Going Dutch with Sparta Rotterdam
- Thread starter Hampus Silverholt
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Hampus Silverholt
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£140 million!!!!BOOM!!!
I agreed to sell him if the right bid came in and I suppose £140m will do... it's almost too much money to know what to do with!
The only frustrating thing is that I still can't tempt the best Dutch players to the club even though we now have all this money, so I'm just going all out on youth...
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You think selling a player for £140m would be enough? Not for me!
We’ve also sold another player, Million Manhoef, who has joined Guangzhou Evergrande for £10.75m
He was a great player for us but we made a good profit on him and a better Dutch left-back became affordable with the eye-watering money we now have.
And that was Tyrell Malacia who we have signed for a club-record £19.5m from city rivals Feyenoord.
He’s only rated 3 stars by my assistant but is clearly a better player than Manhoef, which is why I decided to bring him in.
But then it got difficult.
The quality Dutch players that would improve our squad either don’t want to join (there’s no way that Dutch players are going to leave clubs like Barcelona, Bayern or Juventus) or are being outpriced by their clubs (literally asking for £120m).
This meant that I went a bit crazy spending money on unproven youngsters...
First up, we spent £16m on 17-year-old Anwar van Kesteren from PSV
Next up was Berry Van Es for £9.5m, again from Feyenoord. He’s not made a senior appearance and needs to improve his passing but is just 17 and I see him being an important player in the future.
Last of all was Sep Berck Beelenkamp from AZ for £6m. He’s only just turned 16 and I think £6m might end up being a bargain for him.
Those transfers mean our youth squads are now stacked with Dutch talent but, admittedly, we’ve not really improved the first-team squad in this transfer window.
We may be struggling to compete in the Champions League for now, but surely these youngsters will be leading us to glory in 3 or 4 years?
We’ve also sold another player, Million Manhoef, who has joined Guangzhou Evergrande for £10.75m
He was a great player for us but we made a good profit on him and a better Dutch left-back became affordable with the eye-watering money we now have.
And that was Tyrell Malacia who we have signed for a club-record £19.5m from city rivals Feyenoord.
He’s only rated 3 stars by my assistant but is clearly a better player than Manhoef, which is why I decided to bring him in.
But then it got difficult.
The quality Dutch players that would improve our squad either don’t want to join (there’s no way that Dutch players are going to leave clubs like Barcelona, Bayern or Juventus) or are being outpriced by their clubs (literally asking for £120m).
This meant that I went a bit crazy spending money on unproven youngsters...
First up, we spent £16m on 17-year-old Anwar van Kesteren from PSV
Next up was Berry Van Es for £9.5m, again from Feyenoord. He’s not made a senior appearance and needs to improve his passing but is just 17 and I see him being an important player in the future.
Last of all was Sep Berck Beelenkamp from AZ for £6m. He’s only just turned 16 and I think £6m might end up being a bargain for him.
Those transfers mean our youth squads are now stacked with Dutch talent but, admittedly, we’ve not really improved the first-team squad in this transfer window.
We may be struggling to compete in the Champions League for now, but surely these youngsters will be leading us to glory in 3 or 4 years?
Hampus Silverholt
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With Maysonnave gone, the stage is set for Bram van den Berg to fill his shoes. He’s done ok so far and has 5 goals and 5 assists in the Eredivisie this season.
Results-wise, 2027 started off very well especially given the sudden changes to the squad. But we then had a terrible 3 game run in February.
A 1-1 draw at home to Ajax was not enough, especially as they played most of the game with 10 men.
I wasn’t too bothered about a defeat to AZ in the Dutch cup quarter final, but I was bothered about getting thrashed by Feyenoord away from home again.
It means there will be no 3rd Eredivisie title in a row for us. With 9 games remaining we’re in a fight for 2nd place, which would still mean qualification for the Champions League group stage.
Those results also meant that I was very nervous going into the Europa League 1st Knockout Round with Union Berlin. But it turns out I had no need to be.
A rotated side did their best to completely bottle it in the second leg but we managed to get through to the next round by winning 7-5 on aggregate.
We will play Russian side Akhmat Grozny in the 2nd Knockout Round. I’d like to believe that I have decent football knowledge, but I have honestly never heard of them before.
A top 2 finish would be great to guarantee Champions League football next season but my main priority, for now, is the Europa League.
Results-wise, 2027 started off very well especially given the sudden changes to the squad. But we then had a terrible 3 game run in February.
