My sentence was structured quite poorly there I'll admit, I meant people shouldn't be put off because he didn't particularly stand out, most have said he had a decent game, some like you don't think he played well. I'm not particularly pressing for or against this transfer because I've not seen him enough. The opinions on here can be quite contrasting but I think it's because they're based on a few random games for his country.
Kevin Strootman
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My sentence was structured quite poorly there I'll admit, I meant people shouldn't be put off because he didn't particularly stand out, most have said he had a decent game, some like you don't think he played well. I'm not particularly pressing for or against this transfer because I've not seen him enough. The opinions on here can be quite contrasting but I think it's because they're based on a few random games for his country.
I've seen him a handful of times and I think if we were to sign him tommorow, we'd immediately have another Cleverley in the squad. By that I mean a guy whose good enough to play most games, but not yet at the level to be dominating the top teams like Bayern currently have and what we hope to have right now. Like Cleverley he's not the finished product yet, but I think he'd be worthwhile signing in the long run. Of course nothings guaranteed, but sometimes you have to take a gamble and had we gambled on Axel Witsel years ago when he and Dafour were constantly talked about, we probably wouldn't be having these discussiosn about Strootman and Fellaini right now.
Not really. Carrick is a better passer than him.
Strootman was there to screen the defense? well he did a great job considering the Germans seemed to go past him at will, lets not sugarcoat him just because we're being linked to him. The truth is, his passing was tidy enough, he played some nice one touch stuff a few times, he does lack pace, or maybe it's just acceleration he lacks, he could be fast once he gets going, I didn't see him run at full pelt so it's hard to say, and I understand when people say most great midfielders aren't known for pace, I probably should have said it was mobility and acceleration that worried me, more than pace.
Everyone has different ideas about what they want to see from a player, so fair enough if you believe he's a great midfielder in the making. I was just disappointed with what I saw.
Everyone has different ideas about what they want to see from a player, so fair enough if you believe he's a great midfielder in the making. I was just disappointed with what I saw.
Not debating whether Carrick is a supreme passer or not; because I agree that he is. I was more complaining about the comparison to Strootman. Albertini was a fantastic passer of the ball.
Maybe I've always watched Albertini on his bad days. He misplaced passes too much for my liking, for a supposedly fantastic passer. He's tactically good though.
Anyway, I've never said that Strootman is as good as Albertini. The point is, as Albertini' shown, there's always place in a team, even if you are a well rounded player (jack of all trade, master of none), as long as your level of 'trade' are higher than average.
I understand what you are saying, I just can't agree with your assessment of Albertini. Yes he was a very complete midfielder but to say he was a master of none is just plain wrong. His long range passing was legendary. He mentored Pirlo for one, who was for many years considered to have an inferior passing range and accuracy. That should speak volumes. No idea what version of Albertini you are thinking of. Maybe his Athletico, Barca days when he was a shadow of his former self, having been ravaged by injuries from the age of 28.
Albertini at Milan was top drawer
People often reference Strootman as a Carrick-like player, but I rarely see him play as the deepest midfielder. He is atypical #8, not the #4 some seem to say he is. He's no 'defensive midfielder' basically.
Done okay so far. Will really need to hit the 'weights' if he comes to the Prem though.
Tonny Vilhena has a better name
A great article on him by an arsenal fan.
‘Kevin Strootman: Welcome to Manchester United’, a video posted on YouTube 11 months ago. The now 23-year old PSV midfielder had just finished his first full season at the Eindhoven club, seeing them finish just short of a Champions League qualifier spot. Almost a year later, Kevin is still firmly in PSV’s grasp; but for how long? Kevin is heavily linked to Arsenal, and according to his agent Chiel Dekker, Strootman’s preferred league is the Premier League.
