This is the place to post your comments and questions about Richard Witschge, #8.

-- Anonymous, November 14, 2000

Answers

Oh,REALLY great!!!I would LOVE to see Pienaar out of the team,and Witschge in it(sarcasm....of course)...I dunno if Richard had turned into Zidane or something...The last time i saw him,ehm...hmmmmm...u know...not even close...LOL...Anyway...Koeman is doing an excellent job...But i have this horrible sense,that Koeman is gonna sell all the players i would like to stay in the team,and take EVERYONE i don't like...(I believe i will get the same feeling i had,when Arveladge left the team...u know...this "why the fuck he had to leave???" feeling...And maybe this time i will get the "why the fuck we had to take this guy to the team???" feeling too...)

-- Anonymous, March 26, 2002

I had this really horrible nightmare the other night, about a midfield with (besides Rafael van der Vaart) Jan van Halst and Richard Witschge on it... It was an experienced, but also a really slow midfield...

The hopes for a good future of Maxwell, Steven Pienaar, Abubakari Yakubu and maybe John O'Brien vanished. Richard Witschge destroyed the atmosphere and made a big scene each time he was not in the team. And after one season, Van Halst and Witschge called it quits, but all Ajax' talented midfielder had already left...

Anyway - it was just a bad dream.

-- Anonymous, March 26, 2002

OH MY GOD!!!!...........I'm shocked...Maybe it's now a tradition for Ajax,to take players that aren't really needed...Who knows?????Or Koeman's fetish...

-- Anonymous, March 25, 2002

I thought I had come to terms with life, the universe and everthing, and then today's news. Must remember the Hitchhikers Guide most useful saying - Dont Panic !!!!! However, what are we going to do with this guy - where is he going to play. I am sure it is beyond me, maybe Menno and Bastiaan can enlighten an old man.

-- Anonymous, March 25, 2002

Hard to believe that Witschge will come backnext year, but the same offer is not being made to Winter.

If this is true I have to ask why? In my opinion Winter is a better player although as someone pointed out (Menno I think) midfield currently has many good players. I would take Witschge and Winter over Van Halst and Galasek though.

Still is Winter a vocal guy? He has always seemed quiet and very professional to me.

Also why Van Halst over Yakubu in the first team I ask? Is Yakubu hurt or something?

I agree about Witschge playing slow. Similar style to Ronald De Boer.

-- Anonymous, March 18, 2002

Two Dutch national newspapers, De Telegraaf and Algemeen Dagblad reported today that Richard Witschge will return to Ajax next season. According to both newspapers (not exactly Holland's best ones, btw, but then again...) Witschge and Ronald Koeman have planned to meet at the ArenA somewhere in this upcoming week, to discuss the details.

These two newspapers announce this as if it were a fact. Ajax confirms that there will be a talk between Koeman and Witschge, but underscores that no decision whatsoever has been taken yet. However, Koeman was quoted saying: "Witschge is a completelt different case than Aron Winter." (whom Ajax told that he will absolutely not return).

Hmmm... I don't like the idea of Witschge returning. Some of Ajax' most talented youngsters are midfielders (Van der Vaart, Yakubu, Pienaar) and we also have Galásek, O'Brien, etcetera. I really don't think we need Witschge. He's a pretty slow player. Slow, as in 'not a fast runner', but also as in 'slows down the play cos he always keeps the ball for too long'. We don't need him as a player, and I'm not even talking about the fact that he's a potential troublemaker with an ego problem. I say 'no'. (But I'm afraid this stuff is true).

-- Anonymous, March 16, 2002

Koeman wants Witschge back - please tell me it aint so. See article on one football. http://www.onefootball.com/index.phtml? page=fullstory&country_id=33&team_id=380&newsid=105400

-- Anonymous, February 22, 2002

Witschge may be the experienced player Koeman might want to add to his team. He knows him well as they played for Barcelona. Because this young Ajax still lacks players who has seen it all, young players who can rely on them for their experience. Adriaanse could not deal with such players, but Koeman sees the needs of his team to balance it out better with a mix of young and old. Witschge may not play all matches and he will know that, but he also knows that Koeman will treat him in a more honest and fair way than Adriaanse did. And I guess that he can live better with that in mind and not playing all matches just like it was under Adriaanse, but Adriaanse was not fair to him

-- Anonymous, January 06, 2002

Echo Menno's Greetings of the season and may all our dreams come to fruition in 2001. However, i feel to take richard Witschge back would be a backward step for Ajax to take and in my eyes could possibly help our dreams to fade and die !!. Unsure as to what he could add to the squad Whenever Alves have been on Sky, RW has not been in the starting eleven or on the bench - has he been injured ?

