For those who don’t know what all the hype is about….(Some clips)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgUn4RrL9Ic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qW8HaqpatNo&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgUn4RrL9Ic&feature=related

This week is a big week for us. We have Dinamo Zagreb this Thursday in an important Europa League fixture, and AZ this weekend. Although AZ have been suffering from an crisis, they are still the Champions and hopefully we can take also manage to do what Twente and PSV (and alot of other clubs lol) have done this season and that is beat AZ. I like the work Jol has been doing with the boys, and hopefully we can built on our momentum and keep pushing in these more difficult fixtures. I’m more worried about Dinamo than AZ, I suspect Arsenal to serve them a ass-kicking on a silver platter later on today and for us to handle them as well. But Dinamo, they are just a dreadful team to play against. I think when they are organized and healthy, they could destruct many teams in Europe. So here is hoping for the best, hopefully our fans come out and support as well, because believe me we are going to need it, if Suarez can’t find the back of the goal this Thursday. So come on Ajax, make me proud!!

Luis Suárez. Our light in a dark room, that continues to shine and bring Ajax to new levels. Martin Jol has made him captain this season, and he continues to amaze and enlighten everyone with his wonderful performances. He has scored most of Ajax’s goals this season 12 goals in the league, and several others in the Europa League as well. I couldn’t be more pleased with his results, but this begs the question–what happens when light blows out in a dark room? You get darkness. When Suarez doesn’t score, Ajax doesn’t score. We have become entirely too dependent on his services, and although he tries to push Ajax and himself every week. It simply doesn’t work.

Players like Sulejmani, Marko Pantelic (Summer signing), and even Dario Cvitanich are simply not cutting it. Pantelic has proven to be quite the goalscorer for Hertha Berlin, but at Ajax has yet to make much impact on the game. Cvitanich tries and even though we long for another addition upfront, his effort is appreciated. Sulejmani has been a shadow of a player at Ajax, and has done little on the pitch to show anyone that he was worth his price-tag.

I started watching Ajax when I was about 4 years old, and I have been a fan ever since. The things that have made Ajax such a legendary club in the past need to be restored right now. You could always see pride on peoples faces when they witnessed players like Bergkamp and Kluivert excel at Ajax. What has made Ajax successful is its ability to pull its own talent, and try to build teams based on a specific philosophy. Honestly, one cannot be upset with the current situation and point fingers to Sulejmani/Cvitanich or even Pantelic for our current situation. We have to look at ourselves and specifically our youth academy, and the inability to rely on our domestic talent that has made us so weak in recent years.

It’s not all bad at Ajax though. Our patient board has managed to sign Martin Jol this summer. Martin Jol is the right person to bring out the best in our players, and with the right experience level has the trust of everyone associated with this club. We want stability, someone to grow with the club instead of changing coaches every season and Jol can bring that to Ajax. Then there is the signing of Demy De Zeeuw. He has become such a catalyst for us this season, and I couldn’t be happier with this signing. He’s just such a natural leader and with him playing every week at Ajax, things have been alright for our club. And lastly, our defense has been solid this season. Jol has added Toby Alderweireld in our defense, and his partnership with Vertonghen has been excellent so far. Hopefully they can both stay healthy, and continue to hold down our central defense for most of this season. So who knows what this season will bring, I’m just happy to be a fan of the best club in the world.

It’s not a paid position, but it’s definitely a lot of fun. We have a very popular Oranje blog so there’s definitely an opportunity for someone to write for a large Ajax-loving audience here.

If interested, please read our blogging guidelines and then send an email to daryl[at]theoffside[dot]com

First, watch this…

Question #1> Which of the two players involved in the substitution at the 2:30 will still be with Ajax after this summer? If you think the answer is easy, look again at who is being replaced and note the time in the match.
>> Bonus points for anyone who can hatch a plan to ensure that opposing teams can only field U-21 players when they play us. This is the only way we will ever see Evander Sno live up to his potential, I suppose. If Sepp can make 6+5 happen, MvB should look into it for the sake of his U-21 all star.)

Question #2> Can you hear Wielart call “shinguard” when striking the ball at 2:50? If you can’t, the goal does not count. (Sorry, I realize this joke probably only makes sense to Americans who grew up playing pick-up basketball.)
>> Bonus points for creating the proper celebratory ritual for a goal that comes in this manner.

Question #3> In the goal scored by ADO, which Ajax defender is at fault?
A: Greg van der Wiel
B: Wielart
C: Vermaelen
D: Oleguer
E: whoever it was, it beats the hell out of Sammie Kuffour.
>> Bonus points for correctly guessing where the two dudes at 3:32 went on their date that night. Hint: Neither one of them is me.

