Dutch Premier League and other Dutch football reloaded!2008-2009

[Wanted Man]

We're just going to continue as ever, but now hopefully in a busier subforum that gets more views! The original thread can be seen here: http://www.revleft.com/vb/group.php?do=discuss&group=&discussionid=944

Round 23, the end is nigh!

Probably for commercial interests, the bosses decided to give us another "super weekend" where Ajax, Feyenoord, AZ and PSV all play each other. Nevermind that Ajax - Feyenoord is the only true Classic, the FA can always rewrite history... The football, unfortunately, wasn't really "super".

15/02/2009 Ajax - Feyenoord 2-0
15/02/2009 Sparta Rotterdam - Vitesse 0-0
15/02/2009 NEC - SC Heerenveen 1-1
15/02/2009 FC Groningen - Heracles Almelo 2-0
14/02/2009 PSV - AZ 2-2
14/02/2009 FC Twente - FC Volendam 2-1
14/02/2009 NAC Breda - Roda JC 1-0
14/02/2009 ADO Den Haag - De Graafschap 1-0
13/02/2009 Willem II - FC Utrecht 0-2

http://i40.tinypic.com/wvvdz5.gif

http://www.nusport.nl/wp-content/uploads/Voetbal/Eredivisie/Ajax/Ajafey/vermaelen460.jpg

Ajax win Klassieker

The match started with a boring first half. Ajax's €16.25M purchase Sulejmani didn't show much, so he was replaced by the transfer listed former Feyenoord player Leonardo. He instantly made the difference with some great dribbling. He and Luis Suarez did well up front and were unlucky to hit the woodwork several times, or the score could have been much higher. Feyenoord didn't seem to have a will to win at all.

Watch it here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uhPSmF5eCE&feature=related) and here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqFDdGeV0aM).

http://www.nusport.nl/wp-content/uploads/Voetbal/Eredivisie/PSV/Koevermans/460/koevermans460.jpg

AZ march ends

AZ quickly gained a 2-0 lead, but PSV fought back in the second half. With this, AZ's lead decreases slightly as Twente only just managed to get past Volendam.

[Panda Tse Tung]

My dad's a Feyenoord supporter :p.
I laugh at him.

[Wanted Man]

12th place. Well, that's better than what was predicted by Ajax supporters on Sunday, who sang: "They're going to Omniworld!" (the bottom club in the lower league) :p Sadly, Ajax are suffering too under Marco "pannenkoek" van Basten, but not as much as Feyenoord. Although it adds insult to the injury that Ajax invested €34M in new players and are not doing any better than last season.

Anyway, two interesting things:

-UEFA Cup football this week. NEC vs Hamburg Sv tomorrow, Fiorentina vs Ajax and Olympique Marseille vs FC Twente on Thursday.
-Gary Lineker with his weekly analysis: last week (http://video.eredivisielive.nl/player/player.php?ProductID=20302&license_set=1&lmid=), this week (http://video.eredivisielive.nl/player/player.php?ProductID=20393&license_set=1&lmid=).

[Panda Tse Tung]

I'm waiting for the point where Sparta gets a higher position then Feyenoord and then sing the Sparta club-song.
But yeah our premier league is getting interesting, i used to think only only the 1st division was interesting (being an RBC-supporter myself). since thats still pure football. But now it's getting fun again to check out the premier league.

[Killfacer]

I know that FC Twente manager Steve Mclarens appointment was initially met with skepticism by the fans, how is he perceived now?

Keep up the good work, this is one of my favourite threads on RL!

[Wanted Man]

I'm waiting for the point where Sparta gets a higher position then Feyenoord and then sing the Sparta club-song.
Sparta is de club van Rotterdam! :laugh:

The Premier League's level of football has gotten lower, but also more entertaining. Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV are no longer invincible, anyone can beat them now.


I know that FC Twente manager Steve Mclarens appointment was initially met with skepticism by the fans, how is he perceived now?

Keep up the good work, this is one of my favourite threads on RL!
Yeah, there was some skepticism, like: why get an expensive, discredited English manager? Especially when some English tabloids pounced on how he supposedly pretentiously "put on" a Dutch accent in one of his first interviews ("Shteeve McClaren").

But it has worked out well, as the club are 2nd now and are still in the UEFA Cup, where they beat Schalke. I don't know any Twente fans, but they probably don't feel too bad right now. Sure, McClaren failed with England, but clearly he has some capabilities. When he worked under Sir Alex, he didn't shovel shit, he learned something.

[Killfacer]

Well he did really well for Middlesbrough, getting them to the EUFA cup final. He isn't a poor manager, he was just promoted above his ability to the role of England manager. If he had had more years in club football he would have been better placed to manage England.

(edit) Although i still despise him for Englands failure to qualify for the euros.

[Wanted Man]

Yeah, it reminds me of Van Basten, who has never had a managerial job before he started with Holland for the Euro 2008 qualification. As a result, there were lots of conflicts and poor football, but we still qualified because most of the opposition were crap. And of course, we got surprising results in the group stage. But Van Basten's inexperience continues to show at Ajax. This is a man who has always been top dog and has never had to manage a crisis.

Anyway, introducing a new feature in this thread. Thanks to the blog Ajacied in America (http://ajaciedinamerica.blogspot.com/), I was pointed to the fact that ESPN make regular columns about Dutch football. They can be seen here: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/archive?columnist=30&root=europe&cc=5739

[Wanted Man]

http://www.topnews.in/sports/files/uefa_cup.jpg

If NEC were dreaming of an upset against Hamburg, they were in for a rude awakening this evening. NEC manager Mario Been declared: "If we don't struggle against HSV, we might as well go to the Reeperbahn after 30 minutes" (Reeperbahn = red light district in St. Pauli). NEC played fairly well in the first half, but Martin Jol's team scored two goals from set pieces in minutes 40-45. After that, there wasn't much of a match anymore, and it ended 0-3.

Some "fans" made matters worse for their club by throwing objects at the Slovenian ref, wounding his head lightly. Of course, it's not 1-5 idiots who are going to pay for this, but the club as a whole. :(

Tomorrow, Ajax and FC Twente face tough away matches at Fiorentina and Olympique Marseille. Maybe they can surprise Viola and l'OM. But I doubt it. Then again, PSV beat l'OM in the CL earlier, so who knows.

[Killfacer]

http://www.topnews.in/sports/files/uefa_cup.jpg

If NEC were dreaming of an upset against Hamburg, they were in for a rude awakening this evening. NEC manager Mario Been declared: "If we don't struggle against HSV, we might as well go to the Reeperbahn after 30 minutes" (Reeperbahn = red light district in St. Pauli). NEC played fairly well in the first half, but Martin Jol's team scored two goals from set pieces in minutes 40-45. After that, there wasn't much of a match anymore, and it ended 0-3.

Some "fans" made matters worse for their club by throwing objects at the Slovenian ref, wounding his head lightly. Of course, it's not 1-5 idiots who are going to pay for this, but the club as a whole. :(

Tomorrow, Ajax and FC Twente face tough away matches at Fiorentina and Olympique Marseille. Maybe they can surprise Viola and l'OM. But I doubt it. Then again, PSV beat l'OM in the CL earlier, so who knows.

I hate to say it but it looks like both of the sides are going out. Fiorentina are a class side and Mutu is twice as good as any Ajax player, as is Frey. I guess FC Twente could win, but seems unlikely.

[Wanted Man]

Yeah, their chances are small. Ajax and Twente have beaten some tough opposition in the group stage (Hamburg and Schalke 04, respectively), but they've also suffered some painful defeats (Aston Villa and Paris Saint-Germain). I remember Fiorentina against PSV last season. PSV had beaten Tottenham before, but Viola were a different thing entirely. Then again, in the season before that, FC Groningen came very close to eliminating them.

http://www.detrouwehonden.nl/graphics/gallery/album/12405.jpg

As for yesterday's match, it's a shame that NEC were beaten and the referee was wounded, but at least it allows for some funny jokes. First is NEC manager Mario Been, already known as a joker, who said: "Maybe the referee just popped a zit." Some analysts said that it looked as if Hamburg always had one more player. Been: "I think I'll just bring 14 players to the next match."

The commercial manager of NEC decided to record a funny carnaval song in a mix of local dialect, Dutch and German. The song claims that NEC will win and have a party at the aforementioned Reeperbahn: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9EEaaoxVtU

[Wanted Man]

With all my journalistic objectivity, and after a good night's sleep, I still only have one thing to say:

FUCK YEAH!!!!!!

http://www.nusport.nl/wp-content/uploads/Voetbal/Eredivisie/Ajax/Wedstrijden/Fiorentina/Suarez460.jpg

Ajax beat Fiorentina in a win that was very similar to the earlier group stage match against Hamburg. A slightly lucky win, where a disgraced and transfer-listed player made the only goal. This time, it was Kennedy Bakirçioglu who scored. A very important away goal and a great win. After the match, the Viola players lined up in a neat file to salute their opponents. From this beautiful gesture, we can only conclude that Ajax won in a distinctly Italian fashion.

http://www.nusport.nl/wp-content/uploads/FC_Knudde/278/ank.jpg
http://www.nusport.nl/wp-content/uploads/FC_Knudde/278/clou1.jpg

Match winner Kennedy embraces his manager: "For the dickhead who wants to get rid of me!" :laugh:

http://www.nusport.nl/wp-content/uploads/Voetbal/Eredivisie/Twente/Wedstrijden/Marseille/twnteperez460.jpg

FC Twente also caused a 0-1 upset, in Marseille. The national broadcasting station didn't have the rights to this match, so I couldn't see it, but Twente were apparently in a very good display. Surprising, seeing as they previously went down 4-0 against Paris Saint-Germain. But this shows that they are maturing even faster than thought under McClaren.

[Killfacer]

:lol: shows what i know

[Wanted Man]

Well, I didn't really expect it either. I was mostly busy biting my nails when Viola got yet another corner or freekick at the edge of the area, when they just kept coming after Ajax's goal, etc. But the result is there, and it's one to be proud of.

[Wanted Man]

Round 24

22/02/2009 Sparta Rotterdam - FC Twente 1-2
22/02/2009 FC Utrecht - NEC 0-2
22/02/2009 De Graafschap - Feyenoord 0-2
22/02/2009 Ajax - FC Volendam 2-1
21/02/2009 Heracles Almelo - AZ 0-2
21/02/2009 ADO Den Haag - NAC Breda 1-1
21/02/2009 FC Groningen - PSV 0-1
21/02/2009 SC Heerenveen - Willem II 3-1
20/02/2009 Vitesse - Roda JC 3-0

http://i39.tinypic.com/28jdszs.gif

A pretty boring weekend, all in all. So this will be a short post. FC Twente, Ajax and NEC clearly still hadn't fully recovered from their European fixtures. Especially Ajax were shockingly bad against the yo-yo club Volendam. So their 2-1 win can only be called lucky. Same with Twente and NEC, who played poorly, but still won. Feyenoord finally won a game as well, despite De Graafschap working hard.

