””but this blog is using English mate! I’m not going to go to a Malaysian blog and pretend to make intelligent posts if I can’t even bother to get a name right or make a sentence.”””””””
    What ever i said is fact…its not intelligent post or foolish post..its reality…
    Memphis plays like shit thats reality.
    Blind has agreed he is weak but smart…thats reality.
    Memphis,Afellay couldnt get us to EC2016 by scoring goals or assisting goals–thats reality.
    Wilson is fond of foolish players and he dislikes smart players-thats reality.
    Jan has blasting on Bert vanosteen coz Jan wants dutch to be on Top…Same applies to Tiju that he wants dutch to be champions and Memphis,Afellay,virjil,BMI,Weil it impossible..

    1. Sybe, the story I read is that Kluivert is taking over the Ajax U19 team. But I don’t speak or read Dutch, so maybe the article you posted says something different.

      1. Ah I think you may be right, it says Ajax A1, which I had thought was the top squad but maybe its the U21s?

        Here is the translation:
        Patrick Kluivert will spend the next two years to work as coach of Ajax A1. Kluivert would have reached a verbal agreement with the Amsterdam club, which hopes to officially present him next week.
        The 39-year-old striker is currently coach of Curacao. He was previously assistant coach at Brisbane Roar and NEC and coach of FC Twente. At the 2014 World Cup, he was active as an assistant to then-coach Louis van Gaal.
        Patrick Kluivert will spend the next two years to work as coach of Ajax A1. Kluivert would have reached a verbal agreement with the Amsterdam club, which hopes to officially present him next week.

        The 39-year-old striker is currently coach of Curacao. He was previously assistant coach at Brisbane Roar and NEC and coach of FC Twente. At the 2014 World Cup, he was active as an assistant to then-coach Louis van Gaal.
        Kluivert took nineteen years ago when players leave Ajax, where he nearly went through the whole academy. He wrote as a 18-year-old striker history by Ajax in 1995 with a puntertje against AC Milan to deliver profits in the Champions League. The 79-time international played further include at AC Milan, Barcelona and PSV and ended his career in 2008 off at Lille OSC.

        Kluivert junior
        Last week drew Kluivert’s son, Justin, a three-year contract with Ajax. The 16-year-old Kluivert makes this season a part of the B1, but also played games for the A1.

        1. Aha

          A1 = U19
          A2 = U18
          B1 = U17
          etc.

          Apparenlty this season the KNVB has renamed the age categories along the lines of the international Uxx system…

  11. Nice article Jan. I understand why you don’t post so often it’s my same feeling about football right now. I guess we are not so excited about it because Holland isn’t going to the Euros. I appreciate you posting again.

    Now, I believe Bert van Oosten is an asshole! how can he be the KNVB director? I am so sad to read what he said.

    Dutch football has plenty of talent which IF used correctly can be successful like Van Gaal showed in 2014 and Cocu showed with PSV this year. Another example of that is Atletico with Simeone they don’t have the budget of Barcelona but they managed to kick them out.

    Also I rate Blind very high as CB he has played amazingly and even if he hasn’t the strongest body he knows to position himself so well. He needs a strong defender next to him like Smalling. I’ve watched him play for Manchester and if someone says he is playing for Oranje just because his dad is the coach well I guess you know little about football. He can actually become a huge leader for the national team, his work rate is amazing and is developing into a world class center back. At least if you read the fans from Manchester they are in love with him this season.

  12. Agree with you on Blind. IMO he is the 4th best player this season for Man Utd after De Gea, Samlling, and Martial. But as you said Blind needs a strong physical partner like Smalling along side him. At present I don’t see any CB for Dutch who is at the same level as Smalling, and that’s why I think Blind at CB would not work well for the Dutch. May be if Vlaar gets his form and fitness back to the WC2014 level, we can have a good CB partnership of Vlaar-Blind.

    Depay has shown a good level of maturity and professionalism in his last few games as a substitute I think with passing to team mates, not losing the ball cheaply, and timing his dribbles well.

    Strootman played the full game today for Roma’s 3-2 win over Genoa. That’s indeed a great news.

    1. No matter whom you play CB for NT.the problem still remains that DM position.unless and until it is resolved I don’t think there will be much success. Playing with two box to box midfielders is not working either.

    2. Van Dijk is actually one of the best prem CBs this year. I think he is statistically the best. Saying that I think he can still improve under Koeman or even at a bigger team… even though southampton could possibly be competing for the top 4 next year.

      Anyway I think the dutch midfield poses more of a problem than the defence.
      Defence is done as a team as shown by leicester

      1. The thing with Van Dijk is he likes to go upfront and attack and this where he has been often caught out but this where wanayama does what he is being paid for.

        Also maybe if cuts his hair,he could become more agile.

  13. hi guys

    Its been a long time. But good to be back. Not too excited about the euros without our Oranje. It just wont be the same without them.

    Just curious considering form and injury if the oranje were going to the euros what would be everyone starting lineup?

  14. Strootman back getting good reviews from Roma fans

    So great to see Strootman back in shape. Hopefully the injury nightmare is behind him for good.

    Strootman is back! Strong enough to play a full game and no signs of the injury / rustiness

    I’m so happy for Kevin. He played with practically no fear whatsoever. If he keeps this up, he could very well be returning to his old self soon.

    1. Could be a trump card in the midfield but not sure Roma will wanna risk him.the word is all Pjanic,nainggolan,Seydou Ketia could leave Roma this summer and with De Rossi close to 33 you can expect Strootman to lead the midfield next season.not sure if they will release him for summer camp.

