New Players for Ajax

[Venezuelan Ajacied]

In this part of the world there is a popular saying "the tongue is the body's punishment"...in this "Pizzaaaaaaaaa" case fits rather nicely

[martinkohout]

I would prefer to give our youth a chance.

Amen to that. If we are indeed going to settle for mediocrity this year, I'd much rather do so while giving the youngsters experience which they can put to use (for us, hopefully) in years to come, than by splashing out the bucks for veterans who are simply going to be role-players for a season or two as their careers wind down.

But BMJ still strikes me as a man less likely to lose the plot than MvB, and I'm certainly willing to be proven wrong about our prospects this season. And even if I'm not, I hope his track record will buy him some time to assess and mold this team - I really think the club needs stability and consistency, and I'm still optimistic that he can be The Man.

[Amol]

Unless we all start a transfer collection fund, the team is not going to be competitive with Milan and other top flight clubs. I'm also disappointed that Onyewu didn't come to Amsterdam and still think it would have been a better choice for him but Milan has all the Kaka money to spend and they are only looking to bring in two players this season Onyewu and a striker (they apparently are not going after Huntelaar at this point; only Fabiano from Seville). I agree with others about giving a clear message to those in the youth program that if they progress they will get a fair shot at first team play.

I totally agree with giving the youth more opportunities. Problem is we don't have any decent LB and CB in the youth. The one good youth CB which we had, had an argument with Manucharyan who then threw a hissy fit.

In any event, to give the youth a chance, we need to then stop buying low caliber players.

[gordonvandekamp]

I think I agree with most of the sentiments. If this is going to be the, what 5th rebuilding year in a row, we may as well give the youth some chance. I just wish we could get some quality defense minded defenders coming through the system.

My fear is not that Atoube is another Colin, I fear he'll be another Kuffour. Even though Colin was terrible, he at least played with some fire sometimes.

I really don't get why we're signing any midfielders. I think that's the one spot we're overloaded on (and goalkeeper).

I think the one still hopeful spot is Jol. He's proven he can put a team together and win, so that's about the last shred of optimism I have for this season at this point.

[afcajax73]

i understand people saying "give the youth a chance" or even, "if were going be average lets be average with the youth playing", but when he does play the youth and we do lose, then everyone will pipe up on his back saying he hasnt made signings and the squad is too in-experienced. hes ina situation where he cant win either way, if he plays them he will be critisised when they lose, and if he doesnt, people will say why didnt he! its a tough place to be in, and more so than for the others because people expect big things as per his past experience. i feel sorry for the guy at the minute

[Amol]

If the option of losing is because of -
1. signing average or below average players OR
2. playing inexperienced youth

then you won't hear a peep from me if he picks option 2. What I do want is for them to go for really good players for positions in which we don't have any decent youth players. But I don't want them to sign another Colin just because they don't want to let Supusepa play.

[Cedric]

And what Atouba has anything to do with Colin then?
It seems now that players are already written-off by the supporters before they even get the chance to sign at Ajax...

[gordonvandekamp]

And what Atouba has anything to do with Colin then?
It seems now that players are already written-off by the supporters before they even get the chance to sign at Ajax...

I think that's based on 90% of the signings over the last 5 years or so that have not been good enough for the squad. New signings don't look that great when they're players that can't cut it at other clubs, or when they have played just haven't looked that impressive.

I'm not writing anyone off yet, but I'm also not getting too excited about them.

The best option to compete with other teams would be to get some quality players signed in the positions we need. As that hasn't seemed to happen yet, I think that's why people are calling on using the youth. If we're just going to pay for players that don't work out, why not use the youth for free and accelerate their development at the same time.

[SPL]

I am not writing him off but earlier in the week we looked as if were getting Onyewu , a really talented Serb left back, who lets face it may cost 6m euros but if he developed we could make aprofit down the line. In addition we were favourites for Elia and talk of the promising Rasmus Elm.

We have signed a fat third goalie,so sod the young kid in the reserves, a left back that some reports suggest is nothing special and we may get Vogel. That is why I am not very positive.

Our defence was crap last season and Atouba is certainly not likely to be as good as Vermaelen. If we
are now looking to buy on the cheap I do not see us getting any CD better than the ones we have.

IMO we needed a new LB at least 1 CB and a decent quality striker. Cvitanich has scored some goals but has seldom been fit which is a worry.

[SE6Ajacied]

Unless we all start a transfer collection fund, the team is not going to be competitive with NAC and other top flight clubs.

fixed your post - don't really know either of these players so nothing personal but it's all looking a bt worrying and horribly familiar.....

[Amol]

And what Atouba has anything to do with Colin then?
It seems now that players are already written-off by the supporters before they even get the chance to sign at Ajax...

Well, the signings of the past 3-4 years haven't instilled a lot of confidence in me. I don't know about you.

It also helps me keep my sanity. If I have zero expectations of a player, then I don't get disappointed. The other way just hurts a lot.

