Sorry for not getting on sooner with these thoughts, but after watching the latest Champions League tie Real Madrid-Liverpool I was rather pissed to see no Sneijder or Van Der Vaart at all. WTF! On top of that it would appear that Huntelaar already is written off, while Van Nistelrooy hurt, Drenthe (confidence shattered) shows clearly that RM temporary boss Juande Ramos does not rate any of them. I could tell from the beginning of the match that Ramos was scared, playing a negative side with Gago and Diarra as two holding mf's who could not play the ball forward all match Very overated are both. Then Guti comes in at the start of the 2nd half was a disgrace to Sneijder and VDV. The only thought for Madrid was to play the ball to Robben as their static attack of Higuain and Raul were pathetic. Time for the Oranje lads to think of moving out of that hell-hole. WTF was Hunter thinking? It does not bode well for him that the defensive MF Diarra was the new addition for the CL. Sad state of affairs.
Huntelaar is not elgible for CL football as he played in the Ajax qualification round last September. He is now a regular on the starting 11 and has played quite well. I think Ramos is still trying to figure out what his best 11 is and clearly mixing up things in the midfield. Sneijder will be a long term starter but Van Der Vaart and Drenthe are the players on the bubble. I imagine both are likely to be gone if Ronaldo transfers over from Manchester United as rumoured.
^Pretty much. Every RM would like to see Sneijder return to some kind of form, because although he's been kept in the starting eleven for the most part, he hasn't been playing well at all. Off-field issues affecting his game? I just don't think neither Schuster nor Ramos know what to do with VDV out there. Looks a step slower than everyone else, and is not involved enough in matches. That said, he hasn't gotten minutes for awhile now. Not looking good for him at RM. Drenthe is in the squad list again this weekend, first time in about a month or so. Still unsure about what will happen to him. Loan, maybe? KJH has scored three goals now in La Liga, has looked better after starting a few matches, and seems to fit in pretty well. Needs more service from the wings, though, and with Robben and his opposite wing, unable or unwilling to put crosses in, he is starved up top. We miss RVN!
Huntelaar could have played in this latest round, but Ramos decided to go with Diarra instead. That was a big decision for them as they tried to get UEFA to allow both players to be eligibile. They really lacked any cutting edge or quality midfield play against Liverpool. Guti over VDV and Sneijder is a joke, but I am big time biased although anyone worth their salt knows both Dutchies are better players. The RM starting XI was a joke, and they got punished rightfully so dropping the home leg, and putting them on the brink of elimination. Its not too late for Ramos to grow a set of balls and play with some quality, creative players, but don't count on it.
Richie boy, with all due respect, have you watched any of the Madrid games??? Huntelaar is not written off, he's just getting started over there. Sneijder is totally out of form, dating tennis stars (porn stars also??) When his libido settles down he'll be allright. Fook!!!!!!! They gave me a Yellow card...LOL
Yeah, you're kinda off here. Many people write off Guti, but if you watched him for awhile you'll see that at his best he can rival either Dutch midfielder for gamechanging moments. Only problem with Guti is his inconsistency, been that way for awhile. But wait, what are the two Dutch MFs lacking since either came to RM? Consistency, so the joke is your constant negative posts about RM's "treatment" of the Dutchies, and trying to seem like you know anything about Guti, and your attempt to really overrate the usefulness of either Sneijder or VDV this season. If you think they haven't had chances to earn starting spots, you are DEAD WRONG. They have either bottled it with erratic play, or pretty much haven't showed up at all. I want both to succeed, Drenthe and KJH as well, it would solve several of our problems...but so far, they haven't grabbed the bull by the horns...except Robben.