  15. @ Jan .

    “I see a more extraverted Blind vs two seasons ago. If you don’t see Blind’s quality, you don’t understand football. See above.”

    From the horses mouth.

    http://www.espnfc.com/southampton/story/2621566/ronald-koeman-agrees-daley-blind-is-man-united-weak-point

    The above is jus one example I could counter your guys argument as it is coming from one of the best Center back of his time as we are not professional.

    But my criticism on Daley Blind has always being on what he cant do rather that what he can do.A smart enemy will always hit where it matters the most and if you ignore that,you are digging your own grave.

    I actually agree with what Tiju said in one of his comments above on how NT coaches over the years have made the same mistake over and over again in choosing right players and this is why they have either fallen short on the last hurdle or at some critical point.

    I have also watched a lot of Man Uniteds game and yeah Blind with ball has always being great but this doesnt mean you dont look at the side of the coin. If not for De Gea interventions the whole back line would have been exposed by now.

    Jan about that’d that’d bet,you should really think twice about it.Incase if mourinho comes in,then then you jus have to look at what he did to Mikel.he always goes for the best not good.

    Going back to healthy competition Daley Blinds offensive game will always be balanced out by his defensive weakness so you can picture what will happen if a new coach comes in and decides to up grade the back line.

    Finally at the moment none of the centre backs have got it all.they all lack certain qualities and this is where I think the management or so should be focused on all players rather than just one.

    I think with this I will put a end to this chapter.

    1. No, I think I want to respond :-).

      First and foremost, anyone has the right to “like” or “dislike” a player, but when labels are used I want to be able to debate it. Saying like “Huntelaar is not a good header” or “Vlaar is slow”. But if someone would say “I don’t like Vlaar” then cool. I have dislikes for certain players.

      But if Koeman says this about Blind you need to understand the context. He means from a defensive perspective. And he’s right. Blind is not the ideal CB in totay’s world as he is not the speediest. And runners like Shane Long and Mane would target Blind. But I focus on his footballing, build up and ball skills and I see a top player. And when someone says he is “weak” i see it as a character attack, as he is definitely not “weak”.

    2. @wilson – I think maybe you still miss the point I was making. My problem is not at all with your opinions of Blind as a player.

      My problem is when you make things up!
      – There is no spoon-fed conspiracy, Blind does not get preference for being the managers’ son.
      – Blind has not been chased out of LB and DM because of failures or any other reason.
      – There was no conspiracy to get Daley Blind the Dutch footballer of the year award 2 seasons ago
      – And lastly (even though hilarious), length of hair has nothing to do with agility

      1. Well I have seen Likaku go better with short hair.not too much but certainly has. One thing I have noticed with Van Dijk is his reaction time is sometimes slow in crucial deliveries when under attack.it might help him.

        Well it sounds like a conspiracy
        But looking at the status of Dutch football now and what cooking up there,it all points in that direction.

        1. No, hair has nothing to do with agility.
          Just because something pops into your mind does not mean it is true.

          Any Blind conspiracy theory is fiction.

          1. Long hair- Friction- body movement control.its all linked mate. Why do you think the swimmers always wear the head cap. It causes less friction making them move more quickly and easily.the same principal applies to almost any sport. it didn’t jus pop anyhow in my mind.

          2. I jus want to ask this. There has always being talks about Ajax,PSV,Feyenoord players on this blog that should make the NT .what about the dutch players who let’s say were not deemed good enough and never got the chance but are playing in top clubs in another league particular in Belgian Pro League. Well its kind of hard to call which league is stronger but yet they never seem to get any attention especially when they also enjoy a fair outings in CL and EL like Ajax,Feyenoord and PSV.

            Well until recently Father mentioned they are on the radar but I’m thinking why on the radar and how they are weighing the two leagues and contemplating which player is better and which player gets the nod. Most of them are getting good reviews in their respective clubs but does this mean they are not up to level of players in eredivisie. Any comments here.

          3. I jus want to ask this. There has always being talks about Ajax,PSV,Feyenoord players on this blog that should make the NT .what about the dutch players who let’s say were not deemed good enough and never got the chance but are playing in top clubs in another league particular in Belgian Pro League. Well its kind of hard to call which league is stronger but yet they never seem to get any attention especially when they also enjoy a fair outings in CL and EL like Ajax,Feyenoord and PSV.

            Well until recently Father mentioned they are on the radar but I’m thinking why on the radar and how they are weighing the two leagues and contemplating which player is better and which player gets the nod. Most of them are getting good reviews in their respective clubs but does this mean they are not up to level of players in eredivisie mainly in Ajax,PSV and Feyenoord. I’m talking more about present day then in the past.

          4. Long hair and agility has no connection and its stupidity to say that cutting hair would increase agility..
            Tell me What is agility?
            What is hair?
            Which hair growth could could cause decreased Agility?
            i think messi had hair,ronaldighno has good hair when he was at his peak..
            Edgar Davids and Seadorf had it
            Guillit had that..
            Wilson which F%^&7king hair r u talking about?
            Vrijil van dijk is an effel tower with very very poor agility..ITS A FACT.nO ARGUMENTS OVER THERE.
            cOZ OF THIS
            When Virjil plays as CB in top quality football u r destined to concede 2 goals.what what Vrijil Guarentees u.If u forwards out score the opponet there u win if they dont u r goin to loose.
            I have seen agile players makes mockery of Virjil Vadijk example Martial goal…Just one sample..
            Virjil has slow accleration and agility..Raidwald,Veltman and Kongolo are 1000 times better than him…

          5. I don’t think there is any specific bias to Ajax PSV or Feyenoord players, it may happen that way because they have generally produced the biggest talents and/or take them over. But I don’t really care about commenting on what players you think deserve more than the players who have been selected by the manager, whoever he is.

