FM20 AFC Ajax - the best youth system in Eredivisie

[Draakon]

Eredivisie Transfer Update Summer 2022

 

Summer transfer window was a bit different, this time. We made all the major moves in this window, selling players and hoarding £160m+ in transfer fees. At the same time our competitors were rather quiet and even though there were player movements in and around Eredivisie, most of the clubs weren’t prepared to invest a lot. PSV Eindhoven looked especially quiet and until August they didn’t add a single player to their squad, then signing experienced centre-back Mike te Wierik.

AZ Alkmaar was the one team that suddenly activated in August, allowing some first team players to leave for a decent transfer fee and bringing ex-Ajax player Carel Eiting back to Eredivisie from Belgium. AZ made a good £34m profit in this transfer window and it’s interesting to see if it benefits them in long term or not.

 

The biggest transfers in Eredivisie

• Kik Pierie from AFC Ajax to Real Madrid for £58m
• Andre Onana from AFC Ajax to Tottenham for £50m
• Naci Ünüvar from AFC Ajax to Everton for £33m (£46m)
• Calvin Raatsie from AFC Ajax to Hertha BSC for £23,5m
• Chidera Ejuke from AZ Alkmaar to Norwich City for £14,5m
• Arnaut Danjuma from AZ Alkmaar to TSG 1899 Hoffenheim for £12m
• Thomas Buitink from Vitesse Arnhem to Southampton for £8m (£10m)
• Myron van Brederode from AZ Alkmaar to Hamburger SV for £8,25m
• Carel Eiting from Charleroi SC to AZ Alkmaar for £7,75m
• Deyovaisio Zeefuik from Newcastle United to Feyenoord Rotterdam for £7,5m
• Mike te Wierik from Derby County to PSV Eindhoven for £5,25m

[Draakon]

September 2022

 

11.09.2022 - AFC Ajax - sc Heerenveen 2:1 (ED) - 3. Lassina Traore, 82. Brian Brobbey - 89. Noud van Kempen

The international window passed and so did the transfer deadline day. We’re back to Eredivisie action and desperate to bounce back with a win, even though sc Heerenveen is a fairly strong team to go against. Our problem in September were injuries and there were so many of them - Dušan Tadic was out for 2-3 weeks with a pulled calf muscle, Stefan van der Sloot was doubtful with a small knock and even though Quincy Promes was close to returning, we had to play this game without him. Good news is that Perr Schuurs is fit again and ready to start.

Squad: Dere, Mazraoui, Schuurs, Rensch, Salah-Eddine (75. Douglas), Marin, van de Beek, Kühn, Gravenberch (65. Ferreira), Fitz-Jim, Traore (37. Brobbey)

We had a great start to the game - Mazraoui’s cross was headed in from close range by Lassina Traore and we took the lead after just a couple of minutes. Traore had another half chance soon after, but then sc Heerenveen showed that they, too, had come to play football. A number of shots on target by Arjen van der Heide and Joshua Brenet required good saves from Gürcan Dere and even though our young goalkeeper did well to parry those shots, those saves weren’t the most comfortable ones. Then we had a brilliant chance to take charge of the game - Lassina Traore was tripped in the box and VAR awarded a penalty, but Razvan Marin made a mess of it. His spot kick was held (yes, held!) by the Heerenveen goalkeeper and experienced Romanian looked extremely embarrassed. The rest of the first half was uneventful, except Lassina Traore’s knock in 37’ that made me take him off as a precaution - more important games were coming and I hoped that he’d recover in a couple of days.

The second half was similarly uneventful - we continued with a balanced mentality and neither of the two teams could find a good chance until sc Heerenveen started to take more risks with ten minutes to go. That was instantly punished by a goal from Brian Brobbey and for a while it took like it settled the result, but late in the game a 16 years old talented striker Noud van Kempen managed to score one for sc Heerenveen (their first clear cut chance of the game) and made the last minutes a little bit nervous. sc Heerenveen continued to throw players in attack and so Nicolas Kühn had a late chance, but his injury time shot went wide of the far post. So, the final result 2:1 was good enough after the Vitesse defeat and I was happy to return to winning ways. I was equally happy to learn that Traore’s knock was indeed a light one and he should be fit for the upcoming Champions League game. What stood out in our post-match analysis was that our attacking midfield was rather poor in this game - not a lot of creativity and lack of chances in the first half is not an encouraging sign. Nicolas Kühn had a poor game, Kian Fitz-Jim got to play full 90 minutes, but failed to impress and Ryan Gravenberch was wasteful with his scoring opportunities.

• Player of the game: Lucas Schoofs (sc Heerenveen)

 

14.09.2022 - AFC Ajax - Borussia Dortmund 1:1 (Champions League Group G) - 73. Kian Fitz-Jim - 32. Mykola Shaparenko

Tricky game to start our Champions League campaign with. Morale is a little better after sc Heerenveen win, but we need to get something from every single home game in the Champions League group and Dortmund is probably the best team in the group, so it won’t be easy. To my relief Quincy Promes is fit again and ready to start (although cautioned to last only 75 minutes by my physios). Dušan Tadic is still out, so we have to get by without him.

Squad: Dere, Mazraoui (66. Veltman), Schuurs, Blind, Salah-Eddine, Taylor, van de Beek, Kühn, Gravenberch, Promes (66. Fitz-Jim), Traore (81. Brobbey)

The first half looked fairly even. Dortmund had more of the ball, but we had perhaps better chances. Nicolas Kühn saw his attempt being tipped over in 6’ and Ryan Gravenberch had the first good chance to open scoring in 13’ - his long run with the ball finished in the Dortmund box, but the shot was blasted well wide. ex-Ajax player Justin Kluivert is now a Dortmund man and his skills with the ball on our right wing caused us the most problems. Mazraoui and Schuurs tried hard to limit his space, but the goal came from where we didn’t expect it. Dortmund’s Ukrainian midfielder Mykola Shaparenko delivered a low drive into the bottom corner from 20 meters and that was a brilliant strike - just too good for Gürcan Dere. That strike was the difference at half time, but my second concern was the fact that we lost possession 37/63 and it looked difficult to find an equalizer without the ball.

The second half was slightly better from us - Ryan Gravenberch’s close range attempt was blocked in 53’, but I then made substitutions and Kian Fitz-Jim replaced Promes on our left wing. The 19 years old winger looked calm and composed enough for his first Champions League match and his runs caused Dortmund some problems and eventually led to our equalizer. Kian skipped elegantly past two defenders and finished with a lovely strike into the far post. A brilliant goal from the youngster and I was beaming at the sidelines. We had even a bit more initiative and could have found a winner with a little more luck, but when the final whistle was called, both managers had to accept that the draw was probably a fair result.

• Player of the game: Mykola Shaparenko (Borussia Dortmund)

 

17.09.2022 - FC Utrecht - AFC Ajax 0:3 (ED) - 45. Oussama Tannane (og), 61. and 81. Lassina Traore

Next up, a rival game with FC Utrecht. It’s been a strange year for Utrecht - they had serious problems in the last season and almost ended up in a relegation battle, but somehow managed to pull themselves together, finishing 14th. You’d think that the board and manager Henk de Jong would address the situation during the Summer transfer window, but they really didn’t. Not a single noteworthy transfer and their squad is the same that they had in the last year, so it wasn’t a big surprise when they started their season with five straight defeats. They finally managed to get their first win against De Graafschap, but it’s clear that de Jong is still experimenting and trying to find a winning formula in terms of best eleven and tactics, so we should be ready for surprises.

We go to this game with a pretty good feeling - we’re third in the table, but have played fairly well in September and our key players are starting to get fit - Quincy Promes starts again, with Dušan Tadic very close to returning Youri Regeer is back in light training, so it could be that for a while the worst injury crisis is behind us.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Blind, Salah-Eddine (65. Douglas), Taylor, van de Beek, Kühn, Gravenberch (72. Ferreira), Promes (75. Fitz-Jim), Traore 

We started well - Lassina Traore found the first clear cut chance in 11’, but his attempt was blocked - but generally it was a poor first half from us. FC Utrecht looked always just a little bit short of goal and their best opportunity came in 24’ - our defense was picked apart too easily with short passes and it led to an easy chance to their striker Özcan Yasar, but Gürcan Dere (once again) made a great save to deny a clear goalscoring opportunity. We were a little bit fortunate to go in with a 1:0 lead. In the last minute of the first half we had a corner, Ryan Gravenberch sent a header towards goal, Oussama Tannane got his head to it and almost cleared it off the line, but directed it into the goal instead. Lucky goal and I’m not sure we deserved it, but it made my team talk much easier and our second half, too.

I made some tactical changes at half time - switched to balanced and asked Veltman to play as FBs. It made our defense more compact and helped with possession, but the most important moment came in 61’ when we scored our second goal. Anass Salah-Eddine delivered a wonderful cross to near post and Lassina Traore headed it in. That was a massive relief. FC Utrecht needed to attack more and they switched to 3-4-3, but it didn’t help them. Instead, we found space on our counter-attacks and Traore added another goal after a good transition football to make our three points secure. I was very pleased with our second half football after a disappointing first period and I was happy with a 3:0 win from away game.

• we had 60% possession
• Player of the game: Lassina Traore - scored twice today and he has now six goals in Eredivisie games, but he’s still just 2 out of 7 in clear cut chances, so there’s plenty of room for improvement

 

20.09.2022 - Fenerbahce - AFC Ajax 0:2 (Champions League Group G) - 15. pen. Dušan Tadic, 87. Marco Ferreira

Fenerbahce looks the weakest side on paper, at least compared to Dortmund and Inter, but we needed to be tactically on spot, especially in away games. They also had a powerful tall forward in Vedat Muriqi who is a clear danger in every set piece, so we couldn’t afford them too many free kicks. I set our team up in a little bit of an unorthodox 4-2-3-1 formation. Balanced mentality, but focused on counter-attacks with players like Traore and Promes providing both pace and dribbling abilities.

It’s good to see Dušan Tadic back in the starting line-up and it looks like our team is close to full fitness, as Kjell Scherpen also starts a rehabilitation program after his broken foot has now almost healed.

Squad: Dere, Mazraoui, Schuurs, Rensch, Salah-Eddine, Taylor, Marin, Promes Gravenberch (68. Ferreira), Tadic (82. Fitz-Jim), Traore (76. Brobbey)

The game was impacted by an early red card - Fenerbahce’s Miha Zajc lost his cool and elbowed Kenneth Taylor in front of the referee, so Fenerbahce was left with 10 men only 12’ from the kick-off. Soon after we earned a penalty - Tadic was pushed in the box and the experienced Serb took the spot kick himself to make it 1:0. We controlled the rest of the first half, but Fenerbahce got some shots on target, too. Lassina Traore had a chance to double our lead after Razvan Marin found him with an excellent ball over the top, but the striker missed the target completely - another missed opportunity for him. The first half result gave us some confidence and we switched back to possession football for the second half. We limited Fenerbahce chances after the break, but they didn’t surrender and at least tried to find an equalizer. Mohamed Elyonouissi took an ambitious shot from 25 meters that landed against the crossbar and sent a cold shiver down my spine. In the end we started to find chances in their box and substitute Marco Ferreira scored a brilliant goal after an equally skilled pass from Quincy Promes. Great strike from the youngster and that settled the result. I was happy with the outcome, because in a tight group like we had, every point counts and taking all three from an away game helps a lot. I was also delighted with our defensive work and a clean sheet.

• our shooting was 20/11 in this game and we created 3 clear cut chances
• Player of the game: Marco Ferreira - came in and scored a brilliant goal
• PSV is also playing in the group stage and they took their second win in two games, beating AS Roma 2:0 in Eindhoven. Hopefully this will be a good year for Dutch football in the Champions League

 

24.09.2022 - Willem II Tilburg - AFC Ajax 1:2 (ED) - 90.+1 Venitchio Sint - 52. Marco Ferreira, 75. Lassina Traore

Willem II is a curious team - they look like a minnow, but possess some good players and the core of their first eleven has played together for a while, so in predictions they’re placed safely in 10th place and it means that at least in their southern home they can cause problems to any opponents. I was also aware of the fact that they lead Eredivisie charts with three goals from free kicks, so we made an extra training session and practiced defending set pieces before the game. We have two advantages, though. Firstly the fact that Willem II have their own goalkeeper problems (as do we) - their first choice goalie broke his finger yesterday and so 21 years old inexperienced Connor van den Berg is set to make his debut. Secondly, their quick winger Che Nunnely is suspended for this game after being sent off in their previous match.

Tactically I anticipated defensive 4-2-3-1 with two DMC-s and wasn’t disappointed. I tried to find a good balance between applying pressure to their formation and guarding against counter-attacks and went for a balanced mentality, but the biggest change was starting with Marco Ferreira in AMC position with APs instructions, hoping that his vision and creativity could make a difference against that defensive wall of players.

Squad: Dere, Mazraoui, Schuurs, Rensch, Salah-Eddine, Taylor (69. Marin), van de Beek, Kühn, Ferreira, Promes (75. Fitz-Jim), Traore (75. Brobbey)

The first half was pretty much as I expected - we enjoyed a lot of possession and limited Willem II chances, but had difficulties to create something in attack. Set pieces looked promising, as Marco Ferreira can deliver mean corners, and Perr Schuurs found a couple of chances from those, but his headers were held by Connor van der Berg. Lassina Traore found one opportunity on the break and his attempt looked fairly good, but van der Berg parried it and so the score remained 0:0 at the half-time.

I knew we had to change something and I asked the team to shoot on sight - if we can’t crack them open to a clear cut chance, at least let’s have a go and put their young goalkeeper under pressure. That approach brought dividends in 52’ - Lassina Traore’s first attempt was blocked, but Marco Ferreira arrived into the box to finish from 14 meters with a lovely strike that stunned van den Berg and so we were in control of the game. van den Berg showed that he was indeed error-prone, when he couldn’t collect Nicolas Kühn’s fairly easy header and Traore finished it from the rebound. With 2:0 it looked like a game over, but of course, it wasn’t. Noussair Mazraoui got too carried away and took two yellow cards inside the final 20 minutes to be sent off in 82’. We had around ten minutes to go with 10 men and no right-back. I moved Razvan Marin to fill the DR position, but Willem II smelled their chance and instantly tried to apply pressure to us. That worked in injury time - at first Venitchio Sint won an aerial duel against Anass Salah-Eddine to score a close range header and in the third minute into the injury time Keziah Veendorp got through (Salah-Eddine ‘forgot’ to foul him in midfield) on a counter and was one-on-one against Dere. Our goalkeeper came out of his line well to make the angle as narrow as possible and luckily for us Veendorp’s shot was a defender’s finish and went wide of the post. With that little scare in the end of the game my happiness about our first 75 minutes disappeared and at the time we got into the dressing room I was furious with Mazraoui - we  nearly dropped two points because of his foolishness. But, after calming down, I have to say that our first 75 minutes were composed and we controlled the game well - exactly what is needed in an away game, so I can’t fault the performance until the red card.

• we had 73% possession in this game, with 94% (700+) passes completed
• Player of the game: Marco Ferreira - a great goal from him, good corner deliveries and 6 key passes as an advanced playmaker - very good performance

 

27.09.2022 - Inter Milan - AFC Ajax 1:3 (Champions League Group G) - 13. Sebastiano Esposito - 4. Lorenzo Pellegrini (og), 26. and 70. Quincy Promes

Our third game of the group and a bit different challenge than our previous games. What makes it tricky is the 5-3-2 WB formation that Inter uses so efficiently and it’s been a while since we played against it the last time. I expect it to be a very tough game at San Siro and we’d be very happy with a point from this match. Our main concern is Inter’s wonderkid Sebastiano Esposito - he looks impossible to handle in attack. At the same time, other teams have had relative success against them with a 4-2-3-1 formation and could be shut down.

Good news first - Kjell Scherpen and Youri Regeer are still in rehabilitation, but all the other players are ready and fit enough to start, so I have a good selection available and a number of possible tactical solutions.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Rensch, Blind, Marin, van de Beek (82. Taylor), Promes, Gravenberch, Tadic (70. Fitz-Jim), Traore (82. Brobbey)

We had a great start to the game. Well, in truth, we had a really lucky start. Dušan Tadic sent a free kick into the opponent’s box and it took a mean deflection from Lorenzo Pellegrini to bounce into the goal. Really lucky goal for us and it instantly eased some pressure from us. Inter weren’t rattled and their wonderkid Esposito headed in from a corner in 13’. Inter dominated the possession and at times it looked that in their formation all seven players were in attack, so we switched to counter-attack and it brought dividends - Lassina Traore moved the ball into the box in a counter, got a shot on target and even though it was saved, Quincy Promes was there to finish from a close range. We managed to hold on in defense and went to the break with a 2:1 lead that I was delighted with.

The second half continued in a similar fashion - Inter tried to attack, we defended fairly deep (despite our 4-2-3-1 formation) and tried to find counter-attacks. We didn’t find a counter, but got a goal instead. Some patient possession and passing and in the end Donny van de Beek found Quincy Promes in the box. The winger had his back towards the goal, but he turned around quickly and fired it in with a fierce shot! A brilliant goal and with just twenty minutes to go, Inter were in big trouble. In the end they didn’t recover from our third goal and their attacks led to just a couple of half chances. Their most dangerous moment came when their centre-back Milan Skriniar found the post from an IFK, but that was it - the final whistle was called and we fought ourselves a brilliant result from the away game. Yes, the first goal was a bit lucky, I have to admit, but we were very good tactically during the game and I feel like it was a brilliant manager’s win. It’s such a great feeling to get things right in the Champions League in a game like this and I was delighted with the team for pulling this out.

• we had 60% possession, even though Inter were more attacking of the two teams
• Player of the game: Quincy Promes - scored two important goals and deservedly the best player tonight

 

Summary

I’m really happy with our September. Yes, it has been a struggle at times and we have had to dig deep to get the results in some games, but everything has come our way and we’re getting better and more confident as this run goes on. I’m especially delighted with our standings in the Champions League - seven points from the first three games and we’re leading the group. I just hope that we won’t mess this up in the next round of games.

 

Eredivisie

Feyenoord have climbed to lead the table and it’s still a contest between them, us and Vitesse. At the bottom of the table FC Utrecht and FC Groningen are still struggling to get enough points to climb higher in the table, while Fortuna Sittard looks like the main candidate for relegation in this season.

[Draakon]

October 2022

 

There’s six games in October and it’s one of those months that balances tough with (supposedly) easy. Two difficult Champions League games, but our Eredivisie schedule gets easier and offers us a variety of smaller teams, both home and away.

 

02.10.2022 - FC Twente Enschede - AFC Ajax 0:2 (ED) - 53. Lassina Traore, 90.+3 pen. Kenneth Taylor

FC Twente hasn’t changed much - they still use 4-2-3-1, no major transfers and perhaps one thing to note is that they have started most of their games with a towering striker Jay-Roy Grot in the front. He was mostly on the bench in the last season, but has made his breakthrough now and even though he only has one Eredivisie goal in his name this season, I have to be aware of his jumping attribute (17).

We have two players missing for this game in addition to Youri Regeer and Kjell Scherpen. Noussair Mazraoui is suspended and Brian Brobbey pulled his ankle ligaments in training and will be out for a couple of weeks, so a little bit limited squad selection, but most of the players are still available and fit to start.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Rensch, Salah-Eddine (75. Douglas), Taylor, van de Beek, Promes (68. Kühn), Ferreira, Tadic, Traore

The first half was poor, let’s be honest. We didn’t put enough pressure on FC Twente and allowed them to build from the back and Marco Ferreira’s role as APs was ineffective, in retrospect. FC Twente got to float crosses in our area and their strikers Jay-Roy Grot and Ondrej Mihalik were extremely dangerous with their headers. The best chance for our opponents came in 30’ when Grot got a free header on target from close range, but Gürcan Dere once again did very well to parry it.

I made tactical changes at half time, tried to wake up the players and things improved a lot after the break. Quincy Promes found his first clear cut chance of the game in 51’ when Dušan Tadic delivered a beautiful deep cross to him, but the winger couldn’t finish from close range. Traore’s strike gave us the lead soon after and we controlled the second half much better - FC Twente struggled to break into our third, we had much more possession and created attacks after attacks. Late in the game Lassina Traore had a great opportunity to double our lead after substitute Kian Fitz-Jim found him with a long ball forward and finally in injury time we scored the second goal. It came from the penalty - Lassina Traore was tripped in the box, the referee consulted with VAR, but awarded the penalty and Kenneth Taylor stepped up and converted it calmly to wrap things up.

• we had 61% possession in this game
• our shooting was 19/12 - for away game it is pretty good
• we created 3 clear cut chances
• Player of the game: Perr Schuurs - very solid in defense, 2 key tackles and 4 key headers, he really leads the defensive line for us

 

15.10.2022 - AFC Ajax - De Graafschap 1:0 (ED) - 82. Nicolas Kühn

One of the easiest games (on paper) in our schedule. Newly-promoted De Graafschap have actually done well and find themselves in the 14th position after nine games. Their squad doesn’t look good enough to stay in Eredivisie, though, but they have taken points when possible and, compared to other small teams, do fairly well.

We enjoyed the international break and I felt that we have a luxury to rotate a little in this game, but at the same time several players who carried the load in their international games returned a little tired, so Noussair Mazraoui, Daley Blind and Razvan Marin were rested anyway. Good news is that Youri Regeer is back in full training and he should be fit enough to contribute on a pitch in a week.

Squad: Dere, van der Sloot, Schuurs, Rensch, Salah-Eddine, Taylor, van de Beek, Promes (75. Kühn), Ferreira (68. Gravenberch), Tadic (75. Fitz-Jim), Traore

Our first half-chance came in 6’ when Marco Ferreira had a crack after IFK, but his attempt was blocked and …. it remained our only chance of the first half. We dominated the game completely, got a number of shots on target and looked dangerous from set pieces, but all of the attempts were dealt by De Graafschap goalkeeper Guus Vaags. We just lacked the cutting edge and creativity, even though it often looked like we’re just about to score. Donny van de Beek’s header from a corner hit the post after Guus Vaags got a hand to it and the frustrating first half finished 0:0.

I switched to attacking 4-2-3-1 in the second half and we put even more pressure on De Graafschap box, but without much effect, until substitutions had the desired effect. In 80’ De Graafschap had the possession for a while and tried to build up something in our half, but when they lost the ball we finally had some space to break into. Ryan Gravenberch ran with the ball and found Nicolas Kühn on the right with a beautiful pass. Kühn didn’t hesitate and finished the move with a placed shot into the near bottom corner. Lovely. For a long time it looked like we couldn’t score a goal and in the end we got a breakthrough. It remained 1:0 and despite our win I had no reason to share praise in our dressing room after the final whistle. We had been pretty lacklustre and we need to do better in our next games.

• we somehow lost possession 45/55 - De Graafschap played slow possession game with the ball
• our shooting was 30/15 in this game
• we didn’t give De Graafschap any goalscoring opportunities - they had just one attempt in the whole game
• our average rating was 6.79 - not impressed, but good reflection of our performance
• Lassina Traore made his 100th appearance for Ajax in this game
• Player of the game: Guus Vaags (De Graafschap) - impressive game from the goalkeeper who did so well until the game

 

We’re in October, but FC Groningen already lost patience with their manager Ruud Kaiser and let him go after another defeat. They soon appointed Hans-Dieter Flick as their new manager - pretty good deal to get the signature of the ex-Bayern manager to help them climb up from the relegation zone and improve their overall performance.

 

18.10.2022 - AFC Ajax - Inter Milan 2:2 (Champions League Group G) - 37. Ryan Gravenberch, 87. Quincy Promes - 24. and 90.+3 Sebastiano Esposito

Back to serious challenges - Inter will come to town and we’ll meet them in Johan Cruijff Arena. We did exceptionally well to beat them 3:1 in Milan, so I have every reason to believe that they will come for revenge and try to settle the score. The standings in our Group G is adding another pressure on our opponents - they have now only 3 points and we have 7, so if they should lose this game here in Amsterdam they’d be effectively out of competition and we’d go through with Dortmund.

We have almost all of the players fit for this game - only Kjell Scherpen has some more work to do - and it’s one of those fixtures when tactical preparation and carefully selected instructions could make a huge difference. I went with a balanced 4-2-3-1 and selected my squad accordingly.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Blind, Salah-Eddine, Taylor, van de Beek (68. Marin), Promes, Gravenberch, Tadic (75. Kühn), Traore (75. Brobbey)

We had a scary moment in 18’ when Sebastiano Esposito headed against the crossbar from an IFK, but generally we did well enough until 24’ when Daley Blind’s lost possession led to a counter-attack by Milan and ultimately a goal by Esposito. Bad mistake from Blind and he left us in trouble for a while, but Ryan Gravenberch equalized with a good header in 37’ and we went to half time with a 1:1 score line. Both teams were careful with attacking and there weren’t too many shots in the first half, so I felt that 1:1 for half time score looked fairly good to us.

The second half was equally careful. Joel Veltman, this time in right-back and FBs role, had an ambitious attempt on target in 53’ - that almost caught Inter goalkeeper Oier Olazabal off guard, but he eventually managed to tip it over from the top corner. It looked like 1:1 was the most likely result until Quincy Promes provided a magical moment late in the game - his cracking attempt from 21 meters twisted and turned in the air and finally went in off the post to give us the lead so late in the game. What a moment of brilliance from Promes and we firmly believed that we’re in control now and just have to see this out for the win. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be. Gürcan Dere has been performing extremely well in this season and I half-expected him to make a costly mistake in almost every next game, but here, in injury time, he finally made it. It was a long ball wide by Inter and Dere did well to come out and get there first. The wise decision would have been to just clear it for the throw in, but instead he dallied on the ball for too long until Sebastiano Esposito arrived, took it away and sent it to our empty goal from 30 meters. It was a very good finish, from an angle (almost near the corner flag) and some distance away, but the mistake by Dere was cringeworthy. I should be furious about it, but how can I pour my disappointment over an 18 years old goalkeeper who’s making his first full season and has done so well in both Eredivisie and Champions League so far, without much experience. He was bound to make a mistake sooner or later, just the timing was perhaps the worst possible one. So, with that blunder we gave away the win and didn’t secure our qualification just yet. The draw would have been a good result before the game, but now we just felt robbed. But at the same time there’s no need to panic, because nothing’s lost either. Let’s see how this campaign goes forward.

• our shooting was 20/10 - we didn’t create any real chances in this game, but managed to score twice against Inter
• we made only 3 key passes - that’s a cause for concern
• Player of the game: Sebastiano Esposito (Inter Milan)

 

22.10.2022 - AFC Ajax - Fortuna Sittard 3:1 (ED) - 19. and 85. Kian Fitz-Jim, 72. Nicolas Kühn - 43. Stijn Meijer

We have a very tight schedule and another Champions League game coming up in just three days, so this is the moment for rotation players and youngsters to show themselves. Fortuna is a small team and we’re heavy favourites, but some risks need to be taken and I expect the lads to be good enough to win this at home. Youri Regeer is now fit and starts his first game after injury.

Squad: Dere, Mazraoui, Veltman, Rensch, Salah-Eddine (77. Douglas), Regeer, Marin, Kühn, Ferreira (71. Gravenberch), Fitz-Jim, Brobbey (67. Traore)

We dominated the first half and had several half chances in the game and one of them led to our first goal. Kian Fitz-Jim reacted quickly to score with a nice volley, but for the first half it remained our only goal. Razvan Marin’s attempt from distance was going into the top corner in 27’ ,but it was tipped away by Fortuna goalkeeper and Brian Brobbey wasted his opportunity in 39’, so in the end of the first half Fortuna found a goal - Stijn Meijer received a long ball forward, our defenders were perhaps too passive to close him down and he fired in a sublime finish from 15 meters. Lovely goal, but I watched it with a grim face. That is what happens when you don’t take your chances.

I sent a message during the half time team talk and in the second half we were even more attacking, constantly pressing poor Fortuna and taking a barrage of shots towards their goal. Most of them were blocked or ended up in the hands of their goalkeeper, so I grew frustrated enough to send in Lassina Traore and Ryan Gravenberch to make a difference. But it was Kian Fitz-Jim who actually made it - his deep cross found Nicolas Kühn at the far post and the German finished with a simple tap-in to put us in front and in 85’ Fitz-Jim scored his second goal of the game with a shot that took a big deflection from a defender. Our attacking pressure in the second half made all the difference we needed and in the end of the game I was fairly satisfied with our win.

• we had 69% possession
• we made 27 key passes
• our shooting was 41/16 - I don’t remember if we’ve ever taken 40+ shots in a game
• we created one clear cut chance and 9 half-chances
• Kian Fitz-Jim and Nicolas Kühn were superb for us
• Kian Fitz-Jim scored his first league goal for Ajax
• Player of the game: Kian Fitz-Jim - two goals and assist to him - he has got some minutes from the bench in this season and he now looked fairly comfortable and composed with his first start, too

 

25.10.2022 - Dortmund Borussia - AFC Ajax 1:1 (Champions League Group G) - 4. Maximiliano Romero - 49. Lassina Traore

Before the game I made some calculations and found out that the draw would probably be good enough for us from Dortmund. It would mean that we’re three points ahead of Fenerbahce and with our first game result (2:0) it’s a fairly good position to be before the last round. But getting a draw from Dortmund wasn’t an easy challenge in Amsterdam and it was even more difficult in Germany.

I set the team up with a balanced 4-2-3-1 formation and Joel Veltman was again our right back in that formation.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Blind, Salah-Eddine, Taylor, van de Beek (71. Marin), Promes, Gravenberch (66. Ferreira), Tadic (74. Fitz-Jim), Traore

Things went wrong right from the beginning. Kenneth Taylor lost a challenge in midfield and the following counter-attack led to Dortmund’s first clear cut chance. Gürcan Dere has shown that he’s really good in one-on-one situations and once again he managed to save our sorry a**, and Taylor was the first to get to the rebound, but instead of whooping it away he allowed Maxilimiano Romero to tackle himself in our six yard box and the ball went over the line. Two massive blunders from the young midfielder and we were behind with less than five minutes from the kick-off.

Dortmund dominated the rest of the first half and attacked our goal. It was still 1:0 at half time, but we had just one shot and it was difficult to see from where our equalizer could come from. Dortmund didn’t have any more clear cut chances, but they constantly threatened our goal and Gürcan Dere had to make some good saves to keep it 0:1. So, I made some tactical changes to our pressing instructions and asked Veltman to play as IWBs to add an extra man to our midfield - we hadn’t been able to keep possession and create anything so far, so we needed to improve a lot in the middle of the park.

There was a moment of brilliance for us in the beginning of the second half. While we couldn’t play through Dortmund midfield, we could play over it, and Daley Blind did just that. He delivered a long ball forward on the run for Lassina Traore and the striker used his chance well - an excellent finish from 16 meters equalized the score for us. Dortmund worked hard throughout the second half to score another goal, but they couldn’t beat Gürcan Dere. Our young goalkeeper had a great second half and he saved Justin Kluivert’s close range shot, Maximiliano Romero’s chance and Thorgan Hazard’s attempt that looked like real chances for Dortmun. We, too, found our opportunities - those were few enough, but still an improvement compared to our first half. Anass Salah-Eddine got a shot on target and Razvan Marin’s attempt from 25 meters was tipped over from the top corner by the Dortmund goalkeeper. It remained 1:1 in the end and while headlines wrote that Ajax was lucky to draw, I was very happy with the result. Yes, Dortmund was the better team in this game, but we finished our chance well and took our best possible result.

• our shooting was just 6/4 in this game (Dortmund had 23/10)
• we gave only 2 key passes
• our average rating was just 6.77
• we allowed Dortmund to make 30 dribbles
• Lassina Traore scored his 10th goal of the season - to reach that landmark in October is a great improvement compared to his last season
• Player of the game: Gürcan Dere - the young goalkeeper made a mistake against Inter, but he was really good today against Dortmund

 

Even though it’s just October, managerial casualties start to mount in Eredivisie. The next in line was Henk de Jong who was sacked by FC Utrecht.

I also received the news that our training facilities were upgraded - the works were agreed at the end of the last season and are now finished. Hopefully that will improve our training even more.

 

30.10.2022 - AFC Ajax - PEC Zwolle 3:0 (ED) - 3. pen. Quincy Promes, 12. and 71. Lassina Traore

Back to Eredivisie and another home game in this month we’re clear favourites for. PEC Zwolle has been a decent mid-table side, but recently they’ve dropped to the bottom side of the table (both by quality on paper and by actual results), so for the home game we were clear favourites and I chose a bit more attacking squad and a positive 4-2-3-1 formation.

Squad: Dere, Mazraoui, Schuurs, Rensch (71. Lopes), Salah-Eddine (67. Baas), Taylor, van de Beek, Promes, Ferreira (67. Karahasanovic), Fitz-Jim, Traore

We started off with a flyer - we had an early corner and Perr Schuurs was pushed in the box, so after consulting VAR the referee awarded a penalty and Quincy Promes slotted it in. Zwolle defenders looked a little shocked after conceding so quickly and the following minutes were a real nightmare for them. Lassina Traore found another clear cut chance in 6’ - his attempt from close range was blocked, but our attack continued and Mazraoui’s header found Marco Ferreira in front of the goal. The young midfielder saw his header hit the crossbar and go over. In 12’ we had a free kick deep inside our own half, Noussair Mazraoui hit a clever long ball forward and found Lassina Traore on the run - another chance for us and this time Traore scored easily from a one-on-one situation. Twelve minutes played, two goals and four clear cut chances already - it was completely out of control for Zwolle defense and to be fair they struggled to cope for the most of the first half. Quincy Promes and Lassina Traore were threatening their goal pretty much in every attack and we had full control of the proceedings.

The second half continued in the same fashion - Quincy Promes sent his attempt wide when he had an opportunity, but when Traore scored his second from a loose ball in 71’ it was game over. I sent out the youngsters to wrap things up and that (plus some complacency) allowed Zwolle to breathe a little more easily, but in the end it was a convincing win and we hardly ever gave them a sniff. 

• we had 60% possession
• our shooting was 32/17
• we created 4 clear cut chances and 6 half chances in this game
• Youri Baas and Alen Karahasanovic made their debut for Ajax
• Player of the game: Lassina Traore - an outstanding game from the striker, he’s now scored 10 goals in 12 league games in this season

 

Summary

I can be very happy with our October. We’ve maintained our winning streak in the league and taken back the first position and two draws in the Champions League is actually good enough. Yes, that conceded equalizer from Inter is a little disappointment in our month, but overall we’re still doing great and look like we can progress from the group.

Player of the month for me is Lassina Traore - he’s got a good scoring run going and he looks a threat both in Eredivisie and continental level.

 

Eredivisie

Vitesse and Feyenoord are still up there with us, but AZ Alkmaar have also picked up their form and are closing in from behind. FC Utrecht and FC Groningen are still struggling near the relegation zone - let’s see how (if) manager change will help them.

[Draakon]

November 2022

 

The World Cup is coming up in the following weeks, so we have only two games in November and a pause from Eredivisie games that will last for over two months. On the one hand, it’s very unusual to start our winter break so early, but on the other hand it helps to focus on our most important Champions League game with Fenerbahce.

 

02.11.2022 - AFC Ajax - Fenerbahce 2:0 (Champions League Group G) - 2. Lassina Traore, 90.+2 Joel Veltman

Quick reminder - we won the away game 2:0, but it was affected by an early red card to Fenerbahce that allowed us to take advantage of the situation. Now we’ll play at home, but it’s 11 vs. 11 again, so we need to be at our best to succeed. To be fair - a draw is good enough to secure qualification, but winning could help us to win the group and go into the knockout stages as the first seeded team.

Tactically there’s nothing new - a balanced 4-2-3-1 with our more experienced players and taller/stronger centre-backs to defend against Fenerbahce’s target man.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Rensch, Salah-Eddine, Taylor (74. van de Beek), Marin, Promes (74. Kühn), Gravenberch, Tadic, Traore (66. Brobbey)

We had an excellent start - Quincy Promes crossed to the near post and Lassina Traore applied finishing touches. Perhaps that left a mark on the first half, but we had most of the initiative and even though we couldn’t score more, we always looked more in control. Fenerbahce’s Vedat Muriqi got a half-chance in 19’ but it was an isolated moment and Gürcan Dere was never really in trouble.

We managed to improve our game in the second half and got two great chances - Quincy Promes had an easy look after Tadic found him with a deep cross, but the winger messed up his shot and it was comfortably held by Fenerbahce goalkeeper. Lassina Traore was going for a goal after our counter in 59’, but his attempt was met by a great save from the keeper. I had a sense that we needed the second goal to finish this game, but we couldn’t seem to find it. Fenerbahce’s William was sent off in 88’ with his second yellow card and Joel Veltman wrapped things up with a brilliant strike from 19 meters - a very uncharacteristic goal for defender and to see a long range goal from a player like him was a bit miraculous event that brought smile to my face. In summary I was very happy with our display and the result as well - we missed some chances in the second half, but always looked in control and deserved to win. That result secured our win in the group and we will go to the knockout stages with the first seed place.

• our possession was 60% in this game
• our shooting was 27/18 
• Player of the game: Joel Veltman - deserved award after his brilliant strike and solid defensive performance

 

Champions League Group G

1. AFC Ajax 12
2. Borussia Dortmund 9
3. Fenerbahce 6
4. Inter Milan 5

 

09.11.2022 - sc Kozakken Boys - AFC Ajax 0:7 (TOTO KNVB Beker 1st round) - 1. and 33. Ismael Sangare-Aka, 14. Dušan Tadic, 20., 40. and 51. Brian Brobbey, 61. Jaymillio Pinas

That was our last competitive game of the year before the international window begins and the World Cup coming up right after that. It means we have a lot of players missing, both in the Holland NT and in youth teams. A couple of weeks ago my backroom staff asked if I’d like to request postponement of this game, but I didn’t want that and instead went with the team I had in my disposal. Donny van de Beek suffered a small injury in training and he’ll be out for the game, so I brought young Ismael Sangare-Aka from Jong Ajax to fill the gap in our midfield. Dani van den Heuvel starts in the goal and he’s another debutant in this game.

Squad: van den Heuvel, van der Sloot, Schuurs, Dirksen, Baas, Taylor, Sangare-Aka, Kühn, Tadic, Fitz-Jim, Brobbey (52. Pinas)

It was a very one-sided game, as expected. Debutant Ismael Sangare-Aka opened the scoring in the very first minute and doubled his tally in 33’ with an outstanding strike from 24 meters. Dušan Tadic and Brian Brobbey added goals of their own and Brobbey completed a hat-trick in the second half. Substitute Jaymillio Pinas also got himself to the score sheet, so debutants looked fairly good in this win, even though our opponent wasn’t the strongest team. I was pleased with the result and performance as a whole.

• our shooting was 44/18
• we created 4 clear cut chances and didn’t give Kozakken Boys any opportunities in attack
• we had 8.77 average rating 
• there were a lot of good performances - Brian Brobbey, Dušan Tadic, Ismael Sangare-Aka, Nicolas Kühn, Kian Fitz-Jim and Steven van der Sloot particularly impressed
• Dani van den Heuvel, Ismael Sangare-Aka, Julius Dirksen and Jaymillio Pinas made their debuts for Ajax
• we will play VVV Venlo in the 2nd round
• Player of the game: Brian Brobbey - a hat-trick hero for us

 

Summary

I was delighted with our win over Fenerbahce and very strong performance in the Champions League. It was what the board expected from us, but to me we exceeded all expectations - young goalkeeper Gürcan Dere has done really well and we didn’t miss the players who left in Summer, so we look strong and have plenty of room for development as well.

News from Eredivisie say that FC Utrecht have appointed Jean-Paul de Jong as their new manager and it’ll be interesting to see if they can improve their form in the league. Club football will go on pause for the next 6-7 weeks and all eyes will turn to the World Cup.

[Draakon]

December 2022

 

Firstly, the World Cup. We had four players in the tournament - Kenneth Taylor, Donny van de Beek, Daley Blind and Quincy Promes. Holland had an extremely successful tournament and they reached into the final where Holland lost to Portugal 0:1 (harsh extra time goal).

The other players remained in the club and trained hard - and had a number of friendlies to practice and keep the match fitness.

Between training sessions I turned my attention to player contracts. We had some contract issues still to resolve with key players and some difficult decisions to make.

The first headache was Donny van de Beek. He had just 6 months left of his current deal and with such a successful World Cup with the Holland team, his agent tried to exploit the situation and ask me wages between £60,000-70,000 p/w. My limit usually goes somewhere around £50,000 and so several negotiations broke down without the agreement, but I knew that we really needed to keep van de Beek around, because of his work rate and leadership. It took us a whole month to iron things out and he finally agreed to £50,000 p/w contract in the beginning of January. So, at least this one I got sorted out.

The second problem was Daley Blind - I blocked his move to FC Barcelona in Summer, but his ambition to join with a stronger team has not disappeared and his agent refused to negotiate. 

So, in December it looked really likely that two team leaders were about to leave the club in next Summer and so I decided to extend the contract of Dušan Tadic for another year. He agreed to a moderate pay cut and I’m satisfied that he’s kept himself in good shape despite his age, but I mostly need his experience and leadership in the training and dressing room.

 

Some younger players have seen their roles grow in this season and I decided to tie them down for the longer period. Anass Salah-Eddine was one of those players who had a current deal until 2024, but he signed a contract extension until 2027.

 

Our backroom staff lost one member - some time ago I persuaded the former FC Utrecht manager Sjors Ultee to join our coaching staff, but he now left the club to take manager’s position at FC Den Bosch.

And last, but not least - the year finished with the award ceremony where Lassina Traore was named African Striker of the Year. Congratulations to him and I expect even more goals in the future.

[Draakon]

January 2023

 

The new year has begun and January is so different from the usual transfer window. There is a transfer window, of course, but there’s also no less than 7 games in this month, so our schedule is packed and the games and press conferences are full of transfer talk and speculations. One thing got clear pretty quickly - Daley Blind signed with CF Valencia and he’ll be leaving in Summer. That’s a big loss in our dressing room and I need to think about transition period to find the new captain and develop new centre-back partnerships.

There were decisions made about the future of other players. Nicolas Kühn and Kjell Scherpen are not being offered a new contract and they’re also set for release after this season. I have better (younger) options in their positions and there’s no point in keeping them around for longer.

 

04.01.2023 - PSV Eindhoven - AFC Ajax 1:0 (ED) - 36. Olivier Boscagli

The first game after a long Winter break was the big one - away trip to Eindhoven to face PSV on their home ground. It’s always one of the most difficult games of our Eredivisie campaign and it was made worse by two things - I didn’t know where we stood in terms of form (we had no competitive games in previous six weeks, so no momentum to gain from that period) and we had a long list of injuries, especially on our right flank. Quincy Promes was out for a month with sprained ankle ligaments, Nicolas Kühn pulled his calf muscle and will be sidelined for two weeks, so I had to go with young Alen Karahasanovic even though I knew he wasn’t good enough against PSV.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Rensch, Salah-Eddine, Taylor (8. Marin), van de Beek, Karahasanovic, Gravenberch (58. Ferreira), Tadic (58. Fitz-Jim), Traore

The game started with another injury - Kenneth Taylor limped away after just eight minutes and Razvan Marin took his place in midfield. We had a couple of promising moments in the first half - Lassina Traore found a half-chance, but sent his shot wide and Anass Salah-Eddine had an ambitious attempt on target, parried against the crossbar by PSV goalkeeper. It looked like we had a small edge in the first half, but then PSV scored their goal - Olivier Boscagli won a header against Perr Schuurs when we had to defend a free kick and sent it against our crossbar. It came back down and Boscagli was there to finish into the empty goal. I was surprised and disappointed at the same time, because Schuurs is so good in the air and for him to lose an aerial duel was a little bit unexpected. After that goal I felt that we were a little bit unlucky to go to the half time break with a 0:1 score.

In the second half it came obvious that our one goal deficit wasn’t the real problem. The real issue was the player’s mental ability (or lack thereof) to cope with the situation. A few of them expressed nervousness on the pitch and my team talk didn’t help to calm them down, so I had no real hopes that we could turn things around like that. And we couldn’t. PSV defended well in the second half and didn’t give us any proper chances, even though we controlled possession. I know that PSV can defend really well, when they feel confident, but after the break we never posed a real threat in attack, so our year began with a disappointing rival defeat. I just hope that this insecurity doesn’t extend into the next games. Alen Karahasanovic looked rather poor on our right wing (as I was expecting) and that didn’t help either.

• we had 65% possession in this game
• our average rating was just 6.76
• we gave only 3 key passes
• Kenneth Taylor will be out for 3-4 weeks with sprained ankle ligaments
• Player of the game: Olivier Boscagli

 

07.01.2023 - FC Emmen - AFC Ajax 0:3 (ED) - 23. Lassina Traore, 37. Kian Fitz-Jim, 76. pen. Razvan Marin

The next game was against FC Emmen on away ground and our main task was to leave that disappointing defeat behind us and play our usual games. Those re-starts after mid-season break are always like the new beginning and as a team you start without momentum - you need to gain it. So, to begin with a defeat was bad in itself, but to drop points in two consecutive games would have been disastrous.

FC Emmen is a decent mid-table team that plays a highly structured 4-4-2 formation, so I expected them to be highly organized in a home game. Our problems with AMR position worsened when Alen Karahasanovic pulled his hamstring and so Steven van der Sloot was the only viable option there.

Squad: Dere, Mazraoui, Schuurs, Blind, Salah-Eddine (70. Baas), Regeer, van de Beek (70. Marin), van der Sloot, Ferreira, Fitz-Jim, Traore (55. Brobbey)

It took some time for us, but in 23’ Marco Ferreira found Lassina Traore on the run with a lovely forward pass and Traore converted his one-on-one chance into the goal. In 37’ Marco Ferreira had a good opportunity himself - his attempt was blocked, but the ball fell to Kian Fitz-Jim who had time and space in the FC Emmen box and he doubled our lead. We looked fairly well in control, but almost gave Emmen a way back into this game when in the end of the first half Vince Duits showed a clean set of heels to our defense and FC Emmen counter-attack led to a great goalscoring opportunity. Gürcan Dere was ready and made a good save to parry this one-on-one situation, so we went to the half-time with a solid 2:0 lead. To be fair I expected a little better performance, but I was happy with our finishing and the score sheet. 

FC Emmen were dangerous only once in the second half - Adrian Dalmau found a crack and fired into the near post, but the ball was brought out well by Dere. In the following attack Marco Ferreira was pushed in the FC Emmen box and after Razvan Marin converted a penalty, it was game over. Substitute Brian Brobbey had a couple of good chances in the final ten minutes to extend our lead. He was wasteful with the opportunities, but it didn’t matter too much.

After the final whistle I was very happy with the game and result - we created chances, finished well and kept a clean sheet.

• we had 61% possession in this game
• we managed to create 4 clear cut chances
• we made 30 dribbles - another good stats
• Player of the game: Marco Ferreira - an outstanding performance from the youngster. His playmaking was joy to watch and he laid the groundworks to all of our goals

 

10.01.2023 - AFC Ajax - VVV Venlo 3:2 (TOTO KNVB Beker 2nd round) - 17. pen. Razvan Marin, 62. Brian Brobbey, 83. Nicolas Kühn - 8. Elias Mar Omarsson, 84. Lion Kalentjev

The cup game against a lower division team gave me a good reason to rotate and rest some players. We had a really tight schedule in January and it’s better to keep the players fresh. We started with our usual positive 4-2-3-1 formation and I was eager to see how some players use their opportunity to show their skills. Another thing that contributed to rotation was injuries - Kenneth Taylor, Quincy Promes, Alen Karahasanovic and Nicolas Kühn were all out with more or less serious issues. Kühn was actually almost fit, but not ready to start.

Squad: Scherpen, Mazraoui (73. Veltman), Rensch, Lopes, Douglas (68. Baas), Regeer, Marin, van der Sloot (78. Kühn), Gravenberch, Fitz-Jim, Brobbey

Perhaps against odds, but VVV started the game better. They found the first clear cut chance of the game in 8’ and although Carlos Manuel Lopes did well to arrive late and block it, the following corner still gave them a lead. Kjell Scherpen made a bad mistake - his poor judgment and mistimed interception allowed Elias Mar Omarsson to head it into the empty goal. Good for us that we found an equalizer and did it fairly quickly - Razvan Marin was tripped in the box and converted the penalty himself, so at half time we were at least level. I was a bit calmed by our come-back, but being critical - the first half wasn’t good enough. We couldn’t get our shots on target, both of our centre-backs were booked and we lost possession, too.

I knew that we had to switch something and we started the second half with an attacking 4-2-3-1 setup. Not sure if it was tactical change or my team talk, but the players looked more motivated and the goals we needed to come, arrived too. Brian Brobbey showed some magic with his brilliant strike from 20 meters to put us ahead and substitute Nicolas Kühn made it 3:1 with less than 10 minutes to go. It looked like it was game over, but we lost concentration and allowed Venlo to stun us back in the very next attack - Youri Baas lost a header and Lion Kalentjev scored the second goal for Venlo. I was furious at the sideline and players knew that they’d messed up. That was the last goal of the game, however, and we held onto our lead until the final whistle.

At the first sight I could be satisfied with the result, because we won and that’s what you hope when you rest your key players for a cup game, but our concentration in defense was not up to our standard and we didn’t look in control enough, so there were many areas of the game I felt we needed to improve.

• we lost possession 44/56 - against Eerste Divisie team, how?
• our shooting was 23/13 - our accuracy improved a lot in the second half
• we made only 7 key passes in this game
• we’ll play FC Twente in the next round - that’s just in a week
• Player of the game: Razvan Marin - he gave 3 key passes, earned and converted a penalty and showed good leadership in midfield

 

14.01.2023 - AFC Ajax - Feyenoord Rotterdam 1:0 (ED) - 34. Marco Ferreira 

The second crucial game in January - Klassieker Derby against Feyenoord. I used our previous games to select in-form players for this fixture and put together the winning eleven. Feyenoord looked like a title contenders with their form and they spent some £15m in Summer to improve their squad, so while PSV looked occupied in the Champions League, it was Feyenoord who had a decent shot for the title in this season. I went with our usual balanced 4-2-3-1 despite our home advantage.

Squad: Dere, Mazraoui, Schuurs, Blind, Salah-Eddine, Regeer, van de Beek (71. Marin), Kühn, Ferreira, Tadic (66. Fitz-Jim), Traore (78. Brobbey)

It was a tight game from start to finish and I expected that, because Feyenoord have always been very organized and they could defend well. At the same time our balanced mindset also kept things under control in defense. Our best chance in the first half came in 34’ - Nicolas Kühn delivered a great cross and Marco Ferreira poked his head out in the six yard box to direct the ball past the Feyenoord goalkeeper. That gave us the edge at half time and some confidence for the second half. The second half was similarly quiet and the only good goalscoring opportunity came to Lassina Traore in 78’, but this time our Burkinabe striker wasted his opportunity and saw his one-on-one moment to be parried by Feyenoord keeper. We held on to our narrow lead, defended well and at the final whistle I was fairly happy with that. It was a very important win both to our fans and to our table standings. Marco Ferreira has been brilliant in recent games and his goal made all the difference here as well.

• we had 65% possession in this game
• we didn’t give Feyenoord any goalscoring chances in this game and they collected 10 offside calls - that shows how good our defensive teamwork was
• Player of the game: Marco Ferreira

 

18.01.2023 - FC Twente Enschede - AFC Ajax 0:2 (TOTO KNVB Beker 3rd round) - 33. Razvan Marin, 57. Ryan Gravenberch

Another cup game in a week and again I went for rotation players. Our problems with AMR position persist, with Alen Karahasanovic picking up a recurring pulled hamstring that will keep him out longer than expected. Quincy Promes is close to return, but I prefer not to use him in this game and Nicolas Kühn is fit, but really tired from our last match, so it’s again Steven van der Sloot who fills the gap on our right flank.

Squad: Scherpen, Veltman, Schuurs (81. Rensch), Lopes, Douglas (72. Baas), Regeer, Marin, van der Sloot, Gravenberch, Fitz-Jim, Brobbey

It was a fairly close game in the first half. Brian Brobbey had a couple of half-chances before Razvan Marin broke the deadlock with a beautiful volley from outside of the box. Marin has been in great form in the recent games that he started and that was another sign of his abilities right there. Steven van der Sloot sent his header way over just a minute later to show that full-backs can play as wingers, but their finishing might not be up for the task. FC Twente had a couple of good moments around 37’ - at first Jay-Roy Grot’s header was tipped over by Kjell Scherpen. Grot was left unmarked at the far post in a following corner situation, but his attempt was again saved by Scherpen, so danger was averted. FC Twente struggled with attacking movement and their strikers were often called for offside, limiting their attacks and cancelling out shots (that at times looked dangerously good). Marin’s brilliant goal was enough to take us to half time with a 1:0 lead and so far I was pleased with our performance.

We had things under control after the break. FC Twente couldn’t create much in attack and our counter in 57’ led to our second goal - Terrence Douglas got a shot on target that was saved, but the FC Twente goalkeeper dropped the ball and Ryan Gravenberch arrived on time to tuck it in. Gravenberch looked much active in the second half and his run through the middle in 85’ led to a promising attempt from 20 meters that unfortunately came back from the crossbar. It looked like 2:0 was a fair result and we fully deserved to win this game. I was happy with our overall control of the game and with how good our rotation players looked on the pitch.

• we had 61% possession in this game
• we will play PEC Zwolle in the quarter final - a very favourable draw for us
• Player of the game: Terrence Douglas - he created three chances for others in this game (2 CCC-s) and looked formidable in our left defense

 

22.01.2023 - AFC Ajax - AZ Alkmaar 0:0 (ED)

After some good wins in both home and away games we host AZ Alkmaar and that was a true title showdown. AZ are currently 2nd in the table and their young, talented and ambitious team looks eager to challenge us in this season. It counts as the Noord-Hollandse derby as well (although Feyenoord are our fiercest rivals).

I used the similar tactics that served us well against Feyenoord - a balanced 4-2-3-1 formation with the best available players.

Squad: Dere, Mazraoui, Schuurs, Blind, Salah-Eddine, Regeer, van de Beek (72. Marin), Kühn, Ferreira (77. Gravenberch), Fitz-Jim, Traore (65. Brobbey)

In the first half AZ Alkmaar proved that they, too, can play very patient, defense-oriented and well organized football. We had a small initiative, but rarely got a good chance and Marco Ferreira’s shot after our corner that hit the post was our best opportunity in the first period.

In the second half we saw a little bit more attacking football (or some defensive errors), but neither of the two teams could use their half-chances, so it remained goalless until the end. It left the feeling that we should have won this game, perhaps, but we didn’t want to take too many risks and to be fair a draw is not the worst result to take away from this.

• our average rating was just 6.78 in this game - as expected with less than exciting football in display
• AZ Alkmaar were a little passive against us, but with that draw they’ve extended their unbeaten streak to 16 games
• Player of the game: Noussair Mazraoui - in fact there weren’t any noteworthy performances, but he did OK

 

25.01.2023 - De Graafschap - AFC Ajax 0:2 (ED) - 43. and 63. Lassina Traore

Next up, overachieving De Graafschap. Our opponents were predicted to fight against relegation, but sit comfortably a few places higher in the table and have been taking points where possible. Our own youngster Christian Rasmussen has featured often for them and is doing well at Eredivisie level. I decided to rotate a little, but keep going with my usual positive 4-2-3-1 setup. Good news is that Quincy Promes and Kenneth Taylor are fit again and my physios gave them a clearance for 45 minutes of football, so Promes will start on our right wing.

Squad: Dere, Mazraoui, Schuurs (71. Lopes), Rensch, Salah-Eddine, Regeer (71. Taylor), Marin, Promes (46. van der Sloot), Gravenberch, Tadic, Traore

De Graafschap surprised me with how well organized they were defensively. Our only goal in the first half came from a header from IFK - Lassina Traore directed it into the goal, but otherwise we were limited to ambitious attempts from distance and we struggled to create anything in their box. But even though their defense looked organized, De Graafschap couldn’t build proper attacks either, so we looked fairly comfortable with our 1:0 lead and added another goal to that in the second half. Substitute Steven van der Sloot made a good run from right and delivered a cross to Lassina Traore, who scored his second goal of the game. That was good enough and a 2:0 win over a smaller team is “a decent, routine win” in my books. Job well done.

• we somehow lost possession 47/53
• our shooting was 22/10 in this game
• we didn’t give De Graafschap any real chances, but allowed them to make 26 dribbles
• Player of the game: Lassina Traore - scored a brace, well done

 

We’ve now played 17 games in the league and have collected 41 points. That’s pretty good (I aim for 40 in the first half of the season), just AZ Alkmaar is doing almost as well in their campaign.

 

29.01.2023 - ADO Den Haag - AFC Ajax 0:2 (ED) - 24. Perr Schuurs, 44. Lassina Traore

Another away game, another mid-table side and trip to Haag will end our long line of games in January. ADO actually has some interesting young players (like striker Splinter van As) that have caught my attention and if they manage to keep hold of their youngsters, they could become a much stronger team. But at this point they’re not a considerable threat and I continued with our usual positive 4-2-3-1 formation.

Good news is that players are starting to get fit - Kenneth Taylor and Quincy Promes are good to go for around 60 minutes and our injury problems look to be behind us for a while.

Squad: Dere, Mazraoui (70. Veltman), Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine, Taylor (59. Regeer), van de Beek, Promes (59. van der Sloot), Ferreira, Tadic, Traore

The game was held in heavy rain and that kind of wet pitch is not suitable for our possession-based technical football. Quincy Promes denied a great goal in 12’ when his attempt from 20 meters hit the crossbar. We took the lead in 24’ when Perr Schuurs headed in from a corner and Lassina Traore doubled our lead after a lovely pass from Marco Ferreira. At the half time I was very happy with our two goal lead - we looked dangerous from set pieces, scored from a corner and Marco Ferreira had a brilliant first half (once again), dishing out two assists.

The first 15 minutes of the second half were equally good, but we couldn’t score our third. Lassina Traore had a great chance in 54’, but his shot was saved and after Marco Ferreira was pushed in the box, Dušan Tadic stepped up to take the penalty, but sent it wide of the post. Our confidence seemed to falter after those missed chances, and perhaps ADO changed something in their tactical setup, but the game turned around near the 60’ mark and ADO started to find good chances. Splinter van As found himself in a one-on-one situation after a counter-attack, but Gürcan Dere made a great save to deny him. Evan Rottier had a similar chance from a counter in 75’ after Perr Schuurs lost a challenge in midfield, but again Dere was up to the task and when Endy Opoku Bernadina wasted another opportunity in injury time, it was clear that our defense was completely broken in the last 30 minutes of this game, but Gürcan Dere was just the man between sticks that ADO just couldn’t get past from. The final score 2:0 looked decent enough, but I was clearly not happy with our second half performance. Missed penalty gave ADO the way back into this game and we were under pressure since then. Some massive saves and great goalkeeping from Gürcan Dere to keep our clean sheet.

