I feel like an interloper and the more so as I have so much enjoyed reading the information. But As the court decision went against Ujpest, I would like to ask HA if that means Roderick D will give up on Ujpest ?
I feel like an interloper and the more so as I have so much enjoyed reading the information. But As the court decision went against Ujpest, I would like to ask HA if that means Roderick D will give up on Ujpest ?
As expected UTE took over custody of Újpest football club yesterday, so the club will be able to complete this season in the first division. It looks as though the local government will also start throwing money at the club, so it looks as though Roderick will be staying, assuming that the UTE "takeover" is accepted by the authorities.
Meanwhile it has been announced that Norwich City have made some rather vague sounding link up with Ferencvaros. It "will offer footballing and commercial opportunities for both clubs in the future.". I remain baffled as to why Hungary should suddenly be getting this kind of attention. My best guess is that it is the TV deal. If the figures suggested are right, some TV company has overpaid, and people see easy money (which as usual will all be gobbled up by players, agents and hangers on)
Meanwhile it has been announced that Norwich City have made some rather vague sounding link up with Ferencvaros. It "will offer footballing and commercial opportunities for both clubs in the future.". I remain baffled as to why Hungary should suddenly be getting this kind of attention. My best guess is that it is the TV deal. If the figures suggested are right, some TV company has overpaid, and people see easy money (which as usual will all be gobbled up by players, agents and hangers on)
Am I right in thinking that first division clubs in Hungary get in the region of four million euros for the TV rights to their matches? There is a now a lot of Hungarian football on state TV, although it is a product that has a very specialized niche audience. For Hungarian TV getting the rights is a reasonably cheap way (after all it's only the taxpayers money) to fill the broadcasting time Hungarian TV finds great difficulty in filling.
Watching Hungarian football on TV is about as enjoyable as listening to a Throbbing Gristle album (the crumbling concrete, the echoes of the players' voices, the feeling of utter helplessness...) 90% of the boys at my school aren't in the slightest bit interested in football. And those who are say they support Barcelona or Real Madrid, Man United, Man City or Chelsea. Those who do follow Hungarian football are nearly all Fradi (Ferencváros) fans.
Those Fradi fans will be wondering why such a great club as Ferencváros would want to be involved with such an insignificant provincial English club like Norwich City. If I were a Norwich fan I would be asking the board to give Kevin McCabe a call at Sheffield United (if he's still there) just in case. But from what you say Prague I assume that the partnership would be along the lines Charlton's with Inter Milan a few years back, i.e. purely cosmetic.
Kevin McCabe, property developer and another collector of football clubs, already owned Sheffield United and a Chinese club, Chengdu Five Bull Football Club, (whose name he changed to Chengdu Blades Football Club) when he took control of Ferencváros in February 2008.
At that point Fradi were still in the second division to where they had been banished in 2006 for financial irregularities (how Fradi haters loved it!). McCabe appointed Bobby Davison as an advisory coach. He later became Ferencváros's new head coach, and it was under Davison that Fradi went on to win promotion back to the first division in 2009. In October 2009, Ferencvaros replaced manager Bobby Davison with Craig Short, who didn't stay long through lack of a Pro-Licence badge.
The world had already turned upside down for McCabe after Lehmann Brothers, and the end of his involvement at Ferencváros was confirmed when our current government won the April 2010 general election. The fate of Ferencváros and its ground was made an issue of national importance by the politicians. In March 2011 McCabe sold the football club to the mother club Ferencváros Torna Club (FTC) for one euro. Thus the football club is now run by a gentleman from prime minister Viktor Orbán's inner circle called Gábor Kubatov. So Norwich need to be aware that when they are dealing with Ferencváros they are dealing with royalty, and not very pleasant royalty at that.
If I were Norwich City I would make friends with Viktoria Plzen instead. They seem to have got their house in order, and the socials there should be pretty good for sure.
Thanks hungaroaddick. I have done that previously loads of time but, as per example below, the search comes up with virtually nothing. Can only assume that Google limits the results according to where the search is being made and in this instance is looking to re-produce articles in English:
Addict: There are more to come. I tried to send about twelve together but I couldn't get them onto the CL site. Perhaps I'll send them in groups of four in future. Hopefully this will keep you busy for this evening at least. If you have any questions, don't hesitate.
I've found a list of all (?) the books Jenő wrote on a second hand books site, his work with Labdarugás magazine (there's a wikipedia site for that), the website of the Hungarian Sportswriters Association, and the Weightlifting Competition that bears his name, and an article he wrote about Papp Laci ...
Meanwhile it has been announced that Norwich City have made some rather vague sounding link up with Ferencvaros. It "will offer footballing and commercial opportunities for both clubs in the future.". I remain baffled as to why Hungary should suddenly be getting this kind of attention. My best guess is that it is the TV deal. If the figures suggested are right, some TV company has overpaid, and people see easy money (which as usual will all be gobbled up by players, agents and hangers on)
Am I right in thinking that first division clubs in Hungary get in the region of four million euros for the TV rights to their matches? There is a now a lot of Hungarian football on state TV, although it is a product that has a very specialized niche audience. For Hungarian TV getting the rights is a reasonably cheap way (after all it's only the taxpayers money) to fill the broadcasting time Hungarian TV finds great difficulty in filling.
