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Post by Dr Hesham on Jan 13, 2018 18:30:09 GMT
This is true, I attended a game for the national team in the qualification for world cup few months ago, I tried to count those wearing Stoke City T-shirt, I think at least I saw 30-40 so approximately in a stadium full of 80.000 persons you can find 1000 wearing Stoke T-Shirts. I was thinking about taking photos for local people here wearing Stoke T-Shirts and post it here but mostly they will not understand it and may become angry. BTW Stoke T-Shirts here are fake, it can cost from 50-200 LE "2-8 Pound sterling ", we have a different market here, for example a team like Al-Ahly was selling T-Shirts for 30-40 pounds but few were buying it, now Al-Ahly is selling original T-Shirts "but not the same quality" for around "10 pounds" and selling millions of T-shirts yearly, I wish the marketing team in Stoke can do something like that. Al Ahly played a game few days ago against Atletico Madrid with around 70.000 fans, both of the teams gained millions of $$, I imagine if Al-Ahly can play a friendly game against Stoke either here in Egypt or in Emirates, the stadium will be full, Stoke will earn millions of $$, increases number of fans for the team in Middle East. The cost of PL shirts should never be above the £10 your guys are paying as they are made for considerably less than £5 and delivered here where extortionate mark ups are made. It's a scandal! I admit you are one of the members who always supports Ramadan, and he really needs that. In a market like Egypt where majority are not rich, it is better to sell 1000 T-Shirts for 10 pounds than to sell 50 T-Shirts for 30 pounds, I dont know the case in UK.
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Post by nott1 on Jan 13, 2018 18:35:15 GMT
The cost of PL shirts should never be above the £10 your guys are paying as they are made for considerably less than £5 and delivered here where extortionate mark ups are made. It's a scandal! I admit you are one of the members who always supports Ramadan, and he really needs that. In a market like Egypt where majority are not rich, it is better to sell 1000 T-Shirts for 10 pounds than to sell 50 T-Shirts for 30 pounds, I dont know the case in UK. The clubs can't see this!
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Post by Dr Hesham on Jan 13, 2018 18:37:32 GMT
Great post Dr Hesham, really interesting insights. Hopefully the new boss will be able to get the best out of Rama. You certainly have seen Stoke in a poor light since he was signed. I understand this is the worst season for Stoke in the last few years, but I still see a light at the end of the tunnel.
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Post by Dr Hesham on Jan 13, 2018 18:56:10 GMT
Hi Doctor (are you really a doctor??). Loved reading your posts and greatly appreciate your kind thoughts about our great club. The only thing I’d take issue with is your contention of racism and perceived dislike of Egyptian people by some English people. In my experience this is simply not true doc. I don’t know anyone who remotely thinks like that and from a personal point of view, having visited Egypt numerous time for business and pleasure I simply love the country and the people. So much that I was on the point of buying a holiday apartment in Houghada until the ‘troubles’ put a massive stop to all that. I still have friends in Egypt who are all so sad what has happened politically to your country and the massive affect it’s had on tourism. As soon as our Foreign Office tells us that it’s safe to travel, believe you me I’ll be on one of the first planes out there. In the meantime, good luck to you and your family. Yes I am physician here in Egypt, but I am young so no titles needed, I just made this nickname cause I make it everywhere when I register on the web, In addition to being a physician, I am the founder of Facmedicine, it is the largest forum on the web for verified doctors with 9 million visitors yearly, 1.4 million Facebook fans and 88.900 registered members and I have many fans and visitors in UK. Yes as I mentioned above it was false beliefs, I dont know the source of it but mostly because Egypt was colonized by UK for long time, from what I see currently either here on the forum or in the English media, I see English people like Egypt, its culture, its history and its people ..etc. I was a supporter for the revolution but unfortunately it failed and the results are really bad especially from economic point of view. I wish if you can visit Egypt soon, If any one here in the forum is going to visit Egypt I will be happy to be his free personal tourist guide in this trip .
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Post by Dr Hesham on Jan 13, 2018 19:06:29 GMT
Great post and I'm really pleased Dr Hesham is part of the forum. For me Ramadan could be a great player for us, his work ethic and technical ability is great, his pace not so, but he doesn't need it, just needs confidence to get in the box straight away and then let his majestic feet do the rest. I know generally he's played left but I'd prefer him on the right. We are unlikely as a club to get many more European fans so should focus on Africa and North America/Canada. Commercially we are an embarrassment and the club should be looking to get a great relationship with Egypt and as you say Hesham through "original" shirts and winter friendlies. Yes, Real Madrid and Barca are not great teams because of their fans in Spain, they have fans everywhere, and they have good marketing team who can earn from that then they can the player they want even for 150-200 millions, so they can win more titles, increase their fans more ...etc and so on like a circle. Too many people are watching PL everywhere, if Stoke can build big fan base outside England, certainly it will help. Al Ahly played and won against AS Rome in Emirates 1 year ago, the stadium was full capacity and both teams earned well, I see an Egyptian bank has sponsored Liverpool recently because of Salah ... etc., it is a 100 million population market so investing in it deserves a try.
