Quite an interesting group. Never seen the French club before. The fight for 2nd place should be a good one. I know PSV farely well but Galatasaray should be one tough cookie.
I think PSV is going to have a difficult time of it. I hope they do well, but they're not the team they were the last two years. Galatasaray away has to be one of the toughest fixtures in Europe, which means that PSV will be under a lot more pressure at home to get points. I think PSV is at best a 50-50 proposition to get the second spot, with Galatasaray being the main competition, although no one should rule Bordeaux out either. Boy does it suck to see the CL draw go down without Ajax.
Why is it a battle for "2nd" place? Liverpool barely passed Maccabi Haifa, and just tied w/ Sheffield United. They don't look too strong to me. They'll probably struggle as much as Eindhoven will.
Ok, make it a three way battle for the top two spots. I still think they're going to have a tough road to travel. Nonetheless, I think Liverpool will not struggle as much as PSV (not that they won't have their problems). PSV is losing players and has a new, terrible coach. They could catch lightning in a bottle in the CL, but I think they're going to have an off year.
we lose key players every year, it's nothing new: Kezman, Robben, Rommedahl Van Bommel, Vogel, Bouma, Lee, Park Vennegoor, Ooijer Anyway, I prefer to look at the players we managed to keep (Alex, Gomes, Farfan, Cocu, Simons) Indeed, he's only won two titles with Ajax, got to fourth with Vitesse, to the CL QF with a mediocre Benfica team. Yeah, he's crap.
how is that?? This is the first year they kept (almost) the entire team. The last 2 years all the key players left and they had to start from scratch. Now the key players stayed, have a year more expierence, are used to each other. I think PSV has gotten stronger.
not nearly as much as the last 2 seasons. It should be: they kept more players. You mean that coach that did qualify Ajax for the CL? The definition of a new terrible coach is that of a guy that loses the most important match of the year already in August... you hope they have an off year. There is a difference you know.
I like the group, it's evenly balanced and anyone could lose points or win it. Good luck to PSV in their tenth (I think) consecutive CL season!
I was having my doubts about PSV before the start of the season myself but they're again looking to be an extremely solid side. They've a highly experienced core of players who know how to win games. I think they'll prove tough to beat yet again.
I agree. It's a very close group. And some nice history too. I saw both games in 88 against Galatasaray and Bordeaux. And Kuyt's first match in the CL will probably be in Eindhoven . Hope PSV can win that first game.
I don't know but I've got a gut feeling that you'll progress to the next round. Did you see how confident the Liverpool lot are? They think you're mediocre, let's hope the players feel the same way and underestimate you.
yeah, I know. But if PSV can beat Milan at home like last season, the definately can beat Liverpool. So I'm not that worried. Just looking forward to a great game.
I don't think VoH leaving is a big problem for PSV. Loosing Ooijer is a different story though. I still hope we can get Kromkamp, that would compensate.
If you say so. It is still a lot of turnover over the last few years. There are certainly some quality players left, I don't deny that. But losing VofH and Ooijer is, imo a pretty big blow. Find me an Ajax fan who thinks that Koeman is a good coach. I don't think you'll find too many on these boards. Koeman took a very talented team assembled by Adriaanse, and slowly disassembled it until it was a shadow of its former self. His purchases sucked, and by the time he left the team, it was demoralized. It still hasn't recovered. I'll grant you that it isn't entirely his fault, but he played a big role in it. Color me surprised if this doesn't happen to PSV as well. It might not happen this year, but over time, you might well come to hold the same opinion of Koeman that I, and most other Ajax fans, do. That's just silly. It is far too early to tell whether or not HtC is terrible. He is new, though. I'll give you that. Please note my post earlier in the thread: