You love him or you hate him but..."Johan Boskamp, 59, took over FC Dender, a first division Belgian Club , in just 6 weeks he saved them from relagation.
Boskamp is another true champion. He was the first foreign football player to receive the "golden boot" trophee (best player of the year) in his playing days - 1975. He has been my mentor for years in my young playing days at RWDM, taking me to his home and giving me the right values in the football world. Boskamp for all the "Boskamp boys", as people called us, was an inspiring figure who always tried to help and protect young players.
He believes in top football education where the first team and the youth are close related and interact. As a coach, he brought several times RSC Anderlecht to the supreme title in Belgium. Boskamp is a figure that you like at once or.. dislike at once. In my personal case, I love him. I have a lot of respect for his work and who he is... a simple man who loves football from all his heart... but most of all... still a friend" - Philippe De Ridder
Here is an article made by the Stoke City football redactor when Boskamp took over as Manager of the club:
Charisma.
Boskamp’s arrival at the club has certainly livened things up! I remember watching the live news conference on Sky when Pulis was appointed and found it a very downbeat affair, and really from that moment I struggled to warm to him. I couldn’t put my finger on what it was that made me reluctant to trust him fully or accept him, but I guess there was something about his character or charisma that give me a gut feeling that all was not well.
However I put my initial unease to one side and supported him for the greater good of the club. I even had his picture on my wall! I was largely satisfied with his efforts until his final season, but could never whole-heartedly warm to Pulis or trust him, and by the end of his reign I was openly irritated by him and was glad when he was sacked.
By contrast there is something about Boskamp that I can’t help warming to. He exudes a charismatic, humorous manner that I can’t help but like, and his aims, proposed methodology, and ambitions for the club make me desperate for him to succeed.
The ability to talk straight about matters, use humour, and bring a fresh and different approach to the club has certainly been for me a more positive change, and made me excited about going to Stoke again. This was in total contrast to Pulis who had removed what little enthusiasm I had left by the end of his tenure, to the point I was wallowing in complete apathy.
Boskamp promised a more entertaining and attacking style, and the opening few games seemed to bear this out, containing such drama, excitement, and even had broadsheet newspapers enthusing about our play for once. What a refreshing change from the negativity that hung over Pulis and the Britannia Stadium like a dark cloud. I was sick of Pulis’ post-match interviews, patronising us with talk of a working-class area wanting hard work, and Stoke City struggling to compete with other sides. I want hard work and commitment yes, but I want to see good footballing principles, and entertainment. Boskamp has a vision of how this can be achieved. It is whether or not he gets the time and the necessary support to bring success and entertainment to Stoke City in equal measures.
I accept that much of such feeling is entirely subjective, and down to personality preferences. I accept that more cautious fans might prefer a Pulis style of management, preaching safety first. But all I can say is that of the two styles and approaches, I warm more easily to a jovial “character”, who on the one hand can make jokes about his love of chips, while on the other believes in trying to play football that will entertain the fans. He makes me want to listen, as opposed to switch off. He makes me want to go to watch Stoke City again.
He has reignited the passion that Pulis had extinguished. There’s hardly a dull moment at the club now for sure!
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