Other Eredivisie Teams

[Ayman]

Kowalczyk said:

Arsenal vs PSV in the round of sixteen of the Champions League...

The round of sixteen is where it ended for us last season, and it's also where it will end for them.

I for one, will route for PSV to go far in the CL, because they will then have a congested season of fixtures, which may help us catch them, and also, if a dutch team does well in europe then it helps us have an extra CL place in the league.

[Manneken Pis]

Kowalczyk said:

Arsenal vs PSV in the round of sixteen of the Champions League...

The round of sixteen is where it ended for us last season, and it's also where it will end for them.

I for one, will route for PSV to go far in the CL, because they will then have a congested season of fixtures, which may help us catch them, and also, if a dutch team does well in europe then it helps us have an extra CL place in the league.

I agree.
I always support the Dutch clubs in Europe....

[Venezuelan Ajacied]

Ditto :yes:

[DanK]

Actually, I'm with you guys. Its pretty rare that I will not support a Dutch club playing in Europe. Any win for a Dutch club can only be good for Dutch football in general.

Now Fword playing Ajax in Europe is a whole different story :D

[Kowalczyk]

Angelos Charisteas just equalized for Feyenoord (38') against PSV, who had taken the lead on a 24th minute goal by Phillip Cocu. Almost half-time now, 1-1 score...

K.

[Kowalczyk]

F-word are the by far better team and would really deserve the win...

Gomes keeping PSV upright once again...

K.

[Kowalczyk]

FT score: 1-1.

Which is not bad for Ajax. PSV drop two points, so we can close in a little bit, for what it's worth. It's was 11 points before Feyenoord v PSV. Tomorrow, against Roda, we can make it 9.

Perhaps more importantly, F-word drop 2 points as well. If we beat Roda we will be 5 points ahead of them.

All in all, this draw is a pretty good result for us.

K.

[AsgAarD_xxx]

FT score: 1-1.

Which is not bad for Ajax. PSV drop two points

K.

I'd rather say that they took one point. Don't forget that we've lost against Vitesse...

[Kowalczyk]

We have nothing to do with PSV. It's about Feyenoord now.

I didn't want Feyenoord to win. Face it: they are the team we have to look at, as PSV are out of sight. I have officially no championship hopes anymore. Therefore, a PSV win would have been better for us than a Feyenoord win.

But a draw... that's pretty much the 'best of both worlds'. Feyenoord drop two points (which is the most important thing) and hey: 9 points is a smaller gap than 11 points, so who knows, who knows, if miracles exist...

A draw in this game gives me the best feeling - all in all.

K.

[raymon]

Feyenoord is not really an issue either. Ajax are 9 points ahead of Heerenveen, the number 6. That is the only important figure. Whether you finish 2 or 5, it doesn't matter at all. Personally I think it is important if PSV stays within distance of the number 2. That way they will always feel some kind of pressure and maybe, just maybe they will drop more points.

[Kowalczyk]

Feyenoord is not really an issue either. Ajax are 9 points ahead of Heerenveen, the number 6. That is the only important figure. Whether you finish 2 or 5, it doesn't matter at all.

I've explained before that I fundamentally disagree with that view. I don't care about the play-offs -- it's about honour. It's painful enough already that PSV are out of sight. To me, it's all about finishing higher than the remaining 16 opponents, and especially higher than Feyenoord.

The play-offs? Oh well, you never know what will happen in those... We've had one edition and some team that absolutely didn't deserve it (namely the #4: Ajax) won the thing. To me, however, we were Holland's #4.

We are supposed to compete for the championship, but we no longer do. So now it's all about slot number two - plain simple. The play-offs are a post-season joke, which we will take very seriously when they happen, but for now we're in a 34-match football league, in which I want to finish higher than our rivals - at all cost.

K.

