The Sentinel 3-17

vol. 3 #17 - 26 October 2010

The Sentinel Amsterdam

Integrity, heart, humour

FEATURE

NORTHERN XPOSURE LIFESTYLES

GO WEST sport

GAS & Class perspectives OPINION TRENDs CARTOON SPORT CLASSIFIEDs

Photo: © Fredrik Ramström

CONTENTS

02

In this issue FEATURE

p. 03 LIFESTYLES P. 08 SPORT

P. 20

Northern Xposure

Go West

Gas & Class

‘I have to say that it’s hard to beat a journey from Stockholm on board a 100-year-old steamboat.’

“As a Dutch person, I regularly find myself being discriminated against by the expats.’

‘FC Twente seem to be enjoying similar success with their beer sponsor.’

TRENDS

p. 12 sport

Anti

p. 16 more:

The Gold Room

‘An example of anarchist-inspired fashion is the Norwegian Anti jeans.’

PERSPECTIVES Le camp chaos - Merde!

p. 10

Film review Room 2C

p. 13

STUD MARKS p. 15 The two sides of Nemanja Vidic CARTOON

p. 15

CLASSIFIEDS P. 14, P. 13, p. 22

ColoPHon The Sentinel Amsterdam e-mail: sentinelpost@gmail.com website: www.thesentinel.eu

Editors – Gary Rudland & Denson Pierre Design, realisation and form – Andrei Barburas & No-Office.nl Webmaster – Simon O. Studios Webhost – Amsterjammin.com

Contributors: Graham Maywood, Annegien Kok, Simon Conheady, Dirkje Bakker, David King, Simon Joseph, Maureen Kamp & Colin Bentley

FEATURE

03

Northern

xposure Confirmed ‘Swedophile’ Graham Maywood provides an insight into northern culture and pastimes; from the Swedish capital’s style and the nation’s culinary preferences to the people’s love of the countryside and its miles of scenic paths.

By Graham Maywood

FEATURE

I’ve always had a soft spot for Sweden. I’m not exactly sure how or why it manifested but it was certainly before I visited this mysterious country for the first time.

Any first trip to Sweden deserves a visit to Stockholm and upon arrival by air you are greeted by wilderness and water as far as the eye can see. On a clear day you will still only glimpse a slender part of the country. More than half of Sweden’s landscape is made up of forest and, to give an idea of its size, if you folded Sweden ‘over’ on a map, the tip of the country would touch northern Spain.

Stockholm has a population of one million and it is a young demographic. It is physically spread across a number of islands linked together by bridges and roads.

Gamla Stan is the historic old town. Think cobbled streets and medieval squares with the Royal Palace and Swedish Parliament as backdrops. Not surprisingly, it comes with heavy tourist traffic.

Sodermalm is a little like Amsterdam’s Pijp, in that it is a once working-class district that has been supplanted by cool boutiques, cafés, bars, restaurants, skate shops, record stores and galleries. Stockholmers are especially hip and cool in these parts. Slim, clean cuts, identically turned up khakis, dark denims, scoop-necked tops and the obligatory canvas bag over the shoulder. All chosen from their favourite homeland designers, Filippa K, Acne, Whyred,

04

Cheap Monday or H&M. It strikes you that they all appear to wear it so well.

Swedes are extremely proud people without being arrogant and do not like to draw undue attention to themselves. Conformity and shying away from hostility are common traits. The time of year plays a big part in the psyche of the Swedish. Winters are long, cold and dark, affecting some more than others, however, they all appear to embrace the summer, when the sun shines.

‘Most Swedish families have a second home in the country, often passed down through generations.’

Summer exodus I met my Swedish girlfriend in springtime, albeit in Amsterdam. Within six hours of meeting her I understood how treasured the family’s summerhouse is. Most Swedish families have a second home in the country, often passed down through generations. The rural homes provide an escape from the city and this is where Swedish people seem

FEATURE

to feel most comfortable. They love the outdoors.

