The New Oranje Coach

blog Euro 2020 WC2018
by Jan

No no! It won’t be Advocaat or Blind :-).

As we discussed earlier, Koeman is not to be denied at Barcelona. How different will it be for his successor at the KNVB. With Malen and Memphis fit and ready, as we hope, when the Euros 2021 start (or IF), there will be known issues for the new coach.

Koeman did an excellent job revitalising Oranje, getting the fans to love the team again and bring new talent to the fore. Hiddink, Blind and Advocaat might not have had the results we craved but during that time, some incredible talents broke through and our new coach will be salivating by the thought.

The biggest problem our new coach will have, is to find the best team out of the talents we have or to find a way to start a game with 15 players, instead of 11.

With Stekelenburg back at Ajax, it’s fair to say we will not have a keeper problem either!

So you have the key players from the past couple of seasons (Memphis, Blind, Van Dijk, Wijnaldum, De Ligt, Frenkie) and now the coach can pencil in some new names like Schuurs, Ihatarren, Gakpo, Gravenberch, Malen, Stengs, Wijndal, etc etc…

There is a debate going on in the country, as to who should be the new coach, of course. The KNVB will give Dwight Lodeweges – Ronald’s assistant – the nod for the coming games but will most likely name a bigger name coach for the job sometime soon.

The first question is: does it need to be a Dutchie, or should we go for a foreign coach?

The answer, as far as I am concerned, is: A Dutch Coach. Always.

I know it’s conservative, but I also think you don’t experiment with these things.

We did have foreign coaches before and they were quite the success too (well, Ernst Happel is the only one that comes to mind… Georg Kessler was less successful and part Dutch). But Happel worked in The Netherlands (ADO Den Haag and Feyenoord) and knew the Dutch football culture well. Even more so: Happel was more responsible for our Total Football than Michels… (see a couple of blog post earlier).

But with the typical Dutch style, the typical Dutch culture (direct in communications) and the need to finally get success at a big tournament, I would want a coach who understands all these things well… This shouldn’t be a “job” for some foreign coach to take just to up his image. This should be a mission, a real purpose of a job for a Dutch coach, who shares the football vision, gets the subtleties and dynamics of the language and customs and who can pick up on Koeman’s work and progress it.

Dwight Lodeweges

Unless, we really don’t have a single candidate who could do it. But I doubt that.

So, for me, no Klinsmann, or Rangnick, or Jardem or whoever. For starters, do we know these guys can play national team manager? Being a club coach is completely different. Pochettino is a good club coach, but does that make him a good national team manager? Who knows?

It will be easier for us Dutchies to assess this with coaches / ex-players we know. I think it’s fair to say that a guy like Cocu could do the job. He’s assisted Van Marwijk, he played for Oranje and he would know what it takes. This can be said of Henk ten Cate as well. Frank de Boer, another name mentioned, is maybe less fit for the job. He seems to need time with his players, make his hands dirty and use a highly disciplined management style (which cost him some jobs already, of course). I think Frank might fail in the football vision department (at Ajax he was criticised for playing negative, boring football) and he seems to miss the flair and people management style to make Oranje a nice place to be at… It’s my way or the high way with Frank.

Cocu won’t come back from England now, for the job, I don’t think. He might be a candidate later.

Louis van Gaal is mentioned too. I really don’t think that is wise. He got the best of the team in 2014. When we were the massive underdog. Since then, his relationship with the likes of Van Persie and Memphis deteriorated. I think the Van Gaal effect is gone now and the players matured and won’t fall for the Van Gaal antics this time around, I don’t think.

We saw this with his players in 2000, when his methods were considered “been there, done that” by the experienced players and the magic was gone.

Peter Bosz could be a good candidate, but he won’t be leaving Leverkusen now, I don’t think. Again, a candidate for later?

At this point, I would go for an experienced Dutch coach. Keep Lodeweges for the friendlies, if you must. And get a coach like Henk ten Cate in for the tournament.

Henk has worked at the top level of (international) football, with Barca, Chelsea, Ajax. He is financially independent. He is great with young talents and knows everything there is to know about football and about Dutch players. He will not get overwhelmed in a big occasion and he will have the discipline and management style that is befitting a Dutch group of players.

