About our Dutch opponents

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-- Anonymous, November 12, 1999

Answers

I LOATHE those matches where Ajax loses points facing a very weak opponent...It's typically the kind of plays where they should gain the 3 points easily. Especially when you're aiming the title. Rafael VDV is injured and will not play against Roma, in which will be a really tough match against skillful italians. Hope they'll make it to the quarters.

-- Anonymous, December 09, 2002

For filing under potentially promising: F-word had to sub keepers today after 5 minutes. Injury to the starter. The replacement is,I believe, a keeper from the reserves or youth team.

-- Anonymous, December 07, 2002

F-word won late today also,2:1 home to Ughtrecht.With PeeSV's 2:1 yesterday, the top three stay the same .

-- Anonymous, December 01, 2002

This is promising!!

At this moment, p$v plays Willem II at home. jan vennegoor of hesselink opened the scoring. As mateja kezman added p$v's second in stoppage time of the first half, it seemed like it was going to be an easy night for them (Willem II sucks in away games). But no- one else than Cedric van der Gun brought Willem II back into the game immediately after the break: 2-1. Over 35 minutes to go... Who knows what will happen... :-)

-- Anonymous, November 30, 2002


News on the injury/personnel fronts for several of Ajax upcoming opponents:

FC Twente: Jeroen Heubach is gimpy and seems set to miss Sunday's match, if I read the FC Twente site correctly.

De Graafschap(7 Dec): Jean Paul van Gastel has hamstring problems and is set to miss the rest of the season.Football.nl says Peter van Vossen may face a ban for an incident in DeG's match v. NAC. This depends on what officials decide after viewing video reported to show him kicking at an NAC player who is on the ground.

PSV(15 December) : Mark van Bommel is out. Now, Kevin Hofland faces "keyhole" surgery on his ankle to try to determine the extent of damage caused when he hurt the ankle in a loss to Arsenal.

-- Anonymous, November 29, 2002



Answer, yes Virginia, PSV are the biggest bunch of whinger wankers this side of Christendom.Oh, and in addition to van Bommel's injury, right back Michael Lamey has been hit with a three match ban, according to Footballnl.com.Speaking of lame,Arnold Bruggink is also gimpy. Re: the F-word, Footballnl.com reports P-air is out at least two more weeks due to his aching shinbone.

-- Anonymous, November 22, 2002

I didn't mean let him go in fact but rather not recruit him ;o)

-- Anonymous, November 19, 2002

Is it just me or are P$V the biggest bunch of whingers this side of Christendom? First they whine about not getting enough TV coverage in the CL (v. Ajax), then they whine because Uefa (correctly) fined them for racist chants against the Arse, then they whine because they didn't qualify for the next round of the CL (Van Bommel admitted they were listening for the Auxerre score, and didn't "try" until they knew they had to win.....this was against an Arsenal 2nd XI with a man already sent off). Now they're moaning about a disallowed goal against Feyenooit. Like a bunch of kids!

PS who ever allowed them to be a member of the G14 mafia anyway? Small club, small fan base, small stadium, small mindset.

-- Anonymous, November 19, 2002


Their young (19 years old I think....) player impressed me much. What's his name ??? He's damn talented....How did Ajax let him go ?

-- Anonymous, November 18, 2002

p$v's mark van bommel is out until the winter break, due to the injury he sustained against the F-Word. Nice one. He's by far their best player. Their Chivu and Litmanen in one person, pretty much. A few fuck-ups because of this injury are guaranteed, which is good stuff. They go to RBC Roosendaal next weekend, who are usually pretty good at home (4-0 win over Roda this weekend!!). Tough away game for feyenerd as well: RKC Waalwijk.

-- Anonymous, November 18, 2002


Ok. I admit that the two schedules are different, but I was just discussing the impression they had given to me....Their play was fluent and speedy, even when Auxerre (the team who had defeated Arsenal a week before, and who is on top of the French League), was playing with the full team. But the best impression on all the CL firt round was obviously the first half against Lyon at Amsterdam. That's why we love Ajax : the team was so dominating, i had the impression that they were playing on Fast Forward :O) Please amsterdammers : Let's defeat those pesky italians, i don't want to regret the points lost in Trondheim (even if Uefa would be good too, and would allow them to erase F-nerds of the trophy 8O]))

-- Anonymous, November 11, 2002

Next weekend it's p$v vs feyenerd in eindhoven. A draw would be nice, or else a feyenoord win. But if we beat NEC at home, it will be a good weekend for us, whatever happens.

-- Anonymous, November 11, 2002

i think that ajax is doing very well this year against the traditional ´best of the rest´ teams and the draw against roda jc was a result of a error from didulica. But then again a point in an away game is still a point and if we didnt have vd vaart we wouldnt have any. I was very happy with the away result against vitesse because ajax never had won in the gelredome before so it was 3 points extra compared to the last seasons results. Now i hope that p$v is going to drop points against feyenerd so we can build a healthy points advantage and concentrate on the big europe games. AJAX for ever and feyenerd never!!!!!

-- Anonymous, November 10, 2002

Oopzz! It wasn't Bill, whom I quoted, but Bertrand... Sorry Bill :-)

-- Anonymous, November 04, 2002

Bill wrote: "it appears that P$V's goalie has only been beaten three times..It's very few if you want my opinion...It worries me much ...and even more after their match against the french team Auxerre, where the team was Ajax-like brilliant..."

They were good against Auxerre, I'll give you that. However, one should note that two out of p$v's three goals were scored after Auxerre were down to nine men (two red cards).

In the league, meanwhile, Ajax has had BY FAR the toughest schedule. We've had Vitesse and F-Word away, plus two home games against teams that were in the top five at that point (NAC, Willem II). We're still unbeaten. p$v has had the 'easiest' schedule so far, but they lost two points almost every time they bumped into a decent team (Twente, Roda, NAC). Almost all of their wins were against bootom- half teams: De Graafschap, FC Groningen, Excelsior, AZ, FC Zwolle etcetera. They haven't had one single game in the Vitesse-away and F- Word-away category yet.

Also, it's p$v vs feyenerd on 17 November, which will be a good result for us no matter what (draw would be nice).

-- Anonymous, November 04, 2002



I've checked dutch rankings on voetbal.nl and it appears that P$V's goalie has only been beaten three times..It's very few if you want my opinion...It worries me much ...and even more after their match against the french team Auxerre, where the team was Ajax-like brilliant... But i don't wanna be the black cat, so a 3-0 against Willem II is good, let's keep on winning those matchs and they won't be able to catch the title....Go AJAX !!!

-- Anonymous, November 03, 2002

It isn't enough that Amsterdam suffered a nasty storm and high winds last week. Today they suffered through another high wind day as Dick Jol hit town.

-- Anonymous, November 03, 2002

In an outrage almost as bad as the Chivu red card, Dick Jol has been designated the head donkey in charge of tomorrow's match.Together with the other two members of "Three Blind Mice" , he should make it a match to remember, sarcastically speaking.

-- Anonymous, November 02, 2002

It appears that Willem II is not without a few injuries of their own. Several websites are reporting that Tom Caluwe, Regilio Simons, and James Quinn;in addition to the suspended Ceesay;are out for tomorrow.

-- Anonymous, November 02, 2002

Yes! 0-0 at FC Twente vs p$v!

We grabbed the top slot two weeks ago, lost it again last week, but we can reclaim it tomorrow!

-- Anonymous, November 02, 2002


Last season saw FC Twente help Ajax by taking the measure of the F- word twice. Today, they have just finished drawing 0:0 with PSV. The match was played in Enschede. Lets hope Ajax can do the business tomorrow and reclaim the top spot.

-- Anonymous, November 02, 2002

Wow. Some (Egyptian...) visitors to this forum thought Ronald Koeman went too far in criticizing Mido in the media??

What about this little dialogue, between F-Word coach bert van marwijk and some reporter, after having lost two points in Arnhem, about feyenoord's Aussie defender/midfielder brett emerton.

van marwijk: "I've been nice to him. I've been very angry. I've been very understanding. I've been not so understanding. I've tried it all. He thinks he doesn't make that many mistakes. He simply doesn't see it. I've been working with him for two years. Two years! He could be so valuable for us..."

The reporter: "Perhaps brett emerton is just not such a great talent as you thought?"

van marwijk: "Actually, you may well be right."

Let's see what happens... If emerton is as touchy and as impulsive as Mido, there will be another Big Affair in rotterdam (the second of the season, after the robin van pussy thing).

-- Anonymous, October 21, 2002


Blunt prediction?

Our rotterdam friends are now officially f##ked for both Saturday's Vitesse game and their Champions League visits to Dynamo Kiev and Juventus. Why so? NOS Teletekst reported that pee-air van whoredonk is out for four weeks.

Can't say the news depressed me.

-- Anonymous, October 17, 2002


So, the upcoming weekend's Eredivisie program just appeared on Teletekst. Seems like Ajax has an excellent chance to do some very good business. We're at home against AZ. p$v faces a tougher home game (Roda JC). The toughest job is waiting for the F-Word, who are due in Arnhem, against Vitesse.

If they blow it over there, they're slowly getting into deep trouble. If Ajax and psv win their home games (which I expect) and feyenoord does not win in Arnhem (which I also expect), the gap will be eight or even nine points! This may be the period in which we can force what the Germans call a Vorentscheidung (= 'early decision' or 'decision for now).

-- Anonymous, October 14, 2002


UEFA have weighed in with decisions regarding the pitch interruption which took place during the FC UGHtrecht v. Legia Warsaw match and the alleged hurling of racial insults which overshadowed the PSV. Arsenal game. The UGHsters, along with Dinamo Tblisi, must now play their next ,quoting the article at UEFA.com,"UEFA club competition match behind closed doors".In the case of UGHtrecht, this decision also came about because of a "Racist Banner" possessed by some supporters. As UGHtrecht are out of the competition, one wonders when this penalty will be enforced.Unless domestic league counts as a "UEFA club competition match".

PSV have been slapped with a 20,500 euro fine stemming from the insults hurled by their crowd at Arsenal's Thierry henry.

PlanetFootball.com mentions a sanction,not described,against the F- word. UEFA.com doesn't.

-- Anonymous, October 11, 2002


RKC's Eddy Putter was handed a two match ban after using his elbow on an opponent recently.Ordinarily, I could care less about RKC.But, he has been a starting striker for them and will now miss their match home to Ajax on the 26th.

-- Anonymous, October 09, 2002

This one is just somehting i noticed about Dutch football :

it has really become really violent...I mean those Utrecht dudes invading the pitch (or i dunno what...), bullets in posts to Rijkaard and Hiddink plus traditional problems with hooligans (from all sides unfortunately : Den Haag, Rotterdam, Amsterdam...).

Imagine all the people living life in peace.... Nothing to kill or die for You may say i'm a dreamer but......fill in the blanks :O)

I really do hope that October 6th "classic" will be performed in peace.........................and that Ajax will win.......for sure !!

-- Anonymous, October 04, 2002


Did you hear about the riots at FC Utrecht's UEFA Cup home game yesterday night? They had lost their away game at Legia Warsaw (4-1), and they also lost Stijn 'Mad Dog' Vreven due to the most stupid red card I've ever seen (what a nutcase). But for some mysterious reason, they still believed in it.

Anyway, Legia scored after only seven minutes, pretty much killing Utrecht's last hopes. Then hell broke loose: fights between Utrecht and Legia fans, and loads of Utrecht fans storming the pitch. The game was interrupted for 38 minutes. UEFA regulations say that interrupted games have to be resumed in 30 minutes' time - otherwise they have to be broken off.

They ended up losing 1-3. Man, will the UEFA whip their asses for this one! They will surely be banned from Europea football for a year, maybe two. Good stuff, it is embarrassing to be represented by them anyway... :-)

SC Heerenveen is out as well. After having lost 3-0 at National Bucharest, they won their home game (2-0), but it wasn't enough.

The only good achievement by a Dutch UEFA Cup team came from Vitesse. After a 1-1 draw at home against Rapid Bucharest, they won in Romania, 0-1 (goal by Bob Peeters) and are advancing.

-- Anonymous, October 04, 2002


Yessir! Thanks to the 'Ajax bunch of Roosendaal'!

No less than five of 'em played a part in RBC Roosendaal's fine 4-2 victory over the FFFFF-Word: Melvin Fleur, Pascal Heije, Danny den Ouden, Mitchell Piqué and Nordin Wooter. Former F-Word targetman Henk Vos scored one of the goals. Nice one.

An Ajax win over NAC will increase the gap between Ajax and the feyenerds to five points. This is great, with the first Classic of the season coming up next week. If we beat NAC, F-Word can impossibly leapfrog us next week - even if they win.

BTW: about time P$V starts losing some points. They score a LOT of goals... 4-0... Now they know how good Arsenal much have felt last week... ;-D

-- Anonymous, September 28, 2002


RBC have indeed defeated the F-word. The final was 4:2. Despite the Dickster's best(wurst?)efforts and a P-Air vrij trap on 75', RBC hung tough and scored a 90th minute goal to finish matters. Nascimento, Ouden,Vos, and Daelemans(sp?)scoort voor RBC. Jimmy van Buffett , Buffoon, Buffel or whatshis name scored for the F-word along with the aforesaid(big word!) P-Air. It was too much to ask for De Crapchump to aid Ajax v.PeeEssVee. 4:0 it finished in Eindhoven. Willem II won 5:2 v. Zwolle and ,at last look ,Roda were defeating Twente 0:1 at the Arke Stadion.

-- Anonymous, September 28, 2002

When the Dick Jol "Tragical Misery Tour and Football Fiasco" is in town, anything can happen. Witness that ESPN Soccernet is reporting that RBC lead 3:1 over the F-word at Roosendaal's Vast en Goed Stadion.Elsewhere,PSV are taking out their frustrations on De Crapchump; by 4:0 at present. Oh, and Cedric van der Gun has one of Willem II's goals today.

-- Anonymous, September 28, 2002

Lumping bad news on bad news, Ugh!!-trecht's misery is probably compounded by reports that center forward (and star player) Dirk Kujt is being linked with a move to one of the Dutch big 3 in the January transfer period. See Planet Football or Ajax Netwerk for more blather about this rumour. Utter a sigh for the ugh!-sters...NOT! A red card for Frankenstijn? Boy, the news just gets better and better.

-- Anonymous, September 19, 2002

Looks the the referee for Saturday is Mr. Schenkels. No Luinge or "Dope Show Dickster". How did we luck out this week? Say a prayer for poor De Gruff Chap though. Dope Show Dickie and his band of miscreants are rolling into town to screw up the match with AZ. Watch as miracles happen...blind men see and sighted men go blind. Sure to amaze and horrify one and all.

-- Anonymous, September 10, 2002

Trouble at the henhouse @ F-Word... NOS Teletekst reports that coach Bert van Marwijk has kicked young Robin van Pussy out of the squad, due to "negative and indifferent behaviour"...

-- Anonymous, August 28, 2002

if other european clubs cant beat those ladies and let them do their thing i guess Ajax have to do the cooking! what more exciting way than to fry those ladies with our very own grill hehehe

-- Anonymous, August 28, 2002

looks like all we get for our thinking hard is bent siverware. 0:2 to the Ladies after a late goal. Hope our luck with the draw will be as good as the ladies had today.

-- Anonymous, August 27, 2002

Wow,

With the score being 0-1, the Turks will now have to score 3 goals in 30 minutes, to get through.

It's all up to Bill Bryden now....

-- Anonymous, August 27, 2002


Damn! Looks at this moment like the ladies will go thru. 0:1 in the game, courtesy of Yoko Ono, and 2 goals to nil on aggregate.

-- Anonymous, August 27, 2002

I am following the Fenerbahce v.Women of Rotterdam match on Big Soccer. For those who care...it is 0:0 at the half. The Holland section of Big Soccer does have a match summary thread in progress.

-- Anonymous, August 27, 2002

Nice little article on UEFA.com, by the way, about the state of Dutch football:

Dutch daring to dream

The article doesn't really do anything else than summing up some names of talented players, but a nice little read anyway.

-- Anonymous, August 16, 2002


Oh man... RBC vs FC Zwolle... The excitement! I nearly got a heart- attack! I'm still recovering...

In addition to Ben's posts: there actually were quite a few former Ajax players and Ajax loanees on the pitch. In the RBC Roosendaal line-up we see the names of Pascal Heije, Mitchell Piqué, Melvin Fleur (yes, it's him) and - as a sub - Danny den Ouden. Young Ajax defender Ruud Kras made his Eredivisie debut as a loanee for FC Zwolle.

-- Anonymous, August 16, 2002


In the most exciting match of the year,FC Zwolle came back from 1:0 down to earn a 1:1 draw at RBC. A crowd of 4,900+ viewed the riveting affair.If you are keeping score at home or have Maseland(RBC) or Lim- Duan(FC Z) tipped to win the scoring title, you will be glad to know that each scored once tonight.

