Jong Ajax will be competing in Netherlands division one for the first time ever in season 15. This news was confirmed after interim manager Justin Holden led Jong Ajax to a 1-0 win in the playoff final despite the club being underdogs on paper. Jong Ajax had an average player rating of 49 while the opposition side had an average player rating in the 60+ range. Interim manager Justin Holden provided comment on the upset victory and expectations for Jong Ajax in division one.
Holden: "Not to toot my own horn, but it was a great tactical display by my club to get the upset victory over our opponents in the playoff final. I give big props to our defenders. We played a back three with heavy pressure and offsides trap and still conceded zero goals during the match. Absolute class to get promoted to division one off of a clean sheet victory.
Looking ahead to next season, the media is placing low expectations on Jong Ajax. Rightfully so. We are losing a key player to retirement and our A side will have poor average ratings compared to the A sides of other division one clubs. As I mentioned before, this is not a level playing field that we are coming in to. Some of these managers have been building up their club's facilities and cash reserves for over a year. Jong Ajax had no facilities when I first arrived on the job, which was roughly two months ago. Veteran managers have a massive advantage whether they want to admit it or not, and that advantage will only compound over newcomers as more time passes. This is why I am a big advocate of having fresh leagues added to F4F. I want managers to have an opportunity to join a league at the same time, therefore starting on a level playing field to see who the best manager really is when all the advantages of running an established club are stripped away.
Having said all that, the club's goal next season is to avoid relegation. We are hoping to be a thorn in the side of big clubs by getting some upset draws or even wins. I believe I know how we can achieve such results. We likely won't be able to play the same formations and tactics that we used in division two. We'll have to shake things up and accept that we are playing much stronger competition now.
I am no stranger to promoting clubs up to the top tier of football. Outside of F4F, I've already promoted Hoffenheim to the top tier league of Germany and West Ham to the top tier league of England. I am about to do the same for Udinese in Italy...not to mention the fact I managed USA to their first ever World Cup Final appearance. So, look out division one Netherlands managers, or you just might find yourself getting upset by the general of promoting clubs."
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