De graff

[Littlest Hobo]

What are your thoughts on this guy?

My thoughts are that his best years are behind him, he was struggling with the pace of the game on sat.
He sometimes looks like he's blowing out his backside, even in the first few minutes of a game.

We really could have done with someone in the midfield on Sat to help miller out and this guy as far as I'm concerned was found wanting.:rolleyes:

[TornadoHibby]

What are your thoughts on this guy?

My thoughts are that his best years are behind him, he was struggling with the pace of the game on sat.
He sometimes looks like he's blowing out his backside, even in the first few minutes of a game.

We really could have done with someone in the midfield on Sat to help miller out and this guy as far as I'm concerned was found wanting.:rolleyes:

Have to agree and generally, I've personally been disappointed with his individual performances since he came to Hibs bearing in mind the glowing "references" that Yogi gave him after he signed!

He did play pretty well on Wednesday night though, certainly the best I have seen from him by far, but Saturday was maybe a game too soon for him after his efforts on Wednesday?

Maybe he benefited from having some "workers" alongside him on Wednesday (Stevenson and Galbraith anyone!) whereas that was missing on Saturday!?

[Bostonhibby]

Have to agree and generally, I've personally been disappointed with his individual performances since he came to Hibs bearing in mind the glowing "references" that Yogi gave him after he signed!

He did play pretty well on Wednesday night though, certainly the best I have seen from him by far, but Saturday was maybe a game too soon for him after his efforts on Wednesday?

Maybe he benefited from having some "workers" alongside him on Wednesday (Stevenson and Galbraith anyone!) whereas that was missing on Saturday!?

Sorry to say i agree, theres nae doubt he was some player from what I have seen but I think pace and fitness has gone compared to how he was before.

[hibsbollah]

I thought he might come good after a slow start but i'm starting to doubt it now. You're right about his fitness as well.

[The Voice Of Reason]

Have to agree and generally, I've personally been disappointed with his individual performances since he came to Hibs bearing in mind the glowing "references" that Yogi gave him after he signed!

He did play pretty well on Wednesday night though, certainly the best I have seen from him by far, but Saturday was maybe a game too soon for him after his efforts on Wednesday?

Maybe he benefited from having some "workers" alongside him on Wednesday (Stevenson and Galbraith anyone!) whereas that was missing on Saturday!?

I said after the Maribor game at Easter Road that his 2 goals (one deflection) papered over the massive cracks in his performance. I thought he was extremely "one paced" (slow!), couldn't pass or head the ball and his first touch was dreadful.

Yes, he looked a touch better against Dun Utd on Wed, but when you consider that that was probably his best game for us........well that really says it all.

I defy anyone to defend the guy now (he needs more time etc), we are 19 games into the season for christ sake.

It saddens me to say that the guy is a complete dud. He must be one of the higher earners at the club too........criminal. :grr:

Final point - At least Alan O'Brien had pace!!!!! :duck:

[Bostonhibby]

I thought he might come good after a slow start but i'm starting to doubt it now. You're right about his fitness as well.

yogi must have signed him on the strength of the same youtube pictures as me :greengrin

[ronaldo7]

He runs like a lassie:rolleyes:

[Littlest Hobo]

I thought he might come good after a slow start but i'm starting to doubt it now. You're right about his fitness as well.

:agree:

I noticed that he played a couple of dodgy back passes on sat simply because he looked too tired to hold the ball and look around. There was one pass inparticular he played through between two hearts players back towards Hanlon I think it was, that he got away with by the skin of his teeth.

I have no qualms that he does give his all though and he does have decent passing ability.

Am I being too harsh or not:confused:

[bigl]

What are your thoughts on this guy?

My thoughts are that his best years are behind him, he was struggling with the pace of the game on sat.
He sometimes looks like he's blowing out his backside, even in the first few minutes of a game.

We really could have done with someone in the midfield on Sat to help miller out and this guy as far as I'm concerned was found wanting.:rolleyes:
If De Graff's a first eleven player and McBride can't make the squad then I'm a dutchman.:wink:

[The Voice Of Reason]

If De Graff's a first eleven player and McBride can't make the squad then I'm a dutchman.:wink:

:agree: Great point.

