Eredivisie 2022/23

do.ob

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I see Groningen's fans are really milking their relegation.
 

Charlie Foley

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@KirkDuyt Sorry if you have answered this before. What do you think of Wieffer. My understanding is he signed a contract extension to 2027 recently. Is he ready for a step up? What areas do you think he is best/needs improvement at?
 

KirkDuyt

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@KirkDuyt Sorry if you have answered this before. What do you think of Wieffer. My understanding is he signed a contract extension to 2027 recently. Is he ready for a step up? What areas do you think he is best/needs improvement at?
Also congratulations
Thanks :)

Wieffer is an odd one. He was contracted to add squad depth in midfield, but because we failed to sign Zerrouki from FC Twente and Q. Timber was injured he had to start a few games and turned out to be fantastic for us and has since even been capped for our national team (and Koeman hinted at him taken De Roon's spot next to De Jong).

I think he could eventually play in one of the big leagues, but not quite yet. 6 months ago no one knew he was even good enough for the big clubs in our league and he is still a little ponderous in possession at times and could maybe take a little more risk in his passing.

He reads the game excellently though and is a very strong defensive presence in midfield. He's also a smart dude and has a selfreflection which I think is quite important. Good example of it being he explained the above are his weakpoints himself during an interview.

@Lay Thanks :)
 
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Charlie Foley

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Thanks :)

Wieffer is an odd one. He was contracted to add squad depth in midfield, but because we failed to sign Zerrouki from FC Twente and Q. Timber was injured he had to start a few games and turned out to be fantastic for us and has since even been capped for our national team (and Koeman hinted at him taken De Roon's spot next to De Jong).

I think he could eventually play in one of the big leagues, but not quite yet. 6 mo ths ago no one knew he was even good enough for the big clubs in our league and he is still a little ponderous in possession at times and could maybe take a little more risk in his passing at times.

He reads the game excellently though and is a very strong defensive presence in midfield. He's also a smart dude and has a selfreflection ehich I think is quite important. Good example of it being he explained the above are his weakpoints himself during an interview.

@Lay Thanks :)
Great response, thanks
 

Cheimoon

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In the end, it's actually a pity AZ didn't win! That would have really capped off Ajax's season in the most appropriate way after the shitshow it's been. (And yes, I dislike Ajax.)

I'm curious what they'll do over the summer though. They'll need quite a few squad changes, obviously a new coach, and then there's the question of Van der Sar's future. Quite a lot of drama ahead.
 

Cheimoon

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I'm curious what they'll do over the summer though. They'll need quite a few squad changes, obviously a new coach, and then there's the question of Van der Sar's future. Quite a lot of drama ahead.
No more questions about Van der Sar's future: he has decided to leave as of June 1!
 

do.ob

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I just saw that Florian Grillitsch barely played at Ajax and that his contract seems to be running out. He looked like a pretty decent player at Hoffenheim. Probably not someone to play a big role at a top club, but I would have expected him to fit in quite well at Ajax and be a useful cog.

@KirkDuyt, since we all know you've been watching every minute of Ajax.
 

Terranova

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I just saw that Florian Grillitsch barely played at Ajax and that his contract seems to be running out. He looked like a pretty decent player at Hoffenheim. Probably not someone to play a big role at a top club, but I would have expected him to fit in quite well at Ajax and be a useful cog.

@KirkDuyt, since we all know you've been watching every minute of Ajax.
Alvarez was just way better
 

KirkDuyt

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I just saw that Florian Grillitsch barely played at Ajax and that his contract seems to be running out. He looked like a pretty decent player at Hoffenheim. Probably not someone to play a big role at a top club, but I would have expected him to fit in quite well at Ajax and be a useful cog.

@KirkDuyt, since we all know you've been watching every minute of Ajax.
Ajaxfans werent very positive about him from what I've heard. I still think Ajax bought him just to piss off Feyenoord since we wanted him too.
 

Terranova

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Ajaxfans werent very positive about him from what I've heard. I still think Ajax bought him just to piss off Feyenoord since we wanted him too.
The second part is not quite true, Ajax had talks with him way before Feyenoord did, they just thought his demands were a bit high, so i guess he dropped them after a while.
 

KirkDuyt

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The second part is not quite true, Ajax had talks with him way before Feyenoord did, they just thought his demands were a bit high, so i guess he dropped them after a while.
He's just such an un-Ajax signing to me. But yeah I cant imagone a club really buys someone to piss off a rival :wenger:
 

do.ob

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Ajaxfans werent very positive about him from what I've heard. I still think Ajax bought him just to piss off Feyenoord since we wanted him too.
His Hoffenheim form looked like he should have been a useful player for a team like Ajax. He regularly switched between CB and DM and he was quite tidy on the ball, with decent passing. The kind of player that should've fit in well in a fluid, possession heavy, team.
 

