van Hanegem

I don't know how the youth academy at Southampton is structured but from your post I understand that there is no RB left since the current U21 RB is injured? Or is the rest not even good enough yet to make it to the bench of the first team? Would be a pity with the new "homegrown" rules in mind...

Nothing wrong with having a doubt now and then about Ronald Koeman, whether it's about the players he's interested in or his game tactics. Don't get me wrong, I quite like the man and he did great for Southampton this year as he did for Feyenoord before. With Martina he just puts faith in his brother's judgement as there is nothing to show for Martina to believe he can make it in the PL. You can say that for a lousy 1 million you can take the gamble with a player who doesn't have a problem with the fact that he won't play much or you could argue that Koeman should aim higher than the Martina's of this world in order to get Saints to the next level. I can sympathise with both views... What surprises me most is that the youth academy can't deliver a RB with the same or even more potential than Martina. That doesn't look good...

The guy's real name is Rhu-endly, his aunties gave him the nick "Cuco" for being a little rascal when he was a kid. Good thing they didn't call him Cuckoo for being an idiot... Some more trivial information: he went through the youth academy of Feyenoord but didn't get a contract. He started as an amateur for RBC Roosendaal in the Dutch second division and later on he got his first contract there. Next he went to RKC Waalwijk when Erwin Koeman was the headcoach. In 2013 Twente bought him for 282K pounds and they used him as an RB and sometimes as a right CB. He doesn't know who his father is and he doesn't care about that. He's proud of his mother who took 2 and sometimes 3 jobs to keep things going on for her family. As many young Antillians in Holland become a criminal, you can say that his mother (and older brother) did a good job to keep Cuco on the right track. Given his limitations it is very remarkable that he will now be playing in the PL, allthough it might be nothing more than sitting on the bench. His ambition is to play in the CL (off course...), considering his luck it might even happen!

Thanks S-Clarke and Appy, I stand corrected. Hope to see him play against Feyenoord this month or is this to soon for him?

I'd expected that Saints would get another CF in case Pelle doesn't deliver like he did in too many games last season? Guess I expected wrong then...

Hmm, most fans of FC Twente dislike him. He's quick and he can defend but he made some big mistakes last season and he has some difficulty to pass a ball to a teammate. On the other hand: Erwin Koeman knows Martina from the time he was coach at RKC Waalwijk so he must know his potential. Besides that, in the PL you don't have to be a technical skilled player to be a defender right?

Pelle is only in it for the money. If another club double his wages and Saints get a decent fee he's gone...

I hope so Whitey, Feyenoord is in need of a striker, an attacking midfielder and two backs and we could do without Clasie. However, I get the impression that Southampton is not willing to pay the asking price of 10 million pounds so it would be a good thing when Clasie does make an impression in the upcoming friendly.

Btw, I'm looking forward to see Clasie (and hopefully Vilhena too) play against Southampton. He must be very motivated to make an impression on Koeman and you lot and he is able to give Kuyt the right assists... It would be funny to see him play against Wanyama too! Anyway, it won't be just another summer friendly and that's a good thing.

It's nice to see Koeman & Pelle back at De Kuip but the return of Dirk Kuyt is more important... But even without Kuyt or Pelle De Kuip would be sold out against Southampton, too bad we won't have more european games this year...

Koeman used to say that "you need to get on the train when it's passing by" but he learned his lesson when he failed at Valencia. These days he's content with the job on hand, especially when he's able to make progress with his team and the conditions are good as he says they are at Southampton. Even when Danny Blind fails to qualify for the EC (which would be utter ridiculous considering the opponents), Koeman won't leave the Saints. I guess he would be interested in the job when Blind messes up the EC in 2016 and gets kicked out (which is verly likely to happen with this a**kisser) and there's a great offer from The Dutch FA (taking his brother with him etc.). But only when things at Southampton start tumbling down and that's not going to happen, isn't it?

