Some rough patches but second half was better after the substitutions. Farioli has them in better shape but when the game opens up Ajax lack of athleticism especially in midfield gets overrun and defensively we seem suspect. Better teams will hurt us and take advantage when we waste possession. Akpom’s days have to be numbered. He’s just not good enough. Loses the ball so much. Nothing from Forbs or Rasmussen. Hato great goal but he was not very good defensively. Looked shaky. Taylor and Henderson just don’t have it. Taylor subbed off at half with his typical lacking play, poor body language, complaining, and just ineffective.
Both Ajax and Feyenoord failed to reinforce their squads sufficiently enough this transfer window. I saw large parts of the PSV-Valencia match and boy is PSV loaded and ready for the season. I can easily see them run the table again, losing few points, to win the title once again.
Feyenoord have not looked good from what I have read and seen only in highlights. Priske and his 3-4-3 would appear to be very risky and not working well at all during these early days. Perhaps our Feyenoord friend could give a little insight and analysis?
I only saw the highlights but on the goal, no clue what Hato is doing. Henderson points to him to pick up the wide man, it's obvious someone is running alone and he just does nothing. His defending in space isn't great-- I prefer him at LCB but (when?) Kaplan seemed to be solid at LCB. On the bright side- what a finish on his goal. Taylor I just don't think is very good. How was Branco? Good to see Traore score. We're going to probably have to sign 1-2 older guys for free like him who are reclamation projects. From what I have read, budget situation is not good.
Branco was ok nothing special. As Orange14 says correctly the man has no speed and is very vulnerable defensively. The problem coming on as a substitute Ajax are likely going to be under pressure as their midfield is already lacking in my opinion.
When you don't have speed, be smart enough to be in the spot where you have to be beforehand. Van Hanegem and Koeman managed that.
I hate to beat a dead horse but his tactics and player selection was not very positive in the England match. It’s very annoying that he didn’t play with more speed and athleticism which allowed overrated England far too much possession, and confidence, but it is what it is now.
Very favorable draw if we can get past Pana The draw for the @EuropaLeague playoff round is now complete. Some very fascinating ties to look forward to here. Full draw analysis to come by the end of tomorrow pic.twitter.com/hVQCSseWbS— David Parkes (@dpnina10) August 5, 2024
Looks like the home match vs. Heerenveen on Sunday is on the ESPN+ schedule in the US. Doesn't look like Paramount will show the Panathinaikos match on Thursday though.
@klattamaniac if you PM @Orange14 he'll walk you through the steps on how to acquire IPTV if you're interested. I dont wanna post it in this thread cause its in a grey area
Rulli to Marseille for 4m Euro. Not a great result but mostly about just getting his salary off the books. Speaking of... Bergwijn is NOT going to Greece (Brobbey is). Seems like a potential transfer for him. Sonuds like 3 older players could join Ajax on frees: Sergi Roberto, Wehhorst and Rugani. But Ajax has to clear out players first to sign any of the 3. I am guessing Akpom, Winjdal/Sosa and one of Medic/Sutalo are the players connected to the new ones coming in.
Akpom starts, and Brobbey is on the bench. I don't really understand this, but okay https://www.flashscore.com/match/0n5a4Q5d/#/match-summary/lineups
A nice first half was followed by a rather ugly second half but Ajax made the one goal stand up. The defense looks better this season but still has issues. It looked to be quite warm on the field and perhaps that was one main reason for the failures in the 2nd half. Still, a one goal win on the road is worth celebrating as we likely would have screwed this one up last season. Farioli has a system in place and it's up to the players to execute it. Player Ratings: Pasveer (6) - did not have any really tough shots to face but he is unconvincing Rensch (6) - decent enough game but he should decide pretty quickly whether he sees a future at Ajax and extends his contract Sutalo (6.5) - thought he played well, calm on the ball and did not make any mistakes Baas (5.5) - got pushed off the ball a couple of times and I don't know whether he or Kaplan will be first choice Hato (6) - had some bad plays on the ball but he says he is now comfortable at LB Henderson (7) - kept the defense well organized Taylor (6.5) - ran his rear end off and had a couple of decent runs into the box Fitz-Jim (6.5) - perfect lay off to Berghuis for the match winner Berghuis (7) - great shot for the goal and had an earlier snap shot that kept the GK alert Akpom (5) - everyone gets a 5 for putting the shorts and shirt on correctly and that was the extent of his game; he needs to leave ASAP Forbs (5.5) - anyone else notice how bad his first touch is? I wonder if that is what held him back at ManCity Gaaei (5.5) - curiously on for Berghuis and was OK at RW and then moved back into the MF Godts (5.5) -on for Forbs and was decent Traore (5.5) - on for Akpom and then moved out to the wing Brobbey (NR) - on late van den Boomen (NR) - on late Leage starts up this weekend and then the return EL qualifier on Thursday
If you aren't aware, Paramount+ has dropped a lot of men's footie in order to pick up women's footie. Although this website https://www.livesoccertv.com/ makes it look like Paramount+ is carrying some of the qualifying round matches of the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League, as they did in years past, they are IN FACT not showing any until the group stages start. And once group stages start, I suspect they will be very selective in which matches to show. Many (most?) American-based viewers want to see the "usual suspects" so clubs outside that select group will only get a few matches on P+. Case in point, P+ didn't show the Panathinaikos-Ajax match. But I was able to watch the final 35 minutes because I got to see the channel that was advertised on the back of the Ajax jerseys. I skipped the first 55 minutes because I was bouncing between two or three different matches featuring Romanian clubs. Anyway, check with Orange14 for the solution, and by all means use a VPN every time you go that route. It worked for me. Just say NO to Paramount+. Unless you like women's soccer, then go for it.
Quite warm? They were in Greece! (Sorry, I couldn't help myself.) I only saw the final 35 minutes, but the result was a good one for going back to cooler Amsterdam next week. I cannot rate Ajax players, but have two observations: First, when I saw that Fitz-Jim from a distance, I thought I was looking at Gjivai Zechiel's cousin! Zechiel is Feyenoord's new 20-year-old midfield breakout for this season, and he is tall and skinny, like Fitz-Jim, with the same kind of active energy. Good for the new trainer using a key match to test out young talent. Bravo! Second, two young center backs, Baas and Sutalo, 21 and 24 yo, respectively. Again, bravo to the trainer for blooding these two in a sensitive match. Ajax is famous (in the past) for using their excellent academy to bring up talent and use it. Good to see it ramping up again.