World cup conclusions

We've moaned about this before ... our NT deserves better. Wilmots is one of the most disappointing managers at Brazil2014, if you compare our play with the resources at his disposal. Now look at Vahid Halilhodzic ... he did his homework and it showed on the pitch ... he could have easily had a result against us + against Germany too, if those chances weren't wasted ... considering the material that he had to work with, Vahid was one of the best managers at Brazil2014 ... can't shake the feeling that with such a figure on the bench we would be in the SFs. Unless our FA attracts reason to go with the emotion that Wilmots adds, I don't think our golden generation will live up to their full potential.

PS Vahid's wages were roughly the same and the guy was living in Rijsel.

 

If the FA is happy just with qualification then this will go on. But this team can surely win a euro cup if not a world cup with a 'real' coach. Wilmots did an excellent job by uniting his team but only that won't win you any cups.

 

I was at the England-Belgium friendly; Wilmot's first game. It played out exactly like the Argentina game. We went down one, and even though the effort was there the ball movement was too slow, as was the player's movement. It's still a sticking point for us.

Joos is right (though he's sometimes prone to hyperbole), Chadli, Witsel, Fellaini and Dembele are excellent players; but they're too alike and they think too slowly. You can only really play one of them at the same time and have a proper creative midfield.

He mentioned Vanaken. No doubt a very good player, technique, height, and knows how to pass a ball quickly without thinking twice. But he's slow, he's more of an attacking midfielder and he's struggled when Lokeren play against smaller teams that defend deep. Is he good enough to push De Bruyne to the right flank? I personally don't think so.

Thorgan Hazard is a great player by Belgian standards as well. It's obvious he's not as talented as Eden. But he reads the game better and his work rate is better as well (and maybe he can unlock his brother's true potential on the field as well). Interesting how the two brothers seem so different in terms of mentality on the field. Monchengladbach will be a good step for him.

I've already talked about Tielemans in previous threads, but to reiterate I hope to see him in the squad soon; along with a proper right back (Alderweireld did his best, but he's a centre back).

 

It's frustrating as this team needs to play faster. Argentina was there for the taking. Tielemans will be starting pretty fast imo and I'm interested to see Malanda, and Musonda in the coming years. I think Meunier will get a good lead up for Euro 2016 at RB. Denayer should help at LB.

The talent pipeline is primed it's now an issue of getting the players to play together and have tactical nous of top teams in the world. Wilmots is an incredible motivator but he hasn't displayed the tactical acumen that is needed to win major championships.

 

http://www.voetbalnieuws.be/news/126687/7_Cruciale_werkpunten_van_Wilmots

 

You guys should be real proud. After a 12 year absence you made it to the final 8. That's not a small accomplishment. The only thing that's missing is experience, this team was too young and green to go further now but in 4 years time these players will the experience and familiarity that will strike fear in any NT. 2018 could very well be your year.

 

It's true that we overachieved slightly by reaching the QFs when we do not look beyond our results ... all things considered though, only surviving the group and losing to USMNT would have been a poor performance ... we're more concerned about the quality of play ... our team underperformed in most matches ... only in 1 game have we looked impressive and even then we struggled to convert chances ... broadly speaking, it wasn't our players that showed a lack of experience but mainly our manager:

- not knowing our best XI ... only making like-for-like subs just to add fresh legs
- no real gameplan, no pace, no routines, etc. ... Wilmots actually said that he was happy being patient and letting our players intuitively find solutions ... putting our players in a sensible formation is not enough and we need a manager who's better at adjusting tactics when the situation demands it ... Wilmots organised too few tactical training sessions and even in training camp friendlies he did not build a unit (constantly starting a different XI while the moments when an NT can play together are scarse) ... despite Wilmots claiming otherwise, our players didn't look like they were part of a collective ... we often were disorganised and in the end he made losing against a beatable Argentina look inevitable (regardless of that lucky goal).
- Germans take pride in being the kings of deadball situations ... Wilmots is the exact opposite (not a single minute of training) ... how can a squad with arguably the best airforce in this WC not draw advantages from deadball situations?
- imao he didn't even do enough to motivate our players ... this supposedly is his strong suit ... wasn't visible on the pitch and players have started to turn on him ... I can get why it has been a frustrating experience for Hazard (was usually being bottled up), Lukaku (did he lack the confidence for the equalizer against Argentina?), Januzaj (could have been useful in other games than the meaningless tie against Korea), et al. ... it would be a disaster if our players revert to the antics of previous campaigns.
- ...