-- Anonymous, January 01, 2002

First of all: a very happy new year to you all!!

And now for some news... :-) I found this on VI Planet.nl. It doesn't really come as a surprise, I guess: on provincial radio station Radio Noord-Holland Richard Witschge has said that he would like to return to Ajax next season, after having finished the current season at Deportivo Alaves (Spain). He says he feels like fighting for a position in the starting line-up now Co Adriaanse is gone. He still wants to finish his career in style, at home in Amsterdam.

Well, why not?

-- Anonymous, January 01, 2002

NEWS: Witschge will be loaned out to Spanish club Alaves. He will join the squad immediately. At the Spanish side Witschge (31) will play together with another Dutchman: Jordi Cruijff. Alaves lost the UEFA cup final last season against Liverpool in an absolute thriller (5-4). Source: ajax.nl

-- Anonymous, August 09, 2001

Alaves (lost last year's UEFA cup final against Liverpool) offered Witschge a contract. Witschge said he gave them a package of demands and if they agree he wants to go there. Otherwise he will go to satellite club Haarlem, he stated. 'I definetely want to play soccer again and the trainers of Haarlem (brother Rob Witschge for exemple, BV) want me'. Witschge always said he rather stays in Holland, because of his family. He will become father again very soon.

-- Anonymous, August 05, 2001

By the way, did you see him playing against AC Milan? Maldini and Costacurta sure had a hard time there, ha ha!

-- Anonymous, August 04, 2001

I hate to say it for Witsche, but van der Vaart is just a hell of a lot better than Witsche. I hate the way the situation went, but van der Vaart isn't the talent of the year in Holland and even in Italy for nothing!

-- Anonymous, August 04, 2001

According to (sometimes unreliable) website VoetbalOnline, Richard Witschge freaked out during an Ajax-2 training session as well, and he walked away. This guy is out of his mind, that's for sure.

His departure has now come really close. First there were rumors that Betis Sevilla was interested. Now, AT5 Text and the website of Dutch football magazine, Voetbal International (VIplanet.nl) report that Ajax is negotiating with Spanish side Alavés about a transfer.

If it doesn't work out, there's even a third option, according to Witschge himself: Haarlem, Ajax' satellite club in the Dutch First Division... "The coaches would really like to have me, and there's simply no way I'll be on the stands when the season starts", Witschge said.

-- Anonymous, July 26, 2001

richard is and was a good player ,but his acting in the team isin"t so good ,he is a bad example fore the team ,so i think that co had to do wath he was supost to do ,and abanded him to the 2nd team,a shame bud he is a pro whith a good month salary, so hy must shut up,

-- Anonymous, June 10, 2001

Menno, Your points are well taken on Witschge (he does seem slow) and I do recall reading about his tantrum after Hiddink did not call him when Guus did not select him for Holland. I am all for the youth playing, and I have stated that many times in my past postings. I especially want to see Van Der Vaart on the pitch. I always thought perhaps Richard can play some left back at the expense of De Cler. It seems that Co has his system and he is not too flexible and that is not good for me. Then again if Witschge is not defending in midfield he probably would not do play any in the backline. I guess I expect more from him as he has much expierence. Its sad as you say because he can play some good football. Why no Winter I ask again? I think he should play as he too can play football. Any information on him that you could share? If you were Co, what team would you put out on the pitch, and what players would be gone? For next season what youth players have a real chance to make their mark with the big boys? Finally, regarding the youth teams, is Anderlecht taking Fleur and MacDonald, and how highly rated are these two boys?

Thanks,

Rich

-- Anonymous, May 24, 2001

I agree, one does have to let younger players get experience, but it needs to be blended in, let experience hands secure a game after which youngsters can be brought in to finish the game clean.

I do not agree that the coach let Witschge play alot, just look at the stats: Witschge - Started in 15 games and completed 12 of those

Van Der Vaart - Started in 26 and completed 16 of those. Aaron Winter got more playing time then Witschge.

