Why the Eredivisie isn't the same as other major European leagues...

The Eredivisie so far this season has showed us the two main aspects of the Dutch football league, Strong attacks and awful defending. 

At the time of writing we are only 7 weeks into the current campaign and so far there have been four 3-3 draws! Not something you'd expect from your usual European football league, unless of course its at youth level where the score tends to be quite high due. Well maybe that's it, we all know that the Dutch are famous for producing excellent youth players and that the league is mainly made up of youth players. So because of the fact that the average age is so low then maybe the Eredivisie is just forecasting that young players don't have enough experience to know how to set up when they lead to make sure the opposition don't get back into the game, or maybe there just full off too much energy that they are capable of attacking relentlessly for the full 90 minutes, I like to think a bit of both.

What about if the Dutch just see football as apart of entertainment and when they play that's there main ambition not to win but to entertain, is this possible though to entertain even if you don't win? I and I like to think that anyone else that frequently watches dutch football would agree that its better to entertain and lose than to play anti-football but win. Even though the national team managed to reach the world cup final we all know that dutch football is going through a difficult phase as it doesn't have a big enough talent pool to select a national team that can play the dutch way successfully(the world cup final only demonstrated this) ,especially now that other national teams are continuing to develop and have constant funding to make sure they achieve success it is become ever harder for the dutch to dominant world football again. Even more so now that they have passed all there secrets onto Spain who are now dominating the world of football and they might just have the best team football anyone has ever seen since the team of 74'.

So at the moment in the Eredivise the league standings for the top 8 are as follows:
1st PSV
2nd PEC Zwolle
3rd FC Twente
4th Sc Heerenveen
5th Vitesse
6th Gronnigen
7th Ajax
8th Feyenoord

Nobody expected Zwolle to get off to such a great start although if you look closely there opening games were all against teams they beat last season, but nothing to take away from the team as they have played excellently and showed off there attacking capabilities with Fred Benson the talisman upfront.

PSV although they are in first place have showed signs of excellence but also vulnerability, there defense without Rekik (whose currently injured) and Bruma would have been nothing without these two as they have saved there team on too many occasions so far, also there are struggling to find a suitable center forward to be clinical in front of goal as Tim Matavz hasn't shown any intent when given chances this season and so many of there goals have came from there superb wingers of Bakkali and Depay.

FC Twente have been a pleasant surprise this season after having a slightly disappointing campaign last year. Tadic has been superb and is showing that he is one of the best players in the league as he continues to find holes in any teams defense with 4 goals and 5 assists in 540 minutes of playing time is rather impressive. Ebecillo, Koppers and Promes have all been excellent as well and have played a big part in there current success.

Sc Heerenveen have been a great team to watch this year as they have continued to provide there fans with goals so far with Finnbogason scoring 9 in 6 matches so far, this stat alone shows the attacking intent the Frisian team have.

Gronnigen have done well this season with Adorjan on loan from Liverpool being a particular highlight of there team as he proves to be an exciting prospect to watch out for.

Ajax, Ajax, Ajax well what can you say:? We all know that Eriksen and Alderweireld were going to leave but we didn't realize how badly it would affect the Amsterdamers even though it looked like they made suitable replacements. It seems bizarre that they spent so much money on Mike Van der Hoorn when they seem to have done what they always do and full the position internally with Denswill. However since the departure of Eriksen and Alderweireld there attacks seem to be blunt and have no intent or intelligence and there defending is sluggish ad sloppy with too many mistakes being made. Hopefully though Frank de Boer can find away to solve the current problems as this proves to be the biggest task in his manager career and if he can manage to win the title for a 4th consecutive time it will show the world what a great manager he is.

Feyenoord have also lacked creativity in attack as they can only seem to score when Graziano Pelle is involved something that needs addressing although Jean Paul Boetius return has been instantly effective.

So the Eredivisie so far has proved to be completely unpredictable with Zwolle and PSV the front runners with Ajax slacking in 7th place, its going to be an interesting season to watch to see how all the problems unveil.

Eredivisie 2013/14 Top 4 Prediction

The Eredivisie last season continued to live up to expectations as it forecasted great attacking football, showing of the talent that the league has to offer, many young players have now joined the list of Europe's new biggest talents to watch out for. For example: Viktor Fischer exploded on to the scence in Amsterdam attracting interest from Europe's biggest clubs, Jozy Altidore, Wilfired Bony and Filip Duricic have made moves to England and Portugal, and to which they should achieve greatly.

So for the new campaign we hope to see even more players break through and become known to the world (for their footballing abilities of course). So here is my prediction for the 2013/14 season:

1st place: Ajax - Since they still have the trio or De Jong , Eriksen and Alderweireld at the club and if they manage to hold on to them for the rest of the season and also bringing Bojan from FC Barcelona will add much strength to their attack, which is something they already excel in and are deadly to all defences.

2nd place: Feyenoord Rotterdam - They have been very quiet this transfer season and aslong as they keep hold of their prized asset Graziano Pelle then i feel they shall overcome PSV to the 2nd position and aslo contend ajax to the very end.

3rd place : PSV Eindhoven - losing out on Mertens, Strootman and Van Bommel shall heavily affect them although bringing in Maher should help significantly.

4th place: Sc Heerenveen - Marco Van Basten achieved great things last season and i believe he can better that with a top 4 finish this season for the frisian side.

Jack Reynolds, the man who changed football forever...