Two matches stood out in my book: first of all, Heerenveen vs Willem II. Not because it was such a great match, but because it involved new management. If I recall correctly, Willem II's Andries Jonker is the sixth manager to resign or get sacked. Willem II had poor results in 2009 so far. So now his former assistant Groenendijk is in charge. But nobody really expected any kind of effect from him, especially not in this hard away fixture.

After beating Feyenoord and Ajax, FC Groningen wanted to add another top club to their list. But PSV got a very lucky away goal.

[Killfacer]

Who do you reckon is going to win? Will be the first time neither PSV or Ajax have won it in a while surely?

[Wanted Man]

I don't think AZ can be surpassed anymore. They are way ahead, and their competitors will definitely be spilling some points in the last 10 matches. AZ may spill some points as well, but they are already too far ahead.

And yeah, the last time a club outside of the top 3 won the title has been a long time ago. That was also AZ, in 1981, with their only league title so far. PSV have won 4 in a row, Ajax last won in 2004. Feyenoord won in 1993 and 1999.

Some more about AZ's title dreams: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=615883&sec=europe&root=europe&cc=5739
They almost got it in 2007, but they somehow failed to get past measly Excelsior. Ajax then lost out to PSV on goal difference. In 2007-2008, AZ fell back, ended in a mid-table position and Van Gaal came close to leaving the club.

[Wanted Man]

More UEFA Cup football tonight! Can Ajax and FC Twente hold on to their hard-fought 1-goal lead? If so, they will be playing each other in the next round. Meanwhile, here are some clips from last week's games:

hCHAUtj_E1E

4I_dZEdPBkQ

Also, yet another manager was sacked, Henk van Stee of De Graafschap. The club are second to last and have only scored 15 goals in 24 games.

[Wanted Man]

FC Twente and NEC are out. NEC already had very little chance, and their last hopes were already shattered after 9 minutes as Olic scored. Twente lost 1-0, and then went on to lose the penalty shoot-out to Marseille.

It's half-time at Ajax vs Fiorentina. Ajax have attacked sometimes, but are very much hanging on by their fingernails. Will they make it? We'll see in about 45 minutes. The winner plays against Marseille in the next round.

[Wanted Man]

HOLY FUCKING SHIT YES!!!!!!!

(we'll get back to you later...)

[Killfacer]

I see Ajax are through, are Twente through on away goals?

[Wanted Man]

No, Twente went out on penalties, unfortunately. I would have liked seeing a European fixture of Ajax vs Twente.

Anyway, this has been another evening full of suspense for Ajax vs Fiorentina (didn't see the other games). Fiorentina were superior, but Ajax held on for a long time. In the second half, things went awry, but then Van Basten brought on none other than Leonardo. He went past 4 or 5 defenders like it was nothing and scored an excellent 1-1. Ajax are through on aggregate!

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh268/Ajax1foto/Ajax%20spelers/Leonardo_Basis_Ajax1nl.jpg

The Brazilian was once scouted in the slums of Rio and became a wonderkid at Feyenoord. He got into a conflict with the club and left to NAC, where he clashed with his manager. He ended up at Feyenoord's arch-rivals Ajax, with the faith of Henk ten Cate behind him. But he got a long-term injury, and after Ten Cate went for the cash at Chelski, neither interim manager Koster nor Van Basten saw much in him.

This season, he is basically a second squad player. But still, he scored at Hamburg, allowing Ajax to progress through the UEFA Cup group stage. And now he's done it again! When he comes on, this little dribbler instantly poses a threat. But he is also notoriously inconsistent, the next weekend he might let the team down at a league match against a small opponent. It's hard to make up your mind about him, but he's made a few crucial interventions this season. Next year, he'll probably be reunited with Ten Cate in Greece.

http://eredivisie.infostradasports.com/images/lib/news/large/PRO_451615_KennethVermeer.jpg

Kenneth Vermeer was the other hero. Stekelenburg was ill, so the young goalie got his chance, which he took with both hands. Stekelenburg saved Ajax several times in Italy, now it was Vermeer's turn. The 23-year-old surprisingly became the first-choice goalie in the Olympic team this summer, where he also did well, and he stood in for Stekelenburg when he was injured for most of last autumn. He's a great goalkeeping talent, who may very well move out of Stekelenburg's shadow if he gets the chance.

[Killfacer]

I buy Leonardo on football manager alot for smaller teams. He's got pace and can dribble but i guess it's realistic that his mental stats aint so good.

Well done Ajax!

[Wanted Man]

Yeah, I believe he has very high pace, acceleration, dribbling and technique in FM, but little else. Which makes sense. Funny how disgraced players like him and Kennedy keep saving Ajax's asses this season.

[Wanted Man]

Ajax vs Fiorentina:

-UWXshLUKO4

FC Twente vs Olympique (note Ben Arfa's fantastic freekick):

PZMpesKkc9Q

HSV vs NEC:

8Y5sbJHj83o

[Wanted Man]

So what's going on at the bottom?

So far, this thread has mostly been focused on the Premier Division. But there's also the second professional league, the First Division (current sponsor name: Jupiler League).

The First Division undoubtedly has a lower level of football, the stadiums are often half empty (or half full) and many clubs have financial trouble. But who cares? Certainly not the real fans.

So how does it work? Matches are usually played on Friday evening. The champions automatically get promoted to the Premier Division. Also, the league is divided in six "periods". The "champions" of each period qualify for promotion/relegation play-offs, along with the #16 and #17 of the Premier Division. Besides them, the highest two teams in the First Division (except those who are already champions or have won a period) also get a chance in the play-offs.

It is not possible to get relegated from the First Division, so in that sense, there is a lack of competitiveness. The FA want to change some things soon: they want to purge clubs with financial troubles, and make a rule where the bottom club gets relegated to the amateurs. This might already happen at the end of this season. Eventually, they want to create a "Topklasse" (Top class) between the professional First Division and the amateur leagues.

So how does it look now?

http://i41.tinypic.com/2eoftk3.gif

VVV Venlo are clearly on top. The clubs with a green plus next to their names have won a period. VVV played in the Premier Division last season, but were relegated in the play-offs, losing to ADO Den Haag, who were promoted. FC Volendam won the league and the promotion. Now, VVV are clearly headed towards the championship.

http://i.media.goal.com/r/11260.jpg

The big star of the First Division is VVV's Keisuke Honda. The Japanese playmaker keeps demonstrating his great skills and goals. If VVV get promoted, Honda will easily be able to compete in the Premier Division.

Watch games?

Obviously, this league has little international appeal. Still, the real football freaks can watch all the highlights here: http://www.rtl.nl/components/sport/rtlvoetbal/jupiler/miMedia/197574/196209.public.RTL_Voetbal_Jupiler_League_s5_a7.xml

[Killfacer]

fuck yeah, now i know how i can waste even more of my time!

I laugh in the face of the presenter for his appaulingly poor haircut.

(edit) alot of diving

[Killfacer]

One more thing, who is VVV's little number 7. He looks good.

[Wanted Man]

Watching obscure foreign football leagues is not weird, it's a wast-- err, way of life! ;) In fact, I'll one-up myself and give you women's football as well: http://www.rtl.nl/components/sport/rtlvoetbal/eredivisie/miMedia/2009/week09/zo16.196474.public.RTL_Voetbal_Eredivisie_Vrouwen_ s2_a19.xml :p Football is notoriously sexist in general, but it's even worse here. Only a few female footballers are paid, and I think it's broadcast at disadvantageous times, with highlights of only one match. But there may be a change, now that the national women's team have qualified for Euro 2009. All joking aside, this may be a bit of a breakthrough.

Anyway, back to the subject: The number 7 is apparently one Soufiane Dadda. Can't say I've ever heard of him. Sounds like a Moroccan name, there are several Moroccan-Dutch at VVV. The best one was Nordin Amrabat last season. He failed to keep his club from relegating, but he did earn a transfer to PSV.

As for the presenter: media figures here are notoriously unfashionable. :thumbup:

[Wanted Man]

Round 25!

01/03/2009 FC Volendam - NEC 1-1
01/03/2009 FC Twente - ADO Den Haag 1-0
01/03/2009 FC Utrecht - Ajax 0-2
01/03/2009 Feyenoord - Vitesse 2-2
28/02/2009 AZ - FC Groningen 3-0
28/02/2009 Roda JC - De Graafschap 3-1
28/02/2009 NAC Breda - Sparta Rotterdam 3-1
28/02/2009 Willem II - Heracles Almelo 0-3
27/02/2009 PSV - SC Heerenveen 2-3

http://i40.tinypic.com/6e0lsk.gif

http://www.nusport.nl/wp-content/uploads/Voetbal/Eredivisie/AZ/El_Hamdaoui/460/Hamdaoui460_3.jpg

AZ demolish Groningen!

Let no-one say that AZ are just playing glorified counter football anymore. FC Groningen were expected to be a tough opponent, but instead, they folded under AZ's offensive. The best goal was the third one, by Moussa Dembélé: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cm5Eg0NdvAk

[Wanted Man]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3070/2625845040_5a80d915a7.jpg

Ridiculous situation in Zwolle

Just my luck: I finally devote a post to the First Division, and what happens? That's right, suddenly there is all sorts of crazy news coming from the basement of Dutch football.

The biggest and weirdest news is the sacking of manager Jan Everse at FC Zwolle. In what is already known as the bitterbal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitterballen) incident, this is the most bizarre story I've heard in the footballing world for a long time. Everse was supposedly sacked because he acted in a "menacing" way towards an employee (who happens to be the son of a board member).

The employee first refused to let the manager's wife sit on a better seat (in the half-empty stadium), and then skipped her when handing out deep-fried snacks (like the aforementioned "bitterballen") in the players' lounge. So Everse grabbed him and demanded an explanation, which was apparently considered a physical threat by the board members. Everse was sacked before he could say "bitterballen".

Set-up?

Now, that is obviously just the direct cause, but there's more going on. The fact is that there has been trouble between the board and manager for over a year, when the board initially refused to extend Everse's contract. The directors in Zwolle are a notoriously incompetent bunch of stuffed suits, who would rather sacrifice a good manager like Everse (he led the club to the play-offs last season, and has done it again this year) than give up their power.

That seems to be the real reason for Everse's dismissal, as he also claims that he has been set up. Apparently, there was an ambitious plan in the works at Zwolle: the club was going to be taken over by an English investment company led by Ray Ranson, the chairman of Coventry City FC. Ranson would use his money to buy players, affiliate the club with the Sky Blues to loan players, and secure a quick promotion, turning Zwolle into a stable Premier Division club. But there was only one condition: the board of directors would have to go.

Everse and a players' agent named Henk van Ginkel were in on the deal. So by sacking Everse, the board ensured that this plan would not come to fruition, and their position would be secured. The plan was already very advanced, the Dutch FA already informed. But the dismissal of the manager changes everything, severing the link with Coventry. Further proof of the set-up: sponsors were already asked if they were interested in paying the buy-out sum for Everse before the incident.

