Ajaxtalk

Tonight's results...

Play-offs for numbers 10, 11, 12 and 13

FIRST ROUND
A: Heracles Almelo - NEC 0-2
B: RKC Waalwijk - Vitesse 4-4

RKC vs Vitesse was a very spectacular one: 0-4 to Vitesse at half-time, followed by an amazing RKC comeback. Return legs on Sunday!

K.

Article on soccernet.com about the playoffs.

Worth a look.

I guess Groningen would be an easier opponent than AZ, so things ahead look pretty good for us now, let's cross fingers

philippe schreef:I guess Groningen would be an easier opponent than AZ, so things ahead look pretty good for us now, let's cross fingers

I dont think we should get too carried away. We still have to avoid losing to fword by 3 on Sunday and Groningen aren't that easy either. Youre right, I would rather play Groningen instead of AZ, however after this crappy season I am not thinking CL until we are actually there...where once again we will probably play AC Milan...boring!

philippe schreef:I guess Groningen would be an easier opponent than AZ, so things ahead look pretty good for us now, let's cross fingers

Don't underestimate Groningen!

I would prefer AZ, because their form is gone at the moment. Also, they are currently having 2 seasons to the full extreme. Previous season they had a tough competition and Uefa Cup semi-final. And now a tough competition and play-offs. They're exhausted! Groningen on the other hand are in the winning mood. They have a lot of physical strenght and a bunch of good strikers.

When they play at home, they are almost unbeatable. Look at the figures this season. Ajax and psv lost there, AZ and feyenoord didn't get more than 1 point.

Very difficult team to play against. A lot of aggression, which Ajax never can handle very well. Remember: Brugge, Auxerre and even FC Thun.

It's funny how everyone criticized the playoffs system. Since I have a VERY pragmatic approach of the situation, I see that : Feyenoord is already out, which is nice, and that we will crush either Groningen or AZ to reach the Champions League. It's awesome.

More money, more exposure, better games, CL is where Ajax belongs.

That's so good.

carcajou schreef:It's funny how everyone criticized the playoffs system. Since I have a VERY pragmatic approach of the situation, I see that : Feyenoord is already out, which is nice, and that we will crush either Groningen or AZ to reach the Champions League. It's awesome.

More money, more exposure, better games, CL is where Ajax belongs.

That's so good.

agreed

philippe schreef:I guess Groningen would be an easier opponent than AZ, so things ahead look pretty good for us now, let's cross fingers

Did you know that in case we meet Groningen, on April 26th and May 3rd, we will have to play the home game first. Even though we finished higher in the prelimenary league? Reason is that the city of Amsterdam won't allow an Ajax game on May 3rd because it needs to rest its policemen after Queensday(April 30.) and before Liberation Day(May 5.).

Watched AZ lose playoff .... always happy for Ajax to win... but what a bloody travesty the playoffs have proved to be.

dws schreef:Watched AZ lose playoff .... always happy for Ajax to win... but what a bloody travesty the playoffs have proved to be.

Yep, exactly the same as they have proved time and time again in the English leagues. I know Ajax benefitted this time and in fact PSV won with points to spare but the fact is, the team that's spent all season fighting for the championship is bound to be a bit more knackered than one that (for instance) just came good at the last moment and sneaked into 5th place.

I'm happy Ajax won too and will no doubt enjoy the CL games next year but these play-offs are a joke (the other side of the coin is though that everyone knew the rules at the start of the year etc. Feel sorry for AZ though.....)

The irony to all this is that most of the team's thought Ajax were going to be the team most afected by this, since we had finished second every time we did not win the championship. But the plan backfired on them, it's funny if you come to think it :D

It's destiny people were Ajax, we belong in the Champions league ;)

PS: I just cant imagine Groningen in the Champs League, no disrespect towards them though.

Venezuelan Ajacied schreef:
PS: I just cant imagine Groningen in the Champs League, no disrespect towards them though.

The only plus point is that it would alert the wider world to this stupid system the KNVB have invented....and then they'd have to change it. :xyxthumbs:

I'm very happy Ajax are through, especially against Fnerd but have too many negative experiences of play-offs to ever be a fan...

Play-offs are good for a team like Ajax. Take this season, Ajax has played many more games then for instance Feyenoord. We played 10 matches in the CL (F-noord only 2 in the UC) and a couple more then them in the Dutch cup as well. AZ also played, 4 matches, less then Ajax. That always costs us points in the league. Football simply works that way. With a play-off system you can focus on CL when you need to and still have a shot at a high ranking in the league as long as you end in the top 5.

Venezuelan Ajacied schreef:...
PS: I just cant imagine Groningen in the Champs League, no disrespect towards them though.

Cant see them doing any worse than we have over the past few seasons. They would be extremly tough at home, but they would probably get slaughtered away. They would also have the underdog behind them and might catch a team or two by surprise.

I know the play off system might seem like a joke, but hey! The same can be said about the champions league, I mean finishing third in a group, and then you qualify for the uefa cup!!! On top of that the winners of the Uefa cup play the winners of the Champions league in the european super cup, thats a farce, but we cant change things now, we cant bring the great cup winners cup back, and the same goes for the play offs. It shouldnt effect Ajax that much, next season we will be Kampionen, so the likes of PSV, AZ, Feyenoord and a team like Utrecht will battle it out, I just cant wait! I mean I love the champions league despite its format, Its the most exciting competition, and with Perez, Stam coming, and possibly (hopefully) Landzaat and Davids, I say bring on Real Madrid, F.C. Porto and Basel (if they make it).

I say Barca Real Man Utd . More cash ahaha.

SE6Ajacied schreef:

dws schreef:Watched AZ lose playoff .... always happy for Ajax to win... but what a bloody travesty the playoffs have proved to be.

