Today's European matches...

[irishred]

Fantastic result for football in that Ajax - City game with the Ajax starting XI costing a grand total of £4.3m.

Vermeer (Trainee)

Van Rhijn (Trainee)
Alderweireld (Trainee)
Moisander (£3.25m from AZ Alkmaar)
Blind (Trainee)

C Poulsen (Free from Evian)
Eriksen (youth product signed from Odense for £800k)
Siem De Jong (Trainee)

Sana (£285k from Gothenburg)
Schone (Free from NEC Nijmegen)
Babel (Free from Hoffenheim)

...then if they were able to hold onto other players who have recently progressed through the youth team to go onto pastures new what a tremendous team they could well have had:

Maarten Stekelenburg
Gregory van der Wiel
Thomas Vermaelen
Jan Vertonghen
John Heitinga
Hedwiges Maduro
Urby Emanuelson
Nigel de Jong
Vurnon Anita
Eljero Elia
Steven Pienaar
Wesley Sneijder
Rafael van der Vaart

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Also, there are a concerning number of our 'rejects' that have went on to play Champions League football over the past couple of years: Leto, Mihaylov, Plessis, Benayoun, Dossena, Aquilani, Joe Cole, Babel, Poulsen, Jovanovic, Albert Riera. And although not a 'reject' as such, he ended up being given away in the end - Kuyt.

 

[rurikbird]

UEFA has to come up with a way for clubs from smaller countries, such as Holland or Belgium, to be competitive financially. It's a tragedy that a team with perhaps the strongest football tradition and philosophy in world football can't keep the best players they produce in the Academy.

 

[LeTallecWiz]

Any context around that ALT?

He was just at the game ... Haven't read anything re: his return to management

 

[keniget]

UEFA has to come up with a way for clubs from smaller countries, such as Holland or Belgium, to be competitive financially. It's a tragedy that a team with perhaps the strongest football tradition and philosophy in world football can't keep the best players they produce in the Academy.

Have they ever held onto them?

Sure they had them for longer back in the day but the glory was always in Italy or Spain.

 

[tombrown]

The highlight of the City match, for me, was rat faces comment on Babbel - "When I played against him, whenever he got the ball at his feet he looked like he was fighting with it". Would lhave hated & villified him if he said that at the time, but in retrospect it is funny. Especailly when he added "at that stage of my career I was doing the same"

 

[tombrown]

From tonight:

"Arsene Wenger ... this is your life!""

 

[Piedro]

Did someone say Poulsen??

 

[rurikbird]

Have they ever held onto them?

Sure they had them for longer back in the day but the glory was always in Italy or Spain.

Ajax have won Champions Cup 4 times in their history. That's "glory" in my book. Would a player of Kruiff's stature play in Ajax now at the height of his career?

 

[Brizzle]

I was at the Emirates last night - awful atmosphere. Awful performance.

One mere highlight was a good discussion between myself, my Gooner mate and some chump in front of us. Gooner mate was slating the level of average players on the pitch and lack of quality on bench.

Chump in front: "look, we don't have billions of pounds like city. We just can't get any good players. If you don't understand basic economics then you can't understand football anymore"
Gooner mate: "Are you joking? I don't know where to start with that. Also, I'm an economics teacher by profession so shut the fuck"

Always good to see!

Gervinho is hilarious to watch - whenever he got the ball he looked to get into dangerous positions but had no support and was eventually forced into a mistake every time.

Also, watching Santos at Left back made me realise how lucky we are to have some gem youth full backs like Kelly, Wisdom, Robinson etc.

 

[Piedro]

Gervinho is fucking shite

And he's got a cunt of a forehead

 

[peterhague]

Ajax have won Champions Cup 4 times in their history. That's "glory" in my book. Would a player of Kruiff's stature play in Ajax now at the height of his career?

I'm not sure about the early 70s side, but the team who won it in 1995 was almost all just an exceptional crop of youngsters, who mostly left soon after.

IMO the only way for clubs from smaller countries to compete on an even footing would be to eliminate their disadvantage, namely that they play in small time leagues with small TV markets and low revenues, by creating a European Super League. Or something of that nature - you could perhaps combine the French, Dutch, and German leagues, for example, and have the biggest Scottish clubs play in the PL, and the biggest Portuguese clubs play in La Liga.

 

[the_khl]

Did someone say Poulsen??

How weird it seems he played a very good game last night bossing midfield and hitting some good passes.

No doubt he wasn't good enough for Liverpool but surely the way we played at the time certainly didn't help him either as he's not a very mobile player. But in a game like last night he got the work done and won the midfield battle and moved the ball around nice enough.

 

[LeTallecWiz]