FM13: AFC Ajax - No club for old men

[lewis999]

It's not easy or quick to write up. It already takes up around 18 replies

I can imagine it will take an age to write up, looking forward to it.

[horseman_Plague]

Here you go. Kishna and Lukoki. They both have been away on loan for the most of my save. I imagine they would have turned out better if I trained them myself.

[Cleon]

Cheers

Kishna is unbelievable for me, this is how he looks after heavy development and tutoring;

[Pafeu]

Fantastic progress.

In compensation for not the best match engine developing young players is far more enjoyable than in previous versions, for me at least

[Yasp0]

Kishna also developed well in my game, he also made his international debut. Will post a screenie asap.

I sold Fischer for about 27M and now Kishna is my 2nd left winger.

[Cleon]

For those of you interested;

Ajax Youth Development – When The Real World Meets Football Manager

[Yasp0]

Kishna, as promised...in october 2016

Also Luke Shaw developed well, just made hid England debute.

And my best regens:

[mhwk]

How did Kishna become so good? In my Ajax game he hasnt grown much and i'm in my 3rd season at the moment.

[Cleon]

How did Kishna become so good? In my Ajax game he hasnt grown much and i'm in my 3rd season at the moment.

Look in the link I posted a bit further up and you'll see how I train him

[mhwk]

Look in the link I posted a bit further up and you'll see how I train him

And for how long do you train certain attributes?

[Cleon]

And for how long do you train certain attributes?

If you read the thread it tells you.

[mhwk]

If you read the thread it tells you.

Sorry Cleon! I was looking at the wrong thread at first. Found the right one now, cheers.

[Chef Raekwon]

Nice progress on Kishna. I have yet to continue my Ajax save, but Kishna after 3 seasons has progressed a lot as well, but not as dramatic as your version. Congratulations on a job well done. I'm also looking forward to read your other Ajax topic, but I sadly don't have that much time yet. I will, however, read it sometime soon and probably post a decent reply!

Have fun playing Ajax, guys!

[mhwk]

In my 3rd season i was finally able to win the Champions League. In the final i was able to beat Chelsea with 2-1 thanks to a late penalty which Babel was able to score. In the quarter finals i defeated Man utd (away 4-2 loss and home 3-1 win) and in the semi finals i defeated Man City (home 2-1 win and away 2-1 loss but i won by penalties with 5-3). So i had enough of UK opponents in the Champions League. I also became the Eredivisie winner with 20 points on the number two PSV.

Edit: At the start of the new season i was able to sell Alderweireld for € 29 million to FC Porto!

[yorkshire22]

Hey, read this thread and was inspired to kick off an Ajax save!, First up were my new signings : Joel Pohjanpalo, £75k, Oskar Hiljemark, £1.1m, Marcel Probst, £6k, Rasmus Falk and Thomas Drage, each for £1.2m, Thomas Hubschman on a season long loan, and my 2 bigger signings, Jelle Vossen for £4.5m from Genk and CB Aleksander Dragovic for £3.2m from FC Basel. Plenty of promising youth there to fit in with the Ajax philosophy, along with a couple of solid defenders to sure up what I think is probably the weakest area of the team. The only player to leave for a fee was Suljemani who went to Vitesse for £5m, along with a whole raft of youngsters on loan deals.

Results so far

Eredivisie - Ajax 2-0 ADO Den Haag

Eredivisie - FC Utrecht 2-2 Ajax

Eredivisie - FC Twente 2-0 Ajax

Eredivisie - Heracles 0-3 Ajax

Eredivisie - Ajax 0-0 PSV

Champions League - Ajax 4-2 Zenit

All on all a decent start, Twente being the only game in which we didnt actually play well, great result in the CL too in a tough group alongside Zenit, Arsenal and Malaga. Hopefully results will become more consistent as the team starts to gel over the season.

Any advice/criticisms welcome and ill post up some screenshots of tactics etc once I work out how to do them!

[gpassosbh]

I've won the Champs League twice in the first 2 seasons and I'm well on my way to making it 3/3 this season. It feels highly unrealstic though so I'm thinking of starting again...

But if someone wishes to look at the players and see how they've been developing you can have a look at the save game by downloading it from the following link;

http://www.fmpundit.com/cleon/Fmpundit.fm

Hello Cleon,

I saw your save game and your results.

Did you use the same 4-5-1 every year?? Can you tell us more about your tactic?

Thanks

[mixmkz]

Ajax is tough, too many players in the first team, reserve, and youth with so much potential yet average CA. Hard to remember all the names and pick a starting lineup

Also the low determination stats irks me, yet most of them have such high reputation its near impossible to bring in players cheaply to tutor them.

