| Competition | Mat | Total points | Win | Drw | Loss | GF | GA | F-A | Res |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dutch Cup | 7 | 7 | 30 | 6 | 24 | Winner | |||
| Second Division West A | 14 | 27 | 13 | 1 | 67 | 4 | 63 | Endranking: 1 | |
| Champions Competition 2nd Division West | 3 | 6 | 3 | 11 | 1 | 10 | Endranking: 1 | ||
| Zilveren Voetbal | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 2 | Lost in Finale | |
| Friendly | 16 | 13 | 3 | 58 | 13 | 45 | |||
| Gouden Meer Beker | 2 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 9 | Winner |
| Pos | Club | Mat | Win | Drw | Loss | Total points | GF | GA | F-A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ajax | 14 | 13 | 1 | 27 | 67 | 4 | 63 | |
| 2 | De Spartaan | 14 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 21 | 46 | 9 | 37 |
| 3 | AFC | 14 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 18 | 35 | 19 | 16 |
| 4 | EDO | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 18 | 1 |
| 5 | ZVV | 14 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 13 | 27 | 33 | -6 |
| 6 | DEC | 14 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 12 | 25 | 31 | -6 |
| 7 | LVV | 14 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 13 | 61 | -48 |
| 8 | Alcmaria Victrix | 14 | 1 | 13 | 1 | 5 | 62 | -57 |
| Pos | Club | Mat | Win | Drw | Loss | Total points | GF | GA | F-A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ajax | 3 | 3 | 6 | 11 | 1 | 10 | ||
| 2 | VVA | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 2 | |
| 3 | DFC | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | -4 | |
| 4 | RFC | 3 | 3 | 3 | 11 | -8 |
| Player | Team | Matches | Goals | Yellow | Red | Assists | Minutes | Own Goals | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Theo Brokmann Sr. | A | 22 | 30 | 1 | 1980 | ||||
| Frans Couton | A | 17 | 1530 | ||||||
| Joop van Dort | A | 21 | 10 | 1 | 1890 | ||||
| Freek Gehrels | II | 6 | 540 | ||||||
| E. van Gelderen | II | 2 | 180 | ||||||
| Jan Goosen | II | 4 | 360 | ||||||
| Jan Grootmeijer | II | 4 | 1 | 1 | 360 | ||||
| Wim Gupffert | A | 22 | 11 | 4 | 1980 | ||||
| Antoon ten Herkel | II | 2 | 180 | ||||||
| Henk Hordijk | A | 21 | 9 | 1890 | |||||
| André de Kruijff | II | 3 | 1 | 270 | |||||
| H. van der Laan | II | 2 | 180 | ||||||
| Jan-Willem Lucas | II | 2 | 2 | 180 | |||||
| Rinus Lucas | A | 22 | 22 | 1980 | |||||
| Jan de Natris | A | 21 | 4 | 5 | 1869 | ||||
| Fons Pelser | A | 22 | 1980 | 1 | |||||
| Joop Pelser | A | 21 | 1890 | ||||||
| Jan Schäfer | II | 2 | 3 | 180 | |||||
| Jan Smit | A | 22 | 1980 | ||||||
| Staal | Unknown | 1 | 90 | ||||||
| Frits Terwee | A | 21 | 1890 | ||||||
| Chris Wintershoven | II | 2 | 180 | ||||||
| Gerard Ziegeler | Unknown | 2 | 2 | 1 | 180 |
| Player | Position | Contract Type | Contract From | Contract To | Loan Out From | Loan Out To | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan Smit | Keeper | Unknown | |||||
| Frans Couton | Defender | Unknown | |||||
| Fons Pelser | Defender | Unknown | |||||
| Joop van Dort | Midfielder | Unknown | |||||
| Henk Hordijk | Midfielder | Unknown | |||||
| Joop Pelser | Midfielder | Unknown | |||||
| Frits Terwee | Midfielder | Unknown | |||||
| Theo Brokmann Sr. | Forward | Unknown | |||||
| Wim Gupffert | Forward | Unknown | |||||
| Rinus Lucas | Forward | Unknown | |||||
| Jan de Natris | Forward | Unknown |
| Player | Position | Contract Type | Contract From | Contract To | Loan Out From | Loan Out To | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Wintershoven | Keeper | Unknown | |||||
| Freek Gehrels | Defender | Unknown | |||||
| Jan Goosen | Midfielder | Unknown | |||||
| Antoon ten Herkel | Midfielder | Unknown | |||||
| André de Kruijff | Midfielder | Unknown | |||||
| E. van Gelderen | Forward | Unknown | |||||
| Jan Grootmeijer | Forward | Unknown | |||||
| H. van der Laan | Forward | Unknown | |||||
| Jan-Willem Lucas | Forward | Unknown | |||||
| André Maassen | Forward | Unknown | |||||
| Jan Schäfer | Forward | Unknown |
