Robin van Persie Disciplined again by Feyenoord as a result of unspecified behaviour after Feyenoord lost to Newcastle and crashed out of the CL. Anybody know what he did? I hope he doesn't derail his promising career with a stupid attitude.
I haven't heard of any new punishment yet, but I can understand why he would be p¡ssed off after not having received a chance to play at all even though he's the best left forward Feyenoord has got. If they're not going to let him play, sell him to Ajax or something.
Doesn't bode well for the kid. Hopefully they'll be able to work it out and keep him in Rotterdam. Maybe they should send him to Excelsior for the rest of the season.
If Feyenoord had won the games they were supposed to, they'd be in first place. When does the Van Persie show start?
Van Persie played good last week didn't he? Or was that the match before? It was the match where Lurling got boo-ed by the Feyenoord supporters when he came in for van Persie
Lurling came on for Buffel, who is a sensation this year. Van Persie is going to be something special, but we need to see him in action.
I know nothing about Feyenoord. Then again, I know nothing about Dutch soccer so that is not knew. Are they a good club? Do they play attractive soccer?
Oh yeah, he still got boo-ed though. Think that match was the one where van Persie was given a chance again and played pretty well, seeing as he doesn't get any playing time anymore these days. When they're in form.
Re: Recruiting Them even trying Bocanegra at left back is kind of a mistake---he's a center back, but he can get by as a left back in a pinch. They'll have plenty of chances to see how he does at the international level in the coming months as a center back. Bocanegra's contract is up after next season, so he's going to be looking at making a move to Europe for the $. If he continues to play well and does well at the international level in the next two years, he's likely to have enough caps to qualify for a UK work permit. At that point, the English clubs will be coming in for him. If a Dutch club doesn't sign Tim Howard, they are surely going to regret it. He'll be better than Kasey Keller at least one day IMHO. Keller's the starter for Tottenham Hotspur and has also played two seasons in La Liga IIRC with Rayo Vallecano.
Re: Re: Recruiting Bocanegra is better at CB, but Feyenoord need a left back. They moved Song over there and he's a right back. Boca would do well playing in Holland for two years and them looking for a bigger move. As for Howard, I'm surprised he re-signed with MLS. Doesn't make sense if you ask me.
Re: Re: Re: Recruiting Feyenoord should look at Paul Broome of the Dallas Burn. Honestly. I can't figure out why Barrett is getting all of these caps lately. Broome is just as skilled and considerably faster than Barrett. His contract will be coming up either after this year or after next season at the latest. Howard's deal is this: it's extremely hard for a non-EU GK to get a first division job in Europe. After Keller got done in England, he had to go to Spain and play there a couple of seasons with a lower table La Liga team. Keller may have resided long enough now in the EU to qualify for EU residential status. Friedel got in with Liverpool, became a scape goat, back to MLS IIRC and then went to Galatasaraay before he hooked up with Blackburn. He's now married to an African-English hotty so I'm sure he's got EU status now. Howard needs to find a wife a la Kirovski.