And don’t forget: he was team manager before. For 1 day. When Hans van Breukelen really screwed up the process of hiring a new manager. He told Henk in his interview, he was the man for the job (witnesses present). Only to go to Dick Advocaat and being pressured into signing Dick. What a mess. Henk was fuming. I hope he’ll do it now.

For me, Henk it is.

 

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90 comments

  1. I am hearing a lot of rumours already every day that koeman is gonna bring depay Van de beek, Wijnaldum to Barcelona

    Then it’s stengs boadu , malen and so on

    I wonder who will be the first one and also if he is able to offload all those big names , including Messi

    Talking about the Dutch continent , I remember once there was a in Real Madrid Includijg sneijder , Van nistelrooy, robben huntelaar etc . But it didn’t last long anyone know the reason ?

    Then there was also a “ dutch continent “ in Barcelona , smaller one including Van Bronkhorst, Van Bommel , “ kluivert ?” One was he before ? I think comparing Barcelona one was a bit more successful .

    Anyways most of the western media label koeman as a u successful coach as he failed success in Valencia and Everton . Perhaps the only good job he has done so far is with oranje . But he never had any good records at club level . Not the most recent ones

    1. its time for Bakker and Wijndal. No Hard Feelings on his conditions but every thing was laid for him reaching up to this far and looks like its all coming to end.

  4. Nations League

    England squad

    Tammy Abraham (Chelsea), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Joe Gomez (Liverpool), Mason Greenwood (Manchester United), Dean Henderson (Manchester United), Danny Ings (Southampton), Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Michael Keane (Everton), Harry Maguire (Manchester United)*, Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa), Mason Mount (Chelsea), Kalvin Phillips (Leeds United), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Nick Pope (Burnley), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Declan Rice (West Ham United), Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), Kieran Trippier (Atletico Madrid), Kyle Walker (Manchester City), James Ward-Prowse (Southampton), Harry Winks (Tottenham Hotspur)

    Germany Squad – First Call for Robin Gosens

    Goalkeepers: Kevin Trapp (Eintracht Frankfurt), Bernd Leno (Arsenal), Oliver Baumann (Hoffenheim)

    Defenders: Robin Gosens (Atalanta), Matthias Ginter (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Thilo Kehrer (Paris Saint-Germain), Nico Schulz (Borussia Dortmund), Jonathan Tah (Bayer Leverkusen), Robin Koch (Frieburg), Niklas Süle (Bayern Munich), Antonio Rüdiger (Chelsea)

    Midfielders: Florian Neuhaus (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Julian Draxler (Paris Saint-Germain), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Julian Brandt (Borussia Dortmund), Kai Havertz (Bayer Leverkusen), Suat Serder (Schalke), Ilkay Gündogan (Manchester City), Emre Can (Borussia Dortmund)

    Forwards: Timo Werner (Chelsea), Luca Waldschmidt (Benfica), Leroy Sane (Bayern Munich)

    Spain squad

    Goalkeepers: David de Gea (Manchester United), Kepa Arrizabalaga (Chelsea), Unai Simón(Athletic Bilbao)

    Defenders: Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid), Jesús Navas (Sevilla), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Eric Garcia (Manchester City), Pau Torres (Villarreal), Diego Llorente (Real Sociedad). José Gayà (Valencia), Sergio Reguilón (Real Madrid)

    Midfielders: Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Rodri (Manchester City), Fabián Ruiz (Napoli), Thiago (Bayern Munich), Mikel Merino (Real Sociedad), Óscar Rodriguez (Real Madrid), Dani Olmo (RB Leipzig)

    Forwards: Adama Traoré (Wolves), Marco Asensio (Real Madrid), Rodrigo (Valencia), Mikel Oyarzabal (Real Sociedad), Ansu Fati (Barcelona), Ferran Torres (Manchester City)

      2. Spain got him..They lack speed and power in forward department.So new coach is addressing it..Not a surprise.???when did spain won aginst us after disaster 2010???

