summerof69

This regime MUST pay for this

Who scored for Benfica ?

Just in the middle of reading this report about de boer and his philosophy http://afootballreport.com/post/22661498743/frank-de-boers-vision-the-whole-is-greater-than-the Jim Collins, in “Good to Great”, wrote the secret of long-term corporate success lies in cultivating a distinctive set of values. For all the talk of diversity and globalisation, this usually means promoting from within and putting down deep local roots. Boris Groysberg, Harvard Business School, affirms companies are too obsessed with hiring stars rather than developing teams. Both theorists have an ally in Frank de Boer. The difference is that he’s not concerned with Wall Street but the future of AFC Ajax. In essence the former left-back’s vision, to make the Dutch giants top of the food chain again, is the one perpetuated by Johan Cruyff, who championed De Boer to succeed Martin Jol. The legendary number 14 distinctive management model has been proven a success at FC Barcelona. De Boer is hopeful Ajax can enjoy similar riches. “Whether his vision can lead to a utopia in these times remains to be seen.” After months of upheaval, the Amsterdam club are now restructuring around Cruyff’s philosophy with him in a new role overseeing the transition. Despite his departure from the board he still pulls the strings. With a historic back-to-back Eredivisie won, all eyes focus on the next phase: making an impact in Europe. Europe is once again the final frontier. A club rich in tradition, decorated with success on the continent, knows the reality is different from years gone by. To once again conquer they will require luck and in the words of De Boer, “sheer belief”. As well as accelerating the individual development of his players. Their ‘daring’ brand of possession-based football, reminiscent of the period between 1986 and 1997 should hold them in good stead. But they will need to be braver, compact as well as clinical. It might not get them far but it’s a start. A presence in the latter stages of European competition is the first objective of a long-term goal. In order to fulfill such an ambition De Boer has gone back to the future. But what is his and Cruyff’s outlook? The opposite to how Ajax has been run in the past 15 years. Reaching successive European Cup finals in the mid 90s hid a reality. The Dutch club were at a zenith, enjoying their most successful period since the early 70s, but behind the scenes the future wasn’t being safeguarded. Louis Van Gaal, De Boer’s managerial role model, removed the ‘Michels model’. Individual based training at all levels. In the short-term it wasn’t seen as a big deal, but the subsequent Bosman ruling and rapid globalisation of the game would make the decision a heinous one. Ajax was forced into a slumber they’ve yet to recover from. They might never. But the first steps have been taken by De Boer to rectify things. This only added more fuel to the fire of the feud between Van Gaal and Cruyff. One that is personal as well as philosophical. Van Gaal wrote in his autobiography of the genesis: “On December 26, 1989, I was a guest at Cruyff’s home with his family for Christmas. The phone rang and I got the news that my sister had died. I immediately left, but I later found out that Johan Cruyff and his family were upset because I left in a rush without thanking him for the invitation.” He would later refute such accusation: “If Van Gaal wrote that, it means he does not remember anything. He must have Alzheimer. Personally, I have no problems with him.” Personal animosity aside, when it comes to football, their clashes boil down to collective versus individual. “Of course, Louis van Gaal has an understanding of football,” Cruyff said. “But we both have a clear difference in approach.” A good example is when it comes to development of players and running the youth program. Van Gaal, as well as Co Adriaanse, is credited with allowing the deterioration of Ajax’s academy in the mid 90s. As a coach his approach is on the side of the collective, also applies to how he develops players, often militaristic it’s ultimately geared towards winning. “I do not think he can make Ajax a top club again,” Cruyff stressed. “He will get results short-term, but things have to change in order to improve Ajax.” Cruyff, believes in the individual, under Van Gaal’s watch there was a shift away from the traditional approach – often referred to as the ‘Michels model’ – effectively the importance of individual training which Cruyff is an ardent supporter. The belief in this is during critical stages of a match, instead of relying on others, the player would solve the predicament himself – for example, running towards goal, he would know whether to shot or make a pass – character building is as much as important as skill development, talent is one thing but with a football brain things become more advantageous. Also, every player is unique, no two are the same. In terms of ability and talent, each individuals’ strength combines to make a strong eleven. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. De Boer has bought into this philosophy which has been central to his rebuilding of Ajax. The result: a natural and seamless progression in implementing Van Gaal’s doctrine. Ajax’s 31st national championship was won by returning to their old principles. The intelligence shown in constant switching of formations in the last few months is a positive sign. De Boer wants to replicate this brand of football against Europe’s elite. Football to Cruyff is more than just having technique and skills. It help’s having the two add intelligence the player becomes a different beast. “I never practice tricks. I play very simply. That’s what it’s all about,” he said. “The solution that seems the simplest is in fact the most difficult one. With most players, tactics are missing. You can divide tactics into insight, trust and daring.” His one-time rival and close friend Guus Hiddink is another advocate. “Players should not just run with their legs, but with their head as well,” he said. “They should be conscious of the fact that they constantly have to think during a game. Sometimes players act without thinking. But they have to actively consider how they can break their opponent.” There are encouraging signs, the next generation – majority of which will ascend to the first team soon – including Viktor Fischer, Stefano Denswil, Joël Veltman, Mitchell Dijks, Fabian Sporkslede, Davy Klaassen and Mats Rits. All have the advantage of being one of the first groups in over two decades to train and develop the same way De Boer did. "The individual cleverness of the players was missing when I first got here (in 2006 as a youth team coach)," he said. "The individual action at the highest level is essential. We are now in training much more individualized. That is so important." This is why the restoration of intelligence is so important coupled with talent can be the difference in losing a game or not. Individual mistakes and loss of concentration when required has been the bane of his existence in the first half of the season. Awareness is something he’s always preached even as a player. De Boer knew against Real Madrid and Lyon there would be limited openings. Whenever an opportunity arose it had to be seized. In the four games Ajax had nothing to show other than good spells of possession. Although they unfairly had two perfectly legitimate goals disallowed when Madrid came to town. After the 3-0 Bernabéu mauling, the Spanish press were split on the Amsterdammers performance. Some praised them for their bravery others called it naive. Naivety is often the by-product of a lack of experience especially at the highest level. As Immanuel Kant put it “theory without experience is mere intellectual play.” After what seemed an age, the Dutch club – under Cruyff’s auspices – returned to the latter. This is where the individualized approach comes into play. De Boer, as much as he would like, knows he can’t go into the market and sign a €20M marquee player. Instead Ajax can develop one with the added advantage of being moulded in the clubs philosophy. “We know if we want to survive, we have to generate new players.” Aside from De Boer on the training field players are individually coached by a stellar cast of former players turned trainers including Jaap Stam, Bryan Roy and Marc Overmars, as well as members of the ‘technical heart’ Wim Jonk and Dennis Bergkamp. Already De Boer has handed professional debuts to nine players including Ricardo van Rhijn this season whose greatly impressed Stam as well as Bergkamp. His rise has seen him named as the clubs talent of the year. Cruyff’s believes his structural changes can be the solution and will eventually lead his boyhood club returning to the summit of the European game. The same model he introduced at Barça, overhauling from grass roots upwards, is now certain to be adopted. Everything is in place, if much of De Boer’s squad – growing in experience – can be maintained, plus new additions. Amsterdam could be on the cusp of another bright era. A club that has come to define itself through success at home and abroad will never lack the drive and desire to be the best. Mohamed Moallim is a Dutch football expert who has featured on AFR before. He mostly features on the respectable magazine FourFourTwo and occasionally writes for his own blog La Croqueta.