Howard, Bocanegra and Zaynor were all lacking the tactical knowledge to play for Feyenoord right now. More later, have to walk the dog
Not surprising. However, a guy like Bocanegra could develop that tactical ability in a short amount of time IMHO. After he gets many caps at the international level, his tactical ability will improve. Still, I can understand Feyenoord not wanting to purchase Bocanegra at this time, and especially with MLS overvaluing players. Feyenoord can afford to wait another season on Bocanegra. However, as I mentioned, the EPL/1st division teams will start looking at him when he has the required amount of caps to qualify for an EU passport. Bundesliga teams will also be looking, given their track record of signing our players. Bocanegra is a better long term prospect than Sanneh, Berhalter and Cory Gibbs IMHO, and they have much more money than Eredivisie teams on average. Feyenoord needs to get their hands in the pot BEFORE Bocanegra becomes too known internationally, because his value will continue to go up. It's highly likely that he makes the 2006 and 2010 WC squads for the U.S., and he would have gone and played at this World Cup had he not been injured beforehand. Again, Feyenoord needs to look at him as a centerback. If they think he can be an option at left back, they should look elsewhere for help. Zaynor is a high school aged player and should be taken as such. The Dutch tend to place European expectations on our players when they have not been reared in a European soccer environment. It takes time for an American player to adapt to the European nature of the game, perhaps longer than it would a standard player IMHO. I think the problem with signing and waiting on American youths is that they have to pay them very high wages for being foreigners IIRC. Howard has the athletic ability to survive while learning the tactical game. However, since Feyenoord plays at the highest level of Dutch football, they really can't afford to wait too long on guys. All of these guys would be better served trying to get on with more modest mid table Dutch teams like NEC, Wilhelm II, or NAC Breda. However, these teams have very little money available for transfers, so they would have to sign on free transfers. Perhaps Feyenoord could make a deal with some of the mid to lower table teams to sign these guys and then loan them out so they can develop. That lowers Feyenoord's costs, and they then have the opportunity to call them back at a later date to reap all the benefits. I am not sure about Zaynor's long term prospects since I know very little about him. However, Bocanegra and Howard are virtually locks to become stars for the U.S. Bocanegra is already breaking into the senior national team at age 23, which is basically unheard of in the U.S. because defenders are the weak spot of the team. He turned pro early, and most of our defenders at the world cup were older guys who started their pro careers at age 22. Bocanegra @ 23(24 next year) is way more developed then those players were @ 23. In the same manner, Howard is WAY ahead of Keller and Friedel when they were 23. Keller and Friedel were 1 year removed from college(D3 at best) @ 23 years old. Tim Howard has been a pro since he was at least 20 years old and is not even close to peaking(24 in '03). Dutch teams need to recognize that American players not immersed in the U17 residency training start to peak at later ages than the typical European player. One need to only look at Reyna to see that. Reyna went to Leverkusen to sit on the bench, to Wolfsburg(much smaller club) to play at times as captain, then to Rangers to play in the CL, and then he was sold to Sunderland in the EPL for like $ 6 or 7 million dollars. His value has increased with age, but at a typically later age than European players. Back to Feyenoord, I believe that they should be scouting U.S. players now more than ever. MLS is still in it's early stages of development and usually can't offer the kind of money that European teams can. Holland, partly because of John O'Brien's success at Ajax, has a very good reputation of player development in the states. Many players are interested in going there because of this. I was disappointed that Feyenoord missed out on Donovan when he originally became available to sign a contract. I believe that he would have had much more success in Holland because they put a greater emphasis on youth development than Germany does. However, someone influenced him to take the money and that's not always what is best for development. It still worked out, but IMHO Donovan would have been a hit in Holland playing in a skill league rather than a physical one like Germany.
