Ajaxtalk

Player thread for Atouba!

Ex-Spurs. Ex-HSV. 40 caps for Cameroon. Defender. Third time for him to play under Martin Jol. Free transfer. Committed to Ajax 'til July 2013.

News report on Ajax.nl (English);

http://english.ajax.nl/News/Archive/Art ... Atouba.htm

K.

Timothee Atouba: Ajax Are A Bigger Club Than Tottenham Hotspur Or Hamburg

The left-back can hardly wait to play his first match for Ajax. He feels he is making a step-up in his career, despite having previously played amongst England and Germany's elite...
Eredivisie giants Ajax lost left-back Thomas Vermaelen to Arsenal this summer, but the Amsterdam side were quick to sign a replacement in the form of Timothee Atouba, who has made it clear that he's keen to get going with a club he thinks is bigger than previous employers Tottenham Hotspur and Hamburg.

"The Eredivisie might be not as big as the Bundesliga, but there's no doubt about it - Ajax are bigger than Tottenham Hotspur and Hamburg," said Atouba to De Telegraaf. "The challenge to play for an illustrious team is more important for me than the money at this point of my career.

"It took me two weeks before I obtained a work permit. However, that doesn't mean that I haven't done anything in those weeks. I've trained really hard in Germany and Cameroon and I'm fully match fit.

"The trainer is the one who makes the final decision about my first appearance. Nevertheless, I hope that I can make my debut in the friendly match against Atletico Madrid on Friday."

Well, at least he's smart enough to say the right things.

aveslacker schreef:Well, at least he's smart enough to say the right things.

Yeah, you have to give him that.

Well done.

K.

This dude is... weird.

He does weird things.

K.

Kowalczyk schreef:This dude is... weird.

He does weird things.

K.

And it can really be maddening for a manager. Fortunately, Jol must be used to this.

If he is a defender who does maddening things, he should feel right at home in our back line.

He's a total nutbox, if he played for any other team I'd enjoy watch him being a complete psycho :)

I'm still holding out hope, but yeah, weird is a good way to describe his play so far. I don't think he's the defensive answer we've been looking for, but I still hope he can make some positive impact. In that regard, I guess he will be successful if he doesn't turn into another Colin.

gordonvandekamp schreef:I'm still holding out hope, but yeah, weird is a good way to describe his play so far. I don't think he's the defensive answer we've been looking for, but I still hope he can make some positive impact. In that regard, I guess he will be successful if he doesn't turn into another Colin.

He's a typical african defender, strong and physical, but sometimes makes you scratch your head. He wont be another colin, no way,hes a national team player with a lot of internacional experience in very well known teams (Hamburg,Totenham).

He's a great athlete with awesome touch on the ball. And that's the problem. If he just kept it simple and didn't try to do anything outlandish he'd be a fine defender.

Ajaxfanuk schreef:He's a total nutbox, if he played for any other team I'd enjoy watch him being a complete psycho :)

bingo!

he has been left out out from the 19-man squad for tomorrow with sparta rotterdam!

orange goblin schreef:he has been left out out from the 19-man squad for tomorrow with sparta rotterdam!

I think he can be injured.

He does not look as though he can defend that well I would rather have Vertonghen at left back and he is a midfielder.

SPL schreef:He does not look as though he can defend that well I would rather have Vertonghen at left back and he is a midfielder.

Because the one thing this team does not have enough of is midfielders.

the good thing is he has a fair bit of pace, and hes big and strong.. and certainly a strong tackler.. hes got a good tough but can be a bit wild at times, i think if he settles in a bit more and thinks more defencive then he will be a good addition

afcajax73 schreef:the good thing is he has a fair bit of pace, and hes big and strong.. and certainly a strong tackler.. hes got a good tough but can be a bit wild at times, i think if he settles in a bit more and thinks more defencive then he will be a good addition

That's my sense, too. Once he stopped trying to do stupid things with the ball, he was pretty good, imo. He's certainly an excellent athlete.

dropped again for Heracles.

I hope Atouba gains confidence and becomes a basis player. He sure has potential.

I'm sure pulling for Thimothee Atouba to settle in and make the LB slot his own. I seem to recall a rather rash , red carded (at F-word) Hatem Trabelsi having a few less than stellar moments before he settled in and did pretty darn well. Back to Atouba , You don't earn playing time at Tottenham , Hamburger SV , and the Cameroon national side without being very talented. I have faith in BMJ on this one. He knows the player well . I think Atouba will progress, perhaps slowly, until his play means we no longer have to play Urby Emanuelson or Jan Vertonghen there.

What has become of my friend Thimothée ? in recent games he was not even on the bench

He was on the bench for Young Ajax vs Young PSV, reportedly because he showed up an hour late...

Something tells me this is gonna be a very short Ajax career and a classic 'bad buy'.

I don't think we'll see much of him in Ajax-1 anymore.

K.

Would agree Urby and Anita are sharing the left back slot and I do not see this guy playing again. We may have signed him on a free but wasn't it 2 years at 1.4m pa salary.