VIEW FROM THE BLUE
The Future is Orange
Comments (24) : The state of the professional game has been both a focus for increasing scrutiny and a source of real concern among football fans in England, not least because of the growing disparity between the have-it-alls, the don't-quite-have-enoughs and the just-plain-ill-equipped in the Premier League, as the pinnacle of the domestic game appears to become dominated more and more by over-paid and over-hyped "stars".
While the debate rages back home about the effect of the deluge of foreign players into the English leagues is having on the national team, though, those teams that did qualify for the European Championships ? many of them featuring players from the English top flight's galaxy of stars ? have been demonstrating that the "Beautiful Game" is still alive and well.
None more so than Holland who have thus far served up a real treat for the neutral with their back-to-back demolition jobs on Italy and France in the so-called "Group of Death". In England's absence, I'd picked the Dutch as my team to follow before the tournament began and not only are they looking an excellent bet to go all the way this year, it's amazing how much pleasure you can derive from a team boasting some of my most reviled figures! Dirk Kuyt (for obvious reasons), Robin van Persie, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Arjen Robben have all done their bit to piss me off in recent years but there comes a point where you have to take your hat off to a masterclass in attacking football.
While it goes without saying that my pleasure at seeing them take apart two of Euro 2008's more fancied teams didn't come anywhere near the elation that goes with a fantastic win for Everton, I can't remember the last time I derived so much pleasure from watching the art of beautiful football laid out before my eyes.
Crisp, accurate and rapid-fire passing has been central to the Dutch footballing ethos for four decades now but it's probably fair to say that they haven't been quite this eye-catching or effective for quite a few years and at times the standard of their play so far this month has been mesmerising.
Yet few would look at their defence and be inspired by the likes of Khalid Boulahrouz, André Ooijer and Wilfred Bouma ? the former two hardly inspiring much confidence as world-beating defenders from their time in the Premier League so far, though they were excellent against France ? and no-one can deny that they rode their luck in their opening two games in Switzerland (what is up with all these hand-balls going unnoticed, anyway?), but their ability to almost unfailingly find another orange jersey, move the ball from defence to attack with breathtaking speed, and make the most of goalscoring opportunities have been the keys to their success so far.
I raise this not merely to offer a distraction from the increasingly depressing and vitriolic stadium debate, the tedium of waiting for Everton's close-season transfer business to begin or to simply marvel at what can be accomplished by the right mix of style, ability, passing, grit, speed, tactics and ambition, but because at their very essence, Marco van Basten's side epitomise so much of what the purists among us envision as the target for David Moyes and Everton Football Club.
It was no coincidence that the Blues' best spell of last season came at a time when they were playing the best sustained spell of passing football witnessed since the glory days of the 1980s; when the likes of Pienaar, Arteta and Osman were moving the ball around quickly and efficiently and feeding the Yak with pleasing regularity; when the team finally started living up to the proud legacy established by the School of Science.
Equally, they were at their least effective and most frustrating when they were lumping the ball forward with abandon towards the end of the campaign during a torrid spell that ended their hopes of a Champions League place and, for a while, threatened their Uefa Cup qualifcation as well.
Granted, even though you can't excuse the mundane football that characterised that poor run down the home stretch, there were some mitigating circumstances (covered in my last column). And, of course, we don't have the luxury of having world-beaters like Wesley Sneijder and the afore-mentioned Premier League stars from past and present in our line-up. Indeed, they're more akin to the Sky 4 in terms of talent.
What we do have, though, is the foundation of a very good side that, with the right ingredients added this summer and a return to the positive approach that was so effective either side of the Festive season, is capable of cracking the top four next season. In that respect, Holland provide a standard to emulate. From Van Basten's attacking substitutions even with his side a goal to the good ? which when James Vaughan was fit was, again, a hallmark of Everton's best periods this past season ? to the decision to leave one, sometimes two men forward when defending set-pieces deep in their own half (which reaped rich dividends for them against the French but which Moyes almost never does), there is plenty to admire and take away from watching the Oraanje.