Vilhena has some doubts about leaving Feyenoord this summer because his mother is ill. On the other hand: his contract ends after next season and that would mean that Feyenoord wouldn't get any money for him. That is not going to happen so when he doesn't sign a new contract (and it seems he doesn't want to) he has to leave this summer. I guess it would be better for him to move on to another club and make a fresh start as his career at Feyenoord is at a dead end. To be honest: I don't think that the PL is the right competition for him. Same goes for Clasie, due to his fysics he would be better off at a club in Italy with 4 or 5 midfielders than in the PL with all the power and pace facing him...

Stekelenburg in form is way better than Forster at his best. Congratulations with this signing! Now hurry Koeman and sign Clasie and Vilhena, we need the cash at Feyenoord...

Throw in 13 million and Clasie & Vilhena will be yours... Immers is also up for grabs: only 1 million!

I guess you're being ironic here but as your "dutch scout" I can truly say that there is no dutch rightback with any talent right now that will make it in the PL. It's getting worse and worse, even van der Wiel gets a chance now in the national team and this guy doen't know sh*t about defending. There isn't even one Ullie van Gobbel anymore...

Good to see Koeman doing well in Southampton. He's clearly enjoying himself but I wonder what he and the club will do when Liverpool is knocking on the door with bags of money...

Pelle told Koeman at Feyenoord that he wasn't any good at penalties. The only way he knew was the Panenka way...

Whether further restrictions concerning non EU players will be a good thing for the development of English players has to be seen. But would it make any difference to the average fan if there were more English players in their team? Or does the average English fan not bother at all about where the players are coming from? Over here in Holland most fans are proud when a club succeeds in bringing homegrown talent, especially when this talent comes from the region where the club is settled. Off course there have been many foreigners in our competion too but it's getting less and less, partially because of the salary a non EU player has to earn at least according to EU or Dutch FA rules but also because clubs are realizing that fans can identify themselves more with homegrown talent. And no, it's not a racist thing...

The Eredivisie is of lower quality off course, players who stand out are immediately bought by foreign clubs with more money. The average age of the players is 23 years and that is the lowest in Europe. The avarage salary is 225K before taxes and I guess that's less than the average in the Championship. None the less the matches are usually more fun to watch than elsewhere in Europe because most Dutch clubs play to win instead of preventing a defeat. But that's the opinion of me as a Dutchman... Feyenoord's game against Ado was not a good example to be honest, it was boring by the lack of pace and the many mistakes. Vilhena is not the player to turn things around when needed and I don't understand why Koeman is eager to buy him. If you can't make it to the squad in Holland, you surely won't make it in the Premiership. It would be better for Vilhena to stay in Holland (maybe on loan with a different club) and become a key player before moving abroad. You're right about van Beek, he and Kongolo are doing great, especially considering their young age. I guess they will be ready for a move in about 2 years and Saints would be a great club for them to get used to the level in the Premiership. However, it will take serious money to buy them and I don't know if Saints can compete with the big clubs who are following them...

Good to see Saints are holding on to third place! I could only wish that Feyenoord had the "bit of depth" you mentioned above... Although we're playing better football now after Pelle left (Koeman's tactics at Feyenoord were simple: all balls to Pelle...), we surely miss him as a target man and we don't have the money like Saints to buy a decent replacement. Then again, which player is there to buy who could play like Pelle? Off course there are enough better central forwards or should I say goalscorers but are they the teamplayer that Pelle is? So, who would you like to see as an equal substitute for Pelle or would you choose for Koeman to change tactics?

You could be right there, Sneijder earns way more than the 2,5 mentioned here and with that golddigger around him he can't afford less. I'm still hoping Clasie stays one more season with Feyenoord to become champion in 2016 but he's getting better and better and up for the next step. Saints would be the right club for him with Koeman as his manager because he will get enough time to play and adjust to the PL level.

It's a good thing there wasn't any money back then otherwise it would all have gone down the drain. With Wotte at the helm Feyenoord got an incredible amount of more than 70 players with a contract and believe me, it was hard to get a decent team on the pitch...

Wotte is talking BS. Dutch football is in trouble and even the KNVB confirms this by initiating a meeting for all our famous players and coaches to get things turned around, even our god Cruyff will come down from his mountain in Barcelona. I can't imagine Wotte being invited. We had this fool at Feyenoord some 10 years ago and things went completely down the hill...