Written by Football Talk.
Dutch flying winger Arjen Robben believes Spurs have grabbed themselves a bargain and that Rafael Van der Vaart is as good as Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas, Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard and Chelsea’s Frank Lampard.
Harry Redknapp pulled off another transfer master-stroke with the £8m signing on deadline day and now Robben believes that Van der Vaart was a bargain buy and has made Tottenham a real force in the premier league. The Bayern Munich star told ESPN:
“In terms of his (Van der Vaart) vision, his range of passing, his ability to split a defence and his eye for goal he is as good as Cesc Fabregas, Steven Gerrard and of course Frank Lampard.
“He is that bridge for Spurs that makes them go from a very good Premier League club to a team capable of taking on and beating any side in Europe on their day.
“When you consider the amount of money Real Madrid and Manchester City have spent on players, it’s almost unbelievable to think what Spurs reportedly paid for Rafa.
There is no doubt Fabregas, Gerrard and Lampard are three of the very best midfielders in Europe, so Van der Vaart will have to hit the ground running if he is to be considered in their league. Do you think Van der Vaart will prove to be as good as Fabregas, Gerrard and Lampard? Please leave your vote below.
[polldaddy poll=3726374]
Earl
September 7, 2010 at 9:29 am
Oh wow he’s good, and that’s why he couldn’t get a starting berth in Real Madrid and the Dutch national team!!
Rainea
September 7, 2010 at 2:09 pm
His pass to Fabregas in WC final was very classy too. That’s exactly what he’ll have to do at his new club to become an instant hero!
Andy
September 7, 2010 at 9:34 am
I think its too early to start punting on the abilties of a player who hasn’t so much as pulled on a shirt for us yet!?
We should be giving him at the very least until christmas before we start judging him! Right!
Runner
September 7, 2010 at 9:51 am
I hate these polls…
Agree with Andy here. How can we rate a man who hasnt played in the PL yet…
On top of that (dare i say this) polls always seem to get a bit overbiased when comparing english players to others (on english websites). It seems like people think domestic players “are juuuust that little bit better that other players” which oten makes the polls worthless…sorry to say it 🙂
tom
September 7, 2010 at 9:57 am
he hasnt been staring games fo two years . hes been a sub and before that he played in germany lets see how he does in a year. and he will never be as good as fabregas
Essexian76
September 7, 2010 at 10:05 am
Hardly the most intelligent of comparisons. Let’s see.. We’ll look at a player with zero PL experience as opposed to seasoned some midfielders, who’ve never played outside of it? For heavens sake, if its that slow on the news front, dont post anything!
mummy
September 7, 2010 at 10:13 am
…white van man top boy! c`mon then… should do really well for spurs behind forward 4-2-3-1 formation & movement attack! whooor…
AntiOnan
September 7, 2010 at 10:24 am
He has yet to handle EPL tackling/harrassment/comments about his missus…when he can handle all of that and still play well then we might know the answer to what really is a guessing competition.
I hope etc that he is as good as advised but, like racehorse betting, its always a bit of a punt no matter what the odds say.
Indogooner
September 7, 2010 at 10:24 am
The player is excellent but not as excellent as cesc, gerard and lampard. In addition, van der vaart is never taste before with a hard body charge football like what we have played in EPL. Not just that reason, even in holland first team, he is sometimes left on the bench behind sneider. Actually i’m not really sure that he can adapt with english football cause he doesn’t even have some pace. But with him in the team, i’m sure spurs will improve but never in the same level with arsenal or stronger.. It will always be a dream for spurs fans..
aravindvr
September 7, 2010 at 11:03 am
gr8 joke by Robben,,,
LOL
RGG
September 7, 2010 at 11:27 am
He’s the best in the world – didn’t you listen to ‘Arry? He’s an 80m pound player that he got for 8m!!!!!!!
Danny Boy
September 7, 2010 at 11:38 am
No is the simple answer. Real Madrid would not have let any of the others leave but they couldn’t wait to boot van der vaart out. Always been overrated!
modric14
September 7, 2010 at 11:39 am
i think van der vaart will be great for spurs but may need time to settle in but i hope he will play like he has done for his other clubs and country coyssssssssss
wee john
September 7, 2010 at 11:53 am
He wasn’t startin for madrid. Neither would gerrard or fabregas or lampard last season
take9
September 7, 2010 at 11:59 am
i bet to differ, im an Arsenal fan and i dont think he is as good as Fabregas but he is without a doubt 1 of the most underated players in Europe, he is a great player and probably the kind of player that Spurs needed. i wouldnt judge him based on what he did/didnt do for Real Madrid. i really wish he had signed for Arsenal but ofcourse the premiership is a different kind of league, time will tell.
fake_da_Funk
September 7, 2010 at 12:41 pm
never got what the hype about him is – just like ballack – just never seen anything to get excited about. He might be exactly what spurs need like bergkamp was exactly what we needed but he is no-where near as good as Cesc or gerrard. Dont really rate lampard but you have to respect his scoring record for chelsea and he does set a few up i suppose. The guy (VDV) has not made a big impression at club or international level as any of the other 3 in his entire career.
abc
September 7, 2010 at 12:49 pm
People need to remember that he was not guaranteed a start in the Dutch team when Robben returned to fitness at the World Cup. Taking that in to account, he cannot be considered to be as good as Gerrard, Lampard and Fabregas. People might say ‘Cesc was not a regular’, that is true, but Spain’s midfield is simply the best in world football. I personally feel Cesc would have got in the Dutch team, Rafael would certainly not have made the Spanish team.
Stoney
September 7, 2010 at 2:02 pm
Graham Hunter, sky and talksport’s spainish correspondent, said he was real madrid’s best player last season and that real played far better with VdV playing in midfield than kaka. He also said real fans were queuing out the door buying VdV shirts, as a mark of respect to the player, even though they’d already sold him. Speaks volumes for me. Certainly makes more sense than most of the people posting on here offering opinions based on absolutely no evidence what-so-ever.
cally
September 7, 2010 at 5:28 pm
Lamps is over rated while Stevies goin backwards at Anfield so once Cesc heads to the Camp Nou,Vdv will rule the roost
richard
September 8, 2010 at 11:41 am
i dont think it matters how good he is as spurs have no decent defenders fit. unless he can play at centre back he wont make any difference
WC
September 9, 2010 at 8:34 pm
VDV is a good player but not anywhere near the level of Cesc, Lamps or Gerrard. If he was as good he would have usurped Sneidjer at Ajax a long time ago but Wesley is more on par with the aforementioned that Van DerVaart. Very good player? Yes. World class? Not quite.
simms21
September 9, 2010 at 11:52 pm
OK seriously its nice that Spurs got a nice player but better than 3 of the best midfielders in the world? C”MON we don’t even know if he’s better than Arteta let alone those 3.
JImmie
September 10, 2010 at 12:54 am
If you matching skill and flair, Cesc is better, although VDV is much better than Gerrad and Lamp. But Lamp and Gerrad have lot of brute power to overwhelm VDV.