13 Jun 2012

Dalglish raves: 'Breathtaking' €15m playmaker is the star of Euro 2012. Agree?

Euro 2012 is shaping up to be an entertaining tournament but the lack of individual flair on display has (arguably) been noticeable. Having said that, former Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish believes that Dutch attacker Wesley Sneijder is one of the stars of the tournament so far, and with Holland facing Germany tonight in a must-win game, Sneijder's talents will be needed more than ever.

In his column for The Mirror today, Dalglish hailed Sneijder as a 'breathtaking' talent with the ability to 'unlock the best defence', adding:

"Wesley Sneijder is the player who has impressed me the most so far at Euro 2012.

"He is an unbelievable talent, and watching him is an education. I hope he's fit for the game against Germany tonight because the Dutch are going to need him.

"I hope they [Holland] can get some form of result because to lose a talent like Sneijder before the knock-out stages would be a real disappointment".


Sneijder has been constantly linked with Liverpool over the last few years but the possibility of a deal has always been slim. The club probably had the best chance to sign him after the successful 2008-9 league season, but he ended up going to Inter Milan in a €15m deal instead.

Sneijder is a quality player but the best of Euro 2012 so far? I don't see how he can be since he couldn't inspire Holland to a victory over Denmark. For me, Sneijder is behind Andrea Pirlo and Andrei Arshavin for most impressive attacking player of Euro 2012 so far.

That could change tonight, of course. Holland have to win against Germany, and Sneijder will have to be at the top of his game to make that happen.

Jaimie Kanwar


62 comments:

  1. Kanwar = desperately seeking attention

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  2. You really dont like Kenny Dalglish do you mate!!!  Jesus, let it go will you!!

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  3. Sneijder has been the best player imo. He just looked a class above everyone else in that game. The amount of chances he created against Denmark was ridiculous. The Holland strikers just couldn't put them away. Don't remember him giving the ball away once either. There's no way Inter would sell him for 15m Euros now. He their main man. Would take at least £20-25m before they considered.

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  4. a.jonson  15
    g.ramirez  18
    clasie       8
    strootman  15
    huntelaar    13

    -------------reina-------------
    jonson--skrtel---agger--enrique
    ----strootman-----gerrard-----
    ------------g.ramirez---------
    a.jonson----huntelaar----suarez

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  5. What is this nonsense!
    Who the hell do you think you are?

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  6. arshavin is the captain of russia and his part in the goal for poland shed him in a very bad light. he just threw his hands in the air and refused to track back after his mistake. that is not how a captain should behave. no way would he be on my team of tournament

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  7. Now now Kenny dont start agreeing with Fergie - cant have that mate - He was good but Arshavin for me - different class

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  8. --------reina/ter segen--------
    kelly/johnson--skrtel--agger--enrique/sissocko
    -----lucas/keita/diame--gerrard/sigurdsson
    ----------hernanes/ramirez/sigurdsson--------
    g.johnsonn/belhanda--suarez/de joong/oliviera----suarez/minian/herrarra

    transfers
    gk ter segen <10mill
    lb a cissokho <8mill
    cdm- diame/heta/ sissokho  free or <10mill
    cam-hernanes/ramirez 15-20mill
    rw/lw- belhanda/munian/herrara 15-20mill
    sigurdsson (imminent) 7mill
    de joong/oliviera/berbatov? 15mill

    around 50mill of pure quality ;D

     

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  9. Can't recommend Arshavin for anything because of how often he flatters to deceive. A couple of good performances here and there are bolstered by his incredible laziness the rest of the time. Nasri has been as good as anyone I have seen so far and I think the French are as good as anyone in the tournament. The Italians look like they are going to be up for this one as well.

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  10. considering most players have only had 1 game to judge them on so far, Iniesta has been clearly the best player imo

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  11. Really? Ashavin?  He  may have a good game in the tournament but he can't even get a game for Arsenal. Rumor has it that he wants to party in Russia with Zenit St Petersburg.

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  12. Read an interesting article on your apparent lies today Jamie in regards to the Rodgers appointment. Are you going to release a defensive article?

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  13. I'm only judging him on Euro 2012, not for Arsenal. For me, Arshavin is a fantastic international player. I love watching him play. I wish he played for Liverpool to be honest; he should've come to Anfield instead of Arsenal, but chances are he would've been played out of position just like he is at Arsenal.

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  14. Kenny must be referring to the 1 piece of quality he showed vs Denmark outside of the foot through ball to Huntelaar in 2nd half.