            Still not my point.
            Quit making shit up about Blind, then you can close your fictional chapter.

            Hahaha swimmers… right.

        2. Hahahaha, long hair…. Incredible. Mario Kempes? Bad player. Ginola? All 1974 Oranje players had longer hair than the Germans. That is why we lost! Shelvey must be a world class player!

          1. Jan I was strictly talking about Van Dijk and as I have mentioned above I did use the word Maybe. But either way if you look at Van Dijk, he has almost all the qualities of a top defender except for agility to some extent which is due to his big built. Now from what I know if you want improve your agility there are specific training programs you can adpot to improve that but looking at how tall and Built van Dijk is I doubt it will have a effect on him or unless he drops his weight to a point where he becomes quick and fast like blind but at the same time looses his strength which I don’t think he will wanna do

            Jus to come around to another alternative which could be applicable, I said Maybe if he cuts his hair which obivosly carries some weight on the head he might become quick to some extent and might increase his agility especially when turning because this is where he has been often caught napping alot of time.I hope im making sense hear.

            But again it was tiju as usual who dragged it all along for which I had to keep bottling him.

            If you happened to have watched city and Southampton last week you will realize what I’m saying.

  16. Daley Blind has top quality Footballing brain its a fact.Physically he is little weak so he can be out muscled thats what Koeman says.We have plethora of CBs coming up..more or less they are all at same level.i mean all has weakness in one way or other way including Blind..
    But we are f%$&*%^*&*&^ked upfront ,i mean really fu#^%^cked..I quality is so poor compared to Sneijder,Vaart,RVP,Roben Generation…So i wouls say back line should be
    Tete——–Bruma—–Devrij—-Mensah
    Kevinfiks—Veltman–Raidwald—-Annholt
    Blind can play in midfeild
    Like one main holding with 2 runners

    Bazoer—–Strootman—-Blind with second line
    Vanginkel—Hendrix—-Propper
    and final front 3
    Roben—-Janssen—Willems
    Wijnaldum–Luuk—-Naouri—-
    With stand byes
    Ake
    Kongolo
    Locadia

    1. I like this better on Blind… More subtle. Physically, he is no Terry. But his positioning makes good in many instances.

      I agree we are doing well in defence.

      I rate Davey Propper really high. Vincent Janssen might also make a big step up.

      I like the question about the ideal line up for this coming Euros.

      I will post a separate post on this topic. We can all join in.

  17. Watching Euros with out dutch is painful..i mean really painful.
    At the same time we need to understand that this is result of stuborn foolishness lead by Hiddink and completed by his beloved players..
    its true we missed Roben and Vlaar…But still we could have made it had feild a team like PSV..
    the people who are responsible for this is
    Hiddink,Blind
    Then
    RVP
    BMI
    Depay
    Weil
    Afellay
    Virjil
    Narsingh
    and some who played some few matches…But these guys are mainly responsible for this situation…

  18. I strongly beleive We dont have to waste Daley Blind in defense as We have Raidwald and Veltman…
    Blind has utilized very well the support given by LVG and Father.just Look at Depay he also got it in same way,but he bottled it..Now looks like he is heading to where he belongs like Elia..
    its the high time for blind to learn,playing too much experienced players who has crossed over 30 would reduce team balance and workrate which is basic for a football team.this will get furthur worse when they dont have speed..
    i dont know how many us noticed we started playing better with out Snijder and clasie Vs France..thats SHOULD BE a lesson for Blind and us…
    Considering currentt form and fitness
    it should be
    ————Zoet————-
    Tete—-Bruma—Veltman—–Mensah
    ———–Strootman————
    —-Bazoer———Blind——–
    Promes—–Janssen———Annholt
    then
    ———–Vermeer————-
    Kevindiks—Raidwald—Kongolo—Brenet
    —————Hendrix—————-
    —–Vanginkel——–Propper———–
    Wijnaldum—–Luuk———–Willems
    when fit
    We add
    Roben+Devrij…

    1. Mike Van Den Hoon has also been impressive for Ajax in the second half of the season,courtesy of Tetes injury.FDB also played him at DM in some games and he was also quite handy there.

      1. You must mean van der Hoorn, he has only started matches as a CB since Veltman is RB with Tete out, as you mention.
        I don’t think he has played any minutes DM, which games? I’d like to check those out!
        I did see him move to attack in the late stages, like a couple weeks ago v Utrecht…

      2. @Wilson, Agree that Van Der Hoorn has looked for Ajax as a CD in the 2d half of this year. I know that he didn’t have a great youth WC a few years back, but he seems to be coming good.

  19. Patrick Van Annholt is being eyed by both Roma and Crystal Palace but I think with his recent performance Man City will best suit him.he is young and has a similar style of playing as Kolorov and Clichy.

  20. Finally watched the full match of Genoa v Roma. Was so good to see Strootman dominating and commanding a midfield, esp in the first half which is natural with so long out. Obvs his stamina will improve. But still played 90!
    Such a boss. Forces oppositions into uncomfortable places, breaks down plays, also starts plays from deep or create chances up front. Would have had a beautiful assist if El Shaarawy was not robbed.. Very intelligent and really a strong spirit and belief.
    Seems like exactly the type of player the Dutch NT has been missing, but let’s see how he recovers. I respect Roma for taking it slow with him. Only 2 games left then he’ll have a nice summer break before their training camp begins again.
    Really hope he can stay fit and put a good couple of seasons together without any injuries.

