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  1. Jan, in the future you could set up a link to a dutch shop selling things like drop, gouda, biterballen, indonesian sauces, etc etc…..

  2. @Jan,

    Do you think you can change the picture of the main website It looks like Iceman missed a kick, maybe change it to a more happier picture to bring positive luck/energy?

    1. Yeah man, this is Dennis running away after having scored. And you know, the original pic is sooo cool as it’s taking from the top and there is no one else around him. It singles him out and is one of the most beautiful sports pics ever. I think.

      1. I have my Dennis #8 on right now. Youngest has his #5 Gio. The girl has her #10 Wes shirt on. And the oldest has his #9 RVP shirt. We are ready for the Danes here!

  8. yesterday i expected two boring games,but fortunately the two games were entertaining. russia are good,but the other teams in their group are really weak. oranje will easily eliminate russia or the other,probably poland (or greece). today the real thing begin,i expect a large victory. the goal-difference might count at the end of the group stage,so oranje have to score as many goal as possible. i don’t underestimate danemar,but a good and convincing start is really important.

  13. another few hours and we take the field…cant wait…have been reading anything about holland i find in the newspaper…but sadly not much info there…and india’s best footballer of all time , baichung bhutia ( i know u all know him) 🙂 says holland may go out after the group stage and denmark may upset them in the first game…fuck i just wish i was not in india during these big tournaments..

  14. Dear Friends,
    Nehterland will beat everyone, with all my do respect to the specialists critics…the german are not that good as everyone saying, and portugal they are group of players each one play in different direction

    All i know that we will beat germany,portugal and danmark who go with us to second round its up to them.

    yes we have new 18 years talent as left back…willem will be the star

  16. Got a positive feeling this morning.
    I think we’re up for it.

    I’m confident that this team has enough about them to do some damage today.
    Pass and move, heads up, hungry for the ball, always looking for space, and when we lose it we nick it back with speed and numbers.
    Or a war of attrition – haha – whichever it must be.
    3 points is 3 points.

    Hats, clogs, beers, BBQ, burgers, bites, tunes, my mates on their way – I’m set!
    TV room adorned with 30+ years of replica shirts, awash in a sea of Orange…
    The party is ON!

    WE ARE HOLLAND!
    LET’S DO THIS!

    (disclaimer: i’ll still probably watch the whole game from behind the sofa)

  17. @Jan

    You should create an “Oranje links” in the menu. [ Not links as opposed to rechts… 😀 Links as in urls! ] A place in the menu where one can find the best of the best of the internet oranje legioen. Just a suggestion. I imagine you’re swimming in work with our new home, but I really think it could be interesting. Keep up with the good work!

  20. Hello Jan! Cool site! Here in Warsaw the fever has started yesterday with an incredible atmosphere at the opening game. Today is the day for us! Wesley has his birthday and we finally play!!

  21. I am pumped. Usually sleep late on weekends yet awoke at 9 am (an hour ago) and cannot fall back to sleep…2 hours to go…stomach is already in knots, cant imagine what the boys are feeling right now

    1. They are probably all cool and relaxed. At this point its tougher to be a fan than a player! These guys have all played huge games before, even Vlaar @ U-21 and even Willems I think @ U-17.

  24. 1 more hour, I think this is the first time I’m feeling super calm/confident before a match. Really feel good this year about the team. We shall see!

    HUP HOLLAND HUP!

  57. We are dominating possession 65% to 35%. We have missed many goal scoring opportunities. Our back line ,however, is horrid and undisciplined. Denmark’s first opportunity and they score.

  58. and Denmark is playing very open compared to other teams that park the bus.

    I know we can score and beat them but our defense is just horrible! How hard is it to keep up with your man?

  77. This is what we were talking about in the friendly games. You can take it easy on offense but there’s no excuse for not defending well whether it is a qualifier or a friendly.

    I think if this is really our defense, I don’t see us going too far. This type of defending is just UNACCEPTABLE for a team of this caliber.

  78. suggestion #1: Jetro out , Stijn in. We need to tighten the back, it is loose. Even though more chances are created on the other side, we need to make sure we better control the rear end which seems out of focus.

    see? all those calling for 4-3-3 and more attacking style and shit? That’s what happens when you focus on how to score.

    The focus should be how to win not how to score.

    Anyhow, we can easily turn this around but it will take a good speech in the locker room.