Isn't it clear, Adriaanse only used them as the "Last straw"

I do agree that an agitator may distract, but that is not proven, look at Johan Cruyff, he started many an argument just to ignite the spark, but then again how many current ajax fans outside Holland know about the infamous Cruyff temper tantrums? Whenever he was with Ajax however, the team ruled the world.

The way I see it if we win on Sunday we may play Champion league prelim rounds, if we loose we may play Uefa either way it has it's posssitive sides and it's negative sides.

If we have to play prelim. Champ Leg. games then the schedule whil be so full, that there is no room for letting young players grow slowly, but there will be more money coming in.

If we play Uefa then Ajax will make less money, but the schedule will be a bit lighter.

I can't wait for another influx of typical Ajax style players, we need it now more then ever!

On another note, is anyone worried about the new signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic? After only seven games in the Swedish competition, he has collected three yellow cards and one red card! Is that a record?

Rene.

-- Anonymous, May 24, 2001

I'm sorry folks, but this is going to be one more of those pretty long Menno-posts... ;-)

Rene and Rich, I'm sorry but I have to disagree with you on the Witschge affair. Don't get me wrong: I'm a huge fan of his, since he's one of the very few players in the current squad whom I would call a "real, typical Ajax player". I love watching him.

But I have to agree with Co in this case. First of all, he's doing what has to be done: choosing to develop young guys (Van der Vaart, in this case) instead of leaving them inexperienced until Witschge retires.

Despite that, Co lined up Witschge pretty frequently, because he was playing and was able to bring something extra (his brilliant thru-passes are the best example). However, Co tends to go for Van der Vaart if the opponent has good runners on midfield. Witschge is pretty slow and basically resfuses to drop back and defend. Van der Vaart is simply better at that. That lining up Witschge can actually bring Ajax into trouble, was crystal clear against Feyenoord: all three second half Feyenoord goals came over the left flank, where De Cler suddenly had to deal with both his own *and* Witschge's opponent. Result: two against one, simple triangle combination - goal. I'm not saying that those goals were Witschge's fault, but I do think Van der Vaart might have been able to provide more defensive assistance there. He wouldn't have let his opponent go as easily.

That's why I think it's legitimate for Co to make his choice per game. Witschge's been lucky over the past few weeks; against Twente he wasn't. Simple as that. Adriaanse's been fair about that from the start. I've heard him explain the situation a million times: "Witschge is one of my 22 players, I *may* use him, but he won't be in the team every game. It's up to him whether he's gonna accept that or not. I can understand if he doesn't, and Ajax will co-operate if he decides to go."

Also, in the Sportweek interview, Witschge admits that he "didn't ask anything, but just turned around and walked away" as Adriaanse told him he was not with the squad for the Twente game. If that's Witschge's way of having an argument: fine, but then don't start complaining that Adriaanse didn't provide any explanation to Witschge's.

You should also keep in mind that Richard Witschge is (understatement) not the easiest of guys. Do you remember the incident with the Holland team? Witschge was not selected by Guus Hiddink, who then forget to give him a call about that. Witschge freaked out, took it as an insult, announced that he would never play for Holland anymore as long as Hiddink would be the coach. He's been stubborn about this for years. Witschge is very touchy.

My last point: Witschge, and all other enemies of Co, say that Co is uncapable of treating human beings with respect. To me, it seems like *Witschge* has that problem, and not Co. It's never okay to tell some journalist that the coach can "sink into the crap" ("go fuck himself", basically). Richard Witschge is a 31 year-old grown up man, but what he's doing now is really unprofessional. His team mates have always been supporting him, but now he's seriously disturbing their preparations for the AZ game, which is pretty much gonna determine whether this season was better than, or just as crappy as the previous one.

Also, the fans have always been supporting him. No name was as often yelled as Witschge's. By doing this, one week before season's end, he's screwing up the opportunity for the fans as well as himself to say 'goodbye' to one another in a decent way.

These remarks leave Co Adriaanse no choice. He just *has* to send Witschge home and suspend him until the game against AZ is played. He's absolutely right in doing so. This season can be saved as well as completely fucked up on Sunday. Co just can't have an agitator like Witschge in his group right now.

-- Anonymous, May 23, 2001

I agree with Rene's statement regarding the lack of passing and way too much route one football. I also agree that Winter and Witschge should be playing as they have much expirence. The team gets beat up way too much and there is not enough skillful play in my opinion. I hope the young players develop quickly.

