2005-2006: Ajax Formation & Starting Eleven

john_stein · Bericht door **john_stein** » vr jul 22, 2005 12:29 am

We have seen the first few friendlies and although it's a bit early to start getting conclusions about the team's work on the field I think we can already start talking about the possible formation Blind will use and the starting 11.

In my opinion the team should look like this: 4-3-3: Stekelenburg, Trabelsi. Grygera, Escude, (here's my main doubt Urby, Lindenbergh..someone new) then on the midfield: Maduro, De Jong and Sneijder and up front Rosales Rosenberg and Babel.

I really hope Blind keeps Grygera and Escude in the defense and i'm also hoping to see De Ridder a lot more in the field this season. So what do you guys think about this topic.

Antwanvanderstap · Bericht door **Antwanvanderstap** » vr jul 22, 2005 1:46 am

Lindenbergh made a good impression on me playing for AZ last season. He's no starting-11 material but he can play defense as well as midfield.

Don't underestimate Urby Emanuelson!

Mr. Ajax · Bericht door **Mr. Ajax** » vr jul 22, 2005 10:11 am

Stekelenburg

Trabelsi
Grygera
Escude
Emanuelson

De Jong
Maduro
Sneijder

Rosales
Rosenberg
Babel

Same line-up as yours. Only i doubnt that the midfield will actually be assembled like this by Blind; he is not going to leave Pienaar out. Thats why im curious asq to what he's going to do in this matter. The chance of him playing with a 3-4-3 is also still there, of course. In which case i would like to see it like this:

Stekelenburg

Heitinga
Grygera
Escude

Maduro(4)

De Jong
Pienaar(10)
Sneijder

Rosales
Rosenberg
Babel

Maduro taking over the infamous '4' role, with Pienaar doing likewise on the '10'. De Jong and Sneijder on respectively right and left. With this sort of line-up, however, we are holding the likes of Trabelsi on the bench.. And iI doubt thats gonna happen...

The Purple Cow · Bericht door **The Purple Cow** » vr jul 22, 2005 11:15 am

.................................Lobont

........Trabelsi......Grygera.......SQD......A NEW GUY

................Pienaar.......Maduro.......Boukhari

...............Rosales.......Rosenberg.....Babel

Antwanvanderstap · Bericht door **Antwanvanderstap** » vr jul 22, 2005 11:53 am

Whatever happens....it will be a long season in which AJAX will take the title and proceed untill the semi-finals of the CL so we are gonna need at least 20 players.

AJAX-CBS

Bericht door **Kowalczyk** » vr jul 22, 2005 12:14 pm

Antwanvanderstap schreef:Whatever happens....it will be a long season in which AJAX will take the title and proceed untill the semi-finals of the CL so we are gonna need at least 20 players.

This is actually a very good point. I was thinking about the starting line-up and found it almost impossible to come up with one. Especially in midfield we have so many good players. De Jong is an absolute starter for me (right mid). Left mid? Probably Sneijder. But who should be the middle one: Pienaar? But what about Maduro, Galásek and Lindenbergh then?

Etcetera.

And all of a sudden I thought: why do we focus on any such thing as a starting line-up for the season anyway? Players also tend to do that: if they're not in the starting line-up they're pissed off. Why? This is modern football. There will be at least 20, possibly 25 players who will all play 20 games or more this season... We're gonna need all of them.

K.

Antwanvanderstap · Bericht door **Antwanvanderstap** » vr jul 22, 2005 12:36 pm

There u go...I can't stand players who are acting like little babies whenever they are left out of the team. Just be a man ( you're getting paid like one) and prove the coach he was wrong by letting you out.

For what it's worth my starting line up would be:

Vonk

Trabelsi Grygera Escude Emanuelson

De Jong Maduro Sneijder

Rosales Rosenberg/Charisteas Babel

A player like Bhoukari is my fav sub. He's unpredictable and technically very skilled. I love seeing him play ever since i saw him score twice against 010 when he was still playing for Sparta! Charisteas is a nice guy with a lot of potential and i have the feeling he will be giving us a lot of pleasure in the future. Anastasiou is a guy who melts these young guys together into a team. Kinda like Litmanen used to do. If this selection can stay cool and there are no mayor incidents i predict a great season! Did u here that Guus is gonna be the coach of the socceroos? p$v must not pay him enough that he needs an extra gig.

Mr. Ajax · Bericht door **Mr. Ajax** » vr jul 22, 2005 12:39 pm

The problem with having a different starting line-up every week is one of the ones that necked Koeman; the team misses the 'automatismes', as well as the chemistry that a team that plays together for a long time does have.

For me players that are absolute starters are: Trabelsi, Grygera, Escude, De Jong, and Maduro. The rest is for Blind to figure out ;)

Antwanvanderstap · Bericht door **Antwanvanderstap** » vr jul 22, 2005 1:06 pm

Sounds reasonable...but in a season with pre-round CL, the Cl itself, regular season, Amstel Cup, Qualifers and play-offs it's impossible to keep a team intact. You will allways be suffering from suspensions and injuries.