  80. Yeah, we’re giving them waaayyyyy too much time on the ball. With the weakness at the back we need to be pressing higher, I’d like to see the attack a lot more active in winning the ball back.

    Patience though, the goals will come – we’ve got the personnel and clearly we’re not having problems creating the chances.

  81. This is reminding me of the WC 1998 semifinal against Brazil. So many chances missed. Actual score should have been at least 4-1 at half time. Instead we are losing. WHAT CRAP !!!
    If this continues I don’t know what will happen….

  83. Robben still hasn’t got his head right. Afellay seems like the only one that’s causing problems for the Danes but his finishing needs more work.

  85. I’d probably replace RVP with Hunter and Nigel with VdV. Wondering what’s wrong with RVP today, obviously he’s not effective. Actually Wesley is not present either.

    At this point, with Germany and Portugal waiting, it makes no difference to lose 0-1 or 0-5.

  86. I see a bunch of sissies incapable of scoring easiest of chances and not even getting mad at themselves. SHAMEFUL
    We need aggressive players upfront like Hunter who can match Agger’s rough play and who knows how to head the ball.
    I can’t believe the impotence. But don’t worry, if we lose it will be just like 88 again.

  89. I disagree with Robben criticism, I thought he and Ibra had great movement and RvP’s off-the-ball combination play with Robben created a couple really good chances. Again I’m urging patience and then bringing on VdV and the Hunter at the 70th min.

  92. I am baffled. The defence are taking it way too easy; need to get tighter. If van Persie is subbed we will miss his creativity up top and chances may drop off, but we need Hunter’s lethal finishing. Van Marwijk has a dilemma.

  96. Is it time to hit panic button yet? or like balkan said “if we lose it will be just like 88 again”?

    So many questions ….. actually yesterday I did tell my friend that I wanted us to scrape to win against Denmark, like a hard-fought 3-2 or 2-1 instead of easy 4-0 to better prepare us for Germany/Portugal.

    We shall see, easier said than done, how many times my TV was in jeopardy of being smashed in the last 45 mins, I lost count.

  97. Plus, let’s not forget the luck factor. The defense got caught sleeping by Kohn-Delli’s cut inside, but before that the reason he even got the ball in such a dangerous position wasn’t as much defensive error as a fluke bounce from the tackle in the left corner.

    No excuses though for the lack of finishing. I’m a Liverpool fan so I’m used to this.

  99. We need to score and need to defend, right now we can’t score to save our life and we have a defense in disarray. No one is taking the lead, no one is standing out.

  100. it reminds me barca-chelsea… heitinga is the man to blame for the goal. i would change a attack-minded player,vdv or huntelaar instead of one of the holding midfielders. oranje must win this game.

  101. If we must put Huntelaar in, I rather have Sneijder out than Van Persie. Van persie seems to have more creativity in this game, despite his misses. Sneijder has been awol.

  105. Noone can defend RvP. He’s taking up the centre forward position and doing nothing. When his moment comes he screws it up. Sub him off and put in KJH now!!! RvP MUST be benched!!!

  106. I think this is a whole team failure. Defense not defending, and offense not scoring. You can’t go anywhere but home if this continues…

    Hopefully, BVM does something before it’s too late. Losing this game would be a massive loss of confidence.

    Sneijder has been very quiet too.

    Hunter for RVP???
    VDV for Sneijder???

    This is truly a wake up call.

  109. My halftime changes: Hunter and VdV on for Van Persie and Nigel. Nigel doing okay but needs to be sacrificed for offense. Van Persie simply can’t score with both feet, and it’s cost us here.

    The whole team needs more intensity. Less overthinking. Keep shots low (most have been over the xbar).

  132. This is one of those games when you feel like you can play 24 hours and not be able to score with an open goal.
    Marwijk you’re an idiot of highest caliber.

  135. I can’t believe our best player so far is MvB, he had to go down defending. Nigel has 0 touch in 2nd half, why is he still on the pitch?

  137. 60 minutes into the game. 1 goal down. We are getting farther and farther from the goal.It’s time to put both Huntelaar and Van der Vaart.

  171. Looks like it’s gonna be a loss, unless a last second miracle

    these guys are not playing with any urgency at all

    worst possible way to start a tournament

  176. maybe we just need to face what we have all known for the past 3 months…this team just isnt that good.

    Bad things happen in 3 things, i think after this game, things get better.