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Post by Dr Hesham on Jan 13, 2018 19:14:52 GMT
Its great to have your views and I hope that Ramadan can find his way under the new manager . I have a friend here who is Egyptian but has been in this area for over 20 years she is a great woman full of spirit , many of us like people for who they are not where they are from and most Stoke people are friendly but the City has had some hard economic times and also does not have great levels of education and racists tend to exploit this , may think that Brexit will bring the past back of jobs for low skilled workers but this wont happen now with technology . I can see great ability and strength in Ramadan and was encouraged very much recently by his goal at Huddersfield . He had a good spell in the team last season but then got dropped which at the time made no sense . The one aspect of his game that frustrates me is his final decision i.e. when to cross or to shoot , he tends to keep beating players until he runs out of options and I hoped our coaches would improve this in him , maybe the new one will because he does have the ability to play at a high level , we keep reading links to Liverpool for him so maybe in a year or two he might go there . "many of us like people for who they are not where they are from" totally agree. Ramadan was a machine of assists here in Egypt, he was cutting in easily and passing the ball to strikers who can score easily, he did the same with Stoke multiple times but failed to find the striker so he has a problem with the final decision, the player who started to understand Ramadan is Joe Allen, he started recently to take the position before Ramadan cuts in. I admit he needs to work on his shot power, I read he had additional training sessions with Berahino on shooting, I wish this can help, it is not only about making assists, some times he needs to shot.
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Post by Mr_DaftBurger on Jan 13, 2018 19:35:02 GMT
I remember going to the Tutankhamun exhibition in Hanley Museum in the 70's. I think all people of a certain age studied Egypt in school at that time. A lot of medical practices originated from Ancient Egypt?
Personally I think Ramadan will make an excellent central midfielder.
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Post by Dr Hesham on Jan 13, 2018 19:47:27 GMT
Hi Dr. As a big Squash fan I have a great admiration for Egyptian sport as Egyptians currently dominate Squash to a ridiculous degree. I’ve even started shouting “YALLA!” when I win a tough point! 😅 The political battles between secularists and religious fundamentalists are a terrible tragedy. Similar issues are taking place in Turkey, which like Egypt is another largely secular Islamic country. Iran was largely secular too for a long time. I think there is a reasonable fear that similar issues will become more and more prominent in western countries with a growing Islamic population. Many on the left of the political spectrum will call you a racist for recognising these issues but I don’t think they quite understand the gravity of the situation. If this is why people in Egypt have a misconception of racism then I hope they can understand that the fears we have are the same as the fears many of them once had, that are now turning to reality. The political wings of religion should never gain great power, and should always be resisted for the sake of freedom and liberalism. It is true we are the best currently in squash, England also has very good players in squash, I wish it will be added to Olympic games. Although we are great in squash but most people here watch soccer and don't watch squash. I am a liberal and we are many in Egypt, I hate mixing between religion and politics because it is not fair and they always use this mix in favor of becoming dictators, when you say no for this decision they tell you that you are against the religion ... etc, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Turkey are always mixing religion and politics. Extreme Islamists are minority here in Egypt but they have loud voice, they will never win anything here because people hate them, I believe all religions have the same message to help humanity but those extremes in all religions are the people who always make problems.
