09 NOV 2023; Ajax - Brighton; Europa Group Match 4

[Orange14]

It will be interesting to see how a settled Ajax team does against Brighton this Thursday at home. There is no clear leader in the group right now and Ajax obviously need a victory to stay in contention.

[souras84]

Let's hope we don't start the same 11 again. They will definitely be tired, plus we need a proper DM and not Taylor, who continues to disappoint

[Amol]

Would actually start with Vos and maybe bring in Sosa earlier if Martha is tiring. At least against 'not great' opposition, Martha actually seemed like he was focused on defending.

Also bring on Forbs as a sub, depending on the situation.

There's something to be said about not making wholesale changes to a winning formula.

[Orange14]

Brighton have won only a single match since the end of October and that was against Ajax two weeks ago. They have taken a couple of heavy losses and drawn against sub par opposition. Maduro only had a couple of days to work with the team prior to that game. I think Van't Schip starts the same 11 on Thursday but will substitute as necessary. I think this will be a good match to see how far Ajax have come and what still needs to be addressed. It will be quite different playing in front of a sold out Arena of supporters.

[Tom_]

Even though the results have improved, there have been enough mistakes in the last two games to make me think we will concede at least a goal or two. Brighton will press again so for me it’s a question of how well Ajax does getting the ball into the attacking third.

[Orange14]

van den Boomen is out of the match selection (and probably on Sunday also) because of a knee injury. I really don't want to see Tahirovic in this game at all.

[SPL]

Just play Vos,Taylor Hlynsson in MF

[Amol]

I'm with SPL on this one - Vos, Taylor and Hlynsson in MF

[SPL]

Vos for v d Boomen and Rensch replaces Martha at LB.

2-1 to Ajax Akpom in the 93rd with a winner

[SPL]

1 solitary goal chance in 45 mins and thanks to Vos's mistake they scored.Have to say like the first game this has been 45 boring minutes of football so far.

[saddlerian]

Only thing the coach can do now is continue where Ajax left off! Final 11 showed some spirit, they wanted to win!
Can't really say anything about the players taken off..Keep the final eleven..count it as "tinkering"!!

[Orange14]

This team is just too young to compete with the teams in the group. The average age taking away Berghuis is maybe 22 if that. Ajax did play a lot better than the last match when they were just trying to get a 0-0 draw. Two mistakes and two quick goals off those mistakes was all that Brighton needed. I was happy to see every player put in 100% down to the final seconds of added time; this bodes well for the future and I think Van't Schip has them playing together in the Ajax way. They still have a huge problem in playing out from the back. Whether van den Boomen would have helped here, perhaps. Ajax are now at the bottom of the group with only two points and it's difficult to think they can continue in the Europa League after the winter break Realistically they need two victories.

Player Ratings:

Ramaj (6.5) - no way he stops either goal and other than the once corner he had to guide over the bar was not really tested
Gaaei (6) - decent enough match
Rensch (5.5) - listed at CB but it wasn't clear to me what he was really playing
Sutalo (7) - along with Hato the best Ajax players on the night
Hato (7) - solid game again
Vos (4) - no look back passes deep inside your own territory seldom work out as Vos found out; he sulked for a minute or so and then went on the play decently
Taylor (5) - not a bad half with some good pressing but sacrificed at the half for an attacker
Hlynsson (5) - rather ordinary
Berghuis (6.5) - worked hard all night dropping back to try to help bring the ball up
Brobbey (6.5) - unlucky on the shot that clanged off two posts but he really played hard all game long
Bergwijn (6) - tracked back well but that was about it
Akbom (5.5) - had a decent shot that was parried away
Forbs (5.5) - worked hard trying to get into dangerous situations but still dribbles into trouble
Sosa (5) - had a couple of crosses in the short time he was on
Tahirovic (NR) - on late for Vos
Mikataudze (NR) - on late for Rensch

Almere City on Sunday who stand one point above Ajax

[SPL]

Not a great 70 mins but after that we had 7 attackers on the field but Akpom and Mikautadze did little ,both are strikers and Brobbey is just the best one.Had his shot that hit both posts gone in we may have got a draw against a decent hard working Albion.They did not over impress me but with superior finishing got the points.

Dont think Rensch lining up as Cd but playing more in front of back 3 worked.Hato and Sutalo had good games. Shame Vos made the error . Up front Bergwijn was poor in my opinion and hope he is sold in January.

Its going to be tough avoiding 4th place.

[Tom_]

I didn’t think anyone played too badly. I wonder if what we saw is about this team’s level.

I hope some of the younger players improve over the season, otherwise it will continue to be difficult to break down defensive teams and difficult to keep clean sheets against pressing teams.

[saddlerian]

You say,
"I didn’t think anyone played too badly. I wonder if what we saw is about this team’s level."
If that is this teams 'level', then Ajax are in for a tough time as this 'level' is not even good enough for the Eredivisie, let alone Europe.
Last time Ajax encountered this was in early 2000's...a team was gradually built, with most staying for a time to develop themselves.
It's no good being a 'selling' club if the development of players is only partial and influenced by big money!
If Ajax think they have talent, contracts should be given and honoured..players seem to have too much power nowadays...and they think that they are club legends...like Mr Taylor!!!

[Tom_]

Exactly, it’s *not* good enough, and I also agree with SPL that 4th would be a decent outcome based on what we’ve seen of the current players. I’m not sure Ajax have a better squad than AZ at the moment.

[Orange14]

Exactly, it’s *not* good enough, and I also agree with SPL that 4th would be a decent outcome based on what we’ve seen of the current players. I’m not sure Ajax have a better squad than AZ at the moment.

I've been watching AZ and they have a bunch of flaws. They were cruelly exposed in the final 25 minutes on Thursday by Aston Villa in a must win game for them. It looks like they are going to be eliminated from the Conference League barring a miracle. It might be that both AZ and Ajax don't have Thursday Night Football to worry about next year which would allow both teams to focus on the Eredivisie. I expect both Feyenoord and PSV to still be playing though each one potentially could drop down to the Europa League depending on the final two matches.