paul-r-cfc Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 I'm wary of how this Ajax captain drinks from a water bottle 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rab B Nesbit Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 9 minutes ago, qpfc said: The way Ajax move the ball around is unbelievable, absolutely fearless. Would love to see an Ajax v Liverpool final I like your style qp . -1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trackdaybob Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 3 minutes ago, LinkinFighter said: Celtic should take note Not really. The hilarity of them getting pumped in the champions league every year never gets old. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DAVIDB69 Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 English football just isn't on the same level as the real top sides. It hasn't been since Heysel. There's something missing technically, tactically and in the cohesion of the teams. This Man Utd team would finish about 12th to 14th in la liga.But the English sides are better than Barcelona according to Hargreaves 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuro Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 1 minute ago, DAVIDB69 said: But the English sides are better than Barcelona according to Hargreaves He's an idiot then. They've owned every English team for ten years now. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jambomo Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 The fawning over that De Gea save is ridiculous. It bounced off his coupon - didn't know what was going on!They have to make up for the fact that he threw in the second goal. Can’t have a superstar keeper in an English team looking a bit shit now, can we? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 30 minutes ago, Kuro said: English football just isn't on the same level as the real top sides. It hasn't been since Heysel. There's something missing technically, tactically and in the cohesion of the teams. This Man Utd team would finish about 12th to 14th in la liga. Well, that's completely bollocks. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MONKMAN Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 Lionel Messi though, some boy. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rab B Nesbit Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GordonS Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 English football just isn't on the same level as the real top sides. It hasn't been since Heysel. There's something missing technically, tactically and in the cohesion of the teams. This Man Utd team would finish about 12th to 14th in la liga.Three of the four semi finalists, three years in a row 07-09. Among other things. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GordonS Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 Yes, they're an incredibly well run club. Celtic should take note. Ajax benefit from a very good national youth set-up.In Scotland, not so much. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rab B Nesbit Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 So then ... Ajax v Manchester C / Spurs Barcelona v Porto / Liverpool Off to Portugal for the game tonight. Hopefully Liverpool can see the job out. Mon the Reds . -1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buchan30 Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 9 hours ago, Kuro said: Cause it wasn't a penalty. Seeing it again you are right. There isn’t much he can do about it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salvo Montalbano Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 Ajax benefit from a very good national youth set-up.In Scotland, not so much.Surely it's the other way round, and that the Netherlands benefit from a very good Ajax youth set up? This of course is nothing new, clubs (and countries) have been looking at the Ajax Youth Academy for decades trying to get some insight into how to develop young talent. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DutchBorderer Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 As resident Dutchman, I'd like to note this is just so massive for our football; our clubs got knocked out by teams from Luxembourg (Utrecht), Croatia (PSV), and half the Balkan (Feyenoord) in recent memory, and it looked like we'd only ever make cameo appearances in the Europa League - we even lost direct qualification to the CL group stages for our champions. Ajax' journey to the Europa League final in 16/17 seemed like the proverbial dead cat bounce then, especially since they got outclassed by ManU in the final, but their achievements this season go to show that, with the right setup and mindset, you can actually stand up to the big boys once in a blue moon. In that light this is not just a watershed moment for Dutch football, but for all small(ish) countries in Europe. It's fan-fcuking-tastic and you'd almost get hopeful they could maybe, just maybe dispatch Spurs in the semi-final - then again, that hope did us in last time a Dutch team got this far (PSV in 04/05, who ran those b*****ds of AC Milan really, really close). Also I'm now gonna bet the farm on PSV winning the 2019/2020 Eredivisie title, because this Ajax team is going to be comprehensively razed to the ground in the summer transfer window. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bairnardo Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 Surely it's the other way round, and that the Netherlands benefit from a very good Ajax youth set up? This of course is nothing new, clubs (and countries) have been looking at the Ajax Youth Academy for decades trying to get some insight into how to develop young talent. Its both. All over Holland at local youth levels they do things differently. I remember reading about it years back. At youth level they have A and B teams to allow progression and to ensure boys can drop a level to get game time. They also rotate positions routinely up to a certain age/level with the theory that the defenders are decent with the ball and the midfielders/forwards can defend etc. To a certain extent Ajax being tje big guns will benefit from burgling other academies too I would imagine. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marten Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 27 minutes ago, Bairnardo said: Its both. All over Holland at local youth levels they do things differently. I remember reading about it years back. At youth level they have A and B teams to allow progression and to ensure boys can drop a level to get game time. They also rotate positions routinely up to a certain age/level with the theory that the defenders are decent with the ball and the midfielders/forwards can defend etc. To a certain extent Ajax being tje big guns will benefit from burgling other academies too I would imagine. Even tiny villages have their own youth set ups with good coaching. There are more and more regional development centres as well for players who don't get picked up by professional clubs immediately. Professional teams often work together with local non-league clubs to provide a pathway to the top as well. Big names like Ruud van Nistelrooij, Arjen Robben, Dirk Kuyt etc. came through a non-league club's youth setup and only went professional at a relatively late age. Ajax are going through an odd season, until early 2019 their season seemed to be a pretty forgetful one. Their highlight was qualifying from their CL group, although they didn't have the hardest draw. Ironically, the 6-2 thumping by Feyenoord seemed to be the moment that turned their season around. They've been pretty much invincible since. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jambomo Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 It's fan-fcuking-tastic and you'd almost get hopeful they could maybe, just maybe dispatch Spurs in the semi-final - then again, that hope did us in last time a Dutch team got this far (PSV in 04/05, who ran those b*****ds of AC Milan really, really close).I totally agree with all you post but this bit, well given what they have done to Real and now Juventus, there is no reason at all to think they can’t compete with Spurs or Man City. Fingers crossed for you, I would love to see them win it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergeant Wilson Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 12 minutes ago, Marten said: Even tiny villages have their own youth set ups with good coaching. There are more and more regional development centres as well for players who don't get picked up by professional clubs immediately. Professional teams often work together with local non-league clubs to provide a pathway to the top as well. Big names like Ruud van Nistelrooij, Arjen Robben, Dirk Kuyt etc. came through a non-league club's youth setup and only went professional at a relatively late age. Ajax are going through an odd season, until early 2019 their season seemed to be a pretty forgetful one. Their highlight was qualifying from their CL group, although they didn't have the hardest draw. Ironically, the 6-2 thumping by Feyenoord seemed to be the moment that turned their season around. They've been pretty much invincible since. How do the Dutch attract the right people to coaching? My experience here is that we seem to attract either career sports coaches who have studied, but not necessarily played football to any great degree. Or raging, frothing, win at all costs imbeciles. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DutchBorderer Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 5 minutes ago, Sergeant Wilson said: How do the Dutch attract the right people to coaching? My experience here is that we seem to attract either career sports coaches who have studied, but not necessarily played football to any great degree. Or raging, frothing, win at all costs imbeciles. It's dads, uncles, and older brothers who come into clubs along with young kids putting on cleats for the first time - that gets you such a wide pool of voluntary coaches that there will naturally be quite a few good ones in there, who then go on to older and better teams within a club. Career coaches are really only a thing at the pro clubs, I believe. It's not just football, btw - field hockey noticably benefits from this culture of starting out in coaching by helming your child's team. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.