Ajax, The Netherlands, and The Fearlessness of Youth

[Klippybo]

AFC AJAX

This is my new story after being inspired by the performances of Ajax in the Champions League this season. The goal is to restore Ajax to the top of world football and also to get the Holland job and win them their first World Cup.

Johan Cruyff - so synonymous with Ajax - once said "Why couldn't you beat a richer club? I have never seen a bag of money score a goal." and with that in mind I am going to use the youth academy to the hilt and I am going to try and only sign Dutch players. Maybe I will limit myself to one foreign signing a season but only then they have to be a teenager.

In real life Ajax have scored 111 goals in 32 league games and are in the Champions League semis which is the kind of record you get in FM once you have built a team after a few years so in a weird way the team in real life are doing better than I can do in the game!!!!

So join me for the ride and we shall see how I get on!!

--

THE CLUB

Founded - 1900
Ground - Johan Cruyff Arena
Capacity - 54,990
Nickname - de Godenzonen (Sons of the Gods)

--

HONOURS

Eredivisie Winners (33) - 1917-18, 1918-19, 1930-31, 1931-32, 1933-34, 1936-37, 1938-39, 1946-47, 1956-57, 1959-60, 1965-66, 1966-67, 1967-68, 1969-70, 1971-72, 1972-73, 1976-77, 1978-79, 1979-80, 1981-82, 1982-83, 1984-85, 1989-90, 1993-94, 1994-95, 1995-96, 1997-98, 2001-02, 2003-04, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13, 2013-14

KNVB Cup Winners (18) - 1916-17, 1942-43, 1960-61, 1966-67, 1969-70, 1970-71, 1971-72, 1978-79, 1982-83, 1985-86, 1986-87, 1992-93, 1997-98, 1998-99, 2001-02, 2005-06, 2006-07, 2009-10

Johan Cruyff Shield Winners (8) - 1993, 1994, 1995, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2013

European Cup/Champions League Winners (4) - 1970-71, 1971-72, 1972-73, 1994-95

European Cup-Winners Cup Winners (1) - 1986-87

UEFA Cup Winners (1) - 1991-92

UEFA Super Cup Winners (2) - 1973, 1995

Intercontinental Cup Winners (2) - 1972, 1995


​

 

[FM_TNSSO]

What made you knock the Fylde save on the head mate? I was quite enjoying that one, obviously as you were doing something similar to my Hartlepool story

 

[Klippybo]

PRE-SEASON

So upon arriving at the club I immediately was shocked. With Sinkgraven, Veltman and Bande all out injured for several months and with a very small squad how the **** have Ajax done what they have done this season? Normally I would just buy several cheap foreigners but not so this time plus with only just over £10m to spend I didn't have much money to play with.

I overhauled my backroom team and appointed one of my favourite ever players, Marco Van Basten, as my assistant manager. I also brought back club legends Edgar Davids and Jari Litmanen back to the club too as well as an old Aberdeen player - Hans Gillhaus - as a scout.

--

THE SQUAD

In goal I have Cameroon keeper Andre Onana and at 22 years old he should be my keeper for a few years. The club have agreed to sign a young keeper from FC Emmen at the end of the season who was made to write 1,000 lines upon joining the club recently!!!

In defence I will have a job to do in keeping Matthijs De Ligt at the club. He does have a few years left on his contract but the bids will no doubt come in. Daley Blind and Lisandro Magallan will battle it out for the other spot as Veltman is injured.

As for the full backs Tagliafico will be my left back and at RB it will be between Kristensen and Mazraoui.

We don't have many CMs at the club tbh. Obviously Frenkie De Jong is a world class player who is going to join Barcelona for £67m at the end of the season and the club have agreed to sign Romanian midfielder Razvan Marin at the end of the season as his replacement.

Donny Van De Beek will partner De Jong while Lasse Schone and Ryan Gravenberch (a 16y/o who I have promoted to the first team) will support them. At AMC I will play Ziyech while Labyad will be backup.

On the wings Dusan Tadic will be the left winger with Vaclav Cerny being the backup while on the RW I will play David Neres but there is very little backup tbh as Bande is out for 7-8 months.

Finally up front we have the young Dane Kasper Dolberg who is another who is out for a couple of months and he will be a star. Veteran forward Klaas-Jan Huntelaar will be backup while I like the look of 16y/o Brian Brobbey.

--

TRANSFERS

Only one player has been sold so far which is not a surprise given the size of squad that I have and the player who left was my 3rd choice keeper Kostas Lamprou to Udinese for £1.1m.

I spent most of my budget on Kik Pierie from Heerenveen as I paid £7.75m for the 18y/o left back. He will be backup to Tagliafico until Sinkgraven returns after Xmas and can also fill in at CB.

I paid Bayern Munich £1.5m to bring in Joshua Zirkzee back to Holland from Bayern Munich. With Dolberg injured and with Huntelaar being double the age of some of my players I wanted to bring in another forward and hopefully he will step up.

Finally I raided Heerenveen again to bring in 16y/o winger Arjen Van Der Heide to the club for £1m. He will get a few opportunities quite soon but will mostly play for my reserve side who play in the 2nd tier of Dutch football.

--

OTHER NEWS

The club is in the news as there are takeover rumours going about and I got Ascoli as a feeder side.
​

 

[Klippybo]

What made you knock the Fylde save on the head mate? I was quite enjoying that one, obviously as you were doing something similar to my Hartlepool story

Just lost the love with it tbh. Whether I was finding it too easy or whatever I don't know but when I saw Ajax play Spurs in the first half the other night a light just went on in my head.

Sorry!!!

 

[FM_TNSSO]

Just lost the love with it tbh. Whether I was finding it too easy or whatever I don't know but when I saw Ajax play Spurs in the first half the other night a light just went on in my head.

Sorry!!!

No need to apologise mate. We've all been there where we fall out of love with a save! I'll follow your stories no matter who you are as they're always a good read.

 

[MatthewElphinstone]

as well as an old Aberdeen player - Hans Gillhaus - as a scout.
​

Mon eh dons

shame we decided that our place was a good venue for title celebrations......

