Good to see the Feyenoord player getting punished for sidelining Wijndal for 3 months. You would probably have preferred the availability of the player rather than this sending-off, but at least that could give you just a sense of justice. And a nice derby win too, away from home.
The first European defeat was unfortunate though. Especially having lead the game during the second half. You may still need at least one more win from the remaining three games.
Initially manager Daniel Marzec thought of granting some playing time for some outside the starting eleven during the Dutch cup game against PEC Zwolle, but eventually the Ajax-boss decided to field a near complete B-team in the league game against the lowly ranked RKC (17th) too.
The risk paid off, albeit with some blood, sweat and tears. PEC Zwolle didn't come to Amsterdam to be pushed over and gave Ajax second pick an equal fight. An easily given penalty (striker Weghorst lost his balance) was converted by 'substitute' captain Davy Klaassen. That was enough to advance to the quarter finals, where Ajax and Willem II will go on repeat: last year's legendary final ended in 10:0 (!!!) for Ajax. If this upcoming fixture will be just as easy for Ajax is doubtful: Willem II are in much better form this season, with the Tilburg side currently in 5th in the Eredivisie.
Where Ajax barely survived the round, bigger upsets happened elsewhere with Eredivisie bottom team Fortuna eliminating reigning league champions PSV (2:1). The Rotterdam-derby between Sparta and Feyenoord went to penalties (3:3) where Sparta proved to be better than their city rivals (4-2p). Sparta will face Twente in the quarter finals.
Several days later, Ajax noted a regular 2:1 home win over RKC with a brace for veteran striker Wout Weghorst. Both games were notable for Ajax playing in a 4-3-3 attack formation with a Classic #10, similar to the formation once pioneered by Rinus Michels, Johan Cruijff and Louis van Gaal in the 20th century.
Three different tournaments, but 1-goal wins in all of them. Well done by Marzec to rotate and set up the team for these challenges. Unfortunate to lose two more to 3 months absences. Especially with two players out in the same position. Turning to the academy to solve this situation is pretty much the Ajax way though. Interesting to see how these young players will adapt. Are they ready for the challenge ahead? Or will they be thrust into action a bit too soon, perhaps suffering abuse from a tough home crowd like Gaeei did for a while? It will be interesting to follow.
With 9 points in the Europa League you could already have enough to advance, considering the 9 points threshold in my own save. So one more point should be enogh for you to advance. And why not aim for more with only 2 points up to Osasuna. You should get at least a draw from Union SG, perhaps even all 3 as well. And you should beat Lech Poznan, having only won 3 points so far. Only the two Danish teams are worse... 😞
@JustinCase0110 wrote:Interesting to see how these young players will adapt. Are they ready for the challenge ahead? Or will they be thrust into action a bit too soon, perhaps suffering abuse from a tough home crowd like Gaeei did for a while? It will be interesting to follow.
Gaaei bore the brunt because he wasn't a home grown youth-player. Instead, he was one of these disliked Mislintat-players I referred to earlier in the story. And in fairness, he did play like a wet biscuit for much of the first part of last season. But credit's due where it should: the boy has character and is slowly working his way up the hierarchy. Some key crosses/assists and long distance shots are slowly turning him into a public's fav.
@JustinCase0110 wrote: With 9 points in the Europa League you could already have enough to advance, considering the 9 points threshold in my own save.
Correct: the goal is to end at 15 points and last season that would've been enough for (at least) 7th. The only thing that can stop me is a Scottish Team 😉
Brobbey is destroying the Eredivise. 24 goals scored after 17 league games? That's monstrous. 2nd on the top scorer list has 12, that's brutal man... With January coming up he could be difficult to hold. And even if you do, he may be in very high regard in the summer among many top clubs across Europe.
@JustinCase0110 Right there with ya!
I want to take my team in development into the Champions League. I want to keep the younger home grown ones in this bunch together as much as I can (maybe only dropping older players, or those bought before under Alfred Schreuder (2022) and Sven Mislintat (2023).
And in the end, a 20k salary is laughable for any team in the bigger leagues, but I did manage to extend and upgrade with three key players (without any release clauses anymore)
@JustinCase0110 @thomashunter2199 @CO88LER5 @LABoog4 @thurlow885
What would you do?
It's early January 2026. We have recently extended a deal, gentlemen's agreement to stick together until summer 2027 and just a few days later, Barcelona comes in and makes a bid...
02 JAN 2026 | The ink probably hasn't dried on the newly signed deal between Ajax and Brian Brobbey, but folks at Barcelona weren't impressed. Blaugrana has reportedly made Ajax an offer worth €65,000,000,-
This undoubtebly will trigger a discussion within the ranks of the Amsterdam team: Ajax will try and keep Brobbey to his new deal and to the gentlemen's agreement that at least half of that deal (summer 2027) is honored. On the other side, there are people who'll argue it would be unreasonable of Ajax to deny Brobbey this transfer, to this club, for this amount of money.
TELESPORT-reporter Dries Valentijn argues that if Ajax manages to make Brian Brobbey their new record outgoing transfer, the Amsterdam club ought to go for the money. 'It would solve their financial worries instantly and out of the three players Ajax has extended contracts with, I'd say Brobbey is the most valuable but the least crucial: Ajax can find a prolific easy goalscorer anywhere, but it rarely happens Ajax can sell for these amounts of money.'
@Danimal5981 wrote:@JustinCase0110 @thomashunter2199 @CO88LER5 @LABoog4 @thurlow885
What would you do?
It's early January 2026. We have recently extended a deal, gentlemen's agreement to stick together until summer 2027 and just a few days later, Barcelona comes in and makes a bid...
02 JAN 2026 | The ink probably hasn't dried on the newly signed deal between Ajax and Brian Brobbey, but folks at Barcelona weren't impressed. Blaugrana has reportedly made Ajax an offer worth €65,000,000,-
This undoubtebly will trigger a discussion within the ranks of the Amsterdam team: Ajax will try and keep Brobbey to his new deal and to the gentlemen's agreement that at least half of that deal (summer 2027) is honored. On the other side, there are people who'll argue it would be unreasonable of Ajax to deny Brobbey this transfer, to this club, for this amount of money.
TELESPORT-reporter Dries Valentijn argues that if Ajax manages to make Brian Brobbey their new record outgoing transfer, the Amsterdam club ought to go for the money. 'It would solve their financial worries instantly and out of the three players Ajax has extended contracts with, I'd say Brobbey is the most valuable but the least crucial: Ajax can find a prolific easy goalscorer anywhere, but it rarely happens Ajax can sell for these amounts of money.'
I think because its Barca it makes sense. They have a history of Ajax players. They also need to replace Lewa. if they choose to do that this window and Brobbey doesnt leave he may never get to play for them again. Might be worth checking if Frenkie is still at the club as that would be a larger pull. £75-£85 I feel would be fair. That said you would have to make sure you line up an adequete replacement prior so to protect the club itself. Might be worth looking into some younger talent for a short term loan till the end of the season. Or maybe some older talent like Weghorst....
Ajax seems to drive a hard bargain. The Amsterdam team wishes € 100,000,000,- plus a 10-15% sell-on rate. FC Barcelona has suspended negotiations.
In general, Ajax does not wish to release anybody. With games against Heracles Almelo, Union Saint-Gilloise, PSV Eindhoven and Lech Poznan around the corner, Ajax has only permitted Krystian Hlynsson (21, AM) to make a move to EFL Championship side Ipswich Town, against a fee of € 5,200,000,-
@Danimal5981 wrote:What would you do?
It's early January 2026. We have recently extended a deal, gentlemen's agreement to stick together until summer 2027 and just a few days later, Barcelona comes in and makes a bid...
What would I do? I find that question a difficult one to answer. When playing CM I always have a preference for young and homegrown players. So Brobbey would definitely be one I would want to build my team around, if I was in your shoes. However, players can also outgrow a team - or a league such as the Eredivisie - and one can argue that this striker is getting too good to play against Waalwijk and Go Ahead Eagles.