    His ability to find space in between the lines of Midfield and defenders is second to none but overall quality was not really there for me!!!
    Rightly so, Arshavin taking credit for his performances but International football is so short of true quality at the moment, no one has really set my world alight!! Early days though

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  15. Anyone considering Arshavin has to be havin a laugh....!!! Great with the ball but without it you may as well be playing with ten men....!!! Several players so far have stood out...mainly defenders...Di  Rossi, Hummels, Agger and Kjaer....apart from that nothing amazing so far...!!!

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  16. So, you just believe anything you read online?  I'm not really interested in what you think to be honest; the guy who posted that article has been harassing me and my family on and offline for the last two years.  He is a deranged stalker, and the Police are investigating him.  If you want to believe the ravings of a random, psychotic nutcase then be my guest; I have better things to do.

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  17. totally agree with Nesti-golem predicted squad &it's best possible when consider our current scenario..
    A.jhonson-need more playing time with great club 
    gaston ramirez-on the move,our Uruguay based players will play vital role in our favor 
    huntelaar-great srtiker, still no big clubs behind him may be due to his age so if we act quick then possible since he'll fancy a move to remier league.
    stoortman-young guy,need mix squad to build but have be brilliant to notch up him..
    so arguably best we can do this summer, failures to sign above players could replace by ejero elia,siguardsson,daniel sturrige, rasmus elm(possible so far) but no where near the quality of my prefered 4 players...YNWA

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  18. Who cares what Arshavin does without the ball?  None of the true greats of football are/were defensively minded.  How often did Zidane track back?  Or Maradona?  Ronaldo never defends for Madrid, and Messi is not the greatest defensively.

    It doesn't matter - there's way too much emphasis on attacking players defending these days.  There are 4 defenders and often two defensive minded midfielders these days; why do out and out attackers need to knacker themselves out running 50 miles a game and throwing themselves into tackles?

    Arshavin's job is to score and create goals, not defend, and when you just let attacking players play the game they way they want then you get results.

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  19. The time for getting Sneijder was a few years ago. With age creeping on it is too late now.

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  20. When you going to pay the £500 you promised to Hillsborough charity Jaimie? lets see if you've got the guts to leave this post up!

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  21. I've been dreaming for 20 odd years now I have a huge headache........I dream of Zidane and I get voronin I dream of wesley and I get spearing hand over the asprins!!

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  22. Pep guardiola yeah right more like Joe Bloggs!

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  23. Then there is the stone age stadium were restoring that to go back into the 10bc

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  24. I was really impressed with De Rossi, he was a beast in Italian defence and also Sneijder was impressive too and delivered so many great balls to unlock Danish defence but pity Dutch strikers missed everything.

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  25. I know this sounds like an "I know a bloke, who knows a bloke, who knows someone" story , but bear with me. (Even you, OriginalChan!!)

    MY dad lives in Portugal and plays golf with a fella who has a big involvement in PSV Eindhoven. Although his loyalties lie with PSV, he's allegedly a 'big' Liverpool fan after living / working in the area for a while. For the last couple of years, whenever I speak to my dad on the 'phone, he has been telling me about a player LFC should sign - a Kevin 'Sprockman'. This bloke from always PSV raves about him, comparing him as the closest thing he's seen to Roy Keane in years, and can't understand why Liverpool have never put in a bid, bearing in mind Gerrard is coming towards the end of his career.After telling me the same anecdote for about the 50th time last week, I decided to Google 'Sprockman' and it turns out it's Kevin STROOTMAN (must be the Dutch accent - [Champons League.....!!!]), and United have been watching him for months and will more than likely bid for him.I remember Gabweb stating that the Club was being run by 'amateurs', and when a Liverpool fan who works for PSV is practically begging us to sign a player, it does leave you wondering what the fnck is going on sometimes.Guess we'll get Kalou (!), Bentner (omg) and Charlie Cairoli (who I saw play at Blackpool Tower once....)

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  26. Sorry have to disagree Jamie...!!! Zidane did track back as he was played on the left mostly throughout his career, Ronaldo played on the wing originally for Utd but Fergie realised that he wouldn't work out there and was a liability so moved him to playing off a front man...as Mourinho has done at Madrid... Maradonna was a striker and played as part of a front two...so no need to track back...but no one is talking about tracking back....it's about putting in a shift...Arshavin does fupp all without the ball...he's a liability. Pure and simple....!!!

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  27. Sorry about the punctuation, everyone. It always looks fine when I type it.....

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  28. Jaimie your quote "Sneijder has been constantly linked with Liverpool over the last few years" is just nonsense I'm afraid.  On the other points of players in Euro's what about Jakub Błaszczykowski, I think he looks a very good player, hard working, skillful, captain of his country at 26yo and if rumours are to proved correct, looking to leave Dortmund this summer.  Liverpool are crying out for width and quality attacking players and have been for countless years, good option I think.

