Virgil VAN DIJK: 2022/23

The little boy will never forget that

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Especially if what Virgil said to him was ā€œTurn around and face the front, you little gobshite.ā€

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Way too lax. The ā€˜effortā€™ he put in for their winning goal was abysmal. The least he could have done was try and get a block in. He was close enough to make it and not for the first time he was once again holding a players hand while running back and not getting a tackle in. I understand tackles are all a bit naff these days and ā€˜if Iā€™m making a tackle then Iā€™ve made a mistakeā€™ is the thing but fuck sakes man, get a foot in when itā€™s needed and that goes for both ends of the pitch, weirdly enough.

His play this season has been woeful at times. Can we have our Virgil back, please.

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There was an old spark of him at one point but it ended in a foul (according to Oliver).

For me he looks like heā€™s coasting to the World Cup, being asked to play a lot of minutes so heā€™s not doing anything which could cause an injury.

He is meant to be our defensive leader so you must start to ask questions of said leadership if irrespective of personnel our defence is Sunday league levels of incompetence. The lack of control, shape and communication is horrific.

Yeah, that was some weak defending in the last minutes, but by all of them (Virg included, of course). It looked like we might actually snatch a late winner, but then half-gifted them one at the other end. Very disappointing.

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If I were Jurgen, Iā€™d be having a quiet word with Virg. Totally confidential, like. Do you want benching until the World Cup? We can sort this. Weā€™ll put it out that there is a little injury or something. Konate is nearly back, so weā€™re OK.

I mean, heā€™s a human being. Heā€™s had a dreadful injury, and this might be his last World Cup. It would be totally understandable if heā€™s holding a bit back, even subconsciously.

I donā€™t think he is deliberately playing safe.

He had a nasty injury and then played lots of minutes last season. Maybe, just maybe, he is just physically exhausted and mentally scarred.

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No. Itā€™s not actually. The Club made itself look like a fool when chasing his signature in the first place, allowed him to elevate himself to be in the conversation for not just the best defender but best player in the world then stuck by him and allowed him the space to recover from his injury with no pressure to return so when the chips are down the minimum that is required is that he not mail it in because thereā€™s a World Cup around the corner.

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Iā€™d only play him once more before the WC and that would be at Spurs. If everyone was fit right now my first choice would be Matip and Konate and would stay that way until circumstances forced a change.
I donā€™t know what the fuck is going on with Virgil. It may be a fear of another contact injury but his defending this season has been suspect and way below what we expect.

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I think Matip has been suggested to be close so it is possible him and Konate may start against Soton.

I donā€™t think eithier are going so I would consider than partnership because if you are going get dial in performances it will be then.

VVD has played every minutes of every game this season. :grimacing:

Pretty sure heā€™s the only 1 in the entire squad who plays every minute of every game when heā€™s available? Certainly in every PL/CL and latter stages of the cups.

Well, he also played the highest mins (4600+) last season too. But maybe, thatā€™s more due to the form or fitness of other CBs.

Heā€™s become extremely passive for whatever reason. I know that a lot of the time he doesnā€™t really need to get stuck in as heā€™s managed the situation long before it really needs him to get ā€œstuck inā€ but the difference between him and Konate in physical presence and putting it about against Napoli the other night stood out a country mile to me.

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I still thought he played well vs Napoli, always in the right place to make a clearance when Napoli found themselves in good wide positions.

Would like to see more of the aggression he showed against City though.

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Last few games he upped his performances but dipped a bit v leeds, good against Napoli.

Doesnā€™t seem a fan of Carra

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A good watch. Virgil is boss.

Liked his points about social media and dealing with his injury.

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I enjoy Nevilleā€™s overlap show with footballers former and current. Always a good watch