[Wanted Man]

Cup football! Upsets in the quarter-finals

http://www.cw-net.nl/omniworld/img_nieuws/KNVB%20beker.jpg

FC Twente 1 - 0 De Graafschap
sc Heerenveen 3 - 1 NEC
Roda JC 2 - 3 Volendam
AZ 1 - 2 NAC

The quarter finals of the cup have been played yesterday and tonight. Tonight's matches caused two upsets. Volendam beat Roda JC, the relegation candidates are now in the semis. League leaders AZ were beaten at home by NAC. This was not entirely unprecedented, this also happened in the very first league match. But after another loss, AZ started the amazing streak that brought them to the top. So for NAC to pull it off again is really something. Still, they are known to be cup fighters.

AZ went in 1-0 ahead at half time. Foolishly, I decided to stop watching, as I figured that seeing AZ dominate again was just going to be frustrating for me. But instead, I missed the chance to see them suffer a defeat.

With this, Ajax, holders Feyenoord, PSV and AZ are all out of the cup. For the next few matches, it will be the tournament of the provincial clubs. Luckily, three of them are very strong, so the semis and the final should still be interesting. I don't expect much more from Volendam, but maybe they can surprise us, like when they eliminated Ajax.

Personally, I'm putting my money on a final of Twente vs Heerenveen, two great sides. But that might well be spoiled if they already draw each other for the semis. We'll know later tonight, or tomorrow.

[Panda Tse Tung]

RBC Roosendaal! Roosendaal! Roosendaaaaal! :p. Creative folks in Roosendaal.

[Wanted Man]

Round 26!

08/03/2009 FC Volendam - Vitesse 1-0
08/03/2009 NAC Breda - Feyenoord 1-2
08/03/2009 NEC - AZ 0-1
08/03/2009 FC Twente - PSV 1-1
08/03/2009 Roda JC - FC Utrecht 0-0
08/03/2009 ADO Den Haag - Ajax 1-1
07/03/2009 SC Heerenveen - FC Groningen 2-1
07/03/2009 De Graafschap - Heracles Almelo 1-0
06/03/2009 Sparta Rotterdam - Willem II 0-1

http://i39.tinypic.com/8wjpjq.gif

http://www.feanfans.nl/fotos/0809/heegro/22.jpg http://www.feanfans.nl/fotos/0809/heegro/2.jpg

9-man FC Groningen hold on until the bitter end against SC Heerenveen

The "derby of the north" between the provinces of Frisia and Groningen is always a big fixture for both sides. Groningen played well, but earned two yellow cards on two occasions. The first red card was justified, but the second one gave the away fans plenty of reason to chant about the profession of the referee's mother...

Groningen player Garcia already had a yellow card when he was offside for a while. Just after referee Wegereef's whistle, he touched the ball slightly, so that it bobbled away for 3 yards or so. The referee interpreted this as kicking the ball away after a whistle, and therefore as ungentlemanly conduct, and gave him a second booking. How petty can you get??? But them's the rules, maybe I'm just biased.

Groningen manager Ron Jans really did kick the ball out of pure frustration, so he was sent off. He could see his 9 players struggle to maintain a 1-1 (Groningen played really well). Until the 93rd minute, that is, when those damn Frisians got another last-minute win! Just like in the previous edition in Groningen. In that match, the usually calm and decent Ron Jans also earned himself a place in the spotlights by flipping the bird in an unspecified direction:

http://www.pepijnkoning.nl/weblog/wp-content/uploads/2ry4rvl1.jpg

Watch this delightfully physical game here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMSbomKKVLA

[Wanted Man]

Have I ever told you that I fucking hate ice skating? Why yes, I have, during the UEFA Cup match (http://www.revleft.com/vb/showpost.php?p=1383554&postcount=7).

Well, the public broadcasting station has allowed it to interrupt an evening of football again. This time, it's the league highlights. I can only see tonight's last match if I want to sit through 20 minutes of skating first. Fuck that. It's not even a big match (Volendam vs Heracles), but it's the principle that counts. Before football, they have 30 minutes for other sports. After that, it's 30-50 minutes of football, not something else. Pricks.

Anyway, I did see the other highlights, which of course will be included once Sunday's games are done. But there was one bit of controversy at the game between FC Twente and Willem II. Marko Arnautovic, the Austrian forward of Twente, apparently decided to "celebrate" his goal by calling his opponent Ibrahim Kargbo a "dumb nigger". Or at least, that's what Kargbo says. Kargbo himself pointed out that there are 5 black players at Twente, making it even more ridiculous than it already is. But then again, why would he make such a thing up? If it's true, it just shows what a fucked-up mentality there is in football sometimes.

[Wanted Man]

Round 27 ftw!

15/03/2009 ADO Den Haag - NEC 3-0
15/03/2009 Ajax - De Graafschap 3-0
15/03/2009 Feyenoord - PSV 1-0
15/03/2009 FC Utrecht - AZ 0-1
14/03/2009 Heracles Almelo - FC Volendam 1-1
14/03/2009 Vitesse - NAC Breda 0-3
14/03/2009 Willem II - FC Twente 0-2
14/03/2009 SC Heerenveen - Sparta Rotterdam 5-1
13/03/2009 FC Groningen - Roda JC 2-0

http://i44.tinypic.com/ax0bkl.jpg

With the top three of the league almost certainly determined, the relegation struggle will be the most eventful for now. FC Volendam cleared themselves from the last spot for the first time this season, and frankly, they deserved it. Especially compared to De Graafschap, who hardly ever even score. Whoever finishes last will certainly go down, but the two teams above them will get their chance in the play-offs.

Speaking of play-offs, Feyenoord have relaunched their bid for European football. They are still several points removed from a chance to contest the UEFA Cup play-offs, but things are finally looking up. NEC have been weak lately, and ADO Den Haag have been one of the teams to profit from this. They are out of the relegation zone, while Sparta will be having a tough time for the rest of the season.

Other stuff: Co Adriaanse is one of the managers tipped to become the new PSV boss. This would certainly be great news, I would love to see both Van Gaal and Adriaanse managing in Holland again.

[Wanted Man]

The magazine VI made a top 10 of the most desired players in the league like now. The format is like this: Name, (estimated value), (estimated asking price) (in euros).

1. Luis Suárez (20M) (25M)
2. Moussa Dembélé (10-12M) (20M)
3. Ibrahim Afellay (8-10M) (15M (clause))
4. Eljero Elia (8M) (10M)
5. Mounir El Hamdaoui (8M) (15M)
6. Marko Arnautovic (7M) (15M)
7. Danijel Pranjic (8M) (12-14M)
8. Marcus Berg (8M) (15M)
9. Miralem Sulejmani (8M) (16.5M)
10. Douglas Franco Teixeira (7M) (14-15M)

What do you think of this? Maybe you've never even heard of some of these?

Personally, I think Afellay should easily compete for the top spot in this list. I was also surprised to see Sulejmani here at all, what with his poor season at Ajax. But apparently, foreign clubs still see something in him. But he isn't going anywhere, he is pretty much unsellable since Ajax paid 16.5M for him. Nobody else is going to risk that kind of money on this player again.

[Killfacer]

I know: 1, 2, 3, 7 and 9.

[Wanted Man]

I hope Afellay will earn some more caps, he's just a great player. Too bad he's competing with a lot of other players on that midfield.

As for the ones you didn't know yet: Elia and Arnautovic are the brilliant young wingers of FC Twente. If the big foreign clubs are paying any attention, they might soon be testing their skills in a much stronger league.

Nf2A6RZ4QGE

Mounir El Hamdaoui is the Moroccan striker of AZ, who is the top scorer at the moment. The big question is whether he can do the same against much better defences, or end up like another Afonso Alves. There were some exaggerated rumours of interest from Barcelona, but El Hamdaoui can certainly come far.

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Marcus Berg is another striker, a Swedish guy at FC Groningen. He has been inconsistent this season, but he's still a great talent IMO.

MJaPylqwgWk

Douglas is the only defender on the list, which says enough about the state of our football league. But this Brazilian from, once again, FC Twente, is a damn good one. Many other clubs have leaky defences, but not Twente, and this guy is a big part of it. He's only 21, and has a great future ahead, I think. Unfortunately, being a defender means that he doesn't have any cool videos on Youtube.

[Wanted Man]

Round 28, just 6 more to go!

22/03/2009 FC Volendam - FC Utrecht 0-0
22/03/2009 NAC Breda - Ajax 0-3
22/03/2009 FC Twente - FC Groningen 2-1
22/03/2009 Roda JC - ADO Den Haag 2-0
22/03/2009 AZ - Feyenoord 0-0
21/03/2009 Sparta Rotterdam - Heracles Almelo 1-0
21/03/2009 PSV - Vitesse 2-0
21/03/2009 NEC - Willem II 0-0
20/03/2009 De Graafschap - SC Heerenveen 2-0

http://i44.tinypic.com/ngu5ol.gif

[Wanted Man]

Weird rumour: after Steve McClaren, we're supposed to get another English manager. The current manager of Sparta is going to become director of football at FC Utrecht. The big rumour is that the new Sparta manager will be none other than Tony Adams.

[Wanted Man]

No Premier League, due to the international games. In the meantime, enjoy brilliant First Division football from Friday: http://www.rtl.nl/components/sport/rtlvoetbal/jupiler/miMedia/197574/196213.public.RTL_Voetbal_Jupiler_League_s5_a11.xm l

With all the high-level football, massive average attendances (around 1,000...) and a presenter with a beautiful shirt.

[Wanted Man]

Round 29!

05/04/2009 FC Volendam - Feyenoord 2-1
05/04/2009 Vitesse - De Graafschap 0-0
05/04/2009 Roda JC - Ajax 1-2
05/04/2009 Willem II - NAC Breda 2-0
04/04/2009 Heracles Almelo - SC Heerenveen 1-1
04/04/2009 AZ - ADO Den Haag 4-1
04/04/2009 Sparta Rotterdam - PSV 0-2
04/04/2009 FC Utrecht - FC Groningen 0-1
03/04/2009 NEC - FC Twente 1-1

http://i44.tinypic.com/im81mf.gif

The end is approaching fast. If AZ win next week and their competitors fail to win, they are already champions. Otherwise, they'll probably have to wait another week for the inevitable.

XuURVRjmy70

Embarrassment for Feyenoord: a 2-1 loss to the lowest-ranked team, Volendam, that can only be described as painful. Especially notable is the equaliser, where the international Van Bronckhorst allows himself to be fooled like an amateur. A very important win for Volendam in their relegation fight.

g03ykkDEsIM

Ajax win in grim atmosphere: the match itself wasn't much to write home about. It's astonishing how Ajax keep playing this cowardly counter football against relegation candidates. More notable was that some home fans began to break down the stadium. They are pissed off with the fact that their club will be merging with their regional arch-rivals into the new "Sporting Limburg". One banner even said "Get relegated for us", because they hope that relegation will screw up the planned merger.

KT5vIfQrxMM

Willem II win regional derby against 9-man NAC: it had its controversies. First, there was the penalty (and red card for NAC). NAC player Amoah increased the pressure on the penalty taker for about a minute by repeatedly entering the box. As a result, he ended up missing the penalty. Clever, or just unsporting?

