Who is a 'bigger' club, Ajax or Arsenal?

[Stoned Rose]

City.

 

[KS55]

It's Ajax by a mile.

Measuring how "big" clubs are is dumb, but if you're going to do it, it's Ajax.

They've put a much bigger stamp on the history of football. Rinus Michaels, Cruyff, Total Football - Barcelona's entire identity is built on copying Ajax, their academy based on Ajax's, their best teams built either by Cruyff or his greatst disciple (Pep). In turn, our entire academy, the style of play our upper management is trying to create is based off Ajax's via Barcelona, and we're not the only ones either.

It's not just that they've won the European Cup 4 times, the teams that did it were reference points for decades later. The "Gloria Ajax" years and total football, then the van Gaal youngsters with Kanu and Overmars and Seedorf.

Not to mention the talent factory they are - van Basten, De Boer, Rijkaard, Bergkamp, Davids, Seedorf, Cruyff... you could literally name 50. Not all in the past either, they still constantly pop up at the top of the lists of clubs with most academy products in the top 5 leagues in Europe.

6 Ballons D'Or out of that club, none for Arsenal.

Then there's the usual stuff - the only club in one of the world's greatest cities, the biggest club by a mile in one of the world's great footballing nations.

Arsenal could stop existing tomorrow and no one would really notice - Spurs and Chelsea and West Ham and Fulham and Palace would just swallow up their fans.

So trying to work out what clubs are bigger is stupid, but in this case it's Ajax.

And they clean your bath.

 

[SambaStyle]

Agree

It's Ajax by a mile.

Measuring how "big" clubs are is dumb, but if you're going to do it, it's Ajax.

They've put a much bigger stamp on the history of football. Rinus Michaels, Cruyff, Total Football - Barcelona's entire identity is built on copying Ajax, their academy based on Ajax's, their best teams built either by Cruyff or his greatst disciple (Pep). In turn, our entire academy, the style of play our upper management is trying to create is based off Ajax's via Barcelona, and we're not the only ones either.

It's not just that they've won the European Cup 4 times, the teams that did it were reference points for decades later. The "Gloria Ajax" years and total football, then the van Gaal youngsters with Kanu and Overmars and Seedorf.

Not to mention the talent factory they are - van Basten, De Boer, Rijkaard, Bergkamp, Davids, Seedorf, Cruyff... you could literally name 50. Not all in the past either, they still constantly pop up at the top of the lists of clubs with most academy products in the top 5 leagues in Europe.

6 Ballons D'Or out of that club, none for Arsenal.

Then there's the usual stuff - the only club in one of the world's greatest cities, the biggest club by a mile in one of the world's great footballing nations.

Arsenal could stop existing tomorrow and no one would really notice - Spurs and Chelsea and West Ham and Fulham and Palace would just swallow up their fans.

So trying to work out what clubs are bigger is stupid, but in this case it's Ajax.

Great post, just highlights the stupidity of the 'Super League' or 'Money League'. There's no 'Super League' without Ajax as a founding member.

 

[WNRH]

It's Ajax by a mile.

Measuring how "big" clubs are is dumb, but if you're going to do it, it's Ajax.

They've put a much bigger stamp on the history of football. Rinus Michaels, Cruyff, Total Football - Barcelona's entire identity is built on copying Ajax, their academy based on Ajax's, their best teams built either by Cruyff or his greatst disciple (Pep). In turn, our entire academy, the style of play our upper management is trying to create is based off Ajax's via Barcelona, and we're not the only ones either.

It's not just that they've won the European Cup 4 times, the teams that did it were reference points for decades later. The "Gloria Ajax" years and total football, then the van Gaal youngsters with Kanu and Overmars and Seedorf.

Not to mention the talent factory they are - van Basten, De Boer, Rijkaard, Bergkamp, Davids, Seedorf, Cruyff... you could literally name 50. Not all in the past either, they still constantly pop up at the top of the lists of clubs with most academy products in the top 5 leagues in Europe.

6 Ballons D'Or out of that club, none for Arsenal.

Then there's the usual stuff - the only club in one of the world's greatest cities, the biggest club by a mile in one of the world's great footballing nations.

Arsenal could stop existing tomorrow and no one would really notice - Spurs and Chelsea and West Ham and Fulham and Palace would just swallow up their fans.

So trying to work out what clubs are bigger is stupid, but in this case it's Ajax.

You’ve just called measuring clubs dumb and then go on to measure them.

You are also confusing history with how big they are. Arsenal have more fans, more followers, bigger reach, bigger attraction, more resources.

Anyone who says Ajax is dumb, it literally takes two minutes to do basic research to look at the facts.

If someone has got £10m to spend on sponsorship on a football club, they will choose the bigger club Arsenal over Ajax. No one gives a fuck about Rinus Michaels when talking about size of clubs.

 

[ROCKET80]

IMO the best way to judge it is put yourself in the position of a player in their late teens/early 20's and you are offered the exact same contract by whichever clubs you want to compare, who would you sign for.

Arsenal and Ajax are like two old, overweight men with combovers wondering around a nightclub showing women a picture of themselves in their prime, asking if they'd like to come home with them.

 

[FogBlueInSanFran]

You’ve just called measuring clubs dumb and then go on to measure them.

You are also confusing history with how big they are. Arsenal have more fans, more followers, bigger reach, bigger attraction, more resources.

Anyone who says Ajax is dumb, it literally takes two minutes to do basic research to look at the facts.

If someone has got £10m to spend on sponsorship on a football club, they will choose the bigger club Arsenal over Ajax. No one gives a fuck about Rinus Michaels when talking about size of clubs.

You’ve just called another poster dumb and then posted something even dumber, so . . .

“Basic research” on what? Let’s define the term big. You say economics, Dom says history. Oh, oops, there is no “accepted” definition of “big”, so how is anyone supposed to do “research”? This is why it’s an inane topic to begin with.

And, hey, maybe if my customer base was, you know, fucking DUTCH, I’d pick Ajax to spend 10M with. You’d probably pick Arsenal, but that leads us back to the first sentence in my post.

 

[mccity]

It's a vague enough concept that I can easily make an argument either way.

 

[urban genie]

Neither all clubs are equal and of the same importance to their own fans

 

[Deleted member 77198]

Put it this way, to put into perspective about how big/influential Ajax Amsterdam are; FC Barcelona are Ajax-lite.

Everything you see about the way Barça played in their great era was copied off Ajax. Through Cruyff’s Ajax influence on Pep, Villanova and Enrique; Michels influence on Cruyff at Ajax; and Reynold’s influence on Michels at Ajax. It is the Ajax way of playing.

City are another Ajax-lite club, because that Ajax influence has come to City through Txiki, Soriano and Pep.

The cool thing about all that is that Jack Reynolds is a Mancunian who started his playing career at City.

When I think of Ajax, I always think they’re the coolest football club in Europe. Cool name (Ajax the Great was a Greek hero of legend), great history, a history that isn’t just about winning trophies (as mentioned above), iconic kit, iconic players, iconic Academy, great fans, a club that is synonymous with its city…

I really like Ajax. They’re a great club!

Arsenal haven’t had as much of an impact on football like Ajax have. In fact, not one English club has, and may never have.

 

[everythingchangesbutblue]

If a player only has 2 options 98/100 would join arse.