          2. I said this some time back. The progress for NT will always be gradually and then become stagnant compared to 2 fold for other teams whom mostly keep rotating their squad all year out.you look at how NT peaked in the early stages under koeman. They surpassed expectation in the nations league but then by the end of the euro qualifers they had started declining. Koeman stuck to the same starting 11 and his tatic became too common and predictable. Now the bullshit argument always pops up that NT has not many players to select from. I will say this again,this is the biggest bullshit.the players are there but for some unkown reasons the dutch coaches tend to look for solution/options only when injuries strike to their major players. This has become a feature in NT and though it has continously become a turning point in terms of team enhacement,yet it has never being taken into consideration that rotation can be of importance.Lets see. Blinds injury paved way for Van Dijk, karsdorp for Veltman, Groeneveld for Bergwijn and now boadu and stengs for Depay.

            I want to be the first one to say this here koeman will next dutch coach to bite the dust. Without having any session with the barce players he has jumped the gun and started bombarding.you can just tell what gonna unfold and his intension as far as his tatic goes.(Building the team around frenkie). His biggest downfall will be time factor. He will only get one season to turn things around and looking at the trajectory of Real Madrid in the after math of CR7s depature, its not enough. This remains me of exactly what van gaal did when he arrived at Man united, major clearout, signings and rest is history.On top of this if messi departs its a MI

            As for NT you cant expect much from them in the upcoming NL. Most of the eredivisie players have just started pre season training compared to other players who were active in big leagues including CL and EL and some are still unfit returning from injuries.The best that they can do is to use this as platform to enhance the depth of the team for euros

      1. Like I mentioned the players of other big teams were active during the lockdown and this could prove to be a decsive factor compared to dutch eredivisie players atleast.

  5. Daley blind seriously need to take a long break or… stop football for a while ( at least for now )

    This happens for a reason and a warning , a signal your body gives you . He’d be lucky he is still in “ good shape “ now think of abdelhak nourie really don’t want to see this happen again

    1. Nouri had heat stroke..which was badly mangaed by ajax doctors,time delay was key in nouri situation…i wonder why ajax keep such medical professionals…blind should hang up boots..He is 30 and he has played Wc semi final,Manu and Cl semifinal…Good achivements…He would be great analyst and scout in future…He should concentrate that..

      1. Really why would you think so ?

        He’s w great talent playing not only as an attacking midfielder but can also play as a left or right winger position . And he’s very young

        I know we have ihattaren who’s similar but you never get enough of talent right ?

  7. I am very happy today as AZ Alkmaar passed the first round of the CL qualification by winning Victoria Plzen 3:1. As you know AZ preparation did not go very smoothly. It is was not their best game either but they won by demonstrating resilience. I have to specifically note Koopmeiners for his leadership and Ferdy Druijf for earning penalty that was a turning point in the game. I would also like to caution those who wants to spend big money on Boadu and Stengs: please wait, those boys need further development. In normal condition Myron is very waistfull and utilizes only 30% of all opportunities, today he was absolutely horrible. I do not want to criticize Stengs much because this was his first game since March, but he was not good either. AZ won this game due to character and resilience. I think Arne slot can take a big credit for that too. Iddrissi and Wijndal were also good. However, the ultimate hero of the game was Alber Gudmundsson who scored two goals. I hope this victory will bring a moral boost for my team and AZ will get better and better. Their next potential opponents will be Benfica, Gent or Dinamo Kiev. I wish AZ avoids Benfica.

    1. @AZ, Congratulations AZ. I was following the game via the online commentary; a real nail biter. I was looking forward to your comments. Perhaps I’m wrong because following a match by text has its obvious limits, but it seemed like just when they could have given up after the late Plzen goal, they turned things up a notch. Says alot about them and their coach.

      Is the next round home and home, or is it also a one game?

      1. Watched the game and am so so so so happy that they can make it to the next round

        However all Opponents are big names And will be much tougher than today’s game

        And yes boadu and Stengs need to stay in Holland for at least another year .

        I actually thought they didn’t play that bad today and am sure the more games they plat the better they will show the performance

        Good luck in that next round

        1. Thank you, Yan, for the warm words about my club! I agree that Benfica is way to high hurdle for AZ to overcome but Gent and Dinamo Kiev could be an interesting opponents for the team of Alkmaar. Good news is that even if they do not go through the next round of CL, they will be directly placed to the group stage of the EL.

      2. @andrew. Thank you, man! I believe the draw will be this Friday and we will learn not only who is going to be AZ opponent but also where they are going to play.

