Van Dijk revisited

[Sandikan]

The way he stands off players when defending is amazing Liverpool don't conceede a lot but when they do he is usually involved by simply standing away from players.

All about that record of not getting dribbled past by, isn't it?

Does have a really odd style doesn't he.
Stands way back watching their face. Mostly gets away with it as the striker tends to overrun it.

 

[Mike Smalling]

Rewatching the goal it's not clear to me what he is trying to do. Why slow down and allow the shot?

 

[WeePat]

Rewatching the goal it's not clear to me what he is trying to do. Why slow down and allow the shot?

Gotta preserve the dribbled past stats one way or another.

 

[Il Prete Rosso]

Does have a really odd style doesn't he.
Stands way back watching their face. Mostly gets away with it as the striker tends to overrun it.

If he was in the league with strikers like Rooney, RVP, Henry and Shearer he'd be toast. Good defender but he doesn't have to deal with proper centre forwards most of the time.

 

[Cascarino]

If he was in the league with strikers like Rooney, RVP, Henry and Shearer he'd be toast. Good defender but he doesn't have to deal with proper centre forwards most of the time.

He’d be fine

 

[JB08]

Rewatching the goal it's not clear to me what he is trying to do. Why slow down and allow the shot?

Presumably he thought Zaha was going to cut in for a better angle to shoot from. It was a tough angle in fairness and he finished brilliantly. Henry-esque.

 

[SalfordRed18]

He’d be fine

He's a poor man's Rio Ferdinand imo.

 

[Daslogisch]

The way he stands off players when defending is amazing Liverpool don't conceede a lot but when they do he is usually involved by simply standing away from players.

All about that record of not getting dribbled past by, isn't it?

He's always been like that and I've always felt he's overrated. Clearly he's a force in the air and he's solid in possession, but he's never been really aggressive and his positioning is also off quite often. Even in his best days this was the case, but to me he's also never completely recovered from his injury. One of the best defenders of these days, but that also says a lot about the defenders. Ramos, Chiellini, Kompany in their prime were all beter, as were defenders like Nesta, Stam, Rio and Vidic.

 

[FriedClams]

Absolutely incredible defender. Every mistake scrutinized more than any other defender but he’s brilliant.

 

[Lights Out]

If he was in the league with strikers like Rooney, RVP, Henry and Shearer he'd be toast. Good defender but he doesn't have to deal with proper centre forwards most of the time.

My god, what does that say about United’s CB’s then?!

 

[SilentWitness]

I can't remember the CS but that's now the CL final, the first game and now this game where he's arguably made poor defensive decisions.

 

[DWelbz19]

Absolutely incredible defender. Every mistake scrutinized more than any other defender but he’s brilliant.

He’s good but the reason every mistake is scrutinised more often is because of this need by all of his fans and the media to tell you he’s the best defender to ever grace the earth

 

[JPRouve]

He’s good but the reason every mistake is scrutinised more often is because of this need by all of his fans and the media to tell you he’s the best defender to ever grace the earth

Agreed. He is a good defender but I'm under the impression that he is consistently bested by genuine top attackers. Which is not something that I remember from the previous best CBs. Now it's fair to say that a bit like early 2010s Real Madrid, Liverpool don't really support their CBs.

 

[Sammy McIlroys fan club]

His "defending" for last nights goal was downright bizarre. If Maguire, Varane or Martinez didn't cover the run and then slowed down when they could have made a tackle they would rightfully be getting slaughtered for it on here. But as its VVD Carragher and Sky Sports make all sorts of excuses. If you get the name of an early riser you can lie in bed all day. A very good player but even good players are not above criticism.

 

[Hughes35]

Obviously a good CB and had a couple of very very good seasons prior to his injury. He's also massively overrated though.

Nowhere near the class of Rio, Vidic, Stam, Terry, Campbell, Adams, Kompany etc..... But no modern day CB really is.

I'd still take him in a heartbeat at our place though.

 

[kthanksbye]

Probably got something to do with his injury, I might not be remembering this clearly, but he used to be a lot closer to the attackers before the injury. Also, when you're playing against someone as quick as Zaha, especially with such a high line, it's always good to stand a little further behind than you usually would.