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Couldn't find it in English, but so Bosz is going to PSV. Could be a good appointment, but it would have made more sense right after Schmidt. Quite the yo-yo tactically, from Schmidt to Van Nistelrooij to Bosz!
 

KirkDuyt

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The most overrated Dutch trainer in recent memory. Still riding on that flukey EL run, but has never won a notable trophy anywhere and while no one expects someone to win the league with Lyon, he could've won something at Ajax or Maccabi for sure.

Psv will be fun to watch though with his kamikaze tactics.
 

Cheimoon

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The most overrated Dutch trainer in recent memory. Still riding on that flukey EL run, but has never won a notable trophy anywhere and while no one expects someone to win the league with Lyon, he could've won something at Ajax or Maccabi for sure.

Psv will be fun to watch though with his kamikaze tactics.
Yeah, he has had a weird career, given how basically nothing really went well since his very brief period at Ajax (edit: right, besides Leverkusen). I like the idea of his football though (as a spectacle), and it just might work again in the Netherlands given the general approach to football and quality gaps in the Eredivisie.
 
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do.ob

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The most overrated Dutch trainer in recent memory. Still riding on that flukey EL run, but has never won a notable trophy anywhere and while no one expects someone to win the league with Lyon, he could've won something at Ajax or Maccabi for sure.

Psv will be fun to watch though with his kamikaze tactics.
I think he did alright in Germany. He paid a very high price for taking a few weeks to long to adjust to Bundesliga when he took over Dortmund, but the team in general was a mess and didn't improve much after he left. For Leverkusen he did genuinely good work.
 

KirkDuyt

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I think he did alright in Germany. He paid a very high price for taking a few weeks to long to adjust to Bundesliga when he took over Dortmund, but the team in general was a mess and didn't improve much after he left. For Leverkusen he did genuinely good work.
Admittedly better than I thought he did there. Why did the sack him in the end?
 

do.ob

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Admittedly better than I thought he did there. Why did the sack him in the end?
They were really good in the first third of the season, then their attack ran out of steam and their defenders clowned. Not that I would absolve him of responsiblity entirely, but with Leverkusen's strategy of mixing inexperienced players with inconsistent players, that tends to happen to them every now and then. E.g. Xabi, who has been touted by some posters as a future elite coach, got four points from his last 7 games this season.
It wasn't a huge meltdown, so it's kind of debatable how much blame you want to assign to Bosz vs the squad.
 

KirkDuyt

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So Telegraaf is now reporting that negotiations with Knutsen failed and Ajax want to hire Maurice Steijn from Sparta instead. This is The Onion level stuff. Surely this is a prank.

I will die laughing if Ajax sign Maurice Steijn.
 

Cheimoon

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So Telegraaf is now reporting that negotiations with Knutsen failed and Ajax want to hire Maurice Steijn from Sparta instead. This is The Onion level stuff. Surely this is a prank.

I will die laughing if Ajax sign Maurice Steijn.
Why? What's with Steijn? I have no idea how they played, but certainly Sparta did amazing this year in terms of results. Was it with negative football?

I see Almere beat Emmen in the playoffs btw. Kind of a nothing club right now, but obviously fairly big potential given the size of the city. Hopefully this will push them up a bit and they won't be another ugly duckling in the Eredivisie. (RKC is unlikely to ever outgrow that phase - as much as they were actually one of my favorite clubs in primary school! Just because of their colours...)
 

KirkDuyt

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Why? What's with Steijn? I have no idea how they played, but certainly Sparta did amazing this year in terms of results. Was it with negative football?

I see Almere beat Emmen in the playoffs btw. Kind of a nothing club right now, but obviously fairly big potential given the size of the city. Hopefully this will push them up a bit and they won't be another ugly duckling in the Eredivisie. (RKC is unlikely to ever outgrow that phase - as much as they were actually one of my favorite clubs in primary school! Just because of their colours...)
Steijn is a capable trainer for Dutch middle of the road and bottom half teams, but Ajax hiring him is like United hiring Moyes or Chelsea hiring Graham Potter. Sure they did well teams were being in the top 8 is a pleasant surprise, but they have no business being on the biggest stage.
 

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Steijn is a capable trainer for Dutch middle of the road and bottom half teams, but Ajax hiring him is like United hiring Moyes or Chelsea hiring Graham Potter. Sure they did well teams were being in the top 8 is a pleasant surprise, but they have no business being on the biggest stage.
Or Ajax hiring Ten Hag from Utrecht...? I'm not saying they're the same, but Moyes and Potter have virtually nothing in common either, so I don't yet see the argument here. As I said, I don't know anything about Steijn's approach to football, but from what I can see, he's done well everywhere he went; so the question is whether he can make the step up, and if he plays a style of football Ajax fans will accept. Again, I don't know the latter, but are you sure you can tell the former beforehand?

