11 Dec 2009: Ajax - NEC

[Kowalczyk]

Okay folks, December 11th, marchday 16 in the Dutch Eredivisie and the 'Remainder Of The Season' starts here.

Title quest is over; what else is new?

Anyway: Ajax vs NEC. Friday evening match. Kick-off time is 20:45 CET. Anita and Enoh suspended.

K.

[Rooie]

Eriksen will make his debut in the selection this friday, according to Martin Jol at the pre match press conference.

[souras84]

I dont believe the title chase is over yet. Sure we make bad games but, I think bad luck has to strike the top 2 at some point and if we want it badly we're gonna get all 6 points against them and lets wait and see

[SPL]

Good news about Eriksen , shame he is not Dutch, but the future is to the youth.

[Mr_Holte]

Im making the trip over for this, making the weekend of it.

Have heard that apparently there is going to be some sort of boycott from the VAK410 ultras because of an 11 month banning order given to them for taking some fireworks on a bus to Utrecht.

Can anyone shed any light on this?

[saddlerian]

Yes, I'm over for this one....a lovely weekend.....that's the joy of a Friday evening match!

Looking forward to the Arena at night again... always seems to be a better atmosphere......and despite what everyone's saying....there's still over half of the season left. We're not the ONLY ones who can cock things up.....although we do seem to do it better than anyone else!!!

[Amol]

We're not the ONLY ones who can cock things up.....although we do seem to do it better than anyone else!!!

That's really funny .

[Blind3]

Truer words were never spoke. Time to put NEC to the sword and lift the spirits !! Especially going into the winner takes the group match v. Anderlecht.

[raymon]

http://www.rojadirecta.org/

for live streams

[Orange14]

I wish Aisatti could play a full game more than two or three times a season. Off with a thigh bruise.

[Orange14]

FINALLY!!!!! Suarez near half time. 1-0

[Orange14]

I think everyone except us Yanks must be at the match today. Some good chances in the first half by de Jong and Suarez. Glad we got a goal before going into the locker room.

[SPL]

I was watching. Good stream and we played well within ourselves . Suarez's goal was superb but all 3 were taken well.

To state the obvious Urby is not a defender. Donald looks good to me and took his goal very well.

The academy count was 7 when Siem came on but you could add Goosens and Burgzorg for them and I am not sure about Davids , being Edgar's nephew/cousin not sure whether he went through our academy.

[rjf1]

...The academy count was 7 when Siem came on but you could add Goosens and Burgzorg for them and I am not sure about Davids , being Edgar's nephew/cousin not sure whether he went through our academy.

I only watched the first half -- game started at 4:00 in the morning over here -- but Davids was a real thorn in our side -- he seemed to be everywhere on the pitch. I was wondering if he was related to Edgar -- given his style of play I thought probably so -- the only thing missing was the goggles.

[bluedaddy19]

I was watching. Good stream and we played well within ourselves . Suarez's goal was superb but all 3 were taken well.

To state the obvious Urby is not a defender. Donald looks good to me and took his goal very well.

The academy count was 7 when Siem came on but you could add Goosens and Burgzorg for them and I am not sure about Davids , being Edgar's nephew/cousin not sure whether he went through our academy.

davids came up with f-word

[Kowalczyk]

Shit game, eh...?

I missed it...

K.

[SPL]

Thanks Bluedaddy for the info on Davids . I did not think he came from our academy except he is related to the great pitbull.

[Jari Litmanen]

The first half wasn't our best, and the second half was better. This game was a must-win if we're still in the aim for #1. I'm beginning to think we won't make #1 though. Looking at the league historically, the top teams rarerly looses points, so a 6 point lead, with 1 game less played, is plenty. But ofcourse, miracles do happen :)

[Blind3]

Well done. Three points . A bit of momentum going into Thursday .

[Kowalczyk]

Looking at the league historically, the top teams rarerly looses points...

That definitely isn't true, if you look at recent seasons...

I remember a few recent seasons in which Ajax came ten points closer to PSV in the second half of the season (still wasn't enough, tho...). It's a pretty rare thing in the Dutch league that a team wins 7 or 8 games in a row. A team still unbeaten on January 1st? Very rare thing. Two teams still unbeaten on January 1st...? Possibly unique.

