yes! we might finally be able to do something now that Elia's on for Kuyt, and Huntelaar's on for van Persie
First half Holland the better side, second half Brazil clearly the better side. No idea why all of a sudden the Dutch aren´t keeping the shape of the squad smaller now. I´m liking Krul so far.
Robben has been his selfish self but then again if you take that away from him it would be a shame. Ramirex thoroughly deserved his sending off. Elia disappointing so far. Playing vs Alves has undoubtedly brought him back to earth, thank you Mr Alves.
the problem is that everyone's trying to dribble past the brazilian's themselves-which isn't really possible.
Actually what I like about Elia is that no matter how crap a game he´s having he keeps on trying. That´s the true Dutch spirit of winger-ship.
I think he'll almost certainly be our outright #1 next season. He has clear talent but needs as many games as possible to develop. Who is the usual 2nd and 3rd choice behind Stekelenburg?
The Netherlands slightly better in the first half, Brazil better in the second. If one team deserved to win it was Brazil, but to be honest none deserved to win. Great match to get sleepy from so I'll gonna sleep. Neymar is overroepen...
You know it´s weird that the dutch get a bad rep in that respect. I guess people have a harder time with tough tackling than with cheating.
Mwah the Dutch have a better win-loss record than Spain over the past three years and it´s not like they destroyed Holland in the WC final.
Krul MOTM. Vorm should definately be worried because Krul deserves to be 2nd behind Stekelenburg with Vermeer also on the way. Afellay and RVP partnership was the highlight of the 1st half, but their bromanship isolated Robben a bit who got fed up and scorched that shot over while he should've passed it wide to RVP. RVP skinning 3 Brazilians had a lot of wow factor. Robben on form is still head and shoulders above everybody else though, only Sneijder is on par with him if he plays. I'm not sure if RVP should be our CF? With him roaming the field we're often without bodies in the box.. Why can't we play with both KJH and RVP? 2nd half was all about the failed tandem of Elia and Pieters. How embarassing was it btw. when that statistic came up which showed that Pieters only came up once to VDW's 9. Strootman impressive free kick, but was a bit anonymous. Kuyt bestet his Liverpool mate in midfield, but didn't offer much attacking threat. Heitinga and Mathijssen = solid. Brasil wanted revenge and honestly, ..they were a bit dissapointing. Neymar is a beast, but the amount of diving he did SMH. Lucio is a legend.
i would have preferred Afellay on the left, RvP in the middle, KJH infront, and Robben on the right. i think it was less of an Elia-Pieters fail so much as it was a Pieters existence fail. he rarely came forward, but when Brazil attacked down their right flank, it was always either Mathijssen or Elia/Kuyt who would end up taking them on.
I hope to see more of Strootman next wednesday. Defensively he was great, but I didn't see him offer much offensively.
This. Absolutely this. I think Holland need to unearth a speedy frontman for the oranje, if not for euro12 then for wc14(van persie will be almost 31), who knows how to play on the counterattack but can also offer some strength when the play slows down. You have van persie supporting, a talent like that, and he is the perfect number 9.5 schemer.
They should both start imo, RVP today and in the WC showed that he's less prolific as should in Oranje. He's unhuman for Arsenal, but somehow doesn't bring it when playing under van Marwijk. Huntelaar is the topscorer this qualifying campaign, 8 goals in 4 games, best goal ratio in Europe. There's no sense in overlooking that feat. KJH Robben - Sneijder - RVP VDV - MVB/Janssen De Jong* - Mathijssen - Heitinga - VDW St. Maarten *I honestly think Nigelinho can do a better job than Pieters there, LB is how he started out for Ajax. Elia and Afellay are perfect impact subs.
I wouldn't leave out Afellay for Huntelaar right now, he was one of the better players today. Huntelaar is great when Oranje is dominating, but as soon as something needs to be forced, he's nowhere to be seen. Pieters is terrible yes, I hope another LB comes through before the EC next year, but that's probably wishful thinking.
i don't think the sin is leaving out Afellay for Huntelaar, it's leaving out Afellay for RvP. when we have Sneijder in the middle, there's no need for the striker to come back into the midfield. all he needs to do is put the balls into the back of the net when they enter the box. I'd rather Afellay or Elia over RvP any day. Huntelaar Afellay, Sneijder, Robben VDV, De Jong Anita, Mathijssen, Heitinga, VdW Do you think that Anita or Blind could do a better job than Peiters? unfortunately Holland's best academy only produces foreign defenders now
Pieters is better than Anita, Emanuelson or Blind. That said, it says more about the level of Dutch backs than about Pieters.