I'm also pleased that Schaken was called up - mostly because that's where all the attention of the Dutch fans is focusing on rather than on Douglas now.... It is an extremely strange call-up that. Not that Schaken is a bad player, but he's 30 years old!
I think any central defense permutation must include a veteran player. Hard to imagine LvG will field newcomers in the starting line-up in important qualifier matches. That said, one of Heitinga, Mathijsen, or Vlaar (if we can count him 'veteran') will feature. Heitinga - Douglas gets my vote also. I'd be content with Douglas - Mathijsen... then sub Mathijsen with Viergiever when the match is in the bag. Glad to see Fer. I think he will make the final selection this time around, just about time he's getting tested...
Well, the call up settles us playing 4-3-3. So what he is 30 years old. He still has nothing on this legend:
I didn't like Willems in the Belgium game, although it was better than the Euro Cup games.....I stilll preferred BMI's performance to his........do you think Buttner will get a call up after getting some minutes with united? Having options wouldn't hurt in a position currently so weak......also, if VDW keeps playing well he should be reconsidered as another option in right back Midfield trio I would like to see is de Jong, Classie and Sneijder Attacking trio Narsingh, RVP, Robben. Would love to see that with whatever back 4 get picked
Fer is overrated. It's a player having everything including scoring goals, but in his core plays work football. Dutch NT should always go for the optimal passing game executioners leaning on technique and the position game. I know they are alike, but first we should start to control midfield for longer than 20 minutes. This means pressure champs, passing lane readers, interception cannons and high handling speed dudes. This means Anita and Clasie. We should not opt to solve the gap on midfield with more running but with smarter football. If we are more up the field, wizard Wesley will also be able to do more magic as he can spray with passes and through balls and in cases we do experience a turnover without initial interception, there will be a quick back and forth situation that also benefits Sneijder. If we get the ball back in the defensive third and give it fast to Sneijder, there is still no player in the world that is better able to turn around and open up to a sprinting winger. So this is a counter situation after a counter from say ... Turkey. This would give me Euro 2008 déja vu, something I would love to experience. Anita in DM and Clasie the better glory pass deliverer (I saw at Newcastle Anita giving a wrong one also) more forward next to Sneijder. This triangle also has the highest handling speed we can configure. Strootman and Fer do not have very high handling speed. They don't have excellent pressing and they are also not as good as Anita and Clasie in reading a game allowing them to play proactive. If this is not good enough to overpower Turkey, we will have to put in power and have to win it by athleticism. Not wrong necessarily, just football from a lower paradigm. In this case I do not understand the exclusion of Afellay from midfield by van Gaal. What happened to the magnificent 6 idea van Marwijk had, adding Afellay to the group when the press talked about 5? I do not know and I don't even like him that much on the wing. Fer, Strootman, Afellay are strong guys, who can go box to box and won't be pushed around. My idea remains however, to not be touched in the first place.
Willems was indeed already better than at the Euro, but his defense remains weak. I found BMI's passing later in the second half very bad and it brought us in danger, but his 2 key passes helping to set up the 2 goals were great. I have this sexy idea to put Willems in front of a left back playing BMI, when Sneijder has one of his injury's again in the 4-3-3 we now play. Willem's had at the start 2 sweet through balls. One to Robben who took too much time and had a bad first 5 meter to capitalize on it. Willems passing is very secure. Has lungs an action and is a forward threat in general. He is just a really good footballer, but a pretty poor defender to this day (can still develop). I hold judgement on Buttner. I think he is pretty light for United, but if he is used for his offensive quality's, it can't get much worse than Evra. Boy, that player was bad on Monday.
i'd like to see anita get some playing time, maybe even playing left-back if we need it. i truly don't trust willems defensively, Sure he's got the speed, the skills, but his crosses aren't all that, and i always feel a goal is gonna come from that side. I think Martins-indi, or anita would be perfect for that spot. And anita can slot right in for nigel de jong. clasie might need another year. but i expect him to be starting at the world cup
Well the choice has an element of "trying your new toy". I do think Urby was bad against Hungary at home in the 5-3 where he was subbed in, somewhere in the second half. In the England friendly he was subbed for Sneijder and I have seen little of him. Didn't pull something off. Word has it, that at Milan he was the one player, having maybe the best pre season. I will watch him if I can, but Urby always struck me as a good player if he was more played in midfield for Ajax. Not for nothing van Gaal has him behind Sneijder on his list for left midfielder IIRC. My proposition was build on the idea in case Sneijder gets injured. Maybe first half Urby, second half Willems, just to see what he does with it.
