Kiss of death. Expect him to be shit now.
Virgil van Dijk | Performances
- Thread starter Samid
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No way this comparison would've been made if they weren't both Dutch. There are probably a dozen other (retired) CBs out there that are a lot more like Van Dijk.
Closer to Smalling than Stam.
It's still early in his career there but scouse fans are so desperate to highlight that they haven't paid over the odds for any of their signings that they will proclaim him the best CB in Europe. Similarly Keita has already been labelled the best CM in Europe by some and they cant help but exclaim hes better than Pogba.
He has improved them, but they always jump the gun. Neville is always complicit in the bigging up of our closest rivals.
It's still early in his career there but scouse fans are so desperate to highlight that they haven't paid over the odds for any of their signings that they will proclaim him the best CB in Europe. Similarly Keita has already been labelled the best CM in Europe by some and they cant help but exclaim hes better than Pogba.
He has improved them, but they always jump the gun. Neville is always complicit in the bigging up of our closest rivals.
He's clearly the best we've had since hyypia and of similar stature.
He still has room to grow though. If he can turn into Sami with pace and better ball skills he'll be genuinely world class. Not quite there yet, but he's laying down his markers well so far.
He still has room to grow though. If he can turn into Sami with pace and better ball skills he'll be genuinely world class. Not quite there yet, but he's laying down his markers well so far.
I do wonder had he not moved to Liverpool in January he'd have been a target for us this past summer?
His reputation seems to grow with each passing week (even when he has very little to do like at the weekend) with the disparaging comparisons with Smalling appearing to look more and more absurd
His reputation seems to grow with each passing week (even when he has very little to do like at the weekend) with the disparaging comparisons with Smalling appearing to look more and more absurd
I remember watching him when he was at Celtic and he'd go on mazy runs on a consistent basis and glide past people. Obviously he can't do that in the PL but he still exudes the same confidence that he did back then and in the West Ham game on the weekend he was completely comfortable in bringing the ball out and playing brilliant direct passes to the front three that started off a few attacks and counters. He completely emphasises the Klopp philosophy and it's clear as to why they chased him and paid as much as they did for him.
Hyypiaa always impressed me with his concentration, reading of the game and a certain agressive decisiveness. So far, these seem to me to be Van Dijks weaknesses.
Situation from West ham game that is a bit typical of him still is when Arnautovic is played through behind the Lpool defence. He is right in front of Van Dijk, who is slow to understand the danger, slow to react, doesn’t warn his partner and jogs half arsed back. Could never have happened like that with Hyypiaa.
Van Dijk has speed, strength and technique, but so far to me shows little of what made Tony Adams and John Terry world class defenders.
Why did we let Liverpool have a free run at him and then decide we were desperate for a new centre back 6 months later?
We wouldnt have spent the money anyway.
I think his general positioning and reading of the game is fine without being exceptional. He has lapses of concentration though.
Sami was outstanding in terms of concentration and anticipation though. Also the only way he was able to play a high line under rafa despite turning like an oil tanker - So often would just step into front of the attacker with the ball, or else put himself in the way to mark it hard to run it him. Rarely needed to make a tackle.
Should have got him from Celtic, not Southampton. There seemed to be links at the time as well. Most here scoffed at him because it's the SPL, but there's a difference between being good in a poor league and being so good in that poor league that you barely even break a sweat. VVD played for Celtic in 1st gear. Centre forwards just bounced off him. He was ridiculous.
£13m they got him for. Silliness.
£13m they got him for. Silliness.
You could ask the same question regarding Mane and Mahrez. All players who would have been perfect for elevating the current United team.
He immediately improved our defensive stats as he came in. Also whenever someone hoofs the ball into our half he's usually the one popping out to intercept it, and usually he gets there in time and wins aheader. Aerial dominance helps us a lot. Good on the ball as well, very calm and confident. His interviews are good to watch, sounds like a leader.
No regrets waiting for him and signing him at all.
Mind, I'm not saying he's best in Europe or whatever, but he's a top level CB.
No regrets waiting for him and signing him at all.
Mind, I'm not saying he's best in Europe or whatever, but he's a top level CB.
Woodward would not have sanctioned the deal anyway.
I wonder when Gary is going to unveil his “Lfc till I die” tattoo...
Good player but laughable price tag (At the time).
But as they say; a player is worth what you're willing to pay for them. He's so far shown to be worth the money for Liverpool.
Would he be worth the same money for Spurs, United or City? No. But he improves Liverpool massively.