 

[Klippybo]

AUGUST

UEFA Champions League Best Placed Qualifiers 2nd Round 1st Leg
v
​​Ajax 5 (Gravenberch 3, Zirkzee 17, 69, Schone 32, Ziyech 43)
PAOK 0

Lineup - Onana, Mazraoui, Magallan, Blind (Schuurs), Tagliafico, Gravenberch, Schone, David Neres (Labyad), Ziyech, Tadic (Cerny), Zirkzee*

My first game in charge was brilliant. Our first half performance was a joy to behold as we had 20 shots. 16y/o Gravenberch put us in front, 17y/o Zirkzee was the star of the show with 2 goals on his debut while Schone fired in a free kick and Ziyech also struck from range.

At 16 years and 40 days Gravenberch became Ajax's youngest ever player. Not often you beak records in your first game in charge!

--

UEFA Champions League Best Placed Qualifiers 2nd Round 2nd Leg
​​v
PAOK 1 (Karelis 51)
Ajax 2 (Van De Beek 6, Schone 40)
(Agg: 1-7)

Lineup - Onana, Mazraoui, Magallan, Schuurs, Pierie, Van De Beek (Ekkelenkamp), Schone*, Cerny, Labyad (Lang), Van Der Heide, Zirkzee (Huntelaar)

With a 5-0 lead I decided to play some of my backups here and they just scraped the victory thanks to 2 long range wonder strikes from Van De Beek and Schone.

--

UEFA Champions League Best Placed Qualifiers 3rd Round 1st Leg
v
​​Ajax 1 (Zirkzee 8)
Standard Liege 0

Lineup - Onana, Mazraoui*, De Ligt, Blind, Tagliafico, De Jong, Schone (Gravenberch), David Neres (Cerny), Van De Beek (Labyad), Tadic, Zirkzee

We just edged this match thanks to Zirkzee's early goal. Our future signing, Razvan Marin, didn't even make the bench which isn't a good sign lol.

--

v
​​Ajax 3 (Tadic 24pen, 51, Huntelaar 77)
Heracles Almelo 1 (Kuwas 37pen)

Lineup - Onana, Mazraoui (Nissen Kristensen), De Ligt, Blind, Tagliafico (Pierie), Gravenberch, Schone, David Neres, Van De Beek, Tadic*, Zirkzee (Huntelaar)

A comfortable opening day victory for us here. Tadic got a double while old man Huntelaar got the 3rd. I didn't realise you can name 12 subs in the league - lots of youngsters will be on the bench now and maybe getting unexpected game time. Unfortunately for us Tagliafico got injured and will be out for 3-4 weeks.

--

UEFA Champions League Best Placed Qualifiers 3rd Round 2nd Leg
​​v
​​Standard Liege 0
Ajax 3 (David Neres 40, Huntelaar 63, 90pen)
(Agg: 0-4)

Lineup - Onana, Mazraoui, De Ligt, Blind, Pierie, De Jong, Van De Beek (Gravenberch), David Neres, Ziyech (Schone), Tadic, Zirkzee (Huntelaar*)

We go through to the next round with a comfortable victory here. Huntelaar came off the bench again to score twice and pick up the MOM award.

--

v
​​VVV-Venlo 3 (Post 26, Joosten 52, Susic 64)
Ajax 4 (Zirkzee 15, 23, David Neres 20, Ziyech 54)

Lineup - Onana, Mazraoui, De Ligt, Blind, Pierie, De Jong, Van De Beek (Gravenberch), David Neres (Cerny), Ziyech, Tadic (Van Der Heide), Zirkzee*

There was lots of good things about this performance, Zirkzee netting twice, scoring 4 in total, taking 34 shots to name a few but the fact that we conceded 3 goals is a big worry and Venlo even had a goal disallowed. David Neres got injured and will be out for 3-4 weeks.

--

UEFA Champions League Best Placed Playoff 1st Leg
v
​​Ajax 3 (Huntelaar 32, 60, De Jong 86)
Spartak Moscow 0

Lineup - Onana, Mazraoui (Nissen Kristensen), De Ligt, Blind, Pierie, De Jong, Schone, Ziyech, Van De Beek (Labyad), Tadic (Cerny), Huntelaar*

A fine victory which should be enough to take us through to the group stages. Zirkzee wasn't fit enough to play so Huntelaar came in and did what he does best - scores goals.

--

v
​​Ajax 6 (Schone 13, Zirkzee 25, 38, 90, Van De Beek 53, De Jong 89)
FC Emmen 1 (Emnes 27)

Lineup - Onana, Mazraoui (Nissen Kristensen), De Ligt, Blind, Pierie, De Jong, Schone, Ziyech (Cerny), Van De Beek, Tadic, Zirkzee*

Fantastic. Zirkzee fired in a hat-trick but the goal of the game was Frenkie De Jong's screamer as he volleyed home from the edge of the area. Spare a thought for Emmen's 18y/o keeper Kjell Scherpen who let in 6 here - he joins us in the summer.

--

UEFA Champions League Best Placed Playoff 2nd Leg
v
Spartak Moscow 2 (Hanni 9, Djikia 65)
Ajax 5 (Tadic 30, Schone 68, 82, 90, Ziyech 72)
(Agg: 2-8)

Lineup - Onana, Mazraoui (Nissen Kristensen), De Ligt, Blind, Pierie (Schuurs), De Jong, Schone*, Ziyech, Van De Beek, Tadic, Zirkzee (Huntelaar)

Our goal scoring exploits continued here as we bang in another 5 goals. Lasse Schone grabbed a hat-trick which is some going from the CM position. We were rocked the day before the match when Magallan got injured and is out for 7-8 months.

--

SUMMARY

We had a hectic start to the season with 8 matches in August and 1 in July. We managed to win every match and have scored plenty of goals in doing so. Joshua Zirkzee has impressed up front as has Huntelaar when he has come in but the special mention goes to Lasse Schone who I offered out to clubs upon my arrival.

Schone has been immense and has scored 6 goals from CM. At 32y/o he doesn't have much of a future with us but has been amazing so far and although injuries have put him in the team he is keeping 16y/o Gravenberch out of the team.

