Before I begin this post: I have something new and exciting on the homepage! Exciting for me, that is hahaha. A donation option!! Yes… You can finally share the love with me ;-).

Seriously, I do incur some cost for this site and although I’m happy doing this I wouldn’t mind you would support me for the time I put into this… So, that is all I will say about it. For now. I will try and make the option a bit more sexy, but for now, it works. Wanna check? Be my guest!

Back to football!

I can imagine most of you are getting really anxious reading about all the things that will happen with Oranje.

Let me assure you: most of the stuff that you read is spat out into the open by none other than Johan Derksen.

A vulture.

This guy is the biggest commercial rat out there. He is the publisher/editor of the VI magazine, co-produces the tv program he co-hosts and he publishes football books (which he plugs constantly during the program). He makes stupid music cds around the euros and is the one to gain most commercially from the Dutch team. But whenever he can, he will slander and criticise and humiliated our players.

Take the wife of Heitinga. She is not a bad looking girl. And apparently wants to be on tv, like Sylvie. So he attacks her in a vile way for being the leak of Oranje and trying to be as good as Yolanthe and Silvie. And in a vile and meanspirited way.

Mrs Heitinga

He will never conduct himself in the right way of checking sources and stories out but is the first to throw up his rumours on telly because he wants to be first.

Last time he said “all players have a line out to their fave reporters and then they will use those reporters for their own personal interests etc etc.” A day later, he suddenly comes with all sorts of stories about all the big name players in the squad. Bar one. Wesley Sneijder. So the show’s host asks him: so now you have a player chucking a line out and using you, eh? And as Sneijder is the only player not named in his diatribe, the link must have been Sneijder. Or maybe Derksen makes it all up?

I watch the program ( I like Rene van der Gijp) but I loath Johan Derksen.

The stories simply don’t add up.

Now he said Bert doesn’t want to work with Hunter and Raf anymore. Ridiculous.

I personally don’t believe that is true. Two days ago, for instance, he said that the whole squad wanted Huntelaar out, as he behaved like a spoiled brat. Jack van Gelder, the reporter on the rival channel, checked this over the phone with Sneijder ( on holiday on Ibiza), who said: “Huntelaar? Bullshit. That is nonsense. We didn’t have a problem with Huntelaar.”

So, Derksen is trying to create mayhem, because it sells magazines.

But if it is true, it would be stupid. If Raf and Hunter were showing discontent, it had everything to do with expectations management by Van Marwijk. I don’t think these players were annoyed that they didn’t play, but that there was no clarity. Van der Vaart had demonstrated his contributions and value at the World Cup 2010 and in the qualification games. He expected to hear from the coach what the plans were, but the coach was never consistent in his communication and choices.

Van Persie and Huntelaar with an awkward embrace

If there is one thing, players despise in a coach, it is uncertainty and doubt.

Cruyff is 100% right when he said that no one on telly sees the big picture. They are all talking about Ibi being arrogant, Robin not needing to talk to the media, Robben being selfish, etc etc. But that is all symptoms!! Not the problem.

The problem is management! Clear and simple.

Codes of conduct.
Shared values.
Rules.
A shared objective.
And sanctions if you don’t live by this.

If the rules says that players need to be available for interviews, then Mr Wenger and Van Persie have a choice: either you give interviews or you are out.

If the rules say that the coach needs to be clear and consistent, then Bert should not exit Urby for not being a real left back but at the same time keep Schaars for that spot.

If the rule says that benchwarmers can not come to the Euros, sorry, but Bouma and even Afellay shouldn’t be there.

Johan Cruyff: “Talk to the hand, Bert! Talk to the hand…”

If the leader does not behave in accordance to the code, the players won’t either.

So, despite my sympathy for Bert ( he won us a UEFA Cup in 2002 and got us to the World Cup finals) but he made too many mistakes to be given a second chance. I simply don’t think it will work. So, I’m protecting Bert a bit as well.

The travel arrangements ( 3 big flights before 3 big matches???) were a big blunder.

The selection criteria changes ( Bouma, Afellay, Willems, Maher, Anita, Emanuelson) were questionable.

The “chance” Vaart and Huntelaar were given was questionable.

The decision to play a non-fit Afellay and bench fit Vaart or Narsingh was questionable.

Not instructing Robben to play on the left and cross balls in was questionable.

Too many things happened (in my view) to ever enable players and coach to look each other straight in the eye.

I think Bert should say to the KNVB: “I want another chance, but I want a round table meeting with my key players. If they afterwards demonstrate a will to go forward, cool. If not, I will resign.”

And I wouldn’t invite Bouma or Narsingh per se, but the strongholders of the team: Sneijder, De Jong, Stekelenburg, Van Persie, Robben, Huntelaar, vd Vaart, etc.

And have a go. For half a day, full day, what ever.