-- Anonymous, August 16, 2002

I know many of you must be holding your breath in anticipation of the score-line from the RBC Roosendaal v. FC Zwolle clash! NOS teletekst lists the score as 1:0 to home side RBC; with the match still in progress. I see Mitchell Pique listed in the midfield for RBC and Ruud Kras at center-back for Zwolle.Also, there is a player called Fleur in the RBC line-up. Don't know if this is our old pal Melvin Fleur, formerly of the Ajax system ,or not.

-- Anonymous, August 16, 2002

Hey folks... I'm back from my vacation to Tuscany, Italy. Had a GREAT time there. Florence is just STUNNING. It was also very nice to see that almost every Italian sports paper (the famous pink Gazzetto delle Sport, but also Tutto Sport and one or two others) had comprehensive reports of the Amsterdam Tournament and Ajax' fine performances! Too bad I missed those games, but anyway: I'm back beautifully in time for the kick-off of the league!

Tonight, as they say in Holland, "the ball will be rolling again". There's one game tonight (Friday), followed by four on Saturday and four on Sunday, making for a full load of nine games. The first teams to get back to action are two of the three newcomers: RBC Roosendaal and last year's First Division champions, FC Zwolle.

Which reminds me: I wrote three brand-new Ajax USA team profiles for the three newcomers. Also, I edited and - in many cases - re-wrote the rest of the profiles. And I added a more comprehensive history of the Eredivisie.

Check 'em out, but don't read all of them... It's nicer to read them for your pre-game enjoyment, when the game against Ajax is coming up. As usual, we will link to the profile for the upcoming Eredivisie opponent from the Ajax USA homepage.

-- Anonymous, August 16, 2002


100 per cent behind your thoughts on this one Menno. Some interesting quotes from both Holland and Turkey on this game are to be found on a thread

http://feyenoord.netwerk.to/forums/forum.php?forum=11

Believe having read these that I have been living on the planet Zod instead of Earth these past few years (ie there arnt any F-Word Hooligans as they are all in jail - excuse me !!!!!!)

-- Anonymous, July 29, 2002


As some of you may have heard, F-Word is facing Turkish side Fenerbahce in their qualification round for the Champions League. A very tough draw indeed for F-Word, just like Ajax last year. They were a seeded team for the third and final CL preliminary round. Fenerbahce was about the toughest opponent they could be paired with (Ajax had the same thing last year, getting paired with Celtic).

It's usually an interesting point of discussion: do you support F- Word and PSV in Europe, or do you not?

Personally, I always hope Feyenoord and PSV will go out. I just can't support them, no matter how hard I try. I just can't do anything else than hoping they'll lose. Many Ajax fans have the same thing; others disagree with me and support all Dutch teams in Europe, cos it's "important for Dutch football".

However, this time, there's an extra advantage for Ajax if F-Word screw up against those Turks. Here's the deal: for the Champions League draw, the 32 participating teams for the first round, will be divided over four pots of eight teams each, based on the UEFA ranking. Pot 1 contains the strongest teams (the 'group heads', you might say), whereas pot 4 contains the participants that are currently the lowest on the UEFA ranking. Each first round group will feature one team from each pot.

If ALL seeded teams in the third preliminary round make it to the group stage, Ajax will be number 25 (out of 32) and, therefore, in pot #4. However, if a side that's lower than Ajax in the UEFA ranking makes it to the group stage, Ajax will become #24 out of 32 and will be in pot #3.

That would be excellent, cos it would make for a relatively easier draw. This would be the case if Fenerbahce eliminate F-Word!

I hope my explanation made sense to you. If not: just take my for it that you have to support Fenerbahce against Feyenoord.

-- Anonymous, July 29, 2002


Menno

Yeah - I think you are insulting Oldambtster Boys ;-)

Seriously though folks, its very hard to compare their respective levels. Braintree Town FC, normally play at least two premiership clubs each pre-season and normally lose by up to 5 goals, but normally managing to sneak one themselves. However, the premiership clubs certainly donot send a full first-team squad with only a smattering of first team players playing. The standard is relatively high in Braintree's league with the likes of Canvey etc making it through to the third round of the FA Cup by beating league clubs. So hard to compare - maybe on one of my trips over we can take in this level of game and then we will be able to compare.

-- Anonymous, July 11, 2002


Tonight's game:

Oldambtster Boys vs FC Groningen

Result: 0-24... :-)

Bill, would Oldambtster Boys be the Dutch equivalent of Braintree, do you think? Or is that an insult...?

-- Anonymous, July 10, 2002


It's official, reports NOS Teletekst: Guus Hiddink has signed a two year-contract with his former club: PSV. The Eindhoven club had its finest hour under Hiddink's supervision in 1988, winning the European Champions Cup by beating Benfica on pennos.

So, a statue in Korea or no statue in Korea, things are back to normal now: Guus is 'The Enemy' again. We'll eat him alive. I like Korean food. I'll have him with steamed vegetables, like they do in Korea :-)

-- Anonymous, July 08, 2002


VI Planet.nl announces that Willem II from Tilburg has signed a young American midfielder named David Johnson. He's 18 years old and an American U19 international. So, there will be three Americans in the Eredivisie this season: Ernie Stewart (NAC), John O'Brien (Ajax) and David Johnson (Willem II).

-- Anonymous, June 28, 2002

I am sorry to announce that the oldest professional football club in The Netherlands, Sparta Rotterdam, has been relegated to the Gouden Gids Divisie. The leaders in group B of the play-offs, Excelsior (also from Rotterdam) lost their game in Volendam (2-1), but knew that it did not matter, because Sparta were three goals down at home, against ADO Den Haag. Final result: 1-3, which means that Excelsior, Feyenoord's satellite club, is to return in the Eredivisie next season, for the first time since they went down in 1987.

Since Dutch football turned professional in the mid-1950s, only four clubs have always been in the highest division: Ajax, Feyenoord, PSV and... Sparta. Every Dutch football fan will agree that it's sad to see this beautiful, respectable Rotterdam side go down for the first time in hostory. They're simply not a First Division club.

I feel sorry for Ajax contracters Aron Winter, John Nieuwenburg and of course good old Frankie Rijkaard. I hope Sparta will make the jump back a.s.a.p.

The promotion-relegation play-offs are now over. Both Eredivisie sides (FC Den Bosch and Sparta) did not survive and will follow Fortuna Sittard to the First Division. FC Zwolle, RBC Roosendaal and Excelsior are Ajax' new opponents for next season.

-- Anonymous, May 26, 2002


I was just checking the play-off match results. FC Den Bosch has been relegated.FC Den Bosch lost out to RBC Roosendaal by one point, 14- 13,after identical 0:3wins today .RBC defeated Cambuur Leeuwarden while FC D-B beat Emmen. Thus, RBC will return to the Holland Casino Dutch Eredivisie(what a mouthful!!) after a one year absence.Group B, where Sparta look certain to get relegated and Excelsior promoted ,play their last of 6 fixtures tomorrow.

-- Anonymous, May 25, 2002

A quick update on the play-offs...

With one game to go, things are starting to look very, very bad indeed for Frank Rijkaard and Aron Winter, at Sparta. They are three points behind Excelsior. Excelsior requires only one point against FC Volendam, who are no longer in the race and have claimed only three point so far.

This would be sad. I really like Sparta. They've always been in the Eredivisie. Excelsior (from Rotterdam, too) is Feyenoord's satellite club. The club would have been dead and buries if it wasn't for Feyenoord's cash. The club hardly has a real fanbase or a tradition of its own.

In the second group, things are a little bit more exciting. RBC Roosendaal is a point ahead of FC Den Bosch. RBC is away at Cambuur Leeuwarden on Saturday. They need a win, but note that Cambuur only has three points. They've lost four out of five so far, so I don't think they will be too much of a problem for RBC.

So, it looks like *both* Eredivisie sides are not going to make it. Fortuna Sittard, FC Den Bosch and Sparta go down; FC Zwolle, Excelsior and RBC Roosendaal go up - is what it looks like...

-- Anonymous, May 24, 2002


I forgot to mention that I must congratulate Feyenoord on their well deserved victory in the Uefa Cup Final over Borussia Dortmund. It was quite a match. Really good end to end stuff at times.

Although F word is Ajax's most notorious rival I have to give them much credit on their run through the competition beating a Freiburg, Glasgow Rangers, PSV, and Inter Milan along the way.

Plus their success is a good thing for Dutch football.

-- Anonymous, May 15, 2002


Nice to see they train 'em young over at Fword:

http://viral.lycos.co.uk/attachments/474/kidswear.jpg

-- Anonymous, May 14, 2002


For what it's worth, the man in charge of the Amstel Cup Final is Mr. Temmink.

-- Anonymous, May 11, 2002

I don;t really mind Fword won the UEFA cup.. i notice that everytime Fword or PSV won european thropy, the following few years will be won by Ajax like in the 1970's and 1988.. so who knows maybe Ajax will win the Champions League near future.. I got that feeling!!!

-- Anonymous, May 10, 2002

Yeah - I agree. Its very important for Dutch football that clubs continue to suceed in Europe and what F-word achieved should be commended. The knocked out a number of high profile clubs along the way to winning the trophy and they seemed to tapped into a good balance of youth and experience. It makes interesting reading for next season's encounters.

-- Anonymous, May 10, 2002

Well...a quick note on Fword....

As always, they managed to make it very difficult for themselves, but they beat Dortmund, and frankly, I'm pleased (more UEFA "points" for calculating number of Champions League, and UEFA Cup places for Dutch teams). They did deserve it although the Germans (or should that be Brazilians and Czechs) gave them a run for their money with only ten men.

Well done Fword.

-- Anonymous, May 09, 2002


FC Zwolle has won the First Division championship yesterday evening by beating direct competitor Excelsior, 1-0. FC Zwolle, from the north-east of The Netherlands (same province as FC Twente) will take Fortuna Sittard's place in the Eredivisie next season.

Also, it is now certain that the six First Division teams to play in the promotion/relegation play-offs are the following: RBC Roosendaal, Excelsior, ADO Den Haag, Emmen, Cambuur Leeuwarden and FC Volendam. Sparta is also certain to play in the play-offs. The second Eredivisie team will be FC Den Bosch, FC Groningen or De Graafschap (Although AZ, Roda JC and FC Twente can still drop into the play-offs as well, theoretically).

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2002


FYI....Stop the presses!

If wasn't that Jolly Dick was involved I'd call the Fword criticism nothing more than whining losers....well maybe I should rethink that...anyway......

Apparently the Dickster is a really good ref...the players, fans and managers just don't realise it! Glad we cleared that one up.

--------------------------------------------- From: DailySoccer.com Dutch referees to fight back against critics AMSTERDAM, April 23 (DS)

A number of top Dutch referees have responded to a barrage of recent criticism, by threatening to go on a weekend's strike in the worst case scenario. Dick Jol leads a delegation of referees who will meet with the KNVB (Dutch FA) to discuss a move to respond to what they believe is unfair treatment from players, managers and the press. Jol was himself the subject of scrutiny some weeks ago when he handed a penalty for Ajax, after an apparent dive from Nikos Machlas during the Amsterdam side's meeting with bitter rivals Feyenoord.

The Rotterdam club were again on the receiving end of a harsh decision last week when Jan Wegereef gave PSV a penalty for Paauwe's shoulder contact with Van Bommel. Wegereef will be going to the World Cup, and Dutch football magazine 'Voetbal International' headlined, 'it's bad that Holland won't be at the WC, it's tragic that Wegereef will'. The magazine wrote of him as, 'an amateur component who comes along to lead a match between pure professionals, and goes about with the financial consequences that the game holds in an irresponsible manner. Everything about him indicates that he feels that he is a top-man himself. That says everything about his unrealistic self-belief and his chronic lack of self-criticism'.

Jol said, "It's enough. We are the continual target for often unfounded and stone-hard criticism. More and more we are finding ourselves made to look ridiculous. We don't kick, we don't spit, and players and managers need to look at themselves. That's why we want to give out a clear signal. Striking would of course be the last measure, but maybe we will need to do it to really indicate that we've had enough". He added, "Of course we also make mistakes, but we are immediately brought down. The reproaches sometimes go so far as to influence the private life of a referee. What Voetbal International said about Jan Wegereef last week dishonoured his name".

The criticism reached fever pitch this weekend after seemingly unbelieveable decisions were made by Fred Sterk, Dick van Egmond and Jack van Hulten. Den Bosch defender, Fred van den Hoorn lashed out his anger at Van Hulten and accused him of corruption, after NEC were awarded a penalty against his side in injury time on Sunday.Van Hulten is to make a complaint to the KNVB about the player's re- action to a decision that may have condemned the club to the relegation play-offs.

-- Anonymous, April 23, 2002


Just saw the referee assignments for this coming Sunday. I know everyone is on the edge of their seats so let me cut to the chase. AFC Ajax v. FC Den Bosch will be reffed by Mr. Luijten. Send your sympathy cards to Arnhem . THE DICKSTER'S "Tragical Misery Tour" makes a stop in Arnhem on Sunday; where Vitesse take on Willem II. Yes, sadly, "The Dope Show(apologies to Marilyn Manson)" has a couple more stops before it grinds to a not so timely end.

Role-OAF Luinge mean while gets to FUBAR the match between FC Twente and FC (or is it FU because of their supporters actions?)Utreg on Sunday.

-- Anonymous, April 23, 2002


For those interested... at least I know Ben Bell is ;-)...

The First Division is spectacularly exciting. As I wrote a few days ago: FC Zwolle is at the top of the table right now, three points ahead of F-Word's satellite club Excelsior. This Friday (kick-off 19:00 CET) FC Zwolle can win the championship in a direct confrontation with Excelsior (in Zwolle).

If Excelsior wins it, both teams have 70 points from 33 games, making for a "photo finish" on the last day. It's an interesting season...

-- Anonymous, April 22, 2002


As you can see on the Eredivisie table: PSV and F-Word still have a game in hand. Those games will be played this week, so all 18 Eredivisie clubs enter the final two rounds with the same number of games played (32). PSV vs Willem II will be played on Wednesday; De Graafschap vs F-Word on Thursday.

Personally, I think F-Word will lose two points at De Graafschap. For Ajax, it's now more important what PSV will do. If they draw or lose, Ajax can grab the title in the home game against FC Den Bosch. Even if PSV beat Willem II, Ajax can clinch the championship next Sunday, if PSV lose points against Sparta. However, after having seen Sparta play against Ajax, I consider that a 0% chance.

Therefore, PSV vs Willem II is a *very* important game for Ajax. The opponent in the last game, NEC, refuses to give Ajax any extra tickets. Only 583 Ajax supporters can travel to Nijmegen, which is unusual. Usually, is a club can grab the title in an away game, the home team makes 2,000 tickets or so available. Not this time, tho.

Therefore, it would be nice if we can wrap things up at home. We need Willem II to notch a point (or three) from Eindhoven on Wednesday. I don't expect them to, I must admit, but I'll be checking TeleText on Wednesday... :-)

-- Anonymous, April 22, 2002


Error, error...

I made a mistake in explaining the play-offs system, a few posts ago. Each play-off group will consist of four teams, not three: one Eredivisie side (#16/17), two winners of a First Division 'period title', plus one of the two best First Division teams withouta 'period title'.

-- Anonymous, April 22, 2002


"All the Utrecht supporters were escorted back to the trains because they had noidentification with them and their team had to play without support!"

This is not correct. Ajax voluntarily came up with the measure that all Ajax fans had to bring ID. The transport of Utrecht fans was organized as usual, by FC Utrecht itself. The Utrecht supporters' train was sent back because they solidly yelled: "Hamas, Hamas, all Jews have to be gassed."

The mayor of Amsterdam then issued a special order to clear the section of Utrecht fans and send them back to Utrecht immediately.

-- Anonymous, April 21, 2002


Our rivalry with FC Utreg seems to really be heating up.Sadly, it seems it is what is going on off the pitch, involving supporters, which is heating things up. I enter ,for the purpose of discussion, the first part of the match recap on the english-language site football.nl:"Ajax stay clear after this 1-0 against Utrecht in the Arena!The match finally kicked-off 30 minutes late due to the chaos created by all the extra security measures after the recent riots during the Amstel Cup quarter(it should be Halve-)-final.Everyone has to identify themselves before getting in! All the Utrecht supporters were escorted back to the trains because they had noidentification with them and their team had to play without support!"

Is this explanation factual? I would like to hear comments from those in the know.I just worry that after measures like the one-sided distribution of tickets for the Amstel Cup Final,the authorities have only stirred the pot they are trying to keep from boiling over.. again.

Oh, and while on the subject of fan issues, I can only hope ADO Den Haag does NOT win promotion in the play-offs. Adding their supporters to the Eredivisie landscape (The Holland Casino Eredivisie!!) could really create problems.