I pretty much agree except for Huntelaar, he's been good the last few games. I sense he'll be a Madrid player for a long time
The big problem for Sneijder and Van Der Vaart is that they play in different positions/roles and that has a lot to do with Ramos. Form will suffer with this type of change. You must admit that the Liverpool match was awful for RM, and playing Gago and Diarra showed too much respect towards the visitors who played without Gerrard for 89 minutes. What I know about Guti is that he is decent at best, but past it at this stage of his career having watched the man play for many years. Guti is not in their class, but gets a pass for years of service at the club. That is a joke in my eyes. I do agree about Robben that one is spot on, but truth be told that was all RM had the other night. and Benitez and Liverpool were totally aware of that as well. Like I said I hope Ramos grows some balls and plays to his team's strengths, but he is wound way too tight from pressure. I hope they win for what it is worth as it kills me to see attacking sides not play to their potential, and the Manager must take a hit for that. They have turned it around and Barca's loss of form has helped, but this is RM without the style in my eyes.
I have watched many of the Madrid matches. If Huntelaar is valued then why not include him for the CL? Higuain is the answer? To select Diarra is madness when the hack Gago already is there. It shows that Ramos is negative. Sneijder's loss of form is interesting! VDV has been pissed on over there.
KJH hadn't shown much before the CL decision mad to be made, and our issues in defense up until Ramos corrected things dictated that Lass be the one. Ramos had to do what was necessary to get our defensive backbone strong again, leaking goals is what created this gap between Barca and RM in the first place. Calling Gago a hack is ridiculous, guaranteed starter for Argentina that he is, this is where I end my participation in your Dutch bitch session. Take it easy.
What does the fact he starts for Argie have anything to do with it?? IMO he's just an average holding MF'er at best (and I being nice) Did you see how many mistakes he made yesterday that almost cost Madrid the game?? If it wasnt for Aguero's crappy finishing it could been 3-1 or 4-1
What do you think it means? That ain't the easiest squad to get into, and STAY into, especially in midfield...ask Cambiasso, Riquelme, Aimar, D'elassandro, etc..especially at age 22. Most recently, he and Mascherano have formed a great partnership that have owned recent opponents. His tackling and defensive positioning have improved steadily since he's gotten to Europe. Partner any DM with Guti in midfield, and watch him get overrun and look isolated. Read the RM boards, I'm certainly not the only one who sees this. That's your opinion as well, fine, but I and a whole lot of others, disagree greatly. I haven't had the chance to watch the game yet, but reading the boards it sounds like it wasn't one of his better games..oh well, having watched pretty much every game he's played for RM since arriving two years ago, I can say without a doubt that he is a talented player, who continues to improve (bad game here and there, notwithstanding) and is an integral member of the RM squad.
I have to agree that Gago has really improved this season, but i will not get on the Guti bandwagon...for every solid ball he plays, he loses 10 balls and has 5 terrible passes.
Don't get all pissy. The facts are that your Manager Ramos is too defensive minded. Answer the statements about the Liverpool match. Gago is not all that you make him out to be. Very average and I have seen him play at least 40 times in the past year and a half. Big Deal he starts for Argentina! He and "Lass" were exposed by Liverpool the other night in a match of major signifigance for not being able to make a quality pass. It just did not happen. Get your eyes checked! Why you are doing that look for that horrific challenge very late in the match that could have seen some refs give a red card. Like I said I hope Juande finds his balls I just would not count on it mate, I mean Nate.
You're on the mark about Gago; I rated him highly until I watched a few RM games recently and he seems to be way off the pace. His passing is dreadful. Ramos is a mystery; he is defensive, yet 9 or 10 wins in a row can't be sneered at. He got his tactis completely wrong against Liverpool though; Robben was the only player who seemed awake, the rest sleepwalked through the game. Is Van der Vaart recovering from injury at the moment or is he just out of favour?
To be honest whenever a big club gets a lot of Dutch players in I just think they just want to get good value for money as a Dutch top player is cheap comparitively speaking. Sneijder is definitely of the highest quality but his personal life is clearly taking his toll (what an idiot but that's another discussion). Why Real got Drenthe in the first place is a mystery to most Dutch people. You'll find that a lot of Dutch people aren't exactly decided on Huntelaar either, hence the great joy when Ruud declared he might want to return to the Dutch national team. As for Van der Vaart, he's great when a team evolves around him and he can do as he pleases, but that clearly will never be the case at Real (or at the dutch national team, for that matter). Robben is a world class player and any club would be lucky to have him. Robben, Ruud, and Sneijder clearly are great to have in any Real Madrid squad. As for the rest, I'm not so sure. And that's vice versa too. I dont know why Drenthe would want to play for Real Madrid when clearly at another club he'd have much more of a chance to get first team football and improve, for example.