• we created 3 clear cut chances in this game, but conceded 3 CCC-s and 5 half-chances - defense completely broken in the second half
• Player of the game: Marco Ferreira - brilliant first half performance

 

Summary

It was a bad start to the month, but I’m fairly happy how the rest of this January turned out. We regained our confidence and picked up a good form and went from strength to strength and collected good points to the table, taking back our leading position. Our injury problems and over for now and it looks like we’re prepared for the second half of the season.

I turned my attention to player contracts as well - young centre-back Carlos Manuel Lopes signed a contract extension until 2027 (£6,000 p/w) after I rejected aggressive bids from PSV for him.

 

Eredivisie

We’ve got a small advantage over AZ Alkmaar, but Vitesse and Feyenoord have dropped off from the title race. PSV Eindhoven have gained momentum after their win over us and they’re back in the top three after a slow start in Autumn.

Surprisingly, FC Groningen and FC Utrecht are still struggling in relegation zone and they can’t pick up point from anywhere at the moment.

 

The January transfer window was busier than expected for some Eredivisie teams - AZ Alkmaar and PSV Eindhoven made some big money moves, but most of the teams didn’t make a single transfer. The biggest deals in this window:

• Mohamed Ihattaren from PSV Eindhoven to Juventus for £56m
• Mohamed Taabouni from AZ Alkmaar to PSG for £41m
• Milan van de Riet from PSV Eindhoven to AZ Alkmaar for £7,5m
• Mauro Junior from PSV Eindhoven to Palmeiras for £6,5m

[Draakon]

February 2023

 

Another month with a packed schedule. We have a good list of opponents in Eredivisie - in those games we should be comfortable favourites - but month finishes with fixtures with Real Madrid and Feyenoord that’s supposed to offer a different kind of challenge

 

01.02.2023 - AFC Ajax - FC Twente Enschede 4:0 (ED) - 17. Lassina Traore, 45.+2 Razvan Marin, 62. pen. Quincy Promes, 90+2 Kian Fitz-Jim

We’re in good form and there’s no reason to think that we couldn’t get a result against FC Twente. Our opponents came against us with a 4-4-1-1 2DM formation, graciously leaving us all control of the midfield, so our positive 4-2-3-1 tactics looked like a good answer to it.

Squad: Dere, Mazraoui, Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine (72. Douglas), Taylor (63. Regeer), Marin, Promes (63. Karahasanovic), Ferreira, Fitz-Jim, Traore

FC Twente tactical formation gave us full control of the midfield. They sat really deep with their two midfielders and we enjoyed unopposed possession, so goals were just a matter of time. Lassina Traore opened the scoring after an excellent cross from Marin. Marco Ferreira saw his header hit the crossbar and Marin doubled our lead after a lovely combination. The second goal sent us to half time and pretty much settled the result.

The second half continued in the same fashion. Quincy Promes scored from the spot after Kian Fitz-Jim was brought down in the box and Fitz-Jim completed the rout with another injury time goal - close range volley from Alen Karahasanovic’s cross.

It was a really good win that never looked in doubt. A great start to our month.

• our shooting was 22/10 in this game
• Player of the game: Razvan Marin - great midfield performance from him

 

04.02.2023 - NEC Nijmegen - AFC Ajax 3:4 (ED) - 58. Stan van Ballegooij, 80. Anthony Musaba, 86. Nicky Souren - 12. Donny van de Beek, 16. and 44. Ryan Gravenberch, 18. Carlos Manuel Lopes

Next up, a trip to Nijmegen. NEC is one of the biggest overachievers in this season - they’re predicted to finish 16th, but find themselves in 8th position. They’re also one of the several teams that seem to do well with a target man (or two) in attack, so I selected taller centre-backs and tried to protect against that aerial threat that is named Ole ten Haar Romeny.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine, Taylor (58. Regeer), van de Beek, Promes (58. Karahasanovic), Gravenberch, Fitz-Jim, Traore (58. Brobbey)

The first half was brilliant. And it started with a brilliant ten minutes. Donny van de Beek scored a great goal to finish right next to the post from 15 meters. Ryan Gravenberch continued with an equally brilliant goal into the top corner and young Carlos Manuel Lopes headed in a free kick before the game clock turned to 20 minutes. NEC Nijmegen was sinking without trace and we were cruising. Kian Fitz-Jim almost headed in, but saw his attempt hit the crossbar and we were generally the dominant side in the first half until Gravenberch doubled his tally with another great strike to make it 4:0 at half time. It was a great first half performance and Ryan Gravenberch looked just unstoppable in attack, so I safely assumed that the game was over with that.

NEC finally got themselves into the game in the second half - Joel Veltman lost his challenge and the following attack led to a chance to Stan van Ballegooij that the young forward took expertly. I panicked and switched to a balanced 4-2-3-1, all of our substitutions were made and I somehow missed the tactical changes that NEC made at the half-time. All of the initiative turned to our opponents and our defense were continuously carved open by their silky running and accurate crosses. Anthony Musaba added the second goal with ten minutes to go and after NEC scored their third it was a full panic. Fortunately, the final whistle came before the equalizer, so we left with all three points, but I was confused and furious at the same time because of our second half collapse. That was a close call.

• we had 65% possession
• our shooting was 19/13 in this game
• NEC shots were 17/10 - we were just awful defensively
• Carlos Manuel Lopes scored his first ever goal for Ajax
• Player of the game: Ryan Gravenberch - great performance from the attacking midfielder

07.02.2023 - AFC Ajax - PEC Zwolle 6:0 (TOTO KNVB Beker Quarter Final) - 28. Brian Brobbey, 30. and 45.+1 Quincy Promes, 40. Razvan Marin, 77. Alen Karahasanovic, 81. Marco Ferreira

We have two back-to-back games against PEC Zwolle. I expect us to win both. The first one of those is a cup quarter final that’s held at Johan Cruijff Arena. Because it’s a cup game I chose to rotate players a bit more freely, but some of my choices were forced - Kian Fitz-Jim injured himself in training and he’ll be sidelined for a couple of weeks. That’s a shame, because he was in good form and started to impact games in a positive way, but now he has to skip some games and Dušan Tadic starts on our left wing.

Squad: Dere, Mazraoui (61. van der Sloot), Rensch, Lopes, Douglas (61. Baas), Regeer, Marin, Promes (61. Karahasanovic), Ferreira, Tadic, Brobbey

We almost took an early lead - in the very first minute Brian Brobbey saw his header from IFK deflect the crossbar. The next 25 minutes were more quiet, although we completely controlled the midfield and Zwolle rarely had any attacks in our third. In 28’ the action finally started. Brian Brobbey scored with a calm finish after a beautiful pass from Marco Ferreira and two minutes later Quincy Promes doubled our lead with a close range header from a corner. Two goals put us in control of the game and that allowed us to play with more freedom. Razvan Marin added the third goal with a fabulous strike from just outside of the box and right before the half time whistle Quincy Promes added another magnificent goal. His solo run from the halfway line finished with a lovely goal from 20 meters out. That seriously undid all Zwolle’s efforts to get back into this game.

Our big lead allowed me to make all three substitutions in 61’, but the scoring didn’t stop. Alen Karahasanovic added our fifth goal and Marco Ferreira headed in another to complete the rout. A thoroughly great win and I was really happy with our superb attacking performance.

• we had 61% possession in this game
• our shooting was 28/11
• our average rating was 8.43
• a number of great performances - Marco Ferreira, Quincy Promes, Brian Brobbey, Razvan Marin, Carlos Manuel Lopes, Devyne Rensch
• Player of the game: Marco Ferreira - a goal and assist to his name from tonight’s game
• we will play NEC Nijmegen in the semi final

 

12.02.2023 - PEC Zwolle - AFC Ajax 0:2 (ED) - 30. Lassina Traore, 73. Quincy Promes

The second game against Zwolle, this time on away ground. I was curious how much different approach Zwolle will take into this game after a heavy defeat less than a week earlier. At the same time I was well aware that the score was again 0:0 at the kick-off and we shouldn’t expect another easy win. Zwolle staff had learned from this experience and their players were obviously ready to set things right in front of their home fans.

I switched back to our more familiar starting line-up, but remained true to our positive 4-2-3-1 formation. Brian Brobbey twisted his ankle in training and he’ll be out for several weeks. I’m disappointed because of that - he did really well in our cup game and looked in good shape.

Squad: Dere, Mazraoui (70. van der Sloot), Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine, Taylor (70. Regeer), van de Beek, Promes, Gravenberch (64. Ferreira), Tadic, Traore

That away game lacked the fireworks of our previous match. Instead, it was a fairly routine away win, as those games often turn out. We opened scoring after a good combination from our right - Quincy Promes found Lassina Traore with a good pass and Traore placed his shot well past the goalkeeper. In the second half Promes added another goal after a good cross from Dušan Tadic and it was game over. Promes had another good attempt from 18 meters in 75’, but this one came back from the crossbar. Despite that we had good control of the game and our two goal lead was good enough to take all three points. The worst moment of the game happened in injury time - Quincy Promes was coming away from the pitch in obvious pain and his game was over before the final whistle. That injury left its mark on an otherwise good game.

• we had 68% possession
• we didn’t allow PEC Zwolle to create any real chances
• Quincy Promes will be out for almost two months with broken ribs
• Player of the game: Quincy Promes - a goal and assist to him, sad to see him injured for so long after such a good performance

 

18.02.2023 - AFC Ajax - Sparta Rotterdam 0:1 (ED) - 22. Mohammed Tahiri

After two wins over Zwolle I felt that we’re on a really good run. It also helped that all of the other contenders have dropped points in the recent games and we’ve built a decent lead in the table, so we were really confident when Sparta came to visit. We had still some players missing due to injuries - Quincy Promes, Kian Fitz-Jim and Brian Brobbey were out, but I felt that they weren’t the key factor against Sparta. We started with our usual positive 4-2-3-1 setup and expected to see some goals.

Squad: Dere, Mazraoui, Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine, Taylor, Marin (60. van de Beek), Kühn (60. van der Sloot), Ferreira (73. Gravenberch), Tadic, Traore

We started well and in 7’ we got our first clear cut chance of the game. Dušan Tadic sent a close range header on target, but it was tripped over by the Sparta goalkeeper. We had initiative, but it was Sparta who scored the goal - Anass Salah-Eddine lost a tackle near the corner flag and the following cross found Mohammed Tahiri unmarked in our six yard box. Easy tap-in for a finish and we were left searching for the equalizer. Soon we got close, but Lassina Traore’s header deflected away from the crossbar and at the halftime we were still trailing. The biggest problem seemed to be that we couldn’t manage to gain enough possession - Sparta looked comfortable with the ball and despite our high pressing we couldn’t get the ball back quickly enough. I switched to attacking 4-2-3-1 in the second half, but it didn’t help - a couple of good attempts on target from Tadic and Traore, but that was not good enough. Even late in the game, after Sparta’s Leeroy Owusu was sent off after his second booking, we couldn’t create enough pressure on goal to find a goal and were left empty-handed. I was frustrated and really upset, because it was a humiliating defeat in front of our home fans and we lacked both tactical wit to make a change (that one’s clearly the manager’s fault), but our players lacked determination and confidence as well. Perhaps we deserved a point from this game, but we should have been a lot better against Sparta and there’s no excuse for this defeat.

• we lost possession 39/61 - something extremely rare in Johan Cruijff Arena
• our average rating was 6.69 - fair assessment of the game
• Player of the game: Mohammed Tahiri (Sparta Rotterdam) - didn’t do much, but scored the winner and that’s good enough

 

21.02.2023 - Real Madrid - AFC Ajax 1:3 (Champions League 1st knockout round 1st leg) - 26. Mauro Icardi - 76. Steven van der Sloot, 89. Lassina Traore, 90.+6 Anass Salah-Eddine

After our poor display against Sparta at home, we travelled to Santiago Bernabeu to meet Real Madrid in the Champions League. It was a very tough draw for us, without a doubt, and it was a shame that Quincy Promes was injured for those important fixtures. I had a feeling that we’d do fine without him in Eredivisie, but in the Champions League we really needed attacking players like him against big teams.

To be honest, I didn’t expect much from the away game against Real. Our opponents were clear favourites at home and I just hoped that a narrow defeat could leave us something to play for in Amsterdam. So I opted for a balanced, more careful 4-2-3-1 formation with a few tweaks and relied on more experienced players in this game.

Squad: Dere, Mazraoui, Schuurs, Blind, Salah-Eddine, Taylor, van de Beek (73. Marin), Kühn (73. van der Sloot), Gravenberch (58. Ferreira), Tadic, Traore

We almost scored a flyer - Nicolas Kühn found some space in the box after our good combination, but his attempt was parried wide by Thibaut Courtois. Real soon showed that they can be dangerous when Mauro Icardi sent his close range shot against the post in 5’. The first half looked fairly even football until Icardi scored the first goal in 26’ - he won the aerial duel against Perr Schuurs and headed in a cross from our left flank. The goal seemed to give Real some confidence and they looked to have initiative after that, so at half time I knew that we had to change something. Ryan Gravenberch completely disappeared in attack, so I brought in Marco Ferreira in the second half and changed some individual instructions to players. Noussair Mazraoui switch to IWBs to give us numbers in midfield and it was his clever pass that found substitute Steven van der Sloot behind Real defense - van der Sloot has played some games in AMR, but he now scored his first goal of the season with a calm finish. What a moment for the youngster to finally find the net. Real grew anxious after our equalizer and they switched to very attacking 4-3-3, taking some risks in the process and so they left a lot of space in their own half. We could exploit that and we took full advantage late in the game. Anass Salah-Eddine crossed for Lassina Traore and Traore headed in from the near post to score his 20th goal of the season. And deep in injury time (6 additional minutes were given because of injuries to Raphael Varane and Eden Hazard) Salah-Eddine made something sensational - his ambitious strike from 23 meters was drilled into the top corner and Courtois was helpless. Three - one! THREE goals in Santiago Bernabeu. All scored inside the last fifteen minutes and all count as away goals in this tie. Wow. Real looked beaten and we were delighted. Brilliant fifteen minutes to turn it around and stun Real in their own home. I’m not sure that anybody expected that and Carlo Ancelotti was understandably grim and humbled in his press conference. That’s the best result in a while and we have all the chances to get this aggregate win in Amsterdam now.

• we didn’t have any real chances in this game, but managed to score three goals
• our shooting accuracy was pretty good, but we made only 7 key passes
• Lassina Traore scored his 20th goal of the season
• Player of the game: Anass Salah-Eddine - brilliant ten minutes from him in the end

 

26.02.2023 - Feyenoord Rotterdam - AFC Ajax 0:1 (ED) - 15. Dušan Tadic

No chance to celebrate that last win for too long, as we now had another Klassieker Derby coming up. We had just played Feyenoord in January and took a narrow 1:0 win in Johan Cruijff Arena, but I expected them to put up a more serious fight in De Kuip. I continued with a balanced 4-2-3-1, because it was an away derby and selected our best players who could make a difference in this game. Kian Fitz-Jim was also fit again after his injury and he was ready to come on from the bench.

Squad: Dere, Mazraoui (46. Veltman), Schuurs, Blind, Salah-Eddine, Taylor, van de Beek, Kühn (71. van der Sloot), Ferreira, Tadic (71. Fitz-Jim), Traore

It was a tight game, as usual between us and Feyenoord. We got a half-chance in 15’ when Nicolas Kühn found Tadic at the far post and the experienced Serbian made it 1:0 with a good volley. It was our first chance of the game and we were clinical with finishing. Tadic sent his header from a corner against the crossbar late in the first half, but chances were few for both teams and so were attempts in general.

We managed to keep hold of our lead in the second half. There weren’t many chances, but I witnessed some good defending - key headers and key tackles from our defensive line to keep pressure to our goal minimal and while we couldn’t add another goal ourselves, it was just good enough to scrape it. Not too many beautiful attacks and definitely not entertaining football, but plenty of duels and challenges and the desire from players to give their everything was clearly evident. I was very happy with our narrow win and even more so because AZ Alkmaar dropped another two points at the same time.

• we had 60% possession - good enough
• Player of the game: Perr Schuurs - good defensive performance from him

 

Summary

Just like in January we had one bad result this month, but generally I’m very happy with our form. Important thing is to win big games and we did exactly that against Real and Feyenoord and we have a solid lead in the Eredivisie table as a result. Our Champions League campaign is far from over and we are eager to match Real again in March.

We have plenty of positives to note in our performances, too - good number of clean sheets and excellent goalscoring form is something I hope we can maintain in the coming weeks.

There are a few notes about players that I’d like to point out. Firstly, Lassina Traore - his now reached 20 goals in this season, he’s leading Eredivisie scoring chart and has finally found his rhythm for Ajax. The second thing is that after the January transfer window we have some sort of long vision emerging of what sort of team we will be after this Summer. Three players are surely leaving and I’m choosing replacements within the ranks. It’s also obvious that young 18 years old centre-back Carlos Manuel Lopes is one of the brightest talents in the squad and he’s shown that he’s better than Devyne Rensch in the DLC position. He could be our long term replacement for Daley Blind and no wonder that PSG was already lurking and hoping to sign him. There are a number of players who have a chance to impress, but they just have to step up and take it. In some games (like against Real) we saw the younger generation taking over and showing what they can do, but then in the Klassieker Derby we once again relied on experienced veterans to make the difference.

 

Eredivisie

Curious table at the end of February. AZ Alkmaar have drawn four games in a row and PSV Eindhoven is climbing up quickly to push them to third place. Vitesse Arnhem is also dropping like a stone - without a win in the last five games, with three straight defeats. Hard to believe that they were contenders in Autumn. FC Groningen have finally picked up some wins and they’re now on the course to reach the top half of the table and FC Utrecht have also won three games straight. They’re still in the relegation zone, but they’ve regained some confidence and that helps them forward to get the next results. That leaves Fortuna Sittard and De Graafschap as the main relegation candidates when there’s 11 games to go.

[Draakon]

March 2023

 

Six games in March and they’re all home games. That’s the first month like that I’ve seen in my career. But it’s good to travel less and concentrate on both training and matches. Second leg game with Real Madrid is the big test this month. Eredivisie fixtures offer a variety of bottom half clubs that should be easy to deal with.

 

02.03.2023 - AFC Ajax - NEC Nijmegen 8:1 (TOTO KNVB Beker Semi Final) - 17. Kian Fitz-Jim, 24., 61. and 69. Lassina Traore, 42. and 49. pen. Razvan Marin, 59. Youri Regeer, 67. Alen Karahasanovic - 62. Aziz Ceylan

NEC wasn’t the strongest opponent for us, but it was a big enough fixture - the cup semi final is a stage where anything could happen, so you have to be prepared. We started with our usual positive 4-2-3-1 formation and treated this game as any other league fixture, perhaps rotating a little bit more than usual.

Squad: Dere, Mazraoui (59. van der Sloot), Rensch, Lopes, Douglas (59. Baas), Regeer, Marin, Kühn (59. Karahasanovic), Gravenberch, Fitz-Jim, Traore

I’m not really sure where NEC did wrong. Perhaps they came to this game with a little too optimistic, little bit too attacking mindset, but after we opened scoring in 17’ with an excellent counter-attack (and calm finish from Kian Fitz-Jim), their defense were carved open. Our midfielders frequently found Lassina Traore on the run and Traore had plenty of space to run into. The first Traore’s goal came from such a pass and in the end of the first half, when Razvan Marin fired from the edge of the area, it was 3:0 and virtually game over.

When NEC’s defense looked fragile enough in the first half, they completely collapsed after the break. Mistakes were coming and goals flooding and NEC’s consolation goal in 62’ was their only bright moment in this game. I pretty much switched off after making all three substitutions in 59’, but our attacks didn’t stop. Lassina Traore completed his hat-trick and substitute Alen Karahasanovic got himself to the score sheet to make it 8:1. Ridiculous score for the cup semi final and NEC squad probably feels pretty ashamed after that kind of beating.

• our shooting was 33/18 in this game
• we created 6 clear cut chances - it looked way too easy
• our average rating was 8.59
• Player of the game: Lassina Traore - in a match where more than half of the players recorded 9.0+ ratings, Traore stood out with his hat-trick

 

05.03.2023 - AFC Ajax - Willem II Tilburg 4:0 (ED) - 27. pen. Kenneth Taylor, 42. and 61. Lassina Traore, 69. Alen Karahasanovic

Willem II could be a mid-table side, but they’ve sunk to 14th in the recent weeks. One part of that might be the fact that they allowed their best midfielder Dries Saddiki to part for CSKA Moscow in January (that transfer took place after Eredivisie transfer window was already closed) and they lack depth to recover from that loss.

We, on the other hand, felt invincible. Our recent run of good wins in important games and 8:1 trashing of NEC Nijmegen kept us going high and we were really, really confident going against Willem II. We still missed Quincy Promes and Brian Brobbey due to injuries, but we had enough good players to get the result without them.

Squad: Dere, Mazraoui, Rensch, Lopes, Salah-Eddine (67. Douglas), Taylor (67. Regeer), van de Beek, Kühn (59. Karahasanovic), Ferreira, Fitz-Jim, Traore

We started well, but in 10’ Willem II found the first clear cut chance of the game: Mats Köhlert got away from Devyne Rensch too easily and found the open goal in front of him, but Gürcan Dere did very well to parry his shot wide. Lassina Traore found a first good moment in 23’, but he sent his shot wide of the post and missed the opportunity. However, we took control in 27’ - Traore was tripped in the box after our promising attack, and Kenneth Taylor converted the penalty. Traore got himself into the score sheet in the end of the first half when Kian Fitz-Jim delivered a great ball on the run for him and Traore finished calmly. We had a comfortable 2:0 lead at the half time and it was well deserved. Fitz-Jim and Traore looked difficult to handle for Willem II defense and we had full control of the game.

Köhlert tested our goalkeeper again right after the second half kick-off, but that was the last good moment to Willem II in attack. Lassina Traore scored his second goal of the game with an outstanding chip from 15 meters and substitute Alen Karahasanovic added another goal with a lovely strike to make it 4:0. It was a really confident win and consistent with our recent form, so pretty much what was expected from us. 

• our shooting was 23/9 in this game
• we made 22 individual mistakes - I didn’t like that stats
• Alen Karahasanovic scored his first career league goal for Ajax
• Lassina Traore scored his 25th goal of the season
• Donny van de Beek made his 200th league appearance for Ajax
• Lassina Traore and Kian Fitz-Jim had a great game - both had a 9.0+ rating
• Player of the game: Lassina Traore - scored a brace, could have been a hat-trick

 

08.03.2023 - AFC Ajax - FC Emmen 2:0 (ED) - 9. pen. Dušan Tadic, 45.+1 Nicolas Kühn

Next team in line was FC Emmen - another mid-table side. We were confident before the game, especially because FC Emmen had no less than six players missing - three due to injuries and three suspended. We missed Donny van de Beek due to a small injury. Good news is that Brian Brobbey is back in full training and he was on the bench for this game.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine (56. Douglas), Taylor, Marin, Kühn (67. Karahasanovic), Ferreira, Tadic, Traore (63. Brobbey)

We took the early lead - Lassina Traore got through on a counter and he was tripped in the box by late-arriving Greg Leigh. VAR confirmed it was a penalty and Leigh was booked. Experienced Dušan Tadic converted from the spot and we were in control of the game for a while. FC Emmen had a great chance to score an equalizer in 26’, but Kaj de Rooij scooped his shot well over the bar. Greg Leigh received his second yellow card in 45’ and that was it - it looked really difficult for FC Emmen to come back in the second half with 10 men. To make it worse, we sent them to their dressing room with another goal. Nicolas Kühn cut in from the right and finished with a fabulous strike from 19 meters to make it 2:0 and with that, it was a game over.

We controlled the game well in the second half and FC Emmen couldn’t create anything dangerous with just 10 players. We had two good chances to score more goals, but both Kühn and Razvan Marin didn’t execute well enough. Nevertheless, 2:0 is a decent score and I was satisfied with the performance.

• we had 66% possession in this game
• our shooting was 23/10
• Player of the game: Marco Ferreira - constantly delivered key passes and set up Kühn’s goal

 

12.03.2023 - AFC Ajax - FC Utrecht 1:0 (ED) - 40. Perr Schuurs

Next up, the struggling FC Utrecht - our opponents were 16th currently and fighting against relegation. Their form was improving, though, and they’ve collected three wins from their last five games, so that was a sign of confidence and, perhaps, tide turning for them. I didn’t worry too much about the result and shuffled our line-up a little, already thinking of the upcoming Champions League game. We had Carlos Manuel Lopes suspended for this league game and Donny van de Beek was doubtful because of a small knock, so I decided to give him a day off.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Rensch, Salah-Eddine (74. Douglas), Regeer, Marin, van der Sloot (64. Karahasanovic), Ferreira, Tadic, Traore (69. Brobbey)

It was a really drab match from start to finish. I lack noteworthy moments to report about it, other than Lassina Traore’s first half header that hit the post and Perr Schuur’s winner - another header from a corner that secured us all three points in this game. Both teams struggled to create moments and in the end we scraped it 1:0, but it wasn’t a pretty game of football by any terms.

• we had 60% possession, so we controlled the ball, at least
• we didn’t give FC Utrecht any chances in this game, so I can be happy with our defense
• Player of the game: Perr Schuurs

 

15.03.2023 - AFC Ajax - Real Madrid 2:2 (Champions League 1st knockout round 2nd leg) - 25. Donny van de Beek, 90.+2 Lassina Traore - 77. Luka Jovic, 90.+3 Rodrygo

There it was, the big game. Real Madrid came to Amsterdam, knowing that they needed to score at least three goals in the away game, to have a chance of aggregate win. We knew that defending well and keeping possession was more important than scoring, so we went for a balanced and careful 4-2-3-1 formation. Anass Salah-Eddine, who scored a brilliant goal in Santiago Bernabeu, was suspended for this game, but Donny van de Beek was fit and started in the midfield.

Squad: Dere, Mazraoui (87. Veltman), Schuurs, Blind, Douglas, Taylor, van de Beek (74. Marin), Kühn, Gravenberch (66. Ferreira), Fitz-Jim, Traore

The first 20-30 minutes were careful from both sides, but looking at it from the sidelines I had a sense that we had more control over the proceedings and we looked comfortable with possession. We scored a great team goal in 25’ - good attacking combination from the left and Kian Fitz-Jim knocked it back to the edge of the area, where Donny van de Beek arrived into the box to hit it brilliantly. A really outstanding goal and Real looked even more disheartened by it. We almost got the second in 33’ - Lassina Traore took the ball to a counter-attack, his attempt from close range was parried and so the first chance was wasted, but Ryan Gravenberch was there to finish it off from the rebound, only to see his attempt being blocked and then the ball was scrambled away by defenders. We had two of the best moments in the first half and held a narrow lead at the half time, but Real didn’t have a single chance in the first period. Their shots were just 2/1 in the first half and I was even more happy with our solid defense than I was with van de Beek’s goal.

The second half was more quiet and Real didn’t press us too hard until their substitute Luka Jovic equalized in 77’. It was a counter-attack after our corner and our defenders were caught napping there by quick movement of Real players. That goal gave Real some hope and for the last ten minutes they switched to 4-3-3. That gave us more space in attack and substitute Razvan Marin tested Thibaut Courtois with two good attempts, both saved brilliantly by the Belgian goalkeeper. Lassina Traore got through in injury time and his decisive finish was a pure class - Courtois was helpless against it and I was delighted with the late winner, but it wasn’t to be our victory just yet. Rodrygo managed to equalize with a fine strike from an IFK and so the final score was 2:2. I wasn’t too disappointed and Real players looked relieved not to lose the second game against us, but in aggregate we still went through into the quarter finals with a comfortable 5:3 win.

• our shooting was 15/11 in this game and we created 3 clear cut chances - not too bad against Real Madrid
• Player of the game: Donny van de Beek

 

19.03.2023 - AFC Ajax - Heracles Almelo 3:0 (ED) - 15. Nicolas Kühn, 44. Marco Ferreira, 90.+3 Kian Fitz-Jim

The last game before international break and I hope to finish our month strong, because PSV Eindhoven are on the winning streak. They’re still some points behind us, but their form makes me feel that we can’t slip up and give them the chance to close the gap. Heracles, at the same time have somehow climbed up to the 4th place and it’s fair to say that they’re the surprise package of the second half of the season.

There’s also a reason to celebrate, as this is my 200th game in management.

Squad: Dere, Mazraoui (69. van der Sloot), Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine, Taylor, van de Beek (69. Marin), Kühn (69. Karahasanovic), Ferreira, Fitz-Jim, Traore

It was a routine win for us. Nicolas Kühn scored the first goal after Ferreira brought the ball down cleverly right onto his path and Ferreira himself doubled our lead with a header in the end of the first half. We had initiative for the most part of the first half. Heracles played for counter-attacks, but that didn’t work out too well for them. Marco Ferreira was the creative force in our attack and played part of both goals.

Heracles had one good chance to score in the second half. Carlos Manuel Lopes spent a little bit too long with the ball, Cyriel Dessers took him away from him and went for a goal, but Gürcan Dere saved the clear cut chance and parried it away. Kian Fitz-Jim completed the rout in injury time after a fine counter attack and that wrapped things up well. A solid win for us and another three points in the bag.

• we had 62% possession in this game
• we allowed Heracles to make 27 dribbles - way too many
• Player of the game: Marco Ferreira - great game from the attacking midfielder - he was part of two goals, made 8 key passes and 7 dribbles

 

Summary

Really successful March in all competitions. Win over Real Madrid was unexpected and will give us a lot of reputation and coefficient points in the UEFA table. Players are starting to get fit, and are in good form. We score plenty of goals and generally look confident and composed on the pitch.

 

Eredivisie

PSV Eindhoven is still going strong. They’re undefeated since October (sic!) and with just 6 points between us, waiting eagerly for us to slip up and give away our advantage. Heracles remain 4th, surprisingly. Vitesse is dropping through the table like a stone - they looked like contenders in Autumn, but now could easily end up in the middle of the table. FC Groningen have leaped up from the relegation zone, but FC Utrecht is still fighting their battle against relegation.

[Draakon]

Youth Intake 2023

 

The preview that our HoYD showed me in Winter looked fairly average.

 

When the new bunch of kids finally arrived at the academy in March, I was a little bit shocked. The actual level of talent was nowhere near of what was promised and according to my staff, the most promising player was the left winger Remy Boer with around 2,5* potential. Two players who are potentially 3* are both 17 years old (already), so we lack time to develop their talent properly before age starts to kick in.

I feel robbed. Where is that golden generation that was promised? Where was the talent of the central midfield? I haven’t been so empty handed in March before in that save, and that was a big blow to our long term ambitions.

 

 

[Draakon]

April 2023

 

Our schedule was packed in February and March, but April is something else. Nine (yes, nine!) games in the month, with two Topper derbies with PSV Eindhoven and two important games against Manchester City coming up within two weeks. It’s important to balance our training schedule between games and keep our key players fresh for the next fixture. It’s the most important part of the season, too - our league game against PSV is a title six-pointer and I assume that the Eredivisie champions will be crowned before the end of April.

 

02.04.2023 - Fortuna Sittard - AFC Ajax 0:4 (ED) - 11. Marco Ferreira, 34., 45. and 53. Nicolas Kühn

In the tough month that’s probably one of the easiest games for us. Fortuna are the last in the table and we’re clear favourites for the game. We missed Noussair Mazraoui and Quincy Promes who still needed a little bit more time to regain full fitness..

Squad: Dere, van der Sloot, Veltman, Lopes, Salah-Eddine (60. Douglas), Regeer, Marin, Kühn (60. Karahasanovic), Ferreira (28. Gravenberch), Fitz-Jim, Traore

We almost scored a flyer in the first minute after the kick-off. Good build-up from left led to a chance to Lassina Traore. The attempt was blocked, but the follow-up shot from Kian Fitz-Jim forced Fortuna goalkeeper to make the first good save of the game. Fortuna got their best chance of the game in 9’ - Stijn Meijer’s attempt was well held by Gürcan Dere, and then we took control of the game. Good transition football from Kian Fitz-Jim, Marco Ferreira danced his way past the defender and finished with a very well placed shot. Good goal. Nicolas Kühn doubled our lead with a volley from the far post (cross from Anass Salah-Eddine) and Kühn’s header right before the half time whistle sent us to the break with a comfortable 3:0 lead.

We never looked back. Kühn was on the hunt for the hat-trick and while he blew his first chance to complete it in 51’, he scored his third goal four minutes later with a beautifully curled strike from the edge of the area. We then relaxed and I made all substitutions in 60’ to give our key  players some rest ahead of the big games. A fairly comfortable win and good start to our month.

• we had 61% possession in this game
• our shooting was 26/15
• we made 24 key passes and created 3 clear cut chances - that always helps
• Nicolas Kühn and Razvan Marin were outstanding in this game
• Player of the game: Nicolas Kühn - hat-trick hero

 

05.04.2023 - Manchester City - AFC Ajax 1:1 (Champions League Quarter Final 1st leg) - 27. Aymeric Laporte - 44. Nicolas Kühn

Big game. Tough game in the Etihad Stadium. Our tactical choices were easy - we went with the same balanced 4-2-3-1 that served us well against Real Madrid. Our team selection was more difficult - Noussair Mazraoui was not yet fit to start, Kenneth Taylor was suspended, so we missed two first team players, but Quincy Promes is finally back and he’ll start on the bench. I opted for Terrence Douglas in left-back, because he’s a more physical player than Anass Salah-Eddine and I expected us to need that against strong and quick players of City.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Blind, Douglas, Regeer (86. Marin), van de Beek, Kühn, Gravenberch (67. Ferreira), Fitz-Jim (79. Promes), Traore

Terrence Douglas almost got himself to the headlines in the beginning of the game. His raid to the City box led to a fierce shot that was tripped over by Ederson and so the left-back denied a great goal in the highest level. Ryan Gravenberch saw his close range attempt being blocked and for a moment it looked like we’re doing really well, but that illusion was erased in 12’ - Erling Haaland was unmarked at the near post when the cross came from our left, but his close range shot hit the post and so the chance was missed. Leroy Sane saw his header hit the crossbar in 22’ and when Laporte headed in from a corner, it looked like the inevitable finally happened. Against all odds, we managed to equalize before the half-time and it was again Nicolas Kühn for the rescue - his ambitious attempt from 20 meters was just too good for Emerson to save and it was another beautiful goal for the winger. Manchester City were clearly the better team in the first half, but we scored an important goal and everything still looked possible for us.

The second half continued in the same fashion - City had initiative, but their body language did miss something - determination and motivation just wasn’t there. They got some good shots on target, but Gürcan Dere looked ready and kept his awareness until the final whistle, so we returned from Manchester with a 1:1 draw that felt like a small win. I was very happy with the result and with the fact that we had something to play for in the second leg.

• we gave just 5 key passes in this game
• Player of the game: Nicolas Kühn - good equalizer from the right winger

 

08.04.2023 - AFC Ajax - PSV Eindhoven 3:1 (ED) - 17. Lassina Traore, Donny van de Beek, 33. Nicolas Kühn - 18. Michal Sadilek

It was a title six-pointer between two Manchester City games. We have a six points lead in the table with one game in hand, so to really challenge for the title PSV had to win this game. We could settle with a draw, but home advantage gives us the edge and we really owe to PSV after they defeated us 1:0 in Eindhoven back in January.

Squad: Dere, Mazraoui, Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine (78. Douglas), Taylor, van de Beek, Kühn (68. Promes), Gravenberch (61. Ferreira), Fitz-Jim, Traore

It looked an even game in the first 15 minutes - no real chances and teams traded attacks. Perr Schuurs directed a header from IFK against the post in 10’, but the breakthrough came in 17’ - Donny van de Beek, who wore the captain’s armband today, gave a lovely through ball to Lassina Traore and the striker finished calmly. 1:0 didn’t last too long - PSV got a corner and Kenneth Taylor lost Michal Sadilek in the box. The PSV midfielder got to the ball at the near post and headed it in before the  full minute had passed since our goal. I cursed at the sidelines, but nothing to do now - just dig deep, try to play our game and search for another goal. For the next 10 minutes after the equalizer it looked like PSV got initiative in the game, but then thunder struck twice. Donny van de Beek had a little bit of space in midfield and his screamer from 24 meters landed right next to the post. Nothing that PSV goalkeeper Lars Unnerstall could do about it. Unnerstall had to pick another ball out of his goal five minutes later - this time it was Nicolas Kühn who did the damage. He received the pass with his back to the goal, turned around and drilled it home from 24 meters into the bottom corner. Two outstanding strikes within five minutes and with that, PSV were undone. The stat sheet reflected a fairly even game, but we went to the half time with a 3:1 lead.

The second half was more quiet - both teams tried, but nothing too dangerous emerged and we always had a little bit more control over possession, so it remained 3:1. It was a very important win for us on the road to secure another Eredivisie title and a bad omen to PSV Eindhoven ahead of the cup final in about one week’s time.

• we had 60% possession in this game
• our shooting was 18/10 - good accuracy
• Nicolas Kühn scored his 10th goal of the season
• Player of the game: Donny van de Beek - true leader in midfield, scored a stunning goal and played worthy of the armband

 

11.04.2023 - AFC Ajax - Manchester City 1:0 (Champions League Quarter Final 2nd leg) - 13. Lassina Traore

Good news is that all players are fit for this game and Johan Cruijff Arena was packed with fans that were eager to see if we could beat such a big club as Manchester City in the home game. I went for the usual balanced 4-2-3-1 tactics, but tweaked some corner instructions to prevent counter-attacks. It’s curious that Nicolas Kühn is still without a contract even though he’s been superb against big oppositions in recent games. It shouldn’t take long before he attracts some attention.

Squad: Dere, Mazraoui, Schuurs, Blind, Salah-Eddine, Taylor, van de Beek (74. Marin), Kühn (56. Promes), Gravenberch (65. Ferreira), Fitz-Jim, Traore

Surprisingly, we took the lead in 13’ - Lassina Traore headed it in from a cross by Kian Fitz-Jim. The goal gave us a lot of confidence, even though Manchester City almost equalized two minutes later. I knew that we took the risk, playing with the high defensive line, even though it wasn’t constantly exploited by our opponents. Still, one defense-splitting long ball found its way to Gabriel Jesus, who had a good look on our goal, but Gürcan Dere did well to parry his shot away. We had our best opportunity of the first half in 39’ - Lassina Traore broke the offside trap and got through, but was also stopped by Ederson and his second attempt landed comfortably in the City goalkeeper’s hands. The first half looked fairly even - both teams had one good chance, but Traore’s header gave us the edge and some confidence for the second period.

The second half continued in the same fashion - both teams looked fairly equal (perhaps Manchester City had a little bit more attacks), but the first really good chance came for us when there was less than 15 minutes to play. Marco Ferreira did well to win the challenge and his ball put Lassina Traore in a great position, but the forward made a mess out of his shot and sent the ball straight at the goalkeeper. Manchester City started to take more risks in the final minutes. Sergio Agüero showed his skills to run into our box in a counter-attack. Mazraoui (already booked) didn’t dare to foul him and Agüero found space at the near post, but Gürcan Dere made a fine save to deny him. Lassina Traore had two more easy chances in injury time to bury this, but the first attempt was blocked and the second well saved by Ederson. It remained 1:0 and this narrow win got us the ticket into the semi final. Huge moment and I was obviously delighted with our solid defensive performance and with all of the players.

• our shooting was 18/10 - not bad at all
• we managed to create 4 clear cut chances against Manchester City (!), but missed them all
• we’ll play Atletico Madrid in the semi final
• Player of the game: Lassina Traore - scored the winner, that’s enough

 

16.04.2023 - AFC Ajax - PSV Eindhoven p1:1 (TOTO KNVB Beker Final) - 83. pen. Quincy Promes - 57. Johan Bakayoko

The cup final was held at De Kuip, so it was really a neutral ground for both teams. PSV were obviously hurting after the league defeat and itching to get the record straight. We were on a high after beating Manchester City and with five days to prepare for the game, looked fit and ready for the battle.

Squad: Dere, Mazraoui (103. Veltman), Schuurs, Blind, Salah-Eddine, Taylor, van de Beek (103. Marin), Kühn (57. Promes), Ferreira (71. Gravenberch), Fitz-Jim, Traore

We had a small initiative in what was generally an even first half, but towards the end of the period we got two great chances to score. First Lassina Traore received a cross at the near post, but his attempt from close range was blocked and then Marco Ferreira blew his one-on-one opportunity after our counter. Teams went to the half time with a 0:0 score, but it was an encouraging period and it felt like the goal was just a matter of time and I had a feeling that one goal could be all that was needed in this game.

The second half started in the same way - with our wasted chances. Traore sent his header over the crossbar from point blank range before Daley Blind’s missed interception gave Johan Bakayoko a crack and the PSV winger fired it into the far post. Good shot, but I was gutted, because it came completely against the run of the game. PSV organized their defense well and we tried hard to find the equalizer until we were helped by VAR and penalty - Perr Schuurs was pushed in the box by Wesley Hoedt, the referee checked the replay and awarded the penalty that was expertly converted by Quincy Promes. When the final whistle was called it felt that we were saved by VAR and in the extra time that followed we struggled to create good chances. PSV concentrated on the defense, too, and so the game went to the penalty shoot-out.  In there we looked more calm and confident - all of our four penalties landed in the net. Gürcan Dere saved one penalty and one hit the post, so after four rounds of penalties it was all over - we secured the cup fifth time in a row and even though it was a narrow win, it was well deserved.

• our shooting was 20/10 in this game 
• we created 4 clear cut chances - need to finish better
• Quincy Promes scored his 10th goal of the season
• Player of the game: Johan Bakayoko (PSV Eindhoven) - a great goal from him, but it wasn’t enough for PSV

 

19.04.2023 - AFC Ajax - Vitesse Arnhem 3:0 (ED) - 19. Dušan Tadic, 29. Lassina Traore, 87. Carlos Manuel Lopes

That could be the game that would secure our title. Vitesse are a strong team and they’ve added a couple of more loanees from Chelsea to their squad in the January transfer window, but somehow their form has dipped and they’ve won just one game in their past 13 league fixtures. There’s also the question of revenge on the table, as we suffered defeat the last time we played Vitesse. That should add extra motivation to the players.

We had some tired legs in the team after playing 120 minutes against PSV. Noussair Mazraoui and Anass Salah-Eddine definitely needed a day off, and the team was heavily rotated.

Squad: Dere, van der Sloot, Schuurs (63. Rensch), Lopes, Douglas, Regeer, Marin, Promes (70. Karahasanovic), Ferreira, Tadic, Traore (70. Brobbey)

The Vitesse setup looked very defensive and in the first half they didn’t really attack our goal - their first attempt came when more than 30 minutes were played. Their formation was difficult to break and we didn’t create too many chances, but scored two goals in the first period anyway. Dušan Tadic opened things up with a beautiful free kick from 23 meters that curled around the wall and landed next to the post. Lassina Traore doubled our lead with a good header. After the good first half we looked confident in our lead and I didn’t have too many concerns.

We had a chance to extend our lead in 51’ - Steven van der Sloot was tripped in the box, but Dušan Tadic managed to send his penalty wide of the post. That missed chance didn’t cause us any troubles, though, and in the end of the game Lopes’ header from a corner wrapped things up nicely. 3:0 was a comfortable win and that result secured our fifth Eredivisie title in a row.

• our shooting was 25/13 in this game
• we gave only 7 key passes
• Lassina Traore scored his 50th career league goal
• Player of the game: Carlos Manuel Lopes - very solid defensively, good in the air and scored a goal

 

22.04.2023 - FC Groningen - AFC Ajax 0:1 (ED) - 73. Brian Brobbey

From now on it seems right to concentrate on the remaining Champions League games and rotation players will get more chances in Eredivisie. The opponents are not the easiest in the next weeks, but that’s a test that they need and our best eleven should be fit and rested before the Atletico Madrid game.

Squad: Dere, van der Sloot (70. Veltman), Rensch, Lopes, Douglas, Regeer, Marin, Promes (59. Karahasanovic), Ferreira, Tadic, Brobbey

The first half didn’t offer entertaining and attacking football. Instead we had a small number of shots and even fewer good chances. Brian Brobbey had one good opportunity in 4’, but his close range attempt landed against the post and another good shot on target late in the first half was brilliantly parried away by the FC Groningen goalkeeper. So, at half time it was still 0:0 and it looked like our backup striker was a little bit rusty on the pitch.

Brobbey continued to get chances in the second half, but unfortunately continued to miss them, too, until the opportunity came in 73’ - backpass from FC Groningen defenders put their goalkeeper under pressure and Brobbey managed to win the ball back and send it into the empty goal from 17 meters. Good strike and that was enough to win the game. Brobbey missed another easy chance in 73’, but it didn’t affect the result in the end. 

I was satisfied with the final result - we had plenty of chances and on a better day Brobbey could have been a hat-trick hero. He missed a lot of opportunities, but he’ll get better with more playing time.

• our shooting was 14/11 in this game
• we created 3 clear cut chances and didn’t give FC Groningen any goal scoring opportunities
• Player of the game: Brain Brobbey - a good goal and man of the match performance despite those missed chances

 

25.04.2023 - AFC Ajax - Atletico Madrid 1:0 (Champions League Semi Final) - 34. Ryan Gravenberch

I haven’t played in the Champions League semi final before in my career, so obviously it’s a huge opportunity for us, but we’ll take one game at the time and see what happens. It’s important not to concede goals at home, so keeping possession and good organization in defense was crucial to our success. Sadly, Quincy Promes has to miss this game with a minor knock - Nicolas Kühn will start on the right wing.

Squad: Dere, Mazraoui, Schuurs, Blind, Salah-Eddine (90.+2 Douglas), Taylor, van de Beek, Kühn, Gravenberch, Fitz-Jim (81. Tadic), Traore (88. Brobbey)

We played a very good first half. It was a difference in mental preparation that gave us the edge in this game - Atletico players looked nervous, while we were committed and motivated, and that allowed us to take the game to them. We offered a good variety of attacks and shots on target and even though we didn’t create particularly dangerous chances, we always held a small initiative and it was all capped off with a great goal from Ryan Gravenberch. He took the ball into the box in 34’ and fired it in with a great strike.

The same continued after the break. I knew it was more important to keep our clean sheet than try to score another goal, but we were so close to our second - Lassina Traore’s attempt in 48’ was parried by a fine save from Jan Oblak and Gravenberch’s ambitious strike from 25 meters hit the framework in 60’. It was a narrow win in the end, but a really good one, because we played excellent football and showed experience and maturity to cope with the pressure. That win gives us all of the chances for the second leg in Madrid.

• our shooting was 21/14 in this game - really impressive, although we rarely put Jan Oblak out of his comfort zone
• we couldn’t create any real chances in this game and gave only 3 key passes
• Player of the game: Ryan Gravenberch - a memorable strike from him to win this game

 

27.04.2023 - sc Heerenveen - AFC Ajax 1:0 (ED) - 80. Noud van Kempen

Just two days since our last game and we didn’t have too much time to prepare for this game. We’re favourites, surely, but Heerenveen come to this game after their rather impressive 6:0 win over Fortuna Sittard and even though it’s just Fortuna who are rightly at the bottom of the table, this win must have given them a load of confidence. They also have a couple of really good talented young players in their team, so the away game against them won’t be easy.

My team selection was simple - almost all players were replaced and the first team that did so well against Atletico, got some much needed rest.

Squad: Dere, van der Sloot, Rensch (40. Veltman), Lopes, Douglas, Regeer, Marin, Kühn (68. Karahasanovic), Ferreira, Tadic (73. Fitz-Jim), Brobbey

The game itself was a huge disappointment, mainly because we lacked any motivation and spirit to actually fight in this game. sc Heerenveen got the best chance of the first half when Arjen van der Heide fought his way past Dušan Tadic, got into the area and took an attempt on target, but Gürkan Dere tipped it over. We had a couple of half chances in the first half, but nothing too dangerous and I’m disappointed to say that Heerenveen looked a slightly better team in the first period.

The same continued into the second half - we just lacked any spirit to fight. Noud van Kempen had a chance from close range in 75’ - his shot was superbly saved by Dere, but five minutes later inevitable happened and Heerenveen’s counter-attack led to their winning goal. We had a great opportunity to equalize in 86’, but Marco Ferreira rushed his attempt and sent the ball straight at the goalkeeper. Disappointing defeat and I wasn’t happy at all - second choice players or not, I expected a certain level of commitment and that was just not good enough. 

• our shooting was just 9/5 in this game
• we had 6.74 average rating
• we made just 5 key passes and our crossing was poor throughout the game 
• we made 22 individual mistakes with Steven van der Sloot being responsible for 5 of those
• Devyne Rensch was injured in the first half and he’ll be out for 2 weeks with pulled ankle ligaments
• Player of the game: Noud van Kempen (sc Heerenveen)

 

30.04.2023 - AFC Ajax - ADO Den Haag 1:0 (ED) - 27. Quincy Promes

The last game of this month was in one way pretty unimportant for us, but I knew that we needed a good performance to keep our confidence and spirit high before our trip to Madrid. Despite that, I used rotation players again and even goalkeeper Dani van den Heuvel was set for his debut for Ajax.

Squad: van den Heuvel, van der Sloot, Schuurs (70. Veltman), Lopes, Douglas (60. Baas), Regeer, Marin, Promes (70. Karahasanovic), Ferreira, Tadic, Brobbey

The game started with a dangerous moment in front of our goal. ADO got a free kick from some distance, but Youri Regeer lost his header in the box and the ball fell to Jurgen Mattheij who managed to fire wide of the post, like was expected from a centre-back. van den Heuvel was also perhaps too boldly moving away from the goal to intercept that cross, so Mattheij had an empty goal in front of him, but we escaped that situation without conceding. The rest of the first half was well under our control, but we struggled to finish off our chances. Or, it is more accurate to say, Brain Brobbey struggled. Quincy Promes was the active spark on our right wing and two of his crosses found Brobbey in front of the goal, but the attempts were saved and/or blocked, so nothing came out of it. Promes had to take matters into his own hands then and his long run from the middle of the pitch in 27’ led to a great solo strike that put us into the lead at the half time.

The second half was very similar - we controlled the game and created chances, but struggled with finishing. Brian Brobbey wasted another chance in 61’. Dušan Tadic had a poor game, but his free kick in 63’ curled around the wall nicely, only to be saved by Peter Leeuwenburgh. ADO Den Haag was left to 10 men in 88’ when Lucas Woudenberg received his second yellow card, but still we couldn’t add another goal. Brobbey saw his volley clip the post and Alen Karahasanovic blew his easy chance in injury time.

In conclusion, it was a good game, but extremely poor finishing from us

• our shooting was 26/14
• we created 4 clear cut chances in this game, but missed them all
• Dani van den Heuvel made his league debut
• Player of the game: Quincy Promes - outstanding game from him and it’s great to see him back in good form - we’ll need it in Madrid

 

Summary

It was a great month, really. All of the important games came our way and we managed to play our best football when it mattered the most. Our finishing could have been more clinical in some games, but really I can’t complain. Players are fit as well and that’s always something that gives depth to the team and gives the manager more options.

 

Eredivisie

Pretty much the same - we’ve secured the title and the top of the table looks like what was expected before the season.

[Draakon]

May 2023

 

With such a long April behind us, we have just a couple of games remaining in our schedule and obviously we have the dream to reach the Champions League final after our good performance against Atletico. Let’s see how it plays out.

 

03.05.2023 - Atletico Madrid - AFC Ajax 3:0 (Champions League Semi Final 2nd leg) - 15. and 40. Joao Pedro, 90.+2 Calvin Stengs

So, the most important game of our season - the players have not been in this stage of the competition so far and I just hoped that nobody will be too nervous or anxious about the occasion. We need to channel this excitement in the right way.

Tactically it was an easy choice - we remained true to our balanced 4-2-3-1 formation.

Squad: Dere, Mazraoui, Schuurs, Blind, Salah-Eddine, Taylor, van de Beek, Promes, Gravenberch (62. Ferreira), Fitz-Jim (72. Kühn), Traore (90.+1 Brobbey)

It wasn’t the worst first half from us, but some stupid mistakes in defense allowed Atletico to score twice. The first goal came after a series of poor decisions - Anass Salah-Eddine missed his interception and the cross came in from our left, Noussair Mazraoui attempted to head it away, but directed the ball against the crossbar, from where it bounced back in front of our goal for Joao Pedro to finish into the empty net. Most of our defenders and the goalkeeper looked disoriented and didn’t know what was happening. The second goal came after Salah-Eddine lost his aerial duel and the ball was knocked to Joao Pedro who finished into the empty net. I started to think that perhaps more physical Terrence Douglas would have been a better choice in our left defense in this game, but it was too late to change those decisions. We were 0:2 down at half time, but nothing was lost - we still needed just one goal to get the win on aggregate.

Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. Atletico maintained their initiative in the second half and even though we had some good attempts on target, there were rarely any really good goal scoring opportunities. The best one came late in the game, in 84’ - long ball forward to Quincy Promes allowed him to get through the defense, but late arriving centre-back blocked his attempt. That was the chance and I knew that we blew it. Atletico’s third goal in injury time completed the rout and we were well beaten in the away game. Our Champions League campaign stopped there and I have to admit that it was a fair result - Atletico was clearly a better team and deserved to win by 2-3 goals. We need to see what we could do better in the future, but to be fair, we did extremely well to reach that far. At least the board was really excited about our continental campaign and, obviously, about prize money, too.

• our average rating was just 6.74 in this game - nobody played too well

 

07.05.2023 - AZ Alkmaar - AFC Ajax 0:1 (ED) - 54. Carlos Manuel Lopes

The last game of the season for us was the Noord-Hollandse derby. It’s always preferable to have an easy game as the last of the season to just relax, chill and score some goals on the way and finish the season with good spirits, but in this year it wasn’t the case - AZ are a formidable team and in their own home they’ll going to give us the battle. Therefore I couldn’t rotate our squad as much as I would have done against weaker opponents, but we weren’t too concerned about the result, either. Another reason for changes was yellow cards - Donny van de Beek and Kenneth Taylor had a day off only to avoid their 5th booking of the season and following suspension. 

Squad: Dere, Mazraoui (69. van der Sloot), Veltman, Lopes, Douglas (69. Baas), Regeer, Marin, Promes (69. Karahasanovic), Ferreira, Fitz-Jim, Brobbey

It was a drab first half - we had the initiative, but we failed to create anything dangerous, but AZ at the same time failed to make a single attempt before the break, so for them it was even worse.

The second half looked slightly better in terms of attacking football. Brian Brobbey headed against the crossbar from close range before centre-back Carlos Manuel Lopes scored from Marin’s IFK to put us in the lead. AZ Alkmaar made their first shot when already 66’ were played, but they found the best chance of the game in 74’ - Gyrano Kerk received the long ball behind our defense and went through, but Gürcan Dere made a good save to parry his shot. So it remained 1:0 in the end and I was happy to finish our season with a win.

• we made only 8 dribbles in this game
• Gürcan Dere set the new club record - it was his 27th clean sheet in this season and 22 in the Eredivisie (new Eredivisie record)
• Player of the game: Razvan Marin - a great performance from him, 8 key passes, an assist and overall boss midfield performance

 

Summary

 

Slightly disappointing end to our European campaign, but we’re not too disheartened by it. After our last game the rest of the month was fairly quiet - we trained and rested and made preparations with the new season in mind. The only noteworthy change is that I signed some new coaches to our Jong Ajax and as the board is rather generous at the moment with staff numbers and wages, I tried to fill those gaps.

 

 

 

 

Eredivisie

The top of the table looks fairly regular, but the bottom three offer surprises. Fortuna Sittard and De Graafschap were relegated, but against all odds FC Utrecht lost their play-off game against FC Eindhoven (Eerste Divisie 7th) on penalties and they will drop to the lower division. That’s a bit of a shock, honestly. I always expected them to pick themselves up and win some games late in the season to get themselves out of the trouble, but they failed and that’s a huge hit to the big club.

Jong PSV Eindhoven won the Eerste Divisie, but NAC Breda, VVV Venlo and FC Eindhoven were promoted to Eredivisie for the next season. Jong Ajax finished in pretty respectable 7th place and our U-19 team were crowned U-19 champions.

[Draakon]

Season Update 2022/2023

 

That was, without a doubt, our most successful season so far. We’ve defended the title (with a considerable point gap in the end), we’ve secured our fifth cup win in a row (great achievement on our own) and we’ve reached the Champions League semi final which is our best campaign in continental competitions.

The board is obviously delighted, but there’s more to that than success in competitions.

 

We are rich. I mean - filthy rich. We have a £640m bank balance with some £400m transfer funds and competitions TV revenue and prize money has filled our coffers more than ever in this season.

We have a great squad. Good depth, talented youngsters and capable veterans. That’s something to build upon for the future.

Our success rubs off to all of the other clubs in Holland. Because of our consecutive good Champions League campaigns, Eredivisie has been granted additional places in continental competitions. Two clubs will now have a guaranteed place in the Champions League group stage and we also have automatic place in the Europa League group stage. I hope that other clubs in the league can take advantage of that and play well in the higher level.

 

The Squad

Considering what sort of doubts we had about our goalkeeper last Summer, Gürcan Dere has had a magnificent season. He is indeed incredibly talented and only 19 years old, but now has plenty of Champions League experience and his clean sheet records place him even above Andre Onana. We have a good depth in midfield and in attack. Marco Ferreira and Kian Fitz-Jim have emerged in this season and Dušan Tadic has been gently pushed aside. Tadic completed his coaching course this Spring and with one eye sets his sights on retirement that will arrive in the near future. We’ve been perhaps overly reliant on Lassina Traore with our goal scoring - he’s been on target 29 times this season, but he’s shown that he can score a lot when the tactics are right for him.

 

There are certainly areas we can improve. Our finishing is still not good enough - we’ve created 54 clear cut chances in Eredivisie games, but scored 24 out of them and that’s too wasteful. Our number of goals from set pieces has also dried up a little and we’ve not been concentrated on that in training as well.

 

 

Eredivisie awards

 

Golden Boot

1. Richard Neudecker - FC Groningen
2. Lassina Traore - AFC Ajax
3. Clint Leemans - PEC Zwolle

Top Goalscorer

1. Lassina Traore - AFC Ajax - 20
2. Mohammed Tahiri - Sparta Rotterdam - 16
3. Tamir Erdem - Feyenoord Rotterdam - 16

Young Player of the Season

1. Carlos Manuel Lopes - AFC Ajax
2. Sven Lautenschutz - Sparta Rotterdam
3. Kenzo Goudmijn - AZ Alkmaar

Goalkeeper of the Year

1. Karol Niemczycki - Sparta Rotterdam
2. Jan Bekkema - sc Heerenveen
3. Gürcan Dere - AFC Ajax

Manager’s Manager of the Year

1. Me
2. Hans-Dieter Flick - FC Groningen
3. Ernest Faber - PSV Eindhoven

[Draakon]

Summer 2023

 

The first part of the Summer transfer window was fairly quiet. Plenty of transfer rumours around our first team players and the most notable one was Real Madrid’s interest in Kenneth Taylor, so I was anxiously waiting for an official bid with willingness to accept if the money was right. Some of the interest and bids were nothing less than ridiculous. PSV Eindhoven wanted to sign Gürcan Dere - it’s hard to imagine that a player who has just set the new goalkeeping record in the league and reached the Champions League semi finals would want to leave the club for the rival team. Some of the bids were more difficult to answer than others - Terrence Douglas and Devyne Rensch attracted some attention and I was considering if I should keep him or allow him to leave. But usually I just sat patiently and waited for big clubs to make hefty £40-50m bids to our first team players.

