Though Vilhena does not come across as a loser to me. Took the pen's at youth level for the NT. Also very early for Feyenoord. Not the type that is afraid or unambitious. One could read lack of ambition in soundbite's that might be spoken to soften the disappointment of dropping out of the WC squad for Brazil or to evade a stir in the media. The other part of mentality, effort/ applying yourself, is a thing that worries me more concerning Vilhena. I once heard that Vilehna left as soon as possible after the training was over. Did not practice extra free kicks/ penalty's. Need an update on his conduct now, but I remember from some time ago that it was not good. Maher I completely agree. Maher is a softie. I think that there are also other side's to cover when talking about mentality. For example, how does a player influence the group process? An extreme example is Dirk Kuyt. Does not only work hard, but also sacrifices himself for the interest of the team on the field ánd outside the field. I think that some players functioned better at the world cup thanks to Dirk. That the way he thinks, trickled through the group. At the WC 2014 we had a bit of a Dirk Kuyt mentality. I am not saying it is as strong as 1 on 1, just that he was 1 factor with a positive influence to establish this strong group mentality. Does Depay have a positive influence on the group? Yes and no I would say. In terms of believing, yes. In terms of really letting others function better (Luuk de Jong?) and promoting an intelligent way of thinking about the game .... not sure.
1 thing though. Depay did bring a smile on my face with his bravado on the field yesterday. Back heel here, trick there. He is a guy that tries to entertain and his self confidence is infectious.
Regarding Luuk de jong , I think he will perform better with Narsingh on the right rather than Locadia. I don't Know why Cocu is not giving enough time to Narsingh. He can be a great assist for him and for the NT. If Cocu really insists on playing with Locadia , he better plays with him upfront with Luuk in a 4-4-2 strategy , with Hendrix and Gio Wijnaldum in the middle , Narsingh on the right , Depay as a false 7 on the left and give him more role in the midfield as a playmaker. Coutinho plays the exact role this season with Liverpool and he is impressive. What do you think ?
Absolutely!! Well said! We'll always need that gritty attitude and winning mentality that Duracell Dirkie has been blessed with..Btw, do you think we'll have a top squad in 2016 or is it going to be too early? In which position(s) would you like to see some serious quality being injected into by Hiddink? For me, its the CAM or the no.10 spot and the no.9 spot (replacement of RVP). The rest of the squad looks good..what do you think??
Depay has signed a contract extension today and Van Ginkel is looking for a new club....Finally..Finally..!! I hope he finds a good club playing CL football this season. He's a top top prospect!
At least vGinkel had the smarts to get out of Chelsea. A dumb player wouldve stayed and possibly wrecked his career
I just heard that PSV is close to securing the services of Guardado. I first thought it was a joke, but it seems like I have missed out on some club failures from him. I thought he looked really good with Mexico. Wonderful player. For that player in thát form, I would kick out Maher, despite my Orange agenda and play him on 8, Wijnaldum on 10 and Hendrix on 6 (I think he brings more football than Hiljemark). I think that Narsingh does not play as he is a softie as well. Both him and Maher is too much for the team to compensate for. Loc has a certain work rate about him or in any case looks a bit busy off ball (is my impression). When PSV started to line up more grit players last season, they won 1 game after the other. A winning streak after experiencing a lot of losing before that. Even if those players did not play in their best position. A team needs a certain aggression temperature if you will. Maher and Narsingh bring it down too much. One of the two is just doable. I think Cocu is thinking along these lines and learned from last season. I can't hide my enthusiasm about Depay drifting to the center of the field. Really making plays, give well weighted passes, dribbling, doing 1-2's. He is so different from the rest who play safety passes all the time. Maher has completely dried up in this respect. Depay is like "when I can't pass as the lane is blocked, I dribble past 2 men and then give the pass". So refreshing. On higher level he will need at least 1 pitbull behind him to correct things when they go wrong, maybe 2, but to have a possible 10 in development that can give ánd the weighted creative pass ánd is able to dribble past players to force defenders to make a choice, is so refreshing. With Sneijder (has been a super player) and vdV (also great) we were equipped with great pass masters for the 10 position. With Depay we have a possible hybrid. Also one that can create things really on his own. Wijanldum and Afellay lack vision. I do see this with Depay. A small hint was already given 2 seasons ago or so, with Depay giving that wonderful pass from deep on Lens against AZ Alkmaar. This season is a bit of a season where I will watch PSV to see what Depay's creative ceiling is when he drifts to center. To see what kind of high end passes he is able to pull off.