[Azeri]

As for AZ... Tomorrow against Twente they probably have to do without Barry Opdam, Danny Koevermans, Joey Gudjonsson and Gretar Steinsson... Hope they drop points also

[raymon]

I've explained before that I fundamentally disagree with that view. I don't care about the play-offs -- it's about honour. It's painful enough already that PSV are out of sight. To me, it's all about finishing higher than the remaining 16 opponents, and especially higher than Feyenoord.

The play-offs? Oh well, you never know what will happen in those... We've had one edition and some team that absolutely didn't deserve it (namely the #4: Ajax) won the thing. To me, however, we were Holland's #4.

We are supposed to compete for the championship, but we no longer do. So now it's all about slot number two - plain simple. The play-offs are a post-season joke, which we will take very seriously when they happen, but for now we're in a 34-match football league, in which I want to finish higher than our rivals - at all cost.

K.

Okay, let me put it in a different way. I think you should always go for the number 1 position. Therefore it is good if PSV loses as many points as possible, even against teams that compete with us for the top places. Also, I rate us higher than Feyenoord so I don't see them as competition at all.

And I agree with you on the view that the playoffs are rubbish but the reality is that they exist and that in the end, for the competition, it doesn't matter whether you are 2 or 5.

I see PSV drop points, especially when the temperature drops and who knows, if we win tomorrow it is only 9 points. Anything can happen.

[carcajou]

I just wonder how we've come from european gods to "not in the race for the title" so many years in a row.... A question people : Do we officially suck now?

[raymon]

I just wonder how we've come from european gods to "not in the race for the title" so many years in a row.... A question people : Do we officially suck now?

Ajax had a great team between 69 and 74 and then again in 87 and 92. They rocked the world between 95 and 97 and had a good season in 2002. In other words, we remember the great times but keep forgetting that we are average between those spells.

[carcajou]

I just wonder how we've come from european gods to "not in the race for the title" so many years in a row.... A question people : Do we officially suck now?

Ajax had a great team between 69 and 74 and then again in 87 and 92. They rocked the world between 95 and 97 and had a good season in 2002. In other words, we remember the great times but keep forgetting that we are average between those spells.

But at least we used to be possible candidates for the Eredivisie title... Now it's like PSV is way better than we are and there's not much we can do about it.

Also it seems that the youth academy has produced good players recently, but none of them is a GREAT player.

[Kowalczyk]

I just wonder how we've come from european gods to "not in the race for the title" so many years in a row....

We went from one extreme to the other, but over all, on average, we're somewhere in between. Not 'European Gods', but normally competing for the Dutch title and looking reasonably good in Europe. Which means, indeed, that the large part of the past decade has been below par.

But be careful with your expectations, that's all I want to say.

This club is 106 years old. The number of seasons in which we were one of the very best in Europe is, let's see... (1969-1973, 1995-1997 and maybe 1987 and 1992...) 10, at the very most. In the remaining 96 years we were not top drawer in Europe, so let's not make that the standard. Let me put it differently: I, for one, will not make it the standard. In that case, Ajax have had 96 disappointing years and 10 good ones - and that's not fair. It would destroy the whole thing for me. I would be dissatisfied and frustrated 99% of the time, and I'm not going to do that, plain simple.

If you love a football club, and you want to keep the passion alive (rather than becoming a frustrated, bitter old 'veteran') the secret is very simple: look at games as isolated events. Every game is a new game. Every day is a new day. You hope they'll win. If they do you're happy. If they don't you're disappointed. Don't look over your shoulder. Only look forward. There's always a next game. Always a new season.

That's how I do it - and it works. Take that advice from an old, veteran Ajax supporter... ;)

Don't get me wrong: I do expect Ajax to compete for the Dutch championship. If you look at our fan base, our youth academy and our annual budget, Ajax should easily be the most succesful Dutch football club - and the reality of the past ten seasons is that we are not. The most succesful Dutch club is PSV at the moment (by a lightyear) and there is no excuse for that. We have better youth players and we also have a bigger budget to purchase players, so we must have been doing something wrong. If you look at the size (financial power, knowhow, infrastructure, etc.) of this club we are most definitely underachievers at the moment, both in Europe and domestically. That must change.

