I was wondering how people outside Holland, and especially in the UK, but also from anywhere else, think about Van Nistelrooij. A lot of people here think he's fantastic, one of the best strikers in the world. Strong, fast, good technique. Also that he's a really nice guy (though never met him), and not arrogant at all. But what do you think about him abroad? Both as a person, and a player?
As a player, one of, if not the best, in his position. As a person, he seems to be a Scholes type figure. Prefers to stay out of the limelight and just concentrate on the football.
He's always fun to watch -- great player who can do really well with the ball. I'd love to see him play every week. FYI this comes from a USA poster...
After this weekend's "horror tackle" on Ashley Cole, and subsequent punishment from the FA, a lot of people will be recognizing him for the "who me?" cheat he is on the pitch, regardless of whether he's a gentleman off it. Moreover, when you see that kind of behavior you become disinclined to root for him as a player, his myriad talents notwithstanding. I had always respected him before that tackle.
Thug, tosser, diver, a real handful in the box, very good a taking a penalty, very good at cheating the ref into a penalty --- has never scored a goal outside the 18 yard box.
He scored one in Europe from outside the box, but has never scored a premiership goal from outside the box.
I am sure Diego Forlan did at one point too. Doesn't make him any good. Beside's you can't really make PSV a viable arguement...that was like 4 years ago and makes you look like a fool.
It actually makes you look like a fool. The original statement was that Ruud "has never scored a goal outside the 18 yard box". I responded that the statement was "incorrect and irrelevant". I am still correct. You can complain about PSV being 4 years ago, but it still doesn't alter the fact that I was correct.
Very talented top 20 in the world striker, but would'nt want the cheating diver on my team, and 3 match ban is not enough for that type of intention to injure behaviour. Should be the greater of 6 monthes or the time the other player is injured, if injured, for RV, Dacourt, the player who took down Savage etc. I like physical play but clearly intentionlly acting in a manner to severally injure or risk the end of a player's carear has no place in football.
--- I'm with Techo de Besos, here. Why should anyone care where goals are scored from? There's a saying in golf, applicable in football, "It's not how, it's how many". Not having seen THE TACKLE, I can hardly comment on Van Nistelrooij's recent display of character, or lack of it, but diving and other histrionic methods of gaining advantage are why sport needs good officials who are undaunted in the face of popular opinion. If an official believes that a player 'dove' to get a penalty call, send him off, as atrocious sportsmanship. A few of those decisions and there will be less diving. If the rules do not support this kind of decision by officials, the problem is in the rules.
Being a Manchester United fan (from the UK, Manchester to be precise) my opinions are probably going to be biased but for what it's worth here goes. In my opinion he's one of the top ten strikers in the world. While it's true that he doesn't score from outside the box, this is completely irrelevant as I think he's one of the best finishers around. If there is anyone from united I want one-on-one with a goalie it's Ruud, if there's anyone I want running in on the far post with a chance to score it's Ruud, if there's anyone I want a headed chance to fall to again, it is Ruud. He shows some good improivsation at times too to get a toe-end on the ball, to get past a defender etc. and while sometimes it can look ugly he invariably gets the job done. He is definately not the quickest of players but isn't what I would call slow either. He's not the greatest when it comes to dribbling or hitting long range shots as has been said many times previously. His first touch is average, the same as his passing and he isn't too creative either. Having said this he usually doesn't try the difficult passes, preferring instead to play the simple 15 yard ball instead of the defence-splitting pass. He does the simple things well and helps the team to retain possesion rather than going for the killer ball. One thing he has in abundance is determination and he has a great work ethic. He constantly tries to run around, putting pressure on defenders when they have the ball at the back. He will run the channels all day long and provide a target for defenders/midfielders to pass to and plays well with his back to goal. He is a pest, the kind of guy you hate if he plays against you but love if he plays for your team. He loves to play on the shoulder of the central defenders and doesn't give them a minute's peace, making intelligent runs and making himself available. I also like his strength, I'm expecting people to ask why he goes down so easily if he's so strong which would be a fair a question and in all honesty I cannot answer that other than to say he's good at winning penalties but there are also so many times where it appears he is going to lose the ball and he sort of bumbles his way through, breaking one or two challenges with the ball bouncing of his or his opponents shins as he holds them off and always seems to be able to get a shot off on goal. So I kind of take back what I say about dribbling, he can dribble but it's more about his strength and determination than skill and pace. He's a natural goal scorer, the guy you want on the end of a move but also offers himself as an outlet ball for the defence. He does have his bad sides too. Sometimes he can be dirty, no doubt about it, usually this manifests itself in a sneaky kind of way, unlike the kick/stamp on Cole vs. Arsenal and occasionally occurs as a result of frustration at getting no service and having to feed off scraps. If you're a fan of the team he plays for this can be seen as a positive as it shows that he cares, if you're anyone else this makes him a dirty cheating whatever. Further evidence of how much he cares is his goal scoring celebrations. There have been many times, including after the penalty against Arsenal on Sunday where he has put the fans to shame and almost has to encourage them to cheer louder/go wilder. There have been a couple of times during his time at Old Trafford where he hasn't scored for maybe 5 or 6 games and has missed some relatively easy chances so perhpas his confidence can be affected at times, but even during the occasional lean spells he has still been willing to work hard and put himself in those positions, rather than standing around and shrugging his shoulders. Off the field, well he doesn't seem to do much, preferring to stay out of the limelight. He doesn't seem to do many media interviews and when he does they are always ABC and never really says anything controversial. You don't expect to read about him getting into drunken fights outside a club at 3am either. He seems like the kind of guy who enjoys his life outside of football and tries to keep the two things seperate. He seems like a pro's pro who gives his all on the field and stays out of trouble off it.
