What On Earth Is Going On At Ajax?

Ajax are the biggest and most successful football club in the Netherlands, and among the biggest and most successful in Europe, having won the Champions League or European Cup more times than Manchester United and Juventus.
In 2019, Ajax were seconds away from another Champions League final, but now the club sits 14th in the Eredivisie, they just lost the biggest game in Dutch football 4-0 against Feyenoord, in a match which had to be abandoned due to supporter unrest, and a major crisis has ensued.
So in this documentary, HITC Sevens takes a look at the rise and fall of Ajax in recent years, where things have gone so horribly wrong, and how it has been allowed to happen.

[@BrianStorm742]

Last season, Ajax didn't win a single Eredivisie game against PSV, Feyenoord or AZ Alkmaar for the first time ever. And if you count their loss on penalties in the Cup final as a loss, they're on a 5-game losing streak against PSV. It's bizarre to witness.

[@goldenflower5035]

You forgot fc twente.

[@BrianStorm742]

@@goldenflower5035 yeah but they're not usually considered in that statistic.

[@goldenflower5035]

@@BrianStorm742 we should be. Fct no4 club historically

[@actie-reactie]

Yeah, but you forgot to mention that losing to psv is actually quite normal for ajax.....

[@BrianStorm742]

@@actie-reactie in the Eredivisie (well, and the JC Shield) PSV does have a net positive balance against Ajax, the only club that can say that. But still, if you'd said this 3 years ago, you'd have been ridiculed.

[@youngsterliam2.089]

The fact that a 17-year-old is currently our best player says enough about the current situation of the club.

[@erbyenbe6586]

true but it also says a lot about that 17 year old

[@ghandibanks]

That means the development is still good and that 17 year old is extremely talented tbh.

[@silvesta5027]

Who is the player?

[@jonashh1952]

@@silvesta5027 Jorrel Hato, he's also mentioned near the end of the video. Very exciting talent

[@neliz2k]

@@erbyenbe6586 he's not great, not even good for eredivisie standards, he's just the best ajax player.

[@bababababababa6124]

I feel like half of all teams in Europe deserve a “what is going on at ____” video 😂😂everyone is flopping this season

[@johnmitchell2269]

Standards keep going up. It's not easy for clubs like Ajax, Chelsea and Man Utd anymore. Wins now take strong all round performances for the full match. In the past clubs like Man Utd could play rubbish for 80 mins and still get a draw. Those days are long gone now.

[@bababababababa6124]

@@johnmitchell2269 facts, these once dominant clubs are getting a rude awakening

[@carrauntoohil86]

​@@bababababababa6124yet the dominant clubs still dominate. Let's not kid ourselves that football is healthy. 30/40 years ago a Derby, Nottingham Forest or Aston Villa could win the English top flight. Bar Leicester, which was a miracle, there are only a handful of clubs who can realistically win the league and the rest are just there for the ride and money

[@popajajkula2930]

Fr, lyon, Roma, Ajax, Chelsea, Sevilla... a lot of big clubs from many different leagues flopping this season

[@deborahluck539]

You’ve got that right 😂😂😂

[@johnmitchell2269]

Imagine if you were in charge of the signings at Ajax. Knowing that every summer your best players will all leave and you have a limited budget to replace them with. Sounds like a nightmare to me.

[@LeeTAZ-sl7de]

It's not just losing 1 maybe 2 players, they have been ransacked the past 2 summer windows, including losing there manager and all his coaching staff, Overmars was forced our and very recently lost Van Der Saar due to health reasons.

[@josecipriano3048]

Losing Ten Hag was a blessing, though.

[@johnmitchell2269]

@@josecipriano3048 Yeah 14th in the league, clearly that helped.

[@thunder_claw]

It helps a little when those players leave for huge fees which can be pumped back into upcoming talent.

[@daarom3472]

Ajax have done fine replacing leaving stars for the last 10 years. But as soon as Overmars left it got worse. Mislintat played fifa career mode signing "high potential" players from terrible leagues. He underestimated the level of play(ers) that are required to play the Ajax style.

[@johnbakker4828]

As an Ajax fan, I have to compliment you on the research you must have done for this video. You pretty much got everything spot on without leaving out anything important.

[@markordynamics376]

Alfie is Top Tier straight facts

[@khaldrago911]

Bruh, the tl;dr is that Ajax got effed because of some whiny chick getting a stud manager fired.

[@odinsky7]

@@khaldrago911 his fault tho

[@Your_disney]

@@khaldrago911 You are right, when overmars left Ajax (he was ofcourse fired) everything went hell real slowly. But this idiot was sending dickpics etc... how stuppid can you be, to risk your job and family like that. So it was his own fault. Stuppid asshole, He was so good for Ajax, Look at the succes Ajax had because of him And now he doing it in Belgium with Antwerp, Made them Champion in his first year, and won the Belgium cup too, and this year won the Belgium super cup. O yeah, he is making profit the club, selling players for €16 million. The record of the club before that was only €4 million. That's what Overmars also did in Amsterdam with Ajax, but then bigger numbers €86 million Frenkie de Jong FC Barcalona, over €85 million Matthijs De ligt to Juventus, Hakim Ziyech €40 million to Celsea, Donny van de Beek about € 39 million to Man United and these are only a few examples. The idiot made Ajax alot of money and gave them also nice national and european success. He is just getting started with Antwerp, the problem is that Antwerp has not got a youth academy like Ajax, so he needs to be creative Buying great players for a low price, make them better and sell them for a bigggggggg profit, And Overmars can do this like no other. Hopefully Louis van Gaal can find another Marc Overmars that can do his magic but then without the dickpics, hahahaha

[@ingolf82]

@@khaldrago911 Overmars is a pervert, no matter how successful you are in life, there is no excuse to send perverted pictures of your schlong to anyone, especially if they didn't ask for it. He might have been brilliant at his job, but so is Bobby Kotick. If you don't know who Bobby is, google will tell you. He's also a very hated man.

