René van der Gijp does not understand much of the tactical choices made by coach Erik ten Hag on Sunday in the opening game of Ajax against Sparta Rotterdam (0-1 win). The coach chose Quincy Promes on the spot where Donny van de Beek usually played last season, but according to Van der Gijp Promes is totally unsuitable as number ten.

Van der Gijp gets in Veronica Inside Jan Boskamp’s question whether he thinks Promes should play in ten. “No joh, of course not”, leaves the ex-right out of clarity. “Let him play nicely on the outside. He doesn’t have anything of a number ten, does he? He doesn’t have the ingenuity to put a ball away. Cut it out, that’s not a ten.” Johan Derksen adds: “They all want to play at ten these days, don’t they?”

By the way, Van der Gijp doesn’t understand that Zakaria Labyad, normally an attacking midfielder with a hanging wing striker, played at Ajax’ striker on Sunday. “In all the years we have been watching Ajax, with Patrick Kluivert, Marco van Basten, Dennis Bergkamp, Wim Kieft, John Bosman, there was always an insanely good striker. Kasper Dolberg was the last one we thought: that might be him”, says Van der Gijp, who goes on about Labyad. “But they don’t have those now. Because what are you going to do with that striker they had now, that little Moroccan? That’s not a rush hour, what’s that supposed to mean?”

Derksen states that it is difficult for Ajax to find a good striker. “I think a striker that makes Ajax better is too expensive, even for Ajax. If you want to buy a striker that is guaranteed to make Ajax better, then you’ve lost a fortune, with all the English clubs lurking around,” says Derksen, who does think that the selection of Amsterdammers is the best in the Eredivisie.