He likes hoofball just as much as Pardew doesn't he ?

Tuchel, Jemez , De boer, or Terim

https://www.facebook.com/SPORTbible/photos/a.338257439653128.1073741828.338233632988842/586299564848913/?type=1&fref=nf

Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll 1111111111111 RIVIERE

Fines need to be made in accordance to club revenue, it's equally annoying when big clubs are made to pay a similar fee, and barely even scratches their budget.

https://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/news/dundalk-fined-18k-uefa-displaying-palestinian-flag-131749035.html DUNDALK HAVE BEEN hit with a significant fine by UEFA for the displaying of a Palestine flag during a recent Europa League match. The Lilywhites played Croatian club Hajduk Split in a two-legged second round qualifier last month — losing out 3-2 on aggregate. In a statement released this afternoon, the club confirmed this afternoon that the European football governing body has charged the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division leaders with a €18,000 fine. “Dundalk FC can confirm that the club has been charged by the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Committee,” the statement reads. “These charges relate to Article 16 (2) of the Disciplinary Rules (relating to flags that have been deemed by UEFA to be inappropriate) and Article 45 UEFA Stadium Infrastructure (relating to the prohibition of standing supporters). The total fine is €18,000 for these charges. “Dundalk FC have requested further information from UEFA on these charges before beginning any appeals process. “Dundalk FC will be making no further comment on this issue until it is fully resolved.”

HOOOOOF

https://vine.co/v/M37F1mB5IzB

https://www.facebook.com/NewcastleTillIDie/photos/a.207167239436125.1073741825.113248092161374/347847432034771/?type=1&theater

I heard "mmmbrlff" is our King. I don't think we have a king. Pretty much what i heard. Maybe it was meant in sarcastic way

Was that the "Pardew is our king" song ?

heard something about Marseille, playing with a new defensive system, anyone know what that's about ?

Quite a few Mackems in Bishop Auckland isn't there? County Durham is all Sunlun marra. Massive lads fans etc. "Only til 1992 marra before the skyboys changed allegiance. Seen a mag wearing his shirt in Shildon the other day. Nearly crashed me robin reliant." I have Shildon Mags as relatives. Impossible marra, Shildon is a Sulun stronghold. 95% red & white. FTM. I also have Bishop Auckland mackems as relatives. Ouch. Just having to reside in Bishop Auckland is bad enough. Unlucky. My Dad's cousin is really well known in Bishop Auckland too, so I'm sure anyone off here from there would know him. Name ?

