In the Ajax shareholders’ meeting, last Friday, general manager Edwin van der Sar spoke about the “intensive transfer period” this summer. Ten new players came and twelve left – those left players, looking back, that was now “too much”, said Van der Sar. “For a trainer who has to start, that was not ideal.”
Not that Van der Sar said it, but he bears the responsibility for that. After the departure of director of football affairs Marc Overmars at the beginning of this year, he took charge of the new ‘technical heart’, in which the daily implementation lies with Gerry Hamstra and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar – both not members of the board.
That also exposes the dilemma, now that the pressure on trainer Alfred Schreuder continues to increase after the 3-3 draw at FC Emmen on Saturday evening. It completed the sporting disaster week, after the 1-2 defeat against PSV and the 2-2 against Vitesse: seven loss points in seven days. Because if the club management decides to dismiss Schreuder, which fans have been calling for for days, it shows Van der Sar’s own failure.
Demasque
The last game before the eight-week winter break ended in a demasqué for Ajax. It led 3-1 at halftime against FC Emmen, the modest number sixteen of the Eredivisie.
A bunch of friends are relaxing in a before the duel hot tub at De Oude Meerdijk stadium, while a banner is hanging in the branch with ‘Schreuder rot on!’. Hope lives in Emmen, this could well be their evening, they eagerly fly for it.
At Ajax, the indifference hangs over the team like a blanket for almost the entire match. Clearly visible after a few minutes, in the clumsy foul by Owen Wijndal, which leads to the free kick from which Emmen captain Jeroen Veldmate makes a nice 1-0. Ajax corrects quickly, with three goals in more than fifteen minutes, via Kenneth Taylor (twice) and Steven Bergwijn. Nothing to worry about – it seems.
That was counted outside the second half, which ends in a “disgrace”, as Schreuder later calls it. Players shuffle across the field, just watching in some dangerous situations. There is hardly any communication, no visible playing plan. Defenders Jurriën Timber and Daley Blind are easily outwitted by Emmen striker Richairo Zivkovic’s 2-3. Emmen continues to press, Ajax recoils. Shortly before time, a cross from Mohamed Bouchouari whizzes past everyone: 3-3. The lights are flashing in De Oude Meerdijk – a folk festival in Emmen.
Ajax players don’t seem to know what to do in the last twenty minutes. “The second half was so bad. Everyone did different things,” Bergwijn tells ESPN. “You try to intervene, try to put it differently, with two ‘sixes’ [verdedigende middenvelders] for the defense,” says Schreuder.
To state a little later at the press conference: “The second half was a mental problem.” One explanation could be that several players going to the World Cup have already had their heads in that tournament and may have held back so as not to get injured.
Scouting
The question is: how long will Schreuder get?
“We know how mechanisms work in football, but I’m not afraid,” Schreuder said during the press conference.
One possibility is that the club management chooses to use this long winter break to work towards the second half of the season with another coach. It is more obvious that with Schreuder, the composition of the selection will be critically examined, and some targeted purchases may be made – even though Ajax bought many players last summer for a combined value of 105 million euros. However, the coach himself also hinted at new purchases on Saturday. “I think we can use an impulse in the selection.”
The second half was a mental problem
Alfred Schreuder after the draw against Emmen
It is also a fact that the scouting department is “not directly geared up” to attract top players, those of “Champions League level”, said Leen Meijaard, chairman of the supervisory board of Ajax, during the shareholders’ meeting on Friday. The scouting is more focused on long-term talents, such as Portuguese striker Francisco Conceição (19). Meijaard contradicted the fact that there were no scouting reports of newly recruited players – these rumors were circulating.
An additional problem is that there is no prospect of a new director of football affairs for the time being, it turned out on Friday. After the departure of Overmars in February due to cross-border behaviour, discussions were held with candidates at home and abroad. “Nothing has come out of that. Or candidates didn’t want to. Or we didn’t think candidates were good enough,” said Meijaard.
After that, the club was “brought into a difficult situation” by the departure of coach Erik ten Hag to Manchester United. Meijaard: “You cannot look for a technical director and a trainer at the same time.” The construction with Hamstra and Huntelaar was conceived on this basis. “Actually, we are still in that situation. No egg has been laid yet. We’re not really in a hurry either. Huntelaar and Hamstra are now filling in that with the scouting.”
There will be more pressure on the search for a director of football affairs who should shape the sporting policy for the coming years, especially now that the call for Schreuder’s departure is getting stronger.