Yep you're spot on. Chelsea had that extra something with Robben in the team. His pace, and bursts forward are clearly lacking for them at the moment. I think Real play defensively because of the instable nature of the club and the make-it-up-as-you-go-along mentality. No manager hangs around long enough to build a proper team. They seem to get by based on the talent of individuals, rather than the team work as a whole. What they need is a manager (Ramos or not) who stays there for a few years, buys and sells who he wants, and actually bases the team around a few key players. Robben might be one of them, Lassana Diarra perhaps another.
Now this, i can wholeheartedly agree with as a RM supporter....many on the RM board would also. Also, anyone who wants to sell Robben or blame our CL woes on him, is foolish. He can do some things better in terms of team play and decision making, but overall he's been great this year. Now, surround him with another dangerous winger, and a quicker strike force, (like most RM fans wanted this summer, and REALLY want now) and we'd be much much better off. Remember that Schuster wanted another winger to replace Robinho and compliment Robben, mgmt couldn't make it happen...so, here we are with too much pressure on Robben to make all things happen. Just like any other group of supporters, acting like a few people's opinions represent the group as a whole is pretty lame. We must keep this in perspective.
Not sure exactly what you mean with tactically imposed jobs, but I'm sure that he's not just running around free as a bird without any responsibilities. Everyone in the ManU team, from Rooney to Vidic, work and run around like dog, else I suspect they'll hear it from Blowdryer Ferguson, the real key man at ManU. There are only three players I can think of that had teams built around them in the last 25 years, and those are Maradona, Platini and Zidane. CR, Messi, Kaka may have certain attacking plays designed around them but not the entire team. But back to Robben, I absolutely don't disagree with you with Robben being a great player, but I actually thinks he likes playing on the rightwing, because he can cut inside at fullspeed and take a shot at goal. Problem is however that right now, for whatever reason, that move is low-yielding. To call Ramos clueless or even cowardly, is over the top, the man has won two back-to-back Uefa Cups with Betis Sevilla playing flowing attacking soccer. I don't follow the news around Real Madrid, but the fans are obviously disappointed with the CL exit and they're blaming everything and evrybody. Well that's life at one of the greatest teams in the world right? If they win the league all will be forgotten.
Haha great! The 'low-yielding' shot!! Now if only he could do it in the CL as well, and he'll be up there in the World Footballer of the Year contest! I'm surprised to see Huntelaar (they're calling him Pylon Cone over at the RM threads, LOL) scoring so regularly. He's the closest thing we have to a poacher like RvN right now. Good news for Oranje!
The Dutch dominated yesterday for Real Madrid. Robben opened the scoring, Sneijder fed Heinze's header on a free kick, and Huntelaar scored twice, one of which was assisted by Robben. But those "knowledgeable" RM fans are probably right; Robben should be sold. And then RM can slide down the table and turn into another Chelsea FC.
Here you are as Real Madrid playing Robben out of position in a system that doesn't suit him yet he's still one of your most important players. Things that make you go hmm...
Are u saying this to make me go hmmm...? Because I'm pretty I've made it clear that I agree with the above statement....he's the most direct player we have in terms of attacking, with few on the squad with the same mentality, so he is certainly one of the most important players. What's new?
Well he's not what you call a suave soccer player I guess. But hey what the heck, so wasn't Gerd Mueller! (Ok I'm getting a bit overboard now).
He must. And maybe a magic carpet, a crystal ball, and a few other powerful items that turn everything he coaches into world beaters. Fair enough, but they better have some nicknames for the rest of the squad, especially the ones who haven't played as well as the Hunter.
Sorry for the very late comments on this matter, but as some have stated before the Manager at Real is not the brightest, and the bottom line in this match was Liverpool was well organized, and overall just superb on the night. Kudos to Benitez. Very Well Done! RM's 2 defensive MF's were garbage again, and the strikeforce of Higuain and Raul sucks. Regarding future CL for Real I would suggest cutting ties with Raul. Icon yes, but not at this level, sorry but that is the cold, hard facts. It is beyond being painfully obvious. Same for Guti too. Heinze at leftback is not good enough as well. The critique of Robben is a shame, but expected there. Good job by their brilliant Manager to play him on the right once again. It would have helped some if Gago or Diarra could make a proper pass.
Robben has carried Madrid's offense the last 2 months, Madridista's dont like to admit this (perhaps cause he's Dutch??) Instead they focus on his faults which is being too selfish (which he sometimes is)
If he wasn't selfish he wouldn't be a left winger who gets past his opponents. It's part of what makes him successful.
Its not so much his sprints they criticize, its more his choices of when to pass, when not to pass and when to shoot on goal. But IMO he's done well so far in Madrid
Thats in his nature, that's my point. It's thanks to that nature of his that he gets past his opponents in the first place. Eliminate his selfishness and you kill off the very thing that makes him an outstanding footballer.
I agree, except he does need to learn to pass a bit more. In his defence though there's been many times where he did pass and Higuain or Raul finished horribly
After two very promising matches of Holland I was hoping to see an even more tenacious and synergetic Madrid side ease to victory against Malaga. Unfortunately the team looked disjointed and anxious while Ramos again opted to choose a midfield consisting of Sneijder and van der Vaart together. Why Ramos still can see as a fruitful tandem is beyond me. We already know they can´t play together as a couple in a 4-3-3. I'm hoping to see van der Vaart move to a better club where his talents can be exploited by a more cunning manager and to be honest in a team with a more formidable defence. What Holland does is position the line of defence 10 meters before the midline so that you can have the possession you want and take the time to pick out passes. Madrid calls it's doom upon itself by keeping the backline so close to the keeper while having the not so speedy van der vaart and sneijder on the wings. Not only do they play out of position, it also takes a lot of backtracking with a defence so far away. Also, this hinders playermovement and circulation of position. The three upfront are therefor starved of service and are too static to pose any threat. With Robben in the folds you can use him as a ligntingrod, the opposition will put more men on him and feel inclined to go back more. In our second match against Macedonia we didn't have Robben and played even better by having excellent positionplay with three creative/attacking players in midfield with a distributor in the middle; a Wesley Sneijder, his best position. A lot of balls lost couldn't be recovered against Malaga, but that can be helped by playing more compact. Still, I have no clue wether Madrid will have a new manager in the summer. It would be for the best. Also hoping to see van der vaart play for Chelsea or another club that can dominate and use him to be the speerhead of creativity.