Hard to understand:
Numbers 1 and 4 play Champions League
2, 3 and 5 play UEFA :?
Then there's another play-off for another UEFA Cup ticket and an Intertoto ticket.
I'm amazed that UEFA went ahead with this lunatic play-off tournament.

There's no need. Attendance is good.

Ajax played a horrible season yet they'll still manage to sneak into the Champions League thanks to a couple of good games.

Exactly. Ajax ended way behind AZ but who's playing the Champion's League. Let's keep our fingers crossed that Ajax relegates to UEFA during the current CL/UEFA season and gets eliminated by either AZ or Groningen at some stage. Or perhaps by Vitesse, who need to beat Twente and a string of clubs in Intertoto and Uefa to reach that stage but Vitesse hold a good record. Eliminated by Inter Milan with 1-1 at home and 0-0 in the away game is quite repectable. Altogether though it has become rather diffuse. Playing 34 games and ending #2, in close range of #1 proves less than ending just ahead of #5,6,7,8 etc.

Here's this Season's standing at the end:


1. PSV CL 34 26 6 2 84 71-23
2. AZ 34 23 5 6 74 78-32
3. Feyenoord 34 21 8 5 71 79-34
4. Ajax 34 18 6 10 60 66-41
5. FC Groningen 34 16 8 10 56 46-43
6. FC Utrecht 34 16 7 11 55 48-44
7. Heerenveen 34 14 8 12 50 63-58
8. Roda JC 34 15 5 14 50 57-54
9. FC Twente 34 13 8 13 47 44-36
10. NEC 34 13 8 13 47 43-43
11. Vitesse 34 13 5 16 44 52-54
12. RKC Waalwijk 34 11 6 17 39 48-58
13. Heracles Al. 34 11 6 17 39 35-58
14. Sparta R'dam 34 10 7 17 37 34-50
15. ADO Den Haag 34 10 5 19 35 36-62
16. NAC Breda NC 34 8 9 17 33 45-66
17. Willem II NC 34 7 7 20 28 45-66
18. RBC Roos. ** 34 1 6 27 9 22-90

PSV and Ajax play the Champions League

AZ, Feyenoord and Groningen play UEFA

I think Heerenveen qualified and Twente or Vitesse will fight over an Intertoto ticket to UEFA. Poor Utrecht! Played a good season; beaten Ajax 1-4 at home for example.

Clubs like AZ and Groningen came up with the play-offs because it would give another team than PSV or Ajax (the usual champions/runners-up) a chance to play Champions League. That’s the whole idea behind it.

Ironically it's again PSV and Ajax (if they make it through 3rd qualifying round) that play CL in 2006/07. :D


I'm definitely not a fan of Ajax and would have loved to see Groningen go through, but in a way it's also justice. A ridiculous plan invented by the smaller clubs in the end backfired against those same clubs...

Well, AZ proved to be complete idiots then.

Whats this doing in the Uk/Ireland forums? :dunno:

The ones who'll push their club beyond during these play-offs will play English leagues soon, that's why. AZ is argueably a stronger team than Middlesbrough, yet AZ never got there.

Where's an Ireland thread, now that you brought it up?

The ones who'll push their club beyond during these play-offs will play English leagues soon, that's why. AZ is argueably a stronger team than Middlesbrough, yet AZ never got there.

Nah the dutch league is shit compared to the premiership Middlesbrough have beaten quite a few good teams in reaching the Uefa Cup final.