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Post by Dr Hesham on Jan 13, 2018 19:58:46 GMT
I knew Ramadan was popular in Egypt, but I didn't know he was HUGE! Great player, should be utilised more IMO. He gained millions of fans here because he shined when he was 17 years old kid playing for the biggest team in Africa and Middle East, making some interesting skills, beating any defender, helping the team to win in addition to his role with the national team. For example a player like Salah didn't have this bonus by playing for Al Ahly as he was playing for a mid table team in Egypt before moving to Basel, he was rejected by Zamalek at that time, but Salah success in Europe helped him to be the most popular player currently in Egypt, and Ramadan is the 2nd most popular player after Salah. You can check number of fans for different players on their official profiles on Instagram for example to see that: Mame Diouf has 15 K followers : www.instagram.com/mamediouf99/Choupo has 148 K followers : www.instagram.com/mr.choupo/Arni has 165 K followers : www.instagram.com/arnautovic_10/ Shaqiri has 1 million followers : www.instagram.com/shaqirixherdan/ And Ramadan "only 20 years old" has 3.8 million followers : www.instagram.com/ramadansobhi51/
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Post by forwhatitsworth on Jan 13, 2018 20:03:35 GMT
WOW, Thanks for creating this topic, I really appreciate it. - I am a fan for Ramadan and I like to watch all Egyptian players abroad but I have only joined this forum and I didnt join "Liverpool - Arsenal - Westbrom...etc forums", I dont know why but mostly because I believe in Ramadan more than any other Egyptian player including Salah. "and I dont know Ramadan in person " - Yes, I joined the forum because of Ramadan but it is about 2 seasons now supporting Stoke, watching all games, being here everyday, even when Ramadan is not playing I like to watch and support all Stoke games, and I think I will always support the team even when Ramadan moves, may be I will not watch all games like now but I have good memories here, I wish the team will be better in the upcoming games, I am really sad for the people here who love Stoke they deserve better than that. - Before Ramadan, mostly me and Egyptians dont know much info about Stoke City except "they are a defensive team and big teams dont like to face them", After watching all Stoke games I see the defense is the worst line and this idea wasn't so true. Egypt is more than 100 million population, most of us love football, it may be the most important thing for most of Egyptians in their life, looks crazy but it is true, and most of Egyptians love Ramadan especially Al Ahly fans who can be estimated as 75% of Egyptian fans or more, I think Stoke City population is only half million so in case all of them watch all Stoke games so absolutely we have at least 10 millions who are watching all Stoke games in Egypt "20 doubles than fans in Stoke on Trent", many of my friends are watching all Stoke games and we always discuss it, I always see people in streets wearing Ramadan T-Shirt with Stoke "but a fake T-Shirt", and all cafes broadcast Stoke games. I have a friend who recently moved to work as a physician in Stoke on Trent, although he is "Zamalek fan and doesnt like Ramadan" but he goes to the stadium to support him and the team. - I dont like the way Hughes used with Ramadan, Ramadan was much much much better than now, even with the national team Egyptian fans are angry cause he is not Ramadan himself, a shadow of Ramadan that we know, recently he wants to make safe passes and defend and has 0 confidence although he was full of confidence he was able to beat any defender, I wish the upcoming manager can understand the guy and help him to build his confidence back, he really can help the team, Salah, El Neny, Hegazy, Elmohamady were playing in Egypt and no one of them did what Ramadan did here, he was supposed to be much better than all of them. Ramadan is not only a good player, he is a real fighter that has been turned to an employee under Hughes, I believe he will become a fighter again just need a suitable environment. My advice for Ramadan to stay in Stoke, to try the new manager and see if he is improving or not, also from personal point of view I like the team, the fans and I want him to continue too, if he wants to move then I wish he can come back to Al-Ahly. I have been to England for just 1 week and didnt have a chance to be in contact with people there, just a tourist but here in the forum I see there are many similarities between English and Egyptian people, I thought English people dont like us as Egyptians, I thought there are many racists there but I believe they are not many they are few but have loud voice, same like here most of Egyptians are not religious or "fake religious" but a minority are extreme so foreigners think Egypt is full of terrorists. I wish Ramadan can be the new leader for Stoke, I wish i will be able to visit the city and support the team from the stadium, It is like a dream for me to attend Stoke games in stadium but I am a bit busy with medicine currently. I love this guy!!! If every person on the Oatcake chucks a tenner in we can fly him over and give him some proper Stokie hospitality!!
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Post by Dr Hesham on Jan 13, 2018 20:05:51 GMT
I remember going to the Tutankhamun exhibition in Hanley Museum in the 70's. I think all people of a certain age studied Egypt in school at that time. A lot of medical practices originated from Ancient Egypt? Personally I think Ramadan will make an excellent central midfielder. If pharaons can come back, I am sure they will feel shame for what happened to their civilization and for those new generations here in Egypt, I am proud of them, they were great, although of technology the world has now we still cant understand many of their secrets, Pharaons are the best thing about Egypt it is a fact. I think if he cant find a position as left winger he can play as a play maker, he is strong in the defense but this is not the best about him, his attacking skills are much better than his strength or defensive skills but he hasnt a chance to show that.
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Post by Dr Hesham on Jan 13, 2018 20:20:34 GMT
I love this guy!!! If every person on the Oatcake chucks a tenner in we can fly him over and give him some proper Stokie hospitality!! hahaha, trust me one day I will come and support the team home and away , many of my friends who are Egyptian physicians working in UK are advising me to take the IELTS exam and try to work there in UK (there is a shortage of doctors in UK after Brexit and it became easy for Egyptians to work there), after being here in the forum for long time, feeling warm welcome from all people here, I started recently to think about it seriously, just need to work on my English more.