    Lost my job, found out grams got cancer and now this loss…no more bad shit…

  177. i’m sorry guys…looks like we might be goin home early

    can’t blame anyone but ourselves

    horrible finishing from RVP. probably his worst game in terms of finishing

    horrible defending

    seems like a miracle now to beat Germany

    1. Hunter took one touch too many after that incredible ball in by Wesley. Handball call. We had the chances clearly, but also gave up the ball way too much as the urgency increased.

  181. It is inexcusable that the ref’s can miss two handballs in the box. Holland only have themselves to blame for missing all those shots but seriously, one or two penalty’s would have helped.

  182. Lesson to Bert: When things are going badly, you can’t wait until 70 minutes to make changes. I don’t know of any other coach who consistently waits that long to make any change.

    Should have been made at halftime.

    Unfortunately Hunter did not look sharp, but he has the extra pressure when given less than 1/4 of the game to make something happen.

  183. @ MVH.

    RVP missed at least 3 chances, KJH missed a gift, they didnt have it tonight.

    We lack the experience at the back, we miss GIO and KUYT out there providing stability…hate to say this, but i think KUYT should start the next game.

  184. It went to shit after he made the changes. He was right to wait. VDV should never have come on. Did not hit one successful pass. Utter shyte. VDW too.

    NO URGENCY. They did not care at all, even with minutes on the clock. Allowing Denmark to play.

  186. Let’s not panic, we said so during the friendlies.

    1988 European Championships:
    We lost friendly to Bulgaria 2:1.
    We lost opener by 1:0.
    We ended up defeating Germany in the tournament and winning the 1988 European Championships.

    2012 European Championships:
    We lost to Bulgaria 2:1.
    We lose opener by 1:0.
    We will have to defeat Germany…and eventually go on to win the 2012 European Championships.

    1. Looking on the bright side Van Basten?! In 88 we had the general as a coach, this time around we have a stubborn idiot who refuses to believe he can’t be lucky all the time.

  188. Yupe, rough start ….. Jetro and van der Wiel have more style than substance. Nigel is useless, Heitinga is garbage. The only way we’ll bounce back is if somehow Robben and Wesley pick up their game. Hunter and RVP both need to start.

    The only positive is if we are to be unlucky, hit the post, couldn’t finish, etc., it better happen in match #1.

  190. the changes did not look to have worked i think.. van der vaart looked like a passenger although hunter had a few moments. all in all we all have ourselves to blame. robben, rvp missed chances.. they kind of looked out of ideas or perhaps Shocked once they were a goal down. but thats euro football. i think we were very poor tonight. it hurts to say but we did not deserve to win. at least a draw wud hav a satisfactory result

  192. honestly, Kuyt over Robben, robben did not beat his defender one time, he did not put in one good cross, he had one lame attempt at goal.

    He killed attack after attack with his bad decisions and selfishness. Plus, kuyt will add some stability against the krauts

  194. disgusting game… rvp was terrible… robben was terrible… afellay was terrible… i think it is better to replace the back four with cones or obstacles cause they can’t win a tackle for their life.

  196. i’m shopcked. the defense is crap,robben is not the same as he wass 2 years ago,rvp missed at least 3 golden opportunities. if a team has so many chances and cannot convert any of them,they deserve the defeat. the problem is that both germany and portugal are stronger than danemark. if we loose against germany,the euro is over… it will be very difficult,but worldclass teams play well when they really need it. against germany we’ll see this oranje is a worldclass team or not. we can say that in 88 oranje started with a 0-1 defeat against the ussr… well,we’ll see wednesday.

  197. the only positive i could think of is vMarwijk finally choosing Huntelaar as striker…. Robben must be the most overrated footballer in football history…

    i always said this team was mediocre at best,,,but to see them like this does really hurt

  199. @ SamNY

    I agree, a team full of superstars chokes. i think these guys are in their prime and it got to their head. they all think they can win the game themselves. They all take shots from 20 yards at a 45 degree angle.

    This was this generations chance to win something and they dropped the ball. We dont have any players near the quality of these guys coming up, so dutch football will be on the decline next 15 years at least, i dont think we will be in the top for another generation.

    Our decline startd against sweden, we never recovered from that loss.

    1. i think they raised the expectations too high and started thinking about the final waaay too early. they also played as if they were 1-0 to start the game, no urgency and lacking a last sharp pass or sometimes playing one too many. don’t be surprised if germany and denmark progress from this group.