Once you arrive in the countryside you feel instantly relaxed and detached from life in the city. It is an opportunity to turn off all electronic communication and appreciate the remoteness. My girlfriend’s grandfather built their family’s country home; a central brick-built house surrounded by wooden sleeping cabins and outhouses.

It has remarkable charm and although it has gas and electricity, there is no hot running water or conventional toilet, bringing you closer to your surroundings.

Head of steam While most arrive at their summer homes by Saab or Volvo, I have to say that it’s hard to beat a journey from Stockholm on board a 100-year-old steamboat. ‘Mariefred’ makes daily round trips between Stockholm and Gripsholm Castle in the picturesque village of the same name; an eight-hour round trip that takes in stunning natural scenery. The boat’s engine is a marvellous piece of machinery and the guys stoking it with coal in the engine room do so in extraordinary heat. ‘Mariefred’ is a museum piece in pristine working condition.

Different tastes The air is so clean in the Swedish countryside and this leads to wonderful deep sleep at night, maybe only awoken by a woodpecker the next morning. Swedish breakfasts are a fantastic way to start the day: eggs, muesli, fruit, yoghurt, cheese, ham, pâté, pickles, caviar and last but

05

‘Swedish breakfasts are a fantastic way to start the day: eggs, muesli, fruit, yoghurt, cheese, ham, pâté, pickles, caviar and last but certainly not least, pickled herring.’ certainly not least, pickled herring. A smorgasbord all washed down with several cups of strong coffee.

Scandinavians drink more coffee per capita than anyone else in the world. If their morning fix hasn’t sated their appetite they will already be looking forward to their next, especially the afternoon ‘fika’, when a tasty pastry or slice of cake accompanies the coffee. A ‘fika’ is an opportunity for Swedes to take a break and enjoy a pot of coffee with family or colleagues. Morning, noon or night, it’s embedded in their culture.

FEATURE

06

‘Sweden also has a policy that allows travellers to pitch their tent on people’s land without fear of prosecution’ Swedish cuisine is quite limited but is mostly very healthy.

Being surrounded by water means fish is very popular in restaurants or on the barbecue at the summerhouse.

Swedes celebrate the end of summer with crayfish parties.

Families set up alfresco dining arrangements, decorated with garlands and balloons. Sporting hats, sipping snaps (Swedish schnapps) and quaffing beers, they work through buckets of freshly caught crayfish, sing songs and celebrate long into the night. While meatballs, herring and potatoes are extremely popular, no visit to Sweden is complete without sampling a grilled sausage with bread (topped with mustard and dried onion) from a street vendor.

State secrets Alcohol has always been expensive in Sweden. Thankfully, it has come more in line with the euro currency over the past decade but still remains 25-30% above Amsterdam prices. Swedes are known for good snaps but brewing beer and winemaking is not their forte. Most of the Swedish brews are light beers and to buy anything stronger you have to go to a Systembolaget. These are state-owned liquor stores and the only outlets where you can buy imported beers, wine and spirits. Once you have located a Systembolaget you also need to be aware of the opening hours, which include a 14:00 closing time on Saturdays.

Fortunately, Swedes are good at planning.

On the flip side, ‘snus’ is a tobacco product illegal in the EU but still sold and very popular in Sweden. It is consumed by placing a small tobacco parcel under the lip and on the gum where it enters the bloodstream. This is a rite of passage for many young Swedes but not for the faint hearted.

National symbol There is no shortage of things to do during the day in the country. Miles of cycling and walking paths lead to secluded bays, where you can take a swim, a boat ride or cast a rod and go fishing. Sweden also has a policy that allows travellers to pitch their tent on people’s land without fear of prosecution for trespassing or demands for payment. Come the summer-end, moose hunting is a major pastime, until then it is enjoyable to go on evening treks under the late northern lights trying to spot the country’s most recognised animal. I have yet to encounter the great bandy-legged beast in two summers but beautiful deer are often spotted bouncing around the fields.

