Virgil van Dijk | Performances

TheReligion said:
I wouldn't try and reason. They all have a little streak of Souness in them waiting to pop out. After yesterdays performance against you he was speaking of Liverpool like the great Barca team and their front three in the same breath as Xavi, Iniesta and Messi.

This lot think VVD is Baresi, Cannavaro and Maldini all rolled into one.
Click to expand...
No one suggested we’re the best in the world. The desperation from you to put down Van Dijk is ridiculous. He’s one of the best in the league, probably top three at the moment. That doesn’t mean I’m saying we’ve got the best squad in the history of everything.

Compare our performance yesterday to the 4-1 defeat against Spurs last season and you can see why Van Dijk was worth the money.
 
United (And Smalling) were keeping us out very well until Kane scored from a set piece. We barely created anything, I'm not sure we'd even had a shot on target? I seem to remember pulling off an absolute worldie of a last ditch tackle.

That goal changed the way the game went, United were rattled and had to take more risks, and the rest is history. It also doesn't help playing alongside Jones and Herrera. If you're not putting any blame on VVD for the Lamela goal, how on earth are you going to attribute blame to Smalling (who actually has a fantastic record vs Kane) not keeping Kane quiet? Jones was marking him.
 
It's funny how Spurs played long balls yesterday at home but when a certain other team does that they get slated by all and sundry.
 
Klopper76 said:
No one suggested we’re the best in the world. The desperation from you to put down Van Dijk is ridiculous. He’s one of the best in the league, probably top three at the moment. That doesn’t mean I’m saying we’ve got the best squad in the history of everything.

Compare our performance yesterday to the 4-1 defeat against Spurs last season and you can see why Van Dijk was worth the money.
Click to expand...

I've literally said he's one of the best central defenders in the league and you've decided I'm desperate to put him down.

All I am saying is that he's being overhyped by certain people, and that yesterdays performance was really nothing too impressive, I was more impressed by Liverpool's tactical setup. Van Djik is obviously going to look good when you constantly long ball it in the air, he's a beast, especially when it's aimed at fecking Lucas. He's a really, really good player, but like I said where I disagree is the 'Smalling couldn't stop Kane/Lucas, Van Djik did' nonsense, because for me that's ridiculously simplistic.
 
padzilla said:
It's funny how Spurs played long balls yesterday at home but when a certain other team does that they get slated by all and sundry.
Click to expand...

They do it every game. They had the largest amount of long passes in the league last season - Toby is one of the reasons for that
 
SquishyMcSquish said:
United (And Smalling) were keeping us out very well until Kane scored from a set piece. We barely created anything, I'm not sure we'd even had a shot on target? I seem to remember pulling off an absolute worldie of a last ditch tackle.

That goal changed the way the game went, United were rattled and had to take more risks, and the rest is history. It also doesn't help playing alongside Jones and Herrera. If you're not putting any blame on VVD for the Lamela goal, how on earth are you going to attribute blame to Smalling (who actually has a fantastic record vs Kane) not keeping Kane quiet? Jones was marking him.
Click to expand...
Ok I’ll concede the Kane point but I don’t think Moura beats Van Dijk in a one on one like he did Smalling (just my opinion).

We can agree that Van Dijk is the better defender though, and that he’s one of the best CB’s in the league?

Where do you rank him against the other CB’s in the league? I’d put him top three with Alderweireld and Vertonghen.
 
Dumbstar said:
:lol::lol:

Unbelievable. The Religion using the popular-among-Spurs-fans Spurs fan as his source. I love this site. :lol:
Click to expand...
If I were a rival fan looking to criticise our performance I’d be all over our front line, not Van Dijk.

Stupidly wasteful.
 
Klopper76 said:
Ok I’ll concede the Kane point but I don’t think Moura beats Van Dijk in a one on one like he did Smalling (just my opinion).

We can agree that Van Dijk is the better defender though, and that he’s one of the best CB’s in the league?

Where do you rank him against the other CB’s in the league? I’d put him top three with Alderweireld and Vertonghen.
Click to expand...

I think Moura could definitely beat VVD in a 1on1 if the situation is right, Smalling actually defended pretty well but IIRC got unfortunate with his tackle and it left Lucas through. Can happen to any defender.

Of course, top three is definitely reasonable, certainly I don't think many will disagree he's up there with the best in the league.
 