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/neil-cameron-newcastle-united-should-7564419? Try to imagine a football club who for one day of every year invites its supporters to meet the players and manager. No boundaries. No PR person in your way. You get to say hello, shake hands, maybe grab an autograph of two and ask those questions which has been on your mind. The Director of Football will be also there. As will all the coaching staff and some former heroes as well. Oh, and did I mention there will be beer? And a free helicopter ride over the stadium. And a bouncy castle shaped as a football pitch. What more could you want? Last Sunday morning I strolled through a football fan open day, or Schalke Day as it’s known, hosted by the club in the shadow of their home, the rather magnificent Veltins-Arena. The sun was shining. Over 100,000 people in total wandered through the various tents, exhibitions, kids activities and had a go at taking a penalty, which the adult men took way too seriously. They drank, despite it being in the morning, but nobody was drunk, and there was more currywurst and bratwurst than any one person could take. I joined in as the crowds wandered through the Academy, a chance for them to see what goes on behind the scenes as their club attempt to produce the next World Cup winner, such as Gelsenkirchen’s favourite son, Manuel Neuer of whom there are pictures everywhere. A small boy played footie with his dad on the very same pitch the first team train on. It was nothing special. They do it every year, I was told that 12 months ago some 150,000 people passed through this free event. That shouldn’t come as a great surprise as the regular open training sessions attract 2000 fans. This is the first team we a talking about. Now imagine Newcastle United, or any Premier League team come to think of it, doing any of this. As I happily wandered around, I got talking to a man called, honestly, Rolf who came every year with his extended family, despite now living in another part of the country. He told me; “The club has a close bond with the supporters. They recognise our loyalty and passion, so days like this are like a present to us. “We don’t win trophies like Munich or Dortmund (Schalke’s big rivals) by we have a pride in our football club. “I wouldn’t want to support anyone else. This is a special thing to be a part of.” It has become almost a cliché now to suggest we always look to Germany in an attempt to improve all aspects of our own national game. But the thing is, they do get almost everything right. Schalke 04, especially, are run in a way that would make any fan green with envy. This is arguable the most popular club in Germany, but is some way from being the most successful. There are almost 100,000 paid up members of the fan club and there are now over 1300 supporter groups worldwide. Gelsenkirchen, the large city which is the home of Schalke 04, is a bit like Newcastle and indeed the North East as a whole. It’s very industrial, think Teesside but with more smoke billowing factories, is predominantly working class, although fewer work today as one in five adults are unemployed, and they are football mad. I mean utterly obsessed. The club are not successful in terms of winning trophies. Schalke won the old Uefa Cup in 1997, but you need to go back to 1958 for their last championship, although three years ago they did win the German Cup. Schalke are a cut above in other way. The open day is just one example of this. This is a football club built by the fans and is run for the fans. A supporter representative enjoys a permanent seat on the club’s supervisory board, a body that can veto transfers worth more than 300,000 euros. Apparently Felix Magath tried to change this. He didn’t last much longer as manager. Season tickets are sensibly priced. There is free transport to home games if you live within 50 miles of the stadium. There is a suggestion a similar scheme is to be brought in for away games. This is the present. They don’t forget the past. A real hero in these parts is ex-player and local boy Olaf Thon who won the World Cup with West Germany in 1990. There was a sign outside of a tent that promised he would be there to chat and sign autographs for an hour, starting at 1.30pm. And sure enough, the great men turned up exactly at that time to be greeted by an already large queue. Insert Germany efficiency joke here. This all took place before final day of the Shalke tournament, which of course included Newcastle United. It was brilliant. And it got me thinking, why do Newcastle not do something like this. Would it not be great if for one weekend every summer, the fans were allowed complete access to St James’ Park and the training ground, just as Schalke do. Admission is free, but there is plenty merchandise about so it’s still a commercial enterprise, plus it wins the hearts and minds of young fans whose head may be turned by more, shall we say, glamorous clubs. Would it be impossible to set up stalls, activities, the odd beer tent or two in Leazes Park? Schalke fans, a bit like those who have pledged their lives to Newcastle United, sadly don’t expect to win much. However, they do expect to feel part of their football club. I came away from Germany with a new favourite team. Their PR worked on me and I am almost terminally cynical about anything football clubs get up to. Seeing so many young people, boys and girls, dressed in their blue kit having a wonderful day made you want to be part of it all, as Rolf and his family were. Newcastle should do something like this. It’s not a lot to ask. Mike Ashley even has a helicopter he could loan out for an afternoon. I wish this could be us