  200. It’s remarkable, where all those quitters and naysayers just suddenly come from. I think we played quite well but were horribly unlucky. More than 25 shots on goal, 1 dead-certain and one 70%-penalty appeal turned down. Van Persie forgot his first touch at home. However Jetro Willems plays as if he was twice his age.

    So I’m not really worried. Lady Fortuna will return.

    It would be another story if Denmark’s goal hadn’t been a fluke or if we had displayed defensive frailties. They only worry was that the substitusions happened so late. it should have happened at 60 minutes.

    So don’t start bashing the team. We have 5 more games to win, guys!!

  201. This team has a disease!!!! It is called robben! This guy should go home now! When he hit the post van persie was by himself infront of the goal!!!! And when ban persie set him free on the right infront of the goal and he wa supposed to shoot, now he passes the ball to the defenders feet! He is useless!

  202. Robben continued where he stopped at Bayern, he has become predictable. Terrible game, the worst one under van Marwijk. Why he never makes substitutions during half time even when everything goes wrong ???

  207. Disaster! We have to beat Germany and Portugal now–and that won’t be easy. The team squandered numerous opportunities in the first half. Robben had just the goalie to beat around 17 minute mark and instead tries to center the ball into traffic–nothing! RVP missed. Van der Wiel was terrible. I got a bad feeling, I’m afraid. No excuse for not scoring a couple of goals in this game. Germany will be much better than denmark. Not enough chemistry? What was the problem?

  209. C’mon people!
    The disappointment is real and heavy. This means we now have to do things the hard way. But the level of pessimistic hyperbole is a little bit counter-productive.
    What we know:
    1)This is football and anything can happen (see 1988).
    2) They created over 2 dozen chances. Yes there were only 8 on goal and none went in the net. But if you have 3 games and they create that many chances in each, you can’t bet on the lads not to put a few more of them away.
    3) We’ve got the personnel. Tactics and defensive frailties aside (and these things are important, don’t get me wrong), a large portion of our squad can turn it on and individually change the game and at any given time. No it didn’t happen today but the fact is that we know what they are capable of.

    The team especially has to stay unified and positive right now. They’re going to come in for a ton of criticism and ideally BvM will shoulder it – he seems principled and capable in that regard. But if we get into another situation where disunity in the camp starts to divide the players, we know it’s a wrap. It’s happened way to many times in the past.

    The glass is (still) half full.

  211. @ Dejong

    Our best defense is our offense, and our only hope is that germany defense is much much worse than Denmark. We barely broke them down at the WC, they def have the best defense in the group, maybe the tournament.

    That being said, RVP’s epic slip, his terrible shooting, the teams shot selection was awful and Robben…that guy will never change, he reminds me of my alcoholic ex boss, in denial just all over the place

  212. Guys ..i dont find ourselfs ..passing this death group really..we will draw germany that if we are not going to lose with this sloppy defending

  213. terrible.

    1st-half Van Persie always took one touch too many.
    2nd-half Van Persie didn’t open some space for Huntelaar. they tumbled in the same area together.

    Van Der Wiel was just simply awful.

    Robben… I can’t believe I would say this, but, just play Kuyt over him. 😀

    finally, they played the ball too much. no swift movement. as the result, they were always crowded by the Danes.

    they simply don’t deserve to win if they keep playing like that. they should up their game. hup holland hup!

  214. And now I am torn because we will have to root for Portugal to beat these Danes. They did not win, we lost. We just couldn’t put the ball in.

    The one thing I DID NOT LIKE is that the Dutch were walking while we were losing. Maybe we just don’t have that killer instinct to take it all the way this year…

  215. VDW is overrated
    Steks – 6/10
    Did poorly on the goal. Let a ball in b/n his legs. Did well the rest of the game.

    VDW – 4/10
    Is he grossly overrated? His crosses just don’t connect to their target. I say definitely put Boulah in. At least he will defend.

    Heitinga – 3/10
    He literally stopped running and let Danish guy go take a shot on goal.

    Vlaar – 3/10
    Just as guilty on the goal. He is painfully slow running and slow to react.

    Willems – 5/10
    Nothing decent in terms of crosses or effective attacking. Got caught a couple of times losing his man.

    MVB – 5/10
    One good shot on goal. Looked very tired in the second half.