[@bruuuuuuuhh]

Santiago Gimenez really just made Ajax ragequit

[@nleak92]

If the 1st game wasn't abandoned Santi would have had another 2 goals at least. It should have been 6-0 for Feyenoord

[@franze4]

overrated ass argentine really giving mexicans hope our team will be good🤣

[@mao_de_vaca]

​@@nleak92 Your comment aged fine like wine

[@TiagoFerreira-zp9gi]

You keep using Brighton as the only example outside of Ajax that can survive after losing so many players. Benfica has done it for the last 10 years, repeatedly.

[@franze4]

brighton and benfica on their respective leagues arent comparable😂benfica have been decent in the last few years in europe but not Ajax good (only last season sort of) even when they knocked Ajax out. it wasnt too long ago they were finishing last in a group with basel and cska moscow

[@TiagoFerreira-zp9gi]

@@franze4 And? Is Brighton playing Champions League regularly? Do you know the amount of players that Benfica sold in those 10 years?

[@maciejbala477]

wasn't the only example here. Just an example. But yes, many clubs have done it. Ajax's chief mistake was letting so many players leave so quickly

[@bimapriyoanugerah363]

He is British. What did you expect? Did you expect him take a example from African team?

[@TheRealAhoy]

Have Brighton even survived yet? Yeah, they're doing great right now, but it's only been a season. They could do the unlikely and actually keep improving from here or just be the latest club that turned heads for a while then flittered back into anonymity. Brighton are nowhere near spoken of in the same vein as Benfica.

[@Shamrock-Rover]

As a Dutch guy, with a dad who supports Ajax and me who follows every football news in Holland, I have to say this is a great video!! Very complete and well done in terms of research! Keep up the good work!👌🏻👌🏻

[@Shamrock-Rover]

Also, I support FC Volendam! Also a bit chaotic there. A club from a village, the Director is a famous singer, and a very successful and international known trainer (Wim Jonk) stepped down as a manager to become TD! Although, Volendam might not be so interesting for content as it's not a big club... Fun club though

[@LN_997]

Unrelated but I see you have the shams crest as your avi. What drew you as a dutch guy to have an interest in the LOI?

[@Shamrock-Rover]

@@LN_997 I've always liked Ireland! Love the country, the nature, the people, Dublin, the culture, the pubs, the music, Guinness and much more! I've been in Ireland multiple times as my ex-girlfriend lived there! The country has a really special vibe I don't feel anywhere else... Everytime I went there (while living in Holland), it felt like coming home! Or a second home hahaha! Then I started following Shamrock Rovers FC because of Jack Byrne, who has played in Holland. A great technical player, who I really liked to watch! Then I started careers on multiple Football Manager-games with them and that made me like the club even more!!!

[@MartijnterHaar]

There's a third player that is responsible for the mess: Edwin van der Sar, who was a very weak general director. He was way too passive, like when he kept the technical director position open for way too long after Overmars's dismissal, and when he did something, it was usually not good. The worst thing is when he cancelled celebrations for the women's team becoming champions, because "the fans weren't feeling it after the disappointing results of the men's team". Mind you: this was after the Overmars scandal, which he knew about and led fester before it came out. Van der Sar had a stroke this summer, which nearly killed him, which means he had to resign. And although Mislintat may be a literal fraud (Stuttgart is looking into his transfers now as well), he had a point regarding Steijn, who consistently puts players in positions they weren't bought for and then complains in public how hard is job is with all the crappy players Mislintat gave him. Put yourself in the position of a 20-something who moves abroad for the first time for a new job, only to be called a talentless hack in front of the entire nation by your new boss. Not professional at least. This has lead to senior players publicly putting his qualities in doubt, which usually isn't a good sign for a head coach.

[@roshendysirvania8990]

Not better said

[@erikthehalfabee6234]

Van der Sar was also the club president or General director when ajax almost reached the final of the champions league

[@Mr_Strawberry1000]

Schreuder…

[@TheThijsyy]

Grotendeels eens maar Van der Sar had z'n hersenbloeding nadat hij stopte. Hij heeft dus niet moeten vertrekken. En aangezien je verhaal verder helemaal klopt denk ik dat je dit zelf ook wel weet en je daar dus goedkoop mee probeert te scoren. Dus ik heb aangifte gedaan van opzet, vermoeden van opzet want ik heb er geen bewijs voor natuurlijk.

[@lauranm2k939]

Van der Sar resigned before he had the stroke.

[@iainvos5534]

I remember when Postecoglu was mentioned for the job as well. Media and Ajax fans were just as dismissive, saying good results with a Scottish team was in no way enough to become manager of Ajax. Looking at Spurs I think they would have really liked him. For me the game between Ajax and Feyenoord this year will always go down as the game where an average playing Feyenoord beat their arch rivals so badly that the Ajax ultras got the game called off because they couldn't take a loss.

