It was a hot and dusty day delta day (from the great classic song 'Ode to Billy Joe') in Venlo this afternoon. The pitch was very slow, probably because the small rubber pellets used to provide a more true synthetic surface were too soft to play on. Every time the ball hit the turf you saw the black particles in the air from the contact. I think this technology was developed in Canada where most of the pitches are artificial because of the weather. Anyway, it was a good win for Ajax and the promised clean sheet that I wished for at halftime. Ajax had plenty of opportunities in the second half when Huntelaar and Neres came on. It looked like some type of hybrid formation with four up front and 3-4 in the back. de Jong slotted in as a left central defender but every time the ball switched over he moved up to a central MF carrying the ball into the attacking area. van de Beek got the match winner and then sent Neres in on goal with a nicely weighted pass for the added insurance goal. Player Ratings: Onana (7) - made all the easy saves and didn't really have a tough one to make Dijks (6) - only on for a half and didn't have much impact Viergever (7) - decent enough match de Ligt (7) - sustained a nasty cut on an aerial challenge and defended well Veltman (6.5) - is it only me or does he look slower than last season? OK match otherwise de Jong (7.5) - very nice match, completing 97% of his passes van de Beek (8) - well played match with a nice goal and an assist Ziyech (6.5) - surprisingly little impact Younes (7.5) - lost the ball a little too often for a higher rating but nice cross to set up the first goal Dolberg (6) - will he be here for the next match? Cerny (5.5) - poorest player on the pitch, didn't seem to find the outlet pass to make when he was trapped Huntelaar (6.5) - put in a good shift and his header to van de Beek for the match winner was classic Neres (7.5) - don't know why he isn't starting, he knows how to run into space and seldom attacks two defenders Wöber (6) - debut for our new Austrian import and he was OK in a brief 10 minute performance Home to PEC Zwolle following the international break.
AD Sportwereld ratings: VVV-Venlo – Ajax 0-2 "VVV-Venlo: Unnerstall 6; Rutten 6, Röseler 6, Promes 6, Labylle 6,5 (63. Dekker -); Seuntjens 5,5, Post 5,5, Leemans 6 (82. Amenyido -); Van Crooy 6,5, Thy 6, Tissoudali 5 (70. Hunte -). Ajax: Onana 6; Veltman 6, De Ligt 6, Viergever 6, Dijks 5 (46. Huntelaar 7); Van de Beek 7, De Jong 7 (80. Wöber -), Ziyech 5; Cerny 4 (46. Neres 7), Dolberg 5, Younes 5. Arbiter: Kuipers 7 Man of the Match: Voetbal is simpel, maar simpel voetballen is een ander verhaal. Frenkie de Jong gaf op bezoek bij VVV-Venlo aan dat het heus niet zo lastig hoeft te zijn. De 19-jarige middenvelder van Ajax verstuurde op de kunstgrasmat in Limburg liefst 82 van zijn 84 ballen naar een medespeler en had daardoor de hoogste passnauwkeurigheid van alle 22 basisspelers." That's above 95% passing accuracy this match!!
Siem de Jong. Why, why? We don't need another non footballer in midfield. Worse, he will always play no matter how bad the performance, because leadership and effort...
Keizer won't start him because he cannot play the pressing kind of football he is implementing. He will be nothing more than a bit player. However, the club is in talks with Nigel de Jong, so we can have a midfield of de Jong, de Jong, and de Jong!!!
What does signing Sim bring to the team? I can't figure out, hope the management can. You aren't serious, are you? Any news on Dolberg? I hope he stays at this point, because we have no time for signing a replacement.
Siem De Jong for 8M odd Euros is a terrible deal. Ajax can find a better, more skilled midfielder for 8M Euros who has some resale value. Siem De Jong has no resale value. The only position he can do well is ST/2nd ST where you have Hunter/Dolberg/Ziyech. Totally useless.
The official price Ajax paid was €2M which is much less than the selling price. That being said, he is only going to be a bench player.
Yes but his arrival will delay the progression of players like Eiting and Noah Lang. Really his purchase was not necessary. What we needed was two dynamic wingbacks
I never wanted him. I don't think he affects either Lang who is a winger or Eiting who is a DM at all.
I mean in the rotation of the team. Siem de Jong will be on the bench, so Eiting risks going to the stand. Lang is not a winger but a 10
In Voetbal International a ferocious comment on the management team of Ajax and in particular on Dennis Bergkamp. He's portrayed as the evil spirit of the technical heart of Ajax. Boy oh boy. That column about Ajax I last pointed at was mild compared to this. Wonder how things are going to unfold, as also within their club magazine "De Telegraaf" they are beginning to see him as a destructive force within the club.
Okay, read 8M somewhere, probably wrong. The window went bad. Nouri....And then we need two great attacking fullbacks which we never got..
We did sign two young FBs one from Columbia and one from Austria. The LB Wörber came on as a sub in the match against VVV last week and the Colombian, Orejuela, is starting for Jong Ajax. We will see how they develop. BTW, Jong Ajax handled Jong PSV with ease, winning 3-0
Here is the player for whom I got excited last Friday to the point of comparing him to Makele. His name is Azor Matusiwa. https://www.ajaxshowtime.com/articl...matusiwa-in-elftal-van-de-week-jupiler-league
I don't think he was on the radar screen until you mentioned his play last week. We'll see how he develops.