A 1-1 draw at home to Ajax was not enough, especially as they played most of the game with 10 men.
I wasn’t too bothered about a defeat to AZ in the Dutch cup quarter final, but I was bothered about getting thrashed by Feyenoord away from home again.
It means there will be no 3rd Eredivisie title in a row for us. With 9 games remaining we’re in a fight for 2nd place, which would still mean qualification for the Champions League group stage.
Those results also meant that I was very nervous going into the Europa League 1st Knockout Round with Union Berlin. But it turns out I had no need to be.
A rotated side did their best to completely bottle it in the second leg but we managed to get through to the next round by winning 7-5 on aggregate.
We will play Russian side Akhmat Grozny in the 2nd Knockout Round. I’d like to believe that I have decent football knowledge, but I have honestly never heard of them before.
A top 2 finish would be great to guarantee Champions League football next season but my main priority, for now, is the Europa League.
Hampus Silverholt
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We really could not have asked for a better opponent in the Europa League Second Knockout Round. Akhmat were 6th in the Russian League, and I’d honestly be embarrassed if we didn't get through to the quarter-finals
They had just one shot in the first leg but the result was still a joke - I’ve never felt such disappointment in winning!
It was made worse by us following that up with a 4-1 loss at home to PSV in the Eredivisie. It was such an infuriating result given that we weren’t even that bad and typified our performances in the league this season.
We also drew 2-2 at home to AZ after squandering the lead twice, which put us down to 4th in the table. With just 5 games remaining, the race for 2nd place is really hotting up.
Due to a very strong coefficient, a 4th placed finish would still mean we got to the Europa League group stage but Champions League football has to be the aim for us, especially as we’ve won the Eredivisie in the last 2 seasons!
It felt like the season was crumbling before my very eyes but thankfully, we managed to get the job done in the second leg against Akhmat.
As a result, we will face Real Sociedad in the Europa League quarter final.
It’s a significant tie because they were the side that knocked us out of the Europa League semi finals 2 seasons ago.
Revenge is very much on the cards!
They had just one shot in the first leg but the result was still a joke - I’ve never felt such disappointment in winning!
It was made worse by us following that up with a 4-1 loss at home to PSV in the Eredivisie. It was such an infuriating result given that we weren’t even that bad and typified our performances in the league this season.
We also drew 2-2 at home to AZ after squandering the lead twice, which put us down to 4th in the table. With just 5 games remaining, the race for 2nd place is really hotting up.
Due to a very strong coefficient, a 4th placed finish would still mean we got to the Europa League group stage but Champions League football has to be the aim for us, especially as we’ve won the Eredivisie in the last 2 seasons!
It felt like the season was crumbling before my very eyes but thankfully, we managed to get the job done in the second leg against Akhmat.
As a result, we will face Real Sociedad in the Europa League quarter final.
It’s a significant tie because they were the side that knocked us out of the Europa League semi finals 2 seasons ago.
Revenge is very much on the cards!
Hampus Silverholt
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The quest to produce another player we can sell to Man City for £140m continues and our latest youth intake was not too bad
Eugene Bennett looks quality and given that he came through our academy, I think we can ignore the fact he is from Aruba
Going into the Europa League encounter, our opponents Real Sociedad sat 6th in La Liga
But they had a number of quality players in their squad who were on a lot of money compared to our squad.
Yet 2 goals from striker Emanuel Emegha put us in the driving seat going into the second leg.
All we needed was a solid defensive performance in the second leg, and we would reach the Europa league semi-final for the 2nd time in 3 seasons.
So conceding after 2 minutes wasn’t the plan...
Mikel Oyarzábal did his best to single handedly take Sociedad through with two late goals, but thankfully we managed to get through on away goals to enact our revenge on the Basque side.
So once again we are in the Europa League semi-final and this time around we will face Spurs. If I’m being honest, I can’t see us getting past them.
Just like 2 seasons ago both us and city rivals Feyenoord are in the semi-final of the Europa League. They actually went on to win the competition 2 years ago and could end up doing the same this time around!
We’ve only played 2 Eredivisie matches since the last post but we are back up to 2nd after both AZ and PSV dropped points. Despite losing their first league match of the season, Ajax have already wrapped up the title.
Talking of Ajax, they beat Man City in both legs of their Champions League quarter final. Maysonnave, who we sold to City for £140m in January, scored the consolation goal in the second leg.
It means they’ll face PSG in the semi-final. Surely they couldn’t go on to win it… could they?
The entire nation of Holland is rapidly improving so much so that the Eredivisie is becoming one of the top leagues in Europe!
Eugene Bennett looks quality and given that he came through our academy, I think we can ignore the fact he is from Aruba
Going into the Europa League encounter, our opponents Real Sociedad sat 6th in La Liga
But they had a number of quality players in their squad who were on a lot of money compared to our squad.
Yet 2 goals from striker Emanuel Emegha put us in the driving seat going into the second leg.
All we needed was a solid defensive performance in the second leg, and we would reach the Europa league semi-final for the 2nd time in 3 seasons.
So conceding after 2 minutes wasn’t the plan...
Mikel Oyarzábal did his best to single handedly take Sociedad through with two late goals, but thankfully we managed to get through on away goals to enact our revenge on the Basque side.
So once again we are in the Europa League semi-final and this time around we will face Spurs. If I’m being honest, I can’t see us getting past them.
Just like 2 seasons ago both us and city rivals Feyenoord are in the semi-final of the Europa League. They actually went on to win the competition 2 years ago and could end up doing the same this time around!
We’ve only played 2 Eredivisie matches since the last post but we are back up to 2nd after both AZ and PSV dropped points. Despite losing their first league match of the season, Ajax have already wrapped up the title.
Talking of Ajax, they beat Man City in both legs of their Champions League quarter final. Maysonnave, who we sold to City for £140m in January, scored the consolation goal in the second leg.
It means they’ll face PSG in the semi-final. Surely they couldn’t go on to win it… could they?
The entire nation of Holland is rapidly improving so much so that the Eredivisie is becoming one of the top leagues in Europe!
Hampus Silverholt
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Our Europa League semi final opponents were 5th in the Premier League (with Sheffield Wednesday in 6th!) but had a squad that was much better than Real Sociedad, who we struggled to get past in the last round.
There are too many quality players to mention but 33-year-old Harry Kane leading the line gives an idea of how strong they were.
So I was expecting a really tough first leg away from home - but came away from the match thinking we should’ve won it!
We were much the better side and should have taken advantage of the chances we created.
A rotated side then beat ADO Den Haag in our penultimate league game, which guaranteed 2nd place in the Eredivisie and direct passage to the Champions League group stage next season after both AZ and PSV dropped points in consecutive matches.
But the focus was on the second leg against Spurs. We were going to undo all the good work done in the first leg?
No bottle job here! Sparta Rotterdam are into the Europa League final!
It was thoroughly deserved over the 2 legs and we managed to keep 2 clean sheets against a quality Premier League side
Our opponents in the Europa League final will be Sassuolo. They beat our city rivals Feyenoord in the semi-final, which I’m actually a bit gutted about as an all-Rotterdam Europa League final would have been crazy!
But it means we’re facing a side who are 8th in Serie A, we’re not going to have a better chance of winning the Europa League are we?
I just hope that we are able to handle the pressure of being favourites
There are too many quality players to mention but 33-year-old Harry Kane leading the line gives an idea of how strong they were.
So I was expecting a really tough first leg away from home - but came away from the match thinking we should’ve won it!
We were much the better side and should have taken advantage of the chances we created.
A rotated side then beat ADO Den Haag in our penultimate league game, which guaranteed 2nd place in the Eredivisie and direct passage to the Champions League group stage next season after both AZ and PSV dropped points in consecutive matches.
But the focus was on the second leg against Spurs. We were going to undo all the good work done in the first leg?
No bottle job here! Sparta Rotterdam are into the Europa League final!
It was thoroughly deserved over the 2 legs and we managed to keep 2 clean sheets against a quality Premier League side
Our opponents in the Europa League final will be Sassuolo. They beat our city rivals Feyenoord in the semi-final, which I’m actually a bit gutted about as an all-Rotterdam Europa League final would have been crazy!
But it means we’re facing a side who are 8th in Serie A, we’re not going to have a better chance of winning the Europa League are we?
I just hope that we are able to handle the pressure of being favourites
Hampus Silverholt
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Even though we’ve won the Eredivisie twice, the 2027 Europa League Final was undoubtedly our biggest game yet,
We went into the game virtually full-strength and our 100% Dutch XI contained just 2 regens despite being this far into the save (Bresser and Kacar).
