22 JAN 2017 FC Utrecht - Ajax Match Day 19

[Orange14]

Strange game. Totally dysfunctional midfield on the part of Ajax yet they end up getting the narrow 0-1 victory. Two weird substitutions by Bosz. Was Sanchez injured or ill? He was having a decent match. Also, Younes rather than el Ghazi should have come off for Kluivert. Schöne redeemed himself from having a horrible match by the hard shot for the match winner. Ajax are still five points adrift but if they can win tough matches such as this one they still have a chance.

Player Ratings:

Onana (7) - some very nice saves but some kicking that reminded me of Vermeer
Sinkgraven (5) - some timely interventions but also some poor positional play
Viergever (7.5) - very solid all match long
Sanchez (7) - won every ball in his direction and don't know why he was subbed off
Veltman (6) - unconvincing at times but generally a net plus
Schöne (5.5) - props for the game winner but the rest of his game was pretty awful
el Capitan (4.5) - defended well and that was it for me
Ziyech (5) - never passed up a shot, but of course that meant he didn't look for open players either
Younes (4) - two trick pony on a day when nether trick worked
Dolberg (4.5) - partly not his fault that nobody could pass to him but he also made it difficult to find him
AeG7 (5.5) - thought he was playing OK and his take down of the ball in the first half was nice, too bad he bundled the shot over the cross bar
Kluivert (5.5) - nice that his mom was in the stands for the match but he had little impact
de Ligt (6) - on for Sanchez and kept his wits when the match was on the line
van de Beek (NR) - on late for Ziyech and I don't think he even got a touch

Home to ADO den Haag next Sunday

[ajaxcolombia]

I wish Van de Beek would get more playing time. He showed some interesting passing specially against heerenveen.

[Orange14]

I wish Van de Beek would get more playing time. He showed some interesting passing specially against heerenveen.

el Capitan is not going to be benched.

[Orange14]

raore will likely be back next game

don't think so his team finished top of the group

[ajaxcolombia]

I wish Van de Beek would get more playing time. He showed some interesting passing specially against heerenveen.

el Capitan is not going to be benched.

Yeah I know, but maybe we could try some sort of plan b. For example trying something like a diamond four man midfield when we are having trouble. Since we don't fully use the width with inverted wingers like younes, then bring in (as plan b, 4-3-3 would still be the preferred lineup) one more midfielder to create a diamond that can outnumber the three man midfield of most eredivise teams. I like how incisive van de Beek is with his passing, and this could be another option, something different to try out when we are failing to create danger.

[ajaxcolombia]

A couple of notes on statistics for this game.

17 shots taken and only three on target doesn't look good. Younes was the main offender shooting 5 times, only once on target. In my opinion, this is the weakness of playing with inverted wingers, is that most of the time they'll try to cut inside to shoot with their preferred foot instead of looking for a cross. Younes didn't make a cross all day, and I'm guessing this affects Dolberg's chances, as he doesn't get to take advantage of his strength and height. Ziyech and Schöne made most of the crosses mostly from deeper positions, which are easier to defend. There was only one header from Ajax all game, by Veltman. El Ghazi playing on the right wing, gives us more depth on that side, but he's always preferred to play inverted in the left wing.

Veltman was an absolute tackling machine with 9 successful tackles, this man is a wall. I've always been obsessed with the importance of balancing out a three man midfield with a strong defensive midfielder. Maybe if Veltman's ridiculous tackling rate was put to use in the middle of the pitch we would have better cover???

Again, I know Klaassen will never be benched, so I can only dream. Klaassen was actually really helpful at times defending, with four tackles today. But out of the midfield three he lost possession the most despite having way less touches. Why can't he enter spaces were he can function as an effective passing outlet? His heatmaps always show him playing a little bit on the right side in the middle of the pitch. Looks to me he's too static, and only favors running into spaces in the box. And not trying to be helpful in building up play in the middle of the field.

[Orange14]

Veltman was an absolute tackling machine with 9 successful tackles, this man is a wall. I've always been obsessed with the importance of balancing out a three man midfield with a strong defensive midfielder. Maybe if Veltman's ridiculous tackling rate was put to use in the middle of the pitch we would have better cover???

Most of Veltman's tackles occur away from the danger area. Unlike Tete, he seldom is able to dispossess speedy wingers. IMO, his statistics are inflated. It probably doesn't matter any more as the club have given up on extending Tete's contract and without steady play he is never going to improve his offensive game. Having Raiola as an agent also doesn't help. I don't know whether Zeefuik is ready for first team football. Ajax are deficient at both fullback positions.

The statistical plot from yesterday's match from 11 tegen 11 indicate that Utrecht were the better side

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C2x1wynXEAALvvD.jpg

[Orange14]

Veltman was an absolute tackling machine with 9 successful tackles, this man is a wall. I've always been obsessed with the importance of balancing out a three man midfield with a strong defensive midfielder. Maybe if Veltman's ridiculous tackling rate was put to use in the middle of the pitch we would have better cover???

Most of Veltman's tackles occur away from the danger area. Unlike Tete, he seldom is able to dispossess speedy wingers. IMO, his statistics are inflated. It probably doesn't matter any more as the club have given up on extending Tete's contract and without steady play he is never going to improve his offensive game. Having Raiola as an agent also doesn't help. I don't know whether Zeefuik is ready for first team football. Ajax are deficient at both fullback positions.

The statistical plot from yesterday's match from 11 tegen 11 indicate that Utrecht were the better side

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C2x1wynXEAALvvD.jpg

[Orange14]

Veltman was an absolute tackling machine with 9 successful tackles, this man is a wall. I've always been obsessed with the importance of balancing out a three man midfield with a strong defensive midfielder. Maybe if Veltman's ridiculous tackling rate was put to use in the middle of the pitch we would have better cover???

Most of Veltman's tackles occur away from the danger area. Unlike Tete, he seldom is able to dispossess speedy wingers. IMO, his statistics are inflated. It probably doesn't matter any more as the club have given up on extending Tete's contract and without steady play he is never going to improve his offensive game. Having Raiola as an agent also doesn't help. I don't know whether Zeefuik is ready for first team football. Ajax are deficient at both fullback positions.

[Ayman]

Utrecht is never easy