It has all been upwards for the young Dutchman. He made his topflight debut at Sparta Rotterdam, 2 days after his 18th birthday. 3-and-a-half seasons later with over 70 first team appearances under his belt, having made his Oranje debut and seeing his boyhood club relegated, he joined FC Utrecht. It was a brief stay, with Kevin joining Philips (yes, the company) Sport Vereniging in the City of Light 6 months later. So what, fittingly, sparked Kevin’s meteoric rise to the pinnacle of Dutch football, and how far can he go? Would he fit in at Arsenal? I hope to answer these questions in my second Goonersphere column.
On the other end of the pitch, his covering of the back four is very good. PSV played with a Mark van Bommel / Strootman double pivot this season, with Kevin doing most of the work involving actual running. The left-footed powerhouse is great at positioning himself correctly and thus receiving a pass.
The great thing about him, in combination with his positioning, is that he is always aware of his surroundings before getting the ball. The pass to him is underway, he looks up, spots a runner, makes the decision and acts on it. By doing this, he rarely gets caught in possession because – like any good footballer – he is a man with a plan.
Now, of course, these are mostly mental attributes. If that was all it took, I’d be a terrific footballer (my positioning is top notch to be fair). However, there is obviously more to Kevin Strootman than that. As I mentioned before, he is very powerful, allowing him to shoot from distance. Moreover, his passing ability is absolutely fantastic. He has the accuracy to provide a perfect pass over 40 yards that in a way reminds me of Koeman, with his lower leg barely moving beyond the ball. This makes him a very dangerous player to have on the ball in central midfield.
But what about off the ball? Is his defensive contribution good enough? I would definitely say so. Apart from him looking like the troll from the Harry Potter movies, his tackling is another reason why you wouldn’t want to meet him in a dark alley. He is good at using his physique to barge a player off the ball. A very important trait for PSV, as his midfield partner Mark van Bommel has been off the pace in his final season as a professional footballer and the Eindhoven defence has been shaky. Speaking of his physique, his height (6 feet and 2 inches) would obviously be very useful in the Premier League.
Now, of what use is a player with those abilities if he has the touch of a Sunday league player? Not much, I’d say. Luckily, PSV’s number 8 is surprisingly technical for his height. He is a decent dribbler, which isn’t unimportant for a player whose best position is box-to-box midfielder. Of course, the Dutch Eredivisie is much slower than the PL and thus allows a player more time on the ball, but I believe that one of the reasons he’s been doing so well is that his thought process is must faster than that of his opponents.
In an attempt to make this a bit less one-sided, Kevin Strootman still has enough to improve on. However good his tackling in general might be, he still received 10 yellow cards over the course of the season. That’s only one less than Dean Whitehead (11) who received the most yellow cards in the Premier League 2012/2013 season. It’s almost twice as much as Arteta, whose 6 yellow cards topped the charts for Arsenal. Furthermore, there’s the issue of the right foot. That is not a new Arsenal podcast (it should be, thank me later). Our Dutch international player is quite one-footed, which might limit his ability to perform more difficult passes without using his left foot.
All in all, I believe that Kevin Strootman has the talent and eagerness to learn to become an even better player. He might even be able to perform that Diaby role for Arsenal, something our fans have been craving. Whether or not we are truly interested in him remains to be seen, but Kevin Strootman has been wearing red and white shirts ever since he played his first professional game back in 2008.
PSV’s motto is ‘Eendracht maakt macht’, which roughly translates to ‘Victory Through Harmony’. Lastly, Kevin’s place of birth Ridderkerk translates to ‘Knight’s church’. Knights used cannons. Our cannon could do with a tall and scary knight to ignite the powder keg.
‘Kevin Strootman: Welcome to Manchester United’, a video posted on YouTube 11 months ago. The now 23-year old PSV midfielder had just finished his first full season at the Eindhoven club, seeing them finish just short of a Champions League qualifier spot. Almost a year later, Kevin is still firmly in PSV’s grasp; but for how long? Kevin is heavily linked to Arsenal, and according to his agent Chiel Dekker, Strootman’s preferred league is the Premier League.