    1. Caught the highlights as soon as I woke up. My conclusion, they were lucky. The penalty break through and than a disallowd handball around the 2-1 mark which could have turned the game into Victoria Plzen favour.

      Again I question what the teams aspirations are and whether the management have bigger plans or just wanna continue from where they left of last season.
      Money factor aside, if you look at PSV and feyenoord especially they look ambitious in terms staying within grasp of Ajax and also at european level. Unfortunately you cant say the same about AZ.If they continue with what they did last season, using the starting 11 extensively,this time around they will find themselves in pecking order. Even though they have some good young talents coming up but they still need atleast two to three major signings including in those crucial positions.

        1. Wilson, I agree with your points. AZ have an aspiration to fight for Eredivisie title but financially they are not there. They tried to bring Kongolo or Hoedt but failed because they can not pay such high salaries. Their budget is only 22 MM euros it is twice less than PSV and three times less than Ajax. That is why they are limited to younger players and that is a lottery. You asked about Abukhlal, no he is injured, and he played in all preparation games but he is also so so. Nothing special.
          With respect to game, I agree it was poor but they won. The stronger team is always the luckiest one. AZ will get better, I am sure of it.

  9. I saw full match VS Plazen…i was disappointed by Az alkmaar…They just hanged due to last penalty…Offcourse they were better side,but their potency sucks…Idrissi,Stengs and Boadu were shadows. Boadu wasting is beyond imagination..Stengs was rusty…Idrissi tried take ons and failed…I liked koopmeiners,Winjdal they are consistant..
    i cannot see them beating potent attack team..always u need to out score opponent to qualify..which is not there for AZ..
    i am pessimistic about AZ attack and i know they are short of defender,but vlaar some how managed it this age..Vlaar deserves credit as well..
    Az need to score and if not forget CL..

    1. @AZ Forever

      Im just curious what did they do with the money from the high profile depatures.

      Vincent Jansen- € 22m

      Alireza Jahanbakhsh-€19m

      Guss Till-€16m

      Wesley Hoedt -€15 m

      Wout Weghorst- €10m

      1. All goes to (1) building infrastructure; (2) Youth development and (3) forming security funds in case of collapse (e.g., crash of DSB). The latter was proposed to form after DSB was collapsed and AZ was on the verge of bankruptcy. That event has impacted mentality of AZ leadership and they still can not get out of it. However, I see some timid attempts to expand horizons. I am sure within 2-3 years AZ will start signing relatively expensive players.

        One correction: Wesley Hoedt went transfer free. He refused to extend his contract. Weghorst’s transfer was around €17MM. AZ does not sell anybody for lower than 15 MM euro anymore.

  11. @AZ forever

    Yea they played good ! Sorry I know some of the others may not agree with me

    Some say they played bad but come on ! They just came back from a “ long vacation “

    Mind you this team beat Ajax last season and it’s only experience these young boys need.

    I can see many of them have improved compared last season . Lucky they are still here as a team and I can see them only getting stronger game after game

    Particularly wijndal , stengs and boadu . They are just still so young and imagine after 2 to 3
    years later they will only get more experienced and stronger . They will be part of the oranje main force , if not at least a strong sub

    Also watching the game last night I can see the subs are manning a difference this season .
    This has also make Stengs less pressure I think and more resting time

    Boadu and stengs missed a lot of chances but that’s understandable. Of course .. AZ had a bit of luck in the final minute with the penalty but then after that penalty goal
    ALkmaar Controlled the whole game. The opposition was Czech no2 with all the respect they are NOT a weak team !

    That’s good news thanks AZ for telling me they they lose they can still be part of Europa . They will learn a lot !

    Let’s see what happens no pressure .

    I really hope to see more teams getting deeper in Europe . No matter which cup

    My dream is to see three Dutch clubs in the champions league group stages !

  12. Teun Koopmeiners shouldn’t be playing in defence. He played similar to FDJ, good on the ball, reads the game well and can pass well. AZ should get a defender and play Koopmeiners in midfield.
    NT now has two very good defensive midfielders who can transition play from defence to attack very well. 😊

    1. Totally agree with you, but AZ management has been very conservative when it comes to spending. My feeling is that they will wait until Vlaar and Hadzi are fully recovered. Then Teun will move to midfield but this will happen only after 3-4 months. I think AZ management has been a bit selfish and narrow minded when it comes to Teun’s development. They should focus on utilizing Teun’s strength which is midfield and developing him in that direction. When transfer time comes he would be valued much higher than now.