But as they say; a player is worth what you're willing to pay for them. He's so far shown to be worth the money for Liverpool.
Would he be worth the same money for Spurs, United or City? No. But he improves Liverpool massively.
He'd be worth that to us and City for sure.
He's better than Laporte who City paid 60m for, and he'd walk into our side next to Bailly.
If only we had a Dutch manager at the time.
Yes, he was an intelligent defender, of the type United have very few of. Lindelöf has that kind of talent, but not yet Hyypiaa’s self assuredness. That can probably come with experience. I’m a bit more uncertain if Van Dijk’s brain can develop similarly, or if he’ll always need to pair up with a ‘minder’. He reminds me a bit of Smalling in that sense.
Yes
Tbf, he said in terms of how the can brush people off and how physical they are, not really in terms of playing style. But I agree, they are not similar in style.
Liverpool made a huge investment but it shows that money will get you quality. They solved a huge issue and looking back, I doubt the Liverpool fans think about the 80m they spent
Very similar to how Hummels played and Hummels was absolutely vital in not only Dortmund's defence but also attack. He removed the need for Dortmund to have a deep playmaker and allowed Gundogan to push forward, as Hummels was comfortable bringing the ball out and could find attackers with ease. Van Dijk being able to bring the ball forward in a similar would allow Liverpool to play with less technical, but more aggressive, players in midfield, like Keita and Wiljnaldum/Fabinho, since Van Dijk would be able to play passes into attackers.
What was the reason SAF got rid of him so abruptly?
Given both us and City conceded 28%(ish) less goals than them last season, their requirement was much greater.
Because of their style of play. Liverpool commit a lot more men forward than we do.
Our defenders are far from excellent. Anyone who thinks Smalling/Jones/Rojo etc are at the level of VvD is kidding themselves, there's a reason Jose was desperate for a CB this summer.
I remember reading a while back how Stam was an example of someone who fell victim to some poor assumptions in the emerging field of football statistics. At the time tackles were thought to be a key metric for defenders and stam's had declined sharply after his injury. Not the full story of course, but perhaps helped to inform Fergusons conviction that he was past it.
Of course all this was before it analysts realised that guys like Baresi and Maldini used to average less than a tackle per game.
The center back whom I'd see the most resemblance to him is Hummels. He is tailor made for Klopp's system albeit he is a bit less of a playmaker than Hummels used to be for Dortmund.
Combination. The main factor is said to be that Stam incredibly in his autobiography exposed Ferguson for illegally tapping him up at PSV. Ferguson was fuming, still later claimed he was sold because he was aging and Ferguson felt his levels were dropping, corroborated by statistics about tackling and meters run etc. (I do remember qt the time thinking that he was playing worse the season before, being a bit more cumbersome and making more mistakes, so I wasn’t so
Surprised he was sold).
Of course, he gave Milan quite a few excellent seasons after that, so clearly he wasn’t spent!
However, that’s when Ferguson replaced him with a 35 year old Laurent Blanc, and then a year later set a world record for a defender buying Rio Ferdinand. If that was Mourinho/Woodward ...
Best defender in the league along with Alderweireld. What we were thinking re Toby baffles me. Woodward didn’t think he was an improvement? Oh dear.
If we agree terms with him for a free in January rather than paying £70m+ or whatever Levy was demanding, I’d say that’s fair enough.
AFAIR Blanc was only meant to be bought to play alongside Stam not as his replacement.he was after someone else who didn’t work out so blanc was seen as stams replacement by fans. We got Rio the next year which worked out well enough in the long run
It sure did. But not really well until Vida’s second season, as I recall it.
I'm not convinced by him, think he is a good/decent defender, but not as good as people seem to be making out.
He sort of reminds me of Sol Campbell.
But Woodward saying he is not better than what we have. That’s ridiculous. Also less chance of getting him as he suddenly becomes a lot more attractive to every major club in Europe. My other issue is the need is now.
It's insane to think Van Gaal felt Blind was a better option to buy for the CB position. Shows that he was the mother of all managerial dinosaurs
I've watched every game he's played since joining Liverpool. He's our best CB since Hyypia, but has pace which Hyypia didn't. He's a very good CB, one of the top 5 in the league.
Honestly, you cannot be objective and say he's not convincing. This isn't Henderson or Lovren. Van Dijk is class.
Each to their own, like I said I think hes a good player. Just not as good as everyone is making out.
I don't think he would be available on a free next summer, Spurs can still extend his contract by a year, and a release clause kicks in for 25m.