New Players for Ajax

[Cruijff]

Eriksen out, Maher in and between 4 and 8 million cash is a good deal in my opinion. aveslacker I think it's less than 50/50 for Eriksen to stay, but the option is serious that we will have Christian for another season.

Please still buy Maher Ajax. That guy will play for us at least until 2015 and 2016.

[SPL]

We are linked with Jozefzoon our former right winger who joined RKC last year and has been in the Dutch U21 at the recent Euro Champs. Is he any better than Lukoki? Can't be hard imo.

[souras84]

Another old player, now better and wanting to come back. Why do we do this thing?

[souras84]

Just read that we won't progress into signing Maher. Not a priority. Something to do with De Jong not leaving...

[Orange14]

I'm getting the feeling right now that Toby will be the only player leaving this summer.

[rjf1]

Seems like it's the same every year - we don't get our primary targets and don't seem to have a strong secondary option. I was hoping for Maher so we could happily let Eriksen go, but what's in the cards now?

[raymon]

Seems like it's the same every year - we don't get our primary targets and don't seem to have a strong secondary option. I was hoping for Maher so we could happily let Eriksen go, but what's in the cards now?

And still we are champions 3 years in a row. Despite other teams (especially PSV) spending millions and millions.

[SPL]

I think Toby and Siem will go but Eriksen will stay.We wont buy Maher unless Eriksen goes and my gut feeling is that Eriksen wont get the club he is hoping for and will stay another season.

[souras84]

The thing is, that whenever we don't get our primary target, PSV buys them. 1,2,3, but at some point they will beat us to the championship. I am not complaining, being champions 3 in a row that would be awful, but strengthening our squad with big caliber players would/could help us in Europe.
When does Eriksens contract expire??

[Dave the mac]

OMG - I thought ajaxtalk was gone! Just tried again this week and, well that was one of the happiest days of my life. I've had to go to some very good Dutch but Google translate leaves a lot to be desired. Great to see you fellas again.

Now then, new players eh? Guess, as usual it depends on whose leaving which is sometimes - too often - not decided until the start of the new season. The new Ajax policy tries to alleviate this nonsense. We'll see how it works out but all players with only one year left on their contracts should extend or find a new club. That list includes Toby, Paulsen, Boerrigter and Eriksen. Looks like Boerrigter will extend his stay, and I like that. Ajax may very well receive offers for other players as well, like de Jong and maybe Vermeer.

Well more later, have a squash match to go play. Hello again everyone, thought I'd lost ya.

[aveslacker]

OMG - I thought ajaxtalk was gone! Just tried again this week and, well that was one of the happiest days of my life. I've had to go to some very good Dutch but Google translate leaves a lot to be desired. Great to see you fellas again.

Well more later, have a squash match to go play. Hello again everyone, thought I'd lost ya.

I had the same issue - got messages that my IP address was banned and I was pretty bummed.

Nice to see a fellow squash player out there.

[souras84]

We got Sam Hendriks from De Graafschaap. Is he any good?

[SPL]

Souras asked the other day when Eriksen's contract expires its June 2014 but he has said if he does not leave this summer he will extend.

No idea about Hendriks another for the future .

[Cruijff]

We got Sam Hendriks from De Graafschaap. Is he any good?

Yes he is!

[SPL]

2 new teenage strikers in a day .Following the signing of de Graafschap striker Sam Hendriks ,born 1995, for 4 years we have now signed German striker Marvin Honer ,born 1994,from Bielefeld for 2 years.Honer had a trial with us and played for our A1 in the Copa Amsterdam last month . He will be too old for our A1 youth and will be with Jong Ajax.

Although Hendriks can play for our A1 he too may play for Jong Ajax next season he has made his first team debut for de Graafschap I believe.

[King Litti]

Business as usual. Buy low, develop and sell high. When it comes time to sell Siggy and Hoesen, we have these guys (Hendriks, Höner) coming in and the circle continues. Sometimes it really feels it's more about successful business than achieving something on the field.

Still, even If we lose Toby and do not buy any new (experienced) players we still have a team that can fight for the league title. That would be the fourth one in a row, so can't really complain. The Champions league is another story though. With the same team minus Toby, it's really not going to be easy to get through the group stage.

With all the Cl money we have gotten, I wish we will strengthen the squad with a couple of signings (maybe a center back if Toby leaves and a winger. If Eriksen leaves we really need a playmaker). If we do sign someone I really hope it's a decent one. Please, no more washed up old guys who are expensive because of old merits or young guys who are expensive because they have shown a glimpse of talent. We have enough potential stars in young ajax. I'd like to see us sign a player that can deliver the goods right away with certainty. I will cost us a couple of million more, but it would be worth it in the long run.

[aveslacker]

Business as usual. Buy low, develop and sell high. When it comes time to sell Siggy and Hoesen, we have these guys (Hendriks, Höner) coming in and the circle continues. Sometimes it really feels it's more about successful business than achieving something on the field.