    1. Thanks for the review Pals! So good that Strootman is back. He really can be such a difference maker for the Oranje. Fingers crossed that he stays healthy.

  21. Pumped for the U17 euros starting Friday v Spain.. Hope I can find DLs, I work weekdays so miss games live and harder to find U17 stats and games to download ..
    Especially interested in forward players: Malen, Kluivert, and Chong – but also Fernandes Vente and Nunnely as well !!

  22. how many of u guys remmebr PSV lost to upcoming CL winner Athletico by 8-7 on penalties???
    any one remmber 10 man PSV Vs atheltico at Eindhovan?
    PSV would have beaten them had gasten stayed on pitch at Eindhoven..
    this is how the job is doen at NT…
    We dont need Depay,Afellay,BMI,RVP,Hunter,Weil to quaify i would add Snijder,Vandijk to the list to qualify…
    its all about feilding a balanced team…

  23. @Jan – thanks for another great post, I feel your pain through your comments and mostly agree with what you have said ( I like Blind as a player very intelligent but I prefer “nutters” as my CB’s, Stam comes to mind).
    2026 WTF is right, I can’t believe that this is what we are reduced to as a footballing nation, please spare me! If we have that mentality then we are accepting mediocrity, good managers do not accept mediocrity!
    All coaches and players should be put on notice that if they do not perform they are out. We have plenty of talent to choose from in lots of different leagues, quality players that need to be pushed to their limits.
    On Propper – I know it’s only 7 mins of playing time but WOW he looks the business a real creative yet skilful player who can finish from both sides, let’s push him to his limits and see what he can do for us!
    On a sad note my Spurs fell short of glory, but I can’t help but feel happy for Leicester City, a Champion Team to its core – Well done you Foxes!

    1. For Now I will put a question mark on Propper jus because he still in eredivisie and he playing with Guardado who really complements the whole midfield whether its attack or defense. If Guardado wouldn’t have been there I not sure whether PSV would have reached thus far in CL and I also don’t think there is any other player in eredivisie like Guardado. I think even Diego Simone also pinpointed him when PSV met Atletico Madrid.

      The question here is what Guardado presence enables Propper to and what will happen when he is not around.

      1. Exactlty this was something also on my mind, But also remember the players around FDB that time who use to bail him out compared to Blind now if he shits.Remember that Davids tackle on Ronaldo after FDB had thrown the towel.what a tackle it was from the back between ronaldos legs.Clean and precise.inches wide,saved the day for NT until the PKs.98 WC SF.

  24. Tiju this is the best and simple one I could find for you

    You.https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agility

    Read it properly.

    If you are comparing van Dijk to Messi,Ronaldinho,davids and seedorf, then you are no doubt a tube light.

    You go to my initial statement,and I quote “maybe if he cuts his hair,he could be more agile” there is big fat MAYBe in the starting of the Sentence.

    You read the definition above and the examples and you will know where I got that idea from.

    I can thing of another defender who had his hair cut and which had a impact on his game as well Martin Demichelis.now whether it was his haircut or just him I will have to call him and ask him but my opinion is based on what I saw before and after.

    Maybe this won’t be relevant to soccer but Cathy freeman,when she run the 400m in 2000 Olympics she wore a full body suit from her head to ankle jus to make sure her timing would not be affected so you can see the principal behind it.

    1. Who said i am comparing?????????
      i just named some players good hairs with great agility..thats it…ITS BULLSHIT STUPIDITY TO SAY comparison..PLz stop nonsense..

    2. r u confused with Speed and Agility???
      Kathy freeman is runner…
      Martin demichelis case is fiction from ur brain..or just hypothesis of you…
      Demichelis and the arjentines are well known for big long hairs on feild…if he removed hair he might get little faster…But AGILTY??????
      dO U ACTALLY KNOW WHAT IS AGILITY???????

  25. Propper is really box-to-box that PSV ‘s generating after Bommel, Strootman. He doens’t need so much energy to play at the middle of field but still able to defend & score & pass the ball very easy.

  26. Wilson
    Just explain
    what is agility?
    What is speed?
    How hair in head affects body Agility?
    Prevously it was Chelsea acdemy
    then Afellay
    then Blind
    Now Hair??????

  27. This has to be most funny thing coming from the mouth of Van Gaal.” The expectation is to high at Man United”. I mean why not when you have splashed 230 million pounds which obviously has gone down the drain.

    1. Angel De maria was not signed by LVG…
      Felliani was singed by Moyes..
      Only flop was Memphis depay signed by LVG..
      Darmian is ok
      Rojo is ok
      Blind and Martial are best players of MANU with De gea,and Smalling…
      tell me where LVg got wrong???Only in Depay case…its injury that cost MAnu with they are fooled by Depay gimmick as this guy is pretty average.they though he is next ronaldo…

    2. Here is the line in the context of the things he said around it for you:
      ‘We have to meet the expectations of the biggest club in the world. Expectations are too high,’ he said. ‘We are in a period of transition. It is not so easy.’

      Not as funny when you don’t pick out the one line maybe…
      The media still hates LvG and some people are suckers or don’t read properly.

      And re Memphis, I agree with Robben 😉
      “He’s still very young – you have to give him some time.
      “The talent is there – he’s got everything that he needs to be a success in England!”

      1. Talent,+85 kgs and big developed thighs..he has…so its just matter of time to go to a mid table team where he actually belongs..

