Eredivise 12/13

He's not really playing so well of late, to be honest. He did well for the goal, though.

JK wrote:He's not really playing so well of late, to be honest. He did well for the goal, though.

Hes been better the last 2 games, but his finishing seems to still be a huge problem, the goals he was easily creating as a youth player isn't getting put in. However he already has 3 assists this season, only topped by his fellow midfield Dane Lasse Schøne(4) who scored the brilliant goal in my signature this week.

Dropped the ball on this a bit, requires a bit of me to comprehensive with updates and i've been fairly busy for a little while.

How are Vitesse getting on?

George wrote:How are Vitesse getting on?

Very well, i thought they'd have issues without Buttner who was probably their best player last season, but the club is doing just as well as Buttner is in Manchester and with a convincing 3-0 today against Groningen they are in 2nd place ahead of Ajax. Twente is leading with a 100% record in 5 games. Impressively the 3-0 victory today was done with 10 men, as Vitesse got a straight red. Not that it seems red cards matter all that much in the league as Utrecht beat PSV with 9 men on the pitch in the end with the goal scored just after they went down to 10.



Heres what's in my signature in full, if you haven't seen it already.

I haven't been around to this in a while, but it might be relevant before January as i see some transfers heading out of the league early next year.

But first i'd love to be able to make sense of the dutch teams in Europe this year. Twente, Ajax and PSV have all collected just 4 points in 5 matches, granted Ajax had the hardest group in the last few years of any CL. Twente had tough opposition in Levante and Hannover (+ Swedish Helsingborg) they managed only to get draws so far. PSV are last in their group equal points to AIK but behind due to H2H, they won 1 and drew 1. Ajax took all of their 4 points against Manchester City which just fed the Manchester City nightmarish time in CL. Granted Ajax still has a shot at making EL if City doesn't beat Dortmund away (Although Dortmund has nothing to play for, they are better than Real Madrid on H2H)

I can relatively easy write off why Ajax haven't been taking more points in this group of death, they basically hit the 3 champions from the 3 best leagues in Europe, with a side who brought in Christian Poulsen to up the average age just a little its hard to imagine wins when only 2-3 players really has the quality of the Ajax CL stars on 1995. Granted City gave them a lot of room to play the Ajax game, but the games against Dortmund and Real the opponents have simply been over them too quickly, quite simply being out paced and out played (Although Ajax were properly bad in the 1-4 defeat)

PSV and Twente i have a hard time understanding, they both spent very big this summer at least compared to Ajax. However they have been doing alright in the league (shaky lately) they have not been at in Europe at all, Levante outplayed Twente who most of all looked like they had just faced Barcelona, granted Levante are not a bad team they'd still be able to make second in the group. Overall both have been quite disappointing specially when you take last few seasons in mind where 3 dutch clubs made it far. Thats not even addressing how AZ went from a candidate to last 4 in EL to.. well whatever the hell they are doing. (Got rid of deadweight and Rasmus Elm, suddenly falling apart)

So other than the sad sack that is Dutch football in Europe the league has seen little changes compared to the previous seasons, Ajax is trailing behind PSV and Twente with the odd team which is this year Vitesse in between. Ajax have managed to get beaten by Vitesse but so have PSV and Feyenoord while Twente drew with them away. The main reason for Vitesse's success this season lies with 2 players, Theo Janssen is back after a few years in the top clubs. The other reason is one of the players i can't imagine staying past this season possibly even leaving in January, Wilfried Bony, who is responsible for more than half of Vitesse's goals with 15(27). He doesn't seem like the same type as the last seasons top goalscorer Bas Dost who despite many doubts have done well in Wolfsburg. Bony is much more involved in creation of his goals than Bas Dost who got fed a lot of goals from the excellent Heerenveen wingers and Viktor Elm.