[@PaganMin-1966]

Now Ajax must be feeling regret not to get Postecoglu as their manager😂😂

[@bury_the_elite65294]

Melbourne Victory must also be wishing they could bring Ange back to the club (he won MVFC multiple A-League titles). As a player, and now as a coach, he modelled himself on the late, great Ferenc Puskas - his former coach at prominent Aussie side South Melbourne. (I'm both an Ajax & Victory fan btw).

[@DabDabGoose]

Ange at Ajax would of been magic, I'm very certain he would of taken it if actually offered too.

[@PaxBisonica89]

​​​@@PaganMin-1966not really, Pep couldn't make this team work either. It's a much much bigger problem

[@rockthahouse1]

​@@bury_the_elite65294Uhhh, no he didn't. Muscat won us (MVFC) those 2 A League titles.

[@philipmjaspers495]

33:43 him mentioning Bryan Brobbey as Ajax’s best talent just tells you how horrible of a situation they’re in right now

[@bury_the_elite65294]

He'd be the second best if Ajax signed Harry McGuire... LOL!!!! X-D

[@natestansbie3954]

get a lot of this comedian😂

[@toneserrano]

Forbs is their best talent

[@martinottesen1053]

I think Rosenborg BK from Norway could also deserve a "What on earth". The way that club has fallen from grace is fascinating and total

[@warbreakr]

Small update: Ajax just lost against Utrecht (16th place) due to a 90th minute goal making it 4-3 for Utrecht. This was after fans threw a cup on the field causing the match to be temporarily postponed. Long story short: Ajax is now 17th out of 18 and is in the direct relegation zone. A position that Ajax hasn't been in for a long long time.

[@rogink]

I read the report that the manager had been sacked yesterday, and then thought, I'm sure Alfie did one of his "what is going on..." videos on Ajax, which is why I'm here. I wonder what the odds were on that sacking...

[@warbreakr]

@@rogink Seemed inevitable although there were many voices such as old professional player Wesley Sneijder who put the blame outside the manager and said it wasn't his fault

[@thomaswiedner2524]

dead last now

[@warbreakr]

@@thomaswiedner2524 yeah never seen before

[@nikobellic570]

One of the biggest downfalls in European football

[@hishaam3786]

Problem for Ajax is they sold too many players without any proper replacement and Ten Hag's departure have opened the loophole and which is clearly visible right now plus recruitment team is very horrible

[@coyootje]

It's not just that, it's also that the entire Eredivisie is against them at this point. Where clubs like PSV and Feyenoord don't have too much trouble signing players from other clubs, Ajax almost can't do this due to clubs charging them 2 or 3 times their value. If you look at Wijndal, he was a decent player at AZ but Ajax had to pay 10 million to get him while he was probably worth 5 million at best. The same thing happens with incoming transfers from other clubs as well. As soon as they know you have money they'll start asking for more and more money. This is fine for a club in the Premier League but for a club like Ajax any player that was bought for more than 10 million needs to be ready to play, otherwise they'll quickly be labelled as a flop. Bassey is an example of this. I don't really know how to get out of this as a club but I hope they eventually do, otherwise it'll be a long while before they play at a decent level again.

[@wild4fp]

Good points. A good player will be sold to Prem or Liga for up to 60 mil if good. Ajax et al would want that money. Watching issues with Ajax is highlighting to me the issues of running a club in Dutch football.

[@hubblebublumbubwub5215]

​ @coyootje Wijndal at some point was worth 17 million on transfermarkt. Spending 10 million didn't seem so crazy at the time, he declined massively for whatever reason.

[@Anarchidi]

Its crazy that AEK can very possibly finish 1rst or 2nd in the Europa group of death

[@ezraezra2928]

It's possible, but Marseille is still the favorites. There is a rumour if the club will made a big changes, including plans to appoint former Real Madrid legend Zinedine Zidane.

[@lucaspieters2149]

@@ezraezra2928nah Brighton are definitely the favorites

[@ezraezra2928]

@@lucaspieters2149 I don't think they will go further. They just got knocked out in EFL Cup by weakened Chelsea and even got embarrassed 1-6 by Aston Villa. Marseille will still destroy hapless Brighton on Thursday night this week, despite being in crisis.

[@georgiosioannispappas]

​@@ezraezra2928 Enter Gennaro Gatuzzo instead.

[@olszi00]

I haven't watched the video yet so there's a chance I'm just replicating what you've said but coming from a huge Ajax fan based in Amsterdam I think there are three major issues which contributed to our "downfall" in recent years. Firstly, we did not replace the team leaders accordingly - the best example is Tadic's departure this summer. There seems to be a severe lack of leadership on the pitch, not helped by the fact that the current head coach is also not the most established name in Dutch or international football. Secondly, even though we spend money on new, promising signings there seems to be no pattern or plan when it comes to targeting new players - with lots of recent transfers looking like typical 'panic buys'. Also, while I generally praise signings of young, high-potential players, Ajax's transfers to me seem like we were playing Football Manager in real life - not necessarily the way to go in my honest opinion. Thirdly, Sven Mislintat - thank god he's gone. No transfer strategy, no identification with the club, the lack of support from the board - the list goes on and on. I won't be surprised if it takes us good 3-5 years to come back fighting for the Eredivisie, especially looking at how both PSV and Feyenoord are developing.

[@AntoniusTyas]

Ajax is my favourite Dutch team, so to see them in this kind of chaos is pretty shocking. Less Bayern of Eredivisie, more Hertha of Eredivisie now.