        1. So then LvG was right, expectations at Man Utd are too high! 😉
          Only a fool would have expected Memphis to instantly be the next Ronaldo – whom I bet Memphis is still smaller than.

          1. what stopped him being instant hit???Still Fools are believing him he will come back..He is going to outclass Roben and CR7..LVG is not expecting him to be hit.So he will be thrown out …if Jose comes in he might thrown to turkish league

          2. IMO the reality of the gap between the EPL and eredivisie stopped him from being an instant hit. But still not my point, I am only saying it would have been beyond realistic expectations for that to happen anyways..

          3. Plus, Memphis has already more goals and assists than CR7 did in his first season at United, and he is only 2 goals away from CR7s second year total.
            (Not that I am saying he will be the next CR7)

    1. Ugh Man Utd fans are brutal.
      So what, we already know he is struggling this year, does not mean his career is over.
      Did that guy make a comp of his positive moments as well or is he just a troll?

  28. CR7 didnt get the chance to play Mitgland and Club Brugge.in first year and next years..then would be scoring much more and interestingly he was a joy to watch when he was in the feild like Martial..While Memphis looks like real shit…

    1. Still not my point… if you want to keep comparing Memphis and CR7 then you are still overrating him!
      Maybe something else similar between them, might both get FA cup trophies in their first seasons there 😉
      (Sorry maybe that’s too positive for you)
      If you want to say Memphis scored against lesser teams then it’s worth noting that the EPL was not as competitive as it is now, and more importantly that Memphis does not play on a stable team with a long time manager and players like van Nistelrooy, Scholes, Giggs, Keane, Solskjaer etc around him. Instead he gets a team in transition (admittedly with another legendary manager) and older versions of Rooney and Schweinsteiger, and Martial, another rookie to the EPL.

      But anyway, even if he doesn’t end up as more than a mid level club winger, then why can’t you just deal with it? Why do you need to keep trashing him with your bullshit every day, and on totally unrelated comments by other people?

      1. Comparing CR7 with Memphis is SIN..i will never do that..its an INSULT to CR7..So i will never do that..
        I JUST SAID SOME FACTS..its not a made up or fiction like wilson says…
        Memphis has proven in MAnu that he is not on ManU level..CR7 doesnt even speak English fluently at that time under a forgin coach like Ferguson..back in the days..he had to face marcel deaily,kolo ture.lauren,terry at their peak…Not forgetting sol campbell and co…what stupidity are u talking???if u want to defend a crap player just do it..i amokay with it..But dont say CR7 goals was result of team work by team mates…infact he was selfish and RVN had problem with him…

        1. You brought up the CR7/Memphis talk.
          Agree the distance between is huge.
          But still I can’t stand Ronaldo, I am glad to insult him.

  29. Pals why did you think I only picked up that line,simply because that was a funny bit. Meeting expectation of big club, this is normal,why do you think they hired him in the first place and why do you think he was allocated so much money to uplift the team.

    I don’t think Van Gaal is a dick head who wouldn’t have taken heed of what happened to Moyes.If he is saying you have to meet expectation of big clubs,again its all coming from experience after managing high profile clubs but then he say expectations is too high at Man United.for me that’s a joke when he has already managed teams like Barcelona and Bayern at most.

    Transition part is again crap.to say the team is in transition after splashing 230 millon then I think he should be given the whole check book to take Man United to the level it was before.

    Going back to the line which I picked up.the reason why I picked it up was simple because it remains me of that Fox’s and grapes story who tried hard and hard to reach the grapes in the Vine but couldn’t.In the end instead of admitting defeat he says the grapes are undesirable.

    Don’t you guys think there is a resemblence here looking back at the whole season.well it does for me.

      1. Are you sure?
        Hopefully read it better than you wrote it 😉
        He said the biggest club in the world, not ‘of big clubs’.
        I wasn’t sure before because you used quotations and still got his words wrong. Maybe try copy and paste bud.

        Also, if the expectation of ‘the biggest club in the world’ is to win the title, and they did not win the title, then clearly the expectation was too high.

        And I guess they are still in transition, transition from Moyes’ awful team that finished 7th to winning the title (in theory), and since they are not going to win the title they are still in transition. Haha
        Might still catch 4th even, esp if Arsenal beat City at the weekend.

        I think it’s normal. It takes time to build a top team. Esp when your signings do not all gel instantly, as has been well documented by you above.
        I think it’s a ridiculous amount of money spent too and can see your point that the chairmen with the $ want results, but all the fees are all super inflated because it’s a desperate club. And also consider that Man City spent like that for 4 or 5 years before they started to see trophies, although obvs they started from further off..

        1. OK pals honestly you always make it sound like we are having those english class where you have to be precise.didn’t I also categorize Bayern and Barcelona as high profile clubs .they are also biggest club in the world.ain’t they.its simple logic mate.But yeah I will cut and paste next time for your sake SIR.

          So in your opinion what will it take for Man United to come out of this transition.

          1. And also if it takes time to build a team then why did they fire Moyes jus within ten months.obviously the timing of Moyes appoinment was crucial especially after taking over Alex Ferguson whose record at United was invincible.

            Compared to the budget that Van Gaal received to Moyes and the hiring and Firing Van Gaal did I don’t see how man united under Moyes finishing Seventh justifies to Man United now under van Gaal who finished 4th last season or lets say maybe will finish 4th again this season.

            Also remember under Moyes man united did win the community shield and reached the quarters for CL.