[bluedaddy19]

And what Atouba has anything to do with Colin then?
It seems now that players are already written-off by the supporters before they even get the chance to sign at Ajax...

what he has to do with colin is that both were shit signings

and you do realize that new players don't come unused out of plastic wrap, right? atouba has a history that one can look at to judge how useful he is or isn't

[Cedric]

I'm sorry to admit that I can't judge an Ajax player before he gets the chance to play for this club as I'm not a forecaster and don't think that the past of a player necessarily makes his future. So to me it's a bit premature to state that Atouba is a shit signing.

[bluedaddy19]

I'm sorry to admit that I can't judge an Ajax player before he gets the chance to play for this club as I'm not a forecaster and don't think that the past of a player necessarily makes his future. So to me it's a bit premature to state that Atouba is a shit signing.

hmm, the past is no indicator... then what do you call scouting?

hey maybe he suddenly turns it all around, but that is exactly what he would be doing because his last 3 seasons were filled with constant errors and team suspensions

oh yeah, and flipping off the HSV fans when they got tired of his idiocy

[Cedric]

hmm, the past is no indicator... then what do you call scouting?

Why don't you trust the Ajax scouting then?
The past can be an indicator but not a guarantee for the future, that's what I meant. So I don't really care what Atouba did at HSV in a different time with different circumstances, as long as the indicator is green when he plays for Ajax. This is why I'm willing to give him a chance before crying out loud (or not!).

[bluedaddy19]

Why don't you trust the Ajax scouting then?

ummm.... this is not a scout's pick

any scout would tell you he's been poor for 3 seasons and a troublemaker

jol, however, seems stuck on the guy for some reason

[rjf1]

...I will just repeat an earlier post - we are a club with little ambition and are going nowhere fast. What a pale imitation of Ajax pre ArenA

This is exactly what I have been thinking for the last couple of years. The worst thing that ever happened to Ajax was the ArenA -- everything went downhill from there. For the front office it seems like these days it all comes down to stockholder benefits and nothing to do with football -- it seems like they don't care what happens on the field of play as long as there are big dividends for the shareholders.

[afcajax73]

I'm sorry to admit that I can't judge an Ajax player before he gets the chance to play for this club as I'm not a forecaster and don't think that the past of a player necessarily makes his future. So to me it's a bit premature to state that Atouba is a shit signing.

hey maybe he suddenly turns it all around, but that is exactly what he would be doing because his last 3 seasons were filled with constant errors and team suspensions

before he was injured he was a first team regualr for HSV and played well in the vast majority of his games, i saw nearly all of his games before his injury. hes solid. i think he will do well for ajax, and how he can be compared to colin i dont know.

[Cedric]

ummm.... this is not a scout's pick

any scout would tell you he's been poor for 3 seasons and a troublemaker

You're right in this particular case that it's not a scout's pick, but why should I trust any scout (...) instead of an insider who worked twice with Atouba? Have you such a negative opinion of Jol already?

it seems like they don't care what happens on the field of play as long as there are big dividends for the shareholders.

It seems only, as it's been a long time there were dividends for the shareholders...

[afcajax73]

fo rme, mj knows the players better than i do, he sees them in training and onthe pictch and behind closed doors, where i just see what is shown on tv or read on the internet, i trust him that hes making the right kind of signings

[bluedaddy19]

Have you such a negative opinion of Jol already?

i wouldn;t go that far, but i hate this pickup

despite what afcajax73 says, you will not find any HSV supporters or local writers who agree that atouba "played well in a vast majority of his games"

mainly because it's just not true

[afcajax73]

anyone who can play 18 games in the premier league, in a season and impress their manager enough that he takes him to his next club and is played 81 times and has 40 caps for his country cant be as bad as you are making out. not to mention he hasnt left hamburg because he is surplus to requirements, but because his contract has run out and hes not happy there, and compared to who else we could have REALISTICALLY signed hes not so bad.

people go on about signing gooch, but it wasnt going to happen, loads of "bigger" clubs were interested and we just simply cant compete with them. hence jol turning to someone who he knows well and can get for free, jol has been a good manager where ever he has been and i dont see why everyone is writing him off at ajax too.

[Amol]

anyone who can play 18 games in the premier league, in a season and impress their manager enough that he takes him to his next club

That not true really. Jol moved to Hamburg in 2008 but he had sold Atouba in 2005. Now, please don't tell me that he knew he was moving to Hamburg and had sent Atouba as a scout 3 years in advance.

I am not totally writing this guy off. I just wanted us to make a better effort at signing Obradovich.

[afcajax73]

anyone who can play 18 games in the premier league, in a season and impress their manager enough that he takes him to his next club

That not true really. Jol moved to Hamburg in 2008 but he had sold Atouba in 2005. Now, please don't tell me that he knew he was moving to Hamburg and had sent Atouba as a scout 3 years in advance.

I am not totally writing this guy off. I just wanted us to make a better effort at signing Obradovich.

lol fair point, but what im saying is, if he was as bad as is being made out then he wouldnt have played in prem league, for cameroon, or alot of games under jol at hamburg, while he has injury problems, other than that hes done well. plus, its about time we got a strong physical defender

[afcajax73]

according to a few sources were after Demy de Zeeuw, not that we need midfielders but id like this signing if it was for the right price