Ajax Fans Demand Change as Oscar Gloukh Struggles
The scoreboard says one thing. The Johan Cruyff Arena says another.
Ajax and PSV are trading blows in a tight first half, but the noise rolling down from the stands is aimed at one man: Oscar Gloukh. Every misplaced step, every lost duel, every late recovery run is being met with groans that are getting louder by the minute.
Given another start on the left wing for this marquee clash, the Israeli has looked anything but liberated. His attacking threat has been smothered, his shots blocked before they can trouble the goalkeeper, and when Ajax lose the ball, his problems only grow. The frustration is written all over his face – and all over the stadium.
The flashpoint comes in the 27th minute. Gloukh tracks Sergiño Dest for a moment, then simply lets him go. Dest surges away down the flank, untouched. Guus Til suddenly finds himself in space in front of goal, the kind of opening PSV live for. His finish is wild and sails high, but the damage is done in another sense. The home crowd erupts, not in fear, but in fury.
On ESPN, commentator Vincent Schildkamp spots the same picture unfolding. He describes Gloukh almost abandoning the chase and gesturing towards his team-mates as if to say: “Yes, I’m not going to get there anymore. You have to sort it out.” Schildkamp adds that Gloukh simply does not have the lungs to keep up with Dest all evening.
Ajax supporters are in no mood to accept that explanation. Patience has snapped. Social channels and fan forums fill up with the same message: take him off. Now.
“Take Gloukh off now,” one fan demands. Another calls his display “truly disgraceful.” The criticism cuts even deeper from others: “Gloukh is one of the worst players I have seen at Ajax.”
The anger quickly turns into a campaign for change. A name keeps coming back: Abdellah Ouazane. The 17-year-old has impressed in recent weeks, and the crowd has not forgotten.
“Why isn’t Ouazane playing? He is five times the player Gloukh is, surely,” one supporter writes. Another pushes the same idea with less diplomacy: “Gloukh off for a quick shower and bring Ouazane on.”
The match remains delicately poised. The atmosphere around Gloukh does not. As Dest keeps running and the minutes tick by, the question grows louder: how long will the Ajax bench wait before answering their own fans?
