This is the place to discuss the man who will be Ajax's #1 goalkeeper in the new season: Maarten Stekelenburg.

i promise i jumped up and down in joyous celebration when i heard the news - NO MORE BUTTERFINGERS LOBONT!!!!

i'm gonna go smoke on this one

I think it's about time that Stekelenberg is able to go into a season as number 1.Ajax must see what he can do once and for all.I like the coaches decision.

It's very surprising Koeman did this, as he usually sticks loyally to players in the starting 11, such as playing VDV again and again last season even though he failed to show even 50% effort and was invisible, but I'm happy about it. Stekelenburg has excellent reflexes and agility, same as Lobont, but is much, much stronger in the air: where Lobont's arms flap helplessly at corners, sometimes at full stretch managing to punch it clear (only for an attacker to get to the ball), Stekelenburg dominates his penalty area, catching crosses cleanly. Lobont is an excellent keeper, but Stekelenburg i.m.o. even better. And seeing as he's 21 and already as good as (if not better than) the 26 year old Lobont, why not work with the player with the greater potential?

Maarten Stekelenburg has been declared fit by the medical staff and he can go back in training with the squad. He will play a game for Young Ajax before he returns to first team action, but anyway: he's back.

Which means that Koeman has a problem.

At season's start he did something that I did not understand in the first place: he 'officially' announced that Stekelenburg was his man for this season and that Lobont was number two. This made no sense to me. Why would you do that? You don't officially announce your hierarchy for right fullbacks or left wingers either, do you? As a coach you always want to keep the options open and you don't promise anything to any player. Let them show it in training, I'd say. Anyway: this whole goalkeeper circus was a very silly thing to do.

But then Stekelenburg got injured and Lobont kept a clean sheet a few times. And what I already expected happened indeed: Koeman had to swallow his words and announced that he was going to 're-consider' the goalkeeper issue. There you go: if he hadn't made a statement, he would not have had to re-consider it.

Today's news: Koeman told newspaper De Telegraaf that he will invite Stekelenburg and Boggy to his office for a talk. They will 'evualuate' the first half of the season and he will tell them who will be the 'new' number one.

This sums up precisely what I hate the most about Ronald Koeman: he's so amazingly inconsistent. He keeps changing things in the system, he makes weird substitutions and whatever he says on one day he might change the next. He announced a number one goalkeeper in order to 'create clearness' for everyone involved. But if you keep re-considering your own announcement, the effect will be the opposite and you'll only cause unrest.

That's my point.

BTW: I would prefer Boggy in goal. He's been okay.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by AFCA 1900


This sums up precisely what I hate the most about Ronald Koeman: he's so amazingly inconsistent. He keeps changing things in the system, he makes weird substitutions and whatever he says on one day he might change the next. He announced a number one goalkeeper in order to 'create clearness' for everyone involved. But if you keep re-considering your own announcement, the effect will be the opposite and you'll only cause unrest.

---