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Post by forwhatitsworth on Jan 13, 2018 20:23:47 GMT
I love this guy!!! If every person on the Oatcake chucks a tenner in we can fly him over and give him some proper Stokie hospitality!! hahaha, trust me one day I will come and support the team home and away , many of my friends who are Egyptian physicians working in UK are advising me to take the IELTS exam and try to work there in UK (there is a shortage of doctors in UK after Brexit and it became easy for Egyptians to work there), after being here in the forum for long time, feeling warm welcome from all people here, I started recently to think about it seriously, just need to work on my English more. You're English puts my Egyptian to shame!
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Post by Dr Hesham on Jan 13, 2018 20:30:07 GMT
hahaha, trust me one day I will come and support the team home and away , many of my friends who are Egyptian physicians working in UK are advising me to take the IELTS exam and try to work there in UK (there is a shortage of doctors in UK after Brexit and it became easy for Egyptians to work there), after being here in the forum for long time, feeling warm welcome from all people here, I started recently to think about it seriously, just need to work on my English more. You're English puts my Egyptian to shame! haha just because writing is much easier as long as we study medicine in English but listening and speaking are not good as we dont use English in daily life.
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Post by nott1 on Jan 14, 2018 14:36:45 GMT
I love this guy!!! If every person on the Oatcake chucks a tenner in we can fly him over and give him some proper Stokie hospitality!! hahaha, trust me one day I will come and support the team home and away , many of my friends who are Egyptian physicians working in UK are advising me to take the IELTS exam and try to work there in UK (there is a shortage of doctors in UK after Brexit and it became easy for Egyptians to work there), after being here in the forum for long time, feeling warm welcome from all people here, I started recently to think about it seriously, just need to work on my English more. I had a chat in Nottingham City Hospital with an Egyptian Dr. just after Ramadan signed for us, he was a big fan too!
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Post by stantheman on Jan 14, 2018 15:02:09 GMT
Dr Hesham I really enjoy reading your messages, and long may they continue.
In July I pretty much cut off my middle finger using a circluar saw (badly). I am being 100% serious! I live in Stoke and most of the people who looked at my finger in the local hospital (Royal Stoke) said that it was unlikely to be saved.
But, a very nice Egyptian surgeon by the name of Mr Youseff operated on it and it's nearly as good as new. I think about him every day and have written to him to thank him.
Would this be your physician friend by any chance?
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Post by Dr Hesham on Jan 14, 2018 20:28:12 GMT
Dr Hesham I really enjoy reading your messages, and long may they continue. In July I pretty much cut off my middle finger using a circluar saw (badly). I am being 100% serious! I live in Stoke and most of the people who looked at my finger in the local hospital (Royal Stoke) said that it was unlikely to be saved. But, a very nice Egyptian surgeon by the name of Mr Youseff operated on it and it's nearly as good as new. I think about him every day and have written to him to thank him. Would this be your physician friend by any chance? It is great thanks for him, unfortunately I dont know him but I am happy Egyptian doctors are doing well abroad and happy for you.
