Six months after the disastrous signing of Calvin Bassey Ajax have sacked head coach Alfred Schreuder.
A late equaliser salvaged a point at home to Volendam but with the Amsterdam side sitting in fifth place in a three horse race the coach has been sacrificed.
After the match CEO Edwin van der Saar announced on the Ajax website:
This is a painful decision, but it’s necessary. Regardless of the good start to the season, we lost a lot of unnecessary points. The football itself was precarious too. Due to the World Cup, we had an early and long break during the winter.
We gave Alfred our time and trust to change the way things were going. It became clear to us that he could not change the tide. Regardless of the many transfers that took place, we consider the squad fit for a championship. We lost a lot of points over the last few weeks and sadly saw a lack of progression.
Discussing Bassey, former Ajax midfielder Kenneth Perez told Football Zone:
He is strong and fast, but on the ball he will also realize that he is a joke. We don’t actually have to name it and show it every time. It is a repetitive story with him: it is very, very, very difficult on the ball.
Sometimes it’s even touching when you’re watching. I really have the feeling that every time that round thing rolls towards him he thinks: oh fuck, what am I going to do with that thing again. I do agree with what Schreuder said: it will never be a Frank de Boer, but maybe a Davinson Sánchez.
After a couple of good runs playing as a left-back accompanied by full spin from the Daily Record and BBC Scotland Ajax were duped into paying £16m for Bassey with the usual add-ons.
Getting sent off on his debut against PSV Eindhoven in the Super Cup should have acted as a warning to Ajax but with so much invested in the former Leicester starlet he has started 16 of the 18 Eredivisie matches to date.
Ajax have won just nine of those league matches, in the Champions League they shipped in 15 goals in four matches against real opponents but picked up six points against Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s record breakers.
Finding a coach prepared to take on the burden of having to play Bassey is the big task now for van der Saar as Ajax attempt to get into a Champions League place.
Difficult night for Under pressure Ajax LB Calvin Bassey – https://t.co/d8mAEp6JZC pic.twitter.com/pAza5OBVtz
— FootballLiveNG (@footballliveCH) January 27, 2023
Calvin Bassey 3 goals that changed The Rangers season. £25 million you say ??? pic.twitter.com/8KxRiQA2au
— OzCelts (@OzCelts) May 27, 2022
Was sold on one game by our wonderful sevco media.
Now found out as we all knew. Pure pish.
Tongue in cheek I know – but surely clubs like Ajax won’t know or have heard of the imbecile organisations like The Record or BBC Scotland… If they were to take their info from these idiots (going by what the blogs report what they write and broadcast) then they should be operating in the 10th tier of Dutch football not the top one !