-- Anonymous, April 21, 2002


It is interesting to note that PSV and the F-word both play Willem II and DeGraafschap in their last three matches. I don't for one second forget that Ajax taking care of business is the big thing. At the same time,I find it interesting that goals scored and conceded by mid- table Willem II Tilburg or relegation playoff possibles De Graafschap may yet influence the final standings.What an incredible season! I can't wait for the next round of games.

-- Anonymous, April 21, 2002

Yesterday's result: Fortuna Sittard vs F-Word 1-2.

An early Van Hoodwink free-kick put Rottendam in the lead. Hamming equzlized just before half-time, giving the 12,000 fans a little bit of hope, for the last time. A Patrick Paauwe strike in the 63rd minutes made it 1-2.

Which means that F-Word does a good job in holding on to the third spot, but - more importantly - that Fortuna Sittard is now officially relegated to the Gouden Gids Divisie ('Yellow Page Division') a.k.a. the First Division.

The question which team will replace Fortuna by winning the First Division championship, can not be answered yet. It's almost as exciting there as it is in the Eredivisie. Currently, FC Zwolle is #1, with 67 points. #2 Excelsior also has 67 points, but Zwolle has a game in hand to take a three point lead. #3 is RBC Roosendaal (in the Eredivisie last year; 32 games, 65 points), #4 is ADO Den Haag (The Hague; 32 games, 62 points).

Only the champion will go to the Eredivisie directly.

Also, the First Division season (34 games) is divided in four 'periods' (two of 9 games, two of 8 games). The four 'period winners' get to play the play-offs. In the play-offs, two groups will be formed, each consisting of two First Division 'period winners' plus the #16 or #17 from the Eredivisie. (BTW: in most cases the First Division champion also won a period. In that case, the champion is replaced by the highest team on the table without a 'period title').

The fourth period was won by ADO Den Haag yesterday night. FC Zwolle, Excelsior and Cambuur Leeuwarden already have a period title as well. Since the championship is likely to be won by either FC Zwolle or Excelsior it's almost certain that the champion's slot in the play- offs will be occupied by Emmen.

In the Eredivisie, Sparta is already certain to go to the play-offs. As you know, the main candidates for the second 'Eredivisie slot' in the play-offs are De Graafschap, FC Groningen and FC Den Bosch.

The two play-off groups play a full, four game competition (home and away to each opponent). The group winners go to the Eredivisie (or stay in it, if the winner is the Eredivisie side from that group).

If you want to keep yourself informed on which new opponent(s) Ajax will face next season, check the First Division table every once in a while. A + behind a team's name indicates that this side won a 'period title'.

-- Anonymous, April 20, 2002


At first ,I was very confused. The ArenA becoming the Netherland's biggest coffee shop? "DOPE in the ArenA on Sunday!!!!" , screamed the headlines. Then ,I read further.It turns out the news is refering to THE BIG DICK paying us a house call. I hope brings his seeing eye dog this time. At least one of the two has a wee bit of common sense.

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2002

Old Trafford,indeed(Wembley?!?!What was i thinking?Anyway...)My bad.Thanx for the correction Rudy. :-) Well,u got my point anyway.Dick Jol is still the biggest malakas. ;-)

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2002

Geo,

I think Mr Jol's early Christmas presents (14 as I recall) occured at Old Trafford, not Wembley.

Sorry...don't mean to be pedantic.

Cheers,

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2002


Dick Jol?!?!?ANTE GAMISOU MALAKA,KARIOLI,POUTANAS YIE! * Sorry,but i could express myself only in Greek about this man.You will understand two or three words anyway. ;-) * By the way.Mister Jol,the Greeks don't forget what you did in Wembley.Still waiting for you to visit us.You will have a great time.Trust me!

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2002

My God... Guess who's the ref for Sunday's game against FC Utrecht?

Yessir: straight from The Hague, the one and only DICKSTER!!

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2002


I read a story today which indicated that MVV are looking to go their own way rather than become partner to the proposed FC Limburg.Footballnl.com has a report that says one of the MVV commissioners, the club board, the supporters organization, and membership of the Maastricht Supporters Forum internet site are determined that MVV remain as a separate entity; and will act to see that this happens. The article goes on to say,"it's now a question of exactly how interested sponsors will be to support the club?!"

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2002

Yes, Fword did the business last night, although they really lost their concentration in the last 15 minutes. I wish them luck in the final.

Van Hoijdonk showed leadership, Kalou and van Persie were outplaying their markers....but Bosvelt was a complete donkey (over half his passes went to opponents or put recipients under pressure).

I think with the hysteria in de Kuip last night their minds are all on the final.

Hoping for a tie on Sunday!!!

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2002


You have to fair and give Feyenoord credit for knocking out Inter Milan over 2 pretty exciting Uefa Cup Semi-Final ties.

Tough game for them on Sunday at PSV is huge for obvious reasons so they will have to get their concentration back quickly.

-- Anonymous, April 12, 2002


Gentlemen

Oh how cutting your remarks can be to one of Europe's finest W****rs.

The poor guy has to live with the knowledge that he is one of the most annoying men in Western Europe and think what this criticism must do to his self-esteem. Until recently his parents were very proud of their son and how nice and smart he looked at each game we have had the benefit of him officiating at. I mean you have to admire a man whose pencil is always sharp enough and whose notebook is always ready at an empty page for the first booking. Some nancy-boy refs would let certain small indesretions go, but not our Roelof who shows what a fine upstanding man he is by booking more people than was booked by Dan in Hawaii 5-O.

But now us the football fans, who know little about the game, have started to upset them with our criticism. Please,I plead for their sake, no more criticism of their little Roelof.

-- Anonymous, April 08, 2002


Roelof Luinge? God, or a reasonable facsimilie there of, help us! Roelof Luinge ,producer of sham television events like last years "Fred Sees Red" fiasco, is sure to wreak havoc in some way. With our luck, the DICKSTER will be fourth official. A match officiated by Luinge or Jol should be enough to qualify a city for Dutch disaster relief.

-- Anonymous, April 08, 2002

When a merged club is the sum total of two Toto Divisie Clubs and one Eredivisie club, should it automatically(i.e.with some pronouncement like "in the interest of the game and the province's economic well- being..blah..blah..blah")be a top-flight club?

-- Anonymous, April 08, 2002

Uh-oh... For Wednesday's game against PSV, the KNVB has just assigned the only referee in Holland even worse than 'The Dickster' himself... Roelof Luinge a.k.a. the most annoying man in Western Europe.

He was a classmate of Dick Jol at the Stevie Wonder Referee Academy, after which he also received several prestigious certificates at the Jerry Springer Institute for Referees, where he specialized in letting respectful and peaceful games go out of control by giving yellow cards for the tiniest little fouls and remarks.

A true celebrity! In fact, if one man in the world is capable of establishing a spectacular new record (sending off the third Ajacied in two weeks' time!) it would be Luinge, a worse DICK than The Dickster himself :-)

-- Anonymous, April 08, 2002


Nice one. Thanks for the info.

-- Anonymous, April 08, 2002

One simplistic, but very understandable topic of discussion, btw, is: where is FC Limburg gonna play its home games? The capital (Maastricht) sounds like the most logical choice, but the problem is that Maastricht is not in the heart of the province (but all the way down south). Kerkrade (Roda JC) has the nicest stadium and the largest fanbase, but it's not a very inspiring town.

Last time, there were several plans: having two or three locations for home games, for example. Or choosing a 'neutral' city to build a new stadium. Or building a stadium in the middle of nowhere. All those options suck big time, and I'm sure Limburg football fans will agree. A football club needs a true home. But no-one wants that home to be the stadium of the former rivals...

Sentiments, sentiments... Don't underestimate what this means to a true football supporter. If there was a discussion like this involving Ajax... man, I would be so depressed. And I would never support friggin' FC North Holland or whatever. Fuck it. I would go watch some nice, non-commercial Amsterdam amateur football in weekends.

-- Anonymous, April 08, 2002


For those interested...

Today's main football news here in Holland is the fact that officials of Roda JC, Fortuna Sittard and First Division side MVV Maastricht have secretly met in the German city of Aachen, to discuss a possible fusion of the three clubs, under the name FC Limburg (Limburg is the southern province where all three clubs are from).

This subject seems to return every once in a while. There is, by the way, a fourth professional club in Limburg (VVV from Venlo), vut apparently they're not involved this time.

The basic idea is that a united Limburg club might be able to compete with the top of the Eredivisie. But it is, as you can imagine, a very emotional subject in Limburg, since there's a lot of provincial rivalry involved. Roda and Fortuna fans basically hate each other (they're neighbors). And both clubs, from Holland's old coal mining area, hate MVV, from the (stunningly beautiful!) provincial capital of Maastricht.

A few years ago there were negotiations as well, but all clubs figured they could do it on their own: Roda qualified for Europe almost every year and won the Amstel Cup. Fortuna also made it to the Amstel Cup final - and MVV seemed a pretty solid Eredivisie side. But now, Fortuna is going down (one more defeat and it's a fact), Roda is struggling and having its worst season in years. In the mean time, MVV and VVV are 14th and 15th in the First Division. MVV would have gone bankrupt, if it wasn't for the Maastricht city council, that donated a few million euros to save the club.

Due to the miserable state of Limburg football, theere seems to be a fair chance of success, this time around.

I don't know what to think of it. I really like Roda JC and MVV as clubs (Fortuna Sittard less so, don't know why). I like their very different traditions. But sometimes, something has to be done, I suppose. Limburg was once a great football province, but next year they'll have only one Eredivisie club left and two or three First Divison sides fighting against bankruptcy...

Just for your information (or not).

-- Anonymous, April 08, 2002


Just in the door and now happy as a pig in slop. I don't believe we could realistically have asked for more help than today's results provided. The idea of the F-word now being 4 back, game in hand or no,with a fixture Thursday v. Inter, Sunday at PSV, and Heerenveen still on the horizon is okay with me. Re: PSV v. F-word , here's hoping we do the business at Sparta( a tough place...no lie..in recent years)while PSV and F-word beat each other senseless and draw.

-- Anonymous, April 07, 2002

Ajax.nl reports that the KNVB is currently investigating two fouls of Vitesse player Mahmadou Diarra, during the game against Ajax. Apparently, Diarra kicked Steven Pienaar in the face (which is quite obvious on the picture in our match report). Also, he headed Jan van Halst in the face.

I was in the stadium and did not see any of these things happening, but people who were watching the game on television told me that he did these things, indeed. Referee Ruud Bossen didn't see the fould committed by Diarra.

If he is found guilty based on TV footage, he is likely to get suspended for a significant number of games.

-- Anonymous, April 07, 2002


YEEHHAA! I've officialy pulled every muscle in my hand for today's results! To tell you the truth, before this, I wasnt sure wether we could actualy win the league, but now, with 1 point ahead (if PSV and Fword both win their game in hand), I'm beginning to see the cup from a not so far away distance... and it sure is nice and shiny! (but who is that standing next to it? 4 more games and i'll let you know)!!!!!

-- Anonymous, April 07, 2002

Fey - NAC 0-0.. we won't be leap frog if we win all remaining games.. C'me on AJAX.. 4 more games to go!!!

-- Anonymous, April 07, 2002

1-0 PSV. Still rather have PSV win over The F-word. Keeping my fingers crossed.

-- Anonymous, April 07, 2002

Both PSV and the F-word and tied 0-0 at half time. What a story this will be if they both tied!! 45 more minutes.......

-- Anonymous, April 07, 2002

Well, this may be sacriledge but I for one was delighted with the Fword win. For an away side they attacked a fair bit albeit on the break, fought hard, and got the break they needed. To be fair, I always support Dutch teams in Europe, I think it's good for the league, and good experience for (some) Dutch players.

Also, Fword's success will hamper their domestic focus, and Uefa uses their success to calculate each countries Champions League allocation, and let's face it the more the better.

Awaiting the avalanche of blistering ripostes........

-- Anonymous, April 05, 2002


Well, the F-word girls got the runs out of their stockings at halftime. Thanks to pressure by van Phooeydog which helped cause Cordoba to put the biscuit in his own basket,F-word won 0:1 at the San Siro. The only solace to be taken from this is that the scoreline is close; leaving both sides alot to play for next Thursday. C'mon Milan.

-- Anonymous, April 04, 2002

Inter 0: F-word 0 at the half. van Hooijdonk put one over the bar for F-words best chance. Inter look the better attacking side.Rzasa with a gele kaart for F-word.c'mon Inter, keep the girls working hard. no action for Seedorf yet.

-- Anonymous, April 04, 2002

Rumoured to be from the F-Word Souvenir Shop Catalogue List:

F-WORD TABLECLOTHS - Suitable for any occasion but tend to slip down the table after a short time - 3 Euros

F-WORD VIDEOS - All the highlights from the last 20 years action. This 10 minute video, including lots of re-runs, is a perfect gift foe any fan - 6 Euros

F-WORD JOKE BOOK - A MUST for all fans. This 900 page book is full of all the best jokes ever told about the club. - 16 Euros

F_WORD BRA - One for the ladies. This bra, in team colours, comes with good support but no cups. - 9 Euros

KEEPER'S GLOVE - A must for any fans at the back of the De Kuip, or near the corner flags to catch any shots Van Hoodwink and Tommo may have at goal. - 6 Euros

F-WORD LIPSTICK - Ideal for kissing goodbye to the title and the UEFA Cup - as worn by the players. - 60 cents each.

If sufficient interest I will place a bulk order !!!!!!!

-- Anonymous, April 03, 2002


Looking at my predictions from the 11 March it has now evolved very slowly like a certain beer, in that I expected only one point for Ajax from the last two games, but this was to come from the visit to Arnhem. However, the point gained from PSV was more important as it meant that PSV dropped further behind. To me it seems that F-Word are still the biggest threat and their game at PSV is crucial - I believe it is in our best interest for it to finish in a draw or a PSV win. I now feel that after the dropping of the 2 points on Sunday against RKC, that F-Word will now finish second to Ajax by one point. However, we must use Wednesday's game and the rest of the season to dramatically increase our goals scored tally as we are way behind F- Word.

-- Anonymous, April 02, 2002

In my previous post comparing the Ajax and F-word schedules, I said I couldn't locate the 5 May F-word fixture. I did finally.The team from Rottendam is away to Willem II. Another possible oops. Or here's hoping anyway.

-- Anonymous, March 25, 2002

At present,the league is shaping up to be an us v. them ,good v. evil match-up. So,lets take a look at the fixture lists as the season heads toward the finish line. First, the good guys. The Ajax fixture list is as follows: 31 March away to Vitesse, 3 April home to Groningen, 10 April home to PSV in the Amstel Cup halve-final, 14 April away to Sparta, 21 April home to Utreg, 28 April home to Den Bosch,5 May away to NEC, and hopefully 12 May the Amstel Cup final at the De Krap.

Now ,for the guys in the black hats,a.k.a. the F-word.Their fixture list is: 31 March home to RKC; 4 April away to Inter Milan, 7 April home to NAC; 11 April home to Inter; 14 April away to PSV; 19 April away to Dead Tuna; 25 April away to De Graafschap; 28 April home to Heerenveen. I could not find a listing for a 5 May fixture.

With any luck, the Milan fixtures will take some of the starch from the F-word. Also, they look to have a couple potential landmines,like PSV or an NAC team sandwiched between the Milan fixtures.

Our toughest matches look to be next Sunday and the Amstel Cup tie;at least on paper.

-- Anonymous, March 24, 2002


The following was posted to the Ajax Listserv by Roy Jadi, and I loved it so much I just had to re-post here. (I asked permission first.)
Fall 1994,

new Dutch Champions travels to Eindhoven for the clash with PSV, where Ajax lost 4-1 earlier that year. Again, Ajax are the big favorites. PSV is having a good time, getting used to the ideas of new coach Aad de Mos, while Ajax shows signs of becoming an international topteam by already beating European Champs Milan at home.

Not miracle talent Kluivert, or Kanu, but Ronald de Boer is playing as centre forward. Aad de Mos tries to play a trick on Ajax. In all press releases he states that Boudewijn Zenden is playing in the starting line-up, while Erik Meijer is on the bench. But right before the game it seems to be the other way round. Louis van Gaal needs to have another short talk with his captain Danny Blind about this, but it seems the players had already understood what to do.

Within 10 minutes, Ronald de Boer, proofs that Van Gaal made the right choice with him. On the ball he runs at the six yard box, Jari Litmanen, without ball makes a brilliant run without ball, distracting two defenders. De Boer's low shot in the corner is too good for Stanley Menzo, a former Ajax-favorite. Only five minutes later, Ronald de Boer and Finidi set up the attack for the 0-2 at the right side. Finidi's cross is good enough for Edgar Davids who thunders the ball past Menzo from close range.