Of course, it's easy to point all this stuff out from the comfort of the armchair, particularly when the Dutch make it all look so easy, but that kind of crowd-pleasing football and individual brilliance is ingrained in the traditions of our beloved club and it just makes you think what could be if we had the financial muscle to attract some of the stars burning so brightly in Austria-Switzerland this month.
As you were...
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They also play one- and two-touch football that IMO is the best in Europe. The strange thing is I couldn't name most of thier team. The point being that, as with the Dutch, sometimes the whole can be much greater than the sum of its parts
It?s things like this that convince me that we can get back to the elite without needing a billionaire despot or a couple of feuding cowboys. The style of play is evolving at GP and hopefully next season will see this develop further.
The only question that we have already seen the answer to is, Is the squad big/strong enough to sustain a 38-game season and European football? IMO, we need 6 players to make a squad strong enough to cope with this; can we get that many good footballers with our limited budget? Ask Marco van Basten or Villarreal.
COYB!!!
Perhaps it?s because the stuff we watch week-in, week-out is often devoid of "proper" football ? and even edited MoTD highlights don?t quite match up. How can we aspire to this at Goodison Park? We don?t have the funds to match the Big Three (MUFC, Arsenal, Chelsea) but we do have David Moyes and I believe we?re going in the right direction with him. He has fostered a great team spirit and that has been evident in the Dutch side as well.
This is a pivotal summer for DM and EFC in my opinion. We have to get it right in the transfer market and strengthen while not upsetting team spirit. And we have to (begin) to get things right off the pitch (GCSE Marketing might help!) COYB.
I do think though that Lyndon may have got a bit carried away with the quality of the football. Holland play on the counter-attack, that?s it. The way he is going on there, you would think that not one pass ever went astray, which is rubbish.
I think it will be interesting to watch the Romania game and see how they fare when someone plays the same as them before passing judgement on how good they were when they have been afforded the space of Mont Blanc.
Lyndon also isn?t mentioning that the Dutch have been shit for a while, there has been in-fighting before the tournament, Van Nistelrooy (who is still one of the greatest strikers in the world) patched up his differences with Van Basten; Van persie and Robben aren?t injured at this moment and in Schneider they have the perfect link between midfield and attack.
It?s the lack of this kind of hysteria which is making this tournament one of the most enjoyable ever for me.
Isn?t it nice not to have to listen to Stevie Me and Gary Neville every half-time saying how this is going to be their year? Isn?t it nice not to have to watch us play shit saying that we?ll improve in the next game? Isn?t it nice not to go out with a whimper because we have no mental toughness?
Oh and Lyndon, you missed Cahill, his influence on us is huge because he gets marked tightly and leaves the space for others to exploit.
You said, "It was no coincidence that the Blues? best spell of last season came at a time when they were playing the best sustained spell of passing football witnessed since the glory days of the 1980s; when the likes of Pienaar, Arteta and Osman were moving the ball around quickly and efficiently and feeding the Yak with pleasing regularity;"
I couldn?t agree more, but it makes me wonder... can this team progress into a team with that style of play with Neville on the field, much less, as the captain?
I love Pip, but he seems to be one of the players that struggles to make quick crisp accurate passes (to our team or space) and is the first one to revert to "hoofball". I don?t want to see Pip go, but the more and more I think about our team, I?m not sure our "style" can change so drastically with him as our leader (and certainly not with him in the midfield).
I see Neville as an important part of our team for one or possibly two more seasons. IMO, he is an excellent right back with the ability to go forward, overlap and put a decent cross in.
If he cuts out the early bookings he always seems to get (or is it just me that has noticed this?) and keeps it simple he will fit nicely into this pass-and-move, one- and two-touch type style of play which I think offensive full backs are vital to.
I would rather play Stevie Wonder in midfield though!!!