[@R4rd]

Good analysis. Especially the part about the club culture and its relationship with the press. The largest Dutch newspaper (Telegraaf) especially is usually involved in some campaign to influence the club. They were for example extremely critical of Erik Ten Hag. He was from the eastern part of the country and was therefore portrayed as a 'hillbilly' without 'Ajax-DNA'. The results under Ten Hag were awesome but Telegraaf, despite being extatic, never acknowledged it was partly his achievement as well. NOS, despite being a public broadcaster, has an unhealthy relationship with Ajax as well. I remember PSV becoming champions in 2016. The NOS late night football talkshow 'Studio Football' did not mention the title winners but was instead almost solely focused on how on earth it had been possible that Ajax had NOT become champions.

[@azza0911]

Great post Alfie. Just a shame the game after they played Feyenoord ended up being stopped too but this time due to a serious injury caused accidentally by Brian Brobbey. They cannot get a break ever since the Overmars scandal, Ten Hag is now showing the stress at Old Trafford and Van Der Sar then having his stroke. Could really see them in big trouble this season.

[@harsch123]

there there are thing I would like to add. Overmars, van de Sar, Danny Blind (then on the board of directors) and later ten Hag, had a suicide pact to gain power within the club. This is the foundation on which the success was built. Overmars needed than power to bring Henk Veldmate (a outsider) to de club, a former headscout from fc groningen how brought suarez to Europe. All the players from latin America came from his network. He is know technical director of fc groningen a club that also needs a video.

[@declangaming24]

How is ten haag involved

[@Maj1794]

It's crazy to think all of this downfall has happened so quickly 😳

[@EuroStacks]

Knew Alfie was gonna make a video about this. Cheers mate I already know it’s gonna be a great watch 🍻

[@chairmanalf7856]

My club, West Ham, have just signed two of their best players, Alvarez and Kudus. A few years ago this would have been nigh on impossible.

[@efrosvovelu9076]

You cunts have WAY to much money, even the championship clubs are spending 100+M every year after promotion. That’s insane

[@2fast4u_rms]

this just keeps getting better. i didnt think that was possible

[@calinmarian98]

Why not bringing in Cristian Chivu as head coach?He played for Ajax before Internazionale Milano.

[@KoosKansloos1908]

Im loving this so much it’s just to wonderful to witness to see ur bitter rivals collapsing so rapidly after our collapse a few years ago 😊

[@ReznoR85]

And it's needed for the Eredivisie as well. The League is better off without a single team ruling it. It's time for another run from Feyenoord or PSV as the strongest Dutch team.

[@KoosKansloos1908]

@@ReznoR85 I certainly hope Feyenoord can maintain there firm but it’s probably because ajax became bigger than the league that’s the reason ajax is failing now but stil Feyenoord Will be the best club in the nation

[@VincentTwente]

Coming from the east of the Netherlands I'm 100% Tukker backing FC Twente. However I love good football and used to admire Ajax, especially in 90's. (Skipping school to watch Ajax-Gremio) It's sad to see how more money causes more problems. I hope they recover quickly.

[@BrianStorm742]

Thank you for making this, I've wanted it for so long.

[@PaxBisonica89]

While most of the things mentioned here are 100% correct, there are some factors that also aren't in ajax's favor. The amazing comeback of feyenoord at the hands of football director Te Klouse and having arguably the most talented Dutch coach in Arne Slot who for a second season put together an incredible attacking who imo along side leverkussen are the most fun to watch teams in europe. AZ Alkmaar becoming steady title contenders the past 5 years and can be argued that they have the best youth academy atm in the. Netherlands (their youth team notably winning the CL last season)

[@dovahllin798]

Edson was the defensive backbone, without him it all crumbled

[@JamailvanWestering]

Ohh to put it simply, van Der Sar waited way too long fo get a replacement for Overmars (like 1.5 season) giving carte blanche to a guy that had lied during his interview (or not even reported)about possible conflicts of interest that may arise, who then brought in players from an agent who had bought shares from the company this director owned but who almost all of them played in the second tier in Germany. Also a lot of legends/former legends that were working at Ajax left because of Van Der Sar. So basically everything can be traced back to the apathy or lack of leadsrship while at the club

[@ginojansen2756]

I am really impressed with how well informd you are, honestly you know more about Dutch football then all of the media here, the joke about van Halst cracked me up and we all know van Gaal so he js back like expected, Mislintat and the people who appointed him really did make a mess wich is comparable with the situation Ajax was found in after the bosman arrest, maybe even worse

[@StrongKickMan]

Same thing as Dortmund. Overachieving in terms of creating talent. Both clubs attract highly talented young players. Sadly it is the norm that key players will be poached. Then you have a period when players can't be replaced properly, and all hell breaks lose.

[@Sense008]

it's more than that, the chaos in the boardroom after Overmars departure was very very real, and a major contribution to the current woes. Because Ajax is in a financial position (they are the richest club in The Netherlands by a large margin, Feyenoord and PSV the other two of the dutch big three don't come anywhere close to Ajax' Budget) to buy any young talent in the dutch league, so even when they have a period where they lose a lot of key players they usually are quite capable of challenging for the title, even if they are not gonna make a dent in european football. They are a bit like Bayern in that they get to poach all the top talent in the domestic league, their players getting poached is always from bigger leagues abroad. That is a big difference with Borussia who don't have that kinda pull in the bundesliga.

[@SantomPh]

if Dortmund could actually dominate the Bundesliga and actually beat Bayern once in a while they would have more success.

[@Alex-ds6sw]

​@@Sense008Dortmund have that pull in the Bundesliga. They are the club that signs by far the most players from other Bundesliga clubs in Germany. That problem is that Dortmunds players get poached by the Premier League like all the Bundesliga clubs whose players also get poached by the Premier League while Bayern Munichs best players like Sane and Kane are bought from the Premier League.

