Eredivisie 23/24 - discussion thread

[Koal-84]

i am not completely sure how the draw works eventually when it comes to the Champions League qualification round, but last year they started in the third round and eliminated AS Monaco, which isn't that bad. In the final round they were up against the Glasgow Rangers, but even then there aren't really many weak teams anyway. You can get a team like Benfica against you if you have to go through the Champions League qualification phase. Those teams who make it through that path actually can't be that weak anyway. It comes down to whether you are lucky in the draw or not.

The exact list will always be published when the championships are finished (I will publish it here then), that will take some time until the possible opponents are fixed, in any case PSV will get harder opponents than Ajax would have gotten due to their high club coefficient. But PSV can of course also be lucky in the draw.

This is why I believe that Ajax should be considering this issue as a troublesome issue. They may not be doing great this season but in order to do better, they need money which is not something they can get just from Eredevise, they need Europe to make that. Europa could be good only if they go far, if not then that's not good.

Should Ajax lose to AZ, they could finish fourth in the championship, would still be the Conference League but when did Ajax finish fourth in the league? I can't remember without looking it up. Money should not fail without Europe they have taken more than 100 million through player sales and almost no players bought this season?

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[casperBGD]

-snip
 in any case PSV will get harder opponents than Ajax would have gotten due to their high club coefficient. But PSV can of course also be lucky in the draw.
-snip

this is key, team coefficient is made up from team and country numbers, and PSV has lower points compared to Ajax, due to their results in last five years

but overall, PSV will be close to be in favorites group for last qualification stage, because there are some teams with lower points there as well
it is harder since UEFA changed paths to Champions and Other teams, and PSV as second placed will play against third/fourth ranked teams from top European leagues

[Distraction]

Ajax's making big changes in their squad hasn't affected them in a good way for this season. It has been a pretty disappointing season for Ajax after being eliminated in the Europa League by Union Berlin in last 32 round. Of course the Eredivisie season also has been going on pretty bad for them. They might not even be able to qualify for the Champions League in any way if they continue to lose points on the remaining a few weeks.

The interesting part is that they actually have pretty solid statistics in terms of number of goals scored and conceded. But their problem has been with consistency compared to their rivals at top now. Ajax have had issues with getting many draws so far. We didn't watch them do well in big matches either. I wonder how much progress they will make by learning their lesson from this look.

[RealMalatesta]

Should Ajax lose to AZ, they could finish fourth in the championship, would still be the Conference League but when did Ajax finish fourth in the league? I can't remember without looking it up. Money should not fail without Europe they have taken more than 100 million through player sales and almost no players bought this season?

I think there will be a lot of bets that will go wrong as well. Many people probably bet Ajax to be champions and they already lost, but even top third would be lost, and that was like 1.05 odds or something, so it would be very bad for all the gamblers, and amazing for sportsbooks. In any case, having one bad season doesn't matter, because they have the system and that means they will be doing fine.

As long as they have that system working for them I believe that they are going to do just fine and shouldn't really be worried about it. I know that it is not going to end up being something terrible for them but it should also not be really a great thing neither, it should be considered a long term success having a short term hiccup and nothing more.

[Zackgeno96]

Feyenoord is 99.99% sure to become champion. 8 points ahead. If PSV cannot win today, Feyenoord can become champion tomorrow. Still very impressive what Slot has shown with his team this season. They are also incredibly fit at Feyenoord, unlike most players at Ajax and PSV. Heitinga will no longer be the trainer at Ajax, especially after his unprofessional behavior in the match against PSV. You can see that he is inexperienced and not ready for the real big work. Ajax will play against AZ this weekend, and if Ajax loses that match, Ajax will even be in 4th place. That would mean that Ajax is not even allowed to participate in the CL and EL, how long has it been since Ajax finished 4th in the Netherlands? I can't even remember it myself.

[Volgastallion]

What a game we have ahead.

Can AZ make the miracle and win in AJAX home?.

Considering this, we are prepared to not see AJAX in UCL or even UEL?.

I dont have the asnwer but its not gonna be the first time with them out of "europe" ?, or atleast for a long long time.

[casperBGD]

What a game we have ahead.

Can AZ make the miracle and win in AJAX home?.
~snip

so far, so good, it looks like AZ has some chances to win tonight, goalless on halftime, lot to play in second half, Ajax looks as better team, but AZ has their chances as well
PSV secured another win, and they are step closer to secure position two in the league
Feyenoord is facing Excelsior tomorrow, but I don't expect from them to miss points there, although it is an important match for Excelsior too, they are on the edge of relegation

[BitcoinAccepted]

A disappointing goalless draw in the top match between Ajax and AZ. It is again a big disappointment from Ajax in particular, although there were good chances for both teams. Ajax is still in 3rd place to qualify for the EL, but they can now really forget the CL because of this draw. PSV also won with great difficulty when visiting Sparta, 0-1. The CL Tickets now certainly seem to go to PSV and Feyenoord, the big loser at the moment seems to be Ajax. Qualifying for the EL is certainly a conceivable scenario for AZ, I can see Ajax losing some points and AZ has a better phase at the moment.

