Ajax frustrated in Groningen

OK, first of all let me apologize for not writing anything recently. Living in DC during the Obama inauguration, and a period of freezing temperatures combined with general laziness and an awful internet connection has proved to be too much for me to write anything. I've been a bad Ajax fan and I admit it, I haven't seen a match in a long time, mostly b/c of said internet problems, but still inexcusable!

So Sunday's match was not a great one apparently. The red card party continued, even van Basten was sent off. I always like to see coaches getting fired up though. Ajax now sit 6 points behind AZ with a tough match at Heerenveen coming up on Saturday. AZ is stronger than a lot of people (including myself) expected them to be. After starting off the season with two questionable losses (3-0 to ADO?!?) , Louis van Gaal's boys stormed to the top of the standings and have not been beaten since. As nice as it is to see the wide open Eredivisie standings this year with PSV a full 15 points off the pace, everybody expected to see Ajax fill the void and play the way that AZ is playing right now. Saturday's match is a must-win, with AZ playing 13th place Sparta, an Ajax loss will most likely mean falling 9 points off the pace, which might as well be Mt. Everest at this point of the season. Not to mention a damn good team from Enschede that sits just one point back of Ajax!

Ajax sign Wielaert

Ajax and FC Twente have agreed to terms on the transfer of 30 year old Tukkers captain Rob Wielaert to the ArenA until at least June 2011. This is a great signing that will add even more stability and depth to a back line that has only given up 1 goal in the last 4 Eredivise matches and just now seems to be playing well. To me this exemplifies how Danny Blind is becoming one of the better talent managers in the Eredivisie. Blind has managed to pull together one hell of a lineup with enough depth at almost every level to overcome a myriad of injuries this year and stay near the top of the Eredivisie.
Its back to the Eredivisie grind for the boys this weekend after a few days in Portugal that included a 3-2 friendly loss to Stuttgart (that, according to more than one Ajax player would have been a win if not for numerous off-sides calls). Ajax gets the 2nd half of this years campaign kicked off in Nijmegen on Sunday...hopefully Wielaert's first match in an Ajax uniform?

Kanu rumour alive again?

Ok..ok..not the most credible source, but my news ticker picked up this story from African news website This Day:

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=132285

The "Kanu returning to his roots" transfer rumour has been floating around for years now, and never seems to get very far, but I did actually see this posted on a few other news sites as well, so maybe there is some merit to it? Sounds like a pretty cool deal to me, a tall striker (6' 5" to be exact) is always helpful, something that Ajax is clearly lacking right now.

Side Note: I watched the Liverpool FA Cup match this weekend and Ryan Babel looked AWFUL...the guy has zero confidence. The announcers were even making fun of him. Ryan, its time to move on...