It has all been upwards for the young Dutchman. He made his topflight debut at Sparta Rotterdam, 2 days after his 18th birthday. 3-and-a-half seasons later with over 70 first team appearances under his belt, having made his Oranje debut and seeing his boyhood club relegated, he joined FC Utrecht. It was a brief stay, with Kevin joining Philips (yes, the company) Sport Vereniging in the City of Light 6 months later. So what, fittingly, sparked Kevin’s meteoric rise to the pinnacle of Dutch football, and how far can he go? Would he fit in at Arsenal? I hope to answer these questions in my second Goonersphere column.
The David Beckham of his generation. Well, not really.
Kevin Strootman, harshly nicknamed ‘paving stone’ because of his model looks, is one of few professional footballers to have their feet placed firmly on the ground. He knows exactly what he can and cannot do on the pitch, and this greatly increases his effectiveness. As a player with great stamina and strength, he is great in a box-to-box role. The Ridderkerk-born is adept at making those runs into the box, swinging his hammer left foot to cannonball the leather into the net.On the other end of the pitch, his covering of the back four is very good. PSV played with a Mark van Bommel / Strootman double pivot this season, with Kevin doing most of the work involving actual running. The left-footed powerhouse is great at positioning himself correctly and thus receiving a pass.
The great thing about him, in combination with his positioning, is that he is always aware of his surroundings before getting the ball. The pass to him is underway, he looks up, spots a runner, makes the decision and acts on it. By doing this, he rarely gets caught in possession because – like any good footballer – he is a man with a plan.
Now, of course, these are mostly mental attributes. If that was all it took, I’d be a terrific footballer (my positioning is top notch to be fair). However, there is obviously more to Kevin Strootman than that. As I mentioned before, he is very powerful, allowing him to shoot from distance. Moreover, his passing ability is absolutely fantastic. He has the accuracy to provide a perfect pass over 40 yards that in a way reminds me of Koeman, with his lower leg barely moving beyond the ball. This makes him a very dangerous player to have on the ball in central midfield.
But what about off the ball? Is his defensive contribution good enough? I would definitely say so. Apart from him looking like the troll from the Harry Potter movies, his tackling is another reason why you wouldn’t want to meet him in a dark alley. He is good at using his physique to barge a player off the ball. A very important trait for PSV, as his midfield partner Mark van Bommel has been off the pace in his final season as a professional footballer and the Eindhoven defence has been shaky. Speaking of his physique, his height (6 feet and 2 inches) would obviously be very useful in the Premier League.
Now, of what use is a player with those abilities if he has the touch of a Sunday league player? Not much, I’d say. Luckily, PSV’s number 8 is surprisingly technical for his height. He is a decent dribbler, which isn’t unimportant for a player whose best position is box-to-box midfielder. Of course, the Dutch Eredivisie is much slower than the PL and thus allows a player more time on the ball, but I believe that one of the reasons he’s been doing so well is that his thought process is must faster than that of his opponents.
In an attempt to make this a bit less one-sided, Kevin Strootman still has enough to improve on. However good his tackling in general might be, he still received 10 yellow cards over the course of the season. That’s only one less than Dean Whitehead (11) who received the most yellow cards in the Premier League 2012/2013 season. It’s almost twice as much as Arteta, whose 6 yellow cards topped the charts for Arsenal. Furthermore, there’s the issue of the right foot. That is not a new Arsenal podcast (it should be, thank me later). Our Dutch international player is quite one-footed, which might limit his ability to perform more difficult passes without using his left foot.
All in all, I believe that Kevin Strootman has the talent and eagerness to learn to become an even better player. He might even be able to perform that Diaby role for Arsenal, something our fans have been craving. Whether or not we are truly interested in him remains to be seen, but Kevin Strootman has been wearing red and white shirts ever since he played his first professional game back in 2008.
