Heitinga facing Dutch axe
Voetbal International are apparently reporting that should Bert van Marwijk keep his job as national coach of the Netherlands [
27/6/12 Update: he didn't] through to the 2016 European Championships, John Heitinga will be one of three players who will not be considered for international duty.
The report suggests that the Everton defender, Tottenham's Rafael van der Vaart, and striker Klass-Jan Hunterlaar will be axed by Van Marwijk as part of a post-Euro2012 shake-up.
Heitinga was dropped for the Oranjie's final Group B match against Portugal but Van der Vaart was reinstated for that game and scored the opening goal upon which the Dutch were not able to build and they lost the game 2-1.
The Netherlands lost all three of their group games, their worst performance at a major tournament thus far.
Original Source:
Voetbal International via Goal.com
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Does this bloke watch football?
Agreed Mark, they actually only improved with Van der Vaart and Hunterlaar on the pitch
Mark, Gavin. Surely this must be a disciplinary measure rather than a decision based on footballing ability. You don't announce players won't be considered for selection unless you are effectively saying that the manager is refusing to work with them.
Doesn't bother me if Johnny plays for the Oranje or not, as long as he plays well for us.
The guy is a complete tactical clown. I would be amazed if he keeps his job.
Si, Hunterlaar looked quite rightly pissed off spending the majority of the tournament catching splinters in his arse as did Van der Vaart and equally both proved far more useful to the Ducth being on the pitch instead of as spectators. If its a disciplinary it smacks of another manager cutting his nose off to spite his own face. He saw his arse playing the wrong players in their games.
Gavin, not disagreeing with your assessment of the Dutch performances but the article says that if van Marwijk keeps his job then these three players won't be considered for international duty in the future (whether that is limited to his tenure or not is not made clear). Unless the inference is that he doesn't rate them as good enough, then it has to be a disciplinary stance based on the widely reported dissent that affected the Dutch cup campaign (nothing new there then). Van Marwijk must have the backing of the Dutch footballing authorities if this is to be applied and so it must be an official disciplinary sanction (otherwise it is tantamount to restriction of trade or slander / libel at the least).
Could always be a case of mis-translation of a Dutch media source I guess?!
Feel like I haven't made myself clear. To me the words "will not be considered for international duty" are not the same as saying someone has been dropped indefinitely due to an unsatisfactory level of performance and, if that was the original meaning of the report, then I think that the wording used is a little misleading. To be able to announce the voluntary exclusion of these players for the duration of his stewardship, the manager must be pretty sure he has the backing of his superiors in what is in effect, if not in actuality, a punitive measure.
I heard the root of the problem was Van Marwick's insistence on playing Van Bommel who is apparently related.
The Dutch are never shrinking violets and let their feelings be known especially Johnny's wife (allegedly) who blabbed to the dutch press.
I also thought he was very negative tactically only playing Van Persie on his own up front with no MF player in the support role.
The problem with the Dutch is that they always seem to beat themselves from within. They appear to have far too many ego maniacs in the camp and their in-house fighting carries over to match day. They constantly bicker, badger and berate each other and or the current serving manager - this has been going on for ages. The talent has always been there and on paper they are usually a scary opponent for anyone. However, you can usually bet that somewhere down the road in any tournament, they will falter and succumb to no one but themselves.
Si if there is any justice it should be limited blinkered managers that get the heave ho rather than players with the cojones to stand up to them
Van Bommel is married to the manager's daughter.
Huntelaar was shite against Portugal.
Has Moyes got a daughter? She's not knocking off Anichebe is she?
"should Bert .... keeps his job" -
pld 3 won 0 lost 3 for 1 agst 5 null points.
I don't know how they do things in that country but I suspect their FA will conclude our discussion for us.
You have to wonder what Johnny boy has been up to this time to envoke that kind of reaction.
Huntelaar was crap when I saw him, and RVP did nothing against Portugal - there needed to be tactical changes and they weren't made but also the players deserve pelters.
In a better world the person who has the guts to stand-up for what is needed would always get the support, but in the real world the establishment tend to protect their own interests and will reaffirm their authority by getting rid of the 'troublemakers'.
Don't know if that applies in this case as I am not sure of the details of the strife in the Dutch camp at the Euros. The flipside is that there are genuine troublemakers; people who will gladly ruin it for everyone if they are not pandered to. Need a Dutch expert to unravel this one I think.
As for the article, if van Marwijk is kept on then they are clearly blaming these players for the failure of the team and, by announcing that these players will not be considered for selection, they are letting everyone know that this trio is being punished.
I agree with you Si (#997).
"there are genuine troublemakers; people who will gladly ruin it for everyone if they are not pandered to" -
No doubt. But how long has Johnny been with us? How often has he been played out of position? How long would he have lasted had he pissed Moyes off? How often has he stated that he enjoys his football with us as well as he ever has?
I've witnessed management failures blaming the troops close up, and this has all the hallmarks to me. In any case, Johnny come home.
The Dutch are a bigger joke than England! They have twice the talent yet cannot kill the infighting. That has to come from the top down. Van Bommel was shite as he usually is. One of the most dirty and cynical players I have ever seen. Zero ability. Yet guaranteed to start which is bound to piss others off.
Agree with Keith. All Johnny's done for us is improve his play year by year. Watched all the Holland games and wondered how many times Johnny thought, "Christ, let me get back to my Club, a real Team".
Come to think of it, Moyes is exactly the manager the Dutch could use for their National side.
"should Bert .... keeps his job" - part 2:
Bert did the decent thing and walked. Still 4 years on his contract - 'mutual agreement' apparently.
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994 Posted 26/06/2012 at 00:34:21
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