In that lineup were Emanuel Emegha and Abdou Harrouri, both of whom have been at the club since the start of this save. 7 seasons in, they now had a chance to lead us to Europa League glory
Unfortunately, the scoring was opened by Sassuolo, who got a goal with their first shot on target - a back-post header from a freekick - and the score remained 1-0 at half time.
We created all the chances in the second half…
...but just could not score
And so, in our biggest game of the save and biggest opportunity to win a European trophy, we completely bottled it.
They had one shot on target all game and their goalkeeper was man of the match, it was honestly the stuff of nightmares.
I’ve never been closer to saving and reloading the game.
I cannot believe we have lost that match.
We went into the game virtually full-strength and our 100% Dutch XI contained just 2 regens despite being this far into the save (Bresser and Kacar).
In that lineup were Emanuel Emegha and Abdou Harrouri, both of whom have been at the club since the start of this save. 7 seasons in, they now had a chance to lead us to Europa League glory
Unfortunately, the scoring was opened by Sassuolo, who got a goal with their first shot on target - a back-post header from a freekick - and the score remained 1-0 at half time.
We created all the chances in the second half…
...but just could not score
And so, in our biggest game of the save and biggest opportunity to win a European trophy, we completely bottled it.
They had one shot on target all game and their goalkeeper was man of the match, it was honestly the stuff of nightmares.
I’ve never been closer to saving and reloading the game.
I cannot believe we have lost that match.
Gutted to see you lose in the final, especially as you'd beaten stronger teams in the preliminary stages - Replay that final with those stats and you'd win 9 times out of 10!
Hopefully you come back stronger next season!
Hopefully you come back stronger next season!
Hampus Silverholt
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My track record with European finals on FM is terrible! I make it that I've only won 2 out of the last 6 finals I've played (lost 2x Champions League finals with Berwick on FM18, 1 Europa League final with Sligo on FM19 and 1 Champions League final with Altrincham on FM20)
Luckily I've got £140m to spend after the sale of Maysonnave in January so a slight summer rebuild is underway...
Hampus Silverholt
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Well, what can you say after that season?
We sold our best player to Man City for £140m in January and relinquished the title to an admittedly very strong Ajax side… but I still can’t get over us bottling the Europa League final which was ours to lose.
Elsewhere in Europe, Ajax lost to PSG in the Champions League semi-final… their striker Joel Sarpong ended up top scorer with 16 goals in 12 matches!
and PSV won the Europa Conference League, with their striker scoring 21 goals in the competition!
Collectively, the results of Dutch teams in Europe mean that Holland has moved above Germany in the coefficient rankings. 4 Dutch teams will go straight to the Champions League group stage next season!
So the Eredivisie is becoming really competitive and Ajax seemed unstoppable for the majority of the season.
It was a mixed year for our Dutch squad but it was nice to see other players contributing to goals rather than just relying on Emegha - who still got 34 goals this season!
Loan signings van de Beek and Depay were a bit disappointing. Memphis actually got 11 assists in the Eredivisie but was outshone by fellow wide players Sankoh and Hoogewerf despite the latter being injured for a long time.
One player that performed well was Murat Kacar, who has been around the first team for ages despite still only being 21. He contributed 5 goals and 10 assists last season
And centre back Joeri Bresser filled the gap left by Nathan Ake, scoring 8 goals in all competitions!
A big update that I’d forgotten about is that next season we will be moving into our new stadium, which has a capacity of 25,000.
And an update on our £140m sale Dominique Maysonnave - I mentioned that he scored against Ajax in the Champions League but that’s about all he has done for Man City.
He is now only a squad player, which explains why he has only started 4 Premier League games.
We still have the majority of the £140m we got for him to spend in the summer… and I have already spent it all!
2 of the best, young Dutch players will be joining us next season.
We sold our best player to Man City for £140m in January and relinquished the title to an admittedly very strong Ajax side… but I still can’t get over us bottling the Europa League final which was ours to lose.
Elsewhere in Europe, Ajax lost to PSG in the Champions League semi-final… their striker Joel Sarpong ended up top scorer with 16 goals in 12 matches!
and PSV won the Europa Conference League, with their striker scoring 21 goals in the competition!
Collectively, the results of Dutch teams in Europe mean that Holland has moved above Germany in the coefficient rankings. 4 Dutch teams will go straight to the Champions League group stage next season!
So the Eredivisie is becoming really competitive and Ajax seemed unstoppable for the majority of the season.