FEATURE

07

LIFESTYLES

08

Go West

By Annegien Kok

As a girl from a small city in the east of the Netherlands, moving to Amsterdam was a big step in itself. On one of my first outings to Amsterdam, knowing I’d be living there soon, I decided to go for a grand café terrace waitress job and asked the tram driver the way to the biggest square in the city. A day later I had my first shift on that said biggest square, in that big scary city, only to find out that Amsterdam actually consists of many small ‘islands’.

One of those little, beautifully flat islands is called Leidseplein. The sun always seems to shine there, all nationalities are welcome, music is always played at a good volume, rainbows arch in the corner of the square... Old, young, CEOs, drug users, vegetarians, criminals, students, musicians, hippies, punks all come together in the little fairyland of Leidseplein.

Now, just like in any other good fairytale, the habitants of this beautiful place, lovely as they are, have their own little mood swings, during which they love to vent their frustrations. As a Dutch person, I regularly find myself being discriminated against by the expats. Whenever the conversation turns to something that needs complaining about, the expats will blame ‘the Dutch’. Generally they will start by saying ‘the Dutch...’ voice their complaint, realise I am standing next to them and then everyone will

LIFESTYLES

09

The sun always seems to shine there, all nationalities are welcome, music is always played at a good volume, rainbows arch in the corner of the square... turn towards me on cue and ‘the Dutch’ changes into ‘you’.

I have learned to just raise my eyebrows and whistle the World Cup tune in my head.

Stuck in the middle with you Although I was not even born in the city, all of Amsterdam’s flaws end up being my doing, whether it be politics, AFC Ajax hooligans, the fact that girls always wear boots, the long queues at city hall or the fact that the Dutch are so terribly in shape, fit and tall. Funnily enough, problems to do with their own native cultures seem unrelated to my dear critics, just to make my life easier.

On occasion I am even held responsible for Dutch guys who love swept-back hair and hair bands, or sunglasses resting on top of their heads while wearing golden sneakers with pink sweaters draped over their shoulders. Even after one of the most magical kinds of night in ‘Leidseplein-land’ – after a concert – they manage to come back all cranky and irritated, due to the whispering classes standing at the back of the gig, chatting away while a world-famous artist was performing. And ‘the Dutch’ standing in front of them were also too tall, of course.

The safe haven of Leidseplein But this is all just the tip of the iceberg. During the day ‘the Dutch’ surprise them with all their habits and tricks, and Leidseplein offers a safe environment to vent the awkwardness. This makes it a comfortable haven for them: it is Leidseplein against the rest of Amsterdam. A place at the centre, where subjects walking by can be observed and defined as ‘the others’.

The expats love to complain about everything ‘the Dutch’ do but they absolutely love living here; one massive contradiction and yet 100% true. Having been around Leidseplein for a few years now, I can say that the complaining might well be what makes them so happy: there is always someone else to blame for things that run differently and that, in itself, can be very liberating. The fact that I am the person who represents all ‘the Dutch’ I can happily live with. Everything and anything to make the funniest people in the city happy, after all.

LifestylES

10

Le camp chaos – Merde!

By Simon Conheady

France is a beautiful country. The problem is that it’s full of French people.

France is a beautiful country. The problem is that it’s full of French people. Working in O’Donnell’s Irish pub in Amsterdam afforded me the chance to work with a Frenchman, named Nico, and gain a new perspective.

‘Frenchy’ is coolness personified. His scraggy hair, designer goatee and laid back attitude lead me to imagine him in his element, treading the loving fields of Woodstock, as opposed to the beer-stained floors of an Irish pub. He is the antithesis of the French stereotype, proving the age-old adage ‘never judge a book by its cover’. Nico revelled in the bar banter, calling every Irishman ‘Paddy’ and, by summer’s end, his status was that of an honorary Irishman.

Through a combination of our working together and him eventually living on a worn mattress chez moi, we forged a close friendship. An emotional Frenchy departed Holland’s shores a few days prior to me, in mid-August. He assured me that I was welcome to visit at any time. Knowing the mishaps and adventures in which he constantly found himself, this was an opportunity not to be missed.