Then there was the NAC player who got a second yellow card later on. The referee didn't whistle for a foul before that decision, but just accepted the judgement of the 4th official. Then, he took a lot of time to verify whether it was that player before he also pulled out the red card.

[Wanted Man]

Round 30

12/04/2009 SC Heerenveen - FC Volendam 1-0
12/04/2009 FC Groningen - Vitesse 2-3
12/04/2009 Ajax - Willem II 7-0
12/04/2009 Feyenoord - Heracles Almelo 5-1
11/04/2009 De Graafschap - NEC 2-2
11/04/2009 PSV - FC Utrecht 2-0
11/04/2009 FC Twente - Roda JC 4-2
11/04/2009 ADO Den Haag - Sparta Rotterdam 1-2
10/04/2009 NAC Breda - AZ 0-1

http://i43.tinypic.com/2qjx2qg.gif

Hello football friends, here we go again! Lots of goals this weekend.

2ABM-yn2ur8

At this point of the season, this great Ajax victory will not bring them any closer to the championship. However, it may help if the second spot ends up being decided by goal differentials. Still, it was a brilliant match, and it made me wonder two things: a) why can't they always play like this? b) Why does Dario Cvitanich not start in every match??? He's a worthy replacement for Huntelaar if the manager has faith in him.

TP-OiQSz5wo

Feyenoord got one of their few convincing wins of this season. They finally looked like a team that knew what it was doing.

SAYZ3wRq20Q

FC Groningen got an unpleasant surprise in their own stadium from Vitesse, who haven't been doing well recently, with four games without scoring. But things turned around this time. Groningen's bid for European football is not in danger, they still have a decent lead.

[Killfacer]

Thanks for the updates once again.

On the English managers: I'm obviously glad to see English managers getting to manage teams abroad, it's something that clearly doesn't happen enough and has definatly be detrimental to the development of English managers.

I'm not sure whether Tony Adams would be a particuarly good manager for Sparta, but he did show signs of promise towards the end of his time at portsmouth. Good luck to him.

[Wanted Man]

There hasn't been any news on Adams' connection to Sparta, but some other managerial changes for next season have been revealed.

Who will be the new PSV manager?

http://www.fctwente.nl/images/upload/nieuws/fredruttenpersconferentie.jpg http://www.hln.be/static/FOTO/pe/6/3/9/art_large_337674.jpg

Fred Rutten or Co Adriaanse? Rutten was recently sacked by the German club Schalke 04, so he is available. Adriaanse has come into conflict with his club, Red Bull Salzburg (in Austria), because he has openly declared interest in the PSV job. This may come back to bite him in the ass, because PSV don't seem very interested in Adriaanse, he is much too flamboyant as far as the PSV board is concerned. I do think he's a much better manager, though. Anyway, as it stands now, he will neither get the PSV job, nor an extension of his Salzburg contract... Nice move, Co.

So Rutten seems the most likely choice, but he isn't an easy one either. Just after he got sacked for his woeful underperformance at Schalke, he is already demanding a double function at PSV: he wants to be both the head coach, and the director of football who is fully empowered to decide on transfer policy. A common model in England, but not as much in Holland. In his case, it seems like a dangerous kind of self-overestimation. Still, he has done a good job at Twente before.

Lodeweges to NEC

http://www.whoateallthepies.tv/Eredivisie%20frankenstein.JPG

NEC certainly made the most exciting choice here. :rolleyes: Anyway, Dwight Lodeweges, currently the interim manager of PSV, will be replacing Mario Been (who's going to Feyenoord) at NEC next season.

http://www.sporza.be/polopoly_fs/1.211826%21image/2116202362.jpg

Also, Louis van Gaal is back on his high horse: he wants to stay with AZ for one more season (to play in the Champions League), but then it's over. From then on, he will only want to manage a big nation or a club like Real Madrid or Bayern Munich... But it's speculated that if no such offers are forthcoming, he will settle for Belgium...

Anyway, new column from ESPN: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=630798&sec=europe&root=europe&cc=5739

[Killfacer]

I wasn't aware that the "director of football" model was used in Holland. I think it's pretty important that a manager is able to form his own team. Here in England, it's frowned upon when a chairman uses a footballing director and, in my opinion, rightfully so.

Louis Van Gaal should be manager of Real Madrid, he has proved once again that he's a quality manager. I would be happy for him to take the arsenal job once arsene is gone.

[Wanted Man]

Yeah, I know (you're suspended, but I'll post anyway :p). I remember when Spurs used the coach/DoF model as one of the few English clubs, and look where it got them. In the Netherlands, "manager" doesn't really exist, as "managers" in the Netherlands don't usually have the power to decide transfer policy. So they're usually called "coach" or "trainer". The director of football is called "technisch directeur" ("technical director").

It works reasonably well, although sometimes egos clash. For example, at Ajax, where Ronald Koeman was manager and Van Gaal was director of football at one point. Big names, big disaster. Recently, more managers are demanding full power. At Ajax, for instance, where they decided on having one strongman (Van Basten) after years of failure. Marco now has full veto power, with mixed results so far. And now Rutten wants full power at PSV.

I think Van Gaal has disproportionate power at AZ as well (I think he would really fit in at Bayern, btw), although they do have a DoF. Last season, they made lots of expensive purchases (€30M or so, in total) and finished mid-table. This season, they got some free transfers from the First Division, and they're heading for the league championship! This proves that, regardless of which model is in place, you need good scouting to get shit done.

[Wanted Man]

Hope & Change

http://media.nu.nl/m/m1bztafacaln.jpg
It's official, Fred Rutten, freshly sacked by Schalke 04, will be the new PSV manager for the next three seasons.

http://www.sportweek.nl/uploads/news/andre_wetzel_83809_300px.jpg http://www.soccernews.nl/uploads/atteveld,%20raymond%20%5Bcloseup%5D.jpg

ADO Den Haag (The Hague) have switched things around a bit. André Wetzel (left) was the manager, but he found the job too busy and decided to step back and become director of football. The new coach will be Raymond Atteveld, who previously managed Roda JC before being sacked at the beginning of this season (a bloody lot of good it did them...).

[Wanted Man]

http://www.nusport.nl/wp-content/uploads/Voetbal/Eredivisie/AZ/Kampioen/azkampioen480.jpg

Kampioenen! Kampioenen! Kampioenen, olé, olé!

The moment is finally there! After 28 years, AZ have become Dutch league champions for the second time in their history! Finally, after years of struggle, the moment has finally arrived. It all started in 1993, when banker, loanshark and all-around capitalist scumbag Dirk Scheringa started pumping money into the club. In 2007, they could have won, but lost the final match to puny Excelsior. In 2008, there was the big deception when Scheringa invested €30M, but the club only finished 11th.

http://www.geenstijl.nl/archives/images/vangaalscheringa.jpg

This season, things only seemed to get worse. AZ lost to NAC at home, and were then crushed 3-0 by newly-promoted ADO Den Haag. Louis van Gaal's time appeared to be running out (he all but resigned in the last season, but his top players, Stijn Schaars and Maarten Martens, who had been injured all season, decided to stick up for him) when the match against champions PSV came along. But AZ won gloriously, and went on a tremendous 28-match unbeaten run.

http://www.geenstijl.nl/archives/images/louissuccesvolste.jpg

Last night, they had the chance to decide the competition by beating Vitesse. The league shield was already inside the DSB Stadion, the stage was set, Mounir El Hamdaoui scored. But then came the deception: Vitesse got the draw, and then even the win, thanks to a butt ugly goal by Alexander Büttner. The fans, remembering 2007, were in tears. Horror scenarios were already coming along: what if Ajax beat PSV? There was still going to be a match of Ajax vs AZ, and AZ had tough opponents like Twente and Heerenveen ahead. What if AZ lost all matches and Ajax won everything???

http://www.geenstijl.nl/archives/images/azeredivisie.jpg

But no such luck in Amsterdam. Ajax just got their asses kicked by PSV 6-2. They underestimated the former champions, who are still struggling for direct European qualification. Since Twente lost at Feyenoord yesterday, it is now official: Louis van Gaal has once again earned a landslide win with a young squad!

I'll post the other matches tomorrow, but for now, let's enjoy this great success.

AZ started poorly with two losses, against NAC and ADO:

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The big turning point was the third match: AZ vs PSV, which started a huge unbeaten streak:

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In November, Ajax were beaten in a snowy match. In January, Ajax would completely waste their season by losing to weaker opponents.

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Yesterday, AZ lost their "championship match" against Vitesse. Seen below in three parts:

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But luckily, Ajax fucked up against PSV big time. 6-2!

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And so AZ are champions! Videos of the celebrations will undoubtedly follow.

[Stranger Than Paradise]

This is a brilliant thread This Charming Man. It's a relief to see someone different winning the Eredivisie for a change. I don't know much about the AZ Alkmaar team this year. Any players who could hold their own in the Premier League?

[F9]

Too bad for ya TCM(lol now noticed what your "initials" make:p), atleast im not going to be the only one disappointed for loosing the championship:crying:

[Wanted Man]

To drop the objectivity momentarily, I can't believe that Ajax sucked so badly against PSV today. Of course, the AZ title was almost a fact, unless Ajax won every match and AZ lost every single one from now on. But it would have been nice to see them sweat for a few weeks, considering that Ajax vs AZ is played next week.

Truth be told, I hate AZ. Especially the chairman Scheringa, who has become a billionaire by scamming people with loans with huge interest rates. I can't stand the shitty commercial atmosphere, with smoke being emitted when the players enter, loud thumping music playing, and everyone clapping in a fascist-like rhythm with cardboard "clappers" (don't believe this? See: http://www.footballclappers.com/movie.html to see what fascism in football looks like).

But I guess it was about time the cheeseheads got their break... :rolleyes:

[Stranger Than Paradise]

those clappers are really stupid.

[Wanted Man]

This sums up my thoughts:

http://www.detrouwehonden.nl/graphics/gallery/album/13943.jpg

"Against modern football, fuck the mergers", as seen at NEC vs Roda JC. "Mergers" referring to the plan to combine the regional arch-rivals Roda JC and Fortuna Sittard. They're going to be fucked financially either way...

[Zurdito]

wow, mergers. wtf!

you guys need to get your clubs run (de facto) by lumpens who act as hired hands for the TU bureaucracies or politicians, and use the stand behind the goal as their place for selling their wares. Then there would be powerful interests preventing any merger I can assure you. However financially unviable the clubs are, any club president who tried to merge the Gimnasia and Estudiantes barras would soon find himself under more gunfire than a US military base.

[Wanted Man]

http://www.rodafanshelden.nl/sprtlmbrg.jpg

Well, that's pretty close to the reality, actually. For instance, board members of Roda JC recently stepped down because they kept getting death threats from fans (or "fans", if you're into the whole liberal media scare quote thing). During previous merger talks, the board members already had to walk around with bullet-proof vests.

