??? What are you on about? It's an article of Ajax fanmagazine de Telegraaf and I guess they were hinting at PSV with a 3 title in 4 years in reach.
I never said Ajax has the responsibility to sustain Dutch football. I was just pointing out a fact which is that they are focusing more on foreign players, both for the first team and the youth teams, while neglecting Dutch players. Many Dutch talents would improve (and become worthy Ajax players) if they are given a chance to play for Ajax, but Overmars has a different vision.
You are right in a way. But this time we actually seem to look abroad for positions that need competition and be smart about it, while our youth is still loaded with talent. Do you watch the youth teams?
Two goals in the first 10 minutes of the second half and then playing against a 10 man Feyenoord for thirty minutes and it ended up 2-0. Ajax were quite sloppy playing against 10 and should have really taken the dagger out. They didn't seem to be able to solve the clogged up midfield but we shouldn't be too picky since it was a pretty dominant match. Too my eyes, I didn't see much difference in the tactics today compared to what Keizer was implementing and ten Hag stuck with the starting 11 until the 80th minute which was a bit of a surprise. Player Ratings: Onana (7) - tremendous save near the end of the first half but had little to do for the most part Taliafico (7) - good game save the poor defense on Berghuis who got past him for a diving header that was well saved de Ligt (8) - solid all match with nice clearance off the line in the second half Veltman (7.5) - nicely done going forward with the cross to KJH for the 2nd goal F de Jong (6.5) - two poor moves where he stayed on the ball too long in the defensive end but otherwise good; really want to see him in the MF full time Schöne (7) - steady all match long van de Beek (7) - really nice goal for the match winner but silent for too much of the match Ziyech (7) - decent enough today Kluivert (6.5) - held the ball too long allowing for a double team; needs to study how Neres deals with these situations but some nice interplay otherwise Huntelaar (7) - put away the pass from Veltman for the second goal Neres (7) - solid game as usual S de Jong (5.5) - on for van de Beek and only had a couple of chances Wöber (NR) - on very late PSV in the late match today at Heracles. Ajax are really in need of help if they hope to overtake the leaders.
As Lineker would have said, the Klassieker is a game that is played eleven against eleven and it is still Ajax who wins in the end
I donot recall this being mentioned, so I'll post it: https://nos.nl/artikel/2204792-ajax-gaat-in-zee-met-chinese-miljoenenclub.html Ajax gaat in zee met Chinese miljoenenclub Ma 27 november, 09:03 Aangepast Ma 27 november, 10:13 Voetbal Ajax gaat samenwerken met de Chinese topclub Guangzhou R&F FC. Directeur Edwin van der Sar heeft zijn handtekening gezet onder een contract van vijf jaar, met een optie voor nog eens vijf jaar. Met de deal is twee miljoen euro per jaar gemoeid. Guangzhou wil met de hulp van Ajax de beste jeugdopleiding van China ontwikkelen aan de hand van een programma van de Ajax Coaching Academy (ACA). "Alle facetten van een jeugdopleiding, zoals scouting, talentontwikkeling en de daaraan ondersteunende afdelingen, komen hierbij aan bod", meldt Ajax. Het is de bedoeling dat de Amsterdammers uiteindelijk met meerdere clubs over de hele wereld een soortgelijke samenwerking aangaan. NIEUWS | #Ajax en Guangzhou R&F Football Club tekenen samenwerkingsovereenkomst. Lees meer ➡️ https://t.co/tpVpDVmUvCpic.twitter.com/xHyEfswAOk — AFC Ajax (@AFCAjax) November 27, 2017 Voor Ajax is dit, na vijf commerciële deals met Chinese partijen, de eerste voetbaldeal in China. Algemeen directeur Edwin van der Sar: "Deze samenwerking draait vooral om voetbal. De jeugdopleiding is voor Ajax al decennialang ontzettend belangrijk in alles wat wij doen. Dat we nu onze kennis delen, is goed voor beide clubs." Met de extra miljoenen hoopt Ajax het gat met de Europese (sub)top weer kleiner te maken. Vier trainers uit Amsterdam gaan naar China. Ed Engelkes, voormalig trainer van de vrouwen van Ajax, AZ en het Nederlands elftal, is de man die namens de vier de kar gaat trekken. Hij wordt technisch directeur. etc.
Congrats on signing Rasmus Nissen Kristensen (NK) from FC Midtjylland! I haven't followed dutch football much - what options do you already have at right back?
Pretty much zero since we play Veltman who is a central defender and not very quick at the position. Kristensen may be the starter in a pretty short period of time.
He is a decent player, big for a full/wingback, pretty good at either end. And he is very levelheaded and really just a good guy. Can't wait to see what he can do at Ajax.
