Van Dijk revisited

He's been quite bad this season. Liv fans are quick to rush in after just normal games with "back to his best", but he's genuinely been very bad. And he's on a massive salary. It's nice.
 
They spent so long overhyping him as the best CB ever they now have to pay him £350k p/w until he's 36.
 
It's insulting for the likes of Rio and Vidic to have him compared to them. Theyre leagues apart.

As Rooney said the level of defending is poor right now. Hes been the best of a bad bunch but hes not even that anymore. He was shocking today.
 
11101 said:
It's insulting for the likes of Rio and Vidic to have him compared to them. Theyre leagues apart.

As Rooney said the level of defending is poor right now. Hes been the best of a bad bunch but hes not even that anymore. He was shocking today.
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He was actually outstanding for a number of seasons, let's not revise everything now that he's hit the wall in his career. Had he gone from Southampton to United instead we'd be wanting to build him a statue.
 
Bastian said:
He was actually outstanding for a number of seasons, let's not revise everything now that he's hit the wall in his career. Had he gone from Southampton to United instead we'd be wanting to build him a statue.
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Statue? No because he as good as he is he wasn’t as good as Rio and Vidic
 
Bastian said:
He was actually outstanding for a number of seasons, let's not revise everything now that he's hit the wall in his career. Had he gone from Southampton to United instead we'd be wanting to build him a statue.
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He’s been a good player, but not a patch on Rio or Vidic. We haven’t wanted to build them a statue have we?
 
ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg said:
He’s been a good player, but not a patch on Rio or Vidic. We haven’t wanted to build them a statue have we?
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I'd have them a statue with Stam too. But my point was, we'd certainly consider van Dijk an elite centre back in his pomp had it been at United.
 
Why wasnt he marking Haaland for the first goal?

Him having a goal disallowed and then being at direct fault for the second was pretty amusing to say the least.
 
What did he even do today? Don't really like the player but people here are so quick to jump on him.

Scored a legit goal and had an unlucky deflection which led to a goal. Konate on the otherhand had a real shocker. I think he will definitely be gone next season.
 
Bastian said:
I'd have them a statue with Stam too. But my point was, we'd certainly consider van Dijk an elite centre back in his pomp had it been at United.
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He’s been a good player, but you elevated him to an absolute legend above some of the greatest CBs we’ve seen. Which is massively OTT.
 
Robertd0803 said:
Why wasnt he marking Haaland for the first goal?

Him having a goal disallowed and then being at direct fault for the second was pretty amusing to say the least.
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Haaland was on Konate’s side.
 
ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg said:
He’s been a good player, but you elevated him to an absolute legend above some of the greatest CBs we’ve seen. Which is massively OTT.
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I disagree. I think it's a shame we didn't get him when the scousers did (same with Mane). I think he's been the best centre back in the league up until last season, maybe the season before, now the two Arsenal centre backs are probably ahead of the rest.
 
Bastian said:
I disagree. I think it's a shame we didn't get him when the scousers did (same with Mane). I think he's been the best centre back in the league up until last season, maybe the season before, now the two Arsenal centre backs are probably ahead of the rest.
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Disagree with what? You think he’s better than Rio and Vidic?
 
Bastian said:
I disagree. I think it's a shame we didn't get him when the scousers did (same with Mane). I think he's been the best centre back in the league up until last season, maybe the season before, now the two Arsenal centre backs are probably ahead of the rest.
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He hasn't been consistently the best CB in the league since joining either, by the way. He's had several dips in form.
 
Bastian said:
He was actually outstanding for a number of seasons, let's not revise everything now that he's hit the wall in his career. Had he gone from Southampton to United instead we'd be wanting to build him a statue.
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But he didn't. So let's just call him shite and overrated. Liverpool fans can rate him if they want.
 
TenonTen said:
Called Rooney out and responded to his criticism to his face in the post match interview. Things got really awkward between the two.
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Yeah, a perennial winner in Rooney just found this interaction with perennial whiner Van Dijk weird.
If he plays the way as he talks, maybe the best ever Premier League defender will hold some water.
But he has a big bus he travels in to throw his team mates under when things get tough.
Enjoy another masterclass from the best ever defender.
 
ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg said:
Disagree with what? You think he’s better than Rio and Vidic?
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I disagree that he's merely a good player, or was. No, I wasn't saying he was better than those two. I'd take all three (Stam, Vidic, Rio) over him any day, but I'd take him at his peak over any other centre back in the league in the last 8-10 years.
 
thepolice123 said:
What did he even do today? Don't really like the player but people here are so quick to jump on him.

Scored a legit goal and had an unlucky deflection which led to a goal. Konate on the otherhand had a real shocker. I think he will definitely be gone next season.
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Exactly what did he do?

Lazily dangling a leg out at a shot on target will always be poor defending. It’s absolute basics. Either get something proper on the block or let it go.
 
thepolice123 said:
What did he even do today? Don't really like the player but people here are so quick to jump on him.

