Ajax Amsterdam: Recovery, Prosperity, and Longevity

[adiek22]

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Welcome to my first ever manager story!

As you can tell by the title, I will be managing one of my favorite European clubs, AFC Ajax. I am not a very experienced FM player, with FM15 being my first title. As you may expect, I managed Ajax as my first "adventure" in this amazing game and I look forward to doing it again.

The Manager

Maarten van der Horst

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An FM15 Ajax legend for me, this Attacking Midfielder was a joy to watch for Ajax and Holland fans alike.
My graphics became corrupted for FM15 so there are very little details in these screenshots, but you get the idea about how much of a legend this man was.

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My save was relatively short, but you can imagine how good he could have eventually been for the nation.

Now that you have gotten to know the manager, let's cut to the chase.

Goals

Short-Term

-Win the Eredivisie
-Make it out of the group stage of the Europa League

Intermediate-Term

-Promote players through Youth Academy
-Buy very young and cheap talent
-Advance in Europe
-Sell star players for large profit (break outgoing transfer record)

Long-Term

-Manage Holland to World Cup Victory
-Win Champions League with Ajax
-Go undefeated in the Eredivisie
-Push Eredivisie/Jupiler League higher up league standings

This series will be receiving 100% of my focus as I play through FM16, and I will look to accomplish every goal to the best of my ability. As this is my first series, I don't expect everything to go perfect. I implore everyone reading this to leave comments so I can do my best to improve this series, as well as my ability as a manager. Thank you for taking the time to read this first update. The second update will consist of actual in-game screenshots, including tactical setups, transfer updates, and other preseason action.

"Soccer is simple, but it is difficult to play simple."
-Johan Cruyff​

 

[adiek22]

Dear anyone reading this, unfortunately FM base is acting weird on my computer and has completely deleted an update that took me multiple days to gather and write. I am just going to continue on with my career and may revisit posting updates in the future but probably not for a while. Time will tell!!

 

[alfielawrence619]

Dear anyone reading this, unfortunately FM base is acting weird on my computer and has completely deleted an update that took me multiple days to gather and write. I am just going to continue on with my career and may revisit posting updates in the future but probably not for a while. Time will tell!!

ah please do this, I'm hooked!!

 

[adiek22]

July-October 2015

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Hey guys! Sorry about that mess up, I am back! Unfortunately all of my preseason screenshots are gone so I will try and recap it as best as I can.
Transfers

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-Sherel Floranus: 16 yr old CB with 4 star or higher potential
-Rivaldo Coetzee: 18 yr old CB from Ajax Cape Town will be in rotation this season
-Yassin Ayoub: Quality 21 yr old CM will be in rotation with Gudelj

-Nick Viergever: had to make room with Coetzee transfer
-Lerin Duarte: not enough potential to compete with van de Beek and Bazoer
-Davy Klaassen: forced his way out of squad; huge profit but best player gone

Tactics

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Our domestic tactic is a high attacking formation that focuses on pressing the opposition while keeping possession
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Our european tactic is relatively similar except for the DM, it will involve more direct passing but nothing too different in terms of keeping possession.

Injuries

Viktor Fischer went down with a pulled hamstring (3 months) during preseason, then 3 games into his comeback he receives the same exact injury during training (2 more months).
Boilesen has a hernia (3-4 more weeks).

Results

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Not going to lie, it was a pretty poor start in the Eredivisie. A loss to AZ to start the season wasn't horrible but the draws with NEC and Heracles were. Maybe it is the tactic but our Champions League performance has been awesome! Defeating both Rapid Vienna and Lazio to get to the group stages, we got off to a blazing start to the group stage with a win @ Monchengladbach that was followed by 2 draws against Benfica and Basel.

Tables

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Top of the table for the first time this season, but AZ has a game in hand. Will our opening loss in Alkmaar come back to haunt us?


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As previously mentioned we have had a good start to the Champions League, but Basel are knocking on our door after that draw.

Best Player
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Ricardo van Rhijn has been spectacular in the league this season, with 5 assists in 8 matches. Kenny Tete was going to be my preferred right back this season due to his potential, but he may have to deal with a rotation role with van Rhijn in the form of his life.

Well, this concludes update #2. It isn't nearly as detailed as I would want it to be but I had no choice. Look forward to more detailed updates in the future and hopefully even better results! Go Ajax!!!

"To win you have to score one more goal than your opponent."
-Johan Cruyff​

 

[FMPivot]

Ahhh, who doesn't like an Ajax save?