I spotted the forlorn Frenchy as I entered the arrivals hall in Nantes airport. It was 09:00 and he looked tired.

His spirits perked as he noticed me approaching and he excitedly ushered me towards the exit. I saw why: he had commandeered his father’s white transit van for my stay.

He pulled the handle and slid the side door open, exposing the innards of the metallic beast. It was equipped with a mattress; foldable chairs and table; and a two-man tent. I

followed his lead and hopped into the passenger seat, and off we trundled. I was taken aback by Nico’s planning; this wasn’t the same Frenchy who, over the course of two months, had not once shown up for work on time. Surely it was a question of when, not if, disaster would strike.

The week-long tour was spent sleeping on friends’ couches or, alternatively, camping in a field by the wayside. The bottles of Kronenbourg flowed continuously as we took in the sights and sounds of Celtic Brittany and Frenchy’s native Normandy. The days began late, since we were content to relax and not push ourselves too strenuously, or “go full power,” as Frenchy termed any act that required even the slightest effort.

The real and inevitable calamities reserved themselves for the return leg of the journey in Nantes. We were staying at Frenchy’s friend Diddy’s flat. The day before my flight home I awoke to disastrous news: Nico had driven Diddy to work that morning and had since returned sans van.

He had filled it with unleaded petrol instead of diesel and the transit now sat across the city, stalled and blocking a bicycle lane. It was Friday evening and a garage would be unable to cleanse the engine until Monday. I was leaving in the morning and my passport and boarding pass were stuffed into a cubby hole in the rear of the van.

It poured with rain as we made the hour-long tram journey to where our home on wheels was stationed. We were soaked as the transit came into view. Frenchy decided to lift my deflated mood by patting his jeans pockets

LifestylES

and joking that he had forgotten the keys. Our laughs were abruptly stifled as he quickly realised that he had indeed forgotten the keys. Merde! We stared at each other in disbelief. Then came the renewed laughter: this was the Amsterdam Frenchy I had come to know and love.

I expected no less and was duly rewarded. Grudgingly, we embarked on the three-hour journey to retrieve the keys from Diddy’s coffee table and make the round-trip once more.

Passport and boarding card in hand, we rushed through the entrance at Nantes airport an hour before my flight was due to take off – Diddy had borrowed his brotherin-law’s car – and we were just in time. I stared at the departures screen, aghast. There was no flight to Dublin due to depart at 09:30. I ripped the Ryanair docket from my wallet. “Oh, merde,” I exclaimed, “the flight was yesterday”. Frenchy’s astonishing ability to invite disaster had now affected his friends’ fortunes. Diddy and Nico burst out laughing. Resigned to defeat, I wheeled around and made for the car. Frenchy and I would both wait till Monday before Nantes would allow her two visitors to leave for their respective homes. Mais c’est la vie, when you’re with Frenchy.

11

trends

12

EXHIBIT A

ANTI –

or hot fashion for cold days with robots, fire and organic beer

By Dirkje Bakker

There is a lot going on about squatting and squatters at the moment, in our little, watery town. Actually squatting has been outlawed and, whatever your opinion on the principle, Amsterdam has lost one of its famous characteristic traits and will never be the same again.

A few weeks ago I visited one of the many raw gems that grew from squat culture. Although a rather smoky shadow of what it once was, Robodock still encapsulates something of that ancient and great squat culture. It makes you feel nostalgic while drinking organic wine from a plastic The brand has been largely influenced by the Norwegian cup or eating a vegan noodle dish created in a dark Black Metal scene and, thus, we have unisex jeans decometallic kitchen, reminiscent of a medieval blacksmith’s rated with gory graphics on their insides. workplace.