[@iamheretopleaseyou]

I am an Ajax fan since I was a kid and know that the team is going in cycles meaning young talents grow up and leave and are replaced with younger talents and a few necessary buys for positions where the academy players are simply not good enough or completely missing that year. This is why I was so shocked when this year it was known that for sure Timber and Alvarez are going, but there was no replacement ready and Alvarez was supposed to leave in winter already. How did they not have someone lined up? When summer started and Tadic left, I knew we are in huge trouble. Steijn was hired late, Mislintat did not bring anyone till end of summer except Van Den Boomen. Tahirovic came at time when I would expect club signs last 1-2 players max and not that we have 2 weeks till end of transfers and club is finally ready to start buying players. I mean what did club do since Mislintat was appointed? It was like they are not aware that there is a time limit to their decision making. And when they finally got the players late in summer, the expectations were that they need to fit in starting lineup and start playing at least on 75% of their abilities and that is just nearly impossible given the fact they were all bought late and need to move in to Amsterdam and train with the team etc. all at once. They also did not replace Kudus and have no one as a brain of the whole play as Ziyech or Tadic so that is crippling them as well. The fact that Steijn also does not reall show any advanced tactical approach and complains about new players not having quality is not helping as well. I think the signals all is going bad were there longer time and club just totally surprisingly (for such a renown institution) completely failed and folded. This season is gone and I just hope they can settle the boat for the next one.

[@briannao9251]

Ajax’s chaos/downfall rn is crazy given the fact that they was one Lucas Moura goal away from advancing to the 2019 Champions League Final

[@Flippityflap]

Out of all the names on the shortlist to become coach Kjetil Knudsen everybody in amsterdam was actually most enthousiastic about. Maurice Steijn appointment literally came out of the blue for everybody in Amsterdam and even Holland. he wasn't even on the shortlist. Later Steijn and Mislintat got into bad blood

[@benstapelbroek939]

what makes the fall of ajax more extreme to is the amazing rise of their arch rivals feyenoord, who a few years ago looked financially broken, sold 10 of strating 11 in the 2022 summer transfer window and are now seriously competing in the champions league. (would love a Feyenoord video during this season)

[@No14210]

Hell, I remember the time when they were penniless and losing 10-0 at PSV. This came a couple of years after they had bought a bunch of aged internationals (Makaay, Hofland, Van Bronckhorst, De Cler, etc.) in a gambit for CL qualification. When this failed, all the money was gone, they were €35M in the hole, and they had to beg their fans for donations. Their resurgence afterwards was something of a miracle, with Van Geel as DoF and Ronald Koeman as manager, although they still had to wait a bit longer for silverware. They don't get nearly enough credit for how they recovered from the verge of bankruptcy while any good players were being poached, the pundits had nothing but scorn for Gudde, Van Geel and players like Pellè, and all this amidst a decade-long controversy about whether to move out of their beloved stadium or not (spoiler: they didn't). And now again they deserve more credit compared to how often people talk about Ajax.

[@agb.88]

As a Dutch HITC Sevens fan (and a Feyenoord fan)... I was hoping for this...😂 from everything that happend with Promes, Onana, Overmars and now this... it is like a telenovela

[@BonnyJosman]

I´m also enjoying every minute of it. Let it continue for many years please...

[@someguynamedmike4766]

I looked at a recent Ajax team sheet & thought it was nothing special, only so long you can be a feeder club until the well dries up, too much talent leaves to get adequately replaced or both

[@mickeymrinlandrabbit9297]

A feeder club ? Ajax is historically way above and beyond any old english team , and has a much bigger history than all European clubs , aside from about five teams or so , liverpool and Barcelona only caught up very late The main problem of european football is the explosion of (mostly dubious )oil money from arab and Russian investors in mainly the premier league , which is an abomination and has destroyed european football I want my Fyenoord , Benfica , Celtic and Red Star back in finals , but stupid english teams that bought everyone with Arab money

[@bucksie438]

You need to do the same for Sheffield Wednesday. Wtf is happening at Hillsborough. The chairman appears to be the main blameworthy person, but there is a deeper issue which needs to be highlighted.

[@TSLstudio2010]

This makes a little up for the ridiculous 100 million Euros, Ten Hag spend on former Ajax player Antony. (was happy the player left... hated his diving and his injury faking). But he could get him for way and way less, which almost destroyed the League. Luckily they missed out of CL last year and now Mislintat bought the wrong players 👍

[@saskoreacts]

We need a "What the hell is going on at Schalke 04 Part 2" since they are currently in the relegation zone of the 2. Bundesliga, with no coach, no leadership and a terrible team after being relegated from the Bundesliga last season. If they continue to fall apart, Germany's second biggest club could cease to exist after being relegated from the second division.

[@PeteDunes]

It gets even worse in the National Cup competition..... "SV Hercules vs Ajax 3-2 - All Goals & Highlights - 2023".... played December 21..... SV Hercules is 3rd league amateurs....

[@giodhuha6771]

Ajax is really doomed and i would be surprised if they qualify for Europe.