| Player | Position | Contract Type | Contract From | Contract To | Loan Out From | Loan Out To | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heere Schappert | Keeper | Unknown |
| Player | Position | Contract Type | Contract From | Contract To | Loan Out From | Loan Out To | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gerard Ziegeler | Keeper | Unknown | |||||
| Frans Schoevaart | Defender | Unknown | |||||
| Staal | Defender | Unknown | |||||
| De Zeeuw | Forward | Unknown |
| Player | Role | Contract Type | Contract From | Contract To | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Reynolds | Head coach | Contract | |||
| Willem Egeman | President | No Contract | |||
| Han Dade | Vice president | No Contract | |||
| Jan Grootmeijer | Secretary | No Contract | |||
| Marius Koolhaas | 2nd Secretary | No Contract | |||
| Tjerk de Munnik | Treasurer | No Contract | |||
| J.Ph. Geerlings | 2nd Treasurer | No Contract | |||
| Joop Pelser | Commissioner | No Contract | |||
| H.R. Reyenga | Commissioner | No Contract | |||
| Frans Schoevaart | Commissioner | No Contract |
See this overview for an explanation of the categorization of the various competition types.
| Player | Comp. | Comp. Play Off | Dutch Cup | Europa | Other Off. | Off. Mat. | Friendly | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mat | Goals | Mat | Goals | Mat | Goals | Mat | Goals | Mat | Goals | Mat | Goals | Mat | Goals | Mat | Goals | |
| Theo Brokmann Sr. | 14 | 19 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 22 | 30 | 18 | 17 | 40 | 47 | ||||
| Frans Couton | 11 | 3 | 3 | 17 | 15 | 32 | ||||||||||
| Joop van Dort | 13 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 21 | 10 | 16 | 5 | 37 | 15 | ||||
| Freek Gehrels | 3 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 11 | |||||||||||
| E. van Gelderen | 2 | 2 | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Jan Goosen | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | ||||||||||||
| Jan Grootmeijer | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 1 | ||||||||
| Wim Gupffert | 14 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 22 | 11 | 19 | 7 | 41 | 18 | ||||
| Antoon ten Herkel | 2 | 2 | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Henk Hordijk | 14 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 21 | 9 | 19 | 1 | 40 | 10 | ||||
| André de Kruijff | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | |||||||||
| H. van der Laan | 2 | 2 | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Jan-Willem Lucas | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | |||||||||
| Rinus Lucas | 14 | 15 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 22 | 22 | 17 | 14 | 39 | 36 | ||||
| Jan de Natris | 13 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 21 | 4 | 19 | 4 | 40 | 8 | |||||
| Adriaan Pelser | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||||
| Fons Pelser | 14 | 3 | 5 | 22 | 14 | 2 | 36 | 2 | ||||||||
| Joop Pelser | 13 | 3 | 5 | 21 | 18 | 3 | 39 | 3 | ||||||||
| Jan Schäfer | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | ||||||||||
| Frans Schoevaart | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| Jan Smit | 14 | 3 | 5 | 22 | 18 | 40 | ||||||||||
| Staal | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | ||||||||||||
| Frits Terwee | 13 | 3 | 5 | 21 | 16 | 37 | ||||||||||
| Chris Wintershoven | 2 | 2 | 2 | |||||||||||||
| De Zeeuw | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||||
| Gerard Ziegeler | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||
| Total | 154 | 54 | 33 | 11 | 77 | 30 | 264 | 95 | 204 | 53 | 468 | 148 | ||||
Ajax does not show any disappointment on the pitch that they are not allowed to play in the first division and easily win the 2nd division west A, only the away match against De Spartaan ends in a draw, the rest is won, some of the matches with a large goal difference. Afterwards the championship competition is played between the 4 2nd division west champions (VVA, Dordrecht, RFC), which Ajax wins with a 100% score. There are no promotion matches.