As far as I am concerned, the nicest thing about squat parties or festivals is the experience of a sudden lack of fashion. Like stepping into a vacuum or black hole that is sucking up stars from space, time and trends disappear. It doesn’t matter what you wear, as long as it’s warm, practical and washed many times over. There are sound reasons behind this phenomenon, since finding interesting fashion solutions that keep you warm and are stylish at the same time has never been easy. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I submit exhibit A (picture).

The Norwegians didn’t want to be left behind, having seen the expanding fashion impact of Sweden and Stockholm, through brands like Acne, Fillipa K, Nudie, Cheap Monday and, of course, H&M. A friendly fight between Sweden and Norway has existed since the liquidation of their alliance, in 1814.

Even with the inflated prices and deflating temperatures, the spectacle of the immense wooden phoenix in flames and the air filled with floating feathers, while fireworks explode all around and feet stand in icy streaming water, make Robodock Amsterdam an experience that is hard to That said, a lot of fashion is inspired by underground cultures, from squat to punk to any kind of culture that is compare with any other event in this country. For sure, no raging against the establishment. The ‘dark’ side of society other matches up to it. is actually where a lot of raw ideas and trends are coming The world needs anarchy, fashion needs Anti, positive can’t from at the moment; a shiny pair of leggings with spikes exist without negative and culture cannot breathe without and an oversized black t-shirt – why not? An example of anti-culture. This is from where creativity flows, if only to anarchist-inspired fashion is the Norwegian Anti jeans. inspire new trends.

The company’s name is actually short for Anti Sweden.

Film review

13

Room 2c film

By David King

Happiness

(1998)

The story of three sisters from New Jersey dealing with aspects of their unhappy lives. Sounds ordinary enough? Nothing could be further from the truth!

This film explores extreme dark sides of human nature with intelligence, and fleshes out characters that you might otherwise run out of town to avoid (if you read tabloids). A must-see film for adults, you’ll either love or hate it but ultimately I hope you enjoy it and the emotions it stimulates.

CLASSIFIedS

Located in the heart of Amsterdam (Voetboogstraat 11, just off the Spui), the ABC Treehouse is “a unique cultural center”. With generous support from our corporate sponsor, the American Book Center (www.abc.nl), we offer an exciting agenda of lively discussions, workshops and cultural events, and have earned a reputation as “a major point of artistic and literary exchange for the city’s Dutch and multicultural communities.” - (www.iamsterdam.com).

Our guest authors are writing on the hottest - and sometimes most controversial - topics; our groundbreaking graffiti and gay pride exhibits have broken taboos and visitor records, and our special Discussion Events have brought together Americans and Iraqis, Israelis and Palestinians, Republicans and Democrats for a lively exchange of ideas and viewpoints. And sometimes, it’s just about having a good time: enjoy music and theater during our Theaterworks evenings, or knit a new scarf at Crafty Me. Visit our website to see a full list of our events and workshops: www.treehouse.abc.nl, or stop by and join the ABC Treehouse community!

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COLUMN

15

Stud marks The two sides of Nemanja Vidic

By Maureen Kamp

An ancient, white, marble sculpture of a man, slightly bent over with a discus in his hand. An aristocratic face with the classic straight nose and beautifully detailed naked athletic body. Man-made perfection. An Olympian, of course. A winner. A hero. Almost a god. That’s what I think about when I look at Nemanja Vidic in profile, as he leaves the pitch after another match won. But only from the side of his face.

Looking at Nemanja Vidic from the front, it’s a whole different story. From this perspective he looks nothing like an aristocratic ancient Greek; the square face, blue eyes, a nose that looks a bit flat because it’s been broken once or twice, and other scars and bolts here and there.

A good looking face, maybe, but more in a boxing sort of way – rough.

And of course Nemanja Vidic wasn’t born in ancient Greece to be an Olympic hero but to a working class family in 20th-century Serbia, where there was a war going on during a big part of his youth. But maybe the dream was the same: to become a hero, a winner. And he could have chosen to practice the discus but that won’t make you ‘almost a god’, these days. However, you can be viewed as almost a deity by being very, very good at football.