[@PeteDunes]

@@giodhuha6771 Nonsense, they're not doomed at all. The problem started when they hired the hired the German Sven Mislintat as their new sport director, he decided to buy players that weren't good enough for Ajax, and the reason why he bought them was because of personal business interests, he basically wanted to fill his own pockets. He has been fired, and they're now going through a transition. A lot of other people in the management have been fired. They're have hired new people to manage the club, some whom will only arrive next summer. They will bring the club to where they belong, because they're well know in the Netherlands, and have a long reputation of knowing what they're doing, they turned the club they managed to the one with the best youth academy in the Netherlands, and their youth and senior team have had great successes in Europe, the youth team even became European champion. The other issue is that they have to wait for the next UEFA transfer period during which Ajax will be allowed to sell these crappy players, and buy top players in return. Trust me, this club has such a famous history, and worldwide reputation, it's never going to be doomed, it will just need to deal with this dark moment for now.

[@repjas5136]

they r 4th league

[@hyoroemongaming569]

​@@repjas5136and their winstreak start 1 month after this video 😂 hitc money hater put narrative for poor old club but dont have any words when ajakx back😂

[@repjas5136]

@@hyoroemongaming569 what?

[@TSLstudio2010]

Its crazy seeing people saying Ajax was the Dutch Bayern. Which is so not true. Bayern got 32 league wins when Dortmund coming in second with only 5. While Ajax got 36, you also have Psv with 24 and Feyenoord with 16. Which is even closer if you only look at Eredvisie wins (since its called that way, 28 ajax to 21 PSV). Sure Ajax had the most wins the last few years with of course that CL semi finale season but its more like a exception, not standard.

[@kloothommel6569]

Perfect comparisons are of course rare. But I think he means in the sense that: the biggest club of the country, most successful history and over all most hated for it. Like Man Utd in England, PSG in France, etc. All those clubs check those three checkboxes

[@Explosivenothingness]

Im an ajax fan(ajacied as we call ourselves. Good video! Well documented! For me as a ajacied this year is hell. Seeing everything that was built the past decade disintegrate in such a way is nothing short of horrible

[@TSLstudio2010]

Not only ajax but Dutch Teams like Feyenoord, PSV and AZ lose their best playera every year too. Thats the fate of the Dutch League, you got a good season... you lose a lot of players. Kinda like the Portuguese League

[@orangejuice9502]

If you do that for ManUtd Alfie will have to create a 2 hour video for sure.

[@Sense008]

Given the unbearable arrogance of Ajax fans here in the Netherlands, I can't help but have a lot of Schadenfreude right now. They'll get out of this slump, I'm sure as soon as they get the board sorted. But the sheer amount of toddler temper tantrums of Ajax fans right now is hilarious to me

[@BrianStorm742]

Agreed. Let's hope this crisis curbs their smugness.

[@No14210]

We've been here before. I started following football in 1999, right when Feyenoord won the league and Ajax finished 6th. I was the only kid in school who supported Ajax. This was then followed by the centenary season famously depicted in the documentary "Daar hoorden zij engelen zingen" (should be on YT with English subs too for international readers, classic football docu) with a 5th place finish. Of course football has changed a lot in the 25 years since, so history doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes. After the 2019 campaign, there was talk of Ajax becoming the "Dutch Bayern Munich". Now look at it. You get the same vibes as back in 1999. Hubris and arrogance, swiftly punished by instant karma. It's healthy to go through this kind of humbling once in a while.

[@asmodeusml]

Ajax are still in denial in their acceptance of inevitable changes. United was also in the same boat for a very long time, but Ajax doesn't have that kind of money to afford fooling around.

[@timodevisser6731]

as a feyenoord fan i see this as an absolute win

[@neliz2k]

same

[@nickjasperse9903]

Psv but same

[@timodevisser6731]

@jabron.destoroyah turkish?

[@ClaesVaack-ce8vi]

​@aqeel-3771Ajax isn't doing that good for years in Europe, so I disagree with you

[@ClaesVaack-ce8vi]

​@jabron.destoroyahAre you talking to yourself in the mirror? 🤡

[@RyuzakiTaiyou]

Best German players in the premier league of all time. (Day 554) I will not give up until the video is made or Alfie himself tells me to stop. Everyone else telling me that will be ignored. If you don't believe my number, just go back to the previous videos. I'm at the bottom most of the time, but I'm there.

[@XerxesGammon200]

Who gives a shit?

[@papalegba6796]

Klinsmann, Trautmann, Hitler, in that order

[@knotwilg3596]

The sad truth is that firing Overmars was the moral thing to do but started the technical downfall. Sometimes absolute world class leaders have an extreme dark side. As an institution, Ajax should not have been so dependent of one man's prowess, but it happened and now they have to recover from it.

[@hubblebublumbubwub5215]

"Extreme dark side" Come on, he sent horny pp pictures. He didn't kill someone.

[@lusiuslee8589]

Ajax fans would never feel losing of Overmars if Ten Hag still there, their biggest lost is on the coaching department

[@BALHAM69]

#thepeopleschannel a video on the Bangladesh premier league and the rise of Bashundhara kings would be good A team who went into the top flight after promotion and won the last four league titles now! Are they the next Newcastle? Are they a team to keep a eye on next few years? Thanks Alfie 😊

[@ezraezra2928]

Chelsea, Ajax, Roma, and possibly, Manchester United. All of those clubs are in danger this season when we looked on their league positions.

[@nikz200]

Ajax success in the past was very much down to their ability to grow talent through their gold class academy and how they identified world talent from different continents. They were going to face this issue eventually

[@BonnyJosman]

Surrounding countries have also very good Youth Academy´s nowadays...

