van Hanegem

Though there are some doubts in Holland about VvD this is a very good signing for the Saints IMO. Koeman will undoubtedly improve his weak points and he should make it to the Dutch national team soon.

In Holland we have a football show on telly every monday and friday evening, it's set up like a pub in which some former players and some pundits talk about footy in a serious way with a touch of humour. This show wouldn't be allowed in England on national television as it gets really vulgar sometimes (imagine a twisted version of Jeremy Clarkson on pentothal, expressing his real feelings and getting really vile about everyone he hates...) but is actually very funny as they ridicule everyone who deserves it. It's no surprise that Louis van Gaal is regularly the main target so we get to see all the awkward moments and bloopers of this maniac whose ego is hard to bare. Van Gaal's English is improving so we all hope he won't win the title with ManU because you then get to hear the most disgusting speech you'll ever hear from a manager. Don't know if you speak any German but listen to this when Bayern Munich became champion with van Gaal: You're right about Koeman's English but I suppose it isn't that big a problem on the training ground as he will know the right terms to instruct or coach a player. His English assistants will have helped him in this field. I agree: players should be intelligent enough to adept their game to their direct opponent by themselves but you seldomly see players like Le Tissier anymore. Nowadays they get so many instructions you start to wonder if they can think for themselves. Look for example at Frans Hoek (a former goalie of the second division club Volendam you'll probably never heard of...), he's the assistant of Louis van Gaal and tells renowned players what they have to do on the pitch. It's laughable...

Again VvD is not selected for the Dutch national team: he's not good enough... Instead of VvD the Orange coach Danny Blind selected Riedewald (a 19 year old Ajax defender with no experience), Martins Indi (who doesn't get real playing time at Porto as he's not good enough) and de Vrij (logical) as central defenders. Oh, and his little kid Daley can play in this position if you want to believe Lois van Gaal, the family friend of the Blinds... I heard some Dutch pundits say that VvD was rubbish in the european games for Celtic and this would be the reason for his dismissal but that would be shortsighted IMO. It probably has to do with the fact that Danny Blind wants to play with a right footed CD and a left footed CD. If I had to choose between de Vrij and VvD I would go for the latter...

Thanks for your reaction Dangermouth, good to see there are some football aficionados on this forum! Football is indeed very much about movement and space and about details off course. Sometimes a small detail decides who's going to win. For example: I like this story from Johan Cruyff when he was the manager at Barcelona. One day they had to play an opponent with a very dangerous attacker who had scored many times against them as the Barcelona defence didn't know how to handle him. Cruyff analysed this attacker and saw that he allways stood with his back against his defender so he could "feel" him which made it easier to turn away from him when he got the ball. Cruyff instructed his defence to stay clear from this attacker, giving him a yard or so and enough time to control the ball. This worked well as the attacker didn't know what to do next with the Barcelona defence in front of him. That way Cruyff made this guy feel insecure and harmless. The best coaches are the ones who are able to make their individual players better at what they do (and the team as a whole off course). There aren't many of them, even in the PL. It's quite remarkable how often English clubs are eliminated in Europe given all the millions they have to get the best players... I'm not referring to Koeman here directly, though he got it all wrong against this Danish side tactically I know from his time at Feyenoord he's able to improve his team and individual players. Jordy Clasie, Stefan de Vrij, Sven van Beek and Bruno Martins Indi (a very limited defender who's highly overrated btw) for example all profited from Koeman's knowledge and experience. These were all yougsters off course and willing to learn, I'm curious if Koeman is able to get through to Caulker, Yoshida, Fonte and the other "elderly" men as they could do with some advice from an experienced player like Koeman.

Let's hope Juanmi will be able to play and used by Koeman as an attacking midfielder behind Pelle, he's a player who can create opportunities for himself and for other players. However, I read somewhere that he needs this season to get used to the PL as he is still a young and rather unexperienced player and that he will be of value in his second year. The same goes for Clasie but I do hope that they'll adept much faster as the team needs some intellect desperately...