    NDJ – 4/10
    Very anonymous performance. If anything he should join the back four and defend.

    Sneijder – 6.5/10
    Couple of decent passes. Still not his best performance.

    Afellay – 6/10
    Looked very promising in the 1st half. Lots of running but wasted a lot of good shots on goal.

    Robben – 4/10
    Bayern Munich game has really killed every ounce of his confidence. Meaningless runs all day long to be finished by wasteful shots on goal that goes into the stands everytime.

    RVP – 4/10
    Worst game for him in terms of finishing. He had at least 4 decent chances to convert. His failure to score put enormous pressure on the team. The more he missed, the more nervous the team became. Has to be absolutely benched against Germany.

    Subs:

    Hunter – 5/10
    He had a marvelous pass from Sneijder. Should have absolutely scored that one. Didn’t get any other decent chances. Came too late in this game. He should have came in at 1/2 time.

    VDV – 4/10
    I dunno what he did after coming in. He was just non-existent. Harmless passes away from goal. He tried a shot on goal once.

    Kuyt – Unrated
    Not enough time in the game. Not really a game changer at this point anyways.

    BVM – 5/10
    Should have brought in subs much more earlier than the 70th min. Hunter and VDV were waiting at least 5 mins on the touchline for them to get in the game. He could have told one of the players to kick the ball out or make the change during the corner kick.
    Looking at our defense, can’t blame him for using two holding midfielders. He should have tried more options during qualifying in defense. Now he is sorely short-handed.

  216. @ Robert

    I think these overpaid primadonnas are happy to go home to their hot WAGS, and their mazerratis and mansions, and dont have the heart anymore. They have been to WC final, CL final, won la liga, eredivise, bundesliga, serie A…it doesnt look like they care

  217. Robben and persie were really bad to be honest .
    Let’s see how germnay and portugal will play , but we’re in a bad situation with no doubt 🙁 .

    i think the line-up that played in the last 5 minutes in the game should start against germany , just put afellay instead of Robben .

  218. apart from the birthday boy, every one looked tired and out of energy. and what surprised me most was we were unable to press more in the last 10 or 15 minutes. too many nervous players. not enough quality. missed pass. and not enough quality crosses from either wings towards jan hunter. i think if he gets a good service from the wings he is a real menace – hunter. that shud have been the plan in the second half but the plan did not start until 70 minutes.

  220. we rode our luck to the WC final in 2010, now it is coming back to us, cant always be lucky.

    maybe these guys are just too old, i think narsingh should have come in for robben at halftime, this loss falls alot on BVM to be honest, i think its time for a more creative coach

  221. I’m going to be the one defending Heitinga and Vlaar, the looked sloopy yes but we all knew that. Gross failure by Van Bommel and Dejong for not backing them up
    But what was even worst with our team was our attack minus Sneidjer, Robben needs to be injected with a dose of anti-ego or sit him on the bench so he learns. up Yours, I hated him completely today, egocentric maniac he had a golden chance to cross but he gave a gift to the supporters

  222. Did you guys look at the Russians yesterday? So much passion and energy. Even Arshavin, the same guy who had a miserable season at Arsenal looked like Ronaldinho on that left flank.

    Sometimes, heart is better than talent. Passion is better than reputation.

    I don’t mind losing games but don’t lose games looking like you don’t care. Looked like they were playing in a charity game. No sense of urgency.

    I think those warmup games were a clear indication of how this team was gonna perform. That N. Ireland game was an aberration.

  223. Friends:

    We played like this at the World Cup, nothing spectacular but very effective killing the ocassiones that we created. Today it wasn´t bad luck or a good game from Denmark, Oranje simply didn´t know how to finish the many opportunities it created. I am specially mad at Van Persie…He missed clear chances all the game and it didn´t seem to matter to him, it is his second tournament and central striker.

    I´d say for next game substitute Willems as left back and put there Schaars and Van der Wiel for Kuyt. Yes, Kuyt because he has all the hunger, courage and will defend well and attack too. And Afellay played ok but I think it will be better to put Sneijder in the left like in the last minutes of this game and Van Persie behing Huntelaar. It would be the opportunity for RVP to show us wrong not the Arsenal supporters but Oranje supporters.

    It´s not over. The group we were placed will be defined I think in the last journey so if Oranje manages to win or at least tie we will have a chance against Portugal. If we lose next game it´s over. Today Oranje was better but the effectiveness we showed during WC 2010 wasn´t there!

