Virgil Van Dijk

[Reckoner]

31 minutes ago, sir roger said:

Did he ever get to go on the Big One at Blackpool ?

He can go in the summer.

[niallers]

 

[El Rojo]

 

[AngryOfTuebrook]

[Joey8FrogsLegs]

Not his best game today, but still he’s vital to us keeping a clean sheet. He’s the main reason we concede so few goals from corners. What a CB, what a player he is.
 

 

[m0e]

2 hours ago, Joey8FrogsLegs said:

Not his best game today, but still he’s vital to us keeping a clean sheet. He’s the main reason we concede so few goals from corners. What a CB, what a player he is.
 

 

It was a BIG drop off from the last few weeks.

 

He had an 8 out of 10 game today.

 

[Reckoner]

13 hours ago, AngryOfTuebrook said:

Watching Vigil is like watching a dad join in with a kids game of footy

[Mudface]

36 minutes ago, Reckoner said:

Watching Vigil is like watching a dad join in with a kids game of footy

Except not hungover, fat and/or pissed up.

[Reckoner]

2 hours ago, Mudface said:

Except not hungover, fat and/or pissed up.

Apart from maybe when we lost 4-0 at City?

[dockers_strike]

He was a colossus last night. Cant believe someone said he didnt have his best game last night. You usually say that when someone has been less than good in a game.

[Barrington Womble]

3 hours ago, Mudface said:

Except not hungover, fat and/or pissed up.

To be fair he does give the impression of being stoned at times though. 

[dockers_strike]

Couldnt post this earlier because a slow internet issue was stopping my paywall hack from working! Anyway, enjoy.

 

Virgil van Dijk lost a Premier League game at Anfield once. He was playing for Southampton at the time. Mohamed Salah scored twice that day in November 2017, Phillipe Coutinho adding the third on an afternoon when some queried if van Dijk was worth the £75m he would cost Fenway Sports Group a month later.

 

Since then, van Dijk has made Anfield history. The stadium is his castle now, yet to be breached in the 60 league games he has started since 2018. It’s a reassuring thought for Jurgen Klopp whenever he names his weekly line-up. Pick van Dijk, and the likelihood is he will not lose.

 

Liverpool’s narrow win against West Ham on Saturday secured a personal record for the Dutchman, eclipsing ex-Manchester United winger Lee Sharpe’s home run without defeat.

 

Van Dijk has not lost many away games, either. With van Dijk, Liverpool have been beaten in just ten games - eight per cent of his 120 Liverpool league appearances. That’s not quite the best statistically - Chelsea’s Arjen Robben only lost four times as a Chelsea player and Jaap Stam five for Manchester United. But they never made it to 80 Premier League games. 

 

Given the larger sample size, the record of van Dijk - closely followed by that of his usual defensive partner Joel Matip (Matip has also lost 10 of his 116  Liverpool league matches) - is unprecedented in the modern history of English football. Only the recent additions to Liverpool and Manchester City’s squad can currently get near it.

Clearly, van Dijk is one of the most influential signings in Premier League history. The criteria goes beyond the impressive statistics and rising trophy haul.

Van Dijk’s contribution - just like Peter Schmeichel, Eric Cantona, Dennis Bergkamp, Thierry Henry, Petr Cech, N’Golo Kante, Jamie Vardy, Vincent Kompany and David Silva -  goes beyond the obvious judgement that he is an outstanding footballer. All of these players are symbols of an era. They fundamentally changed perceptions of their football club.

 

Before Bergkamp and Henry, Arsenal were mocked for being boring. The chant ‘One-nil to the Arsenal’ is now an ironic nod to those days before their Dutch and French makeover.

 

Manchester United were dropping goalkeepers in FA Cup final replays before Schmeichel gave Sir Alex Ferguson the security he craved between the posts, while Cantona’s indelible imprint on Premier League and English football culture in the 1990s was worth a book and several documentaries. 

 

Chelsea and Manchester City found the right talismen to lead their revolutions as they evolved from serial underachievers to serial winners. At The Etihad, the World Health Organisation’s announcement of the eradication of City-itis - that fatalistic ailment that whatever could go wrong in the blue half of Manchester would - is long overdue.

 

In Liverpool’s case, there is the pre-van Dijk era when they were swaggering in attack but flaky at the back; think of the 'Crystanbul' climax to the 2013-14 season, or even the early years of Klopp when Liverpool were pursuing the all-important safety net of a fifth goal.

 

Before January 2018, any ball dropping near Liverpool’s six yard box was made to look like a hand grenade by nervous, untrustworthy centre-backs. When opponents won corners late on, a hush descended upon Anfield, followed by a murmur signalling impending doom. 

 

Today, there is barely a hum of apprehension, the expectation being that van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate or Matip will win the first header to the edge of the penalty area from where their attackers will lead the forward charge. Liverpool have turned the concession of a set-piece into a weapon.

