EREDIVISIE 2019-2020

Anyone else finding the complaints from other clubs/fans that Ajax received the 1st CL league ticket to be extremely annoying? I mean come on, be happy that they didn't award Ajax the title... but for many that isn't enough, they search for any way to justify Ajax not getting the CL ticket which is ridiculous.

If you base it on the current league standings - it goes to Ajax.
If you base it on the winter champion - it goes to Ajax.
If you base it only on the games vs opponents that both Ajax and AZ have played - it goes to Ajax.
If you cancel this season and base it on last season - it goes to Ajax.

I mean really... it sucks that the season ended and of course it's a bummer for AZ that they don't get the chance to fight for a title. I'm definitely bummed about that too, I enjoyed AZ and even though I think Ajax would have won (and the betting agencies agree) it could have gone either way. But Corona took away that possibility and given any realistic scenario the ticket simply has to go to Ajax.

There really is no legitimate argument for AZ getting the CL ticket. People trying to suddenly push head-to-head as the deciding factor is ridiculous, that has never been the case. Unfortunately people are blinded by their Ajax hate and will stop at nothing to find some justification for pushing another team ahead.

Really, given the unfortunate truth that the season cannot be finished (as also dictated by the Dutch government) this is the best case scenario for AZ. What are they complaining about? This decision with them getting the 2nd CL qualification ticket is the best option for them, there is no realistic option for 1st. The only other option that would change their position would be to cancel this season and use last years results, but then they don't even get a chance at CL so what are they complaining about? I understand their frustration about the corona virus but there is nothing the KNVB can do about that so practical, obvious decisions have to be made.

I'll go as far as to say that the KNVB made their decision based on the fact that they KNEW people would be pissed if they gave Ajax the championship. I truly believe that to avoid pissed off people they chose not to award a champion + promotion/relegation, which in turn ends up ********ing over teams like Cambuur who really deserved their promotion.

I have no problem with Ajax not receiving the championship (although I think they should have awarded it... 75%+ of the season played, ahead for pretty much the entire season) but come on, there can be no complaint about the CL ticket. That straight qualification CL ticket would not even exist without Ajax.

 

Dude, I did not expect this from you. This is a perfect example of what I meant with people trying to find reasons to give it to AZ instead of Ajax.

What does AZ and their great results against the top-4 teams have to do with anything? The league isn't decided on who beats the best opponents, it never has been. If it was, then there would have been many incidences in the past years throughout the various European leagues whereby a different team would have been the winner. But that has NEVER been a deciding factor for the championship, it is also completely non-objective. You trying to say AZ should get it because they played best against the top 4 teams is a completely unobjective decision. You can make the argument that based on that they 'deserve' to be 1st - but that doesn't change the FACT that based on the actual rules they aren't.

That's my point, people like you are suddenly trying to change the rules to make AZ the winner, that's not how it works. The obvious decision is to go by the current table, and in this situation Ajax is the winner due to goal differential which has always been the deciding factor in the league. I can understand people then coming with the argument that it isn't entirely fair because not all teams have been played the same amount of times by both teams - thererfore it is theoretically possible that one team has had a harder fixture list then the other which could negatively impact their goal differential. Ok, fine. That's an understandable argument. However, you then have two choices to make this fair.
1. You use the table from the halfway point i.e. the winter champion. Who wins? Ajax.
2. You only count the results in games that Ajax and AZ have both played. So all of the first half of the season and then after that only against teams that both faced again. Who wins? Ajax, by 4 points.

So we're free to discuss who does or doesn't deserve the spot, everyone is entitled to their own opinion on that. But what is obvious is that in no objectifiably fair situation should AZ get the 1st place over Ajax. That is OBVIOUS.

Is that tough luck for AZ? Sure, but it's also tough luck for Ajax because they spent almost 75% of the season in 1st place and now also go home empty handed as far as championships.

Had the same thing happened last season, it would have been understandable that PSV was granted the #1 position because they were on that position and had been so the entire season. Eventually Ajax won the league just as AZ COULD have this year, but that doesn't change the fact that at the moment the league now has to be stopped Ajax is on #1 this year such as PSV would have been last year. That is the only and obvious decision. Surely you cannot deny that?

