Coming Full Circle

[samsami]

Some big guns on the bench for Ajax

Interesting tweak to bring Dede back

Let's goooooooooooooo Feyenoord!

Yes, Ajax have far too many big guns!

That could be one of the reasons why Boerrigter, Sulejmani and Alderweireld are all leaving. And Eriksen, too. But at least Erkisen is in their starting XI.

Our fans hate Ajax (or so they think) but to be honest, we are rather jealous of them.

[samsami]

And so the season ended…

Expectations were high when we played Ajax in the KNVB Cup Final with Bas Dost as striker and Dedé as shadow striker - but without the suspended Jordy Clasie.

Ajax played their 4-4-1-1 formation. A defensive formation on paper, but they fielded three attacking midfielders.

Sunday 19th May 2013

"It wasn't the start to the game we were all anticipating. With just three minutes on the clock Sigþórsson scored from outside the box and we were already 1-0 down."

"For some reason this always happens when we play Ajax. We start with the best of intentions but before we know it they are 1-0 up. However, just like last week we were not overrun and a half-time the scoreline was still 1-0."

"And what's more, in the second half - after we had brought on Martins Indi and Terence Kongolo - Boëtius hit a 25-yard-ball forward to Dost who scored the equaliser with a powerful shot!"

"We immediately brought on Lex Immers for the anonymous Dedé, hoping to turn the game around, but Ajax counter-attacked and Daley Blind scored a header to restore their lead."

"That goal broke our resistance and again it was Sigþórsson who scored with a well-placed drive and it was game over…"

"And so we ended the season with a huge disappointment. Karim El Ahmadi played brilliantly while Stefan de Vrij and Jean-Paul Boëtius also deserve a mention, but once more Ajax proved too strong for us."

► Show Spoiler

"A disappointing result and the two back-to-back losses to Ajax do hurt. However, we have made good progress this season and there's actually money available and we haven't even received next season's TV-rights and gate receipts yet."

"We shall have to spend the money wisely, though. We may need to sign a quality goalkeeper. One who is consistent and who can handle the pressure of big games."

"We may also look into signing a quality defender, although this seems less of a priority. Especially if we can hold onto Stefan de Vrij for another season."

"We have two promising young midfielders in Tony Vilhena and Jean-Paul Boëtius. However, Lex Immers has not really delivered and the same could be said of Ruud Vormer. So we may try and sign a quality midfielder."

"At least there's absolutely no question about who will be our number one striker next season."

"Dost has scored 19 goals from 17 appearances! We do need to find out why Dedé remains unhappy, though. The others are all backup strikers, although Achibar is doing quite well with the Reserves."

[CMCZ]

Congratulations AJAX!!!!!

[samsami]

Congratulations AJAX!!!!!

Let them celebrate as if there is no tomorrow.

After all, it may be their last cup win.

[Redknapp69]

Wonder whether taking Dede off had any impact (even though Immers performed better when he came on)

Mulder didn't do a lot wrong in those 2 big games - continually gets lambasted though

What was the huge income in last month - for cup final receipts? Ajax away?

Dede does seem to have gone off the boil back end of season though

Good season overall - European spot and a cup final. That feels around the benchmark for next year but targeting 3rd

[samsami]

Wonder whether taking Dede off had any impact (even though Immers performed better when he came on)

Mulder didn't do a lot wrong in those 2 big games - continually gets lambasted though

What was the huge income in last month - for cup final receipts? Ajax away?

Dede does seem to have gone off the boil back end of season though

Good season overall - European spot and a cup final. That feels around the benchmark for next year but targeting 3rd

I did not check the income but we have more transfer funds than available money so we still need to be careful.

Dedé will probably get a another chance alongside Dost next season but he needs to deliver, otherwise we will play a one-striker formation.
The stats (in tomorrow's post) show that Dost is clearly the more productive striker.

The target for next year is qualification for CL football.

[AJ]

I’m afraid Dede simply isn’t good enough. He’s not the only one though. Our defense is fantastic, at least at DC. Maybe we should try a 3-6-1 next season! We will need to buy a bunch of decent midfielders tho.

And CMCZ, I love you. We share a lot of interests, hobbies and who knows what. But as a fullblood Feyenoord Hooligan I must admit you are getting on my nerves.

But rightly so. Ajax is fantastic. Just as we need them to be. Ajax is the day to my night. The dark to my light. The summer to my winter. We would be nobody if it wasn’t for them.

One needs an enemy to define himself.

And Samsami, losing to them twice in a row? You best use the back door for a while mate

[ebfatz]

Tough to take.
Thought you would win one of the two.

[samsami]

Tough to take.
Thought you would win one of the two.