 

Are you implying that Wilmots needs to be let go? I think it would be unwise to change managers for now. Were mistakes made? Sure but you have to remember that this was his first international tournament too and he'll also learn from this. He's still a bit green managing in major tournies.
Maybe what he needs is a better and more experienced assistant manager.

I still think you guys have a great future.

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/10/axelle-despiegelaere-loreal_n_5572069.html

And then gets fired. Damned sensitive Wafflers

http://www.eonline.com/news/559159/...with-l-oreal-amidst-hunting-photo-controversy

 

Broadly speaking NTs have more freedom when choosing a manager compared to the players they're allowed to call up ... it annoys me that our manager has less experience (in top competitions) than our players ... Kompany even defended Wilmots against critics by saying that players shared the blame for tactical decisions ... Wilmots being described as a clumsy figure by these players does not fill me with confidence that he's in full control nor that the players trust his tactical choices ... LVG, Halilhodzic, et al. have received/earned much more respect than Wilmots.

His resumé is unimpressive to say the least (we can even look at the Qs in a different light) ... angry fans want him to go back to STVV (weirdly Wilmots does not rate players from the Belgian leagues while this struggling Belgian club did not rate him as a manager) ... I don't prefer that we let him go without the prospect of a smooth transition (we finally broke our habit of changing managers in quick succession) but I feel that he needs help asap to get the most out of our squad ... he won't get it from his current assistant (who's less experienced ... the ink on his diploma hasn't even dried yet).

Here's where the absurdity really starts: you can't replace the assistant because Wilmots won't stand for it while I'm unsure that Wilmots will even share control (based on the saga surrounding his contract negotiation) + our FA wants to continue with Wilmots but was already hesitant to cough up the money to extend the contracts of Wilmots and his current entourage (doubting that an extra assistant is in the cards) ... even if funds were made available, the impact will be limited ... our FA will at best offer modest wages and might not consider help from abroad because a previous Dutch manager dumped us for a Russian bag of monnies. I'm confident that we need to look beyond our borders as no Belgian looks like he's equipped to make an impact on the international scene (Gerets was making a dent but he shouldn't be considered anymore) and that you can't find decent "help" for the kind of money that our FA wants to spend. I can go on making even less sense ... in the end Wilmots and his staff will stay on for 4 more years unless he fails miserably/quits ... if he receives help to make better tactical decisions, it will be limited.

 

Totally agree with Blondo. Needs a world class coach to achieve world class results. And its possible with this team.

 

It won't happen. Say if Halilhodzic is given that job will he agree to work under wilmots! NO. Or vice versa!!! NO. Either Wilmots will continue with moderate results or a heavyweight coach with results that Belgium never achieved in its history. Thats upto the Belgium FA. Everybody is happy with us making the QF but the truth is we lost a golden opportunity to reach the world cup final. I mean it.

 

hi guy, i'm here to promote a documentary i am doing currently about my experience of the world cup 2014 i had in new york city. i went to places all over to watch the games. i had a fantastic time. i documented my experience and i am here to leave you with a trailer of the documentary and will be premiering later in august. hope you guys enjoy it when it's uploaded.

i'm korean, we screwed our chances to advances to the second round during our second game against algeria. so when it was time to face each other, i was depressed and didn't shoot a video. but i did went to one belgium game. their game against argentina.