[@mismisimognomo101]

AYYYY, Alfie gang, we here. Best football channel in the web and the humour is a huge plus ! 🖤 Love from Chile 🌶

[@SimonMinall-Burdett]

I love your videos but there's a slight inaccuracy at the start of the video, it was Vic Buckingham who invented total football and brought it to Ajax. Rinus Michels perfected it. In fact I'm almost certain it was Buckingham who gave Cruyff his debut in senior football.

[@Demo-critus]

Excellent analysis and good to get an outsider's view. Of course, incredibly much has happened in the four weeks since the video was made, so you could almost make another one :-) PS: you have omitted to discuss the disastrous part that van der Sar has played in the demise of Ajax since Overmars left (and before it by not building in safe-guards in the organisation and instead relying on a single point of failure, Overmars).

[@GabrielNicho]

" instead relying on a single point of failure, Overmars)."

[@Demo-critus]

@@GabrielNicho That's not what a single point of failure means :-)

[@Anarchidi]

19:50, To be fair, the Greek league is much lower scoring though (and has harder defensive formations).

[@mickeymrinlandrabbit9297]

This is the first decent season I've seen from the Greek clubs in twenty years though. In my youth you guys were tough opponents but your league has gone to the dogs since , another victim of the horrific oil money concentration of the premier league abomination. I hope you guys can come back to a decent level , love your country . But not really comparable to the Dutch football history in ant shape or form Dutchclubs won more champions leagues (6) than Portugal, France , Greece, Turkey Belgium combined At club level Dutch football is easily the historical best nation per capita . At country international level fate and organizing countries have prevented us from two or three deserved WC wins

[@richardbeck818]

Surely got to be a what's going on at Sheff Wednesday soon. Club is in an absolute mess. I can only think it's because things will probably get worse and Alfie is waiting!

[@neliz2k]

this is a far more realistic view on the situation than the one I saw a few days ago.

[@hubblebublumbubwub5215]

You mean the Rabona TV one? I thought that one was better.

[@swaffelkonijn5166]

I think I speak for every supporter of every other club in the Netherlands when I say: "I am laughing my balls off".

[@BonnyJosman]

Heel zeker. Wij zijn Ajax, wij zijn de weg kwijt! Let it last for many years

[@waldeck325]

Good to have a 'outside' view on this, you nailed it

[@capio78]

DO you do a podcast? I have to confess I mostly listen to you as I'm doing other things and really enjoy it, you do a great job of painting the picture verbally

[@QuickScop3zviral]

Have you considered doing one of these for santos? They’ve been going through it this season, in the relegation spots.

[@SamerA3737]

Excellent work as always

[@captainamerica8276]

I had been waiting for this video

[@oldgiant8966]

Everybody in Netherlands who arent an Ajax fan is having great times right now I can tell you.

[@samtastisch86]

Yep, having a blast

[@olsenfernandes3634]

Ajax: -Sells all their best players -Becomes shit Man utd: -Buys Ajax's best players -Becomes shit

[@itsgeo752]

Realistically West Ham poached their more crucial players in Alvarez and Kudus though. They're better than Licha and Antony

[@Alzenryo]

Ajax never had problem selling their best players under Ten Hag.

[@NINEmmDeathWish]

Can't wait for Part 2 soon!

[@unconditionalLove1]

This was excellent, can you make a video about the Michael Beale era at Rangers next?

[@maruv6]

It is absolutely disgusting that sexual harrassment in football goes without any punishment. People of power can literally do anything, we've all heard what disgusting things greenwood has done but the way in which united keep denying and keep saying court has relieved him(which is definitely not true). The bar is literally in hell and still football will never reach it

[@pjsmith2744]

Thing is mate these “talented” footballers get away with everything. From a very young age they are pampered like little Saudi princes. If you recruit a kid with tons of this “talent” for nothing when he’s 7-8 years old you’ll pretty much give them anything and let them do anything when you know you can sell them for tens of millions in a decade or so.

[@hitthurdeaux]

You talk as if rape and harassment run rampant in football, or that consequences don’t occur- and yet a legend of the game with huge wealth and status like Dani Alves is currently deservedly rotting in jail for rape after the evidence pretty much confirmed it. Meanwhile, players like Benjamin Mendy have had their careers severely derailed thanks to being labeled guilty by the court of public opinion, which led by the media, doesn’t seem to value the concept of innocence until proven guilty.

[@pjsmith2744]

@@hitthurdeaux how do you know rape and harassment aren’t running wild?

[@he_football]

Heartbreaking to see Ajax like this. Modern football is a cruel shitshow

[@ClaesVaack-ce8vi]

Why heartbreaking ? There are 17 other clubs in the Eredivisie who think it's not

[@efrosvovelu9076]

Its amazing not heartbreaking

[@siphemanana2551]

But his point about modern football still stands

[@zuijderwijk]

It's my team Alf is a shame we will never be able to recreate the early to mid 90's again. They are effectively the Man Utd of The Netherlands.

[@hunchofondcolesparrot3495]

Alfie please I'm commenting from the Caribbean can u please make a video on why the epl officials are against Liverpool since the start of the season yesterday was just the icing on the cake

[@giovannihazel6943]

Very impressive video you really did your homework!

