That move didn't work out. He'd already established in the league. Then he had to prove himself to another coach and within another style. They claimed he had to build fitness for it. Took the time to develop it, apparently. Was fairly productive in his minutes - 1 goal every 141. And now he's asked to move on. Didn't really fail, but still hurts him perceptionally to possibly force a move down the ladder, and largely wasted a year of his career. Still don't see the purpose in moving to better Eredivisie clubs, unless they're in the Champion's League. Europa League is unreliable when it comes to providing a lot of games, is not a very big prize, and a lot of the sub elite Eredivisie sides have academies they value to compete with signings. Hopefully he can still move to one of the better clubs in the Championship next season.
How does a club just KNOW this? I suppose a player can either find a new club or refuse to leave and they bench them or they can fight to change the manager's mind?
In an interview the new coach told he has selected a specific group with which he wants to prepare for the new season, especially for the EL as that starts rather early. He also mentioned that having players around that actually have no input in the team's performance form a major distraction for the group and that it was a part of the reasons AZ at moments that mattered didnot deliver. So those not part of the selected are being kept away from those in the group. Best thing is to move on.
"Vorig seizoen waren er teveel spelers die te weinig perspectief hadden en dat had weerslag op het trainingsniveau.” "Last season there were too many players who lacked perspective and that had an effect on the training level. "
Ouch... that is a bit of a slap if it is really directed at BMJ - and kinda surprising as he seems like a plugger, but perhaps his issues with Cathro were not all one-sided?
Mmm, I don't think it's targeted at a specific player. Think more of a sharing an observation of training chemistry of last season.
Was AZ too big of a step up or he just didn't get enough PT from the manager/didn't have the right chemistry with his teammates?
Well, one part was that right when he came in a couple of huge attacking talents made clear they were ready for firt team play. Sometimes life just sucks.
I also think he's not really the AZ "type." He's not an exceptional "ball on the ground" player. Two (at least) of his goals last season were as a late sub in blow-outs. I was dubious of his ability at the next level when I saw a few games at Hearts, but ADO seemed like he was going to prove me wrong, and on a side that plays to his height, like Norway, he may end up being a very consistent producer, but he in the few appearances I saw last season, BMJ never looked like he was 100% comfortable playing the way AZ "wants" to.
I wonder how high his contract is. Norway isnot a EU member state, but has certain affiliations with it. His contract runs till 30-06-2022. Edit: just found Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein are exempt from the Non EU salary minimum.
I think he was ADO biggest sale at like 2 million Euro (I remember being surprised that was their biggest sale.) So he's likely to have gotten a salary to match that kind of transfer. What would that run 500k?
I think ADO wanted/needed the money and AZ paid better. Does that Chinese group still own them? They had some severe financial issues before they stepped in. At least it worked ok in terms of his National Team callups at least.
It's like you said @freisland , he seems to match not so good with the AZ style. However if he finds a club that suits his way of play, he could be of great value for them.
AZ's like that almost good-looking guy who almost has great style... At home in his bathroom he thinks he looks like Harrison Ford, but in the harsh light of day it's more like Larry David...
It's part of football. You back your new coach's selections from the players the sporting director had in place when you hired him. If you don't he's not the coach, just another trainer, and you'll be sacking him sooner rather than later. If he's successful with his selections, the players who don't fit move on, no matter how respected they are at the club It happened to Kljestan at Anderlecht. New coach switched to 4-4-2, where Sasha is less effective and he dropped to no. 3 in the depth chart. He still got PT, even starts, but he wasn't as effective as he could be or the team needed, so everyone agreed that he should move on. NYRB came in with an attractive offer and he came home. Because of how well he'd done for them and how professional he'd been about it, they gave him a very nice send-off at the final home game, but it was still a send-off.
Bjorn could have rejected the transfer and forced their hand into making a different one at a slightly lower rate they would have needed to pull the trigger on if they had financial difficulty. Can't imagine there were a lack of alternatives coming off a 19 goal season.
I thought you were arguing he should have stayed at ADO with Groenendijk. If ADO were considering keeping him, perhaps. But I think they were intent on cashing out. AZ was a good idea on paper - clear step up, but without the pressure of PSV-Ajax-Feyenie (if any of those were even options- I didn't go back and look.) Obviously, he could have selected a better fit (in hindsight) if they have told him he should look for a new club. But it's understandable why he'd be attracted by AZ, even though stylistically it's not an obvious fit.
I'm arguing if the option was a non UCL Eredivisie club, then he should have stayed at Den Haag where he was already proven to the manager and/or club. But I figure there were palatable alternatives to both. Could be wrong. IMO he ultimately went down among the least desirable routes possible. That's his bizarre career in a nutshell. It's wasted some prime years of a fairly promising player. I don't think his management has been wise in their handling of him. I'm hoping he sticks it out in Europe for a couple more years, but if I'm an MLS side I'm angling to capitalize on this perceptional (but not reality) stock drop. Some are very aware of him as they've made overtures before.
I'm just not sure staying was an option, but my guess is having had what could be a career season BMJ knew it was time to jump too. ADO is an iffy club given recent financial and ownership issues.
I willnot criticise him for going to AZ. For any player in the Eredivisie not playing for the top 4 (Feyenoord, PSV, Ajax, AZ) an offer from AZ is pretty much irresistable by pay and quality of play.
And considering ADO, despite it's problems, is basically a 9-13 club, the options to upgrade (if you want to stay in N'lands) are limited. Outside the "big 3" really only AZ, Utrecht, Vitesse, and (up until lately...) Heerenveen are clear upgrades. Hard to say "no" to AZ if you're on the move anyway. He'll land someplace OK, especially as he's scoring for N'way at a good rate.
On the training camp roster: 📋 Squad⛺️ AZ is met 2⃣6⃣ spelers vertrokken richting het trainingskamp in Epe.#AZinEpe 🇳🇱 #AZ #Voorbereiding pic.twitter.com/mbErxITFrB— AZ (@AZAlkmaar) July 1, 2019