[hibee_girl]

I haven't been impressed from the first moment I saw him play (the Maribor game). I was willing to give him a chance as thought it might take him a few games to settle into a new team etc but he's been here 6 months now and he's still the same.

He's the slowest player I've seen at ER for a while and his ability to miss clear chances is second to none.

[Gala Foxes]

has a rare skill to be able to disappear on the pitch for 90 minutes during a game which is some quality given his size/height

reading the press hype when he signed for us you would think he was signing of the century - don't believe the hype!!!

[fife hfc]

He has disappointed there is no doubt about it. But as somebody said above he looked better on Wednesday night when he had players with more pace and drive about them, around him. Him, miller and Murray are all too slow to play together and therefore the midfield struggles, as none of those trio have the energy and workrate required.

I think we could get more games like the Utd game if played with midfielders with higher workrate and energy. He has missed some glaring chances and has probably lost confidence due to this, but he still makes breaks into the box which I do not see other midfielders doing so if he regain confidence and the midfield blend is better, then he may still be an asset (But I cannae see it happening).

[Andy74]

I like him. We've had quite a few games now like Celtic away, Dundee utd away and home, rangers away where he has been very good. His early misses have made a lot of minds up. Some of his touches and passing are way above the wavelength of his current team mates though.

I think the hype before he played hasn't helped expectations but I think he has been a lot better than he is getting credit for.

[eastmainsmsh]

He was playing darts at Ally Pally.... think we have Vincent Van der Voort in our mid:devil:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MG8OfkPHQNQ

[hibsbollah]

I like him. We've had quite a few games now like Celtic away, Dundee utd away and home, rangers away where he has been very good. His early misses have made a lot of minds up. Some of his touches and passing are way above the wavelength of his current team mates though.

I think the hype before he played hasn't helped expectations but I think he has been a lot better than he is getting credit for.

Is there a Hibs player you havent stuck up for at some point?:greengrin IIRC you were championing Alan O Brien right up till the moment he left.

[Andy74]

Is there a Hibs player you havent stuck up for at some point?:greengrin IIRC you were championing Alan O Brien right up till the moment he left.

Just pish ones!

[Broken Gnome]

I can't think of one positive thing contribution he made yesterday. He has had his decent outings, but he's still to have even one stand-out game so far - even allowing for playing in a new league and settling in, we're getting nowhere near enough out of him.

[zlatan]

I honestly only noticed him twice yesterday, his name in the starting line up and when he went down the tunnel at the end. That perhaps says more about me and about how little I paid attention to the game right enough.

[CapitalHibs]

Was touted as the "Dutch Franck Sauzee, wasn't he?:not worth:not worth

[Hiber-nation]

A sort of attack minded Jarkko Wiss who can't run, pass, shoot, tackle or head. Dire.

[IWasThere2016]

A sort of attack minded Jarkko Wiss who can't run, pass, shoot, tackle or head. Dire.

He's a nice guy apparently :wink:

[NaeTechnoHibby]

There are no Dutch footballers at any level who can be that bad.My conclusion is that he's not Dutch!:agree:
When he goes for headers, for a biggish guy wins nothing.He makes token efforts to win tackles.He's slow.He doesn't connect play.Can't defend. Doesn't score.He's like one of these jokers that walk around an office with a clip board who does nothing but keeps his job and no one actually knows who he is or what his job is!

Oi! You are confusing previous Dutch teams with the one that tried to win the 2010 world cup .................. maybe that's what is passed off as Dutch these days :rolleyes:

[Greenblood70]

Pound for pound the worst signing we've ever made...his best years are well behind him as I doubt he could have been as breathtakingly bad in the Dutch league for so long.

Cut our losses and punt him, he's the last type of player we should be relying on in our current predicament as his complete lack of effort at the Pink Palace demonstrated. He should donate his wages for the week to the Dnipro Appeal.

In case anybody is any doubt I can't stand him.

[Danderhall Hibs]

Pound for pound the worst signing we've ever made

I've read this a couple of times now - how much has he cost us?

[Greenblood70]

I've read this a couple of times now - how much has he cost us?