  13. @AZ, Of course I don’t follow AZ as closely as you, but i’d think they don’t have much choice other than to be conservative on spending given the gate revenue they have lost, and will continue to lose. Also, I’m curious as to whether they took a financial hit because of the roof problems. I’m guessing they are not spending because they have little money to spend. That said it speaks highly of management that they have players such as Gudmunsson and Druijf to bring of the bench…also read that Ouwejan was on his way out; wasn’t he considered a promising player awhile back?

    OT, (and forgive me for asking so many questions), but when did they change from AZ 67 to AZ Alkmaar, and what was the story behind that?

    1. @Andrew, well said, AZ does not have much money to spend. I believe COVID and roof situation do not help at all and it all comes from that emergency fund that they created. However, to Wilson’s point why they do not rotate players often as they have Ouwejan, Gudmundsson and Druijf on the bench, apart from the obvious reason that there are better players, one speculation is that they do not want to divert the attention of the bigger clubs from their promising players. AZ purposefully keeps Boadu, Stengs, Wijndal, Koopmeiners, and Idrissi on the radars of the bigger clubs. Potentially, if they sell them, AZ can make 75 MM euro in total. However, if they rotate frequently players, the market value of their top players can go down. That is my assumption and I might be wrong.

      With respect to why AZ-67 changed into AZ Alkmaar, I do not know whether any specific reason exists but I think it happened when DSB bank took over AZ. I personally like AZ Alkmaar more. The name of the town sounds very beautiful.

  14. Richairo Zivkovic training with Goningen.

    https://youtu.be/0SlH-KPHxTo

    The negotation on his transfer is still going on with his chinese club changchun Yatai but they have given the green light for him to train with the Groningen team.

    Apart from him and Robben Groningen have also signed Patrick Joosten from Utretch who was once a promising young talent only to hampered by serious injuries.

    Maybe they are one team to keep the third eye on.😁

    1. Fer and Strootman is in the squad while Propper and Koopmeiners are not. I hope this is related to early season where players are not ready or something. Otherwise, those selection seem really odd.

  20. I would think Stengs isn’t incl. because he just returned back from injury, likewise for Malen, Van Aanholt. Not expecting Boadu as he still doesn’t look ready for NT. Propper though a good passer of ball, he lacks the intensity and energy; too passive.
    Teun Koopmeiners is a surprise ommision for me. He should be in, either replacing Kevin Strootman or Leroy Fer.

  21. Apart from Koopmeiners, else the squad looks good, considering the players’ availability at this point. And don’t forget Robben. He looked good during his 30min cameo for Groningen. He will be back in NT fold in the end. 😊

  22. Check out the preliminary squad for the jong orange.

    Kjell Scherpen (Ajax),Maarten Paes (Utrecht),Justin Bijlow (Feyenoord),Jan Hoekstra ( Groningen), Thijmen Nijhuis (Utrecht)

    Justin Hoogma (Utrecht),Danilho Doekhi (Vitesse),Sven Botman (Lille),Mitchel Bakker (PSG),Devasiyo Zeefuik(Groningen),Jurrien Timber (Ajax), Jordan Teze (PSV),Lutsharel Geertruida (Feyenoord),Sherel Floranus (Heereveen)

    Dani De Wit (AZ Alkmaar),Abdou Harroui (Sparta),Ludovit Reis(Barcelona),Ryan Gravenberch (Ajax), carl Eiting,(Ajax),Teun Koopmeiners AZ Alkmaar),Joey Veerman (Heerenveen ,Azor Matusiwa (Groningen),Jurgen Ekkelenkamp (Ajax),

    Dani Di Wit(AZ Alkmaar),Cody Gakpo (PSV), Javairo Dilrosun (Hertha),Myron Boadu(AZ Alkmaar), Noa Lang(Ajax), Ferdi Kadigolu(Fenerbache),Abodu Harroui,Daishawn Redan (Hertha),kai Sierhuis(Stade De Remis) , Joshua Zirkzee(Bayern),Che Nunnley (Willem 11), Tahith Chong (Man United)

    This is a very talented group and will defintely give the coaches head ache.Probably this is what you want to see at NT level. Imagine this contingent with De Ligt, frenkie, srengs in few years time. This could be the next golden generation for the NT. It cannot go wrong given the developments that has taken place. If this contingent doesnt win or reach any finals,KNVB including Van der Looi should just go have a shower and move aside.it will be tradegy tbh.