John "Jack" Reynolds started his career as a player for teams such as Sheffield Wednesday, Grimsby Town and Watford. After his playing career he decided to go into management and moved to Belgium to manage St.Gallen after 2 years their he became coach of the German National team but due to the war he had to leave and he moved to Amsterdam and managed Ajax. This is where his sucess occured. Ajax before he came thier had previously never won anything, they didn't have any leaders in the club, they had nothing. Jack invented a new style of football which adapted into the "Total Football" system and he also started the Ajax youth system which is one of the best in world today. So with these immediate changes it is not a suprise that in 1917 2 years after he had taken charge Ajax won their first trophy then managed to win the league title the following year, and ended up managing to win 8 league titles under Jack Reynolds in a 27 year reign.

One of the players Jack managed was Rinus Michell who went on to manage the team after Jack left, he maintained Ajax's style of football and they continued to play the"Total Football" system which was also adapted by the Netherland National team who managed to get to the final of the World Cup but unfortunately lost 2-1 to West Germany. One of the biggest successes of this style of football was Johan Cruyff who is considered one of the best players of all time. After his playing career Cruyff went on to manage FC Barcelona and adapted the "Total Football" into a new style with the same fundamentals as total football just with slight differences, this style is called "Tiki-Taka" and is used by FC Barcelona and Spain who are argubaly the 2 most succesful teams in football today.

So without Jack Reynolds moving to Ajax all of this wouldn't be possibly and maybe FC Barcelona and Spain would of never been as sucessful as they have been. But what do you think do you agree with me that without Jack Reynolds football wouldn't of been the same? or do you think someone else would of adapted the beautiful game the way he did?

Thanks for reading,

Julian Draxler the fututre of German football?

Schalke were in need of a player to step up to fill the vacuum left by Lewis Holtby’s departure in the winter, a creative presence in the middle that can both link the game and create for those around him. With the addition of Michel Bastos on the left, Julian Draxler has been allowed to play that central role in the last month and has been thriving in it.

Draxler was one of the youngest players to make his debut in the Bundesliga at the age of 17. In September he became the youngest player ever to reach 50 appearances in the league, showing he is going to be one of the greatest player in the Bundesliga. As a player, Draxler is known for his shooting technique.  He announced his arrival at the age of 17 in the German Cup final in 2011 with a brilliant goal from outside the box and has since scored several memorable goals in similar fashion. Unlike other great shooters of the ball though, Draxler is equally good with both feet which gives him the advantage of setting up and taking shots without having to adjust to a stronger preferred foot. Watching Draxler play reminds me of watching the great Raul when he was at Schalke and if Draxler becomes anywhere near as good as Raul, then he will have very bright future ahead of him.

Julian Draxler stats for this season are 13 goals along with 5 assists.

Who are going to be the underdogs of the 2014 World Cup?

The 2014 World Cup is an event every football fan looks forward too. It has everything drama, pride, excitement and great quality football, what more could anyone want. The World Cup brings a nation together, we all sit infront of our T.V's at home or in the pub and hope to see our country do us proud. The World Cup is also great as it reveals new talents for the game, shows us which players have the compsure to perfrom on the big stage when it matters.

Every time the World Cup comes along their is always one team that comes along and knocks out the big teams. Last World Cup it was Ghana who managed to get to the quater-finals and were unrightly knocked out of the final, thanks to a certain Mr. Suarez who hand balled the ball of the line. But this time who will it be the suprises the World? will it be Ghana again?. I believe that this time round Denmark will be the suprise team that advances far into the tournemant as they have many young exciting players that are capable of performing on the big stage. Denamark have a strong defence with Agger in the middle and also have young Kasper Schmeical or Lindegaard to go in goal, and with players such as Fischer and Eriksen creating oppurtunites for Niklas Bendtner, I am sure he will grab some goals.

But what do you think ? do you agree with me? or feel someone else has the capabilty to go far in this prestigious tournemant.

Who is the greatest right back in football today?

Not many people express their opinion on who they feel is the best fullbacks in the game today, mainly because everyone would rather watch a strong piece of attacking play than a well organised defence.

There are many contenders that could be associated with being the greatest right back in football today such as, Anuykov, Srna, Ivanovic, Rafael, Dani Alves, Sergio Ramos or Phillip Lahm. But what makes a great full back, is it someone that is reliable in defence such as Corluka or is it someone that is able to support their team whilst in attack such as Maicon. Well in my opinion I think their needs to be a strong balance between both and the best contender that is able to be a threat whilst attacking but still be solid in defence is Lukasz Piszczeck. I feel that Piszczeck is often forgotten when people are talking about great full backs as he does not come from a country with a strong footballing background, so people look more towards Brazilian, Spanish, French, Italian or English fullbacks instead, but watching Piszczeck play this season has been a pleasure, he has been exquisite in defence and has also managed to score 2 goals and get 8 assists in the Bundesliga this season which is remarkable for a defender.

Is Javier Hernandez good enough to be a world class striker?

Javier "Chicarito" Hernandez plays for Manchester United and is used as a super sub. In my opinion I believe Hernandez has the ability to be a crucial first team player for any club in the world. He is hardworking, fast, always in the right place, strong finisher and a deadly aerial threat. He has managed  to score a significant amount of goals this season even though he spends most of the game on the bench, he has the best minute per goal ratio in the premiership with a goal every 94 minutes. 

Quotes about Hernandez: "There is no doubt that Hernandez is a promising player. He is excellent, I have seen some games of his on television and he is a fantastic footballer," High praise from one of the greatest of all time, Pele, in May 2011.

This shows that not only I believe Javier has the talent to be one of the best strikers in the game.