 

Departures

In the end of June Daley Blind left for Valencia (for free). His departure was obviously the one that caused most upset in the ranks of our fans. Team leader with more than 100 caps is certainly a big loss to our dressing room and some shifts in the team hierarchy were inevitable. Quincy Promes, Donny van de Beek and Dušan Tadic are now noted as team leaders.

Nicolas Kühn saw his contract run out and he too left the club. He is not good enough (on paper) for me to offer him a new deal, but good enough to score 10+ goals in each season (mostly in Eredivisie) so fans were equally disappointed with his departure. Kjell Scherpen, Hassane Bande and Eduardo Catalli also left, but they were not missed as much.

 

Arrivals

A number of players on loan returned to the club and some of them had a very successful season. Striker Jay Enem scored 20 goals in the Belgium league, Rio Hillen had a good season in Belgium, Julius Dirksen showed some fine performances in Spain and attacking midfielder Sontje Hansen also looks like the player who is capable of helping our first team in the next season.

 

Transfers

There are two things to focus on in the transfer window. Firstly, these few first team players who are good enough to attract attention from really big teams. Manchester City has shown interest in Lassina Traore, Real Madrid is lurking around Kenneth Taylor, some big teams are interested in Noussair Mazraoui and Anass Salah-Eddine.

Secondly, there are players whose contract will run out in 2024 and it’s decision time about them - should we sell now or offer them new deals. Kenneth Taylor, Quincy Promes, Ryan Gravenberch and Perr Schuurs are in this list, with some younger players. The club is certainly under pressure in regards to Taylor and Gravenberch. Both are good enough to move on to bigger clubs and leagues and at the same times their agents are pressuring us to get new contracts with higher wages, so there’s no surprise that clubs try to exploit the situation and get them for lower price than they’re worth.

I ran into the first hurdle with Ryan Gravenberch. After rejecting some fairly low bids between £20m-£30m the player got a bit upset too and when Everton agreed to pay £33,5m for him, I decided to accept. He’s worth around that much, but still only 21 years old and really talented, so I should get around £50m for him, but his contract situation doesn’t really do me any favours and so it’s wise thing to collect the money while we can. I have a capable (or even better) replacement for him in Marco Ferreira, so I expect to cover that loss without too many problems.

After selling Gravenberch and waiting for big clubs to make their offers for Taylor, I made two more decisions - first was about Jenno Campagne - a midfielder just returned from loan. He will probably not be good enough for the first eleven role in Ajax and there was no point in keeping him around in his twenties, so when KRC Genk came with a £5m bid, it was easy to accept. Good money for a player who was essentially surplus to requirements. The second was sending young defender Dani van Dijk to De Graafschap for £500k (up to £800k with clauses). The centre-back who suits more to DMC position, but we don’t play with DMC. The lad has got the right attitude, but not enough talent and it’s better for him to go elsewhere.

 

Loans

Several players returned from loan and some of them went back to join another club for the next year. I also sent away Terrence Douglas and Brian Brobbey - more first team football will benefit their development.

• Jurrien Timber to RU Saint Gilloise
• Christian Rasmussen to RU Saint Gilloise
• Rio Hillen to KVC Westerlo
• Julius Dirksen to KV Oostende
• Terrence Douglas to Real Sporting
• Joshua Pynadath to PEC Zwolle
• Brian Brobbey to SD Eibar

 

29.07.2023 - AFC Ajax - PSV Eindhoven 3:0 (Johan Cruijff Schaal) - 29. Perr Schuurs, Quincy Promes, 88. Lassina Traore

Traditional season-opener was this time played at Johan Cruijff Arena which gave us a small advantage. Even bigger advantage was that all of our players were fit to start the season and we looked in good form after friendlies, trashing Fenerbahce 7:0 in our last pre-season game.

Squad: Dere, Mazraoui, Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine, Taylor, van de Beek (73. Marin), Promes (73. Hansen), Ferreira, Fitz-Jim (68. Tadic), Traore

We controlled the game fairly well - not too many big chances in the first half, but we looked very good defensively and PSV’s 4-1-4-1 formation wasn’t too attacking, so they got their first attempt in after 30 minutes were played. We prepared training set pieces before the game and it totally paid off - Perr Schuurs headed in from a corner in the first half and Quincy Promes added the second goal from IFK after the break. In the end of the game, a good interception and pass from Dušan Tadic released Lassina Traore who comfortably slotted home our third and that was it - an impressive win over our rivals in the first game of the season. PSV Eindhoven looked like they had no answers to us in that game and while we celebrated our fifth Johan Cruijff Schaal win, they went back to their drawing boards to prepare for the new season.

• Player of the game: Marco Ferreira - made 8 key passes in attack and his set piece delivery was lethal - two goals from dead ball situations.

[Draakon]

August 2023

 

Four games, with plenty of time to prepare, but two tricky away fixtures in this month as well. It’s important to get our campaign going with a winning streak, so I’m putting a lot of emphasis on those games. I dedicated our extra sessions to set pieces and hoped to return to our previous seasons when we scored a lot of goals from free kicks and corners.

 

06.08.2023 - sc Heerenveen - AFC Ajax 0:3 (ED) - 66. Lassina Traore, 75. pen. Dušan Tadic, 90.+4 Kenneth Taylor

It’s a tough game to start our season with - away game against sc Heerenveen. Our opponents finished 4th in the last season and even though they’ve lost one talented attacking player in Arjen van der Heide during the transfer window, they look like a young and talented team. It’s good to report that all of our players are fit in the beginning of the season and I hope to avoid major injuries.

Squad: Dere, Mazraoui, Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine, Taylor, Marin (67. van de Beek), Promes, Ferreira, Fitz-Jim (58. Tadic), Traore (75. Enem)

The first half offered very few good chances. sc Heerenveen had an attacking formation and they were good in the beginning of the game, too - their attempts didn’t have too much threat, though. We had our first shot in 22’, so the first part of this first half was a struggle, but at half time I had to say that our chances looked slightly better than the ones that Heerenveen created. Kian Fitz-Jim was unlucky to hit the post in 44’, so we weren’t far away from the goal, too.

We continued to play with high pressure and gegenpress in the second half and finally that brought the result. Lassina Traore applied good pressure on Andreas Skovgaard, won the ball in the Heerenveen box and finished calmly. I then switched from positive to balanced and was happy to control the game. Substitute Dušan Tadic converted the penalty after Marco Ferreira was pushed in the box and everything started to go downhill from there. Set piece training paid off in injury time - Carlos Manuel Lopes headed against the crossbar, but the following struggle in the six yard box didn’t allow sc Heerenveen to make a clearance and finally Kenneth Taylor got his foot to the ball to put it over the line. Final score 3:0 looked quite flattering, but actually it was a really difficult game and we had to dig deep to get those three points.

• we lost possession 47/53 - not too big of a difference, but somehow sc Heerenveen attacking tactics worked in that regard
• Player of the game: Kenneth Taylor - good playmaking in midfield and finally, a goal, too

 

11.08.2023 - AFC Ajax - FC Twente Enschede 5:0 (ED) - 2. and 48. Marco Ferreira, 21. Kian Fitz-Jim, 41. Carlos Manuel Lopes, 90.+1 Kenneth Taylor

FC Twente finished their last season slightly above the relegation zone and they haven’t strengthened their squad during the Summer transfer window. Instead, they sold one of their best strikers Jay-Roy Grot to sc Heerenveen, so you might say that they look even weaker. Media and pundits placed them into the bottom half again and there were no reasons not to be confident before this home game.

I made two changes in our line-up: Donny van de Beek started in midfield (after a rather mediocre display from Razvan Marin against sc Heerenveen) and Steven van der Sloot replaced Mazraoui as the Moroccan right-back looked slightly tired.

Squad: Dere, van der Sloot, Schuurs (69. Rensch), Lopes, Salah-Eddine, Taylor, van de Beek, Promes (63. Hansen), Ferreira, Fitz-Jim, Traore (69. Enem)

We stormed out of the gates with all guns blazing and with less than two minutes played, took control of the game. Marco Ferreira showed his brilliance by firing in a fierce strike from the edge of the area and in 21’ Kian Fitz-Jim added another great goal with a swerving shot from 15 meters. We didn’t have too many easy chances and you might say that FC Twente did a decent job in defense, but those two shots were just too good for their goalkeeper. Carlos Manuel Lopes added the third with a header from IFK (another set piece goal there) and that was virtually game over at the half time.

Marco Ferreira continued his great performance in the second half - another attempt from him, taken from 19 meters, landed in the top corner to pile up on FC Twente’s misery. FC Twente had their best opportunity from IFK in 55’ - Jeremy Helmer managed to hit the post from close range, but the ball was then cleared by Lopes and danger was averted. The referee was eager to give out yellow cards and so FC Twente was left with 10 men for the last ten minutes. Kenneth Taylor scored an injury time goal against sc Heerenveen and he repeated it again - another set piece goal. Taylor doesn’t get to the score sheet too often and for him to score in consecutive games is definitely something special. The final score 5:0 was pretty impressive and we collected some great goals on the way. FC Twente looked beaten in the end of the game and we took a lot of confidence from that win.

• our shooting was 23/8 in this game
• we had 8.33 average rating
• we had 15 corners in this game and scored two goals from IFK - set piece training will pay off, I feel it
• Marco Ferreira, Carlos Manuel Lopes, Kenneth Taylor and Quincy Promes had a great game and they finished with 9.0+ rating
• Player of the game: Marco Ferreira

 

18.08.2023 - AZ Alkmaar - AFC Ajax 3:5 (ED) - 4. and 55. pen. Gyrano Kerk, 63. Kingsley Ehzibue - 21. Peer Koopmeiners (og), 42. and 72. Lassina Traore, 46. Marco Ferreira, 90.+2 Razvan Marin

It was another tough away game in August - Noord-Hollandse derby against AZ Alkmaar. AZ has been the powerhouse of young talent in Eredivisie in the last seasons and they constantly seem to find talented players to come through their ranks. Their midfield is incredible, but the Summer transfer window and departures of Robert Bozenik and Jerry St. Juste leaves them weakened in attack and defense. 

I sent out our best eleven and we started with a balanced 4-2-3-1 formation.

Squad: Dere, Mazraoui, Schuurs, Lopes (75. Rensch), Salah-Eddine, Taylor, van de Beek (63. Marin), Promes (70. Hansen), Ferreira, Fitz-Jim, Traore

The first fifteen minutes belonged to AZ Alkmaar - Kenzo Goudmijn was just incredible with the ball and our midfielders couldn’t stop him with the ball - his two runs into our box ended with a good attempt, but Gürcan Dere made fine saves to stop them. AZ took the lead in 4’ when Kingsley Ehzibue found Gyrano Kerk in front of our goal - Kerk was completely unmarked in our six yard box and it was an easy finish from close range. Kerk had a free header some minutes later that was tipped wide by Dere and Fedde de Jong headed against the post. We looked completely out of the place defensively and I switched to positive 4-2-3-1 to get something out of the game.

We scored the equalizer, but it was a lucky goal for us. Peer Koopmeiners got his foot to a Quincy Promes’ cross and sent the ball into his own goal. I made another tactical tweak and after Gyrano Kerk wasted his clear cut chance in 34’ (or rather great save from Dere), Lassina Traore gave us the lead before the half time. His header landed right next to the post and AZ goalkeeper couldn’t reach it. We were leading 2:1 at half time, but I felt that it was completely undeserved - we were overplayed in much of the first half and AZ could rue their poor finishing, because they should have scored 3-4 goals easily. I had no kind words to the team at half time and that made some difference in the second half - we came out with all guns blazing and in the very first attack scored our third goal. Things looked good then - 3:1 was a decent advantage and the team looked motivated. The game had some twists and turns in it, however. Noussair Mazraoui fouled Gyrano Kerk in the box and VAR confirmed the penalty even if it looked a rather harsh decision after seeing the replay. Kerk converted from the spot and in 63’ AZ equalized - Kingsley Ehzibue dribbled past Carlos Manuel Lopes too easily and squeezed it in from the near post. It was 3:3 and everything was still possible, but in the last 20 minutes we had initiative and had enough edge to win the game.

Razvan Marin had a free kick from 25 meters - it was a good attempt and was saved with difficulties by the goalkeeper, but Traore was first to collect the loose ball and finish from point blank range. Marin himself added our fifth goal with a fierce strike from 19 meters and settled the result for good.

In the end - it was a proper derby and both teams showed attacking football from start to finish. I can’t be too mad at the team, because we dug deep and emerged victorious in the end, but our defense was completely all over the place and this has to improve in the next games.

• we lost possession 47/53
• AZ shots were 22/11 and they created 3 clear cut chances - not too often we’ve looked so poor in defense
• we made only 8 key passes in this game
• we allowed AZ players to make 24 dribbles - another sign of our defensive problems
• Player of the game: Lassina Traore - two goals from him helped us to the win

 

27.08.2023 - AFC Ajax - Sparta Rotterdam 2:1 (ED) - 22. Quincy Promes, 24. Perr Schuurs - 12. Mohammed Tahiri

Back home and we had over a week to prepare for our next game. Sparta Rotterdam is one of the success stories in Eredivisie in recent years. They earned promotion to the top division two seasons ago and have backed it up with two consecutive top half finishes, so they can’t be underestimated. However, I rotated the team to give chances to other players as well.

Squad: Dere, van der Sloot, Schuurs, Rensch, Salah-Eddine, Taylor (70. Regeer), Marin, Promes, Ferreira, Fitz-Jim (63. Hansen), Traore (70. Enem)

We had a good start to the game. In fact, we got our first clear cut chance in 4’ when Marco Ferreira won the ball from a defender and got a one-on-one opportunity, but his shot (even though it looked like a good attempt) was brilliantly saved by the Sparta goalkeeper. So, our opponents took the lead in 12’ when Mohammed Tahiri found the net from a narrow angle. We didn’t take too much time to react - Razvan Marin found Quincy Promes with a lovely through ball and Promes finished with a nice chip over the keeper. Two minutes later it was 2:1 - Perr Schuurs headed in from an IFK and we went to the half time a little bit more relaxed.

The second half offered less good chances, but we had initiative, we controlled midfield and kept Sparta defense under pressure. The final score 2:1 wasn’t too impressive, but we did enough to take all three points - some players impressed me in this game, some less so.

• we had 66% possession
• our shooting was 24/10
• we didn’t give Sparta Rotterdam any real chances in this game
• Player of the game: Razvan Marin - two assists and five key passes from him

 

Summary

I’m fairly happy with our August. The results have not come too easy, but we’ve started our Eredivisie campaign with four straight wins and among them are two fairly tricky away fixtures, so that’s a good start. All players are fit, we do not seem to miss Ryan Gravenberch or Daley Blind at all and we look good to go for the rest of the season.

Champions League groups were drawn at the end of August. Eredivisie has guaranteed two places in the group stage from the next season. This Summer PSV Eindhoven had to play for it, but they failed against AS Monaco and dropped out of the competition, so the responsibility falls again entirely to us.

 

Champions League Group G

1. Juventus
2. AFC Ajax
3. FC Porto
4. Lokomotiv Moscow

 

Eredivisie 

We started well, but surprisingly ADO Den Haag have also won their first four games in the season.

 

Transfer Window Update

We didn’t receive good enough offers for our players in August, so no transfers to report with. I sent some young players on loan, including Alen Karahasanovic (who was unhappy after his transfer was blocked), so at the end of August our first team consist of 21 players - not too many, I know, but I hope to avoid major injuries and all of our loan players have recall clause in their loan agreements, so I can always recall them in January if we get into trouble.

 

Eredivisie Transfers

Several clubs made some big sales  this Summer - sc Heerenveen, AZ Alkmaar and FC Groningen filled their coffers, while PSV Eindhoven decided to spend big. AZ Alkmaar looked rather raided and ragged at the end of the transfer window.

 

• Ryan Gravenberch from AFC Ajax to Everton for £33,5m
• Arjen van der Heide from sc Heerenveen to Inter Milan for £28,5m
• Kenzo Goudmijn from AZ Alkmaar to Atletico Madrid for £27,5m
• Splinter van As from ADO Den Haag to KAA Gent for £20,5m
• Robert Bozenik from AZ Alkmaar to PSV Eindhoven for £13,5m
• Timothy Fosu-Mensah from Sheffield Wednesday to PSV Eindhoven for £8,75m
• Jake Clarke-Salter from FC Utrecht to PSV Eindhoven for £8,25m
• Leonel Miguel from FC Groningen to RCD Espanyol for £8m (up to £9,75m)
• Jerry St. Juste from AZ Alkmaar to Aston Villa for £7m
• Jenno Campagne from AFC Ajax to KRC Genk for £5m

[Draakon]

Squad Update 2023-2024

 

Goalkeepers

Kjell Scherpen is gone and Dani van den Heuvel takes his place as the younger backup. To be fair, he’s not good enough to start in the first team and he’ll be playing for Jong Ajax, mostly, but as a back-up he’ll do.

Gürcan Dere, however, is becoming an incredible player. Just 19 years old, played a full Eredivisie season and got us to the semi final of the Champions League - plenty of experience and his attributes can increase further.

 

 

 

Defenders

A few changes here - Daley Blind has left and his leadership will be missed. Terrence Douglas went out on loan and Youri Baas will get more chances in the DL position. Our best centre-back partnership is Perr Schuurs and Carlos Manuel Lopes - Lopes is an incredibly talented player and Devyne Rensch will probably be unhappy not to get expected playing time. Joel Veltman will provide experience and versatility on the right.

 

 

Midfielders

No changes here - Kenneth Taylor and Youri Regeer have trained for one more year and they’re better for it. Donny van de Beek provides leadership and Razvan Marin offers depth to both roles. No particular worries in this area of the pitch.

 

 

 

Attacking Midfielders

First year without Ryan Gravenberch, but no worries - Marco Ferreira looks like he could become one of the best players in the team - such vision, technique and ability to pass the ball. Quincy Promes is fit again and I hope he will avoid serious injuries in this season. Kian Fitz-Jim is another wonderkid on our left flank. We lack a decent back-up in AMC position after Alen Karahasanovic went on loan, but experienced Dušan Tadic can provide cover for both AML and AMC and when we are in trouble we can also push Donny van de Beek to AMC position.

Sontje Hansen is a new addition and he’ll play in AMR next to Quincy Promes. His last season was spent on loan, but he looks good enough to get match time from substitutions and hopefully being in Ajax will accelerate his development.

 

 

 

Strikers

Lassina Traore is our best option. Brian Brobbey joined SD Eibar on loan for this season and Jay Enem returned to the team to take his place as the backup. Enem showed incredible goalscoring form in Belgium - his goal tally for the previous season was 22 - but he’s yet to prove himself for Ajax.

 

[Draakon]

September 2023

 

The transfer window is behind us, international break is ahead of us and we’ll

01.09.2023 - AFC Ajax - ADO Den Haag 2:1 (ED) - 31. Nathan Markelo (og), 40. Lassina Traore - 48. Bradley de Jooijer

We have one more game before the international break and it could be tricky, because ADO Den Haag have won their first four games. This winning streak gives them a lot of confidence and we had to be aware of that. 

Squad: Dere, Mazraoui, Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine (68. Baas), Taylor, van de Beek (62. Marin), Promes (74. Hansen), Ferreira, Fitz-Jim, Traore

The first dangerous moment came in the first minutes and fell to ADO Den Haag - their free kick found Josep Maria Santamaria in our box, who hit the shot straight to Gürcan Dere. It was a wasted chance for ADO, but I was left wondering how easily they created that opportunity. After the first scare we slowly, but surely started to take control of the game - good opportunities were rare, but we won a number of headers in ADO box and some of those were dangerous enough and from one of such opportunity came our first goal - Perr Schuurs won a header from a corner and Nathan Markelo was unfortunate to get in front of that. From his touch the ball went to the goal. Our first really good attack happened in 40’ - Carlos Manuel Lopes found Lassina Traore with an excellent long ball. Traore’s first attempt was blocked, but our attack continued and Quincy Promes, who retained possession on the right, crossed it to Traore, who headed it home. It wasn’t our best first half, but at half time we were leading 2:0 and all was well.

The second half began exactly as the first one had - we conceded an IFK 40 meters from our goal. Their delivery was good and Kenneth Taylor missed the run of Bradley de Nooijer who scored with an easy finish - the second clear cut chance that we conceded from set pieces and this time ADO used the gift well. Quick goal in the second half injected plenty of nervousness to our players and we struggled to play at our usual level because our mental state wasn’t focused and confident enough. I made some changes to take off the players who looked the most anxious and it helped somewhat, but we couldn’t put ADO under significant pressure and didn’t create good enough chances. Carlos Manuel Lopes managed to hit the crossbar with a header from IFK, but otherwise we weren’t too close to scoring and it remained nervous until the final whistle saved us. Not the best of the performances and we certainly need to do better against better oppositions. Set piece defending needs some attention, too.

• we had 61% possession in this game
• our shooting was 25/11 - flattering stats, but only 3 half chances
• Razvan Marin made his 100th league goal for Ajax in this game
• Player of the game: Kenneth Taylor - I noted his culpability in conceded goal, but he made 7 key passes and 2 key tackles in this game, so generally solid performance

 

18.09.2023 - Heracles Almelo - AFC Ajax 1:1 (ED) - 7. Richonell Margaret - 83. Kian Fitz-Jim

The international break is behind us and Eredivisie season resumes with the next match day.  It’s September and we have Champions League matches coming up, so it’s time to take a look at our full squad and rotate wisely. We will miss Dušan Tadic for a couple of weeks because of a training injury, but the rest of the players returned with good fitness.

Our opponents Heracles have invested around £5m into new players this Summer - for the club of their stature it’s a lot of money and a lot of new players in their squad, so it probably takes some more weeks for them to gel and only then we can see if they’re improved by that or not.

Squad: Dere, Veltman (67. Mazraoui), Schuurs, Rensch, Salah-Eddine, Regeer, Marin, Promes (46. Hansen), Ferreira, Fitz-Jim, Traore (70. Enem)

We started well and were close to a goal in 6’ when Perr Schuurs headed against the crossbar, but as it has happened so often lately, we conceded the first goal. Heracles got a corner and the follow-up cross found Richonell Margaret in our box, who finished his chance well. Gürcan Dere has saved us on a number of occasions in one-on-one situations, but this time he, too, was helpless. That goal put us under pressure, even though we had a lot of time to find an equalizer. Because of that, we were a little bit nervous and soon gave Margaret another good opportunity to score - this time it was well parried by Gürcan Dere. Lassina Traore had a half chance in 28’, but his attempt was tipped wide and the first half finished with 0:1 - it was really poor from us, because we weren’t close to a goal and needed to improve our attack a lot. In addition to that Quincy Promes had to come off with pulled knee ligaments at the beginning of the second half - another injury to him in a fairly innocent situation. It wasn’t a trauma that was suffered because of a challenge, but he just pulled something in the middle of sprint and those injuries have become kind of a trademark for him.

I switched to attacking 4-2-3-1 in the second half to find better goal scoring chances and it seemed to work - Lassina Traore found a great opportunity in 63’, but he made a mess out of his shot and it was easily held by Heracles’ goalkeeper. Kian Fitz-Jim had a good look in 73’, but he blasted his close range attempt against Jay Enem who was in front of him in the six yard box. The equalizer finally came in 83’ - Razvan Marin delivered a good free kick and Kian Fitz-Jim got to the ball first and directed it past the goalkeeper. That was good enough for a draw, but not good enough to win the game. The final result was a big disappointment for us - we should have played a lot better and our finishing wasn’t good enough. As a result we dropped two points in a game that we should have won and also lost Quincy Promes for upcoming weeks.

• we had 64% possession - good enough
• Quincy Promes will be out for 3-4 weeks and so he’ll miss at least two Champions League games where we need him the most
• Player of the game: Razvan Marin - good passes and assist to him

 

20.09.2023 - FC Porto - AFC Ajax 1:0 (Champions League Group G) - 84. Goncalo Cardoso

The first Champions League game in our campaign and a fairly tough one to begin with. It’s also a really important one because FC Porto look fairly similar to us and those games between two sides can be crucial to decide which one will progress from the group, so to get at least a draw from an away game would be really important to us.

We miss two experienced players due to injuries - Quincy Promes and Dušan Tadic. Sontje Hansen will start on our right wing and that will be a big test for him.

Squad: Dere, Mazraoui, Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine (70. Baas), Taylor, van de Beek, Hansen (70. van der Sloot), Ferreira, Fitz-Jim, Traore (64. Enem)

The first half was a drab affair. The only noteworthy moment happened in 29’ when Perr Schuurs lost possession in midfield and Mateo Bojanich went one-on-one, but Gürcan Dere made a good save, so it was still goalless at half time. The number of chances and attempts was low from both teams.

Lassina Traore was forced off with a groin injury in the second half, but all signs showed that it was going to be a draw, until Porto’s Goncalo Cardoso fired in a late winner in 84’ - it was a great attempt and there was nothing that Dere could do about it, and in a game where we struggled to create chances, it was good enough for FC Porto to win. Jay Enem had a good attempt on target in 86’ and it could have been a late equalizer for us, but the ball came back from the post and that was it. The final result was a huge disappointment, because I felt that we played well in defense and deserved to get something out of this game. Even bigger worry was Traore’s injury - in the second half it was evident that Jay Enem will struggle in Champions League level and if Traore will need to skip several continental games, we’re in big trouble after that defeat. Traore’s groin strain was a kind of average injury and he’ll be out for 3-4 weeks.

• Player of the game: Goncalo Cardoso - FC Porto - scored a great goal to win the game

 

24.09.2023 - AFC Ajax - Vitesse Arnhem 2:1 (ED) - 16. Steven van der Sloot, 33. Jay Enem - 31. Sam Lammers

Back to Eredivisie and our next opponent is Vitesse - they should be a difficult opponent on paper, but in the beginning of this season their form has been rather poor and we have a home advantage, so it makes us heavy favourites. It’s difficult to say why Vitas are not doing so well - they’ve invested around £10m into new players this Summer, but perhaps it takes some more time for them to gel and work as a team and their manager tries to find the best eleven and formation for them.

We have a number of players missing - Lassina Traore, Quincy Promes and Dušan Tadic are out and Kian Fitz-Jim is doubtful with a small knock, but I reckon it’s better to give him a day off, so our attacking options look thin before this game. I decided to switch Sontje Hansen to AML and play Steven van der Sloot on the right wing.

Squad: Dere, Mazraoui, Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine (76. Baas), Taylor (70. Regeer), van de Beek (54. Marin), van der Sloot, Ferreira, Hansen, Enem

Steven van der Sloot offered the biggest surprise of the game in his new attacking role. He moved well into the counter-attack in 16’ and finished his run with a thunderous strike from some way out. What a goal! Absolutely unstoppable for the goalkeeper. However, Vitesse equalized in 31’ - the goal looked a little bit doubtful, because Sam Lammers shouldn’t get away from Lopes so easily and VAR confirmed that he was at least 1-2 meters offside, but somehow both the linesman and VAR turned the blind eye and allowed this doubtful goal to stand. Soon later we restored our lead - Jay Enem with a header after Mazraoui’s cross. We were leading, but Vitesse continued to get better chances - Sam Lammers wasted another clear cut chance before the end of the first half and although we were leading at half time, I had no right to be happy with our defense so far.

The second half continued in similar fashion - we had the possession and plenty of set pieces, but Vitesse waited patiently for their chances from counter-attacks and they managed to find them. Jean-Christophe Bahebeck fired just wide in 54’ and blasted his shot some way off in 74’ so we were lucky that our defensive mistakes were not punished. At the same time we struggled to create decent chances in attack - Razvan Marin hit the crossbar from distance, we had a number of shots on target and at times we showed some really good football, but real chances - not so much. At the end we held onto our narrow lead, but truthfully we were lucky that Vitesse were so wasteful with their opportunities.

• we had 66% possession
• our shooting was 25/13
• we made only 9 key passes in this game
• we allowed Vitesse to create 4 clear cut chances
• Steven van der Sloot scored his first league goal
• Player of the game: Steven van der Sloot - scored the best goal and generally did OK on his new position

 

30.09.2023 - FC Groningen - AFC Ajax 1:2 (ED) - 26. Romano Postema - 53. pen. Kenneth Taylor, 66. Perr Schuurs

We finished our September with another rather difficult away game, but at least we had a full week to prepare for it. We battled on without Lassina Traore and I hope that this spell without him doesn’t cost us too many points, but at least Jay Enem scored against Vitesse, so perhaps it will give him some confidence and is a sign of more goals to come.

We had Dušan Tadic back after his injury, but Donny van de Beek was suspended (he’s already collected five yellow cards!), so with injuries and suspensions we had just seven substitutions for this game.

Squad: Dere, Mazraoui, Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine (67. Baas), Taylor, Marin (72. Regeer), Hansen, Ferreira, Fitz-Jim (72. Tadic), Enem

Groningen welcomed us with heavy rain and it’s always a bad omen to our style of technical football. We started with a balanced 4-2-3-1 formation and only found a couple of half chances in the first half, before Romano Postema gave FC Groningen the lead - he skipped past Perr Schuurs’ tackle on the wet grass and finished calmly. It was the first attempt of the game by our opponents and it was all they needed to score. At half time things looked fairly bleak for us - we hadn’t been able to play good attacking football, conceded a cheap goal and it looked unlikely that we could score twice if we continued like that.

The referee came to help us in the second half - Sontje Hansen was tripped in the box and VAR confirmed the penalty, so Kenneth Taylor equalized from the spot. Perr Schuurs made up for his first half mistake by scoring a header from a corner and the game had turned around. We almost allowed Postema to score again on a counter, but this time Schuurs got back on time to make a determined block. The final fifteen minutes were rather nervous from both sides and there was a feeling that this game could go anywhere. Sonthe Hansen sent wide an absolute sitter in 79’ and I was wondering if we’ll blow this, but the final whistle blew for another 2:1 win. It was a hard-fought three points and a good comeback, I have to give this to the players. Not the best game, not the most beautiful football, but the result we needed.

• we had 62% possession
• our shooting was 20/10 in this game
• we conceded 3 clear cut chances AGAIN!
• Player of the game: Perr Schuurs - made up for his first half mistake with a winner in the second half

 

Summary

September has been a struggle. Our defense has been a huge liability this month and we’re lucky that we came through our Eredivisie games with only two points dropped. We haven’t recorded a single clean sheet since August and that shows how poor we actually are. Injuries have hit our attacking players and while we looked fairly good before the season, we’re now quite thin in attacking midfield, so perhaps we need to bring back a player or two from loan in January to cover better. Losing Lassina Traore makes our European campaign especially difficult - we have managed to fight through the games in Eredivisie, but Sontje Hansen, Jay Enem and Dušan Tadic isn’t the kind of line-up I’d like to use against Juventus. But when everything else fails, we’ve managed to score a number of goals from set pieces and that has saved us a couple of times.

 

Eredivisie

We’re level with Feyenoord, PSV and AZ Alkmaar are following. Vitesse had a poor start - I expected them to do better.

[Draakon]

October 2023

 

03.10.2023 - AFC Ajax - Lokomotiv Moscow 6:0 (Champions League Group G) - 49., 54. and 74. Jay Enem, 67., 71. and 81. Sontje Hansen

After our defeat in Portugal, this was a must win game for us, but my squad selection was still hampered by injuries - we missed Quincy Promes and Lassina Traore and Noussair Mazraoui looked quite tired, so he was also rested. 

Squad: Dere, Veltman (71. van der Sloot), Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine (68. Baas), Taylor (62. Regeer), van de Beek, Hansen, Ferreira, Fitz-Jim, Enem

We were clearly the dominant side in the first half, but it remained goalless until the half time. The best chance of the first period came in 13’ when Joel Veltman found Jay Enem with a long ball forward, but the young striker couldn’t finish and sent his attempt wide of the goal. I urged the players to improve and the second half looked much different - goals started to come and looked like they’d never stop. Jay Enem scored twice to put us in control and when Jordan Ayew had hit the post in the other end, we resumed to keep Lokomotiv under pressure. Sonthe Hansen and Jay Enem both completed their hat-tricks (it was the perfect hat-trick for Enem - one with both feet and a header) and we completely destroyed the Russian side in the second half. The final score 6:0 was nothing short of impressive and I was especially delighted with our hat-trick heroes - I had doubts if they could pose a real attacking threat in this level, but this kind of performance can make wonders of the young player’s confidence. Keeping a clean sheet was equally important, because we needed that - the last one was back in August against FC Twente.

• we had 60% possession
• our shooting was 30/16 - very impressive
• we had 8.41 average rating
• we made 20 key passes in this game
• Sontje Hansen, Jay Enem, Donny van de Beek and Joel Veltman were outstanding for us
• Player of the game: Sontje Hansen - a hat-trick and two assists for him tonight

 

08.10.2023 - AFC Ajax - VVV Venlo 2:0 (ED) - 31. Sontje Hansen, 78. Donny van de Beek

Newly promoted VVV Venlo are likely to struggle against relegation in this season, but they’ve started fairly well - collected points where possible and bolstered their ranks with three decent loanees from West Ham, so I’d say that they have a good chance to survive. We went to this game with a lot of confidence after the Champions League goal glut. Good news is that Quincy Promes is almost fit again, but Perr Schuurs has suffered hernia this week and he’ll be out for a month. Joel Veltman, who looked really impressive against Lokomotiv, will continue in DR and Devyne Rensch will finally get his chance in defense because of Schuur’s injury.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Rensch, Lopes, Baas (66. Salah-Eddine), Taylor (70. Regeer), van de Beek, Hansen, Ferreira, Fitz-Jim (70. Promes), Enem

We had some really good goal scoring opportunities in the first half. Marco Ferreira wasted his early chance. Jay Enem did well to win the ball back, but he blasted his shot wide from a one-on-one situation. Sontje Hansen was the man of the moment in 31’ - he converted Youri Baas’ cross nicely to give us the lead, before Lopes saw his header from point blank range clear the crossbar. Three clear cut chances before the break, but so wasteful with our finishing.

We continued well in the second half, but 1:0 is always a narrow lead, so it was a bit nervous until Donny van de Beek finished things off with a great strike into the top corner. 2:0 at home against a smaller team looks like a routine win, but we could and should have scored more.

• our shooting was 25/10
• we made only 7 key passes in this game, but managed to create 3 clear cut chances
• Sontje Hansen scored his first league goal for Ajax
• Player of the game: Donny van de Beek - captained the team in this game and took charge in the second half with his goal

 

21.10.2023 - FC Eindhoven - AFC Ajax 0:3 (ED) - 75. Quincy Promes, 80. Dušan Tadic, 90.+5 Jay Enem

Two weeks of international break is behind us and we’re back in action against another minnow in Eredivisie. FC Eindhoven is another newly-promoted team that should be no opponent for us. Our trip to Eindhoven is a chance to see our youngster Ismael Sangare-Aka in action - I’m eager to see how he’s doing.

We still miss Perr Schuurs due to injury and Youri Regeer has a small knock, but Promes, Tadic and Traore are all fit - two weeks of break has helped them. I decided to include young winger Philippe Barriere into the first team - it’s possible that he’ll get some minutes late in the games.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Rensch, Lopes, Baas, Taylor, van de Beek, Hansen (59. Promes), Ferreira, Fitz-Jim (68. Tadic), Traore (76. Enem)

The first half wasn’t what I expected. We did a good job to control midfield, but chances were rare. Sontje Hansen got our best chance late in the first half, but his attempt was tipped over by FC Eindhoven goalkeeper. The second half was slightly better, but things got worse when Kian Fitz-Jim limped away with injury in 68’ - Quincy Promes came on. He showed his class and experience in 75’ with a good finish after Marco Ferreira found him with a nice through ball. Experienced Dušan Tadic added another goal five minutes later and substitute Jay Enem finished things off with a placed shot in injury time. The final score looked comfortable enough, but we left it really late and I wasn’t happy with our lack of real chances.

• we had 61% possession in this game
• our shooting was 19/15
• Kian Fitz-Jim will be out for 2-3 weeks with pulled ankle ligaments
• Player of the game: Marco Ferreira - an outstanding performance from the midfielder, who dished out three assists in the final fifteen minutes

 

24.10.2023 - AFC Ajax - Juventus 1:1 (Champions League Group G) - 45.+1 Anass Salah-Eddine, 15. Mohamed Ihattaren

Perhaps it’s good that our schedule balances easier games with difficult Champions League fixtures. It’s a tough game and it’s clear that if we want to get any points against Juventus then the home game will be our best chance. I used our proven Champions League tactics and hoped for the best. Perr Schuurs and Kian Fitz-Jim were injured, but the rest of the squad was fit and ready.

Squad: Dere, Mazraoui, Rensch, Lopes, Salah-Eddine, Taylor (77. Regeer), van de Beek, Hansen, Ferreira (88. Marin), Promes, Traore

We started fairly well, but Juventus took the lead in 15’. Devyne Rensch made a good tackle on Mohamed Ihattaren, but he couldn’t stop the ex-PSV player going past him and Ihattaren finished with a good shot. Despite that goal, we played a fairly good first half and had some decent opportunities to equalize. Sontje Hansen saw his clear cut chance being blocked in 33’ and Lassina Traore had a half-chance in 35’. We looked like we were just a little short of equalizing and in injury time Anass Salah-Eddine provided the goal. It was a superb effort from the left-back to finish into the top corner from the edge of the area. 

At half time I was delighted with the equalizing goal and our first half in general. We looked good tactically and the stats sheet looked even. In certain situations our lack of individual skills compared to Juventus players showed, but generally it was well deserved 1:1 at half time.

We played equally well in the second half and between 50’-55’ it looked like we had Juventus under good pressure. Marco Ferreira was unlucky not to score in 51’ - his close range attempt was brilliantly tipped against the crossbar by Juventus’ goalkeeper. Quincy Promes had a clear cut chance soon after, but his shot was tipped wide. In the end it remained 1:1, but I had a feeling that we were really unlucky not to win this one. We definitely had enough chances to score the winning goal, but Juventus’ goalkeeper had a good game and he managed to make some incredible saves.

• Juventus didn’t get any real chances against us and this was sign of our great defensive efforts
• our shooting was 19/10 in this game
• Player of the game: Anass Salah-Eddine - incredible goal by the left-back was enough to earn us the point.

 

28.10.2023 - Willem II Tilburg - AFC Ajax 0:1 (ED) - 29. Youri Regeer

It’s a rather tricky game for us, down in the South. Willem II has fought against relegation in the previous seasons, but at the moment their small club occupies the 5th position and they’ve won five out of their last six games. Sure, most of those wins have come against equally small teams, but they’ve gathered a lot of momentum and confidence from those wins and fought hard against Feyenoord two weeks ago at home. Feyenoord scored twice in the last 10 minutes to come back and win 3:2, but that’s proof of how dangerous this kind of in-form team can be in their own home.

Willem II have invested some ~£5m into new players as well and perhaps they have enough in them to challenge for the 10th position or above in this season. Some decent signings plus they loaned Alen Karahasanovic from us, who has already proven to be a good attacking midfielder in Eredivisie level. I hope that the Bosnian can put our disagreements to the side and return to Ajax in a good spirit after this season, because he looks like a really talented player, according to his loan performances.

We still missed Perr Schuurs and Kian Fitz-Jim, so some team selection choices were more obvious because of that. I will use Quincy Promes on the left flank as IFs and Sontje Hansen continues on the right. I had to make some changes based on fitness, too - Noussair Mazraoui looked a bit tired and Youri Regeer began in midfield.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Rensch, Lopes, Salah-Eddine (69. Baas), Regeer, van de Beek, Hansen (60. Tadic) Ferreira, Promes, Traore (79. Enem)

The first half offered a small number of attempts and an even smaller number of chances, but at least we managed to get some good attempts on target that looked fairly dangerous, at least when viewed from the sideline. Youri Regeer managed to score our only goal - we had a corner in 29’ and he timed his run into the six yard box well to finish with a simple tap-in from point blank range. 

Willem II got their best chance to equalize in the second half. Anass Salah-Eddine made a tackle on Che Nunnely, but he couldn’t win the ball and Nunnely got through to find himself one-on-one against Gürcan Dere, but our goalkeeper made a great save to keep a clean sheet.

In the second half it started to rain. The pitch got wet and muddy and the physical game started to take its toll on players. Sontje Hansen was forced off with an injury, Marco Ferreira suffered a minor knock. We made substitutions, but when our opponent’s centre-back Pascal Struijk was forced off with an injury in 83’, Willem II already had made all of their changes, so they were left with 10 men. And when Nunnely was sent off after his second booking in injury time, their numbers shrank even more. Advantage in numbers made things easier for us at the end of the game. Six minutes were added by the referee, and those could have been really nervous minutes, but now we could keep the ball and control things until the final whistle. Narrow win in the end, but as I said before - it was a tricky opponent in good form, so I was pleased with the result.

• we had 61% possession
• our shooting was 18/11 
• Sontje Hansen will be out for 2 weeks with pulled ankle ligaments
• Youri Regeer scored his first league goal for Ajax
• Player of the game: Marco Ferreira - gave 6 key passes and delivered the corner that led to our winning goal

 

31.10.2023 - AFC Ajax - Fortuna Sittard 1:0 (TOTO KNVB Beker 1st round) - 29. pen. Dušn Tadic

Our cup campaign begins here. Fortuna Sittard were relegated in Spring, but they’ve dropped like a rock and find themselves at the bottom of the lower division in October. It’s not the best of times for this small club, so I expect our youngsters and rotation players to be good enough to win this game.

We have some tired players in the squad. I feel it’s better to give Marco Ferreira a day off. Perr Schuurs and Sontje Hansen are injured, Carlos Manuel Lopes looks tired. It’s a challenge to put together a decent eleven and keep our key players fresh for the upcoming derby game against PSV Eindhoven. Youngsters Philippe Barriere and Remy Boer are set to make their debut for the first team.

Squad: Dere, van der Sloot, Rensch, Lopes (51. Veltman), Baas, Regeer, Marin, Barriere, Tadic, Promes (68. Boer), Enem (57. Traore)

The first part of the game was… well, quite ugly. Our attacking players were unfamiliar with each other and it clearly showed - we couldn’t create chances, we were a little bit out of sync and Jay Enem was caught offside way too often. Things started to happen in around 28’ - Enem finally timed his runs better and received some good balls behind Fortuna defensive line. His attempts were parried by the goalkeeper, but one of those shots led to a corner and then Lopes was pushed in the box, so the referee awarded a penalty. Dušan Tadic sent the keeper the wrong way and converted it calmly to put us in front, but Enem continued to waste his chances.

The same continued in the second half - we were leading and in control of the game, but our strikers refused to take their chances. Enem finished his poor display in 57’ when he was forced off with an injury, but our finishing didn’t improve, because then the substitute Lassina Traore  wasted his clear cut chance in 78’. Fortuna’s Tom Hendriks was sent off with the second yellow card in 81’, but even then we couldn’t score another goal. We took the narrow lead and kept a clean sheet, but overall it was a frustrating display. The bright moments of this game were offered by Tadic and his good playmaking from midfield, but this, and few other decent performances aside, I can’t be happy with the team.

• we had 62% possession
• our shooting was 23/17 in this game
• we managed to create 3 clear cut chances
• Philippe Barriere and Remy Boer made their debuts for the first team
• Jay Enem will be out for 3 weeks with a pulled calf muscle
• Youri Baar also suffered a knock and he’ll be out for a week because of a bruised thigh
• Player of the game: Dušan Tadic - calm finish from the spot and he created three chances with his passes
• we’re now 25 games unbeaten in the cup - that’s another record and hopefully this streak continues further 

 

Summary

Our Champions League campaign has kicked off and we’ve got four points from two games in October. We have to be pleased with that - emphatic win over Lokomotiv and well deserved point from Juventus. Our fixture list in domestic competitions has been easier and we’ve maintained our winning streak to secure our top spot in the table. Some injuries have affected our squad selection options, but all of the rotation players have done well enough to get the necessary results.

Morale is high, players have trained well and it shows in attribute increases as well. 

 

Eredivisie

We’re leading the table, but Feyenoord have one game in hand. The gap with others is starting to increase. We’ve started our season incredibly well, but the most difficult games are still coming up.

[Draakon]

November 2023

 

We had a good October, but November looks tough. Only five games, but two important Eredivisie derbies and two difficult Champions League games - we really have to be at our best to get good results from this month.

 

Player contracts

We are in November, but I still have some contract issues to resolve. It’s good that Razvan Marin signed the new deal until 2027 (although I had to agree with an increased £47,000 p/w salary), but Perr Schuurs’ agent is continuing to be a problem and Kenneth Taylor doesn’t even want to start negotiations, preferring to wait January and offers from big clubs (Chelsea looks the most interested party at the moment).

 

04.11.2023 - PSV Eindhoven - AFC Ajax 0:0 (ED)

The first difficult derby game of the month is our trip to Eindhoven. PSV have invested some £30m into the new players in Summer and their squad looks improved because of that, but it has taken some time for them to pick up their form and so they’re currently 4th in the table, and perhaps not really competing for the title just yet.

We have some injury problems and a few players are still missing - Perr Schuurs and Jay Enem are still injured, Youri Baas, Sontje Hansen and Kian Fitz-Jim are not fully recovered, so we are still a bit thin in the attacking department and we got to this game with only six fully fit substitutions.

Squad: Dere, Mazraoui, Rensch, Lopes, Salah-Eddine, Taylor (89. Regeer), van de Beek (83. Marin), Promes, Ferreira, Tadic, Traore

In the first fifteen minutes, the only dangerous moments came from set pieces and both teams managed to win some headers in the opposition box, but it didn’t lead to anything. The first chance fell to Quincy Promes who had a crack in 15’, but his good attempt was tipped wide by PSV goalkeeper Lars Unnerstall. Lassina Traore had the best chance of the first half in 36’ when he received Salah-Eddine’s cross in the box, but he was block-tackled by a late arriving defender and that didn’t bring us the first goal. PSV’s Steven Berghuis had a half-chance late in the first half, but that effort was comfortably held by Dere. At half time it looked like we had a slight edge in the first half because we had better chances, but my general feeling was that this was a very close game and the margin of win, if it will be a win, is going to be a narrow one.

PSV looked more active in the beginning of the second half, but it still looked like anyone’s game. Lassina Traore had a good moment when Marco Ferreira found him with a through ball, but his attempt in 72’ hit the post and Dušan Tadic showed that his ability to spot the pass has not disappeared with years - his well-measured pass to Quincy Promes at the far post led to another clear cut chance. The ball took a bounce after Promes hit it and it was a really difficult for the goalkeeper, but Unnerstall did exceptionally well to parry this one wide. In the end it remained goalless and we returned from Eindhoven with just one point. Kenneth Taylor was forced off with injury at the end of the game and that was our main focus after the final whistle.

We could have won it if our finishing was more clinical, but I can’t complain too much about the result. It was a tight game and a draw in those away games against Feyenoord and PSV is nothing to be ashamed of - those games won’t cost us points in the big picture. We showed good defense, kept a clean sheet and the goals will come, but Lassina Traore’s goal drought continues with this game - his last goal came in the beginning of September against ADO Den Haag and since then it’s been two months without success. His average rating is solid 6.5 in the past games and some good chances that he’s missed doesn’t add to his confidence.

• we had 62% possession
• Kenneth Taylor will be out for two weeks with pulled ankle ligaments
• Player of the game: Devyne Rensch - a few decent performances and we were good defensively, so that makes sense, although Rensch’s rating was just 7.1

 

08.11.2023 - Juventus - AFC Ajax 2:0 (Champions League Group G) - 5. Rodrigo Bentancur, 12. Adrien Rabiot

Next up - Juventus in Turin. The most difficult game of our group fixture list. We come to this game with some tired legs after our match with PSV Eindhoven, but at the same time a number of players are starting to get fit again - Perr Schuurs, Kian Fitz-Jim and Sontje Hansen are all back in full training and Jay Enem is also close to return. There are some dilemmas about squad selection and I have to choose between ability, form and fitness in certain positions. Marco Ferreira looked pretty tired and his match load has been significant lately, so it’s better for him to start on the bench. I moved Donny van de Beek to the AMC position and Razvan Marin will start in midfield. And, of course, Kenneth Taylor will miss a few games because of his recent injury.

It’s clear that we need to approach this game carefully and a balanced 4-2-3-1 with lower line of engagement is the way to go for us, at least initially.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs (68. Rensch), Lopes, Salah-Eddine, Regeer, Marin, Promes (68. van der Sloot), van de Beek, Tadic (68. Fitz-Jim), Traore

We were prepared to deal with Juventus attacks, tactically, but we weren’t prepared for their corners. In the first fifteen minutes we conceded twice from corner situations and Juventus had a comfortable lead without needing to crack us open properly. In fact, for the rest of the first half we looked like a better team. Our counter-attacks ran fairly smoothly and provided some half chances to both Traore and van de Beek. Juventus’ goalkeeper had to make some good saves to stop those attempts, so at halftime we felt that 0:2 score was really unfair. Unfortunately, playing well is not good enough in football. You also need to finish well to score goals and our finishing wasn’t clinical enough once again.

The same continued into the second half - we handled Juventus quite well, but at the same time struggled to create clear cut chances and our attempts on target weren’t good enough. Even Lassina Traore’s excellent opportunity to score at least one goal went to waste - his header from point blank range in 83’ cleared the crossbar - another notch to his long streak of missed opportunities. 0:2 in the end of the game marked a fairly routine win for Juventus, who didn’t have to push too hard in attack, but at the same time our performance had been very positive through those 90 minutes, so I could praise the effort and keep the morale high for our upcoming games.

• Player of the game: Nicolas Dias (Juventus) - delivered both corners that led to goals

 

12.11.2023 - AFC Ajax - Feyenoord Rotterdam 4:0 (ED) - 3. and 43. Lassina Traore, 11. and 90.+2 Marco Ferreira

It’s the Klassieker Derby and a title six pointer, according to the current standings of the table. Feyenoord are three points behind us with a game in hand, so we’re virtually level with them. We’re definitely favourites at Johan Cruijff Arena and while I’m fairly happy with draws against PSV and Feyenoord in away games, we want to win all games in Amsterdam.

We miss Kenneth Taylor because of his recent injury. Sontje Hansen is also just gaining his fitness, but at least some attacking options are available - Marco Ferreira will start, along with Kian Fitz-Jim

Squad: Dere, Mazraoui (68. van der Sloot), Schuurs, Rensch, Baas, Regeer, van de Beek, Promes (72. Hansen), Ferreira, Fitz-Jim (84. Boer), Traore

Feyenoord started with a fairly positive, possession-based 4-2-3-1 formation, which is different from their usual 4-1-2-3 DM, but that opened their defense up for our quick counter-attacks and Lassina Traore was ready from the kick-off to take advantage of that space. Marco Ferreira found him with a long ball forward in 3’ and that breakthrough led to our first goal. Traore was clearly delighted with that, because he’s been 642 minutes without finding the mark until that game. He soon had another good opportunity, after Fitz-Jim won the ball back and found Traore alone in the box, but this time the Burkinabe striker rushed his shot and put it wide. Marco Ferreira scored an incredible solo strike in 11’ - his run started from our half and led all the way to the box where he finished with a great strike. Feyenoord’s goalkeeper Sergio Padt had no chance. It has to be said that in the first half Feyenoord had their moments and some of them almost resulted in a goal. A couple of headers from set pieces went just over our crossbar and Soulyman Allouch got a good looking shot on target after a corner that Gürcan Dere parried against the post before it was cleared away, so it wasn’t so one-sided as the score indicates. Feyenoord’s best chance came in 41’ - their danger man Tarik Erdem won a duel against Perr Schuurs and got through, but Dere made another great save to keep his clean sheet and two minutes later Traore scored his second goal of the game. This time it was a free kick, and from some distance out - curled around the wall from 29 meters. Padt got his hand to it, but not enough and the ball landed in the goal. So, a fairly entertaining first half finished 3:0 and I was clearly delighted with how things were going.

I switched our higher pressing to standard line of engagement in the second half and that gave us a little bit more control of the game. Feyenoord attacks looked less dangerous and they couldn’t create any good chances in the second half. We were less attacking, too, but got at least some opportunities. Sontje Hansen came on and had a couple of half-chances right away. Lassina Traore blew up his chance to complete a hat-trick in 80’ after Ferreira played him open with an excellent pass, but in injury time we still managed to score our fourth goal - it was Ferreira again who found some space after our corner and fired it in to complete the rout. 4:0 marked an emphatic win and the fans were clearly delighted with the result. I was also extremely happy - it was a very important game and the player delivered a great win. Lassina Traore found the target once again and Marco Ferreira proved that he’s probably the best midfielder in Eredivisie at the moment.

• our shooting was 25/13 in this game
• we created 3 clear cut chances and even though we converted only one of those, our finishing improved a lot compared to our recent games
• youngster Remy Boer made his league debut in the second half
• Marco Ferreira and Lassina Traore were outstanding in this win
• Player of the game: Marco Ferreira - two goals, assist, 5 key passes and great playmaking from the wonderkid

 

The Klassieker Derby was followed by an international window - many of the players featured in their national teams, and we had almost two weeks to get our injured players back to full fitness. It wasn’t a peaceful period for some of the clubs in Eredivisie - Vitesse board decided to sack Vladimir Ivic from his post and Vitesse’s poor start of the season led to a point where they now look for the new manager.

Dušan Tadic came to me to express concerns about his lack of first team football. It’s true that I don’t want to play him too much to avoid triggering his contract extension clause (one year extension after playing 20 games in the season), but the other side of the story is that now, at the age of 34, his physical attributes are declining more rapidly than before. He can provide good playmaking and set pieces, but lacks speed that Promes or Fitz-Jim can deliver in this position and as a result his minutes have dried up. I reluctantly agreed to find him a loan move in the upcoming transfer window, but with this departure I’d lose a valuable depth option in both AMC and AML positions.

 

24.11.2023 - AFC Ajax - NEC Nijmegen 3:0 (ED) - 15. Marco Ferreira, 16. Razvan Marin, 73. pen. Kenneth Taylor

In a month of such bg games a home fixture against NEC Nijmegen looks almost too easy. NEC had a good season in the last year - they had Ole ter Haar Romeny scoring goals and points came unexpectedly easy for them, but they’ve struggled to repeat that in this season and find themselves in the bottom half of the table. Slightly above relegation zone, but not out of danger yet.

We have a massive game against FC Porto coming up, and some players looked more tired after the international break, so the squad selection is based on physical fitness and sensible rotation.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Lopes, Baas, Regeer (59. Taylor), Marin, Promes (64. Hansen), Ferreira, Fitz-Jim (73. Tadic), Enem

We controlled the game from the kick-off and it was only a matter of time to score our first goal. I think we had at least 4-5 attempts on target before Marco Ferreira opened things up with his strike and in the very next attack Razvan Marin added the second goal with a beautiful strike from 20 meters. NEC players looked like they had given up after that and it was relatively easy for us for the rest of the game.

Jay Enem played full ninety minutes - didn’t score, but looked lively and gave assist to Marin’s goal. Sontje Hansen came on in the second half and right away got some half-chances, so players are looking fairly good after recovering from injuries and that game was a good opportunity to get their match fitness back.

Kenneth Taylor added our third goal from the spot after Hansen was tripped in the box and Perr Schuurs was unlucky that his header hit the post in 75’. The final score 3:0 looked fairly comfortable and it really was - we were never in trouble and NEC couldn’t create any decent chances against us.

• our shooting was 31/17 - really one-sided game
• Player of the game: Razvan Marin - outstanding performance from the Romanian midfielder, who scored the best goal of the game and gave several key passes

 

28.11.2023 - AFC Ajax - FC Porto 0:0 (Champions League Group G)

Extremely important game. Our group standings indicate that if we want to get through to the knockout stages, we need a win against FC Porto. And keeping in mind that unlucky 0:1 defeat in Portugal, the goal difference could be decisive, too. The good news is that we have all players fit and ready - injuries are in the past and most of the players are match fit, too. We will start with our usual balanced 4-2-3-1 Champions League tactics and see where it takes us.

Squad: Dere, Mazraoui, Schuurs, Rensch, Salah-Eddine, Taylor, van de Beek (70. Marin), Promes (85. Hansen), Ferreira, Fitz-Jim, Traore

FC Porto’s Tecatito Corona had an early chance in 3’ after a corner, but that attempt was well held by Dere and so the first danger was averted. The rest of the first half looked much better defensively - our balanced 4-2-3-1 was good enough to avoid giving easy chances to Porto, but at the same time we struggled to create good opportunities to ourselves. At half time it was clear that we can’t break their defense in that manner, so we switched to positive 4-2-3-1, but without much effect - Lassina Traore had two decent chances in the second half, but both attempts were saved. We took more risks in the final ten minutes - that led to an injury time opportunity to FC Porto, but Dere made a good save once again. We kept the clean sheet, but our problem in this game was scoring and chance creation and in the end we could break FC Porto’s defense. Goalless draw leaves us third in the group, three points behind FC Porto and without a chance to qualify. That’s the first big disappointment of this season.

• Player of the game: Pedro Henrique (FC Porto) - solid game from their centre-back

 

Summary

Mixed results in October. Excellent in Eredivisie, but we fell short in the Champions League. Displays against Juventus and Porto were actually good, just not clinical enough in finishing to edge those games and get any points on the board.

 

Eredivisie

We’re still undefeated in the league and to be honest it’s a great first half of the season that we’re having until now. There are 5-6 clubs at the bottom of the table who are most likely relegation candidates, but Vitesse, who are now without a manager, are slowly climbing upwards.

[Draakon]

December 2023

 

The December schedule looks really easy. In Eredivisie we’ll play only with small clubs, we have a Champions League fixture against Lokomotiv Moscow which doesn’t change anything and we can approach that without any pressure and the cup game with Telstar adds little variety to our fixture list. I expect us to win all games without much fuss and plan to rotate the squad to distribute playing time more evenly.

In the office I have some contract issues still to iron out. I hope to reach an agreement with Perr Schuurs, and Kenneth Taylor’s contract situation remains unresolved (Chelsea scouts have been present in some games to keep tabs on him).

 

03.12.2023 - FC Emmen - AFC Ajax 0:3 (ED) - 1. Marco Ferreira, 44. pen. Razvan Marin, 80. Youri Regeer

Our first trip in December is to Eastern part of the country. FC Emmen are currently in the relegation zone and they’re struggling to keep themselves in the higher division. For me it’s the first chance to rotate the squad: Noussair Mazraoui will be rested, Youri Baas, Devyne Rensch and Joel Veltman will start in defense and Sontje Hansen will be in the starting line-up, too.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Rensch, Salah-Eddine (60. Baas), Regeer, Marin, Hansen, Ferreira (60. Barriere), Fitz-Jim, Traore (70. Enem)

We stunned FC Emmen in the very first minute. Marco Ferreira took the ball near our own box and dribbled all the way to the other end of the pitch, to finish his solo attack with an excellent strike. Opposition players looked disheartened and the rest of the first half was under control. Despite our domination in midfield and number of shots, we didn’t create too many good chances and the penalty in the end of the first half gave us our second goal. Youri Regeer was pulled down in the box and Marin took a very good spot kick that didn’t leave FC Emmen goalkeeper any chance.

