Why are we playing so bad?!

[666]

That's why he usually plays #11. How many of those 21 games did Koe and Blind field him as a striker?

Too bad we don't have anyone else for the left wing position, 'cos things would be a lot easier for him if he could get some eredivisie time on the right wing. A long long long long time ago Bergkamp started on the #7 spot too.

However, Babel does not even remotely come close to that kind of strike rate. I think that we brought him up too early. Either that or he is just not No. 9 or 10 material.

[cdnajaxfan]

I I agree Trabelsi is unlikely to go in January but as for Pienaar the press over here are predicting he will leave for free next summer. He is playing well but is injury prone. Maxwell was going to be sold pre season but for his injury. De Jong !!! who knows.

IMO, these players WILL leave at the end of this season:

Pienaar
Sneijder (NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! Not my fav Ajax player!)
Trabelsi
Maxwell
De Jong
Galasek

I don't think that Maduro will leave until the end of next season. If we do sell him, we had better get a bunch of cash for him. He will eventually go to Juve though but that may be a mistake for his career though. He will just sit on the bench behind Viera and Emerson.

I think we will get fair compensation for Sneijder (I dont think that 10 Million is out of line) and I think that Maxwell will make sure that we get some money for resigning him while he was injured (6 million from Chelsea is what I heard). I think that we will get around 5 million for De Jong who I could see at Man U.

Galasek will go to either the EPL or Germany. Not sure where Sneijder or Trabelsi will end up though.

[Philippe]

because the Club is run by someone who does not know a thing about football

[cdnajaxfan]

When Koeman resigned last year, I do not remember things being as bad as things are now! YES, we got punted in CL group stage for the second year in a row but we had Juve and Bayern in our group so that was understandable. Yes, we lost a close one against Auxerre in Uefa Cup. However, we still ended up finishing 2nd overall in the league.

However, for some strange reason, we are probably going to qualify for round 2 of the CL. That MUST be the ONLY thing that is saving Blind from either resigning or being forced to resign!

I said a long time ago that Blind was not ready for this job and that we would end up getting stuck with him, even with Cryuff recommending Neeskins. Even worse now, we let Marco go to the National Team and AC Milan is tapping him up to replace Ancellotti! I was hoping he would come back and coach Ajax. X'C

[Philippe]

the problem is not Blind, the problem is the mess that's been made during the last 18 months, starting with van Gaal being sacked, and going on and on with those stupid buys and sells

short term policy is killing us

[Over Pasanens Head]

However, for some strange reason, we are probably going to qualify for round 2 of the CL. That MUST be the ONLY thing that is saving Blind from either resigning or being forced to resign!

Give me a break for goodness sake.

The guy has only been in the job 2 minutes and we are expecting miracles from him. The place was in an absolute mess and as is the case so often, things have to get worse before they get better. Blind is working towards a long term objective and that is fine by me as I have confidence in this guy to get us where we all want to be.

One of the biggest problems he is faced with is the attitude of the players. Resolution of this type of problem just doesn't happen overnight, so lets all calm down and give the guy a chance.

[Frans]

When Koeman resigned last year, I do not remember things being as bad as things are now! YES, we got punted in CL group stage for the second year in a row but we had Juve and Bayern in our group so that was understandable. Yes, we lost a close one against Auxerre in Uefa Cup. However, we still ended up finishing 2nd overall in the league.

When Koeman resigned things weren't as bad in the eredivisie as they are now, but they weren't as good as they ended up being. Remember Ajax moved up to 2nd on the back of an 8 game winning streak under Blind at the end of the season, which included wins over AZ and Feyenoord. Don't try and make Koeman's performance better than it was. Finishing 2nd in the league was not his accomplishment.

[AsgAarD_xxx]

Don't try and make Koeman's performance better than it was. Finishing 2nd in the league was not his accomplishment.

Yeah, I agree... Koeman's accomplishment was that we were only at 2nd place :sad:

[LucaS]

The 3 years Koeman put Ajax in the crisis we're in right now. The fucker screwed everything Ajax stands for..

[Kowalczyk]

The 3 years Koeman put Ajax in the crisis we're in right now. The fucker screwed everything Ajax stands for..

I'm 100% on your side on this one.

K.

[SPL]

I made a posting about Blind under the Twente game thread but felt I should continue under this thread.

I think we should continue with Blind. He will have to rebuild and should not be judged until next season .

I have made my comments on players going but we will, come the end of the season , need to bring in some new faces and Blind knows the Ajax system and we must trust that he will bring in players who will fit into it.

We all want Champions League football next season but maybe it would not do the team any harm if they play in the UEFA Cup where they will not be in the limelight so much and we can regroup and develop into a winning combination.