Maybe now he's not sure about how quickly he'd be able to turn and sprint. Also, all the lame comments about the stat of not being dribbled past, that's obviously not his mind, as a CB I can tell you, we just hate it when someone dribbles past you. Subconsciously, you tend to stand back, when you've got multiple things on your mind, recovering from injury, rapid attacker and high line.

Why he stopped for the goal is still a mystery to me.

 

[GlasgowCeltic]

Obviously a good CB and had a couple of very very good seasons prior to his injury. He's also massively overrated though.

Nowhere near the class of Rio, Vidic, Stam, Terry, Campbell, Adams, Kompany etc..... But no modern day CB really is.

I'd still take him in a heartbeat at our place though.

Ruined your argument adding Kompany

 

[The Law of Denis]

He's a class player, at his peak he is as good as any CB in the world. But I don't think his peak is as consistent (and certainly not as many trophies) as some PL legends like Terry, Ferdinand, Vidic, etc.

 

[Lentwood]

Ruined your argument adding Kompany

Kompany was unbelievably good

 

[GlasgowCeltic]

Kompany was unbelievably good

Level below

 

[Joga Bonito]

Agreed. He is a good defender but I'm under the impression that he is consistently bested by genuine top attackers. Which is not something that I remember from the previous best CBs. Now it's fair to say that a bit like early 2010s Real Madrid, Liverpool don't really support their CBs.

Any notable examples, if you don't mind?

 

[JPRouve]

Any notable examples, if you don't mind?

The CL final, some of the games against Atletico and Real Madrid, also a while back the two games against PSG.

 

[HTG]

The way he stands off players when defending is amazing Liverpool don't conceede a lot but when they do he is usually involved by simply standing away from players.

All about that record of not getting dribbled past by, isn't it?

I’ve read once that Liverpool try to avoid deflected shots, by basically letting opponents shoot from distance. The idea behind that is, that it is easier for the keeper this way and overall less goals are conceded. It might look strange at times, but he’s doing precisely what Klopp wants him to and it’s working quite well.

 

[TrustInJanuzaj]

Level below

Agreed.

 

[Champ]

I’ve read once that Liverpool try to avoid deflected shots, by basically letting opponents shoot from distance. The idea behind that is, that it is easier for the keeper this way and overall less goals are conceded. It might look strange at times, but he’s doing precisely what Klopp wants him to and it’s working quite well.

Interesting that Neville mentioned something similar last night, stating that the Liverpool defenders trust to GK to make a save and so would rather block passing lanes off to force the shot.

Just so happened that last night this was 100% the wrong option, VVD stood off Zaha and allowed him the time to pick his spot. Still a good finish mind, but given the time line that I'd expect most strikers to finish.
VVD should have engaged.

 

[cyberman]

I’ve read once that Liverpool try to avoid deflected shots, by basically letting opponents shoot from distance. The idea behind that is, that it is easier for the keeper this way and overall less goals are conceded. It might look strange at times, but he’s doing precisely what Klopp wants him to and it’s working quite well.

Honestly don’t believe a word of it. The same way we were told they set out to allow the opposition so many 1v1s because they trust the keeper so much.
It’s just trying to make sense of a top team having so many flaws and getting away with it

 

[SambaBoy]

I can understand why he slowed down there, he had been sprinting for 40-50 yards so the ability to change direction quickly is negated. If Zaha had dropped a shoulder and come inside to shoot, VVD would have been sent for a hotdog. I half expected Zaha to come inside as the angle to shoot from was very difficult so VVD anticipated this, and slowed this to give him a chance to defend him coming inside and back Zaha not to shoot and score from that range - as it was likely he'd have to take it on his left foot.

Obviously Zaha did brilliantly and was a top top finish. Don't think VVD can be blamed too much for that.

 

[Amar__]

I’ve read once that Liverpool try to avoid deflected shots, by basically letting opponents shoot from distance. The idea behind that is, that it is easier for the keeper this way and overall less goals are conceded. It might look strange at times, but he’s doing precisely what Klopp wants him to and it’s working quite well.

Maybe from distance but you don't allow a shot from there, he totally expected Zaha to cut inside and made a wrong decision.

 

[WeePat]

He’s good but the reason every mistake is scrutinised more often is because of this need by all of his fans and the media to tell you he’s the best defender to ever grace the earth

This is true. He had like 2 or 3 outstanding seasons at Liverpool and people were suddenly trying to shoehorn him into the best ever CB conversation. The scrutiny is a result of that overhype.

