Dit is mijn club. - Ajax 2017/2018

Discussion in 'The Netherlands' started by JC-14, Jun 3, 2017.

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  1. Orange14

    Orange14 Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 27, 2007
    Bethesda, MD
    Club:
    AFC Ajax
    Nat'l Team:
    Netherlands
  2. Frysk Bloed

    Frysk Bloed Member

    Sep 6, 2014
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Anyone have any insight on Azor Matusiwa? He's called up to the first team.
     
  3. Orange14

    Orange14 Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 27, 2007
    Bethesda, MD
    Club:
    AFC Ajax
    Nat'l Team:
    Netherlands
    He was on the bench several weeks ago. I've seen him in some Jong Ajax matches and don't think he is first team material
     
  4. Orange14

    Orange14 Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 27, 2007
    Bethesda, MD
    Club:
    AFC Ajax
    Nat'l Team:
    Netherlands
    ^^The Ajax Board has been dysfunctional for a long time now. de Boer really lucked out by winning four in a row. He was blessed with some fine players that overcame his tactics which totally failed him in his last two seasons in charge.
     
  5. Orange14

    Orange14 Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 27, 2007
    Bethesda, MD
    Club:
    AFC Ajax
    Nat'l Team:
    Netherlands
    In the end a comfortable 4-1 victory though it should have been much worse with all the play at the VVV end. Two shots off the woodwork and a number of others right on frame. ten Hag lives to manage another match. David Neres was MOTM with almost a hat trick and a very nice assist to Huntelaar on the third goal. Ajax need only a draw against AZ to clinch 2nd place.

    Player Ratings:

    Onana (6) - pretty much a bystander for most of the match
    Wöber (6) - decent enough and too bad his shot hit the crossbar
    de Ligt (7) - not much to defend against and also had a narrow miss at scoring
    Veltman (6) - took a hard elbow to the head which didn't even warrant a Yellow Card and was off before the half
    Schböne (5) - a charitable 5 as he should have buried the PK; don't know why he wasn't subbed off in the 2nd half
    Mazraoui (6) - decent enough match for his first start
    van de Beek (6) - had several opportunities to score but came up short each time
    Ziyech (7) - solid game from a player whose off to greener pastures next season
    Kluivert (5.5) - needs to watch game films of David Neres to learn how to play the wing; too many give aways
    Huntelaar (6.5) - didn't get much of an opportunity to score but made sure of the one good chance he had
    Neres (8) - Absolutely solid
    Kristensen (6.5) - good match and fortunately he didn't have to defend much at all
    Ekkelenkamp (NR) - on very late
     
  6. Brilliant Dutch

    Brilliant Dutch Member+

    Ajax
    Netherlands
    Oct 14, 2013
    Amsterdam, Holland
    Nat'l Team:
    Netherlands
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  7. Orange14

    Orange14 Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 27, 2007
    Bethesda, MD
    Club:
    AFC Ajax
    Nat'l Team:
    Netherlands
    Ziyech had a nice game. It will be interesting to see where he goes next season.
     
  8. It will be interesting to see what the make up of the team is going to be.
    Several top clubs are in need of rejuvenating their squads, Bayern, Borrussia, Juventus, Arsenal.
    So the pressure on keeping the team intact is huge.
     
  9. Orange14

    Orange14 Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 27, 2007
    Bethesda, MD
    Club:
    AFC Ajax
    Nat'l Team:
    Netherlands
    Gone for sure: Onana, Ziyech
    Possibly Gone: Kluivert if he does not extend his contract, Tagliafico if he starts for Argentina in the WC, de Ligt if the money offered is too high to resist (€60M would be needed)
    Remote Chance of Leaving: Neres who has a long contract and won't be on the Brazil NT,
    Likely to stay: Frenkie de Jong despite rumors of interest, Dolberg who still has not proven himself as a #9, van de Beek who is happy at Ajax

    Club could be in bad shape if there are a lot of departures.
     