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  29. If he was 15 mil. I would have loaned out 16 from a bank, buy a small club for 1, buy Sneijder for them, immediately  sell him for 25 and a win - win situation for everyone !

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  30. but jamie he is the captain surely he should be showing better example on the pitch
     

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  31. Yes, I agree; however, that depends on the expectations of his team-mates. I would imagine that they are perfectly happy for Arshavin to be less defensively-inclined as he more than makes up for it with his attacking qualities.

    It's not like he doesn't defend at all; he does, but re the incident to which you refer, what would've been the point in him chasing back? The ball was moving too quickly for him to win it back, and all he would've done was knackered himself out more in the sweltering heat.

    Arshavin lost the ball, but it's not his fault Poland scored. The other 9 outfield players had plenty of opportunity to stop the goal, and they failed.

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  32. He hasn't really been linked with us over 'the last few years' but to be fair to Jaimie, we used to get linked to him all the time in the not so distant past (a little further a go than 'the last few years').

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  33. Yep, I'd have to agree with JK here- Pirlo and Arshavin have been the best. Sneijder was very good in the game he played though.

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  34. Bit harsh to call Arshavin a liability.  For Russia, he's the complete opposite of that, and in Euro 2012, he's been integral to their performances with three assists in two games.  Not to be sniffed at.

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  35. yes his value as an attackiing player is very important but maybe his body language might have ben a little better

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  36. Yes, agree.  International greats are always a little volatile though.

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  37. Hey Vormhat - Pirlo is a magician; I love watching him play - he makes everything look so easy.  A reminder of why football really is the beautiful game.

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  38. For me, Iniesta has looked the best so far. He was playing against a decent Italy side and left most of them on their backsides. Arshavin has also been decent. Never been keen on Sneijder, I can't see what all the fuss is about to be honest 

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  39. RTE panel slated Arshavin for misplacing that pass and giving up on it, a little unfair given his lung bursting run and hurdle of a waist high tackle just prior to it.

    The problem is that there were 3 players in the box, when the captain gives up on it, it excuses the rest of the players to do so as well. Only one of the 4 players bothered to chase back.

    Barca system, and presumably Liverpool's attempt to copy it with Rodgers depends on hard graft as much as skill.

    Rodgers himself said "Everyone wants to play like Barca, but does everyone want to work as hard as them?"

    Skill doesn't entitle lack of work rate. That's why Ronaldo will never get the respect he feels he deserves.

    I would excuse Arshavin a little as he was clearly shattered.

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  40. It would be good to read your defence Jaimie.  Were you the mouthpiece of Hicks?

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  41. Defence? To what? The deluded ravings of a disturbed stalker? I have better things to do.

    Re the Hicks issue - I was in regular contact with Hicks, yes, but I wasn't his 'mouthpiece'. I discussed a variety of issues with him but never discussed Rafa Benitez.

    The reason Hicks contacted me in the first place is because he could see that I was objective, and didn't get wrapped up in the ridiculous tribalism that pervades the fanbase and the media, and given the huge readership of this site, there was a chance to get accurate information out to the fanbase.

    In the last two years of the H+G reign, there was negative scaremongering agenda in the media to make LFC's financial position appear to be worse than it was. Hicks provided me with financial info to disseminate via the site, all of which was proven to be 100% accurate.

    For him - and for me - the goal was to ensure that the *correct* information about LFC was out in the public domain, not lies and exaggeration. This is why I wrote so many detailed articles about the various holding companies/club debt etc.

    I was also in contact with certain other LFC staff, who shall remain nameless, and the it's the same situation now. Again, people connected with the club impart info to me because they know I am detached from the usual misguided fanaticism associated with football fans.

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  42. Hicks did what anyone with access to cheap credit could do - leveraged buy out.

    What good did he do for the club?

    Architect's bills alone for new stadium plan are shocking.

    Has anyone ever investigated that money trail?

    Fan is short for fanatic. Fanaticism is a belief or behavior involving uncritical zeal.

    Tribalism goes hand in hand with fanaticism I feel, so to expect open mindedness from fans when a blatant profiteer is running the club is a little naiive.

    Without fans the club doesn't exist.

    Fans show up week in, week out regardless of team's performance because of psychological necessity.

    You were lucky to have such a source. Wow!

    If Hicks was smart, he would have gone with a more populist blogger as you had a lot of negative press. He might have secured the fans adulation a little easier that way....

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  43. It was Hicks that told you to rubbish the claims that him and Gillett were going to lose £144.4m when the club was sold.