So, I like to imagine him at 10 years old, sitting in his

Cartoon

‘According to his wife, off the pitch he always has a smile on his face.

I can understand why.’

Serbian boy’s bedroom looking at his posters of nineties football heroes, like Maradona, Gullit, Gascoigne, Van Basten or Maldini, dreaming of entering the wide world of football and being good enough to maybe play in Spain or England, or for a national team that didn’t yet exist.

Now, I’m not sure whether anyone is ever going to commission a sculpture of him (I have some tips) but I doubt whether he ever dared to dream in his bedroom that one day he would be the captain of the most famous football club in the world, or that some people would consider him the best defender in the world. Or that he might be the best football player Serbia has ever had and that little Serbian boys and (maybe not so little) Serbian girls would have his poster on their bedroom walls. That he would be a hero.

And that rough face with the determined, frightening look that you see on the pitch is also just one side. According to his wife, off the pitch he always has a smile on his face. I can understand why.

By Colin Bentley

Mr Henry’s first act as the new owner of Liverpool FC will be to contact the Chilean authorities...

We’re hoping they can give Roy some advice about getting out of a big hole before Christmas!

sport

16

Gas & Class

By Simon Joseph

‘The clue is in the question.’

How many of you watched Tottenham Hotspur take on FC Twente in the Champions League last month? Were you aware that there is a connection between these two clubs?

Apart from being under the influence of the attacking style of both teams, how many of you had a drink in your hand at the time?

Have you got it yet? The clue is in the question. Yes, the striking connection is beer.

Everyone knows that beer and football are a match made in heaven, and there’s no doubt that the history of this partnership goes back a long, long way. But we only need to go back to the 1980s, when corporate sponsorship in English football first began, to find the two coming together in perfect harmony.

This was the decade in which Holsten sponsored Tottenham Hotspur for the first time; and along with sponsorship came success. The name Holsten was printed on Tottenham shirts when they last won the FA Cup, in 1991, and when they reached their last European final.

Remarkably, FC Twente seem to be enjoying similar success with their beer sponsor. Starting in the 2008/2009 season, Grolsch signed a deal with the Enschede club,

sport

bringing immediate success in the form of a KNVB Cup final and, later, the Dutch championship. Now, many would argue that this is just coincidence or superstition because, after all, silverware is the only genuine measure of success in football. But just how closely is success in football related to beer?

Brewing success Originally from Hamburg (home of Hamburger SV, six times national champions), the Holsten Brewery first expanded into Britain in the late 19th century, when the company purchased a brewery in Wandsworth, South London. Around the same time, a boys cricket club, who played on Tottenham marshes in North London, decided to start kicking a ball about. The world would have to wait a century before these two great institutions came together when, in 1983, Holsten’s twelve-year sponsorship of Tottenham Hotspur began. During that time the club reached two FA Cup finals and won the UEFA Cup in 1984, before parting company in 1995. Holsten did appear on the shirt again for a brief spell, starting in 1999, during which the club managed to win the Worthington (now Carling) Cup. The relationship finally came to an end 2002.

But in 2003 the Holsten brewery absorbed the Astra brewery, now a sponsor of the other famous Hamburg club, FC St. Pauli, who are enjoying a spell in the Bundesliga for the first time in over ten years. Although the two decades

17

‘just how closely is success in football related to beer?’ from 1983 to 2002 wasn’t the most successful period in Tottenham’s history, having beer sponsors certainly seems to change a club’s fortunes.

sport

18

Fortress Grolsch The name Grolsch was first given to a Dutch brewery founded in 1615, by Willem Neerfeldt of Grol. Today, it is located in Enschede, home of FC Twente, and is the second largest brewery in the Netherlands. It was awarded the Koninklijk (Royal) title in 1995, a year that saw Twente return to the top flight for the first time in decades. After building their new stadium, the club were looking for naming rights, but they didn’t need to look very far. To underline the brewery’s ties with Enschede, the stadium is now named Grolsch Veste (Grolsch Fortress), a reference to the history of the fortified city of Grol. This 24,000-seater stadium has hardly seen Twente lose a game, since opening its doors in 2008. And the following season Twente were crowned Eredivisie champions for the first time in their history.