  23. Just a throw back on what I said about Wijnaldum and how situation will change when competition kicks in from Naby keita and others,well looks it has come to that stage. His contract is expiring and Liverpool are willing to let him go to fund Thiago Alcantara signing. Whether this will eventuate or no but still it goes to show how his situation has changed from last season and it has all to do with the perfromances of him and others.

    1. My prediction for Bergwijn is the same.if Mourunho brings in a complete winger. He too will become surplus there. Complete winger as an Lucas Moura esque or Son heung min

    2. Darn, Wilson, I think you are starting to get a little too focused on Wijnaldum. The NT may have issues, but he hasn’t been one of them.

      He was a starter in 7 competitive games against France, Germany and England. In those games, the NT won two, never trailing: 2-0 over France, and 3-0 over Germany, He scored in both of those matches. In the remaining 5, they trailed at some point in each match, (and I think most if not all in the 2d half). Of those games, they lost two, won two, and tied one, but in each one, even the losses, they came back to tie the matches. So the team, of which he was a key component, showed both not only the spirit, but the skill to fight back from difficult circumstances. In those seven matches, the team scored 17 goals—this against top European competition. I appreciate they were beaten 1-0 by Portugal, in Portugal Portugal can do that to anybody—IIRC, they beat France in France 1-0 in the Euro finals. (I’ll put aside that they were playing on a day less rest than Portugal, and that they had played 120 minutes to beat England to get to the final—I know you don’t consider that a factor.)

      In the last two years, Liverpool has won the Champion’s League, and had one of the best seasons any team has ever had in the EPL. Klopp has had Keita, Henderson, Fabinho, and Millner available, yet he regularly chose Wijnaldum to start.

      We’ll see how it all shakes out, but he was a very good player for the NT during the recent revival under Koeman, and same with Liverpool.

      There is nothing wrong with bringing in new players based on performance. but I can’t think of anyone who has shown enough to replace him for the upcoming matches. Do you have player(s) in mind? (My feeling, for awhile, that they should see what a midfield looks like with him playing next to Frenkie de Jong, and van de Beek playing behind the forwards. But that is another discussion.)

      Anyway, I’ll let you have the last word, if you like. Then we can see how it all works out. 🙂

      1. do you follow him at Liverpool? whats you views on why they want to sell him when he is one of klopp’s best MF.

        I think you have already mentioned his honorable stats before or was it Jan, but you cant just be clinging on it expecting that he can deliver it every time or he can replicate the same form every season. yes he has scored “some important goals at Liverpool” but then his consistency has never been firm both at Liverpool and NT.It fluctuates depending on the team they are playing.

        you have to succumb to the fact that while NT players have been stagnant maybe apart from Depay, there has been lot of developments in players for other big nations who are scattered all over and continue to thrive better at domestic level compared to dutch players. you cannot turn a blind eye on this. it is there and its happening. this is the reason why I have been posting the lineups for other nations. you can have a look at at French and the Germans and compare it to the NT and see how things have changed from last time out.

        its this gap that makes me anxious, knowing whats coming and looking at the NT selection, instead of closing this gap, it looks like the gap is gonna widen more. strictly looking from the performance point of view.

        I found this paragraph in your comment very interesting.

        “There is nothing wrong with bringing in new players based on performance. but I can’t think of anyone who has shown enough to replace him for the upcoming matches”

        you could rightful say this but then again wijnaldum has done nothing spectacular either at Liverpool this season to say he is undisputed. its just an expectation that since he has been a regular in NT that he should continue. The same goes out for Ihattaren as well (expectation), but in case it more because I think they wanna tie him down.

        https://www.planetfootball.com/quick-reads/comparing-kai-havertzs-2019-20-stats-to-liverpools-current-midfielders/

        not sure how reliable is this.

        1. Apologies, Wilson, because I said you could have the last word…but let me answer a few of your questions briefly.

          I may have said the same thing about Wijnaldum’s performances awhile back when we were discussing it—sorry for the redundancy,but give me points for consistency? 🙂

          Yes, I watched alot of Liverpool matches this year. (They have been my favorite English club for a long time.) I thought he played well.