Speaking of things being out - that will be us in the Champions League as we are in a group with Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Inter Milan!!!! Even 3rd place would be an achievement in that group.

In the transfer window I made another signing when I brought in 16y/o CB Sepp Van Den Berg into the club from PEC Zwolle for £2m. He will be with my reserve side in the 2nd tier.

Finally a takeover led by former Leicester player Theo Zagarakis fell through which was just as well as they were wanting to appoint Murcea Lucescu as manager!

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
LASSE SCHONE

​​
--

EREDIVISIE

​​
​

 

[Klippybo]

SEPTEMBER

​​v
​​Vitesse Arnhem 0
Ajax 2 (De Jong 21, Huntelaar 80)

Lineup - Onana, Mazraoui, De Ligt*, Blind, Pierie, De Jong, Schone (Gravenberch), Ziyech, Van De Beek (Labyad), Tadic, Zirkzee (Huntelaar)

This win gives us our 1st clean sheet in the league as we defeat Vitesse Arnhem in a hard fought match. Vitesse have a few decent players like Odegaard and Musonda. Schone got injured and is out for 3 weeks as our injury list keeps growing and growing.

--

v
​​Ajax 2 (David Neres 44, Labyad 90)
FC Groningen 0

Lineup - Onana, Mazraoui, Schuurs, Blind, Pierie, De Jong, Gravenberch, David Neres, Van De Beek (Labyad*), Tadic (Cerny), Zirkzee (Dolberg)

Groningen have made a shocking start to the season and have now lost all 5 of their games but we struggled against them here as we played against 10 men for over an hour. David Neres and Dolberg returned from injury thankfully.

--

UEFA Champions League Group C
​​v
Borussia Dortmund 0
Ajax 0

Lineup - Onana, Mazraoui, De Ligt, Blind, Tagliafico, De Jong, Van De Beek, David Neres, Ziyech (Labyad), Tadic (Cerny), Dolberg (Zirkzee)

This was an entertaining 0-0 draw and I am pretty happy that we got a point although we did miss chances to win the match.

--

v
​​PSV Eindhoven 2 (Viergever 24, Bergwijn 31)
Ajax 2 (David Neres 36, Gravenberch 88)

Lineup - Onana, Mazraoui (Nissen Kristensen), De Ligt, Blind, Tagliafico, Gravenberch, Van De Beek, David Neres, Ziyech (Labyad), Tadic, Dolberg (Zirkzee)

This was a great comeback as we were 2-0 down just after the half hour mark but we fought back to get a draw. PSV scored immediately after Gravenberch equalised late on but fortunately for us it was disallowed for offside.

Gravenberch's goal means he is the youngest ever scorer in the Eredivisie.

--

KNVB Cup 1st Round
v
​​RKC Waalwijk 0
Ajax 3 (Cerny 31, Blind 60, Schone 66)

Lineup - Onana, Nissen Kristensen, Schuurs, Blind, Pierie, Gravenberch (Eiting), Schone*, Cerny, Labyad, David Neres (Kuhn), Zirkzee (Brobbey)

We go through in the cup here and I am quite pleased that my largely backup side got the job done.

--

v
​​Fortuna Sittard 0
Ajax 1 (Tadic 31pen)

Lineup - Onana, Mazraoui, De Ligt, Blind, Tagliafico, De Jong, Van De Beek, David Neres (Cerny), Ziyech (Gravenberch), Tadic*, Dolberg (Zirkzee)

A strange game. We battered them and had 42 shots on goal yet our only goal came from a penalty. Somebody is going to be on the wrong end of a hiding from us soon if we keep taking that amount of shots.

--

SUMMARY

September was a tough month as we had some really hard fixtures and every match was away from home apart from one but we came out of it relatively unscathed. In the league we dropped our first points of the season away to PSV but we won the rest of our games and we have a 5pt lead at the top although AZ have a game in hand.

In the Champions League we got a great draw away to Dortmund while in the Dutch Cup we easily beat RKC and will play an amateur side in the next round.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
ANDRE ONANA

​​
--

EREDIVISIE

​​
​

 

[Klippybo]

OCTOBER

UEFA Champions League Group C
v
​​Ajax 3 (Tadic 2pen, Dolberg 20, Ziyech 73)
Inter Milan 2 (Icardi 57pen, 85)

Lineup - Onana, Mazraoui, De Ligt, Blind, Tagliafico, De Jong (Schone), Van De Beek, David Neres (Cerny), Ziyech, Tadic, Dolberg

I am delighted with this win in what was a thrilling match. We were 2up in 20min and just needed to keep things solid but they pulled a goal back and things went nervy. Ziyech put us 3-1 up but yet again they scored and we just managed to hold on to the win.

--

v
​​Ajax 2 (Dolberg 11, 50)
AZ Alkmaar 0

Lineup - Onana, Mazraoui, Schuurs, Blind, Tagliafico, De Jong (Schone), Gravenberch, David Neres, Ziyech, Cerny (Labyad), Dolberg*

This win puts us 8pts clear of AZ who will go 2nd if they win their game in hand. Kasper Dolberg got his 1st league goals of the season here and I hope he can really hit a rich vein of form.

--

KNVB Cup 2nd Round
v
​​Ajax 7 (Cerny 6, 88, Zirkzee 34pen, 42, 45, 47, Labyad 56)
IJsselmeervogels 0

Lineup - Onana, Nissen Kristensen, De Ligt, Blind, Pierie, Schone, Gravenberch, David Neres, Labyad, Cerny, Zirkzee*

The amateur side were never likely to trouble us here and so it proved. Joshua Zirkzee grabbed 4 goals to take him up to 12 for the season.

--

UEFA Champions League Group C
v
​​Ajax 2 (Dolberg 14, 17)
Real Madrid 2 (Isco 77pen, Modric 90)

Lineup - Onana, Mazraoui (Nissen Kristensen), Schuurs, Blind, Tagliafico, De Jong, Van De Beek, David Neres, Ziyech (Labyad), Tadic (Cerny), Dolberg*

While I am pleased that we managed to avoid defeat here I am gutted that we couldn't hold on to the lead after being 2-0 up with less than 25min to go.