PSV and Twente are uniquely hard to beat. In a 'normal' season Ajax would have been very much 'in the race', but now - indeed - it feels like we're already f*cked.

K.

[Jari Litmanen]

Looking at the league historically, the top teams rarerly looses points...

That definitely isn't true, if you look at recent seasons...

I remember a few recent seasons in which Ajax came ten points closer to PSV in the second half of the season (still wasn't enough, tho...). It's a pretty rare thing in the Dutch league that a team wins 7 or 8 games in a row. A team still unbeaten on January 1st? Very rare thing. Two teams still unbeaten on January 1st...? Possibly unique.

PSV and Twente are uniquely hard to beat. In a 'normal' season Ajax would have been very much 'in the race', but now - indeed - it feels like we're already f*cked.

K.

Well, ofcourse teams lose, even topteams, and you might be right on the last couple of seasons, but looking and comparing the leagues over a 50 years period, the dutch league is a very tight league. But you are definately right, the last couple of seasons seems to have changed that a bit.


edit. On a little sidenote, I believe this was the biggest win against NEC since the 2002-2003 season? Correct me if I'm wrong :)

[Kowalczyk]

Well, ofcourse teams lose, even topteams, and you might be right on the last couple of seasons, but looking and comparing the leagues over a 50 years period, the dutch league is a very tight league. But you are definately right, the last couple of seasons seems to have changed that a bit.

In some leagues in Europe the only games the top teams can lose are the head-to-head confrontations with the other top teams. They hardly ever drop points against smaller teams.

If you look at PSV and Twente right now, you'd think that this is the case in the Dutch league, too. But by claiming that, you make the average league fixture for Ajax and PSV a bit 'easier' than it actually is, historically speaking.

The 'top three' (Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord) has been very consistent over the years (although AZ and Twente have sneaked into the top three in recent seasons), but the numbers 4 to (let's say) 8 are normally pretty good football teams, who are actually capable of beating Ajax or PSV in home games (and surely will do so if Ajax or PSV doesn't take them seriously).

There undeniably is a gap between Holland's 'big clubs' and the rest of the league, but that gap is not so big that the big clubs can take it for granted. If they do so, they will go home with zero points.

Having said that, PSV and Twente seem very focused and steady and solid. They hardly make any mistakes. Which is an unusual thing.

K.

[Jari Litmanen]

PSV and Twente is without a doubt an usually solid team this year, especially Twente, but I'm going to be a bit bold and claim that Twente has had too many games with the margins on their side. They have ALOT of +1 goal wins, and if their form will drop even slightly, they will start to lose for sure.

[Monkey Tonk]

Yeah, Twente could easily falter down the stretch. Not much experience on their side to keep it up for a whole season. But psv is a different story. They may even buy a game if they really need it, like they did against Vitesse, when they scored several times immediately after an Ajax goal in another game and the championship switched hands as many times on the final day of play. It was remarkable enough that psv's response was almost immediate each time. But it became outright embarrassing when it was clear how hard the Vitesse defenders were trying to get out of the way. The acting was terrible, but somehow pointing it out makes one a bad loser. Only game I've ever seen in the Eredivisie where I'm certain that the fix was in. I hope it will come out one day (as it has in the NBA recently).

Anyway, on to the next game. The show must go on.

[aveslacker]

Yeah, Twente could easily falter down the stretch. Not much experience on their side to keep it up for a whole season. But psv is a different story. They may even buy a game if they really need it, like they did against Vitesse, when they scored several times immediately after an Ajax goal in another game and the championship switched hands as many times on the final day of play. It was remarkable enough that psv's response was almost immediate each time. But it became outright embarrassing when it was clear how hard the Vitesse defenders were trying to get out of the way. The acting was terrible, but somehow pointing it out makes one a bad loser. Only game I've ever seen in the Eredivisie where I'm certain that the fix was in. I hope it will come out one day (as it has in the NBA recently).

Anyway, on to the next game. The show must go on.

I agree with this. Point out the dodgy circumstances in which Ajax lost the title that year (the PSV - Vitesse game, Stijn Wegereef's unbelievable decision in the AZ - Ajax match) and you're a bad loser. Couldn't have said it better myself.