johnnythefirst

Well thank god Lukaku is still struggling then. ;-) But Kevin really had to go away to develop. He wouldn't be doing this if he'd stayed. Good for him, and you got a fair price.

Aaaand two more assists.

Remember when Schurrle was incredibly decisive and scored 3 goals at the world cup? People forget quickly. Players have ups and downs.

Strange thing to say when all four of them will most likely qualify. This compared to probably two English teams, with Arsenal getting more than they deserve up till now...

We'll see about Praet, I'm certainly not seeing him in the starting eleven any time soon, but if he continues playing like this, he deserves to be called up as a reward. I prefer a Defour/Naingolan defensive midfield if Witsel is not fit. I prefer any of them above Dembele, who in my eyes slows the game down way too much. Fellaini should be used as a joker if the game dictates so. Yes, we're good in defense for another 5 years at least, but what worries me is that absolutely no new guys are popping up, while we keep pumping out good offensive midfielders. Closest one is Jason Denayer who's playing for Celtic in a league far far weaker than the Belgian one.

Dennis Praet has been massive this season. He's been our best man every CL match and the whole team crumbled after he asked for a sub against Arsenal 2 weeks ago. If he keeps playing like this, he'll be in the national squad soon, but the competition in midfield is huge. Vanden Borre is one of my favorite Belgian players. He's had a difficult character in his younger years (he made his debut as a 16 year old, together with Kompany) and was almost lost for football, but now he's living for his job and is humble and determined. I hope he'll replace Alderweireld on the right back eventually. Defour is just a very good CM that can completely keep a playmaker out of the match, but he's just under the absolute top level that for example Witsel reaches. Thielemans is just insane. He's a 17 year old with the football intelligence of a 30 year old veteran. The only thing Belgium is lacking right now, are some first class young defenders to take over in a couple of years. Kompany, Vermaelen, Lombaerts and Vertonghen will not stay young forever...

Oh man, that was so satisfying to watch as an Anderlecht-fan. Especially knowing they should have lost two weeks ago as well... With a little luck, Anderlecht could have had 7 points already and no one could have argued it. Please don't buy our entire team btw.

To be honest, KDB is not really brilliant at it. If he'd be in the starting 11, I would always want Januzaj to take our corners for example. But he's not. Our national team lacks a natural free kick taker at the moment. If only Luc Nilis was still playing. ^^

Don't know how KDB could ever be catalogued as a player who doesn't work hard. Watch some of his matches for the NT: he's a beast.

Seven would be correct. And his mediocre team is now second in the league. Dortmund is almost last btw. Which is completely inexplicable if you saw how they played in the CL. They were 2 levels above Arsenal, left Anderlecht clueless at home and completely humiliated Galatasaray... So glad for him, if he keeps this up for this season and the next, he will really be ready for the next level...

Oh ffs, it's still Eto'o, who became a free agent when he decided not to stay here. Last year it was the other way around between him and Romelu for most of the time. Form fluctuates.

And now two goals. He seems to have found his form. He's leading the Bundesliga in assists btw.

Maybe we should pay 4 million to get Louis Van Gaal. I heard he's a tactical genius. Wilmots may not be a mastermind, but he's not bad at all. We've lost one competitive match in two years and it was the World Cup Quarterfinal. Belgium is a good team, but there are other good ones. It was our first big tournament in 12 years. We'll see what happens in two. There's already a difference in playing style noticable. Much more position changes, more movement. He's not blind. I give him the benefit of the doubt. Also, the Belgian board doesn't have the budget to attract "geniuses" like Capello, who was earning 7 million a year in Russia (wasn't he)? Wilmots makes 600.000 euros. Try getting a better coach on that budget And to people saying we should "definitely" get to the European final. Ffs. It's not that we're the only decent team around. Let's say Germany is the best team at the moment. Then you have Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Holland, even England: all of these could beat each other if they are having a good day. No one should "definitely" get to the finals. Form, luck, a good draw, all these factors matter.

Two more assists today.

I do think he just needs to find his confidence/rhythm back. He was doing pretty well before the world cup, he scored in nearly every friendly game we played just before it started, including a hattrick. Then he got an injury scare in the last match before the tournament, had to be subbed, had a very difficult match against Algeria and saw Origi take his place. Apparently he's still not completely fit (don't know the details exactly but I think Wilmots said he was playing with injections/pain since the season started?) This said, Origi is a more complete player. Not sure about Benteke (he's also a bit overrated in my opinion. Don't see him being first striker at one of the top teams as well). But there's a very big difference between a fit and happy Lukaku and a half injured Lukaku with confidence issues... I think his confidence was in his dreads.

Are you being sarcastic?

Muh, he's obviously having his first real dip. Too soon to write him off for me. He'll never be Zlatan, that's for sure. But no one in the world ever said Pipo Inzaghi was a beautiful player. We'll see where it got him when he's 36.

A fit Michael Owen was the very top. Injuries are what stopped him, not a lack of talent. He won the Ballon d'Or ffs...

Thanks! Just look at the current world cup and at how hard it is to beat the smaller teams once they've learned how to organise their defense. Remember for example Algeria? All of the major countries would have eaten a small African one like them up 40 years ago. Although it is kind of unfair to compare generations, there's no doubt professional football players have to work much, much harder to get to a decent level today. No slackers allowed. The fact that Messi and Ronaldo can get Pele-like stats (ok, playing for the best teams of the era) in a period where the average defender is an athlete and has more technical qualities than the average No 10 in the seventies (Kompany, to name just one), in a period where nearly every smaller team parks the bus against them, in a period where almost every manager is a decent tactician, is insane. Look at matches from earlier eras, look how the defenders just stand there, like it's some kind of magician they're playing against. I'm not saying Pele wouldn't have turned out as good if he was born in 1990, but we'll never know.

Haha, like he wouldn't buy Messi if he had the chance.

Wow. Fans on a forum? Complaining? Outrageous!

I don't understand how anyone can be mad at Lampard? He did his job, he did not celebrate his goal, most of the Chelsea players immediately went to him to congratulate him after the match. If Chelsea didn't want him to score for other teams, they should have given him a new contract. It's not his fault.

I think he needs a long holiday. It's the constant pressure that got to him. Ronaldo still has that drive mostly because he's furious because no one puts him on the same level as Messi.

He didn't play well (well, not on Messi level), but without his important goals/actions, they would barely have survived the group stage.

Messi is a fantastic team player who will perform the individual action when needed, but will always look for a nice combination. Ronaldo is a fantastic player who plays for Ronaldo. He will always go for individual success. He's the better athlete but there's no competition in who's been the bigger player looking at their careers. Messi doesn't even have to win the WC to probably be considered the greatest ever when he retires. Difference between him and Pele/Cruyff (in a lesser extent Maradona) is that he's getting to their numbers or more playing against athletic defenders that would fucking eat the hearts of every player from before the 90s. Pele was playing amateurs for most of his career. Messi and Ronaldo (and every great player from this era or the one before) get zero space.