--

v
​​Ajax 3 (Ziyech 24, 36, David Neres 46)
Feyenoord 1 (Jorgensen 34)

Lineup - Onana, Mazraoui (Nissen Kristensen), De Ligt, Blind, Tagliafico, De Jong, Van De Beek (Schone), David Neres, Ziyech*, Tadic, Dolberg (Zirkzee)

Feyenoord are our bitter rivals and we defeated them here easily enough. Ziyech put in a great performance and scored twice.

--

v
sc Heerenveen 0
Ajax 2 (Dolberg 18, 27)

Lineup - Onana, Mazraoui, De Ligt, Blind, Tagliafico, Schone, Gravenberch, David Neres, Van De Beek (Labyad), Cerny, Dolberg*

Heerenveen are struggling this season and we piled on the misery here despite missing De Jong, Tadic and Ziyech.

--

SUMMARY

After last month where we had tricky matches and most away from home this month was the same but most of our games were at home which made life easier. Domestically we are 6pts clear at the top of the table and managed to beat AZ Alkmaar, Feyenoord and Heerenveen all fairly comfortably. In the Cup we smashed 7 past an amateur side with Joshua Zirkzee grabbing 4 goals.

In Europe we got a great victory over Inter Milan before we drew with Real Madrid 2-2 although we were 2-0 up at one point. We are level with Real on 5pts with Dortmund on 4pts and Inter have 1pt so it is still too close to call.

No more takeover rumours either.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
KASPER DOLBERG

​​
--

EREDIVISIE

​

 

[Klippybo]

NOVEMBER

​​v
​​Ajax 1 (Tadic 66)
Willem II 0

Lineup - Onana, Mazraoui*, Schuurs, Blind, Tagliafico, De Jong, Van De Beek (Gravenberch), David Neres, Ziyech (Labyad), Tadic, Dolberg (Huntelaar)

We were very poor in this match and got away with it in truth. Hopefully it was just one of those days but at least we won!

--

UEFA Champions League Group C
https://www.uefa.com/teamsandplayers/teams/club=50051/profile/index.htmlv
Real Madrid 2 (Ceballos 67, Vazquez 71)
Ajax 1 (Cerny 48)

Lineup - Onana, Mazraoui (Nissen Kristensen), De Ligt, Schuurs, Pierie, Gravenberch, Van De Beek, Cerny, Ziyech (Schone), Labyad, Dolberg (Huntelaar)

Our first defeat in all competitions this season and it was so undeserved. We really should have got at least a draw here but it was not to be. Most of my first choice players were unfit here so for my weakened side to match Real Madrid is some going I suppose.

--

v
​​Excelsior 0
Ajax 5 (Tadic 12pen, David Neres 27, 87, Omarsson 41og, Zirkzee 89)

Lineup - Onana, Mazraoui, De Ligt, Blind, Tagliafico, De Jong (Schone), Gravenberch, David Neres*, Ziyech, Tadic, Dolberg (Zirkzee)

A fine performance. David Neres was unplayable as he scored twice. Dolberg is struggling a bit for goals at the minute but it was nice to see Zirkzee coming off the bench to score.

--

v
​​NAC Breda 1 (Ilic 29)
Ajax 2 (David Neres 26, 77)

Lineup - Onana, Mazraoui (Nissen Kristensen), Pierie, Blind, Tagliafico, De Jong, Van De Beek, David Neres*, Ziyech (Labyad), Tadic, Dolberg (Huntelaar)

This should have been far more comfortable as NAC Breda played over an hour with 10 men but we struggled to kill them off. David Neres is flying at the minute.

--

UEFA Champions League Group C
​​v
Ajax 3 (Tadic 71, Dolberg 80, 90)
Borussia Dortmund 1 (Reus 46)

Lineup - Onana, Mazraoui (Nissen Kristensen), Pierie, Blind, Tagliafico, De Jong, Van De Beek (Gravenberch), Cerny (Labyad), Ziyech, Tadic, Dolberg*

A huge victory as we leapfrog Dortmund in the group. We are 1pt clear but they have Real Madrid in their last match while we are away to Inter Milan.

--

SUMMARY

We had another strong month here as we moved 8pts clear at the top of the league with the highlight being the 5-0 win over Excelsior. However our performances overall weren't great but I have to keep chopping and changing my lineups as my players fitness levels were dropping.

In Europe we narrowly lost out to Real Madrid but then we got a great win over Dortmund but we still don't know if we will be playing in the Champions League or Europa League after Christmas.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
DAVID NERES

--

EREDIVISIE

​​
​

 

[Klippybo]

DECEMBER

​​v
​​Ajax 1 (Zwinkels 19og)
ADO Den Haag 0

Lineup - Onana, Mazraoui, De Ligt, Blind, Tagliafico, Gravenberch*, Van De Beek, David Neres (Zirkzee), Labyad (Schuurs), Cerny, Dolberg

ADO Den Haag are the surprise team of the league and are in 2nd position and they probably deserved a point here but we just held on to the lead.

--

v
PEC Zwolle 1 (Van Polen 84)
Ajax 2 (Dammers 3og, Ziyech 45)

Lineup - Onana, Mazraoui, De Ligt, Blind, Tagliafico, Gravenberch, Van De Beek, David Neres (Labyad), Ziyech, Tadic, Dolberg (Huntelaar)

Once again we dominate the match but just cant find the goals that our play deserved. Its just as well that we are now getting own goals in our favour as we are really struggling in front of goal and Dolberg hasn't scored in his last 5 league matches.

--

UEFA Champions League Group C
​​v
Inter Milan 1 (Candreva 89)
Ajax 2 (David Neres 8, Tadic 35)

Lineup - Onana, Mazraoui, De Ligt, Blind, Tagliafico, De Jong, Van De Beek, David Neres* (Cerny), Ziyech (Labyad), Tadic, Dolberg (Zirkzee)

A fantastic win as we secure our place in the knockout stages. In the end Dortmund lost so we would have finished 2nd in the group anyway.

--

v
​​Ajax 2 (Dolberg 53, Tadic 55pen)
De Graafschap 0

Lineup - Onana, Mazraoui (Nissen Kristensen), De Ligt, Blind, Tagliafico, De Jong, Gravenberch (Schone), Ziyech*, Van De Beek (Labyad), Tadic, Dolberg

Once again we laboured to victory despite dominating proceedings. Our opener came when Dolberg tucked in a rebound after Ziyech's free-kick and then shortly after we got a penalty which Tadic duly converted.

--

KNVB Cup 3rd Round
v
sc Heerenveen 1 (Van Bergen 89)
Ajax 2 (Van Der Heide 33, Dolberg 51)

Lineup - Onana, Mazraoui, De Ligt, Blind, Tagliafico, De Jong, Gravenberch (Schone), Ziyech, Van De Beek, Van Der Heide (Cerny), Dolberg

Heerenveen battled hard here and probably deserved to take it into extra-time. 16y/o winger Van Der Heide was signed from Heerenveen and has been starring for my reserves and he got his 1st goal for us against his old side here.

--

v
FC Utrecht 2 (Letschert 52, Venema 71)
Ajax 3 (Dolberg 41, 44, Eiting 75)

Lineup - Onana, Mazraoui, De Ligt, Schuurs, Pierie, Schone, Gravenberch, Cerny, Labyad (Eiting), Tadic, Dolberg*

I am so proud of my players here as we won despite being without a dozen players. Schone even played the whole match despite only being fit enough to play a half. Of course I was ****** off that we threw away a 2 goal lead but Carel Eiting, another of my reserves, came off the bench to fire in the winner.

--

SUMMARY

We ended 2019 in a very healthy position. We are 16pts clear at the top of the table having only dropped 2pts and having won our last 11 league games. In the KNVB Cup we are in the quarter-finals and will play FC Den Bosch of the 2nd tier while in the Champions League we made it through to the knockout stages but unfortunately we drew PSG in the next round.

We could have been even more healthier as a business tycoon was in talks to take over the club however the deal fell through just before the transfer window opened.

However there was more good news as both myself and more importantly Matthijs De Ligt signed new contracts with the club.

Finally a special word on my reserve side who are leading the way in the 2nd tier and have an 8pt lead over Sparta Rotterdam.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
DUSAN TADIC

--

EREDIVISIE

​​
​

 

[Klippybo]

JANUARY

​​v
Ajax 3 (Dolberg 11, Tadic 22pen, Ziyech 24)
sc Heerenveen 0

Lineup - Onana, Mazraoui (Veltman), De Ligt, Schuurs, Tagliafico, De Jong (Eiting), Van De Beek, David Neres, Ziyech*, Tadic, Dolberg (Huntelaar)

We return to football after the winter break and get a comfortable win over Heerenveen. Joel Veltman finally made his return from injury with an appearance off the bench here.

--

v
Feyenoord 0
Ajax 2 (David Neres 14, Dolberg 45)

Lineup - Onana, Mazraoui (Veltman), De Ligt, Schuurs (Blind), Tagliafico, De Jong (Gravenberch), Van De Beek, David Neres*, Ziyech, Tadic, Dolberg

Derby day joy as we beat our bitter rivals. Feyenoord hardly laid a glove on us and our winning run in the league is now up to 13 games.

--

KNVB Cup Quarter-Final
v
​​Ajax 3 (Van Der Steen 6og, Labyad 11, De Wit 31)
FC Den Bosch 0

Lineup - Onana, Veltman, Eiling (Nissen Kristensen), Schuurs, Sinkgraven, Gravenberch, De Wit, Cerny, Labyad*, Van Der Heide, Zirkee (Brobbey)

With Den Bosch being a 2nd division side I decided to play my backups here and Daley Sinkgraven made his return from injury. De Wit made his debut and scored although he cant even get into my reserve side so he better savour the moment lol.

--

SUMMARY

January was a fairly quiet month due to the winter break but we did have 3 matches, all of which were won and we kept 3 clean sheets which was nice. The best result was the 2-0 win over Feyenoord in the derby.

Regarding transfers 2 players left the club. Daley Sinkgraven joined Heerenveen on loan after returning from injury while Lasse Schone joined Augsburg for an initial £4.4m. Schone started the season on fire but I couldn't refuse over £5m for a 32y/o.

I needed to replace Schone and searched high and low for an affordable Dutch CM with my budget of only £8m and couldn't find one so I went to sign my one foreign teenager for the season so I brought in my old faithful Oihan Sancet from Athletic Bilbao for £4m. Sancet should be a beast for us but I don't like weakening Athletic but it was the best deal out there.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
ANDRE ONANA

​​
--

EREDIVISIE

​​
​

 

[Klippybo]

FEBRUARY

​​v
​​Ajax 1 (Van De Beek 34)
VVV-Venlo 1 (Grot 90)

Lineup - Onana, Mazraoui, De Ligt, Blind, Tagliafico, De Jong, Van De Beek, David Neres (Bande), Ziyech (Veltman), Tadic, Dolberg (Huntelaar)

At half-time we were 1-0 up with 26 shots on goal and cruising. Then 10min into the 2nd half Mazraoui stupidly got sent-off and things changed. Even though we still dominated they began to create a couple of chances and finally took one in stoppage time. Not happy.

At least Bande returned from injury here although this is Klaas-Jan Huntelaar's last game before he moves to America to join Minnesota United.

--

v
Heracles Almelo 0
Ajax 3 (Dolberg 45, 59, Ziyech 82)

Lineup - Onana, Veltman (Nissen Kristensen), De Ligt, Blind, Tagliafico, De Jong (Sancet), Van De Beek, David Neres (Bande), Ziyech*, Tadic, Dolberg

We bounce back from the VVV-Venlo match with a fine away victory. With Mazraoui suspended it means only Andre Onana has been an ever present this season now in the league.

Oihan Sancet made his debut here.

--

UEFA Champions League 1st Round 1st Leg
v
​​Ajax 2 (De Ligt 67, Dolberg 90)
Paris Saint-Germain 2 (Cavani 7, Draxler 87)

Lineup - Onana, Mazraoui (Veltman), De Ligt, Blind, Tagliafico, De Jong, Van De Beek, David Neres (Bande), Ziyech (Gravenberch), Tadic*, Dolberg

It would have been criminal if we hadn't got something out of this match as we were the better side throughout but it looked like we were once again getting punished for not taking our chances but fortunately Dolberg equalised in stoppage time.

