The Flying Dutchmen - AFC Ajax

http://www4.clikpic.com/chrisjonas/images/Holland_Amsterdam_Arena_20091.jpg

Full name: Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax NV
Founded: March 18, 1900; 112 years ago
Ground: Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam
Capacity: 52,342
Chairman: Hennie Henrichs
Fierce Rivals: Feyenoord (Rotterdam)

Feyenoord from Rotterdam are Ajax's arch rivals. Every year both clubs play the "Klassieker" ("The Classic"), a derby match between the teams from the two largest cities of the Netherlands. The matches are known for their tension and violence, both on and off the pitch. Over the years several violent incidents have taken place involving rival supporters, leading to the current prohibition of away-supporters in both stadiums.

Ajax history on wikipedia they have a massive history with:

31 League Titles:
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

18 KNVB Cups: 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

7 Dutch Super Cups: 1993, 1994, 1995, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007

2 Intercontinental Cups: 1972, 1995

4 European Cups: 1971, 1972, 1973, 1995

1 European Cup Winners Cup: 1987

1 Uefa Cup: 1992

2 Uefa Super Cups: 1973, 1995
(Ajax also won in 1972, however, UEFA only sanctioned the UEFA Super Cup for the first time in 1973 so the 1972 edition was an unofficial one. Played against Rangers, winners of the 1971–72 European Cup Winners' Cup, it actually went ahead as 'a celebration of the I Centenary of Rangers F.C.' (See below) because Rangers were serving a one year ban at the time imposed by UEFA for the misbehaviour of their fans. That victory meant Ajax had won every tournament (5 in total) they entered that year, a feat Celtic achieved in 1967 (with 6 trophies) and Barcelona (also 6 trophies) repeated in 2009).

I am now manager of AFC Ajax and here is what my board expect:

- Play attacking football
- Develop players using the youth system (Shouldnt be a problem as Ajax are famous for bringing out talent)

- Title challenge
- Reach final of Dutch Cup
- Qualify for group stages of Champions League

My personal expectations:

- Win the League
- Reach final of Dutch Cup
- Qualify through the group stages of the Champions League



I have decided to keep all of my staff and havent made any additions to the backroom.

After a meeting with the board they have given me £8.5 million and a maximum £220,000 per week wage bill.


I have decided to take the maximum of 40 players to China for the pre season training camp.

Only a few days into the job and Chelsea are interested in Toby Alderweireld. Not a man I can afford to let go after already losing Van Der Wiel to PSG and Vertonghen to Tottenham (real life of course).

I offered him a new deal which im happy to say he accepted.



Also I have offered Christian Eriksen a new deal which he also accepted so I now have them tied down to long term deals.



My chief scout has pointed out that we may have a future star in our youth team so I have added him to the first team for pre season training and matches.

Here he is: (only 16 but has great potential)



After losing Van Der Wiel and Alderweireld I thought it was necessary to find replacements at RB and CB.

My RB solution I found immediately in Vanden Borre (a player I havent bought for a while on FM). And a free transfer. So very happy with that as he is only 24 years old.



My search continues for a CB.......

Here is Vanden Borres stats:



Not bad for a 24 year old free transfer

I have decided to train my squad in 2 formations for the pre season training camp.





More of my story will follow later today.....

Pre season:



Leonidas Rotterdam 3-0

Sulejmani (5)
Sigþórsson (14)
Sigþórsson (45)+1

Neptunus 2-0

Sigþórsson (55)
Koppers (90)

Beerschot AC 3-2

Serero (7)
Alderweireld (62)
Sulejmani (86)

Racing Club 3-0

Schöne (54)
Sulejmani (58)
Siem De Jong (64)

Xanthi 4 - 2

Siem De Jong (30)
Lucas Andersen (34)
Siem De Jong (56)
Sigþórsson (89)

Real Madrid 1-1

Sigþórsson (66)



Friendly Cup - Amsterdam ArenA

Schalke 3-4

Alderweireld 4(7)
Sigþórsson (73)
Alderweireld (90)+2

3rd Place Play Off:

Newcastle 1-3

Viktor Fischer (50)

Overall im happy with pre season especially a good draw against a strong Madrid side. I could have done better in the Amsterdam Cup but Schalke were too powerful. They were 4-1 up but we managed to pull 2 back, unfortunately we couldnt get the 4th and suffered our first defeat in pre season. The game against Newcastle United I decided to play younger players and those who were just short of match fitness. A defeat here was expected so I cant complain as we suffered our second defeat in pre season.

All of my first team players are ready for the season opener against PSV in the Dutch Super Cup.

Super Cup report to follow...........

MOM: Ryan Babel

He was a constant threat throughout the game and that reflected on the 2 goals he set up. Not bad for his first competitive start for Ajax since leaving for Liverpool in 2007.

Kenny Tete also became the youngest ever player in the Dutch Super Cup:

Erik Pieters:






Libor Kozák:





I dont expect to make any more signings and I only expect 1 going out. Eyong Enoh.
I have him on the transfer list but even at half of his value of £3 million it is proving a struggle, but we will see what happens as there is plenty of time left in the window.


Board update for month of July:

I have managed to sign Romario on a free from Brazilian club Vitoria. I noticed he was rejecting the new deals offered so I waited and it paid off. His value is very low but they wouldn't take any less than his £1.2 million release clause.

Romario will join the club 01/01/2013.

Looking good. Who are your goalie and wingers?


And, do you use any software to cut out your pictures?

Thanks a lot appreciate it.

My GK are 1:Kenneth Vermeer and 2:Jasper Cillessen. I also have a young keeper Mickey van der Hart out on loan.

My wingers are: Sulejmani, Ryan Babel, Boerrigter, Viktor Fischer, Lucas Andersen

(once the transfer window closes I will post my team)

I downloaded the facepack from this website I think. I haven't edited them in anyway that is how they come.

FM2012 Cut out faces

No, I meant how do you cut out your news items. I know how to get facepacks

Eredivisie Game 1: FC Groningen
Toby Alderweireld (Ajax)



Not a great game but a win at least and got us off to a good start in the league. Poulsen was injured during the game and will be out for a few weeks. Sulejmani was also injured during the game but he will only be out for a day or 2.



It seems the fans have gotten over the Erik Pieters transfer and welcomed him into the club. He had a good performance on his debut and played the full 90 minutes. I decided to bring Kozak on for his league debut with around 15 minutes to go but he didn't get any chances.



Eredivisie Game 2: PEC Zwolle
Ryan Babel (Ajax)



A good team performance where we probably should have had more. When we had possession we were going forward making plenty of wing attacks using our pace as an advantage. We lost Toby Alderweireld due to injury and he will be out for atleast 10 days. Ryan Babel was our key man in this game being a constant threat on the left wing.



Eredivisie Game 3: NAC Breda
Alex Schalk (NAC Breda)



Another tough game which we made hard for ourselves. We couldnt keep hold of the ball and were dominated throughout. We made our possession count though and managed to overturn the 1-0 deficit. Boerrigter had just came back from injury and was used as a substitute as was Kozak. Both of them scored within minutes of being on the field. Super subs saved the day.



Eredivisie Match 4: NEC Nijmegen
Christian Eriksen (Ajax)



A very lucky draw with a very late goal from Kozak in the 91st minute to save the draw. Another game where we couldn't get hold of the ball and for the majority were on the back foot. Lasse Schone played against his old club but couldnt do much to silence them. Christian Eriksen was the star man but in truth all round it was a bad day at the office.

My squad for the 2012/2013 season:

Goalkeepers and Defenders:



Midfielders and Attackers

Eredivisie Game 5: VVV-Venlo
Anthony Vanden Borre (Ajax)



Yet another game where we couldnt control possession but still we came out victorious. 23 shots but only 7 on target. Safe to say we must work on our attacking movement as chance after chance was going wide. It took another super sub to score when finally in the 80th minute Serero broke through from a through by Eriksen and gave us the lead.



Champions League Game 1: Bayern Munich
Kenneth Vermeer




When you beat Bayern Munich 4-0 you know you have to put in a good performance and that is exactly what we done. For this game I wasn't going to sit back and counter, I set to control possession with short passes and exploit the gaps they were leaving on the wings. It paid off and all 4 goals came in the first half. We backed off in the second in a half which Bayern could have scored a couple. A Great start to our Champions league campaign.





Eredivisie Game 6: FC Utrecht



FC Utrecht got off to a great start by scoring in the opening minutes from Royston Drenthe. We managed to equalize after the hour by a great goal from Sigborsson. A pretty even game throughout with both teams having chances but we managed to nick it in the end and stole the 3 points.






And he will be replaced by a club legend Johan Cruyff who signs on a 5 year deal.



Dutch Cup 2nd Round: SVV Scheveningen 0-0 AET 4-1 Penalties
Tom Boks (SVV Scheveningen)



Not a good game from us, especially against a really poor side in SVV Scheveningen. We didnt have our strongest team out but it was more than capable of seeing off a game of this caliber. A match with persistent fouling and that showed on the number of yellow cards we received. The Scheveningen goalkeeper was unbeatable during the game and that is why he received man of the match. If it wasn't for him we would have wrapped the game up in the first half.






Eredivisie Game 7: Vitesse
Lucas Andersen (Ajax)



A rare mistake from our keeper Kenneth Vermeer who has been very solid in goal so far this season gave Vitesse the lead. An equalizer didnt look like coming so I made all 3 subs in the 70th minute, one of which was our goal scorer Lucas Andersen who ended up getting man of the match for his 20 minute performance.