The Yank

Ajax

General Information
League: Dutch Premier Division
Club: Ajax
Full name: AFC Ajax
Nickname: Ajax
Ground: AmsterdamArena
Capacity: 51342 all seater with retractable roof and under-soil heating
Training Ground: Top facilities plus youth academy
Chairman: John Jaakke
Managing Director: Arie van Os

Finances
Balance: £20,000,000
Loans outstanding: N/A
Transfer Budget: £7,500,000
Wage Budget: £325,000 p/w
Current Wage: £308,604 p/w
Wages Differential: £16,396 p/w

General Impression
Ajax has a great tradition as an elite football club. Their last Dutch Premier Division win came in 2004 and they last won the European Champions Cup in 1995. Despite their successful past, Ajax's rival PSV won the Dutch Premier Division in 2005 and AZ proved themselves European contenders as they did very well during the UEFA Cup in 2005, making it all the way to the semi-finals. In FM2006, Ajax have a good starting squad, a kind board, and a good £7,500,000 to spend on transfers. Therefore, Ajax are easy contenders for the Dutch Premier title. So what should be expected of you? Well, Ajax are very capable of winning the Dutch Premier Division and advancing to latter stages of the European Champions Cup.

Playing Staff
The original 22 players in the first team at the start of the game are very young. The team has an average age of just over 24 years old. To add to the first team, Ajax 2's Hans Vonk and Giannis Anastasiou and Ajax U21's Hedwiges Maduro are capable of playing for the first team. Overall, Ajax has a strong core of players. Depth is something that Ajax lacks a bit. However, with the right signings and/or training regime, success should be right around the corner.

Ajax has three good goalkeepers. Maarten Stekelenberg, Bogdan Lobont, and Hans Vonk are all solid keepers, but Maarten Stekelenberg probably has the edge in this one. A legend in FM2005, Maarten Stekelenberg also has great potential in FM2006. He's the recommended starter in this one, with your choice of Lobont or Vonk as backup.

Ajax's defenders are solid and very young. Inexperience may become a factor in European competition, but the youth also provides for a great future and potential. A balance of experienced players, such as Hatem Trabelsi and Olaf Lindenbergh, and up and coming stars, such as Nigel de Jong, Hedwiges Maduro, Maxwell, and John Heitinga, provide for a solid defence. There shouldn't be much of a weakness in the defence.

Ajax's midfield is talented and fast, but inexperience is definately a factor. Wesley Sneijder, Nourdin Boukhari and Tomas Galasek are the leaders of the midfield, but midfield should definately be strengthened. Steven Pienaar gets the job done but other players can be bought to replace him as a starter. The left side is all set with Nourdin Boukhari starting and the future stars Nicolae Mitea and Ryan Babel as excellent replacements. Tomas Galasek is a commanding presence as a DM and Hedwiges Maduro is a good backup for that position. For attacking midfielders, Wesley Sneijder will provide consistently excellent performances and though he probably doesn't need a backup because he should never get subbed out, the backup isn't that strong. I'd recommend getting another capable AM as a great backup.

Ajax only has 3 true strikers at the start of the game (Rosenberg, Charisteas, and Manucharyan). Rosenberg and Charisteas should start up front and Babel could be a possible backup though he's not a pure striker and Manucharyan needs some time in the reserve squad to progress. Strengthening the forward line is a must. A speedy striker would work very well with the aerial capabilities of Charisteas.

Up and Coming Players
Maarten Stekelenberg - Goalkeeper
Nigel de Jong, John Heitinga, Hedwiges Maduro - Defence
Nicolae Mitea, Wesley Sneijder - Midfield
Ryan Babel - Attack

Players In
Parts of the midfield and the attack should definately be strengthened. With the £7,500,000 that Ajax has to spend, it shouldn't be too difficult to bring in great players. The right winger position should be strengthened with a pacey and skilled winger. He should have good crossing skills so that he can target Charisteas' head on crosses. A backup AM is also recommended. The attack is where you need to get creative. I'd recommend pacey strikers to play well off the aerial ability of Charisteas. The original Ajax squad is capable of competing for the Dutch Premier title, but a well-modified Ajax squad is capable of achieving great success in European competition.

Players Out
It should be no problem to earn some extra spending money to add to the team transfer budget. With the sales of players like Mauro Rosales, Edgar Manucharyan, Julien Escude, Zdenek Grygera, and some other youngsters, your transfer budget can go from £7,500,000 to somewhere around £15,000,000 if cards are dealt right.

Backroom Staff
Ajax has always had an excellent backroom staff. They offer great coaches and Ajax's youth academies are among the world's most elite. No changes need to be made to the backroom staff aside from perhaps signing more coaches to lighten work load, if your finances allow of course.

Tactics
Ajax starts the game with a fairly awkward tactic, at least awkward compared to FM's typical tactics. It's a modified 5-3-2, with a SW with a farrow, two DCs, a WBR and WBL with farrows, three MCs, and two STs. I prefer a 4-4-2 diamond (4-1-2-1-2) because it plays to Ajax's advantages and it keeps a solid defence while exploiting Wesley Sneijder in the AM slot, probably his strongest position. Ajax is known to be a very attacking team and your tactic should reflect this. Of course, whatever has worked for you in FM2006 could probably be adjusted to fit the Ajax squad.

Conclusion
Ajax has a lot of talent and shouldn't have a problem competing for the Dutch Premier title and going far in the European Champions Cup. Just for some reference, I won the league comfortably in the first season with Ajax. I also made it to the quarterfinals of the European Champions Cup. I had a successful first season and you shouldn't have too much trouble doing the same. Ajax is a very fun team to deal with, as it hosts a challenge in European competition but some fun scorelines in the domestic league.

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