 

The 1-0 win over West Ham was actually atypical. David Moyes’ side seemed to have more chances in one game than the combined efforts of every Anfield visitor since Christmas. Should Liverpool catch Manchester City, those moments when Pablo Fornals and Manuel Lanzini fluffed their lines with only Alisson Becker standing between them and a point will acquire greater significance.

 

So too will those last ditch clearances and tackles by Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andy Robertson and Naby Keita. The cultural change at Anfield was perhaps best summed up in the third minute of injury time, when Konate dominantly headed clear West Ham’s final, desperate aerial set-piece. Barely memorable over the course of 90 minutes, yet critical in preserving Liverpool’s victory.

 

“All these situations were, for me, like scoring a goal,” said Klopp. “Inside, it has exactly the same importance for me.”

 

For all the regular tributes to Liverpool’s attacking excellence, the foundation stone of their successful trophy quests was laid the day van Dijk made his debut.

 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2022/03/06/60-not-liverpools-virgil-van-dijk-one-premier-leagues-influential/

[VladimirIlyich]

12 hours ago, dockers_strike said:

Couldnt post this earlier because a slow internet issue was stopping my paywall hack from working! Anyway, enjoy.

 

Virgil van Dijk lost a Premier League game at Anfield once. He was playing for Southampton at the time. Mohamed Salah scored twice that day in November 2017, Phillipe Coutinho adding the third on an afternoon when some queried if van Dijk was worth the £75m he would cost Fenway Sports Group a month later.

 

Since then, van Dijk has made Anfield history. The stadium is his castle now, yet to be breached in the 60 league games he has started since 2018. It’s a reassuring thought for Jurgen Klopp whenever he names his weekly line-up. Pick van Dijk, and the likelihood is he will not lose.

 

Liverpool’s narrow win against West Ham on Saturday secured a personal record for the Dutchman, eclipsing ex-Manchester United winger Lee Sharpe’s home run without defeat.

 

Van Dijk has not lost many away games, either. With van Dijk, Liverpool have been beaten in just ten games - eight per cent of his 120 Liverpool league appearances. That’s not quite the best statistically - Chelsea’s Arjen Robben only lost four times as a Chelsea player and Jaap Stam five for Manchester United. But they never made it to 80 Premier League games. 

 

Given the larger sample size, the record of van Dijk - closely followed by that of his usual defensive partner Joel Matip (Matip has also lost 10 of his 116  Liverpool league matches) - is unprecedented in the modern history of English football. Only the recent additions to Liverpool and Manchester City’s squad can currently get near it.

Clearly, van Dijk is one of the most influential signings in Premier League history. The criteria goes beyond the impressive statistics and rising trophy haul.

Van Dijk’s contribution - just like Peter Schmeichel, Eric Cantona, Dennis Bergkamp, Thierry Henry, Petr Cech, N’Golo Kante, Jamie Vardy, Vincent Kompany and David Silva -  goes beyond the obvious judgement that he is an outstanding footballer. All of these players are symbols of an era. They fundamentally changed perceptions of their football club.

 

Before Bergkamp and Henry, Arsenal were mocked for being boring. The chant ‘One-nil to the Arsenal’ is now an ironic nod to those days before their Dutch and French makeover.

 

Manchester United were dropping goalkeepers in FA Cup final replays before Schmeichel gave Sir Alex Ferguson the security he craved between the posts, while Cantona’s indelible imprint on Premier League and English football culture in the 1990s was worth a book and several documentaries. 

 

Chelsea and Manchester City found the right talismen to lead their revolutions as they evolved from serial underachievers to serial winners. At The Etihad, the World Health Organisation’s announcement of the eradication of City-itis - that fatalistic ailment that whatever could go wrong in the blue half of Manchester would - is long overdue.

 

In Liverpool’s case, there is the pre-van Dijk era when they were swaggering in attack but flaky at the back; think of the 'Crystanbul' climax to the 2013-14 season, or even the early years of Klopp when Liverpool were pursuing the all-important safety net of a fifth goal.

 

Before January 2018, any ball dropping near Liverpool’s six yard box was made to look like a hand grenade by nervous, untrustworthy centre-backs. When opponents won corners late on, a hush descended upon Anfield, followed by a murmur signalling impending doom. 

 

Today, there is barely a hum of apprehension, the expectation being that van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate or Matip will win the first header to the edge of the penalty area from where their attackers will lead the forward charge. Liverpool have turned the concession of a set-piece into a weapon.

 

The 1-0 win over West Ham was actually atypical. David Moyes’ side seemed to have more chances in one game than the combined efforts of every Anfield visitor since Christmas. Should Liverpool catch Manchester City, those moments when Pablo Fornals and Manuel Lanzini fluffed their lines with only Alisson Becker standing between them and a point will acquire greater significance.