By winning the Dutch Cup this season Ajax gets its first major price. The first two rounds Ajax is still not taking this tournament too seriously, the first team has different obligations on the same days and players of the second team were allowed to defend the Ajax colors and did so with success. After these two rounds the first team takes over and Ajax wins the cup convincingly. In the final VSV was beaten.
This season Ajax plays a lot with the same lineup: Jan Smit (goalkeeper), Frans Couton and Fons Pelser (defenders) Henk Hordijk, Joop Pelser, and Frits Terwee (midfield and stopper spil), Jan de Natris, Joop van Dort, Theo Brokmann Sr., Rinus Lucas and Wim Gupffert (attack). Joop Pelser is captain. In comparison with the previous season the goalkeeper and two defenders are replaced. One of the new defenders is Fons Pelser and his spot in the attack is replaced by Joop van Dort. Because the first two Dutch Cup rounds the first team played other matches, the players from the second team also played a few official matches for Ajax 1. Notably Ziegeler, this seems to be the same player that was Ajax' goalkeeper the previous seasons, is one of the fieldplayers in these matches and even scores a couple of goals. Freek Gehrels replaces Frans Couton a few matches when the latter is facing an injury. Jan Grootmeijer is already a kind of superreplacement for a few years in the attack, and also this season plays a few matches. Besides that also Jan Goosen and André de Kruijff play a few matches.
Also this season Reynolds is the trainer of Ajax.
The beginning of this seasons continues with the aftermath of the promotion competition, Ajax is in contact with the soccer association and later the general meeting of the soccer association to still try to be allowed to replay the match against Blauw-Wit, or be promoted by choice. Ajax makes the following proposals during the general meeting: 1. nullify the complete promotion competition because there was no relegation possibility for the participanting first division team, which is in conflict with the regulations. 2. nullify the decision to not replay the match Ajax - Blauw-Wit, which is in conflict with the originally approved regulation for this competition, and let this match be played again before the season starts. 3. Let Ajax be promoted by choice to the first division. DVS' view is that if Ajax will be promoted by choice the same argument can be used for DVS. Ajax has indicated it is willing to consider a civil action of all their proposals are rejected and this does not make them popular with the NVB and many clubs. The disapproval of such an action is made clear during the general meeting and the board make a proposal, which is approved with a large majority, which confirms that general meeting as the soccer association's highest power and that the meeting will only handle Ajax' proposals if Ajax will promise to accept the outcome of the general meeting. Ajax' representatives present at the meeting cannot guarantee this, because they have not been empowered by the Ajax board to do so, which results in the proposals not being handled.
During the general meeting Ajax held on August 5 it is announced that the club is going through a growing phase. During the meeting the board is composed as follows: 1st president W.F. Egeman, 2nd president H. Dade, 1st secretary J.J. Grootmeijer, 2nd secretary M.J. Koolhaas, 1st treasurer Tj de Munnik, 2nd treasurer J. PJh. Goerlings. Committee members: J. Pelser, F. Schoevaart, and Reyenga. About the promotion discussions it is announced that Ajax will try to get the support from all other clubs because it feels that her previous actions are interpreted in a wrong way by the NVB.
Ajax addresses the NVB and clubs to explain that Ajax had not decided before the general meeting that it would start a civil procedure and it regrets that the condition to handle Ajax proposals was not communicated to Ajax before the meeting. Because the representatives were not authorized, they could not guarantee the condition on Ajax' behalf. Ajax has by now decided not to start a civil procedure. Ajax denies the accusation that they try to achieve via a judge what they could not achieve on the field, according to Ajax it is Blauw-Wit that needed a change in the regulations to guarantee the promotion. During a subsequent boardmeeting of the NVB de NVB decided not to promote Ajax by choice. When ajax shows in September during the matches for the Zilveren Voetbal to be regarded as one of the top teams in the Netherlands (Western division champion Sparta is beaten with 3-0, while the national champion Willem II is just barely able to win with 1-0, meanwhile Ajax play impresses many), some newspapers write to convince the NVB to promote Ajax by choice. The NVB does not change her opinion and Ajax does not continue the discussions and focusses on showing on the pitch they belong in the first division.