[shogun47]

What a game we have ahead.

Can AZ make the miracle and win in AJAX home?.
~snip

so far, so good, it looks like AZ has some chances to win tonight, goalless on halftime, lot to play in second half, Ajax looks as better team, but AZ has their chances as well
PSV secured another win, and they are step closer to secure position two in the league
Feyenoord is facing Excelsior tomorrow, but I don't expect from them to miss points there, although it is an important match for Excelsior too, they are on the edge of relegation

I think this was most likely the last chance for Alkmaar to get into European qualifiers. Ajax goal stats are much better, so equal points won't be enough, but it isn't likely that Ajax will lose lots of points. The next game is against Groningen where anything but a win would be a shock.

But there is no way that Ajax can be satisfied if they can't play in the Champions League. Now will PSV lose any points? That is also not very likely except for the game away against Alkmaar, but a lot of things would have to happen in order for Ajax to still qualify for the CL. Starting in the Conference League is a huge disappointment given that they did play a strong role in the CL for quite some time.

[Volgastallion]

What a game we have ahead.

Can AZ make the miracle and win in AJAX home?.
~snip

so far, so good, it looks like AZ has some chances to win tonight, goalless on halftime, lot to play in second half, Ajax looks as better team, but AZ has their chances as well
PSV secured another win, and they are step closer to secure position two in the league
Feyenoord is facing Excelsior tomorrow, but I don't expect from them to miss points there, although it is an important match for Excelsior too, they are on the edge of relegation

I think this was most likely the last chance for Alkmaar to get into European qualifiers. Ajax goal stats are much better, so equal points won't be enough, but it isn't likely that Ajax will lose lots of points. The next game is against Groningen where anything but a win would be a shock.

But there is no way that Ajax can be satisfied if they can't play in the Champions League. Now will PSV lose any points? That is also not very likely except for the game away against Alkmaar, but a lot of things would have to happen in order for Ajax to still qualify for the CL. Starting in the Conference League is a huge disappointment given that they did play a strong role in the CL for quite some time.

Yes i think it was the last train for AZ, a really strange goalless game.

Yes Ajax out of UCL its pretty damn big, and aside of being good to change the teams who play UCL sometimes, i think this can hurt the eredivisie in terms of overall poiints collections for european tabbles, Ajax knows how to play UCL, Feyenoord and PSV.......... i dont think so, i only hope to not see a humiliating defeat.

[Koal-84]

Can AZ make the miracle and win in AJAX home?.

The match has now ended in a draw, for Ajax the draw is definitely better than for AZ. Ajax has gained some breathing space, there are still 3 games to play and third place should be Ajax's goal, even if third place cannot be Ajax's ambition.

[shogun47]

What a game we have ahead.

Can AZ make the miracle and win in AJAX home?.
~snip

so far, so good, it looks like AZ has some chances to win tonight, goalless on halftime, lot to play in second half, Ajax looks as better team, but AZ has their chances as well
PSV secured another win, and they are step closer to secure position two in the league
Feyenoord is facing Excelsior tomorrow, but I don't expect from them to miss points there, although it is an important match for Excelsior too, they are on the edge of relegation

I think this was most likely the last chance for Alkmaar to get into European qualifiers. Ajax goal stats are much better, so equal points won't be enough, but it isn't likely that Ajax will lose lots of points. The next game is against Groningen where anything but a win would be a shock.

But there is no way that Ajax can be satisfied if they can't play in the Champions League. Now will PSV lose any points? That is also not very likely except for the game away against Alkmaar, but a lot of things would have to happen in order for Ajax to still qualify for the CL. Starting in the Conference League is a huge disappointment given that they did play a strong role in the CL for quite some time.

Yes i think it was the last train for AZ, a really strange goalless game.

Yes Ajax out of UCL its pretty damn big, and aside of being good to change the teams who play UCL sometimes, i think this can hurt the eredivisie in terms of overall poiints collections for european tabbles, Ajax knows how to play UCL, Feyenoord and PSV.......... i dont think so, i only hope to not see a humiliating defeat.

Yes this is quite an important argument although I think that as of now Feyenoord and PSV are no worse than Ajax. Ajax has always been fighting with losing their best players. It is a known practice for a very long time, but Ajax can't really do anything about it. Now the issue is that if they don't even play in the Champions League anymore, they have less to offer to any players they would like to sign or keep for a few years. So domestically, it is always nice to see a change, internationally it could not be an advantage for the Eredivisie. That's quite different in other leagues as they have more ranks that qualify for the CL.

[Zackgeno96]

Feyenoord still booked a simple victory today, even if it was not very convincing what they showed. But victory has never been in jeopardy. Ajax is lucky that it played 0-0 against AZ yesterday, so they still have 3rd place. And that really seems to be the maximum achievable at the moment. The gap with PSV is much too big at the moment, so a nice starting point for PSV, which is secretly having a great season. Becoming 2nd and thus qualifying for the CL, in combination with winning the super cup and also winning the national cup. That's actually a really good season. Feyenoord was simply too good for everyone this season.