 

So too will those last ditch clearances and tackles by Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andy Robertson and Naby Keita. The cultural change at Anfield was perhaps best summed up in the third minute of injury time, when Konate dominantly headed clear West Ham’s final, desperate aerial set-piece. Barely memorable over the course of 90 minutes, yet critical in preserving Liverpool’s victory.

 

“All these situations were, for me, like scoring a goal,” said Klopp. “Inside, it has exactly the same importance for me.”

 

For all the regular tributes to Liverpool’s attacking excellence, the foundation stone of their successful trophy quests was laid the day van Dijk made his debut.

 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2022/03/06/60-not-liverpools-virgil-van-dijk-one-premier-leagues-influential/

I think VVD is magnificent but not giving equal,or close to,credit to Alisson also is very wide of the mark. VVD is caught out occasionally but then you have Alisson to get past too. If the first one is rarely breached,the second one is just as difficult to get past. We've almost never had this quality in defence and in goal at the same time.

[No2]

3 hours ago, VladimirIlyich said:

I think VVD is magnificent but not giving equal,or close to,credit to Alisson also is very wide of the mark. VVD is caught out occasionally but then you have Alisson to get past too. If the first one is rarely breached,the second one is just as difficult to get past. We've almost never had this quality in defence and in goal at the same time.

Fabinho too, before Virgil signed we weren't the ragball rovers described, bar the Spurs game we were averaging less than a goal a game. We weren't Virgil solid but the numbers were good enough to win a league and we were getting better.

[dockers_strike]

11 hours ago, VladimirIlyich said:

I think VVD is magnificent but not giving equal,or close to,credit to Alisson also is very wide of the mark. VVD is caught out occasionally but then you have Alisson to get past too. If the first one is rarely breached,the second one is just as difficult to get past. We've almost never had this quality in defence and in goal at the same time.

I dont think anyone isnt giving credit to Alli, it's just the article is about van Dijk so naturally concentrates on him. When he had to sprint across the pitch to intercept a west ham ball down by the SKD \ ARE corner late in the 2nd half, he had to put some real effort in and was really puffing his cheeks out in the chase. He wasnt getting beaten to that ball, that was for sure.

7 hours ago, No2 said:

Fabinho too, before Virgil signed we weren't the ragball rovers described, bar the Spurs game we were averaging less than a goal a game. We weren't Virgil solid but the numbers were good enough to win a league and we were getting better.

Really? We were all over the shop with every team bombing high balls into the middle of our box before Virgil. The centre of our defence was more wobbly that a Robinson's jelly and there's a whole host of games where we tossed away leads!

 

I was regularly on the edge of my seat shitting myself about conceeding another goal and struggling to hold on for a win after being 3 or 4 goals ahead.

[Jennings]

I am not Hendo bashing...but I do like to see Virge skippering the team.

[suzy]

1 hour ago, Jennings said:

I am not Hendo bashing...but I do like to see Virge skippering the team.

I know what you mean.

[No2]

3 hours ago, dockers_strike said:

 

I was regularly on the edge of my seat shitting myself about conceeding another goal and struggling to hold on for a win after being 3 or 4 goals ahead.

We all were but they were legacy jitters, the facts say that wasn't happening anymore.

[dockers_strike]

1 hour ago, No2 said:

We all were but they were legacy jitters, the facts say that wasn't happening anymore.

Prior to Virgil's arrival, we were still soft in the middle of the defence. Im amazed you try and make out we werent. We may not have been praying to be 4 or 5 up and hanging on but whatever the score was, we were still being bombarded by the oppos with high balls into our box and us wobbling like a jelly. We knew every game what the oppos game plan was, loft it into our box.

[Joey8FrogsLegs]

18 minutes ago, dockers_strike said:

Prior to Virgil's arrival, we were still soft in the middle of the defence. Im amazed you try and make out we werent. We may not have been praying to be 4 or 5 up and hanging on but whatever the score was, we were still being bombarded by the oppos with high balls into our box and us wobbling like a jelly. We knew every game what the oppos game plan was, loft it into our box.

Spot on.

[VladimirIlyich]

5 hours ago, Jennings said:

I am not Hendo bashing...but I do like to see Virge skippering the team.

I think tonight showed again why Hendo is skippering the team and VVD is a willing soldier.

[Reckoner]

Just thought I’d put the shits up people by bumping this thread. I don’t get out much, see.

[mgw100]

5 minutes ago, Reckoner said:

Just thought I’d put the shits up people by bumping this thread. I don’t get out much, see.

Yep, that worked

[Lee909]

I hope when you wake up to piss tonight you stub your toe on the doorway

[chrisbonnie]

probably been 10,000 views in the last 3 posts on this thread.

 

lol