These days, Tottenham Hotspur play amongst Europe’s elite with Investec, a specialist bank and asset manager, splashed across their shirts, and Twente with the travel agents, Arke. So could there really be a connection between beer sponsors and success on the pitch? A few facts about brewing beer may hold the key. The purpose of brewing is to convert starch into sugar, and then to convert the sugar – through a fermentation process – into the alcoholic beverage we know and love as beer. When Alan Sugar took over at Tottenham they already had Holsten as their sponsor but, as with all good beer, fermentation takes time. With a little help from the German brewery and the German maestro Jurgen Klinsmann, Sugar turned a starchy looking team into a heady and potent force.

Tottenham won their Champions League home match against FC Twente 4-1 and the return match, in Enschede, isn’t Grolsch vs Holsten but it does promise to be intoxicating; a grudge match that could be the ticket to qualification from Group A into the quarter-finals. We’ll have to wait until Tuesday, 7 December to see who will be drinking from the cup of plenty or drowning their sorrows.

Ponting cuts

‘The purpose of brewing is to convert starch into sugar, and then to convert the sugar – through a fermentation process – into the alcoholic beverage we know and love as beer.’

Martyn faces

sport

19

Hussey leg glances

Langer pulls

sport

20

Robin van Persie Frank Lampard

sport

21

The Gold Room Where are those good old-fashioned player values on which we used to rely?

By Denson Pierre

Now that we have had the second wave of Euro 2012 qualifiers and international friendlies we can make sure our FFG-CL teams are ready for the flood of matches in the period from now until the close of the transfer window, at the end of January. The way the injuries have occurred pre- and early season, there are a few players just about to return who have previously proven themselves able to speed score and sweep their FFG-CL managers to the higher positions in the league table.

Frank Lampard is the most intriguing of the lot. The most expensive player in the game, for sound historical reasons, who has, for what seems like the first time in five years, succumbed to injury over a slightly longer term. There are a couple of factors that make his return more interesting, despite his usually out-of-this-world ability to accumulate fantasy football points.

At Chelsea, like at all the very top clubs with healthy resources, the squad moves on despite missing individual players. It is not beyond the realm of imagination that Frank Lampard will have a degree of difficulty getting directly back into the first XI. The wiry, young, dynamic Brazilian international, Ramires, certainly covers a lot more ground than the slightly ‘heavier’ and older Lampard. Michael Essien, who has defined a totally new midfield superman role, is now playing further forward and is at liberty to shoot on sight. Meanwhile, John Obi Mikel has taken on an active muscle-man destroyer function, combined with more elegant touches and a new willingness to threaten the opponent’s goal.

Where does Lampard fit into all this? The wide-flying positions are well served and dead-ball situations are clearly well covered by the likes of Drogba, Alex and a handful of other more than competent exponents. The classic number 10 central midfielder is superfluous to the system used by Carlo Ancelotti and Ray Wilkins.

Nonetheless, it would give his FFG-CL managers the greatest satisfaction to see Frank Lampard walk right back into the team and rack-up at least 15 goals and a bundle of assists by the end of the season. The alternative scenario is not one his owners really wish to contemplate at his price.

Up front, managers have to hope against hope that really, this time, surely, somehow, Robin van Persie can manage at least 20 matches on his return before once again breaking down. He is just beautiful to watch playing football and his point-scoring impact can be dramatic.

Of fresh interest is the assessment of whether the supremely athletic Jerome Boateng can take up permanent occupation of one of the defensive positions at Manchester City, and continue the power and precision play he gave us a preview of at the last World Cup. Boateng could make a heavy-scoring impact on the FFG-CL, playing as part of the improving defensive unit at his club.

Jerome Boateng

CLASSIFIEDS

22

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