I think the key is Bocanegra is out of contract at the end of 2003. Feyenoord is going to track him and come July 1 - they can make an offer and MLS gets ZILCH Boca is definitely a more talented prospect than any of the above could be. For his development he should go to Holland, learn how to be a Euro Pro, then move after two years. They could sign him to an "amateur" contract. As a full pro he would have to make $225K or more. I think Feyenoord is actually looking at doing some work in the US in order to develop these players. He's got tremendous potential. Did you know that Feyenoord basically owns Excelsior in the Eredivisie? This is a club ranked #13 in the first division using players on loan from Feyenoord. Sign Howard (not likely now that he re-upped with MLS), Bocanegra, and Zaynor - place them with Excelsior for a season and then reap the benefits the year later. Feyenoord impresses me with this deal at Excelsior. Buffel played there for two years and scored something like 27 goals for them, Now he is a full time starter for Feyenoord. Maybe Robin van Persie should do the same. I'm with you brother. I'd like to see some Yanks in Rotterdam. They aren't used to the "college" thing. They want players ready to p lay at 18 and on the field at 20 or so. I wish you worked for Feyenoord. I wish I worked for Feyenoord. I think you are on to something here. When Bayer signed Donovan I thought it would have been better for him to go to Holland instead - but his agent wasn't sharp, and Bayer was already on the hunt. They do their homework. American players would find it much easier to fit into Holland then Germany, and would probably develop much quicker there. I'd like to see Beasley go there as well. Okay Merry Christmas
Holy cow I had no idea that Feyenoord owned Excelsior. They're in 13th place with Feyenoord's reserves? That would be the ideal situation for Howard, Bocanegra and other youth prospects. The Eredivisie is a very technical league and I actually prefer it to the Bundesliga. There are not many players in the U.S. that are ready to play at 18 and then ready to start at 20. Frankly not many Americans that are ready skill wise are ready mentally to move to Holland. That's more realistic for European and South American players, but not for Americans. By their definition Reyna wouldn't have been ready to play---yet he's scored in the Champion's League for Rangers, captained a team in the Bundesliga and scored a hat trick in the EPL with Sunderland. They definitely need to get past that and realize that Americans peak at later ages. The time to get in on American prospects is now before MLS takes off. The problem with trying to scout in the U.S. is it's vastness and the plethora of amateur youth teams. Generally, players called in to train with the U.S. U17 team are good prospects even if they don't make residency. If they make residency, their value jumps up considerably. However, there tend to be about 10-18 players left off of residency that don't get selected primarily because of politics or a coach's own tastes. These guys, combined with the non-professional U18s and U19s are the players that Dutch teams should concentrate their resources on. Anyone know if NEC Nijmegen(sic) signed Robbie C'beza de Vaca from New Mexico? I know that Charles Kazlauskas was there but I'd heard that some were disappointed that he hadn't adapted completely yet(again, Euro expectations on an American player who wasn't in residency training here). David Johnson is with Wihelm II IIRC and JOB is with Ajax. Those are the only Americans I know of in Holland. Ajax is considering taking a 15 year old from California over---they wouldn't let the cat out of the bag and say who he was.
FC Utrecht wanted Taylor Twellman when he was in High School but couldn't make it happen. I bet they wish they had him now. Feyenoord is going to sign a Yank, just not sure who or when it will be.
Feyenoord is a very progressive club. I could tell you stories, but this isn't the place. Or maybe Americans need to be trained the Feyenoord way in the US [he said knowingly] You are right, but the problem is teams have trouble waiting too long for players to develop in today's market. They spend money and expect a return and glory that should follow immediately afterwards. The problem I have with the residency program is our clubs (pro clubs) should be developing players - not our Federation. Of course this is a discussion for another place, but it needed to be said. You are correct, for right now - but if they want to beat MLS, they need to do this now. It's the tactics that keep us from making that jump. Too many kids know all the moves, but not when to use them. They don't know what run to make or how to close down a defender properly, little things like how to force a turn, or where and when to play the ball. FC Utrecht wanted Taylor Twellman when he was in High School but couldn't make it happen. I bet they wish they had him now. Feyenoord is going to sign a Yank, just not sure who or when it will be.. PM me with some of these progressive details. I take it from your comments that Feyenoord is considering some kind of training center here in the U.S.? Yes, we are tactically naive as a youth soccer nation. It's related to the youth game here in the states and it's amateur status. Quality of coaching needs to improve a lot, no doubt. Those little things drive me crazy also. FC Utrecht missed out big time on Twellman. He could have developed over there and then been sold for a big transfer fee. Sadly, many of our youth players tend to take the money rather than looking at what is the best situation for their development. Many times it's better to take less money for a better development situation.
Joe Cannon on trial at Feyenoord: http://www.feyenoord.nl/online/ned/news/articles/frame_63631.html anyone want to rate what his chances of getting an contract are? He's out of contract with MLS and would be a free transfer. He was 'keeper of the year in MLS last year and is a 2-time MLS Allstar.