Other Eredivisie Teams

[carcajou]

To me Lyon is a far better team. french club football is also better than the Eredivisie in my book and I both hope and believe that PSV will get a thrashing. :yes:

PSV hooligans rioted with the police in Lyon this afternoon (mainly throwing bottles). Of course they got the beating they deserved :D

[Blind3]

I say 5:2 Lyon over two legs.3:1 today and 1:2 in Eindhoven.

[Kowalczyk]

They remained upright once again...

F#cking hell, those guys are a million (no: ten million!) times better than us and I can't stand it. I mean: what happened...? They really must have done everything right since last season - and we've done everything wrong. But even if you accept that fact the huge difference in quality is unbelievable and almost impossible to explain...

I just don't understand and at the moment I can hardly watch them... They're so much better than us that it hurts.

K.

[Philippe]

What do they have that we do not have ? Simple : they fight for victory (a bit too rough to my taste by the way). But apart from the striker they do not have better individuals than us. So no big deal :D

[Manneken Pis]

What do they have that we do not have ? Simple : they fight for victory (a bit too rough to my taste by the way). But apart from the striker they do not have better individuals than us. So no big deal :D

I actually think they are stretching the luck fact to the extreme in the CL.

Yes, in the Eredivisie they are a step above the rest, but in Europe, when they have posession, they are incapable of lifting the tempo (movement and passing) to create an opening. Opportunities only come from someone on the flanks diving and the resulting set piece going in. Their defence doesn't look that solid and Alex has to be the least agile/technically gifted Brazilian I've seen (it was definitely an own goal by him last night). Cocu's goal was very much the exception. They do have team spirit and grit I will admit, and they have done incredibly well to get this far (and for the sake of Dutch rankings with UEFA I hope they carry on), but that does not change the fact that they are riding their luck.

"Lucky Ajax" gimme a break!











Not that I'm bitter or anything :hypocrite:

[carcajou]

They remained upright once again...

F#cking hell, those guys are a million (no: ten million!) times better than us and I can't stand it. I mean: what happened...? They really must have done everything right since last season - and we've done everything wrong. But even if you accept that fact the huge difference in quality is unbelievable and almost impossible to explain...

I just don't understand and at the moment I can hardly watch them... They're so much better than us that it hurts.

K.

Or more likely it's just that Lyon lacked efficiency and killer spirit in front of the goal and PSV was VERY lucky to score in the end after ahaving been overplayed all game long. I guess they'll be out in a week.

[Frans]

They really must have done everything right since last season
K.

All they lost since last season was their front line. They improved their midfield with Cocu, and their defence with Alex. Then they just replaced their forwards with marginally less talented (but much less fragile) others. They then proceeded to get lucky with the draw in europe and Ajax deciding to take an extended holiday. Combine that with a coach who isn't a complete retard and you're bound to have a reasonable season.

Maybe a telling factor is the inability of Van Bommel to sell himself last summer. Perhaps Ajax may be as 'lucky' this summer and still have a few 'stars' left next year for Blind to build a team around.

[666]

I remember Ajax escaping with a 1-1 draw in Valencia...

and losing against Inter but then Rosenborg scored against Lyon to save our ass...

this was after the infamous Lyon-Ajax 0-2...

three narrow escapes within one month!

And and and ...

"Lucky Ajax" gimme a break!

[Philippe]

for the sake of Dutch rankings with UEFA I hope they carry on

I agree with you. But the semi-final will be enough. ;)

[Manneken Pis]

I remember Ajax escaping with a 1-1 draw in Valencia...

and losing against Inter but then Rosenborg scored against Lyon to save our ass...

this was after the infamous Lyon-Ajax 0-2...

three narrow escapes within one month!

And and and ...

I remember Crespo scoring on Inter's only attack of the game.

I remember injury time away at AC Milan.

I remember......well you get the idea.....point taken, i didn't mean to say Ajax are unlucky....just that P$V are lucky at present.

[Over Pasanens Head]

I remember Crespo scoring on Inter's only attack of the game.

If it was their only attack how comes the final score was 2-1 in their favour.

[Kowalczyk]

I remember Crespo scoring on Inter's only attack of the game.

If it was their only attack how comes the final score was 2-1 in their favour.

That was the away game at San Siro... Ajax looked really good over there and Crespo (indeed) scored from Inter's only real chance.

The way game was a different story: Ajax scored an early goal that never should have been disallowed, but after that you could just feel it coming. You knew that we were not going to score and Inter most definitely were. I believe Crespo scored both goals for Inter in that game (1-2 at the ArenA).

The key difference: at the ArenA it felt like Inter were 'in control' all the time (in spite of the fact that Ajax had more possession). In Milan it did not feel like they were in control.

K.

[bluedaddy19]

What do they have that we do not have ? Simple : they fight for victory (a bit too rough to my taste by the way). But apart from the striker they do not have better individuals than us. So no big deal :D

I actually think they are stretching the luck fact to the extreme in the CL.

