Was that the 0-2 game with Jan Peters scoring twice?

Can one of the resident Nederlanders confirm that the Dutch pub/bar/cafe smoking ban doesnt apply until 1st July this year?

Yep, 1st July is when it starts.

Though some places have brought the ban in ahead of time. My boys played in a chess tournament yesterday and the community centre concerned had a smoking ban in place since 1st May.

Thanks. I saw a couple of references on the 'net, but I like confirmation of these things.

Yup, that was the fella, ger.

and what the fuck happened to Ajax today????

I didn't see any of it, I'm boycotting these playoffs again.

But I'd say that Twente stuck 11 players in front of their goal and watched Ajax pass the ball about in their own half for 90 minutes.

They really should have appointed a proper manager as soon as Henk ten Cate left for Chelsea. We've been stuck with a Division 1 manager for 7 months of a 10 month season. With a proper manager we might have won the league, with automatic placement for the group stage of the CL. All this suffering so that Marco van Basten can have a dab at managing Ajax.

QUOTE:
Dutch sounds much, much, much nicer than Afrikaans. Maybe it's an accent thing as well as a language thing. Because English spoken by Dutch people sounds nice too, whereas, you know, no offence like, but...

Oh yes, that is true, ton ton. Afrikaners speaking English is a horrible sound. But Afrikaans itself is less ugly than Dutch (except for some Afrikaans accents), probably because there's less gurgling going on.

As for taking offence at negative opinions of Afrikaans, I think we would both share the opinion that it is still a fucking horrible language. Just not as ugly as Dutch. I'm comparing Barbara Bush and Margaret Thatcher here, really.

Today Ajax lost the C.L. play-off game to F.C. Twente.

As I understand it, Ajax's coach has been negotiating a new head-coaching job for next season with a leading Eredivisie club......

.....F.C. Twente.

Conflict of interest anybody?

Rather tangential to the original topic, but can the Dutch-based posters tell me anything about Niklas Tarvajärvi? Is he an all-purpse journeyman striker, or might he make the step up to the national team?

I'd say he's an APJS. Can't say I've ever really noticed him, he hasn't exactly set the Eredivisie alight. Though I didn't realise till just now that he's property of Heerenveen.

The fact that Heerenveen's legendary scouting system picked up on him in the first place must stand for something.

a bump and a quick word to mention that the Dutch eased past Ukraine last night 3-0 at home, with goals from Kuyt, Huntelaar and Babel. Goed zo.

Ryan Babel's been ruled out of the tournament after tearing ligaments in training.I don't know if it betrays somethnig of van Basten's mentality for the how the Dutch are likely to play, now, that he's replaced him in the squad with an additional defender, Boulahrouz.

Here's Rod Liddle in The Times. To save you the hassle of wading through his would-be "controversial" blather, go straight to the third paragraph where he has a dig at WSC readers in a manner that is relevant (well, as relevant as anything he says could be) to this thread.
www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/columnists/rod_liddle/article4039402.ece

QUOTE:
But something deep-seated and primal stops me supporting the Germans. And there will be altogether far too many “footie” fans, of the kind who read When Saturday Comes and who have visited every single football stadium in the country (having taken days off from work at their IT company to catch Coalville Town playing Ashby-de-la-Zouch),

Well he's got us bang to rights on the latter point. But "deep-seated and primal"? I don't think there's anything "primal" about not liking the Germans, Rod, you're just an Engerland shirt wearing xenophobe, like me, who understands little of modern European politics but remembers what "they" did to the Scottish bloke in the Great Escape. Live with it!

Rod Liddle, eh? What a cunt.