Watching Hungarian football on TV is about as enjoyable as listening to a Throbbing Gristle album (the crumbling concrete, the echoes of the players' voices, the feeling of utter helplessness...) 90% of the boys at my school aren't in the slightest bit interested in football. And those who are say they support Barcelona or Real Madrid, Man United, Man City or Chelsea. Those who do follow Hungarian football are nearly all Fradi (Ferencváros) fans.
Those Fradi fans will be wondering why such a great club as Ferencváros would want to be involved with such an insignificant provincial English club like Norwich City. If I were a Norwich fan I would be asking the board to give Kevin McCabe a call at Sheffield United (if he's still there) just in case. But from what you say Prague I assume that the partnership would be along the lines Charlton's with Inter Milan a few years back, i.e. purely cosmetic.
Kevin McCabe, property developer and another collector of football clubs, already owned Sheffield United and a Chinese club, Chengdu Five Bull Football Club, (whose name he changed to Chengdu Blades Football Club) when he took control of Ferencváros in February 2008.
At that point Fradi were still in the second division to where they had been banished in 2006 for financial irregularities (how Fradi haters loved it!). McCabe appointed Bobby Davison as an advisory coach. He later became Ferencváros's new head coach, and it was under Davison that Fradi went on to win promotion back to the first division in 2009. In October 2009, Ferencvaros replaced manager Bobby Davison with Craig Short, who didn't stay long through lack of a Pro-Licence badge.
The world had already turned upside down for McCabe after Lehmann Brothers, and the end of his involvement at Ferencváros was confirmed when our current government won the April 2010 general election. The fate of Ferencváros and its ground was made an issue of national importance by the politicians. In March 2011 McCabe sold the football club to the mother club Ferencváros Torna Club (FTC) for one euro. Thus the football club is now run by a gentleman from prime minister Viktor Orbán's inner circle called Gábor Kubatov. So Norwich need to be aware that when they are dealing with Ferencváros they are dealing with royalty, and not very pleasant royalty at that.
If I were Norwich City I would make friends with Viktoria Plzen instead. They seem to have got their house in order, and the socials there should be pretty good for sure.
Fascinating stuff. By a strange coincidence I was just talking about McCabe today with a fellow Addick who is a friend of his. It seems he still has the Chinese club, BTW.
It's interesting that you also believe the TV money is in the region of €4m, (@chicagoaddick estimated it at €3.5m above). Either way, I think that's a lot, especially given what you say about the audience for it. The most pertinent thing is that I reckon the TV money is twice as much as the wage bill whereas at Charlton it is probably 20% of the wage bill. I reckon Duchatelet is on a winner, here, financially.
There was once a time when I proposed that Charlton investigated a potential tie-up with Viktoria. The little Czech club which at least had a good academy (Cech, Nedved) could feed young players through to the mighty FAPL club, Charlton Athletic. Bob Whitehand turned his nose up at the idea. Oh well. But the socials are good. Actually, they are epic.
In a TV interview this morning UTE club manager István Őze (that's the manager of the mother club) said that he couldn't see Újpest staying in the first division once this season finishes. Despite being able to oversee the football club's finances to the end of the season, Őze believes the fact that the Hungarian FA (MLSZ) will be asking a hard-nosed official receiver rather than a sympathetic sport's administrator to sort the finances out will see the football club being wound up. Any successor club would the have to start next season in the 3rd division (at best). If that happens and the criminals win, as Roderick sees it, he will be pulling out of Újpest.
Addict: There are more to come. I tried to send about twelve together but I couldn't get them onto the CL site. Perhaps I'll send them in groups of four in future. Hopefully this will keep you busy for this evening at least. If you have any questions, don't hesitate.
I've found a list of all (?) the books Jenő wrote on a second hand books site, his work with Labdarugás magazine (there's a wikipedia site for that), the website of the Hungarian Sportswriters Association, and the Weightlifting Competition that bears his name, and an article he wrote about Papp Laci ...
Thanks hungaroaddick they are fantastic. The only other friend of my Dad that I ever knew was József Hoffer who worked with him and Jeno at the same sports agency. He actually went on to manage the Hungarian national team albeit for only a very short time. Quite how you go from being a journo to international manager I never quite understood but presumably he too had been a footballer at some point.
In a TV interview this morning UTE club manager István Őze (that's the manager of the mother club) said that he couldn't see Újpest staying in the first division once this season finishes. Despite being able to oversee the football club's finances to the end of the season, Őze believes the fact that the Hungarian FA (MLSZ) will be asking a hard-nosed official receiver rather than a sympathetic sport's administrator to sort the finances out will see the football club being wound up. Any successor club would the have to start next season in the 3rd division (at best). If that happens and the criminals win, as Roderick sees it, he will be pulling out of Újpest.
Ah. When I said earlier that RD is on a winner...er...