Koemans big problem was that he was better in communication with the press than with his team. There were some big ego's in the squad and he did not handle them very well. Don't get me wrong I thought it was great trainer/coach but he fucked up every now and then. The issues with Mido and v/d Vaart weren't well handled in my opinion.

jakobg · Bericht door **jakobg** » vr jul 22, 2005 1:53 pm

Antwanvanderstap schreef: A player like Bhoukari is my fav sub. He's unpredictable and technically very skilled. I love seeing him play ever since i saw him score twice against 010 when he was still playing for Sparta!

I also like Boukhari. I never thought he was as bad as some of you have pointed out before. That might be 'cause I haven't seen him as much as you regulars, but from what I've seen of him, I must say I'm kind of a fan.

You also seem to see Rosenberg as the no.9 this season. I'm not so sure he'll do the business right away. We will need three good strikers to win matches. Rosenberg will not be the different maker from the start. I think he will need a season of international experience before he'll be ready.

EDIT: Hope I'm wrong though...

Antwanvanderstap · Bericht door **Antwanvanderstap** » vr jul 22, 2005 2:01 pm

That's why i putter Charisteas/Rosenberg on 9. A player that would really makes a difference could be Makaay or Ronaldo. But AJAX simply hasn't got the money for that kind of players. So we will allways be stuck with try-outs.

In my opinion the best man to buy right now is Piet de Visser :D

Bericht door **Kowalczyk** » vr jul 22, 2005 2:07 pm

jakobg schreef:I also like Boukhari. I never thought he was as bad as some of you have pointed out before. That might be 'cause I haven't seen him as much as you regulars, but from what I've seen of him, I must say I'm kind of a fan.

Right... Now let's just wait for Over Pasanen's Head to drop by... :D

Sit tight, folks.

K.

carcajou · Bericht door **carcajou** » vr jul 22, 2005 5:04 pm

Kowalczyk schreef:
jakobg schreef:I also like Boukhari. I never thought he was as bad as some of you have pointed out before. That might be 'cause I haven't seen him as much as you regulars, but from what I've seen of him, I must say I'm kind of a fan.
Right... Now let's just wait for Over Pasanen's Head to drop by... :D

Sit tight, folks.

K.

HAHA, that is EXACTLY what I was thinkin' about....

john_stein · Bericht door **john_stein** » vr jul 22, 2005 5:08 pm

I agree with you Kowalczyk about the fact that everyone should get a chance to be in the starting lineup. But I do think that there are some key players that should remain as long as possible and form the backbone of the team.
The reason I posted this topic was really because of curiosity. I think we are lucky to have so many players but I just keep thinking and I can't still find what positions certain players should be in. For example Pienaar, or Boukhari who I heard that will be used more in the midfield this season. Mitea on the left or Babel? is Rosenberg really better than Babel in that position? etc etc etc. So lots of questions and only one guy to answer them: Blind. I'm just happy Koeman isn´t around anymore because he just wouldn't know what to do with so many players around. ;)

Antwanvanderstap · Bericht door **Antwanvanderstap** » vr jul 22, 2005 5:11 pm

How is that "Over Pasanens Head"?

carcajou · Bericht door **carcajou** » vr jul 22, 2005 5:42 pm

john_stein schreef: Mitea on the left or Babel? is Rosenberg really better than Babel in that position?

Babel is not a left winger to begin with. We should try as much as possible to not field players out of position.

pizza 5 · Bericht door **pizza 5** » vr jul 22, 2005 9:22 pm

I know weve been round this loop before but never mind.I think we should be playing 3-5-2.I appreciate this is not the Ajax way but if we were a bit smarter we could actully win something this season,this system would suit the players we currently have.

..................................Steklenbloke

.................Grygera.......Maduro.....SQD

...Trabelsi....Pienaar....Galasek...Sneijder....Maxwell

..................Rosenburg......Babel

Two strikers makes us much more offensive when we have the ball,and we have plenty of cover in midfield when we dont.I would play Maduro as a centre back which I think will turn out to be his best position,and he would be great at bringing the ball out al lah Beckenbauer......sorry Bobby Moore.
Pienaar and Sneijder can support the front two,Galasek can hold,Trabelsi and Maxwell on the overlap........Does this not sound like sexy football or what......I should be the head coach and OPH should be my Technical Director.Also I would bring back Van Halst to look after Dietry requirements...ie how to stalk,catch,kill and eat raw meet.....that should get the midfield wound up.Key subs would be Heitinga,De Ridder,De-Jong,

Rosales would only be allowed on the pitch at half time with the other children in the Kiddie club,every body would be given a complimentary slice of half time pizza and law and order would be returned to Gotham city........................