The weekend that just passed shook the top a bit. Ajax beat Roda away on goals by Eriksen and Schøne after behind behind for 70 minutes of the game. A few hours later PSV lost to Vitesse (making Vitesse stay ahead of Ajax but shrinking the gap) but more importantly PEC Zwolle, the Eerste Klasse winner of last season grabbed a 2-2 with FC Twente, which could just as well have been a win as Twente equalized no later than the 91st minute.
Currently the top is PSV (33), Twente & Vitesse (31) Ajax & Feyenoord (27) with Utrecht being number 6 at 22 points. The last 2 from the big race last year AZ and Heerenveen have been shadows of themselves this season and are currently 12th and 13th.

Ajax face PSV in the coming weekend and PSV face Twente the weekend after in 2 matches which could very well paint the picture that will sit on the wall till the end of January.

Now about Ajax.


Okay i don't know whats about to happen here, PG13 boys

3 Players i find relevant to talk about at the moment would be 2 Danes and the captain. First there is Captain Siem De Jong, the last few seasons he has had a very similar pattern, he has been completely out of it between september and december bar the Champions League performances. He still pops up in the right positions to score goals, but he links up very poorly with the other midfielders. Then we get past the winter break when the team usually has been at training camp somewhere warm and nice (Brazil last year, Portugal the year before) and we get to see the Siem De Jong Ajax knows and loves, making the deadly passes and scoring the goals the team needs to make it.
Viktor Fischer is a name that went around England last season when Ajax made some headlines (Messing with Manchester United in EL, A1 crushing Liverpool) with his 3 goals against Liverpool as well as seeing off Barcelona A1. He has been stalling on renewing with Ajax after making proper first team step in, with a goal in the Cup and 2 against PEC Zwolle in the league. He got close to scoring against Manchester City and Dortmund as well but his first CL goal is gonna have to wait till Madrid or late 2013. His stalling may be related to the next player.

Then theres the Ajax star, Christian Eriksen, i'm not sure i've mentioned him before but this guy is really good .
He has as well been stalling renewing with Ajax which i understand. When he made his debut at Ajax he had players to lean on for Experience and taking charge, but within just 2 years that focus has been shifted to now 20 year old Eriksen. There is no goal getter like Suarez or a talented leader like Vertonghen, which left 20 year old Eriksen with all the creative and inspirational pressure that very few 20 year old players ever needed, even Cruyff pointed out that when he was 20 he still wasn't the most important player for Ajax, sure he was talented and created a ton of goals and chances, but when times were bad they didn't just have to rely on him. The reason Eriksen has had so much pressure also comes down to Captain Siem who as mentioned just haven't been there like he was in the spring of 2011 and 2012. Eriksen still has a bit to go, but its difficult to see that happen when the team just isn't better and unfortunately none of the teenagers coming from A1 or Jong Ajax are no where near the level he was at just 2½ years ago when he entered the team before World Cup.

Which leads me to believing that Eriksen is gone in 2013, if its January or July remains to be seen. It was confirmed that he denied City which is a great choice (He is not at the level to knock off Silva yet) Rumours of course constantly flourish with a player of his quality, one of the more interesting ones i thought was Tottenham who no doubt miss Van Der Vaart and could get near a perfect replacement with Eriksen, Arsenal could be interesting as well but i don't reckon they need him the same with Santi and Mikel Arteta in that midfield. Manchester United (who i believe only has Cleverly as a similar type of player). Only speaking of England is of course crazy as De Boer has recommended him to Barcelona obviously but there are of course "lesser" teams that could be good as well for a player that has been taking Spanish classes for a year and a half now, Valencia or Atl Madrid wouldn't be bad either. Italy has some interest in him as well with Roma and Milan wanting a piece but i find that less likely. One team that is probably out of the question but I'd really love to see him in was Dortmund (they are not gonna buy a player that expensive now) They have several excellent talents just around his age and level with a playstyle that would surely fit well.