I think we can see where this is going. You read it here first, folks.
Roderick will be out-manoeuvered by the powers that be (the president of the Hungary FA, happens to be banker (yes banker) Sándor Csányi, who enjoys Orbán's company at Videoton matches. Roderick will sell Újpest for a euro, and Orbán (who supported Újpest Dózsa when he studied Law in Budapest in the mid 1980s) will install one of his lackeys at Megyéri út.
When Orbán was in power at the beginning of the 2000s his government rebuilt the stadium at Újpest, at a time when it looked as though his party were going to throw their money at the club. Ferencváros was just been bought by millionaire Gábor Várszegi (of the wrong political persuasion and religious background) and was consequently out of the equation.
The lucky winner may be Szíjjártó Péter, Orbán's minister for brokering nuclear power strategies with Vladimir Putin, although he is Győr man, or an EU MP at a loose end (á la Tamás Deutsch president of MTK), or perhaps a craftsman like ex-plumber Kubatov at Ferencváros.
I would be tempted to trust Roderick Duchatelet and support him in his (totally pointless) stand against an utterly corrupt footballing and political establishment.
All I can say is to Roderick is get out without picking up Tolnai's tab if you can (I'm sure the tax authorities will allow it if it gets the Duchatelets or any other western entrepreneurs out of the system, leaving only Mr Hemingway at Honvéd). Just don't lose any sleep over it, Rod.
Why not come to Charlton and SHARE being your Dad's eyes and ears with that charming young lady Roland has installed? You could spend those four plus millions you get away with on a quality striker and a new pitch at the Valley.
I would be tempted to trust Roderick Duchatelet and support him in his (totally pointless) stand against an utterly corrupt footballing and political establishment.
but - and I speak from years of sometimes bitter experience - did they really not understand that Hungary is not Belgium?
Having one's fingers in too many pies, comes to my mind.
Hungarian football fascinates me, Ujpest's game on Sunday will be chaos in the stands, the real losers here could be the fans, it shows the dangers in a) buying a club, especially in such a country b) being a fan of an club owned by someone you don't know all about. In this case not Rod. Duchatalets fault, but a risk played by them has not paid off here.
If Ujpest drop to NB III they'll be playing against the teams they are currently's, II teams! I think it's pretty clear as to why everyone gets quite sentimental to when something very big changes at their club, the biggest thing that can technically happen is someone new owning your club, it's a lot bigger than any promotion/relegation can ever be if they have big intentions one way or the other. Keep us updated Hungaro, and if Rod speaks any English, I reckon we could see his face around here at some point...
Thank you HA. I had been trying to make sense of it all and to understand why Roland was so unhappy. Some people seem to suggest that Roland's tears were false and that he has been trying to get the HFF to,pay off the debts. It's all very murky indeed. I too am finding it fascinating so I am grateful to you for your efforts.
Can't believe somebody on here has met Florian Albert. One of the very few football matches which has left a lasting impression on me was Hungary 3 Brazil 1 at Goodison Park in the 1966 World Cup. Unfortunately, I only got to watch it on TV, in grainy black and white, but what a game!! Albert was simply out of this world that night. I recall Kalman Meszoly, the Hungarian captain, finishing the game with one arm in a sling. No subs in those days. What a hero he was that night.
Can't believe somebody on here has met Florian Albert. One of the very few football matches which has left a lasting impression on me was Hungary 3 Brazil 1 at Goodison Park in the 1966 World Cup. Unfortunately, I only got to watch it on TV, in grainy black and white, but what a game!! Albert was simply out of this world that night. I recall Kalman Meszoly, the Hungarian captain, finishing the game with one arm in a sling. No subs in those days. What a hero he was that night.
Fantastic stuff.
One of my earliest memories of Hungary was that match. And yes meeting Albert was fantastic but I was only eight and perhaps the significance of that day was sadly wasted on me at the time. Anyway, thank you Uncle Jeno.
Having one's fingers in too many pies, comes to my mind.
Hungarian football fascinates me, Ujpest's game on Sunday will be chaos in the stands, the real losers here could be the fans, it shows the dangers in a) buying a club, especially in such a country b) being a fan of an club owned by someone you don't know all about. In this case not Rod. Duchatalets fault, but a risk played by them has not paid off here.
If Ujpest drop to NB III they'll be playing against the teams they are currently's, II teams! I think it's pretty clear as to why everyone gets quite sentimental to when something very big changes at their club, the biggest thing that can technically happen is someone new owning your club, it's a lot bigger than any promotion/relegation can ever be if they have big intentions one way or the other. Keep us updated Hungaro, and if Rod speaks any English, I reckon we could see his face around here at some point...
Újpest's home match against Miskolc's finest Diósgyőr (DVTK) is on Sunday afternoon. DVTK have the noisiest fans in the league and they should turn up in large numbers. It's being broadcast by the Hungarian television corporation (MTV).
Újpest and DVTK both detest Ferencváros, and I should imagine there will be great solidarity among the supporters. There may be chaos, but I think it will be pretty moving as well, what with the András Törőcsik fighting for his life.
