It’s All About Trust
By: Matt | May 13th, 2008
FC Twente must really be flying high. They have not lost to Ajax this season, and they stand with a 2-1 advantage after the first leg of the playoffs. Unlike a few teams in the Eredivisie, they do not seem intimidated by the Amsterdam giants. They are so bold right now, they might even publicly announce a move for Ajax’s manager. Which is exactly what they did.
According to this story, Twente wuold love for Adrie Koster to take over as manager after Fred Rutten leaves at the end of the season. Koster has already been notified that he will still have a job at Ajax under van Basten, but the chance to run a squad rather than merely train one might be tempting. Especially if Twente manages to qualify for some CL football. But to do that they would have to beat… wait a minute… I smell a rat.
The timing of this is absolutely disgusting. I cannot think of a worse possible moment to break this news, even if Twente is absolutely serious. If they do want Koster, and they hire him, let’s hope Ajax wins this weekend for Koster’s sake. Otherwise his credibility and respect from the fans will be tarnished. And worse than that, if Twente is just playing mind-games, it is incredibly disrespectful of a manager who probably deserves such an opportunity. If they do not hire him, everyone will think it was merely a build-up mindgame.
As for me, I trust Koster. Even if the talks are serious, he will do everything he can to ensure Ajax advances to CL next season. He has been a loyal part of the club for more than a few years, and the faith they showed in him extending his caretaker status to the end of the season will be rewarded. (And he probably realizes that, despite their strong showing, Twente probably belongs in the UEFA Cup anyway.) I just worry about the worst-case scenario for his career. Should Ajax lose, and Twente hire him, Koster will have to wonder what people think about the deal. And surely some extra protection on his first trip to the Arena would be justified then.
I really hope Koster stays so I can continue trying to classify his haircut. Right now, I would say that it is the Dutch equivalent of the mullet. But he is also strikingly similar to a classic Skywalker. I need more time.
No word about a completed deal yet for Sulejmani. Ajax might be waiting until after this weekend, hoping that Rommdahl won’t start getting nervous. Or it could be that agents talk hopelessly out of turn. I keep reading reports about PSV selling Ismael Aissati. Ajax tried to get him as a replacement for Sneijder but failed. We would certainly be interested again. But so would a lot of people. I saw Valencia and Sevilla on a short list. Stiff competition, but we could guarantee him that he would play more in Amsterdam. If I am a 19 year-old playmaker, I would be looking to move where I could make plays rather than sit on a bench…
Category: Team News
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Comments
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The same Ajax stated it wants to sign 2 new players. They announced this right beforet he 2 matches with Twente. This would be fine, if these 2 players were not actually Twente players and the core of the Twente team.
What is it again ‘two can play this game’ ? Or ‘What goes around comes around’ ?
Ajax has used this strategy before and it seems they are now finally beaten at their own game….
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