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  10. Brilliant Dutch

    Brilliant Dutch Member+

    Ajax
    Netherlands
    Oct 14, 2013
    Amsterdam, Holland
    Nat'l Team:
    Netherlands
    Or, an opportunity for Jong Ajax players to emerge
     
  11. Orange14

    Orange14 Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 27, 2007
    Bethesda, MD
    Club:
    AFC Ajax
    Nat'l Team:
    Netherlands
    Interesting you wrote this. They won their match today and are now in first place in the Jupiter League ahead of Sittard and NEC. Some of the Jong players have already been called up because of all the injuries but it's not clear which ones will ultimately make it. Also playing in the Jong team are some of the recent foreign transfers the club has brought in.
     
  12. Brilliant Dutch

    Brilliant Dutch Member+

    Ajax
    Netherlands
    Oct 14, 2013
    Amsterdam, Holland
    Nat'l Team:
    Netherlands
    One thing I've learned over the years, some of the players you think will be stars probably won't be, and some of the players you think never will be could very well be
     
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  13. Orange14

    Orange14 Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 27, 2007
    Bethesda, MD
    Club:
    AFC Ajax
    Nat'l Team:
    Netherlands
    Veltman is out 6-9 months with a cruciate ligament tear suffered against VVV. Danny Blind was elected to the Ajax Supervisory Board. Bad news on both fronts.
     
  14. Orange14

    Orange14 Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 27, 2007
    Bethesda, MD
    Club:
    AFC Ajax
    Nat'l Team:
    Netherlands
    It looked like Nouri's brother got onto the pitch at the end of the match and ran up to give van de Beek a big hug!!! A nice enough win and a clean sheet to boot. It will be sad to reflect on those whose last match in the Arena was today. CL qualifying round is now secure and Overmars needs to plan on how to spend all the money that will be coming in from transfers. We'll see who ends up going and who stays. We also have Frenkie de Jong and Daley Sinkgraven coming back from their injuries.

    Player Ratings:

    Onana (7) - stopped everything on frame but would have looked very foolish had the one long lob shot been on target as all he did was watch it
    Tagliafico (6.5) - took a lot of punishment with some hard challenges but another good performance
    Wöber (6.5) - did well enough other than one soft pass right to an AZ player deep in the defensive zone
    de Ligt (7.5) - the captain did everything asked of him and I really think he's going somewhere else next season
    Mazraoui (5.5) - defended OK but offensively tried to do way more than he is capable of
    Schöne (6) - OK performance today but it's really time for him to become a spot player
    van de Beek (7) - really solid today
    Ziyech (8) - yes, and '8' as his sense of where the opportunities to score were was superb and I can overlook a couple of wild shots
    Kluivert (7.5) - the one time he should have been selfish and taken a shot he gave it up but otherwise was dangerous all game
    Huntelaar (5.5) - not a factor at all
    Neres (7.5) - just excellent on the day
    Dolberg (5.5) - as with Huntelaar, not a factor
    Ekkelenkamp (NR) - on very late for Mazraoui
    Kristensen (NR) - saw out the final minute of play

    A meaningless match next week away to Excelsior and some of the fringe players.
     
  15. BaritoPutra

    BaritoPutra Member+

    Jan 26, 2007
    It's truly remarkable the transformation that De Ligt has been having in the past few months - it seemed like it was just yesterday when he made his debut, but now he is "outgrowing" the league (even captaining his side) and is on the verge of moving to a bigger pond.

    So... What's the ideal club for De Ligt? I really hope Barcelona would step in, De Ligt would be a good successor for Pique. Man City would be quite challenging, they like the "flavor" of the day - and they have some of the most expensive CD's already in Mendy, Stones and Laporte. Not crazy about Man Utd, Mourinho seems to have a short patience with young player, and he is not a good developer (see De Bruyne, Salah, Lukaku etc.)
     
  16. Rinus127

    Rinus127 Member

    Sep 8, 2015
    Club:
    AFC Ajax
    Matusiwa is a very interesting player. He has a similar profile to Makelele or Ngolo Kanté. We are sorely lacking in this kind of players. He's really a player to follow.
     