[Wendsill]

Finally,

My new computer arrived this morning, I'll be updating and installing for the rest of the weekend I think and then I'm gtg.

Still devasted I've to start all over again after winning the CL.

I'll be updating regularly again from next week!

[Cleon]

Finally,

My new computer arrived this morning, I'll be updating and installing for the rest of the weekend I think and then I'm gtg.

Still devasted I've to start all over again after winning the CL.

I'll be updating regularly again from next week!

Wondered where you'd got to. Welcome back

[GylfiAsCharged]

Finally started one of these saves this year. Enjoyed it last year, so thought I'd give it a go again.

I know the focus is on youth development, but I can't see why people are selling Sulejmani. He's been incredible for me.

My first competitive game in charge. He was immense, scoring from all over the pitch. My league results haven't been quite as heavy, however I have still won every game so far (about 7 games in). The best thing about that game was that PSV actually had more shots than us somehow!

Signed: Ademilson, Fernando, Pohjanpalo.

Released the youths who weren't good enough, and loaned out some too. Also sold Boerrigter and Babel as I don't favour wingers on this year's game.

Great to see most of you having some success with the youth system, hopefully I can emulate that!

[mixmkz]

I sold Sulejmani because his wage was too high, I looked at the age and wages of their squad and it seems Ajax like to keep their player young and wages low. So if Sulejmani was on such high wage he should be an amazing player compared to the rest of the squad.

[tomtuck01]

offen94

Just out of interest, what youth teamers did you release?

[Wendsill]

First official match of my new save..

[video=youtube;LiUhOYKuYYo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiUhOYKuYYo

[Gary_Parker]

Has anyone else noticed that weather still seems to affect gameplay when you're playing in the Arena with the roof closed? I dunno if its just my imagination or that the conditions are still being factored in when they probably shouldnt be....of course it could just be my excuse for my teams poor performance at times

[Sleepydude]

Has anyone else noticed that weather still seems to affect gameplay when you're playing in the Arena with the roof closed? I dunno if its just my imagination or that the conditions are still being factored in when they probably shouldnt be....of course it could just be my excuse for my teams poor performance at times

It's a visual bug, the pitch isn't affected.

[Tha Real behanger]

Just started a new game with Ajax with the latest update. Selected the option so I don't have a transfer budget.

I only sigend Litmanen and Hargreaves on a free, so they can tutor.

I have terminated the loan of cuenca, because I have to pay his wages and he is injured for 9 months

The tactic I am gonna play is a 4-5-1 with inside forwards. Eriksen and De Jong on the midfield.

Won the first price of the season, the Supercup with 4-2 after after extra time

[Draakon]

So hello. As said in previous threads, 3rd database update is a cue for me to leave last year's FM and buy a new one to start my Ajax save. So I did. Rules are pretty much the same - buy no players except from feeder clubs, rely to youth team talents and keep winning.

I employ my regular tactics that was described as 4-1-2-2-1 in FM12, but FM13 suggests it would be 4-3-3.

Friendlies in July went so-so. Won against Bastia and Lyon. Lost against Troyes and Bolton. Made 0-0 draw against ManU (I'm fairly pleased with that particular result).

Loaned out a few youth players (Sporkslede, Lukoki).

Then it was a first serious encounter - against PSV in Dutch Super Cup match. After changing mindgame comments with Dick Advocaat, it was a moment of truth to find out where exactly we were in the beginning of the season. Tim Matavz scored in 26', but Moisander equalized after corner (goal on his debut!) and it went all the way to penalties. Shoot-out was nervous, but we won 6-5 and Ajax got the first trophy of my era. Positive start at least.

I have pretty much regular team in my mind. Only downside is Alderweireld's transfer request - to be honest he deserves better challenge than Eredivisie.

GK: Vermeer, Cillessen

DR: van Rhijn, Ligeon

DC: Alderweireld, Veltman

DC: Moisander, Denswil

DL: Blind, Dijks, Boilesen

DMC: Poulsen, Boccara

MCs: de Jong, Serero

MCa: Eriksen, Schone, Andersen

AMR: Suleijmani, Hoesen

AML: Babel, Boerrigter, Sana

ST: Sigdorsson, Fischer

I kind of miss the last save's stars. Players I relied to over 7 seasons (van der Wiel, Lodeiro, Enoh, Rits) but it's a new beginning. First league game will seriously kick of that season.