The difference here is that they don't work for politicians. :p In fact, the regional government verbally promised to fund the new merged club. But they changed their minds and the deal fell through. The fans celebrated, but in a way, they are dancing on their own graves because the clubs are fucked financially, anyway. Fortuna Sittard will soon have to prove to the FA that they still have a right to exist as a pro club. And if Roda get relegated this season, which seems likely with their shit manager, it will be curtains down for them soon, too.

So anyway, these people were just willing to send envelopes with bullets in them out of pure club love. Bloody southerners... :p On the other hand, people in London would also be pissed off if Arsenal and Spurs were to merge just because of financial worries. Just to show how absurd these mergers are.

[Zurdito]

The wierd thing is though that surely 99% of football clubs in the world are financially unviable.:confused: Sometimes I think that these scares are cooked up to keep fans grateful simply to have a club.

[Wanted Man]

Yeah. Apparently, the FA here are relatively strict compared to other countries. For example, compare it to the huge English clubs who just keep loaning more money to fund new players... Over here, only two, maybe three, clubs have deep pockets at all. Some others just use their limited funds very efficiently (by scouting cheapo players in Scandinavia, for example). Some clubs are as good as bankrupt. And the rest just have to do with the scraps.

[Wanted Man]

http://www.cw-net.nl/omniworld/img_nieuws/KNVB%20beker.jpg

Cup final between Twente and Heerenveen!

Last week, the semi-finals of the FA Cup were played. FC Twente beat NAC Breda, while SC Heerenveen defeated FC Volendam, the relegation candidates who had made it this far. It would have been really something if they were relegated, but still went into Europe by winning a cup... But it was not to be that way.

Since these clubs are already ensured of European football by their league positions, this also gives other clubs an opportunity. PSV are now certain of European football, rather than having to face the play-offs. It's a complicated system, but if I've got it right, this also provides a window of opportunity to FC Utrecht, Feyenoord and even Vitesse if they play their cards right.

As for the cup final itself, it will take place on the 17th of April in Feyenoord's beautiful stadium in Rotterdam. Since two well-supported provincial clubs will be playing, we can expect nothing less than a fantastic event with endless streams of busses with fans who want to join the celebrations.

http://www.nusport.nl/wp-content/uploads/Voetbal/Jupiler_League/VVV/Calabro/460/Calabro460.jpg

VVV Venlo are back!

After dominating the First Division all season, VVV are back in a greater position than ever. Last season, they were sadly relegated after losing in the play-off matches with ADO Den Haag, but after this great season, who knows if they'll hold on now? Will star players like Keisuke Honda and top scorer Sandro Calabro be good enough for the Eredivisie? It remains to be seen.

[Killfacer]

VVV Are up? They had that diminutive midfielder who i thought looked like a class act, can't remember his name.

Thanks for the updates.

I think Van Gaal may well go to Bayern, although i seem to remember him mentioning he wanted to coach at internation level?

[Wanted Man]

Van Gaal wants either a big European club, or a major nation. For some reason, he is particularly charmed by Argentina or Brazil. When he said this to an interviewer, the guy replied: "But Maradona is still manager of Argentina." Van Gaal: "Exactly." :lol: The club are hoping that he will settle for being Belgium manager, so he can stay with the club at the same time. And then they will have more time to convince him to extend his contract. Louis has a principle of always serving out his contracts, but this will be tested if Bayern come knocking. Schalke 04 are also interested.

Round 32

The championship has been decided, but there is still the relegation fight and the fight for Europe. The play-off system is too complicated to explain again (especially because two European contenders will also be playing in the cup finals), so just look it up on wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eredivisie#Playoffs

26/04/2009 Ajax - AZ 1-1
26/04/2009 FC Groningen - Willem II 0-0
26/04/2009 Vitesse - FC Utrecht 6-1
26/04/2009 ADO Den Haag - Feyenoord 2-3
25/04/2009 Heracles Almelo - PSV 0-2
25/04/2009 NEC - NAC Breda 2-3
25/04/2009 Roda JC - FC Volendam 1-1
25/04/2009 SC Heerenveen - FC Twente 1-1
24/04/2009 Sparta Rotterdam - De Graafschap 0-0

http://i44.tinypic.com/64jorl.gif

Still an intense relegation struggle, as can be seen in the league table. Willem II have once again managed to save themselves, but below that, anything is possible. A big compliment should be given to Volendam, who entered the league with the lowest budget by far, a thin squad and a fat goalie (no, really: http://www.zuighaas.nl/2008/10/17/de-ham-van-volendam/). Their campaign reads like a comic book story. Besides the fat goalie, another big hero is Melvin Platje, the super-sub. His name alone is funny, because "platje" is also slang for "crabs" (as in pubic lice!). He's utterly shit when he starts in the first 11, but when he comes on from the bench, he always scores.

eC96OeVbxNY

The funny thing is that almost everyone sympathises with them now, and hopes that they will stay in. With the internal chaos at Roda JC, or the awful offence from De Graafschap (only 21 goals this season so far!), this is looking increasingly likely. ADO, Sparta and Heracles are still not safe either.

Anyway, there's nothing left to say about AZ's championship but to watch the celebrations. From last week, after PSV's win:

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Season review from public broadcasting station:

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Celebrations in Alkmaar from two days ago, with some footage from the 1981 championship at the end:

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[Wanted Man]

Bayern are openly flirting with Van Gaal now.

It should be a "football teacher". A "fundamental demand is that he speaks German, how else will he function?" "We want the new man to develop a squad as a personality, with his authority and quality. He must have a clear plan, we do not want to involve ourselves in the team again." Who else could they be talking about?

http://www.kicker.de/news/fussball/bundesliga/startseite/artikel/508019/

[Wanted Man]

http://www.ad.nl/multimedia/archive/00209/spandoek_209131h.jpg?service=fotoPopup

This banner can be seen at Ajax games, it means: "Against modern football". An Ajax club reporter from a major newspaper wrote a short piece on it.


Enfin, genoeg hierover. Ik realiseer me dat haat en nijd, maar vooral agressie, bij het hedendaagse voetbal hoort. Walgelijk.

Iets anders nu. In de Arena hangt iedere wedstrijd een groot spandoek met daarop de tekst: “Tegen het moderne voetbal”. De tekst van dit spandoek verwijst, denk ik, niet naar bovenstaande bevindingen. Waar dit spandoek - onder andere - wél over gaat, is het volgende.

Op de Ajax-site kwam ik gisteren een zinnetje in een artikel (http://www.ajax.nl/Nieuws/Nieuwsarchief/Nieuws-artikel/Extra-kaarten-voor-Ajax-FC-Twente.htm) tegen, waarmee de kaartverkoop van de wedstrijd tegen Twente nog eens extra wordt gestimuleerd:

“Het belooft een geweldig spektakel te worden in de Amsterdam ArenA met een programma vol met entertainment en muziek.”
...

Zijn ze nu écht hé-le-maal gek geworden? Is dít het niveau naar waar onze club is afgegleden? Mensen enthousiasmeren een kaartje te kopen voor Ajax, door ze ENTERTAINMENT en MUZIEK aan te bieden??

Vorige week riep (http://www.sportwereld.nl/voetbal/clubreporters/3161779/Ajax_Schaam_je_Schaam_je_diep.html) ik nog dat Ajax zich diep moest schamen. Let wel, toen had ik het nog over het voetbal. Maar dit? Hier heb ik simpelweg geen woorden meer voor. Dit komt niet meer goed.


Anyway, enough about this. I realise that hate and envy, but especially aggression, are part of modern football. Disgusting.

Now for something different. In the Arena, there is a big banner with the text "Against modern football" displayed at every match. I do not think that the text refers to the above experiences [aggression in the stands]. What this banner does describe, among other things, is the following.

On the Ajax website yesterday, I read part of an article meant to stimulate the ticket sales for the match against Twente:

"It's promising to be a great spectacle in the Amsterdam ArenA with a program full of entertainment and music."
...

Have they gone completely out of their minds? Is this the level that our club has descended to? Trying to get people to attend an Ajax match by offering them ENTERTAINMENT and MUSIC??

Last week, I said that Ajax should be deeply ashamed. But then, I was still talking about football. But this? I have nothing left to say. Things will never be right again.

http://www.sportwereld.nl/voetbal/clubreporters/3187274/Teloorgang_van_het_voetbal_en_Ajax.html

[alexo]

Reports in english press say Sunderland want him if they stay up. He has done a great job with AZ.

I'm in Ireland, but I like Dutch football and have been over to PSV a fair few times.

[Wanted Man]

Cool. :) PSV haven't had an easy season, but the win against Ajax (6-2!) made up for a lot of that, and we'll be seeing them again in Europe.

[alexo]

who do you think will be the next big players to come out of the dutch league?

[Wanted Man]

Well, I mentioned ten players in an earlier post: http://www.revleft.com/vb/showpost.php?p=1391352&postcount=37

I think Suarez (Ajax), Afellay (PSV), Elia (FC Twente) and Arnautovic (FC Twente) are the big names. Some videos of them: http://www.revleft.com/vb/showpost.php?p=1391681&postcount=39

[Wanted Man]

Round 33: great stuff, and we're not done yet!

As always, in the last two rounds of the league, all the matches are played at the same time, on Sunday. The championship has long been decided, but what of Europe, and the relegation struggle?

03/05/2009 Sparta Rotterdam - Ajax 4-0
03/05/2009 FC Volendam - FC Groningen 0-1
03/05/2009 NAC Breda - De Graafschap 0-1
03/05/2009 FC Twente - AZ 3-0
03/05/2009 Roda JC - Willem II 0-1
03/05/2009 SC Heerenveen - ADO Den Haag 2-2
03/05/2009 FC Utrecht - Feyenoord 2-2
03/05/2009 PSV - NEC 1-1
03/05/2009 Vitesse - Heracles Almelo 1-0

http://i43.tinypic.com/2h5v2uo.gif

fCiqz-usIOw

Ajax embarrassed yet again

I already posted about this: http://www.revleft.com/vb/general-football-discussion-t108045/index.html I'm tired of this shit. Lazy ****s. Ajax earned the 6th red card of the season, showing the lack of discipline when things don't go their way. When they returned to Amsterdam, they were awaited by hundreds of angry fans, who blocked the bus for some time.

vNFw-lcc-G8

FC Twente ease past complacent champions

Steve McClaren and his squad should be commended for this great season. AZ, who had some suspensions, some injuries and some players benched, were not at all ready to fight back. The defence and goalkeeping from the Argentinean talent Sergio Romero were particularly awful. Steve McClaren, Kenneth Perez, Eljero Elia and Marko Arnautovic are just a few of the names that will go into the history books for this result, which the Twente fans celebrated like a championship. Especially when it became clear how Ajax were doing.

Now, the only achievement left for FC Twente is to win the Dutch Cup. But they will need to get past Heerenveen for that.

SsfaOpT5v0g ANZh08t8Omw

Relegation candidates suffer unlucky injury time defeats

FC Volendam and Roda JC both had luck against them. Both teams played well, against FC Groningen and Willem II respectively, but both lost in the final moments. Groningen already had an offside goal at the end of the match that wasn't counted, but then they scored a butt ugly goal deep in injury time.

