24 Jan 2010: Ajax - AZ

[Orange14]

Can't belive Moisander didn't get a second yellow for the stomp on Suarez!

[Van basten]

Why is 'Dick' not happy?

[rjf1]

There isn't any player who did more pass than Suarez those last 3 seasons in the Eredivisie. But the man is still seen as an individualist... He's a man of contrast.

You must have missed the play where he could have rolled the ball across for Rommedahl to tap in but went for the bad angle shot instead - and missed it.

[Orange14]

Some days you just have to grind it out. Decent enough performance and the second half was much better. Defense managed to hold strong. let's build on this one and move forward!!!

[Tom_]

Yep... let's hope Groningen can take some points off Twente now

[rjf1]

Some days you just have to grind it out. Decent enough performance and the second half was much better. Defense managed to hold strong. let's build on this one and move forward!!!

I thought we got away lucky in the 1st half, but played them even in the first part of the 2nd half and had the better of the game after the goal. The passing was pretty sloppy for the most part -- but on the bright side we used to lose these kind of games.

On another note, 7 yellows for AZ is scandalous. IMO there isn't enough of a punishment for it -- all AZ did was keep rotating the designated fouler and go back to business as usual. Maybe if they had something like in basketball -- where you get punished for total team fouls -- it would put a crimp in the style of teams that use fouling as part of their strategy

[SPL]

Well taken goal and great we ground out a result . How did Moisander stay on the pitch but I was surprised they only had 7 yellows, thought the goalie was the only one who did not get one!!

Roll on next week where Steks, de Zeeuw and Pantelic will all be back and one good thing today neither Suarez nor Vertonghen got booked,they are still one away from suspension. We cannot lose them for the Twente game in a couple of weeks but in fact we cannot afford to lose them for any games.

Anyway a good day for us. Lets hope Twente drop points today.

[Blind3]

First and foremost , well done AJAX !! Nice to hear the luck was on our side . Nice goal !! Hopefully, this type of grind it out match, to borrow Orange14's phrase, will give Ajax confidence in the Classic and going forward.

RE: yellow cards, I was watching Tottenham v. Leeds United yesterday and the match presenters were speaking about six cards = FA action (a $$ fine IIRC).Is that only in England or is that a FIFA or UEFA rule ?

[Kowalczyk]

We could have lost this one, that's true... but we didn't, did we?

Whaaaaa!!

Nice to hear that Mr. Dick Advocaat blames the referee for the defeat. Truth is that he was extremely, extremely fortunate that he was the only AZ man to be dismissed by the referee. Really a miracle that they finished the game with eleven men. Two of them should have been sent off. I've never seen AZ play this 'dirty' before. They were like Utrecht almost.

K.

[AsgAarD_xxx]

First half wasn't good for us, but we had a bit of luck (and, of course, Vermeer).
Second half was much better and there were some moments that AZ was closed on their penalty area.
It was nice to watch it and it's nice to see that Twente draw against Groningen ;).

[Kowalczyk]

Just watched the highlights on TV. Both Schaars and Moreno should have been sent off. Direct red.

And oh yeah, Dick Advocaat is a f**king tit.

K.

[aveslacker]

----------Vermeer
VD Wiel - Toby - Vertonghen - Anita
-----Lindgren - De Jong
-----------Aisatti
----Rommedahl - Suarez - Urby

Well, I'm a little bit worried...

Am I wrong in thinking that we started eight former Ajax jeugd in this match?

[Kowalczyk]

Am I wrong in thinking that we started eight former Ajax jeugd in this match?

Correct. Something to be proud of.

K.

[SPL]

Yes 8 starters from the youth is great. (Although we did have to pay nearly 3m euros to buy Lindgren back)

[Over Pasanens Head]

Yes 8 starters from the youth is great. (Although we did have to pay nearly 3m euros to buy Lindgren back)

I am afraid SPL that I take a different view of the situation. If that is the standard of play that we can expect, then I feel that it is not a very good situation to find ourselves in. Ajax was a poor team yesterday but a team with loads of energy and heart. This will see us through against a number of teams but when we come up against the top teams I reckon that we will struggle.

