Latest news with #Ajax
Daily Record
5 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
I know Celtic's transfer market strategy but it leaves Brendan Rodgers in the pressure pot again
Brendan Rodgers could not have been any clearer about the impressive impact last summer's pre-season work had on the way Celtic stylishly set about their business. Fast forward 12 months and I'd say it's even-more important this time around. Which is why I can understand some edginess that has been creeping into supporters as time ticks past with noise on the signing front remaining relatively quiet. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure it's at full volume in the background as Rodgers' recruitment team set about delivering the quality he wants. Benjamin Nygren's sealed deal says as much. A positive sign. I feel like I say this every year, but there really is no time to waste. Especially not this time with the sceptre of the Champions League qualifiers being back. Those games are enough to make you feel a bit queasy. I know, I've been there and I've been on the wrong end of them. It's not fun. As much as putting Ajax out for the first time was an incredible high, losing out to FC Basel was a kick in the guts, even if it did send us into the UEFA Cup and on a run to a final. Celtic didn't just hit the ground running last season. They absolutely sprinted into top gear from the first whistle. Granted, the signings weren't all in place by that time either with the likes of Adam Idah and Arne Engels arriving after the campaign was underway, but the work done in the build-up weeks was absolutely vital. That's not just me saying that, that's coming from the manager himself. Rodgers told us in no uncertain terms that the patterns of play used in the United States in games against the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City were priceless when it came to going into the league phase of the Champions League. The way Nicolas Kuhn 's role was defined and perfected to ensure he began the season like an express train and barely stopped until running out of gas a bit near the end. Celtic won 16 of their first 18 Premiership matches and put the title to bed during that run, It was job done and Rodgers is going to want the same again. For that to happen in the way he plans, I'd be sure he wants many of the men he is going to be relying upon to be in the camp when they make their trips to Portugal and Italy. Look, again, I'm not daft. I understand how the market works. I'm fully aware that Celtic will have targets who, at this stage, might not be unavailable due to their own clubs not having made up their mind, or that agents are playing a waiting game and trying to smoke out the best deals, waiting to see if they can generate as much interest as possible for their client. Unless Celtic are going to start paying silly money, I'd imagine they may have to wait, perhaps even until the end of the window, for some of the key targets. But it still feels a little lacking to me at this precise point of proceedings and, at the very least, Rodgers will surely want the majority in his squad for the start of the domestic season. Having the unit functioning smoothly and working in tandem is vital. There are competitive domestic games before the qualifiers, but Rodgers has been in this movie before and he is going to want to be as tooled up as possible for when they come around. Yes staying top of the pile in the Scotland is the key. That's the bread and butter and it always has to be the priority. But I stood five yards from Rodgers on the pitch at Tannadice on the day Celtic clinched the title and you could not hide the excitement he had about the prospect of going back into the Champions League next season and kicking on from last term's efforts. Celtic got their pride back. It's what the manager wanted and now it's about building. But you can't do that if you aren't in it. Rodgers doesn't need me to tell him what it's like to have to deal with these qualifiers without a full deck of cards. He's been there. When he walked in the door the first time, the juggling act and scrambling to make it to the group-phase through the final qualifiers against Astana and Hapoel Be'er Sheva having lost a first-leg tie to Lincoln Red Imps shredded the nerves. Kolo Toure parachuted into the squad in the midst of it. Same the following year. Battling to get through, having to play Tom Rogic basically up front. Eventually, it caught up with Celtic when AEK Athens put them out in Rodgers' last attempt before he left. Now returned, he's back in that pressure pot and, at this stage, there looks like there's plenty to be done. Kieran Tierney has signed, but who is the back up with Greg Taylor leaving? Nygren now in with Ross Doohan, yet the new striker that was wanted in January when Kyogo left will still be wanted. Other areas of the side to be addressed. It seems there is much to do and there's too much going on the line for Celtic not to try and get as much of it done as soon as possible. Rodgers and his team are heading into that pre-season campaign shortly. For it to have the same maximum effect as it had a year ago, having some more of the targeted new faces on the pre-season flights wouldn't go amiss.
CTV News
16 hours ago
- CTV News
Police make arrest in deadly shooting outside Ajax GO Station
Police tape is shown at the scene of a homicide investigation in Ajax on June 23, 2025. Police have made an arrest in connection with a deadly shooting outside Ajax GO Station last weekend. The victim, 28-year-old Isaiah Little, was found with multiple gunshot wounds outside the station at around 11:30 p.m. on June 22. Police, however, have said that the shooting likely happened sometime between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. In a news release, Durham police confirmed that a suspect was taken into custody on Thursday in connection with the homicide. Clifford Matthew Barras, 33, of Ajax, has been charged with one count of second-degree murder. Police continue to investigate and are urging anyone with information to come forward.