The Utrecht players are butchers. It's not football but a karate fight. The referee seems blind. On the other hand Ajax plays badly, there is no movement
this was the worst pitch for a first division team in any league that i have ever seen. Does FC Utrecht use it as a training ground? i know it is winter in Europe but there can be no excuse to have a playing field that is torn up and not smooth. What was ten Hag thinking during this match? A midfield that was totally dysfunctional (of course this is nothing new to those of us who have followed Ajax over the years) and no substitutions are made??? the only player pushing the ball up the field was de Ligt. Was this match better than any of those managed by Keizer? The only positive that can be said about this match is that the defense managed to hold up quite well. Onana had only one really difficult save to make and was fortunate that the ball he tried to punch clear was blocked when the follow up shot came. Player Ratings: Utrecht Groundskeeper (0) - players deserve a smooth pitch to play on Makkelie the match official (2) - allowed persistent fouling and missed one or two clear Red card fouls ten Hag (3) - what exactly was the game plan? Tagliafico (5.5) - lucky not to have had his ankle broken F de Jong (5.5) - should have been moved into the MF at the half with Wöber coming in de Ligt (7) - best player on the pitch yet again for Ajax Veltman (6.5) - defended well Schöne (3) - extraordinarily poor Ziyech (3) - extraordinarily poor van de Beek (3.5) - just plain poor Kluivert (4) - zero impact Huntelaar (4.5) - persistently fouled all match long Neres (5.5) - only positive front line player this should pretty much do it for the title race unless PSV suffers some major meltdown which they show no signs of doing. Even if Ajax win out now, PSV will have to drop four points along the way which is not likely to happen. You can count me as one DISGUSTED Ajax supporter today. We deserve a better performance than we saw.
What should happen so the "coach" makes even one substitution? Things are getting worse then even under Keizer. How can he insist on playing at CD our only creative midfielder and why is he starting Ziyech, who is inefficient and downright useless at MF. The only thing worse than our team play was the refereeing. How guys like today's get their licenses really beats me. End of rant. P.S. @ Orange 14 - Looks like I plagiarized your post, but believe me it is not the case. At the time I was writing my rant you post has not been published yet. Looks like we share same feeling about the state of affair at Ajax. Still I apologize.
Makkalie is generally thought to be the 2nd best Dutch ref behind Kuipers and has his FIFA badge to show for it. That being said, he laid a big egg today.
So much for the value of FIFA badges. The first time foul against Tagliafico should be a mandatory red card in anyone's book.
It was when the match against Feyenoord was supposed to be played the pitch became covered deep with snow. In the effort to clean the pitch from snow with machinery they ruined it.
Next week they face PEC Zwolle, they only with luck did beat last time. So a little bit early to throw the towel, while PSV isnot playing well at all.
FC Utrecht – Ajax 0-0 FC Utrecht: Jensen 8; Troupée 6,5, Leeuwin 7, Janssen 7, Van der Maarel 7; Strieder 6,5, Klaiber 6,5, Ayoub 6,5, Labyad 6; Kerk 6 (83. Van de Streek -), Görtler 6 (58. Dessers -). Ajax: Onana 6,5; Veltman 6, De Ligt 6, F. de Jong 6, Tagliafico 6; Ziyech 5, Schöne 5, Van de Beek 5,5; Neres 5, Huntelaar 6, Kluivert 5. Arbiter: Makkelie 5,5. Man of the Match: FC Utrecht-doelman David Jensen maakte een minuut voor tijd een slippertje na een vrije trap van Lasse Schöne, maar kon die net op tijd herstellen. Keepte verder een uitstekende wedstrijd. Met knappe reddingen, onder andere op een hard schot van Justin Kluivert, hield hij Ajax van scoren af in de Galgenwaard.
^^I really wonder if the person(s) who did those ratings watched the same match that I did. The three Ajax midfielders were horrible, missing passes and losing posession. Makkelie missed at least one sure Red card when Tagliarfico's ankle got stomped on; even in the EPL they give out Red cards for that. de Ligt was more deserving than a 6 given how the Utrecht defenders were rated.
I think we deserved better than a yawn stifling 3-1 win over a NAC Breda side that was quite poor on offense and generated very few scoring opportunities. Still with a tenuous 2-1 lead, one always expects the unexpected. Today instead of conceding a foolish goal that would have tied the match, Ziyech recovered from being fouled outside the box with a nice free kick that made the final score 3-1. Tactically we saw Huntelaar playing further up the field and both wing players moving to the inside with much better overlaps from both Veltman on the right and Tagliafico on the left (I can't remember Veltman ever having so many touches inside the offensive half before). Player Ratings: Onana (6.5) - had one very difficult save to make but that was pretty much it as he didn't face much of an attack Tagliafico (7) - solid match both on defense and moving up the field F de Jong (7) - really needs to play MF full time but he did have a couple of good plays on defense de Ligt (7.5) - recognized the open space quite well and moved up to attack; had one wicked shot on goal but did pick up a Yellow and I think that means he misses the next match Veltman (7) - very nice match though one wanted some better crosses when he overlapped though his faults may be from lack of practice Schöne (5.5) - just a shade above average and had little impact at all van de Beek (6) - put away an open header for the first goal Ziyech (5.5) - really want to know his passing % today; was it even approach 50%? Nice free kick at the end and did recover from his offensive mistakes to put pressure on the ball following turnovers Kluivert (6) -a few too many turnovers to warrant a higher rating Huntelaar (4.5) - wanted more from our striker and didn't get it Neres (7.5) - wonderfully slalom run to put away the match winner S de Jong (5.5) - little involvement Wöber (6) - a couple of good plays on defense Mazraoui (NR) - I think this was his senior debut coming on late for Neres Still seven big points behind PSV with little help from other teams to make up the difference. Looks like a mid-week match coming up with a Wednesday trip to play Roda.
