Ajaxtalk

You know it's ERWIN Koeman, right? Ronald's brother.

Arthur schreef:You know it's ERWIN Koeman, right? Ronald's brother.

No I didn't..... I just read "Koeman à Feyenoord" on a Frennch sports site and jumped to conclusions like an asshole....

OK, so that is not that big a news finally....

Hehehe so Koeman may go to Feyenoord, Ruud Gullit to PSV and we'll be the champions for sure :D.

Carcajou schreef:Koeman new coach for Feyenoord !!!!

This is HUGE !!!

Give me more informations please !!

My Dad told me this, and I was happy, as I thought Feyenoord were even more screwed. Then I looked up the story, and it turned out to be Erwin Koeman. :nooo:

Ronald would never manage Feyenoord, his heart is still with Ajax, he's not like Gullit who doesnt give a crap

Erwin isnt exactly the best, see him at RKC? So I dont think he'll just be able to cause much problems next season

ZoefdeHaas schreef:Ronald would never manage Feyenoord, his heart is still with Ajax, he's not like Gullit who doesnt give a crap

Yeah. And that's why Koeman played for AJAX, Feyenoord and Psv and Gullit only for Feyenoord and Psv....He's is the same as Gullit. Maybe worse.

Seeing Ko's latest signature has made me wonder when Van Eijden is going to leave and when a TD is going to appear.

Anybody have any ideas?

Yup - we have a new TD!

Martin van Geel it is, the man who led Willem II to the Champions League and subsequently AZ to the semi-final of the UEFA Cup. He landed Van Gaal for AZ and pisses off before it all goes wrong (good decision). He played for Ajax from 1979 to 1981.

Excellent choice, I say. Stay tuned to Ajax USA for the news report!

K.

:headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang:

Exellent news! Very good TD. Hopefully he will bring Ron Vlaar with him. A future top class defender, much better than Heitinga in my opinion.

News report is up!

http://www.ajax-usa.com/news/2004-2005/ ... ector.html

K.

Kowalczyk schreef:Yup - we have a new TD!

Martin van Geel it is, the man who led Willem II to the Champions League and subsequently AZ to the semi-final of the UEFA Cup. He landed Van Gaal for AZ and pisses off before it all goes wrong (good decision). He played for Ajax from 1979 to 1981.

Excellent choice, I say. Stay tuned to Ajax USA for the news report!

K.

Willem II played Champions League ?

Carcajou schreef:Willem II played Champions League ?

Yes, can you belive it! But who was responsible? Was it Van Geel or just Co Adriaanse. We'll find out when Porto and Ajax meet eachother in the next CL's final :D

Very happy with this transfer BTW. Very optimistic about this lad. Now we need Van Eijden to go and we really can start building on a new Ajax!

Cheers!

LXIV

LouisXIV & co schreef: Now we need Van Eijden to go and we really can start building on a new Ajax!

That's right. Van Eijden, piss off. Now! Now!

NOW!

K.

I have to say that other than the guy at the very top (that would be Mr. van Eijden), the management "team" strikes me as quite solid and competent. Now if they could only get rid of van Eijden. And sign Pienaar, Trabelsi and de Jong.

I think you're right: we do have competent people in the organization. I really rate John van den Brom as the boss of De Toekomst, Martin van Geel is a great choice for TD and we also have a few extremely professional 'business guys' as commisioners (Leo van Wijk of KLM and media tycoon John de Mol, for example). Also, I think there are enough people with a true Ajax heart in the board (Klaas Nuninga, for example).

But there are weak spots, too.

For starters, I am starting to believe that John Jaakke is a very 'pale' and rather undecided Ajax chairman. A sort of marionet, who doesn't really have a vision of his own. The 'Jimmy Carter in the history of Ajax chairmen'... perhaps that's an appropriate analogy?

The biggest mistake of the club, however, is their refusal to hire a few top drawer people for marketing and communication. Apparently, Ajax do not wish to pay their 'office people' high salaries, which is the reason why they keep f#cking up their website, merchandise and marketing. If you want top people you will have to pay them top money. They will earn it back for the club. Possibly on their first day in office, because it's so painfully obvious what needs to be done. Ajax keep relying on self-made guys, who are willing to accept a rather low income ('because it's their club'). If they hire a real professional and pay him well, they would win that investment back in a month.

Which leads us to the real problem: Arie van Eijden...

The man's heart is red and white, I'm sure about that, but he's mediocre and conservative. He simply doesn't have the imagination to understand how tremendously, crucially important a good marketing strategy is - and how badly this club needs qualified, talented people who are not scouted from the 'old boys' network'. Mind you, I 'know people' and they all tell me the same stories: the website, the online fanshop, Ajax Travel... Van Eijden will always say that those things are extremely important, but the truth is that he believes deep down that it really isn't worth the budget.

Bear in mind that Van Eijden returned to the club at a time when everyone felt that Ajax had turned into a cold company. Van Eijden's job was to turn Ajax into a club again - and he did well at first. Frank Kales was ditched and Van Eijden started hiring former players for key positions. His initial success has made him believe that 'Ajax people' are the only ones we need. Which is a mistake.