Yes, Újpest 1st XI vs Újpest 2nd XI what a derby encounter! I think FA regulations make that impossible however!
Rod conducts his press conferences in English, and is just as articulate as his dad. So you could be right, Atletico.
Addict: There are more to come. I tried to send about twelve together but I couldn't get them onto the CL site. Perhaps I'll send them in groups of four in future. Hopefully this will keep you busy for this evening at least. If you have any questions, don't hesitate.
I've found a list of all (?) the books Jenő wrote on a second hand books site, his work with Labdarugás magazine (there's a wikipedia site for that), the website of the Hungarian Sportswriters Association, and the Weightlifting Competition that bears his name, and an article he wrote about Papp Laci ...
Thanks hungaroaddick they are fantastic. The only other friend of my Dad that I ever knew was József Hoffer who worked with him and Jeno at the same sports agency. He actually went on to manage the Hungarian national team albeit for only a very short time. Quite how you go from being a journo to international manager I never quite understood but presumably he too had been a footballer at some point.
Here's that book list I mentioned (if it appears on the CL site!), which features some of the football almanacs Jenő and József worked on together. I'll certainly be keeping an eye out for them.
Did the topic of Hungarian-born Joe Bugner ever come up in your household? Or Vic Halom for that matter? Halom is the son of a 1956er like yourself and I have an old Football Review in which there is an article stating that the Hungarian FA were inquiring after his availability for the Hungarian national side when Vic was at Sunderland.
Correction: Vic Halom's parents must have left Hungary before 1956, as he was born in Burton on Trent, no doubt as a result of another twist in Hungarian history.
The Hornet Express. The Watford programme for the match against Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday 30th October 1971.
The Second Division Scene: Middlesbrough Cut It Fine by Tony Pullein
"Luton may soon have to face a new twist to that thorny old problem of releasing players for international duty. Their striker Vic Halom could soon be selected to play for - Hungary! His parents were born in Hungary and, under the FIFA ruling, he qualifies to play for the Magyars. The selectors have already asked for a report on his play."
The article later states:
"Paul Went, mentioned above as one of Orient's old centre-halves, conceded his third own goal of the season in Charlton's 1-6 defeat at Cardiff to put him top of this scoring list."
I do remember Halom playing for Sunderland and my Dad telling me that it was a Hungarian name. clearly from what you've just posted he was wrong. I've got something at the back of my mind that his Mum might have been English (edit - clearly from what you've just posted I/he was wrong). but I might be wrong. His name really came to the fore in the 1973 Cup final when he chested down for Porterfield the only goal of the game.
My Dad was anything but complimentary about Bugner I'm afraid if only for the fact that his somewhat defensive style of boxing (basically holding on and running away) didn't sit comfortably with him. He had a lot of front "off the pitch" but, despite clearly being a talented unit, didn't always want to put it in on it. My Dad was probably as offended as anyone when he got the verdict over "our 'enry".
Talking about my Dad being a bit bitter and twisted he knew of a gentleman called Leslie Vernon who used to write for the magazine World Soccer. He would somewhat affectionately refer to him as a "bum" no less - though I think he meant "bum" to be a fraud.
The resentment I think came from the fact that he understood that, back in Hungary, Vernon was actually a tailor and not a journalist at all but somehow, upon fleeing Hungary, he managed to secure himself a job writing for the magazine. Whereas, my Dad who was a writer with all the right connections and footballer (fluent in English and also playing football at the same time as Puskas) had to re-train to become an electrician and play part time for Dulwich Hamlet in the old Isthmian League (the equivalent of today's Conference I believe).
I've just googled Leslie Vernon and funnily enough this found this posting from the When Saturday comes forum which perhaps lends some truth to my Dad's assertion:
My favourite writer was a guy called Leslie Vernon, not because he was all that good but because he was a early version of Berbaslug. I am not sure of his origins, he had an almost comical bias towards all things Hungarian though which suggests perhaps he escaped from there in the war and came to England.
For him anything and everything that was not Hungarian in football was barely worth talking about. His ability to turn any football discussion into a tortuous pion to Magyar magnificence makes Berbaslug's Manchester United fetish seem almost restrained. He was the archetypal 'fan with a typewriter' long before the English media labelled the Scottish football press this.
In the early days he had plenty of material to work with, Hungary were still a strong side, Puskas was winning Real Madrid European Cups, Bela Gutmann was one of the world's top manager and players like Albert and club sides like Ferencvaros and Ujpest were doing decent things in European competitions.
Post 1966 and things started to fall away for football in Hungary though and boy did Leslie start to suffer. Over the years his columns became increasingly despairing as he desperately sought straws to clutch at, some tiny sign his beloved Hungary would once again stand astride the world game. He became an essential read, his columns were like the Bring Out Your Dead sketch in Monty Python with the rest of the football world cast as John Cleese, putting out the almost dead body of Hungarian football, Leslie Vernon weakly protesting "I'm not dead, I'm feeling better, honest"
I have no idea when and how Leslie Vernon died but I bet it was from a broken heart.
