Can anyone explain Van Marwijk’s Holland squad selection?

I tend to get a bit cross when Fabio Capello announces his England squads. There are always people in and people out who seem to make no sense. I am not alone in that. We all think we know better than the manager of our national side.

Prized

Another specific group of people who tend to get a little upset by the decisions of the national managers are the club managers, who see their prized assets being treated in a way of which they disapprove.

I had wondered if this was an English ‘thing’ but I am relieved to discover that it is the same elsewhere.

I do not pretend to know very much about Dutch football and I wouldn’t dream of beginning to suggest the make-up of the next Holland squad. Having said that, I am able to read the newspapers and watch the television and as a result of that, I know that Robin van Persie is injured!

Decision

Holland play a friendly against Turkey on 17th November and Dutch boss Bert van Marwijk has included Van Persie in his squad for the game. Considering the Arsenal forward hasn’t played since 28th August and is not yet even back in training with the first team at the club, that is a strange decision.

A further look at the squad Van Marwijk has selected reveals that Dirk Kuyt, Mark van Bommel, Wout Brama, Theo Janssen, Khalid Boulahrouz, Eljero Elia and Ruud van Nistelrooy are also selected despite currently being on the injured list at their respective clubs.

A noticeable absence from the squad is Manchester City midfielder Nigel de Jong. The man who was not dropped from the squad after an awful ‘kung fu’ kick in the World Cup final, but was left out after the tackle which broke Hatem Ben Arfa’s leg, but was not deemed to be a foul, has again been left out again.

Surprised

Arsene Wenger said he was ‘surprised’ by Van Persie’s inclusion in the squad. He was being polite. His star striker missed five months of last season with an injury picked up on duty with Holland and he has only played three games for Arsenal this season since coming back from the World Cup. He will be absolutely livid at the prospect of what might happen to his player whilst he is away.

Bert van Marwijk led his side to the World Cup final so it is churlish of me to question him. His side may not have achieved what they did in a way that many people approved of or in a way that was representative of Dutch football over the years, but it was very effective.

The man obviously knows what he is doing but he does appear to make some very strange decisions. The way he is treating Nigel de Jong is to be applauded in many ways as we all want to stamp out the dangerous tackling that has affected the game. On the flip side of that, his team were guilty of some questionable tackling in the World Cup and he defended it to the hilt. The manager keeps his son in law Mark van Bommel at the heart of his side and the best way to describe him is that he is a hatchet man. Nothing more and nothing less.

Row

The club versus country row will always rumble on but when the clubs, who pay the player’s wages, are not able to reap the benefits of that player’s skill due to injury, the player surely shouldn’t be allowed to be taken away by his national squad, particularly for a friendly game.

We all know clubs where the players are fit for the two league games either side of an international game but are withdrawn from the international game with a minor injury and that is annoying and frustrating, but when a player has a long term injury that prevents them playing for their club, they should not be available for selection.

As I say, I am not terribly knowledgeable about Dutch football or Van Marwijk. Is there anybody out there who can explain what is going on?