Radja Nainggolan out: why?

Mr Nick09 wrote:

McLewis wrote:

Radja's not going to kiss any coach's ass to play for them or their club or NT. He's not built that way.

He did nothing wrong here. He didn't even insult Martinez when he got snubbed.

we don't know what's the extent of his relationship with Martinez so you can't claim he did nothing.

And yes you must often be a kiss ass when you have a boss unless you are very very good at your job. I don't know why they don't see eye to eye so let's not speculate.

Nope, not buying that. Every coach worth their salt knows to manage their team as a meritocracy. The best players with most talent and experience get the most playing time, not the ones who brown-nose the best.

Radja plays in the most tactical league in Europe and has proven himself tactically flexible season after season yet Martinez considers him tactically incompatible? What bullshit. He's is grasping at any reason available to him as an excuse to leave this guy at home. No speculation is needed. It's simple logical deduction.

As I said, this is Belgium's loss and Roma's gain, but if/when Belgium flop again (especially those midfielders) you can guarantee they'll come back to this decision.

Mr Nick09 wrote:

rincon wrote:

Mr Nick09 wrote:Why are we blaming Martinez with this?

When was Nainggolan appointed national hero of Belgium to the point he must be picked no matter what?

Its his job to cozy up to Martinez and to be nice so he can get a call up, he did not do that and last I remember Wilmots also left him at home in 2014.

How in the world is that his job? his is to play football well enough to earn a call up. If that is the job Martinez requires then Martinez is the problem.

because that's how it is in real life, it's not enough to "play well", this is clearly an example.

Players leverage their affinities with managers all the time, just look at Benzema in Madrid lol.

again, we are not talking about a top 10 midfielder in europe here, even if he would be near the top for his country, i dont think he makes them so marginally better that he is a must have.

He is by far Belgium's best CM. Instead of him its Fellaini ffs

M99 wrote:

Mr Nick09 wrote:

rincon wrote:

How in the world is that his job? his is to play football well enough to earn a call up. If that is the job Martinez requires then Martinez is the problem.

because that's how it is in real life, it's not enough to "play well", this is clearly an example.

Players leverage their affinities with managers all the time, just look at Benzema in Madrid lol.

again, we are not talking about a top 10 midfielder in europe here, even if he would be near the top for his country, i dont think he makes them so marginally better that he is a must have.

He is by far Belgium's best CM. Instead of him its Fellaini ffs

i dont understand why we are talking about Nainggolan like he is the best thing since Kebab here. calma, he is a good player, nothing more.

Not like he would have made a difference anyways. Decent player with no special abilities.

and the disrespect here shown to Fellaini with his national team, he has been outstanding for them, regardless of what you think of him as a player.

Unique wrote:on the bright side its good news for roma.

Yeah, they are getting back a fully rested Radja for pre-season. Sucks he didn't get call up for Belgium but Roma probably would be a bit happy about this.

I would have sided with Nick's opinion but he picked Januzaj and a 4th goalie. The former who has been very hit and miss for La Real and I cannot explain the latter. This tells me it was not a tactical or even performance issue.

Martinez doesn't deserve any benefit of the doubt.

He's Moyes level except his team passes along the floor instead of the air.

He's absolutely terrible.

RealGunner wrote:Not like he would have made a difference anyways. Decent player with no special abilities.

Name midfielders that are better as a combination attacking and disrupting midfielders.

Radja's better defensively than De Bruyne imo.

McLewis wrote:Radja's better defensively than De Bruyne imo.

I agree. And he can score goals.

Great Leader Sprucenuce wrote:Martinez doesn't deserve any benefit of the doubt.

He's Moyes level except his team passes along the floor instead of the air.

He's absolutely terrible.

damn thats harsh.

yet i dont disagree...

there is no excuse imo. nobody needs 4 gks. wtf is martinez smoking? give that 4th gk spot to nainggolan. not the best mid but he is miles ahead of fellaini at minimum.

you realize that he gave a list with 28 players right? 5 will be cut including a GK. why comment on things you dont understand

breva wrote:

McLewis wrote:Radja's better defensively than De Bruyne imo.

I agree. And he can score goals.

I think De Bruyne did better in the attacking phase this season. Scored 13 goals with 20 assists in all comps, which are impressive numbers. Radja scored 6 and assisted 11, a near reversal of his best season in terms of stats. Still a strong season, just in a different way.

This is largely why I put the "defensively" disclaimer on it.

McLewis wrote:

Mr Nick09 wrote:

McLewis wrote:

Radja's not going to kiss any coach's ass to play for them or their club or NT. He's not built that way.

He did nothing wrong here. He didn't even insult Martinez when he got snubbed.

we don't know what's the extent of his relationship with Martinez so you can't claim he did nothing.

And yes you must often be a kiss ass when you have a boss unless you are very very good at your job. I don't know why they don't see eye to eye so let's not speculate.

Nope, not buying that. Every coach worth their salt knows to manage their team as a meritocracy. The best players with most talent and experience get the most playing time, not the ones who brown-nose the best.

Radja plays in the most tactical league in Europe and has proven himself tactically flexible season after season yet Martinez considers him tactically incompatible? What bullshit. He's is grasping at any reason available to him as an excuse to leave this guy at home. No speculation is needed. It's simple logical deduction.

As I said, this is Belgium's loss and Roma's gain, but if/when Belgium flop again (especially those midfielders) you can guarantee they'll come back to this decision.

exactly this. Nainggolans first job is to play the sport. If he's a total POS, then its up to the manager to work that personality in a way that best suits the team. He has done nothing on the contrary to warrant being completely left out of the side. You can claim he would make them marginally better but when belgiums midfield gets torn to shreds, we will ultimately come back to this decision and say it was a mistake.

Mr Nick09 wrote:i dont understand why we are talking about Nainggolan like he is the best thing since Kebab here. calma, he is a good player, nothing more.

calma lol...

no one is talking about him as if he's the best thing since kebab but he's clearly one of the 23 best belgian players. The reasoning for the omission is what is being questioned here. Tactical reasons. He is a good player tactically; he fits into multiple systems and is one of those midfield lynchpin type players. Its a cop out reason if its "purely tactical"

Unless the player in question is toxic and extremely controversial, leaving players out of the NT is pathetic and beyond stupid.

Who gives a *bleep* is a top class player enjoys a smoke? Club level, sure.

International tournaments? You need them to turn up for a handful of games over the Summer.

It's probably just a personality conflict. 23 man WC squads are insanely complex when you get to the top tier countries, Belgium being one of them. It's not always about picking the best players, which I think he clearly is up there for Belgium, but about picking complementary personalities/abilities. Maybe Martinez just believes he will be a negative influence, or doesn't fit into the tactical scheme.

Unless Naiggolan does not conform to discipline and ruins the squad atmosphere, this decision is ridiculous, disgusting and makes my blood boil. There have been a few major omissions in the world cup squads announced so far but arguably this one is the worst of all.

vanDEEZ wrote:It's probably just a personality conflict. 23 man WC squads are insanely complex when you get to the top tier countries, Belgium being one of them. It's not always about picking the best players, which I think he clearly is up there for Belgium, but about picking complementary personalities/abilities. Maybe Martinez just believes he will be a negative influence, or doesn't fit into the tactical scheme.

The tactical reasons only make sense if its very clear that Nainggolan would throw tantrums if asked to sit on the bench at times. Most likely its pure hogwash though. As for his being a negative influence I hope that is true because otherwise this is an infuriating decision.