Talking about a "broken heart", if it is possible to do so I'm afraid Uncle Joshka (I apologise for the spelling but I really haven't got a clue where this is concerned), as József Hoffer was affectionately known to me in the same way as Jeno was "Uncle Jeno", died of one. By all accounts, he was absolutely devoted to his wife as she was to him and when she passed away, with no children or close relatives to rely on, he gave up the will to live and followed her within less than a year.
I saw my Dad yesterday but it is difficult to talk to him about Jeno because he has, as I say, dementia. Totally coherent at present but can't remember my name let alone that of his grandchildren which is extremely sad - especially, given his love of sport, as he would have been enthralled to watch my niece who is a very promising swimmer and my youngest son who will hopefully be playing for Kent (U11) this summer. And just to demonstrate how Anglicised he had become, cricket is/was one of his favourite sports! I ask you a Hungarian loving cricket. Almost as bizarre as a tailor purporting to be a sports journalist ;-)
Thank you once again hungaroaddick - in the space of a couple of days you've told me so much and found things for me frankly I never would have found.
I do remember Halom playing for Sunderland and my Dad telling me that it was a Hungarian name. clearly from what you've just posted he was wrong. I've got something at the back of my mind that his Mum might have been English (edit - clearly from what you've just posted I/he was wrong). but I might be wrong. His name really came to the fore in the 1973 Cup final when he chested down for Porterfield the only goal of the game.
My Dad was anything but complimentary about Bugner I'm afraid if only for the fact that his somewhat defensive style of boxing (basically holding on and running away) didn't sit comfortably with him. He had a lot of front "off the pitch" but, despite clearly being a talented unit, didn't always want to put it in on it. My Dad was probably as offended as anyone when he got the verdict over "our 'enry".
Talking about my Dad being a bit bitter and twisted he knew of a gentleman called Leslie Vernon who used to write for the magazine World Soccer. He would somewhat affectionately refer to him as a "bum" no less - though I think he meant "bum" to be a fraud.
The resentment I think came from the fact that he understood that, back in Hungary, Vernon was actually a tailor and not a journalist at all but somehow, upon fleeing Hungary, he managed to secure himself a job writing for the magazine. Whereas, my Dad who was a writer with all the right connections and footballer (fluent in English and also playing football at the same time as Puskas) had to re-train to become an electrician and play part time for Dulwich Hamlet in the old Isthmian League (the equivalent of today's Conference I believe).
I've just googled Leslie Vernon and funnily enough this found this posting from the When Saturday comes forum which perhaps lends some truth to my Dad's assertion:
My favourite writer was a guy called Leslie Vernon, not because he was all that good but because he was a early version of Berbaslug. I am not sure of his origins, he had an almost comical bias towards all things Hungarian though which suggests perhaps he escaped from there in the war and came to England.
For him anything and everything that was not Hungarian in football was barely worth talking about. His ability to turn any football discussion into a tortuous pion to Magyar magnificence makes Berbaslug's Manchester United fetish seem almost restrained. He was the archetypal 'fan with a typewriter' long before the English media labelled the Scottish football press this.
In the early days he had plenty of material to work with, Hungary were still a strong side, Puskas was winning Real Madrid European Cups, Bela Gutmann was one of the world's top manager and players like Albert and club sides like Ferencvaros and Ujpest were doing decent things in European competitions.
Post 1966 and things started to fall away for football in Hungary though and boy did Leslie start to suffer. Over the years his columns became increasingly despairing as he desperately sought straws to clutch at, some tiny sign his beloved Hungary would once again stand astride the world game. He became an essential read, his columns were like the Bring Out Your Dead sketch in Monty Python with the rest of the football world cast as John Cleese, putting out the almost dead body of Hungarian football, Leslie Vernon weakly protesting "I'm not dead, I'm feeling better, honest"
I have no idea when and how Leslie Vernon died but I bet it was from a broken heart.
Talking about a "broken heart", if it is possible to do so I'm afraid Uncle Joshka (I apologise for the spelling but I really haven't got a clue where this is concerned), as József Hoffer was affectionately known to me in the same way as Jeno was "Uncle Jeno", died of one. By all accounts, he was absolutely devoted to his wife as she was to him and when she passed away, with no children or close relatives to rely on, he gave up the will to live and followed her within less than a year.
I saw my Dad yesterday but it is difficult to talk to him about Jeno because he has, as I say, dementia. Totally coherent at present but can't remember my name let alone that of his grandchildren which is extremely sad - especially, given his love of sport, as he would have been enthralled to watch my niece who is a very promising swimmer and my youngest son who will hopefully be playing for Kent (U11) this summer. And just to demonstrate how Anglicised he had become, cricket is/was one of his favourite sports! I ask you a Hungarian loving cricket. Almost as bizarre as a tailor purporting to be a sports journalist ;-)
Thank you once again hungaroaddick - in the space of a couple of days you've told me so much and found things for me frankly I never would have found.