          2. Also Moyes had only two signings Fellani and Mata who are still playing under Van Gaal.

          3. Sorry fella, your error is the reason I thought I would share the rest of the quote so it would make sense. You dont have to be precise, although it looked like you were going to start making things up again.
            Do you see how carelessness with communication can cause misunderstanding?
            Maybe you should start your own blog where nothing means anything.

            I guess in my opinion they will be out of the transition of being shit to being good if they reach their goals: to win the league or cups in europe, as they said was their goal when they signed him… IF that is the transition he is speaking of. I was half joking with that remark, hence ‘haha’
            But honestly, although I wish that the dutchmen there will play well and somehow be successful, I could care less about Man Utd. I hope they hire Bourinho and he sinks them further than he sunk Chelsea.

          4. You shouldn’t throw around the word invincible so easily, dont you claim to be an arsenal supporter? Scandalous!

            It takes time to build a team back from what Moyes brought it to. Totally different scenario with Moyes, he started with a team that just won the title and took them to 7th, thats why they were so desperate to turn it around and get back into the CL.
            Do you know how much money clubs get to qualify for the CL?

          5. Not really,you look at Tiju for example his spelling,words and sentences are flying out of space most of the time but still most of the time it does make sense if you try to put it from his point of view.this does not include the crap which he posts half of the time.

            Well its true I’m a Arsenal fan and word invincible is closely associated to them but again Wenger’s is a stubborn bitch who never gives in easily and this is why Arsenal have been deprived of major trophies but again no love lost for the old guy. again it will take a great coach in todays era to topple Fergies record in EPL. 13 league titles,5 FA cups and 2 CL has to be invincible.

          6. Also let’s see what’s happens if United doesn’t finish 4th this season

  30. Hey Sybe I usually don’t mind debating with TIJU even if he can be unreasonable at times. On Memphis however he is just on another level of ridiculousness. I asked him to watch Memphis with an open mind and to be happy if he performed well both as an Oranje fan and a Manchester United fan but he refused. Instead he continues to post links to tabloid articles and call him names. He also continues to ignore evidence such as the fact that Memphis has actually played quite well over the last few months or that he has had good performances against top clubs such as Arsenal. On the topic of Memphis TIJU is definitely nothing more than a troll. Perhaps if we stop indulging him on the topic he will stop trolling? Probably not though haha.

  31. Fairly, We have to recognize that Memphis have talent & very confident, he ‘s now struggling with himself performance, in the future develop well or not it’s up to him & so many factors. However every time when he’s appear on the field we can see very positive thing is almost MU player respect him so much even when he is very bad for ex: let him do free-kick, let him keep the ball, pass the ball to him frequently, trust him on dribbling skill & especially his creativity to make opponents dizzy because his fellow understand his situation & they admit his talents.

    1. As I always say you have to look at both side of the coins.I do agree with what you have said but at the same time you also have accept the fact the guys he is competing with have higher ceiling then him and this will always restrict his movement from the bench. Its true he had his chances under Van Gaal and with his current apperarences of the bench won’t go unnoticed with the bargain that he was brought in for.unfortunately you can expect him to be sold regardless of what other critics are saying.

      If you think about if they do a analysis at the end of the season he could the first one on the chopping list.

  32. To be back highest level as our expectation we need some confident & potential players such as Memphis, van Dijk, Promes, Willems, Bazoer, Tete, Riedewald, Zoet, Propper, Janssen, Blind, Cillessen, El Ghazi,T.Kongolo,K.Strootman, de Vrij and next generation we are looking for should be N.Aké, Hoedt, K.Diks, A. Nouri, J.Kluivert, Tahith Chong, D. Malen, T. Fosu-Mensah, J. Dilrosun, R. Kongolo,d.Santos etc.I don’t underestimate other players such as Klassen, Wijnaldum, Janmaat, Pieter, van der Wiel, Fer,Chery, Affelay, Narsingh,Indi etc but IMO they can play just so so and potentially cannot improve more to be top class in the world.

        1. I don’t deny effort & outcome from Danny, but i think he ‘s not at top coach or even a special coach who can show at least his style & influence to the team. i will say forget about van Bronckhorst, Rijkard, Kluivert, Gullit, Basten, but recommend de Boer, Cocu, R. Koeman over than him at this point. 🙂

          1. But unfortunately none of the one’s you have recommended will put their hands up for the job.

  33. Any hope for this guy? Richairo Živković. He’s a real striker and quite dominated others at his age, playing senior level at Eredivisie league as a loanee from Ajax. But it seems his name is quite strange and not familiar to Orange 🙂

    1. Yeap,he has Serbian heritage from his mother side but wants to represent nerthlands.well this is a old story.my only guess he still is not up Milik,Fischer or Schone level but is highly talented.

        1. It is highly likely Milik will depart this season and the talks are still going on the possibility of bringing Huntelaar back to Amsterdam. If this happens then again he will be forced to limited playing time.

    2. He is trouble. Played for Ajax 2 and had no discipline. Ajax sent him to Willem II. He should have been their best player every week. He was benched. He’s thickheaded, arrogant and not that smart as a player.

      I don’t think he’ll make it.

      This is the difference with Memphis

  34. Actually, our current generation & potential are not that bad, we are just lacking of 1 position , it’s striker. I really regret the past when we had so many striker at top level Dennis Berkhamp, Patrick Kluivert, RVN, Hasselbaink, Maakay, Pierre van Hooijdonk. They were real striker and generated almost at same era. At that time all of them played for big clubs and even we have wasted some of them on the bench.