I like the idea of requesting a certain fee before letting him leave. €100m seems fair in that regard. So I would probably keep him around, until my demands are met by a buying club. Take it or leave it. And it looks like that's the approach you have taken too.
A very mixed opening of the year 2026: a hattrick by Brian Brobbey was needed to claim a win against Heracles Almelo.
@JustinCase0110 wrote: I would probably keep him around, until my demands are met by a buying club. Take it or leave it. And it looks like that's the approach you have taken too.
Indeed. I'm following the same approach. I'm trying to keep my group intact for now and continue to build by either incorporating, or developing youngsters through a loan spell at a different club
A win that was much closer than it should have been. Another hattrick for Brobbey, who is unstoppable right now. Are we looking at a new record for most goals scored in a season by a player in the Eredivisie?
@JustinCase0110 wrote:A win that was much closer than it should have been. Another hattrick for Brobbey, who is unstoppable right now. Are we looking at a new record for most goals scored in a season by a player in the Eredivisie?
A Brief History
After Pim Mulier was introduced to the sport in 1879 while visiting England, he founded the first ever football club in the Netherlands in his home city of Haarlem, the Haarlemsche Football Club (HFC).
This was 14 years after the first ever football game played on Dutch soil, when in 1865 a game took place between a team of British workers from an Enschede textile factory and a British economic delegation from The Hague.
The Dutch national football championship exists since 1888. The first ever champion in 1889 was VV Concordia from Rotterdam. Clubs played in four, five, or six local regions and the champions of each region would play a national championship round at the end of the regular season. The aforementioned HFC would win it three times (1890, 1893, 1895).
Before the First World War, big teams included HVV The Hague (10 titles), RAP Amsterdam (5 titles) and Sparta Rotterdam (5 titles), the oldest club (1888) to have survived up until today's top flight professional football. Other 19th century teams still active in today's professional football are Vitesse (1892) and Willem II (1896).
Going forward, we slowly see the emergence of the teams we know today. Until the introduction of the Eredivisie, it was Ajax founded in 1900 taking most titles (7 titles, their first in 1918), followed by Feyenoord from 1908 (5 titles, first championship in 1924), then Go Ahead Eagles (1902, 4 wins), PSV (1913, 3 wins) and Willem II (3 wins). Football was allowed to become professional in 1954 and a single national top flight league known as Eredivisie was introduced in 1956.
In the first ever full-professional season of the Eredivisie (1956-57), PSV-player Coen Dillen wrote history by scoring the most goals in one season by a single player (43 goals). This record still stands to this day. His team however, didn’t win the championship, it was Ajax who became the Eredivisie’s first champions in 1957.
In total, Ajax has managed to win the national title 36 times, while PSV falls in second with 25 and Feyenoord comes in third with a total of 16 championships. These three teams would dominate the Dutch football competition for years and are known as the ‘traditional top three’. In fact ever since the introduction of the Eredivisie, AZ Alkmaar is the only team outside these three to have won more than once (1981, 2009). Other winners are DOS Utrecht (1958), Sparta Rotterdam (1959), DWS Amsterdam (1964) and FC Twente (2010).
Nice! 43 goals then. I would like to see Brobbey try!
A late goal in Brussels by Belgian side Royale Union Saint-Gilloise cancelled all hopes for Ajax on a top 8 end ranking, thus direct qualifcation for the Europa League, Round of 16.
The disappointing draw however, does appear enough to advance into the preliminary round of 16 as chances to fall outside the best 24 have been reduced to merely theoretical. Only a four goal defeat against Lech Poznan could bring extension of the European adventure in jeopardy.
@CO88LER5 wrote:
@Danimal5981
Depends on whether you need to upgrade elsewhere and what's available.
If you can get a decent amount of money for him, what players might be available elsewhere that fit your needs?
Also, does he pester you a lot if you leave him out from a match? I get fed up with being pestered sometimes and just offload the player.
I'd certainly want more than 65 million...
@CO88LER5 There's plenty out there, but not many who'd like to play under the financial restrictions that I impose on my team.
Thus, in that case, keep what I have and develop youth to see if someone pops up there that in time might be even better.
He did make comments in the first season when I rotated between Akpom, Weghorst and himself, but that's no issue this season as Akpom is out on loan, Weghorst has dropped (OVR -2) and is nearing retirement, so he's the only viable option as striker and he's delivering.
The game calculated that I could go for an amount between 90 and 116 million. So, I set my asking price for 100 million plus a 15% sell-on rate, which I'm willing to lower to 10%. As things are now, he'll finish the season at Ajax
Looked like quite an even game but you did edge it by .9 xg.
Brobbey has so many goals this season. What are his assists looking like?
@thomashunter2199 wrote:Brobbey has so many goals this season. What are his assists looking like?
Assists come mostly from rapid left winger Arnaut Danjuma (12) and central attacking midfielder Kenneth Taylor (11), who in real life also happens to be the best of buddies with Brian Brobbey - so, in the story as in real life: either both stay, or it'll fall apart (they're also two from three most valuable players).
However, for a second time on the trot, a late comeback by an opponent costs us a win; in 4 league games across two seasons, it's 4 defeats against PSV...
There was nothing to gain for Lech Poznan, while Ajax couldn't reach the top 8 anymore with a highly unlikely possibility they'd drop below 24th place. The only thing at stake was a win and some coefficient points.
It was reflected in the game: Ajax-manager Daniel Marzec did not field his finest players and after 90 inspirationless minutes it ended 0:0. The third match in succession that Ajax did not manage to win. The Amsterdam side ends the league phase in 15th after 2 wins, 5 draws, 1 loss and 11 points. In the preliminary round of 16 (played on 12 & 19 February 2026) the opponent will be Viktoria Plzen from Czechia.
From the top countries, Spain is performing surprisingly poor. No Spanish team managed a top 8 position in the UEFA Champions League, with Athletic Bilbao not even making it to the preliminaries. On the other side, England and Germany still have all of their seven teams each in contention.
Netherlands has seemed to have succeeded in holding off Portugal, but by focussing to much on the Iberian country, they dropped attention towards Türkiye who's outperforming the Low Countries and are on the verge of surpassing them in the upcoming season when the ponts of the 2021/22 season aren't valid any longer.
Juventus are having their best European campaign in years and are crawling back near Europe's top 20. Ajax on the other hand are about to fall out of the top 40, with points from their flawless group stage run in the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League about to fall away.
Weak start to 2026: that's the third time this year, that a late goal ruins our result and a fourth no-win in succession... A bit like last season, where a weaker January/February period wrecked our chances in both Eredivisie and Europa League. Winning the Cup was a reconciliation price.
Some expected another rout when Ajax and Willem II drew each other in the quarter finals of the Dutch Cup: KNVB Beker. But Ajax-manager Daniel Marzec fielded a complete B-team. 'We play them again in three days time; then it's for the league - after that it's time for Europa League. The schedule is demanding, we need to manage the energy expenditure of the players.'
Ajax opened the score quickly. Willem II did not have the quality to concern Ajax, while the home team focussed on field play and excecution rather than goals. A dull, very formal 1-0 win. "It is the first win in five games, isn't that important enough!? And for the first time in ages a clean sheet and no issues whatsoever for our defenders. I am actually very satisfied with today's display.'
After the game, there was some first team news: Owen Wijndal has rejoined training after a three month absense due to injury. Meanwhile, a first transfer for the 2026 summer window has already been concluded: Academy almun 18 year old midfielder Christiaan Peters will make a move to English side West Ham United for a transfer fee of € 5,000,000,-. In the winter of 2025, Peters was the first player to move from the youth team to the main squad under the spell of current manager Daniel Marzec. In 20 appearances until now, the midfielder with two good feet made one goal.