          France has extraordinary depth. No country on earth can match it, except maybe Brazil. I think Germany’s changes have had to do with their being in a transition away from their WC generation. But still, most of the new players that have been showing up in their squad deserve to be included from their club performances.

          I agree, stagnation is not a good thing. There plenty of opportunities for new blood. But at forward next to Depay, the players who may have been knocking on the door are just recovering from injuries now (Mallen, Stengs) or battled injuries last year (Danjuma, Dilrosun), or have had a drop in form (Danjuma again and Boadu). In the MF, I can’t think of any young players who have been unaccountably left off based on performance, except Koopmeiners, and he has been playing defense out of necessity for a long while now. (I still would have liked him to be included though.) Still there is a spot in the MF next to de Jong. In defense, rb has been u for grabs for two years, and Tete, Dumfries, Hateboer have each been given opportunities, but no one has grabbed it. At lb, Wijndal will now get his opportunity. The central defense is stacked, Schuurs is getting noticed. My point is that there are plenty of spots fr players to grab. They just need to show enough. I’m hoping that over the course of the coming season or the next, the club performances of players like Gravenberch, Stengs, Boadu, Wijndal, (or others) will make it impossible to be left out.

          Now you get the last word. 🙂

          1. I wont disagree with any of your points and find it legit but I see you have hit on a point that I had it locked but never mentioned on my previous reply.”Schuurs is getting noticed”. You see he has done nothing to get noticed. his last season was average at best but yet he has been recognized based on what? check this out and again . 1- injury (De ligt) and 2- expectation even though he may not get to play ahead of De Van Dijk and De Vrij. you see there is no doubt that that the expectation here is, he is somebody who right now ticks all the boxes for future front runner. this is exactly what you wanna to see. Not in every department but places where its due.Now this will eventually fast track his trajectory, market value and lure scouts if gets to play.

            Now if you consider this in his case then the question that arises is why not Veerman when he had stellar debut season (performance) for heerenveen. this also answers the question which you put on top. its not only him Azor Matusiwa as well but its the club factor creeping in which is bound to delay worthy transitions. for me things gonna really get ugly if they continue build the team around frenkie instead of rotating the midfield and identifying the best trio. My suspicious also is Koopmeiners omission is in directly to do with frenkie. they will clash.

            lets me know what you think. Im also working on a project which I will post later on why I rate Veerman highly.

  24. Off intrest

    Italian squad

    Goalkeepers: Alessio Cragno (Cagliari), Gianluigi Donnarumma (Milan), Alex Meret (Napoli), Salvatore Sirigu (Torino)

    Defenders: Francesco Acerbi (Lazio), Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Cristiano Biraghi (Inter), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Mattia Caldara (Atalanta), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Danilo D’Ambrosio (Inter), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Alessandro Florenzi (Roma), Gianluca Mancini (Roma), Luca Pellegrini (Juventus), Leonardo Spinazzola (Roma)

    Midfielders: Nicolo Barella (Inter), Giacomo Bonaventura (without a club), Gaetano Castrovilli (Fiorentina), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Jorginho* (Chelsea/ENG), Roberto Gagliardini (Inter), Manuel Locatelli (Sassuolo), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Stefano Sensi (Inter), Sandro Tonali* (Brescia), Nicolo Zaniolo (Roma)

    Strikers: Andrea Belotti (Torino), Federico Bernardeschi (Juventus), Francesco Caputo (Sassuolo), Federico Chiesa (Fiorentina), Stephan El Shaarawy (Shanghai Shenua/CHM), Ciro Immobile (Lazio), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Moise Kean (Everton/ENG), Kevin Lasagna (Udinese), Riccardo Orsolini (Bologna).

