The crisis at Ajax does not seem to have an end for the time being. With a historic home defeat against Excelsior Rotterdam, the Amsterdam team was plunged even deeper into mourning. Kenneth Taylor sees that things need to improve and also discusses the dismissal of John Heitinga.
The 2024/25 season felt like a kind of turning point for many Ajax players. After the previous seasons had been dramatic, some recovery was visible again. A few months later, the sentiment in the Johan Cruijff ArenA is different again. Once again there is a crisis, both administratively and sportingly. A new trainer, technical director and members for the Supervisory Board must be found, while the game on the field is disappointing.
The latest blow came on Saturday evening. Ajax lost very painfully at home to Excelsior: 1-2. It was immediately a historic defeat, because it was only the first time in history that the Rotterdam visitors managed to win an away match against the Amsterdam team. During the match and afterwards, the home crowd clearly showed that they were not pleased with the play of ‘their’ team.
‘Have to play football’
Kenneth Taylor could understand that a flute concert came from the stands. “When we play like this, you know how the audience reacts to it. I don’t find that strange. This sucks for everyone who loves Ajax. This is just dramatic for the entire club and all the supporters,” the midfielder is quoted afterwards by Football International.
The Ajax captain also holds himself and his fellow players responsible for the poor performance and therefore the dismissal of John Heitinga. “Of course, it always sucks when the trainer is fired. I think that is also up to us, the team, because in the end we all have to do it together. The trainer is then the head of Jut, I don’t know if that is always right. But in the end Fred Grim is there now. We just have to deal with that together. It’s that simple, we have to turn this around. For the rest, there is a lot to talk about, but it is not all that useful. We have to just go play football,” Taylor said.