--

v
​​Ajax 3 (Tadic 7, Ziyech 24, Dolberg 33)
NAC Breda 0

Lineup - Onana, Mazraoui, De Ligt, Blind, Tagliafico, De Jong (Gravenberch), Van De Beek, David Neres (Bande), Ziyech*, Tadic, Dolberg

An emphatic victory as NAC Breda didn't even muster a shot at goal against us.

--

v
ADO Den Haag 2 (El Khayati 2, Becker 47)
Ajax 3 (Ziyech 15, David Neres 17, Dolberg 43)

Lineup - Onana, Mazraoui, De Ligt, Blind, Tagliafico (Pierie), De Jong, Van De Beek (Gravenberch), David Neres*, Ziyech, Tadic (Cerny), Dolberg

ADO Den Haag are battling it out for a Champions League spot and they gave us a tough match here although we still came out on top. Ziyech and Dolberg are on top form just now and continued that here although I was worried that we conceded so quickly at the start of each half.

--

v
​​Ajax 3(Van Der Hart 21og, Ziyech 71, Blind 80)
PEC Zwolle 0

Lineup - Onana, Mazraoui (Veltman), De Ligt, Blind, Tagliafico (Pierie), De Jong, Van De Beek, David Neres, Ziyech*, Tadic, Dolberg (Brobbey)

We struggled for 70min here but then Hakim Ziyech scored a wonder goal to ease any nerves and then Blind bundled in the 3rd to make things comfortable.

--

SUMMARY

This month started off disappointingly with the draw against VVV-Venlo but other than that it went quite well. We are now 17pts clear at the top of the table and now its a case of seeing if we can go the entire league campaign unbeaten.

In the Champions League we drew 2-2 with PSG which still gives us a chance in the 2nd leg but getting a positive result away in Paris will be tough.

Off the field the board agreed to expand the stadium by nearly 10,000 seats at a cost of £45m - that will be taken from the Frenkie De Jong transfer fee to Barcelona I presume!!!

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
HAKIM ZIYECH
​​

--

EREDIVISIE

​​
​

 

[FM_TNSSO]

Great that the stadium is getting some development, but a shame it will probably be at the cost of your transfer budget for next season! Be interesting to see how much they give you in the Summer now...still, a Champions League win should help boost the finances ;-)

 

[Telstar]

Good that you promoted Gravenberch. I signed him in my save for Juventus for 7.5 million third season. Retrained him as winger in RM and dude has been a beast. Really good player. I really like the first post (good introduction) and the overall layout. Will follow. Good job so far

 

[Klippybo]

MARCH

KNVB Cup Semi-Final

v
​​Helmond Sport 0
Ajax 1 (Bande 30)

Lineup - Onana, Veltman (Nissen Kristensen), De Ligt, Blind, Pierie, Sancet, Gravenberch (Schuurs), Cerny*, Van De Beek (Kuhn), Bande, Zirkzee

With us once again being drawn against a lower division side I put in some of my backups again. We struggled in truth but Bande got his first goal for us to take us into the final.

--

UEFA Champions League 1st Round 2nd Leg
v
Paris Saint-Germain 3 (Cavani 9, 19, Rabiot 85)
Ajax 2 (Tadic 33pen, Zirkzee 89)
(Agg: 5-4)

Lineup - Onana, Mazraoui (Veltman), De Ligt, Blind, Tagliafico, De Jong, Van De Beek, David Neres (Gravenberch), Ziyech, Tadic, Dolberg (Zirkzee)

Our European run comes to an end here. Our nightmare start ended up coming back to haunt us unfortunately as Edinson Cavani scored twice in the first 20min.

--

v
Ajax 3 (Dolberg 2, 43, Van Der Heide 85)
Fortuna Sittard 0

Lineup - Onana, Mazraoui, De Ligt, Blind, Tagliafico, De Jong (Schuurs), Sancet (Van Der Heide), David Neres (Cerny), Van De Beek, Tadic, Dolberg*

During the week in training both Gravenberch and the in form Ziyech got injured and will be out for a few weeks but that didn't stop us here as we notched up yet another win.

--

v
AZ Alkmaar 1 (Boadu 11)
Ajax 2 (Van De Beek 3, Sancet 87)

Lineup - Onana, Mazraoui, De Ligt, Blind, Tagliafico (Pierie), De Jong, Sancet*, David Neres, Van De Beek, Bande (Cerny), Dolberg (Zirkzee)

Oihan Sancet's first goal for us won us this match against a decent AZ team who have some players that I have my eye on. If we avoid defeat against PSV then I fancy our chances to go unbeaten in the league.

--

v
Ajax 3 (Bande 35, Dolberg 59, 80)
PSV Eindhoven 2 (Bergwijn 76, De Jong 90)

Lineup - Onana, Mazraoui (Nissen Kristensen), De Ligt, Blind, Tagliafico (Pierie), Gravenberch, De Wit, David Neres (Cerny), Tadic, Bande, Dolberg

We extend our lead at the top of the table here and could be just 1 win away from securing the title. I was missing several players here and De Wit got his 2nd unexpected appearance lol.

--

SUMMARY

Next month is not officially the last month of the season as we have 2 games in May but effectively our penultimate month of the season was a good one. In the league we are now 19pts clear at the top of the table with 7 matches to go and we got some good wins over AZ and PSV. It now looks that unless my backups muck up when everything is sealed we could go the entire domestic campaign unbeaten.

Our run in Europe is over after we ran PSG close but went out 5-4 in aggregate so compared to real life we have failed lol.

We have another meeting with PSV though as we will meet in the Dutch Cup final after we defeated Helmond Sport in the semis.

The youth intake was apparently a golden generation and although I signed 7 or 8 players for the U19s there wasn't one who stood out as a marquee prospect but these were the best two.