[Draakon]

I started well, winning 4 of the first 4 league matches and I was equally happy to see that PSV has lost some valuable points. Feyenoord, Groningen and Heerenveen have started well though.

ADO Den Haag - Ajax 0:1 (Danny Hoesen) - one chance, one goal, drab match

Ajax - Vitesse Arnhem 2:1 (Ryan Babel, Christian Eriksen pen.) - we conceded first, but lucky penalty was awarded in 80' and that gave us a valuable win. Still too much errors and team hasn't adjusted to my tactics very well

Ajax - FC Zwolle 1:0 (Lasse Schöne) - very very poor game. We didn't create enough chances and Schöne's goal was rather a result of plucky challenge than smooth attacking play. Very disappointing despite the 3 points. It should have been easier.

Ajax - FC Groningen 2:0 (38. Ryan Babel, 68. Christian Eriksen). Groningen have started well and Bacuna has been superb, but we did excellently to nullify him and took a confident win. The first win that was supported by equally good performance. Eriksen's goal was excellent DFK.

I've had some poor injuries already and it's obvious that they are way worse than in FM12. Injuries for several months seem to be now rule rather than exception. Sigdorsson, Vermeer, Suleijmani, Eriksen are or have been injured already and it's worrying.

Alderweireld wanted to leave and requested transfer. I finally sold him to Galatasaray for £8m in the end of August. It's a big blow to my ambitions and he's tough to replace, but Joel Veltman has to step up now.

CL groups were drawn and we got Salzburg, Man City and Barcelona. Seriously?! We can only compete for 3rd place now and probably should set our sight to Europa League right away.

[Lewis007]

Hey guys, I just started a save with Ajax this evening in FMC. I'm looking to do as the board want and play attractive, attacking football while bringing through youth players. Following recommendations from here I signed Okore, Muniesa, Cornelius and also managed to sign Ademilson on loan midway through the first season. Okore has been an absolute beast, starting pretty much every game at CB alongside Toby. Muniesa didn't really feature much as he damaged his ligaments a couple of weeks after he signed, while I sent Cornelius out on loan to Swansea. Ademilson has been a godsend, shame I don't think I'll be able to sign him on a permanent basis.

Anyway, to cut a long season short. I won the league by four points with one game to go, Twente really did push me all the way and it was cat and mouse for a while with me making up points, but once we got top spot we did just enough to stay there. I also won the league cup, beating Twente in the final 2-3. But it's the UCL I really want to talk about. In the group stages we got handed AC Milan, Anderlecht and Montpelier. I didn't think we had a chance of winning the group but lo' and behold we won it at a canter with 13 points... AC Milan ending up finishing bottom with Montpelier going through in second place. In the first round KO the draw wasn't kind to us... Arsenal awaited. I didn't hold much hope, and neither did the media. But to my delight we won both legs 1-0 to progress to the quarter's where we were paired with Bayern Munich. Surely we can't beat them? We won 1-0 in both legs again! Real Madrid, Celtic and Manchester City were our potential opponents in the semi-finals. I got the praying mat out and started asking the big man upstairs to give us Celtic, but this UCL campaign hasn't been kind to us so far, so why would it start now? Manchester City were drawn against us. After beating Arsenal and Bayern in the previous two rounds, I'm starting to believe we can beat Manchester City also. We won the first leg 1-0. It can't be? Trounced 6-0 in the second leg at the City of Manchester stadium.

Here's the thing though, you'd expect the board and the fans to still be absolutely ecstatic right after such an immense campaign? But they weren't. Not really. "The fans are deeply disappointed with the 6-1 aggregate defeat against Manchester City." Kinda takes the shine of it a little bit.

I'm really looking forward to starting my second season though, Lucas Anderson looks to be an absolute star in the making, can't wait to see how he turns out.

[Lewis007]

I sold Toby in the 2013 Summer TW. He wanted a move to a 'bigger' club so off he went too... Benfica, for £19.5M. Is that a good price for him? With the money I got from his transfer I signed Maher, Cuenca and Helenius. Maher and Helenius have been first team regulars for me so far in the second season; with Cuenca featuring in most games. Veltman is now partnering Okore at CB and has been amazing. In the UCL we got handed yet another tough group; Bayern Munich, Roma and Kobenhavn. We got battered home and away by Bayern, who look an immeasurably better team this season under Pep. But despite our low expectations we gained second place in the group comfortably with 10 points... Roma finished bottom of the group. Everything's looking rosy so far.