In terms of our wage budget versus his contribution a lot imo. There were noises at the beginning of the season that he accounted for a fair bit of Yogi's budget along with Hart. I'd expect him to be one of our best paid players given his pedigree and experience, wouldn't you? Hardly a quantum leap of imagination or reason to work that out I'd have thought.

[Danderhall Hibs]

In terms of our wage budget versus his contribution a lot imo. There were noises at the beginning of the season that he accounted for a fair bit of Yogi's budget along with Hart. I'd expect him to be one of our best paid players given his pedigree and experience, wouldn't you? Hardly a quantum leap of imagination or reason to work that out I'd have thought.

Suppose not. We never paid a transfer fee or that though did we?

Guesswork goes a long way!

[Shrekko]

I've read this a couple of times now - how much has he cost us?

Must be less than the 200k we paid for Paul Tosh surely? :greengrin

I have to say though that I've now given up hope with De Graff. I think there is/was a player in there but the legs just wont carry him where he needs to be now. I thought at one point he was starting to improve but I'm now convinced that he's the type who needs to get around the park to be effective and he just isnt able.

[Greenblood70]

Suppose not. We never paid a transfer fee or that though did we?

Guesswork goes a long way!

Apologies DH reading my post back it comes accross as a bit aggresive which wasn't my intention as you asked a reasonable question. Your right we didn't pay a transfer fee but given that he was offered a contract by a few clubs (including his own Dutch one) I'm fairly certain we must have paid a decent signing on fee.

Given that versus his imo disastrous form here and our budget currently I'd say it was a reasonable shout to class him as one of our more expensive flops so far.

[blackpoolhibs]

Hopeless, his legs don't seem joined to his feet, and they have no connection to his brain. A complete waste of money.

[Danderhall Hibs]

Apologies DH reading my post back it comes accross as a bit aggresive which wasn't my intention as you asked a reasonable question. Your right we didn't pay a transfer fee but given that he was offered a contract by a few clubs (including his own Dutch one) I'm fairly certain we must have paid a decent signing on fee.

Given that versus his imo disastrous form here and our budget currently I'd say it was a reasonable shout to class him as one of our more expensive flops so far.

You don't need to apologise to me mate - I didn't even notice!

I'm not saying the guy's any good, just seen the comment about an expensive mistake a couple of times now and was wondering what I'd missed.

[basehibby]

I was all for giving him a chance but after 6 months or so I aint been impressed. He does make some nice passes and runs into the box but the legs just don't seem to be there and as a result he just seems to be left behind in too many games.

[Expecting Rain]

It was like playing with 10 men with him in the side, he was either non-exsistent a la Brian Kerr or giving the ball away when he turned up, looks like he was signed on the strength of a youtube video scoring a goal 10 years ago.

[BEEJ]

Given that versus his imo disastrous form here and our budget currently I'd say it was a reasonable shout to class him as one of our more expensive flops so far.


looks like he was signed on the strength of a youtube video scoring a goal 10 years ago.
:agree: I'd agree.

He can play some neat passes in tight areas and there's evidence of a 'footballing brain' in there. However, the body can no longer seem to do what it once did.

Yogi often talked of squad development and how he was working on his 'long-term vision for the club'; but it's frustrating to think how much of our player budget this year we are spending on the likes of De Graaf, Hart and Stack.

[sahib]

What are your thoughts on this guy?

My thoughts are that his best years are behind him, he was struggling with the pace of the game on sat.
He sometimes looks like he's blowing out his backside, even in the first few minutes of a game.

We really could have done with someone in the midfield on Sat to help miller out and this guy as far as I'm concerned was found wanting.:rolleyes:

I thought this the minute I heard we had signed him.
Any thirty year old player who signs for us has about a ninety percent ( instant bogus stats) chance of having his best days behind him. There is always the hope that they can still play sufficiently well to do a good job for a couple of seasons. We could do with a Latapy, Achibald or Joe Mcbride type signing right now.

[Green_one]

Unimpressed.

Waste of wages.

Boozy was a much better and I suspect cheaper investment.

Not convinced about playing him with Miller either.

[NAE NOOKIE]

First things first. Edwin lasted the vast majority of his career in a league which as a rule is way above the standard of the SPL and from what I gather he was very popular with the fans of clubs he played for. So hats off and respect to him for that.