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Post by StatesideStokie on Jan 14, 2018 21:00:50 GMT
WOW, Thanks for creating this topic, I really appreciate it. - I am a fan for Ramadan and I like to watch all Egyptian players abroad but I have only joined this forum and I didnt join "Liverpool - Arsenal - Westbrom...etc forums", I dont know why but mostly because I believe in Ramadan more than any other Egyptian player including Salah. "and I dont know Ramadan in person " - Yes, I joined the forum because of Ramadan but it is about 2 seasons now supporting Stoke, watching all games, being here everyday, even when Ramadan is not playing I like to watch and support all Stoke games, and I think I will always support the team even when Ramadan moves, may be I will not watch all games like now but I have good memories here, I wish the team will be better in the upcoming games, I am really sad for the people here who love Stoke they deserve better than that. - Before Ramadan, mostly me and Egyptians dont know much info about Stoke City except "they are a defensive team and big teams dont like to face them", After watching all Stoke games I see the defense is the worst line and this idea wasn't so true. Egypt is more than 100 million population, most of us love football, it may be the most important thing for most of Egyptians in their life, looks crazy but it is true, and most of Egyptians love Ramadan especially Al Ahly fans who can be estimated as 75% of Egyptian fans or more, I think Stoke City population is only half million so in case all of them watch all Stoke games so absolutely we have at least 10 millions who are watching all Stoke games in Egypt "20 doubles than fans in Stoke on Trent", many of my friends are watching all Stoke games and we always discuss it, I always see people in streets wearing Ramadan T-Shirt with Stoke "but a fake T-Shirt", and all cafes broadcast Stoke games. I have a friend who recently moved to work as a physician in Stoke on Trent, although he is "Zamalek fan and doesnt like Ramadan" but he goes to the stadium to support him and the team. - I dont like the way Hughes used with Ramadan, Ramadan was much much much better than now, even with the national team Egyptian fans are angry cause he is not Ramadan himself, a shadow of Ramadan that we know, recently he wants to make safe passes and defend and has 0 confidence although he was full of confidence he was able to beat any defender, I wish the upcoming manager can understand the guy and help him to build his confidence back, he really can help the team, Salah, El Neny, Hegazy, Elmohamady were playing in Egypt and no one of them did what Ramadan did here, he was supposed to be much better than all of them. Ramadan is not only a good player, he is a real fighter that has been turned to an employee under Hughes, I believe he will become a fighter again just need a suitable environment. My advice for Ramadan to stay in Stoke, to try the new manager and see if he is improving or not, also from personal point of view I like the team, the fans and I want him to continue too, if he wants to move then I wish he can come back to Al-Ahly. I have been to England for just 1 week and didnt have a chance to be in contact with people there, just a tourist but here in the forum I see there are many similarities between English and Egyptian people, I thought English people dont like us as Egyptians, I thought there are many racists there but I believe they are not many they are few but have loud voice, same like here most of Egyptians are not religious or "fake religious" but a minority are extreme so foreigners think Egypt is full of terrorists. I wish Ramadan can be the new leader for Stoke, I wish i will be able to visit the city and support the team from the stadium, It is like a dream for me to attend Stoke games in stadium but I am a bit busy with medicine currently. I love this guy!!! If every person on the Oatcake chucks a tenner in we can fly him over and give him some proper Stokie hospitality!! Let’s make it £20 and make him manager. #HeshamIn
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Post by stantheman on Jan 14, 2018 21:21:43 GMT
Dr Hesham I really enjoy reading your messages, and long may they continue. In July I pretty much cut off my middle finger using a circluar saw (badly). I am being 100% serious! I live in Stoke and most of the people who looked at my finger in the local hospital (Royal Stoke) said that it was unlikely to be saved. But, a very nice Egyptian surgeon by the name of Mr Youseff operated on it and it's nearly as good as new. I think about him every day and have written to him to thank him. Would this be your physician friend by any chance? It is great thanks for him, unfortunately I dont know him but I am happy Egyptian doctors are doing well abroad and happy for you. His name is Mr Bishoy Youssef - Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon and top man! God bless Egyptian surgeons!
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Post by Dr Hesham on Jan 14, 2018 21:59:05 GMT
It is great thanks for him, unfortunately I dont know him but I am happy Egyptian doctors are doing well abroad and happy for you. His name is Mr Bishoy Youssef - Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon and top man! God bless Egyptian surgeons! Found his profile on Nuffield Health , looks like he has great experience in Orthopedics. www.nuffieldhealth.com/consultants/mr-bishoy-youssef
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Post by Dr Hesham on Jan 15, 2018 19:56:34 GMT
Great post and I'm really pleased Dr Hesham is part of the forum. For me Ramadan could be a great player for us, his work ethic and technical ability is great, his pace not so, but he doesn't need it, just needs confidence to get in the box straight away and then let his majestic feet do the rest. I know generally he's played left but I'd prefer him on the right. We are unlikely as a club to get many more European fans so should focus on Africa and North America/Canada. Commercially we are an embarrassment and the club should be looking to get a great relationship with Egypt and as you say Hesham through "original" shirts and winter friendlies. Yes, Real Madrid and Barca are not great teams because of their fans in Spain, they have fans everywhere, and they have good marketing team who can earn from that then they can the player they want even for 150-200 millions, so they can win more titles, increase their fans more ...etc and so on like a circle. Too many people are watching PL everywhere, if Stoke can build big fan base outside England, certainly it will help. Al Ahly played and won against AS Rome in Emirates 1 year ago, the stadium was full capacity and both teams earned well, I see an Egyptian bank has sponsored Liverpool recently because of Salah ... etc., it is a 100 million population market so investing in it deserves a try. Concerning the investment in Egyptian market, this Egyptian company sponsored Liverpool FC to fill the Egyptian streets with their banners: Also TV channels here are competing to buy Liverpool friendly games, they made propaganda for Liverpool preseason more than the PL itself.
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