Big Nige Dropped From Dutch Squad {merged}

[Damocles]

I am commenting on what I see as an increased propensity for wanting to put in 'the big tackle' that I think has become more apparent in his game over the last 18 months.

Combined with the rise of his stock as some sort of he-man fantasy figure amongst many fans, I am summising that he may actually have overly bought into the image.

I'm not claiming to be Mystic Meg, but whatever the reasons, he is certainly receiving more press as a 'hard man' recently and doesn't give a very good impression of trying to avoid playing up to it.

I'm sure the 'Big Nige' monikor is ironic in many cases. I'm also sure that there are a huge number of City fans, as there are at every club and always has been, who are desperate to see 'their man' as a he-man esque hero to suit their outlook.

That's a fair opinion.

I think that there is a big plus involved with having a player like De Jong in our team; he may give opposition players a slight moment of hesitation in their play.

Fuelling the fire of this image is only really in our self interest. Maybe somebody like Nani will have a momentary hestitation before taking him on, or perhaps other players may not go in as much for 50/50 balls because of his image.

It is sometimes useful to have a He-man image player on your team, as Arsenal and United found with Keane and Viera. There's also the idea that opposition players may not go in as hard on our tricky players (thus preventing possible injury) because they know that they will 'get it back' from De Jong.

Of course, this won't happen all the time, but it gives the opposition an extra thing to think about which is a good thing.

I agree that he has become more aggressive in the last 12 months or so, but I put that down to increased competition for places in his spot, and this is him trying to show his worth to the team; with lots of effort and lots of crunching tackles. He knows that he is the only midfielder that we have to have this skill, thus tries to use it to his own unique advantage.

 

[Ntini77]

Extremely harsh but like others have said, their loss is our gain.

 

[LoveCity]

Really hoping at least a couple of Dutch players boycott the squad in defence of De Jong, who is a victim here - if Van Bommell had made the same challenge no one would have raised an eyebrow but as it's Nigel after the Alonso incident and with him playing for the new villain of English football, their joke of a manager is using it as a political way to take pressure off himself.

 

[ono]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZ6Zg2nz3KA[/youtube]

If you freeze this on 3 seconds, you can see the point where De Jong's foot is clearly on the ball. What happens after is caused by a mixture of Ben Arfa planting his foot and De Jong's momentum carrying his body through.

He can't have gone in to 'do him' because as he timed the tackle, Ben Arfa's foot wasn't on the ground for him to 'do'.

 

[deano ou812]

well as some have already said their loss is our gain,but you do have to feel for de jong as he has done nothing wrong,no intention what so ever with the tackle. would be interesting if the dutch had an injury crisis in midfield after their next qualifier,then decide to recall de jong i know what i would tell them go fcuk yourselves....

 

[gooney]

well as some have already said their loss is our gain,but you do have to feel for de jong as he has done nothing wrong,no intention what so ever with the tackle. would be interesting if the dutch had an injury crisis in midfield after their next qualifier,then decide to recall de jong i know what i would tell them go fcuk yourselves....

Van Marwijk said: "I've seen the pictures. It was a wild and unnecessary offence. He went in much too hard.

"It is unfortunate, especially since he does not need to do it.

"The funny thing is that the referee did not even show a yellow card for it. Apparently, there are other standards.

"But I have a problem with the way Nigel needlessly looks to push the limit.
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Thats the problem with De Jong. He goes in hard when he doesnt have to, some people think you can go in as hard as you want as long as you get some of the ball

 

[munster]

well as some have already said their loss is our gain,but you do have to feel for de jong as he has done nothing wrong,no intention what so ever with the tackle. would be interesting if the dutch had an injury crisis in midfield after their next qualifier,then decide to recall de jong i know what i would tell them go fcuk yourselves....

Van Marwijk said: "I've seen the pictures. It was a wild and unnecessary offence. He went in much too hard.

"It is unfortunate, especially since he does not need to do it.

"The funny thing is that the referee did not even show a yellow card for it. Apparently, there are other standards.

"But I have a problem with the way Nigel needlessly looks to push the limit.
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Thats the problem with De Jong. He goes in hard when he doesnt have to, some people think you can go in as hard as you want as long as you get some of the ball

Good grief; what would Souness in his pomp say about all of this? Without wishing to speak out of turn, ITS a MAN's (physical) GAME!!

 

[squirtyflower]

a joke of a decision by the dutch manager

casting insults about a tackle he hasn't seen is not a good way to motivate platers

 

[Shadz69]

Thats the problem with De Jong. He goes in hard when he doesnt have to, some people think you can go in as hard as you want as long as you get some of the ball

You can.Thats the point of players like Nige.If you win the ball everything else is a by-product.If Ben Arfa had gone in with the same commitment no problems.

 

[Totnes Blue]

Re: Big Nige Dropped {merged}

I assume Saint Van Bommel keeps his place, after all he is the son-in-law of the coach.

Hear Hear!Van Bommel is a real dirty bastard.