Klopper76 said:
No one suggested we’re the best in the world. The desperation from you to put down Van Dijk is ridiculous. He’s one of the best in the league, probably top three at the moment. That doesn’t mean I’m saying we’ve got the best squad in the history of everything.

Compare our performance yesterday to the 4-1 defeat against Spurs last season and you can see why Van Dijk was worth the money.
Click to expand...

I'm not desperate to 'put him down'. He's just vastly overrated in my opinion. He's a good player but not a world great, nor is he one of the best the PL has seen.

You're not arguing 'yeah but VVD couldn't be beaten 1v1 against Moura'.. you know how ridiculous that is right?

SquishyMcSquish said:
United (And Smalling) were keeping us out very well until Kane scored from a set piece. We barely created anything, I'm not sure we'd even had a shot on target? I seem to remember pulling off an absolute worldie of a last ditch tackle.

That goal changed the way the game went, United were rattled and had to take more risks, and the rest is history. It also doesn't help playing alongside Jones and Herrera. If you're not putting any blame on VVD for the Lamela goal, how on earth are you going to attribute blame to Smalling (who actually has a fantastic record vs Kane) not keeping Kane quiet? Jones was marking him.
Click to expand...

Again, well put. Anyone with a brain would know Smalling always does well against Kane and that extends to well before that game at OT.

Dumbstar said:
It's like TR has finally found a version of himself that he can wank over. Looking in the mirror and all that. :D
Click to expand...

You're called Dumb-star for a reason ;)
 
SquishyMcSquish said:
I think Moura could definitely beat VVD in a 1on1 if the situation is right, Smalling actually defended pretty well but IIRC got unfortunate with his tackle and it left Lucas through. Can happen to any defender.

Of course, top three is definitely reasonable, certainly I don't think many will disagree he's up there with the best in the league.
Click to expand...
I think Van Dijk would get his positioning right more than Smalling did in that situation but agree to disagree.

We’ll see what Van Dijk’s made of on Tuesday against Neymar and co.
 
TheReligion said:
I'm not desperate to 'put him down'. He's just vastly overrated in my opinion. He's a good player but not a world great, nor is he one of the best the PL has seen.

You're not arguing 'yeah but VVD couldn't be beaten 1v1 against Moura'.. you know how ridiculous that is right?



Again, well put. Anyone with a brain would know Smalling always does well against Kane and that extends to well before that game at OT.



You're called Dumb-star for a reason ;)
Click to expand...
But do you think Van Dijk is top three in the league, top five, top ten?

I’m of the opinion that Van Dijk would’ve positioned himself better to deal with it than Smalling did. We might never know for sure though so it’s all opinions.
 
SquishyMcSquish said:
All I've said is that Smalling is a good defender and that VVD is one of the best in the league but not as good as some are hyping him up to be :lol:
Click to expand...

Shhhhhh. It doesn't fit their narrative. Smalling had a great game yesterday, and scored, whilst facing a much tougher examination than VVD (who still made later errors). I might have been fishing a little with my comment but it's clear that VVD isn't the best defender the league has ever seen nor is he worth £75+million.
 
TheReligion said:
Shhhhhh. It doesn't fit their narrative. Smalling had a great game yesterday, and scored, whilst facing a much tougher examination than VVD (who still made later errors). I might have been fishing a little with my comment but it's clear that VVD isn't the best defender the league has ever seen nor is he worth £75+million.
Click to expand...
How is facing Watford a tougher examination than facing Spurs?

I’m trying to work out how you come to these conclusions regarding fees. Do you think Pogba was worth the £89 million United paid based on what you’ve seen, and if so why?
 
Klopper76 said:
But do you think Van Dijk is top three in the league, top five, top ten?

I’m of the opinion that Van Dijk would’ve positioned himself better to deal with it than Smalling did. We might never know for sure though so it’s all opinions.
Click to expand...

The 1v1 argument is stupid. Smalling shouldn't have been left in that situation but the game dynamics allowed it to happen. Not sure where you're going with it as some bizarre justification for an argument no one is even making so I'll have to leave you with it?

VVD is in the top 5 PL but I don't think we are especially blessed with top CBs in England currently. Least not when you look at what we have had in the past.
 
Klopper76 said:
How is facing Watford a tougher examination than facing Spurs?