    I think Vlaar did pretty good today, much better than Heitinga and what a crappy game from VDV.

    Let´s not throw the towel.

    Next game: Steks; Kuyt, Vlaar, Heitinga or Mathijsen, Schaars; Van Bommel, De Jong, Robben, Sneijder; Van Persie and Huntelaar.

    Let´s pick up the good spirit.

  224. Our only chance now is for Portugal to beat the Germans. Otherwise, these Germans are gonna be so hyped up and so full of confidence, it will be almost impossible to beat them.

  226. To be fair Robben tried to feed a shooting chance off early in the game. He should have been selfish there. Apart from that he was far too self-centred.

    I will defend BvM. The system was working. You cannot ask for more than 29 shots! The players were not executing. Plus, I thought we were playing really attractive football at times. The style was there but the substance was not.

    So disappointed 🙁 I still believe we can get through the group though.

  227. I can’t, I can’t believe it. All credit to Denmark, they used their opportunity to score and defended well.

    In my opinion, the set-back goal wasn’t on Stekelenburg, but the whole defence. Despite good individual effort, especially in the second half, I think it was the off hand-attitude that cost us the first half, the lead goal and then the psychological edge.

    Oh God, Germany game on the 13th. Can someone with more knowledge explain what needs to be fixed, can it be don in time or is this going to be a very short tournament for us.

    And its not the loosing per se that I’m worried about, but NOT SCORING!
    Seriously, does the line-up need to changed somehow? This is not good!
    Someone with more experience tell me this has happened before and Oranje has gone on to.

    I was set for an easy, festive opener with lots of goals and a good start for the games but.. got a cold shower instead.

    Matias.

  229. RVP is the most overrated player to wear an Oranje jersey that I have ever seen. He is absolutely sht, worthless, below zero. And dont tell me he scored a lot of goals in EPL, bcse those goals came when Arsenal was definitely out of reaching the title. It was no pressure and RVP works best on that, when he doesnt feel presure. Put him in a match when he absolutely needs to score, and he will fail doing so. If he ever leeds the attack again, I will do the unthinkable, boycott the game!

  230. @J
    I don’t think it’s accurate to say RVP doesn’t feel pressure when playing for Arsenal. Does Denmark offer more pressure on him than ManCity/ManUtd/Chelsea/Liverpool etc? There was a lot of pressure on Arsenal to win a place in next season’s CL.

    He had a horrible game. He definitely should be replaced by Hunter in the next game.

    I think Robben is more overrated than him.

    1. Its the format of the tournament itself that offers the pressure. there are just three games to get to the next round. in a league, you have a lot more games and tolerance, to make errors, improve as a team, find the form etc…

      there is a double trouble with Persie leading the attack line: he doesnt fit! the danish zone was completely EMPTY, bcse Persie was in midfield!! We played with 5 midfielders and no attacker at all! the other trouble is him and pressure handling.

      Arsenal has got a lot of beating from those teams above, no wonder why that havent won a single trophy! Just ONE, for JC sake. ONE. Nope. Not even a Mickey Mouse cup.

  231. For w eeks we heard how fast paced the training was, but when it matters they move like old slugs. Yes we missed lots of chances but also played horribly when we had them. The team seems tired and lacked bite. Robben passed when he must shoot and shoots when he must pass. VPersie clearly under too much pressure… Hunter was also unable to control the ball. They cannot handle the pressure. Only Sneijder could cut it and was himself, our only good player at the moment. We have too many problems in defense when Mathijsen is not there.

  232. I haven’t had a chance to look at anyone else’s ratings yet as it was necessary for a long walk after that performance. But here are mine to share:

    Skeks – 5.0: Made a few okay saves, but had a chance to stop the goal.

    Van der Weil – 3.5: Poor defending, little offensive support, poor passing. The worst was his floppy slide tackle that let the Danish winger get passed in the PK area. Really a bad performance. Boula to replace him next match.

