12 Dec 2008: Ajax - NAC Breda

[Manneken Pis]

no matter how they played.

K.

Not well IMHO. Schoolboy errors in defence, slack passing in midfield, lack of tempo, too many misunderstandings, and Suarez continues to appear to be playing on his own.

They were playing a team in a negative spiral with key injuries, and had the extra man advantage for the last third of the game .... lambs to the slaughter.

Still, they did the job and Cvitanich seems to be finding his place.

On Cvitanich, he's really a very different player from KJH and we need to be careful in our comparisons... less poacher, better movement (creating space for others) potentially better for the long term gelling of the team (a bit like ManUre after RVN left for Madrid)...

[aveslacker]

The guys in the Dutch language forums were pretty down on Oleguer.

[ajaxusa]

Cool. I had to skip the game, but this is a good win, no matter how they played.

I've only seen the first half, but it's a mixture of much higher grit and intensity, offset by some sloppy passing and some shocking give-aways, most painfully by Gregory van der Wiel in the first minute that ought to have cost Ajax a goal.

Still, I like this team MUCH better than the sleepwalkers who barely managed a win over Volendam. We'll see what happens in the 2nd half, but so far I'm pleased.

Highlight for me is Vertonghen's smackdown of the NAC striker who was pulling his shirt. Lowpoint was when that same striker retaliated 5 minutes later and was only shown the yellow card.

[bluedaddy19]

nice goal by cvitanich

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3_Lu9sP-GQ

[SE6Ajacied]

no matter how they played.

K.

Not well IMHO. .

Didn't see any of the game but it's got to be a good sign that we are playing badly against a team that's 4th in the table and winning 3-0.

Cvitanich's was indeed a good goal

[The Purple Cow]

It was an odd, error-strewn performance by Ajax, but at least they played with more spirit and elan than against Volendam.

Cvito, could develop into a very useful striker at this level, though he will never be a killer like K-J, his movement off the ball is better, he scored a good goal, and I'm not convinced his second goal was off-side. The t.v. replay froze the action when the ball was already on its way.

Despite what our Dutch language comrades say, I think Oluguer is doing ok.

[dws]

no matter how they played.

K.

Not well IMHO. .

it's got to be a good sign that we are playing badly against a team that's 4th in the table and winning 3-0.

Cvitanich's was indeed a good goal

A couple of lowly Eredivise clubs did rather better than Ajax:

Sparta 4:0 NAC

NAC 0: 4 ADO.

[Blind3]

Ain't it great to hear complaints after a 3:0 win ? Just saw Lindgren's goal on You Tube. Both his goal and Cvitanich's showed some great finishing skills. Cvitanich did a great job of creating his own shot.

Another clean sheet.

[saddlerian]

What's with all the complaining??? I was stuck there in a freezing cold stadium, and at Half Time, I was wondering whether I'd made the right decision...travel from UK to Amsterdam just for a night match!...BUT..we were winning 1-0.

At Full Time, a little warmer, I was certain that I'd made the correct choice!

For God's sake....they won! They won 3-0! What else are they supposed to do?

Get behind the team.....they're gradually building a momentum...towards May.

[SE6Ajacied]

Not well IMHO. .

it's got to be a good sign that we are playing badly against a team that's 4th in the table and winning 3-0.

Cvitanich's was indeed a good goal

A couple of lowly Eredivise clubs did rather better than Ajax:

Sparta 4:0 NAC

NAC 0: 4 ADO.

Yeah, but what does that mean? They're still 4th in the table, 3-0 is pretty convincing in my book and going on what's been posted above about an "offside" goal it could have been 4 anyway.

I remember Wrexham who'd finished last in the whole league knocking Arsenal who were champions out of the FA cup but it didn't actually mean that much at all in the long run - Arsenal are still there or thereabouts and WXM aren't even in the league anymore. No-one really thinks that was a significant result for either team in the great scheme of things and I don't think we should worry that we "only" won by 3 goals.

You can only ask to beat the team that you're playing and we did - 3-0 is pretty convincing in my book and unless we're level on points with either Sparta or ADO at the end of the season and looking at the goal tally then I'll be fairly happy with that result.

[jamcocteau]

What's with all the complaining??? I was stuck there in a freezing cold stadium, and at Half Time, I was wondering whether I'd made the right decision...travel from UK to Amsterdam just for a night match!...BUT..we were winning 1-0.

At Full Time, a little warmer, I was certain that I'd made the correct choice!

For God's sake....they won! They won 3-0! What else are they supposed to do?

Get behind the team.....they're gradually building a momentum...towards May.