Finally there are once again takeover rumours. That's getting boring now - just like my beloved Newcastle in real life lol.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
KASPER DOLBERG
​​

--

EREDIVISIE

​​
​

 

[Klippybo]

Good that you promoted Gravenberch. I signed him in my save for Juventus for 7.5 million third season. Retrained him as winger in RM and dude has been a beast. Really good player. I really like the first post (good introduction) and the overall layout. Will follow. Good job so far

Cheers. I am going to pitch in Gravenberch as CM when De Jong leaves in the summer as I cant see too many Dutch CMs out there that fit the bill so he will be a key player for me.

 

[Klippybo]

APRIL

v
FC Emmen 0
Ajax 1 (Van De Beek 16)

Lineup - Onana, Mazraoui, Pierie, Blind, Tagliafico, De Jong, Van De Beek*, David Neres (Cerny), Tadic, Bande (Labyad), Dolberg (Zirkzee)

CHAMPIONS!!!!!

We win Ajax's first title since they last won it 5 years ago and it was Donny Van De Beek who scored the decisive goal. This match was a bit different to the 6-1 hiding we handed out to Emmen earlier in the season.

--

v
Willem II 0
Ajax 2 (Peters 49og, David Neres 64)

Lineup - Onana, Veltman, De Ligt, Blind, Pierie, Gravenberch, Sancet, David Neres*, Van De Beek (Labyad), Tadic (Bande), Dolberg (Zirkzee)

I put in a few of my youngsters here and it worked out ok but it took yet another own goal in our favour to put us on our way. I was just about to sub David Neres when he scored lol.

--

v
​​Ajax 1 (Ziyech 32)
Excelsior 1 (Bruins 47)

Lineup - Onana, Veltman, De Ligt, Schuurs (Magallan), Pierie, Gravenberch (Van Der Heide), Sancet, Ziyech*, Van De Beek, Tadic, Zirkzee (Brobbey)

Horrendous.

Going into this game came the news that Dolberg could miss the rest of the campaign with injury but on the other side Magallan finally returned from injury as did Ziyech and it was he who scored our goal from distance but the performance and result was awful - especially as they played the last 25min with 10 men.

--

v
FC Groningen 2 (Bel Hassani 26, Mahi 61)
Ajax 3 (Zirkzee 18, Pierie 41, Sancet 82)

Lineup - Onana, Veltman, De Ligt, Schuurs (Magallan), Pierie, Gravenberch, Van De Beek, David Neres (Cerny), Ziyech (Sancet), Tadic*, Zirkzee

After the awful performance last time out I put a few more of my 1st picks in here as our unbeaten record is at risk. As it was it was 3 of my backups who got our goals with the pick of the bunch coming from Kik Pierie.

--

v
​​Ajax 2 (Brobbey 81, 86)
Vitesse Arnhem 0

Lineup - Onana, Veltman, De Ligt, Magallan, Pierie, Gravenberch, Sancet (Labyad), David Neres (Bande), Van De Beek, Tadic, Zirkzee (Brobbey*)

Brian Brobbey to the rescue!!!! The top scorer in the 2nd tier for my reserve side came off the bench to win the game for us here with his first 2 goals for the first team.

--

v
De Graafschap 0
Ajax 0

Lineup - Onana, Veltman, De Ligt, Magallan, Pierie, Gravenberch, Sancet, Cerny, Labyad, Bande, Brobbey (Zirkzee)

I put my faith in my backups here and they let me down yet again. Whereas before they were guilty of not taking their chances this time we didn't create any and if it wasn't for the more experienced Magallan, Veltman, Onana and De Ligt at the back we would have been punished more severely. As it was we fail to score for the first time all season.

--

SUMMARY

This month started on a high as we secured the title but quickly descended into disappointment despite (somehow) keeping up our unbeaten record in the league. I decided to pitch in a few of my youngsters but nobody performed consistently enough or took their chance apart from Kik Pierie.

Brobbey and Sancet had fleeting moments but the likes of Gravenberch, Zirkzee, Bande and Cerny certainly need to buck up their ideas.

My B team however managed to retain the 2nd division so I am delighted for them. The core of their side have featured in the 1st team this season with Brobbey, Van Der Heide, Schuurs and Eiting being their main players.

Finally its takeover rumours again as 2 different consortiums are reported to be interested and for the 3rd time the group led by former Leicester player and apparent business tycoon, Theo Zagorakis is in talks. He has failed in his last 2 efforts lol so I am not holding my breath.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
KIK PIERIE

​​
--

EREDIVISIE

​

 

[Klippybo]

MAY - END OF SEASON POST

KNVB Cup Final
v
Ajax 4 (Dolberg 22, De Jong 40og, Ziyech 45, Tadic 70pen)
PSV Eindhoven 0

Lineup - Onana, Mazraoui, De Ligt*, Blind, Tagliafico, De Jong (Sancet), Van De Beek (Gravenberch), David Neres, Ziyech, Tadic, Dolberg (Brobbey)

WE WIN THE DOUBLE!!!!!

And what a way to do it as we smashed PSV here. Dolberg only regained his fitness a couple of days before the final but he put us on our way here with his 25th goal of the season. Luuk De Jong then scored an own goal in our favour and when Ziyech fired in a free-kick it was all over. Tadic's late penalty just added an extra bit of gloss to the scoreline.

--

v
Ajax 4 (Tadic 6, 14, David Neres 45, 59)
FC Utrecht 1 (Mallahi 67)

Lineup - Onana, Veltman (Schuurs), De Ligt, Magallan, Pierie, De Jong (Sancet), Gravenberch, David Neres, Van De Beek, Tadic*, Zirkzee (Brobbey)

A nice way to end the season and of course it means we were unbeaten throughout the entire domestic campaign. This match was obviously Frenkie De Jong's last before his move to Barcelona.

--

SEASON SUMMARY

As far as first seasons go this one was pretty spectacular as we did the domestic double, avoiding defeat along the way, breaking all sorts of domestic records for wins and points and also had a good shot at the Champions League yet amazingly if you compare our record to the team in real life we pale in comparison (for instance with 2 games left they have scored 111 in the league and we ended up with 82 lol).

The fact my young squad did this with all the uncertainty of takeovers lurking behind them and knowing that one of my key players, Frenkie De Jong, was leaving for Barcelona made it all the more remarkable.