I’m trying to work out how you come to these conclusions regarding fees. Do you think Pogba was worth the £89 million United paid based on what you’ve seen, and if so why?
Click to expand...

What are you on about? It was a tougher examination based on the fact Spurs were well below par whilst Watford, who are bang in form and a very physical side, threw the kitchen sink at United towards the end.

Ask Klopp what he thinks about the Pogba fee.
 
TheReligion said:
The 1v1 argument is stupid. Smalling shouldn't have been left in that situation but the game dynamics allowed it to happen. Not sure where you're going with it as some bizarre justification for an argument no one is even making so I'll have to leave you with it?

VVD is in the top 5 PL but I don't think we are especially blessed with top CBs in England currently. Least not when you look at what we have had in the past.
Click to expand...
Yeah ok, leave me with it. :rolleyes:

Well I agree that the quality has dropped since the days of Vidic, Terry, Ferdinand etc. You don’t get that standard any more.

If you think that Van Dijk is top five, and knowing how desperate Liverpool were for a leader at CB, I think it’s fair to say that we didn’t massively over pay for him. Stones was a £50 million and signed 18 months (?) earlier than Van Dijk, which puts a bit of perspective on it in my opinion.
 
TheReligion said:
What are you on about? It was a tougher examination based on the fact Spurs were well below par whilst Watford, who are bang in form and a very physical side, threw the kitchen sink at United towards the end.

Ask Klopp what he thinks about the Pogba fee.
Click to expand...
I’m asking you because I’m interested in how you assess what classes as over paying for a player. Performance, marketability, age?
 
Klopper76 said:
Yeah ok, leave me with it. :rolleyes:

Well I agree that the quality has dropped since the days of Vidic, Terry, Ferdinand etc. You don’t get that standard any more.

If you think that Van Dijk is top five, and knowing how desperate Liverpool were for a leader at CB, I think it’s fair to say that we didn’t massively over pay for him. Stones was a £50 million and signed 18 months (?) earlier than Van Dijk, which puts a bit of perspective on it in my opinion.
Click to expand...

I'll have to leave you with it as I'm not sure what you're rambling on about or how a 1v1 competition against Lucas Moura makes any kind of sense.

Stones isn't/wasn't worth £50m either so not sure what that proves. When you look at the rest of Europe the PL is weak at CB. We have nothing the calibre of Ramos, Godin etc.
 
TheReligion said:
I'll have to leave you with it as I'm not sure what you're rambling on about or how a 1v1 competition against Lucas Moura makes any kind of sense.

Stones isn't/wasn't worth £50m either so not sure what that proves. When you look at the rest of Europe the PL is weak at CB. We have nothing the calibre of Ramos, Godin etc.
Click to expand...
It’s not that complicated if you read the thread. I think (just my opinion) that Van Dijk handles that better than Smalling did. I believe Van Dijk is a better CB than Smalling, which has been the discussion going on in here today.

But City paying that much for Stones would’ve impacted what we paid for Van Dijk. It’s the same as what we paid for Van Dijk impacting what United were being quoted for Maguire.

Southampton would look at what Everton got for Stones and probably thought they were entitled to a bit more. Plus the tapping up thing...
 
Klopper76 said:
It’s not that complicated if you read the thread. I think (just my opinion) that Van Dijk handles that better than Smalling did. I believe Van Dijk is a better CB than Smalling, which has been the discussion going on in here today.

But City paying that much for Stones would’ve impacted what we paid for Van Dijk. It’s the same as what we paid for Van Dijk impacting what United were being quoted for Maguire.

Southampton would look at what Everton got for Stones and probably thought they were entitled to a bit more. Plus the tapping up thing...
Click to expand...

Who has said Smalling is a better player than VVD?
 
Last edited:
VVD is only a year younger than Smalling and is the same height.

£75m v £7m (+English).

What a wonderful bargain.
 
Last edited:
I don't really see a problem with the VVD fee. It obviously wasn't a 'bargain', but the club had a clear weakness, identified a perfect fix to that weakness and went out and got it. I can respect that, it's what the fans want as long as it isn't reckless spending (it wasn't, they had the Coutinho money).

There's no point dithering about over the money and going for a less proven option like Lovren, there's far higher risk attached and it will cost you in the long run.
 
26 pages. VVD is the windup merchant. It goes on
 
You must log in or register to reply here.