http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/jul/30/luzenac-french-fairytale Finally we will then find out whether France’s favourite football fairytale from last season can have a happy ending, after all, and thereby wreak havoc with league planning. AP Luzenac, the side from a village with a population of just 650 up in the Pyrenees, amazed and enchanted the country last term by gaining promotion to the heady heights of Ligue 2; they were already the tiniest club to feature in the third tier, now here they were in the second. Their rise was recounted all around Europe and cited as an inspiration for small clubs everywhere, proof that even in the heavily corporatised world of modern football, the little guy still can still enjoy upward mobility. But then, just as the celebrations over an incredible campaign started to abate, the dream was dashed, as the league’s financial regulator banned the club from accepting their promotion. This, grumbled critics, was a case of the The Man putting upstarts back in their box. The Direction Nationale de Contrôle et de Gestion (DNCG) is the body set up by the French Football Federation in 1984 to check the financial rectitude of professional clubs, with each having to submit accounts for approval every year. The declared aim is to preserve clubs by making sure that expenditure does not exceed income but Luzenac claim that the body, whose inner workings do not seem entirely in synch with the transparency that it demands from others, is now being used to uphold the status quo and prevent unfancied new faces from joining the elite. Luzenac professed to being “stupefied and shocked” when their appeal against the DNCG’s decision was rejected earlier this month, the news becoming somewhat buried under previews of France’s World Cup quarter-final showdown with Germany the next day. On Thursday, 30 July, the club will make their last stand when the case is heard by a Toulouse court whose verdict will be final: if Luzenac lose, they will have to accept getting no reward for last season’s heroics and they will consigned to an uncertain fate; if they win, Ligue 2 will have to be expanded to feature 21 teams rather than 20 next season and organisers will have to devise a new fixture list accordingly – just two days before the campaign kicks off. Until the legal ballyhoo, Luzenac was an entirely lovable story. Only five years ago they were an amateur team in the regional leagues; in 2009 they won promotion to the Championnat de France National – the country’s third tier – but it seemed unlikely that they would last there. After narrowly avoiding relegation for two seasons, Luzenac seemed set to go under due to financial problems – then in stepped Jérôme Ducros, a wealthy Toulouse businessman, to stave off extinction. Last summer Ducros hatched a bigger plot and appointed a new managing director with a mission to recruit a team to deliver an unlikely promotion. That man was Fabien Barthez, the former France and Manchester United goalkeeper and a native of Lavelanet, another small town in the region. The team’s budget for the year was increased – to around £2m – and Barthez proved a shrewd operator, luring players jettisoned by other clubs to form, under manager Christophe Pélissier, a robust and incisive unit that finished the campaign as the top scorers in the division and, most importantly, second in the table. “We had planned to gain promotion in three years so we are well ahead of schedule!” declared Ducros. “It’s incredible, exceptional, extraordinary!” exulted the club’s long-serving defender Jérôme Hergault. “When I came here we were struggling to stay up in CFA [fourth tier], now to be going up to Ligue 2 is hard to believe. People often just saw us as mere peasants playing football – this will make a lot of people shut up.” Back in the 1980s, Auxerre rose from the amateur regional leagues to become an enduring force in the country’s top flight, crowning their ascent by becoming French champions in 1996; that success has served as a reference point for underdogs across the land – Luzenac even coming close to matching that feat would be far more outlandish and lovely. With promotion secured, the club began preparing for the next step, which, first of all, meant finding somewhere to play: their own ground, the Stade Paul Fédou, has only one stand and 400 seats so was not even deemed worthy of the National, which is why they played last season at a ground in nearby Foix – but that only has a capacity of 3,000, far fewer than is required to meet Ligue 2 standards. Luzenac had made arrangements to play their home games this season in Toulouse, some 80 miles away. It has been suggested that concerns over the club’s ability to pay the rent for that on an on-going basis was one of the chief factors in the DNCG’s decision to refuse admission, although Luzenac complain that one of the most vexing things about their rejection is that they have not been given any precise explanation for it. “I want to stress how discourteous the authorities have been,” Ducros stormed after his club’s failed appeal. “I didn’t even get a mail informing me about the decision, I had to hear about it in the media and on the internet … it is shameful to treat us like this. They didn’t even say a single word to Fabien Barthez during the appeal. “Imagine behaving like that just 24 hours before France play in the quarter-final of the World Cup! I’ll say it again: shame on the FFF! We answered every question and presented fully audited accounts. I’m going to fight to bring this system down, they are ruining the hopes of an entire district!” Luzenac insist that they have a sound budget for the season ahead and that their books are perfectly balanced – “we are not even one euro in arrears,” said Barthez – and that they are being punished not for anything that they have done but rather for what the league suspects they will not be able to continue doing; in other words, not for any mismanagement, just for being small. The DNCG has blocked the promotions of big clubs in the past – such as Nice in 2002 or Lens (from Ligue 2 to Ligue 1) just this summer – but both those decisions were overturned on appeal. Luzenac, meanwhile, fear going the way of AS Valence, who were repeatedly denied entry to Ligue 2 in 2004 and soon ceased to exist.

Full match has been uploaded on youtube

Staggering.

Really sad. R.I.P

Don't know if he still lives in Newcastle, but he still ties himself with the region. He bought, Durham city Associatioin Football Club, not too long ago.

Decent video of him, playing against Arsenal, on youtube.

That's the one Unreal. My favourite of the tournament