As I mentioned above in post #82 I am excited about what Depay can develop into. Depay is fast, just not Robben fast for me with ball. He lacks that fifth gear. However when he turns out to have a much higher creative ceiling then people thought and kind of likes to operate from center (why is he moving there so much otherwise), then that 10 problem might be solved and in a system as van Gaal used, he is not pulled away from the left side as there is no left wing spot in that system. Depay basically starts competing with Sneijder and vdV. For all the wonderful services these 2 gentleman have offered us, I can not hide some excitement as to see how a Robben-RvP-Depay trident would look like. With Ginkel (who looks for a loan move by the way) and Strootman we have plenty of potential grit behind him to forgive his errors that come with his high risk high reward game. Otherwise, bring in the Nigel. I am also more positive about the 9 position thanks to the developments at Ajax and the nature of their wingers. Both El Ghazi and Kishna are fast players but not thát super fast. Both are also pretty tall, while quite technical. Both could be converted to striker in time (do a RvP). I do not rate Zivco by the way. Counter striker with mediocre technique. Ajax also have wonderful players for Kishna and El Ghazi to compete against soon. The competition will push them further. Pretty sure of that. 10 and 9 look rosier to me.
Guardado move is actually a superb one. I can say it's a good move for Eredivisie not only PSV. I think Marcel Brands is doing good. Rekik , Guardado , Bruma , Maher , Narsingh , Contract extension with Wijnaldum and Depay. He really manages with what he's got. Good job. Probably better than Overmars ? Anyway , I think Guardado can play as a left winger. He may form a very balanced left side with Willems as he can defend really well , too. So , I may start with Guardao on the left , and shift depay to the no 10 position in this case , with Wijnaldum and Hendrix behind him.
@DRB - Regarding Depay, maybe the best example for him to emulate is the great Ajax player Jari Litamen who we should remember in this season of the 20th anniversary of the last Dutch club to win CL. I think the two clubs are taking different approaches at this point. Ajax are committed to promoting from within while PSV are looking for players from outside. I'm not saying that either approach is better; they are just different. IMO, PSV are probably the favorites for the title this year because of the overall strength of their lineup (I thought the same thing last season). It looks like they will not lose any players during the transfer window while Ajax could still see Sigthorrsson, Blind, Vermeer, and Schöne move.
Arias does not play vs Ajax. If PSV start with Tamata and Brenet then Kishna/ElGhazi/Schöne should have a field day against them. I really think Tamata & Brenet are defensively not worthy of the PSV shirt. Depay vs Ligeon is also fun as mentioned earlier. Watch the wings tomorrow.
Daley Sinkgraven with a good game today. He seems like the AMF we really need in the future. Maybe the departure of Ziyech will give him a more central role. I am hoping he could develop in some kind of Eriksen player, maybe. He really seems to know what to do with the ball and his passing rate is higher than Ziyech. Lets see. Cheers
Daley Sinkgraven is an interesting player to watch. Still very very raw but plays with a lot of attacking intentions regardless of his position. Primarily an AM, but he seems to be comfortable in multiple positions, including the 9 / 9,5 position. Let's see how he holds up this season.
Thanks for the update!! I was thinking if he can play in the 9 position. That could be even better for us! Do you think he has the attacking instinct in him?? Maybe is too early to say but lets hope someone give him a try in that role!
He used to play as a left winger and as a striker in the youth (he is still only 19 btw) But unfortunately he doesn't have have right height now. DRB mentioned kishna, but he is also not very tall (he is 183) El Ghazi however is plenty tall.
Thanks. Agreed that with 179 cm he doesnt have the eight to be a striker, but neither Aguero has it and he is very good. I personnally dont like El Ghazi in the striker role, but he isnt the fastest winger so maybe he will become a striker in the future. I know is very early but from all these players I like Zivkovic for the striker role. Lets see if any of them really learns how to score a goal like Van Nisteelrooy for example. I think that he is the last true striker we had in the NT.
Ow I agree. Height is not the most important thing for a dutch striker. Especially if he can make up for it with something else. But Let's look at Sinkgraven as a AM for now. It would be unfair to expect him to be a striker as well. I still don't know what to think of Zivkovic.. Let's see how he presents himself at young Ajax. (so far it has been bad)
I think, reading all comments, that we could all settle for him to be tested on the 10 position. In that sense, Ziyech's transfer is a blessing. He lacks the speed on the wing. His speed is seriously average. Quite curious what he will make of himself in the middle. He has that eye catching technical side to his game that I also detect with Andersen from Ajax.
Hendrix is given the nod by Cocu to start this top match. Quite a thing in my book. More so, as Maher maintains the 8 role. That guy brings no balance on midfield. A lot will land on Hendrix's shoulders. Willems, van Rhijn and Veltman are also back.