PSV’s motto is ‘Eendracht maakt macht’, which roughly translates to ‘Victory Through Harmony’. Lastly, Kevin’s place of birth Ridderkerk translates to ‘Knight’s church’. Knights used cannons. Our cannon could do with a tall and scary knight to ignite the powder keg.
I forgot the game was on, how's he doing?
Christ jake! Take that first photo off. He's like an orc with faces like that
Good game, nothing special and we saw nothing new.
What you'd expect really. Made a few tackles and a few interception, playing the ball tidily, kept possession well, put himself about abit in attack and defense..
Nothing extraordinary but definitely some positives.
Basically, he'll look average by the time Spain u21s have finished later.
A great article on him by an arsenal fan.
‘Kevin Strootman: Welcome to Manchester United’, a video posted on YouTube 11 months ago. The now 23-year old PSV midfielder had just finished his first full season at the Eindhoven club, seeing them finish just short of a Champions League qualifier spot. Almost a year later, Kevin is still firmly in PSV’s grasp; but for how long? Kevin is heavily linked to Arsenal, and according to his agent Chiel Dekker, Strootman’s preferred league is the Premier League.
It has all been upwards for the young Dutchman. He made his topflight debut at Sparta Rotterdam, 2 days after his 18th birthday. 3-and-a-half seasons later with over 70 first team appearances under his belt, having made his Oranje debut and seeing his boyhood club relegated, he joined FC Utrecht. It was a brief stay, with Kevin joining Philips (yes, the company) Sport Vereniging in the City of Light 6 months later. So what, fittingly, sparked Kevin’s meteoric rise to the pinnacle of Dutch football, and how far can he go? Would he fit in at Arsenal? I hope to answer these questions in my second Goonersphere column.
The David Beckham of his generation. Well, not really.
Kevin Strootman, harshly nicknamed ‘paving stone’ because of his model looks, is one of few professional footballers to have their feet placed firmly on the ground. He knows exactly what he can and cannot do on the pitch, and this greatly increases his effectiveness. As a player with great stamina and strength, he is great in a box-to-box role. The Ridderkerk-born is adept at making those runs into the box, swinging his hammer left foot to cannonball the leather into the net.
On the other end of the pitch, his covering of the back four is very good. PSV played with a Mark van Bommel / Strootman double pivot this season, with Kevin doing most of the work involving actual running. The left-footed powerhouse is great at positioning himself correctly and thus receiving a pass.
The great thing about him, in combination with his positioning, is that he is always aware of his surroundings before getting the ball. The pass to him is underway, he looks up, spots a runner, makes the decision and acts on it. By doing this, he rarely gets caught in possession because – like any good footballer – he is a man with a plan.
Now, of course, these are mostly mental attributes. If that was all it took, I’d be a terrific footballer (my positioning is top notch to be fair). However, there is obviously more to Kevin Strootman than that. As I mentioned before, he is very powerful, allowing him to shoot from distance. Moreover, his passing ability is absolutely fantastic. He has the accuracy to provide a perfect pass over 40 yards that in a way reminds me of Koeman, with his lower leg barely moving beyond the ball. This makes him a very dangerous player to have on the ball in central midfield.
But what about off the ball? Is his defensive contribution good enough? I would definitely say so. Apart from him looking like the troll from the Harry Potter movies, his tackling is another reason why you wouldn’t want to meet him in a dark alley. He is good at using his physique to barge a player off the ball. A very important trait for PSV, as his midfield partner Mark van Bommel has been off the pace in his final season as a professional footballer and the Eindhoven defence has been shaky. Speaking of his physique, his height (6 feet and 2 inches) would obviously be very useful in the Premier League.
Now, of what use is a player with those abilities if he has the touch of a Sunday league player? Not much, I’d say. Luckily, PSV’s number 8 is surprisingly technical for his height. He is a decent dribbler, which isn’t unimportant for a player whose best position is box-to-box midfielder. Of course, the Dutch Eredivisie is much slower than the PL and thus allows a player more time on the ball, but I believe that one of the reasons he’s been doing so well is that his thought process is must faster than that of his opponents.