[ReggaeBwoy]

I sold Toby in the 2013 Summer TW. He wanted a move to a 'bigger' club so off he went too... Benfica, for £19.5M. Is that a good price for him? With the money I got from his transfer I signed Maher, Cuenca and Helenius. Maher and Helenius have been first team regulars for me so far in the second season; with Cuenca featuring in most games. Veltman is now partnering Okore at CB and has been amazing. In the UCL we got handed yet another tough group; Bayern Munich, Roma and Kobenhavn. We got battered home and away by Bayern, who look an immeasurably better team this season under Pep. But despite our low expectations we gained second place in the group comfortably with 10 points... Roma finished bottom of the group. Everything's looking rosy so far.

That is an excellent price for Alderwield. That shocks me actually. How much did you sign Maher for?

[Lewis007]

I actually offered Toby out for £20.5M but only Benfica and Dortmund came back with bids of £19.5M and since he had been moaning for a good few months about wanting to leave the club I decided to cash in. Maher was transfer-listed at AZ for £11.25M I tried to haggle the price down but they were having none of it so I bit the bullet and splashed the cash. The fans weren't best pleased about having spent so much money on him but they love him now, he's become such an influential player for me that he's managed to push Eriksen out onto the left hand flank for most games.

[Jonny2J]

Tempted to start a game with Ajax but only on the condition that I try and get them to play using their famous 3-4-3 formation.

[ReggaeBwoy]

Tempted to start a game with Ajax but only on the condition that I try and get them to play using their famous 3-4-3 formation.

You mean 4-3-3? LOL

[30.Beast]

I got Maher to Ajax for £6m plus 50% of next sale. Deal. He will be Eriksens replacment, who is being courted by City. Even though he has a yr left I will extract maximum £ from them.

My only problems are Sulejmani and Babel. Both of their deals are ending in 2 weeks, and they have some average clubs after them. I have no interest in keeping these absolute wasters but would like a fee if possible, seeing as Ajax spent money on them. If I renew will clubs buy them?

Also got Alderweired on 2 yr extension, so I don't have to sell this summer. He's moaning but he should stay one more yr...

[ReggaeBwoy]

I got Maher to Ajax for £6m plus 50% of next sale. Deal. He will be Eriksens replacment, who is being courted by City. Even though he has a yr left I will extract maximum £ from them.

My only problems are Sulejmani and Babel. Both of their deals are ending in 2 weeks, and they have some average clubs after them. I have no interest in keeping these absolute wasters but would like a fee if possible, seeing as Ajax spent money on them. If I renew will clubs buy them?

Also got Alderweired on 2 yr extension, so I don't have to sell this summer. He's moaning but he should stay one more yr...

When you first start the save you can Sulejmani for around £4 to £6m. When I try to get Maher can not get him any less than £15m. Have you unsettled him?

[30.Beast]

I'm end of season now. Will probably just let them both go, should get a big price for Eriksen anyway.

As for Maher, I spent all season unsettling him and he became a bit disruptive there. Felt a bit shady, but he actually has a low loyalty stat so not too surprised. AZ were adamant that I pay £12m, but when I put in a 50% they accepted. Though I did forget to add that I promised AZ another £2m should he get 50 caps for Holland, which will not happen as he'll only be here for about 3 seasons max

[Jonny2J]

You mean 4-3-3? LOL

No I'm talking about when Van Gaal was the manager and played 3-4-3.

[tomtuck01]

Though I did forget to add that I promised AZ another £2m should he get 50 caps for Holland, which will not happen as he'll only be here for about 3 seasons max

Why won't he get 50 caps just because he leaves your club?

[30.Beast]

I thought it was only relevant if he stayed at my club? Apparently not, but anyway I will have moved on by the time he get's there

[tomtuck01]

I thought it was only relevant if he stayed at my club? Apparently not, but anyway I will have moved on by the time he get's there

Definitely not, nevermind apparently.

[Lewis007]

I've finally done it!

[Gary_Parker]

Just started an Ajax save. Not looking to buy many people at all, try and produce the youth etc.

However, I may need to blood them sooner after this game

[Southern Buddie]

Would anyone be able to help me with creating an ajax style 433?

[steakfaced]

Oof, I lost the league the first season, won the treble (Europa!) League the second season, and fell apart in the Dutch Cup final, but and runner up in the Champion's League final third season even though we outplayed United.

Trying to only purchase youth now, and Andile Jali first season with Jelle Voessen. Easily moving players on, Fischer wants to go, Eriksen had a 30m buyout clause reached, picked up Martins Indi on a free and moved him for 17 mil, trying to move on Douglas (free) or Alderweireld now. Most of my players came through on frees (Doumbia) and I'm excited for this season. We don't concede much, but all other formations failed but this one.