The third goal, still within the first 15 minutes shows best how strong Ajax is as a team. PSV has posession of the ball it looks as if there's nothing to worry about for them. Suddenly, Danny Blind gives the sign to go 'forechecking'. As one man the whole team moves forward and PSV just has to play the ball back into defence. Finally it's young Clarence Seedorf who takes advantage and intercepts the ball. He runs around Menzo and scores 0-3.

The rest of the game is like an exhibition game by Ajax with the best goal still to come in the second half.

Peter van Vossen, playing for Marc Overmars on leftwing, collects the ball near the byline. From an impossible angle he curls the ball around Menzo to score 0-4.

Later on, it's only new PSV-signing Luc Nilis who scores from a free kick but with 1-4 Ajax shows who is really by far the best team in Holland.

One week later, PSV fires coach Aad de Mos and Ajax goes on the conquer Europe and the world!

This sunday:
PSV - Ajax
the road to the title!!

WE LOVE YOU AJAX, WE DO!



-- Anonymous, March 22, 2002

Headline: Ajax doesn't get DICKED!! Showing a degree of common sense otherwise foreign to them,the KNVB decided to select Rene Temmink to referee Sunday's showdown in Eindhoven. Say a prayer for Roda and Groningen.Alas, they got DICKED!

-- Anonymous, March 22, 2002

Menno, Nice analysis of the match. A quality match at that it seems. Oh, how could I forget, a Dutch side actually wins in penalties!

I am suprised there was a winner. Then again this is a club competition so its not all Dutch players responsible.

Sorry for the low blow fellow Dutch fans, but I could not resist.

-- Anonymous, March 22, 2002


Damn!F-word actually went through,but i lost the bet!!!I thought they would win!!!It's my fault though...That's what you get for betting on a match between those two loser teams!!! ;-) ...Now they owe me some money...........

-- Anonymous, March 21, 2002

5th minute of the first half of extra time: Mark van Bommel is sent off! (Second yellow card, for fouling Kalou). He's gone. That's gonna be 25 loooong minutes for P$V...

-- Anonymous, March 21, 2002

By the way: European Cup tournaments do not have the 'sudden death' ('golden goal') rule. There will be two 2 x 15 mins of extra time, no matter what. However, if P$V may score, their goal does count as a double goal if F-Word may equalize again. In that case, the result would be 2-2, which would mean that P$V advance. In other words: if P$V scores in extra time, F-Word will need two goals (= a 3-2 win) to advance.

4th minute of the first half of extra time now...

-- Anonymous, March 21, 2002


WOW!! F-Word equalizes in the third minute of stoppage time!! Header goal by Pierre van Hooijdonk! Extra time, which is a great thing for Ajax, as P$V will definitely feel this one in their legs in Sunday :-)

-- Anonymous, March 21, 2002

There you go: P$V scores, 0-1 (76th minute). What a f%#$ckig MARVELLOUS goal, by Mark van Bommel. A diagonal shot, with the inside of the right foot, into the upper right corner. No chance for Zoetebier. Superb goal.

They definitely did not deserve it, though. F-Word created a few really good chances in the second half. In a way, this is what happened to Ajax against F-Word two weeks ago: pretty much outplaying the opponent, but then suddenty conceding a goal fifteen minutes before the end.

Ten minutes left as I submit...

-- Anonymous, March 21, 2002


Half time now: 0-0.

No real scoring chances on either side, but I must say F-Word is playing well, and they're the clearly dominant team. They're very aggressive, so P$V hardly gets the opportunity to build a decent attack. This has to change for P$V in the second half, cos they're the side in need of a goal. 0-0 is good enough for F-Word to advance.

-- Anonymous, March 21, 2002


I once had an acumulator of 13, it would have gotten me 230 euros at a bet of 0.50 eurocent. I got 12 right and then Holland drew with Ireland at home...

I think Feyenoord will go through, they're the in form team and they're playing at home with their fanatical home support.

-- Anonymous, March 21, 2002


I hope to get some money from my bet on this game,(actually some good,easy money),with the combination of my bet that Panathinaikos would go through this stage of the CL(i already won this one)...But i see all of you saying PSV will win,and that's not good...not good at all! ;-)

-- Anonymous, March 21, 2002

I like PSV to pull this out. I will say 1-2. Feyenoord supporters will not be happy.

In my opinion PSV have a little more quality, but no Hofland so this could be telling.

-- Anonymous, March 21, 2002


Menno

5 Euros says 1-1 on the night and PSV go through on penalties. I will collect winnings at the Gronningen game.

Should be exciting match - shame we wont be able to see it on UK TV, although more than made-up for by Channel 5 showing last Sunday's 2-0 win.

-- Anonymous, March 21, 2002


Post your predictions for tonights F-Word vs p$v UEFA Cup game in this thread...

My predicition: PSV scores an early goal and will be under pressure for the rest of the game, but they will cling on to it. Final score: 0-1. PSV advance.

(But hopefully, Van Bommel, Kezman and Vennegoor will sustain injuries. Nothing fancy, just a nasty little injury that'll keep them sidelined for a day or four...)

-- Anonymous, March 21, 2002


Here's a remarkable little statistic...

As we all know, there is no other club in Holland against which Ajax' results have been so amazingly poor in the past decade. Surprisingly, the home record against the eindhoven side is even worse than the away record. At philips stadium, there was a 1-4 win in 94/95, and there were 1-1 draws in 97/98 and 00/01 (last season).

What surprised me a lot though, is that - in the past eleven seasons - Ajax scored the first goal in eindhoven more often than p$v did! Check it out:

- 2000-2001: 0-1 Nikos Machlas, result 1-1

- 1998-1999: 0-1 Benni McCarthy, result 3-1

- 1997-1998: 0-1 Ronald de Boer, result 1-1

- 1994-1995: 0-1 Ronald de Boer, result 1-4

- 1992-1993: 0-1 Dennis Bergkamp, result 2-1

- 1991-1992: 0-1 Dennis Bergkamp, result 3-2

In the last eleven seasons, Ajax took the lead in eindhoven six times, p$v five times. Only once, the opening goal was good enough for a victory - which I think is odd. I guess this should be taken as a warning: keep playing! Even if you take the lead, do not drop back! If we score, we need a second. Simple as that.

-- Anonymous, March 20, 2002


Sunday's opponent in the ArenA, SC Heerenveen, had a midweek fixture yesterday night: in Heerenveen's Abe Lenstra Stadium, 'Dead Tuna' Sittard was beaten, 3-1.

Erik Edman scored the first goal for the Frisians, after which Fortuna equalized from the penalty spot (scorer: Colin Cramb). As referee Bossen decided to give Fortuna this penalty, Heerenveen coach Foppe de Haan got mad, harassing the referee by slamming the ball from his hands. De Haan was then shown the red card and sent to the stands.

Some twenty minutes before the end, Jesper Hakansson short twice in a few minutes' time, winning the three points for SC Heerenveen. The northern team stays very close to the 'Top Three': they now have 48 points from 25 games. Ajax has 54 points from 26 games. Most remarkable is the amazingly low number of goals Heerenveen conceded: only 17, an average of 0.68 per game.

Conclusion: it's gonna be a toughy on Sunday, although we should add that there's a major difference between Heerenveen-at-home and Heerenveen-away. They won only three away games, so far.

As for Fortuna Sittard: the gap with Sparta (#17) is ten points. If both teams keep losing all their games, Fortuna will be relegated three games before the end, in less than five weeks' time. Personally, I think it will be over for them even sooner than that.

They have only two victories, and scored less than one goal per game on average (surprisingly, the same goes for 'the heroes of San Siro', Roda JC... can you believe it?)

-- Anonymous, March 14, 2002


A crucial, surely decisive month is ahead of Ajax. The upcoming four games are against SC Heerenveen (4th, at home), PSV (3rd, away), Vitesse (5th, away) and FC Utrecht (7th, at home). If we survive these four, the championship shield is in sight and waiting for us.

You can reasonably say that, because the last four games are against Sparta (17th, away), FC Groningen (14th, at home), FC Den Bosch (12th, at home) and NEC (9th, away).

Roughly, we have one relatively tough and one relatively easy month ahead. I personally think it's a good thing that the we have an 'easy' month to finish off with. But the upcoming four weeks are gonna be sooooooo nerve-wracking...

The next opponent (SC Heerenveen) will have to miss out on central defender Tieme Klompe for the rest of the season. He sustained a serious injury during training and underwent surgery today. Klompe is known as one of Holland's best central defenders. A year ago, there were rumors that Ajax was after him. With his partner, Gérard de Nooijer, Klompe formed the best central defensive block of the Eredivisie. SC Heerenveen conceded only 16 goals and is the only Dutch team to have conceded less than 20. Feyenoord has the second best defense (22 goals conceded). An amazing difference.

So I suppose this is good news for Ajax... :-)

-- Anonymous, March 12, 2002


I have looked into my crystal ball and found I didnt like what it was telling me. Seems to tell me that F-Word will finish top with 74 points, Ajax second with 73, and PSV third with 72 points.

Calculations are as follows :

F-Word now on 49 points + 3 points each for victories over Den Bosch, Sparta, Gruffchap, RKC, NAC, Heerenveen, Willem II, and Fortuna Sittard. 1 point from PSV.

Ajax now on 54 points + 3 points for victories over Heerenveen, Utrecht, Sparta, Gronningen,Den Bosch and NEC. 1 Point from a draw with Vitesse and nil points from the trip to PSV.

PSV now on 49 points + 3 points from victories over Ajax, Willem II, Heerenveen, Den Bosch, FC Twente, Sparta, and Gruffchap. 1 point each from draws with Vitesse and F-Word.

I really do hope that my predictions are up to the usual standard as if so, then Ajax will walk it and the above is a load of crap. However, if correct it will just prove what a s**t result it was against Dead Tuna.

-- Anonymous, March 11, 2002


Saw the Vegennor of Hesselink (P$V) versus Matteo (Leeds) incident last night. The camera angle was deceptive, Matteo kicked him in the head when he was diving in to score (50-50 ball...fair enough) and then punched the GROUND in frustration when the ball went in. The angle made it look like he was beating the cr@p out of Hesselink but I don't think he was (news reports later seemed to confirm this...as did the fact that the two players swapped shirts at the end).

Leeds are still dirty though......;o)

Cheers,

-- Anonymous, March 01, 2002


Nice to hear that Roda did great.I'm not a fan of Roda,but since another homeboy plays there,i have to respect this team...

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2002

Ben to answer your question..about anybody Dutch ever putting away penalties....The only ones I can think of (I'm sure there must be others) PSV in the European Cup final in '88, and Ajax in the World Club Cup in '96.

Cheers,

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2002


Well, Roda JC tried bravely but will have to be content with close but no cigar.They got the goal to level the aggregate at 1:1 but lost 3:2 on penos after extra time. Question, has any Dutch side, national team or club side, won a penalty shootout since Pieter Stuyvesant's lads won New York Island from the Indians,oops must be politically correct , I mean Native Americans by 4:3 sometime in the 17th century? Just wondering ;o).

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2002

Jesus... Roda JC really close... They actually won the game at San Siro, 0-1 (71st minute goal by Luijpers). Then, goalkeeper Kalac saved the first two AC Milan pennos (Jose Mari and Kaladze), whereas Anastasiou and Lawal scored!! But then, Soetaers, Luijpers en Van der Luer missed... :-(

Rudy's right: the Dutch penno thing again, but I must say: deep respect for Roda. They did much better than anyone in the world expected.

As for psv and feyenoord: I hope they'll wear each other out so badly they'll both lose truckloads of points in the league... :-)

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2002


Ben,

I'll watch the P$V game tonight (taped it).

Personally, this may be sacriledge, but I'm always pleased when Dutch teams do well in Europe (good experience, more Uefa Cup places e.t.c.), even Fword and P$V. The tired legs bit is still a bonus for Ajax.

Leeds are known as "Dirty Leeds" in the UK because they have so many nasty fans (with more than a hint of racism) and their players are often in trouble with the law for starting fights in pubs and clubs....I'm sure most of their fans are decent, but their w@nker minority is larger than most. "Good riddance to bad rubbish".

As for Roda, they almost pulled off the miracle...until it came to penalties......"Dutchmen can't take 'em"....shame really, it would have been a nice story.

Cheers,

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2002


Well, the presenter on Leeds radio has gone into mourning. Vennegoor of Hesselink, in minute 89, made sure the PSV machine rolls on too..to a quarterfinal meeting with, guess who, the F-word. So, these two sides now get to beat each others brains out for 180 minutes plus.Hopefully to the benefit of Ajax.

As a supporter of the Amsterdammers I have to think positively. Beating on each other, two added games, more tired legs, and maybe a help to our lads.Just one other note:I am no PSV supporter by any means but Matteo of Leeds deserves a major ban, throwing several (missing) punches and kicking at VoH after he scored the game winner and was on the ground. It is moments like that give footie a black eye. Back to how this relates to Ajax.

Ajax fans cannot take anything good from today except that their two toughest competitors really worked to get the results.No strolling by either PSV or the F-word. A bad time for the F-word to rediscover its form.

Last, I heard that Roda was even hanging tough against AC Milan in the other tie involving a Dutch club.

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2002


The F-word did well against Rangers...Now,the good thing is that the game must have killed them...They might have a high morale,but they must be quite tired...They played with Rangers on thursday,while we played(well,pretended that we did) with Dead-Tuna on wednesday.We have no excuse as far as stamina is concerned.We HAVE to kick their ass.Simple as that...

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2002

In the UEFA Cup today, the F-word knocked out Rangers 3-2 for the match, 4-3 on aggregate. They take on the winner of Leeds v PSV. Right now, it is 0:0 early in half 2. The Elland Road pitch makes a cow pasture look pristine.

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2002

Just finished a quick calculation that reveals that we are 5 points better off than last year from the corresponding fixtures. Whilst showing an improvement, it does seem to indicate that our relative success this season is down in a major part to PSV and F-Word not being as consistent as last year. Lets hope that the 5 points differential is increased to 8 after Sunday.

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2002

Menno What went wrong or what didnot go right ?

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2002

I wrote:

"My theory (...) is only valid if we win tonight's game at Fortuna Sittard. If we win that one, March can become the decisive month. If we fuck up; we can not decide it in March. (...) Three absolutely crucial points are at stake tonight. No under- estimation. No arrogance. No shit. Win this one."

What can you say...?

I simply couldn't focus on work yesterday. Done nothing at all, simply because I was so excited about this enormously, enormously important game.

Apparently, the girls themselves did not think it was an important game at all. And they didn't seem too excited about having the opportunity to kick off against feyenoord with a seven point lead.

On days like this, you know, I feel let down and betrayed by the team. What a bunch of wankers. Absolutely unbelievable. Incredible.

Very 'down' about this one.

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2002


I know I must be mentally ill but I actually went to the Rangers website.I went not because I am a closet Rangers numpty but to see if I could get the low down on the F-word before their match tomorrow; injuries and such. No injury report could be found except that Ono has a knock,unknown how serious, and that Tomasson is suspended for tomorrow. I was interested to read that Bart (Simpson) van Maryikes ,to quote the Rangers Official website,"stormed out of his press conference about 1/2-way thru" . It seems the local press were questioning him about recent F-word form. I sincerely hope he is feeling the HEAT. Oh,looks like our old friend Ronald DeBoer may well be fit enough to go after all. Hope he scores at least one. It would be like old times.

-- Anonymous, February 27, 2002

Anyway: my whole theory above is fairly reasonable and not some optimistic view of a blind fanatic. But it is only valid if we win tonight's game at Fortuna Sittard. If we win that one, March can become the decisive month. If we fuck up; we can not decide it in March.

Three absolutely crucial points are at stake tonight. No under- estimation. No arrogance. No shit. Win this one.

The game will not be on TV, but stay tuned to NOS Teletekst's fixtures page for the real-time score. Send out your positive energy.

I'm on way to the buses right now, departing from Middenweg, where De Meer once as, at 15:30 Dutch time... Good luck, guys!!

-- Anonymous, February 27, 2002


Just took a close look at the league schedule for the remainder of the season, and I must say I have a good feeling about it. Also, the game against F-Word is absolutely crucial. Here's why:

If we beat Fortuna tonight, the we're seven points clear of feyenoord, with feyenoord having a game in hand. IF (repeat: if) we beat F-Word on Sunday, the gap will be eleven points. F- Word can bring that down to seven if they win the game they have in hand, but then again: if we beat Fortuna and give it all we've got against F-Word, we're at least seven points clear.

If that happens, the decisive phase follows immediately, from 10 to 31 March: games against PSV (away), SC Heerenveen (at home), Vitesse (away) and FC Utrecht (at home). That's where we'll either win the league, or screw it up. Historically, we always lose away games at PSV and Vitesse, but we never lose home games against FC Utrecht and SC Heerenveen. Those teams are very strong at home, but remarkably vulnerable on the road.