[Koal-84]

Feyenoord still booked a simple victory today, even if it was not very convincing what they showed. But victory has never been in jeopardy. Ajax is lucky that it played 0-0 against AZ yesterday, so they still have 3rd place. And that really seems to be the maximum achievable at the moment. The gap with PSV is much too big at the moment, so a nice starting point for PSV, which is secretly having a great season. Becoming 2nd and thus qualifying for the CL, in combination with winning the super cup and also winning the national cup. That's actually a really good season. Feyenoord was simply too good for everyone this season.

Feyenoord played an outstanding season this year and deserved to be champions. Ajax played an outstanding season last year, but the many departures, including the coach, was too much for Ajax. So Ajax has to strengthen itself for next year to be able to fight for the title again, at the moment it is not possible.

[BitcoinAccepted]

It is also remarkable how fit the Feyenoord players are. In which there are many injuries at other top teams and other teams, and players have to be changed in the last quarter, the players of Feyenoord are not bothered by this. The credits can only go to 1 person and that is to Arne Slot who was able to make a really great team. However, a number of players will leave abroad, which are unsustainable. But the biggest problem is that Arne Slot, the current trainer of Feyenoord, is probably unstoppable. Everyone wants him at the moment, it is no coincidence that he has achieved so much success with Feyenoord. Chelsea would be a very good club for him and he can compete for the title in England with that player material.

[Docnaster]

Excelsior is just 10 points away from the relegation Zone.  They may likely not fall further but their performance today wasn't bad if I am to judge from the state of their opponent. Feyenoord this season is the best team in Netherlands Eredivisie. They have lose just once out of 31 matches played, and has been a to 23 making 76 points in all. I wasn't expecting feyenoord to undergo a tough time before winning tho match but Excielsor was a hard not for them. In all 9 on target attempts recorded in the match, Excelsor we're able to make 4 but we're unlucky to convert any into goal. This time around, it was a struggling winning for Feyenoord.

[Jossque]

There are 3 weeks left of the season and Feyenoord has managed to maintain the point difference with its rival.There is now 8 points difference with its closest rival PSV and this is a difference that is difficult to close.Feyenoord will officially declare its championship if it gets 2 draws or one more win.Its opponent is in the play-out pot and this match was important for them.

[Zackgeno96]

Edwin van der Sar (director of Ajax) has indicated that he will leave if Ajax has to play the Conference League. Would he fulfill that promise? Several names have already been mentioned for Ajax's new trainership, but which one is concrete? There appears to be some old soreness between van der Sar and Peter Bosz, and that seems to be the main reason that he will not be a coach of Ajax. What Marc Overmars did was of course scandalous, but maybe it is a good step to bring him back. If he wants to leave Antwerp, of course, because he enjoys working there. Ajax is a house of cards that collapses every time, they can save the season somewhat by qualifying for the EL, but that is also a bad performance.

[Slow death]

well, everything seems to be going as I predicted, PSV will finish second as I predicted before, unfortunately this season ajax is very bad, I don't know if this has something to do with not having many good players this season or if it has something to do with the coach but it is a fact that ajax this season are unrecognizable, and even quite regrettable. according to this article I read:

This means that next season the Eredivisie champion and the runner-up will qualify for the group stage of the Champions League.

source: https://nltimes.nl/2023/04/14/extra-champions-league-spot-netherlands-sportings-loss

this means that this season PSV will have to work hard to get a place in the champions league group stage, so even if they finish in second place they will still have a long way to go to enter the champions league, and ajax can only conform to the Europa League, next season the first two teams will already be guaranteed that they will enter the Champions League and the third will still have to play preliminary rounds. not bad, ajax in this deplorable state also won't make it far in the europa league unless there are radical changes in the squad, which i haven't seen any big signs yet that will happen and another big problem for ajax is that the teams that qualify for champions league start soon with 15.64 million euros as compensation

this means that Feyenoord will have more money to sign more players, which means that they will be able to remain strong to the point that they will also win the league next season and if PSV also manage to enter the champions league in the group stage then they will also be good budget that they can manage to get some good player and with that they will remain at a good level, which would allow them to finish at the top or in the second position, ajax is in a situation where they will have to make changes to be able to compete with the two teams in the top and since ajax won't have money coming from the champions league, they could only count on money that they give in the europa league

[casperBGD]

~snip
this means that Feyenoord will have more money to sign more players, which means that they will be able to remain strong to the point that they will also win the league next season

really doubt this, I think that Feyenoord has been one season wonder, strike is far from expected
Ajax/PSV have long been on top, and I think one from those two will regain title next season, this one seems as already finished

could be that Feyenoord pass group stage in CL next season, but doubt that as well, even top teams from Germany/France have troubles to pass group stage when accidentally take title or group stage positions (Lille, Eintracht, Marseille or similar, but Leicester as well)