ANZh08t8Omw

It was even sadder for Roda, because the final goal by Willem II was actually offside. The assistant ref was right in line to see it, but he still made the mistake. The ref wasn't able to see it himself, so he was in no position to second-guess his assistant.

Njd37CFedB8

ADO have repeatedly given away decent leads in the final minutes of the game, and the one against Heerenveen was no exception. A disgraceful action occurred when a Heerenveen player injured his opponent right by the sideline. To prevent a time-consuming injury treatment, he pulled his injured opponent's leg across the line. What a prick!

qt6H_ysD2v4

De Graafschap, on the other hand, got a surprising away win against NAC Breda.

With this, the relegation struggle is still far from over. If you look at the bottom of the table, even Heracles may still have to fight in the play-offs. Next week, De Graafschap and Volendam will be playing against each other, which may very well be decisive for them. So next week should be good, with no less than five sides still hanging by their fingernails.

[Wanted Man]

http://www.nusport.nl/wp-content/uploads/Voetbal/Eredivisie/Ajax/VanBasten/Vertrek/bs12.jpg

Van Basten resigns as Ajax manager

Today, Marco van Basten became the 9th manager in the league to throw in the towel before the end of the season. With this, only half of the Premier Division clubs still have the manager that they started the season with. Ajax had a tough season, with an early exit from the cup against Volendam, having to give up the title race in early 2009, and several embarrassing losses, with the 4-0 against Sparta being the most recent. Some success was had against HSV and Fiorentina in the UEFA Cup, but in the end, being eliminated in the round of 16 is nothing more than an average performance. When you continue your freefall from the European top, nobody will care how well you've played against Marseille.

A photo impression of a difficult year: http://www.nusport.nl/20090506/eredivisie/marco-van-basten-een-bewogen-jaar-in-beeld

It was kind of expected, but kind of surprising at the same time. Ajax had put a lot of faith in the man who was unexperienced as a club manager, and he didn't seem like the type to give up easily. Keep in mind that, at the end of last season, much of the board resigned after a miserable decade, and the new chairman promised good times under Van Basten, who was granted a lot of power in the transfer market. When the press asked if he was going to quit, there was first denial, then semi-denial ("I want to move on, but maybe things will turn out differently"), and now, he has finally drawn his conclusions.

I never like it when managers only get a chance for a short period, but maybe this is for the best. Had he stayed, it would have been a very uncertain whether it would suddenly start working next season. The big question now is who will replace him? For the last match against FC Twente, it will be the former assistant John van 't Schip.

[Wanted Man]

http://www.ad.nl/multimedia/archive/00210/VGAAL_210421b.jpg

Van Gaal and Bayern Munich reach agreement

Newspaper AD reports that AZ manager Louis van Gaal has reached an agreement with Bayern Munich. He will take Andries Jonker (former Willem II manager, now director of football for that club) with him as his assistant. It is also considered likely that AZ captain Stijn Schaars will be joining Bayern. The 8 times capped midfielder is considered instrumental in AZ's success this season.

Promotion/relegation play-offs

As usual, #16 and #17 of the Premier Division will be competing against several First Division clubs in the play-offs. In the first round, the teams who have secured a ticket by winning a "period title" (being the best over a certain period) will play each other in a knock-out system. These matches are Telstar vs MVV and TOP Oss vs FC Dordrecht.

In the second round, the winners will play against the #16 and #17 in the Premier Division. Other First Division clubs, which have finished high enough, will be playing against each other: Excelsior vs RKC Waalwijk, FC Zwolle vs Cambuur Leeuwarden. In the third round, the winners of these matches will play each other. The winners of that round will secure promotion, or will maintain themselves if they are already in the Premier Division.

Damn complicated system.

[Killfacer]

How is Mario Been getting along?

[Wanted Man]

How is Mario Been getting along?
He has had a difficult second half of the season with NEC. There have been 3 or so incidents where he had to send players back to the reserves for being overweight or way below par at training. And people are saying that his head is already at Feyenoord, which he will manage next season. They only have a minor chance of grabbing the 9th spot, which would give them a play-off chance.

[Black Dagger]

Apparently Liverpool are contemplating signing SC Heerenveen's Danijel PRANJIĆ, is this guy any good? He's got a huge tally of goals this season for a midfielder (16 in 24 league appearances).

[Wanted Man]

I've heard the Pranjic rumour too. I think he's very good, but I don't know if he's good enough for Liverpool. I would have thought that a major German club would be more down his alley.

Who plays on the left at Liverpool now? Riera? I don't think he can displace him, but he would certainly add depth to the squad. He's pretty versatile too, started as a left-back in Croatia, then moved to left midfielder, and now he often plays as a more attacking left-winger.

[Black Dagger]

If they do sign him i would think (and hope!) it would be as competition for Riera for the left-side midfield/winger pos. That's one of the things Liverpool need to improve over summer - adding depth to the squad. By the sounds of it this guy would be a decent squad player, even if Riera started most games. That said, they still need to add depth in other players - like a partner/understudy for Torres.

I dunno, i just have this horrible feeling that Rafa is gonna pay over the odds for a dud since summer (not saying Pranjic is that dud)... it just makes me worried in general. Like the rumour about selling Alonso and replacing him with Gareth Barry, hmm.

[Killfacer]

If they do sign him i would think (and hope!) it would be as competition for Riera for the left-side midfield/winger pos. That's one of the things Liverpool need to improve over summer - adding depth to the squad. By the sounds of it this guy would be a decent squad player, even if Riera started most games. That said, they still need to add depth in other players - like a partner/understudy for Torres.

I dunno, i just have this horrible feeling that Rafa is gonna pay over the odds for a dud since summer (not saying Pranjic is that dud)... it just makes me worried in general. Like the rumour about selling Alonso and replacing him with Gareth Barry, hmm.

Reira is a laughable useless hack. Liverpool should sign Ashley Young from Aston villa and another striker.

Charming Man, why do you think players such as Alfonso Alves peform majestically in the eredivise but flop miserably in the prem? The gulf in quality isn't that large is it. I mean look how well some of the teams peformed in europe, Ajax beat some great sides and Twente gave Arsenal a run for their money.

[Wanted Man]

Well, the defence of many Dutch clubs is really much, much poorer than in the Prem. In the Netherlands, even relegation candidates will usually adopt an approach of "score one more goal than the other guy".

Afonso Alves had to face much weaker, slower and less organised defenders in the Eredivisie, and his own team's tactic was basically to get the ball to him so he could make his action and score. An extreme example from 2007, when he scored seven times against Heracles:

6JbZYAMh9zU

I'm sure there are defensive mistakes, or just plain poor defenders, in England too, but clubs that want to stay in the Premier League will never get away with consistently defending like this. I don't know exactly how Middlesbrough play, but I'll wager that Alves will have to play for the team much more, and that defenders will not be so easily impressed by him.

Ajax beat some good sides in the Uefa Cup by being much more composed at the back. I have the idea that Van Basten failed to motivate these boys when they had to play against, say, Volendam or De Graafschap... Ajax now need a "football teacher" type of manager. Hopefully, they can get Adriaanse. He previously left the club on bad terms, but all the board members responsible for that are now gone.

[Black Dagger]

Reira is a laughable useless hack.

Lol, whatever you say man.


Liverpool should sign Ashley Young from Aston villa and another striker

If only it were that easy.

[Killfacer]

Lol, whatever you say man.



If only it were that easy.

It would be easy if your manager wasn't useless and signing good players.

Reira is crap, he wasn't even particuarly good for Espanyol, so why Benitez bought him is beyond me.

Ashley young is easily within Liverpool's transfer budget. He would be an excellent signing and he would be another English player playing for one of the top 4.

[Black Dagger]

Reira is crap, he wasn't even particuarly good for Espanyol, so why Benitez bought him is beyond me.

In most of the games i have watched this season he played fine, linking up well with good technique. But whatever i don't expect a Man U supporter to have the same opinion as a LFC fan.


Ashley young is easily within Liverpool's transfer budget. He would be an excellent signing and he would be another English player playing for one of the top 4.

Yes, but none of that means anything unless Young wants to move and Villa want to sell. Stop being so matter of fact about transfers, it's not enough just to have the money available - look at Man City.

[Killfacer]

In most of the games i have watched this season he played fine, linking up well with good technique. But whatever i don't expect a Man U supporter to have the same opinion as a LFC fan.



Yes, but none of that means anything unless Young wants to move and Villa want to sell. Stop being so matter of fact about transfers, it's not enough just to have the money available - look at Man City.

Firstly i'm an arsenal fan. Secondly, do you actually think Reira is good enough to play for a top 4 team?

Ahsley Young would blatantly go to Liverpool. Perhaps if Aston Villa had managed to get that 4th spot but he's unlikely to want to stay at Aston Villa.

Manchester City and Liverpool are in completely different situations so that comparison is beyond me.

[Wanted Man]

So anyway...

I have a sore throat and a bad mood, so I can't spend too much time on writing a post about the last playing round of the competition. In short: Volendam have been relegated on the final day after all. They failed to get more than a 2-2 draw against their competitors, De Graafschap. The other candidate, Roda JC, miraculously managed an away win against Feyenoord, damning Volendam to the last spot.

De Graafschap and Roda may still get relegated if they fail to win in the play-offs with several First Division clubs. ADO and Heracles are definitely safe.

10/05/2009 Willem II - PSV 0-3
10/05/2009 NEC - Sparta Rotterdam 1-1
10/05/2009 Heracles Almelo - FC Utrecht 1-1
10/05/2009 Ajax - FC Twente 1-0
10/05/2009 AZ - SC Heerenveen 3-1
10/05/2009 Feyenoord - Roda JC 2-3
10/05/2009 FC Groningen - NAC Breda 1-0
10/05/2009 De Graafschap - FC Volendam 2-2
10/05/2009 ADO Den Haag - Vitesse 3-1

http://i40.tinypic.com/2drw85e.gif

This is the end of the league season. Only the play-offs and the cup final remain.

In other news: AZ have apparently reached an agreement with Bayern that will see to the transfer of manager Van Gaal.

And a new ESPN column: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=645672&sec=europe&root=europe&cc=5739

[Killfacer]

Who do you think will replace Van Gaal?

[Wanted Man]

Dunno. AZ would probably like to have Co Adriaanse, who started their successful run in the first place. Ajax were after Adriaanse too, but have removed him from their shortlist now that he has indicated that he is going to need a lot more time to consider his options.

Of course, part of this is just a game for all sides to get more money. Just like how AZ spent a long time denying Bayern's interest, hoping to get a nice buy-out sum. All the flirting in the media is just part of this. Still, I think both sides will have to forget about Co for now.

So I don't know about AZ, and it will be even harder to predict with Ajax, btw. After all, Ajax is not considered a very safe employer, considering all the managers who have left early in the last decade. Ajax would love to have Rijkaard, but a journalist inquiring about this didn't get any further than the man's wife, who said: "We're looking more along the lines of Milan." Louis van Gaal, Guus Hiddink, Dick Advocaat and Ronald Koeman are all managers who are desired by Ajax, but will not be going there for various reasons.