I remember I was shocked when I first heard Drenthe was going to Spain, he had barely got into the Feyenoord team it seemed... do you think he rushed to the 'big leagues' too soon or is Real Madrid just the wrong club for him? The instability and expectations that surround Real can't be productive for some young players like him.
Argentina's WC qualifying hasnt been all that great so far, tied for 3rd?? I dont call that owning, sorry I watched every game also, Gago is OK but nothing to write home about. I guess we have to agree to disagree
It's clearly a case of leaving for a foreign club too early and unfortunately we've seen that happen to a lot of Dutch footballers over the past couple of years. It's quite ironic really when you compare it to Ruud's career path. I think for any player that's under 21 it's a much better idea to stay in the NL. Dutch clubs are forced by financial limitations to focus on improving youngsters while big clubs like Real want the finished product and aren't bothered with increasing the transfer value of their youngsters. Drenthe clearly was not the finished product when he joined Real and I personally think he'd be a better player right now if he'd stayed put for a while. I guess money blinds footballers in general and young footballers in particular.
I'm with you there; I'd almost like to see FIFA/UEFA ban overseas transfers of players under 21 or 22. Problem is,some players develop quicker than others. Hopefully the next generation Dutch players won't follow Drenth's mistake, ie. Wijnaldum.
Fortunately a lot of Dutch youngsters seem to have got the message. They don't even want to join the traditional top three anymore as a matter of course!
You and I are seeing the same thing. My whole point was to discuss/wonder why RM at home against an opponent playing without their top player would play so defensive. As for VDV he is out of favor and out of position when he plays although I will be the first to admit he is a difficult player to field based on his lack of speed. His signing at Real much like Drenthe's was shaky, however the youngster went for the $$$ sadly.
Thats fair, he's great and then he is crap. That's what you have to deal with. Again, if VDV or Sneijder could step up, then Guti would be coming off the bench as an impact sub, where he should be in this stage of his RM career. But to completely disregard Guti as a rubbish player is silly. Not pissy man, its just my team and a player I like quite a lot that you are attacking, so my response shouldn't be suprising. Gago is a solid player, not a world beater by any means, but partner him with someone decent in midfield, Lass or Masch for example, and he can control a midfield. I disagree that they were exposed, I'd say if anything Higuain had a horrible night, and they controlled Robben by double teaming him whenever he had the ball. Gago and Lass can't make fanstastic passes to people that are covered. Liverpool had a gameplan, shut down Robben and hold on for a draw, and it worked. RM needs another attacking option on the wing, and a younger/quicker striker, that's what was exposed. And I guess no other 22 year old midfielder misses a pass, or makes a rash tackle...Fact, Gago is first choice in midfield over Sneijder, VDV, and Guti...ask yourself why. Juande has done a pretty fantastic job of getting this team from what, 7th in the table, to challenging a once unstoppable Barca for the title. I think Juande is doing just fine, even if he doesn't know the exact location of his balls. Way out of favor, after several meh outings. Check RM MOM votes this season, and you'll see I'm not the only one who thinks Gago is an important player for RM going forward. He's allowed some mistakes and occasional bad games. I can for a fact tell you that his solid games greatly outway his poor outings. I agree with all of this. I'm sorry, but if you've watched them you'll see that midfield is the last of their worries, more of Tevez's temper, deciding whether to have the team revolve around Riquelme or Messi (its pretty clear Maradona prefers the latter), and a suspect backline. Case in point, last friendly against France, Gago and Mascherano made Toulalan, Gourcuff and Lass look like amateurs. All good, you guys don't rate Gago, fine. But to call him a hack is ludicrous. Last I'll say on this, I promise.