But .... During the Maribor game he was given a chase onto a ball down the byline after about 60 minutes and you could see he was blowing oot his erse as they say.

Since that game his speed has not improved by even half a yard. His jumping for the ball in midfield would put an East of Scotland league player to shame and his tackling is at best half hearted.

Add to that the fact that the two things old age shouldnt affect, control of the ball and the ability to see and execute a pass, do not appear in Edwin's case to be of the high standard you would expect to see and you are left with one conclusion:

The guy is past it and the sooner he is shipped back to Holland to grow Tulips or whatever the better.

Sorry Edwin

[Gmack7]

wooden

[snooky]

He runs like a lassie:rolleyes:

:agree: ... and a slow one at that.

[Albion Hibs]

Was suprised he played the full game on Saturday. If he is not going to produce going forward then other than a few inches in height I dont see why he would get played ahead of Rankin. At least with Rankin you know he can travel with the ball, will work hard when we dont have the ball, and once every season scores a raker.

[At The Edge]

I'll hold my hands up here, i was one of the ones who thought that he would come good.......
Apart from a few decentish games over the period hes been here, he has been mince.

Confession over:greengrin

[.Sean.]

He's poor, he runs like he's wearing clogs.

[Dirkster23]

Hopeless, his legs don't seem joined to his feet, and they have no connection to his brain. A complete waste of money.

But surely it's just because he's surrounded by crap players? after all, that's the only reason Liam Miller's not kicked a ball in months :rolleyes:

[Big Frank]

He's garbage.

One (of many) reason(s) that we are where we are.

Would not care a jot if he never pulled on the famous green again.

[HibbyAndy]

He runs like a lassie:rolleyes:

He runs like Lee Evans.

[Craig_in_Prague]

Was suprised he played the full game on Saturday. If he is not going to produce going forward then other than a few inches in height I dont see why he would get played ahead of Rankin. At least with Rankin you know he can travel with the ball, will work hard when we dont have the ball, and once every season scores a raker.

That's the problem. Neither are good enough!

We need to finally get decent players in, we've been declining YOY since 2006/07 and how the hell we came 4th last season makes you wonder.

Anyway, I'm very happy nearly the whole squad are out of contract soon, we need to get more quality in over quantity, and supplement the squad with the best of youth available and a couple of loans.

[Saorsa]

About as much use as a pogo stick on quicksand.

[3pm]

Was suprised he played the full game on Saturday. If he is not going to produce going forward then other than a few inches in height I dont see why he would get played ahead of Rankin. At least with Rankin you know he can travel with the ball, will work hard when we dont have the ball, and once every season scores a raker.

Rankin scored his goal for the season. Based on the above, he shouldn't play again.

[HibbyAndy]

About as much use as a pogo stick on quicksand.

:hilarious

Or as much use as an ashtray on a motorbike :greengrin

[Albion Hibs]

Rankin scored his goal for the season. Based on the above, he shouldn't play again.


Was not asking him to play as a striker, but a midfielder that take a ball and passes it to a player on the same team, for the avoidance of doubt rocketing a pass at one of your team mates midriffs does not count. I would play rankin in front of De Graff.

[HamiltonHibee]

Quite simply the worst player i have ever seen

[CropleyWasGod]

Quite simply the worst player i have ever seen

You really ought to get to more games :greengrin

[hibsbollah]

Quite simply the worst player i have ever seen

Now thats hyperbole:thumbsup:

[Judas Iscariot]

Quite simply the worst player i have ever seen

You really haven't seen much football then eh

[Loopz]

Posted this after our pre season friendly against The Pars. I think its what they call optimism.

This is not meant to seem negative only informed observation but MH really struggled on Saturday. Miscontrolled a couple of awkward height balls and at one point ended up on his rear end after losing a ball and didn't make the effort to get up never mind get up and chase the ball. De Graff kept it simple and never gave the ball away, but on a couple of occassions did not make himself available for moves he could have got involved in. He also looked ungainly whilst running. I hope some hard work in pre season will help both players but in MH situation I can find no excuse why a player would be so out of shape at any stage of his playing career. David Stephens on the other hand looks like a star already, never mind a hopeful prospect.