Danny Blind (DoF of Ajax), Ron Jans (FC Groningen manager), Morten Olsen and Michael Laudrup are other names that are being considered. I don't think much of Blind, but maybe the others are good. In the far future, we can only hope that Frank de Boer and Dennis Bergkamp will become good managers.

[Devrim]

TCM, I would just like to comment on how much I have enjoyed this thread over the past season. I haven't felt a desire to comment before as I have virtually no knowledge on the subject matter, but for me reading your comments has given me an insight into one of the European leagues that you hear very little about.

It has been particularly interesting in that the monopoly of the big teams was broken this year. When you realise that the Turkish League has only ever had four champions, you may understand the fascination here.

Once again thank you. It may inspire me to do the Turkish league next season.

Devrim

[Killfacer]

TCM, I would just like to comment on how much I have enjoyed this thread over the past season. I haven't felt a desire to comment before as I have virtually no knowledge on the subject matter, but for me reading your comments has given me an insight into one of the European leagues that you hear very little about.

It has been particularly interesting in that the monopoly of the big teams was broken this year. When you realise that the Turkish League has only ever had four champions, you may understand the fascination here.

Once again thank you. It may inspire me to do the Turkish league next season.

Devrim

I would like this alot. A Dutch one and a turkish one would be great, please do!

Sure Sivasspor are doing really well this season though?

[Devrim]

I would like this alot. A Dutch one and a turkish one would be great, please do!

Sure Sivasspor are doing really well this season though?

Yes ok, I will give it a go if there is some interest.

As for Sivasspor, I don't know if you have followed it recently, but they were knocked off the top of the table last weekend. They are now two points behind with three games to go. It is not impossible, but it will be difficult and will probably go down to the last day when the play GS.

Many people here feel that the powers that be don't want them to win if you see what I mean.

Devrim

[Killfacer]

Yes ok, I will give it a go if there is some interest.

As for Sivasspor, I don't know if you have followed it recently, but they were knocked off the top of the table last weekend. They are now two points behind with three games to go. It is not impossible, but it will be difficult and will probably go down to the last day when the play GS.

Many people here feel that the powers that be don't want them to win if you see what I mean.

Devrim

Yes i do know what you mean. Many of the smaller clubs in England feel the same way. I can see why aswell, you do see alot of dodgy decisions go in the favour of the top four throughout the season. It's pretty difficult to tell though.

Charming man, do Ajax have the financial clout to be able to reclame the eredivise next season and if so how much do you think they will need to spend? Or do you think a new manager would be enough?

[Wanted Man]

Devrim: thanks! If 2 or 3 people read and enjoy, that's enough. :p I'd like to learn more about Turkish football, I know little of it, except for the really big clubs.

Killfacer: tough to tell. Ajax do have a lot of money (where many other clubs are having financial troubles), but it's not infinite. Now that they will miss out on the Champions League for the 4th year in a row (or something like that), it's not like they're raking in huge amounts, either. They spent €34M on transfers this season, and only recovered most of it by the sale of Huntelaar. But looking back, I think Huntelaar on his own was better than all the transfers they brought in...

I think Van Basten underachieved with this squad, and that an experienced manager would have competed for the top spot to the end (not necessarily winning it, mind). I think they need to keep Vermaelen (Aston Villa are rumoured to be after him) and finally get that second reliable centre back - after failing twice with the purchase of Oleguer and Wielaert.

To be honest, it's really tough to tell. At the beginning of this season, most people had either PSV or Ajax as favourites, but both of them basically dropped out of the title race about 3/4 along the way. And while the smaller provincial clubs were already on the rise, they were not expected to win the first two spots (AZ and Twente). So this season has upset the balance quite a bit, I think everything will be up for grabs in 2009-2010.

[Wanted Man]

Bayern appoint Van Gaal as coach
Louis van Gaal
Van Gaal has won six league titles in Holland and Spain

Bayern Munich have appointed ex-Ajax and Barcelona boss Louis van Gaal as their new coach.

The former Dutch national coach succeeds Jurgen Klismann, who was sacked last month.

Bayern say van Gaal, 57, who has just guided AZ Alkmaar to the Dutch league title, will sign a two-year contract and formally take over on 1 July.

"We are happy to have gained an experienced and successful coach," said Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

Dutch side Alkmaar have reportedly released their coach without any conditions, with Bayern set to play a friendly match at their home, probably in the summer of 2010.

Van Gaal won the 1992 Uefa Cup and the 1995 Champions League with Ajax and two Spanish championships with Barcelona.

Bayern fired Klinsmann following a string of disappointing results, including an embarrassing 4-0 loss to Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie.

Germany's most successful club, who won the domestic league and cup double last year, have struggled in their quest to retain the Bundesliga title this season.

But they are now level on points with leader Wolfsburg with two rounds of matches to go.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/8048852.stm

[Wanted Man]

http://www.ad.nl/multimedia/archive/00211/fries_211760a.jpg

Heerenveen win cup

Supporters from the rural regions of Frisia and Twente travelled to Rotterdam en masse to see the FA Cup final between SC Heerenveen and FC Twente. The Netherlands doesn't have much of an FA Cup tradition, but this was a true cup classic. Most of the game was fast and physical, partly thanks to the referee, who didn't whistle for every little incident.

Heerenveen were strong in the first half and took the lead. In the second half, however, they were on the back foot and the game completely belonged to FC Twente. They were rewarded with the equaliser. After 90 minutes, no winner had been determined, and the game went into extra time.

In the extension, the 35-year-old, 6ft6 tall Gerald Sibon stunned everyone with an individual action, showing an agility that not many would have expected of him and setting up Bonaventure Kalou to give Heerenveen the lead again. Just three minutes before the end, however, Twente profited from a defensive weakness of the Frisians. The tiny Youssouf Hersi headed the ball in.

What followed was a penalty series, where the only player to miss was the same man who was Twente's hero just before: Youssouf Hersi left his team and manager Steve McClaren empty-handed. For Heerenveen manager Trond Sollied (the first cup final with two foreign managers since 1975), this was the 7th cup win of his career.

I'll post highlights of this great game ASAP, for now, there's just a video of the celebrations with crap music:

TTdVKyBlo5o

[Killfacer]

what a great game!

[Wanted Man]

You'd know all about that. :p

Edit: in other news, Ronald Koeman has been revealed as the new AZ manager. He will take the champions into Europe next season. Bad luck for Ajax, Koeman wasn't high on their list, but they're going to have a hard time finding a good manager now.

[Killfacer]

Perhaps Avram Grant or someone like that might be worth a gander.

[Wanted Man]

Who knows...

Also, McClaren's fans (not everybody at once...) will be relieved to hear that he is planning to stay at FC Twente next season. He has said this to refute speculation linking him with Ajax. All because some dumb "journalist" moron suggested this possibility in his newspaper column.

[Wanted Man]

Highlights of the cup final. Not the best highlights, but it has the goals and penalties.

ZCvGJ6ecTJI

The rumour mill

Rumours are always fun, and when the guy in my avatar (editor of the biggest football magazine) is on tv on Monday, there's always a chance of some good stuff.

Apparently, Middlesbrough still owe Heerenveen 8 million pounds for Afonso Alves. Not a very nice position to be in for Boro, because Alves is currently injured and considered a poor purchase. More importantly, they have a good chance of getting relegated, and are in financial trouble. One alternative was that Benfica would buy Alves and give Heerenveen the remaining money, but Benfica are probably like: no fucking way.

Speaking of financial troubles: Ajax, the only Dutch club on the stock market, have reported a net loss for this season. The transfer of Huntelaar was not enough to make a profit. For Feyenoord, it's much worse: the club is currently unable to present a good budget. They will need to sell players first, but the transfer market is only expected to get started around August.

[Killfacer]

surely selling Alves to a team like Ajax could be worth a go? Considering how prolific he was in the dutch league.

[Wanted Man]

Dunno. I guess clubs will be hesitant to pay the likes of 8 million pounds (not much of a difference with the euro these days, I think...) for him. Boro, on the other hand, will not be likely to let him go for a small amount of money. Probably only if they could recoup what they've already paid, or alleviate their financial situation. At least, that's my speculation, but maybe we'll be surprised.

AZ wanted to buy him in the mid-season transfer window of 2007-2008. In fact, they claimed they already had his signature, and unsuccessfully went to court to get him before he went to Boro. I guess they're happy that they didn't throw all their fortunes on him.

[Wanted Man]

I just read that Ajax are apparently scouting Bruno Aguiar, who plays for Hearts in Scotland. What do Scottish comrades think of this Aguiar?

Also, the FA has finally revoked the professional football license of Fortuna Sittard. The FA has determined that the club has "no right to exist" financially. Needless to say, the club and fans are pissed off. It's all part of the plan to purge the financially worst-off clubs to create a more lean First Division. Eindhoven (not PSV, but another club in the city) are probably next.

Also, the Amsterdam Arena is scheduled to expand, considering the candidacy to host the 2018 World Cup. Where do you think you'll be in 10 years? I don't know, but the Arena should then host 85,000 people. Less radical alternatives would be to make the stadium's roof higher and expand to only 65,000, or fill up the "moat" between the fans and the pitch with seats, expanding to 55,000 (something they should do anyway, IMO, for the football atmosphere).

[Wanted Man]

Play-offs

FC Utrecht vs FC Groningen and NAC Breda vs Feyenoord were the two fixtures in the play-offs, with two legs each. Feyenoord lost both their matches, including a 0-4 embarrassment in their own stadium. This puts them in big financial trouble, because without a chance of European football, it is unlikely that they will be able to afford any transfers at all.

FC Utrecht vs FC Groningen was an even game, but the second leg was a walkover for Groningen, as their opponents didn't seem to care at all.

The final of the play-offs will therefore be NAC Breda vs FC Groningen. Looking at their displays so far, it will be a great fixture.

FC Utrecht - FC Groningen: 3-3

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FC Groningen - FC Utrecht: 4-0

VbT8JxJ0QRc

I couldn't find any good quality video of the first leg NAC vs Feyenoord, but here is the second leg:

VLaKtj7mi1s

[Stranger Than Paradise]

http://www.sportwereld.nl/voetbal/clubdossiers/ajax/3239400/Arsenal_jaagt_op_Thomas_Vermaelen.html

Charming Man, is this source reliable and do you think Vermaelen is Arsenal material. I for one think he is too short.

[Killfacer]

http://www.sportwereld.nl/voetbal/clubdossiers/ajax/3239400/Arsenal_jaagt_op_Thomas_Vermaelen.html

Charming Man, is this source reliable and do you think Vermaelen is Arsenal material. I for one think he is too short.

I've seen him play for the national team once, he didn't seem like the dominant defender we need. He's a good player no doubt but i don't think Arsene will be buying him.

[Stranger Than Paradise]

I've seen him play for the national team once, he didn't seem like the dominant defender we need. He's a good player no doubt but i don't think Arsene will be buying him.

Nah that's what I'm worried about. Hope he goes for someone else...