  17. Orange14

    Orange14 Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 27, 2007
    Bethesda, MD
    Club:
    AFC Ajax
    Nat'l Team:
    Netherlands
    I think he now has either extended or signed a contract. Hope you are right as this has been a big deficiency with this club.
     
  18. Orange14

    Orange14 Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 27, 2007
    Bethesda, MD
    Club:
    AFC Ajax
    Nat'l Team:
    Netherlands
    ....and let's not forget he is only 18 years old!!! He started a Europa League final against ManU at the age of 17 in a season that he was supposed be playing at Jong Ajax. I don't think we have seen such a precocious defender since Milan's Paolo Maldini (though he did start off as a LB). It's truly a shame that European football has changed so much that teams such as Ajax can only keep players for a couple of seasons.
     
  19. Orange14

    Orange14 Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 27, 2007
    Bethesda, MD
    Club:
    AFC Ajax
    Nat'l Team:
    Netherlands
    So the meaningless match ends up 1-2 with Dolberg netting the match winner from the spot. The second half seemed to be played in slo-motion at times. Ajax had several chances to add to their tally but poor finishing put a damper on each attempt. There was more than a hint of a hand ball a nice Justinho shot but Nijhuis did not give it. Matusiwa played a nice match and reminds me somewhat of Vurnon Anita with his handling speed.

    Player Ratings:

    Lamprou (6) - after the horrible error on the de Ligt back pass he had a pretty decent game making some good saves in the 2nd half
    Tagliafico (6) - had to stay back because of the formation which is not a good use of his abilities
    de Ligt (6) - I'll take a half point off for the back pass just to even things out a bit but otherwise solid
    Mazraoui (6) - still needs some work if he is to convert to RB
    Schöne (6) - Ok but overshadowed by Matusiwa
    Matusiwa (7) - nice game on his debut and I want to see more to judge whether he is better than Eiting
    van de Beek (6.5) - busy game and had a couple of chances to score
    Ziyech (7) - farewell match for Ajax and had some nice passes but really should have scored late in the match
    Justinho (7) - rumours of a new Ajax contract (we'll see) and he had a very good match with one goal and a couple of other good shots on target
    Dolberg (6) - got the match winner but still doesn't look in match shape
    Huntelaar (5) - pretty much of a non-factor before coming off in the first half with an injury
    Neres (6.5) - usual active play and created some dangerous situations
    Cassiera (5) - had one really good chance to get a shot off on goal but mishandled the ball
    Ekkelenkamp (NR) - on late

    That wraps the season up. I'll post my season thoughts tomorrow.
     
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  20. Brilliant Dutch

    Brilliant Dutch Member+

    Ajax
    Netherlands
    Oct 14, 2013
    Amsterdam, Holland
    Nat'l Team:
    Netherlands
    I hope they sell Dolberg, I see no future for him @ Ajax.
    Thats assuming anyone wants him btw
     
  21. Rinus127

    Rinus127 Member

    Sep 8, 2015
    Club:
    AFC Ajax
  22. I was looking at the Rotterdam footy program on the local tv station and they mentioned the Ajax "supporters" that began to chant "Eric rot op" (Eric get lost) after de Ligt scored his own goal. Really classy guys those Ajax supporters.
     
  23. Orange14

    Orange14 Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 27, 2007
    Bethesda, MD
    Club:
    AFC Ajax
    Nat'l Team:
    Netherlands
    I don't think his foot is fully healed. That being said, he needs at least 1-2 more years at Ajax before he is ready to move on. I suspect he will never be a top line striker.
     
  24. Brilliant Dutch

    Brilliant Dutch Member+

    Ajax
    Netherlands
    Oct 14, 2013
    Amsterdam, Holland
    Nat'l Team:
    Netherlands
    It sucks, because Overmars couldve sold him 2 years ago for $50 million.
    Now you'd be lucky to get $10 million for him
     

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