well, he's obviously a good goalscorer... but for me, there really is more to football than just great goals... how players behave on the pitch really matters b'coz it's such a part of the itself. Ex: (other than RvN) lee hendrie has been scoring some fantastic goals recently, but his attitude is so incredibly poor that (to me, anyway) it sours the whole thing. so, yes, talent is terribly important and RvN is a huge asset for man u but i wouldn't want him on my team... btw, i truly don't say this b'coz of the awful stamp on cole's knee the other day. i've always (2000 onwards) thought he was a dirty player. he seemed to tone it down last season and i thought, "thank god!" b'coz he's so talented, he doesn't need to cheat!! but this latest game has brought it all back again... at least this time most of the free world got to see him for what he really is... most of the time (well, always), of course he gets away with it. a shrug of the shoulders, an innocent smile and he's scot free... btw, in no way am i saying that he's the only player who cheats/dives, etc and of course there are some arsenal players who do it (yes, yes, pires-portsmouth ) but we're not talking about that. moving on, a lot of ppl say he's a really great guy off the pitch. i guess it's true considering that he's never in the headlines 'cept when he married his long-time fiancee. i applaud him for that, now he just needs to work on his behaviour on the pitch...
To say i hate this guy would be an understatement. He is a diver and he has a horses head. When hes interveiwed after the game he talks as if he has downs and always moans about how the ref cheated him. I will say that hes is the best volleyer and header in the EPL.
Ruud grabs goals, lots of them, without a doubt, but there is a key difference between him and his newest strike partner, Wayne Rooney, that would make me prefer Rooney, every time. That difference is simple. Stifle the supply of passes and crosses to Ruud and you can effectively take him out of the game (well, nearly). Players like him are virtually dependant on the ball coming to them once they're in position, as opposed to the Rooney-type players who can run with terrifying pace and skill with the ball, and who can hit a screamer from outsider the box on a much more regular basis. I'd always rather sign a player who can make and score chances for himself, as well as for others, than a player who ceases to be effective if my side's midfield is stifled.
He usually only needs 1 chance though. If you just watch how Ruud plays, he helps to prevent the midfield from being stifled. He drops back, holds up the ball and brings other players into the game.
He's a poor man's Gerd Mueller. It's easy to criticize poaching, but I won't. A goal is a goal is a goal. RVN scores a lot. He's dedicated to the game, not a particular showoff and a hard worker. But he lacks integrity, so I'll admire him from afar and be glad he's not on my team.
But that hasn't been working of late. Ruud's scored two premiership goals in 6 appearances this season, and if he's dropping back, he's not there to receive the killer pass that United used to have down to a fine art. There's no doubt that he can score goals, but he depends a lot more on the supply of good passes and crosses than Rooney does. If you can throw United's midfield off their game, you can effectively remove Ruud from the picture.
Good Christ, I was the one who brought up where he scores goals. I did say he is killer in the box, but hasn't scored from outside (in the EPL, I admit I should have put that qualifier in) . The point was not to say that one kind of goal is better than another but that his goal scoring, while at a good rate throughout his career, is somewhat one dimentional. Shearer, in contrast, scores from distance, with his head, and in the box. Henry scores from free kicks, from distance and in the box. Those two can beat you more ways than one. To my mind that makes them more valuable to their team. They also have not been reasonably accused of embellishing contact into PKs. All of which doesn't mean that, personality and appearance aside, Horse Face isn't a quality striker in the EPL.
Given the chance, deep down, Im sure oppostion clubs would love to have him in thier side. Love him/hate him it doesnt matter. At the end of the day when you see the scorecard after a ManU game you are more then likely to see RvN name. He may not be in the same class as say Andy Johnson or Neil Shipperly but im sure one day we will be able to appreciate his contribution to the EPL. just by the way. RVN walks into a bar, barman says "hey, wots with the long face?"..boom boom
Like others are saying, he's an effective goal poacher, and he is dangerous with his back to the goal. Off the dribble, he doesn't do much to create his own shots or set up his teammates, so I'd say he's a less dynamic player than someone like Henry. But having someone on the team who's very good at collecting loose balls in the box and knocking them into the net is a valuable asset. I often wish that Arsenal had someone like Ruud to collect a garbage goal on those days when the passing lanes are clogged and the fluid counter-attacks just aren't producing any clean break-aways.