      1. No, I think we have a enough generation for Defensive mildfeilder Bazoer, J. Hendrix, Vilhena, Anita, Ginkel, de Roon, Classie, Fosu Mesah, etc

          1. we have so many choice for winger such as Memphis, Lens, Promes, Narsing, El Ghazi, Kishna, Robben, van Aanholt, Locadia, Elia, Affelay, Wijnaldum

          2. Ruud1984…
            We have wingersits true.But the issue is they are crap..
            Roben is getting in to last…
            romes is 50 or50..
            Depay is crap
            Narsingh is real crap
            Elghazi is just another Afellay…
            i do have better hopes for annholt and wijnaldum..both are some what ok or better than promes..

  35. We are definitely lacking in a few places, and on the wings is a big one.
    Hardly any form for any of wingers — except right now Promes (though he is split with playing CF)
    Locadia has had ok moments this season, but not very consistent.
    And obvs Robben is a legend and should start anytime fit, but should not really be counted on anymore.

    Otherwise injured, or playing average or worse..
    We have Memphis (also Berghuis, I guess) keeping English benches warm. Boetius and Kishna had promise, left holland and can’t even find fitness, let alone form. Not a big Narsingh or Lens fan myself and some fringe players like Elia and Ola John don’t really do it for me..
    Neither do CMs like Wijnaldum and Afellay, or any other players playing there out of position.
    But no point to write lots of these guys off before the age of 25/26 IMO. Hell, even still, Vardy was shit until this season and he is 29 so maybe we never should write anyone off 😉

    Besides Robben (with 2 goals and 1 assist in the 3 games he played before getting injured) we had no goals or assists from any of wingers in the entire ECQs except for Narsingh scoring one, Afellay having an assist (both v Latvia), and one other assist for El Ghazi v Kazakhstan.
    Brutal.
    Although I think that reflected more the uninspired midfield and general disorganized team play all qualifiers long, it shows the extent of the age gap in the talent too.

    But as bad as the wings are, the priority should probably be to sort out our midfield, obvs makes big difference to get the wingers into better positions.
    Our mids in the ECQs were awfully boring:
    N de Jong and Blind splitting the DM job, and even Klaassen started there once.
    Wijnaldum/Sneijder/Afellay playing CM/ box2box.
    Sneijder or RvP as a CAM/ #10…
    Sneijder played all 10 getting just
    (even still in the recent freindlies Sneijder is always starting, why? don’t get that)

    Would love to sometime see a diamond (in 433) of:
    6 Clasie (de Roon/ Hendrix)
    8 Strootman (van Ginkel/ Bazoer)
    10 Propper (Fer/ Vilhena)
    And if any of them are not fit, lets go younger and start getting youth mixed in.

    Good times will come back – these things can go in cycles. There seems to be a lot of talented youngsters coming up!!

    1. Sybe Go and check Vardy status..
      Its cindrella story..he had scored enough goals in every stage to move in to a better team…when he arrived a goos club he acted professionally..
      Vardy is brillian…Afellay,narsingh,locadia doesnt have that brilliance..
      MEMphis is spoiled mentally and he is in to bodybuilding that will make him more heavy .so his future is almost done…

    2. Yes, i forgot mention Ola John, Boetius, Berghuis . They are also real wingers and potential, however at the moment they are individually struggling with their issues hope they can recover soon. so see we have at least around 10 real wingers.

      1. Yes there is quantity of real wingers (to me meaning players who actually play on the wings) but lacking depth in quality.
        Only 1 world class and he is almost done.
        But some are young and still with lots of potential…

    3. “”””even still in the recent freindlies Sneijder is always starting, why? don’t get that)”””””
      its due to stupidity and stubornness of NT coach..
      Clasie is pretty inconsistant…
      Vilhena can move to wings as we lack quality in wings..

      1. Clasie inconsistent?? If he is one thing, it is consistent. He’s not quick, he’s not a goal scorer but he definitely is consisent.

        1. he plays 60 ,.minutes plu s not playing in every game…he gets out muscled etc…these things am seeing in Regularly…He does having vision i mean extremly good.
          When compared to Hendrix,Ake both are doing better than Clasie in my eye….Clasie over Hendrix and Ake is over the top…thats what i said..

  36. 2-0 down under 17..canot blame justin kluivert or Donyll mallen…poor defense,i mean disorganized like senior team…Score might show 1 diamensinoal play but dutch played well except defense…yet again same aprt from Justin and mallen there is no quality upfront…
    Nunnelly???????next Afellay or Depay in making…

  37. The Full provisional selection is:

    Goalkeepers: Jasper Cillessen (Ajax), Kenneth Vermeer (Feyenoord), Jeroen Zoet (PSV)

    Defenders: Patrick van Aanholt ( Sunderland), Daley Blind (Manchester United), Jeffery Bruma (PSV), Virgil Van Dijk (Southampton), Timothy Fosu-Mensah (Manchester United), Rick Karsdorp (Feyenoord), Timo Letschert (FC Utrecht), Erik Pieters (Stoke City), Karim Rekik (Olympique Marseille), Kenny Tete (Ajax), Joel Veltman (Ajax), Ron Vlaar (AZ), Jetro Willems (PSV)

    Midfielders: Vurnon Anita (Newcastle), Riechedly Bazoer (Ajax), Jordy Clasie (Southampton), Marco Van Ginkel (PSV), Davy Propper (PSV), Tonny Vilhena (Feyenoord), Gini Wijnaldum (Newcastle)

    Attackers: Memphis Depay (Manchester United), Bas Dost (Wolfsburg), Vincent Janssen (AZ), Luuk de Jong (PSV), Jurgen Locadia (PSV), Luciano Narsingh (PSV), Quincy Promes (Spartak Moscow)

  38. Not sure why de Jong and Locadia have been included again. They are good at club level but for National team not sure…..have not seen Dost in action for ages…Narsingh has not been convincing either. Agree with the inclusion of V. Janssen 🙂 Difference between Janssen and Dost is that without good wingers the latter will struggle while Vincent will find his way to the goal. Although Vincent is much smaller than Dost, he is much more powerful than the latter during 1:1 duels.