Let's say history repeats itself: we lose at Vitesse and PSV, we win against Utrecht and Heerenveen. Even if feyenoord wins all its games, then they sould still be a point behind us!

Which would be decisive, cuz look at our schedule for the last month:

Sparta, FC Groningen, FC Den Bosch and NEC... With all due respect, these are all, as the Dutch call it, typical "right row" teams, referring to the table as shown in Studio Sport or on Teletekst.

In other words: March is remarkably tough, but if we survive that, you really can't ask for an easier schedule to finish it off with.

Saying that the Ajax vs Feyenoord game is decisive, sounds extremely premature. It is premature, factually. But in a way, if you split the remainder of the league in two halves, Sunday's game may well be decisive...

I say: if we beat feyenoord, they're at least seven points behind, which is too large of a gap to leapfrog us in March. And if we're still in the lead on April 01, we're winning the damned league (regarding the schedule from that point)!!!

Tonight's Fortuna game and Sunday's Classic are sooooooo damned important. Man... do I want to win the thing this year...

-- Anonymous, February 27, 2002


At least Dead Tuna's fans have some vision...

There's a little poll on the homepage of Fortuna-Sittard.nl. Question: "Who will become the Dutch champions of 2002?" Options: Ajax, feyenerd and p$v. Check the results... (and don't forget to vote) :-)

-- Anonymous, February 27, 2002


There is no question that 4 personnel moves between the F-word and Celtic have contributed to the so-called "relationship". Wim Jansen was coach of Celtic in 98. That year, Celtic broke Rangers stranglehold on the Scottish Premier League title. Players Henrik Larsson(Ghod in Celtic circles), Pierre van Hooijdonk, and Bobby Petta have gone in one direction or the other. Still, I think one fact cannot be overlooked: Rangers is the arch-rival, even arch- enemy, of Celtic. So, the old saying,"The enemy of my enemy is my friend" definitely applies here. I honestly believe some Celtic supporters would support the devil if said biblical figure was in a position to "put the wood" to Rangers. The F-word take on Rangers at the DeKrap on Thursday.The tie resumes with the F-word ahead, courtesy of the away goals rule, after a 1:1 first leg .

-- Anonymous, February 24, 2002

John the Giant Killer has done it again!!!John van't Schip's FC Twente travelled to the De Krap and WON!! Final was 1:2. Simon Cziommer netted two goals to offset an Emerton strike for the F- word.Ain't life grand!

-- Anonymous, February 24, 2002

So far this weekend, it appears that the biggest story is the weather. Weather postponed yesterdays NEC v. DeGraafschap fixture. It did the same to the Heerenveen v. Dead Tuna match. Tuna fans can rest easy knowing their team didn't again go down like a submarine with screen doors. In the matches which were played, Roda JC defeated slumping Willem II by 2:0 and Vitesse were held to a draw ,1:1,home to Den Bosch.

In the former match, Bernard Tchoutang gave Roda the dream start by scoring only 4 minutes in. Willem II were given a lifeline when Gregoor van Dijk received his second yellow on 30' and was sent off. But, as my old professor used to say, "you give 'em the books, they eat the books". Given an hour to play with the extra man, the Tilbergers(sounds like fast food) instead conceded a 2nd goal, scoort by Garba Lawal on 58'.Game, set, and match to Roda JC.The win moves Roda to 13th, even on points(28) with Willem II but trailing on goal difference.

Roda move up in part because Den Bosch,in todays other fixture, could not hold the 0:1 lead provided by DeFreitas on 20'. Vitesse ensured a share of the points on Mamadou Diarra's 36th minute goal. The draw lifts Vitesse to 5th on 39 points from 24 matches. Den Bosch now sit 14th, with 26 points from 24 matches.

-- Anonymous, February 23, 2002


LOL!I agree but i have to make a correction here.Ben,it seems to me like u don't know shit about BIG DICK'S carreer...He is an honour graduate of the "RAY CHARLES REFEREE ACADEMY"...I just wanted to inform you on this one...

-- Anonymous, February 22, 2002

I thought this was the most appropriate place to talk about the referees appointed to officiate Ajax matches. The KNVB website lists the officials for the next two Sundays. The referee for the NAC match is Mr. Temmink.Whoopie! Big deal. Mr.Luinge will referee Roda JC v. Willem II and BIG DICK Jol gets to screw up Vitesse v. Den Bosch. Condolences should be addressed to the latter two home sides.PLEASE TURN AWAY NOW!!! The referee listed for the CLASSIC is {expletive deleted} OH GOD NO , none other than BIG DICK!! Mothers and fathers, lock your children inside. It won't be a pretty sight.The Dickster,an honours graduate of the Stevie Wonder Referees Academy, reminds me of the SGT. Schultz character from the american "Hogan's Heroes" television show. "I see NOTHING!! I know NOTHING!!

-- Anonymous, February 21, 2002

FRom the Glasgow Rangers FC website:

Feyenoord Will Stay Here Until They Meet Celtic Fans By Barry Anderson

FEYNOORD fans have confirmed their close friendship with the Celtic support by revealing they won’t return to Rotterdam until Saturday in the hope of meeting with Parkhead followers.

Rangers’ UEFA Cup opponents arrived in Glasgow yesterday amidst a protestation from the head of their Official Supporters Association that they view Rangers as the "common enemy".

The Dutch supporters claim they have a long-standing association with Celtic that dates back to their 1970 European Cup win over the Parkhead side.

And, in an admission sure to rile Rangers fans ahead of this evening's UEFA Cup crunch, they are looking to reaffirm those relations during their visit to Glasgow.

Unbelievably, the Dutch have already invaded the Celtic Shop in Argyle Street in Glasgow city centre in search of club memorabilia and a delegation of them will remain in Scotland to meet with Celtic supporters.

Willem Veenman, chairman of Feyenoord’s Official Supporters Association, said: "We won't fly back until Saturday. I have phone numbers and addresses of members of Celtic’s supporters clubs. We are hoping that we can meet.

"It would be great if our supporters could come to Glasgow a few times a year and that we could be the host when some of their members come to Rotterdam. The emotional ties should become a bit more official after 30 years.

"It is remarkable, but half our city wanted to come along to Glasgow. Not just to support Feyenoord, but also in honour of Celtic. Rangers are our common enemy tonight.

"Perhaps it has to do with that final in Milan, but it's also that we see the similarities in our situations. Like we are always fighting Ajax, they have the same with the Rangers.

"I have noticed a great deal of sympathy for Celtic among our fans. Even now you see some of our fans walking around in that beautiful green-and-white jersey."

Veenman believes that former Celtic coach Wim Jansen also plays an important role in the fact that Feyenoord’s fans feel they have an unspoken connection with Rangers’ arch rivals.

He continued: "Jansen was still ours when he became coach of Celtic. We experienced lots of success with him. And now we have that with Henrik Larsson. That kid was tremendously popular in De Kuip, and he still is.

"When he scores, it's still a bit like ‘our’ Henrik who scores. But don’t ask me why we do not have such feelings for the Rangers." --------------------------------------------------------------------- Hmmmmm......did anybody know Fword were friendly with Celtic. So much for all the buddy buddy stuff when Celtic played Ajax earlier in the season.

Cheers,

-- Anonymous, February 21, 2002


Four is the magic number! The magic number IS four! So it was for FC Groningen and AZ on a day when both away sides won big. Groningen , 16th in the league, crushed Den Bosch 1:4.PSV candystriper- to be Arjen Robben put the biscuit in the basket twice and Dejan Curovic and Ignacio Tuhuteru scored once each. Bart van Eede scored the lone goal for Den Bosch; from the spot.AZ scored four at Sparta and compounded the misery FOR Frank Rijkaard. The final was a 0:4 whitewash.Kenneth Perez, Max Huilberts, Robin Nelisse, and James Wolters scored once each. AZ climbed to 9th while Sparta remained knee deep in do-do in 17th. Can you say relegation? A real possibility for a team that has now conceded 49 goals.

-- Anonymous, February 20, 2002

Sorry fellow Ajax supporters. Talking about the Feyenumpties is traumatic.So much so that I was stopped in mid-sentence. Let's try this again. The Feyenumpties have UEFA Cup matches at Glasgow Rangers this Thursday and at home next Thursday.This is the best explanation I can find for the decision not to play Tomasson today and to remove van Hooijdonk with 22' to go.Damn,and here I thought both men had finally come to their senses and realized playing for the F-word was a losing proposition.

-- Anonymous, February 17, 2002

In my earlier post today, I said I wasn't sure why Tomasson didn't play and van Hooijdonk was taken off in the Feyenumpties match. I just foun

-- Anonymous, February 17, 2002

The KPN Eredivise had three matches on tap today.AZ v. Ajax, Vitesse v. F-word, and FC Twente v. NAC. The early match saw the Rotterdam Numpties travel to Arnhem to take on Vitesse.Things started well for the visitors when Yoko Ono scored in the 26th minute.Fortunately,for Ajax supporters, things went down hill from there for the visitors. Stefanovic drew Vitesse level on the half-hour. The halftime score was 1:1. It took Vitesse just seven minutes to go ahead for good. Mbamba scored on 52'. 2:1 was to be the final. Interesting to note that Jon Dahl Tomasson didn't play and Pierre van Hooijdonk was subbed after 68 minutes; in favour of Leonardo dos Santos. Also, Bonaventure Kalou was taken off in favour of 100 year-old Igor "I knew Lenin" Korneev.Don't know if the omission and subs were due to fixture congestion, injury, or coach being p-o'ed about the team in general.Intrigue in Rottendam...we can only hope so.

Lest I forget, there was another match to report on. NAC , our opponent next week, travelled to Enschede to take on FC Twente. Thanks to an 85th minute goal from South-African Glen "Sockeye" Salmon, the visitors took the three points. The final was 1:2; with Cristiano (18') of NAC and Cziommer(72') of Twente trading goals before Salmon, on only 5 minutes for Ernie Stewart,scored his winner.

As for the only game that really matters,AZ v. Ajax, editorial policy says catch it on FSW at 5pm/2pm.

-- Anonymous, February 17, 2002


Time for the the first weekly(or in the case of my writing style..weakly) installment of "As the Eredivisie Turns". On Friday,2/15/02, Sparta looked set to take an important step out of the relegation zone until a 78th minute strike secured a share of the points for home side Den Bosch. Final score 1:1.In today's matches, Roda JC visited De Graafschap, SC Heerenveen entertained Willem II , and NEC hosted PSV. Of the three, only DeGraafschap v.Roda JC turned out to be close. Ajax' March 10 opponents won 2:1. Heerenveen and PSV whipped their opponents like rented mules. NOTE: This is not an endorsement of mule beating!I like donkeys. That is, except for that team in Rotterdam. Seriously. I seem to vote for one every couple of years. But back to football. Heerenveen defeated Willem II by 3:0 .Two goals from Selakovic and one from Talan(former Oranje midfielder ) mean that Heerenveen stay nipping at the heels of the top three. As for PSV, they crushed NEC 0:4 in Nijmegen. The game was scoreless until minute 51. Rommedahl on 51, Vennegoor of Hesselink on 54', Gakhokidze on 77' and Vennegoor of Hesselink again, on 84', ensured the rout. A PSV getting its act together will really make things interesting.Sunday is coming and both AJAX and the F- word will have their chances to reply in kind.

-- Anonymous, February 16, 2002

Well, after the Van der Vaart and Heitinga stories, we can use some good news, can't we?

This Sunday, AZ coach Henk van Stee will have to miss out on a few of his key players. I already told you about the absence of John Bosman. Today, Ajax.nl reports that AZ and reserve Oranje goalkeeper Oscar Moens and former Sparta topscorer Ali El-Khattabi are not available either. Which means they'll play with a less gifted goalkeeper and they will have only one notorious striker left: Robin Nelisse.

-- Anonymous, February 15, 2002


Just read ,on the Planet Football website, that the bidding for Victor Sikora's services may have begun.An article on the website states that the F-word(KAK!!!) have tendered a 4 million Euro offer. Vitesse are reported to be holding out for 7 million Euros. The article goes on to say that Hertha Berlin are interested and that AJAX,coached by Sikora's ex-boss, are "Waiting in the Wings".

-- Anonymous, February 12, 2002

I saw that AZ's Oscar Moens,originally announced as (E-Z)Edwin van der Sar's back-up on Wednesday, is out in favour of Sander Westerveld. Moens is a fine keeper. Can anyone say if he is hurt? If so, along with Bosman's injury woes, this could help Ajax.

-- Anonymous, February 11, 2002

Already looking forward to next weekend...

During the game against Vitesse (early February) AZ striker and former Ajax hero Johnny Bosman (now 37) over-stretched a muscle in his right upper leg. He will be sidelined for at least three, maybe four or five weeks and is sure to miss Sunday's game against Ajax.

Which is a shame for John, but good news for Ajax. Ajax lost in Alkmaar last year (3-2). Robin Nelisse was the 'Big Man' that day, but almost all the trouble in front of Ajax' goal was created by Bosman, flicking on almost every cross. Almsot every high ball went in his direction, and he won everything in the air.

I have a really good feeling about the upcoming weekend, and I'll try to explain why.

The race between Ajax and feyenoord has been really tight all season, and it still is, but there is a difference between the first and the second season's half. Before the winter-break, I had the feeling that feyenoord won its games relatively easily and that Ajax had to work just a little harder. It seemed like Ajax had to keep up with feyenoord. Right now, it's the other way round. You can see it in their respective games and you can just sense that Ajax is slightly better now, winning its games more easily and in more convincing style than feyenoord.

This upcoming weekend, Ajax travels to AZ. feyenoord is due in Arnhem, against Vitesse. feyenoord came awfully close to losing two points in Groningen (huge chance for Groningen in the last minute). I have the feeling that Ajax should take a lead of a point or two even before Ajax vs feyenoord. This may well be the time to leave them behind...

Before the Ajax vs feyenoord game, Ajax is playing three away games in a row. In this crucial stage of the competition, the games at AZ (next Sunday) and Fortuna Sittard (27 Feb) are simply 'must win' missions. In between those two games, on the 24th, is a tough one: NAC vs Ajax. That one will be extremely important. If we could win those three away games, I betcha we'll be at least two points ahead of feyenoord when they come to Amsterdam. Which would mean we can deal a serious blow.

Damn... I really have the feeling that next weekend is the moment...

-- Anonymous, February 11, 2002


Our friend Ben Bell has been giving us updates on Eredivisie results (Appreciated! Keep it up, Benjamin!). But let's give him the night off today... I'll do the honours instead tonight... ;-)

Four games played this weekend; three more coming up tomorrow. On Friday, FC Twente booked its fifth win of the season, but it was a good one: FC Den Bosch was beaten 4-0 in Enschede. Fine victory for the eastern team, coached by former Ajacied John van 't Schip.

Tonight (Saturday) SC Heerenveen continued to do extremely well, grabbing the three points in Alkmaar against AZ: 0-2, one goal by the amazing Markus Allbäck.

Fortuna Sittard, a.k.a. 'Dead Tuna' Sittard, seem to play better than they did before the winter break. PSV had a hard time two weeks ago, scoring only once against the Limburg team (1-0). A week later, Feyenoord booked an equally poor victory. Today, against a third tough opponent in a row, Fortuna Sittard did get what it deserved: a point, in Arnhem against Vitesse. Marco Heering gave Fortuna a surprising lead. Vitesse needed a little bit of luck to equalize (a shot by Didier Martel got deflected) and was powerless in the remainder of the game. Final score: 1-1.

Probably the most intersting game of the night was the 'relegation battle' between Sparta and De Graafschap. Frank Rijkaard and Aron Winter's Rotterdam team was already in big trouble, but now it's time to really start worrying: De Graafschap won, 1-3, with Peter van Vossen scoring twice.

Which means that Sparta is now 17th, with only 'Dead Tuna' Sittard still below them, although it must be said that the gap is ten points. Their victory at Sparta was enormously important for De Graafschap: the Superboeren jumped to 12th and seem safe for now.

Tomorrow's program (PSV is free this weekend): FC Groningen vs Feyenoord (kick-off at 1:00 PM Dutch time), FC Utrecht vs NEC and of course, Ajax vs RKC Waalwijk, which game will be televised by FSW in the United States and Canada.

-- Anonymous, February 09, 2002


Anyways... Let's talk about tonight's games. Here's some team talk:

Ronald Koeman only misses Pasanen (still injured), Maxwell (still with his family in Brazil, after the tragic death of his brother Gustavo) and Hatem Trabelsi, who was supposed to return to Amsterdam immediately after Tunisia got eliminated in the Africa Cup. He's not returned yet, in fact he didn't even give Ajax a call or whatever. One thing's for sure: this guy is in deep shit when he returns. He's got a lot to explain. Whenever he sets foot in the ArenA, he'll be dragged straight into Ronald Koeman's office for a good word.