    In actual fact they are £179m out of pocket, so claiming his financial info was always 100% accurate is another blatant lie

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  44. Dont think you will be seeing much of Sneijder anymore in this competition.

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  45. True.

    A fabulous player not really given his due in this country. I concur with what you say about people expecting too much defending from creative players. The reason that players like Arshavin and Pirlo (who to be fair does help out defensively) aren't given their due over here is that a lot of people would rather see an 'honest' player like Parker than someone with a touch of genius like these two.

    Pirlo is the single biggest reason (unless they end up being caught match fixing again) Juve won the league for the first time in about 7 years. Mind-boggling that Milan let him go for nothing. So little of his game is physical, that if you get a busy midfield alongside him (like Conte's narrow system at Juve or the 5 in midfield Italy have) he could keep playing at a higher level for a while still.

    Long may he continue.

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  46. think nasri might be one the stars of the euros. sneijder is class though, in a very selfish overrated dutch team.
    robben is a joke, the bloke will never change, a bit of brillience once in a while.

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  47. The Champion's League Final summed Robben up. He tried to win it all on his own. He wanted the glory, and his club and fans ended up with nothing.

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  48. if you could straight away sell him for 25mill i think someone would pay that first and your just left with debt. doh!

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  49. team roles sometimes allow this behaviour. Part of the reason why he hasn't asserted himself at Arsenal was the defensive duties that Wenger must have told him to carry out. Some players only sparkle in attack like Ronaldo and Robben. IMO Arshavin has been instrumental in Russia's attack. He is 4 years older but he has left off almost at the same level as the last Euros. 

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  50. Maradona was not a striker, he was in fact an attacking midfielder. Get your facts straight mate before you try and sound like you might know a thing. To be even more precise, his position was inside left, which in the modern game does not really exist anymore, but he sat behind the strikers on the left..

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  51. Thanks for taking the time to answer :)

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  52. Jaimie: do you think anybody with an ounce of footall brain, takes any
    notice of what Dalglish says, after his disastrous spell at Liverpool, and
    the way he wasted 120m. If the`king` says wesley sneijder is an
    `unbelievable` talent don`t believe it.

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  53. Sneijder will be having an early holiday, Dalglish's eye for a player is questionable with his last acquistitions

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  54. Give some credit to Vidal too, he has been a brilliant signing for Juve. Him and Marchisio created the platform for Pirlo to shine last season. Prandelli has done the same with Motta and Marchisio doing groundwork for Pirlo to play his way, although Motta is more stationery than Vidal. Probably the best central midfield at club level last season in Europe in terms of form, that Juve central midfield. Juve were constantly changing formations/tactics last season but those three were simply consistently reliable whatever the tactics. Vidal wasn't exactly a expensive either. Top player in the making.

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  55. Pity about his performance yesterday. Still a top player. Though not helped by the greed of Robben in the first half, as the ball just kept on finding its way to the Bayern's winger side and he was doing what he usually does of cut inside and shoot, whereas Sneijder got very little of the ball in the first half. 

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  56. Yep, De Rossi was good for most of the game but as soon as a natural centre forward came on (Torres), the Italy defence were looking very suspect and that was with a Torres that was making mistakes. 

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  57. Lol....You think you know a thing or two do you. Maradonna was a No 10 you idiot. He played a position similar to what Bergkamp played for Arsenal...you go look at the Best World XI's ever picked....you won't see Maradonna picked as a midfielder....he will be picked as part of a front two....!!! FACT. So who knows a thing or two now...!!! 

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  58. It's only a pity that he didn't "rave" over talent and actually buy it when he was in charge!

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  59. Yep, true about those two. I was surprised Vidal didn't come to the Prem after Leverkusen since I thought he would be perfect over here.

    Strange to think how highly rated Marchisio is now considering he was reasonably unfancied once upon a time.

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  60. Vidal has a brilliant engine on him. Bit like Ramires in that sense but more aggressive at both ends of the pitch. Would have been ideal for a PL side. 

    Looking forward to seeing those three in CL next season, reckon they could be a force if they have a better striker up front (Vucinic, Matri and Quaggy are decent but if they had someone like RVP....yikes). They might have Isla at  right wing back next season, that would be some signing for them. One of the best in that position, after Dani Alves. They alternate between a flat four and a 3-man defence, Juve.  

    Marchisio is a surprise for me, didn't realise how good his footwork is in and around the box, technically very composed and deceptive like that. 

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  61. Firstly, what has this got to do with the article? Secondly, it's spelt Johnson, not jonson, and thirdly, where is Lucas in your side? You know, the player that up until his knee injury was our best player and statistically the best defensive midfielder in the world?

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