Scored a legit goal and had an unlucky deflection which led to a goal. Konate on the otherhand had a real shocker. I think he will definitely be gone next season.
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It wasn't an unlucky deflection. It was lazy defending. Really poor.
 
Quite nice to see his lazy defending punished in a week he criticised Rooney for lazy punditry.
 
Bastian said:
I disagree that he's merely a good player, or was. No, I wasn't saying he was better than those two. I'd take all three (Stam, Vidic, Rio) over him any day, but I'd take him at his peak over any other centre back in the league in the last 8-10 years.
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He was the best for a few seasons in a poor era for centre backs generally and with the weakest set of strikers for a while too.
Not his fault of course, and being the best of any era is a big shout.

I've never liked Van D's style of just backing off constantly. The "aura" defending, where some strikers seemed scared to even try and take him on. It's been found out quite a bit in the last few seasons.
 
thepolice123 said:
What did he even do today? Don't really like the player but people here are so quick to jump on him.

Scored a legit goal and had an unlucky deflection which led to a goal. Konate on the otherhand had a real shocker. I think he will definitely be gone next season.
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Lovely header, ruined by his mate stood right in front of the goal.
Outrageous smugness after, hilarious wiped off.

Then poor defending not getting out and gloriously punished.
 
BaguetteBoy said:
I’m so glad we don’t behave like this anymore
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That the shoes have literally changed feet between the two clubs is crazy. Just hope it affects them in League positions - with their expenditure a year out of the CL would be huge and 2 years even worse.
 
Sandikan said:
He was the best for a few seasons in a poor era for centre backs generally and with the weakest set of strikers for a while too.
Not his fault of course, and being the best of any era is a big shout.

I've never liked Van D's style of just backing off constantly. The "aura" defending, where some strikers seemed scared to even try and take him on. It's been found out quite a bit in the last few seasons.
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I'm not sure it's been as much found out as he's just been regressing quite a bit. I'd be interested to know what the actual top centre backs we've had over the years actually think of him. I'm sure they think more highly of him than posters on the Caf.
 
When we played them earlier this season, I thought he looked like Ronaldo in 22/23:

Missing a step and thinking every contact was a foul.
 
Bastian said:
I disagree that he's merely a good player, or was. No, I wasn't saying he was better than those two. I'd take all three (Stam, Vidic, Rio) over him any day, but I'd take him at his peak over any other centre back in the league in the last 8-10 years.
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That's says a lot more about the standard of defending in the league now than it does about VVD's ranking versus the top CBs.
 
11101 said:
That's says a lot more about the standard of defending in the league now than it does about VVD's ranking versus the top CBs.
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Aye, maybe so. I still consider him elite. Not same level as Rio or Vidic, but maybe same as Kompany.
 
Add this to the fact that he has a piss-weak mentality and has such a thin skin that he is easily offended by any criticism levelled at him.
 
Bastian said:
I disagree. I think it's a shame we didn't get him when the scousers did (same with Mane). I think he's been the best centre back in the league up until last season, maybe the season before, now the two Arsenal centre backs are probably ahead of the rest.
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Van de Ven and Gabriel are better right now. Argument for Saliba and Dias too.
 
padr81 said:
Van de Ven and Gabriel are better right now. Argument for Saliba and Dias too.
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Yeah, I'm not talking now. Also, not sure Van de Ven is that good defensively, but going forward he's better than anyone I've seen in the Prem era, just crazy. I'd say Dias is below Saliba and Gabriel.
 
Said it before and I'll say it again, I wouldn't have him above Steve Bruce.
 
11101 said:
It's insulting for the likes of Rio and Vidic to have him compared to them. Theyre leagues apart.

As Rooney said the level of defending is poor right now. Hes been the best of a bad bunch but hes not even that anymore. He was shocking today.
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I still think at his best he is/was extremely good. He could have held his own in the Rio/Terry/Vidic era....but if you had a squad with those four at their peak in it, the only reason to start VVD is if you are a bad manager. Best you can do is say he might be ahead of Terry because he's less of a cnut than him.

A little bit unfair as he never got to play in the era where the defending was at its best, and it's only cycling round to that again now he's getting older...but for example I can't think of anything he does better than Rio, and Rio was definitely better than him on the ball, and at reading the game. Terry I think was just a little bit better at everything. Vidic the same.

Easy to pick on him when he's playing like trash obviously...which is why that's what I'm doing.
 
Can’t believe they’re paying VVD, Salah and Wirtz more than 1 million/week.
 
Fenômeno said:
There was a hilarious moment just after half time where he had to actually get down and make a tackle on Haaland, he got up and looked disgusted wiping his shorts. How dare his majesty have to get down and make a tackle.
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He really comes across terribly. This is him in games; what's he like in training and around the club? He carries himself like it's beneath him to even play. From kicking balls in teammates face and then lambasting them for it with a screwface, to this today, it's a bad look.
 
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