Lol at "given the 1st spot not earned"... they're 1st in the league, as they have been all season.... so........ ? Should we give it to FC Utrecht instead? Or FC Twente? Lets just choose who we like most and give them the 1st spot because they all earned it more than the team who is actually first, lol.

 

Lol no one needs a reminder of that. Sure you can speculate about what would have happened, but you can't choose a winner based on what you think MIGHT happen - a winner is determined based on what actually happened. I think the Netherlands might win Euro 2021 - should we just grant them the trophy?

And double lol at the hypocrisy of posting this table as if Ajax was failing and AZ was blazing to the win. So, in the last 10 games the terribly performing Ajax lost 4 games whereas in the last 10 games the incredibly performing AZ lost 3 games. That's a fair cry from the 'flying AZ would definitely have defeated the faltering Ajax to the title' scenario that you are trying to paint right? Lets not forget the part that the Ajax rut coincided perfectly with their massive injury problems which they were just coming out of when the season ended. Even 538 which I consider a fairly reliable forecast site had Ajax as the significant favorite to still win the league.

But again, that's just speculation and that means nothing. Based on the actual results and standings, Ajax is the indisputable league leader.

 

"Spots are earned by league performances" - you mean like accumulating the most points and having the best goal differential and being #1 in the standings currently and for almost the entirety of the season?

Oh no, you apparently mean results against 'top 4' teams. Lol, that is so random. Why would the league suddenly be decided on head to head results of the top 4? That has seriously never been a decider in anything, ever. And why then the top 4? Why not the top 3? Or the top 5? Or the top 6? Or just the clubs on the left side of the table? It is seriously the most random metric for choosing a league champion ever.

How can you possibly think that is fair?

The current table is the fair way. Everyone knew - from the start - what the league positions are based on, as they always has been. Teams always know their position throughout the year based on those rules. Year ends early? That's unfortunate, but the league table shows who was the winner up to that point.

And if not that, then the league table should be based on the half-way point. Either way Ajax wins.

But this random sudden decision to gift the league to the team who performed best again the top 4 teams? Lol what? Since when, ever? So every other game this year was pointless?

 

No, you are. And its amazing that you don't understand this.

Yes, the league was not finished. Feyenoord could theoretically have won. But we'll never know, because unfortunately (FOR EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) the season had to be canceled. This is not a a knockout tournament, this is a league. Leagues have always been decided on points earned across the board. So we either end it with the current standings, or we choose the standings from the half-way point when everything was even for all teams. Either way, it's an Ajax win.

Why the ******** would we suddenly decide a league on any other metrics than what it has always been decided by? I just don't understand that. So lets say this is the Premier League and Liverpool is 20 points ahead but did lose their head to heads against Manchester City. Should Manchester City now suddenly be the champion? No, of course not. It's the LEAGUE It's about your overall performance over the season, not individual games!!!!!!!!

 

Yes. There were two options:
1. They base the European tickets on the current league table from this season.
2. They base the European tickets on the league table from last season.

1st case - AZ gets a CL ticket. 2nd case, they don't, it goes to PSV. So they literally got the most positive of the realistic options, which was the fair decision.

 

The bolded part I have already addressed with fair alternatives multiple times. Finish it halfway or only count the games against teams that both AZ and Ajax have played. Either way it goes to Ajax.

Taking it to court will lead to nothing. It's not the job of the judge to make a judgement on whether this was the right decision or not. The judge merely will determine whether the decision made was reasonable. You can search for arguments that AZ should have the 1st spot, fine if you try hard enough you can create any outcome. But the more logical answer will be exactly what it is right now, Ajax is 1st and gets the ticket for being first. No judge will overrule that because regardless of whether it was right or wrong, the decision was reasonable. No other decision would necessarily be more reasonable than this one, and that will hold in court.

However complaints from teams such as Cambuur and De Graafschaap... those could hold in court. They deserve to be promoted and that will cost them a lot of money.