Legenda - The career of Luka Elsner

I think you've included the previous month's screenshot.

Regardless, a good effort against Chelsea and it was a shame you were unable to walk away with something to show for it. That aside, a largely decent month.

2020-06-25 01:30#274811 ScottT : I think you've included the previous month's screenshot.

oops! fixed

Having spent the first month of the season with a focus on Champions League qualification, this past month has been much better. Rising up the league and thanks to them dropping points, right in contention early on. Tough loss against Chelsea but a good performance regardless.

Our nemesis Ajax has found a way to even torment us in continental football, Dennis James at Hertha BSC and Brahim Benali at AS Monaco were a handful for us. Both products of Ajax. James had a goal and an assist in the first 20 minutes as we were completely over-matched in a 3-0 thrashing. Later in the month Benali scored in the 21st minute for AS Monaco then Peitro Pellegri followed with a brace before Guus Til added a late goal in another punishing loss in the CL Group Stage, 3-1.

In the league we cannot complain too bad, winning 3-0 against NAC Breda behind goals from Leao, Arena, and Taabouni. Troupee won POM with 2 assists. We got an early goal from Leao against 2nd place FC Utrecht but they hit right back 3 minutes later and the final 80 minutes were fairly even. A showdown with Ajax closed out the month and we played extremely well in the first half, holding them to just 1 shot compared to our 7 but we could not get a goal. In the second half they turned the table and played well but Danchenko connected with Arena in the 59th minute for the go ahead goal. It looked like we were going to hold out and steal 3 points but Nicolas Dominguez had other ideas and scored an incredible goal in the 88th minute to equalize.

In the cup we handled Roda JC rather easily behind a pair of penalties converted by Arena and another goal by Profijt.

Overall the month was a mixed bag, we probably were expected to lose by CL games but not in such poor fashion. In the league, getting draws at FC Utrecht and Ajax have to be considered decent results at this point.










Fredrick Midtsjo

Midtsjo suffered a calf strain in our match against AS Monaco and is expected to be out until mid-November. He already missed arguably our biggest league matches of the season with FC Utrecht and Ajax.





We lose a little ground this month but we are still in a better position than we were at this point last season. Otherwise it seems the table is starting to normalize a bit as the Feyenoord and PSV are moving up while ADO Den Haag is slowly moving down.


A big month coming up for Hertha BSC if they want to get into the top 2. This group is giving us a reality check after last year's competitive matches.






A bit of a tricky month, our only sure bet should be Sparta. However, Feyenoord and Vitesse at home would be disappointing to not get all 3 from. Add in two more away CL matches...this is probably our most difficult month of the season.

A pretty bumpy ride this month. The Champions League hasn't been too kind to you thus far. Ajax look to be in a strong position in the league but there's plenty of games to be played.

Note: Our match against Willem II was pulled ahead for TV coverage.







We played like a different team in the CL Group Stage this month, with draws against AS Monaco and Chelsea - both away! For long stretches against AS Monaco we looked like the better team, finally getting a goal in the 59 minute from Guerra (assisted by Danchenko). However, they got an equalizer 10 minutes later from Brahim Benali (the kid from Ajax). For sure Pellegri leaving the match in the first half with a groin injury helped. Chelsea started the match sluggish and we went into the break even before they turned it on in the 2nd half behind a brace from Moussa Dembele (Martial assisted on both). The boys kept fighting and Arena scored in the 79th minute, assisted by Leao. Then in the 88th minute we got an equalizer from Guerra. It feels good to secure a draw so late, after allowing so many over the years.

In the league we started with a tricky match against Sparta and frankly we were lucky to come home with a point. Guerra converted a penalty in the 90th minute. We crushed Feyenoord and should have done more but a lone goal from Koopmeiners in the 40th minute is enough to secure the 3 points. The top two defenses square off when Vitesse comes to town and we ended up with quite a few goals, they got the equalizer in the 81st minute from Viktor Gyokeres - whom played for Elsner at Union SG. We were down to 10 men for nearly 60 minutes after a straight red from Bloem. Finally, we routed Willem II behind a brace from Til and Guerra added another goal late after a horrific mistake by their keeper.

An interesting month, we needed to get more points in the league than we did but we easily could have lost a couple there too.









Jordan Torunarigha

Jordan picked up a bruised thigh in training on November 29th, we are managing the injury with injections but he is not expected to return to full strength until late December.


Dirk Boldt

Boldt suffered a torn groin muscle in training on November 25th. He is expected to return to action in January.





Ajax finally lost, losing 1-0 at home to N.E.C. Only N.EC.'s 2nd win of the season, stunning! The top 9 or 10 teams are very close - quite a difference from last season at this point.


The draw against AS Monaco eliminated us from the Top 2, then the draw against Chelsea eliminated us from the Top 3. Both goods results in my opinion, but for sure we will looking to disrupt Hertha BSC's aspirations of reaching the Top 2.






A rather busy month but we should expect to gain some traction and with some wins this month.

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Comments:

ScottT - A definite roller coaster, hopefully we can continue the progress we made in November though!

Its been a tough two months in all honesty. Not winning too many games and unfortunately now out of Europe. Hopefully that will see a full shift of focus to the league and you can make a real challenge on Ajax. Two points behind but they have two games in hand, it seems like they need to lose a couple more yet.

Agree with everything TheLFCFan says. It wasn't to be in Europe this time. It gives you an opportunity to focus on domestic affairs though where there is still work to do.

In our final match of the CL Group Stage we nearly played spoilers after getting a goal from Leao in the 2nd minute (assisted by Danchenko). It was not meant to be though as they got an equalizer just before the half from Claudio Gomes and then the winner from Davie Selke in the 52nd minute. It was a night to forget for Arena after hitting the cross bar twice and the post another, all in the first half - if he was able to convert any of the 3 into a goal we may have seen a different result. The win sends Hertha BSC through to the knockout stage, along with Chelsea.

We were outstanding in the league. Opening with a 1-0 win against FC Twente, a rare occurrence for them to be kept off the scoresheet. Leao scored the winner in the 60th minute, off another assist from Danchenko. Excelsior was looking to cause an upset after taking an early lead into the break but we get three second half goals to win it comfortably. Hatzidiakos, Guerra, and Til were the scorers. We hammered N.E.C. behind a brace from Leao and Meendering scoring in his first appearance in nearly a month. Finally, we beat PSV handily behind goals from Til and Stengs. It was Stengs first goal of the season - hopefully he will break out of his slump with this.

In the cup we had to fight off a pesky ADO Den Haag with a lone goal from Arena, Stengs with the assist. We draw FC Groningen in the Quarter Finals.












I am pleased to report that the club has a clean bill of health at the moment.





Ajax lost again this month, losing 1-0 to FC Utrecht at home. FC Utrecht is right there in the mix - they have not lost in the league since September. This race looks like it could come down to the final match day once again.






A rather easy month in the league, the match with ADO Den Haag could be tricky but they have been sliding lately.

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Comments:

ScottT & TheLFCFan - The results were definitely indicative of the performance but for sure things are looking up as we are starting to see the results as well.

A great month there and some encouraging fixtures to come. Fingers crossed for another slip up from Ajax so you can look to profit from it.

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Bucker, largely thought to be the top young talent in the Dutch National Team has been sold to FC Bayern for a whopping €35M. At 21 years old Bucker is already an elite attacking midfielder, in 21 matches this season he has scored 6 goals and added 4 assists. Managers throughout the league are likely breathing a sigh of relief after hearing the news.

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In a move that reportedly caused a bit of a stir amongst the squad, AZ has sold Meendering for €10M to the Championship side. The 20-year old Meendering was largely a backup to Nicolas Guerra so far this season. He managed score 5 goals in 16 appearances this season for AZ, after finishing last season with 15 goals in 34 appearances for Heracles Almelo whilst on loan. As a result AZ has recalled Ole ter Haar Romeny from his loan with Sparta Prague.

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The 22-year old Swedish center back was an emerging star in his 3rd season with Vitesse after growing up at IFK Goteborg. Vitesse get €9.5M for Forsblad and FC Bayern have agreed to a loan back bringing him back to the club for the remainder of the season. He has been a force in one of the league's top defenses this season.

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With a few more weeks to come in the transfer window sure we can expect to see some more fireworks!

It seems to be standard practice for Eredivisie clubs to become selling clubs these days. Despite this, the conveyor-belt of talent never seems to slow.

We made easy work of Waasland-Beveren in a friendly to build back some match fitness, 6-1. Then we opened league play with a disappointing 1-1 draw with ADO Den Haag. Stengs scored our only goal, assisted by Midtsjo in the 29th minute. They got an equalizer midway through the second half despite our dominance in possession. Scoring one goal one 26 shots is tough to swallow!

We rebounded nicely with a 2-0 win against VVV-Venlo, Stengs and Arena were the goal scorers. Despite the score, we have to be a little concerned once again about the finishing. We outshot them 33-3 and had a possession advantage 67% to 33%. Yet we did not score the opening goal until the 61st minute. Our goal scoring struggles continued against SC Heerenveen in a bore draw. Yannick Ploem did not help matters picking up a second yellow late in the second half not giving us any ability to threaten the last 15 minutes.

In the cup, we hammered FC Groningen behind two early goals - Guerra assisted by Leao in the 10th minute; followed by Leao assisted by Guerra in the 21st minute. Koopmeiners added our 3rd goal just 1 minute into the second half before Leonardo Bertone scored an amazing goal from 35 yards out for their lone goal. Another dominate performance overall. With the win we advance to the Semi-Finals, where we draw Ajax. SC Heerenveen will host Sparta in the other matchup.

All in all some disappointing results with the 2 draws in the league.











Dirk Boldt

Boldt picks up another injury, this time a back strain suffered during training on the 13th of January. The injury caused him to miss every game this month but he should return to action in February. This is his 3rd injury since joining the club last summer.





Despite our disappointing month we did not fall too much more behind Ajax and still created some more separation from 3rd place. A lot of time left for things to change but our days of match congestion should be behind us, which I think will favor us down the stretch. Ajax will be up against Sampdoria in the First Round Knockout Stage of the Europa League. Hopefully this will create an opportunity for us.






Three home matches and away against NEC Breda should give us a chance to get at least 9 points here. Even better for us with playing Ajax right in the middle of their knockout matchup.

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Comments:

ScottT - It really is crazy to see the constant flow of talent coming from these clubs. I cannot imagine if Ajax was able to keep some of these guys, it would not be pretty.

You've lost some ground on Ajax but not as much as you could have. An important month lies ahead. It could be a decisive run of games. Good luck!

Skov joins AZ Alkmaar after just 1-year in Brondby IF's youth system, he brings a dynamic playmaking ability to the squad that needs depth in the ranks. We paid €1.7M for the young right winger, he will be added to the Jong AZ squad and is expected to play immediately - possibly making the senior squad next season.



Scheer brings some much needed young talent to the center back position where as a club we are quite thin after our senior squad. He is a physically imposing player and skilled with both feet. We paid €850K for the youngster who will also join our Jong AZ squad.


Going back to Denmark once again, we add one of the top young goalkeepers in Europe for €4.7M but he will not be joining our team until the summer after we had to agree to a loan back to secure him. This puts the writing on the wall that Schendelaar or Bakker will not be with the club next season. While our preference would be to stick with a Dutch goalkeeper, neither has developed over the last 18 months to give me enough confidence.