Syd is not dead...

Sorry i havent been posting recently (if anyone actually reads this blog), I'm getting married this weekend and just have not had time to 1) watch Ajax or 2) write about Ajax.

I'll be rested and ready and back in action in a few weeks though!

Hup Ajax!

Ajax to face Hamburg, Villa

Ok, so I'm going to pull a Sarah Palin here and choose not to comment on the Heerenveen match, but rather I'd like to talk about the UEFA Cup. The cup draw was this morning and Ajax have been placed in Group F along with Hamburg, Slavia Prague, Aston Villa and Slovakian side MSK Zilina. All in all, its a tougher draw for Ajax than at first glance, Hamburg was one of less intimidating Pot 1 teams that Ajax could have been grouped with, but a quick glace at the Bundesliga table shows them sitting on top. Aston Villa, also not exactly an intimidating English side, but they currently sit in fifth place, level on points with Arsenal. And then there is our old nemesis Slavia Prague, and the mystery team MSK Zilina. Its tough to say how I feel about this draw, I think if Ajax had performed a little better last weekend and could show a little more consistency I'd feel more confident, but confidence is hard to find these days for Ajax fans. The injury bug has started to hit the team pretty hard, Marco is fuming mad about the way his team is playing, and there are some big games coming up that Ajax has to find a way to win. Next up, a #1 vs #10 Eredivisie match up on Saturday...unfortunately Groningen is in first and Ajax is tenth.

Now its down to 40

Ajax' convincing 2-0 win over an extremely lame FK Borac yesterday has propelled them into the final 40 (yes 40) teams in the UEFA Cup group stage. This match was never really in doubt as Ajax completely dominated possession and shots on goal, although it took an absolute cracker from Jeffery Sarpong in the 71st minute to open the scoring. A 6-0 scoreline would have been more representative of this match, which once again highlights the finishing issues this team seems to have. I wouldn't chalk up that many missed opportunities from this match to the Borac keeper, we just simply couldn't put it in the net. There was plenty of reason to be optimistic though, Ajax played well, there were no major injuries (although there is some bad news out today about Steks), and Ajax can now wait to see who they are paired with when the groups are announced on Tuesday. Ajax has been placed in a seeding pot (and therefore will not be grouped with) the following teams : Stuttgart, Olympiacos, Deportivo, Club Brugge, Spartak Moskva, PSG, and Heerenveen. Of course, big names still lurk out there, teams like Milan, Sevilla, Valencia, and Schalke could all be possible group mates.
Next up, a tough match at Heerenveen on Sunday. Hopefully I'll get a chance to see this one...

Watch Feyenoord, Ajax UEFA Cup here

Convincing 3 - 0 win over Vitesse

Ok, so I'm hoping that my credibility won't totally be in shambles after writing this, but once again I did not get to see the match this weekend. To be fair, I am getting married in exactly 30 days, so I'm kinda up to my neck in wedding planning on the weekends. Jan has a good match report here. Next up, hopefully a quick and injury free home UEFA win over Borac on Thursday. Further ahead, tough Eredivisie matches at Heerenveen on Sunday and then at home to current top of the table Groningen.