To be honest, so did I. Even though they were both away games. (Although, technically, the Cup Final was a home game.)

[samsami]

I’m afraid Dede simply isn’t good enough. He’s not the only one though. Our defense is fantastic, at least at DC. Maybe we should try a 3-6-1 next season! We will need to buy a bunch of decent midfielders tho.

And CMCZ, I love you. We share a lot of interests, hobbies and who knows what. But as a fullblood Feyenoord Hooligan I must admit you are getting on my nerves.

But rightly so. Ajax is fantastic. Just as we need them to be. Ajax is the day to my night. The dark to my light. The summer to my winter. We would be nobody if it wasn’t for them. One needs an enemy to define himself.

And Samsami, losing to them twice in a row? You best use the back door for a while mate

3-6-1 is not a bad idea, but it would mean a major change. Our wing backs have provided nine assists between them this season (see next post) so if we play without wing backs we would need two wingers with good crossing who can provide at least 12-15 assists between them and not concede more goals.

[samsami]

Looking forward…

We ended the second season in fourth place with 70 points. Now during my first season as manager we had ended in sixth place with 57 points, so it's safe to say that we had made good progress. We definitely needed to score more goals, though!

Also, the good news is that fourth place turned out to be just enough to qualify for Europa League football without having to play those rather annoying qualifying matches.

Fortunately, there was no mass exodus of players, like after my first season when John Guidetti, Ron Vlaar and Otman Bakkal, three of our star players, left the club. In other words, this time there was no need to revitalise the club. That is to say, not as long as we could hold onto players like Bas Dost, Karim El Ahmadi, Jordy Clasie and Stefan de Vrij.

Bas Dost had scored 19 goals from 17 appearances so he was by far our most productive player, but apart from Dost who else had been responsible for our goals and assists?

Looking at the players' stats it is clear that Dedé was our second-most productive player, followed by 18-year-old Jean-Paul Boëtius who had surprised friends and foes alike during his first season at Feyenoord.

And then there was Jordy Clasie, our budding midfield Napoleon, who was our assist king that past season.

Our defence had been superb with Karim El Ahmadi as defence leader. El Ahmadi had stepped up after Vlaar had left the club and with three goals and five assists KEA had shown his worth to the club in more than one way.

Also during that summer no less than three of our key players were called up to the Netherlands squad for an international match.

Meanwhile, Jordy Clasie scored two goals for the Netherlands Under 21 team in their win over Romania.

Two new signings

All of this didn't mean that we did not sign any additional players. In fact, during the first week of July we signed two new players to add value and quality to the group.

First of all we signed former ADO midfielder Jens Toornstra - now 24 years old - who was excited to make the move from FC Utrecht to Feyenoord.

Toornstra could play in many different positions but he preferred to play as (attacking) midfielder.

► Show Spoiler

And then there was a huge surprise. During a press conference it was announced by Frank de Boer that Kenneth Vermeer would transfer to Feyenoord for a reported fee of €1 million. The move was seen as a shock because of the intense Feyenoord vs Ajax rivalry.

The reason Vermeer was allowed to leave Ajax was that his contract would expire the next year and he had recently been replaced by Jasper Cillessen as Ajax's first choice keeper. But it was a shock to the fans of both clubs - not the least in Rotterdam - and Vermeer was facing an uphill battle to silence his critics.

► Show Spoiler

[CMCZ]

And CMCZ, I love you. We share a lot of interests, hobbies and who knows what.

your girlfriend

[AJ]

I’m gay

[samsami]

And CMCZ, I love you. We share a lot of interests, hobbies and who knows what.

your girlfriend

Take it easy, guys!

I know the Vermeer deal causes a lot of emotion but in the end things will calm down and we are the ones who will benefit from it.

[Redknapp69]

Keeper looks ok and will provide good competition (I think you will start him though?)

Jens is a lot of cash but a bit of a club ledge wasn't he?

Great news on call ups and Clasie performance

Assume board are delighted?

Lets look for another season of progression and a nice European tour

[samsami]

Keeper looks ok and will provide good competition (I think you will start him though?)

Jens is a lot of cash but a bit of a club ledge wasn't he?

Great news on call ups and Clasie performance

Assume board are delighted?

Lets look for another season of progression and a nice European tour

Kenneth Vermeer was Ajax's first goalkeeper. He has better attributes than Bijlow and Hahn, and his mental attributes (handling pressure, playing important matches and consistency) are also slightly better.

Jens Toornstra is a very versatile quality midfielder.

And yes, the Board are delighted.

[samsami]

Pre-season friendlies

In August we played a number of pre-season friendlies, most of them against non-league teams, but two of them at De Kuip - and both of them in front of a really large crowd.

On Sunday 4th August we played the Swans, who visited De Kuip without their new striker, Wilfried Bony.