Jan Olde Riekerink misses a few Young Ajax players as well: Ruud Kras, for example (injured). Winger Kiran Bechan is fit again, but has not played a game in a while and will therefore be on the bench.

So - WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO?

Ajax.nl announces that two first teamers (Abubakari Yakubu and Cedric van der Gun) will play with Young Ajax tonight. They've just returned from injuries. They obviously won't play for Ajax-1, but Koeman wants them to play a serious game, to get the feeling back. Therefore, they will replace Ruud Kras (central defense; Yakubu) and Bechan (right winger; Van der Gun) in Young Ajax.

Jan Olde Riekerink has called up no less than five A1 youth players for Young Ajax' squad: Nando Rafaël, Nigel de Jong, Jussi Kujala, Wesley Sneijder and goalkeeper Bram Verbist. I'm not even counting Michael Krohn-Dehli, who also started this season in the A1 squad, but is now with Young Ajax all the time.

I guess this will be the Young Ajax team for tonight:

Stekelenburg; Mofokeng, Yakubu, Walker, Valencia; Obodai, Pienaar, Seedorf; Van der Gun, Quansah, Culina. Reserves: Rafaël, De Jong, Kujala, Sneijder, Verbist.

And the Ajax-1 team:

Grim/Didulica (dunno); Vierklau, Chivu, Bergdølmo, De Cler; Galásek, Van der Vaart, O'Brien; Van der Meyde, Machlas, Wamberto. Reserves: Grim/Didulica, Zlatan, Mido (he did return in time), Knopper, Heitinga, Ikedia, Van Halst.

Yup: that's two surprises. Zlatan will be replaced by Machlas, whereas John O'Brien will be chosen instead of Knopper. That's what everyone expects, anyway.

One more thing: FC Groningen has a lot of injury trouble. They're missing their central forward (Martin Drent) tonight, as well as former Ajacied Igancio Tuhuteru and a buch of defender: Elshot, Johansson, Boekweg, Janssen, Van de Looi and Hardarson.

Which is good... :-)

-- Anonymous, February 07, 2002


Bummer about the fey$%%"§rd - Fortuna game. Would have been a good joke if Fortuna had stolen a 0-0 from there. But not to worry: I have a feeling that the feyenerds will lose two (maybe three) points in Groningen this Sunday.

By the way: take a look at the table. Pheeeeww... it's starting to get really exciting: Ajax and feyenoord now have exactly the same number of points. rottingdam's goal difference is better, though. (We need some goals; Mr Zlatan and Machlas, do you read me?)

Recent defeats for p$v (2-1 at RKC, HAHA) and FC Utrecht (1-0 at Roda) have thrown those teams back. p$v is now eight points behind ('virtually'; they have two games more), and SC Heerenveen nine points, whereas it seems like we've lost FC Utrecht as direct competition.

This is looking good. I'm starting to get a good feeling about this, especially because I sense that Ajax is getting better and better, whereas the feyenerds are struggling a bit (even against Roda; don't let the 5-0 result fool you).

MAYBE THIS IS THE MOMENT TO LEAVE THEM BEHIND!

The rest of February and in particular the Ajax - feyenerd game at the ArenA are gonna be CRUCIAL. 'Ajax USA in March' attendees: you are gonna witness one hell of a game, that's for sure...

-- Anonymous, February 07, 2002


Here are a few scores of note from yesterday and today. Played yesterday, RKC 2:PSV 1. Todays scores were F-word(KAK!!!)1: Dead Tuna 0. After losing to PSV 0:1 last week, it's close but no cigar again for the Tunites v. top three opposition. Sparta pipped a point at NAC.The final was 2:2. Ajacied Kevin Bobson scoort one of the goals for NAC. Roda JC won 1:0 at home to Utrecht.

-- Anonymous, February 06, 2002

Here are the scores from the weekend, minus Ajax of course. Sparta drew 1:1 at NEC in a game played Friday night.In Saturday's matches, PSV won 0:1 at Dead Tuna Sittard. PSV are now on 40 points. In other matches, the scores were FC Den Bosch 1:0 at home to RKC Waalwijk;FC Twente 0:DeGraafscap 0; and AZ 0: Vitesse 0.In todays matches, the F- word crushed Roda JC at De Kuip. The score was 5:0. Utrecht drew 0:0 at home to Heerenveen.Heerenveen continue to sit 4th,on 36 points. Utrecht are 5th,on 34. NAC continued to slide,losing 0:3 away to (Ajax foe on Thursday) Groningen. Penders got sent off for NAC on 53'. Groningen, awarded a spot kick , scored the 1:0 and added goals from PSV-signee Arjen Robben and Hugo to seal the deal. So, mixed signals about our cup tie opponent; 3:1 thrashed at WillemII at midweek and now a resounding win today.Groningen are currently 17th in the league.the side is sitting on 22 points.

-- Anonymous, February 03, 2002

Seems like Willem II are ready for the game against Ajax on Sunday... They played a midweek home game against FC Groningen and won, 3-1.

Russian striker Shoukov and Denny Landzaat were the scorers for Willem II. One of Landzaat's goals was a penalty. Ignacio Tuhuteru (former Ajax!) pulled one back for Groningen.

It's gonna be a good game on Sunday. Games against Willem II always are, cos they play good, offensive and fair football. It's definitely gonna be a better game to watch than the one at FC Den Bosch, which SUCKED big time. It's also gonna be a tougher game...

-- Anonymous, January 31, 2002


Not too sure if I am happy or sad that PSV and Utrecht battled through to the semi's. Is the draw for the next round being made after the games on the 07 February ?

-- Anonymous, January 31, 2002

Speaking of our opponents,Internet soccer reports that PSV defeated the F-word on pks and Utrecht defeated Heerenveen to book their places in Dutch Cup semi-finals. The PSV -F-word score was 1:1 after the full ninety and extra time. Tomasson and Kezman with goals. Both sides converted their first 5 rounds of kicks. Leonardo Dos Santos missed for the F-word in the sixth round as did Wilfrid Bouma for PSV. Brett Emerton missed the F-words 7th spot kick before PSV's Dennis Rommedahl converted his kick. The match was played at PSV.

Utrecht also booked their place in the semis by defeating Heerenveen 3:1 in a match played in Utrecht.Heerenveen led 0:1 thru Edman on 41'. But a goal for the homeside on the stroke of halftime and second half goals from Glusevic and Kuyt booked the Utrecht's passage to the final four.

Thursday February 7th will decide the final 2 spots. Best of luck to Ajax and Jong Ajax!!

-- Anonymous, January 30, 2002


Well, a mixed bag of results for 4 of the top 5 in the Eredivisie.Excluding the Ajax result due to telly coverage later today, here are the results: FC Utrecht 2 F-word 2. The gruesome twosome of Tomasson and van Hooijdonk ensured a split of the points. Utrecht led 2:1 at half but couldn't hold the lead.The F-word still have a game in hand. PSV 3 NAC 1. NAC looked like crap.PSV is top three. NAC is 5th...but not for long if the Breda-side continue to play like they did yesterday. Sparta 1 Heerenveen 4. A right humping by the Frieslanders.Heerenveen sit 4th.

-- Anonymous, January 27, 2002

We all agree: the race for the Dutch championship has not been so exciting in quite a while. The footy is far from perfect (but isn't that a problem in Italy, too?), but the difference between the three candidates seems to be extremely small. Feyenoord seem to be the most consistent team, but how come they're a point below Ajax then, albeit with a game in hand? In the mean time, PSV are at the top of the table for the first time this year, albeit with two games more than Ajax and three than Feyenoord. But PSV's back, that's obvious.

They're ingredients for an interesting second season's half. When it comes to the league title, that is...

In the past few seasons, the struggle to avoid relegation was tighter than the race for the championship. Not this year: Fortuna Sittard lost 5-0 at De Graafschap yesterday. Two times, they survived miraculously, but this time they're fucked. 'Dead tuna' are going down. That's a safe bet, I suppose...

-- Anonymous, January 27, 2002


A few thoughts about Sunday's game: to me, FC Den Bosch is by far the most boring and gray Eredivisie team of this year. They're absolutely shit, and they play horrible defensive football. They know they don;t have money or quality, so they do not feel the least moral obligation to play good football. They're trying to survive and they play extremely defensive, even in home games.

So far, the strategy has been succesful. They're 10th, with is much better than anyone expected, they don't score too often (28 times), but they concede even less (27) and - surprisingly - almost no-one has won in Ecco Stadium. Even the feyenerds (0-0), Heerenveen (also a draw) and Vitesse (4-1 defeat) could not win.

Therefore, Ajax: WATCH OUT! Don't make the mistake almost everyone makes over there. We need an early goal, which will force Den Bosch to change the tactics. If Ajax score early, it could easily become a walk-over. But if Ajax is not concentrated, this could be a toughy. It's not gonna be a nice game to watch, I'm afraid...

-- Anonymous, January 25, 2002


The fact that PSV coach Eric Gerets was voted the third best coach of the year must have made him somewhat cynical... He won the 2001 championship in great style with his team, but in December several media reported that several PSV players do no longer have faih in Gerets as a coach. This was (which I thought was odd) officially confirmed by chairman Harry van Raaij. Can you believe it? "Ladies and gentlemen: I hereby announce that a number of PSV players would prefer a new coach, because they no longer have faith in Mr Gerets."

Bizarre.

Anyway: the PSV board chose Gerets' side and expressed faith in him, but nevertheless: 2001 in the end must have tasted a little bitter for Gerets... And then you're voted one of the best. I guess he thought: "Oh well, for what it's worth... Whatever."

-- Anonymous, January 21, 2002


We have to get used to this a**hole Menno...Well done Mr.DICK!Once again...

-- Anonymous, December 24, 2001

I didn't watch yesterday's game (the first one in many years I didn't see in full), but according to Jim, in his excellent report, our The Hague friend Mr DICK Jol has struck again, right...?

What's that guy's problem? Jeezz, we met this guy four times so far: one win (FC Groningen), one shitty draw (De Graafschap) and two defeats (FC Utrecht, PSV). We only lose points if some Foundation For The Mentally Disabled, or whatever, manages to make Luinge or Jol the referee for Ajax games...

-- Anonymous, December 24, 2001


According to VI Planet.nl, Ajax.Netwerk.to and regional newspaper BN/De Stem the Amstel Cup quarter final games Young Ajax vs Stormvogels Telstar and Ajax-1 vs FC Groningen will be post-poned. The quarter finals of the national cup tournament are officially scheduled for 29 or 30 January.

But a massive national party will take place in the Amsterdam ArenA on 01 February, the night before the wedding of Dutch crown-prince Willem-Alexander and his Argentinian fiancée Maxima. Reportedly, the authorities want to take as much pressure off the police's shoulders on the days before the festivities.

A possible new date for the games is 07 February. Ajax would like both games to be played on the same night again, because the recent Young Ajax and Ajax-1 'double-header' in the fourth round was a huge success. However, Stormvogels Telstar chairman Anton van Kooten does not feel like playing against Young Ajax as early as 6:00 PM.

Van Kooten said: "We want to be treated as a full-fledged quarter finalist. Not as some kind of circus act, doing our little show as a support-act for Ajax-1 vs FC Groningen."

Van Kooten claims that many Stormvogels Telstar fans (from the twin- town of Velsen/IJmuiden) would have to take the afternoon off work to get to the ArenA in time, in case of a 6:00 PM kick-off time.

My personal thoughts: I really don't know what the KNVB regulations say about this. I *thought* the kick-off time is up to the home side. I don't know if it's possible for the visitors to object to the kick- off time whatsoever.

BTW: Ajax.nl has not announced this yet. That's why I decided to post this in this threas first. The new dates will appear on the homepage as soon as it's official...

-- Anonymous, December 21, 2001


First of all: the rule you're referring to may apply to games forbidden by the mayor, or re-scheduling requests filed by clubs, but I seriously doubt whether the rule also applies for things like royal weddings (= a national event, not and not Ajax's or Amsterdam's "fault", so to speak).

Secondly, I don't know if you're aware, but away games at FC Groningen are traditionally not very hard for Ajax. The common thought that it's "always hard for Ajax" in Groningen is a weird and historically incorrect myth.

In 30 years of FC Groningen history, Ajax has suffered exactly three league defeats there (2-1 each time), which is an average of one per decade. Also, Ajax lost one Cup game in Groningen (3-0). The last time Ajax lost in Groningen is thirteen years ago. Since that last defeat, there were nine wins and two draws for Ajax in Groningen. They scored 32 goals in those 11 games, which is an average of almost 3 per game.

Believe me: even Sparta, AZ and De Graafschap have a better home record against Ajax than FC Groningen. Don't get me wrong: FC groningen is a great club, Oosterpark Stadium is great and I love going there (once a year), but looking at the plain statistics, it's really one of the easiest away games for Ajax.

So don't start believing in your own myth.

If the KNVB wants the game to be played in Groningen (which I doubt) - well, whatever, fine with me. Then we'll do it there, simple as that. The only thing that would really suck about that, would be the long busride. Nothing else, really.

-- Anonymous, December 20, 2001


Remarkable indeed, The History of the confrontations between Ajax and FC Groningen in the Dutch National Cup. Funny thing is, it could happen that the "home"-match for Ajax cannot take place on the date set for it, by the KNVB (The national Footbal Federation) due to the marriage of Prince Willem Alexander and Maxima Zorrequieta, somewhat later in Amsterdam (02-02-02) for safety reasons. In that case, the regulations of the National Cup say the match is to be played in Groningen (on the original date)!! In that case, history is in Groningens advatage! Question is if the KNVB will decide as ruled by their own regulations. Ajax is a powefull club ans will try to avoid playing an "away"- match in Groningen.. Playing in Groningen, even Barcelona could have a very bad hairday, so to speak. The crowd there is fantastic and beats even the Feyenoord Crowd! Let's hope the match will be played in GRONINGEN, according to the rules! Let's take those losers from Amsterdam down! 3-0!!

FORZA Groningen! 4-ever!! Green White Army will strike again!

-- Anonymous, December 20, 2001


Somebody up there likes us!!! Down 1:2 with 2 minutes to go,FC Twente scored 2 goals to top the F-word. Final 3:2, Pothuizen on 89'(his og had put Twente in the 1:2 hole) and de Gier on 90'.Oh, and Dead Tuna managed a 3:3 draw at home vs. our next opponent, FC Utrecht.YAHOOO!!

-- Anonymous, December 19, 2001

Speaking of our Dutch opponents, a few scores on this day: FC Twente 1 :F-word nil HT Booth on 35 mins. FC Heerenveen 1 : Den Bosch nil HT Allback on 34. Dead Tuna 0 : FC Utrecht 1 HT Zwaanswijk on 17 AJax...as the movie says, I'll never tell..........

-- Anonymous, December 19, 2001

Interesting. After Ajax and FC Groningen were paired for the the Amstel Cup quarter final, FC Groningen.nl reported that the northern club and Ajax have met seven times before in the national cup tournament (KNVB Cup, later Amstel Cup). Here's the results:

1980/1981: Ajax vs FC Groningen 3-0, 0-0 (two legs back then)

1985/1986: Ajax vs FC Groningen 1-0

1986/1987: Ajax vs FC Groningen 0-0, 3-0 (replay in case of draw back then)

1987/1988: Ajax-2 vs FC Groningen 3-1

1988/1989: FC Groningen vs Ajax 3-0

1990/1991: Ajax vs FC Groningen 3-1

So, FC Groningen was beaten five times by Ajax-1 and once by Ajax-2. Only one time, the northern side advanced. It's also interesting that the confrontation was always won by the team playing at home, or (in case of a two leg-confrontation) the team playing at home first. Conclusion: statistically, things look good...

-- Anonymous, December 17, 2001


Sometimes you just need a little bit of luck...

Ajax loses two points on Saturday at Roda (1-1). But guess what? No- one takes advantage of it the next day: all top teams kind of screwed up. Feyenoord vs PSV ended 0-0, so Feyenoord didn't increase their lead, PSV didn't come closer. Vitesse lost (4-1 at FC Den Bosch), SC Heerenveen lost (1-0 at NEC) and FC Utrecht lost two points (2-2 at FC Groningen. Even RKC Waalwijk shared the points (with Sparta, 1-1). So the only team taking advantage of Ajax losing two points, was NAC (winning 2-3 at Fortuna Sittard).

This was a poor weekend for the entire top half of the table. They all lost points against small ones.

You could regard this weekend as a missed opportunity to get next to Feyenoord at the top of the table while seeing the gap between Ajax and the rest increase by two or three points. That's true, but since Ajax played on Saturday and almost all other teams had the chance to win on Sunday, I'd rather regard this as a case of minimal damage (or actually: no damage at all).

-- Anonymous, December 17, 2001


Wow !

As dramatic as yesterday's matches were (judging from all the last-second-and-sudden-death goals), equally amazing was the luck of the draw - Ajax 2 could not have been luckier, who'll host Telstar ! And as for Ajax 1, well, Groningen is arguably one of the less difficult opponents they could face.