It was a mixed year for our Dutch squad but it was nice to see other players contributing to goals rather than just relying on Emegha - who still got 34 goals this season!
Loan signings van de Beek and Depay were a bit disappointing. Memphis actually got 11 assists in the Eredivisie but was outshone by fellow wide players Sankoh and Hoogewerf despite the latter being injured for a long time.
One player that performed well was Murat Kacar, who has been around the first team for ages despite still only being 21. He contributed 5 goals and 10 assists last season
And centre back Joeri Bresser filled the gap left by Nathan Ake, scoring 8 goals in all competitions!
A big update that I’d forgotten about is that next season we will be moving into our new stadium, which has a capacity of 25,000.
And an update on our £140m sale Dominique Maysonnave - I mentioned that he scored against Ajax in the Champions League but that’s about all he has done for Man City.
He is now only a squad player, which explains why he has only started 4 Premier League games.
We still have the majority of the £140m we got for him to spend in the summer… and I have already spent it all!
2 of the best, young Dutch players will be joining us next season.
Hampus Silverholt
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It’s a new season and a new start, but the loss in the Europa League final is still haunting me…
So I decided to spend £180m on 3 players to make it better.
First in, and the most expensive, was Rody van der Steen for £80m. I’ve been trying for ages to get him but Groningen wouldn’t budge until we offered that much money for him. He’s only 19 and will be world class one day, so I’m not really fussed about the fee as we needed a quality centre mid!
We also spent £65m on Coen van Gool from PSV. He’s a quality left back who can fill in at centre back and we again paid over the odds for him - but I was desperate to improve the squad and it is proving very difficult to get Dutch players in!
Next up was Ernest Poku for £37.5m from AZ. He’s extremely versatile and has been in good form for AZ over the last few seasons, so I’m really happy with the signing.
We didn’t stop there though. Martin Paes has signed from Ajax for just £3.2m as Ajax have a wonderkid who is now first choice. He’ll probably be our first choice goalkeeper this season ahead of Rody de Boer.
We’ve also made 3 free transfers on some very familiar players…
First was Memphis Depay permanently after his Man United contract expired. I was actually a bit disappointed with him last season but it made sense to get him on a free even though he’s getting on a bit.
We also managed to get Donny van de Beek on a free after his United contract also expired. He only wanted £9,000 a week, which I think is a bit of a bug, but I’ll take it
Finally, 36 year old Gini Wijnaldum has joined on a free. He was not needed at all but is only on a 1 year deal.
Despite the extortionate money spent, we still have £36m in the bank. However, most of the big transfers will be paid off in installments so that number is going to continue to decline.
We also have some top quality facilities at the club and this will also be our first season in our new stadium, which should also mean we see an increase in matchday revenue.
The season got off to a great start with a win over Ajax in the Johan Cruijff Schaal - I just hope we can repeat the performance against them in the league this season.
That’s because they are massive favourites to retain the Eredivisie with us down as 4th favourites according to the pre-season predictions.
Although a 3rd Eredivisie title would be nice, this is our 4th season in the Champions League group stage, yet we have only got to the knockout rounds once before - I’m hoping that this squad is capable of reaching the last 16 at least this year.
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I hope so! Using only Dutch players is proving to be a real challenge especially when you see Ajax and PSV snapping up the best youngsters from South America/ Hopefully we're not too far away from making an impact in the Champions League
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Our first game of the season could not have gone any better, as new signings van der Steen and Poku combined for the second goal in a 3-0 win over NAC.
But another new signing Van Gool broke his ribs soon after, which will rule him out for the next 2 months.
Luckily, left back is our strongest position and Van Gool’s backup is fellow Dutch international Malacia, who we signed last season for £19.5m.
He started in our next match at home to PSV, which was our first game at our new stadium. It was a difficult opponent for such a momentous occasion, so I was a bit worried about the result.
Instead, it was an unbelievable match to kick things off at the new ground, as we ended up winning 8-2!
The first goal at the new stadium was scored by Bram van den Berg, who went onto get a hattrick as well as 2 assists in the game.
That result was part of our perfect start to the season and we sit top of the Eredivisie after 4 games.
Van den Berg and Mo Sankoh are taking the league by storm already and have the highest average ratings in the division.
A 2nd place finish in the Eredivisie last season meant that we went straight into the group stage draw for the Champions League as 3rd seeds, so have a difficult group against AC Milan, Atletico Madrid and Dynamo Kiev.
