A 2-2 draw is a fair result in a poorly officiated game. I think the fixture congestion caught up with Ajax, particularly in the 2nd half. Both teams made a number of mistakes with bad passes and poor shooting. Godts went off just before halftime with what looks to be a hamstring injury. Fortunately, yet another international break is coming up so the team will be relieved of not having to play for the next two weeks. Sutalo and Taylor were perhaps the two best players. Henderson was outstanding but faded in the 2nd half and was really lucky that a disastrous pass was not punished. Credit to former Ajax LB Salah-Eddine for a great assist on the 2nd goal for Twente. Player Ratings: Pasveer (7) - a couple of great saves but stood no chance on either goal Rensch (6.5) - quiet match but made no mistakes Sutalo (7.5) - really fine with some key defensive plays on free kicks Baas (5.5) - horrible pass to concede the first goal; he knew it and came back to play a decent match Hato (7) - decent enough but really should have done better when he was in deep and only needed to loft a ball to either of two wide open players but missed it completely Hendeerson (6.5) - great first half controlling the MF but tired late and suffered what looked to be a minor muscle injury Taylor (7.5) - some great passes and defended well Davy One Goal (6.5)- did not disappoint in terms of getting on the team sheet but was a bit of a liability with some poor touches Akpom (6) - really should have scored in the first half Weghorst (6) - worked hard but did not get any shooting opportunities other than one goal area scramble Godts (6) - off injured just before halftime Traore (7) - got the goal that evened the score and was fine with the ball at his feet Fitz-Jim (6) - on for Klaassen but without much impact Berghuis (5.5) - on for Taylor but had no impact Brobbey (6) - mugged again every time he got the ball van den Boomen (NR) - on late Two a week matches pick up again in two weeks as Ajax host PEC Zwolle
Worst defending since Farioli took over. Weghorst, Klaassen and Akpom should be used in emergency situations only. When Taylor and Fitz-Jim are playing together the MF is way more efficient.
I thought the same about the Defending. Baas looks quite shaky when pressed, and physically weak at times. Weghorst is just too slow and, his lateral movement is nearly zero. Akpom so stiff with the ball as well was just looking to the Referee for a call which just was not happening. Brobbey comes on and as Orange14 notes he’s just mugged constantly. Referee allowed far too much physical play. Fight back is a positive reaction.
Defending in the first half was decent and the goal was a passing mistake and not a defensive one. Ajax are seriously better on defending free kicks than either of the last two years. I cannot remember if anyone other than Luuk DeJong has scored off a corner kick this season. I agree that things were dicey in the 2nd half.
All things considered, if a couple weeks ago someone said that Ajax would take seven points out of nine from Feyenoord away, psv at home, and Twente away, we all would have very, very gladly taken that. Feel good about that heading into the international break. Shame about Godts though - the attack gets a lot more static without him in there (and especially with Wout up top).
Van Axel Dongen, the LW who was talent of the year in 2021, is injured again. The poor guy has been pretty much MIA for the past two seasons.
To celebrate the 125th anniversary of the founding of Ajax, there will be a charity match between the Ajax and Real Madrid Legends this coming Sunday. Here is a listing of the players who are scheduled to participate: Ajax opens 125th anniversary with charity match against Real Madrid Legends The match will be televised on Ziggo Sport for those of you who have IPTV subscriptions.
I love it. In a point in history where things tend to be trending towards minimalism, Ajax goes in the other direction and leads into the depth of tradition!
A very dubious clean sheet with some quite awful passing that led to multiple chances for the visitors. Any team with clinical finishing would have sent Ajax to the showers with a loss. Brobbey with the match winner in the first half and Sutalo added a second late in the match to seal things. Pasveer had some fine saves but contributed to danger with poor passes out. Ajax cannot aford to play this way against better opposition and we'll see how they come out on Thursday in a visit to San Sebastien to take on Real Sociedad. I can't say that there was any standout but Brobbey and Taylor were two of the better players on the pitch. Player Ratings: Pasveer (6.5) - some really nice first half save but maybe an equal number of poor passes and kicks Rensch (6.5) - did not have to defend much but kept good position and was pretty much error free Sutalo (6.5) - good position to score and was decent enough defending Baas (6.5) - had a couple of good interventions Hato (6.5) - a fair game for the LB and handled the ball well in the offensive half Henderson (6.5) - controlled the game pretty well and was more attack minded when the opportunity came up Davy One Goal (5.5) - all of his limitations were on view today and he contributed little Berghuis (6.5) - had a good run of play Traore (6.5) - had some good runs and created some opportunities for others Brobbey (7) - got the match winner and was very adept on the ball in tight spaces Taylor (7) - had some good take downs on long passes and drilled the cross that found Brobbey for the opening goal Fitz-Jim (6.5) - so cool with the ball at his feet, really helped the MF in possession and attack Akpom (6) - had a couple of times with the ball that he should have done better Weghorst (5) - hardly had a touch Gaaei (NR) - on late but had two good runs with the ball to get crosses or cut backs Wjyndal (NR) - on late Still lots of matches left in the calendar year with the make up match with Utrecht, a Beker game, and Europa League. Ajax need to remain focused and reduce the errors.
I really like Fitz-Jim qualities, but given the midfielders in the Orange Squad ahead of him, he's being approached by Surinam, Hong Kong and China.
He is still very young and really only broke through this season. I watched him a lot on Jong Ajax matches and he really was a poor defender. Under Farioli, he has learned how to press and defend. As I said before, he most closely resembles Clasie in terms of handling speed but he is quicker.
I long before he signed, Ajax was still trying to get that English dude, Parker or something, posted in here that I would be happy if he signed for Feyenoord, based on what I knew about him. Unfortunately he proved my expectations to be correct
Yes. I really like him, both as a coach and just as a person (from what I've seen). Seems like, if nothing else, he has the players believing in themselves and fighting for each other. That alone is a good start.
I presume you were talking about Graham Potter, who hasn't coached since Chelsea sacked him in April 2023. He was supposedly in the mix for Ajax but rumor has it they couldn't meet his contract demands.