A "halom" is a mound, and those who remember the days when people travelled by train rather than EasyJet, Hegyeshalom (which would translate as "pointed mound") was the border crossing with Austria. To most people Hegyeshalom conjures up visions of the Iron Curtain, smuggling, customs officials and spy novels, but to me that place name makes me think of Vic and the 1973 Cup Final.
And just one other thing: I remember working at one of Epsom's many mental hospitals the summer Gooch scored that three-hundred and thirty-three (?). I had a job as a care assistant in the ward for the elderly patients. On my first day there the ward nurse told me about one particular patient, and how under no circumstances I was to ask him about his job, as he was covered by the Official Secrets Act or something similar.
It was a hot summer, and whenever possible we took the patients out into landscaped grounds of the hospital (now very desirable flats) for an airing. One day as we sat in the shade of one of the trees I told this particular patient how this was a summer job and that I actually lived and worked in Hungary the rest of the time. At this point he snapped out of his mid-afternoon snooze and said loudly and clearly "Admiral Horthy."
I came out in cold sweat and immediately changed the subject (probably to Charlton!)
What a day! A win at Leeds, a Reza goal, and Roderick Duchatelet all smiles in front of the TV cameras. Újpest have reformed mid-season, been saved by the mother club, and Roderick has said he has paid all he is going to pay.
Rod is now talking about beating Ferencváros in the upcoming derby and finishing in the top half of the table NEXT SEASON! The tears have gone, and so by looks of it the creditors too! What happened to them? I'm bewildered.
The Budapest Derby looks like a lively event! Some of our supporters would fancy being there I suspect, perhaps Roland could organise inter Empire transport as well. I notice that you have quite a few players on loan from the Duc stable. We have a spare goalie if you need one, actually you can have him anyway. The money stuff is, as you say, bewildering. I have no idea how ginormous debt can disappear as if by magic, but good news for you. The history of Ujpest is quite absorbing so I will follow your updates with interest.
Comments
Watching Hungarian football on TV is about as enjoyable as listening to a Throbbing Gristle album (the crumbling concrete, the echoes of the players' voices, the feeling of utter helplessness...) 90% of the boys at my school aren't in the slightest bit interested in football. And those who are say they support Barcelona or Real Madrid, Man United, Man City or Chelsea. Those who do follow Hungarian football are nearly all Fradi (Ferencváros) fans.
Those Fradi fans will be wondering why such a great club as Ferencváros would want to be involved with such an insignificant provincial English club like Norwich City. If I were a Norwich fan I would be asking the board to give Kevin McCabe a call at Sheffield United (if he's still there) just in case. But from what you say Prague I assume that the partnership would be along the lines Charlton's with Inter Milan a few years back, i.e. purely cosmetic.
Kevin McCabe, property developer and another collector of football clubs, already owned Sheffield United and a Chinese club, Chengdu Five Bull Football Club, (whose name he changed to Chengdu Blades Football Club) when he took control of Ferencváros in February 2008.
At that point Fradi were still in the second division to where they had been banished in 2006 for financial irregularities (how Fradi haters loved it!). McCabe appointed Bobby Davison as an advisory coach. He later became Ferencváros's new head coach, and it was under Davison that Fradi went on to win promotion back to the first division in 2009. In October 2009, Ferencvaros replaced manager Bobby Davison with Craig Short, who didn't stay long through lack of a Pro-Licence badge.
The world had already turned upside down for McCabe after Lehmann Brothers, and the end of his involvement at Ferencváros was confirmed when our current government won the April 2010 general election. The fate of Ferencváros and its ground was made an issue of national importance by the politicians. In March 2011 McCabe sold the football club to the mother club Ferencváros Torna Club (FTC) for one euro. Thus the football club is now run by a gentleman from prime minister Viktor Orbán's inner circle called Gábor Kubatov. So Norwich need to be aware that when they are dealing with Ferencváros they are dealing with royalty, and not very pleasant royalty at that.
If I were Norwich City I would make friends with Viktoria Plzen instead. They seem to have got their house in order, and the socials there should be pretty good for sure.
https://hirkozpont.magyarorszag.hu/hirek/szul20081104.html/RatingWindow;jsessionid=3672B0CBDE8C91F7D6186
http://www.emasa.hu/cikk.php?id=6778
http://www.xlsport.hu/Boskovics-Jeno-80-eves-es-az-MTI-orokos-tudositoja-lett
I've found a list of all (?) the books Jenő wrote on a second hand books site, his work with Labdarugás magazine (there's a wikipedia site for that), the website of the Hungarian Sportswriters Association, and the Weightlifting Competition that bears his name, and an article he wrote about Papp Laci ...
It's interesting that you also believe the TV money is in the region of €4m, (@chicagoaddick estimated it at €3.5m above). Either way, I think that's a lot, especially given what you say about the audience for it. The most pertinent thing is that I reckon the TV money is twice as much as the wage bill whereas at Charlton it is probably 20% of the wage bill. I reckon Duchatelet is on a winner, here, financially.