    Poland
    Goalkeepers: Drągowski (Fiorentina), Fabiański (West Ham), Skorupski (Bologna), Szczęsny (Juventus)

    Defenders: Bednarek (Southampton), Bereszyński (Sampdoria), Bochniewicz (Górnik Zabrze), Glik (Benevento), Jędrzejczyk (Legia), Karbownik (Legia), Kędziora (Dynamo Kyiv), Rybus (Lokomotiv Moskva), Walukiewicz (Cagliari)

    Midfielders: Frankowski (Chicago Fire), Góralski (Kairat), Grosicki (West Brom), Jóźwiak (Lech Poznań), Kądzior (Dinamo Zagreb), Klich (Leeds), Krychowiak (Lokomotiv Moskva), Linetty (Torino), Moder (Lech Poznań). Szymański (Dinamo Moskva), Zieliński (Napoli)

    Forwards: Buksa (New England Revolution), Milik (Napoli), Piątek (Hertha Berlin)

    High profile French. No progba( positive Corona virus)

    Goalkeepers: Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur), Mike Maignan (Lille), Steve Mandanda (Marseille)

    Defenders: Lucas Hernandez (Bayern Munich), Léo Dubois (Lyon), Presnel Kimpembe (PSG), Clément Lenglet (FC Barcelona), Dayot Upamecano (RB Leipzig), Raphaël Varane (Real Madrid), Lucas Digne (Everton), Ferland Mendy (Real Madrid)

    Midfielders: Moussa Sissoko (Tottenham Hotspur), Houssem Aouar (Lyon), Steven Nzonzi (Rennes), Eduardo Camavinga (Rennes), Adrien Rabiot (Juventus), N’Golo Kanté (Chelsea)

    Attackers: Olivier Giroud (Chelsea), Wissam Ben Yedder (AS Monaco), Kylian Mbappé (PSG), Antoine Griezmann (FC Barcelona), Anthony Martial (Manchester United), Jonathan Ikoné (Lille)

  25. Leroy Fer is tackler,tough tackler…He has presensce ,he can win duals..But he kills the flow..transition is tough with him..
    Presence of Fer,Strootman and Babel is not good,ageing and will affcet work rate and flow of the game..Thats not forward thinking…
    Jetro williams is back from injury,he was doing excellent at newcasttle before injury..He should be given a chance as LB..He means business,wat a talent…

  29. AZ let Ouwejan leave for Udinese on loan. It is very strange decision. If something happens to Wijndal, there will not be anybody equivalent to replace him with. Having said that Ouwejan was very unhappy that he did not have any playing time.

    1. @Wilson, I’m a little slammed right now between work and life…so if I don’t get back to you for a few days it is not because I’m ignoring the post…appreciate the link.

    1. Yes me too

      I had been watching many of his games worth Bournemouth and frankly speaking I wish his coach would have given him a bit more time instead of just Max 45 min

      Let’s hope he will start scoring more goals and help his club to be back to
      The premier league first . He still only 23, still got hope

  32. I would have loved to see Gravenberch already in oranje not Jong oranje. you might say he is too young, but Ihattaren is his age, I know with ihattaren it is more to tie him with oranje, but still Gravenberch in the pre season so far showed how mature his game is and his talent is unbelievable and the physical presence of his is amazing!!! cant wait to see him partnered with frenkie in oranje, that would be a sexy duo infront of the defense and behind van de beek in a midfield trio!!!

    1. unfortunately both play the same position and as I have mentioned above it will be interesting to see if the coaches rotate frenkie.

      the one flaw I see in his game, is his speed especially when defending during counter. at top speed he looks like he is running a marathon.

  35. AZ brings Timo Letschert free of charge as their new central defender. Very nice option. I always liked Timo and happy that he will strengthen my team. Also, AZ extended contract with Thomas Ouwejan until 2023. This means that if Thomas is successful at Udinese and the latter wants to buy him on a permanent basis, he will value will be quite high.

  37. @AZ, Thanks, that was my question, as I was wondering whether that was affecting AZ’s player budget. Good to hear that it is not.

    @Wilson, Fun video on the link you attached. Did you put it together?

    Re: De Vrij pulling out. Yep, I would assume that means Ake gets the start in central defense, and it also should mean that Wijndal will get the start at lb.

  38. AZ completed their preparation for the season with 1:1 with Ghent. Interestingly, AZ was represented by B-team and only Vlaar and Leeuwin represented the team A. Whereas Ghent played with 7 players from the team A. Overall, I liked how AZ played. Attack was a bit shallow as Aboukhlal – Druijf connection was not working. I liked how AZ played defensively. More exiting news: Timo Letschert made his debut for AZ.

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