General Football Discussion

[Amol]

What about this beauty:

“The global fan wants AFC v Barca as often as possible. English fans want to see more big matches, but you still want your cold nights in Stoke.”

That’s Kroenke speaking to Arsenal fans.

Can I kick him in the arse?

I mean current Arsenal vs Barca is not going to be pretty if they play very often. That's the part which he's not understanding. He just wants to be in the competition because he's rich.

He sucks the money out of the club, puts out a sub-standard team, but wants to 'compete' against Real and Barca. WHERE IS THE DAMN COMPETITION?

Perez brought Arsenal and Spurs to be the whipping boys of the league.

[Amol]

Another common thing I've heard is that clubs like Real, Barca and Juve need the ESL to compete against Man City, Chelsea and PSG. This one doesn't make any absolute sense to me if all those 3 are in the ESL as well. They will all get the 300-400 million. So the oligarch clubs will have that on top top of the oil money.

[GangstaRiB]

It s of course true that oligarch led clubs like the big six PL clubs and PSG are pulling away. That’s why real reforms with regards to ownership and salary caps are needed. But Barca and Real did foolish things to keep competing. And now they want to straighten that with the ESL..... not going to happen.

[Amol]

It s of course true that oligarch led clubs like the big six PL clubs and PSG are pulling away. That’s why real reforms with regards to ownership and salary caps are needed. But Barca and Real did foolish things to keep competing. And now they want to straighten that with the ESL..... not going to happen.

Absolutely agreed. But Real and Barca didn't complain when they got money infusions from the La Liga (biased tv income) and from the Spanish government in the 2000s. They pay crazy amounts of transfer fees and salaries are adding to the inflation in costs of everything.

They just don't like others being richer than them of course.

Same goes with Sky Sports who were strongly against the ESL. Mainly because they weren't involved. Sky did the same thing with the EPL in the early 90s of course.

[Amol]

JP Morgan announced that it had committed £3.25 billion to the launch of the Super League which would be shared between the founder clubs.

However, this “welcome bonus” was is in fact a loan against future media rights revenues that would be repaid. So, this would've just added to the billion $ debts for the likes of Madrid, Barca and Spurs

[GangstaRiB]

JP Morgan announced that it had committed £3.25 billion to the launch of the Super League which would be shared between the founder clubs.

However, this “welcome bonus” was is in fact a loan against future media rights revenues that would be repaid. So, this would've just added to the billion $ debts for the likes of Madrid, Barca and Spurs

Did anyone think that a bank would actually give you money for nothing in return?

What a sad story this has become. US owners that don’t get the tradition of the game. ClubMed owners that are so deep in shit that they need every penny to survive, even if it means betraying their fans and local culture.

We can only hope that there will be some reform. Can BoJo put his money where his mouth is? I think that England has to take the lead and others will follow, noting that the Bundesliga is basically the example to follow.
I don’t expect much from UEFA or FIFA. It has to be regulated on country level.

[Amol]

JP Morgan announced that it had committed £3.25 billion to the launch of the Super League which would be shared between the founder clubs.

However, this “welcome bonus” was is in fact a loan against future media rights revenues that would be repaid. So, this would've just added to the billion $ debts for the likes of Madrid, Barca and Spurs

Did anyone think that a bank would actually give you money for nothing in return?

What a sad story this has become. US owners that don’t get the tradition of the game. ClubMed owners that are so deep in shit that they need every penny to survive, even if it means betraying their fans and local culture.

We can only hope that there will be some reform. Can BoJo put his money where his mouth is? I think that England has to take the lead and others will follow, noting that the Bundesliga is basically the example to follow.
I don’t expect much from UEFA or FIFA. It has to be regulated on country level.

Exactly. They were selling the idea to the fans as if JPM was just going to put in $4B as some sort of thank you gesture.

[Orange14]

Dutch U-21 team pulled a stunning upset in the quarterfinals of the Euro today beating France 2-1. Winning goal came in the 93rd minute when Justinho (aka Kluivert) got the ball just inside the half line in stride for a 2 on 1 break on goal with Boadu. Pass was well timed and Boadu got the match winner as well as the goal earlier in the half that tied the game. French team was loaded with talents with a combined team transfer value of €500M. Both central defenders were sold earlier in the month for about €50M each; one to Liverpool and one to Bayern. Good result for Jong Oranje. Schuurs had a fine match including a sliding block that prevented the second French goal. Bijlow of Feyenoord started in goal and was also top rate. Former Ajax players Bakker, Botman, de Wit, and Matusiwa all played.

[Orange14]

Dutch U-21s crashed out of the Euros as they were dominated by Germany, losing 2-1. Schuurs got a 2nd half goal to give them hope but they were not able to trouble the German defense much at all. Rensch came on for the final 15 minutes but had little impact. He should have started as PSV's Teze played RB for most of the game and was poor. Most of the former Ajax players were quite poor. De Wit went the full 90 as a deep lying MF which was a total waste; I don't think he will ever wear an Orange shirt again (Ekkelenkamp is so much better but didn't even get into the game). Matusiwa came on in the 2nd half and added some stability and ball handling in the MF. Kluivert was very active and probably the best player for Jong Orangje. Defense was awful in the 1st half conceding two goals in the first 12 minutes. Botman was too slow to cover the German attackers. Serhuis came on when they were chasing the game and did little. Biggest disappointment was AZ's Stengs who looked disinterested and was subbed off in the 2nd half.

[kezme44]

anyone watching the euros and any predictions? I think the Netherlands will come out of the group but won’t get past the quarterfinals. FDB fucked up that team really fast once he took over.