The NVB has made the decision at the start of the season to introduce a second first division west in season 1917-18. The plan is this group will exist of 10 teams. One spot will be filled by the number last from the existing first division west, so that this will only consist of 10 teams. In addition all numbers 1 and 2 of the 4 second division west groups will be part of the new group, and the numbers 3 of the second division west groups will play a promotion competition who can fill in the last spot. This plan is criticised by everyone. Het Gouden Hoofd (the club of first division teams) is against a relegation without promotion degradation match. With the second division clubs the main issue is that there will be no mixing with the existing first division. Their point of criticism that it is only in name a promotion to the first class, but they will only all play second division teams. Also the more neutral critics have their doubts about the lack of mixing teams of the two first division west groups. Several other suggestions are done, both to let the new group be a real group between the first and the second division, but also to let the teams of the two groups fully mix (for example Noord (Haarlem, Amsterdam, Utrecht) and Zuid (Den Haag, Rotterdam)). The NVB however, not withstanding all criticism, stays until the end of the season with her original plan.
In December 1916 the first Ajax Magazine is issued.
Ajax has a large and modern stadium, for those days, and there is much interest from spectators. Not only does this make it easy for Ajax to find opponents that would like to come to Watergraafsmeer for friendly matches, but also the away matches for dutch cup and competition are sometimes played in Het Houten Stadion, which is financially attractive for both parties. For the Dutch Cup cames the regulations indicate that the takings should be divided between both clubs after subtracting the travel expenses for the away teams. Because when playing matches in Het Houten Stadion as described above the formal home team has travel expenses Ajax requests the NVB to be allowed to subtract the travel costs from the home team from the takings, but this is not approved, with as motivation it would require a change in the regulations. There are also situations in which the soccer association does not approve the requests from Ajax and their opponent to play away matches for Ajax in Het Houten Stadion. It is not clear what position the NVB takes, there are no reports that they are against because it is not fair with respect to other teams.
A sportsfan makes a golden cup available to Ajax, which is meant as the price for a series of matches between the strongest teams of the Netherlands. The idea is that the matches for the Gouden Meer Beker will be a yearly recurring event which will be played around Eastern. Ajax wins the first edition by beating DVS in the semi final and Vitesse in the final.
Before the start of the competition it is already clear that Ajax will not get strong opposition in the competition and because of that it organizes many friendly matches. Ajax selects strong opposition and amongst others the previous and new national champion, various division champions and other 1st division teams are the opponents. Ajax is able to win 14 and draw 4 of the 19 friendly matches. The only loss, also the only loss in the complete season, is a 1-0 loss from Willem II, national champion 1915-16, which Ajax compensates later in the season by beating Willem II in a home game with 4-0. Critics point out that such matches are not taken serious by each opponent, but in general Ajax gains a lot of respect by reacting on the pitch to the strange ending of the previous season, and with attractive play beat most opponents it faces.
Since 1901 before the competition start each season the matches for the Zilveren (Voet)Bal were organized. This was based on an initiative by few people from Rotterdam. The goal of this toernament was to let the strongest teams of the Netherlands play against eachother before the start of the season. Since 2007 next to the Zilveren Bal there was a second price available for this tournament. The sports magazine “Revue der Sporten” introduced the Revue Beker for the team that reaches furthest in the tournament and is not playing in the first division. This was a very prestigious tournament and often the strongest teams indeed participated. The Dutch Cup (also known als Holdert Cup) was in those days less prestigious and this season Ajax chooses to play with the first team squad for the Zilveren Bal, while the second team squad plays the first rounds for the Dutch Cup. Ajax does not win the Zilveren Bal because it looses the final from Willem II, but does win the Revue Beker, because it reaches furthest from all teams not playing in the first division.
Information about lineups and goalscorers this season is incomplete and unreliable. The main source used are newspaper reports and information often differs between different newspapers, sometimes newspapers also explicitly mention it is unknown when a goal is scored, and it is common that it is only mentioned that certain regular players are not playing, not who is playing instead. As much as possible we try to point out the information we are uncertain about.