BLIND LEAVES RVP AT HOME

Danny Blind, the Oranje boss, is not happy with Robin Van Persie’s showings at the club level in the recent times and that’s the reason he has preferred to keep him out of the national squad.

Van Persie is not amongst the players whom Blind has chosen for the games that Netherlands is going to play against their European neighbours in the coming weeks.

The 54-year old has instead decided to try out some of the young strikers who have promised a lot in the Dutch League, leaving RVP fuming.

According to Blind, he has been regularly watching Van Persie play and though, his fitness certainly looks a lot better now, the level of his game is still not satisfying. Whilst much has been made about the amount of time Robin van Persie spends on horse racing betting, he insists that this is just a release for his spare time, and doesn't affect his play.

Blind was quoted as saying, “I tune in to each one of the games that Robin plays and though, he has been getting more playing time at his club and seems to be in good shape if you compare it to his situation in October which I think is a positive, game-wise it’s still proving to be quite tough for him. He will have to perform in greater capacity to come back.”

Blind’s stand can be justified in the sense that the Dutch don’t have to play any big tournament in near future as they have missed out on Euros. So, now is the time for them to try and build a solid team for the next World Cup and Van Persie, with all due respect to him, is not likely to be the player who would be the trump card for them in that tournament.

However, even if Van Persie, who is 32 at the moment, doesn’t get another international game, there is no reason for him to be regretful as he has served Netherlands as well as anyone else - he has a half century of international goals in his CV.