True, they may rely on the counter-attack a lot and of course they mis-placed the odd pass but it?s worth noting that Van der Sar seemed to be the only one who resorted to kicking it long. There was a lot of patient build-up and impressive strings of passes going on. So my point was not to carbon-copy the Dutch approach but adopt some of the positive elements of their play, starting with making sure that every player we bring through the Academy is comfortable on the ball and can find a teammate. That would run contrary to the general impression from Reserves watchers that kick-and-hope is all too prevalent.
Lyndon also isn?t mentioning that the Dutch have been shit for a while, there has been in-fighting before the tournament...
That may be but it doesn?t detract from the what they?ve produced on the field thus far. It?s not about personalities, it?s about how they play on the day.
Our long balls are usually forced through lack of composure and confidence on the ball. The Dutch use it as another effective style of football. They use it in a completely different in my opinion.
There is alot we could learn from the Dutch and alot of other European teams. Firstly that football is not played in sky and secondly that not everything has to be done quickly. Slow pass and move football is the way to go. It annoys me when fans at the game moan when the players are playing short simple passes along the floor. You here shouts like ?spread the play? or ?do something with it? and that really does piss me off. I?d rather we kept the ball and waited patiently for an opening. It does seem to be the British mentality and it needs to be changed.
It was encouraging that at times we where getting decent spells of good football last season and long may it continue. Anyway, another good article Lyndon, keep it up.
This time they do not have tiny Tim to worry about.
If you have nobody there, the opposition STILL have possession and can turn the screw.
Some things, usually the simple things never go out of fashion, or shouldn’t if you aim to play ’ proper joined up football ’
30 odd yrs ago or yesterday’s Greece Vs Russia game
Apply the K.I.S.S. rule
A point about our spell of fabulous football from last year, I believe Pienaar was the catalyst for that, he shifts the ball on really quickly and keeps the tempo up. Pienaar came through Ajax?s academy didn?t he.
Also on Phil Neville when he bombs on and crosses the ball he?s excellent, which brings me to Van Bronkhorst his bursts from defence without the ball have stretched defences, but it?s the pace of those bursts. I wish we attacked as quickly as that from defending a set piece, you have to clear down the flanks though not through the middle.
Obviously I really hope Holland will win it and play as good as they did in their first two matches but I?m afraid another team will walk away with it.
However, with Afellay playing regularly for Champions PSV who play in the Champions League year in year out, and with him having signed a new contract until 2011 lately, and with him already playing on the international stage, he will cost a lot. Doesn’t fit the "one we can get for peanuts"-bill. I think it would be awesome to sign him though. I think that the areas of the game where Afellay needs to grow are exactly the areas where Moyes is suited for perfectly. He’s about 6 ft. so would help to "grow" our midfield.
Pranjic is a first-team regular in the Croatia-squad so hardly a hidden gem. Despite his fragile structure he is hardly ever injured. He has the best left-footed pass I ever saw, he dominates the assist-leaderboards year in year out. He’ll get the Yak 10 goals a year at least. He is a good team player and will fit perfectly in the passing game we all would like to see. Downside is that the lad is 5 ft 7 and as said before pretty fragile so not really an addition to physical presence in our team. He has a contract till 2012 but before the European Championships I thought he could leave for £4 M or so. But since he’s playing regularly in a winning Croatia side I fear Heerenveen will have upped their desired fee which pretty much rules him out.
As a defensive mid as replacement of Cars, I think Timmy Simons of PSV would be great. He’s 6 ft 1 and he always is in the right place. PSV played against Milan 1,5 years ago and on both occasions he kept Kaka out of the game. PSV won one match and drew the other (in the group stages, Milan still managed to win the Champions League that year) and I always reckoned Simons was the main reason for that. Wesley Sneijder always struggled when playing Simons.
