I’d hazard saying he means Danjuma, and there’s no way in hell he means that walking L, especially not out wide. In this case he’s likely referring to Lang. Finally, M for Malen.
Thanks for ruining a well set trap. Memphis is a guy who comes and cuts in off the left so I'm not sure about him as a Target man. But if you're kind of playing a mixture of false nine / no real Foward and want the front three to be interchangeable so the center backs have a different person pressing them every few minutes and can't adjust to one attacker then I can see how this lineup would work.
Could we just drop Memphis? I do not know what kind of player he is. He is so inconsistent and his work-rate is terrible. Yes, he could score but just look at how many chances he had missed. Could we just try Gakpo - Weghorst/Malen - Danjuma who are just free to swap their positions if needed?
I was thinking along the same lines and it could give a good balance upfront as well but I doubt it will happen. His set pieces are also awful.
Absolute horrible idea!! Depay has 12 goals in his last 12 matches for Oranje, we have no other talent who could do better then that
Not sure I followed the reasoning of dropping Memphis… Memphis has re-discovered his mojo under LVG. I know it’s only been two games… but not only his offensive output showed encouraging sign, his body language and overall attitude have improved as well. Of all the many things that FdB did wrong, one thing that I couldn’t make sense (forgive) was his incompetence, or lack of willingness, to build the attack around Memphis. Sadly he rather put LDJ in the center (banishing Memphis to the side), or going with the two-man attack that took away Memphis’ space. Memphis as a center forward (focal point) in a 3-man attack is the way to go IMHO. The existing challenge, as LVG already admitted, is fielding the two wingers who can complement him, or better yet, make him a more dangerous attacker. I have my own reservation on Berghuis as a RW (as I’ve written before… too predictable, no speed). I am glad that he is shifting to CAM at Ajax, which I think can easily be replicated and benefited at the NT setup. Personally, I like “traditional” wingers with demonic speed, ability to send crosses to the box and net goals when called upon… Gakpo, Malen, Lang, Danjuma, Bergwijn. That’s my pecking order today (it will change again in weeks/months time, I am sure, as season progresses).
Lang had a falling out with the Brugge trainer yesterday for losing his cool against Anderlecht. This was the type of behavior that got him into trouble at Ajax. I hope he solves this problem which is largely self-inflicted.
My point is to just explore more viable attacking options. As a matter of fact, Memphis does have an outstanding account of contributions but that was because our attacking formations was built around him and the opponents were not that great. As far as I can remember, Memphis rarely scored against stronger opponents in movement attacks (except penalties). My criticism is that he has been trying to do far too much unnecessary stuff where he needs not do so and unwilling to pass to teammates fast unless he could not finish by himself. He has by far been given too much liberty in attack. He can choose to play in a simpler, faster and effective way.
Memphis is now the 6th most prolific scorer for Oranje (35 goals total), On par with RVN. Need 2 goals (hopefully coming next month in final qualifier matches for WC 2022 ) - to equal Robben and Bergkamp.
I'd like to see how this team perform in the 2 matches in November, but personally, I really like to see Danjuma-Memphis-Lang as the front 3. As some of you already pointed out, I also like the wingers who has the ability to dribble past at least one opponent, can cross and score. I don't mind Gakpo and Berghuis but I prefer Danjuma and Lang. Now we have surplus up front (and it is a nice problem to have): Memphis, Danjuma, Lang, Gakpo, Berghuis, Malen, Weghorst and this does not even include Bergwijn. There is simply no place for LDJ. Usually there are 6 spots for up front. One option will be to move Berghuis to MF (although to be honest I have not watched him playing this at Ajax) or take one less MF.
I also would like to see Memphis raising his performance against strong opponents. I also agreed that he has been trying to do far too much unnecessary stuff where he needs not do so where he can choose to play in a simpler, faster and effective way. However, I still feel that you need him as a center striker for his movement as well as his ability to link with wingers and MF. He does this better than other options that we have (Weghorst, Malen, Til). I'd rather have him to start the game and then put in Weghorst in the 2nd half if we need to change tactic. Having said that, I am still uncomfortable with Memphis' careless touches or decisions (including his free kick) many times during the game
...and Haaland is also in the lineup. Ajax will have their hands full on Tuesday with Malen, Haaland and Reus up front.
Anyone can score against Ajax and my biggest worry is that Dortmund will not screw up counters when Ajax lose the ball with too many players up high.
Cody Gakpo with an inspiring MOTM performance today as PSV left it late (final few minutes of the game) to score three goals in a quick succession… 1 assist from a corner kick, and 1 goal. A couple really good chances as well, one in particular forced a difficult save by the PEC goalie. Gakpo’s total so far this season: 6 goals, 8 assists. Lang assisted too yesterday. 4 goals, 5 assists this season. Danjuma’s turn tomorrow to add to his tally
Dortmund will be a good test for Ajax. Looking forward to see this! Maybe Memphis can get Barca to buy this Technik Foot to improve his free kick... http://www.technikfoot.com/technikfoot1.mp4