    Midfield looks good: Marco van Ginkel and Propper look very good lately. Hope Strootman will get up to speed and be featured in September games.

    Too many people in defense but how well it is going to be organized, it is hard to predict. To me, Vlaar has been quite slow during last games of AZ… he goes to far and then has hard time to return…

    Well, let’s see what Mr Blind is going to do this time. Match against France was so disappointing…

  39. Not because I am AZ Alkmaar supporter, but I believe Dabney Dos Santos is a great winger. He plays for NT 21 and to me he is better than Narsingh…he could be called up for a senior team too….Otherwise, wings look quite poor….

    1. Yes, as i mentioned above i see so much potentials on this guy, however i dont think he is a real winger as Robben, IMO he can play behide striker. He has good energy, can score and teamwork, his dribbling not so perfect.

  40. am really pissed off to see virjil vandijk,depay and narsingh…
    Vlaar just shadow of himself..may be blind looks experience at back…

    1. Depay- Janssen- wijnaldum-

      Van Ginkel- Proper

      Anita

      PVA- van Dijk- Bruma- Tete

      Cillessen / zoet

      This is the best team I can think of.

      1. big leakge in back –Virjil Vandijk…Guaranteed goals.
        there wont be no fluid play upfront when u have Depay in squad or final 11…that kills of of chances..
        But still very good players like Propper,Ginkel,wijnaldum,Janssen,Bruma,Tete,anita,PVA might get us result..

          1. @WILSON…first of all dick head is ur BELOVED FATHER.
            Then when u play BMI,Weil at back u r supposed to leak goals….When u replace them with Virjil Vandijk ur making sure that leakage is permanent..
            So Shut^***the F#%%k up…

          2. Well I’m proud that it was his dick head from which I came out but I’m not sure about you.

            Coming back to soccer whether it is van Dijk,FDB or stam it all comes down to the players around you.it all about complemementing each other and this is something that is missing in NT. You look at Van Dijk at Southampton,wanayama,Romeu,Claise,Fonte and Blind at Man United,smalling,Carrick,Schneiderlin,Schweinsteiger. What’s happens to them when they come to NT.they is no one there who can provide the same protection as when they are playing at club level and this why you always expect them get exposed and conceded goals.

            Unless and until this aspect of the game is not addressed no matter whom plays at CB,the outcome will be the same.but individual it a totally different story.

  41. IF bLIND HAS BALLS HE MUST FEILD

    Annholt—–Janssen——Promes
    ————Propper———–
    ——-Blind——-Wijnaldum(C)—
    Mensah———————–Tete
    ———-Vletman–Bruma———
    ————-Zoet/Vermeer————–
    On bench
    ——-Locadia—–Dost————-
    Vilhena—————–Vanginkel-
    ——-Anita—-Bazoer———-
    Wiillems——————-Kardorp
    ———Reikik—-letschert——
    ———–Vermeer——————-

  42. Depay has been handed a start today against Norwich, lets see if he can continue his good from. With Rashford not in the lineup and Martial apparently picking up a knock in warm ups he may end up lining up as a centre forward. Although I suppose Rooney can still play striker.

    It is starting to appear that Van Gaals supposed commitment to youth was only out of necessity. Despite their very impressive performances Cameron Borthwick-Jackson and Guilemo Varela have not had a sniff of first team action since the returns of the ineffectual trio of Rojo Valencia and Darmian. And now with Blind getting a much needed rest instead of handing Fosuh Mensah a deserved start at CB he has opted for the underwhelming Rojo with Valencia and Darmian the fullbacks.

    1. Floppay Vs Norwich..
      How Floppay is doing..?
      i know his connectivity with team mates are really poor,he kills of game movement etc…
      Manu scored 1 goal Mata by Rooney assist..

      1. Abysmal performance by Memphis. Absolutely wasted his chance to impress against a poor Norwich team with the absence of Martial and Rashford.

        1. blind still thinks this guy would help us to get past France,Sweden to WCQ…
          his over all game is really poor ,no connectivity with mates,ball looser,overrated free kick taker etc….Common blind lets get rid of this guy..

  43. @Wilson…u said it Vrijil lacks agility…Hence u gave him advice that cutting hair woul increase his agility…i still dont know how the hair from head affects the agility of the body..i can still understand that if Vrijil has big hairs in body like sheep has or polar bear has..
    But interestingly u like him and u want him to be a starter for NT?????
    thats really strange when it comes to logical point of veiw..but still it is acceptable if u like him,then i dont mind it…
    for me Vrijil is very nonagile player who can easily be dribbled not JUST Dribbled …he WILL DRIBLLIED IN TH AA@@#SSS.
    So why take risk in WCQ??

  44. Van Annholt with a assist and a give away vs Chelsea.Looks like Newcastle might be relegated after Sunderland shocked Chelsea 3-2 while Newcastle were held to a draw by Already relegated aston villa. Sunderland jus needs a draw vs Everton to survive the relegation battle.

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