Also my reserve side stormed to their title in the 2nd division but obviously they wont be able to play in the top division along side us which is a shame lol.

So everything is looking good but I go into the summer not knowing my budget, whether the takeover will happen and I was also kicked in the teeth days after the final league game of the season when the Dutch FA appointed Hank Ten Cate as their manager over myself!

--

EREDIVISE FINAL LEAGUE TABLE
​​

--

FIRST TEAM SQUAD
​​

Goalkeepers - Andre Onana played in every single match and the Cameroon international did very well. Kjell Scherpen is joining the club in the summer but Onana will have the jersey for a few years yet.

Defenders - At RB Mazraoui played most of the season and he did well. After Christman Joel Veltman was fit so I gave him a few games but Nesser Kristensen was a bit of a disappointment when he played and he may move on. On the other side both Tagliafico and my big signing, Kik Pierie, impressed with Pierie scoring one goal.

At CB Matthijs De Ligt was a rock at the back and although I am expecting some bids in for him at the summer he is happy at the moment and signed a new long term deal recently. Daley Blind was his partner and despite playing out of position he did well with Magallan and Schuurs being backups.

Midfielders - At CM Frenkie De Jong was the main constant and he did well but I would have liked to have seen him score more than 3 goals. Donny Van De Beek was his main partner and his 5 goal haul was pretty pathetic for a player as good as he is. Young Ryan Gravenberch got a load of games and it was all about developing for him while Oihan Sancet featured at the end of the season and Lasse Schone starred at the beginning before he was sold on.

My 3 attacking midfielders all had great seasons and they all got into double figures in goals. David Neres on the right, Dusan Tadic on the left and the pick of the bunch, Hakim Ziyech in the middle all tore the Dutch defences apart all season and I expect the same again next season. Their backups Bande, Cerny, Van Der Heide and Labyad all featured now and again but never set the world alight.

Forwards - Kasper Dolberg was the main man up front despite missing 2 or 3 months through injury. He netted 25 times in all comps and considering the amount of time he was out injured and off form he could easy score close to double that in the future!!! Joshua Zirkzee surprised me after I signed him from Bayern Munich and netted 15 times while Brian Brobbey scored twice for the 1st team but was top scorer in the 2nd tier with my reserve side.

My Player of the Season - Dusan Tadic
My Young Player of the Season - Matthijs De Ligt
Must Do Better - Donny Van De Beek
Donkey of the Year - Rasmus Nissen Kristensen

--

HOPES FOR THE SUMMER

Difficult to say really since I genuinely don't have a scooby-doo about my budget yet. Sure we are getting £67m for Frenkie De Jong but with the expansion of the stadium etc I really don't know what I am going to be left to work with. There isn't really many players for me to sell either!!!!

​

 

[Klippybo]

PRE-SEASON

This summer was certainly interesting. The takeover finally happened, bids started coming in for my players so that caused some ructions in the squad and obviously I brought some players in so I have certainly be busy.

Regarding the bids for my players Ziyech, Pierie and De Ligt are the unhappy ones as I have rejected £35m, £12m and £46m respectively. All 3 are pretty ****** off and the situation will have to be monitored. I suppose in hindsight I could have cashed in on Ziyech as he isn't Dutch but he performed so well last term.

Something did **** me off. When Frenkie De Jong got sold my finances didn't change so does that mean the £67m fee was there from the start? I was raging at that as I was expecting a healthy windfall in the summer but as it was my budget was the same as last year - £13m! In the end I have spent £22m so far and have taken in £78m but obviously De Jong was most of that.

That being said I have brought in some cracking players...………

--

PLAYERS OUT

Obviously De Jong left and 2 other first team members left as Lisandro Magallan went back to his native Argentina for £3.7m while Rasmus Nissen Kristensen went back to Denmark to join Brondby for £3m. Magallan suffered from injuries while Kristensen was 3rd choice so I cashed in on them.

Also leaving was Siem De Jong when he returned from his loan and the former Newcastle player left to join Sparta Prague for an initial £1m while Daley Sinkgraven's loan to Heerenveen was made permanent for £1.4m.

Other than that I sold maybe £500,000 worth of useless reserve players although one already arranged deal meant that a top prospect Mitchell Bakker joined PSG on a free transfer. The only loan deal I have made going out is Hassane Bande joining AZ for £1m.

--

PLAYERS IN

My most expensive signing was one that was pre-arranged when I arrived as Razvan Marin joined from Standard Liege for £11m. At 23y/o he is a good age and he actually looks like a player but I really want to push Gravenberch on so we shall see.

The other deal that was pre-arranged was the £1m deal for FC Emmen keeper Kjell Scherpen who will be my reserves keeper but he looks like a good prospect. I didn't make him write 1,000 lines like he had to in real life lol.

My director of football, Marc Overmars, arranged the deal to bring in Karim Rekik and it is one of the few times that I have ever agreed to a deal being done for me. The CB comes in from Hertha Berlin for £8m and I think he will compliment De Ligt very well.

I brought in 3 hot prospects too to help my reserve side. Firstly Chelsea teenager Dasishawn Redan came in on loan from Chelsea while I paid PSV £1.5m for regen striker Raimond Pennings and NEC £375,000 for Dirk Proper. Pennings is sure to be a star while I think Redan needs regular football to kick on much like what happened to Zirkzee last term. Proper is in the same boat.

Finally my biggest coup. I somehow managed to get Georginio Wijnaldum to join us on a season long loan from Liverpool. I didn't even know that he was transfer listed as he only showed on my search screen when I looked for players who were interested on loan deals and he was at the top. We are only paying a 3rd of his wages too and he should excel in the Eredivisie and it also means that he has played for each of the big 3 clubs in Holland now!!!

--

FIRST TEAM

Just a couple of changes. Rekik will partner De Ligt in the centre of defence so Blind will be a backup player but he is a natural DMC anyway so we did well last season playing an unnatural CB all the time lol. I was going to put Gravenberch in to replace the departed De Jong but with the Wijnaldum deal happening he may have to wait another year.

Benjamin Van Leer (GK) and Dennis Johnsen (LW) have returned from their loan spells and will be backup players in the top team squad.


​