[kezme44]

eriksen getting cpr on the field dear god

[souras84]

Watching him getting hit by the defibrillator... I thought he was done! But miraculously he survived

[SPL]

So here in England all the hype has finished with the usual penalty shoot out defeat.I found the football of both sides boring.Italy slow at everything and England with 7 defensive players ,3CD, 2 wingbacks and 2 holding MF.

I will just stick to watching my beautiful Dutch club and be greatful for what Rinus and Johan have given us .

[Tom_]

I didn’t enjoy the tournament much either. I thought France was the best side I saw and played some nice attacking football.

Otherwise, playing 5 defenders and 2 holding midfielders seems to be in fashion, which made for some pretty boring matches.

Netherlands also lined up pretty defensively in their games - no big surprise with FdB in charge.

Look forward to the eredivisie getting started again...

[Orange14]

I enjoyed every Italian match and was amazed at the job Mancini did in molding the team. I think they are undefeated in their last 35 matches. I thought Bonucci and Chiellini were too old for a tournament like this one but was proven wrong. I also enjoyed Spain. Germany, France, England, and the Dutch were all undone by poor coaching and tactics. I won't be watching the WC next year because of the corrupt way it was offered to Qatar and the countless number of workers who perished during arena construction. Whether the Dutch qualify or not does not matter to me at all.

[Amol]

Didn't know where to post this question so posting here.

Can someone please explain the various levels of Ajax tickets/memberships? I know there's a Club card and there are season tickets. What does the club card get you besides allowing you to get to the high risk games?

[GangstaRiB]

Didn't know where to post this question so posting here.

Can someone please explain the various levels of Ajax tickets/memberships? I know there's a Club card and there are season tickets. What does the club card get you besides allowing you to get to the high risk games?

A monthly magazine. That’s it.

[Cruijff]

Can someone please explain the various levels of Ajax tickets/memberships? I know there's a Club card and there are season tickets. What does the club card get you besides allowing you to get to the high risk games?

A monthly magazine. That’s it.

There are 3 degrees: 1. season ticket. 2. Ajax Life membership. 3. "Normal" clubcard.
The clubcard is pretty cheap, will be valid for 5 years and gives you the chance to buy tickets.

Then there is the membership of Ajax Life, an official fanclub.
Ajax Life organises a lot of events for local fans in all 12 different regions in NL. As Ajax also became active in NYC it would not surprise me if some of these fan meetings will be in New York City too.

Now the ticket sale goes so quick, joining www.ajaxlife.nl is more or less essential so that you can purchase tickets earlier (for the PSV, Feyenoord and Utrecht games, but also the European games you will almost not score a ticket without this.)
Until about 10 years ago the fan club did not bring a lot of enthusiasm to me. But in recent years the Ajax Life Magazine became really great, besides the monthly magazine they bring out fantastic specials and they joined the strong lobby to get the original logo back on the shirt.

[Amol]

Thanks for responding GangstaRiB & Cruijff.

So for someone sitting here in NYC who'd come for a game once a year or two, the one which makes most sense is the Ajax life membership.

I've heard that the Season Ticket waitlist is like 35000-40000 deep right now. So I'm not even hoping that I'd ever get one. Also that would suck for local Amsterdam folks if I blocked one/two tickets anyway and hardly ever visited.

[kezme44]

you might be better off just attending the away games. tickets are easier to come by and it makes for a good day trip

[Tom_]

This was a few years ago but I had a club card when I was living in DE. I never had problems for routine eredivisie home games (think PEC Zwolle, Utrecht etc.). For more popular games (Feyenoord, PSV) I needed insider help because the allocation sold out before it reached the club card tier.

So I would say it also depends on the games you’re aiming to visit. And as you say it’s probably harder to get tickets in general now because demand is higher.

Lastly: enjoy the games! I really miss it.

[Cruijff]

And as you say it’s probably harder to get tickets in general now because demand is higher.

Lastly: enjoy the games! I really miss it.

I've heard that the Season Ticket waitlist is like 35000-40000 deep right now. So I'm not even hoping that I'd ever get one. Also that would suck for local Amsterdam folks if I blocked one/two tickets anyway and hardly ever visited.

Yes, it became harder in the past few years.
But that waiting list is a very recent thing.

Since the hype of the great Champions League campagne in 2019 there now suddenly is a waiting list of 40.000 people. Before that there was no waiting list at all or a super short one and it was always possible to slip in between by making a phonecall in July/August. Even in January to slip for half a season you could just call as every year season ticket holders choose not to extend, some of them simply forget to extend and pay for the card or die during the season, or emigrate to another country or get banned for not following KNVB rules or stadium rules and so on....

But Ajax tickets did become a lot more popular in general. Between 2008 and 2011 Ajax had a lot of trouble selling out European matches against Anderlecht, PAOK, Auxerre and so on.
In recent years all quali matches, for example against opponents as Sturm Graz, Standard Liege, Dinamo Kiev and Apoel Nicosia were sold out in just a few minutes.

When Real Madrid or Juventus or Liverpool or Atalanta Bergamo or PSV Eindhoven or Feyenoord Rotterdam come, you could easily fill the ground with 115.000 spectators or more.

[SPL]

Sean Klaiber has badly hurt his knee ,cruiciate ligament possibly,and will likely be out for the season.Bad news for the lad.

[Orange14]

Dutch women go out to the US on PKs; shades of the men's team over the years. I think they outplayed the US and Martens had a chance in normal time with a PK to win it but the kick was weak and easily saved. Ronald Koeman remains the only reliable penalty take IMO.

[Orange14]

Stekelenburg is officially out for the season. His injury needs surgery and the rehab time is too long. That leaves the team with an antique GK and a bunch of kids. Ajax may reconsider playing Onana once his suspension is up. Gorter is a decent keeper and may be very good but all the others are under 20 years of age and never played a first team match. YIKES!!!!!