GK

DC DC DC

WBL DM DM WBR

AMC AMC

ST

It's hard to get to work, but it plays most of my best players. And I can't get 4 at the back to regularly hold clean sheets or not silly goals.

[TwinsFan86]

Would anyone be able to help me with creating an ajax style 433?

This is the 433 I've been using with Ajax and it seems to be pretty close to how I've seen them play this season.

I haven't touched any of the sliders and the only shout I use every game is Work Ball Into Box to reduce long shots for everyone. I train Control and Attack variants of the same tactic so that I can switch philosophies in game without any familiarity loss.

If your playing as Ajax first season, I'd suggest the following lineup (right to left): Vermeer; van Rhijn, Alderweireld, Moisander, Blind; Poulsen (Anchorman), de Jong (DLP), Eriksen (AP); Sulejmani, Babel, Sigthorsson

[Southern Buddie]

Have you had much success playing this way? In what situations would you switch between your variants?

[Gary_Parker]

This is the 433 I've been using with Ajax and it seems to be pretty close to how I've seen them play this season.

I haven't touched any of the sliders and the only shout I use every game is Work Ball Into Box to reduce long shots for everyone. I train Control and Attack variants of the same tactic so that I can switch philosophies in game without any familiarity loss.

If your playing as Ajax first season, I'd suggest the following lineup (right to left): Vermeer; van Rhijn, Alderweireld, Moisander, Blind; Poulsen (Anchorman), de Jong (DLP), Eriksen (AP); Sulejmani, Babel, Sigthorsson

I play something similar to that, but using wingbacks and defensive wingers. Danny Hoesen is fantastic as right defensive winger.

Dijks is a really solid left wingback from the start, leaving Daley Blind to play at DM.

I only make one signing for the first team in season 1, Dave Bulthuis from Utrecht, a great centre half and future tutor for Denswil etc. I have no confidence in Moisander at the back as a starter.

My first team for season 1 is: GK Vermeer, CD Toby, CD Bulthuis, RWB Van Rhijn, DM Blind, LWB Dijks, DLP Eriksen, CM (a) De Jong, RW Hoesen, LW Fischer, DLF Sigthorsson.

I get as much money for Sulejmani as possible, his contract demands are far too high for my tastes. Babel as well, his team work and work rate are far too low for my liking. While some others are also low, they're young enough to improve further.

Can't wait to get the youth prospects up to scratch, Branco VD Boomen, Van Bruggen, Tete, Kishna, Meleg, Menig, Vissers, Becker and Klaasen all have huge futures with my club I think.

[karax268]

Hi I've a question for those with long term Ajax saves.

Does the TV deal of 8.2M euro ever get higher? Ive now finished my fourth season (winning 3 league titles and the europa league) but it is still at 8.2M

[steakfaced]

Hi I've a question for those with long term Ajax saves.

Does the TV deal of 8.2M euro ever get higher? Ive now finished my fourth season (winning 3 league titles and the europa league) but it is still at 8.2M

I think it stays basically the same, don't quote me.

I finished the 2018 season after the 2017 we lost the league to PSV. I'm playing a typical Ajax save, bring through youth, sell them on, constantly. Highest earner is 30k p/w. I usually start to move players once they hit a few stars and have two years left on their contract. I had mismanaged quite a bit and started to get the hang of it in 2018. A lot of players want loans but I'm adamant on keeping them till they're home grown, which is rather silly considering I sell most of the players anyways.

2018 was the year. After losing the CL Final in 2014, we made it back and beat Porto on PKs. We were down and out, and Porto had theirs saved, and saved again, very Chelsea-esque and we won the title. Also managed to win the WC with USA! It was amazing, beat Netherlands and Spain and lost to PARAGUAY but won the group. Knocked out Croatia, Japan, and won the final against the Netherlands. My own home grown striker equalized in the 90th minute, but we pulled it off in extra time.

My star is that striker, who is home grown, and has 3 years left. I've turned down bids of 40m but may look for that next season as I have strikers ready. I decided I wanted to win the title once and for all, and didn't move him on yet, but now that I have I want to win with 100% home grown club.

The formation I play is amazing, we have no trouble scoring, and concede little and it led USA to the WC so it can't be bad. I took over at Argentina after the WC.

SWK/D

Libero/S

CB/S CB/S

DM/D

DW/S CM/A DLP/S W/A

DLF/A AF/A

Been retraining a lot of players to Libero, and I need to pay more attention to my players I've been sloppy. My squad was inflated so I sold too many CBs, I'm just being silly and need to plan this out far better.