CBC
17 hours ago
- CBC
Man charged with 2nd-degree murder after shooting at Ajax GO station
Social Sharing A man has been charged with second-degree murder after a shooting at the Ajax GO station on Sunday. Officers arrived at the station parking lot around 11:30 p.m. to assist paramedics, Durham police said in a news release Friday. When they arrived, they found an unconscious man suffering from gunshot wounds. He was taken to a trauma centre where he was pronounced dead. Police previously identified the victim as Isaiah Little, 28, from Ajax. The shooting was the fourth homicide in Durham Region this year, police said. The accused, 33, who is from Ajax, was arrested and charged on Thursday, the news release said. He was held for a bail hearing. Anyone with information is asked to contact police.
CTV News
a day ago
- CTV News
Ontario police warn of increase in driveway paving and roofing scams
Huge pile of asphalt left by workers at the end of Paulet Blenman's driveway in Ajax. (CTV News) The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) has issued a warning following an increase in driveway paving and roofing scams they say are happening across the province. According to the OPP, some contractors are going door-to-door using fake names, promising great deals and demanding cash, but doing poor quality work and leaving messes behind. 'All the information is not correct, they don't answer the phone, there is no way you can leave a message. You can't send an email, you can't contact them,' Paulet Blenman of Ajax, Ont. told CTV News Toronto last week. Blenman had her driveway paved a month ago and said the contractors who offered the services came knocking on the door, and once they completed the work, she said they left her driveway lumpy and uneven with ants already burrowing in it. She ended up paying $6,000 to have it repaved. In Luigi Raffaele's case, he told CTV News someone also knocked on his door in East York. That contractor said he would do a sealing job as well as some additional work, but once Raffaele paid $3,900 upfront, he said the contractor never came back. 'I feel cheated and that's not nice.' On Tuesday, OPP issued a warning stating contractors are going door-to-door pressuring homeowners into paving driveways, repairing roofs and other home renovations. 'They may seem professional, with flyers and websites, but often they are using fake names and false IDs,' said Sgt. Joe Brisebois, coordinator of media services with the OPP. 'They will ask for cash upfront and in the end, they will leave behind a poor quality job and you will never hear from them again,' Brisebois added. To avoid falling victim to these scams, the OPP is urging the public to beware of unsolicited door-to-door sales, not to feel pressured into having work done, researching companies carefully, getting multiple quotes and to not pay in advance. Police also said if you're not careful, you could be the one picking up the pieces of a botched paving job. But, if you do agree to have your driveway paved or your roof repaired and the contractor does a poor job, it doesn't mean the police will get involved and lay charges. Once someone is hired, it becomes a civil matter and you would have to take them to court.
New York Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Everton Women set to sign Rosa van Gool and Hikaru Kitagawa
Everton Women are set to sign Netherlands midfielder Rosa van Gool following the expiration of her contract with Ajax at the end of June. Everton are also expected to sign Japan defender Hikaru Kitagawa from BK Hacken. Kitagawa has six months remaining on her contract with the Swedish side. Kitagawa, 28, was part of Japan's Olympic squad last summer and was also part of the Japan team that won February's invitational SheBelieves Cup in the United States. Van Gool and Kitagawa are expected to be the first of many international signings this summer at Everton under new ownership, The Friedkin Group, who confirmed in May that Goodison Park will be the new home of the women's team. Van Gool, 21, has been part of Ajax's senior set up since 2022, aged 18, after rising through the youth ranks. She signed a two-year deal with Ajax in May 2023. The contract expires at the end of this month. Highly thought of within the national team ranks, Van Gool was part of the Under-20s side that reached the 2022 under-20s World Cup semi-finals in Croatia. Advertisement Van Gool, who was part of the Ajax squad at the World Sevens this summer, recorded the most minutes of any Ajax player in the 2023-24 season, helping Ajax become the first Dutch team to reach the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League following victories over Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Roma in the group stages. Operating mostly in a deeper position in Ajax's central midfield, Van Gool has been praised for her composure and vision on the ball as well as her tenacity off it. At Everton, Van Gool, who began her career as an attacking midfielder, is expected to play further forward in a more creative role. The club has confirmed the departures of 33-year-old midfielder Justine Vanhaevermaet and 25-year-old defender Heather Payne when their contracts expire at the end of the month, while Denmark full-back Sara Holmgaard has joined Real Madrid.