You're writing off Juanmi already? I'm hoping Koeman will give him a chance behind Pelle, their link up play could be great. VvD would be a great signing, I rate him higher than Alderweireld. When money is no issue I would like to see Jethro Willems from PSV to play for the Saints. I know many fans like Bertrand but Willems is so dangerous with his pace, technical skills and awesome crossball. He's far better than Shaw for example while he costs way less, 10 million pounds will do. Furthermore the Saints need a playmaker in midfield but to come up with a name and a reasonable price... that's difficult. Ah well, I don't expect Southampton to spend a lot of cash so it doesn't matter anyway.

Things will get better Sue, it will take some time and hard work but the Koeman bro's are up for the task ahead. Sorry for referring to his time at Feyenoord all the time but in his last season at Feyenoord he lost the first three games in the Eredivisie and got knocked out of the Uefa League. In the end Feyenoord finished second in the Dutch league leaving a better opponent like psv behind them. So Koeman has experienced a bad start before and is able to turn things around... Too bad he f*cked up last night as the Saints don't have much of a chance to qualify for Europe regularly. Like all of you I was looking forward for a great European tour and the Saints making a name for themselves throughout Europe. Hopefully things will go better in the FA Cup as it is probably the only way to get into Europe again. Or does the winner of the League Cup also qualify?

Like I said above, Koeman is a former defender who likes to keep the backdoor closed before thinking about how to score, that's not your typical Dutch coach... Off course he knows all about the "Dutch School" but I guess his time in Spain and Portugal as a player and a coach will have influenced him. For example: his selection last night with 5 defenders wasn't the first time I saw this. When Feyenoord was struggling in a certain period he chose to play with de Vrij, Martins Indi, Kongolo, Janmaat and Matthijssen with Clasie and El Ahmadi as DM's. As I remember there weren't any defenders left to sit on the bench... This strategy did pay off as Dutch opponents weren't able to deal with this defensive shield while Pelle was a constant threat when Clasie could use his long ball. Against the Danes there was no Clasie to support Pelle and above all: the Saints didn't need all this defenders as the Danish attack wasn't something to be scared off, was it?

Well, at Feyenoord and in a couple of games in the Dutch national team he was a great DM because of his abilities to cut off the attack of the opponent by conquering the ball in midfield or near his own box immediately followed by a clear cut pass to one of the attackers. His insight helps him to be in the right place at the right time. Like the real van Hanegem says: "you don't have to be fast when you know where the ball is going to go..." That's what I mean with football intelligence, it's like a game of chess when you're able to think ahead for a couple of moves. Clearly the Saints need some more intelligent players with the loss of Schneiderlin. I haven't seen much of Romeu thus far but from what I have seen I believe he does add some intellect to the team whereas Wanyama... Well, Wanyama puts something else to the team but I would only use him when you need to guard a great opponents midfielder. So I would like to see Clasie play with Romeu as the defensive midfielders in a 4-3-3 system with the attacking midfielder close to Pelle. As JWP, Davis and so on are not the right players for this position, I would like to see Koeman trying Juanmi as the attacking midfielder. When needed Koeman could switch to 4-4-2 adding Wanyama to the team when more "body" is needed in midfield. The thing is that a 4-3-3 usually works when the whole team including the defence plays an offensive game, trying to keep the opponent under pressure and creating opportunities using the wingers and playing with a high ball circulation. It's the way Ajax used to defeat English opponents who got tired of running after the ball all the time... Tadic in form is a great winger in this system but Mane does have to learn a few things. His pace is great on the counterattack but he's still a bit "blind" when he's running with the ball and needs to have a better eye for the situation in front of him. The real trick for Koeman would be to get his defenders playing more forward instead of leaning back and I'm guessing that he lacks the confidence to do this. As a former defender Koeman likes to keep the backdoor closed at all cost before thinking how to score. Often boring to look at but it can be very effective as he proved with Feyenoord and last year with the Saints. Mind you, I quite liked what Ronnie did with Feyenoord but I'd expected he would be a little more adventurous with the Saints as he now has the millions to get the right players. Sorry for dwelling off from your question! Clasie as a DM will eventually deliver (whether a 4-3-3 or 4-2-2) when he's used to the team and the pace of the PL, off course it would have been better for him to start in a team that already has gelled together but given time it will work out. Let's hope we'll see this kind of passing many times!