The second half was very similar - we dominated the game, but had only a few chances and relied on a thunderous long shot from Regeer to score our third goal - a beautiful goal from 22 meters and from a player who doesn’t take too many attempts from distance and scores even less.

• we had 64% possession in this game
• our shooting was 26/11 - not too bad, and we created 3 clear cut chances
• Philippe Barriere made his league debut for Ajax in the second half
• Player of the game: Youri Regeer - a great performance from the playmaker, he scored the best goal of the game and gave 10 key passes during the 90 minutes, an excellent game 

 

06.12.2023 - Lokomotiv Moscow - AFC Ajax 0:3 (Champions League Group G) - 63., 63. and 81. pen. Lassina Traore

Trips to Russia are long and away games there are always difficult, but this match didn’t matter for us, because the group standings were clear before the last round. I didn’t want to lose, though, so I sent out respectable first eleven anyway, but tried to balance between careful and optimistic tactics. Bad news is that Marco Ferreira caught the flu and he has to skip a couple of games, but the rest of the team was available. Donny van de Beek starts in AMC.

Moscow welcomed us with Winter and snowy pitch - I can’t remember the last time we had to play in this kind of conditions.

Squad: Dere, Mazraoui (14. Veltman), Rensch, Lopes, Salah-Eddine (68. Baas), Taylor (68. Regeer), Marin, Promes, van de Beek, Fitz-Jim, Traore

We had a good start and looked like a better team in the first half. Lassina Traore had an early chance in 8’ - his attempt was blocked and Quincy Promes saw his follow-up shot to be tipped over by the goalkeeper. Lokomotiv had their best chance in 9’ when Carlos Manuel Lopes lost a challenge in midfield and Eldar Shmurodov went one-on-one against Gürcan Dere. Our goalkeeper made a great save to rescue the situation.Donny van de Beek did fit well into the AMC position - his measured pass found Traore in the box, but the shot was tipped wide - another chance wasted. At half time it remained 0:0, but I had the feeling that we edged the first half and our first goal is just a question of time.

So it was, in the second half. Lassina Traore finally scored in 63’ with a header from near post. In the very next attack Promes found him again with a long ball forward and this time his clear cut chance was well executed - two goals within a minute pretty much decided the game. Traore completed his hat-trick from the spot after earning the penalty himself and managed to waste another chance late in injury time, but his goalscoring was good enough today, despite those missed chances. 3:0 is a very good win and we returned from Moscow in good spirits.

• we had 64% possession in this game
• our shooting was 23/16 and we created 5 clear cut chances
• Lassina Traore scored his 10th goal of the season
• Noussair Mazraoui came off with a knock in the first half and gashed lower leg will leave him sidelined for 1-2 weeks
• Lassina Traore and Quincy Promes had a great game for us
• Player of the game: Lassina Traore - a hat-trick hero, could have scored 5 goals easily

 

Champions League Group G

1. Juventus 14
2. FC Porto 8
3. AFC Ajax 8
4. Lokomotiv Moscow 2

 

Level on points with FC Porto, but that one goal in Porto was the decisive one in this pair. We will continue our season in Europa League.

 

10.12.2023 - VVV Venlo - AFC Ajax 0:2 (ED) - 22. Donny van de Beek, 90.+4 Lassina Traore

Back to Eredivisie and another small team to play against. VVV Venlo are a newly promoted side who are doing pretty well to find themselves in 11th position in the middle of the season. They’ve gathered points from where they can and converted enough draws into wins late in games, so they have to be respected for that. Generally tall players with good jumping ability (5 cm taller than us, on average), so set pieces could be dangerous.

We had some players missing for this game - Noussair Mazraoui was injured, Marco Ferreira was ill and Jay Enem also picked up a knock in training. Remy Boer found himself suspended for the game, so at least some options from the bench were limited, but it’s the kind of team against which we can rotate the squad more freely.

Squad: Dere, van der Sloot, Rensch, Lopes, Baas, Taylor, Marin (70. Regeer), Hansen (2. Promes), van de Beek, Fitz-Jim (70. Tadic), Traore

The game didn’t start well for us, because Sontje Hansen was injured in the very first minute after a hard tackle and he limped off with a calf strain. We soon started to find moments, but missed a little bit of luck to score the first goal. Youri Baas had a crack in 6’, but hit the post. Carlos Manuel Lopes headed against the crossbar from the following corner and Donny van de Beek hit the post in 18’ to waste his clear cut chance. van de Beek found the target a few minutes later, though - van der Sloot’s cross found him unmarked in the box and the header went in. We dominated the first half, but VVV had their moments, too - mostly from set pieces, because their height and aerial ability was a real threat, as I suspected. They had plenty of shots on target, although none of those was too troublesome for Gürcan Dere.

The second half was largely a disappointment. We couldn’t create any good chances during the second period and at some moments it looked that with a little bit of luck VVV could find an equalizer. They started to take more risks in the end of the game and ultimately that led to our second goal late in injury time. Lassina Traore found the mark with an accurate shot to make it 2:0. Decent result in the end and I’m happy with the clean sheet, but I feel that we should have been better in attack.

• our shooting was 20/11 in this game
• Sontje Hansen will be out for 3 weeks after suffering an injury
• Player of the game: Steven van der Sloot - good game from the right back, who provided an assist

 

15.12.2023 - AFC Ajax - NAC Breda 6:0 (ED) - 11. Marco Ferreira, 18., 58. and 77. pen. Quincy Promes, 25. Kian Fitz-Jim, 82. Donny van de Beek

Our easy games continue - this time with a home game against relegation-battling NAC Breda. Our opponent’s squad doesn’t look good enough to keep them in Eredivisie, to be honest, and I’m rotating more freely. At the same time we have some players returning to fitness and my options are wider than before. Only Hansen and Mazraoui are still injured. Jay Enem returns to action and so does Marco Ferreira.

Squad: van den Heuvel, van der Sloot, Rensch, Lopes, Baas, Regeer, Marin, Promes, Ferreira (70. van de Beek), Fitz-Jim (58. Boer), Traore (46. Enem)

The first half was again very one-sided. We dominated the game and took the lead in 11’ when Marco Ferreira powered in an IFK. Quincy Promes doubled our lead with a simple finish soon after that and Kian Fitz-Jim added another goal with a beautiful curled ball from 15 meters. I was especially delighted for him, because his performances have been below his usual standard lately and it was just his third goal of the season, so to see him get it going is nice. I could afford taking the foot off from the throttle at half time - Traore came off and Jay Enem went on to regain match fitness in the second half.

The second half continued to be easy for us - NAC didn’t put up much of a fight and we controlled things comfortably. Quincy Promes doubled his tally with an accurate shot from the edge of the area, before completing his hat-trick from the spot after Lopes was pushed in the box. Donny van de Beek came on and completed the rout with a beautiful strike from 23 meters - a wonderful goal to wrap things up with. It was a convincing win in the end and I was delighted with both the result and performance.

• our shooting was 28/15 in this game
• we had 8.42 average rating
• we didn’t allow NAC to create any chances
• Quincy Promes, Youri Regeer, Razvan Marin and Carlos Manuel Lopes were outstanding for us
• Player of the game: Quincy Promes - the hat-trick hero tonight
• we’ve now played 17 games in Eredivisie and collected 47 points - a truly exceptional first half of the season

 

18.12.2023 - AFC Ajax - SC Telstar 4:1 (TOTO KNVB Beker 2nd round) - 12. and 35. pen. Dušan Tadic, 39. Jay Enem, 76. Philippe Barriere - 22. Joseph Abubakari

Another easy match, although we didn’t have enough time to rest between games. We rotate again freely and play against lower division team Telstar with our substitute players.

Squad: van den Heuvel, van der Sloot, Veltman, Rensch, Baas, Regeer, van de Beek, Barriere, Tadic, Boer, Enem

We looked calm and confident from the beginning. Jay Enem had a couple of good attempts from distance and his shot in 7’ hit the post from 25 meters. Dušan Tadic opened things up for us with a beautiful free kick from 25 meters - a great goal, but Telstar answered with an even better one. Joseph Abubakari fired a thunderous strike from 23 meters that landed in our top corner. I know that Dani van den Heuvel is not the best goalkeeper, but he can’t be blamed for that goal. Telstar’s equalizer stunned everybody for a while, I guess, and gave them some hope, but we took charge again before the end of the first half. Tadic converted the penalty after Philippe Barriere was tripped in the box and soon after that Enem headed in from close range to make it 3:1 before the break.

We were more relaxed after the break and felt that things were under control. Barriere got himself onto the score sheet with a header from a free kick that went in off the crossbar and so the final score was 4:1 - good win and good goals, even though we relied on set pieces.

• we had  67% possession in this game
• our shooting was 21/11
• Player of the game: Dušan Tadic - veteran playmaker showed his class, scoring two goals and assisting another two - outstanding game from him

 

23.12.2023 - AFC Ajax - FC Eindhoven 4:0 (ED) - 8. Philippe Barriere, 23. Razvan Marin, 36. pen. Dušan Tadic, 87. Kian Fitz-Jim

Back to Eredivisie and we host another small team in Johan Cruyff Arena. It’s another game where we can use our squad freely to distribute playing time and I have almost all players to choose from - Noussair Mazraoui is fit again after his injury, all players looked rested enough and only Sontje Hansen needs some more time to recover from the calf injury that he suffered in the game against VVV Venlo.

Squad: van den Heuvel, Mazraoui, Schuurs, Rensch, Baas, Regeer, Marin, Promes, Tadic, Fitz-Jim, Enem

It was a fairly easy game for us, indeed. Youngster Philippe Barriere opened things up for us with a goal from an IFK and after Marin sent a thunderous strike into the top corner from 23 meters, it looked like it was three points in the bag. Dušan Tadic scored another one from the spot after Jay Enem was pushed in the box and we went to the half time with a 3:0 lead.

The second half offered less chances and FC Eindhoven got their best opportunity to score - Jason Pigmans found space from a counter, but he sent his shot over the crossbar. Kian Fitz-Jim headed in to complete the rout with a late goal and so it finished 4:0. Really easy win.

• we had 64% possession in this game
• our shooting was 23/12
• Philippe Barriere scored his first league goal for Ajax
• Player of the game: Razvan Marin - scored the best goal of the game and led had otherwise outstanding game

 

Summary

It looked like an easy month and it was indeed, judged by the results. We were convincing in the games and I could distribute playing time without fearing it could backfire.

 

Eredivisie

We have opened up a 9 points gap between us and the following pack. Top five teams are clearly stronger than the others, but the battle between the bottom five is equally fierce.

[the_hdk]

well done    just read it all

looking  forward to read more!

[Draakon]

January 2024

 

The first half of January was filled with contract issues. Transfer window opened and players could sign new deals, so it suddenly looked like a real possibility that we could lose both Perr Schuurs and Kenneth Taylor. Taylor agreed to open contract negotiations with us, but his agent’s first demands were £252k per week, so I stood up without saying a word and just left the room. Chelsea has looked like the most interested party in recent months, but Taylor rejected their offer in January and so his situation remains unclear.

We definitely lost one player in this transfer window and it was Brian Brobbey. The striker who is currently on loan in La Liga 2 side SD Eibar and banging in goals in this level agreed to join PSV Eindhoven in Summer. I hate to see him join our rivals, but to be fair I’m not sure that he’s worth almost £50k per week that PSV agreed to pay to him.

Jurrien Timber decided to sign with KV Kortijk and Ahmet Oktay joined Excelsior. Those two are not going to be missed, as they’re not good enough to play for Ajax first team. 

I had promised to allow Dušan Tadic to move away on loan after his playing time decreased, and I kept that promise - he moved to Sporting CP until the end of the season and his contract will run out then.

We made at least one transfer, too, from where we could collect some cash. Noussair Mazraoui played the first two games in January before he joined Guangzhou Evergrade for £50m. It was purely a financial decision for the 26 years old right-back who was hungry for a bigger salary. For me, it was a bit more strategic decision - Mazraoui was a fairly influential person in the dressing room and his balanced personality was not something that I was keen to see in the future team leader. I’m almost always eager to accept a bid for £50m or more and to let him leave at that age, and to free up additional £40,000 p/w in wages, was reasonable in every sense.

 

Contracts

PSG started to show interest in Gürcan Dere, so I decided to extend his contract - the talented goalkeeper signed a new deal for £13,000 p/w to remain in Ajax for at least until 2028. After rejecting Borussia Dortmund’s bid for Youri Regeer (they offered decent money, but not good enough for his kind of talent) I tied him down for £38,000 p/w until 2028, too. 

 

19.01.2024 - FC Twente Enschede - AFC Ajax 0:1 (ED) - 53. Anass Salah-Eddine

FC Twente could be a decent club, but at the moment they’re struggling in the bottom five of the table with Eredivisie minnows, so they don’t look like much of an opponent. Before the game I felt that our unresolved matters off the pitch, concerning contracts and transfers, draw away attention and lower our concentration, so we had to be sure to get the work done.

Two injuries in the team - Kenneth Taylor sprained his ankle and will be out for 6-7 weeks. Razvan Marin picked up a virus and he’ll be out for a week, so midfield options are narrower, but the rest of the team looks good.

Squad: Dere, Mazraoui (69. Veltman), Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine, Regeer, van de Beek, Promes, Ferreira (62. Hansen), Fitz-Jim, Traore (69. Enem)

The kick-off on Grolsch Veste welcomed us with heavy rain - not the best of conditions for our style of football. Perhaps that affected the amount of possession we had in the first half (FC Twente won the battle for ball 59/41 in the first period), but we definitely had the best chances - Lassina Traore had a great opportunity in 17’ which was met by equally great save by FC Twente goalkeeper. Quincy Promes had a chance to score from the spot in 24’ after Traore was pushed in the box, but the experienced winger’s penalty hit the post, so we were goalless in the first half. FC Twente had their best chance in injury time, right before the half-time whistle - their free kick flew over our defenders to the far post where Ondrej Mihalik got to it before the byline, but his attempt (although to the empty goal) from a narrow angle hit the post. That was a close call… I had no reason to praise the team at the half time, but we didn’t play significantly better in the second half. Traore blew another chance in 50’ (and I soon took him off - he had a really poor day in front of the goal), but when we struggled to score, we got help from the most unexpected sources - Anass Salah-Eddine made a well-timed run into the box to receive a smart ball from van de Beek and fired it in with a force from 15 meters - a great goal for the full-back. That was the winning goal and in the end it was all that we needed to secure the narrow win and all three points.

The overall performance was disappointing, though - strikers were wasteful with their chances and we struggled to hit our shots on target. Need to do better against stronger opponents.

• our shooting was just 23/6 - difficult to score like that
• we created 3 clear cut chances in this game, but wasted all of them, including the penalty
• Anass Salah-Eddine scored his first league goal for Ajax
• Marco Ferreira picked up a knock in the first half and he’ll be out for a week with a twisted knee
• Player of the game: Anass Salah-Eddine - great goal and decisive action from the full-back

 

23.01.2024 - AFC Ajax - NEC Nijmegen 2:0 (TOTO KNVB Beker 3rd round) - 96. Quincy Promes, 118. Lassina Traore

Before the Klassieker derby we played a cup game against NEC Nijmegen. That looked fairly easy on paper, so I rotated freely. Midfield options remained limited - Taylor and Marin were still out and Marco Ferreira was back in full training, but I preferred to hold him for the Feyenoord game.

Squad: van den Heuvel, van der Sloot (90. Veltman), Schuurs, Rensch, Baas, Regeer, van de Beek, Barriere, Hansen (91. Mazraoui), Fitz-Jim (68. Promes), Enem (83. Traore)

The first half wasn’t good enough - we had plenty of possession, but struggled to create anything dangerous with it. One half-chance was all that we had to show for it in the first half and as the game progressed, NEC started to get their way into it. In the end of the first half their winger Ole ter Haar Romeny had perhaps the best chance of the first period, but his shot was well held by van den Heuvel.

The same continued in the second period. Ricky van Wolfswinkel (yes, the veteran striker is back in Eredivisie) had a crack early on, but another good save by van den Heuvel (who did well when he needed to act) kept things under control for us. Jay Enem blew our best chance of the game in 72’ - his attempt was met by a fine save from the NEC goalkeeper. Then I started to make substitutions. Kian Fitz-Jim had been poor, he was replaced by Promes. Lassina Traore came on to offer better finishing up front. We almost scored the late winner in injury time, but Promes somehow managed to miss his opportunity while he looked certain to score.

Disappointed that the game went to extra time, I made one more substitution and Joel Veltman came on. The experienced defender was almost instantly sent off again - his two-footed tackle earned him dismissal in the beginning of the extra time when he had played less than a minute. It was a terrible judgment by Veltman and completely unexpected from a player of his experience. I had no other options than to take off Sontje Hansen and replace him with Mazraoui. We were left with 10 men, but surprisingly started to find more space in attacks and it led to results in the extra time. Quincy Promes finally scored with a fabulous strike in 96’ and Lassina Traore secured our win with a great free kick from 25 meters. NEC had no answers - they had numerical advantage, but couldn’t create anything dangerous in the extra time. Quality of our first team players finally prevailed.

• we had 63% possession
• our shooting was 24/14 in this game
• Player of the game: Quincy Promes - a great goal from the winger
• we will play Heracles Almelo in the quarter final - an easy draw for us in this level

 

28.01.2024 - Feyenoord Rotterdam - AFC Ajax 1:1 (ED) - 2. Marco Senesi - 65. Kian Fitz-Jim

It’s the Klassieker derby again and this time we travelled to De Kuip. Feyenoord probably wants to prove their worth against us in this battle and it could be the title six-pointer, but Feyenoord have lost some ground in the title race past month and so the gap between the clubs looks safe for us. For Feyenoord it’s more of a survival game - if they want to have any kind of say in the challenge for the title, they need to win this one.

We go into this game without Kenneth Taylor (injured) and Razvan Marin (ill). Noussair Mazraoui has gone to China and Joel Veltman takes his place in the right defense.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine, Regeer, van de Beek, Promes (76. Hansen), Ferreira, Fitz-Jim, Traore (82. Enem)

Things didn’t start well for us - Feyenoord had an early free kick and they delivered it into the box. Marco Senesi won the header and Gürcan Dere somehow let it slip through his fingers into the goal. Feyenoord scored the flyer and early goal certainly helped them to gain confidence and play focused for the rest of the first half. We had a couple of good attempts in the first period, but the number of shots remained low from both teams and our 68% possession in the first half didn’t convert into chances and goals.

Those games with Feyenoord are so often low-scoring, well organized and defense-oriented that finding a goal could be a real challenge. We worked hard in the second half to find the equalizer and finally got it in 65’ - Joel Veltman found Kian Fitz-Jim at the far post with a good cross and the inside forward scored with an easy tap-it. That was it - the final score remained 1:1 and I was fairly satisfied with the result. We didn’t need to win this game and to come away with a point from De Kuip looked good enough.

• we had 61% possession in this game
• we managed to make only 8 key passes, but that’s the character of the games against Feyenoord
• Player of the game: Joel Veltman - the experienced defender gave 3 key passes and delivered  assist to the equalizer

 

31.01.2024 - AFC Ajax - PEC Zwolle 5:0 (ED) - 12. Lassina Traore, 19. Youri Regeer, 31. Joel Veltman, 64. and 81. Jay Enem

Our last opponent in January is PEC Zwolle - clearly an underperforming team that is now part of the relegation fight. We were clear favourites for the game, so I decided to rest Marco Ferreira, but Razvan Marin had recovered from his illness and he started in midfield.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Rensch, Lopes, Baas, Regeer, Marin, Hansen (69. Barriere), van de Beek, Fitz-Jim (46. Boer), Traore (46. Enem)

We controlled the game from start to finish. Lassina Traore had our first clear cut chance in 8’ after some good transition football, but his shot was saved. Sontje Hansen wasted his half-chance in 10’ and when Lassina Traore scored with a header in 12’ it looked like it was a long time coming. Youri Regeer doubled our lead with a header from IFK and then Joel Veltman added another goal with a great strike from 15 meters. That’s a sign that he enjoys his new role as the WBs in DR position and can contribute in attacks, too (remember his cross to Fitz-Jim in the previous game). PEC Zwolle had pretty much given up the fight in the end of the first half, so I made substitutions at half time.

Jay Enem came on and he was hungry for goals - his runs cause always problems to Zwolle defenders who left too much space behind their line, so Enem could run freely and his two well-timed moves in 64’ and 81’ led to another two goals. The second was a brilliant volley with the first time attempt. The credit has to go to Razvan Marin, too - the midfielder constantly found strikers on the run, started attacking moves and delivered assists to goals. Enem had an opportunity to complete his hat-trick in 84’, but this time his shot was saved. The final score 5:0 was impressive either way and it was a really one-sided match. I was happy with our performance and with the quality of goals that we scored.

• we had 60% possession in this game
• our shooting was 21/13
• we created 5 clear cut chances and gave 24 key passes
• our average rating was 8.15
• Lassina Traore scored his 50th league goal for Ajax
• Razvan Marin and Youri Regeer had an outstanding game in midfield
• Player of the game: Razvan Marin - the midfielder gave 4 assists and 10 key passes

 

Summary

I am fairly satisfied with our January - we looked a little bit rusty after the winter break, but the results came our way and we continued our undefeated streak in domestic competitions. We lost two first team players in January, so we have a bit less depth, but on the other hand it’s easier to distribute playing time, especially as our position in the table looks secure enough.

 

Eredivisie

Feyenoord are four games without a win and they’ve dropped to 5th position, so our lead in the table is at least 10 points. The bottom five has grown to bottom six, but the relegation fight continues to be fierce.

[Draakon]

January 2024 Transfer Window Update

 

The January transfer window was busier than usual. Perhaps some big deals were waiting to happen for a while, but at the same time it is evident that several clubs (like AZ Alkmaar) had gathered a lot of free money by selling their star prospects and it was waiting to be invested into the new players. They were eager to make bids for even our players in their pursuit for new stars. At the same time PSV Eindhoven made a couple of big sales and didn’t add any new players - interesting move from them. However, they did sign a contract with Brian Brobbey starting this Summer.

 

The biggest transfers in this transfer window:

• Noussair Mazraoui from AFC Ajax to Guangzhou Evergrade for £50m
• Matthias Gfeller from AZ Alkmaar to Schalke 04 Gelsenkirchen for £33m
• Olivier Boscagli from PSV Eindhoven to Inter Milan for £25,5m
• Joey Veerman from PSV Eindhoven to Crystal Palace for £15,25m
• Timo Baumgartl from PSV Eindhoven to SSC Napoli for £15m
• Brian Petersen from NAC Breda to AZ Alkmaar for £10,25m
• Nick Lee from FC Utrecht to AZ Alkmaar for £10m
• Jordy Bruijn from sc Heerenveen to Al-Hilal for £7,25m

[Draakon]

February 2024

 

04.02.2024 - AFC Ajax - sc Heerenveen 1:1 (ED) - 13. Kian Fitz-Jim - 43. Jay-Roy Grot

The first game of February was not the easy one. sc Heerenveen have played well and after Christmas they find themselves in the top three or thereabout.

Good news is that we had all players fit (except Kenneth Taylor who’s still injured), so I could send out our best eleven for this game.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine, Regeer, Marin (61. van de Beek), Promes (78. Hansen), Ferreira, Fitz-Jim, Enem

The first half didn’t offer a lot of chances, but Kian Fitz-Jim surprised everyone with a stunning goal in 13’ - he cut in from the left wing and fired it in from 20 meters out. It was a great goal out of nowhere and I was delighted with that effort - Fitz-Jim hasn’t scored a lot of goals and his performances have often been mediocre, but this time he produced something magical to give us the lead. Unfortunately we allowed sc Heerenveen to equalize right before the half-time. Jay-Roy Grot is dangerous in the air - we knew that before the game, but he still won a header from IFK and sent the ball across our goalmouth. Gürcan Dere was there to collect it, but there was some sort of miscommunication between him and Perr Schuurs, the ball took a deflection from Schuurs’ foot and went into the goal. Very disappointing goal to concede, as we looked a little bit better team in the first half and deserved to lead.

sc Heerenveen were clearly encouraged by this equalizer and it showed in their second half performance - we had less possession and in 60’ Jay-Roy Grot had another great chance to score - we were lucky that he sent his shot wide that time. I switched Joel Veltman to IWBs to get an extra man to midfield and keep hold of the ball - it helped somewhat, but didn’t improve our attack too much. Substitute Jay Enem had a chance to win this for us in 85’, but his attempt went wide, so after both teams wasted a moment in the second half it remained 1:1. It was not the worst result, but I feel that we deserved to win and the conceded goal came out of nowhere for sc Heerenveen.

• we lost possession 42/58 - that won’t do
• we allowed sc Heerenveen to make 22 dribbles - cleary too comfortable with the ball
• Player of the game: Kian Fitz-Jim - scored the best goal of the game

 

09.02.2024 - AFC Ajax - PSV Eindhoven 2:0 (ED) - 1. Lassina Traore, 90.+7 Carlos Manuel Lopes

Tough games came in a row and next we hosted PSV Eindhoven for the Topper Derby. PSV have had a rough Winter and they’ve dropped to 5th place in the table, so they’re not really title contenders any more. They sold some first team players in January and after those departures and a couple of poor results their morale has taken a hit and it clearly affects their results, too.

We missed Joel Veltman for this game because of suspension due to yellow cards, but the rest of the team was fit.

Squad: Dere, van der Sloot, Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine (88. Baas), Regeer, van de Beek (84. Marin), Promes (64. Hansen), Ferreira, Fitz-Jim, Traore

We went off with a flyer in the first minute of the game - Donny van de Beek did well to win the challenge in midfield and passed to Traore, who timed his run perfectly and finished off his chance, just 23 second from the kick-off. Great start for us and for a while PSV looked stunned. We could (and should) have capitalized on this mess that PSV’s defense was in the first half - Traore headed against the crossbar in 12’ and wasted an easy chance in 23’, but it remained 1:0 after the first half. We played really good, attacking football and Traore’s movement looked too much to handle for PSV defenders. PSV couldn’t make any attempts on our goal, so it was really one-sided in the first period.

We kept initiative in the second half, but PSV got their defense in order and we had less good chances. 1:0 remained a narrow lead, until PSV started to take more risks late in the game. Lassina Traore had a great chance to score his second goal of the game and finish things off in injury time, but PSV’s goalkeeper Lars Unnerstall made a great save to deny his attempt. However, Carlos Manuel Lopes headed in from the following corner and that clinched it. Really good game from us and a good result, too.

• we had 63% possession in this game
• we allowed no chances to PSV Eindhoven and they only had two long range attempt
• Player of the game: Lassina Traore - great game from the striker and good movement in attacks

 

We’ve started our month OK, but what amazes me is our board’s reaction to the latest results. sc Heerenveen draw was a disappointment, I agree, and our low possession was the contributing factor, but our derby win over PSV Eindhoven was rated with just C+ which seems extremely low. We controlled the game easily, scored twice and didn’t give PSV any chances, so it must have pleased the fans, but it didn’t impress the board. Interesting, it seems that expectations were suddenly higher than before the season.

 

14.02.2024 - Heracles Almelo - AFC Ajax 0:4 (TOTO KNVB Beker Quarter Final) - 22., 85. and 90+1 Carlos Manuel Lopes, 61. Sontje Hansen

Next up - the cup quarter final against Heracles Almelo. To be fair - it was an easier draw than I expected at this stage and we were clear favourites despite the fact that it was an away game. 

After two fairly difficult games I chose to rotate the team and rest some players. I also discovered with surprise that Joel Veltman was suspended for this match, too. Apparently he’s collected enough bookings both in the league and in cup games.

Squad: Dere, van der Sloot, Rensch, Lopes, Baas, Regeer, Marin, Hansen (67. Barriere), Ferreira, Fitz-Jim (62. Boer), Enem

The first half was a little bit boring in terms of good attacks and chances, but we took the lead in 22’ - Carlos Manuel Lopes scored from a corner follow-up. The ball got back to him in the box and the centre-back hit an unstoppable strike into the far post - a great goal from any defender and worth the second look.

We continued to control proceedings in the second half - Sontje Hansen showed his technique by skipping past two defenders and fired into the bottom corner, before Lopes continued scoring - two headers from corners in the second half completed his hat-trick and the final score 4:0 looked comfortable and convincing. Job well done by all of the players.

• we had 65% possession in this game
• we didn’t allow Heracles to create any chances in this game, but allowed them to make 21 dribbles
• Kian Fitz-Jim made his 100th appearance for Ajax
• Player of the game: Carlos Manuel Lopes - incredible game from the young centre-back, to score a hat-trick and take the match ball with him

 

18.02.2024 - NEC Nijmegen - AFC Ajax 0:4 (ED) - 6. and 28. Carlos Manuel Lopes, 35. Marco Ferreira, 62. Lassina Traore

We’re heavy favourites against NEC Nijmegen, but it was a fairly difficult game against them in January (also an away game) and so I was aware that it could be trickier for us than it might seem. We have finally Joel Veltman back in the line-up and Kenneth Taylor is back in full training, so it’s pretty much the full squad for us.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Rensch, Lopes, Salah-Eddine, Regeer (67. Taylor), Marin (67. van de Beek), Hansen (62. Barriere), Ferreira, Fitz-Jim, Traore

We had a good start and created some early chances - Lassina Traore turned around his man in the box expertly and his clear cut chance in 5’ was parried by Roy Kortsmit. Carlos Manuel Lopes continued from exactly where he finished against Heracles - his header from a corner opened the scoring for us, before Traore blew his second chance of the game in 16’. Lopes’ aerial ability was evident in this game - he doubled his tally with another corner goal in 28’ and we looked in full control of the game after the first 30 minutes. No goals from open play, but we took full advantage of our set pieces. Our corner routine was pretty straightforward - Marco Ferreira delivered the cross to the far post, but it was really difficult to defend, because Lopes’ jumping (18) makes him a real power in the aerial duels. NEC didn’t take a single shot in the first 30’, but then they found their best chance of the whole game - Anass Salah-Eddine missed his interception on our left flank and allowed the cross to be delivered into the far post to Ole ter Haar Romeny. It was a close range volley and should have been a goal, but Gürcan Dere made a great reflex save to deny him. Marco Ferreira showed his set piece ability with a beautiful free kick in 35’ to make it 3:0 and we had a comfortable lead at the half time. All three goals from set pieces and NEC had no answers against them.

The second half was equally entertaining - NEC had an IFK and Ole ter Haar Romeny saw his header flick the crossbar before going over. Marco Ferreira fired his attempt against the post in 56’. Lassina Traore tried hard to improve after his missed chances in the first half and he did, scoring with a good header in 62’. However, his second clear cut chance of the game was denied again three minutes later. Despite those missed scoring opportunities the final score 4:0 looked pretty impressive for a away game - our win was never in doubt and the team looked confident through the whole game.

• we had 64% possession
• our shooting was 32/16 in this game
• we had 17 corners (and used them well enough to score twice)
• Carlos Manuel Lopes, Marco Ferreira and Lassina Traore were outstanding for us in this game
• Player of the game: Carlos Manuel Lopes - two goals, 8 key headers. His five goals in two consecutive games is really impressive for a defender
• Highlight of the game: Marco Ferreira’s free kick, curled nicely around the wall

 

22.02.2024 - AFC Ajax - Lille OSC 5:2 (Europa League 1st knockout round 1st leg) - 6. Quincy Promes, 12., 13., 76. pen. and 81. Lassina Traore - 52. Guy Mafoumbi, 78. Thiago Maia

We began our Europa League journey with the home game against Lille OSC. Our aim in this competition is to reach semi finals, so we need to win at least a couple of ties to do that. Fortunately our position in Eredivisie looks strong enough so that we can give rotation players some game time in domestic games and allow our first team players to be fresh for European matches.

Joel Veltman was finally back in the line-up, but Carlos Manuel Lopes suffered a small knock and it looked wise to save him for another day. That’s a shame, because he’s been terrific in the couple of recent games.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Rensch, Salah-Eddine, Regeer (65. Taylor), van de Beek (73. Marin), Promes (77. Hansen), Ferreira, Fitz-Jim, Traore

We almost conceded an early goal - Lille’s Jonathan Ikone finished his solo run on a counter-attack, but the brilliant save from Gürcan Dere tipped it over the crossbar. We managed to take the lead soon after - Marco Ferreira found Quincy Promes with a great-looking diagonal pass and the experienced winger scored with a placed shot. Traore doubled our lead with a header and soon it was 3:0 - Traore took advantage of Lille’s goalkeeper mistake and won the ball back for us and finished from 20 meters into the empty net. We looked even more in control. We had some great opportunities late in the first half to extend our lead further, but both Traore and Promes missed those chances, so at the halftime our lead was 3:0, but the game itself looked promising.

We allowed Lille to get back into the game in the second half and it was due to our own mistakes. Perr Schuurs took a free kick from deep in our half, but did it so poorly that he gave the possession straight to the opposition and the following attack led to an easy chance and goal. Gürcan Dere could do nothing to save us this time. Lassina Traore should have scored his hat-trick in 75’, but his attempt from the good position clipped the post and went wide. Quincy Promes was tripped in the box and the penalty was awarded, so Traore finally completed his hat-trick from the spot. 4:1 looked much better than 3:1, but there were more goals to come. Lille scored their second goal from IFK, before Traore finished from close range to make it 5:2. It was a great result for us in the first leg. I should probably feel a bit disappointed about those two goals that we conceded, but instead I felt that we should have scored more goals - we had plenty of opportunities and Lille’s defense (and especially goalkeeper) looked rather poor in this game.

• our shooting was 19/12
• we created 6 clear cut chances in this game
• Lassina Traore and Marco Ferreira were outstanding for us
• Player of the game: Lassina Traore - four goals made the day

 

25.02.2024 - AFC Ajax - FC Groningen 8:0 (ED) - 15., 18., 56. and 61. Lassina Traore, 27. Razvan Marin, 53. Quincy Promes, 59. Donny van de Beek, 81. Jay Enem

Back to Eredivisie. Morale was high after our good attacking performance against Lille and we hosted FC Groningen at Johan Cruijff Arena. We had no pressure in the league games, but FC Groningen looked like a decent opponent - top half team and they’ve done well against strong clubs this season. It’s good that Kenneth Taylor was ready to start the game and we were with the strong line-up even while Marco Ferreira and Carlos Manuel Lopes were rested.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Rensch, Salah-Eddine, Taylor (61. Regeer), Marin, Promes (61. Barriere), van de Beek, Fitz-Jim, Traore (61. Enem)

I wasn’t prepared for this outcome, but FC Groningen were completely blown away by our attacking power. Lassina Traore wasted an early chance, but he started scoring in 15’ and doubled our lead soon after. Razvan Marin added the third goal with a screamer from 22 meters and Quincy Promes saw his volley being denied by a great save from the FC Groningen goalkeeper. Groningen had no answers and the game was decided in less than thirty minutes and it started to affect their second half performance - goals flowed freely. Lassina Traore completed his hat-trick and added his fourth goal before coming off, Donny van de Beek piled up the misery with a placed shot and substitute Jay Enem completed the rout with his goal in 81’. FC Groningen had only one good goal scoring opportunity, but Gürcan Dere was ready and parried Aron Schrijver’s attempt in 58’. The final score 8:0 marked complete humiliation for FC Groningen - they’re 6th in the table and should be able to play almost equally against top clubs, but they were beaten both tactically and mentally. Not sure how it will affect the rest of their season.

• we had 61% possession in this game
• our shooting was 30/20 and we created 6 clear cut chances
• our average rating was 8.77 - plenty of great performances throughout the first eleven
• Lassina Traore scored his 20th goal of the season in this game
• Player of the game: Lassina Traore - four goals and assist, 9.9 rating - perfect game for him

 

29.02.2024 - Lille OSC - AFC Ajax 0:1 (Europa League 1st knockout round 2nd leg) - 32. Lassina Traore

We were quite relaxed before the second leg game. It was obvious that something must go very wrong for us to lose on aggregate. I switched our tactics to balanced 4-2-3-1 as I usually do in away games against good teams, but I wasn’t too worried about the result. Anass Salah-Eddine and Kian Fitz-Jim were rested, Quincy Promes switched to the left flank and Sontje Hansen started on the right wing.

Squad: Dere, Veltman (63. van der Sloot), Schuurs, Lopes, Baas, Taylor (46. Regeer), van de Beek, Hansen, Ferreira, Promes, Traore (63. Enem)

The first half was fairly even - both teams tried to attack on transition and this tactical choice seemed to work well for both teams. We had two good moments in the first period - Sontje Hansen’s 14’ attempt was brilliantly saved by the Lille OSC goalkeeper, but when Donny van de Beek gave a wonderful pass to Lassina Traore in 32’, our African striker used his chance well - his goal gave us the lead at half-time and put us in control for the rest of the game.

The second half didn’t offer as good chances for us and after a while complacency started to appear in the body language as well. We held onto that narrow lead and 1:0 in an away game is a good result, but nothing spectacular.

• we had 62% possession in this game
• our shooting was just 16/5 - could use more shots on target
• Player of the game: Donny van de Beek - great assist and good midfield performance

 

Summary

We’ve been really impressive in February. Good wins, plenty of goals and general morale and confidence is sky-high. We went through the first knockout round of the Europa League easily and reached the semi finals of the domestic cup. Our lead in the Eredivisie table is now more than 10 points and it’s difficult to imagine that any contender could catch us in the remaining weeks.

I managed to sign two contract extensions - Perr Schuurs finally agreed to sign a new £49,000 p/w deal until 2028. His leadership is needed in the defensive line. Alen Karahasanovic also signed a new deal. It’s clear that we will lose some important first team players in the coming Summer and we need to build for the future.

 

Eredivisie

Big lead in the table and top five is clearly above everybody else. NAC Breda looks like the prime candidate for relegation, but none of the bottom seven teams are safe at the moment.

[Draakon]

March 2024

 

03.03.2024 - Vitesse Arnhem - AFC Ajax 0:4 (ED) - 10. and 50. Lassina Traore, 45. and 82. Sontje Hansen

Vitesse is a big team, but they’ve been in really poor form and haven’t recorded a single win since December. We’re clear favourites for the game and look confident. Perr Schuurs will be suspended for the game.

Squad: Dere, van der Sloot, Rensch, Lopes, Salah-Eddine, Regeer, Marin, Hansen, van de Beek, Fitz-Jim, Traore (65. Enem)

We had a good first half and Donny van de Beek looked comfortable in the AMC position. We saw Lassina Traore’s goal in the 7’ being disallowed for an offside. Kian Fitz-Jim had a crack in 10’, but his attempt clipped outside of the post and went wide, before Traore finally opened the scoring. Hard work from Donny van de Beek led to that goal - he won the ball in midfield and played it forward quickly to give Traore his chance. van de Beek tested the goalkeeper himself in 26’, but this attempt was saved from the bottom corner. Some good transition football led to our second goal right before the half-time - Traore delivered a cross to Hansen, who headed it home. Late in the first half injury time we allowed Vitesse’s Nick Venema to get through, but Gürcan Dere made a good save to deny this chance. In the following corner the ball hit our crossbar and we couldn’t clear it properly, but Dere finally claimed it. So, nervous moments in the end, but generally I’m satisfied with our first half and we have a good lead, too.

We continued well into the second half - Lassina Traore scored his second goal after a good long ball from Steven van der Sloot. The right back got the second assist to his name in 83’ when he found Hansen in the area - two more goals in the second half and Vitesse hardly caused us any problems after the break. Very good away win.

• we had 61% possession in this game
• our shooting was 24/14
• Lassina Traore scored his 100th goal for Ajax
• Lassina Traore, Sontje Hansen and Steven van der Sloot were superb
• Player of the game: Lassina Traore - two goals and an assist

 

07.03.2024 - PSV Eindhoven - AFC Ajax 1:0 (TOTO KNVB Beker Semi Final) - 66. Robert Bozenik

Difficult derby game in the cup semi final. We’ve had rather easy opponents so far - PSV is the first serious test in this years’ cup run, and we’re playing in the away stadium, too. I was aware of the threat and chose a balanced 4-2-3-1 formation - similar to our Champions League tactics.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine, Taylor (69. Regeer), van de Beek (85. Marin), Hansen (69. Promes), Ferreira, Fitz-Jim, Traore

We didn’t look good in the first half and I’m sorry to say that the manager was to blame, because things didn’t work tactically. We had possession, but PSV created more dangerous chances and we couldn’t find opportunities even though we had most of the ball. PSV’s danger man Robert Bozenik had the first opportunity from a corner in 7’, but Gürcan Dere made a great save to parry his close range attempt. A few minutes later our defenders were half asleep when PSV’s goalkeeper Lars Unnerstall opened with a long ball to Bozenik and he found another clear cut chance, but again our goalkeeper saved us. I had to wait 27 minutes for our first attempt and it was clear that things can’t continue like that. We were lucky to go to half-time with a 0:0 and it was clear that I needed to change something. I switched back to positive 4-2-3-1 and things evened out a little in the second half. Joel Veltman had a decent opportunity in 60’, but in the end it was Bozenik who found the target. Anass Salah-Eddine made a tackle in our box and the ball ended up in front of Bozenik, who used his third chance well. We had over 20 minutes to find an equalizer and at times we looked like we could pull out something in attack, but PSV defended well and we couldn’t break them that night. It was a very disappointing defeat, mainly because we had no answers in attack and PSV fully deserved to win. This defeat also ends our long winning streak in the cup that began several seasons ago.

• we gave only 7 key passes in this game
• we made 22 individual mistakes and conceded 3 clear cut chances - not good enough defensively
• Player of the game: Robert Bozenik (PSV Eindhoven) - missed some chances, but ultimately scored the winner

 

10.03.2024 - ADO Den Haag - AFC Ajax 0:4 (ED) - 11. and 34. Carlos Manuel Lopes, 42. Lassina Traore, 73. Donny van de Beek

We wanted to bounce back with a win in the next game. ADO Den Haag are a solid mid-table side and they’re results have matched expectations in this season so far, but we’re favourites even for the away game and I could give some players a day off - Perr Schuurs was rested, along with Marco Ferreira.

Squad: Dere, Veltman (57. van der Sloot), Rensch, Lopes, Salah-Eddine, Taylor, Marin, Promes, van de Beek, Fitz-Jim (66. Boer), Traore (66. Enem)

The game was decided in the first half and with set pieces. Carlos Manuel Lopes scored twice (from a corner and free kick) and Lassina Traore added our third goal after missing his clear cut chance in 15’. Donny van de Beek played in AMC and he provided the assist for the third goal. Razvan Marin offered creativity and good set piece deliveries from midfield. 3:0 lead looked good enough for the win at half time. We could be more relaxed in the second half - Jay Enem came on and worked hard on a counter to beat two tackles, get into the area and deliver the ball to van de Beek, who finished calmly - 4:0. Quincy Promes blew his clear cut chance in 80’, but that didn’t matter - we took a convincing win and. It was a better result than I expected before the game and I was very happy with the performance.

• we had 62% possession in this game
• our shooting was 17/11
• we created 3 clear cut chances - good creativity and goalscoring returned after PSV game
• Carlos Manuel Lopes and Donny van de Beek stood out with their performances
• Player of the game: Carlos Manuel Lopes - two goals and solid at the back

 

14.03.2024 - AFC Ajax - RB Leipzig 5:3 (Europa League 1st knockout round 1st leg) - 21., 73., 83. pen. and 90.+4 Lassina Traore, 90. Carlos Manuel Lopes - 11. Klaus Schindler, 56. Steven Bergwijn, 64. Timo Werner

Our first Europa League game. The goal is to reach the semi finals - it could be realistic if we won’t get any giants with the draw, but all of the games are difficult and with our league standings being relatively safe I try to keep my best players fit for the continental fixtures. Leipzig looks like a fairly similar team to us, so we have good options against them, but they’ve kept Timo Werner in the club and obviously he looks extremely good in 2024 - quick, good with the ball and excellent counter-attacking player. That’s something we have to be aware of in the home game.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine, Taylor (80. Regeer), van de Beek (49. Marin), Promes (13. Hansen), Ferreira, Fitz-Jim, Traore

It didn’t start well for us - Klaus Schindler scored from the corner and two minutes later we lost Quincy Promes to injury, so our game plan didn’t work in the first 15 minutes. Leipzig had the away goal and we needed to prepare for unavoidable counter-attacks while we searched for the equalizer. Our attack was quiet for the first 20 minutes, but then Traore received a good ball from Donny van de Beek and scored with an excellent finish with his first touch - a great goal and a huge lift for the whole team. Werner continued to haunt our defensive line and in 27’ Perr Schuurs’ poor touch gave him a one-on-one chance, but Gürcan Dere made a brilliant save to keep it 1:1. At the half-time it was 1:1, but I had to admit that Leipzig had better chances in the first half and we were somewhat struggling so far. I switched to a balanced mentality in the end of the first half, but it didn’t improve our game, so for the second half it went back to ‘positive’.

Our injury problems continued in the second half and in 49’ Donny van de Beek had to come off. Leipzig’s Steven Bergwijn surprised Gürcan Dere with a fierce shot from 15 meters to give Leipzig 2:1 lead - a great strike indeed and nothing that our goalkeeper could do about it. Timo Werner finally broke through with a well-timed run in 64’ and this time he finished better and made it 3:1 - things got worse for us and with three goals conceded at home, it looked like a game over already, but it wasn’t to be - Lassina Traore doubled his tally in 73’ to give us some home. It was a copy of the first goal, but this time Razvan Marin delivered the pass. Traore completed his hat-trick from the spot after Marco Ferreira was brought down in the box and suddenly there was hope! The Leipzig players got nervous, we grew more confident and started to put them under pressure. Carlos Manuel Lopes put us in the lead with a header from a corner and in injury time Traore scored his fourth goal after a brilliant through ball from Marin. 5:3! We’d scored four goals after being 1:3 down! What a come-back. With two goals advantage, those three conceded goals didn’t look as big of a problem suddenly and with those goals in the end of the game we’ve put ourselves in control of the tie.

• our shooting was 22/10 in this game
• Lassina Traore scored his 30th goal of the season
• Carlos Manuel Lopes scored his 10th goal of the season - exceptional for the centre-back
• we created 4 clear cut chances, but conceded 3 to Leipzig
• Quincy Promes and Donny van de Beek will be out for 3-4 weeks (both with twisted ankle)
• Player of the game: Lassina Traore - just superb performance with four goals

 

17.03.2024 - AFC Ajax - AZ Alkmaar 4:0 (ED) - 43. Peer Koopmeiners (og), 57. and 86. Sontje Hansen, 76. Jay Enem

We lost two first team players against Leipzig, but morale was clearly lifted after the comeback win and we looked really confident before hosting AZ Alkmaar in Johan Cruijff Arena. We had confidence and spirit, but the legs were tired and so I had to make a lot of changes for this game, to give some players rest before the second leg with Leipzig.

AZ have had a great season so far and they looked like  title contenders at some point, but now we’ve increased the lead in the table and AZ desperately needs a win from this game to keep any hopes for the title alive. But they come to this game in great form - they’ve been 14 games unbeaten and no wonder that they’d climbed up to 2nd in the table.

Squad: Dere, van der Sloot, Schuurs, Rensch, Baas (25. Salah-Eddine), Regeer, Marin, Hansen, Ferreira, Fitz-Jim, Traore (66. Enem)

The first half looked fairly even and we lost Youri Baas to injury in the process, but in the end of that first period we had a strong five minutes when we could apply some pressure to AZ goal and one corner eventually led to the opener. Perr Schuurs sent a header across the goalmouth and AZ’s Peer Koopmeiners got an unfortunate touch to send it over the line.

The second half looked easier, in retrospect. Sonthe Hansen had a great second half and his counter-attack in 57’ finished with a brilliant strike that was drilled in from 25 meters. Substitute Jay Enem added another goal that came through the high work rate - he put AZ’s goalkeeper Mees Bakker under pressure with the goal and won the ball back to finish it into the empty net. AZ Alkmaar had their best chance of the game in 79’ when our defense left Nick Lee unmarked in the box - Gürcan Dere parried his attempt wide with a fine stop. Hansen then doubled his tally from a corner to make it 4:0 and that was it. AZ had one more late chance in injury time, but he too couldn’t beat Gürcan Dere and we kept our clean sheet. I was very happy with our second half and the final result, especially because we missed so many first team players.

• we made only 8 key passes in this game
• Youri Baas will be out for 5-6 weeks with sprained knee ligaments
• Jay Enem scored his 10th goal of the season
• Player of the game: Sontje Hansen - an outstanding performance from the winger with two goals and 12 dribbles

 

21.03.2024 - RB Leipzig - AFC Ajax 1:0 (Europa League 1st knockout round 2nd leg) - 10. Steven Bergwijn

We travelled to Germany with one big aim - to keep hold of our first leg lead. But the problems mounted in the days before the match - we already had some players injured, but traumas started to come in from every direction - Anass Salah-Eddine, Marco Ferreira, Razvan Marin and Kian Fitz-Jim were added to the injury list. Fitz-Jim was almost recovered for the game and had to play, but we went to the game without a proper left-back and so our chances of success grew slimmer with every news from the physio room. Devyne Rensch started in DL, even though he wasn’t accustomed to the position.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Lopes, Rensch, Taylor, Regeer, van der Sloot (89. Barriere), Hansen, Fitz-Jim (72. Boere), Traore

The match started in heavy rain and the weather didn’t come to our aid, either. Leipzig started well and at 10’ Steven Bergwijn opened the scoring with a good shot that beat Gürcan Dere and went into the far post. Steven van der Sloot had a half-chance in 26’, but otherwise the first period belonged to Leipzig. Our opponents had some good shots on target and their second goal wasn’t far away. Defensively we didn’t look too bad, though - after the first 15 minutes we started things a little bit better under control and organized our defensive line better.

Leipzig continued to search for their second goal after the break and they were clearly the better team, but we had some moments, too. Lassina Traore had a good look in 63’, but it was met with a good save from Gürcan Dere. At times we had to defend really well, but we were able to hold on and the narrow defeat was good enough for us to secure our aggregate win (5:4) 

• we had 65% possession and it worked well to limit Leipzig time with the ball
• we made only 5 key passes - not too good going forward
• Leipzig had 21/11 shots, so we were under pressure at times
• Player of the game: Klaus Schindler (RB Leipzig)

 

24.03.2024 - PEC Zwolle - AFC Ajax 0:1 (ED) - 83. Steven van der Sloot

It’s the last game in March and with the right result we could secure our Eredivisie title tonight, but the situation with the squad is well… dire. We had only two days to rest after our trip to Germany and most of the players looked exhausted. Razvan Marin has recovered to full fitness and he can help out in midfield, but other positions remain a concern - Sontje Hansen needs to carry on in AMC and we still don’t have a proper left-back. Because of that I made a decision to take a risk and just rotate - all of the youngsters will get their chance and need to carry this thing out. Zwolle are not the most difficult team to beat, so it’s now or never for them. Philippe Barriere will start in AMR, Remy Boer in AML and Jay Enem in up front.

Squad: van den Heuvel, Veltman, Schuurs, Lopes, Rensch, Taylor (82. Regeer), Marin, Barriere (25. van der Sloot), Hansen, Boer, Enem (70. Traore)

The first half was a bit dull - we didn’t have good enough chances and our attacking movement wasn’t sharp enough. Youngster Philippe Barriere came off with an injury in 25’ and that, too, disrupted our attacks. We were defensively solid, but couldn’t create proper chances in the first half.

The second half was slightly better - players looked more motivated and we started to find chances. Jay Enem had a good look in 48’, but somehow managed to miss the target. Five minutes later his shot beat the goalkeeper, but was denied by the post. Our high pressure worked well and when we won the ball high on the pitch then dangerous attacks often followed. Sontje Hansen missed an easy chance in 62’ and I started to rue our poor finishing, but in the end we found a breakthrough - Remy Boer delivered a good cross to the far post where Steven van der Sloot finished with a simple tap-in to scrape the narrow win. We really dominated the first half and deserved to win, but almost missed it, so no reason to be too happy with our performance, but the result was good enough.

• we had 60% possession in this game
• our shooting was 29/13 
• we created 3 clear cut chances, but didn’t give PEC Zwolle any chances in this game
• Philippe Barriere is out for 3-5 weeks with sprained ankle ligaments (another injury to our long list)
• Player of the game: Rody de Boer (PEC Zwolle) - a good game from Zwolle goalkeeper

 

Summary

I can be happy with March results. Sure, we dropped out of the cup and games with Leipzig were tense, but we’re still in the competition in Europa League and good results in Eredivisie means that we’re just one point away from securing the title. Injuries have disrupted our games a lot in the recent weeks, but it was almost inevitable, because we’ve avoided them so far in the season. Lassina Traore has picked up the goal scoring and his 30+ goals in the season is an exceptional achievement - there are more games to come, so I hope he can continue in this fashion.

Our young players have caught the attention of the Holland boss, too - both Gürcan Dere and Youri Regeer made their debuts for the national team during the March international window. 

 

Eredivisie

[Draakon]

Youth Intake 2024

 

The mid-season preview looked optimistic and I knew that we have at least one good centre-back and one forward coming up who could be first team candidates.

 

Instead, the bunch that actually appeared to De Toekomst on the first day of the trial period was… rubbish.

 

 

The Belgian striker that should have been promising was just half-decent and although I’m aware that our star ratings may be a little skewed because Kenneth Taylor and Marco Ferreira are now rated 5* and that will leave everybody else kind of mediocre, but looking at the players more closely it didn’t get better, only worse. Personalities were the biggest issue - so many unambitious and low determination players that it was difficult to imagine them developing good enough to become first team players here at Ajax. That’s a huge disappointment, especially knowing that we have some big players leaving in Summer. Hopefully it will be better next Spring.

 

Vincent Claes

 

The best player of the group. Kind of decent in everything and as AFa suits my formation. Poor jumping and long shots, but I can do without those.

[Draakon]

April 2024

 

Our remaining games in Eredivisie look easy enough and we can go to them without any pressure, so the end of the season isn’t particularly exciting. Two Europa League games against Arsenal is the big test in April - the board expects us to reach into the semi finals of the Europa League, but beating Arsenal isn’t an easy task.

 

07.04.2024 - AFC Ajax - Willem II Tilburg 5:1 (ED) - 16. Razvan Marin, 19. Remy Boer, 37. Devyne Rensch, 71. Kenneth Taylor, 77. Anass Salah-Eddine - 61. Vangelis Pavlidis

Our task was simple enough - we needed just one more point to secure our Eredivisie title, but I was bold enough to rotate against Willem II and keep our first team players fresh for Arsenal fixtures.

Squad: van den Heuvel, Veltman, Schuurs, Rensch, Salah-Eddine, Taylor, Marin (65. Brown), Hansen, Ferreira, Boer, Enem

The first 15 minutes were a warm-up for us and then the action began. Sontje Hansen was unmarked at the far post in 16’, but the Willem II goalkeeper made a wonderful save to stop his attempt. That didn’t stop us for long as Razvan Marin opened the score with a thunderous strike from the edge of the area. Absolutely unstoppable strike and that took the pressure off from the players. Youngster Remy Boer scored a memorable goal - he finished his solo run from midfield with a brilliant strike from 23 meters that went in off the post. Two brilliant goals inside three minutes and Willem II looked disenchanted. Devyne Rensch added another goal from a corner and we went to half time with a solid 3:0 lead.

Willem II were slightly better in the second half - we left their best goalscorer Vangelis Pavlidis unmarked in our six yard box and his header gave Willem II a glimmer of hope, but in 65’ their midfielder Atakan Akkaynak was sent off after a two-footed tackle on Anass Salah-Eddine and that was it. Kenneth Taylor added another goal from a corner before Salah-Eddine fired in from 15 meters to complete the rout and secure our next league title with a 5:1 win. It was a very good performance with some brilliant goals from us.

• we had 61% possession in this game
• our shooting was 21/15
• our average rating was 8.11
• Remy Boer scored his 1st career league goal for Ajax
• young midfielder Tim Brown made his debut in this game
• Kenneth Taylor and Marco Ferreira were outstanding for us
• Player of the game: Kenneth Taylor

 

11.04.2024 - AFC Ajax - Arsenal London 0:0 (Europa League Quarter Final 1st leg)

It was a difficult tie for us - Arsenal is a tough opponent, but the board expects us to reach the semi final and so we have to do our best to win and getting a good result in the first leg is crucial. Arsenal have had difficult seasons in this save - they’re 5th in the English Premier League and never reached in the top four, so Europa League is more familiar for them than the Champions League. We had some positive news from physios - Donny van de Beek and Quincy Promes are fully fit. Youri Baas and Philippe Barriere are close to returning, so the worst injury crisis looks to be behind us for now.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine, Taylor (66. Regeer), van de Beek (73. Marin), Promes (73. Hansen), Ferreira, Fitz-Jim, Traore

We played a solid first half - kept things under control in defense and had some pretty good attempts on target, but Bernd Leno made some good saves to keep our strikers at bay and to be honest, we couldn’t create proper clear cut chances either. Keeping the clean sheet was the most important thing, so I was pretty happy with what I saw on the pitch.

The second half offered some good moments to both teams. Arsenal’s Eddie Nketiah got a clear cut chance in 58’ after Carlos Manuel Lopes made a bad mistake and lost the challenge, but Gürcan Dere made a great save. Kian Fitz-Jim had a good shot on target, but it was met by an equally good save from Leno. Our best opportunity came late in the game - Razvan Marin delivered a beautiful through ball to substitute Sontje Hansen, who couldn’t finish - another good save by Leno, who is clearly one of the best goalkeepers we’ve played against recently. Because of that late chance I had a feeling that we deserved to win 1:0, but we weren’t clinical enough and 0:0 in Amsterdam leaves everything open for the second leg game at Emirates Stadium.

• we gave only 5 key passes in this game - both teams looked well organized defensively
• Player of the game: Carlos Manuel Lopes - despite his mistake he looked impressive in defense and won 5 key headers

 

14.04.2024 - Heracles Almelo - AFC Ajax 1:1 (ED) - 85. Dario van den Buijs - 7. Quincy Promes

With nothing to decide in Eredivisie, I gave most of our first team players a day off and gave a chance to youngsters. We had a difficult enough schedule, so every rest day could benefit the team before our trip to London.

Squad: van den Heuvel, van der Sloot, Schuurs, Rensch, Salah-Eddine, Regeer (72. Taylor), Marin (65. Brown), Hansen, van de Beek, Promes (65. Boer), Enem

We had a good start and in 7’ we took the lead - Quincy Promes scored the opener with a lovely strike. Razvan Marin found Jay Enem on the run in 28’, but the striker wasted his clear cut chance. The first half finished 1:0, but we completely dominated this period and Heracles couldn’t take a single shot in the first half.