[Wanted Man]

I think Vermaelen is good, but I don't think he can really drive Arsenal forward. He is also relatively short, although that's not necessarily an obstacle (Frank de Boer, Carles Puyol, etc.). Gary Lineker said that Vermaelen is the best defender of the Dutch league, despite the fact that he has some weaknesses and still has a lot to learn.

But maybe he would do better in England. In Dutch football, defenders also need to be good at build-up play and pushing up the defensive line in a dominant playing style, whereas an English club might not require this. Aston Villa have been watching him too, I think he'd be better at a club like that, rather than a club like Arsenal who are expected to pose a title challenge (not very realistically, IMO, but still).

[Wanted Man]

http://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/images/pyudcr/2007/04/22/homer_soprano_jol.jpg

Martin Jol announced as Ajax manager

The best Ajax news since February or so, in my opinion: The Godfather has finally signed on. Finally a man who will not tolerate any bullshit and who has the ability to make a real team out of these maggots. Like Van Basten, he will be given responsibility over transfers and youth as well. No DoF breathing down his neck. Also:

aEfQY6d1tAE

Will he pose a serious title challenge? Or at least bring us the cup? Or maybe some surprises in the Uef-- err, "Europa League"?

BBC:



Jol named new head coach at Ajax
Martin Jol
Jol decided the time was right to return to his homeland

Former Tottenham boss Martin Jol is to become head coach of Dutch giants Ajax after agreeing a three-year contract.

The 53-year-old quit German club Hamburg to succeed Marco van Basten, despite being linked with a return to the Premier League with Sunderland.

"Ajax have given me a great chance, with long-term perspective," he said.

"I get a wide array of responsibilities and I very much want to get started. I am delighted to come home after several years abroad."

Ajax held talks with Morten Olsen and Co Adriaanse, who both had previous spells in charge of the club, and former Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard before offering the job to Jol.

"Martin has all the qualities the new coach of Ajax should have, in our opinion.

606: DEBATE
Give your reaction to Jol's appointment

"He is experienced and has experience both domestically and abroad. He has worked in large and smaller clubs and got the maximum from his players.

"He is a trainer who has shown that he gives talented young players a chance - our basic interest.

"I am very pleased with the way we have worked to achieve this. It was an exciting and challenging period, with an excellent result for Ajax," said chief executive Rik van der Boog.

Jol, who began his coaching career with Twente Enschede and moved on to RKC Waalwijk before joining Tottenham in 2004, will be in charge of transfer policy and the youth set-up as well as the Ajax first team.

But his main mission will be to win the Eredivisie title for the first time since 2004 and try to re-establish the team as a force in European competitions.

Ajax have won the European Cup on four occasions but have not played in the group stage of the Champions League since 2005-06.http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/8068991.stm

[Killfacer]

WHAT THE FUCK!!?!?

This is a fucking huge coup for Ajax. He's a really good manager who's worked wonders at Hamburg. I really think this is a step in the right direction for Ajax.

[Wanted Man]

Yeah, I was kind of surprised that he left Hamburg so soon. But apparently, they didn't want to fund him in signing proper replacements for Rafael vdV and De Jong, so that a title challenge would be possible. Moving from a German sub-top club to a Dutch top club may seem like a bit of a demotion, but apparently it was important to him that it's a big club that he can win silverware with.

[Killfacer]

Yeah, I was kind of surprised that he left Hamburg so soon. But apparently, they didn't want to fund him in signing proper replacements for Rafael vdV and De Jong, so that a title challenge would be possible. Moving from a German sub-top club to a Dutch top club may seem like a bit of a demotion, but apparently it was important to him that it's a big club that he can win silverware with.

I can see why he made the move. Really, the german division isn't that great. Can we assume he has been offered a fairly large transfer kitty in order to help lure him to ajax?

[Wanted Man]

Probably... Anyway, he held his first conference today. Most of it we already knew. Danny Blind will be his assistant, as well as his "left and right hands". It's uncertain what will happen to MvB's assistants, Rob Witschge and John van 't Schip, but honestly, who cares? Jol didn't speak out about whether he was going to look for reinforcements, he says he'll have to "study the squad" first, so he'll be taking a bag of DVDs with him on holiday to Spain. Yawn.

http://www.ajax.nl/upload/cf2be94a-d5f7-464d-aa51-4339efdc5e48_09-05-28%20Contract%20M%20Jol%200106.JPG

There were some jokes. When he was talking about the squad: "I'm really pissed off with Leonardo because of his goal against Hamburg!" Journalist: "You looked really proud when you walked in here, is that how you feel right now?" "Actually, I'm a little shy."

Will this be the beginning of a new era?

Also, the first leg of the Europa League play-off final was held today, with NAC vs FC Groningen, which ended in 1-1. Once again a great match between these two sides. Highlights tomorrow.

[Killfacer]

What kind of transfer fee and wages are teams like FC twente or Feyernoord able to offer?

[Wanted Man]

There's a big difference between the two. Twente are not a particularly rich club, but they have managed themselves by having a very efficient policy, just like many other up-and-coming smaller clubs (Heerenveen, Groningen, etc.). They often scout young players and buy them very cheaply, then sell them on for lots of money.

For example: Twente picked up Eljero Elia, who had fallen out of grace before, for a very small amount of money. And they signed Marko Arnautovic from an Austrian youth team, and brought him into the reserves. Now, both players will probably be sold for €10M-15M each, and they'll easily be able to buy replacements.

Feyenoord are in a much worse condition, they are seriously debt-ridden. It seems unlikely that big investors will help them out again, they still have debts with them too... They're pretty much clinging on to a utopian scenario where investors do pop up (hysterical club icons recently suggested that a €60M investment was coming up), or that they'll someday build a new stadium with a capacity of 85,000. But to be honest, I think their role in the Dutch top is over for good, nevermind Europe.

[Wanted Man]

End of the season

The last play-off matches have been played recently, and with that, the Dutch football season 2008-2009 is officially over. Roda JC managed to stay up, but only after being forced into a decider match by promotion hopefuls SC Cambuur which they won on penalties. RKC Waalwijk will be playing in the Premier Division next season, as they managed to beat De Graafschap, who are now relegated.

NAC surprisingly won at FC Groningen, and have earned the last Dutch ticket to the Europa League. We can review the season later, for now, here are the cold facts about the qualifications:

Champions League group stage: AZ (league winners)
Champions League second qualifying round: FC Twente (league position 2)
Europa League play-off round: Ajax (league position 3), SC Heerenveen (cup winners)
Europa League third qualifying round: PSV (league position 4)
Europa League second qualifying around: NAC Breda (league position 8, play-off winners)

Relegated to First Division: FC Volendam (league position 18), De Graafschap (league position 17, play-off losers[/b]
Promoted to Premier Division: VVV Venlo (First Division position 1), RKC Waalwijk (First Division position 2, play-off winners)

All the silverware:

Premier Division winners: AZ
First Division winners: VVV Venlo
Cup winners: SC Heerenveen
2008 Johan Cruyff Shield (super cup) winners: PSV

That should wrap things up.

[Killfacer]

I don't wish to complain and i thank you alot for what has been an extremely well written and insightful thread. Couldn't you do a little write up at the end though? Perhaps predictions for next season but also maybe a sentance or two about the direction of dutch football.

Pretty please.

Any chance of this next season aswell?

[F9]

Hmm, an OMONOIA vs AJax or the sake of history too would sound good!:D

[Wanted Man]

I don't wish to complain and i thank you alot for what has been an extremely well written and insightful thread. Couldn't you do a little write up at the end though? Perhaps predictions for next season but also maybe a sentance or two about the direction of dutch football.

Pretty please.

Any chance of this next season aswell?
Yeah, I did say there could be a review, I'll probably have time for that on Monday. And of course I'll keep running this thread next season in some form.

For now, however, I'll just entertain you with extremely interesting stats! :tt2:

Top scorers. The order is Name - Club - Goals - Penalties - Matches - Percentage: http://www.vi.nl/Competities/Competitie.htm?dbid=4088&statid=9&typeofpage=84136&viewid=42
Mounir El Hamdaoui (AZ) was the top scorer.

Cards (Name - Club - Yellow - Red - Total - Matches): http://www.vi.nl/Competities/Competitie.htm?dbid=4088&statid=10&typeofpage=84136&viewid=42
Mihai Nesu (FC Utrecht) grabbed the most cards.

Best goalies (Name - Club - Conceded - Matches - Percentage): http://www.vi.nl/Competities/Competitie.htm?dbid=4088&statid=25&typeofpage=84136&viewid=42
Sergio Romero (AZ) conceded the least.

Clean sheets: (Name - Club - Clean sheets): http://www.vi.nl/Competities/Competitie.htm?dbid=4088&statid=26&typeofpage=84136&viewid=42
Sergio Romero also had the most clean sheets.

Assists: (Name - Club - Assists): http://www.vi.nl/Competities/Competitie.htm?dbid=4088&statid=105&typeofpage=84136&viewid=42
Luis Suarez (Ajax) gave the most assists.

Now let me get some rest. :tt2:

[Wanted Man]

Well, I promised a season review. But I don't really know where to begin, there's plenty to say... Luckily, some others did: http://www.thehollandtimes.nl/Sport.html http://www.uefa.com/footballeurope/news/kind=2/newsid=835487.html?cid=rssfeed&att=index

I can say a few things about the direction of football. It's interesting that an English manager, practically cast out by his own country, has played the most typically Dutch football this season. We're talking about Steve McClaren with FC Twente, of course. His 4-3-3 system has Elia and Arnautovic on the wings, showing the most beautiful football we've ever seen from Twente, who are normally rather bland, in a long time.

What's interesting is that many other managers also hold on to the "score one more than your opponent" approach. Even FC Volendam, the constant relegation candidates, refused to simply build a wall. At first, they lost several games in a row, but eventually, they showed good football and produced several surprising wins, earning a lot of sympathy. In the end, however, this didn't keep them from direct relegation, although only on the final match day.

After the disastrous AZ season of 2007-2008, Van Gaal finally abandoned his belief in this kind of football. This season, the team often fell back, waited for the counter, and executed it perfectly. AZ have proved to be an incredibly well-organised team, even if they played badly, they usually won.

As for next season, the big question is how AZ and Twente, with their own distinctive playing styles, will hold on in Europe. Most experts are sceptical so far, but maybe the new AZ manager Koeman will surprise us yet. I'm also curious to see if they will be able to retain the league title. Or will Ajax finally get revenge after years without a league win?

It's very hard to make predictions right now. But I'll give it a shot once there has been some more progress in the transfer market.

[Wanted Man]

NAC will play against an Armenian club in the Europa League, forgot the name tbh.

Danijel Pranjic's transfer to Bayern has finally been completed. SC Heerenveen's website reads that they have "Allowed his dream transfer", but according to Pranjic, things are a little different: Heerenveen wanted €7.7M, Bayern were only prepared to pay €7M. So Pranjic decided to cough up the remaining €700K himself. He was pretty pissed off about how the club were playing games with his future.

[Wanted Man]

Yo, can this thread be closed? I'd like to start over for the new season.

[F9]

Yo, can this thread be closed? I'd like to start over for the new season.

As you wish, master
Closed