We played a one-striker formation with Jens Toornstra as central attacking midfielder and with Kenneth Vermeer as goalkeeper.

Our three-man midfield consisted of Jean-Paul Boëtius, Jordy Clasie and Tony Vilhena. Our two talented attacking midfielders were ready to take their chance.

Sunday 4th August 2013

"It was good to play the Swans again and to see Michael Vorm in action at De Kuip."

"It was even better that Dost scored our first goal of the season with the assist coming from KEA."

"We had to wait a very long time for the second goal, though. Long after we had brought on five subs it was Ruud Vormer who coolly slotted away the penalty which was awarded after a handball."

"All and all a decent game with Dost, Vermeer, Martins Indi and El Ahmadi as our best-rated players. Toornstra was quite anonymous, but we knew in advance that he would need some time to adjust to playing for Feyenoord."

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The next week we played Excelsior Rotterdam at De Kuip. This time we gave our starting XI the full ninety minutes to show their value for the club.


Saturday 10th August 2013

"We battered Excelsior and we hit the woodwork several times, but at half-time the scoreline was still 0-0."

"In the second half the goals finally came. Dost played well and scored our first goal from a cross by BMI and Vilhena doubled our lead with a low drive. But that was it."

"Still, we played well and I think I am not mistaken when I say we are ready for the new season."

► Show Spoiler

Meanwhile, two of our key players signed new contracts - Clasie after having turned down two previous offers - while PSV won the Johan Cruijff Schaal by defeating Ajax in penalty shootouts.

[Redknapp69]

Awful Swans team and comfortable win and a belter performance in 2nd game

Looks a gentle league start so hope we can hit the ground running

Great news on new deals

[samsami]

Awful Swans team and comfortable win and a belter performance in 2nd game

Looks a gentle league start so hope we can hit the ground running

Great news on new deals

Yes, the perfect league start. Not sure yet if a one-striker formation will result in more goals, though.

[samsami]

The start of the new season

The Feyenoord Open Day had been impressive as usual, even though the helicopter only brought in two new players. But of course this was still early in the season.

The crowd were delighted, though. Toornstra and Vermeer may not have been big-name signings, but they were both players who were expected to make their mark.

And on 18th August the two players made their debut appearance in our first league game of the season at home against Sportclub Heerenveen. Not an easy game on paper and De Vrij and Clasie were both suspended.

Heerenveen played a rather defensive 4-5-1 formation with Samuel Armenteros as striker and with Ferrie Bodde as central defensive midfielder.

We started with Van Beek for the suspended Stefan de Vrij and Ruud Vormer replaced Jordy Clasie, who was banned for three league matches. And because we played our one-striker formation Dedé started out on the bench again.

Sunday 18th August 2013

"A good start to the season."

"We were very keen to start the season with a home win, but we missed De Vrij and Clasie and with 25 minutes on the clock Djuricic scored a header from a Ferrie Bodde free-kick and we were 1-0 down."

"Obviously the crowd were not very pleased, but fortunately our lads responded well and ten minutes after that opening goal Vormer set up Boëtius in the area and our young attacking midfielder beat Vandenbussche with a low shot."

"We were the attacking team now. Toornstra played well, although he did not have a single shot on goal. But our new attacking midfielder works hard and he has great passing accuracy."

"Vermeer also played well on his debut game even though he was not really tested today. But our new goalkeeper did well to deny a vicious shot by Bodde."

"And so we dominated the game and it was once more Jean-Paul Boëtius who netted the winning goal with a low drive to complete his brace!"

"Suffice to say, we are very pleased with the result and with the team performance and I must say our youngsters - and especially Boëtius - coped well with the pressure on a day when Dost failed to find the net."

► Show Spoiler

[CMCZ]

What did Ajax do with transfers?

[ebfatz]

.....and PSV for that matter.

What are we up against in terms of transfers made?

[samsami]

What did Ajax do with transfers?

Boerrigter, Eriksen, Alderweireld and Sulejmani all left the club.

Ajax's latest signings were Tadic, Schone and Van der Hoorn. It seems their squad is full now.

Squad is sorted by monthly wages.

[samsami]

.....and PSV for that matter.

What are we up against in terms of transfers made?

PSV signed Bruma from Chelsea, Adam Maher from AZ, Stijn Schaars from Sporting

They sold Jeremain Lens to Sunderland, Dries Mertens to Napoli, Kevin Strootman to Roma and Ola Toivonen to Lens.

Squad is sorted by monthly wages.

[Redknapp69]

Ajax and PSV seem weaker which is good

VERY tight game but came out your way which is lovely to start the season

Nice to see Bodde again and another Swans player in Mikey VDH