Ricardo Pepi at PSV Eindhoven

I’m sure Pepi would get all the minutes at Groningen, Volendam, Vitesse etc

but if you don’t think it is an amazing, career defining experience to learn from LDJ*, Bosch, be exposed to the intense and winning atmosphere at PSV, scoring a crucial UCL goal…all at 20…

what a place for him to be right now

*LDJ, like Pepi, has to do it without blazing speed

 

Bosz this weekend after the match said about this group of players he should put a vid of how they do the practices in a tight spot, the speed they combine with each other in those circumstances speak for the quality of the group.
I think Pepi, with the experience of two clubs at hand, has concluded that he's training at a different level he really wants to be part of.

 

I wanted to see him give it another shot in Germany but he’s still in a good position given his age.

 

It's not de Jong. He hasn't scored a goal since November 12th.

 

I find it quite funny, the obsession with goals scored by LdeJ or how many minutes between goals scored on average.
It's not the reason why Lde J is on the pitch over Pepi. Hell, if goals scored was the metrum used by Bosz to fill in the team sheet, he has options galore to choose from and put in instead of Luuk.
I suggest to have a close look on how the tandem de Jong-Til operated in disrupting the Feyenoord signature play MO.

 

I find it quite funny that people keep making up reasons for why de Jong should be a starter.

 

Tell me bright bulb (pun intended @freisland ), what are the reasons made up and please feel free to take them down.
If I understand you correctly PSV is where they are, despite playing LdeJ, which means playing two men down, one for him being on the pitch and one for not playing Pepi.
Whoa, the Eredivisie and the CL suck, that PSV can do what they do with playing that .....(fill in insults to LdJ)

 

I never really thought the Dutch scoring title was an issue, but you spent two long posts going on about it, saying some needed to "acknowledge that aspect of the equation" (also that he was a club legend, so maybe that part is more of what you meant some had to acknowledge). I agree with this post far more. As I said, I think Pepi is in a good place.

 

I'm not in LdJ's head, but if I had to bet, I'd bet he would really, really like to win the title all by himself before he retires, and if that means he stays in games longer than Bosz might find ideal, Luuk don't really care. But I'm just a dude on a couch with a keyboard. He might not care at all, and just wants to keep Pepi off the field for fun or his health.

 

Would that make de Jong a Luuk warm hand or cool hand Luuk?

 

Either way,he's not as Jong as he used to be.

 

It's a high of 41 in Eindhoven tomorrow tho it's supposed to warm up - and get wetter - the following week. PSV have a tight run of 4 games, none of them easy. 'veen at home tomorrow is arguably the easiest, but they're on a bit of a streak after a slow-ish start to the year. Then there's Arsenal, which could be a bit of a throwaway, but I doubt Bosz approaches it like that. Twente again in a cup match and AZ away... LdJ went 90 on Sun. It would be pretty extra for him to go deep into all 4 of these games, but we shall see.

 

Given how the first match against Arsenal went, it's the last match to test the team at the level the CL ko rounds will be.
So he will most likely see it as a multi purpose game, first to see how the line up copes (my guess is he puts in the line up he used against Feyenoord to start with and later use subs to see how they fare) with top quality opposition and second to get them the feel of what's coming.

 

What should be coming next week is a spirited ‘friendly’ between two sides that have nothing (practical) to gain from victory and every reason to avoid injury to their top players.

Arsenal fans have often expressed concern that their manager doesn’t understand how to protect his players (from injury/overuse). We shall see.

It would be crazy for either side to put out a full-strength first-choice side with so little at stake.

100% Pepi should start v Arsenal - of that there is no doubt.

 

I can’t comprehend the antagonistic views of some of my fellow Americans to the approach PSV is taking with Pepi. He’s in a great situation. Augsburg? no. PSV? Yes

 

It usually comes down to this: some people are just not realistic with their expectations.

 

including psv/dutch fans apparently who thought it was silly pepi was demoted to the 2nd team right after being their ucl hero

 

While it's good for PSV that the tie-breaker is head-to-head, this is one of those scenarios where it would be way more interesting if it were GD. PSV having to keep the rampaging Arse offense in check while Lens desperately tries to thump a nothing-to-play-for Sevilla who has to be back to concentrating on league games would make it a much more fun game.

 

You forget first the prize money, about 1.5 million for a win (for Dutch clubs serious money!!), but far more important the UEFA coefficient points to be earned. We were in 5th spot in the UEFA ranking above France, but thanks to the Lazio goalie in Rome and the Atletico goalie in Madrid having their match of the season against Feyenoord, we lost both matches and the coefficient points, which made France this week come above us again.
It's the difference between 2 CL spots or 4, which means in the new set up for the CL a big wallet with about 60 million waiting if you end up 4 or higher in the league. If we donot jump over France again and end up with 2 CL spots, it means to get to that big wallet you have to be nr 1 or 2!

So no, it's not meaningless, it's bloody serious business. If Arsenal would decide to not take it serious, the more reason for PSV to go full force, as then those points are being served on a platter, but you still have to get them.

 

None of us are privy to the details of decisions like that. We have to remain rational and focus on the evidence when evaluating situations like this. Now, Dutch PSV fans have a little more context through history about how these things typically work out. I see you used the word "demoted", which is surely not the word they used when telling Pepi that they want him to work on his game fitness.

 

I just don't see and world where Bosz runs out a second team at home to Arse. But if there is one game where you want to see what Pepi is made of against the big boys, it's this one. I hold out some reasonable hope that Pepi gets decent minutes, and even light a small candle to the saint of maybe-the-sub-gets-the-start-with-a-strong-team-around-him, tho that's a much less likely scenario. Bosz is certainly going to use this a testing ground for prepping for next stages of CL. You don't get a lot of chances to play a top EPL team at this point in the Ered season.

 

What we see over here in the Netherlands is that the football media, especially those working through the (anti)social media try to stirr things up/create controversy to get clicks. So they start things like from hero to zero etc. to get reactions from fans, hence stupid utterings like demoted, which would mean some kind of punishment....so if so, for what?
The opportunistic asshole MO of the antisocial media is repulsive.
Fact is that PB was present in the stands to watch the game, not only with Pepi, but with two other first team selection players on the pitch. That last fact was ommitted by those media, as was PB presence.
So from the circumstances a sane person deduces those three played in a plan by PB, and not all the bullshit aroused by the media and parrotted by fans.