Ajax – NAC Breda 3-1 Ajax: Onana 6; Veltman 6, De Ligt 6,5, F. de Jong 6, Tagliafico 6; Ziyech 5, Schöne 6 (72. Wöber -), Van de Beek 6 (80. S. de Jong -); Neres 6 (88. Mazraoui -), Huntelaar 5, Kluivert 5. NAC Breda: Birighitti 5; Verschueren 5, Meijers 6, Mari 6, Angelino 6; Schoofs 6, Mets 4,5 (46. Vloet 5), El Allouchi 6 (77. Te Vrede -); Korte 5,5 (69. Fernandes -), Garcia 6, Ambrose 6. Arbiter: Janssen 6,5. Man of the Match: Sprankelend was het zeker niet wat Ajax liet zien, maar dat de nummer twee er uiteindelijk toch met de drie punten vandoor gingen was mede te danken aan een goed spelende Matthijs de Ligt. De fysiek sterke centrumverdediger stond verdedigend zijn mannetje en schoof ook in offensief opzicht regelmatig met succes in. Van alle Amsterdammers had De Ligt bovendien de hoogste passzuiverheid (94%).
The football gods knew better than to screw with my stream for the second half!! A brace from Huntelaar and two really nice interplays on goals (1st and 3rd) and the match was pretty much under control. Onana seemed out of sorts in goal for his poorest outing of the season. No real standouts for me tonight. Another weird match called by Nijhuis who seemed not particularly interested in officiating only to wake up every now and then and issue a Yellow card; he didn't care about some of the persistent fouling that was going on. Player Ratings: Onana (5) - really not convincing in coming out just before the first goal Tagliafico (7) - solid match and really nice pass to find van de Beek on the first goal F de Jong (6) - poor defending on the 2nd Roda goal when he should have put the ball out Veltman (6.5) - decent enough though he picked up a Yellow card for a stupid foul Kristensen (6) - good enough in his first team debut; liked him going forward and he seems to know how to cross the ball Schöne (6) - shade above average Ziyech (6.5) - excellent shot for the game winner but several times easily dispossessed van de Beek (6) - right place to put the ball in the net but had little influence otherwise Kluivert (5.5) - not an impact player tonight Huntelaar (6.5) - superb play on the goals but rather average otherwise though he was fouled quite a bit without getting a whistle S de Jong (5) - average coming on for Ziyech Younes (5) - had only two touches by my count Mazraoui (5) - had one chance to do something but flubbed his line Margin is still -7 points as PSV with a first half goal from Lozano make it stand up against Excelsior. They have a short turn around playing Sparta on Saturday with Ajax home to Twente on Sunday.
A very unconvincing 2-1 with missed chances, flubs on defense, and general lackadaisical play. It is very difficult to call out any Ajax player for decent play today but I suppose Ziyech was the one who played above average. The club did save the three points but are still seven down to PSV. Ajax really lack a killer instinct to close matches off early on which is quite disappointing. Totally did not know that Adam Maher played for Twente. Last I heard he was with some obscure Turkish team on loan from PSV. I remember when he was rumored to move to Ajax for some big €s from AZ several years ago but chose PSV instead. Don't know why ten Hag subbed off Neres for Kristensen and then moved Veltman to the left center. de Ligt is more able with both feet than Veltman. Player Ratings: Onana (6.5) - didn't have to do much at all until the 82nd minute when he had to save a wicked deflection off a free kick Tagliafico (6) - pretty much just above average F de Jong (6) - still should not be playing deep on defense and had one slip up de Ligt (6.5) - drew a weak Yellow card and played decently Veltman (4) - very poor defending on the conceded goal Schöne (4.5) - can you grade someone very poorly when they got the match winner? I can as it was the only thing he did all match long van de Veek (5.5) - good assist on the early goal and then missed a sitter just a couple of minutes later that might have killed the match off Ziyech (7) - good on the ball and pressed hard when Twente had it Kluivert (6) - right place for the put away in the fourth minute but some poor decision making later on Huntelaar (6) - good on the ball and had a couple of difficult chances to score Neres (5.5) - not a factor at all today Kristensen (5.5) - still hard to tell if he is the RB we need Younes (5) - on late for Kluivert Wöber (NR) Away to PEC Zwolle next week while PSV host Heerenveen.