Clockwork Oranje

The 2022 World Cup is just days away, and the Clockwork Oranje preview of it is here.

Prior to recording, we asked all of you to send in any questions you had about Oranje ahead of the tournament, and the preview is based around our answers to those questions.

Who should start in goal? How big a part will Xavi Simons play? How far can the Netherlands ultimately get? We give our opinion on all of that and much more.

We also rue the fact that the tournament is being held in a country that treats LGBTQ people so abhorrently, and if you feel the same, you can support those people at the link below: 

The story of the Netherlands' 2010 World Cup was one of delight, devastation and division, and we relived it all in the latest episode of the podcast...

In the first of a few episodes looking back at select World Cups ahead of this year's in Qatar, we kick things off by looking at the squad the Dutch were taking to South Africa and what the pre-tournament expectations were for the side.

We then go through the month that followed chronologically, discussing the events of each match as well as what our states of mind were at the times. 

Particular attention is of course paid to the glorious victory over Brazil and the heartbreaking defeat against Spain, with this being the first time ever that both of us have discussed the final in-depth.

After doing so, we move on to considering the legacy of the team. It's the joint-most successful Dutch World Cup side ever and yet is not that highly rated or loved by many - why is that and is it fair?

A lot has happened in the world of Oranje so far in 2022, and we take a look at all of it in the first podcast episode of the year.

Well, it's actually just me - Finley - rather than we this time around, and I kick things by giving my thoughts on the first matches of the year against Denmark and Germany and the 3-4-1-2 system that we used for the first time in them.

Specifically, I pick out what I see as the main pros and cons of the formation and suggest ways in which Louis van Gaal can address such cons going forward, not that he needs my advice...

After that, I then turn my attention to the World Cup draw, sharing my opinion of the group we have been given which contains Qatar, Senegal and Ecuador; as you can probably guess, I'm pretty happy with it.

Van Gaal will be leaving after said World Cup, and it has been confirmed that Ronald Koeman will return to replace him. I finish off the episode by looking at that decision before picking out players I'd like to see given a chance in the next international break and paying tribute to our current Bondscoach following news of his cancer diagnosis.

The Netherlands are back in the World Cup, and we discuss how they got there, how they look and how good it feels in the latest podcast.

The last episode was recorded before Louis van Gaal had taken charge of a match, so we start this one by giving our views on how he had been doing prior to the last two games of qualifying.

We then turn our attention to them, discussing what went wrong, what went right, the sickening nerves we felt before qualification was secured and the joy and relief we felt afterwards.

After that, the state of the team is discussed, with it being agreed that the midfield is the big problem to solve going forward and Steven Bergwijn and Memphis Depay were the bright sparks this time around.

Finally, we talk about the importance of not turning a blind eye to the problematic issues regarding next year's tournament being held in Qatar, even if you're going to watch it.

While we'll do our best to raise awareness about such issues, we're going to. After eight years away by the time it starts, we wouldn't miss it for the world.

Oranje are back, and it feels oh so good.

Louis van Gaal is the Netherlands manager once again, and we discuss his appointment in the latest episode of the podcast.

First things first, we take a look back at his last spell as the Oranje boss from 2012 to 2014 in which he led the team to third place at the World Cup. Just how good a job did he do that back then? And how does that squad compare to the current one?

Based on what he did in that job and the many others he has had, we also discuss what we can expect from him this time around, from the use of young players to potential tactics he'll implement. Will he stick with the 5-3-2 setup? Or is a return to 4-3-3 on the cards. 

Van Gaal isn't the only new man in the camp, with Henk Fraser and Danny Blind coming aboard as the new assistants, and their appointments are also looked at, with conversations about whether the former could take the top job after the World Cup and whether concerns over the latter given his failed stint in that very job are valid.

Finally, we look ahead to the crucial World Cup qualifiers coming up and sum up our overall thoughts on Oranje's new coaching team.

In the latest podcast episode, we preview the first major tournament in seven years that the Netherlands will be a part of, Euro 2020.

First things first, We pick up from where we left off in the last episode, giving our thoughts on the squad that Frank de Boer ultimately opted to take to the Euros.

We then analyse the warm-up matches that took place against Scotland and Georgia, picking out the good and the bad things to take from the games and the 5-3-2 formation that was used in them.

Marten de Roon and Owen Wijndal fell into the latter category, and we talk through their issues and discuss potential alternatives to them, such as Ryan Gravenberch and Daley Blind.

Central defence and the forward line are both stronger areas for the team, but who will start there isn't yet clear either. Jurrien Timber or Nathan Ake? Donyell Malen or Wout Weghorst? We take our picks...

After some final thoughts on the system that De Boer seems set on using, we then put our necks on the line and make predictions, both about the first match against Ukraine and the tournament as a whole.