We had less good chances in the second half and in 65’ I started to make substitutions - that gave Heracles some space in midfield and in 85’ they managed to score the late equalizer. It was a goal out of nowhere - Dario van den Buijs took a bit of an ambitious attempt from the edge of the area, but it went into the far post and out of reach for Dani van den Heuvel. Good strike, I had to admit grudgingly, but it robbed us of the win and I was disappointed that we couldn’t maintain our lead. The main problem in my eyes wasn’t the conceded goal, but our missed chances in the first half - should have been more decisive.

• we had 65% possession in this game, but gave only 9 key passes - lacked creativity in the second half
• our shooting was 21/13 - not bad
• we made 30 dribbles with the ball
• Heracles didn’t have any real chances in this game
• Quincy Promes scored his 10th goal of the season
• Player of the game: Dario van den Buijs - Heracles’ captain scored a good goal and saved them a point with a brilliant strike

 

18.04.2024 - Arsenal London - AFC Ajax 3:0 (Europa League Quarter Final 2nd leg) - 67. Eddie Nketiah, 72. and 76. Richarlison

Arsenal away - a difficult challenge, but we needed to do our best and hope to find a goal - that would help us a lot. Arsenal came to this game with a 1:5 defeat from Norwich City, so they looked a bit fragile and I hoped to use that advantage. I had our best eleven ready for this game - no excuses about injuries or suspensions - and we started with a balanced 4-2-3-1 formation - our usual Champions League tactics.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine, Teylor (76. Regeer), van de Beek (73. Marin), Promes (65. Hansen), Ferreira, Fitz-Jim, Traore

We had a quick chance in 2’ - Kian Fitz-Jim played a beautiful pass to Quincy Promes, but the right winger hit the post and the moment was over. It looked like we started the game better, but after 10 minutes or so Arsenal slowly started to take more control of the midfield and after the half-time whistle was called I was pleased to see that the score was still 0:0. We didn’t concede any clear cut chances, but it was obvious that we needed to change something to score that away goal that we needed to win this tie.

Unfortunately, Arsenal had all the quality in the second half. Eddie Nketiah scored with a good first touch attempt and then their substitute Richarlison added two quick goals to make sure that Arsenal will go through into the semi final. I have to admit that our opponents played clearly better in the second half and deserved to win - we had no answers to their attacks and couldn’t create much ourselves. Difference in class was obvious.

• we had 60% possession, but that alone didn’t help us
• we made only 4 key passes and our shooting was 3/1 - not too many opportunities
• Arsenal had 19/10 shots - the second half was pretty one-sided
• Player of the game: Richarlison (Arsenal)

 

28.04.2024 - Sparta Rotterdam - AFC Ajax 1:5 (ED) - 19. Helgi Viktorsson - 16. and 55. Kian Fitz-Jim, 25., 65. and 75. Jay Enem

We have three more games to play in Eredivisie and the away fixture in Rotterdam is the most difficult of those matches. Sparta have established themselves in the top half of the table, they’re 8th at the moment and look like a decent team with some really good young prospects. They look well balanced according to our scout report and so I can’t take them too easy. We allow some rotation, but not too much. Youri Baas injured himself in training again - just after recovering from the previous injury - and unfortunately his season is over, but the rest of the team looks fit and ready. I used our standard 4-2-3-1 positive formation despite the away game and expected our selected players to do well enough in the game.

Squad: van den Heuvel, van der Sloot, Rensch, Lopes, Salah-Eddine, Regeer, van de Beek (69. Brown), Promes (69. Hansen), Ferreira, Fitz-Jim (69. Boer), Enem

We started well and put Sparta under pressure in the first half. The first moment came when Carlos Manuel Lopes headed against the post from IFK, but just a couple of minutes later it was 1:0. Marco Ferreira flick-on got to Kian Fitz-Jim at the far post who squeezed his shot past the goalkeeper from a narrow angle. Good start, but too soon we allowed Sparta to equalize. An IFK was delivered into our box, it was close enough to the goalkeeper to claim it, but Dani van den Heuvel showed his inexperience and hesitated, only to allow an easy finish from close range. That’s a bummer. Nevertheless, Jay Enem made it 2:1 from a counter and at the half time it looked like a well deserved lead. Sparta didn’t have any moments apart from set pieces, we played well and our attacks looked dangerous, so I was pleased with what I saw.

It got better in the second half - Kian Fitz-Jim doubled his tally. Jay Enem added his second goal when Sparta defense started to crumble and completed his hat-trick later in the second half (youngster Tim Brown got an assist to his name after his long ball reached to Enem. The final score 5:1 left no doubts - we were clearly the better team in this game and Sparta’s game plan was not good enough.

• our shooting was 31/14
• Jay Enem and Kian Fitz-Jim were outstanding for us in this game
• Player of the game: Jay Enem - hat-trick from the striker, he showed he can score goals, at least in Eredivisie level

 

Summary

Eredivisie games have been pretty much fun goalscoring, experimenting with teams and tactics and watching my youngsters (Remy Boer, Tim Brown) make their first steps in the first team, but Arsenal was the big test this month and they were too strong. Let it be said that Arsenal went all the way to win the Europa League in May, so they took this competition very seriously and were awarded with silverware in the end.

Our board was happy with the Eredivisie title, but at the same time disappointed with our Europa League results - we were below expectations in the Champions League and now again in the Europa League.

 

Eredivisie

Top of the table looks pretty clear, but the relegation battle goes on.

[Draakon]

May 2024

05.05.2024 - NAC Breda - AFC Ajax 0:3 (ED) - 57. and 88. Marco Ferreira, 77. Carlos Manuel Lopes

We are confident going forward to this game - I can rotate freely and distribute playing time. Only absentee is Youri Baas, but the rest of the squad is ready and available. NAC Breda have their back against the wall - they need a win here to survive in the top tier and to be honest their body language doesn’t indicate that they believe they can beat us.

Squad: van den Heuvel, van der Sloot, Rensch, Lopes, Salah-Eddine, Regeer, Marin (77. Brown), Hansen (67. Barriere), Ferreira, Boer, Enem

We had possession in the first half, but our attacking patterns didn’t work and we couldn’t create too many goal scoring opportunities - a couple of good attempts on target (Remy Boer tested the NAC goalkeeper a couple of times), Razvan Marin sent his shot from 20 meters against the post and Lopes’ header landed on the crossbar, but that wast it. NAC weren’t too dangerous either, but to keep a clean sheet in the first half was already more than I expected from them and their manager could be happy about that, but… they needed a win. So 0:0 wasn’t good enough and NAC had to take more risks in the second half and send more men forward. Perhaps that was the difference between the two periods - we started to find space after the break and in 57’ Marco Ferreira finally found a way through. Carlos Manuel Lopes added our second goal from a corner in 77’ and it looked like game over for NAC. Ferreira completed the rout with a powerful header late in the game and that was it - the final score looked fairly convincing and NAC Breda found themselves relegated to the lower division.

• we had 62% possession
• our shooting was 22/12
• Marco Ferreira scored his 10th goal of the season
• Player of the game: Marco Ferreira - a great performance from the attacking midfielder, who scored two goals, gave an assist and led the game with five key passes

 

12.05.2024 - AFC Ajax - FC Emmen 6:0 (ED) - 1. Donny van de Beek, 5. Remy Boer, 20. Perr Schuurs, 25. and 63. Quincy Promes, 82. pen. Kenneth Taylor

Our last game of the season. A home game and a chance to celebrate our title with the fans. It’s been a small wonder, but we’ve come through this Eredivisie campaign without a defeat - 28 wins, 5 draws - so, on the last match day we have an opportunity to take the points record for the league and also write ourselves into history as the invincible team.

Against us stood underachieving FC Emmen, who, despite their struggles, managed to win their previous game to raise one place in the table to the 15th position. Still, their battle against relegation goes on and every point could matter, so I expected a tough game.

My squad selection was affected by small injuries (Lopes and van der Sloot suffered  minor knocks in training) and also a little bit by accumulated yellow cards. I prefer my players not to take any suspensions into the new season, so the ones who were one booking short of missing the next game, started on the bench.

Squad: van den Heuvel, Veltman, Schuurs, Rensch, Salah-Eddine, Taylor (63. Regeer), Marin (74. Brown), Promes (63. Barriere), van de Beek, Boer, Traore

It was extremely one-sided from start to finish. Donny van de Beek sent us off with a flyer before Remy Boer doubled our lead with a lovely strike from the edge of the area and FC Emmen looked like they’d given up already. The rest of the game was well under our control - Perr Schuurs headed in from an IFK, Quincy Promes scored a goal in each half and Kenneth Taylor completed the rout from the spot after Traore was pushed in the box. Six goals to nil and FC Emmen had no answers to our dominating performance. Fitting end to a wonderful league campaign - this win means that we’ve come through all 34 league games unbeaten - 29 wins and 5 draws give us 92 points in total - a new Eredivisie record!

• our shooting was 23/13 in this game and we created 3 clear cut chances
• FC Emmen didn’t have any goal scoring opportunities
• we had 8.66 average rating
• Quincy Promes, Donny van de Beek, Remy Boer, Razvan Marin and Perr Schuurs had a great game
• Player of the game: Quincy Promes

 

Eredivisie

The top of the half was already clear, but it was a small surprise that all of the bottom three were relegated. NEC Nijmegen and PEC Zwolle looked good enough to retain their place, but weren’t good enough in the end. FC Eindhoven and VVV Venlo were predicted to go down before the season, but they finished well above the relegation zone.

[Draakon]

Season Summary 2023-2024

 

Competitions

The sixth season in Ajax for us left me with mixed feelings. On one hand we had the best Eredivisie season in my career - we had the invincible season! Undefeated in the whole 34 games, 29 wins and 5 draws. Considering the fact that I rotated a lot and gave youngsters a lot of game time it was a small miracle, but at the same time showed that other teams (especially our main rivals Feyenoord and PSV) weren’t up to the challenge. Instead, it was a good season to AZ Alkmaar and sc Heerenveen who established themselves in the top five. So, Eredivisie went relatively easy and things worked out well.

On the other hand, we failed in continental competitions. We didn’t play poorly and perhaps needed just a bit more luck, or a bit easier draw. To finish third in that group we had is not poor in itself and to lose against Arsenal was expected, but both results were short of the board’s expectations and that doesn’t look good.

Our long streak in the cup also ended this season - we failed in the semi final against PSV. Perhaps unexpected, because PSV weren’t too impressive throughout the season, but I know that every such streak has to end sometimes and I didn’t expect us to have such a long success in the cup, but for a moment it looked like our reign was about to end.

 

Players

There were a lot of positives in this season. Lassina Traore was our goal scoring machine and his 32 goals in the season was an incredible achievement. His 9 goals in the Europa League was good enough to earn the Golden Boot award in the competition. Two youngsters emerged - Marco Ferreira was the creative force in midfield with 11 goals and 22 assists and his set pieces and corners provided a lot of goalscoring opportunities. Carlos Manuel Lopes was the best defender and his 11 goals (most of them headers from corners) showed that he’s a real aerial threat. No wonder that those two players are on the radar of Real Madrid this Summer.

 

Ajax goals: Lassina Traore 32, Jay Enem 13, Quincy Promes 12, Carlos Manuel Lopes 11

Ajax assists: Marco Ferreira 22, Razvan Marin 15, Donny van de Beek 10

 

Ajax End of Season Awards

 

Stats and Tactics

What was the most outstanding stat in this season was our incredible goal scoring form. We’ve managed to get 102 goals in the league (new Eredivisie record) and create 64 clear cut chances in 34 games. Our finishing was slightly below 50% (31 goals) from those chances, but despite that our attack was the best I’ve seen in the past five years. Lassina Traore contributed with 32 goals in all competitions, but the rest of the team wasn’t too shabby either. 12 league goals came from corners and 13 from free kicks. Marco Ferreira played a big part in delivering those set pieces. We scored 13 goals outside of the box (anything above 10 can be considered a great achievement) and 28 goals were noted as excellent strikes - some of the players managed to hit the ball sweetly both outside and inside of the area, so we saw some excellent finishing and great goals in the end of the season highlight reel.

One of the most interesting stats is the amount of outstanding performances (rating 9.0+) by the players. In an average season the whole squad has collected something between 10-20 of such ratings. In this year we amassed 43! Both Marco Ferreira and Razvan Marin had 6 such games and their midfield performances were truly incredible at times.

European competitions (Champions League and Europa League) were Lassina Traore’s show - 12 goals from him, with 3 outstanding performances and his chance conversion was even better against stronger teams than it was in Eredivisie.

 

Eredivisie Awards

 

Golden Boot

1. Bruma (AZ Alkmaar)
2. Kinsgley Ehzibue (AZ Alkmaar)
3. Deyovaisio Zeefuik (Feyenoord Rotterdam)

Top Goalscorer

1. Tamer Erdem (Feyenoord Rotterdam) - 21
2. Lassina Traore (AFC Ajax) - 18
3. Jay-Roy Grot (sc Heerenveen) - 15

Goalkeeper of the Year

1. Gürcan Dere (AFC Ajax)
2. Alexei Koselev (VVV Venlo)
3. Mees Bakker (AZ Alkmaar)

Young Player of the Year

1. Marco Ferreira (AFC Ajax)
2. Carlos Manuel Lopes (AFC Ajax)
3. Devyne Rensch (AFC Ajax)

Manager’s Manager of the Year

1. Me
2. Ruud Kaiser (Willem II Tilburg)
3. Clarence Seedorf (FC Groningen)

[Draakon]

Summer 2024

 

The Club

Once again our youth facilities were downgraded and the board agreed to invest additional £2,7m into renovation to keep our youth system the best in the league. The project was finished in September and youth facilities were state of the art again.

 

Eredivisie

News from the other clubs involved less player movements and more managerial appointments. sc Heerenveen signed Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Feyenoord Rotterdam appointed Nuno Espirito Santo as their new manager (a really good decision from the Feyenoord board) and Luka Modric took charge of AZ Alkmaar (poor decision in my opinion, because despite his playmaking skills, Modric’s staff attributes are not nearly good enough for the job).

 

Transfer Window

Several players left the club in June:

• Jurrien Timber and Christian Rasmussen left for free (sadly, Timber isn’t the player in FM20 that he turned out to be in real life). Rasmussen signed with another Eredivisie side Vitesse. American right winger Joshua Pynadath also left and signed with Sparta Rotterdam. 
• Brian Brobbey joined with PSV Eindhoven (the news that I already passed in January - a bit disappointment for me, but the second half of his season wasn’t as prolific as it looked before Christmas, so I’m still convinced that PSV paid too much for him with the £48,500 p/w contract they offered.
• Youngster Kofi Visser joined Excelsior for £350k + clauses - after careful consideration I decided he won’t be good enough for our first team, so I allowed him to go.

 

This was the easy part. Now about the big losses.

• Kenneth Taylor left the club after we failed to reach a new contract agreement. I just refused to pay £100k+ p/w salary that his agent demanded and so he signed with Everton (even though Chelsea were very interested). I’m not too disappointed about his departure, but the fact that we couldn’t cash in for him. Allowing such a player leave for free shows that we need to think 1-2 seasons ahead with our contract negotiations.
• Dušan Tadic spent the second half of the previous season on loan. His contract ran out in June and he decided to call it quits and retire from professional football. I knew it would happen in Spring, and we didn’t miss him on the pitch, but in him we lost a team leader that is difficult to replace.
• Lassina Traore had a wonderful season and his performances in continental competitions drew some attention. His contract was about to end in 2025 and I was sure that his expectations for the new deal will be way over what I was willing to offer, so to avoid another free departure I accepted the bid from Arsenal and allowed him to leave for £58m. That’s a big loss, because he is an incredible player and suits our playing style and it’s a big challenge for Jay Enem to try and fill that role.
• Devyne Rensch saw his minimum release fee clause £30m activated by multiple clubs and finally he signed with Inter Milan. He is a talented ball playing defender, but at least we have good replacements in that position in Rio Hillen and Julius Dirksen, so I’m not overly worried about our defense.
• Marco Ferreira also had a minimum release fee in his contract and for the past season I was confident that he’s just too good to remain in the Eredivisie. He played one last game for the club (Johan Cfuijff Schaal) and then joined Atletico Madrid who matched his release fee of £72m.
• Finally, Razvan Marin left in August to Tottenham for £50m. That was a move I didn’t expect and didn’t want to make, because of all the departures our midfield was too thin already, but I couldn’t deny him this opportunity and the money was decent, too.

 

So in a short period of time we lost five first team players and three of those (Taylor, Traore and Ferreira) were absolutely key factors in our success in the recent season. That’s a major rebuilding we have on our table. Hertha BSC made several bids to get Gürcan Dere. On the transfer deadline day they offered £67m to sign him, but I declined all bids - we have no other decent goalkeeper and nobody coming up from the youth teams, so I just can’t allow him to leave.

 

 

Eredivisie Transfers

Let’s face it - Eredivisie clubs are filthy rich. We alone sold out several players for more than £200m this Summer, but a number of other clubs like Feyenoord, PSV, AZ and Heerenveen have also amassed large funds. AZ Alkmaar will play in the Champions League group stage this season and that’s another source of income, so even though Eredivisie is still a selling league, clubs are able (and willing to) spend big money for new players. Transfer fees between £5m-£15m are becoming more and more regular. FC Utrecht returned to Eredivisie and bolstered their squad with several new players to mark their intention to be here to stay. Dutch players are often brought back to Eredivisie and it’s nice to see some familiar faces - this Summer it was Jurgen Ekkelenkamp, who returned to sc Heerenveen. 

• Marco Ferreira from AFC Ajax to Atletico Madrid for £72m
• Lassina Traore from AFC Ajax to Arsenal for £58m
• Razvan Marin from AFC Ajax to Tottenham for £50m
• Devyne Rensch from AFC Ajax to Inter Milan for £30m
• Menno van den Broek from FC Groningen to Standard Liege for £16m
• Mylian Jimenes from PSV Eindhoven to Atalanta for £15,75m (£19,25m)
• Hakan Gustafsson from FC Utrecht to Standard Liege for £12,75m
• Ferdi Kadioglu from Fenerbahce to AZ Alkmaar for £11,5m
• Sam Lautenschutz from Sparta Rotterdam to AZ Alkmaar for £7,75m
• Jurgan Ekkelenkamp from New York Red Bulls to sc Heerenveen for £5,75m
• Edwin Vink from AZ Alkmaar to FC Utrecht for £5,5m (£7,75m)
• Glenn Bijl from Standard Liege to FC Groningen for £5m

 

27.07.2024 - AFC Ajax - PSV Eindhoven 3:2 (Johan Cruijff Schaal) - 39. Carlos Manuel Lopes, 57. Kian Fitz-Jim, 68. pen. Quincy Promes - 14. Jeremy Antonisse, 49. Wesley Hoedt

Traditional season opener was held at Johan Cruijff Arena, so it was practically our home game and we were favourites against PSV Eindhoven. PSV were disappointed with their league position, but managed to win the cup and with that secured their place in the super cup final. Their team looks pretty much the same, with a couple of players replaced - Ritsu Doan and Joel Piroe left the club, but they signed Brian Brobbey and another young striker Milan van de Riet from AZ Alkmaar. As a result they have a little more options in attack, but not necessarily higher quality options. Let’s see how it works out for them in the long season.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine (75. Douglas), Regeer, van de Beek, Hansen (57. Promes), Ferreira (75. Karahasanovic), Fitz-Jim, Enem

We put the PSV goal under pressure right from the kick-off. Under pressure quite literally, because we managed to hit the frameworks three times in the first 13 minutes - Marco Ferreira, Jay Enem and Sontje Hansen were unlucky not to score, but then PSV had their moment and Jeremy Antonisse gave them a lead with a well executed volley from the edge of area. That goal came completely against the run of the game and it made things worse that we couldn’t score from easy chances - Jay Enem wasted a clear cut chance in 20’. It tooks us almost until the end of the first half to equalize, but Carlos Manuel Lopes headed in from a corner and sent us to half time with 1:1. 

Our defense continued to be error prone in the second half. Nobody marked Wesley Hoedt when PSV had a free kick and the centre-back headed home from 8 meters. Again we had to dig deep to fight back and equalize. The goal came in 57’ - Sontje Hansen found Kian Fitz-Jim in front of the goal with a nice cross and with a simple finish Fitz-Jim scored. We got a penalty after Anass Salah-Eddine was clattered in the box and Quincy Promes gave us the lead from the spot - that third goal was enough to finally secure the win and our sixth consecutive Johan Cruijff Schaal with it. It was certainly a more difficult game than I anticipated and we gave PSV the lead twice, so we made things hard for ourselves. If we get our defense in order, it would be so much easier.

• we had 60% possession
• our shooting was 19/10
• Player of the game: Jeremy Antonisse (PSV Eindhoven) - scored the best goal of the game

[Draakon]

August 2024 

 

02.08.2024 - FC Groningen - AFC Ajax 1:1 (ED) - 50. Dabney dos Santos Souza - 41. Jay Enem

Early start to the season - our first league game already in the beginning of August. FC Groningen is not the easiest opponent to start our season against - they’re predicted to finish 6th, have a fairly strong and experienced squad and in their own stadium they can trouble any big team.

Squad: Dere, Veltman (81. van der Sloot), Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine, Regeer, Marin, Promes (63. Hansen), van de Beek (68. Karahasanovic), Fitz-Jim, Enem

The first half offered a low number of chances to both teams, but in the end of the first half we managed to take a lead - Quincy Promes delivered the assist and Jay Enem anticipated it well to move into the six yard box and finish from close range. Despite our lead I wasn’t entirely happy with our game - we looked a little vulnerable to overlaps and for the second half I switched Salah-Eddine back to WBs. Motivation was good and morale high and that’s always a good sign.

The second half didn’t go too well - we allowed Dabney dos Santos Souza to equalize in 50’ and then tried hard for the rest of the game to take the lead again. Unfortunately those efforts were fruitless. Sontje Hansen saw his header hit the crossbar in 73’ and Jay Enem wasted a chance in 84’, but we couldn’t score and so the points were shared in Groningen. I was disappointed, because I believe that we can defend better than we did in this game and even though the second half looked promising after the Groningen goal, we couldn’t get a goal out of it. A little below expectations. Tough game, as predicted.

• Player of the game: Mitchel Bakker (FC Groningen)

 

11.08.2024 - AFC Ajax - FC Twente Enschede 2:0 (ED) - 76. pen. Quincy Promes, 89. Anass Salah-Eddine

The first Eredivisie home game of the season and I was eager to get our first win of the league campaign. We come to this game with a number of injury problems - Sontje Hansen fell awkwardly in training and he’ll be out until September with torn wrist ligaments. Youri Baas, Steven van der Sloot, Kian Fitz-Jim and Jay Enem all have small knocks, but I had to take a risk and start with both Fitz-Jim and Enem up front to get our attack at least some chance. Kik Braspenning was also out and I included Jaymillio Pinas into our squad. Alen Karahasanovic looked good with the ball in the FC Groningen game, so he got a start ahead of Donny van de Beek.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine, Regeer, Marin, Promes, Karahasanovic (55. van de Beek), Fitz-Jim (82. Boer), Enem (89. Pinas)

The first half was a disappointment. FC Twente built a solid defensive block with their two DMC-s and it was difficult to break down. We lacked creativity in attack and couldn’t create enough chances to score. Razvan Marin had a good free kick and Anass Salah-Eddine also tested their goalkeeper, but that wasn’t nearly good enough.

I made changes in the second half - Donny van de Beek came on for Karahasanovic - but that didn’t improve our attack. It took us 75’ before Quincy Promes made a long run on a counter and was finally tripped in the box before he could make an attempt. The penalty was awarded and Promes himself converted it. That was enough for the win, but Anass Salah-Eddine scored another goal late in the game and what a goal that was - an incredible volley, taken right from the cross by Joel Veltman and it landed in the roof of the goal. Beautiful strike, every forward would be proud of that goal, but for it to come from our left back was something I didn’t expect. It looks like WBa is a suitable role for Salah-Eddine in those games where we control possession and he is able to time his run into the box well, cross the ball, but also take an attempt or two on the goal. In the end it was 2:0 - our patience was rewarded in the second half, we kept a clean sheet (always a good sign) and I was satisfied with the result.

• our possession was 61%
• our shooting was 21/14 - good number of shots and accuracy as well, even though we lacked dangerous chances and most of the attempts weren’t too dangerous
• we made only 8 key passes in this game - another sign of our lacking creativity
• no real chances for FC Twente - they concentrated on defense, but failed to make a threat in attack
• Jaymillio Pinas made his debut for Ajax in the final minutes
• Player of the game: Anass Salah-Eddine - his goal will be in the end of the season highlights

 

16.08.2024 - ADO Den Haag - AFC Ajax 0:2 (ED) - 17. Donny van de Beek, 34. Jay Enem

Our next opponents - ADO Den Haag and we travel to their home stadium. ADO are a decent mid-table side, they have had very stable seasons with final positions between 7-11th place and their squad hasn’t changed much over Summer, so we know what we’re up against. One particular threat is their height - they’re good in set pieces and on average 5 cm taller than us. Understandably we practiced defending set pieces before the game and that’s also the reason why Joel Veltman started as DR, not Steven van der Sloot - we have to get as much aerial power in our box as possible.

We still have some players missing - Sontje Hansen with injury and both Kik Braspenning and Jaymillio Pinas suffer from a small knock. Cars Jeans stadium welcomed us with a full house, but also with heavy rain that made things a little uncomfortable for the players.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine (80. Douglas), Regeer (72. Sangare-Aka), Marin, Promes, van de Beek, Fitz-Jim (80. Boer), Enem

We started pretty well - Razvan Marin played a key role in midfield and his through balls released Jay Enem nicely - Enem saw his first attempt being saved in 9’ and then wasted a clear cut chance in 11’. Finishing and composure is something that he needs to work on if he wants to score as many goals as Lassina Traore did. However, Enem did well to lead a counter-attack in 17’ - he regained his feet after a tackle, took the ball into the box and delivered an assist to Donny van de Beek who arrived into the area. We took the lead and looked well in control of the game. The rain also stopped and conditions turned more favourable to our playing style. Enem wasted another easy chance in 29’ (another lovely pass from Marin) before he finally found the net. Quincy Promes did well to deliver an assist and this time it was an easy tap-in into the empty net for Enem. We went to half-time with a 2:0 lead and I was pleased with our game in the first half.

I knew that we had to keep our concentration after the break and we did that fairly well, but ADO still had a couple of good chances in the second period. Lopes lost a challenge in midfield and ADO’s Joel Piroe had the first good look in this game, but Gürcan Dere made a brilliant save to tip the shot over the crossbar. Joel Veltman then allowed Evan Rottier to pass him too easily, but again Dere was there to make a save and keep our clean sheet. We didn’t create too many chances in the second half, but we didn’t necessarily have to do that. Defending was more important and I’m pleased to return with a clean sheet, even though ADO improved their game a little in the second half. 2:0 is good from an away game.

• our shooting was 18/11 in this game
• we created 3 clear cut chances, but wasted too many opportunities
• Player of the game: Razvan Marin - 6 key passes and 3 chances created from him

 

Sadly, this was the final game for Ajax to Razvan Marin - the Romanian midfielder departed to Tottenham and in the wake of such an outstanding performance against ADO Den Haag it kept me wondering, how can we replace his creativity and set piece deliveries from midfield? Can youngsters Alen Karahasanovic and Ismael Sangare-Aka step up? Can we avoid major injuries to Youri Regeer and Donny van de Beek who are our only midfielders that can compete in the Champions League level?

 

25.08.2024 - AFC Ajax - Vitesse Arnhem 2:0 (ED) - 15. Eli Dasa (og), 34. Jay Enem

Another difficult game and this time we had to get through without Razvan Marin.

Squad: Dere, Veltman (76. van der Sloot), Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine, Regeer, van de Beek, Promes, Karahasanovic (69. Sangare-Aka), Fitz-Jim, Enem (84. Braspenning)

In front of our home fans we had a good first half, but needed a little bit of luck to score our first goal. Quincy Promes had a good look from a counter-attack. He hit it towards the far post, the ball remained on the line, but didn’t cross it until arriving Vitesse defender Eli Dasa touched it - own goal, but I didn’t mind (and neither did Promes). Donny van de Beek had a half-chance in  29’, but he sent the ball into the side-netting, before Jay Enem doubled our lead with a close range header. 2:0 lead looked much more comfortable and Vitesse understood that their game plan was just not working against us - they looked vulnerable in transitions and whenever we won the ball back there was space for Promes, van de Beek and Enem to run into. Jay Enem, however, continued to waste his chances - he managed to get two easy shots wide of the post before the half time whistle and I knew that we should have been 3:0 or 4:0 ahead.

The second half offered less entertainment - we were happy with our lead and Vitesse couldn’t create too many moments in attack. Their left-back Lassana Faye received his second yellow card in 84’ and was sent off, so the end of the game was pretty relaxed for us. Good win, another clean sheet and I was pleased with our ability to find at least two goals in those games.

• our shooting was 28/10 in this game - not the best accuracy
• we created 3 clear cut chances, but were wasteful with them
• we didn’t allow Vitesse to get any real chances and that was a good sign - our defense has been impressive in the recent games
• Kik Braspenning made his debut for Ajax
• Player of the game: Quincy Promes - very active in attack, made 10 dribbles and gave an assist

 

Summary

Slow start with a draw in Groningen, but good results in the other games. We haven’t met with big favourites (AZ Alkmaar, Feyenoord, PSV) yet, but we didn’t play with minnows either, so to collect 10 points from August looks good enough in retrospect. Our undefeated streak has now reached 40 games in Eredivisie and I’m looking to continue it further. Defense has been good and we haven’t conceded a single clear cut chance yet. Jay Enem has been wasting his chances in attack, but managed to score some goals too and hopefully that will give him confidence to keep scoring. Veterans Joel Veltman and Quincy Promes have played a big role in our formation and I hope that they can carry the load without getting injured.

 

Champions League

We were seeded 1st and drawn into the group H with Borussia Dortmund, AS Roma and Young Boys. Could be worse - we managed to avoid European giants - we can play with Borussia and Roma. However, with our current squad I’m afraid we’re not good enough to progress from the group stage. AZ Alkmaar are also in the group stage - they had a much more difficult group with Juventus in it. I expect their attention to turn towards those midweek games and if it leads to at least some points dropped in Eredivisie, it works to our favour.

 

Eredivisie

AZ Alkmaar have started really well, we’re also up there but both Feyenoord and PSV have dropped some points already. After the first month FC Dordrecht looked like the weakest team and I’m starting to believe that they can’t avoid relegation this season.

[Draakon]

Squad 2024-2025

 

I don’t remember another transfer window like that where so many first team players and key figures departed. We’ve lost perhaps even too many of them. Some of those departures were anticipated and if the player has a minimum release fee in his contract, it’s difficult to block his transfer.

We have youngsters to fill those roles, but the quality and the depth of the team have suffered a lot. It takes us at least a couple of seasons to regain it and it’s also clear that for a while we have to keep hold of the players that we have.

 

Goalkeepers

No changes here. We have a really good first choice keeper in Gürcan Dere and I’m glad that I could keep hold of him in Summer. He can save us when all else fails. I also promise to give enough first team opportunities to Dani van den Heuvel to help him improve as a footballer.

 

 

Defenders

Devyne Rensch has left, but the rest of the defensive line remains the same. We have tall and powerful Carlos Manuel Lopes who can score from set pieces - he was hunted by Real Madrid, but fortunately not too seriously. We have good options in left-back (and very talented Cor Drommel coming up from Jong Ajax), but the right-back position looks thin. Joel Veltman is an experienced leader, but he’s 32 already and we don’t have anybody immediately coming up from the youth team as well. Rio Hillen is the new face - he spent his last season on loan in Belgium, but now covers for the centre-back position.

 

 

 

Midfielders

We lost Kenneth Taylor, Marco Ferreira and Razvan Marin in Summer and while Youri Regeer and Donny van de Beek form a capable partnership, we lack depth. Ismael Sangare-Aka returned from FC Eindhoven and he will certainly get good minutes. Youngster Tim Brown is also developing nicely and I hope he can earn playing time in the second half of the season. Alen Karahasanovic will need to carry the load in AMC and that is another position that lacks depth.

 

 

 

 

 

Wingers

Here we have the same players that carried the load in the last season. Philippe Barriere went on loan to Heracles. Remy Boer looks really talented and is developing nicely and Quincy Promes provides both goals and assists despite his age.

 

 

 

 

Strikers

Jay Enem is the familiar face - his 13 goals in the last season was solid enough, but he needs to improve a lot to carry the goalscoring task in this team. Kik Braspenning returned from loan to provide backup (he has some good qualities, but needs to improve his movement and decisions) and Jaymillio Pinas is perhaps less talented, but  will provide backup.

 

[Draakon]

September 2024

 

01.09.2024 - AFC Ajax - Willem II Tilburg 5:1 (ED) - 27. pen Quincy Promes, 49. Alen Karahasanovic, 60., 64. and 76. Jay Enem - 43. Vangelis Pavlidis

Before the international break we hosted Willem II in Johan Cruijff Arena. Willem II is another decent mid-table side and their first eleven look capable enough to cause problems to big teams if things work out for them, so we had to be prepared and avoid complacency.

Squad: Dere, Veltman (69. van der Sloot), Schuurs, Lopes (74. Hillen), Baas, Regeer, van de Beek (69. Sangare-Aka), Promes, Karahasanovic, Fitz-Jim, Enem

We had possession in the first half and our attacks finished with attempts on target, but we couldn’t create too many proper chances. Most of our dangerous moments included Quincy Promes and so our attack looked very one-sided. In 27’ however, Promes’ movement was blocked inside the Willem II box and the referee awarded teh penalty after consulting with VAR. Promes converted from the spot and so we took the lead, but allowed Willem II to equalize late in the first half - Promes himself lost the ball in midfield and the attack followed from our right flank, cross was delivered into the box where Vangelis Pavlidis was unmarked in front of our goal - simple finish from the Greek striker and Willem II equalized right before the half time without doing much else in the first period. I was obviously frustrated with the conceded goal and my critical words were well received by the players, because things improved a lot in the second half.

Alen Karahasanovic gave us the lead again after his shot took a deflection and went in. Jay Enem started to find good chances in the second half - his first opportunity was blocked in 54’, but in 60’ Promes found him with a good pass and with a simple finish Enem got himself into the score sheet again. He doubled his tally with a good header from Youri Baas’ cross and in 76’ completed his hat-trick. The third goal was a curious one - Willem II goalkeeper struggled to clear the poor backpass from the goal line and Enem arrived to win the ball back and put it over the line. After a brilliant second half performance the final score looked very convincing and I was happy with the improvement after the half-time.

• our shooting was 25/16 in this game
• we created 4 clear cut chances
• defender Rio Hillen made his league debut for Ajax
• Jay Enem and Quincy Promes were impressive with their performances
• Player of the game: Jay Enem - again wasted some chances and his ccc conversion rate has much to improve, but scored a hat-trick and made the fans forget Lassina Traore. Six goals in the league from him now.

 

15.09.2024 - sc Heerenveen - AFC Ajax 0:1 (ED) - 53. Jay Enem

sc Heerenveen had a good season and they have finished 4th in two previous seasons, so the quality is definitely there and money as well - they can attract good players and have enough depth in their squad. However, their season has begun poorly and they find themselves in 17th place, still looking for their first win. We have to be prepared for their aerial threat (Jay-Roy Grot) and I expect their defense to be well organized. Recent results and their lack of confidence can do us a favour, though.

We have two players missing - Anass Salah-Enem and Kian Fitz-Jim returned injured from Holland U-21 games and we miss them in September. Sontje Hansen has finally recovered and is in full training, so the logical thing would be to move Quincy Promes to AML and start with Hansen on AMR.

Squad: Dere, van der Sloot (86. Veltman), Schuurs, Lopes, Baas, Regeer (72. Sangare-Aka), van de Beek, Hansen (66. Boer), Karahasanovic, Promes, Enem

We had initiative in the first half and some good opportunities to score between 20’-30’. When we won the ball back and sc Heerenveen defense was out of position, we could find space in transition and passes got through to Jay Enem, who (again!) managed to waste the chances. sc Heerenveen goalkeeper Justin Bijlow did well to parry some of the shots, too, and the teams went to half-time with 0:0 on the scoreboard.

The second half looked very similar - we had possession and Gürcan Dere didn’t have much to do in our goal. In 53’ we finally scored - Sontje Hansen delivered a good cross into the six yard box and Enem was there to head it in. That goal was enough to secure a narrow win with perhaps not the most exciting performance.

• our shooting was 18/12 in this game
• we made only 8 key passes
• sc Heerenveen couldn’t create anything dangerous - I’m very happy with our defensive work
• Player of the game: Carlos Manuel Lopes - good defensively and won 7 key headers

 

18.09.2024 - AFC Ajax - Borussia Dortmund 2:2 (Champions League Group H) - 34. Jay Enem, 49. pen. Quincy Promes - 21. Serge Gnabry, 40. Emre Can

Our first Champions League game and the moment of truth for our young team. Dortmund are favourites in this group and they’re leading the Bundesliga table at the moment, so they’re surely in good form and the quality of their squad is way above ours. However, in a home game there is always a chance and if we play tactically well we could be able to get a point from Johan Cruijff Arena.

Kian Fitz-Jim is close to returning from his injury, but he’s not yet fit and so our first eleven remains unchanged.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Lopes, Baas, Regeer, van de Beek (75. Sangare-Aka), Hansen, Karahasanovic, Promes (87. Boer), Enem (80. Braspenning)

Even before the game I understood that our main question would be - how to stop individually superior Dortmund players? And that was what we struggled with in the first half. Serge Gnabry was too quick and skillful to skip past Joel Veltman and score their first goal and even though Jay Enem did well to get his foot to Quincy Promes’ cross, we went to the half time with a 1:2 deficit - Emre Can walked into our box too easily to fire in from 12 meters. So, our first half performance wasn’t bad, I could even say that our tactics worked, but our players were not quick enough, skillful enough at times to stop those one-one attacks.

We improved somewhat in the second half and early on equalized from the penalty. Alen Karahasanovic was pulled down in the box and Quincy Promes converted from the spot (he has been very reliable with penalties so far in this season). Substitute Kik Braspenning had a great chance to win this in 86’, but he couldn’t beat the Dortmund goalkeeper and blew his one-on-one opportunity - inexperience showing there, but the lad will probably sleep little after that miss tonight. Another youngster Ismael Sangare-Aka had a good attempt from some distance in injury time, but that, too, was parried, so the points were split in the first Champions League game, even though it looked like we could have edged it. I was pleased with our second half effort and to be fair, a point from this game wasn’t too bad either. Let’s see where it takes us in the end.

• we had 3 clear cut chances in this game and actually didn’t give any real opportunities to Dortmund - sign of a very good performance even though they managed to score twice
• we made only 7 key passes
• Player of the game: Emre Can (Borussia Dortmund) - scored the best goal of the game

 

22.09.2024 - AFC Ajax - FC Utrecht 1:0 (ED) - 30. Perr Schuurs

Next up - FC Utrecht. We wanted to continue our good run in the league and we didn’t have to change our approach for that home game too much.

Squad: Dere, van der Sloot, Schuurs, Hillen, Baas, Regeer, van de Beek, Hansen (55. Fitz-Jim), Karahasanovic (75. Sangare-Aka), Promes, Enem (83. Braspenning)

The game itself was a fairly boring affair. We had one good chance in 10’, but Jay Enem blew it and we took the lead after Perr Schuurs headed in from a free kick. It was a deserved lead, but FC Utrecht defended well and made it difficult for us to score.

The second half followed in a similar fashion - FC Utrecht defended and we struggled to create chances. It remained 1:0 until the end and we needed a set piece goal to win the game, but it was still three points and a clean sheet.

• we didn’t give FC Utrecht any real chances in this game
• Player of the game: Perr Schuurs - solid in defense and scored the winning goal

 

28.09.2024 - PSV Eindhoven - AFC Ajax 1:3 (ED) - 79. Jeremy Antonisse - 45. Kian Fitz-Jim, 49. Donny van de Beek, 70. Joel Veltman

The second Topper Derby of the season. We did beat PSV Eindhoven in the super cup final in July, but this was a different game. Not only because it was an away game for us (and I always expect PSV and Feyenoord to play a lot better and more offensive football in their own stadiums), but because PSV have recovered from their defeat and are eager to take a revenge.

Their season hasn’t been very smooth so far - a lot of draws and PSV find themselves 7 points behind us and AZ Alkmaar, so in the end of September they have already some ground to make up and they need this win badly.

We had lost Sontje Hansen (again). Kian Fitz-Jim was almost back in full training, but he had to start this game simply because Hansen was out. Quincy Promes moved back to right wing.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Lopes, Baas, Regeer, van de Beek (71. Sangare-Aka), Promes, Karahasanovic, Fitz-Jim (66. Boer), Enem (74. Braspenning)

It was PSV who started better. Jay Enem had a half-chance in 11’, but PSV’s forward Robert Bozenik had two good chances in the first 15 minutes and Gürcan Dere had to make a couple of brilliant saves to deny him. We then improved defensively and at least limited their chances, but at the same time I can’t say that we dominated the game and kept them under pressure. No. Creating chances is always difficult in those derby games and PSV came to this match with a defensive/cautious 4-5-1 formation to prevent us scoring. Perhaps they could have been happy with 0:0 from this match, but I certainly wasn’t. We finally got a breakthrough at the end of the first half - Kian Fitz-Jim curled in from 19 meters to give us the lead and that was a brilliant strike. He hit the ball sweetly and scored an outstanding goal after his injury and I was delighted for him.

Fitz-Jim’s goal sent us to half-time, but we picked up from there in the second half - Donny van de Beek fired in from 22 meters and then Joel Veltman moved into the box to score with a very good strike into the bottom corner. While PSV had done well to limit our chances, they were powerless against our long shots and individual brilliance of the players. Three goals and their game plan was undone. Jeremy Antoniss headed in to give them some hope of a come-back, but it never materialized into anything more. 3:1 from the away game is a really good result.

• we made only 8 key passes - despite three goals our attack could be a lot better
• Player of the game: Joel Veltman - a goal and assist to his name, with overall good performance
• AZ Alkmaar were against Feyenoord at the same time and came out as winners with 3:0 final score - they are the main threat to our title challenge

 

Summary

I’m very happy with our September performances. We avoided defeat in the first Champions League game and went through our Eredivisie fixtures with straight wins that put us to the top of the table. Very good beginning to the season. Fixture list has been a bit more difficult than average - we have played mostly with top half teams so far and to remain unbeaten is a really promising start. Jay Enem leads the Eredivisie goal scoring chart and Quincy Promes has been incremental to our attacking game with his assists and penalties scored.

 

Eredivisie

We’re in the lead, but closely followed by AZ Alkmaar. VVV Venlo find themselves in 4th place and it’s been the biggest surprise so far, with Feyenoord and PSV down in the middle of the table.

[Draakon]

October 2024

 

01.10.2024 - Young Boys - AFC Ajax 0:1 (Champions League Group H) - 74. Jay Enem

Trip to Switzerland. Young Boys suffered a heavy 0:6 defeat from AS Roma in their first game and they looked a little bit fragile after that game. They play fairly careful 4-4-1-1 formation and I was optimistic that we should be able to beat them.

Squad: Dere, Veltman (80. van der Sloot), Schuurs, Lopes, Baas, Regeer, van de Beek, Promes, Karahasanovic, Fitz-Jim (66. Boer), Enem (80. Braspenning)

We had an early chance in 4’ when Youri Regeer found Promes with a long ball forward, but the winger made a mess from his shot and it landed safely in the goalkeeper’s hands. Young Boys got their best chance of the first half in 26’ - we were careless when defending a free kick and Matija Nastasic found himself alone at the far post, but Gürcan Dere made a good save. But the rest of the first half belonged to us - Jay Enem had a good header on target and Donny van de Beek saw his header hit the crossbar, before the half time whistle was called. It was goalless, but it looked like we deserved to lead and had been the better team so far - we looked more motivated on the pitch and created more chances.

The second half began with easy pace, but our pressure increased in around 70’ - Donny van de Beek tested the goalkeeper with a good attempt from 20 meters. Lopes had a free header from point blank range from a set piece, but he directed it over the crossbar and then finally Jay Enem scored - a good transition goal and calmly placed finish. Substitute Kik Braspenning had his chance in 86’ when Quincy Promes found him in a six yard box with a cross, but the youngster couldn’t execute and, as it often happens, Young Boys had their chance to equalize late in injury time - Perr Schuurs made an error in our defensive third and lost the ball. Following attack led to an attempt from Arnor Ingve Traustason, but we were lucky that the Icelandic midfielder hit the post. In the end it was a narrow win, a hard fought win and Young Boys certainly had their moments in the game, but the prevailing feeling was that we should have been more clinical in front of goal ourselves. 

• our shooting was 19/10 in this game
• we created 5 clear cut chances, but wasted most of them
• Jay Enem had three goals chalked off for offside - constantly at the right positions and on target with his attempts, but too often caught in the offside trap
• Player of the game: David Von Ballmoos (Young Boys) - the goalkeeper had a good game

 

06.10.2024 - AFC Ajax - Feyenoord Rotterdam 3:0 (ED) - 2. Jay Enem, 11. Kian Fitz-Jim, 87. Kik Braspenning

The first Klassieker derby and my first game against Feyenoord’s new manager Nuno Espirito Santo. I anticipated this match eagerly. Feyenoord came against us with awful form - they have lost all of their four games in September without scoring a single goal and their Europa League win over Valencia was the first bright moment for them since August. No wonder that they’d dropped into the middle of the table and look really fragile.

We had Anass Salah-Eddine back in the line-up after his injury (although Youri Baas had done fairly well as left wing-back during those weeks). Sontje Hansen is back in light training and he shall return after the international break.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine, Regeer, van de Beek (75. Sangare-Aka), Promes, Karahasanovic, Fitz-Jim (75. Boer), Enem (80. Braspenning)

We had a very good start to the game and in the first 15 minutes we were clearly the better team on the pitch. Jay Enem opened things up with a goal after Donny van de Beek won the ball back high up in the attacking third. Kian Fitz-Jim headed in after a Promes’ cross found him at the far post and in 11 minutes Feyenoord’s gameplan looked undone. It has to be said that they collected themselves later in the first half, but we went to half time with a solid 2:0 lead.

The second half was fairly even and Feyenoord, too, had some moments. The best one fell to Marouane Azarkan in 70’ - Feyenoord put together a good combination from left and Gürcan Dere made a brilliant save to parry the attempt. Substitute Remy Boer was close to a goal, but his shot hit the post and in the end of the game, another defensive error from Feyenoord’s Deyovaisio Zeefuik allowed Kik Braspenning to make an easy interception and score from point blank range. Three goals to nil and a memorable derby win for us.

• Jay Enem scored his 10th goal of the season
• Kik Braspenning scored his first ever league goal for Ajax
• Player of the game: Quincy Promes - creative spark on the right flank - he delivered one assist and made 5 dribbles to cause all sorts of problems to Feyenoord defense

 

The international break in October brought some news. The board of ADO Den Haag were the first to lose their patience and their manager Mark van Bommel was fired in October - only two wins from the first nine games and the team found themselves in the 17th position - that was not good enough and the decision was probably justified.

I used those two weeks to take a closer look at our contract situations. We still have upcoming negotiations with Joel Veltman and Quincy Promes - both veterans have earned new deals, but money needs to be right, too, so I postponed the issue until November. However, youngster Kik Taylor signed his first professional contract after turning 17 and he’s another decent-looking centre-back in our team that has necessary mental attributes to fulfill his potential in upcoming years.

 

18.10.2024 - AZ Alkmaar - AFC Ajax 2:0 (ED) - 40. Youri Baas, 67. Kingsley Ehzibue

Our first game back in Eredivisie after the international break was a very important away trip to Alkmaar. I have to begin this chapter with acknowledgement that I really, really like that AZ team. They are the new powerhouse of the Dutch football and have produced a lot of new talent in recent years. They have sold their best players, much like we do, and they constantly produce new first team stars from their youth academy. 

They are rich, because they have spent only a fraction of their transfer income and in the first season when Eredivisie have two guaranteed places in the Champions League group stages, AZ Alkmaar managed to snatch the second place in the table and so they’re playing in the Champions League this Autumn. That will continue to fill their coffers. They are planning the new, 35,000 capacity stadium in Alkmaar and overall the club is thriving.

Their new manager Luka Modric, despite looking fairly average on paper, has got the results so far and with both PSV and Feyenoord underperforming in this season AZ is the most realistic challenger for the title. They need to win today, because we already have a 6 point lead in front of them and to suffer another loss would make the gap too big in the early stages of the season.

We have Sontje Hansen back in full training - he’s been working hard for the past 3-4 days to get his fitness back - and so have a full squad available for the game. That will be a thrilling encounter.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Lopes, Baas (46. Salah-Eddine), Regeer, van de Beek, Promes (70. Hansen), Karahasanovic, Fitz-Jim, Enem (82. Braspenning)

We were clearly beaten in this game. AZ came against us with a clear tactical plan - their two defensive midfielders added to a solid defending block in front of their box that was difficult to break down and they tried to play for quick counter-attacks in transition. It worked, but without a goal until the end of the first half. Perr Schuurs was careless to lose a challenge in midfield and Gyrano Kerk got a clear cut chance. Gürcan Dere did well to parry a shot, but the goal eventually came from the following corner - Your Baas was standing at the post and couldn’t clear the ball off the line. From his touch it went to our goal and so AZ Alkmaar took the lead. AZ’s Brian Petersen had another great chance in 43’ (again parried by Gürcan Dere) and although we went to the half time with a 0:1 deficit, AZ deserved their lead after their strong finish to the first period. We had no answers in attack and couldn’t create much in the first half. Jay Enem had a hopeful looking header that hit the post, but we couldn’t put their defense under pressure.

The second half was pretty much the same. Whatever I tried, it didn’t make much difference and while we took more risks to find an equalizer AZ stunned us in a counter attack to score their second goal. That wrapped things up and we left Alkmaar with a 0:2 defeat. A bit humbling, disappointing lack of creativity and for the first time in a while I had to admit that we were beaten tactically. AZ had a good game plan and I had no idea what to do against it. From the other point of view - I like challenges and after a while this AZ team looks like a first solid rival in Eredivisie. I know that we have to improve and take a revenge in our next game, so there’s some work to do in the coming weeks.

• we had only 7 key passes in this game and we couldn’t create any chances
• we conceded 3 clear cut chances and that’s too many - AZ didn’t dominate the game, but their tactics were spot on and exposed our vulnerabilities
• our average rating was just 6.63
• Player of the game: Kingsley Ehzibue (AZ Alkmaar)

 

22.10.2024 - AS Roma - AFC Ajax 1:1 (Champions League Group H) - 39. Patson Daka - 66. Jay Enem

The AZ Alkmaar result made a lot of people in the club unhappy and there was a general feeling that we need to step back and reassess the situation. We had played really well for the first two months, gathered a lot of points in the table and started our Champions League season with good results, too, but I knew that we had to focus to every single game very carefully to get the necessary points and taking on AS Roma in away game was one of those fixtures that were crucial and could define our season. We approached this game with  sensible tactics, but we had all of the players ready for the game.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine, Regeer, van de Beek, Promes (14. Hansen), Karahasanovic (65. Sangare-Aka), Fitz-Jim (74. Boer), Enem

We were under AS Roma pressure for the first 5-10 minutes, but I then asked the team to play with a lower line of engagement and it helped us to organize our defense better. To my disappointment Quincy Promes had to come off early with an injury - he had been in such  good form in the beginning of the season and I didn’t know if we could afford to lose him. We didn’t have too many good attacks in the first half, but the best chance came in 30’ - Youri Regeer delivered a long ball forward, Roma defender missed his header and the ball got to Jay Enem who went one-on-one against the goalkeeper, but he smashed it straight against the keeper and the attempt met with a fine stop. AS Roma took the lead in 39’ - Anass Salah-Eddine missed his interception on our left and the ball found Patson Daka in front of our goal - 0:1 remained until half time. AS Roma had controlled the first half and deserved to lead, I have to admit, but I wasn’t sure that we were too wrong with our approach tactically and so we didn’t change anything at half-time, except switching our mentality to positive.

We managed to score an equalizer and the goal came out of nowhere. Anass Salah-Eddine surprised the AS Roma goalkeeper with a cross and the keeper had to save it awkwardly off the line. Jay Enem was the first to reach it and finished from a point blank range. We managed to play well in defense for the most part of the second half, but AS Roma’s Pedri found a clear cut chance in 81’ - luckily for us, it wasn’t the winner and the shot went wide of the post. I eagerly anticipated the final whistle and in the end was very happy with our point from Stadio Olimpico. We fought out a draw even though AS Roma was clearly the better team in this game.

• we conceded 3 clear cut chances in this game
• we managed to give only 5 key passes
• Quincy Promes will be out for 6-7 weeks with sprained knee ligaments
• Player of the game: Hannes Wolf (AS Roma)

 

I took some time to deal with club matters before our next game. We signed a new U-19 coach Craig Stone - a good addition to our backroom staff. Philippe Barriere didn’t get enough game time in Heracles Almelo and after a short chat with their manager in September, I decided to recall him from loan after things didn’t improve with his first team chances. 

There was news from other clubs, too. ADO Den Haag appointed FC Dordrecht’s Jordy Reneerkens as their new manager.

 

 

26.10.2024 - AFC Ajax - Roda JC Kerkrade 1:0 (ED) - 82. Philippe Barriere

The first small team in our Eredivisie schedule - Roda JC Kerkrade. Newly-promoted Roda finished their last season in the lower division with 8th place and fought themselves up through the play-offs. Their league position indicated that they shouldn’t be in Eredivisie, but they worked hard in Summer to prove otherwise - over £5m invested into new players (although not all of those additions were not selected wisely). Either way, in Johan Cruijff Arena it was a chance to rotate my team and give a chance to youngsters. 

Squad: van den Heuvel, van der Sloot, Schuurs, Hillen, Baas (70. Salah-Eddine), Regeer, Sangare-Aka, Hansen (14. Barriere), Karahasanovic, Fitz-Jim (70. Boer), Enem

The first half was a little bit dull and the fact that some of our midfielders haven’t played together showed on the pitch. We dominated possession, but good chances were rare and the first half finished without goals. We did have too clear cut chances, though - Youri Regeer released Jay Enem with a long ball forward, but Enem wasted another chance in this season. Late in the first half Perr Schuurs won a free header from a corner, but that landed in the hands of the Roda JC goalkeeper. The most frustrating moment, however, was in 14’ when Sontje Hansen had to come off after a strong tackle and his game was over - another injury to our right winger. Philippe Barriere came on to make his first appearance after a short loan spell in Heracles and it was his goal that ultimately gave us the win in the second half. We grew more and more anxious after half-time and started to attack more and so this pressure finally led to the winner in 82’ - Remy Boer moved well into the counter and his cross found Barriere in the box, who scored with a well-placed header. Nicely done from the youngster, perhaps proving to ignorant Heracles’ manager what he lost with his poor judgement. The 1:0 win gave us all three points, but the performance fell short of my expectations - not impressed.

• we didn’t allow Roda JC to create any real chances
• we made 24 individual errors in this game - uncharacteristic, but 6 came from Youri Regeer
• Sontje Hansen will miss 3-5 weeks with a fractured toe
• Player of the game: Ian Smeulers (Roda JC Kerkrade) - the left-back made four key tackles and had a good game in defense

 

29.10.2024 - vv Katwijk - AFC Ajax 0:3 (TOTO KNVB Beker 1st round) - 5. Remy Boer, 72. and 90. Philippe Barriere

The first cup round and we’re against Keuken Kampioen Divisie team vv Katwijk. It’s a chance to rotate the team and give youngsters some game time.

Squad: van den Heuvel, van der Sloot, Schuurs, Hillen, Baas (51. Salah-Eddine), Brown, Sangare-Aka, Barriere, Karahasanovic, Boer, Braspenning

We had a very good first five minutes. Alen Karahasanovic had a chance to score from a penalty after Rio Hillen was pushed in the box, but the Bosnian playmaker hit his spot kick straight into the middle and it was saved by the goalkeeper. Just a minute later we took the lead - Youri Baas found Remy Boer with a nice pass and the young winger finished with a well placed shot. Excellent start, but then Katwijk recovered well and our chances dried up - some questionable decisions in the final third and we didn’t manage to find open spaces and get players to the right positions even when we had the possession in midfield.

The second half continued in the same fashion. Youri Baas came off with a knock and the game looked locked in 1:0 until Philippe Barriere raised the game in the final 15 minutes. He scored a beautiful solo goal in transition and wrapped things up with his second before time was up - 3:0 final result looked good enough even though some of the players failed to impress me.

• we had 61% possession in this game
• our shooting was 23/12
• we created 3 clear cut chances and gave Katwijk no goal scoring opportunities
• Youri Baas will be out for a week with a twisted knee
• we will play Noordwijk in the next round
• Player of the game: Philippe Barriere - outstanding second half performance from the winger and he’s clearly in good form

 

Summary

The defeat from AZ Alkmaar shook us a little bit, but generally we’re still looking good. I’m happy with our Champions League games - we’ve taken points from where we can and we’re now 2nd in the group. That’s a good platform to build on.

 

Eredivisie

Despite that one defeat we have a five points lead in the table. AZ Alkmaar, Vitesse and VVV Venlo are in European places. We find Feyenoord in 14th and sc Heerenveen are still down near the relegation zone - that’s a surprise.

[Draakon]

November 2024

 

Five games in November and another international break. Our focus is on the Champions League this month - we have important games with AS Roma and Dortmund that will decide our fate in this group stage. Our Eredivisie fixture list looks much easier - Sparta Rotterdam, FC Emmen and VVV Venlo.

 

02.11.2024 - Sparta Rotterdam - AFC Ajax 2:2 (ED) - 21. and 85. Abdel Belarbi - 2. Jay Enem, 13. Philippe Barriere

Sparta is another team that I admire. They’ve been very consistently in 8th-9th place in the final standings, they have some really talented youngsters in their team (and the effort they put into youth recruitment and development shows) and they work hard to improve their club in all areas. This game will be held at Het Kasteel, but Sparta is already working on plans to build a new stadium with 20 000+ capacity that would improve their status in Eredivisie and financial situation with it. They’re currently 5th in the table, they’ve got the third best attack in the league with 17 goals and I know that we can’t underestimate them in the away game.

We still miss Quincy Promes and Sontje Hansen due to injuries and Youri Baas will skip this game, too.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine, Regeer, van de Beek (72. Sangare-Aka), Barriere, Karahasanovic, Fitz-Jim (46. Boer), Enem (82. Braspenning)

We started well - Jay Enem sent us off with a flyer at 2’ after a good build-up from our left and when Philippe Barriere headed in from a free kick it looked like we had full control over this game. Unfortunately, Sparta players didn’t think so and like ancient Spartans, they fought until the end. We were surprised by their counter-attack in 21’, couldn’t organize our defense properly and it led to the first goal and when ex-Ajax player Joshua Pynadath sent his attempt just wide in injury time, it looked like everything was still possible in this game and nothing was granted before the second half. I was happy with our first 15’ minutes, but Sparta’s goal gave them back their confidence and we failed to get our shots on target later in the first half, so it wasn’t a very convincing performance from us.