Starting tomorrow against Roda JC - that's all I can say about it.

K.

[raymon]

We are Ajax, we are the standard!

:yes:

[SwedishFan]

My domestic team, IFK Norrköping, have won 12 swedish titles but nowadays we play in the crappy swedish 2nd division. IFK have been there for over four years now, and people of my town are now starting to get used to see the team play versus teams from small cities/villages they have never heard about. Things are always going up and down in the game of football, but when it comes to IFK Norrköping, i have given up 90 % of my hope to see the team fight with "the big ones" once again. Like all the others I have started to accept that we are a part of this shitty league, and that we probably will stay there forever. Still I will always love the club, which owns a very special part of my heart.

My relationship with Ajax and Amsterdam is different; I didn't learn to love Ajax as a kid, but since a couple of years ago when I first come to Amsterdam to visit a game, also Ajax is very important for me. Before this season I really thought Ten Cate could bring home the league and save us from another "season that no one will remember". Okay, already after the defeat to PSV I said to myself that I shouldn't expect a title next spring. I accept that! It's impossible to win every year, and I can't see why Ten Cate shouldn't be given more time to form this "new Ajax". But I still think the most important thing is that the winning mentality stays in the ArenA-corridors and in the head of all us supporters.

Just something I wanted to say, though I cant express it in a good way in english. My enlglish aint good enough for that! :redcard:

[carcajou]

I just wonder how we've come from european gods to "not in the race for the title" so many years in a row....

Don't get me wrong: I do expect Ajax to compete for the Dutch championship. If you look at our fan base, our youth academy and our annual budget, Ajax should easily be the most succesful Dutch football club - and the reality of the past ten seasons is that we are not. The most succesful Dutch club is PSV at the moment (by a lightyear) and there is no excuse for that. We have better youth players and we also have a bigger budget to purchase players, so we must have been doing something wrong. If you look at the size (financial power, knowhow, infrastructure, etc.) of this club we are most definitely underachievers at the moment, both in Europe and domestically. That must change.

Starting tomorrow against Roda JC - that's all I can say about it.

K.

That's my whole point buddy, I totally realize that the caviar years are over and that they were more an accident than an everyday reality, but still, I just witness the fact that it's now OK to consider PSV as the number one contender in Holland, they're going through the group stage almost every year in Champions League, yet they're not even spending heaps of money (Hiddink effect??)
It'd be cool if the cement in the team could solidify and we could be more of a bully in the race for the title, cause I for one couldn't be satisfied with that happy loser / runner up statu quo that's been going on for the past few years.

[Van basten]

PSV won, we 11 points behind.. any iliusions? i don't think so..

[ZoefdeHaas]

PSV won, we 11 points behind.. any iliusions? i don't think so..

This whole " we give up" attitude aint helpin. Not that I genuinly believe we can win the title this season, but i'll still give 100% support every game. the way this squad has been playing isn't all good and deserving, but a team like this needs the "12th player". If we don't give that, theres no hope at al for this, and next seasons to come.

[Van basten]

If i don't believe that we will win eredivisie this season, that doesn't mean that i will not support team any more this season. i wiill support like i do always, no matter are we losing or wining, but i'm also realistic and understand that our target now is 2 place and qualification for Ch.league

[Kowalczyk]

If i don't believe that we will win eredivisie this season, that doesn't mean that i will not support team any more this season. i wiill support like i do always, no matter are we losing or wining, but i'm also realistic and understand that our target now is 2 place and qualification for Ch.league

Exactly. :xyxthumbs:

K.

[ZoefdeHaas]

but i'm also realistic and understand that our target now is 2 place and qualification for Ch.league

That is true, but as it's mid-way season there's some glimmer out there for a few Ajacieden, and the target still should be first. Not that it'll necessarily happen, but the target should always be on the highest we can go.