Comments on: The Verdict on ten Cate http://ajax.theoffside.com/team-news/the-verdict-on-ten-cate.html News from Ajax Amsterdam Dutch football team Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:11:31 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Jon http://ajax.theoffside.com/team-news/the-verdict-on-ten-cate.html#comment-148 Jon Mon, 05 May 2008 16:14:38 +0000 http://ajax.theoffside.com/team-news/the-verdict-on-ten-cate.html#comment-148 HtC was kind of a throw-away manager to me. Certainly not great, but not the worst manager either (except for the European failures). My two lasting memories of him will be : 1) his ineptitude at working the transfer market (as you rightly point out), and 2) his seeming uncomfortableness at being the main guy in the spotlight (his personality and history seem such that he's much more at ease and happy when he's an assistant manager instead of the manager). One caveat... Part of the horrible transfer activity is HtC's fault, but part is simply Ajax regressing as far as scouting. It wasn't too long ago that Ajax was scouting, identifying, and signing 18-19 year-olds from Scandanavia, northern Europe, eastern Europe, even Africa, who had some quality ability and tons of potential, and over the course of a few seasons Ajax could get that out of them. Now Ajax resorts to signing mid-late 20s players who are only average and aren't going to get any better and will never improve the team (Colin, Luque, etc.). We know the teenagers with potential are still out there because AZ, PSV, etc., even Heerenveen, still seem to be finding them, so there has just been a fundamental failure at Ajax in recent years in terms of scouting and having the ability to find the young, small diamonds in the rough. Part of the recent transfer ineptitude is HtC's fault (Urzaiz... ugh!), but part is simply an overall regressive breakdown in the club's network. It'll be very interesting to watch Marco at work over the next year. HtC was kind of a throw-away manager to me. Certainly not great, but not the worst manager either (except for the European failures). My two lasting memories of him will be : 1) his ineptitude at working the transfer market (as you rightly point out), and 2) his seeming uncomfortableness at being the main guy in the spotlight (his personality and history seem such that he’s much more at ease and happy when he’s an assistant manager instead of the manager).

One caveat…

Part of the horrible transfer activity is HtC’s fault, but part is simply Ajax regressing as far as scouting. It wasn’t too long ago that Ajax was scouting, identifying, and signing 18-19 year-olds from Scandanavia, northern Europe, eastern Europe, even Africa, who had some quality ability and tons of potential, and over the course of a few seasons Ajax could get that out of them. Now Ajax resorts to signing mid-late 20s players who are only average and aren’t going to get any better and will never improve the team (Colin, Luque, etc.). We know the teenagers with potential are still out there because AZ, PSV, etc., even Heerenveen, still seem to be finding them, so there has just been a fundamental failure at Ajax in recent years in terms of scouting and having the ability to find the young, small diamonds in the rough. Part of the recent transfer ineptitude is HtC’s fault (Urzaiz… ugh!), but part is simply an overall regressive breakdown in the club’s network.

It’ll be very interesting to watch Marco at work over the next year.

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