[@Thuzw]

My hometown club getting talked about in an international video. MOM WE MADE IT Go ahead eagles ❤️💛

[@munozdocumentales]

Hi, HITC Sevens. First of all, I want to congratulate you for your work. KZbin is filled to the brink with Football content, but it seems that these days it is impossible to find good, interesting and objective reportages. Today people are more focused on determining who was the best player, of whom they have only seen photos and stats. I personally find it more interseting to learn about certain club's golden age, or why Hungary stopped being what it once was, than rankning players according to their best tiktok edits. Second of all, I'd like to ask you to speak more about club football in Mexico in general. For example, why historic Mexican clubs like Real España, Reforma Athletic, Orizaba AC, Germania FV or Unión de Curtidores disappeared. In the beginning we had a more traditional "athletic and social club" environment, but they went broke or something and gave way to big companies and firms. Seeing the types of stories yo seem to enjoy, i would bet that this part of Mexican football's history would surprise you. Thank you, good luck and keept it going !

[@400Awesomo]

I would like to see Edwin Van Der Sar replace Tony Khan as Fulham's director of football. Even though Edwin Van Der Sar left Ajax on bad terms, at least, he has the experience.

[@pjsmith2744]

Edwin isn’t well enough at the moment after he had a brain haemorrhage in the summer. Your not wrong though mate.

[@MCPhatman]

As an english man who was raised in the Netherlands all the mistakes in the Dutch names makes me laugh. You did try pronouncing them all how they should another great video.

[@neliz2k]

also, ajax don't have the highest average attendance, they have the most tickets sold, but ajax doesn't report actual visitors, but only tickets. This is why, for every "sold-out" game you can see massive empty patches in the crowd, good old propaganda.

[@edwardkelly3280]

It’s amazes me that even clubs fanbases like Chelsea,Lyon,Basel and Man United didn’t riot like Ajax so far.😅

[@fotonapapa]

As a Feyenoord fan, I hope that Ajax will get out of this stronger. Sure, it's nice to win 0-4 but it'd be more awesome if the teams were actually at the same level organizationally. Feyenoord has done a great job getting their things in order since hovering in the "rechterrijtje" around 2010. I'm sure with some patience Ajax can achieve the same.

[@qwert28077]

Wdym by rechterrisjtje

[@nathanvanbeek1237]

@@qwert28077 The right column of the standings table. Which means the lower ranked teams in the Eredivisie.

[@qwert28077]

@@nathanvanbeek1237 thanks

[@BonnyJosman]

Stronger? Then they will beat you even more? Weird statement from Feyenoorder

[@erbyenbe6586]

Brave choice to try and pronounce Schreuders name. All kidding aside, you really did your research. It's too early to tell with a lot of these new signings tho, also Steijn has the tactical acumen of someone who only found out about football last week

[@sie11pervan]

Regardless of everything, this is great for Dutch football. Finally it is no longer a 2-club competition.

[@samtastisch86]

This bring me so much joy

[@Sztig]

Please consider doing the "What On Earth Is Going On At PGMOL?"

[@bundesautobahn7]

I remember back in the 1990s how Ajax was famous, if not infamous, for their youth academy.

[@steffen1405]

Very informative!

[@TenkabitoShien]

And now they are going to fire their fresh new sporting director because apparently he bought stocks from ajax with knowledge he was going to be appointed. And he also bought stocks for ajax while managing another dutch club.

[@carlosbarton763]

And now that second Feyenoord scoreline... what a week huh. This needs a part 2

[@ParDiss-e4i]

Such losers 😂. Eindhoven 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@bjornbdr]

We dont have quality at the moment.. Its so hard to watch and my heart cry's when i'm looking at a match..

[@aandygood92]

Can't wait for your video on Rangers to come out.... because my god do we deserve one of these this season!

[@chrisbrown-ty6lp]

Losing Dusan Tadic is really a big loss, his assists gave Ajax a strong attack

[@dylan__dog]

Backbone of the team

[@bookwormgem4616]

I was only thinking after seeing the table last night you should make a video about what’s going at Ajax, then this appears 😆👍🏻

[@oliverleonard7730]

And people think Erik Ten Hag is a bad manager - he worked wonders with Ajax now look at them with him.

[@gejamugamlatsoomanam7716]

Look at how man utd are with him, getting outwitted by a 100 year old roy Hodgson

[@shanegaynord8152]

You could do what on earth is going on video at FC Basel rock bottom of their league with no goals in October and 20 times champions of Switzerland and Europa League Semi Finalists just 10 years ago Might be an interesting one to do @HITC Sevens

[@gnrmetallica95]

boy do i have good news for you

[@68Boca]

Yeah, I'm surprised Van der Sar only warrants a passing mention? I have a couple of good friends who are serious Ajax fans, a lot, and I mean a lot of there displeasure is directed towards him. Despite the backroom dramas happening, it's not unexpected for a club that heavily relies on its' Academy to produce, that there will be peaks and troughs. Read Barcelona a few years ago, Everybody said La Masia hadn't produced any great players since the Messi, Iniesta, Busquets era, but now they have several greats coming up. However management will always impact a lot. It's too early to write off this season for Ajax, but they need to click very soon

[@lewiskariukimunene]

What is going on at Chelsea? What is going on at Manchester United? What is going on at Barcelona? What is going on at PSG? What is going right at Nice? What is going right at girona? What is going right at Leverkusen ?

[@heliumtrophy]

Some of the Ajax fans last night started singing "Nevermind, the guy's dead" when a collision between Bryan Brobbey and Etienne Vaesen happened in the 84th minute of the game. The other Ajax fans there told them to shut the fuck up as this was serious. I probably shouldn't but as a PSV fan, the way this is unravelling is as entertaining as it is absolutely gobsmacking. I don't think any of us would've believed such a thing could happen after Marc Overmars' resignation and so quickly as well.

[@jonas33428]

great one! do lyon next