Uncanny luck...

And Fyoornyoeorde versus PeeAssVee...!

(Dream time) Supposing both Ajax 1 & 2 advances, is there a possibility that they will be matched together in the semis ? Is there a rule to override it ?

-- Anonymous, December 13, 2001


WOW... what a night. What a spectacular, unbelievable, amazing, brilliant strike by Jason Culina. He fired it straight through the net, slamming it in the top corner via the post. FC Twente didn't even kick off anymore. The goal was *really* scored in the last second. The stadium went crazy. Completely nuts. Some 11,500 people there at that point, but what an atmosphere!

Anyway, reports will follow tonight. Here's the draw for the quarter finals:

Ajax vs FC Groningen

Young Ajax vs Stormvogels Telstar

PSV vs Feyenoord (HAHAHA, kill each other, girls...)

FC Utrecht vs SC Heerenveen

And now, off to the 'Ajax In March 2002' thread for the good news... :-)

-- Anonymous, December 13, 2001


The first three games of the Amstel Cup fourth round were played yesterday evening. One surprise (well... not really, actually, after having seen Dead Tuna Sittard play last week): First Division side Stormvogels/Telstar beat Fortuna Sittard, 1-0. Other results: FC Utrecht vs Excelsior (Feyenoord's First Division satellite club), 4- 1. Roda JC vs SC Heerenveen, 0-1.

To be played today:

FC Groningen vs FC Zwolle

Feyenoord vs FC Den Bosch

RKC Waalwijk vs PSV

Ajax 2 vs FC Twente

Ajax vs RBC Roosendaal

-- Anonymous, December 12, 2001


Regarding the Uefa Cup advancement for PSV, Feyenoord, and Roda, I think its a very good thing for the overall development to the Dutch game.

Roda's win over Bordeaux is very impressive I think considering their poor league form, while Feyenoord who played poorly in their Champions League campaign seemed to get their acts together at the expense of German side Freiburg. The F word should be ashamed at themselves with their Champions League showing after being paired with a Russian and Czech side along with holders Bayern Munich. They should have done better end of story.

Finally, PSV was unlucky not to advance from a very difficult Champions League group. They have also been deciamted by injurires so they are a dangerous side I believe.

-- Anonymous, December 07, 2001


Interesting, as it appears three Dutch teams advanced to the next stages of European competition.

I don't remember when was the last time three teams made it past the winder break; whenever that was, it probably included Ajax...

I'm most fond of Roda's progess as they have been struggling this season domestically. I wonder if the majority of the fans in Limburg would be cheering them on ...or not, because there's rivalry between the regional teams ?

And speaking of such, those whats-its-name teams from Rotterdamned and Eindhovened also did make it past X'mas (grrr...) and I know there can be a split feeling about this, between fans of Ajax living in Holland and from abroad, but I have a neutral acceptance of this.

Hey, look at it from a positive point of view : those teams will be battling it out in Europe and it will take some of their concentration away from the Eredivisie, which will help Ajax...

Very, very small consolation, I admit, but all things considered, I'd rather be in Europe....(sigh)

-- Anonymous, December 07, 2001


Boy, that's a tough first two months for Ajax at the resumption of the season after Winter Break.

First, two road games, Den Bosch and Willem II, then home to RKC Waalwijk (easy) and then right back on the road for three more (AZ, Fortuna Sittard, NAC), then home for Feyenoord, De Graafschap (supported by Ajax USA, so we should win those) and SC Heerenveen (all three are tough opponents, right?), and then back on the road to Eindhoven on 24 March and Vitesse on 31 March.

Yikes.

-- Anonymous, December 06, 2001


I just thought that some of the fans of Dick Jol would like to know that last night was his final game as a referee in European competiton as he has reached the maximum age limit of 45. I am not sure if this applies to the Dutch League, but I thought I would report this information as Jol is a big topic for Ajax fans.

-- Anonymous, December 06, 2001

Well me, i dislike both Bosvelt and Tomasson. Cuz Bosvelt once said in an interview too he would never be interested in playing for Ajax. Arrogant *sshole like Ajax would be interested in his g*y face!!!!

-- Anonymous, December 04, 2001

Boy, tell you what...

I watched the Heerenveen-Feij#@% match and was amazed by what I saw. I suspected/predicted that the Rotters would have a tough time and it did prove so indeed.

Heerenveen played very spetacular football considering what they have in relation to the Big Three. They should have scored a bunch of goals but were "unlucky" to have scored only one, ableit a penalty at that. But it doesn't matter: 3 points for the Friesland bunch and zippo for Fyoornyoorde !! And Allback is first class stuff; one wonders if we bought the Right Swede ? (I'm still have lots of faith in Zlatan)

Speaking of Fieernyord, Jim dislikes(kind word) Bosvelt but I have this thing against v.Hooijdonk but especially against Tomasson. The Pierre deserved a penalty call during the 2nd half but was disallowed I suspect becacuse of his earlier flop/drop. The ref made a good decision there, I thought. As for Tomasson, well, he's always the hot head that pisses me off to no end because of the way he used Ajax as a leverage when we're serenading for his services a few years back. He admitted he'd never be interested in playing for Ajax. And to see his fake flop late in the game yesterday was just another proving point for me.

-- Anonymous, December 03, 2001


That was a great result...But Ajax has to win to be on top,don't u think???So let's wait n see...I'm glad we got rid of Co...thank God...I think Koeman will do a great job,if we are patient with him...And i will take a risk,n say that now that Co left the team,"someone" will start scoring like crazy again(u know who)...Or i hope so...

-- Anonymous, December 01, 2001

YABBA-DABBA-DOOOOO!!! YES, YES, YES, YES!!!

SC Heerenveen vs Cockroach United: 1-0

Excellent! HAHAHAHAHA. And they were so happy that they did get the 595 tickets SC Heerenveen is obliged to give 'em. I hope those 595 feyenerds had a good time over there.

We've had a shit period folks, but we're now only two points behind. No worries :-)

-- Anonymous, December 01, 2001


Oh yeah, just like Geo, I wanted to tell you that Mr DICK Jol is a nutcase and a complete wanker. I thought the best place to talk about him would be the "Our Dutch Opponents" thread.

-- Anonymous, November 27, 2001

From PSV.nl:

"Arnold Bruggink has left today's training session injured. He sustained a hamstring injury as he was shooting on goal. Bruggink will probably not be recovered in time for Sunday's top game against Ajax. Apart from Bruggink, PSV will also have to miss out on Mark van Bommel, John de Jong, Kevin Hofland and goalkeeper Ivica Kralj."

Yesss...

-- Anonymous, November 23, 2001


On April 8th Menno wrote in his article on Ajax versus PSV game:- "Ajax desperately needs a bigger, more powerful striker than the ones available now, and lacks that crucial thing referred to by the Yiddish word gogme: cleverness, or slyness." Well we have this type of player on our books now - but will Zlatan be included from the start. I personally think he should be as he IS the player for the big stage. Suggested starting eleven for Sunday: Grim Heitinga, Bergdolmo, Chivu, Maxwell Yakubu, Wamberto, Van Der Vaart Van Der Meyde, Knopper Zlatan.

The jinx is about to be broken !!!!!!

-- Anonymous, November 23, 2001


Hey everybody... Ajax.nl has just announced that FC Den Bosch vs Ajax has been postponed. No new date has been found yet, but the game will almost certainly be re-scheduled to early 2002. Once a new date is announced, we will immediately add it to our matches index page... Stay tuned to that.

I will post this same message in the 'Current State Of Ajax Football' thread as well. For the folks who receive email alerts: sorry for spamming you guys twice with this news... ;-)

-- Anonymous, November 21, 2001


Professor Menno Please spread some enlightenment on how the Amstel Cup works in that can a player play for Ajax-1 in the competition after appearing for Young Ajax in previous rounds ? If Ajax-1 had a lot of injuries would they have to look towards the third team for replacements ? Also now that both teams are playing on the same night how do the teams go about picking substitutes.

-- Anonymous, November 13, 2001

The draw for the fourth round (or 1/8 finals) of the Amstel Cup will take place on Tuesday 6 November, after the last couple of third round games have been played. This draw will be interesting, because both Ajax-1 and Young Ajax will be amongst the sixteen teams in the draw. They may (theoretically) be paired with each other.

Teams already qualified for the fourth round: Young Ajax, RKC Waalwijk, FC Groningen, FC Den Bosch (all Eredivisie), Excelsior (First Division). Five more games will be played and last year's best six Eredivisie teams will enter the competition in the next round.

-- Anonymous, October 25, 2001


hello my name is nadine and i am a big fan of psv but i have to say that ajax is playing great. But it is going to be verry hard for ajax to be dutch champion with feyenoord. But psv is doing great in the champions leaga do are going to the second round. I think its great that there are ajax fans in usa do you know any psv fans? mail me PSV rulezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

-- Anonymous, October 17, 2001

Some interesting facts about tomorrow's opponents, RKC Waalwijk, from the game preview on Ajax.nl:

RKC Waalwijk remained unbeaten at home during the *entire* 2000-2001 season. Which is extremely remarkable for such a modest club. They suffered their last home defeat on 23 April, 2000, against SC Heerenveen (0-1).

Ajax has not been too succesful in Waalwijk over the past few years. Ajax' last victory at RKC was booked on 22 November, 1998 (0-1, goal by Danny Blind).

RKC played four home games so far this season - and won them all. FC Groningen, SC Heerenveen, Fortuna Sittard and De Graafschap left Waalwijk empty-handed.

However, Ajax did not lose a single point in away games so far - and the three away games Ajax played were not the easiest ones: Feyenoord, FC Twente and FC Groningen.

By the way: I have not heard or read anything about a decision by the KNVB disciplinary committee in the Zlatan affair. I assume those peeps don't work on Saturdays, so if there's no verdict today, Zlatan can play tomorrow. Which would be good, cos then chances are that we'll have Mido back when Zlatan's month of vacation starts...

-- Anonymous, October 12, 2001


YES. AJAX has won with 5-0 against NEC: 1-0 Christian Chivu 2-0 Wamberto 3-0 Rafael van der Vaart 4-0 Wamberto 5-0 Nikos Machlas

WE ARE GOING TO BE THE CHAMPIONS!!!!!! HUP AJAX HUP

-- Anonymous, October 10, 2001


AJAX wins again, from NEC this time. 5-0! AJAX is gonna grab some prices, i just feel it.

I read about this website in the "nieuwe revu", it's great that ajax has that kind of dedicated fans from abroad........ I like the way you adore AJAX, the dutch press always seems to look at AJAX in a negative way, you guys don't. By the way, you're all very lucky to have the possibility to watch ajax live on TV.

GREETZ AND THANX FOR YOUR DEDICATION AND DEVOTION TO AJAX, Frans

-- Anonymous, October 10, 2001


Haha, psv lost again two points! Today they drew against AZ (1-1). psv is still 14th with 8 points out of 8 matches! Ajax has twice as more points (16) with less matches (2) played...hahaha

-- Anonymous, October 09, 2001

The young Dutch tradition of silly sponsored names in Dutch football has reached a new climax: the Dutch 'Toto' (football pool) has withdrawn as the sponsor of the First Division, which was called Totodivisie ('Toto Division') for a few years.

The new sponsor is the Dutch Yellow Pages (we call it the Gouden Gids, literally the 'Golden Guide'). Therefore, the First Divison is now called the Gouden Gids Divisie ('Yellow Pages Division').

Believe me: this is not a joke. If it was a joke, it would have considered it far too cheesy to even tell it in the first place. Why do I tell you this? Dunno. Probably because our satellite club Haarlem is playing in the... er, Yellow Pages Division.

-- Anonymous, October 01, 2001


Yesterday psv lost its 4th match of this brand new season! At home the got beaten by vitesse (0-2). psv now played 7 matches this season and won only 2 (1 draw). So they got only 7 points and are now on postion number 14 in the league standing. Theoratically it is possible that after today's matches they will go down further to position 17 - the one before last! What a great start... ;-)

-- Anonymous, September 30, 2001

It's touching you sound so optimistically, but it seems that Co does not enjoy the support of many of the players or the supporters, which is crucial for a good teamspirit and performance. He does not seem to be able to communicate with his players. He lets the players play different systems, while most of the players are new to eachother and do not even know to play one system well. At the start of his career at Ajax he claimed he wanted to make Ajax play like Ajax should, referring snidely to Olsen and Wouters. And other such examples and incidences give a lot of people the impression that he speaks with a "forked tongue"... It seems that Co saps their confidence and their enjoyment in the game, instead of harnassing and cultivating it.

I cannot think of one player who has had anything positive to say about Co.

Could be I have a selective memory, but I do not think that Co is good for Ajax...

-- Anonymous, August 20, 2001


It doesn't actually *mean* anything, but it is fun indeed: PSV have started the league with a 2-2 draw at FC Groningen. They went 2-0 down, before a Groningen guy 'saved' a PSV attempt on the goal-line with his hands. He was sent off and PSV converted the penalty in the 70th minute. At that point, I didn't give a rat's ass for Groningen's chances, but they only allowed one more goal: PSV's equalizer in the 87th (scored by Vennegoor of H.).

Last year, PSV started the league with a defeat at De Graafschap. It turned out to be their only defeat of the season... but then again: nice one.

In the Dutch press, everyone only mentions PSV and Feyenoord as candidates for the championship. No-one talks about Ajax, which I think is very relaxed at this point. PSV are obviously Holland's strongest team and normally, they'll win one more league title before the whole thing collapses (they'll lose Van Bommel, for sure).

The whole of Holland seems to judge on Ajax based on their performance against Celtic, which was indeed weak, naive and tactically stupid, but it was also as bad as this Ajax team can be - they will not play many such bad games. PSV is equally strong as last year, Feyenoord has Pierre van Hooydonk who will definitely score a bunch of goals for them, but the Celtic game (the first *real* game with this new team, let's not forget that!) seems to have made everyone forget that Ajax has become stronger, too.

The Dutch press (as well as, of course, PSV and Feyenoord fans) seem to get carried away in thinking scorn of Ajax. There's simply nothing Ajax can do right anymore. Fine with me. Ajax has been a league favourite all my life. It's good not to be one, for a change, so we can actually *surprise* a few people. Which we will.

-- Anonymous, August 19, 2001


shit!!!! i might want to retract my previous statement which went something along the lines of, feyenoord is poor, we don't even have to worry about them. ok, i definitely want to retract that....in the past couple of days they have made some solid signings, the japanese international and pierre van hooijdonk....what the hell?? ok ajax, we need to show these guys that we are serious, how about one more signing?? we need one more move before training, especially considering that psv and feyenoord have been very active. we still don't know what our back line is going to look like for the first match of the new season and we will have to face names like hooijdonk and kezman....dammit! let's go ajax, get it done.....now!

-- Anonymous, July 12, 2001

Even worse: feyenoord signed Pierre van Hooijdonk today! For less then $2,5 million... Well, okay the lad is 31 already, but still a very, very good striker. Do not underestimate feyenoord this season! Damn!

-- Anonymous, July 11, 2001

Feyenoord just signed Shinji Ono, a Japanese international. This player is good. A playmaker in midfield. It was because of him that his former team, Urawa Reds, got promoted to the 1st division. I hope he succeeds in his career there. But Ajax will still kick Feyenoord's asses...

-- Anonymous, July 10, 2001

Folks, the Eredivisie league schedule will be officially presented tomorrow on the KNVB website. It will be on the Ajax USA homepage tomorrow in the afternoon... Stay tuned if you're interested.

The season's opener is already certain: SC Heerenveen vs Ajax on Saturday, 11 August. First home game will be against Roda JC, on 18 or 19 August. Third game is the first 'Classic', in Rotterdam (far too friggin' early...).

A few schedules are already circulating on Ajax Mania and Ajax Netwerk, but they don't seem very reliable (33 games in total, six home games in a row, etcetera). We'll have the official one when it's there...

-- Anonymous, July 02, 2001


My "other" team, Notts County in England, have just signed Marcel Cas from RBC Roosendaal.

Anybody know anything about him?

Cheers,

-- Anonymous, June 18, 2001


The promotion-relegation play-offs are over. Both Sparta and Fortuna Sittard won their groups pretty easily. They both stay in the Eredivisie. So we'll only have one new opponent next season: First Division champions FC Den Bosch, who replace RBC Roosendaal.

-- Anonymous, June 18, 2001

Hello, I'm a big fan of Roda JC Kerkrade but I have to say great site. Also the reports of other clubs are fantastic. Go ahead

Richie

-- Anonymous, June 07, 2001


Normally, all Eredivisie clubs play their last games at the same time. The KNVB considers it unfair if one of the teams that are still trying to avoid relagation or qualify for the UEFA Cup is playing first, so their direct competitors know the result. Therefore, all teams play their last (34th) two decisive game on the same Sunday, on the same time (2:30pm). This year was an exception, since 20 year-old NAC player, Ferry van Vliet, died in a car crash a few days before the last Eredivisie game day.