I am not sure it has done us many favours that all our young players are being fast streamed into the Dutch side. Getting international experience is great but IMO Babel, Emanuelson , Maduro should all still be in the u21's.
Heitinga is not good enough , De Jong and Steks are good enough as understudies and so is Sneijder. Instead they have all been rushed into the national team and must all think they have made it. And all the rich teams in Europe are now circling around us like vultures.

These are just a few of my thoughts which I am sure some of you will shoot down.

[SE6Ajacied]

And all the rich teams in Europe are now circling around us like vultures.

These are just a few of my thoughts which I am sure some of you will shoot down.

Well I for one won't be shooting that down. It's funny isn't it...not particularly applying to any of the players you've named but in any under-performing team it's always the coach who gets sacked and (forget the contract py-off for a moment) is left unemployed whilst the players almost always seem to go on to an improved contract either at their presernt club or elsewhere. Just one of lifes little ponderables on modern football.

[aveslacker]

I am not sure it has done us many favours that all our young players are being fast streamed into the Dutch side. Getting international experience is great but IMO Babel, Emanuelson , Maduro should all still be in the u21's.
Heitinga is not good enough , De Jong and Steks are good enough as understudies and so is Sneijder. Instead they have all been rushed into the national team and must all think they have made it. And all the rich teams in Europe are now circling around us like vultures.

These are just a few of my thoughts which I am sure some of you will shoot down.

I completely agree with this. It seems like when one of our young players does well, he gets a callup to Oranje and then gets a big head when he comes back. Afterwards his play suffers - he tends to think he's got it made and doesn't need to work or something. Heitinga and De Jong are great examples.

I remember last year, when de Jong was playing well, he said something to the effect that he should be playing right midfield and nowhere else, or that he wouldn't stay unless he played right mid. WTF? He is way too young to be saying things like that. A few good games does not make a good player, right Mr. Van der Meyde?

Personally, I think it would might be better for these talented young players (Urby, de Jong, Maduro, even Heitinga) if they don't get called up right away. Let them develop and mature a little bit. That way, they have a better chance of not burning out, and both club and national teams can get a lot more use out of them.

[cdnajaxfan]

We are officially off to our worst Dutch League start in 41 years (at least)! Now, we are in 9th place after another loss. There is no one else other than Blind to blame because it is his job and ultimately his responsibility that his players are motivated enough to win games. Obviously, he has been unable to do this as all of the Champions League "successes" seem have been due to individual players self-motivating themselves (de Jong, Sneijder, Yannis...).

If you want to blame whoever decided to bring Blind in as coach, then ok, that is fair game. They made a bad mistake not taking the advice of one of the greatest players of all time, and probably this club's greatest player. However, to blame everyone else under the sun but Blind for our poor results this year is incorrect. Is it Jaake's fault that the players were not motivated? Is it Arie's fault? Is is van Geel's fault? How about Koeman's fault? No, obviously not. However, if you want to say why our teams sucks in terms of player quality, yes, then by all means blame these people. But this is obviously not the case as we have a much better team "on paper" than 9th place!

Hey, Ho, Blind must go!

[Over Pasanens Head]

Hey, Ho, Blind must go!

And be replaced by whom? I mean the whole world is awash with great coaches that would want to come to a club in Amsterdam which doesn't give two seconds to a coach. Oh and of course another change will do wonders will it?

Too many people today expect too much from our club due to the succes it enjoyed in the 90's. They expect each year to be one of great success. I will let you into a secret:-

LIFE JUST ISN'T LIKE THAT :nooo:

So for friggin sake give the club a chance.

[jakobg]

So for friggin sake give the club a chance.

Well, I'd rather say: Give the coach a chance. You can't expect a coach to make a team that's crap a much better team within a short time, with the same players.

[bryan]

However, Babel does not even remotely come close to that kind of strike rate.

That doesn't suprise me, he hasn't been playing as a striker.

You can't compare his strike rate as a winger to Rosenberg's strike rate as a striker, that's like comparing apples and oranges.

[Ayman]

I dont know about you guys, but I think if Blind doesnt get a result against RKC, then he will may quit, or sooner or later anyway. Surely the man has some pride.

[Frans]

Too many people today expect too much from our club due to the succes it enjoyed in the 90's. They expect each year to be one of great success. I will let you into a secret:-

LIFE JUST ISN'T LIKE THAT :nooo:

So for friggin sake give the club a chance.

I agree the coach should be given a chance but when you can field a team with 11 players with international experience, many of them seasoned national team players, then there is no way you can excuse being below teams like Utrecht and RKC near the midpoint of the season. You cannot say we have less quality than those teams. That is bullshit. This team has the players to be at the very least in the top 5 of the league. 9th is not good enough. I still think Blind should be given till at least the season's end.

Additionally I think if the team had scored a few goals at the beginning of the season, there would be no troubles right now. They were playing well, but lack of goals led to a drop in confidence and the play went with it.

[cdnajaxfan]

Hey, Ho, Blind must go!