If he's hired at all, of course. :)
 

KirkDuyt

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Or Ajax hiring Ten Hag from Utrecht...? I'm not saying they're the same, but Moyes and Potter have virtually nothing in common either, so I don't yet see the argument here. As I said, I don't know anything about Steijn's approach to football, but from what I can see, he's done well everywhere he went; so the question is whether he can make the step up, and if he plays a style of football Ajax fans will accept. Again, I don't know the latter, but are you sure you can tell the former beforehand?

If he's hired at all, of course. :)
Ten Hag worked with Guardiola at Bayern before going to Ajax as well and it was quite clear that he had a very consistent approach to attacking football.

Sparta finished 6th by defending well and hoofing it to their tall striker up front, but more than that it's just the whole persona of Maurice Steijn. He just isnt an Ajax man. He's too small time. That's what I meant with Potter and Moyes, they just don't fit the character. They don't have the star power.

Of course I cant say for certain Steijn wouldn't do well at Ajax, but the reactions to this news tell most of the story. It's total disbelief mixed with anger about what the feck they're doing. it's not happening though, no way.
 
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BrilliantOrange

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It is done, welcome to Ajax Maurice.

What say you guys @BrilliantOrange @Rapsel. Better than Schreuder, worse than Nagelsmann? :wenger:
Im mostly still baffled to be honest how on earth its possible that we neglected Peter Bosz the last couple of months only to end up with Maurice Steijn? Do they honestly think he is a better option? Sounds like a massive feck up to be that Mislintat was so surprised Heitinga proved unsuitable and neither of Knutsen of Hjulmand signed for us and at that moment Peter Bosz signed for PSV so we ended up with Plan E in the end... While Peter Bosz, the one who should have been Plan A B C D E all together from January already was available and willing the whole time... It just really pisses me off and its baffles and flabbergasts me how Peter Bosz is not currently coach of Ajax but of PSV..

Maurice Steijn is a huge gamble and I have serious doubts.. He looks like a good coach, but he is not really known for his attacking football or attractive playing style.. He had 1 (really) good season at Sparta this year, but before he had a carreer of decent but unremarkable spells at midtable/lower league teams..
 

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Sparta finished 6th by defending well and hoofing it to their tall striker up front, but more than that it's just the whole persona of Maurice Steijn. He just isnt an Ajax man. He's too small time. That's what I meant with Potter and Moyes, they just don't fit the character. They don't have the star power.
Yeah, good points. It's mostly the football I'd be worried about. Ajax needs to be dominant in its position, and Steijn won't be able to withstand fan pressure without it.
Im mostly still baffled to be honest how on earth its possible that we neglected Peter Bosz the last couple of months only to end up with Maurice Steijn? Do they honestly think he is a better option? Sounds like a massive feck up to be that Mislintat was so surprised Heitinga proved unsuitable and neither of Knutsen of Hjulmand signed for us and at that moment Peter Bosz signed for PSV so we ended up with Plan E in the end... While Peter Bosz, the one who should have been Plan A B C D E all together from January already was available and willing the whole time... It just really pisses me off and its baffles and flabbergasts me how Peter Bosz is not currently coach of Ajax but of PSV..

Maurice Steijn is a huge gamble and I have serious doubts.. He looks like a good coach, but he is not really known for his attacking football or attractive playing style.. He had 1 (really) good season at Sparta this year, but before he had a carreer of decent but unremarkable spells at midtable/lower league teams..
Who's making this decision now? Mislintat?
 

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The only explanation is the hate for Bosz runs deeper in the club than VDS. Uninspiring choice, but that’s slowly becoming par for the course.
 

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Honestly I thought maybe Gallardo was waiting for a top club to come calling, but seeing as he’s in the mix for Marseille, could Ajax not have tempted him? Just seems like such an uninspiring appointment. Still early days of the window, and Branco on paper is a great signing, but seems very much business as usual of the past year. Any more kids being pushed through to the first team besides Hato Dongen (if we’re being geberous) and Fitz-Jim? Not well versed on the academy.
 

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The only explanation is the hate for Bosz runs deeper in the club than VDS. Uninspiring choice, but that’s slowly becoming par for the course.
not quite. The new DoF has a new policy(although similar to Overmars' policy) that the manager isn't really involved in transfers. Bosz wanted a lot of control, that's why it even took PSV this long to sign him.