Still, even If we lose Toby and do not buy any new (experienced) players we still have a team that can fight for the league title. That would be the fourth one in a row, so can't really complain. The Champions league is another story though. With the same team minus Toby, it's really not going to be easy to get through the group stage.

With all the Cl money we have gotten, I wish we will strengthen the squad with a couple of signings (maybe a center back if Toby leaves and a winger. If Eriksen leaves we really need a playmaker). If we do sign someone I really hope it's a decent one. Please, no more washed up old guys who are expensive because of old merits or young guys who are expensive because they have shown a glimpse of talent. We have enough potential stars in young ajax. I'd like to see us sign a player that can deliver the goods right away with certainty. I will cost us a couple of million more, but it would be worth it in the long run.

At this point, I think it's highly unlikely that Ajax ever wins the Champions League again. It sucks, but we can pretty much all name the ten or so teams that are going to be in the CL final for the foreseeable future. Considering the realities of the modern game, I'm happy with what Ajax is doing: developing players, being smart financially, playing in our traditional style, and winning the Eredivisie. Perhaps we'll go far in one of the European competitions every now and again, and that would be great. But realistically, that's going to be the exception rather than the rule. Perhaps one day the economics of the game will change and Ajax will again have a crack at the CL, but until then, this is as good as it gets.

And I would add that this is a whole lot better than it was, say, five years ago.

[Orange14]

I have to agree with Aveslacker on this one. The current reality of Euro football is that only the clubs with huge budgets can do well in CL football without sacrificing their ability to do well in league competitions. Dutch teams only have a limited amount of revenue coming in from television and marketing and that is not going to change any time soon (if ever). EPL have a new television contract and I think the teams each get a minimum of €60-70M per year! Even the UEFA Fair Play regulations are not going to change this part of the equation. We've also seen how CL football impacted Ajax over the past two years with substandard league performance during the fall and only after we exited Euro football was the team able to focus energy on winning the Eredivisie. From my perspective I want to see exciting attacking football and player development which has happened since FdB took over as manager.

Maybe we will make it out of pool play in the CL at some point provided we get a decent draw (if Ruud Gullit is drawing this August I will give up all hope ). We are always going to have a very young team in such competition.

[King Litti]

Not disagreeing with this. Winning the CL is pretty much impossible, but I'd say qualifying from the group stage is a realistic goal. We've been close lately even though we've played in the toughest groups.

I remember that there were talks that in the future teams could not use more money in transfers etc. that they have earned. So oil sheiks could not just buy success. Also I think uefa was planning a rule that a team should have a certain amount of players from their own academy and country.

I wonder are these rules still to come? They would certainly help us and give a chance to smaller teams.

[Cruijff]

In 1993 it also seemed pretty impossible to win the Champions League again. In the season 1993/1994 Ajax got eliminated in Europe by Parma and reaching a Champions League final seemed extremely far away.

Miracles can happen and Ajax is on the way up now. A team like Dortmund was number 4 in their Champions League group two years ago and reached the final last season. In the past top teams have closed the gap very fast (or on their way down, the fell in a deep gap very fast too). Remember Ajax having a great Champions League campaign in 2003 while we didn't even survive qualification for Champions League group stage one year earlier.

[Orange14]

I just went over to the UEFA website to look at the current CL qualifiers and there is the possibility right now that we might be in the 2nd pot in terms of the draw. http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague ... 60191.html shows us at 15th in terms of coeficient points, one place ahead of Dortmund! I would love to see us get a good draw!

[aveslacker]

In 1993 it also seemed pretty impossible to win the Champions League again. In the season 1993/1994 Ajax got eliminated in Europe by Parma and reaching a Champions League final seemed extremely far away.

Miracles can happen and Ajax is on the way up now. A team like Dortmund was number 4 in their Champions League group two years ago and reached the final last season. In the past top teams have closed the gap very fast (or on their way down, the fell in a deep gap very fast too). Remember Ajax having a great Champions League campaign in 2003 while we didn't even survive qualification for Champions League group stage one year earlier.

Sure, it can happen, but as you say, it would take a miracle. I'll be thrilled if it happens, but I have no expectation that it will.

[Cruijff]

I can imagine you don't have those expectations on the short term.

But just be patient and wait for my sons Jari, Johan, Dennis & Zlatan to appear in the Ajax squad.

[aveslacker]

I can imagine you don't have those expectations on the short term.

But just be patient and wait for my sons Jari, Johan, Dennis & Zlatan to appear in the Ajax squad.

I can hardly wait!

[Cruijff]

I can imagine you don't have those expectations on the short term.

But just be patient and wait for my sons Jari, Johan, Dennis & Zlatan to appear in the Ajax squad.

I can hardly wait!

Set me up with Whitney Sharpe and I will 'produce' a young Marco, Frank & Ronald for you too.