It didn’t get more convincing in the second half - completely opposite. Abdel Belarbi had an easy chance in 50’ and Gürcan Dere had to make a great save to save us. We couldn’t create much in attack, but in 82’ it looked like we didn’t have to - Sparta’s Ayodele Lauteria was coming off with injury and they’d done all their three substitutions, so Sparta was left with 10 men. We took initiative for a moment and in 85’ Remy Boer hit the post, but we still managed to drop our concentration and gave Sparta the equalizer. It was Abdel Belarbi again who won the challenge against Anass Salah-Eddine in midfield and went one-on-one against Gürcan Dere. Our goalkeeper couldn’t save us this time and it was 2:2. Our desperate attempts to find the winning goal in the last five minutes didn’t bring any results and so we had to accept the 2:2 - extremely disappointing result, because we were leading 2:0 after the first 15 minutes and allowed Sparta back into the game with 10 men. It has to be said that my substitutions in the second half didn’t work, but Anass Salah-Eddine was the main culprit in my eyes - his inability to defend the left flank and individual errors were evident many times during this game and that was our weak spot that Sparta exploited without hesitation.

• we had 66% possession in this game
• our shooting was just 14/4 - inability to find target was the main problem in our attack
• we conceded 3 clear cut chances and that’s just unacceptable against a smaller team
• Player of the game: Abdel Belarbi (Sparta Rotterdam) - his brace gave Sparta the point that they needed

 

After that match day Nuno Espirito Santo was finally sacked by the Feyenoord board. I was surprised by his appointment in Summer and to be fair, he is a really good manager, but it just didn’t work out for him in Feyenoord. Their 13th position is clearly not good enough for the club of their status and even though they won their last game, Santo was the first casualty of the season.

 

06.11.2024 - AFC Ajax - AS Roma 0:0 (Champions League Group H)

We had to put the disappointment of the Sparta draw behind, because that was a very important game for us. AS Roma is a strong team and they’re difficult to beat, I saw that in our first game in Rome. I made one pretty obvious change in the line-up and replaced Salah-Eddine with Youri Baas, who at least can tackle properly.

Squad: Dere, Veltman (75. van der Sloot), Schuurs, Lopes, Baas, Regeer, van de Beek (81. Sangare-Aka), Barriere, Karahasanovic, Fitz-Jim (81. Boer), Enem

We had a heart-stopping moment in the first minute when ex-Ajax player Viktor Fischer headed over from point blank range. That should have been the first goal to AS Roma, but we were lucky then. After that our game improved and defense looked much better. There weren’t many goal scoring chances, but the best opportunity came in 28’ when Youri Regeer sent his attempt inches wide of the post. The first half ended goalless, but I was quite pleased with our performance so far - we had possession, more attempts on goal and looked generally in control of the game.

That possession could have been converted to goals in the second half, but that didn’t work out for us - Jay Enem found himself open in the box in 49’, but his shot was blocked. Kian Fitz-Jim had an open header from a corner in the 62’, but that landed safely in the hands of the AS Roma goalkeeper. Two good chances were wasted, and so 0:0 looked a bit disappointing, but to be fair a draw against AS Roma isn’t a bad result. 

• we had 61% possession in this game
• Player of the game: Carlos Manuel Lopes - solid defensive performance from him

 

10.11.2024 - AFC Ajax - FC Emmen 2:2 (ED) - 12. Kian Fitz-Jim, 71. pen. Donny van de Beek - 52. Kaj de Rooij, 75. pen. Miguel Araujo

After a difficult Champions League game I was relieved to see a home game with FC Emmen in our schedule. That should be easier. We still missed Sontje Hansen and Quincy Promes due to injuries and Youri Regeer needs a rest because his match load has been too big recently. I opted to start Ismael Angare-Aka in the midfield DLPd role instead.

Squad: van den Heuvel, van der Sloot, Schuurs, Hillen, Salah-Eddine, Sangare-Aka, van de Beek, Barriere, Karahasanovic, Fitz-Jim (72. Boer), Enem (68. Braspenning) 

We started well and Kian Fitz-Jim was the threat for us in attack. His lovely volley in 12’ opened things up nicely and five minutes later he almost scored another goal from a free header. We didn’t have too many problems in the first half and things looked easy enough.

The second half was a different story, though. At first we allowed FC Emmen to equalize and even though the strike from Kaj de Rooij was really well executed, our defending wasn’t nearly good enough in that situation. We regained our lead in 71’ - Donny van de Beek scored from the penalty after Kian Fitz-Jim was pushed in the box - but squandered it quickly. Ismael Sangare-Aka made a foul in our box and it was FC Emmen’s turn to take a penalty. Miguel Araujo equalized and that was it - we weren’t able to score more goals and had to accept the frustrating draw.

I was seriously furious about the result - to give away our lead twice with cheap goals is not something that I accept in the team. We allowed AZ Alkmaar to get dangerously close to us in the table now and need to improve our form quickly. It didn’t help that most of the players that I trusted today didn’t perform well on the pitch - at least not good enough to claim more first team football.

• our shooting was 14/10 - pretty decent
• Player of the game: Kaj de Rooij (FC Emmen) - scored the best goal of the game

 

Feyenoord Rotterdam made the decision and appointed Vitor Pereira as their new manager. Virtually unknown name in Dutch football. Let’s see how he’ll do in this role.

 

23.11.2024 - VVV Venlo - AFC Ajax 1:0 (ED) - 3. Nathan Holland

We needed a good result here, but I knew that this was a tricky tie for us. VVV Venlo have been clear overachievers so far in Eredivisie - they were predicted to fight against relegation, but instead find themselves in the third place in November. That’s really something special and you could say that those £7,5m they spent on new players this Summer has been paying off so far.

That demanded that I wouldn’t underestimate them. Good news is that Sontje Hansen is ready to start from the bench after his long injury break.

Squad: Dere, van der Sloot, Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine, Regeer, van de Beek, Barriere (65. Hansen), Karahasanovic, Fitz-Jim (71. Boer), Enem

We had a poor start to the game - VVV Venlo delivered a cross into our six yard box and Steven van der Sloot was too slow to clear, so Nathan Holland slided in to tackle it into our goal. I was upset with the sloppy defending, but we still had the whole game to turn things around. For the rest of the first half we controlled the game, had possession, but couldn’t create a clear cut chance and while we got attempts on target, we failed to score. Philippe Barriere hit the upright with his shot in 13’, but that was the closest we got to the equalizer.

The second half continued in the same fashion - we just couldn’t create a good chance to score and VVV did exceptionally well to limit our chances. We still had one moment, though - in 81’ Jau Enem intercepted the ball in the final third and went into the box, but his attempt was blocked by the arriving defender - so, that one was wasted and Enem probably knew that he should have done better. I was furious with our inability to score, but I have to say that after that quick goal VVV were brilliant tactically - they defended deep and were patient under pressure. When the final whistle was called, I was upset with the result, but had to accept that we were not good enough in this game.

• we had 60% possession in this game, but it didn’t matter
• Player of the game: Lutsharel Geertruida (VVV Venlo) - good defensive performance

 

26.11.2024 - Borussia Dortmund - AFC Ajax 0:2 (Champions League Group H) - 79. Jay Enem, 83. Carlos Manuel Lopes

November ended with the most difficult game - the away match in Dortmund. Borussia was probably the best team in our group (on paper) and to keep our hopes alive we had to avoid the defeat. A point in the away game seemed like a success story and I didn’t really hope for a win. Our morale was low, because we hadn’t got a win in November and poor results in Eredivisie offered little reason to praise. 

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Lopes, Baas, Regeer (85. Sangare-Aka), van de Beek, Hansen (83. Barriere), Karahasanovic (75. Boer), Fitz-Jim, Enem

I expected initial pressure from Dortmund - we fought hard in the first fifteen minutes, suffered through it without giving them easy chances and for the rest of the first half defended fairly well and looked organized. The only dangerous moment came in 40’ when Robin Gosens had too much space in the box and got his shot on target - Gürcan Dere had to make a brilliant save to parry it wide. At half time it was still goalless and even though I was pleased with our defense, I knew that we were too passive in the first half and rarely posed any real threat to Dortmund.

Patience was important and I knew that Dortmund would grow anxious as 0:0 remained on the scoreboard. Indeed they did and in the second half, space started to open up for counters and we were carefully looking for the winning goal ourselves. The chance finally came in 79’ - I had sent Remy Boer on in 75’ and Kian Fitz-Jim moved to AMC. He took the ball to the right wing and delivered an accurate cross for Jay Enem who had the easiest finish from point blank range - 1:0 and Dortmund looked in trouble. Soon our lead was doubled - Youri Regeer got his header on target from IFK and that caused some problems for the  Dortmund goalkeeper. He let the ball get loose and Lopes was the first to react and tuck it in. That was it, two goals were enough to get the win and it was a great achievement for us - tactically spot-on, a tough win in a really important game and I was delighted.

• our shooting was just 9/4, but it was enough to score twice
• Player of the game: Carlos Manuel Lopes - a goal and good defensive performance from the centre-back

 

Summary

We have rarely had such a bad month in Eredivisie - we failed to deliver in games when we looked like a better team and didn’t get a single win, but at the same time we did get the results in Champions League and I have to be delighted with the win over Dortmund. That will get us a lot closer to the knockout stages.

 

Eredivisie

We lost our top spot in the table - AZ Alkmaar overtook us at the end of November, but at the same time nothing is over and we just have to pick ourselves up in December. Feyenoord and PSV continue to struggle. FC Dordrecht is the red lantern and Roda JC could be relegated as well, at least based on their current form.

[Draakon]

December 2024

 

A number of games in December and the most important of those is the Champions League fixture with Young Boys. We have a good chance to secure our place in the knockout stages and that’s one of the goals in our season and the promise I made to the board. The Eredivisie schedule is not too difficult, but we have the Klassieker derby lined up and before Christmas we’ll host AZ Alkmaar - opportunity to take a revenge for the loss in the away game.

 

01.12.2024 - FC Eindhoven - AFC Ajax 0:2 (ED) - 15. Jay Enem, 48. Sontje Hansen

I consider us still the main favourites for the title, but we need to return to winning in December to gain some points over AZ Alkmaar. Away game against FC Eindhoven is one of those games that we should win easily. Our opponents are a bit overachieving - their squad isn’t nearly good enough to finish 12th - position that they currently occupy. I’m not ready to risk too much with our starting line-up - it’s better to be sure that we take all three points. Good news is that Quincy Promes is back in full training and almost ready to start the game.

Squad: Dere, van der Sloot, Schuurs, Hillen, Salah-Eddine, Regeer (63. Brown), van de Beek, Hansen (66. Barriere), Karahasanovic, Fitz-Jim (73. Boer), Enem

Eindhoven welcomed us with rainy weather and in the first half it was a bit difficult for us to create chances. Our opponents defended deep, tried to score from set pieces and we lacked space for attacking moves. Counter-press sometimes helps in some of those games and it worked well in 15’ too - Donny van de Beek did well to win the ball back high on the pitch, laid it left to Jay Enem who placed a very good finish right next to the post - 1:0. One good chance in the first half and that was enough to give us a 1:0 lead at half time.

We needed the second goal to secure our result and it came early in the second half. Sontje Hansen poked his head out in the six yard box to score from a corner and that was good enough. Steven van der Sloot sent his shot wide from 12 meters soon after our second goal. Alen Karahasanovic had a good opportunity to score our third in 83’, but his close range header landed safely in the goalkeeper’s hands. 2:0 is not impressive, but we didn’t have too many problems defensively, kept the clean sheet and in general it’s exactly what we needed from away games. Our youngsters got some minutes in the second half and that will benefit us in the long run.

• we had 63% possession in this game
• we didn’t give FC Eindhoven any good goal scoring chances
• Player of the game: Donny van de Beek - created the first goal, delivered 4 key passes and had a very good game in midfield

 

06.12.2024 - Feyenoord Rotterdam - AFC Ajax 1:2 (ED) - 11. Wouter Burger - 16. Jay Enem, 27. Kian Fitz-Jim

The Klassieker derby is always something special in Eredivisie. We looked very impressive with our 3:0 win over Feyenoord at Johan Cruijff Arena. This time we travelled to Feyenoord and a lot has changed - most importantly our rivals have the new manager Vitor Pereira and I’m interested to see if he could turn around their poor form in this campaign. They’ve grabbed some narrow 1:0 wins in recent games, but are still in the middle of the table and their Europa League campaign has failed miserably - 4th place in the group is not something to be proud of.

We have our squad in full strength - Quincy Promes is ready to play and he’ll be coming on from the bench.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Lopes, Baas, Regeer, van de Beek (64. Sangare-Aka), Hansen (72. Promes), Karahasanovic (64. Boer), Fitz-Jim, Enem

We started with a balanced 4-2-3-1 and pretty soon it was clear that it wasn’t working with our high line of engagement and counter-pressing. Feyenoord got their first clear cut chance in 10’ - Soulyman Allouch headed over from close range - and when Wouter Burger headed in from IFK just a minute later I knew that we needed to change something. One of my mistakes was overlooking 190cm tall Burger in midfield - he won the aerial duel against Perr Schuurs himself to open the scoring and it was clear that we needed to mark him better in set  pieces. But as soon as we switched back to a positive mentality, things improved and in five minutes it was 1:1. Jay Enem was perhaps a bit lucky because his shot took a deflection and went past the Feyenoord goalkeeper, but it reflected the initiative that we had after trailing. Kian Fitz-Jim gave us the lead with a placed shot after making a good interception of a poor pass from a Feyenoord defender and after the first half hour it looked like we were in control. I wasn’t happy with the start, but we looked very good after our tactical changes and things looked in control at half time.

Feyenoord needed to change something in the second half and they did, but for a long time I couldn’t understand, what exactly, and how to counter it. As a result they started to get initiative and we were making defensive mistakes. Was it mentality or just higher pressing, but suddenly it was Feyenoord’s game. Tamer Erdem had a great chance in our six yard box already in 48’ and only arriving Perr Schuurs got his foot in to block his shot that would have certainly gone in. We started to make individual mistakes, too - Veltman’s poor touch in our third gave Erdem another chance in 64’ and this time it was Gürcan Dere who did well to parry it wide and Perr Schuurs made another brilliant run back and late tackle to rescue a one-on-one from Naoufal Bannis. We switched back to a balanced 4-2-3-1 somewhere around 80’ and it at least limited our defensive mistakes, but control over the game was firmly in Feyenoord’s hands. Only they struggled to convert their initiative to goals and it’s fair to say that the final whistle saved our three points in De Kuip.

I felt that we were lucky to win this game - we played well for thirty minutes in the first half, but the second half belonged to Feyenoord and they can rightly rue their poor finishing. Vitor Pereira earned my respect with his tactical changes at half time and it might be that their form will go up under Pereira before long. 

• we made only 9 key passes in this game
• we conceded 4 clear cut chances - a lot, but fortunately Feyenoord missed all of those
• Player of the game: Manuel Pherai (Feyenoord Rotterdam) - their playmaker gave 5 key passes and assist to their goal

11.12.2024 - AFC Ajax - Young Boys 3:0 (Champions League Group H) - 12. Jay Enem, 31. and 45.+3 Sontje Hansen

The task looked simple enough - to get at least a draw at Johan Cruijff Arena against the team that we beated 1:0 in the away game. We have no major injuries, no suspensions, so we’re capable of doing that and home fans will do their best to encourage the players.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine, Regeer, van de Beek (59. Sangare-Aka), Hansen (66. Promes), Karahasanovic, Fitz-Jim, Enem (68. Braspenning)

Our opponents made things easy for us because they never really put up a fight, or was it their 4-4-2 formation that just didn’t work throughout this game. Either way, we dominated the game from start to finish and played excellent football, especially in the first half. There was an attempt every 2-3 minutes and it didn’t take long before we had the lead. Kian Fitz-Jim took the ball from midfield into the box and hit it well. It was parried by the goalkeeper, but Jay Enem was there to finish from the rebound. Donny van de Beek showed his technique and skipped through the defense in 26’, only to miss his clear cut chance before Sontje Hansen doubled our lead and it looked like we had the win already then. Hansen added our third goal late in the first half with a good header (another assist to Fitz-Jim) and we went to half time knowing that our place in the knockout stages is secure.

We continued to dominate the game in the second half, but had less luck with goals. Perr Schuurs saw his free kick clip the crossbar before going over in 56’ and substitute Kik Braspenning missed his clear cut chance later, but 3:0 was good enough and more importantly, our performance was really impressive. I was delighted with the  attacking football that I saw and the good result with it.

• we had 61% possession in this game
• our shooting was 44/19
• we created 3 clear cut chances and 7 half-chances
• we made 24 key passes and 30 dribbles
• Young Boys didn’t have any good opportunities and they couldn’t get a single attempt on target
• Sontje Hansen and Kian Fitz-Jim had a great game for us
• Player of the game: Sontje Hansen - his brace led the way in the first half

 

Champions League Group H

1. AFC Ajax 12
2. AS Roma 12
3. Borussia Dortmund 8
4. Young Boys 0

We won the group because AS Roma and Dortmund made a draw in the final round and we had the away goal advantage over AS Roma - our both games were draws, but it was 0:0 in Amsterdam and 1:1 in Roma, so that one goal was enough to give us the edge.

 

14.12.2024 - AFC Ajax - Heracles Almelo 2:0 (ED) - 45.+1 Ismael Sangare-Aka, 90.+5 Philippe Barriere

Just three days between games and those Champions League matches offer a different kind of intensity, so we have many tired legs in the squad. Because it’s a home game I rotated boldly and gave Carlos Manuel Lopes, Perr Schuurs, Kian Fitz-Jim and Youri Regeer some rest. Jay Enem suffered a minor knock in training and he, too, sat this one out.

Squad: Dere, van der Sloot, Veltman, Hillen, Salah-Eddine (75. Baas), Brown (63. Karahasanovic), Sangare-Aka, Promes (71. Barriere), van de Beek, Boer, Braspenning

It was a drab first half. The fact that players didn’t gel properly and played in a bit unfamiliar roles was evident on the pitch and hindered our amount of chances. Our best opportunities came from attempts from distance - Ismael Sangare-Aka tested the Heracles goalkeeper in 31’, but his long shot in injury time finally broke the deadlock. Heracles goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen got his hand to it, but not well enough and it went in. 

In the second half our attacking problems continued, but Heracles slowly started to search for the equalizer. Their midfielder Dani de Wit hit the crossbar from a corner in the 57’ and for a short period of time around the 80’ mark we were under some pressure from them. Their striker Silvester van der Water got through in 82’ and went one-on-one against Gürcan Dere; Rio Hillen was too late to make a tackle and that was a clear cut chance to van der Water, but his shot went wide and that was a huge relief for us. Philippe Barriere headed home a free kick in injury time, so the final score was pretty solid 2:0, but the performance was far from convincing. 

• we had 61% possession in this game
• we made only 6 key passes and allowed Heracles to make 21 dribbles - evidence of our poor teamwork
• Ismael Sangare-Aka scored his first ever league goal for Ajax
• Anass Salah-Eddine made his 100th league appearance for Ajax
• Player of the game: Ismael Sangare-Aka - scored a good goal

 

We’ve now played 17 games in the league and collected 39 points. Not bad, although I’d set our target to 40.

 

17.12.2024 - Noordwijk - AFC Ajax 0:5 (TOTO KNVB Beker 2nd round) - 6., 24. and 76. pen. Remy Boer, 16. Ismael Sangare-Aka, 70. Perr Schuurs

Short trip to coast down Noordwijk to play against local amateur side - De Duinwetering is a small local stadium and our game is the major event for the local sports fans.

Cup games against amateur sides is the easiest part of the season - we can send out rotation players and play it as the regular training match.

Squad: van den Heuvel, van der Sloot, Schuurs, Hillen, Baas (46. Drommel), Brown, Sangare-Aka, Barriere, Karahasanovic, Boer, Braspenning (63. Pinas)

I expected an easy game and that was exactly how it played out. We could play without pressure, Philippe Barriere and Remy Boer linked up nicely for two goals and Ismael Sangare-Aka scored the best goal from 21 meters with a beautiful strike. Perr Schuurs added our fourth goal in the second half before Boer completed his hat-trick from the spot. Good result, as expected and no surprises here.

• we had 76% possession
• our shooting was 35/17 in this game
• our average rating was 8.38
• we gave 27 key passes - a free flowing, attacking game
• not a single attempt from Noordwijk
• a number of outstanding performances from Remy Boer, Ismael Sangare-Aka, Philippe Barriere, Alen Karahasanovic, Perr Schuurs and Tim Brown
• Player of the game: Remy Boer - hat-trick hero tonight

 

21.12.2024 - AFC Ajax - AZ Alkmaar 4:0 (ED) - 21. and 40. Quincy Promes, 45.+1 Alen Karahasanovic, 79. Kian Fitz-Jim

That’s the game we’ve been waiting for - we want to take revenge for our defeat in October. AZ Alkmaar need to win to keep their title hopes alive - if we get three points from here, we move 9 points away from them and that’s already a big gap. We are in good form and we have all players fit for this game. We play in front of our home fans and there’s no excuses if we fail to win now.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Lopes, Baas, Regeer, van de Beek (70. Sangare-Aka), Promes (63. Hansen), Karahasanovic (78. Boer), Fitz-Jim, Enem

We had small initiative in the first half and we took the lead in 21’ - Quincy Promes scored with a header, cross came from Kian Fitz-Jim - but in the last five minutes of the first period we really took charge. Promes scored a beautiful goal with a fierce shot from the edge of the area and AZ players looked shell-shocked. Promes quickly had another good attempt on target (this time tipped wide), before Jay Enem had a clear cut chance. His attempt was blocked, but Alen Karahasanovic arrived from the second wave and put it into the net to give us a 3:0 lead at the half time. We were clearly cruising and morale was high in the dressing room, because AZ hadn’t got a single shot on target so far.

We didn’t have to do much in the second half - just control the proceedings. AZ Alkmaar’s Gyrano Kerk finally got their first shot on target (fine save from Gürcan Dere to parry it), before Kian Fitz-Jim wrapped things up with another beautiful goal - a brilliant strike into the bottom corner from 21m out. The final score was 4:0 - how about that for revenge? I was clearly delighted, because we showed AZ what we’re capable of and their title ambitions clearly got a hit that night.

• our shooting was 19/12
• we didn’t give AZ Alkmaar any real chances in this game
• Quincy Promes scored his 50th career league goal for Ajax
• Player of the game: Quincy Promes - outstanding game from him - two goals 

24.12.2024 - AFC Ajax - FC Dordrecht 3:0 (ED) - 7. Perr Schuurs, 25. Remy Boer, 56. Kik Braspenning

We had only one more game to go in December and it happened to be on Christmas Eve. I don’t know who is responsible for arranging the Eredivisie schedule, but that was a rather surprising fixture. All other teams and players were already at home, enjoying Christmas dinner with their families and only Ajax and Dordrecht players gathered at Johan Cruijff Arena to play at 20:30 on Christmas Eve. Kind of sad.

The game itself looked fairly easy, because FC Dordrecht is 18th in the table and doesn’t look good enough to retain their place in the top division. Our morale was high after beating AZ Alkmaar and so I rotated freely and gave playing time to youngsters.

Squad: van den Heuvel, van der Sloot, Schuurs, Hillen, Salah-Eddine (69. Drommel), Brown, van de Beek (46. Sangare-Aka), Promes (46. Barriere), Karahasanovic, Boer, Braspenning

It was one way traffic from start to finish. Perr Schuurs opened things up with a goal from a corner and Remy Boer doubled our lead. Kik Braspenning was in the starting line-up and he looked really motivated to get himself on the score sheet - he got into the right positions and found two clear cut chances in the first half, but failed to score in the first half. I switched him from AFa to CFa in the second half and then he finally found the target, scoring with a simple-tap in after Philippe Barriere found him at the near post with a cross. Easy win and a solid result.

• we had 65% possession
• our shooting was 24/19
• we created 3 clear cut chances in this game and didn’t give FC Dordrecht any goalscoring opportunities
• young left-back Cor Drommel made his debut for Ajax in the second half
• Player of the game: Perr Schuurs - scored a goal and was solid defensively

 

Summary

After a rather miserable November our December has been superb - all straight wins in seven games, we clinched the place in the Champions League knockout stages and took a revenge on AZ Alkmaar, as I hoped we’d do. Just excellent form, good goal scoring form and performances from all the players. Only sad news came from our backroom staff - AS Roma lured away our U-19 assistant manager Federico Di Placido and I have to start looking for a replacement for him.

One more important decision was made by the board - we will invest another £5,25m into the youth facilities to improve our youth intake quality. It’s essential if we want to rely on home grown players only.

 

Eredivisie

No big changes - we have now a healthy lead in the table, AZ Alkmaar and VVV Venlo are still up there, but note that Feyenoord have two games in hand and they can climb themselves up to 3rd place with two wins easily. The bottom three are also clear.

[Draakon]

January 2025

 

We played two friendlies in January and the first one against RSC Anderlecht ended sadly for Kian Fitz-Jim - he suffered a broken foot due to a rough challenge and unfortunately it needs at least 5-6 months to recover, so his season is over. We’ve lost a talented young midfielder and that’s a big loss - Remy Boer has now opportunity to step up, but he needs to be at his best to carry the load in our first eleven.

We also lost Steven van der Sloot and Ismael Sangare-Aka for a couple of weeks, because it’s time for the Africa Cup of Nations and they’ll be away with their national teams. It doesn’t hurt us particularly, because they’re not in my first eleven, but it takes away options for rotation and substitutions.

 

Apart from friendlies I made one staff decision and appointed Lorenzo Buenaventura as our new B team fitness coach. The 4,5* fitness coach is a good addition to our backroom staff.

 

 

18.01.2025 - FC Twente Enschede - AFC Ajax 1:1 (ED) - 12. Ondrej Mihalik - 4. Remy Boer

Back to Eredivisie and our first away game takes us to Enschede. FC Twente have had a good season so far - predicted to be in the bottom third of the table, they’re now 7th and have played well above their level, but this game will be difficult for them, because they miss several key players in midfield and that gives us an advantage in the game.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Lopes, Baas (55. Salah-Eddine), Regeer, van de Beek, Promes (69. Hansen), Karahasanovic, Boer, Enem (78. Braspenning)

We took off with a flyer. The goal came from a free kick - Jay Enem did well to win the first aerial duel and send the ball across the goal, where Remy Boer anticipated well to poke it into the empty net. Unfortunately we quickly allowed FC Twente to equalize and that, too, was a set piece goal. Ondrej Mihalik won a header against Carlos Manuel Lopes (sic!) and put it past Gürcan Dere. The rest of the game was under our control - we had 75% in the first half, but FC Twente defended deep with nine men and it was difficult to get our shots on target.

The same continued into the second half and it was actually FC Twente who got the best chance of the game - Mihalik had a good look in 60’, but this time Lopes was there on time to block his attempt. It remained 1:1 and I have to admit that it was a tactical win for FC Twente. They used their moments well and their defensive plan worked, although it must have been really difficult to fight so hard defensively all game. 

• we had 67% possession
• our shooting was 26/8 in this game - kept the pressure, but couldn’t get shots on target
• we made only 9 key passes - not much space between our opponent’s defensive lines
• Player of the game: Remy Boer

 

21.01.2025 - AFC Ajax - sc Heerenveen 3:0 (TOTO KNVB Beker 3rd round) - 17. pen. Youri Regeer, 30. Sontje Hansen, 31. Jay Enem

The first serious (Eredivisie) opponent in the cup. sc Heerenveen are currently 15th in the table, but their form has improved lately, so I expect them to climb higher in the table and so they shouldn’t be taken easily in this game either.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Hillen, Salah-Eddine (72. Drommel), Regeer, van de Beek, Hansen (46. Barriere), Karahasanovic, Boer, Enem (46. Braspenning)

We played very well in the first half. Jay Enem had the first good look in 6’, but this time his shot was saved by the goalkeeper. We took the lead at 17’ - Youri Regeer scored from the spot after Perr Schuurs was pushed in the box. After Enem wasted another clear cut chance, we finally decided matters around 30’ - Sontje Hansen scored with a beautiful strike from the edge of the area and Jay Enem quickly added another goal just a minute later. Regeer saw his header clip the crossbar in 35’ and Donny van de Beek’s clear cut chance was parried with a brilliant save. Despite those missed chances, at the half-time we were leading 3:0 and the fight was over.

I used the opportunity to rest players in the second half and send out substitutes. The game slowed down and we couldn’t create as many moments after the break, but we didn’t need to. The final score was convincing enough.

• our shooting was 22/13 in this game
• we created 4 clear cut chances
• Player of the game: Perr Schuurs
• sc Heerenveen manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst was sacked after that defeat - 15th position in the Eredivisie table was poor for them and now with their cup run over, the results speak for themselves and the patience ran out in the boardroom

 

25.01.2025 - AFC Ajax - FC Groningen 4:0 (ED) - 6. pen. Youri Regeer, 34. Carlos Manuel Lopes, 59. Jay Enem, 74. Remy Boer

FC Groningen is another strong team, but we have the home advantage and after sc Heerenveen win we have found our rhythm again.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine (60. Drommel), Regeer, van de Beek, Hansen (60. Barriere), Karahasanovic, Boer, Enem (60. Braspenning)

I expected a tough game, but in fact it was extremely one-sided. We took the lead early on after a penalty and completely controlled the game after that. Carlos Manuel Lopes scored from a corner and Jay Enem wasted his clear cut chance in the first half, but there were plenty of other good attempts and half chances.

The second half continued in the same way and I believe that we should have scored even more goals. Anass Salah-Eddine was a little bit unlucky to hit the post in 52’, Jay Enem continued to waste his chances with another miss, before he finally scored - this time with a wonderful strike from just outside of the area that went in off the bar. It looks like he’s just unable to execute from open positions, but instead scores with headers and long range attempts that are much more difficult to get in. Remy Boer wrapped things up for us with another goal from a corner and 4:0 marked an emphatic home win. FC Groningen really didn’t put up a fight and it looked like their tactics were too defensive to get anything out of this game. Good for us.

• our shooting was 30/17 and we created 5 clear cut chances - very dominant game
• we didn’t allow FC Groningen to create any chances
• we gave 28 key passes
• we had 8.00 average rating
• Player of the game: Alen Karahasanovic - an outstanding performance from the attacking midfielder, who created most of the chances and gave three assists

 

Summary

Failed to win against FC Twente, but generally did OK in those three games. Resuming the season after the winter break is often difficult and rhythm can be lost, but we look good enough. We’ve missed some players in January, but that hasn’t affected our performances.

The transfer window was quiet and we didn’t make any deals. The players who are in the team at the moment can get enough playing time in Ajax and we don’t need to send anybody to loan either. The most interesting bit of transfer action was PSG’s offer for Remy Boer, but I rejected and they failed to unsettle him (at least so far).

The most noteworthy news from other clubs is that sc Heerenveen appointed Mark van Bommel as their new manager.

 

Eredivisie

Just a couple of games hasn’t made much difference compared to December.

[Draakon]

February 2025

 

02.02.2025 - AFC Ajax - Sparta Rotterdam 2:1 (ED) - 27. Sontje Hansen, 51. Jay Enem - 84. Bart Ramselaar

After two good wins we’re in good form and it feels that our rhythm is back. We’re definitely confident going against teams in home games.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine, Regeer, van de Beek (62. Sangare-Aka), Hansen (62. Barriere), Karahasanovic, Boer (62. Promes), Enem

It was a very entertaining first half. Sontje Hansen was the most active player in our attacks - his solo run at 4’ led to our first clear cut chance and he opened the scoring with a good half-volley after a cross from Remy Boer. Jay Enem was again wasteful with his chances, but as we had more moments, Sparta looked dangerous enough from set pieces - they won plenty of headers in our box and that forced us to cut back with fouls. 

Jay Enem got to the score sheet after the half-time break - a good cross from Salah-Eddine led to the goal and I was bold enough to make all three substitutions in 62’. That broke our rhythm a little bit and Sparta started to find more chances in the last 30 minutes. Their Icelandic winger Helgi Viktorsson had perhaps the best opportunity in 70’, but he volleyed over the crossbar from open position. Sparta scored the goal, eventually, and it came from a corner. Ismael Sangare-Aka looked too passive and didn’t clear the ball properly and Bart Ramselaar lunged in with a tackle to take this ball over the line. I was unhappy with how the game finished, but we held onto that narrow lead and took all three points again.

• our shooting was 24/12 in this game
• we created 3 clear cut chances (and wasted all of them) - if our finishing was more clinical, our scores would be much more impressive
• Player of the game: Jairo Simons (Sparta Rotterdam) - Sparta playmaker gave 5 key passes and created 3 chances for his teammates, leading the game in the second half

 

09.02.2025 - FC Emmen - AFC Ajax 1:4 (ED) - 23. pen. Miguel Araujo - 34. Jay Enem, 51. Remy Boer, 58. pen. Quincy Promes, 74. Philippe Barriere

FC Emmen should be a slightly easier opponent, but, having said that, I have to admit that our home game against them finished 2:2 and was perhaps the result of our underestimation. We have some players missing for this game - Kian Fitz-Jim injured, Perr Schuurs is suspended with five yellow cards and Steven van der Sloot is still in the African tournament with the Cameroon national team.

Squad: van den Heuvel, Veltman, Hillen, Lopes, Baas, Regeer, Sangare-Aka, Hansen (46. Boer), Karahasanovic, Promes (66. Barriere), Enem (66. Braspenning)

We did OK until the first mistake in 22’ - Joel Veltman clumsily tripped FC Emmen’s young winger Martin Polman in our box and our opponents were awarded the penalty. Just like in the first game at Johan Cruijff Arena, Miguel Araujo stepped up to score from the spot. We reacted quickly enough and Jay Enem equalized with a header from a free kick. The first half was brought to an end at 1:1, but we gained momentum after the equalizer and looked like favourites after the first period. Sontje Hansen had suffered a knock in the game, so I replaced him with Remy Boer at the half-time and the second half started much better for us. Quincy Promes had a crack in 48’ and managed to hit the crossbar, before substitute Boer made an impact with a goal in 51’. We were careless to give FC Emmen another chance - Greg Leigh had a great opportunity to equalize from a free-kick, but his shot was tipped over with a good save from van den Heuvel and when Lopes was pushed in the box and Promes converted the penalty, the game looked well under our control. It wasn’t over, though - Youri Regeer received his second yellow card of the game in 67’ and it was a stupid booking to take. He played handball in the opponent’s box and was sent off as a result. We were left with 10 men, but FC Emmen couldn’t take advantage of that. Instead, Philippe Barriere added another goal in 74’ to make it 4:1 and that was the result I could be happy with. The second half included much more positive for us despite that red card.

• Jay Enem scored his 20th goal of the season
• Sontje Hansen will be out for a week with a groin strain
• Player of the game: Quincy Promes - scored from a penalty, delivered free kick that led to our first goal and did generally well in attack

 

The African Cup of Nations is finally over and Cameroon have won it! Incredible success for them and the whole team welcomed Steven van der Sloot back after his successful tournament with the Cameroon national team.

 

12.02.2025 - AFC Ajax - VVV Venlo 3:0 (TOTO KNVB Beker Quarter Final) - 21. and 78. Alen Karahasanovic, 53. Jay Enem

Now we have two back to back home games against VVV Venlo coming up. The first one was the cup quarter final and a little bit of a revenge match, because VVV stunned us 1:0 in November. VVV are still third in the Eredivisie table and their fairy tale continues in the league. Their success relies heavily on loan players from West Ham United and they’ve added another two youngsters to their squad in January that look very good for the Eredivisie level.

Squad: van den Heuvel, Veltman, Schuurs, Hillen, Baas, Regeer (53. Brown), van de Beek, Promes (63. Barriere), Karahasanovic, Boer, Enem (53. Braspenning)

We played a good first half and controlled the game well - Donny van de Beek had a half-chance in 6’ that was met with a fine stop from the VVV goalkeeper, but in 21’ we took the lead. Remy Boer, Jay Enem and Alen Karahasanovic combined beautifully from midfield to crack their defense open and Karahasanovic finished with a placed shot to give us the lead. Jay Enem headed against the post in 33’ and few other attempts looked promising enough, but it remained 1:0 until half time. VVV couldn’t create much in the first half and Dani van den Heuvel didn’t have to make any saves in the first period.

They had better moments after the break, though. Aiden Toal saw his header clipped the crossbar on its way over right after the kick-off, but overall we remained in control of the game. Jay Enem extended our lead with a good header after a corner and then we could relax and make substitutions. Kik Braspenning came on and looked very motivated to get his name to the score sheet. He had one good free kick that the VVV goalkeeper brought away from the bottom corner and then had a great chance to score when Philippe Barriere found him in front of the goal with a lovely cross. Braspenning’s shot was blocked, but the ball fell to Karahasanovic who scored his second goal of the game. The Bosnian midfielder had a chance to complete his hat-trick before the last minute, but his left-footed shot was held comfortably by the goalkeeper. It remained 3:0, but it was still a very good result and I was happy with the performance.

• we had 62% possession in this game
• our shooting was 29/15 
• VVV failed to get a single shot on target out of their 5 attempts
• we made 21 individual mistakes - a little bit too much, but most of those were missed interceptions high on the pitch that didn’t lead to any dangerous chances
• we will play Vitesse Arnhem in the semi final
• Player of the game: Alen Karahasanovic - great game from the midfielder - scored two goals and his movement into the box caused all sorts of problems to VVV defenders

 

16.02.2025 - AFC Ajax - VVV Venlo 0:1 (ED) - 90.+4 Cailin Knock

The repeat game in four days. Sontje Hansen has recovered from his injury and he’s back in full training, but we miss Youri Regeer due to suspension. I don’t have any particular worries about him, because Tim Brown played 30 minutes against VVV in the first game and did well. Because of our strong position in the league I can rotate freely and distribute playing time.

Squad: van den Heuvel, van der Sloot, Schuurs, Hillen, Salah-Eddine, Brown, van den Beek, Promes, Karahasanovic (41. Sangare-Aka), Boer (70. Barriere), Enem (81. Braspenning)

The first half was pretty good - we controlled the game and looked comfortable enough and weren’t too far away from the first goal. Jay Enem moved well and found himself three half-chances in the first 20 minutes, but his attempts were dealt with  comfortably by the VVV goalkeeper Alexei Koselev. The most significant event happened in 41’ - Alen Karahasanovic had to come off with injury and I had to make changes before the half-time. Ismael Sangare-Aka came on to midfield and Donny van de Beek moved to AMC position. That affected our second half and in a negative way - van de Beek has an excellent work rate, but he’s less skilled with the ball and creating chances for others, so it looked like VVV defended fairly comfortably. Most of our attempts were headers (often from set pieces) and most of those headers went well over the crossbar. And while we struggled to create chances and were goalless after ninety minutes of football, the punishment came - VVV had a late free kick, Cailin Knock got away from Anass Salah-Eddine and finished his chance well. Dani van den Heuvel couldn’t save us and with the late set piece goal VVV took the second win against us in this season.

I was obviously very upset and disappointed with the result. We lacked attacking options from the bench (with Fitz-Jim and Karahasanovic out and Sontje Hansen a little tired), but that’s no excuse. We should have been better and failed to deliver. Anass  Salah-Eddine showed again why he’s a liability in defense.

• we had 63% possession, but failed to make it count
• Quincy Promes made his 200th appearance for Ajax in this game
• Alen Karahasanovic will be out for 2-3 weeks with pulled ankle ligaments
• Player of the game: Quincy Promes - most creative player in our attack, set up 3 chances for others and made 10 dribbles

 

23.02.2025 - AFC Ajax - PSV Eindhoven 3:0 (ED) - 10. Donny van de Beek, 25. Ismael Sangare-Aka, 44. Remy Boer

Time to shake up that defeat, because next is the Topper Derby against PSV Eindhoven. PSV have failed to impress in this season - they’ve been somewhere between 5-9th position and failed to challenge for the title.

Another reason to celebrate: it appears that it’s my 300th game in football management. I’ve been here now for a while.

Youri Regeer has served his suspension, but we miss Alen Karahasanovic and Kian Fitz-Jim is also still injured.

Squad: Dere, Veltman (63. van der Sloot), Schuurs, Lopes, Baas, Regeer, Sangare-Aka, Promes, van de Beek, Boer (56. Hansen), Enem (63. Braspenning)

We took control of the game at 10’ after Donny van de Beek headed in from a free kick. It was very similar to our first derby of the season - PSV actually defended well, but our goals came from set pieces and individual skills, not from open chances. Ismael Sangare-Aka started in midfield and he scored the most outstanding goal of the game with a volley from the edge of the area and to make matters worse for PSV, their young midfielder Jordi van der Linden was sent off in 33’ after a reckless challenge on Quincy Promes. With PSV down to 10 men it was much easier for us and Remy Boer headed in late in the first half to make it 3:0 before the half-time whistle.

The second half was fairly uneventful - we substituted and didn’t take any risks and PSV were unable to create much threat to our goal. Ismael Sangare-Aka had a good game, but in injury time he too was sent off for a two-footed challenge on a PSV player. Very stupid mistake, as he tried to make up for his own defensive error. Fortunately for us it happened very late in the game, so it didn’t change the outcome, but it definitely left a mark on Sangare-Aka’s performance and he has to skip our next league game, too. The final result was still fairly convincing and I’m sure the fans went home happy.

• our shooting was 20/12 in this game
• we made only 8 key passes in this game - PSV defended well, even with 10 men
• Quincy Promes has now given 10 assists in this season
• Donny van de Beek scored his 50th career league goal
• Player of the game: Ismael Sangare-Aka - a great goal from the midfielder and well played until the red card

 

26.02.2025 - FC Barcelona - AFC Ajax 2:0 (Champions League 1st knockout round 1st leg) - 10. Marcus Rashford, 26. Raheem Sterling

When it was first announced that we got Barca as our first knockout round opponent, it seemed incredibly unfair. After all, we did so well to finish first in our group and deserved a little bit easier pair, but now it looks like our Champions League campaign will be over after the first round. Barcelona is extremely strong in the 2024/2025 season - Lionel Messi is retired, but they have collected an incredible attacking force to Camp Nou - Kylian Mbappe, Marcus Rashford, Raheem Sterling, Jadon Sancho and Antoine Griezmann. It’s difficult to imagine that we could keep them at bay over two legs.

I was aware of that threat and so we started the away game with a cautious 4-2-3-1 formation.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Lopes, Baas (73. Salah-Eddine), Regeer, Sangare-Aka, Promes, van de Beek, Boer (46. Hansen), Enem (84. Braspenning)

The first half belonged to FC Barcelona and they took the lead at 10’ - we were unable to stop Alan Henrique’s cross to the near post and Rashford anticipated it well and got there first. 0:1. The second goal was the exact copy of the first one, only this time it was Raheem Sterling who put in the finishing touch. We couldn’t get a single shot in the first half and it was difficult to see how we could get something out of this game if we didn’t change anything. It looked like our approach was too defensive and so we switched to a balanced mentality in the second half and it helped a little - we started to get some shots (at least), and some set pieces that could possibly lead to a goal, but that didn’t happen. Barcelona continued to get better opportunities in attack, but at least we did better defensively and didn’t allow another goal (they hit the frameworks twice, though). In the end it remained 0:2 and I was slightly disappointed. The motivation was there from our part, but the skills probably weren’t and Barcelona deserved to win.

• our average rating was just 6.68
• we made only 3 key passes and couldn’t create any chances in this game
• tactical lesson - we should have started with balanced mentality; we were too defensive in the first half and gave the initiative away
• we made 30 individual mistakes in this game (20 missed interceptions) - evident lack of skills against bigger opponent
• Player of the game: Alan Henrique (FC Barcelona) - the right back delivered two assists and was the best player on the pitch

 

Summary

Mixed set of results in February. We’re doing very well in the Eredivisie and I’m getting more and more relaxed about our league games, so even the defeat against VVV Venlo doesn’t bother me too much. We’re also still in the cup and have all the chances to add silverware to our trophy cabinet.

The Barcelona game went as expected. At least 0:2 is a respectable score that leaves us something to play for in the second leg.

 

Eredivisie

AZ Alkmaar has lost some momentum in February and VVV Venlo have been excellent to claim the third position. Feyenoord have been climbing up steadily and I expect them to finish 2nd at the end of the season. No changes in the bottom three.

[Draakon]

March 2025

 

Only nine games to go in the Eredivisie season and we don’t have much pressure in the league. There’s the cup semi final in March against Vitesse and, of course, our second leg against FC Barcelona that requires more focus. March will also bring the anticipated youth intake.

 

02.03.2025 - FC Utrecht - AFC Ajax 0:3 (ED) - 12. Youri Regeer, 39. Donny van de Beek, 47. Jay Enem

Although we have played all the big games in the league (with Feyenoord, PSV Eindhoven and AZ Alkmaar), this one can be tricky - an away game against rivals demands that we’d do our best to win. Ismael Sangare-Aka has to sit this one out because of his suspension, but good news is that Alen Karahasanovic is back in full training and fit enough to get at least some minutes against FC Utrecht. I will start by testing Tim Brown in an unusual role for him (BBMs).

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine (66. Baas), Regeer, Brown, van de Beek, Hansen (66. Barriere), van de Beek, Promes, Enem (66. Braspenning)

The game looked fairly even at the beginning and FC Utrecht got the first two opportunities. We were unable to mark their striker Oussama Tannane properly and he got two good shots on target in the first six minutes. We responded with a header by Quincy Promes that striked the post and went wide. In 12’ we took the lead - Youri Regeer scored with a good header from a corner. The control of the game went to us, at least for a moment, but FC Utrecht still had some dangerous moments - Tannane fired wide in 23’ and Jurre van Aken hit the side-netting from close range in 28’. Gürcan Dere had a lot of action in the first half and he had to make some really good saves, too, but before the half-time whistle we managed to extend our lead to 2:0. Anass Salah-Eddine delivered a nice cutback to the box and Donny van de Beek was there to finish well. 2:0 after the first half, but in reality it was much more even in the first period and FC Utrecht played really well.

I hoped that we could maintain our lead in the second half - instead we scored another goal right after the kick-off. Jay Enem received the ball in the box, turned well and hit it nicely next to the post from 12 meters. Good goal and with 3:0 our win looked much more secure. Anass Salah-Eddine had to come off with an injury in 66’. I made all three substitutions then and the game calmed down after that. Substitute Kik Braspenning had a great chance in 87’, but the attempt was easily held by the FC Utrecht goalkeeper, so another massive chance went begging for the striker. FC Utrecht’s Nicky Souren tested Gürcan Dere again in 90’, but another great save kept our clean sheet and the final score remained 3:0. Wasn’t an easy game by any means and on the pitch it was much closer than the final score indicates, but we did very well to score three goals and to come up on top of that tie.

• we lost possession 45/55 - a little bit surprising
• we made only 9 key passes
• defensively not very good - FC Utrecht had their tactics well set and they made 27 dribbles in this game, constantly catching us on our heels
• Anass Salah-Eddine has broken his ribs and he’ll be out for at least 5-6 weeks
• Player of the game: Donny van de Beek - good goal from the midfielder and created chances for others, too

 

05.03.2025 - Vitesse Arnhem - AFC Ajax 0:3 (TOTO KNVB Beker Semi Final) - 19. Remy Boer, 81. Rio Hillen, 90+2 Tim Brown

The cup semi final is very important for us and the possible final against Feyenoord awaits us if we win this game. Vitesse have the home advantage in this game, so it might not be too easy for us. They have actually a rather mediocre squad and that shows in their league position (12th), but they’ve bolstered their ranks with loanees from Chelsea (as VVV have done with youngsters from West Ham) and that makes them a rather good team in some aspects.

We miss Kian Fitz-Jim and Anass Salah-Eddine due to injuries, but Alen Karahasanovic is ready to start.

Squad: Dere, van der Sloot, Schuurs, Hillen, Baas, Regeer (81. Brown), Sangare-Aka, Promes (46. Hansen), Karahasanovic, Boer, Enem (80. Braspenning)

We were the better team for the first 20 minutes or so. Quincy Promes was the most active in attack, creating chances for others and himself and Jay Enem missed his half-chance, before Remy Boer scored our first goal. It was an excellent goal - he cut in nicely from left and scored with a well placed right-footed strike. However, Vitesse got more and more into the game and it started to show in their attempts. Sam Lammers headed against the crossbar in 27’ and that was our first warning sign. We started to lose balls in attack and Vitesse moved well to counter-attacks and one of those passes found Nick Venema on the run. Gürcan Dere ran out of his line to make a superb save to deny this clear cut chance, but we looked more and more in trouble. Ex-Ajax player Christian Rasmussen saw his shot clip the post in 39’ and it was alarming how alone he was in our box. We retained our 1:0 lead until half-time, but Vitesse probably felt that they deserved at least one goal from that first period and I knew that if we continued like that into the second half, our lead wouldn’t last long.

Vitesse came to the second half with high motivation and Sam Lammers got another good moment in 48’, but that was their last good chance of the game. We slowly got the grip back, their manager started to make substitutions - probably wrong ones, because Vitesse lost their attacking edge. In the final ten minutes we added another two goals from set pieces - birthday boy Rio Hillen scored from a corner and substitute Tim Brown headed in from a free kick in injury time. The final score 3:0 looked convincing enough, but the game itself could have gone either way in the first half, so it was a much closer contest than that.

• our shooting was 25/14 - we definitely kept their goal under pressure
• we made only 7 key passes in this game
• we had 15 corners and made our set pieces to count in the second half
• Remy Boer scored his 10th goal of the season
• Quincy Promes came off with a pulled groin at half time and he’ll be out for a week to recover from that
• we will play Feyenoord in the final - the rivals managed to beat Heracles Almelo with penalties after goalless 120 minutes
• Player of the game: Rio Hillen - good game defensively and a goal to top that performance

 

09.03.2025 - Willem II Tilburg - AFC Ajax 0:2 (ED) - 19. Jay Enem, 47. Rio Hillen

With our place in the cup final secured, we continue with our Eredivisie campaign. We have mostly away games in our schedule in March and that next weekend takes us to the lovely Southern Netherlands town Tilburg. Willem II had a good first half of the season and at one point they were 4th-5th in the table, but their form has dropped a little and they’ve dropped back to the middle of the table. Still a decent team, although poor morale doesn’t help them and their 1:5 defeat from Johan Cruijff Arena is still in their mind.

We have several players absent - Kian Fitz-Jim and Anass Salah-Eddine due to injuries, Quincy Promes has just returned to light training with his groin injury and it’s better for him to sit this one out. Joel Velmtan and Tim Brown are suspended after accumulating five yellow cards in this season. I have only seven substitutions for this game, so options are rather limited.

Squad: Dere, van der Sloot, Schuurs, Hillen, Baas (75. Drommel), Regeer, van de Beek, Barriere (72. Hansen), Karahasanovic, Boer, Enem (69. Braspenning)

Tilburg welcomed us with a heavy rain and that left its mark on the match itself. I can say that we controlled the first half, because Willem II didn’t take any attempts in the first 45 minutes, but we had only two chances before half-time. Youri Regeer found Jay Enem with a beautiful long ball in 19’ and Enem finished with an equally good strike to give us the lead. He had another great chance late in the first half, but his close range header rattled against the crossbar. It was a narrow lead at half time, but I was satisfied enough with our efforts.

We continued well in the second half and Rio Hillen quickly extended our lead with an excellent header from IFK. Perr Schuurs was the one to deliver the set piece. Alen Karahasanovic found Jay Enem with a lovely through ball in 63’, but the shot was saved by the goalkeeper. Willem II found their best chance of the game in 85’ - Vangelis Pavlidis got past of Perr Schuurs, Mo El Hankouri got through while Cor Drommel covered his offside and Gürcan Dere made a great save to parry the attempt. That was their final chance to come back into this game, so the final score remained 0:2 and that was a good enough result for us. Our performances were  uneven - some players were very good, but most of the team looked rather average and needed to do better in the next games.

• we had 65% possession and good control of the game
• Rio Hillen scored his first league goal for Ajax
• we made only 9 key passes
• we had 3 clear cut chances - all of them fell to Jay Enem, who scored a great goal, but again were wasteful with his opportunities
• we allowed Willem II to make 24 dribbles and made 21 mistakes in the game - not the best stats; perhaps rain was a factor
• Player of the game: Youri Regeer - good midfield playmaking, 5 key passes and a lovely assist from him

 

15.03.2025 - Roda JC Kerkrade - AFC Ajax 1:0 (ED) - 84. Jelano Tromp

Next up - struggling Roda JC. The team that was promoted into the Eredivisie last Summer. They were predicted to struggle against relegation and it has indeed been a difficult season for them - they’re 17th in the table and look to go to relegation play-offs. The quality just isn’t there to challenge for higher places and they’d be happy to retain their place in the top division.

So, with a tough Champions League game coming up in just three days, we rotate boldly and take this game a bit easier. Yellow cards and suspensions are mounting up and this time it’s Youri Baas who has to skip a game. Young Cor Drommel is our only decent left-back and he’ll get his first start for the club.

Squad: van den Heuvel, van der Sloot, Schuurs, Hillen, Drommel, Brown, van den Beek (62. Sangare-Aka), Barriere (76. Promes), Karahasanovic, Boer, Enem (62. Braspenning)

We weren’t in sync for the game and pre-match team talk didn’t do the work properly. The players looked a little bit nervous. That nervousness meant that even though we controlled possession in the first half and created three half-chances, we couldn’t score a goal and things in attack weren’t as smooth as I’ve used to see. The second half continued in the same fashion and substitutions didn’t help, either. We were the better team on the pitch, but didn’t put Roda JC under pressure and they looked patient to defend and wait for their chance. The chance didn’t come, but the goal came and a little bit out of nowhere - their substitute Jelano Tromp hit a little bit ambitious shot from 19 meters that came off the bar and went over the line. That was the winning goal. Needless to say that I was furious at the sideline and the fact that we couldn’t show the necessary desire and intensity to score the equalizer in the final ten minutes didn’t improve my mood either. There are not many games in a season where I feel that screaming at the players is justified after the game, but this was one of those and I let myself go in the dressing room.

• we made only 6 key passes in this game - inability to move without ball and find a good pass was the main problem in our game
• our average rating was just 6.74 - almost no good performances
• Player of the game: Jelano Tromp (Roda JC Kerkrade) - young midfielder was the hero for Roda JC in this game with his goal

 

18.03.2025 - AFC Ajax - FC Barcelona 2:0 (Champions League 1st knockout round 2nd leg) - 69. Alen Karahasanovic, 78. Jay Enem

Not sure how we could overturn our two goal deficit at home. To make things worse, we miss a lot of players - Anass Salah-Eddine and Kian Fitz-Jim are injured, Ismael Sangare-Aka, Perr Schuurs and Youri Regeer are suspended. Options are limited and we have just 5-6 decent substitutions for the game. I chose a 4-2-3-1 balanced formation.

Squad: Dere, van der Sloot, Veltman, Lopes, Baas, Brown, van de Beek, Promes (86. Hansen), Karahasanovic (105. Drommel), Boer, Enem

I didn’t have any expectations, only hoped for a decent result, and in the first half things went according to plan. We didn’t give Barca strikers any easy chances and the only really dangerous moment in front of our goal happened in injury time before the half time whistle, when Marcus Rashford received the ball in our box, but Gürcan Dere tipped it wide with a great save. The first half was encouraging, so we switched to a positive mentality at half time and it started to improve our game even further. Remy Boer was tripped in the box in 53’ and the referee awarded a penalty. Unfortunately, Quincy Promes couldn’t finish it off and his spot kick was saved by the FC Barcelona goalkeeper. That didn’t stop us for long - in 69’ we had a corner and  the ball fell to Alen Karahasahovic, who found the net. The Bosnian midfielder had a big role in our second goal, too - his long ball forward found Jay Enem on the run and the striker finished his one-on-one chance expertly. 2:0! We were level on aggregate. Barcelona players suddenly looked nervous and I had a feeling that the game was ours to take and we shouldn’t let this opportunity pass. It went all the way to extra time, when we also had the best opportunities - Jay Enem’s strike in 104’ was saved against the post by the goalkeeper, but then Youri Baas received his second yellow card and we were left to 10 men. That required the change of tactics and for the last 15 minutes we concentrated on defense to take this game to the penalty shoot-out, even though Kylian Mbappe hit the post in 112’.

Despite our efforts, we couldn’t win the shoot-out. Donny van de Beek and Tim Brown missed their penalties. Gürcan Dere made one save in the shoot-out, but Barcelona won 4-3 and went through the next round.

That was a harsh result to take, because we really looked like a better team in this home game, but that’s football. I can’t fault the performance, the lads gave their everything. Perhaps the only regret was the penalty that Promes missed in the second half, but we played a lot better than I expected.

• we managed to create 3 clear cut chances against FC Barcelona - that’s impressive
• Sontje Hansen picked up a knock and he’ll be out for a week with a twisted knee
• Player of the game: Tim Brown - the young midfielder was outstanding, gave 6 key passes and although he missed his penalty in the shoot-out, played incredibly well against such an opponent

 

21.03.2025 - AFC Ajax - ADO Den Haag 2:1 (ED) - 14. Alen Karahasanovic, 68. Carlos Manuel Lopes - 57. Joel Piroe

We want to finish our month with a good result - defeat from Roda JC still haunts our minds and although we played a really good game against Barca, the final result didn’t come our way. 

There were only three days between games and extra time against Barcelona was clearly in the legs. Our team selection was based on fitness more than anything else. Sontje Hansen was out because of his injury and Remy Boer was suspended for the game - that narrowed our options even further.

Squad: van den Heuvel, Veltman, Schuurs, Lopes (73. Hillen), Baas (79. Drommel), Regeer, Sangare-Aka, Barriere, Karahasanovic, Promes, Enem (73. Braspenning)

We needed to work hard in the first half to get control over the game - neither of the teams couldn’t create any real chances in the first period, but Alen Karahasanovic scored with a header to give us the lead in 14’ and that was good enough at the half-time.

ADO equalized in the second half - Joel Piroe won a header from a corner and that landed in our goal. Poor set piece defense, nothing else. Our position improved in 64’ - Alen Karahasanovic moved to a counter-attack with the ball and Jurgen Mattheij fouled him to stop the attack. It was well outside of the box, but the referee judged that he was the last man in defense and the red card was shown. We used our advantage well - Carlos Manuel Lopes headed in from a corner four minutes later. Youri Regeer’s mistake in midfield gave ADO another great chance to equalize, but Yassine El Baz’s shot was tipped over by Dani van den Heuvel - a great save from our backup goalkeeper who showed that he, too, can save the team when necessary. The final whistle called for our 2:1 win, but that was another poor performance and not at all convincing.

• we had 62% possession in this game
• we couldn’t create any real chances in this game - that’s a rare one!
• Player of the game: Carlos Manuel Lopes - 6 key headers, a goal and overall good performance

 

Summary

March started well, but we got cocky and Roda JC punished us with the late goal out of nowhere. Our performance against ADO Den Haag wasn’t impressive either, so the challenge for April is to keep our focus on every game and get necessary results to secure our league title.

Home game against FC Barcelona was actually a big surprise - I didn’t expect us to win. In truth - we should have won by three goals if we took our chances better. To go out after a penalty shoot-out doesn’t hurt if we’ve played our best football, so I’m pretty happy with our Champions League campaign this season.

One interesting news from Eredivisie - Vitesse Arnhem sacked their manager in March and at the end of the month they announced the appointment of Erik ten Hag. Great signing for them, obviously. Let’s see if that improves their form.

 

Eredivisie

With our defeat to Roda JC we’ve allowed Feyenoord to get another three points closer. VVV Venlo is still in the top three and PSV Eindhoven is out of European places. ADO Den Haag have dropped to 18th place and FC Dordrecht (perhaps surprisingly) have collected some points and try desperately to climb out of the danger zone.

[Draakon]

Youth Intake 2025

 

In December I received the following preview from our Head of Youth Development.

 

That was much worse than expected and it sparked the conversation with the board after which the club invested another £5,25m into the youth facilities. When March arrived, the actual bunch of youngsters that arrived to trials didn’t look so poor, actually. We have one talented winger (as promised), but also a decent midfielder. What is the biggest improvement in my eyes is that the mental stats and personalities of the players have improved, on average, so I could sign more players to our U-19 teams (in previous years I had to drop too many unambitious players).

 

Tiago Silveira

 

Incredibly talented right winger, as promised. Good with the ball, decent pace. Unfortunately - unambitious. I included him in first team training right away, hoping that his more experienced teammates can improve his personality in the coming years.

[Draakon]

April 2025

 

Four games in April - schedule gets a lot easier and we have just one game in every week. I’m looking forward to securing our title (our opponents look easy enough and we need another three wins to secure our place), but the biggest match of the month is the cup final that is also the Klassieker derby against Feyenoord. It’s held at De Kuip this season, so we’ll go to our enemy’s home for the game.

 

05.04.2025 - FC Dordrecht - AFC Ajax 1:2 (ED) - 80. Friedrich Ndongala - 25. Tim Brown, 77. Philippe Barriere

The smallest team in the league will come to this game after a surprising 1:0 win over Vitesse Arnhem. That result helped them to the 17th place and improved their morale significantly, so it could be a bit more difficult to beat them in the away game than it was in Johan Cruijff Arena.

I try to balance rotation with strength for this game. Good news is that Sontje Hansen regained his fitness during the international window. Anass Salah-Eddine is also back in light training (and could be fit for the cup final). But Youri Baas injured himself in training before the match and he’ll be out for 3-4 weeks.

Squad: van den Heuvel, van der Sloot, Hillen, Lopes, Drommel, Brown, Sangare-Aka, Promes, Karahasanovic (77. Hansen), Boer (68. Barriere), Enem

I expected us to dominate the game more than we actually did in the first half, but we had to wait for a while for our good chances. Tim Brown gave us the lead with a header from a corner and that was our only goal before the half time. Jay Enem started to get good passes in the final 15 minutes, but he was wasteful with his opportunities, and a little bit unlucky, too - his attempt from a one-on-one situation in 45’ rattled the post.

Enem continued to be a disappointment after the break. He had a free header from IFK in 54’, but it landed in the hands of the Dordrecht’s goalkeeper. Our narrow lead looked always a little fragile and even more so in 68’ when Dordrecht found their first clear cut chance of the game - Jeppe Gregersen received the pass and found himself with space and time in our box, but Dani van den Heuvel showed that he, too, can make important saves, and parried the attempt. Quincy Promes was our most creative player in attack and when Barriere came on, he was moved to AML. It was his attempt in 77’ that was blocked by the defender, but the ball fell to Barriere at the far post who could finish into the empty goal. 2:0 and it looked like the game was decided then, but it was still too early to relax. Dordrecht reacted well and their striker Friedrich Ndongala had the ball on a counter with only Rio Hillen to beat. Hillen, who was already booked, didn’t dare to make a proper challenge in the box and was passed too easily and Ndongala finished his one-on-one opportunity with an excellent strike to get Dordrecht back into this game. 1:2 and we were facing a rather nervous last ten minutes. Jay Enem’s poor game continued in 86’ when he saw his long shot hit the post (again), but we managed to hold onto our lead. The final whistle marked another win with a poor performance - nothing to be proud of, but got the job done. It could have been much easier if Jay Enem had scored a couple of goals from the chances that he had, but it was a poor display in front of the goal from him.

• we had 63% possession in this game
• we managed to create 3 clear cut chances - pretty good, but conceded 2 ccc-s, too
• Tim Brown scored his first league goal for Ajax
• Player of the game: Quincy Promes - delivered dangerous set pieces, created three chances, gave two assists and made 11 dribbles

 

13.04.2025 - AFC Ajax - sc Heerenveen 2:0 (ED) - 12. and 56. pen. Quincy Promes

Feyenoord have no intention to drop points and they’ve continued their winning streak. We have maintained a six points gap with them, but need two more wins from our remaining games to secure the title, so when we hosted sc Heerenveen I had to revert back to our best eleven to get the job done.

sc Heerenveen have dropped to 10th place in the table - their team has some potential, and they have a lot of depth in their squad, but perhaps they’d do better if they replace numbers with more quality. Their depth means that they have an ability to mix things up and offer a number of various tactics, so this could be a tricky game for us. We have Anass Salah-Eddine back in full training (great news!), so a bit more players are available for selection. The one player missing is Steven van der Sloot - it’s his turn now to be suspended after collecting five yellow cards. These bookings start to haunt us in the latter stages of the season and more and more players are either suspended or one yellow away from suspension.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Lopes, Drommel (71. Salah-Eddine), Regeer, van de Beek, Promes, Karahasanovic (75. Sangare-Aka), Boer, Enem (71. Braspenning)

sc Heerenveen had the first good chance of the game - Teun Wilke Braams received a defense-splitting pass in 7’ and went one-on-one against Gürcan Dere, but his shot was perhaps a little rushed and our goalkeeper made a great save to deny him. We then took control of the game - Quincy Promes produced some magic in 12’ by scoring a great goal from just outside of the box and that stunned Heerenveen for a while. At the half time we had a narrow lead, although Heerenveen had the best chance in the first period.

The second half was also rather quiet. Remy Boer was tripped in the box and Promes converted a penalty to make it 2:0 and that was it. No more big chances in the second half and we took a solid win against a good team. It looked like they tried a bit more in the final 10-15 minutes, but we looked really good in defense, especially controlling the set piece situations. Alen Karahasanovic had to come off with an injury in 71’ - that’s a big loss for us ahead of the cup final.

• we lost possession 44/56 in this game
• Ismael Sangare-Aka made his 100th appearance for Ajax
• Alen Karahasanovic will be out for a week with a twisted knee
• Player of the game: Quincy Promes - an outstanding game from the winger, two goals and led our attacks

 

20.04.2025 - Feyenoord Rotterdam - AFC Ajax 1:2 (TOTO KNVB Beker Final) - 36. Soulyman Allouch - 65. Quincy Promes, 102. Sontje Hansen

The cup final at De Kuip. Media and football journalists did their best to heat up rivalry and increase pressure before the final. It’s true that it’s always more special to play against Feyenoord or PSV in those games, but those press conferences turn more and more ridiculous when people continue to emphasize it in every possible question.

The truth was that with the game being held at De Kuip, our rivals had a kind of home advantage this time (to be fair, plenty of times it’s been held at Johan Cruijff Arena as well), so I prepared for a tough game. Feyenoord has been just incredible in the second half of the season. Their last defeat came in January and they’ve won no less than  14 games straight after that. Rightfully in the 2nd position of the table in Eredivisie and the team to beat in this stage.

I wanted to start with our best eleven and injuries have become better in the last week, too. Kian Fitz-Jim is in the rehabilitation phase of his recovery, Youri Baas and Alen Karahasanovic are back in light training, but I can’t use either of them. Anass Salah-Eddine is fortunately back and his 20 minutes against Heerenveen gave him the first competitive game after the injury, so I hope that he’ll do well enough despite lacking match fitness. Jay Enem has a tight thigh, but he’ll have to do with it - I’ll take him out if it gets worse.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine, Regeer, Sangare-Aka (113. Brown), Promes, van de Beek, Boer (77. Hansen), Enem (119. Braspenning)

For the first ten minutes it looked like we had possession and small initiative in the game, but after that it was evident that Feyenoord’s attacking plan was much better. Their three forwards were so good with the ball and our defenders were always a little bit late to situations, so chances started to come and Gürcan Dere had to be alert. Marouan Azarkan tested him in 12’ and two minutes later there was a clear cut chance to Tamer Erdem, who took a fierce shot on target. Dere did brilliantly to save it and keep us in the game, but in 36’ Soulyman Allouch finally scored after another good combination. It was a deserved lead to Feyenoord who had been the better team in the first half and attacked continuously. At times we couldn’t cope with them at all and I knew that I had to make tactical changes if we wanted to turn this around. I tweaked our line of engagement, and some individual instructions. Switched from positive to balanced and back to positive. In the second half it looked like we got better control over our own third and Feyenoord’s chances dried up. Then it finally happened - a good combination from our right, Jay Enem left the ball to Promes, who squeezed it in from the near post - 1:1! The game-changing goal, as we now had initiative and Feyenoord looked puzzled. We couldn’t score another goal in normal time, so the game went to extra time. I would have been OK with penalties, but felt that we were a bit more comfortable on the pitch and the game was probably ours to take. In 102’ we finally found a breakthrough - Joel Veltman delivered a long ball forward to Sontje Hansen, who finished calmly with a placed shot. That was enough to take it and we won the cup after extra time.

A really great win, because it was so, so difficult. Experience, skills and some tactical tweaks in the second half helped us to the win, but Feyenoord looked very strong and we had to show our best character to turn this around.

• Feyenoord had 23/11 shots in this game - most of those attempts came in the first half
• we made only 9 key passes, but Feyenoord had a similar number - both teams looked well organized and good defensively
• Quincy Promes scored his 10th goal of the season
• Player of the game: Jesper Jongmans (Feyenoord Rotterdam) - their left-back looked impressive in this final

 

27.04.2025 - AFC Ajax - FC Eindhoven 2:2 (ED) -2. Remy Boer, 13. Jay Enem - 29. Sven Blummel, 69. pen. Leandro Fernandes

Three games to go and we actually need only one win, because of our superior goal difference. Feyenoord doesn’t want to let up and they’ve won their 32nd game already, so we have to continue winning as well. FC Eindhoven is a small team and shouldn’t be a threat to us. Home advantage (that’s our last home game of the season) makes us even more favourites for the game. Good news is that Youri Baas and Alen Karahasanovic are fit to start - the only player still missing is Kian Fitz-Jim.

Squad: van den Heuvel, van der Sloot, Schuurs, Hillen, Salah-Eddine (63. Baas), Regeer, Sangare-Aka, Promes (68. Hansen), Karahasanovic (79. van de Beek), Boer, Enem

We started well and scored a flyer - Remy Boer finished into the near corner after a good combination from our left. Jay Enem doubled our lead in 13’ and it looked like FC Eindhoven had no answers in the first 20 minutes or so, but then it started to happen - first they had a goal disallowed (referee saw a push to Dani van den Heuvel after checking with VAR) and then Sven Blummel was left unmarked in our box and allowed to score with a volley. It has to be said that we picked ourselves up right away and created dangerous moments in front of the FC Eindhoven goal - Quincy Promes saw his attempt being tipped over by Nick Olij and Jay Enem had an easy tap-in, but his shot was tipped wide. Wasted opportunities again. At half time our lead was 2:1 - we were clearly the better team, but allowed FC Eindhoven back into the game and had to make sure to get all three points in the second half.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t score another goal. Jay Enem had another clear cut chance in 53’ that was saved. In 68’ Rio Hillen made a completely unnecessary foul in the box while the ball was already heading over the byline and the referee had no other choice than to award the penalty to FC Eindhoven. It was slotted in by Fernandes and so it was 2:2 - Eindhoven had come back from 0:2 to equalize. I decided to take more risks to win the game and switched to attacking 4-2-3-1, but it didn’t help us. Instead, our opponents had a great chance to score a winner in 76’, but this time Dani van den Heuvel reacted well and saved Adrian Szöke’s attempt. Jay Enem saw his fierce shot being tipped over by Olij and that was it - a poor draw.

After the final whistle I was furious at the sidelines. We let our two goal lead slip away against the smaller team and Jay Enem (as usual) wasted two clear cut chances in the process. Sure, we went to this game with a weakened team, but that’s no excuse in my eyes. That draw makes our task so much more difficult in the remaining games.

• we had 63% possession in this game
• our shooting was 22/12 
• Player of the game: Remy Boer - had a good game, scored a goal and made 9 dribbles with the ball

 

Summary

We’re still on course and when I think back to April, I have to be happy, because we won the cup against Feyenoord and it was such a difficult game for us. Dropped points against FC Eindhoven, but we’re still on course to win the league.

 

Eredivisie

We have a four point advantage over Feyenoord and VVV Venlo are firmly in the third position after AZ Alkmaar dropped points. To my surprise ADO Den Haag got relegated in April, after straight defeats. FC Dordrecht is bound to relegation play-offs, but for them it’s a success after sitting in 18th position for the most of the season. PSV Eindhoven needs to work hard to finish in the top six and get European football in the next season.

[Draakon]

May 2025

 

Two tricky fixtures in May and we need results here to secure our title. Both are away games and against teams that can cause us some trouble.

 

04.05.2025 - Vitesse Arnhem - AFC Ajax 0:1 (ED) - 11. Jay Enem

Now is not the time to rotate and distribute playing time - it should be our first eleven against Vitas. Vitesse could be a decent top-half team (especially because they have fairly good loanees from Chelsea), but they’ve lost all of their games in March and sunk to the bottom third of the table. 

We miss Carlos Manuel Lopes due to a small injury and Youri Regeer (another suspension and one week’s wages of fine to him), but the rest of the team is ready and up for the challenge (at least according to our team meeting feedback).

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Hillen, Salah-Eddine (86. Baas), Brown, Sangare-Aka (62. van de Beek), Promes (76. Hansen), Karahasanovic, Boer, Enem

We took the lead in 11’ - Joel Veltman did well to work hard and pressure Vitesse defenders near their byline and after he won the ball back, crossed it quickly into the box where Jay Enem was completely alone and finished his chance into the near post. We had a good opportunity to double our lead in 26’ when the referee awarded a penalty (Enem was tripped in the box), but Quincy Promes hit the post from the spot and that miss made me cringe at the sideline. We needed the win so much and the second goal would have given us a huge advantage, but to miss a penalty in such a moment is a big let down. Moments of let downs continued in this game - Jay Enem wasted his clear cut chance in 34’ and when the first half finished with a 1:0 lead, I felt that our poor finishing hampered our game. We should have been 2:0 or 3:0 ahead at this point.

Motivation of the players was evident in their body language. I detected no nervousness or pressure, but the finishing continued to be a problem in the second half. Alen Karahasanovic had a good chance to score in 59’, but his attempt was again saved by Timon Wellenreuther. In those circumstances it was almost inevitable that Vitesse would get their chance to equalize and that moment came in 76’ - Elliott Boyce was open after their quick counter when Tim Brown lost possession in attack, but Gürcan Dere showed his class to hold the ball with a very good save. That was it - a narrow win in a game where we created chances, but failed to finish them. But those three points were the most important and clinched our league title.

• we created 4 clear cut chances in this game, with only 8 key passes, but failed to take full advantage of the goal scoring opportunities
• we allowed Vitesse to make 26 dribbles in this game - way too many
• Player of the game: Joel Veltman - good in defense, provided an assist and overall good game from the captain

 

11.05.2025 - Heracles Almelo - AFC Ajax 0:3 (ED) - 34., 49. and 73. pen. Remy Boer

With the title secured, I could relax for our last game of the season and distribute playing time to rotation players. Perr Schuurs and Joel Veltman picked up injuries in training and were out anyway.

Squad: van den Heuvel, van der Sloot, Hillen, Lopes, Baas (60. Drommel), Brown, Sangare-Aka, Hansen (60. Barriere), Karahasanovic, Boer, Braspenning (71. Pinas)

The first half was a very quiet game, with a low number of attempts. The only moment came in 34’ when Sontje Hansen’s attempt was blocked by Heracles’ defender, the ball fell to Remy Boer who finished it off to give us the lead. Boer continued well into the second half - his header from a corner extended our lead and when Carlos Manuel Lopes was fouled in a corner situation, it was Boer who stepped up to complete his hat-trick from the spot. It wasn’t the game where we kept Heracles’ defense under pressure for long periods. In fact, we only got four shots on target. But those moments were enough to score three goals and the final result looked fairly convincing.

• we had 60% possession in this game
• again, only 8 key passes - not the most creative attack
• Player of the game: Remy Boer - superb performance from the hat-trick hero

 

Summary

Good finish to our season - kept two clean sheets, took two wins and clinched the title with one game to go.

 

Eredivisie

We collected 80 points - a bit low, but good enough to win the title. We allowed Feyenoord to close the gap in the last couple of months, but their first half of the season was too poor to get any closer. PSV Eindhoven was a disappointment, AZ Alkmaar looked like title contenders until Christmas, but their form dropped in Spring. VVV Venlo was the real surprise package of the season and their third place is something that nobody expected.

At the bottom of the table we have three teams relegated. FC Dordrecht and Roda JC Kerkrade were favourites to go down, as their squads didn’t look good enough to stay in the competition, but ADO Den Haag’s failure to get out of the relegation zone was a real surprise. They have a lot of good players in their team and other Eredivisie clubs will do their best to raid them in the coming Summer. ADO’s failure meant that FC Eindhoven survived another year.

[Draakon]

Season Summary

 

Well. To sum this season up I have to begin with the last Summer - so many first team/key players leaving (Lassina Traore, Kenneth Taylor, Marco Ferreira) that in August I was in serious doubt if we’re Champions League material or not. But we passed this test with flying colours and won our group, only to get FC Barcelona as our opponent in the first knockout round. Tough draw and there our journey ended, but we gave them a battle at home and can keep our head high after that performance.

Our domestic campaign looked less impressive than in previous seasons, but we won the title and cup, even though AZ Alkmaar looked really strong contenders in Autumn and Feyenoord pushed us all the way in Spring. Some failures were directly connected to my decision to rotate players and give playing time to youngsters, but after losing so many good players in Summer, we needed to take some risks with youth.

 

Players and Stats

Few notes and highlights from my point of view.

1. Joel Veltman ages like a fine wine. He captained the team most of the time, delivered good performances from right-back and even though his age (33 years) is starting to slow him down, his tackling ability, long passes forwards (that have created plenty of chances to Jay Enem and Quincy Promes) and good tackling ability means that he’s still our preferred right-back and keeps Steven van der Sloot out of the first eleven.
2. Cor Drommel emerged. We have enough left-backs, with Anass Salah-Eddine a clear first option and Youri Baas producing cover, but because of injuries and suspension, the youngster got enough first team chances in this season. He’s still green and needs to work a lot harder in training, but that was a clear breakthrough season for him.
3. Tim Brown is a good option after all. After Kenneth Taylor left I was afraid that we don’t have enough cover for the DLPd position. Youri Regeer was the clear first choice, but Tim Brown put in some good performances and surprised some pundits in the process. His most memorable game was our home win over FC Barcelona (9.0 rating!) and even though he missed his penalty, that’s a huge experience for the young player.
4. Alen Karahasanovic’s inconsistency. You never really know what kind of Bosnian will step on the pitch. At times he looked unstoppable, but in other games disappeared completely (or the opposition defense was just able to neutralize him easily). He delivered 11 assists in this season, but with over 40 starts, that’s not enough, especially as he did fill for Marco Ferreira
5. Kian Fitz-Jim’s injury - the biggest set-back in terms of fitness, our first team left-back was out for almost 5 months with a broken foot. Remy Boer did well enough to cover the AML position, but we surely missed Fitz-Jim in the second half of the season.
6. Our attack relied too much on Quincy Promes - the 33 years old winger was our main provider with 14 assists, he delivered good corners and free kicks, he was fairly good from the spot (scored 4/5 from penalties in Eredivisie) and was able to create something with the ball when our ´attack started to stall. You’d expect to see more from Sontje Hansen, Karahasanovic or Boer, but no.
7. Jay Enem and his missed chances. At first glance 26 goals is a good number. Pretty good, actually. But given the fact how many chances Enem blew, is just astounding. I can’t complain about his ability to be at the right position at the right time - he found 33 clear cut chances in Eredivisie this season, but scored only 10 goals from those chances. Incredible number of goals left not scored. Fortunately he was slightly better in the Champions League where chances are more rare.
8. No goals from direct free kicks. In the past we have had Dušan Tadic and Marco Ferreira, who had the ability to curl the ball over the wall and into the top corner, but at the moment no player has a free kick attribute over 14 and that shows. We can deliver the ball into the box and head in or find an open player, but we weren’t able to score a single goal from direct free kick in this season.

 

Ajax goals: Jay Enem 26, Remy Boer 14, Quincy Promes 10

Ajax assists: Quincy Promes 14, Alen Karahasanovic 11

 

Ajax End of Season Awards 2024-2025

 

 

 

Eredivisie Awards

Golden Boot:

1. Aiden Toal (VVV Venlo)
2. Wouter Burger (Feyenoord Rotterdam)
3. Jairo Simons (Sparta Rotterdam)

 

Top Goalscorer:

1. Aiden Toal (VVV Venlo) - 22
2. Jay Enem (AFC Ajax) - 18
3. Ayodele Lauteria (Sparta Rotterdam) - 13

 

Young Player of the Year:

1. Aiden Toal (VVV Venlo)
2. Jairo Simons (Sparta Rotterdam)
3. Carlos Manuel Lopes (AFC Ajax)

 

Goalkeeper of the Year:

1. Alexei Koselev (VVV Venlo)
2. Gürcan Dere (AFC Ajax)
3. Robin Roefs (FC Utrecht)

 

Manager’s Manager of the Season:

1. Me
2. Vitor Pereira (Feyenoord Rotterdam)
3. Ernest Faber (PSV Eindhoven)

[Draakon]

June 2025
 

We started the pre-season with the board meeting. A few things were agreed. Firstly, another £5m will be invested into youth facilities (this time it was the board’s initiative and I wholeheartedly supported it), secondly physio wage budget was increased and we took a closer look at next season’s expectation.

To my surprise, the board reduced the expectations for our Champions League campaign. For the past seasons it’s been reaching the knockout stages, but this time the board will be happy with group stage and good performances there. I have to admit that I’m a bit relieved, because our chances of qualifications were often affected by the fact how difficult the group we had or the result of one single game, but my personal aspirations are obviously getting through the group and claiming as many coefficient points as possible.

 

Transfers

No big moves, although there was interest in Gürcan Dere and Carlos Manuel Lopes. The youngster Tiago Silveira attracted attention from Chelsea and Manchester City, but I tied him down with a professional contract as soon as possible. The only departure in Summer was Jaymillio Pinas - the forward looked like a surplus to requirements and left to PEC Zwolle for £1,5m.

 

Contracts

• Remy Boer - £14,000p/w until 2030. Hopefully stops PSG’s interest in him.
• Steven van der Sloot - £25,000p/w until 2028
• Sontje Hansen - £35,000p/w until 2029
• Tim Brown - £5,000p/w until 2029
• Gürcan Dere - £30,000p/w until 2030 - would it deter Real Madrid?
• Vincent Claes - £2,500p/w until 2029 - youngster needs more time to train and develop before I make final decision about him

 

Loans

• Cor Drommel - KV Oostende - at least one left-back needs to go on loan and Drommel needs definitely more playing time than he’d get in Ajax
• Philippe Barriere - young right winger spent a short spell in Heracles at the beginning of the last season. Failed to get agreed playing time there and was recalled after Quincy Promes was injured. Did extremely well to help the team with a couple of goals, but dropped to the bench in the latter stages of the season - needs more playing time elsewhere to develop his skills
• Youri Baas - Alto Adige - Serie B club takes Baas on loan with a promise to give him plenty of game time. Decision based on our left-back surplus rather than Baas’ personal development plan.
• Julius Dirksen - Cercle Brugge - it’s evident that Perr Schuurs and Carlos Manuel Lopes are not leaving this Summer and Rio Hillen’s deal with Derby County fell through, so four centre-backs look too much to my team.
• Tiago Chaves - Helmond Sport - 19 years old winger needs more first team football than Jong Ajax can provide and at Helmond there’s a chance of Eredivisie level minutes. 

 

Staff

Kristjaan Speakman signed as coach to replace Richard Witschge

Nathaniel Weiss signed as U-19 coach - good addition to our backroom staff

 

 

Eredivisie transfers

• Willem van Wijk from FC Groningen to Tottenham for £18,75m - the wonderkid attacking midfielder is one of the biggest transfers this Summer and when Tottenham showed interest, FC Groningen decided to cash in for the 20 years old youngster. His talent is obvious and it’s fair to say that FC Groningen didn’t have time to show it fully on the pitch, before he moved on. Good money, though.
• Nick Lee from AZ Alkmaar to Aston Villa for £15,5m - great player, worth a shot in higher level and moved forward to the Premier League. Aston Villa could be a good choice for him. AZ bought him two years ago from FC Utrecht and paid £10m, so a healthy profit for them.
• Darryl Hose from ADO Den Haag to AZ Alkmaar for £11m - probably the most talented player in relegated ADO team, attacking midfielder with technical ability and creativity. Obviously AZ Alkmaar was the first to react and land him. Could be a good deal for both sides.
• Owen Wijndal from RB Leipzig to AZ Alkmaar for £8,5m (£10m) - AZ Alkmaar brought back the left-back who went away to England (played four seasons for Fulham) and then Germany. Turned up not to be exactly Premier League material, but very good player for Eredivisie level. The transfer fee might look fair, but it has to be said that AZ Alkmaar will pay him £97,000 p/w and so Wijndal will have the highest salary of all Eredivisie players.
• Sherel Floranus from Watford to PSV Eindhoven for £8,25m - another Dutch player returning home, but I’m not sure about that transfer. On paper, Floranus looks rather mediocre and not the kind of player to take PSV Eindhoven team further. At least he’s not worth £8m - you could find those kinds of players in Eredivisie for £2-3m. PSV’s decisions in the transfer market have not been impressive in the past (I still can’t believe they signed Brian Brobbey for free, decided to pay him almost £50,000 p/w and then play him only TWICE from the bench in the whole last season). So, bringing on another fairly expensive squad player when they have plenty of young talents coming up for the wing-back position - why? They’re not even playing European football this season, so the number of games should be lower than usual.
• Mitchel Bakker from FC Groningen to Standard Liege for £8m. Actually a very good left-back in a strong FC Groningen squad. Transfer fee seems to match the value of the player on this occasion. As Bakker was once trained in Ajax, around £200k of that was paid to us. FC Groningen brought the  talented Bradley de Nooijer from ADO Den Haag earlier this Summer and so they’re not really weakened by that move.
• Carel Eiting from AZ Alkmaar to Newcastle United for £6,5m - not sure about that deal. Eiting was a valuable first team midfielder for AZ and they paid over £7m for him in 2022, so that deal didn’t make any profit for the club and they lost a good and experienced player. Good move for Eiting himself, to get into the Premier League after years in Netherlands and Belgium.
• Karim Rekik from Wolfsburg to Feyenoord Rotterdam for £5,75m (£7,25m with clauses) - 30 years old experienced centre-back will bolster the ranks of our rivals, at least for a couple of seasons.

 

July 2025

 

Our pre-season friendlies went OK. I’ve delegated arranging them to my assistant which means that I have little control over who we play with. This time the biggest name in our schedule was AC Milan in the Amsterdam friendly cup competition, but we trashed them 4:1. Our toughest opponents turned out to be OGC Nice during our tour in France - that game remained goalless after ninety minutes.

 

26.07.2025 - AFC Ajax - Feyenoord Rotterdam 1:0 (Johan Cruijff Schaal) - 87. Youri Regeer

The usual pre-season Johan Cruijff Schaal fixture is this time another Klassieker derby. This time we have the home advantage and that will make us favourites, but Feyenoord are tough opponents who are difficult to beat anywhere.

We have all of the players fit and ready for the game and that’s the best news that I can have ahead of a long season. Not much has changed in the squad, so we start with our usual first eleven and standard 4-2-3-1 positive formation.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Lopes (87. Hillen), Salah-Eddine, Regeer, van de Beek, Promes (62. Hansen), Karahasanovic (76. boer), Fitz-Jim, Enem

Feyenoord started with a rather cautious 4-5-1 formation and clearly played for counter-attacks. It almost led to success for them early in the game - in 9’ Cheick Toure found Tamer Erdem with a long ball forward and while the Feyenoord striker was free of our defenders and went one-on-one against Gürcan Dere, he put his shot wide of the post. My initial feeling was that we were lucky there, but for the remainder of the game we weren’t so easily surprised by those counter-attack attempts. Instead we dominated the game and had most of the shots. 75% of the possession belonged to us in the first half, but Feyenoord defended in numbers and it was extremely difficult to get shots on target.

I wanted a more straightforward approach in the second half and asked the players to shoot on sight for around 20-30 minutes. That changed the game - we took more shots, half of them from the distance. Few were rushed, but some of them were clearly dangerous and the Feyenoord goalkeeper had to make a couple of good saves. One of those came early in the second half when Salah-Eddine’s strike from 20 meters was on its way to the bottom corner, but was brought away by the keeper. Jay Enem managed to hit the post in 69’, but with the game nearing to end, we were still looking for the winner. It finally came late in the game - Remy Boer delivered a free kick to the far post where Youri Regeer was ready to head it in. 1:0 and Feyenoord had too little time to react. Boer had a great chance to extend our lead a couple of minutes later, but messed up his shot and late in injury time Jay Enem wasted another clear cut chance. Despite those misses 1:0 was good enough for a win and even Feyenoord’s manager Vitor Pereira had to admit that we were the ones that deserved to win in this game. We kept Feyenoord under pressure for most of those 90 minutes, had a number of shots on target and eventually scored the winner.

• we had 62% possession in this game
• our shooting was 34/14 - quite impressive
• I replaced Karahasanovic with Boer in the second half and moved Kian Fitz-Jim to the AMC position - he really impressed in midfield and created two clear cut chances in the final minutes - not his fault that Boer and Enem couldn’t finish, but that’s food for thought for our next games
• Player of the game: Youri Regeer

[Draakon]

Squad Update 2025-2026 Season

 

Not a lot of changes in the squad over this Summer. The first eleven looks pretty much the same. Some overall notes to add about the players:

• Joel Veltman and Quincy Promes will enter their last year of contract and it’s doubtful that they will continue in Ajax after this season. Promes has an automatic extension clause in his deal that will be triggered after 20 first team appearances, so that limits his games and Sontje Hansen will get most starts in the AMR position. It’s time for transition and Hansen and van der Sloot have to step up and take over from veterans.
• We have better depth in some areas. Or in other words - some youngsters who looked barely first team material one year ago can fill the roles much better now - namely Remy Boer and Tim Brown, but Alen Karahasanovic has improved a lot, too, over the past twelve months
• some players are merely backup and can (perhaps will) be replaced. Dani van den Heuvel does not look like he could develop into the first team goalkeeper, Rio Hillen’s transfer fell through, but I was ready to accept the decent bid for him as his poor aerial ability and balanced personality can offer little in long term. Kik Braspenning is another decent rotation/backup player, but unlikely to end up in the Premier League or perform well in the Champions League level
• Vincent Claes is the new addition to the first team. He was the best player in his youth class in 2024 and looks like he could develop into a good player, but we’ll have to wait and see. Not quite ready for the first team role, but could get some minutes here and there.

 

Goalkeepers

 

 

Defenders

 

 

 

Midfielders

 

 

Wingers

 

 

Strikers

 

[Draakon]

August 2025

 

03.08.2025 - AFC Ajax - Willem II Tilburg 2:1 (ED) - 19. Jay Enem, 90.+4 Kian Fitz-Jim - 12. Keziah Veendorp

We start our Eredivisie campaign with a home game (always easier that way) and our schedule in August does not look too difficult. Willem II has looked like a decent mid-table or upper half team in the past seasons and their line-up hasn’t changed much in Summer, so we know what we’re up against.

We had Rio Hillen suspended and Remy Boer suffered a small knock in training, so he won’t start.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine, Regeer, van de Beek, Hansen (51. Promes), Karahasanovic (70. Boer), Fitz-Jim, Enem

The first fifteen minutes of the game didn’t look good. I’m not sure what was wrong - if the concentration was poor or something missing, but at first we game Willem a great chance in 5’ - Anass Salah-Eddine gave a poor pass in our third that was intercepted and the following attacking move led to an easy chance for Mo El Hankouri, but Gürcan Dere came off his line to make a brilliant save and deny the opportunity. Soon, it was 0:1 though, and Willem II took the lead after a free kick - it was expertly flicked on to empty space in our box, where Keziah Veendorp was open to fire it into the top corner. Unstoppable strike and Gürcan Dere had nothing to do in this situation. Sontje Hansen was the one to blame, because he was in that zone and should have followed Veendorp into the box.  We reacted well and equalized soon enough, similarly from the free kick. Perr Schuurs did well to win his header and direct it across the goal where Jay Enem was well-positioned and put it in from a point blank range. The first half finished 1:1, but after the poor fifteen minutes in the beginning, we looked better after our equalizer, controlled the game and it felt that the win was ours to take in the second half.

The beginning of the second half was again terrible. We gifted Willem II another clear cut chance in 47’, after allowing Mats Köhlert to dribble all over the pitch and lay it to Vangelis Pavlidis with a simple pass. Again Gürcan Dere was there to save our ass with a brilliant save. We composed ourselves (like we did in the first half). Disappointing Sontje Hansen came off and Quincy Promes came on and that, too, gave us more energy in attack, but the goal didn’t come. We even had a penalty in 56’, but Promes saw his spot kick being saved by Maarten Paes (who had a very good game, to be fair). Second half offered plenty of decent chances for us, but the goal kept itself waiting. Paes denied Kian Fitz-Jim’s fierce shot, Jay Enem had a clear cut chance in 77’, but his weak attempt was easily dealt with by the goalkeeper. We kept Willem II defense under pressure until the final minutes and in the end it brought the deserved reward - we had another corner late in injury time and in the follow-up Kian Fitz-Jim had an attempt from 22 meters. His shot was just so accurate and unexpected for Paes, that it rolled into the bottom corner from 22 meters. A late winner with a brilliant strike and I was clearly delighted with that! Great to start our campaign with a win, but I’ve seen plenty of room for improvements in our performance.

• our shooting was 24/14 in this game - pretty good
• we made 22 key passes in this game and created 3 clear cut chances
• Player of the game: Kian Fitz-Jim - scored an outstanding late goal to win this for us

 

10.08.2025 - FC Emmen - AFC Ajax 1:2 (ED) - 31. Martin Polman - 4. Donny van de Beek, 24. Jay Enem

After a rather difficult first game, we travelled to Emmen next Sunday to face the local FC Emmen. Our opponents have been in Eredivisie for quite a long period now, but starting to finish closer and closer to relegation zone and so they’re predicted to finish 14th in pre-season expectations. It’s not quite consistent with what I notice on the club screen - they’ve had a good transfer window, offloaded some deadwood for £2,8m (incredible amount of cash for players with that kind of abilities) and spent less than £1m. The board can count (and make) money, that seems. The squad looks familiar, too, with a couple of good-looking youngsters (especially 19 years old midfielder Peta van Rooij, who looks good enough to play for Ajax in the future). They’ve landed experienced winger Ola John on a free and that’s the only addition to their attack.

I made one change to our starting line-up - Steven van der Sloot starts and I expect his pace to be important to cover for Emmen wingers.

Squad: Dere, van der Sloot, Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine (71. Douglas), Regeer, van de Beek, Hansen, Karahasanovic, Fitz-Jim (63. Boer), Enem (81. Braspenning)

We had a good start to the game and in the first 20-30 minutes FC Emmen couldn’t stop our attacks. Donny van de Beek scored a flyer in 4’ with a shot that took a heavy deflection from a defender and sent their goalkeeper the wrong way. Sontje Hansen’s attempt just a minute later rattled the crossbar and Jay Enem found a clear cut chance in 14’ that was tipped away by the goalkeeper. Enem finally found his goal, though - in 24’ he received a great pass from van de Beek and managed to score from a narrow angle to make it 2:0. We looked very comfortable at this point and well in control of the game, but FC Emmen did have an answer - in 31’ their cross from our left came to the far post area where Martin Polman rose above Steven van der Sloot and powered his header into the goal. That concluded the first half - we played well, created chances, could have (perhaps) scored more goals, but one moment in 31’ allowed FC Emmen back into this game, so we had to guard against complacency in the second half.

We continued to control the game in the second half and eventually that was good enough to keep our narrow lead. Alen Karahasanovic created another clear cut chance for Enem in 57’, but if you can’t score, you just can’t score. It’s like a curse with Enem - his attempt was again brilliantly saved by the FC Emmen goalkeeper and I’m not sure whether to criticize Enem or praise the keeper. Few other attempts from Enem, Perr Schuurs and Kik Braspenning were promising, but didn’t lead to goals and it remained 2:1. I was satisfied with three points, but not entirely happy with our performance, especially finishing.

• we had 61% possession
• our shooting was 24/14 in this game
• we created 3 clear cut chances
• Player of the game: Alen Karahasanovic - great midfield performance from the Bosnian, he gave 5 key passes and created 4 chances to his teammates; not his fault that the others couldn’t finish them off

 

16.08.2025 - AFC Ajax - FC Eindhoven 2:0 (ED) - 9. pen. Youri Regeer, 46. Perr Schuurs

One of the easiest fixtures in August, at least on paper. FC Eindhoven are one of the relegation candidates (in fact - have been for the past couple of seasons). Only the fact that ADO Den Haag had just a terrible season in the last year kept FC Eindhoven in Eredivisie and they need to fight against relegation again. They’re doing it fairly well, though, and stunned AZ Alkmaar 1:0 in the previous round, so if they continue to get points like that, everything is possible for them. I gave chances to some of the players - Rio Hillen, Remy Boer (he trained exceptionally well this week), Kik Braspenning (Jay Enem suffered a minor knock in training and I don’t want to use him here if I don’t want to).

Squad: Dere, van der Sloot, Schuurs, Hillen, Salah-Eddine (68. Douglas), Regeer (73. Brown), van de Beek (59. Sangare-Aka), Hansen, Karahasanovic, Boer, Braspenning

We controlled the game pretty much from start to finish. We took the lead from the penalty after Remy Boer was tripped just inside of the box at 9’ and looked comfortable after that. The number of chances and goals could have been higher, but we didn’t look in trouble. Kik Braspenning had a chance to impress through the whole 90 minutes and he, too, tested the goalkeeper with a couple of good attempts, but wasn’t able to get himself onto the score sheet. I asked the team not to get complacent in the second half and Perr Schuurs responded with a goal from a corner right after the second half kick-off and that settled the result. 2:0 was a solid win. With so many changes in the squad I can’t really complain about that result. Happy with the clean sheet, though.

• our shooting was 23/8 in this game
• we didn’t allow FC Eindhoven to create any real chances
• FC Eindhoven made 38 fouls in this game - incredibly high number; they were constantly disrupting the flow of the game, but at the same time we had many set piece opportunities because of it
• Player of the game: Remy Boer - had a good game on our left wing, made 8 dribbles and created 3 chances in that match, in addition he was fouled for the penalty

 

24.08.2025 - FC Utrecht - AFC Ajax 0:1 (ED) - 4. Donny van de Beek

Our trip to Utrecht looked trickier than expected. FC Utrecht was predicted to finish 10th by analysts, but looking at their squad I’d say they’re a much better team - plenty of options in all positions, experience mixed with youth and talent. They’re participating in Europa Conference League this season and have played play-offs in August, so they come against us with some fatigue, but with an impressive 10:1 win over the Serbian club Partizan. So - morale is high in their camp and we have to be at our best to beat them in Galgenwaard.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine (71. Douglas), Regeer, van de Beek, Promes (85. Hansen), Karahasanovic (58. Fitz-Jim), Boer, Enem

We started the game in the best way possible - an early goal from Donny van de Beek gave us the lead and what a goal that was! Remy Boer passed the ball right to van de Beek who had some space quite far from the goal, but he tried his luck and scored an incredible goal from 26 meters. FC Utrecht’s goalkeeper Robin Roefs had no chance to stop it. Despite the early goal FC Utrecht players didn’t look disenchanted - their motivation seemed even higher than ours and their game plan looked clear enough - two DMCs in their 4-2-3-1 formation packed the box with bodies, so it was very difficult to break down and create space for attacking moves. No wonder that the rest of the first half offered no real chances and most of our noteworthy moments came from set pieces.

I tried to adjust in the second half - lowered our line of engagement to allow FC Utrecht some room to rise with the ball and create space for our counter-attacks if we win the ball back. On a couple of occasions it worked well - both Kian Fitz-Jim and Joel Veltman found Jay Enem on the run, but as it has happened before, the striker couldn’t finish his chances. Some credit has to go to Roefs, too, who did well to limit the angle and made great saves. With only a 0:1 score line and in a rival game, it’s often motivation that decides the outcome and ability to handle pressure with it.  Both Alen Karahasanovic and Quincy Promes started to show nervousness and were taken off. Fitz-Jim came on well to the AMC position and even though we couldn’t score another goal, we looked good in defense and limited FC Utrecht’s chances to equalize, so it remained 1:0. Good win in a difficult game - FC Utrecht manager was quite pleased with his team’s performance and rightfully so - their game plan was clear and the players did their best. Without the brilliance of van de Beek it could have been 0:0 easily on another day.

• we made only 8 key passes in this game - no wonder if our opponents defended with such a good organization
• FC Utrecht players made 29 dribbles in this game - interesting, because it wasn’t so evident watching the highlights
• Perr Schuurs have collected three yellow cards in four games already - he’ll face his first suspension already in September if he’ll continue like that
• Player of the game: Donny van de Beek - his incredible goal that ends up in the season highlight reel was the difference today 

 

29.08.2025 - AFC Ajax - Feyenoord Rotterdam 3:0 (ED) - 18. Remy Boer, 23. pen. Youri Regeer, 90. Sontje Hansen

Here it is, the most difficult test in August. It feels like we have played that game already a month ago and it’s interesting to see if Feyenoord approaches it the same way. Their rather defensive 5-4-1 formation didn’t bring them any success against us in the Johan Cruijff Schaal final. It has to be said that Feyenoord bounced back from that defeat well - they won three games in a row in Eredivisie, but were then stunned 1:2 by PSV Eindhoven at De Kuip -  defeat in a game where they were actually the better team. Would this defeat make them a little fragile? Let’s see.

I made a couple of changes in the line-up. Kian Fitz-Jim starts in the AMC role (he’s been playing there a couple of times from the bench and has always showed his ability to pick a pass or create something for his teammates) and Sontje Hansen returns to our right wing (Quincy Promes didn’t impress against FC Utrecht - his set piece deliveries were there, but not his usual creativity and sharpness).

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Lopes (77. Hillen), Salah-Eddine, Regeer, van de Beek, Hansen, Fitz-Jim, Boer (82. Karahasanovic), Enem (89. Braspenning)

We started well, but the first dangerous moment had a familiar conclusion for us. In 4’ Salah-Eddine found Jay Enem on the run, but Enem wasted another chance this season - he made a mess out of his shot and in the end it was easily held by the Feyenoord goalkeeper. The goal came soon enough, though. Kian Fitz-Jim took a fierce shot on target in 18’ - it was parried well, but the ball fell straight on the path of Remy Boer, who slotted it into the empty net. Five minutes later Sontje Hansen was tripped in the box and Youri Regeer doubled our lead from the spot (his third goal of the season and second from penalty). Feyenoord clearly played for counter-attacks and like in the last game just month ago, they found one good chance in the match. In 33’ their striker Tamer Erdem received the pass and turned away from Lopes, ran past Schuurs and had a one-on-one opportunity, but Gürcan Dere ran out of his line to close the space for him and parried it brilliantly. At half time we had a 2:0 lead and I was fairly happy with our display so far - we created chances, had most of the possession and a good lead.

The second half offered less chances - we weren’t as attacking as before (and I switched our mentality from positive to balanced in the middle of the second half). Feyenoord had one half-chance after Schuurs lost possession in midfield, but Gürcan Dere made the second good save of the game and Kian Fitz-Jim saw his long range attempt clip the crossbar. The game still had one goal in it and it came in the final minute - Sontje Hansen powered a mighty header into the top corner from 12 meters - a great goal and lovely way to finish this derby. I was really happy with the result and performance - it was an important win for us and we played much more convincing football than we did in the cup final four weeks ago. 

• our shooting was 23/10 in this game
• we made only 9 key passes (but didn’t need to attack in numbers in the second half)
• we created 3 clear cut chances (all of them in the first half)
• Feyenoord players made 34 individual mistakes in this game - incredibly high number
• we’re now unbeaten in 14 games
• Player of the game: Kian Fitz-Jim - very good game from the attacking midfielder, 3 key passes, 6 dribbles and assist to his name

 

Summary

The performances haven’t been always at the level I expect, but results have come our way in August and we’re five out of five before the international break. It’s been nervous at times and margins were narrow, but we’ve done well enough. We’ve scored some early goals and some late goals. The fact that we’re ready right at the kick-off and fight until the end has turned some games to our favour - that’s the margin between wins and draws.

Youri Regeer and Donny van de Beek have been really good in midfield; both have scored important goals and played well. Alen Karahasanovic has shown some of his magic and both Kian Fitz-Jim and Remy Boer are showing good skills. Where we can improve is our left-back area, right wing attacks (neither Promes or Hansen have impressed so far) and Jay Enem with all of his wasted chances has let us down too often. Hopefully that improves in September.

 

Champions League Group H

1. AFC Ajax
2. AS Monaco
3. Valencia
4. Hertha BSC

 

Not too bad, actually. We got the lowest ranked 2nd seed club in AS Monaco. From the 4th seeded clubs I would have preferred somebody from smaller leagues (like Slavia Prague or Brondby), but at least we avoided European giants and all in all, it’s a playable group. Difficult to predict how this plays out, because results can go in various directions.

Feyenoord is the other club from Eredivisie in the group stage and boy, they got it bad… They’re in Group E with PSG, Manchester City and FC Porto. I predict nothing good for them from those games.

 

Eredivisie

Excellent start for us and we’ve already opened up the gap with PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord. FC Groningen have done really well, too (I’ve said it already, but they really have a good squad) and sc Heerenveen is in European places at the moment. AZ Alkmaar had a slow start and they need to improve quickly if they want to fight for the title. At the bottom of the table we find smaller teams, but amongst them FC Twente - they’ve had a rocky start so far; heavy defeats from PSV and Feyenoord, another one from sc Heerenveen and the only win over minnows Helmond Sport. Schedule has been tough for them, but they need to shake those defeats off and not allow it to affect their confidence.

[Draakon]

September 2025

 

International window was fairly quiet - our number of internationals is average now, because many players have turned 22 years old and don’t feature in U-21 competitions any more. The most important thing is that everybody returned back in full fitness and we have a full squad available for our next games. September includes five matches, two of them are Champions League games with Hertha and AS Monaco.

 

14.09.2025 - Vitesse Arnhem - AFC Ajax 2:2 (ED) - 5. Myles Peart-Harris, 90.+6 George Power - 2. Carlos Manuel Lopes, 43. Donny van de Beek

Vitesse have rebuilt their squad a lot during this Summer. Over ten players have left and the club have collected over £7m in transfer fees, but have spent virtually nothing on new players. Instead, they signed Darren Eiting from Liverpool for free (excellent signing, a talented 21 years old defender who was not needed by the Premier League giants, but could be a star in Eredivisie team) and bolstered their ranks with three loanees from Chelsea. Vitesse could be (and should be) a mid-table side and they have finished between 7-10th position in the past few seasons, but that link with Chelsea and good players that they can loan for free make them much stronger, at least if they can combine those players into one coherent team. So, an away game in Arnhem is not easy for any club in this season.

Squad: Dere, Veltman (73. van der Sloot), Schuurs, Lopes, Douglas, Regeer, van de Beek, Promes, Fitz-Jim, Boer (61. Karahasanovic), Enem (86. Braspenning)

We have been good in the first five minutes of games and were again this time. Quincy Promes created an early chance for Jay Enem, who decided to hit the ball with power. Whatever kind of shots he takes, he rarely scores from open chances in this season and this time was no different - Vitesse goalkeeper Timon Wellenreuther made a great save to parry that attempt, but the following corner was headed in by Lopes and so we took the early lead. It wasn’t for long, though. Some passive defending in our box and inability to clear the ball allowed one of the Chelsea men Myles Peart-Harris to equalize soon enough and then the game settled down for the most of the first half. We had a small initiative, but Vitesse defended well and chances (and even attempts) were not so easy to find. At least until 43’ when Donny van de Beek produced something magical and curled his shot next to the far post from 19 meters. A wonderful strike and kick in the teeth for Vitesse right before the half-time whistle. In games like that you need players who can create something out of nothing and van de Beek has been that kind of player for us in this season.

That dressing room goal hurt Vitesse and we gained confidence and initiative for the second half. My substitutions looked fine, too - both Karahasanovic and van der Sloot were looking to make an impact and around 71’-78’ we had several chances to score our third - Karahasanovic’s attempt was blocked by arriving defender, van der Sloot had a great  opportunity right after coming on, but he too was denied by Wellenreuther and Fitz-Jim saw his attempt being met with a great save from the keeper. Despite those misses we controlled the game and looked good enough to secure the win, but it wasn’t to be. Five minutes were added to normal time and even when this time was almost over, Vitesse had one more counter-attack. Mark Hamilton (another Chelsea loanee) took the ball into the box, Schuurs and Lopes both shied away from the tackle (partly because it was in the box, partly because both were booked already) and Hamilton found George Power at the far post who scored a relatively easy goal to equalize, right before the final whistle. I was obviously hugely disappointed. Not even because of that late equalizer, but our inability to decide the game when we had chances to do it. It has to be said that Vitesse goalkeeper Wellenreuther looked really impressive in this game even when conceding two goals, but we HAVE to start scoring when we have clear cut chances. Two wasted again today and this time that was costly. Vitesse can thank their parent club for this draw - their both goals were combined by Chelsea loanees.

• our shooting was 21/12 in this game - good attacking football for most of the time
• Perr Schuurs collected his 5th yellow card in 6 games and will be suspended for our match against Heracles
• Player of the game: Donny van de Beek - his second outstanding goal of the season to make it 2:1 in the first half

 

17.09.2025 - Hertha BSC - AFC Ajax 0:1 (Champions League Group H) - 42. Donny van de Beek

Here starts our Champions League journey and for the first game we travel to Berlin. I’m not sure that we’re favourites for this game, but we sure can win if we play our cards right. Hertha looks solid, but not good to beat. Playing away makes it obviously more difficult and I have to balance our tactics right.

Before the game I had a chance to glance at how Feyenoord were doing - they lost 0:2 to PSG at home. They were clearly beaten, but at least it didn’t get embarrassing for them. Expectations to us were significantly higher.

I had two dilemmas about team selection - firstly, whether I should prefer Steven van der Sloot’s pace to Joel Veltman’s tackling and aerial ability at the right-back position? Secondly, should I go for Alen Karahasanovic or Remy Boer in our attacking midfield. I decided to go for Veltman, because his long balls forward can create moments for Enem (and I expected Hertha to leave space behind their defense, as their home tactics were supposed to be more positive and attacking) and use Karahasanovic and Fitz-Jim in midfield, purely because of their experience. Sontje Hansen also returned to AMR, although Promes had a good game against Vitesse and Salah-Eddine resumed his usual place in AML (Douglas had an OK game against Vitesse, but offered little extra).

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine, Regeer, van de Beek (76. Sangare-Aka), Hansen, Karahasanovic, Fitz-Jim (68. Boer), Enem (76. Braspenning)

Our balanced mentality was matched by Hertha - both teams looked careful and cautious on the pitch and didn’t want to take too many risks. Because of that the game was a rather boring affair and didn’t offer too many noteworthy moments. Both teams looked nervous (Hertha even more so than us) and at the end of the first half we managed to take the lead. There was a portion of luck involved - Donny van de Beek’s attempt from 20 meters took a deflection from Jay Enem and went into the goal. Perhaps undeserved, but the lead allowed us to start the second half with more confidence and composure, so after the break we had the advantage of motivation and focus while Hertha continued to fight nervousness and apprehension that hindered their attacks. Both teams had a couple of half-chances, but we looked comfortable in our lead and just continued until the final whistle. The win was perhaps a little undeserved, because the game itself looked pretty even, but three points from Berlin could be extremely valuable for us. Great result.

• our shooting was 18/10 in this game
• Player of the game: Jay Enem - no exceptional performances in this game, but Enem gets the plaudits for his goal; funny lad - can’t score from clear cut chances, but somehow gets his butt in front of the shot and his name onto the score sheet

 

21.09.2025 - Heracles Almelo - AFC Ajax 4:3 (ED) - 6. pen., 39. and 73. pen. Rico Strieder, 84. Christian Aubry - 16. and 55. Jay Enem, 68. pen. Youri Regeer

Winning our first game in the Champions League gave us some usual composure and confidence back after that disappointing draw in Arnhem, so I was fairly confident before our next match against Heracles. Perhaps it was time to rotate the squad a bit - we’re now in a period with two games in a week and I have to use the squad in a balanced fashion. My assistant advised me to use Steven van der Sloot in DR and we missed Perr Schuurs because of his suspension, so Rio Hillen got his chance to impress. Heracles’ squad doesn’t look particularly strong and it might be a good place to take some calculated risks with the line-up.

Squad: Dere, van der Sloot, Hillen, Lopes, Salah-Eddine, Regeer, van de Beek, Hansen, Karahasanovic (64. Boer), Fitz-Jim (73. Veltman), Enem (57. Braspenning)

We had a terrible start to the game - Carlos Manuel Lopes handballed when defending the free kick and Heracles scored from the early penalty. We didn’t let it shake ourselves and ten minutes later it was 1:1 - we won the ball back in midfield and van de Beek picked out Enem with a great ball forward. The striker (for once!) scored with a lovely finish into the bottom corner. Things looked good enough for some time - it was 1:1 and plenty of time to score another goal, so the game looked under our control, until we conceded another goal late in the first half - again from the set piece. This time it was a free kick that found the goalscorer Rico Strieder at the far post and, Lopes missed his header and Strieder headed it in from close range. I was literally furious at the half time - defending free kicks had been just terrible and that was something we specifically practiced before the game. Unacceptable!

I switched to attacking 4-2-3-1 formation and my motivational shouting at half time seemed to have the desired effect. Jay Enem scored another great goal from a corner to equalize and Youri Regeer gave us the lead after Anass Salah-Eddine was tripped in the box. Players looked motivated and it seemed that we had turned this game around. But it wasn’t over yet - Jay Enem pulled something in his calf and had to come off. That affected our attacks. Then Steven van der Sloot managed to do something incredibly stupid - with noone around him, he had to head away a cross from our box, but instead he managed to put his hand to the ball. Another handball, this time completely unnecessary and stupid. To make things worse, he received the yellow card for it and it was his second booking of the game - red card. So, after Rico Strieder completed his hat-trick from the spot, it was 3:3 and we were down to ten men. And, of course, it was inevitable that Heracles found the winner in the end. Anass Salah-Eddine was to blame for losing possession in midfield and failing to make a proper challenge on Christian Aubry, who had freedom to cruise into our box and fire it in - 4:3. Sontje Hansen wasted his late half-chance and that was it - an unexpected defeat to the smaller team.

I was literally out of my mind and fuming like thunder. It’s better for younger readers that I don’t write down the exact words that I delivered in the dressing room, but it’s fair to say that most adjectives used were combined with different levels of profanities. I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen my team defend so poorly, giving away idiotic penalties with handballs. It’s like professional footballers looked like regular Sunday league players for one game. van der Sloot got his share for his dismissal, but to be fair the whole defensive line looked just abysmal. What the actual….

• we had 65% possession - that didn’t help us too much in this game
• Jay Enem pulled his calf muscle and he’ll be out for around 3 weeks
• Player of the game: Rico Strieder - helped by the two penalties, but Heracles midfielder finished the game with hat-trick and walked away with the match ball

 

27.09.2025 - FC Twente Enschede - AFC Ajax 1:4 (ED) - 51. Julio Pleguezuelo - 6. Perr Schuurs, 69. Kik Braspenning, 74. Donny van de Beek, 90.+2 Quincy Promes

The last game made me really furious and that sense of urgency to return to winning ways was probably felt throughout the whole weeks of training and preparing for our next league game. No excuses for repeating the failure of this kind, so the team knew what was expected of them.

FC Twente is another must win for us not only because we’ve dropped points in our last two league games, but because FC Twente is in a rather low point themselves right now - they’re 16th in the table, having troubles with scoring and three of their first team players are injured.

We had problems of our own - Perr Schuurs was back in the line-up, but Jay Enem was injured and we surely needed him in that kind of form that he showed against Heracles. Kik Braspenning has a huge chance to show what he’s capable of. Steven van der Sloot is suspended, but after his display at Almelo it’s better for him to sit some games out anyway. Quincy Promes starts in this game, because Sontje Hansen has been unconvincing and I need goals and assists from the attacking winger who’s on the pitch.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine (75. Douglas), Regeer (75. Brown), van de Beek, Promes, Karahasanovic (65. Boer), Fitz-Jim, Braspenning

More and more Eredivisie clubs have started to use formations with 2 defensive midfielders. Whether it’s 4-2-3-1 with two DMC-s, 5-4-1 or other formation, but the goal seems pretty obvious - just pack the box (and the area right in front of it) with bodies and defend with everybody. I haven’t looked into it closely enough to understand if it’s the tactics that’s been used specifically against us, but we have more games where we control possession fairly comfortably, but lack space to create chances.

The FC Twente match was exactly like that. One key to break this defensive wall might be set pieces. That’s why we practiced them so much and that worked nicely for us early in the game - Perr Schuurs scored from a corner after just five minutes of football and although the rest of the first half was rather boring and FC Twente’s game plan seemed to work well, we had control of the game.

That evaporated early in the second half - FC Twente got a free kick and Julio Pleguezuelo was left unmarked at the far post. His header equalized the score and put us under pressure. I knew that we had to change something, because so far we hadn’t created much in attack. Remy Boer came on and Kian Fitz-Jim moved into the AMC position. I don’t know if that changed the things or Donny van de Beek’s leadership, but we improved a lot at around 65’ - at first van de Beek found Kik Braspenning in front of the goal with a good pass and the striker finished his chance well to score his first goal of the season. van de Beek continued to lead by example and fired in a great goal from 20 meters to make it 3:1 and that was already a young win - FC Twente didn’t look like they had another two goals in them. In injury time substitutes Boer and Quincy Promes combined for another good goal and the final score was rather impressive 4:1. I was really happy with the last thirty minutes or so - great attacking football and good goals.

