Aftermath
If you read the room coming out of a drab draw at Go Ahead Eagles, the club mood was flat and filled with despair. There are cries for action. There is not a lot of progression off the pitch in regards to a new technical director.
John Heitinga wants to know if he’s staying or not. Hey a man needs to know okay? ‘Do I book a holiday now or wait for the sack? Oh well’.
🚨 – Heitinga: "Of course I want to remain in charge as head coach. I enjoy this job every day. But the picture for next year does have to be perfect." [@MikeVerweij] pic.twitter.com/hwNuaj3eoP
— 𝐀𝐅𝐂 𝐀𝐉𝐀𝐗 💎 (@TheEuropeanLad) April 4, 2023
Clearly a lot of confusion exists. No clarity. That’s the drama off the pitch. On the pitch: we still don’t know how Ajax play? They are so inconsistent in style of play and team structure. The fans are angry.
Nothing would cheer them up more than a place in a cup final. It would give them hope of trying to gain silverware from an woeful season that has seen two managers and an embarrassing exit from European cup football.
What next?
Ajax can register a place in the KNVB Beker final at De Kuip. However, here come Feyenoord. If it lives up to the hype, then we are in for a cracker.
Feyenoord have been in scintillating European form where they slapped seven goals into the Shakthar Donetsk back net.
It is just as good as their league form where they cemented hopes of a Eredivisie title victory thanks to a 3-1 victory in Rotterdam as well as Ajax bottling a tight game last week.
Team news
Devyne Rensch will miss the semi final against Feyenoord because he has still not recovered from his thigh injury.
🚨 – Devyne Rensch is OUT for the game vs Feyenoord. John Heitinga is expected to most likely start Jorge Sánchez again. [@MikeVerweij] pic.twitter.com/tTQJDl8j69
— 𝐀𝐅𝐂 𝐀𝐉𝐀𝐗 💎 (@TheEuropeanLad) April 4, 2023
Heitinga also confirmed Ahmetcan Kaplan is ruled out for rest of the season while Steven Bergwijn is able to play.
Arne Slot may be hesitant to change a winning side after they beat Rotterdam on Sunday. Oussamma Idrissi is coming back from suspension and could feature on the left flank.
Timon Wellenreuther will start in goal while first choice keeper Justin Bijlow, remains injured with a fractured wrist. Wellenreuther will be brimming with confidence after saving a penalty in their last fixture.
Feyenoord
They are top of the table. They are pretty much going through the motions before actually winning the title. Ajax are the closest to disturbing the peace but it’s unlikely with the woeful form they are in.
That woeful form also takes out a tiny bit of the sting of this De Klassieker. However, a league cup would do wonders for Heitinga’s chances of staying permanent during the summer.
SPECIAL 📽️
Back in the days: beker-Klassiekers 🏆#feyaja
— Feyenoord Rotterdam (@Feyenoord) April 3, 2023
Feyenoord are unbeaten in 19 games in all competitions. They have not lost a single game at home this season.
How do Ajax win this? Feyenoord have a shot direction 65% down the middle as opposed to the flanks. It might be worth keeping a narrow compact block and getting a man to stay on the half way line while Tadic pings ball through on the transition.
This is it.
The manager and players sit in unison in confusion. Do all the fans a favour and make a decent game of it!
It would be better to go down fighting than from tripping and falling off a mountain of excuses.