NAC filed a request a the KNVB to post-pone their away game at De Graafschap. The KNVB agreed (of course, I would say). But De Graafschap was still battling with Fortuna Sittard, trying to avoid the promotion/relegation-play offs. Therefore, Fortuna's home game against Willem II was post-poned as well. Those two games were played on Thursday night.

Fortuna beat Willem II 4-1, but De Graafschap's one point against NAC (1-1) was enough for them to stay in the Eredivisie. Fortuna is in the play-offs. So, the final Eredivisie table now looks like this, and Fortuna, De Graafschap and six First Division teams are in the middle of the play-offs.

How does that play off system work?

The First Division season consists of 18 teams, playing 34 games each (just like the Eredivisie). The champion (FC Den Bosch, this year) goes up directly, replacing the number 18 of the Eredivisie (RBC Roosendaal). The First Division season is divided in four so-called 'periods' of 9 games. The winners of each of those periods qualify for the play offs, officially called the 'after-league' in Dutch. When the league's finished, the two best teams behind the champions who did NOT win a 'period title' qualify as well.

Two groups are being put together (A and B). In each group, one Eredivisie team (Sparta or Fortuna Sittard) plays against with three of the qualified. First Division teams. The teams play a full league: a home and an away game against each opponent.

The winner of each group goes to (or stays in) the Eredivisie. So: next season's Eredivisie will contain one, two or three new teams, depending whether Sparta and Fortuna manage to win their play off group.

This season's play off groups look like this:

Group A: Fortuna Sittard, Telstar (from IJmuiden), FC Zwolle and FC Volendam. If you want to stay informed, the results, the schedule and standings of Group A are here.

Group B: Sparta, Excelsior (Rotterdam), Cambuur Leeuwarden and Go Ahead Eagles (Deventer). Results, schedule and standings for Group B are here.

-- Anonymous, June 02, 2001


Not sure whether you've already heard about it, but FC Twente from Enschede, has won the Dutch national cup, known as the Amstel Cup. The final in Rotterdam's De Kuip stadium, against PSV Eindhoven ended 0-0. FC Twente missed two penalties in the shoot-out, and PSV took a 3-1 lead. But then they became arrogant and sent goalkeeper Waterreus upfront for the decisive shot. His colleague, Sander Boschker, stopped it, and he saved the two next ones as well!! Result 4-3 to FC Twente. 32,000 Twente fans travelled to Rotterdam (only some 10,000 Eindhoven fans) - and they went completely bananas.

Absolutely hilarious. Our singing, during the game in Enschede last Sunday ("One thing's for sure - Twente wins the Cup" and "Good luck against PSV") has obviously helped... *LOL*

-- Anonymous, May 25, 2001


F-word 2:Fortuna Sittard 3. Any truth to the rumour that the movie " Dead Man Walking" is to be re-cast starring the F-word club? " Dead Men Loafing" would be a good title. I thought footballers were exempt from the new euthanasia law. Nobody told the Rotterdammers me thinks.

-- Anonymous, May 06, 2001

Here we are again: 4:26 PM on Sunday 06 May, and time for News Flash #2...

Sparta has sealed the fate of poor RBC Roosendaal, by grabbing one point at FC Groningen (1-1). RBC's Eredivisie lasted only one season. Direct relegation is now a fact.

There's still a lot of things that have to be decided: the tickets to Champions League and UEFA Cup, for example, as well as the two teams that will have to play relegation play-off games. But we now know who's first and who's last...

-- Anonymous, May 06, 2001


Today, Sunday 06 April, is the first day of real decisions in this season's Eredivisie. Let's start with the most important thing: It's 2:54 PM (Dutch time) now, and a few seconds ago, PSV Eindhoven has officially won the Dutch Eredivisie championship of 2000-2001, by beating SC Heerenveen in Eindhoven's Philips Stadium (3-0). They've proved to be by far the best team in Holland this season. The rest, including Ajax and Feyenoord, simply couldn't compete.

Seeing one of Ajax' rivals win the league is never pleasant, but if it's done in such convincing fashion, I don't really have a problem with it. They deserved it. Congrats to PSV.

Next news flash expected in approximately one hour and fifteen minutes...

-- Anonymous, May 06, 2001


Remarkable post, Freggel...

Freggel writes: "Menno, why do you always report the good news and not the bad news? For example: Ajax has lost a big part of its away- matches in the Eredivisie? and RODA JC - AJAX 1-1? What's their rank on the list? Why laugh about other teams, or even speak about the bottom?"

We do not report the bad news?? We write a report about *every* Ajax game, no matter what the result was. They're usually realistic, rational and definitely not written by some blind fanatic (this goes for my as well as Bastiaan's match reports). The result of Roda JC vs Ajax is on this website, as well as Ajax' current ranking (we link to the Eredivisie table on Teletekst).

Oh yeah: as far as I know I have never 'laughed' about other teams. My game previews are usually pretty respectful towards the opponents.

Geez, what a silly, even stupid post, Freggel...

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2001


Menno, why do you always report the good news and not the bad news? For example: Ajax has lost a big part of its away-matches in the Eredivisie? and RODA JC _ AJAX 1-1? What's their rank on the list? Why laugh about other teams, or even speak about the bottom? Here are some facts & things If you would like to learn more about the Duthc league, visit www.viplanet.nl 1 PSV 29 21 7 1 70 60 - 17 2 Feyenoord 29 19 2 8 59 58 - 28 3 Roda JC 29 15 7 7 52 51 - 33 4 Ajax 28 15 6 7 51 70 - 33 5 RKC Waalwijk 29 13 10 6 49 39 - 26 6 Vitesse 28 13 8 7 47 46 - 38 7 FC Utrecht 28 13 6 9 45 43 - 39 8 SC Heerenveen 28 10 11 7 41 44 - 33 9 Willem II 29 11 8 10 41 49 - 43 10 NAC 29 11 8 10 41 36 - 38 11 NEC 29 8 13 8 37 33 - 40 12 FC Groningen 29 8 7 14 31 33 - 43 13 AZ 29 8 7 14 31 37 - 52 14 FC Twente 29 7 10 12 31 38 - 55 15 De Graafschap 29 8 3 18 27 38 - 58 16 Fortuna Sittard 29 6 6 17 24 23 - 55 17 Sparta 29 6 5 18 23 38 - 61 18 RBC Roosendaal 29 4 2 23 14 34 - 78

PROGRAMMA Thuis Uit Datum Ajax NAC vr 27/4 Willem II PSV za 28/4 Vitesse De Graafschap za 28/4 Fortuna Sittard FC Groningen za 28/4 FC Twente AZ za 28/4 Sparta SC Heerenveen za 28/4 Roda JC Feyenoord zo 29/4 RBC Roosendaal FC Utrecht zo 29/4 NEC RKC Waalwijk zo 29/4

TOPSCORERS Speler Team Goals Penalt. 1 Kezman PSV 22 2 Elkhattabi Sparta 19 1 3 Anastasiou Roda JC 18 3 4 Nelisse AZ 15 6 5 Hristov NEC 15 3 6 Gluscevic FC Utrecht 15 7 Tomasson Feyenoord 14 8 Hoogendorp RKC Waalwijk 13 1 9 Vennegoor of Hesselink FC Twente 13 1 10 Arveladze Ajax 13 2

-- Anonymous, April 25, 2001


aJAX IS BAD THIS YEAR BUT IF THEY KEEP THE PLAYERS LIKE aRVELADSE AND VAN DER VAART THEY WILL WIN THE KPN NEXT YEAR.BY THE I LIKE YOUR SITE . FREND FROM HOLLAND

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2001

Oh yeah... after Fortuna, De Graafschap as well as Sparta won their games, it's almost certain that we're gonna lose RBC Roosendaal. Too bad for them, but they're just not an Eredivisie club. It's almost certain as well that FC Den Bosch (went down last season) will win the First Division title - and will be back next year.

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2001

By the way: Vitesse vs PSV is now being played. I know it does not feel natural, but we are actually supporting PSV today, aren't we? They'll win the championship anyway. It's more important to keep Vitesse away from the third position... It's not nice to have to support PSV for a day, but it *is* realistic...

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2001

*ROTFLMAO* (Rolling Over The Floor Laughing My Ass Off)

Feyenoord f*cked up AGAIN, losing at home to De Graafschap: 1-2!! HAHAHAHAHA. But now for the next question: is this gonna be the third consecutive time we're not grabbing the opportunity to close in? I'm afraid so... :-(

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2001


Above, this Roda JC fan signed his post with:

"kerkrade hooligans - west side ultras - landgraaf hooligans - north side casuals - fanproject kerkrade '98"

Does each individual Roda hooligan have his own 'side' or project name, or something? HAHAHA, "Landgraaf hooligans"... gimme a break... *LOL*

-- Anonymous, April 14, 2001


Roda JC - AJAX 5-1

see ya

-- Anonymous, April 14, 2001


FORZA RODA the pride of the south!

RODA WILL WIN!!!!!! rjc you'll never walk alone!!

kerkrade hooligans west side ultras landgraaf hooligans north side casuals fanproject kerkrade '98

-- Anonymous, April 14, 2001


FYI: the Amstel Cup semi finals have been played:

SC Heerenveen 1 - PSV 3 Vitesse 0 - FC Twente 0 (Twente wins on pennos, 3-4)

Final: PSV vs FC Twente on 24 May, at De Kuip (Rotterdam).

-- Anonymous, April 13, 2001


Did you know this (it's taken from Ajax.nl's game preview for Ajax vs Sparta):

There's over a century of football history on the pitch during Ajax vs Sparta. Coach Willem van Hanegem's new club is the oldest in Dutch professional football. On 1 April, Sparta will turn 113 years old. This Sunday's game at the ArenA is the 45th meeting since professional football was introduced in The Netherlands.

Of course, the two met before that, too. The very first edition was on 28 January, 1912. Back then, the two 'oldies' played in excatly the same jersey: black shorts and a red and white shirt (vertically striped). As Ajax promoted to the First Class in 1911, this had to be changed, because Sparta was already playing in the same league. Two identical jerseys were not allowed in one league. In fact, Sparta is the reason why Ajax plays in the jersey we know now."

Funny...

-- Anonymous, March 16, 2001


Wanna hear a good joke?

Feyenoord is out of the Amstel Cup. They lost 4-3 at Heerenveen - their third defeat in a row, after league defeats against PSV and Willem II.

-- Anonymous, March 15, 2001


At least AJAX will have a chance against FC Utreg. It appears that the game will not have the same man in charge.Hopefully, Mr.Luinge is away officiating a peewee match.And yes ,I know this mail is a little late..the match having occurred. Mother nature is causing power outages.

-- Anonymous, February 25, 2001

I wish there were a few more games to go before the winterbreak... PSV drew at home against Fortuna (last on the table!!) yesterday night, Feyenoord lost in Groningen last week and Vitesse won only one out of their last four games. The current op three is struggling and losing points. At this moment, Ajax seems to be the fittest and most determined team.

Anyway: one more reason to be satisfied during the winter break: in the last eight days, we've come 3 points closer to Feyenoord, 2 points closer to PSV and 5 points closer to Vitesse. Pretty good.

By the way: Fortuna scored a late equalizer in Eindhoven yesterday. The goal was scored by.... (guess who?).... JAN VAN HALST!! That's probably the best thing he's ever done for Ajax... *LOL*

-- Anonymous, December 22, 2000


For your information: the Dutch professional league was initially called 'Eredivisie' (= Division of Honour). The lower, second professional division was called 'Eerste Divisie' (= First Division). A few years ago, the KNVB allowed sponsoring of the two professional leagues. The Dutch Football Toto became the sponsor of the Eerste Divisie, which is therefore still called 'Totodivisie'.

The Eredivisie was sponsored by Holland's largest mail and telecom company. That company had just changed its name from PTT to KPN Telecom. Because their name was brand-new, they wanted to call the league: KPN Telecompetition.

Now, in 2000, everybody in Holland is perfectlu used to the name KPN Telecom. Therefore, KPN and the KNVB have agreed to give the highest football league its original name back. Starting this season, it will officially be called: KPN Eredivisie.

-- Anonymous, August 13, 2000


I'm glad that NAC and Groningen have made it back to the eredivisie. They both belong there. Like Menno said, very fanatical supporters and quite a lot of them too! A few years ago NAC (like a lot of other Dutch clubs) had plans to become one of the bigger clubs in Holland (like Twente, Vitesse, Heerenveen). In their first season in their new (beautifull) stadium they beat Ajax 2-0... still things didn't work out they way they had planned and after two seasons of narrow losses almost every game they relegated. I hope things work out for them this time. FC Groningen used to be one of the topteams in Holland, kicked Atletico Madrid out of the Uefa or Cup winners cup once... somehow when I think of the old FC Groningen I think of Hennie Meijer, a great striker who also played for Ajax (not too good unfortunately). Anyway... I hope both clubs stay in the Eredivisie and then the only team missing is Den Haag, although I think the KNVB won't mind den haag staying in the first division for ever.

-- Anonymous, August 12, 2000

Big surprise: RBC has made it into the KPN Telecompetitie. Cambuur Leeuwarden, therefore, is relegated. So: the three relegated teams are FC Den Bosch, MVV and Cambuur Leeuwarden. The three new ones for next season are:

* R.B.C. (orange/white) from Roosendaal. Their stadium can only 6,000 spectators. First ever time to perform in the highest league division. As a first division team, they played Ajax in 1986's Amstel Cup final (3-0 to Ajax). * F.C. GRONINGEN (white/green) from Groningen. Will be the most northern team in next year's Eredivisie. Used to be one of Ajax most feared opponents for many years. Their relegation, two seasons ago, came as a total surprise. Now they're back where they belong. * N.A.C. (yellow/black) from Breda. Traditional club from the south. Have got a large, fanatical and devoted fanbase. It is mainly because of those noisy supporters that away games in Breda are usually not easy.

It's good for the KPN Telecompetition to have FC Groningen and NAC back. They're from relatively large cities, they have good stadiums and a lot of fanatical supporters. Nice clubs; definitely more interesting than FC Den Bosch and Cambuur Leeuwarden.

-- Anonymous, June 04, 2000


The list of eighteen Eredivisie opponents will look slightly different, of course. The team that finishes last on the table, relegates directly. The number 16 and 17 have to try and secure their position in the KPN Telecompetition (or Eredivisie) in a number of play-off games against Totodivision (or Eerste Divisie) teams.

In my previous posting in this topic, I wrote that FC Den Bosch was "the number one candidate to go down". And so they did, finishing 18th and last, and thereby relegating directly. The Eerste Divisie champions, NAC from Breda, are going up. About MVV, I wrote - sorry, I can't stop myself... ;-) - is "going up and down". They relegated today, after a number of bad results in their play-off group. FC Groningen (relegated a few years ago) jumps back to the Eredivisie.

In the other play-off group, Cambuur Leeuwarden can still win and stay in the KPN Telecompetitie. But right now, the best chances are for RBC from Roosendaal. A big surprise, because they're one of the very few professional Dutch soccer teams that have never played in the highest league division.

-- Anonymous, May 28, 2000


Found the following article at Soccernet. Seems like the ship is sinking in Rotterdam. Is this good for Dutch football ?? Brings back memories of Ajax of a few years ago.

=====================================================

Wednesday, November 24, 10:40am London Time Dutch disarray opens door for Chelsea By Ken Dyer

Chelsea's chances of victory in tonight's Champions League clash at home to Feyenoord were today enhanced by disarray within the Dutch camp. Two leading Dutch internationals in Feyenoord's team, Jean-Paul van Gastel and Bert Konterman, have revealed, in a Dutch magazine article published just before the squad left for London, that they want to leave the club and try their luck in England.

A third player, Argentine Julio Cruz, who has been injured and will not be involved tonight, has also said he wants to leave the club at the end of the season. The players' sentiments, made public less than 48 hours before the Stamford Bridge match, has disrupted their preparations.

Coach Leo Beenhakker and his board of directors are said to be furious and there was a crisis meeting of the players and coaching staff on the eve of their departure for London.

Feyenoord have a reputation for organisation and resilience which has been undermined by this incident. Sources from within the Feyenoord club believe the players' comments were carefully planned to coincide with this high profile tie in London.

Although no English clubs were mentioned the players' intention could be to concentrate attention on themselves at Stamford Bridge tonight, and hopefully attract interest.

Feyenoord's goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek has also heightened interest in his performance tonight with the assertion, in Soccernet yesterday, that Manchester United are among the clubs interested in him.

-- Anonymous, November 24, 1999


Menno: Thank you for the breakdown. I didn't know about a couple of the bottom clubs. Your synopsis was excellent!

-- Anonymous, November 21, 1999

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