 

[Remember the geese]

I’ve read once that Liverpool try to avoid deflected shots, by basically letting opponents shoot from distance. The idea behind that is, that it is easier for the keeper this way and overall less goals are conceded. It might look strange at times, but he’s doing precisely what Klopp wants him to and it’s working quite well.

I remember Gary Neville saying that Schmeichel was like that. If you could get a clean block, then great. Otherwise he backed himself to deal with any undeflected shot.

 

[Crimson King]

This is true. He had like 2 or 3 outstanding seasons at Liverpool and people were suddenly trying to shoehorn him into the best ever CB conversation. The scrutiny is a result of that overhype.

Couldn't agree more. He's very good, but he had one (admittedly) imperious season and suddenly the media are telling us he's the best defender the game has ever seen.

Like I said, he's very good, but there are other defenders who were just as good, if not better, and performed at that level for a longer period than he currently has.

I would personally take Rio Ferdinand in his prime over VVD every time, as I'm sure Chelsea fans would choose Terry.

 

[Hughes35]

He’s good but the reason every mistake is scrutinised more often is because of this need by all of his fans and the media to tell you he’s the best defender to ever grace the earth

Exactly this. Even the commentators first go to was to try and say that the reason he slowed down and didn't bother defending was because he'd read the situation and felt the GK would save the shot. If another CB had done that, they would have slaughtered him immediately.

 

[KirkDuyt]

I think the reason he's so hyped is because he became the posterboy for Liverpool winning their first league title in 57 years (give or take). Still think he's very good, but not THAT good. I don't watch a lot of Liverpool to be honest, but in Oranje he's been decent, but nothing spectacular.

Part of the hype is also the arrogant attitude I'd say. He always has this face as if he's in control (even while tripping over his own feat and conceding mind you)

 

[HTG]

Maybe from distance but you don't allow a shot from there, he totally expected Zaha to cut inside and made a wrong decision.

Absolutely possible. He might have judged the situation wrong or was simply outplayed.
Generally speaking, his passiveness makes sense and appears to be part of the way Pool defend.

 

[jeff_goldblum]

I can understand why he slowed down there, he had been sprinting for 40-50 yards so the ability to change direction quickly is negated. If Zaha had dropped a shoulder and come inside to shoot, VVD would have been sent for a hotdog. I half expected Zaha to come inside as the angle to shoot from was very difficult so VVD anticipated this, and slowed this to give him a chance to defend him coming inside and back Zaha not to shoot and score from that range - as it was likely he'd have to take it on his left foot.

Obviously Zaha did brilliantly and was a top top finish. Don't think VVD can be blamed too much for that.

Yeah I think people often forget that it's impossible for a defender/goalkeeper to cover every eventuality. You often see people criticising defenders or goalkeepers for "making the wrong choice" when a goal is scored, but in reality the only "right choice" is the one which makes it as difficult as possible for the attacker to score.

In this case, VVD's position prevented Zaha cutting in and making a better angle for himself, meaning the only way he could score was with an inch-perfect finish. He pulled it off, that's the way it goes sometimes, probably nine times out of ten he puts it too close to the keeper or wide of the post.

 

[Robbie Boy]

He's clearly not the same player as he was pre-injury.

 

[tomaldinho1]

Rewatching the goal it's not clear to me what he is trying to do. Why slow down and allow the shot?

It was bizarre, like he thought it was much more of a tight angle and Zaha would cut inside. He does look less dynamic now I will say, genuinely great CB but that was strange decision making for the goal.

 

[PaulRich]

Hes 31 with a serious ACL injury under his belt - his peak has been and gone.

 

[IrishRedDevil]

All about that record of not getting dribbled past by, isn't it?

Bit late now, Mitrovic ended that first game of the season.

 

[Dave Smith]

Come on guys, I hate the Dippers more than anyone, but VVD is a top class CB. For that goal yesterday, he cut off Zaha's option to cut in and made him take a shot he probably only finishes 1 in 20 times or something.

Still a top 2 CB with Dias in the PL currently. Where I have an issue is when he gets rated above people like Rio and Terry who had a much bigger body of work.