• we had 62% possession
• our shooting was 19/11 - pretty good at the end, after rather poor first half
• we had 3 clear cut chances in this game, we didn’t allow FC Twente to create any real chances 
• Player of the game: Donny van de Beek - an outstanding game from the midfielder, a great goal and assist that inspired the team to the win
• one note to take away from this game - perhaps I should use Kian Fitz-Jim in the AMC position from the start; Alen Karahasanovic proved his inconsistency again and offered little in 65 minutes and our game improved a lot with Fitz-Jim and Boer on the pitch

 

30.08.2025 - AFC Ajax - AS Monaco 1:0 (Champions League Group H) - 18. Sontje Hansen

Next up, AS Monaco. Champions League level is something else and this game might be a big test for the likes of Kik Braspenning. Scoring against FC Twente is one thing, but can he excel against the big boys? AS Monaco squad looks strong, but not without weaknesses - veteran striker Wissam Ben Yedder with plenty of skills and experience, but his 35 years have had an impact on his physical abilities. I’ve seen better goalkeepers in Eredivisie than AS Monaco have in League 1 level, so that could be something we can exploit.

No big changes in our line-up for this game - Steven van der Sloot served his suspension and is available. Jay Enem is still out, but not for long - perhaps we can use him already in the next league game. I opted to start with Kian Fitz-Jim in the AMC position and Remy Boer starts on the left - he’s trained well and showed some good moves against FC Twente. Alen Karahasanovic’s inconsistency in that position notes that we might need a change there.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine, Regeer, van de Beek, Hansen, Fitz-Jim (67. Karahasanovic), Boer (73. Promes), Braspenning (85. Claes)

The game was less exciting to watch than I expected. AS Monaco came against us with their 4-4-1-1 formation and remained conservative. After a fairly even first fifteen minutes we took initiative and managed to score the goal - Sontje Hansen found himself on the left flank, cut in and fired with a fierce shot that landed in the top near corner - 1:0. That goal should have provoked a reaction from AS Monaco, but it didn’t. Initiative was ours for the remainder of the game and even though good chances were rare, we never looked in trouble. AS Monaco had only two attempts in the whole game and we took a comfortable 1:0 win. The best chances for us came both from Joel Veltman - his intelligence allowed him to deliver long balls on the run for Kik Braspenning and a couple of times it worked well, but the striker couldn’t finish it off. Second win in a row puts us in a strong position in the table - very pleased with that.

• we had 60% possession in this game
• our shooting was 22/9
• no real chances to AS Monaco
• Player of the game: Joel Veltman - solid defensively and created the best chances for Braspenning

 

Summary

I have mixed feelings about September. Our Champions League campaign has started with a bang - two 1:0 wins, albeit narrow, give us six points and take us to the top of the group and that’s a lot more than I expected. In Eredivisie, however, we’ve been terrible and dropped cheap points - late, late equalizer from Vitesse and the way we completely fell apart against Heracles are unacceptable. We haven’t played against big opponents or in difficult games, just performances have been below-par and that has to improve in October.

Donny van de Beek has carried us a lot in September and his leadership is the key factor in several games - he initiated the come-back against FC Twente, scored the winner against Hertha BSC and another goal against Vitesse. In my eyes clearly the player of the month.

 

Eredivisie

So, we’re second behind PSV Eindhoven, but some rivals (Feyenoord and AZ Alkmaar) are already a few points behind. We’ve scored a lot of goals, but conceded a lot, too. At the bottom of the table we find small clubs, as expected - Telstar, Helmond Sport, FC Emmen.

[Draakon]

October 2025

 

04.10.2025 - AFC Ajax - Helmond Sport 3:1 (ED) - 5. pen. Youri Regeer, 45.+1 Remy Boer, 53. Ismael Sangare-Aka - 49. Bassala Sambou

Helmond Sport is the new club in Eredivisie - they haven’t played in the top tier for more than 20 years and now they’re bound to fight against relegation. They started their campaign with a win over Heracles, but that has remained their only win so far - five defeats and two draws in the next seven games indicate trouble for them. Their squad doesn’t look like much and as a result I’m bold enough to rotate the team in our home game against them.

Squad: van den Heuvel, van der Sloot, Schuurs, Hillen, Douglas, Regeer (54. Brown), Sangare-Aka, Hansen, Karahasanovic, Boer, Braspenning (74. Claes)

We went off with a flyer and to be honest - didn’t have to do too much to score our first goal. In a seemingly innocent situation Sontje Hansen was pushed in Helmond’s box and the penalty was awarded. Youri Regeer has been fairly good converting them in recent weeks and so he sent the goalkeeper the wrong way and scored his fifth goal of the season. The rest of the first half continued under our control, but I wasn’t happy with the quality of chances (or lack thereof) that we created - having the ball and getting some shots on target here and there just wasn’t enough. And with the first half nearing to end, we were almost punished - Rio Hillen forgot to watch Helmond’s Bassala Sambou and he received the cross while being unmarked in front of our goal. Excellent reaction save from Dani van den Heuvel saved us. We dealt with the following corner and initiated the counter-attack that led to our second goal - Hansen laid the ball well to Remy Boer, who went one-on-one against the goalkeeper and finished with a fine strike. Helmond’s manager can rue the missed chance but that’s football - if you don’t take your opportunities, you often concede in the next moment. We had a rather comfortable 2:0 lead at the half-time and that looked solid enough.

Despite our lead, we started the second half poorly - Bassala Sambou showed his speed and skills on the counter-attack, darting away from Rio Hillen and finding enough space to show his speed against Perr Schuurs. When he finally reached our box it was a solid finish from a clear cut chance that summed up his solo run. 1:2 with less than five minutes spent from the second half. It has to be said that we reacted well - soon enough Ismael Sangare Aka delivered a great strike into the bottom corner from 21 meters to make it 3:1 and put the result beyond doubt. Another great goal in this game - perhaps the positioning of the goalkeeper was a little bit off, but that doesn’t matter. The rest of the second half was rather uneventful and we couldn’t score more goals. The final score looks solid enough, but there’s plenty of room for improvement in our performance - to concede two clear cut chances to a club like Helmond Sport is not acceptable in my eyes.

• we had 67% possession in this game
• our shooting was 27/16
• Vincent Claes made his league debut for Ajax in the second half
• Player of the game: Remy Boer - he scored a great goal, made key passes and 9 dribbles - outstanding attacking performance from the left winger

 

18.10.2025 - AFC Ajax - Sparta Rotterdam 0:1 (ED) - 37. Mohammed Tahiri

Sparta is one of the most exciting teams in Eredivisie - they’ve produced a number of talented youngsters in every part of the team - Ayodele Leuteria, Jairo Simons, Rodney de Jong could be good enough to play for Ajax and attract the attention of bigger clubs already. Their problem is inconsistency and because of that they’ve finished in the middle of the table, but on a good day they can beat any team in the league, so we have to be prepared and ready for them.

Good news is that Jay Enem is fit again after recovering from his calf injury. Our team selection is affected by the international window - some of the players played several games for their national teams and returned a little bit tired. It’s better to give them a day off, because I might need them for the next Champions League game in midweek. Anass Salah-Eddine made his debut for the Holland national team and came back happy and motivated - hopefully it shows in his performances for the club.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Lopes, Douglas, Regeer, van de Beek, Hansen (53. Promes), Karahasanovic, Fitz-Jim (46. Boer), Enem (75. Braspenning)

The first half was extremely disappointing. We couldn’t create anything in attack and despite our possession it was Sparta who created the most dangerous chances of the first period. In 11’ Helgi Viktorsson skipped past Joel Veltman way too easily and had a good look on goal. Gürcan Dere made a good save to tip it over the bar and saved us there, but in 37’ Sparta took the lead - Mohammed Tahiri was left alone at the far post in a free kick situation. His first attempt was saved, but the rebound fell to him, too and there it was - 0:1 at the half time. Sparta used their set piece moment well and our inability to create chances was just frustrating.

I switched to an attacking 4-2-3-1 for the second half, but that didn’t make our attack any better. Sontje Hansen’s injury in 53’ disrupted our rhythm further and the final result remained 0:1. What’s the most disappointing about this defeat is the fact that it looked like a tactical failure - Sparta had a clear plan for the away game and they played it out perfectly while we failed to create chances and couldn’t react to their goal. When I’m personally to blame, it always hurts a little more. Not the way we wanted to restart our campaign after the international window.

• we had 60% possession, but that didn’t count for much tonight
• Sontje Hansen will be out for 4-5 weeks with a twisted ankle
• Player of the game: Micky van de Ven - good game from the Sparta centre-back

 

21.10.2025 - CF Valencia - AFC Ajax 0:5 (Champions League Group H) - 11 .Youri Regeer, 23. Remy Boer, 50. Jay Enem 73. Perr Schuurs, 77. pen. Quincy Promes

Another failure to secure the win has affected our morale and I have to be more cautious with my team talks in our Champions League game. Don’t want the team to get too nervous and apprehensive under pressure. CF Valencia is a solid opponent - on paper they’re the best team in the group, but their form has been even worse than ours - three defeats in a row, including the injury time goal from Hertha in their previous Champions League game. They’re 15th in the table in La Liga and it’s fair to say that their manager Antonio Conte is under some pressure at the moment.

I resumed our balanced 4-2-3-1 with Champions League tweaks - it’s an away game, after all. We miss Sontje Hansen for some time now, so Quincy Promes returns to AMR position and Terrence Douglas makes room for Salah-Eddine in DL Lopes looked just tired, so Hillen got his chance to impress at this level.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Hillen, Salah-Eddine, Regeer (74. Brown), van de Beek (71. Sangare-Aka), Promes, Fitz-Jim, Boer, Enem (71. Braspenning)

Valencia started well and looked good in the first ten minutes. Their forward Son Heung-Min (yes, he plays for Valencia now!) had a good attempt on target in 9’ that required a good save from Gürcan Dere, but two minutes later we took the lead. Youri Regeer was left unmarked in a free kick situation and he scored with a nice volley from the far post. Remy Boer doubled our lead in 23’ with a close range header and that gave us a 2:0 lead at the half time. We had looked like a slightly better team in the first half and had two goals to show for it. Quincy Promes had a good game so far - his crosses and passes opened up space and created chances for others. Valencia now had to change something in the second half and they came back from the dressing room with a much more attacking mentality, but that backfired instantly. We had a good counter-attack in the 50’ and Jay Enem scored with an excellent volley to make it 3:0. Valencia players started to get more and more frustrated and in 69’ Jose Gaya was sent off for his two-footed tackle on Promes. That clinched it for us - Perr Schuurs added another goal from corner and Promes completed the rout from the spot after Remy Boer was fouled in the box. 5:0 was an emphatic win for us - I didn’t expect us to score five against any team in the Champions League and to pick apart Valencia in such a manner in their own home is certainly something special. Great performance from the whole team.

• our shooting was 20/11 in this game
• our average rating was 8.24
• Player of the game: Quincy Promes - delivered 5 key passes, created 3 goals and scored from the spot

 

25.10.2025 - Telstar - AFC Ajax 0:6 (ED) - 4. Donny van de Beek, 17. Rio Hillen, 29., 34. and 62. Jay Enem, 71. Quincy Promes

Remaining two games in October look easier. The first one of those is Telstar - the team that finished 6th in Keuken Kampioen Divisie in the last season and somehow ended up in the top tier after play-offs. If there is a team that looks completely out of their depth, it’s Telstar - they’re still looking for their first win of the season (a couple of draws so far) and there’s no way they can retain their place in Eredivisie. Their squad looks a mess - too many players, many of them transfer listed, indicate that squad building is still in process and Summer didn’t go exactly as planned. Morale is low and the level of players is outright inadequate.

So, my mind was rather relaxed before the game, even though we had a couple of players unavailable - Sontje Hansen was out, but Steven van der Sloot also hurt his leg in training and he’ll be sidelined for a couple of weeks and Youri Regeer is suspended after collecting his fifth yellow card in Sparta game.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Hillen, Salah-Eddine, Brown, van de Beek (46. Sangare-Aka), Promes, Fitz-Jim (46. Karahasanovic), Boer, Enem  (63. Braspenning)

I was right - Telstar was no match for us and it was clear in the early stages of the game. Donny van de Beek smashed in a brilliant strike from some 19 meters out to put us in control, Rio Hillen added another goal with a header from a free kick and in the first twenty minutes it was clear that Telstar players didn’t want to be there. Jay Enem had space to run into and teammates found him with good passes. Quincy Promes created chances from the right wing and we went to the half-time with a solid three goal lead. I used the opportunity and made changes at half time, but that didn’t slow us down - Jay Enem completed his hat-trick in 62’ and got the rest of the day off. Quincy Promes added another goal with a simple tap-in after Remy Boer had run most of the opposition defense to the ground. Telstar finally woke up in the final ten minutes (or complacency started to creep into our game); they had a couple of promising attacks and in the final minute of the game their midfielder David van Kaam was unmarked in our box. He should have scored their consolation goal, but the first attempt hit the crossbar and the follow-up bounced back from the post before Perr Schuurs cleared it off the line. A little mishap here by our defense, but the final result was still impressive and I was happy with the game.

• we had 63% possession in this game
• our average rating was 8.48
• we created 3 clear cut chances
• our shooting was 14/13 - not too many attempts, but almost everything was on target and dangerous
• Player of the game: Jay Enem - the hat-trick hero has now scored 7 goals in 8 league games

 

28.10.2025 - FC Volendam - AFC Ajax 0:2 (TOTO KNVB Beker 1st round) - 35. Remy Boer, 48. Kik Braspenning

Another small opponent in the cup - FC Volendam from Keuken Kampioen divisie should be an easy training match for us and a chance to give rotation players more game time. I took a short look to FC Volendam squad and they seem to make right decisions in the transfer market and developing their own youngsters - some promising 19-24 year olds in the team and they’re building for future, but the quality of the team is not nearly good enough to beat Eredivisie sides.

Squad: van den Heuvel, Veltman, Schuurs (80. Taylor), Hillen, Douglas, Brown, Sangare-Aka, Promes (66. Silveira), Karahasanovic, Boer, Braspenning (66. Claes)

The first half was a little bit disappointing. I can’t say that we dominated, but we had chances to take the lead. In 18’ Remy Boer was fouled in the box and the penalty was awarded. Quincy Promes stepped up, but this time his penalty was really poor - straight to the middle and the goalkeeper saved it without much effort. We scored a goal, though - Remy Boer dribbled into the box, skipped past two defenders and found the net from a narrow angle. That goal helped us to keep our confidence, but I wasn’t happy with our overall performance - it was a fairly even game, we allowed FC Volendam to our half with the ball too often and conceded unnecessary fouls near our own area. The missed penalty just added failures to all that.

The players understood my frustration and picked it up in the second half - Kik Braspenning doubled our lead with a beautiful free kick early in the second half and that gave us a necessary cushion to be more relaxed in the remainder of the game. I sent out the youngsters for the last 20-30 minutes and that allowed FC Volendam back into the game - their best opportunity came in 79’ when Marco Tol won a header from point blank range, but it went way over the crossbar. The overall performance left much to desire, but the final result itself looked solid enough.

• we had 60% possession in this game
• Tiago Silveira and Kik Taylor made their debuts for Ajax in this game
• Player of the game: Remy Boer - scored a great goal, gave 4 key passes and made 10 dribbles; earned a penalty, too

 

Summary

Not a bad month, all in all. We have scored plenty of goals and found our attacking game. Still, almost every month we have one poor game where we stutter and drop points and this time it was a home defeat to Sparta. The highlight of the month was certainly the 5:0 win over CF Valencia - that puts us in a fairly strong position in our Champions League group and hopefully builds a foundation to our good campaign. It’s difficult to select my player of the month - on one hand I’m delighted that Quincy Promes returned to the starting line-up with such brilliant performances, but Remy Boer has been outstanding too, despite his young age.

 

Eredivisie

We’re now level with PSV Eindhoven. AZ Alkmaar and Feyenoord are down in the middle of the table, but the differences in points are still fairly small.

[Draakon]

November 2025

 

02.11.2025 - AZ Alkmaar - AFC Ajax 1:0 (ED) - 76. Fedde de Jong

We start the month with perhaps the most important and challenging game - away trip to Alkmaar. It’s fair to say that AZ is at the same level with the Eredivisie ‘big three’ and playing against them is really difficult. Yes - their season hasn’t started so well and they’re 7th in the table (perhaps because they replaced several first team players in Summer), but you have to take seriously the team that can make transfers for around £20-30m in one window and produces so talented youngsters at the same time - quality is not lacking, talent is definitely there and Luka Modric (despite his rather poor attributes on the screen) is doing OK job with them.

I had fresh in my mind our defeat from AZ in an away game just a year ago - we had no answers to them then and our tactics just didn’t work. So this time I chose to be more careful and started with a balanced 4-2-3-1 that we usually exploit in the Champions League.

Sontje Hansen and Steven van der Sloot are still injured, but the rest of the team is ready and I fielded my best eleven.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine (84. Douglas), Regeer, van de Beek, Promes, Fitz-Jim (84. Karahasanovic), Boer, Enem (84. Braspenning)

I suspected it would be a tough game and it really was a fairly even battle. We had a good second half, actually, and had two of the best chances in the first period. Kian Fitz-Jim and Remy Boer found Jay Enem with some good through balls, but the forward couldn’t finish them off. Top saves from the AZ Alkmaar goalkeeper, too - I have to give credit when it’s due, but in games like these, we have to finish the chances and be more clinical, because both teams defended well and overall number of attempts was low, so every shot counts and can make a difference. And that was proved in the second half - both teams defended well and looked well organized, but AZ Alkmaar built one good attack in 76’ and Fedde de Jong was left unmarked in our box - just a half-chance for the AZ winger, but that was enough to make it 1:0. I switched to attacking 4-2-3-1 formation, but that didn’t matter - AZ held onto the lead and we had to return to Amsterdam with a frustrating defeat. I was disappointed, because over the two periods I felt that we looked like the better team. At least we created better chances and had some initiative in the game, but couldn’t even get a single point for the effort. Sometimes those close games come our way and sometimes they don’t. This was one of the latter ones.

• we had 61% possession, but couldn’t make it count today
• we made 23 individual mistakes in the game and allowed 21 dibbles - areas for improvement, surely
• Player of the game: Youri Regeer - solid midfield performance, gave 4 key passes in that game

05.11.2025 - AFC Ajax - CF Valencia 2:0 (Champions League Group Stage) - 1. Donny van de Beek, 8. Remy Boer

We can approach that game without too much pressure - we have a home advantage and 9 points in the table. Just one more point is enough to secure our qualification from the group. Valencia looks just as much in trouble than they did after we beat them 5:0 in Spain - they’ve retained Antonio Conte as their manager (surprising, because the results have been continuously poor), they miss two defenders because of suspensions and we’re clear favourites for the home game. Let’s hope that we can continue to build upon their misery and win this one as well.

Both Sontje Hansen and Steven van der Sloot are close to full fitness, but we’ll do without them in this game. Anass Salah-Eddine suffered a minor knock in the AZ game and he’ll miss this one, too.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Lopes, Douglas, Regeer (75. Brown), van de Beek, Promes, Fitz-Jim, Boer (75. Karahasanovic), Enem (46. Braspenning)

Well, that was quick! In the very first attack Donny van de Beek smashed it into the net from 23 meters to give us the lead and soon after that Remy Boer headed in from a corner to make it 2:0. CF Valencia didn’t seem to put up a fight after that and we didn’t have much more to do than just control proceedings, possession and keep things tight in defense. We did that expertly and except a couple of half-chances in the first half the rest of the game was rather uneventful. Jay Enem had to come off at half time with a knock - it didn’t look too troublesome at first, but after the game our physios let me know that it’s much more serious than anticipated. That’s the only sour part of the game.

• we didn’t allow CF Valencia to create any real chances in this game; in fact, they only had one attempt in those 90 minutes of football and none on target
• Jay Enem suffered a calf strain (shortly after his previous calf injury) and he’ll be out for a month - that’s a bummer
• we’ve gathered 12 points from 4 games and secured the first place in our group
• Player of the game: Donny van de Beek - wonderful goal from the midfielder to kickstart this game

 

09.11.2025 - AFC Ajax - VVV Venlo 2:0 (ED) - 41. Kik Braspenning, 69. Quincy Promes

VVV Venlo was the surprise package of the last season with their 3rd place, but things haven’t worked out so well for them in this year and they find themselves dangerously close to relegation battle after the first couple of months. The loanees from their parent club, West Ham United, haven’t worked out so well this time either, so there’s some work to do for them and we’re clear favourites for the game, even though we have several players missing - Jay Enem and Sontje Hansen are injured, Carlos Manuel Lopes suspended.

Squad: Dere, Veltman (73. van der Sloot), Schuurs, Hillen, Salah-Eddine, Regeer, van de Beek (76. Sangare-Aka), Promes, Fitz-Jim (69. Karahasanovic), Boer, Braspenning

We had several good opportunities in the first fifteen minutes - Remy Boer had a clear cut chance in 5’ that was saved. Kik Braspenning saw his free header being held by the goalkeeper and Quincy Promes sent a fierce shot on target. That initial period of dominance ended with VVV’s Michael Vlap who won a header after their free kick and sent it against our crossbar from close range - that was almost a goal. A clear sign for us to maintain our concentration and take our chances better. We finally took the lead at the end of the first half. Remy Boer found Braspenning with a cutback cross and the forward finished it well. Braspenning had another great chance in the first half injury time, but that was saved. At the half-time we had a deserved lead, because we’d created better chances and dominated the game, but the finishing could have been much better and we needed to be careful with those set pieces.

I knew that we needed to score the second goal to finish this game off and we got that in 69’. The second half didn’t offer too many easy chances, but we didn’t need them, because Quincy Promes just took the ball and fired it in from 23 meters. A wonderful goal from the winger and that settled it. That 2:0 win looked solid enough, considering the players that we missed, and I was satisfied with the outcome.

• our shooting was 18/10 in this game
• Player of the game: Quincy Promes - brilliant strike from 23 meters and created good chances for others

 

22.11.2025 - NAC Breda - AFC Ajax 0:3 (ED) - 17. and 87. Kik Braspenning, 90.+2 Donny van de Beek

Another international window behind us and we’re back in Eredivisie action. NAC Breda is another newly-promoted team and they actually look good enough to remain in Eredivisie compared to some smaller teams. They were promoted two seasons ago, then dropped back to Eerste Divisie and here they are again - that signals their desire to develop as a club and fight for their place against every opponent. What characterizes their team is a number of exceptionally quick players, so we have to defend well against pace and counter-attacks.

We still miss some players due to injuries - Sontje Hansen is close to returning along with Jay Enem, but we have to play this one without them. Anass Salah-Eddine suffered a minor knock in training just a couple of days ago and has to miss this game, too. Remy Boer looks exhausted after international games and it’s better to give him some rest.

Squad: Dere, van der Sloot, Schuurs, Lopes (85. Hillen), Douglas, Regeer (71. Brown), van de Beek, Promes, Karahasanovic (77. Sangare-Aka), Fitz-Jim, Braspenning

It was a drab match in rainy weather. We had just one good moment in the first half and that was good enough to take the lead - Kian Fitz-Jim found Kik Braspenning with a lovely ball and the striker executed well from his one-on-one situation. The rest of the game was uneventful and for a period in the second half NAC tried harder to find an equalizer, so we switched back to balacned 4-2-3-1 and kept things in order defensively. Real chances were rare after the break, too, but Braspenning secured our three points with a wonderful free kick a little before the final whistle and in injury time van de Beek scored an incredible solo goal - he took the ball from midfield and just dribbled it into the NAC box from between defenders and finished from close range. The final score looked very good, but the performance was rather unimpressive. Either way I have to be happy with 3:0 from the away game.

• we had 61% possession in this game, but made only 8 key passes
• we didn’t allow NAC to create any real chances in this game
• Player of the game: Kik Braspenning - two goals, a brilliant free kick and an assist - just outstanding from him tonight

 

25.11.2025 - AFC Ajax - Hertha BSC 2:0 (Champions League Group H) - 19. Donny van de Beek, 39. Kik Braspenning

Positives first - we don’t need to travel for this game and we can approach it without significant pressure. It’s a rare occasion when the result doesn’t matter in a Champions League game, because we have never secured our qualification from the group stage before the final match day.

Negative part is that around international windows our schedule is quite packed and here’s another week with only three games between fixtures. Physical fitness and recovery plays a significant role in my team selection decisions - a couple of players look just too tired to start and both Steven van der Sloot and Carlos Manuel Lopes look outright exhausted. Terrence Douglas has a tight muscle from training and it’s better to give him a day off, too.

Squad: Dere, Veltman, Schuurs, Hillen, Salah-Eddine, Regeer (67. Brown), van de Beek (69. Sangare-Aka), Promes, Fitz-Jim (80. Karahasanovic), Boer, Braspenning

Hertha started with a cautious 5-4-1 formation and although our tactics weren’t the most attacking, we controlled midfield comfortably. Hertha’s five defenders crowded their area and there wasn’t much space to be found - we tried some long shots, but chances were rare in the first half until Donny van de Beek broke the deadlock with another brilliant strike from outside of the box. He’s been outstanding this season, scoring beautiful goals from all kinds of positions and this time he drilled a low drive from 23 meters into the bottom corner. No wonder that big European clubs have started to take notice of his form. Our second good moment of the first half came in 39’ - Remy Boer tried his luck from angle, his shot was saved, but perhaps because it had started to rain and the ball got wet or the attempt was just too difficult to handle for the goalkeeper, it deflected right onto the foot of Kik Braspenning, who scored with a simple finish to make it 2:0 at half time. I was very happy with our first half performance and it looked like Hertha had no desire to fight for the come-back in the second half.

The second period offered less action - we remained in control of possession and looked comfortable defensively. I replaced both midfielders and our chances dried up, but we were never in trouble and held onto our lead until the final whistle. Excellent result once again and we continue our winning streak in the Champions League.

• we had 64% possession in this game
• our shooting was 28/12, but 16 attempts came from outside of the box
• we made only 8 key passes in this game
• we didn’t allow Hertha BSC to create any real opportunities in attack
• we’ve now won 5 games in our group - the only team in this season to win five in the Champions League and also the only team not to concede a single goal in five games
• Player of the game: Donny van de Beek - another brilliant goal from the midfielder to lead us to victory

 

30.11.2025 - FC Groningen - AFC Ajax 1:1 (ED) - 88. Zico Buurmeester - 16. Kian Fitz-Jim

To wrap our month up we travel to Groningen. FC Groningen has been one of the underrated teams in Eredivisie in recent seasons, but I have doubts over their transfer decisions this Summer. They cashed in over £33m for their players, but spent £20m for players of questionable quality, so I’m afraid that they’re one of the teams that have become weaker over Summer and a top five finish could be too big a task this year. They still have a talented striker in Aron Schrijver - we have to be aware of his quality and play smart football in the away game to limit their chances.

My own squad struggles with fatigue and injuries start to creep in, too. Sontje Hansen has returned to full fitness (very happy with that, because Quincy Promes has carried a lot of load in recent games), Jay Enem is not yet ready to play and Youri Regeer picked up a hamstring strain in training and he’ll be out for at least 2-4 weeks. Remy Boer needs a rest, because match load is getting to him and that limits my options.

Squad: Dere, Veltman (83. van der Sloot), Schuurs, Hillen, Salah-Eddine (77. Douglas), Brown, van de Beek, Promes (66. Hansen), Karahasanovic, Fitz-Jim, Braspenning

It was a fairly even game, but both teams were cautious with the tactics. FC Groningen even more than us - their 4-2-1-3 DM with two defensive midfielders packed their box and we couldn’t find enough space to turn our possession into chances. We took the lead from a corner - Kian Fitz-Jim did well to win the header and send it into the net - but the first half lead wasn’t enough to take all three points. FC Groningen had a couple of half-chances in the second half and they eventually found an equalizer in 88’ - Sontje Hansen lost a header in our box and although initial shot was blocked by defenders, Zico Buurmeester was first to get to the ball and finished from close range to steal the point for Groningen. It was a difficult game for us and the draw was probably a fair result for both teams, but to concede a late equalizer like that is obviously frustrating. I knew that it was a tricky away game and we missed some first team players, but we have to be better than that.

• we had 64% possession in this game
• both teams had 9/3 shooting - very low number of attempts and even lower number of chances
• Player of the game: Zico Buurmeester (FC Groningen) - his equalizer rescued FC Groningen a point

 

Summary

Some good results, but some poor games as well. We didn’t play very poorly in any of the games, but lost valuable points and I’m not sure how much further we can afford to do that. Our Champions League fairy tale continues, but that hasn’t helped us in Eredivisie.

The first sackings of the season took place in November with Sjoerd Ultee departing FC Emmen and FC Twente board fired Dan Petrescu - both clubs have had a poor first half of the season and linger dangerously close to relegation zone. Expectations of mid-table finish do not appear to materialize with the form they’ve been showing so far and it’s probably better to change horses sooner rather than later.

 

Eredivisie

At least six clubs are still in the title race - AZ Alkmaar have climbed up from the middle of the table and have a chance to overtake us when they win their next game. PSV Eindhoven have shown inconsistency in their form and Sparta Rotterdam have had an incredible November - they have a real shot at the title this season with their young and talented team.

[Draakon]

December 2025

 

03.12.2025 - AFC Ajax - sc Heerenveen 3:0 (ED) - 45., 81. and 89. Remy Boer

Two very important fixtures in Eredivisie to start our December with, and the first one of those is the home game against sc Heerenveen. Heerenveen is a difficult opponent to every team, but few injuries in their squad make our job a little bit easier, at least I hope so. We have our own injury problems, too - Jay Enem is back in full fitness, but Youri Regeer is out and Joel Veltman twisted his ankle in training and he’ll be sidelined for a month, so that’s bad news for us.

sc Heerenveen begin with a 4-2-3-1 formation with two DMCs (again, a difficult defensive block to break down) and their danger maen is Jay-Roy Grot who plays in AML position, but is way taller and better in the air than Steven van der Sloot will ever be, so we have to do our best to close down all crosses from the left and hope that van der Sloot can win as many duels as possible.

Squad: Dere, van der Sloot, Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine (67. Douglas), Brown, van de Beek (81. Sangare-Aka), Hansen, Fitz-Jim, Boer, Enem (67. Braspenning)

We looked like the better team in the first half. We had a slight initiative, several shots on target and looked good in defense, but couldn’t create any clear goal scoring opportunities. Both teams had underlying nervousness in their game and no wonder it wasn’t the best level of attacking football. We took the lead in the very end of the first half, though - Sontje Hansen found Remy Boer at the far post with a good cross and the youngster headed it in to send us into the half-time with a dressing room goal - well done. Excellent time to score and that made my team talk much easier inside. 

The second half continued in the same fashion - a 1:0 lead is always a fragile one, but sc Heerenveen couldn’t create too dangerous moments in our box and when they finally started to take more risks, the space began to open up for us. Donny van de Beek delivered a great forward pass to Kik Braspenning in 77’, but the shot was saved and then hacked away from the line by Joshua Brenet. The second, decisive goal came soon enough, though. Terrence Douglas passed it to Remy Boer in the box and the left winger fired it with a great strike to double his tally and our lead with it. Boer completed his hat-trick before the final whistle, with another great shot from a narrow angle that went in off the bar. sc Heerenveen looked undone and the final score 3:0 was better than I expected before the match, even though the game itself didn’t go as smoothly for us. Still, I was happy with the result and especially Remy Boer’s contribution.

• our shooting was 19/13 in this game - good accuracy
• Player of the game: Remy Boer - just outstanding game from him again, wonderful goals to complete his hat-trick

 

07.12.2025 - AFC Ajax - PSV Eindhoven 2:0 (ED) - 5. Remy Boer, 23. Perr Schuurs

I think that game can be described as the title six-pointer, despite the fact that it isn’t a two-horse race in this season and we have more contenders, but PSV have been right up there since August and should be considered a threat. Perhaps it plays to their advantage, that their poor season (just 6th place in 2024/2025) don’t allow them to play continental football and they can concentrate on the Eredivisie. Fighting on two fronts seems to hinder Feyenoord, for example.

The PSV squad hasn’t changed much over summer, but their longtime goalkeeper Lars Unnerstall has been forced to the backup role and youngster Aron van Lare has started all of the games in this season. In my eyes that’s their weakness, because at 35 Unnerstall’s ability and experience still exceeds van Lare’s. Another player we should be aware of is 19 years old wonderkid Kevin van den Broek - the winger is one of the most talented youngsters in Eredivisie at the moment and we have to turn him close attention in the game.

We don’t have to change much compared to the sc Heerenveen match. Youri Regeer and Joel Veltman are still injured and our starting line-up remains the same. 

Squad: Dere, van der Sloot, Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine (75. Douglas), Brown, van de Beek (69. Sangare-Aka), Hansen, Fitz-Jim, Boer, Enem (80. Braspenning)

We were extremely motivated and concentrated on the game, but the same couldn’t be said aboud PSV Eindhoven players. How else would you explain that their defender fouled Sontje Hansen in the box on our very first attack and in the first minute we were awarded a penalty. Donny van de Beek stepped up to take it, but sent it straight into the middle of the goal and the ball was held by the goalkeeper. Held! I’ve never seen a penalty being held. Donny van de Beek was clearly embarrassed by that and determined to make amends. It didn’t take long before we took the lead - Hansen delivered a cross and Remy Boer headed in from the far post, continuing his fine goal scoring form into this game. Perr Schuurs doubled our lead with a header from IFK and Boer hit the post at the end of the first half. We had a good lead at half-time and were looking good on the pitch, too. I felt that PSV were too cautious - their 4-1-4-1 formation didn’t provide enough threat and they didn’t create anything dangerous in our area. We continued to control the game in the second period and again Remy Boer had the best chances to extend our lead. PSV’s Jorrit Hendrix tested Gürcan Dere before the final whistle, but the great save from our keeper kept our clean sheet and that was it. The final score wasn’t too impressive, but we didn’t give PSV Eindhoven any chances to get back into this game and I was thoroughly impressed by our performance.

• our shooting was 24/12 in this game
• we didn’t allow PSV Eindhoven to create any real chances 
• Player of the game: Perr Schuurs - very good defensively and got himself to the score sheet
• we have now played 17 games in Eredivisie and collected 38 points - not exactly what we’re aiming for, but we’re still leading the table

 

10.12.2025 - AS Monaco - AFC Ajax 1:3 (Champions League Group H) - 36. Bernard Maurin - 16. Carlos Manuel Lopes, 47. Sontje Hansen, 81. Alen Karahasanovic

We have won two really difficult games in December, but the schedule is tough and players don’t have too much time to recover. Our last Champions League game does not make any difference in the group and although I’d like to win every game, it’s perhaps best to rotate a little and give certain players some rest. Remy Boer is one of them, who has problems with recovering in three days and he’ll get a day off. Joel Veltman and Youri Regeer are still injured, so that limits my options further.

I know that despite some flaws and weak positions in their squad, AS Monaco is still a formidable opponent and home advantage makes them even stronger, so we’ll use our Champions League balanced 4-2-3-1

Squad: Dere, van der Sloot, Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine (83. Douglas), Brown (61. Sangare-Aka), van de Beek, Hansen, Karahasanovic, Fitz-Jim, Enem (70. Braspennning)

Monaco welcomed us with heavy rain at the kick-off and we’re not known for playing well in bad conditions, but this time it didn’t seem to bother us at all. We quickly took control of the match and completely dominated in the first fifteen minutes - good with possession, good attacking football and some fairly dangerous attempts on target. We took the lead to wrap up this period - Carlos Manuel Lopes headed in from a corner and just a minute later Kian Fitz-Jim had an opportunity to double it, but the attempt was met with a fine save from the AS Monaco goalkeeper. In short, we were cruising. However, the game started to change then, along with the weather - the first warning was the chance for Wissam Ben Yedder in 32’ that was expertly dealt by Lopes, who was on time with his challenge in our box, but four minutes later we conceded an equalizer. Ben Yedder got away from Lopes, continued into the box and even though Gürcan Dere made a great save from one-on-one situation, Bernard Maurin slided himself into the situation to put the ball over the line. AS Monaco were suddenly in control of the game and their individual skills were also starting to become evident against our defenders. Alexandr Golovin dribbled into the box in 43’ and saw his shot being tipped over by Gürcan Dere and in injury time Maurin had another one-on-one opportunity after breaking our offside trap and Gürcan Dere stopped him with a brilliant save. It remained 1:1 at half-time, but AS Monaco had been so impressive in the last fifteen minutes that I felt lucky to go to dressing rooms at level.

We reacted well and my half-time team talk perhaps had a little impact, but we restored our lead quickly after the second half kick-off. Donny van de Beek found Sontje Hansen with a great through ball and Hansen finished expertly with a placed shot. That unsettled AS Monaco a little and although the second half was fairly even as a whole, we did much better in preventing their attacks after the half-time and their first dangerous opportunity came when already 70’ were played. We didn’t get too many opportunities, either, and Jay Enem once again almost disappeared on the pitch. He came off and Kik Braspenning came on, to get a clear cut chance in 79’ - unfortunately, his attempt was parried wide by the great save of the goalkeeper. We scored our third goal two minutes later, though - excellent build-up from our right wing, several passes between van der Sloot, Hansen and van de Beek before Braspenning laid it to Karahasanovic with a lovely backheel pass and the Bosnian fired it in from 10 meters. That settled it. Sontje Hansen missed another clear cut chance in injury time, but the game was over with our third goal. Great result - in a very entertaining match. We saw attacking football from both teams, but we were a little bit more clinical with our moments and deserved to win.

• we had 60% possession in this game
• our shooting was 15/10
• AS Monaco had 19/11 shots and they created 3 clear cut chances in the first half - enough nervous moments in defense for us
• Tim Brown came off with a knock in 60’ and he’ll be out for 3 weeks with pulled knee ligaments
• Player of the game: Alen Karahasanovic - a brilliant performance from the midfielder, scored a great goal, delivered assist to Lopes’ goal and created two best chances of the game for us

 

Champions League Group H

1. AFC Ajax 18
2. AS Monaco 7
3. CF Valencia 6
4. Hertha BSC 4

 

13.12.2025 - AFC Ajax - FC Twente Enschede 3:0 (ED) - 11. Remy Boer, 61. pen. Quincy Promes, 88. Alen Karahasanovic

Well, this could be a tricky tie. It took us around 60 minutes to finally break FC Twente at Grolsch Veste and I expect them to defend deep and sit tight in Amsterdam, so it’s a question about finding space and creating chances once again. But the opponents are still without a manager after sacking Dan Petrescu in November, so it will be interesting to see how it affects the tactics and game plan in this match.

We have to rotate again, because Tim Brown is added to the injury list and there are some tired legs in the squad after our midweek trip to Monaco. Ismael Sangare-Aka starts as a DLPd, Remy Brown is back in the line-up while Quincy Promes replaces Sontje Hansens (who has been in a good form, but his match load is starting to pile up).

Squad: Dere, van der Sloot, Schuurs, Hillen, Salah-Eddine (67. Douglas), Sangare-Aka, van de Beek, Promes, Karahasanovic, Boer, Enem (70. Braspenning)

FC Twente got the best chance of the game early - eight minutes were played when Jeremy Helmer stepped past Perr Schuurs way too easily, cut into the box and had an open look on the goal, but Gürcan Dere made a fantastic save to deny him. That was a close call for us, but we reacted well and took over the game. Ismael Sangare-Aka sent a good header on target two minutes later and at 11’ Remy Boer gave us the lead with a wonderful volley. Quincy Promes delivered a deep cross to him and Boer showed once again his excellent finishing with the strike. We controlled most of the first half and could have scored more, but finishing let us down a little. Alen Karahasanovic found a great chance in transition, but his shot was held by the goalkeeper and we went to the half-time with a 1:0 lead.

We continued to control the game in the second half. Boer and Karahasanovic had good attempts, but couldn’t find the target. Then Anass Salah-Eddine was fouled in the box and Promes converted the penalty. 2:0 looked like a good lead and FC Twente didn’t have any answers to that. Perr Schuurs was unlucky that his header hit the crossbar in 84’. Quincy Promes was in the middle of action in most situations - he delivered the ball to Schuurs and it was Promes who put the ball in front of Karahasanovic who fired in our third goal. Deserved win in the end and with a good performance, too.

• we somehow lost possession 45/55, but FC Twente didn’t make much with their performance
• our shooting was 22/10 in this game
• we created 3 clear cut chances
• Remy Boer scored his 10th goal of the season and Quincy Promes has now delivered 10 assists in this term
• Player of the game: Quincy Promes - a wonderful performance from the winger - he created most of the chances, delivered two assists and scored from the spot

 

16.12.2025 - AFC Ajax - Almere City 3:0 (TOT KNVB Beker 2nd round) - 20. pen. Donny van de Beek, 26. Kian Fitz-Jim, 86. Kik Taylor

Going against the lower division club in the cup means that we can rotate (and have to anyway, because fatigue becomes a real problem with this kind of schedule). Dani van den Heuvel is getting his chance in goal and both Kik Taylor and Tiago Silveira are in the starting line-up for us. Almere City are currently 13th in Keuken Kampioen Divisie, so they shouldn’t be too much of a challenge, and with their best goalscorer injured, even less so.

Squad: van den Heuvel, van der Sloot, Taylor, Hillen, Douglas, Sangare-Aka, van de Beek, Silveira, Karahasanovic, Fitz-Jim, Braspenning (60. Claes)

We had no troubles keeping control of the ball and the game overall, but new faces in the line-up meant that our attacking movement and understanding wasn’t as smooth as usual. Chances kept themselves waiting, but when the Almere City defender slid into Kian Fitz-Jim in the box, Donny van de Beek’s penalty gave us the lead. Fitz-Jim scored another goal soon after that - a beautiful strike from 15 meters - and that settled it. We had less pressure in the second half. Kik Braspenning worked hard to get his name on the score sheet, but his close range header was tipped over and a clear cut chance was well blocked by the defender, before he came off and Vincent Claes got his thirty minutes to impress. Almere City had their best moment in 70’ when their young winger Ted van Beek had an attempt from an angle and hit the post, but the rest of the game was pretty easy for us and Dani van den Heuvel didn’t have much to do. Our young defender Kik Taylor completed the rout with a header from corner late in the game and that was it - pretty routine win for us and I was happy enough with the result.

• we had 65% possession in this game
• Kik Taylor scored his first ever goal for Ajax
• Player of the game: Kian Fitz-Jim - scored a great goal, earned a penalty for us and was the best player in attack

 

21.12.2025 - Sparta Rotterdam - AFC Ajax 0:3 (ED) - 6. Calvin Verdonk (og), 85. and 90. Sontje Hansen

We’ve gained control in the league table and are leading the title race, but few clubs can still challenge us and one of those clubs is Sparta Rotterdam. Their exciting squad has been just incredible over the first half of the season and they did beat us at Johan Cruijff Arena, so this game here at Het Kasteel is both the revenge match and a title six-pointer for us.

However, Sparta looks significantly weakened, because two of their best wingers are out of this game - Ayodele Lauteria is suspended and Helgi Viktorsson injured. That’s a big blow for them, because depth is not their strength and star players are difficult to replace.

We have our own injury problems - Youri Regeer, Joel Veltman and Tim Brown are all close to full fitness, but not yet - their return will be in the new year. Jay Enem injured himself in training (another calf strain) and he’ll be out as well. Perr Schuurs suffered a minor knock in training, but he’s likely to play through this.

Squad: Dere, van der Sloot, Schuurs, Lopes, Salah-Eddine (85. Douglas), Sangare-Aka, van de Beek, Hansen, Fitz-Jim, Boer (70. Karahasanovic), Braspenning (85. Claes)

We had incredible luck on our side to take the lead early on. Steven van der Sloot delivered a cross from the right wing and Calvin Verdonk got his foot to it. The ball took a deflection and went towards the Sparta goal. Their goalkeeper Karol Niemczycki was slow to react, so the ball rolled over the line from the near post to give us the lead and Sparta’s game plan looked undone. They gathered their composure quickly enough and in 12’ found the first good opportunity themselves - their best striker Mohammed Tahiri had a close range attempt, but he was well marked by Carlos Manuel Lopes and the defender got his foot in to block it. Both teams defended well and looked very well organized - it reminded me of some games we have played against Feyenoord in  history - both looking very calm and controlled without the ball and limiting chances and attempts. We switched back to a balanced 4-2-3-1 formation to avoid unnecessary risks and took notice of what Sparta attempted to change in their tactics to find an equalizer and get control over the midfield. We had the lead at half-time, but we failed to make a single shot on target in the first half - you could say that we didn’t deserve to lead, but despite the statistics we had some promising attempts and good attacks.

We kept things well under control in the second half. Balanced mentality worked out well and Sparta’s switch to a more attacking mindset didn’t give them more chances. It took us a whole 77 minutes to get our first shot on target (sic!) but then Sparta started to take more risks, press higher and space opened up for us to take advantage of. Sontje Hansen doubled our lead in 85’ with a nice volley after Salah-Eddine found him at the far post with a cross and Hansen’s second goal from a corner wrapped it up for us. The final score looked impressive enough, but the game itself was an even battle and we weren’t always so comfortable.

• we had 67% possession in this game
• Gürcan Dere made his 100th league appearance for Ajax
• we allowed Sparta to make 24 dribbles in this game - a little too many
• Player of the game: Sontje Hansen - an outstanding game from the right winger, his brace secured all three points for us

 

Summary

December was the first month I was entirely happy with - there were some big games and we performed well in all of them, regardless of the opponents and the squad we fielded. Important wins over sc Heerenveen, PSV Eindhoven and now Sparta increased our advantage in the table and put us in control of the title race. Our goal scoring has been consistent and we kept our clean sheet in most of the games. Confidence is high and when the players will get fit near Christmas, it will increase my selection options even further.

If I had to give out the title for the player of the month it would be Remy Boer - he was outstanding against Heerenveen and PSV in the beginning of the month, was rested against AS Monaco, but returned with another goal against FC Twente. In every game he played he looked dangerous and clinical with his finishing. Great talent despite his young age.

 

Patience is starting to run out faster than usual in Eredivisie and FC Groningen manager Pavel Vrba was sacked at the beginning of December. The club wasn’t doing that poorly and they were perhaps a little underachieving, but that was enough to trigger the sack and Vrba was replaced with NAC Breda’s Peter Hyballa.

At the same time decisions were made about vacant posts. FC Emmen hired Jurgen Dirkx as their new manager in mid-December and Giovanni van Bronckhorst returned to Eredivisie to take charge of FC Twente. And while the next sacking threat hung over Vitor Pereira’s position, the Feyenoord manager decided to leave himself and accepted the offer from Sheffield United. 

 

I also had to deal with player contracts. Ismael Sangare-Aka signed a new £9,500 p/w deal until 2028, youngster Renato Molnar extended his contract for a couple of years. At the same time the decision was made about Youri Baas - despite his decent performances in Serie B his contract will run out in Summer and he won’t be getting a new one in Ajax - at 22 years old he should be better to play consistently for Ajax.

 

Eredivisie

We have opened up a gap in the table after defeating some challengers in December. It appears that AZ Alkmaar and FC Utrecht can get closer to us if they continue their good form. Feyenoord is still struggling and it’s interesting to see if the change in management helps them to challenge for the European places. Their Champions League campaign wasn’t a success story either - they finished 4th in the group with only one win from six games and so their continental season is over. At the bottom of the table Telstar have managed to get only four points before Christmas and that’s not good enough - they look relegated already.

[Draakon]

January 2026

 

The first good news to start the new year with - our youth facilities were finally upgraded. We now boast State of the Art youth facilities and that’s fitting for the club who relies heavily on our own youth intakes.

 

Things are often in balance, though. It was just when I was starting to enjoy our clean bill of health, but bad news started to arrive after New Year. Perr Schuurs was struck down with a virus and although it looked worse than a little cold, I’m still hopeful that he’d make it to our first competitive game. It was much worse with Tim Brown - he had just recovered from his knee ligament injury when a rough challenge in training ended with the worst possible result - the dreaded cruciate ligament injury that finished his season early. The best case scenario is that he’ll be back in action in August or even September. That’s a bummer and it probably means we need to think about promoting somebody from our U-19 team to fill the ranks. We don’t have any proper DLPd besides Youri Regeer and no central midfielder on loan that we could recall. Next player in trouble was Joel Veltman - he too recovered from injury, played two friendly games in January and then suffered another setback - groin strain will keep him out for around 3-4 weeks. And right before our season continued, the worst possible happened - Gürcan Dere had some problems and physios indicated he should take around 3-4 weeks to recover from abdominal strain. What a bummer - my first goalkeeper out for a month. Dani van den Heuvel will get some big games for himself. 

 

Eredivisie clubs kept themselves active in the job market and Feyenoord made a decision to hire sc Heerenveen’s Mark van Bommel as their new manager. Good decision for them, but unfortunate for Heerenveen. van Bommel did well to take them to the next level and he’s difficult to replace in the club like sc Heerenveen, but they didn’t waste any time and approached Willem II’s Ruud Kaiser in January and reached an agreement quickly enough. Finally, Pavel Vrba, who was sacked by FC Groningen in November, was appointed as the new Willem II manager.

 

And when the job market was busy, so was the transfer market. We enjoyed a relatively quiet Summer and kept all of our first team players, but the January transfer window tried to make up for that. Perr Schuurs caught the interest of Tottenham and he left for England for £50m. A good money and I have no regrets - Schuurs was a team leader, but his balanced character has little mentoring value and at 26 years of age, it was time for him to go. Kik Taylor looks promising and might soon take over his position in the first team. Donny van de Beek was the second player to leave and this decision was made with a heavy heart - Manchester City swooped by and offered £66m for him and although I’d loved to see him in the team because of his leadership and character, I couldn’t deny him the opportunity to play for one of the biggest clubs in Europe. van de Beek left after our game with FC Emmen. That departure was even more difficult to replace as Tim Brown suffered his injury and our midfield got dangerously thin before we faced the second half of the season.

 

22.01.2026 - AFC Ajax - SC Telstar 4:1 (TOTO KNVB Beker 3rd round) - 12. pen. Youri Regeer, 69. Remy Boer, 71. Kik Taylor, 82. Vincent Claes - 64. Arie Tol

Telstar is the smallest, and weakest club in the league and I had no doubts that we will beat them in the cup game. We had injuries coming to this game - Gürcan Dere, Perr Schuurs, Tim Brown and Joel Veltman were out - but it was a good chance to give youngsters an opportunity and so Kik Taylor started in defense.

Squad: van den Heuvel, van der Sloot, Taylor, Hillen, Salah-Eddine, Regeer (69. van de Beek), Sangare-Aka, Hansen (71. Silveira), Fitz-Jim, Boer, Enem (71. Claes)

We got an early lead and it came after a dubious penalty decision. Remy Boer was tackled in the box and honestly, out of nowhere a penalty was rewarded and VAR didn’t change that decision. Youri Regeer converted from the spot and that gave us the lead at half-time. Apart from the penalty we didn’t have too many clear chances in the first half. It looked like our attack was a little bit rusty after the Winter break and we needed some game time to get ourselves going again.

The second half offered more action. At first we missed two great chances. Remy Boer found Sontje Hansen with a cross in 57’ and the winger’s header from point blank range should have landed in the goal, but instead it scraped the crossbar and went over. Jay Enem had an easy chance some minutes later and he blew it, and then Telstar had their only moment of the game - Arie Tol had some space on a counter and his finish from the edge of the area was way too good for any goalkeeper to do anything about it. It was 1:1 with less than 30 minutes to go. We had to pick ourselves up and find some goals and we managed to do that convincingly and quickly enough. We carved Telstar’s defense open in 69’ and the ball got to Remy Boer, who headed it in from a point blank range. Two minutes later Kik Taylor extended our lead from a corner and substitute Vincent Claes completed the rout with his goal in 82’. An emphatic 4:1 win in the end and we move forward into the quarter finals.

• our shooting was 24/13 in this game
• we created 3 clear cut chances
• we made 34 dribbles in this game - clearly superior technical ability over Telstar players who made 28 fouls against us
• Vincent Claes scored his first ever goal for Ajax
• Player of the game: Remy Boer - another excellent performance from the wonderkid, who scored a goal, earned a penalty and was always active in attack

 

25.01.2026 - AFC Ajax - FC Emmen 3:0 (ED) - 7. Rio Hillen, 43. pen. Youri Regeer, 66. Kik Braspenning

Back to our Eredivisie campaign. We have all home games in January, no need to travel. That’s nice. Next up we host FC Emmen and their new manager Jurgen Dirkx who, by the way, took time in his press conference to criticize Ajax for (and I quote) - ‘lack of directness’. Well, let’s see what he thinks after leaving Johan Cruijff Arena this afternoon.

We have some players absent for this game - Tim Brown and Gürcan Dere are out, Joel Veltman is close to full fitness (but not ready to start) and Jay Enem pulled his thigh muscle in training after the Telstar match, so he too will sit this one out (although his form has been rubbish lately anyway). It is probably the last game that Donny van de Beek will play for the club, so he will start in front of the home crowd. But the squad is getting quite thin and I have only seven substitutions for that game - including youngsters Kik Taylor, Vincent Claes and Tiago Silveira. Not a lot of options to change things when we need to.

Squad: van den Heuvel, van der Sloot, Hillen, Lopes, Salah-Eddine (66. Douglas), Regeer (66. Sangare-Aka), van de Beek, Hansen, Fitz-Jim (66. Karahasanovic), Boer, Braspenning

FC Emmen surprised us in 3’ when Runar Espejord was left completely unmarked in the box and his header landed against the crossbar. Despite that little mistake, we quickly took control of the game. FC Emmen’s tactical plan was way too defensive and their cautious 4-2-3-1 Wide formation was perhaps good enough to limit our space in attack, but didn’t protect them in set piece situations and we got way too many. In 7’ we had a corner and FC Emmen players made the worst possible mistake, allowing the ball to land in the area and Rio Hillen was at the back post to finish it from the bounce. We had full control of the game and were unlucky not to score more goals. Remy Boer hit the post from a narrow angle in 18’ and Donny van de Beek denied a great goal when his attempt from 20 meters bounced back from the woodwork. van de Beek looked highly motivated to score in his last game for the club - his fine header in 31’ was turned away by Michael Woud. While we couldn’t find the second goal from open play, we still had set pieces - Youri Regeer was pushed in the box and he converted from the spot to give us a two goal lead at the half time.

The second half continued in the same fashion, even though we didn’t pressure the FC Emmen goal with as many attempts. Kik Braspenning scored our third goal after another assist from Donny van de Beek and the final score was a convincing 3:0. It was a fairly one-sided match and we never looked in trouble.

• we had 66% possession in this game
• we created 3 clear cut chances and didn’t allow FC Emmen to create any decent opportunities
• Youri Regeer made his 100th career league appearance for Ajax
• Player of the game: Donny van de Beek - the midfielder had an outstanding game, initiating attacks, created two goals and gave 7 key passes

 

30.01.2026 - AFC Ajax - AZ Alkmaar 3:1 (ED) - 19. Sontje Hansen, 21. Remy Boer, 88. Jay Enem - 1. Ferdi Kadioglu

Well, as I predicted, Donny van de Beek’s transfer went through right before the Noord-Hollandse derby with AZ Alkmaar. It’s the most difficult game in January, partly because AZ looks incredibly strong, but also they’re our closest challengers now that PSV Eindhoven, Sparta Rotterdam and FC Utrecht have all failed to keep up the pace one after another. The club and Luka Modric’s style hasn’t changed much over the Winter break - no incoming transfers and I know what to expect. The fact that we lost the away game speaks for itself and the players don’t need any extra motivation - the opportunity to prove ourselves and take revenge is enough.

Our squad is definitely weakened by van de Beek’s departure. There’s a shift in leadership, too - Youri Regeer replaced Donny van de Beek as our vice-captain and there’s new dynamics in the squad after two leaders departed. Injuries still play their part - Gürcan Dere and Jay Enem are close to full fitness, but not just yet. Joel Veltman is ready for the game, but starts from the bench.

I didn’t want to make too many changes in our line-up, so we continue to play with Hillen and Lopes in central defense and Ismael Sangare-Aka will take van de Beek’s position as BBMs.

Squad: van den Heuvel, van der Sloot, Hillen, Lopes, Salah-Eddine (63. Douglas), Regeer, Sangare-Aka, Hansen, Fitz-Jim (83. Karahasanovic), Boer, Braspenning (79. Enem)

The match began with a cold shower - AZ Alkmaar scored in their first attack. Steven van der Sloot missed his interception on the right wing and Anass Salah-Eddine lost the header to Ferdi Kadioglu and it was 0:1 when only 20 seconds were on the game clock. I was stunned. Didn’t expect it to start like this, but to give credit to the players we composed ourselves fairly quickly. In the first 10-15 minutes it was clear that the game was slowly, but surely continuing under our control and most of the shots were directed on AZ Alkmaar’s goal. In 19’ skipped past the defender and finished his move with a nicely placed shot to the far post - a lovely goal by the right winger. Two minutes later he found Remy Boer with a pass and it was 2:1. AZ’s goalkeeper Mees Bakker got his hand to Boer’s shot, but not enough to save it and so we took the lead. When Kik Braspenning headed against the crossbar in 27’ it looked like AZ were in trouble already. Braspenning should have scored in 41’ but sent his shot wide and at the half-time we held a narrow lead. It was just 2:1, but considering what was going on we were fairly comfortable and AZ had every reason to be worried before the second half.

The second half was fairly quiet in terms of chances, but we always looked more comfortable in possession and had control over the game. And with the game nearing to end, AZ needed to take more risks and we found more space behind their defensive line. Sontje Hansen had a couple of good attempts, but wasn’t able to double his tally. In the end it was substitute Jay Enem who headed in the late goal and buried the game (cross came from another substitute Terrence Douglas). AZ tried until the end - Bruma’s ambitious attempt from some distance was denied by the woodwork - but without much success. The final score 3:1 was a pretty good result for us and I’m happy with that and the effort and determination that we showed to come back after conceding an early goal. Well done.

• our shooting was 29/13 in this game
• we made only 7 key passes, but 32 dribbles in this game
• we didn’t allow AZ to create any real chances - they can threat from every situation, but in terms of organization our defense looked good enough
• Jay Enem scored his 10th goal of the season and it also marked his 50th goal for Ajax
• Player of the game: Sontje Hansen - an outstanding game from the right winger, scored a goal, delivered an assist, was active in attack through the whole 90 minutes and made 9 dribbles in this game

 

Summary

Smooth sailing so far for us. The other contenders have all failed in at least a few games, but our winning streak that started in December continues and that has given us a healthy lead in the table. Winning a derby game over AZ Alkmaar was important and there’s a feeling that we’re really difficult to beat at the moment.

 

Eredivisie