[SPL]

OPH . I do not think our all ex-youth back 4 are great but they are certainly better than Ogararu Oleguer Wielaert and Atouba.I have said before if we are going to keep finishing 3rd we may as well play our ex youth rather than keep buying expensive dross.

Urby does blow hot and cold and the other 2 Lindgen and de Jong will likely be subs in due course when everyone is available.

Ps At present I think the lightbulbers will win the title but we will push Twente for second place . 3 points v them in 2 weeks time is a must.

[jamcocteau]

I have said before if we are going to keep finishing 3rd we may as well play our ex youth rather than keep buying expensive dross.

Urby does blow hot and cold and the other 2 Lindgen and de Jong will likely be subs in due course when everyone is available.

Ps At present I think the lightbulbers will win the title but we will push Twente for second place . 3 points v them in 2 weeks time is a must.

And who is to say we will finish 3rd if we continually played our ex-youth. Our two best players by far this season have been 2 of our expensive signings. It is very very easy to keep on saying to play our ex-youth when you dont actually pay and attend games I am afraid. I have had a season ticket for 7 years now and this has increased in price by nearly 50% in that time and the standard on fare season after season has unfortunately went downhill. Now I know that following a football club is not always about the cost but when the paying supporters are forced to be the ones who pay for mistakes by the board and playing staff then personally I have to question is it worth the cost to me.

Going back to the fare on offer personally I feel that this has not always been the fault of bad signings although this has a large part to play but also to a lesser extent the poor standard of player coming through our youth system. The main problem in my mind though has been the poor and cheap choice of managers that the board of Ajax have employed, although I am sure Van Basten wasnt cheap. Constantly the board has went for cheap options from within the club, people who were unable to control some of the egos on the playing staff and did not have the ability to manage a football club the size of Ajax. The club has suffered big style for this.

For the first time since I have been attending matches I actually feel we have a manager in charge who is a big enough person to let the playing staff know who is in charge and has the courage to tackle the long term areas of demise within the club. I just hope the board have the courage to stick with Jol for more than one season and give him the time to build his own team at the club. Unfortunately the poor signings of the past and bad stewardship of the club has left Ajax in a poor financial position which unfortunately Jol will be the one to suffer for this. No more signings of players at Eur 10 m and above and this is why Ajax struggled to match the inital fee that AZ offered for Lodeiro. We are not a cash rich club I am afraid.

Finally may as well mention the enigma that is Emanuelson. I like him as a player when he decides to play, which in last 2 seasons has not been too often. As I do not know the personal details of his contract maybe Jol had one look at his contract when he came looking for an extension and decided that whatever he is on at the moment is not value for money. Good on him I say, apart from Suarez and a couple of the youngsters I dont think any Ajax player at moment truelly earns his wages. Give us the Eredivisie and then you might be worth extra salary.

[saddlerian]

I dont think any Ajax player at moment truelly earns his wages. Give us the Eredivisie and then you might be worth extra salary.

[/quote]



This is what I've been harping on about for ages!!!!
It's about time that salaries were performance and result driven!
A decent "basic salary" should be given, say, up to twice the national average salary, and then all the add-ons are performance/result driven!
The manager is there to manage, he sees the players day in, day out, so he knows who is trying! Surely it should be up to him and his management team to decide who gets what...isn't that what performance related pay is about?
We pay the wages through our attendance at the matches, this coupled with lucrative sponsorship.....do the sponsors actually get their money's worth? I seriously doubt it!!

Money seems to be the evil component in soccer nowadays, especially when you see Europe's "elite" being almost bankrupt.....it's time that everyone started living within their means and NOT holding the financial authorities to ransom with excessive "borrowing"...

If people like Urby are possibly being told, "prove that you're worth what you get paid", then I fully support Jol. Perhaps he can take it further and actually find out which players WANT to play for Ajax......is there anyone who plays for the love of the club while on a decent salary?

Yes, you might think me exceptionally jealous as these primadonas could afford to retire at 30, but isn't it about time that the majority of them actually earn the right to retire early?

Yes, they gave us a valuable win against AZ, but the performance, overall, was shoddy and un-Ajaxlike. Maybe if they were playing for their dinner, they might perform as they are, I'm fairly sure, capable of playing good football!!