‘All sorts of people have been brought in to help Robin van Persie and keep him in the game’

In Rondo, Theo Janssen has levelled strong criticism at Robin van Persie. According to the Arnhem-based pundit, the Feyenoord manager has made a series of poor decisions, which have cost him dearly.

Janssen begins his argument regarding Van Persie by defending the Feyenoord squad. “I do think you’re placing too much emphasis on the players, really.”

The analyst believes that the early stages of Van Persie’s team’s season were still reasonable. “His first few games were still enjoyable to watch and there was some decent football in there, but that has only got worse.”

Janssen notes that more people at Feyenoord have become involved in trying to turn things around. “All sorts of people have been brought in to help Van Persie and keep him in the saddle.”

The former player wants nothing to do with the excuse that the Rotterdam side’s squad isn’t good enough and there are too many injuries. “Ultimately, Van Persie is part of the coaching staff and that’s who you discuss things with and prepare training sessions for,” says Janssen, who also acknowledges that a spate of injuries is sometimes unavoidable.

“But an entire season, losing almost all your players for the whole season? That’s also down to the way things are run: how you communicate and the freedom players feel, which they might not actually be given. I think it’s too easy,” says the former player for Vitesse, FC Twente, Ajax and KRC Genk.

Janssen sees a team that has absolutely no confidence in their footballing ability or defence. “That’s because Van Persie, along with his staff, has simply made a lot of wrong choices.” The analyst concludes: “We can only hope the season is over.”

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