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Behind
Enemy Lines - The View From A Heerenveen Fan |
February 23rd 2005
Newcastle-online caught up with Heerenveen fan and webmaster of their
supporters' club website, Jeroen
to get his views on tomorrow night's UEFA Cup second leg match
at St. James' Park. This is his response...
Q: Hi Jeroen, you must have been disappointed with the result in
Heerenveen. Can your club pull off a shock at St. James' Park?
Realistically? No. We put everything in that game last Thursday. It
even cost us the away game against De Graafschap because of some minor
injuries and tired players. Huntelaar might not be fit (again). It's
likely that he's being prepared for PSV at home this Sunday. So to
win 2-0 at St. James' Park is almost impossible.
Hopefully? Yes. Newcastle is walking on clouds after the Chelsea
game. If Newcastle starts the game only to not get tired, we might
have a chance. If we start like we did Thursday we might surprise
you. Only if Newcastle scores in the first 20 minutes are we finished.
Q: Huntelaar impressed greatly at the Abe Lenstra, what
type of impact do you think he'll have on the return match?
I probably already answered this question above. Last Thursday he
wasn't likely to play. This is again the case for this match. He has
played a lot of matches so they probably want him fit for the difficult
home match against PSV Eindhoven.
Q: Can Heerenveen hang onto Huntelaar? He seems to have
an instinct for goal and many centre-forward qualities that would
suit the Premiership. A big game from him on Thursday could alert
watching eyes.
It will be difficult to hang onto Huntelaar. He's been sensational
in the first half of the season. His performance against Newcastle
will probably have alerted some managers in the Premiership. He
could become an exact copy of Ruud Van Nistelrooy. Ruud came from
a first division club, was good at our club and left after only
one year. This could happen to Huntelaar too. The only difference
is that Huntelaar is scoring even more goals.
Q: Your coach played an attacking formation in Holland, 2-1 down
in the tie, will he continue with an attacking formation or will
he play a cautious game?
We always play the same formation. The only difference will be that
our wingers, Yildirim and Bruggink, will operate more from the midfield
to build in more security.
Q: Having seen Newcastle play live, what NUFC players do
you fear most?
Shearer. No doubt about it. He wasn't involved in the game very
much on Holland, but when he gets the chance, he scores so easy.
The only other player really excelling last Thursday was Carr, swinging
in some nice crosses. And I'm not complaining about the suspension
of Bowyer either...
Q: Can Petter Hansson, stop Alan Shearer?
Well he could do it for 70 minutes in the first leg, so if he can
do that in the second leg I will be satisfied.
Q: Are you looking forward to visiting our City and what
are you expecting?
I'm really looking forward to it. The local newspaper already had
some info about the City. I believe you have the most beautiful
street in England. Further I'd like to check out the *Big Market,
with all the pubs, and last but not least I have high expectations
of St. James' Park.
Q: Should the tie go to penalties, how good are Heerenveen
at penalty shoot-outs? I say this because Newcastle United have
never won a penalty shoot-out in a competitive match, we are very
poor at penalty shoot-outs and it's the one thing supporters dread
more than most.
The last time we had to do a penalty shoot-out we had a completely
different squad, so I can't really tell you anything about that.
I guess we would be ok. Huntelaar scored a late penalty in Zagreb,
more or less securing the next round in the UEFA Cup. Probably the
most pressure he's been under. Yildirim is fantastic at set pieces.
So is Bruggink. Should the match go to penalties, I'm pretty confident
(Ed: I'm not...).
Q: What must your team do to beat Newcastle? Who are you
looking to, to up their game and have an influence?
Arek Radomski didn't play last week, his place was taken over by
Thomas Prager, an 18 year old. Although Prager did great, I think
the return of Radomski will be the biggest difference. He is great
in taking away the pressure off our defense. Mika Vayrynen already
did great in the first leg, but he should be even better to win
this. His final pass lacked precision.
Q: How important is European football to Heerenveen?
It's not a matter of life and death, as it is to Manchester United
to play in Champions League. But our club is at a point now, where
it's a target to qualify for UEFA Cup every year. For the last 6/7
years it was a bonus.
Q: If Heerenveen get knocked out, will this be better for
your League program or will it have a bad effect on confidence for
the League?
Definitely better. We have a lot of young players so playing a lot
of matches causes some minor injuries every week. For the last couple
of years, clubs in the sub-top position of the League playing in Europe
didn't qualify for Europe the next season because of the extra matches.
So our League position is actually very good, considering this. |
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