Ajaxtalk

Penultimate match of the Eredivisie season coming up this season. It will be our current captain, Niklas Moisander, last match before he heads off to Italy this summer. I wonder how many other players will be seeing their last action in the Arena? It's been a lackluster season and the team is definitely in need of some new players and better tactics.

On a personal note, it's been fun talking with everyone this season. I won't be joining you for the season finale as my wife and I will be in Paris on holiday that Sunday (maybe I will run into Zlatan and van der Wiel!!!). I'll post my thoughts on the season when we return.

Have a great time, couldn't you have persuaded your wife to go to Amsterdam first,you could have watched this game!

Well this is going to be the first game of the season I wont see. I am off to cricket ,if the weather is ok, but Sky are not showing any Dutch football either this weekend or the last weekend. I quess with the title decided they are not bothering,they still have another 3 years agreement to show Dutch footy. They have shown all bar 3 Ajax games live and even those 3 they showed severals times in full later so no complaints. I will be around to watch Dordrecht on a stream.

Hope for a decent home finish and score some goals this game.

SPL schreef:Have a great time, couldn't you have persuaded your wife to go to Amsterdam first,you could have watched this game!

She agreed last August to a trip to Berlin to watch Ajax play in the CL finals on the 20th anniversary of our last triumph. Alas, that didn't happen.

I'm going to be riding my bike in Catalunya so I'm skipping it too. Enjoy Paris or the cricket as the case may be or enjoy the game if anyone decides to watch it!

Meant to say enjoy yourself Tom.

No Milik or Boilesen tomorrow or Klaassen of course but Sinkgraven is back.

Feels odd first and likely only game of the season I am not watching.Hope some of you watch and we get a good win.

I suspect with all of his injury issues that Boilesen extends his contract with Ajax. Can't see a lot of teams lining up for a player who is fit only 50% of the time.

I did read the other day Boilesen is to talk to Ajax,assume he will extend and stay.

Maybe I'm the only watching this horribly slow match. Looks like nobody really wants to be playing in this match. Some decent defending from the back four but that's about it. Fischer still looks quite tentative and I wonder if he's still worried about his hamstring; really doesn't show any explosive speed. el Ghazi continues to work very hard and Sinkgraven and Bazoer are OK in the midfield. Serero continues to show why his position is in jeopardy for next season.

Unfortunately I'm watching this sad excuse for a game. The team is stuck in 2nd gear - but who can blame them? The season's over anyway.

Well, I sm, indeed, watching this one (anyone else?) Halftime, and it has been one of our typical second half of the season games -- pretty much outplayed by a team that is supposedly less talented than we think we are. Their attackers are running at our defense, making overlapping runs down the wings, putting dangerous crosses into the box, and have looked the more dangerous overall. We did have a couple of moments, but it was a case of bits and pieces here and there. No sustained momentum. Maybe the second half will turn out better, time will tell.

Second half started much better -- had more of the ball, and began attacking in waves, resulting in a very nice goal on good play down the left wing and a Kishna cross low in the box for Fischer to tap home. Well worked goal!

and then they start playing....

Fischer scores 2 in 5 minutes!!

Another attack down the left -- ball comes to Fischer -- takes it in on the left side of the box -- puts it across the keeper and into the net. 2 - 0 !!

Beautiful free kick from Schone standing a couple of meters outside and to the left of the top left hand corner of the box sails into the upper right hand corner of the goal. 3-0

Better second half and three nice goals plus a clean sheet; though in fact Cillessen's goal was never really threatened. Home season is now over and the team will be looking forward to CL qualifying that will begin in late July. Thus, the vacations of the players will be shortened as they will be brought back to training on the early side.

Player Ratings:

Cillessen (6.5) - had very little to do other than distribute the ball
Viergever (7.5) - honestly felt he had one of the best games of anyone on the pitch, defended well and moved up the field as appropriate
Mosander (7) - no mistakes from our captain who now moves on to his next adventure in Italy
Veltman (7) - solid match in the middle
Tete (7) - very good defensively stopping several breaks down his side, still don't know what he can do going forward as he was upfield a lot but with little result
Serero (5) - poorest of all the starters
Bazoer (6.5) - half point off from being on the ball a shade too long which is my only criticism of this season; more experience will improve this aspect of his game
Sinkgraven (6.5) - very good on the ball and great field awareness
Kishna (7) - good sharp cross that Fischer put away and was pretty solid the remainder of the match
Fischer (7) - excellent opportunities to score that did not go to waste, glad to see him on the scoreboard; will be be a choice at striker next season or move out on the wing?
el Ghazi (6.5) - half point off for thinking he is too much like Leo Messi and can take anyone on but otherwise very nice match
Schöne (7) - great free kick and another sharp shot on goal that was nicely saved by the Cambuur keeper
Sigthorrsson (5.5) - had a couple of nice touches but that was it
Andersen (6) - on late and a couple of nice passes for his effort

We are off to Paris this coming Friday so I'll miss the final match of the season. Glad to see a lot of young players given the opportunity to show what they can do this year. I hope the Kishna situation can be worked out as he can be a very good player for us.

Might have known we would have scored some goals when I miss a game.Read the match reports and clearly another poor 1st half but great to see Fischer scored 2 goals.Sky show 5 mins highlights of all the games so will just watch that tomorrow.

Moisander and Siggy should be joined by Serero in leaving.I don't see him getting a starting role with Gudelj and Klaassen also available and v d Beek hopefully in the squad.

Would like to see v d Beek play next week.

At least the fans in the Arena finished the season with some goals.

Schöne still alive and well ...

Somebody must keep statistics on goals from free kicks. I know that Messi is pretty deadly but Schöne has been just excellent. Even his misses are very close to the mark. Wonder how he stacks up against others in Europe.

A lovely touch by the club for all the players to walk out with their mothers, except for Serero and Zivkovic.Evidently Mrs Zivkovic was late! Clearly timekeeping is a family problem.