Hello friends and welcome to what I hope is this time is a much longer story than my previous effort with Oxford. Before I go any further a big thanks to all who voted and in the end Ajax came out the clear winners.
The company I work for sponsors Ajax so here’s a link to the sponsorship page.
http://www.aegon.com/en/EN-Homepage/About/Sponsorships/Ajax-soccer/
So in looking at the Ajax first team squad I was already happy with what was available but took the advice of my Assistant Manager Danny Blind (unfortunate name) to seek out a right back and defensive midfielder. Danny’s suggestion was to go with a Brazilian named Fabricio from Cruzeiro.
As for the board of directors they were expecting me to challenge for the title and handed me a £4million transfer budget for new players.
Negotiating with Cruziero proved very tough and in the end it took nearly all of my transfer budget to bring him to Amsterdam and I think he was worth it.
For the right back problem I managed to find another Brazilian, Denilson and he was out of contract so I signed him for free. Perfect.
My final signing was Nacer Barazite who I got on loan from Arsenal for the season and will rotate with the ageing Kennedy on the right flank.
So July turned out to be a very quite transfer market for the club with just three players leaving for other teams. I’m hoping with just a minimal amount of new players that team harmony will remain good and will easily adapt to my tactics.
Transfers: July 2009
I decided that my tactic for the season would be a 4-3-3 formation with a high defensive line and playing a loan striker in Luis Suarez who Chelsea made an immediate bid of £11,000,000 before our first game. I rejected it.
Ajax Tactic 2009 Season
I was happy with the pre-season results and the way the team was playing despite all the fixture congestion at the start due to the Friendly Cup and as a bonus we finished on a high note away to St. Etienne.
The only set back to our pre season was an injury to Urby Emanuelson who is going to be out with torn knee ligaments for at least 2 months but given the depth of the squad I feel we should be okay.
The season proper will start away to FC Groningen and there’s the prospect of a difficult game against PSV in the middle of the month. Thanks for reading and I look forward to providing more updates.
Darren Smith
14 марта, 2010 at 00:02
Hi Kevin,
very happy to see you managing Ajax. Theres not many stories online in lesser leagues like Holland. You have a strong squad and I hope you can hold onto Suarez. I bought him with Napoli and Im a big fan. Anyway good look with the new game and please keep it going a while. Ill be interested to read your new story.
Kevin
14 марта, 2010 at 00:29
Darren: Thanks for your comments and yes I hope to be more successful with this story than the last one.
Laxeyman
14 марта, 2010 at 01:07
Hi Kevin, nice to see you managing Ajax, I’m sure it will be interesting, and like you say, hopefully it will last longer than the Oxford game. The CM from Brazil looks good, he should serve you well.
Lye
14 марта, 2010 at 02:54
Hi Kevin, first of all congratulations on taking the reigns in Ajax. They already have a strong squad with Luis Suarez definitely the key player. Fabricio looks impressive in his attributes and he should be a good signing for you.
Ajax had not won the title since 2003/04 season and hope to see you restore the glory to them. The youth acadamy of Ajax was quite impressive as what i know, is there any youth players who stand out in your game? Good luck with your new career with them and i wish you all the best.
Johnny Karp
14 марта, 2010 at 11:17
Hi Kevin. Danny Blind is my assistant manager at Notts County, he has been for the last couple of seasons and he is very good. I think that you chose the right tactical setup given the players that you have, now let’s see the results :) Good luck!
cory berman
14 марта, 2010 at 11:57
im pretty sure suarez will score alot of goals this and future seasons good luck for a surely eventful season!!!
ravenie
14 марта, 2010 at 12:38
I’ve found a great way to keep control of a match. When I score a goal I change my strategy to counter and it really makes a difference. I’ve just moved into the top half and if I didn’t have those points deducted I would have been top!
Kevin
14 марта, 2010 at 13:10
Hello Friends, thanks for your comments and just so you know we changed our clocks in Canada Saturday night so now I’m only 4 hours behind London time.
Laxeyman: Yes I hope it lasts longer than Oxford too!
Lye: Thanks for your wishes. In fact I was a little disappointed not to find anyone who stood out in the reserve or U18 squad. The coaches aren’t that great either which I find strange given the clubs reputation for youth.
Johnny: The default tactic was three AMC’s but I wanted some width up front plus that holding defensive midfielder so that’s what I ended up with. I hope to get those reuslts as well.
Cory: Yes, I think Suarez will be the key player and I hope I can keep hold of hime
Ravenie: Thanks for the update on your Southampton game and the tip.
Matt
16 марта, 2010 at 17:17
i look forward to seeing how you get on with the 4-3-3 formation. i couldnt get it to work when i was at fiorentina despite (what i thought were) the right players, but im sure that you will have more success than me.
Good luck with the beginning of the season, cant wait to read how you start the campaign.
Kevin
16 марта, 2010 at 17:23
Hi Matt
Thanks for your vote of confidence. I’ve been sick these last few days so I hope to get back into the game very soon.
Sears
16 марта, 2010 at 19:09
Congratulations on becoming manager of Ajax,I wish you all the best.Luis saurez is your key player.He will score a large number of goals for you,provided he stays fit! Goodluck!
Kevin
16 марта, 2010 at 19:18
Thanks Sears.
You’re right Suarez is the key to a successfull campaign.