Blogs

Rose astounded by Dutch FA move

|
Image for Rose astounded by Dutch FA move

Danny Rose has admitted that he could not believe the Dutch FA cancelled a whole round of Eredivisie fixtures to help Ajax prepare for their Champions League semi-final clash with Tottenham. 

The two sides meet next Tuesday for the first leg of their last four tie, and the Dutch governing body has taken the decision to cancel a whole round of league matches this weekend to give the Amsterdam side as much of an advantage as possible.

And Rose has expressed his disbelief and envy at the move.

As quoted in the Daily Mail, he said: “I could not believe it when I heard that is what the Dutch are doing.

“When you get to this stage of the season, a little bit of fatigue kicks in and every little helps. It would be nice if the people in England took a similar stance and helped us out.

“Ultimately, it is not Tottenham against Ajax or Liverpool against Barcelona – it is England. We want to bring the Champions League to Tottenham, but also to England.”

OPINION

If you were a Tottenham player, you would be a little bit seething at this move from the Dutch FA to be fair. It’s obviously a brilliant thing for a side that were never expected to get this far in the competition, and it just reaffirms the size of Ajax’s achievement, but from a Spurs’ perspective it is a bit rubbish. Now, admittedly, the Premier League has committed the noble act of moving their match before the second leg to the Saturday as opposed to the Monday night, but the tie could well be lost by then, and psychologically, Ajax will be riding such a buzz going into this first match on Tuesday. Obviously the Premier League were never going to cancel a whole round of fixtures, but surely, having seen what the Dutch had done, they could have at least offered to postpone Spurs’ clash against West Ham this coming Saturday? Maybe it won’t make a difference, but if it does, Tottenham will be fuming.

Share this article