Antwanvanderstap · Bericht door **Antwanvanderstap** » vr jul 22, 2005 10:36 pm

Very nice that someone is putting Galasek in the starting line up together with Maxwell. But Maxwell isn't gonna play untill after the winterbreak and Galasek is injured off and on. Please don't get me wrong I love a player like Galasek and Maxwell in a team together but it is not very realistic.

I just think it's a waste of a player like Maduro to be placed in defense. I have been watching him play the end of last season and during the world-cup <20 and love to see him on the midfield. We should not mess with a perfectly good centre defense (grygera and SQD) in my opinion.

And as a hardcore AJACIED I allways wanna see AJAX play with 3 strikers! I agree that sometimes (actually most of the times) it makes more sense playing 4-4-2 or 3-5-2 but I JUST DON'T WANNA SEE IT. Offcourse I am speaking on personal title here and respect everyones opinion on the matter.

No-one likes us WE DON'T CARE :ajax: Cause we are AJAX AMSTERDAM

SE6Ajacied · Bericht door **SE6Ajacied** » za jul 23, 2005 12:05 am

jakobg schreef:
Antwanvanderstap schreef: A player like Bhoukari is my fav sub. He's unpredictable and technically very skilled. I love seeing him play ever since i saw him score twice against 010 when he was still playing for Sparta!
I also like Boukhari. I never thought he was as bad as some of you have pointed out before. That might be 'cause I haven't seen him as much as you regulars, but from what I've seen of him, I must say I'm kind of a fan.

I've always liked Bhoukari too for similar reasons to why I like Anastasiou. He's not a prima-donna, knows his place in the team and always gives 100% (or does a good impression of doing so!). That's more than can be said for some of the other maybe younger and more gifted players at times.

Blind3 · Bericht door **Blind3** » za jul 23, 2005 4:07 am

My two cents: Stekelenberg; Trabelsi,Grygera,Escude`,NEWBIE; De Jong,Pienaar/Maduro when Pienaar is inevitably injured,Sneijder;Rosales,Rosenberg,Babel.

Subs: Lindenbergh or Galasek for defense.Boukhari at wing. Jack-of-all positions: De Ridder.

I think Babel may play in a more withdrawn role ,but will nominally line-out on the left.

Antwanvanderstap · Bericht door **Antwanvanderstap** » za jul 23, 2005 12:12 pm

jakobg wrote:
I've always liked Bhoukari too for similar reasons to why I like Anastasiou. He's not a prima-donna, knows his place in the team and always gives 100% (or does a good impression of doing so!). That's more than can be said for some of the other maybe younger and more gifted players at times.

It's true that Yannis does know his place in the....the bench. I like his attitude very much (I talked to him once on my wedding day in Amsterdam) and I don't mind seeing him sub for max 30 mins. But the fact is that he's getting older, technically less gifted and less fast. I am happy to have him in de selection!

Ayman · Bericht door **Ayman** » za jul 23, 2005 1:43 pm

Guys....I dont mean to be rude but if Ajax played the way any of you guys wanted them to play, they would be down in the dumps, and back to square one i.e Blind resigning, players wanting to leave, clashes at the board of directors etc etc. My idea is the 'Ajax idea'. The classic 3-4-3 Ajax formation. at the back 2 wing backs and a centre back in between them. Infront of them two midfielders protecting that back 3, and two attacking midfielders in front of the 2 defensive midfielders. upfront 2 wingers and a centre forward. Heres how it is.

....................Stekelenburg

Trabelsi..........Heitinga...........Escude...

...........Maduro...........Lindenburgh.....

.........de Jong.............Sneijder..........

.....de Ridder....Babel.....Manucharyan.....

Ok the players in this starting 11 would be my first choice, however I would be more inclined to be flexible, depending on the form these players are on, whether top form (they keep their places) or off form (they warm the bench). Bare in mind that players like Maduro and Lindenburgh will have to work really hard cause they are covering both midfield and defense, while Sneijder or Pienaar depending on whos performing better is the number 10, and helping out in midfield. What are your thoughts?

The Purple Cow · Bericht door **The Purple Cow** » za jul 23, 2005 4:38 pm

If you put that lumbering carthorse Heitinga in the middles of your defence, you're well and truly fucked.

ZoefdeHaas · Bericht door **ZoefdeHaas** » za jul 23, 2005 4:43 pm

I think a sort of 4-1-2-3 formation may do well for Ajax. However, we would need a good anchorman to fill that "1" spot, Galasek is always injured and I dont see Maduro doing that. But if we can get one, he might be able to open up the game, with two midfielders, Sneijder and Pienaar imo up ahead. Then two wingers switching sides from time to time and the attack goes in aflow. Sorry id explain more of my "idea" but cant b arsed :pukey:

Antwanvanderstap · Bericht door **Antwanvanderstap** » za jul 23, 2005 9:08 pm

Guys guys...(eehhh gals to) I never ment to be negative about my club. I have confidence in all players and the technical staff. I was, am and will allways be anb AJACIED.

I just hope we beat those cocroaches at least to times! That's a thing that allways has got me in good moods hahahah :blub: