23 Oct 2011: Ajax - Feyenoord

[Orange14]

Did we watch the same game? I don't see how you can say the defense was solid -- they were running through it almost at will. Did Vermeer come up with save after brilliant save after brilliant save and in the end have to take a yellow card to prevent another goal because the defense was solid?

Vermeer got a straight Red and not a yellow. It's not the defense but the terrible midfield that cannot control the ball. Janssen cannot be on the field except to take free kicks and until the rules of the game are changed to allow a designated free kick taker, he has no place on this team. I was hoping the move to a more central position would help but unfortunately he is too slow to play at an up tempo game that is required of this team. Until FdB sorts out the problems in the midfield we are likely to see more matches like this one. You cannot build up an offense unless you can go up the middle since the flanks are too easily pinned against the touch line.

[kezme44]

VdW terrible, de jong useless

[Orange14]

Fortunately we dodged a bullet today as other than AZ who beat 10 man Roda, the other top teams all drew.

[ofey]

I haven't been around much due to the new job.
Caught the 2nd half of this last night here.
Unrecognisable Ajax.
Theo hasn't made the step up to playing for Ajax.

I suspect our lack of depth really is the real hinderance. Too many of the players are simply thinking: "so what if I've had a shit game, no one really to replace me..."

Signing Bulykin was useless. He's nothing more than a battering ram which doesn't fit the Ajax way.

Did anyone else notice Denis's look on the bench?
He looked indignant almost. Was he thinking: " I can't believe how this mob is playing for Ajax. In my time, they wouldn't have even made our reserves... ."
The quality we had on the field was so poor, I reckon playing Denis for the last 10 minutes would have provided us a much needed injection of class.

[SPL]

You are right we do not have depth.Take out El H, Aissati and Silva ignore Verhoeven and we have 21 first team players some of whom are not good to be picked ie Lodeiro Blind and Ozbiliz Ebecilo and Serero not ready and when fit are just filling the bench add Ooijer who should have retired and that leaves us with just 15 main players who have been used and Sigthorsson is out until January .

So we are at present picking our starting lineup from no more than 12 or 13 regular 1st teamers with kids barely out the A1 youth making up numbers .

We do have a very small squad when you look at it . And certain of those 12 or 13 are not good enough !

[Philippe]

We do have a very small squad when you look at it

I fully agree. And the number of currently injured players only makes things worse, with on top of that too little rest after the CL game.

But Vermeer had a great game. Really. He is the one who owned us one point.

Well, we fought back didn't we ? And avoided an humiliating defeat. That's something.

[Orange14]

We do have a very small squad when you look at it . And certain of those 12 or 13 are not good enough !

The problem is that club really doesn't have any excess funds to build a proper club that can compete in the CL. Of course this is the same problem that all of the Dutch teams have and if you look down the list of the top six/seven teams, they all are in the same place. An injury or two coupled with yellow/red card suspensions and the team is in a real bind. As I recall only Lodeiro was a long term injury player last season and this year we already have Sigthorsson, Ozbilitz and Boilesen out for prolonged periods (don't know how much longer Ebecilio will be out). The only real solution is to incorporate the youth players at a faster rate (which the team did last season with Ozbilitz and Ebecilio). It's a tough call any way you look at it.

[Kowalczyk]

VdW terrible, de jong useless

Yes.

Same goes for Eriksen and Sulejmani and perhaps a few others as well.

K.

[SPL]

Orange 14 agree with your last post but we are different from the other 6 or 7 because no other team would keep Aissati in the reserves and El Ham would start with any other team in Holland .And of course no other team would spend over 3m euros on a young sub goalie when they had Padt and Bizot who are both Dutch U 21 squad players . That 3m would have been spent on another centre back as back up beacause Ooijer should be retired.

I am not saying Cillessen is no good and he is better than Padt Bizot but come on 3m for a sub goalie, no other team would pay that for a first choice(Steks cost 6m and Vorm only cost 1.5m and they are the Dutch 1 and 2 at present)

PS things must be bad when Ko agrees with players being poor.

[kezme44]

VdW terrible, de jong useless

Yes.

Same goes for Eriksen and Sulejmani and perhaps a few others as well.

K.

It was amazing how easily VdW was beaten every time. Their wingers practically could walk around him. More disturbing is perhaps the center of the defense. Toby has not looked sharp at all so far. I have no words for de jong. Sulejmani was not in the game the second he stared. Looks like he might have nursed an injury.
All in all, same shit as in every previous 7 seasons. We are behind in a league where leaders don't give away a lot of points and it's going to be an uphill climb the second half.

[Manneken Pis]

We are behind in a league where leaders don't give away a lot of points and it's going to be an uphill climb the second half.

Just like last year then...

[Over Pasanens Head]

Dear Ajax and Feyenoord,

Many thanks for allowing me to catch up on my sleep (and I was in the Arena !!!!!!).

Two teams devoid of passion and creativity - what the heck is happening to these two big clubs?

[Orange14]

Orange 14 agree with your last post but we are different from the other 6 or 7 because no other team would keep Aissati in the reserves and El Ham would start with any other team in Holland .And of course no other team would spend over 3m euros on a young sub goalie when they had Padt and Bizot who are both Dutch U 21 squad players . That 3m would have been spent on another centre back as back up beacause Ooijer should be retired.

I am not saying Cillessen is no good and he is better than Padt Bizot but come on 3m for a sub goalie, no other team would pay that for a first choice(Steks cost 6m and Vorm only cost 1.5m and they are the Dutch 1 and 2 at present)

Because we are Ajax, other Eredisie teams charge a 25% (minimum) premium on transfers. It's management's fault for paying the extortion rather than saying, here is the offer, accept it or walk. I'm sure Utrect would have charged us €3M for Vorm would we have gone after him. Because we have not had any continuity in the player management area (trainer and technical director) we end up buying players who are of little use to the next trainer who comes in (Aissati was bought by van Basten and El Hamdaoui by Jol). About the only quality player we got on the cheap in recent years was Pantelic who was only in the squad for a season as we did not want to give a multi-year contract to an over 30 player. Right now we have a semi-technical director in Blind who has a major conflict in that his son is clearly deemed by FdB not to be good enough. Will we try to unload him? I don't know.

[SPL]

I do realise we get charged over the odds by other dutch teams (and in Sulejmani's case words still fail me we paid 16m , even 6m would have been over priced .) Even if we had paid only 1m for Cillessen I was just trying to point out that no other Dutch team would pay money for a sub goalie .

Starting a game with a useless midfielder as striker,who should be playing back at de Graafschap at best, and leaving El Ham in the wilderness actually wants to make me cry for my team . I am no El H fan but he does score goals regularly , de Jong in the team is a joke. Yes he did have a purple patch last season and scored some important goals but this season week in week out he should not be wearing an Ajax shirt but then again he is not the only one.

At least the non defending right back did not give away any soft penalties this week.

[Blind3]

Crappy result . Can't afford the bobbles if we're to remain in the race.