Feyenoord’s Struggles: A Call for Change Under Van Persie

On Sunday, Feyenoord suffered a disheartening defeat against PSV, raising concerns about the team’s decline under the leadership of Robin van Persie. Mikos Gouka, a journalist for Algemeen Dagblad, highlights the urgency for the club’s management to take decisive action.

In the Algemeen Dagblad’s football podcast, Gouka expressed that the outlook for Feyenoord is increasingly grim. “This situation appears to be hopeless. While one might hope for improvement in the upcoming week, such complacency is unworthy of a top club. All clubs with significant budgets set boundaries, and Feyenoord has lost all semblance of the potential it displayed earlier in the season.”

Gouka further criticized Van Persie’s decisions, noting that they are becoming increasingly indefensible. “St. Juste, who last played in May, is expected to lead the defense against PSV. The notion of gradually reintegrating players is unrealistic in desperate times; they are thrown into the fray. Mats Deijl, who comes from the fourteenth position in the league, is hardly a solution to the team’s woes. This situation is alarming and calls for a self-critical analysis, which has not been a strength at De Kuip.”

Analyst Wim Kieft, speaking on Studio Voetbal, shared his lack of faith in Feyenoord’s performance against PSV. “The only two fouls they committed throughout the match were indicative of their overall struggle. They were overwhelmed from all sides and seemed uncertain of their objectives. There was an intent to push forward, yet some players retreated. This was genuinely poor, which is quite concerning.”

Regarding the potential dismissal of the head coach, Willem van Hanegem remarked in Algemeen Dagblad that a change might not resolve all issues. “If as Feyenoord, you see players laughing as Guus Til misses a clear opportunity, it raises the question: how much lower can we sink? Honestly, I don’t believe that everything will be fixed if Robin van Persie is dismissed. However, it’s also hard to imagine things getting worse. If the club’s leadership genuinely thinks: ‘we’re still in second place and Ajax also lost, so we’ll carry on as is,’ then they might as well give up.”