There was once a time when I proposed that Charlton investigated a potential tie-up with Viktoria. The little Czech club which at least had a good academy (Cech, Nedved) could feed young players through to the mighty FAPL club, Charlton Athletic. Bob Whitehand turned his nose up at the idea. Oh well. But the socials are good. Actually, they are epic.
In a TV interview this morning UTE club manager István Őze (that's the manager of the mother club) said that he couldn't see Újpest staying in the first division once this season finishes. Despite being able to oversee the football club's finances to the end of the season, Őze believes the fact that the Hungarian FA (MLSZ) will be asking a hard-nosed official receiver rather than a sympathetic sport's administrator to sort the finances out will see the football club being wound up. Any successor club would the have to start next season in the 3rd division (at best). If that happens and the criminals win, as Roderick sees it, he will be pulling out of Újpest.
Roderick will be out-manoeuvered by the powers that be (the president of the Hungary FA, happens to be banker (yes banker) Sándor Csányi, who enjoys Orbán's company at Videoton matches. Roderick will sell Újpest for a euro, and Orbán (who supported Újpest Dózsa when he studied Law in Budapest in the mid 1980s) will install one of his lackeys at Megyéri út.
When Orbán was in power at the beginning of the 2000s his government rebuilt the stadium at Újpest, at a time when it looked as though his party were going to throw their money at the club. Ferencváros was just been bought by millionaire Gábor Várszegi (of the wrong political persuasion and religious background) and was consequently out of the equation.
The lucky winner may be Szíjjártó Péter, Orbán's minister for brokering nuclear power strategies with Vladimir Putin, although he is Győr man, or an EU MP at a loose end (á la Tamás Deutsch president of MTK), or perhaps a craftsman like ex-plumber Kubatov at Ferencváros.
I would be tempted to trust Roderick Duchatelet and support him in his (totally pointless) stand against an utterly corrupt footballing and political establishment.
All I can say is to Roderick is get out without picking up Tolnai's tab if you can (I'm sure the tax authorities will allow it if it gets the Duchatelets or any other western entrepreneurs out of the system, leaving only Mr Hemingway at Honvéd). Just don't lose any sleep over it, Rod.
Why not come to Charlton and SHARE being your Dad's eyes and ears with that charming young lady Roland has installed? You could spend those four plus millions you get away with on a quality striker and a new pitch at the Valley.
I would be tempted to trust Roderick Duchatelet and support him in his (totally pointless) stand against an utterly corrupt footballing and political establishment.
but - and I speak from years of sometimes bitter experience - did they really not understand that Hungary is not Belgium?
Hungarian football fascinates me, Ujpest's game on Sunday will be chaos in the stands, the real losers here could be the fans, it shows the dangers in a) buying a club, especially in such a country b) being a fan of an club owned by someone you don't know all about. In this case not Rod. Duchatalets fault, but a risk played by them has not paid off here.
If Ujpest drop to NB III they'll be playing against the teams they are currently's, II teams! I think it's pretty clear as to why everyone gets quite sentimental to when something very big changes at their club, the biggest thing that can technically happen is someone new owning your club, it's a lot bigger than any promotion/relegation can ever be if they have big intentions one way or the other. Keep us updated Hungaro, and if Rod speaks any English, I reckon we could see his face around here at some point...
Thank you HA. I had been trying to make sense of it all and to understand why Roland was so unhappy. Some people seem to suggest that Roland's tears were false and that he has been trying to get the HFF to,pay off the debts. It's all very murky indeed. I too am finding it fascinating so I am grateful to you for your efforts.
Can't believe somebody on here has met Florian Albert. One of the very few football matches which has left a lasting impression on me was Hungary 3 Brazil 1 at Goodison Park in the 1966 World Cup. Unfortunately, I only got to watch it on TV, in grainy black and white, but what a game!! Albert was simply out of this world that night. I recall Kalman Meszoly, the Hungarian captain, finishing the game with one arm in a sling. No subs in those days. What a hero he was that night.
Fantastic stuff.
Újpest and DVTK both detest Ferencváros, and I should imagine there will be great solidarity among the supporters. There may be chaos, but I think it will be pretty moving as well, what with the András Törőcsik fighting for his life.
Yes, Újpest 1st XI vs Újpest 2nd XI what a derby encounter! I think FA regulations make that impossible however!
Rod conducts his press conferences in English, and is just as articulate as his dad. So you could be right, Atletico.
Did the topic of Hungarian-born Joe Bugner ever come up in your household? Or Vic Halom for that matter? Halom is the son of a 1956er like yourself and I have an old Football Review in which there is an article stating that the Hungarian FA were inquiring after his availability for the Hungarian national side when Vic was at Sunderland.
The Hornet Express. The Watford programme for the match against Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday 30th October 1971.
The Second Division Scene: Middlesbrough Cut It Fine by Tony Pullein
"Luton may soon have to face a new twist to that thorny old problem of releasing players for international duty. Their striker Vic Halom could soon be selected to play for - Hungary! His parents were born in Hungary and, under the FIFA ruling, he qualifies to play for the Magyars. The selectors have already asked for a report on his play."