And be replaced by whom? I mean the whole world is awash with great coaches that would want to come to a club in Amsterdam which doesn't give two seconds to a coach. Oh and of course another change will do wonders will it?

Too many people today expect too much from our club due to the succes it enjoyed in the 90's. They expect each year to be one of great success. I will let you into a secret:-

LIFE JUST ISN'T LIKE THAT :nooo:

So for friggin sake give the club a chance.

Look at Alex McLeish at Rangers, his job is in severe jeapordy and his team is only in 4th place, not 9th like ours! He even won the Scottish League for them last year!

Blind has already had many chances IMO. We probably have a better team than Wigan who are or were in 2nd place in the EPL. They are winning because the coach knows how to get the most out his players and gets them to play like a team.

Bottom line: Blind is not doing the job, any way you look at it. Blind was too inexperienced when he took over. He needed more time with the reserves before he took over the first team. It is not his fault but it is time for someone to remedy the mistake.

[cdnajaxfan]

However, Babel does not even remotely come close to that kind of strike rate.

That doesn't suprise me, he hasn't been playing as a striker.

You can't compare his strike rate as a winger to Rosenberg's strike rate as a striker, that's like comparing apples and oranges.

OK, let's compare him to wingers then. Look at Andy van Der Meyde, he had a pretty good strike rate as a winger when he was with us. So did Mitea when he was healthy. Compare them to Babel and it is night and day. We are relying on Babel and Rosales to feed our strikers. No wonder we suck so bad this year! Boukhari is our only decent winger until Mitea is fit.

[cdnajaxfan]

Too many people today expect too much from our club due to the succes it enjoyed in the 90's. They expect each year to be one of great success. I will let you into a secret:-

LIFE JUST ISN'T LIKE THAT :nooo:

So for friggin sake give the club a chance.

I agree the coach should be given a chance but when you can field a team with 11 players with international experience, many of them seasoned national team players, then there is no way you can excuse being below teams like Utrecht and RKC near the midpoint of the season. You cannot say we have less quality than those teams. That is bullshit. This team has the players to be at the very least in the top 5 of the league. 9th is not good enough. I still think Blind should be given till at least the season's end.

Additionally I think if the team had scored a few goals at the beginning of the season, there would be no troubles right now. They were playing well, but lack of goals led to a drop in confidence and the play went with it.

That is the point that I have been trying to drive home. We are under-performing and you have to blame the coach for that. I do feel bad for Blind though, he was pushed in too early. I am not so sure that we should let him stay much longer however. UEFA Cup? At this rate, we could even get relegated!

If the club has any sense, I think that they will keep him until the Winter Break and then get rid of him. Replace him with Neeskins as Cryuff told them to last year. They should listen to Cryuff, he has won a few tropies in his time, he must know something more about footie than a lawyer.

[Over Pasanens Head]

That is the point that I have been trying to drive home. We are under-performing and you have to blame the coach for that. I do feel bad for Blind though, he was pushed in too early. I am not so sure that we should let him stay much longer however. UEFA Cup? At this rate, we could even get relegated!

If the club has any sense, I think that they will keep him until the Winter Break and then get rid of him. Replace him with Neeskins as Cryuff told them to last year. They should listen to Cryuff, he has won a few tropies in his time, he must know something more about footie than a lawyer.

I really cannot see how you can continue to put all of the blame on Blind, but its your view and you are entitled to it. What I find even more worrying is that you want to want to replace Blind with Neeskins. :nooo:
To say that we should always take notice of Cruijff just because he won trophies is absolutely stupid. The game is littered with ex great players that you wouldn't trust their opinion off the field. Cruijff is a political animal and as such I feel that he would rather win a political battle by extending his influence at Ajax than resolve a problem.

[Over Pasanens Head]

Boukhari is our only decent winger until Mitea is fit.

Boukhari and decent in the same sentance just doesn't fit.

[cdnajaxfan]

I really cannot see how you can continue to put all of the blame on Blind, but its your view and you are entitled to it. What I find even more worrying is that you want to want to replace Blind with Neeskins. .

Player motivation and tactics are the coach's responsibility last time I checked. That is why I blame Blind but not more than the morons who threw him into the job with very little coaching experience at a time of crisis.

However, there has to be a "fall guy" and he is it. There are concepts called accountability and responsibility and when your team is under-performing the way Ajax are now, the coach has to be accountable to the club and has to shoulder the blame, right or wrong as it may be. It's too bad, he probably would have been a good coach if they gave him more time with the reserves but the KNVB took van Basten so Blind came in by default.

When your team is off to the worst start in over 41 years, it is not a player quality problem man! I don't think we lost too much player quality once VDV and De Ridder left to blame the quality of the squad for such poor performance.

BTW, I can't see Neeskins being worse than Blind. At least he had more experience than Blind. Actually, my vote is for Roy Keane to take over as coach! If he can't motivate the Ajax players than no one can!