What Marco Needs to Learn

The major criticism of Marco right now is also perhaps the most obvious: he has not managed the men at his disposal very well. And, coming from a man who regularly gets high marks in “man management” on FM, this means something. Here are a few of Marco’s greatest hits so far, but I’ll skip to the payoff before the break: If MvB can learn from his mistakes, we have no need to speak of his dismissal.

1> Naming his captain was a mistake even at the time, and it is even worse now. His choice was not an established leader and was even publicly considering moving elsewhere. Everyone instantly knew what this move was about: stroking an ego in hopes of keeping it around. And no one really expected it to work. The result: no one stepped up to be a leader after Heitinga left, and now we are really without even a plausible choice for captain.

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.

Category: Team News

Tags: Team News

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