The article later states:
"Paul Went, mentioned above as one of Orient's old centre-halves, conceded his third own goal of the season in Charlton's 1-6 defeat at Cardiff to put him top of this scoring list."
My Dad was anything but complimentary about Bugner I'm afraid if only for the fact that his somewhat defensive style of boxing (basically holding on and running away) didn't sit comfortably with him. He had a lot of front "off the pitch" but, despite clearly being a talented unit, didn't always want to put it in on it. My Dad was probably as offended as anyone when he got the verdict over "our 'enry".
Talking about my Dad being a bit bitter and twisted he knew of a gentleman called Leslie Vernon who used to write for the magazine World Soccer. He would somewhat affectionately refer to him as a "bum" no less - though I think he meant "bum" to be a fraud.
The resentment I think came from the fact that he understood that, back in Hungary, Vernon was actually a tailor and not a journalist at all but somehow, upon fleeing Hungary, he managed to secure himself a job writing for the magazine. Whereas, my Dad who was a writer with all the right connections and footballer (fluent in English and also playing football at the same time as Puskas) had to re-train to become an electrician and play part time for Dulwich Hamlet in the old Isthmian League (the equivalent of today's Conference I believe).
I've just googled Leslie Vernon and funnily enough this found this posting from the When Saturday comes forum which perhaps lends some truth to my Dad's assertion:
My favourite writer was a guy called Leslie Vernon, not because he was all that good but because he was a early version of Berbaslug. I am not sure of his origins, he had an almost comical bias towards all things Hungarian though which suggests perhaps he escaped from there in the war and came to England.
For him anything and everything that was not Hungarian in football was barely worth talking about. His ability to turn any football discussion into a tortuous pion to Magyar magnificence makes Berbaslug's Manchester United fetish seem almost restrained. He was the archetypal 'fan with a typewriter' long before the English media labelled the Scottish football press this.
In the early days he had plenty of material to work with, Hungary were still a strong side, Puskas was winning Real Madrid European Cups, Bela Gutmann was one of the world's top manager and players like Albert and club sides like Ferencvaros and Ujpest were doing decent things in European competitions.
Post 1966 and things started to fall away for football in Hungary though and boy did Leslie start to suffer. Over the years his columns became increasingly despairing as he desperately sought straws to clutch at, some tiny sign his beloved Hungary would once again stand astride the world game. He became an essential read, his columns were like the Bring Out Your Dead sketch in Monty Python with the rest of the football world cast as John Cleese, putting out the almost dead body of Hungarian football, Leslie Vernon weakly protesting "I'm not dead, I'm feeling better, honest"
I have no idea when and how Leslie Vernon died but I bet it was from a broken heart.
Talking about a "broken heart", if it is possible to do so I'm afraid Uncle Joshka (I apologise for the spelling but I really haven't got a clue where this is concerned), as József Hoffer was affectionately known to me in the same way as Jeno was "Uncle Jeno", died of one. By all accounts, he was absolutely devoted to his wife as she was to him and when she passed away, with no children or close relatives to rely on, he gave up the will to live and followed her within less than a year.
I saw my Dad yesterday but it is difficult to talk to him about Jeno because he has, as I say, dementia. Totally coherent at present but can't remember my name let alone that of his grandchildren which is extremely sad - especially, given his love of sport, as he would have been enthralled to watch my niece who is a very promising swimmer and my youngest son who will hopefully be playing for Kent (U11) this summer. And just to demonstrate how Anglicised he had become, cricket is/was one of his favourite sports! I ask you a Hungarian loving cricket. Almost as bizarre as a tailor purporting to be a sports journalist ;-)
Thank you once again hungaroaddick - in the space of a couple of days you've told me so much and found things for me frankly I never would have found.
And just one other thing: I remember working at one of Epsom's many mental hospitals the summer Gooch scored that three-hundred and thirty-three (?). I had a job as a care assistant in the ward for the elderly patients. On my first day there the ward nurse told me about one particular patient, and how under no circumstances I was to ask him about his job, as he was covered by the Official Secrets Act or something similar.
It was a hot summer, and whenever possible we took the patients out into landscaped grounds of the hospital (now very desirable flats) for an airing. One day as we sat in the shade of one of the trees I told this particular patient how this was a summer job and that I actually lived and worked in Hungary the rest of the time. At this point he snapped out of his mid-afternoon snooze and said loudly and clearly "Admiral Horthy."
I came out in cold sweat and immediately changed the subject (probably to Charlton!)
Good luck with your Dad!
Rod is now talking about beating Ferencváros in the upcoming derby and finishing in the top half of the table NEXT SEASON! The tears have gone, and so by looks of it the creditors too! What happened to them? I'm bewildered.
Keep us posted please, this is important stuff.
If you hear anything about how much the TV deal is worth to Ujpest, that would be especially interesting.
notice that you have quite a few players on loan from the Duc stable. We have a spare goalie if you need one, actually you can have him anyway.
The money stuff is, as you say, bewildering. I have no idea how ginormous debt can disappear as if by magic, but good news for you. The history of Ujpest is quite absorbing so I will follow your updates with interest.