Ajaxtalk

Orange14 schreef:This is Alderweireld's second season as a starter and he is what 21 years old? Vertonghen has bounced around between midfield, left fullback and central defense. I think this will also be his second full year as well. I think they will get better. 90% of defense if mental and that's the part we fall down. Last year we were pretty solid and I think we will be solid this year as well. Don't rush out and buy anyone. I refer all of you to the Wielaert thread where the first 10 posts had him ranked as the second coming of Paolo Maldini.

Agreed -- after the chaos of this summer it will take a little time for them to gel again -- but remember how effective they were for the entire second half of last season. Just let us be patient and give the team a little time to come together and all will be well.

I do agree, however, with the person who said that we need to do something about the left back situation. I never liked Anita there -- and it would be a big improvement overall if we found a really good defender for that spot. To tell the truth, I would even rather see Urby there than Anita. Maybe his defending ability leaves a little something to be desired (but it's not any worse than Anita's imo) -- but what he adds in his effectiveness coming up the wing makes up for it.

Speaking of lack of motivation, how did Van der Wiel play ?

philippe schreef:Speaking of lack of motivation, how did Van der Wiel play ?

He played a weak back pass that was intercepted, sending the PAOK player clear on Steks. Great goaltending saved a certain goal. I don't think this is all lack of motivation rather he is still a work in progress. My major concern (voiced often) is that he is a one footed player and really needs to work on his left foot. I think opponents realize this and it makes it quite easy to box him in (contrast this to the player he was rumored to replace at Bayern, Philip Lahm, who is a great two footed fullback and can play either side of the field).

Weak back pass?? You're being very kind. That was one of the most stupid attempted backpasses I've seen in a while.

He got stuck with having to go past 2 defenders. He had Alderweireld and Vertonghen behind him who were marking players and weren't free. So he plays a defense splitting pass over the top to the PAOK forward who was being marked by Vertonghen.

The smarter thing to do would be to just kick it off one of the two PAOK defenders in front of him into the touch line.

Amol schreef:Weak back pass?? You're being very kind. That was one of the most stupid attempted backpasses I've seen in a while.

He got stuck with having to go past 2 defenders. He had Alderweireld and Vertonghen behind him who were marking players and weren't free. So he plays a defense splitting pass over the top to the PAOK forward who was being marked by Vertonghen.

The smarter thing to do would be to just kick it off one of the two PAOK defenders in front of him into the touch line.

I always try to be kind. You are correct of course and it's one of the reasons why he isn't going to transfer away this season (at least at the €20 M value. I think Blind and de Boer really need to sit down with him (I assume they are the ones who work with the defenders) and go over all of his weaknesses. I do think he can be a top quality right back at the highest levels but there are some things that need working on. He came up as a central defender and I think has only been playing right back for a couple of seasons. He had a decent enough WC but was primarily playing in a "safety first" mode which he often doesn't do here.

I hope that he realizes this himself too, that he is nowhere near a finished product. I mean I know he came up as a CB (and was horrible at that because of his lack of heading skills) and is a converted RB.

But watching him play the last 3 Ajax games(and the last 2-3 Netherlands games at the WC) he needs at least a couple years to figure out how to play the RB position and be great at it.

At the WC, I think it was Kuyt's defensive work in the first 2-3 games which allowed him to attack when in possession. After Kuyt moved to the other flank, Van Der Wiel looked very one-dimensional.

A day later, I'm still moderately shocked. The three goals in seven minutes were a fluke. You may not see that again all season. But the stupidity of the defense for the remainder of the game? If only that were a fluke...

I think my fingers are gonna be down to the bones a lot this season :(

Ajax has drawn Kiev, the worst possible opponent of ALL unseeded teams. We play them in Kiev first.

Fuck. Bye bye CL>

De Dominee schreef:Ajax has drawn Kiev, the worst possible opponent of ALL unseeded teams. We play them in Kiev first.

Fuck. Bye bye CL>

why? Hahaha, do you REALY think Dynamo is sometnihg special? Easy to beat team, if we fix this mistakes in the back.

How long have Kiev been playing their season?

Ajax should have a good chance if they learn the lessons from the Paok matches. Such as 'extremely dangerous to let opponent cross midfield with the ball.'

only 4 games so far in ukraine. plus 2 in Cl. We had 3 oficial games,so there is not a big diference.