Yes, in the Eredivisie they are a step above the rest, but in Europe, when they have posession, they are incapable of lifting the tempo (movement and passing) to create an opening. Opportunities only come from someone on the flanks diving and the resulting set piece going in. Their defence doesn't look that solid and Alex has to be the least agile/technically gifted Brazilian I've seen (it was definitely an own goal by him last night). Cocu's goal was very much the exception. They do have team spirit and grit I will admit, and they have done incredibly well to get this far (and for the sake of Dutch rankings with UEFA I hope they carry on), but that does not change the fact that they are riding their luck.

"Lucky Ajax" gimme a break!











Not that I'm bitter or anything :hypocrite:

not only that, but they have been getting all the calls this season; 4 PKs in a match (none of which were legit, mind you), VofH handling on the opener against UGHrecht last week, etc.

[carcajou]

Villareal - AZ : 1-2................ :nooo:
Why can't be the winners for a change...........

[Number9]

Not the "lucky" discussion again...

[Manneken Pis]

Not the "lucky" discussion again...

I don't think so....they played very well....saved a penalty that should never have been awarded....and gave as good as they got...I really hope they win the damn thing.

Timmer should be Ajax's goalie....

[Michael_B]

He was...

[Manneken Pis]

He was...

I know...

Another great management decision....

[Kowalczyk]

They keep amazing me... They were great. Villarreal were absolutely not the better team from what I've seen. Fantastic stuff. They can win the UEFA Cup, believe it or not. They can win it.

As for 'luck'... Pointless discussion. In most cases a team is seen as 'lucky' because their opponent failed to do the business and score the goals. Failing to score is not bad luck, it's a lack of quality. A team that doesn't score deserves to lose.

I almost never feel that Ajax were 'unlucky'. We either do the business (that is: winning) or we fail (that is: not winning). Plain simple. Same goes for every other team. I don't think we were 'lucky' to beat Den Bosch in the last minute. Neither do I think we were 'unlucky' to lose to Heerenveen in the 89th. Who cares? It's a goal - and that's the only thing that counts.

K.

[Michael_B]

He was...

I know...

Another great management decision....

Jep...But ofcourse it is obvious Vonk and Boschker were better options...

[Kowalczyk]

I think Vonk is a great goalkeeper. Just as good as Timmer, or almost. He was a very good choice. Boschker much less so. He always made many mistakes for Twente and I'm glad he never got to play a game for us...

K.

[carcajou]

I think Vonk is a great goalkeeper. Just as good as Timmer, or almost. He was a very good choice. Boschker much less so. He always made many mistakes for Twente and I'm glad he never got to play a game for us...

K.

After the year of France in the European cups (Monaco and Marseille last year), will it be Holland's this one ??

[Kowalczyk]

After the year of France in the European cups (Monaco and Marseille last year), will it be Holland's this one ??

Depends... I don't think PSV or AZ will win the cup, eventually, but they both do spectacularly well and it's been a long time ago that Holland still had two teams in Europe in April (and they both grabbed a promising result in the first game, too).

PSV have had a terrible record in the Champions League (never made it through the group stage for ten years), but they really are making up for it. They are now at the same point where Ajax were in 2003 (quarter final - and a draw in the first leg), although it can't be totally compared: in 2003 the Champions League still had two group stages - and (in total) more games than it has now. I'm not sure what's more impressive: surviving a series of knock-out rounds or making it through another group stage with Arsenal, AS Roma and Valencia (fact is that Ajax would have eliminated Arsenal and Roma had it been a knock-out round; against Valencia it would have been extra time and probably pennos).

Let's say: equally good. The quarter finals were the terminus for Ajax; let's see if PSV can make it to the semis. Whatever happens, they were absolutely impressive and the best thing is: no-one ever expected them to be this good at the start of the season.

AZ's achievement is possible even more impressive: they're from a town of 80,000, have a home ground of 8,000 and a UEFA 'ranking coefficient' of 0.000 points (never played in Europe since the early 1980s). Because of their unseeded status they bumped into tough opposition from the outset (OFI Crete in the first round; Rangers and Auxerre in the group stage). They did not only survive, they always actually beat their opponents - and in most cases totally outplayed them, in many cases home and away.

What Co and AZ are doing is truly, truly unbelievable for a club that was fighting against relegation a few years ago. If they make it against Villarreal they will be up against Sporting Lisbon in the semis. If you can beat the #3 from Spain you can also beat the #3 from Portugal. I am starting to believe that AZ can actually win the thing... Again: I don't expect them to, eventually, but this is one hell of a historic European run for a 'non-Big Three' Dutch club. No doubt about that.

K.

[Frans]

If they make it against Villarreal they will be up against Sporting Lisbon in the semis.

Jumping to conclusions here? or is that a sincere opinion?

[Kowalczyk]

If they make it against Villarreal they will be up against Sporting Lisbon in the semis.

Jumping to conclusions here? or is that a sincere opinion?

What do you mean...? The above quote is not an opinion, but a fact... If they make it through the home game against Villarreal, they'll be up against Sporting Lisbon... There's not much of an opinion in that sentence...

K.