I think i ended up rambling a bit and it probably belongs in a blog rather than a forum, but i just don't wanna be that guy, making a football blog. I highlighted the important words to each section.

do you rate Filip Djuricic at all? I think hes an exiting youngster

He's been doing quite well, probably Heerenveen's overall best, although that isn't saying much as they have been quite bad so far.

Ajax - PSV is on at the moment. Willems off for Bourma, was hit on his ankel in the middle of first half. The score is 1-1 by Siem De Jong on a header with Jermain Lens curling in a beauty in the far corner.

http://www.wiziwig.tv/broadcast.php?matchid=175882&part=sports

FC Twente and Feyenoord won 2-0 earlier while Willem II saw off Heerenveen with 3-1. Which means that if Ajax win Twente will take first, however a draw or loss will see PSV stay in first. Ajax would lose out of the top 4 should they not manage to win.

Haven't been around to this for a while, following Ajax as close as normally but not been watching many other eredivise games.

But came across

Christian Eriksen: is Ajax's coveted young playmaker ready to move on?






'To get to the highest
level, you have to be in the Premier League,' says Ajax's Christian
Eriksen. Photograph: Tom Jenkins for the Guardian



Christian Eriksen's mind drifts back to Denmark's friendly against England early last year, when Ajax's
prodigiously talented playmaker stole the show. It was a night when the
English press had travelled to Copenhagen expecting to write about …
"Wilshere," Eriksen says, before there is chance to finish the question.
"I read that before the game, the fight between the two youngsters –
hopefully I won it."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/dec/19/christian-eriksen-ajax

I really don't want Eriksen to leave Ajax, he's such a pivotal player in Ajax's team and I think it would quite damage them. I hope he stays.

I'd like to a live in a world where i thought that was possible, but for a player that wants to play at the top level its sadly not something Ajax will reach when the club most likely won't have time to build a squad to get to the top of Europe because of needing to sell players to stay afloat (league money alone isn't enough to pay wages and other fees for the club). If Eriksen should stay then so should the number of players that have left in the last few years, top ones like Vertonghen, Stekelenburg and Van Der Wiel.

However with Eriksen most likely leaving in the summer most Ajax fans have been taking comfort in Viktor Fischer, best player of NextGen last season and with 3 league goals 2 cup goals and 4 nextgen goals this season he is one very promising 18 year old just a few months into his senior career.

That's good then for Ajax, he should be a good player in years to come.

I hope Eriksen stays it well, but you shouldn't worry about Ajax. Our best players leave every year which is always a big loss, but then again, there will always be new youngsters who will come through and who can fulfill the role as Ajax' leader.

In my opinion, Ajax ain't a competing side to win the league this year, because they just lack a bit of quality and consistancy. Either Psv or Twente will become champions this year, with Ajax, Feyenoord and Vitesse finishing close behind.

Jan wrote:I hope Eriksen stays it well, but you shouldn't worry about Ajax. Our best players leave every year which is always a big loss, but then again, there will always be new youngsters who will come through and who can fulfill the role as Ajax' leader.

In my opinion, Ajax ain't a competing side to win the league this year, because they just lack a bit of quality and consistancy. Either Psv or Twente will become champions this year, with Ajax, Feyenoord and Vitesse finishing close behind.

I've read the same for two years now, after a season where Ajax scored 106 goals in a season and still didn't win then let go of quality players without replacements for the 2011 championship was hard to imagine, then that happened and let go of even more to go and win the 2012 one. The only place i feel its been expressed is the fall of each season has been with loses that don't normally happen and hard fought/lucky victories/draws against the top teams. We are less behind this year than last and the magic of the January training camp will bring the glory spring i hope, if not the league then Europa, it is at home this year after all.


Ajax has a training game against Vasco De Gama in Brazil before playing Feyenoord for the first match of the spring season.

I wouldn't say i was disappointing with yesterdays game, it could have been much worse, caught most of the PSV game the night before and they have been incredibly efficient this year in most matches, but have completely fallen apart in a few also, sometimes with no apparent reason at all, Twente has been largely the same but with fewer goals in their clear victories.