    Vlaar – 5.0: Looked shaky, offered little going forward and his offensive forays were generally squelched early.
    Heitinga – 5.0: Got beaten for the goal but I credit the Danish player with a good move. Missed a great chance to score on a header, off target.
    Willems – 5.0: Seemed out of position regularly, and did not offer as much offensive support as he is capable of. Tired towards the end. Some leniency given his age.
    DeJong – 5.5: A decent performance but not much of an attacking threat.
    VanBommel – 6.5: Our best player on the night. Showed some passion. Picked up a yellow card in frustration (same feeling as all of us watching)
    Affeley – 5.0: Generally a poor match, took a long time to get into the game. Way too many shots off target.
    Robben – 5.0: Had moments, but he had a bad second half. Hit the post, but otherwise his shots seemed feeble.
    VanPersie – 4.5: Decent on the linkup play but he needs to score. As wasteful as Gomez used to be on Bayern.
    Sneijder – 6.5: Along with VanBommel our other decent player. Fought for the ball, made some good passes that were wasted by his teammates.
    Hunter – 5.0: Looked nervy and tense, failed to help out his team in need this time around.
    Vaart – 4.0: After a few minutes of a bright start, looked really poor out there. So many sloppy passes.
    Kuyt – N/A

    These ratings appear to be high given the result. But apart from the individual ratings, the bigger problem is the team play and lack of energy. The problem with the way we play 4-2-3-1 is the slow counter-attack. Gone are the days when Gio would sprint 100 yards downfield and catch the other team by surprise. I can’t even picture VanderWeil running more than 10 yards, he seems so disinterested. And it’s likely Willems was told to play conservative.

    Also, our wingers continue to cut in towards the middle, and we simply lack the width, especially with no wingbacks to support and holding midfielders who don’t move out of the center. It is not a recipe for creativity.

    It’s not over yet. My lineup for next game:

    Steks
    Bouala/Heitinga/Matiejsen/Schaars
    VanBommel/DeJong
    Kuyt?/Sneijder/Robben
    Hunter

    Kuyt and Schaars are more defensive options, but Kuyt plays wide and can cross the ball. Put Robben on the left where hopefully he can act like a winger once in a while. Hunter can score with both feet and that’s what we need up front.

  233. Portugal can beat Germany today. I wouldn’t be surprised if Holland loses both remaining games.
    RVP is exactly what he was 2 yrs ago. I’d like to know what dutch media thinks about today’s humiliation.

  234. Arsenal not winning a cup is mostly due to the stingy spending policy of the club. They don’t buy the necessary players to contend. It took them such a long time to replace Almunia. I wouldn’t pay Almunia to be a ball boy.

    Actually, RVP saved this Arsenal team’s season. If you take him away, Arsenal wouldn’t even finish above Everton.

    Anyways, RVP likes to play as a midfielder sometimes and he disappears from leading the line. That’s my biggest problem with him. But today, we lost the game not because he was absent from the front line but because he couldn’t convert chances he would normally convert.

    Hunter misfired too. However, he had only one chance on goal. RVP had at least two great chances within the 1st 15 mins of the game.

    Look, it doesn’t matter how good an offense we have if we are so atrocious in defense. We have no confidence whatsoever. You can’t win a tournament with this defense. I don’t know how Heitinga was named best Everton player of the year. I wouldn’t pick him up for my weekend soccer league the way he played today.

  235. Best case scenario:

    Mission #1
    Don’t lose the game against Germany.

    Mission #2
    Don’t lose the game against Germany.

    Mission #3
    Beat Portugal in the final game by all means necessary.

  236. I agree with SamDC, it is not only about losing or being unlucky, etc. but the players were not looking hungry and passionate. Too many casual passes that ended in lost possessions. Body language is poor and this is most disappointing after the build up of how this team has played together, etc.

    Task is tougher now Ger-Por match is not ending in a draw, we should beat these 2.

  237. @dutch dream
    I couldn’t agree more with your statement regarding Robben. He shoots when needs to pass, he passes when he needs to shoot.
    I don’t understand why Robben, Van Persie and Sneidjer can’t connect with each other. They should share a room or talk over coffee, man they are f*cking good players (world class if I may say so) but they don’t work well together. Robben dribbles the ball and shoots to the stars, Van Persie is in his own planet he is so oblivion in oranje colors. Sneidjer is good but he should understand his role. He is the connector, connect yourself with all the other players. Ok your passes are magical but you have to make a connection with the others, your the point guard/quaterback in this team CALL out the plays

  238. How many times today did we have the ball on the wings and no one to hit it to? Van Persie wasn’t anywhere to be seen. 2 amazing wingers with no one to hit it to. Hunter advanced forward with can Persie drifting behind him.

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