I rate Van Persie pretty high truth be told but yesterday I thought he was hideous. Not for his inability to score a goal but just on the basic lack of movement. Van Gaal certainly rode him too long yesterday and fortunately we got the win. Sneijder was excellent yesterday and I think he has played much better the last 2 games due to bis coming back deeper to get the ball at times. Defensively the team has done well and the formation change has gotten the job done, but there are times when we get stretched and it looks scary. Our guys lack pace in the back and we cannot get into 1V1 situations with the best player on the planet in tight spaces. The loss of Nigel is very big. Messi will need special attention especially now with DiMaria out. That is a real bonus for Oranje as he has been in top form. Guys must be disciplined and that means no diving in! Everyone has to be switched on in all moments all of the time. I know a lot of guys on the forum are worried about loss of energy and recovery time but I think the team is very fit as far as that goes. Hopefully there are no injuries. This has been a great ride and I cannot wait until Wednesday! As always 100% Oranje!
I am with TFC Ajax. We need to play the cards right. RvP fans (I am one) need to admit he looked deflated, beaten and out of juice already at the end of the first half. We had to carry him, rather than the other way around. That was our captain people. He should be running in front of the troops, not lurking behind. The more I think about it, the angrier I get. RvP is getting a free pass from LvG atm. We have carried him now for 2 games. Tourney's are not a place to demonstrate loyalty. It's short, intense and there is little margin for error. We need to sort this out before the Argentina game.
Robben is from another planet. He defines fitness atm. Which is quite funny knowing his history. People should enjoy him. Don't think we will see another like him in Orange in the next 25 years. Is now maybe in the all time Dutch 11 for me. The only one of this generation as Sneijder plays on a position where Cruyff should play as van Basten would be my striker. This is how I want Robben to play for club and country for the rest of his career so we can take him to the WC of 2018 as well, let alone Euro 2016:
I agree Van Persies's body language says he's spent the player looks deflated and why is beyond me but he has a history with this with the NT...started out great this WC...but has since reverted back to the old RVP. RVP was still getting opportunities LVG left him in with a hope and a prayer he would eventually convert one of his chances. Huntelaar subbed in earlier for the ineffective Depay was probably the correct substitution as Lens was also ineffective. But still there are no assurances Huntelaar scores vs the Costa Rican bunkers who were clearly out classed all game with several players diving and faking injuries throughout the match trying to stall out the game into penalties which was their only hope of advancing on to the semi finals. And somebody on the coaching staff needs to sit Depay & RVP down and go over the Costa Rican game film and point out that they on several of their scoring chances they had the CR keeper down and out and just needed to elevate their shot over Navas for certain goals instead of blasting their shots low right at the falling keeper. It should have been at least a 3-0 nil game off those chances alone even without Wesley's 2 shots off the post that were also inches away from being goals.
But Switzerland determined before the match that they would double team him and not play attacking football but rather hope for one goal out of nowhere. I'm not sure van Gaal will take that approach.
Depay suffers from the same problem that many young players do, he thinks he is Messi and can beat any two players when double teamed (Ajax wingers are notorious for this as well). He can't and really needs to figure out when to look for the pass.
Some of the thing people have to admit is that Hunter is fantastic aerially, even better than RVP. He is a top notch header, is rarely bullied and top class finisher. We tried opening the defense with RVP's much hyped but actually non-existant link-up play. Did not work. So give Hunter a proper chance. He deserved that after the Mexico match. He has always done good for Oranje. Does not deserve to be frozen out. I hear all of LVG's interviews and he's shitting on Hunter literally trying to demoralize him. "We have a Team of 5 Senior - Robben RVP Sneijder Kuyt DE Jong". Hunter's 30 and De Jong's injured, might as well atleast mention his existance to give him a moral booster. He is been put in aweful situations to loose. Would RVP have scored that PK against Mexico having played 0 minutes with a coach not backing him. People seem to forget Hunter has a top class mentality as well. Anyone remember the England game, the concussion against Smalling. He had grass in his mouth but was only trying to lookat the goal to see if he scored while was knocked out. He deserves a proper chance, if not a starter than atleast as a sub. Give him 30-35 proper minutes when RVP can't play well.