In an attempt to make this a bit less one-sided, Kevin Strootman still has enough to improve on. However good his tackling in general might be, he still received 10 yellow cards over the course of the season. That’s only one less than Dean Whitehead (11) who received the most yellow cards in the Premier League 2012/2013 season. It’s almost twice as much as Arteta, whose 6 yellow cards topped the charts for Arsenal. Furthermore, there’s the issue of the right foot. That is not a new Arsenal podcast (it should be, thank me later). Our Dutch international player is quite one-footed, which might limit his ability to perform more difficult passes without using his left foot.
All in all, I believe that Kevin Strootman has the talent and eagerness to learn to become an even better player. He might even be able to perform that Diaby role for Arsenal, something our fans have been craving. Whether or not we are truly interested in him remains to be seen, but Kevin Strootman has been wearing red and white shirts ever since he played his first professional game back in 2008.
PSV’s motto is ‘Eendracht maakt macht’, which roughly translates to ‘Victory Through Harmony’. Lastly, Kevin’s place of birth Ridderkerk translates to ‘Knight’s church’. Knights used cannons. Our cannon could do with a tall and scary knight to ignite the powder keg.
good post, but the end is just...Good to hear, so e played mostly in the Carrick role again?
Older and stands out from the pack less than Maher and Van Ginkel
Gives nothing away
Carrick didn't 'stand out' to a lot of people until about a year ago.
I don't know much about this guy but if we buy him I hope he doesn't turn into another Eredivisie phenomenon - much hype in the Dutch league, but not enough ability to make it at the top clubs in the top leagues.
Game was on time delay here, Strootman's just gone off. I honestly don't think I saw him put a foot wrong all game. Hard to judge too much in a game where the Dutch had the ball most of the game in attacking areas. Does he usually play that withdrawn a role for PSV? He didn't show a whole lot of energy in this game, but then again it was never necessary.
What?
People in general haven't recognised Carrick's class until this season. He's also divided opinion on here and with other sections of our support Ekeke.
I thought Carrick started his career with us brilliantly. But there was a time around 09/10 where he seemed a bit void of confidence and hit some patchy form. But you know what it's like with United players. As soon as they hit a difficult phase in their form, all of a sudden they are dogshit and should be sold immediately.
Carrick was praised to high heaven when he was at Tottenham.
After coming to us, he became average in many eyes.
After coming to us, he became average in many eyes.
I thought he started well too. 06-08 and part of the following season he was great. Even then, not many people rated him.
If Michael Carrick had pace he would be unplayable imo
What a prick, harassing a footballer with one question over and over doesn't make you a fecking journalist. (Even if 'real' football journalists don't even bother with that quite often)
Actually some wanted us to sign him when he was at Spurs because he stood out for them. A world above not standing out for an under 21 side.
I'm sure. I just dont equate that sentiment with fans from other clubs.
I don't get the Carrick comparisons..
Every time I watch him he's about everywhere, joins in with both defense and attack, sometimes covering for defenders, and other times crossing from the wings. He hounds players more than Carrick does, and doesn't look to dictate play just simply move the ball on.
For me, he's a better Cleverley. Would make a good partner for Carrick but I don't see him ever 'dictating' or 'controlling' games.
Every time I watch him he's about everywhere, joins in with both defense and attack, sometimes covering for defenders, and other times crossing from the wings. He hounds players more than Carrick does, and doesn't look to dictate play just simply move the ball on.
For me, he's a better Cleverley. Would make a good partner for Carrick but I don't see him ever 'dictating' or 'controlling' games.
When I've seen him I thought he has dictated games. He's always looking to receive the ball, and he can slow things down if needed.
From what I've seen he seems like a box to box, slightly more assertive version of Carrick.
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