We lost to Atleti twice in the group stage 4 seasons ago. Looking back, I can’t believe how that team got to the Champions League although 6 of the players involved then are still in the squad now.
We also have 30 players in the various Dutch squads, including 5 players in the senior team.
It’s taken a while, but we’re slowly getting there as a force in Dutch football. Hopefully this impressive form can continue throughout the season!
But another new signing Van Gool broke his ribs soon after, which will rule him out for the next 2 months.
Luckily, left back is our strongest position and Van Gool’s backup is fellow Dutch international Malacia, who we signed last season for £19.5m.
He started in our next match at home to PSV, which was our first game at our new stadium. It was a difficult opponent for such a momentous occasion, so I was a bit worried about the result.
Instead, it was an unbelievable match to kick things off at the new ground, as we ended up winning 8-2!
The first goal at the new stadium was scored by Bram van den Berg, who went onto get a hattrick as well as 2 assists in the game.
That result was part of our perfect start to the season and we sit top of the Eredivisie after 4 games.
Van den Berg and Mo Sankoh are taking the league by storm already and have the highest average ratings in the division.
A 2nd place finish in the Eredivisie last season meant that we went straight into the group stage draw for the Champions League as 3rd seeds, so have a difficult group against AC Milan, Atletico Madrid and Dynamo Kiev.
We lost to Atleti twice in the group stage 4 seasons ago. Looking back, I can’t believe how that team got to the Champions League although 6 of the players involved then are still in the squad now.
We also have 30 players in the various Dutch squads, including 5 players in the senior team.
It’s taken a while, but we’re slowly getting there as a force in Dutch football. Hopefully this impressive form can continue throughout the season!
Hampus Silverholt
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The September international break saw our £80m signing Van der Steen get his first cap (and score his first goal) for Holland - at just 19 he has a big career ahead of him.
Since that international break, results have fluctuated a lot.
After going goal crazy at the start of the season, suddenly we were struggling to score and lost to AZ in the league and Atletico in the Champions League.
I wasn’t confident ahead of our 3rd Champions League game against AC Milan, especially because of the strength of their squad.
But we actually got an incredible 2-0 win - I have no idea which side is going to turn up in games this season!
So we’re top of our Champions League group but it is delicately poised at the halfway stage. I’m getting deja vu from last season…
And the Eredivisie season already has a familiar feel to it 10 games in. Us and Ajax are pulling away at the top of the table and it looks like it'll be the 6th consecutive season where we'll finish in the top 2
Our next league game is at home to them and it could decide who wins the Eredivisie!
Maarten Paes will lineup for us against his former club for the first time in that match. The £3.2m summer signing has been one of our best players this season and has saved 3 penalties already!
Ajax are the current holders of the Eredivisie but we won it the 2 seasons before that - so this match could determine who the top team in Holland is.
Since that international break, results have fluctuated a lot.
After going goal crazy at the start of the season, suddenly we were struggling to score and lost to AZ in the league and Atletico in the Champions League.
I wasn’t confident ahead of our 3rd Champions League game against AC Milan, especially because of the strength of their squad.
But we actually got an incredible 2-0 win - I have no idea which side is going to turn up in games this season!
So we’re top of our Champions League group but it is delicately poised at the halfway stage. I’m getting deja vu from last season…
And the Eredivisie season already has a familiar feel to it 10 games in. Us and Ajax are pulling away at the top of the table and it looks like it'll be the 6th consecutive season where we'll finish in the top 2
Our next league game is at home to them and it could decide who wins the Eredivisie!
Maarten Paes will lineup for us against his former club for the first time in that match. The £3.2m summer signing has been one of our best players this season and has saved 3 penalties already!
Ajax are the current holders of the Eredivisie but we won it the 2 seasons before that - so this match could determine who the top team in Holland is.
Hampus Silverholt
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Our crucial game at home to Ajax ended 2-2 with us conceding in the last minute which could prove to be costly at the end of the season!
And we followed that up with a 3-1 home loss to AC Milan in the Champions League, which was really disappointing.
But that result kick-started a remarkable run of form for us, where we scored 22 goals in 5 matches including a 3-0 win against Feyenoord.
We absolutely battered Dynamo Kyiv 7-0 in the Champions League, with Ernest Poku getting 4 goals and 2 assists in the match.