He is 31 year old but he could play for four years on top level easily. He doesn’t rely on his physical strength alone, he is more the type of the smart player seeing the game ead being in the right position before the creative midfielder of the opponent gets there. PSV always let their older players leave to foreign countries on a small fee as a sort of thank you for delivered services, see Ooijer to Blackburn or even Vennegoor to Celtic. He should be cheap, but I doubt it that he is interested in moving abroad. He would be a perfect signing for Everton though, only his age doesn’t fit the bill exactly.
Then again: these are all pretty obvious choices for anyone who watches the European Championships and the Champions League on a regular basis. Hidden gems? Perhaps Jonathan DeGuzman from Feyenoord, he’s strong and scores sensational goals from midfield. He is very inconsistent though and Feyenoord do not sell cheap. Leroy Fer from Feyenoord may prove to be the better player in years to come. He is 18 and plays as a defensive midfielder, although he can act as an attacking wing back as well. He’s my tip to watch as sensational talent in the Dutch league next season.
That’s about it, Ismael Aissati is another great talent at PSV but he seems to be stuttering in his development and I doubt it if he has the physique to really excel at top level. I really don’t know of another player that would add real quality to our midfield. Teams like Heerenveen and Twente always seem to have good midfield players so watch for them, besides the obvious teams: Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord.
We’re really getting a little off-topic here ;)
A quite thorough response, thanks. It’s always interesting to hear what might be out there, and you never know who Moyes will go for. He surprises us every year, and pleasantly so for the most part. He has never been great at bringing in quantity and i think we’re all agreed that we need numbers in the squad as well as a couple to strengthen the first team.
But I’ll pass your recomendations on to Moyesy next time he’s in our chippy.
I know it is all to easy to shout this right now when the lad has hardly played for two years but I really never liked him and wasn’t happy at all when he signed for us. Even without all the trouble and booze he wouldn’t have set the Prem alight although of course he could have been a decent player, I’m not saying he was terrible. He just never was as good as some Toffees seem to think.
Van der Meyde for me was always an individual. He was always looking for the big play or dribble when the short but effective pass was there to be played. He had a tendency to lose the ball as well in his Ajax days and he did for Everton in the few games he played. His strengths where based around his dribbling and powerful right foot whereas in terms of touch, passing and intelligence he wasn?t anything special. He was a luxury player and he has to be played in a fluid system to get the best out of him. If he?s given defensive duties like he was at Inter and Everton he flatters to deceive.
He?s like Ronaldo in the fact that despite being labeled a winger he isn?t one. He was a forward or a right wing forward. He was best suited at playing on the right hand side of a 4-3-3.
I think Evertonian?s wanted him to do well because compared to the likes of Kilbane, Davies, McFadden and Neville he was world class. We saw he had a little bit of flair about him and he could entertain a little with his dribbling ability and trickiness. Sadly it hasn?t happened and he?d just look like a so and so player in the current squad. We?ve got a lot of technicians nowadays in Arteta, Fernandes, Pienaar, Gravesen and Osman.
Van der Meyde had the talent to make it here but his blatant lack of mental strength, consistency and personal problems have stopped him from fulfilling his potential.... shame really. If he leaves I do wish him the best of luck. Others may disagree but he seems like a decent guy who?s just surrounded himself with the wrong people.
On another Orange-related subject: We’re being linked with Engelaar right now. Decent player, will add strength and heigth to our midfield, but I think the reported £6M is too much for him. He’s not as good as Cars in breaking up attacks, but he’s better in getting the ball forward, although he tends to pass a lot to the side or backwards. For that amount of money we’d better gamble on some younger defensive mid from the French league.
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1 Posted 14/06/2008 at 07:54:58
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As you said, Lyndon, players that have not got the highest profile in the Prem are playing great, Is this because the Premier League is of a higher standard than any of the European leagues? Or are opposing teams allowing them far more time than they?d get in the Premier League? I can?t help thinking that if the blues were to play against Sneider, Cars would never let him get as much time as he?s been given! Or am I looking through blue-tinted glasses?!!