Question #4> Which Ajacied is seen with the flashy dribbling down the touchline at the 6:24 mark?
(Even the guys who edited the video seemed to think it was Leonardo, as he makes the final scene. I watched it several times before I realized it wasn’t. Sorry, Miralem, but I guess if I can’t tell you apart from a Brazilian, you should probably just shave that patchy scruff off.)

If you even watched the video, give yourself 5 points. On a four point quiz. Dreadful.

* The asterisk will remain as a tribute and harbinger to the inevitable AZ late-season/final matchday collapse. Oh yes, it will come.

Domestic competition has also seen a recovery. Volendam and FC Utrecht might not be the highest grade opponents, but solid victories in matches that were never really in doubt are welcome. Whatever was in the water against Vitesse seems to have passed.

Of course, I am not sure you can chalk it all up to inexperience growing up. We have seen a lot more of Kennedy with a little Leonardo for good measure. Eyong Enoh has reappeared, and Sulejmani is beginning to look more settled (and hello, Vurnon Anita). MvB may be closer to getting a grip on what resources he has available and how best to use them. Regardless of his skill level, getting the right eleven onto the pitch to hold the line against Fiorentina was vital. Full credit to him.

So, is the “crisis” or even “mini-crisis” over? Are we sleeping any better? Three points behind Twente and a dozen behind AZ may not be the best place, but our present form may be a forecast of better standings ahead.

And, while you are commenting, tell me which Ajacied has been most responsible for this resurgence.

Others see it as an embarrassing venue to be seen visiting, like the celebrity after-party that the papparazzi do not surround. Just going there reveals to the world (that is not watching) that you are way off your A-game and may never be “it” again. It would be better to stay home, presumably to focus on some domestic competition (in football or in Hollywood, the metaphor works).

Winning the UEFA Cup is a stretch right now looking at our form, but making a run at it would not be too bad. Actually, I think it might be the best thing for us in the long and short term. Marco obviously has not figured out who his best 11 are, and he could certainly use more matches with some intensity to start to figure it out. Maybe we could answer questions like “Are Kennedy and Leonardo really rubbish?” or “What might happen if I give Urby 90 full minutes?” or even “Is Wielart an improvement over the pairing of Vermaelen and Oleguer?” And, with Aissati due back in about a week or two, we are going to need to evaluate how the midfield needs to operate. Mixing in the injury plagued ones (Aissati, Enoh, de Jong) with the recently injured ones (Gabri) as well as the young ones (Anita) is going to take time. I still have not seen three guys who look like they are on the same page, and more matches to sort it out would be nice for Marco.

If we manage a win against F*word, it may be the case that no one really cares outside of Rotterdam and Amsterdam. The match has no immediate implications for the title (although relegation…). This strikes at the problem: Ajax fans have to care in spite of the fact that no one else may validate us. If Ajax loses this pride and confidence, the loss would be more devastating than any result on the pitch.

And so I give you my best case scenario, which, coincidentally, is also my prediction:
Ajax 3 – 0 F*word
Suarez 6′
Suarez 26′
Cvitanich 72′ (he’s due, right?)

Ajax returns, finishes 4 points shy of a title.

Next week, assuming my apocalyptic scenarios don’t play out and you all still care, we are going to talk about Wielart, our next captain, and Cvitanich and the #9.

2> On a team full of young players, you simply have to let them grow up. MvB has not shown the patience necessary to let the next Wes Sneijder develop. The midfield especially has been a revolving door. Take Eyong Enoh, for instance. At one point, he was the next Ajax star from Cape Town, a claim based on his superior physical attributes rather than his experience. While the former never let him down, the latter did. Now, we rarely see him. The same can be said for Siem de Jong and a host others. (The one exception here is Greg vd Weil. He is fluorishing, although I suspect this is because he has no real competition at his position).

3> Even more experienced performers are being jerked around. We all have seen Gabri contribute the solid and often surprising performance over the years. Now, he is swapped out of the lineup so often that his stabilizing influence is negated. Urby Emmanuelson might have some positional issues, but I have never seen him so demoralized. Play him! How is he going to adjust to a new position when he is always taken off the pitch when he makes a mistake?

In sum, MvB needs to relax and pay attention to the players at hand. He is acting like this is not a rebuilding year, endlessly tinkering and shelving promising players trying to keep pace with a runaway leader. If I ever seriously believed Ajax would win the title this year, it was because I expected a wide open race with no front-runner. Since this is not the case, our priorities should be ensuring European competition through a respectable finish and blooding the youngsters.

It remains to be seen if MvB will feel like he can do so (assuming he is capable). If he loses this weekend, then the practice-time pitch invasion might be the tip of the iceberg. A win, however, may set the side (and the fans) on the right track.