It meant that we were in 2nd position with one game to go in the group, but that match was away against group-leaders Atletico
But an amazing 3-0 win in Madrid ensured that we finished top of our group and qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League for just the 2nd time!
We are scoring goals for fun lately and our front 4 of Poku, van den Berg, Sankoh and Emegha have all been incredible this season
Mo Sankoh has the most goals in the Eredivisie… and also has the most assists!
Van den Berg is filling in perfectly for Maysonnave who we sold for £140m last season. The 20 year old has 9 goals and 16 assists in 22 matches this season, which are ridiculous numbers.
But such is the good form and quality of Ajax, they are still top of the Eredivisie
It’s going to be tough to take the Eredivisie off them but the way we are playing at the moment it feels like we could outscore any team!
And we followed that up with a 3-1 home loss to AC Milan in the Champions League, which was really disappointing.
But that result kick-started a remarkable run of form for us, where we scored 22 goals in 5 matches including a 3-0 win against Feyenoord.
We absolutely battered Dynamo Kyiv 7-0 in the Champions League, with Ernest Poku getting 4 goals and 2 assists in the match.
It meant that we were in 2nd position with one game to go in the group, but that match was away against group-leaders Atletico
But an amazing 3-0 win in Madrid ensured that we finished top of our group and qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League for just the 2nd time!
We are scoring goals for fun lately and our front 4 of Poku, van den Berg, Sankoh and Emegha have all been incredible this season
Mo Sankoh has the most goals in the Eredivisie… and also has the most assists!
Van den Berg is filling in perfectly for Maysonnave who we sold for £140m last season. The 20 year old has 9 goals and 16 assists in 22 matches this season, which are ridiculous numbers.
But such is the good form and quality of Ajax, they are still top of the Eredivisie
It’s going to be tough to take the Eredivisie off them but the way we are playing at the moment it feels like we could outscore any team!
Hampus Silverholt
Member
- Joined
- Oct 4, 2017
- Messages
- 1,230
- Reaction score
- 2,223
- Points
- 113
Despite finishing 1st in the group, we could not have got a tougher draw in the Champions League and will face Man City - the current Premier League holders and a team that have got to the semi-finals twice in the last 3 years
It also means that we will be reunited with Dominique Maysonnave, just over a year after we sold him to City for £140m
We’re still benefiting from the money that Man City paid for him and spent £8.25m on Philippe Middelkoop from Ajax in the January transfer window.
I can’t believe they let him go for that cheap but it’s just typical that his only 2 goals this season were both against us in a 2-2 draw!
He joined us just in time for the frustrating form to start as we somehow lost to FC Twente in the cup. That makes it 4 years since we last won the competition.
Then we had 2 games that pretty much sum us up.
The first was a 4-1 win over PSV, who we absolutely dominated. It means that we’ve scored 12 goals against them in 2 league games this season.
And the same team followed that up with a 1-0 loss away against relegation threatened PEC Zwolle. It’s so, so frustrating!
That loss means that we are 6 points away from Ajax, who have dropped points in just 3 league matches this season.
I honestly have no idea how we’ve won the league twice in this save given the strength of Ajax.
Just the small matter of Man City in the Champions League next then!
It also means that we will be reunited with Dominique Maysonnave, just over a year after we sold him to City for £140m
We’re still benefiting from the money that Man City paid for him and spent £8.25m on Philippe Middelkoop from Ajax in the January transfer window.
I can’t believe they let him go for that cheap but it’s just typical that his only 2 goals this season were both against us in a 2-2 draw!
He joined us just in time for the frustrating form to start as we somehow lost to FC Twente in the cup. That makes it 4 years since we last won the competition.
Then we had 2 games that pretty much sum us up.
The first was a 4-1 win over PSV, who we absolutely dominated. It means that we’ve scored 12 goals against them in 2 league games this season.
And the same team followed that up with a 1-0 loss away against relegation threatened PEC Zwolle. It’s so, so frustrating!
That loss means that we are 6 points away from Ajax, who have dropped points in just 3 league matches this season.
I honestly have no idea how we’ve won the league twice in this save given the strength of Ajax.
Just the small matter of Man City in the Champions League next then!
Hampus Silverholt
Member
- Joined
- Oct 4, 2017
- Messages
- 1,230
- Reaction score
- 2,223
- Points
- 113
I was expecting him to score at least 5 goals against us but he didn't get any in the end! That didn't stop the heart-breaking result though...