Watched the friendly today against Bochum that ended up 1-1. Bochum with a last minute shot that Reverson turned into an own goal. Bochum did not threaten much at all. Jinairo Johnson started at #6 and shows some promise there. Nash played on the LW in the 2nd half and was more than decent. He has great speed. Unfortunately, Klaassen is still getting playing time and adds nothing. Blind played in the first half and was never bothered. Paes made a couple of nice saves in the half that he played. Having watched Spain yesterday against France pretty much spoils me since this Ajax will never be able to play that kind of passing/control football. Still some players to report following the WC. I think the roster for the Conference League has to be turned in on Friday but they are able to add further transfer in players.
Can't believe I missed this thread somehow. Subscribed! Now that what was for me an outstanding World Cup is over, I'm psyched to follow our beloved Godenzonen again. I will be moving to a much more convenient time zone and therefore able to watch more matches than the last few years.
I've been thinking about it and I think there is, for the first time, some room for optimism this year. For one thing, the financial problems from Mislintat seem to be in the rear view mirror. Second, the more I read about Michel, the more I think he fits the club's overall philosophy: emphasis on youth, positional football, offensive focus, etc. Signing Leonardo could be a huge boon. Finally, we might start to see some of the youth talents like Mokio make a real impact. I'm not saying we'll win the Eredivisie this year (PSV is probably still the favorite) but I would expect us to qualify for the CL.
Huh. I was not aware that they'd dropped a spot in the UEFA coefficient. I guess they'll have to win the Eredivisie then.
I’m looking forward to Thursday. The players heading off: Keepers Joeri Heerkens Maarten Paes Charlie Setford Verdedigers Lucas Rosa Anton Gaaei Ko Itakura Owen Wijndal Caio Henrique Ahmetcan Kaplan Youri Baas Daley Blind Jorthy Mokio Josip Sutalo Fouad Zahouani Marvyn Muzungu Middenvelders Youri Regeer Oscar Gloukh Davy Klaassen Kian Fitz-Jim Jano Monserrate Aanvallers Marcos Leonardo Maher Carrizo Kasper Dolberg Oliver Edvardsen Steven Berghuis
Have Itakura and Sutalo even reported back? I don't think either have practiced. Also this is the A list and does not include all the players who came through the youth system and are automatically on the B list. A player like Mika Godts, born on 7 June 2005, belongs to this B-list and is therefore not to be found on the A-list of the Amsterdam club below. This includes players such as Aaron Bouwman, Dies Janse, Mohamed Abdalla, Pharell Nash and Abdellah Ouazane.
Team Squad for Tomorrow: (Janse, Fitz-Jim and Bounida are not fit) Joeri Heerkens Maarten Paes Paul Reverson Lucas Rosa Anton Gaaei Owen Wijndal Caio Henrique Youri Regeer Maher Carrizo Oscar Gloukh Mika Godts Youri Boss Oliver Edvardsen Davy Klaassen Daley Blind Don-Angelo Konadu Steven Berghuis Jorthy Mokio Aaron Bouwman Kasper Dolberg Marcos Leonardo Mohamed Abdalla Abdellah Ouazane
I can't help but feel optimism at the beginning of every new campaign. I think it's just the excitement of getting to see games again after the summer break. I've got my kit on today while working from home and I'm ready to have my hopes and dreams crushed, again.
I missed the first 30 minutes of the match as the weather here is wonderful. Ms O-14 and I went for a walk. I get back and it's 1-1. Ajax were in full control in the 2nd half with goals from Berghuis and Oscar. then in the final minute, Ouzane with some really nifty footwork in the box slotted the ball to Abdullah who got the 4th. I hope those two stay with Ajax for at least 3 years as they can be special. Team looks more ambitious than last season, driving to attack. There was still some sloppy passing, but the team has not been together all that long. Cannot do fair player ratings on the day as I missed a fair amount. The Serbian team is not that good and Ajax should be able to make quick work of them back in Amsterdam. I know it sucks to have to go through three rounds but remember we had to do the same thing back in 2018-19 for the CL.Our former Captain, Dusan Tadic was a spectator for the match. Starting lineup: Paes; Rosa, Bouwmann, Blind, Wijndal; Regeer, Klaassen, Oscar; Berghuis, Dolberg, Godts. Rosa, Bouwmann, Blind, Berghuis and Regerr went the full 90. Used substitutes were Mokio, Abdullah, Ouzane, Konadu, and Henrique. Good to start off with a win but I am reserving judgement until Ajax face stiffer competition.
1-4 away in Serbia isn’t bad work for sure. But agreed with Orange, let’s see against some real competition.
These 2 talents for Ajax is what I like to see. Ouzane & Abdullah are impressive & the latter is just 16 years old.
From what I've read, it's going to take the team a few months to get used to how Michel likes to press, his offensive patterns, etc. But I will take a 4-1 road victory to start the competitive matches. Off to a good start. Let's hope they can sustain it.
Michel said that they need to be handled carefully because of their youth and exuberance. I hope he continues to give them late game playing time.
1-0 at the half with the goal from Bouwmann who put in a rebound following a good cross by Carizzo. Ajax defended well in the half. Don't know whether this is Burnley's first preseason match or not. MF looks a little better with much more movement. Lineup: Heerkens; Gaaei, Bouwamnn, Baas, Henrique; Johnson, Mokio, Ouzane; Carizzo, Leonardo, Edvarssen I am more convinced that we need to focus on the youth and not spend lots o money on transfers. This young group of players are quite good. Klaassen and Blind were warming up prior to halftime and I assume that the geriatric group will be on the field in the 2nd half.
Match ends 2-1 or Ajax. Ajax conceded a junk goal right after an apparent hand ball on Burnley was not called. That was the only time the defense was poor. Ouozane got the match winner off a really nice assist from Konadu. Lots of subs in the 2nd half. Blind came on for Bouwmann. Klaassen for Carizzo with Ouzanne moving to the left wing. Reverson was the GK. Abdallah slotted into the MF. Godts, Berghuis and Fitz-Jim came on at about the 60th minute. Gaaei looked disinterested and I assume this is a result of the transfer to Eintracht Frankfurt not moving forward. Konadu looked good. A decent performance by Ajax on the day.
I watched the second half and was pleased by what they were trying on offense. Honestly, I thought Blind played ok. You can see there was some rust and it's going to take a while for them to get their pressing game fully coordinated, but lots to like so far. Ref was pretty bad, though. Made me miss VAR.
Leonardo remained on the sidelines on Thursday evening. On Sunday, the 23-year-old acquisition made his unofficial debut. 'The most important thing is that he gets rhythm. We need him to make more and more minutes. He doesn't have the rhythm needed to play full matches yet', said the new coach of the Amsterdam team. Míchel showed that there is a very good chance that the striker will make his official debut on Thursday evening in the return match against Vojvodina. 'The idea is that he will play as much as possible, so that he gets into a rhythm', responded the coach, who added that he still has to be careful with the newcomer. 'It took quite a while for him to come to Ajax and in that time he hasn't trained with his club anymore. This was preceded by quite a long process. The most important thing is that he doesn't get injured. So we have to stay patient and build up his minutes.'
Fitz-Jim off to Torino for €3M. He was one of my favorite players but only Farioli had confidence in him. Best of luck in Italy.