Why not play Urby/ Willems on the left and Sneijder on the right? It would probably be a bit more balanced than VdV on the right
Its good for Clasie if he is slowly introduced. His debut is a long time coming but his career can take a massive setback & he might crash & burn if he is forcibly placed. He has always been groomed & treated like a baby playing 60 minutes matches from youth division when the others played 90 minute matches because he was too small & fragile & did not have the stamina to do so. This protected him from injury. Still he fades away in the 2nd Half. Physically he is not too strong. He is a Midget as is Sneijder & Anita. With those 3 a Disaster is waiting to happen. I dont expect Heitinga(another semi midget) & Viergever/Mathijsen/Douglas to defend set-pieces. That is where Strootman or Fer comes in. They are Street Smart Players who can fight & fall & run. They are strong & can bully too. Strootman might not have the physical strength of Fer but he has grit & a fighting spirit & willing to go shoulder to shoulder. Strootman has good vision too & Fer has some weird B2B ability. Not excellent in anything but can do bit of all. At the worst he can be be on the long list of failures & at his best he can somewhat near to a Pattrick Viera. It will be good if Clasie is given the slow treatment, a 20 minute sub appearance to start till he is accustomed to this level of play which has far greater physicality & the ref's dont protect him as much as in Eredivisie.
Anita is not a very good left back and the only reason he played there for Ajax was that initially there was no other option and then when Boilesen got hurt. He is not the solution to the NT problem here.
This is one of the funniest things I've read all month. Neither player ranks up there with Maher, Clasie and Anita. Fer zones out of games and Strootman is too careless, in fact he is a poor man's Mark van Bommell
Overrated by whom exactly I wonder. I've never even heard him get bigged up (other than by Twente supporters, obviously) and this is the first time (in his Twente days) that he's considered for the national team. He probably won't make the final squad either.
You can't even compare those four players. Each of them has specific qualities and weaknesses and they're all very different from each other. What you need to look at is team balance. Now I'm all in favour of dropping Nigel de Jong. To replace him you'd need a physical box to box player. Anita fits into that mould, as does Fer. Clasie and Maher do not.
Well, hopefully Douglas and Viergiever/De Vrij will bring a much-needed stability in the back four. If this is the case, there won't be need for a stiff guard dog like Nigel de Jong. I believe any two combinations of Strootman, Anita, Clasie, Maher, or Fer can complement Sneijder just fine. It's a pretty good shortlist to select from. And all five are still developing, so there are reasons to be optimistic about their futures. Throw in the mix Afellay (whom I still think more suited as central midfielder, as opposed to winger), and maybe surprises like Jon de Guzman (had a decent game in his EPL debut, very dangerous from set-pieces) or Van Ginkel.
I have my doubts about Maher, he did not look good enough for Holland. And about Strootman too to be honest, mostly because he never makes a difference when the going gets tough at PSV. Clasie I'm well impressed with I have to say, and Anita can probably do the job. Fer is very much a modern midfielder. Strong, pacey, box to box - not the type Van Gaal is likely to ever take a fancy to. I don't think he'll ever make the first team as long as Van Gaal is in charge to be honest. I agree plenty of options. Time for Nigel de Jong to go.
Notice i'm only talking about for Holland the game against dynamo kiev, I feel as if he's outgrown the eredivisie, would like to see him in germany or premier league. Many questions came up to in my head, Which have to do with how much does clasie speak when playing, although he is the future, and best guy for linking defense and attack, can he shield a weaker dutch backline.Do they respect him as best for the position, his teammates. Furthermore, the dutch centerbacks tend to pass it to the sides, never in the center, What limits his effectiveness is something that busquets for spain and van bommel did for holland on occasions I'm talking about both centerbacks spliting apart, Defensive Midfielder Coming into the center,(pulling back) getting the ball (from the keeper), allowing the full backs to attack the wingers and create man advantages. I am not seeing it much with Holland anymore. And if i do, it's van der vaart or sneijder. Nigel de jong doesn't have the passing for it. Clasie does, but can we trust mathijsen and heitinga to get the ball and pass forward with confidence. especially if someone is marking clasie tight. Not anymore it seems. Whats holding clasie back, is the fact that Louis Van Gaal hasn't solved the centerback problem. Because of that we have to wait a year for clasie to get his chance to shine, when we have some footballing centerbacks,
By the people holding on to the paradigm of physical players over football players and the goal output he will have this year for Twente in my estimation also helped by the creative players around him with good crosses in your estimation that I subscribe to. Of athleticism running on everything that moves rather technique and game reading ability. By analysts who like to associate him with new buzz words in their post match TV analyses like "modern midfielder". WTF does that even mean. Modern midfielder. How is more running ever modern? How about being able to read a game better so you can position yourself smarter, so you constantly are able to respond fast with any situation. I find players that try to get deeper inside the OODA loop of the opponent and mastered the position game much more interesting and modern than players that mastered the art of running more. I see a van der Gijp being in awe by the thought of having Fer and Strootman on midfield and consistently slags off players like Clasie and Anita. The physical options are always easy and secure. If you advocate and stand behind the big bad bro's on midfield working their butt off you will have save wins and probably save losses. I am more interested in trying to configure a real footballing midfield as that brings more joy and also can deliver far more consistent victory's once you have really nailed it down. It's the time that it takes to experiment, fine tune and set things up properly, that the naysayers use to keep work football and mailman football alive.
You realize, this not only protected him from injury, but maybe also offered him a chance to reach pro football in the first place and so we ended up having this gem at our disposal to beat the Germans?
I don't think this is an either or discussion. You need a balance between physical strength and footballing ability in any team. You'll never win anything with 11 Messi's.