Has there been any Dutch interviews to vGaal about his reluctance to sub RvP? I'd like to hear his views on that. There was nothing of that sort of questions at yesterday's FIFA press conference, post match, at least not in the languages that I understood
I was scared when Robben took the PK. Thought he would miss. Initially I thought he would back out after handing Hunter the Mexico game PK. It an privilege to watch him play for Oranje. I hope he gets the Captaincy for Euro16 atleast as he deserves it. RVP is a leader in name while Robben is the one true leader of the team. Some players come once in a generation - Zidane, Van Basten, Robben , Messi, Brazilian Ronaldo. People will realize his importance when he retires. No longer has this bald guy madly running at defenders in 25 or 40C from 1Min to 120Min. I think he has played 90/120 minutes every single match after playing a full season with Bayern and he has been one of the most hard-working players with the NT in the tournament. You realize you have magician who can do wonders but you don't realize his value till he is present. When he retires, people will no longer has this controversial genius and people will realize how good he is. This WC has done good for his career. I visited the MU forums and people suddenly seem to look beyond the RVP love and seem to think Robben carried RVP. All of a suddenly people realize how good he is. Same with other casuals. Although he has been doing this day in and day out for years. A PK miss, a couple of open chances and all those magic moments gone down the drain. People forget he played with a hole in his leg in the last WC for which he was out for 6-8 months later. I remember this video posted here years back, most probably by DRB. Edit - I was talking about the lack of appreciation about the Non-Oranje fans in general
The BIG question I have now, is this: Would any of you start Hunter against Argentina, knowing what you've seen of RvP of the last two/three games? Or would you wait to sub him until he's proven some 60-70 minutes into the Argentina game that he can't quite get it right? Yes, this is a test question
BTW this tournament has helped the youngsters tremendously. Cillesen, Blind, De Vrij, BMI, Depay, Wijnaldum have all grown more than they would have in 2 seasons in the Eredivisie. The pressure, the heat and all factors it is a huge learning experience. Even with Vlaar as well. I see a huge push for the youngsters. All these guys will come as much better products to the Eredivisie. Their development rate has been massively accelerated. I can't wait till 2016. BMI, De Vrij, Kongolo, Veltman, Depay, Clasie, will have 2 more clubs seasons under their belt. These guys have been playing since their late teens and will start to mature and peak. If Robben maintains his level and with Strootman back and all these talents around them, the team would be formidable.
It's probably easier to shut down the passing to Messi than the player himself. Argentina is even more unbalanced than the Netherlands. Great attack, no midfield, and a just a mediocre defensive block. If Gago is shut down, they have no distribution. When Messi has to drop very deep every time to collect the ball he is far less a threat.
I guess I'm really in agreement with TFC Ajax & DRB on the RvP issue, but I'm reserving my negative judgement against vGaal until proven otherwise. I've already acknowledged that I would've thrown all my cards in favor of hoping to win in 90 minutes. But instead of slicing vGaal's testicles off, I'm still in awe of his ability to throw major surprises. How exactly were you all feeling, at 119 minutes, when Krul came on? Was there shock, despair? Or was there a slight degree of hope that some sort of miracle can happen in the penalties? Honestly, what did you guys felt at that point?
Well i wouldn't start Depay or sub in Lens and that's another dilemma up front in the mix for LVG vs Argentina. The coaching staff needs to work hard with RVP going over match film then going right out in practise and continuing to work hard again on his overall game try to get him back to the player he was earlier on in the tournament try to get him going. Then i'd start RVP and if he falters & looks deflated i'd sub in Huntelaar early second half. If they can get RVP going again as we seen earlier in the WC he can be a top class striker. Can't play 3-4-3 vs Messi & Argentina way too risky at the backend. LVG will have his work cut out for him coming up with the correct formation and player lineup.
Anybody who questions vGaal after tonight should be firmly lined up against the town square, shot and pissed upon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is all
I was waiting for it. I new Hunter would come and I had a hint RVP might stay on so that Oranje has 5 experiences PK takers. There was no other reason to hold on. I was also expecting LVG to prepare Vorm(not Krul) before the match. When he put Hunter in and kept RVP and had 1 sub left, I was sure there would be a GK Sub if we can't get a goal. It was not that shocking. Vorm was a great PK Saver and Cillesen was average from what i new. This was discussed even in Euro 12 when Oranje, DRB where there. Sub in Vorm for Stek.
Easier said than done, ain't it? From our cosy perspectives on the couch, it's always easy to pick the faults (i,e. RvP) but a whole lot harder to decide and plan for the next. If RvP was that poor, then by logic we should bench him from the get-go, against Argentina. Then, the following begs the question of how to plan and formulate a strategy with Hunter against Argentina. It's easy to fault vGaal but we're also hoping he will come up with a sound game plan....and then criticize it when it fails, but not before.
I was so thankful that he finally made the right sub for the moment (taking off Cillessen, that is). Though to be honest, I was freaking out because I thought Vorm would have made more sense. But it's not always that black and white. Again, it's about playing the cards right. The right players in the right formation for a given opponent. I think against Argentina Van Persie starts, but if they end up bunkering and we have control of the field up to their box and need a goal still in the second half, then Huntelaar comes in. Another option is to start RVP on the right as a false winger/outside striker, Huntelaar in the middle, and Robben on the left to send crosses in to them. It would also put Sneijder, Robben, and Blind all together instead of having Robben on the side of Wijnaldum/JDG2 and Kuyt/Janmaat/Verhaegh. Would be better chemistry IMO. I also think Veltman is a better option to mark Messi than de Vrij. What we really need is for de Jong to make a miracle return though. But without him, we'll need to do everything possible to starve him of service.
He's already been confirmed the starter. But he was also among the first to rush to Krul, to celebrate.