I'm happy Ajax won too and will no doubt enjoy the CL games next year but these play-offs are a joke (the other side of the coin is though that everyone knew the rules at the start of the year etc. Feel sorry for AZ though.....)

Agree all around. Then again, if AZ couldn't do the business in the playoffs....

It's been a bad week for them, what with the playoffs and the embarrassing "stadium ban" fiasco.

Also a pragmatist. Whatever Ajax must do to get into the CL, be it play-offs,CL qualifying round, etc.. Just get there. Another benefit is the $ Ajax earns from the extra games.

Where I dislike the play-offs: don't hit the season book supporters up for extra $ at the end of the season. Include possibility of play-offs when play-off chances become a probability,not a definite, which they did before season's end.

The Eredivisie website reports that they have commissioned Groningen and Nijmegen Universities to evaluate the play-offs -
http://www.eredivisie.nl/subpage.aspx?l ... 700&type=1

Are they looking for a face saving way of ditching them?

Time for an update...

Play-offs for numbers 2, 3, 4 and 5

FIRST ROUND
A: FC Groningen - AZ 3-1
B: Ajax - Feyenoord 3-0

B: Feyenoord - Ajax 2-4
A: AZ - FC Groningen 2-1

SECOND ROUND
Ajax - FC Groningen (Wed 26 April, 20:15)
FC Groningen - Ajax (Wed 03 May, T.B.A.)

Feyenoord and AZ qualified for the UEFA Cup. Winners of Ajax vs FC Groningen qualifies for the 3rd preliminary round of the Champions League, losers qualify for the UEFA Cup.

Play-offs for number 6, 7, 8 and 9

FIRST ROUND
A: FC Twente - FC Utrecht 2-0
B: Roda JC - SC Heerenveen 0-0

B: SC Heerenveen - Roda JC (Wed 26 Apr, 20:00)
A: FC Utrecht - FC Twente (Wed 26 Apr, 20:00)

SECOND ROUND
Winners B - Winners A (Sun 30 Apr, 14:30)
Winners A - Winners B (Wed 03 May, 20:00)

Winners of the second round qualify for the UEFA Cup. Losers of the second round will move on to play the winners of the play-offs for numbers 10, 11, 12 and 13, for a berth in the Intertoto Cup.

Play-offs for numbers 10, 11, 12 and 13

FIRST ROUND
A: Heracles Almelo - NEC 0-2
B: RKC Waalwijk - Vitesse 4-4

A: NEC - Heracles Almelo 2-3
B: Vitesse - RKC Waalwijk 2-0

SECOND ROUND
Vitesse - NEC (Wed 26 Apr, 20:00)
NEC - Vitesse (Wed 03 May, 20:00)

Winners of the second round move on to play the losers of the second round of the play-offs for number 6, 7, 8 and 9, for one slot in the Intertoto Cup.

Promotion/relegation play-offs

FIRST ROUND
A: FC Zwolle - FC Haarlem 1-1
B: TOP Oss - AGOVV Apeldoorn 3-0

A: FC Haarlem - FC Zwolle 1-3
B: AGOVV Apeldoorn - TOP Oss 0-2

SECOND ROUND ('best of three')
C: FC Zwolle - Willem II 2-4
D: De Graafschap - VVV-Venlo 1-1
E: Helmond Sport - FC Volendam 0-1
F: TOP Oss - NAC Breda 0-0

C: Willem II - FC Zwolle 6-2
D: VVV-Venlo - De Graafschap 2-4
E: FC Volendam - Helmond Sport 2-3
F: NAC Breda - TOP Oss 2-2

'Decisive games on 28 April:
E: Helmond Sport - FC Volendam
F: TOP Oss - NAC Breda

THIRD ROUND ('best of three', games on 05, 08 and - if necessary - 12 May)
Willem II - De Graafschap
Volendam/Helmond - NAC/TOP Oss

Winners of the third round confrontations will play in the Eredivisie next season.

Note that Volendam and NAC Breda are not out on away goals. The promotion/relegation play-offs are 'best of three': away goals do not count for two. These teams will play third and decisive games on 28 April.

K.

Kowalczyk schreef:
Note that Volendam and NAC Breda are not out on away goals. The promotion/relegation play-offs are 'best of three': away goals do not count for two. These teams will play third and decisive games on 28 April.

K.

Who gets home advantage?

Thanks for the update Ko on what is the most complex playoff system ever devised in sport.

I have followed everything but still cannot understand why the 12th placed team can be involved with promotion !! No need to answer.

Frans schreef:Who gets home advantage?

I think (not 100% sure) that they'll return to the ground where the first legs were played. In practice: Oss and Helmond.

The ironic thing is: I checked the websites of the clubs involved and none of them confirmed this. The clubs themselves don't even seem to know, but as far as I know they won't play at a neutral ground or something.

K.

The team that scored the most away-goals have the home advantage!

Volendam and Helmond are pretty in balance. I hope that Volendam reaches the Eredivisie. The village of Volendam is only 10 minutes away from where I live. Perfect way to watch more Eredivisie games.

Top Oss - NAC. NAC should be ashamed. They completely lost it. They have far more quality, but the atmosphere must be terrible. 2 coaches fired this season!
It would be a huge surprise if Top Oss would make it to the Eredivisie. but on the other side: a stadium of 4500 people, or a 15.000 stadium.. huge difference. Also the budget they are working with...

Thanks KO.You know it's a bad situation when you must turn something happening on the pitch over to university eggheads to figure out. I wonder if we'll see white smoke rising from said eggbertorium if they figure it out? Or is that only for less difficult endeavours? Mid-East peace and Papal elections to name two.

My brain now thoroughly fried by all the play-off computations,I think I'll take a nap.