-- Anonymous, May 23, 2001

Yes he (Witschge) has an attitude, but he also is the only one of two (With Winter) who has the experience and strenght that Ajax at this stage so badly needs.

Young players like O'Brien, Chivu, Ikedia, Knopper and others are doing great, but they need players in the midfield to control the bal and not loose it before they find a good positioned player to play the ball to.

Let's be real here one of the weakest links (no relation to that silly BBC/NBC show) is Wamberto, he simply does not cut it, just look at his stats.

This Ajax is also too light, they get bowled over by most average height players from any other Dutch team.

And while I am at it, what happened to ball control and those super, beautifull passes that ajax proteges have produced for years? It seems to be lost at this stage, let's hope it is not lost forever. I have never seen an Ajax team that plays "Route One" style football as much as this team. Is this Ajax an 1970's British team?

Rene.

-- Anonymous, May 23, 2001

If the information on 'De Ajax Ster' website (DAS) is correct, we have an extremely spicy Quote Of The Week for Ajax USA...

According to the independent fansite, Richard Witschge lashes out at Co Adriaanse in the next edition of 'Sportweek' magazine, which will hit the stores tomorrow. Some quotes:

- "He can sink into shit" (literal translation; best translated by something like "He can go fuck himself" or whatever)

- "As long as he's coaching Ajax, I don't want to play here anymore"

- "I am not talking with this man anymore"

This is serious stuff (if it's correct), especially because Ajax can't have this sort of crap during their preparations for the AZ game. As much as I like Witschge, I think it would be the best thing if Co sends him home right now, and bans him from the training groung for one week. We just can't have this sh*t happening right now.

I feel very sorry about this. I know Co can be tough to his players (ask Winter, Hosé and Bobson), but it's a fact that Richard Witschge is very easy to offend. A few years ago, the Dutch national coach (I don't remember whether it was Advocaat or Hiddink - I think Hiddink) did not give him a phone call to explain why he was not selected. Witschge made one hell of a scene out of that for years and years. He's not an easy guy, and his pride is pretty easy to hurt.

I don't know who to choose for, but I tend to choose for Co. I mean: young guys like Van der Gun, Van der Vaart, Van der Meyde, Knopper, De Cler, Chivu and O'Brien seem to be very fond of him. A guy like Vierklau says he can't blame Co for not putting him in the team. He admits he failed himself. Witschge, Hosé and Bobson are 'enfants terribles', and I can imagine how they can be. As far as Winter is concerned: Wouters and Westerhof already complained his attitude.

It would be too easy to just call Co a friggin' tyrant because of the way he treats Witschge.

-- Anonymous, May 22, 2001

Richard should be back in the Dutch National Team. His pass looks like that from Cruijff. They can use it...

-- Anonymous, May 16, 2001

Hey , dosen't anyone have anything to say about him.Menno can you please give us a picture of Richard.

-- Anonymous, April 28, 2001

I love richard. Its the best player in the world!!! I´m from Barcelona, and when he was here he were the best.

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2001

richard witschge is one of the best players ajax has got and although he was injured the few games he played he played brilliantly and van der vaart has no experience so i dont think co should ditch richard

-- Anonymous, April 05, 2001

Richard Witschge wants to go if his situation in the squad does not drastically change before the end of the season. Ajax has promised that they'll co-operate in that case, and won't get in the way of a transfer. Unless Van der Vaart gets seriously injured or something, I think Witschge's situation will not change. I bet this is his last season with Ajax.

-- Anonymous, February 19, 2001

According to 'Het Parool' newspaper, two clubs are interested in Rochard Witschge: Tottenham Hotspur and Besiktas. I don't know whether they've contacted Ajax officially. I do know for fact that Witschge has said he wants to go: 'I enjoy playing for Ajax and I would prefer to keep doing so, but given the current situation I do want to leave' or something like that.

-- Anonymous, December 15, 2000

After months of injury trouble, Richard Witschge has returned to the Ajax-1 squad. He played a few games for Ajax-2 as a final test. The bad news for Witschge: Co Adriaanse does not see a reason to take Rafaël van der Vaart out of the team and he is satisfied about the defense as well. So Witschge will start on the bench on Sunday. Adriaanse underlines that Witschge's days at Ajax are definitely NOT over: "It can change at any moment."

-- Anonymous, November 24, 2000