Nice try but even with all the better defenders missing, Koeman should have played a more offensive game against a very mediocre opponent with very poor attackers. There is no excuse for him. Koeman was a coward this time, he should have been the typical Dutch coach who would have handled this situation as follows: "when you're defence is the weak point you focus on your attack in order to prevent you're opponent to hurt your defence..." You won't do this against the big teams off course but against FC Midtjylland? Come on...

I can understand why you believe Clasie can play in front of Romeu and Wanyama but as a Feyenoord fan I've seen his games for a couple of years and I can't see him play more upfront. He can pass allright but he lacks the power and handling skills needed for that position in the fast paced PL. That's why many Feyenoord fans believed he would have been better off in the Italian Serie A where you still can see Totti walking around with a stick...

I know J-Rod needs time after his injury but I wonder if a long time off does influence your football intelligence. I don't mean his mistake which led to the goal (he shouldn't even have been in that position) but his positioning up front and all his wrong choices (taking a shot when there are two defenders in front of him so he should have hold the ball and look for a different solution). Anyway, in this form he's no support for Pelle and should not play. You're right, there are so many players who run around like a blind horse these days... Many fans like players with speed and who can run all day long getting nowhere. I don't. If it was up to me Koeman should sell Mane for all those millions he's supposedly worth and get some brains in the team in return. I don't care about 9th or 16th placed in the end, I just want to see the Saints playing attractive football. But too late for that now as Koeman has got a sh*tload of defensive midfielders and hardly any competitive attacking midfielders. He could try Juanmi behind Pelle, as far as I can see he's the only intelligent player with the skills to play in that position.

Usually the influence of a coach on his team is highly overrated but in this case Koeman deserves the full blame for this defeat against some very mediocre hard working Danes. His selection, his tactics, his failing to change the team at half time, he got it all wrong. He used this tactics with Feyenoord a few times against better opponents when there were problems with the defence. To play this system when you know you have to score to a mediocre opponent is sheer cowardice. The only good thing to come out of it is that he will think twice before he does it again... The thing that worries me most is the lack of intelligence and creativity. JWP, Davis, JRod, Wanyama, and so on work hard but lack the brains that every team need. Clasie is not the midfielder who's going to change that, he's able to deliver some great passing but he's not the playmaker the Saints desperately need. So much millions to spend and no brains in the team, that is really shamefull for a Dutch coach...

Suppose we live in a fantasy world and most of the European clubs are fed up with the protection of the filthy rich and say to Barcelona, Chelsea, Manu, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and so on: "start your own league as we will have one of our own..." This means a new competition in which many different European subtop clubs could take part, playing each weekend. This would mean a devaluation of the UEFA league (which will probably end) but also a devaluation of the different competitions like the PL (no more Chelsea, Mancity, Manu, Arsenal and probably Liverpool), Bundesliga, Eredivisie etc. Would you like to see Southampton in this new competition or would you prefer staying in the PL? I know it's far fetched but I would like to know how sacred the PL is for you...

I agree, watching the Saints in Europe is a delight and I wouldn't care either about 7th or 12th placed, the PL is all about money and the Saints will never win that race. Instead of looking for a qualifying position for the CL (which is also all about the money and protecting the big clubs), I would rather see that the Saints play attractive football. In the end, that's what it should be all about...

Good to see your reaction. I can't understand people calling the UEFA League a meaningless European venture or whatever. It's a pretty arrogant attitude that doesn't suit them, especially when they're "supporting" a club which even doesn't qualify that often. They should understand that the UEFA league is also a chance for Southampton to promote itself, to become a bigger name in Europe will help to get better players interested (those who are looking for more than just money...). As for the game: it did surprise me that the Saints weren't able to wipe the floor with Midtjylland, even when the team is struggling at the moment. Apparantly this moneyball thing works for the Danes, I reckon their team isn't even worth 20% of that of the Saints. Painfull...

I also wondered why Koeman didn't use him as Juanmi is one of the few players to add some creativity to the team. Especially when Tadic doesn't deliver... But credits to Everton who countered their way to a decent victory. Lukaku did great, I almost forgot how big he is until Wanyama stumbled into him and he didn't even blink. The game reminded me of Saints against Feyenoord and Vitesse, Everton was just waiting for the opportunities to counter after a mistake from the Saints while the Saints weren't able to do some damage due to a poor midfield when it comes to attacking. I said it before, the Saints really need a midfielder who is able to create chances for the attackers and also can score himself. It's too much of the same right now. It's obvious that coming opponents will use the same tactics as Everton did and when the Saints don't score first there will be more points lost at Saint Mary's with all those defensive midfielders and players like Reed, JWP and so on. I also wonder why so many forum members believe that Mane will be the next player sold for 30 million or more. He's usefull when it comes to a counter due to his speed but he does look like a blind horse sometimes. Ah well, some clubs have far too much money so who knows. With that kind of money the Saints will be able to get a better player. Anyhow, better forget this game soon and start to look out for next week.

Koeman's tactics at Feyenoord were simple: all balls to Pelle... As we got some problems with defending at the end of Koeman's stay at Feyenoord, he played a system with 5 (!) defenders: De Vrij, Martins Indi, Janmaat, Kongolo and Mathijssen. It was unheard of in the Eredivisie, later on van Gaal copied this system for the WC 2014 where Holland made it to the semi final. As you know it wasn't worth watching... JWP or Davis are not the creative players I had in mind...

Clasie is tough enough. His shoulder is a weak point as he dislocates it every now and then but it was never a reason to be replaced at Feyenoord. A hamstring or knee injury is something else off course but that goes for any player.

Guess you're right. Besides that, playing with 3 DM's and 4 defenders is a bit over the top. I know Koeman likes to think from a defensive point of view but this would get really boring to look at. Romeu will do a good job for the Saints but personally I would prefer a more creative midfielder in order to support the attackers in a better way.

It's weird to see to see an English game with more Dutch than English players but there you go, I guess it won't be too long now before someone says there's no point in having a national team... But with all those Dutchies and former Eredivisie players you get defensive mistakes too: Martina doing nothing to prevent Wijnaldum's header and the same goes for Janmaat against Long. The defence of the Saints looked vulnerable sometimes, it would have been a good game for Clasie as he would have made more interceptions. But Newcastle played a nice game, it seems that former Twente coach McLaren is going the Dutch way. Good to see Pelle back in form, hopefully Rodriguez can support him better after a couple of games. A draw seems fair to me though Mané...

Luckily we don't have debts any more as we weren't able to buy any players (according to rules from the Dutch FA a club is very limited in spending money when there are debts...) for many years and we had to play with too many youth players who were fairly good but not capable to deliver for a whole season. We had some luck with players like Pelle who came in cheap and were sold for a lot more and now we're at least able to improve the quality of our players on the bench as we were regularly in trouble when a substitute was needed... We got van der Heijden (central defender from Vitesse), Kuyt and Elia for free and spended 2 million for Vejinovic as a replacement for Clasie so there is enough money left from the transfer of Clasie to get another back up for Sven van Beek and also a better central forward. So our thanks go to the Saints and we hope that Clasie will succeed at Southampton and that Pelle will do better than last season. Cheers!

Thanks SuperSaint! We have some other additions coming in soon and it looks like we're able to compete with ajax and psv for the championship. It's been 16 years and it's bloody well time to win the title!

Amsterdam is fun. They have nice bars and lovely canals and you can have sex with the mums of the ajax players very cheap. They're sitting behind windows in red light so you can pick them out very easily...

Feyenoord got him for free from Werder Bremen, they clearly wanted to loose him... I know you're glad that he's gone too but he should be a great acquisition for the Eredivisie. We don't have many players left who are still in their twenties and who have played abroad. It's quite remarkable that he has chosen for Feyenoord where he will earn 400K a year while some Arab club offered him 2.8 million. I guess he seriously wants to make a come back this year in order to get back at the level he was in his early career. He will get a big percentage of the transfermoney when Feyenoord sells him at the end of the season.