Ian, thanks for sensible comments. Wasnt a great performance but most importantly we picked up another 3 points in quite an easy manner and kept another clean sheet at home.

That is all we can expect the players to do, win each game as it comes along

[DanK]

Champions are made by getting the most points. Sure I would love us to play like we did in 95. Not going to happen for some time.

3 goals for - 0 against. Good enough for the moment thanks.

[Kowalczyk]

Despite what our Dutch language comrades say, I think Oluguer is doing ok.

I fully agree.

From what I've heard he had a bit of a stinker against NAC Breda, but he has played some very good games, My over-all impression of the bloke is quite good.

K.

[Michael_B]

Oleguer was dramatic against NAC. Also against Volendam and Feyenoord. One of our worst defenders, and thats saying something.

[Kowalczyk]

Oleguer was dramatic against NAC. Also against Volendam and Feyenoord. One of our worst defenders, and thats saying something.

Yes, but he was good against Groningen and Twente, and I thought he was majestic against NEC, PSV and Hamburg. It just depends what you want to zoom in on: his worst peformances, or his best.

Ajax were steadily growing as a team, and around the PSV and Sparta games they really seemed to be going somewhere. At the moment they'ree struggling. Things are not going automatically, which (for some reason) always happens to Ajax in December. Oleguer is no exception to the rule: he, too, is not as good as he was seven weeks ago. But what's happening in the Dutch zones at the moment is a public execution, and I find it disgusting.

It's always the same thing at this club. We're not playing the sexy football the people want to see? Right then: let's pick a foreign purchase (Zlatan in his first year, then Escudé, now Oleguer) and stone him in the middle of the town square.

Seriously, I am trying to stay away from the Dutch-languagae Ajax zones these days, because of the overwhelming negativity. It makes me sad, I find it totally over the top and I don't want to be part of it. This team deserves our support. Right now, while we're struggling, it's all about the points (and we're grabbing them; let's not forget about that 'detail'). Form will improve in 2009, like it always does after the winter break.

K.

[FlaFlu]

I thought Oleguer had a crapper against Hamburg as well. He played pretty well against Groningen and NEC and has been ok in a lot of games, but he's just not the quality signing we needed. It would have been great if Van Basten would have signed a destroyer at the back instead of Sno and Oleguer. In that case I would've supported every single signing of the past summer.

[peter]

I agree on that one. Oleguer played a dramatic first half against HSV. Remember the situation in which Olic outplayed him at the backline. An example of dramatic defending. Furthermore, HSV marked Vertonghen which resulted in a free role for Oleguer. Within this free role Oleguer showed that he was totally incapable to complete a pass. To sum up, he did not do well as a 'destroyer' nor as a 'passing defender'.

Ko is trying to stay away from the Dutch zones, but now we follow him to the English zones.

[The Purple Cow]

Oleguer was my MOTM for the Hamburg game.

[SPL]

Having a go at players because we are not playing well as a team is plain stupid. The defence as a whole is still making silly mistakes but we are now 2nd only 3 points behind AZ and at present the only other team up there is Twente. NAC and Groningen have now fallen away and PSV dropping too many points.

We should try and get a couple of quality signings in Jan and we can only play better and hopefully win that title.

[Orange14]

Good thing my Dutch isn't so good as to prowl the Dutch sections. I find all this complaining about Oleguer and the defense rather silly. Our defense is much better than it was last year. We have finally moved Urby up to the midfield from left fullback (I don't know whether he will be a long term solution in midfield but he certainly was a liability on defense in the back four). We are tied for third in goals against and if we forget about the rubbish Heerenveen match where five goals were conceded, things might be even better. We have a first year keeper and new players on the back line, all of whom are getting better.

Everyone seems to think great defenders are easy to find. Wrong, in fact good central defenders are probably the hardest position for any team to fill.

[DanK]

At least I am 100% sure I am on the Ajax forums.

Where there is complaining and whining, there are Ajax "supporters".

[Kowalczyk]

Highlights!

http://ajax.aegon.nl/index.php?id=1&video=18550

K.

[Blind3]

I find it fascinating that Ajax fans, knowledgable football fans, are shocked that Oleguer isn't THE ANSWER to all defensive frailties. Surely said football fans had access to TV to watch Oleguer when at Barcelona. What I saw when watching him there was a guy who depended on pluck, guile, and effort rather then being THE ANSWER . He has helped make better a squad with a slew of injuries and no midfield schemer. We're all of three points back and are through in the UC. Sure we can be better. Like others have said, if we get one or two additions, we'll get better.

[martinkohout]

Absolutely. But isn't being neurotic, irrational, and irascible sort of a prerequisite for being an Ajax fan in the first place?