One of Van Eijden's problems is ignorance, that's for sure. But it is the combination with either arrogance or an inferiority complex that makes it disastrous. I am not sure which one it is: he either thinks that Ajax is such a big name that the club don't really need top drawer people to promote the club, because the name of Ajax will effectively promote itself (that would be arrogance). Or he believes that Ajax will never be able to compete with Real Madrid, Man United and AC Milan anyway - and that the club shouldn't even bother and focus exclusively on The Netherlands (that would be an inferiority complex). I still haven't figured it out. Maybe it's a little bit of both.

Anyway: this man is the problem. Once he's gone we can start building a modern club structure. Which does not necessarily mean that Ajax will become 'colder' or more of a 'company'. Quite on the contrary actually: the 'coldness' the supporters complain about really is the result of aristocracy, if you ask me. Not of innovative thinking. We must get rid of the aristocrats; not of the innovators. And since Arie van Eijden has already announced his departure anyway, he might as well go now.

Thank you for listening. :hypocrite:

K.

Thanks for a great read K!

As I sometimes feel a bit distanced from things concerning other than the results and the players it's great to get an inside read on the people running the club.

To me it seems that van Eijden isn't all that stupid but perhaps a bit unflexible. He started off well with the strategy of hiring back ajax paople. By doing it he felt wind in his back and by all means they were populistic choices.

The thing is that he doesn't seem to understand the fine line between what's in your heart and what's in your mind. And I have to say that in all fairness - we supporters are not an easy target group to please when it comes to that. We expect everything to run smoothly with the economy, the merchandise, the salaries, the marketing the arena questions, the strategy of the club on a whole. BEsides this demand we also want the feel of a club, not a corporation. We want tradition, history (old fucking club crests back) and a sense of belonging. On top of that we want the club to win. And win always!

Trade off: Sense and sensibility. Rational and irrational. Corporation and club feeling.

I'm not saying he shouldn't leave, given what Ko writes it seems justified. I'm just saying that sometimes we should perhaps stop for a second and think about what we demand from the club and people working for the club.

Kowalczyk schreef: he believes that Ajax will never be able to compete with Real Madrid, Man United and AC Milan anyway - and that the club shouldn't even bother and focus exclusively on The Netherlands (that would be an inferiority complex).
K.

if there one thing that's killing Ajax, this is it, and I'd rather call this the "nursery of Europe complex"

I remeber once talking to a guy working on ajax.nl (over the internet) and asked why they didn't have an english version of the site (or was it the shop maybe?). The answer I got was that Ajax don't need the abroad fans, 'cause it's in Holland the real fans live. Or something like that.

From what I've understood much has improved when it comes to abroad marketing over the last years, and ajax.nl is a little bit better now as well, but there's still a llot of work to do.

Per schreef:Thanks for a great read K!

As I sometimes feel a bit distanced from things concerning other than the results and the players it's great to get an inside read on the people running the club.

:xyxthumbs: Cheers Ko as well. Can only agree with Per in sense of feeling a bit out on the limb as far as all the Ajax internal politics stuff goes. There's always plenty to read about as far as the actual football is concerned but I do like to try and read a bit deeper if I can, especially when (as in this case) it looks like theres a story to tell.

Other than the really basic stuff - that Mr van Eijden left in disgrace once and then returned at some time I've got to admit I was largely ignorant on a lot of this stuff....I feel a bit less ignorant now and it certainly seems there's room for change at the top.

The thing is, marketing Ajax worldwide would not be that hard to do. When I wear my Ajax gear around Athens I frequently receive comments from locals, who invariably comment on what a great team Ajax is (this before the Charisteas deal, even -- although a couple of guys chanted "Charisteas" at me the other day, which was pretty cool). Everybody knows it.

Granted, Panathinaikos fans remember the great Cruijff-led team that beat them (and Olympiakos fans remember that as well), but they also remember the other great Ajax teams of the past. Marketing here would be fairly easy, I would think. And the same is true of other places 'round the world. Ajax has a history of classy play, great talent, and (super important) a recognizable kit, among the most famous in the world. Can't be that hard to market, can it?

Ko, thank you for taking the time to do such an in-depth and spot-on look at some of the problems keeping Ajax from being the best it can be. Likewise, thanks for the balance in commenting on the strengths. The strengths first.

I really like the appointment of Martin van Geel. It sounds like Ajax has done it's homework for a change. I definitely remember Co's Willem II side, including Tomas Galasek, in the CL.Van Geel's track record with Co at AZ is equally impressive.I hope the Blind, Van den Brom, Van Geels partnership will flourish.On paper,it looks a positive step or three.

I just hope the triumvirate will flourish despite the weak Jaakke and weaker :eusa_liar: Van Eijden.Jimmy Carter? Cold shiver. I hear his name and can't help but think of Lillian Carter's famous quote. Paraphrasing, she said she might have remained a virgin had she known how her kids,Jimmy included, would turn out. There's a ringing endorsement :xyxthumbs: . Van Eijden and Jaakke were lucky enough to see the league won early on, but have done very little since to show me they are anything but bean counters.

who is the ideal candidate to replace Van Eijden if any?

Ayman schreef:who is the ideal candidate to replace Van Eijden if any?

Given our standards I would go for Jesus :worshippy:

Per schreef:Given our standards I would go for Jesus :worshippy:

Well, his marketing strategy is not very impressive these days, is it? :D

K.

Per schreef:

Ayman schreef:who is the ideal candidate to replace Van Eijden if any?

Given our standards I would go for Jesus :worshippy:

What - the old Athletico Madrid president ?